cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effect of transplant center volume on survival after heart transplantation: A multicenter study

Objective Few studies have examined the association between procedural volume and clinical outcomes in heart transplantation. This retrospective study was performed on a contemporary cohort of heart transplant recipients to better elucidate the effect of transplant center volume on 1-year mortality. Methods Data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients were used to analyze the relationship between transplant center volume and short-term survival. Center volume designation (very low, low, medium, and high) was assigned on the basis of quartiles with approximately equal numbers of patients per group. Survival differences were explored using Cox proportional hazards modeling to adjust for differences in variables between volume groups and to determine variables associated with 1-year mortality. Results Between January 1, 1999, and May 31, 2005, 13,230 heart transplantations were performed at 147 transplant centers in the United States. Although most recipient and donor characteristics were similar across quartiles, larger volume centers were more likely to perform transplantations in older candidates and accept organs from older donors with longer cold ischemia times. A statistically significant relationship between transplant center volume and 1-year mortality was observed. Compared with the reference group (very low volume), the hazard ratios for the low, medium, and high-volume quartiles were 0.71, 0.64, and 0.56, respectively (P Conclusion There was a significant association between transplant center volume and 1-year survival. Patients who undergo cardiac transplantation at very low-volume centers are at higher risk for early mortality than those who undergo transplantation in higher-volume centers.
Relationship of jejunostomy and urine polyamine content to refeeding and intestinal structure and function.

The polyamine content of the intestinal mucosa is increased with mucosal proliferation. Our purpose was to determine if urine and jejunostomy polyamine content increases after refeeding and correlates with intestinal length and carbohydrate absorption after intestinal resection. Five patients with intestinal remnant lengths ranging from 1.5 to 8 feet after intestinal resection and jejunostomy formation were studied after refeeding of an elemental diet. Mean putrescine and spermidine levels in the jejunostomy effluent but not in the urine increased significantly after refeeding (p < 0.05). These changes correlated with intestinal remnant length and carbohydrate absorption. Carbohydrate absorption correlated with polyamine levels in a single patient studied longitudinally. The polyamine content of intestinal fluid may serve as a marker of the status of the intestinal mucosa and may prove useful in the dietary management of individuals with the short bowel syndrome. (Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutriti...
Can Social Science Explain Organizational Noncompliance with Environmental Law

Noncompliance with environmental law is an immense problem whether evaluated from its incidence or its consequences. Noncompliance often results from the activities of large corporations and agencies and their interactions. This paper presents a theoretical perspective on organizational compliance in the environmental field. It first reviews and analyzes the leading bivariate relationships between compliance and independent variables, including communication of regulations, enforcement, and characteristics of actors in the compliance event. Single factors can be influential in promoting compliance; however, only in rare cases will one psychological, organizational, or economic factor explain business response. Since regulatory systems attain compliance through a variety of routes, a multivariate perspective is offered that integrates several literatures and empirical studies.
Categorical Imperatives: The Interaction of Latino and Racial Identification*

Objective. Most large data sets solicit “ethnic” identification and “racial” identification in separate questions. We test the relative salience of these two identifications by exploring whether individuals who chose both a Latino “ethnic” label and a “racial” label on separate survey questions still chose both of these labels when they were given a single combined question about their racial and ethnic origins. Methods. Using the May 1995 Race and Ethnicity Supplement to the Current Population Survey, we estimate a multinomial logit model of identification choices. Results. We find that most individuals who chose a Latino label and a racial label chose a Latino-only identification. Selection of multiple labels was more common for Latinos than non-Latinos, however. Language use, local ethnic context, national origin, and age were all significantly related to these identification choices. Conclusion. The format of “race” and “ethnicity” questions on surveys has significant implications for the identification patterns of Latinos.
Who Learns from Service Learning

This article examines service learning in the Peace and Justice Studies Program at the University of San Francisco. The authors show that students who complete their two courses—Poverty, Homelessness, and the Urban Underclass as well as Field Experience—make significant contributions to the community service organizations they serve. Not only do their students learn, but the organizations benefit from the knowledge the students bring. Furthermore, through service learning, many of the students develop a long-term commitment to social justice and continue to work for social change years after leaving the university.
An analysis of response to nicotine infusion using an automated radiotelemetry system

Previous studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that chronic nicotine infusion evokes tolerance to nicotine injected IP several hours after withdrawal from chronic infusion. This method may introduce problems related to withdrawal reactions and to stress associated with handling of the animals. The studies reported here measured tolerance to nicotine in mice using an automated radiotelemetry system. DBA/2 mice were infused intravenously with saline for 4 days followed by infusion of a 4 mg/kg per h dose of nicotine for 7 days. After the nicotine treatment, the mice were infused with saline for 7 days. The nicotine was infused continuously or in four 1 mg/kg pulses, two 2 mg/kg pulses or one 4 mg/kg pulse each hour. Home cage activity and body temperature were measured throughout the treatment periods using a radiotelemetry system. Nicotine infusion produced an abrupt decrease in body temperature and activity, but this effect was totally reversed within 12 h in the continuously infused and four infusions/h treatment groups. Mice that received one or two infusions/h also showed a rapid response to nicotine that was reversed as treatment proceeded, but nicotine continued to produce a measurable effect for several days. After nicotine withdrawal, temperature and activity returned to predrug infusion values in all of the groups except those infused once per hour. This group showed depressed activity for a minimum of 3 days after nicotine treatment stopped. Thus, the kinetics of nicotine administration affected the intensity of response during continued treatment as well as activity after cessation of chronic treatment.
Manipulation of intraocular pressure for studying the effects on accommodation

A reliable experimental system in which IOP can be manipulated or a rapid IOP change can be induced while simultaneously and continuously measuring IOP and the ocular accommodative changes would be useful for understanding the physiological effect of intraocular pressure (IOP) on the accommodative mechanism. In this study, an IOP perfusion and recording system was developed and tested using 13 enucleated pig eyes. The vitreous chamber of the pig eyes was cannulated with a needle connected to two fluid reservoirs at different heights. One reservoir was set to achieve one of three baseline pressures of 5.5 mmHg, 13.0 mmHg and 20.5 mmHg. The other reservoir was moved to achieve pressures of 1.5 mmHg, 3.0 mmHg, 4.5 mmHg and 6.0 mmHg higher than the baseline pressure. The height differential between the reservoirs determined the amplitude of IOP changes. Rapid IOP changes were induced by switching the reservoirs with a solenoid pinch-valve. Two needles, one each attached to a pressure transducer were inserted into the anterior chamber and vitreous chamber respectively. Custom developed software was used to measure the anterior chamber pressure and vitreous chamber pressure at 80 Hz. A high-resolution continuous A-scan ultrasound biometer (CUB) was used to dynamically measure changes in ocular biometry including anterior chamber depth (ACD), lens thickness (LT) and vitreous chamber depth (VCD) while the vitreous chamber pressure was manipulated. The changes in ACD, LT and VCD were analyzed as a function of the pressure change. Perfusion-induced axial biometric changes were quantified by the slopes of linear regression relationships. Both anterior chamber pressure and vitreous chamber pressure changed relatively systematically with the induced vitreous chamber pressure changes (anterior chamber: y = 0.863x + 0.030, r(2) = 0.983; vitreous chamber: y = 0.883x + 0.009, r(2) = 0.981). At perfusion pressures of 5.5, 13.0 and 20.5 mmHg, the slopes for ACD were -5.72, -2.75 and -2.36 μm/mmHg, for LT were -3.31, -1.59 and -1.03 μm/mmHg and for VCD were 19.05, 8.63 and 5.18 μm/mmHg. The system was able to manipulate and monitor IOP while axial biometry changes were recorded. This system will allow the relationship between IOP and accommodation to be studied in non-human primate eyes.
Surface plasmon broadening for arbitrary shape nanoparticles: A geometrical probability approach

A geometrical probability measure is proposed for calculating the effective conduction electron mean free path of an arbitrary shape convex particle. It is shown that the plasmon widths determined from this mean free path are consistent with exact quantum mechanical widths for simple particle shapes. We use the mean free path formula to evaluate size and shape dependent dielectric functions and extinction spectra for silver spheroids, square prisms, truncated tetrahedrons, and cylinders.
Asymmetric Inheritance of Mother Versus Daughter Centrosome in Stem Cell Division

Adult stem cells often divide asymmetrically to produce one self-renewed stem cell and one differentiating cell, thus maintaining both populations. The asymmetric outcome of stem cell divisions can be specified by an oriented spindle and local self-renewal signals from the stem cell niche. Here we show that developmentally programmed asymmetric behavior and inheritance of mother and daughter centrosomes underlies the stereotyped spindle orientation and asymmetric outcome of stem cell divisions in the Drosophila male germ line. The mother centrosome remains anchored near the niche while the daughter centrosome migrates to the opposite side of the cell before spindle formation.
Role of Hydrogen Peroxide Produced by Baker's Yeast on Dough Rheology

ABSTRACT Baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, has a well-known effect on dough rheology during breadmaking. During a 3-hr fermentation, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) produced by yeast (0.76%, fwb) increased from 1.09 to 2.32 μmol/g of flour. The spread test, a measure of a dough's rheological properties, showed that yeast had an effect on dough rheology similar to that of H2O2, an oxidant that makes flour-water dough more elastic. In additional experiments (spread test and H2O2 measurement), glucose oxidase, an enzyme that produces H2O2, gave results similar to those with yeast. The fact that catalase, an enzyme that destroys H2O2, reversed the rheological effect of added H2O2 but did not reverse the effect of either yeast or glucose oxidase suggested that either wheat flour contains an inhibitor to catalase or H2O2 was not the active component. A series of experiments, including use of defatted flour, remixing, and mixing dough under nitrogen, all indicated that catalase was inhibited by peroxides in the ...
Optimal Marketing of Nursery Crops from Container-Based Production Systems

Optimal production and marketing decisions for a nursery producing ornamental plants from a container-based production system are determined. The stochastic dynamic programming model developed captures the existence of a value-added, serial-stage production process with multiple products and intra- and interyear dynamics. Results suggest price differentials play an important role in determining the optimal size of plant to market. Further, federal taxes are important for determining the optimal production and marketing decisions while discounting and state taxes play minor roles. Analysis of the transition probability matrices associated with the optimal decisions indicate that the long-run behavior of the system can be generalized.
Variability in Complementarity for Chloroplastic and Cytoplasmic Ribosomal Ribonucleic Acid among Plant Nuclear Deoxyribonucleic Acids

The nuclear DNAs from a number of angiosperm species were tested for hybridization to the RNAs contained in 70 S (chloroplastic) and 80 S (cytoplasmic) ribosomes. All of the DNAs contained regions complementary to RNAs from chloroplastic as well as cytoplasmic ribosomes. DNAs from closely related plants varied widely in their proportion of coding for these RNAs. About 0.15% of the DNAs from a number of different species of Nicotiana were found to be complementary to the RNAs of each kind of ribosome; however, DNAs from some other members of this genus had more than three times this proportion of coding for ribosomal RNAs. These and other data suggest that hybridization percentage for ribosomal RNA is not a familial or generic characteristic.DNAs with high amounts of coding for ribosomal RNAs have thus far been found to contain satellite DNAs of base composition more like ribosomal RNA than the main DNA component. The satellite DNA from pumpkin has been isolated and shown to contain cistrons for both chloroplastic and cytoplasmic ribosomal RNAs.
The management of macroglossia when associated with prognathism

Summary Most cases of prognathism will not require associated surgery on the tongue. A simple method is suggested for possible use in the occasional case which may have such a large tongue that a sudden gross change in the location of the jaw will have undesirable effects on the breathing or swallowing mechanism. A single case is presented in which the post-operative upset in the physiology of the tongue was both temporary and minimal.
Metastatic Breast Cancer in a 54-Year-Old Woman: Integrative Treatment With Yttrium-90 Radioembolization

In 1993, a 54-year-old woman was diagnosed with early-stage breast adenocarcinoma and treated with doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide followed by tamoxifen. Nine years later, the patient presented for integrative treatment, with liver metastases. Carcinoembryonic antigen was significantly elevated. The patient was started on a heavily fractionated, multiple-agent chemotherapy regimen; however, she underwent significant adverse effects and the treatment was suspended. She then started on intravenous nutrition along with specific nutritional supplements. Two months later, a similar chemotherapeutic regimen was started in association with her existing nutritional protocol. One month later, the carcinoembryonic antigen began to rise, and a positron emission tomography scan was ordered that revealed the persistence of multiple and extensive liver metastases as well as possible skeletal metastases. The patient was started on an oral bisphosphonate and referred to interventional radiology for consultation on radioembolization with yttrium90. After being accepted for treatment, the patient underwent a right hepatic lobe angiogram and radioembolization. Within 2 weeks, she realized significant improvements in her clinical and laboratory status; chemotherapy was discontinued. She later underwent radioembolization to her left lobe. Thirteen months after the yttrium-90 treatment, the patient remains on an integrative program with radiographically and clinically stable disease.
Pathologic Sideroblasts and Siderocytes Associated with Chloramphenicol Therapy in a Dog

Summary Siderotic granules were recognized in blood erythrocytes from a male Boxer dog with suppurative prostatitis, cystitis and pyelonephritis that was being given high dosage chloramphenicol therapy. Siderotic inclusions were recognized in the cytoplasm of 96% of the rubricytes and metarubricytes in a bone marrow aspirate. Siderotic inclusions were numerous and in some cases formed a ring around the nucleus. This peri-nuclear location suggested that pathologic mitochondrial iron accumulation had occurred, resulting in the formation of “ringed” sideroblasts. The occurrence of pathologic sideroblasts was confirmed by electron microscopy. Blood siderocytes and bone marrow sideroblasts disappeared after cessation of chloramphenicol therapy.
Control of seizure activity by electrical stimulation: Effect of frequency

Epilepsy is a devastating disease of the central nervous system, affecting ~1% of the world's population. Drug therapy is effective in many patients, but 25% of the patients do not respond to anticonvulsants. Surgical resection can be an effective treatment but is associated with serious complications that can remove it as an option. Electrical stimulation has been successful to control abnormal activity such as motor disorders and current research is aimed at determining the efficacy of this method for seizure control. Several electrical stimulation frequencies and waveforms have been developed to control seizure activity. The purpose of this presentation is to review these various approaches, and to discuss their underlying mechanisms and their potential for clinical implementation.
Preliminary Investigations of Correlations Between Total Mercury in Tuna and Quality Control, and Mercury Recoveries Using Microwave Digestion

ABSTRACT Mercury levels in commercially available tuna are of particular concern, as mercury found in tuna exists mostly as highly toxic methylmercury compounds that are readily absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract in humans. For five brands of canned tuna purchased locally and analyzed in quadruplicate for Hg via microwave digestion and cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CVAAS), Hg levels ranged from 0.19-(±0.07)-µg Hg/g to 3.60-(±0.17)-µg Hg/g. Statistical analysis of the results suggested that three of the brands of tuna studied were statistically comparable and that two of the brands were significantly different, at the 95% confidence interval. Mercury recoveries for external calibration standards and known amounts of mercury added to tuna samples indicated minimal or no loss of Hg during microwave digestion.
Structural health monitoring by electrical resistance measurement

Structural health monitoring by dc electrical resistance measurement is reviewed. The technique is valuable for evaluating composites and joints, provided that the materials involved are not all electrically insulating. The measurement pertains to either the volume electrical resistivity of a bulk material or the contact resistivity of an interface, and it can be performed in real time during loading or heating.
Keratinocyte p38δ loss inhibits Ras‐induced tumor formation, while systemic p38δ loss enhances skin inflammation in the early phase of chemical carcinogenesis in mouse skin

p38δ expression and/or activity are increased in human cutaneous malignancies, including invasive squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and head and neck SCC, but the role of p38δ in cutaneous carcinogenesis has not been well-defined. We have reported that mice with germline loss of p38δ exhibited a reduced susceptibility to skin tumor development compared with wild-type mice in the two-stage 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)/12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) chemical skin carcinogenesis model. Here, we report that p38δ gene ablation inhibited the growth of tumors generated from v-ras(Ha) -transformed keratinocytes in skin orthografts to nude mice, indicating that keratinocyte-intrinsic p38δ is required for Ras-induced tumorigenesis. Gene expression profiling of v-ras(Ha) -transformed p38δ-null keratinocytes revealed transcriptional changes associated with cellular responses linked to tumor suppression, such as reduced proliferation and increased differentiation, cell adhesion, and cell communications. Notably, a short-term DMBA/TPA challenge, modeling the initial stages of chemical skin carcinogenesis treatment, elicited an enhanced inflammation in p38δ-null skin compared with skin of wild-type mice, as assessed by measuring the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-17, and TNFα. Additionally, p38δ-null skin and p38δ-null keratinocytes exhibited increased p38α activation and signaling in response to acute inflammatory challenges, suggesting a role for p38α in stimulating the elevated inflammatory response in p38δ-null skin during the initial phases of the DMBA/TPA treatment compared with similarly treated p38δ(+/+) skin. Altogether, our results indicate that p38δ signaling regulates skin carcinogenesis not only by keratinocyte cell-autonomous mechanisms, but also by influencing the interaction between between the epithelial compartment of the developing skin tumor and its stromal microenvironment.
Management of patients with biochemical recurrence after local therapy for prostate cancer

Nearly three-quarters of a million American men who have been treated with prostatectomy and/or radiation therapy experience an increasing prostate-specific antigen level known as biochemical recurrence. Although androgen-deprivation therapy remains a reasonable option for some men with biochemical recurrence, deferring androgen ablation or offering nonhormonal therapies may be appropriate in patients in whom the risk of clinical or metastatic progression and prostate cancer-specific death is low. A risk-stratified approach informed by the patient's prostate-specific antigen kinetics, comorbidities, and personal preferences is recommended to determine the best management approach.
Preoperative dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI correlates with molecular markers of hypoxia and vascularity in specific areas of intratumoral microenvironment and is predictive of patient outcome.

Background. Measures of tumor vascularity and hypoxia have been correlated with glioma grade and outcome. Dynamic contrastenhanced (DCE) MRI can noninvasively map tumor blood flow, vascularity, and permeability. In this prospective observational cohort pilot study, preoperative imaging was correlated with molecular markers of hypoxia, vascularity, proliferation, and progression-free and overall patient survival. Methods. Pharmacokinetic modeling methods were used to generate maps of tumor blood flow, extraction fraction, permeabilitysurface area product, transferconstant, washout rate, interstitial volume, blood volume, capillary transit time, and capillary heterogeneity from preoperative DCE-MRI data in human glioma patients. Tissue was obtained from areas of peritumoral edema, active tumor, hypoxic penumbra, and necrotic core and evaluated for vascularity, proliferation, and expression of hypoxia-regulated molecules. DCE-MRI parameter values were correlated with hypoxia-regulated protein expression at tissue sample sites. Results.PatientsurvivalcorrelatedwithDCEparametersin2cases:capillaryheterogeneityinactivetumorandinterstitialvolumeinareas of peritumoral edema. Statisticallysignificant correlations were observed between several DCE parameters and tissue markers. In addition,MIB-1indexwaspredictiveofoverallsurvival(P ¼ .044)andcorrelatedwithvascularendothelialgrowthfactorexpressioninhypoxic penumbra (r ¼ 0.7933, P ¼ .0071) and peritumoral edema (r ¼ 0.4546). Increased microvessel density correlated with worse patient outcome (P ¼ .026).
The Impacts of Wal-Mart: The Rise and Consequences of the World's Dominant Retailer

Wal-Mart has been both praised and pilloried as a template for twenty-first century capitalism. Therein lies the challenge in analyzing the world's largest retailer. We examine the sociological impact of Wal-Mart in terms of four themes: its business model and organizational structure, the dual impact of Wal-Mart's labor relations in terms of its own stores and working conditions in its global supply chain, the genesis and effectiveness of community mobilizations against Wal-Mart, and how Wal-Mart's growth is linked to the emergence of buyer-driven commodity chains in the global economy. Wal-Mart underscores the value of a public sociology agenda that embraces three research criteria: the incorporation of new media and audiences, the need to go global with our research, and the ability to work for change from within.
Fitting distributions to microbial contamination data collected with an unequal probability sampling design

Aims The fitting of statistical distributions to microbial sampling data is a common application in quantitative microbiology and risk assessment applications. An underlying assumption of most fitting techniques is that data are collected with simple random sampling, which is often times not the case. This study develops a weighted maximum likelihood estimation framework that is appropriate for microbiological samples that are collected with unequal probabilities of selection. Methods and Results A weighted maximum likelihood estimation framework is proposed for microbiological samples that are collected with unequal probabilities of selection. Two examples, based on the collection of food samples during processing, are provided to demonstrate the method and highlight the magnitude of biases in the maximum likelihood estimator when data are inappropriately treated as a simple random sample. Conclusions Failure to properly weight samples to account for how data are collected can introduce substantial biases into inferences drawn from the data. Significance and Impact of the Study The proposed methodology will reduce or eliminate an important source of bias in inferences drawn from the analysis of microbial data. This will also make comparisons between studies and the combination of results from different studies more reliable, which is important for risk assessment applications.
Chordoma: an update on the pathophysiology and molecular mechanisms

Chordoma is a rare low-grade primary malignant skeletal tumor, which is presumed to derive from notochord remnants. The pathogenesis of chordoma has not been fully elucidated. However, recent advances in the molecular biology studies have identified brachyury underlying the initiation and progression of chordoma cells. More efforts have been made on accumulating evidence of the notochordal origin of chordoma, discovering signaling pathways and identifying crucial targets in chordomagenesis. In this review, we summarize the most recent research findings and focus on the pathophysiology and molecular mechanisms of chordoma.
An E-B Mixed FEM for First-Order Maxwell Curl Equations

Based on a geometric discretization using differential forms, and on the use of edge and face Whitney elements, respectively, as interpolants for the electric field intensity E and magnetic flux B, we propose a new mixed FEM method for first order Maxwell curl equations
Development of adaptive homotopy continuation method algorithm for adaptive IIR filtering

An exhaustive solution search method, called homotopy continuation method, is modified and applied for finding the global minimum of nonquadratic error surfaces of adaptive IIR filters. First, the homotopy continuation method is modified to solve a set of nonlinear polynomials which have time-varying coefficients. Next, it is shown that adaptive IIR filtering can be formulated as solving a set of approximated polynomials. The validity of the approach is demonstrated using an example involving the estimation of the coefficients of an all pole filter.
Critical spin dynamics in the ordered phase of a uniaxial ferromagnet

Abstract We report the results of a study of the critical hydrodynamics of an easy axis ferromagnet with weak anisotropic exchange. Self-consistent equations based on the mode coupling hypothesis are solved for the decay rates of the longitudinal and transverse spin fluctuations in the region below the Curie point.
Use of Clozapine to Treat Levodopa-Induced Psychosis in Parkinson's Disease: Retrospective Review

Levodopa-induced psychosis can complicate the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). In this retrospective, uncontrolled report, we describe our experience treating PD-related psychosis with clozapine, emphasizing those patients treated for longer than 1 year. Twenty-seven patients were treated, 14 for longer than 1 year. Most patients showed a rapid improvement from baseline within 1 month using the Clinical Global Impression and Global Psychosis Rating Scores. Five patients discontinued the drug due to side effects, but only two patients reported side effects after 6 months of treatment. Clozapine appears to be effective in treating PD related psychotic symptoms while not interfering with motor function.
Type III interferons, IL-28 and IL-29, are increased in chronic HCV infection and induce myeloid dendritic cell-mediated FoxP3+ regulatory T cells.

Background & Aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is difficult to eradicate and type III interferons (IFN-l, composed of IL-28A, IL28B and IL-29) are novel therapeutic candidates. We hypothesized that IFN-l have immunomodulatory effects in HCVinfected individuals. Materials and Methods: We analyzed the expression of IFN-l and its receptor (composed of IL-10R2 and IFN-lR subunits) in the blood and livers of patients with chronic (c)HCV infection compared to controls (those who cleared HCV by sustained virological response, SVR, and those with liver inflammation of non-viral origin, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, NASH). We also compared the proliferative capacity of dendritic cells (DCs) obtained from healthy individuals and those with chronic HCV using a mixed leukocyte reaction combined with 3H-Td incorporation. In addition, the composition of the IFN-l receptor (IFN-lR) on myeloid DCs, plasmacytoid DCs, PBMCs, and T cells was determined by FACS analysis. Results: We report that the expression of IFN-l protein in serum and mRNA in liver is increased in cHCV patients, but not in those with HCV SVR or NASH, compared to controls. Liver level of IFN-lR mirrored the expression of serum IFN-l and was higher in cHCV, compared to controls and HCV-SVR patients, suggesting that elevation of IFN-l and IFN-lR are HCVdependent. We further identified that innate immune cell populations expressed complete IFN-l receptor. In vitro, recombinant IFN-l promoted differentiation of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (DCs) into a phenotype with low T cell stimulatory capacity and high PD-L1 expression, which further promoted expansion of existing regulatory T cells. IFN-l-DCs failed to induce de novo generation of regulatory T cells. The inhibitory capacity of IFN-l-DCs was counteracted by recombinant IL-12 and by neutralization of the PD-1/PD-L1 system. Conclusions: Our novel findings of the immunomodulatory effect of IFN-l contribute to the understanding of the antiinflammatory and/or anti-viral potential of IFN-l in cHCV.
A Pilot Study Using Machine Learning and Domain Knowledge To Facilitate Comparative Effectiveness Review Updating

Background. Comparative effectiveness and systematic reviews require frequent and time-consuming updating. Results of earlier screening should be useful in reducing the effort needed to screen relevant articles. Methods. We collected 16,707 PubMed citation classification decisions from 2 comparative effectiveness reviews: interventions to prevent fractures in low bone density (LBD) and off-label uses of atypical antipsychotic drugs (AAP). We used previously written search strategies to guide extraction of a limited number of explanatory variables pertaining to the intervention, outcome, and study design. We empirically derived statistical models (based on a sparse generalized linear model with convex penalties [GLMnet] and a gradient boosting machine [GBM]) that predicted article relevance. We evaluated model sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV), and screening workload reductions using 11,003 PubMed citations retrieved for the LBD and AAP updates. Results. GLMnet-based models performed slightly be...
Providing Direct Income and Employment Assistance to Existing Poor People

HE President's National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty made two general types of recommendations: (1) those intended to alter the conditions creating and perpetuating poverty, and (2) those to provide direct income, employment, and other assistance to existing poor people. I shall address my remarks to those recommended policies and programs providing direct income and employment assistance to existing poor people. More specifically, I shall try to express the philosophy and reasoning of the commission underlying their recommendations for increasing employment of the existing poor, in both public and private sectors, and for transferring income, or income in kind, to those not expected to participate in the labor force sufficiently to attain socially acceptable levels of living. A basic belief of the commission was that people attach self-respect, dignity, and pride to gaining a livelihood through productive and meaningful employment. Because of this belief, the commission stressed policies and programs with promise of reducing poverty through increased employment of the existing poor in private sectors and, as a last resort, in the public sector. To maximize employment of the poor in private sectors, the commission's recommendations stressed (1) greater attention to effects of national monetary and fiscal policies upon the rate of unemployment-nationally, regionally, and by sectors, (2) a more effective national manpower policy, including an expansion and coordination of manpower training, mobility assistance, and job placement services, and (3) elimination of such institutional barriers to individual employment opportunities as racial discrimination.
Decreasing Prevalence of β-Lactamase Production among Respiratory Tract Isolates of Haemophilus influenzae in the United States

A total of 986 isolates of Haemophilus influenzae from patients with respiratory tract infections in 45 United States medical centers were characterized during the winter of 2002-2003. beta-Lactamase production was noted with 26.2% of isolates; 14.6% were resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Resistance to other relevant antimicrobial agents was extremely uncommon. In comparison to the results of four previous national surveys conducted since 1994, the prevalence of beta-lactamase production with this pathogen appears to be decreasing.
Demethylating Drugs as Novel Analgesics for Cancer Pain

Purpose: In this study, we evaluated the analgesic potential of demethylating drugs on oral cancer pain. Although demethylating drugs could affect expression of many genes, we focused on the mu-opioid receptor ( OPRM1 ) gene pathway, because of its role in pain processing. We determined the antinociceptive effect of OPRM1 re-expression in a mouse oral cancer model. Experimental Design: Using a mouse oral cancer model, we determined whether demethylating drugs produced antinociception through re-expression of OPRM1 . We then re-expressed OPRM1 with adenoviral transduction and determined if, and by what mechanism, OPRM1 re-expression produced antinociception. To determine the clinical significance of OPRM1 on cancer pain, we quantified OPRM1 methylation in painful cancer tissues and nonpainful contralateral normal tissues of patients with oral cancer, and nonpainful dysplastic tissues of patients with oral dysplasia. Results: We demonstrated that OPRM1 was methylated in cancer tissue, but not normal tissue, of patients with oral cancer, and not in dysplastic tissues from patients with oral dysplasia. Treatment with demethylating drugs resulted in mechanical and thermal antinociception in the mouse cancer model. This behavioral change correlated with OPRM1 re-expression in the cancer and associated neurons. Similarly, adenoviral-mediated OPRM1 re-expression on cancer cells resulted in naloxone-reversible antinociception. OPRM1 re-expression on oral cancer cells in vitro increased β-endorphin secretion from the cancer, and decreased activation of neurons that were treated with cancer supernatant. Conclusion: Our study establishes the regulatory role of methylation in cancer pain. OPRM1 re-expression in cancer cells produces antinociception through cancer-mediated endogenous opioid secretion. Demethylating drugs have an analgesic effect that involves OPRM1 . Clin Cancer Res; 20(18); 4882–93. ©2014 AACR .
Absorption and disposition of two combination formulations of hydrochlorothiazide and triamterene: influence of age and renal function.

In this study we compared the absorption and disposition of two commonly used combination formulations of hydrochlorothiazide and triamterene (Dyazide and Maxzide) in 48 patients with essential hypertension after dosing with each formulation to steady state. Interdose AUC and urinary recovery of hydrochlorothiazide, triamterene, and the major metabolite of triamterene, hydroxytriamterene sulfate (adjusted for dose), documented marked impairment in the absorption of hydrochlorothiazide (approximately two third as bioavailable) and triamterene (about half as bioavailable) from Dyazide in comparison to Maxzide. The study also demonstrated a reduction in the clearance of triamterene, hydrochlorothiazide, and hydroxytriamterene sulfate with increasing age. Linear correlation analyses suggested that this effect was a result of the reduction in renal function that occurs with increasing age. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1986) 40, 226–232; doi:10.1038/clpt.1986.167
Trojan Detection using IC Fingerprinting

Hardware manufacturers are increasingly outsourcing their IC fabrication work overseas due to their much lower cost structure. This poses a significant security risk for ICs used for critical military and business applications. Attackers can exploit this loss of control to substitute Trojan ICs for genuine ones or insert a Trojan circuit into the design or mask used for fabrication. We show that a technique borrowed from side-channel cryptanalysis can be used to mitigate this problem. Our approach uses noise modeling to construct a set of fingerprints/or an IC family utilizing side- channel information such as power, temperature, and electromagnetic (EM) profiles. The set of fingerprints can be developed using a few ICs from a batch and only these ICs would have to be invasively tested to ensure that they were all authentic. The remaining ICs are verified using statistical tests against the fingerprints. We describe the theoretical framework and present preliminary experimental results to show that this approach is viable by presenting results obtained by using power simulations performed on representative circuits with several different Trojan circuitry. These results show that Trojans that are 3-4 orders of magnitude smaller than the main circuit can be detected by signal processing techniques. While scaling our technique to detect even smaller Trojans in complex ICs with tens or hundreds of millions of transistors would require certain modifications to the IC design process, our results provide a starting point to address this important problem.
A design framework exploratory geovisualization in epidemiology

This paper presents a design framework for geographic visualization based on iterative evaluations of a toolkit designed to support cancer epidemiology. The Exploratory Spatio-Temporal Analysis Toolkit (ESTAT), is intended to support visual exploration through multivariate health data. Its purpose is to provide epidemiologists with the ability to generate new hypotheses or further refine those they may already have. Through an iterative user-centered design process, ESTAT has been evaluated by epidemiologists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Results of these evaluations are discussed, and a design framework based on evaluation evidence is presented. The framework provides specific recommendations and considerations for the design and development of a geovisualization toolkit for epidemiology. Its basic structure provides a model for future design and evaluation efforts in information visualization.
A Method for Estimating the Dynamic Moduli of Cement Paste-Aggregate Interfacial Zones in Mortar

The objective of this paper is to propose a method to estimate the average values of the dynamic modulus of elasticity and the dynamic shear modulus of cement paste-aggregate interfacial zones in mortar by applying the Logarithmic Mixture Rule (LMR). Both portland cement mortars (PC mortars) and portland cement mortars with silica fume (SF mortars) are investigated and compared, The influence of silica fume on the dynamic moduli of interfacial zone is also examined. Results indicate that for the specific ingredients and mix design used, the dynamic modulus of elasticity of interfacial zone falls between 0.4 and 2.0 (×10 6 psi) for PC mortar and 1.2 to 2.2 (× 106 psi) for SF mortar. These values are lower than the values obtained for PC mortar (4.2 ×106 psi), PC paste (2.7 ×106 psi), SF mortar (4.4 ×106 psi), and SF paste (2.5 × 106 psi).
Kif7 is required for the patterning and differentiation of the diaphragm in a model of syndromic congenital diaphragmatic hernia

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a common birth defect that results in a high degree of neonatal morbidity and mortality, but its pathological mechanisms are largely unknown. Therefore, we performed a forward genetic screen in mice to identify unique genes, models, and mechanisms of abnormal diaphragm development. We identified a mutant allele of kinesin family member 7 (Kif7), the disorganized diaphragm (dd). Embryos homozygous for the dd allele possess communicating diaphragmatic hernias, central tendon patterning defects, and increased cell proliferation with diaphragmatic tissue hyperplasia. Because the patterning of the central tendon is undescribed, we analyzed the expression of genes regulating tendonogenesis in dd/dd mutant embryos, and we determined that retinoic acid (RA) signaling was misregulautted. To further investigate the role of Kif7 and RA signaling in the development of the embryonic diaphragm, we established primary mesenchymal cultures of WT embryonic day 13.5 diaphragmatic cells. We determined that RA signaling is necessary for the expression of tendon markers as well as the expression of other CDH-associated genes. Knockdown of Kif7, and retinoic acid receptors alpha (Rara), beta (Rarb), and gamma (Rarg) indicated that RA signaling is dependent on these genes to promote tendonogenesis within the embryonic diaphragm. Taken together, our results provide evidence for a model in which inhibition of RA receptor signaling promotes CDH pathogenesis through a complex gene network.
Failure analysis of 316L stainless steel crucible by molten fluoride salt interaction with clay bonded silicon carbide

Detailed investigation of a recently failed static corrosion test involving molten eutectic LiF–NaF–KF salt at 850 C contained in 316L stainless steel crucibles shows that a single sealed crucible leaked molten salt into the electric furnace due to mechanical failure, causing a chemical reaction between the molten salt and the clay bonded silicon carbide insulation used in the furnace. As a result, corrosive vapors of Na2SiF6 ,K 2SiF6, SiF3, and F2, were formed. These vapors reacted with the stainless steel crucibles and lead to the formation of a porous corrosion crust and the eventual catastrophic structural failure of all nine sealed 316L stainless steel crucibles. 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Image processing for target detection using data from a staring mosaic infrared sensor in geosynchronous orbit

A set of multistage image processing algorithms has been developed to perform change detection in image sequence analysis. These algorithms are tailored to the task of moving target identification (MTI). Conventional differencing algorithms are compared to a new spatial differencing algorithm. Subsequent processing is accomplished with thresholding and a suboptimal implementation of a 2-D matched filter designed for simplicity of calculation. The image processing algorithms are then coupled with a simple tracking/detection algorithm. The resulting combination of processing shows very good performance for detecting targets in simulated mosaic IR images, with a projected probability of false alarm less than one per 1011 frames and a probability of detection for targets within the model approaching unity.
The Effectiveness of Computer Applications

AbstractA meta-analysis of 36 independent studies showed that computer applications have a positive effect on students’ academic achievement from elementary school to college. The average effect size from 151 comparisons was .38; this indicates that use of computer applications raised students’ examination scores by .38 standard deviation. Effects differed as a function of the computer study feature. Effect sizes were higher in studies that used Logo programming language, when different teachers taught the experimental and the control group, when treatment was applied in a period of one to two months, and when subjects were selected from high schools.
Between Bureaucrats: School Supervision and Crafting Commitment to Education in Ghana

Ghana is a perplexing case of success and failure, characterized as one of the best performing countries in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of economic growth, but falling far behind other African states in terms of education quality. Despite the fact that the Ghanaian government invests as much as 30% of the countrys budget in its education sector, in 2011 basic education results were the lowest in thirteen years, causing a public uproar, leading the media to label this a disgrace to the state. In this climate, circuit supervisors, important mid-level bureaucrats in Ghanas increasingly decentralized education landscape, are being scrutinized for their role in the success or failure of education quality. Based on twelve months of ethnographic research, this paper critically explores how circuit supervisors, through their interactions with each other, and the performance of their everyday roles and responsibilities, shape education outcomes by fostering, neglecting, rationalizing, encouraging, and discouraging teachers commitment to the project of quality education itself. This paper brings into focus how these mid-level bureaucrats navigate the space between government offices and school communities, shaping the way educators imagine and experience the relationship between education, notions of progress, and the efficacy of the state.
GB-JER: A Graph-Based Model for Joint Entity Resolution

To resolve multiple classes of related entity representations jointly promotes accuracy of entity resolution. We propose a graph-based joint entity resolution model: GB-JER, who exploits a dynamic entity representation relationship graph. It contracts the neighborhood of the matched pair, where enrichment of semantics provides new evidences for subsequent entity resolution iteratively. Also GB-JER is an incremental approach. The experimental evaluation shows that GB-JER outperforms existing the state-of-the-art joint entity resolution approach in accuracy.