cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hepatocellular carcinoma in the absence of cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

Background & Aims Cirrhosis related to chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a major risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The extent to which HCC occurs in U.S. in the absence of cirrhosis in CHB remains unclear. Methods We identified CHB patients who were diagnosed with HCC in the national Veterans Administration (VA) between 2001 and 2013. We defined presence and absence of cirrhosis at the time of HCC diagnosis using explicit histological, radiological, endoscopic, and laboratory criteria. We used multivariable regression analysis to identify demographic and clinical characteristics associated with CHB-related HCC in the absence of cirrhosis. We also examined liver transplant-free survival in CHB-HCC patients with and without cirrhosis. Results Among 8539 CHB patients, 317 developed HCC of whom 30 (9.5%) did not have any evidence of cirrhosis at the time of HCC diagnosis. Compared to HCC patients with cirrhosis, HCC patients without cirrhosis were more likely to be non-white (African American, OR=6.78; 95% CI 2.05–22.4; Asian, OR 11.6, 95% CI 2.63–50.8), have a family history of HCC (OR 32.9, 95% CI 3.76–288), and hypertension (OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.02–9.75). There was no significant difference in the transplant-free survival between CHB-HCC patients with and without cirrhosis (hazard ratio 0.68, 95% CI 0.43–1.09). Conclusions Fewer than 10% of U.S. based CHB-related HCC patients did not have cirrhosis. Race and family history of HCC were the main risk factors for HCC in the absence of cirrhosis in CHB. These factors may help guide the decision to initiate HCC surveillance in CHB patients without cirrhosis. Lay summary Patients with chronic hepatitis B who are African American, or Asian, older than 40years of age with family members with liver cancer or high blood pressure are at a higher risk of developing liver cancer in the absence of cirrhosis. These patients should be included in the screening program for liver cancer.
Motivation, Empowerment, and Innovation: Teachers' Beliefs About How Participating in the Edmodo Math Subject Community Shapes Teaching and Learning

Educators around the world participate in virtual communities, social media sites, and online networks in order to gain support and ideas for improving their practice. Many researchers have explore...
Physiological functioning moderates infants' sensory sensitivity in higher conflict families.

Children exposed to parent conflict may be at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders by becoming sensitized to conflict cues in their environments. This study explored possible precursors to negative child outcomes associated with parent conflict by examining the relation between parent conflict and infants’ (N = 36; 23–42 weeks; 44% female) behavioral sensitivity to general sensory stimuli (e.g., loud noises, physical touch). To determine whether infants’ characteristic autonomic arousal and regulation moderated this association, infant baseline skin conductance (SC) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) were measured. Parents reported levels of parent conflict, and mothers reported infants’ behavioral sensory sensitivity. The association between parent conflict and lower threshold for sensory sensitivity was strongest for infants with higher physiological arousal (higher SC) and lesser capacity for physiological regulation (lower RSA). Children may become more sensitive to environmental stimuli as a function of parent conflict during infancy, though this appears to depend on characteristic physiological arousal and regulation.
Grade I Extravasation

This chapter discussed the case of a dialysis patient with a left forearm loop arteriovenous graft (AVG) with venous stenosis. Treatment of the lesion with angioplasty resulted in venous rupture with extravasation.
Green accessibility: Estimating the environmental costs of network-time prisms for sustainable transportation planning

Abstract Accessibility, or the ease to participate in activities and obtain resources in a given environment, is crucial for evaluating transportation systems. Greater accessibility is often achieved by increasing individuals' potential mobility. However, potential mobility, if realized by motorized modes, can also generate negative environmental impacts such as fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While the negative environmental impacts of greater mobility are acknowledged, there has been a lack of research to validate those impacts using empirical data, especially considering variations in individuals' mobility levels. This paper presents a method for estimating the expected environmental costs of accessibility represented by a network-time prism (NTP). A NTP delimits all accessible locations within a network and the available time for an individual to present at each location given a scheduled trip origin and destination, a time budget and the maximum achievable speeds along network edges. Estimating the expected environmental costs of a NTP involves three steps: (1) semi-Markov techniques to simulate the probabilities to move along network edges at given times; (2) the speed profiles for reachable edges, and (3) a cost function that translates speeds into environmental impacts. We focus on air quality and employ the motor vehicle emission simulator MOVESLite to estimate the CO2 emissions at both the edge and prism levels. We calibrate and validate the methods for experimental NTPs defined within the Phoenix, AZ, USA road and highway network using vehicles instrumented with GPS-enabled onboard diagnostic devices (OBD). We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method through two scenarios and investigate the impact of changes in mobility levels on the expected CO2 emissions associated with the experimental NTPs.
Factors influencing the selection of general internal medicine fellowship programs

Although criteria are available to guide the selection of general internal medicine (GIM) fellowship programs, the factors actually used in this process are unclear. Using a survey of current GIM fellows, we determined that most received information from their residency advisors, and many viewed them as the most important source of fellowship information. Program location was the top selection factor for fellows, followed by research opportunities, availability of a mentor, and the reputation of the program. This information may be useful to both fellowship candidates as an additional selection guide and to program directors seeking to best structure and market their fellowships.
Impediments with policy interventions to foster cybersecurity

A call for discussion of governmental investment and intervention in support of cybersecurity.
Dye-Light Phototherapy of Viral, Bacterial, and Fungal Infections

In 1899 Oscar Raab (1), a student in Dr. H. von Tappeiner’s Munich laboratory, observed that paramecia were killed in the presence of acridine dye and light but were unharmed in the presence of acridine dye in the dark. During the next few years of the early 20th century, von Tappeiner and Jodlbauer (2–4) conducted a long series of experiments with the dye-light reaction and coined the term “photodynamische erscheinung” (photodynamic action). They demonstrated that many dyes photosensitize a wide variety of microorganisms in vitro (Fig. 20–1).
A Conceptual Framework for Evaluating Effects of a Virtual Tour

Tourism marketing has become increasingly segmented and specialized with the development of new styles of travel. An important focus of of this effort is “experience-oriented tourism” which emphasizes activity, events, and fantastic or exotic experiences. However, it is hard for tourists to form a clear destination image without direct experiences. With the development of Internet, tourists have become able to access interactive multimedia easily. Interactivity and multimedia are key factors to create virtual environment and provide virtual experiences. With experiential information, a virtual tourist creates his/her own unique memory and personal story which in turn enables him/her to form a more vivid and clear destination image and to reduce the uncertainty about destination.
A pilot study of metabolic fitness effects of weight-supported walking in women with obesity.

Background This is an exploratory pilot study of novel technology enabling people with mobility disability to walk with minimal effort, in the “sedentary range”. The study’s premise is that impairment of the leading physical activity of daily living, walking, is a major contributor to a dysmetabolic state driving many prevalent “civilization diseases” associated with insulin resistance. Methods We explore within-subject changes in standard oral glucose tolerance (OGT) tests including metabotropic molecules after 22 twice-weekly, 30-minute bouts of weight-supported light-moderate physical activity in 16 non-diabetic obese, otherwise healthy, reproductive-age, volunteer women walking on an “anti-gravity” lower-body positive pressure (LBPP) treadmill. Results Subjects had reference base-line fasting plasma glucose and triglycerides (TG) but 2-hr OGT insulin levels of 467 ± 276 pmol • liter-1 (mean± S.D.) indicating nascent insulin resistance, compared to post-study 308 ± 179 (p = 0.002). Fasting TG decreased from 0.80 ± 0.30 mmol • liter-1 to 0.71 ± 0.25 (p = 0.03). Concomitantly plasma total ghrelin decreased from 69.6 ± 41.6 pmol • liter-1 to 56.0 ± 41.3 (p = 0.008). There were no statistically significant changes in body weight or any correlations between weight change and cardiometabolic markers. However, there were robust positive correlations between changes among different classes of peptides including C-reactive protein–Interleukin 6, leptin–adiponectin, β-endorphin–oxytocin and orexin A (r 2 = 0.48–0.88). Conclusion We conclude that brief, low-dose physical activity, walking on an anti-gravity LBPP treadmill may improve cardiometabolic risk, exhibiting favorable changes in neuro-regulatory peptides without weight loss in people with problems walking.
Impact of integrated care and co-location of care on mental help-seeking perceptions

BACKGROUND Integrated care may offer a solution to subpar mental health referral adherence, but people's openness to receiving psychological treatment in this setting is understudied. AIMS The present study examined the influence of the integrated care context and co-location of care on people's help-seeking perceptions. METHOD This study (N = 397) used an experimental vignette design to compare the impact of treatment type (integrated care vs. traditional psychotherapy) and distance (close vs. far) on help-seeking perceptions. RESULTS The integrated care environment (significant effect on perceived behavioral control) and closer proximity of the psychologist (significant effect on intention, attitudes, perceived effectiveness of treatment, self-stigma) only improved help-seeking perceptions among those with prior experience with mental health treatment. In the overall sample, treatment type and distance only demonstrated an effect among women, but not men. CONCLUSIONS Pending replication with samples from diverse populations, these findings provide a cautionary tale about lay perceptions of integrated care's anticipated utility. However, co-location and, to a lesser degree, the common attributes of the integrated care format (e.g. team approach, flexible scheduling) may represent a potential pathway for reducing resistance to help seeking that can accompany traditional psychotherapy referrals among those with past exposure to behavioral healthcare.
Real-Time Bladder Pressure Estimation for Closed-Loop Control in a Detrusor Overactivity Model

Overactive bladder (OAB) patients suffer from a frequent urge to urinate, which can lead to a poor quality of life. Current neurostimulation therapy uses open-loop electrical stimulation to alleviate symptoms. Continuous stimulation facilitates habituation of neural pathways and consumes battery power. Sensory feedback-based closed-loop stimulation may offer greater clinical benefit by driving bladder relaxation only when bladder contractions are detected, leading to increased bladder capacity. Effective delivery of such sensory feedback, particularly in real-time, is necessary to accomplish this goal. We implemented a Kalman filter-based model to estimate bladder pressure in real-time using unsorted neural recordings from sacral-level dorsal root ganglia, achieving a 0.88 ± 0.16 correlation coefficient fit across 35 normal and simulated OAB bladder fills in five experiments. We also demonstrated closed-loop neuromodulation using the estimated pressure to trigger pudendal nerve stimulation, which increased bladder capacity by 40% in two trials. An offline analysis indicated that unsorted neural signals had a similar stability over time as compared to sorted single units, which would require a higher computational load. We believe this paper demonstrates the utility of decoding bladder pressure from neural activity for closed-loop control; however, real-time validation during behavioral studies is necessary prior to clinical translation.
Abstract 2926: Nomination and characterization of TTK for radiosensitization in basal-like breast cancers

Background: Increased rates of locoregional recurrence have been observed in basal-like breast cancer despite the use of radiation therapy (RT), therefore approaches that result in radiosensitization of basal-like breast cancer are critically needed. Studies detailing the poor response of basal-like tumors to adjuvant RT underscore the biologic differences and as of yet undefined oncogenic drivers of these particular types of breast cancer. Methods: 4 independent datasets were used to correlate gene expression with local recurrence (LR) after 3 years. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to validate the impact of TTK expression on LR. The TCGA and institutional breast cancer dataset were used to determine TTK expression in BC subtypes. TTK RNA and protein levels were measured using qPCR and western blot at baseline and correlated to intrinsic radiosensitivity. Clonogenic survival assays were used to determine the radiosensitization of cell lines after TTK inhibition (TTKi). Mice models were used to assess TTKi in combination with RT in vivo. DNA damage was quantified using γH2AX staining. HR and NHEJ efficiency assays were performed using HR/NHEJ specific reporter systems. HR competency was also assessed using RAD51 foci formation assays. Results: Ten genes were found to significantly correlate with early LR (≤3 years) across 4 distinct datasets (N=896 pts) (OR of recurrence > 2, p-value Conclusion: These data support TTK inhibition as a rationale radiosensitizing strategy for clinical development in basal-like breast cancer patients and that the mechanism of radiosensitization is, at least in part, through impaired HR repair. Citation Format: Benjamin C. Chandler, Leah Moubadder, Cassie Ritter, Kari Wilder-Romans, Meleah Cameron, Meilan Liu, Shyam Nyati, Andrea Pesch, Anna Michmerhuizen, Eric Olsen, Yashar Niknafs, Arul Chinnaiyan, Corey Speers. Nomination and characterization of TTK for radiosensitization in basal-like breast cancers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2926.
Fuzzy dark matter soliton cores around supermassive black holes

We explore the effect of a supermassive black hole (SMBH) on the density profile of a fuzzy dark matter (FDM) soliton core at the centre of a dark matter halo. We numerically solve the Schrodinger-Poisson equations, treating the black hole as a gravitational point mass, and demonstrate that this additional perturbing term has a `squeezing' effect on the soliton density profile, decreasing the core radius and increasing the central density. In the limit of large black hole mass, the solution approaches one akin to the hydrogen atom, with radius inversely proportional to the black hole mass. By applying our analysis to two specific galaxies (M87 and the Milky Way) and pairing it with known observational limits on the amount of centrally concentrated dark matter, we obtain a constraint on the FDM particle mass, finding that the range $10^{-22.12}$ eV $\lesssim m \lesssim 10^{-22.06}$ eV should be forbidden (taking into account additional factors concerning the life-time of the soliton in the vicinity of a black hole). Improved observational mass measurements of the black hole and total enclosed masses will significantly extend the lower-bound on the excluded FDM mass region, while self-consistent theoretical modeling of the soliton--black hole system can extend the upper-bound.
Swenson-Like Transanal Pull-Through

This chapter describes the surgical procedure for Swenson-like transanal pull-through. The text includes an introduction that outlines the indications, risks, alternatives, essential steps, needed equipment, and variations in technique for the procedure in question. This is followed by a template operative dictation, which provides the reader with an operative report, such as is found in a patient chart or electronic medical record. A description is provided of the following critical concepts for this procedure: (1) placement of anal retractor proximal to the dentate line, (2) placement of circumferential interrupted silk sutures proximal to the dentate line, (3) performing a full-thickness dissection of the bowel from just above the preserved anal canal to the level of the normal, ganglionic bowel, (4) pull-through of ganglionic segment of bowel to dissection 1 cm above the anal canal, (5) place deep layer of sutures circumferentially from muscle to colonic serosa, (6) resection of distal, aganglionic segment of bowel with electrocautery, and (7) placement of a second layer of sutures from mucosa to mucosa to complete the colo-colonic anastomosis.
Porous Metals from Chemical Dealloying for Solid-State Battery Anodes

Alloy anodes for lithium-ion batteries feature greater specific capacity than conventional graphite electrodes and could enable batteries with higher energy density. However, large volumetric and s...
Interface of Electrogenic Bacteria and Reduced Graphene Oxide: Energetics and Electron Transport

A synergistic, nanoscale electrical interface with the membranes of exoelectrogenic microbes will have a transformative impact on biological cell-based electronic devices. Here, we report that a co...
Test-retest reliability of the human functional connectome over consecutive days: identifying highly reliable portions and assessing the impact of methodological choices

Countless studies have advanced our understanding of the human brain and its organization by using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to derive network representations of human brain function. However, we do not know to what extent these "functional connectomes" are reliable over time. In a large public sample of healthy participants (N = 833) scanned on two consecutive days, we assessed the test-retest reliability of fMRI functional connectivity and the consequences on reliability of three common sources of variation in analysis workflows: atlas choice, global signal regression, and thresholding. By adopting the intraclass correlation coefficient as a metric, we demonstrate that only a small portion of the functional connectome is characterized by good (6-8%) to excellent (0.08-0.14%) reliability. Connectivity between prefrontal, parietal, and temporal areas is especially reliable, but also average connectivity within known networks has good reliability. In general, while unreliable edges are weak, reliable edges are not necessarily strong. Methodologically, reliability of edges varies between atlases, global signal regression decreases reliability for networks and most edges (but increases it for some), and thresholding based on connection strength reduces reliability. Focusing on the reliable portion of the connectome could help quantify brain trait-like features and investigate individual differences using functional neuroimaging.
Protein Phosphatase 2A-B56 maintains the meiotic spindle, kinetochore attachments and cohesion by antagonizing Aurora B in Drosophila Oocytes

Abstract Meiosis in female oocytes lack centrosomes, the major microtubule-organizing center, which may make them especially vulnerable to aneuploidy. In the acentrosomal oocytes of Drosophila, meiotic spindle assembly depends on the chromosomal passenger complex (CPC). Aurora B is the catalytic component of the CPC while the remaining subunits regulate its localization. Using an inhibitor of Aurora B activity, Binucleine 2, we found that continuous Aurora B activity is required to maintain the oocyte spindle during meiosis I. Furthermore, the necessity of a kinase for spindle regulation suggests that spindle dynamics is regulated by phosphatases. Our result have shown that the protein complex Protein Phosphatase 2A (PP2A) opposes CPC activity, probably by dephosphorylating spindle associated proteins such as the Kinesins. PP2A exists in two varieties, B55 and B56. While both antagonize Aurora B, they typically exhibit different localization and function. B55 has only minor roles in meiosis I spindle function. The B56 subunit is encoded by two partially redundant paralogs in the Drosophila genome, wdb and wrd. Knocking down both B56 subunits showed they are critical for multiple functions during meiosis I, including maintaining sister centromere and arm cohesion, end-on microtubule attachments, and the metaphase I arrest in oocytes. We found that WDB recruitment to the centromeres depends on BubR1, MEI-S332, and kinetochore protein SPC105R. However, only SPC105R is required for cohesion maintenance during meiosis I. We propose that SPC105R promotes cohesion maintenance by recruiting two proteins that further recruit PP2A, MEI-S332, and the Soronin homolog Dalmatian.
Carrier-envelope phase control of a 10 Hz, 25 TW laser for high-flux extreme ultraviolet quasi-continuum generation

A scheme for stabilizing the carrier-envelope phase (CEP) of low-repetition rate lasers was demonstrated using a 350 mJ, 14 fs Ti:Sapphire laser operating at 10 Hz. The influence of the CEP on the generation of a quasi-continuum in the extreme ultraviolet was observed.
Preventing Recurrence in Clean and Contaminated Hernias Using Biologic Versus Synthetic Mesh in Ventral Hernia Repair: The PRICE Randomized Clinical Trial.

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate which mesh type yields lower recurrence and complication rates after ventral hernia repair. Summary background data More than 400,000 ventral hernia repairs are performed annually in the United States. Although the most effective method for repairing ventral hernias involves using mesh, whether to use biologic mesh versus synthetic mesh is controversial. Methods Single-blind, randomized, controlled, pragmatic clinical trial conducted from March 2014 through October 2018; 165 patients enrolled with an average follow up of 26 months. Patients were randomized 1:1 to have their ventral hernias repaired using either a biologic (porcine) or synthetic (polypropylene) mesh. The primary study outcome measure was hernia recurrence at 2 years. Results A total of 165 patients (68 men), mean age 55 years, were included in the study with a mean follow-up of 26 months. An intention-to-treat analysis noted that hernias recurred in 25 patients (39.7%) assigned to biologic mesh and in 14 patients (21.9%) assigned to synthetic mesh (P = 0.035) at 2 years. Subgroup analysis identified an increased rate of hernia recurrence in the biologic versus the synthetic mesh group under contaminated wound conditions (50.0% vs 5.9%; P for interaction = 0.041). Postoperative complication rates were similar for the 2 mesh types. Conclusions The risk of hernia recurrence was significantly higher for patients undergoing ventral hernia repair with biologic mesh compared to synthetic mesh, with similar rates of postoperative complications. These data indicate that the use of synthetic mesh over biologic mesh to repair ventral hernias is effective and can be endorsed, including under contaminated wound conditions. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02041494.
What Is Missing In Our Teacher Education Practices: A Collaborative Self-Study Of Teacher Educators With Children During The Covid-19 Pandemic

This self-study explores the experiences and challenges that we as mothers of young children and teacher educators have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. While describing what our children experi...
Characterization of erythrocyte stasis in the human eye using adaptive optics erythrocyte-mediated angiography

Transient stoppage of erythrocytes through different vascular beds has important implications for local tissue metabolism. By combining adaptive optics retinal imaging with erythrocyte-mediated angiography (AO-EMA), erythrocyte stasis events can be readily observed in the microvasculature of living human eyes. Localization of erythrocyte stasis using EMA alongside AO-based indocyanine green (ICG) angiography illustrate the notion that there is a previously uncharacterized population of erythrocytes in stasis residing in the smallest choroidal vessels. These observations are an important step towards elucidating the hemodynamic properties of the choroidal microcirculation and demonstrate a novel application of ICG imaging.
Gorillas in Our Midst? Exploring the Political Consequences of Implicit Dehumanization

Scholars of American political behavior have devoted ample time to understanding the pernicious impacts of racism on a number of different outcomes, ranging from vote choice, to the responsiveness of elected officials. Much of this work, however, presumes that racism today is vastly different from the racism of the past which held that black Americans were inherently inferior to whites. However, a growing literature on dehumanization challenges this conclusion. This research suggests many individuals dehumanize members of outgroups, and these beliefs impact political attitudes with regard to criminal justice. However, there is reason to believe the current explicit measures of dehumanization may underestimate the number of people who hold these beliefs. I present a theory explaining how implicit dehumanization is maintained and impacts attitudes, building on prior work in psychology on the underlying factors driving dehumanization and political science research on the translation of implicit impulses into political behavior. I debut a novel and improved implicit dehumanization measure and demonstrate that it has a robust impact on political attitudes, even when controlling for traditional racial attitudes. I also show that this disposition can be primed through exposure to a phenotypically stereotypic African Americans in a criminal context.
Niacin supplementation impairs exercise performance.

Abstract. Several pre-workout supplements contain niacin, although the exercise performance effects of niacin are poorly understood. The purpose of the present study was to examine the performance ...
Why Privacy Matters: An Introduction

Everywhere we look, companies and governments are spying on us--seeking information about us and everyone we know. Ad networks monitor our web-surfing to send us "more relevant" ads. The NSA screens our communications for signs of radicalism. Schools track students' emails to stop school shootings. Cameras guard every street corner and traffic light, and drones fly in our skies. Databases of human information are assembled for purposes of "training" artificial intelligence programs designed to predict everything from traffic patterns to the location of undocumented migrants. We're even tracking ourselves, using personal electronics like Apple watches, Fitbits, and other gadgets that have made the "quantified self" a realistic possibility. As Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg once put it, "the Age of Privacy is over." But Zuckerberg and others who say "privacy is dead" are wrong. In Why Privacy Matters, Neil Richards explains that privacy isn't dead, but rather up for grabs. Richards shows how the fight for privacy is a fight for power that will determine what our future will look like, and whether it will remain fair and free. If we want to build a digital society that is consistent with our hard-won commitments to political freedom, individuality, and human flourishing, then we must make a meaningful commitment to privacy. Privacy matters because good privacy rules can promote the essential human values of human identity, political freedom, and consumer protection. If we want to preserve our commitments to these precious yet fragile values, we will need privacy rules. Richards explains why privacy remains so important and offers strategies that can help us protect it from the forces that are working to undermine it. Pithy and forceful, this is essential reading for anyone interested in a topic that sits at the center of so many current problems. This PDF is the Introduction to Why Privacy Matters (Oxford Press 2021). The full book may be purchased wherever good books are sold.
An Approach to Evaluating E-Business Information Systems Projects

Capital investments in the e-business infrastructure add complexity to the IT payoff question because e-business interorganizational investments are deployed across multiple platforms, projects, vendors and partners. Traditional MIS research has been devoted to measuring the payoff from information technology (IT) investment without any specific focus on e-business. Flaws in the mature MIS performance measures seem to yield weak guidance for managers when evaluating IT success, thus diluting the potential for these measures to be adapted for use in the new e-business environment. A review of the conventional MIS payoff literature indicates that these measures may be incomplete, inaccurate, or inefficient for application to electronic commerce investments. This paper brings four new points to the e-business IT investment evaluation dialogue: (1) we first explore performance measurement validity flaws in our long established measuress (2) the paper discusses a two-by-two matrix delineating the gap between the quantitative versus qualitative performance measures of management information systems (MIS) initiativess (3) sample e-business payoff techniques are discussed and reviewed in light of these historical imperfections, and (4) fourth, the paper proposes and describes an innovative framework derived from production theory economics for future research in evaluating e-business MIS implementations.
IL-4 regulates MEK expression required for lysophosphatidic acid-mediated chemokine generation by human mast cells.

IL-4 and mast cells (MCs) mediate mucosal defense against helminths and are central to allergic inflammation. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), an abundant, potent lipid growth factor, stimulates the growth of cultured human MCs (hMCs) in vitro through a pathway involving LPA receptors 1 and 3 (termed the LPA 1 and LPA 3 receptors, respectively) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ. We now report that LPA potently induces the generation of proinflammatory chemokines (MIP-1β, IL-8, and MCP-1) by hMCs by a mechanism that absolutely requires IL-4. The de novo expression of chemokine mRNA and protein generation involves synergistic actions of calcium flux-dependent NFAT transcription factors and ERK. ERK phosphorylation and chemokine production in response to LPA require IL-4-dependent up-regulation of MEK-1 expression by a pathway involving PI3K. Although receptor-selective agonists for both the LPA 2 and LPA 3 receptors induce calcium fluxes by hMCs, only the LPA 2 receptor-selective agonist fatty alcohol phosphate-12 mimics the IL-4-dependent effect of LPA on chemokine generation. The fact that LPA, an endogenous lipid mediator, activates hMCs by an LPA 2 receptor-dependent pathway indicates functional distinctions between different LPA receptor family members that are expressed constitutively by cells of a single hemopoietic lineage. Moreover, the regulation of MEK-dependent signaling is a mechanism by which IL-4 could amplify inflammation in mucosal immune responses through receptor systems for endogenous ligands such as LPA.
Sex differences in hepatic sulfation of taurolithocholate in the rat.

Abstract Metabolism of bile salts by formation of sulfate esters is catalyzed by bile salt sulfotransferase, an enzyme isolated from rat liver and kidney. The activity of bile salt sulfotransferase was measured in liver and kidney of male and female rats and in oophorectomized rats with or without estrogen replacement. In vitro sulfotransferase activity was correlated with in vivo sulfation by measuring the percentage of an infused dose (0.03 μm per 100 g per min) of taurolithocholate, which was excreted in bile as the sulfate. The activity of sulfotransferase in liver was higher in females (26.3 ± 3.0 pmoles per mg of protein per min) than in males (9.6 ± 3.9) and was lower (12.1 ± 3.8) after oophorectomy. The decrease in activity was prevented by replacement of estrogen. Renal sulfotransferase activity did not differ between the sexes and was unaffected by oophorectomy. Hepatic sulfotransferase activity measured in vitro correlated with in vivo sulfation of taurolithocholate. This study shows definite sex differences in hepatic bile salt sulfotransferase activity, which in females is affected by the presence of estrogen. The correlation between in vitro sulfotransferase activity and in vivo bile salt sulfation suggests that bile salt sulfotransferase is responsible for bile salt sulfation in vivo.
The Evolution of Strategic Thinking in World War I: A Case Study of the Second Battle of the Marne

This analysis compares the strategy, command and operations of the armies of Germany and the Allied and Associated Powers during the First World War, with particular focus on 1918. It shows the difficulties which both sides found in combining grand strategy, with what could be done operationally in the field. It shows that imperfect political consequences flowed from Ferdinand Foch‘s able and surprisingly humane approach to war. Foch was an officer who could learn, and the only one who commanded the western front effectively.
Development and validation of a new adaptive weighting for auditory risk assessment of complex noise

Abstract Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) still remains as a serious occupational related health problem worldwide. A-weighted equivalent sound pressure level (SPL) LAeq has been widely used to assess the auditory risk of occupational noises in noise measurements standards. In addition, C-weighting is also used in the standards for detection of peak SPL of noise. However, both A-weighting and C-weighting have limitations on evaluation of high-level complex noise, which is often experienced in many military and industrial fields. In this study, we proposed a new adaptive weighting (F-weighting) for more accurate evaluation of complex noises. F-weighting is based on the blending of A-weighting and C-weighting through the weighting coefficients αA,T and αC,T. To determine αA,T and αC,T, two parameters, kurtosis (KT) and oscillation coefficient (OT) were introduced. Complex noise exposures in animal studies and noise signals measured in a mining facility were applied to validate the performance of F-weighting. The results show that F-weighting performs better than both A-weighting and C-weighting on the assessment of high-level complex noise. In addition, F-weighting based LFeq shows higher correlation with the hearing loss of the animal experimental data compared with A-weighted LAeq, C-weighted LCeq, and Non-weighted Leq. The proposed F-weighting could be a potential alternative weighting for the assessment of high-level complex noise in military and industrial applications.
Creating & Teaching with Simple Animation: Making Biology Instruction Come Alive

Over the years, many of my students have reported that they enjoy lectures that include short, simple animations. To keep students engaged, I have developed a small set of teaching animations using PowerPoint and Camtasia Studio software packages. A survey of students who learned four difficult topics with traditional written lessons and with these animations revealed that 80% of the students say that they learn better when animations are included. With such a majority reporting that cartoons engage them in learning, I wanted to share my simple method of creating them with the teaching community.
Control of unknown nonlinear systems using output feedback

Kosmatopoulos et al. (1999) have introduced a switching adaptive/neural control algorithm for the state feedback stabilization of completely unknown nonlinear systems. In this paper, we address the problem of output feedback regulation/stabilization of unknown nonlinear systems. We develop and analyze a controller which, using output feedback information, can regulate/stabilize any nonlinear system that satisfies: 1) the system is state feedback stabilizable, 2) it has a bounded input/output bounded state property, and 3) its vector-fields are analytic. The proposed controller consists of the switching adaptive/neural controller used for state feedback stabilization combined appropriately with Volterra/Wiener neural networks. The Volterra/Wiener neural network uses the system input/output information for the estimation of unknown, state-dependent functions. The estimates of these functions are used by a switching adaptive mechanism for the regulation/stabilization of the system.
A tool for estimating impacts of woody encroachment in arid grasslands: Allometric equations for biomass, carbon and nitrogen content in Prosopis velutina

Abstract Regression equations were developed to estimate above ground biomass and carbon and nitrogen mass of foliage and stem size fractions from plant size dimensions (basal diameter, canopy area, height, canopy volume) for a tall shrub species (Prosopis velutina) that has increased in abundance in arid and semi-arid grasslands in the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Regression equations were also developed to describe relationships among the dimensions of plant size. All equations were significant (p 0.72. In addition to species-specific information, we found support for the global patterns of foliar biomass increasing to the ¾ power of stem biomass and height increasing to the ½ power of stem diameter. We provide a comprehensive report of all equations, which can support a variety of in situ (ground-based), modeling, and remote-sensing objectives related to quantifying changes in ecosystem function and carbon sequestration accompanying changes in woody plant abundance. We advocate that comprehensive reporting should become more common for arid and semi-arid woody species in order to support a broad spectrum of users while laying the foundation for the development of global generalizations similar to those available for forest trees.
Image segmentation using laser radar data

Abstract In this work, we study ladar images of man-made objects in outdoor scenes. Our objective is to separate man-made objects from background. We explore ways to segment images from different modalities of ladar and integrate results to improve segmentation. We use planar surface fitting to segment the range image. The background usually cannot be fit into planar segments while man-made objects usually yield planar segments. The intensity image is segmented by using image statistics. Both surface fitting and statistical methods can be applied to the velocity component for segmentation. We combine these segmentation maps to generate a composite segmentation map. The final result shows strong resemblance to manual segmentation. These results can be fed into a cuing system for further processing, or into a higher level, knowledge-based system for scene interpretation.
Amygdala hyperreactivity in borderline personality disorder: implications for emotional dysregulation.

Abstract Background Disturbed interpersonal relations and emotional dysregulation are fundamental aspects of borderline personality disorder (BPD). The amygdala plays important roles in modulating vigilance and generating negative emotional states and is often abnormally reactive in disorders of mood and emotion. The aim of this study was to assess amygdala reactivity in BPD patients relative to normal control subjects. We hypothesized that amygdala hyperreactivity contributes to hypervigilance, emotional dysregulation, and disturbed interpersonal relations in BPD. Methods Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we examined neural responses to 20-sec blocks of neutral, happy, sad, and fearful facial expression (or a fixation point) in 15 BPD and 15 normal control subjects. The DSM IV-diagnosed BPD patients and the normal control subjects were assessed by a clinical research team in a medical school psychiatry department. Results Borderline patients showed significantly greater left amygdala activation to the facial expressions of emotion (vs. a fixation point) compared with normal control subjects. Post-scan debriefing revealed that some borderline patients had difficulty disambiguating neutral faces or found them threatening. Conclusions Pictures of human emotional expressions elicit robust differences in amygdala activation levels in borderline patients, compared with normal control subjects, and can be used as probes to study the neuropathophysiologic basis of borderline personality disorder.
Fast Evaluation of Quadratic Control-Lyapunov Policy

The evaluation of a control-Lyapunov policy, with quadratic Lyapunov function, requires the solution of a quadratic program (QP) at each time step. For small problems this QP can be solved explicitly; for larger problems an online optimization method can be used. For this reason the control-Lyapunov control policy is considered a computationally intensive control law, as opposed to an “analytical” control law, such as conventional linear state feedback, linear quadratic Gaussian control, or H∞, too complex or slow to be used in high speed control applications. In this note we show that by precomputing certain quantities, the control-Lyapunov policy can be evaluated extremely efficiently. We will show that when the number of inputs is on the order of the square-root of the state dimension, the cost of evaluating a control-Lyapunov policy is on the same order as the cost of evaluating a simple linear state feedback policy, and less (in order) than the cost of updating a Kalman filter state estimate. To give an idea of the speeds involved, for a problem with 100 states and 10 inputs, the control-Lyapunov policy can be evaluated in around 67 μs, on a 2 GHz AMD processor; the same processor requires 40 μs to carry out a Kalman filter update.
Molecular tracking of an Human Immunodeficiency Virus nef specific cytotoxic T-cell clone shows persistence of clone-specific T-cell receptor DNA but not mRNA following early combination antiretroviral therapy

Abstract The mechanisms that lead to maintenance of an active effector cytotoxic T-cell (CTL) response in Human Immunodeficiency Virus type-1 (HIV-1) infection are not well understood. We have investigated the role of antigen in maintenance of an HIV-1 specific CTL response by studying a patient (313-7) whose antigenic stimulus was reduced using antiretroviral drug therapy started within 90 days of HIV-1 infection. This patient made a primary monospecific CTL response to an HLA-C*0802 restricted epitope in nef (KAAVDLSHFL) prior to treatment. Within 7 days of starting treatment the nef specific CTL precursor frequency (CTLp) had decreased from 60/10 6 to 4/10 6 peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), coincident with a decline in viremia from 18 470 to 615 copies/ml Both plasma viremia and nef specific CTLp remained at low levels for 180 days. The nef-specific CTL clone T-cell receptor (TCR) mRNA transcripts also decreased after treatment, but clone specific TCR DNA persisted. It appears that removal of antigen alters the state of HIV specific CTL from an activated effector population (detected in the CTLp assay and by measurement of clone specific RNA) to a non-activated quiescent population (detected by measurement of clone-specific DNA). This latter population may represent persisting HIV specific memory CTL.
A multi-length-scale theory of the anomalous mixing-length growth for tracer flow in heterogeneous porous media

We develop a multi-length-scale (multifractal) theory for the effect of rock heterogeneity on the growth of the mixing layer of the flow of a passive tracer through porous media. The multifractal exponent of the size of the mixing layer is determined analytically from the statistical properties of a random velocity (permeability) field. The anomalous diffusion of the mixing layer can occur both on finite and on asymptotic length scales.
Structure of Cardiac Gap Junction Intercellular Channels

Gap junction proteins, termed connexins, constitute a multigene family of polytopic membrane channel proteins that have four hydrophobic transmembrane domains with the N- and C-termini located on the cytoplasmic membrane face. The principal gap junction protein in the heart, alpha 1 connexin (also designated Cx43), mediates action potential propagation between cells in order to synchronize cardiac contraction. alpha 1 connexin channels are concentrated in gap junction plaques located in the intercalated disks. The intercellular channel is formed by the docking of two hemi-channels, termed connexons, formed by a ring of six 43-kDa alpha 1 connexin subunits. Each subunit is asymmetric with an axial ratio of 4-5:1 with approximately 20 A extending into the extracellular gap approximately 50 A spanning the lipid bilayer and approximately 50 A extending into the cytoplasmic space. We have recently grown two-dimensional crystals of a recombinant C-terminal truncation mutant of alpha 1 connexin (designated alpha 1Cx263T) that are ordered to better than 7 A resolution. Projection density maps derived by electron cryocrystallography revealed that the intercellular channel is lined by six alpha-helices, and there is a second ring of six alpha-helices at the interface with the membrane lipids. These rings of alpha-helices are staggered by 30 degrees, which predicts that the two connexons in the channel are staggered by 30 degrees such that each connexin subunit in one connexon interacts with two subunits in the apposed connexon. Such a quaternary arrangement may confer stability in the docking of the connexons to form a tight electrical seal for intercellular current flow during cardiac conduction.
Electronic structure of clusters modeling PAN carbon fibers

Abstract In an attempt to understand the process of electrical conduction in polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based carbon fibers, calculations were carried out on cluster models of the fiber consisting of carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen atoms, using the modified intermediate neglect of differential overlap (MINDO) molecular orbital (MO) method. The models were developed based on the assumption that PAN carbon fibers obtained with heat treatment temperatures (HTT) below 1000 °C retain nitrogen in a graphite-like lattice. For clusters modeling an “edge” nitrogen site, analysis of the occupied MO's indicated an electron distribution similar to that of graphite. A similar analysis for the somewhat less stable “interior” nitrogen site revealed a partially localized π electron distribution around the nitrogen atom. The differences in bonding trends and structural stability between edge and interior nitrogen clusters led to a two-step process proposed for nitrogen evolution with increasing HTT.