cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nanomaterials for the Capture and Therapeutic Targeting of Circulating Tumor Cells

Circulating tumor cells are a hallmark of cancer metastasis which accounts for approximately 90% of all cancer-related deaths. Their detection and characterization have significant implications in cancer biology and clinical practice. However, CTCs are rare cells and consist of heterogeneous subpopulations, requiring highly sensitive and specific techniques to identify and isolate them with high efficiency. Nanomaterials, with unique structural and functional properties, have shown strong promise to meet the challenging demands. In this review, we discuss CTC capture and therapeutic targeting, emphasizing the significance of the nanomaterials being used for this purpose. The next generation of therapy for metastatic cancer may well involve capturing and even directly neutralizing CTCs using nanomaterials.
Perceived benefits of the hepatitis C peer educators: a qualitative investigation.

Although opioid-dependent patients are disproportionately impacted by hepatitis C (HCV), many do not receive treatment. In addition to HCV treatment-access barriers, substance-using patients may be reluctant to pursue treatment because of wariness of the medical system, lack of knowledge, or stigma related to HCV treatment. Implementation of a formal peer education program is one model of reducing provider- and patient-level barriers to HCV treatment, by enhancing mutual trust and reducing stigma. We used thematic qualitative analysis to explore how 30 HCV patients and peer educators perceived a HCV peer program within an established methadone maintenance program in the USA. Participants unanimously described the program as beneficial. Participants described the peer educators’ normalization and dispelling of myths and fears around HCV treatment, and their exemplification of HCV treatment success, and reductions in perceived stigma. Peer educators described personal benefits. These findings indicate that HCV peer educators can enhance HCV treatment initiation and engagement within opioid substitution programs.
Redistribution Without a Median Voter: Models of Multidimensional Politics

Most work on redistribution in democracies is anchored in longstanding unidimensional models, notably the seminal Meltzer-Richard-Romer model. When scholars venture outside the security of unidimensionality, many either abandon theoretical rigor or miss the full consequences of adding more dimensions (whether ideological or economic). There is now a substantial literature on redistributive politics in multidimensional policy spaces, but it tends to be very technical and frequently misinterpreted, if not ignored. This purpose of this article is to review this relatively new literature using simple graphical representations, focusing on the key assumptions, intuitions, and results. We show how issue bundling, issue salience, and the distribution of preferences can affect redistribution, and we discuss the role of political institutions in inducing particular outcomes. We also highlight the opportunities for dialogue between formal models and more constructivist approaches by exploring the effects of politic...
What does the first highly redshifted 21-cm detection tell us about early galaxies?

The Experiment to Detect the Global Epoch of Reionization Signature (EDGES) recently reported a strong 21-cm absorption signal relative to the cosmic microwave background at $z \sim 18$. While its anomalous amplitude may indicate new physics, in this work we focus on the timing of the signal, as it alone provides an important constraint on galaxy formation models. Whereas rest-frame ultraviolet luminosity functions (UVLFs) over a broad range of redshifts are well fit by simple models in which galaxy star formation histories track the assembly of dark matter halos, we find that these same models, with reasonable assumptions about X-ray production in star-forming galaxies, cannot generate a narrow absorption trough at $z \sim 18$. If verified, the EDGES signal therefore requires the fundamental inputs of galaxy formation models to evolve rapidly at $z \gtrsim 10$. Unless extremely faint sources residing in halos below the atomic cooling threshold are responsible for the EDGES signal, star formation in $\sim 10^8$-$10^{10} \ M_{\odot}$ halos must be more efficient than expected, implying that the faint-end of the UVLF at $M_{\mathrm{UV}} \lesssim -12$ must steepen at the highest redshifts. This steepening provides a concrete test for future galaxy surveys with the James Webb Space Telescope and ongoing efforts in lensed fields, and is required regardless of whether the amplitude of the EDGES signal is due to new cooling channels or a strong radio background in the early Universe. However, the radio background solution requires that galaxies at $z > 15$ emit 1-2 GHz photons with an efficiency $\sim 10^3$ times greater than local star-forming galaxies, posing a challenge for models of low-frequency photon production in the early Universe.
Non-Hermiticity in Weakly Coupled Semiconductor Laser Arrays

Coupled semiconductor laser arrays are naturally non-Hermitian optical systems. We show that in a weakly coupled semiconductor laser array, the control for gain/loss is dominated by the nonlinearities, rather than simply following the pump profile.
Responses to Battered Women: Problems and Strategies:

The problems encountered by a service organization assisting battered women, including issues of staff burn-out, public awareness, and interagency communication and referral, are examined in a surv...
Acoustic Penetration of the Seafloor

While scattering of sound by the seafloor into the water column is a central problem in high-frequency ocean acoustics, acoustic penetration into the sediment is a subject of increasing importance. Acoustic penetration makes possible sonar detection and identification of buried mines, pipelines, cables, and archeological objects. One might expect the penetrating field strength to be very low for “fast” sediments, whose compressional wave speed exceeds the water sound speed. For these sediments, compressional waves tend to be refracted upward and out of the sediment, with small penetration depths compared to “slow” sediments such as silt and clay. Both theoretically [Jensen and Schmidt 1987], and in controlled measurements [Williams et al. 1989, Altenberg et al. 1991], the penetrating field has been found to agree reasonably well with expectations based on fluid sediment theory. That is, penetration is substantial if the incident grazing angle is larger than the critical angle and is slight otherwise, being due to the evanescent wave (Sect. 8.6). Earlier literature (e.g., [Muir et al. 1979]) had noted apparent strong subcritical penetration that was later explained as due to use of a parametric source having narrow beamwidth [Wingham et al. 1986, Jensen and Schmidt 1987].
Gastrointestinal Disorders in the Older Adult: The Psychiatrist’s Role

The geriatric patient presents multiple gastrointestinal problems commonly associated with the development of psychiatric syndromes; of those, depression, anxiety, and delirium are the most prevalent. The presence of medical comorbidity with mental illness results in reduced quality of life, poor compliance with treatment, slower recovery, increased risk of suicide, and higher cost utilization. Despite all, this relationship is often not addressed by primary care physicians. Associated factors include laxative abuse, electrolyte imbalance, and adverse drug effects (ADEs) from polypharmacy. Among cancer patients, there is a clear association between pancreatic, stomach, and colon cancer and depression. The mainstay of treatment of depression in the elderly is the use of antidepressants of the SSRIs type due to more favorable side-effect profile. Atypical antipsychotics are the first line of treatment of delirium in elderly patients, but the dosage schedule is adjusted according to the age, medical comorbidities, and general health status.
Placental Blood Flow

This chapter discusses the effects of medications commonly used during anesthesia on the placental blood flow. It also discusses normal placental blood flow and the variables associated with uterine perfusion pressure.
A life course perspective of victimization, child welfare involvement, cumulative stress and mental health for mothers on probation and parole.

Abstract Women involved in the criminal justice system experience multiple forms of adversity over their lifetimes. These events may include childhood abuse, involvement in the child welfare system as children, intimate partner violence victimization during adulthood, and punitive interactions with the child welfare system as mothers. Community supervision (e.g. probation or parole) entails particular stressors, such as obtaining basic needs and employment. A majority of women under community supervision also experience depression and anxiety. The current study used the Stress Process Model to investigate associations between childhood and adulthood stressors (including childhood abuse, intimate partner violence and child welfare system involvement), recent stressful life events, and symptoms of depression and anxiety for mothers (n = 348) on probation and parole. All of the mothers had experienced some form of childhood and/or adulthood victimization. Structural equation modeling was conducted to examine how childhood abuse, adulthood victimization, and child welfare system involvement as a child and a mother were associated with recent stressful life events and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Results indicated multiple direct and indirect relationships from childhood and adulthood stressors to mental health symptoms as women navigated probation and parole. For example, adverse childhood experiences were associated with elevated anxiety and depression symptoms via higher levels of recent stressful life events and adverse adulthood experiences. These findings highlight relationships between childhood abuse and adulthood factors and the mental health of mothers involved in the criminal justice system, with implications for theory, practice, and research.
Isolated Fetal Cardiac Abnormalities: Are They Really Isolated?

Objective To determine the rate of unsuspected noncardiac abnormalities in newborns suspected to have isolated cardiac abnormalities in the second trimester. Study Design A review of the ultrasound database from the Weill Cornell Medical Center identified fetuses with a suspected cardiac abnormality from January 2006 to November 2016. Cases with prenatally suspected noncardiac structural abnormalities, abnormal fetal or neonatal karyotype or microarray, and those who delivered at an outside institution or underwent abortion were excluded. Neonatal records were reviewed to confirm prenatal findings and to identify anomalies not suspected in the second trimester. Results Sixty-eight live births met the inclusion criteria. Five newborns (7.4%) had major abnormalities not identified in the second trimester. Three newborns had an imperforate anus. One newborn had left hydronephrosis and absent right lung, and one had hemifacial microsomia and fused ribs. All five newborns with unsuspected anomalies were in the group with suspected conotruncal anomalies, with a 11.9% rate of unsuspected anomalies versus 0% in those with nonconotruncal cardiac anomalies ( p = 0.15). Conclusion Patients with a suspected isolated fetal cardiac anomaly on ultrasound should be aware of the possibility of other major structural abnormalities, especially in cases of conotruncal cardiac anomalies.
Measuring quantity and function of pneumococcal antibodies in immunoglobulin products.

Background Immunoglobulin replacement therapy is a cornerstone of the treatment of primary immunodeficiencies. Preparations used for replacement therapy are processed by purifying immunoglobulins from large pools of plasma, which were obtained from healthy donors. The constituent antibodies in these products depend on the immune history of the donor pool as well as manufacturing processes that differ among manufacturers. For these reasons various methods have been proposed to examine the levels and function of antibodies to organisms such as Streptococcus pneumoniae, which frequently causes infections in patients with immunodeficiencies. Pneumococcal antibody levels or antibody function can be measured with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) or multiplexed opsonophagocytosis assay (MOPA). Although these assays were developed initially to assess the immunogenicity of pneumococcal vaccines, the techniques have been adapted to evaluate immunoglobulin products as well. Study design and methods This article provides a concise review of the analytic techniques for measuring pneumococcal antibodies and prior studies of immunoglobulin products utilizing these methods. Results Studies utilizing these assays have demonstrated that antibody levels of immunoglobulin products can vary with time, location, and manufacturer. Conclusions We highlight current issues and future considerations concerning measurement of pneumococcal antibodies in immunoglobulin products, and the assays used for this purpose.
Scaled Gradient Projection Methods for Optimal Control Problems and Other Structured Nonlinear Programs

The scaled gradient projection (SGP) methods introduce in [3] and subsequently modified and extended in [5,6,7,10,11,12] are effective for specially structured constrained minimization problems $$ \mathop {\min }\limits_{u \in \Omega } J(u) $$ (1A) in simple closed convex feasible sets, $$ \Omega = \{ u \in u{\rm{:}}g{\rm{(}}u{\rm{)}} \le {\rm{0}}\} $$ (1B) where u is a normed vector space, J is a smooth real-valued objective function and g is a smooth function from u to a normed vector space V with a partial order relation, ≤.These methods are particularly useful for optimal control problems with constraints on the range of admissible control sequences or functions. In problems of this sort, g is typically “separable”, Ω amounts to a Cartesian product of elementary closed convex sets U with dim U ≪ dim u ≤ ∞ , and projection into Ω, decomposes into many readily computed projections into U. Furthermore, structure inherent in J makes it possible to compute Newtonian convergence-accelerating transformations of ∇J(u) efficiently in O(k) floating point operations, where k is the number of stages in a discrete-time optimal control problem, or the number of mesh subintervals in a finite-difference approximation to a continuous-time optimal control problem.
The Symmetry of Acs and Audretsch: How We Met, Why We Stuck and How We Succeeded

The author of this chapter, Zoltan Acs, is one of the people who has known David the longest and knows him well. Although they had very different backgrounds and took very different paths, their career arcs led them to meet and become colleagues in Berlin in the 80’s and they have been close friends ever since, with Acs even serving as the best man in David’s wedding. This essay tells their story.
Adaptive Fisher method detects dense and sparse signals in association analysis of SNV sets

With the development of next generation sequencing (NGS) technology and genotype imputation methods, statistical methods have been proposed to test a set of genomic variants together to detect if any of them is associated with the phenotype or disease. In practice, within the set, there is an unknown proportion of variants truly causal or associated with the disease. There is a demand for statistical methods with high power in both dense and sparse scenarios, where the proportion of causal or associated variants is large or small respectively. We propose a new association test – weighted Adaptive Fisher (wAF) that can adapt to both dense and sparse scenarios by adding weights to the Adaptive Fisher (AF) method we developed before. Using simulation, we show that wAF enjoys comparable or better power to popular methods such as sequence kernel association tests (SKAT and SKAT-O) and adaptive SPU (aSPU) test. We apply wAF to a publicly available schizophrenia dataset, and successfully detect thirteen genes. Among them, three genes are supported by existing literature; six are plausible as they either relate to other neurological diseases or have relevant biological functions. The proposed wAF method is a powerful disease-variants association test in both dense and sparse scenarios. Both simulation studies and real data analysis indicate the potential of wAF for new biological findings.
Potato Psyllid (Hemiptera: Triozidae) Behavior on Three Potato Genotypes With Tolerance to 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum'.

The potato/tomato psyllid Bactericera cockerelli (Sulc) transmits 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum' (Lso) (also known as 'Candidatus Liberibacter psyllaurous'), the bacterium associated with zebra chip disease (ZC) in potato. When disease incidence is high, ZC causes large economic losses through reductions in potato yield and tuber quality. No commercial potato variety has been found totally resistant to the pathogen. We evaluated host acceptance behaviors using no-choice assays on three breeding clones derived from Solanum chacoense Bitter with putative tolerance to Lso and/or ZC as part of an effort to determine whether the disease tolerance observed in those breeding clones was related to effects on psyllid settling behavior. We also counted the number of eggs laid and nymphs hatched on the different genotypes to observe any differences in reproduction. The potato variety 'Russet Burbank' was used as a susceptible control. Probing frequency and female walking duration were greater on Russet Burbank than the other genotypes. Oviposition did not differ among genotypes. However, female psyllids on two of the Lso-tolerant genotypes displayed reduced fertility 18-24 d after confinement with a male, relative to females on Russet Burbank. These results suggest that although the germplasms display minor abiotic activity on psyllid fertility, tolerance to Lso may be more strongly linked with plant tolerance to the pathogen rather than effects on host acceptance behaviors.
Valuing disaster risk reduction neighborhood interventions in informal settlements of Latin American and the Caribbean

This study assesses the dollar benefit of a neighborhood approach intervention on disaster risk reduction in small-sized, densely populated, and hazard-prone informal settlements across Latin American and Caribbean countries. We use a life satisfaction approach that assigns a dollar value to gains in wellbeing associated with the neighborhood approach intervention. Our primary data was a survey to a sample of 349 beneficiaries from small towns in Haiti, Guatemala, and Jamaica, and in major cities' surrounded areas of Peru, Colombia, and Honduras. Out of 14 interventions, we found that community empowerment, physical works in public spaces and urban gardens/food approaches produced a gain of USD1,038 to USD1,241 to individual beneficiaries. Our study suggests a large benefit associated with the neighborhood approach intervention. It also shows that the life satisfaction approach is a promising method for the valuation of non-market and public goods, especially for countries where data on hazards and risks is not available to help monetize risk reductions.
Belief in Altruistic Motives Predicts Prosocial Actions and Inferences

Are humans ever truly altruistic? Or are all actions, however noble, ultimately motivated by self-interest? Psychologists and philosophers have long grappled with this question, but few have consid...
The Open Question of How GPCRs Interact with GPCR Kinases (GRKs)

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), which regulate a vast number of eukaryotic processes, are desensitized by various mechanisms but, most importantly, by the GPCR kinases (GRKs). Ever since GRKs were first identified, investigators have sought to determine which structural features of GRKs are used to select for the agonist-bound states of GPCRs and how this binding event in turn enhances GRK catalytic activity. Despite a wealth of molecular information from high-resolution crystal structures of GRKs, the mechanisms driving activation have remained elusive, in part because the GRK N-terminus and active site tether region, previously proposed to serve as a receptor docking site and to be key to kinase domain closure, are often disordered or adopt inconsistent conformations. However, two recent studies have implicated other regions of GRKs as being involved in direct interactions with active GPCRs. Atomic resolution structures of GPCR-GRK complexes would help refine these models but are, so far, lacking. Here, we assess three distinct models for how GRKs recognize activated GPCRs, discuss limitations in the approaches used to generate them, and then experimentally test a hypothetical GPCR interaction site in GRK2 suggested by the two newest models.
Talk on the move: articulating mobility in West Africa

This article explores meaning making in mobilities research by deconstructing the duality of experience and representation. In so doing, it situates language as a form of social action and not a me...
An Electrothermal Model Based Adaptive Control of Resistance Spot Welding Process

Resistance Spot Welding (RSW) is a process commonly used for joining a stack of two or three metal sheets at desired spots. The weld is accomplished by holding the metallic workpieces together by applying pressure through the tips of a pair of electrodes and then passing a strong electric current for a short duration. Inconsistent weld and insufficient nugget size are some of the common problems associated with RSW. To overcome these problems, a new adaptive control scheme is proposed in this paper. It is based on an electrothermal dynamical model of the RSW process, and utilizes the principle of adaptive one-step-ahead control. It is basically a tracking controller that adjusts the weld current continuously to make sure that the temperature of the workpieces or the weld nugget tracks a desired reference temperature profile. The proposed control scheme is expected to reduce energy consumption by 5% or more per weld, which can result in significant energy savings for any application requiring a high volume of spot welds. The design steps are discussed in details. Also, results of some simulation studies are presented.
Spatial segregation between rotifers and cladocerans mediated by Chaoborus

In a field experiment I examined the effect of Chaoborus spp, on the vertical distribution of three rotifer species, Kellicottia longispina, Keratella cochlearis and Polyarthra sp. and on the spatial overlap of these rotifer species with three Daphnia species (D. pulicaria, D. rosea and D. retrocurva). In the presence of Chaoborus, total rotifer abundance increased, while total cladoceran abundance decreased. Patterns of migratory behavior varied among rotifer species. Kellicottia longispina and Polyarthra sp. showed vertical migration, while K. cochlearis did not. Kellicottia longispina mean depth was deeper during the day than during the night. The presence of Chaoborus had no significant effect on its vertical distribution. Polyarthra mean depth was significantly shallower during the day than during the night, but a marginally significant interaction suggests that day-night differences occurred only in the absence of Chaoborus. No vertical migration was observed in any Daphnia species in the absence of Chaoborus. D. pulicaria mean depth was significantly shallower in the presence of Chaoborus, and a marginally significant Chaoborus×time interaction suggests that D. pulicaria migrate upward during the night. The spatial overlap of K longispina with each Daphnia species was not affected by Chaoborus. Keratella cochlearis was spatially segregated from D. pulicaria in the absence of Chaoborus, but the spatial overlap between these two species significantly increased in the Chaoborus treatment. Spatial segregation occurred between Polyarthra and D. pulicaria in absence of Chaoborus, however a significant Chaoborus×time interaction indicated that the spatial segregation occurred only during the day. These results suggest that Chaoborus could have complex indirect effects on rotifer-Daphnia interactions. Rotifer populations could be released from competition due to Chaoborus predation on Daphnia. Chaoborus presence, however, could intensify rotifer-Daphnia competitive interactions by increasing their spatial overlap.
Ion exchange studies in concentrated solutions—II: The alkaline earth cations with a sulphonic acid resin☆

Abstract A study has been made of the ion-exchange behaviour of Be, Ca, and Ba tracers in HClO 4 , HCl, and HNO 3 solutions ranging from 0·1 to 10M in concentration on a sulphonic acid resin, Dowex-50W. In dilute acid solutions the normal elution order is found and the values of the distribution ratios decrease as expected from the mass-action effect. With concentrated solutions an increase in the value of the distribution ratio with increase in acid concentration occurs in certain cases, leading to an inversion in the elution order of the ions. These results are interpreted in terms of the competition among the water molecules, aqueous anions, and resin sulphonate anions for solvating the cations.
Recursive Model Reference Adaptive Control of Open and Closed Kinematic Chains

An algorithm for the adaptive control of a manipulator arm consisting of either open or closed kinematic chains is presented. The algorithm for closed chains differs from procedures presented by other investigators in three ways. First, the recursive algorithm exactly produces the control law. Secondly, pains have been taken to make the procedures resemble the original Newton-Euler algorithm. Finally, for the case of closed kinematic chains the method of determining the closure reactions is unique compared to other recursive algorithms developed for such manipulators. Regardless of the number of closed mechanical loops, even zero, the inverse dynamic calculation requires a single forward pass and a single backward pass.
Focal adhesion kinase-promoted tumor glucose metabolism is associated with a shift of mitochondrial respiration to glycolysis

Cancer cells often gains a growth advantage by taking up glucose at a high rate and undergoing aerobic glycolysis through intrinsic cellular factors that reprogram glucose metabolism. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK), a key transmitter of growth factor and anchorage stimulation, is aberrantly overexpressed or activated in most solid tumors, including pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (PDACs). We determined whether FAK can act as an intrinsic driver to promote aerobic glycolysis and tumorigenesis. FAK inhibition decreases and overexpression increases intracellular glucose levels during unfavorable conditions, including growth factor deficiency and cell detachment. Amplex glucose assay, fluorescence and carbon-13 tracing studies demonstrate that FAK promotes glucose consumption and glucose-to-lactate conversion. Extracellular flux analysis indicates that FAK enhances glycolysis and decreases mitochondrial respiration. FAK increases key glycolytic proteins, including enolase, pyruvate kinase M2 (PKM2), lactate dehydrogenase and monocarboxylate transporter. Furthermore, active/tyrosine-phosphorylated FAK directly binds to PKM2 and promotes PKM2-mediated glycolysis. On the other hand, FAK-decreased levels of mitochondrial complex I can result in reduced oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). Attenuation of FAK-enhanced glycolysis re-sensitizes cancer cells to growth factor withdrawal, decreases cell viability and reduces growth of tumor xenografts. These observations, for the first time, establish a vital role of FAK in cancer glucose metabolism through alterations in the OXPHOS-to-glycolysis balance. Broadly targeting the common phenotype of aerobic glycolysis and more specifically FAK-reprogrammed glucose metabolism will disrupt the bioenergetic and biosynthetic supply for uncontrolled growth of tumors, particularly glycolytic PDAC.
Liquid nitrogen preservation of red blood cells for transfusion; a low glycerol-rapid freeze procedure.

Summary A simple and practical method for the cryopreservation of red cells for transfusion has been described. Human red cells suspended in 14% (v/v) glycerol were placed in flat stainless steel containers and frozen by immersion in liquid nitrogen. The frozen blood was stored at −196°C. After thawing, the blood was transferred into plastic blood bags and washed three times, once with mannitol and twice with saline, to remove glycerol and free hemoglobin. Over-all recovery of the cells was greater than 90% and post-transfusion survival of the recovered red cells was comparable to survival of fresh, unfrozen blood. More than 350 units of red cells frozen and thawed by this process have been administered to patients.
Mapping Dark Matter in Galaxy Clusters: Gravitational Lensing & Numerical Simulations

The different regimes of gravitational lensing constitutes an interesting tool in order to map the mass distribution in galaxy clusters on different scales. In this proceedings article, I review some work I have performed on this topic. More precisely, I will focus on : (i) galaxy scale substructures, using weak galaxy-galaxy lensing in order to study how does the environment shape their properties; (ii) the mass profile of Abell~1689 as probed combining strong and weak lensing; (iii) the slope of the inner dark matter distribution in Abell~1703 as measured by strong lensing. The lensing results will be compared to the expectations from numerical simulations, when available.
A Framework to Analyze Software Analysis Techniques

The software community uses a multitude of varying analysis techniques to define the “what” of software artifacts. How do different analysis techniques compare and contrast with each other? This paper presents a new analysis framework to describe and characterize software analysis techniques employed during the specification process.
Natural Radionuclide Contents in Human Whole-Body Ashes

Whole-body ashes from nine cremated adult humans were acquired from local mortuaries in Ft. Collins, Colorado (USA) with the consent of next of kin. Ashes of each individual corpse were ground, homogenized and sealed in a steel can for 30 days before gamma-spectroscopy measurements were made to determine the 228Ra, 228Th, 238U, 226Ra and 40K contents. The median values of radionuclide contents in our study subjects were generally higher than literature values in which only a selected set of organs had been analyzed. Direct estimates of natural or man-made radionuclides in whole-body human ashes should be more accurate than estimates based on analysis of small bone or tissue samples that require extrapolation to the entire body.
A toolkit approach to partially connected operation

Partially connected operation is the circumstance in which the communication link between two computers is intermittent, either by choice or because of failure. This paper describes the design and performance of a user level toolkit that is suited to accessing the home directory of a partially connected user in a bandwidth-efficient manner. Compared to custom file systems for partially connected operation, the toolkit is easier to deploy and provides extra degrees of flexibility because it runs at user level and uses the local file system for its cache. The toolkit makes it possible for unaltered clients to access NFS file systems exported by unaltered servers. The maintenance of consistency between client and server is automatic provided that certain assumptions are upheld, the primary one being that sharing is limited in such a way that there is a "single locus of update." That is, for extended periods, updates are applied either to the client's cache or directly to the server, but not to both simultaneously. This pattern of use is typical of a user's home directory. Performance is the disadvantage of user level operation. The client's cache is managed by a "caching tool" that services every file system operation and this redirection increases latency substantially.
Epidemiology of Concussion in Collegiate and High School Football Players

Despite evolutionary changes in protective equipment, head injury remains common in football. We investigated concussion in football and associated epidemiologic issues such as 1) incidence of injury, 2) common signs and symptoms, and 3) patterns in making return-to-play decisions. We received 242 of 392 surveys (62%) that were sent to high school and collegiate certified athletic trainers at the beginning of three football seasons. Of the 17,549 football players represented, 888 (5.1%) sustained at least one concussion, and 131 (14.7% of the 888) sustained a second injury during the same season. The greatest incidence of concussion was found at the high school (5.6%) and collegiate division III (5.5%) levels, suggesting that there is an association between level of play and the proportion of players injured. Players who sustained one concussion in a season were three times more likely to sustain a second concussion in the same season compared with uninjured players. Contact with artificial turf appears to be associated with a more serious concussion than contact with natural grass. Only 8.9% of all injuries involved loss of consciousness, while 86% involved a headache. Overall, 30.8% of all players sustaining a concussion returned to participation on the same day of injury.
Voice recognition digital cipher lock for smart vehicles

The implementation of a voice recognition digital cipher lock (VRDCL) for automotive applications. Proposed VRDCZ requires a password and a 4-digit combination to obtain access to the vehicle. The VRDCL's combination may be changed by a separate combination programmer unit. The VRDCL will activate a security system after three failed attempts. >
Assumption-Based Planning: The essence of Assumption-Based Planning

You envision a romantic dinner with a special someone. You are nervous; you want to make sure nothing goes wrong. You make a list of all those steps you need to take to make that special dinner a reality. You keep adding and revising the steps as new eventualities come to mind. A group of U.S. military officers gathers in 1940 to look into the future to identify events that could plausibly lead to conflict. One of them suggests an air attack by Japan on a U.S. Navy base in Hawaii—a suggestion that is dismissed out of hand. We cannot know the future perfectly, but we can imagine the future and make plans for it by making some assumptions—or judgments— about what that future could be like. Some of the assumptions we make are pretty likely to come true; others are more vulnerable to uncontrollable and unforeseen events; still others seem quite unlikely. Some of the assumptions are likely to be very important to the success of the plan; others will be more peripheral. Assumption-Based Planning (ABP) is a tool designed for improving the robustness and adaptability of plans—for reducing the number of avoidable surprises in any plan or planning. It is primarily a “post-planning” tool (recognizing that planning is an iterative process) that concentrates on the assumptions in an already-developed plan that are most important to the plan's success and that are most uncertain. Specifically, ABP works to decrease the risks that assumptions represent.
Systems support for stereoscopic video compression

In this paper, we propose a content-based, threaded stereoscopic video compression algorithm. We believe that it is likely future stereoscopic imaging systems will contain more than two lenses, allowing the display system to optimize the stereoscopic viewing experience. Furthermore, it will allow for the adjustment of framing (scene) composition errors that can arise from stereoscopic capture. Our proposed system uses 10 linearly aligned lenses. Upon capture, the images are run through a feature detection and matching algorithm in order to determine disparity between the stereoscopic images. During compression, the disparity measurements can be used to drive the selection of key frames within the image sets to provide better retrieval of data for display.
ARTICULATING DIVIDES IN DISTRIBUTED KNOWLEDGE PRACTICE

Working together has always been a challenge but recent trends in who works with whom, on what, and across what regions, cultures, disciplines and time zones have conspired to increase the complexity of team work, and in particular the complexity of knowledge work and communication across knowledge divides. Drawing from literature and examples of practice obtained during research on distributed, collaborative teams, this paper examines constraints to collaborative practice. It is argued that crossing knowledge divides requires articulating often invisible, taken-for-granted knowledge-based asset specificities that constrain what is recognized and accepted as practice in the different fields or occupations involved in the collaboration. Different types of specificities are discussed as examples to stimulate recognition and articulation of distributions in practice. The paper then discusses ways of recognizing domain constraints on the way to articulating divides and achieving collaboration across distribut...
Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass using H graft for pleural symphysis

In November 1995, video-assisted minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass procedure, which is defined as a combination of the thoracoscopic internal mammary artery (IMA) harvest and direct coronary bypass grafting, was introduced for patients who need minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB) using IMA. In the thoracoscopic IMA harvest, the pleural adhesions or symphysis present an obstacle. We present a case where a redo patient who had complete pleural symphysis of left chest cavity precluded the thoracoscopic IMA harvest, and MIDCAB with the H graft procedure was performed.
Application of oligonucleotide array CGH to the simultaneous detection of a deletion in the nuclear TK2 gene and mtDNA depletion.

Abstract Thymidine kinase 2 (TK2), encoded by the TK2 gene on chromosome 16q22, is one of the deoxyribonucleoside kinases responsible for the maintenance of mitochondrial deoxyribonucleotide pools. Defects in TK2 mainly cause a myopathic form of the mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome (MDDS). Currently, only point mutations and small insertions and deletions have been reported in TK2 gene; gross rearrangements of TK2 gene and possible hepatic involvement in patients with TK2 mutations have not been described. We report a non-consanguineous Jordanian family with three deceased siblings due to mtDNA depletion. Sequence analysis of the father detected a heterozygous c.761T>A (p.I254N) mutation in his TK2 gene; however, point mutations in the mother were not detected. Subsequent gene dosage analysis using oligonucleotide array CGH identified an intragenic approximately 5.8-kb deletion encompassing the 5′UTR to intron 2 of her TK2 gene. Sequence analysis confirmed that the deletion spans c.1–495 to c.283–2899 of the TK2 gene (nucleotide 65,136,256–65,142,086 of chromosome 16). Analysis of liver and muscle specimens from one of the deceased infants in this family revealed compound heterozygosity for the paternal point mutation and maternal intragenic deletion. In addition, a significant reduction of the mtDNA content in liver and muscle was detected (10% and 20% of age- and tissue-matched controls, respectively). Prenatal diagnosis was performed in the third pregnancy. The fetus was found to carry both the point mutation and the deletion. This child died 6months after birth due to myopathy. A serum specimen demonstrated elevated liver transaminases in two of the infants from whom results were available. This report expands the mutation spectrum associated with TK2 deficiency. While the myopathic form of MDDS appears to be the main phenotype of TK2 mutations, liver dysfunction may also be a part of the mitochondrial depletion syndrome caused by TK2 gene defects.
Muslim Science as the Source of the Portuguese Age of Discoveries

In his article "Muslim Science as the Source of the Portuguese Age of Discoveries" Joseph Abraham Levi analyses the Jewish, mostly Sephardic, and Islamic contributions to science and their legacy in Iberia, particularly present-day Portugal. Using as a springboard the countless contributions to the sciences brought by Muslims to the Iberian Peninsula, southern France (mainly Provence), Sardinia, Sicily, and the rest of southern Italy, as well as other parts of the Mediterranean, Levi concentrates on the key role that Muslim scholars had, oftentimes assisted by their Sephardic Jewish counterparts, in training the scientific researchers of the then-burgeoning young Portuguese nation, thus opening the door to the Portuguese Age of Discoveries and Expansion Overseas, as well as paving the way to the modern era. http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/clcweb/vol14/iss5/2 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7771/1481-4374.2135 Joseph Abraham Levi, "Muslim Science as the Source of the Portuguese Age of Discoveries" page 2 of 8 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 14.5 (2012): Special issue New Work about the Journey and Its Portrayals. Ed. I-Chun Wang
Minimally invasive Ivor–Lewis esophagogastrectomy for gastric cardia cancer

Introduction Gastric cardia cancer with involvement of the esophagus may require an esophagogastrectomy to obtain negative tumor margins. Multiple studies have shown that minimally invasive esophagectomy is a safe approach for the treatment of esophageal cancer [1, 2, 3]. We describe the technique of a minimally invasive Ivor–Lewis esophagectomy in a 55-year-old patient with a gastric cardia tumor.
A cell-free mRNA stability assay reveals conservation of the enzymes and mechanisms of mRNA decay between mosquito and mammalian cell lines.

The rate of mRNA turnover is an important determinant of levels of gene expression. Although this process has been studied extensively in mammalian cells and yeast, relatively little is known about the mRNA decay pathways in insects. Our analysis found that the vast majority of components of the mRNA decay machinery are conserved between humans and mosquitoes. Moreover, the half-lives of Aedes albopictus mRNAs are within a similar range to those of mammalian mRNAs. In order to investigate mechanistic aspects of mRNA decay in mosquitoes, we developed an in vitro system using cytoplasmic S100 extracts from A. albopictus C6/36 cells. Using this decay assay, we show here that all the pathways of mRNA turnover that have been observed in mammalian cells (deadenylation, decapping, 3′-to-5′ exonucleolytic decay and 5′-to-3′ exonucleolytic decay) are active in C6/36 extracts. Finally, we present compelling evidence that the major deadenylase in C6/36 extracts is likely to be a homolog of the human poly(A) specific ribonuclease, PARN. Our results suggest a high level of conservation in the factors and pathways of mRNA decay between mosquitoes and humans.
High urine flow rate increases prostaglandin E excretion in the conscious dog

Abstract Although previous studies from this and other laboratories have shown that urinary prostaglandin E excretion (U PGE V) can vary independent of urine flow rate, recent studies during water diuresis in the conscious dog have suggested that high urine flow rate per se may increase U PGE V. To examine the effect of urine flow rate on U PGE V we administered either mannitol, chlorothiazide or Ringer's solution to mongrel dogs and measured U PGE V. During anesthesia neither mannitol or chlorothiazide increased U PGE V. There was, however, a consistent increase with all three agents in awake animals. This increase in U PGE V was independent of alterations in glomerular filtration rate. There was a consistent increase in urinary sodium excretion and decrease in urinary osmolality with all three agents. The changes in PGE, however, were similar to those found during water diuresis when no increase in sodium excretion was found. It is not presently clear whether these findings reflect a true increase in renal PGE synthesis due to some change in flow or pressure within the renal medulla or rather represent unchanged PGE synthesis by renal tubular cells, the high tubule fluid flow rate causing increased entry into the tubular lumen in contrast to the renal interstitium.
Fibroblasts regulate monocyte response to ECM‐derived matrix: The effects on monocyte adhesion and the production of inflammatory, matrix remodeling, and growth factor proteins

Monocytes/macrophages and fibroblasts are recruited to the injury site and orchestrate the host response and tissue repair. We have previously shown that polyethylene glycol (PEG)-ylated arginine-glycine-aspartic acid (RGD) sequence grafted onto an extracellular matrix (ECM)-based semi-interpenetrating network (sIPN) enhances monocyte adhesion, and modulates subsequent gene expression and release of inflammatory and matrix remodeling factors. In this study, we investigate the direct influence of fibroblasts on monocyte response to this ECM mimic. Key wound-healing factors in inflammation, matrix remodeling, and regeneration were analyzed to gain insight into the interrelated role of regulation in fibroblast-monocyte interaction. Interleukin-1alpha/−1beta (IL-1α/−1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), monocyte inflammatory protein-1alpha/−1beta (MIP-1α/−1β), transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-α), monocyte chemoattractant factor (MCP-1), matrix metalloproteinase-2/−9 (MMP-2/−9), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were analyzed. Fibroblasts decreased monocyte adhesion onto the RGD-grafted sIPN while increasing monocyte GM-CSF on all surfaces over time except for on RGD and PHSRN-grafted sIPN at 96 h. Monocytes decreased initial fibroblast IL-1α and TGF-α, but drastically increased fibroblast MMP-2 and GM-CSF. Monocyte IL-1β, TNF-α, MIP-1β, MCP-1, MMP-9, and GM-CSF expression was increased over time in the presence of all sIPNs, and when the sIPNs were immobilized with ligands, a down-regulation of fibroblast IL-1β, MIP-1α, MIP-1β compared with unmodified sIPN was observed. When the ligand immobilized was RGD, monocyte TGF-α, MIP-1β, and VEGF expression was increased while monocyte GM-CSF was decreased at selected time points. These results showed a dynamic monocyte response to selected ECM components in the presence of fibroblasts.
Theoretical study of time‐resolved Raman scattering profiles of hot electrons in semiconductors

A comprehensive time‐resolved electronic Raman scattering theory for nonequilibrium carrier excitations in semiconductors is presented. The following are simultaneously taken into account: (i) the effects of the ultrashort laser pulse for probing the excited carrier distribution function; (ii) the fact that the fluctuation‐dissipation theorem is not valid under conditions of nonequilibrium carrier distributions; (iii) the effects of quasiparticle life time via a finite collision time in the Raman scattering cross section; and (iv) the effect of the time‐dependent resonant enhancement factor due to the band structure. The single‐particle scattering spectra for spin‐density fluctuation contribution is found to be significantly broadened by an ultrashort laser pulse, but is substantially narrowed by the finite collision time. The effect of the time‐dependent resonant enhancement factor has been demonstrated to broaden the line shape of single‐particle scattering spectra for the spin‐density fluctuation contr...