cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 4509: Mitochondrial DNA copy number is inversely associated with overall survival in non-small cell lung cancer

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL Mitochondria play an important role in generating energy for vital cellular functions. Alterations in mitochondria function due to mutations or copy number changes can potentially lead to tumorigenesis. Although previous studies have investigated the effect of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) depletion on cancer risk, no studies have assessed constitutive mtDNA copy number as a prognostic marker for overall survival in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Towards this, we measured mtDNA content by a quantitative real-time PCR assay in peripheral blood lymphocytes collected prior to treatment from 1,134 NSCLC cases seen at MD Anderson Cancer Center. A significant inverse dose-response trend was identified for mtDNA content and NSCLC risk (p-value: 0.0076). Those with the highest tertile of mtDNA content had the greatest reduction in risk of dying (HR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.82-0.97, p-value: 0.014) and a highly significantly enhanced median survival time of 20.20 months compared to only 14.11 months for those with the lowest mtDNA content (p-value: 6.7x10-5). It is known that exposure to tobacco smoke results in the production of reactive oxygen species that can damage mtDNA. Therefore, we also performed stratified analysis based on smoking status. The effect in ever smokers (N=951) mirrored that of the overall population with a significant reduction in risk of death with increasing mtDNA content (p-trend: 0.008) and a dramatic nearly seven month survival advantage for those patients with the highest mtDNA content compared to the lowest (20.73 months compared to 13.98 months, respectively, p-value: 4.1x10-5). Interestingly, mtDNA content was not significant with overall survival in never smokers (N=183), suggesting that the effect in the overall population was driven by the ever smokers and that mtDNA alterations do not play a major role in the course of disease for this unique subgroup of NSCLC patients. Together, these results demonstrate that mtDNA content is a potential prognostic biomarker in NSCLC that can be measured non-invasively prior to treatment to provide needed information regarding course of disease to identify those at high risk for a poor outcome. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4509. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4509
Two Roads Less Travelled by Psychoanalysis

Two recent developments that are of import to discovering the brain basis of the unconscious are discussed: First, the development of optogenetics, allowing the astute neuroscientist to causally intervene in a specified neuronal population in a very specific manner in behaving experimental animals. Second, the development of an information-based account of consciousness—Tononi’s integrated information theory.
Immunotherapy for head and neck cancer: latest developments and clinical potential:

Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) is a malignancy with a rapidly changing demographic profile, given the recent epidemic of human papilloma virus related cancers. Most patients present with locally advanced disease and receive combination therapeutic approaches with curative potential, albeit with significant toxicity. Up to a third of patients, however, will eventually develop recurrent or metastatic disease. The prognosis of such patients is dismal, as palliative treatment options remain limited. Immune-directed therapies offer a novel therapeutic strategy beyond cytotoxic chemotherapy and are currently being evaluated in a wide variety of malignancies. HNSCC is a particularly favorable disease for immunotherapy, as immune evasion and dysregulation have been shown to play a key role in the initiation and progression of HNSCC. This review focuses on the latest developments in immunotherapy in HNSCC, with a particular focus on checkpoint inhibitors, adoptive cellular therapies, and vaccines.
Crinoidea Flexibilia (Echinodermata) from the Fort Payne Formation (Lower Mississippian; Kentucky and Tennessee)

Seventeen flexible crinoids, including three new species, are reported from the Fort Payne Formation with new material from Cumberland, Clinton, and Russell Counties in south-central Kentucky and from Clay County, Tennessee. This study extends the geographic range of all taxa studied, as only seven species were previously known from the Fort Payne Formation. Fort Payne flexible crinoids include Taxocrinus colletti, Onychocrinus ramulosus, O. grandis n. sp., Nipterocrinus monroensis, Mespilocrinus romingeri, M. kentuckyensis n. sp., Gaulocrinus veryi, G. robustus, G. trauscholdi, G. bordeni, G. symmetros n. sp., Metichthyocrinus tiaraeformis, M. clarkensis, Forbesiocrinus pyriformis, F. saffordi, F. wortheni, and Wachsmuthicrinus spinosulus. Mespilocrinus columnals are also described, and the diagnosis of N. monroensis is emended. The Fort Payne Formation occurrence of O. exsculptus could not be verified. Forbesiocrinus multibrachiatus and Parichthyocrinus crawfordsvillensis are considered to be junior synonyms of Forbesiocrinus wortheni. Fort Payne flexible crinoids in the Lake Cumberland area occur at nine localities in four facies types. No more than three species occur at any Fort Payne locality.
FLY ASH-ORGANIC BYPRODUCT MIXTURE AS SOIL AMENDMENT

Greenhouse studies were conducted to assess the potential of fly ash-organic waste co-disposal to enhance crop production. Two pot experiments, one using sorghum sudangrass (Sorghum vulgaris) and other using collard greens (Brassica olreraceae) were conducted under greenhouse conditions. In addition, a leaching experiment was also conducted to assess the leaching potential of selected heavy metals from fly ash (FA) - sewage sludge (SS) amended soils. The results indicated that biomass production of sorghum sudangrass was significantly increased up to 250 Mg/ha FA: SS mixture amendment, regardless of various ratios of FA: SS mixed amendment. Similarly, the collard greens biomass significantly increased up to 50 Mg/ha. The elemental uptake showed a similar pattern for both sorghum sudangrass and collard greens. The leaching study indicated that increased application rates of amendments (either alone or as mixtures) resulted in increa(sed leaching of metals. Therefore, low to moderate rates of FA: SS mixture (1:1 ratio) could be successfully used as soil amendments.
Adolescent delinquency in child welfare system: A multiple disadvantage model

Abstract This longitudinal study of adolescents in the child welfare system examined delinquent behaviors' relationships with social structural, social-relationship, and mental health factors. This study employed a sample of 788 adolescents (age 11–17 years) extracted from 3 interview waves of the longitudinal National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW-II). Results of negative binomial regression showed that deviant peer affiliation, alcohol use, use of substances while alone, depression, need for services, receipt of services for delinquency, male gender, and age were associated positively with higher “counts” of delinquent acts. In turn, parental monitoring was associated negatively with such counts. Social structural factors and maltreatment types had no significant associations with delinquent acts. Implications of the results include a need for cultivating prosocial friends, providing parental monitoring, and conducting drug screens to address adolescents' delinquency.
Impact of “Blocking” with in Prenotification Appeal on Mail Survey Response Rates

This paper deals with a new aspect of mail survey prenotification that the authors call “blocking,” which refers to the opportunity given in a prenotifying letter to a potential mail survey respondent to choose not to participate in the survey by indicating non-interest through the return of a postage-paid card. The sample for this exploratory study consisted of 600 households with memberships in a large metropolitan fitness center. The findings indicate that blocking within a mix of personal and social appeals results in a significantly (p<0.05) higher response rate than within a personal appeal alone. Implications of the findings are discussed.
A 3-input all magnetic full adder with misalignment-free clocking mechanism

The clocking field misalignment is a critical issue for the application of Magnetic Quantum-dot Cellular Automata (MQCA). Recent work demonstrates a novel architecture to address this issue—by progressively tuning the shape anisotropy, we could enforce a misalignment-free signal propagation and logic operation. In this paper, we propose a novel architecture of a 3-input full adder based on the 45°-clocking field mechanism. The effectiveness of this design is confirmed through both simulation and experiments. Our work paves the way for the application of MQCA logic.
High-resolution precipitation mapping in a mountainous watershed: ground truth for evaluating uncertainty in a national precipitation dataset

A 69-station, densely spaced rain gauge network was maintained over the period 1951–1958 in the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory, located in the southern Appalachians in western North Carolina, USA. This unique dataset was used to develop the first digital seasonal and annual precipitation maps for the Coweeta basin, using elevation regression functions and residual interpolation. It was found that a 10-m elevation grid filtered to an approximately 7-km effective wavelength explained the most variance in precipitation (R2 = 0.82–0.95). A ‘dump zone’ of locally high precipitation a short distance downwind from the mountain crest marking the southern border of the basin was the main feature that was not explained well by the precipitation–elevation relationship. These data and maps provided a rare ‘ground-truth’ for estimating uncertainty in the national-scale Parameter-elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) precipitation grids for this location and time period. Differences between PRISM and ground-truth were compared with uncertainty estimates produced by the PRISM model and cross-validation errors. Potential sources of uncertainty in the national PRISM grids were evaluated, including the effects of coarse grid resolution, limited station data, and imprecise station locations. The PRISM national grids matched closely (within 5%) with the Coweeta dataset. The PRISM regression prediction interval, which includes the influence of stations in an area of tens of kilometres around a given location, overestimated the local error at Coweeta (12–20%). Offsetting biases and generally low error rates made it difficult to isolate major sources of uncertainty in the PRISM grids, but station density and selection, and mislocation of stations were identified as likely sources of error. The methods used in this study can be repeated in other areas where high-density data exist to gain a more comprehensive picture of the uncertainties in national-level datasets, and can be used in network optimization exercises.
Severe aortic regurgitation of quadricuspid aortic valve

We report a case of new onset congestive heart failure due to severe aortic regurgitation of a quadricuspid aortic valve. A 51-year-old diabetic African-American female with chronic kidney disease,...
Linking Compensation and Health Surveillance Data Sets to Improve Knowledge of US Coal Miners' Health.

Objective:Increase knowledge of US coal miners’ respiratory health by linking data from the black lung benefits program (BLBP) and the coal workers’ health surveillance program (CWHSP).Methods:BLBP claims data from 2000 through 2013 was linked to CWHSP data from 1970 through 2016.Results:Overall, 27
Noninvasive Thermal Evaluation of Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Patency and Cerebrospinal Fluid Flow Using a Flow Enhancing Device.

Background While a noninvasive flow determination would be desirable in the diagnosis of cerebrospinal fluid shunt malfunction, existing studies have not yet defined a role for thermal flow detection. Objective To evaluate a revised test protocol using a micropumper designed to transiently enhance flow during thermal testing to determine whether thermal detection of flow is associated with progression to shunt revision surgery. Methods Eighty-two unique tests were performed in 71 shunts. The primary outcome, need for revision within 7 d of testing, was compared with results of micropumper-augmented thermal flow detection. Statistical analysis was based on blind interpretation of test results and raw temperature data recorded during testing. Results The test was sensitive (73%) and specific (68%) in predicting need for revision, with 5.6-fold higher probability of revision when flow was not detected. Negative predictive value in our sample was 94.2%. The probability of not requiring revision increased with increasing total temperature drop. Analysis of various possible thresholds showed that the optimal temperature cutoff may be lower than suggested by the manufacturer (0.125°C vs 0.2°C). Conclusion This is the first study to report a strong association between thermal flow evaluation and a clinical impression that a shunt is not malfunctioning. The current recommended threshold may increase the false positive rate unnecessarily, and as clinicians gain experience with the method, they may find value in examining the temperature curves themselves. Multicenter studies are suggested to further define a role for this diagnostic test.
In Situ Formation of FeRh Nanoalloys for Oxygenate Synthesis

Early and late transition metals are often combined as a strategy to tune the selectivity of catalysts for the conversion of syngas (CO/H2) to C2+ oxygenates, such as ethanol. Here we show how the use of a highly reducible Fe2O3 support for Rh leads to the in situ formation of supported FeRh nanoalloy catalysts that exhibit high selectivity for ethanol synthesis. In situ characterizations by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) reveal the coexistence of iron oxide, iron carbide, metallic iron, and FeRh alloy phases depending on reaction conditions and Rh loading. Structural analysis coupled with catalytic testing indicates that oxygenate formation is correlated to the presence of FeRh alloys, while the iron oxide and carbide phases lead mainly to hydrocarbons. The formation of nanoalloys by in situ reduction of a metal oxide support under working conditions represents a simple approach for the preparation bimetallic catalysts with enhanced catalytic properties.
Adoption Behavior of U.S. Women

This chapter is the first of two demographic analysis chapters. Chapter 4 examines adoption behavior in the United States, through an analysis of Cycle 6 of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG). As is noted in Chapter 3 the NSFG’s main strength as a data source on adoption, according to Bachrach (1986), is it provides data comparing the women who adopt, those who place children for adoption, and those who do not adopt. Thus, the NSFG is the best source for individual-level data (Bachrach, 1986; Chandra, Abma, Maza, & Bachrach, 1999). Arguably, with the completion of the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Parents this may no longer be the case (e.g. see Section 1.4.1). However, the NSFG has the added value of being a longitudinal and currently ongoing survey, which allows researchers to document trends. This chapter looks at adoption, with specific emphasis on female adopters using available data from the NSFG female respondent files in two sections. First, we explore commonly associated with increasing or predicting the likelihood of adopting a child. Second, we then examine the effects of race and ethnicity on the predictors of adoption behavior.
Deconvolution of octahedral Pt 3 Ni nanoparticle growth pathway from in situ characterizations

Understanding the growth pathway of faceted alloy nanoparticles at the atomic level is crucial to morphology control and property tuning. Yet, it remains a challenge due to complexity of the growth process and technical limits of modern characterization tools. We report a combinational use of multiple cutting-edge in situ techniques to study the growth process of octahedral Pt3Ni nanoparticles, which reveal the particle growth and facet formation mechanisms. Our studies confirm the formation of octahedral Pt3Ni initiates from Pt nuclei generation, which is followed by continuous Pt reduction that simultaneously catalyzes Ni reduction, resulting in mixed alloy formation with moderate elemental segregation. Carbon monoxide molecules serve as a facet formation modulator and induce Ni segregation to the surface, which inhibits the (111) facet growth and causes the particle shape to evolve from a spherical cluster to an octahedron as the (001) facet continues to grow.
Uncovering the association between fatigue and fatigability in multiple sclerosis using cognitive control.

Abstract Background Fatigue and cognitive dysfunction are two common symptoms experienced by patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). The relationship between subjective and objective fatigue (fatigability) in MS is poorly understood. Cognitive control tasks might be more conducive to fatigability and more likely to show associations between subjective and objective cognitive fatigue in MS. Objective To study the association between objective fatigability, as induced by a cognitive control task called the Blocked Cyclic Naming Task (BCNT), subjective fatigue and baseline cognitive functioning in patients with MS. Methods Twenty-one patients with MS completed baseline questions about their disease, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) battery and self-reported questionnaires on trait fatigue, sleep and depression. Disability was captured using the expanded disability status scale (EDSS). Participants then performed the BCNT and were asked about their level of state momentary fatigue before and after the BCNT. The BCNT consists of several blocks of either related or unrelated pictures that participants name as quickly as possible. The pictures cycled 4 times in each block and the difference in the response times (RTs) between related and unrelated blocks was captured. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance and Pearson correlations. Results MS participants’ performance declined for the related, but not unrelated blocks. The difference in RTs between related and unrelated conditions increased with repetition across cycles (p Conclusion Using the appropriate tools, this study showed an association between subjective and objective cognitive fatigue in people with MS. The BCNT and cognitive control are useful tools in assessing patients with MS and should be explored in future, larger studies in this population.
Bumetanide for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children: A Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Objective: To evaluate clinical trials using bumetanide in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) treatment. Data Sources: PubMed and Ovid MEDLINE (1946 to October 2018) were searched using terms bumetanid...
Treatment of Recurrent Refractory Pediatric Pre-B Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Using Inotuzumab Ozogamicin Monotherapy Resulting in CD22 Antigen Expression Loss as a Mechanism of Therapy Resistance.

Background:Inotuzumab ozogamicin is a novel antibody-drug conjugate that targets CD22, a common antigen on pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells.Observations:A 7-year-old boy with pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia in his second relapse was given 2 cycles of inotuzumab ozogamicin. He responded mo
Economics of public health programs for underserved populations: a review of economic analysis of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of economic analysis methods used in estimating the costs and benefits of public health programs and systematically review the application of these methods to the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP). Published literature on economic analyses of the NBCCEDP was systematically reviewed. The Consensus on Health Economic Criteria checklist was used to assess methodological quality of the included studies. Methods available for economic analysis of public health programs include program cost, cost-effectiveness, cost–utility, cost–benefit analysis, and budget impact analysis. Of these, program cost analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis, and cost–utility analysis have been applied to the NBCCEDP in previously published literature. While there have been multiple program cost analyses, there are relatively fewer cost-effectiveness and cost–utility studies and no cost–benefit and budget impact analysis studies to evaluate the NBCCEDP. Addressing these gaps will inform implementation of effective public health programs with equitable resource allocation to all population subgroups.
1 – ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the way by which typical measurements can be understood in terms of classical electromagnetic theory; the way to make sense of measured data, the way to set up apparatus to get meaningful data, and the way to test their significance. The dipole has been chosen in the chapter for the sake of illustration because it is probably the most familiar type of antenna. It consists of two collinear wires each about a quarter of a wavelength long, the gap between them forming the terminal region. There are two ways of understanding its working. In the conventional way, it is pictured as a resonator. Current is thought of as traveling along the wire with the velocity of light, being reflected from the end with phase reversal, and so coming back to the terminals exactly in resonance with the outgoing wave. The distribution of current is consequently sinusoidal, being zero at the ends and maximum at the center. Alternatively, the current can be thought of as continuously leaking out of the wire into the surrounding medium so that none is left at the end. This explains, in quite a different way, why the current changes with distance along the wire.
Trends in Selected Chronic Conditions and Related Risk Factors Among Women of Reproductive Age: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2011-2017.

Introduction: Chronic diseases in the United States are the leading drivers of disability, death, and health care costs. In women of reproductive age (WRA), chronic disease and related risk factors...
Sovateltide (IRL-1620) affects neuronal progenitors and prevents cerebral tissue damage after ischemic stroke.

Stimulation of endothelin B receptors by its agonist IRL-1620 (INN, sovateltide) provides neuroprotection and neurological and motor function improvement following cerebral ischemia. We investigate...
Is Primate Lens Accommodation Unilaterally or Bilaterally Controlled

Purpose In frontal-eyed mammals such as primates, eye movements are coordinated so that the lines of sight are directed at targets in a manner that adjusts for target distance. The lens of each eye must also be adjusted with respect to target distance to maintain precise focus. Whether the systems for controlling eye movements are monocularly or binocularly organized is currently a point of contention. We recently determined that the premotor neurons controlling the lens of one eye are bilaterally distributed in the midbrain. In this study, we examine whether this is due to premotor neurons projecting bilaterally to the preganglionic Edinger-Westphal nuclei, or by a mixture of ipsilaterally and contralaterally projecting cells supplying each nucleus. Methods The ciliary muscles of Macaca fasicularis monkeys were injected with recombinant forms of the N2c rabies virus, one eye with virus that produced a green fluorescent marker and the other eye with a virus that produced a red fluorescent marker. Results Preganglionic motoneurons in the Edinger-Westphal nucleus displayed the same marker as the ipsilateral injected muscle. Many of the premotor neurons in the supraoculomotor area and central mesencephalic reticular formation were doubly labeled. Others were labeled from either the ipsilateral or contralateral eye. Conclusions These results suggest that both monocular control and binocular control of lens accommodation are present. Binocular inputs yoke the accommodation in the two eyes. Monocular inputs may allow modification related to differences in each eye's target distance or differences in the capacities of the two ciliary muscles.
Trends in Obesity Prevalence by Race and Hispanic Origin-1999-2000 to 2017-2018

This study uses NHANES data to assess trends in obesity and severe obesity stratified by race and Hispanic origin among US residents from 1999 to 2018.
Intravenous ferric derisomaltose for the treatment of iron deficiency anemia.

Intravenous (IV) iron is the therapy of choice when oral iron is ineffective or poorly tolerated, yet use has been limited by fears of hypersensitivity reactions (HSRs). Newer formulations that bind iron more tightly and release it more slowly have made the risk of serious or severe HSRs very low. One such formulation, ferric derisomaltose, has been approved in the United States for delivery of 1000 mg iron in a single IV infusion. Ferric derisomaltose rapidly repletes iron parameters with low rates of serious or severe HSRs. Single-infusion iron repletion offers convenience, eliminates adherence concerns, and reduces healthcare resource utilization.
Altered Mental Status After Esophagogastroduodenoscopy.

Case Presentation A 79-year-old man with medical history of atrial fibrillation and esophageal cancer status post trans-hiatal esophageal resection and chemotherapy presented with altered mental status after outpatient esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). One month before presentation, the patient was seen at another hospital with severe anemia and melena requiring transfusion of multiple units of RBCs. No endoscopy was performed during that admission, but his anticoagulation was held. After follow-up with his oncologist, he was referred for outpatient endoscopy. His esophagogastroduodenoscopy demonstrated an intact esophagogastric anastomosis as well as two gastric ulcers with no stigmata of recent bleeding. The patient was discharged to home in good condition with normal mental status. Several hours later, he developed a deteriorating level of consciousness, prompting presentation to the hospital.
The Impact of Updated Cross Section Libraries on ITER Neutronics Calculations

In ITER, determination of radiation loads such as nuclear heating due to neutrons and photons (gammas) is an important part of the design process. Monte Carlo transport codes need accurate neutron and photon cross section libraries to produce accurate results. Because photon heating dominates the contribution to total nuclear heating for common materials like stainless steel and copper in several key components of ITER, the photon cross section library is particularly important. In this work, two ITER realistic benchmark calculation models are used to determine the impact on nuclear heating by the cross section library used in the calculation. The results show that the nuclear heating can be as much as 5% lower to as much as 6% higher than the nuclear heating calculated using the standard fusion neutron and photon cross section library.
Situating Disorder: Mental Disorder in Context

This chapter addresses the various contexts—cultural, historical, sociological, and individual—in which “mental disorder” exists and is understood. Clearly, notions of normalcy (the baseline against which “abnormal” is measured) vary by cultural values and historical era: what is “disorder” in one place or at one time may not be “disorder” in another, as the chapter illustrates through well-documented examples. Thus, assessment protocols based on a dominant Eurocentric paradigm may not capture the experience, meaning, or impact of a particular client’s distress. Clinicians are urged to consider the influence of environment, social context, cultural values and beliefs, class, race, and gender in how client problems are viewed. A detailed review is provided of social work theory and research pertaining to each of these issues, including proposed models for better addressing cultural and environmental factors. The role of relationships—another kind of context—is also considered, together with an overview of the debate about including “relational disorders” in the DSM, the connection between relational and attachment issues, and suggestions for assessing attachment.
Modification of Fingerprint Powder with Coumarin 6 Laser Dye

In previous articles in this journal, Menzel and co-workers [1,2] have described the use of the argon-ion laser for the visualization of latent fingerprints by inherent luminescence or by dusting with a dye which fluoresces when excited by the laser beam. These workers found that finely ground laser dye powders, while attractive from the standpoint of sensitivity and position of excitation and emission maxima, do not have the adhering properties desired of a fingerprint powder.
Six Sigma Disciplines Utilizing Design for Six Sigma Strategy in Automotive Applications

Doing the right things is important for a company to stay in business while developing the right products to satisfy customers and make profits. Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) is a disciplined problem prevention approach and a systematic process to prevent defects in what is important to the customer. This paper builds on the rationale and opportunities presented in the SAE paper of Six Sigma Disciplines in Automotive Applications for improving design robustness. The methodology to increase system robustness through DFSS is presented and demonstrated through the extension of the case study of crankshaft journal lobing design robustness improvements realized from the traditional DMAIC Six Sigma project presented in the SAE paper of Six Sigma Disciplines in Automotive Applications.
Immunobiology of transplantation.

Despite major advances resulting from the development of new immunosuppressive drugs in recent years, the field of clinical transplantation is currently limited by inadequate organ availability, chronic rejection, and complications of chronic, nonspecific immunosuppressive therapy. Because of the organ shortage, extensive research has recently focused on the potential to use donors from other species, i.e., xenotransplantation. The best way to avoid the problems of chronic rejection and complications of immunosuppressive therapy, and to overcome the considerable immunologic barriers to xenotransplantation, would be to induce a state of systemic tolerance to the donor in the recipient. Recent developments in the understanding of mechanisms of central and peripheral T cell tolerance have led to new strategies for inducing tolerance in experimental models, some of which are already being evaluated clinically.
Mathematics of Statistical Parallax and the Local Distance Scale

We present a mathematical analysis of the statistical parallax method. The method yields physical insight into the maximum-likelihood determinations of the luminosity and velocity distribution and enables us to conduct a vigorous Monte Carlo investigation into various systematic effects. We apply our analytic formalism to the RR Lyrae sample of Layden et al. The velocity distribution of RR Lyrae stars is highly non-Gaussian, with kurtoses K_\pi = 2.04, K_\theta = 3.22 and K_z = 4.28 in the three principal directions, but this has almost no effect on either the best fit or the uncertainty of the luminosity determination. Indeed, our principal result is that the statistical parallax method is extremely robust in the face of all systematic effects that we considered. Our analysis, applied to the Layden et al. RR Lyrae sample, strictly confirms the majority of their results. The mean RR Lyrae absolute magnitude is M_V = 0.75 +/- 0.13 at the mean metallicity of the sample = -1.61, compared to M_V = 0.71 +/- 0.12 obtained by Layden et al. Most of the difference is due to Malmquist bias which was not considered in previous studies. We also analyze a semi-independent non-kinematically selected sample of stars with metallicities at the [Fe/H] = -1.79. Additionally, this analysis yields measurements of the radial bulk motion (4 +/- 10 km/s) and vertical bulk motion (0 +/- 6 km/s) of the halo relative to the Local Standard of Rest.
X-ray: automating root-cause diagnosis of performance anomalies in production software

Troubleshooting the performance of production software is challenging. Most existing tools, such as profiling, tracing, and logging systems, reveal what events occurred during performance anomalies. However, users of such toolsmust infer why these events occurred; e.g., that their execution was due to a root cause such as a specific input request or configuration setting. Such inference often requires source code and detailed application knowledge that is beyond system administrators and end users.This paper introduces performance summarization, a technique for automatically diagnosing the root causes of performance problems. Performance summarization instruments binaries as applications execute. It first attributes performance costs to each basic block. It then uses dynamic information flow tracking to estimate the likelihood that a block was executed due to each potential root cause. Finally, it summarizes the overall cost of each potential root cause by summing the per-block cost multiplied by the cause-specific likelihood over all basic blocks. Performance summarization can also be performed differentially to explain performance differences between two similar activities. X-ray is a tool that implements performance summarization. Our results show that X-ray accurately diagnoses 17 performance issues in Apache, lighttpd, Postfix, and PostgreSQL, while adding 2.3% average runtime overhead.
Distortionary Effects of State Trading in Agriculture: Issues for the Next Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations

The Uruguay Round agreements on agriculture were intended to move member countries toward a fair and market-oriented agricultural trading system. But in practice, state trading enterprises with monopoly power or exclusive rights in agricultural trade in major products still prevail in many countries. And significant price distortions still exist in trade in products subject to state trading. The Uruguay Round agreements on agriculture were intended to move member countries toward a fair and market-oriented agricultural trading system. By progressively reducing domestic government support and export subsidies, converting nontariff barriers to tariffs, and reducing barriers to market access, members were committed to reducing distortions in world agricultural trade and in preventing new distortions from arising. But state trading enterprises with monopoly power or exclusive rights in agricultural trade in major products are still prevalent in both industrial and developing countries. In many countries, the operations of these state trading agencies tend in practice to nullify the intended objectives of the concessions on market access reached in the Uruguay Round. And there are still significant price distortions in trade in products subject to state trading. This paper - a product of the Development Research Group - is part of a larger effort in the group to evaluate the progress of trade liberalization and their effects on developing countries.
PCFG models of linguistic tree representations

The kinds of tree representations used in a treebank corpus can have a dramatic effect on performance of a parser based on the PCFG estimated from that corpus, causing the estimated likelihood of a tree to differ substantially from its frequency in the training corpus. This paper points out that the Penn II treebank representations are of the kind predicted to have such an effect, and describes a simple node relabeling transformation that improves a treebank PCFG-based parser's average precision and recall by around 8%, or approximately half of the performance difference between a simple PCFG model and the best broad-coverage parsers available today. This performance variation comes about because any PCFG, and hence the corpus of trees from which the PCFG is induced, embodies independence assumptions about the distribution of words and phrases. The particular independence assumptions implicit in a tree representation can be studied theoretically and investigated empirically by means of a tree transformation / detransformation process.
Teaching Music History Today: Making Tangible Connections to Here and Now

There are two daunting challenges in teaching undergraduate music history today: 1) to be through and comprehensive, and 2) to make music history tangibly relevant in the lives of students. Only by abandoning the unrealistic goal of "covering it all" can instructors gain the time required to put the "old stories" of European music history in direct dialogue with the contemporary experiences of everyday student lives in America. Three multi-class activities on eighteenth-century music offer examples of how such contact between "then" and "now" can be accomplished. The first addresses notions of popular versus high art in order to demonstrate the pitfalls of anachronistic thinking when studying the music and the career of Joseph Haydn. The second uses a 24-hour listening journal to introduce topical analysis. The third is a seemingly straightforward production proposal for Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro that leads unexpectedly to discussion of such philosophical issues as the integrity of an artwork, the knowable versus unknowable intentions of a composer, and the production and location of musical meaning. Ultimately, to be able to think intelligently, meaningfully, and humanely about music, undergraduate students need fewer facts at their fingertips than instructors traditionally deliver.
Effects of Gender, Lift Height, Direction, and Load on the Ability to Estimate Weight:

The study evaluated the effects of gender, lift height, direction (lift/lower), and load on the ability to correctly estimate weight handled. Seven women and six men lifted and lowered boxes to and from knuckle, waist, and shoulder heights. Subjects were asked to estimate weights corresponding to 50, 40, 30, and 20% of gender specific lifting strength to 152 cm. The difference between the actual and estimated weight (DIFF) was 100% greater for men than for women (F = 6.27, p = 0.03). When the percent difference was analyzed, there was no significant gender effect. The least accurate estimates occurred when lowering a weight from knuckle height (p < 0.05). The majority of subjects underestimated the weight and men underestimated more frequently than women (Chi2 = 12.57, p = 0.0004). Subjects overestimated the weight more often at higher weights. The results suggest that both men and women tend to underestimate weight, especially when lowering from knuckle height, possibly putting them at risk for injury.
Why Financial Appearances Might Matter: An Explanation for 'Dirty Pooling' and Other Types of Financial Cosmetics

Companies openly and notoriously use accounting techniques (financial "cosmetics") to improve their financial appearance. They have been doing so for a very long time. Common examples include the use of "pooling" accounting in mergers, and the use of long-term leases that are functionally debt. The former increases earnings; the latter reduces debt. Both higher earnings and lower debt make for a more pleasing financial appearance. Companies' open and notorious use of financial cosmetics presents a puzzle. Financial vanity should be punished; expenditures on cosmetics applications divert from more worthwhile (that is, more profitable) pursuits. Yet the practice persists. I propose an explanation. Companies fear that markets, attracted by beautified companies' luster, might shun plainer ones. This fear is rational: Proclamations that financial appearances matter are loud and constant. So long as the cosmetics are tastefully applied (that is, the techniques do not adversely affect cash flows), markets seem indifferent; in short, there's nothing to drown out the proclamations. Why not? I argue that markets, trying to minimize aggregate information costs of unmasking beautification, concentrate their resources on discouraging and detecting makeup that masks a company's true appearance. They are indifferent to, and may even prefer, open and notorious makeup applications. The more openly a company applies its makeup, the more markets know about how the company really looks underneath. And a company applying its makeup in public may be signalling that it has little to hide.
Treating intractable phantom limb pain with ambulatory continuous peripheral nerve blocks: a pilot study.

Background. There is currently no reliable treatment for phantom limb pain (PLP). Chronic PLP and associated cortical abnormalities may be maintained from abnormal peripheral input, raising the possibility that a continuous peripheral nerve block (CPNB) of extended duration may permanently reorganize cortical pain mapping, thus providing lasting relief. Methods. Three men with below-the-knee (2) or -elbow (1) amputations and intractable PLP received femoral/sciatic or infraclavicular perineural catheter(s), respectively. Subjects were randomized in a double-masked fashion to receive perineural ropivacaine (0.5%) or normal saline for over 6 days as outpatients using portable electronic infusion pumps. Four months later, subjects returned for repeated perineural catheter insertion and received an ambulatory infusion with the alternate solution (“crossover”). Subjects were followed for up to 1 year. Results. By chance, all three subjects received saline during their initial infusion and reported little change in their PLP. One subject did not receive crossover treatment, but the remaining two subjects reported complete resolution of their PLP during and immediately following treatment with ropivacaine. One subject experienced no PLP recurrence through the 52-week follow-up period and the other reported mild PLP occurring once each week of just a small fraction of his original pain (pretreatment: continuous PLP rated 10/10; posttreatment: no PLP at baseline with average of one PLP episode each week rated 2/10) for 12 weeks (lost to follow-up thereafter). Conclusions. A prolonged ambulatory CPNB may be a reliable treatment for intractable PLP. The results of this pilot study suggest that a large, randomized clinical trial is warranted.
Service Assurance Process Re-Engineering Using Location-aware Infrastructure Intelligence

The continuous introduction of converged services such as VoIP and Video-On-Demand has created many operational challenges for service providers. In this paper, we describe how to use location-aware technologies, not only to integrate disparate management applications, but also to transform the underlying process to use geographical views as the focal point of management operations. Based on an engagement with a large Cable provider, we have designed and implemented 3i - Integrated Infrastructure Intelligence - to address key issues in the service assurance process. 3i is highly componentized and provides an intuitive way for creating role-based views through dynamic scoping, event aggregation and status projection, and location-driven active probing. We analyze the current service assurance process and compare it with the improved process after introducing 3i. Overall, the re-engineered process offers base execution improvements in alarm collection, problem drill-down and reporting, as well as complexity improvements throughout. 3i is a fully implemented tool and has demonstrated capabilities beyond its original intended scope as a decision support tool in planning and marketing functions.
Increasing the Stability of Metal-Organic Frameworks

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a new category of advanced porous materials undergoing study by many researchers for their vast variety of both novel structures and potentially useful properties arising from them. Their high porosities, tunable structures, and convenient process of introducing both customizable functional groups and unsaturated metal centers have afforded excellent gas sorption and separation ability, catalytic activity, luminescent properties, and more. However, the robustness and reactivity of a given framework are largely dependent on its metal-ligand interactions, where the metal-containing clusters are often vulnerable to ligand substitution by water or other nucleophiles, meaning that the frameworks may collapse upon exposure even to moist air. Other frameworks may collapse upon thermal or vacuum treatment or simply over time. This instability limits the practical uses of many MOFs. In order to further enhance the stability of the framework, many different approaches, such as the utilization of high-valence metal ions or nitrogen-donor ligands, were recently investigated. This review details the efforts of both our research group and others to synthesize MOFs possessing drastically increased chemical and thermal stability, in addition to exemplary performance for catalysis, gas sorption, and separation.
51 A Model for RSV Prophylaxis in an Urban Inner City Hospital.

BACKGROUND: Palivizumab, a monoclonal antibody against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), is effective in decreasing RSV related hospitalizations in preterm infants. However, ensuring that infants receive their desired monthly injections remains a challenge. In an urban inner city population, home health visits to administer the monthly injections are complicated by the fact that many families either do not have a phone or frequently change their residence. In some cases there is significant delay involved in getting authorization from Medicaid health maintenance organizations to have home visits.
Public–private partnerships in global health

This issue of the Journal of Commercial Biotechnology includes the papers from the seventh Annual San Diego Health Policy Conference, â€˜Publicâ€“Private Partnerships in Global Healthâ€™, held on 25 March 2011. The San Diego Heath Policy Conference is sponsored by the Institute of Health Law Studies California Western School of Law, in collaboration with the San Diego Center for Patient Safety, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Partnership for Safe Medicines. The event drew both national and international participants with industry representatives, health-care providers, public health officials, law enforcement personnel, attorneys, military representatives, academics and policy experts coming together to assess the role and potential of privateâ€“public partnerships in global health activities.
Mg-supplementation Attenuates Ritonavir-induced Hyperlipidemia, Oxidative Stress and Cardiac Dysfunction in Rats

Use of protease inhibitors (PI) in HIV patients is associated with hyperlipidemia and increased risk of coronary heart disease. Chronic systemic and cardiac effects of ritonavir (RTV), a universal ...
Quantifying the impact of information and communication structures via distributed auction algorithm

Task-asset assignment is a fundamental problem paradigm in a wide variety of applications. A typical problem scenario involves a single decision maker (DM) who has complete knowledge of the weight (or reward/benefit/accuracy) matrix and who can control any of the assets to execute the tasks. Motivate by planning problems arising in distributed organizations, this paper introduces a novel variation of the assignment problem, wherein there are multiple DMs and each DM know only a part of the weight matrix and/or controls a subset of the assets. We extend the auction algorithm to such realistic settings with various partial information structures and communication structures. We show that by communicating the bid, the best and the second best profits among DMs and with a coordinator, the DMs can reconstruct the centralized assignment solution. The auction setup provides a nice analytical framework for formalizing how team members build internal models of other DMs and achieve team cohesiveness over time.