cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Risk of being killed by police use of force in the United States by age, race–ethnicity, and sex

We use data on police-involved deaths to estimate how the risk of being killed by police use of force in the United States varies across social groups. We estimate the lifetime and age-specific risks of being killed by police by race and sex. We also provide estimates of the proportion of all deaths accounted for by police use of force. We find that African American men and women, American Indian/Alaska Native men and women, and Latino men face higher lifetime risk of being killed by police than do their white peers. We find that Latina women and Asian/Pacific Islander men and women face lower risk of being killed by police than do their white peers. Risk is highest for black men, who (at current levels of risk) face about a 1 in 1,000 chance of being killed by police over the life course. The average lifetime odds of being killed by police are about 1 in 2,000 for men and about 1 in 33,000 for women. Risk peaks between the ages of 20 y and 35 y for all groups. For young men of color, police use of force is among the leading causes of death.
Hunting Drones with Other Drones: Tracking a Moving Radio Target

Unauthorized drone flights near aircraft, airports, and emergency operations compromise the safety of passengers and bystanders. A detection system that can quickly find and track drones could help mitigate the risk of unauthorized drone flights. In this work, we show how a consumer drone outfitted with antennas and commodity radios can autonomously localize another drone by its telemetry radio emissions. We show how a non-myopic planner improves tracking performance over traditionally used greedy, one-step planners. Improved tracking is validated with simulations and the system is demonstrated with real drones in flight tests.
Periodic words, common subsequences and frogs

Let $W^{(n)}$ be the $n$-letter word obtained by repeating a fixed word $W$, and let $R_n$ be a random $n$-letter word over the same alphabet. We show several results about the length of the longest common subsequence (LCS) between $W^{(n)}$ and $R_n$; in particular, we show that its expectation is $\gamma_W n-O(\sqrt{n})$ for an efficiently-computable constant $\gamma_W$. This is done by relating the problem to a new interacting particle system, which we dub "frog dynamics". In this system, the particles (`frogs') hop over one another in the order given by their labels. Stripped of the labeling, the frog dynamics reduces to a variant of the PushTASEP. In the special case when all symbols of $W$ are distinct, we obtain an explicit formula for the constant $\gamma_W$ and a closed-form expression for the stationary distribution of the associated frog dynamics. In addition, we propose new conjectures about the asymptotic of the LCS of a pair of random words. These conjectures are informed by computer experiments using a new heuristic algorithm to compute the LCS. Through our computations, we found periodic words that are more random-like than a random word, as measured by the LCS.
The South Africa-U.S. Trade and the Real Exchange Rate: Asymmetric Evidence from 25 Industries

Previous studies that assessed the effects of exchange rate changes on the trade balance of South Africa assumed that the effects are symmetric. In this paper we violate that assumption and assess the asymmetric effects of the real rand‐dollar rate on the trade balance of 25 2‐digit industries that trade between South Africa and the U.S. We find short‐run asymmetric effects in a total of 19 industries but short‐run cumulative or impact asymmetric effects only on five industries. Short‐run asymmetric effects lasted into long‐run asymmetric effects on 14 industries. Further analysis revealed industries that will benefit from rand depreciation and those that will be hurt from rand appreciation.
Intertwining special education and mathematics education perspectives to design an intervention to improve student understanding of symbolic numerical magnitude

Abstract In our study we examined changes in student justifications over time with an intervention that drew from the best instructional practices in the fields of special education and mathematics education. These justifications were provided by teacher-identified struggling second-grade students while engaging in symbolic numerical magnitude comparisons. Following screening, we conducted 8 instructional sessions to promote conceptual understanding of fundamental ideas for numerical magnitude. Using data collected from 71 instructional tasks, we analyzed the types of justifications students provided and how these justifications changed over time. Prior to the intervention, most student justifications involved few components of a valid mathematical justification. Over the course of the study, students provided more valid and generalizable mathematical justifications.
Elimination of Locoregional Recurrences and Skin Metastases in Papillary Thyroid Cancer by Ethanol Ablation and Mohs Surgery

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous ethanol ablation procedures for locoregional recurrences in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) can be repeatedly performed over years. Skin metastases (SM) from PTC generally portend a lethal prognosis. Our patient case report demonstrates the innovative use in low-risk PTC (LRPTC) of treatment modalities designed to prevent neck re-explorations and capable of eliminating both locoregional recurrences and SM. In 2004, a 48-year-old man presented with neck nodal metastases due to PTC. He underwent a near-total thyroidectomy and nodal dissection, confirming an 8-mm PTC involving 2 ipsilateral node metastases. Postoperatively, he received 2 doses of radioactive iodine (RAI) for remnant uptake (cumulative dose 338 mCi); posttherapy scanning was unrevealing. In 2007, he underwent right neck dissection for further node metastases. In 2008, a guided biopsy confirmed a level IV node metastasis. He was referred to our institution for ethanol ablation. Two node metastases were ablated and subsequently disappeared. During 2010-2016, he developed an additional 6 node metastases, which were treated with ethanol ablation; all disappeared on high-resolution sonography. FDG-PET-CT scans in 2009 and 2016 were negative for distant spread. In 2016, a SM in his right neck was removed by dermatologic surgery. In 2017-2018, 2 further SM were excised with negative margins, one after Mohs surgery. He has now been disease-free for 20 months. In conclusion, despite 3 neck surgeries and 2 RAI therapies, our patient repeatedly developed both locoregional recurrences and SM. All 11 disease foci were eliminated with minimally invasive procedures which should more often be considered as effective treatment options in LRPTC.
Spherical Harmonics and Linear Representations of Lie Groups

This chapter and the next focus on topics that are somewhat different from the more geometric and algebraic topics discussed in the previous chapters. Indeed, the focus of this chapter is on the types of functions that can be defined on a manifold, the sphere Sn in particular, and this involves some analysis. A main theme of this chapter is to generalize Fourier analysis on the circle to higher dimensional spheres. One of our goals is to understand the structure of the space L2(Sn) of real-valued square integrable functions on the sphere Sn, and its complex analog \(L^2_{\mathbb {C}}(S^n)\). Both are Hilbert spaces if we equip them with the inner product $$\displaystyle \langle f, g\rangle _{S^n} = \int _{S^n} f(t)g(t) \, dt = \int _{S^n}fg\,\mathrm {Vol}_{S^n}, $$ and in the complex case with the Hermitian inner product $$\displaystyle \langle f, g\rangle _{S^n} = \int _{S^n} f(t)\overline {g(t)} \, dt = \int _{S^n}f\overline {g}\,\mathrm {Vol}_{S^n}. $$ This means that if we define the L2-norm associated with the above inner product as \(\left \|f\right \| = \sqrt {\langle f, f\rangle }\), then L2(Sn) and \(L^2_{\mathbb {C}}(S^n)\) are complete normed vector spaces (see Section 7.1 for a review of Hilbert spaces). It turns out that each of L2(Sn) and \(L^2_{\mathbb {C}}(S^n)\) contains a countable family of very nice finite-dimensional subspaces \(\mathcal {H}_k(S^n)\) (and \(\mathcal {H}^{\mathbb {C}}_k(S^n)\)), where \(\mathcal {H}_k(S^n)\) is the space of (real) spherical harmonics on Sn, that is, the restrictions of the harmonic homogeneous polynomials of degree k (in n + 1 real variables) to Sn (and similarly for \(\mathcal {H}^{\mathbb {C}}_k(S^n)\)); these polynomials satisfy the Laplace equation $$\displaystyle \Delta P = 0, $$ where the operator Δ is the (Euclidean) Laplacian, $$\displaystyle \Delta = \frac {\partial ^2}{\partial x_1^2} + \cdots + \frac {\partial ^2}{\partial x_{n+1}^2}. $$
ALK-Positive Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)–positive large B-cell lymphoma is a type of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) composed of cells that express ALK as a result of ALK gene rearrangement. ALK + LBCL is rare, representing less than 1 % of all DLBCL. The median age of patients is 36 years with a wide age range and the male to female ratio is 3–5:1. The neoplasm usually arises in lymph nodes of immunocompetent patients. Extranodal sites are less common and bone marrow is rarely involved. Patients usually present with high-stage disease.
Procalcitonin levels in COVID-19 patients are strongly associated with mortality and ICU acceptance in an underserved, inner city population

Rationale: The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19, has led to a global health crisis unlike any our contemporaries have witnessed before. SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University was designated as one of three COVID-19-only hospitals on March 28, 2020. This retrospective, single-center observational study grants a unique perspective surrounding the experience of the critical care service at a public institution serving a predominantly Afro-Caribbean, inner city population. Methods: Between March 11 and April 30, 2020, the critical care service was consulted for a total of 271 COVID-19 patients. We queried the electronic medical record for patient visits with critical care consult notes and collected data on demographics, comorbidities, ICU acceptance, treatment strategies, and clinical outcomes. Non-COVIDrelated consults were excluded. Chi-squared tests compared categorical variables, and independent samples ttest assessed differences in continuous variables based on mortality and ICU admission status. Logistic regression models determined if various factors independently predicted the odds of mortality. We conducted retrospective analyses to identify factors associated with survival and ICU acceptance. Results: Of the 271 patients with critical care consults, 33% (n=89) survived and 67% (n=182) expired. At the bivariate level, age, BUN, and neutrophil percentage were significantly associated with mortality, with age showing the strongest correlation (age: survivors, 61.62±1.50 vs. non-survivors, 68.98±0.85, p<0.001). There was a significant association between neutrophil percentage and mortality in the univariate logistic regression model (Q4 vs. Q1, OR 2.73, 95% CI (1.28-5.82), p trend = 0.044). In the multivariate analyses, procalcitonin exhibited a positive correlation with the odds of mortality, adjusting for age, sex, and race/ethnicity (procalcitonin: Q4 vs. Q1, OR 5.65, 95% CI (2.14-14.9), p trend <0.001). Adjusting for the same covariates, platelets exhibited a negative correlation with the odds of mortality (Q4 vs. Q1, OR 0.47, 95% CI (0.22-0.998), p trend = 0.010). Interestingly, of these factors, only elevated procalcitonin levels were associated with an increased likelihood of ICU acceptance. Conclusions: This retrospective, observational study during the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic identified key factors linked to disease severity and outcomes. Of note, procalcitonin was the factor most strongly associated with both mortality and likelihood of ICU acceptance at the bivariate level. Respiratory failure is the primary cause of death in COVID-19, and our data suggests that procalcitonin is a useful marker that accurately reflects the severity of lung involvement during SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The Impact of Shortened Clinical Clerkships on Medical Student Performance and Clerkship Assessment.

Medical schools sometimes need to adjust the length of third-year clinical clerkships. The literature surrounding the effects of shortened clerkships on student experience and performance is mixed. Our medical school shortened the third year by an average of 20% per clerkship to accommodate a curricular re-design in 2018-2019. We examined test scores and measures of clinical performance as well as student experience in order to understand the impact of this change. Two hundred and eight students were included in the analysis, 104 in each cohort. No statistically significant differences were noted between cohorts on NBME subject examination results. There were no significant differences on Step 2 CK scores between the traditional curriculum cohort (M = 249.4, SD = 13.7) and shortened curriculum cohort (M = 248.7, SD = 15.8). Student performance on OSCE cases was similar. Similar percentages of students rated each clerkship either “good” or “excellent” in the traditional (77%) and shortened (78%) curriculum. There was no significant impact on student test scores after shortening the curriculum. Measures of student satisfaction and experience also remained stable, likely related to emphasis on retaining patient care experiences and streamlining of didactics. Curricular shortening during the third year of medical school was feasible and safe from the student perspective in our experience.
Molecular Testing in Breast Cancer: Current Status and Future Directions.

Molecular testing in breast cancer is a rapidly developing field that is becoming increasingly integral to patient care. This article provides an overview of currently available molecular assays and testing modalities that have prognostic, predictive, and therapeutic value. These include multigene assays for invasive breast cancer (Oncotype DX, MammaPrint, Prosigna, and Breast Cancer Index) and ductal carcinoma in situ (Oncotype DX DCIS and DCISionRT) and companion tests to detect PIK3CA mutations and NTRK fusions. The various assays related to immune checkpoint inhibitors, consisting of immunohistochemistry with anti–programmed death-ligand 1 antibodies SP142 and 22C3 and detection of microsatellite instability, mismatch repair deficiency, and tumor mutational burden are also discussed. Finally, the practical utility and hopeful promise of next-generation sequencing panels and circulating tumor (cell-free) DNA assays are evaluated. This review should serve as a useful and practical reference for practicing pathologists, molecular pathologists, clinicians, and researchers.
Self-Identified Patient Barriers to Pursuit of Cochlear Implantation.

Introduction Cochlear implantation (CI) is an underutilized treatment for hearing loss in the United States for reasons which remain unclear. This study explores self-identified barriers to CI employing a survey of adults who qualified for CI. Methods A single-institutional review of CI candidates between December 2010 and December 2018 was performed to identify patients who did not pursue surgery. A 21-question survey was developed, aimed at rating patients' concerns regarding CI, including surgical risks, adaptation, costs, time commitment, loss of residual hearing, and lack of benefit, among others. Current hearing aid usage and familiarity with other CI users were also analyzed. The survey was administered to patients who did not pursue CI and a control group who eventually did pursue CI, via email or telephone. Results There were 199 patients who initially did not pursue CI. Fifty-two survey responses were received, comprised of 27 patients who did not pursue CI and 25 patients who did. A belief that CI would not significantly improve the ability to communicate was the most common reported barrier, followed by the postoperative recovery process, risks of surgery, and risks of losing music appreciation. Anesthetic risk and cost were the least important reasons not to pursue CI. Half of patients reported concerns regarding the period of adjustment with the CI. Conclusion The decision not to pursue CI despite eligibility is multifactorial and includes concern for minimal hearing benefit and perioperative risks. These factors should be taken into consideration when counseling patients on CI surgery.
Taxation under Asymmetric Information

This chapter explores the implications of asymmetric information on taxation. Analysis under the assumption of asymmetric information is inherently second-best because first-best analysis requires that agents have perfect information about everything relevant to their economic decisions and exchanges. The problem of asymmetric information has been a focal point of public sector analysis for the past 15 or 20 years, just as it has been in almost all fields of economics. Furthermore, the chapter discusses lump-sum redistribution and private information. In a first-best environment, with perfect information, the government should transfer one good or factor lump-sum to satisfy the interpersonal equity conditions for a social welfare maximum. Presumably high-ability and high-income people would be taxed and low-ability and low-income people would receive transfers. The chapter concludes with a discussion on optimal income taxation, which achieves the optimal balance between the gains from redistribution as measured by some social welfare function and the three inefficiency costs from raising the tax revenue.
BF*: Web services discovery and composition as graph search problem

When there are a large number of Web services available (e.g., in the range of 1,000-10,000), it is non-trivial to quickly find Web services satisfying the given request. Furthermore, when no single Web service satisfies the given request fully, one needs to "compose" multiple Web services to fulfill the goal. Since the search space for such a composition problem is in general exponentially increasing, it is important to have wise decision on underlying data structures and search algorithms. Toward this problem, in this paper, we present a novel solution, named as BF* (BF-Star), that adopts the competitive A* as a search algorithm while utilizing the Bloom Filter as a succinct data structure.
Proceedings of the Fourth Integrated Communications, Navigation, and Surveillance (ICNS) Conference and Workshop

The Integrated Communications, Navigational and Surveillance (ICNS) Technologies Conference and Workshop provides a forum for Government, industry, and academic communities performing research and technology development for advanced digital communications, navigation, and surveillance security systems and associated applications supporting the national and global air transportation systems. The event's goals are to understand current efforts and recent results in near-and far-term research and technology demonstration; identify integrated digital communications, navigation and surveillance research requirements necessary for a safe, high-capacity, advanced air transportation system; foster collaboration and coordination among all stakeholders; and discuss critical issues and develop recommendations to achieve the future integrated CNS vision for the national and global air transportation system.
Multiplication-free adaptive filters

Convergence analyses of two adaptive filter structures that require no multiplications for their implementation are presented. Under the assumption that primary and reference inputs to the adaptive filters are zero mean, wide-sense stationary, and Gaussian random processes, expressions are derived for the mean and mean-squared behavior of the filter weight vector using a variety of simplifying assumptions. Results of some computer simulation experiments are presented. >
Some Problems under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act

AN EMPLOYEE who can prove a cause of action under the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act' will collect a premium wage. The Act guarantees him a dual right, the right to minimum wages2' and to time and a half for overtime,3 and if his employer denies him this right the employee may sue for twice the difference between the amount he has been paid and the amount required by statute, and in addition recover a reasonable attorney's fee." However, the protection of the Act is extended to only two groups of employees, those engaged in interstate or foreign commerce, and those engaged in production for such commerce,5 and the history of the Act as construed in the federal courts shows that there are some serious barriers in
Method for the estimation of imperfection density by thermoelectric means

A method is developed for the estimation of the mol fraction of imperfections in cold-worked metal; this is based upon an analogy with the thermodynamics of reversible cells. This method cannot differentiate between types of lattice imperfections or mechanisms of recovery. This technique shows that four stages are involved in the recovery of cold-worked platinum above 100°C. These stages correspond closely to the recovery behavior of platinum noted by Miuraet al. and confirm their findings.
Clinical analysis on water-electrolyte and disturbance of acid-base balance in children with acute rotavirus enteritis.

Objective To study the changing state of dehydration,electrolyte,osmotic pressure and anion gap(AG)as well as the relation among them in children with acute rotavirus enteritis.Method Before treatment,blood gas analysis,serum Na+,K+,Cl-,HCO3-and osmotic pressure were detected in 150 patients.AG was calculated according to Na+-(Cl-+HCO3-).Rotavirus antigens in faeces of all children were determined by ELISA method.Result Mild and moderate degree dehydration,metabolic acidosis,hyperchloremia and hypokalemia were 89.3%,76.7%,14.6% and 28%,respectively.Dehydration became severe with acidosis(χ2=34.2,P0.01).69.3% of the patients were with isosmotic pressure,25.3% with hypoosmotic pressure and only 5.4% with hypertonic pressure.Osmotic pressure and serum Na+ showed positive correlation(χ2=297,P0.01).60.8% of the patients had metabolic acidosis with normal AG.AG and serum Na+ showed positive correlation,and the level of AG increase with dehydration(χ2=9.828,P 0.01).Conclusion Rotavirus enteritis usually induces mild and moderate degree dehydration,metabolic acidosis and hypokalemia.Isosmotic pressure dehydration and metabolic acidosis with normal AG are primary clinical manifestation.Correcting dehydration in time would avoid the aggravation of metabolic acidosis and diminish the incidence of high AG.
The Effect of Loans on Students' Degree Attainment: Differences by Student and Institutional Characteristics.

In this article, Dongbin Kim investigates the relationship between undergraduate student loan debt and degree attainment. Using data from the Beginning Postsecondary Student (BPS) surveys in 1995–1996 and 2000–2001, she examines whether the relationship between debt and degree attainment is different for students with different parental income levels or racial/ethnic backgrounds, and for students attending different types of higher education institutions. Controlling for a range of individual and institutional characteristics, Kim uses hierarchical generalized linear modeling to find that higher student loan debt in the first year of college is associated with lower probabilities of degree completion among low-income and Black students. Her findings suggest that students' increased reliance on loans for financial aid may widen the income and racial/ethnic gaps in degree completion, despite the fact that a primary goal of financial aid is to narrow those gaps.
Matrix elements of some products of direction cosines and second-order quadrupole coupling calculations

Abstract The matrices in the Wang symmetric rotator basis of the products of direction cosines between space-fixed and molecule-fixed axes are partitioned and some characteristics of the blocks are listed. Short tables ( J ≦ 6) are given of the functions required for the computation of the matrix elements and for second-order perturbation calculations of the interaction of molecular rotation and one quadrupolar nucleus.
The subprime credit crisis and contagion in financial markets

Abstract I conduct an empirical investigation into the pricing of subprime asset-backed collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and their contagion effects on other markets. Using data for the ABX subprime indexes, I find strong evidence of contagion in the financial markets. The results support the hypothesis that financial contagion was propagated primarily through liquidity and risk-premium channels, rather than through a correlated-information channel. Surprisingly, ABX index returns forecast stock returns and Treasury and corporate bond yield changes by as much as three weeks ahead during the subprime crisis. This challenges the popular view that the market prices of these “toxic assets” were unreliable; the results suggest that significant price discovery did in fact occur in the subprime market during the crisis.
A comparison of maze escape behaviors of two species of the.shore crab (Hemigrapsus)

Pacific shore crabs, Hemigrapsus nudus and Hemigrapsus oregonensis, were observed in a transparent Plexiglas maze as they escaped to a rock shelter. Measures were made of escape latency and number of zone crosses. H nudus displayed a faster escape than H. oregonensis but was not significantly more active. The results were interpreted as of adaptive significance for H. nudus in the general occupation of a more exposed shoreline habitat than that of H. oregonensis.
Biologic markers for odontogenic periradicular periodontitis.

Introduction The diagnosis and assessment of apical periodontitis by traditional periapical radiographs can be challenging and might yield false-negative results. The aim of this study was to determine whether interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and dentin sialoprotein (DSP) in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) can be used as biological markers for apical periodontitis.
Oxidation of mitochondrial pyridine nucleotides by aglycone derivatives of adriamycin.

Abstract Adriamycin (AdM) and related anthracyclines are potent antineoplastic agents, the clinical utility of which is limited by severe cardiotoxicity. Aglycone derivatives of AdM have recently been reported to trigger the release of Ca2+ from isolated, preloaded rat heart mitochondria and to modify mitochondrial sulfhydryl (SH) groups. Both mitochondrial Ca2+ retention and SH status are sensitive to mitochondrial NAD(P) + NAD(P)H ratios. This investigation examined the effects of AdM and its aglycone derivatives on the pyridine nucleotide redox status of isolated, intact heart mitochondria with the following results. (i) AdM aglycones induced the slow, Ca2+-independent oxidation of mitochondrial NAD(P)H. Oxidation was proportional to aglycone concentration between 5 and 60 μ m . (ii) In terms of potency, 7-deoxy AdM aglycone ⩾ 7-hydroxy AdM aglycone ⪢ AdM. (iii) Inhibitor data suggested that NAD(P)H oxidation reflects the rotenone-insensitive reduction of AdM aglycone and subsequent electron transfer to O2 generating Superoxide. (iv) NAD(P)H oxidation mediated by AdM aglycone could be distinguished from the Ca2+-dependent NAD(P)H oxidation associated with mitochondrial Ca2+ release. This communication is the first to describe redox interactions of AdM with intact mitochondria.
Bridging the gap between distributed shared memory and message passing

Using Java for high-performance distributed computing aggravates a well-known problem: the choice between efficient message-passing environments and more convenient distributed shared memory systems which often provide additional functionalities like adaptive parallelism or fault tolerance – with the latter being imperative for Web-based computing. This paper proposes an extension to the DSM-based Charlotte system that incorporates advantages from both approaches. Annotations are used to describe the data dependencies of parallel routines. With this information, the runtime system can improve the communication efficiency while still guaranteeing the correctness of the shared memory semantics. If the correctness of these annotations can be relied upon, additional optimizations are possible, ultimately sharing primitive data types such as int across a network, making the overhead associated with accessing and sharing objects unnecessary. In this case, the annotations can be regarded as a compact representation of message-passing semantics. Thus, a program's efficiency can be improved by step-by-step incorporation of semantic knowledge. The possibility to freely mix and to easily switch between unannotated code, annotated code and shared primitive data types entails a big flexibility for the programmer. A number of measurements show significant performance improvements for annotations and annotation-based shared primitive types. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Radiation therapy for ductal carcinoma in situ: a decision analysis.

BACKGROUND: The benefit of adding radiation therapy after excision of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is widely debated. Randomized clinical trials are underpowered to delineate long-term outcomes after radiation. METHODS: The authors of this report constructed a Markov decision model to simulate the clinical course of DCIS in a woman aged 60 years who received treatment with either of 2 breast-conserving strategies: excision alone or excision plus radiation therapy. Sensitivity analyses were used to study the influence of risk of local recurrence, likelihood of invasive disease at recurrence, surgical choice at recurrence, and patient age at diagnosis on treatment outcomes. RESULTS: The addition of radiation therapy was associated with slight improvements in invasive disease-free and overall survival. However, radiation therapy decreased the chance of having both breasts intact over a patient's lifetime. Radiation therapy improved survival by 2.1 months for women who were diagnosed with DCIS at age 60 years but decreased the chance of having both breasts by 8.6% relative to excision alone. The differences in outcomes between the treatment strategies became smaller with increasing age at diagnosis. Sensitivity analyses revealed a greater benefit for radiation with an increased likelihood of invasive recurrence. The decrement in breast preservation with radiation therapy was mitigated by an increased likelihood of mastectomy at the time of recurrence or new breast cancer diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: The current analysis quantified the benefits of radiation after excision of DCIS but also revealed that radiation therapy may increase the likelihood of eventual mastectomy. Therefore, the authors concluded that patient age and preferences should be considered when making the decision to add or forgo radiation for DCIS. Cancer 2012;. © 2011 American Cancer Society.
Serum cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate responses to adrenocorticotropin stimulation in premature infants.

Summary: ACTH stimulation tests were performed in 15 premature infants in a serial fashion at the ages of 5-10 days and 27-31 days. Six of the 15 had subsequent ACTH stimulation tests at 6-8 weeks and/or 12-13 weeks. The pre- and post-ACTH serum cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHAS) levels were determined by radioimmunoassay. The mean basal levels of cortisol, 55 ng/ml, and DHAS, 4108 ng/ml, were significantly higher (P< 0.05 and P < 0.025, respectively) at 5-10 days than those of 24 ng/ml and 1858 ng/ml, respectively, at 27-31 days. The mean net change (Δ) of cortisol after ACTH at 5-10 days, 95 ng/ml, increased significantly to 148 ng/ml at 27-31 days. However, ΔDHAS did not differ significantly between the two periods (1514 ng/ml vs. 972 ng/ml). Therefore, ΔDHAS/Δcortisol was lower (P < 0.05) at 27-31 days than at 5-10 days. No further significant changes were observed after 4 weeks of age in the levels of the two steroids. There was little correlation of basal levels between cortisol and DHAS, nor between Δcortisol and ΔDHAS at any age period we studied. There were four infants whose mothers had prenatal steroid treatment for the prevention of hyaline membrane disease and their values were not different from the other infants. Speculation: Increased responsiveness of cortisol to ACTH at 1 month of age may suggest that there is increasing 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in the neonatal adrenal gland in this period. The well maintained DHAS responsiveness to ACTH until 3 months of age, however, implies that there is a persistence of fetal corticosteroidogenic pathways through the first months of life.
60 EVALUTION OF THE REGIONALIZATION OF PERINATAL CARE: MORBIDITY IN SURVIVING CHILDREN AT ONE-YEAR

The presentation will focus on the prevalence of developmental disability, congenital anomalies and other morbidity, and the correlates of these types of morbidity with antenatal and intrapartum events, socio-economic characteristics and medical care utilization in a population of one-year old infants. The data to be presented are derived from a survey of about 5,000 infants in 8 regions in the country (80% of those known to be living in the regions at the time of the survey), and represent the first such data set in the US for a large geographically based population. The data were obtained using an instrument combining an interview with direct observations of developmental activities during visits to the homes of infants selected randomly from births in each of the 8 regions, with an oversample of low birthweight infants. This survey is part of a project to evaluate the effectiveness of regionalization of perinatal care in the 8 regions, and complements the analysis of the infant, perinatal and neonatal mortality rates in these regions.
Role of Late Complement Components in Experimental Autoimmune Thyroiditis

Abstract Availability of a line of rabbits deficient in the sixth complement component (C6-D) made it possible to evaluate the role of the terminal complement complex (TCC) in the development of experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT) of the rabbit. Immunization with saline extract of homologous thyroid, known to be composed predominantly of thyroglobulin, led in normocomplementemic (NC) rabbits to severe thyroidiris, with cellular infiltrates occupying 50-95% of the thyroid, and to minimal or moderate thyroidiris, with 1-35% of thyroids infiltrated in C6-D rabbits. Cellular infiltrates consisted predominantly of mononuclear cells with appreciable numbers of granulocytes. Destruction of thyroid follicles was extensive and diffuse in NC rabbits, but it was only minimal and focal in C6-D rabbits. Immunohistology revealed in both groups of rabbits deposits of IgG and C3 along follicular basal laminae. In addition, NC rabbits showed deposition of C6 and MAC in thyroid follicles. These results suggested that TCC is necessary for the development of fully expressed, severe EAT; simultaneously, however, they showed that a significantly reduced EAT can develop without TCC. Administration of NC but not of C6-D rabbit serum to C6-D rabbits resulted in a significant increase in the severity of EAT. It was also shown that C6-D rabbits have "normal" T-cell activity, since they developed experimental autoallergic encephalomyelitis as readily as NC rabbits. Therefore, it is likely that development of EAT is indeed impaired by the C6 deficiency in rabbits. The requirement for TCC observed in this study may be relevant to the understanding of the pathogenesis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, in which thyroid tissue was recently shown to contain TCC deposits.
Position emission tomography at the turn of the century: A perspective

Nuclear medicine translates advances in molecular biology into the care of patients. In the future, diseases will be characterized at the molecular rather than the cellular level, often before detectable structural changes have occurred. Position emission tomography (PET) will play a major role in the study of intercellular communication by making it possible to characterize the actions of “molecules with messages.” Diseases will be characterized by defects in intercellular communication. Treatment will be planned based on molecular abnormalities, and the response to treatment will be monitored with molecular probes. PET studies of the brain, heart, and cancer will be extended to all organs of the body. Pharmacology will be strongly influenced by PET because most drugs act by stimulating or blocking “recognition sites” on the surface of cells. In the next century, will single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) makes PET unnecessary? The answer is no, because both PET and SPECT will have achieved a permanent role in medical practice; both make it possible to examine regional in vivo chemistry in human beings. Carbon-11 and fluorine-18 will continue to lead the way, but many drugs, and some body constituents such as proteins, can be radiolabeled with iodine-123 and technetium-99m. Today, PET is limited by the need to make one's own radiotracers. This is likely to change when regional radiopharmacies become widespread. Just as the field of nuclear medicine moved initially into an exponential phase of growth only after industry undertook the commercial distribution of gamma-emitting tracers, so also will the involvement of industry be required if PET radiotracers are to be made available for the care of patients.
Dynamics and instability of triple junctions of solidifying eutectics: flow-modified morphologies

Fluid motions impressed upon a eutectic crystal front during directional solidification result in an increase of the lamellar spacing. This flow-induced change of microstructures is analyzed analytically to show the relationship between spacing and the operating conditions. The resulting system is a set of ordinary differential equations which describe the evolution of triple junctions. In a weak-flow regime lamellar widths at the minimum undercooling have a scaling similar to that of Jackson and Hunt, modified by the flows. When the flows are strong, a new scaling law shows that the width is proportional to one-fourth power of the imposed shear rate. Lamellar phases then tilt into the flow. Only at large morphological numbers does the minimum undercooling point corresponds to the marginal stability limit. Simulations show that the flows promote pinching of unstable lamellae.
NMR analysis demonstrates immunoglobulin G N-glycans are accessible and dynamic.

Antibody glycans play important biological roles, but these functions are hard to reconcile with the current picture of carbohydrates tightly bound to the protein surface. Advanced NMR techniques and chemoenzymatic labeling strategies now point to large dynamic motions in these glycan chains.
Conditional Inactivation of the CXCR4 Receptor in Osteoprecursors Reduces Postnatal Bone Formation Due to Impaired Osteoblast Development

Cysteine (C)-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4), the primary receptor for stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1), is involved in bone morphogenic protein 2 (BMP2)-induced osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal progenitors. To target the in vivo function of CXCR4 in bone and explore the underlying mechanisms, we conditionally inactivated CXCR4 in osteoprecursors by crossing osterix (Osx)-Cre mice with floxed CXCR4 (CXCR4fl/fl) mice to generate knock-outs with CXCR4 deletion driven by the Osx promoter (Osx::CXCR4fl/fl). The Cre-mediated excision of CXCR4 occurred exclusively in bone of Osx::CXCR4fl/fl mice. When compared with littermate controls, Osx::CXCR4fl/fl mice developed smaller osteopenic skeletons as evidenced by reduced trabecular and cortical bone mass, lower bone mineral density, and a slower mineral apposition rate. In addition, Osx::CXCR4fl/fl mice displayed chondrocyte disorganization in the epiphyseal growth plate associated with decreased proliferation and collagen matrix syntheses. Moreover, mature osteoblast-related expression of type I collagen α1 and osteocalcin was reduced in bone of Osx::CXCR4fl/fl mice versus controls, suggesting that CXCR4 deficiency results in arrested osteoblast progression. Primary cultures for osteoblastic cells derived from Osx::CXCR4fl/fl mice also showed decreased proliferation and impaired osteoblast differentiation in response to BMP2 or BMP6 stimulation, and suppressed activation of intracellular BMP receptor-regulated Smads (R-Smads) and Erk1/2 was identified in CXCR4-deficient cells and bone tissues. These findings provide the first in vivo evidence that CXCR4 functions in postnatal bone development by regulating osteoblast development in cooperation with BMP signaling. Thus, CXCR4 acts as an endogenous signaling component necessary for bone formation.
Non-Surgical Management of Achilles Ruptures

Incidence of Achilles tendon injury has increased as people continue to be active in their later years. Although acute rupture of the Achilles tendon is most commonly diagnosed using history and physical examination, improvements in magnetic resonance and ultrasound imaging have led to their routine use in evaluating these injuries. Non-operative versus operative management of acute Achilles tendon ruptures has been the subject of much controversy in the current literature, especially in light of non-operative treatment with functional bracing. This article highlights the current controversy and outlines the rationale for nonsurgical treatment of acute Achilles tendon ruptures.
Complete structure and expression in transfected cells of high affinity IgE receptor

The high-affinity receptor for immunoglobulin E, Fcɛ RI, is found exclusively on mast cells and basophils. When multivalent aller-gens bind to the receptor-bound IgE, the consequent aggregation of the receptors leads to the release of mediators responsible for allergic symptoms. In rodents Fcɛ RI is a tetrameric complex of non-covalently attached subunits: one IgE-binding α subunit, one β subunit and a dimer of disulphide-linked γ subunits1. Com-plementary DNA encoding the α and the β subunits has recently been isolated2–5, but expression of IgE-binding by transfected cells has not yet been achieved2–5. Here we report the cloning of cDNA for the γ subunit, and propose a model for the αβγ2 tetramer which accounts for many of the structural features of the receptor. The rodent receptor on the surface of COS 7 cells was expressed only when the cDNAs for all three subunits were cotransfected. Successful expression of human IgE receptors should now be possible, eventually to permit the detailed analysis of the human IgE-receptor interaction and assist the search for therapeutically effective inhibitors.
The axial topographic high at intermediate and fast spreading ridges

Abstract An axial topographic high is commonly observed at both fast spreading ridges and some segments of intermediate spreading ridges. At fast rates the axial high is primarily created by the buoyancy of hot rock and magma beneath the rise. As newly formed crust is transported off axis, little vestige of an axial high is observed on the ridge flanks. In contrast, at intermediate rates, a significant component of the positive topography may be a volcanic construction, preserved on the ridge flanks as abyssal hills, which are split axial volcanoes. We suggest this difference in the nature of the axial high reflects a lithosphere strong enough to support construction of a volcanic crestal ridge at intermediate spreading rates, but only rarely at fast rates. Relict overlap ridges, found within the discordant zones left by overlapping spreading centers, is one class of ridge-flank topography which appears to have a significant volcanic constructional component even at fast spreading ridges. Unlike topography away from these discontinuities, the relief and shape of overlapping spreading centers is preserved as relict ridge tips are rafted onto the ridge flanks. Reduced magma supply at these discontinuities may give rise to an axial lithosphere strong enough to support volcanic construction of overlap ridges. Low axial lithospheric strength may also account for the lack of normal faults within the innermost 1–2 km of fast, and some intermediate, spreading ridges. With a thin/weak brittle layer at the ridge crest, tensile failure will predominate and few normal faults will form. Depths to the axial magma chamber reflector observed in multi-channel seismic data limit the thickness of the brittle layer on axis to less than 1–2 km for much of the EPR. This depth is comparable to depths over which tensile failure within the oceanic crust will predominate, estimated from the Griffith criteria for fracture initiation ( ∼ 0.5–1.5 km). As the brittle layer thickens/strengthens away from the ridge, shear failure begins and the large-scale normal faults associated with abyssal hill relief develop.
Genetic influences on glucose neurotoxicity, aging, and diabetes: a possible role for glucose hysteresis

Glucose may drive some age-correlated impairments and may mediate some effects of dietary restriction on senescence. The hypothesis that cumulative deleterious effects of glucose may impair hypothalamic neurons during aging, leading to hyperinsulinemia and other age-correlated pathologies, is examined in the context of genetic influences. Susceptibility to toxic effects of gold-thio-glucose (GTG) is correlated with longevity across several mouse strains. GTG and chronic hyperglycemia induce specific impairments in the ventromedial hypothalamus similar to impairments which occur during aging. GTG and a high-calorie diet both induce chronic hyperinsulinemia, leading initially to hypoglycemia, followed by the development of insulin resistance and hyperglycemia. Aging in humans and rodents appears to entail a similar pattern of hyperinsulinemia followed by insulin resistance. In humans, genetic susceptibility to high-calorie diet-induced impairments in glucose metabolism is extremely common in many indigenous populations, possibly due to the selection of the ‘thrifty genotype’. It is suggested that the ‘thrifty genotype’ may entail enhanced sensitivity to the neurotoxic effects of glucose, and may represent an example of antagonistic pleiotropy in human evolution. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that genetic susceptibility of hypothalamic neurons to the cumulative toxic effects of glucose (glucose neurohumoral hysteresis) may correlate with genetic influences on longevity.
Antinutritional effects and ecological significance of dietary condensed tannins may not be due to binding and inhibiting digestive enzymes

The digestive enzymes alkaline phosphatase and 5′-nucleotide phosphodiesterase, solubilized from bovine intestinal mucosa and purified to homogeneity, were found to be strongly inhibited in vitro by condensed tannins (proanthocyanidins) purified from sorghum seeds and from quebracho. Tannin inhibition was prevented and reversed by the detergent Triton X-100 (protein-binding agent), by soluble polyvinylpyrrolidone (tannin-binding agent), or by phosphatidylcholine (membrane component). When tested as a crude particulate membrane fraction more characteristic of their in vivo condition, both enzymes were inhibited much less than either purified enzyme at the same tannin concentration. Because the enzymes appear to be relatively insensitive to inhibition by tannin in conditions which mimic in vivo conditions, and because the proportion of the dietary tannin which is available to interact with these enzymes in the digestive tract is likely to be rather small, we suggest that the antinutritional effects and ecological significance of dietary tannins are not due to tannin inhibition of these or other digestive enzymes by direct binding to them.