cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Phase II study of sphingosomal vincristine in patients with recurrent or refractory adult acute lymphocytic leukemia

BACKGROUND Outcomes with salvage therapy for patients with recurrent or refractory acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) are poor, with complete response (CR) rates reported to be 20–30% and a median survival ranging from 2–6 months. New agents are needed to reduce the recurrence rate after frontline chemotherapy. Vincristine is an important component of ALL therapy. In animal models, the encapsulation of vincristine into sphingomyelin liposomes or “sphingosomes” for injection (SV) has improved efficacy compared with conventional vincristine. METHODS A Phase II clinical trial of single-agent SV given at a dose of 2.0 mg/m2 every 2 weeks was conducted in patients with recurrent or refractory ALL. Approximately half of the 16 patients who received SV had a first CR duration of less than 1 year, 19% had failed standard induction chemotherapy, and 50% had Philadelphia chromosome-positive disease. SV was the first salvage attempt in 69% of the patients. RESULTS The overall response rate in the 14 evaluable patients was 14% (1 CR and 1 partial response). Five patients (36%) had transient reductions in bone marrow leukemia infiltrate with subsequent regrowth of the leukemia between SV infusions. Toxicity with limited treatment (median number of doses was two; range, one to five doses) was minimal with expected peripheral neuropathy. CONCLUSIONS Further study of SV in patients with ALL is warranted. A Phase I-II clinical trial of weekly SV with pulse dexamethasone currently is ongoing. Cancer 2006. © 2005 American Cancer Society.
An upper bound on moments of sequential decoding effort

In this paper we derive an infinite tree code ensemble upper bound on the \nu th (\nu \leq 1) moments of the computational effort connected with sequential decoding governed by the Fano \footnote[1]{algorithm}. It is shown that the \nu th moment of the effort per decoded branch is hounded by a constant, provided the transmission rate R_{0} satisfies inequality (2), This result, although often conjectured, has previously been shown to hold only for positive integral values of \nu . For a wide class of discrete memoryless channels (that includes all symmetric channels), our bounds agree qualitatively with the lower bounds of Jacobs and Berlekamp [8].
Extracting topics based on authors, recipients and content in microblogs

Microblogs such as Twitter are important sources for spreading vital information at high speed. They also reflect the general people's reaction and opinion towards major events or stories. With information traveling so quickly, it is helpful to be able to apply unsupervised learning techniques to discover topics for information extraction and analysis. Although graphical models have been traditionally used for topic discovery in microblogs and text streams, previous work may not be as efficient because of the diverse and noisy nature of microblogs. In this paper, we demonstrate the application of the Author-Topic and the Author-Recipient-Topic model to microblogs. We extensively compare these models under different settings to an LDA baseline. Our results show that the Author-Recipient-Topic model extracts the most coherent topics establishing that joint modeling on author-recipient pairs and on the content of tweet leads to quantitatively better topic discovery. This paper also addresses the problem of topic modeling on short text by using clustering techniques. This technique helps in boosting the performance of our models. Our study reveals interesting traits about Twitter messages, users and their interactions.
Circulating immune complexes in patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome contain the AIDS-associated retrovirus

Abstract Using the polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation technique, circulating immune complexes were demonstrated in 88% of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related disorders. The finding of immune complexes in these individuals was confirmed by using a second assay, the commercially available C1q-IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. The material precipitated by PEG contained elevated levels of IGG, IgM, C1q, and C3. There was no substantial correlation between the level of IgG in the complexes and the serum IgG concentration, although there was a significant association between complexed IgG and the titer of anti-AIDS-associated retrovirus (ARV) antibody in the serum. In some precipitates, ARV antigens were detected by immunoblot analysis. Coculture of other precipitates with normal lymphocytes revealed the presence of infectious virus. These data confirm the existence of immune complexes in the sera of AIDS patients and indicate that in some cases they may comprise ARV and anti-ARV antibodies.
Feasibility Assessment and Analysis of a Forward Injected Photonic Crystal Device

A forward injected photonic crystal device design has been proposed for the purpose of injecting a high carrier concentration across the intrinsic region of a p-i-n diode formed across the waveguide of a photonic crystal in order to modulate the refractive index of the waveguide and generate a highly compact optical device. A numerical model was developed and evaluated both to assess the feasibility of this particular approach and to optimize the design. Carrier concentrations as high as 5.5 times1017 cm-3 were injected across the intrinsic region of a p-i-n diode formed across the waveguide of an InP photonic crystal slab by highly forward biasing the device. This level of injection was capable of causing a negative shift in the refractive index of approximately -0.004 with response times of around 1 ns. The refractive indexes and absorption coefficients generated during this analysis were then applied to a photonic crystal waveguide in order to assess the feasibility of developing a compact optical device using a strongly forward injected p-i-n diode.
Contingency, conflict, crisis: Strategy selection of religious public relations professionals

Abstract A national survey among religious public relations practitioners working for mainstream Protestant Christian churches was undertaken to examine strategic options in a conflict or crisis. Religious public relations professionals tend to employ collaborating, contending or compromising in a conflict with a given public, while they are likely to use concession or corrective action in a crisis. Internal contingent factors are mostly associated with accommodating, avoiding, concession or corrective action strategies, while contending is most often correlated with external contingent factors.
Model based vehicle detection and tracking for autonomous urban driving

Situational awareness is crucial for autonomous driving in urban environments. This paper describes the moving vehicle detection and tracking module that we developed for our autonomous driving robot Junior. The robot won second place in the Urban Grand Challenge, an autonomous driving race organized by the U.S. Government in 2007. The module provides reliable detection and tracking of moving vehicles from a high-speed moving platform using laser range finders. Our approach models both dynamic and geometric properties of the tracked vehicles and estimates them using a single Bayes filter per vehicle. We present the notion of motion evidence, which allows us to overcome the low signal-to-noise ratio that arises during rapid detection of moving vehicles in noisy urban environments. Furthermore, we show how to build consistent and efficient 2D representations out of 3D range data and how to detect poorly visible black vehicles. Experimental validation includes the most challenging conditions presented at the Urban Grand Challenge as well as other urban settings.
Social Skill and Aging: Principles and Problems:

Over the last two decades it has become increasingly recognized that concepts of skill, formulated originally for sensory-motor tasks such as industrial operations, can be applied to interaction between people. The need for social skills in the interactions between old people, their contemporaries, and younger people with whom they have contact, are explored, and suggestions are made for training social skills in order to improve human relations with and between the elderly. It is also argued that present ideas, favoring opportunities for older people to live in communities with those of like mind, can lessen the need for social skills by reducing the social demands of institutional living.
Responses of some endocrine organs of female hamsters to pinealectomy and light.

Abstract RECENT reports from these laboratories1,2 show that, during the winter months, normal male hamsters exposed to short daily periods of light [light:darkness (LD, in hours) = 1:23] or eyeless hamsters exposed to long periods of light (LD = 16:8) exhibit marked gonadal atrophy within 4 weeks. This effect is prevented if the animals are first pinealectomized. No significant effects are observed on weights of the adrenal gland. These studies were expanded to measure the responses of female hamsters to the two daily light cycles and to ascertain the relative influence of the pineal gland on these organs.
Expiratory Pharyngeal Airway Obstruction During Sleep: A Multiple Element Model

Objective/Hypothesis In patients with obstructive sleep apnea and snoring, airway obstruction during sleep is not limited to inspiration but may also occur with expiration. The aim of this study was to assess the segmental mechanics of expiratory obstruction. Design Experimental study of a convenience sample of 20 patients with snoring and mild obstructive sleep apnea. Methods During sedated sleep, airflow, airway pressure measurements (supraglottic, oropharyngeal, nasopharyngeal, and nasal mask), and either supraglottic/retroglossal or retropalatal areas were simultaneously measured. Nasal continuous positive airway pressures were experimentally adjusted during single breath tests (SBTs) to modify upper airway size. Airway mechanics were evaluated during pressure drops on expiration. Results The predominant level of expiratory obstruction was supraglottic/retroglossal level alone (65%) or combined supraglottic/retroglossal and retropalatal (17.6%). In nonobstructed SBTs, compliance curves derived from supraglottic/retroglossal and retropalatal pressures were similar but diverged in obstructed breaths. Compliance during expiration was greater in the supraglottic/retroglossal segment compared to the retropalatal segment. Retropalatal cross-sectional size was smaller during early and late expiration on obstructed than on nonobstructed breaths independent of airway pressure measures. The rate of expiratory collapse was increased at all time points measured (P < .005) in the retropalatal segment on obstructed as compared with nonobstructed breaths. Conclusions During expiration, the supraglottic/retroglossal level is obstructed more frequently and has greater compliance than the retropalatal segment. Failure of upstream pressures to describe pharyngeal obstruction supports a multi-element model of collapse. Segments interact during expiration, with increased retropalatal collapse on obstructed as compared with nonobstructed breaths. Increased collapse on expiration provides a mechanism for increased obstruction on subsequent inspiratory breaths.
Nutrition Review: Relationships of Nutrition With Depression and Anxiety:

Although research on relationships of nutrition with depression and anxiety is very limited, both biological plausibility and existing empirical evidence lend strong support to causal links, especially between diet and depression. Clinical deficiencies of several vitamins and minerals result in depression. Nutrients that have received particular attention with relation to depression include omega-3 fatty acids, folate, cobalamin, and zinc. Antioxidant nutrients are other potentially beneficial dietary factors that should be investigated. Body weight issues may be related to depression and anxiety in very complex ways. Dietary strategies to prevent and treat depression are inexpensive and low risk and therefore warrant consideration in future research and clinical applications.
Catecholamine-stimulated potassium transport in erythrocytes from normal and hyperthyroid turkeys: quantitative relation between beta-adrenergic receptor occupancy and physiological responsiveness.

We have previously shown that erythrocytes from hyperthyroid turkeys are identical to normal turkey erythrocytes with respect to the number and affinity of β-receptors, maximal catecholamine-stimulatable adenylate cyclase activity, and cAMP accumulation. In the present study we now report that despite these similarities, the physiological responsiveness of hyperthyroid cells to catecholamines is markedly altered. Maximal catecholamine-induced stimulation of potassium ion transport in erythrocytes from hyperthyroid turkeys is significantly reduced (21.8 ± 2.4 vs. 34.1 ± 3.0 meq/liter cells-h; P < 0.005). In addition, there is a slight increase in the concentration of isoproterenol required for the induction of half-maximal stimulation (5.7 ± 0.8 vs. 3.9 ± 0.4 nM; P < 0.05). Quantitative assessment of potassium influx in relation to β-receptor occupancy by agonist indicates that despite the absence of any change in β-receptor number, the degree of stimulation of potassium transport per agonist-occupied β-re...
Effect of α-chymotrypsin on the nonadrenergic noncholinergic inhibitory system in cat airways

Abstract Electrical field stimulation of 5-hydroxytryptamine contracted cat trachea and bronchi in the presence of cholinergic and adrenergic blockade caused relaxation by activating intrinsic nonadrenergic noncholinergic (NANC) inhibitory nerves. Pretreatment of the tissues with the proteolytic enzyme, α-chymotrypsin, did not affect NANC inhibitory responses. Relaxations induced by vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) were abolished by α-chymotrypsin. These results suggest that VIP or related peptides may not act as the NANC inhibitory trasmitter in cat airways. However, the possibility remains that peptides not susceptible to degradation by α-chymotrypsin may mediate these NANC inhibitory responses.
Gray Matters: Gender Differences in the Physical and Mental Health of Older Inmates

Although there has been a substantial increase in the number of older female inmates incarcerated in the United States, there has been little scholarly attention paid to this population. The purpose of this study is to extend the current understanding of older inmates by examining gender differences in their physical and mental health. Bivariate analyses of one of the largest known samples of older female inmates (n = 142) revealed significant gender differences. Older female inmates reported a greater number of physical health conditions and mental health disorders in all three time periods: in their lifetimes, since admission to prison, and in the previous year. This research informs the need for gender-specific health programming for older female inmates.
P-106: Real-Time Inspection of a Moisture Barrier Film Buried by a Protective Layer for Flexible Displays

Stress-induced cracks in moisture barriers may lead to device degradation in flexible displays. We developed an optical technique that can inspect the cracking of stressed barrier films buried by protective layers. This technique allows rapid and large-area evaluation of mechanical reliability of moisture barriers and functional layers for flexible displays.
African green monkey origin of the atypical cytopathic ‘stealth virus’ isolated from a patient with chronic fatigue syndrome

Abstract Background: A cytomegalovirus-like ‘stealth virus’ had previously been isolated from a patient with the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Objective: To determine the original derivation of this virus. Study design: DNA sequencing of cloned regions of the virus was performed and the sequences were compared using BLASTN and FASTA analyses against the entire GenBank database. Viral sequences were also used to design primers for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: DNA and amino acid sequence comparisons showed that the stealth virus was more closely related to the Colburn strain of simian cytomegalovirus (SCMV) than to CMV of either human or rhesus monkey origin or to any other sequenced herpesvirus. Similarity, but non-identity, between the stealth virus and SCMV, was confirmed using PCR. Conclusion: The findings implicate the African green monkey as the probable source of the virus isolated from this CFS patient.
Performance analysis of energy conversion via caloric effects in first-order ferroic phase transformations

A finite-time thermodynamic model of ferroic refrigerators and generators, based on first order phase transformation, is given. We use this model to evaluate a novel method of converting heat directly into electricity based on the martensitic phase transformation accompanied by an abrupt change in magnetic ordering recently discovered [Srivastava et al., Adv. Energy Mater., 2011, 1, 97]. In this paper, we study the efficiency and power output of this method. The formulas of efficiency and power output in terms of material constants, design parameters, and working conditions are derived. The Clausius–Clapeyron coefficient is shown to be important to the efficiency. The figure of merit, as a dimensionless parameter, of energy conversion using the new method is introduced. It is shown that, as the figure of merit goes to infinity, the efficiency approaches the Carnot efficiency. Thermodynamic cycles of the new energy conversion method are optimized for a maximum power output. The matching criteria between materials and working temperatures of such optimized cycles are derived. Using these criteria, one can choose the most suitable materials under given working conditions, or decide the best working conditions for available materials.
Saturday Science QUEST: A Science Enrichment Program for Elementary Children and Preservice Elementary Teachers

Motivated by recent reports decrying the state of elementary science teaching in the United States, a science enrichment program has been instituted to stimulate science interest in elementary-age children and to provide preservice elementary teachers with additional science teaching experience. After one and a half years, our data indicate that children feel science at school is boring because they usually learn science only from a textbook and/or they don't feel challenged. Most of these children enjoy the more challenging Saturday Science QUEST courses because they are engaged in hands-on explorations and receive more attention from their instructors. Course descriptions, preservice teacher experiences, program maintenance, and feedback from children and parents are provided.
Surface modification of fluorinated aluminas: Application of solid state NMR spectroscopy to the study of acidity and surface structure

Abstract Solid-state NMR methods have been used to determine the mechanism for the fluorination reaction of CHClF2 on alumina. The initial stages of fluorination lead to the formation of terminal FAl groups (i.e., fluorine bound through a single bond to an aluminum atom), which is consistent with a recent XPS report [O. Boese, W.E.S. Unger, E. Kemnitz, S.L.M. Schroeder, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 4 (2002) 2824]. 27 Al NMR indicates that five-coordinate aluminum sites are initially consumed during the fluorination reaction, suggesting that the five-coordinate aluminum species are predominately localized near the surface of the high surface area (∼3–5 nm) alumina particles. The sorption of basic phosphines as probe molecules for acid sites, coupled with 31P NMR, was used to follow the changes in acidity after fluorination of the surface. The untreated alumina samples do not contain Bronsted acid sites, partial fluorination of the surface leading to their creation. In contrast, the Lewis acid sites, initially present on the untreated alumina, decrease in concentration on fluorination. Continued fluorination of the surface eventually leads to the destruction of the Bronsted acid sites, some Lewis acid sites remaining but in lower concentrations than on the initial untreated alumina.
FBXW7 and DNA copy number instability

SKP1-cullin-F-box protein (SCF) type ubiquitin ligases degrade proteins controlling the G1/S transition. Deficiency for FBXW7 (also known as hCDC4), which encodes the F-box protein of the SCF type ubiquitin ligase is associated with genomic instability. Here, we investigated the association of FBXW7 deficiency with chromosomal instability in breast cancer. We screened 49 tumors previously profiled by array CGH for mutations in conserved regions of FBXW7, but found no mutations. Copy number loss of FBXW7, however was associated with enhanced genomic instability in the Complex breast tumor subtype, but instability may not be due to FBXW7 haploinsufficiency, since transcript levels were not reduced in tumors with loss of the locus, whereas reduced expression was observed for other neighboring genes involved in maintenance of genome stability. We also investigated whether cells deficient for FBXW7 showed enhanced instability by challenging cells with methotrexate and assessing numbers of genomic alterations arising in resistant cells. Although methotrexate resistant colonies formed at high frequencies in HCT116 FBXW7+/- and HCT116 FBXW7-/- cells compared to parental HCT116, few copy number alterations were detected in the resistant cells. Taken together these studies suggest that FBXW7 deficiency is unlikely to contribute to the extensive copy number aberrations associated with breast and possibly other tumor types.
Ectopic calcification: New concepts in cellular regulation

Ectopic calcification is a common response to soft tissue injury and systemic mineral imbalance, and can lead to devastating clinical consequences when present in heart valves or blood vessels. It is hypothesized that mesenchymal and inflammatory cells normally maintain the balance between procalcific and anti-calcific regulatory proteins in soft tissues such that ectopic deposition of apatite is avoided. Alterations in this balance induced by injury or disease is postulated to induce ectopic apatite deposition. We have developed in vitro and in vivo models of ectopic calcification and found that: 1) elevated extracellular phosphate levels induce smooth muscle culture mineralization morphologically similar to that observed in calcified human valves and atherosclerotic plaques, 2) sodium-dependent phosphate cotransporter function is required for smooth muscle cell culture mineralization, 3) smooth muscle cell culture mineralization is associated with a dramatic loss of smooth muscle-specific gene expression and gain of osteoblast-like properties, including expression of osteoblast differentiation factor, Cbfa-1, and 4) osteopontin, a secreted phosphoprotein abundant in macrophages found in human calcified atherosclerotic and valvular lesions, is a potent inhibitor of ectopic calcification in vitro and in vivo. These studies suggest that both constitutively expressed (surveillance) and inducible (damage control) mineralization inhibitory molecules are produced by mesenchymal and inflammatory cells to control ectopic calcification.
Vacancy Transients During Impurity Diffusion in Semiconductors

Vacancy transients associated with the diffusion of donor atoms in semiconductors are examined for a model of strong vacancy-impurity association. The causes for the vacancy transients are the drift of charged vacancies in the internal field and the shifting of the local thermal-equilibrium condition of vacancy concentration. The impurity is considered to diffuse into a semi-infinite solid with a constant surface concentration. Simultaneous equations of continuity for the impurity and the vacancy are obtained from phenomenological flux expressions, and their Boltzmann transforms are solved numerically. For the example studied, which is typical of donor diffusions in silicon, the maximum vacancy undersaturation was found to be 4.17\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}7}$. An inequality estimation gives $\ensuremath{\sigma}\ensuremath{\lesssim}\frac{8{D}_{A}(0)}{{D}_{\ensuremath{\nu}}}$, where $\ensuremath{\sigma}$ is the vacancy supersaturation (negative in the present case), ${D}_{A}(0)$ is the impurity diffusivity at the surface, and ${D}_{v}$ is the vacancy diffusivity. It is concluded that, during impurity diffusion, the departure of the vacancy concentration from its equilibrium value is entirely negligible for the model concerned. It is also pointed out that the cross coefficients of the phenomenological flux expressions are dependent on an atomistic model. For example, it is shown that if Seitz's chemical-pump model is assumed, then there will be significant vacancy nonequilibrium.
Mechanical Testing of High Voltage Stator Insulation Systems

Extensive evaluation of the electrical and thermal capabilities of insulation systems has been done throughout the industry. Although virtually all large rotating machine insulation system failures are due to mechanical duty, until recent years, only a modest amount of mechanical testing has been done on insulation systems.
Nalidixic Acid-Induced Photosensitivity in Mice: A Model for Pseudoporphyria

Porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT)-like photosensitivity eruptions have occurred in patients treated with naildixic acid, furosemide (Lasix), or tetracycline. An animal model for nalidixic acid photosensitivity was developed in young CF-1 female mice. The hair on the back was plucked from groups of animals that were injected i.p, each day with nalidixic acid or saline. The animals were exposed to black-lamp radiation for 12 h daily for 6 weeks, followed by a 2-week rest period, and then 4 more weeks of UV radiation exposure. The nalidixic acid-treated animals developed far greater gross and chronic inflammatory changes than the saline-treated animals; microscopically and ultrastructurally they showed blister formation beneath the basal lamina at the same level as that found in PCT. This model appears to be suitable for the study of PCT-like and other photosensitivity reactions.
METABOLISM STUDIES IN THE ALBINO RAT THE RELATION OF AGE, NUTRITION AND HYPO-PHYSECTOMY ON THE ABSORPTION OF DEXTROSE FROM THE GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT

PHILLIPS AND ROBB (1) reported that the intestinal absorption cf dextrose was decreased in young hypophysectomized rats. The experiments reported below were performed to ascertain what effect age and nutrition had on this absorption in normal and hypophysectomized rats. Male rats of the Wistar strain were used in these experiments. They were kept under identical conditions at a room temperature of 27°-28° C. Hypophysectomy was performed by the technic of Richter and Wislocki (2). The success of the operation was verified by study of serial sections through the decalcified brain base in the pituitary region. From one to two weeks before operation some of the rats who were sub-sequently hypophysectomized and their controls were placed on the following dry diet ad libitum. When water is added to the dry diet, a mixture is obtained which is of suitable consistency for administration by stomach tube.
Young, Black, and Connected: Facebook Usage Among African American College Students

This article examines the extent and intensity of Facebook usage among African American college students and investigates their reasons for using Facebook. As expected, 98% of students in the survey had a Facebook account, and a large number of Facebook “friends.” Younger users spent significantly more time on Facebook than older ones. Our findings underscore the importance of cultural influence for African American online users. Displaying photographs and personal interests on Facebook signals racial identity among African American college students. Personality traits, such as self-esteem, trust in people, satisfaction with university life, and racial identity, were not significant predictors on the time spent on Facebook.
Dopaminergic amacrine cells in the inner nuclear layer and ganglion cell layer comprise a single functional retinal mosaic.

Many types of retinal neuron are distributed in an orderly manner across the surface of the retina. Indeed, the existence of such regularity amongst a population of neurons, termed a retinal mosaic, may be a defining feature of functionally independent types of retinal neuron. We have examined the spatial distribution of dopaminergic amacrine cells in the ferret retina both in the inner nuclear layer (INL) and in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) to determine whether the cells in each layer form an independent retinal mosaic as evidence of whether they should be considered as two separate types. Ferret retinas contain approximately 1,900 dopaminergic amacrine cells, of which 27% are located in the GCL, and the rest in the INL. Based on analysis of their Voronoi domains as well as autocorrelation analysis and tests for complete spatial randomness, we found that the distribution of INL cells was statistically regular, while that of the GCL cells was not. However, by using cross-correlation analysis, these two groups of cells were found to be spatially dependent: an exclusion zone was detected in the cross-correlogram of roughly the same size as that found in the autocorrelograms of both INL and GCL cells. Such a pattern would be expected if dopaminergic amacrine cells in the INL and GCL were members of a single regular population differing only in their somatic depth. By using computer simulations, we tested this hypothesis directly, confirming that a random assignment of 27% from the total population produces cross-correlograms that are indistinguishable from those of the biological mosaics. We conclude, therefore, that the cells in the two layers form a single functional population; those in the GCL appear to be misplaced. Somatic positioning with respect to depth within the retina is not, by itself, a reliable guide for functional classification. J. Comp. Neurol. 466:343–355, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Yield: it's now an entitlement

Only a few years ago, the primary method of cost reduction and productivity improvement in the semiconductor industry was increasing manufacturing yields throughout the process. Many of the remarkable reliability improvements realized over the past decade have come about as a result of actions that were originally taken primarily to improve device yields. Obviously, the practice of productivity improvement through yield enhancement is limited to the attainment of 100% yield, at which point some other mechanism must be employed. Traditionally, new products have been introduced to manufacturing at a point of relative immaturity, and semiconductor producers have relied on the traditional `learning curve' method of yield improvement to attain profitable levels of manufacturing yield. Recently, results of a survey of several fabs by a group of University of California at Berkeley researchers in the Competitive Semiconductor Manufacturing Program indicate that most factories learn at about the same rate after startup, in terms of both line yield and defectivity. If this is indeed generally true, then the most competitive factor is the one that starts with the highest yield, and it is difficult to displace a leader once his lead has been established. The two observations made above carry enormous implications for the semiconductor development or manufacturing professional. First, one must achieve very high yields in order to even play the game. Second, the achievement of competitive yields over time in the life of a factory is determined even before the factory is opened, in the planning and development phase. Third, and perhaps most uncomfortable for those of us who have relied on yield improvement as a cost driver, the winners of the nineties will find new levers to drive costs down, having already gotten the benefit of very high yield. This paper looks at the question of how the winners will achieve the critical measures of success, high initial yield and utilization of other cost reduction levers.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Template Style Considerations for Sea-of-Gates Layout Generation

SoGOLaR (Sea-of-Gates Optimized Layout and Routing) is a program that generates functional cells for static CMOS circuits in the Sea-of-Gates layout style. Our generator is flexible and general enough to produce efficient layout for a wide variety of Sea-of-Gates template geometries. SoGOLaR has been used to make quantitative comparisons of several different templates with respect to area utilization and cell routability. We present the results of our comparative study and draw some conclusions for the selection of a basic Sea-of-Gates template geometry.
Predicting patterns of non‐native plant invasions in Yosemite National Park, California, USA

One of the major issues confronting management of parks and reserves is the invasion of non-native plant species. Yosemite National Park is one of the largest and best-known parks in the United States, harbouring significant cultural and ecological resources. Effective management of non-natives would be greatly assisted by information on their potential distribution that can be generated by predictive modelling techniques. Our goal was to identify key environmental factors that were correlated with the percent cover of non-native species and then develop a predictive model using the Genetic Algorithm for Rule-set Production technique. We performed a series of analyses using community-level data on species composition in 236 plots located throughout the park. A total of 41 non-native species were recorded which occurred in 23.7% of the plots. Plots with non-natives occurred most frequently at low- to mid-elevations, in flat areas with other herbaceous species. Based on the community-level results, we selected elevation, slope, and vegetation structure as inputs into the GARP model to predict the environmental niche of non-native species. Verification of results was performed using plot data reserved from the model, which calculated the correct prediction of non-native species occurrence as 76%. The majority of the western, lower-elevation portion of the park was predicted to have relatively low levels of non-native species occurrence, with highest concentrations predicted at the west and south entrances and in the Yosemite Valley. Distribution maps of predicted occurrences will be used by management to: efficiently target monitoring of non-native species, prioritize control efforts according to the likelihood of non-native occurrences, and inform decisions relating to the management of non-native species in postfire environments. Our approach provides a valuable tool for assisting decision makers to better manage non-native species, which can be readily adapted to target non-native species in other locations.
Reliability-Based MEMS System Modeling and Optimization

A methodology for reliability-based system modeling, analysis and optimization design of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) is presented that accounts for stochastic variations in device geometry parameters and operating conditions. The optimization objective function considers minimization of several uncertainty factors related to the overall system performance while satisfying target requirements specified. A probabilistic sufficiency factor approach is proposed in the form of constraints on micro-fabrication processes and materials system that combine safety factor and probability of failure. The design problem is decomposed into two analysis systems; uncertainty effects analysis and performance sensitivity analysis. Each analysis system can be partitioned into several subsystems according to the different functions they perform. The entire problem has been treated as a multi-disciplinary design optimization (MDO) for maximum robustness and performance achievement. The probabilistic sufficiency factor approach represents a factor of safety relative to a target probability of failure. It is known that the use of probabilistic sufficiency factor as a design constraint boundary is much more accurate and reasonable, and this accelerates the convergence of reliability-based design optimization. In this study, the analysis results are provided as optimized device geometry parameters governing the resonant frequency and the trans-conductance values for the example of a selected micro-resonator device.
Turoctocog alfa for the treatment of hemophilia a.

Hemophilia A (HA) represents one of the most common genetic bleeding disorders worldwide and results from a deficiency in factor VIII (FVIII). The mainstay of treatment for HA is repletion of FVIII. Numerous plasma-derived and recombinant factor concentrates are available, each with clinical advantages and disadvantages. Nonfactor products including desmopressin and antifibrinolytic agents can also be used, depending on the clinical situation and severity of FVIII deficiency. Turoctocog alfa is the most recent addition to recombinant FVIII concentrates available for the treatment of HA. Pharmacokinetic trials in animals and humans have demonstrated characteristics similar to those of other recombinant FVIII concentrates. Clinical trials have supported efficacy and safety in the management of HA in treatment-experienced patients; study results of turoctocog alfa in treatment-naive patients are pending. A smaller study in hemophilic patients undergoing surgery has demonstrated positive results. Although turoctocog alfa was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2013, it will not be available on the market until 2015. Turoctocog alfa appears to be a safe and effective alternative to currently available recombinant FVIII concentrates; however, its place in therapy among these products has yet to be elucidated.
Net Foreign Assets and Equilibrium Exchange Rates: Panel Evidence

By exploiting the information in a panel data set, this paper is able to construct more powerful tests of various hypotheses on the determinants of real exchange rates than would be possible with single-country time-series data. Focusing on annual data for 20 industrial countries from 1973 through 1995, there are three major results. First, the evidence for a stationary real exchange rate is stronger when the exchange rate is defined in terms of wholesale prices than consumer prices, presumably because of the greater tradability of wholesale commodities. Second, the half-life of shocks to the real exchange rate is between two and three years. Third, there is a significant and robust relationship between real exchange rates and net foreign assets.
Driven to Death: Inhibition of Farnesylation Increases Ras Activity in Osteosarcoma and Promotes Growth Arrest and Cell Death

To improve cancer outcomes, investigators are turning increasingly to small molecule medicines that disrupt vital signaling cascades, inhibit malignant growth, or induce apoptosis. One vital signaling molecule is Ras, and a key step in Ras activation is membrane anchoring of Ras through prenylation, the C-terminal addition of a lipid anchor. Small molecule inhibitors of farnesyltransferase (FTI), the enzyme most often responsible for prenylating Ras, showed clinical promise, but development of FTIs such as tipifarnib has been stalled by uncertainty about their mechanism of action, because Ras seemed unimpeded in tipifarnib-treated samples. Interpretation was further complicated by the numerous proteins that may be farnesylated, as well as availability of an alternate prenylation pathway, geranylgeranylation. Our initial observations of varied response by cancer cell lines to tipifarnib led us to evaluate the role of FTI in Ras signal alteration using various tumor models. We describe our novel counterintuitive finding that endogenous Ras activity increases in cancer cell lines with low endogenous Ras activity when farnesyltransferase is inhibited by either tipifarnib or short hairpin RNA. In response to tipifarnib, variable growth arrest and/or cell death correlated with levels of activated extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) and p38 mitogenactivated protein kinase (MAPK). Sensitivity to tipifarnib treatment was shown by growth inhibition and by an increase in subdiploid cell numbers; cells with such sensitivity had increased activation of ERK and p38 MAPK. Because Ras must be prenylated to be active, our findings suggest that geranylgeranylated N-Ras or K-Ras B interacts differently with downstream effector proteins in sensitive cancer cells responding to tipifarnib, switching the balance from cell proliferation to growth inhibition [corrected].
Management of Ocular Surface Tumors: Excision vs. Topical Treatment

Ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) encompasses a range of corneal and conjunctival lesions from intraepithelial dysplasia to invasive squamous cell carcinoma. The mainstay of treatment for OSSN has traditionally been surgical excision with wide margins and cryotherapy. Increasing evidence on the efficacy and safety of medical therapy and the avoidance of surgical complications has made topical chemotherapy increasingly popular among corneal specialists. The most common topical agents used for the treatment of OSSN include mitomycin C, 5-fluorouracil, and interferon a 2b. Herein, we review recent advances in the surgical and medical management of OSSN and discuss advantages and disadvantages of each approach. The role of ultra highresolution optical coherence tomography in the diagnosis and treatment of primary and recurrent OSSN lesions is also discussed.
The “Game” of Torture

The authors explain the prevalence of torture by modeling its institutional structure as a game of incomplete information involving the state, the torturer, and the victim. Once the state endorses torture as a mechanism for extracting information, its will is carried out with positive probability. This is because (a) even a “soft” and “sensitive” state agent might torture the victim to test his or her ability to resist and (b) a weak victim might hold out momentarily to find out whether the torturer is sensitive or “sadistic.” When the state uses torture to intimidate political opposition, all types of torturers will behave sadistically. As a result, torture becomes more widespread and more cruel. The authors explain why a “culture” of individual resistance is the only effective solution to torture.
Low-Reynolds-number flow past cylindrical bodies of arbitrary cross-sectional shape

A numerical implementation of the method of matched asymptotic expansions is proposed to analyse two-dimensional uniform streaming flow at low Reynolds number past a straight cylinder (or cylinders) of arbitrary cross-sectional shape. General solutions for both the Stokes and Oseen equations in two dimensions are expressed in terms of a boundary distribution of fundamental single- and double-layer singularities. These general solutions are then converted to integral equations for the unknown distributions of singularity strengths by application of boundary conditions at the cylinder surface, and matching conditions between the Stokes and Oseen solutions. By solving these integral equations, using collocation methods familiar from three-dimensional application of ‘boundary integral’ methods for solutions of Stokes equation, we generate a uniformly valid approximation to the solution for the whole domain. We demonstrate the method by considering, as numerical examples, uniform flow past an elliptic cylinder, uniform flow past a cylinder of rectangular cross-section, and uniform flow past two parallel cylinders which may be either equal in radius, or of different sizes.
Post-Fire Burn Severity and Vegetation Response Following Eight Large Wildfires Across the Western United States

Vegetation response and burn severity were examined following eight large wildfires that burned in 2003 and 2004: two wildfires in California chaparral, two each in dry and moist mixed-conifer forests in Montana, and two in boreal forests in interior Alaska. Our research objectives were: 1) to characterize one year post-fire vegetation recovery relative to initial fire effects on the soil surface that could potentially serve as indicators of vegetation response (and thus, ultimately longer-term post-fire ecosystem recovery), and 2) to use a remotely-sensed indicator of burn severity to describe landscape patterns in fire effects. We correlated one-year post-fire plant species richness and percent canopy cover to burn severity and to soil surface cover immediately after the fires. For all eight wildfires, plant canopy cover and species richness were low and highly variable one year post-fire. We found a greater number of forbs when compared to other plant life forms, independent of burn severity. Plant cover was dominated by grasses in chaparral systems, by forbs in mixed-conifer forests, and by shrubs in boreal forests, similar to the unburned vegetation. Fine-scale variability in post-fire effects on soils, the diversity of pre-fire vegetation, and the resilience of plants to fire likely explain the high variation observed in post-fire vegetation responses across sites and burn severities. On most low and moderate burn severity sites, >30% of the soil surface was covered with organic material immediately post-fire, and one year later, the canopy cover of understory vegetation averaged 10% or more, suggesting low risk to post-fire erosion. In California chaparral and the two Montana mixed conifer sites, 5% or less of the area within the fire perimeter burned with high severity, while in Alaska, 58% was mapped as high burn severity; we think this is characteristic in Alaska, but uncharacteristic of chaparral fires, especially given the high proportion of non-native species post-fire in our chaparral sites. All fires had a mosaic of different burn severities (as indicated by delta Normalized Burn Ratio, dNBR) with highly variable patch size (mean 1.3 ha to 14.4 ha, range from <1 ha to over 100,000 ha).
Besnoitia bennetti in two Mexican burros.

Besnoitia bennefti infection was detected in two Mexican burros from a closed herd of 15 animals in Maryland. Cystic stages, which were about 1.0 mm in diameter, were found in the testicle of a male and in the skin of the perineum and teat of a female. The superficial location of the cysts on the teat suggests the potential for traumatic rupture and oral transmission during nursing by a foal. The wall of the cysts was 10-1 5 pm thick and consisted of four layers, the outer of which was birefringent. Within each cyst was a mass of organisms each about 1-2 by 5 pm. Various histochemical stains were used. This is the first confirmed diagnosis and report of natural infection with B. bennetfi originating within the United States. Besnoitiosis is a parasitic disease of various domestic and wild animals caused by Toxoplasma-like protozoan organisms. There are many synonyms for the condition in the literature, and there has been some disagreement con- cerning the nomenclature of the causative organism. JELLISON (8) and POLS (12) have dwelt extensively with this question, and it will not be pursued here. Presently the preferred genus name of the causative organism is Bes- noitia. Five different species have been described. B. besnoiti has been found in cattle, blue wildebeest, impala and a kudu (I, 3, 11, 121. It is limited in its geographical distribution to France, Portugal and parts of South Africa (12). B. bennetti occurs in horses in Africa (12, 151 ; isolated cases have been repor- ted from a horse in France and burros in Mexico and the United States (6, 161. HADWEN (7) reported B. tarandi in reindeer and caribou in Alaska. B. jellisoni is found in the white-footed deer mouse in nature, and laboratory