cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lymphatic Targeting of anti-HIV Nucleosides: Distribution of 3′-azido-3′-deoxythymidine (AZT) and 3′-azido-2′,3′-dideoxyuridine (AZdU) after Administration of Dipalmitoylphosphatidyl Prodrugs to Mice

Human immunodeficiency virus appears to be proliferating within the lymphatic system throughout the period of clinical latency. Targeting of anti-HIV compounds to the lymphatic tissue may therefore provide therapeutic benefits. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the distribution of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) and 3'azido.2d,3'-dideoxyuridine (AZdU) in lymph nodes in a mouse model after administration of the lipophilic prodrugs dipalmitoylphosphatidyl-azidodeoxythymidine (DPP-AZT) and dipalmitoylphosphatidyl-azidodideoxyuridine (DPP-AZdU). Mice received 50 mg kg -1 of parent nucleoside and 164 mg kg -1 of DPP-AZT (equivalent to 50 mg kg -1 AZT) intravenously or orally and 180mg kg -1 DPP-AZdU (equivalent to 50 mg kg -1 AZdU) orally. Serum, neck, axillary and mesenteric lymph nodes were collected at selected times and AZT and AZdU concentrations were determined by HPLC. The disposition of AZT and AZdU in serum and lymph nodes was significantly altered after intravenous and oral administration of DPP-AZT and oral administration of DPP-AZdU when compared to that after administration of parent nucleoside. Lower peak concentrations of AZT and AZdU were observed in serum and lymph nodes after administration of the phospholipid prodrugs. However, DPP-AZT and DPP-AZdU produced consistently higher concentrations of AZT and AZdU, respectively, 2-3 h after prodrug administration. Half-life values for both nucleosides in serum and lymph nodes were significantly greater after prodrug administration. Greater AUC values for nucleosides were noted In neck (AZT and AZdU) and mesenteric (AZT) lymph nodes after administration of prodrugs compared with values obtained for parent drugs. Furthermore, relative lymph node exposure to AZT and AZdU in the lymph nodes was greater after administration of prodrug than after administration of parent compound. Thus, DPP-AZT and DPP-AZdU show potential as useful prodrugs for the delivery of AZT and AZdU to the lymphatic system.
Convict Criminology and the Struggle for Inclusion

Convict Criminology (CC) began in the early 1990s as a reaction to the then current state of academic criminology that did not adequately reflect the voices of convicted felons. Since its beginnings, CC has attempted to draw attention to a range of problems created by the criminal justice apparatus and defenders of the status quo. Dr. Joanne Belknap’s 2014 ASC presidential address and subsequent article presented an argument that stressed the importance of activism to be considered as part of criminological research. In the process, she reviewed her career and then criticized the field of Critical Criminology, in particular Convict Criminology. The article, however, ignored the numerous efforts that CC has engaged in to build an inclusive group school, movement, organization and network that includes the diverse voices of Ph.D. educated convicts and excons, and overall reflected a superficial understanding of the history and intent of Convict Criminology. This article attempts to explain the shortcomings of Belknap’s article and clarifies misunderstandings.
Tax Reform in Rural China: Revenue, Resistance, and Authoritarian Rule

How does China maintain authoritarian rule while it is committed to market-oriented economic reforms? This book analyzes this puzzle by offering a systematic analysis of the central-local governmental relationship in rural China, focusing on rural taxation and political participation. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Chinese local officials and villagers, and combining them with game-theoretic analyses, it argues that the central government uses local governments as a target of blame for the problems that the central government has actually created. The most recent rural tax reforms, which began in 2000, were a conscious trade-off between fiscal crises and rural instability. For the central government, local fiscal crises and the lack of public goods in agricultural areas were less serious concerns than the heavy financial burdens imposed on farmers and the rural unrest that the predatory extractive behavior of local governments had generated in the 1990s, which threatened both economic reforms and authoritarian rule.
Early metabolic responses of retinal neurons to trimethyltin intoxication

Chronic systemic exposure of rats to the neuronotoxic compound trimethyltin (TMT) results in increased incorporation of radioactive precursors into retinal proteins and glycoproteins. Because this increased metabolic activity is accompanied by minimal subcellular pathological alterations and almost no neuronal necrosis, we suggested that it may represent an early, reactive (compensatory) response (Brain Res.398, 298–304; 1986). We have now investigated the development of this metabolic response to TMT in more detail. Beginning at 30 d of age, rats received weekly doses of TMT (4 mg/kg body wt) by gavage for up to 7 wk; rates of incorporation of [35S]methionine and [3H]fucose into retinal proteins and glycoproteins, respectively, were then determined using in vitro retinal incubations. The apparent rates of protein synthesis and glycoprotein glycosylation in retinas from TMT-treated animals were normal or slightly decreased after 1–3 wkly doses, but were increased after 4 doses and more markedly increased after 7 doses. Glycoprotein glycosylation was increased to a greater degree (192% of control after 7 wk of dosing) than was protein synthesis (134% of control). The increased incorporation in retinas from TMT-treated animals persisted when retinas were incubated with “flooding” concentrations of precursor (1 mM), suggesting that these increases were not owing to alterations in the size of retinal precursor pools. The preferential increase in glycoprotein glycosylation was partially owing to a selective increase in glycosylation of two molecular species with apparent mol wt of 32 and 45 KDa. Quantitative autoradiographic analysis of newly synthesized proteins and glycoproteins indicated that the TMT-induced increase in metabolic activity was not specific or selective for any retinal layer or cell type. We suggest that the preferential activation of glycoprotein glycosylation, and in particular the increased glycosylation of the 32 and 45 KDa glycoprotein species, may represent part of a compensatory metabolic response of retinal neurons to TMT-induced neuronal injury.
On the Relation Between Memory and Metamemory

Kindergartners were presented a free recall task where half of them were asked what they would do to aid their memory before experiencing a study-test sequence. The data suggest that, in comparison to an appropriate control group, asking children to formulate a strategy facilitated memory performance. The results are discussed in terms of the potential importance of a priori strategy selection as a prerequisite to effective problem-solving.
Segmental yttrium-90 radioembolization versus chemoembolization for localized hepatocellular carcinoma.

4084Background: Transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) remains the standard of care for localized, surgically unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, yttrium-90 radioembolization (Y90...
The effect of a radial neck notch on press-fit stem stability: a biomechanical study on 7 cadavers

Background Minimal micromotion is necessary for osteointegration of cementless radial head prostheses. When radial head fractures extend longitudinally, where the neck cut for prosthetic replacement should be made is uncertain. We hypothesized that complete resection of the notched portion of a radial neck confers no advantage in initial stability compared with not resecting the defect and inserting the implant into a notched radial neck. Materials and methods The radii of 7 cadavers underwent radial head resection and implantation with a 25-mm-long press-fit radial head stem. Before implantation, a 5-mm-long notch that was less than 1-mm wide was made in the radial neck. After the stem-bone micromotion was recorded, the proximal 5 mm of radial neck, incorporating the entire notch, was cut away, the stem was inserted 5 mm further, and the resulting micromotion was recorded. Results The mean micromotion measured in the presence of a cortical notch was 51 ± 6 µm. After the neck was circumferentially cut and the stem was advanced, the micromotion (46 ± 9 µm) was not statistically significantly different. Discussion Initial stability of an adequately sized cementless stem in the presence of a 5-mm-long cortical notch was well within the threshold needed for bone ingrowth (
Synthesis, structural analysis, and supramolecular assembly of a series of in situ generated uranyl–peroxide complexes with functionalized 2,2′-bipyridine and varied carboxylic acid ligands

The crystal structures of eight new binuclear peroxo-bridged uranyl (UO22+) complexes containing chelating N-donating ligands (2,2′-bipyridine [BPY] and 4,4′-dibromo-2,2′-bipyridine [BrBPY]) and various O-donating ligands (m-halobenzoic acid (where halo = fluoro, chloro, or iodo), p-toluic acid, 2-thiophenecarboxylic acid, acetic acid, benzoic acid, and p-(bromomethyl)-benzoic acid [BrMeBA]) are reported. Single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses have been used to characterize these materials and provide insight into local coordination environments and supramolecular assembly, including π-stacking and halogen-based interactions. The bridging-peroxide ligands were generated in situ via photoexcitation of the uranyl cation induced by incident sunlight. Notably, five of the eight complexes presented have linear U–O2–U dihedral angles and the non-covalent interactions (NCIs) observed in all complexes suggest a direct influence on this structural feature.
A stochastic-modeling approach to MAC coexistence of LTE-U and WiFi

LTE in unlicensed spectrum, also referred to as LTE-U, is a promising solution introduced towards capacity enhancement and efficient spectral utilization through data offloading in the 5GHz unlicensed spectrum. This is especially applicable to LTE operated small cells, which are supposed to boost capacity and expand coverage as a second tier of cellular networks, by allowing seamless flow of data across both licensed and unlicensed bands via a unified core network. To ensure this, fair and stable coexistence with incumbent technologies, most important of which is WiFi, is crucial. In this paper, considering the dynamic and bursty nature of WiFi traffic, we propose an analytical framework based on Bivariate Markov Processes to stochastically characterize the temporal activity of WiFi network in the unlicensed band. In particular, we use Markov Modulated Batch Poisson Processes (MMBPP) to formulate the idle gaps, aka WiFi white spaces, by capturing the underlying states of the WiFi network, as well as the group packet arrivals. Relying on this model, we investigate the possibilities of LTE-U opportunistically accessing the WiFi channel, so as to fully utilize white spaces, while ensuring a fair coexistence. Simulation results based on developed models using NS3 validate the accuracy of our analytical model and demonstrate the potential opportunities available for LTE-U exploitation.
Innocuous cooling can produce nociceptive sensations that are inhibited during dynamic mechanical contact.

In a previous study of the heat grill illusion, sensations of burning and stinging were sometimes reported when the skin was cooled by as little as 2°C. Informal tests subsequently indicated that these nociceptive sensations were experienced if cooling occurred when the stimulating thermode rested on the skin, but not when the thermode was cooled and then touched to the skin. In experiment 1 subjects judged the intensity of thermal (cold/warm) and nociceptive (burning/stinging) sensations when the volar surface of the forearm was cooled to 25°C (1) via a static thermode (Static condition), or (2) via a cold thermode touched to the skin (Dynamic condition). The total area of stimulation was varied from 2.6 to 10.4 cm2 to determine if the occurrence of nociceptive sensations depended upon stimulus size. Burning/stinging was rated 10.3 times stronger in the Static condition than in the Dynamic condition, and this difference did not vary significantly with stimulus size. In experiment 2, thermal and nociceptive sensations were measured during cooling to just 31°, 29° or 27°C, and data were obtained on the frequency at which different sensation qualities were experienced. Stinging was the most frequently reported nociceptive quality in the Static condition, and stinging and burning were both markedly reduced in the Dynamic condition. In experiment 3 we tested the possibility that dynamic contact might have inhibited burning and stinging not because of mechanical contact per se, but rather because dynamic contact caused higher rates of cooling. However, varying cooling rate over a tenfold range (–0.5° to –5.0°/s) had no appreciable effect on the frequency of stinging and burning. Overall, the data show that mild cooling can produce nociceptive sensations that are suppressed under conditions of dynamic mechanical contact. The latter observation suggests that cold is perceived differently during active contact with objects than during passive heat loss to the environment. Hypotheses about the physiological basis of the nociceptive sensations at mild temperatures and their possible role in the phenomena of paradoxical heat and synthetic heat are discussed.
The Scopes Case in Modern Dress

V IEWED some three decades later the constitutional problems posed by the Scopes case appear in a somewhat different light than they did to the participants on the scene at the time. The Tennessee antievolution law represented a last-ditch effort in a head-on collision between fundamentalist religion and science. It was an attempt to employ governmental power directly to curb the teaching of a scientific theory. In our time a more sophisticated adjustment between religion and science almost universally prevails. It is unlikely that any religious group could muster political power for an outright suppression of the teaching of science. Current efforts by religious groups to use the power of state take a different form. Mostly they involve either efforts to secure fringe benefits for religious schools, such as free transportation, lunches, or school buildings; or to use the public school system for inculcation of religious values through purely religious activity, such as Bible reading, recital of the Lord's Prayer, or the display of religious symbols. Today it is doubtful that there would be much support for a frontal attack upon scientific theory, and the attitude of the courts would certainly reflect this atmosphere. On the other hand, today most people would be far more concerned, and more divided, over the broader issue of the manner in which government should exercise control over education and the formation of public opinion generally. This issue was, of course, vigorously debated at the time of the Scopes trial. But the problem is now seen in a broader context and, the religion-science controversy apart, it is found much more complex and threatening. The penetration of government into more and more aspects of modern life, including the field of mass communication; the increasing dependence of higher education and scientific research upon government support; the many forms of pressure toward political, intellectual and social conformity-these and other factors raise grave issues as to the proper role of the government in controlling communication and molding thought and expression in a democratic society. In short today the religious issue, in the form presented by the Tennessee statute, seems fairly clear cut, but many would be puzzled and doubtful over the constitutional lines to be drawn around the efforts of the state to control the flow of ideas in the educational system and through other channels of communication. In addition today the constitutional tools for dealing with the issues of
Genomic insights into xylella fastidiosa interactions with plant and insect hosts

The genome of Xylella fastidiosa encodes the properties that enable it to alternately colonize its plant and insect hosts. In this chapter, we take a holistic approach and explore X. fastidiosa evolution, biology, and management based on information and insights that would not have been possible, or would have been technically challenging, during the pre-genomics period of plant pathology. Analysis of genome sequences illustrates the major physiological differences between X. fastidiosa and plant pathogens in the sibling genus Xanthomonas, which possess substantially larger genomes and a variety of genes that are essential for pathogenicity, yet absent from the X. fastidiosa genome. Genome sequence data have enabled reverse-genetic approaches to transfer knowledge from more genetically tractable organisms, along with examination of gene regulatory effects that are involved in colonization of the various hosts. The availability of reference genome sequences has also facilitated the examination of genetic diversity among X. fastidiosa found in different geographic regions and different host plants. Existing data demonstrates the importance of mobile genetic elements in producing genetic diversity among X. fastidiosa isolates. Genome-wide descriptions of diversity will be a powerful tool to identify the genetic changes that underlie the emergence of new agricultural diseases.
Natural Killer Cells and Other Effector Cells, and Their Roles in Resistance against Cancer

The role of the immune system in resistance against tumor growth has been the subject of intense interest during the last 10–15 years. To a large extent, attention was focused on this issue by the convincing documentation that some tumors in mice had tumor-associated antigens that could be recognized by the host and could thereby induce specific resistance against progressive tumor growth (Gross, 1943; Foley, 1953; Prehn and Main, 1957; Klein et al., 1960). In addition to such tumor-associated transplantation antigens, early workers in tumor immunology looked for and described tumor-specific antigens, i.e., antigens on tumor cells that appeared to be qualitatively different from those on normal cells. Such antigens were reported to be present on a variety of human tumors (for reviews see Herberman and Mclntire, 1979; Herberman, 1979) as well as on tumors of experimental animals. A further impetus to the field was provided by the development of in vitro assays for detecting humoral and cell-mediated immune responses to tumor-associated cell surface antigens. Considerable reactivity was detected in tumor-bearing or tumor-immune individuals, which was often assumed to be directed against the tumor-associated transplantation antigens (reviewed by Herberman, 1974, 1979). These findings led to extensive efforts at immunotherapy and immunodiagnosis of cancer, based on the expectation that these immunologic approaches would rapidly lead to major advances in the clinical management of patients with cancer.
Synthesis and Pyrolysis Chemistry of Polymeric Precursors to SiC and Si3N4

A commercial vinylic polysilane has been used to obtain both SiC and Si3N4 by pyrolysis in N2 and NH3 , respectively. The polymer-to-ceramic conversion process was studied by GPC, TGA/DTA, elemental analyses, FTIR, solid state NMR (1H, 13C and 29Si), XRD, BET surface area measurements, and analysis of the gaseous decomposition products, providing a detailed picture of the cross-linking process and the evolution of the ceramic products.
Intelligent system control: A unified approach and applications

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the hierarchical real-time control systems reference model architecture aiming at designing and developing intelligent control for large and complex engineering systems. Real time control system (RCS) is based on several general and fundamental principles of engineering systems. This chapter presents the methodology, or the development process, to apply RCS to the system control. The RCS reference model architecture and methodology provide a simple and systematic mechanism to obtain, describe, and organize domain operational knowledge. The single-node concept improves human understanding of the design. The process-template-based implementation approach gives a systemwide consistent interfacing infrastructure, freeing the developers from the infrastructural issues and allowing them to concentrate on individual component technology. The RCS methodology prescribes modular real-time simulation and animation functions. This facilitates early concept visualization and rapid prototyping that, in turn, reduces development cost. This chapter describes three intelligent systems division (ISD) case study control systems. The case study descriptions demonstrate the richness of the RCS architecture, from a generic process-template-based system to real-time rich sensing and planning systems. The case studies also describe the evolution and the road map of the methodology, from base-class models to process and interface definitions and to the plan of fully exercising the methodology.
Reducing Rural Car Ownership: Cultural Not Policy Changes?:

Automobile use is recognized as affecting public health, environmental sustainability, land use, and household expense. Car use is closely tied to car ownership rates. Most car ownership research f...
Navajo residential solar energy access as a global model

Abstract This case study focuses on the Navajo Nation’s efforts to provided residential power access through solar photovoltaic systems to some of its approximately 34,000 remote off-grid tribal members. The solution the Nation has adopted in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories offers insights into how the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority’s work could serve as a residential model to meet the needs of the 1.2 billion people globally who are without electrical residential power.
UNHCR as a Surrogate State: Protracted Refugee Situations

International organizations (IOs) that focus on refugees are finding themselves spread increasingly thin. As the scale of displacement reaches historic levels—protracted refugee situations now average 26 years—organizations are staying for years on end, often working well beyond their original mandates. In some cases, IOs may even act as a substitute for the state. This book considers the conditions under which surrogacy occurs and what it means for the organization’s influence on the state. It looks specifically at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as a surrogate state in protracted refugee situations in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Drawing on international relations literature and empirical studies of UNHCR, Miller asks how and when UNHCR takes on surrogacy, and what effect this has on its ability to influence how a host state treats refugees. The book develops a framework for understanding IOs at the domestic level and presents a counterintuitive finding: IO surrogacy actually leads to less influence on the state. In other words, where UNHCR behaves like a state, it is less able to influence a host state’s refugee policies. UNHCR provides an excellent example of an IO working on multiple levels, making this book of great interest to practitioners and policymakers working on refugee-related issues, and scholars of forced migration, international relations, international organizations, and UNHCR.
A Background Investigation of Tornado Activity across the Southern Cumberland Plateau Terrain System of Northeastern Alabama

AbstractThe effects of terrain on tornadoes are poorly understood. Efforts to understand terrain effects on tornadoes have been limited in scope, typically examining a small number of cases with li...
Engineering the Modal Shape of Graphene Nanoelectromechanical Systems Using Focused Ion Beam Milling

Graphene nanoelectromechanical (NEMS) systems offer great promise for ultrasensitive force, mass, and pressure sensors due to their extremely low mass and electronic integrability. Crucial to these applications is the ability to tune the shape of the mechanical modes and their corresponding resonance frequencies. Here, we show that Focused Ion Beam (FIB) milling is a high-yield means to engineer the shape of graphene NEMS, which in turn modifies their mode shape. We describe the specialized cutting methods necessary to achieve complex geometries such as beams, tapered beams, and trampolines. We transduce the mode shapes using optical interferometry and show that they are consistent with membrane theory. This work is an enabling step for future work which relies on well-defined mode shapes, such as point mass-sensing.
Tomosynthesis-Guided Needle Localization of Breast and Axillary Lesions: Our Initial Experience

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study is to review tomosynthesis-guided wire and seed needle localizations of the breast and axilla performed at our institution. CONCLUSION. Tomosynthesis-guided nee...
Temperament as a moderator of the association of cumulative risk with preadolescent appraisal and coping style.

Children exposed to cumulative risk (CR) are more likely to have poor physical and psychological health across the lifespan. CR may contribute to children’s adjustment, in part through its effects ...
Research Challenges Involving Coupled Flows in Geotechnical Engineering

Coupled fluid, chemical, heat, and electrical flows are common phenomena that are relevant to a wide variety of applications in Geotechnical Engineering, including the use of engineered clay barriers for waste containment, electro-osmosis for soil consolidation, highly compacted bentonite buffers for high-level radioactive nuclear waste disposal, and electrokinetics for soil contaminant removal, among others. For all of these applications, a fundamental understanding of coupled flow phenomena is required, including the basis of the various phenomena, the potential effect of the phenomena on fundamental soil behavior, and the applicability of the phenomena in both natural and built environments. This chapter highlights some of the advances over the past approximate three decades, including the effects of osmotic phenomena (chemico-osmosis, electro-osmosis, and thermo-osmosis) on the mechanical behavior of clays, the formulations and measurement of coupled flow phenomena, the distinction between phenomenological and microscopic (physical-based) formalisms, and considerations with respect to both saturated and unsaturated soil conditions. Based on the description of these advances, research challenges pertaining to the study of coupled flow phenomena for Geotechnical Engineering applications are identified.
Implementing a cancer survivorship program for individuals with recurrent breast cancer

Abstract Background Patients are living longer with recurrent breast cancer, yet there is a lack of survivorship programs for these individuals. They face unique challenges due to the lack of curative treatments and limited supportive care resources. Challenges include fluctuations in functional status, changes in relationships, communication with loved ones, and existential concerns. Health related quality of life has been found to be different, further widening the gap in care. Methods Survivors were referred for a one-hour coaching intervention tailored to their needs based upon results of their Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) survey. Patient satisfaction was assessed immediately after and at two weeks post the intervention. A paired t-test was used to evaluate quality of life sores before and two weeks following participation in the survivorship session. Results Statistically significant (p=.000) improvements were observed overall and in each subscale of the FACT-B survey. Patient satisfaction was high immediately post the intervention and remained high at the two-week assessment. Conclusions This project successfully demonstrated that an individual coaching intervention can be implemented to improve the quality of life in patients with recurrent breast cancer. The key findings support that integration of a survivorship program is associated with high patient satisfaction and increased quality of life. As chronic breast cancer survivors encompass a broad and heterogeneous population, survivorship programs should be developed that address the needs of this unique patient population. Creation of an infrastructure that promotes individualized care to survivors with recurrent breast cancer is an essential component of providing holistic care across the cancer continuum. Oncology nurse navigators have a unique relationship with their patients and implementing this program provides an opportunity to address these important and clinically relevant unmet needs. Legal entity responsible for the study The author. Funding Graduate scholarship in Cancer Nursing Practice GSCNP-18-07501 from the American Cancer Society and a Clinical Doctoral Scholarship from the Oncology Nursing Foundation Endowment. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Closed plication is a safe and effective method for treating popliteal vein aneurysm

Abstract Background Popliteal vein aneurysms are a rare vascular anomaly first reported in the 1980s. Degeneration of elastic fibers and smooth muscle cell reduction, possibly secondary to inflammation, are implicated as integral steps in the development of these aneurysms. Given the rarity of this clinical entity, significant controversy exists regarding ideal treatment strategies, including the role of observation, medical management with anticoagulation, and surgical intervention. Retrospective reviews have demonstrated a failure rate of >40% with anticoagulation alone, with patients often presenting with pulmonary embolism. This has prompted our institutional preference for surgical management once the aneurysm is identified. Surgical management involves tangential repair with lateral venorrhaphy most commonly, followed in prevalence by aneurysm resection and end-to-end anastomosis either primarily or with vein interposition. Herein, we report our results with venous plications, through both closed and open techniques. Methods We performed a retrospective review of prospectively collected data for 10 patients undergoing popliteal vein plication for treatment of popliteal vein aneurysms. Patient-level characteristics and operative details were examined from periprocedural and follow-up records. Results We identified 10 patients undergoing popliteal vein plication, including 9 closed plications and 1 open plication. The average aneurysm size at presentation was 2.35 ± 0.69 cm for closed plication and 4.74 cm for the one open plication. After treatment, the average popliteal vein size was significantly reduced to 1.12 ± 0.45 cm for the closed plications (P Conclusions Closed plication demonstrated favorable primary patency rates and low recurrence rates, avoiding technical issues or need for early institution of systemic anticoagulation associated with tangential repair and venorrhaphy or resection methods. Closed plication represents an attractive option in patients without luminal thrombus to limit the risk of these postoperative complications and obviates the need for bypass conduit and postoperative anticoagulation.
Foreground stimuli and task engagement enhance neuronal adaptation to background noise in the inferior colliculus of macaques.

Auditory neuronal responses are influenced by maskers and distractors. However, it is still unclear whether the neuronal sensitivity to the masker stimulus is influenced by task-dependent factors. ...
Solver-Aided Multi-Party Configuration

Configuring a service mesh often involves multiple parties, each of whom is responsible for separate portions of the overall system. This can result in miscommunication, silent and sudden errors, or a failure to meet goals. We identify two distinct modes of configuration that call for different solutions. We use synthesis algorithms to extract a set of properties---the envelope ---that each party needs the other to obey. Administrators can use the envelope to aid verification and synthesis or to support fault-localization and negotiation when goals conflict. This paper introduces the problem, lays out the modes, presents algorithms for to each, and gives a prototype implementation. We use this to show the feasibility of the approach in the microservices access-control domain and raise new research questions.
Comprehensive Molecular Profiling of Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumor

Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is characterized by the EWSR1-WT1 t(11;22) (p13:q12) translocation. Few additional putative drivers have been identified, and research has suffered from a lack of model systems. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) data from 68 matched tumor-normal samples, whole-genome sequencing data from 10 samples, transcriptomic and affymetrix array data, and a bank of DSRCT patient-derived xenograft (PDX) are presented. EWSR1-WT1 fusions were noted to be simple, balanced events. Recurrent mutations were uncommon, but were noted in TERT (3%), ARID1A (6%), HRAS (5%), and TP53 (3%), and recurrent loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 11p, 11q, and 16q was identified in 18%, 22%, and 34% of samples, respectively. Comparison of tumor-normal matched versus unmatched analysis suggests overcalling of somatic mutations in prior publications of DSRCT NGS data. Alterations in fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) were identified in 5 of 68 (7%) of tumor samples, whereas differential overexpression of FGFR4 was confirmed orthogonally using 2 platforms. PDX models harbored the pathognomic EWSR1-WT1 fusion and were highly representative of corresponding tumors. Our analyses confirm DSRCT as a genomically quiet cancer defined by the balanced translocation, t(11;22)(p13:q12), characterized by a paucity of secondary mutations but a significant number of copy number alterations. Against this genomically quiet background, recurrent activating alterations of FGFR4 stood out, and suggest that this receptor tyrosine kinase, also noted to be highly expressed in DSRCT, should be further investigated. Future studies of DSRCT biology and preclinical therapeutic strategies should benefit from the PDX models characterized in this study. IMPLICATIONS: These data describe the general quiescence of the desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) genome, present the first available bank of DSRCT model systems, and nominate FGFR4 as a key receptor tyrosine kinase in DSRCT, based on high expression, recurrent amplification, and recurrent activating mutations.
Evaluation of a novel radiotracer targeting CD38 receptor expression for imaging multiple myeloma:64Cu-DOTA-Daratumumab

168 Objectives: Multiple Myeloma (MM) is the second most hematologic malignancy. MM cells with a low metabolic rate frequently go undetected on 18Fluoro-deoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT scans. Conversely, FDG uptake due to infection or inflammation can result in unnecessary treatment. To address the limitations of FDG in detecting MM, we developed a novel radiotracer 64Cu-DOTA-Daratumumab. Daratumumab (Dara) is a humanized anti-CD38 IgG1 (ĸ subclass) antibody against the highly expressed plasma cell (PC) receptor CD38. A single-center pilot study was initiated to evaluate safety, dosimetry and uptake quantification of 64Cu-DOTA-Daratumumab versus 18FDG. The optimal dose of pre-injected unlabeled Daratumumab to block normal tissue uptake was also determined. Methods: PET/CT scans were acquired using 18FDG and 64Cu-DOTA-Dara in biopsy proven Dara-naive MM patients. For the 64Cu-DOTA-Dara scans, patients were injected with 15 mCi of radiolabeled antibody and its biodistribution was assessed at 24 and 48 hours post-injection. Prior to injection of radiolabeled Dara, patients were injected with unlabeled Dara at the following dose levels: no pre-dose (n = 3), 10 mg (n = 3), 45 mg (n = 3) and 95 mg (n = 3). 64Cu-DOTA-Dara activity in the blood was quantified at 30 mins, 4, 24, and 48 hours post-injection of radioactive Dara. Concordant and discordant regions of uptake between the two tracers were noted and biopsy samples were acquired if possible. Results: Liver, spleen and bone marrow showed prominent uptake on the 64Cu-DOTA-Dara scans. Some calvarial uptake was also noted. SUVmean in the liver (24 hours) at no pre-dose, 10 mg and 45 mg dose of unlabeled Dara were 15.2 ± 3.2, 11.8 ± 3.7 and 6.1 ± 1.9. The corresponding values for the spleen were 48.1 ± 16.1, 23.9 ± 5.0 and 9.5 ± 2.8 respectively. The changes in the observed biodistribution pattern suggest that increased dose of unlabeled Dara in the first 3 cohorts results in increased saturation of receptors in the liver and spleen resulting in the further availability and accumulation of radiolabeled antibody in the bone marrow. Compared to the 45 mg cohort, the bone marrow uptake in the 2 patients imaged at the 95 mg cohort was minimal while substantial blood pool activity was noted. These results indicate that the target receptors in the bone marrow were saturated, suggesting that pre-injection of 45 mg of unlabeled Dara is appropriate for further studies. Radiation dosimetry is being performed for this cohort of patients and will be reported. 64Cu-DOTA-Dara uptake at multiple sites in the marrow is quantified in terms of SUVmean and SUVmax for all patients on the 24 and 48 hours scans. The results are compared between cohorts to elucidate the temporal changes in radiotracer uptake attributed to unlabeled Dara. Additionally, examples of atypical patterns of radiotracer uptake will be shown. Conclusions: The study confirms the safety of 64Cu-DOTA-Dara as a potential radiotracer and lays the foundations for an expanded cohort of patients for evaluating disease burden in MM.
Sarah Gray Cary, from Boston to Grenada: Shifting Fortunes of an American Family, 1764–1826

In this revealing and surprising study, Susan Clair Imbarrato, a professor English and author of two previous books on early America, introduces readers to the lives and letters of a fascinating fa...
Comparative evaluation of blood collection tubes for clinical chemistry analysis.

Abstract Background Routine chemistry testing is typically performed using serum or plasma to assess a patient’s clinical status. At our institution, serum is the specimen type used. To reduce processing times, evaluation of plasma-based and rapid serum gel separator tubes was performed. Methods We compared the results of routine chemistry analytes collected in serum gel separator tubes (SST), plasma gel separator tubes (PST), rapid serum gel separator tubes (RST), and plasma tubes without gel separators (DGT). Result concordance was assessed at baseline (immediate testing after processing) and up to one week of refrigerated storage. Other parameters assessed were the susceptibility to hemolysis and lipemia interference, and changes in results after re-centrifugation. Percent changes were compared against the SST and evaluated according to established bias thresholds. Results Total protein and potassium results at baseline in plasma-based tubes had percent changes from the SST that exceeded acceptability thresholds. Stability was significantly shortened for glucose, potassium, aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) when collected in the PST as compared to the SST. The RST was the least susceptible to hemolysis and lipemia interferents. Re-centrifugation affected the serum-based analysis of potassium. Conclusions Plasma may reduce processing time at the expense of shortened sample stability and may require specimen source-specific reference intervals for potassium and total protein. The RST provides an alternate option to reduce processing time, while maintaining storage stability.
Religious and Spiritual Growth Goals: A Forgotten Outcome.

Religious and spiritual (R/S) growth goals have been forgotten among self-improvement goals. We used social cognitive theory, useful in other domains of self-improvement, to study R/S goals. Data f...
Sarbanes-Oxley, Fiduciary Duties, and the Conduct of Officers and Directors

This article analyzes and evaluates the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and related legal changes and speculates as to how they are affecting director and officer conduct. On paper, the legal changes are notable but not earthshaking. A standard law and economics approach would suggest that changes in conduct should be relatively modest. Actual changes in conduct seem to be greater than the standard approach can explain, for two reasons. First, people are often subject to cognitive biases. The great attention paid to recent scandals and Sarbanes-Oxley, combined with a tendency to over-emphasize small risk and recent events, may be provoking an over-reaction to a perceived legal threat that in actuality is quite probably small. Second, Sarbanes-Oxley is helping strengthen a norm of active, independent director supervision of officers which was already emerging before the Act. In focusing on the effect of the law on norms, the paper emphasizes that corporations control agency costs and misbehavior not just through monitoring mechanisms, but also through self-control mechanisms that depend on agents obeying their fiduciary duties because they believe it is the right thing to do, rather than because they fear punishment if they do not.
A Model of International Arbitration and Adjudication

The choice to pursue international arbitration and adjudication is part of a political bargaining process. Since bargaining over contentious issues in international relations occurs in the shadow of potential military conflict, the outcomes of negotiations often reflect the balance of power between states. In a game theoretic model, we show that states will only jointly agree to arbitration or adjudication when the expected outcome of such a process does not diverge significantly from a division based upon the balance of power between the disputing states. Our analysis implies that the possibility of war in the anarchic international system constrains the ability of states to use legal means to resolve their disputes.
Generalized surface flows for deformable registration and cortical matching

Despite being routinely required in medical applications, deformable surface registration is notoriously difficult due to large intersubject variability and complex geometry of most medical datasets.We present a general and flexible deformable matching framework based on generalized surface flows that efficiently tackles these issues through tailored deformation priors and multiresolution computations. The value of our approach over existing methods is demonstrated for automatic and user-guided cortical registration.
Improved Results for Stackelberg Scheduling Strategies

We continue the study initiated in [13] on Stackelberg Scheduling Strategies. We are given a set of m independent parallel machines or equivalently a set of m parallel edges, each with a load dependent latency function. The setting is that of a non-cooperative game: players route their flow so as minimize their individual latencies. Additionally, there is a single player (the leader), who controls an a fraction of the total flow. The goal is to find a strategy for the leader (i.e. an assignment of flow to individual links) such that the selfish users react so as to minimize the total latency of the system. Building on the recent results in [13,14], we devise a fully polynomial approximate Stackelberg scheme that runs in time poly(m, 1/?) and results in an assignment whose cost is within a (1 + ?) factor of the optimum Stackelberg strategy. We also study the generalization to multiple rounds. It is easy to see that more than two rounds do not help. We show that the two round Stackelberg strategy (denoted 2SS) always dominates the one round scheme. We also consider extensions of the above results to special graphs, and special kind of latency functions.
Alternative Trading Systems: Description of ATS Trading in National Market System Stocks

This paper discusses descriptive statistics on U.S. equity Alternative Trading Systems (ATSs, some of which are referred to as “dark pools”). The paper is intended to inform public discussion of the role and regulation of ATSs. While ATSs operate markets similar in some ways to the registered exchanges, there are important institutional differences. Although both exchanges and ATSs provide marketplaces for buyers and sellers to transact in securities, ATSs do not necessarily provide public information on the best prices available to traders within their system. They also do not set rules governing the conduct of subscribers and they perform no self-regulation, while exchanges perform all of these functions. Additionally, because ATSs are regulated as broker-dealers, they comply with a different set of regulations than traditional exchanges. Trading on ATSs regularly comprises 10-15% of U.S. equity trading volume. However, academic and public understanding of ATSs lags that of traditional exchanges partially due to a lack of publicly available data on ATSs. Using a five-day sample of regulatory data from May 7-11, 2012, this paper discusses summary statistics on ATS participation in the trading of National Market System (NMS) stocks, including common stocks and many exchange-traded products (ETPs).
The Democratic Republic of Congo's infrastructure : a continental perspective

The Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD) has gathered and analyzed extensive data on infrastructure in around 40 Sub-Saharan countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The results have been presented in reports covering different areas of infrastructure ICT, irrigation, power, transport, water and sanitation and different policy areas, including investment needs, fiscal costs, and sector performance. This report presents the key AICD findings for the DRC, allowing the country's infrastructure situation to be benchmarked against that of its African peers. Given that the DRC is a fragile state trying to catch up with other low-income countries (LICs) in the region, both fragile-state and LIC African benchmarks will be used to evaluate the DRC's situation. Detailed comparisons will also be made with immediate regional neighbors in Central Africa. Several methodological issues should be borne in mind. First, because of the cross-country nature of data collection, a time lag is inevitable. The period covered by the AICD runs from 2001 to 2006. Most technical data presented are for 2006 (or the most recent year available), while financial data are typically averaged over the available period to smooth out the effect of short-term fluctuations. Second, in order to make comparisons across countries, indicators had to be standardized to place the analysis on a consistent basis. This means that some of the indicators presented here may be slightly different from those that are routinely reported and discussed at the country level. During the period from 2001 to 2005, per capita economic growth in DRC was on average 2.1 percent higher than during the period from 1991 to 1995. Despite this improvement, growth levels, which oscillated between 4 and 8 percent in the early 2000s, still fell short of the sustained 7 percent per year needed to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Improved telecommunications infrastructure has been the main driver of this change, contributing 1.1 percentage points to the country's per capita growth rate. Deficiencies in power infrastructure, on the other hand, held back per capita growth by 0.25 percentage point over this period.