cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SU‐C‐217BCD‐01: Breathing Maneuvers Result in Regional Changes in Ventilation as Assessed by 4D‐CT

Purpose: Different breathing maneuvers typically Result in slightly different tidal volumes that can lead to changes in alveolar recruitment. Recently, there has been tremendous interest in utilizing 4D‐CT based measurements of regional ventilation for treatment planning and treatment assessment. In this work, we wanted to demonstrate the effect of different breathing maneuvers on fractional regional ventilation (FRV) extracted using 4D‐CT. Methods: In this work, we evaluate the effect of different breathing maneuvers: a) free‐breathing (FB), b) audio‐visual assistance (AV), and c) active breathing control (ABC), on FRV. We measured these changes using a 4D‐CT based technique that quantifies changes in CT characteristics of the pulmonary parenchyma. Five subjects were imaged using 4D‐CT during a single session under 3 different breathing maneuvers. 4D‐CT images were used to extract fractional regional ventilation by applying a ‘mass correction’ that is estimated using the ratio of the global inhale‐mass and end‐exhale mass. A subtraction of the corrected images is performed by spatially matching the images at each phase of the respiratory cycle using a deformable image registration algorithm in Insight Toolkit. A distribution of the fractional regional ventilation values is used to estimate a ratio of tidal volume to functional residual capacity. Results: Increased fractional regional ventilation is observed in all the subjects when they were breathing using the ABC maneuver. Statistically significant difference (p=0.079) in fractional regional ventilation was observed when we compared the means for the FB and ABC breathing maneuvers. These global differences were also reflected on a regional level when we compared the fractional regional ventilation maps. Conclusions: This is the first study to report that breathing pattern changes can significantly impact the recruitment of alveoli resulting in marked changes in the fractional regional ventilation.
Cultural Influences in the Patterns of Long-Term Care Use Among Mexican American Family Caregivers:

This study sought to explore cultural attitudes toward caregiving and long-term care and their influence on patterns of long-term care use among Mexican American family caregivers of relatives aged 50 and older. Using a cross-sectional design, the researchers used mixed methods and conducted interviews with 66 Mexican American family caregivers in San Diego, California. They applied the Andersen behavioral model of health service utilization to examine familism, gender roles, acculturation, religiosity, and knowledge and perceptions of long-term care as factors in usage. Caregivers with greater long-term care use displayed lower levels of familism, were knowledgeable about services, had a care recipient with health insurance, shared caregiving responsibilities, and were less acculturated. Medicaid coverage for low-income care recipients was associated with higher long-term care use. Although familism may deter service use, caregivers empowered with resources and knowledge or Medicaid coverage are inclined...
Patterns of Social Interaction in Cats (Felis Domestica)

The results of this study reveal the following general characteristics of dominance hierarchies in groups of cats observed in a standard testing situation: 1. In all groups, a differentiated and fairly linear dominance hierarchy was observed. The degree of differentiation and the consistency of the linearity was a function of the individual group. 2. In every group a clear and statistically significant relationship was obtained between dominance rankings based upon performance in four-, three-, and two-cat groupings. 3. The stability of dominance hierarchies over a period of time differed among the two groups that were tested in this respect. In one case no change was observed; in the other the leader's place was taken by a formerly subordinate animal. 4. Observations of the leaders competing together, and also with the three subordinate members of each of the groups, suggested that relative differences in dominance that were exhibited between high-dominance animals are reflected in the degree to which they are able to dominate other subordinate animals. 5. No clear relationship was obtained between aggression and dominance as defined by food-getting success. In one group the most dominant animal was also the most aggressive, but in the other two leaders ranked low in aggressivity and sometimes did not retaliate when aggression was directed toward them. While there seemed to be a tendency for more aggression to be evidenced in meetings among the leaders of the three groups, again such aggression did not seem to be related to food-getting success. Finally, the social behaviour of cats as observed in the present study was contrasted to that of infra-human primates. It was generally concluded that dominance-submission relations are far less complex and more predictable in the cat than in the monkey.
Preoperative Needle Biopsy Improves the Quality of Breast Cancer Surgery

Background Percutaneous needle biopsy has the potential to provide a preoperative diagnosis of breast cancer, which helps to optimize surgical planning; however, its use remains an area of unexplained clinical variation. The purposes of this study were to perform a statewide assessment of diagnostic biopsy methods for women diagnosed with breast cancer and to evaluate the impact of biopsy method on the quality of breast cancer surgery. Study Design Vermont cancer registries were combined with Medicare data to identify women diagnosed with breast cancer between 1998 and 2006. Demographics, margin status, surgical evaluation of axillary nodes, and total number of operations were correlated to biopsy method. Results Percutaneous needle biopsy (PNB) was the initial biopsy method in 713 (62.8%) patients, and it increased significantly over the study period. Patients living in urban settings were more likely to receive PNB (70.6%) than patients living in rural areas (57.5%). Breast cancer surgery performance metrics including margin status, number of operations, and performance of axillary evaluation significantly favored PNB over open biopsy (OB). Conclusions The quality of breast cancer surgery as measured by initial margin status, total number of operations, and axillary evaluation improved with preoperative PNB; however, the use of PNB varied considerably. The potential impact of PNB on the quality of patient care and health care costs is substantial. Emphasis should be placed on understanding the barriers to the use of preoperative PNB and developing strategies to expand its use in the management of breast cancer.
Application of knowledge-based system techniques to standards representation and usage

Abstract Most design activity is performed subject to the satisfaction of some collection of standardized performance or functional requirements, usually called design standards or codes. Designers of buildings must satisfy several different building codes and standards. Computer-aided engineering systems are most commonly developed by interpreting and reforming design standard requirements into assignment statements and then hard-coding them into the system. When the standard changes, the program is invalidated. This paper discusses a design standard usage strategy in which objects are designed by applying three types of knowledge: the design standard, which contains knowledge about limitations of behaviour; “textbook” knowledge of objects and relationships not usually found, but referred to, in design standards; and design expertise for selecting an appropriate focus of behaviour. Because the design focusing knowledge is based on general structural behaviour, not on specific expressions of that behaviour found in standards, it can be used to focus design tasks for a wider range of design standards. Also, because the standards are represented as knowledge sources themselves, they can be updated without causing invalidation of the rest of the design system.
Expert system approach to slope stability

Abstract An expert system exhibits problem solving capabilities of a human expert. Using a domain specific knowledge base, the system can arrive at a solution of the problem using its inference techniques. This paper demonstrates the applicability of the expert system in slope stability analysis. The expert system “Slope Safety Analyzer” identifies the type of existing or potential landslide in a specific slope using qualitative information. The system also suggests remedial measures against identifiable potential failures.
Tat's seductive side.

As the major activator of HIV transcription, Tat drives viral gene expression. Now, it seems that in dendritic cells Tat also regulates the expression of chemokines that promote lymphocyte and monocyte migration. By recruiting susceptible host cells to infected dendritic cells, Tat may facilitate HIV dissemination (pages 191–197).
Healthcare resource consumption in terminal care

Recent developments in healthcare have raised important ethical challenges. One of the trends is the increasing attention to patient autonomy for medical decision making. Patients are exercising greater authority to refuse medical treatment and to seek medical treatment that may end life. Another important trend is that end of life medical care has become increasingly expensive. Further, changes in reimbursement for medical care may create incentives for providers to deny heroic treatment. This article reviews issues relevant to these developments. We consider the issue of medical futility, the role of advance directives, and the international movement toward the legalisation of euthanasia. We suggest that futile medical treatment should not be offered and that advance directives should he used. However, review of the literature suggests that advance directives may not reduce medical costs. The effect of managed care upon advance directives, denial of heroic care and euthanasia is not known at this time.
Single and double electron capture in the independent-electron approximation at high velocities

Cross sections have been computed for single and double electron transfer from the ground state of a helium atom to the ground state of an ..cap alpha.. particle at high velocities by means of the independent-electron approximation with the Bates--Born version of first-order perturbation theory. Results are in reasonable agreement with experiment for both single and double electron capture.
Robust optimal fuzzy clustering algorithm applicable to multispectral and polarimetric synthetic aperture radar images

In clustering algorithms, there are two problems arising. The first one is the cluster validation. The second one is that the clustering algorithms are similar to descent algorithms, which provide only a local optimization. In this paper, a robust optimal fuzzy clustering algorithm applicable to multispectral and polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images is suggested. The idea of the proposed optimal fuzzy clustering algorithm is to build an objective function whose global minimum will characterize a good fuzzy partition of the training data set. To reach such a global minimum we use simulated annealing (SA) algorithm. An adaptation of SA to the fuzzy clustering problem is then established. By robust algorithm, we mean that it leads to classification results that are robust versus the estimated number of clusters. To find the number of clusters that leads to a robust classification, we compare between two different classification results and founding correspondence between their clusters without referencing to the ground truth. We consider such a comparison criterion as an optimization problem, which will be solved by using a new optimization technique based on correspondence analysis. The technique is inspired from SA method. We demonstrate our methodology by classifying two different complex scenes using a multispectral data provided by SPOT satellite and the SIR-C data.
Phase Defect Angle of an Air Capacitor

This investigation was undertaken in order to determine the conditions of atmosphere under which the air capacitor may be regarded as having zero loss. A special guarded and shielded test capacitor was constructed having quartz insulation between the high-voltage and guard plates and low loss molded bakelite insulators between the measuring and guard plates. This capacitor was enclosed in a metal box and subjected to various conditions of temperature and humidity. Readings were made of continuous conduction current and a-c. phase defect angle. The measuring instruments used were the most sensitive available. A D' Arsonval galvanometer having a sensitivity of 1.5 × 10?12 amperes was used in the continuous current work and a Wien bridge sensitive to three seconds in the a-c. measurements. A gradient of approximately 4000 volts per cm. was used in all tests. Measurements were made of the effect of humidity at temperatures from 60 deg. fahr. to 100 deg. fahr. and in each run the humidity was varied from 40 to 95 per cent, approximately. Readings were made of continuous conduction current and the phase angle of the test capacitor was compared with that of a standard air capacitor in which the humidity was maintained at a low value. It was found that the conduction was zero and the phase defect angle of an air capacitor was less than three seconds for values of humidity below 90 per cent.
Radiative Lifetimes of Ultraviolet Emission Systems Excited in BF3, CF4, and SiF4

Radiative lifetimes in the range 2 to 11 nsec have been measured by the phase‐shift method of Lawrence for four extensive near‐ and vacuum‐ultraviolet emission systems excited by 200‐V electrons in low‐pressure BF3, CF4, and SiF4 gases. With the possible exception of the system excited in BF3, the systems appear continuous under 0.4−A resolution and all are probably due to polyatomic emitters. Electron excitation spectra of several other gases are briefly described.
Gene expression profile in human trabecular meshwork from patients with primary open-angle glaucoma.

Purpose. To identify the specific genes in human trabecular meshwork (TM) related to POAG.
An overview of therapies to promote repair of the brain after stroke

Stroke remains a leading cause of disability. Most patients show some degree of spontaneous recovery, but this is generally incomplete. Studies on the neurobiology of this recovery are providing clues to therapeutic interventions that aim to improve patient outcomes. A number of potential such restorative therapies are reviewed. Numerous treatment strategies are under study. Most have a time window measured in days or weeks and so have the potential to help a large fraction of patients. This review considers these therapies, as well as points to consider in translating their application to human trials.
Interconnect performance estimation models for design planning

This paper presents a set of interconnect performance estimation models for design planning with consideration of various effective interconnect layout optimization techniques, including optimal wire sizing, simultaneous driver and wire sizing, and simultaneous buffer insertion/sizing and wire sizing. These models are extremely efficient, yet provide high degree of accuracy. They have been tested on a wide range of parameters and shown to have over 90% accuracy on average compared to running best-available interconnect layout optimization algorithms directly. As a result, these fast yet accurate models can be used efficiently during high-level design space exploration, interconnect-driven design planning/synthesis, and timing-driven placement to ensure design convergence for deep submicrometer designs.
A Turn to Empire: The Rise of Imperial Liberalism in Britain and France

A Turn to Empire: The Rise of Imperial Liberalism in Britain and France. By Jennifer Pitts. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2005. 392p. $39.50.This book is a brilliantly successful attempt to account for the apparent transition from the fierce, bitter assault on the idea of empire by the writers of the second half of the eighteenth century—from Montesquieu and Adam Smith to Benjamin Constant—to the often self-congratulatory, high-minded endorsement of a new kind of imperial mission less than half a century later, here associated most clearly with the writings of John Stuart Mill and Alexis de Tocqueville. To have identified this shift in the first place is not the least of Jennifer Pitts's merits. Much of the modern, postcolonial historiography of this period has assumed, generally without much argument, that it was the “Enlightenment” that provided the ideological inspiration for the evolution of the nineteenth-century European empires. True, Pitts has been greatly assisted by two previous works, Sankar Muthu's Enlightenment against Empire (2003) and Uday Mehta's Liberalism and Empire (1999), but although these have done much to establish the existence of an antiimperial Enlightenment, neither has anything much to say about the transformation in European imperial policy, and in European political theory, that followed the end of the French Revolution.
Successful Experience Utilizing Dexrazoxane Treatment for an Anthracycline Extravasation

OBJECTIVE:To describe a successful case of dexrazoxane treatment after an extravasation of doxorubicin and share a creative solution for formulary cost management.CASE SUMMARY:A 42-year-old female diagnosed with breast cancer was receiving doxorubicin as adjuvant treatment. The patient recently underwent a right mastectomy for a 3-centimeter grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma. Three of 20 lymph nodes were positive, and the patient was stage 2B at presentation, with an estrogen receptor/progesterone receptor-positive and HER-2/neu-negative tumor. At an outside hospital, the patient was receiving doxorubicin through an infusion port when extravasation was noted after approximately 15 mL had been infused. She was transferred to Riverside Methodist Hospital and dexrazoxane treatment was initiated within 6 hours after extravasation. She received a full 3-day course of dexrazoxane treatment without complication and was discharged home. Significant delays in chemotherapy administration were avoided, and the patie...
DRUG-INDUCED NEPHROTOXICITY

Drug-induced renal dysfunction is not an uncommon event, which can cause significant morbidity and can be easily overlooked. Many medications can lead to renal dysfunction through various mechanisms. The most common medications or classes of medications along with their clinical presentations are discussed in this article. As can be noted, many drugs can cause nephropathy in more than one way. Because it is difficult to discuss nephrotoxicities of every reported medication, Tables 1, 2, and 3 are provided; although these tables are by no means comprehensive, they may serve as further reference. This article is intended to provide a broad overview of the spectrum of presentation associated with drug-induced nephrotoxicity to guide the clinician to familiarity with this entity.
Transdifferentiation of Cardiac Fibroblasts, a Fetal Factor in Anti-SSA/Ro-SSB/La Antibody-Mediated Congenital Heart Block

The signature lesion of autoantibody-associated congenital heart block (CHB) is fibrosis of the conducting tissue. To date, participation of myofibroblasts in the cascade to injury has been unexplored. The importance of myofibroblast/macrophage cross-talk is demonstrated by the novel finding of these cell types in the heart of a neonate dying of CHB. This clue to pathogenesis prompted consideration of the mechanism by which maternal anti-SSA/Ro-SSB/La Abs initiate an inflammatory response and promote fibrosis. Isolated cardiocytes from 16-24 wk abortuses were rendered apoptotic by exposure to poly (2-) hydroxyethylmethacrylate; flow cytometry confirmed surface expression of Ro/La. Apoptotic cardiocytes were incubated with affinity-purified Abs to 52 and 60 kDa Ro from CHB mothers (opsonized) or IgG fractions from healthy donors (nonopsonized). Macrophages cultured with opsonized apoptotic cardiocytes expressed proinflammatory markers, supported by a three-fold increase in active alpha(V)beta(3) integrin. Fetal cardiac fibroblasts exposed to supernatants obtained from macrophages incubated with opsonized apoptotic cardiocytes (but not nonopsonized) dramatically increased expression of the myofibroblast marker alpha-smooth muscle actin (SMAc). The "opsonized" supernatant reversed an inhibitory effect of the "nonopsonized" supernatant on proliferation of fibroblasts (120 vs 69%, p < 0.05). Parallel experiments examined the effects of two cytokines and their neutralizing Abs on fibroblasts. TGFbeta1 increased SMAc staining but decreased proliferation. TNF-alpha did not affect either readout. Addition of anti-TGFbeta1 Abs to the "opsonized" supernatant blocked SMAc expression but increased proliferation, while anti-TNF-alpha blocking Abs had no effects. These data suggest that transdifferentiation of cardiac fibroblasts to a scarring phenotype is a pathologic process initiated by maternal Abs.
A Mathematical Tutorial on Synthetic Aperture Radar

This paper presents the foundations of conventional strip-mode synthetic aperture radar (SAR) from a mathematical point of view. In particular, the paper shows how a simple antenna model can be used together with a linearized scattering approximation to predict the received signal. The conventional matched-filter processing is explained and analyzed to exhibit the resolution of the SAR system.
On some parameter estimation problems in alpha-stable processes

Current algorithms for estimating the parameters of a symmetric alpha-stable ARMA process are either highly non-linear, or assume small MA orders (q/spl les/3), or invoke the minimum-phase assumption. We use results from the statistics literature to show that the normalized correlation is well-defined; we show that the normalized cumulants are also well-behaved. We propose to use the correlation to estimate the spectrally-equivalent minimum-phase (SEMP) parameters, and then to use the cumulants to resolve the phase of the model. We also show that correlation-based techniques (such as ESPRIT) work well for estimating the parameters of harmonics observed in alpha-stable noise. Correlation-based algorithms are shown to work well despite the infinite variance of the alpha-stable process.
The Effect of Phentolamine on Atrioventricular Conduction in Man

The effects of phentolamine, 0.3 mg/mm given intravenously for 15 minutes, on atrioventricular and intraventricular conduction were studied in seven cardiac patients and in four normal subjects. Recordings were made at varied heart rates, utilizing atrial pacing. Phentolamine significantly reduced the AH interval in every cardiac patient and it had no effect on the HQ or HS intervals. This represents an improvement in conduction through the atrioventricular node. Phentolamine had no effect on atrioventricular and intraventricular conduction in the four normal subjects.
Using speech transformation to increase speech intelligibility for the hearing- and speaking-impaired

We present two speech transformation approaches designed to increase the intelligibility of speech. The first approach is used in the context of increasing the intelligibility of conversationally spoken speech for hearing-impaired listeners. An initial experiment showed that a relatively simple mapping function can map spectral features of conversationally spoken speech closer to context-equivalent spectral features of clearly spoken speech. The second approach aims to increase the intelligibility of speaking-impaired individuals by the general population. Results of listening tests indicated that although an intelligibility increase was not achieved, listeners preferred the transformed speech of the proposed system over that of an alternative system.
The Overused and Under-Defined Notion of 'Material' in Securities Law

Core doctrine in federal securities law rests on a single word - "material." Federal statutes and agency anti-fraud rules and disclosure requirements contain the term as an essential qualifier and identifier. "Facts" or "information" must be "material" before a legal obligation to disclose attaches. In other words, the term material has an unrivaled position in the center of all of securities law and agency rules and court decisions applying the term necessarily establish the fundamental scope and bite of securities regulation. A study of close to eight hundred cases in which a federal court’s applies the term to specific facts, however, finds that the case-law is, well, quixotic at best and fickle at worst. An argument on the proper breakdown of the cases is begun here.
Do Creative People Have More Bizarre Dreams? A Reconsideration:

An attempt was made to replicate earlier studies which have found a relation between waking creativity and dream bizarreness. Two-week dream diaries were collected from 126 undergraduates and the dreams scored for bizarreness using Auld's Primary Process Scale and Kluger's Everydayness Scale. Subjects were also administered four commonly used tests of creativity as well as a test of vocabulary knowledge. Dream bizarreness was found to correlate significantly with scores on some but not all the tests of creativity. However, bizarreness correlated most highly with subjects' level of vocabulary knowledge. Furthermore, partial correlations of creativity test scores with dream bizarreness were not statistically significant when subjects' level of vocabulary knowledge was controlled for. The authors conclude that the connection between waking creativity and dream bizarreness has not been convincingly demonstrated, and that earlier researchers may have found an association between the two because they failed to ...
Carrier-envelope phase-dependent quantum interferences in multiphoton ionization

The angular distribution of photoelectrons created by multiphoton ionization of xenon atoms by a few-cycle laser pulse shows a carrier-envelope phase (CEP) dependent asymmetry. A simple perturbative model based on a sum over indistinguishable quantum paths describes the observed asymmetry as a function of photoelectron energy and CEP. Although the individual multiphoton transition rates depend on the intensity profile of the pulse, the experimentally measured photoelectron angular distributions are sensitive to the absolute spectral phase of the pulse, including both CEP and chirp. We discuss retrieval of the CEP and chirp from the asymmetry pattern, as well as the potential to extract the scattering phase shift.
A Mathematical Model for Understanding the Statistical effects of k-space (AMMUST-k) preprocessing on observed voxel measurements in fcMRI and fMRI

Image processing is common in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (fcMRI). Such processing may have deleterious effects on statistical maps computed from the processed images. In this manuscript, we describe a mathematical framework to evaluate the effects of image processing on observed voxel means, covariances and correlations resulting from linear processes on k-space and image-space data. We develop linear operators for common image processing operations, including: zero-filling, apodization, smoothing and partial Fourier reconstruction; and unmodeled physical processes, including: Fourier encoding anomalies caused by eddy currents, intra-acquisition decay and magnetic field inhomogeneities. With such operators, we theoretically compute the exact image-space means, covariances and correlations which result from their common implementation and verify their behavior in experimental phantom data. Thus, a very powerful framework is described to consider the effects of image processing on observed voxel means, covariances and correlations. With this framework, researchers can theoretically consider observed voxel correlations while understanding the extent of artifactual correlations resulting from image processing. Furthermore, this framework may be utilized in the future to theoretically optimize image acquisition parameters, and examine the order of image processing steps.
Precise Firing Events Are Conserved across Neurons

Sensory neurons can respond to dynamic stimuli with temporally precise firing events. In the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of the thalamus, we found previously that when a flickering visual stimulus was repeated, individual cells fired action potentials at the same time in every trial to within 1 msec. We now show that these precise firing events are also reproducible across cells of the same class. Therefore, the mechanisms for producing precise timing must be conserved within a cell class. Our results further suggest that cortical neurons would require only a few generic processing mechanisms to extract the fine temporal information available in their LGN inputs.
The functional significance of palisade tissue : penetration of directional versus diffuse light

Light gradients were measured in leaves that had different types of anatomical development of the mesophyll but similar pigment content. Leaves of the legume, Thermopsis montana, had columnar palisade and spongy mesophyll whereas leaves of the monocot, Smilacina stellata, had spongy mesophyll only. Light gradients were measured at 550 nm in both types of leaves when they were irradiated with collimated or diffuse light. When irradiated with collimated light, light gradients were steeper in leaves with spongy mesophyll in comparison to those that had palisade tissue. On the other hand, light gradients were similar between both leaf types when they were irradiated with diffuse light. Thus, columnar palisade cells facilitated the penetration of collimated light over diffuse light. These results suggest that palisade tissue may help distribute light more uniformly to chloroplasts within the leaf. Moreover, the functional significance of palisade tissue may be related to the amount of collimated light within the natural environment.
Ambiguous figure perception and theory of mind understanding in children with autistic spectrum disorders

Researchers in early social-cognition have found that the ability to reverse an ambiguous figure is correlated with success on theory of mind tasks (e.g. Gopnik & Rosati, 2001). The present experiment examined children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) without mental delay to see whether a similar relationship existed. Ropar, Mitchell, and Ackroyd (2003) demonstrated that children with ASD with mental delay were impaired on theory of mind tasks, but were as likely as mentally delayed controls to generate both interpretations of an ambiguous figure when informed of its ambiguity. The present study replicated this finding on children with ASD without mental delay. However, overall perception of ambiguous figures was different. These children were less likely to spontaneously generate both interpretations of the figure, and more likely to perseverate on a single interpretation than the comparison children. Like Ropar et al., we found no correlation between theory of mind and informed reversals, but spontaneous reversals were correlated with performance on an advanced theory of mind task. These data suggest that reversals of ambiguous figures are linked to higher-level representational abilities, which might also be involved in social functioning, and impaired in children with ASD.
The pigmentary system of developing axolotls: I. A biochemical and structural analysis of chromatophores in wild-type axolotls

A biochemical and transmission electron microscopic description of the wild-type pigment phenotype in developing Mexican axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) is presented. There are three pigment cell types found in adult axolotl skin - melanophores, xanthophores and iridophores. Both pigments and pigment cells undergo specific developmental changes in axolotls. Melanophores are the predominant pigment cell type throughout development; xanthophores occur secondarily and in fewer numbers than melanophores; iridophores do not appear until well into the larval stage and remain thereafter as the least frequently encountered pigment cell type. Ultrastructural differences in xanthophore organelle (pterinosome) structure at different developmental stages correlate with changes in the pattern of pteridine biosynthesis. Sepiapterin, a yellow pteridine, is present in larval axolotl skin but not in adults. Riboflavin (also yellow) is present in minimal quantities in larval skin and large quantities in adult axolotl skin. Pterinosomes undergo a morphological "reversion" at some point prior to or shortly after axolotls attain sexual maturity. Correlated with the neotenic state of the axolotl, certain larval pigmentary features are retained throughout development. Notably, the pigment cells remain scattered in the dermis such that no two pigment cell bodies overlap, although cell processes may overlap. This study forms the basis for comparison of the wild type pigment phenotype to the three mutant phenotypes-melanoid, axanthic and albino-found in the axolotl.
The extent of transmembrane phospholipid movement in mixed phosphatidylcholine-phosphatidylserine vesicles.

A hypothesis of rapid coupled translocation of egg phosphatidylcholine and bovine brain phosphatidylserine across a mixed vesicle membrane was tested. Homogeneous preparations of sonicated phospholipid vesicles containing four different compositions of the above two phospholipids were prepared. Trinitrobenzene-sulfonate derivatization of vesicle-phosphatidylserine was used to determine the outside inside ratio of this phospholipid. No change in the ratio was observed over a 2-hr period. The transmembrane distribution of phosphatidylcholine was quantitated using 600 MHz 1H NMR; this distribution was found to be identical after a 24-hr incubation at pH 5 or pH 8. Thus, rapid exchange of phosphatidylcholine for phosphatidylserine is not observed under the conditions of these experiments.
TPS: A task placement strategy for big data workflows

Workflow makespan is the total execution time for running a workflow in the Cloud. The workflow makespan significantly depends on how the workflow tasks and datasets are allocated and placed in a distributed computing environment such as Clouds. Incorporating data and task allocation strategies to minimize makespan delivers significant benefits to scientific users in receiving their results in time. The main goal of a task placement algorithm is to minimize the total amount of data movement between virtual machines during the execution of the workflows. In this paper, we do the following: 1) formalize the task placement problem in big data workflows; 2) propose a task placement strategy (TPS) that considers both initial input datasets and intermediate datasets to calculate the dependency between workflow tasks; and 3) perform extensive experiments in the distributed environment to demonstrate that the proposed strategy provides an effective task distribution and placement tool.
Do Parents Treat Siblings Similarly or Differently with Regard to Feeding Practices, Weight-Related Conversations, and Support for Physical Activity? An Exploratory Analysis.

Abstract Background: It is unknown if parents with more than one adolescent child use similar or different parenting practices of relevance to weight-related health with different children. In particular, it is unclear whether parenting practices differ based on whether siblings are discordant on weight status (i.e., one is overweight/obese, one is nonoverweight/obese) or are different sexes. Methods: Data from two linked population-based studies, Eating and Activity in Teens (EAT) 2010 and Families and Eating and Activity in Teens (F-EAT), were used in this exploratory cross-sectional analysis. Participants included socioeconomically and racially/ethnically diverse parents (n = 57; 93% females) and adolescent siblings (n = 57 pairs; 60% girls; mean age = 14.5, range = 11–18). Students filled out surveys and had anthropometric measures taken in school. Parents filled out mailed surveys in their homes. Results: Overall, results from this exploratory study showed limited evidence that parents use different ...
The impact of age on mortality in patients in extremis undergoing urgent intervention.

Trauma patients admitted without vital signs have little hope of survival even with extreme interventions. We performed this study to determine the effect of age on survival in patients in extremis undergoing urgent thoracotomy. The National Trauma Database was searched for patients presenting without a systolic blood pressure (0), a Glasgow Coma Scale score less than 8, and underwent an urgent thoracotomy. Mortality was determined for pediatric (younger than 16 years) and older patients (older than 60 years) and compared. Of 708 patients, 32 (4.5%) were pediatric and 57 (8.1%) were elderly. Pediatric mortality was 93.8 per cent (30) versus 95.6 per cent (646) for patients older than 16 years (P = 0.981). Mortality in the older patients was 94.7 per cent (54) versus 95.5 per cent (622) in patients younger than 60 years (P = 0.778). Race and blunt injury were independently associated with death. However, neither pediatric (P = 0.418) nor older status (P = 0.184) was predictive. Age does not significantly impact mortality in patients in extremis who undergo urgent thoracotomy. Age should not be a contributing factor in determining who should undergo more extreme maneuvers if they present as a reasonable candidate using other criteria. Language: en
Outsourcing Global Skills Development to Australian Vocational Colleges: A Case Study on Reverse Transnationalization

The rise of modernizing universities in emerging market economies (Marginson, Kaur and Sawir, 2011) inevitably puts them on the road to globalization and transnational education. As defined by GATE (1997), transnational education [TNE] relates to “educational services (includ- ing those of distance education) in which the learners are located in a country different from the one where the awarding institution is based.” To the present time, TNE has been largely a privilege of educa- tional institutions representing the developed world, but this may well change in near future creating a reverse trend that can be labeled as “reverse transnationalization.” Reverse transnationalization is conceptualized here as a TNE project in which learners located in a developed country are enrolled in a program conducted by an institution located in an emerging market country. The project reported in this chapter provides a rare example of reverse transnationalization.
Chloramphenicol Therapy in Pregnancy

trial of amphotericin B colloidal dispersion vs. amphotericin B in the empirical treatment of fever and neutropenia. Clin Infect Dis 1998; 27:296-302. 3. Walsh T, Bodensteiner D, Hiemenz J, et al. A randomized, double-blind trial of AmBisome (liposomal amphotericin B) versus amphotericin B in the empirical treatment of persistently febrile neutropenic patients [abstract LM-90]. In: Program and abstracts of the 37th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (Toronto). Washington, DC: American Society for Microbiology, 1997.
Cardiac arrhythmias. Recognition and management of emergencies.

When an electrocardiogram is not available, careful physical examination with observation of the jugular venous and carotid pulse forms and auscultation of the precordium allows correct diagnosis of most arrhythmias. To best use the available chemical and electric treatments for arrhythmias, the physician must be able to anticipate and identify those that are life-threatening. Details of therapy in specific emergencies are discussed here.
Children and adolescents with low body mass index but large waist circumference remain high risk of elevated blood pressure.

Abstract Background Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) are two commonly used measurements for defining general and central obesity. The present study examined the profiles of blood pressure (BP) among children and adolescents with low BMI but large WC in a large population in Shandong, China. Methods A total of 38,810 students (19,453 boys and 19,357 girls) aged 7–17years participated in this study. Height, weight, WC, and BP of all subjects were measured, and BMI was calculated. Relatively high BP (RHBP) status was defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥95th percentile for age and gender. ‘Low BMI with large WC' was defined as BMI Results The Z-scores for SBP and DBP in the ‘low BMI with large WC' group were 0.21 and 0.31 for boys and 0.19 and 0.35 for girls respectively, significantly higher than the average level of the total sample ( P Conclusion Children and adolescents with low BMI but large WC might have an increased risk of elevated BP, their health risks would be underestimated if screening by BMI alone. These findings suggest that measurement of WC may be an assistive tool when using BMI to identify high BP risks.
Communication of communities: linguistic signals of online groups

ABSTRACTPeople may join online communities in order to access specific social resources. Online communities with greater activity and interactivity may vary in regards to specific words signaling stability, cohesiveness, and sociability. These message characteristics can be quantified using language processing software. Fifteen reddit messages boards were analyzed using linguistic inquiry and word count to determine the prevalence of message characteristics related to viability in online communities. Results revealed highly active boards – those with more total messages – were more likely to use terms referencing the past indicating stability and have greater thread depth indicating interactivity. Moderately active boards were more likely to have linguistic markers of cohesiveness and stability. Highly interactive boards – those with greater thread depth – were more likely to have language markers indicating stability, cohesiveness, and sociability.
Graph programming interface (GPI): a linear algebra programming model for large scale graph computations

Graph processing is becoming a crucial component for analyzing big data arising in many application domains such as social and biological networks, fraud detection, and sentiment analysis. As a result, a number of computational models for graph analytics have been proposed in the literature to help users write efficient large scale graph algorithms. In this paper we present an alternative model for implementing graph algorithms using a linear algebra based specification. We first specify a set of linear algebra primitives that allows users to express graph algorithms by composition of linear algebra operations. We then describe a high performance implementation of these primitives and its integration with the Spark framework to achieve the scalability we need for large shared-memory systems. We provide an overview of our implementation and also compare and contrast the expressiveness and performance of various algorithms implemented with our approach with that of the current Spark GraphX implementation of those algorithms.
Abstract 585: Assessing ENPP3 as a renal cancer target for bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) therapy

BiTE® therapeutics are single chain antibody constructs harboring two binding moieties: one directed at a tumor associated antigen and one directed at the CD3e protein, which trigger T cell dependent cellular cytotoxicity (TDCC) against targeted cancer cells. Here, we evaluated the suitability of ENPP3 as a potential BiTE® target. The ENPP3 mRNA is highly differentially expressed in clear cell Renal Cell Carcinoma (ccRCC) and the ENPP3 protein is detected with high uniformity and intensity in ccRCC tumor samples by immunohistochemistry. We demonstrated the surface expression of this protein in Renal Cancer cell lines and confirmed that the ENPP3 protein was highly restricted to the luminal side of normal epithelial layers in which it was detected (proximal renal tubules, bronchial epithelium, salivary glands). We developed highly potent anti-ENPP3 BiTE® molecules and demonstrated the in vitro TDCC activity of these molecules. Two anti-ENPP3 BiTE® molecules further demonstrated tumor formation inhibition activity in a human T cell / human target cell admixture mouse xenograft model. Citation Format: Olivier Nolan-Stevaux, Flordeliza Fajardo, Lily Liu, Suzanne Coberly, Patricia McElroy, Aaron Nazarian, Franziska Bott, Elisabeth Nahrwold, Tobias Raum, Roman Kischel, Ralf Lutterbuese, Patrick Hoffmann, Peter Kufer. Assessing ENPP3 as a renal cancer target for bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE) therapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 585.
Can you become one of us? A historical comparison of legal selection of "assimilable' immigrants in Europe and the Americas

Pre-arrival integration tests used by European countries suggest discriminatory measures subtly persist in immigration laws. This paper draws on a comparison across the Americas and Europe to ident...
399 The relationship between socioeconomic factors and immunosuppressive use in systemic lupus erythematosus

Background and aims Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is more common in minorities, who also tend to be more socially disadvantaged. Some studies have shown a disparity in access to care and medication prescribed in minorities and socially disadvantaged people with SLE. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between socioeconomic factors including gender, race, and median household income and medication prescribed in our SLE cohort. Methods The study design was a retrospective cohort single centre study. A review of electronic medical record yielded 115 patients that were included in the cohort. General demographic information including age, gender, zip code and serological testing was obtained through chart review and recorded in the database. Supplemental socioeconomic information for each zip code in Southwest Virginia was obtained from the United States Government Census website. The data was analysed by Kruskal-Wallis Test, Mann-Whitney U Test using SAS9.3. Results Among the 113 patients, there was no relationship between socioeconomic factors and medication prescribed. There was no statistical relationship between gender and medication prescribed. There was no statistical relationship between race and medications. More importantly, no statistical relationship exists between median household income and medications prescribed. Conclusions There was no relationship between socioeconomic factors and the medications prescribed in SLE within our cohort. This may relate to treatment standardisation of SLE and the increasing awareness of the “treat to target” ethos in rheumatology. The limitations of this study include the small sample size and it’s restriction to a single centre.
Transfer matrix theory of polymer complex coacervation

Oppositely charged polyelectrolytes can undergo a macroscopic, associative phase separation in solution, via a process known as complex coacervation. Significant recent effort has gone into providing a clear, physical picture of coacervation; most work has focused on improving the field theory picture that emerged from the classical Voorn–Overbeek theory. These methods have persistent issues, however, resolving the molecular features that have been shown to play a major role in coacervate thermodynamics. In this paper, we outline a theoretical approach to coacervation based on a transfer matrix formalism that is an alternative to traditional field-based approaches. We develop theoretical arguments informed by experimental observation and simulation, which serve to establish an analytical expression for polymeric complex coacervation that is consistent with the molecular features of coacervate phases. The analytical expression provided by this theory is in a form that can be incorporated into more complicated theoretical or simulation formalisms, and thus provides a starting point for understanding coacervate-driven self-assembly or biophysics.