cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Jury Deliberations on Jurors' Reasoning Skills

The effect of jury deliberation on jurors' reasoning skill in a murder trial was examined. Specifically, the effect of deliberating on reasoning competence (as defined by Kuhn, Weinstock and Flaton, 1994) was explored. One hundred and four participants viewed a videotaped murder trial and either deliberated in 12-person juries or ruminated on the case individually. Among those assigned to juries, half had their reasoning skill assessed prior to deliberations, while the others were tested after deliberating. Jurors in the individual rumination condition were assessed after they had the opportunity to reflect on the case alone. As hypothesized, post-group-deliberation jurors were more likely to discount both the selected verdict and alternative theories and incorporate judgmental supporting statements than were the other mock jurors. However, the mock jurors did not differ with regard to making statements that supported alternative verdicts or including judgmental statements that discounted their chosen verdict. In terms of Kuhn's reasoning continuum from satisficing (low level) to theory–evidence coordination (high level), there is some evidence that post-group-deliberation jurors may be closer to the high end than predeliberation jurors or post-individual-rumination jurors in some aspects of the task, but not in others.
Relationship between Disease-Related Morbidity and Biochemical Markers of Activity in Patients with Acromegaly

The criteria for biochemical control of acromegaly that will best reduce disease-related morbidity in acromegaly are debated. We therefore studied the relationship of biochemical markers with an important metabolic parameter, insulin sensitivity, and clinical parameters reflecting disease activity in acromegaly. Newly diagnosed and postoperative patients with acromegaly underwent assessment of fasting IGF-I and fasting and postoral glucose tolerance test GH and insulin levels and completed a numeric signs and symptoms questionnaire. Insulin sensitivity was estimated by the quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI) and the composite insulin sensitivity index. Patients were divided into three groups: group I, normal IGF-I and nadir GH less than 0.14 mug/liter (n = 21); group II, normal IGF-I and nadir GH 0.14 mug/liter or more (n = 20); group III (active), elevated IGF-I (n = 25). Age, sex, and body mass index were comparable in these groups. Insulin sensitivity was reduced in group III (QUICKI: 0.33 +/- 0.01 and composite index: 3.44 +/- 0.54), compared with group II (0.38 +/- 0.01, P = 0.002 and 8.18 +/- 1.21, P = 0.0008), group I (0.38 +/- 0.01, P = 0.0008 and 8.91 +/- 1.34, P = 0.00001), and healthy controls (0.37 +/- 0.008, P = 0.009). When other nadir GH cut-offs were analyzed, insulin sensitivity remained relatively reduced in the elevated IGF-I group. IGF-I was a significant predictor for decreasing insulin sensitivity as calculated by QUICKI (r = 0.6, P < 0.0001) independently of nadir GH. Signs and symptom scores were higher in group III (mean 38.5 +/- 3.6%), compared with group II (mean 23.5 +/- 3.2%, P = 0.004) and group I (mean 20.5 +/- 3.7%, P = 0.0008) but not between the latter two groups. Our data indicate that overall and specifically in the presence of discordant serum IGF-I and nadir GH levels, IGF-I was more predictive than GH levels of insulin sensitivity and clinical symptom score in patients with acromegaly.
Relationship between pelagic tar, fluorescence and biological markers in the South Atlantic Ocean

Abstract Surface pelagic tar concentrations in the equatorial South Atlantic Ocean were low ( −2 ). With one exception, concentrations were less than 0.5 mg m −2 . The tars were characterized by gravimetry, carbon isotopic composition, molecular compositions (gas chromatographically), sulphur content, total fluorescence spectra, and biological marker fingerprints. Most tars exhibited significant amounts of degradation. A total fluorescence technique was used to group the tars into two basic types. One type occurred at low concentrations and appeared to be due to chronic long-term oil pollution in the South Atlantic Ocean. The second group occurred at much higher concentrations and was associated with more coastal-influenced waters. Biological marker (triterpanes and steranes) fingerprints confirmed the fluorescence groupings. Carbon isotopic composition and pristane/phytane ratios exhibited few geographical trends.
Estimation of tuber initiation in potatoes grown in tropical environments based on different methods of computing thermal time

Tuber initiation (Tl) of potato was estimated in Hawaii by comparing the relationship between the days to tuber initiation and the thermal time required to reach this growth stage. Several temperature-based (linear and nonlinear) functions were used to compute thermal time. The most stable ones, computed using nonlinear temperature-response functions, were nearly the same for each of the north-temperature cultivars (Katahdin, Desiree, Kennebec, and Norchip) and the heat tolerant clones (LT-1, C14-343, and C1-884) when grown at different elevations (91, 282, 640, and 1097 m) on the Island of Maui (Hawaii). However, the number of days needed to accumulate this thermal time were different and were related to changes in temperature with increasing elevation. The results suggest that the thermal time required to reach T1 appears to be a varietal characteristic of potato that can be used as a genetic input in the modeling of potato phenology. Comparisons between estimated and observed values suggest that the days to Tl for a given cultivar can be estimated from its thermal time within three days.
Surgical technical performance scores are predictors of late mortality and unplanned reinterventions in infants after cardiac surgery

Objective We have previously shown that surgical Technical Performance Scores (TPS) are important predictors of early postoperative morbidity across a wide spectrum of procedures and that intraoperative recognition and intervention of residual defects resulted in improved outcomes. We hypothesized that these scores would also be important predictors of midterm outcomes. Methods Neonates and infants aged younger 6 months were prospectively followed from the index surgery for a minimum of 1 year. The TPS were calculated using previously published criteria, including intraoperative course, predischarge echocardiograms or catheterizations, and clinical data, and graded as optimal, adequate, or inadequate. Case complexity was determined by the Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery-1 category. The primary outcome was mortality, and the secondary outcome was the need for unplanned reinterventions. Outcomes were analyzed using nonparametric methods and a logistic regression model. Results A total of 166 patients were included in our study, with 7 early deaths. The remaining 159 patients (Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery-1 category 4-6, 76 [48%]; neonates, 78 [49%]) were followed for a minimum of 1 year after surgery. There were 14 late deaths or late transplantations and 55 late reinterventions. On univariate analysis, the TPS were associated with mortality ( P P = .04). On logistic regression analysis, inadequate TPS was associated with late mortality ( P P = .004; odds ratio, 3.7; 1.5-8.8) at index surgery was associated with need for late unplanned reintervention. Conclusions Technical performance affects midterm survival after infant heart surgery. Inadequate TPS can be used to prospectively identify patients at ongoing risk of demise and the need for reintervention. An aggressive approach to diagnosing and treating residual lesions at the initial operation is warranted.
Bombesin-like activity: Radioimmunologic assessment in biological tissues

Abstract Highly specific sensitive radioimmunoassays (RIA) have been developed to quantitatively measure the anuran skin peptide, bombesin. These RIA's have been used to demonstrate a bombesin-like immunoactivity (BLI) within mammalian brain, gut, lung and plasma. BLI in rat brain is present in highest concentration in the hypothalamus, with lowest concentration in cerebellum. The highest concentrations of BLI outside the brain are found in the stomach, duodenum and jejunum, with lower levels in the lung. No BLI was detected in pineal, anterior pituitary, adrenal, liver, kidney or pancreas. While BLI was not detected in normal rat plasma, extraction of plasma with formic acid revealed the presence of significant amounts of BLI in normal rat plasma. Gel filtration of acidified rat plasma BLI produced a single peak of BLI, which appears to be of higher molecular weight than frog skin bombesin. Gel filtration of formic acid extracts of rat gastrointestinal tract demonstrated the presence of two forms of BLI; a large BLI and a smaller BLI similar in size to plasma BLI.
Value‐relevant Sociology: The Analysis of Subjects of Social Consequence, Including Implications for Human Well‐being

Abstract. The need for sociology to become socially relevant is now being articulated by professional sociologists. While the doctrine that the discipline should be value-free allows sociologists to serve and promote the social values of others, a vital sociological endeavor requires more. Classic sociology was value-relevant. To be socially relevant, it is essential that the discipline become consciously value-relevant, not value-free. For sociology to distinguish important from unimportant social problems and actions requires judgments of relative social value. What social theory, what social policies, and why? Significant sociology analyzes the consequences of social structure, forces and change. This cannot be done in a value-free context, especially so for sociologists who are interested in matters of social policy.
Modernization Theory and the Comparative Study of National Societies: A Critical Perspective

Use of the term ‘modernization’ in its present connotations is of relatively recent origin, becoming an accepted part of the vocabulary of American, if not international, social science only in the decade of the 1960s. Despite its relatively rapid rise to currency, the popularity of the term does not appear to be matched by any widespread consensus concerning its precise meaning. The proliferation of alternative definitions has been such, in fact, that the ratio of those using the term to alternative definitions would appear to approach unity. The popularity of the notion of modernization must be sought not in its clarity and precision as a vehicle of scholarly communication, but rather in its ability to evoke vague and generalized images which serve to summarize all the various transformations of social life attendant upon the rise of industrialization and the nation-state in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These images have proven so powerful, indeed, that the existence of some phenomenon usefully termed ‘modernization’ has gone virtually unchallenged. While individuals may differ on how precisely this phenomenon should be conceptualized and a number of critics have addressed themselves to the relative merits of alternative conceptualizations, both critics and advocates alike tend to assume the basic utility of the idea of modernization itself, treating only the manner of its conceptualization as problematic.
Predicting outcome of IV thrombolysis-treated ischemic stroke patients: the DRAGON score.

Strbian et al.1 derived an outcome score, DRAGON, from a large dataset of nonbasilar artery alteplase-treated stroke patients. They propose that a high DRAGON score can identify those patients who should promptly begin endovascular, hypothermia, or other therapy …
Bravas, Permitidas, Obsoletas: Mapuche Women in the Chilean Print Media

The author explores how dichotomous representations of women and Indians came into play in Chilean print media representations of Mapuche women from 1997 to 2003, at the height of conflicts between the Mapuche people, the state, and elites in southern Chile. The author finds there were three competing representations of Mapuche women, which reproduce assumptions not just about them but about the people as a whole. Together, they accentuate, and simultaneously complicate, dichotomous views of Indians and women. These media portrayals are significant because they reflect and reinforce the central principles of neoliberal multiculturalism—the prevailing form of governance in contemporary Latin America—which promotes diversity while perpetuating the marginalization of indigenous peoples and many of their rights. This analysis of images in print media contributes to understandings of how race and gender ideologies continue to inform debates over national belonging in contemporary Latin America.
The stress response in the abundance of circulating leucocytes in the killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus. 1. The cold-shock sequence and the effects of hypophysectomy.

When intact male Fundulus heteroclitus, adapted to 20°C in sea water, are subjected to three minute immersion at ca. 1°C they pass into a state of transitory coma from which they recover when returned to warm temperature. Hematological studies at recovery time intervals revealed an alternating sequence of leucopenia and leucocytosis that was not accompanied by corresponding changes in the abundance of erythrocytes, in serum chloride or total osmolality. The typical sequence was as follows: leucopenia at three minutes, leucocytosis at 15 minutes, leucopenia at 30 to 60 minutes, and leucocytosis at two hours. This was followed by a gradual return to normal. The major leucocytic cell type resembles a lymphocyte; the cycle was not accompanied by corresponding changes in the abundance of small or large lymphocytes, or in the abundance of eosinophils. Hypophysectomy abolished, or minimized, the second leucocytic phase, but the earlier phases of the cycle were unaffected. Serum glucose increased significantly in the second leucocytic phase.
Identification of site-specific heterogeneity in peptide drugs using intact mass spectrometry with electron transfer dissociation.

RATIONALE Protamine sulfate is a peptide drug product consisting of multiple basic peptides. As traditional high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation methods may not resolve these peptides, as well as any possible peptide-related impurities, a method utilizing top-down mass spectrometry was developed for the characterization of complex peptide drug products, including any low-level impurities, which is described in this study. METHODS Herring protamine sulfate was used as a model system to demonstrate the applicability of the method. Direct infusion mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) on a high-resolution, mass accurate instrument with electron transfer dissociation (ETD) were used to identify all the species present in the herring protamine sulfate sample. Identifications were made based on mass accuracy analysis as well as MS/MS fragmentation patterns. RESULTS Complete sequence coverage of the three abundant herring protamine peptides was obtained using the top-down ETD-MS/MS method, which also identified a discrepancy with the published herring protamine peptide sequences. Additionally, three low-abundance related peptide species were also identified and fully characterized. These three peptides had not previously been reported as herring protamine peptides, but could be related to the published sequences through amino acid additions and/or substitutions. CONCLUSIONS A method for the characterization of protamine, a complex peptide drug product, was developed that can be extended to other complex peptide or protein drug products. The selectivity and sensitivity of this method improves a regulator's ability to identify peptide impurities not previously observed using the established methods and presents an opportunity to better understand the composition of complex peptide drug products. Published in 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Is This Work Sustainable? Teacher Turnover and Perceptions of Workload in Charter Management Organizations

An unsustainable workload is considered the primary cause of teacher turnover at Charter Management Organizations (CMOs), yet most reports provide anecdotal evidence to support this claim. This study uses 2010-2011 survey data from one large CMO and finds that teachers’ perceptions of workload are significantly associated with decisions to leave across schools and teachers. About 1 out of 3 teachers who rated their workload “unmanageable” left their school compared with 1 in 10 who did not rate their workload unmanageable. However, controlling for perceptions of leadership and professional growth, workload was no longer associated with turnover. Accounting for measures of working conditions across schools and teachers, perceptions of the CMO’s student disciplinary systems were the only significant predictor of turnover.
Age-Associated Differences in Activation of Akt/GSK-3β Signaling Pathways and Inhibition of Mitochondrial Permeability Transition Pore Opening in the Rat Heart

Pretreatment with isoflurane decreased myocardial infarction size in young rats (3-5 months) but not in old rats (20-24 months). To understand the mechanisms underlying the failure to protect the old myocardium, differences in phosphorylation of Akt/GSK-3beta and age-associated differences in mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening in the aging heart in vivo were measured. Isoflurane significantly increased Akt and GSK-3beta phosphorylation in the young groups. In contrast, levels of p-Akt and p-GSK-3beta were highly elevated in the old sham control groups. Isoflurane preconditioning significantly reduced the fall in NAD(+) levels induced by ischemia/reperfusion injury in the young animals, reflecting the inhibition of mPTP opening. In the old animals, however, isoflurane failed to prevent the fall in NAD(+) levels induced by ischemia/reperfusion injury. Lack of isoflurane-induced cardioprotective effects, seen in the old animals, can be explained by age-related differences in Akt/GSK-3beta signaling pathway and the inability to reduce mPTP opening following ischemia/reperfusion injury.
An additional model test of positive feedback from high desert albedo

Charney's (1975) suggestion that high desert albedo initiates a biogeophysical positive feedback response by the atmosphere has been tested in the 2-D zonal atmospheric model, ZAM2. The results agree with the earlier test in the NASA GISS 3-D GCM model (Charney et al. 1975) in confirming a positive feedback through precipitation but indicate a negative feedback in terms of temperature. The latter suggests that tropical deserts may play a role in air conditioning or placing an upper-bound on the temperature of our planet.
An introduction to the specification language SPEC

SPEC expresses black-box interface specifications for large, distributed systems with real-time constraints. It incorporates conceptual models, inheritance, and the event model. The design of SPEC is discussed, and its primitives, consisting of functions, types, machines, and generators, are described. >
An extended class of permutation techniques for matched pairs

A class of matched-pairs permutation techniques based on distances between each pair of observed signed values is considered. Although many commonly-used inference techniques for matched pairs are members of this class, some of the more appealing inference techniques among this class have received very little attention. Two new simple rank tests of this class jointly possess both intuitive properties and location-alternative power characteristics which appear more appealing than the corresponding characteristics of either the sign test or the Wllcoxon signed-ranks test. In particular, power comparisons based on slmula-tions indicate that these new rank tests are jointly as good or even vastly superior to the sign test or the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test for location alternatives involving five symmetric distributions. The five distributions selected for these com-parisons include the Laplace, logistic, normal, uniform and a U-shaped distribution
Computer Modeling of the Gyrocon

We discuss a gyrocon computer model in which the electron beam is followed from the gun output to the collector region. The initial beam may be selected either as a uniform circular beam or may be taken from the output of an electron gun simulated by the program of William Herrmannsfeldt. The fully relativistic equations of motion are then integrated numerically to follow the beam successively through a drift tunnel, a cylindrical rf beam deflection cavity, a combination drift space and magnetic bender region, and an output rf cavity. The parameters for each region are variable input data from a control file. The program calculates power losses in the cavity wall, power required by beam loading, power transferred from the beam to the output cavity fields, and electronic and overall efficiency. Space-charge effects are approximated if selected. Graphical displays of beam motions are produced. We discuss the Los Scientific Laboratory (LASL) prototype design as an example of code usage. The design shows a gyrocon of about two-thirds megawatt output at 450 MHz with up to 86% overall efficiency.
Functional Specialization of Plant Class A and B HSFs

The heat shock (HS) response is a well established phenomenon that occurs in all organisms when subjected to a sudden elevation of temperature or certain other forms of physiological stress (Basra, 1994; Nover et al., 1990; Schlesinger et al., 1982). It manifests itself by changes in the normal pattern of protein and mRNA synthesis; heat shock proteins (HSPs) are rapidly induced in order to protect cells from the deleterious effects of stress, in many cases by acting as molecular chaperones (Vierling, 1991). The appearance of HSPs is proceeded by the induction of new heat shock messenger RNAs. This induction occurs very rapidly, as seen in soybean where normally silent HS genes are transcribed within three to seven minutes after application of the heat stress ((Key et al., 1985) and Czarnecka-Verner, unpublished data).
Acute fatty metamorphosis of the liver in pregnancy. Report of a case complicating toxemia in pregnancy.

Abstract A severe hypotensive response to parenterally administered reserpine occurred in a patient with mild toxemia of pregnancy. Later, when the effect of the reserpine had diminished considerably, cardiac arrest developed. Some hours after resuscitation, the patient died and was found at necropsy to have fatty metamorphosis of the liver. Acute fatty metamorphosis of the liver in pregnancy is an uncommon lesion. The principal histologic finding was a foamy vacuolar type of fatty change involving the central portion of the liver lobules. Liver disease was unsuspected in this patient because of the absence of jaundice. The possibility of liver disease should be entertained whenever persistent nausea and vomiting develop in the latter part of pregnancy, especially when severe toxemia and pyelonephritis can be excluded.
Production of hydrogen from biomass: Integrated biological and thermochemical approach.

Introduction Research on hydrogen is given much attention nowadays due to its importance as a future alternate energy source. It reduces the dependence on fossil fuel and carbon-based emissions. Currently, about 90% of the hydrogen is produced by the reactions of natural gas and steam reforming of light oil fractions [1]. These methods mainly consume fossil fuel as energy source, which is not only fraught with emission problems, but also fossil fuels are depleting at alarming rate. Therefore, there is need to find alternative ways of hydrogen production based on renewable energy sources such as biomass. The most common techniques for biomass conversion are gasification and pyrolysis [2]. However, the major disadvantage of these processes is the decomposition of the biomass feed stock leading to char and tar formation [3,4].Overcoming this difficulty, Aqueous Phase Reforming (APR) has been demonstrated as an alternative technique for hydrogen production from sugars [5].
Treatment of breast cancer

Breast cancer is a major public health problem worldwide. Management of breast cancer was last reviewed in the Journal in 1992.1 The accumulation of new biologic information, the results of recent clinical trials, and the availability of new diagnostic and therapeutic tools make it appropriate to review the subject again. Epidemiology The incidence of breast cancer in the United States has been increasing gradually for the past three decades.2,3 It was estimated that 181,600 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in the United States in 1997 and that 44,190 people would die of breast cancer during the same . . .
Improved synthesis of 2'-deoxy-2'-[18F]fluoro-5-methyl-1-β-darabinofuranosyluracil([18f]FMAU)

[18F]FMAU is an established PET probe used to monitor cellular proliferation. For clinical applications, a fully automated cGMP-compliant radiosynthesis would be preferred. However, the current synthesis of [18F]FMAU requires HBr activation of the sugar prior to the coupling with silylated uracil. This multiple step procedure makes the development of an automated protocol difficult and complicated. In this study, we report the use of Friedel-Crafts catalysts for an improved synthesis of [18F]FMAU, which also includes a significantly simplified one-pot reaction condition.
Movement and Meaning: Development of a General Theory

Abstract A tentative general theory of the meaning of human movement-kinesthesia as a somatic-sensory experience which can be conceptualized by the human mind was developed within the context of the basic assumptions of the philosophy of symbolic transformation as they relate to the nature of the process which enables human beings to find meaning in their sensory perceptions. The essential elements common to all forms of human movement were identified. A vocabulary was developed to refer to these elements in their most general form. Using this vocabulary, the relationships among these elements were analyzed in relation to the process of human thought. From this analysis, a tentative general theory of the meaning inherent in human movement-kinesthesia was formulated. The intent to attempt to validate this theory in subsequent papers is stated.
Reactions of glutathione with oxidative intermediates of acetaminophen.

Acetaminophen (4’-hydroxyacetanilide) is an analgesic and antipyretic drug, which is reportedly safe at low doses, but when administered in large doses causes hepatic necrosis and renal damage in both humans and laboratory animals (1–8). Acetaminophen is thought to be metabolized to reactive intermediate(s) that cause toxic reactions and current thinking suggests that acetaminophen may be activated via a one-electron oxidation mechanisms to give N-acetyl-p-benzosemiquinone imine (9) or a two-electron oxidation to give N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (10).
A physics-based integer-linear battery modeling paradigm

Abstract Optimal steady-state dispatch of a stand-alone hybrid power system determines a fuel-minimizing distribution strategy while meeting a forecasted demand over six months to a year. Corresponding optimization models that integrate hybrid technologies such as batteries, diesel generators, and photovoltaics with system interoperability requirements are often large, nonconvex, nonlinear, mixed-integer programming problems that are difficult to solve even using the most state-of-the-art algorithms. The rate-capacity effect of a battery causes capacity to vary nonlinearly with discharge current; omitting this effect simplifies the model, but leads to over-estimation of discharge capabilities. We present a physics-based set of integer-linear constraints to model batteries in a hybrid system for a steady-state dispatch optimization problem that minimizes fuel use. Starting with a nonlinear set of constraints, we empirically derive linearizations and then compare them to a commonly used set of constraints that assumes a constant voltage and neglects rate-capacity. Numerical results demonstrate that assuming a fixed voltage and capacity may lead to over-estimating discharge quantities by up to 16% compared to our overestimations of less than 1%.
Abstract 4598: Androgen receptor acetylation at K618 by ARD1 is essential for dissociation from HSP90 in prostate tumorigenesis

Prostate cancer is an androgen receptor (AR)-driven disease and post-translational modification of AR is critical for its activation in both hormone-sensitive and castration-resistant disease. We previously reported that ARD1 is an oncoprotein in prostate cancer. It acetylates and activates AR to promote prostate tumorigenesis. However, the target residue within AR and the roles and mechanisms of the acetylation event in prostate tumorigenesis remained unknown. Here we show that ARD1 interacts with the AR DNA-binding domain and acetylates AR at lysine 618 (K618) in vivo and in vitro. Inhibition of K618 acetylation by replacing lysine with arginine significantly reduces AR transcriptional activity, prostate cancer cell growth, and xenograft tumor formation due to attenuation of AR nuclear translocation. Constitutive acetylation at K618 by replacing lysine with glutamine reverses these effects. Mechanistically, ARD1 forms a complex with both AR and HSP90. Expression of ARD1 increases levels of AR acetylation and AR-HSP90 dissociation in a dose dependent manner. Moreover, the AR acetylation-defective K618R mutant is unable to dissociate from HSP90 following ligand exposure, and HSP90-dissociated AR is acetylated. This work identifies a new mechanism for ligand-induced AR-HSP90 dissociation and AR activation. Targeting ARD1-mediated AR acetylation may be a potent intervention for AR-dependent prostate cancer therapy. Given that K618 is also present in AR variants, the significance of ARD1-dependent acetylation of AR variants for castration-resistant PCa will be discussed. Citation Format: John S. DePaolo, Zehua Wang, Jianhui Guo, Guanyi Zhang, Haitao Zhang, Jovanny Zabaleta, Wanguo Liu. Androgen receptor acetylation at K618 by ARD1 is essential for dissociation from HSP90 in prostate tumorigenesis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4598.
Normal Random Variables

We introduce continuous random variables, which are random variables that can take on any value in an interval. We show how their probabilities are determined from an associated curve known as a probability density function . A special type of continuous random variable, known as a normal random variable , is studied. The standard normal random variable is introduced, and a table is presented that enables us to compute the probabilities of that variable. We show how any normal random variable can be transformed to a standard one, enabling us to determine its probabilities. We present the additive property of normal random variables. The percentiles of normal random variables are studied.
Self-organized amniogenesis by human pluripotent stem cells in a biomimetic implantation-like niche.

The control of biophysical cues during the culture of human pluripotent stem cells on biomaterial substrates can be used to replicate the in vivo amniogenic environment and direct in vitro generation of early human amniotic tissue. Amniogenesis—the development of amnion—is a critical developmental milestone for early human embryogenesis and successful pregnancy1,2. However, human amniogenesis is poorly understood due to limited accessibility to peri-implantation embryos and a lack of in vitro models. Here we report an efficient biomaterial system to generate human amnion-like tissue in vitro through self-organized development of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) in a bioengineered niche mimicking the in vivo implantation environment. We show that biophysical niche factors act as a switch to toggle hPSC self-renewal versus amniogenesis under self-renewal-permissive biochemical conditions. We identify a unique molecular signature of hPSC-derived amnion-like cells and show that endogenously activated BMP–SMAD signalling is required for the amnion-like tissue development by hPSCs. This study unveils the self-organizing and mechanosensitive nature of human amniogenesis and establishes the first hPSC-based model for investigating peri-implantation human amnion development, thereby helping advance human embryology and reproductive medicine.
Lenticulostriate Vasculopathy and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes in Preterm Infants: A Systematic Review

Objective The objective of this study was to perform a systematic review of all studies that report neurodevelopmental outcomes at 12 months' corrected age or later for preterm infants (< 32 weeks) who are diagnosed with lenticulostriate vasculopathy (LSV) on cranial ultrasound. Study Design This is a systematic review. Results We identified 501 unique publications of which 3 met all prespecified eligibility criteria. Neurodevelopmental outcome data were available for 44 preterm infants with LSV. There were mixed results from the studies: the first reported impairments of mental development; the second reported impairments of motor development only; and finally, the third reported that three of three preterm infants with LSV had mild or moderate developmental delay. Conclusion The available results raise some concern for future impairments in preterm infants with LSV, but they are conflicting and inconclusive. There is insufficient evidence about the neurodevelopmental implications of LSV in preterm infants to inform counseling of parents.
An all-optical, in situ diagnostic for large molecule and nanoparticle detection

We report on the development and application of a new laser diagnostic for the in situ detection of large molecules and nanoparticles. This four wave mixing diagnostic technique relies on the creation of an optical lattice in a medium due to the interaction between polarized particles and intense laser fields. Though this interaction, we can detect the temperature, pressure, relative density, polarizability and speed of sound of a gas and gas mixture. This diagnostic was already successfully demonstrated in atomic and molecular gaseous environments, where the different gas polarizabilities and pressures were successfully measured. We are currently conducting measurements with large molecules and nanoparticles, the results of which will be presented in this meeting.
Evaluation of a projection-domain lung nodule insertion technique in thoracic computed tomography

Task-based assessment of computed tomography (CT) image quality requires a large number of cases with ground truth. Prospective case acquisition can be time-consuming. Inserting lesions into existing cases to simulate positive cases is a promising alternative. The aim was to evaluate a recently developed projection-based lesion insertion technique in thoracic CT. In total, 32 lung nodules of various attenuations were segmented from 21 patient cases, forward projected, inserted into projections, and reconstructed. Two experienced radiologists and two residents independently evaluated these nodules in two substudies. First, the 32 inserted and the 32 original nodules were presented in a randomized order and each received a score from 1 to 10 (1 = absolutely artificial to 10 = absolutely realistic). Second, the inserted and the corresponding original lesions were presented side-by-side to each reader. For the randomized evaluation, discrimination of real versus inserted nodules was poor with areas under the receiver operative characteristic curves being 0.57 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.46 to 0.68], 0.69 (95% CI: 0.58 to 0.78), and 0.62 (95% CI: 0.54 to 0.69) for the two residents, two radiologists, and all four readers, respectively. Our projection-based lung nodule insertion technique provides a robust method to artificially generate positive cases that prove to be difficult to differentiate from real cases.
Glimpse: A Programmable Early-Discard Camera Architecture for Continuous Mobile Vision

We consider the problem of continuous computer-vision based analysis of video streams from mobile cameras over extended periods. Given high computational demands, general visual processing must currently be offloaded to the cloud. To reduce mobile battery and bandwidth consumption, recent proposals offload only "interesting" video frames, discarding the rest. However, determining what to discard is itself typically a power-hungry computer vision calculation, very often well beyond what most mobile devices can afford on a continuous basis. We present the Glimpse system, a re-design of the conventional mobile video processing pipeline to support such "early discard" flexibly, efficiently and accurately. Glimpse is a novel architecture that gates wearable vision using low-power vision modalities. Our proposed architecture adds novel sensing, processing, algorithmic and programming-system components to the camera pipeline to this end. We present a complete implementation and evaluation of our design. In common settings, Glimpse reduces mobile power and data usage by more than one order of magnitude relative to earlier designs, and moves continuous vision on lightweight wearables to the realm of the practical.
Building Inclusive Community by Bridging Worldview Differences: A Call to Action from the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS).

AbstractAdapted from a keynote address delivered at the 2017 Dalton Institute on College Student Values, this article introduces findings from the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey (IDEALS), a national study aimed at identifying the high-impact practices most conducive to students’ interfaith learning and engagement. Informed by data collected from more than 20,000 first-year students attending 122 diverse colleges and universities, the article addresses how higher education leaders can build community, cooperation, and trust on campus in an era of intensified religious, ideological, and political conflict.
Reinventing Paris: The Competitions for the 1937 Paris International Exposition

An intense national debate preceded the 1937 Paris Exposition, involving two series of competitions that summarized the issues of the entire decade of the 1930s and intersected with controversies about the future of Paris. The 1932 competition to select a new exposition site in an area where it could stimulate Paris’s growth and the subsequent competition series of 1934–35 yielded remarkable proposals. These included projects by Beaudouin and Lods, Pierre Patout, and Le Corbusier, as well as Auguste Perret’s proposal for a “Champs-Elysees of the Rive Gauche” affecting the entire southern half of Paris. In Reinventing Paris: The Competitions for the 1937 Paris International Exposition , Danilo Udovicki-Selb looks at the complex discourse around the 1937 Exposition and concludes that this occasion was a missed opportunity for the “reinvention” of the French capital, which emerged only as a mirage in phantasmagoric light pageantries for the duration of the exposition.
Light Scattering Spectroscopy Diagnoses Pancreatic Cystic Lesions In Vivo

Millions of Americans have pancreatic cystic lesions, the only readily identifiable precursors of deadly pancreatic cancer. We report a light scattering spectroscopic technique that predicts the malignant potential of pancreatic cystic lesions in vivo.
Ideal and Resistive Magnetohydrodynamic Stable Startup and Burn for the Reversed-Field Pinch Reactor

A crucial question for the feasibility of high-beta ohmically heated devices, such as the reversed field pinch (RFP) and the Spheromak, is whether such devices can be formed with a modest amount of field dissipation and energy loss. By means of a convective startup technique, a low-loss formation and burn scenario for the RFP reactor, which maintains effective stability to ideal and resistive magnetohydrodynamic modes, is simulated. Results indicate small aspect ratio machines have the best possibilities for stable startup.
Interpreting Results to Parents of Preschool Children

The interpretive session in which parents are told the results of their child’s developmental testing is the culmination of a complex process of testing, interviewing, analysis of findings, formulation of a diagnostic impression, and generation of recommendations. The session can be a therapeutic turning point for parents, as they are helped to understand their child’s needs and plan for his or her future treatment and well-being. Or the session can be a brief, confusing, emotionally devastating lecture about the child’s deficits, defects, and labels. The difference derives largely from the professional’s commitment to the importance of the interpretive session, and skill in presenting findings in a way that is most helpful to families. The purpose of this chapter is to outline a general approach to interpreting the results of a diagnostic evaluation for mental retardation, autism, and other developmental disabilities (Shea, 1984), and to discuss issues that apply specifically to families of preschool children.
G-3 and BRICK Stock Markets: Co-integration and Its Forecasting Ability

This paper questions the widely held belief that stock markets of emerging countries are largely dependent on movements of developed markets. Are the emerging and the developed markets indeed tied together? If so, does the co-movement help us better predict returns on the emerging market equities in the shortand the long-term? To answer these questions, this paper first conducts co-integration tests for each pair of nine stock indices: the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Hong Kong, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and Korea. As a next step, this paper constructs realtime forecasting models by imposing the co-integration information and recursively forecasts stock returns of each BRICK (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and Korea) market with various investment horizons. The forecasting ability of the co-integration based model is assessed based on out-of-sample mean square prediction errors and success ratios of correctly predicting signs of the returns. Empirical results suggest that the emerging and the developed markets are not as strongly tied to each other as many investors have believed. Imposing the co-integration term on the forecasting model does not significantly improve forecasting accuracy but does improve the success ratio.
From Speech to Trees: Applying Treebank Annotation to Arabic Broadcast News

The Arabic Treebank (ATB) Project at the Linguistic Data Consortium (LDC) has embarked on a large corpus of Broadcast News (BN) transcriptions, and this has led to a number of new challenges for the data processing and annotation procedures that were originally developed for Arabic newswire text (ATB1, ATB2 and ATB3). The corpus requirements currently posed by the DARPA GALE Program, including English translation of Arabic BN transcripts, word-level alignment of Arabic and English data, and creation of a corresponding English Treebank, place significant new constraints on ATB corpus creation, and require careful coordination among a wide assortment of concurrent activities and participants. Nonetheless, in spite of the new challenges posed by BN data, the ATB’s newly improved pipeline and revised annotation guidelines for newswire have proven to be robust enough that very few changes were necessary to account for the new genre of data. This paper presents the points where some adaptation has been necessary, and the overall pipeline as used in the production of BN ATB data.
Prevention and Treatment of Radiation Injuries

The renin-angiotensin system, local or systemic, plays a key role in normal tissue radiation injury. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, which act to attenuate the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II, are beneficial in mitigating experimental renal, lung, or brain normal tissue radiation injury. The benefit of ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II blockers has been particularly well documented in experimental radiation nephropathy, for either mitigation or treatment. The mechanism for this benefit remains incompletely understood. In particular, control of hypertension, proteinuria, or radiation-induced cell proliferation alone does not appear to determine the benefit of ACE inhibitors or angiotensin II blockers. Nonetheless, the significant experimental benefit of those agents fully justifies their use in human radiation nephropathy. Clinical trials using ACE inhibitors are underway in subjects undergoing radiation-based bone marrow transplantation and also in subjects undergoing curative radiotherapy for lung cancer.
Medicare Meets the Marketplace: The Bush-Clinton Years

Due to an economic downturn in the late 1980s and early 1990s, employers moved to adopt managed care plans which reduced costs but limited employee options. This era saw a period of reduced and managed benefits for employees and no coverage for those who were laid off. Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton put the issues of unemployment and healthcare on the national stage. Upon election, Clinton instituted a task force, headed by then-First Lady Hillary Clinton to develop a healthcare plan. Eschewing input from Congress and other stakeholders, the task force handpicked advisors and met in closed-door sessions, virtually guaranteeing opposition from all quarters. The negative national attention given the Clinton healthcare reform efforts resulted in political fallout during the 1994 midterm elections where control of both the House and the Senate went to the Republicans. In 1996, the Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), allowing employees to continue coverage when changing jobs. Additional progress was made near the end of the Clinton administration with the passage of the 1997 Balanced Budget Act, the enactment of Medicaid Part C, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), providing health insurance to children of parents below a certain income threshold.
Extraction of Aortic Knuckle Contour in Chest Radiographs Using Deep Learning

In this paper, we aim to extract the aortic knuckle (AK) contour in chest radiographs, an anatomical structure rarely being addressed in the literature. Since the AK structure is small and thin, simply adopting the deep network methods that are successful for large organ segmentation is inadequate for achieving good pixel-level accuracy and resolving local ambiguities. To address this challenge, we propose a new coarse-to-fine segmentation approach which focuses on global and local information contexts, respectively. Two convolutional networks are used. For the coarse segmentation, we use FasterRCNN; for the fine segmentation, we use U-Net. Our evaluation uses the publicly available JSRT dataset; the results are promising. Besides presenting these results, we analyze issues such as the imprecision of manual contour marking, and automatic generation of the coarse segmentation ground-truth mask used for deep network training. Our approach is general and can be applied to extract other curve-like objects-of-interest.