cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Partly Parallel Overlapped Sum-Product Decoder Architectures for Quasi-Cyclic LDPC Codes

In this paper, we propose partly parallel architectures based on optimal overlapped sum-product (OSP) decoding. To ensure high throughput and hardware utilization efficiency, partly parallel parity check and pipelined access to memory are utilized. Impacts of different node update algorithms and quantization schemes are studied. FPGA implementation of our proposed architectures for a (1536, 768) (3, 6)-regular QC LDPC code can achieve an estimated 61 Mbps decoding throughput at SNR= 4.5 dB. Finally, noncoherent OSP decoder, which does not always satisfy the data dependency constraints, is proposed to ensure that the maximum throughput gain 2 of the OSP decoding is achieved for all QC LDPC codes.
Response to Letter by Johkura

Response: We thank Dr Johkura for his interest in our recent study. We agree that distinguishing a central from a peripheral cause of dizziness in an individual patient can be challenging. A recent study demonstrates well that cerebellar infarction can closely mimic vestibular neuritis.1 These type of studies1–3 indicate that if one relies on isolated dizziness to discriminate, some patients with potentially serious etiologies will …
Antithymocyte globulin for graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis: mistakenly maligned.

Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) has been used for the prevention of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) for well over two decades, but it remains controversial, despite its impact on the occurrence of ac...
Increased solid-oxide fuel cell power density using interfacial ceria layers

Abstract Solid-oxide fuel cell power densities typically drop rapidly as the operating temperature is decreased, due to electrolyte ohmic losses and/or electrode overpotentials. In this paper, we describe fuel cells utilizing 8 μm thick yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolytes to provide low ohmic loss. Adding thin porous yttria doped ceria (YDC) layers on either side of the YSZ yielded much-reduced interfacial resistances at both the LSM cathodes and Ni–YSZ anodes. The cells provide higher power densities than previously reported below 700°C, e.g. 300 and 480 mW cm −2 at 600 and 650°C, respectively (measured in 97%H 2 +3%H 2 O and air), and also provide high power densities at higher temperatures, e.g. 760 mW cm −2 at 750°C.
Industrial Prospects for the Optimized use of U, Pu and Th for Sustainable Nuclear Energy Deployment

Abstract “Nuclear energy is part of a sustainable energy future” is a conclusion which is increasingly reached by a variety of energy scenario studies by world-renown institutions such as the IAEA, OECD/IEA & OECD/NEA, World Energy Council, and also reached by different national energy assessment reports. Nuclear does own various unique features that make this energy technology a prime candidate to fulfil a large part of our energy needs, beyond today;s use of nuclear energy for our electricity needs. The previous ‘wave’ of nuclear energy deployment since the 1970s was, and still is, governed by the use of 235U as main driver to spur this deployment of nuclear energy with gradually the introduction of the U/Pu - cycle in the thermal neutron spectrum reactor park (essentially LWR-technology). Technological progress and good economics of the U/Pu-cycle and especially the economic competitiveness of the LWR's have made this U/Pu -cycle essentially the standard worldwide. Fast spectrum reactors (FRs) haven’t yet been developed at sufficient large and industrial scale to make full benefit of the U/Pu-cycle and there are no prospects that the world would massively turn to such FRs in the immediate future. On the verge of a second wave of nuclear deployment, increasing interest is and has to be given to synergies between various nuclear reactor technologies and especially the global nuclear fuel cycle as enabler towards sustainable nuclear energy deployment. Those synergies aim at a reduced reliance on natural uranium resources, continued good economic competitiveness of nuclear energy in local markets, safe and non-proliferant use of nuclear energy, and a reduction of ultimate wastes to be disposed of. This paper provides an overview of various avenues towards sustainable nuclear energy deployment and perspectives from the nuclear industry leader AREVA.
Behavioral and neural correlates of visual preference decision

Three sets of findings are reported here, all related to behavioral and neural correlates of preference decision. First, when one is engaged in a preference decision task with free observation, one's gaze is biased towards the to-be-chosen stimulus (eg. face) long before (s)he is consciously aware of the decision ("gaze cascade effect"). Second, an fMRI study suggested that implicit activity in a subcortical structure (the Nucleus Accumbens) precedes cognitive and conscious decision of preference. Finally, both novelty and familiarity causally contribute to attractiveness, but differently across object categories (such as faces and natural scenes). Taken together, these results point to dynamical and implicit processes both in short- and long-term, towards conscious preference decision. Finally, some discussion will be given on aesthetic decision (i.e. "beauty").
Multiphoton microscopy: an optical approach to understanding and resolving sulfur mustard lesions.

Sulfur mustard (SM; 2,2(')-dichloroethyl sulfide) is a percutaneous alkylating agent first used as a chemical weapon at Ypres, Belgium, in World War I. Despite its well-documented history, the primary lesions effecting dermal-epidermal separation and latent onset of incapacitating blisters remain poorly understood. By immunofluorescent imaging of human epidermal keratinocytes (HEK) and epidermal tissues exposed to SM (400 microM for 5 min), we have amassed unequivocal evidence that SM disrupts adhesion complex molecules, which are also disrupted by epidermolysis bullosa-type blistering diseases of the skin. Images of keratin 14 (K14) in control cells showed tentlike filament networks linking the HEK's basolateral anchoring sites to the dorsal surface of its nuclei. Images from 6-h postexposure profiles revealed early disruption (</=1 h) and progressive collapse of the K14 cytoskeleton. Collapse involved focal erosions, loss of functional asymmetry, and displacement of nuclei beneath a mat of jumbled filaments. In complementary studies, 1-h images showed statistically significant (p<0.01) decreases of 25 to 30% in emissions from labeled alpha(6)beta(4) integrin and laminin 5, plus disruption of their receptor-ligand organization. Results indicate that SM alkylation destabilizes dermal-epidermal attachments and potentiates vesication by disrupting adhesion complex molecules and associated signaling mechanisms required for their maintenance and repair.
Some New Evidence about the Effects of U.S. Antidumping Orders and Their Administrative Reviews on the Prices of Covered Imports

The present article presents evidence from a sample of U.S. antidumping orders that are followed through as many as 15 administrative reviews. The decline in average antidumping duties over the course of successive reviews is entirely the result of firms with higher dumping duties disappearing from the review process (probably ceasing sales in the United States). For given firms surviving to be named in the next review, the antidumping duty actually increases from one review to the next. This article is the first to report direct information about the unit value of covered imports contained in administrative review reports of the United States International Trade Commission. This article is also the first to present information about the large number of firms—more than one-third of those ever assigned a firm-specific duty—that are named in administrative reviews, but not in original antidumping orders.
Neurotensin in the ventromedial mesencephalon of the rat: anatomical and functional considerations

Neurotensin is an endogenous neuropeptide that fulfills some of the criteria for a neurotransmitter in the mammalian central nervous system. It exists in high concentrations in the ventral tegmental area and adjacent midline nuclei of the ventromedial mesencephalon, and recent microinjection studies have demonstrated that neurotensin can act in this brain region to produce both a decrease in colonic temperature, and an increase in spontaneous motor activity. In this study it was found that hypothermia was most successfully evoked following neurotensin injection along the midline of the ventral mesencephalon, corresponding to the nucleus linearis centralis. In contrast, behavioral hyperactivity was produced with greatest consistency in the ventral tegmental area, corresponding to the nucleus paranigralis and nucleus parabrachialis pigmentosus. However, in its caudal aspect, the nucleus paranigralis was found unresponsive to neurotensin. Behavioral hyperactivity was also observed after neurotensin injection along the midline into the nucleus interfascicularis. Only injections made into the nucleus linearis rostralis produced hypothermia and hyperactivity in the same rat. This distribution of neurotensin-responsive nuclei corresponded to the distribution of neurotensin containing perikarya and fibers. With the exception of the nucleus interfascicularis, neurotensin-containing neurons were distributed throughout the rostral portion of the ventromedial mesencephalon, the nucleus parabrachialis pigmentosus containing the greatest density. However, in the caudal portion, neurotensin neurons were found almost exclusively in the nucleus linearis centralis. Neurotensin-containing fibers were of greatest density in the nucleus interfascicularis and the nucleus linearis centralis. Considering the known capacity of neurotensin to activate dopamine neurons in the ventromedial mesencephalon, and the partial mediolateral topographical distribution of dopaminergic projections from this region to the limbic forebrain, it is possible that neurotensin may be activating two distinct populations of dopamine neurons to produce hypothermia and behavioral hyperactivity.
Optimal Preview Control of Structural Vibrations Under Earthquake Excitations

Active vibration control of structures under earthquake excitation has attracted considerable attention in the recent years. In this study, attention was given to optimal preview control methodology for protection of building with and without base isolation systems against earthquakes. A three-story building model was used and several earthquake records including El Centro, Mexico City and Tabas earthquake records were used as excitation. Acceleration and displacement responses of the structure with active preview control were evaluated and the results are compared with those for the unprotected buildings. It was shown that using properly designed active preview control systems can effectively reduce the acceleration transmitted to structures during a major earthquake. The study was repeated for a base isolated structure. It was shown that that the using the information obtain from the preview sensors in the active control strategy would improve the system performance significantly. The influence of the preview time on the system performance was also studied. It was found that the range of preview time needed for improved performance is quite small but depends on the frequency contend of the earthquake excitation.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Extramedullary sarcoid lesion mimicking intraspinal tumor.

Abstract Background context: Spinal sarcoidosis is rare. Most spinal sarcoid lesions are intramedullary, and only three cases of extramedullary sarcoid lesions have been reported. Purpose: To describe a case of an extramedullary sarcoid lesion in a patient that did not have systemic involvement and to review the literature of spinal sarcoidosis. Study design/setting: Case report and review of the literature. Patient sample: Case report. Outcome measures: Report of resolution of symptoms. Methods/description: The patient was a 33-year-old woman who had neck pain and pain radiating to the right scapula area and down the right arm into her hand and wrist. She also complained of numbness, tingling, muscle spasms and tremors, and had difficulty with writing. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a mass that was extramedullary in the right lateral aspect of the spinal canal at the level of C5 and extending into the right C5–6 neuroforamen. Admitting diagnosis of neurofibroma was made. The patient underwent C4, C5 and C6 laminoplasty and gross total resection of an intradural extramedullary tumor. The lesion encroached on the neuroforamen on the right side involving the C6 nerve root, was grossly adherent to some of the rootlets and looked like a Schwannoma. Gross total resection of the tumor was performed. Pathological examination of the specimen showed a noncaseating granulomatosis consistent with sarcoid. Postoperative testing did not reveal systemic involvement of sarcoidosis. The patient was treated with corticosteroids. Results: The patient made a satisfactory recovery, returned to work full-time, and had no complaints of neurological symptoms. Conclusions: An extramedullary sarcoid lesion is rare. Unlike intramedullary sarcoid lesions, it can be totally removed. If no systemic sarcoidosis is present, the patient can have a satisfactory recovery.
The Decline of Industrial Unionism in the Meatpacking Industry: Event-Structure Analyses of Labor Unrest, 1946-1987

Having negotiated challenges that contributed to the deterioration of most other unions, the United Packinghouse Workers of America entered the second half of the century with widespread support among packinghouse workers and a strong sense of purpose. In the late 1950s, however, meatpacking companies began a radical reorganization of the industry's system of production. Within the next decade, significant deskilling, the collapse of wage standards, and numerous plant closings facilitated the political emaciation of organized labor in meatpacking. Using event-structure analysis to systematically examine and compare labor struggles in the postwar years (1946-1948) and during the Reagan era (1986-1987), the authors find that the development of new corporate strategies fundamentally transformed the capital-labor relationship and led to the collapse of industrial unionism in meatpacking. Most important were the industry's development of new technologies, its geographical reorganization of production, and its ...
Honoring Eunice Kennedy Shriver's legacy in intellectual disability.

An entire book needs to be written to do justice to the many achievements of Eunice Kennedy Shriver in philanthropy, public policy leadership, and the International Special Olympics movement. However, my task here is to briefly highlight Mrs. Shriver’s most significant and lasting achievements in the field of intellectual disability as they relate to these three spheres of activity. Her striking achievements, spanning more than 50 years, involved formidable challenges and changed the field of intellectual disability forever by advancing human dignity and civil rights, public acceptance, community services, research, health promotion, and the joy and benefits of physical activity and sport.
Ethnicity, medical insurance, and living kidney donation

Background Relationships between race/ethnicity, recipient medical insurance, and living donor kidney transplantation (LKT) are incompletely described. Methods Associations between medical insurance and LKT were assessed in 447 recipients at a southeastern US transplant center. Primary and secondary payers were included in the analyses. Results A total of 387 deceased donor transplantations and 60 LKTs were performed in 246 (55%) European American (EA), 175 (39.2%) African American (AA), 15 (3.4%) Asian, and 11 (2.5%) Hispanic recipients. Among recipients, 182 (40.8%) were privately insured, 125 (28%) had Medicaid, and the remainder had Medicare, Medicare supplements, or Medicare replacement policies. A higher proportion of patients with private insurance, relative to those without private insurance, received LKT (22% vs. 7.6%, p < 0.0001). Among ethnic groups, LKT with, vs. without, private insurance was 27.5% vs. 12.4% in EAs (p = 0.0028) and 14.3% vs. 0.9% in AAs (p = 0.0005). Medicaid recipients (n = 125) were less likely to receive LKT than those without Medicaid (4.8% vs. 16.8%, p = 0.0003). Among the 69 AA recipients with Medicaid, none received LKT (0 Medicaid vs. 9.5% without Medicaid, p = 0.0065). Conclusions Recipient insurance status is associated with LKT, positively with private insurance and negatively with Medicaid. AAs were impacted to a greater extent, potentially contributing to lower rates of LKT.
Vaccination with attenuated Salmonella enterica Dublin expressing E. coli O157:H7 outer membrane protein Intimin induces transient reduction of fecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7 in cattle

Escherichia coli serogroup O157:H7 has emerged as an important zoonotic bacterial pathogen, causing a range of symptoms from self-limiting bloody diarrhea to severe hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic-uremic syndrome in humans. Beef and dairy cattle are considered the most important animal reservoirs for this pathogen. One of the important virulence characteristics of E. coli O157:H7 is the eaeA gene encoding the 97 kDa surface protein intimin. Intimin is required for attachment and effacement during the interaction of enterohemorrhagic E. coli with human and bovine neonatal enterocytes. The present study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that an adaptive mucosal immune response directed against intimin will reduce or prevent enteric colonization and fecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7 in cattle. Cattle were orally inoculated with either milk (control), milk with live attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Dublin (vector), or milk with live attenuated recombinant S. Dublin expressing intimin (vaccinated) on days 0, 14 and 28. On day 98, all calves were challenged orally with E. coli O157:H7 to evaluate whether vaccination with the recombinant S. Dublin expressing intimin would reduce the level of E. coli O157:H7 fecal shedding. During the first 28 days, vaccinated calves shed both the vector strain and the intimin-expressing S. Dublin strain at a similar level. The vector strain was shed for a significantly longer period as compared to the level of recombinant vaccine strain. Calves that received the intimin-expressed vaccine ceased shedding S. Dublin from day 28 to day 63. All calves were challenged with E. coli O157:H7 on day 98 to determine the effect on fecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7. The amount of E. coli O157:H7 in feces was measured for 30 days post-challenge. We observed a transient clearance of E. coli O157:H7 from the feces in the vaccinated calves. The magnitude of fecal E. coli O157:H7 shedding did not correlate with the presence of intimin-specific fecal IgA. Oral vaccination with live attenuated recombinant S. Dublin expressing intimin reduced enteric colonization and fecal shedding of E. coli O157:H7. However, the transient clearance of E. coli O157:H7 was not associated with an enhanced IgA-mediated mucosal immune response.
Application of adaptive feedback loop for ultra-violet femtosecond pulse shaper control.

We apply an adaptive feedback loop to control a ultra-violet (UV) femtosecond pulse shaping apparatus. The adaptive feedback control is implemented by a continuous parameter genetic algorithm. We use the adaptive shaper to compensate for the pulse chirp. The genetic algorithm produces a pulse with a width of 115 fs, identical to that of the transform-limited pulse. We then apply the adaptive shaper to the Stokes pulse in a femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) experiment on dipicolinic acid solution. The algorithm maximizes the first CARS beat signal at the probe pulse delay of 650 fs. We confirm that a transform-limited Stokes pulse achieves the best detection sensitivity.
Past blood alcohol concentration and injury in trauma center: propensity scoring.

BACKGROUND: Evidence linking alcohol use to injury outcomes remains inconclusive, with prehospital and police department-based studies showing negative effects and hospital-based studies showing no effect or better outcomes. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of blood alcohol concentration (BAC) with injury characteristics and outcomes among trauma patients admitted to a major teaching hospital. In an effort to mitigate selection and confounding bias, propensity scoring methodology was applied, by which trauma patients were randomly assigned to high- and low-BAC groups. METHODS: Electronic medical records were retrospectively reviewed for a period of 8 months. Of 1057 patients whose BAC was determined, 667 had BAC ≤ 0.08 g/dL and 390 had BAC > 0.08 g/dL. Injury characteristics were defined as injury type, injury location, and trauma level. Injury outcomes were defined as hospitalization, length of hospital stay, and in-hospital death. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using multivariate logistic regression models and propensity scoring was applied. RESULTS: A positive relationship was observed between BAC and unintentional injury (aOR = 1.08; 95% CI 1.01-1.17). Although injuries of the extremities were less likely to occur in patients with high BAC (aOR = 0.88; 95% CI 0.80-0.98), head injury was positively associated with high BAC (aOR = 1.27; 95% CI 1.14-1.42). Also, Level I trauma patients had nearly 60% greater odds of having a high BAC than Level II trauma patients. CONCLUSIONS: A high alcohol level in the blood appears to be predictive of more unintentional injury, head injury, and Level I trauma activation and less injuries in extremities. Language: en
Magnetic-field re-connexion in a highly conducting incompressible fluid

A theoretical model is proposed for the process of re-connexion of frozen-in magnetic-field lines at an X-type null point in the field. The model involves a diffusion region, immediately adjacent to the null point and an outer wave- dominated region. For the latter an exact solution to the magneto-hydrodynamic equations is obtained; for the former an approximate relationship is derived between the field-re-connexion rate, measured by the Alfven number of the incident flow, and the magnetic Reynolds number, based on the width of the diffusion region. The maximum field-re-connexion rate is determined entirely by conditions near the null point and may under suitable conditions become large. A condition for maximum conversion of magnetic energy is derived.
Development of Reduced Vancomycin Susceptibility in Methicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus

Background. Most cases of reduced vancomycin susceptibility in Staphylococcus aureus reported in the literature have been in methicillin-resistant strains. We report the development of reduced vancomycin susceptibility in a series of clonally related, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) clinical isolates. This isogenic series permitted us to determine whether the evolution of reduced vancomycin susceptibility in MSSA is similar to that seen in MRSA. Methods. Differences in vancomycin population analysis profiles; chemical autolysis; vancomycin, oxacillin, and daptomycin minimum inhibitory concentrations; and bactericidal activities were examined. Results. Progressive vancomycin resistance correlated with increasing daptomycin nonsusceptibility. Chemical autolysis and the bactericidal activity of vancomycin, oxacillin, and daptomycin were reduced in the final, vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus isolate, compared with the vancomycin-susceptible MSSA progenitor. Conclusions. Clinicians should recognize that reduced vancomycin susceptibility can occur in S. aureus irrespective of background methicillin susceptibility and that development of intermediate vancomycin susceptibility in MSSA may result in increased tolerance to several classes of anti-staphylococcal antibiotics.
Asthenospheric counterflow: a kinematic model

Summary. Present-day plate motions imply that about 240 km3 of oceanic lithosphere is created by sea-floor spreading and destroyed by subduction per year. A greater volume of asthenosphere will be dragged along by plate motions. Given the fluxes generated at plate boundaries, the horizontal direction and net rate of counterflow required to maintain mass balance is determined globally by a simple analytical model. Time-dependent calculations indicate that the motions are approximately valid in the hotspot reference frame over the past 5 Myr. Under most plates, the model return flow is opposite to the lithospheric motion in the hotspot frame. The counterflow dominates the resisting stresses to plate motion, so driving force models based on plate drag alone are not valid where the directions of plate motion and counterflow differ. The most marked departure of the two directions is under the North American plate. The model counterflow directions indicate that the sources of mantle hotspots are not located within the asthenosphere. Model flux balances demonstrate exchange of material between asthenospheric reservoirs located beneath different plates. Suggestions of southward asthenospheric motion under the North Atlantic, based on physical features around Iceland and strontium isotope geochemistry, are consistent with the direction of flow predicted by the model.
Probing Bell's inequality with classical systems

From the early days of quantum mechanics, there has been a discussion on the concept of reality, exemplified by the EPR paradox. To many, the idea of the paradox and the possibility of local hidden variables was dismissed by the Bell inequality. Yet, there remains considerable evidence that this inequality can be violated even by classical systems, so that experiments showing quantum behavior and the violation of the inequality must be questioned. Here, we demonstrate that classical optical polarization experiments can be shown to violate the Bell inequality. Hence, such experiments cannot be used to distinguish between classical and quantum theories.
Vectorial sodium transport across the mammalian alveolar epithelium: it occurs but through which cells?

The fluid that fills the alveolar spaces in the fetal lung is cleared shortly after birth, mainly as a consequence of active transport of sodium ions (Na+) across the alveolar epithelium. This transport establishes an osmotic gradient that favors reabsorption of intra-alveolar fluid.1 Studies that demonstrate both the reabsorption of intratracheally instilled isotonic fluid or plasma from the alveolar spaces of adult anesthetized animals and resected human lungs, and the partial inhibition of this process by amiloride and ouabain, indicate that adult alveolar epithelial cells are also capable of actively transporting Na+ ions (see reviews2,3). Although it remains unclear whether active Na+ transport plays an important role in keeping alveolar spaces free of fluid in the normal lung, a variety of studies have clearly established that active Na+ transport limits the degree of alveolar edema under pathological conditions in which the alveolar epithelium has been damaged. For example, intratracheal instillation of a Na+ channel blocker in rats exposed to hyperoxia increased the amount of extravascular lung water.4 Conversely, intratracheal instillation of adenoviral vectors expressing the Na+,K+-ATPase genes increased survival of rats exposed to hyperoxia.5 Moreover, patients with acute lung injury who are still able to concentrate alveolar protein (as a result of active Na+ reabsorption) have a better prognosis than those who cannot.6,7 Insight into the nature and regulation of transport pathways has come from electrophysiological studies of freshly isolated and cultured alveolar type II (ATII) cells. These cells, which make up 67% of the alveolar epithelial cell population, but which constitute only 3% of the alveolar surface area in the adult lung, can be isolated at high purity and cultured …
Leibniz: Body, Substance, Monad – Daniel Garber

Daniel Garber's last book is one of several publications on Leibniz's notion of substance (others are by D. Rutherford, C. Mercer, P. Lodge, L. Brandon), and may be seen as a challenge to Leibnizia ...
Prognostic factors associated with long-term survival in previously untreated metastatic renal cell carcinoma

Purpose: To identify prognostic factors (PF) for long-term survival in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a metastatic RCC database at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation consisting of 358 previously untreated patients who were enrolled in institutional review board-approved clinical trials of immunotherapy and/or chemotherapy at our institution from 1987 to 2002. In order to identify patient characteristics associated with long-term survival, we compared 226 ‘short-term’ survivors [defined as overall survival (OS) <2 years] with 31 ‘long-term’ survivors (OS ‡ 5y ears). Results: Using logistic regression models, four adverse PF were identified as independent predictors of long-term survival: hemoglobin less than the lower limit of normal, greater than two metastatic sites, involved kidney (left), and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status (PS). Using the number of poor prognostic features present, three distinct risk groups could be identified. Patients with 0 or 1 adverse prognostic feature present had an observed likelihood of long-term survival of 32% (21/66) compared with 9% (8/91) for patients with two adverse features present and only 1% (1/93) for patients with more than two adverse features. Conclusions: Independent predictors of long-term survival in previously untreated metastatic RCC include baseline hemoglobin level, number of involved sites, involved kidney, and ECOG PS. Incorporation of these factors into a simple prognostic scoring system enables three distinct groups of patients to be identified.
Adaptive interferometric imaging in clutter and optimal illumination

A frequently used broadband array imaging method is Kirchhoff or travel time migration. In smooth and known media Kirchhoff migration works quite well, with range resolution proportional to the reciprocal of the bandwidth and cross range resolution that is proportional to the reciprocal of the array size. In a randomly inhomogeneous medium, Kirchhoff migration is unreliable because the images depend on the detailed scattering properties of the random medium that are not known. In Borcea et al (2005 Interferometric array imaging in clutter Inverse Problems 21 1419–60) we introduced an imaging functional that does not depend on the detailed properties of the random medium, that is, it is statistically stable. This is the coherent interferometric (CINT) imaging functional, which can be viewed as a smoothed version of Kirchhoff migration. Smoothing increases the statistical stability of the image but causes blurring. In this paper, we introduce an adaptive version of CINT in which there is an optimal trade-off between statistical stability and blurring. We also introduce optimal illumination schemes for achieving the best possible resolution of the images obtained with CINT.
Report on Committee I

It was suggested that a way of clarifying con stitutional values might be to look closer at the framers of the Constitution—what were their views and background. They were elitists, from diverse backgrounds, representing a rela tively broad spectrum for the time. Particular revolutionary values were discussed, beginning with equality. Discussion particularly centered on whether equality referred to "equal ity of opportunity" or "equality of result." It was expressed that equality of result was not in conflict with equality of opportunity but a necessary tool to achieve it. Generally, equality of opportunity was preferred to equality of result, except that there should be a certain amount of result equality in order to ensure real equality of opportunity, and it was agreed that quotas were sometimes necessary to correct past discrimination. Other values were discussed briefly, including domestic tranquility, exporting democracy, free speech, constitutional respect for individual autonomy and privacy, and f...
Comparison of Serum Bactericidal Activity Among Three Antimicrobial Combinations

Three antimicrobial combinations, ticarcillin plus cephalothin (T+C), ticarcillin plus gentamicin (T+G), and cephalothin plus gentamicin (C+G), were administered to 105 febrile granulocytopenic cancer patients at the Baltimore Cancer Research Center as part of a multi-institutional prospective randomized antibiotic trial. The sera from 32 of these patients (T+C-10 patients, T+G-10 patients, and C+G-12 patients) obtained 1 h post-antibiotic administration were examined for bactericidal activity against 11 strains each of the most common pathogens infecting the granulocytopenic host: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, and Staphylococcus aureus. Each of the three antibiotic regimens produced a high degree of bactericidal activity in these sera against S. aureus and E. coli. P. aeruginosa was equally, although poorly, killed by sera containing ticarcillin (T+G, T+C), whereas C+G produced no measurable serocidal activity (P < 0.05). Sera with C+G killed K. pneumoniae more effectively than T+G; T+C produced the least killing effect of the three regimens against this organism (P < 0.05). The bactericidal activity of the serum from these 32 patients supplements the overall clinical results of the multi-institutional antibiotic trial and suggests that T+G is a useful initial regimen for empiric therapy of febrile episodes in granulocytopenic cancer patients.
Simvastatin induces cell death in a mouse cerebellar slice culture (CSC) model of developmental myelination

Statins (inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase) have shown promise in treating multiple sclerosis (MS). However, their effect on oligodendrocyte remyelination of demyelinated axons has not been clarified. Since developmental myelination shares many features with the remyelination process, we investigated the effect of lipophilic simvastatin on developmental myelination in organotypic cerebellar slice cultures (CSC). In this study, we first characterized developmental myelination in CSC from postnatal day (P)5 and P10 mice that express enhanced green fluorescence protein (eGFP) in oligodendrocyte-lineage cells. We then examined the effect of simvastatin on three developmental myelination stages: early myelination (P5 CSC, 2DIV), late myelination (P10 CSC, 2DIV) and full myelination (P10 CSC, 10DIV). We found that treatment with simvastatin (0.1 microM) for 6 days decreased the survival of Purkinje cells and oligodendrocytes drastically during the early myelination stage, while moderately during the late and full myelination stages. Oligodendrocytes are more resistant than Purkinje cells. The toxic effect of simvastatin could be rescued by the product of HMG-CoA reductase mevalonate but not low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Additionally, this toxic effect is independent of isoprenylation since farnesyl pyrophosphate (Fpp) but not geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGpp) provided partial rescue. Our findings therefore suggest that inhibition of cholesterol synthesis is detrimental to neuronal tissue.
A Combinatorial Auction-Based Mechanism for Dynamic VM Provisioning and Allocation in Clouds

Cloud computing providers provision their resources into different types of virtual machine (VM) instances that are then allocated to the users for specific periods of time. The allocation of VM instances to users is usually determined through fixed-price allocation mechanisms that cannot guarantee an economically efficient allocation and the maximization of cloud provider's revenue. A better alternative would be to use combinatorial auction-based resource allocation mechanisms. This argument is supported by the economic theory; when the auction costs are low, as is the case in the context of cloud computing, auctions are especially efficient over the fixed-price markets because products are matched to customers having the highest valuation. The existing combinatorial auction-based VM allocation mechanisms do not take into account the user's demand when making provisioning decisions, that is, they assume that the VM instances are statically provisioned. We design an auction-based mechanism for dynamic VM provisioning and allocation that takes into account the user demand, when making provisioning decisions. We prove that our mechanism is truthful (i.e., a user maximizes its utility only by bidding its true valuation for the requested bundle of VMs). We evaluate the proposed mechanism by performing extensive simulation experiments using real workload traces. The experiments show that the proposed mechanism yields higher revenue for the cloud provider and improves the utilization of cloud resources.
HIV Now Firmly Established in the Middle Ages

Monty Python’s hit Broadway musical Spamalot (based on their earlier movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail) is cast in medieval England at the time of transition from the Dark Ages to the Middle Ages. The second song of the show highlights one of the play’s most famous lines, ‘‘I’m not dead, yet,’’ uttered by a character who was presumed to have died from plague. In today’s world, owing to breathtaking advances in medical science, many patients who surely would have died due to the AIDS plague in the 1980s are still alive, thriving, and transitioning from the Dark Ages of AIDS to the ‘‘Middle Age.’’ In this issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Hasse et al [ 1 ], from the Swiss HIV Cohort, clearly document the number of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)– infected patients who have entered ‘‘middle age’’ over the past 2 decades. Just a cursory glance at Figure 1 in their report tells the story: From 1990 to 2010, the proportion of patients in their cohort who were 50–64 years of age increased from ,3% to nearly 25%. If the trend demonstrated in that figure continues over the next decade, up to 50% of patients in their cohort will be .50 years of age. Such an outcome was unimaginable 30 years ago, when AIDS was first described. Hasse and colleagues [1] describe the emerging medical conditions associated with the middle-aged patients in their cohort. Remarkably, there were relatively few HIV-related events (n 5 195), compared with non-AIDS comorbidities (n 5 994), during the period of observation, underscoring the success of treatment against the virus. Not surprisingly, the non-AIDS comorbidities are the conditions encountered in normal healthy populations of aging individuals: myocardial infarctions, strokes, malignancies, diabetes mellitus, and osteoporosis. Their study could not address, however, the relative frequency of these conditions in HIV-infected patients, compared with age-matched HIVuninfected control subjects. However, this was not the point of their report. Rather, their study reveals the remarkable success of the modern treatment era of AIDS care and raises a question to both providers and health care policy makers: What’s next?
Eastboro Machine Tools Corporation (V. 1.1)

IIn mid September 2001, Jennifer Campbell, the chief financial officer of this large CAD/CAM (computer-aided design and manufacturing) equipment manufacturer must decide whether to pay out dividends to the firms shareholders, or repurchase stock. If Campbell chooses to pay out dividends, she must also decide on the magnitude of the payout. A subsidiary question is whether the firm should embark on a campaign of corporate-image advertising and change its corporate name to reflect its new outlook. The case serves as an omnibus review of the many practical aspects of the dividend and share buyback decisions, including: (1) signaling effects, (2) clientele effects, and (3) finance and investment implications of increasing dividend payout and share repurchase decisions. This case can follow a treatment of the Miller-Modigliani dividend irrelevance theorem and serves to highlight practical considerations in setting dividend policy.
Gestural Timing and Derived Environment Effects in Norwegian Clusters

This paper considers the phonological behavior of /C/ clusters in Urban East Norwegian (henceforth UEN), as recently discussed by Kristoffersen (2000). I will argue that the phonetic realization of such clusters depends on the relative timing of the articulatory gestures associated with // and the following consonant. Specifically, the patterning of /C/ clusters lends further support to Cho's (1998a,b) phonetically-based Optimalitytheoretic (OT) approach to intergestural timing specifications. Cho's central hypothesis is that "the timing between two gestures created by morpheme concatenation is not lexically specified and is therefore potentially subject to any phonological change which can be produced by varying gestural overlap" (Cho 1998b:5). This hypothesis provides a basis for explaining derived environment effects whereby overlap in /C/ sequences is blocked within morphemes but not across morpheme or word boundaries. This paper is organized as follows. Section 2 documents the derived environment effects in UEN clusters. Section 3 examines the role of gestural timing in cluster realization. Section 4 develops a phonetically-based analysis of the derived environment effects, which is then compared with two alternative OT accounts in Section 5. Finally, Section 6 concludes by considering some empirical implications of the proposed analysis, with specific reference to liquid assimilation processes observed in the Spanish of Havana, Cuba.
An Analytics Approach to Designing Combination Chemotherapy Regimens for Cancer

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, and advanced cancer is often treated with combinations of multiple chemotherapy drugs. In this work, we develop models to predict the outcomes of clinical trials testing combination chemotherapy regimens before they are run and to select the combination chemotherapy regimens to be tested in new phase II and phase III clinical trials, with the primary objective of improving the quality of regimens tested in phase III trials compared to current practice. We built a database of 414 clinical trials for advanced gastric cancer and use it to build statistical models that attain an out-of-sample R2 of 0.56 when predicting a trial’s median overall survival (OS) and an out-of-sample area under the curve (AUC) of 0.83 when predicting if a trial has unacceptably high toxicity. We propose models that use machine learning and optimization to suggest regimens to be tested in phase II and phase III trials. Though it is inherently challenging to evaluate the performance of su...
Computational Modeling of Failure Patterns of Glass Panels with Imperfections Subjected to Air Blast

Glass fragments are a prime source of injury to occupants of buildings subjected to explosive events during which window glass breaks into either flying shards (annealed glass windows) or fragments (fully tempered glass). These account for injuries ranging from minor cuts to severe wounds. A successful blast-resistant glazing design requires balancing of the safety and security of the window panels with physical appearance and cost-effectiveness. Moreover, it should consider the principles of a reasonable degree of protection against explosive threats based on the proposed level of security and previous lessons learned. In this paper, explicit finite element method (FEM) with is used for modeling the window failure and investigate the failure patterns of annealed and fully tempered glass windows panels with embedded imperfections across the panel. For this purpose, the element-removal technique is utilized in accordance with the fracture micromechanics' principles and the brittle failure criteria of displacements; strains and stresses. The results of the analysis demonstrate that the response of the conventionally-framed window panels to blast loading cases depends upon the glazing technologies; blast load intensities; the glass types; and the location of imperfections. Through the application of element removal technique and stress redistributions at each infinitesimal time increment, the results of this paper further demonstrates that the existence of glass imperfections in the window panels will make them more vulnerable against the air blast overpressures for both annealed and fully-tempered glass panel cases: For fully tempered glass panels, the vulnerability arises from greater stress concentrations at the location of glass defects as well as higher brittleness of the panel itself when compared to the annealed glass panels. The results of this study show that the existence of defects along the edges will help in redistribution of the stresses in a way that the yield lines will pass through these imperfection locations. The general failure pattern for defective annealed glass panels subjected to small intensity air blast will be very similar to the failure pattern of homogeneous window panels yet with a faster pace. However, when subjected to a higher intensity air blast, the severity of the load will cause excessive rotation angles in the panel and subsequent computational divergence and instability. The panel failure will occur much faster and with different patterns compared to the case of annealed glass panels subjected to smaller intensity air blasts. KeywordsGlass; Air Blast; Safety; Window Panels; Fracture Mechanics; Crack Propagation
Characteristics of island growth of Hg 1-x Cd x Te on (100) CdTe substrates by chemical vapor transport

The characteristics of island growth of Hg1−xCdxTe (MCT) by chemical vapor transport on (100) CdTe substrates have been studied, for the first time, by optical microscopy, by infrared transmission spectroscopy, and by chemical etching. Nonuniformities of the growth thickness, of the growth rate, and of the composition of islands are observed. Based on the experimental results, the origin and the inhibition of island growth of MCT on (100) CdTe substrates are discussed.
Complete Genome Sequence of Staphylococcus aureus MCRF184, a Necrotizing Fasciitis-Causing Methicillin-Sensitive Sequence Type 45 Staphylococcus Strain.

ABSTRACT We report here the complete genome sequence of a highly virulent methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus strain, MCRF184, belonging to sequence type 45. This staphylococcal strain was isolated from a surgical biopsy specimen from a patient with necrotizing fasciitis.
High-Resolution Electrogastrogram: A Novel, Noninvasive Method for Determining Gastric Slow-Wave Direction and Speed

Despite its simplicity and noninvasiveness, the use of the electrogastrogram (EGG) remains limited in clinical practice for assessing gastric disorders. Recent studies have characterized the occurrence of spatial gastric myoelectric abnormalities that are ignored by typical approaches relying on time-frequency analysis of single channels. In this paper we present the high-resolution (HR) EGG, which utilizes an array of electrodes to estimate the direction and speed of gastric slow waves. The approach was verified on a forward electrophysiology model of the stomach, demonstrating that an accurate assessment of slow-wave propagation can be made. Furthermore, we tested the methodology on eight healthy adults and calculated propagation directions (181 $^\circ$ p 29 $^\circ$ ) and speeds (3.7 p 0.5 mm/s) that are consistent with serosal recordings of slow waves described in the literature. By overcoming the limitations of current methods, HR-EGG is a fully automated tool that may unveil new classes of gastric abnormalities. This could lead to a better diagnosis of diseases and inspire novel drugs and therapies, ultimately improving clinical outcomes.
In Situ Simulation

In situ simulation describes training that occurs in real patient care environments, rather than in a simulation center or off-site training area. Mobile simulation, taking simulation to hospitals or clinics in the community, can make in situ simulation methodologies accessible across institutions and international boundaries.