cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A comparison of EUS features between CD-117 positive GI stromal tumors and CD-117 negative GI spindle cell tumors

Background: GI stromal tumors are spindle cell tumors that stain positive for immunohistochemical CD-117 (c-kit). Prognostic factors for malignancy include size (≥4 cm), mitotic index (5 mitotic figures/50 high-powered fields), and ulcerated, cystic, or necrotic areas within the tumor. The purpose of this study was to compare these features in c-kit positive vs. c-kit negative tumors. Methods: All patients referred for EUS of submucosal lesions were identified, and histopathology, including immunohistochemical staining, was reviewed to determine all diagnoses of GI stromal tumors. Size, echo pattern, and presence of cystic spaces and ulceration were recorded as diagnosed by EUS. Histopathologic diagnoses were made by FNA or endoscopic submucosal-mucosal resection. If surgical resection followed, the surgical diagnosis, staining pattern, mitotic index, and presence of ulceration, necrosis, and nuclear atypia were recorded. Results: Forty patients (21 men, 19 women; 38 white, 2 African American; mean age 58±2.6 years) had 46 EUS procedures performed for evaluation of spindle cell tumors. Seventeen stained positive for c-kit (mean age, 59±3.6 years; range 19 to 80 years) and 12 negative (mean age, 57±3.8 years; range 31 to 76 years); 11 were not stained for c-kit (excluded from analysis). On EUS, 7 were ulcerated, 3 cystic, and 6 were larger than 4 cm. This group of findings was observed in 12 patients, 11 of whom had c-kit positive tumors (11/17 vs. 1/12; p =0.006). Tumors positive for c-kit were larger (42.4±5.5 mm vs. 19.0±5.9 mm; p =0.005). There were 13 c-kit positive tumors in the stomach, 2 in the duodenum, and 1 each in the esophagus and at the gastroesophageal junction. Of the 12 c-kit negative tumors, 8 were located in the esophagus and 1 at the gastroesophageal junction (9/12 vs. 2/17; p Conclusions: If a GI stromal tumor is suspected, EUS-FNA with immunohistochemical staining should be performed for CD-117 (c-kit). C-kit tumors are more likely to have malignant features and should be resected or subjected to close clinical follow-up.
Advances in the management of anorectal malformations

Abstract Background: Anorectal malformations represent a continuing challenge for the pediatric surgeon. A significant number of these children suffer from fecal incontinence, urinary incontinence, and sexual inadequacy. However, major advances in the management of these children have occurred during the last 10 years. The posterior sagittal approach has led to a better understanding of the internal anatomy of these defects, and in turn, a more rational way to manage the patients. We present here our experience with the long-term follow-up of a large series of these patients operated on by us. Methods: Clinical information from our database of patients with anorectal malformations was retrospectively reviewed. A total of 1,192 patients operated on by the authors and observed for the last 19 years are included in the database. We searched for type of malformation, associated defects, results in terms of voluntary bowel movements, soiling, constipation, and urinary control. Results: Globally, 75% of all patients have voluntary bowel movements. Half of this group still soils their underwear occasionally. Therefore, about 37.5% of all cases are considered totally continent. Constipation was the most common sequelae. Urinary incontinence was relatively common after the repair of cloacas. Male patients rarely suffered from urinary incontinence. Twenty-five percent of all cases suffered from fecal incontinence but they significantly improved their quality of life when subjected to a bowel management program. An operation called “continent appendicostomy” further improved their quality of life. Conclusion: All patients born with anorectal malformations can be kept clean of stool and dry of urine, either because they achieve bowel control or because they are subjected to a bowel management program.
The return: Russia's journey from Gorbachev to Medvedev

The return: Russia's journey from Gorbachev to Medvedev, by Daniel Treisman, New York, Free Press, 2011, 544 pp., $30.00 (hardback), ISBN 1416560718 Gorbachev, Yeltsin, Putin, Medvedev, perestroika...
Analysis of Fuel Ethanol Plant Liquor with the Composition Explicit Distillation Curve Method

Although the use of ethanol and ethanol blends as motor fuels dates back to the earliest vehicles, ethanol has recently received extraordinary attention as a renewable liquid fuel. In the United States, the application of this fluid is mainly as an additive used to lower emissions (carbon monoxide and ozone), enhance antiknock index, and to extend gasoline stock. Elsewhere, such as in Brazil, mandated use raises ethanol to the level of a primary motor fuel. A major barrier to increased application of ethanol is the cost relative to gasoline, something that can be addressed to some extent by processing improvements, especially the distillation steps. Such improvements are not possible without the infrastructure of sound thermophysical property measurements, especially the distillation curves of the major plant streams. In this paper, we present the results of measurements made with the advanced distillation curve technique applied to five different process streams of a Brazilian ethanol plant. The advanced...
Chaotic signals and systems for communications

The authors propose and demonstrate two approaches to communications based on synchronized chaotic signals and systems. In the first approach, a chaotic masking signal is added at the transmitter and regenerated and subtracted at the receiver. The second approach utilizes modulation of the coefficients of the chaotic system in the transmitter and corresponding detection of synchronization error in the receiver to transmit binary-valued bit streams. Both approaches are demonstrated using a transmitter circuit with dynamics that are governed by the chaotic Lorenz system. A synchronizing receiver circuit which exploits the ideas of synchronized chaotic systems is used for signal recovery. >
Maintaining theophylline compliance/adherence in severely asthmatic children: the role of psychologic functioning of the child and family.

Background: Noncompliance with asthma therapy by asthmatic children and their families is a common cause of treatment failure. Psychologic factors have been reported to influence adherence patterns. Objective: To evaluate the relationship of psychologic function of severely asthmatic children and families with theophylline compliance during a 1-year follow-up period after inpatient asthma rehabilitation. Method: Thirty-seven severely asthmatic children with a median age of 9 years (range, 2 to 17 years) were treated in an inpatient rehabilitation program (median, 15 days). Established clinical rating scales of psychologic adjustment were used for children (Child Global Assessment Scale) and families (Family Global Assessment Scale) at the time of admission. Patients were defined as noncompliant if 30% or more of theophylline levels obtained during the 1-year follow-up period were less than 5m g/L (mol/L). Results: Compliant children had higher scores on the Child Global Assessment Scale than noncompliant children (64 versus 48, P .09). Families of compliant children had significantly higher scores on the Family Global Assessment Scale than did families with noncompliant children (63 versus 54, P .05). There was no statistical relationship between compliance status and parent-reported behavior problems, demographic factors (age, race, sex, and number of parents at home), health insurance, specialty referral at admission, measures of medical morbidity (days hospitalized, number of emergency care visits, and number of corticosteroid bursts), or length of rehabilitation stay. Both compliant and noncompliant children had comparable reductions in morbidity (hospital and emergency care, number of corticosteroid bursts required). Conclusion: Psychologic functioning of the child and family may be related to theophylline compliance. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 1997;79:311–8.
Photoionization and excitation energies of an Al atom in ArN clusters

Photoionization measurements on Al · ArN clusters (N < 150) in a cold cluster beam have been used to determine ionization threshold energies El, th(N) of the metal atom in a variable-size dielectric medium. The El, th(N) values descend from the atomic value [5.99 eV (1 eV ≈ 1.602 × 10–19 J)] to below 5.5 eV near N≈ 55. The El, th(N) functional form is compared to dielectric continuum predictions and to N-specific Monte Carlo calculations incorporating polarization and model-potential interactions. Satisfactory agreement is obtained when a strong neutral Al–Ar interaction is assumed. Measurements of the slow fragmentation probability indicate that near-threshold ionization of smaller clusters (N < 25) produces negligible fragmentation, resulting in N-specific threshold measurements. Comparison of neutral cluster distributions, measured by threshold photoionization to the corresponding cold Al+·ArN distribution (produced in the source) supports a predominant charge-invariance of the icosahedral-based structures, also found in Monte Carlo simulations. By contrast, photo-absorption spectra in bound states, as exemplified by R2PI spectra of the Al 3p → 4s transition, exhibit only a small fraction (ca. 0.12 eV) of the bulk shift (ca. 0.6 eV). This result may be partly explicable in terms of the distinction between sudden and adiabatic polarization energies in the two experiments.
Una obra en Valparaíso

Mirando Valparaiso desde una perspectiva reflexiva, se hace hincapie en las diferentes lecturas que se pueden tener de una misma obra. La relacion de la obra con el tejido urbano y con el legado patrimonial, y su buena factura estan presentes en el relato.
Parallel, fragmented, or black? Defining market structure in developing economies

Abstract In describing market structure, development economists employ such terms as fragmented, informal, parallel and segmented to account for the observed distributions of prices of both goods and factors. Although these terms are used interchangeably, do they mean the same thing? Focusing on the parallel markets approach, the paper identifies government policies which create excess demand or supply in particular markets as the core determinant of the emergence of an official/unofficial market structure. The legality of unofficial transactions proves critical in assessing the consequences of the parallel market situation. Contrasting alternative characterizations of market structure, the paper concludes that the parallel market is a distinct analytical concept.
Timing of colonic necrosis in hemolytic uremic syndrome

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) consists of an acute onset of microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and renal dysfunction. HUS-associated colitis can be seen in up to 100% of patients and is usually associated with severe abdominal pain and distention. Colonic perforation is a complication of HUS that has a reported incidence of 1%-2%, and although there are several case reports in the literature describing perforation of the colon, it is still very difficult to discern the abdominal symptoms associated with HUS colitis from perforation. Four cases of colonic perforation are reported here from a consecutive series of 57 patients, in which a trend in the length of time from the onset of symptoms of HUS to colonic perforation was determined. A review of the literature for cases of HUS-associated colonic perforation was also performed. The time from the onset of HUS symptoms to colonic perforation in our series was similar to that found in the literature review (11 +/- 5 vs 14 +/- 8 days). Awareness that this complication has a tendency to occur towards the end of the 2nd week during the course of HUS is essential to avoid an unnecessary and untimely surgical intervention.
Thermal stabilization of antithrombin III by sugars and sugar derivatives and the effects on nonenzymatic glycosylation

Abstract A variety of neutral and acidic sugars and related compounds were evaluated in terms of their effect on the midpoint, T d , of the thermal denaturation curve of antithrombin III. The objectives were to determine which structural features of these molecules are responsible for their stabilizing properties and to identify more efficient stabilizers which combine the effects of lyotropic anions such as citrate with those of the polyols in a single molecule. The presence of one or more carboxylate groups in a sugar molecule invariably increased its stabilizing potency, whereas the number and position of hydroxyl groups appeared to have no influence on the molecules' stabilizing ability. Several compounds were shown to be effective in preserving antithrombin III activity during pasteurization for 10 h at 60°C. However, the presence of reducing sugars invariably resulted in a decrease in activity following pasteurization, in spite of their ablity to increase T d . In fact, when antithrombin III was pasteurized in the presence of 2 M glucose and 0.5 M citrate, it steadily losts its ability to inhibit thrombin even though T d under the conditions was 10°C higher than in citrate alone where activity was preserved. This effect was shown to be coincident with the covalent incorporation of glucose into the protein molecule.
High-Energy Reactions and the Evidence for Correlations in the Nuclear Ground-State Wave Function

High-energy nuclear reactions which depend strongly on nucleon position correlations in the nuclear ground state are analyzed and shown to give evidence for the existence of marked correlation effects. The following high-energy experiments are considered: nuclear photoeffect, meson absorption in nuclei, deuteron pickup, proton-proton scattering in a nucleus, and meson production in proton-nucleus collisions. The corresponding cross sections depend on a nucleon momentum distribution which can be represented at high energies by a single function giving reasonable agreement with all the experiments considered. This momomentum distribution differs substantially from that for the shell model of the nucleus and thus provides strong evidence for correlation in the nuclear ground-state wave function.The transformation methods developed in previous papers are used to provide a unified theory of the above five processes. The momentum distribution predicted by this theory is estimated by two methods each of which gives close agreement with the experimentally determined function in the relevant energy ranges.
Efficiency, Privacy, and Security Analysis of Ubiquitous Systems in the Retail Industry

The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tagging technology is being implemented by many businesses for production efficiency, logistics planning, supply-chain management, and other business related operations. However, there have been several implementation and control issues with the pervasiveness of this technology. This paper analyzes the security and privacy issues with the use of RFID in the commercial industry. It proceeds to assess the challenges with industry standardization among the RFID manufacturers at both the national and international borders. The Wal-Mart company is then used as a case study to assess its strategic use of RFID technology and its advantageously competitive positioning in light of its RFID technological renovation.
Perceptions of sexual harassment in an academic context

This study assessed the influence of two subject variables, gender and gender role, and one contextual variable, power of the harasser, on perceptions of sexual harassment in an academic context. Fifty-one white males and 73 white females evaluated a series of vignettes depicting a range of behavioral interactions. When the harasser was a higher power individual, vignettes were more likely to be viewed as examples of sexual harassment, male characters were perceived more negatively, and female characters were perceived more favorably. Female respondents rated the male characters less favorably than did the male respondents, although there were no gender differences in the number of vignettes interpreted as sexual harassment. Subtle differences in the way males and females interpret harassment behaviors are examined and discussed.
Transient cerebral ischemia increases CA1 pyramidal neuron excitability

In human and experimental animals, the hippocampal CA1 region is one of the most vulnerable areas of the brain to ischemia. Pyramidal neurons in this region die 2-3 days after transient cerebral ischemia whereas other neurons in the same region remain intact. The mechanisms underlying the selective and delayed neuronal death are unclear. We tested the hypothesis that there is an increase in post-synaptic intrinsic excitability of CA1 pyramidal neurons after ischemia that exacerbates glutamatergic excitotoxicity. We performed whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in brain slices obtained 24 h after in vivo transient cerebral ischemia. We found that the input resistance and membrane time constant of the CA1 pyramidal neurons were significantly increased after ischemia, indicating an increase in neuronal excitability. This increase was associated with a decrease in voltage sag, suggesting a reduction of the hyperpolarization-activated non-selective cationic current (I(h)). Moreover, after blocking I(h) with ZD7288, the input resistance of the control neurons increased to that of the post-ischemia neurons, suggesting that a decrease in I(h) contributes to increased excitability after ischemia. Finally, when lamotrigine, an enhancer of dendritic I(h), was applied immediately after ischemia, there was a significant attenuation of CA1 cell loss. These data suggest that an increase in CA1 pyramidal neuron excitability after ischemia may exacerbate cell loss. Moreover, this dendritic channelopathy may be amenable to treatment.
Fatty acid modulation of tumor cell-platelet-vessel wall interaction.

Prostaglandins and other eicosanoids have been studied extensively in their physical, biochemical, biophysical and pharmacological aspects. However, studies on their role in tumor progression, especially metastases are relatively recent. Following a brief overview of the history of discovery and metabolism of eicosanoids and other fatty acids, we discuss the functions of these fatty acids (with emphasis on prostacyclin, thromboxane A2, 12-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid and 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid) in cell transformation, tumor promotion and particularly in tumor cell metastasis. The relation between these monohydroxy fatty acids and tumor cell metastasis is discussed from three different perspectives, i.e., their effects on tumor cells, on platelets and on endothelial cells. The mechanism of these effects are then addressed at cell adhesion molecule, motility, protease, cell cytoskeleton, protein kinase and eicosanoid receptor levels. Finally, regulation of three key enzymes which generate eicosanoids (phospholipase, prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase and lipoxygenase) is explored.
Organizational Change Management in Russia

Greiner′s developmental model of organizational change is applied to the organized Soviet political economy of the twentieth century. This description of the managerial crises inherent in each period provides a surprisingly apt metaphor. Recent responses to Gorbachev′s use of the collaborative management style suggest additional evolutionary crises not described in the original model.
Potential-reduction methods in mathematical programming

We provide a survey of interior-point methods for linear programming and its extensions that are based on reducing a suitable potential function at each iteration. We give a fairly complete overview of potential-reduction methods for linear programming, focusing on the possibility of taking long steps and the properties of the barrier function that are necessary for the analysis. We then describe briefly how the methods and results can be extended to certain convex programming problems, following the approach of Nesterov and Todd. We conclude with some open problems.
Postoperative Evaluation of Mitral Valve Function in Ostium Primum Defect with Cleft Mitral Valve (Partial Form of Atrioventricular Canal)

Postoperative cardiovascular studies were carried out in eight patients with ostium primum defect and cleft mitral valve. Apical systolic murmurs were present in all patients, but in seven of them no mitral regurgitation was detected by pulmonary wedge pressure and left ventricular angiography. Surgical repair of the cleft anterior leaflet without resection of subjacent chordae tendineae, as performed in these patients, usually results in a competent mitral valve. Postoperative angiograms showed persistence of the characteristic preoperative deformity of the medial border of the left ventricular outflow tract especially in systole. As illustrated in one of these patients, subaortic obstruction occasionally complicates abnormalities of the atrioventricular valves.
Information awareness: a prospective technical assessment

Recent proposals to apply data mining systems to problems in law enforcement, national security, and fraud detection have attracted both media attention and technical critiques of their expected accuracy and impact on privacy. Unfortunately, the majority of technical critiques have been based on simplistic assumptions about data, classifiers, inference procedures, and the overall architecture of such systems. We consider these critiques in detail, and we construct a simulation model that more closely matches realistic systems. We show how both the accuracy and privacy impact of a hypothetical system could be substantially improved, and we discuss the necessary and sufficient conditions for this improvement to be achieved. This analysis is neither a defense nor a critique of any particular system concept. Rather, our model suggests alternative technical designs that could mitigate some concerns, but also raises more specific conditions that must be met for such systems to be both accurate and socially desirable.
Reaction of alkenes and dienes with t-butylmagnesium halides and zirconocene dihalides. A convenient procedure for hydrozirconation and a novel t-butylzirconation of conjugated alkenes

Abstract The reaction of nonconjugated monosubstituted alkenes with t-BuMgCl and Cl2ZrCp2 at room temperature produces the corresponding monoalkylzirconium derivatives in high yields, while conjugated alkenes undergo either a novel t-butylzirconation or hydrozirconation depending on the reaction conditions.
Ventilating attics to minimize icings at eaves

Abstract In cold regions, icicles and ice dams may develop on roofs that slope to cold eaves. Ventilating the space below the snow-covered roof with outdoor air to create a ‘cold’ ventilated roof is often an effective way to avoid such problems. Several buildings in northern New York were instrumented to determine how their attic temperature influenced icing. We observed that problematic icings developed very slowly, if at all, when the outside temperature was above −5.5 °C. It appears that icings can be avoided by sizing natural, and if necessary, mechanical attic ventilation systems to maintain an attic temperature of −1 °C when the outside temperature is −5.5 °C.
Noninvasive identification of a high risk subset of patients with acute inferior myocardial infarction

Abstract Although S-T segment depression of various degrees is known to occur in the precordial electrocardiogram of patients with acute inferior myocardial infarction its prognostic significance is unknown. Left ventricular ejection fraction and regional wall motion were therefore measured noninvaslvely with radionucilde ventriculography and related to the electrocardiographic changes within 48 hours of the onset of acute transmural inferior infarction in 44 patients who had had no previous infarction. The mean ejection fraction of 0.45 ± 0.13 (standard deviation) in Group A (24 patients with greater than 1 mm S-T segment depression in at least two of six precordial leads) was lower (p The overall data indicate that patients with inferior wall infarction who have associated precordial S-T segment depression have greater global and regional left ventricular dysfunction presumably due to associated ischemia or infarction in areas remote from the inferior wall and they have relatively high in-hospital mortality and morbidity rates. Early noninvasive detection of this high risk subset may permit the testing of aggresive modes of therapy designed to limit the extent of myocardial ischemic damage with resultant decrease in mortality and morbidity.
The role of prothrombin complex concentrates in reversal of target specific anticoagulants

Over the past several years a new era for patients requiring anticoagulation has arrived. The approval of new target specific oral anticoagulants offers practitioners several advantages over traditionally used vitamin K antagonist agents including predictable pharmacokinetics, rapid onset of action, comparable efficacy and safety, all without the need for routine monitoring. Despite these benefits, hemorrhagic complicates are inevitable with any anticoagulation treatment. One of the major disadvantages of the new oral anticoagulants is lack of specific antidotes or reversal agents for patients with serious bleeding or need for urgent surgery. As use of the new target specific oral anticoagulants continues to increase, practitioners will need to understand both the pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetic properties of the agents, as well as, the available literature with use of non-specific therapies to reverse anticoagulation. Four factor prothrombin complex concentrates have been available for several years in Europe, and recently became available in the United States with approval of Kcentra. These products have shown efficacy in reversing anticoagulation from vitamin K antagonists, however their usefulness with the new target specific oral anticoagulants is poorly understood. This article will review the properties of dabigatran, rivaroxaban and apixaban, as well as the limited literature available on the effectiveness of prothrombin complex concentrates in reversal of their anticoagulant effects. Additional studies are needed to more accurately define the role of prothrombin complex concentrates in patients with life threatening bleeding or who require emergent surgery, as current data is both limited and conflicting.
Real-time performance controllers for synthesized singing

A wide variety of singing synthesis models and methods exist, but there are remarkably few real-time controllers for these models. This paper describes a variety of devices developed over the last few years for controlling singing synthesis models implemented in the Synthesis Toolkit in C++ (STK), Max/MSP, and ChucK. All of the controllers share some common features, such as air-pressure sensing for breathing and/or loudness control, means to control pitch, and methods for selecting and blending phonemes, diphones, and words. However, the form factors, sensors, mappings, and algorithms vary greatly between the different controllers.
A neural network that embeds its own meta-levels

A recurrent neural network is presented which (in principle) can, besides learning to solve problems posed by the environment, also use its own weights as input data and learn new (arbitrarily complex) algorithms for modifying its own weights in response to the environmental input and evaluations. The network uses subsets of its input and output units for observing its own errors and for explicitly analysing and manipulating all of its own weights, including those weights responsible for analyzing and manipulating weights. This effectively embeds a chain of meta-networks and meta-meta-. . .-networks into the network itself. >
The effect of feeder space allocation on productivity and physiology of Hy-Line W-36 hens housed in conventional cages

Insufficient feeder space for laying hens could increase competition at the feed trough, leading to disrupted feeding, inadequate nutrient intake, stress, and reduced productivity. The effects of feeder space allocation (FSA) on physiology and productivity were evaluated in beak-trimmed Hy-Line W-36 hens (n=480). They were obtained at 16.5 wk of age and housed on 4 tiers of shallow conventional cages. Five pullets/cage were housed at a stocking density of 434 cm2/hen and a feeder space of 12.2 cm/hen. After 1.5 wk of acclimation, baseline measurements were taken for feed utilization, bone mineralization, and heterophil:lymphocyte ratios. At 20 wk of age, pullets were given 5.8, 7.1, 8.4, 9.7, 10.9, or 12.2 cm of feeder space/bird (16 cages/treatment). Physiological and production measures were calculated monthly or twice a month for 12 mo. The heart, spleen, and right adrenal gland were collected from each hen at the end of the study. Data were analyzed using a repeated measures GLM incorporating cage, tier, FSA, and hen age. There were no effects of FSA on total egg production, bone mineral density, bone mineral content, heterophil:lymphocyte ratios, or organ weights. Hens with reduced FSA utilized more feed (P 0.05). Because BW was similar among FSA treatments, the results suggest that reduced feeder space did not limit feed intake. In addition, reduced FSA did not lower bone mineralization or cause physiological stress in W-36 hens housed in shallow cages, suggesting that it did not impair hen welfare. However, it did result in poorer feed efficiency, possibly related to greater feed wastage, predictive of an adverse economic effect from reducing feeder space.
Highest-Quality Modes in Disordered Photonic Crystals

We studied the modes of the highest-quality factor Qm in disordered photonic crystals. By varying the strength of disorder, we identified five different scaling regimes of the ensemble averagedkQml with the system size. For sufficiently large systems, kQml reaches the maximum at some finite degree of disorder, where its value is comparable to the quality factor of an intentionally introduced single defect at the center of a photonic band gap. Near this optimal degree of disorder, we predict a superexponential increase of kQml with the system size, due to migration of the frequencies of the highest-quality modes toward the photonic band-gap center. Our result may lead to the design and fabrication of ultralow-threshold random laser.
In Vivo Manganese–MR Imaging of Calcium Influx in Spontaneous Rat Pituitary Adenoma

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Rapid uptake of the calcium analog manganese (Mn 2+ ) into spontaneous pituitary adenoma during MR imaging of aged rats generated the hypothesis that neuroendocrine tumors may have a corresponding increase in calcium influx required to trigger hormonal release. A goal of this study was to investigate the potential for clinical evaluation of pituitary adenoma by MR imaging combined with administration of Mn 2+ (Mn-MR imaging). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mn-MR imaging was used to characterize the dynamic calcium influx in normal aged rat pituitary gland as well as spontaneous pituitary adenoma. To confirm the validity of Mn 2+ as a calcium analog, we inhibited Mn 2+ uptake into the olfactory bulb and pituitary gland of normal rats by using the calcium channel blocker verapamil. Rats with adenomas received fluorodeoxyglucose–positron-emission tomography (FDG-PET) scanning for characterization of tumor metabolism. Mn 2+ influx was characterized in cultured pituitary adenoma cells. RESULTS: Volume of interest analysis of the normal aged pituitary gland versus adenoma indicated faster and increased calcium influx in adenoma at 1, 3, 11, and 48 hours. Mn 2+ uptake into the olfactory bulb and pituitary gland of normal rats was inhibited by calcium channel blockers and showed dose-dependent inhibition on dynamic MR imaging. FDG-PET indicated correlation between tumor energy metabolism and Mn 2+ influx as well as tumor size. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that adenomas have increased activity-dependent calcium influx compared with normal aged pituitary glands, suggesting a potential for exploitation in the clinical work-up of pituitary and other neuroendocrine tumors by developing Mn-MR imaging for humans.
Do Salmonella carry spare tyres

Salmonellae are enterobacteria that have the unique ability to change their flagellar composition by switching expression among two loci that encode the major flagellin protein. This property is not available to all Salmonella, but is species, subspecies and serotype specific. Curiously, the subsequent loss of the second locus in some lineages of Salmonella has apparently been tolerated and, indeed, has led to considerable success for some lineages. We discuss here an evolutionary model for maintenance of this unique function and the possible evolutionary advantages of loss or preservation of this mechanism. We hypothesize that the second flagellin locus is a genetic 'spare tyre' used in particular environmental circumstances.
College Students' Value Structure of Choosing and Using Mobile Health/Wellness Applications: Preliminary Findings

This work-in-progress poster reports on the preliminary findings regarding college students’ value structure of how to choose and utilize mobile health/wellness applications. We have conducted surveys and follow-up interviews with college students who have been using mobile health/wellness applications. In this poster, we analyzed the survey data from sixteen participants and the interview data from five participants (three females and two males). The analysis showed that the most important purposes of using mobile health/wellness applications for college students were recording and managing personal health information/records and keeping up with their fitness plans. For selection criteria, easy to navigate, easy to use, quality of content, customizability, and ratings from other users seemed to play the most important role in college students’ choices of certain mobile applications among alternatives.
Governance and institutional change in marine insurance, 1350–1850

This article explores the development and diusion of market governance institutions in the marine insurance industry as the practice of insurance spread from its early origins in medieval Italy throughout the Atlantic world. Informal governance mechanisms provided the foundation for the development of insurance law administered by specialist courts. Eorts to tax and regulate the industry frequently met with limited success, both because of interjurisdictional competition and because merchants and brokers could to some extent opt out of the formal system. The divergence in organizational form between Britain and other countries, brought about in part by Britain’s Bubble Act of 1720, illustrates the potential for path-dependent institutional change.
Thiol–enes: Chemistry of the past with promise for the future

The photopolymerization of mixtures of multifunctional thiols and enes is an efficient method for the rapid production of films and thermoset plastics with unprecedented physical and mechanical properties. One of the major obstacles in traditional free-radical photopolymerization is essentially eliminated in thiol–ene polymerizations because the polymerization occurs in air almost as rapidly as in an inert atmosphere. Virtually any type of ene will participate in a free-radical polymerization process with a multifunctional thiol. Hence, it is possible to tailor materials with virtually any combination of properties required for a particular application. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 5301–5338, 2004
Toward a Single Law Governing the International Sale of Goods--A Comparative Study

The proposed' Uniform Commercial Code-Sales2 was drafted to modernize the well-known and widely adopted Uniform Sales Act.3 Has this project a reasonable chance to succeed? Ought it to succeed? Would its success not impair uniformity in this field between the United States and other countries? Ought businessmen desire its enactment state by state or by the federal government? How will its provisions affect those of the international draft and international trade in general?
Handoff in wireless mobile networks

Mobility is the most important feature of a wireless cellular communication system. Usually, continuous service is achieved by supporting handoff (or handover) from one cell to another. Handoff is the process of changing the channel (frequency, time slot, spreading code, or combination of them) associated with the current connection while a call is in progress. It is often initiated either by crossing a cell boundary or by a deterioration in quality of the signal in the current channel. Handoff is divided into two broad categories— hard and soft handoffs. They are also characterized by “break before make” and “make before break.” In hard handoffs, current resources are released before new resources are used; in soft handoffs, both existing and new resources are used during the handoff process. Poorly designed handoff schemes tend to generate very heavy signaling traffic and, thereby, a dramatic decrease in quality of service (QoS). (In this chapter, a handoff is assumed to occur only at the cell boundary.) The reason why handoffs are critical in cellular communication systems is that neighboring cells are always using a disjoint subset of frequency bands, so negotiations must take place between the mobile station (MS), the current serving base station (BS), and the next potential BS. Other related issues, such as decision making and priority strategies during overloading, might influence the overall performance. In the next section, we introduce different types of possible handoffs. In Section 1.3, we describe different handoff initiation processes. The types of handoff decisions are briefly described in Section 1.4 and some selected representative handoff schemes are presented in Section 1.5. Finally, Section 1.6 summarizes the chapter.
Binding of HMG-I(Y) Imparts Architectural Specificity to a Positioned Nucleosome on the Promoter of the Human Interleukin-2 Receptor α Gene

Transcriptional induction of the interleukin-2 receptor alpha-chain (IL-2Ra) gene is a key event regulating T-cell-mediated immunity in mammals. In vivo, the T-cell-restricted protein Elf-1 and the general architectural transcription factor HMG-I(Y) cooperate in transcriptional regulation of the human IL-2Ra gene by binding to a specific positive regulatory region (PRRII) in its proximal promoter. Employing chromatin reconstitution analyses, we demonstrate that the binding sites for both HMG-I(Y) and Elf-1 in the PRRII element are incorporated into a strongly positioned nucleosome in vitro. A variety of analytical techniques was used to determine that a stable core particle is positioned over most of the PRRII element and that this nucleosome exhibits only a limited amount of lateral translational mobility. Regardless of its translational setting, the in vitro position of the nucleosome is such that DNA recognition sequences for both HMG-I(Y) and Elf-1 are located on the surface of the core particle. Restriction nuclease accessibility analyses indicate that a similarly positioned nucleosome also exists on the PRRII element in unstimulated lymphocytes when the IL-2Ra gene is silent and suggest that this core particle is remodeled following transcriptional activation of the gene in vivo. In vitro experiments employing the chemical cleavage reagent 1,10-phenanthroline copper (II) covalently attached to its C-terminal end demonstrate that HMG-I(Y) protein binds to the positioned PRRII nucleosome in a direction-specific manner, thus imparting a distinct architectural configuration to the core particle. Together, these findings suggest a role for the HMG-I(Y) protein in assisting the remodeling of a critically positioned nucleosome on the PRRII promoter element during IL-2Ra transcriptional activation in lymphocytes in vivo.
Age-specific responsiveness of weight and length to nutritional supplementation

Evaluation of the responsiveness of weight and length to supplementary feeding shows that the two periods of greatest response coincide with weaning (ages 3-6 mo) and peak incidence and duration of diarrheal disease (ages 9-12 mo). Analyses were done for seven consecutive nonoverlapping intervals comparing children randomly assigned to receive supplemental feeding from birth to age 36 mo or to serve as control subjects. Absolute responsiveness was greatest between ages 3-6 mo; supplemented infants grew 0.61 cm more and gained 162 g more than did unsupplemented infants (p less than 0.005). Relative to rates of growth, responsiveness was greatest between ages 9 and 12 mo (the period of peak diarrheal prevalence), followed by ages 3-6 mo (the period of weaning). Responsiveness to supplementation is thus directly related to age-dependent risk patterns for malnutrition. Targeting supplementation programs to coincide with periods of high nutritional risk should maximize their effectiveness in reducing malnutrition, though caution should be exercised to avoid disruption of breast-feeding.
Electrooptic Liquid Crystal Devices: Principles and Applications

The principles governing the operation and performance of devices utilizing mesomorphic anisotropic fluids (liquid crystals) am reviewed and systematized according to materials, dielectric type, and mode of operation. A further breakdown is made into whether the phenomenon is a change in optical density (color), diffraction, or scattering. Some of the possible directions for optical applications are indicated for which liquid crystals may be unique. Performance, life, circuit parameters, and drive characteristics are considered.
[31] Adjuvant arthritis

Publisher Summary Adjuvant arthritis (AA, also referred to as adjuvant polyarthritis, adjuvant induced arthritis, or adjuvant disease) is an experimental disorder unique to rats. Characteristically, 10–14 days after the injection of adjuvant, swelling, warmth, erythema, and tenderness appear in distal joints and tendons of affected animals. Maximum severity usually occurs between post adjuvant days 16 and 21, and the acute inflammation then gradually subsides over the ensuing weeks. In some cases, the arthritis can follow an undulating course for many weeks. AA is widely used for studying the physiology, biochemistry, and pharmacology of inflammation and as a model of cell-mediated auto-immune disease, human arthritis, and chronic pain. The term Freund's (type) adjuvant generally refers to those adjuvants composed of either dried bacteria or bacterial cell wall constituents in an oily vehicle, with or without an emulsifier. Such adjuvants enhance both humoral and cell-mediated responses to a variety of antigens. It is adjuvants of the Freund's type that induce chronic polyarthritis in rats; other types of immunological adjuvants, such as mineral earths, endotoxins, polynucleotides, methylated albumin, and calcium alginate, are not by themselves arthritogenic.
Are fetal adrenocorticotropic hormone and renin secretion suppressed by maternal cortisol secretion

Previous studies from this laboratory have demonstrated that intravenous infusions of hydrocortisone (cortisol) into fetal sheep at rates that produce plasma concentrations achieved during fetal stress inhibit fetal adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and renin secretion. The present study was designed to test for inhibition of fetal renin and ACTH after maternal adrenal secretion of cortisol. ACTH-(1-24) or saline infusion into 12 pregnant ewes (120-132 days gestation) at rates of 0, 1, 5, or 20 ng ACTH.kg-1.min-1 for 5 h produced dose-related increases in maternal plasma ACTH and cortisol concentrations and fetal plasma cortisol concentration. In the 20-ng.kg-1.min-1 group, increases in fetal plasma cortisol of 8.0 ng/ml (to 24.3 +/- 3.7 ng/ml) did not suppress basal fetal plasma renin activity. One hour after the end of the maternal vehicle or ACTH infusion, fetal ACTH secretion was stimulated by fetal intravenous infusion of sodium nitroprusside. In the 0-, 1-, and 5-ng.kg-1.min-1 groups, fetal ACTH responses to nitroprusside were suppressed in animals infused with ACTH. Together, these results indicate that the maternal adrenal secretion of cortisol inhibits stimulated secretion of ACTH but not renin in 120- to 132-day-gestation fetal sheep.
The Importance of Authoritative URI Design Schemes for Open Government Data

A major challenge when working with open government data is managing, connecting, and understanding the links between references to entities found across multiple datasets when these datasets use different vocabularies to refer to identical entities i.e.: one dataset may refer to Microsoft as "Microsoft", another may refer to the company by its SEC filing number as "0000789019", and a third may use its stock ticker "MSFT". In this paper the authors propose a naming scheme based on Web URLs that enables unambiguous naming and linking of datasets and, more importantly, data elements, across the Web. They further describe their ongoing work to demonstrate the implementation and authoritative management of such schemes through a class of web service they refer to as the "instance hub". When working with linked government data, provided either directly from governments via open government programs or through other sources, the issue of resolving inconsistencies in naming schemes is particularly important, as various agencies have disparate conventions for referring to the same concepts and entities. Using linked data technologies the authors have created instance hubs to assist in the management and linking of entity references for collections of categorically and hierarchically related entities. Instance hubs are of particular interest to governments engaged in the publication of linked open government data, as they can help data consumers make better sense of published data and can provide a starting point for development of linked data applications. In this paper the authors present their findings from the ongoing development of a prototype instance hub at the Tetherless World Constellation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute TWC RPI. The TWC RPI Instance Hub enables experimentation and verification of proposed URI design schemes for open government data, especially those developed at TWC in collaboration with the United States Data.gov program. They discuss core principles of the TWC RPI Instance Hub design and implementation, and summarize how they have used their instance hub to demonstrate the possibilities for authoritative entity references across a number of heterogeneous categories commonly found in open government data, including countries, federal agencies, states, counties, crops, and toxic chemicals.
The Influence of Thymectomy and Steroid Hormones in Neonatal Rats

SummaryExtirpation of thymus within 24 hr after birth increased the sensitivity of rats to steroid hormones injected at the age of 5 days. In 56-day-old males the atrophy of testis and of accessory sex tissues produced by a single injection of estradiol benzoate was more severe in thymectomized animals than in sham-operated controls. In female rats the atrophy produced by injecting the same steroid resulted in greater atrophy of the uterus in thymectomized animals than in controls.
Development of a Crohn's Disease Activity Index: National Cooperative Crohn's Disease Study

Needing a single index of degree of illness in Crohn's disease, the National CooperativeCrohn's Disease Study group collected data prospectively from 187 visits of 112 patients with Crohn's disease of the small bowel, colon, or both. Information on 18 predictor variables was gathered at each visit. In addition, the attending physician rated his over-all evaluation of how well the patient was doing and compared the patient's status with that at the previous visit. A multiple regression computer program was utilized to derive an equation for prediction of the physician's over-all ratings from a subset of the predictor variables fulfilling a combination of constraints. This equation, numerically simplified and utilizing eight selected variables, is the Crohn's Disease Activity Index. Index values of 150 and below are associated with quiescent disease; values above that indicate active disease, and values above 450 are seen with extremely severe disease.