cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Long non-coding RNA profiling of pediatric Medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma (MB) is one of the most common malignant cancers in children. MB is primarily classified into four subgroups based on molecular and clinical characteristics as (1) WNT (2) Sonic-hedgehog (SHH) (3) Group 3 (4) Group 4. Molecular characteristics used for MB classification are based on genomic and mRNAs profiles. MB subgroups share genomic and mRNA profiles and require multiple molecular markers for differentiation from each other. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are more than 200 nucleotide long RNAs and primarily involve in gene regulation at epigenetic and post-transcriptional levels. LncRNAs have been recognized as diagnostic and prognostic markers in several cancers. However, the lncRNA expression profile of MB is unknown. We used the publicly available gene expression datasets for the profiling of lncRNA expression across MB subgroups. Functional analysis of differentially expressed lncRNAs was accomplished by Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA). In the current study, we have identified and validated the lncRNA expression profile across pediatric MB subgroups and associated molecular pathways. We have also identified the prognostic significance of lncRNAs and unique lncRNAs associated with each MB subgroup. Identified lncRNAs can be used as single biomarkers for molecular identification of MB subgroups that warrant further investigation and functional validation.
Reconstruction technique following total laryngectomy affects swallowing outcomes.

Objectives How reconstruction affects function following total laryngectomy is unclear. This study seeks to determine whether reconstruction method is associated with differences in swallowing outcomes. Methods Retrospective review of reconstruction technique in patients undergoing TL was compared by pharyngeal transit time (PTT), patient-reported dysphagia (EAT-10), and diet-tolerated (FOIS). Results Ninety-five patients met inclusion criteria, with 40 patients (42.1%) undergoing primary closure and 55 patients (57.9%) undergoing tissue transfer. There was no difference in EAT-10 scores between the groups (P = .09). There was a significantly higher proportion of patients achieving oral diet (FOIS >3) with primary closure (P = .003). Patients undergoing PMC vs free flap had similar rates of g-tube dependency. Primary closure had the shortest PTT (1.89 seconds) compared to free flap (3.47-4.65 seconds) or PMC (5.1 seconds; P = .035). Conclusions When primary closure is achievable, these results suggest improved swallowing outcomes with better tolerance of oral diet and shorter pharyngeal transit times. Level of evidence IV.
On Extended Transform Partitions For The Next Generation Video CODEC

AV1, AOMedia’s royalty free codec, has enjoyed a great amount of success since its 2018 release. It currently achieves 31% BDRATE gains over VP9, and is on its way to becoming YouTube’s default codec. Although the industry is currently focused on the implementation and optimization of AV1, AOMedia Research continues to develop new coding tools that deliver higher coding gains within acceptable complexity bounds. Here, we focus on improving transform coding. While AV1 has made great strides in transform coding over VP9, the residue signal still consumes a large portion of the bitstream. In this paper, we describe a more flexible transform partitioning scheme, which will allow the next generation codec to more efficiently target areas in the residue signal with high energy, leading to better residue compression.
Abstract 13940: Using an Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitor to Treat Cardiovascular and Cognitive Decline in a Rat Model of Vascular Dementia

Background: Aged Dahl salt sensitive rats (DSS) rats represent a model of vascular dementia, i.e., they develop central arterial stiffness (CAS), hypertension, and cognitive decline. DSS rats have ...
A Theory of Equal Protection

Equal protection must prohibit arbitrary governmental classifications or differentiation. The Supreme Court is a unique authority because of its power to create constitutional law and because of its symbolic position in this society as a bearer of the Constitution as aegis. The Fourteenth Amendment, which is derived from the Equal Protection Clause, is one of the most important areas of constitutional law. Governmental decisionmakers must consider equal protection doctrine since they are frequently required to discriminate among those arguably qualified in order to determine who should bear the burden of governmental action or receive the benefits of governmental largess. A decision to discriminate is often the result of political compromise, limited objectives, limited resources, prejudice, or a blend of these reasons. This failure to treat equally all those who are arguably similarly situated regarding these burdens or benefits prompts challenges in the application of the Equal Protection Clause. The Supreme Court has provided inadequate guidelines for determining such challenges. The history of equal protection is a history of the constitutional erosion of the government’s power to rule without reason, to treat similarly qualified persons differently because of what officials think of them, to lump people together for group treatment without regard for their individual merit or ability, and to treat people unequally so as to serve the personal interests of the decisionmakers rather than the interests of the public. It must be admitted that, in acting upon its own sense of fairness and equality, the Supreme Court has not developed a formal process of analysis that narrowly channels its discretion. Hopefully, with conscious development, the process will become better defined and standardized, but discretion must be used as long as the Court possesses, at least in part, the power to adjudicate while making constitutional law.
Solder Bond Fatigue is Insensitive to Module Size

In this article, we explore the influence of module size on the rate of interconnecting solder bond thermomechanical fatigue (TMF) damage. Structural mechanics models of crystalline silicon PV models are created to solve with the finite-element method. Results conclusively demonstrate that the rate of solder bond TMF damage is independent of module size, interconnect location across the cell and cell location across the module.
Veterinarians and the Dairyman's Bottomline

The Dairyman's Bottom Line is not just "a" measurement, it is "the" measurement of the success of a dairyman. There are additional measurements, benefits, and rewards, but they are not a substitute for the Bottom Line. The successful dairyman is surrounded by a team of successful outside professionals. These must include a veterinarian, a banker, a CPA, and a nutritionist. The input from these professionals must be heard by the owners. managers of the dairy operation, but these people should not manage or "run the dairy". The ultimate decisions must be made by the owners because they are the ones that will receive the ultimate successes and failures, the Bottom Line. We all must be aware of the current litigious tendencies surrounding agriculture, including dairying.
Font Completion and Manipulation by Cycling Between Multi-Modality Representations

Generating font glyphs of consistent style from one or a few reference glyphs, i.e., font completion, is an important task in topographical design. As the problem is more well-defined than general image style transfer tasks, thus it has received interest from both vision and machine learning communities. Existing approaches address this problem as a direct image-to-image translation task. In this work, we innovate to explore the generation of font glyphs as 2D graphic objects with the graph as an intermediate representation, so that more intrinsic graphic properties of font styles can be captured. Specifically, we formulate a cross-modality cycled image-to-image model structure with a graph constructor between an image encoder and an image renderer. The novel graph constructor maps a glyph's latent code to its graph representation that matches expert knowledge, which is trained to help the translation task. Our model generates improved results than both image-to-image baseline and previous state-of-the-art methods for glyph completion. Furthermore, the graph representation output by our model also provides an intuitive interface for users to do local editing and manipulation. Our proposed cross-modality cycled representation learning has the potential to be applied to other domains with prior knowledge from different data modalities. Our code is available at this https URL.
Building the Operatic Museum: Eighteenth-Century Opera in Fin-de-Siècle Paris

Focusing on the operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Christoph Willibald Gluck, and Jean-Phillipe Rameau, this book examines the essential role that eighteenth-century works played in the opera houses of Paris around the turn of the twentieth century. These works, most of which had been neglected during the nineteenth century, became the central exhibits in what William Gibbons calls the Operatic Museum-a simultaneously physical and conceptual space in which great masterworks from the past and present could, like works of visual art in the Louvre, entertain audiences while educating them in their own history and national identity. Drawing on the fields of musicology, museum studies, art history, and literature, 'Building the Operatic Museum' explores how this seemingly simple idea represented a fundamental shift in how French audiences, critics, and composers understood the nature and function of music history, as well as their own place in it. William Gibbons is assistant professor of musicology at Texas Christian iversity.
Low-level image processing

An image that is originally acquired by a camera is called a raw image, and raw images must be processed in some way to extract the useful information that they contain. The first step in this procedure is called pre-processing, and it is done to prepare the image for further processing at higher levels. The two primary goals of image preprocessing are to eliminate unwanted attributes in the image that would aggravate subsequent processing steps, and to extract primitive features that represent the pertinent information present in the image. Unwanted or undesirable image attributes include noise, areas of featureless space, or areas where the features can be ignored. Primitive features include edges, corners or vertices, lines and line junctions. These features typically represent the boundaries or surface details of objects that are valuable when those objects are to be located and identified in an image.
Inertial sensor assisted acquisition, tracking, and pointing for high data rate free space optical communications

We discuss use of inertial sensors to facilitate deep space optical communications. Implementation of this concept requires accurate and wide bandwidth inertial sensors. In this presentation, the principal concept and algorithm using linear accelerometers will be given along with the simulation and experimental results.
Do Female Sex Offenders Receive Preferential Treatment in Criminal Charging and Sentencing

Research suggests that sexual abuse by females is viewed as less harmful than male-perpetrated abuse, and that females are treated more leniently by the justice system. The authors tested two hypotheses: female sex offenders would receive shorter incarceration sentences than their male counterparts because of their gender (H1), and female sex offenders would be charged less harshly than male sex offenders because of their caretaking role with victims (H2). Little support for H1, and only partial support for H2, was found. Results showed that female sex offenders who victimized adolescents for whom they were not caretakers were charged less severely.
A quantitative measure of the structure of gamma-ray burst time profiles

A cursory examination of cosmic gamma‐ray burst time profiles indicates an inhomogeneous distribution of structure. In the first approximation, there seem to be two types of profiles; smooth ones with little structure and highly variable ones with lots of structure. To put this observation to the test, we have examined the statistical nature of the profile derivative to choose which parameter might best be called the burst ‘‘spikiness.’’ We have found that a good estimator is given by a count of the number of ‘‘spikes’’ (defined by a specific numerical recipe) and not by the rms deviations from either a pre‐burst background or any type of moving average background. The application of this parameter to 30 burst time histories shows it to be consistent over a wide range of profile types. The analysis also reveals a preferred average time between spikes of approximately 1.5 seconds.
An experimental slow frequency-hopped personal communication system for the proposed U.S. 1850-1990 MHz band

An operational, prototype 1.8 GHz personal communication system employing the access technique of slow frequency-hopped CDMA is described. This system was designed to permit true vehicular/portable mobility with larger cells than conventional PCS proposals would allow while providing for the existence of a lower-cost PCS which would be operable in truly pedestrian-only environments. In the paper, the modem architecture, algorithms, and performance are discussed. The system has been found to yield excellent performance on a variety of channels characteristic of expanded PCS environment at a reasonable level of hardware complexity.
Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves through a Stratified Medium. I

A general analysis of the propagation of electromagnetic waves through a stratified medium, applicable to the entire class of problems of plane multilayer systems, is developed. The medium is assumed to be divided into m plane-parallel layers, the first and mth of which are semi-infinite. The electromagnetic properties of the m layers are unrestricted and dissimilar, and the thicknesses of the (m−2) finite layers are also different in general. A steady-state monochromatic wave, generated in the mth layer, is assumed to be incident at any angle upon the (m−1)th layer. Formulas for the resulting reflection and transmission are derived. The methods which are employed in the paper facilitate application of these formulas, with a minimum of algebraic complications, to specific problems.
On the stability of vortex rings

The stability of vortex rings is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The theoretical analysis considers the stability of the vortex-filament ring of small but finite core size in an inviscid fluid to small sinusoidal displacements of its centreline. The effect of the vorticity distribution within the finite vortex core on the self-induced motion of each element of the vortex filament is calculated on the basis of the results presented previously by Widnall, Bliss & Zalay (1970). The results of the analysis show that a vortex ring in an ideal fluid is almost always unstable. The number of waves around the perimeter in the unstable mode depends upon the size of the vortex core. For a given vortex core, only one mode is unstable and the smaller the vortex core, the larger the number of waves in the mode. The instability was investigated experimentally with vortex rings generated in air. A laser Doppler velocimeter was used to measure the velocity along the centreline of the ring and thus the circulation. The properties of the vortex core were inferred from the measurements of circulation, ring radius and velocity. The comparisons between theoretical predictions and experimental results show qualitative agreement in the prediction of the number of waves in the unstable mode and quantitative agreement in the prediction of the amplification rate in the early stages of growth.
Relationship between estrogen receptors, 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and estrogen content in human breast cancer

Abstract Estrone and estradiol levels in tumor tissue cytosols were determined in 11 premenopausal and 20 postmenopausal women at the same time that 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and estrogen receptors (ER) were carried out on their breast cancers. Estrogen receptor positive tumors showed significantly higher levels of estrone and estradiol. However, all ER negative tumors contained measurable amounts of both estradiol and estrone. Higher levels of estrone were observed in ER negative tumors which correlates well with high 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity. These results suggest that false negative receptor assays in the premenopausal women is not likely to be due to occupancy of receptors by endogenous estrogens. Furthermore, the higher estrone content in the ER negative group is probably due to high 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity inherent to these tumor cells.
Characterizing random variables in the context of signal detection theory

Abstract By generalizing properties of the standard normal model of signal detection theory, we are able to characterize symmetric, partially stable random variables in terms of a pair of observable relations coupling yes-no and forced-choice paradigms. One of these relations is provided by the ‘area theorem’: the area subtended by a receiver operating characteristics equals the probability of a correct response in the corresponding forced-choice task. The other relation involves the algebraic notion of bisymmetry. It turns out that most partially stable random variables are actually stable . Accordingly we can interpret our results as characterizing detection models in which ‘signal’ and ‘noise’ random variables arise as sums of many small independent contributions.
Noninvasive monitoring of carbon dioxide: a comparison of the partial pressure of transcutaneous and end-tidal carbon dioxide with the partial pressure of arterial carbon dioxide.

This study compares two noninvasive techniques for monitoring the partial pressure of carbon dioxide (Pco2) in 24 anesthetized adult patients. End-tidal PCO2 (PETCO2) and transcutaneous Pco2 (PtcCO2) were simultaneously monitored and compared with arterial Pco2 (PaCO2) determined by intermittent analysis of arterial blood samples. PETCO2 and PtcCO2 values were compared with PaCO2 values corrected to patient body temperature (PaC02T) and PaCO2 values determined at a temperature of 37°C (PaCO2). Linear regression was performed along with calculations of the correlation coefficient (r), bias, and precision of the four paired variables:PETCO2 versus PaCO2 and PaCO2T (n = 211), and PtcCO2 versus PaCO2 and PaCO2T (n = 233). Bias is defined as the mean difference between paired values, whereas precision is the standard deviation of the difference.
Cutaneous Temporal Resolution Values for “Sophisticated” and “Naive” Subjects

Sumna7y.-Temporal resolution values for the tactile sensory modality were obtained for two loci, the tongue and the thenar eminence of the right hand, using a two-pulse mechanical stimulus. Two groups of 11 females each, participated in this srudy. One group was "sophisticated" in terms of educational background and training in experimental procedure. The ocher group was "naive" in terms of educational background and training in experimental procedure. Analysis showed that both the tongue and hand responded similarly to the fusion task but that there was a significant difference in fusion thresholds for both structures between the sophisticated and the naive groups. The sophisticated subjects showed more acute fusion thresholds for both the tongue and thenar eminence. Considerable literature suggests that a sensitive measure of sensory system acuity is that system's ability to resolve stimuli temporally. More specifically, a threshold of fusion may be obtained by determining how close together in time two scirnuli can be placed and still be perceived as only one stimulus. Temporal resolution for the cutaneous sensory modality has been reported by a number of investigators. Uttal ( 1959), through the use of electrocutaneous stimulation, indicated that the sense of touch provides values of temporal resolution between 10 and 45 msec. Rosner ( 1961), also using electrocutaneous stimulation, provided fusion values for the sense of touch of 15 and 40 msec. Gescheider (1966, 1967) measured temporal acuity for touch through the use of mechanical taps and reported fusion values of 10 and 12.5 msec., depending on the locus of stimulation. Geldard and Sherrick ( 1971) studied fusion thresholds of touch using vibration and reported thresholds between 3 and 5 msec. Gescheider (1974) replicated the Geldard and Sherrick experiments and reported an average fusion threshold of 5.5 msec. The variable fusion thresholds reported may be attributed to the fact that research measuring temporal acuity within the cutaneous modality has shown little uniformity in terms of equipment design, suprathreshold levels of presentation, nature of the stimulus, body location, and subjects' level of sophistication or training. Limited information suggests that in this type of research, the level of subjects' sophistication may influence the obtained fusion thresolds (Gengel & Hirsh, 1970; Hirsh & Fraisse, 1964; Hirsh & Sherrick, 1961). The purpose of the present study was to investigate systematically the influence subjects' sophistication may have on vibrotactile fusion thresholds obtained from two different loci, the tongue and the hand.
Legacy of lead exposure: Consequences for the central nervous system☆☆☆★

The central nervous system appears to be the primary target organ for lead. Children in particular remain at risk for the central nervous system effects of lead, not only in many American cities but also in numerous developing countries where the use of leaded gasoline continues. Those same children, moreover, may sustain many of the risk factors, such as low socioeconomic status and calcium and iron insufficiencies, known to exacerbate the manifestations of lead exposure, including its central nervous system effects. Physiologic conditions associated with bone resorption, including pregnancy, lactation, and aging can also potentiate the central nervous system effects of lead and enhance exposure of adults. Questions regarding safe and efficacious diagnosis and treatment of elevated lead burden, particularly as they relate to central nervous system-based effects of lead have recently been raised. Clearly, greater education of and awareness in the medical community are needed for recognition of problems accruing from lead exposure.
Online Master’s Degrees in Music Education: The Growing Pains of a Tool to Reach a Larger Community:

Online graduate degree programs are a growing phenomenon as technology continues to develop and becomes more widely available and the needs of an increasingly educated society require better access...
S-phase-coupled apoptosis in tumor suppression

DNA replication is essential for accurate transmission of genomic information from parental to daughter cells. DNA replication is licensed once per cell division cycle. This process is highly regulated by both positive and negative regulators. Over-replication, under-replication, as well as DNA damage in a cell all induce the activation of checkpoint control pathways such as ATM/ATR, CHK kinases, and the tumor suppressor protein p53, which provide "damage controls" via either DNA repairs or apoptosis. This review focuses on accumulating evidence, with the emphasis on recently discovered Killin, that S-phase checkpoint control is crucial for a mammalian cell to make a life and death decision in order to safeguard genome integrity.
Branch Elimination during Heat Treatment of Titanium Alloys with a Colony-Alpha Microstructure

The kinetics of the dissolution of lamellar branches in an alpha-beta titanium alloy with a colony-alpha microstructure were determined using a series of heat treatments at 900 °C and 955 °C. The experiments revealed that the branch recession rate was constant. An approximate diffusion analysis was developed to describe the diffusion process, and corresponding model predictions showed good agreement with measurements.
The effects of α-methylglutamate on ammonium excretion and renal ammonia production in rats

Abstract Rats injected with α-methylglutamate (MGA) excreted less ammonium, and renal slices from these rats produced less ammonia. When renal slices from normal rats were incubated in MGA, ammoniagenesis from glutamine decreased slightly; but glutamate accumulation increased markedly. In contrast, dl-methionine dl-sulfoximine (MS), a relatively specific inhibitor of glutamine synthesis and transferase, enhanced both glutamate accumulation and ammoniagenesis by slices from control rat kidneys. While it is generally accepted that MGA inhibits glutamine synthetase and transferase activity, the results with MGA do not mimic those found with MS. Additionally, MGA decreased ammoniagenesis and increased glutamate accumulation in slices already incubating in MS and in slices from acidotic rats. These are circumstances where slices should have minimal synthetase and transferase activity. It is concluded that MGA decreases renal ammoniagenesis through other pathways, perhaps via inhibition of the glutaminase and the glutamate dehydrogenase routes.
Analysis of candidate anticancer drugs by thermospray high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and by high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Abstract Thermospray high-performance liquid chromatography—mass spectrometry (TSP—HPLC—MS) and direct probe high-resolution MS was used to analyze four candidate anticancer drugs. The techniques were used to confirm the identity of the bulk drug and to identify impurities. Analysis by TSP—HPLC—MS resulted in molecular weight information from the separated components using a little as 50 ng of each drug. The high-resolution direct probe MS analysis provided additional structural information and possible empirical formulas for the parent drugs and their impurities. The use of both of these complimentary techniques proved to be very specific for the detection of of the anticancer drugs and for postulating the identity of impurities.
Variation in Rotavirus Vaccine Coverage by Provider Location and Subsequent Disease Burden

BACKGROUND: Rotavirus vaccines were introduced in the United States in 2006. Full-series coverage is lower than for other vaccines, and disease continues to occur. We examined variation in vaccine coverage among provider locations and correlated coverage with the detection of rotavirus in children who sought treatment of severe acute gastroenteritis (AGE). METHODS: Vaccine records of children enrolled in an AGE surveillance program were obtained and children were grouped by the location that administered each child’s 2-month vaccines. Cases were children with laboratory-confirmed rotavirus AGE; controls were children with rotavirus-negative AGE or acute respiratory infection. Location-level coverage was calculated using ≥1 dose rotavirus vaccine coverage among controls and classified as low ( RESULTS: Of controls, 80.4% (n = 1123 of 1396) received ≥1 dose of rotavirus vaccine from 68 locations. Four (5.9%) locations, including a NICU, were low coverage, 22 (32.3%) were medium coverage, and 42 (61.8%) were high coverage. In low-coverage locations, 31.4% of patients with AGE were rotavirus-positive compared with 13.1% and 9.6% in medium- and high-coverage locations, respectively. Patients with AGE from low-coverage locations had 3.3 (95% confidence interval 2.4–4.4) times the detection rate of rotavirus than patients with AGE from high vaccine coverage locations. CONCLUSIONS: We observed the highest detection of rotavirus disease among locations with low rotavirus vaccine coverage, suggesting that ongoing disease transmission is related to failure to vaccinate. Educational efforts focusing on timely rotavirus vaccine administration to age-eligible infants are needed.
Measurement of bumetanide in plasma and urine by high-performance liquid chromatography and application to bumetanide disposition.

A high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the measurement of bumetamide in plasma and urine is described. Following precipitation of proteins with acetonitrile, bumetanide was extracted from plasma or urine on a 1-ml bonded-phase C18 column and eluted with acetonitrile. Piretanide dissolved in methanol was used as the internal standard. A C18 Radial Pak column and fluorescence detection (excitation wavelength 228 nm; emission wavelength 418 nm) were used. The mobile phase consisted of methanol—water—glacial acetic acid (66:34:1, v/v) delivered isocratically at a flow-rate of 1.2 ml/min. The lower limit of detection for this method was 5 ng/ml using 0.2 ml of plasma or urine. Nafcillin, but not other semi-synthetic penicillins, was the only commonly used drug that interfered with this assay. No interference from endogenous compounds was detected. For plasma, the inter-assay coefficients of variation of the method were 7.6 and 4.4% for samples containing 10 and 250 ng/ml bumetanide, respectively. The inter-assay coefficients of variation for urine samples containing 10 and 2000 ng/ml were 8.1 and 5.7%, respectively. The calibration curve was linear over the range 5–2000 ng/ml.
Soldering and point splitting

Abstract Several results concerning the generation of all the n -connected graphs from P n +1 are presented. Necessary and sufficient conditions for two types of operations, soldering and point splitting, to preserve n -connectivity are given.
On the design of automata and the interpretation of cerebral behavior

In principle it is possible to design automata to display any explicitly described behavior. The McCulloch-Pitts “neuron” is a convenient elementary component for the control mechanisms of automata. Previously described techniques permit the design of an automaton which would arbitrarily well simulate human behavior. The difficulty of producing such a design lies primarily in formulating an explicit description of the required behavior. The control mechanism of such an automaton would be of very great logical complexity. Its mode of operation probably would not resemble that of a human brain. The brain is more plausibly represented by stochastic models as proposed by Hebb. Such models can more easily be designed or understood by reason of lesser logical complexity. A method of computational investigation of the functioning of such stochastic models is described. Several extremely simple models have been investigated. One is shown to have properties suggestive of learning ability.
The expression level of lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 1 (LPCAT1) correlates to the progression of prostate cancer.

Abstract Background Lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase 1 (LPCAT1), the enzyme catalyzing the reaction in remodeling of phosphatidylcholine (PC) has been reported to express in prostate. However, its diagnostic and prognostic values remain unclear. Methods Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for LPCAT1was performed on the tissue microarray (TMA) slides containing 251samples from 148 patients with various prostatic disorders. The association of expression level of LPCAT1 with the progression of prostate cancer was analyzed. Results LPCAT1 IHC mean score was the highest in metastatic prostate cancer (8.00 ± 1.28), which was significantly higher than that in primary prostate cancer (4.63 ± 3.00, p = 9.73E-07), in high grade prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (HGPIN, 2.72 ± 2.47, p = 1.02E-12), and in benign prostate (2.68, p = 6.17E-12). The mean score in primary prostate cancer was significantly higher than that in HGPIN (p = 4.09E-04) and in benign prostate (p = 2.74E-04). There was no significant difference in the mean score between HGPIN and benign prostate (p = 0.951). LPCAT1 IHC score also correlated to the tumor grade and stage of prostate cancer. Patients who underwent prostatectomy for prostate cancer and developed biochemical recurrence or clinical metastasis had higher LPCAT1 IHC score than those who underwent prostatectomy for prostate cancer and did not develop biochemical recurrence and clinical metastasis. The association of LPCAT1 with the progression of prostate cancer was independent of patient race and age, PSA level and positivity of surgical resection margins. Conclusions LPCAT1 correlates with the progression of prostate cancer and could be a new biomarker in diagnosis, prognosis and studying the pathogenesis of prostate cancer.
Laboratory Investigation of Novel Oil Recovery Method for Carbonate Reservoirs

This paper described a core flooding laboratory study conducted using composite rock samples from a carbonate reservoir. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of salinity and ionic composition on oil, brine and rock interactions. Experimental parameters and procedures were designed to replicate reservoir conditions and current field injection practices. Results of the study demonstrated that alterations in the salinity and ionic composition of injected water can have a significant impact on the wettability of the rock surface. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies confirmed that injecting different salinity slugs of seawater in carbonate core samples can cause a significant alteration in the surface charges of the rock, and lead to increased interactions with water molecules. The constant reduction of pressure drop across the composite cores with the injection of different diluted versions of water also provided proof of brine, oil and rock alterations. Results of the study indicated that the driving mechanism for waterflooding recovery processes is wettability alteration, which can be triggered by alterations in carbonate rock surface charges, and improvements in the connectivity between rock pore systems that coexist in carbonate rock samples. 41 refs., 8 tabs., 16 figs.
Perturbation method to analyze the elastodynamic field near a kinked crack

Abstract A perturbation procedure is presented which expresses the elastodynamic fields near a kinked crack in terms of a power series of κ, where κπ is the kinking angle. Mode-III and Mixed Mode I–II crack kinking of a semi-infinite crack have been considered. Each order in the approximation requires the field for a crack which propagates in its own plane, but where the crack faces are subjected to crack-face tractions which are related to the actual crackkinking geometry. For crack kinking under stress-wave loading it was shown in an earlier paper that the lowest order approximation gives very good agreement with exact analytical and numerical results over a substantial range of kinking angles.
Dieldrin and Eggshell Thickness in Ducks

CHLORINATED hydrocarbons may cause reproductive failure in several vertebrate species, and their presence seems to be related to the eggshell quality of birds. Raptors in Britain, including the peregrine (Falco peregrinus), sparrow hawk (Accipiter nisus) and golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), have reproduced less successfully with the increased use of chlorinated hydrocarbons, especially DDT1–3, and egg breakage in the nest seems to be a major part of the phenomenon. Increased egg breakage in raptors and herring gulls (Larus argentatus) has also been correlated with DDT residues in the eggs4,5.
Electronic 1sσ vacancy production in deep-inelastic nuclear reactions☆

Abstract Calculations are made of the probability of creating 1sσ (Bi K) vacancies in 1130 MeV Xe + Bi collisions at impact parameters b leading to deep-inelastic nuclear reactions. Due to the finite sticking time of the composite system, the probability may be an oscillatory function of b .
Comparative AFM studies of water processable polyaniline films: Influence of reaction time on nanomorphology and conductivity

Abstract We report on atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies of polyaniline (PANI) nanostructures formed during different stages of in situ film growth. Surface topography and single molecule force spectroscopy results indicate that early stage and late stage growth of PANI exhibit different morphologies and mechanical properties, while current–voltage response curves from conductive-AFM experiments indicate that late stage growth of PANI should be minimized to optimize conductive properties. Surface images of PANI films synthesized via short reaction times reveal the limited growth of black PANI precipitates, showing promise for the improved electrical behavior of polyaniline films.
Episodic secretion of opioid activity in human plasma and monkey CSF: evidence for a diurnal rhythm.

Abstract Using a radioreceptor assay, opioiod activity has been determined in human plasma and monkey CSF at two-hour intervals across a 24-hour period. In both human plasma and monkey CSF, opioid activity showed an episodic secretion and a significant variation over time, suggesting a diurnal rhythm with increased levels in the morning. This rhythm is similar to those of adrenocorticotropin and beta-lipotropin (LPH) and reciprocal to the diurnal rhythm of pain sensitivity.
Prestige of Home Country and Self-Concept of Students from Four Developing Countries

Abstract Three views of prestige of home countries as perceived by students from Iran, Nigeria, Taiwan, and Venezuela were examined in relation to the students' perceptions of their academic performance, their intelligence, and their physical appearance. The three views of a country's prestige were: perceptions of views held by friends in their home countries (one set of significant others); perceptions of views held by students in the United States (another set of significant others); and the perceptions of the students themselves. Overall, the prestige ratings were most strongly correlated with the students' own physical appearance ratings and then with their intelligence ratings. Variations of correlations by view and by country were also found.
Borna disease virus takes the acid test

Abstract Mechanism of Borna disease virus entry into cells Gonzalez-Dunia, D. et al . (1998) J. Virol . 72, 783–788
Detection of hemoprotein peroxidase activity on polyvinylidene difluoride membrane.

Abstract The feasibility of detecting hemoproteins after electroblotting was examined. Hemorproteins were subjected to lithium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (LDS-PAGE) and then electroblotted and peroxidase activity was detected with 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine. The sensitivity and specificity of tetramethylbenzidine staining of LDS-PAGE gels was retained when proteins were electroblotted. Subsequent staining of the membrane with Coomassie blue R-250 revealed a protein pattern similar to that in the polyacrylamide gel. Thus electroblotting of hemoproteins does not affect resolution of the electrophoretic pattern and heme-associated peroxidase activity. Additionally, the ability to stain hemoproteins on polyvinylidene difluoride membranes offers the advantage of utilizing the same membrane for further biochemical and immunological characterizations.
An adaptive synchronous generator stabilizer design by generalized multivariable pole shifting (GMPS) technique

A robust adaptive power system stabilizer algorithm using a generalized multivariable pole shifting (GMPS) technique is presented. The method is capable of handling multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) systems with arbitrary numbers of inputs and outputs. The pole shifting factor is self-adjusted online such that the control constraints will not be violated. The algorithm was applied to a single-machine infinite-bus system excitation control. Both shaft speed and accelerating power were used as control inputs. A set of multifault simulation studies are presented to compare the system performance obtained by a conventional power system stabilizer. In all cases, the proposed controller demonstrates consistent superiority, and most importantly consistent reliability and robustness. >
Effects of Language Intensity Similarity on Perceptions of Credibility Relational Attributions, and Persuasion

Communication accommodation theory was used to predict relationships between the degree of similarity of a source's and receiver's use of language intensity and attributions made about the source of a message. A sample of 286 respondents, whose use of language intensity had been assessed, read a persuasive message written with either high or low language intensity. Actual similarity between respondents'and stimulus language intensity was positively correlated withperceptions of source credibility (sociability /character, extraversion) and immediacy, and negatively correlated with arousal. Perceived similarity in language intensity was also positively correlated with credibility perceptions (competence, sociabilityy/character, composure), as well as immediacy and intimacy, and negatively correlated with arousal. Both actual and perceived similarity were associated with increased message agreement. Actual and perceived language intensity similarity were weakly correlated. In all analyses perceived similarit...
Preparation for oral surgery: Evaluating elements of coping

Third-molar extraction patients (N = 231) underwent one of five preparatory interventions offering different levels of relaxation, control, and self-efficacy to evaluate the relative importance of each of these elements of coping in the context of an acute stressor. Prior to surgery subjects completed measures of monitoring and blunting. Results indicated that relaxation, perceived control, and self-efficacy were each significant, and roughly equivalent, contributors to coping, and operated in an additive way. Intervention type, and the interaction of intervention type with blunting score, significantly predicted distress prior to and during surgery. It was concluded that no single element is crucial to effective coping and that interventions that provide more coping elements are generally superior. Additionally, the interaction of coping style with intervention is as strong a contributor to coping outcome as the other factors. Those who prefer to distract themselves may benefit most from interventions that require the least possible personal investment of effort and attention.
On the pure bending of an elastic, perfectly plastic curved bar in the state of plane strain

Abstract The existing nonhardening, elastic-plastic solution to the problem of the pure bending of a curved bar is found to be valid only for a limited range of geometrical parameters, when the material is assumed to be compressible. In the complete treatment of the problem presented here, regimes of Tresca's yield surface are encountered in which σ z is no longer the intermediate principal stress, rendering the problem statically indeterminate. Depending on the parameters of the problem, four types of solutions (with mutually exclusive domains of validity) are possible in which as many as six plastic zones with different stress fields may be present. Appropriate stress distributions are derived and complete results presented for a typical stage of deformation for one type of problem. In the limiting case of a completely plastic bar, it is found that the plane components of stress, the moment and the limiting position of the elastic-plastic boundaries are exactly those predicted by the rigid plastic solution.
A regulatory feedback loop between Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase 2 (CaMKK2) and the androgen receptor in prostate cancer progression.

The androgen receptor (AR) plays a critical role in prostate cancer (PCa) progression, however, the molecular mechanisms by which the AR regulates cell proliferation in androgen-dependent and castration-resistant PCa are incompletely understood. We report that Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase kinase 2 (CaMKK2) expression increases and becomes nuclear or perinuclear in advanced PCa. In the TRAMP (transgenic adenocarcinoma of mouse prostate) model of PCa, CaMKK2 expression increases with PCa progression with many cells exhibiting nuclear staining. CaMKK2 expression is higher in human castration-resistant tumor xenografts compared with androgen-responsive xenografts and is markedly higher in the AR-expressing, tumorigenic cell line LNCaP compared with cell lines that are AR-nonexpressing and/or nontumorigenic. In LNCaP cells, dihydrotestosterone induced CaMKK2 mRNA and protein expression and translocation of CaMKK2 to the nucleus. Conversely, androgen withdrawal suppressed CaMKK2 expression. Knockdown of CaMKK2 expression by RNAi reduced LNCaP cell proliferation and increased percentages of cells in G1 phase, whereas correspondingly reducing percentages in S phase, of the cell cycle. CaMKK2 knockdown reduced expression of the AR target gene prostate-specific antigen at both mRNA and protein levels, AR transcriptional activity driven by androgen responsive elements from the prostate-specific probasin gene promoter and levels of the AR-regulated cell cycle proteins, cyclin D1 and hyperphosphorylated Rb. Our results suggest that in PCa progression, CaMKK2 and the AR are in a feedback loop in which CaMKK2 is induced by the AR to maintain AR activity, AR-dependent cell cycle control, and continued cell proliferation. Background: Defining molecular mechanisms that regulate AR activity is critical for understanding prostate cancer progression. Results: CaMKK2 increases during disease progression, is transcriptionally regulated by the AR, promotes proliferation, and is required for optimal AR transcriptional activity. Conclusion: CaMKK2 is in a feedback circuit to maintain AR activity. Significance: The CaMKK2 pathway is a promising target for prostate cancer therapy.
Recent trends in expenditures on physicians' services in Canada

Analysis of Canada's restraints on the growth in volume of physicians' services can help shape the framework and direction of policy development in other countries. This paper analyzes trends in recent expenditures on physicians' services in Canada from 1982 to 1987. Growth in payments to physicians who were paid fee-for-service is broken down into three component parts in Canada nationwide and in four provinces: Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and British Columbia. The three component parts are: (1) growth in the number of services billed; (2) physician service prices; and (3) the mixture of high- and low-priced services billed. Expenditure increases are disaggregated according to some major categories of medical services, both per physician and per capita. Increases in growth in physician payments were explained mainly by increases in prices, while some evidence of an increase in higher priced services per physician was found. The varying payment restraint policies across Canadian provinces were manifested in different patterns with respect to components of payment change. Higher rates of payment and volume growth were found for diagnostic/therapeutic and office medical services than for surgeries, although a few contrary patterns across provinces occurred. Interprovincial utilization growth, both per physician and per capita, was variable. This suggests that Canada's regionally administered system is neither uniform nor monolithic.
Upstream Effect of Esophageal Distention: Effect on Airway

The pharyngoesophageal segment of the foregut has an important function in steering clear of luminal contents from the airway, across the age spectrum from a premature neonate to an aging adult. This complex neuromuscular interaction between the esophagus and the airway is maintained by a variety of mechanisms mediated by the parasympathetic and sympathetic afferent and efferent outflows involving the myenteric plexus, glossopharyngeal and vagus cranial nerves, phrenic nerve, and brainstem nuclei. The esophageal provocation during gastroesophageal reflux events results in esophageal distention, followed by responses in the esophagus, the airway, or both. Studies involving esophageal provocation in human adults and animal models are beginning to illuminate the pathogenetic mechanisms associated with aerodigestive tract disease. However, studies pertinent to this topic in infants or children have been lacking. In this paper, we review recent advances concerning the motor responses of the esophagus and the airway ensuing upon esophageal distention. Recent advances in methods to evaluate aerodigestive responses in infants that have been validated are discussed.