cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Discovery of serum biomarkers of colorectal cancer using a novel multi dimensional proteomics strategy

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 46, 2005 4362 There is currently substantial interest in identifying new protein biomarkers of colorectal cancer, which is the second most common fatal malignancy in the Western world. Serological biomarkers capable of detecting early disease are particularly ideal because blood collection is minimally invasive and immunoassays of discovered biomarkers are straightforward, reliable, and economical. Some serological biomarkers might alternatively be useful for predicting clinical outcome, response to therapy, and detecting relapse. To identify novel patterns of multiple serological biomarkers of colorectal cancer, we used a tumor xenotransplantation model in SCID mice together with a powerful new blood protein profiling method we recently developed. This proteomics method utilizes four different high resolution, high performance separation modes. Briefly, serum is depleted of major proteins using a polyclonal antibody column; fractionated using MicroSol IEF, a fractionation method developed in this laboratory; and separated on 1-D SDS gels. Each lane is sliced into uniform segments, and slices are digested with trypsin followed by nanocapillary reverse phase HPLC on a column interfaced with a high sensitivity ion trap mass spectrometer to identify proteins. This 4-D proteomics method can identify proteins in serum or plasma that vary in concentration by more than 9 orders-of-magnitude. Most importantly, a substantial number of known serum proteins that are present in low nanogram per ml to picogram per ml levels can be identified. In initial studies, three human colorectal cancer cell lines (Colo-205, HIT-15, and Caco-2) were subcutaneously injected into SCID mice. We collected serum from mice with different tumor sizes to determine optimal tumor loads for discovery of biomarkers that can most effectively detect early stage cancer. Tumors were evaluated for necrosis by histopathological analysis. We then identified human proteins secreted by the tumors into the mouse blood using our novel proteomics method. In preliminary studies a substantial number of human proteins were discovered, including proteins previously reported to be present in human patients with cancer. The next step is to compare results from different cell lines, different tumor types and controls with normal human tissue. Subsequently, we plan to establish immunoassaying for the most interesting putative biomarkers and systematically test these markers using serum from colorectal cancer patients and matched controls.
Fabrication of a 3X3 Neutron Pinhole Array

Neutron imaging diagnostics are needed for understanding the principles of fusion ignition. Current experiments on the University of Rochester OMEGA laser facility and future experiments at the NIF...
Consumer-Based Brain Fitness Programs

We review the evidence relating to the value of consumer-friendly ­cognitive training programs for older adults. We discuss the scientific foundation of research on transfer of training. Transfer implies improving not just what is trained but other cognitive or functional activities not directly trained. We describe the behavioral and neuroscience findings suggesting the role of brain plasticity processes on transfer. We detail the results of the IMPACT study, a double-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial of a commercially available program that can be completed at home. Guidelines for selection of scientifically sound consumer-friendly programs are presented, highlighting what we consider important characteristics: input from scientific advisory panels, research testing transfer after use of the specific programs, including whether there is transfer in older adults, and where findings of tested programs are publicly disseminated. We discuss adherence issues in cognitive training, and conclude with a statement on the lack of evidence that consumer-friendly programs can delay or reverse dementia.
Time-Dependent Reliability Analysis of Corroded Buried Pipelines Considering External Defects

AbstractTo address the integrity concerns related to aging pipelines, this paper uses reliability analysis to evaluate the time-dependent performance of pipeline subjected to external corrosion considering prevailing uncertainties. A power-law function of time model is proposed to probabilistically predict the growth of corrosion maximum defect depth and defect length considering a Poisson process for the occurrence of defects. This model can be used: (1) when either matched or nonmatched defects are available; and (2) to consider the newly generated defects since the last inspection. The Bayesian methodology is employed to assess the unknown model parameters using the in-line inspection data and a bivariant normal distribution is adopted to construct the likelihood function with the consideration of the dependency of defect depth and length growth models. The performance of the pipeline is evaluated through assessing probability of failure per kilometer, which is defined as a series system of detected an...
On the Methodological Validity of Frequency Seriation

Frequency seriation has often led to valid ordering of archaeological data, yet critiques of the technique, and in particular of the construction of unimodal popularity (battleship) curves, have appeared periodically for almost 20 yr. Problems of type definition, collection manipulation, and chronological inference have been emphasized. It is here suggested that, above and beyond these difficulties of execution and interpretation, frequency seriation is methodologically unsound: that the battleship curve concept is self-contradictory; that a type/collection frequency has descriptive value only within a collection but has no comparative value between collections; that the most commonplace kinds of ceramic variation can negate the type/collection unimodal curve; that seriation of collections to conform to the self-contradictory battleship curve provides a mechanical method by which significant changes in ceramic complexes may be obfuscated. If this basic form of frequency seriation is methodologically invalid, then more complex schemes for manipulating type/collection frequencies using the same or equivalent assumptions (for example, the Brainerd-Robinson technique and others) are also methodologically suspect.
Inhibition of phenylbutazone elimination by its metabolite oxyphenbutazone.

SummaryOxyphenbutazone, a metabolite of phenylbutazone, inhibits the elimination of phenylbutazone in rats. The magnitude of this inhibitory effect is most pronounced in animals which eliminate phenylbutazone relatively rapidly in control experiments.Supported in part by Grant 71-554 from the American Heart Association and by a fellowship for E. J. from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. Phenylbutazone and oxyphenbutazone were kindly supplied by Ciba-Geigy, Ardsley, NY. Competent technical assistance was provided by Mr. Chii-Ming Lai.
Effects of Using Winter Grazing as a Fuel Treatment on Wyoming Big Sagebrush Plant Communities

ABSTRACT More frequent wildfires and incidences of mega-fires have increased the pressure for fuel treatments in sagebrush (Artemisia) communities. Winter grazing has been one of many fuel treatments proposed for Wyoming big sagebrush (A. tridentata Nutt. subsp. wyomingensis Beetle and A. Young) communities. Though fire risk and severity can be reduced with winter grazing, its impact on vegetation characteristics of Wyoming big sagebrush plant communities is largely unknown. We evaluate the effect of winter grazing at utilization levels between 40% and 60% at five sites in southeastern Oregon. Winter grazing was applied for 5–6 yr before measurements. The winter-grazed and ungrazed treatments generally had similar vegetation characteristics; however, a few characteristics differed. The consumption of prior years' growth resulted in less large perennial bunchgrass, perennial forb, and total herbaceous cover and standing crop and litter biomass. Large perennial bunchgrass and perennial forb density and biom...
Three Paleocoastal Lithic Sites on Santa Cruz Island, California

Paleocoastal sites, dated between ∼13,000 and 8000 cal yr BP, are relatively abundant on California's Northern Channel Islands but rare on the largest island of Santa Cruz. Here we describe three lithic sites containing chipped-stone crescents and, in one case, a stemmed Channel Island Barbed point fragment. Elsewhere on the islands, datable sites containing crescents are either terminal Pleistocene or early Holocene in age. Two of the lithic sites produced no datable organic remains, but one contains a small patch of intact shell midden dated to ∼8650 cal yr BP. These three sites add to the growing number of Paleocoastal sites on Santa Cruz and the other Northern Channel Islands.
Effects of Electric Field on the Fracture Toughness (KIC) of PZT Ceramics

Ceramic PZT with a controlled crack was subjected to combined four point bending and longitudinal electric field loading to determine the fracture toughness (KIC ) as a function of electric field. Application of a positive DC electric field (in the polarization direction) during mechanical loading was observed to reduce the critical stress intensity factor and application of a negative electric field increased the critical stress intensity factor.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Diaphragm disuse reduces Ca2+uptake capacity of sarcoplasmic reticulum

Howell, Sandra, Wen-Zhi Zhan, and Gary C. Sieck.Diaphragm disuse reduces Ca2+uptake capacity of sarcoplasmic reticulum. J. Appl. Physiol. 82(1): 164–171, 1997.—Chronic phrenic tetrodotoxin (TTX) bl...
Citrate decreases contraction and Ca current in cardiac muscle independent of its buffering action.

Extracellular Ca (Cao) depletions that occur during cardiac muscle contractions are indicative of net Ca entry. Buffering Cao concentration ([Ca]o) with citrate can limit the magnitude of these Cao depletions [e.g., Shattock and Bers. Am. J. Physiol. 256 (Cell Physiol. 25): C813-C822, 1989] which theoretically would allow more Ca entry and consequently greater force at the same free [Ca]o. However, Shimoni and Ginsburg [Am. J. Physiol. 252 (Cell Physiol. 21): C248-C252, 1987] have shown that citrate inhibits cardiac contractions and suggested that this was due to its Ca-buffering action (i.e., dissipating a local elevation of [Ca] at the outer sarcolemmal surface and thereby decreasing Ca influx). To examine the effects of Ca buffering per se, we compared the effects of four low-affinity Ca buffers [citrate, nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), dipicolinic acid (DPA), and acetamidoiminodiacetic acid (ADA)] on several cardiac preparations. In Mg-free medium with 2 mM free Ca (measured using murexide), citrate, DPA, and ADA (10 mM) decreased the force of twitch contractions in rabbit ventricle to 76 +/- 2, 60 +/- 2, and 85 +/- 2%, respectively, but 10 mM NTA increased force slightly to 105 +/- 2%. No simple correlation was observed between the Ca affinity of the buffer and its effect on tension. These effects were not due to changes in sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca loading because rapid cooling contractures were not affected and similar results were observed in the presence of caffeine or ryanodine. The depressant effects of citrate and ADA on tension were greater at pH 5.5-6 and ADA had no effect at pH 8.5. Thus the depressant effect is stronger with more protonated forms of citrate and ADA, which are also poorer Ca buffers. Citrate (but not NTA) decreased Ca current in whole cell voltage clamp and shifted the current-voltage relationship and reversal potential to more negative potentials. Citrate decreased Ca current more effectively at higher citrate and lower Ca concentrations. We conclude that citrate (and some other weak Ca buffers) may directly decrease Ca current and contraction in a manner independent of Ca buffering ability.
Dynamic precipitation in Mg-3Al-1Zn alloy during different plastic deformation modes

Abstract Various AZ31 Mg alloy samples were either Equal Channel Angular Extrusion Processed (ECAP) or uniaxial tensile tested at 150 °C and 200 °C to study dynamic precipitation in this alloy. The microstructures of both the ECAP and tension specimens were investigated in detail. Scanning Electron Microscopy, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Scanning TEM (STEM) studies demonstrated the presence of a new phase, called ɸ′, in the dynamically recrystallized (DRX) regions. The precipitate composition was determined to be approximately Mg 75 (AlZn) 25 wt.%. (Mg 82 (AlZn) 18 at.%). Since these precipitates were not observed in the initial, non-deformed samples, even after exposing them to heat treatments at 150 °C for 200 h, they were concluded to be a consequence of the plastic deformation during ECAP or tensile testing. The ɸ′ particles, which mostly form along the grain boundaries of the DRX grains, absorb solute solution hardening elements Al and Zn from the surrounding DRX grains, which consequently consist primarily of Mg. The resulting DRX grains therefore seem to be compositionally softer, promoting deformation localization and eventual macroscopic failure, thus offering a rationale for why ECAP and tension samples tend to fail along DRX regions.
Conversion of Aflatoxins to Bisulfite Adducts for Quantitation and Confirmation

Aflatoxins and metabolites of aflatoxins are common natural contaminants of food products such as corn, peanuts, liver, and milk (Rodricks and Stoloff, 1977; Wong and Hsieh, 1978; Stoloff, 1980; Stoloff et al., 1981). Detection of these potently toxic and carcinogenic compounds at the parts-per-billion level or even lower in a variety of complex matrices challenges the analytical chemist to continually improve and expand the repertoire of analytical techniques.
Open-Source Variable-Precision Floating-Point Library for Major Commercial FPGAs

There is increased interest in implementing floating-point designs for different precisions that take advantage of the flexibility offered by Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). In this article, we present updates to the Variable-precision FLOATing Point Library (VFLOAT) developed at Northeastern University and highlight recent improvements in implementations for implementing reciprocal, division, and square root components that scale to double precision for FPGAs from the two major vendors: Altera and Xilinx. Our library is open source and flexible and provides the user with many options. A designer has many tradeoffs to consider including clock frequency, total latency, and resource usage as well as target architecture. We compare the generated cores to those produced by each vendor and to another popular open-source tool: FloPoCo. VFLOAT has the advantage of not tying the user’s design to a specific target architecture and of providing the maximum flexibility for all options including clock frequency and latency compared to other alternatives. Our results show that variable-precision as well as double-precision designs can easily be accommodated and the resulting components are competitive and in many cases superior to the alternatives.
Expressive and efﬁcient retrieval of symbolic musical data

The ideal content-based musical search engine for large corpora must be both expressive enough to meet the needs of a diverse user base and efficient enough to perform queries in a reasonable amount of time. In this paper, we present such a system, based on an existing advanced natural language search engine. In our design, musically meaningful searching is simply a special case of more general search techniques. This approach has allowed us to create an extremely powerful and fast search engine with minimal effort.
Time-resolved fluorescence in studies of protein structure and dynamics.

Fluorescence spectroscopy continues to develop as a useful technique for understanding the complex relationships between structure and function of proteins and other biological macromolecules. Fluorescence spectroscopy has several advantages, including sensitivity (only a small amount of sample is needed), the ability to examine processes over a wide time range (picoseconds to seconds), the ability to work under “physiological” conditions, and the ability to measure many different physical parameters (quantum yield, lifetime, emission energies, anisotropy) that can contribute to the understanding of the system.
Anticonvulsants Following Craniotomy

A randomized prospective clinical trial of carbamazepine or phenytoin for 6 or 24 months including a control no-treatment group is reported in 276 post-craniotomy patients at the Walton Hospital, Liverpool, England.
When Good Fences Make Bad Neighbors: Overcoming Disciplinary Barriers to Improve Natural Resource Management

ABSTRACTThe traditional disciplines of natural resource management are rooted in university departments, each with their own traditions, theories, approaches, and professional journals. While individual fields have contributed a great deal to our body of knowledge, the time has come to tear down the walls among them. Here we examine some of the characteristics of successful interdisciplinary research highlighted by the professional legacy of our late colleague, Mark Plummer. Through this lens, we hope to provide practical guidance for researchers conducting meaningful research integrating social and natural sciences in support of natural resource management.
Role of Postoperative Radiotherapy in Pathologic Stage IIIA (N2) Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer in a Prospective Nationwide Oncology Outcomes Database

Abstract Introduction The role of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) in the treatment of pathologic stage IIIA (N2) NSCLC remains controversial. We investigated practice patterns and outcomes for these patients in a prospectively maintained nationwide oncology outcomes database. Methods Patients with known histologic features of pathologic stage IIIA (N2) NSCLC who underwent an operation with negative margins and received adjuvant multiagent chemotherapy from 2004 to 2013 were identified from the National Cancer Data Base and stratified by the use of PORT. Multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to examine factors associated with receiving PORT, and multivariable proportional hazards regression was used to examine the association of treatment and mortality, adjusting for demographic, socioeconomic and clinicopathologic factors. Landmark analysis and covariate balancing propensity score (CBPS) weighting were also explored to account for immortal time bias and nonrandomization. Results A total of 2691 patients were identified, with a median follow-up of 32.32 months. In multivariable analysis, improved overall survival was associated with multiple factors, including younger age, female sex, lower Charlson-Deyo comorbidity index, histologic type (with squamous cell being better than adenocarcinoma), smaller tumor size, lower pathologic T stage, surgical procedure (with pneumonectomy or lobectomy being better than sublobar resection), and receipt of PORT (all p p = 0.008). This benefit remained significant after CBPS weighting (HR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.70–0.94, p = 0.005), almost significant after landmark analysis (adjusted HR = 0.84, 95% CI: 0.69–1.007, p = 0.059), and significant after landmark analysis with CBPS weighting (HR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.63–0.94, p = 0.009). Median survival past landmark time was 27.43 months in the PORT group and 25.86 months in the non-PORT group. Factors significantly associated with receiving PORT were facility location, facility type, Charlson-Deyo comorbidity index, and grade (all p Conclusions Improved survival is associated with receipt of PORT for patients with pathologic stage IIIA (N2) NSCLC treated with complete resection and multiagent chemotherapy.
What we know about children's art—and what we need to know

(1977). What we know about children's art—and what we need to know. de arte: Vol. 12, No. 21, pp. 41-47.
The introduction of Hurrian religion into the Hittite empire

The early Hittite New Kingdom was a period of great change. It was during this period that both a remarkable amount of Hurrian textual material entered into the Hittite capital and Hittite kings began having both Hittite and Hurrian names. In this paper I argue that the importation of Hurrian cultural material accompanied the dynastic marriage between the Hittite king and the king of Kizzuwatna. The reception of the material and its lasting effects within the ruling family are to be attributed to the education of the princes within a royal household headed by Hurrian queens.
Chd7 Is a Cell Autonomous Regulator of Chromatin In Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

Abstract 1596 Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are specified during embryogenesis, and the induction process involves not only transcription factors but also epigenetic factors that modulate chromatin to regulate the hematopoietic transcriptional programs. Here, we performed a reverse genetic screen to identify all the chromatin factors that are required for HSC induction in zebrafish. The zebrafish homologs of 350 human chromatin factors were identified by reciprocal BLAST and knocked down by injecting morpholinos designed against each homolog into the single cell embryo. Morphants were then analyzed for changes in blood formation by in situ hybridization for β- globin e3 expression in primitive erythrocytes at 16 somite stage and for c-myb and runx1 in definitive stem cells at 36 hours post fertilization. From the screen, we have identified known regulators of hematopoiesis such as bmi1 , in which knock down results in loss of stem cell formation. We have also identified one novel HSC regulator chd7 . Chd7 is a member of the chromodomain helicase DNA-binding domain family that functions at gene enhancer elements and in ribosomal RNA synthesis. Zebrafish embryos injected with chd7 morpholino had higher levels of β- globin e3 and c-myb / runx1 expression. Additional markers such as scl, gata1, fli1, and lmo2 were also upregulated, although vascular markers flk1 and ephrinB2 were downregulated. Early mesodermal markers eve1 and ntl expression appeared normal, suggesting that the effects of chd7 knock down occurs when the mesodermal precursor cell population becomes an HSC. Transplants of chd7 deficient Tg(c-myb:GFP) blastomeres into Tg(lmo2:DsRed) blastulas resulted in more chimeric embryos compared to controls, demonstrating that the phenotype is cell autonomous. In humans, haploinsufficiency for CHD7 is the main cause of CHARGE syndrome, and it has been recognized more recently that these patients are immunodeficient, though the etiology remains unknown. Our studies indicate a new role for chd7 in hematopoiesis in which it functions to repress HSC formation during embryogenesis. Disclosures: Zon: FATE, Inc.: Consultancy, Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees, Patents & Royalties; Stemgent: Consultancy, Equity Ownership, Membership on an entity9s Board of Directors or advisory committees.
Adaptation of a Simple Microfluidic Platform for High-Dimensional Quantitative Morphological Analysis of Human Mesenchymal Stromal Cells on Polystyrene-Based Substrates:

Multipotent stromal cells (MSCs, often called mesenchymal stem cells) have garnered significant attention within the field of regenerative medicine because of their purported ability to differentiate down musculoskeletal lineages. Given the inherent heterogeneity of MSC populations, recent studies have suggested that cell morphology may be indicative of MSC differentiation potential. Toward improving current methods and developing simple yet effective approaches for the morphological evaluation of MSCs, we combined passive pumping microfluidic technology with high-dimensional morphological characterization to produce robust tools for standardized high-throughput analysis. Using ultraviolet (UV) light as a modality for reproducible polystyrene substrate modification, we show that MSCs seeded on microfluidic straight channel devices incorporating UV-exposed substrates exhibited morphological changes that responded accordingly to the degree of substrate modification. Substrate modification also effected greater morphological changes in MSCs seeded at a lower rather than higher density within microfluidic channels. Despite largely comparable trends in morphology, MSCs seeded in microscale as opposed to traditional macroscale platforms displayed much higher sensitivity to changes in substrate properties. In summary, we adapted and qualified microfluidic cell culture platforms comprising simple straight channel arrays as a viable and robust tool for high-throughput quantitative morphological analysis to study cell-material interactions.
Factors associated with obtaining health screening among women of reproductive age

2 researchers from the US Centers for Diseases Control analyzed 1988 data on 8450 15-44 year old women living in the US to examine health screening rates and to determine the characteristics of women who had undergone health screening in the year before the interview. 67% had undergone a Pap test or pelvic examination to screen for cervical cancer. 67% had undergone a breast examination for breast cancer. 82% had had their blood pressure taken to screen for hypertension. 95.2% 91% and 96.3% of women who had visited as family planning clinic just once in the last year received screening for cervical cancer breast cancer and hypertension respectively. The corresponding figures for women who did not make any family planning clinic visits in the last year were 51.9% 54% and 74.6%. In fact the strongest predictor for undergoing all types of screening was a visit to a family planning clinic in the last year (odds ratio [OR] = 13.6 for Pap test or pelvic examination; OR = 9.1 for blood pressure testing; and OR = 6.7 for breast examination). This strength was maintained regardless of who paid for the visit. Other indicators of health care use (e.g. using oral contraceptives and being currently or recently pregnant) were also fairly strong predictors of screening. Yet women who were at high risk of cervical or breast cancer and hypertension did not necessarily have the highest screening rates. The women with the lowest screening rates were sexually inactive women less educated women low-income women Native American women Hispanic women and women of Asian or Pacific Islander descent. These results indicated that the number of times a woman uses health care not the risk of disease determines the probability of having undergone screening for breast or cervical cancer and hypertension among 15-44 year old women.
What Education Inequality Means for Children

Education inequality is important not only due to its impact on the future of a country, but also due to its immediate impacts on the lives of children. This chapter first reviews the literature from the multi-disciplinary field of childhood studies on how children experience education inequality and what impact this has on their social and emotional well-being. Next, the author uses data from a wide variety of sources to explore how children experience inequality in access to education and the disparities in the quality of schooling.
Electrically Conductive Copper Core-Shell Nanowires through Benzenethiol-Directed Assembly.

Ultrathin nanowires with <3 nm diameter have long been sought for novel properties that emerge from dimensional constraint as well as for continued size reduction and performance improvement of nanoelectronic devices. Here, we report on a facile and large-scale synthesis of a new class of electrically conductive ultrathin core–shell nanowires using benzenethiols. Core–shell nanowires are atomically precise and have inorganic five-atom copper–sulfur cross-sectional cores encapsulated by organic shells encompassing aromatic substituents with ring planes oriented parallel. The exact nanowire atomic structures were revealed via a two-pronged approach combining computational methods coupled with experimental synthesis and advanced characterizations. Core–shell nanowires were determined to be indirect bandgap materials with a predicted room-temperature resistivity of ∼120 Ω·m. Nanowire morphology was found to be tunable by changing the interwire interactions imparted by the functional group on the benzenethiol ...
Clinical Relevance in a Translational Rodent Model of Acute Ischemic Stroke: Incorporating the Biological Variability of Spontaneous Recanalization

Acute ischemic stroke, in which a clot of blood manages to obstruct an artery supplying blood to a part of the brain and leads to brain damage, ranks as the third leading cause of death and is the leading cause of serious long-term disability in the United States. At present, the administration of the clot-dissolving drug, tissue-plasminogen activator, remains the only FDA-approved reperfusion therapy for acute ischemic stroke. Unfortunately, relatively few people (4–14%, depending on the study) access medical care in time or are eligible enough for treatment to benefit [8,10,24]. There is a need to develop additional therapies. The occlusion that causes a stroke is a dynamic one that is prone to spontaneous re-canalization and varying degrees of spontaneous reperfusion. The incorporation of this tendency into a translational stroke model will maximize clinical relevance.
Possible Role of Viruses in Atherosclerosis

Much progress has been made in last two decades in research, prevention, and treatment of atherosclerosis and subsequent coronary heart diseases. Hypotheses have been proposed to define a unifying concept for the basic mechanisms of atherogenesis. The response-to-injury hypothesis, as recently updated (Ross, 1993a,b), suggests that various forms of insults to the endothelium and arterial cells initiate a chronic, inflammatory response featuring the subendothelial infiltration and activation of macrophages and T-cells. Upregulation of expression and secretion of cytokines and growth factors associated with these activated leukocytes result in smooth muscle cell (SMC) migration and proliferation into the intima of the arterial wall. Simultaneous with this process is thought to be the modification of lipoproteins in the arterial wall. In one such process low-density lipoproteins (LDL) can be oxidatively modified and taken up by macrophages to become foam cells (Steinberg et al., 1989). Because it is cytotoxic, oxidized LDL may kill macrophages and endothelial cells. In response to endothelial injury, platelets adhere, aggregate and secrete platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), which further stimulates the proliferation of SMCs and thrombosis as proposed in the original response-to-injury hypothesis (Ross and Glomset, 1976).
Lithography: Concepts, Challenges and Prospects

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses that lithography is a key technology enabling the continued miniaturization of integrated circuits. An overview is presented of all the important aspects of lithography. Some basic scaling equations governing the theory of optical lithography are presented, but the chapter focuses on describing the practical challenges in applying lithography for integrated circuit manufacturing. Practical aspects of pattern layout, exposure tool design, masks, lens design, CD control, overlay control, resists, substrate control, simulation, optical proximity correction, phase shift masks, cost of ownership, and emerging lithographic techniques are described in detail.
Equity Considerations in the Access to Higher Education in Central and Eastern Europe

The countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have emerged from many decades of authoritarian control under the communist party and state system. The educational systems in these countries were closely aligned with a centralized economic planning bureaucracy that determined levels of educational demand according to forecasts about production and services output. During this period, these educational systems were recognized for their remarkable achievements in literacy and gender parity. After the collapse of the communist system in the late 1980s and early 1990s, however, the educational infrastructure faced significant challenges in terms of maintaining quality, relevance, and accessibility in the face of declining financial state support, changing economic demands, and deteriorating physical resources. Opportunities for access to higher education have declined at a time when new economic activities and social expectations require the higher-level skills offered by higher education institutions. Data about trends in the region suggest that levels of educational attainment are decreasing and narrower segments of the population are entering tertiary levels of education. This suggests that policies and practices that once promoted equitable opportunities for access to higher education have been diminished or abandoned. At a time when these CEE countries are trying to engage in new systems of governance and participate in the global marketplace, they are failing to prepare through education increasing numbers of their population with the skills needed to be effective in world, national, and local arenas. This chapter examines some of the historical and philosophical foundations of equity in the CEE region and explores some of the options available to policy-makers. In this context, equity can be understood to represent the qualitative elements of just, fair, and even-handed treatment that should be considered when assessing policies
The Potential of Social Media

Social media has become a significant part of most of our lives, however, with limited insight available of how it can be utilized in supply management. This chapter fills this gap and reports on the results of a large-scale study investigating the use of social media within a procurement context. Specifically, an overview will be provided on what types of social media applications are primarily utilized, as well as how social media is used (i.e. about whom information is sought or with whom connections are established). Answers are provided to why social media is not used more often in procurement, with a major section then outlining some avenues of how the power of social media can be leveraged for supply management specifically, and for overall business performance in general.
Control of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles with Cut-in Movement using Spring Mass Damper System:

This paper proposes a theoretical framework to control a platoon of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) in the presence of cut-in movements. The control method is developed based on the spring...
Sensitivity Analysis Using Site-Specific Demographic Parameters to Guide Research and Management of Threatened Eastern Massasaugas

Long-term demographic data are important for conserving populations of threatened and endangered species. Collecting data specific to the population of interest can improve conservation success by allowing managers to make informed decisions, evaluate the efficacy of habitat management, and assess extinction risk. Population viability analysis (PVA), a tool commonly used to estimate extinction risk in threatened populations, is most informative when precise, population-specific data are available. We used mark-recapture data spanning ten years (2008–2017) to estimate annual adult survival rates in a population of threatened Eastern Massasauga rattlesnakes (Sistrurus catenatus) in Barry County, Michigan. Using these survival estimates and ten additional parameter values obtained from our site and a nearby population, we modeled population viability over the next 100 years. We performed sensitivity analysis using Latin hypercube sampling, followed by logistic regression to assess the relative influence of model parameters on extinction risk. We estimated annual apparent survival rates of 0.79 (95% CI = 0.69–0.87) for adult males and 0.78 (95% CI = 0.69–0.85) for adult females, which are higher than expected given the population's locality. Results of our sensitivity analysis suggest that actions promoting high survival of adult females should be a management priority, followed by activities that facilitate high reproductive output and neonate survival. We recommend focusing future research and monitoring efforts on these parameters.
Literature, History, and the Making of Kashmir

In recent decades, scholars have begun to recognize that an array of discursive genres popular in early medieval north India may be describable as historical. As one prominent example, Romila Thapa...
Fault Tolerance Performance Evaluation of Large-Scale Distributed Storage Systems HDFS and Ceph Case Study

Large-scale distributed systems are a collection of loosely coupled computers interconnected by a communication network. They are now an integral part of everyday life with the development of large web applications, social networks, peer-to-peer systems, wireless sensor networks and many more. At such a scale, hardware components by themselves are prone to failure. Therefore, one key challenge in designing distributed storage systems is how to tolerate faults. To this end, fault tolerance mechanisms such as replication have been widely used to provide high availability for decades. More recently, many systems start supporting erasure coding for fault tolerance, which is expected to achieve high reliability at a lower storage cost compared to replication. However, the reduced storage overhead comes at the cost of more complicated recovery which hurts performance. In this paper, we study the fault tolerance mechanisms of two representative distributed file systems: HDFS and Ceph. In addition to the traditional replication, both HDFS and Ceph support erasure coding in their latest version. We evaluate the replication and erasure coding implementations in both systems using standard benchmarks and fault injection, and quantitatively measure the performance and storage overhead. Our results demonstrate the trade-offs between replication and erasure coding techniques, and serve as a foundation for building optimal storage systems with high availability as well as high performance.
Abstract 163: Economy of Handheld Ultrasound in an Outreach Clinic Setting

Introduction: The usefulness of Handheld Ultrasound (HHU) is increasingly recognized in a variety of settings. This study demonstrates the ability of HHU to dramatically reduce costs in the clinic ...
Influence of charge sequence on the adsorption of polyelectrolytes to oppositely-charged polyelectrolyte brushes

When a solution of polyanionic chains is placed in contact with a polycationic brush, the polyanions adsorb into the brush. We investigate the influence of the charge sequences of the free and bound species on the thermodynamics of polyelectrolyte adsorption. As model systems, we consider free and brush polyelectrolytes with either block or alternating charge sequences, and study the adsorption process using coarse-grained Langevin dynamics with implicit solvent, explicit counterions, and excess salt. Free energy, internal energy, and entropy of adsorption are computed using umbrella sampling methods. When the number of polyanions exceed the number of polycations, the brush becomes overcharged. Free chains adsorb most strongly when both free and tethered chains have a block charge sequence, and most weakly when both species have an alternating sequence. Adsorption is stronger when the free polyanion has a block sequence and the tethered polycation is alternating than in the reverse case of an alternating free polymer and a tethered block copolymer. Sequence-dependent effects are shown to be largely energetic, rather than entropic, in origin.
Improving Tracheostomy Decannulation Rate In Trauma Patients.

Objective Identify the effect of a multidisciplinary tracheostomy decannulation protocol (TDP) in the trauma population. Design Single center retrospective review. Setting American College of Surgeons Level 1 Trauma Center; large academic associated community hospital. Patients Adult trauma patients who required a tracheostomy. Interventions A TDP empowering respiratory therapists to move patients towards tracheostomy decannulation (TD). Measurements TD rate, time to TD, length of stay, reintubation and recannulation rates. Main Results A total of 252 patients met inclusion criteria during the study period with 134 presenting after the TDP was available. Since the TDP was implemented, patients managed by the TDP had a 50% higher chance of TD during the hospital stay (p<0.001). The time to TD was 1 day shorter with the TDP (p=0.54). There was no difference in time to discharge after ventilator liberation (p=0.91) or in discharge disposition (p=0.66). When comparing all patients, the development of a TDP, regardless if a patient was managed by the TDP, resulted in an 18% higher chance of TD (p=0.003). Time to TD was 5 days shorter in the post intervention period (p=0.07). There was no difference in discharge disposition (p=0.88) but the time to discharge after ventilator liberation was shorter post protocol initiation (p=0.04). Conclusions In a trauma population, implementation of a TDP significantly improves TD rates during the same hospital stay. A larger population will be required to identify patient predictive factors for earlier successful TD.
Deep Learning Theory Review: An Optimal Control and Dynamical Systems Perspective.

Attempts from different disciplines to provide a fundamental understanding of deep learning have advanced rapidly in recent years, yet a unified framework remains relatively limited. In this article, we provide one possible way to align existing branches of deep learning theory through the lens of dynamical system and optimal control. By viewing deep neural networks as discrete-time nonlinear dynamical systems, we can analyze how information propagates through layers using mean field theory. When optimization algorithms are further recast as controllers, the ultimate goal of training processes can be formulated as an optimal control problem. In addition, we can reveal convergence and generalization properties by studying the stochastic dynamics of optimization algorithms. This viewpoint features a wide range of theoretical study from information bottleneck to statistical physics. It also provides a principled way for hyper-parameter tuning when optimal control theory is introduced. Our framework fits nicely with supervised learning and can be extended to other learning problems, such as Bayesian learning, adversarial training, and specific forms of meta learning, without efforts. The review aims to shed lights on the importance of dynamics and optimal control when developing deep learning theory.
A Novel Approach to Prenatal Measurement of the Fetal Frontal Lobe Using Three-Dimensional Sonography.

OBJECTIVE While prenatal 3D ultrasonography results in improved diagnostic accuracy, no data are available on biometric assessment of the fetal frontal lobe. This study was designed to assess feasibility of a standardized approach to biometric measurement of the fetal frontal lobe and to construct frontal lobe growth trajectories throughout gestation. STUDY DESIGN A sonographic 3D volume set was obtained and measured in 101 patients between 16.1 and 33.7 gestational weeks. Measurements were obtained by two independent raters. To model the relationship between gestational age and each frontal lobe measurement, flexible linear regression models were fit using penalized regression splines. RESULTS The sample contained an ethnically diverse population (7.9% Native Americans, 45.5% Hispanic/Latina). There was high inter-rater reliability (correlation coefficients: 0.95, 1.0, and 0.87 for frontal lobe length, width, and height; p-values < 0.001). Graphs of the growth trajectories and corresponding percentiles were estimated as a function of gestational age. The estimated rates of frontal lobe growth were 0.096 cm/week, 0.247 cm/week, and 0.111 cm/week for length, width, and height. CONCLUSION To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine fetal frontal lobe growth trajectories through 3D prenatal ultrasound examination. Such normative data will allow for future prenatal evaluation of a particular disease state by 3D ultrasound imaging.
Distrito 9: una subversión al abandono neoliberal desde la performatividad de nuevas alteridades afectivas en el planeta

En este articulo, analizo la narrativa de ciencia ficcion del film Distrito 9 en tanto dispositivo de desmontaje de las estrategias biopoliticas de la democracia liberal contemporanea. A la par que legitima obscenamente las caracteristicas utilitaristas, poscoloniales y violentas de sus formas de representacion y subjetivacion, la pelicula muestra como este orden global tambien sedimenta dogmas epistemicos y regimenes de verdad, camuflados a traves de sus politicas de reconocimiento multicultural. Como contraparte, identifico las relaciones empaticas de los protagonistas para la busqueda de otros vinculos posibles entre las diversas manifestaciones humanas y no humanas, haciendo visibles sus condiciones de posibilidad en las ficciones de encuentro que la narrativa plantea para la imitacion performativa de los espectadores. Finalmente, si bien me centro en la interpretacion textual, la forma de acercamiento predominante en el campo de los estudios cinematograficos, esbozo la capacidad de impacto del film en las practicas cotidianas y sus posibilidades mas alla del visionado. De hecho, en tanto proyecto conceptual, Distrito 9 despliega algunas estrategias que trascienden la recepcion cinematografica convencional para interpelar el campo de la accion sociopolitica.
A note on the Erd\H{o}s-Hajnal hypergraph Ramsey problem

We show that there is an absolute constant $c>0$ such that the following holds. For every $n > 1$, there is a 5-uniform hypergraph on at least $2^{2^{cn^{1/4}}}$ vertices with independence number at most $n$, where every set of 6 vertices induces at most 3 edges. The double exponential growth rate for the number of vertices is sharp. By applying a stepping-up lemma established by the first two authors, analogous sharp results are proved for $k$-uniform hypergraphs. This answers the penultimate open case of a conjecture in Ramsey theory posed by Erdős and Hajnal in 1972.
A case for as shift in leadership types for Financial Services

In this paper we evaluate the changes to the financial services industry likely to come from the emergence of Artificial Intelligence and the impact on the role of leader in this new paradigm. The central question is what leadership styles will be most effective in dealing with the shifting technology infrastructure and the emerging changes in employee behaviors, customer experiences and competitive environments. The new ways of performing the critical role of finance in society will require transformational leadership for the existing providers to remain competitive.
The Future of Transportation Emission Issues

The coronavirus pandemic has already had significant short-term consequences for transportation emissions, particularly the much lower levels of emissions resulting from the declines in the use of all types of transportation (except bicycles and walking). How rapidly and how far the levels of emissions will rise during the next several years is an important question. The answer is substantially dependent on macro-economic conditions, as well as government policies, firms’ decisions, and public opinion. One possibility is that the deterioration of firms’ financial positions will inhibit their investments in energy efficiency equipment and other emission-reducing measures. At the same time, there are many opportunities to improve transportation systems’ infrastructure through government economic stimulus programs that can reduce emissions. Some projects are already in progress long before the pandemic and recession are over: installing electric recharging stations for motor vehicles, expanding high-speed rail systems, and developing seaport infrastructure to reduce the use of ships’ auxiliary diesel engines. There may also be a shift in public opinion, industry practices, and government policies in reaction to the extent to which soot from transportation, and other sectors, has contributed to the pandemic death rate by causing weak lungs and other unhealthy preconditions that make people more vulnerable to the coronavirus and to the extent to which soot has been a carrier of the virus from local ‘hot spots’ to wider regional, national, and even international areas.