cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Recommendations for Specimen and Therapy Selection in Colorectal Cancer

Next-generation sequencing has emerged as a clinical tool for the identification of actionable mutations to triage advanced colorectal cancer patients for targeted therapies. The literature is conflicted as to whether primaries or their metastases should be selected for sequencing. Some authors suggest that either site may be sequenced, whereas others recommend sequencing the primary, the metastasis, or even both tumors. Here, we address this issue head on with a meta-analysis and provide for the first time a set of sensible recommendations to make this determination. From our own series, we include 43 tumors from 13 patients including 14 primaries, 10 regional lymph node metastases, 17 distant metastases, and two anastomotic recurrences sequenced using the 50 gene Ion AmpliSeq cancer NGS panel v2. Based on our new cohort and a meta-analysis, we found that ~ 77% of patient-matched primary-metastatic pairs have identical alterations in these 50 cancer-associated genes. Low tumor cellularity, tumor heterogeneity, clonal evolution, treatment status, sample quality, and/or size of the sequencing panel accounted for a proportion of the differential detection of mutations at primary and metastatic sites. The therapeutic implications of the most frequently discordant alterations (TP53, APC, PIK3CA, and SMAD4) are discussed. Our meta-analysis indicates that a subset of patients who fail initial therapy may benefit from sequencing of additional sites to identify new actionable genomic abnormalities not present in the initial analysis. Evidence-based recommendations are proposed.
Constraining the false positive rate for Kepler planet candidates with multicolour photometry from the GTC

Using the Optical System for Imaging and low Resolution Integrated Spectroscopy (OSIRIS) instrument installed on the 10.4-m Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC), we acquired multicolour transit photometry of four small () short-period (P ≲ 6 d) planet candidates recently identified by the Kepler space mission. These observations are part of a programme to constrain the false positive rate for small, short-period Kepler planet candidates. Since planetary transits should be largely achromatic when observed at different wavelengths (excluding the small colour changes due to stellar limb darkening), we use the observed transit colour to identify candidates as either false positives (e.g. a blend with a stellar eclipsing binary either in the background/foreground or bound to the target star) or validated planets. Our results include the identification of KOI 225.01 and KOI 1187.01 as false positives and the tentative validation of KOI 420.01 and KOI 526.01 as planets. The probability of identifying two false positives out of a sample of four targets is less than 1 per cent, assuming an overall false positive rate for Kepler planet candidates of 10 per cent (as estimated by Morton & Johnson). Therefore, these results suggest a higher false positive rate for the small, short-period Kepler planet candidates than has been theoretically predicted by other studies which consider the Kepler planet candidate sample as a whole. Furthermore, our results are consistent with a recent Doppler study of short-period giant Kepler planet candidates. We also investigate how the false positive rate for our sample varies with different planetary and stellar properties. Our results suggest that the false positive rate varies significantly with orbital period and is largest at the shortest orbital periods (P < 3 d), where there is a corresponding rise in the number of detached eclipsing binary stars (i.e. systems that can easily mimic planetary transits) that have been discovered by Kepler. However, we do not find significant correlations between the false positive rate and other planetary or stellar properties. Our sample size is not yet large enough to determine if orbital period plays the largest role in determining the false positive rate, but we discuss plans for future observations of additional Kepler candidates and compare our programme focusing on relatively faint Kepler targets from the GTC with follow-up of Kepler targets that has been done with warm-Spitzer.
The Experimental Effect of Parent Versus Peer Influence on Children's Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior.

Purpose To assess children's physical activity, sedentary behavior, liking, and motivation during 3 separate simulated recess conditions: playing alone, with their parent participating, and with their peer participating. Methods Children participated in the 3 separate conditions. During each condition, the children had access to an outdoor playground and sedentary activity options for 30 minutes. Accelerometry recorded the physical activity. Time allocated to sedentary options was monitored via a stopwatch. A visual analog scale was used to assess liking, and motivation was assessed as the children's willingness to participate in an additional 10 minutes of each condition. Results The children sat 88% less and were 33% more physically active with their peer versus playing alone. The children also sat 65% less during the parent condition than alone. Lastly, the children reported ≥34% liking and were ≥2-fold more likely to participate in the additional 10-minute activity bout during the parent and peer conditions than alone. The differences were significant (P ≤ .05) except for the children's decision to participate in the additional 10 minutes in the parent versus the alone condition (P = .058). Conclusions Relative to the alone condition, the presence of a peer or parent reduced sedentary behavior and increased liking and the motivation to participate in that condition. However, only the presence of a peer increased physical activity versus alone.
Analysis of Network Protocols for Secure Communication

In the age of constantly evolving technology, network communication has become more critical than ever. Along with this, the need for secure channels for edge communication is undeniable. Two traits of the quality of desirable network protocols are security and reliability. However, these protocols have associated risks. In this work, we provide an in-depth analysis of dominant network protocols on which the new communication protocols (e.g., CoAP, XMPP, AMQP, etc.) of the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem heavily relies on.
Climate change as an event

Abstract What kind of event is climate change? Theories of events inevitably begin with rupture. An event depends on the experience that the ground has dramatically shifted. Yet the ambiguity of rupture in climate change—which cannot be experienced in any one instance—makes climate change more difficult to emplot. Moreover, it is an event defined as much by how actors see the future unfolding as by its present or past. Tying the theory of events with that of future-making, we focus on three important forms of eventfulness that we find in the current climate change debate: scientific modes of eventfulness, the radical eventfulness of groups such as Extinction Rebellion, and what we call the “sensible” eventfulness of European Union and United Nations functionaries, as it is gleaned from climate change documents such as the European Green Deal. As we show, each form of eventfulness constructs a different temporal landscape, populated by different actors and actions, entailing different stances towards the future and different kinds of projects. Focusing on the tensions within each form, we then show that understanding these forms of eventfulness can also help us understand how different actors fused climate change to other events, such as that of the global Covid-19 epidemic.
Management of gastric intestinal metaplasia in patients undergoing routine endoscopy before bariatric surgery

Routine preoperative endoscopic evaluation for bariatric surgery is controversial; however, for patients undergoing endoscopy, some findings may alter surgical management. Gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM) is found in up to 11.7% of the general population. When associated with determined risk factors, GIM has a risk of progressing to gastric cancer. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of GIM and possible associated factors in those undergoing bariatric surgery. We performed a retrospective chart review of patients who underwent primary sleeve gastrectomy or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass at our institution between January 1, 2016 and June 30, 2020. Baseline characteristics and preoperative endoscopic findings were obtained from all patients. Histopathologic analysis of sleeve gastrectomy specimens was reviewed. We identified 753 patients. Mean (SD) age and body mass index were 49.0 (13.1) years and 43.9 (7.1) kg/m2, respectively. Procedures consisted of 411 (54.6%) gastric bypasses and 342 (45.4%) sleeve gastrectomies. Esophagitis and Barrett esophagus were found in 18.1% and 5.0% of patients, respectively. Preoperative gastric biopsy identified Helicobacter pylori in 6.4% and GIM in 2.7%. Regression analysis found an association of Barrett esophagus (odds ratio 4.60; 95% CI 1.25–16.82) and age ≥ 60 years (odds ratio 2.67; 95% CI 1.04–6.90) with preoperative findings of GIM. Histopathologic analysis of sleeve gastrectomy specimens identified H. pylori in 1.8% and GIM in 0.9%. Older age and Barrett esophagus were associated with GIM in preoperative gastric biopsy. This association emphasizes the importance of a diligent examination during preoperative endoscopy.
Wideband and Entropy-Aware Deep Soft Bit Quantization

Deep learning has been recently applied to physical layer processing in digital communication systems in order to improve end-to-end performance. In this work, we introduce a novel deep learning solution for soft bit quantization across wideband channels. Our method is trained end-to-end with quantization- and entropy-aware augmentations to the loss function and is used at inference in conjunction with source coding to achieve near-optimal compression gains over wideband channels. To efficiently train our method, we prove and verify that a fixed feature space quantization scheme is sufficient for efficient learning. When tested on channel distributions never seen during training, the proposed method achieves a compression gain of up to $10 \%$ in the high SNR regime versus previous state-of-the-art methods. To encourage reproducible research, our implementation is publicly available at this https URL.
The Sleepy Child

Excessive daytime sleepiness in childhood is a common but frequently under-recognized health problem. It affects both boys and girls. The exact prevalence is difficult to determine, but, based upon questionnaire surveys, it seems to vary between 4 and 20 % (Neveus et al., Acta Pediatr 90:1450–5, 2001; Yang et al., Pediatrics 115:250–6, 2005). Sleepiness is important to recognize because many of the underlying conditions are potentially treatable. Excessive sleepiness can also become a major public health hazard. In a survey of 339 students of 18–21 years of age, Pizza et al. found that when subjects with a history of automobile crashes were compared with the ones who had not sustained crashes, they found that the former group was significantly more likely to have experienced daytime sleepiness while driving (Pizza et al., J Clin Sleep Med 15:41–5, 2010). This chapter will provide an overview of excessive sleepiness in childhood.
Activation by IKKα of a Second, Evolutionary Conserved, NF-κB Signaling Pathway

In mammals, the canonical nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) signaling pathway activated in response to infections is based on degradation of IkappaB inhibitors. This pathway depends on the IkappaB kinase (IKK), which contains two catalytic subunits, IKKalpha and IKKbeta. IKKbeta is essential for inducible IkappaB phosphorylation and degradation, whereas IKKalpha is not. Here we show that IKKalpha is required for B cell maturation, formation of secondary lymphoid organs, increased expression of certain NF-kappaB target genes, and processing of the NF-kappaB2 (p100) precursor. IKKalpha preferentially phosphorylates NF-kappaB2, and this activity requires its phosphorylation by upstream kinases, one of which may be NF-kappaB-inducing kinase (NIK). IKKalpha is therefore a pivotal component of a second NF-kappaB activation pathway based on regulated NF-kappaB2 processing rather than IkappaB degradation.
Age-related changes in human vestibulo-ocular reflexes: sinusoidal rotation and caloric tests.

The dynamic response properties of horizontal vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) were characterized in 216 human subjects ranging in age from 7 to 81 years. The object of this cross-sectional study was to determine the effects of aging on VOR dynamics, and to identify the distributions of parameters which describe VOR responses to caloric and to sinusoidal rotational stimuli in a putatively normal population. Caloric test parameters showed no consistent trend with age. Rotation test parameters showed declining response amplitude and slightly less compensatory response phase with increasing age. The magnitudes of these changes were not large relative to the variability within the population. The age-related trends in VOR were not consistent with the anatomic changes in the periphery reported by others which showed an increasing rate of peripheral hair cell and nerve fiber loss in subjects over 55 years. The poor correlation between physiological and anatomical data suggest that adaptive mechanisms in the central nervous system are important in maintaining the VOR.
A high-performance liquid chromatographic assay of the electro-oxidation of purines : Uric Acid and the Nucleotide Drug Tubercidin-5′-Monophosphate

Abstract A high-performance liquid chromatographic assay is described for establishing the completeness of electro-oxidation of a purine nucleotide drug tubercidin-5′-monophosphate (TMP) and the sequence of product formation. The assay shows that TMP was completely oxidized after ca. 2 h of electrolysis and that the product distribution continued to change after this time. The same assay was also used to show the sequence of product formation in the electro-oxidation of uric acid. Both separations were isocratic, with a 0.02 M potassium dihydrogenphosphate (pH 4.6–5.1) mobile phase.
The language of displayed art

1. Semiotics At Work 2. Bodily Perceptions: A Semiotics of Sculpture 3. A Semiotics of Architecture 4. Semiotics Across the Arts
Red wine enhances glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) and insulin responses in type 2 diabetes during an oral glucose tolerance test

Ingestion of ethanol before a glucose challenge enhances the insulin response by an unknown mechanism. In addition, epidemiological studies consistently indicate that moderate alcohol consumption reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D). The purposes of this study were to evaluate the potential involvement of glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) in alcohol-induced augmentation of the insulin response and to determine if red wine acutely improves glucose tolerance during an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Nine subjects (eight T2D and one pre-diabetes) completed two OGTT 30 min after consumption of 263 ml water or red wine (28 g ethanol). Blood samples were obtained for 3 h and analyzed for glucose, insulin, C-peptide, GIP, and GLP-1. Compared with water, consumption of red wine increased the incremental area under the curve (iAUC) for insulin by 50 % (14,837 ± 4759 vs. 9885 ± 2686 µU/ml × min; p < 0.05) and for GIP by 25 % (7729 ± 1548 vs. 6191 ± 1049 pmol/l × min; p < 0.05). Glucose and GLP-1 responses were not affected by red wine. Wine consumption before an OGTT augments the insulin response, which may be partially driven by a greater GIP response. Because glucose levels were not reduced, acute wine consumption may not be effective treatment for enhancing glycemic control or may need to be combined with therapy that improves insulin sensitivity.
An Improved Methodology for Measuring the Interfacial Toughness of Sandwich Beams

Existing interfacial toughness tests are evaluated for their accuracy and suitability for application to a wide range of sandwich structures and environments. It is shown that geometric nonlinearities and/or axial load coupling can cause errors in the perceived toughness as obtained by many of these tests and their associated data reduction methods. A previously proposed modified peel test is selected to eliminate the effect of axial load and a new, modified beam theory based method of data reduction is developed. Experiments and nonlinear finite element analyses are used to show that this approach produces highly accurate values of toughness, even in the presence of geometrically nonlinear behaviors. Mechanically attached loading tabs are described, allowing the test to be used for a wide variety of structures under various simulated usage environments.
A Tabu Search Strategy to Solve Scheduling Problems with Deadlines and Complex Metric Constraints

In this paper a Relaxable Metric Scheduling Problem (RMSP) is defined that extends the classical job shop scheduling problem with the use of complex temporal metric constraints and with the possibility of making the distinction between relaxable and not-relaxable constraints explicit. The paper proposes and experimentally evaluates a tabu search procedure to improve a previously created heuristic solution to the RMSP. The tabu procedure uses the idea of relaxing some temporal constraints to “navigate” the search space and to find a solution. In particular, it tries to produce either a solution where there are no relaxations or a solution where only the constraints classified as relaxable are violated. Experimental results on scheduling problems of increasing size demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed approach.
Effect of spaceflight on the extracellular matrix of skeletal muscle after a crush injury

The organization and composition of the extracellular matrix were studied in the crush-injured gastrocnemius muscle of rats subjected to 0 G. After 14 days of flight on COSMOS 2044, the gastrocnemius muscle was removed and evaluated by histochemical and immunohistochemical techniques from the five injured flight rodents and various Earth-based treatment groups. In general, the repair process was similar in all injured muscle samples with regard to the organization of the extracellular matrix and myofibers. Small and large myofibers were present within an expanded extracellular matrix, indicative of myogenesis and muscle regeneration. In the tail-suspended animals, a more complete repair was observed with no enlarged area of nonmuscle cells or matrix material visible. In contrast, the muscle samples from the flight animals were less well organized and contained more macrophages and blood vessels in the repair region, indicative of a delayed repair process, but did not demonstrate any chronic inflammation. Myofiber repair did vary in muscles from the different groups, being slowest in the flight animals and most complete in the tail-suspended ones.
Spectral analysis and EMI comparison of PWM, quasi-resonant, and resonant converters

In this paper, a theoretical method for analyzing the spectra of modulated control signals for PWM, Quasi-Resonant Converters (QRC), and Resonant Converters (RC) is presented. A comparison of the EMI performance of the QRC, RC, and PWM converters is given based on the spectral bandwidth. Our study shows that, for the same line and load variation, the QRC and RC have better EMI performance than the PWM converter.
Studying mass transfer with a spinning liquid disc

La methode consiste a remplir de solute les pores d'un disque en polymere microporeux, et a le faire tourner dans un solvant; apres un certain temps, on mesure la concentration du solute dans le solvant. Etude experimentale et discussion sur les resultats
Medicaid's Next Metamorphosis

Medicaid's transformation since its inception rivals the biological changes of metamorphosis, and this process is not yet over. Past metamorphoses include the change from a small program with eligibility linked to the states’ cash welfare benefits to one with national eligibility standards covering many not receiving cash benefits; from a traditional fee-for-service payment program to one dominated by capitated managed care arrangements; and, under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, to a widely accepted component of a national system for near-universal insurance coverage. An analysis of the forces behind these significant changes suggests that future transformations are likely. Four potential scenarios are presented and assessed.
Risk Heterogeneity and Recurrent Violent Victimization: The Role of DRD4

For some people, victimization comes with significant costs. One of these costs is the likelihood of being victimized a subsequent time. Unfortunately, research shows that a portion of victims do in fact experience more than one victimization. Although this likelihood has been established, the reasons why some people are victimized more than once are not fully understood. One explanation centers on individual risk factors that, if left unchanged, will increase risk of further victimization. Previously unstudied, however, are genetic factors that may place and keep a victim at risk, even after an initial victimization. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the current study addresses this gap. The findings reveal that there is in fact a genetic factor, the 7R allele of the DRD4 gene, that distinguishes individuals who have been victimized once from those who have been victimized multiple times.
Building good quality prototypes for forensic face reproduction from low quality laser scanned files

This paper will illustrate a new approach for the quality improvement of the computer-aided design files that are produced by the laser scanning for face reproduction process for forensic anthropologists in determining the unknown skull’s true owner through a low cost method of facial reconstruction without losing the skull as the original evidence. The procedure includes: laser scanning and producing stereolithography (STL) files; splitting large files into smaller, manageable files; repairing, stitching and filling holes of all STL slices; hollowing the model; and model prototyping. Results prove this to be a very promising method which could serve as a replacement for more expensive approaches that require MRI and CT scans.
Base-promoted ammonia borane hydrogen-release.

The strong non-nucleophilic base bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene (Proton Sponge, PS) has been found to promote the rate and extent of H2-release from ammonia borane (AB) either in the solid state or in ionic-liquid and tetraglyme solutions. For example, AB reactions in 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (bmimCl) containing 5.3 mol % PS released 2 equiv of H2 in 171 min at 85 °C and only 9 min at 110 °C, whereas comparable reactions without PS required 316 min at 85 °C and 20 min at 110 °C. Ionic-liquid solvents proved more favorable than tetraglyme since they reduced the formation of undesirable products such as borazine. Solid-state and solution 11B NMR studies of PS-promoted reactions in progress support a reaction pathway involving initial AB deprotonation to form the H3BNH2− anion. This anion can then initiate AB dehydropolymerization to form branched-chain polyaminoborane polymers. Subsequent chain-branching and dehydrogenation reactions lead ultimately to a cross-linked polyborazylene-type product. ...
Generativity and generative phenomenology

L'A. etudie la structure et les interrelations de la methode generative et de la generativite de la phenomenologie husserlienne qui definissent la notion de Lebenswelt comme concept provisionnel et soulevent le probleme du processus de temporalisation genetique
Utility of chest computed tomography for staging in patients with T1 extremity soft tissue sarcomas

BACKGROUND National Cancer Center Network (NCCN) and Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) practice guidelines recommend chest computed tomography (CT) as part of the staging evaluation of patients with extremity soft tissue sarcoma (STS). In the current study, the authors evaluated the use and yield of chest roentgenography (CXR) and selective chest CT to screen for pulmonary metastases in patients with T1 STS. METHODS The utility of these staging studies was evaluated retrospectively in a cohort of 125 consecutive patients who presented to a tertiary care cancer center with T1 primary (nonrecurrent) extremity STS. Two diagnostic strategies (CXR alone vs. CXR plus chest CT) were evaluated using an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. RESULTS The majority of tumors (70%) were high grade. The median sarcoma size was 3.0 cm; 64 of the tumors (51%) were located deep to the investing fascia of the extremity. All patients underwent staging CXR; 1 CXR (< 1%) was suspicious for metastatic disease. Fifty-one patients (41%) also underwent chest CT; 1 chest CT, performed in the patient with a suspicious CXR, revealed metastatic disease. With a median follow-up of 76 months, 19 patients (15%) developed metachronous pulmonary metastases. The relatively low yield resulted in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of $59,772 per case of synchronous pulmonary metastasis detected by CXR plus chest CT. CONCLUSIONS Less than 1% of patients with T1 primary extremity STS were found to have pulmonary metastases that were detectable using a staging algorithm that employs routine CXR with the selective use of chest CT. The findings of the current study do not support current NCCN or SSO practice guidelines for patients with high-grade T1 STS. Cancer 2001;92:863–8. © 2001 American Cancer Society.
ELECTRO-PRODUCTION OF PIONS FROM NUCLEI

Abstract The contribution of pion production to inelastic electron scattering from nuclei through a given angle and with a given energy loss has been calculated. The amplitude for the production from a single nucleon is taken from the work of Fubini, Nambu and Wataghin. A Fermi gas model of the nuclear excitation spectrum is used in order to carry out the sum over final nuclear states. Both incoherent and coherent production are included. The cross sections are computed for energy losses above meson threshold and below the (3, 3) resonance. Since the results are strongly dependent on the model of the excitation spectrum such experiments can give valuable information about nuclei.
Phonon counting and intensity interferometry of a nanomechanical resonator

In optics, the ability to measure individual quanta of light (photons) enables a great many applications, ranging from dynamic imaging within living organisms to secure quantum communication. Pioneering photon counting experiments, such as the intensity interferometry performed by Hanbury Brown and Twiss to measure the angular width of visible stars, have played a critical role in our understanding of the full quantum nature of light. As with matter at the atomic scale, the laws of quantum mechanics also govern the properties of macroscopic mechanical objects, providing fundamental quantum limits to the sensitivity of mechanical sensors and transducers. Current research in cavity optomechanics seeks to use light to explore the quantum properties of mechanical systems ranging in size from kilogram-mass mirrors to nanoscale membranes, as well as to develop technologies for precision sensing and quantum information processing. Here we use an optical probe and single-photon detection to study the acoustic emission and absorption processes in a silicon nanomechanical resonator, and perform a measurement similar to that used by Hanbury Brown and Twiss to measure correlations in the emitted phonons as the resonator undergoes a parametric instability formally equivalent to that of a laser. Owing to the cavity-enhanced coupling of light with mechanical motion, this effective phonon counting technique has a noise equivalent phonon sensitivity of 0.89 ± 0.05. With straightforward improvements to this method, a variety of quantum state engineering tasks using mesoscopic mechanical resonators would be enabled, including the generation and heralding of single-phonon Fock states and the quantum entanglement of remote mechanical elements.
Estimating systemic exposure to ethinyl estradiol from an oral contraceptive.

Objective This study was conducted to compare single-dose pharmacokinetics of ethinyl estradiol in an oral contraceptive with steady-state values and to assess whether any simpler measures could provide an adequate proxy of the "gold standard" 24-hour steady-state area under the curve (AUC) value. Identification of a simple, less expensive measure of systemic ethinyl estradiol exposure would be useful for larger studies that are designed to assess the relationship between an individual's ethinyl estradiol exposure and side-effects. Study Design We collected 13 samples over 24 hours for pharmacokinetic analysis on days 1 and 21 of the first cycle of a monophasic oral contraceptive that contained 30 μg ethinyl estradiol and 150 μg levonorgestrel in 17 nonobese healthy white women. We also conducted an abbreviated single-dose 9-sample pharmacokinetic analysis after a month washout. Ethinyl estradiol was measured by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. We compared results of a full 13-sample steady-state pharmacokinetic analysis with results that had been calculated with the use of fewer samples (9 or 5) and after the single doses. We calculated Pearson correlation coefficients to evaluate the relationships between these estimates of systemic ethinyl estradiol exposure. Results The AUC, maximum, and 24-hour values were similar after the 2 single oral contraceptive doses (AUC; r = 0.92). The steady-state 13-sample 24-hour AUC value was correlated highly with the average 9-sample AUC value after the 2 single doses (r = 0.81; P = .0002). This correlation remained the same if the number of single-dose samples was reduced to 4, taken at time 1, 2.5, 4, and 24 hours. The 24-hour value at steady-state was correlated highly with the 24-hour steady-state AUC value (r = 0.92; P P = .0026). Conclusion Limited blood sampling, including results from 2 single doses, gave highly correlated estimates of an oral contraceptive user's steady-state ethinyl estradiol exposure.
Effectiveness of Common Fish Screen Materials to Protect Lamprey Ammocoetes

Abstract Understanding the effects of irrigation diversions on populations of Pacific lamprey Lampetra tridentata in the Columbia River basin is needed for their recovery. We tested the effectiveness of five common fish screen materials for excluding lamprey ammocoetes: interlock (IL), vertical bar (VB), perforated plate (PP), and 12-gauge and 14-gauge wire cloth (WC12) and (WC14). When fish (28–153 mm) were exposed for 60 min to screen panels perpendicular to an approach velocity of 12 cm/s in a recirculating flume, the percentage of ammocoetes entrained (i.e., passed through the screen) was 26% for the IL, 18% for the PP, 33% for the VB, 62% for the WC14, and 65% for the WC12 screens. For all screens, most fish were entrained within the first 15–20 min. Fish length significantly influenced entrainment, with the PP, VB, and IL screens preventing fish greater than 50–65 mm from entrainment and the WC14 and WC12 screens preventing entrainment of fish greater than 90–110 mm. Fish of all sizes repeatedly bec...
Salicides: materials, scaling and manufacturability issues for future integrated circuits

In this paper we present an overview of the development of advanced salicide processes at Texas Instruments, addressing both Ti and Co salicides. Scaling issues, such as sheet resistance of deep sub-micron structures for Ti salicide and diode leakage on shallow junctions for Co salicide, are discussed, as well as processes developed to overcome these issues. The key material aspects controlling these variables are reviewed, such as Ti silicide phase formation and transformations and mechanisms of direct formation of C54 TiSi2, which control sheet resistance, and silicide–silicon interface characteristics for Co salicide, impacting diode leakage. Implementation and manufacturability aspects are also discussed. We present advanced Ti and Co salicide processes with manufacturing and high yield capability demonstrated for sub-0.25 μm CMOS technologies. Process modifications that extend the applicability of these salicides to 0.1 μm CMOS are also presented.
Intimate Partner Violence Victimization and Perpetration by Puerto Rican Women with Severe Mental Illnesses

Previous research indicates a higher prevalence of victimization among severely mentally ill women. Few studies have either compared these levels across diagnostic categories or evaluated perpetration by the women. We report qualitative and quantitative findings regarding intimate partner violence perpetrated both against and by a sample of 53 Puerto Rican women diagnosed with major depression, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia. Interviewers shadowed participants for a period of 2 years. Two-thirds of the women with serious mental illness had histories of victimization. However, 23% of the women also reported histories of violence towards their significant others. This was attributed to various reasons, such as anger, revenge, control, and self-defense. Participants described their personal conceptualization of the violence they received and perpetrated. This has implications for programs designed to prevent family violence, for health care professionals in general, and for psychiatrists, who may be called upon to address future risk of victimization or commission of violence.
The system development life cycle and digital library development

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to develop an understanding of the system development lifecycle and its role in managing the development of digital library systems.Design/methodology/approach – The article provides a conceptual analysis of the system development lifecycle within the context of digital library system development.Findings – The system development lifecycle concept has been broadly applied to system development projects for many years. Project teams developing digital library systems can be more effective if they understand the expectations and outcomes of each phase of the system development lifecycle.Originality/value – For librarians that do not have a formal system development background, this article provides a concise and to‐the‐point overview of the various stages of the system development lifecycle and the relationship of each phase to the development of a digital library system.
Do core sample measurements record group or phase velocity

Laboratory core-sample measurements do not record elastic constants directly; they record traveltimes from which the elastic parameters must be deduced. Do the recorded traveltirnes represent group velocities, phase velocities, or something else? For propagation down symmetry directions group and phase velocity are the same and there is no ambiguity. However, propagation in non-symmetry directions is key to determining a complete set of elastic constants. In nonsymmetry directions there is no guarantee the energy radiated from the source will t,ravel straight up the axis of the core to the receiver: the leading planar portion of the wavefront may crab sideways and partially or completely miss the receivertransducer t,arget. Our model results show that unless the miss is complete, picking first breaks gives a reasonably good phase-velocity arrival time
Assessment to improve learning in higher education: The BEAR Assessment System

This paper discusses how assessment practices in higher education can improve or hinder learning. An example is given to illustrate some common educational practices that may be contributing to underpreparation and underperformance of students. Elements of effective learning environments that may better address underlying metacognitive issues are discussed. The principles of the Berkeley Evaluation & Assessment Research Assessment (BEAR) System are introduced, and their use to improve learning is described in the context of the UC Berkeley ChemQuery project.
On dispersions of voids as sources of strength

Abstract Materials of reduced density and increased strength can be achieved by the creation of dispersed voids. A procedure for the manufacture of such materials is described and their characteristic strength estimated.
On the Broadcast Storm Problem in Ad hoc Wireless Networks

Routing protocols developed for ad hoc wireless networks use broadcast transmission to either discover a route or disseminate information. More specifically, reactive routing protocols has to flood the network with a route request (RREQ) message in order to find an optimal route to the destination. Several applications developed for vehicular ad hoc wireless networks (VANET), which is a subset of MANET, rely on broadcast to propagate useful traffic information to other vehicles located within a certain geographical area. However, the conventional broadcast mechanism may lead to the so-called broadcast storm problem. In this paper, we explore how serious the broadcast storm problem is in both MANET and VANET by examining how broadcast packets propagate in a 2-dimensional open area and on a straight road or highway scenarios. In addition, we propose three novel distributed broadcast suppression techniques; i.e., weighted p-persistence, slotted 1-persistence, and slotted p- persistence schemes. Our simulation results show that the proposed schemes can achieve up to 90% reduction in packet loss rate while keeping the end-to-end delay at acceptable levels for most VANET applications. They can also be used together with the route discovery process to guide the routing protocols to select routes with fewer hop counts.
Statistical mechanics of magnetic bubble arrays. I. Topology and thermalization.

Bubble domains in thin magnetic garnet films are an experimentally accessible two-dimensional system with well-characterized properties. Bubble arrays can be directly viewed with polarized light using optical microscopy, digital imaging, and computer-video techniques. The structure and dynamics of topological defects can be studied in detail. We present observations of the interactions and dynamics of defects in magnetic bubble arrays. Quasithermal Brownian motion of bubbles in an applied ac magnetic field arises from microscopic substrate roughness. Experimental measurements of diffusive bubble motion are used to estimate the effective temperature, and the effective pinning energy and length scales for microscopic roughness in the garnet film.
What to do with "one-hit wonders"?

Global proteomics has been witness to the solutionbased revolution in which mixtures of proteins are digested into peptides prior to fractionation and analysis by mass spectrometry (MS). In stark contrast to gelbased methods, the complexity of the protein mixture is increased rather than decreased prior to MS analysis. This “bottom up” approach makes peptide mapping as a protein identification tool obsolete as a typical MS scan will detect peptides originating from many different proteins. Instead, solution-based global proteomic studies rely on tandem MS to identify peptides, which are then extrapolated as originating from intact proteins. The results as far as the number of proteins identified using solution-based methods are quite impressive, with more than 1000 proteins being routinely identified in such studies [1].
Risk‐Constrained Information Choice

Ahituv and Wand [1] applied an information economics model to the problem of making information choices using two decision criteria: expected (monetary) payoff and expected risk. Using risk-constrained optimization, they derived a solution in which the use of information is randomized by means of a mixed decision strategy. Although this solution is undominated when the expected payoff/expected risk trade-off boundary is convex, it may be dominated when the boundary is not convex. To avoid such dominance, it is necessary to adjust their solution by randomizing the choice of information rather than its use. For any feasible level of expected risk, this will yield an expected payoff equal to or greater than their solution produces and will always result in an undominated expected payoff/expected risk combination.
Flight of a cytidine deaminase complex with an imperfect transition state analogue inhibitor: Mass spectrometric evidence for the presence of a trapped water molecule

Cytidine deaminase (CDA) binds the inhibitor zebularine as its 3,4-hydrate (Kd ∼ 10–12 M), capturing all but ∼5.6 kcal/mol of the free energy of binding expected of an ideal transition state analogue (Ktx ∼ 10–16 M). On the basis of its entropic origin, that shortfall was tentatively ascribed to the trapping of a water molecule in the enzyme–inhibitor complex, as had been observed earlier for product uridine [Snider, M. J., and Wolfenden, R. (2001) Biochemistry 40, 11364–11371]. Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR-MS) of CDA nebularized in the presence of saturating 5-fluorozebularine reveals peaks corresponding to the masses of E2Zn2W2 (dimeric Zn-CDA with two water molecules), E2Zn2W2Fz, and E2Zn2W2Fz2, where Fz represents the 3,4-hydrate of 5-fluorozebularine. In the absence of an inhibitor, E2Zn2 is the only dimeric species detected, with no additional water molecules. Experiments conducted in H218O indicate that the added mass W represents a trapped water molecule rathe...
The Incidence of Serological Variants of Salmonella Pullorum in Illinois

Abstract YOUNIE (1941) reported the first evidence of the importance of the variants in Salmonella pullorum in pullorum disease control. During 1939, outbreaks of pullorum disease occurred in Canada in chicks from flocks that had been negative to the pullorum agglutination test. The next year, there was an increase of such outbreaks. The postmortem appearance of affected chicks was typical of pullorum disease and the cultural characteristics of organisms isolated were those of S. pullorum. Certain antigenic differences from Eastern Conference strains were noted. In a flock of 94 pullets, Younie (1942) found that three sera reacted with standard antigens and 64 with antigens made from variant strains. Salmonella pullorum was obtained on culture from 65 percent of 90 birds autopsied. Glover and Connell (1942) showed by agglutinin absorption tests that S. pullorum strains fall into two groups—“normal” and “variant.” Of 161 strains of S. pullorum isolated from birds at . . .
Drug sampling in dermatology

The use of drug samples in a dermatology clinic is controversial. Drug samples are associated with influencing physician prescribing patterns often toward costlier drugs, increasing health care costs, increasing waste, inducing potential conflicts of interest, and decreasing the quality of patient education. On the other hand, they have the potential to help those in financial need, to improve adherence and convenience, and to expose patients to better drugs. Although some academic centers have banned drug samples altogether, many academic and private practices continue to distribute drug samples. Given the controversy of the topic, physicians who wish to distribute drug samples must do so in an ethical manner. We believe, when handled properly, drug sampling can be used in an ethical manner.
VENTURIA INAEQUALIS (CKE.) WINT. VIII. INHERITANCE OF COLOR MUTANT CHARACTERS

IN A PAPER (Boone et al., 1956) published concurrently with this, references are given to the earlier papers of this series, and methods are described for inducing, isolating, and characterizing mutants to be employed in correlated studies on the genetics, nutrition, and pathogenicity of Venturia inaequalis (Cke.) Wint. It is reported that many color mutants and biochemical mutants were induced and characterized.
Fetomaternal cell trafficking: a story that begins with prenatal diagnosis and may end with stem cell therapy

The focus of my research laboratory is the bidirectional trafficking of cells and nucleic acids between the pregnant woman and her fetus. For many years we have been studying both intact cells [1], and more recently, cell-free DNA and messenger RNA sequences that are detectable in various maternal body fluids [2], such as plasma and serum [3], cerebrospinal fluid [4], and amniotic fluid [5,6]. This is translational research, which concentrates on the development of novel prenatal diagnostic tests to improve detection of fetal abnormalities or complications of pregnancy. An unexpected outcome of this work has been the observation that the stem cells persist in the mother’s blood and organs for decades postpartum [7]. This is the work that will be reviewed in this lecture. This unanticipated aspect of our research originated as part of global efforts to improve noninvasive prenatal diagnosis for Down syndrome. It is currently recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists to offer maternal serum screening for both the detection of Down syndrome as well as open neural tube defects [8]. Approximately 76% of cases of Down syndrome are detected at a false-positive rate of 5% using the current quadruple serum screening test (alpha-fetoprotein, b-human chorionic gonadotropin, unconjugated estriol, inhibin A). More recent results from large-scale clinical trials, such as the National Institutes of Health–sponsored
The class number of an abelian group

Abstract The groups in this paper are abelian. Let G be a reduced torsion-free finite rank group. Then G is cocommutative if End ( G ) is commutative modulo the nil radical. The class number of G, h ( G ) , is the number of isomorphism classes of groups H that are locally isomorphic ( = nearly isomorphic) to G. We say that G satisfies the power cancellation property if G n ≅ H n for some group H and integer n > 0 implies that G ≅ H . We say that G has a Σ-unique decomposition if G n has a unique direct sum decomposition for each integer n > 0 . Let P o ( G ) = { groups H | H ⊕ H ′ = G m for some group H ′ and some integer m > 0 } . We say that G has internal cancellation if given H , K , L ∈ P o ( G ) such that H ⊕ K ≅ H ⊕ L then K ≅ L . We use the class number to study the torsion-free finite rank groups G that have the power cancellation property, or a Σ-unique decompositions, or the internal cancellation property. Furthermore, we show that the power cancellation property for cocommutative strongly indecomposable reduced torsion-free finite rank groups is equivalent to the problem of determining the class number of an algebraic number field. Let G ¯ be the integral closure of G. Using the Mayer–Vietoris sequence we show that there are finite groups associated with G of orders L ( p ) , m ˆ p , and n ˆ p such that h ( G ) = h ( G ¯ ) m ˆ p L ( p ) n ˆ p . Let E ( p ) = Z + p E ¯ where p is a rational prime and E ¯ is the ring of algebraic integers in the algebraic number field k = Q E ¯ . Let G ( p ) be a group such that End ( G ( p ) ) = E ( p ) . We show that the sequence { L ( p ) h ( G ( p ) ) / h ( G ¯ ( p ) ) | primes p } is asymptotically equal to the sequence { p f − 1 | primes p } where f = [ k : Q ] . Furthermore, for quadratic number fields k, h ( k ) = 1 iff { L ( p ) h ( G ( p ) ) | primes p } is asymptotically equal to the sequence of rational primes. This connects unique factorization in number fields with the sequence of rational primes, and with direct sum properties of integrally closed cocommutative strongly indecomposable torsion-free finite rank groups.