cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Hybrid flow shop batching and scheduling with a bi-criteria objective

Abstract This paper addresses the hybrid flow shop batching and scheduling problem where sequence-dependent family setup times are present and the objective is to simultaneously minimize the weighted sum of the total weighted completion time and total weighted tardiness. In particular, it disregards the group technology assumptions by allowing for the possibility of splitting pre-determined groups of jobs into inconsistent batches in order to improve the operational efficiency. A benchmark of small size problems is considered to show the benefits of batching on group scheduling. Since the problem is strongly NP-hard, several algorithms based upon tabu search are developed at three levels, which move back and forth between batching and scheduling phases. Two algorithms incorporate tabu search into the framework of path-relinking to exploit the information on good solutions. These tabu search/path-relinking algorithms comprise several distinguishing features including two relinking procedures to effectively construct paths and the stage-based improvement procedure to consider the move interdependency. The best tabu search algorithm as a local search algorithm is compared to a population-based algorithm, and the superiority of the former over the latter is shown using a statistical experiment. The initial solution finding mechanism is implemented to trigger the search into the solution space. The efficiency and effectiveness of the best algorithm is verified with the help of the results found by CPLEX. The results show that the best algorithm, based on tabu search/path relinking and the stage-based improvement procedure, could find solutions at least as good as CPLEX, but in drastically shorter computational time. In order to reflect the real industry requirements, dynamic machine availability times, dynamic job release times, machine eligibility and machine capability for processing jobs, desired lower bounds on batch sizes, and job skipping are considered.
Diagnostic reference levels of paediatric computed tomography examinations performed at a dedicated Australian paediatric hospital

Introduction Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRL) of procedures involving ionizing radiation are important tools to optimizing radiation doses delivered to patients and in identifying cases where the levels of doses are unusually high. This is particularly important for paediatric patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) examinations as these examinations are associated with relatively high-dose. Methods Paediatric CT studies, performed at our institution from January 2010 to March 2014, have been retrospectively analysed to determine the 75th and 95th percentiles of both the volume computed tomography dose index (CTDIvol ) and dose-length product (DLP) for the most commonly performed studies to: establish local diagnostic reference levels for paediatric computed tomography examinations performed at our institution, benchmark our DRL with national and international published paediatric values, and determine the compliance of CT radiographer with established protocols. Results The derived local 75th percentile DRL have been found to be acceptable when compared with those published by the Australian National Radiation Dose Register and two national children's hospitals, and at the international level with the National Reference Doses for the UK. The 95th percentiles of CTDIvol for the various CT examinations have been found to be acceptable values for the CT scanner Dose-Check Notification. Benchmarking CT radiographers shows that they follow the set protocols for the various examinations without significant variations in the machine setting factors. Conclusion The derivation of DRL has given us the tool to evaluate and improve the performance of our CT service by improved compliance and a reduction in radiation dose to our paediatric patients. We have also been able to benchmark our performance with similar national and international institutions.
Higher Symmetries in Lower-Dimensional Models

Symmetries of physical theories aid in model building by limiting available options, illuminate the structure of the model and assist in finding solutions. The adjective “higher” refers to unusual and unexpected symmetries that may be operative, for example the infinite conformal symmetry found in various two-dimensionsal theories. Here we discuss symmetries of several (2 + 1)-dimensional and (1 + 1)-dimensional field theories. The former arise in planar physics and also as effective descriptions of four-dimensional dynamics in the eikonal limit. The latter are scalar-tensor gravity theories, which have been the focus of research for some time, most recently as toy models for quantum black holes.
Estado y colonialidad. Mujeres y familias quichuas de la Sierra del Ecuador, 1925-1975 de Mercedes Prieto

Review of Estado y colonialidad. Mujeres y familias quichuas de la Sierra del Ecuador, 1925-1975
Lambda Calculus with Constrained Types (Extended Abstract)

Motivated by domain equations, we consider types satisfying arbitrary equational constraints thus generalizing a range of situations with the finitely typed case at one extreme and the type-free case at the other. The abstract model theory of the β η type-free case is generalized. We investigate the relation between lambda calculus with constrained types and cartesian closed categories (cccs) at proof-theoretic and model-theoretic levels. We find an adjoint equivalence between the category of typed λ-algebras and that of cccs. The subcategories of typed λ-models and concrete cccs correspond to each other under this equivalence. All these results are parameterized by an arbitrary set of higher-order constants and an arbitrary set of higher-order equations.
Predicting and Reducing Driving Mishaps Among Drivers With Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE Two aims of this study were to develop and validate A) a metric to identify drivers with type 1 diabetes at high risk of future driving mishaps and B) an online intervention to reduce mishaps among high-risk drivers. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS To achieve aim A, in study 1, 371 drivers with type 1 diabetes from three U.S. regions completed a series of established questionnaires about diabetes and driving. They recorded their driving mishaps over the next 12 months. Questionnaire items that uniquely discriminated drivers who did and did not have subsequent driving mishaps were assembled into the Risk Assessment of Diabetic Drivers (RADD) scale. In study 2, 1,737 drivers with type 1 diabetes from all 50 states completed the RADD online. Among these, 118 low-risk (LR) and 372 high-risk (HR) drivers qualified for and consented to participate in a 2-month treatment period followed by 12 monthly recordings of driving mishaps. To address aim B, HR participants were randomized to receive either routine care (RC) or the online intervention “DiabetesDriving.com” (DD.com). Half of the DD.com participants received a motivational interview (MI) at the beginning and end of the treatment period to boost participation and efficacy. All of the LR participants were assigned to RC. In both studies, the primary outcome variable was driving mishaps. RESULTS Related to aim A, in study 1, the RADD demonstrated 61% sensitivity and 75% specificity. Participants in the upper third of the RADD distribution (HR), compared with those in the lower third (LR), reported 3.03 vs. 0.87 mishaps/driver/year, respectively (P CONCLUSIONS The RADD identified higher-risk drivers, and identification seemed relatively stable across time, samples, and procedures. This 11-item questionnaire could inform patients at higher risk, and their clinicians, that they should take preventive steps to reduce driving mishaps, which was accomplished in aim B using DD.com.
Anti-Hermitian metafilm-based photodetector for efficient subwavelength photon-sorting

A metafilm-based photodetector is presented that affords spatial sorting of photons of different wavelengths below the free-space diffraction limit and extraction of useful photocurrent. An optimization of the metafilm leads to near-unity absorption and chipscale, anti-Hermitian optical coupling between the metafilm elements facilitates a narrow spectral response (∼ 30 nm) for the different wavelength channels.
P3.68 Disparity among ethnic race groups in sexual transmitted infection for lifestyle variables of male and female active duty military personnel

Introduction Despite the evolution in STI prevention strategies, US racial and ethnic minority populations continue to share a disproportionate burden of disease. Race and ethnicity are frequently correlated with other determinants of health status such as poverty, income inequality, unemployment, and educational attainment. However, differences among race groups in prevalence of STI for levels of lifestyle have not been evaluated for the US military, where these determents of health may be less influential. We analysed data from the 2008 Survey of Health-Related Behaviours (SHRB) among US military personnel to determine racial differences in STI rates and associations with other lifestyle risks behaviours. Methods Our analysis of the 2008 SHRB included data from 28,546 US military personnel. STIs were dichotomized as ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if self-report as ‘ever’ or ‘in the last 12 months’. Demographic variables, regular exercise, tobacco use, alcohol use, other lifestyle variables were considered. Weighted binary logistic regression model, and Bonferroni adjustment for pairwise comparison were used. Results Significant differences were found in proportions of reporting STI in African American (24%) Hispanic (12%) White (10%) and other (9%) racial groups within the military. For males, higher significant STI prevalence rates were found in blacks versus any of other 3 race groups separately for each level of regular exercise, tobacco use and alcohol use respectively. However, similar results were not applicable to females. Conclusion Despite universal access to healthcare, standardised income and required educational attainment, differences in STI rates by ethnicity were maintained among those in military service. In addition, STI risk in some racial groups was higher at all levels of other lifestyle risks suggesting that risk taking behaviour beyond STI risk is variable by ethnicity. Population health programs target to risk reduction should address ethnicity beyond the historical confounders of income, educational attainment, and educational attainment. Disclosure of Interest Statement: The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views, assertions, opinions or policies of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS ), the Department of Defense (DoD), or the Departments of the Army, Navy, or Air Force. Mention of trade names, commercial products, or organisations does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government
De la investigación no clínica a los ensayos y registros clínicos: retos y oportunidades en la investigación biomédica

Resumen El mayor reto que afronta el ser humano es la preservacion de la salud. La unica via para generar mejores soluciones a los problemas de salud es la innovacion, la verdadera innovacion. La unica fuente de autentica innovacion es la investigacion, la investigacion de calidad. El trayecto desde un estudio de investigacion basica a un ensayo clinico aleatorizado es largo y no esta libre de «baches» e incluso «minas». Estos son los obstaculos y las barreras que limitan la disponibilidad de recursos, dificultan el proceso administrativo-regulatorio y constrinen las iniciativas de los investigadores. Asistimos a una creciente demanda de evidencia que guie la practica clinica, pero paradojicamente acometer investigacion biomedica se hace cada vez mas complejo, caro y dificil de integrar a la practica clinica, por el aumento de las barreras a la realizacion de los aspectos practicos de la investigacion. Nos enfrentamos al reto de aumentar el volumen de la investigacion biomedica y al mismo tiempo mejorar su eficiencia y sus resultados. Este articulo revisa las diferentes etapas y modalidades de la investigacion biomedica, desde los estudios no clinicos en modelos animales o computacionales a los ensayos aleatorizados y registros clinicos, centrandose en las limitaciones y los retos a los que se enfrentan, pero tambien aportando soluciones y alternativas que pueden ayudar a superarlos. Afortunadamente, los retos son siempre oportunidades disfrazadas.
Concerning the monotone convergence of the method of tangent hyperbolas

We provide sufficent conditions for the monotone convergence of a Chebysheff-Halley-type method or method of tangent hyperbolas in a partially ordered topological space setting. The famous Kantorovich theorem on fixed points is used here.
Decolonial strategies in world politics: C.L.R. James and the writing and playing of cricket

Discussions of decolonizing world politics have flourished in international studies recently but few of these engage with popular culture, especially sports. In this paper, I address this gap and c...
Stem Cell Therapies for the Treatment of Spinal Cord Injuries: Current Progress in Basic Science and Clinical Research

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating condition affecting an estimated 1,275,000 Americans at a cost of over 40 billion dollars each year. The main causes of SCI are automobile accidents, falls, other accidents, and violence such as gunshot or stab wounds. Depending on the precise location and severity of the insult, patients experience a range of motor, sensory, and autonomic impairments resulting either from disruption of ascending and descending axonal tracts or damage to the local neuronal circuitry at the injury site. Although much effort has been dedicated to the development of treatments and cures for this condition, to date, there is no effective way to reinstate motor, sensory, or autonomic functions. The burgeoning field of stem cell research has offered exciting new possibilities for the treatment of SCI, but little success has been realized in the limited clinical trials that have been performed thus far. The following chapter will review the cellular consequences of SCI, the efforts made to counteract these consequences by non-stem cell approaches, the stem cell-based strategies currently being investigated in preclinical studies, and the current state of clinical stem cell trials on patients suffering from SCI.
Postmortem Austerity and Entitlement Reform

This Essay proposes a novel policy of "postmortem austerity" to address the unsustainable, rapidly escalating cost of federal entitlement programs following the 2017 tax reforms. If Social Security and Medicare continue on their current path to insolvency, then they will eventually require austerity reforms absent a politically unpopular tax increase. This Essay argues that, if austerity becomes necessary, federal entitlement reforms should be implemented progressively in a manner that minimizes displacement of benefits on which individuals relied when saving for old age. A policy of postmortem austerity would establish new eligibility criteria for Social Security and Medicare that postpone the effective date and economic consequences of benefit ineligibility until after death. All individuals would continue to collect federal entitlements during life, but at death, wealthy decedents would be deemed retroactively disqualified from part or all of Social Security and Medicare benefits received during life. The estates of such decedents would then be liable for repayment of disqualified benefits.
Clinical Features and Therapeutic Outcomes in Men with Advanced Prostate Cancer and DNA Mismatch Repair Gene Mutations

Mismatch repair (MMR) gene mutations are rare in prostate cancer, and their histological and clinical characteristics are largely unknown. We conducted a retrospective study to explore disease characteristics and treatment outcomes of men with metastatic prostate cancer harboring germline and/or somatic MMR mutations detected using clinical-grade genomic assays. Thirteen patients with a deleterious MMR gene mutation were identified. Median age was 64 yr, 75% had grade group 5 (Gleason sum 9 or 10), 23% had intraductal histology, 46% had metastatic disease at initial diagnosis, and 31% had visceral metastases. Most patients (46%) had MSH6 mutations, 73% demonstrated microsatellite instability, and median tumor mutational load was 18/Mb (range, 3-165 mutations/Mb). Surprisingly, responses to standard hormonal therapies were very durable (median progression-free survival [PFS] of 67 mo to initial androgen deprivation and median PFS of 26 mo to abiraterone/enzalutamide). Two of four men receiving PD-1 inhibitors achieved a ≥50% prostate-specific antigen response at 12 wk, with a median PFS duration in these four men of 9 mo. Despite aggressive clinical and pathological features, patients with MMR-mutated advanced prostate cancer appear to have particular sensitivity to hormonal therapies, as well as anecdotal responses to PD-1 inhibitors. Certain histological features (grade group 5, intraductal carcinoma) should prompt evaluation for MMR deficiency. These data are only hypothesis generating. PATIENT SUMMARY: Prostate cancers with mismatch repair gene mutations have aggressive clinical and pathological features; however, these are very sensitive to standard and novel hormonal therapies, and also demonstrate anecdotal sensitivity to PD-1 inhibitors such as pembrolizumab.
Diet patterns and the incidence of age-related macular degeneration in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.

Background Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of irreversible vision loss among the elderly. Objective This study aimed to determine the association between dietary patterns and food groups (used to make them) with the 18-year incidence of AMD. Methods ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) participants who showed change in AMD lesions between retinal photographs taken at visit 3 and visit 5 were graded side by side to determine incident AMD (any=144; early=117; late=27). A 66-line item food frequency questionnaire, administered at visit 1 and visit 3, was used to identify 29 food groups. Principal component analysis was used to derive dietary patterns from average food group servings. Logistic regression was used to estimate ORs and 95% CIs for incident AMD (any, early and late) by tertiles of dietary pattern scores, adjusted for age, race, education, total calories and smoking status. P-trend was estimated using continuous scores. Results Western (unhealthy) and Prudent (healthy) dietary patterns were identified. No significant associations were observed between either dietary pattern and incident any or incident early AMD. However, a threefold higher incidence of late AMD was observed among participants with a Western pattern score above, as compared with below, the median (OR=3.44 (95% CI 1.33 to 8.87), p-trend=0.014). The risk of developing late AMD was decreased, but not statistically significant, among participants with a Prudent pattern score above, as compared with below, the median (OR=0.51 (95% CI 0.22 to 1.18), p-trend=0.054). Conclusions Diet patterns were not significantly associated with incident any or incident early AMD. However, consumption of a Western pattern diet may be a risk factor for development of late AMD.
Africaterphis, a new genus for the African species of Terphis; and a redescription of the Brazilian genus Terphis Erichson (Diptera: Acroceridae)

A new genus, Africaterphis, is descriptionbed for two African species, acroceroides Sabrosky (type species) and gertschi Schlinger, previously placed in Terphis Erichson. Terphis is redescriptionbed on new material of its type and now sole included species, nodosa Erichson, from Brazil.
Insomnia symptoms, nightmares, and suicidal ideation in a college student sample.

Study objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate whether insomnia symptoms and nightmares are related to suicidal ideation independent of one another and independent of the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Design The study consisted of questionnaires examining insomnia symptoms and nightmares, and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and PTSD. The questionnaires were administered online. Setting University. Patients or participants 583 undergraduate students at a large, public university in southeastern United States. Interventions N/A. Measurements and results Results indicated that both nightmares and insomnia symptoms were related to suicidal ideation, independent of one another. Nightmares, but not insomnia symptoms, were related to suicidal ideation after controlling for the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Conclusions Nightmares may be more than a marker of PTSD and hence may be important in the identification of suicidal ideation.
Transgenic chicken/poultry birds: serving us for survival

Abstract Avian transgenesis has been considered as a useful tool for many purposes including improvement of the poultry industry, production of recombinant proteins and developmental biology. Due to the importance of the poultry industry in human nutrition, many efforts have been made for the improvement of the poultry industry in the aspect of egg and meat production for higher quantity or quality. After the development of transgenic technology the idea of transgenic poultry was raised for the application of this technology in the poultry industry. Due to the important role of recombinant proteins and humanized antibodies for medical and diagnostic purposes, mass production of these biological macromolecules is very important in human health. Development of transgenic technology in poultry science possibly helps to improve the efficiency of poultry industry productions and it may cause the development of different branches of avian industry with novel productions.
Pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma: Clinical associations, treatment, and outcomes.

751Background: Pancreatic adenosquamous carcinomas (PASC) are rare malignancies, with limited evidence regarding best treatment options. The Mayo Clinic Pancreatic Cancer SPORE Registry was utilize...
Shane Godbolt, 1943–2019

Shane Godbolt, retired director of Partnerships in Health Information (PHI), died in her London home on November 24, 2019, surrounded by her family. Shane was a true partner to so many medical librarians to further the cause of international librarianship. Through her work in international librarianship, she made the world a better place.
Evolving Ensembles of Spiking Neural Networks for Neuromorphic Systems

Evolutionary algorithms have been proposed as a solution to overcome many of the challenges associated with training spiking neural networks. While evolutionary optimization for spiking neural networks is very flexible, its performance has difficulty scaling to complex tasks and correspondingly complex network structures. Here we propose a method for evolving ensembles of spiking neural networks. By using ensemble learning, the flexibility of evolutionary optimization is fully preserved while scaling to more challenging tasks. We test the performance of the proposed method using handwritten digit classification. We investigate multiple strategies for constructing ensembles of spiking neural networks, and demonstrate that evolving ensembles of SNNs offers significant performance advantages over evolutionary optimization.
Bioderived materials that disarm the gut mucosal immune system: Potential lessons from commensal microbiota.

Abstract Over the course of evolution, mammals and gut commensal microbes have adapted to coexist with each other. This homeostatic coexistence is dependent on an intricate balance between tolerogenic and inflammatory responses directed towards beneficial, commensal microbes and pathogenic intruders, respectively. Immune tolerance towards the gut microflora is largely sustained by immunomodulatory molecules produced by the commensals, which protect the bacteria from immune advances and maintain the gut's unique tolerogenic microenvironment, as well as systemic homeostasis. The identification and characterization of commensal-derived, tolerogenic molecules could lead to their utilization in biomaterials-inspired delivery schemes involving nano/microparticles or hydrogels, and potentially lead to the next generation of commensal-derived therapeutics. Moreover, gut-on-chip technologies could augment the discovery and characterization of influential commensals by providing realistic in vitro models conducive to finicky microbes. In this review, we provide an overview of the gut immune system, describe its intricate relationships with the microflora and identify major genera involved in maintaining tolerogenic responses and peripheral homeostasis. More relevant to biomaterials, we discuss commensal-derived molecules that are known to interface with immune cells and discuss potential strategies for their incorporation into biomaterial-based strategies aimed at culling inflammatory diseases. We hope this review will bridge the current findings in gut immunology, microbiology and biomaterials and spark further investigation into this emerging field. Statement of significance Despite its tremendous potential to culminate into revolutionary therapeutics, the synergy between immunology, microbiology, and biomaterials has only been explored at a superficial level. Strategic incorporation of biomaterial-based technologies may be necessary to fully characterize and capitalize on the rapidly growing repertoire of immunomodulatory molecules derived from commensal microbes. Bioengineers may be able to combine state-of-the-art delivery platforms with immunomodulatory cues from commensals to provide a more holistic approach to combating inflammatory disease. This interdisciplinary approach could potentiate a neoteric field of research - “commensal-inspired” therapeutics with the promise of revolutionizing the treatment of inflammatory disease.
Sleep duration, cognitive decline, and dementia risk in older women

Abstract Introduction Consistent evidence linking habitual sleep duration with risks of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia is lacking. Methods We conducted a prospective study on 7444 community-dwelling women (aged 65–80 y) with self-reported sleep duration, within the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study in 1995–2008. Incident MCI/dementia cases were ascertained by validated protocols. Cox models were used to adjust for multiple sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, depression, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and other clinical characteristics. Results We found a statistically significant ( P = .03) V-shaped association with a higher MCI/dementia risk in women with either short (≤6 hours/night) or long (≥8 hours/night) sleep duration (vs. 7 hours/night). The multicovariate-adjusted hazard for MCI/dementia was increased by 36% in short sleepers irrespective of CVD, and by 35% in long sleepers without CVD. A similar V-shaped association was found with cognitive decline. Discussion In older women, habitual sleep duration predicts the future risk for cognitive impairments including dementia, independent of vascular risk factors.
High Level Simulation Directed RTL Power Estimation

In this chapter, we present a high-level power estimation methodology, which is based on a high-level synthesis framework and supports sufficiently accurate power estimation of hardware designs at the high-level. For early and accurate power estimation, the proposed methodology utilizes RTL probabilistic power estimation technique controlled by the high-level simulation. Furthermore, our methodology does not require a designer to move to the traditional RTL power estimation methodology, thus facilitating easy and early power analysis and aiding the cause of adoption of high-level design practices in ASIC design flow. This chapter provides detailed description of our methodology including tools used, algorithm for extracting activity from high-level value change dump and finally mapping this information for RTL power estimation.
Resource Calculations with Constraints, and Placement of Tenants and Instances for Multi-tenant SaaS Applications

Cost of customization, deployment and operation of a software application supporting multiple tenants can be lowered through multi-tenancy in a new application business model called Software as a Service (SaaS). However, there are a number of technical challenges that need to be tackled before these benefits can be realized. These challenges include calculations of resource requirements for multi-tenants with applied constraints in a shared application instance, the optimal placement of tenants and instances with maximum cost savings but without violating any requirements of service level agreements for all tenants in a set of servers. Moreover, previously reported capacity planning and resource allocation methods and tools are not tenant aware. This paper will address and provide novel solutions to these challenges. We also describe the first of a kind, a multi-tenant placement tool for application deployment in a distributed computing environment.
Calibration Issues in the Search for Large-Scale Anisotropies in the 87 Green Bank and Parkes-Mit-Nrao Surveys

Until recently, there were no large scale radio surveys which were sensitive enough to have a sufficient number of sources to detect a dipole anisotropy. The 87 Green Bank (87GB) (Gregory and Condon, 1991) and Parkes-MIT-NRAO (PMN) (Griffith, 1993; Griffith et al., 1994, 1995; Wright et al., 1994) radio surveys are the first such efforts and are the most complete radio surveys to date. We would like to analyze the source counts in these surveys in order to test the isotropy of the sky distribution of extragalactic sources at cosmological redshifts. Of particular interest is a dipole anisotropy, which could arise from local motion with respect to the rest frame of extragalactic radio sources. Any detected anisotropy will give information about the source sky distribution at a redshift of z ∼ 1 (Condon, 1988), an epoch between the COBE observations at z ∼ 1000 and the local universe.
Imagining the Archive: Documenting GABRIELA Network an activist Filipina women’s organization

At the 2009 Thinking Gender Conference, I was not the only person struck with the feverish plague known as “archive fever.” As famously theorized by Jacques Derrida, the condition of archive fever makes us more alert to our compulsion to store the past and also, more importantly, to consider the relationship of the archive to the future.
Rhabdomyosarcoma of the middle ear: a wolf in sheep's clothing.

A 3-year-old boy with inflammatory granulation tissue in the ear canal and typanometric evidence of middle-ear effusion was examined. Subsequently, rhabdomyosarcoma of the middle ear was diagnosed. The insidious, deceptive presentation of this common pediatric tumor in an uncommon location is discussed with indication that early diagnosis and aggressive multimodal antitumor therapy seems to be improving the hitherto gloomy prognosis for these highly lethal middle-ear neoplasms.
Glioblastoma chemotherapy adjunct via potent serotonin receptor-7 inhibition using currently marketed high-affinity antipsychotic medicines

Glioblastoma treatment as now constituted offers increased survival measured in months over untreated patients. Because glioblastomas are active in synthesizing a bewildering variety of growth factors, a systematic approach to inhibiting these is being undertaken as treatment adjunct. The serotonin 7 receptor is commonly overexpressed in glioblastoma. Research documentation showing agonists at serotonin receptor 7 cause increased extracellular regulated kinase 1/2 activation, increased interleukin-6 synthesis, increased signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 activation, increased resistance to apoptosis and other growth enhancing changes in glioblastoma is reviewed in this paper. Because three drugs in wide use to treat thought disorders – paliperidone, pimozide and risperidone – are also potent and well-tolerated inhibitors at serotonin receptor 7, these drugs should be studied for growth factor deprivation in an adjunctive role in glioblastoma treatment.
Predominant Gram-Positive Bacteria in Human Feces: Numbers, Variety, and Persistence

The predominant gram-positive bacteria in 47 fecal specimens from 10 healthy men were studied by microscopic and cultural counts, by the characterization and tentative identification of isolates, and by the use of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated globulins prepared using some of the isolates. Gram-positive bacteria averaged 1010.5±0.4(sd/g (wet weight) of feces with significant variation from host to host. Characterization of 865 isolates, all strict anaerobes and carbohydrate fermenters, showed 12 to 39 distinguishable strains from each host and indicated that some strains were present the full period of about 18 months. Sixty percent of the isolates belonged to one of five types, tentatively identified with five species—Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Eubacterium aerofaciens, E. rectale, Peptostreptococcus productus, and Ruminococcus bromii. There was distinct host idiosyncrasy in the pattern of estimated counts of these five types. Certain strains resembling B. adolescentis, E. aerofaciens, and P. productus, distinguished with FITC conjugates, were resident in their hosts for many months. In direct smears each strain constituted about 1% of the total bacteria.
Blind deconvolution, information maximization and recursive filters

Starting from maximizing information flow through a nonlinear neuron Bell and Sejnowski (see Neural Computation, vol.7, no.6, p.1004-34, 1995) derived adaptation equations for blind deconvolution using an FIR filter. We derive a simpler form of the adaptation and apply it to more complex filter structures, such as recursive filters. As an application, we study blind echo cancellation for speech signals. We also present a method that avoids whitening the signals in the procedure.
Evolving treatment of popliteal artery aneurysms

Background Over the past decade, the treatment of popliteal aneurysms has evolved at our institution from sole operative intervention during the initial part of the study period, to combined surgical and endovascular treatment, and finally to endovascular-centered management in more recent years. Methods This is a retrospective review of all patients with popliteal aneurysms treated at our institution from 2001 to 2011. Data collection included the indication for intervention, treatment details, interventional patency, limb salvage, perioperative outcome, and midterm survival. Results Eighty-eight aneurysms (72 patients) were treated during this period. Indications for intervention included symptomatic presentations in 53% (n = 47) and asymptomatic in 47% (n = 41). Treatment included endovascular exclusion in 24, surgical repair in 63 (14 posterior approach and 49 medial approach with bypass and exclusion), and primary amputation in one patient. Nine aneurysms (10.2%) received catheter-directed thrombolysis. Demographics were similar between the two treatment cohorts, except for age with endovascular stenting patients being significantly older (76.0 vs 66.0 years; P = .002). The mean length of stay was 3.9 days vs 9.5 days ( P P = .26) and 3 years (63.7% vs 77.8%; P = .93). No limbs were lost in the endovascular group during the follow-up period of 22.4 months, and one late limb loss occurred in the surgical cohort (mean follow-up, 29.2 months). Endovascular patients had a midterm survival rate of 65% (mean follow-up, 33.9 months), whereas surgical patients experienced a survival rate of 80.8% (mean follow-up, 42.9 months; P = .22). Conclusions Endovascular treatment of popliteal aneurysms provides similar short-term patency to that of the traditional gold standard approach with surgical bypass, with shorter hospitalizations in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Further long-term follow-up is required to compare these two treatment modalities for durability to determine the optimal popliteal aneurysm management.
Relationships between plumage coloration, diet diversity, and winter body condition in the Lesser Goldfinch

Bright and colorful plumage is thought to be an honest signal of individual quality in birds because consuming high-quality forage results in more colorful plumage. To gain insight into the ecological and evolutionary context of the relationship between color, body condition, and diet, we studied a mostly urban population of Lesser Goldfinches (Spinus psaltria). We collected body measurements and digital photographs of plumage, as well as feathers and blood of goldfinches during three winters (2009–2012) in northern Nevada, USA. We analyzed the body tissues (feathers and blood) for stable isotope values of carbon and nitrogen to infer the diets of individual goldfinches, and quantified CIELAB color space values of chroma, brightness, and hue of plumage from the digital images. We then examined the relationships between color values and body condition, and color and stable isotope values. We found that the brightness (L* value) of the back plumage was correlated with both body condition and with stable isotope values of nitrogen (δ15N) in the winter diet. Furthermore, stable isotope analyses of both feathers and blood showed temporal differences in diet. However, hue and chroma, which are color values that are thought to more directly represent feather carotenoid content, were not related to body condition or diet. Our results suggest that the foraging ecology of Lesser Goldfinches changes over time, and that, in winter, plumage color values that are putatively indicative of carotenoid content do not seem to be an honest signal of individual quality as measured by body condition.
Language and Speech in Tourette Syndrome: Phenotype and Phenomenology

In this update we review our past publications on this topic and add new information on Tourette syndrome (TS) and speech and language disorders. The phenotype for TS is comprised of vocal and motor tics. The vocal tics are expressed as simple and complex, and in nearly all cases share the same neurolinguistic mechanisms of speech and language for insertion into speech and discourse. The tics are typically inserted into ongoing speech at pauses, points of change in inflection, and are typically without meaning. Adherence to segmental, lexical, and suprasegmental rules of linguistics suggest the role of tic selection; expression and elimination of tics involves multiple linguistic mechanisms which are poorly understood. TS increases the risk for clinically significant speech and language disorders.
Anterior cruciate ligament injury-prevention programs.

A good anterior cruciate ligament injury-prevention program should: ➤ Incorporate feedback on technique ➤ Be performed throughout the year ➤ Focus on flexibility, strengthening, and plyometrics. Language: en
Financial analysis can facilitate the MRI acquisition decision.

LYNNE M. BOGATAY WITH INCREASED PHYSICIAN DEMAND for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and expanding applications for this modality, many hospitals and medical groups will be considering the acquisition of MRI units. The hospital finance committee must first determine if this capital investment is a sound one for its institution. Second, it must weigh the costs of ownership with the costs of other options, such as leasing and joint ownership. The changing regulatory environment necessitates a judicious approach to capital bUdgeting for MRI units. The capital reimbursement formula under Medicare's Prospective Payment System (PPS) is cause to examine equipment expenditures more closely. Budgetary cuts under Gramm-Rudman are expected to reduce Medicare funding by 2 percent in 1988. The Tax Reform Act of 1986 will impact hospital equipment procurement as well. Provisions for tax-exempt financing of not-for-profit hospitals have been altered; tax rates and applicable tax credits have changed for proprietary hospitals. No longer will the prestige associated with owning a state-of-the-art diagnostic machine be sufficient justification for its purchase. The acquisition of an MRI unit must be warranted as a means of shortening hospital stays or reducing the need for other services (Freedman, Stephens, and Fisher 1984). Upon physician recommendation for the procurement of an MRI unit, an analysis must be undertaken to ascertain that the venture will be a sound one. The qualitative analysis for selection of an MRI unit involves determining the desired characteristics of the instrument, as well as establishing building design requirements for space, weight capacity, electrical power, and possible magnetic field interference (Freedman, Stephens, and Fisher 1984). The quantitative or financial analysis must demonstrate that patient volume will be sufficient to guarantee equipment utilization. Generated revenues must equal or exceed the costs incurred through the purchase and operation of the MRI unit. Many states require certificates of need for MRI unit purchases in order to regulate the number of units per area. This requirement must also be taken into consideration. The first step in the financial analysis is to identify the costs involved in an outright purchase of an MRI unit. The capital costs, including the magnet, the structure to house the unit, the radiofrequency shielding to protect the unit, and the cooling system, as well as the fixed and variable operating costs, must be enumerated (Freedman, Stephens, and Fisher 1984). The instrument cost and space requirements are dependent upon the type of MRI unit to be purchased: resistive, permanent, or superconductive. Another factor
Tissue-factor-endowed leukocytes do cause thrombosis.

In a series of complex and careful experiments involving wild-type mice and mice with low tissue factor (lTF), Day and colleagues conclude that mice with lTF subjected to artificial vascular lesions had decreased incidence of thrombosis when compared with wild-type mice.[1][1] Using bone marrow
Modulating the M2δ-to-ligand charge transfer transition by the use of diarylboron substituents.

From the reactions between the quadruply bonded complexes M2(TiPB)4, where M = Mo or W and TiPB = 2,4,6-triisopropylbenzoate, and the carboxylic acids HOOC–C6H4–4-B(mesityl)2, LH (2 equivalents) the complexes trans-M2(TiPB)2L2 have been prepared. The new compounds have been characterized by 1H NMR, MALDI-TOF MS, UV-Vis-NIR and steady-state emission spectroscopy, time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. These results are compared with the related properties of the benzoates, M2(TiPB)2(O2CPh)2 (prepared similarly) and with DFT calculations on model compounds where formate substitutes for TiPB. The new compounds M2(TiPB)2L2 are intensely colored in toluene or THF solutions: red (M = Mo) and green (M = W) and the introduction of the p-B(mesityl)2 group notably shifts these metal to ligand charge transfer transitions to lower energy in comparison to the benzoate complexes M2(TiPB)2(O2C–C6H5)2. Upon the addition of fluoride ions these intense absorptions are shifted to much higher energy in a reversible manner for M = Mo.
New internal optimal neurocontrol for a series FACTS device in a power transmission line

In this paper, the proportional-integral (PI) based conventional internal controller (CONVC) of a power electronic based series compensator in an electric power system, is replaced by a nonlinear optimal controller based on the dual heuristic programming (DHP) optimization algorithm. The performance of the CONVC is compared with that of the DHP controller with respect to damping low frequency oscillations. Simulation results using the PSCAD/EMTDC software package are presented.
The fitness consequences of plastic responses to adult sex ratio in a paternal care fish

Plastic behavioural strategies may help individuals maximize reproductive success in varying environments, but it cannot be assumed a priori that behavioural responses to environmental changes are adaptive. To quantify the fitness consequences of plastic behavioural strategies in a paternal care fish, we observed the intrasexually competitive and intersexually solicitous behaviours of male fantail darters, Etheostoma flabellare, under varying adult sex ratios (ASR) for six observational periods over the course of two full mating seasons. At the end of each observational period, eggs present in each male's nest were counted. Behavioural and egg count data were used to construct linear and generalized linear mixed models predicting male reproductive success by two proxies: presence and number of eggs in the nest. Lower adult sex ratios (the ratio of males to females) and greater male length positively predicted egg presence. Greater intrasexual aggression increased a male's chances of having eggs in high ASR groups. Intrasexual aggression and solicitation of females positively predicted final egg count regardless of ASR. Our results support the hypothesis that some behavioural responses to changing adult sex ratio are adaptive, and that other traits, such as larger male size and high mate solicitation rates, may increase reproductive success regardless of ASR.
Generating Consistent Genotypic Configurations for Multi-Allelic Loci and Large Complex Pedigrees

Markov chain Monte Carlo techniques have been applied to many different genetic analysis problems. Gibbs sampling in particular has been widely used because of its simplicity and because it can be extended to arbitrarily complex pedigrees and genetic models (albeit with modifications for multi-allelic loci). Gibbs sampling requires an initial genotypic configuration, consistent with observed data, the generation of which is not trivial with large complex pedigrees and multi-allelic loci. A method to generate feasible genotype configurations in these circumstances using a combination of peeling and genotype elimination is described. The method is illustrated using two complex multi-generation pedigrees, one real and one simulated, each partially typed for one highly polymorphic marker locus.
mRNA levels of all three neurofilament proteins decline following nerve transection.

Abstract The control of neurofilament (NF) protein gene expression was studied by determining and comparing the levels of mRNA to the heavy (NF-H), mid-sized (NF-M) and light (NF-L) NF protein subunits in rat dorsal root ganglia (DRG) following sciatic nerve transection. mRNA to NF-H (4.5 kb), to NF-M (3.4 kb) and to NF-L (2.5 and 4.0 kb) were identified in Northern blots and quantitated in dot blot analyses, using specific cDNA probes for each NF protein. Following transection, there was a coordinated decline in mRNA levels to all 3 NF proteins, beginning as early as 3 days following transection and continuing for at least 28 days. The early and co-terminal fall in mRNAs suggests that the 3 NF genes are regulated by common factor(s) and that the function of these factor(s) is influenced by the state of axonal continuity with the target organ.
A Variance Reduction Approach for Monte Carlo Solutions of the Non-Linear Boltzmann Equation

We show that simple and efficient Monte Carlo-based solution methods for the Boltzmann equation for low-speed applications can be constructed by using appropriate variance reduction techniques. More specifically, we show that evaluation of the collision integral by sampling a representative number of collisions can be significantly accelerated by considering only the deviation from equilibrium, since this allows one to avoid considering a large number of collisions with no net effect. As the deviation from equilibrium decreases, the degree of variance reduction increases, leading to a signal to noise ratio that remains approximately constant. Thus, unlike particle techniques in which statistical sampling results in computational cost that is inversely proportional to the square of the Mach number, the approach presented here exhibits computational cost which is almost independent of the Mach number in the small Mach number limit. This is verified by numerical experiments at Mach numbers as low as O(10−5 ). We validate this approach by comparing its results with analytical and direct Monte Carlo simulations of the Boltzmann equation.Copyright © 2005 by ASME