cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Different response to balloon angioplasty of carotid and coronary arteries: effects on acute platelet deposition and intimal thickening

PTCA is a well-established intervention to reduce the severity of atherosclerotic coronary stenosis. Its primary success rate is seriously handicapped by the high incidence of late restenosis. Given the clinical and social importance of this proliferative process, new strategies are needed to prevent or reduce restenosis. Several animal models as well as different arteries have been used to study neointimal proliferation after arterial injury. A number of agents have shown to reduce neointimal proliferation after arterial injury in the carotids and iliac arteries of rodent models. Unfortunately, these results have not been replicated in humans. We have compared the acute and late response to vascular injury of the carotid and coronary arteries in the pig. Arterial injury was induced by performing balloon angioplasty of the carotid (elastic) and coronary (muscular) arteries in swine. Acute platelet-thrombus formation was evaluated by quantitation of Indium-labeled platelets deposited on the injured segments 1 h after procedure. Measurement of intimal area was performed by morphometry of the most stenotic cross-section at 28 days after balloon angioplasty. Platelet deposition after mild and severe injury in carotids (49 1 and 569 13 10 6 platelets:cm 2 , respectively) and coronaries (1595 and 14192010 6 platelets:cm 2 , respectively) are significantly greater in deep, than in mild injury (PB0.005), and significantly greater in coronary than in carotid arteries after deep injury (PB 0.05). Likewise, late neointima formation was significantly greater (PB0.05) after mild and severe injury in coronary (179 0.5 and 56 9 2%, respectively) than in carotid arteries (590.5 and 1291%, respectively). Acute platelet-thrombus formation and late neointimal thickening are modulated by the degree of injury induced during the interventions; and after disruption of the internal elastic lamina, coronary arteries always had significantly more acute thrombus and neointimal thickening. This study emphasizes the importance of the animal species, the type of injury and the artery chosen for studies on restenosis post interventions. © 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Analysis of the kinetic isotope effects on initial rates in transient kinetics

A method was described recently for circumventing the difficulties in determining intrinsic kinetic isotope effects from eigenvalues obtained in transient kinetic experiments (Maniscalco, Tally, and Fisher (2004) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 425, 165-172). The method, based on the isotope effects on initial rates of formation of intermediates, was validated by numerical simulation for only a few linear reaction sequences. A general analytical proof of the validity of the method is given in this work. The mathematical approach, using rate laws and L'Hopital's rule, allows more complex reaction schemes to be analyzed. Several are analyzed in this article, illustrating the broad applicability and possible complications in this approach for determining intrinsic isotope effects. Some possible applications are noted, with particular attention being paid to nonlinear reaction schemes, the effect of measuring signals rather than concentration, and the ability to distinguish stepwise from concerted reactions.
Renal effects of CO2 insufflation: Oliguria and acute renal dysfunction in a rat pneumoperitoneum model

Abstract Objective. To determine the mechanism by which oliguria develops during raised intra-abdominal pressure secondary to C02 insufflation, we created a rat pneumoperitoneum model. Methods. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 67) were organized into three groups. Each group was subjected to abdominal pressures of 0 (control), 5, or 10 mm Hg, over one, two, and four hours. Fourteen additional rats underwent a two-hour period of 10 mrn Hg insufflation pressure followed by desufflation to 0 mm Hg. Urine output (UO) and serum creatinine levels were measured both during insufflation at one, two, and four hours, and two, four, ten, and twenty-two hours following its release. These measurements were compared to control values at each time point. Ultrasonic flow probes placed around both the inferior vena cava (IVC) and abdominal aorta during insufflation characterized the effects of increased abdominal pressure on blood flow. The flow rate was determined at insufflation pressures of 0 (control, 100% flow) to 25 mm Hg. Results. Rats subjected to 10 mm Hg pressure had significant decreases in UO (oliguria) compared to controls for up to four hours (P Conclusions. Oliguria can be produced in rats undergoing pneumope ritoneum. The renal effects of pneumoperitoneum are most likely related to renal vascular insufficiency from central venous compression.
Mode of delivery and neonatal death in 17 587 infants presenting by the breech

Objective— To study the effects of caesarean section on neonatal mortality in infants presenting by the breech. Design— Population-based non-experimental comparison of infants presenting by the breech born vaginally with those born by caesarean section. Neonatal mortality rates were calculated for 250 g birthweight intervals. Weight-specific relative risks (RRs) were further adjusted for birthweight in 50 g categories. Setting— New York City, 1978–1983. Data came from the Department of Health's computerized vital records on livebirths and infant deaths. Subjects— 17 587 singleton breech livebirths ≥500 g birthweight, with congenital anomaly deaths excluded. 6178 were born vaginally and 11409 were born by caesarean section. Main outcome measures— Birthweight-specific and birthweight-adjusted neonatal mortality. Results— At birthweights of 501 to 1750 g, the risk of neonatal death for breech infants born vaginally was significantly higher than the risk for those born by caesarean section (weight-adjusted RR=1.7). For breech infants with birth-weights over 3000 g, the weight-adjusted risk was 5.6 times greater for a vaginal birth compared with caesarean section. The addition of 16 additional control variables in multiple logistic regression analyses did not change these RRs. Conclusion— Population-based studies indicate that an increase in the caesarean section rate among breech singletons may be associated with increased neonatal survival, but a large multicentre randomized trial of management of breech presentation would answer the question much more definitively.
A system status monitor for the National Aero-Space Plane

A study was undertaken to develop a model for an in-flight diagnostic system that could be applied to the National Aero-Space plane, and to implement a computer program to demonstrate the feasibility of that model as a basis for a system status monitor. The model developed features a double-hierarchy structure, one for the aircraft functions to be diagnosed, and another for the diagnostic functions to be performed. The hierarchical nature of both the system knowledge and the functions that use the knowledge allow decomposition of the diagnostic task into relatively independent and manageable parts. >
Adrenergic Innervation of the Male Reproductive Ducts of Some Mammals. III. Distributions of Noradrenaline and Adrenaline

Distributions of noradrenaline (NA) and adrenaline (A) in testes, epididymides, and vasa deferntia were determined by fluorespectrophotometric quantitative analyses of organs from rats, guinea-pigs, rabbits, and cats. Cat testes and caput epididymides have larger NA concentrations than those of other species. Increasing NA concentratiosn appear in cauda epididymides and the largest ones occur in vasea deferentia. Conventrations of A were low in all organs examined. The data correlates closely with previous histochemical observations on the distributions of the adrenergic innervatiosn of these organs
Distribution of adenylyl cyclases in the rat ovary by immunofluorescence microscopy.

In the mammalian ovary both gonadotropins and local cytokines, acting through G-protein coupled receptors, govern the physiology of the ovary in part by regulating the cyclic adenosine 3 0 ,5 0 -monophosphate via adenylyl cyclases. The nine transmembrane adenylyl cyclases and a soluble adenylyl cyclase are regulated by a diversity of ligands. In this study we have examined the rat ovaries, prior to and subsequent to gonadotropin treatment, for the presence of different transmembrane adenylyl cyclases by indirect immunofluorescence microscopy. Adenylyl cyclase I immunoreactivity was observed in the nuclei of oocytes in preantral and antral follicles along with some staining in granulosa cells. Equine chorionic gonadotropin injection increased adenylyl cyclase I staining in granulosa cells. Adenylyl cyclase I staining was also observed in luteal and endothelial cells. Adenylyl cyclase II was observed throughout the ovary, including granulosa cells and the ovarian surface epithelium. Adenylyl cyclase II staining was also found to increase in granulosa cells after equine chorionic gonadotropin injection. Adenylyl cyclase III was distributed primarily in theca and smooth muscle cells of arterioles, with faint staining in the oocytes of equine chorionic gonadotropin-injected ovaries. Adenylyl cyclase IV staining was present throughout the ovary, including the nuclei of oocytes. Adenylyl cyclase VIII staining in granulosa cells increased subsequent to equine chorionic gonadotropin injection and remained in luteal cells. Our study reveals the redundancy of adenylyl cyclases present in the rat ovary and, therefore, implies potential regulation of follicular and corpus luteum physiology by cyclic adenosine 3 0 ,5 0 -monophosphate generated through distinct adenylyl cyclases. Anat Rec, 295:1717–1726, 2012. V C 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Defending the One Percent

Abstract Imagine a society with perfect economic equality. Then, one day, this egalitarian utopia is disturbed by an entrepreneur with an idea for a new product. Think of the entrepreneur as Steve Jobs as he develops the iPod, J. K. Rowling as she writes her Harry Potter books, or Steven Spielberg as he directs his blockbuster movies. The new product makes the entrepreneur much richer than everyone else. How should the entrepreneurial disturbance in this formerly egalitarian outcome alter public policy? Should public policy remain the same, because the situation was initially acceptable and the entrepreneur improved it for everyone? Or should government policymakers deplore the resulting inequality and use their powers to tax and transfer to spread the gains more equally? In my view, this thought experiment captures, in an extreme and stylized way, what has happened to US society over the past several decades. Since the 1970s, average incomes have grown, but the growth has not been uniform across the inco...
Tools for recreation management in parks: the case of the greater Yellowstone's blue-ribbon fishery.

Abstract The recreationists who visit and enjoy the planet’s protected natural areas cause serious ecological damage to the very lands they enjoy. To maintain ecosystem integrity, park managers must increasingly focus on recreation management as a vital part of their jobs. Managers agree on the importance of pursuing objectives using the least cost mix of tools. To make this choice wisely, the efficacy of various tools in influencing recreationists’ behavior must be assessed. Recreation management is especially salient in many US National Parks. For example, wild Yellowstone River cutthroat trout inside Yellowstone National Park are caught an average of 9.7 times during the summer fishing season. Although managed as a catch and release fishery, up to 30% of these fish die each season at the hands of fly anglers. Anglers also cause streambank erosion, generate air, water and litter pollution, interact with wildlife and, for some, degrade the park’s scenic quality. In this paper we examine the extent to which the behavior of anglers in the greater Yellowstone ecosystem (GYE) is influenced by various management tools, including general and site-specific access fees, catch rates and regulations regarding the type and size of fish that can be killed. We also inquire whether anglers are likely to be self-regulating in that they self-select away from crowded fishing sites. Using survey data from anglers at five popular fishing sites in the GYE, we estimate a two-part model of total site visitation. The two parts involve a discrete choice site selection decision for any given day and the choice of how many days to visit the GYE in a season. The product of the two decisions is total visitation to a site. We use the estimates to measure the impact of management tools on total anglers’ behavior. Our results indicate that anglers are averse to complicated regulations that target certain species and/or size of fish for releases, and prefer catch and release managed fisheries or those where all fish can be kept. We find that the total number of anglers’ visits is most strongly influenced by catch rates, followed by congestion levels and the cost of site-specific access. Increases in costs not specific to a site have little effect on anglers’ behavior. These results suggest that increases in the cost of season fishing permits or park entrance fees are not likely to reduce fishing pressure, but can be used to pursue revenue goals. In contrast, requiring anglers to pay a site-specific daily fee may be effective in managing anglers’ ecological impacts, but may be inconsistent with equity goals.
Sex-allocation plasticity in hermaphrodites of sexually dimorphic Fragaria virginiana (Rosaceae)

Sex-allocation plasticity is thought to play an important role in the evolution of separate sexes in plants. Accordingly, much attention has been paid to environmentally induced variation in fruit and seed production in sexually dimorphic species, but we know little about whether this variation arises as a direct response to environmental variation or is instead an indirect consequence of changes in plant size. In this study, we characterize sex-allocation plasticity across a resource gradient for several reproductive traits in hermaphrodites of gyno(sub)dioecious Fragaria virginiana Duch. We find significant plasticity, on average, for flower number, proportion fruit set, ovule number, proportion seed set, and runner number in response to resource variation. Plasticity of most traits examined tended to be at least partially independent of variation in plant size, suggesting that it is not simply an indirect consequence of plant allometry. Moreover, we find genetic variation for plasticity of key reproduc...
America's Bibles: Canon, Commentary, and Community

L'Ecriture Sainte possede le statut de texte en tant que tel si une communaute religieuse donnee le recoit pour tel. L'A. decrit ce processus dans les Etats-Unis du XIX e siecle. Les canons agissent comme des frontieres qui delimitent les communautes. Le controle du canon est un avantage des points de vue religieux et theologique. Le commentaire et la traduction sont des systemes de manipulation des Ecritures. L'ensemble de ces processus requierent l'existence d'une communaute religieuse. Aujourd'hui, le nombre de Bibles americaines ne cesse d'augmenter et la question de la nature des Ecritures devient plus complexe au fur et a mesure de l'acceleration du pluralisme religieux aux Etats-Unis
Gene Expression Profiling in Human Preadipocytes and Adipocytes by Microarray Analysis

Uncontrolled expansion of adipose tissue leads to obesity, a public health epidemic affecting >30% of adult Americans. Adipose mass increases in part through the recruitment and differentiation of an existing pool of preadipocytes (PA) into adipocytes (AD). Most studies investigating adipogenesis used primarily murine cell lines; much less is known about the relevant processes that occur in humans. Therefore, characterization of genes associated with adipocyte development is key to understanding the pathogenesis of obesity and developing treatments for this disorder. To address this issue, we performed large-scale analyses of human adipose gene expression using microarray technology. Differential gene expression between PA and AD was analyzed in 6 female patients using human cDNA microarray slides and data analyzed using the Stanford Microarray Database. Statistical analysis for the gene expression was performed using the SAS mixed models. Compared with PA, several genes involved in lipid metabolism were overexpressed in AD, including fatty acid binding protein, adipose differentiation-related protein, lipoprotein lipase, perilipin, and adipose most abundant transcript 1. Novel genes expressed in adipocytes included E2F5 transcriptional factor and SMARC (SWI/SNF-related, matrix associated, actin-dependent regulator of chromatin). PA predominantly expressed genes encoding extracellular matrix components such as fibronectin, matrix metalloprotein, and novel proteins such as lysyl oxidase. Despite the high differential expression of some of these genes, many did not differ significantly likely due to high variability and limited statistical power. A comprehensive list of differential gene expression is presented according to cellular function. In conclusion, these studies offer an overview of the gene expression profiles in PA and AD and identify new genes with potentially important functions in adipose tissue development and obesity that merit further investigation.
Phase Equilibria at Liquidus Temperatures in the System MgO‐FeO‐Fe2O3‐SiO2

Liquidus temperatures are presented for mixtures in the system MgO-FeO-Fe2O3-SiO2. The standard quenching technique was modified for work under controlled atmospheres of varying O2 pressures. Data were obtained for the temperature range 1159° to 1775°C., and with O2 pressures ranging from 1 to 10-8.9 atm. Approximate compositions of crystalline phases were determined, and paths of equilibrium crystallization were derived for selected mixtures under idealized conditions. Application of the phase diagrams to steel-plant refractories problems is indicated.
Architectural building blocks for plug-and-play system design

One of the distinguishing features of distributed systems is the importance of the interaction mechanisms that are used to define how the sequential components interact with each other. Given the complexity of the behavior that is being described and the large design space of various alternatives, choosing appropriate interaction mechanisms is difficult. In this paper, we propose a component-based specification approach that allows designers to experiment with alternative interaction semantics. Our approach is also integrated with design-time verification to provide feedback about the correctness of the overall system design. In this approach, connectors representing specific interaction semantics are composed from reusable building blocks. Standard communication interfaces for components are defined to reduce the impact of changing interactions on components' computations. The increased reusability of both components and connectors also allows savings at model-construction time for finite-state verification.
Identifying Gifted and Talented English Language Learners: A Case Study

With the sharp rise in students who are English language learners (ELL), research on identifying and serving the needs of gifted and talented (GT) ELL students offers fertile ground for best practi...
Audio source separation by basis function adaptation

The problem of audio source separation from a monophonic sound mixture having known instrument types but unknown timbres is presented. An improvement to the Probabilistic Latent Component Analysis (PLCA) source separation method is proposed. The technique uses a basis function dictionary to produce a first round PLCA source separation. The PLCA weights are then refined by incorporating note onset information. The source separation is then performed using a second round PLCA in which the refined weights are held fixed, and the basis functions are updated. Preliminary experimental results on mixtures of two instruments are quite promising, showing a 6 dB improvement in SIR over standard PLCA.
Experimental Studies of Photoluminescence in Mn-Ion Implanted Silicon Rich Oxide Thin Film

In this paper, we wish to report our preliminary experimental results from the photoluminescence (PL) studies in a Mn-ion implanted silicon-rich oxide (SRO) thin film. At 4 K, a broad PL peak, centered at ~ 1.2 eV, was observed. It is blue-shifted from the Si substrate peak at ~ 1.1 eV. The temperature (T) dependence of PL was carried out at zero magnetic (B) field and B = 0.5 Tesla, respectively, and showed quantitatively different behaviors. At B = 0, the PL intensity increases very slowly at low temperatures and reaches a maximal value at ~ 40 K. It then decreases as T is further increased. At B = 0.5 Tesla, the peak temperature (Tpeak), whether the intensity is maximal, moves to ~ 80–100 K, and the decreasing rate beyond Tpeak is much smaller than that at B = 0. We speculate that these two different behaviors might reveal, possibly, a ferromagnetic ordering in Mn-ion doped silicon nanocrystals.
Radial-basis-function based classification of mammographic microcalcifications using texture features

Mammography has been established as the only effective and viable technique to detect breast cancer especially in the case of nonpalpable and minimal tumors. About 30% to 50% of breast cancers demonstrate deposits of calcium called microcalcifications. We investigate the potential of using textural features for their correlation with malignancy. A combination of global texture features extracted from the second histogram was combined with local texture features obtained from a wavelet decomposition of the regions containing the calcifications. The performance of the radial-basis-function neural network was compared to the standard multilayered perceptron. The neural networks yielded good results for the classification of hard-to-diagnose cases of mammographic microcalcification into benign and malignant categories using the selected set of features.
Confronting the Crisis of the Slave-Based Plantation System in Puerto Rico: Bureaucratic Proposals for Agricultural Modernisation, Diversification and Free Labour, c. 1846–1852

By the late 1820s, Puerto Rico and Cuba had become Spain's only remaining colonies in the Americas and its major source of colonial returns. A decade later, however, the slave-based plantation system in Puerto Rico was beginning to show signs of stagnation due to the convergence of a number of domestic and international forces. In the late 1840s the Iberian colonial bureaucracy initiated a series of proposals to stimulate Puerto Rico's transformation into an agriculturally modern, diversified, free-labour economy. This initiative failed due to an adverse economic environment, administrative confusion and rivalries, and the failure of officials on the island to enlist the support either of local planters or those at the lower levels of society. This paper explores the reasons for this failure in detail.
Universal Flu Vaccines: Primum non nocere

Envisioning universal influenza vaccines that induce antibodies to conserved viral epitopes is exciting, but first we need to better understand the balance of effects caused by neutralizing and nonneutralizing antibodies (Khurana et al., this issue).
An Introduction to the Locally Corrected Nyström Method

This lecture provides a tutorial introduction to the Nystrom and locally-corrected Nystrom methods when used for the numerical solutions of the common integral equations of two-dimensional electromagnetic fields. These equations exhibit kernel singularities that complicate their numerical solution. Classical and generalized Gaussian quadrature rules are reviewed. The traditional Nystrom method is summarized, and applied to the magnetic field equation for illustration. To obtain high order accuracy in the numerical results, the locally-corrected Nystrom method is developed and applied to both the electric field and magnetic field equations. In the presence of target edges, where current or charge density singularities occur, the method must be extended through the use of appropriate singular basis functions and special quadrature rules. This extension is also described. Table of Contents: Introduction / Classical Quadrature Rules / The Classical Nystrom Method / The Locally-Corrected Nystrom Method / Generalized Gaussian Quadrature / LCN Treatment of Edge Singularities
Elected Versus Appointed County Commission Executives: Race, Political Favors and Support Facilities

In this paper we explore how blacks influence expenditure and employment decisions of county commission executives. We also explore whether or not this influence varies when county commission executives are elected verses appointed to their positions. The desire to earn votes could mean that elected officials treat voting populations, including blacks, in a manner that is distinctly different from their appointed counterparts. We find that in areas where there is more discretion, elected officials tend to have higher per capita expenditures. However, there does not appear to be any difference in employment practices. We find that having a larger black population is positively related with discretionary spending and employment.
Visual hull alignment and refinement across time: a 3D reconstruction algorithm combining shape-from-silhouette with stereo

Visual hull (VH) construction from silhouette images is a popular method of shape estimation. The method, also known as shape-from-silhouette (SFS), is used in many applications such as non-invasive 3D model acquisition, obstacle avoidance, and more recently human motion tracking and analysis. One of the limitations of SFS, however, is that the approximated shape can be very coarse when there are only a few cameras. In this paper, we propose an algorithm to improve the shape approximation by combining multiple silhouette images captured across time. The improvement is achieved by first estimating the rigid motion between the visual hulls formed at different time instants (visual hull alignment) and then combining them (visual hull refinement) to get a tighter bound on the object's shape. Our algorithm first constructs a representation of the VHs called the bounding edge representation. Utilizing a fundamental property of visual hulls, which states that each bounding edge must touch the object at at least one point, we use multi-view stereo to extract points called colored surface points (CSP) on the surface of the object. These CSPs are then used in a 3D image alignment algorithm to find the 6 DOF rigid motion between two visual hulls. Once the rigid motion across time is known, all of the silhouette images are treated as being captured at the same time instant and the shape of the object is refined. We validate our algorithm on both synthetic and real data and compare it with space carving.
Identification of Proteins Differentially Expressed in Human Monocytes Exposed to Porphyromonas gingivalis and Its Purified Components by High-Throughput Immunoblotting

To characterize the roles of Porphyromonas gingivalis and its components in disease processes, we investigated the cytokine profiles induced by live P. gingivalis, its lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and its major fimbrial protein, fimbrillin (FimA). A cytokine antibody array revealed that human monocyte-derived macrophages were induced to produce chemokines (e.g., monocyte chemoattractant protein 1, macrophage inflammatory protein 1beta [MIP-1beta], and MIP-3alpha) as early as 1 h after exposure to P. gingivalis, with production declining after 24 h of exposure. As expected, an extensive repertoire of inflammatory mediators increased subsequent to infection, most predominantly tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta), IL-6, IL-10, and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor. The induction of cytokines by P. gingivalis was not triggered simply by bacterial cell surface components, since purified P. gingivalis LPS and FimA induced similar patterns of cytokines, while the pattern of cytokines induced by live P. gingivalis was significantly different, indicating that the host defense system senses live bacteria differently than it does the cell surface components LPS and FimA. To further understand the mechanisms by which live P. gingivalis and its components exert their effects, we used a high-throughput immunoblot screening approach (Becton-Dickinson PowerBlot) to analyze intracellular proteins involved in P. gingivalis infection in human macrophages. Exposure of human macrophages to either live P. gingivalis, its LPS, or its FimA protein led to the up-regulation of 12, 8, and 10 proteins and the down-regulation of 15, 8, and 17 proteins, respectively. The expression of proteins involved in gene transcription (e.g., monocyte enhancer factor 2D [MEF2D], signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 [STAT1], STAT3, STAT6, and IL enhancer binding factors [ILF3]), of protein kinases (e.g., mitogen-activated protein kinase 3 [MAPK3], MAP3K8, double-stranded RNA-activated protein kinase [PRKR], and MAP2K4), and of proteins involved in immune responses (e.g., TNF super family member 6 [TNFSF6] and interferon-induced protein with tetratricopeptide repeat 4 [IFIT4]), apoptosis (e.g., genes associated with retinoid interferon-induced mortality 19 [GRIM19]), and other fundamental cellular processes (e.g., clathrin heavy-chain polypeptide, culreticulin, and Ras-associated protein RAB27A) was found to be modulated differentially by P. gingivalis, LPS, and FimA. These differential changes are interpreted as preferential signal pathway activation in host immune/inflammatory responses to P. gingivalis infection.
Differential effects of prostate cancer therapeutics on neuroendocrine transdifferentiation

Androgen ablation therapy is widely used for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. However, the effectiveness of this intervention strategy is generally short-lived as the disease ultimately progresses to a hormone-refractory state. In recent years, it has become clear that even in antiandrogen-resistant cancers the androgen receptor (AR) signaling axis is intact and is required for prostate cancer growth. Thus, there is a heightened interest in developing small molecules that function in part by down-regulating AR expression in tumors. Paradoxically, AR expression has been shown to be important in preventing the transdifferentiation of epithelial prostate cancer cells toward a neuroendocrine phenotype associated with tumor progression. Consequently, we have evaluated the relative effect of prostate cancer therapeutics that function in part by depleting AR levels on neuroendocrine differentiation in established cellular models of prostate cancer. These studies reveal that although histone deacetylase inhibitors can down-regulate AR expression they increase the expression of neuroendocrine markers and alter cellular morphology. Inhibition of AR signaling using classic AR antagonists or small interfering RNA-mediated AR ablation induces incomplete neuroendocrine differentiation. Importantly, the Hsp90 inhibitor geldanamycin effectively down-regulates AR expression while having no effect on neuroendocrine differentiation. Taken together, these data show that the phenotypic responses to pharmacologic agents used in the clinic to prevent the progression of prostate cancer are not equivalent, a finding of significant therapeutic importance.
Towards Cognitive BPM as the Next Generation BPM Platform for Analytics-Driven Business Processes

Human-centric business processes in the enterprise are knowledge-intensive, and rely on human judgment for decision making. This reliance impacts the integrity, uniformity, efficiency and consistency of the process enactment over time. We describe our experience and challenges in driving the adoption of business process management tools in the sales process at a large IT services provider. We argue that in knowledge-driven and human-centric activities such as IT services sales, current technologies do not meet the needs. They do not support data capture and analytics around process and using it to reason about and take action on the process. Process definition and enactment, both, needs to be dynamic, flexible and adaptive based on the understanding of the state of affairs. We present a vision and a framework for a cognitive BPM system where the knowledge management, user interaction and analytics are employed to dynamically assess and proactively adapt the process based on the results of data analytics and continuous learning from the actions taken.
Surgery for Avascular Necrosis of the Femoral Head

Avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head accounts for approximately 10% of reconstructive hip procedures as reported by Mankin (N Eng J Med. 1992;326:1473-9) and is much less common than osteoarthritis. However, since AVN often presents in younger, active, high-demand patients, the outcomes of reconstructive procedures such as hip replacement are generally associated with poorer outcomes. Failures due to loosening, wear, component breakage, and other complications have led surgeons to consider many other options in the management of this difficult condition.
Motive und Auswirkungen handelsgerichteter Restriktionen des Staates

Staatliche Restriktionen haben in der Geschichte des Handels eine lange Tradition. Dabei spielen zwei Motivbereiche eine wesentliche Rolle: zum einen ein Image-Malus, der dem Handel als Gesamtsystem in weiten Teilen der Gesellschaft und bei staatlichen Entscheidungstragern zukommt, und zum anderen der Mittelstands-Schutzgedanke des Staates, der erhebliche Beeintrachtigungen bestimmter Handelsformen zur Folge hat. Vor diesem Hintergrund analysiert der nachfolgende Beitrag Stellenwert und Auswirkungen staatlicher Eingriffe in die Struktur des Handels, insbesondere auf der Ebene der Betriebsformen, und belegt gleichzeitig deren historische Durchgangigkeit. Den Abschlus bilden wettbewerbstheoretische Uberlegungen und ausgewahlte Implikationen fur die Handelsforschung.
After Ethnicity and 'Constitutional Patriotism': Searching for a Capacious German Membership in a Period of Neo-Liberalism and Europeanization

This short essay addresses the ongoing struggle, now successfully concluded in a compromise form, over the contours of a Nationality/Citizenship law encompassing naturalization and the recognition of jus soli principles for Germany. With that new law has come the abandonment of the previous Aliens Law and perhaps a serious amelioration of the legal marginalization of German-born foreigners, especially, though not only, those of Turkish or former guestworker background. Alongside that ongoing legal struggle, there has been a protracted debate, mostly on the left and in liberal circles, between advocates of multiculturalism, supporters of group recognition and some group rights, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, integrationists, those persuaded that improved legal access to the German nation would lead to a greater voluntary integration of "foreigners" into an evolving German society. It seems that the integrationists have won, though there has been no parallel massive flow of adult former resident aliens into the ranks of naturalized Germans. The readiness to welcome aliens, especially Turkish-origin Muslims, into German society appears to be not in synchrony with developments in the Turkish sector itself. The situation and preferences of a more hybrid, Germany-born, Turkish-German younger generation is more difficult to ascertain and portray.
Rates for inductive learning of compositional models

Compositional Models are widely used in Computer Vision as they exhibit strong expressive power by generating a combinatorial number of configurations with a small number of components. However, the literature is still missing a theoretical understanding of why compositional models are better than flat representations, despite empirical evidence as well as strong arguments that compositional models need fewer training examples. In this paper we try to give some theoretical answers in this direction, focusing on AND/OR Graph (AOG) models used in recent literature for representing objects, scenes and events, and bringing the following contributions. First, we analyze the capacity of the space of AND/OR graphs, obtaining PAC (Probably Approximately Correct) bounds for the number of training examples sufficient to guarantee with a given certainty that the model learned has a given accuracy. Second, we propose an algorithm for supervised learning AND/OR Graphs that has theoretical performance guarantees based on the dimensionality and number of training examples. Finally, we observe that part localization, part noise tolerance and part sharing leads to a reduction in the number of training examples required.
Antigen Retrieval Improves hnRNP A2/B1 Immunohistochemical Localization in Premalignant Lesions of the Lung

Monoclonal antibody 703D4 recognizes a 31 kD lung cancer associated antigen (p31) expressed both in resected lung tumor and in sputum cells shed from the bronchial epithelium in advance of clinical cancer [1, 2]. Originally developed by mouse immunization using a whole non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor-cell extract, 703D4 recognizes a protein expressed by most NSCLC as well as small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell lines [1,3]. Recently, the 703D4 antigen has been purified by a seven-step chromatographic procedure, guided by Western blotting [4]. Sequencing of the principal immunostaining protein identified a heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein-A2 (hnRNP-A2). A splice variant, hnRNP-B1, was identified as a minor copurifying immunoreactive protein. Table 1 presents a summary of the advances in understanding of p31 expression in pulmonary tissues.
Brief of Amici Curiae California Professors of Family Law in Support of Respondents in Hollingsworth v. Perry (U.S. Supreme Court No. 12-144)

This amicus brief was submitted by twenty-seven California family law professors to the Supreme Court in the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry, the litigation challenging California Proposition 8, which limits marriage to a man and a woman. The brief focuses on California family law, demonstrating that all of the purported justifications proposed by supporters of Proposition 8 are totally contrary to California family law and policy and therefore cannot constitute a rational basis for denying same-sex couples the equal protection of the law. In particular, the brief demonstrates that Proposition 8 is harmful to the children of same-sex couples and that California law strongly prohibits harming some children in order to achieve even permissible goals.
Acute phenylalanine/tyrosine depletion of phasic dopamine in the rat brain.

Rationale Dopamine plays a critical role in striatal and cortical function, and depletion of the dopamine precursors phenylalanine and tyrosine is used in humans to temporarily reduce dopamine and probe the role of dopamine in behavior. This method has been shown to alter addiction-related behaviors and cognitive functioning presumably by reducing dopamine transmission, but it is unclear what specific aspects of dopamine transmission are altered.
Somatica nuclear division in Armillaria Mellea.

The presence of multinucleate hyphae whose nuclei undergo synchronous division has permitted examination of this process with the electron microscope. Somatic nuclear division was found to be mitot...
Diagnostic Laboratory Procedures in Infectious Diseases

Useful diagnostic information can be provided by the microbiology laboratory in a variety of infectious diseases. It is important to obtain an appropriate specimen and to provide the laboratory with relevant information. The value and limitations of in vitro susceptibility testing are discussed.
Abstract 5385: Thymoquinone(TQ) and cisplatin(CDDP) in a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) xenograft model

Introduction: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer related death in United States. The most active chemotherapeutic agent for NSCLC is Cisplatin. Thymoquinone (TQ) is the bioactive constituent of the volatile oil of The Black Caraway seed also known as (Nigella Sativa, Ranunculaceae family) and has been shown to have anti-neoplastic activities. Based on our intvitro data we combined CDDP and TQ in a mouse xenograft model using NSCLC cell line NCI-H460. Materials and Methods: a) Cisplatin at 2.5mg/kg was prepared weekly by dissolving in PBS. Cisplatin was injected i.p. once a week for three weeks. b) TQ was prepared in concentrations 5mg/kg or 20mg/kg and dissolved in solvent of cremophor: alcohol: PBS in a ratio (1:1:4) and injected subcutaneous M, W, F for 3 weeks. These doses were selected based on an earlier Maximum tolerated dose (MTD) study. 5-6 weeks old female SCID mice were obtained from harlan laboratories and were placed under pathogen free conditions in animal care facility according to LSU, Shreveport animal care guidelines. Animal protocol was reviewed and approved by animal care committee. NCI-H460 2×10^6 cells were injected subcutaneous into right flank after shaving that area. Tumors were allowed to grow for one week and when tumor volume reached approximately 20mm 3 mice were randomized to 6 groups with 10 mice in each group. Tumor volume was calculated using the formula V= (LxW 2 ) x 0.5 where V= volume, L= length, W=width. c) Treatment groups: Mice were randomized into following 6 groups (n=60) treated as described above for 3 weeks. 1) Control 2) TQ 5mg/kg s.c. M,W,F 3) TQ 20mg/kg s.c. M,W,F 4) Cisplatin 2.5mg/kg i.p. Monday 5) Combination (1): Cis2.5mg/kg/TQ5mg/kg 6) Combination (2): Cis 2.5mg/kg/TQ20mg/kg. Tumor volume and body weight was measured M, W, F for three weeks during the course of study. At (Day 26) mice were sacrificed and tissue samples were obtained for histological analysis Statistical analysis: For statistical analysis we used factorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a p value of Results: Results show that TQ alone at 5mg/kg s.c. M,W, F had no effect on reducing tumor volume in fact mean tumor volume was higher as compared to control but not statistically significant. TQ alone at 20mg/kg was active and reduced tumor volume (p 0.075). Cisplatin alone at 2.5mg/kg reduced tumor volume significantly (p In the combination arm (TQ5mg/kg/Cis 2.5mg/kg) tumor volume was reduced by 59% and (TQ20mg/kg /Cis 2.5mg/kg) tumor volume was reduced T.V by 79% as compared to control. Conclusion: TQ alone and in combination with CDDP significantly reduces tumor volume in a NSCLC mouse xenograft model and should be considered for future clinical development. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5385.
As Foreign Registrants Abandon the U.S. Capital Markets, What Happens to the Cross-Listing Audit Fee Premium?

Foreign firms cross-listing in the U.S. benefited from increased accounting quality and valuation stemming from the historically more stringent accounting and regulatory environment in the U.S. compared to their home markets. Auditors of these foreign firms, also facing this more rigorous reporting regime, charged a cross-listing audit fee premium. However, recent events have caused an increase in these firms leaving U.S. markets. Using a sample of cross-listed firms from 2004-2013 that voluntarily delisted and deregistered from U.S. markets and reporting requirements, we find that deregistration is associated with a decrease in audit fees for firms returning to non-IFRS environments and additional tests show the level of legal liability in the home market, relative to the U.S., is not a significant mitigating factor in this negative association between deregistration and audit fees. These findings indicate that, after controlling for country and legal effects, firms returning to IFRS jurisdictions do not experience a significant change in the complexity of their accounting environments, mitigating the impact of deregistration on audit fees, implying that selected markets outside of the U.S. have established comparable reporting regimes.
Africans into Creoles: Slavery, Ethnicity, and Identity in Colonial Costa Rica

This is an important book about a neglected region of the Spanish American colonial world. The author is a careful scholar who engages with several rich bodies of research, while also writing again...
Impulse Puncture Tests in Air Applied in Line Insulator Detecting Test

The article points out the function and significance of the impulse puncture test in the insulator detection, defines the relationship between the impulse voltage amplitude and the wave front time(steepness) when the surface of the insulator flashovers, reviews different methods adopted in the test applied to the cap and pin insulators, composite insulators and disc composite insulators detection, and the resulted different effect by them. Finally such suggestions are put forward as all kinds of insulator impulse withstand tests are unified by an amplitude method, i.e. detection on cap and pin insulators with the impulse puncture test instead of the power frequency puncture test, specification to interface insulation strength of composite insulators test with axial length measured voltage gradient, evaluation of composite cap and pin insulators with the impulse puncture voltage of standard cap and pin insulators under the same strength.
Optimization Model for the Sustainable Water Resource Management of River Basins

This paper presents a new methodology for the sustainable and optimal allocation of water for a river basin management area. The model distinguishes between short and long-term planning horizons and goals using a short-term modeling component (STM) and a long term modeling component (LTM) respectively. An STM is a linear programming problem, and optimizes a monthly allocation schedule on an annual basis in terms of maximum net economic benefit. A cost of depletion is included in the STM net benefit calculation to address the non-use value of groundwater. An LTM consists of an STM for every year of the long-term planning horizon. Each LTM is quantified using a sustainability index, with sustainability defined in terms of risk to supply and ecological, environmental, and hydrological integrity. The LTMs are optimized to determine the most sustainable net economic benefit for the management area using a genetic algorithm. The model is applied to a test case representative of a management area in Arizona in order to highlight its potential utility.
MicroRNA Function in Muscle Homeostasis and Regenerative Medicine

Abstract Over the course of last decade the knowledge gained regarding microRNA (miRNA) functioning has not only challenged the central dogma of mammalian gene regulation but has opened up new avenues of research into the development and regeneration of tissues. Given their many functions in animal and plant development, miRNAs have the potential to be transformed into candidate drugs that may have wide applications in the immune and cardiovascular system, and in stem cell self-renewal and pluripotency. This chapter highlights these diverse roles with respect to the lineage and specification of skeletal muscle and bone and, where applicable, describes how miRNAs may be used in regenerative therapies for musculo-skeletal diseases.
Inappropriate Medications and Risk of Falls in Older Adults

Among older adults, potentially inappropriate medications have been associated with an increased risk of falls and hip fractures (a proxy measure for serious falls). In addition to the medications listed in other chapters in this book, skeletal muscle relaxants (SMR), antiepileptic drugs (AED), opioids, and combinations of medications affecting the central nervous system (CNS) have been shown to increase the risk of serious falls. Moreover, this increased risk is even more pronounced among older adults with a previous history of falls and hip fractures. This chapter will summarize literature highlighting the specific risks of these medications, with an emphasis on rigorously designed observational studies.