cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Respiratory Effects on Fontan Circulation During Rest and Exercise Using Real-Time Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Background It is known that respiration modulates cavopulmonary flows, but little data compare mean flows under breath-holding and free-breathing conditions to isolate the respiratory effects and effects of exercise on the respiratory modulation. Methods Real-time phase-contrast magnetic resonance combined with a novel method to track respiration on the same image acquisition was used to investigate respiratory effects on Fontan caval and aortic flows under breath-holding, free-breathing, and exercise conditions. Respiratory phasicity indices that were based on beat-averaged flow were used to quantify the respiratory effect. Results Flow during inspiration was substantially higher than expiration under the free-breathing and exercise conditions for both inferior vena cava (inspiration/expiration: 1.6 ± 0.5 and 1.8 ± 0.5, respectively) and superior vena cava (inspiration/expiration: 1.9 ± 0.6 and 2.6 ± 2.0, respectively). Changes from rest to exercise in the respiratory phasicity index for these vessels further showed the impact of respiration. Total systemic venous flow showed no significant statistical difference between the breath-holding and free-breathing conditions. In addition, no substantial difference was found between the descending aorta and inferior vena cava mean flows under either resting or exercise conditions. Conclusions This study demonstrated that inferior vena cava and superior vena cava flow time variance is dominated by respiratory effects, which can be detected by the respiratory phasicity index. However, the minimal respiration influence on net flow validates the routine use of breath-holding techniques to measure mean flows in Fontan patients. Moreover, the mean flows in the inferior vena cava and descending aorta are interchangeable.
Instrumentation interne des réacteurs à eau pressurisée. Introduction

L'auteur evoque l'evolution des techniques d'instrumentation des cœurs des reacteurs nucleaires a eau sous pression en France. Il montre comment cette instrumentation contribue a repondre au souci d'economie de combustible et a resoudre les problemes de surete relatifs a l'exploitation de ces reacteurs.
Introduction to the Hologenome Special Series

Because of its strongly theoretical nature, evolutionary biology is a field full of controversy. For example, in the late 1970s, UCLA hosted a forum in which two famous biologists, Motoo Kimura and Francisco Ayala, engaged in a heated debate. Kimura had posited in the late 1960s that molecular evolution is dominated by neutral processes, i.e., genetic drift and random mutation. Ayala argued for the more traditional view, i.e., Darwinian natural selection as the primary force driving evolution of genes and proteins. Ideological camps formed around this controversy, and the debate continues to this day. Nevertheless, these discussions have been a positive driver of research in the field—our view of molecular evolution has benefited and been shaped by the continuing development of the concepts surrounding this debate. This mBio series explores a new topic of controversy in the field of evolutionary biology—the hologenome concept. This view advances the idea that evolutionary forces, both neutrality and selection, act on the host and its symbiotic microbes as a conjoined “holobiont,” and the genomic complement of all partners equals the “hologenome.” The opposing view adheres to the traditional concept that …
A TCP Congestion Control Strategy for Data Link

Conventional Internet TCP(Transmission Control Protocol) is designed principally for wired network,and therefore could not handle the congestion and throughput decline caused by unexpected jamming,high code error and dynamic topology variance,in data link network.Thus a congestion control strategy suitable for data link network is proposed,which sets up the congestion window size with proactive measurement,implements dynamical congestion control with feedback mechanism and realizes fast retransmission by adaptive data cache and relay on gateway nodes.Simulation results indicate that the proposed strategy,as compared with typical congestion control mechanism,could remarkably improve transmisson capability of the data link network.
Effect of superoxide dismutase and catalase on regional dysfunction after exercise-induced ischemia.

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the oxygen free radical scavengers superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase may reduce myocardial “stunning” after exercise-induced ischemia. To t...
Effect of vasa recta flow on concentrating ability of models of renal inner medulla

In this study we extend the analysis of the preceding two studies [J. L. Stephenson, J. F. Jen, H. Wang, and R. P. Tewarson. Am. J. Physiol. 268 (Renal Fluid Electrolyte Physiol. 37): F698-F709, 1995; and J. F. Jen, H. Wang, R. P. Tewarson, and J. L. Stephenson. Am. J. Physiol. 268 (Renal Fluid Electrolyte Physiol. 37): F000-F000, 1995] to a model that includes vasa recta. Distribution of nephron and vasa recta lengths is represented by shunting from descending to ascending flow. It is found that the effect of radial separation of structures on concentrating ability is closely linked to vasa recta flow. With minimal or no vasa recta flow the extent of radial mixing has little effect on concentrating ability. As vasa recta flow increases, concentrating ability is decreased by radial mixing. Convective uphill transport of NaCl is again observed, but concentrating ability appears to depend primarily on urea delivery to the inner medulla from the collecting duct rather than on the mechanism of salt transport out of thin ascending limb. Central core models give an upper bound on concentrating ability but do not attain the maximum urine osmolality of the rat with experimental values of tubular permeabilities.
Tocopherols and fatty acids in American diets. The recommended allowance for vitamin E.

The recommended allowance for vitamin E (tocopherol) has been criticized for several reasons. This analysis of representative U.S. meals would indicate that the allowance could be lowered.
A Load Cell Based Yield Monitor for Peanut Feasibility Study

A prototype peanut yield monitoring system based on load cell transducers was evaluated for use in precision farming applications. Noise characteristics under simulated field conditions were examined, and the effect of mixing within the peanut combine during harvest was also investigated. Evaluation results showed that the system has potential for providing limited quality site-specific yield measurements for yield mapping applications.
Utilization and cost of anti-osteoporosis therapy among US Medicare beneficiaries

There is a strong impetus to prevent and treat osteoporosis to prevent fractures. $990 million dollars was spent on anti-osteoporosis drugs in 2013. As we shift our focus on primary prevention of fractures, providers are encouraged to find the most cost-effective anti-osteoporosis therapy for patients. Osteoporosis is a major global problem with osteoporotic fractures posing a potentially avoidable burden on healthcare resources. We studied the utilization and cost of anti-osteoporotic therapy using the 2013 Medicare Part D data. Descriptive data were produced from Microsoft Excel and SPSS regarding the anti-osteoporotic drugs of interest. In total, Medicare and its beneficiaries spent approximately $990 million on anti-osteoporotic therapy in 2013. Despite this cost, only one in two adults with osteoporosis aged 65 and older received a prescription for an anti-osteoporosis drug. $756 million (77 %) was attributable to brand name drugs which accounted for 2,459,931 claims (22 %). Generic dispensing rate varied from 57–86 % (mean 77 ± 6) across the different states in the USA. States that mandate substitution with generic equivalents had a higher generic dispensing rate compared to the states that permit generic substitution (92 vs. 90 %; p < 0.05). After adjusting for claim counts, we found that if the states that permit substitution with generic equivalents showed the same generic dispensing rate of 92 % as the states that mandate such substitution, there is a potential for savings of $7.5 million, approximately 9 % of the total expenditure in these states on oral bisphosphonates alone. Thirty-eight percent of the total prescriptions from orthopedic surgeons were for Forteo® or Prolia® compared to 12.5 % from specialists. These findings highlight the need for ongoing training for physicians who engage in the care of patients with osteoporosis to manage the disease in a cost-effective manner.
Covering up Disfigurement and Laughing it Off: Reinforcing Inequality in Breast Cancer Support Groups

The present study examines how women in breast cancer support groups managed the emotions evoked by the physical disfigurement of their disease and its treatment. Four support groups located in central North Carolina were studied over an approximately three-year period. Data derive from field observation of the four groups, in addition to 35 in-depth interviews with group members and group leaders. Analysis shows how the women concealed their disfigurement, practiced compensatory femininity, and engaged in sexualized joking to cope with the embarrassment, shame, and self-doubt resulting from changes to their bodies, including the loss of a breast and sometimes hair. While these strategies seemed to help the women feel better about themselves and their bodies, at least some of the time, analysis also shows how the strategies contributed to the reproduction of gender inequality, by reinforcing traditional standards of beauty and the gendered expression of emotions.
Von Willebrand Factor and ADAMTS13: Too Much or Too Little of a Good Thing?

Von Willebrand factor (VWF) promotes platelet adhesion and aggregation at sites of vascular injury and serves as a carrier for coagulation factor VIII. The activity of VWF is modulated by ADAMTS13 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease with thrombospondin motif repeats 13), a metalloprotease that cleaves highly procoagulant, ultralarge VWF multimers into smaller, less procoagulant forms. Deficiency for VWF quantity or activity results in the bleeding disorder von Willebrand disease, whereas severe deficiency in ADAMTS13 results in the clotting disorder thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura. See accompanying article on page 2446 Since the identification of ADAMTS13 as the VWF cleaving protease in 20011 and the recognition that severe ADAMTS13 deficiency is associated with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, several case control studies have looked for connections between specific disease risk and partial ADAMTS13 deficiency.2 Likewise, reduced levels of ADAMTS13 have been associated prospectively with an increased risk of coronary artery disease3,4 and ischemic stroke.5 …
Bayesian analysis of low-cycle fatigue failure in printed wiring boards

Abstract In this study, a low-cycle fatigue experiment was conducted on printed wiring boards (PWB). The Weibull regression model and computational Bayesian analysis method were applied to analyze failure time data and to identify important factors that influence the PWB lifetime. The analysis shows that both shape parameter and scale parameter of Weibull distribution are affected by the supplier factor and preconditioning methods Based on the energy equivalence approach, a 6-cycle reflow precondition can be replaced by a 5-cycle IST precondition, thus the total testing time can be greatly reduced. This conclusion was validated by the likelihood ratio test of two datasets collected under two different preconditioning methods Therefore, the Weibull regression modeling approach is an effective approach for accounting for the variation of experimental setting in the PWB lifetime prediction.
Alert Workplace From Healthcare Workers' Perspective: Behavioral and Environmental Strategies to Improve Vigilance and Alertness in Healthcare Settings

Objective:This study aims to identify the behavioral and environmental strategies that healthcare workers view as helpful for managing sleepiness, improving alertness, and therefore optimizing work...
Sacral Insufficiency Fracture Surgery Complication

Sacral insufficiency fractures are a relatively uncommon complication following lumbosacral instrumented arthrodesis. Risk factors for developing an insufficiency fracture include osteopenia/osteoporosis, increased body mass index, an increased pelvic incidence (PI), and deformity correction and may additionally include surgical technique. Correctly diagnosing an insufficiency fracture can be challenging and requires a high index of suspicion. Diagnosis may be facilitated by lumbosacral computerized tomographic (CT) imaging with coronal reconstructions, as the fracture may be difficult to visualize with axial and sagittal sequences alone. In this chapter, we discuss a case of a postoperative sacral insufficiency fracture, the subsequent surgical treatment of this complication, and recommendations for complication avoidance.
Perceived Benefits of Participation and Risks of Soil Contamination in St. Louis Urban Community Gardens

Community gardens are credited for promoting health within neighborhoods, by increasing healthy food intake and exercise frequency. These benefits, however, are potentially undermined as urban soils are often contaminated from industrial legacies. The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived benefits of participation and risks of soil contamination within urban community gardens, and factors associated with soil contamination concerns. Ninety-three gardeners were interviewed across 20 community gardens in St. Louis, Missouri between June and August 2015. Surveys included questions on demographics, gardening practices, and perceptions of community gardening. Multilevel logistic models assessed how gardener demographics, gardening practices, and garden characteristics were associated with soil contamination concerns. Common perceived benefits of community gardening were community building (68.8%), healthy and fresh food (35.5%), and gardening education (18.3%). Most gardeners (62.4%) were not concerned about soil contamination, but nearly half (48.4%) stated concerns about heavy metals. Black race was significantly associated with soil contamination concerns (OR 5.47, 95% CI 1.00–30.15, p = .04). Community gardens offer numerous social and health benefits. Although most gardeners were not concerned about soil contamination, black gardeners were more likely to have concerns. Garden leaders should provide resources to gardeners to learn about soil contamination and methods to manage their risk, particularly in minority neighborhoods.
Butyrate Inhibits Indices of Colorectal Carcinogenesis via Enhancing α-Ketoglutarate-Dependent DNA Demethylation of Mismatch Repair Genes.

SCOPE Butyrate, the fermentation end product of gut microbiota in the colon, is known for its antitumor effects, but the mechanisms remained to be defined. α-ketoglutarate (α-KG) mediates DNA demethylation and aberrant epigenetic modifications are associated with carcinogenesis. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the effects of butyrate on α-KG mediated epigenetic modification in colorectal adenocarcinoma HT-29 and Caco-2 cells. METHODS AND RESULTS Butyrate suppressed proliferation, potentiated differentiation, and induced apoptosis in both HT-29 and Caco-2 cells, associated with enhanced expression of isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) and pyruvate dehydrogenase. Furthermore, butyrate upregulated acetyl-CoA and α-KG, concomitant with enhanced histone acetylation and DNA demethylation in the promoter of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) gene. Knocking down IDH1 abolished the positive effects of butyrate on CRC apoptosis and MMR protein expression, in conjunction with reduced α-KG content. Importantly, α-KG supplementation recovered the beneficial effects of butyrate in IDH1-deficient cells. CONCLUSION In summary, butyrate inhibits indices of colorectal carcinogenesis in an α-KG-dependent manner.
Convergence and de-convergence of Chinese journalistic practice in the digital age:

The existing literature broadly suggests that newsrooms are adapting to the media convergence world at the cost of traditional quality journalism. However, based on my ethnographic study of the Bei...
Discrimination in healthcare settings among adults with recent HIV diagnoses.

The prevalence of discrimination in healthcare settings among HIV patients in the United States is unknown. The Medical Monitoring Project (MMP) is a complex sample survey of adults receiving HIV m...
Intracardiac Delineation of Septal Conduction in Left Bundle-Branch Block Patterns.

Background: Septal activation in patients with left bundle-branch block (LBBB) patterns has not been described previously. We performed detailed intracardiac mapping of left septal conduction to as...
Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention: Meta-Analysis of Federally Funded Program Evaluations.

Background. Beginning in 2010, the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) funded more than 40 evaluations of adolescent pregnancy prevention interventions. The government’s emphasis on ri...
Massive volumetric imaging of cleared tissue: The necessary tools to be successful

Abstract Recent technological innovations in high-speed microscopes, tissue clearing methods, optics and computation have made it possible to image enormous biologic volumes. These techniques are applicable to a broad range of biomedical disciplines and are becoming a necessary tool for exploring biologic systems that extend beyond cellular microenvironments to entire organs and organisms. Here we broadly discuss the tool sets that are available for cleared tissue imaging and how various choices may influence the planning and feasibility of an experiment.
Adjoint invariants of Frobenius kernels of GL(m) and elements of the center of Dist(GL(m))

AbstractThe first goal of this article is to explicitly describe how to translate adjoint invariants K[Gr]G of the Frobenius kernel Gr of the general linear group G=GL(m) to elements of the center ...
The Unexpected Harm of Same-Sex Marriage: A Critical Appraisal, Replication and Re-Analysis of Wainright and Patterson's Studies of Adolescents with Same-Sex Parents

Wainright and Patterson’s three studies of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (Add Health) examining children in 44 lesbian mother families comprise a key part of research efforts that have found no disadvantages in well-being for children with same-sex parents using a statistically representative national sample. Re-examination of the data finds that 27 of the 44 cases are misidentified heterosexual parents. Replication after removing the error cases finds that children with same-sex parents experience significantly lower autonomy and higher anxiety, but also better school performance, than do children with opposite-sex parents. Re-analysis of family type (same-sex vs. opposite-sex) by marriage status finds that, on a range of measures of child well-being, opposite-sex marriage is associated with improved outcomes, but same-sex marriage is associated with with lower outcomes. Comparing unmarried to married same-sex parents, above-average child depressive symptoms rises from 50% to 88%; daily fearfulness or crying rises from 5% to 32%; grade point average declines from 3.6 to 3.4; and child sex abuse by parent rises from zero to 38%.
A Performance Study of Lustre File System Checker: Bottlenecks and Potentials

Lustre, as one of the most popular parallel file systems in high-performance computing (HPC), provides POSIX interface and maintains a large set of POSIX-related metadata, which could be corrupted due to hardware failures, software bugs, configuration errors, etc. The Lustre file system checker (LFSCK) is the remedy tool to detect metadata inconsistencies and to restore a corrupted Lustre to a valid state, hence is critical for reliable HPC. Unfortunately, in practice, LFSCK runs slow in large deployment, making system administrators reluctant to use it as a routine maintenance tool. Consequently, cascading errors may lead to unrecoverable failures, resulting in significant downtime or even data loss. Given the fact that HPC is rapidly marching to Exascale and much larger Lustre file systems are being deployed, it is critical to understand the performance of LFSCK. In this paper, we study the performance of LFSCK to identify its bottlenecks and analyze its performance potentials. Specifically, we design an aging method based on real-world HPC workloads to age Lustre to representative states, and then systematically evaluate and analyze how LFSCK runs on such an aged Lustre via monitoring the utilization of various resources. From our experiments, we find out that the design and implementation of LFSCK is sub-optimal. It consists of scalability bottleneck on the metadata server (MDS), relatively high fan-out ratio in network utilization, and unnecessary blocking among internal components. Based on these observations, we discussed potential optimization and present some preliminary results.
Adaptive and Personalized Visualization

Abstract There is ample evidence in the visualization community that individual differences matter. These prior works highlight various personality traits and cognitive abilities that can modulate ...
Storying the heartbreak: The transformational processing of romantic breakups

Abstract We examined narratives of romantic breakups (i.e., breakup accounts) in relation to romantic attachment tendencies. In Study 1, participants provided accounts of difficult breakups and indicated who in the relationship initiated its dissolution. In Study 2, participants provided breakup accounts from the perspective of the initiator and the non-initiator. Breakup accounts were coded for levels of exploration (active reflection of the narrated experience) and resolution (emotional closure and a sense of resiliency). Across studies, levels of resolution were highest in self-initiated, when compared to other-initiated, breakup accounts. In Study 2, avoidant attachment correlated negatively with levels of resolution in self-initiated, but not other-initiated, breakup accounts. These results suggest that avoidantly attached individuals narrate self-initiated breakups in a less thoroughly processed manner than their secure peers, and that these differences in transformational processing may carry implications for romantic domain functioning.
Nuclear receptor Ftz-f1 promotes follicle maturation and ovulation partly via bHLH/PAS transcription factor Sim.

When animals reproduce, females release eggs from their ovaries which then get fertilized by sperm from males. Each egg needs to properly mature within a collection of cells known as follicle cells before it can be let go. As the egg matures, so do the follicle cells surrounding it, until both are primed and ready to discharge the egg from the ovary. Mammals rely on a protein called SF-1 to mature their follicle cells, but it is unclear how this process works. Most animals – from humans to fruit flies – release their eggs in a very similar way, using many of the same proteins and genes. For example, the gene for SF-1 in mammals is similar to a gene in fruit flies which codes for another protein called Ftz-f1. Since it is more straightforward to study ovaries in fruit flies than in humans and other mammals, investigating this protein could shed light on how follicle cells mature. However, it remained unclear whether Ftz-f1 plays a similar role to its mammalian counterpart. Here, Knapp et al. show that Ftz-f1 is present in the follicle cells of fruit flies and is required for them to properly mature. Ftz-f1 controlled this process by regulating the activity of another protein called Sim. Further experiments found that the gene that codes for the SF-1 protein in mice was able to compensate for the loss of Ftz-f1 and drive follicle cells to mature. Studying how ovaries release eggs is an essential part of understanding female fertility. This work highlights the similarities between these processes in mammals and fruit flies and may help us understand how ovaries work in humans and other mammals. In the future, the findings of Knapp et al. may lead to new therapies for infertility in females and other disorders that affect ovaries.
Acute human immunodeficiency virus infection associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis

Although acute HIV-induced HLH is rare in literature, HIV is an important differential diagnosis in patients with HLH. In our study, a 33-year-old previously healthy male patient was admitted with fever of unknown origin, lymphadenopathy, generalized edema, transaminitis, acute renal failure, oliguria, myalgias, night sweats, unintentional weight loss, and leukopenia. Disease course was indicative of a viral-like prodrome of roughly 2-month duration. At an outside hospital, full viral work-up (including EBV, CMV, HIV antibodies, hepatitis panel) was negative. HIV p24 antigen assay was not available at the outside facility. Outside liver chemistry and lymph node biopsy were suggestive of HLH. HLH was confirmed via serum ferritin, white cell receptor, and cytokine studies. Repeat viral and rheumatologic studies revealed a positive p24 antigen with indeterminant HIV antibody. We demonstrate efficacy of a specific treatment plan as well as importance of p24 antigen studies in patients with HLH and/or the HIV window-period, adding to available literature/documentation of a rare disease process.
Derivation of a Dynamic Model for Palmitate-induced NFκB Signaling Pathway through Systems Biology Approach

Obesity has become a severe threat to public health due to its causal link to various chronic diseases. It has been shown that the increase in circulating free fatty acids (FFAs) and its induction of chronic inflammation are key mechanisms of various diseases associated with obesity. For this system, it is known that adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activity is repressed by the elevated level of FFAs, and this depression causes an elevation of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα), which indicates an inflammatory response. However, detailed mechanisms and dynamics of the FFA-induced inflammation are not well understood yet. In this study, a new dynamic model is constructed to describe how TNFα synthesis in macrophages is triggered by palmitate. which is a representative FFA. First, a set of ordinary differential equations is developed to describe how palmitate regulates the AMPK activity and the NFκB signaling pathway to construct a comprehensive dynamic model for the palmitate-induced TNFα expression. Second, in vitro experiments are conducted to measure the dynamics of key molecules involved in the process. Before these measurements are used to train the proposed model, global sensitivity analyses are performed to determine the most important parameters to avoid overfitting. Lastly, only the selected parameters are estimated by solving an optimization problem to calibrate the model. After estimating the selected parameters, the trained model shows a reasonable agreement with the experimental measurements, which validates the model predictions.
Earth Felt the Wound: The Affective Divide

Author(s): Claire Colebrook Title (English): Earth Felt the Wound: The Affective Divide Journal Reference: Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Winter 2011) Publisher: Research Center in Gender Studies - Skopje and Euro-Balkan Institute Page Range: 45-58 Page Count: 13 Citation (English): Claire Colebrook, “Earth Felt the Wound: The Affective Divide,” Identities: Journal for Politics, Gender and Culture, Vol. 8, No. 1 (Winter 2011): 45-58.
Depth Profile of Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Accumulation over Two Decades in a Prairie Restoration Experiment

Prairies converted from agriculture are known to accumulate carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) and are an important contribution to terrestrial C sequestration. However, estimates of decadal accumulation rates of C and N and their vertical distribution in the soil profile are highly variable among studies, in part due to the lack of repeated inventories of soil C and N stocks over long time periods. We determined the depth profile of soil C and N accumulation and bulk density following the transition from agriculture to planted prairie. Using 13 contiguous plantings with similar land-use histories, planted sequentially from 1995 to 2007, we sampled soil C, N, and bulk density three times over the course of two decades (2000, 2010, and 2019), combining a chronosequence approach with repeated inventories through time. In the top 20 cm of the profile, we found consistent accumulation of C and N, corresponding to 58% (0–10 cm) and 29% (10–20 cm) increases in soil C concentrations and 3.18% (0–10 cm) and 2.7% (10–20 cm) increases in soil N concentration over 19 years. In contrast, we found no change in C or N concentrations at 20–65 cm depth. A chronosequence approach did not detect C or N accumulation in any single sample year. Rather, initial soil C and N content appeared to be the best predictor of final concentrations. Our results suggest that the majority of C and N accumulation is occurring in the top portion of the profile and that restored prairies continue to sequester C two decades after initial planting.
Quantitative tumor heterogeneity MRI profiling improves machine learning-based prognostication in patients with metastatic colon cancer.

Intra-tumor heterogeneity has been previously shown to be an independent predictor of patient survival. The goal of this study is to assess the role of quantitative MRI-based measures of intra-tumor heterogeneity as predictors of survival in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. In this IRB-approved retrospective study, we identified 55 patients with stage 4 colon cancer with known hepatic metastasis on MRI. Ninety-four metastatic hepatic lesions were identified on post-contrast images and manually volumetrically segmented. A heterogeneity phenotype vector was extracted from each lesion. Univariate regression analysis was used to assess the contribution of 110 extracted features to survival prediction. A random forest–based machine learning technique was applied to the feature vector and to the standard prognostic clinical and pathologic variables. The dataset was divided into a training and test set at a ratio of 4:1. ROC analysis and confusion matrix analysis were used to assess classification performance. Mean survival time was 39 ± 3.9 months for the study population. A total of 22 texture features were associated with patient survival (p < 0.05). The trained random forest machine learning model that included standard clinical and pathological prognostic variables resulted in an area under the ROC curve of 0.83. A model that adds imaging-based heterogeneity features to the clinical and pathological variables resulted in improved model performance for survival prediction with an AUC of 0.94. MRI-based texture features are associated with patient outcomes and improve the performance of standard clinical and pathological variables for predicting patient survival in metastatic colorectal cancer. • MRI-based tumor heterogeneity texture features are associated with patient survival outcomes. • MRI-based tumor texture features complement standard clinical and pathological variables for prognosis prediction in metastatic colorectal cancer. • Agglomerative hierarchical clustering shows that patient survival outcomes are associated with different MRI tumor profiles.
Fundamental Nomic Vagueness

If there are fundamental laws of nature, can they fail to be exact? In this paper, I consider the possibility that some fundamental laws are vague. I call this phenomenon 'fundamental nomic vagueness.' I characterize fundamental nomic vagueness as the existence of borderline lawful worlds and the presence of several other accompanying features. Under certain assumptions, such vagueness prevents the fundamental physical theory from being completely expressible in the mathematical language. Moreover, I suggest that such vagueness can be regarded as 'vagueness in the world.' For a case study, we turn to the Past Hypothesis, a postulate that (partially) explains the direction of time in our world. We have reasons to take it seriously as a candidate fundamental law of nature. Yet it is vague: it admits borderline (nomologically) possible worlds. An exact version would lead to an untraceable arbitrariness absent in any other fundamental laws. However, the dilemma between fundamental nomic vagueness and untraceable arbitrariness is dissolved in a new quantum theory of time's arrow.
Computational Approaches: An Underutilized Tool in the Quest to Elucidate Radical SAM Dynamics

Enzymes are biological catalysts whose dynamics enable their reactivity. Visualizing conformational changes, in particular, is technically challenging, and little is known about these crucial atomic motions. This is especially problematic for understanding the functional diversity associated with the radical S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAM) superfamily whose members share a common radical mechanism but ultimately catalyze a broad range of challenging reactions. Computational chemistry approaches provide a readily accessible alternative to exploring the time-resolved behavior of these enzymes that is not limited by experimental logistics. Here, we review the application of molecular docking, molecular dynamics, and density functional theory, as well as hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics methods to the study of these enzymes, with a focus on understanding the mechanistic dynamics associated with turnover.
Measuring and Explaining Stalled Gentrification in Newark, New Jersey: The Role of Racial Politics:

Gentrification research focuses on timing and variation; how the racial makeup of cities and neighborhoods influences its extent; and the policies that foster or combat it. Most examines places wit...
The Unintended Effects of Bottom-Up Accountability: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Peru

The Unintended Effects of Bottom-Up Accountability: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Peru
MELAS Syndrome: Overview and Case Study

ABSTRACT.Mitochondrial myopathy, Encephalopathy, Lactic Acidosis, and Stroke-like episodes (MELAS) is a syndrome that may be encountered in the acute care setting by EEG technologists. MELAS falls under the general classification of mitochondrial myopathies. It is likely that transmission of the disease is via maternal mitochondrial DNA since a specific point mutation has been identified. There is, however, no definitive proof of the heritability of MELAS and it is not known how this mutation relates to the clinical symptoms. Specific presenting symptoms and laboratory data can differentiate MELAS from other mitochondrial diseases. This paper provides an outline of MELAS; a case study is discussed to aid technologists in understanding the problems encountered by these patients.
A Design Methodology for Operator Displays of Highly Automated Supervisory Control Systems

Abstract This research proposes an extension to the Operator Function Model (OFM) as the basis for a methodology to guide the design of interactive monitoring and control interfaces (i.e., operator interfaces), specifically designed to support the monitoring tasks of supervisory system control. The goal of such an interface is to engage the operator in the monitoring activity to ensure that fault detection occurs in an efficient and reliable way.
Methods for mutation and selection of the ergot fungus.

A new method is described in which the Salkowski reaction is used for the rapid selection of alkaloid-producing mutants of the ergot fungus. This method was used to investigate the influence of a second mutation with N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (NTG) on various mutants selected by a preliminary NTG mutation of Claviceps sp. strain SD 58. Three groups of mutants were used: high alkaloid producers, low alkaloid producers, and auxotrophs. Results indicated that a second mutation of all three types of mutants could improve alkaloid yield and vegetative vigor. In addition, a second mutation increased the frequency of auxotroph production. The difficulty of producing stable mutants from ergot strains that have multinucleated cells and that do not readily produce conidia in culture, such as an ergotamine-producing strain, was overcome by first forming protoplasts of the fungus and then subjecting them to the mutagen. Stable auxotrophs were obtained in this manner.
Reliability, Safety, and Security in Everyday Embedded Systems (Extended Abstract)

Embedded systems permeate our everyday lives. From automobiles to elevators, kitchen appliances to televisions, and water heaters to cell phones, we increasingly depend upon embedded systems to operate as expected. A few obviously critical embedded application domains, such as aviation, have traditionally benefited from extraordinary care during development to ensure that everything is done correctly. But increasingly, everyday embedded applications are becoming "mission critical," with little fanfare and perhaps without the full attention to dependability properties that they truly deserve.
The chemical characterization and enzymatic synthesis of mannolipids in Micrococcus lysodeikticus.

Abstract The major glycolipid of Micrococcus lysodeikticus has been isolated in pure form and has been shown to have the structure of α-d-mannosyl-(1 → 3)-α-d-mannosyl-(1 → 3)-diglyceride. The presence of two enzymes involved in glycolipid biosynthesis in M. lysodeikticus has been established. One of the enzymes is associated with the particulate cell fraction and catalyzes the formation of α-d-mannosyl-(1 → 3)-diglyceride from guanosine diphosphate mannose and 1,2-diglyceride. The enzyme is specific for 1,2-diglyceride and manifests maximal activity on 1,2-diglycerides containing branched chain fatty acyl groups. The reaction is stimulated by Mg++ ion and shows an absolute requirement for an anionic surface active agent. Although long chain alkyl surface-active agents and straight chain fatty acid salts stimulate the reaction, the most effective surface-active agents are the branched chain fatty acids common to M. lysodeikticus. A second enzyme present in the soluble cell fraction catalyzes the conversion of enzymatically prepared α-d-mannosyl-(1 → 3)-diglyceride to α-d-mannosyl-(1 → 3)-α-d-mannosyl-(1 → 3)-diglyceride.
Staying the Course: The Role of Investment Style Consistency in the Performance of Mutual Funds

While a mutual fund's investment style influences the returns it generates, little is known about how a manager's execution of the style decision affects portfolio performance. Using both returns- and holdings-based techniques to measure the consistency with which managers approach their investment mandates, we demonstrate that, on average, more style-consistent funds significantly outperform less style-consistent funds on a risk-adjusted basis. This result differs from portfolio turnover and expense ratio effects and is robust with respect to the period used to measure future returns. We also show that fund style consistency and the persistence of risk-adjusted performance over time are distinct influences and demonstrate the potential profitability of trading strategies based on their combined impact. We conclude that deciding to maintain a consistent investment style is an important aspect of the portfolio management process.
Brain Stimulation and the Threshold of Conscious Experience

The subject of this paper stems out of a more general question which asks, what is the spatiotemporal configuration of neuronal activity which effectively elicits or is at least uniquely correlated with a conscious awareness of something? Now, to attempt a study of whole configurations of neuronal activities is obviously much too difficult and complicated. One would like to delimit severely the experimental approach to this question, and this we have done in two ways.
FlowWeb: Joint image set alignment by weaving consistent, pixel-wise correspondences

Given a set of poorly aligned images of the same visual concept without any annotations, we propose an algorithm to jointly bring them into pixel-wise correspondence by estimating a FlowWeb representation of the image set. FlowWeb is a fully-connected correspondence flow graph with each node representing an image, and each edge representing the correspondence flow field between a pair of images, i.e. a vector field indicating how each pixel in one image can find a corresponding pixel in the other image. Correspondence flow is related to optical flow but allows for correspondences between visually dissimilar regions if there is evidence they correspond transitively on the graph. Our algorithm starts by initializing all edges of this complete graph with an off-the-shelf, pairwise flow method. We then iteratively update the graph to force it to be more self-consistent. Once the algorithm converges, dense, globally-consistent correspondences can be read off the graph. Our results suggest that FlowWeb improves alignment accuracy over previous pairwise as well as joint alignment methods.
Bradyarrhythmias During Use of the AngioJet System

The AngioJet system is an effective thrombectomy device, but it may cause chest discomfort and provoke bradyarrhythmias that range from mild bradycardia to asystole. The cause of AngioJet-induced bradyarrhythmia is unknown, although several hypotheses have attempted to explain the phenomenon. Herein several cases will be described, followed by a review of the relevant literature. The literature review suggests that the cause may be related to the effects of the hydrodynamic jets on stretch-activated receptors present on the vascular endothelium, and that pretreatment with gadolinium or streptomycin might prevent activation of these receptors.
Expression of IGF1R in normal breast tissue and subsequent risk of breast cancer

The growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis plays an essential role in the growth and development of the mammary gland. IGF1 and IGF1 receptor (IGF1R) may also play a role in the early transformation of mammary cells. Using a nested case–control design, the association between IGF1R expression in normal breast tissue from benign biopsies and subsequent risk of breast cancer was examined in patients enrolled in the Nurses’ Health Study. The tissue microarrays (TMAs) containing normal terminal duct lobular units (TDLUs) from benign breast biopsies were constructed. Immunostains for IGF1R were performed on sections cut from the TMAs. A total of 312 women had evaluable IGF1R staining in normal TDLUs; 75 subsequently developed breast cancer (cases) and 237 did not (controls). The epithelial cells in the normal TDLUs were scored for both cytoplasmic and membrane staining for IGF1R. Cytoplasmic IGF1R expression was positively associated with subsequent risk of breast cancer (OR = 2.47, 95% CI 1.41–4.33). Women having TDLU epithelial cells showed little or no membrane expression of IGF1R, but those with high levels of cytoplasmic IGF1R were at the highest breast cancer risk and were 15 times more likely to develop subsequent breast cancer when compared with women who had little or no membrane or cytoplasmic IGF1R expression in their TDLU epithelial cells (OR = 15.9, 95% CI 3.6–69.8). In this study, it was demonstrated that IGF1R expression patterns in epithelial cells of normal TDLUs in benign breast biopsies were associated with an increased risk of subsequent breast cancer. Further studies to confirm these findings are necessary.
A re‐evaluation of magnetocrystalline anisotropy and magnetostriction constants

The standard theory of magnetocrystalline anisotropy for a rigid ferromagnetic body, with cubic symmetry, makes use of a “zero strain” anisotropy constant K1. If the effect of magnetostriction is taken into account, this constant must be replaced by a “zero stress” anisotropy constant K′1 which differs from K1 by a term involving magnetostriction constants and elastic constants. There are also zero strain and zero stress versions of higher order constants (K2, etc) for cubic symmetry, as well as for other symmetries. The constant K′1 also appears in dynamic behavior of ferromagnets driven by an applied field, unless the field changes too rapidly for the system to remain in equilibrium. It is predicted that ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) experiments give a direct measurement of K1.
Cocrystal or salt: does it really matter?

A structural analysis of over 80 salts and cocrystals synthesized from equimolar amounts of carboxylic acids and N-heterocycles demonstrates that salt formation as a result of proton transfer from the acid to the base frequently (11/24; 45%) results in a lattice with an unpredictable chemical (solvate) or stoichiometric composition. However, if no proton transfer takes place and the result is a molecular cocrystal, a crystal lattice with an unexpected chemical content or stoichiometry is much less likely (3/61; 5%). These results indicate that the process of converting a neutral carboxylic acid into a carboxylate anion can have important structural consequences that make structure prediction and targeted supramolecular synthesis of salts much more difficult than of cocrystals. Consequently, cocrystals may offer new opportunities for producing a greater diversity of solid forms of drug substances that exhibit the appropriate balance of critical properties for development into a viable and effective drug pr...
Heat (Mass) Transfer Distribution in a Two-Pass Trapezoidal Channel With a 180deg Turn

The heat transfer characteristics of airflows in serpentine cooling channels in stator vanes of gas turbines were studied. The cooling channels were modeled as a two-pass trapezoidal channel with a 180 deg turn. Naphthalene sublimation experiments were conducted and the heat and mass transfer analogy was applied to study the local heat (mass) transfer distributions on one of the two primary walls of the channel. Results were obtained for turbulent airflow through the channel with smooth walls, and with transverse ribs on one wall and on two opposite walls, over a range of Reynolds numbers between about 10,000 and 60,000. The results showed that there was a very large variation of the local heat (mass) transfer distribution in the turn and downstream of the turn. In all of the cases studied, the regional average heat (mass) transfer was higher on the downstream half of the turn than on the upstream half of the turn and was higher in the turn with the flow entering the channel through the smaller straight section than when the flow was reversed. The shape of the local heat (mass) transfer distribution at the turn was not significantly affected by varying the air mass flow rate. In the smooth wall case, the local heat (mass) transfer was high near the end wall and the downstream outer wall in the turn and was relatively low in two regions near the upstream outer wall and the downstream edge at the tip of the divider wall in the turn. With ribs on two opposite walls, the variation of the local heat (mass) transfer was larger, especially in the turn and downstream of the turn, than in the smooth wall case. The pressure drop across the turn was higher in the case of the flow entering the channel through the larger straight section than when the flow was reversed. As expected, the ribs increased the pressure drop across the turr.
AGREEMENT AMONG NCME MEMBERS ON SELECTED ISSUES IN EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT

This study surveyed 145 NCME members to determine the extent of their agreement on 40 controversial issues in educational measurement. Two types of agreement were obtained for each issue. First, the degree of agreement with the issues as presented. Second, the degree of agreement among the group of respondents. The percent of respondents choosing each of three responses to each issue, and a mean, variance, and “consensus” score for each issue were computed. The mean scores indicated the degree to which the respondents agreed with the issues. They varied from + .91 to - .71, when + 1 would indicate maximum agreement with an issue, and - 1 maximum disagreement. The “consensus” scores varied from .90 to .15, and had a mean of .40 where 1 would indicate maximum agreement among the group, and 0 maximum disagreement.