cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 5368: A phase II study of ipilumimab plus androgen deprivation therapy in castration-sensitive prostate carcinoma

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL Anti-CTLA-4 therapy (Ipilimumab, Yervoy™) was recently FDA-approved for the treatment of metastatic melanoma based on improved median overall survival observed in Phase III clinical trials. Since anti-CTLA-4 targets a T cell specific molecule, as opposed to a tumor specific molecule, it is being investigated as treatment for multiple malignancies, including prostate cancer. Given that anti-CTLA-4 mediates anti-tumor responses by enhancing T cell responses, it has been postulated that standard agents that enable tumor cell death may allow for priming of a T cell immune response that can be augmented by combination with CTLA-4 blockade. Therefore, we hypothesized that adding ipilimumab to standard androgen ablation (AA) therapy in men with metastatic prostate cancer (mPC) would improve immune and clinical responses. We designed a clinical trial whereby men with castrate-sensitive mPC, ECOG performance status ≤ 2 and normal organ and marrow function are registered ≤1 month of initiation of an LHRH agonist or antagonist (LHRHa). Men with autoimmune diseases, known brain metastases, small cell carcinoma morphology, known HIV, Hepatitis B or C infection, untreated symptomatic spinal cord compressions or chronic immunosuppressive therapies are excluded. Starting on day 29, patients receive 4 monthly doses of 10mg/kg ipilimumab. The primary endpoint of the trial is to estimate the rate of PSA ≤ 0.2ng/mL at 7 months, shown to be a powerful predictor of survival (Hussain et al. J Clin Oncol. 2006; 24:3984). Secondary endpoints include: immune responses, time to testosterone recovery (>50ng/mL), time to disease progression off AA, overall survival and safety of the combination.Accrual is ongoing. Data from 8 patients accrued to date show a significant increase in the frequency of T cells expressing the inducible costimulator (ICOS), as we have previously shown with ipilimumab monotherapy (Liakou et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008;105:14987; Carthon et al. Clin Cancer Res. 2010;16:2861), and significant increases in memory T cell markers. ICOS+ T cells play an important role in anti-tumor responses mediated by anti-CTLA-4 therapy (Fu et al. Cancer Res. 2011;71:5445). Significant changes in dendritic, natural killer and macrophage cell populations have not been observed. To date, one patient developed an asymptomatic grade 3 transaminitis after 2 doses of ipilimumab that resolved with high dose steroids. Assessment of immune responses induced by the combination of ipilimumab and AA, and evaluation of clinical endpoints are ongoing. Updated data will be presented. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5368. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5368
Abstract C44: Cancer staging and body mass index in Latina breast cancer survivors

Introduction: Cancer stage is one of the strongest predictors of survival in patients with breast cancer. Body mass index (BMI), is used to assess body weight and size, and is associated with cancer incidence, prognosis, and mortality. More advanced stages of breast cancer are observed in overweight postmenopausal women. The association of cancer staging with BMI has not been investigated in Latino women. Breast cancer is more common among white women, but Latino women experience poorer breast cancer outcomes, a later stage at presentation of breast cancer, and an increased risk of death from breast cancer. Comorbidities related to obesity that are detrimental to cancer prognosis are more prevalent among Latinas compared to their white counterpart. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between BMI and stage at presentation of breast cancer in Latino women diagnosed with breast cancer. Methods: Eligible participants (n=40; including 16 premenopausal and 24 postmenopausal cases) included sedentary Latino women diagnosed with stage I-III breast cancer who were enrolled in a larger ongoing exercise intervention trial. Height and weight measurements were collected at baseline (within 6 months from the completion of chemotherapy and/or radiation) and used to calculate BMI (kg/m2). BMI was categorized into the following classifications based on the World Health Organization: underweight ( 30). Cancer stage at presentation was obtained from medical records at the time of study enrollment. Chi-square analysis was used to explore the associations between stage and BMI. Results: Average BMI for the study population was 30.7±5.1 kg/m2. Frequency of cancer staging is as follows; 19- Stage I, 13- Stage II, and 8- Stage III. Study participants categorized with a normal BMI (n=5) included: 60% Stage I and 40% Stage II. Participants categorized as overweight (n=15) included: 40% Stage I, 26.7% Stage II, and 33.3% Stage III. Participants categorized as obese (n=20) included: 50% Stage I, 35% Stage II, and 15% Stage III. No association was found between cancer stage and BMI (p=0.52). Results did not differ based on menopausal status. Conclusion: The results of this exploratory study found no significant association between cancer stage and BMI in Latino women diagnosed with breast cancer. As the majority of study participants were classified as overweight and obese, the distribution of BMI may have led to the negative results. Further investigations should continue in this area to determine whether this association exists in a larger sample of Latino women diagnosed with breast cancer. Citation Format: Breanna Orozco, Joanne E. Mortimer, Darcy Spicer, Debu Tripathy, Christina M. Dieli-Conwright. Cancer staging and body mass index in Latina breast cancer survivors. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eighth AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 13-16, 2015; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2016;25(3 Suppl):Abstract nr C44.
The knowledge transmission in vocational technical education

The knowledge in vocational technical education has the property of tacit knowledge. Based on the characteristics of tacit knowledge transmission, the paper analyses the problems and reasons of knowledge transmission existed in the vocational technical education in China and puts forward some suggestions.
Abstract 1: Hypoxia-Induced Decrease In Cardiac Stem Cell Proliferation Is Associated With Downregulation Of Sirtuin 1

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) produces severe hypoxia within regions of the myocardium, resulting in the formation of scar tissue and significant cardiac cell death. Adult hearts contain endogenous cardiac stem cells (CSCs) that have regenerative capacity and participate in myocardial tissue homeostasis and repair post-MI, but are insufficient to promote complete regeneration. The histone deacetylase Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) likely mediates this hypoxia-induced decrease in regeneration via roles in cell cycle progression and conferring protection from senescence and oxidative damage. Hypothesis: Hypoxia decreases CSC proliferation through reduced SIRT1-mediated deacetylation. Methods and Results: Murine CSCs were grown at room air (21% O2), physiologic (5% O2), and ischemic hypoxic (0.5% O2) conditions for 72 hours. Ischemic hypoxia, but not physiologic, reduced CSC proliferation and DNA synthesis to 25±2.0% (N=3; p Conclusion: The decrease in CSC proliferation with hypoxia is in part due to a reduction in SIRT1 protein stability. These results suggest that SIRT1 expression is regulated post-translationally and support a role for SIRT1 in preserving CSC self-renewal under hypoxic conditions.
Effect of pyruvate on the function of stallion spermatozoa stored for up to 48 hours

Stallion spermatozoa maintain high fertilizing capacity if cooled to 5 degrees C and inseminated within 24 h. However, if spermatozoa are stored for 48 h, fertilizing capacity declines. Therefore, multiple shipments of semen are often required to inseminate mares that remain in estrus for days. Therefore, experiments were designed to determine if adding antioxidants to stallion spermatozoa stored at 5 degrees C for 48 h could maintain motility and fertilizing ability. In the first experiment stallion spermatozoa were incubated in a skim milk (SM) or a skim milk-egg yolk medium in combination with 10 mM pyruvate, 5 mM xanthurenic acid separately or in combination for up to 48 h at 5 degrees C. Spermatozoa incubated in SM for 48 h exhibited higher percentages of motile sperm (57%) than did sperm incubated in skim milk-egg yolk (34%); antioxidant treatment had little effect. In the second experiment, spermatozoa were incubated in SM containing 0, 1, 2, or 5 mM pyruvate. After 24 h of incubation at 5 degrees C, sperm incubated with 1, 2, or 5 mM pyruvate exhibited higher percentages of progressively motile spermatozoa (45%) than control exhibited (26%; P 0.05). However, when incubated at 5 degrees C for 48 h and then incubated an additional 4 h at 25 degrees C, samples containing pyruvate exhibited higher percentages of motile (63 to 80%) and progressively motile (36 to 42%) sperm than did sperm in SM alone (28 and 5%, respectively; P 0.05). These studies indicate that 2 mM pyruvate in SM was beneficial in maintaining spermatozoal motility in 48 h-stored sperm and, although not significant, seemed to help maintain the fertility of 48 h-cooled spermatozoa.
The Fourier Transform and Its Applications to Partial Differential Equations

This chapter discusses the Fourier transform and its applications to partial differential equations. To give a complete treatment of the Fourier transform, it is necessary to resort to the theory of Lebesgue integration. The chapter discusses the basic properties of the Lebesgue measure. By applying the Fourier transform to the given equation and as differentiation with respect to the variable is reduced to multiplication by a polynomial, the resulting equation for the Fourier transform of the unknown function u is considerably simplified. Having found the function F u ( ξ ) ( x ), u ( x ) can be evaluated by applying the inverse Fourier transform that involves only quadratures. This procedure involves the assumption of the existence of a sufficiently smooth solution. In this sense, the calculation is formal. The Fourier transform is used in the modern treatment of differential equations of arbitrary order. It is a useful tool in defining generalized functions, more commonly called distributions.
Microglia and Monocyte-Derived Macrophages in Stroke

Historically, the brain has been considered an immune-privileged organ separated from the peripheral immune system by the blood-brain barrier. However, immune responses do occur in the brain in neurological conditions in which the integrity of the blood-brain barrier is compromised, exposing the brain to peripheral antigens and endogenous danger signals. While most of the associated pathological processes occur in the central nervous system, it is now clear that peripheral immune cells, especially mononuclear phagocytes, that infiltrate into the injury site play a key role in modulating the progression of primary brain injury development. As inflammation is a necessary and critical component for the subsequent injury resolution process, understanding the contribution of mononuclear phagocytes on the regulation of inflammatory responses may provide novel approaches for potential therapies. Furthermore, predisposed comorbid conditions at the time of stroke cause the alteration of stroke-induced immune and inflammatory responses and subsequently influence stroke outcome. In this review, we summarize a role for microglia and monocytes/macrophages in acute ischemic stroke in the context of normal and metabolically compromised conditions.
Infrastructure, Representation, and Historiography in BBN's Arpanet Maps

The earliest and most widespread representation of the Arpanet were network graphs or maps that, arguably, remain its most prominent artifact. In an earlier article, the authors analyzed how the maps were created, what they represented, and how histories of the network parallel their emphases and omissions. Here, the authors begin a retooling of the maps to highlight further what is missing from them: communication flows, gateways to other networks, and hierarchies between its nodes.
Primary Prevention for Helping Professionals Working with the New Senior Population

This book addresses a multidimensional paradox; The coexistence of high levels of both health and illness in older Americans — and what helping professionals can do about it. How can it be that we are now seeing a relatively robust older cohort of Americans, in better health, with more education, in a stronger economic position, with much increased life expectancy, while at the same time we recognize that some 20% of persons over 65 have severe chronic conditions that interfere with basic functioning, that preventable problems still claim the lives and the health of huge numbers of the elderly, and that aging continues to be stereotyped as physical sickness and mental deterioration?
Dental Health, the Probability of Dental Insurance Coverage and Utilization of Dental Care

In the past 20 years health care costs have risen at a rapid pace with only modest improvements in life expectancy and infant mortality rates. As medical costs rise, employers have been quick to slash benefits and eliminate coverage. Oral health care costs are rising as well. Since dental care is often wrongly perceived as a luxury, it can be the first benefit employers cut. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in the year 2004, 45.8 million or 15% of U.S. citizens had no medical insurance, and over 100 million, or more than a third of the population had no dental insurance. As health care costs and premiums rise, the number of uninsured individuals continues to increase. Trends since 1987 indicate a shrinking percentage of individuals with medical coverage from private insurance companies (usually employer provided), and an increasing percentage of individuals covered by public medical coverage (CDC Health 2004). Fewer employers are offering dental insurance, and those that do offer dental coverage are increasingly selecting low cost and low patient satisfaction HMO's, which do not allow provider choice (Wall & Brown 2003). One objective of the paper is to estimate the determinants of the probability that an individual has dental insurance. The data used in this paper were obtained from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) which is conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). The MEPS Household component and Dental Visits data are used for survey years 1996 through 2004. Two models are employed. A Linear Probability Model and a Probit model each measure the probability of dental insurance purchase. We will also examine dental care utilization using a simultaneous equations approach. Techniques will be employed to account for the endogeneity of the dental insurance variable. Results indicate that income, employment and marital status largely determine whether an individual has dental insurance. Extractions are more likely for those with no coverage, so it is clear that lacking dental insurance causes real losses, and not just with regard to one's personal appearance. Dentures are expensive, and many uninsured patients cannot afford them. A toothless smile is a liability in terms of personal confidence as well as in the job market. The results also indicate that persons who believe they are in less than excellent health are less likely to have dental coverage. Since good oral health is conducive to productivity, general health and well-being, individuals without dental insurance would benefit from public support in this respect. It would seem that individuals with poor health, low income, single parents and the unemployed should be targeted for such assistance.
Urbanismo comercial em Phoenix: um estudo de quatro formatos comerciais no Arizona

A relacao entre as atividades comerciais e o crescimento das cidades ja vem de longa data. No decorrer dos tempos, essa relacao resultou em diferentes formatos comerciais e foi mais ou menos espontânea ou planejada consoante as necessidades das pessoas, as tecnologias de producao e de distribuicao, as tecnicas de armazenamento e venda e a capacidade de inovacao das sociedades. A area metropolitana de Phoenix, no Estado do Arizona, Estados Unidos, e um caso de estudo interessante pela sua rapida e recente evolucao na construcao de uma mistura de formatos tradicionais, modernos e pos-modernos, assim como pelas transformacoes e adaptacoes decorrentes da crise financeira global de 2008. Este estudo reve as caracteristicas de quatro formatos comerciais na area metropolitana de Phoenix (o mercado publico de Phoenix, um lifestyle center em Scottsdale, o centro comercial Tempe Market Place em Tempe e uma area comercial no terminal quatro do aeroporto internacional Sky Harbor) e discute um conjunto de quatro ilacoes para o futuro do urbanismo comercial no mundo ocidental: local-global; material-imaterial; essencial-dispensavel e autentico-ilusorio.
Cytotoxic T Cells and Granzyme B Associated with Improved Colorectal Cancer Survival in a Prospective Cohort of Older Women

Background: Host immune response may predict the course of colorectal cancer. We examined the survival of 468 colorectal cancer patients associated with two tumor-infiltrating immune biomarkers, the number of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs), and the activated CTLs, as reflected by the number of cells expressing granzyme B (GZMB) in the prospective Iowa Women's Health Study.Methods: Using paraffin-embedded tissue samples, we constructed and immunostained tumor microarrays with CD8 (for CTL) and GZMB antibodies. We scored CTL and GZMB densities in tumor epithelial and stromal tissues and also created a composite score for each biomarker (sum of the scores across tissue compartments). Cox regression estimated the HR and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for all-cause and colorectal cancer-specific death associated with each composite score.Results: CTL and GZMB composite scores were positively correlated (r = 0.65) and each biomarker was inversely correlated with stage at diagnosis. Both composite scores were higher in proximal colon tumors and tumors characterized by MSI-high, CIMP-high, or BRAF mutation status. HRs (95% CI) were 0.53 (0.38-0.75; Ptrend = 0.0004) and 0.66 (0.51-0.86; Ptrend = 0.002) for all-cause death, respectively, and 0.30 (0.18-0.51; Ptrend < 0.0001) and 0.41 (0.27-0.63; Ptrend < 0.0001) for colorectal cancer-related death, respectively. Including CTL and GZMB scores simultaneously in the model significantly improved the predictive performance of the models for all-cause and colorectal cancer-related death.Conclusions: Higher tumor infiltration with CTL and GZMB cells is associated with improved all-cause and cancer-specific survival of colorectal cancer patients.Impact: Both the number of CTLs and GZMB appear to be useful prognostic factors in colorectal cancer, irrespective of stage. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(4); 622-31. ©2016 AACR.
Evaluation of Alternative Nonlinear Mixed Effects Models of Swine Growth

Abstract Alternative versions of a common three-parameter nonlinear growth function were evaluated on two groups of gilts. Gilts were randomly assigned to be reared under all-in, all-out (AIAO; n = 96) or continuous flow (CF) management (n = 96). The addition of a single random effect, in which the mature BW of each pig varies, provided a substantially better fit and smaller parameter standard errors. This model predicts a constant coefficient of variation between pigs. The addition of a second random effect further improved the likelihood statistics and reduced the residual standard deviation, although the impact was much smaller. The inclusion of the second random effect accounts for different patterns of growth between pigs. Variations in the growth patterns allow greater fleiibility to describe the underlying variance/covariance structure of the serial live BW. For all miied effects models, the mean and approiimate variation in age required for pigs to reach a specific BW can be predicted. After 104 d of age, the growth of CF gilts declined more rapidly, and the standard deviation in days required to reach specific target BW (TBW) (110, 120, or 130 kg) increased more rapidly than for the AIAO gilts. These models are also easily adaptable to stochastic modeling.
Fast thermal modeling of liquid, thermoelectric, and hybrid cooling

Localized hot spots result in elevated on-chip temperatures, significantly limiting the performance, energy efficiency and reliability of today's processors. For efficient removal of hot spots, using superlattice-based thermoelectric coolers (TECs) in cooperation with microchannel liquid cooling has recently been explored. For the design and evaluation of such hybrid cooling solutions, fast and accurate modeling is essential. In this paper, we present a modeling methodology to account for the complex thermal behavior of TECs and liquid microchannels using compact thermal modeling (CTM). CTM provides a desirable tradeoff between accuracy and speed; thus, it is usually preferred over computationally heavy multi-physics simulations when designing and evaluating thermal management techniques. In this paper, we first describe how to jointly model liquid microchannels and TECs for a hybrid cooling design. We then validate the accuracy of our models by comparing the temperatures obtained from them against the temperatures from COMSOL and 3D-ICE. In comparison to COMSOL, the proposed model provides an average error of 2.07°C for TECs and 0.36°C for liquid microchannels, while providing four orders of magnitude faster simulation time. Compared to 3D-ICE, the proposed liquid cooling model achieves 0.02° C7 average error. We point out challenges related to integrating a new cooling model into an existing compact thermal simulator and show that modeling decisions can affect the reported temperature by up to 20°C. We conclude our paper by demonstrating an example use case of our proposed model, where we compare the cooling performance of a hybrid cooling design involving microchannels and TECs against a design that adopts liquid cooling only.
Probabilistic blind identification of site effects from ground surface signals

A new blind identification technique is devised within a probabilistic framework to identify site effects from ground surface accelerograms. Ground response analysis is an essential part of most seismic assessment and ground motion characterization efforts and is fraught with inherent complexities due to epistemic as well as aleatory uncertainties. Whereas an extensive collection of analytical and numerical techniques is available to analyze ground responses, their accuracy depends on a priori knowledge of site properties and the availability of appropriate input motions. In the probabilistic blind identification method proposed herein, the site response is identified using only the ground surface accelerations recorded at multiple stations, under the assumption that the unknown input motion is similar for all these stations. The few competing site response identification methods rely on the strategic selection of a reference station and the present approach obviates this limitation and additionally yields the uncertainty of the identified results.
Adrenal Crisis/Adrenal Insufficiency

Adrenal crisis is an acute deterioration in a patient with adrenal insufficiency, which is usually manifested as hypovolemic shock. Adrenal insufficiency may be secondary to infections especially tuberculosis, metastasis of cancer, bilateral adrenal hemorrhage, or bilateral adrenalectomy (primary or Addison’s disease); pituitary tumors, pituitary surgery, pituitary radiation, or head trauma (secondary); or long-term steroid use (glucocorticoid-induced). Adrenal crisis may be the first presentation in up to 50% of patients with adrenal insufficiency.
Creating a supply chain model that incorporates the integration electronic business aims to deliver

The supply chain model includes the full chain, from the supply of the raw materials to the delivery of the final product or service. Organisational concepts - in the areas of knowledge management, technology and customer management - impact on the supply chain model. These concepts are defined, and the supply chain model is discussed in the context of the impact that such issues can have on it. Finally, a new presentation of the model is suggested in order to convey the relationship of the model to such issues.
Beam Spreading Devices

Effective use of a particle beam for radiotherapy necessitates delivery of that beam in such a way that it covers the target volume with a prescribed dose distribution. The particle beam extracted from an accelerator normally has beam dimensions smaller than that of a typical target. Therefore, that beam has to be spread out to match the target volume. This chapter will discuss aspects of the transverse and longitudinal spreading techniques using scattering and scanning techniques and some of the devices used to implement these techniques.
Knowledge Versus Belief

Vronsky has just fallen during a steeplechase, and Anna is in shock. Karenin offers her his arm and she, after finding out that Vronsky is not hurt, docilely accepts it. In their carriage Karenin points out that her behavior was improper, and she smiles. She had smiled before, when a similar suggestion was made, but now a disclosure is impending — and indeed will occur in an instant. Still, Karenin lets himself be deluded once more, for just the length of that instant: lets himself think that she will call his suspicions ridiculous, and everything will be all right again. And Tolstoy comments: “What he knew was so dreadful that now he was ready to believe anything”(Anna Karenina225).
Prevention of Surgical Complications

One of the defining characteristics of dermatology is wide array of procedures that are performed on the skin. Whether for diagnostic or treatment purposes, dermatologic procedures are an important constituent contributing to the personality of this specialty. Dermatologic surgery is one of the most important of these procedures and although not common, adverse events can result, which are troublesome both for the patient and the physician. An appropriate knowledge of how to prevent such undesirable occurrences is mandatory for any physician wishing to engage in dermatologic surgery. It is hoped that this chapter will contribute to this important body of knowledge.
"Peaceful Purposes" and Other Relevant Provisions of the Revised Composite Negotiating Text: A Comparative Analysis of the Existing and the Proposed Military Regime for the High Seas

During the course of the next few decades, technological developments will permit military planners to focus an increasing amount of attention on the utilization of transnational spatial areas for military purposes. 1 The areas most likely to be affected include outer space, the polar zones, and the oceans. From the vantage of the strategic analyst, the militarization of such areas is attractive primarily because it would shift the locus of strategic conflict away from presently targeted inhabited areas and, as a result, increase the operational utility of highly destructive nuclear weapons. Though a shift of this nature admittedly has a certain appeal, in the final analysis it could well have a debilitating effect upon the semblance of international tranquility which now exists. A shift of the locus of strategic conflict would remove a good deal of the existing uncertainty about the extent of the destructive consequences of thermonuclear war, and with such a removal may go whatever constraints against that or any other
15 – The Development of Olfactory Control over Behavior

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the ontogeny of mammalian olfaction, particularly as it relates to infant–mother interactions in the rat and other animals during the nesting period. It focuses on three vital social behaviors—(1) orientation, (2) huddling, and (3) suckling, whose expression is strongly influenced by olfactory stimuli. These behaviors, though differing in their motor properties and time of onset, share an important feature concerning the development of olfactory control. At first, a broad range of odors can influence their expression. The range narrows with time. Ultimately, only a particular odor helps either to elicit a behavior or to determine where it will occur. The chapter presents the studies that have identified and isolated some of the features of the mother and her interactions with her pups that are critical for conditioning in the nest. It presents correlations between behavioral and neural development, and presents a behavioral model of the way olfactory stimuli might gain control over behavior.
Edge orbits and cyclic and r-pyramidal decompositions of complete uniform hypergraphs

Abstract Let Z n denote the group of integers modulo n and let E n ( k ) be the set of all k -element subsets of Z n where 1 ≤ k n . If E ∈ E n ( k ) , let [ E ] = { E + r : r ∈ Z n } . Then [ E ] is the orbit of E where Z n acts on E n ( k ) via ( r , E ) ↦ E + r . Furthermore, { [ E ] : E ∈ E n ( k ) } is a partition of E n ( k ) into Z n -orbits. In this article, we count the total number of Z n -orbits of E n ( k ) , count the number of orbits of each size, determine the corresponding results when fixed points are introduced, and give an application to cyclic and r -pyramidal decompositions of complete uniform hypergraphs into isomorphic subgraphs.
Ultrasonography education in the first medical-engineering based college

This work presents an ultrasonography laboratory practice for the first year medical students of Carle Illinois College of Medicine. The Carle Illinois is the first college of medicine in the nation designed at the intersection of engineering and medicine. The curriculum integrates basic and clinical sciences with engineering and innovation, as part activities students were able to navigate through a guided ultrasound practice. In the individual session, students were introduced to an ultrasound machine (Sonosite Edge, FUJIFILM SonoSite, Inc, Bothell, WA, USA) and discussed the ultrasound principles. As preparation for the session, students received a guide where they answered a few questions. The guided practice consisted on describing the parts of a basic ultrasound machine; explaining the ultrasound principles, such as, relationship between frequency and wavelength, explaining the different ultrasound imaging modes and types of ultrasound transducers, discussing the frequency of ultrasound transducer for diagnosis and therapy and the continuous Doppler mode. In the end, students had the opportunity to scan the carotid artery and analyze the ultrasound principles discussed. After the guided session, students were allowed to perform scans on their own. The students appreciated the hands-on experiences gained by participation in the ultrasonography-guided session.
Theory Reveals Novel Chemistry of Photonic Molecules

Download : Download high-res image (108KB) Download : Download full-size image Matthew Du earned his BA in chemistry at Northwestern University in 2016. He is currently pursuing his PhD in the theoretical chemistry group of Joel Yuen-Zhou at the University of California, San Diego. His research primarily entails understanding the fascinating chemical dynamics of molecules under strong light-matter coupling. He also has ongoing projects on the chirality of nanoplasmonic systems.
Complicated case of Mycobacterium abscessus conjunctivitis in Sjögren's syndrome.

Abstract Purpose To report a case of conjunctivitis due to Mycobacterium abscessus in the setting of keratoconjunctivitis sicca due to Sjogren's syndrome in the absence of other known risk factors such as surgery, trauma or immunosuppressive therapy. Observations A 61-year-old woman with a history of keratoconjunctivitis sicca secondary to Sjogren's syndrome presented with dryness, irritation, redness, and discharge in her left eye for 2 months. She was diagnosed with chronic conjunctivitis and began a regimen of moxifloxacin and an ocular ointment of dexamethasone, neomycin, and polymyxin with no improvement of symptoms. Concurrent cultures grew Mycobacterium abscessus and the patient began treatment with amikacin drops, oral clarithromycin and intravenous imipenem, followed by amikacin drops, oral clarithromycin, and oral clofazimine, but her course was complicated by a perforated corneal ulcer that required a corneal patch graft. The patient eventually recovered despite persistent colonization. Conclusions/importance We present a case of Mycobacterium abscessus conjunctivitis in a patient with keratoconjunctivitis sicca secondary to Sjogren's syndrome without previous history of surgery, trauma, or other known risk factors. Because of low suspicion and clinician awareness, ocular nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection may have a delayed diagnosis and treatment. Clinicians should consider NTM in the differential diagnosis in patients with autoimmune disease such as Sjogren's syndrome. Treatment may be lengthy, requiring topical and systemic antibiotics and is often complicated due to resistance.
Thermodynamic Properties and Molecular Packing Explain Performance and Processing Procedures of Three D18:NFA Organic Solar Cells

Organic solar cells (OSCs) based on D18:Y6 have recently exhibited a record power conversion efficiency of over 18%. The initial work is extended and the device performance of D18-based OSCs is compared with three non-fullerene acceptors, Y6, IT-4F, and IEICO-4Cl, and their molecular packing characteristics and miscibility are studied. The D18 polymer shows unusually strong chain extension and excellent backbone ordering in all films, which likely contributes to the excellent hole-transporting properties. Thermodynamic characterization indicates a room-temperature miscibility for D18:Y6 and D18:IT-4F near the percolation threshold. This corresponds to an ideal quench depth and explains the use of solvent vapor annealing rather than thermal annealing. In contrast, D18:IEICO-4Cl is a low-miscibility system with a deep quench depth during casting and poor morphology control and low performance. A failure of ternary blends with PC71 BM is likely due to the near-ideal miscibility of Y6 to begin with and indicates that strategies for developing successful ternary or quaternary solar cells are likely very different for D18 than for other high-performing donors. This work reveals several unique property-performance relations of D18-based photovoltaic devices and helps guide design or fabrication of yet higher efficiency OSCs.
Chronic Hypersensitivity Pneumonitis (CHP), an Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) with Distinct Molecular Signatures

Background: Chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (CHP) is caused by an immune response to antigen inhalation and is characterized by progressive pulmonary fibrosis. The histopathological and clinical features of CHP are variable, however, a subset of CHP patients have usual interstitial pneumonia and behave clinically similar to patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). To determine the common and unique molecular features of CHP and IPF, we conducted a transcriptome analysis of lung samples from CHP (N=82), IPF (N=103), and unaffected controls (N=103). Methods: Gene expression in lung tissue was determined adjusting for sex, race, age, explant site, and smoking history, and using false discovery rate (FDR) to control for multiple comparisons. Findings: When compared to controls, we identified 413 upregulated and 317 downregulated genes in CHP, and 861 upregulated and 322 downregulated genes in IPF. Concordantly up/down-regulated genes in CHP and IPF were related to collagen catabolic processes and epithelial development, whereas genes specific to CHP were related to chemokine-mediated signaling and immune responsiveness. Using weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA), we found that among subjects with CHP, genes involved in adaptive immunity or epithelial cell development were associated with improved or reduced lung function respectively, and that MUC5B expression was associated with epithelial cell development. MUC5B expression was also associated with lung fibrosis and honeycombing. Interpretation: Gene expression analysis of CHP and IPF identified signatures common to CHP and IPF, as well as genes uniquely expressed in CHP. Select modules of gene expression are characterized by distinct clinical and pathological features of CHP. Funding Statement: NHLBI (R01-HL097163, P01-HL092870, UH3-HL123442, and DoD W81XWH17-1-0597). Declaration of Interests: None of the authors report conflicts of interest relevant to this study. D.A.S. is the founder and chief scientific officer of Eleven P15, a company focused on the early diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. D.A.S. has an awarded patent (US patent no: 8,673,565) for the treatment and diagnosis of fibrotic lung disease. Ethics Approval Statement: This study conformed to the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Colorado Multiple Institution Board (COMIRB) 15-1147.
Protein-losing enteropathy managed with percutaneous enlargement of a restrictive atrial septal defect

Protein-losing enteropathy is one of the most feared complications of the Fontan circulation. The diagnosis of protein-losing enteropathy in this setting should prompt a thorough investigation for the presence of a treatable hemodynamic impairment. In this report, we describe a complete reversal of protein-losing enteropathy following percutaneous enlargement of a restrictive atrial septal defect in a patient with a fenestrated lateral tunnel Fontan and severe mitral stenosis.
Translation of New and Emerging Therapies for Genetic Cardiomyopathies

Summary The primary etiology of a diverse range of cardiomyopathies is now understood to be genetic, creating a new paradigm for targeting treatments on the basis of the underlying molecular cause. This review provides a genetic and etiologic context for the traditional clinical classifications of cardiomyopathy, including molecular subtypes that may exhibit differential responses to existing or emerging treatments. The authors describe several emerging cardiomyopathy treatments, including gene therapy, direct targeting of myofilament function, protein quality control, metabolism, and others. The authors discuss advantages and disadvantages of these approaches and indicate areas of high potential for short- and longer term efficacy.
Fast and Accurate Inductance Extraction for Power Module Layout Optimization Using Loop-Based Method

Electrical parasitics, especially parasitic inductance, play an essential role in enhancing power module design performance through reducing voltage overshoot and switching power losses. In this paper, a new electrical parasitic extraction model is developed, inspired by the loop-based extraction method from VLSI. This model shows only within 10% error compared to the FastHenry method while being orders of magnitude more efficient in run time and memory. For the same design, this method takes less than 0.5 seconds on the same machine to achieve similar accuracy. This method also significantly reduces the number of elements in the extracted netlist, which reduces the complexity for loop evaluation a few thousand times. Utilizing the divide-and-conquer strategy, this model demonstrates many advantages over previous work in layout optimization and post-layout simulation. The model is also attractive for use with optimization routines, and therefore has been used in the latest PowerSynth layout optimization tool.
Bowen v. Massachusetts: The "Money Damages Exception" to the Administrative Procedure Act and Grant-in-Aid Litigation

On June 28, 1988, The Supreme Court handed down a decision with wide ramifications for the litigation of disputes between the states and the federal government concerning the administration of grant-in-aid programs. In Bowen v. Massachusetts, the Court turned back a wide­ ranging attempt by the Department of Justice to require all cases con­cerning the payment of funds under grant-in-aid statutes to be brought in the Claims Court, a specialized court centered in Washington, D.C. The Bowen decision ensures that the district courts will continue to have jurisdiction over cases in which a state seeks reimbursement from the federal government under Medicaid and similar statutory programs, but the precise scope of the Bowen holding is unclear. This article will at­ tempt to clarify the status of this jurisdictional dispute after Bowen.
Managing decision resources in plan execution

We describe an approach to the problem of managing resources in routine decision-making tasks. The central feature of this approach is the use of reusable RAP-like plans to generate decisions. This allows our system, APEX, to take advantage of the flexibility in scheduling and method selection provided by execution mechanisms and thereby minimize or circumvent resource conflicts. We then discuss an application of APEX for simulating a human air traffic controller in order to aid in the evaluation of radar display designs.
Stochastic dominance and statistical comparisons of income distribution functions: A new method for evaluating the economic well being of the elderly

This paper assesses the economic well being of the U.S. elderly population by applying asymptotically distribution-free statistical tests of stochastic dominance relations characterizing income distribution functions. The procedure is new and overcomes serious difficulties encountered in naive comparisons of summary statistics which are widely used in assessing economic well being. An important advantage of this approach is that it exploits all the information contained in the income distribution function. Application of the method to compare the elderly population to the entire U.S. population in the 1980's reveals evidence of a higher per capita level of economic well being among older Americans. The method can be applied to other socioeconomic groups and in other countries provided that appropriate micro data are available.
5′-Adenylyl-O-tyrosine: The Novel Phosphodiester Residue of Adenylylated Glutamine Synthetase from Escherichia Coli

Abstract A decapeptide containing 1 eq of adenylyl groups bound in phosphodiester linkage has been isolated in high yield from adenylylated glutamine synthetase. The decapeptide has the following amino acid composition: (Asp2, Glu2, Pro3, Gly1, Leu1, Tyr1). Tyrosine is the only amino acid present that could yield a phosphodiester derivative having the stability characteristics of the adenylylated peptide. Evidence that the adenylyl group is in fact bound in phosphodiester linkage to the phenolic hydroxyl group of tyrosine was obtained by comparing the ultraviolet absorption spectra of adenylylated and unadenylylated peptides at alkaline pH. A spectral peak, attributable to ionization of tyrosine hydroxyl groups, was absent in the adenylylated peptide, but became apparent when the adenylyl residues were removed with snake venom phosphodiesterase. The results suggest that a unique tyrosyl residue in glutamine synthetase is the site of adenylylation of the enzyme.
Laughing at the Redeemer: Kundry and the Paradox of Parsifal

Matthew Wilson Smith discusses Wagner's “Parsifal” in relation to emerging discourses of psychology and aesthetics, and suggests that the work becomes in the process a proto-modern opera that dramatizes the increasingly problematic nature of both the self and representation.
Transcriptional silencing induced by Arabidopsis T‐DNA mutants is associated with 35S promoter siRNAs and requires genes involved in siRNA‐mediated chromatin silencing

*† ‡ SUMMARY The utility of many T-DNA insertion mutant lines of Arabidopsis is compromised by their propensity to trigger transcriptional silencing of transgenes expressed from the CaMV 35S promoter. To try to circumvent this problem, we characterized the genetic requirements for maintenance of 35S promoter homology-dependent transcriptional gene silencing induced by the dcl3-1 (SALK_005512) T-DNA insertion mutant line. Surprisingly, even though DCL3 and RDR2 are known components of the siRNA-dependent transcriptional gene silencing pathway, transcriptional gene silencing of a 35S promoter-driven GUS hairpin transgene did occur in plants homozygous for the dcl3-1 T-DNA insertion and was unaffected by loss of function of RDR2. However, the transcriptional gene silencing was alleviated in dcl2 dcl3 dcl4 triple mutant plants and also by mutations in AGO4, NRPD2, HEN1 and MOM1. Thus, some T-DNA insertion mutant lines induce 35S promoter homologydependent transcriptional silencing that requires neither DCL3 nor RDR2, but involves other genes known to function in siRNA-dependent transcriptional silencing. Consistent with these results, we detected 35S promoter siRNAs in dcl3-1 SALK line plants, suggesting that the 35S promoter homology-dependent silencing induced by some T-DNA insertion mutant lines is siRNA-mediated.
Gangs and Delinquency in Developmental Perspective: Gangs as a Facilitating Context for Delinquent Behavior

Up to this point the analysis has focused on the antecedents of gang membership, examining risk factors for and causal processes associated with joining a gang. Now we examine whether membership in a juvenile street gang alters the short-term behavior patterns and the long-term life-course development of gang members. The first set of issues we address concerns the extent to which the gang actually facilitates various forms of deviant behavior. In Chapter 3 we demonstrated that gang members in Rochester have significantly higher rates of delinquency than nonmembers. This finding confirms results from earlier observational studies (Hagedorn, 1998; Klein, 1971; Miller, 1966; Moore, 1978; Taylor, 1990), from studies using official data (Cohen, 1969; Klein et al., 1986; Maxson and Klein, 1990), and from those using survey techniques (Fagan, 1989, 1990; Fagan et al., 1986; Short and Strodtbeck, 1965; Tracy, 1979). We also demonstrated that gang members account for a disproportionate share of the crime problem relative to their representation in the general population. Because gangs clearly connote groups that have a deviant or criminal orientation, a strong relationship between gang membership and high rates of involvement in delinquency and drug use is hardly surprising. What these studies do not identify, however, are the social processes that bring about the association between gang membership and higher rates of delinquency. As Fagan has noted, “it is uncertain whether the differences reflect the positive correlation between group crime and violence, features of the gang itself, or the state of social controls in the inner cities where gangs are most evident” (1990: 186).
Theorien mittlerer Reichweite

Mertons Begriff „Theorie mittlerer Reichweite“ gehort zu den pragnantesten Wortschopfungen seines Oeuvres, wenngleich sich nie eindeutig hat klaren lassen, in welchem genauen Sinne er zu verstehen und mit welchen methodologischen Folgerungen er zu versehen ist. Der Aufsatz pladiert dafur, den Begriff kunftig zu ignorieren. Zum einen ist er aus wissenschaftslogischer Sicht mit Missverstandnissen und Unklarheiten verbunden, und zum anderen steht er einer angemessenen Wurdigung des Merton’schen Forschungsprogramms, das sich viele zum Vorbild nehmen wollen, im Wege.