cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chromosomes and Causation of Human Cancer and Leukemia. XXI. Cytogenetically Unusual Cases of Leukemia

Three male patients with leukemia were found with banding techniques to have unusual cytogenetic pictures in the cells of their marrow, spleen or blood. Case No. 1 (78 yr old) was that of a Ph1-negative CML with a missing Y in the blood (cultured without PHA) and marrow cells. The patient is still alive and responding to therapy. Case No 2 (54 yr old) was considered prior to admission to have either CML or AML, but was shown, in fact, to be in the blastic phase of CML; all the cells in his marrow and spleen were Ph1-positive, but with no evidence of a translocation. Other karyotypic findings (+8, +11, +13, +21) frequently encountered in the blastic phase of CML were present in the cells of this patient. Case No. 3 (50 yr old) with AML was shown to have a Ph1 resulting from a standard translocation, i.e., [t(9;22) (q34;q11)], in a substantial number of the cells in the marrrow and blood (cultured without PHA). The implications of these unusual findings are discussed in relation to the chromosomal pictures usually encountered in these states.
Secure Power Management and Delivery Within Intelligent Power Networks on-Chip

A critical challenge in multifunctional heterogeneous systems-on-chip is efficiently delivering and intelligently managing high quality dynamically controlled secure power to support power efficient and portable systems. To achieve efficient real-time multi-voltage power delivery and management, a systematic, scalable, and secure system is required. A fine grain power management framework comprising a variety of circuits, algorithms, and architectures is described in this chapter to control power routing and switching, while optimally allocating power among a variety of different power domains at run time. Stability, security, and design complexity are included within this framework.
The Impact of Smokeless Tobacco Risk Information on Smokers' Risk Perceptions and Use Intentions: A News Media Experiment

Little research exists on the impact of risk information comparing smokeless tobacco (SLT) use, particularly snus, to cigarette smoking. This study explored this topic using a communication channel...
Primary User Boundary Detection in Cognitive Radio Networks: Estimated Secondary User Locations and Impact of Malicious Secondary Users

Cognitive radio is an effective technology to improve spectrum utilization through spectrum sharing among primary users (PUs) and secondary users (SUs). Developing accurate and efficient methods to determine the PU coverage is crucial in order to avoid potential interference from SU to PU. In this paper, we propose to use the estimated location of each SU, which is obtained using the self-organizing maps algorithm, to determine the boundary of PU coverage. Furthermore, the PU boundary detection issue considering the presence of malicious SUs is also investigated. Support vector machine (SVM) algorithm, considering both linear and kernel cases, is implemented as the PU boundary detection method. Numerical results show that the boundary detection accuracy based on the estimated network layout approaches the results obtained from an accurate network layout (i.e., each SU with precise location information) and the kernel-based SVM classification results outperform the linear SVM method. In addition, PU boundary detection performance in the presence of malicious SUs is evaluated, in which three different $K$ nearest neighbor based malicious SU detection algorithms are utilized.
The impact of major tourist markets on health tourism spending in the United States

Abstract This study investigates the impact of key inbound visitor markets on health tourism spending in the United States (US), for the period 1986–2016. Although there is a wealth of studies on health tourism, the emphasis on inferential research has inadvertently been neglected. The research uses secondary data and considers both short- and long-term perspectives, and volume and price effects. It enriches the literature by providing an inferential research approach, using a dynamic microeconomic elasticity scheme, and by providing new propositions that can contribute to the theory-building process. The methodology involves data decomposition and standardization, unit root testing, and instrumental variable regression. The results show that overall health spending in the US is primarily being affected by the long-term variations in several inbound visitor markets. This insight could benefit the pursuit of a competitive edge.
A Spatio-Temporal Fourier-Transform Approach to Acoustooptic Interaction of Light Beams with Periodic Pulse Sound Train

We employ a spatio-temporal Fourier-transform approach to analyze acousto-optic interaction between an input optical beam of arbitrary profile and a periodic train of ultrasonic pulses. We write the sound field as a train of amplitude modulated pulses which can be Fourier-series expanded in terms of harmonic functions. Equations of the coupled waves, defining the amplitudes of the spectral components of the interacting beams in the spatio-temporal frequency domain are formulated. Analytic solutions are obtained for these coupled wave equations.
A CONDIÇÃO EPISTÊMICA DO INCONSCIENTE LACANIANO

Na tarefa de reconstruir compreensivamente o saber trazido pela psicanalise de Jacques Lacan, e utilizado o framework da postura transcendental herdeira de Kant. O termo “amalgama” permite compreender a incorporacao, no gesto lacaniano, de saberes oriundos de distintas areas do conhecimento humano e que, submetidos ao cadinho da torcao lacaniana, possibilitam a Lacan a producao de uma ontogenese originalissima sobre o humano-ser. A metamorfose lacaniana e uma operacao que implica numa revisao dos conceitos em seu campo originario e uma Aufhebung da psicanalise freudiana.
Subsidiary development of new technologies: managing technological changes in multinational and geographic space

This study explores the co-evolutionary processes of the subsidiaries of the multinational firm with their global organizations and geographic locations. How subsidiaries expand their technological scope is determined by the nature of changes in dual contexts, within their organizations and within their geographies. Using the concepts of local search and communities of practice, we propose that changes in these contexts have differential effects on new technology development. Increased technology creation in the organizational context, in areas specific to the subsidiary’s expertise, leads to the development of focused, competence-exploiting technologies, while increased host country innovation in the broad technological spectrum is conducive to expansive, competence-creating technologies in the subsidiary. Subsidiary embeddedness in these dual contexts enhances the effects of the organizational and locational contexts on the scope of subsidiary new technology development.
Bilateral Renal Infarction Secondary to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Bilateral renal infarction is a rare phenomenon which can be difficult to diagnose because the symptoms may often mimic renal calculi, infection, muscle inflammation, genital diseases, myocardial infarction, or ischemia. We present the case of a 55-year-old male patient who presented with non-radiating, left-sided flank pain associated with nausea and vomiting. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the abdomen and pelvis with contrast demonstrated bilateral renal infarction. A thorough workup was initiated, and the thrombus formation due to left atrial enlargement from hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy was considered as the cause of the bilateral renal infarction in this patient. The patient's renal function improved with treatment, and she was discharged on an anticoagulant, considering her left atrial enlargement and renal infarction.
The role of greater tuberosity healing in reverse shoulder arthroplasty: a finite element analysis.

Background The lack of greater tuberosity (GT) healing in proximal humerus fractures has been negatively correlated with outcomes for hemiarthroplasty; however, there is still debate regarding the effects of GT healing in reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA). Our goal was to examine the effects of GT healing using a kinematic finite element analysis (FEA) model. Material and Methods Computer-aided design models of a medialized glenoid with a lateralized humerus (MGLH) RSA design were uploaded into an FEA shoulder model in 2 different configurations: healed greater tuberosity (HGT) and nonunion greater tuberosity (NGT). Deltoid muscle forces and joint reaction forces (JRFs) on the shoulder were calculated during abduction (ABD), forward flexion (FF), and external rotation (ER). Results Force magnitude of the anterior, middle, and posterior deltoid muscle as well as JRFs modeled in both GT scenarios were similar for ABD (muscle forces P = .91, P = .75, P = .71, respectively; and JRF P = .93) and for FF (muscle forces P = .89, P = .83, P = .99, respectively; and JRF P = .90). For ER, the force magnitude between 2 GT settings showed statistically significant differences (HGT: 9.51 N vs. NGT: 6.13 N) (P Conclusion GT healing does not seem to impact RSA biomechanics during abduction or forward flexion; however, it does affect biomechanics during external rotation. Overall orthopedic surgeons can expect good results for patients after RSA even with poor GT healing.
Poverty mitigation through optimized water development and use: Insights from the Volta Basin

Abstract Ongoing challenges from population growth and climate stress on the water resources of the Volta River Basin raise the importance of finding economically sustainable water development and use patterns. Much research has been conducted on the impacts of water supply fluctuations, climate change, and population growth on effective economic access to water resources of the basin. However, no work to date has comprehensively investigated the sustainable economic performance of additional infrastructure development in the basin for handling ongoing challenges of climate water stress at the entire basin scale. The original contribution of this work is to investigate the capacity to mitigate poverty from new reservoir storage capacity if established in a flood-prone region in northern Ghana, using a basin-scale hydro-economic optimization framework, while accounting for five major water uses for six riparian countries. An integrated approach is formulated to link the hydrologic, agronomic, institutional, and economic dimensions of the basin into a unified framework for policy analysis. A dynamic optimization model is developed and applied to discover the level and distribution of economic impacts from the additional storage infrastructure development. Results indicate the potential to increase economic benefits to Ghana and Burkina Faso, with no economic loss to any other riparian, from the development and operation of additional storage infrastructure. Results show considerable potential to secure an Actual Pareto Improvement, by which Ghana and Burkina Faso are better off with the new storage infrastructure than without it, and no other riparian country in the basin is worse off. Additional storage infrastructure in the flood-prone area of the basin in northern Ghana carries the potential to store water during wet seasons and years and release water for use in dry seasons and years, reallocating water among seasons and years, elevating economic development to the Basin’s riparian countries. Despite our optimistic findings, considerable stakeholder negotiations and cooperation will be needed to secure the potential welfare gains uncovered.
Stellar winds and coronae in cool stars

Recent observational and theoretical results are reviewed that pertain to the presence and characteristics of stellar coronae and winds in late-type stars. It is found that stars - principally dwarfs exist with 'hot' coronae similar to the sun with thermally driven winds. For stars, at the lowest effective temperatures, and gravities characteristic of supergiant and giant stars, high temperature (approximately 100,000 deg K) atmospheres are absent (or if present are substantially weaker than in the dwarf stars), and massive winds are present. There also exist 'hybrid' examples - luminous stars possessing both a 'hot' corona and a supersonic stellar wind. Constraints for theoretical models are discussed.
Certolizumab Pegol for Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis

The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the use of certolizumab pegol (Cimzia®, UCB S.A.) for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis and summarize important findings. Three pivotal phase three clinical trials CIMPASI-1, CIMPASI-2, and CIMPACT have demonstrated efficacy and safety of certolizumab pegol (CZP) in patients with plaque psoriasis. In addition, another multicenter phase three clinical trial, RAPID-PsA, has shown long-term efficacy and safety data of CZP in psoriatic arthritis. When compared with other TNF-alpha blockers, CZP has demonstrated increased efficacy in psoriasis. In addition, CZP has also shown clinically significant and sustained improvement in psoriatic arthritis based on symptoms and radiographic evidence in patients with up to 4 years of follow-up. The safety profile of CZP is comparable to other anti-TNF agents. Finally, CZP’s unique structure as a PEGylated monoclonal antibody fragment prevents placental transfer and therefore may make it an ideal choice as a biologic medication for women of childbearing age.
Relative Costs of Surgical and Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement and Medical Therapy

Background: The number of patients treated for aortic valve disease in the United States is increasing rapidly. Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is supplanting surgical aortic valve re...
Photodecomposition of methyl iodide as pretreatment for adsorption of radioiodine species in used nuclear fuel recycling operations

Abstract This work presents novel photochemical reactors with integrated titania photocatalyst for the UV photodecomposition of gaseous methyl iodide present in simulated vessel off-gas (VOG) in a nuclear fuel reprocessing facility. Continuous flow reactors composed of fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP) were designed and constructed to allow transmission of UV light into the reactor while also providing resistance to the corrosive nature of methyl iodide. Titania nanotube photocatalyst increases methyl iodide photolysis rate by two orders of magnitude compared to that with UV light alone. The rate constant for methyl iodide photolysis with and without catalyst directly depends on the intensity of the light at the location of the reaction, which is inversely proportional to the distance from the linear light source. The titania photocatalyst is significantly active at low light intensity where no detectable reaction occurs in absence of catalyst. For example, at an initial concentration of 400 ppb methyl iodide, a residence time of 9 s, and a light intensity of 0.5 mW/cm2, conversions with and without titania photocatalyst are >99% and 0%, respectively. The UV light source is a low-pressure mercury vapor lamp with primary emission at 254 nm, the wavelength that is in the range of highest cross-sectional absorbance for methyl iodide. Parameters investigated in this work include UV lamp to reactor distance (light intensity), impact of humidity, gas phase composition, and catalyst form (nanotube vs powder). This work also demonstrates that titania possesses a characteristic activation period on the order of approximately one hour to reach its full steady-state activity.
Multi-Community Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Education by Medical Students

Introduction One purpose of the hands-only cardiopulmonary resuscitation (HOCPR) program is to simplify CPR instruction to encourage more bystanders to take action during cardiac arrest. Although the program has been successfully implemented in traditional classroom settings, the utility of large-scale training events has not been well-explored. We hypothesized that CPR knowledge and comfort levels would increase through a large-scale, multi-community HOCPR training event. We also explored what effect this training event had on perceived barriers to bystander-performed CPR. Methods A convenience sample participated in HOCPR training on a single day across 10 Texas cities. A sub-sample completed training questionnaires, including a five-item CPR pre- and post-test. A follow-up questionnaire was conducted two years after the event. The primary outcome of interest was the difference in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) knowledge and comfort level between pre- and post-event questionnaires. Demographic contributions were also assessed. Results A total of 4,253 participants were trained, 1,416 were enrolled upon submitting matching pre- and post-event questionnaires, and 101 (14%) submitted follow-up questionnaires. Mean knowledge scores increased from pre-training (2.7 ± 1.6 standard deviation (SD)) to post-training (4.7 ± 0.76 SD) (p < 0.001). Follow-up test scores (3.8 ± 1.1 SD) remained higher than pre-test scores (p < 0.001). Comfort with HOCPR increased from 59% (95% confidence interval (CI) 56 - 61) to 96% (95% CI 95 - 97). Pre- and post-knowledge scores differed significantly by education level (p < 0.001), ethnicity (p < 0.001), and income (p < 0.001). Education contributed significantly to comfort at both pre- (p = 0.015) and post-training (p = 0.026), but ethnicity and income did not. Before training, the most common barrier to performing CPR was lack of knowledge 59% (95% CI 55 - 62); after training, the most common barrier was fear of causing harm 34% (95% CI 29 - 40). Conclusions This study demonstrated that medical students were successfully able to conduct large-scale HOCPR training that improved CPR knowledge and comfort levels among participants across multiple metropolitan areas. Knowledge retention remained higher at two-years for participants of a follow-up questionnaire. Medical students can use the experiences from this training event as a template to organize similar large-scale training events in the future.
STRUCTURE AND COMPOSITION OF MOLECULAR CLOUDS WITH CN ZEEMAN DETECTIONS I: W3(OH)

We have carried out a multi-species study of a region which has had previous measurements of strong magnetic fields through the CN Zeeman effect in order to explore the relationship between CN and N{sub 2}H{sup +}, both of which have evidence that they remain in the gas phase at densities of 10{sup 5}-10{sup 6} cm{sup -3}. To achieve this, we map the 1 arcmin{sup 2} region around the UCHII region of W3(OH) using the Combined Array for Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA). Approximately 105 hr of data were collected in multiple array configurations to produce maps with an effective resolution of {approx}2.''5 at high signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns) in CN, C{sup 18}O, HCN, HCO{sup +}, N{sub 2}H{sup +}, and two continuum bands (91.2 GHz and 112 GHz). These data allow us to compare tracer molecules associated with both low- and high-density regions to infer gas properties. We determine that CARMA resolves out approximately 35% of the CN emission around W3(OH) when compared with spectra obtained from the IRAM 30 m telescope. The presence of strong absorption lines toward the continuum source in three of the molecular transitions infers the presence of a cold, dark, optically thick region in front of the continuum source.more » In addition, the presence of high-velocity emission lines near the continuum source shows the presence of hot clumpy emission behind the continuum source. These data determine that future high-resolution interferometric CN Zeeman measurements which cannot currently be performed (due to technical limitations of current telescopes) are feasible. We confirm that CN is indeed a good tracer for high-density regions; with certain objects such as W3(OH) it appears to be a more accurate tracer than N{sub 2}H{sup +}.« less
The regulation of c-myc by growth signals.

c-myc mRNA is a cell-cycle associated transcript whose induction is regulated by agents that initiate the first phase of a proliferative response. Specifically, c-myc mRNA levels are increased between 10 and 40 fold within one to three hours after incubation of lymphocytes with 1ipopolysaccharide or Concanavalin A or fibroblasts with platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). This induction of c-myc does not require the synthesis of new protein species and therefore is regulated directly by the biochemical events that immediately follow PDGF binding in fibroblasts and mitogen binding in lymphocytes. In fibroblasts that have been synchronized with respect to the cell-cycle by a short incubation in PDGF, c-myc mRNA levels are maximal in early G0/G1 and diminish to a quiescent level by the time the cells enter the S phase. Thus, c-myc RNA is a labile transcript with a maximal half-life of three hours. Finally, our experiments provide data that places the action of two oncogenes in a hierarchy: c-sis, the putative structural gene for PDGF, regulates the expression of c-myc.
Pregnancy Outcomes in 2 Women Born with Complex Anorectal Malformations: Challenges and Considerations.

Abstract Background Complex anorectal malformations (ARMs) are a group of rare congenital malformations involving numerous anomalies that require reconstruction and can affect sexuality, fertility, and pregnancy outcomes. Few cases of pregnancy in complex ARM patients have been reported. Cases We report on 2 patients with ARMs who delivered 3 term infants, all by cesarean section with successful collaboration between pediatric urologists and obstetricians. Both patients fully recovered with no long-term consequences after experiencing maternal morbidities including urinary infections, clitoral abscesses, vaginal lacerations, extensive adhesive disease, bladder injury, and maternal hemorrhage. Summary and Conclusion In managing pregnancies and deliveries in women with complex ARMs, coordination between obstetricians, pediatric urologists, and pediatric surgeons is crucial.
Spatial and temporal autocorrelations affect Taylor's law for US county populations: Descriptive and predictive models.

Understanding the spatial and temporal distributions and fluctuations of living populations is a central goal in ecology and demography. A scaling pattern called Taylor's law has been used to quantify the distributions of populations. Taylor's law asserts a linear relationship between the logarithm of the mean and the logarithm of the variance of population size. Here, extending previous work, we use generalized least-squares models to describe three types of Taylor's law. These models incorporate the temporal and spatial autocorrelations in the mean-variance data. Moreover, we analyze three purely statistical models to predict the form and slope of Taylor's law. We apply these descriptive and predictive models of Taylor's law to the county population counts of the United States decennial censuses (1790–2010). We find that the temporal and spatial autocorrelations strongly affect estimates of the slope of Taylor's law, and generalized least-squares models that take account of these autocorrelations are often superior to ordinary least-squares models. Temporal and spatial autocorrelations combine with demographic factors (e.g., population growth and historical events) to influence Taylor's law for human population data. Our results show that the assumptions of a descriptive model must be carefully evaluated when it is used to estimate and interpret the slope of Taylor's law.
Evaluation of electrochemical performance and redox activity of Fe in Ti doped layered P2-Na0.67Mn0.5Fe0.5O2 cathode for sodium ion batteries

Abstract Here, we report a wet synthesis-based titanium doping strategy to improve the structural stability and electrochemical performances, such as cycling stability and rate capability, of P2-type Na0.67Fe0.5Mn0.5O2 layered oxide cathodes. Through Ti4+ doping aimed at replacing some of the Mn and Fe atoms in the crystal structure, effective mitigation of the Jahn Teller distortion caused by active Mn3+ before charging and Fe4+ after charging was achieved. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) and Mossbauer spectroscopy were used to investigate the effects of the Ti4+ dopant before and after cycling. It was observed that Ti4+ doping increased the Na layer thickness, minimized the lattice volume strain, showed better structural stability, minimally decreased Fe migration to the Na layer, and lowered charge transfer resistance in these P2-type cathodes. Overall, our reported synthesis methodology and electrochemical characterizations highlight the feasibility of Ti doping in sodium layered oxide P2-type cathodes.
Quality-Control Procedures for Densitometry

The original indications for bone-mass measurements from the National Osteoporosis Foundation, published in 1988, and the guidelines for the clinical applications for bone densitometry from the International Society for Clinical Densitometry, published in 1996, called for strict quality control procedures at clinical sites performing densitometry (1,2). Such procedures are crucial to the generation of accurate and precise bone-density data. In spite of inherently superb accuracy and precision in today’ s X-ray densitometers, alterations in the functioning of the machines will occur. Quality control procedures to detect these alterations in machine function should be utilized by every clinical site performing densitometry, regardless of the frequency with which measurements are performed.
The Effect of Corruption on Foreign Direct Investments in Developing Countries

Using panel data, this paper will empirically test the relationship between the levels of perceived corruption and the net foreign direct investments (FDI) inflows as a fraction of the GDP across several developing countries over a period of seven years. It is hypothesized that increased corruption translates into a decrease in net FDI inflows. If this relationship manifests as predicted, there are more incentives for low and middle income economies to intensify their efforts in the anti-corruption programs in order to attract more FDI, reduce poverty and foster economic growth and development. This study looks at the relationship between perceived corruption as an institutional factor and the net foreign direct investment inflows. This article is available in The Park Place Economist: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/parkplace/vol22/iss1/17
Modeling Business Insights into Predictive Analytics for the Outcome of IT Service Contracts

The chances of winning highly valued Information Technology (IT) service contracts are influenced by various factors. Identifying key factors driving the competition and the early prediction of the outcome (either winning or losing such sales opportunities) can have significant business benefits. Given the complexity of IT services, range of potential attributes, and scarcity of comparable data sets, the straightforward approach of developing predictive analytical models that works well in other industries, such as consumer products, tends to achieve lower accuracy in this context. In this paper, we develop an approach that uses business insights and domain knowledge in the classification of several of the attributes influencing the outcome. We show how using this approach in a naive Bayes predictive analytics framework can vastly improve the prediction accuracy. Further, we discuss two applications of our model, early prioritization of newly validated sales opportunities and optimization of sales force allocation and planning.
Using Learning Progressions to Design Vertical Scales That Support Coherent Inferences about Student Growth.

The concept of growth is at the foundation of the policy and practice around systems of educational accountability. It is also at the foundation of what teachers concern themselves with on a daily basis as they help children learn. Yet there is a disconnect between the criterion-referenced intuitions that parents and teachers have for what it means for students to demonstrate growth and the primarily norm-referenced metrics that are used to infer growth. One way to address this disconnect would be to develop vertically linked score scales that could be used to support both criterion-referenced and norm-referenced interpretations, but this hinges upon having a coherent conceptualization of what it is that is growing from grade to grade. In this paper, a learning-progression approach to the conceptualization of growth and the subsequent design of a vertical score scale is proposed and illustrated in the context of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.
Middleware Case Study: MeDICi

In many application domains in science and engineering, data produced by sensors, instruments, and networks is naturally processed by software applications structured as a pipeline. Pipelines comprise a sequence of software components that progressively process discrete units of data to produce a desired outcome. For example, in a Web crawler that is extracting semantics from text on Web sites, the first stage in the pipeline might be to remove all HTML tags to leave only the raw text of the document. The second step may parse the raw text to break it down into its constituent grammatical parts, such as nouns, verbs, and so on. Subsequent steps may look for names of people or places, interesting events or times so documents can be sequenced on a time line.
Substitutional doping in nanocrystal superlattices

Doping is a process in which atomic impurities are intentionally added to a host material to modify its properties. It has had a revolutionary impact in altering or introducing electronic, magnetic, luminescent, and catalytic properties for several applications, for example in semiconductors. Here we explore and demonstrate the extension of the concept of substitutional atomic doping to nanometre-scale crystal doping, in which one nanocrystal is used to replace another to form doped self-assembled superlattices. Towards this goal, we show that gold nanocrystals act as substitutional dopants in superlattices of cadmium selenide or lead selenide nanocrystals when the size of the gold nanocrystal is very close to that of the host. The gold nanocrystals occupy random positions in the superlattice and their density is readily and widely controllable, analogous to the case of atomic doping, but here through nanocrystal self-assembly. We also show that the electronic properties of the superlattices are highly tunable and strongly affected by the presence and density of the gold nanocrystal dopants. The conductivity of lead selenide films, for example, can be manipulated over at least six orders of magnitude by the addition of gold nanocrystals and is explained by a percolation model. As this process relies on the self-assembly of uniform nanocrystals, it can be generally applied to assemble a wide variety of nanocrystal-doped structures for electronic, optical, magnetic, and catalytic materials.
Ethical Realism: A Vision for America's Role in the World by Anatol Lieven and John Hulsman

The phrase “ethical realism” echoes old philosophic controversies over the relation of “fact” to “value.” Social scientists who swear by the distinction are likely to treat the phrase as oxymoronic...
The accumulation of non-replicative, non-functional, senescent T cells with age is avoided in calorically restricted mice by an enhancement of T cell apoptosis

Peripheral blood lymphocytes of elderly humans show an increased percentage of T cells with characteristics of replicative senescence. Similarly, the overall decrease in T cell proliferation in aged mice reflects a progressively increasing proportion of non-functional cells rather than a uniform decline in function by all cells. The improved immune function of calorically restricted (CR) animals is, paradoxically, accompanied by a relative lymphopenia. To test whether the reduction in lymphocyte number in the CR mice might reflect more efficient elimination of T cells, we measured apoptosis in young, old and CR old mice. T cell apoptosis induced by irradiation, Staurosporine, anti-CD3, and heat shock was reduced by 62, 42, 32, and 30%, respectively, in old compared with young mice. Caloric restriction normalized apoptosis in T cells from aged mice. Enhanced elimination of non-functional T cells in CR mice may be, at least in part, responsible for their improved immune functional status relative to non-CR mice of the same age.
Cost sharing and approximation

Central to this thesis are problems in which a group of users can benefit from building and jointly using some kind of infrastructure, be it a set of supply depots, service stations, or a communication or transportation network. We study two important questions related to these kinds of scenarios: (1) how to build the shared facility that satisfies the needs of a given set of users in a cost-effective way, and (2) how to split the cost of the shared facility among the participating users in a fair and reasonable way. In the first part of the thesis, we seek to design cost sharing functions with desirable game-theoretic properties. We are looking for cost sharing functions that are fair, and encourage cooperation among users. This is captured in the notion of cross-monotonicity: it says that a cost share of any user should never increase as more people join the system, and never decrease when players leave. Towards this end, we develop a new technique to generate such cross-monotonic cost shares using a primal-dual type process, and use it to design cross-monotonic cost shares for several NP-hard optimization problems. In the second part we proceed in a slightly different direction, applying cost sharing to the design of approximation algorithms. We consider a class of two-stage stochastic problems with recourse. In these problems, we can buy building blocks (edges, facilities, vertices…) in two stages. In the first stage, the elements are relatively inexpensive, but we do not know the requirements of users we will have to serve (we only have a probabilistic forecast of their demands). In the second stage, the actual demands are revealed, and we must buy enough elements (now at a higher price) to satisfy all user demands. We show that whenever the underlying deterministic problem admits a certain type of cost sharing, an extremely simple strategy gives us good approximation guarantees: in the first stage, take several samples from the forecasted distribution, and build a solution that covers all the sampled clients at the low price. When the real users materialize, augment the first stage solution to cover the actual demands. In this way we obtain constant approximation algorithms for stochastic versions of problems like Uncapacitated Facility Location, Steiner tree, Steiner Forest or Vertex Cover.
Regulation of nitrogenase-2 in Azotobacter vinelandii by ammonium, molybdenum, and vanadium.

Abstract Under diazotrophic conditions in the absence of molybdenum and in the presence of vanadium, Azotobacter vinelandii reduces N2 to NH4+ by using nitrogenase-2, a V-containing enzyme complex encoded by vnfH (the gene for dinitrogenase reductase-2), and vnfDGK (the genes for dinitrogenase-2 subunits). Accumulation of the vnfHorfFd and vnfDGK transcripts occurred under Mo-deficient conditions in the presence and absence of V; however, in the case of vnfDGK, the protein products only accumulated in the presence of V. This suggests that V is required for translation of the vnfDGK transcripts. In addition, expression of vnfH-lacZ and vnfD-lacZ transcriptional fusions was only partially repressed in the presence of NH4+. Transcripts hybridizing with vnfH (1.4 and 1.0 kb), vnfDG (3.4 and 1.8 kb), and vnfK (3.4 kb) were detected in RNA extracted from wild-type cells cultured with NH4+ in the presence or absence of V. However, nitrogenase-2 subunits were not detected in extracts of cells derepressed for nitrogenase-2 in the presence of NH4+. These results indicate that this nitrogen source acts at the posttranscriptional level as well as at the transcriptional level. vnf transcripts were not detected in the presence of Mo (with or without NH4+).
Lacosamide Retention Rates in Pediatric Epilepsy (P4.264)

OBJECTIVE: To describe Lacosamide (LCM) use and retention rate at a large pediatric epilepsy referral center. BACKGROUND: LCM is an antiepileptic drug introduced in 2009. Few studies have evaluated LCM effectiveness in children. Retention rate is a useful measure of antiepileptic drug effectiveness. DESIGN/METHODS: This single-center retrospective cohort study included patients seen at CHOP from 1/2010-9/2012, and started on LCM with 蠅1 follow-up encounter prior to 1/2013. Data were extracted by manual chart review. A Kaplan-Meier curve was generated for time to LCM failure, defined as LCM discontinuation or initiation of another antiepileptic therapy. Impact of seizure type and concomitant therapy with other sodium channel blockers were evaluated using Cox regression. RESULTS: Ninety-seven patients (42 female) were included. Median age at seizure onset was 2 years (range neonate to 16 years). Median age at LCM initiation was 15 years (range 2-21). Median time of follow up was 12 months (range 0.5 to 34). In KM analyses, success rate was 41% at 1 year and 27% at 2 years. LCM was discontinued in 51 (53%) and the remaining 14 (14%) started additional treatment. Lack of efficacy was cited 3 times more often than lack of tolerability. Tolerability failures occurred earlier (median 1 month) than efficacy failures (median 4 months). LCM failure was more likely in patients on other sodium channel blockers (HR 1.8, 95%CI 1.1-3.0). There was no increased failure rate with prior sodium channel blocker use. LCM retention was no different among patients with focal or generalized seizure types. CONCLUSIONS: Long term use of LCM without additional therapy occurred in one third of this cohort. Concomitant but not prior use of sodium channel blocking AEDs was associated with lower chance of LCM retention, raising the possibility of interference by drugs with an overlapping mechanism. Study Supported by: Disclosure: Dr. Robbins has nothing to disclose. Dr. Cohen has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kessler has nothing to disclose.
Rapid miniaturized chromatography procedure for I-123 MIBG

2211 Objectives: I-123 meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) is becoming increasingly more important in nuclear medicine, especially in nuclear cardiology. Our facility wanted to establish a fast, easy and reliable method of analyzing the radiochemical purity for this radiopharmaceutical. Methods: We evaluated numerous miniaturized chromatography systems including instant thin layer chromatography-silica gel (ITLC-SA, Pall Corporation) with ethanol:ammonium hydroxide (E:AH) (50:1 v/v), 0.9% sodium chloride (NaCl), and 20% NaCl. Chromatographic strip activity distribution from each chromatography system was compared to results obtained from a standard chromatography system, as outlined in the literature. For each specific chromatography system, I-123 MIBG was spotted at the origin and following strip development, cut into 0.5 cm sections and counted using a multichannel analyzer interfaced to a NaI(Tl) well detector. The radiochemical purity of multiple 123I MIBG preparations, ranging from 55% to 94%, was assessed using the standard chromatography procedure and miniaturized chromatography procedures, consisting of ITLC-SA with 0.9% NaCl. Following strip development, chromatography strips were cut at specific Rf values and counted as described. For each specific evaluation, four replicate samples were chromatographically analyzed and the data statistically summarized. Results: With miniaturized chromatography systems consisting ITLC-SA and E:AH, the Rf value for I-123 MIBG ranged from 0.1 to 0.2. Incomplete separation between I-123 MIBG and I-123 NaI was noted. When utilizing miniaturized ITLC-SA strips with 0.9% NaCl, the Rf value was 0.25 and good separation of specified radiochemical species was observed. With radiochemical purities ranging from 55% to 94%, comparable radiochemical results were obtained using both chromatography systems. However, solvent developing time using ITLC-SA in 0.9% NaCl was significantly faster than ITLC-SA E:AH with development times of 3 and 11 minutes. Conclusions: A new miniaturized chromatography system consisting of ITLC-SA with 0.9% NaCl was evaluated for radiochemical purity analysis for I-123 MIBG. Maximum separation of radiochemical species was achieved and accuracy in assessing radiochemical purity was comparable to the established chromatography system. As such, this system is fast, accurate and reliable.
Cross-correlation of Planck CMB lensing and CFHTLenS galaxy weak lensing maps

We cross-correlate cosmic microwave background (CMB) lensing and galaxy weak lensing maps using the Planck 2013 and 2015 data and the $154\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{deg}}^{2}$ Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Lensing Survey (CFHTLenS). This measurement probes large-scale structure at intermediate redshifts $\ensuremath{\approx}0.9$, between the high- and low-redshift peaks of the CMB and CFHTLenS lensing kernels, respectively. Using the noise properties of these data sets and standard Planck 2015 $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\mathrm{CDM}$ cosmological parameters, we forecast a signal-to-noise ratio $\ensuremath{\approx}4.6$ for the cross-correlation. We find that the noise level of our actual measurement agrees well with this estimate, but the amplitude of the signal lies well below the theoretical prediction. The best-fit amplitudes of our measured cross-correlations are ${A}_{2013}=0.48\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.26$ and ${A}_{2015}=0.44\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.22$, using the 2013 and 2015 Planck CMB lensing maps, respectively, where $A=1$ corresponds to the fiducial Planck 2015 $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\mathrm{CDM}$ prediction. Due to the low measured amplitude, the detection significance is moderate ($\ensuremath{\approx}2\ensuremath{\sigma}$) and the data are in tension with the theoretical prediction $(\ensuremath{\approx}2--2.5\ensuremath{\sigma})$. The tension is reduced somewhat when compared to predictions using WMAP9 parameters, for which we find ${A}_{2013}=0.56\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.30$ and ${A}_{2015}=0.52\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.26$. We consider various systematic effects, finding that photometric redshift uncertainties, contamination by intrinsic alignments, and effects due to the masking of galaxy clusters in the Planck 2015 CMB lensing reconstruction are able to help resolve the tension at a significant level ($\ensuremath{\approx}10%$ each). An overall multiplicative bias in the CFHTLenS shear data could also play a role, which can be tested with existing data. We close with forecasts for measurements of the CMB lensing---galaxy lensing cross-correlation using ongoing and future weak lensing surveys, which will definitively test the significance of the tension in our results with respect to $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}\mathrm{CDM}$.
Snake-based liver lesion segmentation

A novel and robust method for accurate segmentation of liver lesions is discussed. The initial contour for the snake is formed using edge and region information. The modified snake, guided by fuzzy edge information, deforms from this initial position, providing an accurate representation of the lesion boundary with few iterations and minimal user interaction. Results obtained from this algorithm are comparable to those obtained from manual segmentation by a trained radiologist.
The weight loss experience: a descriptive analysis.

Background: Six months of loss followed by gradual regain to baseline is descriptive of most weight loss attempts.Purpose: This study sought to identify thoughts and feelings accompanying weight loss that might explain the phenomenon.Methods: Thoughts, feelings, and body weight were measured weekly for 6 months in 41 women receiving behavioral treatment for obesity.Results: Overall, the weight loss experience of these women was positive, requiring modest time and effort and being associated with more positive than negative thoughts and experiences. Over time, however, positive but not negative reactions to the weight loss experience decreased, as did the strength of beliefs that the benefits of weight loss were worth the effort. In addition, we found no relation between the women’s perception of effort and weight loss results.Conclusions: Inadequate long-term rewards for behaviors needed for weight control may be an important cause of frequent weight loss failures.
The non-synchronous response of Rabots Glaciar and Storglaciaren, northern Sweden, to recent climate change: a comparative study

Rabots Glaciar and Storglaciaren, two small valley glaciers in the Swedish Arctic, have not behaved synchronously in response to recent climate change. Both glaciers advanced late in the 19th century and then began to retreat in response to a � 18C warming that occurred around 1910. By the mid-1980s the terminus and volume of Storglaciaren had essentially stabilized, so it may have completed its response to the earlier warming. In contrast, ongoing thinning and retreat of Rabots Glaciar are substantial and suggest its response time is considerably longer. A time-dependent numerical model was used to investigate each glacier's response to perturbations in mass balance. This modeling suggests that, for small perturbations, volume timescales for Storglaciaren and Rabots Glaciar are � 125 and � 215 years, respectively. Another measure of response time (i.e. length response time) yields somewhat lower values for each glacier; however, what is significant is that by either measure and accounting for uncertainties, the response time for Rabots Glaciar is consistently about 1.5 times longer than that for Storglaciaren. This implies that their non-synchronous behavior is likely due to differences in response times. The latter ultimately result from markedly different longitudinal geometries (particularly near the termini), velocity profiles and specific net balance gradients.
DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES IN THE VASCULAR CAMBIUM IN LEITNERIA FLORIDANA

Developmental changes in the vascular cambium of Leitneria floridana, a slhrub, were determined primarily by an analysis of the secondary xylem. During the productioni of the first growth ring of secondary xylem, 37% of the anticlinal divisions in, the fusiform iniitials were lateral, the remaining were oblique. The oblique partitioll averaged 1/2 of the lelngth of the dividing initials during this period of growth. Following their origin in antielilial division, daughter cells elongated at a rapid rate until they were about as long as the mean for all cells, and then most cells elongated at a slow rate. Almost all initials survived during the formation of the inner secondary xylem (growth rings 1-10), and few niew rays were formed from fusiform initials. During the production of the outer secondary xylem (growth rings 22-26), lateral divisions accounted for less thani 5% of all antielinal divisionis. The oblique partition averaged only 1/4 of the length of the dividing cells durinig this period, although the mean length of dividing initials was relatively constant throughout seconidary growth. About 20% of the initials studied during the deposition of the outer seconidary xylem disappeared from the cambium, and many others were transformed inito ray iniitials. The filndings are discussed in relation to the developmental changes in the vascular cambium in plants of different habits. THE MOST intensive studies on the developmental changes in the vascular cambium associated with the increase in circumference of this ineristem have been made on conifers (Whalley,