cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Non‐destructive evaluation of in‐place rehabilitated concrete pavements

Abstract Several in‐place rehabilitation techniques have been used before placing an Asphalt Concrete (AC) overlay on Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) pavements in attempts to minimize reflection cracking. Among these techniques, “rubblization” of PCC has been recognized to be the most utilized procedure for the mitigation of reflection cracking in US. This paper presents the practices on the use of rubblization in US and discusses the performance of this technique based on field evaluation. The specifications for the rubblization procedure used by state Department of Transportation (DOT) in US were reviewed. To evaluate the performance of rubblization technique, the structural and the surface conditions of AC overlaid pavements with rubblized PCC layer are compared to those with virgin PCC layer. A series of field experiment tests were carried out on six representative AC overlaid pavements with both rubblized PCC and virgin PCC in Iowa during 2007. The field experiment tests include the Nondestructive (ND...
Structure and Correlates of Diabetes-Specific Locus of Control

OBJECTIVE To examine the structure and correlates of diabetes-specific locus of control. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Study participants were 165 adult patients from a comprehensive outpatient diabetes education program who completed a research protocol at the outset of the program. The protocol included measures of diabetes locus of control (DLC), glycemie control, self-care behavior, and emotional well-being. RESULTS Scales measuring internal and powerful other DLC each had two components. One component of internal DLC, autonomy, was significantly associated with positive outcomes, and the other component, self-blame, was related to negative outcomes. The two components of powerful other DLC were differently correlated with various aspects of strict regimen adherence, and chance DLC was associated with a variety of measures reflecting a pattern of dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS The concept of DLC appears to have explanatory power in accounting for health outcomes, especially when internal DLC measures of autonomy and self-blame are differentiated. It is important to find educational interventions that work effectively with patients who believe that health outcomes are controlled by chance, because they seem to be at special risk for health-related problems.
Adhesion hysteresis of silane coated microcantilevers

We have developed a new experimental approach for measuring hysteresis in the adhesion between a free standing thin film and a substrate. By accurately measuring and modeling the deformations in micromachined cantilever beams that are subject to combined interfacial adhesive and applied electrostatic forces, we determine adhesion energies for advancing and receding contacts. We examined adhesion hysteresis for silane coated cantilevers and found no hysteresis at low relative humidity (RH) conditions. The dominant contribution to interfacial energy at low RH is van der Waals attraction between portions of the surfaces that are separated by nanometer asperities. In contrast, significant hysteresis was observed for surfaces that were exposed to high RH conditions. Atomic force microscopy studies of these surfaces showed spontaneous formation of silane mounds that have irreversibly transformed from initially uniform hydrophobic surface layers. Contact mechanics considerations show that the compliance of the mounds can reasonably allow microcapillaries in surrounding hydrophilic areas to bridge at high RH as the surfaces are forced into contact by an externally applied load, leading to the adhesion hysteresis.
Physical Activity in Individuals With Severe Mental Illness: Client Versus Case Manager Ratings

The Physical Activity Scale for Individuals With Physical Disabilities was examined as a physical activity measure for people with severe mental illness. Case manager ratings were more closely related to body mass index than clients’ ratings, challenging the accuracy of self-report physical activity measures for individuals with severe mental illness.
Dexamethasone therapy and endogenous cortisol production in severe pediatric head injury.

A prospective randomised study was performed on 25 children aged 1.4 to 15.8 years with severe head injury (Glasgow Coma Scale⪕7) to determine the clinical effectiveness and the impact on endogenous cortisol production of high-dose steroid therapy. Thirteen patients (group 1) received dexamethasone 1 mg/kg/day during the first 3 days and 12 (group 2) not. All patients were treated with a standardized regimen. Urinary free cortisol was measured by radioimmunoassay, and the clinical data were recorded at hourly intervals. Outcome was assessed 6 months later using the Glasgow Outcome Scale. We found a higher frequency of bacterial pneumonias in the dexamethasone-treated patients (7/13 versus 2/12). Group 1 showed a suppression of endogenous cortisol production from day 1 to day 6. In group 2, menu free cortisol was up to 5-fold higher than under basal conditions. The results in group 2 showed taht the endogenous steroid production reacts adequately to the stress of severe head injury. It probably is sufficient to elicit maximum glucocorticoid effects. There was no other statistically significant difference in the clinical and laboratory data between the two groups. We conclude that dexamethasone in high doses suppresses endogenous cortisol production up to 6 days and may increase the risk of bacterial infection without affecting the outcome or the clinical and laboratory data.
Quantification of global and regional left atrial function in paroxysmal atrial fibrillation using CMR derived 4-D wall motion analysis

Methods Eight healthy volunteers (6 male, mean 29.7 yrs) and 6 patients (6 male, mean 61.7 yrs) with paroxysmal AF underwent imaging during sinus rhythm on a 1.5 T scanner. Steady state free procession imaging of the LA, acquired in an axial stack and parasagittal at 6 mm slice thickness with no interslice gap, was retrospectively reconstructed into 25 phases per R-R interval. Segmentation of the LA wall was performed manually using ARGUS software (Siemens Medical Solutions). The following landmarks were identified manually at each phase and used to construct a spherical coordinate system: four pulmonary vein ostia and four points on the mitral annulus (superior, inferior, left, right). Using MATLAB, contour points were fitted with a 16-element mesh to obtain a continuous description of changes in atrial radius through space and time. LA volume and radial fractional shortening of each element were calculated for each phase and subject. Elements were separated into superior, inferior, septal and free walls for regional analysis. Differences between patients and volunteers were determined with an unpaired t-test.
SU-E-T-560: A Method to Determine Optimal Dynamic MLC Parameters for Varian Truebeam with Millennium MLC and HDMLC

Purpose: Correct MLC modeling is essential to the accurate IMRT delivery. Most TPSs use simplified models with parameters of leaf transmission (LT) and dynamic leaf gap (DLG). The common way to determine them is through extrapolation from measurements. In this study, we propose a new technique to determine these parameters with EPID and ion chambers using specially designed fluence pattern. Methods: The fluence has symmetric twin peaks separated by 10cm and each has a width of 2cm. The DMLC files were generated based on initial values of LT and DLG from measurements. Plans were delivered to EPID and analyzed in portal dosimetry software. The FWHM of each peak was evaluated. The optimal DLG value was determined by iteratively adjusting its value and repeating calculation to match the FWHM between calculation and measurement. To determine LT, an ion chamber was placed at the central axis where dose is primarily from MLC leakage. Both Millennium MLC (MMLC) and HDMLC in Varian Truebeam were investigated for photon energies of 6X, 10X, 15X. QAs of realistic IMRT plans were performed and compared. Results: The MMLC has measured LT values from 1.3%–1.5%, and corresponding optimal values 1.6–1.9%, an increase of 20% on average. The DLGs extrapolated from measurement are 0.8–0.9 mm, and optimal at 1.2–1.6 mm, a 60% increase. For HDMLC, the LTs are similar. However, the DLGs are much smaller, with extrapolations at 0.15–0.21 mm, and optimal at 0.4–0.7 mm. The portal dosimetry QA for 6X plan with MMLC reduces pixels failing γ (criteria: 3%/1mm) from 9% to 3% with optimal parameters. Similarly, QA for 15X plan with HDMLC reduces from 21% to 6%. Conclusion: We have developed a method to determine optimal MLC parameters that minimize TPS modeling errors. This ensures that patient specific QA reflects the true discrepancies in treatment plan or machine delivery.
Exploring the brand value-shareholder value nexus for consumer goods companies

It is generally claimed that brand names are a corporate asset with an economic value that creates wealth for a firm’s shareholders. However, the scholarly literature has neither provided a comprehensive theoretical basis for this claim nor documented an empirical relationship between brand value and shareholder value. This exploratory study describes a rationale for, and documents, the statistical strength and functional form of a brand value-shareholder value relationship for publicly held consumer goods companies in the United States. A theoretical argument supportive of a positive relationship between a firm’s accumulated brand value and market-to-book (M/B) ratio was empirically validated. However, even though firms with higher accumulated brand values have higher M/B ratios, the functional form of the relationship was found to be concave with decreasing returns to scale. Theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are outlined, as well as study limitations and directions for future research.
The effects of stimulus similarity on different types of behavioral contrast

Pigeons were trained on multiple schedules with component stimuli of different degrees of similarity. In Experiment 1, a two-component schedule was used in which the two stimuli were either two line orientations or a line orientation versus a diffuse color. Reinforcement rate was varied in one component to determine the effects of stimulus similarity on different aspects of behavioral contrast. Contrast in terms of average response rates (molar contrast) was larger with less similar stimuli. Local contrast effects at the beginning of the component were larger for more similar stimuli, but these effects were more variable and did not attain statistical significance. Independent of the level of molar contrast, the local pattern of schedule interaction differed for the two levels of similarity: with more similar stimuli, the maximum degree of interaction occurred at the beginning of the components and then decreased; with less similar stimuli, the degree of interaction increased throughout the components and was at its maximum near their end. In Experiment 2, the same three stimuli were used while reinforcement rate in the middle component of a three-component sequence was varied; this isolated the effects of the preceding schedule from those of the following schedule. Contrast effects were generally greater in the target component preceding the variable schedule, and these were enhanced by less similar stimuli. Contrast in the target component following the variable schedule was manifested primarily in terms of the behavior at the beginning of the component, and these effects were inconsistently related to stimulus similarity. The functional separation of the effects of stimulus similarity on the different locations of contrast suggest that “anticipatory contrast” and “local contrast” depend upon different mechanisms, thus excluding any account of contrast solely in terms of relative rate of reinforcement.
Checkpoints of dueling dimers foil death wishes

Zoltan N. Oitvai* and Stanley 3. Korsmeyefl *Department of Pathology Northwestern University School of Medicine Chicago, Illinois 60610 tHoward Hughes Medical institute Division of Molecular Oncology Departments of Medicine and Pathology Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, Missouri 63110 Recent evidence has emphasized the indispensibie role of programmed cell death in the development and mainte- nance of homeostasis within ail multicellular organisms. Genetic and molecular analysis from nematodes to hu- mans has indicated that cellular suicide is highly con- sewed (Hengartner and Horvitz, 1994, and references therein). Thus, it appears that the evolutionary switch from a unicellular to a multicellular existence hinged in part upon the creation of a regulated cell suicide response. A Cell-Autonomous Susceptibility to Dying From an individual cell’ s point of view, signals received from its environment can prompt the ultimate sacrifice: its own demise. The capacity to carry out apoptosis appears to be inherent to most (if not ail) ceils that depend upon an extracellular milieu of survival factors or cell-ceil contact molecules for their viability (Raff, 1992). Yet it is increasingly evident that the decision to die is not solely determined by extraceiluiar signals. in a number of biological systems, the degree of sensitivity to a given death stimulus is cell-type specific. For example, CD4+CD6+ cortical thymocytes are exquisitely sensitive to a wide vari- ety of apoptotic stimuli, while the more mature meduliary thymocytes are resistant. Similarly, in the Drosophila eye, a given signal can effectively rescue cells from apoptosis at one developmental stage, but not at another (Bonini et al., 1993). These observations imply the existence of an autonomous regulation of the apoptotic program. intracellular Checkpoints: The f3cM/Bax Rheostat The resistance of mature meduliary thymocytes to apop- totic signals correlates with a high expression level of the Bcl-2 protein. Bcl-2, originally identified at the t(l4;16) breakpoint in foilicular B cell lymphoma, can counter some but not ail stimuli known to induce cell death (Vaux et al., 1968). Bcl-2 is the founding member of an expanding family of proteins, whose principle homology is clustered within two conserved motifs called the Bcl-2 homology 1 (BHl) and homology 2 (BH2) domains (reviewed by Wii- liams and Smith, 1993). This family includes Bax, a homo- log that dimerizes with itself or with Bcl-2 and that, when overproduced, promotes apoptosis (Korsmeyer et al., 1993). Of note, Bax itself cannot trigger cell death, but requires a cell death signal (Figure 1). Selected mutations
Unsupervised Learning of the Morpho-Semantic Relationship in MEDLINE

Morphological analysis as applied to English has generally involved the study of rules for inflections and derivations. Recent work has attempted to derive such rules from automatic analysis of corpora. Here we study similar issues, but in the context of the biological literature. We introduce a new approach which allows us to assign probabilities of the semantic relatedness of pairs of tokens that occur in text in consequence of their relatedness as character strings. Our analysis is based on over 84 million sentences that compose the MEDLINE database and over 2.3 million token types that occur in MEDLINE and enables us to identify over 36 million token type pairs which have assigned probabilities of semantic relatedness of at least 0.7 based on their similarity as strings.
Solar wind modulation of the global electric circuit and apparent effects on cloud microphysics, latent heat release, and tropospheric dynamics

The solar wind modulation of the energy distribution and flux of galactic cosmic rays causes 11 year cycles in the latitude distribution of air-earth current density in the global electric circuit. Similar changes occur with solar activity on the day to day time scale. At least 3 independent data sets correlate changes in tropospheric winds and vorticity with measured and modelled changes in air-earth current density in the troposphere. These are (1) the decadal oscillations in winter in the North Atlantic region, with period averaging 11 ± 2 years over the last 120 years, and which appear to have been phase locked to the solar cycle except for a period of generally low solar activity prior to 1925; (2) the decrease in 500 mbar Vorticity Area Index (VAI) in winter at times of Forbush decreases of cosmic ray flux; and (3) decreases of 500 mbar VAI in winter at times of solar wind magnetic sector boundary passages, when volcanic aerosols from Agung and El Chicon were in the global stratosphere, together with solar wind sector modulated relativistic electron precipitation. One possible physical mechanism connecting changes in air-earth current density with changes in tropospheric dynamics is via the accumulation of electrostatic charge at cloud tops affecting the microphysics of ice nucleation and precipitation, with consequences for latent heat release and the intensification of winter cyclones.
Learning Machine Identification of Ferromagnetic UXO Using Magnetometry

The fundamental problem in applying geophysical mapping to locate unexploded ordnance (UXO) is distinguishing true UXO from non-UXO. Enhancing the accuracy of UXO detection has multiple benefits, especially in the areas of cost savings and safety. We investigated discrimination approaches using both magnetic field data and numerically modeled data. Libraries of total field magnetic (TFM) responses were calculated using finite element modeling for three UXO types found at a Montana National Guard training site. UXO model parameters were varied over ranges of azimuth, declination, and depth resulting in approximately 600 models per UXO type. The modeled responses of finite-element model (FEM) and actual TFM field data were then used as training data in discrimination and classification approaches comparing neural networks (NN), random forests (RF), and support vector machines (SVMs). The prediction targets in the training process comprised three classes: 1) binary [UXO or noninteresting object (NIO)]; 2) multiclass (UXO round type and NIO); and 3) classes derived from multiclass self-organizing feature map (SOFM) analysis. The multiclass SOFM targets generated from site-specific field data were found to be optimal for UXO discrimination. The best performing combination of class selection types using recentered data for UXO detection rates of 100% resulted in a false alarm rate (FAR) of 28%.
A new look at physiologic respiratory response to H2S poisoning

Abstract Ever since the role of the carotid bodies in controlling ventilation was elucidated by Heymans in 1932, researchers have puzzled over the seeming paradox presented by the action of hydrogen suifide gas on the nervous system. The dominant effect is depression of function, but the neural receptors of the carotids appear to be stimulated, resulting in hyperpnea at sublethal exposures. This paper examines the effect in light of the known cellular mechanisms of H,S poisoning, which inhibits the enzyme cytochrome oxidase, stopping oxidative metabolism. The argument is made that H,S affects the carotid sensors in the same manner as reduced oxygen tension, thus resulting in increased rate and depth of ventilation.
Color image noise removal algorithm utilizing hybrid vector filtering

Abstract This paper proposes a robust approach to color image noise removal that efficiently eliminates noisy pixels by exploiting several vector-class characteristics of multichannel pixels. This algorithm treats multichannel images as a vector class and takes both magnitude and phase angles of the pixel vectors into consideration. It consists of two steps: an efficient noise detector based on pixel vector angle statistics and impulse noise filtering with a hybrid of vector magnitude and vector angle function. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly outperforms several other well-known techniques for color image noise removal.
Effect of Marination upon Mineral Content and Tenderness of Beef

This study compared marinated and nonmarinated beef to determine differences in semimembranosus muscle tenderness and selected mineral content. The minerals analyzed were iron, zinc, magnesium and sodium. Marination resulted in a significantly more tender muscle, as determined by shear values and trained panel evaluations. Mineral content was significantly affected by marination with substantial losses of iron, zinc, and magnesium and increased sodium. Marination would be a feasible method of enhancing tenderness of more economical cuts of beef; however, the subsequent loss and/or gain of minerals should be considered.
The crystal structure of dicyclopentadienylvanadium monochloride and its implications for the structures of other d2 dicyclopentadienyl compounds

Abstract The crystal structure of dicyclopentadienylvanadium(III) monochloride, (η5-C5H5)2VCl, has been solved by the X-ray diffraction heavy atom method. The compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Ama2 with cell parameters a 9.134(8), b 13.522(10), and c 7.484(6) A; ϱobs 1.55(1) g/cm3, ϱcalc 1.56 g/cm3 for Z = 4. Full matrix least squares refinement based on 760 reflections lead to agreement factors of R = 0.054 and Rω = 0.069. The structure confirms that (η5-C5H5)2VCl is monomeric in contrast to [(η5-C5H5)2ScCl]2 and [η5-C5H5)2TiCl]2, which are dimeric. In the solid state the molecule possesses a crystallographic mirror plane of symmetry. The chlorine atom resides symmetrically in the open face of the (η5-C5H5)2V+ group with a VCl bond distance of 2.390(4)A. The average vanadium to carbon interatomic distance is 2.28(2) A. The structure is discussed in terms of the electronic properties of d2 compounds with structures (η5-C5H5)2VX and [η5-C5H5)2VY2]+.
Breast cancer subtypes predispose the site of distant metastases.

Objectives: The distant organs to which breast cancer preferentially metastasizes are of significant clinical importance. Methods: We explored the relationship between the clinicopathologic factors and the common sites of distant metastasis in 531 consecutive patients with advanced breast cancer. Results: Breast cancer subtype as a variable was significantly associated with all five common sites of relapse by multivariate analysis. The luminal tumors were remarkable for their significant bone-seeking phenotype and were less frequently observed in lung, brain, and pleural metastases and less likely to be associated with multiorgan relapse. The HER2 subtype demonstrated a significant liver-homing characteristic. African Americans were significantly less likely to have brain-only metastasis in patients with brain relapse. Conclusions: These findings further articulate that breast cancer subtypes differ not only in tumor characteristics but also in their metastatic behavior, thus raising the possibility that this knowledge could potentially be used in determining the appropriate strategy for follow-up of patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer.
Endothelial cells and radiation gastrointestinal syndrome.

Paris et al . have quantified extensive apoptosis in endothelial cells of jejunal microvasculature ([1][1]). This raises questions about the pathobiology of tissue injury from irradiation, but their interpretation that these changes are the basis for postradiation denudation of the jejunal mucosa is
Hydrogenic spectroscopy for various unusual plasmas

Abstract The theory of hydrogenic spectra for combined static and dynamic electric fields is reviewed. The important spectral modifications arise when the level of the dynamical field is high and its frequency is nearly resonant with the static Stark split sublevels of hydrogen. Observable effects include line broadening, satellite formation and polarization changes. Possible diagnostic applications include fusion related, solar and dense plasmas.
Inadequacy of blood drawn by cardiac puncture as a source for respiratory gas measurements in turtle (Pseudemys scripta).

Abstract 1. 1. pO2 was higher and pCO2 was lower in blood drawn from the carotid artery when compared to blood obtained by cardiac puncture. 2. 2. A pH difference between the two sources was not found. 3. Elevating body temperature caused an increase in pO2 in both sources. 3. 4. The effect on CO2 was not consistent in the two sources. 4. 5. It was concluded that the use of ventricular blood samples as an estimate for interpreting control function in the turtle could be misleading.
ViA: a perceptual visualization assistant

This paper describes an automated visualized assistant called ViA. ViA is designed to help users construct perceptually optical visualizations to represent, explore, and analyze large, complex, multidimensional datasets. We have approached this problem by studying what is known about the control of human visual attention. By harnessing the low-level human visual system, we can support our dual goals of rapid and accurate visualization. Perceptual guidelines that we have built using psychophysical experiments form the basis for ViA. ViA uses modified mixed-initiative planning algorithms from artificial intelligence to search of perceptually optical data attribute to visual feature mappings. Our perceptual guidelines are integrated into evaluation engines that provide evaluation weights for a given data-feature mapping, and hints on how that mapping might be improved. ViA begins by asking users a set of simple questions about their dataset and the analysis tasks they want to perform. Answers to these questions are used in combination with the evaluation engines to identify and intelligently pursue promising data-feature mappings. The result is an automatically-generated set of mappings that are perceptually salient, but that also respect the context of the dataset and users' preferences about how they want to visualize their data.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Posterior Shoulder Instability: Does Glenoid Retroversion Predict Recurrence and Contralateral Instability?

Purpose To determine whether glenoid retroversion is a predictor of posterior shoulder instability, contralateral instability, or recurrent instability in patients with traumatic, contact-related posterior shoulder instability. Methods Patients who underwent shoulder stabilization by 2 senior orthopaedic sport surgeons were identified retrospectively. Patients with a connective tissue disorder, multidirectional instability, or non–trauma-induced pathology were excluded. Patients with a glenoid lesion involving greater than 25% of the glenoid or an engaging humeral lesion were also excluded. Thus patients with a traumatic injury and a magnetic resonance imaging scan available for review were included. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were reviewed, and glenoid version was measured using the glenoid vault method. Charts were reviewed for epidemiologic data, recurrent instability requiring reoperation, evidence of glenoid/humeral bone lesions, and contralateral shoulder instability requiring surgery. Both recurrence and contralateral injury were defined based on having repeat surgery. Results We identified 143 patients who met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-eight patients had posterior instability, whereas 115 patients had anterior instability. Patients with posterior instability had significantly more glenoid retroversion than patients with anterior instability (−15.4° ± 5.14° v −12.1° ± 6.9°; P P Conclusions Our data show that patients with posterior instability have a higher incidence of having a retroverted glenoid. Patients with increased retroversion showed increased posterior contralateral instability. Furthermore, patients with posterior instability and no humeral bone lesions may be more likely to incur contralateral injuries than those with humeral lesions. These data suggest that glenoid version and concomitant injury patterns may be used to help physicians counsel patients on their future risks of contralateral injury. Level of Evidence Level IV, therapeutic case series.
Wall clutter mitigation for MIMO radar configurations in urban sensing

Strong front wall returns tend to obscure indoor targets and render through-the-wall target detection difficult and challenging. Among the various techniques proposed for wall clutter mitigation under monostatic radar operation is subspace projection. This technique uses the strength of the wall EM reflections relative to that of the target to separate the wall subspace from the target subspace. In this paper, we present analyses of the subspace projection approach for suppressing wall clutter and preserving indoor targets in multi-input multi-output (MIMO) through-the-wall radar imaging systems. We highlight the similarities and the differences in performance of the subspace technique under MIMO and monostatic configurations. Supporting results based on simulated and experimental data are provided.
Effect of Ingested Lipids on Drug Dissolution and Release with Concurrent Digestion: A Modeling Approach

Purpose To mechanistically study and model the effect of lipids, either from food or self-emulsifying drug delivery systems (SEDDS), on drug transport in the intestinal lumen.
Altered peptide ligand design: altering immune responses to class I MHC/peptide complexes.

Summary: Class I proteins are responsible for binding proteins from endogenously synthesized proteins and displaying them on the cell surface. Our understanding of this process has reached the point where we can manipulate the biochemical properties of peptide/class I binding and determine the effects of this alteration on subsequent immune responses. In this article, we will review the biochemistry of peptide/class I binding, and the effects of structure on this interaction between class I proteins and their peptide ligands. We will review the data which suggest that the major relevant biochemical parameter of dass I peptide binding is the off-rate. We will show that the design of altered ligands with improved binding, thermostability and immunogenicity is possible.
The heart of the matter

b l PRESENTATION In this case, a man with multiple cardiac symptoms suffers cardiac arrest during his medical evaluation, is revived, and is then treated for a very unusual tumor. The patient was a 46-year-old, previously healthy man who presented with complaints of shortness of breath and chest heaviness. Further inquiry revealed generalized fatigue and numerous episodes of profuse sweating over the preceding 2 months. A review of systems was otherwise negative.
Chemoradiation for malignant epithelial tumors

Abstract Combinations of the chemotherapy and radiation therapy are increasingly a part of treatment strategies for cancer. Although directed at distant metastasis, they may have little effect on the primary tumor and regional lymph nodes. The local tumor must be controlled to 1) eliminate life-threatening complications, 2) decrease the risk of distant metastasis, and 3) permit organ conservation. Induction chemotherapy has been shown to be effective in decreasing distant metastasis, but it does affect local tumor control in common epithelial tumors. Concurrent single agent chemotherapy can increase local control with radiation therapy and combination chemotherapy concurrent with irradiation can both improve local control and decrease distant metastasis. Combination chemoradiation therapy has become a major part of research strategies of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG): it has been shown to improve local control and survival in carcinomas of the esophagus and nasopharynx. Combination chemoradiation has increased organ conservation in carcinoma of the anal canal and it is under investigation for carcinomas of the larynx (laryngeal preservation), other head and neck sites, lung, and cervix. The equation -increased local tumor control + decreased distant metastasis = increased survival-is the paradigm. Systemic therapy with cytotoxic drugs or hormones needs to address both potential sites of failure.
Solubility and Partitioning IX: Solubility of Hydantoins in Water

An expression for estimating the aqueous solubility of weak electrolytes under different conditions of temperature and pH has been proposed in a previous publication. The expression, based on the additivity of free energy, separates solubility into three independent contributions. In the present work, the equation is tested with a different set of 18 solutes within the range of temperature of 20 to 50 degrees C and of pH of 1 to 10. The results show that the theoretical relationship between aqueous solubility and the three independent contributions used in the equation is in excellent agreement with the experimental data.
A flexible, clockless digital filter

This paper presents a clockless digital filter able to process inputs of different rates and formats, synchronous or asynchronous, with no adjustment needed to handle each input type. The 16-tap, 8-bit FIR filter, integrated in a 130 nm CMOS process, includes on-chip automatic delay tuning. The chip was used as part of a ADC/DSP/DAC chain which, unlike the case with conventional, clocked systems, maintains its frequency response intact when the sample rate changes. For certain inputs, the system has signal-to-error ratio which exceeds that of clocked systems.
Cell-free synthesis of Rauscher murine leukemia virus “gag” and “env” gene products from separate cellular mRNA species

Abstract RNA from cells infected with Rauscher murine leukemia virus (R-MuLV) has been translated in an mRNA-dependent cell-free protein synthesizing system. It was found that a cellular RNA species of about 35 S in size codes for polypeptides of approximately 65,000 MW (Pr65 gag ) and 200,000 MW (Pr200 gag ) which are immunoprecipitable with antisera directed against the R-MuLV gag proteins p30, p15, p12, and p10. The methionine-containing-tryptic peptides of the 65,000 MW polypeptide translated from cellular 35 S RNA were identical to those of authentic Pr65 gag . Translation of RNA in the 25–35 S size class suggests that while Pr65 gag can be translated by RNA throughout this size range, Pr200 gag-pol translation is restricted to mRNA which sediments at 35 S. Antiserum directed against the R-MuLV envelope protein gp69/71 recognized a polypeptide of 68,000 MW, designated Pr68 env , which was coded for by RNA which sedimented at about 22 S in sucrose gradients and which had a minimum size of about 1.25 × 10 6 daltons as estimated by agarose gel electrophoresis. Tryptic maps of Pr68 env showed it to contain all of the methionine-labeled tryptic peptides and most of the tyrosine-containing tryptic peptides characteristic of gPr90 env the authentic R-MuLV glycosylated envelope precursor.
Medium depth peels

Medium depth chemical peels offer an excellent tool for skin rejuvenation. The improvement in rhytids, dyschromias, and photodamage with relatively little downtime confirms its importance in the facial plastic armamentarium.
Risk Factors for high serum SeM titers after natural outbreaks of Streptococcus equi equi in horses

Rhodococcosis classically caused severe lung affections as suppurative bronchopneumonia and sometimes unusual forms as digestive or bone forms. R. equi is able to survive and multiply in macrophages despite unsuitable conditions, caused notably by reactive oxygen metabolites such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) generated during the respiratory burst of phagocytic cells. It was known that R. equi presents a great capacity of resistance to H2O2 exposition independently to the presence of the virulence plasmid. Recently, the analysis of R. equi 103 genome revealed the presence of four potential catalase genes named katA to katD. The aim of this study was to determine the implication of each catalase in R. equi oxidative stress resistance. For that, we used the R. equi 103 plasmid-less strain to construct four catalase deficient mutants, each lacking one catalase gene to obtain DkatA, DkatB, DkatC and DkatD. Survivals of those mutants were analyzed in vitro after exposition to oxidative stress by H2O2 treatment and in vivo by survival assay in mouse peritoneal macrophages. A quantitative RT-PCR analysis of catalase genes expression levels, in R. equi 103 plasmid-less WT, after exposition to H2O2, was also performed. We observed that, after exposition to H2O2 in stationary or exponential phase, survival of DkatA was respectively completely abolished or decreased by two orders of magnitude, compared to the parental strain. Results showed also decrease by three orders of magnitude in DkatC survival after treatment in exponential phase. In vivo experiments in mice macrophages showed that DkatA was the most susceptible mutant and was completely eliminated from macrophages 72h post infection (Figure 1). The others mutants were more susceptible to elimination by macrophages than R. equi 103 WT, but were not completely eliminated 48h and 72h post infection (Figure 1). Quantitative RT-PCR results showed that external H2O2 exposition only increased katA gene expression. After treatment in stationary or exponential phase, katA was respectively overexpressed 367.9 ( 122.6) times and 3.11 ( 0.59) times, compared to untreated conditions. Taken together, our results revealed the main implication of KatA and in a less manner, KatC, in resistance to external H2O2 exposition. The role of the others catalases of R. equi 103 in oxidative stress resistance is not clearly demonstrated in our experimental conditions. In conclusion, this study highlights the main role of katA in response and resistance to external oxidative stress in R. equi 103 plasmid-less starin.
Palaeomagnetic data from the Borrowdale Volcanic Group: volcano-tectonics and Late Ordovician palaeolatitudes

Nineteen palaeomagnetic sampling sites from the Borrowdale Volcanic Group between Borrowdale and Langdale (English Lake District) yield high unblocking temperature magnetization components which postdate the structural tilt, and therefore postdate the formation of the broad block-faulted syncline which characterizes this part of the central Lake District. The mean magnetization direction before tilt correction (Dec: 347.2°, Inc:–61.9°, α 95 : 6.9°) corresponds to a palaeolatitude of 43°S (+ 5°/–7°). The magnetization is associated with pervasive Late Ordovician hydrothermal alteration, and is certainly pre-Devonian based on comparison with available palaeomagnetic data from southern Britain. This implies that the block-faulted synclinal structure of the Borrowdale/Langdale region is pre-Acadian in age, consistent with recent interpretations of Late Ordovician volcano-tectonics based on mapping and volcanological studies.
Combining fuzzy systems

The paper shows how to combine any number of fuzzy systems and compares this new method with a weighted arithmetic mean. The new method combines the throughputs of the fuzzy systems and thus combines before it defuzzifies. The mean combines just the defuzzified outputs. The new method adds the output fuzzy set of each fuzzy system and then defuzzifies this sum in a higher-level additive fuzzy system. The combined fuzzy systems need not be additive fuzzy systems. The paper derives the exact form of the additive combiner. It reduces to an unweighted mean of centroids when all fuzzy sets have the same volume and all systems either have the same credibility weights or have binary credibility weights. The weighted mean ignores the inherent weighting information in the relative volumes. Its constant normalizer leads to scale defects when it combines weighted fuzzy systems even when all the weights are the same. The paper derives the first-order and second-order statistics of the general additive system and shows how fuzzy systems act as adaptive model-free statistical estimators. >
Link between Epigenomic Alterations and Genome-Wide Aberrant Transcriptional Response to Allergen in Dendritic Cells Conveying Maternal Asthma Risk

We investigated the link between epigenome-wide methylation aberrations at birth and genomic transcriptional changes upon allergen sensitization that occur in the neonatal dendritic cells (DC) due to maternal asthma. We previously demonstrated that neonates of asthmatic mothers are born with a functional skew in splenic DCs that can be seen even in allergen-naive pups and can convey allergy responses to normal recipients. However, minimal-to-no transcriptional or phenotypic changes were found to explain this alteration. Here we provide in-depth analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation profiles and RNA transcriptional (microarray) profiles before and after allergen sensitization. We identified differentially methylated and differentially expressed loci and performed manually-curated matching of methylation status of the key regulatory sequences (promoters and CpG islands) to expression of their respective transcripts before and after sensitization. We found that while allergen-naive DCs from asthma-at-risk neonates have minimal transcriptional change compared to controls, the methylation changes are extensive. The substantial transcriptional change only becomes evident upon allergen sensitization, when it occurs in multiple genes with the pre-existing epigenetic alterations. We demonstrate that maternal asthma leads to both hyper- and hypomethylation in neonatal DCs, and that both types of events at various loci significantly overlap with transcriptional responses to allergen. Pathway analysis indicates that approximately 1/2 of differentially expressed and differentially methylated genes directly interact in known networks involved in allergy and asthma processes. We conclude that congenital epigenetic changes in DCs are strongly linked to altered transcriptional responses to allergen and to early-life asthma origin. The findings are consistent with the emerging paradigm that asthma is a disease with underlying epigenetic changes.
An Iterative Learning Control design for Self-Servowriting in Hard Disk Drives using L 1 optimal control

This paper presents an Iterative Learning Controller (ILC) design for Self-Servowriting (SSW) process in Hard Disk Drives (HDDs). In SSW, the position and timing information are written onto the disk surface by referring to the previously written servo information. This process is repeated until the whole disk is completely written. The main issue in this process is Radial Error Propagation (REP), which refers to the accumulation of the written-in errors as tracks are written sequentially. In this paper, an ILC scheme is designed by using the position error information in the previous track to prevent REP and improve the quality of servowriting. Analytic conditions for stability and monotonic convergence are discussed. The learning filter design is formulated as an L 1 (or induced L ∞ ) optimal control problem, which is solved by optimization programming. Simulation results show that REP is contained and a good quality of servowriting is assured.
Recognition of shapes by editing their shock graphs

This paper presents a novel framework for the recognition of objects based on their silhouettes. The main idea is to measure the distance between two shapes as the minimum extent of deformation necessary for one shape to match the other. Since the space of deformations is very high-dimensional, three steps are taken to make the search practical: 1) define an equivalence class for shapes based on shock-graph topology, 2) define an equivalence class for deformation paths based on shock-graph transitions, and 3) avoid complexity-increasing deformation paths by moving toward shock-graph degeneracy. Despite these steps, which tremendously reduce the search requirement, there still remain numerous deformation paths to consider. To that end, we employ an edit-distance algorithm for shock graphs that finds the optimal deformation path in polynomial time. The proposed approach gives intuitive correspondences for a variety of shapes and is robust in the presence of a wide range of visual transformations. The recognition rates on two distinct databases of 99 and 216 shapes each indicate highly successful within category matches (100 percent in top three matches), which render the framework potentially usable in a range of shape-based recognition applications.
Apparent Effects of Light Pollution on Singing Behavior of American Robins

Abstract Astronomers consider light pollution to be a growing problem, however few studies have addressed potential effects of light pollution on wildlife. Sunlight is believed to initiate song in many bird species. If light initiates song, then light pollution may be influencing avian song behavior at a population level. This hypothesis predicts that birds breeding in areas with large amounts of artificial light will begin singing earlier in the day than birds in areas with little artificial light. Birds in highly illuminated areas might begin singing earlier than did birds in those same areas in previous years when artificial light levels were known to be, or were presumably, lower. Also, birds should begin singing earlier within a site on brightly lit nights. In 2002 and 2003 I documented initiation of morning song by breeding American Robins (Turdus migratorius) in areas with differing intensity of artificial nocturnal light. I compared my observations among sites and against historical studies. Robin...
Integrated Control of Na Transport along the Nephron

The kidney filters vast quantities of Na at the glomerulus but excretes a very small fraction of this Na in the final urine. Although almost every nephron segment participates in the reabsorption of Na in the normal kidney, the proximal segments (from the glomerulus to the macula densa) and the distal segments (past the macula densa) play different roles. The proximal tubule and the thick ascending limb of the loop of Henle interact with the filtration apparatus to deliver Na to the distal nephron at a rather constant rate. This involves regulation of both filtration and reabsorption through the processes of glomerulotubular balance and tubuloglomerular feedback. The more distal segments, including the distal convoluted tubule (DCT), connecting tubule, and collecting duct, regulate Na reabsorption to match the excretion with dietary intake. The relative amounts of Na reabsorbed in the DCT, which mainly reabsorbs NaCl, and by more downstream segments that exchange Na for K are variable, allowing the simultaneous regulation of both Na and K excretion.
Ptolemy II Philadelphus and the Dionysiac Model of Political Authority

Throughout the Ptolemaic era, the Greek rulers of Egypt had to tackle complex issues pertaining to the nature of their dominion over peoples who were in many ways culturally, socially, and politically distinct. This paper examines how, despite these differences, Ptolemy II Philadelphus found a way to connect with both the Greek and Egyptian segments of his population by identifying himself with the god Dionysus. Although a Greek deity, Dionysus possessed specific associations that would have resonated with elements of Egyptian religion and culture. These connotations would have promoted the perception of Philadelphus as a legitimate and benevolent ruler capable of transcending cultural boundaries. The grand procession in the Ptolemaia festival has been characterized by Dorothy J. Thompson as a form of propaganda for the ruling family. Similarly, the various forms of evidence presented in this paper suggest that Dionysus would have been a convenient political vehicle in this syncretic environment. Such an approach on the part of Philadelphus was highly innovative and effective, and influenced the political identity assumed by later Ptolemaic rulers. DOI:10.2458/azu_jaei_v02i1_goyette