cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spectral Doppler ultrasound of peripheral arteries: a pictorial review

This article reviews the pathophysiology and sonographic findings of peripheral arterial lesions, with emphasis on the spectral Doppler waveforms encountered in each. It discusses the characteristic features of the Doppler spectra in obstructive conditions, including thromboembolism, atherosclerotic disease, bypass graft occlusion, dissection, trauma, and compartment syndrome, as well as non-obstructive conditions, including hyperemia, pseudoaneurysm, and arteriovenous fistula. Familiarity with the commonly-encountered spectral waveforms in the setting of these lesions is necessary for timely and accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Video-Based Teaching of Image-Guided Breast Interventions: Stereotactic Core Biopsy Using a Prone Table

Introduction The introduction of new technologies and teaching strategies to educate the digital learner creates the potential for a better and more standardized training experience across programs. Thus, we sought to create an instructional video on stereotactic core breast biopsy that simulates best practices and could be readily accessed by training programs to improve and standardize resident education. Methods At our institution, we use the video and questions as part of a flipped classroom educational activity. Residents are requested to complete the questions at home and watch the video. They then take the posttest questions during the lecture period, at which time the answers are reviewed and there is additional discussion of the procedure. The tests contain both video-related questions and control questions. Results After viewing the video, there was a 30% mean improvement in the video-related questions compared to a 0% improvement in the control set of questions. Discussion An instructional video on stereotactic core biopsy was created with associated assessment questions that can be used at any institution for the purposes of improving and standardizing training in breast imaging procedures. This resource can be especially useful for programs where trainees have limited procedure exposure.
Open Cell Aerogel Foams via Emulsion Templating.

The water-in-oil emulsion-templating method is used in this work for fabrication of open cell aerogel foams from syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS). A surfactant-stabilized emulsion is prepared at 60–100 °C by dispersing water in a solution of sPS in toluene. sPS gel, formed upon cooling of the emulsion to room temperature, locks the water droplets inside the gel. The gel is solvent exchanged in ethanol and then dried under supercritical condition of carbon dioxide to yield the aerogel foams. The aerogel foams show a significant fraction of macropores with a diameter of a few tens of micrometers, defined as macrovoids that originated from the emulsified water droplets. In conjunction, customary macropores of diameter 50–200 nm are derived from sPS gels. The macrovoids add additional openness to the aerogel structures. This paper evaluates the structural characteristics of the macrovoids, such as diameter distribution, macrovoid interconnect density, and skin layer density, in conjunction with the final aeroge...
Pharmacokinetically-targeted dosed everolimus maintenance therapy in lymphoma patients.

Everolimus, an mTOR inhibitor, is active in refractory lymphomas. However, toxicity with flat dosing limits its usage. Speculatively, pharmacokinetically-targeted dosing could improve tolerability. Therefore, we studied serum-trough dosing with rituximab as maintenance after high-dose cyclophosphamide (HDC) consolidation in lymphoma patients. After HDC, everolimus was dosed to serum trough levels (goal 3–15 ng/mL), with quarterly rituximab infusions for 1 year while maintaining 500 mg/dL. 49 patients, median age: 59.0 years enrolled; MCL (26), CLL (10), transformed lymphoma (7), and other histologies (6). During the life of the study, the most frequent everolimus dosing has been 2.5 mg daily or 2.5 mg every other day; at these doses, serum levels are within the therapeutic range and non-hematologic toxicity is rare. At a median follow-up of 27.1 months, three patients remain on active therapy. Two patients withdrew secondary to potentially-attributable adverse events including a bacterial pneumonia and a viral pneumonia; this low rate of discontinuation compares well to other long-term everolimus trials. While a 58 and 76% EFS at 30 months for the entire cohort and MCL cohort, respectively, compares similarly to previously published HDC/rituximab data, longer follow-up is required. Pharmacokinetically-targeted dosing appears to increase everolimus tolerability. This finding may be applicable to other patient populations.
Convergence in Reports of Adolescents' Psychopathology: A Focus on Disorganized Attachment and Reflective Functioning.

Although convergence in parent–youth reports of adolescent psychopathology is critical for treatment planning, research documents a pervasive lack of agreement in ratings of adolescents’ symptoms. Attachment insecurity (particularly disorganized attachment) and impoverished reflective functioning (RF) are 2 theoretically implicated predictors of low convergence that have not been examined in the literature. In a cross-sectional investigation of adolescents receiving inpatient psychiatric treatment, we examined whether disorganized attachment and low (adolescent and parent) RF were associated with patterns of convergence in adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Compared with organized adolescents, disorganized adolescents had lower parent–youth convergence in reports of their internalizing symptoms and higher convergence in reports of their externalizing symptoms; low adolescent self-focused RF was associated with low convergence in parent–adolescent reports of internalizing symptoms, wherea...
First-line management of chronic subdural hematoma with the subdural evacuating port system: Institutional experience and predictors of outcomes.

Abstract Chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH) is a common condition that disproportionately affects older patients. Given the greater risks of general anesthesia in this population, interest has turned towards less invasive surgical approaches such as the subdural evacuating port system (SEPS; Medtronic, Inc., Minneapolis, MN). There is a relative dearth of information about the outcomes following this procedure. Here, we present our institution’s experience with SEPS and analyze factors associated with the outcomes. Using a prospectively maintained institutional database, we retrospectively identified all patients who presented with cSDH and received first line therapy with SEPS. Pre- and post-operative clinical and radiographic data was obtained from the electronic health record. Outcomes included success or failure, Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at discharge, length of stay (LOS), and discharge disposition. A total of 126 patients met the inclusion criteria (36 females and 90 males; mean age of 71.6 years). None of the pre-procedural clinical or radiographic variables were associated with the likelihood of a successful outcome. Increasing age was associated with non-routine hospital discharge (p = 0.003), and lower presenting GCS was associated with longer hospital stay (p = 0.005). Greater thickness of the cSDH was associated with a lower likelihood of having a favorable outcome (mRS ≥ 3; p = 0.003). SEPS is an effective first-line therapy for cSDH. Variables previously reported to limit the effectiveness of the technique (presence of septations, mixed density collections) were not associated with treatment failure.
Increased Hospital Surgical Volume Reduces Rate of 30- and 90-Day Readmission After Acoustic Neuroma Surgery.

BACKGROUND Hospital readmissions are commonly linked to elevated health care costs, with significant financial incentive introduced by the Affordable Care Act to reduce readmissions. OBJECTIVE To study the association between patient, hospital, and payer factors with national rate of readmission in acoustic neuroma surgery. METHODS All adult inpatients undergoing surgery for acoustic neuroma in the newly introduced Nationwide Readmissions Database from 2013 to 2014 were included. We identified readmissions for any cause with a primary diagnosis of neurological, surgical, or systemic complication within 30- and 90-d after undergoing acoustic neuroma surgery. Multivariable models were employed to identify patient, hospital, and administrative factors associated with readmission. Hospital volume was measured as the number of cases per year. RESULTS We included patients representing a weighted estimate of 4890 admissions for acoustic neuroma surgery in 2013 and 2014, with 355 30-d (7.7%) and 341 90-d (9.1%) readmissions. After controlling for patient, hospital, and payer factors, procedural volume was significantly associated with 30-d readmission rate (OR [odds ratio] 0.992, p = 0.03), and 90-d readmission rate (OR 0.994, p = 0.047). The most common diagnoses during readmission in both 30- and 90-d cohorts included general central nervous system complications/deficits, hydrocephalus, infection, and leakage of cerebrospinal fluid (rhinorrhea/otorrhea). CONCLUSION After controlling for patient, hospital, and payer factors, increased procedural volume is associated with decreased 30- and 90-d readmission rate for acoustic neuroma surgery. Future studies seeking to improve outcomes and reduce cost in acoustic neuroma surgery may seek to further evaluate the role of hospital procedural volume and experience.
Detecting Web Spams Using Evidence Theory

Search engines are the major instruments on the Web. The determination of the liability of the results returned by a typical search engine is a daunting challenge mainly due to the presence of Web spams. New types of Web spams are continuously introduced every now and then, which makes it drastically challenging to decide about the accuracy of the results. The problem looks like a reasoning problem in the presence of uncertainty. This paper presents a methodology for predicting Web spam where the spamicity of hosts is formulated as a reasoning problem. The approach is based on evidence theory, a mathematical prediction model based on Dempster-Shafer Theory (DST). The key benefit of our approach for Web spam is DST's ability to deal with the uncertainty. When a new spam is introduced in the system, the system lacks a reasonable prior knowledge. This is where DST provides more liable solution to detect spams without any prior information. The paper presents detailed statistical evaluations of the proposed approach where an accuracy of 99.27% in detecting Web spams is reported.
Empirical Challenges to Conventional Mind–Brain Theory

Despite many significant accomplishments, mainstream scientific psychology has not provided a satisfactory theory of the mind, or solved the mind–body problem, and physicalist accounts of the mind are approaching their limits without fully accounting for its properties. The computational theory of the mind has collapsed, forcing physicalism to retreat into what necessarily constitutes its final frontier, the unique biology of the brain, but this biological naturalism seems destined to fare little better. Some critical properties of human mental life can already be recognized as irreconcilable in principle with physical operations of the brain, and others appear likely to prove so as well.
Radical surgery versus radiotherapy for adenocarcinoma of the prostate

AbstractThere were 97 patients with clinical stage A2 or B (T1-2N0M0) prostatic adenocarcinoma and normal serum prostatic acid phosphatase levels, negative isotopic bone scans and no pelvic nodal extension as determined by staging pelvic lymphadenectomy assigned randomly to either radical prostatectomy or megavoltage radiation therapy. While 56 patients received radiation, 41 underwent radical prostatectomy. With time to first evidence of treatment failure used as the end point for determination of treatment efficacy, radical prostatectomy was shown to be more effective than megavoltage radiation in establishing disease control.
Hearing loss in unilateral and bilateral enlarged vestibular aqueduct syndrome

Abstract Objective To investigate any meaningful differences in hearing between patients with unilateral and bilateral enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA). EVA is a common radiological finding in children presenting with hearing loss. We hope to provide insight into the pathogenesis of EVA and provide further guidelines for unilateral EVA management. We hypothesized that hearing loss in unilateral EVA would be similar to that seen in bilateral EVA. Methods A longitudinal retrospective study design was used. Three measures of hearing, pure tone average (PTA) word recognition score (WRS) and speech awareness threshold (SAT) and radiologic morphologies were tested for difference across unilateral versus bilateral ear EVA status. Linear mixed effects models were used to identify differences while accounting for time and multiple measurements per ear. Results Using Cincinnati criteria, 89 ears fit inclusion criteria, 75 of which were from patients with bilateral EVA compared to 14 ears from patients with unilateral EVA. No significant differences across bilateral status were observed in audiological measurements. Models showed that speech recognition threshold (SRT) (p = 0.925), word recognition score (WRS)(p = 0.521) and pure tone average (PTA) of air and bone conduction from 250 to 4000 Hz (p = 0.281–0.933) were not statistically different with respect to bilateral status. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests showed no statistical difference in vestibular aqueduct width or operculum size (VA)(p = 0.234, p = 0.623). Each year after the first audiogram was associated with significantly greater SRT (p = 0.003) decreased WRS (0.014) and increased PTA (0.003.). Greater midpoint width was associated with significantly lower SRT (p = 0.004) WRS ( Conclusion Our results indicate no statistically significant difference in hearing ability with respect to bilateral EVA status, suggesting that unilateral EVA patients require close follow-up. Our results also demonstrate the progressive nature of EVA and a relationship between VA midpoint width and hearing loss severity.
Sustainable olefin supply chain network design under seasonal feedstock supplies and uncertain carbon tax rate

Abstract The growing environmental consciousness resulted from global climate changes has aroused petrochemical industries to search for the renewable alternatives for fossil fuels. Recently, biomass has been received increasing attention due to its economic and environmental benefits. Olefin, as one of the key raw materials in petrochemical industries, is able to be produced from biomass feedstocks. This study presents a robust three-stage stochastic programming model to characterize and optimize an olefin supply chain/production network aiming to provide a reliable and economic logistics network to support olefin production. This model encompasses probabilistic scenarios and uncertainty sets to capture the seasonality of biomass feedstocks and the uncertainty of carbon tax rate, respectively. The Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is also involved in this model to complement the traditional biomass supplies to ensure the reliable feedstock for olefin production. To find the optimal solution of this model, a hybrid robust/stochastic approach is developed by integrating the affinely adjustable robust model with the sample average approximation (SAA) method. The state of Mississippi is used as a real case study to test and validate the proposed model and optimization approach. The results show that increasing feedstocks conversion rate by 20% and MSW recycling rate by 100% will increase olefin production by 17.26% and 14.3%, respectively, and increasing the carbon tax rate uncertainty from 0 to 30 will decrease the total network emissions by 2.8%. The proposed optimization approach will generate more robust and reliable results. These results indicate that the proposed model and optimization approach would benefit both economic and environmental perspectives in biomass based olefin production.
Institutional ownership horizon, corporate social responsibility and shareholder value

Abstract A widely held view among policymakers, corporate executives and the media is that short-termism among institutional investors is increasingly prevalent. However, some institutional investors are increasingly vocal about taking a long-term approach, and these investors care about environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. The reality is that investors are a diverse set of stakeholders with various objectives and time horizons. In the academic literature, empirical evidence on the relationship between institutional ownership horizon and corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been mixed. In this paper, we show that institutions with longer (shorter) investment horizons promote (discourage) CSR at the firm level. In addition, the higher the proportion of long-term (short-term) investors, the higher (lower) the effect of CSR on long-term (short-term) buy-and-hold returns. These findings are consistent with the view that short-termism on the part of institutional investors places short-term pressure on companies, and therefore discourages long-term investments that create value.
Do Covariates Change the Estimand

AbstractAdjustment for covariates has been underused in trials intended to support approval of medical products. This underuse results partly from confusion about whether adjusting changes the thin...
Postoperative Exacerbation of Oxaliplatin-induced Neurotoxicity in Gastrointestinal Cancers: A Case Series.

BACKGROUND/AIM Oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity (OIN) can be severe and dose-limiting with clinically significant symptoms that persist for years. Few published reports have described postoperative exacerbation of OIN and more longitudinal data are needed to better characterize the phenomenon. PATIENTS AND METHODS We identified 13 patients diagnosed with colon (n=7), rectal (n=4) or pancreatic (n=2) cancer who experienced postoperative OIN exacerbation at our medical center. Charts were reviewed for demographic and clinical data regarding OIN. RESULTS OIN exacerbation was documented 0.5-7.0 months after the first surgery following oxaliplatin exposure, with a median duration of 10.6 months (range=1.4-86.1 months). OIN exacerbation persisted in 3/13 patients at last follow-up, and improved to pre-operative levels in 6/13 patients (with complete resolution in 4/13) within a median of 3.6 months from initial exacerbation. CONCLUSION Given the widespread use of oxaliplatin in neoadjuvant and first-line treatment for gastrointestinal cancers, further study is warranted to prospectively and systematically define risks for postoperative OIN exacerbation.
The Archaeology of Native American Boarding Schools in the American Southwest

This work discusses the archaeological investigation of Native American boarding schools in the American Southwest. It begins by outlining a brief history of the federal Native American boarding sc...
Separating the Signal from the Noise: How Psychiatric Diagnoses Can Help Discern Food Addiction from Dietary Restraint.

Converging evidence from both animal and human studies have implicated hedonic eating as a driver of both binge eating and obesity. The construct of food addiction has been used to capture pathological eating across clinical and non-clinical populations. There is an ongoing debate regarding the value of a food addiction “diagnosis” among those with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa binge/purge-type, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Much of the food addiction research in eating disorder populations has failed to account for dietary restraint, which can increase addiction-like eating behaviors and may even lead to false positives. Some have argued that the concept of food addiction does more harm than good by encouraging restrictive approaches to eating. Others have shown that a better understanding of the food addiction model can reduce stigma associated with obesity. What is lacking in the literature is a description of a more comprehensive approach to the assessment of food addiction. This should include consideration of dietary restraint, and the presence of symptoms of other psychiatric disorders (substance use, posttraumatic stress, depressive, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity) to guide treatments including nutrition interventions. The purpose of this review is to help clinicians identify the symptoms of food addiction (true positives, or “the signal”) from the more classic eating pathology (true negatives, or “restraint”) that can potentially elevate food addiction scores (false positives, or “the noise”). Three clinical vignettes are presented, designed to aid with the assessment process, case conceptualization, and treatment strategies. The review summarizes logical steps that clinicians can take to contextualize elevated food addiction scores, even when the use of validated research instruments is not practical.
Depth extraction from a single compressive hologram

We propose a novel method that records a single compressive hologram in a short time and extracts the depth of a scene from that hologram using a stereo disparity technique. The method is verified with numerical simulations, but there is no restriction on adapting this into an optical experiment. In the simulations, a computer-generated hologram is first sampled with random binary patterns, and measurements are utilized in a recovery algorithm to form a compressive hologram. The compressive hologram is then divided into two parts (two apertures), and these parts are separately reconstructed to form a stereo image pair. The pair is eventually utilized in stereo disparity method for depth map extraction. The depth maps of the compressive holograms with the sampling rates of 2, 25, and 50 percent are compared with the depth map extracted from the original hologram, on which compressed sensing is not applied. It is demonstrated that the depth profiles obtained from the compressive holograms are in very good agreement with the depth profile obtained from the original hologram despite the data reduction.
The Realized Laplace Transform of Volatility

We introduce and derive the asymptotic behavior of a new measure constructed from high-frequency data which we call the Realized Laplace Transform of volatility. The statistic provides a nonparametric estimate for the empirical Laplace transform function of the latent stochastic volatility process over a given interval of time and is robust to presence of jumps in the price process. With a long span of data, i.e., under joint long-span and infill asymptotics, the statistic can be used to construct a nonparametric estimate of the volatility Laplace transform as well as of the integrated joint Laplace transform of volatility over different points of time. We derive feasible functional limit theorems for our statistic both under fixed span and infill asymptotics as well as under joint long span and infill asymptotics which allow to quantify the precision in estimation under both sampling schemes.
Rotor Reinforcement in High-Speed Motors by Polymer Composites

Reducing motor cost and increasing efficiency are key targets in the pursuit of longer range and lower cost electric propulsion systems. In this paper, a study is presented to increase the operational speed, power, torque, and efficiency of electric motors by reinforcing the rotor with non-conductive, non-magnetic polymer composites. The proposed rotor reinforcement approach is applied to a 16,000 rpm synchronous reluctance motor that does not contain any permanent magnets and therefore utilizes only reluctance torque. Two methods of polymeric reinforcement are studied. In both methods, the polymer composite is inserted into the air-filled slots in the rotor and structurally binds to the electrical steel. In the first method, the structural binding is achieved by mechanical interlocks whereas in the second method it is accomplished through chemical adhesion. Size reduction or complete elimination of electrical steel webs that structurally reinforce the rotor against the centrifugal forces is pursued. These webs are responsible for reduced torque, power, and efficiency in traditional motor designs. In the case of permanent magnet machines, the structural webs also reduce the power factor and the utilization of magnet material, increasing the system cost. In this study, the two polymeric reinforcement methods are compared in terms of structural and electromagnetic performance of the rotor using Finite Element Analysis. Results show that chemical adhesion provides better structural and electromagnetic performance of the rotor than joining by mechanical interlock. Elimination of the webs is predicted to significantly increase torque, power, and efficiency of the motor. Experimental testing is conducted to evaluate the bonding between electrical steel and polymer composites, demonstrating that sufficient bonding strength is achievable between these materials.
A review of significant directions in fluorosiloxane coatings

An outstanding characteristic of fluorocarbon substitution in polymers is the potential for obtaining coatings of very low surface energy. The low degree of fluorination in the most familiar fluorosiloxane, polymethyltrifluoropropylsiloxane (PMTFPS) is insufficient to attain this end. PMTFPS is of comparable surface energy to polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), with similar uses that particularly exploit its solvent resistance characteristics. An exciting trend in fluorosiloxanes is the increasing interest in materials with a higher degree of fluorination than PMTFPS. These polymers have lower surface energies than PDMS with potential for a variety of PDMS surface modification and novel coating applications.
OpenTor: Anonymity as a Commodity Service

Despite the growth of the Internet and the increasing concern for privacy of online communications, current deployments of anonymization networks depends on a very small set of nodes that volunteer their bandwidth. We believe that the main reason is not disbelief in their ability to protect anonymity, but rather the practical limitations in bandwidth and latency that stem from limited participation. This limited participation, in turn, is due to a lack of incentives. We propose providing economic incentives, which historically have worked very well. In this technical report, we demonstrate a payment scheme that can be used to compensate nodes which provide anonymity in Tor, an existing onion routing, anonymizing network. We show that current anonymous payment schemes are not suitable and introduce a hybrid payment system based on a combination of the Peppercoin Micropayment system and a new type of “one use” electronic cash. Our system claims to maintain users’ anonymity, although payment techniques mentioned previously — when adopted individually — provably fail.
Privatization and the Effectiveness of Monitoring Agencies

The privatization literature depicts the choice whether to contract out as a tradeoff between excessive private investment in quality-reducing cost saving and inadequate public investment in cost-increasing quality improvement, under circumstances where neither the amount of investment nor the cost or quality outcomes are contractible. This paper shows that a monitoring regime, which can verify the benefit of the service at a cost, can bring the investment levels of the private contractor closer to the optimum, while it may not be able to improve the performance of the public sector. Monitors can be captured, and the possibility of capture may decrease social welfare. Social welfare losses due to the possibility of capture may be greater in the case of public provision: The agencies that decide whether to privatize and the agencies that monitor service providers are often identical to, or closely related with, the agencies that actually provide the service if it is kept in-house. Therefore, privatization decisionmakers and monitoring agencies may be more prone to capture when the service is public. Therefore, efficiency may counsel in favor of a purchaser-provider split and a monitor-provider split.
High-level expression of the FtsA protein inhibits cell septation in Escherichia coli K-12.

Abstract DNA fragments encoding the ftsA gene were subcloned into plasmids downstream of a lac promoter or a tac promoter. These plasmid constructs, when transformed into wild-type and mutant strains, inhibited normal cell septation, causing the formation of long nonseptate filaments. This phenotype is due to overproduction of the FtsA protein.
C-Maf Cooperates With NFAT2 to Augment HIV-1 Transcription in IL-4 Producing CD4 T Cells

The human immunodeficiency virus, HIV-1, infects human CD4 T cells, including Th1 and Th2 helper cell subsets. The virus relies on host transcription factors, such as NFkB and NFAT for its transcription and expression. It has previously been shown that HIV-1 preferentially replicates in Th2 cells, but the mechanism of action for this finding remains unknown. c-maf is a Th2-restricted transcription factor that is critically important for differentiation along a Th2, but not Th1 lineage, and for transcription of the prototypic Th2 cytokine, IL-4. c-maf directly binds the proximal IL-4 promoter and acts synergistically with a neighboring NFAT site. We have demonstrated at the individual cell level that IL-4 positive cells (Th2) preferentially support HIV-1 replication compared to IFNg positive (Th1) cells. In studying the HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR)/promoter sequence, we identified a MARE (maf-recognition element) located just proximal (5') to the dual NFkB/NFAT binding sites. We show that the HIV-1 MARE binds recombinant maf protein and abuts NFAT binding as detected by DNase I in vitro footprinting. In addition, this HIV-1 MARE demonstrates identical mobility shifts compared to the IL-4 promoter MARE in gel-shift assays using nuclear extracts from activated primary human CD4 T cells. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation, we further show that c-maf binds to the HIV-1 LTR in vivo in HIV-1 infected primary human CD4 T cells. Although we have previously shown that both NFAT1 and NFAT2 are capable of transactivating the HIV-1 LTR, we now show for the first time preferential binding in vitro and in vivo of NFAT2 over NFAT1 to the HIV-1 LTR. By comparison, the more abundant NFAT1 family member preferentially binds to the IL-2 promoter. NFAT2 has previously been implicated in Th2 cytokine expression and appears to cooperate with c-maf in binding to the HIV-1 LTR. Functionally, over-expression of cmaf in primary human CD4 T cells cooperatively increases HIV-1 transcription when co-expressed with NFAT1 and 2, and silencing endogenous c-maf expression in primed human CD4 T cells decreases viral transcription. Similarly, over-expression of c-maf alone, or with NFAT1 or 2, increases HIV-1 replication, as measured by intracellular p24/gag expression, in CD4 T cells co-expressing GFP but not in GFP negative/c-maf-negative controls within the same transfected population. Lastly, depletion of c-maf expression by siRNA in primed and HIV-1 infected CD4 T cells decreases p24/gag expression. In summary, the Th2specific transcription factor, c-maf, binds the HIV-1 promoter in cooperation with NFAT transcription factors, primarily NFAT2, to augment HIV-1 transcription and replication in primary human CD4 T cells. These are the first data to mechanistically explain preferential HIV-1 transcription in IL-4 producing (Th2) cells. from 2005 International Meeting of The Institute of Human Virology Baltimore, USA, 29 August – 2 September 2005
Estimation of Turbulent Energy Dissipation Using Available Transfer Theories

In trying to explain this discrepancy, it was noted (see Ref. 15 for details) that most of the data considered in Ref. 6 was either in the core or just downstream of the core region. Asymptotic decay exponents cannot be meaningfully defined in the transition region where m ranges from zero, just at the end of the core, to some finite value further downstream; therefore, values of m obtained from data for this region cannot be interpreted as meaningful asymptotic decay exponents. Estimation of Turbulent Energy Dissipation Using Available Transfer Theories
Comparative Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness of Current CRC Screening Modalities

Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening has been credited with more than a 50 % reduction in CRC mortality over the past 30 years. We now have multiple CRC screening tests. In this chapter, we discuss how to compare different CRC screening tests with respect to effectiveness, comparative effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness. Donabedian initiated the issue of quality of health care in 1992 to include the issues of effectiveness, optimality in balancing resources against health-care gains, and the acceptability to the patient of performing different screening tests. The multisociety CRC screening guidelines of 1997 included the blueprint for how to compare different CRC screening tests and how to include new CRC screening tests in recommendations to those already established. This chapter provides examples of these comparisons and is meant to be a guide to a clinician as to pertinent aspects of comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analyses. Examples in this chapter discuss how comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness analyses are informative in addressing the clinical question of the balance in risk and benefits, and with regard to the age to stop screening depending on to the comorbidities of their patients. Given the large impact that CRC screening can have to reduce CRC mortality, it is imperative that we continue to assess what are the CRC screening options and strategies that can provide the greatest impact for the population and most efficiently use our medical resources.
Two-stage fungal biopulping for improved enzymatic hydrolysis of wood.

Abstract A novel two-stage, whole organism fungal biopulping method was examined for increasing the yield of enzymatic hydrolysis of wood into soluble glucose. Liriodendron tulipifera wood chips (1 g) were exposed to liquid culture suspensions of white rot (Ceriporiopsis subvermispora) or brown rot (Postia placenta) fungi and incubated at 28 °C, either alone in single-stage 30 day (one fungal species applied) or two-stage 60 day (both fungal species applied in alternative succession) treatments. Fungi grew in all treatments, but did not significantly decrease the percent carbohydrate content of the wood. Two-stage treatments differed significantly in mass loss depending on order of exposure, suggesting additive or inhibitory fungal interactions occurred. Treatments consisting of C. subvermispora followed by P. placenta exhibited 6 ± 0.5% mass loss and increased the yield of enzymatic hydrolysis by 67–119%. This significant hydrolysis improvement suggests that fungal biopulping technologies could support commercial lignocellulosic ethanol production efforts if further developed.
Thiourea as a House Fly Larvicide in Caged Laying Hen Manure: Topical and Feed-Through Administration

Abstract Thiourea was evaluated as a housefly larvicide. In feed-through experiments, thiourea was incorporated into laying hen diets at levels of 0, 375, 750, 1,125, 1,500, or 1,875 mg/kg. Leghorn hens were fed these diets and the resulting manure samples were inoculated with 100 house fly eggs and incubated. No adult house flies emerged from any of the manure samples from hens fed thiourea whereas an average of 45 adults/sample emerged from that of untreated controls. In the second experiment these diets were fed to laying hens for 37 wk to study effects of thiourea on laying hen performance. There was a significant reduction (P In topical application experiments, manure produced by laying hens was treated each week for 6 wk with thiourea at levels of 375, 770, 1,540, 3,850, or 7,700 mg/hen. Only one adult house fly emerged from any of the manure samples taken from the thiourea treatments; however, an average of 8 adults/sample emerged from the nontreated manure samples. Leghorn laying hens were then placed within fly-tight enclosures and their manure was treated each week with thiourea levels of 80, 160, 240, 320, 480, 640, or 1,280 mg/hen. Adult house flies were released into the enclosures throughout the experiment. No adult house flies emerged from samples of manure treated with thiourea levels of 240 mg/hen or greater. An average of 165 house flies/sample emerged from the nontreated manure.
It’s Nothing Personal: The Decline of the Incumbency Advantage in US House Elections

With little fanfare, the electoral advantage enjoyed by US representatives has fallen over the past several elections to levels not seen since the 1950s. The incumbency advantage has diminished in conjunction with an increase in party loyalty, straight-ticket voting, and president-centered electoral nationalization, products of the widening and increasingly coherent partisan divisions in the American electorate. Consequently, House incumbents now have a much harder time retaining districts that lean toward the rival party. Democrats had been the main beneficiaries of the denationalization of electoral politics that had enabled the incumbency advantage to grow, and they have thus been the main victims of the reemergence of a more party-centered electoral process. Republicans enjoy a long-standing structural advantage in the distribution of partisans across districts, so this trend has strengthened their grip on the House even as they have become less competitive in contests for the presidency.
On the construction of codimension two minimal immersions of exotic spheres into Euclidean spheres

It is, nowadays, a well-known fundamental fact in differential topology that there exist many smooth manifolds which are homeomorphic to but non-diffeomorphic to spheres. Such manifolds were christened exotic spheres by their founder, Milnor [223. The structures of those exotic spheres which bound some parallelizable manifolds were systematically analyzed by the techniques of surgery in [20]. For example, it is not difficult to show that such exotic spheres can be embedded as codimension two submanifolds of the unit spheres. In differential geometry and geometric variational theory, the study of closed minimal submanifolds of the euclidean n-sphere, S"(1), is directly related to that of the local structure of singularities of minimal subvarieties in the general Riemannian setting. Therefore, closed minimal submanifolds of S"(1) are not only interesting, nice, geometric objects by themselves, but are also of general theoretical importance in the study of geometric measure theory [16, 18, 24]. Among various problems on the closed minimal submanifolds of euclidean spheres, the following two problems naturally distinguish themselves as especially interesting, namely:
A clinical investigation of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and upper airway resistance syndrome (UARS) patients.

Objective: (i) Evaluation of the clinical differences and similarities presented by patients diagnosed as OSAS and UARS subjects. (ii) Evaluation of the ability of a sleep disorders specialist to dissociate the two syndromes based upon clinical evaluation.Population: 314 subjects were included. They were referred to a sleep disorders clinic with complaints of loud snoring during a 3 month period.Method: The evaluation consisted of: (i) Clinical interview and evaluation. (ii) Administration of validated questionnaires (Sleep Disorders Questionnaire and Epworth Sleepiness Scale). (iii) Establishment of clinical diagnostic and results of polygraphic recording.Results: After clinical evaluation and polygraphic recordings (performed within 3 weeks of initial evaluation) patients were subdivided into two groups: 176 OSAS and 128 UARS. The misclassification of patients by specialists correlated with body mass index (BMI) measurement, with an over classification of patient as OSAS when a high BMI was noted and vice-versa for UARS. The only significant difference between OSAS and UARS patients was an older age and a wider neck circumference in the OSAS group than in UARS patients.Conclusion: Clinical presentation including daytime sleepiness complaint and ESS score is similar for patients with and without drop of oxygen saturation below 90% during sleep. There was always a male predominance within both syndromes, but more women were diagnosed with UARS than with OSAS.
A programmable beam shaping system for tailoring the profile of high fluence laser beams

Customized spatial light modulators have been designed and fabricated for use as precision beam shaping devices in fusion class laser systems. By inserting this device in a low-fluence relay plane upstream of the amplifier chain, "blocker" obscurations can be programmed into the beam profile to shadow small isolated flaws on downstream optical components that might otherwise limit the system operating energy. In this two stage system, 1920 × 1080 bitmap images are first imprinted on incoherent, 470 nm address beams via pixelated liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) modulators. To realize defined masking functions with smooth apodized shapes and no pixelization artifacts, address beam images are projected onto custom fabricated optically-addressable light valves. Each valve consists of a large, single pixel liquid cell in series with a photoconductive Bismuth silicon Oxide (BSO) crystal. The BSO crystal enables bright and dark regions of the address image to locally control the voltage supplied to the liquid crystal layer which in turn modulates the amplitude of the coherent beams at 1053 nm. Valves as large as 24 mm × 36 mm have been fabricated with low wavefront distortion ( 90%) and etalon suppression to avoid spectral and temporal ripple. This device in combination with a flaw inspection system and optic registration strategy represents a new approach for extending the operational lifetime of high fluence laser optics.
Next Up Downtown: A New Generation of Ensemble Performance

The work of seven up-and-coming performance companies—Hotel Savant, Temporary Distortion, New Paradise Laboratories, Knife, Inc., Ex.Pgirl, Witness Relocation, and Banana Bag & Bodice—explores intermediality, transnationalism, and political affect. All emphasize the continued dominance of networked, spatialized storytelling.
Glutathione S-Transferase P1 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Predicts Permanent Ototoxicity in Children with Medulloblastoma

Background Glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzymes are involved in detoxifying chemotherapy and clearing reactive oxygen species formed by radiation. We explored the relationship between the host GSTP1 105 A>G polymorphism (rs1695), tumor GSTpi protein expression, and clinical outcomes in pediatric medulloblastoma. We hypothesized that the GSTP1 105 G-allele and increased tumor GSTpi expression would be associated with lower progression-free survival and fewer adverse events.
Photosynthetic properties of the extreme thermophile synechococcus lividus—II. Stoichiometry between oxygen evolution and CO2 assimilation

Abstract 1. 1.|The rates of O 2 evolution and CO 2 assimilation during short incubation periods at temperatures from 55 to 73°C were determined in a characterization of the photosynthetic properties of the extreme thermophile Synechococcus lividus . 2. 2.|White light-saturation curves of O 2 evolution and CO 2 assimilation show both light-limited and light-saturated photosynthetic quotients ( PQ = ( mmoles ) O 2 evolved/moles CO 2 assimilated) that minimally range from 1.6 at 65°C to 2.0 at 70°C, and to greater than 3.0 at 73°C. This stoichiometric imbalance requires a stable or semi-stable electron sink alternate to CO 2 for the reducing equivalents generated in the photodehydrogenation of water. 3. 3.|NO 3 − and SO 4 2− ions apparently could function as alternate electron acceptors in that both ions, exogenously supplied, reduced the rates of CO 2 assimilation but not of O 2 evolution at 55, 65 and 70°C. However, neither NO 3 − nor SO 4 2− affected the rate of CO 2 assimilation at 73°C and the stoichiometric imbalance remained high in the presumed absence of these ions. Therefore, uncontrolled NO 3 − or SO 4 2− reduction did not appear to be the cause of the high stoichiometries.
Bergmann’s dilemma: exit strategies for internalists

Michael Bergmann claims that all versions of epistemic internalism face an irresolvable dilemma. We show that there are many plausible versions of internalism that falsify this claim. First, we demonstrate that there are versions of “weak awareness internalism” that, contra Bergmann, do not succumb to the “Subject’s Perspective Objection” horn of the dilemma. Second, we show that there are versions of “strong awareness internalism” that do not fall prey to the dilemma’s “vicious regress” horn. We note along the way that these versions of internalism do not, in avoiding one horn of the dilemma, succumb to the dilemma’s other horn. The upshot is that internalists have many available strategies for avoiding dilemmatic defeat.
Neuropathology of Bovine β-Mannosidosis

beta-Mannosidosis, an inherited defect of glycoprotein catabolism previously identified in goats and humans, has been recently diagnosed in Salers cattle. This disorder is associated with deficiency of lysosomal beta-mannosidase and accumulation of oligosaccharides. Analysis of bovine beta-mannosidosis neuropathology was initiated to determine whether independently arising gene defects in cattle and goats result in expression of similar lesions. Brain, spinal cord, and selected peripheral nerves from seven affected newborn Salers calves and three normal newborn calves were available for gross, light microscopic, and electron microscopic analysis. Gross examination revealed hydrocephalus of variable severity and myelin deficiency in the cerebral hemispheres, cerebellum, and brainstem. Microscopic examination revealed cytoplasmic vacuolation, myelin deficiency, and axonal spheroids of similar type and distribution to that reported in affected goats. Cytoplasmic vacuolation resulting from lysosomal storage showed consistent variation among cell types. Myelin deficits were more severe in the cerebral hemispheres and cerebellum than in the spinal cord. Axonal spheroids occurred in the cerebrum, brainstem, cerebellum, and trigeminal nerve endings. The presence of similar lesions in bovine and caprine beta-mannosidosis supports a direct relationship with the gene defect.
The use of reduced-size liver transplants in children, including split livers and living related liver transplants

One of the key problems facing children awaiting liver transplantation is the shortage of donor organs. Surgical procedures that address this problem include: reduced-size liver transplantation (RLT), split liver transplantation (SLT), and living related liver transplantation (LRLT). RLT makes more of the current donor pool accessible to the pediatric recipient. SLT furnishes 2 liver grafts from 1 cadaveric donor, and LRLT provides an innovative supply of donor organs. This report compares the results achieved with RLT, SLT, and LRLT to those seen with full-size orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Between November 1984 and February 1991, 457 liver transplants were performed at the University of Chicago. Two hundred fourteen of these transplants were placed into recipients less than 13 years of age. Of these 214 pediatric orthotopic liver transplants (OLT), 103 were full-size livers and 111 were some type of reduced graft (RLT, SLT, or LRLT). There were 57 RLT, 34 SLT, and 20 LRLT. The recipients of the reduced grafts (RLT, SLT, or LRLT) averaged 1.9 +/- 1.8 years of age and 9.6 +/- 6.4 kg compared to the recipients of the full-size livers who averaged 3.5 +/- 3.4 years of age and 14.1 +/- 8.8 kg (p = 0.0001). The most common indication for transplantation was biliary atresia (105 patients). Overall patient survival after primary full-size OLT was 71.8%. Reduced-size OLT (RLT, SLT, and LRLT) resulted in an overall patient survival of 72.6% after primary transplantation. Patient survivals for primary transplants with specific types of reduced-size grafts were: RLT 76.5% (after RLT was used routinely), SLT 66.7%, and LRLT 89.5%.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)