cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MO‐D‐BRC‐06: A Multi‐Exposure Approach to Improve Image Quality for Linac‐Based Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT)

Purpose: Recently we demonstrated the use of a 1‐D grid placed between the source and patient to directly reduce scatter, and correct the remaining scatter in cone‐beam computed tomography(CBCT). However, that technique required two 360° gantry rotations to acquire an entire image dataset. The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility and potential improvements of a multi‐exposure approach, which takes two or more partial projections at each gantry position with a rapidly oscillating grid to acquire the full dataset in one rotation. Methods: A Trilogy CBCT system was used for the experiment. Grids with various septa‐to‐interspace‐ratios (SIR) were tested. A grid with higher SIR may reduce scatter more effectively, but requires a larger number of exposures at each gantry position for full projection data. The multi‐exposure technique was simulated using multiple rotations, with the grid manually shifted after each rotation with a distance equal to the grid interspace, instead of multiple exposures at each gantry position, with the grid shifted after each exposure. Scatter‐to‐primary‐ratio (SPR) was measured and compared for various object thicknesses and grids with various SIRs. CBCTimages were reconstructed after scatter correction for two grids with SIR of 1 and 3, corresponding to 2 and 4 exposures at each gantry position, and compared with conventional CBCT. Results: SPR was reduced linearly with increasing SIR. The scatter artifacts were removed after scatter correction for both grids. The contrast‐to‐noise‐ratios (CNRs) of three phantom inserts with different densities were 20.5, 13.2, and 6.9 for conventional CBCT. The corresponding CNRs were improved to 23.5, 15.8, and 7.9 with the grid of SIR=1, and to 27.2, 18.3, and 8.7 with the grid of SIR=3. Conclusion: Initial results suggest that the multi‐exposure approach may improve CBCTimage quality by removing scatter artifacts, increasing CNR without increasing scanning time.
On the 1-Cohomology of Finite Groups of Lie Type

For each simply connected semisimple algebraic groupGdefined and split over the prime field Fp, we establish a uniform bound onnabove which all of the first cohomology groups with values in the simple modules for the finite groupG(n) are determined by those for the algebraic groupG(Fp).
Domain-specific early and late function of Dpatj in Drosophila photoreceptor cells

The formation and maintenance of cell polarity is essential for epithelial morphogenesis. Dpatj (Drosophila homolog of mammalian Patj) is a multi-PDZ domain protein that localizes to the apical cell membrane and forms a protein complex with cell polarity proteins, Crumbs (Crb) and Stardust (Sdt). Whereas Crb and Sdt are known to be required for the organization of adherens junctions (AJs) and rhabdomeres in differentiating photoreceptors, the in vivo function of Dpatj as a member of the Crb complex in developing eye has been unclear due to the lack of loss-of-function mutations specifically affecting the dpatj gene. Our genetic analysis of hypomorph, null, and RNA interference reveals distinct dual functions of Dpatj in developing and mature photoreceptors. The C-terminal region (PDZ domains 2-4) of Dpatj is not essential for development of the animal but is required to prevent late-onset photoreceptor degeneration. In contrast, the N-terminal region of Dpatj is essential for animal viability and photoreceptor morphogenesis during development. The localization and maintenance of Crb and Sdt in the apical photoreceptor membrane are strongly affected by reduced levels of Dpatj. Dpatj is necessary for proper positioning of AJs and the integrity of photoreceptors in the developing retina as well as for the maintenance of adult photoreceptors. Our study provides evidence that Dpatj has domain-specific early and late functions in regulating the localization and stability of the Crb-Sdt complex in photoreceptor cells.
Serum antioxidants and inflammation predict red cell distribution width in older women: The Women's Health and Aging Study I

Summary Background & aims Red cell distribution width (RDW), a measure of heterogeneity in the size of circulating erythrocytes, is associated with some chronic diseases and predicts mortality. Although oxidative damage and inflammation have been theorized to affect RDW, the relationships of antioxidants and inflammation with RDW have not been well characterized. The aims were to determine whether total serum carotenoids, α-tocopherol, selenium, protein carbonyls, and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are associated with RDW and predict RDW over time. Methods RDW was measured at baseline, 12 months, and 24 months follow-up in 786 moderately to severely disabled community-dwelling women, aged ≥65 years, in the Women's Health and Aging Study I in Baltimore, Maryland. Results Selenium was significantly associated with RDW at baseline and predicted RDW over two years' follow-up in separate multivariate mixed-effects models that adjusted for other covariates. As expected, the addition of IL-6 to the models attenuated the association of serum selenium with RDW, as low antioxidant levels are known to upregulate IL-6. Total carotenoids were associated with RDW at baseline and one year follow-up. Protein carbonyls and α-tocopherol were not significantly associated with RDW. Conclusion Serum selenium is an independent predictor of RDW and may potentially mediate effects on RDW through IL-6.
Presynaptic N-type Calcium Channels Regulate Synaptic Growth

Voltage-gated calcium channels couple changes in membrane potential to neuronal functions regulated by calcium, including neurotransmitter release. Here we report that presynaptic N-type calcium channels not only control neurotransmitter release but also regulate synaptic growth at Drosophila neuromuscular junctions. In a screen for behavioral mutants that disrupt synaptic transmission, an allele of the N-type calcium channel locus (Dmca1A) was identified that caused synaptic undergrowth. The underlying molecular defect was identified as a neutralization of a charged residue in the third S4 voltage sensor. RNA interference reduction of N-type calcium channel expression also reduced synaptic growth. Hypomorphic mutations in syntaxin-1A or n-synaptobrevin, which also disrupt neurotransmitter release, did not affect synapse proliferation at the neuromuscular junction, suggesting calcium entry through presynaptic N-type calcium channels, not neurotransmitter release per se, is important for synaptic growth. The reduced synapse proliferation in Dmca1A mutants is not due to increased synapse retraction but instead reflects a role for calcium influx in synaptic growth mechanisms. These results suggest N-type channels participate in synaptic growth through signaling pathways that are distinct from those that mediate neurotransmitter release. Linking presynaptic voltage-gated calcium entry to downstream calcium-sensitive synaptic growth regulators provides an efficient activity-dependent mechanism for modifying synaptic strength.
Arrest Trial and Failure

It is time to examine some of the common language used in our specialty and to update that language to reflect women's health care as it exists today and will exist in the future.
ARG1 and ARL2 form an actin-based gravity-signaling chaperone complex in root statocytes?

Plants are acutely sensitive to the directional information provided by gravity. They have evolved statocytes, which are specialized cells that sense gravity and, upon integration of the corresponding information with that of other environmental stimuli, control the growth behavior of their organs. The cellular mechanisms that allow statocytes to sense and transduce gravitational information likely involve detecting the sedimentation of, or the tension/pressure exerted by, starch-filled amyloplasts—the presumptive statoliths—within their cytoplasm. Gravity signaling in root statocytes controls the direction of transport of signaling compounds, especially auxin, across the root cap, establishing a lateral gradient that is transmitted to cells in the elongation zone and results in gravitropic curvature. The Arabidopsis J-domain proteins ARG1 and ARL2 function as gravity-signal transducers in root statocytes. In the January issue of The Plant Journal, we reported that ARG1 and ARL2 function non-redundantly in a common gravity signaling pathway required for accumulation of the auxin efflux facilitator PIN3 on the new bottom side of statocytes following gravity stimulation, and lateral redistribution of auxin toward the new lower flank of stimulated roots. Here we present data suggesting that ARG1 physically associates with ARL2, the J-domain co-chaperone HSC70, and actin in vivo. We briefly discuss potential mechanisms by which ARG1 and ARL2 might function in gravity signaling in light of this information.
Using patient perceptions of relative benefit and enjoyment to assess auditory training.

Background Patients seeking treatment for hearing-related communication difficulties are often disappointed with the eventual outcomes, even after they receive a hearing aid or a cochlear implant. One approach that audiologists have used to improve communication outcomes is to provide auditory training (AT), but compliance rates for completing AT programs are notoriously low.
Characterization of HTT inclusion size, location, and timing in the zQ175 mouse model of Huntington's disease: an in vivo high-content imaging study.

Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by a CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene. Major pathological hallmarks of HD include inclusions of mutant huntingtin (mHTT) protein, loss of neurons predominantly in the caudate nucleus, and atrophy of multiple brain regions. However, the early sequence of histological events that manifest in region- and cell-specific manner has not been well characterized. Here we use a high-content histological approach to precisely monitor changes in HTT expression and characterize deposition dynamics of mHTT protein inclusion bodies in the recently characterized zQ175 knock-in mouse line. We carried out an automated multi-parameter quantitative analysis of individual cortical and striatal cells in tissue slices from mice aged 2–12 months and confirmed biochemical reports of an age-associated increase in mHTT inclusions in this model. We also found distinct regional and subregional dynamics for inclusion number, size and distribution with subcellular resolution. We used viral-mediated suppression of total HTT in the striatum of zQ175 mice as an example of a therapeutically-relevant but heterogeneously transducing strategy to demonstrate successful application of this platform to quantitatively assess target engagement and outcome on a cellular basis.
Effects of alternative sample space representations on the accuracy of auditors' uncertainty judgments☆

Abstract Elicitation of an auditor's uncertainty judgment for an account requires a focus on either possible audit values or possible book value misstatements. These alternative sample space representations are formally equivalent in that they differ by a known constant (i.e. book value). However, findings in the psychological literature suggest that such a framing variable may affect auditors' information processing when uncertainty judgments are elicited. This paper describes an experiment which measured the effects of alternative sample space representations on the accuracy of auditors' uncertainty judgments. In contrast with the psychological literature, significant judgment accuracy differences were not detected. Potential reasons for and implications of this result are discussed.
Electronic passivation of silicon surfaces by halogens

We report the electronic passivation of a silicon surface by iodine termination. The resulting surface recombination velocity on Si(100) is less than 1 cm/s which is better than that obtained in concentrated hydrofluoric acid (HF). We have produced a surface recombination velocity of 20 cm/s using bromine. We present a simple model for these phenomena of a surface coverage of Si-X where X is a monovalently bonded halogen atom. The effectiveness of the passivation by halogens is shown to be limited by the oxidation of halogens by dissolved oxygen in solution. We demonstrate the use of halogen:methanol solutions as an alternative to HF for the control of silicon surface chemistry.
Enhanced vaccine control of epidemics in adaptive networks

We study vaccine control for disease spread on an adaptive network modeling disease avoidance behavior. Control is implemented by adding Poisson-distributed vaccination of susceptibles. We show that vaccine control is much more effective in adaptive networks than in static networks due to feedback interaction between the adaptive network rewiring and the vaccine application. When compared to extinction rates in static social networks, we find that the amount of vaccine resources required to sustain similar rates of extinction are as much as two orders of magnitude lower in adaptive networks.
Shifting Players and Paradigms in Cell-Specific Transcription

Historically, developmental-stage- and tissue-specific patterns of gene expression were assumed to be determined primarily by DNA regulatory sequences and their associated activators, while the general transcription machinery including core promoter recognition complexes, coactivators, and chromatin modifiers was held to be invariant. New evidence suggests that significant changes in these general transcription factors including TFIID, BAF, and Mediator may facilitate global changes in cell-type-specific transcription.
Autosomal dominant hypoparathyroidism with variable, age-dependent severity.

Hypoparathyroidism (hypocalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, mild hypomagnesemia, and inappropriately low serum C-terminal parathyroid hormone concentration) was found in six members of a family representing three successive generations. No patient had aortic arch or conotruncal malformations, lymphopenia, or features of type I or type II autoimmune polyglandular syndromes. Two individuals had transient neonatal seizures without further difficulties despite persistent hypocalcemia. None of the four affected adults had had major complications of hypoparathyroidism (mental retardation, cataracts, or seizures). We believe that persistence of hypoparathyroidism after resolution of neonatal hypocalcemic seizures should prompt a survey of the family for hypoparathyroidism
Anatomy of the Thoracic Pedicle

Thoracic pedicle anatomy (interpedicular distance, transverse and sagittal pedicle widths, transverse and sagittal pedicle angles, and the distance from the axis of the pedicle to the axis of the transverse process) was assessed in 11 cadavers of elderly people. The cadaveric spines were extensively dissected to augment the accuracy of the measurements via caliper and goniometer. The results were compared with those of previous studies that assessed pedicle anatomy with computed tomography, direct measurement, and three-dimensional morphometry. Between the studies, significant differences were found in transverse pedicle width and transverse and sagittal pedicle angles. These morphometric differences may reflect either the diversity of the techniques used to measure the pedicle anatomy or sampling variation. This article presents a previously unreported morphometric finding, the rostral-caudal distance from the thoracic pedicle to the midpoint of the base of the transverse process. At T1, the transverse process is 5.45 +/- 1.2 mm rostral to the pedicle. This relationship gradually changes as the thoracic spine is descended, so that at T12, the transverse process is 6.6 +/- 2.4 mm caudal to the pedicle. Crossover consistently occurs at the T6-T7 region. Although the transverse process is a reliable external landmark for the location of the pedicle in the lumbar spine, this relationship in the thoracic spine is variable and only moderately predictable.
Tuberculosis Control and the AIDS Epidemic in Developing Countries

Excerpt The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic poses profound problems for the control of tuberculosis in developing countries. Even though tuberculous infection and tuberculosis ar...
Recent changes of east‐coast rainfall regimes

New data are given which extend from 1941 to 1960 an earlier study (Kraus 1955). The analysis suggests a return to wetter conditions in low-latitude east-coast regions, after a drier period which persisted through nearly half a century. This change appears to be paralleled by the recurrence of lower mean temperatures in higher latitudes.
Pharmacologic therapy for diabetic retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy remains one of the major causes of acquired blindness in developed nations. This is true despite the development of laser treatment, which can prevent blindness in the majority of those who develop macular oedema (ME) or proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR). ME is manifest by retinal vascular leakage and thickening of the retina. The hallmark of PDR is neovascularisation (NV)--abnormal angiogenesis that may ultimately cause severe vitreous cavity bleeding and/or retinal detachment. Pharmacologic therapy aimed specifically at preventing vascular leakage and NV would be a welcome addition to the armamentarium. PDR and ME could be prevented by improved metabolic control or by pharmacologically blunting the biochemical consequences of hyperglycaemia (e.g., with aldose reductase inhibitors, inhibitors of non-enzymatic glycation or by protein kinase C [PKC] inhibition). The angiogenesis in PDR could be treated via growth factor (e.g., vascular endothelial growth factor [VEGF], insulin like growth factor-1 [IGF-1]) blockade, integrin (e.g., alpha-v beta-3) blockade, extracellular matrix alteration (e.g., with steroid compounds) or interference with intracellular signal transduction pathways (e.g., PKC and mitogen activated protein kinase [MAPK] pathway proteins). Some of these antiangiogenic agents may also prove useful for treating or preventing ME. Numerous potentially useful antiangiogenic compounds are in development; two drugs are presently in clinical trials for treatment of the preproliferative stage of PDR, while two are in clinical trials for treatment of ME.
Time evolution and temperatures of hypervelocity impact‐generated tracks in aerogel

Aerogel collectors have been used to capture cometary, interplanetary, and interstellar dust grains by NASA's Stardust mission, highlighting their importance as a scientific instrument. Due to the fragile and heterogeneous nature of cometary dust grains, their fragments are found along the walls of tracks that are formed during the capture process. These fragments appear to experience a wide range of thermal alteration and the causes of this variation are not well understood at a theoretical level as physical models of track formation are not well developed. Here, a general model of track formation that allows for the existence of partially and completely vaporized aerogel material in tracks is developed. It is shown that under certain conditions, this general track model reduces to the kinetic "snowplow" model that has previously been proposed. It is also shown, based on energetic considerations, that track formation is dominated by an expansion that is snowplow-like in the later stages of track formation. The equation of motion for this snowplow-like stage can be solved analytically, thus placing constraints on the amount of heating experienced by cometary dust fragments embedded in track walls. It is found that the heating of these fragments, for a given impact velocity, is expected to be greater for those embedded in larger tracks. Given the expected future use of aerogels for sample return missions, the results presented here imply that the choice of aerogel compositions can have a significant effect on the modification of samples captured and retrieved by these collectors.
Is review of videotape necessary after review of digitized cine-loop images in stress echocardiography? A prospective study in 306 patients

The interpretation of stress echocardiography has been made easier by the comparison of digitized prestress and poststress frame-grabbed images (cine-loops), each representing a portion of a single cardiac cycle. Often, review of these digitized images is substituted for review of the complete videotape record of the examination. An alternative is to review both the digitized images as well as the videotape record of the rest and stress images. To date, there has been insufficient documentation of whether these options (cine-loop images alone versus cine-loop images plus videotape) provide comparable or additive information. Therefore, we prospectively evaluated information obtained from review of cine-loop images versus combined review of cine-loop images and videotape records in 306 consecutive patients undergoing treadmill (213 patients, 70%) or dobutamine (93 patients, 30%) stress echocardiography. An experienced echocardiologist first reviewed the cine-loop images and scored the wall motion in 16 segments at rest and with stress. Next, the complete videotape record was reviewed with repeated wall motion scoring. A questionnaire comparing cine-loop and videotape images was completed at the end of each review. Digitization of images was technically inadequate in 14 patients (4%). In 116 (40%) of the other 292 patients, the regional wall motion assessment, after relying solely on cine-loop images, was modified with subsequent videotape review. In 40 patients (14%), these modifications resulted in a change in the final impression regarding whether the study result was normal or abnormal. In a multivariate analysis, age, gender, and type of stress echocardiography had no significant influence on discordance of the cine-loop image and combined cine-loop and video information. Stepwise logistic regression analysis identified poorer image quality (p < 0.0001) and regional wall motion abnormalities (p < 0.0001) as predictors of discordance between cine-loop and combined review. We conclude that relying solely on digitized cine-loop images representing a single cardiac cycle is not optimal, especially if the quality of the digitized images is suboptimal and if regional wall motion abnormalities are present. Thus we recommend a combined review of both cine-loop images and videotape images in the interpretation of stress echocardiography.
Decentralized Robust Control for Large-Scale Uncertain Systems: A Design Based on the Bound of Uncertainty

A class of large-scale linear uncertain systems is under consideration. The uncertainty is time-varying. No a priori deterministic or stochastic information is assumed except its possible bound. Decentralized robust control for each subsystem is proposed. The salient feature of the design is that it decomposes the internal uncertainty and the interconnection. This enables the structural property of the uncertainty to be incorporated in the design. An adaptive version of the decentralized robust control is also proposed as no input matrix uncertainty appears.
Molecular Weight Dependence of the Rotational Diffusivity of Rodlike Polymers in Concentrated Nematic Solutions

The dynamics of rodlike polymer molecules in the nematic phase are mainly controlled by the rotational diffusivity, Dr, which is highly sensitive to molecular weight. However, few experimental dete...
PARAMETRIC RANDOM EXCITATION. I: EXPONENTIALLY CORRELATED PARAMETERS.

The problem of a simple harmonic oscillator under parametric and nonhomogeneous random excitation is investigated. The governing differential equation is recast as an integral equation, and the solution is taken to be in the form of an infinite sum. The specific case considered here assumes stiffness and force to be modeled as stationary, Gaussian, nonwhite random processes. An iterative solution scheme is set up, and a symbolic manipulation code MACSYMA is used to generate the first three nonzero terms in the series. Approximate expressions are derived for the mean value and spectral density of the oscillator response. In order to obtain some measures for the validity of the method, a Monte Carlo simulation is performed. An important conclusion is that a one‐term “correction” can provide a good measure of the effect of system randomness on output statistics. In a companion paper (5), these methods are used to derive exact closed‐form solutions for the case where the system parameter is a white‐noise proc...
Foodborne disease in our global village: a multinational investigation of an outbreak of Salmonella serotype Enteritidis phage type 4 infection in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Abstract Objectives: In late 1996, a multinational investigation was launched following an outbreak of diarrheal illness that caused the disruption of an international scientific conference at a first-class hotel in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to all American and to selected international attendees. Additional copies of the questionnaire were provided for any family members who may have attended the conference. A case was defined as an illness with three or more loose stools during a 24-h period in a conference attendee or accompanying family member, with illness lasting 2 or more days and onset between 6 and 9 November 1996. Results: Questionnaires were returned by 81% (232/288) of American attendees, 47% (18/38) selected international attendees, and 25 family members; 30% (83/275) of respondents met the case definition. Ill persons resided in at least seven countries. Salmonella serotype Enteritidis phage type 4 was isolated from stool specimens from patients residing in Canada, the UK, and the USA. Attending a hotel banquet on 6 November was associated with illness; 42% (82/194) of banquet attendees became ill versus 3% (1/37) of non-attendees (relative risk (RR)=15.6, 95% confidence interval (CI)=2.3–108.9). The only banquet food item associated with illness was chili rellenos; 53% (58/109) of persons who ate chili rellenos were ill versus 22% (12/55) of those who did not (RR=2.4, 95% CI=1.4-4.1). Chili rellenos ingredients included shelled eggs and cheese; Salmonella was isolated from the leftover cheese but the isolate was not serotyped. Conclusions: Salmonella may be a cause of traveler's diarrhea and can result in outbreaks even among travelers who follow routine precautions (i.e. staying in a first-class hotel and eating hot foods). International collaboration in investigating similar outbreaks, including sharing subtyping results, will be necessary for long-term prevention. Global Salm-Surv, an international network of Salmonella reference laboratories coordinated by the World Health Organization, may facilitate such collaboration.
Cooperation Theory and Disarmament Negotiations in the 1950s

Soviet-American disarmament negotiations of the mid-1950s provide a critical case for evaluating theories of cooperation such as Tit-for-Tat and GRIT. Although both sides were close to agreement on the main terms of a treaty by May 1955, the negotiations were ultimately unsuccessful. On the basis of declassified U.S. documents, it now appears that the U.S. did not favor an agreement at the time: thus the game was not Prisoners' Dilemma, but Deadlock. The case reinforces the criticism of Tit-for-Tat that its unitary actor assumption ignores domestic second-image pressures for arming, and it also calls into question “first-image” explanations, such as GRIT, that focus on individual cognitive barriers to cooperation. The importance of understanding the links between internal political coalitions and external bargaining strategies is emphasized.
Semisupervised learning of mixture models with class constraints

Most prior work on semisupervised clustering/mixture modeling with given class constraints assumes the number of classes is known, with each learned cluster assumed to be a class and, hence, subject to the given instance-level constraints. When the number of classes is incorrectly assumed and/or when the "one-cluster-per-class" assumption is not valid, the use of constraint information in these methods may actually be deleterious to learning the ground-truth data groups. We extend semisupervised learning with constraints (1) to allow allocation of multiple mixture components to individual classes and (2) to estimate both the number of components/clusters and, leveraging the constraint information, the number of classes present in the data. For several real-world data sets, our method is shown to estimate correctly the number of classes and to give a favorable comparison with the recent mixture modeling approach of N. Shental et al. (see NIPS, 2003).
3D Galatea: Entry of three-dimensional moving points from multiple perspective views

We describe an interactive graphics system for the entry of three-dimensional moving points from multiple perspective views. This work represents a major extension of Galatea, our system for graphics-assisted 2D motion analysis. 3D Galatea permits reconstruction of 3D time-dependent positions from 2D entries in two or more perspective views.The system supports a general approach for calibrating perspective views. This method, based on work of Sutherland, uses a known 3D reference object to calibrate completely arbitrary perspective projections. A somewhat restricted class of perspective views may be calibrated without an explicit calibration object using another approach developed from photogrammety.In 2D Galatea, we have used an animated graphics overlay onto the source image to give the analyst feedback regarding current and previous data entries. This capability is extended in 3D Galatea by overlaying auxiliary lines, which are the backprojections of previous 2D entries from one view into other views. This concept amounts to a fourth interpretation of the well-known Roberts homogeneous matrix equation describing perspective projections of 3D space into a 2D image. The auxiliary line is useful in locating a point which is obscured in one of the images, or in determining the correspondence of projected points as seen in different views, which may be ambiguous or easily confused.
A gain-of-function mutation in oma-1, a C. elegans gene required for oocyte maturation, results in delayed degradation of maternal proteins and embryonic lethality

In vertebrates, oocytes undergo maturation, arrest in metaphase II, and can then be fertilized by sperm. Fertilization initiates molecular events that lead to the activation of early embryonic development. In Caenorhabditis elegans, where no delay between oocyte maturation and fertilization is apparent, oocyte maturation and fertilization must be tightly coordinated. It is not clear what coordinates the transition from an oocyte to an embryo in C. elegans, but regulated turnover of oocyte-specific proteins contributes to the process. We describe here a gain-of-function mutation (zu405) in a gene that is essential for oocyte maturation, oma-1. In wild type animals, OMA-1 protein is expressed at a high level exclusively in oocytes and newly fertilized embryos and is degraded rapidly after the first mitotic division. The zu405 mutation results in improper degradation of the OMA-1 protein in embryos. In oma-1(zu405) embryos, the C blastomere is transformed to the EMS blastomere fate, resulting in embryonic lethality. We show that degradation of several maternally supplied cell fate determinants, including SKN-1, PIE-1, MEX-3, and MEX-5, is delayed in oma-1(zu405) mutant embryos. In wild type embryos, SKN-1 functions in EMS for EMS blastomere fate specification. A decreased level of maternal SKN-1 protein in the C blastomere relative to EMS is believed to be responsible for this cell expressing the C, instead of the EMS, fate. Delayed degradation of maternal SKN-1 protein in oma-1(zu405) embryos and resultant elevated levels in C blastomere is likely responsible for the observed C-to-EMS blastomere fate transformation. These observations suggest that oma-1, in addition to its role in oocyte maturation, contributes to early embryonic development by regulating the temporal degradation of maternal proteins in early C. elegans embryos.
Lossless EEG signal compression

In this work, we investigate the lossless compression of EEG signals using Burrows-Wheeler Transformation and linear prediction. We show that when compressing EEG signals utilization of linear prediction and Burrows-Wheeler Transformation yield better compression than the well-known techniques.
Targeted therapies in germ cell tumors.

In 2014, an estimated 8,820 new cases of testicular cancer will be diagnosed in the United States [1]. Germ cell tumors remain a model for curative cancers, with more than 90% of all patients achieving cure. In contrast to most other solid malignancies, approximately 70% to 80% of patients with testicular cancer with metastatic disease can be cured with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. However, patients with poor risk disease, according to the International Germ Cell Consensus Cancer Group risk classification, remain a therapeutic challenge, with no greater than a 60% survival rate at 5 years [2,3]. The prognosis for patients who experience treatment failure after first-line chemotherapy is poor, with up to a 50% cure rate for patients treated with second-line chemotherapy or high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplant. Still, approximately 15% to 20% of patients with metastatic disease experience relapse or progression despite salvage therapy, including those with cisplatin-refractory disease (response or disease stabilization during chemotherapy but disease progression within 4 weeks after cisplatin-based chemotherapy) and those with absolute cisplatin-refractory disease (progression during cisplatin-based treatment) [4,5]. Although the absolute number of deaths in this category of patients is small, the effects are devastating, with more than 35 years of life lost per patient [6,7]. Unfortunately, little progress has been made in the management of these patients. Despite the successful use of targeted and molecular therapies in other cancers, there has been little success in the development of these agents for the treatment of patients with platinum-refractory germ cell tumors. This review discusses the biology of refractory germ cell tumors,
Cervical spine fusion utilizing silicated calcium phosphate bone graft substitute (SICAP)

OBJECTIVE: Bone graft substitutes have been developed to obviate the need for autograft from the iliac crest and its resultant complications. SiCaP (Actifuse, ApaTech US, UK) is a calcium phosphate bone graft substitute with selective controlled silicate substitution in a patented 3-dimensional structure resembling natural bone. METHODS: 19 patients who underwent cervical spine fusion were retrospectively reviewed. Radiographic evaluation and clinical evaluation were performed using Neck Disability Index questionnaire and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pre- and post-operatively. RESULTS: The mean post-operative follow-up was 14 ± 5 months, range 7-30 months. Eleven patients had an anterior approach, five patients had a posterior approach, and 3 had combined anterior-posterior approaches. Radiographic review showed 19/19 (100%) patients were considered fused, with no subsidence, hardware breakage, or hardware loosening. No instances of heterotopic bone formation or intracanal boney ingrowths were observed. Clinically, average Neck Disability scores decreased 13.3 points (pre-op 34.5, post-op 21.2, a 39% improvement); average VAS neck pain scores decreased 2.2 points (4.9 pre-op to 1.9 post-op; a 44.9% improvement; average VAS arm pain decreased 2.0 points (2.7 pre-op to 0.7 post-op, a 74.1% improvement). There were no complications such as infection, osteolysis, or abnormal swelling of soft tissues. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary results from this series with the use of SiCaP bone graft substitute were encouraging, with solid fusion occurring in all subjects, and no heterotopic bone formation or intracanal bone ingrowths. SiCaP seems to be a reliable alternative to autograft on cervical spine fusion achieving solid fusion with no complications.
Remote sensing of ionospheric disturbances associated with energetic particle precipitation using the South Pole VLF beacon

[1] The Stanford University VLF beacon transmitter located at South Pole operates at 19.4 kHz, transmitting for 1 min intervals every 15 min throughout the day. The beacon serves as a tool to measure changes in the D region ionospheric conductivity owing to energetic particle precipitation and is capable of providing coverage that spans the Antarctic continent. We present VLF beacon signal amplitude and phase data measured at Palmer Station, Antarctica. Diurnal and seasonal variations are discussed first, followed by analysis of data from two periods of high geomagnetic activity, in July 2004 and in May 2005, with a phase advance and an amplitude depression of the beacon signal (as recorded at Palmer) observed for both cases. Data from the MEPED instrument aboard the NOAA-16 and 17 POES satellites show an increase in energetic electron (>100 keV) and proton (>16 MeV) precipitation fluxes coincident with the VLF beacon signal perturbations. The fluxes measured on POES are used as an aide to generate profiles of secondary ionization along the great circle path from South Pole to Palmer. These profiles are then applied to a quantitative model of subionospheric VLF signal propagation to estimate the phase and amplitude variations expected. Results indicate that the observed VLF amplitude and phase data are in reasonable agreement with theoretical calculations in both cases, indicating that the model captures the ionospheric disturbance in effect during both of the disturbed periods.
Myeloid neoplasms after breast cancer: "therapy-related" not an independent poor prognostic factor.

AbstractTwo hundred and thirty-five consecutive patients presenting to a single center with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) after breast cancer treatment were compared with matched patients with de novo AML or MDS. There was no significant difference in median overall survival (OS) times between patients with therapy-related AML and those with de novo AML (8.7 months vs.10.2 months; p = 0.17). Patients with therapy-related MDS had slightly lower median baseline platelet counts and a higher frequency of poor cytogenetics than those with de novo MDS, but the two groups had similar OS times (13.6 months vs. 18.9 months; p = 0.06). Multivariate analysis revealed that cytogenetic risk, baseline white blood cell count, age and performance status were predictive for OS time in AML and that cytogenetic risk and performance status were predictive for OS time in MDS. Having therapy-related disease is not an independent risk factor in patients with myeloid neoplasms and with a history ...
SOME QUANTITATIVE ASPECTS OF ESTROGEN ASSAY

METHODS for the assay of estrogens.have been devised primarily for the measurement of the estrogenic potency of extracts of tissue and urine. The estimation of potency of commercial preparations of oil solutions of estrogens differs in several respects from similar determinations on such extracts. The commercial preparations are either solutions of crystalline materials or highly purified extracts; only a few contain estriol or its salts; all carry a declaration of potency which usually serves the purpose of a preliminary range-finding test, and the quantity of active material available is usually large. These facts allow a more precise comparison of the response to the -unknown with the response to the standard. The result is a decreased error in the estimation of potency of the unknown.
Intra-abdominal desmoid tumor after successful treatment for Hodgkin disease.

The risk of second malignancies after successful treatment for Hodgkin disease can be considerable. The most common malignancies are solid tumors arising in irradiated sites, such as the breast and thyroid gland after mantle field radiation. Sarcomas and other musculoskeletal tumors are also seen. We describe a young woman who developed an intra-abdominal desmoid tumor more than 4 years after completing therapy for Stage IIB Hodgkin disease, treated with combination chemotherapy (ABVD) and mantle irradiation. The tumor did not occur at either a surgical site or within a radiation field. She did not carry a mutation for familial adenomatosis polypoli. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
ELECTRODEPOSITION IN POLYMERIC MICROMOLDS FOR THE FABRICATION OF METALLIC MICROSTRUCTURES

Electrodeposition in micromolds is an important step in processes such as LIGA, an acronym from the German words for lithography, electroforming and molding, for fabricating metallic microstructures. This paper investigates electrodeposition in sacrificial polymeric micromolds with a conducting base and plastic features that provide insulating sidewalls for electrodeposition of the desired metallic micropart. Computational models for the governing transport and electrochemical phenomena are used to simulate the evolution of the electrodeposition front. The effects of the applied voltage and micromold geometry are systematically studied for their influence on the resulting electrodeposition rate and the homogeneity of the fabricated microparts. Conditions that lead to desirable process and part quality are derived from the studies .
On the Interconnected Nature of Interpreting Vygotsky: Rejoinder to Gredler and Shields Does No One Read Vygotsky’s Words 2004

In response to the critique of Gredler and Shields (2004) of Glassman’s article Dewey and Vygotsky: Society, Experience, and Inquiry in Educational Practice 2001 we suggest that interpretation of theory is dynamic and based very much on the use of that theory as an instrument. Gredler and Shields argue that Glassman misinterprets Vygotsky because Glassman did not read his words (carefully enough). We, in response, suggest that Gredler and Shields own interpretations of Vygotsky’s words are based very much on their own predispositions about how developmental theory should be understood, and how to use Vygotsky’s ideas to achieve specific research goals. Change the research goals and you might change the meaning of Vygotsky’s words. We offer alternative interpretations of Vygotsky’s words based on a different perspective of human development and research goals.
Automatic Outlier Detection for Genome Assembly Quality Assessment

In this work we describe a method to automatically detect errors in de novo assembled genomes. The method extends a Bayesian assembly quality evaluation framework, ALE, which computes the likelihood of an assembly given a set of unassembled data. Starting from ALE output, this method applies outlier detection algorithms to identify the precise locations of assembly errors. We show results from a microbial genome with manually curated assembly errors. Our method detects all deletions, 82.3% of insertions, and 88.8% of single base substitutions. It was also able to detect an inversion error that spans more than 400 bases.
Negative electron affinities from conventional electronic structure methods

If the potential V describing the interaction between an excess electron and a ground-state neutral or anionic parent is sufficiently attractive at short range, electron-attached states having positive electron affinities (EAs) can arise. Even if the potential is not attractive enough to produce a bound state, metastable electron-attached states may still occur and have lifetimes long enough to give rise to experimentally detectable signatures. Low-energy metastable states arise when the attractive components of V combine with a longer-range repulsive contribution to produce a barrier behind which the excess electron can be temporarily trapped. These repulsive contributions arise from either the centrifugal potential in the excess electron’s angular kinetic energy or long-range Coulomb repulsion in the case of an anionic parent. When there is no barrier, this kind of low-energy metastable state does not arise, but improper theoretical calculations can lead to erroneous predictions of their existence. Conventional electronic structure methods with, at most, minor modifications are described for properly characterizing metastable states and for avoiding incorrectly predicting the existence of metastable states with negative EAs where no barrier is present.
The human acid α-glucosidase gene is a novel target of the Notch-1/Hes-1 signaling pathway

Acid α-glucosidase (GAA) is a lysosomal enzyme that degrades glycogen. A deficiency of GAA is responsible for a recessively inherited myopathy and cardiomyopathy, glycogenosis type II. Previously, we identified an intronic repressor element in the GAA gene and demonstrated that Hes-1, a basic helix-loop-helix factor, binds to a C class E box within the element and functions as a transcriptional repressor in HepG2 cells.Hes-1 is a well studied downstream target gene in the Notch signaling pathway. In this study, over-expression and depletion of Notch-1 intracellular domain (NICD) strategies were used to investigate whether expression of the GAA gene is under the control of Notch-1/Hes-1 signaling. In co-transfection experiments, Hes-1, up-regulated by over-expressed NICD, enhanced the repressive effect of the DNA element with wild type Hes-1 binding sites but not with mutant Hes-1 binding sites. Conversely, depletion of Notch-1 with phosphorothioated antisense oligonucleotides, corresponding to the fourth ankyrin repeat within NICD, led to reduced Hes-1. Constitutively over-expressed Hes-1 and Notch-1 repressed GAA gene expression. Therefore, our data establish that the humanGAA gene, encoding a lysosomal enzyme, is a downstream target of the Notch-1/Hes-1 signaling pathway.
A conceptual model for aging better together intentionally.

Abstract Social networks and improved health outcomes are strongly connected, yet many elders face isolation and loneliness. This article presents a study of an elder cohousing community in which residents are dealing with aging-related stresses as a group and creating positive outcomes for themselves. The article posits a conceptual model of how this phenomenon of “aging better together intentionally” occurs and the resulting benefits. QUESTIONS: What happens when elders choose to live together in a community in which they consciously address aging collectively? Is it possible to age better together intentionally? If so, what does it look like, under what circumstances does it blossom, and how does it improve the aging experience? METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with 26 residents of an elder cohousing community in 2009. Respondents were white, mostly female, and averaged 73 years in age. Thematic analysis of interview transcripts led to a conceptual model of aging better together intentionally. To further explore the model, quantitative survey data were collected from the residents three years later. RESULTS: The framework of communal coping provided the mechanism of aging better together intentionally. Quantitative data supported the existence of mutual support, increased acceptance of aging, and feelings of safety/less worry/lessening of social isolation as benefits of this type of living arrangement. DISCUSSION: This research demonstrates the agency of older adults, the heterogeneity of the aging experience, and the value of older adults sharing their knowledge of the aging process with each other. Our conceptual model of aging better together intentionally could serve as a basis for interventions in other settings to provide a new way for people to age together with enhanced quality of life.