cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Phase II trial of irinotecan/docetaxel for advanced pancreatic cancer with randomization between irinotecan/docetaxel and irinotecan/docetaxel plus C225, a monoclonal antibody to the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-r) : Eastern Cooperative Oncology

4519 Background: Gemcitabine (G) is standard for metastatic pancreatic cancer (PC), with median survivals of 6 months (m). Second cytotoxic or biologic agents do not substantially advance survival. EGFR is expressed on PC and a phase II trial of G plus cetuximab (C) resulted in favorable 1 year survival. A phase II trial of irinotecan/docetaxel (I/D) chemotherapy reported a median survival for metastatic patients (pts) of 9 m. We conducted this randomized phase II trial to confirm the activity of this non-G regimen, and determine whether combining it with C was feasible and active. The primary endpoint was response. Methods: Pts required histologic confirmation of adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, evidence of distant metastases, ECOG PS 0–1, normal bilirubin, written informed consent, and were randomly assigned to Arm A (N=47) or B (N=45). Imaging with CT or MR within 4 weeks (wk) was used for tumor measurement. Dexamethasone was given 12 hours (h), 1 h before and 12 h after chemotherapy. Pts on Arm A recei...
Detecting Limit Cycles in Dimension Two

Using algebraic methods, we construct an observer to detect a stable limit cycle for a smooth second order nonlinear system when a trajectory of the system is observed. This observer exploits an inherent simple time-invariant structure of the problem. Some algebraic insight is also given, based on elimination theory, to detect a class of dynamical systems which are consistent with a known limit cycle.
Use of Capture-Recapture Analysis to Assess Reporting Completeness of Births to Hepatitis B-Positive Women in New York City, 2013-2014.

ObjectivesThe New York City (NYC) Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) depends on reporting by health care facilities and laboratories for disease surveillance. Our objective was to eval...
Sliding mode performance control applied to a DFIG system for a wind energy production

This project presents a strategy of field control then sliding mode control put in to the conversion process of wind energy containing an asynchronous generator with double fed (DFAG; DFIG). A model was developed for each component of the wind turbine (turbine, DFAG and cascade rectifier-inverter). MPPT device must be introduced in order to obtain maximum energy efficiency so that PI-MPPT method is made. The objective is to apply this command to control independently the active and reactive powers generated by the asynchronous generator uncoupled by orientation from the flow. The results of digital simulations obtained show the improvement of the performances of the sliding control compared to the field control, also it has provided information on the commands available techniques as reference tracking and robustness.
Derivation and validation of a simple nomogram prediction model for all-cause mortality among middle-aged and elderly general population.

Background A simple clinical model that can predict all-cause mortality in the middle-aged and older adults in general population based on demographics and physical measurement indicators. The aim of this study was to develop a simple nomogram prediction model for all-cause mortality in middle-aged and elderly general population based on demographics and physical measurement indicators. Methods This was a prospective cohort study. We used data from the 1999-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which included adults aged ≥40 years with mortality status updated through 31 December 2015. Cox proportional hazards regression, nomogram and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) binomial regression model were performed to evaluate the prediction model in the derivation and validation cohort. Results A total of 13,026 participants (6,414 men, mean age was 61.59±13.80 years) were included, of which 6,671 (3,263 men) and 6,355 (3,151 men) were included in the derivation cohort and validation cohort, respectively. During an average follow-up period of 129.23±9.62 months, 4,321 died. We developed a 9-item nomogram mode included age, gender, smoking, alcohol intake, diabetes, hypertension, marriage status, education and poverty to income ratio (PIR). The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.842 and had good calibration. Internal validation showed good discrimination of the nomogram model with AUC of 0.849 and good calibration. Application of the LASSO regression model in the validation cohort also revealed good discrimination (AUC =0.854) and good calibration. A time-dependent and optimism-corrected AUC value for the model showed no significant relationship with the change of follow-up time. Conclusions A simple nomogram model, including age, gender, smoking, alcohol intake, diabetes, hypertension, marriage, education and PIR, could predict all-cause mortality well in middle-aged and elderly general population.
An assessment of pediatric heart transplant admission characteristics and practices using an administrative database

Background: Changes in orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) practices over time have been difficult to assess due to reliance on voluntary registry data with limited patient granularity. Here, we use the Pediatric Health Information System database (PHIS) to study the clinical management of OHT recipients during the initial transplant admission. Methods: A retrospective cohort studywas performedof all OHT recipients <19 years old in PHIS from 2003 to 2017. Using administrative data collected from the initial transplant admission, we determined length of stay, duration of ICU care, …
Sports Journalism Content When No Sports Occur: Framing Athletics Amidst the COVID-19 International Pandemic

On March 11, 2020, the National Basketball Association suspended its season after a player tested positive for COVID-19. Within days, the rest of the sports world similarly suspended play in the wa...
Time-dependent probability distribution for number of infection in a stochastic SIS model: case study COVID-19

Abstract We derive the time-dependent probability distribution for the number of infected individuals at a given time in a stochastic Susceptible-Infected-Susceptible (SIS) epidemic model. The mean, variance, skewness, and kurtosis of the distribution are obtained as a function of time. We study the effect of noise intensity on the distribution and later derive and analyze the effect of changes in the transmission and recovery rates of the disease. Our analysis reveals that the time-dependent probability density function exists if the basic reproduction number is greater than one. It converges to the Dirac delta function on the long run (entirely concentrated on zero) as the basic reproduction number tends to one from above. The result is applied using published COVID-19 parameters and also applied to analyze the probability distribution of the aggregate number of COVID-19 cases in the United States for the period: January 22, 2020-March 23, 2021. Findings show that the distribution shifts concentration to the right until it concentrates entirely on the carrying infection capacity as the infection growth rate increases or the recovery rate reduces. The disease eradication and disease persistence thresholds are calculated.
Retrobulbar lidocaine injection via the supraorbital fossa is safe in adult horses but produces regionally variable periocular anaesthesia

BACKGROUND Injection techniques for retrobulbar anaesthesia are published in horses, but neither safety nor anaesthetic efficacy and duration have been evaluated objectively in vivo. OBJECTIVE To characterise the safety and efficacy of one published technique for retrobulbar anaesthesia. STUDY DESIGN Randomised, controlled descriptive experiment. METHODS Unilateral retrobulbar injection with 10 mL lidocaine (2%) was performed in eight sedated adult mares. Contralateral eyes served as untreated controls. Neurophthalmic parameters, intraocular pressure (IOP), and corneal and periocular sensation were measured awake, post-sedation and at periodic time points for 24 hours following injection. Adverse effects were documented. RESULTS Injection of 10 mL lidocaine significantly increased IOP for up to 2 hours (P < .05) maximally at 30 min (mean [95% CI]: 6.0 [2.7, 9.2] mm Hg, P < .001). Six of the eight treated eyes developed mild to moderate reversible chemosis for 2 to 24 hours. One eye developed severe chemosis and superficial corneal ulceration at 24 and 48 hours following injection respectively. Corneal sensitivity significantly decreased for 6 hours (P < .05), maximally at 10 min (-44.4 [-34.6, -54.1] mm, P < .001). Periocular sensitivity (measured as increase in applied force) significantly decreased dorsally and medially for up to 2 hours (maximal at 2 hours (367.1 [238.5, 495.7] g, P < .001, and at 30 min: 345.8 [202.6, 488.9] g, P < .001) respectively). Ventral and lateral sensitivity were not effectively decreased beyond 30 min. Optic nerve function was not consistently reduced following injection. MAIN LIMITATIONS Investigators were not masked to the treated eye. CONCLUSIONS Retrobulbar injection using 10 mL lidocaine is safe in normal eyes of adult horses, but carries risk in structurally compromised or glaucomatous eyes due to transient IOP increase. Reversible chemosis commonly develops 2-4h following injection, and may be severe in some horses with risk for corneal ulceration. Corneal anaesthesia is rapid and prolonged, but all periocular regions are not consistently anaesthetised. Retrobulbar injection should be combined with other local anaesthetic injections for eyelid surgeries or enucleations.
Against Gun Bans and Restrictive Licensing

Arguments in favor of an individual moral right to keep and bear firearms typically appeal to the value of guns as a reasonable means of self-defense. This is, for the most part, an empirical claim. If it were shown that allowing private gun ownership would lead to an overall net increase in crime or other social harms, then the strength of a putative right to own a gun would be diminished. But would it be defeated completely? I do not think so, and indeed I want to suggest in this paper that even if the harms outweigh the benefits, that neither an outright ban on handguns nor restrictive discretionary ownership policies are justified as an initial reaction. In other words, given that the overall harms outweigh the overall benefits, the default position is still one in favor of reasonably permissive gun laws over a total ban or restrictive discretionary policies.
Plan the Figure

Good planning can save time and money and result in easily understood and interesting figures. Thoughtful planning is perhaps the most important part of an illustration. The most careful drawing and the most expensive execution will not compensate for poor planning. We have all had the experience of being stunned by a blazing color, high-tech slide that leaves us baffled when we try to understand its content.
Fluorometric determination of DNA in aquatic microorganisms by use of hoechst 33258.

A method for the determination of microbial DNA in aquatic environments by the use of Hoechst 33258 has been developed. With unsophisticated instrumentation and simple extraction procedures, it is possible to detect from 0.05 to 10 μg of DNA in bacterial cultures or natural water samples. The method is specific for DNA; DNase I treatment of extracts of natural microbial populations removed 95 to 100% of the observed fluorescence. DNA content ranged from 165 ng ml−1 for relatively eutrophic Potomac River water to 27 ng ml−1 for coastal Atlantic Ocean water and was correlated to an acridine orange direct count (r = 0.90).
The Use of Isentropic Analysis in Short Term Forecasting

S the U.S. Weather Bureau, Navy, and Army expanded their programs of obtaining records of temperature, pressure, humidity, and wind in the free atmosphere, meteorologists have attempted to find methods of using these data to best advantage. While maps of atmospheric pressure at various levels have been found especially helpful in weather forecasting, the use of temperatures and humidities on such constant level charts has hardly done more than make atmospheric disturbances seem more complicated in vertical structure than surface weather analyses would indicate. Considering that air moves in the vertical as well as horizontal plane and that vertical displacements lead to adiabatic temperature changes, it is not surprising to find that any chart on which temperatures and humidities are compared level for level is unsatisfactory for tracing the movements of large-scale air currents from day to day. In order to eliminate the effects of these adiabatic changes Rossby suggested the use of two elements which are invariant with adiabatic processes—specific humidity and potential temperature. Since, in a stable atmosphere air particles tend to flow along surfaces of potential temperature and at the same time retain their specific humidity, Rossby suggested that charts be constructed along surfaces of constant potential temperature, which are identical with isentropic surfaces. Further support for the use of such isentropic charts is found in the logical assumption that horizontal wind shearing stresses should be chiefly operative along surfaces of potential temperature. While these lateral shearing stresses until recently have been almost completely neglected in the study of atmospheric flow, much evidence is accumulating in support of the hypothesis that these stresses are frequently of an order of magnitude large eough to produce important hydro dynamical effects. The function of the isentropic chart is thus to serve the two-fold purpose of (1), facilitating the study of the identification and thermodynamic modification of large-scale air currents, and (2), presenting a clearcut picture of the major patterns of flow of atmospheric currents through the configurations of lines of constant moisture.
Cytonemes: Cellular Processes that Project to the Principal Signaling Center in Drosophila Imaginal Discs

Wing imaginal disc cells in Drosophila develop by using information received from a signaling center associated with the anterior/posterior compartment border. We show here that disc cells have thin, actin-based extensions (cytonemes) that project to this signaling center. Cytonemes can be induced when cells from the lateral flanks of a wing disc are cultured next to cells from the A/P border or next to a source of fibroblast growth factor. Mouse limb bud cells also grow projections during a brief culture period, indicating that cytonemes are an attribute of both vertebrate and invertebrate cells. We suggest that cytonemes may be responsible for some forms of long-range cell-cell communication.
Tourist harassment: Barbados Survey Results

Abstract This first study of its kind presents data on tourist harassment derived from satisfaction surveys of those visiting Barbados between 1991–94. Most reported experiencing harassment, primarily at the beach and secondarily in the streets and sometimes while shopping. Males were more likely to be harassed by drug peddlers, females by vendors. Younger and first-time tourists reported more harassment than those in the older and repeat categories. Types of harassment included persistence of vendors without uniforms, drug peddling, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, and physical abuse. The study also summarizes results from informal interviews with vendors, taxi drivers, etc., as well as qualitative observations of host–guest interaction.
Action of fluvastatin on signal transduction pathways of an aggressive natural killer cell leukemia cell line (LB227)

Aggressive natural killer cell leukemia is an acute neoplastic proliferation of natural killer cells, resulting in progressive disease and poor prognosis. Death ensues within months and a successfu...
The Self-Regulation of Investment Bankers

As broker-dealers, investment bankers must register with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and comply with its rules, including the requirement to “observe high standards of commercial honor and just and equitable principles of trade.” As the self-regulatory body for broker-dealers, FINRA functions as the equivalent of the self-regulatory bodies governing other professionals, such as lawyers and accountants. Unlike the self-regulation of these professionals, however, the self-regulation of investment bankers has thus far attracted scant scholarly attention.This Article evaluates the effectiveness of this self-regulatory system in deterring investment bankers’ misconduct. Based on a hand-collected data set of every disciplinary matter by FINRA during the period from January 2008 (shortly after FINRA’s formal organization) to June 2013, this Article shows that FINRA sanctions remarkably few investment bankers. Relying on this data, the Article argues that the current system of self-regulation underdeters investment bankers’ misconduct. In addition, the burdens of the existing approach to self-regulation may well exceed its benefits. Other techniques for regulating bankers’ conduct, including private and SEC enforcement, are unlikely to compensate for the weak deterrence force of self-regulation. Yet self-regulation offers distinct advantages over these other techniques, including the ability to impose more fine-grained rules. Therefore, although the current approach to self-regulation is failing, this Article argues that self-regulation must be retained and improved and considers ways of doing so.
PGE2-mediated inhibition of T cell p59fyn is independent of cAMP

We recently observed that prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2))-mediated suppression of T cell functions could result from an attenuation of p59(fyn) protein tyrosine kinase activity. The present study evaluated the effects of an adenylate cyclase agonist (forskolin) and antagonist (SQ-22536), as well as those of cAMP analogues (dibutyryl cAMP and 8-bromo- cAMP), on T cell p59(fyn) kinase activity. The study allowed us to assess whether PGE(2)-mediated activation of adenylate cyclase by itself or the elevation in intracellular cAMP levels is an integral event in the modulation of anti-CD3-linked p59(fyn) activation in T cells. The experiments were carried out with splenic T cells from male Sprague-Dawley rats. A 30-50% suppression in the autophosphorylation and the kinase activity of p59(fyn) in T cells incubated with PGE(2) or forskolin was observed. Pretreatment of T cells with SQ-22536 prevented significant PGE(2)-mediated inhibition of T cell p59(fyn) kinase activity. In contrast, no change in p59(fyn) autophosphorylation and kinase activity in T cells treated with cAMP analogues was observed. These data suggest that PGE(2)-mediated suppression of p59(fyn) autophosphorylation and kinase activity in T cells is dependent on the activation of adenylate cyclase and independent of the elevation in cAMP levels.
A system for real-time, adaptive ultrasonic imaging

A real-time adaptive ultrasonic imaging system capable of markedly and quickly improving the quality of images degraded by aberrating media is described. The system employs one of several possible functions of regional image brightness as a quality factor. The authors have successfully demonstrated its utility in improving diffuse and pointlike test targets and in several clinical applications. A typical time to generate an improved image is 80 ms, with modifications to increase the speed of operation expected. >
Pharmacological characterization of endothelin-stimulated phosphoinositide breakdown and cytosolic free Ca2+ rise in rat C6 glioma cells

Because increasing evidence indicates that glial cells are a target of endothelin, we have characterized endothelin-induced phosphoinositide (PI) turnover and Ca2+ homeostasis in C6 glioma cells. Endothelin-1 (ET) increased formation of 3H-inositol phosphate (IP) from PI and elicited an increase in cytosolic free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) in rat C6 glioma. In the presence of Li+, the increase in 3H-inositol trisphosphate formation was rapid, reaching its peak at 5 min after stimulation. ET also elicited a rapid and sustained increase in [Ca2+]i in a dose-dependent manner (1-100 nM). The rank orders of efficacy for ET-related peptides in increasing [Ca2+]i were ET = ET-2 greater than sarafotoxin greater than ET-3. Both ET-mediated stimulation of IP formation and [Ca2+]i increase were largely inhibited in the absence of external Ca2+ but unaffected by the depletion of external Na+ and the presence of dihydropyridine derivatives or verapamil. Inorganic Ca2+ channel blockers Cd2+, La3+, and Mn2+ at 1 mM inhibited both responses induced by ET. Cross-desensitization and nonadditivity were observed for both events among ET-related peptides tested, but not between ET and ATP. Pretreatment of cells with pertussis toxin (PTX) attenuated the PI response to ET, but had no effect on ET-elicited [Ca2+]i increase. ET-induced Ca2+ mobilization (measured in Ca(2+)-free medium) was only transient and was inhibited by 8-(N,N-diethylamino)octyl-3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate. Moreover, the intracellular Ca2+ pools mobilized by ET and ATP appeared to overlap, as indicated by their partial heterologous desensitization.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Is block structure necessary

Block structure is traditionally considered an a priori requirement for algorithmic programming languages. Most new languages since Algol-60 have block structure. Reasons exist, however, to omit the general form of block structure-nested procedure definitions in which references to identifiers defined in outer procedures are permitted-from programming languages, especially those intended for systems programming applications. This paper reviews the concept of block structure and considers its advantages and disadvantages. It concludes that, in many cases, a module facility is superior to block structure and should be considered in lieu of block structure in future languages.
Impact of thread and frequency scaling on performance and energy in modern multicores: a measurement-based study

Modern microprocessors integrate a growing number of components on a single chip, such as processor cores, graphics processors, on-chip interconnects, shared caches, memory controllers, and I/O interfaces. An ever-increasing complexity and the number of components present new challenges to software developers interested in finding operating points that strike an optimal balance between performance and energy consumed. In this paper we analyze the impact of thread scaling and frequency scaling on performance and energy in modern multicores. By exploiting recent additions to microprocessors that support energy estimation and power management, we measure execution times and energy consumed on an Intel Xeon 1240 v2 microprocessor when running the PARSEC benchmark suite. We conduct a number of experiments by varying the number of threads, 1 ≤ N ≤ 16, and processor clock frequency, 1.6 ≤ F ≤ 3.4 GHz. We find that the maximum performance is achieved when the number of threads matches or slightly exceeds the number of logical processors (8 ≤ N ≤ 12) and the clock frequency is at maximum (F = 3.4 GHz). The minimum energy is consumed when the processor clock frequency is in range 2.0 ≤ F ≤ 2.4 GHz. Finally, we find that the best performance at minimal energy is achieved when 8 ≤ N ≤ 12 and 2.8 ≤ F ≤ 3.1 GHz.
A High-Resolution Linkage Map of Human 9q34.1

A map comprising 16 distinct markers with heterozygosities of 0.61-0.92 for a 10-cM region of human 9q34.1 is presented. The map incorporates four genes and has a maximum intermarker interval of 2.1 cM. Markers were analyzed in the Venezuelan reference pedigrees and all were placed uniquely in the map with a minimum likelihood of 676:1. The map should prove useful in analysis of families segregating dystonia and tuberous sclerosis, as the DYT1 and TSC1 loci map within this region.
972-106 Intramural Activation Patterns of Focal Ventricular Tachycardia Induced by Programmed Stimulation During Experimental Subacute Myocardial Infarction

The purpose of this study was to elucidate the three dimensional (3-D) activation patterns of focal excitation during induced ventricular tachycardia (VT) in subacute myocardial infarction in canines. In 30 dogs 5 days after LAD occlusion and reperfusion, intramural electrograms were simultaneously recorded from 240 bipolar sites through 60 plunge needles inserted into both ventricles. Computerized 3-D color-coded isochronal activation maps were generated. At the given resolution, focal VT was diagsnosed when the site of latest activation was anatomically remote from the site of impulse origin. In 12 of 26 experiments, reproducibly induced sustained monomorphic VTs were attributed to a focal mechanism. Activation patterns were the following: 1) Radial spread of excitation (n = 5). Ventricular activation was completed in approximately 100 ms followed by about 100 ms of electrical quiescence. 2) Progressive slow conduction (n = 2). A focal excitation pattern was associated with progressive prolongation of intramural conduction times. 3) Presystolic activity and unidirectional exit block(n = 2). The site of impulse origin was surrounded by areas of unidirectional conduction block with intramural conduction delay. 4) Pan diastolic activity (n = 3). Myocardial activation was present throughout the entire systolic and diastolic intervals without regional slow conduction or block. In conclusion, multiple intramural activation patterns are present in focal VTs induced by programmed stimulation. Delayed diastolic activity does not constitute a direct evidence for macro-reentry. Triggered activity with or without conduction delay may be the underlying mechanism of these induced arrhythmias.
Modification of the Atrial Sound by the Cold Pressor Test, Carotid Sinus Massage, and the Valsalva Maneuver

Three procedures were investigated for their effect on the atrial sound. The cold pressor test caused the atrial sound to appear in one subject and to become louder in 15 of 28 subjects; it increased the atriosystolic murmur in two subjects with mitral stenosis. These effects were at least partly independent of changes in arterial diastolic pressure and heart rate. Carotid sinus massage decreased the atrial sound in five of 10 subjects and produced an unexplained increase in one. Following release of the strain of the Valsalva maneuver the atrial sound became louder than before the strain; in seven subjects its amplitude increased progressively and the sound also migrated from the first heart sound. Increase of the atrial sound by the cold pressor test is attributed to sympathetic action upon peripheral veins, arteries, and the left atrium; its decrease by carotid sinus massage, to parasympathetic action upon these structures and the cardiac pacemaker; and its increase following release of the strain of t...
Posthuman Shakespeare performance studies

Is there (or are there) posthuman Shakespeare(s)? Or, to frame the question slightly differently, what would a notion of the ‘posthuman’ lend to our thinking about early modern dramatic writing in late (posthuman) (post)modernity? Much as digital writing has opened a material critique of the status of the printed work, so, too it provokes a reinspection of the stabilities often attributed to dramatic performance, especially those seen to arise from an artificial understanding of dramatic performance as predicated on the dramatic text. Rather than seeing contemporary ‘postdramatic’ theatre merely as a succession in technologies, we might more productively take the constitutive instability of performance – and perhaps especially of dramatic performance – as a location for the ongoing negotiation of the technologies of the posthuman.
Deformability of passive and activated neutrophils in children with Gram-negative septicemia.

Animal experiments suggest that obstruction of small vessels by polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) may contribute to the disturbed microcirculation in septic shock. The purpose of this investigation was to study deformability and volume of passive and activated PMNs and immature neutrophils in 15 children with Gram‐negative septicemia and in 20 healthy children. Membrane cytoplasm tongues of neutrophils were aspirated by means of a micropipette system into 2.5‐µm (diameter) pipettes for 60 s. Tongue growth was used as an indicator of deformability and the cell volume was calculated from the cell circumference before aspiration. Septicemic children showed higher percentages of immature neutrophils (38±13%) and activated PMN (12±5%) than healthy children (3±2% and 3±2%). In septicemic children, cellular volume of passive neutrophils decreased progessively with increasing maturity from myeloblasts (493±105 fL) to mature PMNs (346±29 fL) and the final tongue length in the micropipette increased from 2.7±1.1...
Correlates of jail crowding in the United States

Jail populations across the United States have grown dramatically over the last decade. However, research on the correlates and causes of jail crowding is very rare. This study examined several structural, legal, demographic and socio-demographic correlates to the degree to which a jail’s average daily population was under or over the jail’s rated capacity during 1983. Results suggest that there might be a variety of contributing factors to jail crowding in the United States. These factors include a jurisdiction’s serious crime rate, available resources for incapacitation relative to the number of convicted criminal defendants, degree of urbanism, degree of political conservativism, degree of prison crowding in a state, types of jail standards and inspection intervals, and the type of jail facility.
Characterization of a naturally processed MHC class II-restricted T-cell determinant of hen egg lysozyme.

COMPELLING evidence indicates that T cells recognize complexes formed by major histocompatibility complex-encoded molecules and antigenic peptide fragments1–3. This is based largely on the ability of small synthetic peptides to substitute for naturally processed antigen in stimulating T cells. Naturally processed fragments of exogenous antigen are thought to arise by limited pro-teolytic degradation of native antigen inside acidic compartments of antigen-presenting cells3–6, but until now no physiologically processed antigen has been directly analysed. Here we report the characterization of physiologically processed antigen eluted from mouse class II major histocompatibility complex I–Ed molecules. The antigenic material corresponds to a previously described antigenic determinant of hen egg lysozyme (HEL 107–116) and has a relative molecular mass Mr of about 2,000. HPLC analysis identified at least two or three separate molecular species, suggesting limited, albeit significant, heterogeneity of naturally processed peptides. Finally, under our experimental conditions, it was calculated that a substantial proportion (10–40%) of I–Ed molecules were occupied by these HEL-derived antigenic determinants.
Phenotypic modulation of keratins, vimentin, and α-fetoprotein in cultured rat liver epithelial cells after chemical, oncogene, and spontaneous transformation

Several lines of evidence have indicated that rat liver epithelial (RLE) cell lines may be related to a dormant stem cell compartment in the liver in vivo. We have demonstrated that keratin 14 (K14) is expressed together with vimentin in undifferentiated RLE cells. However, upon spontaneous transformation and differentiation to hepatoblast-like progeny the expression of these intermediate filaments (IF) is abrogated, while expression of another set of genes, among others keratin 18 (K18) and α-fetoprotein (AFP), is induced (Bisgaard et al., 1994, J. Cell. Physiol., in press). To better understand the mechanisms underlying IF expression during transformation and differentiation of RLE cells we examined the expression and regulation of IFs in clonal cell lines of chemically, oncogene, and spontaneously transformed RLE cells and their resulting tumors. These clonal lines provided a wide variety of tumor phenotypes including trabecular, solid and tubular adeno-carcinomas, undifferentiated carcinomas, and spindle cell carcinomas. Northern blot analysis of the cell lines confirmed the differential expression of IF mRNAs. While keratin 8 (K8) was expressed at similar steady-state levels in all cell lines, K14 and vimentin but not K18 were expressed in the majority of cell lines chemically transformed with aflatoxin B1 or by transduction of oncogenes. In contrast, cell lines transformed spontaneously by prolonged passage in vitro expressed K18, while K14 and vimentin were absent. The keratin expression pattern in vitro was retained in the majority of the resulting tumors. However, the keratins expressed in vitro did not accurately predict the tumor phenotype in vivo. In particular, in tumors typed morphologically as adenocarcinomas, the keratin pair typically expressed in chemically transformed tumor cells was K8/K14, whereas K8/K18 was expressed in the tumors derived from spontaneously transformed cell lines. Finally we showed by nuclear run-on and in vitro translation analyses that the expression of K14, K18, and vimentin in transformed RLE cell lines was regulated at the transcriptional level, whereas that of K8 appeared to be posttranslational. These findings suggest that events controlling the differential expression of IF genes are involved in the processes leading to transformation and differentiation of the RLE cell lines. We conclude that the transformed RLE cell lines provide a valuable model to further examine the regulatory mechanisms involved in hepatic differentiation of undifferentiated “progenitor-like” RLE cells. © 1994 wiley-Liss, Inc.
Towards an autochthonic black aesthetic for graphic design pedagogy

This article serves several purposes. First, it posits that math is a source for the long sought after black cultural aesthetic [1] for graphic design. Second, it brings to designers research that has revealed the historical existence of advance mathematical principles in indigenous African art, architecture, and culture. Third, it recommends to African-American graphic design students the cultural artifacts of ethnomathematics as alternative sources for creative inspiration by showing how geometry (a relatively new discipline in western society) has been embedded historically in indigenous Africa. Fourth, it reports and analyzes empirical data from a test done on the design potential of the Cornrow Curves and Mangbetu Design software programs to generate mathematical visual patterns that are useful within the discipline of graphic design. Finally, it discusses the relevance of fractal geometry [2] to the visual semantics of the graphic designer's grid-based canvas-a printed or electronic page or composition in which text and graphics are strategically positioned so that a diverse audience can access it for information and/or an aesthetic or cultural experience.
Identification of spectrally similar materials using the USGS Tetracorder algorithm: the calcite–epidote–chlorite problem

A scheme to discriminate and identify materials having overlapping spectral absorption features has been developed and tested based on the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Tetracorder system. The scheme has been applied to remotely sensed imaging spectroscopy data acquired by the Airborne Visible and Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) instrument. This approach was used to identify the minerals calcite, epidote, and chlorite in the upper Animas River watershed, Colorado. The study was motivated by the need to characterize the distribution of calcite in the watershed and assess its acid-neutralizing potential with regard to acidic mine drainage. Identification of these three minerals is difficult because their diagnostic spectral features are all centered at 2.3 μm, and have similar shapes and widths. Previous studies overestimated calcite abundance as a result of these spectral overlaps. The use of a reference library containing synthetic mixtures of the three minerals in varying proportions was found to simplify the task of identifying these minerals when used in conjunction with a rule-based expert system. Some inaccuracies in the mineral distribution maps remain, however, due to the influence of a fourth spectral component, sericite, which exhibits spectral absorption features at 2.2 and 2.4 μm that overlap the 2.3-μm absorption features of the other three minerals. Whereas the endmember minerals calcite, epidote, chlorite, and sericite can be identified by the method presented here, discrepancies occur in areas where all four occur together as intimate mixtures. It is expected that future work will be able to reduce these discrepancies by including reference mixtures containing sericite.
New Approach To Automated Optical/Digital Pattern Recognition

Optical power spectral (OPS) analysis has demonstrated significant advantages for rapidly classifying simple patterns from aerial transparencies. However, as the pattern sets become larger and more complicated, the required software is more complex, the equipment requirements more demanding, and the processing time increases. Additionally, potential ambiguity of the OPS data due to loss of phase information places some unknown upper limit on the information content in OPS. Integration of other pattern recognition data which supplements the OPS analysis leads to an increased pattern classification potential. The optical/ digital system discussed integrates a photo diode array detector in the image domain with the OPS system. Hierarchical strategies employ initial OPS sampling and preliminary classification of patterns of potential interest. Space domain sampling and classification is only initiated when cued from the OPS samples. This system leads to a wide range of exper-imental capabilities and operational potentials. The paper discusses system configuration, experimental results, and future plans.© (1979) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The Use of Citizen Review Boards with Juvenile Offender Cases: An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of a Pilot Program

This study evaluates a Citizen Review Board (CRB) program designed to review juvenile offender cases. The sample includes 157 juvenile offenders that were first-time adjudicated offenders. The youth were randomly assigned by the juvenile judge either to receive review by the CRB or go through the regular court process. Sixty-eight of the youth were reviewed by the CRB and 89 made up the control group. Data were collected on both groups for more than three years. Program outcomes examined for the study included court processing time, placement and treatment facility changes, and re-offense rates. Findings suggest that the youth served by the CRB program had statistically fewer out-of-home placements in treatment programs during the course of the study and more time had elapsed between the date of the original offense and the re-offense for youth reviewed by the CRB. The rise in the number of juvenile offenders going through the nation's court systems, as well as a rise in the number of citizen review boards, indicate a need for further examination about how CRBs can best serve the juvenile court system and the youth served by that system.
Red blood cell transfusions in the newborn

The indications for red blood cell (RBC) transfusions in the newborn, particularly for the preterm neonate, remain controversial and variable, although the practice has been an integral part of neonatal care for decades. The hazards of RBC transfusions have been minimized over time, but residual risks remain and have led to re-evaluation of commonly accepted indications, generation of stringent transfusion guidelines, and development of alternate strategies to reduce donor exposure. Despite the increasing complexity of care, and the survival of smaller and sicker infants over the past few years, there has been a significant decline in the use of RBC transfusions.
Pattern Mining for Predicting Critical Events from Sequential Event Data Log

Abstract This paper studies the mining of patterns for predicting critical events from observed ordered event data, where the observations can contain interleaving from non-predictor and other predictor event sequences. These are characteristics of many practical applications such as monitoring in power systems or telecommunication networks, as well as computational biology. For settings where system behaviors are affected by noise, a critical event can sometimes occur without its predictor executed prior to it, and we propose algorithm to recursively compute the frequency that a predictor candidate precedes the critical event. This we use for identifying a predictor, and study the performance of such a scheme. We also consider the noise-free settings, in which a critical event occurs only after the execution of its predictor, and propose an algorithm to recursively compute the set of maximal predictors for each critical event.
Miller–Fisher syndrome mimicking intracranial hypertension following head trauma

Introduction Miller-Fisher syndrome (MFS) is a polyneuropathy with benign outcome characterized by ophthalmoplegia, limb ataxia and tendon areflexia. Impaired consciousness level and intracranial hypertension are very rare symptoms in MFS.
Controllability, stabilizability, and continuous-time Markovian jump linear quadratic control

Consideration is given to the control of continuous-time linear systems that possess randomly jumping parameters which can be described by finite-state Markov processes. The relationship between appropriately defined controllability, stabilizability properties, and the solution of the infinite time jump linear quadratic (JLQ) optimal control problems is also examined. Although the solution of the continuous-time Markov JLQ problem with finite or infinite time horizons is known, only sufficient conditions for the existence of finite cost, constant, stabilizing controls for the infinite time problem appear in the literature. In this paper necessary and sufficient conditions are established. These conditions are based on new definitions of controllability, observability, stabilizability, and detectability that are appropriate for continuous-time Markovian jump linear systems. These definitions play the same role for the JLQ problem as the deterministic properties do for the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) problem. >
Birefringence of muscle proteins and the problem of structural birefringence

Abstract 1. 1.|The birefringences of the muscle proteins actin and myosin were determined and compared with data on other fibrous proteins. 2. 2.|The specific birefringence Δn sp = Δn/f v c is the birefringences per unit volume fraction of a parallel array of rod-like molecules. Δn is the measured birefringence of partially oriented molecules, f is the orientation factor of Peterlin-Stuart 8, v is partial specific volume and c is the concentration in g/cc. All available data on the specific birefringences of fibrous proteins and polypeptides extrapolated to the refractive index of water falls in the range (1.7 ± 0.3) × 10−2. 3. 3.|Since a proper theory of birefringence of rod-like structures is not available it is proposed that an empirical equation be used to interpret birefringence measurements, Δn = (1.7 ± 3) · 10 −2 v c . The birefringence of muscle is in reasonably good agreement with the value predicted by this equation while the Wiener theory is in error by a factor of 6.
Model reference control of uncertain time-delay systems

The control of a class of linear uncertain dynamic systems having time delays in state and control is investigated. The plant and input matrices of the system contain uncertain elements. The only information available about the uncertain parameters is the bounding sets in which they lie. Under certain assumptions a nonlinear control law is developed which forces the plant output to track the output of a delay-free reference model. The tracking error does not asymptotically decrease to zero; instead the error is bounded. This bound can be made arbitrarily small. The application of the theory is illustrated providing computer simulation results.
Evaluation of a Model for Glycemic Prediction in Critically Ill Surgical Patients

We evaluated a neural network model for prediction of glucose in critically ill trauma and post-operative cardiothoracic surgical patients. A prospective, feasibility trial evaluating a continuous glucose-monitoring device was performed. After institutional review board approval, clinical data from all consenting surgical intensive care unit patients were converted to an electronic format using novel software. This data was utilized to develop and train a neural network model for real-time prediction of serum glucose concentration implementing a prediction horizon of 75 minutes. Glycemic data from 19 patients were used to "train" the neural network model. Subsequent real-time simulated testing was performed in 5 patients to whom the neural network model was naive. Performance of the model was evaluated by calculating the mean absolute difference percent (MAD%), Clarke Error Grid Analysis, and calculation of the percent of hypoglycemic (≤70 mg/dL), normoglycemic (>70 and <150 mg/dL), and hyperglycemic (≥150 mg/dL) values accurately predicted by the model; 9,405 data points were analyzed. The models successfully predicted trends in glucose in the 5 test patients. Clark Error Grid Analysis indicated that 100.0% of predictions were clinically acceptable with 87.3% and 12.7% of predicted values falling within regions A and B of the error grid respectively. Overall model error (MAD%) was 9.0% with respect to actual continuous glucose modeling data. Our model successfully predicted 96.7% and 53.6% of the normo- and hyperglycemic values respectively. No hypoglycemic events occurred in these patients. Use of neural network models for real-time prediction of glucose in the surgical intensive care unit setting offers healthcare providers potentially useful information which could facilitate optimization of glycemic control, patient safety, and improved care. Similar models can be implemented across a wider scale of biomedical variables to offer real-time optimization, training, and adaptation that increase predictive accuracy and performance of therapies.
Contesting visions: hybridity, liminality and authorship of the Chandigarh plan

This article examines the authorship of the plan for Chandigarh, the new capital of the Punjab, created following its partition consequential on Indian independence. The literature on Chandigarh's planning, celebrated principally because of the central involvement of Le Corbusier, is largely architect‐centric, escriptive and positivist, with few critical evaluations. Despite exposing readers to the complexities involved in planning the city, scholars anchor their narratives around what they call the ‘Corbusier Plan’. As they talk about it, they create and shape the Corbusier Plan as a unified and uncontested creation. Also missing in the discourse is the idea that people – including administrators, politicians and planners – are not passive recipients of external ideas; ideas do not get transmitted across cultural boundaries without mediation. The exclusive praising of Corbusier only reflects the poverty of the discourse and its narrators. This paper offers another narrative. It argues that the plan is ne...
Empowerment in hospitality organizations: Customer orientation and organizational support

Abstract Although empowering employees has often been prescribed as an efficient strategy for hospitality organizations, the strategy alone cannot ensure success. Individual and organizational factors should be considered to increase employees’ perception of empowerment. This study examines the impact of employees’ customer orientation and organizational factors on the employee empowerment perceptions. Our findings, based on a survey of 203 guest contact employees, suggest that organizations should hire customer oriented people, guide them with service training, provide a reward system, and facilitate service standards communication in order to increase perceived empowerment. Implications of these findings for hospitality service managers are discussed.