cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Toxicity of penicillic acid for rat alveolar macrophages in vitro.

Penicillic acid (PA) is a polyketide mycotoxin produced by several species of Aspergillus and Penicillium. This mycotoxin is toxic in experimental animals and has also been reported to be carcinogenic. The cytotoxicity of penicillic acid was studied in rat alveolar macrophages (AM) in vitro. The effects of penicillic acid on membrane integrity were studied by measuring cell volume changes and 51Cr release. There was significant 51Cr release after 2 hr exposure to 1.0 m m penicillic acid, but not after 1 hr exposure. There was a significant decrease in adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in cell cultures exposed to 1.0 m m penicillic acid for 4 hr. Inhibition of the incorporation of [3H]leucine into protein was both dose- and time-dependent and protein synthesis was inhibited significantly after 2 hr exposure to ⩾0.1 m m penicillic acid. RNA synthesis was inhibited to a lesser extent than protein synthesis. Although there was a significant inhibition of RNA synthesis at 1.0 m m PA after 4 hr, there was no inhibition of RNA synthesis even after 4 hr at any concentration m . The ED50 dose after 2 hr exposure was 0.18 and 0.60 m m for protein and RNA synthesis, respectively. There was significant inhibition of phagocytosis after 2 hr exposure at ⩾0.3 m m penicillic acid and the ED50 for phagocytosis was 0.09 m m . Thus phagocytosis was more sensitive to the toxic effects of penicillic acid than any other cellular process studied. The results reported in this study are similar to those observed for patulin in an earlier study from our laboratory except that patulin was generally more toxic to alveolar macrophages than penicillic acid. The data demonstrate that penicillic acid is toxic to rat alveolar macrophages in vitro and suggest the possibility of a respiratory hazard to agricultural workers exposed to contaminated grain.
Hyperfine Structure of Boron, Yttrium, Rhodium, and Palladium

The spectra of boron, yttrium, rhodium, and palladium, excited in an uncooled Schuler lamp, were investigated in the region $\ensuremath{\lambda}\ensuremath{\lambda}2500\ensuremath{-}4000$ with a 20-cm quartz Lummer-Gehrcke plate, in an attempt to find hyperfine structure. None was discovered that could be interpreted either as isotope shift, or as structure due to a nuclear magnetic moment.
Identification of some volatile products from mildly oxidized pecan oil

In order to establish reliable objective measurements that can be applied to surveillance testing of s tored pecan kernels, it is necessary to unders tand the chemist ry of their oxidative deter iorat ion and its relat ion to deve lopment o f off-flavors or aromas. It appears that the c o m p o n e n t in shelled pecan kernels most l ikely to l imit their storage life is the natural pecan lipids. For this reason, pecan oil is being used as a mode l oxida t ion system. The major volatile compounds ident i f ied in this research f rom mildly autoxidized pecan oil are hereby reported. These c o m p o u n d s were identif ied by means of gas liquid chromatography-mass spec t rometry (GLC-MS). Pecan oil for these studies was pressed f rom kernels of the Stuart variety with a per formated a luminum block and a Carver press. Fresh oil, peroxide value (PV) negligible, was allowed to stand at room tempera ture in a glass-stoppered Er lenmeyer flask unti l the PV reached 1.5 m e q 02/kg oil. Previous work done in this laboratory has shown that pecan oils at this level of oxidat ion prossessed a rancid off -odor (1). Volati le products were distilled f rom ca. 25-g of the oxidized oil at room tempera ture under reduced pressure (10-20 Torr) and collected in a U-tube mainta ined at -78 C. Fifty-75 /ll of condensate, primari ly water, were collected and then extracted with two 25-//1 vo lumes of isopentane and analyzed by GLC-MS. A Perkin-Elmer Model 900 gas chromatograph coupled by means of an eff luent splitter to a DuPont 21-490B mass spec t romete r was used. For ty percent of the eff luent f rom the GLC co lumn was int roduced directly into the ion source of the mass spectrometer and 60% to the chromatograph ' s f lame ionizat ion detector. The 300-ft x 0.02-in. open tubular co lumn used was coated with Carbowax 20 M. For each GLC-MS analysis, 0.8-1.0 /ll of isopentane solut ion were used. Gas chromatographic condi t ions were: hel ium flow, 6.8 ml /min ; injector, manifold, and flame ionizat ion detector , 200 C; column programming, from 70-200 C at 2 C/min. Mass spec t rometer condi t ions were : ion source tempera ture , 150 C; scan rate, 10 sec /decade ; ion iz ing voltage, 70 eV; and ion source pressure, 4 x 10-6 Torr. The compounds identif ied are given in Table I. Analysis of unoxid ized pecan oil failed to show the presence of these components . The mass spectral data were compared with TABLE I
Proline metabolism in Trypanosoma scelopori epimastigotes

Abstract 1. 1. Oxygen uptake by epimastigotes of Trypanosoma scelopori was stimulated by l -proline and to a lesser degree by l -aspartate. 2. 2. l -Proline reversed partially KCN-induced inhibition of respiration and, completely, inhibition caused by malonate. 3. 3. Labeled proline, glutamate, alanine, aspartate and cystine were detected by thin-layer chromatography in the free amino acid pool from cells incubated with l -proline-14C. 4. 4. Labeled tricarboxylic acid intermediates were also found by this method in extracts from organisms incubated with l -proline-14C which contained also pyruvate. 5. 5. Labeled l -proline was not found in epimastigotes incubated with d -glucose-14C, glutamate-14C or aspartate-14C, indicating that the flow of carbon from proline to glutamate and aspartate may not be reversible. 6. 6. The catabolism of proline and glucose to CO2 is reduced in the presence of the other substrate, indicating that there is physiological interplay between the two substrates. 7. 7. Indirect evidence for the presence of an NADP-dependent malic enzyme was obtained by Ochoa's method. 8. 8. All results suggest the presence of a proline-glutamate interconversion pathway in T. scelopori epimastigotes.
Fire‐Regime Disruption and Pine‐Oak Forest Structure in the Sierra Madre Occidental, Durango, Mexico

Fire is a common but poorly understood disturbance in the forested ecosystems of the Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico. In this study, fire history, forest structure (density, species composition, regeneration, forest floor fuels, herbaceous cover, and age of pines), and the dendrochronological tree-ring record were measured at two unharvested 70-ha pine-oak sites near Ojito de Camellones, Durango, Mexico. Study sites were matched in slope, aspect, elevation, slope position, and plant composition, but they differed in fire history since 1945 and in forest structure. The long-term mean fire intervals (MFI) for all fires at both sites up to 1945 were similar—4.0 years at Site 1 (1744–1945) and 4.1 years at Site 2 (1815–1945)—but Site 1 burned only three times at the site margins since 1945 while Site 2 had 9 fires that scarred two or more sample trees and 15 total fires since 1945. Density measurements and age and diameter distributions showed that Site 1 was dominated by numerous, younger, smaller trees (mean total basal area of 23.4 m2/ha and 2730 trees/ha), while Site 2 had fewer, older, larger trees (basal area of 37.2 m2/ha, 647 trees/ha). Large, rotten fuel loading and duff depth were also greater at Site 1. Because regeneration averaged 6200 stems/ha at Site 1 and 8730 stems/ha at Site 2 (no significant difference), forest density at Site 2 was not limited by regeneration capability. The distributions of overstory diameter and pine age at both sites indicate that tree establishment occurred in pulses, with the largest cohort of trees establishing at Site 1 following the 1945 fire. The dense regeneration and heavy fuel accumulation at Site 1 are likely to support a switch from the former low-intensity fire regime to a high-intensity, stand-replacing fire across the site when the next suitable combination of ignition and weather occurs. Baseline quantitative information on fire frequency and ecological effects is essential to guide conservation or restoration of Madrean forests and may prove valuable for restoration of related fire-dependent ecosystems that have experienced extended fire exclusion elsewhere in North America.
Preference, Expectation, and Satisfaction in a Clinical Trial of Behavioral Interventions for Acute and Sub-Acute Low Back Pain

Abstract The equivalency of behavioral interventions has led to the consideration of whether patient-related factors influence clinical trial outcomes. The primary purpose of this secondary analysis was to determine if treatment preference and patient expectation were predictors of trial outcomes and if selected patient-satisfaction items were appropriate as outcome measures. Perceived effectiveness, treatment preference, and patient expectation were assessed before random assignment, and patient satisfaction was assessed 6 months later. Patient preference was associated with perceived effectiveness for those with no treatment preference and those preferring graded exposure. Higher patient expectation was associated with higher perceived effectiveness ratings for all treatments in the clinical trial. Patients with no strong treatment preferences had larger 6-month improvements in pain intensity and disability, while patients with higher expectations had lower disability at baseline, 4 weeks, and 6 months. Patient satisfaction rates did not differ based on treatment received. Patient satisfaction was highest with treatment delivery and much lower with treatment effect. Patient satisfaction was uniformly associated with expectations being met, but only satisfaction with treatment effect was associated with lower pain and disability scores. These data support assessment of treatment preference and patient expectation as predictors and patient satisfaction as an outcome measure in low back pain (LBP) clinical trials. Perspective These data indicate treatment preference potentially impacts rate of improvement for patients with low back pain. Patient expectation did not impact rate of improvement, but those with higher expectations had lower pain and disability scores throughout the trial. Optimal assessment of patient satisfaction should include items that separately consider treatment delivery and effect.
VASP Increases Hepatic Fatty Acid Oxidation by Activating AMPK in Mice

Activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) signaling reduces hepatic steatosis and hepatic insulin resistance; however, its regulatory mechanisms are not fully understood. In this study, we sought to determine whether vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) signaling improves lipid metabolism in the liver and, if so, whether VASP’s effects are mediated by AMPK. We show that disruption of VASP results in significant hepatic steatosis as a result of significant impairment of fatty acid oxidation, VLDL-triglyceride (TG) secretion, and AMPK signaling. Overexpression of VASP in hepatocytes increased AMPK phosphorylation and fatty acid oxidation and reduced hepatocyte TG accumulation; however, these responses were suppressed in the presence of an AMPK inhibitor. Restoration of AMPK phosphorylation by administration of 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide riboside in Vasp−/− mice reduced hepatic steatosis and normalized fatty acid oxidation and VLDL-TG secretion. Activation of VASP by the phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor, sildenafil, in db/db mice reduced hepatic steatosis and increased phosphorylated (p-)AMPK and p-acetyl CoA carboxylase. In Vasp−/− mice, however, sildendafil treatment did not increase p-AMPK or reduce hepatic TG content. These studies identify a role of VASP to enhance hepatic fatty acid oxidation by activating AMPK and to promote VLDL-TG secretion from the liver.
Scalable Models Using Model Transformation

Higher-order model composition can be employed as a mech- anism for scalable model construction. By creating a description that manipulates model fragments as first-class objects, designers' work of model creation and maintenance can be greatly simplified. In this paper, we present our approach to higher-order model composition based on model transformation. We define basic transformation rules to operate on the graph structures of actor models. The composition of basic trans- formation rules with heterogeneous models of computation form complex transformation systems, which we use to construct large models. We ar- gue that our approach is more visual than the traditional approaches using textual model descriptions. It also has the advantage of allowing to dynamically modify models and to execute them on the fly. Our argu- ments are supported by a concrete example of constructing a distributed model of arbitrary size.
Preoperative Antibiotics for Septic Arthritis in Children: Delay in Diagnosis:

PURPOSE. To review the records of 50 children who underwent open joint washout for septic arthritis with (n=25) or without (n=25) preoperative antibiotics. METHODS. Records of 50 children who underwent open joint washout for presumed septic arthritis with (n=25) or without (n=25) preoperative antibiotics were reviewed. 17 boys and 8 girls aged 3 weeks to 16 years (median, 1.5 years) who were prescribed preoperative antibiotics before joint washout were compared with 12 boys and 13 girls aged one month to 14 years (median, 2 years) who were not. Following arthrotomy and washout, all patients were commenced on high-dose intravenous antibiotics. Patients were followed up for 6 to 18 months until asymptomatic. RESULTS. Patients who were referred from places other than our emergency department were twice as likely to have been prescribed preoperative antibiotics (p=0.0032). Patients prescribed preoperative antibiotics had a longer median (range) time from symptom onset to joint washout (8 [2-23] vs. 4 [1-29] days, p=0.05) and a higher mean erythrocyte sedimentation rate (93.1 vs. 54.3 mm/h, p=0.023) at presentation. Nonetheless, the 2 groups were comparable for weight bearing status, fever, and positive culture, as well as the mean (range) duration of antibiotic treatment (4.9 [4-7] vs. 4.7 [1-8] weeks, p=0.586). CONCLUSION. Preoperative antibiotics should be avoided in the management of septic arthritis in children. Their prescription delays diagnosis and definitive surgery, and leads to additional washouts and complications. A high index of suspicion and expedite referral to a specialist paediatric orthopaedic unit is needed if septic arthritis is suspected.
Constructing and testing software maintainability assessment models

Software metrics are used to quantitatively characterize the essential features of software. The paper investigates the use of metrics in assessing software maintainability by presenting and comparing seven software maintainability assessment models. Eight software systems were used for initial construction and calibrating the automated assessment models, and an additional six software systems were used for testing the results. A comparison was made between expert software engineers' subjective assessment of the 14 individual software systems and the maintainability indices calculated by the seven models based on complexity metrics automatically derived from those systems. Initial tests show very high correlations between the automated assessment techniques and the subjective expert evaluations. >
Epistasis and the Mutation Load: A Measurement-Theoretical Approach

An approximate solution for the mean fitness in mutation-selection balance with arbitrary order of epistatic interaction is derived. The solution is based on the assumptions of coupling equilibrium and that the interaction effects are multilinear. We find that the effect of m-order epistatic interactions (i.e., interactions among groups of m loci) on the load is dependent on the total genomic mutation rate, U, to the mth power. Thus, higher-order gene interactions are potentially important if U is large and the interaction density among loci is not too low. The solution suggests that synergistic epistasis will decrease the mutation load and that variation in epistatic effects will elevate the load. Both of these results, however, are strictly true only if they refer to epistatic interaction strengths measured in the optimal genotype. If gene interactions are measured at mutation-selection equilibrium, only synergistic interactions among even numbers of genes will reduce the load. Odd-ordered synergistic interactions will then elevate the load. There is no systematic relationship between variation in epistasis and load at equilibrium. We argue that empirical estimates of gene interaction must pay attention to the genetic background in which the effects are measured and that it may be advantageous to refer to average interaction intensities as measured in mutation-selection equilibrium. We derive a simple criterion for the strength of epistasis that is necessary to overcome the twofold disadvantage of sex.
Knockdown of a Mosquito Odorant-binding Protein Involved in the Sensitive Detection of Oviposition Attractants

Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) were discovered almost three decades ago, but there is still considerable debate regarding their role(s) in insect olfaction, particularly due to our inability to knockdown OBPs and demonstrate their direct phenotypic effects. By using RNA interference (RNAi), we reduced transcription of a major OBP gene, CquiOBP1, in the antennae of the Southern house mosquito, Culex quinquefasciatus. Previously, we had demonstrated that the mosquito oviposition pheromone (MOP) binds to CquiOBP1, which is expressed in MOP-sensitive sensilla. Antennae of RNAi-treated mosquitoes showed significantly lower electrophysiological responses to known mosquito oviposition attractants than the antennae of water-injected, control mosquitoes. While electroantennogram (EAG) responses to MOP, skatole, and indole were reduced in the knockdowns, there was no significant difference in the EAG responses from RNAi-treated and water-injected mosquito antennae to nonanal at all doses tested. These data suggest that CquiOBP1 is involved in the reception of some oviposition attractants, and that high levels of OBPs expression are essential for the sensitivity of the insect’s olfactory system.
Quark graphs and angular distributions in positive parity meson decays

Abstract Using a model of mesons decaying via production of a quark-antiquark pair with the quantum numbers of the vacuum, we relate the angular distributions in the decays A1 → ϱπ and B → ωπ, predicting 2(g1/g0)A1 = (g0/g1)B + 1. This relation is consistent with the present, somewhat ambiguous experimental data. Also we describe satisfactorily, in terms of two parameters, the partial widths of the 0+, 1+ and 2+ mesons decaying into 1−0− and 0−0− pairs. The prediction of the model is that SU(6)W × O(2)Lz relations hold among all the D-waves and among all the S-waves, but not between the two groups. In fact, our two-parameter fit to the data entails a ratio of S-wave to D-wave amplitudes of approximately the same magnitude but opposite sign to that implied by SU(6)W × O(2)Lz. Unlike the widths, the angular distributions are sensitive to the relative sign and are thus crucial in determining that the fit of our model differs considerably from the SU(6)W solution. Parameters of the fit are applied to the 1+ kaons, which may mix with one another. The results are sensitive to the mixing angle φ, and merely assuming lower bounds on widths of both physical states establishes the limits 100 ⩽ φ ⩽ 350. As a result of this mixing, one predicts: (i) the suppression of the K ∗ π mode of the lower peak, (ii) the suppression of the ϱK mode of the upper peak, and (iii) decay distributions in the K ∗ π mode similar to that of the A1 for the lower state and to that of the B for the higher.
Regression and spreading of self-recognition during the development of autoimmune demyelinating disease

The autoimmune T cell repertoire in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by CD4(+)T cells of the Th1 phenotype that recognize peptide determinants of central nervous system (CNS) myelin proteins in an MHC class II-restricted manner. Our recent studies and those performed by others have shown that progression to chronicity in EAE and MS is accompanied by a broadening of the T cell repertoire with time. This acquired neo-autoreactivity is commonly referred to as epitope spreading and is presumably the result of endogenous priming to new self-determinants during the CNS inflammation that accompanies disease onset and relapse. In the present study we extend our earlier observations by showing that disease progression in both EAE and MS is accompanied by two concurrent events, viz. (1) the spontaneous regression of the primary established autoimmune repertoire associated with disease onset, and (2) the emergence of the epitope spreading cascade associated with disease progression. Our data show that disease initiation and disease progression in both EAE and MS are typically associated with distinctly different autoimmune T cell repertoires. Our data support the view that the natural development of self-recognition during autoimmune disease may best be understood when considered in the temporal context of an 'epitope du jour' and 'moving target' perspective.
Thermal Tolerance of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis

D values (decimal reduction time; the time required to kill 1 log concentration of bacteria) were determined for both human and bovine strains (Dominic, Ben, BO45, and ATCC 19698) of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis in 50 mM lactate solution (pH 6.8) and in milk at four temperatures (62, 65, 68, and 71 degrees C). Viable M. paratuberculosis organisms were quantified by a radiometric culture method (BACTEC). Thermal death curves for the M. paratuberculosis strains tested were generally linear, with R2 of > or = 0.90, but a few curves (R2, 0.80 to 0.90) were better described by a quadratic equation. The human strains (Dominic and Ben) had similar D values in milk and in lactate solution. However, D values for the bovine strains (BO45 and ATCC 19698) were significantly different depending on the menstruum. D values for low-passage clinical strains (Dominic, Ben, and BO45) were lower than those of the high-passage laboratory strain (ATCC 19698). The D value based on pooled data for clinical strains of M. paratuberculosis in milk at 71 degrees C (D71 degrees C) was 11.67 s. Pooled D62 degrees C, D65 degrees C, and D68 degrees C of clinical M. paratuberculosis strains in milk were 228.8, 47.8, and 21.8 s, respectively. The Z value (the temperature required for the decimal reduction time to traverse 1 log cycle) of clinical strains in milk was 7.11 degrees C. The D values of clumped and single M. paratuberculosis cells were not significantly different. The D values of all M. paratuberculosis strains tested were considerably higher than those published for Listeria, Salmonella, and Coxiella spp. and estimated for Mycobacterium bovis, indicating that M. paratuberculosis is more thermally tolerant. This study supports the premise that M. paratuberculosis may survive high-temperature, short-time pasteurization when the initial organism concentration is greater than 10(1) cells/ml.
Notation in vector analysis

After a brief comment on the work by Chen et al. (IEEE Transactions on Education, vol.41, no.1, p.61-9, February 1998), the author suggests a vector notation system for the electromagnetics community. The concepts of gradient, divergence and curl together with matrix operators are discussed.
Diffusion-based Transport of Nascent Ribosomes in the Nucleus

Although the complex process of ribosome assembly in the nucleolus is beginning to be understood, little is known about how the ribosomal subunits move from the nucleolus to the nuclear membrane for transport to the cytoplasm. We show here that large ribosomal subunits move out from the nucleolus and into the nucleoplasm in all directions, with no evidence of concentrated movement along directed paths. Mobility was slowed compared with that expected in aqueous solution in a manner consistent with anomalous diffusion. Once nucleoplasmic, the subunits moved in the same random manner and also sometimes visited another nucleolus before leaving the nucleus.
Torque control of a redundantly actuated passive manipulator

The study of passivity in the robotics domain has been motivated by safety and stability concerns in applications such as haptic displays, surgical robots, teleoperation, and manufacturing. This paper describes a passive manipulator with a redundant actuation scheme which allows for enhanced control capabilities and greater overall utility. An algorithm for determining passive actuator excitations from generally active control laws is presented. The torque translation algorithm is a graphical method based upon using knowledge of the specific passivity-induced constraints to select a subset of the available actuators to provide an acceptable output torque. The algorithm successfully provides a set of passive actuator torques for all manipulator states, and experimental results are given.
Eye Tracking and Schizophrenia: A Selective Review

The replications of the finding of eye tracking dysfunction (ETD) in schizophrenia patients and their first-degree relatives suggest that ETD may be informative in studies of a schizophrenia genotype having broadly defined phenotypes. We review and critically assess the literature on ETD with respect to syndrome and familial specificity and discuss the quantitative assessment of eye tracking.
Interdisciplinary Geriatric and Palliative Care Team Narratives: Collaboration Practices and Barriers:

Despite the development and implementation of team training models in geriatrics and palliative care, little attention has been paid to the nature and process of teamwork. Geriatrics and palliative care in the clinical setting offer an interdisciplinary approach structured to meet the comprehensive needs of a patient and his or her family. Fellowship members of an interdisciplinary geriatric and palliative care team participated in semistructured interviews. Team members represented social work, chaplaincy, psychology, nursing, and medicine. A functional narrative analysis revealed four themes: voice of the lifeworld, caregiver teamwork, alone on a team, and storying disciplinary communication. The content-ordering function of narratives revealed a divergence in team members' conceptualization of teamwork and team effectiveness, and group ordering of narratives documented the collaborative nature of teams. The study findings demonstrate the potential for narratives as a pedagogical tool in team training, highlighting the benefits of reflective practice for improving teamwork and sustainability.
Polyvalvular mucopolysaccharidosis of the heart in an infant with C/D chromosomal translocation

The clinical course, genetic evaluation and pathologic findings of an infant with C/D chromosomal translocation and polyvalvular disease of the heart are presented. The concurrence of these rare conditions would suggest a pathogenetic relation, but a previous report of valvular mucopolysaccharidosis in patients with trisomy 18 indicates a lack of specificity in this association. There was no evidence of a generalized disorder of the connective tissue in this patient.
The Adapted Physical Educator: Your Physical Education Resource Teacher

Progressive and appropriate physical education classes can provide a variety of benefits to students: improved fitness; reduced risk of dis ease ; stress release; lifelong recreation and leisure skills; and social skills. But do students with disabilities receive these benefits?
The role of radiotherapy for T4 non-melanoma skin carcinoma.

Introduction: To review outcomes of patients treated with radiotherapy (RT) for T4 non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC). Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed of 21 patients who received RT for T4 NMSC from 2004 to 2010. Outcomes of treatment efficacy, RT technique and patient morbidity were analysed. Twelve patients (57.1%) were treated definitively without prior treatment, five (23.8%) were recurrent lesions and four (19.1%) were treated postoperatively. Ten patients (47.6%) had evidence of bony erosion at presentation, and four (19.1%) had nodal disease. Intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), three-dimensional conformal RT and electron treatment were included RT techniques. Results: Median follow-up was 12 months (range, 5–48 months). Twelve patients (57.1%) following RT required no further treatment and had no disease recurrence. Three patients (14.3%) required salvage treatment and are disease-free following all treatment. Tumours treated initially or postoperatively had improved control rates following RT compared with recurrent lesions (58.3% and 100% vs. 20%). Sixty percent of patients treated with IMRT achieved local control following RT, and 80% were disease-free following surgical salvage treatment. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) histology, presence of bony erosion and/or nodal disease was associated with a higher incidence of disease recurrence. Conclusions: Patients presenting with untreated lesions, smaller tumour volumes (<70 cm3) postoperatively, basal cell histology and absence of bone erosion or nodal disease have improved local control and outcomes. Basal cell carcinoma and SCC should be staged and treated as two separate disease entities. The use of IMRT for advanced skin cancer warrants further investigation.
Dynamic Remote Attestation on Trusted Computing

Remote attestation is the key technology of trusted computing. The existing remote attestation techniques lack of the trust measure of platform running state. In this paper, by the analysis and comparison of existing remote attestation technology, we propose a trust measure of platform running state, and a remote attestation program based on the trust measure results. By RO security analysis, and a simulation, we verify the security and efficiency of the program. The trust measure of platform running state is mainly based on the trust rating of the programs running on the platform, and a total trust value of the platform by an algorithm. The remote attestation for the trust measure of platform running state is based on K-CCA problem. In this paper, we carry out simulation experiment with different proportions of non-credible nodes and the experiment results verify the trust evaluation efficiency of the scheme on the platform.
Variability of low flow magnitudes in the Upper Colorado River Basin: identifying trends and relative role of large-scale climate dynamics

Low flow magnitude in a head water basin is important for planners because minimum available amount of water in a given time period often leads to concerns regarding serious repercussions, in both up and downstream regions. This is a common scenario in arid region like Colorado River basin located in the southwestern US. Low flow variability in Colorado River is due to complex interactions between several natural and anthropogenic factors; but we aim to identify the relative role of climate on varying low flow magnitudes at different spatial locations. The research questions we aim to answer are: Is there a systematic variability in water availability during the driest time of a year or season? How does that vary across locations and is there a link between large-scale climate and low flow variations? Towards that aim we select 17 stream gauge locations, which are identified as "undisturbed" meaning that these stations represent near-natural river flow regimes in the headwater region of Colorado River, which provides a useful resource for assessment of climate and hydrology associations without the confounding factor of major direct (e.g. water abstraction) or indirect (e.g. land-use change) human modification of flows. A detailed diagnostic analysis gives us fair understanding on the variability of low flow magnitude that is explained by climate. We also present spatial heterogeneity of hydro-climatological linkages that is important for suitable adaptive management measures.
Following the Pied Piper: Do Individual Returns Herd around the Market?

Do equity returns indicate the presence of herd behavior on the part of investors during periods of market stress? To test this proposition, the cross-sectional standard deviation of returns, or dispersion, is used to capture herd behavior. When individual returns herd around the market consensus, dispersions are predicted to be relatively low. In contrast, rational asset pricing models predict an increase in dispersion because individual returns are repelled away from the market return when stocks differ in their sensitivity to market movements. The results for both daily and monthly returns are inconsistent with the presence of herding during periods of large price movements. For example, during extreme down markets, when herding is expected to be most prevalent, the magnitude of the increase in the dispersion of actual returns is mirrored by the increase in the dispersion of predicted returns that are estimated from a rational asset pricing model.
THE 24-HOUR KNOWLEDGE FACTORY PARADIGM: THE EVOLVING MODEL FOR OFFSHORING BASED ON STRATEGIC, ECONOMIC, LEGAL, HEALTH, TECHNICAL, AND OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

The 24-Hour Knowledge Factory paradigm involves 3 (or more) collaborating centers, each located in a different continent. Individuals at each center work from 9 am to 5 pm in that country, and then pass the work-in-progress to the next collaborating center to enable round-the-clock performance in a manner somewhat akin to the deployment of three shifts in the manufacturing sector. The gradual adoption of this paradigm is motivated by several considerations. In late 2007, the World Health Organization concluded that working at night is a probable cause of breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men. Attempts by US state governments and even the federal government to discourage outsourcing are unlikely to succeed for multiple reasons, and the notion of “hybrid outsourcing” will gain momentum over time. Plus there are the advantages of developing products and services in shorter timeframe; further these products and services can command broader appeal in the global marketplace. A detailed study was conducted at IBM to compare the performance of a co-located team and a distributed team, and the performance of the latter team exceeded initial expectations. The 24-Hour Knowledge Factory is relevant for structured and semi-structured applications in many knowledge-based industries including accounting, legal, design, and development. There is a growing array of examples from healthcare and other domains where off-site professionals have been able to provide better results than on-site professionals, thereby validating that many tasks can be more effectively performed using the 24-Hour Knowledge Factory approach.
Assessment of Treatment-Associated Changes in Behavior and Cholinergic Therapy of Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer's disease affects multiple domains of human brain function and has neuropsychological, neuropsychiatric, and neurologic manifestations. Behavioral changes should be assessed as part of a comprehensive evaluation of the effects of cholinergic treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The psychometric properties, origin, source of behavioral information, content, and administration requirements of tools used to assess behavior in Alzheimer's disease affect the type of information garnered and the conclusions that can be derived. Assessment of drug-related behavioral changes can be affected by spontaneous remission of neuropsychiatric symptoms, differing baseline severity of behavioral abnormalities, uncertain magnitude of expected treatment effects, and by the influence of disease stages, concurrent medications, and comorbid conditions. Cholinergic therapies ameliorate behavioral alteration in Alzheimer's disease, and changes in behavior should be monitored when such therapy is initiated.
Note, What Is a Progressive Tax Change?: Unmasking Hidden Values in Distributional Debates

There is widespread confusion both in policy circles and in the academic literature about how to measure the progressivity of a tax change. The confusion is particularly vexing because policymakers and analysts often rely on progressivity as a guidepost in constructing and analyzing policy, but do little to justify the particular progressivity measures that they employ. Progressivity measures - which can differ considerably from one another - tend to be picked haphazardly or chosen based on arguments that have rhetorical flair but lack normative substance. Thus, policy is being constructed and evaluated based on distributional measures that may not be meaningful and, in fact, may be misleading. This Note proposes a framework for analyzing measures of progressivity. In particular, if the measures are to gauge accurately changes in tax fairness, progressivity measures must be rooted in whatever theory of distributive justice motivates our concern for distribution. This Note applies this approach and draws connections between particular measures of progressivity and individual theories of distributive justice.
Improving Our Understanding of Health Issues in Older Women Veterans

Author(s): Bastian, Lori A; Hayes, Patricia M; Haskell, Sally G; Atkins, David; Reiber, Gayle E; LaCroix, Andrea Z; Yano, Elizabeth M
Majority and minority gates realized in enzyme-biocatalyzed systems integrated with logic networks and interfaced with bioelectronic systems.

Biocatalytic reactions operating in parallel and resulting in reduction of NAD+ or oxidation of NADH were used to mimic 3-input majority and minority logic gates, respectively. The substrates corresponding to the enzyme reactions were used as the input signals. When the input signals were applied at their high concentrations, defined as logic 1 input values, the corresponding biocatalytic reactions were activated, resulting in changes of the NADH concentration defined as the output signal. The NADH concentration changes were dependent on the number of parallel reactions activated by the input signals. The absence of the substrates, meaning their logic 0 input values, kept the reactions mute with no changes in the NADH concentration. In the system mimicking the majority function, the enzyme-biocatalyzed reactions resulted in a higher production of NADH when more than one input signal was applied at the logic 1 value. Another system mimicking the minority function consumed more NADH, thus leaving a smaller ...
Simulation of Two -Phase Flows using Low -Diffusion Shock -Capturing Schemes

An evaluation of two low -diffusion flux -splitting schemes , Liou’s AUSM -UP and Edwards’ LDFSS -2001 is conducted for several two -phase flows governed by a homogeneous mixture formulation. A comparison of the formulation reveals that LDFSS -2001 contains more pressure diffusion in the mass flux but less velocity d iffusion in the pressure contribution to the momentum flux. These differences are more pronounced in first -order formulations but tend to be less significant when higher -order extensions are used. Results are presented for an array of problems, including cavitating flow over a hemisphere /cylinder, cavitating flow in a nozzle, shock interactions with a water droplet, and instability growth on a water jet surface. Results indicate that both schemes are effective in capturing grid -aligned, non -moving phase interfaces, as well as other discontinuities. Interface capturing for non - grid -aligned discontinuities and moving discontinuities is not ideal but could improve with the use of more compressive limiting strategies and/or contact -wave sharpening _techniqu es.
Chemopreventive effects of Cucumaria frondosa lipid extract in rat colon carcinogenesis and in a human colon cancer cell line

3068 Cucumaria frondosa (Sea cucumber) have been used widely in East Asia as a food, and in the US recently in dietary supplements to treat inflammatory conditions in humans and animals. Therefore, the present study has been designed to test potential cancer preventive properties of lipid extract (CBR-A5) from the sea cucumber using in-vivo and in-vitro models of colon cancer. Chemopreventive efficacy of CBR-A5 was evaluated on azoxymethane (AOM)-induced rat colon carcinogenesis using aberrant crypt foci (ACF) as efficacy marker. At seven weeks of age, a group of rats (12/group) were fed the control diet (AIN 76A) and colonic ACF were induced by AOM (15mg/kg body wt). Three days after AOM treatment, the rats were fed the diets containing 0, 150 and 450ppm of CBR-A5 and continued on the diets for 8 weeks before being sacrificed. Colonic ACF were evaluated histopathologically. Expression levels of a cell proliferating marker (Ki67) and cell signaling marker (p21WAF1/CIP1) were determined in colonic ACF of treated and control groups by immunohistochemistry. Further, CBR-A5 was studied for its growth inhibitory and induction of apoptosis in the human colon cancer HCT116 cell line. HCT116 cells were treated with various concentration of CBR-A5 (10 - 100µg/ml) to assess cell viability (tryphan blue), cytotoxicity (MTS), apoptosis (flow-cytometry and EB-AO method), cell cycle analysis (flow-cytometry) and protein expression (immunoblot method). Dietary administration of 150 and 450ppm of CBR-A5 significantly suppressed AOM-induced total colonic ACF formation up to 34-55% (p
Risk assessment and prediction of deltamethrin resistance in Musca domestica in Dongcheng district of Beijing, China

Objective To assess the risk of deltamethrin resistance development inMusca domesticaand predict the rate of resistance development, and to provide a scientific basis for prolonging the service useful life of insecticides, protecting the effectiveness of existing insecticides, maximizing the potential of insecticides, and properly applying insecticides.Methods The resistantM. domesticastrain for resistance risk assessment was obtained by lab resistance selection and bioassay. The resistance realized heritability(h2) was estimated using Tabashnik method, and then the rates of resistance development under different selection pressures were predicted.Results The resistance ratio was increased to 2197.55-fold in the deltamethrin resistantM. domesticastrain after 21 consecutive generations of lab selection. Theh2ofM. domesticato deltamethrin was 0.1571, indicating a relatively high risk of resistance development. According to the general pattern of resistance development inM. domestica(the deltamethrin resistance development inM. domesticacan be divided into three stages: the resistance development is very slow within the first seven generations, becomes fast from the 8th generation, and tends to level off in later generations). Theh2values in three resistance development stages were 0.1016(F0-F7), 0.2140(F8-F17), and0.0250(F18-F21). According to theh2values in different stages, we predicted that 10-fold resistance increase required 7.2-15.9,4.9-10.8, and 44.4-98.1 generations under different selection pressures(mortality rates: 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, and 90%).Conclusion The risk of deltamethrin resistance development is relatively high amongM. domestica, so attention should be paid to proper use of insecticides based on the situation of targeted pest.
Health risk for exposure to excessive nutritional iodine

The food safety should be established on the basis of inspection and risk assessment technology.The excessive nutritional iodine is defined as: iodine intake exceeds the upper limit of physiological requirement(300 μg/d),and is equivalent with chronic minimal risk level of iodine on human health with non carcinogenic effects.Because the China risk assessment for salt iodine and iodine nutritional status of residents(2010) unclearly defines the iodine deficiency(the median urinary iodine level is equal to or lower than 100 μg/L,meanwhile the urinary iodine levels of at least 50% of the population are lower than 100 μg/L) and mistakenly uses the tolerable upper intake of iodine(UL=1 000 μg/d),which MRL is not regarded as the starting point of health risk assessment,it cannot explain the necessity of the implementation of universal salt iodization for preventing the iodine deficiency disorders(IDD) since1995.The effect of iodine supplementation must act according to the individual background intake and the physiological adaptation ability related to the background intake.The excessive iodine supplementation may induce the hypothyroidism,hyperthyroidism,thyroiditis and health risk of thyroid among the susceptible population.
Gender Classification of Walkers via Underfloor Accelerometer Measurements

The ability to classify the gender of occupants in a building has far-reaching applications including security and retail sales. The authors demonstrate the success of machine learning techniques for gender classification. High-sensitivity accelerometers mounted noninvasively beneath an actual building floor provide the input for these machine learning methods. While other approaches using gait measurements, such as vision systems and wearable sensors, provide the potential for gender classification, they each face limitations. These limitations include an invasion of privacy, occupant compliance, required line of sight, and/or high sensor density. Underfloor mounted accelerometers overcome these limitations. The authors utilize the highly-instrumented Goodwin Hall smart building on the Virginia Tech campus to measure vibrations of the walking surface caused by walkers. In this paper, the gait of 15 individual walkers was recorded as they, alone, walked down the instrumented hallway. Fourteen accelerometers, mounted underneath the walking surface, recorded walking trials with the placement of the sensors unknown to the walker. This paper studies bagged decision trees, boosted decision trees, support vector machines, and neural networks as the machine learning techniques for their ability to classify gender. A tenfold-cross-validation method is used to comment on the validity of the algorithm’s ability to generalize to new walkers. This paper demonstrates that a gender classification accuracy of 88% is achievable using the underfloor vibration data from the Virginia Tech Goodwin Hall by using decision tree approaches.
Pharmacological Implications of the Effects of Amphetamine and Its Analogs on the Turnover Rate of Tissue Catecholamines

It is now well established that an acute paranoid psychosis may follow d-amphetamine administration (Young and Scoville 1938). Hence, Connell (1958), Bell (1965), and Kety (1967) have proposed this psychosis as a model for the study of affective disorders and schizophrenia. A better understanding of the biochemical factors involved in the actions elicited by d-amphetamine may increase the practical utility of this model. The picture that has emerged from our studies in rats on the biochemical correlates of the pharmacological effects of d-amphetamine can be summarized as follows: 1. d-Amphetamine depletes central and peripheral norepinephrine (NE) stores when injected in doses ten-fold greater than those required to increase exploratory motor activity (0.3 mg/kg i.V.); the doses of d-amphetamine decreasing brain NE content, however, fail to deplete striatal dopamine (DA) (Costa and Groppetti 1970a; Groppetti, Naimzada, and Costa 1971). 2. The d-amphetamine doses depleting brain NE also cause accumulation of p-hydroxynorephedrine in peripheral and central noradrenergic neurons. Since the biological half-life of p-hydroxynorephedrine concentrations in rat brain is twenty times longer than that of d-amphetamine, this metabolite persists in brain tissue longer than its parent compound (Groppetti and Costa 1969). Similar findings were independently reported by Brodie et al. (1969). 3. The persistent localization of p-hydroxynorephedrine in central and peripheral noradrenergic neurons parallels the long-lasting depletion of NE (Costa and Groppetti 1970a). 4. After a single peritoneal injection of 3 to 10 mg/kg of d-amphetamine, the pharmacological responses, including stereotype behavior and increase of locomotor activity,have disappeared 24 to 36 hours earlier than the depletion of NE. This finding suggests that the time course of the depletion of brain NE is unrelated to that of the pharmacological effects (hyperthermia, increase of motor activity, stereotype behavior, and anorexia) (Costa and Groppetti 1970b).