cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Molecular Breast Imaging: A New Technique Using Technetium Tc 99m Scintimammography to Detect Small Tumors of the Breast

OBJECTIVE To determine the sensitivity of molecular breast imaging (MBI) to detect small cancers of the breast. PATIENTS AND METHODS A cadmium-zinc-telluride gamma camera with a field of view of 20 × 20 cm was used. The detector elements were 2.5 × 2.5 mm. The gamma camera was mounted on a modified mammographic gantry. Between November 2001 and March 2004, we performed MBI on patients who were scheduled to undergo biopsy for a lesion suggestive of malignancy that was smaller than 2 cm on a mammogram. Patients were injected with 20 mCi of technetium Tc 99m sestamibi and underwent imaging immediately after injection. Using light pain-free compression, we obtained craniocaudal and mediolateral oblique views of each breast. RESULTS Of the 40 women included in the study, 26 had a total of 36 malignant lesions confirmed at surgery. Of these 36 lesions, 33 were detected by MBI (overall sensitivity, 92%). Of the 22 malignant lesions 1 cm or smaller in diameter, 19 were detected by MBI (sensitivity, 86%). Two patients had false-negative MBI results. Of the 14 malignant lesions larger than 1 cm in diameter, all were identified correctly by MBI. In 4 patients, MBI identified additional lesions not seen on mammography that were confirmed subsequently on magnetic resonance imaging and were true-positive cases at surgery. Three of these patients had lesions in the breast contralateral to the breast containing the initial mammographic finding suggestive of malignancy. Of 14 patients with no evidence of cancer at biopsy or surgery, 9 had true-negative (normal) scans and 5 had false-positive scans on MBI. False-positive results included benign fibroadenoma (2 patients), inflammatory fat necrosis (1 patient), benign breast parenchyma (1 patient), and complex sclerosing lesion (1 patient). CONCLUSION This prototype gamma camera system for MBI reliably detects malignant breast lesions smaller than 2 cm. Furthermore, we obtained the highest sensitivity (86%) yet reported for the detection of lesions smaller than 1 cm. These results suggest an important role for MBI, particularly for women in whom the sensitivity of mammography is reduced by the density of the breast parenchyma.
Recent developments and novel applications in GC-ICPMS

The objective of this review is to note recent novel developments and applications rather than to be comprehensive. We intend to explore instrumental advances that demonstrate enhanced analytical capability. Along these same lines, there have been a number of recent papers coupling solid phase microextraction with GC-ICPMS and these will be discussed. Not only does this preparation technique present several advantages, such as environmental friendliness through reduced solvent consumption, it also lends itself to easy incorporation into a GC analytical scheme. Finally, new explorations in the analysis of the traditional metal species, as well as novel applications of species of nontraditional elements, are presented.
HP007 modeling permittivity and conductivity contrast on electric energy storage properties of dielectric composites

The electric field distribution, field and power density enhancement factors, power loss and stored electric energy in dielectric composites were calculated using the boundary-element method (BEM). The composites consist of a low permittivity host containing either spherical conducting inclusions having dielectric coating shells, or dielectrically or conductively graded spherical dielectric particles. It is shown that the local electric field and power density enhancement effects diminish as the thickness of shells, the number of grading layers or the degree of nonlinearity of grading increases. The reduced enhancement effects significantly increase the normalized stored electric energy due to the fact that with a reduced enhancement factor a higher voltage can be applied. Frequency effects for composites with conductivity-graded particles were also considered. The results of these studies have implications for the design of high energy density dielectric composites.
A case-control study of childhood brain tumors and fathers' hobbies: a Children's Oncology Group study.

A comprehensive case–control study was conducted to evaluate parental risk factors for medulloblastoma (MB) and primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET). This analysis was conducted to evaluate associations between fathers’ hobbies and risk of their children developing MB/PNET. The hobbies chosen for study were those with similar exposures as occupations associated with childhood cancers. Cases were 318 subjects under six years of age at diagnosis between 1991 and 1997 and registered with the Children’s Cancer Group. An equal number of controls were selected through random digit dialing and individually matched to cases. In multivariate analyses, a significant association was seen for lawn care with pesticides [during pregnancy: odds ratio (OR) = 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.0, 2.5; after birth: OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.2, 2.8] and a weak association was seen for stripping paint [during pregnancy: OR = 1.4, 95% CI: 0.8, 2.6; after birth: OR = 1.4, 95% CI: 0.7, 2.6]. This study suggests that household exposures from hobbies, particularly pesticides, may increase risk of MB/PNET in children; previous research has been mostly limited to occupational exposures.
Correlation between the stress and microstructure in bias-sputtered ZrO2-Y2O3 films

Abstract Thin films of ZrO 2 -8mol.%Y 2 O 3 were produced by r.f. diode sputter deposition using applied substrate bias voltages ranging to -200V. Unlike previous studies that employed scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy was used here to investigate changes in the grain structure, the defect structure and the columnar morphology of the films due to changes in the bias parameter. Films produced with low bias contained small (20–40 nm) intergranular voids and large intercolumnar cracks and voids. Films produced with high bias were fully dense and their microstructure resembled that of a highly stressed plastically deformed material. Measurements of the film stress showed that the intrinsic component of the film stress became increasingly compressive as the bias increased, in agreement with the microstructural data. In films deposited onto SiO 2 substrates the total stress ranged from + 6 × 10 8 Pa (tensile) in unbiased films to -1.7 × 10 9 Pa (compressive) in films produced with -200 V applied substrate bias.
Vitellogenin-associated maternal transfer of exogenous and endogenous ligands in the estuarine fish, Fundulus heteroclitus

Abstract Sequestration of large quantities of vitellogenin (VTG) is critical for proper oocyte development in most oviparous vertebrates. While previous studies have shown a general correlation between oocyte growth and the accumulation of various exogenous and endogenous ligands, few studies have attempted to elucidate the role VTG plays in this maternal transfer. In the present study, we have demonstrated that oocytic accumulation of [3H]-2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (3H-TCDD) and [14C]-benzo(a)pyrene (14C-BaP) by gravid Fundulus heteroclitus is directly correlated with oocyte maturational status. A positive correlation was observed between oocyte maturational state (size) and both total quantity (total pmoles) as well as concentration (pmoles/g tissue) of TCDD and BaP. Further, the bi-phasic accumulation of both TCDD and BaP mirrors that previously observed for protein sequestration by cultured Fundulus oocytes. Additionally, both TCDD and BaP were associated with VTG in vivo. HPLC analysis of serum extracts has shown that VTG associates with both parent BaP and BaP metabolites. Studies with 125I-T4 (thyroxine) also suggest that this critical hormone also associates with VTG in vivo. Ongoing studies are examining the VTG-associated transport and oocytic sequestration of 125I-T4 in gravid Fundulus.
In vitro antineoplastic activity of C7-substituted mitomycin C analogues MC-77 and MC-62 against human breast-cancer cell lines.

Mitomycin C (MIT-C) is one of the most potent antineoplastic agents used for the treatment of breast cancer and a wide variety of malignant tumors. However, administration of MIT-C is frequently accompanied by the delayed onset of severe myelosuppression. We have synthesized a new series of MIT-C analogues that are predicted on a structure/function basis to retain cytotoxicity but exhibit decreased toxicity. These new compounds feature a sugar substitution at the N7 position. Using a series of human breast-cancer cell lines growing in vitro, we determined the structure/activity relationship of two independent N7-substituted spacers displaying the same glucopyranose moiety.N-{[(2-acetamide-3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-2-deoxy-β-d-glucopyranosyl)amino]carbonyl} propylmitomycin C (MC-62) contains the sugar moiety linked to MIT-C through a butanoic acid spacer. MC-62 exhibits significantly less biological potency as compared with the parent drug. In contrast,N-[4-(tetra-O-acetylglucopyranosyl)oxy]phenylmitomycin C (MC-77) contains the glucopyranose moiety linked to MIT-C through a phenolic spacer. This analogue generally exhibits greater antitumor activity in vitro as compared with either MC-62 or MIT-C. Thus, N7-substituted analogues containing sugar moieties exhibit altered biological activity, the degree of which is related to the properties/structure of the spacer.
Relaxation Drinks and Their Use in Adolescents

Abstract Objectives: A new class of beverages called relaxation drinks advertises calming effects and an easy way to wind down when life gets stressful. This article examines these drinks in the context of their use in adolescents. Methods: A review of the literature relevant to relaxation drinks and their functional ingredients was conducted. Results: The beverages contain ingredients such as melatonin, valerian, kava, tryptophan, and other products traditionally thought to play a role in sleep, sedation, or neurocognitive function. Studies of the efficacy and safety of these supplements are limited and many have significant methodological limitations. Despite appropriate warnings placed on the labels of relaxation drinks, marketing is cleverly designed to appeal to young consumers and often evokes the experiences produced by alcohol and drug use. Conclusion: Although moderate consumption of these beverages by healthy individuals is likely safe, an objective reduction in stress is improbable and associat...
Examination of failure in rubber toughened polystyrene

Multiple craze formation is well-known to be an essential part of the toughening mechanism induced by appropriate incorporation of rubber particles into glassy matrices. Details of the craze structure of stress-whitened high impact polystyrene (HIPS) have been examined using transmission and scanning electron microscopy. In addition to the usual OsO4 straining procedure for TEM, examination by SEM of surfaces created by fracturing at liquid nitrogen temperatures of previously crazed specimens proved useful. The results are discussed in the context of previous observations on craze structure and the relationship to formation of useful materials.
Dielectric Properties of a Pregelatinized Bread System at 2450 MHz as a Function of Temperature, Moisture, Salt and Specific Volume

Dielectric properties [dielectric constant (epsilon') and loss factor (epsilon")] were measured using the transmission line technique. Dielectric constant was independent of salt content while epsilon" increased when salt was added. Dielectric constant increased when temperature increased from 25 to 60 degrees C then became virtually constant from 60 to 95 degrees C for all samples. Loss factor increased linearly from 25 to 95 degrees C for samples containing 1% salt and decreased linearly when no salt was present. Both epsilon' and epsilon" increased linearly with respect to mass concentration of water (g(water)/cm3sample). Ground bread crumb had lower epsilon' and epsilon" than intact bread when other parameters were kept constant.
Spectroscopy of hot carriers in semiconductors

Abstract We review the use of optical spectroscopy for the study of hot carrier relaxation in semiconductors. Results for direct-gap semiconductors, especially GaAs, and also recent studies of hot carriers in quantum wells are emphasized. Steady-state and time-resolved experiments are reviewed. These include both hot luminescence and absorption measurements. We also discuss theoretical aspects of hot carrier relaxation, including electron-electron and electron-phonon scattering, screening of the electron-phonon interaction, and the role of nonequilibrium phonons.
Does size matter? The influence of large clients on office-level auditor reporting decisions

Abstract Large clients create an economic dependence that may cause auditors to compromise their independence and report favorably to retain valuable clients. Economic dependence is measured as a client's size relative to the size of the office that contracts for the audit and issues the audit report. We find no evidence economic dependence causes Big Five auditors to report more favorably for larger clients in their offices. However, larger clients also pose greater litigation risk, and we do find that Big 5 auditors report more conservatively for larger clients, suggesting that reputation protection dominates auditor behavior.
Simulation applied to the approximation of two-dimensional digital filters

Abstract Multi-stage Monte Carlo optimization is used to approximate two-dimensional digital filters taken from the literature. Most solution techniques revolve around the least-squares theory and practice. However with multi-stage one can use other measures of closeness or goodness of fit. This is done here and comparisons of the multi-stage results are made with other solution attempts.
Finding NEO: A Manned Mission to a Near-Earth Object

In September 2011, the Caltech Space Challenge was held at the Keck Institute for Space Studies in Pasadena, California. It was a five-day workshop that brought together 32 students from a range of disciplines, countries and backgrounds who were split into two teams, each with 16 members. The students were challenged to design a mission that would bring astronauts to a Near-Earth Object (NEO), allow them to explore the NEO for 7 to 14 days and then return them safely to Earth, with a sample of the asteroid. Through its short and intensive nature, the challenge aimed at generating new ideas and novel solutions, as a starting point for a NASA NEO mission. This paper presents Team Explorer’s response to the challenge. The team focused on designing a mission that could serve as a stepping stone for other manned missions to Mars and beyond. In particular, it identified technologies that could be demonstrated during the mission to further develop NASA’s capabilities in deep space. The work was judged by a panel of experts from the aerospace industry and NASA, and many sessions were opened to the general public. The workshop not only generated new ideas for the manned exploration of a NEO, but also created renewed enthusiasm for the continuation of the manned space exploration program. Here we present the motivation and science objectives for a manned mission to a NEO, the design of a spacecraft capable of transporting humans to it and the activities to be performed there. In addition to the authors of this paper, the Explorer team members, who all contributed to the work at hand, were: Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay, Juan Diego Caporale, Bidisha Das, Brandon N. Dotson, Ritika Dusad, Michio Inoue, Anna Alexandra Jung, Martin Loesher, Kristin D. Nichols, Nathan L. Parrish, Patrick Wang and Hunter Z. Zhao.
Provocative and rewarding genetics

Genetics, Evolution and Man. By W. F. Bodmer and L. L. Cavalli-Sforza. Pp. xv+782. (Freeman: San Francisco, 1976.) $13.95.
Conflict Management: Difficult Conversations with Difficult People

Conflict occurs frequently in any workplace; health care is not an exception. The negative consequences include dysfunctional team work, decreased patient satisfaction, and increased employee turnover. Research demonstrates that training in conflict resolution skills can result in improved teamwork, productivity, and patient and employee satisfaction. Strategies to address a disruptive physician, a particularly difficult conflict situation in healthcare, are addressed.
Influence of data volume and EPC on process window in massively parallel e-beam direct write

Multiple e-beam direct write lithography (MEBDW), using >10,000 e-beams writing in parallel, proposed by MAPPER, KLA-Tencor, and IMS is a potential solution for 20-nm half-pitch and beyond. The raster scan in MEBDW makes bitmap its data format. Data handling becomes indispensable since bitmap needs a huge data volume due to the fine pixel size to keep the CD accuracy after e-beam proximity correction (EPC). In fact, in 10,000-beam MEBDW, for a 10 WPH tool of 1-nm pixel size and 1-bit gray level, the aggregated data transmission rate would be up to 1963 Tera bits per second (bps), requiring 19,630 fibers transmitting 10 Gbps in each fiber. The data rate per beam would be <20 Gbps. Hence data reduction using bigger pixel size, fewer grey levels to achieve sub-nm EPC accuracy, and data truncation have been extensively studied. In this paper, process window assessment through Exposure-Defocus (E-D) Forest to quantitatively characterize the data truncation before and after EPC is reported. REBL electron optics, electron scattering in resist, and resist acid diffusion are considered, to construct the E-D Forest and to analyze the imaging performance of the most representative layers and patterns, such as critical line/space and hole layers with minimum pitch, cutting layers, and implant layers, for the 10-nm, and 7-nm nodes.
Sensitivity study of the aerosol effects on a supercell storm throughout its lifetime

Abstract. An increase in atmospheric aerosol loading could alter the microphysics, dynamics, and radiative characteristics of deep convective clouds. Earlier modeling studies have shown that the effects of increased aerosols on the amount of precipitation from deep convective clouds are model-dependent. This study aims to understand the effects of increased aerosol loading on a deep convective cloud throughout its lifetime with the use of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model as a cloud-resolving model (CRM). It simulates an idealized supercell thunderstorm with 8 different aerosol loadings, for three different cloud microphysics schemes. Variation in aerosol concentration is mimicked by varying either cloud droplet number concentration or the number of activated cloud condensation nuclei. We show that the sensitivity to aerosol loading is dependent on the choice of microphysics scheme. For the schemes that are sensitive to aerosols loading, the production of graupel via riming of snow is the key factor determining the precipitation response. The formulation of snow riming depends on the microphysics scheme and is usually a function of two competing effects, the size effect and the number effect. In many simulations, a decrease in riming is seen with increased aerosol loading, due to the decreased droplet size that lowers the riming efficiency drastically. This decrease in droplet size also results in a delay in the onset of precipitation, as well as so-called warm rain suppression. Although these characteristics of convective invigoration (Rosenfeld et al., 2008) are seen in the first few hours of the simulations, variation in the accumulated precipitation mainly stems from graupel production rather than convective invigoration. These results emphasize the importance of accurate representations of graupel formation in microphysics schemes.
Gender and microvascular angina

There are gender differences in the presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of chest pain. When compared to men, women may have more atypical presentations of chest pain. In addition, current diagnostic tools are often not definitive regarding cardiac etiology for chest pain in women. The current diagnostic model of chest pain focuses on significant obstructions within the large coronary arteries as the cause for angina. Microvascular angina (MVA) represents an under-recognized pathophysiologic mechanism that may explain the apparent disparities and elucidate an etiology for the common finding in women of chest pain, ischemia on stress testing, and no obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) on angiography in the presence of abnormal coronary reactivity testing. Endothelial dysfunction, estrogen deficiency, and abnormal nociception play a role in the pathophysiology of MVA. Treatments are targeted toward these underlying mechanisms. Recognizing the role gender and other pathophysiologic models of chest pain can play in the work-up and treatment of angina may identify a treatable cardiac condition, that would otherwise be discounted as non-cardiac in origin.
Swedish Myths About Money

Swedish myths about money are examined in a historical perspective, delineating the dilemma of the poor and rich from medieval to modern times. The Swedish model characterized by centralism and collectivism is contrasted to the Danish alternative in its evolution from patriarchalism to capitalism. The political process of social justice from the ancient notions of “Fortuna” to the socialist vision of solidarity in the people's home (folkhemmet) is discussed in terms of the needs of the welfare state vis-a-vis the new capitalism at the end of the millennium.
Spatial analysis and delineation of ecological landtype phases for the Hoosier National Forest, Indiana, USA

The US Forest Service adopted the National Hierarchical Framework of Ecological Units in 1993 with the ecological landtype (ELT) and ecological landtype phase (ELTP) forming the lowest levels of the hierarchy. This study examines the potential of computer mapping ELTPs for the Hoosier National Forest (HNF) located in southern Indiana. ELTPs were sampled in 2001-2003 within four units of the HNF that are situated within the Brown County Hills and Crawford Upland subsections. A 10-m resolution USGS DEM and a soil survey map were used as source data layers. GIS layers were produced with ArcGIS tools using elevation, slope, aspect, curvature, and soil type. Statistical analysis was performed for those ELTPs that occupy sites similar in physiography but differing in vegetation and soils. A Kruskal-Wallis test of landform variable means indicated a statistically significant variation (p<0.05) among all ELTPs in elevation, aspect, slope, and profile curvature within both subsections. A pairwise Mann-Whitney test showed a significant difference (p<0.05) in elevation, general, and plane curvature among selected ELTPs. A @g^2 test of soil types derived from soil survey map units revealed a significant difference (p=<0.05) in soil type constancy among selected ELTPs. An ELTP map was developed using physiographic characteristics defined in the classification and information from statistical testing. The resulting map provides the basis for management decisions and development of landtype associations (LTAs) using a ''bottom-up'' approach.
Adaptive integral solution of combined field integral equation

The adaptive integral method (AIM) is applied to the solution of the combined field integral equation (CFIE) of scattering by a three-dimensional (3-D) perfect electric conductor (PEC). The employment of CFIE eliminates the interior resonance problem suffered by both the electric field integral equation (EFIE) and the magnetic field integral equation (MFIE). Furthermore, it significantly improves the efficiency of AIM by reducing the number of iterations for convergence. It is shown that the memory requirement and computational complexity per iteration of the AIM solution of CFIE are O(N1.5) and O(N1.5log N), respectively, for 3-D PEC surface scattering problems. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 19: 321–328, 1998.
Accurate optical analysis of single-molecule entrapment in nanoscale vesicles.

We present a nondestructive method to accurately characterize low analyte concentrations (0−10 molecules) in nanometer-scale lipid vesicles. Our approach is based on the application of fluorescence...
Centralizers in graph products of groups

Abstract A graph product of groups is a construction which generalizes both free products and direct products of groups. In this paper, we study commuting elements in graph products of groups and find explicit formulas for the centralizer (the subgroup consisting of elements which commute with a given element) of elements of a graph product of groups in terms of the centralizers of elements in each vertex group and the structure of the graph.
Spontaneous neoplastic transformation of mouse heart tissue in vitro.

WE have examined the possibility that cells derived from heart tissue might undergo spontaneous neoplastic transformation less rapidly than other tissue, the heart rarely being a site of primary malignancy.
PATTERNS OF ORIGIN AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE MAJOR BRONCHIAL ARTERIES IN MAN.

In 50 lungs prepared as casts, the most common pattern of arrangement of the bronchial arteries, occurring in 30% of all lungs, was that of two posterior bronchial trunks to each side; next in frequency was the pattern of two trunks to the left and one to the right lung. In more than three-fourths of all cases there were not more than two bronchial arteries on each side. In two-thirds of the specimens various bronchial arteries arose both directly from the aorta and indirectly from an intercosto-bronchial trunk. At least one intercosto-bronchial trunk was present in 37 of the 50 specimens. All such trunks, even those supplying the left lung, took origin from the right side of the aorta, almost always from the first or second posterior segmental aortic branches, i.e., at the level of the fifth or sixth thoracic vertebra. Almost all intercosto-bronchial trunks yielded a right bronchial artery. Approximately 84% of the left bronchial arteries sprang directly from the aorta. In 22% a single trunk was the source of all bronchial arteries to both lungs, and in 14% this trunk arose directly from the aorta. In 84% also there was at least one bronchial artery that supplied bronchi of both lungs. Arteries arising high on the anterior or right lateral surface of the aorta were found in more than one-half of the casts, more than three times as frequently as in previously reported dissections.
Intestinal Microbiota, Microbial Translocation, and Systemic Inflammation in Chronic HIV Infection

Background Despite effective antiretroviral therapy (ART), patients with chronic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection have increased microbial translocation and systemic inflammation. Alterations in the intestinal microbiota may play a role in microbial translocation and inflammation. Methods We profiled the fecal microbiota by pyrosequencing the gene encoding 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) and measured markers of microbial translocation and systemic inflammation in 21 patients who had chronic HIV infection and were receiving suppressive ART (cases) and 16 HIV-uninfected controls. Results The fecal microbial community composition was significantly different between cases and controls. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Enterobacteriales, Enterobacteriaceae, Erysipelotrichi, Erysipelotrichales, Erysipelotrichaceae, and Barnesiella was significantly enriched in cases, whereas that of Rikenellaceae and Alistipes was depleted. The plasma soluble CD14 level (sCD14) was significantly higher and the endotoxin core immunoglobulin M (IgM) level lower in cases, compared with controls. There were significant positive correlations between the relative abundances of Enterobacteriales and Enterobacteriaceae and the sCD14 level; the relative abundances of Gammaproteobacteria, Enterobacteriales, and Enterobacteriaceae and the interleukin 1β (IL-1β) level; the relative abundances of Enterobacteriales and Enterobacteriaceae and the interferon γ level; and the relative abundances of Erysipelotrichi and Barnesiella and the TNF-α level. There were negative correlations between endotoxin core IgM and IL-1β levels. Conclusions Patients who have chronic HIV infection and are receiving suppressive ART display intestinal dysbiosis associated with increased microbial translocation and significant associations between specific taxa and markers of microbial translocation and systemic inflammation. This was an exploratory study, the findings of which need to be confirmed.
Mutator Phenotypes Caused by Substitution at a Conserved Motif A Residue in Eukaryotic DNA Polymerase δ

Eukaryotic DNA polymerase (Pol) δ replicates chromosomal DNA and is also involved in DNA repair and genetic recombination. Motif A in Pol δ, containing the sequence DXXXLYPSI, includes a catalytically essential aspartic acid as well as other conserved residues of unknown function. Here, we used site-directed mutagenesis to create all 19 amino acid substitutions for the conserved Leu612 in Motif A of Saccharomyces cerevisiae Pol δ. We show that substitutions at Leu612 differentially affect viability, sensitivity to genotoxic agents, cell cycle progression, and replication fidelity. The eight viable mutants contained Ile, Val, Thr, Met, Phe, Lys, Asn, or Gly substitutions. Individual substitutions varied greatly in the nature and extent of attendant phenotypic deficiencies, exhibiting mutation rates that ranged from near wild type to a 37-fold increase. The L612M mutant exhibited a 7-fold elevation of mutation rate but essentially no detectable effects on other phenotypes monitored; the L612T mutant showed a nearly wild type mutation rate together with marked hypersensitivity to genotoxic agents; and the L612G and L612N strains exhibited relatively high mutation rates and severe deficits overall. We compare our results with those for homologous substitutions in prokaryotic and eukaryotic DNA polymerases and discuss the implications of our findings for the role of Leu612 in replication fidelity.
Optimal coordination of stochastic hydro and natural gas supplies in midterm operation of power systems

This study presents a stochastic security-constrained unit commitment (SCUC) model for the optimisation of coordinated midterm water and natural gas supplies. The stochastic model considers random outages of system components, load forecast errors and water inflow uncertainty, which are modelled as scenarios in the Monte Carlo simulation. Water resources may be used in winter to cover gas unit outages caused by an insufficient gas supply. However, those hydro units then may not be available for peak load shaving in the following summer if the summer happens to be a dry season. Thus, water reservoirs would have to be utilised efficiently throughout the year to provide substantial cost reductions while maintaining the power system reliability. The proposed model also considers the impact of midterm security-constrained scheduling of water and gas on the power system reliability. Accordingly, hourly SCUC is incorporated in the reliability calculation. The proposed stochastic problem is formulated as a two-stage optimisation in which the first stage optimises the water and gas usages in the first month and the second stage considers the schedule via multiple scenarios in the following 11 months. Numerical simulations indicate the effectiveness of the proposed stochastic approach for the optimal scheduling of midterm water and gas usages.
High-order state space models in dynamic linear inverse problems

For dynamic linear inverse problems, where the quantity to be imaged is time-varying, joint spatio-temporal regularization methods are useful to improve reconstructions. State space models, with first-order Markov temporal dynamics, have been used to directly model the temporal evolution, and can be efficiently solved by the Kalman filter and fixed-interval smoother. Here we discuss higher-order state space models in this framework, present a decomposition structure of the decomposition, and show how, if the temporal model is a corresponding regularization matrix, and describe a Kronecker product based efficient algorithm in the case in the case of a scalar AR model.
Kurahashi Yumiko: A Dream of the Present? A Bridge to the Past?

Widely recognized as a leading writer of prose fiction, Kurahashi Yumiko (b. 1935) produced several early works permeated by stark modernist imagery, then combined this approach with an imaginative drawing upon the ancient prose narrative tradition. She thus developed a unique style which has been characterized as a fantasy that ‘relies for its powerful effects upon a kind of imagination that does not so much engage in romanticizing … as lay things bare with shocking candor and with a cynicism comparable to [that of] an anatomist at [an] autopsy.This attribution of cynicism to her works undoubtedly derives from the author's dispassionate treatment of various kinds of heightened sexuality, including trading sexual partners and the practice of incest. Kurahashi's unusual ‘kind of imagination’ also encompasses the portrayal of contemporary situations suffused with many attitudes and values expressed in the early prose narratives which mirror the court tradition of ancient Japan. One of the earliest works, The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari c. 1015? by Lady Murasaki Shikibu), seems to have exerted a strong influence on Kurahashi's recent novel, A Floating Bridge of Dreams (Yume no ukihashi, 1970). Kurahashi is likely to have been attracted to The Tale of Genji not only because it is the first important long narrative written by a woman, but also because this complex and beautiful work has long been held in esteem as the greatest narrative in Japanese literature, and has been accorded the same stature as The Divine Comedy or Don Quixote. The following essay considers the ways that Kurahashi's novel adapts the Japanese classical literary legacy, and explores the potential of this inheritance to act as a framework for describing contemporary experience.
A scan statistic for identifying optimal risk windows in vaccine safety studies using self-controlled case series design.

In examining the association between vaccines and rare adverse events after vaccination in post-licensure observational studies, it is challenging to define appropriate risk windows because pre-licensure randomized clinical trials provide little insight on the timing of specific adverse events. Past vaccine safety studies have often used pre-specified risk windows based on prior publications, biological understanding of the vaccine, and expert opinion. Recently, a data driven approach was developed to identify appropriate risk windows for vaccine safety studies that use the self-controlled case series design. This approach employs both the maximum incidence rate ratio and the linear relation between the estimated incidence rate ratio and the inverse of average person time at risk, given a specified risk window. In this paper, we present a scan statistic that can identify appropriate risk windows in vaccine safety studies using the self-controlled case series design while taking into account the dependence of time intervals within an individual and while adjusting for time-varying covariates such as age and seasonality. This approach uses the maximum likelihood ratio test based on fixed effects models, which has been used for analyzing data from self-controlled case series design in addition to conditional Poisson models.
IMPACT OF LAND USE CHANGE ON EROSION RISK: AN INTEGRATED REMOTE SENSING, GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM AND MODELING METHODOLOGY

The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of rapidly changing land use on erosion and sedimentation in a mixed land use watershed in the Ozark Highlands of the USA. The research combines a geographic information system-based soil erosion modeling approach with land use change detection to quantify the influence of changing land use on erosion risk. Five land use/land cover maps were generated or acquired for a 20-year period (1986 through 2006) at approximately 5-year intervals to assess land use change and to predict a projected (2030) land use scenario for the West Fork White River watershed in Northwest Arkansas. The Unit Stream Power based Erosion/Deposition model was applied to the observed and predicted land use to assess the impact on erosion. Total erosion from urban areas was predicted to increase by a factor of six between 1986 and 2030 based on the projected 2030 land use. Results support previous reports of increased urbanization leading to increased soil erosion risk. This study highlights the interaction of changes in land use with soil erosion potential. Soil erosion risk on a landscape can be quantified by incorporating commonly available biophysical data with geographic information system and remote sensing, which could serve as a land/watershed management tool for the rapid assessment of the effects of environmental change on erosion risk. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Labile soil carbon inputs mediate the soil microbial community composition and plant residue decomposition rates

Summary • Root carbon (C) inputs may regulate decomposition rates in soil, and in this study we ask: how do labile C inputs regulate decomposition of plant residues, and soil microbial communities? • In a 14 d laboratory incubation, we added C compounds often found in root exudates in seven different concentrations (0, 0.7, 1.4, 3.6, 7.2, 14.4 and 21.7 mg C g )1 soil) to soils amended with and without 13 C-labeled plant residue. We measured CO2 respiration and shifts in relative fungal and bacterial rRNA gene copy numbers using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). • Increased labile C input enhanced total C respiration, but only addition of C at low concentrations (0.7 mg C g )1 ) stimulated plant residue decomposition (+2%). Intermediate concentrations (1.4, 3.6 mg C g )1 ) had no impact on plant residue decomposition, while greater concentrations of C (> 7.2 mg C g )1 ) reduced decomposition ()50%). Concurrently, high exudate concentrations (> 3.6 mg C g )1 ) increased fungal and bacterial gene copy numbers, whereas low exudate concentrations (< 3.6 mg C g )1 ) increased metabolic activity rather than gene copy numbers. • These results underscore that labile soil C inputs can regulate decomposition of more recalcitrant soil C by controlling the activity and relative abundance of fungi and bacteria.
The distal location of the iron responsive region of the hepcidin promoter.

The response of hepcidin transcription to iron has been repeatedly documented in living mice, but it is difficult to demonstrate the response in ex vivo systems. We have hydrodynamically transfected mice with plasmid constructs composed of a murine hepcidin 1 promoter and fragments of the promoter fused to a firefly luciferase reporter. This method enabled us to quantitate the response of the hepcidin promoter to short-term feeding of a high-iron diet to mice that have been maintained on an iron-deficient diet. We show that the region of the promoter between 1.6 Kb and 1.8 Kb upstream from the start of translation is essential for the response to iron. The promoter region between −260 bp and −1.6 Kb is not essential for the iron responsiveness of hepcidin promoter. The iron-responsive region that we have mapped is the same region required for the in vitro response of HepG2 cells to stimulation with bone morphogenetic proteins and differs from the LPS/IL-6 responsive area.
Maternity Care and Liability

One of us is a leading expert in medical liability law and policy, and the other has devoted a career to the legal and policy issues arising in health care for low-income, minority, and medically underserved populations, particularly women and children. In our experience, two perspectivesdthe political and the physician-centereddtend to dominate discussions of medical liability reform. The principal strength of the collection of articles on liability associated with maternity care by Sakala and colleagues that appears in this issue ofWomen’s Health Issues is that it takes a different approach, emphasizing evidence over ideology, and broadening (at least to a degree) the reform umbrella to include other health professionals and settings in addition to physicians. The result is to restore attention to the core health policy issues that have always deserved greater consideration in malpractice policy than they receive: Safety, quality, and accessibility of care. The authors identify seven reform aims that together could be expected to better integrate advances in maternity care with the legal environment in which maternity care takes place: 1) Reforms that generally promote safe, high-quality maternity care consistent with the best evidence and minimize avoidable harm; 2) reforms that minimize maternity professionals’ liabilityassociated fears and disaffection; 3) reforms that avoid incentivizing the defensive practice of medicine; 4) reforms that foster access to high-value, evidence-based liability insurance coverage devoid of the types of restrictions and surcharges that can impede performance; 5) fair, rapid, and appropriate system responses when women and their infants experience injury; 6) assistance to families in meeting the long term costs associated with preventable injuries; and 7) the minimization of legal and administrative costs. Based on these aims, the authors assess the considerable body of research that has been undertaken in recent decades to
Social Protest and Policy Reform May 1968 and the Loi d'Orientation in France

Extraordinary policy-making may be triggered by critical elections and political crises, but it may also be related to major waves of collective action, especially when all three of these—as in Fra...
Neural Feedback for Instantaneous Spatiotemporal Modulation of Afferent Pathways in Bi-Directional Brain–Machine Interfaces

In bi-directional brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), precisely controlling the delivery of microstimulation, both in space and in time, is critical to continuously modulate the neural activity patterns that carry information about the state of the brain-actuated device to sensory areas in the brain. In this paper, we investigate the use of neural feedback to control the spatiotemporal firing patterns of neural ensembles in a model of the thalamocortical pathway. Control of pyramidal (PY) cells in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) is achieved based on microstimulation of thalamic relay cells through multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) feedback controllers. This closed loop feedback control mechanism is achieved by simultaneously varying the stimulation parameters across multiple stimulation electrodes in the thalamic circuit based on continuous monitoring of the difference between reference patterns and the evoked responses of the cortical PY cells. We demonstrate that it is feasible to achieve a desired level of performance by controlling the firing activity pattern of a few “key” neural elements in the network. Our results suggest that neural feedback could be an effective method to facilitate the delivery of information to the cortex to substitute lost sensory inputs in cortically controlled BMIs.
An intercomparison of the roentgen standards of Great Britain and U.S.A.

(1956). An intercomparison of the roentgen standards of great britain and U. S. A. Acta Radiologica: Vol. 46, No. 6, pp. 747-752.
Background modeling and object tracking using multi-spectral sensors

In this paper, we present a multi-spectral video surveillance system. Improved background modeling and appearance-based object tracking are proposed with both signal-level and decision-level multi-spectral information fusion. In addition to modeling observations in each spectral channel by a typical pixel-level mixture-of-Gaussian-based model, we also model high level factors such as confidence of each modality, motion, object area, and lighting with a hierarchical probabilistic model feedback. This hierarchical model can enhance the performance of different challenging environment conditions, such as global illumination changes, and random parameter failures of background subtraction. Moreover, real-world vision problems include occlusion and merge/split are managed by our non-parametric tracking methodology and appearance-distance histogram. Our experiment in object tracking shows that under normal conditions, our system extends the capability of single spectral sensor, and under severe environment conditions, the overall system performance outperforms traditional direct fusion techniques in tracking reliability. This promising performance also encourages us to further extend our techniques to general multi-spectral and multi-modal surveillance.
Suboptimal Inhibition of Platelet Cyclooxygenase-1 by Aspirin in Metabolic Syndrome

Interindividual variation in the ability of aspirin to inhibit platelet cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) could account for some on-treatment cardiovascular events. Here, we sought to determine whether there are clinical phenotypes that are associated with a suboptimal pharmacological effect of aspirin. In a prospective, 2-week study, we evaluated the effect of aspirin (81 mg) on platelet COX-1 in 135 patients with stable coronary artery disease by measuring serum thromboxane B(2) (sTxB(2)) as an indicator of inhibition of platelet COX-1. A nested randomized study compared enteric-coated with immediate-release formulations of aspirin. We found that sTxB(2) was systematically higher among the 83 patients with metabolic syndrome than among the 52 patients without (median: 4.0 versus 3.02 ng/mL; P=0.013). Twelve patients (14%) with metabolic syndrome, but none without metabolic syndrome, had sTxB(2) levels consistent with inadequate inhibition of COX (sTxB(2) ≥13 ng/mL). In linear regression models, metabolic syndrome (but none of its individual components) significantly associated with higher levels of log-transformed sTxB(2) (P=0.006). Higher levels of sTxB(2) associated with greater residual platelet function measured by aggregometry-based methods. Among the randomized subset, sTxB(2) levels were systematically higher among patients receiving enteric-coated aspirin. Last, urinary 11-dehydro thromboxane B(2) did not correlate with sTxB(2), suggesting that the former should not be used to quantitate aspirin's pharmacological effect on platelets. In conclusion, metabolic syndrome, which places patients at high risk for thrombotic cardiovascular events, strongly and uniquely associates with less effective inhibition of platelet COX-1 by aspirin.
B7-H3 enhances tumor immunity in vivo by costimulating rapid clonal expansion of antigen-specific CD8+ cytolytic T cells

B7-H3 is a B7 family molecule with T cell costimulatory function in vitro. The in vivo role of B7-H3 in the stimulation of tumor immunity is unclear. We report here that expression of B7-H3 by transfection of the mouse P815 tumor line enhances its immunogenicity, leading to the regression of tumors and amplification of a tumor-specific CD8+ CTL response in syngeneic mice. Tumor cells engineered to express B7-H3 elicit a rapid clonal expansion of P1A tumor Ag-specific CD8+ CTL in lymphoid organs in vivo and acquire the ability to directly stimulate T cell growth, division, and development of cytolytic activity in vitro. Our results thus establish a role for B7-H3 in the costimulation of T cell immune responses in vivo.
The Capacitated Minimum Spanning Tree

The capacitated minimum spanning tree is an offspring of the minimum spanning tree and network flow problems. It has application in the design of multipoint linkages in elementary teleprocessing tree networks. Some theorems are used in conjunction with Little's branch and bound algorithm to obtain optimal solutions. Computational results are provided to show that the problem is tractable.