cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Genome evolution in Caenorhabditis.

Since the completion of the Caenorhabditis elegans genome sequence 10 years ago, efforts of the large community of C. elegans geneticists have resulted in a high-quality annotation of the structures and sequence relatedness of nearly all the protein encoding and RNA genes. Based on increasingly accurate gene counts in other species, it now appears that C. elegans has more functional genes than most insects and approximately the same number as most mammals. In the last few years, draft genome sequences for several other nematodes have been published (C. briggsae and Brugia malayi )o r publicly released ( C. remanei, C. brenneri, C. japonica, Pristionchus pacificus, Trichinella spiralis and Haemonchus contortus). Comparisons of gene content within the phylum and to other phyla reveal complex patterns of genome evolution. These patterns include substantial numbers of genes conserved across all the major metazoan phyla (core metazoan genes) and many nematode-specific genes and gene families. Nematode-specific genes are located predominantly on autosomal arms, which also have higher recombination rates. It appears that evolutionary innovations occur mostly in these regions, probably facilitated by higher recombination. Few of these genes have gross phenotypes when knocked down by RNAi, suggesting that many of them function in specific aspects of nematode biology that were not tested, including chemosensation, pathogen response and xenobiotic detoxification.
Simulation in the design of ground-based intrabay automation systems

Material transport within a semiconductor factory (fab) can be broken into two categories - interbay (bay to bay movement) and intrabay (within bay) movement. Due to the fragile properties of semiconductors, there are risks associated with any movement of material. These risks range from misprocessed or damaged wafers, to throughput loss. These risks are increased during manual intrabay handling, where several operations may be taking place in a populated, confined area. Intrabay automated material handling is a means by which the above-mentioned risks can be reduced or eliminated. Simulation can play a key role in the design of intrabay automation systems, in verifying that the system will not negatively affect throughput of an area. A simulation model has been developed to analyze the effects of intrabay AMHS on a manufacturing bay. Model architecture is discussed, and three case studies demonstrate applications of the model.
Systematic generation of canonic sinusoidal RC-active oscillators

A systematic approach is given for generating 2nd-order RC-oscillators using two resistors, two capacitors and a single finite-gain 3-terminal 2-port (3-T 2-port) controlled source (CS). The approach views the oscillators as made up of two parts, a frequency selective RC-network and a frequency independent finite gain CS. A set of 16 oscillators is derived which is verified to be topologically complete, i.e. no additional oscillator circuit can be generated with two resistors, two capactitors and a single 3-T CS.
Planum temporale asymmetry reappraisal since geschwind and levitsky

Abstract This study utilizes the same brains reported by Geschwind and Levitsky [Science161, 186–187, 1968] and looks for indirect evidence for the Geschwind Hypothesis [Geschwind and Bahan, Proc. natn. Acad Sci., U.S.A.79, 5097–5100, 1982; Geschwind and Galaburda, Arch. Neurol.42, 428–459, 521–552, 634–654, 1985] that testosterone slows down the development of the left hemisphere and allows for compensatory growth of the right in order to produce a graded shift away from standard cerebral asymmetry. There are graded asymmetries of the planum temporal in the population, averaging on the side of leftward asymmetry. Changes away from asymmetry, however, involve increase in the size of the smaller side, rather than decrease in the size of the larger. Thus symmetrical brains differ from asymmetrical brains by having two large plana, each planum being equivalent in area to the larger planum of the asymmetrical cases. If testosterone has an effect in modifying brain asymmetry, it does not appear to do so by slowing one side and allowing the growth of the other, but rather through its promotion of the growth of the small side. We consider some likely developmental mechanisms for this action and offer some anatomical and functional comments.
Knowledge of Federal EEO Law Among County Administrators and Department Heads: Examining the Extent and Determinants of Understanding

This article reports the results of a survey designed to assess the extent to which public administrators are knowledgeable of federal Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) law. Findings suggest that ...
Private Policy Making and American Health Care

Journalistic reports and widely publicized court decisions have fueled consumer concerns about the availability of high quality health care in prepaid managed care plans. Most consumer concerns about health care services pertain to coverage of services and quality of care. This article analyzes the private processes for developing coverage and quality policy for public and private health plans in the United States. First, this article explores the nature and importance of coverage and quality policy in health plans today and how such policy relates to the current problems consumers face with health plans generally and prepaid health plans in particular. Second, the article reviews the development of coverage and quality policy since the advent of widespread health insurance coverage in the mid-Twentieth Century. Third, this article explores how sponsors of public and private health plans make decisions about coverage and quality policy. As coverage and quality policy is informed predominantly by standards of care developed by private medical organizations and private accrediting bodies, this article also examines the procedures by which these entities develop standards of care. Finally, this article concludes with recommendations for sound policy making procedures for private coverage and quality policy and the standards of care used to develop this policy. Specifically, policy making procedures can do much to ensure that plan coverage and quality policy exhibits three core values of validity, credibility and democratic legitimacy. Proposed here are three principles of policy making procedures that promote these values, with respect to all types of standards of care. First, designated process, however informal must exist, for adopting any coverage and quality policy or any standard of care used in the formulation of a coverage or quality policy. Second, procedural methods must assure that the relevant scientific and clinical information is marshaled, made available and expertly considered by the decision makers formulating the policy. Third, all policy must be publicized and made available easily to affected parties, especially physicians, health professionals and consumers.
The “Mithras Liturgy” as Mystery and Magic

The theme of the present chapter, is an elucidation of mystery and magic in the text ordinarily referred to as the tMithras Liturgyt, but little is very lucid about the tMithras Liturgyt. It proposes that the text is indeed both Mithraic and liturgical, with authentic elements of Mithraic piety within a liturgical ritual for the ascent of the soul. According to Porphyry, writing De antro nympharum , a fundamental goal of Mithraism was to guide the soul of the initiate in the descent into this mortal world and its ascent to the immortal world beyond: tthe Persians, as mystagogues, initiate the mysts by teaching him the downward way of the souls and their way back, and calling the place a grottot. The author argues that the tMithras Liturgyt can be seen to illustrate both Mithraic and magical features. This chapter discusses the issues of mystery and magic in the tMithras Liturgyt. Keywords:magical features; Mithras Liturgy; Porphyry
MiR-125b Regulates Primordial Follicle Assembly by Targeting Activin Receptor Type 2a in Neonatal Mouse Ovary

The establishment of the primordial follicle pool is crucial for fertility in mammalian females, and the interruption of overall micro-RNA production byDicer1conditional knockout in the female reproductive system results in infertility. However, there are few reports about the functions of individual micro-RNA in regulating primordial follicle assembly. The present study aimed to investigate the function of miR-125b, which is conserved and preferentially expressed in mammalian ovary during primordial follicle assembly. Detection of miR-125b in the developing mouse ovaries by real-time PCR and in situ hybridization showed that it was highly expressed perinatally and specifically located in the ovarian somatic cells. MiR-125b overexpression blocked the process of primordial follicle assembly in cultured newborn mouse ovaries, while its knockdown promoted this process. Further studies showed that miR-125b regulated the activin/Smad2 signaling in neonatal mouse ovary by directly targeting the 3'-untranslated region of activin receptor type 2a (Acvr2a). Overexpression of miR-125b in neonatal mouse ovary suppressed theAcvr2aprotein level, attenuating activin/Smad2 signaling, while knockdown of miR-125b showed the opposite effects. In addition, recombinant human activin A (rh-ActA) down-regulated miR-125b in the neonatal mouse ovary. Overexpression of miR-125b attenuated the promoting effects of rh-ActA on primordial follicle assembly. Taken together, these data suggest that miR-125b blocks the process of primordial follicle assembly, and miR-125b may play this role by regulating the expression ofAcvr2ain the activin/Smad2 signaling pathway.
The Role of the Hospital Laboratory in the Diagnosis of Viral Diseases: II. Technics

Diagnostic virology technics which are practical for the large community hospital to perform are discussed. It is our conviction that these institutions are better able to perform virus isolation than are reference laboratories, and that it is economically feasible to do so. All necessary tissue cultures can be obtained from autopsies of infants or can be stored indefinitely in the laboratory. Tissue culture media are purchased, but are relatively inexpensive and stable for long periods. The majority of viruses can be isolated and tentatively identified within a week, so that the results are of direct value to the clinician. Most serologic procedures are quite timeconsuming and should be referred to specialized centers. Close cooperation between the hospital laboratory and public health facilities can supply the clinician with a variety of diagnostic procedures valuable in the direct care of patients.
Launch Vehicle Economic Evaluation Using a Discrete Event Simulation Based Methodology

** One of the major decisions that will have to be made during the planning stages of lunar or Martian exploration missions deals with what launch system, or combination of launc h systems, should be utilized to deliver mission modules to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or some other mission waypoint. Such decision is primarily based on affordability, system feasibility, and mission reliability; sound decision should be predicated on a tenuo us balance between these three. A deterministic forecast of mission architectures (launch system selection, flight rate, payload modularity, etc.) will not be adequate since critical events such as catastrophic vehicle losses, ground operation throughput d elays, and automated rendezvous and docking (AR&D) failures cannot be properly addressed. A probabilistic tool, on the other hand, is able to capture the stochastic variability embedded in “real -world” analysis and provide insight into the cost -effectivene ss and consequence of various decision options. A methodology has been developed by the Exploration Concepts Branch (ECB) at NASA Langley Research Center that utilizes a Discrete Event Simulation (DES) model to evaluate the affordability and reliability im pacts of a mission process from launch system ground preparation to on -orbit module assembly and orbit departure burn. The model was developed using Rockwell Software’s Arena, and is a manifest -driven simulator that can provide the decision make r affordability, feasibility, and reliability metrics along with associated uncertainty bounds. Decision points have been included in the model that reflect catastrophic loss of vehicle (LOV) failures during launch, benign launch vehicle failures resulting in failure to deliver payloads to LEO, and individual docking failures of mission modules. Such decision points impact the overall manifest affordability by incurring replacement flights that require both replacement vehicle and replacement payload costs. Various preparation times, such as integration times and pad times, are stochastically addressed using statistical distributions specified on mission manifests. The model is capable of simulating both expendable and reusable launch vehicles, and is also capable of costing flights based on either a “fixed” launch service price type cost or by using processing flow time factors. The feasibility metrics that are generated by the model reflect the various processing times in conjunction with manifest -specified schedules. The metrics are also dependent on allowable on -orbit time for the various mission modules since propellant boil -off and orbital decay could be significant considerations when analyzing mission architectures. The methodol ogy has recently been applied to study the effects of changing exploration
COMPARISON OF TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL SPORTS PARTICIPANTS' TENDENCIES TO JOIN GROUPS '

A large body of sport psychology research has involved comparisons of athletes participating in team sports with those participating in individual sports. Few consistencies have emerged from this research. In fact, Cox, Qiu, and Liu (1993) noted that "the question of whether a relationship exists between personality and the types of sports and activities individuals select has not yet been adequately addressed" (p. 6). Clearly, more research is needed in this area. Wann and Hamlet (1994) recently presented a scale, called the Joiners' Scale, which assesses the extent to which individuals attempt to join and maintain memberships in a variety of groups (high numbers indicate greater tendencies toward joining). This -/-item scale was shown to be both reliable and valid. For example, a strong positive relationship was found between scores on the Joiners' Scale and the number of group memberships reported. The current research examined the relationship between type of sport (individual versus team) and scores on the Joiners' Scale to answer the research question, "Are there differences in the tendency to be a 'joiner' for persons participating in individual and team sports?" It appeared that the desire to join and maintain memberships in groups may be one reason underlying athletes' decisions to play a team sport.
From Hitler to Hippies: The Volkswagen Bus in America

This is my Master's thesis, completed in 2004 for a degree in American Studies from UT Austin. The paper presents a cultural history of Volkswagen buses, beginning in Germany in the late 1940s and extending to present-day America. My primary goal is to explain the vehicle's astonishing transformation, during the period from 1950 to 1970, from a post-WWII work truck into the vehicular icon of the American hippie movement. In doing so, I describe how the vehicle's practicality and quirkiness made it ideally suited for its countercultural purposes. A wildly successful advertising campaign in the 1960s and 1970s reinforced this dual emphasis on practicality and personality, creating the ironic effect of big-business mass media inadvertently helping to turn a big-business automobile into an antiestablishment icon.
GP: A General Purpose Blocks-Based Language (Abstract Only)

The first programming language for most children worldwide today is a blocks-based language like Scratch or Snap. GP is a blocks-based programming language designed to be a follow-on. GP aims to be a general purpose language, like Python or Ruby, in which students can create more complex programs or create standalone applications. GP includes a mechanism for creating modules for others to re-use and a wide variety of primitives, including tools for manipulating CVS and JSON data, using serial port and network connections, and manipulating pixels in pictures or samples in sounds. The language could be used in computer science classes beyond introductory computer science. GP explores the questions: "How far can we go with a blocks-based programming language? Do we have to move students to a textual programming language to explore advanced computational ideas and applications?" In this laptop required workshop, participants will try out GP. They will explore sample projects and create their own projects that push on advanced features of GP such as using multiple classes and instances, creating sets of blocks that can be shared as extension modules, using cloud data, or manipulating images and sounds. GP will be released (free and open source) in Summer 2017, so our goal is to find early adopters who are interested in trying GP and developing examples for others.
Treatment of hypertensive emergencies.

Hypertensive emergencies are diagnosed if there is a systolic blood pressure higher than 180 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure higher than 120 mmHg with the presence of acute target organ damage (1-6). Hypertensive urgencies are diagnosed if there is a systolic blood pressure higher than 180 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure higher than 120 mmHg in an otherwise stable person without clinical or laboratory evidence of acute target organ damage (1-6). These persons need intensification of their antihypertensive drug therapy.
Six Sigma at Dominion Resources, Inc.: Investing in Excellence

This note provides information on Six Sigma and business improvement at Dominion Resources, Inc., including many examples of the CEO Tom Farrell's personal commitment and support. It can be used in executive education leadership programs and business courses in operations management in discussions about Six Sigma program elements that help sustain a culture of continuous improvement and deliver extraordinary business results. Ten years after its launch at Dominion Resources, Inc., Six Sigma, is one of the nation's most widely recognized initiatives having been cited for audited hard savings, integration into corporate culture, percentage of employees trained, sustained management support, and employee recognition. Excerpt UVA-OM-1453 Sept. 2, 2011 SIX SIGMA AT DOMINION RESOURCES, INC.: INVESTING IN EXCELLENCE I firmly believe that Six Sigma provides us with a clear pathway to excellence in everything we do—and how we do things every day. —Tom Farrell, CEO of Dominion Resources . . .
Jonson's Acoustic-Oriented Dramaturgy in the First Folio Playtexts of Epicoene and The Alchemist

One significant yet understudied aspect of the First Folio printings of Epicoene and The Alchemist is that their marginal stage directions highlight the importance of Jonson's acoustic-oriented dra...
Traditional One-Person Psychology

Our efforts in this chapter will be to establish an essential foundation for the field of child and adolescent psychoanalysis and psychodynamic psychotherapy, a model that has radically changed over the past 50 years, in order to anchor the remainder of this book in a two-person relational psychology model.
Next-Generation Sequencing and Eating of the Tree of Knowledge

Clonal hematopoiesis is common, and the large-scale sequencing of patients’ tumors in the clinical setting is becoming very common. The incidence of falsely reporting clonal hematopoiesis as tumor associated in patients with solid tumors is a concern, as it may lead to unintended consequences. See related article by Coombs et al., p. 5918
Benefitting a few at the expense of many? Exclusive promotions and their impact on untargeted customers

It has been a widely held notion that firms can benefit from using preferential treatment in their customer relationship management strategies. For example, many firms provide select customers (i.e., recipients) with exclusive promotional offers that they purposefully do not extend to other customers (i.e., non-recipients). However, today’s empowered consumers are more socially aware than ever of such divisive practices (via social media, deal websites, etc.), and firms must now better account for the negative backlash from non-recipients that may ensue. In this research, we conceptually define exclusive promotions and outline how they differ from other more heavily-studied customer prioritization tools. We then take a divergent approach from the majority of the extant literature by focusing primarily on how and why non-recipients (rather than recipients) respond to exclusive promotions. Study 1a findings reveal that non-recipients have negative attitudes toward exclusive promotions, as well as negative attitudes and lower patronage intentions toward the firm using them. Perceived social exclusion was shown to underlie these unfavorable responses. In Study 1b, we rule out an alternative equity-based explanation of our findings by assessing loyalty to the firm as a potential moderator. We then extend our investigation to a field setting in Studies 2 and 3. There we replicate our Study 1a results, and assess consumers’ actual purchasing behavior in response to a real exclusive offer for enhanced generalizability. Lastly, in Studies 4 and 5 we empirically test two strategies that firms can potentially use to mitigate the negative effects of exclusive promotions documented here.
Management of Advanced-stage Hypopharyngeal Carcinoma: 25-Year Experience from a Tertiary Care Medical Center.

Introduction Due to conflicting data in the literature, there is a continuing debate on whether advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma patients should be treated with definitive surgery or chemoradiotherapy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the management and outcomes of advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma in a tertiary care institution over the last 25 years. Methods An Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved and HIPPA-compliant retrospective analysis was performed of patients with advanced-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx treated at our institution between January 1994 and December 2018. Data regarding demographics, stage, treatment, and follow-up were collected. Outcomes including median survival and overall survival were calculated using the Kaplan Meier method. All analyses were performed using SPSS v. 24. Results This study included a total of 103 advanced stage hypopharyngeal cancer patients. The median age for this cohort is 61 years (range: 41-88, SD 9.3). Of the total 103 eligible patients treated, 92 (89.3%) were male and 11 (10.7%) female; 61 (59.2%) were African Americans, 39 (37.9%) were Caucasians and three (2.9%) were other races. Seventeen patients (16.5%) had stage III disease, whereas 86 (83.5%) patients were diagnosed with Stage IV A or B disease. Seventy-two patients (69.9%) were treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy (ChemoRT group), and 31 patients (30.1%) underwent primary surgery with or without adjuvant treatments (Surgery group). The two treatment groups were similar in terms of age, gender, ethnicity, alcohol status, N staging, and subsites but were significantly different for smoking status (p = 0.035) and T staging (p = 0.024). The median follow-up was 17 months. The median survival of the overall cohort was 26 months, and five-year overall survival was 25.5%. The median survival was found to be significantly better for the surgery group as compared to the definitive chemoradiotherapy group (43 months vs 16 months, p = 0.049). The five-year overall survival (OS; 41.5% vs 18.5%, p = 0.049) and disease-free survival (DFS; 75.3% vs 56%; p = 0.029) were significantly better for patients in the surgery group compared to the chemoradiotherapy group. On multivariate Cox-regression analysis, lymph nodal status (HR = 1.27, CI: 1.00-1.62, p = 0.047) and chemoradiation treatment (HR = 1.82, CI: 1.00-3.29, p = 0.048) were associated with higher risk of mortality. Conclusion In our single institutional experience of advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma management, the five-year overall survival rate was found to be 25.5 % and was the poorest among head and neck cancers. The patients with advanced hypopharyngeal cancer treated with surgery followed by adjuvant radiation or chemoradiation have significantly improved overall survival compared to those treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy. Further research warranted for early detection and better treatment to improve the cure rate in hypopharyngeal carcinoma patients.
3 – Methodological Preliminaries

Publisher Summary The chapter focuses on the methodological preliminary principles for model building. Building a model is sometimes like doing a jigsaw puzzle. Model building is governed by several principles. The variant of the universally accepted recommendation that every model define its concepts is that every mathematical model should define its concepts mathematically. The first principle defines that a model is designated “pure theory” if all its concepts are mathematically defined. The second principle is that any set with two or more elements can be partitioned into two or more nonempty subsets. To model builders, the greatest strength of mathematics is the poverty of its vocabulary. Turning away from the general and toward the specific, the chapter examines some familiar dichotomies. Third (small is not zero), fourth (the Principle of Least Astonishment), and fifth principle (that stats definitions must never be circular) are also illustrated in detail with suitable examples.
Bivariate Model for Dichotomous Responses and Latent Variables Jointly Assessing Attitude and Attitudinal Stability

In any given survey, individuals are likely to differ in attitudes toward the subject matter. They also may differ in terms of the duration and persistence of attitudes, with some persons' beliefs being much more stable than others. For the purpose of jointly assessing attitude and temporal attitudinal stability, we propose a latent bivariate item response model. Attitudinal stability is operationalized as a construct called response consistency, which is indicated by the concordance of observed responses between two-time points. A simulation experiment assesses the parameter recovery of the proposed model. A real data analysis example uses data collected from a study on folklore beliefs about diabetes (563 individuals from multiple rural communities in North Carolina). On two different occasions, the individuals in the sample completed a 31-item common-sense model of diabetes inventory, which measures the congruence of their beliefs with a biomedical model. Results from the simulation study showed that the model parameters and factor correlation in the latent bivariate IRT model overall recovered well. Results from the real data analysis demonstrated the saliency of the construct. A weak association between having beliefs congruent with the biomedical model and response consistency across the two administrations was found.
Undergraduate Learning Outcomes for Achieving Data Acumen

It is imperative to foster data acumen in our university student population in order to respond to an increased attention to statistics in society and in the workforce, as well as to contribute to ...
Zombie Komiks in a Cacique Democracy: Patay Kung Patay’s Undead Revolution

Utilizing the lens of Philippine historical conditions, the series Patay Kung Patay (Dead Means Dead, 2015–present) imagines zombies as revolutionary actors who confront the nation’s legacy of colonialism and rise up against the brutalities of cacique democracy. But Patay’s portrait of social upheaval is fractured by contradictions. Consciousness is often understood to be foundational to revolution. What does the series imply, then, when it imagines agents of radical social transformation as unconscious beings that lack free will? The series also largely addresses urban-dwelling, college-educated Filipinos with discretionary income. As such, Patay arguably commodifies the plight of the rural working class, turning a tale of socioeconomic revolution into the stuff of fantastical entertainment.
LoRa Mesh Network with BeagleBone Black

This paper investigates the use of BeagleBone Black Wireless single-board Linux computers with Long Range (LoRa) transceivers to send and receive information in a mesh network while one of the transmitting/receiving nodes is acting as a relay in the system. An experiment is conducted to examine how long each LoRa node needed to learn the transmission intervals of any other transmitting nodes on the network and to synchronize with the other nodes prior to transmission. The spread factor, bandwidth, and coding rate are all varied for a total of 18 different combinations. A link to the Python code used on the BeagleBone Black is provided at the end of this paper. The best parameter combinations for each individual node and for the system as a whole is investigated. Additional experiments and applications of this technology are explored in the conclusions.
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Antimicrobial Agents in Burn Patients.

Background: Infection is common after burn injury and accounts for the most frequent complications of burn injury. This review describes the effects of burn injury on pharmacokinetics, focusing on the impact of these changes on antimicrobial therapy. Methods: The published literature on pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in burn injury of antibiotic use was reviewed. Results: Physiologic and metabolic changes of burn injury can alter pharmacokinetic parameters, leading to larger volumes of distribution, faster hepatic metabolism, and increased renal clearance. Changes in pharmacokinetics may lead to subtherapeutic doses of commonly used antibiotic and antifungal agents. Conclusions: Although not all antimicrobial agents are well studied in the burn population, dose recommendations exist for some agents. Additional research is needed to cover the systemic antimicrobial agents used in the care of burn patients so that appropriate dosing adjustments can be made to optimize outcomes.
Mortality and glycemic control among patients with diabetes mellitus and uterine or ovarian cancer.

Aim: To evaluate associations between survival and glycemic control in age-matched patients with endometrial or ovarian cancer, with/without diabetes mellitus (DM). Patients & methods: Patients wit...
Hunger and the Demands for Cheap Dietary Staples of the Extreme Poor

I construct a tractable structural model of a poor household's demand for cheap dietary staples. This model characterizes the trade-offs that a poor household faces between satiating hunger and satisfying other needs when it spends its scarce resources on food. I use this model to extrapolate the equivalent variation, the willingness to pay, and the dead-weight loss of Jensen and Miller's (2008) price subsidy experiment on cheap dietary staples among the extreme poor (figure 1), and I also use it to extrapolate Pareto improving policies relative to their subsidy treatment (figure 5).
Recap of the 39th Edition of the International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD 2020)

The International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD) is jointly sponsored by IEEE and ACM, and it is the premier forum to explore emerging technology challenges in electronic design automation, present leading-edge R&D solutions, and identify future roadmaps for design automation research areas.
Imaging Chemotherapy-Induced Brain Damage in Pediatric Cancer Survivors

89 Purpose: Chemotherapy with methotrexate (MTX) is associated with chronic neurotoxicity. Many pediatric cancer survivors face chronic neurological problems after exposure to high dose MTX (>1000 mg/m2), ranging from mild symptoms to severe headaches, seizures, motor problems, and cognitive impairment. Currently, it is impossible to predict who will develop long-term neurocognitive effects after MTX. Our goal was to detect early imaging signs of chemotherapy-induced brain damage, that can be associated with chronic neurocognitive problems.Methods: In an IRB approved, retrospective study, we investigated 10 children (range: 2-24 years; mean±SD:17.5±5.2), with osteosarcoma (n=6) and lymphoma (n=4), who underwent 18F-FDG-PET/MR scans (range: 3-5 MBq/kg; mean±SD:3.5±1.6), before and after intravenous chemotherapy with high-dose-MTX (range: 3000-144.000 mg/m2; mean: 26.448). Follow up scans were compared to an atlas of normal pediatric brain images using the MIMvista 6.5 software, and any hyper- or hypometabolic brain areas (z-score±1.65, 95% statistical significance level) were collected. Single affected brain areas were grouped into larger macro-regions related to specific neurocognitive problems (Table 1). Max standardized uptake value (SUVmax) of these brain regions at baseline and follow-up scans were compared with a Wilcoxon signed-rank sum test (significance level p Results: Of 10 patients who received high dose MTX, 9 patients demonstrated abnormal brain metabolism on 18F-FDG-PET/MR scans after high-dose-MTX. Hyper or hypometabolic brain areas were noted in Brodmann areas 9,10 and 11 (region 1 and 2, related to executive functions and intelligence quotient) for 8 patients; in Brodmann areas 13 and 14 (region 3, related to attention ability) for 3 patients; in Brodmann areas 5,7,8,19,20,37 (region 4, related to academic function) for 6 patients and in Brodmann areas 11,22,37,39,40,47 (region 5, related to reading ability) for 9 patients. Average SUVmax values decreased from baseline to follow-up scans in all regions (10.4±2.6 vs 9.4±4.5 for region 1 and 2; 7.4±1.6 vs 4.9±1.2 for region 3; 7.8±1.7 vs 6.4±3.4 for region 4 as well as 10.1±2.5 vs 10±4.1 for region 5, respectively), but the difference was not significant (p>0.05). Ongoing prospective studies correlate these findings with neuropsychological testing of these patients.Conclusion: Our preliminary data show that PET/MRI can detect early signs of chemotherapy-induced brain damage. Since there is a window of time between drug exposure and morbidity, this early detection could enable non-invasive monitoring of interventions, which can improve clinical outcomes. Further evaluations are needed to confirm these data. Table 1: Brain regions, corresponding Brodmann areas, and related neurocognitive disorders. This work is funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH/NICHD), grant R21 HD101129.
DRIVEN to Change Attitudes Toward Dating Violence: Outcomes From a 6-Month Follow-Up Study:

While dating violence (DV) is a significant issue present on college campuses among students of all ethnic groups, research suggests that DV is preventable. As Latino representation at colleges inc...
Dynamic Response of Initially-Stressed Membrane Shells

Asymmetric dynamic response to free and forced vibrations of thin membrane shells at given stress state due to previous loads
Controlling Chaos in the Heart: Some Mathematics Behind Terminating Cardiac Arrhythmias

Precisely coordinated rhythmic contraction of heart muscle tissue is essential for the effective pumping of blood, and abnormal cardiac rhythms (arrhythmias) can be fatal. Patients with certain types of arrhythmias receive surgically-implanted devices which are designed to intervene when severe abnormalities are detected.
Soil ingestion rates in children identified by parental observation as likely high soil ingesters

Soil ingestion was estimated over seven consecutive days in a soil tracer‐based mass‐balance methodology in 12 children, aged 1 to 3 years. The children had been identified by parents as likely high soil ingesters based on retrospective observation of daily soil ingestion behavior over the past 30 d. While one of the 12 children displayed high soil ingestion (0.5 to 3.05 g/d) on 4 of 7 d, median soil ingestion rates for the 12 children were comparable to those published in other soil ingestion studies of young children selected for studies based on age and not assumed or observed soil ingestion behavior. The lack of ability of parental judgments to predict high soil ingestion rates represents both an important observation and a significant limitation in current methods to efficiently and accurately identify children who ingest high amounts of soil.
Inflammation induces dermal Vγ4+ γδT17 memory-like cells that travel to distant skin and accelerate secondary IL-17–driven responses

Gamma delta (γδ) T cells represent a major IL-17 committed T-cell population (γδT17 cells) in the mouse dermis. Following exposure to the inflammatory agent imiquimod (IMQ) the Vγ4+ subset of γδT cells produce IL-17 in the skin and expand rapidly in draining lymph nodes (LNs). Local IMQ treatment in humans is known to exacerbate psoriasis skin lesion activity at distant sites. Whether expanded γδT17 cells sensitize distant sites to inflammation has been unknown. Here we show that expanded Vγ4+ γδT17 cells egress from LNs in a fingolimod (FTY720)-sensitive manner and use C-C chemokine receptor type 2 to accumulate in inflamed skin where they augment neutrophil recruitment and inflammation. They also travel to noninflamed skin and peripheral LNs and remain in elevated numbers at these distant sites for at least 3 mo. Sensitized mice show more rapid skin inflammation and greater proliferation and IL-17 production by Vγ4+ γδT cells upon imiquimod challenge. Transfer experiments confirm that memory-like Vγ4+ γδT17 cells respond more rapidly. Memory-like Vγ4+ γδT17 cells are distinguished by greater IL-1R1 expression and more proliferation in response to IL-1β. These findings establish that local skin inflammation leads to faster and stronger secondary responses to the same stimulus through long-term and systemic changes in the composition and properties of the dermal γδT-cell population.
A Heckuva Job: How Management Failures Doomed the Bush Administration

This essay reviews the management record of the administration of George W. Bush. The Bush administration directed a great deal of attention to formal management reform efforts. But its actual record in managing key policy areas, such as rebuilding of Iraq or response to Hurricane Katrina, was poor. A key reason for these management problems was an emphasis on loyalty and ideology over expertise. This points to a broader problem for a conservative movement that has denigrated the role of public sector capacity in governing.
A Direct Method of Parameter Estimation for Steady State Flow in Heterogeneous Aquifers with Unknown Boundary Conditions

[1] We propose a novel direct method for estimating steady state hydrogeological model parameters and model state variables in an aquifer where boundary conditions are unknown. The method is adapted from a recently developed potential theory technique for solving general inverse/reconstruction problems. Unlike many inverse techniques used for groundwater model calibration, the new method is not based on fitting and optimizing an objective function, which usually requires forward simulation and iterative parameter updates. Instead, it directly incorporates noisy observed data (hydraulic heads and flow rates) at the measurement points in a single step, without solving a boundary value problem. The new method is computationally efficient and is robust to the presence of observation errors. It has been tested on two-dimensional groundwater flow problems with regular and irregular geometries, different heterogeneity patterns, variances of heterogeneity, and error magnitudes. In all cases, parameters (hydraulic conductivities) converge to the correct or expected values and are thus unique, based on which heads and flow fields are constructed directly via a set of analytical expressions. Accurate boundary conditions are then inferred from these fields. The accuracy of the direct method also improves with increasing amount of observed data, lower measurement errors, and grid refinement. Under natural flow (i.e., no pumping), the direct method yields an equivalent conductivity of the aquifer, suggesting that the method can be used as an inexpensive characterization tool with which both aquifer parameters and aquifer boundary conditions can be inferred.
Adrenomedullin has multiple roles in disease stress: Development and remission of the inflammatory response†

The upregulation of adrenomedullin (AM) gene expression and increases in systemic circulatory as well as localized tissue AM concentrations is well coordinated with the onset and progression of trauma, infection, and sepsis. As such, the coordinated change in AM suggests a key role for this peptide in the inflammatory response. By clinical definition, the process of inflammation constitutes an orchestrated cascade of localized tissue and systemic responses to immunological challenges. Classical responses to the onset of disease stresses are manifested in the timely elaboration of humoral, blood-borne signal effectors (such as adrenocortical and locally produced tissue hormones, immune cytokines, and inorganic signals such as nitric oxide) as well as patterned migration and infiltration of circulating bone marrow-derived cells (mononuclear cells such as monocyte-macrophages and polymorphonuclear cells like neutrophils) largely associated with or delivered through the vascular system. The body's attempts to combat acute infection to restore homeostatic equilibrium are further compromised by underlying disease situations. Atherosclerosis, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, as well as nutritional metabolic derangements and persistent subclinical infection perturb the regulatory feedback loops necessary for proper control of response effectors like hormones and cytokines. When imbalances occur, tissue necrosis can ensue as driven by free radical damage to cell components. A true appreciation of the inflammatory response can only be grasped through an integrative approach in which the relationship between the different physiological systems is viewed in terms of a changing, dynamic interaction. In essence, the inflammatory response can be thought of in three phases: a period of severity assessment, a period of remediation, and a period of homeostatic restoration. Indeed, AM has differential effects on cellular metabolism, immune function, endocrine function, and cardiovascular function. This peptide appears to play a pivotal role in both reprioritizing the biological needs of tissues and organs during the three phases of inflammatory response as well as a role in restoring homeostatic equilibrium to the body.
Model for Pulsating Heat Pipe With Capillary Wick and Varying Channel Diameter

Variation in channel diameter is investigated as a means of enhancing heat transfer in a pulsating heat pipe with capillary wick using the model presented here. The model is one-dimensional with slug flow where the momentum equation is solved for each liquid slug. The number and mass of liquid slugs are allowed to vary throughout a simulation. The energy equation is solved both in the wall and wick and in the working fluid. The effects of diameter profile, gravity, fill ratio, and heating and cooling schemes can be studied with the model. Results yield similar trends to what has been experimentally observed. Results also indicate that heat transfer can be enhanced when the diameter of the channel is varied along the channel length, thereby providing increased range of heat load capability, less sensitivity to gravity, and in some cases smaller temperature differentials.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Patterns and significance of exhaled-breath biomarkers in lung transplant recipients with acute allograft rejection

Abstract Background Obliterative bronchiolitis (OB) remains one of the leading causes of death in lung transplant recipients after 2 years, and acute rejection (AR) of lung allograft is a major risk factor for OB. Treatment of AR may reduce the incidence of OB, although diagnosis of AR often requires bronchoscopic lung biopsy. In this study, we evaluated the utility of exhaled-breath biomarkers for the non-invasive diagnosis of AR. Methods We obtained breath samples from 44 consecutive lung transplant recipients who attended ambulatory follow-up visits for the Johns Hopkins Lung Transplant Program. Bronchoscopy within 7 days of their breath samples showed histopathology in 21of these patients, and we included them in our analysis. We measured hydrocarbon markers of pro-oxidant events (ethane and 1-pentane), isoprene, acetone, and sulfur-containing compounds (hydrogen sulfide and carbonyl sulfide) in exhaled breath and compared their levels to the lung histopathology, graded as stable (non-rejection) or AR. None of the study subjects were diagnosed with OB or infection at the time of the clinical bronchoscopy. Results We found no significant difference in exhaled levels of hydrocarbons, acetone, or hydrogen sulfide between the stable and AR groups. However, we did find significant increase in exhaled carbonyl sulfide (COS) levels in AR subjects compared with stable subjects. We also observed a trend in 7 of 8 patients who had serial sets of breath and histopathology data that supported a role for COS as a breath biomarker of AR. Conclusions This study demonstrated elevations in exhaled COS levels in subjects with AR compared with stable subjects, suggesting a diagnostic role for this non-invasive biomarker. Further exploration of breath analysis in lung transplant recipients is warranted to complement fiberoptic bronchoscopy and obviate the need for this procedure in some patients.
A singular perturbation approach for time-domain assessment of Phase Margin

This paper considers the problem of time-domain assessment of the Phase Margin (PM) of a Single Input Single Output (SISO) Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) system using a singular perturbation approach, where a SISO LTI fast loop system, whose phase lag increases monotonically with frequency, is introduced into the loop as a singular perturbation with a singular perturbation (time-scale separation) parameter e. First, a bijective relationship between the Singular Perturbation Margin (SPM) e max and the PM of the nominal (slow) system is established with an approximation error on the order of e2. In proving this result, relationships between the singular perturbation parameter e, PM of the perturbed system, PM and SPM of the nominal system, and the (monotonically increasing) phase of the fast system are also revealed. These results make it possible to assess the PM of the nominal system in the time-domain for SISO LTI systems using the SPM with a standardized testing system called “PM-gauge,” as demonstrated by examples. PM is a widely used stability margin for LTI control system design and certification. Unfortunately, it is not applicable to Linear Time-Varying (LTV) and Nonlinear Time-Varying (NLTV) systems. The approach developed here can be used to establish a theoretical as well as practical metric of stability margin for LTV and NLTV systems using a standardized SPM that is backward compatible with PM.