cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Deficits in the implicit retention of new associations by alcoholic Korsakoff patients.

Abstract Word-stem completion in the presence or absence of a paired associate was assessed for a group of amnesic Korsakoff patients and a group of alcoholic controls. Since neither group demonstrated facilitation in the presence of cues (Experiment 1), an analysis of the influence of instructions to remember the paired associates on cued word-stem completion was performed with college students (Experiment 2). Finding a positive effect of instructions led to a replication of the task with amnesic patients and alcoholic controls. Unfortunately, instructions to remember the pairs did not produce the facilitatory effect for either group nor for an age matched nonalcoholic control group. (Experiment 3). It was concluded that neither amnesics, chronic alcoholics, nor elderly controls had the ability to modify their analysis of verbal material as a function of retrieval expectations. As a consequence, neither group demonstrated the effect of contextual priming of word completions reported by P. Graf and D. L. Schacter (1985, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition , 11 , 501–518).
Low melt fraction connectivity of granitic and tonalitic melts in a mafic crustal rock at 800 °C and 1 GPa

In the absence of an externally applied stress, the segregation of small amounts of granitic or tonalitic melts from their residual mafic crystals is possible only if the melt forms an interconnected network phase. Accordingly, this research focuses on melt connectivity at low melt fraction (<4 wt% or 5 vol.%). Connectivity of granitic and tonalitic melts in amphibole-rich rock was assessed by performing two types of piston-cylinder experiments at 1 GPa and 800 °C. The first involved annealing samples that consisted of either alternating layers or homogeneous mixtures of calcic amphibole and metaluminous obsidian powder. The second type of experiment involved creating diffusion couples. Here, an upper cylinder of amphibole-saturated granitic or tonalitic melt was placed against a lower cylinder consisting of an amphibole-rich rock containing zero or a small melt (granitic or tonalitic) fraction. The upper part of the diffusion couple was doped with β emitter (151Sm or 14C) and functioned as an infinite melt reservoir. The lower part of the diffusion couple was considered to be the host rock. The experiments approached textural equilibrium which allowed us to characterize the wetting behaviour of the calcic amphibole by the hydrous silicic melt (granitic or tonalitic). These particular experiments also provided information concerning diffusive transport, because the β emitter could diffuse through the connected melt (liquid) in the amphibole-rich rock. The dihedral angle measurements show that melt connectivity was achieved. This conclusion is based on the fact that the dihedral angles, θ, consistently yielded median apparent values of 53°<θ<58° for an amphibole-rich rock/granitic melt system, and 46°<θ<48° for an amphibole-rich rock/tonalitic melt system. However, the frequency distribution of θ angles is found to be relatively broad. The results of the diffusion-couple experiments, assessed using the β radiographic technique, complement the dihedral (wetting) angle measurements by showing that melt connectivity is achieved at a melt fraction less than 4wt% (5 vol.%).
Successful treatment of relapsed PTLD with YT-90/anti-CD20 radioimmunotherapy

Background: Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), is a major cause of morbidity and mortality following lung transplantation, responsible for 4% of mortality after 30 days post-transplant in pediatric recipients. Chemotherapy related mortality in thoracic organ recipients is reported from 30–70%. Therefore, initial treatment is usually reduced immunosuppression and anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (rituximab). Rituximab is well tolerated and achieves a 60–70% response rate. However, rituximab refractory relapse may occur, requiring the use of chemotherapy. The Zevalin therapeutic protocol (ZTP), including radioimmunotherapy with a Yttrium-90 tagged anti-CD20 antibody (ibritumomab tiuxetan; Zevalin), is a minimally toxic, effective therapy for relapsed or refractory low grade, follicular, or transformed B-cell nonHodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). We found no published reports of radioimmunotherapy for PTLD. We report the successful use of ZTP in a 16-yr-old bilateral cadaveric lung transplant recipient. Abdominal PTLD was diagnosed 8 months post-transplant. Remission was achieved with reduced immunosuppression and rituximab. Relapse occurred 28 months posttransplant. Procedures: Relapsed CD20 positive, monomorphic B-cell PTLD was diagnosed by biopsy of sinus and esophagus. The patient received 1 dose of rituximab and reduced immunosuppression, with some improvement in symptoms. Once available, she received ZTP, including 0.3 mCi/kg Yt-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan. Efficacy was monitored with PET, CT and endoscopic biopsies (GI and lung). The anticipated hypogammaglobulinemia has been treated with IVIG. Results: Treatment with ZTP resulted in a complete remission without evidence of graft dysfunction. At 8 months post-treatment, there was no evidence of recurrent PTLD. There has been no significant infection. Conclusions: In our patient, ZTP was effective treatment of relapsed PTLD. Although further study is needed to confirm this observation, minimal toxicity makes ZTP an attractive alternative to chemotherapy for relapsed or rituximab refractory PTLD.
Alteration of the neuronal response to amphetamine in the neostriatum by pretreatment with a centrally acting anticholinergic.

Abstract Intraperitoneal injection of 1.0 mg/kg (−)-scopolamine hydrobromide had no effect upon the firing rate of caudate-putamen neurones recorded in immobilized, locally anaesthetized rats, although the pattern of their spike trains over time was somewhat altered. Pretreatment of animals with this same dose of scopolamine, but not with 1.0 mg/kg (−)-scopolamine methyl bromide, transformed the normally biphasic response of caudate-putamen neurones to 2.5 mg/kg (+)-amphetamine into a response consisting of only a depression of firing rate. A less common response of caudateputamen neurones to amphetamine, a prolonged increase in firing rate, was unaffected by scopolamine pretreatment. The transient initial potentiation of activity seen in most caudate-putamen neurones to precede the amphetamine-induced depression of unit activity therefore appears to require the activity of a central muscarinic receptor. The results are discussed in relation to the interaction of dopaminergic and cholinergic systems in the striatum.
Taking phage integration to the next level as a genetic tool for mycobacteria

Genes must be stably integrated into bacterial chromosomes for complementation of gene deletion mutants in animal infection experiments or to express antigens in vaccine strains. However, with currently available vectors it is cumbersome to create multiple, stable, unmarked chromosomal integrations in mycobacteria. Here, we have constructed a novel integration vector for mycobacteria that enables expression of genes from a cassette protected from transcriptional interference by bi-directional transcriptional terminators proven to be highly efficient in in vitro transcription termination assays. Removal of the integrase gene by a site-specific recombinase, easily identifiable by loss of a backbone reporter gene, stabilizes the integration cassette and makes this vector ideally suitable for infection experiments. This integration vector can be easily adapted to different mycobacteriophage attachment sites (attB) due to its modular design. Integration of a gfp expression cassette at the L5, Giles and Ms6 attB sites in the chromosomes of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis yielded identical gfp expression levels, indicating that none of these sites are compromised for gene expression. The copy number of pAL5000-based extrachromosomal plasmids is 23 in M. smegmatis as determined by quantitative real-time PCR and accounts for the previously observed drastic reduction of gene expression upon integration of plasmids into the chromosome of mycobacteria. Gfp expression and fluorescence of M. smegmatis and M. tuberculosis strains with multiple integrations of gfp increased concomitantly with the copy number demonstrating that these vectors can be used to generate stronger phenotypes and/or to analyze several genes simultaneously in vivo.
SU-E-T-251: 3D Collision Viewer for Proton Therapy Treatment Planning

Purpose: In proton treatment, in order to reduce beam penumbra, it is desirable to place the treatment snout as close as possible to the patient skin. However, collision between treatment couch/patient and snout is not predicted by current treatment planning system. We developed and validated an interactive 3D Collision Viewer for patient clearance check during treatment planning. Methods: The 3D Collision Viewer calculates the shortest distance between two major groups of objects, couch group and nozzle group. The couch group includes a couch and a patient and the nozzle group includes a nozzle, a snout and extensions for snout. The software displays the object coordinates and the shortest distance in the 3D Viewer. The tool was developed with a video game development framework to realize 3D interactive performance. Surface coordinates of equipment including the patient were defined relative to the iso‐center and created by commonly used CAD software. The equipment coordinates and the shortest distance are interactively updated on any change of equipment setting by the user. The video game framework takes care of equipment surface coordinate motion according to each equipment setting. The shortest distance was obtained by comparing distances between all combination of nozzle meshes and couch meshes. To confirm the numerical accuracy of the shortest distance calculation, the distance between nozzle and 2 cm diameter sphere was compared with the expected distance. Results: Numerical accuracy of the distance calculation is better than about 1/40 of mesh size of the sphere. The accuracy mainly depends on the surface data preparation. Average calculation time for a sample configuration, which had 156 vertices and 94 meshes for the nozzle and 2707 vertices and 3758 meshes for couch, was less than 0.6 seconds. Conclusion: 3D Collision Viewer is capable of detecting potential collision during treatment planning.
Physiological responses of a marine fish exposed to chlorinated seawater at concentrations near its avoidance threshold

Abstract To determine if avoidance of chlorinated seawater by fish resulted in physiological protection from toxicity, studies were carried out which assessed (a) changes in the routine oxygen consumption rate and (b) the ability of treated fish to successfully compete with untreated conspecifics for a limited food resource. Temperate marine damselfish, Chromis punctipinnis, were exposed to stepwise increasing levels of chlorinated seawater in a behaviour chamber and avoided total residual oxidant (TRO) levels greater than 0·15-0·16 mg/litre. Cumulative exposures ranged from the equivalent of 0·38-5·23 in at 1·0/litre TRO. One day after exposure, routine oxygen consumption rates were decreased by 25 to 45% from pre-exposure rates and were correlated with the cumulative oxidant exposure. One month post exposure, respiration rates returned to pre-treatment levels. This transient depression of the respiratory rate did not affect survival or growth of chlorine-treated fish which were forced to compete with untreated conspecifics for a restricted food supply.
Insertion of benzyl isocyanide into a Zr–P bond and rearrangement. Atom-economical synthesis of a phosphaalkene

Reaction of (N3N)ZrPHPh (1, N3N = N(CH2CH2NSiMe3)33−) with PhCH2NC affords the 1,1-insertion product (N3N)Zr[C(PHPh)NCH2Ph] (2), which thermally rearranges to the phosphaalkene-containing complex, (N3N)Zr[N(CH2Ph)C(H)PPh] (3).
A Spectrometer for Energetic Neutrons

A time-of-flight spectrometer has been designed to detect neutrons in the energy region from 10 to 100 MeV (and possibly also to higher energies). The principle of the spectrometer requires an incident neutron to lose a small fraction of its energy in a collision with a proton in a scintillator. The scattered neutron must then travel over a suitable flight path before interacting in a second scintillator. The time interval between the two scintillation pulses is a measure of the neutron energy. The small energy-transfer condition on the scattering process is imposed by restricting the kinetic energy of the recoil proton to be less than a predetermined value. Means for discriminating against background events include an anticoincidence detector for rejecting charged particles and a pulse-shape discrimination scheme for rejecting neutron interactions with carbon nuclei. Gamma-rays are rejected by time-of-flight and also by the pulse-shape discrimination circuitry. The spectrometer may be designed either for low counting rate applications such as measurements of fluxes and spectra of the energetic-neutron component of stray radiation fields around particle accelerators, or for higher counting rate experiments such as angular and energy distribution measurements of energetic-neutrons produced in the bombardment of both thin and thick targets. For the case of 14 MeV neutrons emerging isotropically from a target, a typical detector configuration consists of a first scintillator with a volume of 103 cc, a second cylindrical scintillator with a diameter of 10 cm, and a mean spacing between the two scintillators of 1.91 meters.
Is scorpion antivenom cost-effective as marketed in the United States?

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to analyze the cost-effectiveness of scorpion antivenom compared to no antivenom, in the United States, using a decision analysis framework. Methods A decision analytic model was created to assess patient course with and without antivenom. Costs were determined from the perspective of a health care payer. Cost data used in the model were extracted from Arizona Medicaid. The probability of clinical events occurring with and without antivenom was obtained from the published literature, medical claims obtained from Arizona Medicaid, and results of recent clinical trials. Patients that became so ill that mechanical ventilator support was necessary were considered treatment failures. A Monte Carlo simulation was run 1000 times and sampled simultaneously across all variable distributions in the model. Results The mean success rate was 99.87% (95% CI 99.64%–99.98%) with scorpion antivenom and 94.31% (95% CI 91.10%–96.61%) without scorpion antivenom. The mean cost using scorpion antivenom was $10,708 (95% CI $10,556 – $11,010) and the mean cost without scorpion antivenom was $3178 (95% CI $1627 – $5184). Since the 95% CIs do not overlap for either the success or cost, use of the scorpion antivenom was significantly more effective and significantly more expensive than no antivenom. Cost-effectiveness analysis found that the scorpion antivenom was not cost-effective at its current price as marketed in the United States. Conclusion The scorpion antivenom marketed in the United States is extremely effective, but too costly to justify its use in most clinical situations. Formulary committees should restrict the use of this antivenom to only the most severe scorpion envenomations.
The Emotional Experience of School Change: Resistance, Loss, and Grief

When we ignore or neglect the emotionat experience of change, the neglected emotion may sabotage rational planning. If we wish to suc ceed at reinventing school, we must pay attention to the emotio...
Pretreatment staging by endoscopic ultrasonography does not predict complete response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation in patients with esophageal carcinoma

BACKGROUND Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) provides highly accurate preoperative T and N classifications in patients with esophageal carcinoma. Although previous data have suggested that patients with tumors classified as T4 by EUS do not benefit from surgical resection, these data were acquired prior to the widespread use of preoperative chemoradiation. The current study investigated whether pretreatment EUS can predict a complete response to neoadjuvant therapy. METHODS Patients with esophageal carcinoma (adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma) underwent EUS classification prior to therapy. Patients classified as T2, T3, or T4 and M0 were treated with 5-fluorouracil, cisplatin, and radiation under protocol. Patients with T1 lesions underwent resection without prior chemoradiation. Chemoradiation was followed in all cases by attempted surgical resection. The initial EUS classification was compared with the final pathologic results. RESULTS Fifty-five patients (47 males and 8 females) with a mean age of 60.5 years (range, 31–78 years) were evaluated. There were 41 adenocarcinomas and 14 squamous cell carcinomas. Among the total population, a complete response was achieved in 3 of 5 patients (60%) with tumors classified as T2 by EUS, 14 of 42 patients (33%) with tumors classified as T3 by EUS, and 5 of 8 patients (63%) with tumors classified as T4 by EUS (P = 0.19). A complete response was achieved in 9 of 24 patients (38%) found to have N0 disease by EUS versus 13 of 30 patients (43%) determined to have N1 disease (P = 0.66). The results for patients with adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma were similar. CONCLUSIONS The results of the current study demonstrate that pretreatment EUS does not predict reliably which patients with esophageal carcinoma will achieve a complete pathologic response to preoperative neoadjuvant chemoradiation. Cancer 1999;86:764–9. © 1999 American Cancer Society.
Prospective surgical-pathological study of disease-free interval in patients with stage IB squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix: a Gynecologic Oncology Group study.

Abstract There were 732 evaluable patients with primary, previously untreated, histologically confirmed stage I squamous carcinoma of the cervix with ⩾3-mm invasion. Of these, 645 had no gross disease beyond the cervix/uterus, had negative paraaortic lymph nodes, and had undergone a radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy. The 3-year disease-free interval (DFIs) for the 545 patients with negative pelvic nodes was 85.6%, and for the 100 with positive pelvic nodes, 74.4%. A large number of pelvic nodes involved with tumor was not correlated with a poorer prognosis; the DFIs were 72.1, 86.4, and 64.6% for one, two, and three or more positive pelvic nodes, respectively. DFI correlated strongly with depth of tumor invasion, both in absolute terms (mm) and infractional thirds. The DFI was 94.6% for ⩽5 mm, 86.0% for 6–10 mm, 75.2% for 11–15 mm, 71.5% for 16–20 mm, and 59.5% ⩾21 mm. In fractional terms, the DFI was 94.1% for superficial third, 84.5% for middle third, and 73.6% for deep third invasion. With respect to clinical tumor size, the DFIs were 94.8, 88.1, and 67.6% for occult, ⩽3 cm, and >3 cm, respectively. The DFI was 77.0% for those with positive capillarylymphatic spaces (CLS) and 88.9% for those with negative CLS. Tumor grade and parametrial status correlated with DFI. DFI was not significantly different for age, disease status of the surgical margins, tumor description (e.g., exophytic), quadrant involved with tumor, uterine extension, and keratinizing status of tumor cells. Clinical tumor size, CLS, and depth of tumor invasion were independent prognostic factors.
The relationship of intraocular pressure to intracranial pressure.

Abstract Study objective The early detection of intracranial hypertension can lead to timely medical and neurosurgical intervention, preventing brain herniation and death. In this investigation, we hypothesize that an increase in intracranial pressure can be detected by an increase in intraocular pressure using noninvasive existing technology, the handheld tonometer. Methods This was a prospective observational pilot study conducted at a community hospital. Admitted patients with an invasive intracranial pressure monitor were solicited for participation. Patients were excluded if they had known glaucoma or had sufficient ocular or facial trauma that precluded intraocular pressure determination. Simultaneous measurements of intracranial and intraocular pressure were recorded. Results Twenty-seven patients were enrolled, and 76 individual measurements were performed. All patients with an abnormal intracranial pressure had an abnormal intraocular pressure; similarly, all patients with a normal intracranial pressure had a normal intraocular pressure (sensitivity 1.00, 95% confidence interval 0.86 to 1.0; specificity 1.0, 95% confidence interval 0.93 to 1.0) Conclusion Abnormal intraocular pressure as measured with the handheld tonometer is an excellent indicator of abnormal intracranial pressure in patients with known intracranial pathology.
p120: the guardian of endothelial junctional integrity.

the endothelium, composed of the endothelial monolayer and underlying matrix, constitutes the major regulatory barrier of the vascular system by finely controlling the fluxes of macromolecules across the vessel walls. An increase in the permeability of the endothelial monolayer in the lung has been
Classification Accuracy of Neural Networks vs. Discriminant Analysis, Logistic Regression, and Classification and Regression Trees

Abstract. This paper compares the predictive accuracy of three commonly used parametric methods for group classification, linear discriminant analysis, quadratic discriminant analysis, and logistic regression, with two less common approaches, neural networks and classification and regression trees. The simulation study examined the impact of such factors as inequality of covariance matrices, distribution of predictors, and group size ratio (among others) on the performance of each method. Results indicate that quadratic discriminant analysis always performs as well as the other methods while neural networks behave very similarly to linear discriminant analysis and logistic regression.
The selection of optimum conditions in HPLC I. The determination of external band spreading in LC instruments

A new equation which describes the interdependence of instrument band spreading, injection volume and input profile is proposed and experimentally verified in two modes: 1. without a column; 2. with a column. It is shown that under equivalent conditions both modes are in excellent agreement. The method of calculation of the variance of a response function appeared to be of utmost importance in correctly interpreting the experimentally observed interdependence of instrumental band spreading and injection characteristics.
Poly(methacrylic acid) Grafted with Poly(ethylene glycol) and n-Dodecane as pH-Sensitive Surfactants for Water-in-Oil Fermentations

pH-sensitive surfactants are potentially beneficial to water-in-oil fermentations. Ideally, the surfactants promote emulsification at fermentation pH (typically ∼7) but, upon pH adjustment, lose surface activity to allow easy phase separation for product recovery. In this study, poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) grafted with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and n-dodecane was synthesized with an initial MAA/EG molar ratio of 1:1 or 20:1 and a MAA/LMA (lauryl methacrylate) ratio of 1:0.16, 1:0.47, or 1:0.78. The polymers' pH sensitivity comes from the complexation between PMAA and PEG at low pH, which turns hydrophilic PMAA and PEG into a hydrophobic complex. The surface activity was confirmed to decrease markedly as pH dropped below ∼6.0. For polymers with 20:1 MAA/EG, the residual surface activity at low pH was still enough to inhibit the desired phase separation. However, the polymers with MAA/ EG/LMA ratios of 1:1:0.47 and 1:1:0.78 showed good emulsification at neutral pH and fast phase separation at pH 4. The polymer with 78% LMA produced the finest droplets, desirable for supporting higher cell concentrations in the fermentation.
Why does schooling generate economic growth

Abstract This paper examines the relationship between schooling and GNP growth found in cross-country growth regressions. Using a standard decompositional technique, I divide education's effect on economic growth into three parts: (1) an effect from the change in the returns to schooling over time; (2) an indirect effect coming from schooling's positive effect on schooling growth; and (3) a direct effect coming from education's raising income growth even holding education growth constant. The lion's share of the schooling-GDP growth connection comes from the schooling-schooling growth connection.
Epidemiology and genetics of neural tube defects: An application of the Utah genealogical data base

The distribution and prevalence of births with neural tube defects in Utah from 1940 to 1979 are analyzed with regard to prevalence rates, secondary sex ratios, seasonality, yearly rates, and time-space clustering. The overall prevalence rate of 1.00 per thousand live births is comparable to that of other populations in the western United States. Analysis of sex ratios indicates a substantially higher proportion of females than males. No significant secular trends or time-space clustering are observed. No seasonality is seen for spina bifida; however, the anencephaly cases are delivered more frequently in the early spring and fall months. Following linkage of the neural tube defect cases to the Utah Genealogical Data Base, application of the genealogical index method shows substantial familial clustering of the disease. The average inbreeding coefficient of the neural tube defect cases is not elevated over that of matched controls. The empirical recurrence risk for the disease is calculated to be 3%, and the heritability estimate is 70%. Likelihood analysis of pedigrees containing spina bifida occulta and spina bifida cystica indicates that they may segregate as an autosomal dominant trait with a penetrance of 75%.
Intelligent backtracking in CLP(ℜ)

CLP(ℜ) is a constraint logic programming language in which constraints can be expressed in the domain of real numbers. Computation in this specialized domain gives access to information useful in intelligent backtracking. In this paper, we present an efficient constraint satisfaction algorithm for linear constraints in the real number domain and show that our algorithm directly generates minimal sets of conflicting constraints when failures occur. We demonstrate how information gleaned during constraint satisfaction can be integrated with unification failure analysis. The resulting intelligent backtracking method works in the context of a two-sorted domain, where variables can be bound to either structured terms or real number expressions. We discuss the implementation of backtracking and show examples where the benefit of pruning the search tree outweights the overhead of failure analysis.
Spectroscopic studies of acceptor and donor doping of polyaniline in the emeraldine base and pernigraniline forms

Abstract Two methods of preparation of the neutral, fully oxidized form of polyaniline (pernigraniline) are presented, together with a comprehensive spectroscopic characterization of this alternating copolymer which has a two-fold degenerate ground sate. The IR spectrum is consistent with the pernigraniline structure; the UV-Vis spectrum of neutral pernigraniline consists of three bands at 2.2, 3.8 and 4.6 eV. The 2.2 eV absorption (band edge at about 1.8 eV) can be viewed as a transition from valence band to conduction band in the alternating copolymer. The 3.8 and 4.6 eV absorptions are attributed to π-π ∗ transitions centered on the benzenoid and quinoid rings, respectively. We have investigated and compared the acceptor and donor doping of the partially oxidized emeraldine base and the fully oxidized pernigraniline. Iodine doping of pernigraniline leads to the appearance of a small shoulder near 1.5 eV in the electronic spectrum. Donor doping of both pernigraniline and emeraldine base leads preferentially to reduction of the quinoid rings. The acceptor doping of the emeraldine base proceeds on the benzenoid-amine sites. Possible self-localized excitations are proposed and discussed for these cases.
Functionalization of cobalt porphyrin–phospholipid bilayers with his-tagged ligands and antigens

Methods to attach polypeptides to lipid bilayers are often indirect and ineffective, and can represent a substantial bottleneck in the formation of functionalized lipid-based materials. Although the polyhistidine tag (his-tag) has been transformative in its simplicity and efficacy in binding to immobilized metals, the successful application of this approach has been challenging in physiological settings. Here we show that lipid bilayers containing porphyrin-phospholipid conjugates that are chelated with cobalt, but not with other metals, can effectively capture his-tagged proteins and peptides. The binding follows a Co(II) to Co(III) transition and occurs within the sheltered hydrophobic bilayer, resulting in an essentially irreversible attachment in serum or in a million fold excess of competing imidazole. Using this approach we anchored homing peptides into the bilayer of preformed and cargo-loaded liposomes to enable tumour targeting without disrupting the bilayer integrity. As a further demonstration, a synthetic protein fragment derived from the human immunodeficiency virus was bound to immunogenic liposomes for potent antibody generation for an otherwise non-antigenic peptide.
Tissue-Dwelling Intracellular Parasites: Infection and Immune Responses in the Mammalian Host to Toxoplasma, Sarcocystis and Trichinella

The cycles, pathogenicity and immune processes observed in 3 intracellular infections, with the protozoa Toxoplasma gondii , several Sarcocystis species, and the nematode Trichinella spirahs are described. All three organisms have cycles that have co-existed with their hosts for an evolutionarily long period. Natural hosts of the protozoa generally are able to develop immunity after primary infection in a timely manner. However infection is often fatal in certain unusual hosts not naturally exposed to Toxoplasma and Sarcocystis. It is suggested that whereas hosts may have selected strains of intermediate pathogenicity, the two protozoa may have selected for hosts that can develop timely immune responses and survive with chronic persistent infection. Stability of cycle is maintained by co-evolution in the definitive host through which the cycle must pass almost regularly. Toxoplasmosis and sarcosporidiosis join malaria and African trypanosomiasis as infections that co-evolved with their hosts, selecting for immunocompetency and intermediate to low pathogenicity (Allison, 1982). The plea is made to consider the probable evolutionary experience of experimental hosts when studying their specific immune mechanisms and before possibly generalizing from such studies, because the immune response is dependent on evolutionary experience. In respect to infection with Trichinella spiralis one might consider carnivores to have been selected and pure herbivores unselected. However, infection occurs in a wide variety of hosts, with carnivorous, scavenging and accidental transmission, some of which are of recent modification by man. Because infection is of low prevalence, and involves a wide variety of hosts, and pathogenicity is more related to the degree of hypersensitivity, than to frequency of transmission and worm load, no uniform effects of selection are apparent. Trichinella infected athymic mice have a high worm load with little pathogenic effect. Immunologic processes, while restricting the number of worms, are much more important in making the host sick. In all three intracellular infections both protective immunity and delayed type hypersensitivity are operative. In balance, these immune responses are protective in Toxoplasma and Sarcocystis infection, but are pathogenic in trichinellosis, often causing the death of the infected host.
Evaluation of voltage source IGBT converters for three-phase induction motor drives

Modern induction machine (IM) drives are subject to a variety of system perturbations, i.e., weak grid conditions and the resulting DC-link voltage fluctuations, that could possibly compromise machine performance characteristics such as speed, torque, and load current. This paper investigates such circumstances, specifically the influence of DC-link variations on the IM drive under different control and modulation strategies and addresses the timely issues of power loss calculation methods in the most common voltage source three-phase PWM converters (VSC) with active front-end unit (AFE). The AFE converts the AC line input into a controlled DC-link voltage, which is then used as input into a three-phase IM drive, based on an IGBT voltage source inverter (VSI). It should be noted that within this work an AFE is used to control the DC link voltage, ultimately mimicking weak grid conditions. The AFE of the IM drive adopts the hysteresis-based modulation technique and the VSI is controlled by space vector PWM-based methods. The IM drive will be evaluated using different control strategies and verified based on the test-bed using a control system rapid prototyping environment such as dSPACE.
Development of Year 2020 Goals for the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for the United States

In July, 2010, President Barack Obama released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). The NHAS set forth ambitious goals for the year 2015. These goals were potentially achievable had the appropriate level of resources been invested; however, investment at the necessary scale has not been made and the 2015 goals now may well be out of reach. Therefore, we propose that an updated NHAS be developed with goals for the year 2020 clearly articulated. For the purposes of fostering discussion on this important topic, we propose bold yet achievable quantitative 2020 goals based on previously published economic and mathematical modeling analyses.
In vitro invasiveness of DU-145 human prostate carcinoma cells is modulated by EGF receptor-mediated signals.

Prostate carcinomas often present an autocrine stimulatory loop in which the transformed cells both express the EGF receptor (EGFR) and produce activating ligands (TGFα and EGF forms). Up-regulated EGFR signalling has been correlated with tumor progression in other human neoplasia; however, the cell behaviour which is promoted remains undefined. To determine whether an EGFR-induced response contributes to cell invasiveness, we transduced DU-145 human prostate carcinoma cells with either a full-length (WT) or a mitogenically-active but motility-deficient truncated (c'973) EGFR. The DU-145 Parental and two transgene sublines all produced EGFR and TGFα, but the transduced WT and c'973 EGFR underwent autocrine downregulation to a lesser degree, with more receptor remaining intact. DU-145 cells transduced with WT EGFR transmigrated a human amniotic basement membrane matrix (Amgel) to a greater extent than did Parental DU-145 cells (175±22%). Cells expressing the c'973 EGFR invaded through the Amgel only to about two thirds the extent of the Parental cells (62±23%). A monoclonal antibody which prevents ligand-induced activation of EGFR decreased the invasiveness of WT-expressing cells by half and Parental cells by a fifth, but had little effect on the invasiveness of c′973-expressing cells; with the result that in the presence of antibody, all three cell lines transmigrated the Amgel to the same extent. The different levels of invasiveness between the three sublines were independent of cell proliferation. These findings demonstrated that EGFR-mediated signals increase tumor cell invasiveness and suggested that domains in the carboxy-terminus are required to signal invasiveness. As an initial investigation into the mechanisms underlying the EGFR-mediated enhanced invasiveness, we determined whether these cells presented different collagenolytic activity, as the major constituents of Amgel are collagen types I and IV. All three sublines secreted easily detectable levels of gelatin-directed proteases and TIMP-1, with WT cells secreting equivalent or lower levels of proteases. The proteolytic balance in these cells did not correlate with invasiveness. These data suggest that the TGFα-EGFR autocrine loop promotes invasiveness and that this is accomplished by signalling cell properties other than differential secretion of collagenolytic activity.
2-Deoxy-β-d-ribofuranosylamine: Quantum Mechanical Calculations of Molecular Structure and NMR Spin−Spin Coupling Constants in Nitrogen-Containing Saccharides

Ab initio molecular orbital (MO) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations using a polarized split-valence basis set have been performed on 2-deoxy-β-d-ribofuranosylamine (2-deoxy-β-d-erythro-pentofuranosylamine) in its unprotonated (3) and protonated (4) forms. Structural data confirm three previously reported factors influencing bond lengths in aldofuranosyl rings, and suggest the existence of a new 1,4-lone pair effect. Conformational energy profiles for 3 and 4 were compared to that described recently for 2-deoxy-β-d-ribofuranose (2-deoxy-β-d-erythro-pentofuranose) 5. Results show that preferred conformation and energy barriers to pseudorotation are affected significantly by changes in C1 substitution. N-Protonation of 3 reduces pseudorotational barriers, suggesting a more flexible ring relative to the unprotonated molecule. NMR spin−spin coupling constants involving C1 and H1 were calculated in 3 and 4 using DFT methods described previously (Cloran et al. J. Phys. Chem. 1999, 103, 3783−3795). ...
Multiple sclerosis, brain radiotherapy, and risk of neurotoxicity: The Mayo Clinic experience

Purpose: The aim of this study was a retrospective assessment of neurotoxicity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) receiving external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) to the brain. Methods and Materials: We studied 15 consecutively treated patients with MS who received brain EBRT. Neurologic toxicity was assessed with the Common Toxicity Criteria v.3.0. Results: Median follow-up for the 5 living patients was 6.0 years (range, 3.3–27.4 years). No exacerbation of MS occurred in any patient during EBRT. Five patients had Grade 4 neurologic toxicity and 1 had possible Grade 5 toxicity. Kaplan-Meier estimated risk of neurotoxicity greater than Grade 4 at 5 years was 57% (95% confidence interval, 27%–82%). Toxicity occurred at 37.5 to 54.0 Gy at a median of 1.0 year (range, 0.2–4.3 years) after EBRT. Univariate analysis showed an association between opposed-field irradiation of the temporal lobes, central white matter, and brainstem and increased risk of neurotoxicity ( p Conclusions: External beam radiotherapy of the brain in patients with MS may be associated with an increased risk of neurotoxicity compared with patients without demyelinating illnesses. However, this risk is associated with treatment techniques that may not be comparable to modern, conformal radiotherapy.
An assignment algorithm with applications to integrated circuit layout

Abstract The 2-terminal one-to-any problem, which arises in the design of layout systems, is the problem of assigning wach one of n terminals positioned on the upper row of a channel (called entry terminals) to one of m terminals positioned on the lower row (called exit terminals) so that the resulting channel routing problem has minimum density. An optimal solution to this problem is known [1]. In this paper we consider a natural generalization, the 2-color one-to-any problem, in which we have two types of entry terminals, red and blue ones, and exit terminals can be assigned to either type of entry terminal. Red and blue nets created by our algorithm are allowed to run on top of each other in the routing, and the density is defined as the larger of the red density and the blue density. Its minimization is an interesting combinatorial problem. We show how to compute the best achievable density in O(n + m) time, and an assignment achieving this density in O((n + m)log(n + m)) time.
Experimental evaluation of a 600 lbf spacecraft rocket engine.

Experimental results are presented for a long-duration-capability (1000-sec), space-storable, bipropellant liquid rocket motor burning fluorine/hydrazine or FLOX/monomethylhydrazine. The interrelationship between injected mixture ratio and the per cent film cooling on vacuum specific impulse performance and chamber heat transfer is given. Experimental sea level measurements are used to predict space vacuum performance based upon simplified JANNAF reference procedures. Dynamic combustion stability is demonstrated over a wide range of operating conditions. Analytical results of char penetration, erosion, and ablative wall temperature distributions are presented for prototype chamber designs.
Trichophyton rubrum Osteomyelitis after Calcaneus External Fixation Pin Stabilization of a Pilon Fracture

Fungal organisms are an uncommon cause of osteomyelitis, and no dermatophyte osteomyelitis infections have been reported in published studies. We present the case of Trichophyton rubrum osteomyelitis of the calcaneus. Our patient initially presented with a pilon fracture requiring temporary external fixation while awaiting definitive fixation. From our review of the published data, the present case is the first of this type of fungal osteomyelitis to be reported. The patient was evaluated for a left neck mass during his hospitalization that was later found to be consistent with salivary duct carcinoma of the tail of the parotid gland. A left neck dissection and superficial excision of the parotid gland was performed after fixation of his pilon fracture. Subsequently, he developed an increasing lucency in the calcaneus and symptoms of pain and erythema months after the calcaneus pin had been removed. The osteomyelitis was treated with surgical debridement and 3 months of itraconazole once cultures had definitively grown T. rubrum.
Characterization of L3 cache behavior of SPECjAppServer2002 and TPC-C

With the proliferation of e-businesses, Java™ Middleware and OLTP applications are gaining importance. As the gap between CPU and memory latencies continues to increase, the performance of these applications running on multiprocessor systems will become further limited by the memory system. This study characterizes the memory behavior of such applications using the SPECjAppServer2002 and TPC-C benchmarks running on a real multiprocessor system. More specifically, the shared and private L3 caches with invalidation- and update-based coherence protocols are evaluated using the Programmable Hardware-Assisted Cache Emulator (PHA$E). We found that coherency misses increase with larger private L3 caches, constituting up to more than 15% of all misses for both benchmarks. Additionally, a saturation point was observed at which employing larger private cache yields no further improvement in miss ratio. Conversely, the shared L3 cache design was observed to be more scalable since it does not suffer from coherence misses. Our limit study shows that the existing Write-Broadcast policy, which updates line copies in other caches during a write on a shared line, has the potential to simultaneously reduce private cache miss ratio and bus traffic. For example, at 64MB, it reduces the miss ratio by 53% and 44% respectively for SPECjAppServer2002 and TPC-C, while lowering the bus traffic by 18% and 11%. In overall, the policy can eliminate the aforementioned saturation point and allows private cache miss ratio that is comparable with the miss ratio of a shared cache.
Universal Precautions and Distrust

Dear Sir: The letter by Drs. Gourlay and Heit highlights important issues regarding universal precautions for opioid therapies. They raise concern about the term “distrust” in relation to universal precautions, but support this concern by arguing that we should always screen for substance-use disorders. Although their point is correct, it is not directly related to the element of distrust. Treating everyone with the same …
Sympathetic or reflex footpad swelling due to crystal-induced inflammation in the opposite foot.

Sympathetic or reflex footpad swelling occurred in rats when several crystals known to be pathogenic in human joints or soft tissues were injected into the opposite footpad. Monosodium urate (MSU), calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate (CaPPD), hydroxyapatite, calcium oxalate (CaOx), and xanthine (X) suspension induced varying degrees of such reflex or sympathetic swelling. In the second cycle of crystal-induced swelling, the foot that had been the initial or primary site of inflammation reacted with greater reflex swelling, when compared to the first cycle. Similarly, reflex increases in temperature occurred when CaPPD was injected. These reflex increases in swelling and temperature may relate to signs and symptoms of patients with reflex neurovascular dystrophy or shoulder-hand syndrome.
Clarifying the boundaries of human resource development

This article clarifies the boundaries of human resource development (HRD) with respect to other concepts frequently used and misused in HRD literature. Through a proposition, a set of criteria for human resources is presented. A cross-culture literature comparison of the criteria demonstrates the consistency of the connotation in two contrasting cultures. This study has important implications for HRD research, practice and continued theory development effort. It relates to the identity and distinctiveness of HRD discipline, as well as the domain of HRD research and practice.
AB INITIO CALCULATIONS OF LITHIUM HYDRIDE

Abstract Lithium hydride is a standard benchmark system for small-molecule electronic structure investigations. It has been well studied experimentally and theoretically and, for some time, calculational results have been available which show extremely good agreement with spectroscopic measurements. Very large basis set, coupled cluster calculations have been carried out to add a further, although small, refinement to the ground state stretching potential. In addition, vibrational state wavefunctions have been calculated to connect the potential energy curve information with spectroscopic parameters. A number of electrical and magnetic properties have been calculated, and results of a non-approximate analysis of the vibrational effects on the properties are reported.
An X-ray Absorption Spectroscopic Structural Investigation of the Nickel Site in Escherichia coli NikA Protein

The results of an X-ray absorption spectroscopic study of the structure of the Ni site in the periplasmic Ni-binding protein NikA are presented. These studies demonstrate that the Ni site is 6 or 7...
Microstructure Design for a Rotating Disk: With Application to Turbine Engines

Through the use of generalized spherical harmonic basis functions a spectral representation is used to model the microstructure of cubic materials. This model is then linked to the macroscopic elastic properties of materials with Cubic Triclinic and Cubic Axial-symmetric symmetry. The influence that elastic anisotropy has on the fatigue response of the material is then quantified. This is accomplished through using the effective elastic stiffness tensor in the computation of the crack extension force, G. The resulting material model and macroscopic property calculations are the foundation for a software package which provides an interface to the microstructure. The Microstructure Sensitive Design interface (MDSi) enables interaction with the material design process and provides tools needed to incorporate material parameters with traditional design, optimization, and analysis software. The microstructure of the material can then be optimized concurrently other engineering models to increase the overall design space. The influence of microstructure on the performance of a spinning disc is explored. The additional design space afforded by inclusion of the material parameters show that for both Cubic Triclinic and Cubic Axial-symmetric material symmetry conditions G can be reduced by more than an order of magnitude. For the Cubic Axial-symmetric condition a Cube fiber texture and a fiber texture are identified as the best performing orientation distributions.Copyright © 2005 by ASME