cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Integrated Deep Network for Cancer Survival Prediction Using Omics Data

As a highly sophisticated disease that humanity faces, cancer is known to be associated with dysregulation of cellular mechanisms in different levels, which demands novel paradigms to capture informative features from different omics modalities in an integrated way. Successful stratification of patients with respect to their molecular profiles is a key step in precision medicine and in tailoring personalized treatment for critically ill patients. In this article, we use an integrated deep belief network to differentiate high-risk cancer patients from the low-risk ones in terms of the overall survival. Our study analyzes RNA, miRNA, and methylation molecular data modalities from both labeled and unlabeled samples to predict cancer survival and subsequently to provide risk stratification. To assess the robustness of our novel integrative analytics, we utilize datasets of three cancer types with 836 patients and show that our approach outperforms the most successful supervised and semi-supervised classification techniques applied to the same cancer prediction problems. In addition, despite the preconception that deep learning techniques require large size datasets for proper training, we have illustrated that our model can achieve better results for moderately sized cancer datasets.
Friends, Nazis and Communists: The Double Persecution of Antonie Kleinerova

This article takes as its theme the persecution of religious gr oups and individu­ als by governments that aspire to totalitarian power. Its su bject is the Quakers of Prague during the first half of the twentieth century who su ffered at the hands of both occupying German Nazis and native Czechoslova k Communists. In particular, the article focuses on Antonie Kleinerova (1901-1 982), who entered into membership of the Religious Society of Friends in 19 33 together with her husband.After the Nazis occupied the Czech lands in 1939 sh e was active in the underground resistance, and for this reason the couple were among the victims of the reign of terror under Heydrich; he was shot, she sp ent the remainder of the war in Ravensbri.ick concentration camp. After the w ar and liberation she became a parliamentary deputy, but after the Communis t coup of 1948 she joined the clandestine democratic opposition. As a resul t she was arrested in 1949, and was one of the co-defendants in the show trial o f the more famous Milada Horakova in 1950.Antonie Kleinerova received a life sentence of which she served ten years. W ithin the context of her story, the a rticle discusses the causes and nature of religious persecution, and the reasons f or active resistance on the part of individuals.
STRESSES AGAINST UNDERGROUND STRUCTURAL CYLINDERS

THE MAGNITUDE AND DISTRIBUTION OF STATIC NORMAL SOIL STRESSES AGAINST UNDERGROUND STRUCTURAL CYLINDERS ARE STUDIED. NEW RESULTS, OBTAINED FROM LABORATORY TESTS ON CYLINDERS OF 4.5-IN. DIAMETER BURIED IN DRY SAND, ARE PRESENTED. THE TEST CYLINDERS WERE SPLIT INTO LONGITUDINAL SEGMENTS, AND THE FORCE ACTING ON EACH 30 DEGREE ARC OF THE SOIL-STRUCTURE INTERFACE WAS MEASURED. THE EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM INCLUDED BURIED CYLINDERS VARYING FROM ALMOST PERFECTLY RIGID ONES TO FLEXIBLE ONES ENCASED IN A SHEET OF FOAM RUBBER. ANALYTICAL PREDICTIONS WERE MADE USING AN IDEALIZED MATHEMATICAL MODEL AND THEORY OF ELASTICITY TO IDENTIFY THE SIGNIFICANT VARIABLES AND EXAMINE THEIR EFFECTS. THE RESULTS SHOW THE INFLUENCE OF STRUCTURAL FLEXIBILITY AND COMPRESSIBILITY, SOIL PROPERTIES, AND DEPTH OF SOIL COVER ON CONTACT PRESSURES AND DEFORMATIONS. FOR FURTHER ANALYSIS OF THIS PROBLEM, A NUMERICAL TECHNIQUE LIKE THE FINITE ELEMENT METHOD, WHICH IS WELL-SUITED TO INCLUDE NON-LINEAR BEHAVIOR, ANISOTROPY, AND INHOMOGENEITY, IS RECOMMENDED. /AUTHOR/
Secure management of networked storage services: models and techniques

With continued advances in computing, the amount of digital data continues to grow at an astounding rate. This has strained enterprise infrastructures and triggered development of service oriented architectures. In recent years, storage has also begun its transformation into a class of service. By outsourcing storage to an external storage service provider (SSP), enterprises not only cut management cost but also obtain on-demand infrastructure with superior disaster recovery and content dissemination capabilities. Wide deployment of this new outsourced storage environment requires solutions to many challenging problems. The foremost is the development of usable security and access control mechanisms that provide desirable levels of data confidentiality without placing an inordinate amount of trust into the SSP. This absence of a trusted reference monitor is a fundamental departure from traditional mechanisms and new solutions are required. The second important challenge is the autonomic management of SSP's infrastructure, uniquely characterized by a highly dynamic workload with large data capacity requirements. This dissertation research proposes models and techniques to address these two challenges. First, we introduce a novel access control system called xACCESS that uses cryptographic access control primitives (CAPS) to "embed" access control into stored data. This eliminates any dependency on the SSP for enforcement of security policies. We also analyze the privacy characteristics of its data sharing mechanisms and propose enhancements for more secure and convenient data sharing. We also develop a secure multiuser search approach that permits hosting of secured search indices at untrusted SSPs. We introduce a novel access control barrel (ACB) primitive that embeds access control into indices to prevent unauthorized information extraction during search. Our contribution to the autonomic SSP storage management has two important highlights. First, we have developed an impact analysis engine that efficiently analyzes the impact of a client-initiated change (workload surge, storage growth) on the SSP storage area network with minimal administrator involvement. Second, we have designed a new algorithm to quickly perform reallocation of resources in order to efficiently integrate the client change.
Identification of formate dehydrogenase-specific mRNA species and nucleotide sequence of the fdhC gene of Methanobacterium formicicum.

The overlapping fdhA and fdhB genes of Methanobacterium formicicum, which encode the alpha and beta subunits, respectively, of formate dehydrogenase, were cotranscribed as part of an approximately 4.5-kb transcript. An additional gene (fdhC) upstream of fdhA was cotranscribed with fdhA and fdhB. The deduced amino acid sequence suggested that fdhC has the potential to encode a hydrophobic polypeptide with a calculated molecular weight of 29,417. A hydropathy plot of the hypothetical polypeptide indicated several potential membrane-spanning regions. The putative fdhC gene product had 28% identity with the deduced amino acid sequence of the nirC gene from Salmonella typhimurium. Northern (RNA) blot analyses and primer extension assays located a transcription start site 268 bp upstream of the initiation codon of fdhC. A sequence identical to the consensus promoter sequence for methanogenic organisms was situated between -35 and -25 bp from the proposed transcription start site. In addition to the 4.5-kb transcript, Northern blot analyses detected a 1.1-kb transcript with an fdhC-specific probe and a 3.4-kb transcript with either an fdhA- or fdhB-specific probe. The levels of all three transcripts were significantly greater in cells grown in media supplemented with molybdate. Images
To Abstain or Not To Abstain: A New Framework for Application of the Abstention Doctrine in International Parallel Proceedings

It is obvious to most that the ties between people and businesses in different countries have increased dramatically in recent years. One of the effects of this globalization of the world’s economies and societies is an increase in international or transnational litigation. As traveling and conducting business across international borders becomes easier and cheaper, and the number of international business transactions increases, so too have the number of lawsuits involving parties and transactions or occurrences from different countries. This development has led to a corresponding increase in the number of lawsuits before United States courts which are similar, or indeed sometimes exactly parallel, to lawsuits pending before foreign courts. This comment argues that federal courts need a single framework for analyzing how to determine whether they should stay or dismiss a proceeding in favor of a concurrent, parallel proceeding in a foreign court.
Nature of the Jurassic Magnetic Quiet Zone

The nature of the Jurassic Quiet Zone (JQZ), a region of low-amplitude oceanic magnetic anomalies, has been a long-standing debate with implications for the history and behavior of the Earth's geomagnetic field and plate tectonics. To understand the origin of the JQZ, we studied high-resolution sea surface magnetic anomalies from the Hawaiian magnetic lineations and correlated them with the Japanese magnetic lineations. The comparison shows the following: (i) excellent correlation of anomaly shapes from M29 to M42; (ii) remarkable similarity of anomaly amplitude envelope, which decreases back in time from M19 to M38, with a minimum at M41, then increases back in time from M42; and (iii) refined locations of pre-M25 lineations in the Hawaiian lineation set. Based on these correlations, our study presents evidence of regionally and possibly globally coherent pre-M29 magnetic anomalies in the JQZ and a robust extension of Hawaiian isochrons back to M42 in the Pacific crust.
An improved user environment for TEX

This paper describes the enhancements we have made at Berkeley to the TEX environment. The goal of the enhancements is to shorten the edit-compile-debug cycle in preparing TEX documents. An important step in cutting down debugging time is the development of a DVI previewer on a workstation with a high resolution bit-mapped display. Yet another approach we took is the integration of TEX with a powerful display-oriented editor whereby the editing, compiling, and certain pre- or postprocessing of a document may be automated. We present some of the important results of our work in this paper with a general critique on TEX that underscores our motivations.
Ultra-processed and Ready-to-eat Food and Beverage Purchases Differ by Race, Education, and Income in a Longitudinal US Study

It is not clear whether processed foods contribute to sociodemographic disparities in the diets of Americans. Our objective was to determine whether race/ethnicity, education, and income were associated with ultra-processed or ready-to-eat food and beverage purchases among US households. We analyzed data from the 2000-2012 Homescan panel (n=157,142). We classified 1.2 million barcoded products by level of food processing and convenience. Longitudinal random effects linear and multinomial logistic regression models were used to examine time-varying associations. The calorie contribution of ultra-processed products to food purchases was 蠅58% for all subpopulations. Inverse associations of ultra-processed food purchases with education and income emerged across time as households of higher, but not lower, socioeconomic status (SES) shifted away from these foods. Compared to white households, black households had higher ultra-processed beverage purchases yet lower ultra-processed food purchases. Blacks were mo...
Clarifying the Measurement of Death Attitudes: A Factor Analytic Evaluation of Fifteen Self-Report Death Scales:

A factor analysis of a representative population of fifteen death scales completed by 350 college students uncovered five orthogonal death-attitude factors. These factors were named Negative Evaluation of Death, Reluctance to Interact with the Dying, Negative Reaction to Pain, Reaction to Reminders of Death, and Preoccupation with Thoughts of Dying. These results support thanatological theory that death attitudes are multidimensional, that is, multiple death attitudes do co-exist and co-vary within individuals. The major implication of these findings concerns the need to differentiate and measure these separate death attitudes effectively.
Breeding of Red-flowering Delphiniums using Interspecific Hybrids Produced by in Vitro Germination

Interspecific crosses between Delphinium elatum and D. nudicaule or D. cardinale were carried out to produce red-flowering Delphinium varieties. An in vitro germination technique was effective to produce interspecific hybrids. From 800 seeds, 379 interspecific hybrid plants were produced. The form of these hybrid plants was intermediate between that of the parents and their flower color was purplish due to the presence of delphinidin derivatives. Most of these hybrid plants were fertile. The F1 generation was self- and sib-crossed. In the second generation, six plants with pink or red flowers were selected from 224 plants.
Fetal surgery for cardiac lesions

Intrauterine dilation of critical fetal aortic stenosis (AS) and pulmonary stenosis or atresia has the potential to change the natural course of these congenital heart defects preventing progression to a single ventricle circulation. This article reviews the world experience in fetal cardiac interventions. In carefully selected cases, fetal cardiac surgery can reverse end-stage heart failure and can provide biventricular outcome postnatally in about two thirds of the cases with successful interventions.
Nitrogen fixation by blue-green algae associated with the siphonous green seaweed Codium decorticatum: effects on ammonium uptake

Nitrogen fixation (acetylene reduction) at rates of up to 1.2 μg N2 g dry wt-1 h-1 was measured for the siphonous green seaweed Codium decorticatum. No nitrogenase activity was detected in C. isthmocladum. The nitrogenase activity was light sensitive and was inhibited by the addition of DCMU and triphenyl tetrazolium chloride. Additions of glucose did not stimulate nitrogen fixation. Blue-green algae (Calothrix sp., Anabaena sp., and Phormidium sp.) were implicated as the organisms responsible for the nitrogenase activity. They occurred in a reduced microzone within the C. decorticatum thallus where nitrogen fixation was optimized. Nitrogen fixation did not affect the kinetic constants for ammonium uptake in C. decorticatum (Ks=12.0 μM, Vmax=13.4 μmol NH3 g dry wt-1 h-1) determined using the perturbation method. Nevertheless, C. decorticatum thalli which fixed nitrogen had internal dissolved nitrogen concentrations which were over 1.4 times higher than in non-fixing thalli. This suggests that if C. decorticatum does derive part of its nitrogen requirement from the blue-green algae which it harbors, the transfer does not involve competition between this process and the uptake of ambient ammonium.
Neutron scattering from solutions: The hydration of lanthanide and actinide ions

The neutron scattering difference method is described and applied to investigations of the aqua rare-earth ions, Nd/sup 3 +/ and Dy/sup 3 +/. Metal-water distances and hydration numbers have been unambiguously determined for these ions' inner coordination spheres. The values of the hydration number, n, of 8.5 +- 0.2 for Nd/sup 3 +/ and 7.4 +- 0.5 for Dy/sup 3 +/, directly support the claim of Spedding et al. that n decreases by one unit across the lanthanide series. The possible application of this method to actinide ions in solution is also discussed. 7 refs., 4 figs.
Comparison of the effects of hypercapnia on phrenic and hypoglossal activity in anesthetized decerebrate and decorticate animals

To examine the effects of suprapontine structures on the activity of hypoglossal and phrenic nerves, 13 chloralose anesthetized, paralyzed (gallamine triethiodide) and artificially ventilated cats were studied. In all animals vagi and carotid sinus nerves were cut bilaterally. All animals were first hyperventilated to apnea and then made progressively hypercapnic by rebreathing under hyperoxic conditions. Following midcollicular decerebration, the peak phasic activity of the hypoglossal nerve was significantly depressed and the PCO2 at which apnea occurred (apneic point) increased. However, following high decerebration or decortication the activity of the hypoglossal nerve was increased at higher CO2 levels and there was no change in apneic point. By contrast, peak phrenic nerve activity was not altered by any of the above surgical procedures. Neither systemic blood pressure nor respiratory frequency were significantly altered by these procedures. The results indicate that suprapontine structures can appreciably modify hypoglossal activity.
Half-life of 85Kr☆

Abstract The half-life of 85 Kr has been measured by observing the decay of the 0·7 MeV β-activity over a period of ten years, yielding the value 10·76 years. This is somewhat higher than all of the values previously recorded in the literature. Accuracy of the method and possible sources of systematic error are discussed.
Vibration reduction for commercial optical intersatellite communication links

The increasing demand for global communications and limitations on RF communication bandwidth has driven several corporations to baseline optical intersatellite communication links in their constellations. The use of laser communications over a long distance dictates the need for accurate pointing and jitter suppression in order to maintain signal. Vibrations on a satellite cause excessive line-of-sight jitter for optical performance. The solution to these vibration sources is a systems problem involving optical control of coarse and fine steering, vibration isolation of the optical payload, or reduction of the spacecraft disturbances. This paper explains the basics of tracking control of a laser communication package and details the systems trades for vibration isolation. Simulation results based on a vibration isolation and precision pointing of a hypothetical commercial LEO to LEO 4 Gbit/sec laser cross-link system are presented.
Coloseminal Vesicle Fistula: Report of a Case and Review of the Literature

Despite their anatomic proximity, communication between the colorectum and seminal vesicle is an uncommon event. We describe the first reported case of a fistula between the colon and seminal vesicle as a complication of diverticulitis. This case report is followed by a literature review of other reported cases of fistula formation between the seminal vesicle and the colon.
The design principles of PlanetLab

PlanetLab is a geographically distributed platform for deploying, evaluating, and accessing planetary-scale network services. PlanetLab is a shared community effort by a large international group of researchers, each of whom gets access to one or more isolated slices of PlanetLab's global resources. Because we deployed PlanetLab and started supporting users before we fully understood what its architecture would be, being able to evolve the system became a requirement. This paper examines the set of design principles that guided this evolution. Some of these principles were explicit at the project outset, and others have become crystallized as the platform has developed.
Some remarks on have-Raising vs. have-Support

Abstract This paper considers two competing analyses of the have got construction in American English: the analysis in which main verb have is raised into AUX position (LeSourd (1976)) and the analysis in which a main verb got is subject to a rule of have -Support (Fodor and Smith (1978)). Fodor and Smith suggest that while the have -Raising analysis is clearly optimal, the have -Support option is selected in the course of language acquisition. It is argued here that the have -Raising analysis is not only simpler than have -Support but that there is a plausible restructuring of hypothetical children's grammars with have -Support that treats the have -Raising analysis as an overall simplification of the child's grammar.
The Floquet theory and the state density of quasi-periodic Schrödinger operators

Abstract We study the Floquet solutions of quasi-periodic Schrodinger operators on flows which satisfy a Diophantine condition. Using these solutions, we show that the resolvent of such an operator is smooth with respect to certain derivations in the C∗-algebra associated with the flow, and that every projection corresponding to a spectral gap has a finite localization length. Based on these results, we derive a formula which quantizes the integral components of the integrated density of states for the operator on each spectral gap.
Methodological considerations for the human platelet 5-HT2A receptor binding kinetic assay.

Abstract Analysis of an extensive database of human platelet 5-HT2A receptor binding assays has been conducted in order to identify factors that may affect the assay results. Despite anecdotal reports that storage of frozen platelet pellets may affect 5-HT2A binding affinity and capacity, no quantitative study has been reported in the literature. Analysis of binding data for 373 frozen samples with a storage time up to three years is presented in this paper. It is shown that prolonged storage significantly decreases binding. The loss of binding capacity begins in the first six month of storage. Bmax declines by half after 17 month. The impact of storage time on the binding affinity is much smaller. There is only about 20% increase in the value of affinity KD during the half-life of Bmax. Differences in sample storage time may partly explain discrepancies in results between different research groups. Nonspecific binding due to binding to filter material diminishes accuracy and reliability of the binding assays as a result of a decrease in the ratio of specific to nonspecific ratio. A data analysis based on our suggested mathematical model shows that this effect depends on tissue concentration in test tube and becomes pronounced when the concentration is below 0.1 mg protein ml (at 0.2 nM of ligand). Above 0.1 mg protein ml , percentage of specific to total binding exceeds 65%, which is an acceptable level for the ratio. The majority of the binding studies reported in the literature employed a tissue concentration more than 0.5 mg ml , well above the minimal limit sufficient for a reliable assay. However, development of microassays to conserve precious tissue must take the limit into consideration.
Coercivity in exchange-bias bilayers

A model is presented for coercivity in polycrystalline exchange-bias bilayers. It includes two contributions for their enhanced coercivity, inhomogeneous reversal, and irreversible transitions in the antiferromagnetic grains. The model can be characterized in terms of a small number of dimensionless parameters, and its behavior has been determined through simulations of magnetic reversal for a range of values of these parameters. In these simulations, the first contribution to the coercivity arises from energy losses in the ferromagnet due to irreversible transitions over small, local energy barriers in the ferromagnetic film due to the inhomogeneous coupling to the antiferromagnet. This inhomogeneous reversal contributes to the coercivity at all temperatures. The second contribution to the coercivity arises from energy losses in the antiferromagnet due to irreversible transitions of the antiferromagnetic order in the grains. In the present model, the antiferromagnetic order only becomes unstable at nonzero temperature, so that this contribution to the coercivity only occurs at nonzero temperatures. In addition to the coercivity, the computed hysteresis loops are found to be asymmetric, and the loop shift is shown to differ from the grain-averaged unidirectional anisotropy.
Low-Voltage Organic Transistors on Plastic Comprising High-Dielectric Constant Gate Insulators

The gate bias dependence of the field-effect mobility in pentacene-based insulated gate field-effect transistors (IGFETs) was interpreted on the basis of the interaction of charge carriers with localized trap levels in the band gap. This understanding was used to design and fabricate IGFETs with mobility of more than 0.3 square centimeter per volt per second and current modulation of 10 5 , with the use of amorphous metal oxide gate insulators. These values were obtained at operating voltage ranges as low as 5 volts, which are much smaller than previously reported results. An all-room-temperature fabrication process sequence was used, which enabled the demonstration of high-performance organic IGFETs on transparent plastic substrates, at low operating voltages for organic devices.
Effects of purified components of jellyfish toxin (Stomolophus melleagris) on adenosine triphosphatase activities

Abstract Toxin from the jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris was found to stimulate both Na + -K + and mitochondrial Mg 2+ ATPase activities at low toxin concentrations and to inhibit these ATPase activities at higher (> 0·2 mg/ml) concentrations. Using discontinuous membrane partition chromatography the toxin was fractionated into six fractions. Of these six fractions, one strongly activated when five inhibited mitochondrial Mg 2+ ATPase. One fraction strongly activated, a second mildly activated, while the other four inhibited Na + -K + ATPase about 50 per cent. Only two fractions affected oligomycin-insensitive ATPase, and both of these exhibited a mild stimulation. It is concluded that the ability of this toxin to alter membrane permeability to Na + is due, at least in part, to components in the toxin which act directly on ATPase.
Do expenditures on tobacco control decrease smoking prevalence

Effectiveness of tobacco control programmes in reducing smoking prevalence during 2001 to 2005 is examined. Tobacco control spending is found to exert no significant effects on smoking prevalence across the 50 states. Cigarette prices are found to lower prevalence of daily smokers, but exert no effect on nondaily smoking prevalence. Several reasons are suggested for why these results might conflict with previous research. These include that most previous studies examined two states (California and Massachusetts) with long-standing tobacco control programmes and that most studies examined periods in which many of the states in their samples did not actively fund their programmes. Another reason may be that, unlike most previous studies, this study controls for the possibility that tobacco control spending is endogenous when, for example, states exhibiting relatively low smoking prevalence are also states with relatively high distaste for smoking and accordingly fund tobacco control programmes more generous...
A dual-field domain-decomposition method for the time-domain finite-element analysis of large finite arrays

A novel dual-field time-domain finite-element domain-decomposition method is presented for an efficient and broadband numerical simulation of electromagnetic properties of large finite arrays. Instead of treating the entire array as a single computation domain, the method considers each array element as a smaller subdomain and computes both the electric and magnetic fields inside each subdomain. Adjacent subdomains are related to each other by the equivalent surface currents on the subdomain interfaces in an explicit manner. Furthermore, the method exploits the identical geometry of the array elements and further reduces the memory requirement and CPU time. The proposed method is highly efficient for the simulation of large finite arrays. Numerical stability and computational performance of the method are discussed. Several radiation examples are presented to demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the method.
Suicidal behavior in depression: relationship to platelet serotonin transporter.

Objective: Suicidal behavior in depressed patients is associated with low central serotonin. Thus, platelet serotonin uptake in relation to suicidal behavior in depression was examined. Methods: Depressed patients who had never attempted suicide (n = 23) were compared with depressed patients who had never attempted suicide (n = 26) and normal controls (n = 71) for platelet serotonin uptake. Results: Depressed patients who had a lifetime history of a suicide attempt had a significantly greater apparent Michaelis constant (Km) of platelet serotonin uptake than either depressed patients who had never attempted suicide or controls. Patients rated high for current suicidal ideation at the index admission had significantly higher Km values than patients rated low. Also, patients who reattempted or committed suicide during a 5-year follow-up period had significantly higher Km values than controls. Among women patients who had attempted suicide there was a significant correlation between extrapunitive hostility scores and Km values. Conclusion: The serotonin transporter warrants further study in relation to suicidal behavior in depression.
FGF modulates the PDGF-driven pathway of oligodendrocyte development

PDGF promotes the growth of oligodendrocyte type-2 astrocyte (O-2A) glial progenitor cells and allows their timely differentiation into oligodendrocytes, the CNS myelin-forming cells. We demonstrate that basic FGF is a potent mitogen for brain O-2A progenitor cells, but blocks their differentiation into oligodendrocytes. Treatment with basic FGF also influences the level of expression of PDGF receptors on O-2A progenitor cells. These cells express only the alpha chain PDGF receptor, and the levels of PDGF alpha receptors decrease as the cells differentiate. In contrast, basic FGF maintains a high level of functionally responsive PDGF alpha receptors in O-2A progenitors. Thus basic FGF activates a signaling pathway that can positively regulate PDGF receptors in O-2A progenitor cells. In this way basic FGF or an FGF-like factor may modulate the production of myelin-forming cells in the CNS.
Obesity and prostate cancer: epidemiology and clinical implications.

Abstract Objectives Both obesity and prostate cancer (PCa) are epidemic in Western society. Although initial epidemiological data appeared conflicting, recent studies have clarified the association between obesity and PCa. Therefore, we sought to review the epidemiological data linking obesity and PCa with an emphasis on the clinical implications and how to improve outcomes among obese men. Methods A PubMed search using the keywords "prostate cancer" and "obesity" was performed. Relevant articles and references were reviewed for data on the association between obesity and PCa. Results Recent data suggest obesity is associated with reduced risk of nonaggressive disease but increased risk of aggressive disease. This observation may be explained in part by an inherent bias in our ability to detect PCa in obese men (lower PSA values and larger sized prostates, making biopsy less accurate for finding an existent cancer), which ultimately leads to increased risk of cancer recurrence after primary therapy and increased PCa mortality. Despite this detection bias potentially contributing to more aggressive cancers, multiple biological links also exist between obesity and PCa including higher estradiol, insulin, free IGF-1, and leptin levels, and lower free testosterone and adiponectin levels, all of which may promote more aggressive cancers. Conclusions The association between obesity and PCa is complex. Emerging data suggest obesity increases the risk of aggressive cancer, while simultaneously decreasing the risk of more indolent disease. This is likely driven by both "biological" and "nonbiological" causes. Simple changes in clinical practice patterns can reduce the impact of nonbiological causes and may help improve PCa outcomes among obese men.
Growing Dendrites and Axons Differ in Their Reliance on the Secretory Pathway

Little is known about how the distinct architectures of dendrites and axons are established. From a genetic screen, we isolated dendritic arbor reduction (dar) mutants with reduced dendritic arbors but normal axons of Drosophila neurons. We identified dar2, dar3, and dar6 genes as the homologs of Sec23, Sar1, and Rab1 of the secretory pathway. In both Drosophila and rodent neurons, defects in Sar1 expression preferentially affected dendritic growth, revealing evolutionarily conserved difference between dendritic and axonal development in the sensitivity to limiting membrane supply from the secretory pathway. Whereas limiting ER-to-Golgi transport resulted in decreased membrane supply from soma to dendrites, membrane supply to axons remained sustained. We also show that dendritic growth is contributed by Golgi outposts, which are found predominantly in dendrites. The distinct dependence between dendritic and axonal growth on the secretory pathway helps to establish different morphology of dendrites and axons.
The Mental Health of Homeless Children

The literature addressing the mental health of homeless children is critically reviewed. Higher rates of behavioral, emotional, and cognitive problems have been reported for this population, but research results are qualified by significant methodological problems. Minimal attention has been given to the development and evaluation of specific intervention and prevention strategies. Recommendations are made for conducting research that will overcome previous methodological problems and focus more directly on identifying risk and protective mechanisms within the population of children exposed to homelessness.
A survey of quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

In the past decade Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have become a topic of interest in many research organizations. UAVs are finding applications in various areas ranging from military applications to traffic surveillance. This paper is a survey for a certain kind of UAV called quadrotor or quadcopter. Researchers are frequently choosing quadrotors for their research because a quadrotor can accurately and efficiently perform tasks that would be of high risk for a human pilot to perform. This paper encompasses the dynamic models of a quadrotor and the different model-dependent and model-independent control techniques and their comparison. Recently, focus has shifted to designing autonomous quadrotors. A summary of the various localization and navigation techniques has been given. Lastly, the paper investigates the potential applications of quadrotors and their role in multi-agent systems.
Feasibility of hydrogen production in a steam-carbon electrochemical cell

Abstract A high temperature electrochemical cell with a bed of solid carbon at the anode and steam at the cathode is proposed for carbon-assisted hydrogen production. This scheme eliminates the uphill potential barrier and provides a significant reduction in the required electrical work input to produce hydrogen from steam. The electrochemical cell is made of an yttria stabilized zirconia electrolyte with porous platinum electrodes. Current–voltage measurements and gas chromatographic analysis indicate steam utilization and production of carbon-free hydrogen. Measured open circuit potentials of 0.1–0.6 V agree with theoretical values. This downhill driving force allows for spontaneous hydrogen production and cogeneration of electricity.
System Analysis of Thermochemical-Based Biorefineries for Co-Production of Hydrogen and Electricity

Fuels derived from biomass feedstocks are a particularly attractive energy resource pathway given their inherent advantages of energy security via domestic fuel crop production and their renewable status. However, there are numerous questions regarding how to optimally produce, distribute, and utilize biofuels such that they are economically, energetically, and environmentally sustainable. Comparative analyses of two conceptual 2000 tonne/day thermochemical-based biorefineries are performed to explore the effects of emerging technologies on process efficiencies. System models of the biorefineries, created using ASPEN Plus®, include all primary process steps required to convert a biomass feedstock into hydrogen, including gasification, gas cleanup and conditioning, hydrogen purification, and thermal integration. The biorefinery concepts studied herein are representative of ‘near-term’ (ca. 2015) and ‘future’ (ca. 2025) plants. The ‘near-term’ plant design serves as a baseline concept and incorporates currently available commercial technologies for all non-gasifier processes. The ‘future’ plant design employs emerging gas cleaning and conditioning technologies for both tar and sulfur removal unit operations. Gasifier technology employed in these analyses is centered on directly-heated, oxygen-blown, fluidized-bed systems. Selection of the gasifier pressurizing agent (CO2 v. N2 ) is found to be a key factor in achieving high hydrogen production efficiency. Efficiency gains of 8-percentage points appear possible with CO2 capture using Selexol or Rectisol-type processes. A 25% increase in electric power production is observed for the ‘future’ case over the baseline configuration due to improved thermal integration while realizing an overall plant efficiency improvement of 2 percentage points. Exergy analysis reveals the largest inefficiencies are associated with the (i) gasification, (ii) steam and power production, and (iii) gas cleanup and purification processes.© 2010 ASME
5-HT2A receptor-stimulated phosphoinositide hydrolysis in the stimulus effects of hallucinogens

The role of 5-HT2A-mediated stimulation of phosphoinositide hydrolysis in the discriminative effects of hallucinogens was investigated in PC12 cells stably expressing the rat 5-HT2A receptor (PC12-5-HT2A cells). The hallucinogenic compounds, D-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), (-)2,5-dimethoxy-4-methylamphetamine (DOM), psilocybin, N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (MDMT) and N,N-diethyltryptamine (DET), all caused a concentration-dependent increase in the generation of [3H]inositol phosphates. The nonhallucinogenic compounds, 6-fluoro-N,N-diethyltryptamine (6-F-DET), lisuride and quipazine, also displayed significant efficacy in stimulating phosphoinositide hydrolysis, while 2-bromo-lysergic acid diethylamide (BOL), which is not a hallucinogen, did not alter inositol phosphate generation. The beta-carbolines, harmaline and harmane, also did not alter phosphoinositide hydrolysis. Comparison of these results with previous drug discrimination studies indicated the apparent lack of correlation between the degree of substitution in LSD- and DOM-trained animals and efficacy in stimulating phosphoinositide hydrolysis. The present study indicates that 5-HT2A-mediated stimulation of phosphoinositide hydrolysis does not appear to be the sole critical signaling mechanism involved in the discriminative effects of hallucinogens.
Lattice dynamics of the ferroelectric transition in lead hydrogen phosphate

Abstract The Raman spectrum of ferroelectric PbHPO4 (TC ≈ 310K) has been measured at temperatures between 10 and 320 K. The frequencies, linewidths and intensities of the hard modes show no drastic change at TC . From a self-energy model analysis, the low-frequency Raman spectrum provides evidence for two temperature-dependent components; a resonance-like soft mode and another mode at very low frequency. A direct comparison with structural data shows that the frequency and the intensity of the soft mode are directly related to the heavy-atom displacement. The low-frequency wing may correspond to the proton soft mode predicted by theory.
Implications of a pre-existing tumor hypoxic fraction on photodynamic therapy☆

Abstract The presence of oxygen in tissue is a requirement for photodynamic therapy (PDT)-induced destruction of solid tumors, otherwise no cell death occurs. Since many tumors have been shown to have significant populations of hypoxic cells, it is of clinical interest to determine if pre-existing tumor hypoxia limits phototherapy. This question was examined using RIF tumors where tumor response to PDT of completely oxygenated tumors was compared to tumors with an induced hypoxic fraction. Tumor hypoxia was induced by using vasoactive drugs (epinephrine, chlorpromazine, or isoproterenol), given 30 min prior to PDT, or by a surgical method. PDT consisted of 5 mg/kg Photofrin II ip 24 hr prior to treatment and 135 J/cm2 630-nm light. The administration of the various vasoactive agents induced hypoxic fractions of 2.2 to 10%. The surgical method induced hypoxic fractions of 35%. Tumor response and cure in animals given vasoactive agents did not differ from controls, suggesting that low levels of pre-existing tumor hypoxia do not limit photodynamic therapy in this tumor model. Animals with tumors made hypoxic by a surgical method showed significantly reduced tumor response to PDT. Only 14% of these animals had tumors which became flat and necrotic by the day following PDT, compared to nearly 100% for animals given vasoactive drugs or controls. Furthermore, no tumor cure was observed in animals treated by this method. The higher level of tumor hypoxia in these animals likely represents one point where large proportions of PDT-resistant cells can survive after treatment. These data suggest that tumors with very high fractions of hypoxic cells may have a poor prognosis to PDT, and that low numbers of hypoxic cells do not necessarily limit tumor response and cure following PDT.
A filled duration illusion in music: Effects of metrical subdivision on the perception and production of beat tempo.

This study replicates and extends previous findings suggesting that metrical subdivision slows the perceived beat tempo (Repp, 2008). Here, musically trained participants produced the subdivisions themselves and were found to speed up, thus compensating for the perceived slowing. This was shown in a synchronization-continuation paradigm (Experiment 1) and in a reproduction task (Experiment 2a). Participants also judged the tempo of a subdivided sequence as being slower than that of a preceding simple beat sequence (Experiment 2b). Experiment 2 also included nonmusician participants, with similar results. Tempo measurements of famous pianists’ recordings of two variation movements from Beethoven sonatas revealed a strong tendency to play the first variation (subdivided beats) faster than the theme (mostly simple beats). A similar tendency was found in musicians’ laboratory performances of a simple theme and variations, despite instruc-tions to keep the tempo constant (Experiment 3a). When playing melodic sequences in which only one of three beats per measure was subdivided, musicians tended to play these beats faster and to perceive them as longer than adjacent beats, and they played the whole sequence faster than a sequence without any subdivisions (Experiments 3b and 3c). The results amply demonstrate a filled duration illusion in rhythm perception and music performance: Intervals containing events seem longer than empty intervals and thus must be shortened to be perceived as equal in duration.
Balloon-Based Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation With Contura™: Comparison Between Conventional TG-43 and Brachyvision Acuros™ Dose Calculation Methods

Balloon-Based Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation With Contura : Comparison Between Conventional TG-43 and Brachyvision Acuros Dose Calculation Methods Ruben Ter-Antonyan, PhD, Paul W. Read, MD, PhD, Bernard F. Schneider, MD, PhD, Anneke T. Schroen, MD, MPH, Stanley H. Benedict, PhD, Bruce P. Libby, PhD. Radiation Oncology, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA; Surgery, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, VA.
The expansion of a plasma into a vacuum - Basic phenomena and processes and applications to space plasma physics

In this review attention is called to basic phenomena and physical processes involved in the expansion of a plasma into a vacuum, or the expansion of a plasma into a more tenuous plasma, in particular the fact that upon the expansion, ions are accelerated and reach energies well above their thermal energy. Also, in the process of the expansion a rarefaction wave propagates into the ambient plasma, an ion front moves into the expansion volume, and discontinuities in plasma parameters occur. The physical processes which cause the above phenomena are discussed, and their possible application is suggested for the case of the distribution of ions and electrons (hence plasma potential and electric fields) in the wake region behind artificial and natural obstacles moving supersonically in a rarefied space plasma. To illustrate this, some in situ results are reexamined. Directions for future work in this area via the utilization of the Space Shuttle and laboratory work are also mentioned.
Clinical significance of hematologic parameters in non‐Hodgkin's lymphoma at diagnosis

Three hundred seventeen patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) (54 low grade, 180 intermediate grade, 76 high grade, and seven unclassified) treated with chemotherapy were evaluated for the presence of hematologic abnormalities at diagnostic staging. Anemia was present in 42%, leukopenia in 6%, thrombocytopenia in 13%, leukocytosis in 26%, and thrombocytosis in 14% at presentation. The presence of bone marrow involvement by lymphoma was more likely to be associated with leukopenia and thrombocytopenia than the absence of bone marrow involvement. Although anemia was slightly more common in patients with bone marrow lymphoma than in those without marrow lymphoma, the difference was not statistically significant. Hematologic parameters were similar for patients with B-cell or T-cell lymphoma. Evidence of bone marrow failure with multiple cytopenias was present in 26 patients (8%). Leukoerythroblastosis was present in 2%. Circulating lymphoma was present in 9.5%. Anemic patients had a shorter survival time than nonanemic patients, whether bone marrow was involved by lymphoma or not. Survival was not affected by the presence of leukopenia or mild leukocytosis, but, in patients without marrow lymphoma, leukocytosis with a leukocyte count greater than 20 x 10(9)/l was associated with short survival length. Thrombocytopenia was associated with short survival time only in patients with bone marrow involvement by lymphoma. Patients with multiple cytopenias or leukoerythroblastosis had short survival times, but the presence of circulating lymphoma did not alter survival when compared with other patients with bone marrow involvement by lymphoma. These data suggest that hematologic evaluation at the time of diagnostic staging of NHL provides useful prognostic information that may have therapeutic implications.
Possibilities of using simultaneous ion-induced nuclear and atomic activation for the characterization of hair

The possibility of a simultaneous determination of low and medium Z elements in hair in a single ion beam exposure was studied. Different ion beams, proton, deuteron,3He and18O, at velocities ranging from 2.7–6.9 MeV/amu were investigated. In this work,188O4+ beam was found to give the best experimental condition in terms of sensitivity and number of elements detected. The detection limits in a single hair ranged from 2.9·10−5 μg for Fe to 0.72 μg for H using this beam.
The Formation of Epoxides from Reactions of Oxametallacycles on Ag(110): A Density Functional Theory Study

Density functional theory (DFT) cluster calculations have been used to investigate the interaction of various oxametallacycle intermediates with the Ag(110) surface, with an emphasis on connecting oxametallacycle structure to the mechanism of olefin epoxidation. These studies indicate that two types of oxametallacycle structures may be formed on Ag(110): the OMME structure, which incorporates a silver dimer in the oxametallacycle ring, and the OME structure, which incorporates a single silver atom. Although OMME-type intermediates are calculated to be more thermodynamically stable for monofunctional epoxides (such as ethylene oxide), transition-state calculations suggest that OME oxametallacycles may be more likely structures along the reaction coordinate for olefin epoxidation. OME structures have also been identified as likely intermediates in the synthesis of multifunctional epoxide molecules such as 1-epoxy-3-butene (EpB). In these cases, the extra functional group can also bind to the surface to inc...