cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reagan's Quest for Freedom in the 1987 State of the Union Address

This essay examines Ronald Reagan's 1987 State of the Union Address as a quest story that reaffirms his vision of America's endless search for freedom. The quest for freedom is viewed as a persuasive, archetypal pattern that produces a common vision of the future through the mythic appeals of the past. These appeals are essentially formal and can be identified in the discourse as a general pattern of life for humankind to follow. To accept this pattern is to participate in the quest and achieve excellence and success in life. Thus, Reagan offers an altogether positive myth of transcendence for the future of America as he enters into the twilight of his Presidency.
A modified matrix perfusion–microcarrier bead cell culture system. II. Production of human (β) interferon in a matrix perfusion system

Addition of microcarrier beads to a matrix perfusion cell culture system allowed growth of anchorage dependent human foreskin fibroblasts which would not grow in the culture units alone. The utility of the system for collection of cellular products was demonstrated by the induction and harvesting of human (beta) interferon. Interferon production was highest in perfusion cultures when medium was circulated throughout the induction and when inducer containing 100 mug/mL polyriboinosinic: polyribocytidylic acid was placed directly in contact with cells in the extracapillary space. These conditions provided 4-to-10-fold greater interferon yields per cell, and approximately 12-fold increases per vessel, than monolayer cultures. Perfusion grown cells produced interferon at a maximal level for 20 h postinduction compared to approximately 2 h for monolayer grown cells, thus giving a higher total yield of interferon. Other procedures increasing the efficiency of the system included priming with 50 U/mL interferon standard, reinduction of cells, use of antibiotic free medium, reduced serum concentrations, and in vitro aging of the cells.
Thermal equivalence between nuclear fuel rod model and experimental heater simulator

Abstract Method of formulating nuclear fuel rod model (typical materials for pellet and clad, including usual gas-gap), which is thermally equivalent to multi-layer experimental heater simulator (any materials in contact, and/or without/with gas-gap) is presented. Thermally equivalent typical fuel rod model is defined. To validate it, the HECHAN model able to use different layouts of multi-layer rod/simulator geometry with constant and/or temperature dependent thermal–physical properties is used. Comparison with measured data for cladding surface temperatures in both pre- and post-CHF regimes proved applicability of this approach in transients. The rod model is easy to define, without changing the source of standard thermal–hydraulic code—only through input deck. It is qualified for further use in COBRA 3-CP and COBRA-TF codes for their validation on experiments using the particular heater simulator design.
Balanced InP/InGaAs Photodiodes With 1.5-W Output Power

We report InP/InGaAs modified unitraveling-carrier balanced photodiodes (PDs). The back-illuminated PDs were flip-chip bonded on diamond submounts for enhanced heat sinking. The device demonstrated a 3-dB bandwidth of 8 GHz and a 30-dB common-mode rejection ratio at frequencies of 320 mA, maximum output power of 31.7 dBm (1.5 W) into a 50-Ω load, and good linearity with a third-order intercept point of up to 47 dBm were measured at the 3-dB bandwidth frequency of 8 GHz.
Determination of Phosphate by Cathodic Stripping Voltammetry at a Glassy Carbon Electrode

Abstract The oxidation of Fe(II) in the presence of phosphate results in a film of a sparingly soluble Fe(III) phosphate salt on a glassy carbon electrode. The reaction is used as the preconcentration step in a cathodic stripping method for phosphate. The recommended procedure yields working curves which are linear over single orders-of-magnitude down to 0.1 ppm, With a 40-minute preconcentration time, 40 ppb phosphate can be detected. The method is free of interference by chloride and sulfate.
An examination of the acid sites in SAPO-5

We have examined a series of SAPO-5 materials using temperature-programmed desorption and thermogravimetric analysis (TPD-TGA) of isopropylamine, n-propylamine, ammonia, propene, and 2-propanol and compared the results to those for AIPO-5. For isopropylamine and n-propylamine, desorption of propene and ammonia was observed from well-defined features in the TPD-TGA curves, features which were not observed on AIPO-5. These desorption features appear to be due to simple Bronsted-acid sites, and the concentration of sites determined by both amines was the same. For low Si concentrations, there appears to be one acid site per framework Si. The differences between AIPO-5 and SAPO-5 materials could also be observed with propene, which oligomerized at 300 K in SAPO-5 but not in AIPO-5. While differences were observed between AIPO-5 and the SAPO-5s for TPD-TGA of ammonia and 2-propanol, desorption from sites present in AIPO-5 were difficult to distinguish from the stronger sites present in the SAPO-5s. The results suggest that adsorption of simple amines may be very useful for characterization of acid sites in silica aluminophosphate molecular sieves.
Projections on tensor products of Banach spaces

We characterize norm hermitian operators on classes of tensor products of Banach spaces and derive results for the particular settings of injective and projective tensor products. We provide a characterization of bi-circular and generalized bi-circular projections on tensor products of Banach spaces supporting only dyadic surjective isometries.
Defect And Measurement Evaluation System

The defect and measurement evaluation system represents a successful computer-microscope partnership that has enhanced the visual inspection of LSI wafers during the manufacturing process. Fabrication and process control of small geometry, semiconductor devices demand high quality visual inspection systems and real-time analysis of pattern width measurements, defects and surface characteristics. The defect and measurement evaluation system tool has coupled a high quality, wide-field microscope system to an IBM 5100 computer. This provides an integrated tool controller, real-time data collection and analysis system. With the inspector in mind, the design and packaging of the tool was human-factor-engineered for ease of operation and minimum fatigue.© (1983) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
High School Sport Participation and Subsequent Psychological Well-Being and Physical Activity: The Mediating Influences of Body Image, Physical Competence, and Instrumentality

This study examined the relationship of high school sport participation to psychological well-being and physical activity involvement in college. First semester female undergraduates (n = 260) at a large public university in the southern United States reported their high school sport participation and completed a series of questionnaires assessing their current body image, physical competence, instrumentality, psychological well-being, and physical activity levels. Body image, physical competence, and instrumentality mediated the relationships between high school sport involvement and college well-being and level of activity. This model accounted for 46% of the variance in college physical activity and 60% in psychological well-being, suggesting that these benefits accrue as a result of changes in how women view themselves and their bodies.
RENAL-DERIVED SOMATOSTATIN: REGULATION BY GROWTH FACTORS AND cAMP.|[dagger]| 1698

Somatostatin (SS) is known to modulate renal phosphate, water and sodium excretion and tubular gluconeogenesis. We previously reported that freshly isolated human kidney and cultured human proximal tubular epithelial cells(PTEC) and mesangial cells (MC) transcribe SS mRNA; furthermore, PTEC and MC synthesize SS peptide (Regul. Pept., In Press; Pediatr Res 39, Part 2:371A, 1996). These findings raise the possibility that renal-derived SS modulates renal function in an autocrine/paracrine manner. Herein, we further characterize kidney-derived SS mRNA and peptide by Northern blot analysis and enzyme-linked immunoassay. We found that: 1) Human kidney expresses a 750 kb SS mRNA transcript identical in size to SS mRNA expressed in human thyroid carcinoma TT cells. 2) Fetal bovine serum and cAMP stimulate, while epidermal growth factor and hydrocortisone inhibit SS secretion. Insulin, transferrin, and selenium do not alter SS secretion. 3) PTEC secrete both of the major forms of SS, the tetradecapeptide, SS14, and the 28 amino acid peptide, SS28. These two forms of SS can trigger different or even opposite effects, depending on the cell type. Surprisingly, PTEC derived from different donors secrete widely varying proportions of these two peptides. Our findings indicate that renal-derived SS mRNA is processed to the same size as in non-renal cells and that physiologically relevant growth factors modulate PTEC SS secretion. The ability of PTEC to express both SS14 and SS28 expands the possible autocrine/paracrine effects of renal SS production on kidney cell growth, tubular transport and other renal functions.
Bugs and food: a recipe for cancer?

Obesity and the associated state of subchronic inflammation are risk factors for numerous pathologies, including carcinogenesis. Recently, Schulz et al. (2014) demonstrated that high-fat diet-induced intestinal dysbiosis promotes cancer development in K-rasG12Dint mice without inducing obesity or mucosal inflammation, positioning microbial activities as a central component of diet-induced carcinogenesis.
Mercury and methylmercury in Hudson River sediment: impact of tidal resuspension on partitioning and methylation

The Hudson River estuary is highly polluted with heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and PAHs. The sediment of the estuary is subjected to substantial erosion and redeposition resulting in a complex redistribution of sediment annually. Understanding the fate of heavy metals during tidal resuspension is crucial to assessing the long-term fate of pollutants in the estuary. We examined the impact of sediment resuspension on Hg cycling within the estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM) of the Hudson River estuary. Concentrations of total mercury (T-Hg) in the ETM sediment averaged 5 nM g−1 in the upper 25 cm of sediment. We measured no desorption of Hg from the sediment during a tidal cycle. Therefore, release of mercury from the ETM of the Hudson River is dependent on sediment efflux. Methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations average 6.5 pM g−1 and although high for estuarine sediments, the percent T-Hg that is MeHg was lower than what has been observed in less contaminated systems. Mercury methylation is active throughout the upper 25 cm resulting in a large pool of MeHg in ETM sediment.
Growth Control in a Human Colon Carcinoma Cell Line Mediated by Cell-Associated Transforming Growth Factor-α (TGFα)

Abstract Transforming growth factor-α (TGFα) is able to elicit growth in many target cells expressing a functional epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor. Other laboratories have reported that the TGFα precursor polypeptide (proTGFα) is inefficiently cleaved from many target cells, resulting in accumulation of proTGFα on the cell surface. Since it has been shown that noncleavable, mutated cell-associated TGFα can stimulate cell growth on receptor-bearing adjacent cells, we have tried to determine whether cell-associated TGFα populations might be involved in supporting autonomous cell growth regulatory mechanisms in a human colon carcinoma cell line, HCT116. To address this question, the levels of secreted and nonsecreted TGFα produced were determined. Cells grown to medium cell density (40-60% confluent) expressed the greatest percentage of cell-associated TGFα (50%). Incubation of HCT116 cells with 0.1 U/ml porcine pancreatic elastase resulted in the release of 67% of the cell-associated TGFα into their medium and caused the treated cells to acquire a newly established growth sensitivity to exogenous TGFα at a ligand concentration of 1.0 nM. Western blot analysis of EGF receptor phosphotyrosine levels showed a decrease in phosphotyrosine content after elastase treatment. Phosphotyrosine content was restored to basal levels if elastase treatment was followed by addition of exogenous TGFα or EGF. These results suggest that HCT116 cells use a "closed" autocrine loop between cell-associated TGFα species and their EGF receptor to stimulate their cell growth.
Effects of Chronic Excess Salt Ingestion Modification Of Experimental Hypertension In The Rat By Variations In The Diet

A strain of rats that will predictably develop experimental hypertension by means of different techniques was used to study NaCl-induced hypertension. Observations were continued for 1 year after weaning unless death intervened. Among groups of rats on 0.4, 1, 2, 4, and 8% NaCl chow, respectively, blood pressures generally rose as dietary NaCl increased. Average blood pressures ranged from 146.8 mm Hg in the group on the lowest, to 210.2 mm Hg in the group with the highest NaCl intakes. Morbidity and mortality also increased. Even transient high NaCl diets were capable of inducing permanent hypertension; 4 of 34 rats on 8% NaCl chow for only 2 weeks after weaning had pressures of 180 to 206 mm Hg, although most rats did not become significantly more hypertensive than those on the low (0.4%) NaCl diet. When this same diet was continued for a total of 6 weeks in a group of 29 animals, the blood pressure averaged 198.6 mm Hg. The age at which the high NaCl intake began also influenced the course of the hypertension. Weanling rats rapidly developed fulminating hypertension on the high NaCl diet. After 3 months on this regimen, the average pressure of 40 rats exceeded 200 mm Hg, and 35 animals were dead or terminally ill. In rats that were older when high NaCl diets were started, hypertension developed more slowly and was less fulminant. Among 38 rats in which NaCl was not begun until 3 or 6 months past weaning, blood pressures averaged 175 to 180 mm Hg after 3 months on NaCl; 31 appeared in good health but none survived 8 months.
A microcanonical model for interface formation

We describe a new cellular automaton model which allows us to simulate separation of phases. The model is an extension of existing cellular automata for the Ising model, such as Q2R. It conserves particle number and presents the qualitative features of spinodal decomposition. The dynamics is deterministic and does not require random number generators. The spins exchange energy with small local reservoirs or “demons.” The rate of relaxation to equilibrium is investigated, and the results are compared to the Lifshitz-Slyozov theory.
Evidence against Bicarbonate Bound in the O2-Evolving Complex of Photosystem II†

The oxidation of water to molecular oxygen by photosystem II (PSII) is inhibited in bicarbonate-depleted media. One contribution to the inhibition is the binding of bicarbonate to the non-heme iron, which is required for efficient electron transfer on the electron-acceptor side of PSII. There are also proposals that bicarbonate is required for formation of O 2 by the manganese-containing O 2-evolving complex (OEC). Previous work indicates that a bicarbonate ion does not bind reversibly close to the OEC, but it remains possible that bicarbonate is bound sufficiently tightly to the OEC that it cannot readily exchange with bicarbonate in solution. In this study, we have used NH 2OH to destroy the OEC, which would release any tightly bound bicarbonate ions from the active site, and mass spectrometry to detect any released bicarbonate as CO 2. The amount of CO 2 per PSII released by the NH 2OH treatment is observed to be comparable to the background level, although N 2O, a product of the reaction of NH 2OH with the OEC, is detected in good yield. These results strongly argue against tightly bound bicarbonate ions in the OEC.
Effects of thermal boundary conditions in friction stir welded AA7050-T7 sheets

Abstract A series of friction stir welds was made in laboratory air and with the plates submerged in water to investigate how the quenching rate affects properties of the joint and some weld response parameters. Select welds were also made at a sub-ambient temperature of −25 °C. Temperature measurements were made in the probe center and at the minimum hardness location of the weld. Weld response variables, hardness distributions, joint strength and nugget grain size were measured and correlated with boundary conditions and welding parameters. A consistent decrease in the peak temperature and increase in cooling rate were observed in the submerged welds. Submerged welds show improvement in tensile strength and elongation throughout the range of parameters tested.
Sex-related decrease in [Ca2+]i signaling and Ca2+-dependent contraction in inferior vena cava of female rat

Sex differences in the incidence of varicose veins have been suggested; however, the venous mechanisms involved are unclear. We hypothesized sex-related differences in venous function and underlying distinctions in intracellular free calcium, [Ca2+]i, signaling and Ca2+-dependent mechanisms of venous contraction. Circular segments of inferior vena cava (IVC) from male and female Sprague-Dawley rats were suspended between two hooks, labeled with fura-2, and placed in a cuvet inside a spectrofluorometer for simultaneous measurement of isometric contraction and the 340/380 fluorescence ratio (indicative of [Ca2+]i). In male IVC, phenylephrine (PHE; 10−5 M) caused significant increase in contraction and [Ca2+]i. In female IVC, PHE-induced contraction was significantly reduced, but [Ca2+]i did not differ significantly from males. Membrane depolarization by KCl (96 mM), which stimulates Ca2+ influx, caused parallel increases in contraction and [Ca2+]i in male IVC, and the KCl-induced contraction was significantly reduced in parallel with [Ca2+]i in female IVC. In male IVC stimulated with 0 Ca2+ KCl solution, the addition of increasing concentrations of extracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]e) (0.1, 0.3, 0.6, 1, and 2.5 mM) caused stepwise increases in contraction and [Ca2+]i, and both the KCl-induced [Ca2+]e-contraction curve and the [Ca2+]e-[Ca2+]i curve were reduced in female IVC, suggesting reduced Ca2+ entry via voltage-gated channels. The PHE-induced [Ca2+]e-contraction curve was significantly reduced in females, but the [Ca2+]e-[Ca2+]i curve was similar in female and male IVC, suggesting the involvement of other mechanisms in addition to Ca2+ entry. The [Ca2+]e-contraction and [Ca2+]e-[Ca2+]i curves were used to construct the [Ca2+]i-contraction relationship. The KCl-induced [Ca2+]i-contraction relationship was superimposed in male and female IVC. In contrast, the PHE-induced [Ca2+]i-contraction relationship was reduced and located to the right in female compared with male IVC, suggesting reduced [Ca2+]i sensitivity of the venous contractile myofilaments. The reduced contraction, [Ca2+]i, and [Ca2+]i sensitivity in female veins render them more prone to dilation. These sex-specific reductions in venous function, if they also occur in human veins, may play a role in the greater incidence of varicose veins in females.
Self-Reversal of R Lines in Red Ruby

Self-reversal of the R lines from a red ruby sample was investigated at 298°K and 77°K by irradiating different layers of the crystal with blue filtered light. The fluorescence radiation emitted showed self-reversal of the R lines if it subsequently penetrated an unexcited crystal layer of sufficient thickness. The wavenumber difference between peak and valley of the self-reversed lines was determined for different penetration depths and interpreted in terms of Lorentzian and Gaussian line shapes.
The role of solvent dipole structure on the capacitance of charged interfaces

Abstract An electrostatic model of solvent (H 2 O) dipole interactions at charged interfaces is reported. The model of H 2 O used in the present study has an internal dipole structure characterized by both a dipole moment μ D and a finite dipole length d μ . The electric force acting on an individual molecule in the first monolayer is computed as a function of d μ , taking into account both surface charge-dipole and dipole-dipole interactions. Inclusion of the finite dimensions of the dipole and hard-core solvent diameter allows a simple and self-consistent method for calculating the interaction between solvent molecules. The capacitance of the charged interface, based on a simplistic two-state model of H 2 O orientation, is shown to be sensitive to the dipole structural parameters μ D and d μ , demonstrating the necessity of accounting for the charge distribution within the solvent molecule. The results are discussed in terms of existing models of H 2 O currently used in molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations of interfacial fluid structure.
Electron-nuclear interactions in two prototypical [2Fe-2S] proteins: selective (chiral) deuteration and analysis of (1)H and (2)H NMR signals from the alpha and beta hydrogens of cysteinyl residues that ligate the iron in the active sites of human ferredoxin and Anabaena 7120 vegetative ferredoxin.

A vertebrate ferredoxin (human ferredoxin) and a plant-type ferredoxin (the ferredoxin from the vegetative form of Anabaena 7120) were labeled selectively with deuterium at their active site cysteines. The recombinant proteins were produced in Escherichia coli and labeled by replacing natural abundance cysteine in the defined culture medium with (2)H(alpha)-cysteine, (2)H(beta2), (2)H(beta3)-cysteine, or (2)H(beta2)-cystine. The chiral labeled cystine ((2)H(beta2)-cystine) was prepared by selective hydrogen exchange catalyzed by cystathionine gamma-synthase. NMR spectra of these samples in their oxidized and reduced states support unambiguous identifications by atom type of (1)H and (2)H NMR signals from the cysteine alpha and beta hydrogens. These signals lie outside the normal diamagnetic spectral region as a result of interaction of the hydrogens with unpaired electron density from the iron-sulfur cluster, and their chemical shifts are highly dependent on local conformation at the active site. The very different chemical properties of the iron centers of plant-type and vertebrate ferredoxins reflect relatively small differences in the conformation of the iron-sulfur cluster ligands.
Local evaluation in multisite STEM programs: Relating evaluation use and program results

This chapter uses a program-level evaluation to assess the characteristics of smaller-scale project evaluations and their use for project improvement and accountability purposes.
Usability studies and designing navigational aids for the World Wide Web

Web designers are constantly searching for ways to improve their works. Recently published books provide such recommendations, but their quality varies greatly. This paper describes how usability testing was used to validate design recommendations. The results show a need for navigational aids that are related to the particular Website and located beneath the Browser buttons. Furthermore, usability criteria were established that limit page changes to 4 and search times to 60 seconds for information retrieval.
An Analytical Model with Improved Accuracy of IEEE 802.11 Protocol Under Unsaturated Conditions

In this paper the authors present an analytical model that — compared to previously published work — more accurately captures the delay of IEEE 802.11 protocol under low, medium, and near-saturation load conditions. A Markov chain is used to keep track of the instantaneous number of (active) nodes that have a frame to transmit. One advantage of the proposed analytical model is its ability to estimate the IEEE 802.11 protocol latency and delivery ratio in the presence of quality of service (QoS) classes, each class being defined by a specific maximum retransmission count. Such QoS classes can be adopted to support real time applications for which both latency and delivery ratio must be closely monitored for satisfactory operation.
Interstitial Nephritis Secondary to Bevacizumab Treatment in Metastatic Leiomyosarcoma

Objective:To report a case of interstitial nephritis associated with the administration of bevacizumab.Case Summary:A 26-year-old man diagnosed with metastatic rectal leiomyosarcoma was treated with intravenous bevacizumab 5 mg/kg and received a total of 3 doses at 2 week intervals. His creatinine had increased from 1.0 mg/dL at baseline to 1.6 mg/dL after 2 doses of bevacizumab and to 4.7 mg/dL after the third dose, prompting admission. Acute renal failure was diagnosed, and hemodialysis was initiated. A renal biopsy revealed interstitial nephritis. Renal failure resolved with cessation of the drug, and the patient did not require further hemodialysis.Discussion:Bevacizumab is a recombinant humanized monoclonal immunoglobulin G antibody to vascular endothelial growth factor. Bevacizumab has shown efficacy in treatment of patients with renal cell carcinoma and colorectal cancer and has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as a first-line treatment for metastatic colorectal cancer. Our patient...
Chance Constrained RRT for Probabilistic Robustness to Environmental Uncertainty

between planner conservatism and the risk of infeasibility. This paper presents a novel real-time planning algorithm, chance constrained rapidly-exploring random trees (CC-RRT), which uses chance constraints to guarantee probabilistic feasibility for linear systems subject to process noise and/or uncertain, possibly dynamic obstacles. By using RRT, the algorithm enjoys the computational benets of sampling-based algorithms, such as trajectory-wise constraint checking and incorporation of heuristics, while explicitly incorporating uncertainty within the formulation. Under the assumption of Gaussian noise, probabilistic feasibility at each time step can be established through simple simulation of the state conditional mean and the evaluation of linear constraints. Alternatively, a small amount of additional computation can be used to explicitly compute a less conservative probability bound at each time step. Simulation results show that this algorithm can be used for ecient identication and execution of probabilistically safe paths in real time.
A Sample-Data Model for Double Edge Current Programmed Mode Control (DECPM) in High-Frequency and Wide-Range DC–DC Converters

This paper focuses on a sample-data model for double edge current programmed mode control (DECPM) and its application to high-frequency and wide-range dc-dc converters. Steady-state conditions and subharmonic oscillation issues for DECPM are addressed. By combining the conventional peak and valley current programmed mode control, a sample-data model for DECPM is proposed. A small signal model for DECPM is developed by deriving the modulation gains (Fm) and the sampling gains (He) for DECPM from the proposed sample-data model. The sampling frequency dependence on the duty ratio and a large current loop gain at high frequency for DECPM are emphasized. The analytical results are verified by the simulation. Finally, DECPM is proposed as a method to control the high-frequency and wide-range dc-dc converters. A 10-MHz four-switch buck boost converter is implemented with DECPM to verify the viability of its application to high-frequency and wide-range converters.
VEGF and Pleiotrophin Modulate the Immune Profile of Breast Cancer

Angiogenesis, the sprouting of the existing vascular network to form new vessels, is required for the growth of solid tumors. For this reason, the primary stimulant of angiogenesis, vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF), is an attractive target for tumor therapy. In fact, there are currently numerous anti-VEGF therapies in clinical development for the treatment of various cancers, including breast cancer. VEGF signals through two primary VEGF receptors, VEGFR1 and VEGFR2. VEGFR2 is the primary angiogenic receptor, and VEGFR1 has been implicated in macrophage chemotaxis and tumor cell survival and invasion. It has only been appreciated recently that the VEGFRs are expressed not only on endothelial cells and tumor cells but also on many host immune cells. Therefore, to better understand the effects of anti-VEGF therapy it is important to consider the effects of VEGF on all cells in the tumor microenvironment, including immune cells. Bevacizumab (Avastin®, Genetech), which binds VEGF and inhibits interaction with VEGFR1 and VEGFR2, was approved for the treatment of metastatic HER2/NEU-negative breast cancer in 2008, however, the majority of human mammary tumors are either innately resistant or will acquire resistance to anti-VEGF therapy. This suggests that these tumors activate alternate angiogenesis pathways. Pleiotrophin (PTN) is an important angiogenic cytokine in breast cancer and is expressed at high levels in approximately 60% of human breast tumors. PTN functions as an angiogenic factor and promotes remodeling of the tumor microenvironment as well as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). In addition, PTN can have profound effects on macrophage phenotype. The present review focuses on the functions of VEGF and PTN on immune cell infiltration and function in breast cancer. Furthermore, we will discuss how anti-VEGF therapy modulates the immune cell profile.
Cardiac Surgery in Kidney and Liver Transplant Recipients

OBJECTIVE To evaluate operative management, outcome, and long-term survival in patients with functioning renal and hepatic allografts who underwent cardiac surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS We studied all patients who had previously undergone either renal or hepatic transplantation and who subsequently (1986-2001) underwent cardiac surgery at our institution. Data were obtained by retrospective medical record analysis. RESULTS The study comprised 47 patients with renal (n=34) and hepatic (n=13) functioning allografts. Median time to cardiac surgery from transplantation was 79 months. The most common procedures were as follows: coronary artery bypass grafting, 22 (47%); aortic valve procedures, 11 (23%); and mitral valve procedures, 5 (11%). One patient (2%) died within 30 days of surgery. Renal allograft dysfunction was noted in 5 renal patients (15%) immediately after surgery. Two patients required dialysis postoperatively, 1 of whom required continued dialysis on dismissal. Transient allograft dysfunction, as determined by elevated liver enzyme levels, occurred in 6 hepatic patients (46%). However, all hepatic patients had functional allografts on dismissal. Two patients (4%) developed leg wound infections, and 9 (19%) had respiratory complications. No sternal or mediastinal infection occurred. One- and 5-year survival rates (mean ± SEM) for all patients were 93%±4% and 76%±8%, respectively. Of the renal patients, 1- and 5-year survival rates (mean ± SEM) were 97%±3% and 82%±8%, respectively. One- and 5-year survival rates (mean ± SEM) for hepatic patients were 77%±12% and 69%±13%, respectively. CONCLUSION Cardiac surgery can be performed safely in kidney and liver transplant recipients, with low early mortality and excellent medium-term survival. In almost all instances, allograft function is well preserved.
Effects of Physical Activity and Weight Loss on Skeletal Muscle Mitochondria and Relationship With Glucose Control in Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE— Reduced mitochondrial capacity in skeletal muscle occurs in type 2 diabetic patients and in those at increased risk for this disorder, but the extent to which mitochondrial dysfunction in type 2 diabetic patients is remediable by physical activity and weight loss intervention is uncertain. We sought to address whether an intervention of daily moderate-intensity exercise combined with moderate weight loss can increase skeletal muscle mitochondrial content in type 2 diabetic patients and to address the relationship with amelioration of insulin resistance and hyperglycemia. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS— Muscle biopsies were obtained before and after a 4-month intervention to assess mitochondrial morphology, mitochondrial DNA content, and mitochondrial enzyme activities. Glucose control, body composition, aerobic fitness, and insulin sensitivity were measured. RESULTS— In response to a weight loss of 7.1 ± 0.8% and a 12 ± 1.6% improvement in V o 2max ( P P P P r = 0.84, P CONCLUSIONS— Intensive short-term lifestyle modifications can restore mitochondrial content and functional capacity in skeletal muscle in type 2 diabetic patients. The improvement in the oxidative capacity of skeletal muscle may be a key component mediating salutary effects of lifestyle interventions on hyperglycemia and insulin resistance.
Stable microplasmas in air generated with a silicon inverted pyramid plasma cathode

Stable microdischarges, /spl sim/0.5-1 mm in length, are produced in atmospheric air by extracting plasma from a (50 /spl mu/m)/sup 2/ inverted pyramidal Si microdischarge device which serves as a plasma cathode. Both metal and dielectric tips have been successfully tested as the extraction electrode and driving frequencies up to 20 kHz have been demonstrated. The plasma column, or conduit, generated is well behaved and essentially cylindrical with a diameter smaller than the width of the Si cathode device.
Integrating a geriatric evaluation in the clinical setting

Older cancer patients-which make the majority of cancer patients-present with a highly heterogeneous health status. Therefore, a careful assessment of the individual's condition is important in the planning of their oncologic care. In this article, a two-step approach is recommended: a short screening test of every patient presenting for treatment, and a multidisciplinary evaluation for patients screening at risk. Several screening tools that have been tested are described, and their relative performance is reviewed: the abbreviated Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, the G8, the Senior Adult Oncology Program 2 questionnaire, the Triage Risk Screening Tool, the Vulnerable Elders Survey 13 tool, the Groeningen Frailty Index, and the Onco-Geriatric Screening Tool. Indeed, regular multidisciplinary meetings are key to optimal management of elderly patients, as they modify treatment plans in ¼ to ½ of patients. A practical way of implementing a multidisciplinary consultation is reviewed, and future directions are discussed.
Use of Volatile Organic Components in Scat to Identify Canid Species

Abstract Identification of wildlife species from indirect evidence can be an important part of wildlife management, and conventional methods can be expensive or have high error rates. We used chemical characterization of the volatile organic constituents (VOCs) in scat as a method to identify 5 species of North American canids from multiple individuals. We sampled vapors of scats in the headspace over a sample using solid-phase microextraction and determined VOC content using gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector. We used linear discriminant analysis to develop models for differentiating species with bootstrapping to estimate accuracy. Our method correctly classified 82.4% (bootstrapped 95% CI = 68.8–93.8%) of scat samples. Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) scat was most frequently misclassified (25.0% of scats misclassified); red fox was also the most common destination for misclassified samples. Our findings are the first reported identification of animal species using VOCs in vapor emissions from s...
Removal of benzene from industrial wastewater by vapor stripping

Abstract Four types of vapor stripping processes are designed in an effort to investigate methods to treat industrial wastewater in compliance with the Environmental Protection Agency's recently promulgated Benzene National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) regulations. Each vapor stripping technology involves a unit operation producing a benzene‐enriched vapor stream and a wastewater stream containing less than 10 ppmw benzene, per the applicable regulation. Steam stripping, vacuum stripping, air stripping, and natural gas stripping technologies are designed and evaluated. It is concluded that: (1) steam stripping involves high operating costs due to the need to preheat the feed; (2) vacuum stripping requires high capital investment because of the number of equipment items needed; (3) air stripping provides only a partial solution to the problem, as it converts a water pollution problem into an air pollution problem which must be addressed; and (4) natural gas stripping is the solu...
Application of pulse combustion to solid and hazardous-waste incineration

Abstract A bench-scale Rotary Kiln Incinerator Simulator was retrofitted with a frequency-tunable pulse combustor in order to enhance the efficiency of combustion. The pulse combustor excites pulsations in the kiln and increases the completeness of combustion by promoting better mixing within the system. One phenomenon that is unique to batch-fed incineration systems, and rotary kilns in particular, is the formation of transient “puffs,” or plugs of unburned material that are formed when the instantaneous bed waste release rate is greater than the available local stoichiometric oxygen supplied from the primary burner. It is hypothesized that the additional mixing induced by the pulse combustor can reduce gas-phase stratification and enhance transport of available oxygen into the local fuel-rich zones of the puff. Tests were performed using toluene (C7H8) sorted onto a ground corn cob sorbent and placed in cardboard containers. The burner was operated in a non-pulse mode as a baseline condition, and then i...
INDEX, CONTEXT, AND CONTENT

If a grammar is to do its jobs as part of a systematic restatement of our common knowledge about our practices of linguistic communication, it must assign semantic values that determine which sentences are true in which contexts. If the semantic values of sentences also serve to help determine the semantic values of larger sentences having the given sentence as a constituent, then also the semantic values must determine how the truth of a sentence varies when certain features of context are shifted, one feature at a time.
Design Choices for Selective-Repeat Retransmission Protocols

The design of selective-repeat retransmission protocols to provide reliable transfer of large data files is discussed. The transmission system is assumed capable of losing, distorting, or reordering the transmitted data frames and acknowledgment frames. The principle design considerations center on methods for managing the finite sequence number space and methods for managing the finite-sized receiver buffer. Under the assumption that there exists a maximum time from transmission of a frame to receipt of an acknowledgment for that frame, methods are described for safe reuse of frame sequence numbers. Previous results by Metzner and Morgan on buffer overflow control are extended to cover non-FIFO transmission systems. A two-dimensional space of design parameters is explored by way of Monte Carlo simulations. For appropriate designs, it is shown that significant increases in throughput over that achieved by the Go-Back- N protocol are possible on high-rate long-delay channels.
When redundancy hurts letter detection: an attempt to define one condition.

The issue examined in this study concerns why some experiments have demonstrated that it takes longer to detect the initial letter of a redundant array such as BBBBB than it does to detect a single letter presented in isolation (i.e., the single-letter advantage; Johnson, 1977, 1981, 1986b), whereas other studies have shown no difference in the latency of letter detection under those two conditions (e.g., Krueger &Shapiro, 1980). The present study involved five experiments that not only ruled out several alternative explanations, but also demonstrated that if the predisplay fixation field provided a clear point the subjects could use as a basis for prefocusing their attention to a narrow spatial extent that included only the location of the up-coming critical letter, there was no single-letter advantage, but that the advantage did occur if such prefocusing were not possible. Consistent with Johnston and McClelland’s (1980) model, the results are interpreted as suggesting that what has been taken as evidence of holistic encoding of small visual patterns (e.g., words) also might be interpreted as reflecting the order in which attention is deployed to the patterns once the encoding process is complete.
An epistemic event-based correlation approach for managing pervasive networks

Existing pervasive applications are based on time series data that possess the form of time-ordered series of events. Such applications also embody the need to handle large volumes of unexpected events, often modified on-the-fly, containing conflicting information, and dealing with rapidly changing contexts while producing results with low latency. Correlating events across contextual dimensions holds the key to expanding the capabilities and improving the performance of these applications. In this paper we analyze complex-event semantic correlation that examines epistemic uncertainty in computer networks by using Dempster–Shafer theory to support a high-volume, event-based, in-network and non-deterministic pervasive network management. We consider imprecision and uncertainty when an event is detected and associate a belief parameter with the semantics and the detection of composite events. The approach taps into in-network processing capabilities of pervasive computer networks and can withstand missing or conflicting information gathered from multiple participating entities. In the end, we establish that a lightweight, distributed, large-volume, event-based technique which exploits epistemic uncertainty to correlate events along contextual dimensions provides a successful technique for enabling management of large-scale and pervasive contemporary and future computer networks. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
IM session identification by outlier detection in cross-correlation functions

The identification of encrypted Instant Messaging (IM) channels between users is made difficult by the presence of variable and high levels of uncorrelated background traffic. In this paper, we propose a novel Cross-correlation Outlier Detector (CCOD) to identify communicating end-users in a large group of users. Our technique uses traffic flow traces between individual users and IM service provider's data center. We evaluate the CCOD on a data set of Yahoo! IM traffic traces with an average SNR of −6.11dB (data set includes ground truth). Results show that our technique provides 88% true positives (TP) rate, 3% false positives (FP) rate and 96% ROC area. Performance of the previous correlation-based schemes on the same data set was limited to 63% TP rate, 4% FP rate and 85% ROC area.
A dodecanuclear Zn cluster sandwiched by polyoxometalate ligands.

A dodecazinc silicotungstate K20Na2[Zn6(OH)7(H2O)(Si2W18O66)]2·34H2O (1) has been synthesized and characterized by X-ray crystallography, elemental analysis, infrared, UV-vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, acid–base titration, and DFT calculations. The twelve zinc atoms between the two [Si2W18O66]16− frameworks make this complex more stable hydrolytically than the heteropolytungstate ligands, [Si2W18O66]16−, themselves. The structurally unique central Zn12 core is formed by the fusion of two [Zn6(OH)7(H2O)]5+ units through two edge-sharing Zn6 atoms. DFT B3LYP calculations give HOMO–LUMO and (HOMO − 1)–LUMO energy gaps of ∼3.65 and 3.91 eV, respectively, as compared to the band gap in ZnO of 3.35 eV.
Radiation Enhances Regulatory T Cell Representation

Purpose Immunotherapy could be a useful adjunct to standard cytotoxic therapies such as radiation in patients with micrometastatic disease, although successful integration of immunotherapy into treatment protocols will require further understanding of how standard therapies affect the generation of antitumor immune responses. This study was undertaken to evaluate the impact of radiation therapy (RT) on immunosuppressive T regulatory (Treg) cells. Methods and Materials Treg cells were identified as a CD4 + CD25 hi Foxp3 + lymphocyte subset, and their fate was followed in a murine TRAMP C1 model of prostate cancer in mice with and without RT. Results CD4 + CD25 hi Foxp3 + Treg cells increased in immune organs after local leg or whole-body radiation. A large part, but not all, of this increase after leg-only irradiation could be ascribed to radiation scatter and Treg cells being intrinsically more radiation resistant than other lymphocyte subpopulations, resulting in their selection. Their functional activity on a per-cell basis was not affected by radiation exposure. Similar findings were made with mice receiving local RT to murine prostate tumors growing in the leg. The importance of the Treg cell population in the response to RT was shown by systemic elimination of Treg cells, which greatly enhanced radiation-induced tumor regression. Conclusions We conclude that Treg cells are more resistant to radiation than other lymphocytes, resulting in their preferential increase. Treg cells may form an important homeostatic mechanism for tissues injured by radiation, and in a tumor context, they may assist in immune evasion during therapy. Targeting this population may allow enhancement of radiotherapeutic benefit through immune modulation.