cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cerebral Oxygen Extraction Fraction in Carotid Occlusive Disease: Measurement and Clinical Significance

In patients with carotid or middle cerebral artery occlusive disease, the cerebral blood flow downstream from the arterial obstruction will depend on the adequacy of the collateral circulation. Oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) will increase as a compensatory response to maintain cerebral oxygen metabolism when the collateral pathways are insufficient to maintain CBF at a normal level but still adequate to provide sufficient flow to prevent cerebral infarction. Positron emission tomography permits the measurement of regional OEF in humans and can identify patients with symptomatic carotid or middle cerebral artery occlusive disease who are at high risk for subsequent stroke. Extracranial–intracranial bypass surgery can improve CBF distal to the obstruction return, OEF toward normal, and reduce the risk of stroke over the subsequent 2 years. However, the perioperative stroke rate is sufficient to nullify any overall benefit of surgery.
Breakthrough cell proliferation detection: Click chemistry based labeling of nucleic acid analogue

5228 A rapid and simple flow cytometric based method for screening cell cycle blockers uses click based chemistry to detect proliferating cells. A novel method of measuring cell proliferation through the incorporation of the nucleic acid analog 5-ethynyl 2’deoxyuridine (EdU) into cellular DNA is demonstrated. In comparison to the antibody based BrdU cell proliferation assay, the EdU click reaction does not require harsh and cumbersome fixation and labeling protocols. The click reaction is shown to give rapid S-phase signal by flow cytometry and can be multiplexed with antibody based detection. It is compatible with both surface and intracellular antibody labeling protocols. The click reaction comprises of a copper catalyzed covalent coupling between the alkyne modified thymidine analog incorporated in the DNA and a dye azide conjugate. Jurkat cells, a human T-cell leukemia, treated with colchicine were pulsed with EdU for two hours. The cells were formaldehyde fixed, permeabilized, then labeled with an azide modified fluorophore conjugate and a cell cycle stain. Cells without colchicine addition were prepared with the same protocol. Bivariant plots were generated by flow cytometry showing EdU labeled DNA vs. cell cycle stain. Control cells showed a normal distribution of cells in S-phase while the treated cells showed a significant decrease in the S-phase distribution and an accompanying accumulation of cells in the G2M-phase. Because of the easy of use, this novel click based method has potential to replace the current BrdU antibody based method for determining cell proliferation.
A Combined Spin-Flip and IP/EA Approach for Handling Spin and Spatial Degeneracies: Application to Double Exchange Systems.

Many multiconfigurational systems, such as single-molecule magnets, are difficult to study using traditional computational methods due to the simultaneous existence of both spin and spatial degener...
THE EMORY 3Q29 DELETION PROJECT: PROFILES OF NEURODEVELOPMENTAL AND NEUROPSYCHIATRIC PHENOTYPES

Background 3q29 Deletion Syndrome (3q29DS) is a rare (~1:30000) genomic disorder characterized by a 1.6 Mb deletion on chromosome 3, and is associated with developmental delay, intellectual disability, and a significantly increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders, including Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The clinical presentation of these phenotypes is highly variable, which combined with the low frequency of the deletion has resulted in a poor understanding of 3q29DS. In a previous study, we found that 24% of 3q29DS registry participants self-reported a formal diagnosis of ASD, a 16-fold increase versus the general population. However, many more patients report “autism-like symptoms” without a formal diagnosis of ASD. In the current study, we use additional registry data to test the hypothesis that the true prevalence of ASD is underestimated in 3q29DS. Methods The 3q29DS registry (3q29deletion.org) is an IRB-approved, HIPPA-compliant patient ascertainment website. After informed consent, registrants fill out several questionnaires, primarily a custom medical and demographic questionnaire that includes prior diagnosis of ASD. In addition, several standardized surveys were adapted for the online platform: the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS); the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ); the Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ); and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Data from 3q29DS patients was de-identified and securely downloaded for analysis. Responses to all questionnaires were hand-scored by three independent examiners and cross-checked to ensure identical scores. Statistical testing and data visualization was performed in R. Results Self-report data from 3q29DS registry participants shows a significantly increased prevalence of ASD diagnosis versus the general population (21.4% vs. 1.47%, p Discussion We have shown that the 3q29DS population is significantly enriched for ASD features measured via four ASD surveys. Self-report data confirms the increased prevalence of ASD in 3q29DS; however, several patients scored in the clinical range on all scales, despite reporting no diagnosis of ASD. These data support our hypothesis that the true prevalence of ASD in 3q29DS may be underestimated, and suggest that ASD testing should be the standard of care for 3q29DS patients. We have also identified differences in ASD presentation in 3q29DS patients versus the general population: male and female 3q29DS patients are equally impaired according to the scales employed in the present study, and males and females report similar proportions of formal ASD diagnoses. This implicates 3q29DS as a promising line of investigation into the underlying mechanisms of ASD, due to both the enrichment of ASD features and the reduction in gender bias.
Parent-Implemented Communication Strategies During Storybook Reading:

Children with developmental disabilities (DD) may experience delays in their ability to speak and communicate with their parents, peers, and others. These children often benefit from evidence-based...
Polycatenation and self-penetration in nitrobenzene-detecting zinc and cadmium 4-carboxylatomethylbenzoate coordination polymers with dipyridylurea coligands

Abstract Hydrothermal reaction of zinc or cadmium nitrate, 4-(carboxylatomethyl)benzoic acid (cmbH2), and bis-(4-pyridyl)urea (bpu) generated a pair of coordination polymers that were isolated and subsequently structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. {[Zn2(cmb)2(bpu)2]·2H2O}n (1) shows a 2D + 2D → 3D parallel polycatenated pattern of sawtooth (4,4) coordination polymer grids. In contrast, {[Cd3(cmb)3(bpu)2(H2O)4]·3H2O}n (2) manifests [Cd3(cmb)3(H2O)4]n slab motifs threaded and linked by bpu ligands into an unprecedented self-penetrated 3,3,4,4-connected 3D network with (6·7·8)(627)(627·83)(7383) topology. Thermal decomposition of the new phases is discussed. Both 1 and 2 underwent visible light luminescence upon ultraviolet irradiation, and acted as luminescent “turn-off” sensors for nitrobenzene absorption in ethanol suspension.
Pediatric Myocarditis Protocol: An Algorithm for Early Identification and Management with Retrospective Analysis for Validation

Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of the myocardium with numerous different etiologies, the vast majority of which are infectious in origin. Patients afflicted with myocarditis can have variable presentations from flu-like symptoms to cardiogenic shock and sudden death, thus making the diagnosis difficult. The purpose of this study is the development of an algorithm for early identification and management of myocarditis based on a review of the published data and available literature. To validate the efficacy of this algorithm, a retrospective chart review of all the patient's presenting symptoms and diagnostic workup, treatment, and clinical progression was performed and applied to the algorithm to investigate whether they could be diagnosed at the time of presentation. Retrospective chart review was performed and all the patient's diagnosed with myocarditis between the years 2009 and 2017 were included in the study. 12 patients were identified on chart review and the algorithm was found to be 100% accurate at identifying all myocarditis patients at presentation by using the symptom identification.
Predicting professional school performance with a unique lens: are there other cognitive predictors?

We investigated the associations between admissions criteria and performance in four cohorts of pre-dental MS in Oral Health Sciences (OHS) program at Boston University Schools of Medicine and Dental Medicine. Previously we have reported that OHS serves as a successful pre-dental pipeline program for students from underrepresented groups. We evaluated academic variables that further affect overall graduate GPA and grades in the first year dental school courses taken by OHS students at Boston University between 2012 and 2016 as part of the MS curriculum. Demographic data, region of residency, undergraduate grade point average, number of science and math credits, major of study, dental admissions test scores and undergraduate institution were collected. The competitiveness of the undergraduate institution was scored based on Barron’s Profiles of American Colleges. OHS-GPA was assessed and individual grades in two first year dental school courses taken as part of the OHS curriculum were collected. Analysis of variance, the Chi-square test and Fisher’s Exact test were utilized to assess associations between academic performance parameters, successful program completion and matriculation to dental school. Results indicate that undergraduate major, age and number of science course credits taken had no impact on MS performance in the Boston University MS in Oral Health Sciences program; however, students who took an undergraduate course in Physiology performed better than those who did not (p = 0.034). This was not the case with courses in Cell Biology and Biochemistry. Students with DAT scores over 20 academic average (p = 0.001), 18 total science average (p = 0.001) and 22 reading comprehension (p = 0.004) performed better in dental school courses taken in OHS. We report that strong test scores, attending a mid or highly rigorous undergraduate institution and completion of an undergraduate Physiology course are positive predictors. We hope these findings will guide admission’s decisions and improve recruitment to, and future success of, graduate student’s pursuit of professional school. Understanding alternative predictors of success may help to reduce the intrinsic bias among applicants from underrepresented groups and continue to look beyond the DATs (or MCATs) to decrease the gap between professionals from underrepresented groups and those they serve.
Serotonergic-linked alterations of aggression of the crayfish

Current theory suggests that aggressive behavior in the crayfish is largely modulated and regulated by the neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT). To test this theory that links serotonin to aggression,...
Everolimus in the treatment of metastatic thymic epithelial tumors

Abstract Introduction There is emerging evidence to support the use of mTOR inhibitor everolimus in patients with advanced, relapsed-refractory thymic epithelial tumors (TETs). However, patient selection and identifying predictive biomarkers of response remains a challenge. Here, we describe a single-center experience with everolimus in patients with TETs and provide detailed molecular analysis of their thymic tumors. Materials and Methods Data on all patients with advanced TETs who were prescribed everolimus at Stanford University were retrospectively assessed. Time to treatment failure (TTF) and overall survival (OS) were calculated. STAMP, a 130-gene targeted next generation sequencing (NGS) panel, was performed on each tumor sample. Results Twelve patients with thymoma (T) and three with thymic carcinoma (TC) treated with everolimus were included. Patients had been heavily pre-treated with an average of three prior lines of therapy. Three patients discontinued treatment due to adverse events. The average TTF was 14.7 months in T and 2.6 months in TC with median OS of 27.6 months in the entire cohort (NR T and 5.3 months TC). Two patients with paraneoplastic autoimmune diseases had improvement in autoimmunity on everolimus. Pathogenic mutations were observed in 4/15 (27 %) of patients and includedTP53, KEAP1 and CDKN2A. Several variants of unknown significance in key genes responsible for modulating tumor response to mTOR inhibition were also found. Conclusion As previously reported in a prospective trial, patients with previously treated advanced TETs appear to benefit from everolimus in this single institution cohort. Moreover, there was a manageable toxicity profile and no cases of everolimus-induced pneumonitis. A targeted NGS panel revealed several pathogenic mutations but there was no association between detectable tumor mutations and time to treatment failure in this cohort.
Gene expression analysis of human prostate cell lines with and without tumor metastasis suppressor CD82.

Tetraspanin CD82 is a tumor metastasis suppressor that is known to down regulate in various metastatic cancers. However, the exact mechanism by which CD82 prevents cancer metastasis is unclear. This study aims to identify genes that are regulated by CD82 in human prostate cell lines. We used whole human genome microarray to obtain gene expression profiles in a normal prostate epithelial cell line that expressed CD82 (PrEC-31) and a metastatic prostate cell line that does not express CD82 (PC3). Then, siRNA silencing was used to knock down CD82 expression in PrEC-31 while CD82 was re-expressed in PC3 to acquire differentially-expressed genes in the respective cell line. Differentially-expressed genes with a P < 0.05 were identified in 3 data sets: PrEC-31 (+CD82) vs PrEC-31(−CD82), PC3–57 (+CD82) vs. PC3-5 V (−CD82), and PC3–29 (+CD82) vs. PC3-5 V (−CD82). Top 25 gene lists did not show overlap within the data sets, except (CALB1) the calcium binding protein calbindin 1 which was significantly up-regulated (2.8 log fold change) in PrEC-31 and PC3–29 cells that expressed CD82. Other most significantly up-regulated genes included serine peptidase inhibitor kazal type 1 (SPINK1) and polypeptide N-acetyl galactosaminyl transferase 14 (GALNT14) and most down-regulated genes included C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 14 (CXCL14), urotensin 2 (UTS2D), and fibroblast growth factor 13 (FGF13). Pathways related with cell proliferation and angiogenesis, migration and invasion, cell death, cell cycle, signal transduction, and metabolism were highly enriched in cells that lack CD82 expression. Expression of two mutually inclusive genes in top 100 gene lists of all data sets, runt-related transcription factor (RUNX3) and trefoil factor 3 (TFF3), could be validated with qRT-PCR. Identification of genes and pathways regulated by CD82 in this study may provide additional insights into the role that CD82 plays in prostate tumor progression and metastasis, as well as identify potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
On Manipulated Agents and History-Sensitive Compatibilism

In this paper I explore various themes in Alfred Mele's Manipulated Agents: A Window to Moral Responsibility (OUP 2019). I develop four points. First, I argue that Mele's historical requirement for moral responsibility for developed morally responsible agents should be coupled with a nonhistorical theory of initially developing agents (like toddlers). Second, I argue that one might resist Mele's negative historical requirement (wherein agents must lack certain responsibility-defeating histories) with a minimal positive historical requirement according to which an agent has a history wherein she did not undergo any responsibility-defeating events, like being severely manipulated.Third, I also explore the idea that one who defended a nonhistorical view, such as Harry Frankfurt's, might rely on a different conception of what moral responsibility is. This might explain why some resisting Mele would not have the intuition that in certain cases a manipulated agent is not responsible. Finally, I question how we should think of the role of intuition in thought experiments figuring centrally in Mele's work.
Sociopragmatic variation in attention focus: 'mira', 'fíjate', and 'oye' in San Juan and Mexico City

Discourse markers of attention focus (enfocadores de alteridad in Spanish) frequently serve the purposes of drawing the hearer’s attention to what the speaker is saying, either to establish or maintain contact between the two interlocutors. The current study aims to determine whether the choice of appellative marker is socially or grammatically motivated. Using sociolinguistic corpora from two major Latin American cities, the study will analyze the variation among the markers. More specifically, are there extenuating factors that influence whether a speaker elects to use mira, fijate or oye to focus the attention of the hearer? The study finds that the choice between markers in San Juan and Mexico City is conditioned by different markers in each locale and, additionally, hints that the style of discourse may have an effect on the prevalence of these markers in general.
Deep Learning for Video Face Recognition

This chapter is concerned with face recognition based on videos or, more generally, sets of images, using deep learning techniques. We first briefly review some naive yet commonly used strategies pertaining to using frame-level features extracted by deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for video-level face recognition. Representative strategies include naive feature pooling and pairwise feature distance computation. Then, we present a method named neural aggregation network (NAN), which is a deep learning framework tailored for video-based representation and recognition. NAN can automatically learn the quality of faces in a video/image set and aggregate the frame-level deep features accordingly, yielding more discriminative video-level features. We conduct experimental evaluation on three video face recognition datasets. The results indicate that while previous deep learning-based methods with naive pooling or pairwise distances have obtained substantial improvements over traditional methods, the NAN method further outperforms them by an appreciable margin.
Approximate Submodularity in Network Design Problems

Network design problems, such as flexibility design, are ubiquitous in modern marketplaces where firms constantly innovate new ways to match supply and demand. We develop a primal-dual based approach to analyze the flexibility design problem, i.e., allocating subsets of limited resources to each of multiple demand classes, and establish that the problem possesses a novel structural property. The property, which we call cover modularity, can be interpreted as an approximate form of submodularity, in the sense that local changes in the objective function can be used to bound global changes. We use this structure to analyze a class of greedy heuristics and establish the first constant factor approximation guarantee for solving the general flexibility design problem. Further, we identify a significant practical byproduct of our primal-dual analysis: the dual solutions we construct can be used as surrogates to guide the heuristics, leading to order of magnitude gains in computational efficiency, without loss of optimization performance. Finally, we extend our analysis by demonstrating the presence of cover modularity in a general class of linear programming formulations, indicating applicability of our approach to a wide range of network design problems distinct from flexibility design.
Interhospital Transfer Outcomes for Critically Ill Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Requiring Mechanical Ventilation.

Studying interhospital transfer of critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia in the spring 2020 surge may help inform future pandemic management. OBJECTIVES: To compare outcomes for mechanically ventilated patients with coronavirus disease 2019 transferred to a tertiary referral center with increased surge capacity with patients admitted from the emergency department. DESIGN SETTING PARTICIPANTS: Observational cohort study of single center urban academic medical center ICUs. All patients admitted and discharged with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia who received invasive ventilation between March 17, 2020, and October 14, 2020. MAIN OUTCOME AND MEASURES: Demographic and clinical variables were obtained from the electronic medical record. Patients were classified as emergency department admits or interhospital transfers. Regression models tested the association between transfer status and survival, adjusting for demographics and presentation severity. RESULTS: In total, 298 patients with coronavirus disease 2019 pneumonia were admitted to the ICU and received mechanical ventilation. Of these, 117 were transferred from another facility and 181 were admitted through the emergency department. Patients were primarily male (64%) and Black (38%) or Hispanic (45%). Transfer patients differed from emergency department admits in having English as a preferred language (71% vs 56%; p = 0.008) and younger age (median 57 vs 61 yr; p < 0.001). There were no differences in race/ethnicity or primary payor. Transfers were more likely to receive extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (12% vs 3%; p = 0.004). Overall, 50 (43%) transferred patients and 78 (43%) emergency department admits died prior to discharge. There was no significant difference in hospital mortality or days from intubation to discharge between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In a single-center retrospective cohort, no significant differences in hospital mortality or length of stay between interhospital transfers and emergency department admits were found. While more study is needed, this suggests that interhospital transfer of critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 can be done safely and effectively.
The Cleaning of Polymer Surfaces

A short review of typical cleaning procedures for a variety of polymers is presented. Most common cleaning procedures involve liquid chemical etching with associated pre and post treatments. Included are typical aids to achieve uniform cleaning and etching of the polymer surfaces. Also, plasma and mechanical cleaning of polymer surfaces are tersely discussed.
Rasch Measurement in Higher Education

Measurement is implicit in any search for knowledge. The discovery, invention and construction of scientific knowledge begins with wild hypotheses which get thought into reproducible ideas, which then become realized in observable instances, to be interpreted as concrete ordinals, which are carefully built into abstract linear measures suitable, finally, for analyses in relation to other measures and so to the construction of promising theories ( Wright, 1997).
Reliability of discrete-time control systems using redundant sensors and actuators

Design equations are presented for the development of reliable dynamic controllers for discrete-time systems characterized by redundant sensors and actuators. The problem considered is the preservation of performance measured by a bound on the relevant H/sub /spl infin// norm in case of outage of any one sensor or any one actuator. The approach parallels that proposed for continuous time systems. The development of the design equations is however tailored to the nature of the discrete algebraic Riccati equation.
FETAL CARDIAC EFFECTS OF MATERNAL ISOXSUPRINE INFUSION.

Abstract Fetal heart rate, maternal heart rate, maternal blood pressure, and intrauterine pressure have been studied in 22 patients during the infusion of isoxsuprine hydrochloride. Individual and group data have been presented.
Towards a Method of Searching a Diverse Theory Space for Scientific Discovery

Scientists need customizable tools to help them with discovery. We present an adjustable heuristic function for scientific discovery. This function may be considered in either a Minimum Message Length (MML) or a Bayesian Net manner. The function is approximate because the default method of specifying theory prior probabilities is a gross estimate and because there is more to theory choice than maximizing probability. We do, however, effectively capture some user preferences with our technique. We show this for the qualitatively different domains of geophysics and sociology.
Transflip mutations produce deletions in pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is driven by the inactivation of the tumor suppressor genes (TSGs), CDKN2A (P16) and SMAD4 (DPC4), commonly by homozygous deletions (HDs). Using a combination of high density single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) microarray and whole genome sequencing (WGS), we fine-mapped novel breakpoints surrounding deletions of CDKN2A and SMAD4 and characterized them by their underlying structural variants (SVs). Only one third of CDKN2A and SMAD4 deletions (6 of 18) were simple interstitial deletions, rather, the majority of deletions were caused by complex rearrangements, specifically, a translocation on one side of the TSG in combination with an inversion on the other side. We designate these as "TransFlip" mutations. Characteristics of TransFlip mutations are: (1) a propensity to target the TSGs CDKN2A and SMAD4 (P < 0.005), (2) not present in the germline of the examined samples, (3) non-recurrent breakpoints, (4) relatively small (47 bp to 3.4 kb) inversions, (5) inversions can be either telomeric or centromeric to the TSG, and (6) non-reciprocal, and non-recurrent translocations. TransFlip mutations are novel complex genomic rearrangements with unique breakpoint signatures in pancreatic cancer. We hypothesize that they are a common but poorly understood mechanism of TSG inactivation in human cancer. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Ultrasound localization of a tunneled leech beneath a microvascular scalp reconstruction: A case report

Medicinal leech therapy is a common adjuvant modality used to treat venous congestion following threatened microvascular anastomosis. Migration and tunneling of a leech beneath a surgical reconstruction is a rare event that is seldom mentioned in the literature and worthy of further discussion. We present a rectus abdominus myocutaneous free tissue transfer that was used to cover a large alloplastic cranioplasty following resection of a previously radiated skull base malignant meningioma. The flap became congested postoperatively and required leech therapy after surgical salvage. Three days after flap salvage, the subject was once again brought back to the operating room for surgical exploration when a leech was witnessed to migrate beneath the threatened free flap. Duplex ultrasound was used intra-operatively to localize the leech 12 cm from its bite and assist with its successful removal. Tunneling of the leech beneath the flap is a rare complication, and localization underneath a myofascial or myocutaneous flap may be difficult. Duplex ultrasound is a simple and reliable method to localize the leech and allow for its removal through a minimal access incision. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microsurgery 33:572–574, 2013.
Recursion in Development: Support for a Biological Model of Language

Recursion in adult language contributes to variety of surface form, paraphrase, and ambiguity. Developing recursion in child language reveals these characteristics. This paper, based on the natural...
Reliability and Validity of the Revised Psychopathy Checklist in Women Methadone Patients

The Revised Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R) has been found to be a reliable and valid measure of psychopathy in men prisoners. More recently the PCL-R has been shown to be a reliable instrument in as...
A Review of Current and Future Treatment Options in Renal Cancer

Renal cancer is a malignancy that has been rising in incidence over the past 5 decades. The treatment of choice for localized cancer is radical nephrectomy, although nephron-sparing surgery can be considered in selected cases with small tumors. The risk of recurrence or metastatic disease ranges from 15 to 80%. Some of the factors predictive of prognosis are histology, stage, and grade of the cancer. Metastatic or stage IV disease is the major cause of mortality. The treatment of choice for metastatic disease is surgical resection of metastases, if feasible, as it can result in prolonged remissions in a small proportion of patients (10–20%). The results of randomized trials demonstrated a survival benefit with nephrectomy in metastatic disease. Consequently, this should be a consideration in patients with good functional status prior to immunotherapy. Adjuvant therapy has no proven role in renal cancer. The approved systemic immunotherapy is interleukin-2 (IL-2) with a reported overall response rate of 15% and durable remission rate of 7%. The wide application of IL-2 is limited by the severe toxicity profile. Thus, the use of IL-2 is restricted to patients with excellent performance status. Less toxic doses, schedules, and routes of administration of IL-2 have demonstrated responses in metastatic disease, but prolonged remission has not been clearly established. Cytotoxic chemotherapy has not shown promising results to date; however, novel cytotoxic agents and combinations are in the clinical evaluation phase. Biochemotherapy regimens, such as combinations of gemcitabine and capecitabine with IL-2 and interferon, have shown responses ranging from 15 to 40% with 10 to 15% complete remissions which, although favorable, have not resulted in major improvements in overall survival. In a preliminary study, allogeneic mini transplant produced responses in 10 of 19 patients with metastatic disease: three complete and seven partial remissions. However, the 10 to 20% treatment-related mortality associated with mini transplant, excellent performance status requirement, and low availability of matched donor, in this highly selected group of patients, indicates that this would be feasible in <10% of patients screened. Further follow-up and validation of the safety and efficacy of transplant are required. Targeted therapies such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors, epithelial growth factor inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies will be evaluated in the next few years. There is a strong rationale for the antiangiogenic strategy due to the hypervascular nature of this tumor type. The future promises improvement in tumor characterization techniques and advances in targeted therapies to enable effective, individually tailored treatment for metastatic renal cell carcinoma.
A mixed frequency-time approach for distortion analysis of switching filter circuits

A new efficient mixed frequency-time approach to computing steady-state and intermodulation distortion of switching filters without resorting to macromodeling or the slow-clock approach has been presented. The method works by computing the solution to the differential equation system associated with a circuit for only J clock cycles, where J is the number of coefficients needed in the Fourier series to represent accurately the sequence of initial points in each clock cycle. Thus this method is particularly efficient when the number of coefficients in the Fourier series is many fewer than the number of clock cycles in one input signal period. >
The Reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): What Educators and Parents Should Know

The reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 1990 (IDEA) has been hailed as a civil rights victory in the education of persons with disabilities. Tenets of the act seek...
ArsD : an As(III) metallochaperone for the ArsAB As(III)-translocating ATPase

The toxic metalloid arsenic is widely disseminated in the environment and causes a variety of health and environment problems. As an adaptation to arsenic-contaminated environments, organisms have developed resistance systems. Many ars operons contain only three genes, arsRBC. Five gene ars operons have two additional genes, arsD and arsA, and these two genes are usually adjacent to each other. ArsA from Escherichia coli plasmid R773 is an ATPase that is the catalytic subunit of the ArsAB As(III) extrusion pump. ArsD was recently identified as an arsenic chaperone to the ArsAB pump, transferring the trivalent metalloids As(III) and Sb(III) to the ArsA subunit of the pump. This increases the affinity of ArsA for As(III), resulting in increased rates if extrusion and resistance to environmentally relevant concentrations of arsenite. ArsD is a homodimer with three vicinal cysteine pairs, Cys12–Cys13, Cys112–Cys113 and Cys119–Cys120, in each subunit. Each vicinal pair binds one As(III) or Sb(III). ArsD mutants with alanines substituting for Cys112, Cys113, Cys119 or Cys120, individually or in pairs or truncations lacking the vicinal pairs, retained ability to interact with ArsA, to activate its ATPase activity. Cells expressing these mutants retained ArsD-enhanced As(III) efflux and resistance. In contrast, mutants with substitutions of conserved Cys12, Cys13 or Cys18, individually or in pairs, were unable to activate ArsA or to enhance the activity of the ArsAB pump. It is proposed that ArsD residues Cys12, Cys13 and Cys18, but not Cys112, Cys113, Cys119 or Cys120, are required for delivery of As(III) to and activation of the ArsAB pump.
Ensemble Streamflow Prediction: Climate signal weighting methods vs. Climate Forecast System Reanalysis

Summary Ensemble Streamflow Prediction (ESP) provides the means for statistical post-processing of forecasts and estimating the inherent uncertainties. In addition, large scale climate variables provide valuable information for hydrologic predictions. In this study we develop methods to assign weights to ESP ensemble members according to climate signals which are selected based on the spearman’s rank correlation coefficients. Analysis was performed over the snow dominated East River basin to improve the spring streamflow volumetric forecast. Principle Component Analysis (PCA) was found to increase the accuracy of the weighting scheme considerably. We compare five parametric and nonparametric weighting methods including Fuzzy C-Means clustering, Formal Likelihood, Informal Likelihood and two variants of K-Nearest Neighbors approaches. The methods are found to be simple and efficient while the results seem promising. The predictions, based on simple average or the median of the ensemble members, combined with the weighted ensemble forecasts provide improved estimates of probable streamflow ranges and the uncertainty bounds. Improvement in the weighting approach was obtained by selecting the climate signals, choosing the right number of principle components and considering several weighting approaches. As an alternative approach to ESP, an additional climate dataset, the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) provided via the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) in its most recent reanalysis project was tested.
Mechanism of Action of Starch as a Tablet Disintegrant II Effect of Pepsin and Surfactants on Swelling of Starch Grains at 37

The study of the effects of the individual components of simulated gastric fluid USP on starch grain swelling is completed. There is no statistically significant swelling demonstrated by pepsin in the submersion medium when compared to simulated gastric fluid and distilled water. Surfactants demonstrated no significant effect on starch grain swelling over that of distilled water. Apparent effectiveness of surfactants in improving tablet disintegration in some cases is postulated as being due to an increase in the rate of wetting. In the same experiment, the significant differences observed between corn and amioca starches and the moisture contents of these two starches are postulated as being due to the initial size differences of the grains being maintained during the experiment.
Electron nuclear double resonance spectra of cis-rich and trans-rich polyacetylenes between 1.9 and 4.2 K.

The electron nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectra of ``cis-rich'' and ``trans-rich'' polyacetylenes have been recorded at temperatures in the range 4.2--1.9 K. The striking feature of these spectra is the similarity in both forms to the high-temperature ENDOR spectra of cis-rich polyacetylene reported previously. This observation demonstrates the existence of a common defect, a delocalized \ensuremath{\pi} electron or soliton, in both materials. In the temperature range from 4.2 to 1.9 K, the hyperfine tensors are observed to be temperature independent for cis-rich polyacetylene. The hyperfine interactions for trans-rich polyacetylene are observed to be temperature dependent and can be characterized by a 1-K activation energy. At higher temperatures (6--300 K), the trans-polyacetylene material is characterized by a 400-K activation energy for modulation of the hyperfine interactions. The consequences of these results for current soliton theories are discussed.
Anorexia during acute and chronic disease

Anorexia is associated with disorders of all systems. Anorexia represents a consistent clinical manifestation during acute and chronic pathophysiological processes (infection, inflammation, injury, toxins, immunological reactions, malignancy and necrosis). Anorexia during disease can be beneficial or deleterious depending on the timing and duration. Temporary anorexia during acute disease may be beneficial to an organism since a restriction in the intake of micro- and macronutrients will inhibit bacterial growth. Long-term anorexia during chronic disease, however, is deleterious to an organism and may be associated with cachexia, which can ultimately result in death. Various mechanisms participate in the anorexia observed during disease, including cytokine action. Anorexia induced by cytokines is proposed to involve modulation of hypothalamic-feeding associated sites, prostaglandin-dependent mechanisms, modifications of neurotransmitter systems, gastrointestinal, metabolic, and endocrine factors. In addition, the anorexia-cachexia syndrome is multifactorial and may involve chronic pain, depression or anxiety, hypogeusia and hyposmia, chronic nausea, early satiety, malfunction of the gastrointestinal system, metabolic alterations, cytokine action, production of other anorexigenic substances and/or iatrogenic causes (chemotherapy, radiotherapy). Cachexia may result not only from anorexia and a decreased caloric intake, but also from malabsorption and losses from the body (ulcers, hemorrhage, effusions), or a change in body metabolism. Research has focused on potential interventions to modify anorexia during disease and the anorexia-cachexia syndrome. Nutritional modifications and the use of specific steroids (such as megestrol acetate) are being tested in the clinical setting. Understanding the specific mechanisms responsible for anorexia during disease as well as their interactions is essential to develop interventions for the control of anorexia (during a critical time in a specific disease), and to devise less toxic immunotherapeutic regimens using cytokines.
Response of the interrenal gland of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) to stress.

Exposure of trout to environmental hexavalent chromium (0.02 and 0.2 mg/liter of water) for 1 week caused a significant elevation of plasma “cortisol” as determined by fluorescence in sulfuric acid. Fish exposed to these concentrations for 2 and 3 weeks had plasma levels similar to those of controls. Fish exposed to 20 or 30 mg Cr+6/liter for 3 days had elevated plasma “cortisol” that returned to control levels after 6, 7, or 10 days' exposure. Forced exercise for one-half-hour periods twice daily for 1 and 2 weeks did not give rise to elevated plasma “cortisol” if samples were obtained 24 hours after the last exercise period. Fish forced to swim for 2 or 4 hours and sampled immediately did have plasma “cortisol” levels significantly above those of controls. Animals treated with exogenous cortisol by implanting pellets in the body cavity had plasma “cortisol” levels of more than 100 μg/100 ml. Fasted fish so treated for 1 week had higher liver glycogen stores and excreted more waste nitrogen than did control fish. Plasma glucose was not elevated in treated fish. Animals similarly treated but fed during the experimental period had liver glycogen stores and nitrogen excretion rates similar to those of controls. A comparison of data for control groups obtained during different months of the year strongly indicates that there is a seasonal variation in plasma“cortisol” levels. The effect of chronic low-level stress in elevating plasma cortisol is transitory and plasma “cortisol” levels in trout do not appear to be a useful indicator of the existence of chronic stressful conditions.
Absorption kinetics of rectal formalin instillation.

Med. J. Aust. 1:23, 1969). Although its use is widespread, no studies have been performed to determine the safest volume or duration of formalin exposure. The purpose of our study was to determine the optimum technique for instillation and the safety margin regarding the maximum time that formalin can be in contact with the rectal mucosa without causing serum toxicity. In a pilot canine study, 4% neutral buffered formalin was instilled into the rectum in 30 ml aliquots for 60 seconds each after which each aliquot was withdrawn; a total volume of 400 ml was used. Our subsequent experiment involved rectal instillation of a single formalin bolus of 100 ml for 1 hour without removal during this time. Formalin metabolites were measured in the blood and urine to assess toxicity. Results indicate that with the latter technique serum formic acid reaches toxic levels within 15 minutes of instillation and may stay elevated for several hours. Metabolites in the urine similarly increase within 15 minutes, lagging only shortly behind the rise in serum levels. Performing formalin instillation in a series of 30 ml aliquots appears to be a safer treatment, as toxic serum levels were not reached and their slight rise above baseline returned to normal within 3 hours.
EFFECT OF PRENATAL DIET ON SERUM CHOLESTERYL ESTER FATTY ACIDS IN NEWBORN AND ADULT RATS.

SummaryExperiments were conducted to study the effect of prenatal diet on the serum CEFA pattern of newborn rats and their mothers. Evidence was obtained confirming the existence of a typical “fetal” CEFA pattern in the newborn rats characterized by a high oleate:linoleate (O/L) ratio (1.5 to 5.0), and of a typical “adult” CEFA pattern in the mother characterized by an O/L ratio of less than unity (0.2 to 0.6). These characteristic “adult” and “fetal” CEFA patterns were found to be maintained in spite of moderate alterations in the fatty acid composition of the prenatal diets, but could not be maintained in the face of the exaggerated imbalance of diets supplying only single fatty acids. Based on the data obtained, it was postulated that homeostatic mechanisms exist which function so as to maintain the characteristic adult and fetal CEFA patterns in the face of stresses consisting of variations in the dietary fatty acid composition.
Gender representation in the CrossFit Journal: a content analysis

Using a feminist cultural studies perspective, this study examined 2166 photographs published in the CrossFit Journal to determine if ideal femininity and hegemonic masculinity were reproduced and/or resisted through the photographic representations. A qualitative content analysis methodology examining all issues of the CrossFit Journal from 2002, 2006, 2008 and 2012 was used to answer three research questions which sought to determine the amount of visual coverage given to males and females, if the images presented reinforced or challenged ideal femininity and hegemonic masculinity, and if the visual coverage of females has changed since the introduction of the CrossFit Games. The results suggest that although ideal femininity and hegemonic masculinity are reinforced in some ways, there are also a number of ways in which these characteristics are resisted.
Treatment of polyhydramnios with prostaglandin synthetase inhibitor (indomethacin).

Polyhydramnios, which is caused by an excess of amniotic fluid, was diagnosed uniformly in eight patients by ultrasound examination and clinical symptoms, namely, premature uterine contraction, abdominal pain, and respiratory discomfort that resulted from excessive pressure on the diaphragm. Fetal anomalies incompatible with extrauterine existence were excluded by serum α-fetoprotein levels, repeated sonography, amniocentesis, and chromosomal analyses. Patients were treated with 2.2 to 3.0 mg of indomethacin/kg body weight/day. The treatment was started at an average gestational age of 24 ± 0.5 weeks and continued for 2 to 11 weeks. All patients had significant improvement with a simultaneous reduction in amniotic fluid volume, fundal height, and umbilical perimeter. All patients were delivered satisfactorily at an average of 39 weeks' gestation. The fetuses were within the normal body weight range of 2750 to 3600 gm and showed normal development during the neonatal period of 2 to 6 months. Before delivery without indomethacin, the polyhydramnios reformed. Adverse effects or intolerance to the drug was avoided by either a reduction in the dose or cessation of indomethacin therapy. Our studies suggest that indomethacin therapy is an effective way to manage pregnancy complicated by polyhydramnios.
Classical trajectory study of internal energy distributions in unimolecular processes

The method of classical trajectories has been used to study the flow of energy in a molecular system (similar to the molecules CD3Cl and CD3H) representing a chemical activation experiment. Energy distributions are obtained both before and after the breakup of the activated molecule by means of a correlation function technique. Four different potential energy surfaces are employed. It is found that the initial distribution of energy in the activated molecule may or may not be random, depending on the details of the particular surface. This distribution becomes random in less than 5×10−12 sec. The distribution of energy in the final product (CD3) is found to be randomly distributed (as predicted by RRKM theory including angular momentum considerations) for a surface with no exit channel barrier or strong intermode couplings. When these special forces are present nonrandom energy distributions result. Product channel barriers result in an excess of translational energy and exit channel intermode couplings result in nonrandom vibrational distributions. Angular momentum considerations are found to be important in matching the predictions of RRKM theory with the calculations.
Monte Carlo simulation of hole transport in strained Si1 − xGex

Abstract The transport properties of holes in Si1 − xGex are studied with a Monte Carlo technique. If the strain is applied to the Si1 − xGex channel, it raises the degeneracy of the heavy-hole and light-hole bands: for compressive strain, the heavy-hole band lies at a higher energy than the light-hole band, while for tensile strain, the order reverses, although it is technologically uncertain how to realize the tensile case at this stage. The transport properties are essentially the same for the unstrained and compressive cases, since most holes are in the heavy-hole band over the entire field range of interest. Although the overshot is negligible, the hole velocity is still higher than that of Si, reflecting the excellent hole transport properties in Ge. In the tensile case, we have observed a negative differential resistance region for 5 × 102–5 × 103V/cm, due to the hole transfer from the light-hole band to the heavy-hole band. The velocity is much larger than that of compressive or unstrained cases, especially at low fields. Because of the small effective mass in the light-hole band, the velocity overshoot is significant in the tensile strain case. These results provide motivation to try to realize the tensile strain case technologically.