cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Arteriovenous fistula creation for hypoxia after single ventricle palliation: A single-institution experience and literature review.

Background Hypoxia is a common and sometimes severe morbidity of single ventricle congenital heart disease (CHD). Creation of an arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is occasionally performed for patients after superior or total cavopulmonary connection (SCPC or TCPC) in an attempt to improve oxygen saturations. Despite previous reports, AVF creation is a rare palliation with inadequately defined benefits and risks. We sought to determine changes in peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2 ) and risk of adverse event after AVF creation in children with single ventricle CHD at our institution. Methods We conducted a retrospective chart review of patients with a history of single ventricle palliation and history of surgical AVF creation who were seen at our tertiary care center from 1996 to 2017. Results A total of seven patients were included in our study. SpO2 for the overall cohort did not significantly increase after AVF creation (pre-AVF 79.1 ± 6.9%, post-AVF 82.7 ± 6.0% [P = .23]). SpO2 trended up for large shunts (>5 mm) (pre-AVF 75.0 ± 7.6%, post-AVF 84.0 ± 5.3% [P = .25]). SpO2 did not improve for small shunts (≤5 mm) (pre-AVF 82.3 ± 6.5%, post-AVF 81.0 ± 8.5% [P = .50]). The 12-month overall and transplant-free survival were 85.7% and 71.4%, respectively. Freedom from AVF-related complication (cephalic edema, thrombotic occlusion) was 51.4% at 12 months. Conclusion Palliative AVF creation for patients with single ventricle CHD and hypoxia does not universally improve SpO2 and is prone to early complications. Despite a lack of durable benefit and known risks, AVF creation remains a reasonable palliation for a subset of patients after SCPC who are not candidates for TCPC, or potentially as a bridge to heart transplantation.
Why Do Precipitation Intensities Tend to Follow Gamma Distributions

AbstractThe probability distribution of daily precipitation intensities, especially the probability of extremes, impacts a wide range of applications. In most regions this distribution decays slowl...
Investigation of dielectric elastomer human energy harvesting to reduce knee joint torque deviation due to bracing.

IntroductionThe use of a smart electromechanical material, dielectric elastomer, is investigated for the development of an active bracing technique, which modifies the stiffness and damping of the ...
Real-Time Assembly Operation Recognition with Fog Computing and Transfer Learning for Human-Centered Intelligent Manufacturing

Abstract In a human-centered intelligent manufacturing system, every element is to assist the operator in achieving the optimal operational performance. The primary task of developing such a human-centered system is to accurately understand human behavior. In this paper, we propose a fog computing framework for assembly operation recognition, which brings computing power close to the data source in order to achieve real-time recognition. For data collection, the operator's activity is captured using visual cameras from different perspectives. For operation recognition, instead of directly building and training a deep learning model from scratch, which needs a huge amount of data, transfer learning is applied to transfer the learning abilities to our application. A worker assembly operation dataset is established, which at present contains 10 sequential operations in an assembly task of installing a desktop CNC machine. The developed transfer learning model is evaluated on this dataset and achieves a recognition accuracy of 95% in the testing experiments.
Comment on Data Protection Statutes and Bioinformatic Databases

We have heard from the lawyer, the advocate's perspective of some of the legal issues involved in database protection and bioinformatics, and now we are going to hear an academic perspective on these issues. Professor Dennis Karjala is a professor at the Arizona State University College of Law with an interesting background. He has a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and taught in that field before going to law school at Boalt, and he is an internationally renowned expert on copyright law and computer law issues. Professor Karjala is going to talk to us about database protection issues. His presentation will be followed by some comments from Professor Simon Kasif, who is a professor of bioinformatics and biomedical engineering here at BU and also holds positions at Cambridge Research Lab and MIT. Professor Kasif has an interesting background in artificial intelligence and parallel and distributed computing algorithms. Professor Wendy Gordon, who needs no introduction to this audience at the School of Law, is one of the most renowned experts in copyright law and intellectual property law, and we will look forward to hearing her comments after those of Professor Kasif. Please see the complete abstract in the article.
Development of omega stiffeners using 4D printing of composites

Abstract 4D Printing of Composites (abbreviated as 4DPC) is a manufacturing technique where a composite structure of complex geometry can be made without the need to use a complex mold. Only a flat mold is used. As such there are significant savings in time and money. The technique can also be used to make structures that conventional manufacturing technique cannot. The technique relies on the anisotropic nature of unsymmetric laminates. In this paper, this technique is used to develop omega shape (Ω) aircraft wing stiffeners . The lay up sequence allows a flat stack of prepregs to transform into the shape of the Ω upon curing and cooling to room temperature. Foam is poured into the cavity of the structure to provide core sandwich support. The stiffener is tested under three-point bending. The flexural stiffness of the stiffener is determined using a model and laminate theory. The calculated stiffness is compared with experimental results. Good agreement is obtained.
Digital Speech Analysis in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Corticobasal Syndromes.

Background Progressive supranuclear palsy syndrome (PSPS) and corticobasal syndrome (CBS) as well as non-fluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia (naPPA) are often associated with misfolded 4-repeat tau pathology, but the diversity of the associated speech features is poorly understood. Objective Investigate the full range of acoustic and lexical properties of speech to test the hypothesis that PSPS-CBS show a subset of speech impairments found in naPPA. Methods Acoustic and lexical measures, extracted from natural, digitized semi-structured speech samples using novel, automated methods, were compared in PSPS-CBS (n = 87), naPPA (n = 25), and healthy controls (HC, n = 41). We related these measures to grammatical performance and speech fluency, core features of naPPA, to neuropsychological measures of naming, executive, memory and visuoconstructional functioning, and to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) phosphorylated tau (pTau) levels in patients with available biofluid analytes. Results Both naPPA and PSPS-CBS speech produced shorter speech segments, longer pauses, higher pause rates, reduced fundamental frequency (f0) pitch ranges, and slower speech rate compared to HC. naPPA speech was distinct from PSPS-CBS with shorter speech segments, more frequent pauses, slower speech rate, reduced verb production, and higher partial word production. In both groups, acoustic duration measures generally correlated with speech fluency, measured as words per minute, and grammatical performance. Speech measures did not correlate with standard neuropsychological measures. CSF pTau levels correlated with f0 range in PSPS-CBS and naPPA. Conclusion Lexical and acoustic speech features of PSPS-CBS overlaps those of naPPA and are related to CSF pTau levels.
Quantification of Dual-task Performance in Healthy Young Adults Suitable for Military Use.

INTRODUCTION Dual-task performance, in which an individual performs two tasks simultaneously, is compromised following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Proficient dual-task performance is essential in a military setting for both military member safety and execution of skilled tasks. To address the unique needs of military members, a portable dual-task assessment was developed incorporating an auditory dual-task task as a novel assessment module utilizing mobile-device technology. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a dual-task mobile device-based application that accurately quantifies cognitive and motor function. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty, healthy, military-age civilians completed three cognitive tasks in single- and dual-task conditions with eyes open and closed: visual Stroop, auditory Stroop at 1.5- and 2.5-second stimulus presentation, and number discrimination. All dual-task conditions required the maintenance of postural stability while simultaneously completing a cognitive task. RESULTS There were no differences between single- and dual-task conditions for cognitive performance on any of the tests, and a ceiling effect was observed for the visual Stroop and auditory Stroop 1.5-second stimulus presentation (P > .05). Significant differences in postural stability were observed between the eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions in all single- and dual-task conditions (P < .01). Significant differences in postural stability were observed between the eyes-open single-task condition and all dual-task conditions (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS Based on the performance of healthy young adults, the number discrimination task may be optimal for detecting subtle changes in dual-task performance. The detected differences found between the eyes-open and eyes-closed conditions provide discriminatory value and insight into the reliance of vision of postural stability performance. While dual-task cognitive performance was not observed in this healthy population, individuals with mTBI may exhibit decreased dual-task performance. The independent evaluation of cognitive and motor function under dual-task conditions has the potential to transform the management and treatment of mTBI.
A Cretaceous-Tertiary Mass Extinction?Were most of Earth's species killed off?

For the past decade, the scientific and popular press have carried frequent articles about a catastrophic mass extinction that supposedly destroyed the majority of the earth's species, including the dinosaurs, approximately 65 million years ago. Since 1980, more than 2000 papers and books have dealt with some aspect of a mass extinction at the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K/T) boundary. One authoritative estimate of the severity of the extinctions is that 60-80% of all the living species became extinct at this boundary (Raup 1988). There appears to be a general acceptance of the fact that such a great catastrophe did occur. Most of the argument among scientists now is devoted to the determination of the cause. In this article, I argue that the species changes at the K/T boundary were neither sudden nor catastrophic. They were most likely caused by a regression of sea level that led to a decrease in primary production.
Public Spaces in Bogota: An Introduction

Perhaps few issues are as important to modern cities as growth management. The task encompasses all aspects of land use planning, environmental strategies, and structural considera tions. Incorporating public space into this matrix may seem like a gratuitous task when basic services and land provision remain paramount, as they do in most developing cities. Yet the case of Bogota, Colombia, proves that the consideration and provision of public space touches, and sometimes unifies, the most important considerations of building a city. When faced with massive illegal settlements, economic segregation, high crime rates, and increas ing pollution, the city's leaders took steps to address these issues through an emphasis on public spaces. They reclaimed sidewalks for pedestrians, built massive public parks and libraries, and instituted one of the best public transportation models in the world. Their efforts constituted both hits and misses, but they arguably resulted in a change that was more than just physical. The following articles aim to explore and explain the changes in Bogota over the last twenty years, focusing mainly on the legal challenges of extralegal property as a "public" space. This article briefly outlines the history of the city and the series of mayors who implemented these changes.
Water replacement schedules in heat stress.

Abstract Ten moderately well-conditioned male students at the University of Toledo ran on a treadmill, fully attired in football equipment, with an environmental temperature of 90 F and relative humidity of 70%. Each subject was partially acclimatized and then exposed to the experimental conditions on five consecutive days (balanced Latin square). Four 1-liter water replacement schedules (designed to test specific hypotheses), and a control of no water, served as five levels of the independent variable. Data were collected on rectal temperature, heart rate, pulse pressure, specific gravity changes for whole blood and for plasma, and sweat loss. Results showed that water ingestion early during the work session combated the effects of heat stress better than late administration; however, this advantage was reduced toward the end of the work session. The results were mixed concerning the relative merits of ingesting the water in one or two administrations.
Biopsy proved prostate cancer in 100 consecutive men with benign digital rectal examination and elevated serum prostate-specific antigen level: Prevalence and pathologic characteristics

To determine whether a significant percentage of patients with a benign digital rectal examination (DRE) and an elevated serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level harbor a prostatic malignancy, 100 consecutive patients underwent transrectal ultrasound (TRUS)-guided biopsy of the prostate. The biopsy results were correlated with the pre-biopsy serum PSA level and ultrasound findings. Overall, the cancer detection rate was 35 percent (S.E. 4.8%). When the biopsy results were analyzed according to the PSA level, the rate of cancer detection increased with advancing PSA levels, irrespective of ultrasound findings. In the 60 patients with ultrasound abnormalities, the cancer detection rate was 47 percent compared with 18 percent for those without ultrasound abnormalities. Comparison of TRUS-negative and TRUS-positive biopsy results revealed a more than two-fold increase in cancer detection for the TRUS-positive group in each PSA range. Cancer detection in the TRUS-positive, PSA 4.1-10, 10.1-20.0, and > 20 ng/mL groups was 40 percent, 56 percent, and 67 percent, respectively; in the TRUS-negative group, cancer detection was 12 percent, 27 percent, and 33 percent, respectively. Twenty (57%) of the patients with prostate cancer underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy. The mean tumor volume was 4.7 cc. Seventy percent had organ-confined disease, 30 percent demonstrated capsular penetration only, and no patients had seminal vesicle or pelvic lymph node invasion. These data indicate that a significant percentage of patients with a benign DRE and an elevated serum PSA value harbor a clinically significant, but potentially curable prostatic malignancy.
Inferring Sources of Leaks in Document Management Systems

A document management system (DMS) provides for secure operations on a distributed repository of digital documents. This paper presents a two-phase approach to address the problem of locating the sources of information leaks in a DMS. The initial monitoring phase treats user interactions in a DMS as a series of transactions, each involving content manipulation by a user; in addition to standard audit logging, relevant contextual information and user-related metrics for transactions are recorded. In the detection phase, leaked information is correlated with the existing document repository and context information to identify the sources of leaks. The monitoring and detecting phases are incorporated in a forensic extension module (FEM) to a DMS to combat the insider threat.
Effect of Penicillin on the Multiplication of Meningopneumonitis Organisms (Chlamydia psittaci)

Although formation of infectious particles of meningopneumonitis organism in L cells was completely inhibited by 1 or more units of penicillin per ml, multiplication of reticulate bodies was observed, by light microscopy, in the presence of 200 units of penicillin per ml in stained smears of infected cells. When reticulate bodies were purified from cultures containing penicillin after 18, 30, and 45 hr of incubation, continuously increasing yields were obtained. When penicillin was added to infected cultures 0 to 15 hr after infection, no increase in infectivity was observed at 40 hr, but when antibiotic was added between 20 and 35 hr, partial synthesis of infectious particles was observed at 40 hr. On the other hand, removal of penicillin from an infected culture before 15 hr after infection did not affect the final yields of infectivity when assayed at 40 hr, but elimination of penicillin after 20 hr resulted in a decrease in infectivity. In suspensions of (32)P-labeled purified reticulate bodies grown in cultures containing penicillin and harvested 18 and 40 hr after infection, the (32)P distributions obtained by acid fractionation were similar to those of reticulate bodies from penicillin-free cultures. Cell membranes of reticulate bodies were also prepared from 40-hr cultures with penicillin. The size and shape of purified membranes, as seen by electron microscopy, and their amino acid compositions were similar to membranes prepared from reticulate bodies grown without penicillin, except that very small structures were observed in membranes from cultures containing penicillin. These results indicated that penicillin does not inhibit reproduction of reticulate bodies and formation of their cell membranes, but does inhibit the formation of elementary body cell envelopes.
Esterase and Clotting Activities Derived from Citrate Activation of Human Prothrombin

Abstract When human prothrombin is activated in 25% (weight per volume) sodium citrate, the apparent clotting and esterase activities of thrombin develop at equal rates and reach maximum levels in about 16 hours. Following this, the esterase activity remains stable, but over 90% of the fibrinogen-clotting activity disappears from the system during the next 500 hours. Chromatography of the 16-hour system yields a single protein peak containing 40% of the protein and all of the clotting and esterase activity of the activation system. Chromatography of the 500-hour system yields two protein peaks, the major one having essentially only esterase activity and a minor one which has principally clotting activity. This results in almost a 2-fold purification of the esterase fraction over that obtained by chromatography of the 16-hour system. Comparisons were made between the preparations having both clotting and esterase activity and those having only esterase or clotting activity. With respect to the elution volume on gel filtration, electrophoresis, and sedimentation properties, no differences were observed. All preparations behaved as essentially single components having an estimated molecular weight of 30,000 g, with no evidence of dissociation to enzymatically active smaller molecules. Titration experiments with phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride and diisopropyl fluorophosphate showed a striking difference between the preparations, however. In addition, the clotting preparation had a profound affect on the citrate activation of prothrombin, while the esterase preparation did not. The evidence thus obtained indicates that thrombin is similar to certain other estero-proteolytic enzyme systems in which the molecule can be modified so as to alter its relative activity toward ester and protein substrates. This is discussed in relation to various interpretations concerning the nature of the active center on the thrombin molecule, as well as the implications these findings may have on the factors believed necessary for the inception of blood coagulation.
Eph Receptor Tyrosine Kinase-Mediated Formation of a Topographic Map in the Drosophila Visual System

Roles for Eph receptor tyrosine kinase signaling in the formation of topographic patterns of axonal connectivity have been well established in vertebrate visual systems. Here we describe a role for a Drosophila Eph receptor tyrosine kinase (EPH) in the control of photoreceptor axon and cortical axon topography in the developing visual system. Although uniform across the developing eye, EPH is expressed in a concentration gradient appropriate for conveying positional information during cortical axon guidance in the second-order optic ganglion, the medulla. Disruption of this graded pattern of EPH activity by double-stranded RNA interference or by ectopic expression of wild-type or dominant-negative transgenes perturbed the establishment of medulla cortical axon topography. In addition, abnormal midline fasciculation of photoreceptor axons resulted from the eye-specific expression of the dominant-negative EPH transgene. These observations reveal a conserved role for Eph kinases as determinants of topographic map formation in vertebrates and invertebrates.
We Interrupt This Program. Attention for Television Sequences

This experiment assesses the variable amounts of attention that are required for a viewer to process two kinds of interruptions common to television: the shift from one message to a different, unexpected message and the reference to previously presented material that follows an interruption. Respondents viewed 24 television sequences composed of three segments: an initial segment drawn from one program, an interrupt segment drawn from a second program, and a reorient segment that continued the presentation from the first program. Initial and interrupt segment lengths were either 10 seconds or 30 seconds in length to produce a factorial combination of four message sequences. Attention to these interruptions was measured using reaction times to audio tones located 1 and 6 seconds after a shift. More attention was required to view the interrupt segments following 30-second initial sequences, especially at the 6-second tone location. For the reorient segments, sequences containing 30-second initial segments required more attention, as did 30-second interrupt segments. These results are interpreted in terms of limited capacity and attentional inertia models of attention.
Minimum mitigation bandwidth for a time-limited pulse

Mitigation bandwidth is a measure of pulse bandwidth based on the effectiveness of the pulse shape in mitigating the effects of Rayleigh fading. The variance of the received signal power becomes inversely proportional to the mitigation bandwidth for asymptotically large values of this bandwidth measure. Thus, it is desirable to maximize the mitigation bandwidth. This paper finds the worst-case time-limited pulse; the pulse which minimizes the mitigation bandwidth. First a simple bound is developed to show that a real-valued pulse limited to duration T can have mitigation bandwidth no less than 2/T. Using Fourier series theory and solving the problem numerically yields a minimum mitigation bandwidth of 2.9113/T for real, symmetric pulse shapes. This worst case value is only 3% less than the mitigation bandwidth of a rectangular pulse.
The flexible Ada simulation tool (FAST) and its extensions

Discrete-event simulation is often considered the method of last resort because of the excessive time needed to develop and debug models, as well as run experiments and analyze results. The Flexible Ada Simulation Tool (FAST), is designed to alleviate these problems through extensive use of Ada design methodology (Ada is a registered trademark of the U.S. Government, Ada Joint Program Office). Object-oriented design permits rapid expansion of language features, including interfaces to data base systems, statistical tools, and graphics packages. Ada exception handling greatly improves the user interface and debugging environment, while Ada tasking provides the user with control of the computer resources. How these features contribute to the reduction of major simulation bottlenecks is explored in this paper. The ease in which FAST has been extended to encompass all facets of computer simulation, from creating models to generating reports, is also demonstrated.
Detection and Quantitation of Bryostatin 1 and 2 in Bugula Neritina by Combined High-Peformance Liquid Chromatography and 3H-Phorbol Dibutyrate Displacement

Abstract An HPLC method has been developed to detect and quantitate bryostatins 1 and 2 from crude extracts of B. neritina. This, coupled with a 3H-phorbol dibutyrate binding assay and photodiode array-acquired uv spectra makes possible the evaluation of crude extracts in a rapid, sensitive and specific manner.
An Ultrastructural Study of Tetranychus mcdanieli feeding injury to the Leaves of ‘Red Delicious’ apple (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Abstract Cytological changes resulting from foliage feeding by Tetranychus mcdanieli McGregor on ‘Red Delicious’ apple resembled those reported for both natural senescence and induced changes consequent upon fungal and viral infections, cold injury, chemical treatments and mineral deficiencies for the Angiospermae. Injured mesophyll tissues possessed some cells with coagulated protoplasts, some devoid of any visible content, and many with collapsed walls. Mesophyll cells contiguous with or in close proximity to injured ones showed conspicuous fine structural changes occuring within the chloroplasts. These changes were manifested as a marked swelling of the organelle with the granal and stromal thylakoids becoming cup- shaped and the stroma filling the cup; in sectional view these chloro plasts had a characteristic C-shaped silhouette.
Unusual G + C content and codon usage in catIJF, a segment of the bencat supra-operonic cluster in the Acinetobacter calcoaceticus chromosome

Abstract The nucleotide (nt) sequence of a 5.3-kb DNA segment containing the Gram−Acinetobacter calcoaceticus cat BCIJFD operon is reported. This information completes determination of a 16-kb nt sequence containing the twelve ben and cat structural genes encoding enzymes required for catabolism of benzoate via the β-ketoadipate pathway. Many of these genes can be traced to a common ancestry with genes from other organisms containing DNA with widely divergent G + C content. The A. calcoaceticus ben and cat genes are arranged in a supra-operonic cluster containing one known regulatory gene and three additional open reading frames (ORFs) that may have regulatory functions. Thirteen of the ben and cat genes, including the three ORFs with unknown function, are typical for A. calcoaceticus in that they possess a G + C content of 44.9 ± 2.5%. Three exceptional A. calcoaceticus genes (catI, catJ and catF) possess G + C contents of 56.5 ± 1.3%. These differences in G + C content are reflected in the distinctive patterns of codon usage shared by catI, catJ and catF. Thus, the catIJF region, known to exchange genetic information with the pcalJF region in the same chromosome directing isofunctional proteins associated with the β-ketoadipate pathway, has avoided the evolutionary forces that conferred characteristic G + C content upon the other ben and cat genes in A. calcoaceticus.
Depolarized light scattering from swollen-filled rubber

When rubber containing glass sphere filler particles swells, the swelling is inhomogeneous in that tangential strain is not permitted at the surface of the filler particle providing the rubber remains attached to this particle. Consequently, the degree of swelling in the immediate vicinity of the filler particle will be less than in the bulk of the rubber and there will be a gradient of swelling with distance away from the particle. This leads to a stress gradient in which the radial and tangential component of stress are different. The theory of this effect has been developed by Sternstein. The rubber will become birefringent as a result of this stress gradient leading to a difference between radial and tangential refractive indices. Wilkes and Stein have developed a from material containing such a spherically symmetrical refractive index difference gradient. The equations for this gradient from Sternstein’s theory were inserted in the Wilkes-Stein theory and the HV light scattering patterns obtained by observing the sample between cross polaroids has been calculated. Experimental patterns have been obtained using synthetic cis-1,4-polyisoprene rubber filled with small glass spheres. The patterns are in agreement with the theoretically calculated ones and verify the theory of Sternstein. With a dispersion of glass beads of different sizes, the higher order scattering maxima must smooth out, but if the scattering is obtained from single large glass beads these maxima may be resolved.
Status of the KEKB accelerator and the BELLE detector

The BELLE detector and the KEKB accelerator, both of which are currently under construction at the Japanese Laboratory for High Energy Physics (KEK), are designed to study CP violation in the decays of B mesons. The accelerator is an asymmetric e + e − collider with a design luminosity of 10 34 cm −2 s −1 . The detector features a silicon vertex detector, a central drift chamber, a particle identification system based on time of flight and threshold Cerenkov detectors, a CsI(T l ) calorimeter, and a muon system based on resistive plate chambers. The accelerator and detector are expected to begin operation in early 1999.
Down Syndrome: Genes, Model Systems, and Progress towards Pharmacotherapies and Clinical Trials for Cognitive Deficits

Down syndrome (DS) is caused by an extra copy of all or part of the long arm of human chromosome 21 (HSA21). While the complete phenotype is both complex, involving most organs and organ systems, and variable in severity among individuals, intellectual disability (ID) is seen in all people with DS and may have the most significant impact on quality of life. Because the worldwide incidence of DS remains at approximately 1 in 1,000 live births, DS is the most common genetic cause of ID. In recent years, there have been important advances in our understanding of the functions of genes encoded by HSA21 and in the number and utility of in vitro and in vivo systems for modeling DS. Of particular importance, several pharmacological treatments have been shown to rescue learning and memory deficits in one mouse model of DS, the Ts65Dn. Because adult mice were used in the majority of these experiments, there is considerable interest in extending the studies to human clinical trials, and a number of trials have been completed, are in progress or are being planned. A recent conference brought together researchers with a diverse array of expertise and interests to discuss (1) the functions of HSA21 genes with relevance to ID in DS, (2) the utility of model systems including Caenorhabditis elegans, zebrafish and mouse, as well as human neural stem cells and induced pluripotent stems cells, for studies relevant to ID in DS, (3) outcome measures used in pharmacological treatment of mouse models of DS and (4) outcome measures suitable for clinical trials for cognition in adults and children with DS.
Antibodies against malondialdehyde-acetaldehyde adducts can help identify patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Objective Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a pathologic dilation of the aorta. Inflammation of the aortic wall has been shown to be involved in AAA formation. Malondialdehyde-acetaldehyde (MAA) adducts are MAA/protein hybrids with immunogenic, proinflammatory, and profibrotic properties. Levels of MAA adducts are elevated in patients with coronary artery disease; however, the role of MAA adducts in AAA is unclear. We hypothesize that levels of circulating antibodies against MAA adducts are increased in patients with AAA. Methods Plasma samples were collected from mice and patients with AAA and control patients with atherosclerosis but not AAA. AAA was induced in mice by a standard CaCl 2 protocol, with matching sham mice. Plasma levels of anti-MAA antibodies were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results Patients with AAA exhibited higher levels of immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin A anti-MAA antibody subtypes ( P = .049 and .026, respectively) compared with control patients. Conversely, immunoglobulin M anti-MAA antibodies in AAA patients were lower compared with control patients ( P = .018). In CaCl 2 -treated mice, immunoglobulin G anti-MAA antibodies were elevated after AAA formation ( P = .006). Conclusions The pattern of anti-MAA antibodies is able to distinguish between patients with AAA and patients with atherosclerosis but no AAA. These results demonstrate that MAA adducts are associated with AAA and suggest that they may play a role in either initiating or propagating chronic inflammation in AAA.
Explosive reactions of liquid mixtures of chlorine trifluoride with hydrocarbons and halocarbons

Abstract Combinations of liquid ClF 3 with several hydrocarbons and halocarbons have been caused to explode by sudden mixing at various temperatures from 25° downward. The mixtures occasionally detonate. By fast recording of pressure, flame ionization, and carbon deposition it is found that mixtures derived from all of the fuels tested except perfluorohexane initiate in less than 1 ms at all temperatures down to −70°. An ionic mechanism is proposed. Analysis of the explosion gases indicates that all chemical bonds including CH are labilized owing to the extremely high temperature. Calorimetric measurements agree with calculated heats of explosion.
New molecular targets for treatment of lymphoma.

In recent years, several molecular mechanisms involved in promoting cancer cell survival and growth have been identified. These discoveries helped in designing and testing novel drugs that target specific cellular pathways. In this review, we focus on new molecular targets that are being explored for the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Hodgkin’s disease.
Necessity of Cleaning and its Application in Future Memory Devices

Concerning the processes of the semiconductor industry, device integration is increasing and cell structure is becoming more complicated, which brings many new kinds of challenges. The basic requirements for a future integration device are minimum feature size reduction with device integration and high-speed operation with sufficient cell capacitance. Many kinds of conventional films including electrode and dielectric materials should be altered to meet device requirements. Moreover, as the allowance level for contaminants on substrate surfaces becomes more stringent, the importance of removing them becomes even greater. Because of this, the semiconductor process for high quality device fabrication will never be realized without perfect cleaning on all surfaces. It is reported that the conventional cleaning solutions such as a NH4OH/H2O2/H2O (SC-1) solution (1:4:20, 80 °C), H2SO4/H2O2 (SPM) solution (4:1, 90 to 120°C), and HCl/H2O2/H2O (HPM) solution (1:1:6, 80 to 90°C) are not compatible with metal film exposed surfaces with very tiny patterns, due to the fast etching rate of metal films [1] . In 1995, at the base of the mechanism of the removal of the adhered contaminants such as metallic impurities, particles and organics, T. Ohmi proposed a total room temperature wet cleaning process (so called “UCT cleaning”) [2]. As a result of the continuous research on developed cleaning, the five steps process was revised to a four step room temperature wet cleaning for real device cleaning. The cleaning consists of 1) CO2 added O3-UPW cleaning for removing organic and metallic impurities, 2) NH3 added H2-UPW+MS cleaning for removing of particles, 3) HF/H2O2(FPM) cleaning for removing metallic impurities, and 4) H2-UPW+MS rinse for the removal of chemical residues, prevention of particle re-adhesion, suppression of native oxide growth, and enhancement of H-termination.
A longitudinal analysis of rural and urban veterans' health-related quality of life.

Context: Cross-sectional studies have identified rural-urban disparities in veterans’ health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) scores. Purpose: To determine whether longitudinal analyses confirmed that these disparities in veterans’ HRQOL scores persisted. Methods: We obtained data from the SF-12 portion of the veterans health administration's (VA's) Survey of Healthcare Experiences of Patients (SHEP) collected between 2002 and 2006. During that time, the SHEP was randomly administered to approximately 250,000 veterans annually who had used VA outpatient services. We evaluated 163,709 responses from veterans who had completed 2 or more surveys during the years studied. Respondents were classified into rural-urban groups using ZIP Code-based rural-urban commuting area designations. We estimated linear regression models using generalized estimating equations to determine whether rural and urban veterans’ HRQOL scores were changing at different rates over the time period examined. Findings: After adjustment for sociodemographic differences, we found that urban veterans had substantially better physical HRQOL scores than their rural counterparts and that these differences persisted over the study period. While urban veterans had worse mental HRQOL scores than rural veterans, those differences diminished over the time period studied. Conclusions: Rural-urban disparities in HRQOL scores persist when tracking veterans longitudinally. Reduced access among rural veterans to care may contribute to these disparities. Because rural soldiers are overrepresented in current conflicts, the VA should consider new models of care delivery to improve access to care for rural veterans.
Reflex modulation due to supplementary stimulation.

A series of experiments examined the effect of supplementary acoustic stimulation on the acoustic startle reflex of the rat. Separate groups of animals received low intensity pulses of white noise (prepulses) at one of several intervals (10, 100, 500, or 2500 msec) prior to startle-eliciting pulses of white noise. At interpulse intervals of 100 and 500 msec the startle reflex was attenuated on trials preceded by prepulses; at the 10- and 2500-msec intervals, on the other hand, the reflex was not attenuated, although the latter conclusion must be tentative because of apparatus limitations. Furthermore, at 2500 msec, amplitudes on all trials were greater than those obtained in controls that did not receive prepulses. This was the case regardless of whether supplementary stimuli preceded or followed the startle stimuli. This elevation of amplitude, unlike the attenuation, was eliminated after repetitive startle stimulation. These differential effects of supplementary stimulation suggest that two systems may mediate reflex elicitation.
Conditional tolerance of temperate phages via transcription-dependent CRISPR-Cas targeting

A fundamental feature of immune systems is the ability to distinguish pathogenic from self and commensal elements, and to attack the former but tolerate the latter. Prokaryotic CRISPR-Cas immune systems defend against phage infection by using Cas nucleases and small RNA guides that specify one or more target sites for cleavage of the viral genome. Temperate phages include viruses that can integrate into the bacterial chromosome, and they can carry genes that provide a fitness advantage to the lysogenic host. However, CRISPR-Cas targeting that relies strictly on DNA sequence recognition provides indiscriminate immunity both to lytic and lysogenic infection by temperate phages-compromising the genetic stability of these potentially beneficial elements altogether. Here we show that the Staphylococcus epidermidis CRISPR-Cas system can prevent lytic infection but tolerate lysogenization by temperate phages. Conditional tolerance is achieved through transcription-dependent DNA targeting, and ensures that targeting is resumed upon induction of the prophage lytic cycle. Our results provide evidence for the functional divergence of CRISPR-Cas systems and highlight the importance of targeting mechanism diversity. In addition, they extend the concept of 'tolerance to non-self' to the prokaryotic branch of adaptive immunity.
Analysis of the stereodynamics of 2,2′-disubstituted biphenyls by dynamic chromatography

Abstract In contrast to 2,2′-diisopropylbiphenyl, 2-phenyl-2′-isopropylbiphenyl, 1 , and 2-cyclohexyl-2′-phenylbiphenyl, 2 , undergo racemization at room temperature. Chiral HPLC analysis on Chiralcel OD show formation of a temperature-dependent plateau between the well-resolved peaks due to simultaneous enantioseparation and on-column enantioconversion. The rotational energy barrier of these axially chiral compounds has been determined as 91.3 ( 1 ) and 91.4 kJ/mol ( 2 ) by computer simulation of experimentally obtained HPLC elution profiles.
A Neural Net Branch Predictor to Reduce Power

We present a power-aware neural network (PAN) branch prediction (BP) scheme for dynamic branch prediction, and schemes to incorporate anti-aliasing techniques into the neural branch predictor. We avoid incorrectly falling into segments of code that consume much power. By adding lookup table-based hardware, we estimate the power dissipated in the entire processor between successive branches. We consider a processor with a neural net branch predictor and use aggressive training on the neural network (NN) to severely penalize incorrect branch predictions that cause the processor to waste power. Our scheme dynamically learns to dissipate less power during successive calls to a particular branch instruction. Hence, our approach is different from all prior approaches that reduce miss-prediction or use hardware techniques (clock gating, banking) to reduce power dissipation. We also incorporate the conventional anti-aliasing techniques, such as GShare [1] and bimodal [2], into a NN-based BP, implemented in the SimpleScalar v2.0 [3] simulator. This is the first neural net branch predictor that reduces CPU power. Our new technique reduced power consumption by 11.6% on average for the SPEC2000 integer benchmark programs.
Effects of beta blockade on systolic and diastolic left ventricular function at rest and during exercise in patients with chronic stable angina pectoris

Abstract This study examined the effects of beta blockade with betaxolol, a cardioselective, lipid-soluble, beta-adrenergic-blocking agent, on rest and exercise systolic and diastolic left ventricular function in 15 patients, aged 40 to 70 years (mean = 52), with chronic stable angina pectoris. Each patient underwent three upright exercise studies at identical workloads; the first was a baseline study, the second was done 3 hours after a single oral dose, and the third was obtained after chronic therapy for 2 weeks. Beta blockade was evident by significant decreases in heart rate, systolic blood pressure, and diastolic blood pressure at rest and during exercise ( p Thus, although acute and chronic beta blockade produces no significant changes in mean measurements of diastolic and systolic left ventricular performance, individual variations and discordant results are seen in many patients. The acute effects are generally consistent with the chronic effects, but exceptions are present.
Scheduling schemes for interference suppression in healthcare sensor networks

Wireless Body Area Networks (WBANs) have the potential for extensive use in health care monitoring. To provide optimum network utilization, it is important to efficiently schedule multiple co-existing WBANs which could possibly suffer from high degree of interference. A graceful coexistence can be feasible by appropriately scheduling transmissions from different WBANs. In this paper, we use a recent standard of IEEE 802.15.6 (TG6), which has been finalized in May 2012, to address the problems of intra and inter-WBAN interference. This standard offers several advantages for medical applications as compared to IEEE 802.15.4 which has been previously adopted for numerous healthcare applications. In this paper, we propose a QoS based MAC scheduling approach to avoid inter-WBAN interference and introduce a fuzzy inference engine for intra-WBAN scheduling so as to avoid interference within WBANs.
The follicular versus marginal zone B lymphocyte cell fate decision

Bone marrow-derived B cells make an important cell fate choice to develop into either follicular B cells or marginal zone B cells in the spleen, which depends on signalling through the B cell receptor, Notch2, the receptor for B cell-activating factor and the canonical nuclear factor-kappaB pathway, as well as signals involved in the migration and anatomical retention of marginal zone B cells. Recent information discussed in this Review reconciles some of the controversies regarding the role of the B cell receptor in this cell fate decision and a clearer picture has also emerged regarding the anatomical location of ligands for Notch2 in the spleen. This cell fate decision could provide mechanistic insights that are relevant to other commitment events in lymphocytes.
Never smokers and lung cancer risk: A case‐control study of epidemiological factors

We performed an analysis of potential epidemiological risk factors for lung cancer using data from 280 cases and 242 hospital-based controls, all lifetime never smokers (those who had smoked <100 cigarettes in their lifetimes) and frequency matched on age, gender and ethnicity. The data on demographic characteristics, medical history of respiratory diseases (asthma, emphysema, pneumonia and hay fever), weight and height, family history, female characteristics and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and dust exposure were derived from personal interviews. We performed a logistic regression analysis of these variables adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, income and years of education. Exposure to ETS (OR = 2.08, 95% CI [1.25-3.43]) and dusts (OR = 2.43, 95% CI [1.53-3.88]) were associated with significantly increased risk. In the analysis for joint effects, exposure to both ETS and dusts conferred a higher risk (OR = 3.25, 95% CI [1.58-6.70]) than exposure to either alone. Family history of any cancer with onset before age 50 in at least 1 first degree relative was a significant risk predictor (OR = 1.70, 95% CI [1.10-2.64]). Individuals with a self-reported physician-diagnosed history of hay fever, but not asthma, had a decreased lung cancer risk (OR = 0.57, 95% CI [0.35-0.92]). In the multivariate analysis, exposure to ETS and dusts, and family history of cancer with onset before age 50 were significant risk factors, while a history of hay fever (occurring without asthma) was significantly protective.