cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Testicular Artery Ramification Within the Inguinal Canal

AbstractTesticular arterial anatomy has been well studied because of its important role in testicular physiology and testicular surgery. Contrary to classical anatomical descriptions, we have observed that often more than 1 branch of the internal spermatic artery is present at the level of the proximal inguinal canal. Many surgeons who perform varicocelectomy assume that only 1 artery is present at this level and ligate all other vascular structures once an artery has been identified. We determine the frequency and number of internal spermatic arteries present within the spermatic cord in the proximal inguinal canal. The number of internal spermatic arteries present at this level was studied in 15 spermatic cords of 12 patients undergoing varicocelectomy using loupe magnification and intraoperative Doppler ultrasound. The number of arteries ranged from 1 to 3, with a mean of 2 arteries. Histological studies of the same area of 17 spermatic cords obtained from cadavers revealed a mean of 2.4 arteries (rang...
Advanced Hemodynamic Support

The dramatic advances in the field of interventional cardiology have resulted in the shift toward PCI as opposed to CABG in high-risk complex lesions, especially surgically nonamenable lesions. Use of LV assist devices have increased the odds of success and decreased mortality, morbidity, and overall health-care costs [1–3]. Cardiogenic shock complicates 7–10 % of STEMI and is the key cause of in-hospital mortality [4]. Unloading of the myocardium mechanically may limit infarct size, maintain end organ perfusion, and decrease myocardial oxygen demand [5–7].
In vivo assessment of increased oxidation of branched-chain amino acids in glioblastoma

Altered branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) metabolism is a distinctive feature of various cancers and plays an important role in sustaining tumor proliferation and aggressiveness. Despite the therapeutic and diagnostic potentials, the role of BCAA metabolism in cancer and the activities of associated enzymes remain unclear. Due to its pivotal role in BCAA metabolism and rapid cellular transport, hyperpolarized 13C-labeled α-ketoisocaproate (KIC), the α-keto acid corresponding to leucine, can assess both BCAA aminotransferase (BCAT) and branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase complex (BCKDC) activities via production of [1-13C]leucine or 13CO2 (and thus H13CO3−), respectively. Here, we investigated BCAA metabolism of F98 rat glioma model in vivo using hyperpolarized 13C-KIC. In tumor regions, we observed a decrease in 13C-leucine production from injected hyperpolarized 13C-KIC via BCAT compared to the contralateral normal-appearing brain, and an increase in H13CO3−, a catabolic product of KIC through the mitochondrial BCKDC. A parallel ex vivo 13C NMR isotopomer analysis following steady-state infusion of [U-13C]leucine to glioma-bearing rats verified the increased oxidation of leucine in glioma tissue. Both the in vivo hyperpolarized KIC imaging and the leucine infusion study indicate that KIC catabolism is upregulated through BCAT/BCKDC and further oxidized via the citric acid cycle in F98 glioma.
Discontinuous shock solutions of the Whitham modulation equations as dispersionless limits of traveling waves

Whitham modulation theory describes the zero dispersion limit of nonlinear waves by a system of conservation laws for the parameters of modulated periodic traveling waves. Here, admissible, discontinuous, weak solutions of the Whitham modulation equations--termed Whitham shocks--are identified with zero dispersion limits of traveling wave solutions to higher order dispersive partial differential equations (PDEs). The far-field behavior of the traveling wave solutions satisfies the Rankine-Hugoniot jump conditions. Generally, the numerically computed traveling waves represent heteroclinic connections between two periodic orbits of an ordinary differential equation. The focus here is on the fifth order Korteweg-de Vries equation. The three admissible one-parameter families of Whitham shocks are used as solution components for the generalized Riemann problem of the Whitham modulation equations. Admissible KdV5-Whitham shocks are generally undercompressive, i.e., all characteristic families pass through the shock. The heteroclinic traveling waves that limit to admissible Whitham shocks are found to be ubiquitous in numerical simulations of smoothed step initial conditions for other higher order dispersive equations including the Kawahara equation (with third and fifth order dispersion) and a nonlocal model of weakly nonlinear gravity-capillary waves with full dispersion. Whitham shocks are linked to recent studies of nonlinear higher order dispersive waves in optics and ultracold atomic gases. The approach presented here provides a novel method for constructing new traveling wave solutions to dispersive nonlinear wave equations and a framework to identify physically relevant, admissible shock solutions of the Whitham modulation equations.
Family Structure, Kinship, and Life Course Transitions: Social Science Explorations of the Mishnah

The Mishnah text, the foundational document of an emergent Rabbinic Judaism, is organized around the functioning of an imagined and constructed community. Among the core themes and theoretical frameworks that a social scientist invokes to study any society include particular attention to family values, generational relationships, and the dynamics of family networks. Family themes are complex in their details since these are connected to social stratification—how social groups within societies are ranked, group boundaries and “otherness”—exclusion and inclusion, and the study of culture and values. Exploring the evidence in the 63 volumes that comprise the corpus of the Mishnah, this paper outlines a conceptual framework and reviews evidence to focus on how the Mishnah constructs family structure, family relationships, and life course transitions. We examine the Mishnaic construction of family transitions as well as the structure and variation of family processes; we address issues of adulthood and the transitions to adulthood and older age; ideals and images of marriage and divorce and the transitions to these statuses; the dynamics of parenthood and childrearing along with childbearing and family size. Thus, we explore how the Mishnah formulates ideals of generational continuity, the formation of families and family relationships (e.g., which family members are included in the extended family; who may marry whom), the core values and ideals associated with family, how families are sustained, and how they change over the life course.
Evolution of Localization Length during Postpeak Response of Steel in Tension: Experimental Study

AbstractThis paper presents an experimental study into the influence of localization length (Lc) and its evolution during the postpeak response of cylindrical low-carbon steel bars. A novel longitu...
Evaluation of the incidence of pneumonitis in United States veterans with non-small cell lung cancer receiving durvalumab following chemoradiation.

9034Background: Locally advanced, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer is commonly treated with concurrent chemoradiation therapy (CRT). Durvalumab is a PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) a...
Predicting Future Sales of Retail Products using Machine Learning.

Techniques for making future predictions based upon the present and past data, has always been an area with direct application to various real life problems. We are discussing a similar problem in this paper. The problem statement is provided by Kaggle, which also serves as an ongoing competition on the Kaggle platform. In this project, we worked with a challenging time-series dataset consisting of daily sales data, kindly provided by one of the largest Russian software firms - 1C Company. The objective is to predict the total sales for every product and store in the next month given the past data. In order to perform forecasting for next month, we have deployed eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) based network architecture to perform learning task. Root mean squared error (RMSE) between the actual and predicted target values is used to evaluate the performance, and make comparisons between the deployed algorithms. It has been found that XGBoost fared better than LSTM over this dataset which can be attributed to its relatively higher sparsity.
Beauty or Blight? Abundant Vegetation in the Presence of Disinvestment Across Residential Parcels and Neighborhoods in Toledo, OH

Urban vegetation can generate social and ecological benefits, so vegetation abundance is commonly treated as a proxy for greater benefits. A repeated finding in environmental justice research related to urban vegetation is that commonly marginalized populations live in neighborhoods with less vegetation. However, urban vegetation can function as amenity or disamenity depending on the context and the characteristics of the vegetation. In areas of disinvestment, overgrown vegetation may indicate neglect and lead to negative social outcomes. For example, previous research in the shrinking city of Toledo, Ohio, showed that areas with concentrated residential vacancy and high representation of traditionally marginalized populations also had relatively high vegetation abundance. This can be largely attributed to spontaneous, weedy vegetation in areas of concentrated vacancy. Equal vegetation cover therefore should not necessarily be equated with environmentally just outcomes. Here, we used several high-resolution data sets to study the relationships among vegetation abundance, vegetation quality, and property parcel occupancy on residential land in Toledo. Our results demonstrate that vacant residential land had more abundant vegetation than comparable occupied parcels according to two common metrics (tree canopy cover and the normalized difference vegetation index). Compared to occupied parcels, vacant parcels also had higher rates of blight associated with overgrown vegetation, as recorded during a citywide ground-based survey of property conditions. There were more vacant parcels overall in areas of disinvestment, and on a per-parcel basis, vacant parcels in these high-vacancy areas were also greener relative to nearby occupied parcels than vacant parcels in low-vacancy areas. This indicates that vacant parcels play a disproportionately large role in greening on residential land in areas of disinvestment. These results reinforce the idea that simply quantifying vegetation abundance may be insufficient for understanding urban social-ecological outcomes. Incorporating parcel occupancy data along with multiple strands of information about vegetation type and condition provides context to understand where abundant vegetation functions as amenity versus disamenity. These perspectives are especially relevant in shrinking cities like Toledo where legacies of urban socioeconomic change have produced widespread areas of disinvestment and land abandonment.
Towards Confident Machine Reading Comprehension

There has been considerable progress on academic benchmarks for the Reading Comprehension (RC) task with State-of-the-Art models closing the gap with human performance on extractive question answering. Datasets such as SQuAD 2.0 & NQ have also introduced an auxiliary task requiring models to predict when a question has no answer in the text. However, in production settings, it is also necessary to provide confidence estimates for the performance of the underlying RC model at both answer extraction and "answerability" detection. We propose a novel post-prediction confidence estimation model, which we call Mr.C (short for Mr. Confident), that can be trained to improve a system's ability to refrain from making incorrect predictions with improvements of up to 4 points as measured by Area Under the Curve (AUC) scores. Mr.C can benefit from a novel white-box feature that leverages the underlying RC model's gradients. Performance prediction is particularly important in cases of domain shift (as measured by training RC models on SQUAD 2.0 and evaluating on NQ), where Mr.C not only improves AUC, but also traditional answerability prediction (as measured by a 5 point improvement in F1).
Using an Ethos of Care to Bridge the Digital Divide: Exploring Faculty Narratives During a Global Pandemic

Prior to the COVID-19 emergency, some faculty resisted the move to digital learning formats due to concerns for student equity or that engagement would suffer. The purpose of this study was to understand how faculty adapted their courses during the rapid shift to remote and online learning in the spring of 2020, and to understand the role of equity in their experiences. Faculty narratives revealed that elements such as flexibility, reducing coursework to essential content, and personalization – all stemming from an ethos of care – were effective in mitigating the equity issues that surfaced during the emergency transition to universal remote learning. Our findings support the critical importance of extending culturally sustainable practices to all online learning environments in higher education as a way to mitigate equity issues related to the digital divide. These findings are in line with, and contribute to, the growing body of research on culturally sustaining pedagogy within the context of online learning.
Stochastic Stability of Financial and Insurance Stochastic Models

In this chapter we consider stochastic stability of financial and insurance stochastic models, including dynamics of stocks prices and risk processes Also, we study stochastic stability for such models in averaging, merging, diffusion approximation and normal deviation schemes [134, 133, 131], [143]–[145].
The association of combat exposure and injuries with behavioral health problems among enlisted female Army members returning from Iraq or Afghanistan

Materials and methods Using longitudinal data from The Substance Use and Psychological Injury Combat Study, we selected a sample of enlisted female Army members returning from Afghanistan or Iraq in FY2008–2011, who completed a health questionnaire within 60 days of their deployment end date (N = 42397; 6.6% of cohort). Combat score was constructed as an ordinal variable (0–3) based on four items: being wounded, injured, assaulted, or hurt; encountering dead bodies/seeing people killed; firing a weapon; and being in danger of being killed. Multivariate logistic regression models examined how combat score, demographic, and deployment characteristics predicted posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and at-risk drinking. Models were stratified by component: Active Duty (AD) and National Guard/Reserves (NG/Rs).
The Convective Systems of the Euler Systems

We have been studying in previous chapters bounded solutions with jump discontinuities, which have been the main concern of the research community of the field until very recently. In this chapter we introduce several conservation laws that yield unbounded solutions. These conservation laws are variants of the convective system for the full 2-D Euler system, and the unbounded solutions are also very natural.
Comparison of HLA Antigens and DNA Polymorphisms in Parentage Testing

The power to exclude wrongly identified men involved in paternity disputes has been increased by recombinant DNA technology. A variety of human DNA probes have been cloned which can be used in Southern blot analysis to detect highly polymorphic loci within the genome of individuals. The probes that detect loci consisting of variable numbers of tandem repeats (VNTRs)appear to be especially useful in identity testing (Nakamura 1987). Of the 7 immunologic genetic tests that the joint American Medical Association — American Bar Association Committee recommended to establish non-paternity in routine investigations, the HLA system provides the greatest probability of excluding a wrongly identified man (Abbott et al. 1976). This article will describe the strategy we have taken for estimating the alleles in the population detected by use of VNTR probes as well as evalualting the power of HLA as opposed to DNA polymorphism testing for excluding wrongly identified men in paternity disputes.
Selective transcription of DNA mediated by nonhistone proteins.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the regulatory role of the nonhistone proteins in both positive and negative control of gene activity. It determines the restrictive and stimulatory properties of those nonhistone proteins involved in specific transcription. It describes the purification of a near-homologous nonhistone protein that specifically inhibits transcription from DNA in a homologous RNA polymerase II system. The isolation of a nonhistone-protein fraction that selectively stimulates in vitro transcription from homologous DNA is also described in the chapter. The dependence of specific transcription from chromatin on the nonhistone chromosomal proteins, the high turnover rate of and the synthesis of unique nonhistone proteins in relation to cellular activity, and the tissue variations of these proteins, have led to the belief that the nonhistone proteins play a key role in the control of gene expression. The finding of a nonhistone protein that inhibits only reiterated sequences in DNA is not inconsistent with the multilevel control mechanism. Thus, the data presented in this chapter underlines the potential significance of the chromosomal proteins in both positive and negative control of gene expression.
TU-AB-BRD-01: Process Mapping

Current quality assurance and quality management guidelines provided by various professional organizations are prescriptive in nature, focusing principally on performance characteristics of planning and delivery devices. However, published analyses of events in radiation therapy show that most events are often caused by flaws in clinical processes rather than by device failures. This suggests the need for the development of a quality management program that is based on integrated approaches to process and equipment quality assurance. Industrial engineers have developed various risk assessment tools that are used to identify and eliminate potential failures from a system or a process before a failure impacts a customer. These tools include, but are not limited to, process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis, fault tree analysis. Task Group 100 of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine has developed these tools and used them to formulate an example risk-based quality management program for intensity-modulated radiotherapy. This is a prospective risk assessment approach that analyzes potential error pathways inherent in a clinical process and then ranks them according to relative risk, typically before implementation, followed by the design of a new process or modification of the existing process. Appropriate controls are then put in place to ensure that failures are less likely to occur and, if they do, they will more likely be detected before they propagate through the process, compromising treatment outcome and causing harm to the patient. Such a prospective approach forms the basis of the work of Task Group 100 that has recently been approved by the AAPM. This session will be devoted to a discussion of these tools and practical examples of how these tools can be used in a given radiotherapy clinic to develop a risk based quality management program. Learning Objectives: 1. Learn how to design a process map for a radiotherapy process 2. Learn how to perform failure modes and effects analysis analysis for a given process 3. Learn what fault trees are all about 4. Learn how to design a quality management program based upon the information obtained from process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis and fault tree analysis. Dunscombe: Director, TreatSafely, LLC and Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences; Consultant to IAEA and Varian Thomadsen: President, Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences Palta: Vice President of the Center for the Assessment of Radiological Sciences
Towards poverty reducing macroeconomic policies : strategy paper

There are substantial disagreements on the impact of macroeconomic policies on poverty. While past criticism of stabilization and adjustment programs have led to considerable changes in program implementation and program content, heated debates on the impact of macroeconomic policies on poverty continue to be at the center of the development debate. The debate so far has not only shown how little agreement there is on the impact of macroeconomic policies on poverty, it has also shown that there are considerable disputes on how to assess the impact of macroeconomic policies on poverty. With more and more data available, the binding constraint for a thorough analysis is more and more related to the lack of agreed standards, methodologies, and tools to assess the impact of macroeconomic policies on poverty. There are a variety of promising initiatives ongoing that develop quantitative tools that can be used to assess the impact of macroeconomic policies on poverty, especially within (a) the Network analyzing the Micro Impact of Macroeconomic and Adjustment Policies (MIMAP); (b) the World Bank; and (c) the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). Yet, these initiatives would benefit from closer coordination and cross-fertilization. Furthermore, more efforts are needed to overcome the limitations of currently existing computable general equilibrium (CGE) models and to consider alternative as well as complementary methodologies to CGE models to assess the impact of macroeconomic policies on poverty. In any case, it would be desired if some structured collaboration on such issues could be initiated among researchers around the globe in NGOs, think tanks, and many national and international development organizations, like the Bretton Woods Institutions, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and a variety of United Nations organizations.
Observations of Strong Stellar Lines with the OAO

This paper reports on preliminary analysis of spectral scans of early-type stars obtained with the Orbiting Astronomical Observatory. The discussion is confined to the spectra of 50 stars observed with a resolution of approximately 10 A over the spectral interval from 1050 A to 2000 A. Following a qualitative description of the spectra, observed equivalent widths of the Si IV (1400 A) and CIV(1550 A) lines are compared with model atmosphere calculations. The results suggest an upward revision of the stellar temperature scale for stars earlier than B3 V.
College athletics, body size, and cancer mortality

Data are presented on mortality from neoplasms as determined from death certificates in a cohort of 8393 college men, according to athletic status in college. Major athletes (lettermen) died significantly more often from neoplasms than nonathletes. Mean age at death from neoplasms (underlying cause) was significantly lower in major athletes than in both minor athletes and nonathletes. After matching major athletes with nonathletes of comparable body size (height and weight), differences in proportional mortality and mean age at death from neoplasms persisted, although not statistically significant for the smaller samples. Correlation coefficients (Pearson r) and partial r's between weight in college and age at death from neoplasms were negative but of low magnitude. Some possible explanations for the differences between major athletes and nonathletes are discussed.
Parasite communities of Scartichthys viridis (Pisces: Blenniidae) from Central Chile: locality vs. host length

Se describen y comparan las comunidades de parasitos en el pez blenido Scartichthys viridis de El Tabo y Las Cruces, dos localidades cercanas de Chile central. Catorce especies parasitas fueron encontradas, cuatro de ellas fueron persistentes a traves de las muestras. Hubo una correlacion positiva y significativa entre la riqueza, la abundancia infracomunitaria de parasitos y la longitud total del hospedador. Scartichthys viridis de ambas localidades tuvo similar composicion parasitaria, aunque las diferencias locales en los descriptores parasitarios poblacionales y comunitarios, mayores en peces de Las Cruces, podrian atribuirse a que el tamano corporal del hospedador fue significativamente mayor en Las Cruces que en el Tabo.
Effect of a 5-HT2C serotonin agonist, dexnorfenfluramine, on amyloid precursor protein metabolism in guinea pigs

Stimulation of serotonin receptor subtypes 5-HT2A or 5-HT2C in stably transfected 3T3 cells by dexnorfenfluramine (DEXNOR) or serotonin increases secretion of the APP metabolite APPs. It is not known whether activation of these receptors can also affect APP metabolism in vivo. We examined the effects of a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of DEXNOR on APPs levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of guinea pigs. These levels were significantly (P<0.05) increased by a single dose of DEXNOR (1–4 mg/kg); those of the APP metabolites Aβ1–40 and Aβ1–42 were unaffected. The DEXNOR-induced (1 mg/kg) increases in CSF APPs were suppressed by ritanserin (1 mg/kg) but not by ketanserin (2 mg/kg). When given alone, ritanserin did not affect CSF levels of APPs, Aβ1–40, or Aβ1–42. Chronic treatment with DEXNOR for 9 days (1 mg/kg bid, i.p.) increased CSF APPs levels, measured 2 h after the last injection (P<0.05), and decreased those of CSF Aβ1–42 (P<0.05). Neither hippocampal nor cortical levels of the APP holoprotein (APPh), nor body weight, were affected by DEXNOR. Chronic administration of mCPP (1-(m-chlorophenyl)piperazine) (2 mg/kg bid, i.p.), a 5-HT2B/2C agonist, for 9 days also increased CSF APPs levels (P<0.5) when measured 2 h after the drug’s last administration; hippocampal and cortical APPh levels were unaffected. However, mCPP also caused a significant decrease in body weight gain. These data indicate that the pharmacological activation of 5-HT2C receptors can stimulate CSF APPs secretion and reduce Aβ production in vivo. Hence 5-HT2C receptors, which apparently are localized to the brain, may represent useful targets for the development of treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.
Effective Management of Construction Dispute Resolution

The various methods of dispute resolution can be intimidating to the untested and daunting to even those who have experienced them. Yet no matter the method selected, the parties own the process and the result. It is therefore incumbent upon the parties to not only understand the various methods of dispute resolution, but they must also be prepared to manage the selected process to conclusion. This article reviews the various methods of dispute resolution and provides tools that parties can use to manage the selected process to an end result. While not a guarantee of success, these tools sufficiently increase the likelihood of making the selected method of dispute resolution an efficient and cost-effective process.
Consumer satisfaction with CASAs (Court Appointed Special Advocates)

Abstract CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) programs have now been in existence for well over 20 years. These programs continue to grow nationwide to provide a voice for children involved in the child welfare system. This study surveyed judges, attorneys, child welfare workers, and parents regarding their satisfaction with CASA volunteers. Seven hundred forty-two surveys were returned and the responses to the 24 item survey questions are summarized. Between group comparisons were made in order to ascertain views about CASA volunteers. Results indicate that judges and attorneys expressed the highest overall satisfaction with CASA programs whereas child welfare workers and parents scored most items the lowest. A qualitative thematic analysis was conducted on the open-ended questions on the survey. Responses to those questions provide valuable information regarding how volunteer CASAs can better serve children, families, child welfare workers and family court personnel. Examples of activities volunteers have done that were most helpful are presented as best practices.
Estimation of the oxalate content of foods and daily oxalate intake

Estimation of the oxalate content of foods and daily oxalate intake. Background The amount of oxalate ingested may be an important risk factor in the development of idiopathic calcium oxalate nephrolithiasis. Reliable food tables listing the oxalate content of foods are currently not available. The aim of this research was to develop an accurate and reliable method to measure the food content of oxalate. Methods Capillary electrophoresis (CE) and ion chromatography (IC) were compared as direct techniques for the estimation of the oxalate content of foods. Foods were thoroughly homogenized in acid, heat extracted, and clarified by centrifugation and filtration before dilution in water for analysis. Five individuals consuming self-selected diets maintained food records for three days to determine their mean daily oxalate intakes. Results Both techniques were capable of adequately measuring the oxalate in foods with a significant oxalate content. With foods of very low oxalate content ( Conclusions CE appears to be the method of choice over IC for estimating the oxalate content of foods with a medium (>10 mg/100 g) to high oxalate content due to a faster analysis time and lower running costs, whereas IC may be better suited for the analysis of foods with a low oxalate content. Accurate estimates of the oxalate content of foods should permit the role of dietary oxalate in urinary oxalate excretion and stone formation to be clarified. Other factors, apart from the amount of oxalate ingested, appear to exert a major influence over the amount of oxalate excreted in the urine.
Identification of MeCP2 mutations in a series of females with autistic disorder

Rett disorder and autistic disorder are both pervasive developmental disorders. Recent studies indicate that at least 80% of Rett Disorder cases are caused by mutations in the methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 (MeCP2) gene. Since there is some phenotypic overlap between autistic disorder and Rett disorder, we analyzed 69 females clinically diagnosed with autistic disorder for the presence of mutations in the MeCP2 gene. Two autistic disorder females were found to have de novo mutations in the MeCP2 gene. These data provide additional evidence of variable expression in the Rett disorder phenotype and suggest MeCP2 testing may be warranted for females presenting with autistic disorder.
Transport of molecules across tumor vasculature.

The vascular-extravascular exchange of fluid and solute molecules in a tissue is determined by three transport parameters (vascular permeability, P, hydraulic conductivity, Lp, and reflection coefficient, σ); the surface area for exchange, A; and the transluminal concentration and pressure gradients. The transport parameters and the exchange area for a given molecule are governed by the structure of the vessel wall. In general, tumor vessels have wide interendothelial junctions; large number of fenestrae and transendothelial channels formed by vesicles; and discontinuous or absent basement membrane. While these factors favor movement of molecules across tumor vessels, high interstitial pressure and low microvascular pressure may retard extravasation of molecules and cells, especially in large tumors. These characteristics of the transvascular transport have significant implications in tumor growth, metastasis, detection and treatment.
Contextual modulation of simultaneous associations

In four experiments with water-deprived rats, we examined the possibility that simultaneous associations between a conditioned stimulus (CS) and an unconditioned stimulus (US) were modulated or masked by context–US associations. In Experiment 1 we determined that simultaneous CS-US pairings administered in multiple contexts enhanced responding to the CS relative to training in a single context. A forward CS–US arrangement produced no such enhancement. In subsequent experiments, animals were trained in a single context. In Experiment 2, the number of CS–US pairings was varied and no inverse relationship between the response directly elicited by the training context and the response elicited by the CS was found. In Experiments 3 and 4, we detected no effect on the response to the CS of extensive exposure to the training context before or after simultaneous CS–US pairings, although such latent inhibition or extinction treatment reduced the response elicited by the context. In total, these results indicate that the response to a simultaneously trained CS may be modulated by its training context, but that the response to the CS does not simply vary inversely with the response potential of that context.
Tissue microarray analysis of hMSH2 expression predicts outcome in men with prostate cancer.

ABSTRACT Purpose: Mismatch repair genes are responsible for the coordinated correction of misincorporated nucleotides formed during DNA replication. Mismatch repair expression is altered in a subset of prostate cancers (PCs) and a recent study suggested that time to biochemical recurrence following prostatectomy correlated with the degree of hMSH2 immunohistochemical staining. We compared hMSH2 expression and survival in clinically organ confined PC. Materials and Methods: A prostate tissue microarray was constructed using 243 specimens from patients who underwent radical prostatectomy with extended lymph node dissection for clinically organ confined PC with up to 12 years of followup. Immunohistochemistry was performed with anti-human MSH2 monoclonal antibody. Three independent observers evaluated hMSH2 expression on a scale of 0 to 4. Low expression was defined as a score of less than 2 and high expression was defined as a score of 2 or higher. Statistical analysis used the Fisher exact test, and Goodman and Kruskal γ coefficient. Results: Higher Gleason score significantly correlated with higher hMSH2 expression (p Conclusions: hMSH2 is differentially expressed in malignant prostate tissue and hMSH2 immunohistochemical staining intensity correlates with Gleason score, overall and disease-free survival. Taken together our results suggest that hMSH2 expression may be a useful prognostic biomarker for outcome in men with clinically organ confined PC.
Tunable opto-electronic oscillator with an intracavity Fabry-Perot etalon

An optically tunable optoelectronic oscillator(OEO) scheme with 1000 finesse intracavity Fabry-Perot etalon is demonstrated at 10GHz. Optical single side band modulation is implemented and resulted in 10–20dB higher SNR than standard dual side band modulation.
The Complex of Free Factors of a Free Group

We show that the geometric realization of the partially ordered set of proper free factors in a finitely generated free group of rank n is homotopy equivalent to a wedge of spheres of dimension n− 2. §
Assessment of thermodynamic performances for distillation columns

This study uses the results of converged mass and energy balances and exergy loss profiles by the Aspen Plus simulator to assess the thermodynamic performances of existing continuous distillation columns. Distillation is highly irreversible and energy intensive process. Such an assessment identifies the level of exergy loss due to irreversibility, the avoidable part of exergy loss, and exergy efficiency. The case studies assessed are the separation sections of methanol and vinyl chloride monomer production plants, and a 15-component two-column system. These systems contain two columns in series, which separate multicomponent feeds, produce side products, and operate with integrated process heat streams. The results show considerable exergy losses mainly in and around the feed stage, condenser, and reboiler. The estimated avoidable parts of the exergy loss profiles and the total exergy losses help in identifying possible improvements.
Tumor Necrosis Factor α-induced Inflammation Is Increased but Apoptosis Is Inhibited by Common Food Additive Carrageenan *

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, a homotrimeric, pleiotropic cytokine, is secreted in response to inflammatory stimuli in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. TNF-α mediates both apoptosis and inflammation, stimulating an inflammatory cascade through the non-canonical pathway of NF-κB activation, leading to increased nuclear RelB and p52. In contrast, the common food additive carrageenan (CGN) stimulates inflammation through both the canonical and non-canonical pathways of NF-κB activation and utilizes the adaptor molecule BCL10 (B-cell leukemia/lymphoma 10). In a series of experiments, colonic epithelial cells and mouse embryonic fibroblasts were treated with TNF-α and carrageenan in order to simulate the possible effects of exposure to dietary CGN in the setting of a TNF-α-mediated inflammatory disease process. A marked increase in secretion of IL-8 occurred, attributable to synergistic effects on phosphorylated NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK) in the non-canonical pathway. TNF-α induced the ubiquitination of TRAF2 (TNF receptor-associated factor 2), which interacts with NIK, and CGN induced phosphorylation of BCL10, leading to increased NIK phosphorylation. These results suggest that TNF-α and CGN in combination act to increase NIK phosphorylation, thereby increasing activation of the non-canonical pathway of NF-κB activation. In contrast, the apoptotic effects of TNF-α, including activation of caspase-8 and PARP-1 (poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1) fragmentation, were markedly reduced in the presence of CGN, and CGN caused reduced expression of Fas. These findings demonstrate that exposure to CGN drives TNF-α-stimulated cells toward inflammation rather than toward apoptotic cell death and suggest that CGN exposure may compromise the effectiveness of anti-TNF-α therapy.
Agricultural water management in a humid region: sensitivity to climate, soil and crop parameters

Abstract A sensitivity analysis of irrigation water requirements at the regional scale was conducted for the humid southeastern United States. The GIS-based water resources and agricultural permitting and planning system (GWRAPPS), a regional scale, GIS-based, crop water requirement model, was used to simulate the effect of climate, soil, and crop parameters on crop irrigation requirements. The effects of reference evapotranspiration (ET o ) methods, available soil water holding capacities (ASWHC), crop coefficients ( K c ), and crop root zone depths ( z ) were quantified for 203 ferneries and 152 potato farms. The irrigation demand exhibited a positive relationship with K c and z , a negative relationship with ASWHC, and seasonal variations depending on the choice of ET o methods. The average irrigation demand was most sensitive to the choice of K c with a 10% shift in K c values resulting in approximately 15% change in irrigation requirements. Most ET o methods performed reasonably well in estimating annual irrigation requirements as compared to the FAO-56 PM method. However, large differences in monthly irrigation estimates were observed due to the effect of the seasonal variability exhibited by the methods. Our results suggested that the selection of ET o method is more critical when modeling irrigation requirements at a shorter temporal scale (daily or monthly) as necessary for many applications, such as daily irrigation scheduling, than at a longer temporal scale (seasonal or annual). The irrigation requirements were more sensitive to z when the resultant timing of irrigation coincided with rainfall events. When compared with the overall average of the irrigation requirements differences, the site-to-site variability was low for K c values and high for the other variables. In particular, soil properties had considerable average regional differences and variability among sites. Thus, the extrapolation of site-specific sensitivity studies may not be appropriate for the determination of regional responses crop water demand.
A diurnal rhythm in cerebrospinal fluid corticotrophin-releasing hormone different from the rhythm of pituitary-adrenal activity.

Abstract Corticotrophin-releasing hormone (CRH) appears to be involved in the pathophysiology of various neuropsychiatric illnesses. Because of the potential importance of determining CRH concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in humans and the constraints on human experimentation, we used a rhesus monkey model to study factorsaffecting CSF-CRH concentrations and the association between CRH concentrations and changes in plasma ACTH and cortisol levels. CSF-CRH concentrations followed a diurnal rhythm not closely linked to that of the anterior pituitary-adrenal system. Manipulations that increased release of pituitary ACTH did not affect CSF-CRH concentrations. Our data show that sampling time should be controlled in human CSF-CRH studies and suggest that altered CSF-CRH levels reflect dysregulation of extrahypothalamic CRH neurons.
Poster Communications from the 6th International Symposium on Hormonal Oncogenesis

The homeodomain transcription factor Nkx3.1 is an androgen-regulated protein that plays important roles in prostate development and carcinogenesis. In humans and mice, reductions in Nkx3.1 protein levels are associated with prostate tumor initiation. The primary growth defect in Nkx3.1 mutant mice is a delayed exit from the cell cycle by differentiating luminal epithelial cells, leading to epithelial hyperplasia and PIN. Recent studies have identified Nkx3.1 as a marker for a luminal epithelial castration-resistant stem cell that can function as a cell of origin for prostate cancer. A complete understanding of how Nkx3.1 functions in prostate development, stem cell renewal and tumorigenesis can only be gained by ascertaining its target genes. Here, we have used chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with massively parallel sequencing (ChIP-Seq) to identify Nkx3.1 binding sites in the genomes of a human prostate cancer cell line (LNCaP) as well as the normal mouse prostate. We obtained 7 to 15 million uniquely mapped tags each from Nkx3.1 ChIP-seq using LNCaP cells or Nkx3.1+/+, Nkx3.1+/− and Nkx3.1−/− mouse prostates. This led to the identification of about 8,000 Nkx3.1 binding sites in the genome (the Nkx3.1 cistrome). The binding site data were integrated with gene expression profiling results from Nkx3.1 mutant mice to yield a core set of “direct”Nkx3.1 target genes. Several transcription factor-binding motifs including the Nkx3.1 consensus motif were highly enriched in the Nkx3.1-bound fragments. These studies of a key prostate developmental regulator should shed light on the process of prostate tumorigenesis. [Supported by US National Cancer Institute, US Department of Defense]
Innovation A doption in an Urban Setting An Application of Downs and Mohr's Methodological Prescriptions

In 1976, George Downs and Lawrence Mohr published an article explaining the potential causes of the inconsistency of findings in innovation research. The article was widely quoted and many research...
New chemical determinations of zinc in basalts, and rocks of similar composition☆

Abstract New determinations of zinc in 124 basalts by the chemical method described ( Huff-Man et al. 1963) are reported. Average zinc values, in per cent, for basalts from diverse regions are as follows: Idaho, 28 samples, 0.013; Hawaii, 33 samples, 0.010; Connecticut, 27 samples, 0.0090; Oregon, 17 samples, 0.0081; California, 8 samples, 0.0071; and New Mexico, 11 samples, 0.0086; average, all samples, 0.0099 per cent zinc. A plot of differentiation indicator ratios calculated from the conventional rock analyses, CaO/(Na 2 O + K 2 O) as the ordinate and SiO 2 /MgO as the abscissa, was used to select, from different localities, samples essentially the same in chemical composition that were to be used for comparisons of zinc and other minor elements. Zinc correlates with MnO and with total iron as FeO. An inverse relationship found for zinc and manganese is related to the total iron content of the basalts. Thus for a given iron concentration as zinc increases, manganese decreases and vice versa. Ratios of zinc, the common denominator, to 11 other minor elements determined spectro-graphically show correlations with cobalt, gallium, scandium, yttrium, and zirconium.
A bone stain for osteoid seams in fresh, unembedded, mineralized bone.

Fresh, ground, mineralized bone sections 75-100 μ thick are stained 90 minutes or 48 hours in the Bone Stain, a preparation containing fast green FCF, orange G, basic fuchsin, and azure II. Surface stain is then removed by grinding under running water. Sections are washed in 0.1% zephiran chloride (benzalkonium chloride) or in 0.01% mild soap and again washed in tap water, followed with distilled water. Sections are next differentiated in 0.01% acetic acid in 95% methanol, dehydrated in 95% ethanol and 100% ethanol, cleared in alcohol:xylene 1:1, 1:4, 1:9 and 2 changes of xylol, and then mounted permanently in Eukitt's mounting media.Osteoid seams stain either green to jade green or red to dark red, incompletely mineralized bone red or orange yellow, and the zone of demarcation light green. The walls of lacunae, canaliculae, feathered bone, procedural artifacts and periosteocyte lacunar low-density versions stain red.The method helps in the differential diagnosis of certain metabolic bone diseases in huma...
073 Expression of Caspases 3, 9, and 14 in the Epidermis of Early Wounds

Caspases are a family of at least 14 highly conserved aspartate proteases that are the major effector arm of apoptosis or programmed cell death. Previous immunohistochemical and biochemical studies have implicated two of the family members, caspase 3 and caspase 14, as having a role in the process of epidermal terminal differentiation. Reepithelialization of epidermal defects after wounding requires coordination between signals that initiate growth and migration as well as signals that initiate differentiation. We therefore examined the expression of caspase 3, caspase 9, and caspase 14 in the epidermis of early (up to 48 hour) human wounds. Two excisional wounds were created on the inner arm using a 3 mm biopsy punch and allowed to heal via secondary intention. Wounds were excised at 24 and 48 hours using a 6 mm biopsy punch, placed in OCT, frozen, cryosectioned and immunohistochemically labeled using affinity purified antisera for caspases 3, 9 and 14. At 24 hours, the distribution of caspase 3 and caspase 9 expression was unchanged from non-wounded skin. Caspase 3 was found in the upper differentiating cells of the granular layer, while caspase 9 was expressed in scattered dendritic cells in the epidermis. At 48 hours, caspase 3 expression was lost in the epithelial tongue, while caspase 9 expression was found in keratinocytes at the tip of the migrating tongue. Caspase 14 expression at 24 hours was noted at the tip of the migrating epithelial tongue, while at 48 hours, the normal expression of caspase 14 in the granular layer was lost. These results suggest that in 48 hour wounds, loss of caspase 3 and 14 expression in the migrating epithelium reflects the activated state of this tissue. The onset of caspase 9 expression at 48 hours in the leading edge of the wound suggests a role for caspase 9 in wound remodeling, as caspase 9 is known to participate in tissue remodeling during development. Characterization of the caspases involved during wound healing may lead to future therapies utilizng caspases or caspase inhibitors in situations of poor or aberrant wound healing.