cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of carbon microfiber materials on sensitivity of adenosine and hydroxyadenine at carbon microfiber sensors

Abstract The relationship between the sensitivity measurements and microfiber electrodes made from different carbon microfiber materials, such as polyacrylonitrile (PAN T650 and PAN HCB) and Pitch P25 was established in this work. The different microfiber electrodes were nanostructured by an electrochemical pretreatment method. Sensitivity of adenosine (ADO) and 2,8-dihydroxyadenine (2,8-DHA) was measured at different carbon microfiber sensors made from different carbon microfiber materials. Sensitivity of PAN microfiber electrodes for ADO and 2,8-DHA determinations measured at 500 V s−1 vs. SCE is higher than that measured at Pitch P25 microfiber electrodes due to more defects in PAN microfiber electrodes. Adsorption of ADO and 2,8-DHA is greater at PAN HCB electrodes. High conductivity of PAN fibers correlates with sensitivity determinations of the investigated analytes.
Photon distributions of lasers with first-order phase-transition analogies

The photon-number distributions for a laser with a saturable-absorber and a dye laser are obtained by extensions of the Scully and Lamb optical-maser theory. The results are shown to be in correspondence with those of Lugiato et al. for the saturable-absorber laser and with those of Schaefer and Willis for the dye laser. Moreover, they are in a form which clearly shows the relation between the saturable-absorber laser and the dye laser. The thermodynamic potentials for the first-order phase-transition analogy are calculated and are found to be of the form predicted by Scott, Sargent, and Cantrell using semiclassical equations.
Perinatal arterial ischemic stroke: presentation, risk factors, evaluation, and outcome.

Abstract Background Perinatal arterial ischemic stroke is as common as large vessel arterial ischemic stroke in adults and leads to significant morbidity. Perinatal arterial ischemic stroke is the most common identifiable cause of cerebral palsy and can lead to cognitive and behavioral difficulties that are amortized over a lifetime. Methods The literature on perinatal arterial ischemic stroke was reviewed and analyzed. Results Risk factors for perinatal arterial ischemic stroke include those that are maternal, neonatal, and placental. The most common clinical signs at presentation are seizures and hemiparesis. Evaluation should begin with thorough history acquisition and physical examination followed by magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, with consideration of magnetic resonance angiography of the head and neck, echocardiogram, and thrombophilia evaluation. Treatment beginning early to include physical, speech, and occupational therapies including constraint-induced movement therapy and close cognitive and developmental follow-up may be beneficial. Future treatments may include transcranial magnetic stimulation, hypothermia, and erythropoietin. Conclusions Perinatal arterial ischemic stroke comprises a group of arterial ischemic injuries that can occur in the prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal periods in term and preterm infants with different types of perinatal arterial ischemic stroke having different clinical presentations, risk factors, and long-term outcomes.
MURINE YOLK SAC HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION ARE REGULATED BY SPECIFIC HEMATOPOIETIC MICROENVIRONMENTS. • 970

MURINE YOLK SAC HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION ARE REGULATED BY SPECIFIC HEMATOPOIETIC MICROENVIRONMENTS. • 970
Peptidyl-Prolyl Isomerase FKBP52 Controls Chemotropic Guidance of Neuronal Growth Cones via Regulation of TRPC1 Channel Opening

Immunophilins, including FK506-binding proteins (FKBPs), are protein chaperones with peptidyl-prolyl isomerase (PPIase) activity. Initially identified as pharmacological receptors for immunosuppressants to regulate immune responses via isomerase-independent mechanisms, FKBPs are most highly expressed in the nervous system, where their physiological function as isomerases remains unknown. We demonstrate that FKBP12 and FKBP52 catalyze cis/trans isomerization of regions of TRPC1 implicated in controlling channel opening. FKBP52 mediates stimulus-dependent TRPC1 gating through isomerization, which is required for chemotropic turning of neuronal growth cones to netrin-1 and myelin-associated glycoprotein and for netrin-1/DCC-dependent midline axon guidance of commissural interneurons in the developing spinal cord. By contrast, FKBP12 mediates spontaneous opening of TRPC1 through isomerization and is not required for growth cone responses to netrin-1. Our study demonstrates a novel physiological function of proline isomerases in chemotropic nerve guidance through TRPC1 gating and may have significant implication in clinical applications of immunophilin-related therapeutic drugs.
Chest Pain in Children Follow-up of Patients Previously Reported

During a 1-year period, 407 children with chest pain were seen in the Emergency Department of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Analysis of the clinical data of these children was reported previously. The authors successfully followed 149 of these children for 6 months or more, and 51 for 2 years or more. These patients returned for an average of 3.4 visits during the follow-up period. Thirty-four percent of the initial diagnoses were altered. Usually, during the follow-up period, the authors concluded that chest pain resulted from nonorganic causes. A new organic etiology was uncovered in only 12 of 149 cases. Only 1 child was found to have a heart abnormality (mitral valve prolapse), and 3 were found to have asthma. Chest pain did not resolve during the follow-up period in 43 percent of those followed. Children with chest pain should have follow-up care because of the persistence of symptoms, but serious disease is unlikely to be found over time.
Associations between candidate loci angiotensin-converting enzyme and angiotensinogen with coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction: The NHLBI family heart study☆

Abstract Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and angiotensinogen (AGT) are major components of the renin-angiotensin systems. An association between myocardial infarction (MI) and the ACE DD genotype of the insertion/deletion (ID) polymorphism in intron 16 of the ACE gene has been reported. However, other similarly designed studies have not found such an association. Angiotensin II, the product of AGT, has a direct effect on vascular tone; and a variant in the AGT gene has been found to be associated with MI in the Japanese. This case-control study was initiated to investigate whether the ACEI/D and AGT M235T polymorphisms are associated with an increased risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) and MI. Our study groups were composed of participants in the National Heart Lung Blood Institute (NHLBI) Family Heart Study (FHS) selected from three population-based studies: two Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) centers (Forsyth County, NC, and Minneapolis, MN), and the Framingham Heart Study. In multivariate analysis within ARIC Caucasians, a significant positive association was found between CHD (controls = 230, cases = 232) and the AGT TT genotype (P = 0.022; OR = 1.84, 1.09–3.10 95% CI). When we restricted the analysis to a low-risk group for CHD (controls = 70, cases = 35) an interaction between the ACE DD and AGT TT genotypes was significant (P = 0.025; OR = 5.02 1.22–20.6 95% CI). After further subsetting low-risk cases to those with a definite MI (controls = 74, cases = 16), we found that the association with the ACE DD genotype was also significant (P = 0.013, OR = 3.94, 1.28–12.2 95% CI). Comparable tests in the Framingham sample failed to support an association of these markers with CHD. In conclusion, within selected groups the ACE D and AGT 235T alleles are statistically associated with CHD and MI, and there is a synergistic interaction between the two alleles. These results and those from previous studies together suggest that the association of these two loci is neither strong nor consistent and involves a complex interaction among risk factors and genotypes.
The Alignment between Organizational Critical Success Factors and Information Technology Capability in Academic Institutions

Alignment between organizational critical success factors (CSFs) and competencies is widely believed to improve performance. This study examines the performance implications of alignment between CSFs and one source of competence, the organization's information technology (IT) capability. The effects of three antecedent factors–environmental uncertainty, integration, and IT management sophistication–are also examined. This paper uses survey data from 244 large academic institutions, along with some secondary data. Following the profile deviation approach to measure alignment, the academic institutions are divided into three clusters based on their CSFs: the academic comprehensives, the reputed giants, and the small educators. The ideal profile of IT capability is next developed for each cluster in terms of four dimensions: information retrieval, electronic communication, computing facilities for students, and computer-aided education. Alignment is then computed for each institution as the proximity of its IT capability profile from the ideal IT capability profile for the cluster to which it belongs. The results suggest that alignment facilitates both perceived IT success and organizational performance. Moreover, sophisticated IT management facilitates both alignment and perceived IT success, environmental uncertainty facilitates perceived IT success but not alignment, and integration facilitates neither alignment nor perceived IT success.
Overview of UltraSAN

UltraSAN is a software package for model-based evaluation of systems represented as stochastic activity networks (SANs). SANs incorporate features of both stochastic Petri nets and queueing models, where parameters in a model such as case distributions, activity times, state transition rules, and reward variables can be marking dependent. Users may build SAN models using an X-Windows based user interface and choose from a variety of analytic and simulation modules for transient and steady state performance, dependability, and performability measures. Furthermore, the tool facilitates graphical representation of the results obtained by its report generator.
A 3-D phase-averaged model for shallow-water flow with waves in vegetated water

A 3-D shallow-water flow model has been developed to simulate the flow in coastal vegetated waters with short waves. The model adopts the 3-D phase-averaged shallow-water flow equations with radiation stresses induced by short waves. It solves the governing equations using an implicit finite volume method based on quadtree rectangular mesh in the horizontal plane and stretching mesh in the vertical direction. The flow model is coupled with a spectral wave deformation model called CMS-Wave. The wave model solves the spectral wave-action balance equation and provides wave characteristics to the flow model. The model considers the effects of vegetation on currents and waves by including the drag and inertia forces of vegetation in the momentum equations and the wave energy loss due to vegetation resistance in the wave-action balance equation. The model has been tested using several sets of laboratory experiments, including steady flows in a straight channel with submerged vegetation and in a compound channel with vegetated floodplain and random waves through a vegetated channel and on a vegetated beach slope. The calculated water levels, current velocities, and wave heights are in general good agreement with the measured data.
Rapid viral induction of murine lymphomas in the graft-versus-host reaction.

When weanling (SJL/J x C57BL/1)F1 hybrid mice were given five weekly-injections of small doses of viable SJL/J spleen cells, so as to induce a graft-versus-host reaction (GVHR), reticulum cell sarcomas were induced in all of the host mice by the 40th day after the first cell injection. Such tumors, on transplantation, were accepted by syngeneic (SJL/J x C57BL/1)F1 and C57BL/1 hosts, but not by SJL/J or NZB mice. Cell-free extracts of SJL/J spleens injected into similar hybrids resulted in identical tumors in all hosts within the same period; the transplantation characteristics were also similar. Normal (SJL/J x C57BL/1)F1 hybrids as well as similar hybrids injected with SJL/J liver or syngeneic F1 spleen cells did not develop tumors. Cell-free preparations of eight tumors induced in F1's by viable SLJ/J spleen cells were injected into newborn (C57BL/1 x A)F1 and C57BL/1 mice: tumors were induced, with seven of eight tumor preparations, with a latent period of 33–49 days. Such tumors were lymphosarcomas, and, in the case of (C57BL/1 x A)F1 hosts, further transplantation revealed that they were antigenically C57BL/1 tumors. These experiments provide conclusive evidence for a viral etiology of GVHR-induced tumors. Furthermore, tumor induction in the GVHR does not appear to depend specifically on an immunological mechanism but is most probably due to release or activation of a sufficient quantity of oncogenic virus within a certain time period in a highly susceptible host. Comparison with radiation induction of viral leukemia in mice revealed similarities in regard to optimal host age and the spacing of administration of the tumor-inducing agent. SJL/J mice carry a type C virus which causes a high incidence of spontaneous Hodgkin-like tumors by 1 yr of age; C57BL/1 mice do not develop lymphomas spontaneously but carry a latent leukemogenic virus. Their hybrid also has a low incidence of spontaneous lymphomas. Based on the results of these and previous experiments, the viruses of these strains of mice appear to be highly synergistic in tumor induction in the GVHR. The SJL/J virus is a powerful oncogenic agent. The C57BL/1 virus may be a helper virus to the SJL/J, but is a more powerful determinant of the antigenic composition of the induced tumors. This suggests that the virus of C57BL/1 mice, when activated, is capable of controlling the C57BL/1 genome. Because of the ease and rapidity of viral tumor induction, the SJL/J and C57BL/1 strains of mice, with their F1 hybrid, should be useful for further study of the mechanisms controlling induction of such tumors.
Activation of PKC modulates blood-brain barrier endothelial cell permeability changes induced by hypoxia and posthypoxic reoxygenation.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a metabolic and physiological barrier important for maintaining brain homeostasis. The aim of this study was to determine the role of PKC activation in BBB paracell...
Biosynthesis of Selenocysteine, the 21st Amino Acid in the Genetic Code, and a Novel Pathway for Cysteine Biosynthesis

The biosynthetic pathway for selenocysteine (Sec), the 21st amino acid in the genetic code whose codeword is UGA, was recently determined in eukaryotes and archaea. Sec tRNA, designated tRNA([Ser]Sec), is initially aminoacylated with serine by seryl-tRNA synthetase and the resulting seryl moiety is converted to phosphoserine by O-phosphoseryl-tRNA kinase to form O-phosphoseryl-tRNA([Ser]Sec). Sec synthase (SecS) then uses O-phosphoseryl-tRNA([Ser]Sec) and the active donor of selenium, selenophosphate, to form Sec-tRNA([Ser]Sec). Selenophosphate is synthesized from selenide and ATP by selenophosphate synthetase 2 (SPS2). Sec was the last protein amino acid in eukaryotes whose biosynthesis had not been established and the only known amino acid in eukaryotes whose biosynthesis occurs on its tRNA. Interestingly, sulfide can replace selenide to form thiophosphate in the SPS2-catalyzed reaction that can then react with O-phosphoseryl-tRNA([Ser]Sec) in the presence of SecS to form cysteine-(Cys-)tRNA([Ser]Sec). This novel pathway of Cys biosynthesis results in Cys being decoded by UGA and replacing Sec in normally selenium-containing proteins (selenoproteins). The selenoprotein, thioredoxin reductase 1 (TR1), was isolated from cells in culture and from mouse liver for analysis of Cys/Sec replacement by MS. The level of Cys/Sec replacement in TR1 was proportional to the level of selenium in the diet of the mice. Elucidation of the biosynthesis of Sec and Sec/Cys replacement provides novel ways of regulating selenoprotein functions and ultimately better understanding of the biological roles of dietary selenium.
Effect of Iron Fortification on Quality of Cheddar Cheese

Abstract Dairy products are an important source of nutrients but are low in iron. Iron fortification of cheese could increase average dietary iron intake about 14%. In three experiments, 14 cheeses were fortified with iron to evaluate iron recovery and cheese quality. Iron was added to 8kg of pasteurized milk before starter culture. Cheese quality was evaluated chemically by 2-thiobarbituric acid assay and organoleptically by 11 food scientists. Iron recoveries in the cheeses were 71 to 81% for FeCl 3 , 52 to 53% for ferric citrate, 55 to 75% for Fe-casein complex, and 70 to 75% for ferripolyphosphate-whey protein complex. Thiobarbituric acid numbers increased slightly in iron fortified cheeses but were within the range reported by others for unfortified cheeses. Taste panel scores for oxidized off-flavor and cheese flavor varied markedly among judges. Correlation coefficients were low between iron level vs oxidized off-flavor, cheese flavor, or thiobarbituric acid number; and thiobarbituric acid number vs. oxidized off-flavor or cheese flavor. Aging cheese up to 3 mo did not change thiobarbituric acid numbers or oxidized off-flavor and cheese flavor scores. Fortification with 40 μ g Fe/g as Fe-casein did not affect oxidized off-flavor and cheese flavor scores and thiobarbituric acid number compared with unfortified cheese. Ferripolyphosphate whey protein complex, Fe-casein, and FeCl 3 are potential iron fortification sources for cheese.
Inhibition of bacteriophage replication in Streptococcus thermophilus by subunit poisoning of primase.

Invariant and highly conserved amino acids within a primase consensus sequence were targeted by site-specific mutations within the putative primase of Streptococcus thermophilus phage κ3. PCR products containing the desired mutation(s) within putative ATPase/helicase and/or oligomerization domains of the κ3-encoded primase gene were cloned into a high-copy-number vector and expressed in S. thermophilus NCK1125. The majority of the plasmid constructs failed to alter phage sensitivity; however, four of the constructs conferred strong phage resistance upon the host. Expression of the K238(A/T) and RR340-341AA mutant proteins in trans suppressed the function of the native phage primase protein in a dominant negative fashion via a proposed subunit poisoning mechanism. These constructs completely inhibited phage genome synthesis and reduced the efficiencies of plaquing and centre of infection formation by more than 9 and 3.5 logs, respectively. Amber mutations introduced upstream of the transdominant RR340-341AA and K238(A/T) mutations restored phage genome replication and sensitivity of the host, indicating that translation was required to confer phage resistance. Introduction of an E437A mutation in a putative oligomerization domain located downstream of the transdominant K238T mutation also completely suppressed phage resistance. This study appears to represent the first use of transdominant proteins to inhibit phages that are disruptive to cultures used in industrial fermentations.
Developmental shifts in the ability of infants with Down syndrome to produce treadmill steps.

Background and Purpose. In this study, we used a dynamic systems strategy to examine longitudinally the ability of infants with Down syndrome to produce alternating steps when supported on a motorized treadmill. Subjects. Seven infants participated, ranging in age from 8 to 11 months at entry into the study and 13 to 29 months at their final session. Methods. Data were collected in the infants' homes on a monthly basis. Testing continued until each subject produced consistent alternating step patterns during three consecutive test sessions. Results. All infants responded by producing alternating steps, on average, 13.3 months before they walked independently, but they initiated this response at a wide range of chronological ages and significantly later than reported previously for nondisabled infants. Similar developmental variables (control parameters) marked the shift into responsiveness to the treadmill context for all infants with Down syndrome, but these variables differed from those identified for nondisabled infants. Conclusion and Discussion. With age, alternating treadmill stepping became a more stable response, although the relative timing of interlimb coordination (phase lag) of the step cycles remained quite variable across ages. We discuss our results relative to the usefulness of dynamic systems theory in understanding delayed development and the possibilities of pursuing the treadmill paradigm as an intervention approach.
Monetary Policy and the Cross-Section of Security Returns

Ample evidence shows that size and book-to-market equity explain significant cross-sectional variation in stock returns, whereas betas contribution is minimal or nonexistent. Recent studies also demonstrate that proxies for monetary stringency increase the explained variation in stock returns. We reexamine a three-factor model that includes beta, size, and book-to-market equity, while allowing monetary conditions to influence the relations between these risk factors and average stock returns. We find that ex-ante proxies for monetary stringency significantly influence the relations between stock returns and all three risk factors. Additionally, all three variables are found to contribute significantly to explaining cross-sectional returns in a three-factor model that includes the monetary sector.
A model of strongly interacting particles

An oscillator (or noncompact group) model of strongly interacting particles is given. Mass formulae for baryons, baryon resonances and vector mesons are derived. Possible existence of new pseudoscalar mesons is discussed.
Secure Computation Using Leaky Tokens

Leakage-proof hardware tokens have been used to achieve a large number of cryptographic tasks recently. But in real life, due to various physical attacks, it is extremely difficult to construct hardware devices that are guaranteed to be leakage-proof. In this paper, we study the feasibility of general two-party computation using leaky hardware tokens.
An experimental approach to the function of Classic Maya chultuns

Experimental techniques have provided an exciting breakthrough for the functional analysis of Maya chultuns. While deep cistern-like chultuns, common at certain sites in the northern lowlands, have been shown to be functional for water storage, smaller lateral-chambered chultuns characteristic of certain parts of the southern lowlands probably had a very different function. Excavation and examination of the latter features, in light of a whole range of possibilities, suggest that they were constructed to be used for food storage. Experimental studies, however, reveal them to be unsuitable for the storage of most traditional foods, including maize. At least one local food crop, the seed of the ramon (Brosimum alicastrum, Moraceae), appears to be ideally suited for long-term storage under these conditions. Chambers constructed beneath platforms in the northern lowlands may have been used for the storage of maize. A need for more experimental work is indicated.
Equality for Inegalitarians

Bill Gates has long been ranked by Forbes magazine as the world’s richest person. Between 2013 and 2014 the co-founder of Microsoft saw his net worth increase by US$14 billion, an amount larger tha...
Synthetic photographs for learning aesthetic preferences

Photo ranking algorithms aim to quantify features within photographs to determine aesthetic quality and learn user preferences over these features. However, current benchmark corpora of photographs contain nonquantifiable contextual information. Moreover, they do not control the variance of quantifiable features. The recently released Panorama data set contains annotated synthetic images with controlled contextual features. The images lay along the full range of quantifiable features. This paper focuses on improving the performance of a predictive learning model trained on the pairwise preferences collected on these images. Predictive models were trained on individual as well as group preferences. Feature selection improved prediction accuracy from the 67% earlier reported to 91% accuracy on the group preference. On average, individual raters' preferences were predicted with 87% accuracy. Top features varied widely among individuals. However, the most frequent top three features were tilted horizon line, cropped objects, and number of objects.
Nivolumab and Pembrolizumab for Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer

The outcomes for patients with previously treated advanced stage non-small lung cancer (NSCLC) are very poor, with a modest benefit from chemotherapy over best supportive care. Immunotherapy offers a novel approach for the treatment of these patients, with two anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1) checkpoint inhibitors, nivolumab and pembrolizumab, recently approved by the FDA based on large randomized clinical trials showing increased overall survival compared with standard second-line docetaxel. Although only a subset of patients benefit from these drugs, the treatment is usually well tolerated and the responses are often durable, with an unprecedented number of survivors 3 years after starting the therapy. The next steps should be the identification of reliable predictors for benefit from immunotherapy with checkpoint inhibitors and the pursuit of well-designed combination therapies. In this article, we review the rationale for the use of checkpoint inhibitors in NSCLC, the data from phase I and randomized clinical trials, and future directions. Clin Cancer Res; 22(15); 3713-7. ©2016 AACR.
Cellular automata modeling framework for urban water reuse planning and management.

AbstractWater reuse provides a sustainable approach to balance water supply and demand in urban areas, and reclaimed water can be used for nonpotable applications to reduce demands on freshwater sources. Construction of a secondary network is required to distribute reclaimed water. Implementing water reuse projects on a wider scale is challenged by the need for communitywide public acceptance and adoption, which may be a dynamic and adaptive process. The adoption of new water infrastructure can drive hydraulic conditions in both the reclaimed network and an existing drinking water network. This research develops a dynamic modeling framework using a cellular automata (CA) approach to simulate consumer adoption of reclaimed water. The framework couples the CA model of consumer adoption with water distribution system models of the drinking and reclaimed water systems. Emergent distribution system hydraulic conditions are simulated, and the capacity utilization and system performance are evaluated as consumer...
A biopsy-integrated algorithm for determining Gleason 6 upgrading risk stratifies risk of active surveillance failure in prostate cancer.

A significant proportion of patients that fail active surveillance (AS) for prostate cancer management do so because of cancer upgrading. A previously validated upgrading nomogram generates a score that predicts risk of biopsy Gleason 6 upgrading following radical prostatectomy in lower-risk populations that are candidates for Active Surveillance (Cancer, 2013). We hypothesize that the upgrading risk (UR) score generated by this nomogram at diagnosis improves the ability to predict patients that will subsequently fail AS. To evaluate the nomogram, retrospective data from several institutional cohorts of patients who met AS criteria, group 1 (n = 75) and group 2 (n = 1230), were independently examined. A UR score was generated using the coefficients from the nomogram consisting of PSA density (PSAD), BMI, maximum % core involvement (MCI), and number of positive cores. AS failure was defined as Gleason score (GS) >6, >50 % maximum core involvement, or >2 positive cores on biopsy. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional-hazards regression models, upgrading risk score, and other clinicopathologic features were each assessed for their ability to predict AS failure. Clinicopathologic parameters were similar in both groups with the exception of mean PSAD (0.13 vs. 0.11, p 6 (group 1) compared to >2 positive cores (group 2). On univariate analysis in both populations, features at diagnosis including PSAD and the UR score were significant in predicting AS failure by upgrading (Gleason > 6) and any failure. Multivariate analysis revealed the UR score predicts AS failure by GS upgrading (HR 1.8, 95 % CI 1.12–2.93; p = 0.01) and any failure criteria (HR 1.7, 95 % CI 1.06–2.65); p = 0.02) for group 1. Likewise, the UR score in group 2 predicts AS failure with GS upgrading (HR 1.3, 95 % CI 1.15–1.42; p < 0.0001) and any failure criteria (HR 1.18, 95 % CI 1.18–1.38; p < 0.0001). An ROC generated an AUC of 0.66. Decision curve analysis demonstrated a high net benefit for the UR score across a range of threshold probabilities. Based on these outcomes, at 3 years, patients in the lowest risk quartile have a 15 % risk of AS failure versus a 46 % risk in the highest quartile (p < 0.0001). The UR score was predictive of pathologic AS failure on multivariate analysis in several AS cohorts. It outperformed single clinicopathologic criteria and may provide a useful adjunct using clinicopathologic data to stratify patients considering AS.
Automated UAV tasks for search and surveillance

There is growing interest in using unmanned aerial vehicles to assist in operations that require search and surveillance. However, a challenge remains in providing the right level of automation. Manual teleoperation and waypoint-based planning provide a great deal of flexibility but require significant human effort, whereas high levels of automation reduce the level of human effort but at the cost of flexibility and human judgement in uncertain and dynamic environments. Here, we seek to provide an intermediate level of automation through a set of parameterized tasks that implement common UAV search and surveillance patterns, taking into account low-level details such as dynamics of the UAV, geometry of the sensor footprint, and quality of the sensor imagery. We describe implementation of these tasks and discuss how they can be used by either human operators or by higher levels of automation to plan search and surveillance missions.
Randomised controlled trial of long-term maintenance corticosteroid therapy in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis

We read with great interest the article by Masamune et al 1 regarding the role of long-term maintenance corticosteroids in patients with autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP).1 AIP is a steroid responsive disorder, which has two distinct entities with overlapping features, classified as type I and type II AIP. While type I AIP is a part of a spectrum of IgG4-related disease with extrapancreatic manifestations, type II is a pancreas-specific disease. The diagnostic criteria, treatment approach and prognosis are different between the …
Adhesion Phenomena Pertaining to Thermal Interface Materials and Solder Interconnects in Microelectronic Packaging: A Critical Review

High performance and diverse power computing needs in desktop, server, communication, automotive, and artificial intelligence microelectronic sectors demand microprocessors with different form factors and intricate package designs. For such complex package architectures, semiconductor chips in addition to microprocessor, such as in-package memory, transceivers or a combination of both are essential to attain maximum performance. Integrated Heat Spreader (IHS) assembly with thermal interface material (TIM) layers plays a vital role in providing heat dissipation for these integrated circuit chips and aids them to perform with maximum efficiency for a long duration. Additionally, for Ball Grid Array (BGA) semiconductor packages, interfacial adhesion quality of solder attach material is very critical in determining package quality and reliability. There are numerous challenges associated with developing and optimizing such an IHS assembly process and solder attach material for high volume manufacturing with good throughput, quality and yield. Here we provide a comprehensive review of the adhesion mechanisms and challenges of polymer TIMs to IHS-metal interface and various techniques proposed in the literature to enhance their adhesion. Complexities involved in solder attach adhesion including material selection and chip assembly interaction are reviewed in detail as well.
Detection of lymph node metastasis using photoacoustic imaging and glycol-chitosan-coated gold nanoparticles

Metastases, rather than primary tumors, are responsible for majority of deaths in cancer patients. We developed a non-invasive method to detect sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastasis using combined ultrasound and photoacoustic (US/PA) imaging with glycol-chitosan-coated gold nanoparticles (GC-AuNP). The spatio-temporal distribution of GC-AuNP is affected by presence of metastasis, which is detected by US/PA. GC-AuNPs (100 μl, 0.1 mg Au/ml) were injected peritumorally in breast tumor-bearing mice, and allowed to drain for 24 hours into the SLN. The SLN was located using b-mode ultrasound, and multi-wavelength PA was used to detect GC-AuNPs. Spectroscopic analysis allowed to isolate the signal from GC-AuNPs and quantify their accumulation in the SLN after cellular uptake and transport by immune cells. Results show that distribution of GC-AuNPs in the SLN was affected by presence of metastasis. The overall accumulation was also reduced, with more than 20% signal decrease compared to non-metastatic controls. Histological analysis confirmed that distribution of GC-AuNP-containing immune cells is reduced due to presence of metastatic cells. Our method successfully distinguishes metastatic from non-metastatic lymph nodes using biocompatible nanoparticles and could aid physicians in detection of micrometastasis thus guiding and avoiding unnecessary SLN biopsy.
Low-Cost SCADA System Using Arduino and Reliance SCADA for a Stand-Alone Photovoltaic System

SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) systems are currently employed in many applications, such as home automation, greenhouse automation, and hybrid power systems. Commercial SCADA systems are costly to set up and maintain; therefore those are not used for small renewable energy systems. This paper demonstrates applying Reliance SCADA and Arduino Uno on a small photovoltaic (PV) power system to monitor the PV current, voltage, and battery, as well as efficiency. The designed system uses low-cost sensors, an Arduino Uno microcontroller, and free Reliance SCADA software. The Arduino Uno microcontroller collects data from sensors and communicates with a computer through a USB cable. Uno has been programmed to transmit data to Reliance SCADA on PC. In addition, Modbus library has been uploaded on Arduino to allow communication between the Arduino and our SCADA system by using MODBUS RTU protocol. The results of the experiments demonstrate that SCADA works in real time and can be effectively used in monitoring a solar energy system.
Linking the planning, assessment, and budget process for quality improvement: implication for leadership

The 21st Century will be remembered as the Century of Quality. Intense international competition focused on higher quality, lower costs, and rapid response will sharpen over the next decade, and those mastering the science and art of this integrated, collaborative process will rise to the quality challenge and emerge as the cadre of leaders who will reshape the world as we know it today. The Japanese, for example, have been improving quality for over four decades, and they show no signs of relinquishing this position.1 As universities face increasing threats in their environment for student enrollment and financing,2 they will be forced to work more efficiently and effectively. With spiraling tuitions, decaying infrastructures, continuing public concern for accountability and responsibility, operating expenses that seemingly defy all traditional cost containment efforts, and an increasingly competitive marketplace, a number of college and university leaders and accrediting associations are asking the question, “Is there a better way to manage higher education?”3 “Today’s students expect of colleges and universities what they demand elsewhere: better service, lower costs, higher quality, and a mix of products that satisfies their own sense of what a good education ought to provide. They want the enterprises that serve them to be efficient--not for efficiency’s sake, but because efficiency promotes the flexibility and adaptability they seek in the marketplace.”4 Parents throughout the United States now ask universities and colleges with growing bluntness, “What exactly are we paying for?” and they measure the quality of higher education in terms of their children’s ability to get secure and well-paying jobs. The bottom line is that parents and students are searching for universities and colleges that have gotten the message on price, access, and quality.5
Interplanetary Discontinuities and Shocks in the Earth’s Magnetosheath

The study of the propagation of interplanetary disturbances, shocks and discontinuities, through the magnetosheath is critical to improve our understanding of the Sun-Earth connected system. In this paper, the current status of both theoretical and observational studies in this crucial area is reviewed separately for interplanetary shocks and discontinuities. It is suggested that tangential and rotational discontinuities suffer significant geometrical distortions traveling between the Earth’s bow shock and magnetopause. On the other hand, the pressure fronts of the transmitted interplanetary shocks most likely remain unaltered promising the possibility of improved space weather forecasting accuracies.
Warfare, Imperialism, and the Making of Modern Chinese History: A Review Essay

This historiographic essay contends that warfare made and unmade the Qing dynasty between 1644 and 1911, and its study has helped to create the field of modern Chinese history during the past seventy years. It advances three principal claims. First, the literature on war, especially interstate conflict, can serve as a synecdoche for the development of the modern China field as a whole since the 1950s. The research interests of late Qing specialists have oscillated along an “external-internal-external” axis that corresponds with three distinct periods of intellectual inquiry, scholarly production, and generational dominance. Second, historians have reached inaccurate conclusions about the state capacity of the Qing Empire after 1840 through a crude analysis of the First Sino-Japanese War, a mistake they can rectify by adopting a longer-term perspective on the state-making process. Third, scholars have deftly traced the changing role of military power in modern Chinese politics but have also adopted the interpretive categories of wen and wu from literati discourse without sufficient critical reflection. In the future, researchers may seek to explore the intersection of warfare and the environment, technology, and ethnic identity, approaches that will continue to move the field in comparative, global, and Inner Asian directions.
Biochemical characterization of the catecholaldehyde reactivity of l -carnosine and its therapeutic potential in human myocardium

Oxidative deamination of norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) by monoamine oxidase (MAO) generates the catecholaldehydes 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycolaldehyde (DOPEGAL) and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde (DOPAL), respectively, and H2O2. Catecholaldehydes are highly reactive electrophiles that have been implicated as causal factors in the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases and cardiac injury from ischemia and diabetes. The reactivity of both catechol and aldehyde groups enables the catecholaldehdyes to cross-link proteins and other biological molecules. Carnosine is a β-alanyl-histidine dipeptide found in millimolar concentrations in brain and myocardium. It is well known to detoxify aldehydes formed from oxidized lipids and sugars, yet the reactivity of carnosine with catecholaldehydes has never been reported. Here, we investigated the ability of carnosine to form conjugates with DOPAL and DOPEGAL. Both catecholaldehydes were highly reactive towards l-cysteine (l-Cys), as well as carnosine; however, glutathione (GSH) showed essentially no reactivity towards DOPAL. In contrast, GSH readily reacted with the lipid peroxidation product 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (4HNE), while carnosine showed low reactivity to 4HNE by comparison. To determine whether carnosine mitigates catecholaldehyde toxicity, samples of atrial myocardium were collected from patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery. Using permeabilized myofibers prepared from this tissue, mitochondrial respiration analysis revealed a concentration-dependent decrease in ADP-stimulated respiration with DOPAL. Pre-incubation with carnosine, but not GSH or l-Cys, significantly reduced this effect (p < 0.05). Carnosine was also able to block formation of catecholaldehyde protein adducts in isolated human cardiac mitochondria treated with NE. These findings demonstrate the unique reactivity of carnosine towards catecholaldehydes and, therefore, suggest a novel and distinct biological role for histidine dipeptides in this detoxification reaction. The therapeutic potential of carnosine in diseases associated with catecholamine-related toxicity is worthy of further examination.
Induction gemcitabine cisplatin followed by chemoradiation in locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer.

6027Background: The current standard of treatment in locally advanced nasopharyngeal cancer is concurrent chemoradiation, however recent addition of induction chemotherapy in the already establishe...
Improvement and validation of a detailed reaction mechanism for thermal decomposition of RDX in liquid phase

Abstract The objective of this work is to validate an expanded version of a recently developed reaction mechanism describing liquid-phase decomposition of RDX. The validation involves a comparison of experimental results obtained from confined rapid thermolysis at various set temperatures. In the experiments, the decomposition occurs in the liquid phase, which results in evolution of species into the gas phase. The spectral transmittances of the gas-phase species are measured using FTIR spectroscopy, and these spectra are processed to obtain the temporal behavior of the evolved species using the HITRAN data base. A species conservation model was developed to simulate the confined rapid thermolysis experiments. The model incorporates the detailed liquid-phase reaction mechanism. The rate parameters in the reaction mechanism were optimized by comparing the experimental and computational results. With the optimized parameters, the computational model reproduces the experimentally observed trends with reasonable accuracy. Some of the deviations can be explained by experimental uncertainty. Based on the use of the computational model, initiation of decomposition occurs by HONO elimination. The subsequent decomposition occurs via the pathway starting with HONO addition and followed by ring opening. The detailed reaction mechanism containing 321 species and 500 elementary reactions was reduced to 53 species and 56 reactions using a sensitivity analysis.
Charting blackwater rivers.

How plants control the composition of proanthocyanidins has been the subject of much interest and speculation. The elucidation of parallel routes to the starter and extension units in Medicago provides an explanation.
(262) Increased Heat Pain Sensitivity and Pain-Related Anxiety in Individuals with Autism

Pain-related anxiety can contribute to increased pain sensitivity and create a barrier to receiving routine medical care. For individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), behavioral response patterns suggest increased pain sensitivity. Neuroimaging studies in ASD suggest altered evaluation or emotional processing of pain which could contribute to pain-related anxiety. However, the relationship between pain sensitivity and pain-related anxiety is not clear in ASD. We hypothesized that individuals with ASD would report higher pain intensity during supra-threshold pain stimuli and endorse more pain-related anxiety, compared to a typical comparison group. We recruited 29 adults (ASD, n=15; TD, n=14) for a series of heat pain tasks (applied to the calf), including heat pain thresholds using a method of limits approach and two supra-threshold tasks. We examined supra-threshold pain using a pain-rating curve, where 7 temperatures (40-48°C) were presented for 5s (5 trials each), and a sustained heat pain task with alternating low (42°C) and high (46°C) temperatures for 21s (6 trials each, 30s inter-trial rest). Pain-related anxiety was assessed using the Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale-20 (PASS), Fear of Pain Questionnaire-III (FOP-III), and the Situational Pain Catastrophizing Scale (regarding the sustained pain task). While there were no group differences in pain thresholds, mean pain ratings were higher in the ASD group for all temperatures in the pain rating curve (all p
Spinal Cord Ischemia: A Complication of Celiac Plexus Block

A case is described of motor weakness of the lower extremities following a celiac plexus block. Neurologic findings indicated localized spinal cord infarct. The cause of the complication and the blood supply of the spinal cord are discussed.
Digraphs of Programs

This chapter highlights flowchart digraphs of programs, and their segmentation and errors. Normally an algorithm comprises a preamble, which defines the objects that are to be operated on, and a list of operations, presented in such a manner that the order of their execution is unambiguously prescribed. A computer program that performs the way one wants it to perform is, of course, an algorithm. In a program, one finds three types of statements: (1) declarations, (2) actual computation, and (3) effect transfers of control. Every statement, regardless of type, is just a sequence of symbols. A computer program can be defined as a string or a sequence of strings, well formed according to a set of rules that constitute the syntax of the language in which the program is written. Some programming errors and irregularities can be detected in the flowchart digraph on its own. Others require the flowchart digraph to be used in conjunction with the program or, at least, to have a naming convention for the nodes that assigns particular significance to certain nodes in the flowchart digraph. Discontinuities can be detected with great ease. Detection of programming errors is an essential part of compilation. Although techniques that are not explicitly based on the digraph representation may in general be faster and use less storage than the digraph techniques, the latter would be the faster if a flowchart of the program were to be constructed as well. At times, a computer program cannot be accommodated in its entirety in the main store of the computer. The program has to be segmented, and there arises the problem of selecting cutting points to minimize the number of segment interchanges between different levels of storage. The segmentation problem is extremely difficult.