cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Multi-Solver Scheme Based on Combined Field Integral Equations for Electromagnetic Modeling of Highly Complex Objects

A combined field integral equation (CFIE)-based multisolver scheme is presented for electromagnetic modeling of objects with complex structures and materials. In this scheme, an object is decomposed into multiple bodies based on its material property and geometry. To model bodies with complicated materials, the finite element-boundary integral (FE-BI) method is applied. To model bodies with homogeneous or conducting materials, the method of moments is employed. Specifically, three solvers are integrated in this multi-solver scheme: the FE-BI(CFIE) for inhomogeneous objects, the CFIE for dielectric objects, and the CFIE for conducting objects. A mixed testing scheme that utilizes both the Rao–Wilton–Glisson and the Buffa–Christiansen functions is adopted to obtain a good accuracy. In the iterative solution of the combined system, the multilevel fast multipole algorithm is applied to accelerate computation and reduce memory costs, and a preconditioner based on an absorbing boundary condition is employed to speed up the convergence. In the numerical examples, the individual solvers are first demonstrated to be well conditioned and highly accurate. Then, the validity of the proposed multisolver scheme is demonstrated and its capability is shown by solving scattering problems of electrically large missilelike objects.
The f-Invariant

With his introduction of the f-invariant in the late 2000s, Bowen gave the first proof that two Bernoulli actions over a non-Abelian free group of finite rank are not conjugate if the Shannon entropies of their bases disagree.
Properties That Impact Sample Preparation and Extraction of Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms

A significant portion of the time spent in testing and analyzing samples is spent on the sample preparation portion of the method. Developing appropriate extraction and sample preparation methods can be challenging for pharmaceutical dosage forms. An understanding of the steps involved in sample preparation and extraction as well as an understanding of the drug, dosage form, and diluent properties that impact sample preparation is critical in developing an adequate method. These steps and properties are discussed in detail. Abstract A significant portion of the time spent in testing and analyzing samples is spent on the sample preparation portion of the method. Developing appropriate extraction and sample preparation methods can be challenging for pharmaceutical dosage forms. An understanding of the steps involved in sample preparation and extraction as well as an understanding of the drug, dosage form, and diluent properties that impact sample preparation is critical in developing an adequate method. These steps and properties are discussed in detail.
Zero-Slack, Noncritical Paths.

The critical path method/program evaluation and review technique method of project scheduling is based on the importance of managing a project's critical path(s). Although a critical path is the longest path through a network, its location in large projects is facilitated by the computation of activity slack. However, logical fallacies in oft-repeated statements of the relationship between slack and the critical path make it easy to overlook the phenomenon of zero-slack, noncritical paths. This article points out the fallacies and then describes and illustrates the phenomenon. We conclude with teaching recommendations to avoid suboptimal decisions in reducing project duration.
Placement Optimization for Advertisement Dissemination in Smart City

This paper studies a promising application in Vehicular Cyber-Physical Systems (VCPS) called roadside advertisement dissemination . Its application involves three elements: the drivers in the vehicles, Roadside Access Points (RAPs), and shopkeepers. The shopkeeper wants to attract as many customers as possible by using RAPs to disseminate advertisements to the passing vehicles. Upon receiving an advertisement, the driver might detour towards the shop, depending on the detour distance. Given a fixed number of RAPs and the traffic distribution, our goal is to optimize the RAP placement for the shopkeeper to maximally attract potential customers. This application is a non-trivial extension of traditional coverage problems, the difference being that RAPs are used to cover the traffic flows. RAP placement algorithms pose complex trade-offs. If we place RAPs at locations that can provide small detour distances to attract more customers, these locations may not necessarily be located in heavy traffic regions. While heavy traffic regions cover more flows, they might cause large detour distances, making shopping less attractive to customers. To balance the above trade-off, bounded RAP placement algorithms are proposed with respect to submodular and non-submodular scenarios. Since real-world traffic distributions exhibit unique patterns, here we further consider the Manhattan grid scenario and propose improved solutions. Extensive real trace-driven experiments validate the competitive performances of the proposed algorithms.
Ways of normality: reply to Hoeltje

Hoeltje (Linguist Philos 40(2):101–118, 2017) raises a number of important issues about my theory of generics. In this brief reply, I address some of these challenges.
Metabolic alterations induced in cultured skeletal muscle by stretch-relaxation activity

Avian pectoralis muscle cells differentiated in vitro are mechanically stimulated by repetitive stretch-relaxations of the cell's substratum. Their metabolic response to mechanical activity is dete...
Systematic Review of Illness Duration and Life Expectancy in Frontotemporal Degeneration (P05.107)

OBJECTIVE: Systematic review of all research reports of illness duration and survival in frontotemporal degeneration, FTD, and analysis of the data for summary estimates of survival for each FTD phenotype. BACKGROUND: Life expectancy is incompletely characterized in FTD, a pathologically heterogeneous disease that causes most primary dementia arising in midlife or earlier. DESIGN/METHODS: This is a systematic review of literature databases, limited to English-language reports. Studies were grouped by sampling strategy (ante-mortem v post-mortem). Data abstracted include phenotype, pathologic type, age at onset, and mean (and median) illness duration. Comparisons with survival in Alzheimer disease (AD) were analyzed. Summary estimates of survival for FTD phenotypes and AD were computed. RESULTS: Twenty-six studies (13 ante-mortem, 13 post-mortem) met criteria for inclusion with a total of 1771 subjects and 14010 observed years of illness. Survival in FTD was 8.5 years and in AD 9.4 years. In ante-mortem samples survival in behavioral FTD was 9.1 years and in AD was 9.7 years years. In post mortem samples (the latter comparisons derived from just 3 studies) survival was 8.9 years and 6.0 respectively. Estimated survival was shortest in FTD with motor neuron disease (FTD-MND) 3.2 years, longest in corticobasal degeneration and semantic dementia (10.2 and 11.0 years, respectively), and intermediate in progressive non-fluent aphasia (8.5 years) and progressive supranuclear palsy (7.1 years). CONCLUSIONS: FTD phenotypes vary in survival. FTD-MND shows short survival, PSP intermediate survival, and other phenotypes longer survival comparable to AD. There is still much to learn, such as factors that shape illness progression and survival in individuals. Future analyses will examine the effects of specific features (such as parkinsonism, anorexia, oral-buccal apraxia) on survival. Disclosure: Dr. Sloane has nothing to disclose. Dr. Minc has nothing to disclose. Dr. Rabins has nothing to disclose. Dr. Huey has nothing to disclose. Dr. Onyike has received research support from Forest Laboratories, Inc.
Trends in biomarker testing among metastatic colorectal cancer patients: A temporal description of KRAS, NRAS, and BRAF testing in the EU5.

e15136Background: The European Medicines Agency (EMA) changed its indication language from wild-type KRAS to wild-type RAS (KRAS and NRAS) for metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients treated w...
A 0.4-1.0GHz, 47MHop/S Frequency Hopped TXR Front-End with 20dB in-Band Blocker Rejection

An ultra-fast frequency hopping spread spectrum transceiver front-end architecture is presented that provides 20dB of processing gain at RF for the first time. This enables the receiver front-end to supress any in-band interferes by 20dB before they arrive at the LNA. The circuit consists of passive mixers and agile digital oscillator/DAC engines that are capable of quickly moving in the frequency domain with very low power. A transient hop time of 1.5ns is achieved in this design. The front-end implemented in 65nm CMOS technology, occupies an active area of 3.lmm2, and consumes 24mW (=P TX =P RX ) from a 1V power supply for a center frequency of 1GHz.
A Preliminary Study of Alternative Open Access Journal Indexes

This paper examines a group of selected open access journal indexes by non-mainstream index providers. It finds that journals seeking such indexing are mainly “predatory” journals. Most of these so-called alternative indexes have not provided any evidence of employing quality assessment in journal inclusions. They also are not supporting interoperability for online searching across the Web. Comparisons among the alternative indexes yield many overlaps of journals, indicating shared business of these indexes and journals.
Time to PSA nadir and the risk of death from prostate cancer following radiation and androgen deprivation therapy.

4Background: Whether the time to PSA nadir (TTN) has differential prognostic value in men who reach an undetectable versus detectable PSA nadir remains unknown. Methods: Two-hundred and four men fr...
Structure Activity Relationship of Xanthones For Inhibition of Cyclin Dependent Kinase 4 From Mangosteen (garcinia Mangostana L.)

The mangosteen fruit is a popular Southeast Asian fruit consumed for centuries. There have been a variety of xanthones isolated from the fruit, bark, roots and leaves with each having unique chemical and physical properties. Previously, the most abundant xanthone α-mangostin has been shown to inhibit CDK4. Herein we describe the role of selected xanthones from the mangosteen inhibiting CDK4. The evidence we provide here is that key functional groups are required to inhibit the CDK4 protein to prevent the phosphorylation of downstream targets critical to inhibiting uncontrolled cell cycle progression. To define the properties of xanthones for inhibiting CDK4 we utilized a cell free biochemical assay to identify inhibitors of CDK4. The following xanthones were used for the analysis: α-mangostin, β-mangostin, γ-mangostin, gartanin, 8-desoxygartanin, garcinone C and garcinone D, 9-hydroxycalabaxanthone, and 3-isomangostin These results further substantiate the unique pharmacological properties of individual xanthones and how a mixture of xanthones may be responsible for a multi-targeted effect in cell based pharmacology systems.
Nuclear effects in high-energy neutrino interactions

Neutrino telescopes like IceCube, KM3NeT, and Baikal-GVD offer physicists the opportunity to study neutrinos with energies far beyond the reach of terrestrial accelerators. These neutrinos are used to study high-energy neutrino interactions and to probe the Earth through absorption tomography. Current studies of TeV neutrinos use cross sections which are calculated for free nucleons with targets which are assumed to contain equal numbers of protons and neutrons. Here we consider modifications of high-energy neutrino interactions due to two nuclear effects: modifications of the parton densities in the nucleus, referred to here as shadowing, and the effect of nonisoscalar targets, with unequal numbers of neutrons and protons. Both of these effects depend on the interaction medium. Because shadowing is larger for heavier nuclei, such as iron, found in the Earth's core, it introduces a zenith-angle dependent change in the absorption cross section. These modifications increase the cross sections by 1--2% at energies below 100 TeV (antishadowing) and reduce it by 3--4% at higher energies (shadowing). Nuclear effects also alter the inelasticity distribution of neutrino interactions in water/ice by increasing the number of low-inelasticity interactions, with a larger effect for $\ensuremath{\nu}$ than $\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}$. These effects are particularly large in the energy range below a few TeV. These effects could alter the cross sections inferred from events with tracks originating within the active detector volume as well as the ratio $\ensuremath{\nu}/\overline{\ensuremath{\nu}}$ inferred from inelasticity measurements. The uncertainties in these nuclear effects are larger than the uncertainties on the free-proton cross sections and will thus limit the systematic precision of future high-precision measurements at neutrino telescopes.
The Immune Receptor Roq1 Confers Resistance to the Bacterial Pathogens Xanthomonas, Pseudomonas syringae, and Ralstonia in Tomato

Xanthomonas species, Pseudomonas syringae and Ralstonia solanacearum are bacterial plant pathogens that cause significant yield loss in many crop species. Generating disease-resistant crop varieties provides a more durable, sustainable solution to control yield loss in place of current chemical methods that are becoming ineffective. Plant immune receptors encoded by nucleotide‐binding, leucine‐rich repeat (NLR) genes typically confer resistance to pathogens that produce a cognate elicitor, often an effector protein secreted by the pathogen to promote virulence. The diverse sequence and presence / absence variation of pathogen effector proteins within and between pathogen species usually limits the utility of a single NLR gene to protecting a plant from a single pathogen species or particular strains. The NLR protein Recognition of XopQ 1 (Roq1) was recently identified from the plant Nicotiana benthamiana and mediates perception of the effector proteins XopQ and HopQ1 from Xanthomonas and P. syringae respectively. Unlike most recognized effectors, alleles of XopQ/HopQ1 are highly conserved and present in most plant pathogenic strains of Xanthomonas and P. syringae. A homolog of XopQ/HopQ1, named RipB, is present in most R. solanacearum strains. We found that Roq1 confers immunity to Xanthomonas, P. syringae, and R. solanacearum when expressed in tomato. Strong resistance to Xanthomonas perforans was observed in three seasons of field trials with both natural and artificial inoculation. The Roq1 gene can therefore be used to provide safe, economical and effective control of these pathogens in tomato and other crop species and reduce or eliminate the need for traditional chemical controls.
Molecular and functional extracellular vesicle analysis using nanopatterned microchips monitors tumor progression and metastasis

Longitudinal cancer monitoring is crucial to clinical implementation of precision medicine. There is growing evidence indicating important functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in tumor progression and metastasis, including matrix remodeling via transporting matrix metalloproteases (MMPs). However, the clinical relevance of EVs remains largely undetermined, partially owing to challenges in EV analysis. Distinct from existing technologies mostly focused on characterizing molecular constituents of EVs, here we report a nanoengineered lab-on-a-chip system that enables integrative functional and molecular phenotyping of tumor-associated EVs. A generalized, high-resolution colloidal inkjet printing method was developed to allow robust and scalable manufacturing of three-dimensional (3D) nanopatterned devices. With this nanochip platform, we demonstrated integrative analysis of the expression and proteolytic activity of MMP14 on EVs to detect in vitro cell invasiveness and monitor in vivo tumor metastasis, using cancer cell lines and mouse models. Analysis of clinical plasma specimen showed that our technology could be used for cancer detection including accurate classification of age-matched controls and patients with ductal carcinoma in situ, invasive ductal carcinoma, or locally metastatic breast cancer in a training cohort (n = 30, 96.7% accuracy) and an independent validation cohort (n = 70, 92.9% accuracy). With clinical validation, our technology could provide a useful liquid biopsy tool to improve cancer diagnostics and real-time surveillance of tumor evolution in patients to inform personalized therapy.
Nicotinamide Metabolism Mediates Resistance to Venetoclax in Relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells

We previously demonstrated that leukemia stem cells (LSCs) in de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients are selectively reliant on amino acid metabolism and that treatment with the combination of venetoclax and azacitidine (ven/aza) inhibits amino acid metabolism, leading to cell death. In contrast, ven/aza fails to eradicate LSCs in relapsed/refractory (R/R) patients, suggesting altered metabolic properties. Detailed metabolomic analysis revealed elevated nicotinamide metabolism in relapsed LSCs, which activates both amino acid metabolism and fatty acid oxidation to drive OXPHOS, thereby providing a means for LSCs to circumvent the cytotoxic effects of ven/aza therapy. Genetic and pharmacological inhibition of nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), the rate-limiting enzyme in nicotinamide metabolism, demonstrated selective eradication of R/R LSCs while sparing normal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Altogether, these findings demonstrate that elevated nicotinamide metabolism is both the mechanistic basis for ven/aza resistance and a metabolic vulnerability of R/R LSCs.
Engineering a Cost Function for Real-world Implementation of a Variational Quantum Algorithm

Hybrid quantum-classical variational algorithm execution typically involve the use of quantum processing for state evolution, and classical processing for cost function evaluation and guiding optimization. This paper proposes a new approach for engineering cost functions for a certain class of quantum- classical hybrid variation algorithms, in order to improve performance of these algorithms on today's small qubit systems. In this work, we apply this approach to a variational algorithm that generates thermofield double states (in the transverse field Ising model), which are relevant for studying thermal phase transitions in condensed matter systems. We discuss the benefits and drawbacks of various cost functions, apply our new engineering approach and show that it yields good agreement across the full temperature range.
Analysis of Tumor to Background Activity in BSGI

1489 Objectives Mammography is the standard breast cancer screening method but it has some significant limitations including evaluating women with dense breasts. After serendipitous discovery of its tumor imaging capability, breast specific gamma imaging (BSGI) has emerged as an adjunct imaging modality in the detection of breast cancer. BSGI is a nuclear medicine breast imaging technique that uses a high resolution, small field-of-view breast-specific gamma camera. To our knowledge, there is no quantitative analysis of the performance of BSGI. Therefore, we performed a retrospective analysis to evaluate the diagnostic performance of BSGI by calculating lesion to background ratios for pathology proven benign and malignant lesions. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 79 BSGIs performed at our institution from October of 2011 to September of 2015. A lesion to background ratio was calculated by placing a region of interest (ROI) in the area of the lesion with the most intense uptake and a ROI of the same size in the background. The mean background ratio and standard deviation for benign and malignant lesions were calculated as well as the confidence interval of the true mean for benign and malignant lesions. The p value for the statistical significance that the benign and malignant means are different was also calculated. In addition, analysis of lesion to background activity versus lesion size and receiver operator curve of all lesions was also performed. Results 10 out of the 79 BSGIs were pathology proven benign lesions and 69 out of the 79 BSGIs were pathology proven malignant lesions. The lesion to background ratio for benign lesions is 1.45 +/- 0.63 (mean +/- std_dev) with a standard error of the estimate = 0.02. The 95% confidence interval of the true mean of benign lesions is between 1.06 to 1.84. The lesion to background ratio for malignant lesions is 2.55 +/- 1.28 (mean +/- std_dev) with a standard error of the estimate = 0.15. The 95% confidence interval of the true mean of malignant lesions is between 2.25 to 2.85. The statistical significance that the benign and malignant means are different demonstrated a p value of 0.01. Analysis of lesion to background activity versus lesion size shows that there is a loss of data variability a linear trend to the origin (0,1) as lesions become less than 1 cm. Receiver operator curve of all lesions (10 benign and 69 malignant) was created with a ROC area as 0.81. Conclusions BSGI, although not routinely used, is shown to be useful tool in the identification of breast malignancy. Our retrospective analysis of 79 BSGI examinations concludes that if a lesion has lesion to background activity > 2.0, it is more worrisome for tumor. However, if a lesion is less than 1 cm, there is a "partial volume" effect seen in the lesion to background ratios, and then any visible uptake is then diagnostically concerning.
Hunting for human ribozymes.

An approach based on enrichment of 5′ hydroxylated RNAs reveals a new self-cleaving ribozyme that maps to a very long non-protein-coding RNA in simians. The ribozyme is active only among hominin sequences, suggesting a recent acquisition of the activity.
Uplink Coverage in Heterogeneous mmWave Cellular Networks With Clustered Users

A $K$ -tier heterogeneous mmWave uplink cellular network with clustered user equipments (UEs) is considered in this paper. In particular, UEs are assumed to be clustered around small-cell base stations (BSs) according to a Gaussian distribution, leading to the Thomas cluster process based modeling. Specific and practical line-of-sight (LOS) and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) models are adopted with different parameters for different tiers. The probability density functions (PDFs) and complementary cumulative distribution functions (CCDFs) of different distances from UEs to BSs are characterized. Coupled association strategy and largest long-term averaged biased received power criterion are considered, and general expressions for association probabilities are provided. Following the identification of the association probabilities, the Laplace transforms of the inter-cell interference and the intra-cluster interference are characterized. Using tools from stochastic geometry, general expressions of the SINR coverage probability are provided. As extensions, fractional power control is incorporated into the analysis, tractable closed-form expressions are provided for special cases, and average ergodic spectral efficiency is analyzed. Via numerical and simulation results, analytical characterizations are confirmed and the impact of key system and network parameters on the performance is identified.
Personal Philosophy of Leadership (2nd Edition)

This precis revisits an opening statement on a personal philosophy of leadership: that initial statement was informed by theories of leadership; formative experiences of leadership; cultural identity; trends in the development of post-bureaucratic organizations; and sundry work experiences. This revised edition offers reflections on the initial statement, drawing from scholarly readings, discussions, and other developments since the “first edition”.
A more proximal landing zone is preferred for thoracic endovascular repair of acute type B aortic dissections.

Abstract Objective Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) has become first-line therapy for complicated acute type B aortic dissection (aTBAD). However, the strategy for optimal proximal landing zone remains to be determined. We compared early outcomes and late aortic-related adverse events in patients undergoing TEVAR for complicated aTBAD with endograft deployment in proximal landing zone 2 vs 3. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review of adult patients undergoing TEVAR for complicated aTBAD within 6 weeks of diagnosis from January 2008 to December 2018. We excluded patients with connective tissue disorders and prior type A repair. Patients were divided into landing zone 2 TEVAR (Z2T) and zone 3 TEVAR (Z3T) groups. Z2 patients were divided between left subclavian artery (LSA) revascularization (Z2R) vs LSA coverage without revascularization (Z2C). Groups were compared for the need for aortic reintervention within 36 months of initial admission and freedom from aortic-related adverse events and mortality (AREM), defined as the need for aortic reintervention, aortic-related death, or rupture. Results Eighty-three patients underwent TEVAR for complicated aTBAD within a mean of 4.1 ± 7.8 days; 89.5% of patients had less than 2 cm of healthy proximal descending thoracic aorta. The landing zone was Z3T in 35 patients and 48 underwent Z2T: 10 Z2C and 38 Z2R. There were no differences between Z2T and Z3T in time from diagnosis to TEVAR, demographics, comorbidities, and diameter aortic measurements. The 30-day survival was 87.8%—89.5% for Z2R, 88.6% for Z3, and 80.0% for Z2C (P = .610). The postoperative spinal cord ischemia rate was 3.7%—2.7% for Z2R, 0% for Z3T, and 20.0% for Z2C (P = .012). The postoperative thoracic aortic rupture was 2.2% in Z2 and 0 in Z3. The need for aortic reintervention at 36 months after TEVAR was lower for Z2T (10.4%) vs Z3T (31.4%; P = .025). Freedom from AREM at 36 months was higher in Z2T vs Z3T (87.5% vs 68.6%; P = .048). The freedom from proximal reintervention was higher in Z2T (95.8%) compared with Z3T (80.0%; P = .019). Z3T deployment was predictive for AREM (odd ratio, 3.648; 95% confidence interval, 1.161-11.465; P = .027) and need for proximal reintervention (odds ratio, 5.542; 95% confidence interval, 1.062-28.927; P = .042). Conclusions Most patients with aTBAD have less than 2 cm of proximal healthy descending thoracic aorta. In patients treated for complicated aTBAD, Z2T is associated with a lower need for aortic reintervention and aortic-related adverse events than Z3T. Patients may benefit from a more aggressive proximal landing zone with similar perioperative morbidity when Z2T is done with LSA revascularization.
DYNAMICS OF CONCOMITANT POPULATIONS OF PRATYLENCHUS VULNUS AND MELOIDOGYNE INCOGNITA ON PEACH

Nyczepir, A. P. 2009. Dynamics of concomitant populations of Pratylenchus vulnus and Meloidogyne incognita on peach. Nematropica 39:273-279. The effect of the interaction between Meloidogyne incognita and Pratylenchus vulnus on nematode reproduction and vegetative growth of Lovell peach was studied in field microplots. Pratylenchus vulnus suppressed the population density of M. incognita second-stage juveniles, whereas the presence of M. incognita did not affect the population density of P. vulnus in soil. Above-ground tree growth, as measured by trunk diameter 12 and 24 months following inoculation, was reduced in the presence of M. incognita. Differences in root growth as related to nematode treatment were detected 26 months after inoculation. Root growth was reduced in the presence of the two nematode species together than P. vulnus alone, but not when compared to M. incognita alone. There was a greater negative impact on vegetative growth of peach seedlings growing in M. incognita-infested soil than in P. vulnus-infested soil.
A fast parallel maximum clique algorithm for large sparse graphs and temporal strong components

We propose a fast, parallel, maximum clique algorithm for large, sparse graphs that is designed to exploit characteristics of social and information networks. We observe roughly linear runtime scaling over graphs between 1000 vertices and 100M vertices. In a test with a 1.8 billion-edge social network, the algorithm finds the largest clique in about 20 minutes. For social networks, in particular, we found that using the core number of a vertex in combination with a good heuristic clique finder efficiently removes the vast majority of the search space. In addition, we parallelize the exploration of the search tree. In the algorithm, processes immediately communicate changes to upper and lower bounds on the size of maximum clique, which occasionally results in a super-linear speedup because vertices with especially large search spaces can be pruned by other processes. We use this clique finder to investigate the size of the largest temporal strong components in dynamic networks, which requires finding the largest clique in a particular temporal reachability graph.
The role of exploration and critical decision making and problem solving in making life choices

OF THE DISSERTATION THE ROLE OF EXPLORATION AND CRITICAL DECISION MAKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING IN MAKING LIFE CHOICES
Semantics: Meanings and Contexts of Artifacts

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses meanings and contexts of artifacts. Its elaboration of how meanings connect to the contexts in which artifacts are used bringsnonlinguistic, particularly visual, metaphors into a clearer focus. Whereas the entailments of linguistic metaphors reorganize present perceptions, the entailments of nonlinguistic metaphors restructure the present contexts of artifacts. This chapter demonstrates how the meanings of artifacts derive from and subsequently direct stakeholders’ conceptions and interactively transform an artifact’s contextualizations. Meanings are best seen as guiding human actions. In human interfaces with artifacts, these meanings are enacted, tested for their affordances, and modified to fit what one wants to accomplish. Metaphors alter an artifact’s context as well, but perhaps more thoroughly, more effectively, and perhaps least noticed. Finding practices to rely on, or ways to create the conditions for desirable interfaces with artifacts to emerge, is important to human-centered designers. Knowing how such practices are transferred from familiar to new artifacts enables designers to intervene successfully into how their designs may be used. Linguistically, success comes from succeeding. In this sense, a design succeeds by traveling through an always-emerging network of its stakeholders—directed by the meanings that its stakeholders attribute to it and that designers may wish to track and utilize.
Adhesion sites of neural tumor cells: Morphogenesis of substratum-attached material

Abstract An analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has been performed of the attachment, neurite outgrowth, EGTA-mediated detachment, and morphological characteristics of substratum-attached material (SAM) for non-neurite- or neurite-containing rat neuroblastoma cells growing on serum-coated plastic coverslips. Attachment is initiated by filopodial contact with the substratum and with subsequent broad spreading of the surface membrane; footpad-type adhesion sites commonly observed in fibroblasts are not apparent at the periphery of these neuronal cells. During serum starvation, neurite extension occurs by elongation into bipolar cells, membrane ruffling and filopodial extension at these polar ends, and growth cone extension over the substratum. With time, some growth cones terminate membrane ruffling and spread extensively into a footpad-like morphology. EGTA-mediated detachment occurs by cell body rounding and pulling away from small focal areas of contact between the surface membrane and the substratum. After complete detachment, two morphologically different classes of SAM are identified. Non-neurite-containing neuroblastoma cells leave large membranous pools of SAM which are rigid and raised off the substratum, revealing small focal contact areas. A second morphological class of SAM is identified in neurite-containing cultures as small pools of membranous material tightly bound to the substratum and reminiscent of the footpad SAM deposited by fibroblasts. Along with the biochemical differences noted previously for the SAMs from non-neurite- or neurite-containing cultures, these studies indicate that the adhesion between the growth cone of neurites and the serum-coated substratum is significantly different from the adhesion processes occurring between the cell body and the substratum.
Electron beam disruption due to ion release from targets-experimental observations

Summary form only given, as follows. A major concern for the new generation radiography facilities like DARHT and AIRIX is that ions or ionized neutrals released from solid surfaces by beam impact can be accelerated and trapped by the beam potential. This time-dependent positive-charge distribution, inside the beam channel, can disrupt the beam. Possible release mechanisms include electron induced desorption of neutrals or ions, thermal desorption due to beam-target heating, and melting or vaporization of the solid target. To study this, we have performed experiments on the DARHT first axis (1.7 kA, 20. MeV, 60ns). Here, the beam, focused to a range of diameters, is transmitted through a thin target made of various materials. The time evolution of the beam radial profile is measured downstream of the target. For low current density, the downstream-beam radial profile is time invariant as expected for a pure electron beam. At higher current density, the downstream beam radial profile is clearly disrupted during the pulse including a large transverse instability. This is indicative of ion release at the target foil. Analysis of the data indicates that the ions are formed from thermally desorbed neutrals ionized by the beam. This is buttressed by observations of substantial neutral release at beam densities above the beam disruption threshold. Measurements to identify the desorbed species are underway and the results will be presented. In addition, the results of experiments to measure the properties of the accelerated ions will be presented. The implications of these findings for the DARHT second axis will be discussed.
The Culture System Affects Organoleptic Properties and Lipid Composition of Common Carp (Cyprinus Carpio L.) Meat

The aim of this study was to evaluate the main quality parameters in relation to two different carp culture systems. The quality of common carp fillet, such fat content, fatty acid composition, textural properties and sensory parameters, was evaluated. Carps were harvested from semi-intensive (SIS) and extensive (ES) systems, respectively. The results show no significant differences between the groups in organoleptic tests. However, significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed in the textual parameters (especially hardness). A difference in the fat content and fatty acid profile (P < 0.05) between two different carp culture systems was also observed. This study shows that the quality of common carp fillets particularly depends on the culture system used. Feeding strategies as well as general pond management are therefore of critical importance to enhance the overall quality of common carp fillets and meet the consumer demands.
Patient-centered outcome evaluation of the Rural Breast Cancer Survivors Intervention.

Patient-centered evaluation is a critical but often overlooked component of intervention research. The Rural Breast Cancer Survivors (RBCS) Intervention is a survivorship education and support intervention designed for rural breast cancer survivors. Here, we describe evaluation of the RBCS Intervention from the participants’ experience. Three hundred sixty-four breast cancer survivors participating in the RBCS Intervention were asked to complete the RBCS Evaluation Survey that consisted of 6 quantitative statements and 12 qualitative questions via mail. Two hundred twenty-one participants (61 %) returned the RBCS Evaluation Survey. All 221 completed the qualitative component, and 91 (25 %) completed the quantitative. Overall, participants indicated that the education materials were easy to understand and addressed their quality of life concerns. Majority (94 %) indicated that the survivorship information was helpful in making health decisions and communicating concerns to family (87 % strongly agree/agree) and oncology team (88 % strongly agree/agree). Only 66 % indicated that the survivorship educational materials were provided at an appropriate time after completion of primary breast cancer treatment. Qualitative data suggested that participants had positive perceptions and experiences and found the RBCS Intervention helpful. One-on-one interaction with the intervention nurses was the single most highly valued aspect. Overall, the RBCS Intervention was helpful. Education materials addressed quality of life concerns. Breast cancer survivors developed skills in communicating with their family and oncology team. Intervention nurses were identified as the most valuable aspect of the program. Suggestions include earlier timing of survivorship education and support, and adaptation using social media access to serve other rural survivors. Patient-centered evaluations, using both quantitative and qualitative data, provide enriched understanding of evidence-based survivorship interventions and should be considered a standard for future work.
Dynamic effects during vibrothermographic NDE of composites

Abstract Vibrothermography is an NDE technique whereby a structure is excited with mechanical vibrations and the temperature profile on the surface is mapped by real-time video thermography. Damage in the structure is frequently more efficient at converting the input mechanical energy to heat than are undamaged regions of the structure. Hence damage appears on the thermal map as warmer regions. While using this technique to investigate manufacturing defects in tensile coupons made from sheet moulding compound and panels of graphite epoxy damaged by impact loadings, a dependence of the temperature patterns upon the frequency of the mechanical excitation was observed. This paper attempts to model this frequency dependent behaviour and to verify the model by experiment.
TU-C-204B-03: Reducing Imaging Dose without Sacrificing Target Localization Accuracy: A Feasibility Study

Purpose: We develop and investigate the feasibility of reducing concomitant imaging dose without sacrificing tumor localization accuracy in IGRT, by making “smart” imaging decisions in real‐time. This study focuses on demonstrating the utility of adaptive imaging triggers instead of uniform triggering. Method and Materials: We demonstrate the sub‐optimality of the current uniform imaging scheme, in terms of accuracy v.s. imaging dose tradeoff. We developed an oracle imaging triggering strategy, which retrospectively distributes the kV imaging events to maximize localization accuracy over the treatment duration. The tradeoff between localization accuracy and total imaging dose from the oracle solution provides a performance upper bound and its deviation from the corresponding uniform image triggering scheme alludes to the potential of imaging less with the same localization accuracy. The proposed concept is tested on 159 patient derived 3D abdominal and thoracic tumor traces. Results: The oracle tradeoff curve dominates the current practiced uniform image triggering scheme, in the sense that for the same localization accuracy, it consistently reduces the required total number of images. Quantitatively, it manage to decrease the average imaging frequency by 40% to 50% in most cases. Furthermore, significant potential dose reduction is observed throughout a large range of motion patterns and under various total imaging dose conditions. Conclusion: We have proposed a feasibility study to investigate the As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) principle in IGRT, by reducing imaging dose while maintaining tumor localization accuracy. Future work will focus on developing real‐time heuristics to approach the oracle performance and experimental verification of geometric and dosimetric accuracy. Research supported by NIH/NCI R01 93626 and AAPM Seed Funding Initiative.
Three-Component Coupling Approach to Trachyspic Acid

Three-component coupling of the lithium enolate of t-BuOAc, silyl glyoxylate, and an α,β-unsaturated ketone enables the rapid construction of the trachyspic acid carbon skeleton. A 3,4-disubstituted isoxazole is utilized to mask the C7/C9 dicarbonyl. New enolsilane/nitrile-oxide cycloadditions enable the preparation of various 3,4-disubstituted isoxazoles that are challenging to access by other means.
Endogenous Lipid Hydroperoxide-mediated DNA-adduct Formation in Min Mice

Despite intensive research over the last two decades, there are still no specific markers of endogenous lipid hydroperoxide-mediated DNA damage. We recently demonstrated that heptanone-etheno-2'-deoxyguanosine adducts are formed in the DNA of rat intestinal epithelial cells that stably express cyclooxygenase-2. Heptanone-etheno adducts can only arise from the reaction of lipid hydroperoxide-derived 4-oxo-2(E)-nonenal with DNA. This raised the possibility that similar adducts would be formed in vivo in settings where cyclooxygenase-2 expression is increased. Therefore, DNA-adduct formation was studied in C57BL/6JAPC(min) mice, a colorectal cancer mouse model in which cyclooxygenase-2 is up-regulated. 15(S)-Hydroperoxy-5Z,8Z,11Z,13E-eicosatetraenoic acid is the major lipid hydroperoxide produced endogenously by cyclooxygenase-2. It undergoes homolytic decomposition to the DNA-reactive bifunctional electrophile 4-oxo-2(E)-nonenal, which forms heptanone-etheno adducts with DNA. A quantitative comparison was made of the heptanone-etheno-DNA adducts present in C57BL/6J and C57BL/6JAPC(min) mice. Using highly specific and sensitive methodology based on stable isotope dilution liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry, we have detected the endogenous formation of heptanone-etheno adducts in mammalian tissue DNA for the first time. In addition, we found that there were statistically significant increased levels of the heptanone-etheno-2'-deoxyguanosine and heptanone-etheno-2'-deoxycytidine adducts in the C57BL/6JAPC(min) mice when compared with the control C57BL/6J mice.
A 62-year-old woman with 3 episodes of anaphylaxis.

HISTORY OF PRESENT ILLNESS A 62-year-old Hispanic woman with a history of renal cell cancer experienced her first episode of anaphylaxis during surgery in May 2002. Her systolic blood pressure dropped to 60 mm Hg several minutes after the initial incision was made in an attempted nephrectomy for her localized renal cell cancer. No hives were noted. Surgery was stopped, and the patient recovered in the intensive care unit after several doses of epinephrine and dexamethasone. She had received rocuronium and ciprofloxacin during the surgery, which were thought to be the most likely causes of the anaphylaxis. A second attempt at surgery 1 week later resulted in her second episode of anaphylaxis, again marked by a decrease in her blood pressure. This time she was not given ciprofloxacin, and the rocuronium was replaced with cisatracurium. The surgeons completed the procedure with the aid of epinephrine and dexamethasone, and the patient recovered without further incident. Three months later the patient had a third episode of anaphylaxis unrelated to surgery and was sent to the Northwestern University Allergy-Immunology Division for evaluation.
Comparison of positron emission tomography and bremsstrahlung imaging to detect particle distribution in patients undergoing yttrium-90 radioembolization for large hepatocellular carcinomas or associated portal vein thrombosis.

Abstract Purpose To compare positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) imaging with bremsstrahlung single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in patients after yttrium-90 ( 90 Y) microsphere radioembolization to assess particle uptake. Materials and Methods This prospective study comprised patients with large (> 5 cm) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) or tumor-associated portal vein thrombus (PVT), or both. After radioembolization for HCC, patients underwent bremsstrahlung SPECT/CT and time-of-flight PET/CT imaging of 90 Y without additional tracer administration. Follow-up imaging and toxicity was analyzed. Imaging analyses of PET/CT and bremsstrahlung SPECT/CT were independently performed. Results There were 13 patients enrolled in the study, including 7 with PVT. Median tumor diameter was 7 cm. PET/CT demonstrated precise localization of 90 Y particles in the liver, with specific patterns of uptake in large tumors. In cases of PVT, PET/CT showed activity within the PVT. When correlated to short-term follow-up imaging, areas of necrosis correlated with regions of uptake seen on PET/CT. Compared with bremsstrahlung imaging, PET/CT demonstrated at least comparable spatial resolution with less scatter. Quantitative uptake in nontreated regions of interest showed significantly reduced scatter with PET/CT versus SPECT/CT (1% vs 14%, P Conclusions Evaluation of 90 Y particle uptake with PET/CT potentially demonstrates high spatial resolution and low scatter compared with bremsstrahlung SPECT/CT. Confirmation of particles within PVT on PET/CT correlates with response on follow-up imaging and may account for the efficacy of radioembolization in patients with PVT.
An introduction to object-oriented programming

From the Publisher: Discover the basic concepts of object-oriented programming and the elements of object-oriented design. Timothy Budd teaches objects, class methods, inheritance (including multiple inheritance), polymorphism and principles in a language-independent manner, with examples from five different languages: C++, Delphi, Java, Objective-C, and Smalltalk.
A Cost-Effective Approach to Delivering Analytics as a Service

Analytical solutions are considered as increasingly important for modern enterprises. Currently, systematical adoption of analytical solutions is limited to only a small set of large enterprises, as the deployment cost is high due to high performance hardware requirement and expensive analytics software. Moreover, such on-premises solutions are not suitable for the occasional analytics consumers. In order to accelerate the prevalence of analytical solutions, this paper explores the feasibility of leveraging SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) delivery model to provide analytics capabilities as services in a cost-effective way. The main contributions of our work include: (1) proposing a framework to enable enterprise tenants to consume analytics capabilities as services; (2) developing a method to enhance existing analytics platform to support multi-tenancy so that a single software instance can effectively support multiple concurrent tenants; (3) designing an SLA (Service Level Agreement) customization mechanism to satisfy the diverse analytics capability demands of tenants. A prototype system has been developed to evaluate the feasibility of our approach.
Photochrome-mediated regulation of messenger RNAs for the small subunit of ribulose 1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase and the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein in Lemna gibba

Brief red illumination (10 min/8 hr) of Lemna gibba L. G-3 growing heterotrophically in the dark increases the growth of the plants and results in a substantial increase in the levels of mRNA for two major chloroplast polypeptides. These two nuclear-coded polypeptides are the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-protein, an intrinsic thylakoid membrane protein, and the small subunit of the stromal enzyme ribulose 1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase [RuP2; 3-phospho-D-glycerate carboxylyase (dimerizing), E.C.4.1.1.39]. The effect of 10 min red illumination on the dark growth of the plants is reversed by immediate far-red illumination, but the effect on the mRNA levels is not. However, this latter response can be reversed by far-red light if the time between the beginnings of the red and far-red illumination is reduced to one minute. Thus phytochrome is the photoreceptor mediating both responses, and the effect on amounts of the translatable mRNAs has a remarkably short escape time.