cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Human Cytokine-Induced Memory-like (CIML) NK Cells Are Active Against Myeloid Leukemia in Vitro and in Vivo

NK cells are innate lymphoid cells that mediate anti-leukemia responses. The ability of MHC-haploidentical NK cells to recognize and eliminate AML blasts have been established in the setting of stem cell transplantation and early phase adoptive NK cell immunotherapy trials. However, the optimal approach to prepare human NK cells for maximal anti-leukemia capacity is unclear. As one form of innate NK cell memory, cytokine-induced memory-like (CIML) NK cells are induced by a brief (16 hour) pre-activation of human NK cells with the combination of IL-12, IL-15, and IL-18, while control NK cells from the same donor are activated by IL-15 only. In published work, this combined IL-12, IL-15, and IL-18 pre-activation results in enhanced proliferation and augmented IFN-gamma responses to cytokine or activating receptor-based re-stimulation following a rest period of 1 – 6 weeks. We hypothesized that CIML NK cells exhibit improved anti-leukemia properties compared to control NK cells from the same individual. Purified primary human CIML NK cells [both CD56bright and CD56dim subsets] produce more IFN-gamma, compared to control NK cells, upon re-stimulation with K562 cells or primary AML blasts after 7 days of rest (p<0.05 and p<0.001, N=5). CIML NK cells also exhibit higher granzyme B protein expression (p<0.01; N=8), and increased cytotoxicity against K562 leukemia targets in vitro (p<0.001, 2.5:1 and 5:1 E:T ratios). We next established a NOD-SCID-gamma-c-/- (NSG) xenograft model to investigate primary human CIML NK cell responses in vivo, with survival supported by low dose IL-2 administered every other day. Seven days following injection of 4 million NK cells / mouse, human CIML NK cells traffic to the bone marrow, spleen, liver and blood, and exhibited better in vivo expansion and persistence, compared to control NK cells (p=0.05 in the blood and bone marrow). Further, the characteristic enhanced functionality of CIML compared to control NK cells when restimulated with K562 targets was retained when assessed ex vivo 7 days post-transfer (p<0.05). Next, we investigated the ability of CIML versus control NK cells from the same donor to clear K562 AML cells in vivo . First, luciferase expressing K562 cells (1 million / mouse) were engrafted into sub-lethally irradiated (250 cGy) NSG mice. On day 3 after K562 challenge, primary human CIML or control NK cells from the same donor (4 million / mouse) were injected, which were supported in vivo using low dose IL-2. CIML NK cells exhibited significantly improved in vivo leukemia clearance as evidenced by whole mouse bioluminescence imaging (see Figure, P=0.03, N=7 mice per group). Thus, human CIML NK cells exhibit enhanced in vitro and in vivo anti-leukemia effects, compared to control NK cells. Based on these findings, a first-in-human phase 1 study of CIML NK cells in relapsed/refractory AML is currently underway. ![Figure 1][1] Figure 1 Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare. [1]: pending:yes
Spinal Myxopapillary Ependymomas in Children and Young Adults: A Population-Based Study (P3.275)

Objective: We sought to examine the impact of demographic and treatment modalities on overall survival among pediatric patients with spinal myxopapillary ependymomas. Background: Spinal myxopapillary ependymomas are extremely rare tumors in children. While there are numerous studies in adults, there is a paucity of literature in the pediatric population. To combat this, we examined the patient demographics, treatment modalities, and associated outcomes of children with myxopapillary ependymomas using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) national cancer database. Methods: The SEER database (1973-2012) was used to analyze patients 21 and younger with histologically confirmed myxopapillary ependymomas localized to the spinal cord or cauda equina. We analyzed patient demographics, extent of surgical resection, and radiation treatment. Overall survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05, with all data analyzed in SPSS. Results: 122 pediatric patients met inclusion criteria. The median age was 16 years (range: 0-21) with 63[percnt] male and 87[percnt] Caucasian. The mean follow-up time was 4.5 years (95[percnt] CI: 3.93-5.07). Overall survival at 5 and 10 years was 97[percnt] and 95[percnt], respectively. We found 37[percnt] received gross-total resection, 36[percnt] subtotal resection, and 27[percnt] no surgery. Radiotherapy was administered to 27[percnt] of patients. No statistically significant relationships were found between radiotherapy and overall survival, or between surgical resection and overall survival. Only 18[percnt] of patients who underwent gross-total resection received radiotherapy while 45[percnt] with subtotal resection did (p < 0.01). Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the largest analysis of survival for pediatric patients with myxopapillary ependymomas. Survival is excellent at the 5- and 10-year mark at over 95[percnt]. Future studies need to focus on longer follow-up and the role of radiation and recurrence for these tumors. Disclosure: Dr. Lucchesi has nothing to disclose. Dr. Grant has nothing to disclose. Dr. Marks has nothing to disclose. Dr. DiLuna has nothing to disclose.
Lg magnitudes of selected East Kazakhstan underground explosions

Abstract The amplitude of 1-sec period Lg waves, as recorded on seismograms of WWSSN stations in southern Asia and Scandinavia, are used to determine m b ( Lg ) values for 62 underground nuclear explosions in the eastern portion of the East Kazakhstan Test Site. The explosions were selected to be of m b ( P ) = 5.5 or greater in the period 1965 to 1985. The yields of the explosions are estimated, assuming that a Nevada Test Site-derived relation between m b ( Lg ) and yield for water-saturated rock is also applicable to the East Kazakhstan Test Site. Assuming that lateral variations in crustal structure and in depth of emplacement of the explosion do not affect m b ( Lg ) values, the Lg data indicate that the m b ( P ) bias between the Nevada Test Site and East Kazakhstan is 0.35 magnitude units.
Generalization of the Fundamental Limit Theory in a Switched-Capacitor Converter

This letter generalizes the fundamental limit theory in switched-capacitor (SC) converters. The fundamental limit theory proposed in 1995 sets the voltage-gain-ratio (VCR) boundaries for a specific number of $k$ flying capacitors in the SC converter. Although this limit is valid for the positive VCR, another condition must be satisfied for the negative VCR. Moreover, the fundamental limit is only proved using single-input single-output SC converters, whereas multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) SC converter implementation is desirable in some applications. Therefore, this letter extends the fundamental limit theory to include the negative VCR and the MIMO SC converter implementation.
Metabolically distinct weight loss by 10,12 CLA and caloric restriction highlight the importance of subcutaneous white adipose tissue for glucose homeostasis in mice.

Background Widely used as a weight loss supplement, trans-10,cis-12 conjugated linoleic acid (10,12 CLA) promotes fat loss in obese mice and humans, but has also been associated with insulin resistance. Objective We therefore sought to directly compare weight loss by 10,12 CLA versus caloric restriction (CR, 15–25%), an acceptable healthy method of weight loss, to determine how 10,12 CLA-mediated weight loss fails to improve glucose metabolism. Methods Obese mice with characteristics of human metabolic syndrome were either supplemented with 10,12 CLA or subjected to CR to promote weight loss. Metabolic endpoints such as energy expenditure, glucose and insulin tolerance testing, and trunk fat distribution were measured. Results By design, 10,12 CLA and CR caused equivalent weight loss, with greater fat loss by 10,12 CLA accompanied by increased energy expenditure, reduced respiratory quotient, increased fat oxidation, accumulation of alternatively activated macrophages, and browning of subcutaneous white adipose tissue (WAT). Moreover, 10,12 CLA-supplemented mice better defended their body temperature against a cold challenge. However, 10,12 CLA concurrently induced the detrimental loss of subcutaneous WAT without reducing visceral WAT, promoted reduced plasma and WAT adipokine levels, worsened hepatic steatosis, and failed to improve glucose metabolism. Obese mice undergoing CR were protected from subcutaneous-specific fat loss, had improved hepatic steatosis, and subsequently showed the expected improvements in WAT adipokines, glucose metabolism and WAT inflammation. Conclusions These results suggest that 10,12 CLA mediates the preferential loss of subcutaneous fat that likely contributes to hepatic steatosis and maintained insulin resistance, despite significant weight loss and WAT browning in mice. Collectively, we have shown that weight loss due to 10,12 CLA supplementation or CR results in dramatically different metabolic phenotypes, with the latter promoting a healthier form of weight loss.
Systemic AL Amyloidosis in a Cat

A tarsal mass removed from a 10 year old cat proved to be an extramedullary plasmacytoma which was largely composed of amyloid. Subsequent histological examination at necropsy indicated amyloid was also present in lymph nodes, spleen, and liver. Amyloid fibrils isolated from the tarsal mass were reduced, alkylated, and fractionated on Sepharose CL6B in 4M guanidine hydrochloride. The subunit protein was digested with trypsin or Staphylococcus protease, and the resulting peptides were fractionated by reverse phase HPLC. Sequence analysis of the tryptic peptides showed that the amyloid subunit protein was derived from an immunoglobulin lambda light chain. The variable region framework sequence resembled most closely the human lambda II subgroup. This represents the first structurally characterized immunoglobulin amyloid protein in a species other than human.
Infections associated with the addition of pertuzumab to trastuzumab-based chemotherapy.

e12524Background: We observed an increased incidence of severe skin and nail infections in HER2 positive patients whose treatment regimens included pertuzumab to trastuzumab-based chemotherapy; a previously unrecognized toxicity. Methods: We developed a registry for patients (pts.) who were identified by their treating physician to have severe skin/nail infections attributed to this dual HER2-directed treatment. A single infectious disease specialist (SD) oversaw the attribution of infection to drug or non-drug. Physicians were encouraged to assess quantitative immunoglobulins. Results: To date, 44 women were identified to have 62 individual episodes of infection, often at more than one site. Treatment was given as neoadjuvant therapy -24, as adjuvant therapy - 6, and for metastatic disease -14. The median age was 57 (Range 25-73); 24 received pertuzumab, trastuzumab, carboplatin, and docetaxel (PTCH); 22 pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and a taxane; 2 were on pertuzumab and trastuzumab alone. Folliculitis of th...
Matter and Motion

This chapter focuses on Aristotle’s and Kant’s treatments of matter and motion. The chapter begins by focusing on how Aristotle considers locomotion in its own right and in its relation to the other changes in nature, and proceeds to address why self-motion is problematic for Aristotle. In face of the difficulties of Aristotle’s account, the Chapter turns to address Kant’s conception of mechanics and how it addresses the determination of mass and absolute motion.
Open-to-Air Is a Viable Option for Initial Wound Care in Necrotizing Soft Tissue Infection that Allows Early Detection of Recurrence without Need for Painful Dressing Changes or Return to Operating Room.

Abstract Background: The standard treatment of necrotizing soft tissue infection (NSTI) includes extensive surgical debridement. Care of these debridements is challenging because of the size of the wound and associated pain. A potential solution is to leave the wounds open-to-air in the period after the initial debridement, allowing for regular inspection at bedside while reducing pain associated with frequent dressing changes. We evaluated the feasibility of this approach from a pain control standpoint. Patients and Methods: An audit of wound care modalities used on adult patients with NSTI admitted to a regional burn center between January 2009 and May 2014 was performed. Patients with at least one operation were included. Those opting for palliative care were excluded. Wound care was divided into four categories: open-to-air (OTA), negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT), packing, and ointment. Wound care, pain score, pain medication use, and number of operations were collected for the first seven days ...
Intra-robot replanning to enable team plan conditions

Individual team members are the building blocks of successful multi-robot teams in dynamic competitive domains. The current approach to designing a team is to divide the planning into a hierarchy by separating team coordination and task assignment — global planning — from task planning and execution — local planning. The global planner must make assumptions based on simplified models of dynamics and/or opponents, and as such certain conditions are assumed true when globally planning but are not always true at local execution time. In this paper, we describe several algorithms for intra-robot replanning that allow the individual robots to enable the conditions of their tasks. We then demonstrate improvements in task completion when the robots are capable of replanning their task(s) and their teammates' task(s) in a simplified robot soccer domain. We further show preliminary results on learning when to replan.
Analysis of ENSO's response to unforced variability and anthropogenic forcing using CESM.

Understanding how the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) may change with climate is a major challenge, given the internal variability of the system and relatively short observational record. Here we analyze the effect of coupled internal variability on changes in ENSO under anthropogenic global warming using the Community Earth System Model (CESM). We present results from a ~5000 year control run with constant pre-industrial conditions and a 50-member climate change ensemble experiment, consisting of historical hindcasts (1850-2005) and future projections to 2100 following representative concentration pathway 8.5 (RCP8.5). Given this large single-model ensemble, we are able to use simple statistical analyses to compare the effects of anthropogenic climate change with the effects of natural modulations in ENSO sea surface temperature (SST) metrics, as well as how internal variability may change with global warming. Changes in eastern Pacific ENSO SST metrics due to climate change are secondary to the model's natural modulations; however, central Pacific ENSO amplitude significantly decreases, to an extent comparable with natural modulations. We also assess the sensitivity of internal variability estimates to ensemble size. The primary role of natural modulations in this ensemble highlights the importance of careful assessment of ocean-atmosphere internal variability in ENSO projections.
Coordinate interactions of cyclic nucleotide and phospholipid metabolizing pathways in calcium-dependent cellular processes.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the coordinate interactions of cyclic nucleotide- and phospholipid-metabolizing pathways in Ca2+ -dependent processes, which may help to explain how cells consolidate multiple signals into an integrated response. Complexities are implicit in the interactions among Ca2+, cyclic nucleotides, and phospholipid-metabolizing pathways in cell signal transduction. The interactions are varied and intricate, often involving several levels of cell amplification mechanisms. Upsetting the balance of fatty acids in membrane phospholipids can have detrimental effects on adenylate cyclase. Thus, n - 3 fatty acid enrichment of phospholipids suppresses adenylate cyclase activity. The ingestion of large quantities of these n - 3 fatty acids can alter the profile of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase products produced in cells. Also there appears to be a clear distinction between the regulatory properties of eicosanoids regarding adenylate and guanylate cyclase activities. Whereas prostaglandins often stimulate adenylate cyclase activity, they have little effect on guanylate cyclase activity. In the intact cell, there is a strong implication that the dual stimulation of guanylate cyclase by Ca2+ and fatty acid evokes optimal enzyme activity.
Automatically RELAXing a goal model to cope with uncertainty

Dynamically adaptive systems (DAS) must cope with changing system and environmental conditions that may not have been fully understood or anticipated during development time. RELAX is a fuzzy logic-based specification language for making DAS requirements more tolerable to unanticipated environmental conditions. This paper presents AutoRELAX, an approach that generates RELAXed goal models that address environmental uncertainty by identifying which goals to RELAX, which RELAX operators to apply, and the shape of the fuzzy logic function that defines the goal satisfaction criteria. AutoRELAX searches for RELAXed goal models that enable a DAS to satisfy its functional requirements while balancing tradeoffs between minimizing the number of RELAXed goals and minimizing the number of adaptations triggered by minor and adverse environmental conditions. We apply AutoRELAX to an industry-provided network application that self-reconfigures in response to adverse environmental conditions, such as link failures.
Comparison of Methods for Measuring Protein in Beer

Mixtures containing various combinations of haze-active (HA) and non-HA proteins (water soluble hordein and lysozyme, respectively) and HA and non-HA polyphenols (tannic acid and epicatechin) were ...
Modifiable risk behaviors in adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer.

e18095Background: A cancer diagnosis in adolescents and young adults (AYA) comes at a complex developmental interval that often coincides with risky behaviors, such as substance use. Modifiable ris...
Comparison of concurrent chemoradiation with stereotactic body radiation therapy versus conventionally fractionated radiation therapy following induction chemotherapy for unresected locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

378Background: Induction chemotherapy (iC) followed by concurrent chemoradiation has been shown to improve overall survival (OS) for locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). A recent National Can...
Abacus Proofs of Cauchy Product Identities for Schur Polynomials

The well-known Cauchy Product Identities state that $$\prod _{i,j} (1-x_iy_j)^{-1}= \sum _{\lambda } s_{\lambda }(X) s_{\lambda }(Y)$$ and $$\prod _{i,j} (1+x_iy_j)=\sum _{\lambda } s_{\lambda }(X)s_{\lambda '}(Y)$$ , where $$s_{\lambda }$$ denotes a Schur polynomial. The classical bijective proofs of these identities use the Robinson–Schensted–Knuth (RSK) algorithm to map matrices with entries in $${\mathbb {Z}}_{\ge 0}$$ or $$\{0,1\}$$ to pairs of semistandard tableaux. This paper gives new involution-based proofs of the Cauchy Product Identities using the abacus model for antisymmetrized Schur polynomials. These proofs provide a novel combinatorial perspective on these formulas in which carefully engineered sign cancellations gradually impose more and more structure on collections of matrices.
Iliofemoral lysis for DVT remains ATTRACTive

Following the publication of a landmark paper on comparative effectiveness of anticoagulation against thrombolysis, the authors of the Acute Venous Thrombosis: Thrombus Removal with Adjunctive Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis (ATTRACT) trial released a subanalysis targeting the iliofemoral vein thrombosis, which excluded the femoropopliteal deep vein thrombosis (DVT) population.
Teaching XML data type definition: a visual method

XML is the standard for data exchange on the Internet. Database researchers have been investigating XML as a database wrapper and mediation medium, using XML to describe Web resources, storing and indexing XML in traditional database systems, understanding the interaction of data type definitions (DTDs) with constraint and typing mechanisms, and designing query languages for XML. Literature has found that approximately half of the XML documents available on the Web do not refer to a schema. In this paper, we describe a visual method to convert XML document to valid DTD schema with accuracy, conciseness and speed.
Pushing Back: Balancing Cost Against the Price of Missing Child Physical Abuse

Health care costs have risen faster than the average citizen’s annual income, representing nearly one-fifth of the nation’s gross domestic product and positioning health care as 1 of the nation’s largest, most profitable industries.1 In this climate tense with exorbitant costs and inefficiency, prioritizing value-based care (VBC) (higher-quality care focused on preventive services that positively improve long-term patient outcomes) has become paramount. Fundamentally shifting the perspective of traditional, decadent health care economics, more intense scrutiny of patient-centered outcomes per dollar spent has highlighted difficulties facing many health care providers, primarily around how to quantify oft-unmeasurable value and quality.2 Against this backdrop, many health care providers tasked with institutional, VBC cost saving have taken inventory of existing processes and turned to clinical decision support, guidelines, and pathways to eliminate expensive, haphazard “shotgun” approaches and correct nonstandardized or cost-ineffective practice gaps. Reservations regarding practices that theoretically raise cost, particularly laboratory and diagnostic test performance, have been at the forefront of clinical algorithm development, forcing providers to mine existing evidence bases to weigh risks and benefits and establish tolerable levels of clinical “unknowns.” Questions like “Will this test result really change my clinical management?” and “What is the cost of missing the condition in question?” abound. However, this framework of near-indoctrination around minimal testing sometimes threatens sound, rationale medical decision-making, truncating critically important, much-needed analysis of long-term patient-related repercussions (ie, value). Consider child physical abuse. It is inevitable health care providers will encounter abuse victims. The National Survey of Children’s …
2 – Particle Kinematics

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of particle kinematics. Kinematics is the branch of mechanics that describes the motion of physical bodies. It is distinguished from dynamics, which considers relationships between the motions of physical bodies and the forces (pushes or pulls) that are associated with those motions. The chapter also discusses models of physical bodies that may be considered mathematical points for the purpose of mathematical and physical analyses. A physical body may be regarded as a particle when only its translational motion is being considered, that is, when any vibrations or rotations of the body are of no consequence to the problem at hand. Large or small bodies may be treated as particles. The earth in its orbit or an automobile moving along a highway may each be thought of as a particle, provided the interest lies in its translational motion only. Perhaps the simplest example of kinematics is the motion of a particle constrained to move along a straight line. The speed of the particle at any instant is how fast the particle is moving at that instant. Its speed at a given instant is equal to the distance the particle would traverse each second if it proceeded at the rate it is moving at the given instant.
Social Justice, Political Science, and Christian Thought

The challenge of developing a philosophy of social diversity and political pluralism confronts people throughout the world today at all stages of social, economic, and political development, whether from a Christian or any other standpoint. The words in the title of this chapter can be interpreted in many ways. My aim is to offer an historical-critical interpretation of their meaning in the West from the time of early Christianity to the present day.
The interactive global fire module pyrE (v1.0)

Abstract. Fires affect the composition of the atmosphere and Earth's radiation balance by emitting a suite of reactive gases and particles. An interactive fire module in an Earth system model (ESM) allows us to study the natural and anthropogenic drivers, feedbacks, and interactions of open fires. To do so, we have developed pyrE, the NASA GISS (Goddard Institute for Space Studies) interactive fire emissions module. The pyrE module is driven by environmental variables like flammability and cloud-to-ground lightning, calculated by the GISS ModelE ESM, and parameterized by anthropogenic impacts based on population density data. Fire emissions are generated from the flaming phase in pyrE (active fires). Using pyrE, we examine fire occurrence, regional fire suppression, burned area, fire emissions, and how it all affects atmospheric composition. To do so, we evaluate pyrE by comparing it to satellite-based datasets of fire count, burned area, fire emissions, and aerosol optical depth (AOD). We demonstrate pyrE's ability to simulate the daily and seasonal cycles of open fires and resulting emissions. Our results indicate that interactive fire emissions are biased low by 32 %–42 %, depending on emitted species, compared to the GFED4s (Global Fire Emissions Database) inventory. The bias in emissions drives underestimation in column densities, which is diluted by natural and anthropogenic emissions sources and production and loss mechanisms. Regionally, the resulting AOD of a simulation with interactive fire emissions is underestimated mostly over Indonesia compared to a simulation with GFED4s emissions and to MODIS AOD. In other parts of the world pyrE's performance in terms of AOD is marginal to a simulation with prescribed fire emissions.
Improving the Latency-Area Tradeoffs for DRAM Design with Coarse-Grained Monolithic 3D (M3D) Integration

Over the years, the DRAM latency has not scaled proportionally with its density due to the cost-centric mindset of the DRAM industry. Prior work has shown that this shortcoming can be overcome by reducing the critical length of DRAM access path. However, doing so decreases DRAM area-efficiency, exacerbating the latency-area tradeoffs for DRAM design. In this paper, we show that reorganizing DRAM cell-arrays using the emerging monolithic 3D (M3D) integration technology can improve these fundamental latency-area tradeoffs. Based on our evaluation results for PARSEC benchmarks, our designed M3D DRAM cell-array organizations can yield up to 9.56% less latency and up to 21.21 % less energy-delay product (EDP), with up to 14% less DRAM die area, compared to the conventional 2D DDR4 DRAM.
Experiential Learning in Nairobi, Kenya

In summer 2011 I was privileged to be part of a trip to Nairobi, Kenya. A local pastor, Andrew, mentioned to me that he had connections with Happy Life Children’s Home, and I immediately thought that it would be a wonderful place for a service-learning trip with students from Emporia State University, where I am a professor of geography.
Deception: Detection of and Brain Imaging

The detection of deception is critical for national security and forensics. Numerous studies have shown that observers cannot discriminate truth tellers from liars on the basis of overt behavior. Although methods based on measuring peripheral psychophysiological variables (such as heart rate and skin conductance) have resulted in better deception detection rates, these methods are still not sufficiently accurate for many applications (e.g., security screening settings in which liars are very infrequent in the pool). In an effort to achieve better detection rates, researchers have begun to examine signals generated directly by the brain. Event-related potentials (ERPs) are the most commonly used technique for brain-based detection of deception, but functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has also been used in recent years. The accuracy rates reported so far by using these techniques are still typically under 90%, although ongoing work on paradigm development, brain monitoring methods, and statistical analyses is likely to improve these rates in the future. Finally, the effect of countermeasures on these accuracy rates is still under investigation for ERPs, but has not been examined with fMRI. Keywords: deception; electrophysiology; brain imaging; cognitive neuroscience; neural lie detection
A Contract-Based Approach of Resource Management in Information Systems

The deployment of information systems can turn into a baffling problem when components which compose those systems exhibit non-functional requirements. If the platform on which such components are deployed cannot satisfy their non-functional requirements, then they may in turn fail to perform satisfactorily. In this paper we focus on a specific category of non-functional requirements: those that pertain to the resources software components need to use at runtime. This paper reports the design of the resource-oriented contract model implemented in the Jamus platform. These contracts allow software components to negotiate with the Jamus platform for the resources they need.
Actuators and Sensors in Structural Dynamics

Flexible structure dynamics depend on the location and gains of actuator and sensors. This fact is often underestimated, although it is an important factor in the planning of structural dynamic tests, and in designing structural controllers. In this work we describe the impact of actuators and sensors gains and locations on structural properties, which includes structural controllability and observability, and structural and modal norms. Using these properties we show how to detect a damage of structural members, how to place actuators and sensors for structural testing and control, and how to tune actuators or sensors to excite a selected mode or a set of selected modes. The reader can find background material in my book [5]. The analysis is conducted in modal state-space coordinates, which are described at the beginning of this paper.
The Making of Gratian's Decretum : GRATIAN AND ROMAN LAW

Gratian's use of Roman law has been much discussed in modern scholarship. The debate began in 1947 when Adam Vetulani argued that most texts in the Decretum deriving from Justinianic Roman law had been added after the completion of Gratian's work. Only those romanistic texts that were available in earlier canonical collections would have been included in Gratian's original work. These conclusions were quickly accepted. In 1953, Stephan Kuttner retraced and expanded Vetulani's arguments and identified forty-six passages in the Decretum as late additions to the text. His list was, with one or two exceptions, identical to Vetulani's. This book confirms the general thrust of their work. All but three of the forty-six passages are absent from the first recension. One of the three exceptions is C. 2, q. 6, c. 28, which is the only Novel that the Decretum quotes directly from the Authenticum , rather than from the authenticae of Justinian's Code . Vetulani suggested that this text was taken from some hypothetical intermediate collection, implying that it was part of Gratian's original composition. Kuttner was not convinced by this reasoning; he included the text in his list of additions to the Decretum . The presence of this text in the first recension indicates that Vetulani was right.
A Mixed Trigrams Approach for Context Sensitive Spell Checking

This paper addresses the problem of real-word spell checking, i.e., the detection and correction of typos that result in real words of the target language. This paper proposes a methodology based on a mixed trigrams language model. The model has been implemented, trained, and tested with data from the Penn Treebank. The approach has been evaluated in terms of hit rate, false positive rate, and coverage. The experiments show promising results with respect to the hit rates of both detection and correction, even though the false positive rate is still high.
In vivo sucrase-isomaltase and lactase-phlorizin hydrolase turnover in the fed adult rat

We estimated in vivo turnover rates of sucrase-isomaltase and lactase-phlorizin hydrolase in adult rats. Fed animals received a primed continuous infusion of phenylalanine (300 microCi, 150 mumol Phe/100 g of body weight for 30 s, then 7.5 microCi, 3.75 mumol Phe/min for 10 to 140 min). Sucrase-isomaltase and lactase-phlorizin hydrolase were immunoprecipitated from jejunal mucosal membranes; isoforms were separated by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Endoglycosidase H digestions and (for lactase-phlorizin hydrolase) N-terminal amino acid sequencing were performed on all isoforms. Specific radioactivity of prosucrase-isomaltase and prolactase-phlorizin hydrolase isoforms reached isotopic equilibrium by 60 and 90 min, respectively. Specific radioactivity of brush border sucrase and lactase did not reach steady state. The isotope kinetic, N-terminal amino acid sequencing, and endoglycosidase H digestion data suggested that one of the high molecular weight lactase isoforms is a dimer of mature lactase. Compartmental modeling of specific radioactivity demonstrated that mean intracellular residence time is 59 min for prosucrase-isomaltase isoforms and 68 min for prolactase-phlorizin hydrolase isoforms. Mean residence time in the brush border was 5.8 h for sucrase and 7.8 h for lactase. Fractional synthesis rates were 414%/day for sucrase and 307%/day for lactase. Thus, in vivo brush border sucrase and lactase turn over at similar rates in the adult rat.
Hubble Space Telescope STIS Observations of the Cygnus Loop: Spatial Structure of a Nonradiative Shock*

We present a spatially resolved ultraviolet spectrum of a nonradiative shock front in the Cygnus Loop, obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph on board the Hubble Space Telescope. The spectrum covers the wavelength range 1118–1716 A with an effective spectral resolution of ~12 A. The 01 spatial resolution of these data provides a huge improvement over earlier ultraviolet spectra, allowing us to study the spatial distribution of high-ionization line emissions directly behind the shock front. We are able to isolate individual shock features in our spectrum by comparing the STIS spectrum with a Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 Hα image of the region. Isolating the brightest shock tangency, we identify lines of N V λ1240, C IV λ1549, He II λ1640, O V λ1371, O IV], Si IV λ1400, and N IV] λ1486, as well as the hydrogen two-photon continuum. The N V line peaks ~03 behind the C IV and He II emission and is spatially broader than the other emissions. Also, the observed line ratios of C IV and He II to N V are higher in our bright-shock spectrum than in previous observations of the same filament obtained through much larger apertures (and little or no spatial resolution), indicating that there must be a more widely distributed component of the N V emission. We calculate shock models and show that the observed separation between the C IV and N V emission zones and observed line intensities constrain the combinations of shock velocity and preshock density that are allowed.
System-theoretic properties of the process of continuous improvement in production systems

The process of continuous improvement in serial production lines with unreliable machines and finite buffers is considered. It is shown that in a well designed system each buffer is, on the average, half full, and each machine has equal frequencies of blockages and starvations. These are referred to as indicators of improvability. If the indicators are not satisfied, the system can be improved by either work-in-process and workforce redistribution or bottleneck elimination, or both. Guidelines for carrying out the process of continuous improvement are formulated.
CORRELATION BETWEEN ACID PHOSPHATASE AND COAGULASE PRODUCTION OR PHAGE TYPE OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS

Abstract Pan, Yue-Liang (University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor), and Harold J. Blumenthal. Correlation between acid phosphatase and coagulase production or phage type of Staphylococcus aureus. J. Bacteriol. 82:124–129. 1961.—A quantitative assay of acid phosphatase in 26 coagulase-negative and 73 coagulase-positive strains of Staphylococcus aureus was performed using an assay procedure modified to estimate extracellular, as well as the cellular, phosphatase. Some of the factors affecting the formation of acid phosphatase were studied. On the average, coagulase-negative strains produced 4.0 units and coagulase-positive strains 19.6 units although some negative strains produced more phosphatase than positive strains. More phosphatase was produced by strains of phage-group I than by strains of any other group.
Developing a novel method for predicting tumor responses to drug combination based on pathway expression signatures

B51 Purpose: Treatment response rate in pancreatic cancer is poor. Novel therapeutics offer a second option in some cases, however, the response rates are still minimal. Conversely, combination therapy may provide a better response, but the challenge remains in identifying (i) which drugs to be combined and (ii) who should receive the drug combination. With the aim to improve drug combination prediction and to enrich patient response selection to the combination, we developed a reliable computational method for the prediction of tumor response on drug combination based on pathway expression signature. To demonstrate the feasibility of this method, we compared two compounds, CI-1040 and CCI-779 (Temsirolimus), which target Ras downstream signaling pathways, MEK-ERK signaling cascade and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway, respectively, in a patient derived pancreatic tumor xenograft model (PancXenoBank). We hypothesized that a case will respond to this drug combination if it has intermediate response to both drugs based on pathway expression signature prediction. Methods: Sixteen pancreatic cancer xenograft were treated with CI-1040 (150mg/Kg); nineteen were treated with Temsirolimus (20mg/Kg) in monotherapy; relative tumor growth inhibition (TGI) was calculated on day 28. Baseline gene expression profiles for these xenografts were obtained by Affymetrix human gene chip HG_U133 Plus2.0. For each monotherapy, we obtained a pathway expression sensitivity signature by comparing the sensitive and resistant cases using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). To predict whether a case is sensitive to the drug combination, we computed the correlation score of this new case with each individual pathway signatures. Based on this correlation score, the method predicts a case as either sensitive or resistant for this drug combination. Results: We defined a case as sensitive, intermediate or resistant to a drug treatment as TGI 30%, respectively. Based on this criterion, there were two cases sensitive to CI-1040 (Panc219:-13% and Panc98:-21%) and three cases sensitive to CCI-779 (Panc219:-37%, Panc266:-19% and Panc198:-15%) monotherapy. Using the computational method, we predicted three intermediate cases (Panc281, Panc185 and Panc163) in both drugs as sensitive to the combination of CI-1040 and CCI-779. The method also predicted Panc219 and Panc294 as sensitive and resistant to the combination, respectively. To prospectively validate these predictions, we treated these cases with the drug combination for 28 days. The TGI values for Panc219:-59%, Panc281:-36%, Panc185:-22%, Panc163:-17% and Panc294:37%. Notably, the computational method correctly predicted the response on this drug combination for these cases. Conclusion: We demonstrated the usefulness and prospectively validated our computational model in predicting cases respond to CI-1040 + CCI-779 combination based on pathway expression signature. This method is easily applicable to other drug combinations and can be a useful tool in selecting patients’ response to combination therapy.
Residual stresses in bilayer dental ceramics

It is clinically observed that lithia-disilicate-based all-ceramic fixed partial dentures (FPD) can fail because of the fragmentation of the veneering material. The hypothesis of this study is that the global residual stresses within the surface of those veneered FPDs may be responsible for partial fragmentation of the veneering ceramic. Bilayer and monolithic ceramic composites were prepared using a lithia disilicate based (Li2OSiO2) glass-ceramic core and a glass veneer. A four-step fracture mechanics approach was used to analyze residual stress in bilayered all-ceramic FPDs. We found a statistically significant increase in the mean flexural strengths of bilayer specimens compared with monolithic glass specimens (p < or = 0.05). There was a statistically significant difference between the mean longitudinal and transverse indentation-induced crack sizes in bilayer specimens (p < or = 0.05), which indicates the existence of residual stress. Global residual stresses in the veneer layer, calculated using a fracture mechanics equation, were determined to be responsible for the increased strength and observed chipping, i.e., spallation in bilayer ceramic composites.
Mathematics from Another World: Traditional Communities and the Alienation of Learners☆

Abstract This article reports upon a study of students learning mathematics in six English schools. Interviews with 76 students from the schools are analyzed in order to understand the nature of the classroom communities in which students work; the students' perceptions of these communities, and the impact of their perceptions upon knowledge development and use. The students in the study reported that social interactions, variety, and meaning were central to positive learning experiences, yet dominant school practices they experienced were memorization, reproduction of procedures, and individualized work. It is argued that teaching and learning practices are central to the knowledge students learn and that those of traditional classrooms are sufficiently strange and other-worldly to create a limiting effect upon students' use of mathematics in non-classroom situations.
Quantitative comparison of shot boundary detection metrics

The detection of shot boundaries in video sequences is an important task for generating indexed video databases. This paper provides a comprehensive quantitative comparison of the metrics, which have been applied to shot boundary detection. We will additionally consider several standardized statistical tests, which have not been applied to this problem, and three new metrics. A mathematical framework for quantitatively comparing metrics is supplied. Also included, are experimental results based on a video database containing 39,000 frames.
Implications of a high-definition multileaf collimator (HD-MLC) on treatment planning techniques for stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT): a planning study

Purpose To assess the impact of two multileaf collimator (MLC) systems (2.5 and 5 mm leaf widths) on three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy, intensity-modulated radiotherapy, and dynamic conformal arc techniques for stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) of liver and lung lesions.
Concurrent trigeminal, abducens, and facial nerve palsies presenting as false localizing signs. Case report.

Multiple cranial nerve dysfunction presenting as false localizing signs is rare. We report a 20-year-old woman who had concurrent trigeminal sensory disturbance, abducens, and peripheral facial nerve palsies in association with a contralateral acoustic neuroma. After surgery, the trigeminal nerve disturbance and the abducens nerve palsy completely recovered, but the peripheral facial nerve palsy persisted. The nature of tumor, the presence of brain stem distortion, the anatomic variation of posterior fossa, and the relationships of cranial nerves and nearby blood vessels, which are factors influencing the occurrence of false localizing, are briefly discussed.
Towards a political economy of health: A critical note on the medical anthropology of the Middle East

Abstract This paper critically reviews certain trends in the medical anthropological literature on the Middle East. It identifies and analyzes the dominant theoretical orientations found in the study of medical beliefs, folk illness, healing and competing medical systems. Data from an Egyptian village are used to illustrate some of the theoretical limitations which characterize the study of these dimensions of the indigenous Middle Eastern health system. The paper advocates a political economy perspective which undermines the idealist, reductionist and dualist approaches to the study of health and illness in the Middle East. Alternatively, it suggests that analysis of health systems requires their placement in their broader political-economic environment. Health and illness are thus conceptualized as results of historically specific social orders rather than the consequences of ideologies of obscure origins.
Dimerization and Peierls Instability in Polyacetylene

Abstract π-Electron excitations of conjugated polymers reflect both electron-phonon (e-p) and electron-electron (e-e) contributions. The Pariser-Parr-Pople (PPP) model with molecular e-p and e-e parameters is shown to give the polyacetylene (PA) dimerization, backbone vibrations, and optical gap. Both self-polarization and potential-energy contributions increase the effective e-p coupling in mean-field theory, while full inclusion of e-e correlations is important for low-lying electronic excitations. Correlation contributions to the Peierls instability are distinguished from changes in the dimerization amplitude. The demonstration of closely related microscopic parameters for conjugated molecules and polymers confirms chemical intuition and supports widespread transferability of model parameters among conjugated systems.
Enhancing acne medication compliance: a comparison of strategies.

Abstract The effectiveness of noncontingent contracts, contingent contracts and self-monitoring were compared in order to ascertain which would increase compliance with an over-the-counter acne medication. Forty-two S s who possessed moderate to severe acne, were selected to participate in the study. S s were randomly assigned to one of the following four groups: a No-treatment (Control) group, a Self-monitoring group, a Noncontingent Contract group and a Contingent Contract group. Each S had a photograph taken before and after the treatment. The treatment lasted 12 weeks. An a priori contrast comparing the change in the number of acne lesions between the Control group and the three treatment groups was significant with the three treatment groups having less acne than the Control group. The efficiency and possible cost-effectiveness of the procedures for increasing adherence with acne medication was discussed.
The Black-White Environmental Concern Gap: An Examination of Environmental Paradigms

Abstract Social scientists have examined a number of environmental issues, including attitudes and world views held by various subgroups of the population. Although the results of past studies are inconclusive, they suggest that African Americans are somewhat less concerned about environmental issues than Whites are. In this study, differences in environmental world views were investigated by contrasting dimensions of the two opposing paradigms: the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) that emphasizes exploiting nature for its utility and the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) that emphasizes harmony with and stewardship toward nature. The 72 White and 40 African American respondents were selected through a random sample of a metropolitan area of Virginia. Both similarities and differences were observed. Results of a regression analysis showed race to be a significant predictor variable for many issues. African Americans gave greater endorsement to the DSP ideas of no limits to growth, lower valuation of nature f...