cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Guidelines for the initiation of obesity treatment 1

Abstract Obesity is epidemic in America. About 80 million Americans are obese, 33.4% of adults and about 20% to 25% of children. Obesity produces morbidity and mortality: there are 300,000 obesity-related deaths annually in America. The definition of obesity has not been standard. Recently, the World Health Organization defined overweight as a body mass index (BMI = kg/m2) of 25 and obesity as a BMI of ≥30. A BMI of ≥35 produces a high risk from obesity and of ≥40 produces a severe risk. The presence of complications of obesity (hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, sleep apnea, etc.) increases the risk. Treatments of obesity depend on the severity of obesity, the presence of complications, and the absence of exclusions. Exclusions from obesity treatment include pregnancy, lactation, terminal illness, major mental illness, anorexia nervosa. Eating disorders and major medical disorders are strong cautions for obesity treatment. Obesity with a low or modest health risk (BMI: 25–30) is best treated with a diet lower in calories and fat than the current diet, exercise, and lifestyle modification. With obesity that produces a moderate to high health risk (BMI: 30–35), the above treatments plus a very low calorie diet or obesity drugs may be indicated. High and very high health risk due to obesity may be treated with the above regimen plus obesity surgery. In every category of obesity, the presence of complications of obesity increases the risk and justifies more aggressive forms of treatment. Treatment of obesity with drugs has gained acceptance in recent years. There are no absolute indications for drug treatment. Contraindications include pregnancy and lactation, unstable cardiac disease, uncontrolled hypertension, severe psychiatric disorder or anorexia, and other drug therapy, if incompatible. Cautions include the presence of any severe systemic illness and certain other problems such as closed angle glaucoma. Obesity surgery is reserved as a last resort. Contraindications to surgery and significant mental or physical diseases preclude obesity surgery. Whatever the form of treatment, individualized attention with careful follow-up is mandatory. Obesity is similar to other chronic diseases; if the treatment stops, the disease comes back.
Supporting speculative parallelization in the presence of dynamic data structures

The availability of multicore processors has led to significant interest in compiler techniques for speculative parallelization of sequential programs. Isolation of speculative state from non-speculative state forms the basis of such speculative techniques as this separation enables recovery from misspeculations. In our prior work on CorD [35,36] we showed that for array and scalar variable based programs copying of data between speculative and non-speculative memory can be highly optimized to support state separation that yields significant speedups on multicore machines available today. However, we observe that in context of heap-intensive programs that operate on linked dynamic data structures, state separation based speculative parallelization poses many challenges. The copying of data structures from non-speculative to speculative state (copy-in operation) can be very expensive due to the large sizes of dynamic data structures. The copying of updated data structures from speculative state to non-speculative state (copy-out operation) is made complex due to the changes in the shape and size of the dynamic data structure made by the speculative computation. In addition, we must contend with the need to translate pointers internal to dynamic data structures between their non-speculative and speculative memory addresses. In this paper we develop an augmented design for the representation of dynamic data structures such that all of the above operations can be performed efficiently. Our experiments demonstrate significant speedups on a real machine for a set of programs that make extensive use of heap based dynamic data structures.
Ultrastructural Pathology and Interorganelle Cross Talk in Hepatotoxicity

Mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum (ER), cytoplasmic lipid droplets (CLD), and Golgi vesicles use cross talk to control hepatocyte metabolism, growth, and stress. Interpretation of ultrastructural change requires knowledge of how cross talk pathways function, how differential activation of hepatocellular signals influences organelle structure, and how organelles position themselves to become central hubs for stress responses. Mitochondria, by coupling energy production to pathways for protection, form critical platforms for innate signaling. Mitochondrial outer and inner membranes activate channels and signals to translocate peptides that drive oxidative phosphorylation, β-oxidation of fatty acids, and calcium ion (Ca(2+)) flux. In cell stress, mitochondrial signals initiate fusion and fission, reactive oxygen species (ROS) control, autophagy, apoptosis, and senescence. Specialized tethering proteins tie mitochondria to ER to support translocation of metabolites. For Ca(2+) translocation, ER pores are connected to mitochondrial voltage-dependent anion channels, and for mitochondrial fission, unique membrane proteins pull ER to mitochondria. In toxic injury, cytosolic cytokines translocate to alter metabolism. Toxic effects on ER lipid synthesis lead to Golgi vesicle reduplication and transport of perilipin and other protein cargos into CLDs. How cellular proteostasis, oxidative homeostasis, and ion balance are maintained depend upon the effectiveness of mitochondrial ROS defense responses, unfolded protein responses in mitochondria and ER, and other organelle defenses.
Specialty-Service Lines: Salvos In The New Medical Arms Race

Hospitals and physicians are developing and marketing discrete and profitable specialty-service lines. Although closely affiliated specialist physicians are central to hospitals’ service-line products, other physicians compete directly with hospitals via physician-owned specialty facilities. Specialty-service lines may be provided in a variety of settings, both inside and outside traditional hospital walls. Thus far, the escalating battle between hospitals and physicians for control over specialty services has not affected hospital profitability. However, as the scope of care that can be safely performed in the outpatient arena expands, physician competition for control over specialty services may threaten hospitals’ financial health.
Ignition time measurements for methylcylcohexane- and ethylcyclohexane-air mixtures at elevated pressures

The ignition of methylcyclohexane (MCH)/air and ethylcyclohexane (ECH)/air mixtures has been studied in a shock tube at temperatures and pressures ranging from 881 to 1319 K and 10.8 to 69.5 atm, respectively, for equivalence ratios of 0.25, 0.5, and 1.0. Endwall OH* emission and sidewall pressure measurements were used to determine ignition delay times. The influence of temperature, pressure, and equivalence ratio on ignition has been characterized. Negative temperature coefficient behavior was observed for temperatures below 1000 K. These measurements greatly extend the database of kinetic targets for MCH and provide, to our knowledge, the first ignition measurements for ECH. The combination of the MCH measurements with previous shock tube and rapid compression machine measurements provides kinetic targets over a large temperature range, 680–1650 K, for the validation of kinetic mechanisms. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 41: 82–91, 2009
ULTRASTRUCTURE OF DEVELOPING MUSCLE CELLS IN THE CHICK EMBRYO.

Sectioned as well as negatively stained preparations of developing myotomal cells from the chick embryo were studied with the electron microscope. The application of these two techniques to similar material made it possible to observe developing muscle cells in successive stages of differentiation and at the same time visualize some of the isolated components making up these cells. The thick and thin filaments observed in the embryonic muscle were morphologically indistinguishable from those observed in adult muscle. The thin filaments, found randomly dispersed in the cytoplasm of the early cells, were present in large concentrations before the first appearance of thick filaments. The first observed thick filaments had lengths of 1.5 μ, equal to that of adult thick filaments. The appearance of large polyribosomes was correlated with the first appearance of the thick filaments. Single and small groups of ribosomes were always present. Early formed thick and thin filament aggregates were found in the same hexagonal array that is typical to the organization of myofilaments in adult myofibrils. Non-striated myofibrils, associated with a periodic transverse tubular system, were found before striated myofibrils could be observed. Some preliminary observations were made concerning the appearance of glycogen particles.
A Novel Method to Measure Glucose Uptake and Myosin Heavy Chain Isoform Expression of Single Fibers From Rat Skeletal Muscle

Skeletal muscle includes many individual fibers with diverse phenotypes. A barrier to understanding muscle glucose uptake at the cellular level has been the absence of a method to measure glucose uptake by single fibers from mammalian skeletal muscle. This study’s primary objective was to develop a procedure to measure glucose uptake by single fibers from rat skeletal muscle. Rat epitrochlearis muscles were incubated ex vivo with [3H]-2-deoxy-d-glucose, with or without insulin or AICAR, before isolation of ~10–30 single fibers from each muscle. Fiber type (myosin heavy chain [MHC] isoform) and glucose uptake were determined for each single fiber. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake (which was cytochalasin B inhibitable) varied according to MHC isoform expression, with ~2-fold greater values for IIA versus IIB or IIX fibers and ~1.3-fold greater for hybrid (IIB/X) versus IIB fibers. In contrast, AICAR-stimulated glucose uptake was ~1.5-fold greater for IIB versus IIA fibers. A secondary objective was to assess insulin resistance of single fibers from obese versus lean Zucker rats. Genotype differences were observed for insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and inhibitor κB (IκB)-β abundance in single fibers (obese less than lean), with decrements for glucose uptake (44–58%) and IκB-β (25–32%) in each fiber type. This novel method creates a unique opportunity for future research focused on understanding muscle glucose uptake at the cellular level.
Preconditioned conjugate gradient methods for adaptive filtering

The method of preconditioned conjugate gradients (PCGs) is proposed for solving the problem of adaptive filtering. Considered as an iterative algorithm, the PCG algorithm is asymptotically efficient. It is suggested for use in applications requiring very high order adaptive filters. The method is also extended to the IIR (infinite impulse response) case. Application to the PCG algorithm to very long filters is suggested to exploit the fact that the number of iterations of the PCG algorithm until convergence is independent of the filter order. In a block algorithm, then, increasing filter length increases the efficiency of the algorithm. >
Selected Cues in the Acquisition and Retention of Four Meaningful C-V-C Trigrams.

Summary.-96 kindergarten Ss, randomly assigned to 4 experimental conditions, were tested as to the effect of type of cue, picmre or spelling pattern, and number of cues, single or combination, on the initial and later recognition of 4 consonant-vowel-consonant (C-V-C) words when these words were presented in trigram pairs. The ScheffC method, used to make post hoc multiple comparisons among the means, showed that picture cues neither facilitated nor hindered recognition whereas spelling-pattern cues significantly aided acquisition (p < .01) but hindered retention (9 < .05) when cues were deleted. The number of cues presented had less effect than did type of cue. Among questions that concern reading theorists are those that relate to the type of cue most favorable to beginning reading, the number or combination of cues, and the effect of these cues on remembering words at a later time when cues are no longer present. One approach has been to make available a large number of cues and the child may take from this number those which he finds helpful. Recently, linguistic basal readers have appeared, the proponents of which say that a large variety of cues serve as distracters to the learning of words (Bloomfield & Barnhart, 1961; Fries, Wilson, & Rudolph, 1966; Rasmussen & Goldberg, 1965). The child's attention should be directed only to the word and to the letters of which the word is composed. A spelling pattern approach in which the child says the names of the letters and then the word is one method of doing this. Pictures, especially, have been criticized. The authors of the Merrill LingtliJtic Readers say that pictures have been excluded as a matter of principle in order to focus the pupil's attention upon the reading material itself (Fries, Wilson, & Rudolph, 1766). Rasmussen and Goldberg ( 1965 ) of the SRA Basic Reading Series feel that pictutes may hinder the discovery of important sound-spelling relationships and should never be used to teach word recognition. Also pertinent is whether the type of cue and the number or combination of cues used in the original learning are related to remembering at a later time. A prevalent view is that the more nearly alike the retention session is to the acquisition session, the higher will be the retention score. The reduction of cues during retention may be equated with a situation in which a smaller number of cues is given in both acquisition and retention (Blackman & Holden, Yhis paper is based on the author's doctoral dissertation, written under the direction of C. I. Chase, and submitted to the Graduate School of Indiana University.
Bile acid-surfactant interactions at the liquid crystal/aqueous interface

The interaction between bile acids and surfactants at interfaces plays an important role in fat digestion. In this paper, we study the competitive adsorption of cholic acid (CA) at the sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-laden liquid crystal (LC)/aqueous interface formed with cyanobiphenyl (nCB, n = 5–8) and the mixture of 5CB with 4-(4-pentylcyclohexyl)benzonitrile (5PCH). We find that the critical concentration of CA required to displace SDS from the interface linearly decreases from 160 μM to 16 μM by reducing the alkyl chain length of nCB from n = 8 to n = 5 and from 16 μM to 1.5 μM by increasing the 5PCH concentration from 0 wt% to 19 wt% in the 5PCH–5CB binary mixture. Our results clearly demonstrate that the sensitivity of 5PCH–5CB mixtures for monitoring the interaction between CA and SDS at the LC/aqueous interface can be increased by one order of magnitude, compared to 5CB.
Symbolic models for control systems

In this paper we provide a bridge between the infinite state models used in control theory to describe the evolution of continuous physical processes and the finite state models used in computer science to describe software. We identify classes of control systems for which it is possible to construct equivalent (bisimilar) finite state models. These constructions are based on finite, but otherwise arbitrary, partitions of the set of inputs or outputs of a control system.
Structure and Reactivity of Radical Ions: New Twists on Old Concepts

Electron transfer is the simplest reaction possible, yet it has a profound impact on the structure and reactivity of organic compounds. These changes allow a new look at some of the fundamental concepts that are used to explain organic chemistry, such as symmetry, aromaticity, and bonding. The results from high-level electronic structure calculations are used to analyze the mechanistic differences in the pericyclic reactions of simple hydrocarbons and their radical cation counterparts. The importance of state symmetry correlation, Jahn-Teller distortions, delocalization, and fractional bonding for the reaction pathways of hydrocarbon radical cations is discussed.
Otolith endorgan input to the Mauthner neuron in the goldfish.

The Mauthner (M-) cell of the goldfish, Carassius auratus, triggers the rapid escape response of the fish in response to various stimuli, including visual and auditory. The large size and accessibility of the M-cell make it an ideal model system for the study of synaptic transmission, membrane properties, and sensory-motor gating. Although physiological recordings have suggested that afferents from all three of the inner ear endorgans (the saccule, lagena, and utricle) synapse directly on the ipsilateral M-cell, the specific contacts and anatomical distributions of these inputs along the M-cell lateral dendrite remain unknown. We traced specific branches of the auditory (VIIIth) nerve from the three otolith organs of the fish inner ear to the M-cell. The goldfish sacculus gives rise to the vast majority of inputs that contact a large portion of the M-cell lateral dendrite, and these inputs vary greatly in size. In contrast to the ubiquitous distribution of saccular inputs, those from the lagena are segregated to distal regions of the M-cell and synapse on the distal dorsal branch of the lateral dendrite. Similarly, inputs from the utricle are also segregated to distal regions, synapsing on the ventral branch of the lateral dendrite. These results demonstrate that nerves from all three endorgans contact the M-cell, with input-specific segregation of synapses along the M-cell lateral dendrite. J. Comp. Neurol. 505:511–525, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Cooperation in Wireless Networks with Unreliable Channels

In a distributed wireless system, multiple network nodes behave cooperatively towards a common goal. An important challenge in such a scenario is to attain mutual cooperation. This paper provides a non-cooperative game theoretic solution to enforce cooperation in wireless networks in the presence of channel noise. We focus on one-hop information exchange and model the packet forwarding process as a hidden action game with imperfect private monitoring. We propose a state machine based strategy to reach Nash Equilibrium. The equilibrium is proved to be a sequential one with carefully designed system parameters. Furthermore, we extend our discussion to a general wireless network scenario by considering how cooperation can prevail over collusion using evolutionary game theory. The simulation results are provided to back our analysis. In particular, network throughput performance is measured with respect to parameters like channel loss probability, route hop count, and mobility. Results suggest that the performance due to our proposed strategy is in close agreement with that of unconditionally cooperative nodes. Simulation results also reveal how the convergence of cooperation enforcement is affected by initial population share and channel unreliability.
Influence of Age of New Hampshire Female Breeders Upon Hatchability of Eggs

Abstract It is quite definitely established that the hatching quality of eggs laid during the second laying year is lower than that of the first year. Observation and results reported by Hays and Sanborn (1924), Warren (1934), Funk (1934), and Insko, Lowry and Caldwell (1951) indicate that there can be no doubt that the hatching quality of eggs laid during the first laying year is to a slight but significant degree superior to the hatching quality of those produced during the second year of production. Published data pertaining to changes in hatchability during the first year of production are limited. Insko, Steele and Wightman (1947) reported that first-year embryonic mortality was definitely lower for pullets in progressively older age-groups, and that essentially the same relationship applied to any one week for the respective years. Hays and Talmadge (1949) concluded that, in general, pullets are likely to show a decline in hatchability …
Precursor T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoblastic lymphoma and acute biphenotypic leukemias.

Session 4 of the 2005 Society of Hematopathology/European Association for Haematopathology Workshop focused on case presentations of precursor T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoblastic lymphoma (pre-T ALL/LBL) and acute biphenotypic leukemia. Pre-T ALL represents approximately 15% of childhood and 25% of adult ALL cases. Pre-T LBL comprises 85% to 90% of LBL and frequently manifests as a mediastinal mass. Gene expression studies have shown distinct subtypes of LYL1+, HOX11+, TAL1+, and MLL+ pre- T ALL/LBL. HOX11 overexpression may correlate with a good prognosis in adult pre-T ALL. ABL gene amplification and NOTCH1 gene mutations in subsets of pre-T ALL/LBL suggest patients may benefit from therapy with tyrosine kinase and -secretase inhibitors, respectively. Acute biphenotypic leukemias are characterized by a single population of blasts that express myeloid, T- or B-lineage antigens in various combinations and account for fewer than 4% of all acute leukemias. The blasts have a high incidence of chromosome abnormalities. An accurate diagnosis of pre-T ALL/LBL and acute biphenotypic leukemia requires a multiparametric approach, including examination of morphologic features, immunophenotype, clinical characteristics, and cytogenetic and molecular findings.
A systems model for achieving optimum parking efficiency on campus: The case of Minnesota State University

An economic model of parking behavior was designed to consider the relationship between costs and benefits in meeting parking demands of the range of users on an urban university campus. Using Minnesota State University, Mankato campus as the case area, model simulations were run to answer the question, “How do we price parking permits to minimize parking supply surpluses/shortages on campus and still meet the cost of parking?” The study's results indicate that there is an over/undersupply of parking spaces when parking demand is determined only by the expected permit purchases without considering the peak use of parking facilities. This leads to the issues of excess parking costs and parking shortages which characterize the iterative process in campus parking pricing and supply policies. By running the model through several simulations, an “optimum parking price level” – that which minimizes supply excesses/shortages while also ensuring that revenue generated meets at least the annual operations and maintenance costs – was determined for each parking permit on campus.
Immunologic selection of hemopoietic precursor cells utilizing antibody- mediated plate binding (panning)

We utilized the property of antibody adherence to plastic to separate and obtain enriched fractions of human myeloid (CFU-GM), erythroid (BFU-E) and pluripotent (CFU-GEMM) hemopoietic precursor cells. Nonadherent buoyant human marrow cells coated with mouse anti-human HLA-DR monoclonal antibody (Mc ab), an anti-pan T lymphocyte Mc ab (Leu 1/17F12) or a granulocyte--monocyte-specific Mc ab (MCS2) were incubated on polystyrene Petri plates coated with affinity purified goat anti-mouse immunoglobulin G (IgG). Cells bound to the coated plates and nonbound cells were separately recovered ("panned") by differential elution. Analysis of the nonadherent buoyant marrow cells demonstrated 12% to possess HLA-DR, 6% T, 40% MCS2 antigens on their surface by indirect immunofluorescence (IMF). After panning, 15% +/- 8%, 14% +/- 4% and 8% +/- 6% cells were plate-bound by their respective antibodies, demonstrating differing binding efficiencies. A substantial degree of purity of the recovered cell fractions was shown for bound 74% +/- 6% and 75% +/- 5% IMF positive cells) and nonbound cells (3% +/- 1% and 0.1% +/- 0.8% positive cells) coated with anti-HLA-DR or anti-T Mc ab respectively, with lesser purity for MCS2 panned cells. Seventy-three percent to 126% CFU recovery was noted, with a sevenfold enrichment of the HLA-DR bound cells for CFU-GM and CFU-GEMM, and 3.5-fold enrichment for BFU-E. Sequential panning, obtaining T nonbound-DR bound-surface immunoglobulin nonbound fractions, resulted in tenfold CFU-GM enrichment (107/10(4) cells, approximately equal to 1/100). Anti-MCS2 antibody was ineffective for panning, but use of this antibody in fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) indicated the absence of the MCS2 antigen on the vast majority of CFU-GM. This study describes a relatively rapid and inexpensive method for obtaining enriched antigenically defined hemopoietic precursors in high yield. These techniques should prove useful for more clearly evaluating cellular and humoral interactions with hemopoietic precursor cells.
Agricultural Credit Corporations and Their Problems

The Agricultural Credits Act of 1923 resulted in two new types of financial institutions to serve farmers: first, the Federal intermediate credit banks, which were chartered under the Act; and second, agricultural credit corporations, institutions which were not created under the Act but which have developed as a result of having the privilege of rediscounting paper with the above banks. The Act created twelve Federal intermediate credit banks. The Federal government subscribed to $5,000,000 capital of each of these banks. Up to the present time only two of them have called the full amount. The principal sources of funds for these banks, however, is not the Federal government but the investment market in which their debentures are sold. The banks furnish two types of credit: first, marketing credit to farmers' cooperative associations on paper secured by warehouse receipts; and second, production or general agricultural credit to individual farmers by rediscounting their notes for various financial institutions, principally agricultural credit corporations, livestock loan companies, and state and national banks. Agricultural credit corporations and livestock loan companies (often identical in every respect, for many organizations specializing in livestock loans are called agricultural credit corporations) are organized generally under the corporation laws of the states in which they operate, although some few states have provided special statutes for them. These organizations, serving as connecting links between the Federal intermediate credit banks and the farmers, are in a sense similar to the national farm loan associations. They differ, however, in that they are not organized under the Federal law creating the banks and are more truly independent institutions.
Preface to: 'American Foreign Affairs: A Compact History'

This book provides a compact history of the gradual development of the US into a great power. Most histories of US foreign policy and development concentrate either on economic growth or on relations with the major powers outside the continental United States. This book, however, emphasizes the longstanding conflict between the US and the American Indians and Mexico, and how the development of the United States as a great power depended primarily on its seizure of large areas of land from their previous inhabitants. Covering Christopher Columbus' famous voyage and US colonial policy up to World War II, the book explains (at times controversially) how the US became a large land area, which proved to be an indispensable tool in its becoming a great power.
Maxwell’s Equations, Power, and Energy

This book is about fluctuations of the electromagnetic field at microwave and optical frequencies. The fluctuations take place in microwave and optical structures. Hence a study of electromagnetic-field fluctuations requires the terminology and analytic description of structures excited by microwave or optical sources. The equipartition theorem of statistical mechanics used in Chap. 4 in the derivation of Nyquist’s theorem is formulated in terms of energy. Hence, in the application of the equipartition theorem, an understanding of the concept of energy is necessary. When media are present, the medium. stores energy as well. The excitation of a mode of the electromagnetic field, as discussed in Chap. 2, involves both the energy of the electromagnetic field. and the energy in the excited medium.
High Temperature Superconductors in the La1+xBa2-xCu3Oy System

In the perovskite-related La/Ba/Cu oxide system, the lanthanum ions can substitute on the barium sites due to a close match in the ionic radius of the two. Thus it is possible to make a solid solution La1+xBa2-xCu3Oy where O ∼ x ≤ 0.5 and y ∼ 7. For the Ba-rich end member composition (x ∼ 0). the structure is orthorhombic. but as the La content increases and La begins to substitute on the Ba sites (disordered), the crystal symmetry changes from orthorhombic to tetragonal. In addition, the superconducting properties vary with increasing La content. In particular, the superconducting onset temperature is found to decrease linearly from 80 to 45 K over the compositional (x) range 0.0 → 0.375. In the La-rich limit (x = 0.5). 1/4 of the Ba atoms are replaced by La and superconductivity is lost. A correlation between oxygen ordering (annealing) and high Tc is observed for orthorhombic LaBa2Cu3Oy and inferred in the case of tetragonal La1.25Ba1.75Cu3Oy.
Functional Mixed Effects Model for Small Area Estimation

Functional data analysis has become an important area of research due to its ability of handling high dimensional and complex data structures. However, the development is limited in the context of linear mixed effect models, and in particular, for small area estimation. The linear mixed effect models are the backbone of small area estimation. In this article, we consider area level data, and fit a varying coefficient linear mixed effect model where the varying coefficients are semi-parametrically modeled via B-splines. We propose a method of estimating the fixed effect parameters and consider prediction of random effects that can be implemented using a standard software. For measuring prediction uncertainties, we derive an analytical expression for the mean squared errors, and propose a method of estimating the mean squared errors. The procedure is illustrated via a real data example, and operating characteristics of the method are judged using finite sample simulation studies.
Immune Response and Disease Resistance in Chickens. II. Marek’s Disease and Immune Response to GAT

Abstract Genetic control of resistance of susceptibility to Marek's disease in chickens was found to be associated with immune response to the amino acid polymer GAT. Thus, both B1 B1 and B19 B19 GAT low responders had significantly greater incidence of MD than the B1 B1 and B19 B19 GAT high responder counterparts. The results point to gene(s) controlling MD resistance mapping within the immune response region of the B complex, the major histocompatibility system of the chicken. Patterns of general mortality demonstrate that the low viability, observed over several years among B1 B1 birds, likewise is associated with the immune response region of the B complex.
Abstract 2234: Circulating tumor cells are rare in patients with curable oligometastatic cancer

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC Background: In the majority of patients with solid organ malignancies, tumor metastasis marks a transition from curable to terminal. However, a subset of metastatic cancer patients develops only a very limited number of metastases (known as oligometastatic). Survival in this cohort is considerably better than patients with widely disseminated cancer. In fact, in highly select subgroups, as many as 30% of oligometastatic patients are actually cured of cancer. The mechanism that distinguishes limited (or oligometastatic) cancer, from the more lethal, widely disseminated, is unknown. Tumor cell circulation is a critical component of metastasis formation, with circulating tumor cells being detectable in as many as 40-70% of patients with metastatic cancer. We hypothesize that patients with limited metastasis formation, have limited tumor cell circulation. To test this hypothesis, we quantified circulating tumor cells in patients with oligometastatic disease. Methods: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) were quantified in patients with metastatic epithelial malignancies using the Veridex assay. Patients with > 2 CTCs in a 7.5 ml specimen were considered positive, as a single CTC has previously been shown to carry a substantially higher false positive rate (6.4%) than >2 CTCs (.3%). Results: From April 2008 to December 2009, a total of 20 patients with oligometastatic cancer were enrolled. In all patients the primary tumor had been previously removed and each was being evaluated for curative surgery to remove the oligometastatic cancer. The origin of the primary tumor was colon (17 patients), head and neck (1 patient), ovarian (1 patient), and pancreas (1 patient). The site of oligometastatic cancer was the liver (12 patients), lungs (4 patients) or both liver and lungs (4 patients). Only 1 of the 20 patients with oligometastatic cancer (5%) was found to have >2 circulating tumor cells. During the same time frame, CTCs were more common in patients with disseminated cancer as 4 of 7 patients (57%) with incurable, widely disseminated metastatic cancer had > 2 CTCs (two tailed P value = .0089). Conclusions: Circulating tumor cells are rare in patients with oligometastatic cancer. One mechanism by which oligometastatic cancer patients avoid more widely disseminated cancer may relate to the frequency and duration of tumor cell circulation. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2234.
A Discussion on Technical Architecture for Flexible Intelligent Interactive Power Utilization

The core feature of intelligent power utilization is to implement flexible interaction of energy flow, information flow and business flow between power grid and consumers. To put forward a technical architecture of intelligent power utilization, which can suit to the technical base and mechanism of electricity marketing in China and adapt to the new situation of friendly interaction of electric energy and diversified service requirement, starting from meeting four typical interactive business requirements, i.e., the information interaction, marketing interaction, electric energy interaction and energy utilization interaction, a 5-layer technical architecture for intelligent power utilization and corresponding implementation are proposed, and then the functional localization of four core technologies in the proposed architecture, namely the advanced metering system and terminals, the interactive supporting platform for intelligent power utilization, the requirement response and energy utilization management and communication and information technology, are focused on. Finally, according to actual progress of intelligent power utilization and practice in China, several suggestions are given. The proposed technical architecture is already applied in the demonstration project of intelligent utilization in Shandong Province.
Jaw structures and movements in higher teleostean fishes.

All of the diverse jaw structures in higher teleosts appear to be modifications of a single basal type and are treated as such. Only some of the principal variants are discussed. Though the two jaws act as a coordinated unit during feeding, their movements are different. The upper and lower jaws are discussed separately. In the upper jaw the principal concern is with the various types of premaxillary protrusion and with the secondary development in some groups of a rocking premaxilla. For the lower jaw most of the account is devoted to the repeated differentiation of movements in its anterior and posterior sections. The paper concludes with comments on the jaw apparatus as a functional unit and its evolution in higher teleosts.
Dysregulated exocytosis of angiopoietin-2 drives cerebral cavernous malformation.

A new study has proposed a mechanism for the pathogenesis of cerebral cavernous malformation (CCM) that links endothelial CCM3 deficiency to increased secretion of the vascular destabilizing protein angiopoietin-2 (ANGPT2).
Physical activity, black carbon exposure and airway inflammation in an urban adolescent cohort

Objective Regular physical activity can improve cardiopulmonary health; however, increased respiratory rates and tidal volumes during activity may increase the effective internal dose of air pollution exposure. Our objective was to investigate the impact of black carbon (BC) measured by personal sampler on the relationship between physical activity and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), a marker of airway inflammation. We hypothesized that higher personal BC would attenuate the protective effect of physical activity on airway inflammation.
Advanced Trading Strategies

As we have seen so far, mathematics empowered with Mathematical®can be used as a framework for answering many practical questions in the market analysis, investing, and trading of stocks and options. Chapter 5 and 6 present some sophisticated ways as to how to analyze the market from the point of view of estimating the perceived stock volatilities. In Chapter 7 it was shown how mathematics and Mathematical® can be used for synthesizing the available information about market dynamics, market uncertainty, and an investor’s attitude towards uncertainty with respect to explicit trading and investment diversification decisions, provided that the market dynamics is simple enough.
Mineral springs resorts in global perspectives: spa histories

Spas have become ubiquitous in Anglo-American culture. Almost every hotel, conference centre, casino and resort—even hairdressers and nail shops—claims to be a ‘spa’. The modern term refers to any ...
Health on the road: issues faced by female truck drivers.

Nearly 3 million long haul truck drivers transport goods across America. Truck driving is rated as the nation's third largest growth occupation. Between 174,000 and 290,000 drivers are women and th...
Helical Tomotherapy For Radiochemotherapy In Esophageal Cancer: A Preferred Plan?

The addition of systemic chemotherapy to local radiationfortherapy in the non-surgicalHowever, ment of esophageal cancer has offered the opportunity long-term survival (1). this survival benefit has come at the cost of increased side effects. The standard dose of radiation remains up to 50 Gy in the definitive or pre-operative setting despite previous attempts to dose escalate (2). Even at this modest dose, the majority of concurrent chemoradiation patients experience grade 3 or higher toxicities when utilizing conventional radiation techniques. When concurrent chemotherapy and radiation are delivered neoadjuvantly, the combination appears to increase resectability, produce tumor downstaging and may impact local control, disease-free survival, and overall survival (3-5). This tri-modality approach, while relatively effective, has been shown with peri-operative rates of toxicity of 11-12% (6). The esophagus is a centrally located structure, surrounded by the lungs, normal esophagus, heart and spinal cord. For the treating radiation oncologist, achieving adequate dose to the gross tumor volume and adjacent clinical targets while limiting dose to the surrounding critical normal tissues represents a therapeutic challenge.
An Analysis of Decommissioning Costs and Funding

This is a study of the effects on the costs of decommissioning nuclear reactors and fuel cycle facilities caused by changes in the economic environment, changes in the accuracy of facility use planning, and the use of various options for funding decommissioning. The results of this study are applicable to the decommissioning of any facility.
Integrating Deformable Modeling with 3D Deep Neural Network Segmentation

Convolutional neural networks have advanced the state of the art in medical image segmentation. However, there are two challenges in 3D deep learning segmentation networks. First, the segmentation masks from deep learning networks lack shape constraints, often resulting in the need for post-processing. Second, the training and deployment of 3D networks require substantial memory resources. The memory requirement becomes an issue especially when the target organs cover a large footprint. Commonly down-sampling and up-sampling operations are needed before and after the network. To address the post-processing requirement, we present a new loss function that incorporates the level set based smoothing loss together with multi Dice loss to avoid an additional post processing step. The formulation is general and can accommodate other deformable shape models. Further, we propose a way to integrate the down- and up-sampling in the network such that the input of the deep learning network can work directly on the original image without a significant increase in the memory usage. The 3D segmentation network with the proposed loss and sampling approach shows promising results on a dataset of 48 chest CT angiography images with 16 target anatomies. We obtained average Dice of 79.5% in 4 fold cross validation.
Outcomes in left versus right metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in patients presenting to an inner-city safety net hospital.

e15542Background: Studies have shown that patients with left sided colon cancer (L-CRC) have better survival than the right sided ones. However, only few studies focused on minority population. We ...
Semi-Dense Visual-Inertial Odometry and Mapping for Quadrotors with SWAP Constraints

Micro Aerial Vehicles have the potential to assist humans in real life tasks involving applications such as smart homes, search and rescue, and architecture construction. To enhance autonomous navigation capabilities these vehicles need to be able to create dense 3D maps of the environment, while concurrently estimating their own motion. In this paper, we are particularly interested in small vehicles that can navigate cluttered indoor environments. We address the problem of visual inertial state estimation, control and 3D mapping on platforms with Size, Weight, And Power (SWAP) constraints. The proposed approach is validated through experimental results on a 250 g, 22 cm diameter quadrotor equipped only with a stereo camera and an IMU with a computationally-limited CPU showing the ability to autonomously navigate, while concurrently creating a 3D map of the environment.
Attending Surgeons Differ From Other Team Members in Their Perceptions of Operating Room Communication

Abstract Background The Joint Commission has repeatedly recognized inadequate communication as a top contributing factor to medical error in the operating room (OR). The goal of this qualitative study was to develop a deeper and more nuanced understanding of OR communication dynamics, specifically across different interdisciplinary roles and to recommend specific interventions based on these findings. Methods We performed a two-phase qualitative study at one academic institution to explore contributors and barriers to optimal OR communication. The first phase consisted of interviews with OR team members, including surgery and anesthesiology attending faculty and residents, medical students, and OR staff. We qualitatively analyzed the transcripts of these interviews using a deductive approach. We additionally verified the findings through subsequent focus groups. Results Most OR team members, independent of role, noted that team familiarity, clear role expectations, and formal communication are vital for effective OR communication. There was a disconnect between attending surgeons and the rest of the OR team: Whereas the majority of team members noted the importance of procedural-focused discussions, team hierarchy, and the attending surgeon's mood as major contributors to successful OR communication, the attending surgeons did not recognize their own ability to contribute to optimal OR communication in these regards. Conclusions Although team familiarity was important to all participants in the OR, we noted that attending surgeons differed in their perceptions of OR communications from other members of the team, including attending anesthesiologists, residents, medical students, and nurses. Our findings support the need for (1) improved awareness of the impact of a team members's content and character of communication, particularly by attending surgeons; and (2) targeted initiatives to prioritize team familiarity in OR scheduling.
Characteristics of colorectal patients who discontinued oxaliplatin therapy.

e15155Background: The 3rd generation platinum-based drug, Oxaliplatin, is indicated for treatment of stage II-IV colorectal cancer (CRC). Oxaliplatin combination with Fluorouracil and Leucovorin (F...
Using a Guided-Inquiry Approach To Teach Michaelis─Menten Kinetics

Although kinetics forms a foundational part of the chemical curriculum, laboratory experiences with the subject are often limited and lack relevance to the actual practice of chemistry. Presented is an inquiry-based lab focused on Michaelis–Menten kinetics, implemented in an upper-level, university physical chemistry laboratory. Student learning was assessed over the course of three years via a pre- and post-test scheme that evaluated student understanding of Michaelis–Menten concepts and experimental design. Results indicate improvement in both domains, in line with previous results in the inquiry-based laboratory literature.
On the ergodicity of a class of level-dependent quasi-birth-and-death processes

We examine necessary and sufficient conditions for recurrence and positive recurrence of a class of irreducible, level-dependent quasi-birth-and-death (LDQBD) processes with a block tridiagonal structure that exhibits asymptotic convergence in the rows as the level tends to infinity. These conditions are obtained by exploiting a multi-dimensional Lyapunov drift approach, along with the theory of generalized Markov group inverses. Additionally, we highlight analogies to well-known average drift results for level-independent quasi-birth-and-death (QBD) processes.
The effect of prevailing wages on building costs, bid competition, and bidder behaviour: evidence from Ohio school construction

The Davis-Bacon Act and other state prevailing wage laws are instituted to, among other things, protect local compensation standards from possible degradations associated with public construction a...
Shade signals alter the expression of circadian clock genes in newly-formed bioenergy sorghum internodes.

Stem internodes of bioenergy sorghum inbred R.07020 are longer at high plant density (shade) than at low plant density (control). Initially, the youngest newly-formed subapical stem internodes of shade-treated and control plants are comparable in length. However, full-length internodes of shade-treated plants are three times longer than the internodes of the control plants. To identify the early molecular events associated with internode elongation in response to shade, we analyzed the transcriptome of the newly-formed internodes of shade-treated and control plants sampled between 4 and 6 hr after the start of the light period (14 hr light/10 hr dark). Sorghum genes homologous to the Arabidopsis shade marker genes ATHB2 and PIL1 were not differentially expressed. The results indicate that shade signals promote internode elongation indirectly because sorghum internodes are not illuminated and grow while enclosed with leaf sheaths. Sorghum genes homologous to the Arabidopsis morning-phased circadian clock genes LHY, RVE, and LNK were downregulated and evening-phased genes such as TOC1, PRR5, and GI were upregulated in young internodes in response to shade. We hypothesize that a change in the function or patterns of expression of the circadian clock genes is the earliest molecular event associated with internode elongation in response to shade in bioenergy sorghum. Increased expression of CycD1, which promotes cell division, and decreased expression of cell wall-loosening and MBF1-like genes, which promote cell expansion, suggest that shade signals promote internode elongation in bioenergy sorghum in part through increasing cell number by delaying transition from cell division to cell expansion.