cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Out with the New, In with the Old

Many people wax nostalgic about the 1950s. Cancer researchers may now wish to join their ranks. Jahchan and colleagues use 21st-century computational biology techniques to reveal that tricyclic antidepressants—first discovered in the 1950s—have predicted efficacy against small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). In the treatment of metastatic cancer, small-molecule–based approaches to targeting oncogenic signaling cascades in cancer have had some modest successes. Still, the lengthy and expensive path to regulatory approval of such a drug is fraught with failure, which can occur at any stage of translation. Thus, the repurposing of already approved drugs with their well-characterized side effects and voluminous toxicology data has attracted current drug-development efforts. Repurposed drugs can have a much-accelerated path to approval for a new indication, aided in part by a lower barrier—relative to new drugs—for inclusion in clinical trials for advanced cancer. In addition, successful trial results provide the molecular and conceptual framework for further rational drug design around the parent structure so as to maximize on-target efficacy while minimizing potential dose-limiting toxicities. Using a high-throughput assay and computational biology techniques, Jahchan and colleagues assessed gene-expression profiles in a variety of cell types across multiple diseases before and after individual treatment with a library of U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved drugs. The process generated a computed list of candidate drugs with predicted efficacy against SCLC. Some of the top “hits” from the screen were tricyclic antidepressants. Efficacy against SCLC was subsequently validated in both cell culture and in vivo models of SCLC. Specifically, these drugs induced caspase-dependent apoptosis in lung cancer cell lines and significant tumor growth inhibition (TGI) in vivo (both in transgenic and xenograft models of the disease) through modulation of G protein–coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling. On the basis of the postulated mechanisms of action, the authors tested the drugs on neuroendocrine tumors that express high levels of GPCRs and demonstrated significant tumor growth inhibition and improved survival in a mouse model of pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer. The new work illustrates the power of modern bioinformatics-based drug discovery approaches to unearth new uses for old drugs as therapies for currently untreatable diseases. N. S. Jahchan et al ., A drug repositioning approach identifies tricyclic antidepressants as inhibitors of small cell lung cancer and other neuroendocrine tumors. Cancer Discov ., published online September 2013 (10.1158/2159-8290.CD-13-0183). [[Abstract]][1] [1]: http://cancerdiscovery.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2013/09/16/2159-8290.CD-13-0183.abstract%20
High Conductivity Perfluorosulfonic Acid Nanofiber Composite Fuel-Cell Membranes

There is a need for polymeric hydrogen/air fuel-cell membranes that can efficiently conduct protons at moderate to high temperatures for wet and dry gas feeds. The US Department of Energy (DOE), for example, set an exceedingly stringent preliminary target for membrane conductivity, 0.10 S cm 1 at 1208C and 50 % relative humidity (RH). [1] Herein, we describe the fabrication and basic properties of one membrane that exhibits outstanding proton conductivity over a wide range of humidity conditions at temperatures of 808C and 1208C. The membrane is based on a nanofiber network composite design [2] with precise topological separation of the proton transporting and mechanically reinforcing polymer components. This desirable morphology is created via electrospinning, an electrostatic fiber processing technique that has been known for more than one hundred years and underwent a renaissance in the early 1990s, mainly due to the work of Reneker et al. [3, 4]
AN ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL COMMUNITy DEVELOPMENT NEEDS CRITERIA

Objectives needs criteria adopted by local housing and community development administrators are typically not direct measures of urban blight; rather they are labels for disadvantaged circumstances assumed to be associated with adverse living conditions. This case study of Portland, Oregon, addresses the question of whether such criteria (1) document the actual presence of blighting problems, and (2) can be identified in spatial concentrations for the purpose of geographical targeting. The results of hypothesis tests, correlations, and factor analysis show strong positive relationships among most but not all locally adopted criteria. Findings support the conclusion that the principal benefits test and neighborhood strategy area concept, both integral to the original CDBG program, are still valid.
Mutual information-based 3D surface matching with applications to face recognition and brain mapping

Face recognition and many medical imaging applications require the computation of dense correspondence vector fields that match one surface with another. In brain imaging, surface-based registration is useful for tracking brain change, and for creating statistical shape models of anatomy. Based on surface correspondences, metrics can also be designed to measure differences in facial geometry and expressions. To avoid the need for a large set of manually-defined landmarks to constrain these surface correspondences, we developed an algorithm to automate the matching of surface features. It extends the mutual information method to automatically match general 3D surfaces (including surfaces with a branching topology). We use diffeomorphic flows to optimally align the Riemann surface structures of two surfaces. First, we use holomorphic I-forms to induce consistent conformal grids on both surfaces. High genus surfaces are mapped to a set of rectangles in the Euclidean plane and closed genus-zero surfaces are mapped to the sphere. Next, we compute stable geometric features (mean curvature and conformal factor) and pull them back as scalar fields onto the 2D parameter domains. Mutual information is used as a cost functional to drive a fluid flow in the parameter domain that optimally aligns these surface features. A diffeomorphic surface-to-surface mapping is then recovered that matches surfaces in 3D. Lastly, we present a spectral method that ensures that the grids induced on the target surface remain conformal when pulled through the correspondence field. Using the chain rule, we express the gradient of the mutual information between surfaces in the conformal basis of the source surface. This finite-dimensional linear space generates all conformal reparameterizations of the surface. Illustrative experiments apply the method to face recognition and to the registration of brain structures, such as the hippocampus in 3D MRI scans, a key step in understanding brain shape alterations in Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.
Fluorescence enhancement from nano-gap embedded plasmonic gratings by a novel fabrication technique with HD-DVD

We demonstrate strong electromagnetic field enhancement from nano-gaps embedded in silver gratings for visible wavelengths. These structures fabricated using a store-bought HD-DVD worth $10 and conventional micro-contact printing techniques have shown maximum fluorescence enhancement factors of up to 118 times when compared to a glass substrate under epi-fluorescent conditions. The novel fabrication procedure provides for the development of a cost-effective and facile plasmonic substrate for low-level chemical and biological detection. Electromagnetic field simulations were also performed that reveal the strong field confinement in the nano-gap region embedded in the silver grating, which is attributed to the combined effect of localized as well as propagating surface plasmons.
Involvement in the US criminal justice system and cost implications for persons treated for schizophrenia

Individuals with schizophrenia may have a higher risk of encounters with the criminal justice system than the general population, but there are limited data on such encounters and their attendant costs. This study assessed the prevalence of encounters with the criminal justice system, encounter types, and the estimated cost attributable to these encounters in the one-year treatment of persons with schizophrenia. This post-hoc analysis used data from a prospective one-year cost-effectiveness study of persons treated with antipsychotics for schizophrenia and related disorders in the United States. Criminal justice system involvement was assessed using the Schizophrenia Patients Outcome Research Team (PORT) client survey and the victimization subscale of the Lehman Quality of Life Interview (QOLI). Direct cost of criminal justice system involvement was estimated using previously reported costs per type of encounter. Patients with and without involvement were compared on baseline characteristics and direct annual health care and criminal justice system-related costs. Overall, 278 (46%) of 609 participants reported at least 1 criminal justice system encounter. They were more likely to be substance users and less adherent to antipsychotics compared to participants without involvement. The 2 most prevalent types of encounters were being a victim of a crime (67%) and being on parole or probation (26%). The mean annual per-patient cost of involvement was $1,429, translating to 6% of total annual direct health care costs for those with involvement (11% when excluding crime victims). Criminal justice system involvement appears to be prevalent and costly for persons treated for schizophrenia in the United States. Findings highlight the need to better understand the interface between the mental health and the criminal justice systems and the related costs, in personal, societal, and economic terms.
An improved Spice2 Zener diode model for soft-region simulation capability

A Spice2-compatible reverse diode model is formulated in which improvements are made to reverse low current leakage region. In addition, the diode parasitic series resistance is included in the breakdown region of the model and forces the model parameters IBV and BV to describe the terminal characteristics, as opposed to the internal diode component as in Spice2. The proposed model has been implemented in a special version of Spice2 and the results of the simulations are presented. The results show potential for improved integrated-circuit simulation reliability due to the extended capability of the Zener reference diode model. >
Surgical Excision of the Parotid Salivary Gland for Treatment of a Traumatic Mucocele in a Dog

A 3 yr old spayed female mixed-breed German shepherd dog was presented with a right facial swelling that developed after fighting with another dog. A parotid salivary mucocele was diagnosed via physical examination, fine-needle aspirate, and sialography of the parotid and mandibular salivary glands. Surgical excision of the right parotid salivary gland and duct was performed along with drainage of the mucocele. Neither intraoperative nor postoperative complications occurred, and follow-up examination 4 mo later revealed no evidence of recurrence. Case outcome was considered excellent. Sialography was useful for confirming the parotid gland as the source of the mucocele. Surgical excision of the parotid salivary gland is technically challenging, but an effective treatment option for traumatic mucoceles in the dog.
Cyclopentadienyl ruthenium, rhodium, and iridium vertices in metallaboranes: geometry and chemical bonding.

Most cyclopentadienylmetallaboranes containing the vertex units CpM (M = Co, Rh, Ir; Cp = η 5 -cyclopentadienyl ring, mainly η 5 -Me 5 C 5 ) and CpRu donating two and one skeletal electrons, respectively, have structures closely related to binary boranes or borane anions. Smaller clusters of this type, such as metallaborane analogues of arachno-B 4 H 1 0 (e.g., (Cplr) 2 B 2 H 8 ), nido-B 5 H 9 (e.g., (CpRh) 2 B 3 H 7 and (CpRu) 2 B 3 H 9 ), arachno-B 5 H 1 1 (e.g., CplrB 4 H 1 0 ), B 6 H 6 2- (e.g., (CpCo) 4 B 2 H 4 ), nido-B 6 H 1 0 (e.g., CpIrB 5 H 9 and (CpRu) 2 B 4 H 1 0 ), and arachno-B 6 H 1 2 (e.g., (CpIr) 2 B 4 H 1 0 ), have the same skeletal electron counts as those of the corresponding boranes. However, such clusters with eight or more vertices, such as metallaborane analogues of B 8 H 8 2- (e.g., (CpCo) 4 B 4 H 4 ), arachno-B 8 H 1 4 (e.g., (CpRu) 2 B 6 H 1 2 ), and nido-B 1 0 H 1 4 (e.g., (CpRu) 2 B 8 H 1 2 ), have two skeletal electrons less than those of the corresponding metal-free boranes, analogous to the skeletal electron counts of isocloso boranes relative to those of metal-free deltahedral boranes. Some metallaboranes have structures not analogous to metal-free boranes but instead analogous to metal carbonyl clusters such as 3-capped square pyramidal (CpRu) 2 B 4 H 8 and (CpRu) 3 B 3 H 8 analogous to H 2 Os 6 -(CO) 1 6 and capped octahedral (CpRh) 3 B 4 H 4 analogous to Os 7 (CO) 2 1 . In the metallaborane structures closely related to metal-free boranes, the favored degrees of BH and CpM vertices appear to be 5 and 6, respectively.
Inverting the Transition-to-Proof Classroom.

AbstractIn this paper, we examine the benefits of employing an inverted or “flipped” class design in a Transition-to-Proof course for second-year mathematics majors. The issues concomitant with such courses, particularly student acquisition of “sociomathematical norms” and self-regulated learning strategies, are discussed along with ways that the inverted classroom can address these issues. Finally, results from the redesign of a Transition-to-Poof class at the author’s university are given and discussed.
Analyses of Programmed Cell Death in Dendritic Cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most efficient antigen presenting cells that capture, process and present antigens for the activation of lymphocytes. After differentiation, DCs lose the proliferation potential and undergo high rates of cell death in vivo. Programmed cell death of DCs plays an important role in the maintenance of DC homeostasis. Defective cell death in DCs leads to abnormal DC accumulation, uncontrolled activation of lymphocytes and disruption of immune tolerance (1, 2). Here we describe the methods for determining the rates of cell death of DCs in mice by different in vitro and in vivo, including measuring spontaneous and T cell-induced cell death of DCs, estimating the rates of clearance of DCs in vivo in the absence or presence of antigen-specific T cells by adoptive transfer, as well as determining the rates of half-life of resident DCs in lymphoid organs by BrdU labeling (3-5).
Astrocytes tell neurons when to listen up

Throughout our nervous systems, neurons are faced with an enormous number of inputs, only some of which are relevant for accurate perceptions and appropriate behavior. On page 730 of this issue, Martin et al. ( 1 ) uncover a mechanism through which activation of one neuron temporarily enhances the responsiveness of neighboring neurons of the same type. This allows specific populations of neurons to effectively compare notes about their inputs, increasing the chance that if a group of neurons is activated simultaneously, a signal will propagate and change behavior. It turns out that the cellular machinery required to orchestrate this coordination extends beyond the neurons themselves to the surrounding network of glia, revealing a previously unrealized dimension of cellular specificity within the nervous system.
Government Lawyers and the Making of the Federal Citizen

Scholars of American political development have noted that under some conditions, people of color have gained significant rights advances in the United States during and immediately after wartime crises based upon their crucial contributions to the war effort. This paper considers this process specifically with respect to the period after the Civil War, but looks at how government lawyers marshaled their resources to generate and defend a new conception of national citizenship. However, these ideas played out in two legal spheres: first, in the struggle to articulate and defend black men's rights during Reconstruction, and second, through the struggle to suppress Mormon polygamy, which was understood to be incompatible with American citizenship. The juxtaposition of these two struggles reveals much about how governmental choices to invest resources and to pursue goals relating to federalism shaped emerging ideas about what a citizen was. Gender, race, and the performance of sexualized civic roles greatly affected how the government would reinforce rights and when they would stop these campaigns. The paper is part of a larger project.
Frequency Envelope Modulation (FEM): A Passive Approach to Universal Spectrum Recognition and Network Self-Configuration

Cognitive radio has become a key solution for spectrum utilization issues over the last several years. Much research has focused on coexistence cognitive networks- where secondary users are vying for spectral "white space" when primary users vacate a licensed frequency band. This work will instead focus on an "open spectrum" regime, where there are no primary or secondary users, but all are provided equal access to the available band. Many cognitive medium access control (MAC) layers have been proposed to regulate the use of spectrum in a spectrum sharing regime, but most require the use of a common control channel (CCC) for information exchange. Additionally, while there is much research focusing on the spectrum sensing problem (detecting the presence of unused bands), the problem of spectrum recognition (determining the band of a signal of interest) has not received as much attention. We propose a new modulation scheme, frequency envelope modulation (FEM), that enables the creation of an open, cognitive ad hoc network. This network uses distributed spectrum sensing and information sharing to dispense with the need for a CCC. The effect of FEM on the physical layer is analyzed, as well as the network configuration time using FEM. We show that knowledge sharing via FEM reduces configuration time exponentially compared to uncoordinated scanning.
A Synthetic Method to Evaluate States of Measuring Circuits Based on Multi-Feature Fuzzy Recognition

In view of the restriction in outlay,human resources and operational modes,the maintenance of the secondary circuits for measuring cannot cover all circuits with hidden troubles.To optimize the maintenance and decrease fault probability as possible,a synthetic method to evaluate the status of secondary circuits is proposed.Firstly,the attributive analysis on all parts of secondary circuits is performed,and then all parts of the secondary circuits are classified as mechanical elements and static cells.The states of mechanical action components are estimated by Weibull lifetime distribution;based on fuzzy mathematics the state estimation of static cells is performed while the expert evaluation rules are led in.A standardized typical state model library is established as the reference standard for the evaluation.The score of the state of each link is evaluated and normalized to obtain the array of normalized scores.Finally,referring to standardized typical state model library and using near-selection principle the fuzzy recognition of the secondary circuit to be estimated is carried out.Results of instance analysis show that the proposed method is effective.
Estimating uncertainty models for speech source localization in real-world environments

This thesis develops unproved solutions to the problems of audio source localization and speech source separation in real reverberant environments. For source localization, it develops a new time- and frequency-dependent weighting function for the generalized cross-correlation framework for time delay estimation. This weighting function is derived from the speech spectrogram as the result of a transformation designed to optimally predict localization cue accuracy. By structuring the problem in this way, we take advantage of the nonstationarity of speech in a way that is similar to the psychoacoustics of the precedence effect. For source separation, we use the same weighting function as part of a simple probabilistic generative model of localization cues. We combine this localization cue model with a mixture model of speech log-spectra and use this combined model to do speech source separation. For both source localization and source separation, we show significant performance improvements over existing techniques on both real and simulated data in a range of acoustic environments.
Pancreatic Tumor Growth Prediction With Elastic-Growth Decomposition, Image-Derived Motion, and FDM-FEM Coupling

Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors are abnormal growths of hormone-producing cells in the pancreas. Unlike the brain which is protected by the skull, the pancreas can be significantly deformed by its surrounding organs. Consequently, the tumor shape differences observable from images at different time points arise from both tumor growth and pancreatic motion, and tumor growth model personalization may be compromised if such motion is ignored. Therefore, we incorporate pancreatic motion information derived from deformable image registration in model personalization. For more accurate mechanical interactions between tumor growth and pancreatic motion, elastic-growth decomposition is used with a hyperelastic constitutive law to model the mass effect, which allows growth modeling while conserving the mechanical properties. Furthermore, a way of coupling the finite difference method and the finite element method is proposed to greatly reduce the computation time. With both 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomographic and contrast-enhanced computed tomographic images, functional, structural, and motion data are combined for a patient-specific model. Experiments on synthetic and clinical data show the importance of image-derived motion on estimating pathophysiologically plausible mechanical properties and the promising performance of our framework. From seven patient data sets, the recall, precision, Dice coefficient, relative volume difference, and average surface distance between the personalized tumor growth simulations and the measurements were 83.2 ±8.8%, 86.9 ±8.3%, 84.4 ±4.0%, 13.9 ±9.8%, and 0.6 ±0.1 mm, respectively.
A facial recognition system for matching computerized composite sketches to facial photos using human visual system algorithms

Forensic sketching techniques are a commonly used method to assist law enforcement agencies. With the powerful advances in computer software, computerized composite sketches are more frequently used than hand-drawn sketches because of its efficiency and low-cost. However, there is not much research focused on facial recognition systems for matching computerized composite sketches to facial photos. This problem is addressed by introducing an automatic recognition system for matching computerized facial sketches to face photos utilizing human visual system algorithms, coupled with logarithm Logical Binary Pattern feature descriptors and a new region weighted model. The architecture can quickly find and rank the closest matches of a test image to a database of stored images. The contributions of this paper include: (i) A database containing people of interest with corresponding forensic images and their computerized sketches that will be available for future researchers; (ii) An automatic computerized sketch to facial photo recognition system utilizing human visual system algorithms; (iii) This work will also compare the accuracy between matching forensic photos and matching the composite sketches. The results show the high efficiency and accuracy of the prototype system. The proposed computerized sketch matching facial photo system has potential for many law enforcement and homeland security applications.
Confucianism and Entrepreneurship in ASEAN Context

This chapter explores the role that Confucian culture plays in the expansion of ICT industries in East Asia, particularly Taiwan and China. For over 100 years economists and sociologists have studied and debated the positive and negative influences that Confucian culture exerts on economic development and entrepreneurship. The burst of East Asian economic growth in the late twentieth century furnished a larger body of knowledge to study Confucian entrepreneurship. This chapter aims to show how two unrelated phenomena, the growth of female entrepreneurship and the unrelated issue of intellectual piracy in separate ways throw light on Confucian culture as a stimulant to entrepreneurship. This chapter concludes that the secret to Confucian dynamism lies in how Confucian philosophy educates individuals to respond to low social status and countries to loss of political status.
Reviewing concomitant medications for participants in oncology clinical trials.

Purpose The importance and key components of clinical medication reviews for participants in oncology clinical trials are described, and drug– drug interactions (DDIs) associated with new oncology drug classes are discussed. Summary Use of investigational drugs is a mainstay of adult oncology clinical trials and has led to discovery of new oncology drug classes, including immunotherapy agents and oral targeted therapies, as well as novel chemotherapy delivery methods. As sponsor-supplied DDI information on investigational drugs and drug classes is typically limited and often inconsistent, a clinical medication review to assess the potential for DDIs is recommended for all patients enrolling in oncology clinical trials. A simplified approach to performing such reviews includes (1) evaluating the trial protocol for DDI risks, (2) meeting with the patient face-to-face to perform the review, (3) making medication-related recommendations based on the findings of the patient encounter, and (4) documenting review findings in the medical record. Pharmacists can create a personalized “concomitant-medication review guide” listing key medication-use information in table format to assist other clinicians in preventing and assessing DDIs during a patient’s clinical trial participation. Conclusion Each investigational drug and new drug class in oncology has a unique DDI profile. It is essential that patients be screened for DDI risks prior to clinical trial participation and that pharmacists and clinical investigators have clear guidelines for managing DDIs. Performing a clinical medication review is one approach to simplifying this process and ensuring patient safety.
Demographics in Social Media Data for Public Health Research: Does it matter?

Social media data provides propitious opportunities for public health research. However, studies suggest that disparities may exist in the representation of certain populations (e.g., people of lower socioeconomic status). To quantify and address these disparities in population representation, we need demographic information, which is usually missing from most social media platforms. Here, we propose an ensemble approach for inferring demographics from social media data. Several methods have been proposed for inferring demographic attributes such as, age, gender and race/ethnicity. However, most of these methods require large volumes of data, which makes their application to large scale studies challenging. We develop a scalable approach that relies only on user names to predict gender. We develop three separate classifiers trained on data containing the gender labels of 7,953 Twitter users from Kaggle.com. Next, we combine predictions from the individual classifiers using a stacked generalization technique and apply the ensemble classifier to a dataset of 36,085 geotagged foodborne illness related tweets from the United States. Our ensemble approach achieves an accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score of 0.828, 0.851, 0.852 and 0.837, respectively, higher than the individual machine learning approaches. The ensemble classifier also covers any user with an alphanumeric name, while the data matching approach, which achieves an accuracy of 0.917, only covers 67% of users. Application of our method to reports of foodborne illness in the United States highlights disparities in tweeting by gender and shows that counties with a high volume of foodborne-illness related tweets are heavily overrepresented by female Twitter users.
Cranial Nerve VII Rehabilitation

Jugular paragangliomas (JPs) arise from the paraganglion cells located within the adventitia of the jugular bulb [1]. Although typically slow growing and histologically benign, JPs commonly invade the middle ear, mastoid, and neural compartment of the jugular foramen, thereby causing facial nerve and lower cranial nerve (IX, X, XI, XII) deficits. Furthermore, operative intervention and radiotherapy may also result in cranial nerve deficits, and it is important to be aware of and manage cranial nerve injury to minimize their clinical impact on the patient.
Critical Points and Multicritical Points

A review is presented of the thermodynamic phenomena associated with critical points and, especially, multicritical points, highlighting a few simple but powerful theoretical concepts: nonclassical critical exponents, physical analogies (based on simplified theoretical models), and scaling theory. Ordinary critical points in fluids, fluid mixtures, magnets and superfluids are surveyed briefly. The geometry of critical or lambda lines and critical end points is noted, leading to the phenomenological definition and theoretical analysis of tricritical points. The examples of metamagnets, helium three-four mixtures, and quaternary fluid mixtures are discussed in some detail, including a description of the three-phase monohedron. The occurrence of bicritical points, when two types of ordering compete, is discussed in the context of weakly anisotropic antiferromagnets which exhibit a first order spin flop transition. Scaling predictions for the singular shape of the phase boundaries and their experimental verification are described. More complex three-dimensional phase diagrams arising with the introduction of extra field variables are also exhibited.
Safety, toxicity and activity of multi-kinase inhibitor vandetanib in combination with everolimus in advanced solid tumors.

9073Background: RET gene aberrations have been identified in several types of cancer, including lung, thyroid, colon and breast cancers. Inhibition of RET signaling in preclinical tumor models using vandetanib (VAN), a TKI that targets VEGFR2/EGFR and RET, in combination with everolimus (EV), an mTOR inhibitor, was found to overcome intrinsic and /or acquired tumor resistance to either agent alone, suggesting the combined therapy warrants investigation in patients. Methods: A “3+3” dose escalation and expansion trial was designed to determine the safety, maximum tolerated dose , recommended Phase II dose (RP2D), dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) and activity of VAN+EV in advanced/refractory solid tumors. Tumor responses were assessed by RECIST. The molecular correlates of clinical response were analyzed by next generation sequencing (NGS) and/or FISH if available. Results: Among the 96 pts treated to date, median age was 56 years (18-82 yrs) and 43 pts (45%) were male. Most common diagnoses were sarcoma (20...
Artificial Intelligence in Breast Imaging: Potentials and Limitations

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to discuss potential applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in breast imaging and limitations that may slow or prevent its adoption. CONCLUSION. The ...
An Objective Assessment of the Effect of Anesthetizing the Median Nerve on Lameness Caused by Pain in the Cubital Joint

The median nerve, along with the ulnar nerve, is often anesthetized when performing a lameness examination in horses. Because of the close proximity of the median nerve to the cubital joint, proximal migration of local anesthetic might ameliorate pain originating from the cubital joint. The objective of this study was to determine if a median nerve block will ameliorate lameness caused by pain in the cubital joint. A forelimb lameness was induced in six healthy horses by injecting 100 ng of recombinant equine interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) into the cubital joint. The median nerve of the lame leg was anesthetized using 10 mL of 2% mepivacaine hydrochloride. A successful median nerve block was confirmed by loss of skin sensation at the medial aspect of the pastern and typical changes in thermographic images. Gait was assessed before and at 20, 40, and 60 minutes after the median nerve block using an inertial sensor-based motion analysis system (Lameness Locator; Equinosis LLC, Columbia, MO). A full-factorial repeated measures analysis of variance was used to compare treatment effect across time. IL-1β administration resulted in significant transient lameness in all horses (P < .0001). The median nerve block was successfully performed in all horses and did not result in significant improvement (P = .32) of lameness as quantified by the total differential head vector sum. This result has relevant clinical application as it suggests when performing a lameness examination, it is unlikely that blocking the median nerve with 10 mL of local anesthetic will ameliorate pain originating from the cubital joint.
The Advanced Photon Source Upgrade Plan Approved

While the Advance Photon Source (APS) continues with outstanding accelerator performance and supporting a productive research program, the APS is looking to the future. To stay at the leading edge ...
A revision of the Phelister haemorrhous species group (Coleoptera, Histeridae, Exosternini).

The Phelisterhaemorrhous species group is established here, revising the seventeen included species, four of which are described as new. This group is named for and contains the type species of Phelister, so represents a core around which a modern concept of the dumping-ground genus Phelister may be developed. The group includes several common and well-known species in the Americas, including some of the only Phelister to exhibit distinctive coloration. Several of these are typically found in cattle dung, and have likely expanded beyond their native ranges as cattle spread throughout the Americas. The group contains the following species: Phelisterhaemorrhous Marseul, 1854, Phelisteraffinis J.E. LeConte, 1859, Phelisterparallelisternus Schmidt, 1893, Phelistermobilensis Casey, 1916, Phelisterbrevistriatus Casey, 1916, Phelistersonoraesp. nov., Phelisterwarnerisp. nov., Phelisterpuncticollis Hinton, 1935, Phelistersubrotundus (Say, 1825), Phelisterrouzeti (Fairmaire, 1850), Phelisterrufinotus Marseul, 1861, Phelisterthiemei Schmidt, 1889, Phelisterparecissp. nov., Phelisterbryantisp. nov., Phelistervernus (Say, 1825), Phelisterchilicola Marseul, 1870, and Phelisterbruchi Bickhardt, 1920. We also designate the following new synonymies: Phelisterhaemorrhous Marseul (= Phelisterrubicundus Marseul, 1889, syn. nov.); Phelistersubrotundus (= Phelistercontractus Casey, 1916, syn nov.); Phelisterrouzeti (Fairmaire) (= Phelisterfairmairei Marseul, 1861; syn. nov., = Phelisterwickhami Casey, 1916, syn. nov.); Phelisterrufinotus Marseul, 1861 (= Epierusmarseulii Kirsch, 1873, syn. nov.); and Phelisterthiemei Schmidt, 1889 (= Phelisterstercoricola Bickhardt, 1909, syn. nov.).
Coinduction of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor release and lymphokine-activated killer cell susceptibility in monocytes by interleukin-2 via interleukin-2 receptor beta

Human monocytes express interleukin-2 receptor beta (IL-2R beta) constitutively; however, the function of these receptors has not been fully delineated. We discovered that IL-2R beta directs two biologic activities in human monocytes, the release of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and increased susceptibility to lysis by lymphokine-activated killer cells (LAK) cells. Human monocytes were purified from peripheral blood mononuclear cells by plastic adherence and anti-CD2 plus complement lysis. By a 5-hour 51Cr-release assay, monocytes cultured in IL-2 were found to gain increasing susceptibility to LAK cells with time and this effect was dose dependent. Maximal susceptibility was obtained with a 4-day culture in 1,000 U/mL of IL-2. Monocytes were also found to release GM-CSF in response to IL-2 using a CSF-dependent cell line, Mo7e. Because IL-2- induced GM-CSF release coincides with LAK lysis of IL-2-cultured monocytes, we treated monocytes with anti-GM-CSF and anti-IL-2R beta to determine whether GM-CSF release and LAK susceptibility were dependent or independent events. We found that both phenomena were inhibited by either antibody. Therefore, we conclude that IL-2-induced release of GM- CSF is mediated by IL-2R beta, which then acts to modulate the susceptibility of monocytes to lysis by LAK cells.
Characterization of penumbra sharpening and scattering by adaptive aperture for a compact pencil beam scanning proton therapy system

PURPOSE To quantitatively access penumbra sharpening and scattering by adaptive aperture (AA) under various beam conditions and clinical cases for a Mevion S250i compact pencil beam scanning proton therapy system. METHODS First, in-air measurements were performed using a scintillation detector for single spot profile and lateral penumbra for five square field sizes (3 × 3 to 18 × 18 cm2 ), three energies (33.04, 147.36, and 227.16 MeV), and three snout positions (5, 15, and 33.6 cm) with Open and AA field. Second, treatment plans were generated in RayStation treatment planning system (TPS) for various combination of target size (3- and 10-cm cube), target depth (5, 10, and 15 cm) and air gap (5-20 cm) for both Open and AA field. These plans were delivered to EDR2 films in the solid water and penumbra reduction by AA was quantified. Third, the effect of the AA scattered protons on the surface dose was studied at 5 mm depth by EDR2 film and the RayStation TPS computation. Finally, dosimetric advantage of AA over Open field was studied for five brain and five prostate cases using the TPS simulation. RESULTS The spot size changed dramatically from 3.8 mm at proton beam energy of 227.15 MeV to 29.4 mm at energy 33.04 MeV. In-air measurements showed that AA substantially reduced the lateral penumbra by 30% to 60%. The EDR2 film measurements in solid water presented the maximum penumbra reduction of 10 to 14 mm depending on the target size. The maximum increase of 25% in field edge dose at 5 mm depth as compared to central axis was observed. The substantial penumbra reduction by AA produced less dose to critical structures for all the prostate and brain cases. CONCLUSIONS Adaptive aperture sharpens the penumbra by factor of two to three depending upon the beam condition. The absolute penumbra reduction with AA was more noticeable for shallower target, smaller target, and larger air gap. The AA-scattered protons contributed to increase in surface dose. Clinically, AA reduced the doses to critical structures.
Midwest Suction Trap Network

The Midwest Suction Trap Network was described in some detail in an earlier report from the Iowa State University Northeast Research and Demonstration Farm. This report is available online at: http://www.ag.iastate.edu/farms/10reports/Northeast/SuctionTrapNetwork.pdf. The Network has continued through the 2014 growing season with support from the North Central Soybean Research Program and soybean research programs from most of the Midwestern states. Currently, there is no funding to continue operating this network of suction traps, although a proposal to keep it operating for another three years has been submitted.
Kalman filter for discrete implicit systems

For an implicitly defined discrete system, a new implicit form of the Kalman filter is developed and an efficient numerical approach for its implementation is given. Unlike the traditional explicit approach, the implicit filter can be applied to ill-conditioned systems. It is shown that when the system matrices of an implicit system are sparse, the implicit Kalman filter requires significantly less computer time and storage to implement than the traditional explicit Kalman filter. Simulation results are presented to illustrate and substantiate the theoretical developments.
Favourable long‐term outcomes with brachytherapy‐based regimens in men ≤60 years with clinically localized prostate cancer

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Brachytherapy (BT)-based treatment for clinically localized prostate cancer is a well-accepted treatment strategy; however, there is concern that long-term outcomes and morbidity may not be acceptable in young patients (≤60 years). We report our long-term experience with BT in men aged ≤ 60 years with a minimum of 2 years of post-treatment follow-up. Our results show low treatment-related morbidity and excellent long-term outcomes with BT-based treatment and suggest that such treatment should be offered to this patient population. Objective To report long-term outcomes of men ≤60 years treated with brachytherapy (BT) for low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer. Patients and Methods Of 1655 patients treated with BT for clinically localized prostate cancer between January 1998 and May 2008 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 236 patients with National Comprehensive Cancer Network low- (n = 178) or intermediate-risk (n = 58) prostate cancer were ≤60 years old with a 3-year minimum follow-up, and represent the subjects of this report. Brachytherapy was given either as monotherapy (n = 169) or with external beam radiation therapy (EBRT; n = 67). Forty-four patients (19%) received neoadjuvant cytoreductive hormone therapy. The ‘nadir+2’ definition was used for prostate-specific antigen (PSA) recurrence. Common Terminology Criteria for Acute Events (CTCAE) v 3.0 was used to grade genitourinary (GU) and gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity. Potency was defined as the ability to obtain an erection suitable for intercourse or an International Index of Erectile Function score ≥ 22. The Kaplan–Meier method and Cox regression were used for statistical analysis. The median follow-up was 83 months. Results The 8-year PSA relapse-free survival (RFS), cancer-specific and overall survival rates for the entire cohort were 96, 99 and 96%, respectively. For patients with low-risk disease, the 8-year PSA RFS rate was 97% and for intermediate-risk patients it was 94% (P = 0.34). There was no difference in PSA RFS between BT alone and combined therapy (P = 0.17). Late grade ≥ 2 GU and GI toxicity was 14 and 3%, respectively. Of 150 patients potent before treatment, 76 (51%) were potent at last follow-up, with 50/76 (66%) using no medication. There was no significant difference in post-treatment potency between BT alone and BT with EBRT (P = 0.74). Conclusions Brachytherapy provides patients aged ≤ 60 years with low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer with excellent outcomes and has a low risk of significant long-term GU or GI morbidity. Erectile function is preserved in >50% of patients and the majority do not require erectile dysfunction medication.
Molecular archeological studies of transmembrane transport systems

We here review studies concerned with the evolutionary pathways taken for the appearance of complex transport systems. The transmembrane protein constituents of these systems generally arose by (1) intragenic duplications, (2) gene fusions, and (3) the superimposition of enzymes onto carriers. In a few instances, we have documented examples of “reverse” or “retrograde” evolution where complex carriers have apparently lost parts of their polypeptide chains to give rise to simpler channels. Some functional superfamilies of transporters that are energized by adenosine triphosphate (ATP) or phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) include several independently evolving permease families. The ubiquitous ATP-binding cassette (ABC) superfamily couples transport to ATP hydrolysis where the ATPases are superimposed on at least three distinct, independently evolving families of permeases. The prokaryotic sugar transporting phosphotransferase system (PTS) uses homologous PEP-dependent general energy-coupling phosphoryl transfer enzymes superimposed on at least three independently arising families of permeases to give rise to complex group translocators that modify their sugar substrates during transport, releasing cytoplasmic sugar phosphates. We suggest that simple carriers evolved independently of the energizing enzymes, and that chemical energization of transport resulted from the physical and functional coupling of the enzymes to the carriers.
OpenSeminar: Web-based Collaboration Tool for Open Educational Resources

Today, it is common for university instructors to compile links to online resources for the courses they teach, either as a supplement to a textbook, reading packet or, in some cases, as a replacement. Finding resources and keeping them up to date is time consuming. Instructors who teach similar subjects at different universities might benefit from working together to compile and share online resources for their courses. This paper describes a tool for sharing instructional materials called OpenSeminar. The purpose of OpenSeminar is to facilitate the structured compilation of open, online resources among a group of collaborators who share a common area of interest. Using OpenSeminar, the selection of resources can be customized and deployed to meet the specific needs of each professor. OpenSeminar adopts an editorial peer review framework to ensure content quality control. An illustration of OpenSeminar in the field of software engineering is provided
Market Structure and Heterogeneous Traders" Strategies within an Environment of Information Asymmetry

This paper aims at containing the puzzle of heterogeneous strategies of several operators on tunisian securities market, in an asymmetric information framework. We attempt to explore to what extent unlike information does shape the reactions and behaviors when operating over such a market. Moreover, we highlight the fact that when uncertainty is ruling the market, much of its operators are irrational and accordingly their transacting loose reason and wisdom. Our objective is to test whether irrationality may lead to such an excessive volatility, which paves the way towards our empirical investigation driven on the tunisian stock market data for the period (1969-2005) through the Shiller (2001) variance bounds tests. The results show such a dramatically violation of all the three inequalities and then an excessive volatility within stock returns.
Assessment of medium voltage distribution feeders under high penetration of PV generation

With an increasing number of PV penetrations at the distribution system, the impact on the distribution system is no longer negligible. The complexity of impact assessment comes from the increasing installation capacities and variety of control of PV generators as well. Steady state models are developed for PV plants working on three different reactive power modes in this paper. To assess the impact of PV injection at different capacities, different locations and different operation modes on system voltage profile and power loss, sensitivity indices for system voltage variation and system power loss increase over active power injected by solar generators are proposed separately. The accuracy of these sensitivity indices are proven by calculation results from MATLAB and simulation results from PSS/E of a 12kV distribution system.
Statement by the Chairperson of the Committee Against Torture to the64th Session of the General Assembly

It is an honor, as Chairperson of the Committee against Torture, to address this General Assembly for the first time since the establishment of the Committee against Torture in 1988. This address coincides with a special occasion, the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on December 10, 2009, as the Convention was adopted by this Assembly in 1984.