cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Excessive Reversal of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor and Ephrin Signaling Following Tracheal Occlusion in Rabbit Model of congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) causes severe pulmonary hypoplasia from herniation of abdominal contents into the thorax. Tracheal occlusion (TO) for human CDH improves survival, but morbidity and mortality remain high, and we do not fully understand the cellular pathways and processes most severely impacted by CDH and TO. We created a left diaphragmatic hernia (DH) in rabbit fetuses with subsequent TO and collected left lung sections for NextGen mRNA sequencing. DH, TO and DHTO fetuses had comparable body and organ growth to control except for lower lung weights in DH (p < 0.05). Of 13,687 expressed genes, DHTO had 687 differentially expressed genes compared with DH, but no other group-group comparison had more than 10. Considering genes in combination, many of the genes reduced in DH were more highly expressed in DHTO than in control. Benchmarking fetal rabbit lung gene expression to published lung development data, both DH and DHTO lungs were more highly correlated with the gene expression of immature lung. DNA synthesis was upregulated in DHTO compared with DH and ribosome and protein synthesis pathways were downregulated. DH reduced total and epithelial cell proliferation by half and two-thirds respectively, and DHTO increased proliferation by 2.5 and 3.4-fold respectively. Signaling pathways downregulated by DH and upregulated in DHTO were epidermal growth factor receptor signaling, ephrin signaling and cell migration; however, levels of ephrin and EGFR signaling in DHTO exceeded that of control. Identification and inhibition of the ligands responsible for this dysregulated signaling could improve lung development in CDH.
Impact of non-neoplastic vs intratumoural hepatitis B viral DNA and replication on hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence.

This study aims to determine the impact of intracellular hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA, covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) and viral replicative activity in both tumour and non-neoplastic liver on prognosis and to determine the relationship of viral replicative activity and Ishak fibrosis in predicting outcome following resection. A total of 99 prospectively enrolled patients treated with primary liver resection for HBV-HCC are included. Intracellular HBV DNA and cccDNA were quantitated by real-time PCR. The RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) was performed in a subset of 21 patients who had either minimal liver fibrosis (Ishak stages 0–2) or end-stage fibrosis (Ishak stage 6). Tumour tissue contained a lower cccDNA copy number compared with paired non-neoplastic liver, and larger tumours (>3 cm) had less cccDNA compared with small tumours (⩽3 cm). High viral replicative activity in non-neoplastic liver was associated with higher HCC recurrence rate independent of Ishak fibrosis stage. Genes correlated with viral replicative activity in non-neoplastic liver (620 genes) were distinct from those associated with end-stage fibrosis (1226 genes). Genes associated with viral replicative activity were preferentially distributed in regions on chr3, chr16 and chr19. Viral replicative activity in non-neoplastic liver is associated with HCC recurrence through mechanisms that are distinct from and independent of Ishak fibrosis stage.
Heart Failure Care in the Outpatient Cardiology Practice Setting: Findings from IMPROVE HF

Background— Few data exist regarding contemporary care patterns for heart failure (HF) in the outpatient setting. IMPROVE HF is a prospective cohort study designed to characterize current management of patients with chronic HF and ejection fraction ≤35% in a national registry of 167 US outpatient cardiology practices. Methods and Results— Baseline patient characteristics and data on care of 15381 patients with diagnosed HF or prior myocardial infarction and left ventricular dysfunction were collected by chart abstraction. To quantify use of therapies, 7 individual metrics (use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker, β-blocker, aldosterone antagonist, anticoagulation, implantable cardioverter defibrillator, cardiac resynchronization therapy, and HF education) and composite metrics were assessed. Care metrics include only patients documented to be eligible and without contraindications or intolerance. Among practices, 69% were nonteaching. Patients were 71% male, with a median age of 70 years, and a median ejection fraction of 25%. Use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker (80%) and β-blocker (86%) was relatively high in eligible patients in the outpatient cardiology setting; other metrics, such as aldosterone antagonist (36%), device therapy (implantable cardioverter defibrillator/cardiac resynchronization therapy with defibrillator, 51%; cardiac resynchronization therapy, 39%), and education (61%), showed lower rates of use. A median 27% of patients received all HF therapies for which they were potentially eligible on the basis of chart documentation. Use of guideline-recommended therapies by practices varied widely. Conclusions— These data are among the first to assess treatment in the outpatient setting since the release of the latest national HF guidelines and to demonstrate substantial variation among cardiology practices in the documented therapies provided to HF patients. Received February 12, 2007; accepted May 5, 2008.
Impedance spectroscopy of Chicken Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus Based on atomic force microscopy

The AC impedance spectroscopy of Chicken Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus (ILTV, gallid herpesvirus 1) was measured using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The result indicates a 30% difference in the absolute impedance values between the control and virus samples within a 10–65 kHz frequency range. Using an equivalent circuit of the systems and an electrical curve fitting program, the data shows the average capacitance of a single virus particle is approximately 6 nF. Based on a similar analysis of the electrical properties of polystyrene beads, the overall dielectric constant of the ILTV was determined to be approximately 2.4.
Elevated Intracranial Pressure and Hydrocephalus in Brain Tumor Patients

The cranial vault is an enclosed and environmentally controlled space that is uniquely designed to protect the brain. It contains three major components: brain tissue, blood and cerebrospinal fluid. An increase in any of these components leads to an increase in intracranial pressure. Brain tumors frequently lead to increased tumor tissue, blood or cerebrospinal fluid within the cranium, thereby elevating the intracranial pressure and disrupting this homeostatic environment. Left unchecked, these changes can lead to neurological dysfunction and secondary brain injury. This chapter will explore the complex interplay between brain tumors, cerebrospinal fluid accumulation and elevated intracranial pressure, and will present strategies for minimizing neurological dysfunction and permanent injury in this context.
Going-concern opinion decisions on bankrupt clients: Evidence of long-lasting auditor conservatism?

Abstract Geiger, Raghunandan, and Rama (2005) examine auditor going-concern decisions prior to client bankruptcy in the periods surrounding the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (2002) at the start of this century and find evidence of improved conservatism. Feldmann and Read (2010) replicate and extend Geiger et al. (2005) and find that the proportion of going-concern opinions (GCOs) increases sharply in the post-SOX period (2002 − 2003) relative to the pre-SOX period (2000 − 2001). They show, however, that the improvement in conservatism is largely transitory and that the GCO ratio quickly declines over time, ultimately returning to its pre-SOX level by 2006. In this paper, we examine the prior audit opinions that auditors issued for a sample of 340 U.S. public companies that filed for bankruptcy during the years 2006–2015, a period that includes the recent Great Recession (hereafter, GR). Our analysis sheds light on whether the enormity of the GR resulted in a long-lasting change toward conservatism in auditor going-concern decisions on bankrupt clients. Controlling for confounding factors, we find that auditors were significantly more likely to issue GCOs to subsequently bankrupt clients following the onset of the GR. Finally, controlling for confounding factors, we find no significant change in the propensity of auditors to issue a GCO during the two post-GR recovery periods compared to going-concern decisions during the GR.
Three-Dimensional Study of Graphite-Composite Electrode Chemo-Mechanical Response using Digital Volume Correlation

A custom built reusable cell for in situ lithiation and mechanical deformation studies while in an X-ray tomograph was demonstrated, and the strain and volume changes of a composite graphite anode were computed from 3D X-ray microcomputed tomography data via Digital Volume Correlation (DVC). The test anode was a composite electrode comprised of a porous compliant matrix, graphite as the Li+ host material, 5-μm ZrO2 marker particles for use with DVC, and active carbon black to enhance electrical conductivity. The composite electrodes were hot-pressed to control their porosity, and in turn the mechanical integrity of the resulting material. This composite anode was included in a half-cell and lithiated in situ while in a tomograph, and intermittent 3D data were collected at different lithiation levels up to full gravimetric capacity. Strain measurements by DVC demonstrated relatively uniform expansion of the freestanding electrode with average normal strains in the three directions varying by 20%, while the internal shear strains were found to be negligible. The average experimental strains were about 75% of the theoretical value, as estimated by the rule of mixtures, which implies that ~25% of the normal strains in graphite, due to lithiation, are accommodated by the surrounding matrix.
Corn-Based Distillers' Grains in Diets for Feedlot Cattle Are Associated with the Burden of Escherichia coli O157 in Feces

Inclusion of distillers' grains (DGs) has been associated with increased prevalence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in cattle housed in research settings. Our objective was to quantify the relationship between inclusion of DGs in commercial feedlot rations and the burden of E. coli O157. A convenience sample of 10 feedlots was enrolled based on DG use in finishing diets; 1 cohort included 5 feedlots in which DGs were greater than 15% of the dietary dry matter and the other cohort consisted of 5 feedlots at a concentration less than 8%. Sampling occurred at each feedlot on four occasions at ∼6-week intervals. At each feedlot visit, 4 pens of cattle within 3 weeks of slaughter were selected and 24 freshly voided fecal pats were sampled. Ten-gram samples were enriched in 90 mL of modified tryptic soy broth with novobiocin (20 mg/L) for 14 h at 42°C. Enrichments were subjected to immunomagnetic separation, plating onto chromogenic agar with novobiocin (5 mg/L) and potassium tellurite (2.5 mg/L), incubation for 18 h at 37°C, and latex agglutination of morphologically typical colonies. E. coli O157 was recovered from 16.7% of 3840 samples. Adjusted prevalence was 14.3% after controlling for within-feedlot and within-pen clustering. Prevalence during each sampling period was 19.9% (round 1), 21.0% (round 2), 14.1% (round 3), and 11.7% (round 4). Prevalence varied between cohorts, but this difference varied over time (p = 0.06). Among those with greater than 15% of the diet as DGs, prevalence was greater than those with less than 8% inclusion for all rounds of sampling (p < 0.01). Averaged across time, prevalence was 23.9% and 9.4% for those with greater than 15% and those with less than 8% of DGs, respectively. While observational, these data provide real-world support of reports of increased E. coli O157:H7 burden associated with DG use in cattle diets.
Simultaneous Estimation of Corneal Topography, Pachymetry, and Curvature

Identification of objective criteria to correctly diagnose ectatic diseases of the cornea or to detect early stages of corneal ectasia is of great interest in ophthalmology and optometry. Metrics for diagnosis typically employed are curvature maps (axial/sagittal, tangential); elevation map of the anterior surface of the cornea with respect to a reference sphere; and pachymetry (thickness) map of the cornea. We present evidence that currently used curvature maps do not represent the actual curvatures (principal or mean) in a human cornea. A novel contribution of this paper is the computation of the true mean curvature over every point of a central region of the cornea. We show that the true mean curvature can accurately identify the location of the ectasia. We present a quartic smoothing spline algorithm for the simultaneous computation of elevation maps for anterior and posterior corneal surfaces, pachymetry, and true mean curvature. The input to the algorithm is data from a single measurement from imaging devices such as an anterior segment optical coherence tomographer or a Scheimpflug imager. We show that a different combination of metrics is useful for the diagnosis of existing ectasia (true mean curvature and anterior elevation map) as opposed to subclinical ectasia (pachymetry and posterior elevation map). We compare our results with existing algorithms, and present applications to a normal cornea, a forme fruste keratoconic cornea, and an advanced keratoconic cornea.
Concomitant Upper Extremity Fracture Worsens Outcomes in Elderly Patients With Hip Fracture

Background:Elderly patients with low-energy hip fractures have high rates of morbidity and mortality, but it is not well known how often concurrent upper extremity fractures occur and how this impa...
Bistability in a C.S.T.R.: New Experimental Examples and Mathematical Modeling

The ability of an open system to exhibit more than one stable state under the same set of external constraints is a classic illustration of the profound difference between open and closed systems. Until quite recently, however, the set of homogeneous systems reported to show multistability was limited to the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction [1] (and its cerium-bromate subsystem [2]), the Briggs-Rauscher reaction [3], and the reaction of bis(trichloromethyl)trisulfide with aniline in methanol [4].
Carbon Dioxide Transfer at the Gas/Water Interface as a Function of System Turbulence

For processes which are not rate limited by chemical reactions, interfacial mass transfer will be controlled by the fluid mixing. This applies to transfer across both the gas/water and the oil/water (e.g. petroleum spill) interfaces. As they involve environmental water bodies, such processes are therefore often controlled by the degree and nature of the turbulence underlying the interface. Efforts in our laboratories have been directed towards the use of the pH-dependent laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) of fluorescein compounds to characterize the mass transfer of CO2 (an acid) across both the gas/water interface and the oil/water interface. The photodiode monitoring of the LIF intensity in dilute fluorescein solutions (~10−7 M) as a function of depth allows the calculation of the CO2 flux across the interface as well as across any internal solution surface. Turbulence has been generated by means of an oscillating grid. Mass transfer measurements have been made under conditions of varying turbulence intensity, length scale, and distance to the interface.
Proceedings of the second international workshop on Data intensive computing in the clouds

It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the Second International Workshop on Data Intensive Computing in the Clouds (DataCloud-SC11), which is held in conjunction with SC'11. Applications and experiments in all areas of science are becoming increasingly complex and more demanding in terms of their computational and data requirements. Some applications generate data volumes reaching hundreds of terabytes and even petabytes. As scientific applications become more data intensive, the management of data resources and dataflow between the storage and compute resources is becoming the main bottleneck. Analyzing, visualizing, and disseminating these large data sets has become a major challenge and data intensive computing is now considered as the "fourth paradigm" in scientific discovery after theoretical, experimental, and computational science. DataCloud-SC11 provides the scientific community a dedicated forum for discussing new research, development, and deployment efforts in running data-intensive computing workloads on Cloud Computing infrastructures. The DataCloud-SC11 workshop focuses on the use of cloud-based technologies to meet the new data intensive scientific challenges that are not well served by the current supercomputers, grids or compute-intensive clouds. We believe the workshop will be an excellent place to help the community define the current state, determine future goals, and present architectures and services for future clouds supporting data intensive computing. The DataCloud-SC11 call for papers attracted 26 submissions from around the world. The program committee accepted 9 papers that cover a variety of topics, including MapReduce, security, storage, and I/O optimization in the Clouds. We also have a distinguished keynote speaker, Geoffrey Fox from Indiana University, giving a talk on "Data Intensive Applications in the Clouds".
Elderly Dependency and Autonomy: Comments on the Essays of Dubler, Battin, Kataja and Gavin

The essays in this volume encourage the examination of our societal policy toward the elderly and they lead us to question what this policy has been, is, and ought to be. Now that aging and the interests of the elderly have become the focus of so much societal attention, it is important to move beyond the catch phrases and the cliches and to consider how the elderly, especially the dependent elderly, fare in our society.
Laurent Series and Isolated Singularities

In Section 1 we derive the Laurent decomposition of a function that is analytic on an annulus, and in Section 2 we use the Laurent decomposition on a punctured disk to study isolated singularities of analytic functions. We classify these as removable singularities, essential singularities, or poles, and we characterize each type of singularity. In Section 3 we define isolated singularities at ∞, and in Section 4 we derive the partial fractions decomposition of a rational function. In Sections 5 and 6 we use the Laurent decomposition to study periodic functions and we relate Laurent series to Fourier series. Sections 5 and 6 can be omitted at first reading.
Energy Needs for Work

Even though the work of performing genetic experiments differs from heavy physical labor, there is still an unstinting need to spend intensive hours in the laboratory to be productive. Certainly, Monod would have understood that there are four kinds of work for which food energy is used: mechanical, chemical, electrical, and osmotic. If the thesis is true that there is a connection between work and our sense of time, it is useful to ask how STELLA® might help one to understand the concepts of energy balance. Energy balance occurs when the amount of food energy we take in equals the amount of work our bodies perform, irrespective of the nature of our labors. Therefore, let us contemplate half of this equation.
Nursing Roles: Clinical Implications Regarding Trends, Administration, and Education for Biosimilars in Oncology Practice.

Background With the advent of biosimilars into the U.S. healthcare market, knowledge deficits exist for nurses and patients regarding the regulatory approval process and key nursing considerations for each of these new medications. Objectives This article provides essential clinical information for oncology nurses who are directly involved in patient care who will be administering U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved biosimilars for oncologic use. Oncology nurses must be informed on their therapeutic uses, mechanisms of action, and administration considerations. Methods An overview of biosimilars in the United States is given, and each FDA-approved oncology biosimilar medication is described in detail. Findings Oncology biosimilars are safe and effective treatment options that may increase patient access, decrease healthcare costs through competition, and improve the lives of patients with certain malignancies. Nurses are in key roles in patient care to foster the transition from previously patented, branded, and expensive medications to biosimilars that can achieve the same desired effects for a lower cost.
Identification of Anti-Mycobacterial Biofilm Agents Based on the 2-Aminoimidazole Scaffold

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a significant global health problem for which new therapeutic options are sorely needed. The ability of the causative agent, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, to reside within host macrophages and form biofilm-like communities contributes to the persistent and drug-tolerant nature of the disease. Compounds that can prevent or reverse the biofilm-like phenotype have the potential to serve alongside TB antibiotics to overcome this tolerance, and decrease treatment duration. Using Mycobacterium smegmatis as a surrogate organism, we report the identification of two new 2-aminoimidazole compounds that inhibit and disperse mycobacterial biofilms, work synergistically with isoniazid and rifampicin to eradicate preformed M. smegmatis biofilms in vitro, are nontoxic toward Galleria mellonella, and exhibit stability in mouse plasma.
Methods and Devices for Posterior Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Placement Surgery: 25 Years of Iterative Refinement

Background The posterior ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) placement procedure is technically efficient and cosmetically appealing. The main limitations of the posterior approach relate to the technical challenges associated with accurately placing the ventricular catheter. In this report, we describe methods and simple devices used for posterior VPS surgery that have evolved over a >25-year period to enhance catheter placement accuracy and reduce complication rates. Objective We describe the combination of methods and customized devices used at a single institution to perform posterior VPS surgery. Results are presented for the most recent 11-year epoch, along with a description of sources of technical errors and plans for further methodologic refinements. Materials and Methods The medical records and imaging studies of 468 patients undergoing posterior VPS, from 2007 to 2018 were reviewed. Ventricular catheter placement accuracy data were collected and complications were identified and recorded. Results Optimal ventricular catheter placement was achieved in 98.29%. Of the remaining 1.71%, one half (0.85%) required acute revision surgery. Four patients (0.85%) developed new neurologic deficits following surgery; 2 were related to intraparenchymal hemorrhages and 2 (0.43%) as a result of a misplaced catheter. The deficits resulting from poor catheter placement were transient. The complication rates due to causes other than catheter placement accuracy compared favorably with those reported previously in the literature. Conclusions Using the methods and devices described in this series, posterior VPS operations can be performed safely with a high degree of ventricular catheter placement accuracy.
The curative fantasy and psychic recovery : contribution to the theory of psychoanalytic psychotherapy.

The discovery of selfobject transferences and the interpretation of symptomatic behavior from within the patient's perspective have altered the conduct of psychoanalytic psychotherapy in fundamental ways. A review of the treatment process from a self psychological perspective serves as a background for pointing to the significance of curative fantasies in the process of recovery.
Polytomous item explanatory IRT models with random item effects: Concepts and an application

Abstract This paper proposes three polytomous item explanatory models with random item errors in Item Response Theory (IRT), by extending the Linear Logistic Test Model with item error (LLTM + e ) approach to polytomous data. The proposed models, also regarded as polytomous random item effects models, can take the uncertainty in explanation and/or the random nature of item parameters into account for polytomous items. To develop the models, the concepts and types of polytomous random item effects are investigated and then added into the existing polytomous item explanatory models. For estimation of the proposed models with crossed random effects for polytomous data, a Bayesian inference method is adopted for data analysis. An empirical example demonstrates practical implications and applications of the proposed models to the Verbal Aggression data. The empirical findings show that the proposed models with random item errors perform better than the existing models without random item errors in terms of the goodness-of-fit and reconstructing the step difficulties and also demonstrate methodological and practical differences of the proposed models in interpreting the item property effects in each of the item location explanatory Many-Facet Rasch Model and the step difficulty explanatory Linear Partial Credit Model approaches.
“Views from Somewhere”: Mapping Nineteenth-Century Cholera Narratives

Using ArcGIS, I map the ways in which primary and secondary sources describing an 1850s cholera epidemic in the Caribbean spatialize the epidemic. More specifically, I probe the scale at which varying narratives report the epidemic to consider whether it was understood as a broad, regional event, or at the level of specific colonies or islands. I draw upon post colonial and feminist critiques of the map, and keeping in view the situated nature of knowledge, create alternative maps of the epidemic. I approach the epidemic’s archival traces through the lens of archaeological theory, discussing them in relation to scale and movement.
Fixed Drug Eruptions: An Update, Emphasizing the Potentially Lethal Generalized Bullous Fixed Drug Eruption

A fixed drug eruption (FDE) is a relatively common reaction associated with more than 100 medications. It is defined as a same-site recurrence with exposure to a particular medication. The primary approach and treatment for all types of FDEs are to identify and remove the causative agent, often accomplished by a thorough history of medication and other chemical exposures, and possibly prior episodes. The most common category of FDE, localized FDE, whether bullous or non-bullous, is self-limited. Although one can confirm the causative agent using oral challenge testing, it is not recommended due to the risk of severe exacerbation or possible generalization; patch testing is now preferred. Bullous FDE may resemble erythema multiforme. Treatment of localized FDE includes medication removal, patient counseling, and symptomatic relief. Failure to remove the causative agent in localized FDE can lead to recurrence, which is associated with increased inflammation, hyperpigmentation, and risk of a potentially lethal generalized bullous FDE (GBFDE), which may resemble Stevens–Johnson syndrome (SJS) or toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). Distinguishing GBFDE from SJS and TEN is salient and will be stressed: GBFDE has more rapid onset in 1–24 h rather than in weeks, less or no mucosal involvement, less or no systemic involvement, and a tendency for a more favorable prognosis; however, recent experience suggests it may be just as life-threatening. This review will provide a comprehensive update and approach to diagnosis and management.
Design Principles for Coaching Toward Reflection and Transformation in Literacy Preservice Teacher Education

From 2014 to the present, we have engaged in a series of studies examining the features of coaching that support teachers in reflecting on practice and moving toward transformation in literacy teac...
How High Wind Speed Can Reduce Negative Effects of Confirmed Cases and Total Deaths of COVID-19 Infection in Society

The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is rapidly spreading all over the world, generating a high number of total deaths One of the current questi
Provision of smartphones in a symptom monitoring program of gynecologic and breast cancer patients during active therapy.

255Background: With advances in technology, smartphones are being used for multiple research and clinical care functions. However, not all patients have these devices, leading to disparities in par...
A New Lagrangian Relaxation Approach for Multistage Stochastic Programs under Endogenous Uncertainties

Abstract Optimization problems with endogenous (decision-dependent) uncertainties are commonly observed in process industry. Most optimization problems with endogenous uncertainties, by nature, can be modelled as multi-period multi-stage stochastic programs (MSSPs), where possible future states of the system are modelled as scenarios by enumerating all possible outcomes of uncertain parameters. However, MSSPs rapidly grow and quickly become computationally intractable for real-world problems. This paper presents a new Lagrangian relaxation for obtaining valid dual bounds for MSSPs under endogenous uncertainties. By exploiting the structure of the MSSP, a tight dual problem is formulated, which reduces the total number of Lagrangian multipliers. The paper also introduces a modified multiplier-updating scheme. We applied the new Lagrangian relaxation to bound instances of artificial lift infrastructure planning (ALIP) problem under uncertain production rates and the clinical trial planning (CTP) problem under uncertain clinical trial outcomes. The computational results reveal that the proposed Lagrangian relaxation generates tight dual bounds compared to the original Lagrangian relaxation formulation and that the proposed multiplier-updating scheme reduces the zigzagging behavior of the Lagrangian dual solutions as iterations progress.
"Indeterminate" UroVysion Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization Results.

Objectives UroVysion cases with one to three abnormal cells that do not meet the threshold for positivity may be better classified as "indeterminate." The aim of this study is to determine the incidence and clinical significance of these indeterminate UroVysion results. Methods The UroVysion fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) results over a 4-year period in our institution were retrospectively analyzed. Follow-up of the initial UroVysion cases, including urine cytology or bladder biopsy performed within 12 months of the initial diagnosis of the result, was obtained from pathology reports. Results A significant fraction (178 of 1,907, 9.3%) of the UroVysion cases had indeterminate results. Overall, the subsequent malignancy rate of the group with indeterminate UroVysion results (14 of 59, 23.7%) was higher than the group with normal results (48 of 319, 15.0%), although the difference was not significant (P = .124). For patients without a history of urinary tract neoplasm, the subsequent malignancy rate in the group with indeterminate results (7 of 18, 38.9%) was significantly higher than the group with normal results (16 of 103, 15.5%) (P = .044). Conclusions Our results support that indeterminate UroVysion FISH result may warrant closer clinical follow-up in patients without a history of urinary tract neoplasm. We suggest reporting these cases as "aneusomy of undetermined significance."
Response of fungal endophyte communities within Andropogon gerardii (Big bluestem) to nutrient addition and herbivore exclusion

Abstract Fungal endophytes may alter plant responses to the environment, but how does the environment affect the communities of fungal symbionts within plants? We examined the impact of nutrient addition and herbivore exclusion on endophyte communities of the prairie grass Andropogon gerardii in a full factorial field experiment. Fungi were cultured from stems, young leaves, and mature leaves, ITS sequences obtained, and endophyte incidence, community richness, and composition analyzed. Results indicate that in plots where nutrient addition and herbivore exclusion treatments had been applied separately, fungal endophyte incidence, community composition or evenness did not differ, but that greater species richness was observed in plots with nutrient addition and herbivore exclusion treatments applied in combination, compared to other treatments. Further, although fungal community composition was significantly different in stem and leaf tissues, OTU richness was greater in all endophyte communities in nutrient addition plus herbivore exclusion treatments, regardless of tissue type. Our results indicate the distinct fungal endophyte communities found in different plant tissues respond similarly to environmental factors.
Probing Biomolecular Interactions Using Nanopore Force Spectroscopy

The ability to apply a force on individual biomolecular complexes and measure their time-dependent response have begun to reveal their mechanical properties, interactions with other biomolecules, and self-interactions. A number of single-molecule methods have been developed and applied in the past decade to broad range of biological system, including proteins in the skeletal and cardiac muscle sarcomere, nucleic acid complexes, and enzymes. Nanopore force spectroscopy (NFS) is an emerging single-molecule method that takes advantage of the native electrical charge of biomolecule to exert a localized bond-rupture force. This article reviews the basic principles of the method and discusses two bond-breakage modes utilizing either a constant voltage or a fixed voltage ramp, which are related quantitatively in an essentially model-free way. A unified theoretical formalism is developed to extract kinetic information from the NFS data. The utility of this formalism is illustrated by analyzing data from nanopore unzipping of individual DNA hairpin molecules. Keywords: single-molecule methods; nanopore force spectroscopy; Kramers theory; DNA; hairpin unzipping; rupture voltage distribution
Anti-Corruption Policies and Programs : A Framework for Evaluation

In a largely corruption-free environment, anti-corruption agencies, ethics offices, and ombudsmen strengthen the standards of accountability. In countries with endemic corruption, however, the same institutions function in form but not in substance; under a best-case scenario such institutions might be helpful, but the more likely outcome is that they help to preserve social injustice. The anti-corruption strategy the World Bank announced in September 1997 defined corruption as the "use of public office for private gain" and called for the Bank to address corruption along four dimensions:  Preventing fraud and corruption in Bank projects.  Helping countries that request Bank assistance for fighting corruption.  Mainstreaming a concern about corruption in Bank work.  Lending active support to international efforts to address corruption. The menu of possible actions to contain corruption (in both countries and Bank projects) is very large, so Huther and Shah develop a framework to help assign priorities, depending on views of what does and does not work in specific countries. Their framework, based on public officials' incentives for opportunistic behavior, distinguishes between highly corrupt and largely corruption-free societies. Certain conditions encourage public officials to seek or accept corruption:  The expected gains from undertaking a corrupt act exceed the expected costs.  Little weight is placed on the cost that corruption imposes on others. In a country with heavy corruption and poor governance, the priorities in anti-corruption efforts would then be to establish rule of law, strengthen institutions of participation and accountability, and limit government interventions to focus on core mandates. In a country with moderate corruption and fair governance, the priorities would be decentralization and economic reform, results-oriented management and evaluation, and the introduction of incentives for competitive delivery of public services. In a country with little corruption and strong governance, the priorities might be explicit anti-corruption agencies and programs, stronger financial management, increased public and government awareness, no-bribery pledges, efforts to fry the "big fish," and so on. This paper - a product of the Country Evaluation and Regional Relations Division, Operations Evaluation Department - is part of a larger effort in the department to improve the development effectiveness of external assistance. Anwar Shah may be contacted at ashah@worldbank.org.
Neurogenic Regulation of Bradykinin-Induced Synovitis

Abstract Substantial evidence is described supporting the hypothesis that bradykinin-induced synovial inflammation is dependent on the sympathetic postganglionic neuron. In addition, experimental data indicate that a sympathetic–C-fiber afferent neuron integration plays a role in acute and chronic inflammation in the synovium and other tissues. For example, sympathetic–C-fiber coupling takes place during the skin inflammatory response [146,212,213]. Specifically, sympathetic efferent activity acts on peripheral adrenergic receptors to enhance C-fiber sensitization, thereby augmenting the generation of dorsal root reflexes that produce vasodilatation. However, to firmly establish such integration in synovial tissue, further studies are needed that employ controlled selective activation of the afferents supplying the synovium, e.g., by electrical stimulation of the corresponding dorsal roots [211]. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that there exists a functionally distinct sympathetic efferent pathway that enables the central nervous system to modulate the inflammatory response by acting on components of the immune system [103,116]. Specifically, at a systemic level activity in the sympathetic neurons modulates immune cell function via innervation of lymphoid organs and by direct contact with lymphocytes and macrophages [214], and at the local level the sympathetic modulates the sensitivity of nociceptors, directly or via immune cells and their signaling molecules (e.g., cytokines). A schematic representation of the interaction of some key systems in the control of synovial inflammation is shown in Fig. 4.
Ab‐Initio Calculation of Solute Effects on Austenite Grain Boundary Properties in Steel

Ab-initio density functional theory calculations have been performed to determine the effect of solutes including Cr, Ni, Mo, and Mn on the boundary energy for a variety of coincident site lattice grain boundaries of FCC iron (austenite). The boundaries investigated were of tilt character and both symmetric and asymmetric boundary planes were investigated. Boundary energies were determined for boundaries in pure Fe and for boundaries with single solute atoms at a variety of sites in each boundary. The results are compared to Arrhenius type equations developed from experimental work in the literature and used to hypothesize a mechanistic model for the effects of solutes on boundary mobility based upon the thermodynamic and kinetic effects of solutes at austenite grain boundaries. The predictive capabilities of atomic configurations and bond structures are evaluated and areas for future work are identified. This work provides a new framework for understanding the effects of solutes on atomic scale grain boundary energies and solute drag effects on boundaries.
Robust FDI systems and H/sub /spl infin//-optimization-disturbances and tall fault case

This paper is dedicated to the design of robust FDI systems by utilizing the H/sub /spl infin//-optimization technique. Results are derived based on the optimization of a sensitivity (performance) index. The overall effectiveness of the residual generator is examined in terms of faults vs. uncertainties, with the assumption of a bounded norm for disturbances. The results show that, for a well-conditioned system, a robust residual generator exists for all possible disturbances. This paper discusses the robust design of a tall fault system (i.e. the number of faults is no greater than the number of outputs) with additive disturbances. >
Development of Airframe Design Technology for Crashworthiness

This paper describes the NASA portion of a joint FAA-NASA General Aviation Crashworthiness Program leading to the development of improved crashworthiness design technology. The objectives of the program are to develop analytical technology for predicting crashworthiness of structures, provide design improvements, and perform full-scale crash tests. The analytical techniques which are being developed both in-house and under contract are described, and typical results from these analytical programs are shown. In addition, the full-scale testing facility and test program are discussed.
En passant neurotrophic action of an intermediate axonal target in the developing mammalian CNS

During development, neurons extend axons to their targets, then become dependent for their survival on trophic substances secreted by their target cells. Competition for limiting amounts of these substances is thought to account for much of the extensive naturally-occurring cell death that is seen throughout the nervous system. Here we show that spinal commissural neurons, a group of long projection neurons in the central nervous system (CNS), are also dependent for their survival on trophic support from one of their intermediate targets, the floor plate of the spinal cord. This dependence occurs during a several-day-long period when their axons extend along the floor plate, following which they develop additional trophic requirements. A dependence of neurons on trophic support derived en passant from their intermediate axonal targets provides a mechanism for rapidly eliminating misprojecting neurons, which may help to prevent the formation of aberrant neuronal circuits during the development of the nervous system.
Depth from edge and intensity based stereo

The past few years have seen a growing interest in the application" of three-dimensional image processing. With the increasing demand for 3-D spatial information for tasks of passive navigation [7,12], automatic surveillance [9], aerial cartography [10,13], and inspection in industrial automation, the importance of effective stereo analysis has been made quite clear. A particular challenge is to provide reliable and accurate depth data for input to object or terrain modelling systems (such as [5]. This paper describes an algorithm for such stereo sensing It uses an edge-based line-by-line stereo correlation scheme, and appears to be fast, robust, and parallel implementable. The processing consists of extracting edge descriptions for a stereo pair of images, linking these edges to their nearest neighbors to obtain the edge connectivity structure, correlating the edge descriptions on the basis of local edge properties, then cooperatively removmg those edge correspondences determined to be in error - those which violate the connectivity structure of the two images. A further correlation process, using a technique similar to that used for the edges, is applied to the image intensity values over intervals defined by the previous correlation The result of the processing is a full image array disparity map of the scene viewed.
Stabilization of phosphogypsum using class C fly ash and lime: assessment of the potential for marine applications.

Abstract Phosphogypsum (PG, CaSO4·H2O), a solid byproduct of phosphoric acid manufacturing, contains low levels of radium ( 266 Ra ), resulting in stackpiling as the only currently allowable disposal/storage method. PG can be stabilized with class C fly ash and lime for potential use in marine environments. An augmented simplex centroid design with pseudo-components was used to select 10 PG:class C fly ash:lime compositions. The 43 cm3 blocks were fabricated and subjected to a field submergence test and 28 days saltwater dynamic leaching study. The dynamic leaching study yielded effective calcium diffusion coefficients (De) ranging from 1.15×10−13 to 3.14×10−13 m2 s−1 and effective diffusion depths (Xc) ranging from 14.7 to 4.3 mm for 30 years life. The control composites exhibited diametrical expansions ranging from 2.3 to 17.1%, providing evidence of the extent of the rupture development due to ettringite formation. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), microprobe analysis showed that the formation of a CaCO3 on the composite surface could not protect the composites from saltwater intrusion because the ruptures developed throughout the composites were too great. When the PG:class C fly ash:lime composites were submerged, saltwater was able to intrude throughout the entire composite and dissolve the PG. The dissolution of the PG increased the concentration of sulfate ions that could react with calcium aluminum oxides in class C fly ash forming additional ettringite that accelerated rupture development. Effective diffusion coefficients and effective diffusion depths alone are not necessarily good indicators of the long-term survivability of PG:class C fly ash:lime composites. Development of the ruptures in the composites must be considered when the composites are used for aquatic applications.
Schematic Processing: A Comparison of Clinically Depressed, Dysphoric, and Nondepressed College Students

Reformulations of Beck’s theory (e.g., Dykman et al. J Pers Social Psychol 56:431–445, 1989) propose that depressed and nondepressed people are equally likely to use schematic processing to interpret information. The few studies to test this hypothesis have had methodological shortcomings. Past studies have not included a clinically depressed sample and have failed to assess a full range of potential biases (negative, neutral, and positive). To address these limitations, a recognition-of-information task was administered to clinically depressed, dysphoric, and nondepressed college students. Clinically depressed participants were significantly more likely than nondepressed participants to generate negative interpretations of a self-relevant ambiguous story. Clinically depressed participants also were more likely than both dysphoric and nondepressed participants to refute positive interpretations of the story. However, consistent with reformulations of Beck’s theory, dysphoric participants and nondepressed participants also tended to “go beyond” the information given in the story. Indeed, all three participant groups were equally biased in their interpretations. The difference among the groups was in the direction (negative vs. positive) and the heterogeneity of the biases.
Response to citrate therapy in Dent's desease

The authors1 suggest another interpretation of our data, the major fact being that there is an acidic environment in the ClCn-5 knockout (ko) mouse kidney. We do agree with the authors that as renal failure progresses, it is likely that the ClCn-5 ko mice have metabolic acidosis, but we do not think younger ko mice without renal failure have significant metabolic acidosis based on the following information: (1) The wild-type and ClCn-5 ko mice show no significant difference in citrate excretion on either diet. (2) On a zero citrate diet, the wild-type and ClCn-5 ko mice have no difference in urinary pH (pH of 5.94 and 6.03, respectively). (3) The wild-type mice have an alkaline pH on the high citrate diet (pH 6.79) compared to the low citrate diet, but the ClCn-5 ko mice do not have an alkalization of urine pH (pH 6.01) compared to a no citrate diet (pH 6.03). (4) On a high citrate diet, there is not a difference in blood pH or blood gases for wild-type and ClCn-5 ko mice (unpublished data). From these data, we conclude that the delay in renal failure in ClCn-5 ko mice on a high citrate diet is not caused by the amelioration of the acidic environment of the kidney, but from the addition of citrate to the diet.