cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Overview of the Respiratory System

This monograph comprises a diverse collection of chapters dealing with gas exchange, circulation, and metabolism in species ranging from fish to man. As you read the chapters, the unifying theme that emerges is one that was proposed 18 years ago by Weibel et al. (1991), i.e., the hypothesis of symorphosis. The concept that animals, and humans as well, should be designed economically (i.e., that structural design should be matched to functional demand) follows from common sense, but it is also supported by many observations
Studies of SV40 DNA Replication

The genome of Simian Virus 40 (SV40) is a covalently closed duplex DNA molecule of 3.6 x 106 daltons. We have been concerned with defining the mechanism by which SV40 DNA is replicated during the permissive infection. The small size of SV40 DNA and its replicative intermediates has permitted both the biophysical and biochemical studies which we shall summarize in this communication.
The use of enteral nutrition in the treatment of eating disorders: a systematic review

Enteral nutrition (EN) is frequently used in the treatment of anorexia nervosa (AN), and less commonly, bulimia nervosa (BN); yet, no standardized guidelines for treatment exist at this time. The aim of this review is to investigate the efficacy of EN in the treatment of eating disorders and make recommendations for clinical practice and future research. An exhaustive literature search of 7 databases was completed. The search strategy combined key terms anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and eating disorders with terms associated with EN. There were no restrictions on publication date or language. Studies that assessed the effect of EN on weight restoration, refeeding syndrome, and binge/purge behaviors in the treatment of AN and BN were included. Of 73 full-text articles reviewed, 22 met inclusion criteria. Nineteen studies reported that significant short-term weight gain was achieved when EN was used for refeeding malnourished AN patients; however, results varied for the six studies reporting on long-term weight gain, maintenance, and recovery. In studies with a comparator, no significant differences were found between the EN and oral refeeding cohorts regarding gastrointestinal disturbance, refeeding syndrome, or electrolyte abnormalities. Five studies examined the effect of EN on binge/purge behaviors, suggesting that temporary exclusive EN decreases the frequency and severity of binge/purge episodes. Although EN is an essential life-saving treatment in severe cases of AN, it does not guarantee long-term success or recovery. The results of this systematic review highlight the need for prospective controlled trials with adequate sample sizes to make comparisons between specific feeding methods, formulations, and defined short and long-term outcomes. Evidence-based standards for clinical practice are needed with specific guidelines for best results for AN and BN treatment. I, systematic review.
A stochastically sampled IMF alters the stellar content of simulated dwarf galaxies

Cosmological simulations are reaching the resolution necessary to study ultra-faint dwarf galaxies. Observations indicate that in small populations, the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is not fully populated; rather, stars are sampled in a way that can be approximated as coming from an underlying probability density function. To ensure the accuracy of cosmological simulations in the ultra-faint regime, we present an improved treatment of the IMF. We implement a self-consistent, stochastically populated IMF in cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. We test our method using high-resolution simulations of a Milky Way halo, run to $z=6$, yielding a sample of nearly 100 galaxies. We also use an isolated dwarf galaxy to investigate the resulting systematic differences in galaxy properties. We find that a stochastic IMF in simulations makes feedback burstier, strengthening feedback, and quenching star formation earlier in small dwarf galaxies. For galaxies in halos with mass $\lesssim10^{8.5}$ M$_\odot$, a stochastic IMF typically leads to lower stellar mass compared to a continuous IMF, sometimes by more than an order of magnitude. We show that existing methods of ensuring discrete supernovae incorrectly determine the mass of the star particle and its associated feedback. This leads to overcooling of surrounding gas, with at least ${\sim}$10 per cent higher star formation and ${\sim}$30 per cent higher cold gas content. Going forward, to accurately model dwarf galaxies and compare to observations, it will be necessary to incorporate a stochastically populated IMF that samples the full spectrum of stellar masses.
Elements of Clinical Training with the Electrolarynx

The electromechanical device commonly known as an electrolarynx (EL) is a popular primary or backup mode of postlaryngectomy alaryngeal communication. Learning to efficiently and successfully use an EL requires the acquisition of several skills, including (1) appropriate placement of the device, (2) control of voice activation, (3) over-articulation and modulation of speech rate, and (4) awareness of paralinguistic behaviors. Mastering such skills can increase comprehensibility and, in turn, the potential for communicative success with the EL. Design features vary among commercially available devices, mostly in the type and degree of pitch modulation they offer. To optimize the ability of newer devices to modulate pitch, users may need specific practice directed toward enhancement of the suprasegmental aspects of their EL speech. This chapter addresses reviews of current EL features and outlines how speech-language pathologists (SLP) can provide valuable training and insight for laryngectomees seeking to use this popular method of postlaryngectomy communication.
Ambu AuraGain versus intubating laryngeal tube suction as a conduit for endotracheal intubation.

Background and Aims: Newly developed supraglottic airway devices (SGAs) are designed to be used both for ventilation and as conduits for endotracheal intubation with standard endotracheal tubes (ETTs). We compared the efficacy of the Ambu AuraGain (AAG) and the newly developed intubating laryngeal tube suction disposable (ILTS-D) as conduits for blind and fiber-optically guided endotracheal intubation in an airway mannequin. Material and Methods: This is a prospective, randomized, crossover study in an airway mannequin, with two arms: blind ETT insertion by medical students and fiber-optically guided ETT insertion by anesthesiologists. The primary outcome variable was the time to achieve an effective airway through an ETT using AAG and ILTS-D as conduits. Secondary outcome variables were the time to achieve effective supraglottic ventilation and successful exchange with an ETT, and the success rates for blind endotracheal intubation and fiber-optically guided intubation techniques for both SGAs. Results: Forty participants were recruited to each group. All participants were able to insert both devices successfully on the first attempt. For blind intubation, the success rate for establishing a definitive airway with an ETT using the SGA as a conduit was significantly higher with ILTS-D (82.5%) compared with AAG (20.0%) (P Conclusion: The ILTS-D successfully performs in an airway mannequin with higher success rate and shorter time for blindly establishing an airway with an ETT using the SGA as a conduit, compared with AAG. Further clinical trials are warranted.
The relationship between small music ensemble experience and empathy skill: A survey study:

A small music ensemble represents a unique form of human social activity, involving a highly complex set of interpersonal communicative skills. To achieve a joint musical goal, ensemble performers ...
First Documented Case of Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) Tube-Associated Bacterial Peritonitis due to Achromobacter Species with Literature Review

Introduction. Achromobacter species (spp.) peritonitis has seldom been identified in medical literature. Scarce cases of Achromobacter peritonitis described previously have been correlated with peritoneal dialysis and more sparingly with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. Achromobacter exhibits intrinsic and acquired resistance, especially in chronic infections, to most antibiotics. This article conducts a literature review of all previously reported Achromobacter spp. peritonitis and describes the first reported case of Achromobacter peritonitis as a complication of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement. Discussion. Achromobacter peritonitis as a complication of PEG-tube placement has not been previously reported. In our patients’ case, the recently placed PEG-tube with ascitic fluid leakage was identified as the most plausible infection source. Although a rare bacterial peritonitis pathogen, Achromobacter may be associated with wide antimicrobial resistance and unfavorable outcomes. Conclusion. No current guidelines provide significant guidance on treatment of PEG-tube peritonitis regardless of microbial etiology. Infectious Disease Society of America identifies various broad-spectrum antibiotics targeting nosocomial intra-abdominal coverage; some of these antimicrobial selections (such as cefepime and metronidazole combination) may yet be inadequate for widely resistant Achromobacter spp. Recognizably, the common antibiotics utilized for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, i.e., third generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones, to which Achromobacter is resistant and variably susceptible, respectively, would be extensively insufficient. Piperacillin/tazobactam (P/T) and carbapenem were identified to provide the most reliable coverage in vitro; clinically, 5 out of the 8 patients who received either P/T or a carbapenem, or both, eventually experienced clinical improvement.
Outpatient Otolaryngology in the Era of COVID-19: A Data-Driven Analysis of Practice Patterns.

IntroductionCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has induced a prioritization of acute care and telehealth, affecting the quantity of patients seen and the modality of their care.Study DesignRetrosp...
Association between availability of medications for opioid use disorder in specialty treatment and use of medications among patients: A state-level trends analysis.

Abstract Introduction Access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is a recognized public health challenge to improving the health of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) in many communities. Prior studies have shown that although MOUD availability has increased over time, particularly in some states, many substance use treatment facilities still do not offer medications. The relationship between greater availability of MOUD and use of MOUD among patients in treatment programs is not well understood. Methods We used the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services to calculate the percent of specialty facilities per state providing MOUD from 2007 to 2018 and the Treatment Episode Data Set-Admissions (TEDS-A) to estimate the likelihood that a patient would have MOUD as part of their treatment plan during the same time period. We estimated models with patient-level TEDS-A data as the outcome and state-aggregated one-year lagged availability of MOUD in facilities as the main predictor, stratifying by treatment facility type (intensive outpatient, non-intensive outpatient, and residential). Results We found that increasing MOUD availability at the facility level was associated with increased MOUD use in non-intensive and residential facilities at the patient level. Specifically, a 10 percentage point increase in MOUD availability was associated with a 4.5 percentage point increase in MOUD use among patients of non-intensive outpatient facilities (p-value = 0.03), and a 2.5 percentage points increase in residential facilities (p-value = 0.02). Non-Whites and patients in the Northeast had greater likelihoods of increased MOUD use in response to increased availability by facilities. Conclusion Increasing MOUD availability among specialty treatment facilities is likely to promote better access to MOUD for patients seeking treatment for OUD.
LVAD Vasculitis Case Series: Suggestion of a New Fatal LVAD-Related Phenomenon.

Abstract Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are surgically implanted mechanical devices indicated for patients with advanced heart failure and are known to come with several complications. Her...
Financial Literacy and Retirement Preparedness: Evidence and Implications for Financial Education

Economists are beginning to investigate the causes and consequences of financial illiteracy to better understand why retirement planning is lacking and why so many households arrive close to retirement with little or no wealth. Our review reveals that many households are unfamiliar with even the most basic economic concepts needed to make saving and investment decisions. Such financial illiteracy is widespread: the young and older people in the United States and other countries appear woefully under-informed about basic financial concepts, with serious implications for saving, retirement planning, mortgages, and other decisions. In response, governments and several nonprofit organizations have undertaken initiatives to enhance financial literacy. The experience of other countries, including a saving campaign in Japan as well as the Swedish pension privatization program, offers insights into possible roles for financial literacy and saving programs.
Directional effects of parent and child anxiety 1 year following treatment of child anxiety, and the mediational role of parent psychological control.

Background We leveraged a recent efficacy trial to investigate directionality between parent anxiety and child anxiety at posttreatment and 12-month follow-up, and the potential role of parent psychological control as a mediator. We also explored child age and sex as moderators. Method Two-hundred and fifty-four children were randomized to individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or to one of two CBT arms with parent involvement. Parent anxiety was not a treatment target in any of the three arms. Results Child anxiety at posttreatment was associated with parent anxiety and psychological control at 12-month follow-up, providing evidence of child-to-parent directionality. Parent anxiety at posttreatment was associated indirectly with child anxiety at 12-month follow-up through associations with parent psychological control, providing evidence of parent-to-child directionality. At posttreatment, parent psychological control contemporaneously mediated the relation between parent and child anxiety. Neither child age nor sex moderated any association. Conclusions Findings highlight the directional effects between child anxiety, parent anxiety, and psychological control from posttreatment to 12-month follow-up, even when parent anxiety is not a treatment target. Research and clinical implications are discussed, with an emphasis on enhancing durability following treatment effects.
Combining Algorithms to Find Signatures That Predict Risk in Early-Stage Stomach Cancer

This study applied two mathematical algorithms, lattice up-stream targeting (LUST) and D-basis, to the identification of prognostic signatures from cancer gene expression data. The LUST algorithm l...
HIDRA: Hybrid Illinois Device for Research and Applications

The Hybrid Illinois Device for Research and Applications (HIDRA) is a medium sized classical stellarator using a l = 2, m = 5 configuration with a major radius R = 0.72 m and minor radius a = 0.19 ...
American Memories of Madame Curie

In January 2005, Lawrence Summers, then the president of Harvard University, opened a Pandora’s box at a conference of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He posited that “issues of intrinsic aptitude” might be to blame for women’s disproportionately poor standing in American science. Scientists and nonscientists were astounded at his audacity when news first broke of his comments, though transcripts later made public revealed more ambiguity in them.
Growth response and fatty acid composition of juvenile red claw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) fed different sources of dietary lipid

A study was conducted to determine the effects of different sources of dietary lipid that differ in fatty acid (FA) composition on growth, feed conversion ratio (FCR), survival, and whole-body proximate and FA composition of juvenile red claw. Juvenile red claw (0.55 ± 0.02 g) were reared over a 12-week period. Five practical diets were supplemented with 70 g kg−1 oil (by weight) from either linseed oil (LO), canola oil (CAO), corn oil (CO), beef tallow (BT) or menhaden oil (MO) and formulated to contain 400 g kg−1 crude protein. Red claw were fed three times daily (800, 1200 and 1600) to controlled excess. At the conclusion of the experimental period, there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) found in percentage survival and FCR among dietary treatments and values averaged 85.4% and 3.4, respectively. However, final mean weight and specific growth rate of red claw fed Diet 1 (LO) was significantly higher (16.44 g and 3.95% day−1, respectively) compared with that of red claw fed Diet 4 (BT; 12.24 g and 3.43% day−1, respectively), but not different from red claw fed the other three diets. Likewise, red claw fed Diets 1 (LO) and 2 (CAO) had significantly higher percentage weight gain (2990 and 2880%, respectively) compared with the BT diet (2124%), but not different from red claw fed Diets 3 (CO) and 5 (MO). Whole-body fat and ash composition was significantly affected (P < 0.05) by source of added lipid, but no differences were found in whole-body moisture and protein. Moreover, whole-body FA composition showed differences among the varying oil sources and primarily reflected the FA in the diets. Results of the present study indicate that plant oils LO, CAO and CO rich in linolenic acid (18:3n-3), linoleic acid (18:2n-6) and oleic acid (18:1n-9) perform as well as MO containing high levels of n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acids eicosapentanoic acid (20:5n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3) for juvenile red claw crayfish grown indoors lacking natural food items. Further, red claw fed a diet containing BT, which has a high percentage of saturated FA, performed poorly compared with LO and CO in regards to weight gain. It appears that juvenile red claw can be fed diets containing less expensive plant-based oils with high levels of 18-carbon unsaturated fatty acids. This could reduce diet costs for producers and allow for profitability.
Detection of T-Cell Degranulation: CD107a and b

Publisher Summary This chapter describes an assay that helps bridge the gap between measurement of CD8+ T-cell cytolytic activity and the identity of the effector CD8+ T cells. Cytotoxic CD8+ T lymphocytes mediate the killing of target cells via two major pathways: (1) perforin-granzyme-mediated activation of apoptosis and (2) fas–fas ligand–mediated induction of apoptosis. Induction of these pathways depends on the release of cytolytic granules from the responding CD8+ T cells. Degranulation is a prerequisite to perforin-granzyme-mediated killing and is required for immediate lytic function mediated by responding antigen-specific CD8+ T cells. Cytotoxicity does not require de novo synthesis of proteins by the effector CD8+ T cell, instead, pre-formed lytic granules located within the cytoplasm are released in a polarized fashion toward the target cell. The lytic granules are membrane-bound secretory lysosomes containing a dense core composed of various proteins. The granule core is surrounded by a lipid bilayer containing numerous lysosomal-associated membrane glycoproteins (LAMPs). Thus, labeling responding cells with antibodies to CD107a and b and measuring their expression by flow cytometry can directly identify degranulating CD8+ T cells. The measurement of CD107 expression on the cell surface of activated T cells can be used with numerous other measures of T lymphocyte function. The chapter presents a protocol for this technique and then presents the results of the studies. Unlike standard intracellular cytokine assays, there are specific issues with examination of CD107a/b expression that must be considered during both the assay setup and the data analysis. The general applications for this technique revolve around the examination of antigen-specific T lymphocyte function in humans and mice.
Combined depletion of cdk2, cdk1 and cdk9 activities induces apoptosis in cancer cells

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 4898 Cyclin-dependent kinases (cdks) are universally overactive in tumor cells and represent potential anti-neoplastic drug targets. However, it remains unclear whether selective vs. pan-cdk inhibition is superior for inducing anti-tumor effects. Recent data have suggested the depletion of cdk2 activity alone does not lead to antiproliferative effects in cancer cells. On the other hand, expression of cdk2 dominant-negative mutants, cdk2 inhibitory peptides and targeted degradation of cyclin A all lead to effects on S/G2 progression and apoptosis. The latter approaches, however, target both cdk2 and cdk1 suggesting potential benefit for combined depletion of these cdks. To investigate these issues further, we have used siRNA technology to inducibly deplete cdk2, cdk1 and both together from NCI-H1299 non-small cell lung cancer and U2OS osteosarcoma cells. Depletion of cdk2 activity alone leads to a subtle antiproliferative defect in NCI-1299 cells, with slowing of G1 progression following release from a nocodazole-induced mitotic block. Cell cycle effects after cdk2 depletion are not evident in U2OS cells, in which rapid compensation by D-cyclin overexpression occurs. Depletion of cdk1 activity alone leads only to a weak G2/M arrest in NCI-H1299 cells, while depletion of both cdk1 and cdk2 together induces a potent G2/M arrest, eventually followed by a small amount of cell death. In contrast, cdk1 depletion results in G2/M arrest and endoreduplication in U2OS cells, while combined cdk2 and cdk1 depletion slows progression through S phase as well, and is accompanied by a dramatic induction of apoptosis. Combined cdk2 and cdk1 depletion in U2OS cells is preceded by reduced expression of the anti-apoptotic protein XIAP, encoded by an mRNA of short half-life that is depleted after inhibition of cdk-mediated phosphorylation of the C-terminal domain of RNA polymerase II. The CTD is phosphorylated by cdks7 and 9, but may be phosphorylated by other cdks as well in some cellular contexts. XIAP depletion is critical to cell death, as combined depletion of cdk2, cdk1 and cdk9 or cdk2, cdk1 and XIAP substantially increases the degree of apoptosis induced in NCI-H1299 cells compared to the combined depletion of cdk2 and cdk1 alone. Similarly, depletion of cdk1 and cdk2 sensitizes NCI-H1299 cells to flavopiridol, used at concentrations only expected to potently inhibit cdk9. Our data indicate that combined depletion of cdk2, cdk1 and cdk9 can induce apoptosis in tumor cells and suggest that these cdks represent a rational subset of the cdk family for drug targeting.
Somatic mutations of the mitochondrial genome in human colorectal tumours

Alterations of oxidative phosphorylation in tumour cells were originally believed to have a causative role in cancerous growth1. More recently, mitochondria have again received attention with regards to neoplasia, largely because of their role in apoptosis and other aspects of tumour biology2,3,4,5,6,7,8. The mitochondrial genome is particularly susceptible to mutations because of the high level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in this organelle, coupled with a low level of DNA repair9,10,11,12. However, no detailed analysis of mitochondrial DNA in human tumours has yet been reported. In this study, we analysed the complete mtDNA genome of ten human colorectal cancer cell lines by sequencing and found mutations in seven (70%). The majority of mutations were transitions at purines, consistent with an ROS-related derivation. The mutations were somatic, and those evaluated occurred in the primary tumour from which the cell line was derived. Most of the mutations were homoplasmic, indicating that the mutant genome was dominant at the intracellular and intercellular levels. We showed that mitochondria can rapidly become homogeneous in colorectal cancer cells using cell fusions. These findings provide the first examples of homoplasmic mutations in the mtDNA of tumour cells and have potential implications for the abnormal metabolic and apoptotic processes in cancer.
Universal Computation and Optimal Construction in the Chemical Reaction Network-Controlled Tile Assembly Model

Tile-based self-assembly and chemical reaction networks provide two well-studied models of scalable DNA-based computation. Although tile self-assembly provides a powerful framework for describing Turing-universal self-assembling systems, assembly logic in tile self-assembly is localized, so that only the nearby environment can affect the process of self-assembly. We introduce a new model of tile-based self-assembly in which a well-mixed chemical reaction network interacts with self-assembling tiles to exert non-local control on the self-assembly process. Through simulation of multi-stack machines, we demonstrate that this new model is efficiently Turing-universal, even when restricted to unbounded space in only one spatial dimension. Using a natural notion of program complexity, we also show that this new model can produce many complex shapes with programs of lower complexity. Most notably, we show that arbitrary connected shapes can be produced by a program with complexity bounded by the Kolmogorov complexity of the shape, without the large scale factor that is required for the analogous result in the abstract tile assembly model. These results suggest that controlled self-assembly provides additional algorithmic power over tile-only self-assembly, and that non-local control enhances our ability to perform computation and algorithmically self-assemble structures from small input programs.
Physical Aspects of Eye Plaque Brachytherapy Using Photon Emitters

The current trend toward the use of 125I seed rather than 60Co applicators in the treatment of ocular tumors stems largely from the extent to which photons from the two radionuclides are attenuated differently by plaque material on the one hand and by intraocular tissue on the other. The much lower energies of 125I photons from seeds in a rimmed gold plaque not only permit near-total elimination of radiation dose in orbital tissue adjacent to the plaque but also allow significant dose reduction to critical structures within the eye, relative to either 60Co plaque or proton beam treatment (Fairchild 1984). Although other photonemitting radionuclides have been used in ophthalmic applicators (Luxton et al. 1988a), we will focus attention here on the physical characteristics of 60Co and 125I applicators because they have been the most widely used and because they illustrate well the pertinent differences between “high energy” and “low energy” photons for this type of brachytherapy.
Application of reduce order modeling to time parallelization

We recently proposed a new approach to parallelization, by decomposing the time domain, instead of the conventional space domain. This improves latency tolerance, and we demonstrated its effectiveness in a practical application, where it scaled to much larger numbers of processors than conventional parallelization. This approach is fundamentally based on dynamically predicting the state of a system from data of related simulations. In earlier work, we used knowledge of the science of the problem to perform the prediction. In complicated simulations, this is not feasible. In this work, we show how reduced order modeling can be used for prediction, without requiring much knowledge of the science. We demonstrate its effectiveness in an important nano-materials application. The significance of this work lies in proposing a novel approach, based on established mathematical theory, that permits effective parallelization of time. This has important applications in multi-scale simulations, especially in dealing with long time-scales.
Evidence for lack of absorption of soy isoflavone glycosides in humans, supporting the crucial role of intestinal metabolism for bioavailability.

Background The isoflavones daidzein and genistein occur naturally in most soyfoods, conjugated almost exclusively to sugars. Controversy exists regarding the extent of bioavailability of isoflavone glycosides, and the mechanism of intestinal absorption of isoflavones in humans is unclear. Evidence from intestinal perfusion and in vitro cell culture studies indicates that isoflavone glycosides are poorly absorbed, yet isoflavones are bioavailable and appear in high concentrations in plasma, irrespective of whether they are ingested as aglycones or glycoside conjugates. Objective The objective was to determine whether isoflavone glycosides are absorbed from the intestine intact and reach the peripheral circulation unchanged. Design Plasma was collected at timed intervals before and after healthy adults ingested 50 mg of one of the isoflavone beta-glycosides (daidzin or genistin) or 250 mL soymilk containing mainly isoflavone glycosides. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry was used to detect daidzin and genistin after solid-phase extraction of these conjugates from plasma. Bioavailability of isoflavones was confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. Results Specific and sensitive electrospray mass spectrometry failed to detect even traces of daidzin or genistin in plasma collected 1, 2, and 8 h after their ingestion as pure compounds or in a soyfood matrix. However, plasma was enriched in isoflavones that were hydrolyzable with a combined beta-glucuronidase and sulfatase enzyme preparation. Conclusion Isoflavone glycosides are not absorbed intact across the enterocyte of healthy adults, and their bioavailability requires initial hydrolysis of the sugar moiety by intestinal beta-glucosidases for uptake to the peripheral circulation.
Creating scalable, efficient and namespace independent routing framework for future networks

In this thesis we propose VIRO—a novel and paradigm-shifting approach to network routing and forwarding that is not only highly scalable and robust, but also is namespace-independent. VIRO provides several advantages over existing network routing architectures, including: i) VIRO directly and simultaneously addresses the challenges faced by IP networks as well as those associated with the traditional layer-2 technologies such as Ethernet—while retaining its “plug-&-play” feature. ii) VIRO provides a uniform convergence layer that inte- grates and unifies routing and forwarding performed by the traditional layer-2 (data link layer) and layer-3 (network layer), as prescribed by the conventional local-area/wide-area network dichotomy and layered architecture. iii) Perhaps more importantly, VIRO decouples routing from addressing , and thus is namespace-independent. Hence VIRO allows new (global or local) addressing and naming schemes (e.g., HIP or flat-id namespace) to be introduced into networks without the need to modify core router/switch functions, and can easily and flexibly support inter-operability between existing and new addressing schemes/namespaces. In the second part of this thesis, we present Virtual Ethernet Id Layer, in short VEIL, a practical realization of VIRO routing protocol to create a large-scale Ethernet networks. VEIL is aimed at simplifying the management of large-scale enterprise networks by requiring minimal manual configuration overheads. It makes it tremendously easy to plug-in a new routing-node or a host-device in the network without requiring any manual configuration. It builds on top of a highly scalable and robust routing substrate provided by VIRO, and supports many advanced features such as seamless mobility support, built-in multi-path routing and fast-failure re-routing in case of link/node failures without requiring any specialized topologies. To demonstrate the feasibility of VEIL, we have built a prototype of VEIL, called veil-click , using Click Modular Router framework, which can be co-deployed with existing Ethernet switches, and does not require any changes to host-devices connecting to the network.
Prevention and reversal of endotoxin-induced pulmonary hypertension by a leukotriene antagonist.

We investigated the role of leukotrienes in endotoxin-induced changes in pulmonary circulation. In six conscious sheep, haemodynamic measurements were obtained for the calculation of pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), along with measurements of arterial oxygen tension (PaO2), leucocyte count (WBC), thromboxane B2 (TxB2), 6-Keto-PgF1 alpha and PgF2 alpha, before and at predetermined intervals after a 10-min infusion of E. coli endotoxin (0.3 microgram/kg), with and without treatment with the leukotriene receptor antagonist, FPL-57231. Endotoxin caused a biphasic response (i.e., phase I = 0-1 h, phase II = 1.5-4 h), with a mean +/- SE increase in PVR to 415 +/- 112% of baseline during phase I and a lesser increase of 175% (range = 153-199%) of baseline during phase II. Mean +/- SE PaO2 decreased from 86 +/- 4 to 67 +/- 6 mmHg and WBC count decreased from 8.6 +/- 0.6 to 2.8 +/- 0.7 thousand/mm3 during phase I, whereas TxB2 increased from 145 +/- 28 to 3164 +/- 1082 pg/ml, 6-Keto-PgF1 alpha from 129 +/- 14 to 438 +/- 114 pg/ml and PgF2 alpha from 122 +/- 7 to 242 +/- 43 pg/ml. One hour infusion of FPL-57231 (1 mg/kg/min) administered prior to and throughout phase I attenuated the phase I increases in PVR without preventing the increases in TxB2; however, it partly attenuated 6-Keto-PgF1 alpha and enhanced generation of PgF2 alpha during phase I. Discontinuation of FPL-57231 was followed by an exaggerated response of PVR during phase II to an average of 209% of baseline (range = 186-235%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
General affine surface areas

Abstract Two families of general affine surface areas are introduced. Basic properties and affine isoperimetric inequalities for these new affine surface areas as well as for L ϕ affine surface areas are established.
Injury severity and causes of death from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom: 2003-2004 versus 2006.

BACKGROUND: The opinion that injuries sustained in Iraq and Afghanistan have increased in severity is widely held by clinicians who have deployed multiple times. To continuously improve combat casualty care, the Department of Defense has enacted numerous evidence-based policies and clinical practice guidelines. We hypothesized that the severity of wounds has increased over time. Furthermore, we examined cause of death looking for opportunities of improvement for research and training. METHODS: Autopsies of the earliest combat deaths from Iraq and Afghanistan and the latest deaths of 2006 were analyzed to assess changes in injury severity and causes of death. Fatalities were classified as nonsurvivable (NS) or potentially survivable (PS). PS deaths were then reviewed in depth to analyze mechanism and cause. RESULTS: There were 486 cases from March 2003 to April 2004 (group 1) and 496 from June 2006 to December 2006 (group 2) that met inclusion criteria. Of the PS fatalities (group 1: 93 and group 2: 139), the injury severity score was lower in the first group (27 +/- 14 vs. 37 +/- 16, p or=4 (1.1 +/- 0.79 vs. 1.5 +/- 0.83 per person, p < 0.001). The main cause of death in the PS fatalities was truncal hemorrhage (51% vs. 49%, p = NS). Deaths per month between groups doubled (35 vs. 71), whereas the case fatality rates between the two time periods were equivalent (11.0 vs. 9.8, p = NS). DISCUSSION: In the time periods of the war studied, deaths per month has doubled, with increases in both injury severity and number of wounds per casualty. Truncal hemorrhage is the leading cause of potentially survivable deaths. Arguably, the success of the medical improvements during this war has served to maintain the lowest case fatality rate on record. Language: en
Pharmakologische Aspekte bei der Therapie tumorbedingter Schmerzen

Medikamentose Basis jeder sufffizienten Tumorschmerzbehandlung sind die Nicht-Opioidanalgetika, schwach und stark wirksame Opioidanalgetika und bei speziellen Indikationen die sogenannten Koanalgetika.
Electronic Portfolios: A Demonstration of Multi-level Communication Skills and Professional Accomplishments

Courses: Business and Professional Communication; Organizational Communication; any capstone or service-learning course Objectives: Students will demonstrate their communication abilities and skills to future employers and to graduate school programs by creating an electronic portfolio and will learn how to present their work to an audience while reflecting on course concepts
Multiple myeloma occurring in the jaws; a study of 17 cases.

Abstract The case records and the roentgenograms of the jaws of 59 patients with multiple myeloma were reviewed. Seventeen of these patients exhibited evidence of myeloma in the jaws. Among these 59 patients the ratio of males to females was approximately 2 to 1. However, among the patients with lesions in the jaws more women than men were affected. In all but 1 case of myeloma of the jaws there was general skeletal involvement. One case represented a solitary myeloma of the jaws, and there was no evidence of lesions elsewhere in the skeleton. The mandible was more frequently involved than the maxilla. Lesions occurred more often in the posterior portion of the body, the angle, and the ascending ramus of the mandible than elsewhere in the jaws. More patients exhibited lesions in the skull than in the jaws. Symptoms referable to the jaw, such as pain, pressure sensation, numbness, swelling, expansion of the jaw, mobility of teeth, and epulis formation, were observed. In 7 cases the initial symptoms of myeloma were observed first in the jaws. Usually myelomas of the jaws appear roentgenographically as multiple rounded lesions of various sizes which have little, if any, circumferential osteosclerotic bone reaction. These vacuolated configurations are frequently situated within a larger region of diffuse radiolucency with hazy ill-defined margins. Histopathologic examination of tissue from the jaws in 5 cases disclosed tumor tissue that was composed of closely packed anaplastic cells resembling plasma cells. The supporting stroma was scanty but vascularity was prominent. This study demonstrates the prevalence of myelomas in the jaws and illustrates the contribution that oral evaluation can provide in the diagnosis of generalized disease.
Significance of linear extent of breast carcinoma at surgical margin.

Background: Our objective was to correlate the extent of margin positivity and the findings on re-excision specimens of infiltrating mammary carcinoma.
The Spectral Ice Habit Prediction System (SHIPS). Part IV: Box Model Simulations of the Habit-Dependent Aggregation Process

AbstractThe purpose of this paper is to assess the prediction of particle properties of aggregates and particle size distributions with the Spectral Ice Habit Prediction System (SHIPS) and to investigate the effects of crystal habits on aggregation process. Aggregation processes of ice particles are critical to the understanding of precipitation and the radiative signatures of cloud systems. Conventional approaches taken in cloud-resolving models (CRMs) are not ideal to study the effects of crystal habits on aggregation processes because the properties of aggregates have to be assumed beforehand. As described in Part III, SHIPS solves the stochastic collection equation along with particle property variables that contain information about crystal habits and maximum dimensions of aggregates. This approach makes it possible to simulate properties of aggregates explicitly and continuously in CRMs according to the crystal habits.The aggregation simulations were implemented in a simple model setup, assuming sev...
Satisfaction or quality comes first: an empirical analysis.

ABSTRACT This article assesses and compares two different models that include (a) the relationships of quality dimensions with satisfaction and associated intended future behavior and (b) the relationships of satisfaction with quality dimensions and associated intended future behavior for visitors who attended entertainment events/shows at two venues. A structural analysis of 8,446 responses provided by the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority in Charlotte, North Carolina, suggests that both models are statistically acceptable and some significant relationships are found among satisfaction, three quality dimensions (the entertainment show offered, the services associated with the venue, and the treatment by staff), and intended future behavior. A brief comparison of the two models is discussed in terms of the structural relationships, the strengths, and the values of goodness-of-fit indices. The findings may contribute to the conceptual development of the existing literature as one of the first few works...
Presidential address: The Endocrine Society.

DOCTOR ROSS, MEMBERS AND GUESTS: Thank you for this splendid plaque and for your overgenerous words. They are among the few, evanescent, albeit cherished, rewards of the Presidency of our Society. In sharp contrast, the punishment for succumbing to the lure of this high office is implacable, demonic, and so severe that it cannot be borne alone: the Presidential address. This year, I have attempted to lessen the shared pain by reverting to an earlier tradition of performing this annual rite in the company of a self-selected portion of the membership, suitably medicated for the occasion. This change in venue dictated the choosing of a topic less ponderous than has been customary in the recent past and, stimulated by the spectacular success of Mr. Haley's “Roots,” I had set out to do a suitably brief biographical sketch of our common ancestor, Professor A. A. Berthold of Gottingen. It took much labor to discover, however, that Professor Berthold's life was no match for his brilliant experiments on cockerels ...
Observations on the sensitivity of ERS-1 SAR image intensity to changes in aboveground biomass in young loblolly pine forests

Abstract A study was conducted to evaluate the sensitivity of the microwave return recorded by the ERS-1 C-band synthetic aperture radar ( SAR) to changes in above-ground woody biomass in young loblolly pine forests ( dry weight biomass ⩾ 6kgm− 1 Radar backscattering coefficients were derived from ERS-1 SAR imagery collected over 15 test stands near Durham, North Carolina, United States. Ground reference data were collected in order to characterize the aboveground biomass of the pine trees in the test stands. Significant linear correlations atp = 000l or better) were found between the radar backscattering and the various components of biomass ( both wet and dry weight) of the pine canopy ( e.g., bole biomass, stem biomass, needle biomass, canopy biomass and total biomass). The linear correlation coefficients ranged between 087 and 0-93. These results demonstrate the potential for using the C-band ERS-1 SAR to monitor biomass changes during the early successional stages in temperate coniferous forests, as ...
Visual Rating and the Use of Image Analysis for Assessing Different Symptoms of Citrus Canker on Grapefruit Leaves

Citrus canker is caused by the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri and infects several citrus species in wet tropical and subtropical citrus growing regions. Accurate, precise, and reproducible disease assessment is needed for monitoring epidemics and disease response in breeding material. The objective of this study was to assess reproducibility of image analysis (IA) for measuring severity of canker symptoms and to compare this to visual assessments made by three visual raters (VR1-3) for various symptom types (lesion numbers, % area necrotic, and % area necrotic+chlorotic), and to assess inter- and intra-VR reproducibility. Digital images of 210 citrus leaves with a range of symptom severity were assessed on two separate occasions. IA was more precise than VRs for all symptom types (inter-assessment correlation coefficients, r, for lesion numbers by IA = 0.99, by VRs = 0.89 to 0.94; for %, r for % area necrotic+chlorotic for IA = 0.97 and for VRs = 0.86 to 0.89; and r for % area necrotic for IA = 0.96 and for VRs = 0.74 to 0.85). Accuracy based on Lin's concordance coefficient also followed a similar pattern, with IA being most consistently accurate for all symptom types (bias correction factor, Cb = 0.99 to 1.00) compared to visual raters (Cb = 0.85 to 1.00). Lesion number was the most reproducible symptom assessment (Lin's concordance correlation coefficient, ρc, = 0.76 to 0.99), followed by % area necrotic+chlorotic (ρc = 0.85 to 0.97), and finally % area necrotic (ρc = 0.72 to 0.96). Based on the "true" value provided by IA, precision among VRs was reasonable for number of lesions per leaf (r = 0.88 to 0.94), slightly less precision for % area necrotic+chlorotic (r = 0.87 to 0.92), and poorest precision for % area necrotic (r = 0.77 to 0.83). Loss in accuracy was less, but showed a similar trend with counts of lesion numbers (Cb = 0.93 to 0.99) which was more consistently accurately reproduced by VRs than either % area necrotic (Cb = 0.85 to 0.99) or % area necrotic+chlorotic (Cb = 0.91 to 1.00). Thus, visual raters suffered losses in both precision and accuracy, with loss in precision estimating % area necrotic being the greatest. Indeed, only for % area necrotic was there a significant effect of rater (a two-way random effects model ANOVA returned a P 20% area (e.g., 25, 30, 35, 40, etc.), yet VRs were prepared to estimate disease of <1% area, and at 1% increments up to 20%. There was a linear relationship between actual disease (IA assessments) and VRs. IA appears to provide a highly reproducible way to assess canker-infected leaves for disease, but symptom characters (symptom heterogeneity, coalescence of lesions) could lead to discrepancies in results, and full automation of the system remains to be tested.
Dual proton pump inhibitor plus amoxicillin as an empiric anti-H. pylori therapy: studies from the United States

Background Studies with CYP2C19 slow metabolizers have shown that the combination of a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) plus amoxicillin (dual therapy) can reliably cure more than 90% of Helicobacter pylori infections. Theoretically, the use of a PPI dose that provides equivalent acid suppression with fast metabolizers and slow metabolizers would achieve high cure rates irrespective of the CYP2C19 genotype.