cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A clinically applicable method to preserve urine and bladder washing cells for flow cytometric monitoring of bladder cancer patients.

AbstractWe describe a method to fix exfoliated bladder cells that is suitable for followup of bladder cancer patients by deoxyribonucleic acid flow cytometry. After fixation with room temperature methanol plus acetic acid (20:1, volume:volume) urine and bladder washing samples from these patients can be stored at room temperature for 3 to 7 days and then assessed reliably for the presence of aneuploidy and the percentage of hyperdiploid cells. For those with active transitional cell carcinoma diagnostic accuracy comparing fresh to fixed specimens was improved from 58 to 92% with urine and from 50 to 100% with washing samples. For patients with a history of transitional cell carcinoma who currently are free of disease the false positive rate remains unchanged after fixation. The procedure described is suitable for use in the outpatient clinic and should permit shipping of samples without refrigeration to a central flow cytometry facility for analysis. (J. Urol, 143: 700–705, 1990)
Abstract 1431: Incidence and natural history of cardiovascular toxicity associated with biologic and targeted therapies used in hematologic malignancies

INTRODUCTION: Unanticipated cardiac toxicity has been reported with anti cancer targeted and biological treatments. In this retrospective study, we aim at identifying the number of cardiac toxicity cases among patients with hematologic malignancies (HM) who were treated with targeted therapies over 10-year period with emphasis on natural history and outcomes. METHODS: With the help of the Faculty Practice Decision Support (FPDS) team, we used 114 diagnosis codes for HM and 17 codes for cardiac diseases in order to mine our electronic medical records (EPIC) and identify patients with HM and specific cardiac problems, then sorted them according to whether they received known biologic agents such as thymidine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), proteasome inhibitors, monoclonal antibodies, hypomethylating agents, and immunomodulatory drugs. RESULTS: FPDS team provided us with a file that contained medical records of 820 patients that had both HM and cardiac abnormalities. We pulled out 53 patients who received the drugs of interest. We were able to confirm cardiac toxicity defined mainly by left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of CONCLUSIONS: About 4.1% of patients with HM experience unanticipated cardiac toxicity with related mortality of 17.6%. Most patients do well with stable compensated cardiac function with objective improvement in LVEF. Whether Rituximab can cause cardiac toxicity is controversial and we will present specific arguments. Citation Format: Jan S. Moreb, Haneen Mohammad, Lindsay McCullough, Anita Szady, Leslie Pettiford, Alexandra Lucas. Incidence and natural history of cardiovascular toxicity associated with biologic and targeted therapies used in hematologic malignancies. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1431.
Mathematical Exposition of the Design Axioms

Axiomatic design (AD) offers designers two fundamental principles to follow for a successful design: (1) identify and define the design objectives, i.e., functional requirements (FRs), in such a way that they are inherently independent; and (2) conceive solutions for the FRs that comply with two design axioms: the independent axiom and the information axiom. In the previous chapter, the rationale and origin for the axiomatic nature of the design axioms were provided. In this chapter, the two axioms are given a deeper mathematical understanding, thereby strengthening their value. Starting with the formal definition of functional independence, the criterion for functional independence of FRs in a design is derived as the Jacobian determinant |J| ≠ 0. Since | J | ≠ 0 implies independence of FRs and existence of design solutions, the |J| criterion corroborates the declaration of independence axiom that a good design must “maintain the independence of the functional requirements.” The |J| criterion further reveals that AD criterion for functional independence—design with single input–single output—is only a sufficient condition. For rigor and completeness, the |J| criterion is shown to be necessary and sufficient. In implementing information axiom, AD assessment of uncertainty in design should cover a larger extent than it currently does. AD has not and should begin to recognize and identify the sources of variability and the countermeasures to them. The chapter ends with a summary of implementation steps in AD expressed in mathematical terms.
The New World Order

Concerns over Berlin and Cuba led American forces to confront Soviet forces in situations in which a misstep, a rash action by an aggressive or nervous officer, might have led to war. Nikita Khrushchev provoked each of these crises. The Berlin crisis he created in 1958 provides a useful example of how he functioned. The revival of German power in the late 1950s, and evidence of growing German influence within the Western alliance, worried Soviet analysts. By the spring of 1960, the American government knew unequivocally, from intelligence gathered by U-2 over-flights of the Soviet Union, that Khrushchev's claims of missile superiority were unwarranted. The Cuban Communist party was legalized and its members began to play a role, although relatively minor, in the implementation of Fidel Castro's programs. Air raids by CIA-operated bombers had failed to eliminate the tiny Cuban air force but had prompted a Cuban military alert and protest to the United Nations.
Translation of heterogeneous high-level models to lower level design languages

Proceeding from a specification, one develops an abstract mathematical model of a system, or portion of a system. This model of a system is validated to insure that the specification is interpreted accurately and to explore different algorithms for implementing the system behavior. We use the words “portion of a system,” because only rarely are systems designed wholly using a purely top-down approach. Commonly, the design approach is a mixture of top-down and bottom-up. But even in this mixed approach, top-down techniques are critical to the development of new, advanced system features and improving the performance of existing system components. An example of this style of design tools and environments is Ptolemy II. Ptolemy II is a high-level modeling tool created at UC-Berkeley. It supports heterogeneous and homogeneous modeling, simulation, and design of concurrent systems. High-level modeling of such embedded systems as digital electronics, hardware, and software can be effectively represented. The bottom-up design approach exploits design reuse to achieve the productivity necessary to build complex systems. Historically, chip design companies have always reused designs in going from one product generation to another, but the efficiency of bottom-up design is enhanced by the use of IP (Intellectual Property) cores that a company can buy from an outside source. Design libraries are useful for system design and are an example of IP cores. A sound methodology to translate Ptolemy models to SystemC models would have a very beneficial effect on the CAD/EDA industry. Ptolemy II is written in Java and its high-level designs, or abstract graph models, are represented as XML documents. Ptolemy's major emphasis is on the methodology for defining and producing embedded software together with the system in which it is embedded. SystemC is written in C++, and its industrial use is gaining momentum due to its ability to represent functionality, communication, software, and hardware at various levels of abstraction. SystemC produces synthesizable code. A methodology to convert Ptolemy models to synthesizable SystemC code would be the technical epitome of a hybrid between top-down and bottom-up design styles and methodologies. Such a methodology would enable system designers to obtain fast design exploration, efficient IP-reuse, and validation. Ptolemy has various components and models of computation. A model of computation dictates how components interact between other components. SystemC has its own models of computation and design libraries. XML and Perl are both powerful tools by themselves, and we use these tools in this research to create a sound methodology for translating Ptolemy models (high-level of abstraction) to synthesizable SystemC code (low-level of abstraction), i.e.: code which can serve as input to hardware tools.
Miosite benigna aguda da infância – relato de caso.

Benign acute childhood myositis (BACM) is an uncommon, disabling, self-limited disease that is relatively unknown by healthcare providers. This article reports a case of BACM in a 6 year-old child who suffered from calf pain and was unable to bear weight after an upper respiratory tract infection. There was no history of trauma and there were no similar episodes in the past. Because of its excellent prognosis, increased awareness by primary care health care providers is needed, to permit safe follow up in most cases
A model for predicting focal ablation candidates in patients with prostate cancer based on MRI and biopsy criteria.

31Background: To determine the accuracy of multiparametric MRI (mpMRI) and fusion biopsy in predicting focal therapy candidates by correlating agreement between patients’ pre-prostatectomy MRI and ...
Loop diuretics are K+-sparing in the presence of a low-Na+, high-K+ diet

Under most conditions, loop diuretics are K + -wasting, requiring potassium supplementation. In this issue, Wang and colleagues demonstrate that in mice fed a low-Na + , high-K + diet, loop diuretics, in contrast, are K + -sparing. This observation suggests that possible elevations in plasma K + should be monitored when using a loop diuretic with a low-Na + , high-K + diet, particularly when in combination with a potassium supplement.
Linear Multivariable Antiwindup Control Design: Singular Perturbation Approach

Abstract We develop a simple procedure for multivariable antiwindup design and implementation using the theory of singular perturbations. By artificially enforcing two time-scale separation in the antiwindup loop, through the introduction of a parasitic time-constant, we can exploit the additional design degree of freedom for eliminating algebraic loops and for practical implementation of the antiwindup control. The emerging antiwindup structure is similar to existing schemes in the literature but it exposes the significance of an often overlooked design parameter. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed antiwindup scheme via a simulation case study using an ill-conditioned benchmark example.
Decentralized Global Optimization Based on a Growth Transform Dynamical System Model

Conservation principles, such as conservation of charge, energy, or mass, provide a natural way to couple and constrain spatially separated variables. In this paper, we propose a dynamical system model that exploits these constraints for solving nonconvex and discrete global optimization problems. Unlike the traditional simulated annealing or quantum annealing-based global optimization techniques, the proposed method optimizes a target objective function by continuously evolving a driver functional over a conservation manifold, using a generalized variant of growth transformations. As a result, the driver functional asymptotically converges toward a Dirac-delta function that is centered at the global optimum of the target objective function. In this paper, we provide an outline of the proof of convergence for the dynamical system model and investigate different properties of the model using a benchmark nonlinear optimization problem. Also, we demonstrate how a discrete variant of the proposed dynamical system can be used for implementing decentralized optimization algorithms, where an ensemble of spatially separated entities (for example, biological cells or simple computational units) can collectively implement specific functions, such as winner-take-all and ranking, by exchanging signals only with its immediate substrate or environment. The proposed dynamical system model could potentially be used to implement continuous-time optimizers, annealers, and neural networks.
Understanding Preservice Teachers' Perceived Preparedness to Work with Chronically Ill Young Children.

ABSTRACTMany young children in the United States are faced with chronic illnesses that cause them unique challenges. It is imperative that all members of children’s support systems feel prepared to help meet those challenges. One integral component of this support team for children are their teachers. The purpose of this study was to assess preservice early childhood teachers’ perceived preparedness to work with chronically ill children. Additionally, the study explored preservice teachers’ ideas about the resources needed to effectively work with chronically ill children. Data were gathered from 32 preservice teachers pursuing a degree and licensure in Birth through Kindergarten (BK) education within a southeastern state university. A survey encompassing closed and open-ended questions related to perceived preparedness was utilized for the study. Results indicated that preservice BK teachers do not feel highly prepared to care for children who are chronically ill in their classroom. Preservice BK teacher...
The Superconducting Energy Gap

Publisher Summary In order to understand the meaning and implications of the superconductive energy gap, it is instructive to review the properties of some other systems, which also exhibit energy gaps, and point out the similarities and differences between them and superconductors. Any of these systems consists of a very large number of particles, and it is possible to assume that in the absence of any external perturbation and in the limit of zero temperature, it is in equilibrium in its state of minimum energy—the ground state. The idea that an energy gap could be responsible for the superconducting properties of metals suggested that from the microscopic point of view, it was possible to explain the phenomenological equations by assuming that “the electrons be coupled by some form of interaction in such a way that the lowest state be separated by excited interval from the excited states.”
Maintaining High Subject Retention in Follow-Up Studies of Children with Mental Illness

Measuring a program's success in enabling a child to improve functioning at home, school, and the community requires careful tracking of children's progress during the intervention and after it is completed. Attrition is often a major problem in carrying out longitudinal research. I present a number of strategies for maintaining high rates of response in follow-up studies, including how to choose a study design that enhances participation, how to locate study participants, how to engage study participants, and how to select and train high quality interviewers. The strategies presented have been used with success by a children's mental health agency and may be helpful to other researchers as they evaluate programs, measure outcomes, and study the life course of children with mental illness.
Differential Privacy and Statistical Disclosure Risk Measures: An Investigation with Binary Synthetic Data

We compare the disclosure risk criterion of e-differential privacy with a criterion based on probabilities that intruders uncover actual values given the released data. To do so, we generate fully synthetic data that satisfy e-differential privacy at different levels of e, make assumptions about the information available to intruders, and compute posterior probabilities of uncovering true values. The simulation results suggest that the two paradigms are not easily reconciled, since differential privacy is agnostic to the specific values in the observed data whereas probabilistic disclosure risk measures depend greatly on them. The results also suggest, perhaps surprisingly, that probabilistic disclosure risk measures can be small even when e is large. Motivated by these findings, we present an alternative disclosure risk assessment approach that integrates some of the strong confidentiality protection features in e-differential privacy with the interpretability and data-specific nature of probabilistic disclosure risk measures.
α-Synuclein concentration increases over time in plasma supernatant of single donor platelets.

OBJECTIVES In platelets, α-synuclein is important in calcium-dependent granule release. Notably, cells release α-synuclein in setting of cell damage or death. Therefore, we investigated α-synuclein levels in plasma of single donor platelet (SDP) units during storage. METHODS Aliquots were obtained from same SDP units for 7 days from day of donation. Additionally, randomly sampled SDP units at same storage time points were also assayed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS α-Synuclein in SDP plasma increased continuously over time at each assayed time point. Significant increases were measured on day 3 (11.7 ± 9.6 ng/mL, P = 0.025), day 5 (15.3 ± 5.9 ng/mL, P = 0.002), and highest on day 7 (23.7 ± 5.6 ng/mL, P < 0.0001) compared to day 0 (1.1 ± 0.8 ng/mL). Similar significant results were obtained in randomly sampled SDP units at same corresponding time points. Flow cytometry showed that platelets had strong expression of α-synuclein and lacked expression of other synucleins. CONCLUSIONS Increases of α-synuclein during SDP storage is a steady and continuous process that increases with time. Our findings indicate that α-synuclein may represent a biomarker of platelet biological state during storage. Further research will be needed to determine how α-synuclein increases correlate with platelets' function.
18F-FDG PET/CT Unveiling of Implant Rupture and Clinically Unsuspected Silicone Granuloma in Treated Breast Cancer

18F-FDG uptake in enlarged lymph nodes is always suspicious, especially in cancer patients. We report a case of hypermetabolic internal mammary lymphadenopathy in a breast cancer patient who was previously treated with bilateral mastectomy and implants. The abnormal nodal uptake turned out to be due to foreign body-induced inflammation, as confirmed histopathologically. Vigilant PET interpretation is required in breast cancer patients who have evidence of breast implant rupture.
Comparing Geometric Approximations of Heavy‐Tail Effects for Chi‐Square Integrity Monitors

This paper considers the verification of integrity monitors used commonly in safety-of-life navigation systems. The paper compares three conservative bounds (also known as overbounds) that can be used to compute missed-detection performance for nominally chi-square integrity monitors subject to random noise with non-Gaussian heavy tails. The three overbounds rely on simple geometric shapes – cones, cylinders, and spheres – to ensure that missed-detection probability can be computed conservatively, reliably, and efficiently. The overbounds provide conservative estimates of missed-detection performance even when the exact form of the noise distribution is not known, so long as the noise CDF is spherically symmetric. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that, for moderate and large faults, the spherical overbound performs best, but for small faults, the cylindrical overbound performs best, at least in the case of a two-dimensional vector space.
A Novel Approach to Serial Amnioinfusion in a Case of Premature Rupture of Membranes Near the Limit of Viability

Prelabor rupture of the membranes (PROM) near the limit of viability is associated with significant risks for both mother and fetus. Preterm labor, intra-amniotic infection, and placental abruption are the immediate risks to the pregnancy; however, the fetus incurs additional risks related to the sequela of persistent oligohydramnios. Transabdominal intra-amniotic infusions have been studied. Results, suggesting that this intervention may prolong the latency period, and potentially, decrease pulmonary hypoplasia in surviving neonates without evidence of increasing risk of intra-amniotic infection. To our knowledge, the use of antibiotic-infused fluid has not been reported in this clinical scenario. Therefore, we present a case of a patient with PROM before the limit of viability who underwent serial transabdominal amnioinfusions with oxacillin-containing normal saline, which resulted in membrane resealing and neonatal survival with no additional maternal morbidity.
Molecular testing in Gynecological Malignancies

Approximately 84,000 new cases of gynecological malignancies are diagnosed in the USA each year. Their five main sites of origin are vulvar, vaginal, cervical, uterine, and ovarian. Each site can give rise to multiple subtypes of epithelial, stromal, and, in the case of ovarian lesions, germ cell tumors, which can also have extra-gonadal origins. Fallopian tube carcinomas were regarded as rare until recently, but are now considered together with epithelial cancers of the ovary and, in fact, may account for the majority of tumors historically classified as serous ovarian carcinomas (reviewed in ref. Ann Oncol 24:viii28–35, 2013). Primary serous peritoneal carcinomas are morphologically and clinically identical to ovarian or fallopian tube serous carcinomas but do not affect any of these two organs. These lesions have also been regarded as rare but probably also account for many of the tumors historically classified as serous ovarian carcinomas (Ann Oncol 24:viii28–35, 2013; Lancet Oncol 9:1191–97, 2008).
In Vitro Forward Flow Performance of the EDWARDS INTUITY Elite Rapid Deployment Aortic Valve Replacement in Patient-Specific Anatomy

Objective: Clinical studies have documented promising hemodynamic results with the use of rapid deployment surgical aortic valve replacement (RD-SAVR). However, the exact mechanism for this hemodyn...
A Meta-Analytic Examination of the Continued Influence of Misinformation in the Face of Correction: How Powerful Is It, Why Does It Happen, and How to Stop It?:

A meta-analysis was conducted to examine the extent of continued influence of misinformation in the face of correction and the theoretical explanations of this phenomenon. Aggregation of results fr...
Long-Term Treatment With Azathioprine and Mycophenolate Mofetil for Myositis-Related Interstitial Lung Disease

Background The efficacy of azathioprine (AZA) and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) for interstitial lung disease (ILD) has been described, but mainly in connective tissue disease-associated ILD. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of AZA and MMF on lung function and prednisone dose in myositis-related ILD (M-ILD). Methods In this retrospective study, patients with M-ILD seen at Johns Hopkins and treated with AZA or MMF and no other steroid-sparing agents were included. Linear mixed-effects models adjusted for sex, age, antisynthetase antibody, and smoking status were used to compare the change in FVC % predicted, diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (Dlco) % predicted, and prednisone dose. Results Sixty-six patients with M-ILD were treated with AZA and 44 with MMF. At treatment initiation, mean FVC % predicted and Dlco % predicted were significantly lower in the AZA group than in the MMF group. In both groups, FVC % predicted improved and the prednisone dose was reduced over 2 to 5 years; however, for Dlco % predicted, only the AZA group improved. The adjusted model showed no significant difference in posttreatment FVC % predicted or Dlco % predicted between groups (mean difference of 1.9 and –8.2, respectively), but a 6.6-mg lower dose of prednisone at 36 months in the AZA group. Adverse events were more frequent with AZA than MMF (33.3% vs 13.6%; P = .04). Conclusions In M-ILD, AZA treatment was associated with improved FVC % predicted and Dlco % predicted, and lower prednisone dose. Patients treated with MMF had improved FVC % predicted and lower prednisone dose. After 36 months, patients treated with AZA received a lower prednisone dose than those treated with MMF.
Maximizing the Performance of a 3D Printed Heat Sink by Accounting for Anisotropic Thermal Conductivity During Filament Deposition

Newly developed high thermal conductivity polymer composite 3D printing filaments are used to characterize the thermal properties as a function of print orientation. The thermal conductivity of a printed part is anisotropic and varies by 2–6 times depending on the print direction - demonstrating higher conductivity in the deposition direction (in-plane) than in the two directions perpendicular to the deposition direction (cross-plane and through-plane). Therefore, deposition path planning greatly affects the overall heat dissipation rate and the performance of the heat sink. Traditionally, 3D printing slicers generate deposition paths based solely on geometric constraints. This work investigates a new approach of deposition path planning assisted by computational predictions of the heat sink thermal performance. The proposed approach uses a thermal simulation of a 3D-printed part, accounting for the anisotropic thermal properties, and the orientation of the local material properties are assigned based on the deposition path in multiple print orientations. The performances predicted via the simulations are compared, and the optimal deposition path is determined. For the highest thermal conductivity 3D printing filament (∼ 12 W/m- K in-plane), a heat sink printed with the print direction parallel to the fins z-axis had ∼20% improved performance in comparison to a heat sink with print direction perpendicular to the fins z-axis. Moreover, a plastic 3D printed heat sink was able to perform within 7% of an extruded Aluminum heat sink with similar geometry under natural convection. The computational predictions show the same trend as experimental measurements using 3D printed heat sinks.
The Influence of Word of Mouth

This chapter analyzes the effects of word of mouth on a movie’s performance at the box office. Specifically, an Emerson College study found consistent trends among high and low performers, resulting in a 30 percent average weekly revenue difference in their opening weeks. Also discussed is another Emerson College study which found that Twitter could demonstrate how buzz influences movies. For example, researchers found that both tweet sentiment and tweet rate were strongly correlated with movie revenue.
High-Performance Optically Controlled RF Switches for Advanced Reconfigurable Millimeterwave-to-THz Circuits

In this paper, optically-controlled highperformance integrated RF switches have been proposed, investigated and discussed. The switching is based on the high conductivity change (5–6 orders) due to photo-induced free-carriers in semiconductors. Initial simulation for G-band CPW-based optical switches has shown that a record-high (compared to semiconductor and VO2 switches) intrinsic FOM (figure of merit evaluated by RonCoff constant) of 153 THz can be achieved using Ge (85 THz with Si). In addition, the on/off ratio can be maintained as high as 28.1 dB at 200 GHz. The proposed device has not only superior performance, but also the advantages of compact size, easy fabrication and integration, as well as high speed and reliability, making it a great candidate for enabling advanced tunable/reconfigurable circuits that are required in millimeter-wave and terahertz communications.
La estructura de lacontabilidad y la auditoría:un replanteamiento

Failures in corporate governance of many major US corporations in 2002 suggest that it may be useful to fundamentally rethink the structure of institutions of accounting, auditing, corporate governance and executive compensation. Replacement of the system of authoritative standards by a competitive, common law approach to accounting principles and rules may help shift the focus of financial reporting from form to substance. Following some key Supreme Court rulings, the quality of auditing declined under the governmental push to increase competition in that industry beginning with the late seventies, pushing audit firms to peddle audit services to their clients for economic survival. Restoring the high quality of audit may require radical reorganization of the audit function, such as bundling it with insurance. The protection of minority interest by the board of directors and the control of runaway executive compensation are two other problems whose solution may require structural, not just procedural, changes.
Modeling and characterization of shape memory properties and decays for 4D printed parts using stereolithography

Abstract The integration of shape memory materials into additive manufacturing has added a new dimension of time to conventional 3D printing and enabled innovative product designs with high tailorability and adaptability. To date, most studies on shape memory effects mainly adopt experimental approaches to characterize the material responsiveness to various stimulation conditions considering a single thermomechanical loading cycle. The information regarding the cyclic shape memory behaviors as well as the potential additive manufacturing-induced impacts on the achieved shape memory performance is limited. In this paper, the shape memory behaviors of the stereolithography printed thermo-responsive structures are theoretically modeled by jointly considering the influences from both the printing process and the shape memory process. The cyclic shape memory effects are analytically characterized and experimentally validated using methacrylate copolymers under iterative thermomechanical loadings. Meanwhile, case studies are presented to provide insights into shape memory behaviors upon the impacts of various levels of critical process parameters. The results indicate an exceptional prediction accuracy of 96.24% and 95.73% for the established shape fixity and recovery models, respectively. It is also observed that the printing process parameters, including layer thickness and scan speed, have considerable impacts on the shape memory performance of the printed parts.
A framework for highly multiplexed dextramer mapping and prediction of T cell receptor sequences to antigen specificity

T cell receptor (TCR) antigen-specific recognition is essential for the adaptive immune system. However, building a TCR-antigen interaction map has been challenging due to the staggering diversity of TCRs and antigens. Accordingly, highly multiplexed dextramer-TCR binding assays have been recently developed, but the utility of the ensuing large datasets is limited by the lack of robust computational methods for normalization and interpretation. Here, we present a computational framework comprising a novel method, ICON (Integrative COntext-specific Normalization), for identifying reliable TCR-pMHC (peptide-major histocompatibility complex) interactions and a neural network-based classifier TCRAI that outperforms other state-of-the-art methods for TCR-antigen specificity prediction. We further demonstrated that by combining ICON and TCRAI, we are able to discover novel subgroups of TCRs that bind to a given pMHC via different mechanisms. Our framework facilitates the identification and understanding of TCR-antigen-specific interactions for basic immunological research and clinical immune monitoring.
Effectiveness of Short-term Medical Missions on Chronic Disease in Underserved Communities:

A retrospective chart review study was conducted to evaluate health outcomes after a nurse-led short-term medical mission group provided free health care in four communities in Kingston, Jamaica over a four-year period. Participants were adult patients who had visited short-term medical mission clinics at least twice and were diagnosed with hypertension and/or diabetes. Blood pressure (BP) and blood sugar (BS) results along with factors including adherence and control per guidelines were analyzed using descriptive, t-tests and chi-square analysis. The data revealed that overall BP and BS measurements trended down, and there was a significant decrease in BP in patients with uncontrolled hypertension at the first visit. Medication adherence between the visits and gender had a statistically significant impact on BP and BS control. Outcomes suggest short-term medical missions are an effective model to address hypertension and diabetes in developing countries when using a sustainable approach.
Central Assessment of Psychosis Service: A Tele-evaluation Service to Support Early Identification of Psychosis.

Duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) is a reliable predictor of longitudinal psychosis trajectory. The limited availability of specialized assessment needed for early identification contributes to...
Halfway Home: Race, Punishment, and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration

When someone walks out of the doors of a U.S. jail or prison, freedom is too often still a distant dream. Instead, they move into a new phase of incarceration, characterised by isolation, exclusion...
Gut dysbiosis in stroke and its implications on Alzheimer’s disease-like cognitive dysfunction

Various neurological disorders, such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease (AD), involve neuroinflammatory responses. The advent of the gut-brain axis enhances our understanding of neurological disease progression and secondary cell death. Gut microbiomes, especially those associated with inflammation, may reflect the dysbiosis of both the brain and the gut, opening the possibility to utilize inflammatory microbiomes as biomarkers and therapeutic targets. The gut-brain axis may serve as a contributing factor to disease pathology and offer innovative approaches in cell-based regenerative medicine for the treatment of neurological diseases. In reviewing the pathogenesis of stroke and AD, we also discuss the effects of gut microbiota on cognitive decline and brain pathology. Although the underlying mechanism of primary cell death from either disease is clearly distinct, both may be linked to gut-microbial dysfunction as a consequential aberration that is unique to each disease. Targeting peripheral cell death pathways that exacerbate disease symptoms, such as those arising from the gut, coupled with conventional central therapeutic approach, may improve stroke and AD outcomes.
Resveratrol in the diet regulates IGF-1 signaling proteins in the prostate of rats

2261 Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men, exceeded only by lung cancer. Resveratrol, a phytoalexin, is found in red grapes and red wine. In vitro studies have shown that resveratrol can inhibit the initiation, promotion, and progression stages of carcinogenesis. Recently, resveratrol has been used in cancer chemoprevention studies to target various mitogens such as the insulin-like growth factor 1(IGF-1) signaling pathway. IGF-1 has been reported to stimulate cell cycle progression and inhibit apoptosis, two factors that are believed to contribute to cancer. In our study, Sprague Dawley rats were treated with resveratrol to investigate its mechanism of action on the IGF-1 signaling proteins in the rat ventral prostate. We hypothesized that resveratrol would suppress IGF-1 signaling. Starting at birth, Sprague Dawley rats were fed 1000 mg resveratrol/kg AIN-76A diet, a dose demonstrated by our lab to suppress prostate cancer development in mice. Control animals received phytoestrogen-free AIN-76A diet. Ventral prostates were dissected from 70 day old rats and flash frozen via liquid nitrogen until further analysis. The samples were analyzed via immuno-blot analysis and Enzyme-Linked Immunoabsorbant Assay (ELISA). Resveratrol significantly down-regulated IGF-1 receptor expression, up-regulated IGF-1 binding protein 3, and down-regulated total extracellular signaling regulating kinase 2 (ERK-2) but not significantly. It had no significant change on IGF-1, phospho-ERKs 1 and 2, and total ERK-1. The ERKs are mitogenic proteins associated with cell proliferation and tumor growth. Our results show that resveratrol suppresses the IGF-1 signaling pathway, possibly contributing to its chemopreventive actions in the prostate. Supported by DOD DAMD17-0301-0153. PR2 Diet and Cancer
SU-E-T-104: An Examination of Dose in the Buildup and Build-Down Regions

Purpose: To examine dose in the buildup and build-down regions and compare measurements made with various models and dosimeters Methods: Dose was examined in a 30×30cm 2 phantom of water-equivalent plastic with 10cm of backscatter for various field sizes. Examination was performed with radiochromic film and optically-stimulated-luminescent-dosimeter (OSLD) chips, and compared against a plane-parallel chamber with a correction factor applied to approximate the response of an extrapolation chamber. For the build-down region, a correction factor to account for table absorption and chamber orientation in the posterior-anterior direction was applied. The measurement depths used for the film were halfway through their sensitive volumes, and a polynomial best fit curve was used to determine the dose to their surfaces. This chamber was also compared with the dose expected in a clinical kernel-based computer model, and a clinical Boltzmann-transport-equation-based (BTE) computer model. The two models were also compared against each other for cases with air gaps in the buildup region. Results: Within 3mm, all dosimeters and models agreed with the chamber within 10% for all field sizes. At the entrance surface, film differed in comparison with the chamber from +90% to +15%, the BTE-model by +140 to +3%, and the kernel-based model by +20% to −25%, decreasing with increasing field size. At the exit surface, film differed in comparison with the chamber from −10% to −15%, the BTE-model by −53% to −50%, the kernel-based model by −55% to −57%, mostly independent of field size. Conclusion: The largest differences compared with the chamber were found at the surface for all field sizes. Differences decreased with increasing field size and increasing depth in phantom. Air gaps in the buildup region cause dose buildup to occur again post-gap, but the effect decreases with increasing phantom thickness prior to the gap.
Precursor thymocyte proliferation and differentiation are controlled by signals unrelated to the pre-TCR.

In-frame rearrangement of the TCR-β locus and expression of the pre-TCR are compulsory for the production of CD4+8+ thymocytes from CD4−8− precursors. Signals delivered via the pre-TCR are thought to induce the differentiation process as well as the extensive proliferation that accompanies this transition. However, it is equally possible that pre-TCR expression is required for the success of this transition, but does not play a direct role in the inductive process. In the present manuscript we examine this possibility using a variety of normal and genetically modified mouse models. Our evidence shows that differentiation and mitogenesis can both occur independently of pre-TCR expression. However, these processes are absolutely dependent on the presence of normal thymic architecture and cellular composition. These findings are consistent with a checkpoint role for the pre-TCR in regulating the divergence of survival and cell death fates at the CD4−8− to CD4+8+ transition. Further, our data suggest that precursor thymocyte differentiation is induced by other, probably ubiquitous, mechanisms that require the presence of normal thymic cellularity, composition, and architecture.
Injection of corticosteroids into mother to prevent neonatal respiratory distress syndrome.

Abstract In this study, 500 mg. of hydrocortisone were injected intravenously into 126 women every 12 hours for four doses in a double-blind, randomized fashion. These 126 subjects were at risk for delivery of a premature infant because of premature labor or fetomaternal disease necessitating intervention. There were 67 patients in the treatment group and 59 in the placebo group. All patients had immature lecithin/sphingomyelin ratios and/or were at less than 34 weeks' gestation. From these data, it appeared that there was a significant decrease in respiratory distress syndrome when the treatment group was compared to the placebo group. The neonatal survival rates also were improved significantly by steroid treatment. There was no demonstrable adverse steroid effect in mothers or fetuses in the long-term or short-term follow-up period, although a significant number of patients were lost to follow-up and the methodology of infant evaluation was imprecise. It would appear from these data that the injection of steroids is beneficial in mothers at risk of being delivered of premature infants. However, many questions remain to be answered before this method can be relied upon as therapy for women with premature labor.
The Law and Finance of Broker-Dealer Mark-Ups

The prices charged retail customers by broker-dealers for less-liquid, lower-priced securities have been of long-standing regulatory concern. In particular, the National Association of Securities Dealers (succeeded now by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) has long had regulations prohibiting broker-dealers from charging excessive “mark-ups” and “mark-downs.” This paper, using a unique dataset generously provided by the National Association of Securities Dealers tracking some 161,635 equity transactions involving fourteen broker-dealers and retail customers in largely less liquid, lower-priced securities over the course of the 2003-2005 period, provides the first comprehensive analysis of the determinants of the mark-ups and mark-downs charged by broker-dealers. In particular, the effect of broker-dealer solicitation, broker-dealer participation in the trade as a principal, stock price volatility, stock price level, trade volume and the bid-ask spread are examined on the size of mark-ups and mark-downs charged. This analysis is placed in the context of the law on mark-ups and mark-downs.
High performance 0.3 /spl mu/m CMOS using I-line lithography and BARC

TiN or organic Bottom AntiReflection Coatings (BARC), polysilicon hammerheads, phase shift masks, quadrupole off-axis illumination I-line lithography at N.A.=0.60, shallow source/drain extenders, LOCOS isolation, and 6 nm gate oxide are used to obtain high performance 0.30 /spl mu/m 2.5 V CMOS with effective channel lengths <0.20 /spl mu/m. The use of BARC reduces off current and improves PMOS hot carrier reliability.
The Right Balance...

I mostly remember a very kind and dedicated person who seemed to have found the right balance in life between work and her other interests. I think that my late wife, who (as you may remember) died about ten years ago, got to know her much better than I ever did. I still remember that Gretchen and Edith spent a very pleasant afternoon exploring the “grachten” of Amsterdam together.
Effects on Blood Clotting by Low Molecular Weight Heparin

Low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) is an anticoagulant used clinically to prevent clotting. It is derived from unfractionated heparin (UF) by a variety of treatments. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect(s) of this anticoagulant on blood clotting. Hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) is an oxidizer generated by blood cells that acts as the first line of defense against bacteria and viruses. In order to conduct this study, we will evaluate the effects of these agents alone or in combination on the clotting time of blood. The three treated aliquots prepared to analyze the effects of these reagents on blood clotting are as followed: H 2 O 2 , LMWH, and both of them combined in blood. The results show that LMWH significantly prolonged the clotting time, where as H 2 O 2 had an insignificant effect.
Organization and Transmitter Specificity of Medullary Neurons Activated by Sustained Hypertension: Implications for Understanding Baroreceptor Reflex Circuitry

In situ expression of c-fos observed in response to phenylephrine (PE)-induced hypertension provided a basis for characterizing the organization and neurotransmitter specificity of neurons at nodal points of medullary baroreflex circuitry. Sustained hypertension induced by a moderate dose of PE provoked patterns of c-fos mRNA and protein expression that conformed in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) to the termination patterns of primary baroreceptor afferents and in the caudal ventrolateral medulla (CVLM) to a physiologically defined depressor region. A majority of barosensitive CVLM neurons concurrently displayed markers for the GABAergic phenotype; few were glycinergic. Phenylephrine-sensitive GABAergic neurons that were retrogradely labeled after tracer deposits in pressor sites of the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) occupied a zone extending approximately 1.4 mm rostrally from the level of the calamus scriptorius, intermingled partly with catecholaminergic neurons of the A1 and C1 cell groups. By contrast, barosensitive neurons of the NTS were found to be phenotypically complex, with very few projecting directly to the RVLM. Extensive colocalization of PE-induced Fos-IR and markers for the nitric oxide phenotype were seen in a circumscribed, rostral, portion of the baroreceptor afferent zone of the NTS, whereas only a small proportion of PE-sensitive neurons in the NTS were found to be GABAergic. PE treatment parameters have been identified that provide a basis for defining and characterizing populations of neurons at the first station in the central processing of primary baroreceptor input and at a key inhibitory relay in the CVLM.
Contingent Fee Lawyers and Their Clients Settlement Expectations and Settlement Realities

This paper draws upon observation in the offices of Wisconsin contingency fee practitioners and interviews with additional practitioners to describe how lawyers can influence their clients in the settlement process. It discusses techniques to control the clients' expectations about likely settlements, to prepare clients for the settlement negotiations, and to convince clients to accept a settlement offer. The author discusses factors limiting how lawyers actually employ these techniques, particularly the dependence of lawyers on satisfied clients for obtaining future clients; because of this need, most lawyers do not simply manipulate clients for the lawyers' own gain, but seek to steer the client in directions that produce a reasonably satisfactory result from the clients' perspective. (The paper also includes a discussion of the ambiguity of case valuation, and the failure of standard formula (e.g., "three times specials") to account for actual verdicts and settlements.)
Electrostatic capacitance extraction for carbon nanotube interconnects

Carbon nanotubes are promising candidates for futuristic nanoelectronic applications due to their excellent properties. In this paper, we present a comprehensive modeling and calculation of electrostatic capacitances for various carbon nanotube systems that can be used to model interconnects in nanotechnology circuits. We provide results for single walled, multiwalled and bundles of single-walled carbon nanotubes as functions of the various design parameters. Numerical computations were performed using the method of moments in conjunction with a Greenpsilas function appropriate for the geometry of the interconnects.
Mutualistic transfer of Epichloe spermatia by Phorbia flies

We studied the interactions between insects and the spermatial stremata of Epichloe spp. they visit in North America and Great Britain. We found that Phorbia flies formed a close association with E...