cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Incidence of apoptosis and cell proliferation in prostate cancer: Relationship with TGF‐β1 and bcl‐2 expression

The incidence of programmed cell death (apoptosis) and cell proliferation was investigated in the normal and malignant human prostate to define the significance of their potential deregulation in human prostate cancer. The incidence of "spontaneous" apoptosis was analyzed using an in situ end-labeling procedure for detection of nucleosomal DNA fragmentation, as well as the pattern and topological localization of expression of the 2 proteins regulating apoptosis, TGF-beta1, and bcl-2, in 40 primary prostatic adenocarcinomas with varying tumor grades, 17 lymph nodes positive for metastatic prostate cancer and 9 normal prostate specimens. The basal level of cell proliferation of the different prostatic cell populations in the same specimens was determined, utilizing the Ki-67 nuclear antigen. Localized prostate cancer cells exhibited a relatively low rate of apoptosis, which was significantly lower than the apoptotic index of normal prostate glandular epithelial cells. Metastatic prostate tumor cells, however, exhibited a significantly higher apoptotic index compared with localized prostate cancer cells. A significant increase in the proliferative index was detected in prostatic tumors compared with the normal gland (5-fold), and there was an even more marked elevation in the proliferative index of the metastatic prostate tumor cells compared to the normal prostate epithelial cells (approximately 24-fold). Immunohistochemical analysis of normal and malignant prostate specimens revealed a predominant TGF-beta immunoreactivity in the glandular epithelial cells, while the stromal component was totally negative. There was a significant increase in the levels of TGF-beta in primary prostatic tumors compared to the normal prostate. Bcl-2 expression was detected among certain populations of tumor epithelial cells in a mutually exclusive topological distribution pattern for apoptosis. In marked contrast, neither TGF-beta1 nor bcl-2 immunoreactivity was detected in metastatic prostate tumor cells, despite their high proliferative and apoptotic rates. Balancing the prostatic growth equation for the prostatic tumor epithelial cell populations revealed a substantial net increase in cell number in both primary and metastatic prostate cancers. This loss of apoptotic control in favor of cell proliferation may be responsible for prostate cancer initiation and progression.
Optical communications through atmospheric turbulence using photodetector arrays

Ground-based reception of optical signals from space suffers from degradation of the optical phase-front caused by atmospheric turbulence, leading to a reduction in the effective diameter of the receiving aperture and to random fluctuations of the point spread function in the focal plane. A proportional increase in the receiver's field of view, required to collect all of the signal, also causes a corresponding increase in the amount of interfering background radiation, resulting in degraded communications performance. These problems may be mitigated through the use of an optical detector array assembly in the focal plane that can adaptively select areas of higher signal density while ignoring areas predominated by background noise. This concept is investigated for both Poisson photon counting detector arrays and avalanche photodiode arrays. Kolmogorov phase screen simulations are used to model the sample functions of the focal-plane signal distribution due to turbulence and to generate realistic spatial distributions of the received optical field. The optimum photon counting array detector is derived and approximated by a simpler suboptimum structure that replaces the continuous weighting function of the optimal receiver by a hard decision on the selection of the signal detector elements. It is shown that for photon counting receivers observing Poisson distributed signals, performance improvements of up to 5 dB can be obtained over conventional single detector photon counting receivers, when observing turbulent optical fields in high background environments. For the avalanche photodiode detector case, it is shown that gains of up to 4 dB may be achieved by using the array receiver rather than a single APD, but that a photon-counting array still performs about 5.5 dB better than an APD array.
A Self-Referencing Detection of Microorganisms Using Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering Nanoprobes in a Test-in-a-Tube Platform

Anisotropic nanoparticles (i.e., silver nanocubes) were functionalized with target-specific antibodies and Raman active tags to serve as nanoprobes for the rapid detection of bacteria in a test-in-a-tube platform. A self-referencing scheme was developed and implemented in which surface enhanced Raman spectroscopic (SERS) signatures of the targets were observed superimposed with the SERS signals of the Raman tags. The assessment through the dual signals (superimposed target and tag Raman signatures) supported a specific recognition of the targets in a single step with no washing/separation needed to a sensitivity of 102 CFU/mL, even in the presence of non-target bacteria at a 10 times higher concentration. The self-referencing protocol implemented with a portable Raman spectrometer potentially can become an easy-to-use, field-deployable spectroscopic sensor for onsite detection of pathogenic microorganisms.
Fixation of Tendon Grafts for Collateral Ligament Reconstructions: A Cadaveric Biomechanical Study

Purpose To compare the biomechanical properties of 4 methods of fixation of tendon grafts to bone as used for ligament reconstructions. Methods Thirty-two metacarpals were harvested from fresh-frozen cadavers and stripped of soft tissue. Flexor tendons were harvested from the same cadavers and cut into 2-mm–wide strips. Each tendon was fixed to a metacarpal head at the site of origin of a collateral ligament. Four different methods of fixation were tested. In group 1 the tendon was fixed to the bone with a 4.0-mm Arthrex bio-tenodesis interference screw (Arthrex, Inc., Naples, FL). In group 2 the tendon was passed through a bone tunnel and fixed with a 3.2-mm mini-Acutrak screw (Acumed, LLC, Hillsboro, OR) that was inserted in interference mode. In group 3 the tendon was passed through a bone tunnel and fixed with sutures tied over a polyethylene button. In group 4 the tendon was fixed with a mini-Mitek bone suture anchor (Mitek Worldwide, Norwood, MA). All specimens were clamped into a linear loading machine and loaded until failure. Statistical analysis was performed by 1-way analysis of variance testing. Results The differences in maximal tensile strength and stiffness were statistically significant when comparing any 2 groups. The Arthrex biotenodesis interference screw was the strongest and stiffest fixation method, followed by the Acutrak screw inserted in interference mode. Next was the suture tied over a button method. The mini-Mitek bone suture anchor was the weakest. Conclusions Interference screw fixation of tendons to bone has statistically significant higher pullout strength and stiffness than 2 other commonly used fixation methods. The use of interference screws for fixation of tendon grafts to bone for hand ligament reconstructions is a promising new surgical technique.
PROBING HIGH-CAPACITY PEERS TO REDUCE DOWNLOAD TIMES IN P2P FILE SHARING SYSTEMS WITH STOCHASTIC SERVICE CAPACITIES

The main problem for an individual user peer in a peer-to-peer network with heterogeneous source peers is the peer selection problem, namely, switching among source peers and finally settling on one, while keeping the total time of probing and downloading to a minimum. There has been little investigation on selecting source peers with stochastic service capacities. The main contribution of this paper is to address the problem of reducing download times in peer-to-peer file sharing systems with stochastic service capacities. A precise analysis of the expected download time is given when the service capacity of a source peer is a random variable. A chunk-based switching and peer selection algorithm using the method of probing high-capacity peers is proposed and the expected download time of the algorithm is analyzed. Two subproblems of the optimal choice of the threshold of high-capacity source peers and the optimal order of probing are also solved. The performance of the algorithm is compared with the random chunkbased switching method. It is shown that noticeable performance improvement can be obtained.
Association of UV Index, Latitude, and Melanoma Incidence in Nonwhite Populations—US Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program, 1992 to 2001

Objective To estimate the association between UV index, latitude, and melanoma incidence in different racial and ethnic populations in a high-quality national data set. Design Descriptive study. Setting Eleven US cancer registries that constitute the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER-11). Patients Patients with malignant melanoma of the skin reported between 1992 and 2001. Main Outcome Measures Pearson correlation coefficients and regression coefficients were used to estimate the relationship of age-adjusted melanoma incidence rates (2000 US standard population) with the UV index or latitude within racial and ethnic groups. Results A higher mean UV index was significantly associated with an increase in melanoma incidence only in non-Hispanic whites ( r = 0.85, P = .001), although a nonsignificant association was noted in Native Americans ( r = 0.42, P = .20).Negative, but not significant, correlations with incidence were observed in blacks ( r = −0.53, P = .10), Hispanics ( r = −0.43, P = .19), and Asians ( r = −0.28, P = .41).Latitude also had a significant correlation with incidence only in non-Hispanic whites ( r = −0.85, P = .001). A substantial portion of the variance in registry incidence in non-Hispanic whites could be explained by the UV index ( R 2 = 0.71, P = .001). Conclusions Melanoma incidence is associated with increased UV index and lower latitude only in non-Hispanic whites. No evidence to support the association of UV exposure and melanoma incidence in black or Hispanic populations was found.
Managing Barrett’s esophagus with radiofrequency ablation

Barrett's esophagus (BE) is a well-established pre-malignant lesion for esophageal adenocarcinoma, a condition that carries a dismal five-year overall survival rate of less than 15%. Among several available methods to eliminate BE, radiofrequency ablation (RFA) provides the most efficient modality, since it has been demonstrated to successfully eradicate BE with or without dysplasia with acceptable safety, efficacy and durability profiles. In conjunction with proton pump therapy, this new technology has quickly become the standard care for patients with dysplastic BE. However, several technical questions remain about how to deploy RFA therapy for maximum effectiveness and long-term favorable outcomes for all stages of the disease. These include how to select patient for therapy, what the best protocol for RFA is, when to use other modalities, such as endoscopic mucosal resection, and what should be considered for refractory BE. This review addresses these questions with the perspective of the best available evidence matched with the authors' experience with the technology.
Plasma biomarkers of depressive symptoms in older adults

The pathophysiology of negative affect states in older adults is complex, and a host of central nervous system and peripheral systemic mechanisms may play primary or contributing roles. We conducted an unbiased analysis of 146 plasma analytes in a multiplex biochemical biomarker study in relation to number of depressive symptoms endorsed by 566 participants in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) at their baseline and 1-year assessments. Analytes that were most highly associated with depressive symptoms included hepatocyte growth factor, insulin polypeptides, pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A and vascular endothelial growth factor. Separate regression models assessed contributions of past history of psychiatric illness, antidepressant or other psychotropic medicine, apolipoprotein E genotype, body mass index, serum glucose and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) τ and amyloid levels, and none of these values significantly attenuated the main effects of the candidate analyte levels for depressive symptoms score. Ensemble machine learning with Random Forests found good accuracy (~80%) in classifying groups with and without depressive symptoms. These data begin to identify biochemical biomarkers of depressive symptoms in older adults that may be useful in investigations of pathophysiological mechanisms of depression in aging and neurodegenerative dementias and as targets of novel treatment approaches.
When scientific knowledge becomes scientific discovery: the disappearance of classical conditioning before Pavlov.

In the nineteenth century, scientific materials in experimental physiology changed dramatically. In this context, phenomena that had been widely accepted were lost, sometimes to be reintroduced later as “discoveries.” I describe the loss of the phenomenon of classical conditioning, later rediscovered by Ivan Pavlov. In 1896, Austrian physiologist Alois Kreidl demonstrated experimentally that animals anticipate the occurrence of food that is cued by a variety of stimuli. Kreidl stated, moreover, that the fact that animals can be called to food had been widely known to science since the 1830s. I describe Kreidl's work and discuss several factors that may have led to the disappearance of conditioning prior to its rediscovery by Pavlov. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Developing Behavioral Objectives for Perioperative Staff Development

ABSTRACT Behavioral objectives (ie, clear statements that describe intended instructional outcomes) are a crucial component of educational planning for perioperative staff development. Properly written objectives promote positive learning outcomes such as increased motivation, better retention of information, and improved instructional accountability. This article describes the advantages of using behavioral objectives, gives a historical perspective of their development, presents a practical “how-to” approach to formulating them, and delineates their link to the selection of appropriate evaluation methods.
Analysis of strain compensated GaAs-based InAs QD solar cells

A suite of characterization techniques including electron beam induced current and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy in cooperation with current voltage and external quantum efficiency solar measurements are used to analyze the effects of incorporating strain-compensating layers in GaAs-based InAs quantum dot solar cells. The data indicate that strain compensation layers can reduce defect densities and increase device performance.
Bringing industry into an undergraduate agribusiness course

The current changes in agriculture, often referred to as industrialization, are creating a work environment for agribusiness employees that is more complex than ever before. It is paramount that agricultural economics and agribusiness programs adequately prepare students for this changing work environment. In particular it is essential to help students develop good analytical and communications skills. Specifically students need to be able to integrate ideas from different areas, identify similarities and differences, identify alternative courses of action, analyze the consequences of the alternative actions and communicate the implications of the action. This paper reports on a successful agribusiness capstone course that made extensive use of active learning techniques and brought industry into the undergraduate course. The format of the course as well as the benefits derived for the students, the university, and industry are discussed in the paper. In addition the factors that lead to the success of the course as well as those factors that were a constraint are identified. Readers can take from this example the ideas that will work for them to incorporate into their courses.
Autogenous Bone Graft: Donor Sites and Techniques

Autogenous cancellous bone graft provides an osteoconductive, osteoinductive, and osteogenic substrate for filling bone voids and augmenting fracture-healing.The iliac crest remains the most frequently used site for bone-graft harvest, but the proximal part of the tibia, distal end of the radius, distal aspect of the tibia, and greater trochanter are alternative donor sites that are particularly useful for bone-grafting in the ipsilateral extremity.The most common complication associated with the harvest of autogenous bone graft is pain at the donor site, with less frequent complications including nerve injury, hematoma, infection, and fracture at the donor site.Induced membranes is a method that uses a temporary polymethylmethacrylate cement spacer to create a bone-graft-friendly environment to facilitate graft incorporation, even in large segmental defects.
Micro-scale plasticity effects in microvia reliability analysis

Microvias play a key role in high density wiring substrates. To theoretically predict the fatigue life of the microvias, accurate estimation of plastic strain evolution in microvias is critical. Due to the temperature-dependent material properties and high cyclic strains induced due to thermal excursions in electronic packaging interconnects and components, plasticity theories are extensively used to predict the low-cycle fatigue life. Experimental evidence indicates that plastic deformation in metals and polymers at small scales depends not only on the state variables of stress and strain, but also on their higher order gradients. As the diameter of the microvia reduces, the wall thickness correspondingly reduces and hence the minimum feature size reduces to the order of microns, where scale effects in plasticity are predominant. A plastic strain gradient-based computational algorithm is employed in this work to study the thermo-mechanical deformation of microvia structure. The thermo-mechanical reliability analysis demonstrates the influence of incorporating strain gradient effects in predicting the evolution of plastic deformation in microvia structures.
Scaling-up universal financial protection: experience from a tertiary health facility of the impact of perception on the willingness to enrol in health insurance schemes in Delta State, Nigeria

Objective: To assess the evidence of how the perception of health insurance impacts on the willingness to enrol and utilize health insurance among clienteles using tertiary health services. Method: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The instrument was a pre-tested, semi-structured self administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics as well as chi-square test and regression analysis were done to show statistically significant associations. Results: The findings reveal that majority of the respondents, that is 109 (46.4%) were of the opinion that health insurance is a viable programme, however they had their reservations, which were those of uncertainty, amongst others. Nevertheless, the perception by most of the respondents showed that they need more information based on their poor experiences of health insurance, and this strengthens their quest to enrol in any such scheme. A sufficiently reliable association between the feeling that they need more information on health insurance and the willingness to enrol in a health insurance scheme (χ 2 = 11.690, df = 1, p -value = .001) was shown. Conclusion: The findings from this study has brought to the fore that perception of clients using health services impacts on their desire and willingness to participate in health insurance schemes. However, there are concerns that necessitate wide spread advocacy for health insurance.
Generation and partial characterization of eosinophil chemotactic activity and neutrophil chemotactic activity during early and late-phase asthmatic response

Asthma has been recognized to consist of hyperresponsive airways and cellular inflammation. Allergen bronchoprovocation (BPC) may define the early (EAR) and late-phase asthmatic response (LAR). The LAR has now been associated with increased nonspecific airway hyperresponsiveness and cellular inflammation consisting of neutrophils and eosinophils. We used BPC to demonstrate EAR and LAR in 12 subjects with seasonal allergic asthma. One normal subject and one subject with asthma who has been treated with allergy immunotherapy were challenged but did not respond. Plasma was sampled at frequent intervals during these aeroallergen challenges and assayed for eosinophil chemotactic activity (ECA) and neutrophil chemotactic activity (NCA). Of the 12 subjects with asthma who were challenged, nine had dual responses (both EAR and LAR), and three subjects demonstrated only an LAR. Those subjects who had dual airway responses had biphasic rises in both ECA (early=267±28%; late=286±28%) and NCA (early=279±24%; late=215±15%) in their plasma, whereas those subjects who demonstrated only an LAR had only a late rise in ECA (218±61%) and NCA (188±31%). The two individuals who did not respond to aeroallergen challenge demonstrated no change in their plasma chemotactic activity toward either eosinophils or neutrophils. Those individuals with the most severe LAR (1000 mm 2 ) had combined ECA plus NCA peak values of >500%. Changes in ECA and NCA were statistically significant at 10 and 30 minutes, and 2, 6, 9, and 24 hours after response to BPC that included both EAR and LAR. These corresponded to the early peak pulmonary response at 10 minutes and nadir of the LAR at 15 to 18 hours after challenge. The NCA in both EAR and LAR was partially characterized as having a high molecular weight and slightly acidic isoelectric point. The ECA resided in two low-molecular-weight regions as assessed by Sephadex G-25 gel filtration. In summary, we identified two low-molecular-weight eosinophil chemotactic factors in the plasma of patients and asthma with allergen-induced bronchospasm during both early and late-phase responses that corresponded in time to the appearance of a high-molecular-weight neutrophil chemotactic factor. These chemotactic factors may potentially account for the local recruitment and activation of eosinophils and neutrophils during perennial or seasonal allergic asthma.
Large Multibeam Antennas for Space

A number of space missions (communication, Earth observation, and power transfer) are surveyed that involve the use of large spacecraft antennas. All of these antennas require sophisticated radiation control. Ways to achieve these controls and associated problems are presented and some details are given about the factors affecting the gain, beam isolation, and polarization isolation of the antennas.
Magnesium and embryonic development

Important for energy metabolism, neurotransmission, bone stability, and other cellular functions, Mg2+ has well-established and undisputedly critical roles in adult tissues. Its contributions to early embryonic development are less clearly understood. For decades it has been known that gestational Mg2+ deficiency in rodents produces teratogenic effects. More recent studies have linked deficiency in this vital cation to birth defects in humans, including spina bifida, a neural fold closure defect in humans that occurs at an average rate of 1 per 1000 pregnancies. The first suggestion that Mg2+ may be playing a more specific role in early development arose from studies of the TRPM7 and TRPM6 ion channels. TRPM7 and TRPM6 are divalent-selective ion channels in possession of their own kinase domains that have been implicated in the control of Mg2+ homeostasis in vertebrates. Disruption of the functions of these ion channels in mice as well as in frogs interferes with gastrulation, a pivotal process during early embryonic development that executes the emergence of the body plan and closure of the neural tube. Surprisingly, gastrulation defects produced by depletion of TRPM7 can be prevented by Mg2+ supplementation, indicating an essential role for Mg2+ in gastrulation and neural fold closure. The aim of this review is to summarize the data emerging from molecular genetic, biochemical and electrophysiological studies of TRPM6 and TRPM7 and provide a model of how Mg2+, through these unique channel-kinases, may be impacting early embryonic development.
The Differential Geometry of Fedosov’s Quantization

B. Fedosov has given a simple and very natural construction of a deformation quantization for any symplectic manifold, using a flat connection on the bundle of formal Weyl algebras associated to the tangent bundle of a symplectic manifold. The connection is obtained by affinizing, nonlinearizing, and iteratively flattening a given torsion free symplectic connection. In this paper, a classical analog of Fedosov’s operations on connections is analyzed and shown to produce the usual exponential mapping of a linear connection on an ordinary manifold. A symplectic version is also analyzed. Finally, some remarks are made on the implications for deformation quantization of Fedosov’s index theorem on general symplectic manifolds.
Hydrodynamic Performance of a FPSO in Highly Oblique Flow Conditions

The capability of the viscous-flow solver Star-CCM+ to simulate the flow around a ship in steady oblique motion has been studied. To obtain insight into the reliability and accuracy of the results, grid dependency studies were conducted. Local flow quantities as well as integral variables were compared to measurement values. A FPSO hull form was considered for the simulations as well as experimental assessment of the resistance and flow field at multiple oblique flow conditions. The measurements and simulations have been completed at one draft, one Froude numbers and in 7 inflow conditions (0° to 180° with 30° increments).The measurements and predictions were made for the resistance in the inflow direction, side force and yawing moment. Additionally, the pressure and velocity distributions around the hull at multiple cross-sections are presented derived from the RANS predictions. Qualitatively, promising results are obtained. For practical purposes however, the accuracy of the results may require further improvement. For the current calculations, the predicted yaw moment is close to the measurements but the side force is under-predicted. Reasons for these discrepancies might be the neglect of trim and sinkage for the FPSO and of the insufficient grid resolution at the bow and stern. This should be studied in future research.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Reconsidering Property Division in Divorce under Nebraska Law in Light of the ALI's Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution: Analysis and Recommendations

The article reviews Nebraska law governing division of property in divorce cases. The article compares Nebraska law with the rules promoted by the American Law Institute's Principles of the Law of Family Dissolution: Analysis and Recommendations. The article suggests that the Nebraska equitable division approach is preferable to the ALI approach, but argues that Nebraska law should unambiguously embrace a presumption of equal division subject to equitable considerations.
A New Narrow Width Effect in Amorphous Silicon Thin Film Transistors

A new narrow width effect is described for a-Si thin film transistor, TFT, having the inverted staggered structure with source and drain contacts overlapping the edge of the island passivation nitride. In this structure, where the source and drain contacts overlap the edge of the island they contact the a-Si and make a segment of channel effectively shorter. The edges thereby contribute a greater amount to the total drive current, and as width decreases, that fraction increases; what is therefore seen is a channel length effect masquerading as a width effect. p]The results of measurements down to a width of 3um are given and the effective region of enhanced current is estimated. A SPICE model is presented that allows a simple representation of this effect.
Outcomes of Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair in Kidney Transplant Recipients: Results From a National Quality Initiative.

Contrast-induced nephropathy after endovascular aortic aneurysm repair (EVAR) in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) can have devastating consequences. The Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) database was queried to select all KTRs who underwent EVAR between January 2003 and December 2014. Our primary outcome was renal dysfunction, defined as acute kidney injury (AKI; elevation of serum creatinine >0.5 mg/dL from baseline) or new postoperative hemodialysis requirement. Within the EVAR VQI dataset, 40 patients were KTRs (40 of 17 213, or 0.2%). Renal dysfunction occurred in five of 40 patients in the KTR group in comparison to 779 of 17 173 patients in the nontransplanted group (12.5% versus 4.5%, p < 0.01). Emergent EVAR was required in 2 (5%) patients, one of whom required dialysis after surgery and subsequently died. One-year survival after EVAR was similar in the two groups (92.9% versus 93.1%, p = 0.73). KTRs who developed renal dysfunction had significantly lower preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) (29.5 versus 54.7, p = 0.007) and a significantly higher iodine:eGFR ratio (0.78 versus 0.39, p = 0.02) despite receiving a similar volume of contrast (70.0 versus 68.8, p = 0.97). Renal dysfunction is 3 times more frequent in KTRs treated with EVAR, though overall survival did not differ between the groups. Decreased preoperative eGFR and a higher iodine:eGFR ratio are associated with postoperative renal dysfunction.
Concurrent Annealing Of Vacancy-Type And Interstitial-Type Damage In Neutron Irradiated Stainless Steel

Analysis of the effect of annealing on change in void and loop size distributions provided insights that complement microstructural characterization using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The predictions of concurrent vacancy-type and interstitial-type damage annealing are applied to measurements in neutron-irradiated austenitic stainless steels. Irradiation at 330°C produces void and loop microstructures for which the measured annealing response is in accord with predictions. Irradiation at 275° produces only Frank loop microstructure for which the annealing response cannot be predicted from measured microstructures. The model predictions are based on an assumed vacancy source not detected using TEM. The measured loop microstructure is typically reported to be interstitial in character but this analysis suggests that a significant component of the loop population is vacancy-type damage based on defect inventory and kinetic arguments.
The Effect of Hospital Characteristics on Racial/Ethnic Variation in Cirrhosis Mortality

Racial/ethnic disparities in liver disease and cirrhosis are well established. Cirrhosis mortality is improving overall despite vast differences between hospitals. We sought to understand the hospital characteristics where minorities seek care, whether disparities in cirrhosis mortality persist, and determine how hospital differences contribute to these differences. We used data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample and the American Hospital Association to identify inpatient episodes of care for cirrhosis and structural characteristics at the parent hospital. We used multi-level hierarchical regression models to understand the effect of hospital structural characteristics on racial/ethnic variation in cirrhosis mortality. From 2007 to 2011, 51,260 patients were admitted to the hospital with cirrhosis (White 66.5 %, Black 7.6 %, Hispanic 19.7 %, Asian 2.0 %, other 4.2 %). The overall adjusted mortality rate was 7.8 %, which significantly differed by race/ethnicity. Hospitals varied significantly in resource intensity. Higher mortality hospitals had a lower proportion of White patients and a higher proportion of Black and Hispanic patients compared to average and low mortality hospitals (p < 0.0001). Compared to White patients, there was significant racial/ethnic variation in unadjusted odds of mortality (Black OR 1.17; Hispanic OR 0.90; Asian 0.77; other 0.96; all p < 0.01). After accounting for hospital and patient differences, there were no racial/ethnic differences in mortality. The increased risk of cirrhosis mortality in Black patients appears to be mediated by facility differences and clinical co-morbidities, suggesting that access to higher quality health services at several points in both the early and late management of liver disease may improve disparate population outcomes.
Robotic Assistance in Indoor Navigation for People who are Blind

In this paper, we describe the process of making a robot useful as a guide robot for people who are blind or visually impaired. For this group, the interactive audio feature of a robot assumes a very high level of importance. We have introduced some features that will help to make the robot sound natural and be more comfortable. We first addressed the question of the speaker placement to help the user determine the size and distance of the robot. After the initial meeting, user data will be retained by the robot so that their communication evolves with every interaction. The robot will also ask the users if they need to take a rest after a specified interval depending upon the user's age and the distance they need to cover. The next time they visit, all this information will be used to make the interaction more natural and customized for each individual user.
Discussion on the Regulation of State-Owned Company's Internal Accounting Control

There are many kinds of abusement existing in internal accounting control.So regulating the internal accounting control of state-owned company is necessary.The article discusses regulations of state-owned company's internal accounting control from the its goal,content and method.
Productions of Space In Tuareg History: Power, Marginalization, And Resistance

Tuareg pastoralists commanded a system of trade and production in the western Sahel prior to French colonization, but events in the 20th Century rendered them marginalized and vulnerable to climatic shocks, as evidenced by the Sahelian drought of the 1970s. This paper begins with a discussion of how the Tuareg exploited the landscape and social relations of production prior to colonization. It then describes colonial re-ordering of space in what is now Niger through the displacement of the Tuareg nobility. The first disastrous drought of the postcolonial era triggered another transformation of space as respondents to the crisis challenged the logic of pastoralists’ land use and implemented alternative models of production. Finally, the paper considers how some Tuareg are both re-establishing broad territories through new forms of mobility and attempting to seize greater control over resources and development processes in their homeland.
Spindle cell and pleomorphic (“sarcomatoid”) carcinomas of the lung: an immunohistochemical analysis of 86 cases

Spindle cell and pleomorphic carcinomas are currently grouped among sarcomatoid carcinomas of the lung. Because of their unusual occurrence, these tumors have not been properly assessed by immunohistochemistry. We performed a comprehensive immunohistochemical analysis of 86 of these tumors. Seventy-four pleomorphic carcinomas (57 with differentiated elements) and 12 spindle cell carcinomas were subjected to immunohistochemistry with CAM5.2, cytokeratin (CK) 7, thyroid transcription factor 1, napsin A, CK5/6, p40, desmocollin 3, Sox2, calretinin, and D2-40. The percentage of positive tumor cells as well as the staining intensity were evaluated and scored. The spindle/giant elements were positive for CAM5.2 (93%), CK7 (79%), thyroid transcription factor 1 (41%), napsin A (20%), calretinin (20%), Sox2 (13%), CK5/6 (9%), p40 (8%), D2-40 (6%), and desmocollin 3 (3%). Of 29 cases in which immunohistochemistry was performed on spindle/giant cell and corresponding differentiated elements, 21 (72%) showed a consistent staining pattern in both components, whereas in 8 cases (28%), the immunophenotype in the spindle/giant cells was less lineage-specific than in the differentiated component. Therefore, we consider that 42% of neoplasms otherwise classified as sarcomatoid carcinoma can be reclassified as adenocarcinoma and 14% as squamous cell carcinoma, while the remaining 44% failed to show a more specific immunophenotype. The use of a comprehensive immunohistochemical panel allows reclassification of the majority of sarcomatoid carcinomas as poorly differentiated variants of adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma. Such reclassification will facilitate clinical management and allow molecular testing and pursuit of targeted treatment strategies. Application of immunohistochemistry should become the standard in the workup of pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinomas.
Keynote speaker: Putting the radio into software defined radio ∼ and the meaning for arrays

While the digital influence increases in modern RF systems, there remain fixed design choices which reside within a system for many years. These fixed choices, often in the RF transceiver hardware of the system, increasingly become the limiting feature in the adaptability of a system. This talk will overview the efforts to push the adaptability up to the transceiver and through the physical antenna structure, with a highlight on the progress towards a programmable RF transceiver termed the “RF FPGA”. New research approaches towards generalizing the RF design space, which imply designing the system first and then adding the RF specifications second, will be shown. This development promises to impact the phased array area by allowing for many different applications of a single RF component, much as the FPGA is found ubiquitously throughout modern systems in the digital domain. However, many challenges exist to realizing this vision and the prospects of truly reprogrammable RF will be detailed.
Does positivity enhance work performance?: Why, when, and what we don’t know

Abstract There is evidence, spanning many decades of research, that the subjective well-being (SWB) of workers, including life satisfaction, job satisfaction, and positive affect, positively correlates with the performance of workers and organizations. However, the size of the relationships is typically small to moderate. In this review we address the question of why the relationships are not stronger. We first review evidence of a relationship moving from well-being to performance through various pathways. Workers who are high in SWB are now understood to have: 1. better health, 2. lower absenteeism, 3. greater self-regulation, 4. stronger motivation, 5. enhanced creativity, 6. positive relationships, and 7. lower turnover. Each of these variables can predict individual and organizational performance. However, the sheer number of known and possible pathways means the relationships are bound to be complex, and there are mitigating conditions at every turn. Thus, second, we review the evidence of moderators of these mediators, hypothesizing when a happier workforce is a more productive one, and when not. Future research is needed to firmly establish the pathways from different types of SWB through the mediators to metrics of performance, to further establish the moderating conditions in which these relations are most likely to occur, and to evaluate how much SWB is needed to maximize effectiveness. We end by urging scholars to conduct this future research using the highest standards of scientific integrity.
Calculated dependence of FePt damping on external field magnitude and direction

Near the Curie temperature (Tc), magnetic parameters including magnetization, anisotropy, and damping depend strongly on both temperature and length scale. This manifestation of renormalization theory is most readily seen in the case of magnetization where the magnitude of the atomic spin is largely unaffected by temperature, but the bulk magnetization vanishes at Tc. It has been previously argued that the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert damping parameter alpha exhibits a similar effect owing to its dependence on both atomic effects and magnon-magnon scattering, the latter having a strong length dependence. Here, we calculate, using an anisotropic exchange description of L10 FePt (Tc = 705 K), the damping (and other magnetic properties) dependence on temperature for FePt at length scales around 1.0 nm as appropriate for high temperature micromagnetic simulation. While the damping reduces as the applied field along the easy direction increases, it tends to increase as the field direction is changed to in-plane. Th...
Upregulation of SOCS-1 and Downregulation of miR-214 Correlate with Disease Course in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

Abstract SOCS-1, suppressor of cytokine signaling, is a negative regulator of the JAK2/STAT signal transduction pathway. This pathway, often deregulated in myeloproliferative disorders, has not yet been implicated in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We demonstrated SOCS-1 upregulation and miR-214 downregulation with clinical response in a patient treated with cladribine. Similar changes were not seen in a treated patient with progressive disease. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNAs that regulate expression of other genes by complementary pairing at the seed sequence in the 3′-UTR of the target mRNA. Some patients with CLL reportedly regulate bcl-2 expression by downregulating miR-15a and miR-16-1. Although no experimentally verified targets have been demonstrated for miR-214, complete inhibition of miR-214 by anti-sense inhibitors prevents apoptosis in Hela cells. Of the 44 predicted human miRNAs that target SOCS-1 ( http://microrna.sanger.ac.uk ), we determined the expression of 24 of these by real-time PCR using the Early Access Human Panel from Applied Biosystems. MiR-214 was the only downregulated miRNA after treatment. The other 23 miRNAs were either upregulated or unchanged. We demonstrated SOCS-1 protein upregulation by two fold after cladribine in the “responsive” patient without a concomitant increase in the transcript level as measured by real time PCR. SOCS-1 expression is often silenced by DNA promoter methylation in hematologic and solid tumor malignancies. We report another mechanism of regulation through miRNA translational repression. This suggests involvement of the JAK2/STAT pathway in B-cell survival in CLL.
Literature and Amazigh language debates: the case of Moroccan Amazigh literature in ‘other’ languages

This paper examines the intersection between fictional literature and language politics in Morocco, by looking at literature that depicts Amazigh communities. Specifically discussed is the contribution of literary texts in ‘other’ languages, whether via translation or original versions, to imagining the potential and limits of Amazigh language promotion on a national and global level. The novels Un youyou dans la mosquee (A youyou in the mosque), Jo tambe soc catalana (I am Catalan too), and Il etait une fois un vieux couple heureux (Once upon a time there was a happy old couple) each deals with phenomena that have propelled Amazigh language debates onto the international stage: language standardisation, new technologies that spread cultural production, immigration, and the growing Amazigh diaspora. These three novels describe the (often negative) effects of these phenomena on local communities, while at the same time suggesting that literature can provide a new way to approach these issues. These...
ISEScan: automated identification of insertion sequence elements in prokaryotic genomes.

Motivation The insertion sequence (IS) elements are the smallest but most abundant autonomous transposable elements in prokaryotic genomes, which play a key role in prokaryotic genome organization and evolution. With the fast growing genomic data, it is becoming increasingly critical for biology researchers to be able to accurately and automatically annotate ISs in prokaryotic genome sequences. The available automatic IS annotation systems are either providing only incomplete IS annotation or relying on the availability of existing genome annotations. Here, we present a new IS elements annotation pipeline to address these issues. Results ISEScan is a highly sensitive software pipeline based on profile hidden Markov models constructed from manually curated IS elements. ISEScan performs better than existing IS annotation systems when tested on prokaryotic genomes with curated annotations of IS elements. Applying it to 2784 prokaryotic genomes, we report the global distribution of IS families across taxonomic clades in Archaea and Bacteria. Availability and implementation ISEScan is implemented in Python and released as an open source software at https://github.com/xiezhq/ISEScan. Contact hatang@indiana.edu. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Optical physics: A larger quantum alphabet

Quantum objects that can hold more information than quantum bits have been generated and manipulated in an integrated photonic platform, paving the way for advanced protocols in quantum information processing. See Letter p.622 Qubits, the quantum version of bits, are constructed from two-level quantum systems, but in principle a quantum information processor could exploit higher-dimensional quantum systems for operation. These systems with an arbitrary number of levels are often termed qudits and can be generated, for example, from photons. Using qudits instead of qubits can increase sensitivity in quantum imaging and can boost quantum communication schemes. Here, Michael Kues et al. generate two entangled qudits on an integrated photonic chip using a four-wave mixing process. Each qudit encodes a 10-dimensional state, enabling the realization of a quantum system with 100 dimensions. This technique could find application in fibre-based quantum communications.
Analysis of stress rupture data on fiber composites. Part 2. Determining uncertainty and removing bias in estimates

Abstract Stress rupture is a failure mode for unidirectional continuous fiber composites that is of increasing concern in composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs). Stress rupture is a catastrophic failure mode with a large variance in failure times due to inherent randomness. Prediction of a composite structure's resistance to stress rupture is typically based on extensive testing at higher loads than used in service. The resulting datasets are then analyzed within the framework of a statistical model to determine an estimate of the probability that a composite structure will survive for a given lifetime under a particular load profile. For instance, in life safety applications the interest would be in ensuring a very small corresponding failure probability, such as one in a million. The statistical model parameters can be estimated in many ways, one of which is to use a maximum likelihood approach, but these estimates are of questionable value in the absence of a measure of their uncertainty. This paper presents a procedure for determining the uncertainty in such estimates, as well as removing any inherent bias. Details of the procedure are fully illustrated using data generated on model carbon/epoxy COPVs tested at the NASA White Sands Test Facility. This procedure is based in Monte-Carlo simulation of ‘typical’ datasets, which are then analyzed using the same method as the original dataset, thus giving a distribution of estimates. This distribution allows for quantification of uncertainty and bias. The Monte-Carlo procedure can also be used to evaluate experimental test design to determine the expected amount of uncertainty for a given test setup.