cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chimerism, Lymphocyte Recovery, and the Absence of Graft-Versus-Host Disease in Recipients of Mismatched Unrelated Combined Kidney and HSC Transplants for Tolerance Induction

Abstract 1969 Background: It has been known for over 50 years that hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) chimerism induces tolerance to transplanted tissues and cells. However, the widespread application of this approach has been constrained by graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), the need for close genetic matching between donor and recipient, and the toxicity of conditioning the recipient to establish chimerism. We have demonstrated that full donor chimerism can be established with minimal toxicity in highly-mismatched unrelated and related kidney allograft recipients through nonmyeloablative conditioning followed by infusion of a bioengineered CD8 + /TCR − facilitating cell stem cell graft (FCRx), to avoid the risk of GVHD while achieving chimerism. Methods: Twelve HLA-mismatched living donor renal transplant recipients have been entered into a phase 2 trial (IDE 13947) involving low-intensity conditioning (fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, 200 cGy TBI days −4 to −1). Patients received a living donor kidney transplant on day 0, followed by infusion of G-CSF cryopreserved FCRx on day +1. All subjects were discharged by post-operative day 3 and managed as outpatients. We herein present data regarding the immunologic recovery observed in our first 8 evaluable patients with > 6 months follow up. Results: All patients experienced an expected nadir period affecting leukocytes (ANC in vitro evidence of donor-specific hyporesponsiveness (DSH) by MLR +/− CML as early as 3 months post-transplant; of interest, DSH also was observed and persisted in the two patients who lost peripheral blood chimerism. Patients at > 1 yr post-transplant are immunocompetent to respond to mitogen (PHA), MHC-disparate third-party alloantigen, and tetanus in in vitro proliferative assays. Immunologic reconstitution in kidney + FCRx recipients was characterized by a blunted return in CD4 + T cells, with inversion of the CD4/CD8 ratio. A preferential recovery of memory (CD4 + /CD45RO + /CD62L +/− ) vs. naive (CD4 + /CD45RA + /CD62L + ) T cells was observed. Although total number of CD4 + /CD25 + /CD127 lo /FoxP3 + T reg was reduced initially, an increase in the CD4 + T reg /CD4 + Teff (CD4 + /CD45RA + /CD62L − ) ratio was seen in patients exhibiting durable chimerism. In addition, an expansion of central memory CD8 + T cells was observed in durably chimeric recipients. No patient developed donor-specific antibodies as assessed by flow cytometric analysis. The absence of GVHD correlated with in vitro hyporesponsiveness of the fully chimeric recipients against archived pre-treatment recipient APC. Conclusions: Combined kidney + FCRx recipients demonstrate characteristic immunophenotypic and functional changes associated with reconstitution following transplantation; additional studies are required to determine whether these changes are mechanistically related to the persistence of chimerism and/or prevention of GVHD. Disclosures: Ildstad: Regenerex LLC: Equity Ownership.
Firm in the Wind

I first heard Sandy Davis’ voice in 1976—fielding a call from him at the Native American national newspaper, Akwesasne Notes. That newspaper was all about communications among Native communities, and its reach was hemispheric. I was a young editor in an intense collective of Native editor-activists, including the Seneca luminary, Dr. John Mohawk. Needless to say, at a major hub of the Native revitalization and self-determination movement, much of anthropology and most of its practitioners were suspect and rejected. Well, not Sandy Davis. By the strength of his obvious sincerity, he established himself with ease. We talked at least an hour. That first call would become a conversation several decades long. Sandy was setting up the Anthropology Resource Center and winding down work on an even earlier communications effort, INDIGENA. At INDIGENA, he worked with the accomplished and highly committed Haitian Taino scholar, the late Marie Helene Laraque. Most welcome for us, Sandy had clear and current information on a broad range of cases of indigenous human rights and land rights issues. I remember it was exciting enough for me to ask John Mohawk to pick up a receiver and get into the discussion. Sandy’s was life-blood material for a newspaper like Akwesasne Notes, which, as he pointed out to us himself, had a primary audience of Native community activists and formed a growing core of journalists and academics in a broad network. “Your Native audience is the most important audience,” he would say. And he supported our efforts every way he could. That time, Sandy talked about Brazil extensively. He was working on his classic book, Victims of the Miracle (1977). It was his first major salvo to challenge standards of anthropology and other social sciences that study Native peoples. Not working theoretically but “in the practice,” he defined a basis of humanity for that work that exemplified the potentials of observation and documentation in the service of the Native communities, to be not detrimental, not bound by the limiting standard of cold objectivity, regardless of the cultural or physical insult, but presenting a model of clear documentation coupled to, again, a humanistic standard. He was not alone, but he was certainly in the vanguard of consciousness in
Developing and Sustaining a Research Agenda in Special Education Teacher Education

This article was developed from an earlier invitation to discuss what it was like to teach at a comprehensive arts and science college with a large teacher education program while also trying to conduct and publish applied research. Were there any particular tricks to getting things done that could be handed down to younger professionals working in similar circumstances? Any words of wisdom to pass along that might mitigate the challenges of not having enough time or at least make professional writing and manuscript rejection easier? Perhaps, but that would require someone of greater intellect and stature than the authors have. What the authors can share, however, are some important lessons they have learned while developing an applied research agenda in special education teacher education. The lessons reflect experiences the authors found helpful in navigating the higher education waters for the past three plus decades.
The Relationship between Intimate Partner Violence and Suicidal Ideation among Young Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese American Women

High depression and suicide rates are critical problems that have a significant impact on the lives of young Asian American women. Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a predictor of suicidality in general female samples, but no research study has examined the relationship between IPV and suicidality in a sample of 1.5 and second-generation Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese American women. We used data collected from 173 women (aged 18-35 years) who were screened for eligibility to participate in the development and efficacy study of Asian American Women's Action for Resilience and Empowerment (AWARE). We measured the prevalence of (a) IPV, (b) lifetime suicidal ideation/intent, and (c) childhood abuse and tested the association between IPV and lifetime suicidal ideation/intent among study participants who completed the clinical screening assessments. The results indicated that seven out of 10 women in our sample experienced lifetime suicidal ideation/intent, psychological aggression was the most commonly reported form of IPV during the last six months, followed by sexual coercion, and history of physical and/or sexual partner violence had the most robust association with lifetime suicidal ideation/intent after controlling for demographic factors and childhood abuse. Our study suggests that suicide prevention and intervention programs for young 1.5 and second-generation Asian American women should not only address experiences of childhood abuse, but also incorporate culturally adapted behavioral health approaches to identify and target physical and sexual partner violence. Furthermore, any such programs need to integrate a systemic approach in addressing IPV within the context of various marginalized experiences of Asian American women.
Generational Fragmentations and Christian Education

This articles advocates for the renewal of Christian education as a culturally informative, formative, and transformative ministry of the Christian church in the third millennium. It proposes an in...
Update on the electrolytic IVC model for pre-clinical studies of venous thrombosis

Background The electrolytic inferior vena cava model (EIM) is a murine venous thrombosis (VT) model that produces a non-occlusive thrombus. The thrombus forms in the direction of blood flow, as observed in patients. The EIM is valuable for investigations of therapeutics due to the presence of continuous blood flow. However, the equipment used to induce thrombosis in the original model description was expensive and has since been discontinued. Further, the fibrinolytic system had not been previously studied in the EIM. Objectives We aimed to provide an equipment alternative. Additionally, we further characterized the model through mapping the current and time dependency of thrombus resolution dynamics, and investigated the fibrinolytic system from acute to chronic VT. Results A voltage to current converter powered by a direct current power supply was constructed and validated, providing an added benefit of significantly reducing costs. The current and time dependency of thrombus volume dynamics was assessed by MRI, demonstrating the flexibility of the EIM to investigate both pro-thrombotic and anti-thrombotic conditions. Additionally, the fibrinolytic system was characterized in EIM. Centripetal distribution of plasminogen was observed over time, with peak staining at day 6 post thrombus induction. Both active circulating plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and vein wall gene expression of PAI-1 peaked at day 2, coinciding with a relative decrease in tissue plasminogen activator and urokinase plasminogen activator. Conclusions The EIM is a valuable model of VT that can now be performed at low cost and may be beneficial in investigations of the fibrinolytic system.
Considering the Role of the Arts and Aesthetics Within Maker-Centered Learning

Throughout the past decade, the maker movement has become a cultural force, and maker-centered learning has grown in popularity. At the same time, the arts have remained marginalized throughout the...
Relaxation times for chiral transport phenomena and spin polarization in a strongly coupled plasma

We compute the dynamical relaxation times for chiral transport phenomena in a strongly coupled regime using the AdS/CFT correspondence. These relaxation times can be a useful proxy for the dynamical timescale for achieving equilibrium spin polarization of quasiparticles in the presence of a magnetic field and fluid vorticity. We identify the Kubo relations for these relaxation times and clarify some previous issues regarding time dependence of the chiral vortical effect. We study the consequences of imposing time-reversal invariance on parity-odd thermal noise fluctuations that are related to chiral transport coefficients by the fluctuation-dissipation relation. We find that time-reversal invariance dictates the equality between some of the chiral transport coefficients as well as their relaxation times.
The Production of Hydroxyl and Semiquinone Free Radicals During the Autoxidation of Redox Active Flavonoids

Catechols and other polyphenolic compounds have been shown to autoxidize and generate reactive oxygen species. A few examples of such compounds include epinephrine, 6-hydroxydopamine,2 and pyrogallol.3 We have previously reported that members of a class of polyphenolics, the flavonoids (Figure 1), behave in a similar manner. In particular four flavonoids, myricetin (3,5,7,3’,4’,5’-hexahydroxyflavone), quercetagetin (3,5,6,7,3’,4’-hexahydroxyflavone), delphinidin chloride (3,5,7,3’,4’,5’-hexahydroxyflavylium chloride) and quercetin 3,5,7,3’4’-pentahydroxy-flavone) induce cyanide-insensitive respiration in isolated beef heart mitochondrial preparations. Additionally, these compounds autoxidize in aqueous solutions at pH 7.5, as determined by measuring oxygen consumption and oxygen-dependent spectral changes. It was demonstrated that both the respiratory bursts and the autoxidation result in the production of superoxide (O2‒) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).4
Testosterone therapy in men with localized prostate cancer.

One of the major clinical dilemmas facing urologists who see patients with prostate cancer is what to do with them after they become hypogonadal, either biochemically or symptomatically. It is known that as men age, the incidence of hypogonadism increases at the same time that the incidence of prostate cancer increases. Ever since Huggins and Hodges showed the link between testosterone and prostate cancer more than 6 decades ago,1 it is considered verboten to treat anyone who has a diagnosis of prostate cancer with exogenous testosterone, regardless of whether or not they are hypogonadal. Indeed, all forms of testosterone carry such a warning label, and there have been very few reports attesting to the fact that treatment of men who have localized prostate cancer with exogenous testosterone causes a flare of the cancer. This is in contradistinction to men who have metastatic disease where the treatment with LHRH agonists can cause such a flare, which is presumed to be due to the transient elevation of the serum testosterone right after initiation of LHRH agonist treatment.
Fluid production rate during the regional metamorphism of a pelitic schist

Phase equilibria modeling of the pressure–temperature (P–T) path of regional metamorphism and associated fluid expulsion, combined with constraints on the timescale of garnet growth by Sm–Nd geochronology, elucidates the fluid production rate and fluid flux during Barrovian metamorphism of pelitic rocks from Townshend Dam, VT, USA. This modeling builds on a published companion study that utilized Sm–Nd geochronology of concentric growth zones in multiple garnet grains, to constrain the duration of garnet growth in a large sample of schist at Townshend Dam to 3.8 ± 2.2 million years (Gatewood et al., Chem Geol 401:151–168, 2015). P–T pseudosections combined with observed mineral compositions constrain garnet growth conditions, and were utilized to construct P–T path-dependent thermodynamic forward models. These models determine that garnet growth was initiated at ~ 0.6 GPa and ~ 525 °C, with a roughly linear loading and heating P–T trajectory to > 0.8 GPa and ~ 610 °C. Loading and heating rates of 2.4 km·Myear−1 (with a range of 1.6 to 5.8 km·million year−1) and 23 °C·million year−1 (with a range of 14 to 54 °C·million year−1), respectively, are consistent with model estimates and chronologic constraints for tectono-metamorphic rates during orogenesis. Phase equilibria modeling also constrains the amount of water release during garnet growth to be ~ 0.7 wt% (or > 2 vol%), largely resulting from the complete consumption of chlorite. Coupling this estimate with calculated garnet growth durations provides a fluid production rate of 5.2 kg·m−3·million year−1 (with a range of 3.2 to 12.2 kg·m−3·million year−1) and when integrated over the overlying crustal column, a regional-scale fluid flux of 0.07–0.37 kg·m−2·million year−1. This range of values is consistent with those derived by numerical models and theory for regional-scale, pervasive fluid flow. This study signifies the first derivation of a fluid production rate and fluid flux in regional metamorphism using a direct chronology of water-producing (garnet-forming) reactions and can provide a framework for future studies on elucidating the nature and timescales of fluid release.
Teaching strategies, their use and effectiveness as perceived by teachers of agriculture: A national study

The primary purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of agricultural education teachers in the United States of America regarding selected principles of teaching and learning, the current use of selected instructional methods and tools and their effectiveness. A secondary purpose was to determine the relationship between the selected variables and to develop a model for guiding successful use of selected teaching and learning strategies in secondary agricultural education programs. Teachers responding to the questionnaire rated most of the principles of teaching/learning fairly high on the scale. The highest rated principles were "individual differences exist among students," "Importance of feedback for student learning," "Importance of teaching strategy," and "Using a variety of evaluation procedures." The lowest rated principles were "a student's grades should be based on what the student has learned," and "the student's learning style is related to the teacher's teaching style," and "directed learning is more effective than undirected learning." The methods and tools used most by teachers included demonstrations, discussions, laboratories, projects, contests, using real objects and supervised experience. The most effective teaching methods and tools included using laboratories, demonstrations, contests, using real objects, discussion and supervised experience. Teacher characteristics influencing the use of selected to perceive of the selected teaching methods included the number of courses taken focusing on teaching and learning, length of teaching contract, school location, school size, academic background and gender. The number of
Cultural Differences and the Construction of Meaning: Implications for the Leadership and Organizational Contexts of Schools.

The relationships between student achievement, student culture and practitioners' attitudes and expectations were investigated. Student achievement was defined as academic performance but also included perceptions, rationales and explanations for student behaviors and conduct. Student culture described student's Mexican American origins, customs and beliefs. Practitioners' attitudes described how middle school personnel perceived Mexican American high and underachieving students generally, and practitioners' expectations described how personnel interacted and behaved toward Mexican American students. Results indicated that Mexican American students perceived themselves and school personnel perceived these students as different from Anglo students. Mexican American cultural traditions were also perceived as inferior and disadvantageous by high achieving Mexican American students and by personnel. Underachieving Mexican American students generally valued their cultural traditions more positively than high achieving students becoming resistant to learning when these traditions were marginalized in school. Student achievement was also related to student compliance, student appearance, styles in written and verbal communication and practitioners' perceptions about the willingness of Mexican American students to practice and support Anglo norms. These findings are congruent with theories that discuss relationships between student achievement, student culture and practitioners' attitudes and expectations. Theories about school failure occurring less frequently in minority groups that are positively oriented toward their own and the dominant culture were contradicted and not supported in this research.
Looking Back: 10 Years After “the Station” Nightclub Fire, West Warwick, Rhode Island

This 2003 disaster was an early test for forensic archaeology. The fire led to 100 deaths, over 200 serious injuries due to burns, 3 criminal indictments, and 46 civil suits (later consolidated into 27) – the largest number in the history of the state arising from a single case. The criminal sentences are completed, and the last civil suits were settled in late 2012. This is the first time it is possible to discuss specific archaeological evidence openly and consider the impact of forensic archaeology in this case. This paper explores some of the theoretical as well as practical implications of “the Station” nightclub case. One lesson learned from this experience was that archaeology is most effective in the initial phase of the court proceedings, when testimony is first presented and lawyers on both sides can review the physical evidence in detail. Examples of this evidence and how it was handled are presented in this paper.
Concomitant Custom-Fitted Temporomandibular Joint Reconstruction and Orthognathic Surgery

This chapter presents the diagnostic criteria, treatment planning, and surgical protocols for the application of computer-assisted surgical simulation (CASS) for patients requiring TMJ total joint replacement and orthognathic surgery (C-TJR-OS). The CASS protocol decreases the preoperative workup time and increases the accuracy of model preparation and subsequent surgery.
A Randomized Controlled Trial on the Wild Wild West of Scientific Computing with Student Learners

Scientific computing has become an area of growing importance. Across fields such as biology, education, physics, or others, people are increasingly using scientific computing to model and understand the world around them. Despite the clear need, almost no systematic analysis has been conducted on how students in fields outside of computer science learn to program in the context of scientific computing. Given that many fields do not explicitly teach much programming to their students, they may have to learn this important skill on their own. To help, using rigorous quantitative and qualitative methods, we looked at the process 154 students followed in the context of a randomized controlled trial on alternative styles of programming that can be used in R. Our results suggest that the barriers students face in scientific computing are non-trivial and this work has two core implications: 1) students learning scientific computing on their own struggle significantly in many different ways, even if they have had prior programming training, and 2) the design of the current generation of scientific computing feels like the wild-wild west and the designs can be improved in ways we will enumerate.
Can Authorship be Denied for Contract Work

Ethical considerations arise when individuals who were contracted and paid to conduct a research study and write it up for publication, are denied authorship on a scholarly publication on the grounds that their work was contracted and paid for. Each of the various stakeholders should be considered. Researchers need to make sure that the contract recognizes their intellectual contribution and their right to be named as authors if and when the contracted study is published. If authorship disputes of published works arise, journal editors should have mechanisms in place for addressing such disputes. They should be able to see the contract and have all disputing parties agree to any changes in authorship. If the dispute cannot be resolved, the manuscript should be retracted. Contractors should develop a publication plan and include in the contract stipulations ensuring transparent and unambiguous authorship on any publication ensuing from contracted work. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and the Committee for Publication Ethics should update their guidance for authors to include advice regarding researchers involved in contracted work and how to resolve an authorship disputes around it.
Segmental venous replacement: A comparison of biological and synthetic substitutes

Subhepatic replacement of the inferior vena cava was performed in 38 dogs with lyophilized venous homografts, autogenous fibrocollagenous tubes, and expanded polytetrafluorethyl (Gore-Tex) grafts. Only Gore-Tex, with an 83 per cent patency rate, proved to be a satisfactory venous substitute, future modifications of this material may further enhance this graft's thromboresistance.
Framework for Converting Mechanistic Network Models to Probabilistic Models

There are two prominent paradigms to the modeling of networks: in the first, referred to as the mechanistic approach, one specifies a set of domain-specific mechanistic rules that are used to grow or evolve the network over time; in the second, referred to as the probabilistic approach, one describes a model that specifies the likelihood of observing a given network. Mechanistic models are scalable and, in select cases, allow for analytical solutions for some of their properties, whereas probabilistic models have inferential tools available. Mechanistic models are appealing because they capture scientific processes that are hypothesized to be responsible for network generation. We introduce a generic framework for converting a mechanistic network model to a probabilistic network model. The proposed framework makes it possible to identify the essential network properties and their joint probability distribution for mechanistic network models, which enables addressing questions such as whether two mechanistic models generate networks with identical distributions of properties of interest, or whether a network property, such as clustering, is over- or under- represented in the generated networks compared to a reference model. The proposed framework is intended to bridge some of the gap that currently exists between mechanistic and probabilistic network models.
Effect of assembly construction on the wind induced pressure of membrane roofs

Abstract In North America over 60% of low slope buildings are roofed with membranes, and the market survey indicates that there is continuous growth in such roof assemblies. To the best knowledge of the authors, there is no in-situ measured data from such roofs. The National Research Council of Canada (NRCC), in collaboration with the Special Interest Group on Dynamic Evaluation of Roofing Systems (SIGDERS) consortium, has undertaken an in-situ monitoring program with the goal of providing valuable data to benchmark the current code provisions, as well as providing supporting data for existing wind uplift test methods to determine roof cladding resistance. This paper presents in-situ data of two most common commercial roof systems: mechanically attached roof system (MARS) and partially adhered roof system (PARS) and provides side-by-side comparison (partially refers to a system with and adhered membrane over some components that are mechanically attached). In order to provide more detail and controllable measurements, MARS and PARS mock-ups were evaluated at the open flow NHERI Wall of Wind (WOW) Experimental Facility (EF) at Florida International University (FIU). The investigations included visual observations (video) and pressure measurements at different roof locations in various wind directions and wind speeds. The visual observations confirmed that, due to construction characteristic, the membrane of the MARS deforms (balloons) under wind suction. The field and WOW pressure measurements revealed that the MARS generates systematic lower peaks pressure in comparison with the PARS. Data from field showed that the average reduction of the MARS is in the order of 20% in comparison to the PARS at locations close to the leading edge when wind is NW and WNW (close to normal). The WOW results showed that the pressure reduction of the MARS is in average 16% in comparison to the PARS when wind is W (normal), and the reduction would decrease to 12% when considering the worst case among all the wind directions tested in the lab.
A Comparison of Inertial Motion Capture Systems: DorsaVi and Xsens

Background: dorsaVi Professional Suite, founded in 2018, is a 3D wearable sensor technology system that monitors the kinematic data of the lower extremity and lumbar spine. The dorsaVi system is used in the clinical setting to assist with clinical rehabilitation and preventive measures. Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the inertial motion capture systems: the dorsaVi Professional Suite and Xsens to determine validity and reliability. Methods: This study utilized nine participants (7 female, 2 male) with data collected on two separate sessions. Each subject performed 15 repetitions each of double leg squats, left single leg squat, and right single leg squat during session one and then repeated the same testing procedure 7-10 days later. Kinematic variables measured were tibial inclination, knee varus, and knee valgus. Pearson product moment correlation coefficients were used to demonstrate the relationship within and between the motion capture systems across the knee positions and squat trials. Results: Within system reliability measurements demonstrated strong correlations (r>0.90) of the lower extremity kinematic data between testing sessions. Between system validity measurements also demonstrated strong correlations (r>0.90) across all lower extremity movements. Conclusions: The dorsaVi Professional Suite knee module kinematic data showed strong correlations to the validated motion capture system (Xsens). Thus, a clinician should be confident in using the dorsaVi in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of patients.
Respiratory complex I: Bottleneck at the entrance of quinone site requires conformational change for its opening.

Abstract The structure of the entire respiratory complex I is now known at reasonably high resolution for many species – bacteria, yeast, and several mammals, including human. The structure reveals an almost 30 angstrom tunnel-like chamber for ubiquinone binding in the core part of the enzyme, at the joint between the membrane and hydrophilic arms of the enzyme. Here we characterize the geometric bottleneck forming the entrance of the quinone reaction chamber. Computer simulations of quinone/quinol passage through the bottleneck suggest that in all structures available, from bacterial to human, this bottleneck is too narrow for the quinone or quinol to pass and that a conformational change is required to open the channel. Moreover, the bottleneck is too narrow even for isoprenoid tail free passage. The closed structure can be an artifact of the crystallization packing forces, low temperature, or other unnatural conditions occurring in the structural data acquisition procedure that affect this flexible part of the enzyme. Two of the helices forming the bottleneck are in direct contact with the subunit (ND3) that was recently demonstrated to be involved in conformational changes during the redox proton pumping cycle, which indicates flexibility of that part of the enzyme. We conclude that the published structures are all locked in the unfunctional states and do not represent correctly the functional enzyme; we discuss possible ways to open the structure in the context of possible mechanisms of the enzyme.
Experiences Teaching a Large Upper-Division Data Science Course Remotely

This summer, we introduced a number of structural changes to an existing upper-division data science course to optimize it for remote instruction. With hundreds of students situated in various time zones, a purely synchronous model was not feasible. Our course included a menu of synchronous and asynchronous activities, allowing students to consume content in the way they found most convenient and desirable. We presented lectures asynchronously as a series of short prerecorded videos with conceptual questions following each video. We used the results of these conceptual questions to gauge students' preliminary understanding of the material and to identify common misconceptions. Each week ended with a single synchronous lecture recap session that clarified these misconceptions and provided a summary of the week's material. To supplement lecture content, we offered both prerecorded and live discussion sections, as well as live lab sections. Weekly surveys allowed us to adapt our course to address student concerns in real time. Given the online nature of the course, we were able to depart from the orthodox paper-only exam format used by most courses at our institution. Instead, we held each of our three exams in a format optimized for its respective content. One midterm used a web tool that allowed for both multiple choice and free-response coding questions. The other midterm was on paper and required students to scan their exams. The final exam was a hybrid of the two formats. In this experience report, we present the motivation, implementation details, and effectiveness of these changes.
F-18 FDG-PET/CT to detect axillary node metastases in patients with large breast tumors and lymphovascular invasion

1645 Objectives: Axillary lymph node metastases are the most important prognostic factor in patients with early stage breast cancers. It has been suggested that FDG-PET/CT has limited ability to detect small-volume axillary-disease and it should be reserved for patients with a large tumor and/or palpable axillary node(s) at presentation. The purpose of this study was to determine if FDG-PET/CT is accurate and sensitive in the detection of axillary node metastases in patients with large breast tumors and lymphovascular invasion. Methods: The sensitivity and accuracy of FDG-PET/CT were determined in 18 consecutive patients with early-stage breast cancers who had subsequent staging of their axilla by sentinel lymph node scintigraphy and axillary lymph node dissection. Thirteen had sentinel lymph node scintigraphy. The results for all patients n=18 (Group-I); patients with lymphovascular invasion of the tumor n=11 (Group-II); and patients with a tumor size greater than 3.0 cm n=8 (Group-III) were compared and statistically analyzed. Results: The positive predictive value, negative predictive value, accuracy and sensitivities for FDG-PET/CT were: 100%, 63%, 89%, and 82% for Group-I; 71%, 66%, 69%, and 71% for Group-II; 100%, 33%, 75% and 71% for Group-III respectively. In group-III, 2 out of 4 patients had positive PET/CT with high FDG uptake in their metastatic axillary lymph nodes. However, no lymph nodes were visualized on their sentinel lymph node scintigraphy. One of the other 2 patients in group-III with visualization of the axillary lymph node by lymphoscintigraphy and a positive FDG PET/CT had a metastasis in this node, while the other patient did not. There was no false positivities or false negativites in seven patients with breast tumor sizes smaller than 3.0 cm and no lymphovascular invasion. The mean values of SUV-mean for the breast tumor / axillary lymph nodes were; Group-I: 5/3, Group-II: 4/2, and Group-III: 8/2. These values could not be statistically analyzed due to the small size of the cohort. Conclusions: The sensitivity and accuracy of FDG-PET/CT to detect axillary-disease in early-stage breast cancer are modest. In this small cohort of patients no superiority of FDG PET/CT could be demonstrated in patients with large breast tumors and lymphovascular invasion over the patients with early-stage breast cancer. However, FDG PET/CT might be a useful adjunct to sentinel lymph node scintigraphy when there is non-visualization of axillary lymph nodes with lymphoscintigraphy, which might be due to tumor invasion. Additional large cohort studies are warranted to confirm this conclusion.
Association of painful human immunodeficiency virus distal sensory polyneuropathy with aberrant expectation of pain relief: functional magnetic resonance imaging evidence.

Mechanisms underlying chronic neuropathic pain associated with HIV-associated distal sensory polyneuropathy are poorly understood, yet 40% of those with distal neuropathy (or 20% of all people with HIV) suffer from this debilitating condition. Central pain processing mechanisms are thought to contribute to the development of HIV neuropathic pain, yet studies investigating central mechanisms for HIV neuropathic pain are few. Considering the motivational nature of pain, we aimed to examine the degree to which expectation of pain onset and expectation of pain offset are altered in sixty-one male patients with HIV-related distal sensory polyneuropathy with (N = 30) and without (N = 31) chronic neuropathic pain. By contrasting painful (foot) and non-painful (hand) sites between those with and without neuropathic pain, we could identify unique neural structures that showed altered activation during expectation of pain offset or relief. Our results showed no evidence for peripheral mechanisms evidenced by lack of significant between group differences in thermo-sensation, subjective pain response or epidermal nerve fibre density. Likewise, we found no significant differences between groups in subjective or brain mechanisms underlying the expectation of pain onset. Conversely, we found significant interaction within right anterior insula during expectation of pain offset in our study in that individuals in the pain group compared to the no-pain group exhibited increased anterior insula activation on the painful compared to the non-painful site. Our findings are consistent with abnormal processing of expectation of pain offset or abnormal pain relief-related mechanisms potentially due to increased emotional distress regarding the experience of chronic endogenous pain.
Self love and Christian ethics

1. The contemporary problem of self love 2. Self love in Christian ethics 3. A hermeneutical account of self-relation 4. Right self love 5. Self love and moral action 6. Self love, religion and morality.
Effects of COD:sulfate ratio on sulfate removal from oil shale retort water using microbial fuel cells.

This paper reports the effects of COD:sulfate ratio on sulfate removal and electricity generation from oil shale retort water treatment using microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Field-collected retort water was augmented with organics to obtain a range of initial COD:SO42- ratios (0.5:1 to 2:1), and treated in two different MFC designs (tubular and two-chambered). The two-chambered MFCs exhibited COD and sulfate removal 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher than those of the tubular MFCs. The tubular MFCs did not exhibit a significant dependence of sulfate removal on the COD:SO42- ratio while the two-chambered MFCs showed a positive trend. The tubular MFCs generated a maximum power density of 19 mW/m2 (COD:SO42-= 1.5:1), and the two-chambered MFCs produced 120 mW/m2 (2:1). The results suggest that organic carbon loading to the MFCs should be determined based on the sulfate concentration and reactor design to achieve optimal sulfate removal and electric power output.
A partially regressed, atrophic plaque on a 17-year-old girl: An unusual presentation of myofibromatosis

Solitary cutaneous myofibromas have been reported in patients of all ages. Infantile and adult forms are distinguished by age of onset, location of lesions, and the potential for infantile myofibromas to regress. We report a case of a 17-year-old girl with a solitary myofibroma on the right leg that presented as a partially regressed, atrophic plaque with multiple surrounding papules. Unusual features of this case include the tumor size, simultaneous regression and proliferation, patient age, and gender.
Price-earnings regressions in the presence of prices leading earnings

Abstract The paper analytically evaluates alternative specifications of price-earnings regressions when prices lead earnings, i.e., reflect information about future earnings that is not reflected in the past time series of earnings. Because prices lead earnings, the specification using the earnings-level-deflated-by-price variable in a price-earnings regression is ‘better’, in terms of bias in the estimated earnings response coefficient and explanatory power, than specifications using earnings-change-deflated-by-price and earnings-deflated-by-lagged-earnings variables. An accurate proxy for unexpected earnings, however, outperforms the earnings-level- and earnings-change-deflated-by-price specifications.
Using antisense technology to study mitosis.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the application of antisense techniques for the study of cell division in tissue culture systems. The chapter presents useful guidelines for the practical and cost-effective use of antisense reagents in the small lab as a complimentary technique for the functional analysis of specific gene products. The application of antisense reagents to the study of mitosis is technically simple but the mechanism by which these reagents operate is exceedingly complex and variable. Antisense reagents interfere with the transcriptional and translational regulation of gene expression and antisense reagents in the cytoplasm can inhibit gene expression at the level of translation. Antisense-induced protein depletion has been successfully employed to identify redundant functions for mitotic proteins in vivo. Both methoxyethylphosphoramidate and phosphorothioate end-capped linkages were used to synthesize oligos against Xklp1 and a centrosomal kinesin-related protein Xklp2. Antisense-induced depletion has also been used to confirm the nonmitotic function of a mitotic midzone motor CHO1/MKLP1.
Case of a 29-year-old nurse with factitious disorder: The utility of psychiatric intervention on a general medical floor

A 29-year-old nurse was treated for septic arthritis of the knee. She was suspected of producing this infection and others. The consultation-liaison team intervened early, and the patient was treated in individual outpatient psychotherapy for 1 year. Her course was complicated by criminal behavior and a suicide attempt, prompting relocation to her home town. The patient demonstrated a strong need to be nurtured, as noted in other cases of factitious disorders. An overview of factitious disorders is presented, and guidelines for managing these difficult patients in the hospital are provided.
Mixed-Norm Spaces and Prediction of SαS Moving Averages

Suppose that is an i.i.d. symmetric α-stable noise, 1 < α < 2, and consider the moving average process given by . Conditions are obtained for the convergence rate of the moving average series, as well as that of the inverted (autoregressive) representation . These conditions are expressed in terms of the associated function and its reciprocal belonging to certain mixed-norm spaces of functions on the open unit disc. Properties of these spaces are explored. Criteria are also derived for the rate of mixing in a certain sense.
Comparison of the Molecular Weight Distribution of Gelatin Fractions by Size-exclusion Chromatography and Light Scattering

Commercial gelatin is a heterogeneous proteinaceous product with a broad range of molecular weights. The use of gelatin to prepare insoluble nanoparticles depends largely on the presence of high molecular weight fractions that can be separated by size-exclusion chromatography. The purpose of this study was to determine the molecular fractions of gelatins from three commercial types (B225, B60 and A60), measure their molecular weight and compare these with data obtained from an absolute light scattering method. The mean molecular weight of the gelatins decreased in the order B225 > B60 > A60. All samples were polydisperse, with fractions varying from 2 MDa. Each sample was divided into eight fractions based on the molecular weight distribution and using a paired t-test the two methods were shown to be in substantial agreement. The light scattering method would appear to provide an absolute quality control procedure for commercial gelatin, depending on its application and requirements.
The NYU Ultracomputer—designing a MIMD, shared-memory parallel machine (Extended Abstract)

We present the design for the NYU Ultracomputer, a shared-memory MIMD parallel machine composed of thousands of autonomous processing elements. This machine uses an enhanced message switching network with the geometry of an Omega-network to approximate the ideal behavior of Schwartz's paracomputer model of computation and to implement efficiently the important fetch-and-add synchronization primitive. We outline the hardware that would be required to build a 4096 processor system using 1990's technology. We also discuss system software issues, and present analytic studies of the network performance. Finally, we include a sample of our effort to implement and simulate parallel variants of important scientific programs.
Time course of the effects of naturally occurring cannabinoids on morphine abstinence syndrome.

The effects of a single intraperitoneal injection (10 mg/kg) of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol, Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol and 11-hydroxy-Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol on abstinence syndrome were investigated in mice rendered dependent on morphine by pellet implantation. In morphine dependent mice from which the pellets had been removed, δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol inhibited the naloxone-precipitated jumping response as evidenced by an increase in the ED5 0 of naloxone. This inhibition was evident for 24 hr, the most pronounced effect being produced between two to four hr after Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol administration. Withdrawal defecation was also inhibited for two hours. Similarly, in mice from which pellets were not removed, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol suppressed the jumping response; however, the intensity of effect was less than when the pellets were removed. Δ8-Tetrahydrocannabinol and 11-hydroxy-Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol were not effective in suppressing morphine abstinence syndrome two hr following their administration. The suppression of jumping response was specific, since, the vertical jumping behavior induced by coadministration of amphetamine and l-dopa was not affected by cannabinoids. These results demonstrate that single injection of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol is effective in controlling morphine abstinence syndrome for 24 hr, and that the drugs related to cannabinoids may show promise in narcotic detoxification.
Determination of the aqueous‐phase structure of 6‐O‐methylerythromycin from NMR constraints

The three-dimensional structure of the antibiotic 6-O-methylerythromycin in water was determined via constrained molecular mechanics using constraints derived from NMR spectra. The NMR structure is compared with its crystal structure and the structures of other derivatives of erythromycin. Distance constraints were obtained from NOESY, ROESY and GOESY spectra and torsional constraints from proton–proton and proton–carbon vicinal coupling constants. The modeling calculations employed Version 6.5 of SYBYL and the 1994 release of the Merck Molecular Force Field. The three-dimensional structure is defined by four structures that minimize the energy and satisfy all the experimental NMR data. It has the following characteristics: the macrolide ring adopts a folded-out conformation, the cladinose and desosamine rings adopt chair conformations, the cladinose ring is parallel to the plane of the macrolide ring and the desosamine ring is perpendicular to the macrolide ring. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Long-term airway space changes after mandibular setback using bilateral sagittal split osteotomy

Eleven patients were evaluated retrospectively for their long-term changes in hypopharyngeal airway space after surgical correction of mandibular hyperplasia. All patients had undergone mandibular setbacks by way of bilateral sagittal split osteotomies using rigid fixation. The cephalometric evaluation of hypopharyngeal airway space was based on stable craniofacial landmarks. The results of this study indicate that mandibular setback procedures create relative narrowing of the hypopharyngeal airway space, as seen on lateral cephalometric radiographs, which in isolated cases might contribute to the development of an obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. The 2-dimensional evaluation of hypopharyngeal airway space and the clinical implications of the results are discussed.