cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Direct cost comparison of group B streptococcus prophylaxis regimens in patients with penicillin allergy

REGIMENS IN PATIENTS WITH PENICILLIN ALLERGY CLAYTON FITZPATRICK, LEO BRANCAZIO, TERRENCE ALLEN, GEETA SWAMY, PHILLIP HEINE, Duke University, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Durham, North Carolina, Duke University, Women’s Anesthesia, Durham, North Carolina, Duke University, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Durham, North Carolina OBJECTIVE: The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has advocated a culture based screening protocol implemented at 35-37 weeks for prevention of early onset GBS sepsis in the neonate. Because of increasing microbial resistance to second line agents such as clindamycin and erythromycin, it is recommended that all patients at risk for anaphylactic reactions to penicillin undergo susceptibility testing on rectovaginal cultures obtained at 35-37 weeks. Our objective is to use decision analysis software to compare the direct costs of susceptibility testing with appropriate selection of antibiotics to prophylaxis using vancomycin. STUDY DESIGN: Cost of GBS prophylaxis with clindamycin, erthythromycin, and vancomycin were determined over the course of an average labor using data from Duke University Hospital. These data were also used to determine cost of susceptibility testing for GBS positive rectovaginal cultures. Data regarding probability and direct cost of anaphylaxis with the previously mentioned drugs, as well as the probability and direct cost of GBS sepsis in the neonate were determined by literature review. These data were then incorporated into a decision model comparing the direct cost of a treatment strategy using susceptibility testing versus the direct cost of using only vancomycin. RESULTS: The direct cost per patient of susceptibility testing followed by selection of clindamycin, erythromycin or vancomycin based on 90% sensitivity to clindamycin, 80% sensitivity to erythromycin, and 100% sensitivity to vancomycin was $1310.00. The direct cost of treatment with vancomycin was $1040.89. Sensitivity analysis revealed that treatment with vancomycin without susceptibility testing remained the most cost effective strategy despite varying levels of resistance to all three antibiotics. CONCLUSION: It is more cost effective to forgo susceptibility testing in favor of prophylaxis with vancomycin in patients with GBS positive cultures and a true penicillin allergy.
An enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) for measurement of lactoferrin.

Abstract An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay has been developed for quantitation of lactoferrin (LF) in body fluids. An indirect double-sandwich method was used which allows a sensitivity of 3 ng LF/ml in samples of polymorphonuclear cell lysates and serum. Mean LF content of serum was 0.307 ± 0.066 μ g/ml (n = 18). Mean LF content of polymorphonuclear cells was 4.90 ± 1.48 μ g/10 6 PMN. Concentrations of LF were similar in serum and in plasma of EDTA anticoagulated blood. Advantages of this method include its rapidity, and radioactivity is not required.
Tactile notifications for ambulatory users

Difficulties are often associated with perceiving tactile feedback from a mobile device while ambulatory. In this paper, we describe a study conducted using multi-parameter tactile icons (tactons) with a view to identifying designs to better resist the masking effects associated with walking. Our findings suggest that tactons encoded with longer durations (800ms) or those with stronger intensities (Amplitude: 2.1g Frequency: 255Hz) offer promise to individuals on-the-move. In terms of future work, we aim to identify ways to reduce the recognition time and the levels of cognitive workload experienced when resolving multi-parameter tactons, to augment the human-mobile interaction experience.
Towards hierarchical email recipient prediction

Previous email prediction algorithms generate individual predictions based on the past groupings of recipients or the contents of past emails. Our work builds on this research by (a) introducing new algorithms for extending and combining previous techniques and generating hierarchical recipient predictions and (b) comparing the previous algorithms with each other and the new algorithms. We used standard metrics and developed new metrics to measure three kinds of user effort: scanning predictions, selecting predictions, and manually entering recipients. The new metrics are based on a new abstract model of recipient prediction that applies to existing schemes and the new ones developed by us. Our evaluations, based on the Enron mail database and the Gmail user-interface for recipient prediction, show that (a) content is less effective than groups, (b) the combination of content and groups is less effective than groups alone, and (c) hierarchical recipient prediction reduces user effort.
Noise Characteristics of Overexpanded Jets from Convergent-Divergent Nozzles

A broadband noise component occurring in the overexpanded flow regime with convergent-divergent nozzles is identified. Relative to a convergent nozzle, at same pressure ratios, this excess noise can lead to a large increase in the overall sound pressure levels. Several features distinguish it from the more familiar broadband shock associated noise. Unlike the latter, it is observed even at shallow polar locations and there is no noticeable shift of the spectral content in frequency with observation angle. The amplitudes are found to be more pronounced with nozzles having larger half-angle of the divergent section. The noise apparently occurs when a shock resides within the divergent section of the nozzle and results from random unsteady motion of the shock.
Evolution of Diversity, Efficiency, and Community Stability

The response in species diversity associated with successional change in vegetation, or in a more general sense, species diversity as a function of time in any system of primary producers, has been the subject of much speculation but little direct study. All evidence available shows that pioneer communities are low in diversity, that in mesic environments the peak in diversity in forest communities can be expected 100-200 years after the initiation of a secondary successional sequence (when elements of both the pioneer and the stable communities are present), and that a downturn in both diversity and primary production takes place when the entire community is made up of the shade-tolerant climax species. The natural tendency in forest systems toward periodic perturbation (at intervals of 50-200 years) recycles the system and maintains a periodic wave of peak diversity. This wave is associated with a corresponding wave in peak primary production. Specialization for the habitats in the early, middle, and later phases of the cycle has figured prominently in species-isolating mechanisms, giving rise to the diversity in each stage of the forest succession. It is concluded that any modifications of the system that preclude periodic, random perturbation and recycling would be detrimental to the system in the long run.
Placebo control groups in randomized treatment trials: a statistician’s perspective

Because a statistical tie between standard treatment and an innovation is uninterpretable, most trials intended to demonstrate efficacy of innovations in psychopharmacology employ a placebo control group, despite the existence of standard medications for many disorders. In this review I consider the statistical issues that inform the ethics of the decision to use a placebo condition and make the following points: 1) the investigator is relying on the assumption that the effects of delayed standard treatment are neither long-lasting nor harmful; 2) the usual practice of truncating follow-up when a patient ceases to adhere to a study treatment makes it difficult to empirically test that assumption; 3) placebo control trials often suffer from methodological weaknesses (including nonrandom truncation) that reduce their inferential power; 4) these subtleties place a substantial burden on the informed consent process; 5) alternative designs are available but not well explored, due to the dominant role of "regulatory" trial methodology; and 6) researchers should consider other goals besides helping to introduce another treatment that improves on placebos but not the standard treatment.
Effect of gamma irradiation on unsporulated and sporulated Toxoplasma gondii oocysts

The effect of 137Cs irradiation on unsporulated and sporulated Toxoplasma gondii oocysts was investigated as a model system for sterilisation of fruit contaminated with other coccidia such as Cyclospora or Cryptosporidium. Unsporulated oocysts irradiated at > or = 0.4 to 0.8 kGy sporulated but were not infective to mice. Sporulated oocysts irradiated at > or = 0.4 kGy were able to excyst, and sporozoites were infective but not capable of inducing a viable infection in mice. Toxoplasma gondii was detected in histologic sections of mice up to 5 days but not at 7 days after feeding oocysts irradiated at 0.5 kGy. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that sporozoites from irradiated oocysts penetrated enterocytes and all cells in the lamina propria except for red blood cells. Sporozoites appeared normal ultrastructurally and formed a typical parasitophorous vacuole containing a well-developed tubulovesicular membrane network. Raspberries inoculated with sporulated T. gondii oocysts were rendered innocuous after irradiation at 0.4 kGy. Results indicate that irradiation at 0.5 kGy is effective in "killing" coccidian oocysts on fruits and vegetables.
A Correlation Algorithm for the Automated Quantitative Analysis of Shotgun Proteomics Data

Quantitative shotgun proteomic analyses are facilitated using chemical tags such as ICAT and metabolic labeling strategies with stable isotopes. The rapid high-throughput production of quantitative "shotgun" proteomic data necessitates the development of software to automatically convert mass spectrometry-derived data of peptides into relative protein abundances. We describe a computer program called RelEx, which uses a least-squares regression for the calculation of the peptide ion current ratios from the mass spectrometry-derived ion chromatograms. RelEx is tolerant of poor signal-to-noise data and can automatically discard nonusable chromatograms and outlier ratios. We apply a simple correction for systematic errors that improves the accuracy of the quantitative measurement by 32 +/- 4%. Our automated approach was validated using labeled mixtures composed of known molar ratios and demonstrated in a real sample by measuring the effect of osmotic stress on protein expression in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
What is a flux tube? On the magnetic field topology of buoyant flux structures

We study the topology of field lines threading buoyant magnetic flux structures. The magnetic structures, visually resembling idealized magnetic flux tubes, are generated self-consistently by numerical simulation of the interaction of magnetic buoyancy and a localized velocity shear in a stably stratified atmosphere. Depending on the parameters, the system exhibits varying degrees of symmetry. By integrating along magnetic field lines and constructing return maps, we show that, depending on the type of underlying behaviour, the stages of the evolution, and therefore the degree of symmetry, the resulting magnetic structures can have field lines with one of three distinct topologies. When the x-translational and y-reflectional symmetries remain intact, magnetic field lines lie on surfaces but individual lines do not cover the surface. When the y symmetry is broken, magnetic field lines lie on surfaces and individual lines do cover the surface. When both x and y symmetries are broken, magnetic field lines wander chaotically over a large volume of the magnetically active region. We discuss how these results impact our simple ideas of a magnetic flux tube as an object with an inside and an outside, and introduce the concept of ‘leaky’ tubes.
Regional multilineage differentiation potential of meniscal fibrochondrocytes: Implications for meniscus repair

The knee menisci are wedge-shaped semilunar fibrocartilaginous structures that reside between the femur and tibia and function to transmit and distribute load. These structures have characteristics of both fibrous and cartilaginous tissues. The cartilage-like inner region and the fibrous vascularized outer region each has a distinct extracellular matrix, and resident meniscal fibrochondrocytes (MFCs) with distinct morphologies dependent on their location. Damage to the meniscus is common, and disruption of tissue structure and function result in erosion of the underlying articular cartilage. It has been observed that damage in the vascular periphery undergoes spontaneous repair, whereas damage of the inner region does not heal. While vascularity of the peripheral region plays a role in healing, recent findings have also suggested that local cellular composition influences local healing capacity. This study examined the variation in multipotential characteristics of cell populations isolated from different regions of the bovine meniscus. MFCs were isolated from the outer (vascular), inner (avascular), and horn (mixed) regions and induced toward chondrogenic, adipogenic, and osteogenic lineages. The results of this study suggest that MFCs from all regions of the meniscus possess a multilineage differentiation capability, particularly toward chondrogenesis and adipogenesis. MFCs from the outer region were most plastic, differentiating along all three mesenchymal lineages. These findings may underlie the experimental observation of improved integration of meniscus grafts from the outer zone and may have implications for developing strategies of cell-based meniscus repair.
Feedback and pole placement in descriptor variable Systems

The effects and uses of applying linear feedback to continuous time descriptor systems are studied. Structural changes resulting from feeding back the slow and fast parts of the trajectory separately are characterized. It is shown that under certain conditions related to controllability the poles of the slow subsystem may be shifted arbitrarily and the impulsive behaviour of the fast subsystem may be eliminated.
SIE-OBI: a streaming information extraction platform for operational business intelligence

Emerging business intelligence (BI) applications aim to provide situational awareness, i.e., information about real-world events that might affect the business operations of an enterprise. For instance, an enterprise might want to know whether customers are posting positive or negative comments about a new product it has just introduced; or whether some natural disaster affects its contracted suppliers. It is difficult to develop such applications today because they require extracting and correlating facts from multiple streaming and stored data sources, typically including unstructured data, which is not well supported by BI platforms today. In this paper, we describe SIE-OBI, a system that we are developing to enable the development and execution of such applications. We describe the novel features of this system, including a declarative interface for rapidly developing such applications, and a platform for optimizing and executing the applications. We illustrate its applicability through two use cases.
Monte Carlo simulation of ionization in a magnetron plasma

A Monte Carlo simulation of electrons emitted from the cathode of a planar magnetron is tested against experiments that were reported by Wendt, Lieberman, and Meuth [J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 6, 1827 (1988)] and by Gu and Lieberman [J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 6, 2960 (1988)]. Comparing their measurements of the radial profile of current and the axial profile of optical emission to the ionization profiles predicted by the model, we find good agreement for a typical magnetic field strength of 456 G. We also find that at 456 G the product of the average number of ionizations 〈Ni〉 and the secondary electron emission coefficient γ is ∼1. This indicates that secondary emission contributes significantly to the ionization that sustains the discharge. At 171 G, however, 〈Ni〉γ≪1, revealing that cathode emission is inadequate to sustain a discharge at a low magnetic field.
Looking at and longing for male and female "swimsuit models": Men are much more category specific than women.

Men’s sexual attractions tend to be more category specific than women’s—that is, men tend to be attracted to either women or men, whereas women are more likely to show some degree of attraction to both sexes. To explore this phenomenon further, the authors assessed 62 heterosexual men and 79 heterosexual women on their time spent viewing and self-reported sexual attraction to photographed male and female “swimsuit models” who varied in attractiveness. Consistent with theoretical predictions, men showed stronger category specificity than women. Specifically, men were more sexually attracted to female than male models and men spent more time viewing female than male models, particularly when models were highly attractive. In contrast, women were sexually attracted to both female and male models—with sexual attraction to both sexes increasing with models’ attractiveness—and women’s viewing time was better predicted by model attractiveness than by model sex.
Transmission Measurements With The Target Contrast Characterizer

The Target Contrast Characterizer (TCC) was described in detail by the authors last year in the Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 926. It consists of experimental equipment and methodology which permit images of near-field (or close up) and far-field (or at engagement range) targets and their backgrounds to be registered in near real-time for characterizing the effects of the atmosphere on inherent and propagated target contrast. This paper details the method for obtaining target contrast transmission measurements using the TCC. Measurements of target contrast transmission are compared with model predictions of atmospheric transmission. In addition, the very sensitive measure of pixel-to-pixel or area-to-area contrast transmission obtained with the TCC is discussed as well as improvements which should be added to optimize near-field/far-field image comparisons.
Intensity of competition and the choice between product and process innovation

Abstract Two questions are examined within a model of vertical differentiation. The first is whether cost-reducing innovations are more likely to be observed in regimes of more intense (Bertrand) or less intense (Cournot) competition. We find that there are cost-reducing innovations that are pursued under Cournot but not under Bertrand competition. The second is whether the regime of competition affects a firm's choice between product and process innovation. We show that for the high quality firm, whenever there is a difference between the choice made by a Bertrand competitor and the choice made by a Cournot competitor, the former opts for product innovation, while the latter prefers process innovation. For the low-quality firm the result is reversed.
Everett Cherrington Hughes: Sociologist and mentor sui generis

This article recalls the illuminating insights Professor Hughes shared and the gratitude with which I have applied them in my teaching and research. My curiosity about, and respect for the Chicago School, and Everett Hughes, one of its most noted students, shaped much of my sociological career.
A soluble SNARE drives rapid docking, bypassing ATP and Sec17/18p for vacuole fusion.

Membrane fusion requires priming, the disassembly of cis-SNARE complexes by the ATP-driven chaperones Sec18/17p. Yeast vacuole priming releases Vam7p, a soluble SNARE. Vam7p reassociation during docking allows trans-SNARE pairing and fusion. We now report that recombinant Vam7p (rVam7p) enters into complex with other SNAREs in vitro and bypasses the need for Sec17p, Sec18p, and ATP. Thus, the sole essential function of vacuole priming in vitro is the release of Vam7p from cis-SNARE complexes. In ‘bypass fusion', without ATP but with added rVam7p, there are sufficient unpaired vacuolar SNAREs Vam3p, Vti1p, and Nyv1p to interact with Vam7p and support fusion. However, active SNARE proteins are not sufficient for bypass fusion. rVam7p does not bypass requirements for Rho GTPases,Vps33p, Vps39p, Vps41p, calmodulin, specific lipids, or Vph1p, a subunit of the V-ATPase. With excess rVam7p, reduced levels of PI(3)P or functional Ypt7p suffice for bypass fusion. High concentrations of rVam7p allow the R-SNARE Ykt6p to substitute for Nyv1p for fusion; this functional redundancy among vacuole SNAREs may explain why nyv1Δ strains lack the vacuole fragmentation seen with mutants in other fusion catalysts.
Localized therapy for male breast cancer: functional advantages with comparable outcomes using breast conservation.

Abstract Background Male breast cancer (MBC) accounts for approximately 1% of all breast cancers. Given the rarity of this disease, treatment of MBC generally follows the same principles as treatment of female breast cancer. However, the traditional surgical approach for MBC is modified radical mastectomy (MRM) or total simple mastectomy (TSM) instead of breast conservation surgery (BCS). The purpose of this study was to examine the feasibility of BCS as an alternative to mastectomy for MBC with respect to musculoskeletal functionality and treatment outcome. Patients and Methods A retrospective analysis was undertaken of all male patients with breast cancer who presented to Massachusetts General Hospital or Boston Medical Center for localized therapy from 1990 to 2003. Musculoskeletal functionality (tissue fibrosis, arm edema, and range of motion) and treatment outcome (local-regional control, disease-free survival, and overall survival) were evaluated. Functional/cosmetic outcomes were assessed by multidisciplinary review of patient follow-up visits and were scored as either “good-excellent” or “fair-poor” to account for subjectivity between different clinicians. Results Forty-two patients in total were identified to undergo localized treatment. Thirty patients (71%) received MRM, 4 (10%) had TSM, and 8 (19%) underwent BCS. Actuarial overall 1-year fair-poor documented tissue fibrosis, arm edema, and decreased range of motion rates were 13%, 23%, and 27% for patients receiving MRM; 25%, 0%, and 50% for patients who underwent TSM; and 13%, 0%, and 0% for those undergoing BCS, respectively. Overall survival and disease-free survival were not statistically different between the groups. Conclusions These data suggest that breast conservation therapy may be considered a reasonable local treatment option for male patients presenting with breast cancer because it may offer functional advantages over mastectomy with comparable rates of local control and disease-free survival and overall survival.
Churning firms in stable markets

Abstract Despite the dramatic stability in the aggregate structure of transactions between markets during the 1960s and 1970s ( Burt, 1988 ), considerable instability at the organizational level is found. The sources of volatility are examined using the aggregate input-output tables and the data on the large manufacturing firms in the American economy. The instability covaries with the parameters of the market structure. The typical pattern is a higher instability in a low autonomy market or vice versa. In the markets heavily dependent upon the trade with the government, however, the competitive pressures are found to be significantly alleviated.
Elastic and inelastic collisions: a microstructural analysis for solitary waves

Abstract The phenomena of elastic collision of the KdV solitary waves and inelastic collision of the RLW solitary waves are studied.
Contingencies of reinforcement in the design of a culture

Excessive eating, excessive procreation, and excessive pugnacity, according to Professor Skinner, are the results of reinforcement patterns which once had survival value and so were selected for in the process of evolution. In our day of abundance, overpopulation, and war, these reinforcement patterns are a threat. The dangers of overindulgence in food, sex, aggression, and related behaviors have been dealt with by three traditional methods. The author proposes a fourth method based on contingent reinforcement.
Prolonged anticholinergic therapy of duodenal ulcer

The treatment of acute or uncomplicated ulcer with anticholinergic drugs is effective and gratifying. Anticholinergic drugs, chiefly through their effect on gastrointestinal motility, are helpful in relieving ulcer pain and possibly in facilitating healing. In the present study of 116 patients, those receiving potent anticholinergic drugs in the dosage prescribed fared significantly better than those receiving atropine or placebos. However, recurrences, hemorrhage, perforation, and obstruction were not prevented by the constant administration of these drugs in the dosage used.
Magnetic Separation Dynamics of Colloidal Magnetic Nanoparticles

Surface functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are appealing candidates for analytical separation of heavy metal ions from waste water and separation of actinides from spent nuclear fuel. This work studies the separation dynamics and investigates the appropriate magnetic-field gradients. A dynamic study of colloidal MNPs was performed for steady-state flow. Measurements were conducted to record the separation time of particles as a function of magnetic field gradient. The drag and magnetic forces play a significant role on the separation time. A drop in saturation magnetization and variation of particle size occurs after surface functionalization of the MNPs; these are the primary factors that affect the separation time and velocity of the MNPs. The experimental results are correlated to a theoretical one-dimensional model.
Skeletal alterations in hypophysectomized rats: II. A histomorphometric study on tibial cortical bone.

Background: Hypophysectomy (HX) results in a cessation of bone growth and a decrease in bone metabolism. The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of HX on the static and dynamic histomorphometry of cancellous bone in the secondary spongiosa of the proximal tibial metaphysis in rats. Methods: Female rats, at 2 or 3 months of age, were HX and sacrificed at 0, 5 days, 2 and 5 weeks after the surgery. Age-matched intact rats served as controls. Cancellous bone histomorphometry was performed on doublefluorescent labeled, 30-um-thick sections of the proximal tibia. Tartrateresistant acid phosphatase histomorphometry was performed at 5 days on HX and control rats to evaluate the resorption in the metaphyseal bone. Results: Although the intact rats gained in body weight, tibial length, tibial weight, and density after 5 weeks, these changes did not occur following HX. As compared to the basal group, HX resulted in a decrease in the density and dry weight of the metaphysis. The histomorphometric data showed that the cancellous bone volume and trabecular number of the secondary spongiosa were decreased and the separation was increased in the HX rats. The dynamic results showed that HX significantly decreased longitudinal growth rate and tissue-based bone formation and resorption. However, the bone surface-based eroded surface, labeled surface, the mineral apposition rate, and the bone formation rate did not differ between the intact and the HX rats at either the 2 or 5 weeks study. Five days after HX, the bone surface and tissue-based osteoclast surfaces were significantly lower in the HX than in the intact rats. Conclusions: Pituitary hormone deficiency results in cancellous bone loss. The bone loss is due primarily to the suppression of longitudinal growth-dependent bone gain and the inhibition of tissue-based bone turnover with a lower bone formation relative to bone resorption. The surfacebased bone turnover is not affected. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Characterizing the genetic programming environment for fifth (GPE5) on a high performance computing cluster

Solving complex, real-world problems with genetic programming (GP) can require extensive computing resources. However, the highly parallel nature of GP facilitates using a large number of resources simultaneously, which can significantly reduce the elapsed wall clock time per GP run. This paper explores the performance characteristics of an MPI version of the Genetic Programming Environment for FIFTH (GPE5) on a high performance computing cluster. The implementation is based on the island model with each node running the GP algorithm asynchronously. In particular, we examine the effect of several configurable properties of the system including the ratio of migration to crossover, the migration cycle of programs between nodes, and the number of processors used. The problems employed in the study were selected from the fields of symbolic regression, finite algebra, and digital signal processing.
Performance recovery under output feedback sampled-data stabilization of a class of nonlinear systems

This paper studies sampled-data output feedback control of a class of nonlinear systems. It is shown that the performance of a stabilizing continuous-time state feedback controller can be recovered by a sampled-data output feedback controller when the sampling period is sufficiently small. The output feedback controller uses a deadbeat discrete-time observer to estimate the unmeasured states. Two schemes are proposed to overcome large initial transients when the controller is switched on.
Fluorouracil, Leucovorin, and Irinotecan Plus Cetuximab Treatment and RAS Mutations in Colorectal Cancer

Purpose The phase III CRYSTAL study demonstrated that addition of cetuximab to fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan (FOLFIRI) significantly improved overall survival, progression-free survival, and objective response in the first-line treatment of patients with KRAS codon 12/13 (exon 2) wild-type metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Outcome was reassessed in subgroups defined by extended RAS mutation testing. Patients and Methods Existing DNA samples from KRAS exon 2 wild-type tumors from CRYSTAL study patients were reanalyzed for other RAS mutations in four additional KRAS codons (exons 3 and 4) and six NRAS codons (exons 2, 3, and 4) using beads, emulsion, amplification, and magnetics technology. No tissue microdissection was performed. A ≥ 5% mutant allele cutoff was used to call mutations. Results Mutation status was evaluable in 430 (64.6%) of 666 patients with KRAS exon 2 wild-type tumors. Other RAS mutations were detected in 63 (14.7%) of 430 patients. In those with RAS wild-type tumors, a sign...
Assembly of vorticity-aligned hard-sphere colloidal strings in a simple shear flow

Colloidal suspensions self-assemble into equilibrium structures ranging from face- and body-centered cubic crystals to binary ionic crystals, and even kagome lattices. When driven out of equilibrium by hydrodynamic interactions, even more diverse structures can be accessed. However, mechanisms underlying out-of-equilibrium assembly are much less understood, though such processes are clearly relevant in many natural and industrial systems. Even in the simple case of hard-sphere colloidal particles under shear, there are conflicting predictions about whether particles link up into string-like structures along the shear flow direction. Here, using confocal microscopy, we measure the shear-induced suspension structure. Surprisingly, rather than flow-aligned strings, we observe log-rolling strings of particles normal to the plane of shear. By employing Stokesian dynamics simulations, we address the mechanism leading to this out-of-equilibrium structure and show that it emerges from a delicate balance between hydrodynamic and interparticle interactions. These results demonstrate a method for assembling large-scale particle structures using shear flows.
Radiosurgery for Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformations in Elderly Patients: Effect of Advanced Age on Outcomes After Intervention.

Objective Cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVM) are infrequently diagnosed and treated in elderly patients (age, >60 years). We hypothesize that, in contrast to AVM surgical outcomes, radiosurgery outcomes are not adversely affected by increased age. The goals of this case-control study are to analyze the radiosurgery outcomes for elderly patients with AVMs and determine the effect of elderly age on AVM radiosurgery outcomes. Methods We evaluated a prospective database of patients with AVMs treated with radiosurgery from 1989 to 2013. Elderly patients with AVM (age, ≥60 years) with radiologic follow-up of ≥2 years or nidus obliteration were selected for analysis, and matched, in a 1:1 fashion and blinded to outcome, to adult nonelderly patients with AVM (age, Results The matching processes yielded 66 patients in each of the elderly and nonelderly AVM cohorts. In the elderly AVM cohort, the actuarial AVM obliteration rates at 3, 5, and 10 years were 37%, 65%, and 77%, respectively; the rates of radiologically evident, symptomatic, and permanent radiation-induced changes were 36%, 11%, and 0%, respectively; the annual hemorrhage risk after radiosurgery was 1.1%, and the AVM-related mortality rate was 1.5%. Elderly age was not significantly associated with AVM obliteration, radiation-induced changes, or hemorrhage after radiosurgery. Conclusions Advanced age does not appear to confer appreciably worse AVM radiosurgery outcomes, unlike its negative effect on AVM surgical outcomes. Thus, when an AVM warrants treatment, radiosurgery may be the preferred treatment for elderly patients.
1948–98 U.S. Hydrological Reanalysis by the Noah Land Data Assimilation System

Abstract Land surface variables, such as soil moisture, are among the most important components of memory for the climate system. A more accurate and long time series of land surface data is very important for real-time drought monitoring, for understanding land surface–atmosphere interaction, and for improving weather and climate prediction. Thus, the ultimate goal of the present work is to produce a long-term “land reanalysis” with 1) retrospective and 2) real-time update components that are both generated in a manner that remains temporally homogeneous throughout the record. As the first step of the above goal, the retrospective component is reported here. Specifically, a 51-yr (1948–98) set of hourly land surface meteorological forcing is produced and used to execute the Noah land surface model, all on the 1/8° grid of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS). The surface forcing includes air temperature, air humidity, surface pressure, wind speed, and surface downward shortwave and lo...
Minimization of Job Waiting Time Variance on Identical Parallel Machines

We consider the problem of scheduling independent jobs on identical parallel machines so as to minimize the waiting time variance of the jobs (Pm//WTV). We show that the optimal value of(Pm//WTV) is identical to the optimal value of the problem for minimizing the completion time variance of jobs on identical parallel machines(Pm//WTV). We prove that, given the same job set, any feasible schedule of (Pm//WTV) can be transformed into the feasible solution for (Pm//WTV) with the same job set by applying the polynomial algorithms proposed in this paper. Several other important properties of (Pm//WTV) are also proved. Heuristic algorithms are proposed to solve (Pm//WTV) problems. We present the testing results of these heuristic algorithms, which are applied to problems with both small and large job sets.
Medical students' recognition of health literacy in a single embedded curricular activity

Objectives: To explore medical students’ recognition of health literacy as a barrier to care and social determinant of health within a single embedded curricular activity. Methods: Data was collected from 262 second-year medical students’ responses to the following questions: what are some potential barriers to patient adherence and preventative health screening? What aspects of a social history would you include in your patient interview to ensure emphasis on the social determinants of health? All narrative responses were analyzed using both frequency analysis and qualitative content analysis methods. Results: Students’ responses revealed three themes: the impact of low health literacy on health, the correlation between health literacy and literacy, and health care provider strategies for addressing health literacy. The majority of students 61.5% (n=161) recognized health literacy as a barrier to optimal health outcomes; however, an equal number of students 66.8% (n=175) failed to identify the manner in which health literacy serves as a social determinate of health. Conclusion: While students may recognize health literacy as a barrier to care, they may need more formalized instruction and evaluation on understanding the ways in which it is a social determinant of health. It is therefore essential for medical educators to incorporate this topic more intentionally into medical school curricula to ensure the understanding of health literacy within the clinical context to facilitate meaningful adaptations that can potentially decrease health
Human B Cell-Derived Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines Constitutively Produce Fas Ligand and Secrete MHCII(+)FasL(+) Killer Exosomes.

Immune suppression mediated by exosomes is an emerging concept with potentially immense utility for immunotherapy in a variety of inflammatory contexts, including allogeneic transplantation. Exosomes containing the apoptosis-inducing molecule Fas ligand (FasL) have demonstrated efficacy in inhibiting antigen-specific immune responses upon adoptive transfer in animal models. We report here that a very high frequency of human B cell-derived lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) constitutively produce MHCII+FasL+ exosomes that can induce apoptosis in CD4+ T cells. All LCLs tested for this study (>20 independent cell lines) showed robust expression of FasL, but had no detectable FasL on the cell surface. Given this intracellular sequestration, we hypothesized that FasL in LCLs was retained in the secretory lysosome and secreted via exosomes. Indeed, we found both MHCII and FasL proteins present in LCL-derived exosomes, and using a bead-based exosome capture assay demonstrated the presence of MHCII+FasL+ exosomes among those secreted by LCLs. Using two independent experimental approaches, we demonstrated that LCL-derived exosomes were capable of inducing antigen-specific apoptosis in autologous CD4+ T cells. These results suggest that LCL-derived exosomes may present a realistic source of immunosuppressive exosomes that could reduce or eliminate T cell-mediated responses against donor-derived antigens in transplant recipients.
Precise measurements of optical dispersion using a new interferometric technique.

Measurements of the dispersion of the refractive index using a nonlinear interferometer are described. A sample of the optical material to be measured is interposed between two optically nonlinear crystals, and a moderately intense laser is passed through the combination. By observing the interference between the second harmonics produced in the two nonlinear crystals, the difference between the refractive indices of the sample at the laser frequency and its second harmonic frequency can be determined very precisely. We have used the interferometer to measure the dispersion in several gases between 1064 and 532 nm. We have also used it to determine the dispersion of two transparent solids. The method can measure the index difference to better than 0.1%, which for gases such as helium represents an absolute accuracy of ∼10−9.
Précis of The Intentional Stance

The intentional stance is the strategy of prediction and explanation that attributes beliefs, desires, and other “intentional” states to systems – living and nonliving – and predicts future behavior from what it would be rational for an agent to do, given those beliefs and desires. Any system whose performance can be thus predicted and explained is an intentional system, whatever its innards. The strategy of treating parts of the world as intentional systems is the foundation of “folk psychology,” but is also exploited (and is virtually unavoidable) in artificial intelligence and cognitive science more generally, as well as in evolutionary theory. An analysis of the role of the intentional stance and its presuppositions supports a naturalistic theory of mental states and events, their content or intentionality, and the relation between “mentalistic” levels of explanation and neurophysiological or mechanistic levels of explanation. As such, the analysis of the intentional stance grounds a theory of the mind and its relation to the body.
Radiation from a radial electric dipole near a long finite circular cylinder

By use of the currents on the infinite cylinder excited by a radial dipole, approximate expressions for the two components of the far-zone electric field of a radial electric dipole near a perfectly conducting finite cylinder are derived. The validity of the approximation depends on the conditions, kl_{2}\gg 1 and kl_{1} \gg 1 , i.e., the cylinder must be long compared to a wavelength. The expressions are initially in integral form but it is shown that they may be evaluated approximately over most of the range of \theta by use of the saddle point method. The theoretical results are compared to experimental results for a particular cylinder.
Cell Turnover in the Respiratory Tract

SUMMARY The turnover of cells in the respiratory tract was studied in a strain of mice of Swiss-Webster origin by the parenteral injection of tritium-labeled thymidine combined with radioautography. The findings in the epithelium of the trachea and large bronchi suggested that two cell populations existed, one with a turnover time of less than two days and the other with a turnover time of five to seven days. The turnover time of the epithelium of small bronchi was five to seven days. The findings suggested that two populations of alveolar macrophages existed, one with a turnover time of approximately seven days and the other with an apparent turnover time of 35 days. Differences in labeling were observed in a main bronchus showing acute bronchitis.
Prediction of solubility and permeability class membership: Provisional BCS classification of the world's top oral drugs

The Biopharmaceutics Classification System (BCS) categorizes drugs into one of four biopharmaceutical classes according to their water solubility and membrane permeability characteristics and broadly allows the prediction of the rate-limiting step in the intestinal absorption process following oral administration. Since its introduction in 1995, the BCS has generated remarkable impact on the global pharmaceutical sciences arena, in drug discovery, development, and regulation, and extensive validation/discussion/extension of the BCS is continuously published in the literature. The BCS has been effectively implanted by drug regulatory agencies around the world in setting bioavailability/bioequivalence standards for immediate-release (IR) oral drug product approval. In this review, we describe the BCS scientific framework and impact on regulatory practice of oral drug products and review the provisional BCS classification of the top drugs on the global market. The Biopharmaceutical Drug Disposition Classification System and its association with the BCS are discussed as well. One notable finding of the provisional BCS classification is that the clinical performance of the majority of approved IR oral drug products essential for human health can be assured with an in vitro dissolution test, rather than empirical in vivo human studies.
Decontamination of Ventilation Systems Using Photocatalytic Air Cleaning Technology

Indoor air pollution is caused by particulate matter and chemical and microbial contamination. Conventional technologies, including filteration, do not adequately provide complete answers to these problems. Photocatalytic oxidation combined with filteration provides one of the most viable solutions to the problem of indoor air contamination by microorganisms and volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). It can also provide a defense against bioterrorism. This paper describes the theoretical background of the technology and results of its effectiveness against VOCs, bacteria, spores, and dust mite allergens. Although the technology uses UV photons from blacklight, it can be designed to use sunlight with the help of fiber optics.
Coupled and forced patterns in reaction–diffusion systems

Several reaction–diffusion systems that exhibit temporal periodicity when well mixed also display spatio-temporal pattern formation in a spatially distributed, unstirred configuration. These patterns can be travelling (e.g. spirals, concentric circles, plane waves) or stationary in space (Turing structures, standing waves). The behaviour of coupled and forced temporal oscillators has been well studied, but much less is known about the phenomenology of forced and coupled patterns. We present experimental results focusing primarily on coupled patterns in two chemical systems, the chlorine dioxide–iodine–malonic acid reaction and the Belousov–Zhabotinsky reaction. The observed behaviour can be simulated with simple chemically plausible models.
The effects of pre-anesthetic administration of xylazine on the cardiovascular responses to dobutamine in halothane anaesthetized horses

Studies evaluating the effects of dobutamine in horses do not consistently report increases in cardiac output despite increases in arterial blood pressure. The concurrent administration of the α2 agonist clonidine, in people, inhibited the chronotropic effects of dobutamine and increased left ventricular stroke work (Zimpfer et al. 1982). Our study was performed to determine if pre-medication with an α2 agonist affects the response to dobutamine in anaesthetized horses. Eleven horses were anaesthetized on four separate occasions for one of four randomly assigned treatments; (I) no xylazine, no dobutamine (II) xylazine, no dobutamine (III) no xylazine, dobutamine, and (IV) xylazine, dobutamine. Horses received 0.02 mg kg−1 of butorphanol IV 10 minutes prior to anesthetic induction. Two minutes prior to induction, groups II and IV received 0.5 mg kg−1 of IV xylazine. Anaesthesia was induced with 6–7 mg kg−1 of thiopental and maintained with halothane. End-tidal halothane concentrations were maintained between 1.1 and 1.2% in groups I and III, and 0.9–1.0% for groups II and IV. Heart rate, cardiac output, right atrial pressure, and systolic (SAP), diastolic (DAP) and mean (MAP) arterial pressure were recorded 30 minutes after beginning halothane anaesthesia (T10). Cardiac output was estimated using Lithium dilution (Linton et al. 2000). Baseline measurements were repeated twice, at 5-minute intervals (T5 and T0). At time 0 (T0), an IV infusion of either saline (100 mL hour−1) or dobutamine (0.001 mg kg−1 minute−1) was started and data recorded at 5-minute intervals for 30 minutes (T5 – T30). Stroke volume and systemic vascular resistance (SVR) were calculated. Data were analysed using repeated measures anova (p < 0.01 significant) and Newman–Keuls for multiple comparisons. Cardiac output and stroke volume increased over time in groups III and IV. Cardiac index was higher in groups III and IV than in groups I and II from T10 until completion of the study. Estimates of cardiac index at T30 for groups I–IV were 45 ± 9, 46 ± 11, 71 ± 11, and 78 ± 19 mL kg−1 minute−1, respectively (mean ± SD). Stroke index was higher in groups III and IV than in groups I and II from T15 to T30. Values for stroke index at T30 for groups I–IV were 0.98 ± 0.19, 1.11 ± 0.18, 1.46 ± 0.21, 1.74 ± 0.33 mL kg−1. Heart rate decreased from T10–T30 in groups I and II. Heart rate was greater in groups I and III than in groups II and IV at T5 and T0. Values for heart rate at T0 for groups I–IV were 48 ± 5, 42 ± 5, 50 ± 4, 43 ± 4 beats minute−1. Systolic arterial pressure, DAP and MAP were higher in groups III and IV than in groups I and II from T5 to T30. There were no differences in SVR between groups. Dobutamine at 0.001 mg kg−1 minute−1 increased cardiac output, blood pressure, and stroke volume. Premedication with xylazine at 0.5 mg kg−1 did not appear to affect the response to dobutamine.