cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Morbidity and Mortality of Total Pelvic Exenteration for Malignancy in the US.

Total pelvic exenterations (TPEs) for malignancies are complex operations often performed by multidisciplinary teams. The differences among primary cancer for TPE and multicentered results are not well described. We aimed to describe TPE outcomes for different malignant origins in a national multicentered sample. Patients from the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database who underwent TPE between 2005 and 2016 for all malignant indications (colorectal, gynecologic, urologic, or other) were included. Chi square and Kruskal–Wallis tests were used to compare patient characteristics by primary malignancy. Multivariate logistic and linear regression models were used to determine factors associated with any 30-day Clavien–Dindo grade 3 or higher complication, length of hospital stay (LOS; days), 30-day wound infection, and 30-day mortality. Overall, 2305 patients underwent TPE. Indications for surgery included 33% (749) colorectal, 15% (335) gynecologic, 9% (196) other, and 45% (1025) urologic malignancies. Median LOS decreased from 10 to 8 days during the study period (p < 0.001), 36% were males, and 50% required blood transfusion. High-grade complications occurred in 15% of patients and were associated with bowel diversion [odds ratio (OR) 1.6, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1–2.4], disseminated cancer (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.4–2.3), and gynecologic cancers (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.8–4.7). Mortality was 2% and was associated with disseminated cancer (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1–4.3) and male sex (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.3–4.4). TPE is associated with high rates of complications, however mortality rates remain low. Preoperative and perioperative outcomes differ depending on the origin of the primary malignancy.
Substrate-Dependent Study of Chain Orientation and Order in Alkylphosphonic Acid Self-Assembled Monolayers for ALD Blocking.

For years, many efforts in area selective atomic layer deposition (AS-ALD) have focused on trying to achieve high-quality self-assembled monolayers (SAMs), which have been shown by a number of stud...
South–South cooperation resilience in Brazil: presidential leadership, institutions and bureaucracies

The article seeks to contribute to the interdisciplinary literature on South–South cooperation (SSC) promoted by Brazil. By delving into both quantitative and qualitative data, the article presents...
Is narrating growth in stories of personal transgressions associated with increased well-being, self-compassion, and forgiveness of others?

Abstract We tested whether narrating growth from transgressions was associated with increased well-being, self-compassion, and forgiveness. Study 1 was cross-sectional ( N = 118). Studies 2 and 3 were short-term longitudinal ( N ’s = 77 and 88). Study 1 revealed positive associations between narrating growth and well-being. Study 2 replicated Study 1 and growth-oriented narration was associated with increased self-compassion and forgiveness at session 2 beyond expected levels given session 1 scores. Study 3 replicated some Study 2 findings and growth-oriented narration was once again associated with increased self-compassion at session 2 beyond expected levels given session 1 scores. We discuss how growth-oriented narration in specific types of events may be associated with changes in specific forms of adaptive functioning and gender differences.
¿Por qué grita esta gente? Los medios y los significados de la protesta popular en la Argentina de hoy

Based on two cases studies, the 1996 «Pueblada» and the 1993 «Santiagazo», this paper examines the means and meanings of protest in contemporary Argentina. It pays particular attention to the «moral politics» of protesters as well as to their links with conventional ways of doing politics.
CHANGING AUTOMOTIVE BODY MEASUREMENT SYSTEM PARADIGMS WITH 3D NON-CONTACT MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS

This report assesses the measurement system capability of the 3D non-contact measurement system Optigo 200, produced by CogniTens Ltd. The Optigo 200 is portable, manually operated, and uses CCD cameras to create 3D part feature representations that can be compared to part design nominal conditions. To evaluate the effectiveness of this system, Optigo measurement readings are compared to measurements of the same panels using Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) systems. This report examines several potential sources of measurement system variation including repeatability (both static and dynamic), reproducibility, and accuracy. The parts used include a rear compartment side rail, a structural reinforcement, and a hood inner panel. Using these panels, various part features are analyzed including surface points, trim edge points, and hole positions. The results suggest that the Optigo 200 system is capable of meeting typical industry Gage R&R standards, measured by comparing measurement system capability relative to either historical part variation values or typical tolerance widths. Overall, the results indicate that the average Gage R&R for the Optigo system, in terms of 5.15 sigma R&R, is 0.20 (or +/- 0.12 in terms of +/- 3 sigma metric). This is slightly higher than the results involving the same parts using the CMM. The CMM average Gage R&R, in terms of 5.15 sigma R&R, was 0.13 (or +/- 0.08 in terms of +/- 3 sigma). Still, these data suggest that the Optigo system is capable of measuring parts with tolerances of approximately +/- 0.4 or higher. More importantly, a correlation and mean bias study between the Optigo 200 system and the CMM suggests a very strong correlation with only a small magnitude difference between systems. In general, the Optigo system measured within 0.1 mm of CMM measurements at common discrete point locations. This finding demonstrates that the Optigo 3D non-contact system may replicate the CMM system. The overall conclusion of this report is that the Optigo system represents a viable measurement system alternative for automotive body manufacturing in terms of measurement system capability. In addition, the Optigo system offers significant advantages over traditional discrete point measurement systems in terms of diagnostic capability.
Locking the DNA topoisomerase I protein clamp: A novel mechanism of cytotoxicity.

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 5523 DNA topoisomerase I (Top1) plays a critical role in DNA replication, transcription and recombination. Top1 forms a protein clamp around duplex DNA to catalyze changes in DNA topology. The enzyme transiently cleaves a single DNA strand to generate a covalent Top1-DNA complex, which is reversibly stabilized by camptothecin (CPT), resulting in S-phase dependent cell killing. Crystallographic studies of a 70 kDa fragment of human Top1 (Topo70) complexed with DNA demonstrate a lone salt bridge between opposable “Lip” domains in Top1 completes the circumferential binding of DNA. The tight packing of the DNA within the central protein pore predicted substantial movement of domains would be necessary for DNA binding and strand rotation within the covalent complex. Using molecular modeling, we reported that cysteine residues substituted for Gly365 and Ser534 formed a spontaneous disulfide bond to lock the Top1-clamp534 closed, which inhibited DNA rotation (Woo et al., 2003 PNAS 100:13767). In contrast, crosslinking Lys369 and Glu497 (salt bridge) loops in the context of truncated Topo70 (Topo70-clamp499), DNA rotation was not inhibited (Carey et al, 2003 PNAS 100:5640). As the G365C–S534C loops are more proximal to the active site than the salt bridge loops, a disulfide bond at this position may have more profound effects in impeding DNA rotation. Alternatively, the Top1-clamp534 was full-length, while the Topo70-clamp499 crosslink lacked the N-terminus. To address these issues, the activity of both clamps were examined in yeast. In contrast to Top1-clamp534, expression of Top1-clamp499 did not induce yeast cell lethality, even in the more oxidizing environment of a glr1Δ strain. These data suggest that locking of the full length Top1-clamp499 around duplex DNA does not readily occur in vivo. A defect in Top1-clamp499 DNA binding was further evident in the distributive mode of DNA relaxation evident in vivo, and the low salt optimum for catalytic activity in vitro. Although both Top1-clamp499 and Top1-clamp534 enzymes were sensitive to CPT in DNA cleavage assays, genetic analyses of replication and DNA damage checkpoint mutants indicated that the defects in DNA binding by Top1-clamp499 also diminished the production of CPT-induced DNA lesions in vivo. The N-terminus also affected Top1-clamp activity. Topo70-clamp534 was less toxic than Top1-clamp534, while in a glr1Δ strain, deletion of the N-terminus completely suppressed the cytotoxicity of a catalytically inactive Top1-clamp. These results demonstrate that the N-terminal domain is critical for effective clamping of Top1 around duplex DNA and for the cytotoxic activity of this novel Top1 poisons. This work was supported by NIH grant CA58775 and ALSAC (MAB) and MIUR cofin 2003 (PB).
Automated surface matching using mutual information applied to riemann surface structures

Many medical imaging applications require the computation of dense correspondence vector fields that match one surface with another. To avoid the need for a large set of manually-defined landmarks to constrain these surface correspondences, we developed an algorithm to automate the matching of surface features. It extends the mutual information method to automatically match general 3D surfaces (including surfaces with a branching topology). First, we use holomorphic 1-forms to induce consistent conformal grids on both surfaces. High genus surfaces are mapped to a set of rectangles in the Euclidean plane, and closed genus-zero surfaces are mapped to the sphere. Mutual information is used as a cost functional to drive a fluid flow in the parameter domain that optimally aligns stable geometric features (mean curvature and the conformal factor) in the 2D parameter domains. A diffeomorphic surfaceto-surface mapping is then recovered that matches anatomy in 3D. We also present a spectral method that ensures that the grids induced on the target surface remain conformal when pulled through the correspondence field. Using the chain rule, we express the gradient of the mutual information between surfaces in the conformal basis of the source surface. This finite-dimensional linear space generates all conformal reparameterizations of the surface. We apply the method to hippocampal surface registration, a key step in subcortical shape analysis in Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.
Formal methods in cell Biology

Biological systems are extremely complex reactive systems. They operate as highly concurrent programs with millions of entities running in parallel and communicating with each other under various environmental conditions. Understanding how living systems operate in such harmony and precision, and how this harmony is being disrupted in diseased states, are key questions in biological and medical research. Due to their enormous complexity, the comprehension and analysis of living systems is a major challenge. Over the last decade various efforts to tackle this problem concentrate on a new approach called Executable Biology focused on the construction and analysis of executable models describing biological phenomena. Over the years, these efforts have demonstrated successfully how the use of formal methods can be beneficial for gaining new biological insights and even directing new experimental avenues. In this tutorial, I will survey some of the major efforts in this direction, using formal verification, synthesis and the design of new tools to reason about information processing during cells decision-making, organisms development, and molecular mechanisms underlying various human cancers.
Why the Supreme Court has Fashioned Rules of Standing Unique to the Establishment Clause

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument this fall in Salazar v. Buono, No. 08-472, a matter that involves a Latin cross located in the Mojave National Preserve located in Southeastern California and operated by the National Park Service. First placed there as a memorial to American’s who served in WWI, this Christian symbol is said to violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Before reaching the merits, however, the Court must first pass on the question of standing to sue. The plaintiff, Frank Buono, is a former employee of the National Park Service and objects to the cross remaining on government land in violation of the government’s duty to separate church and state. He seeks an injunction ordering the cross’ immediate removal. Buono is a former employee of the Park Service and was once assigned to the Mojave Preserve for just under a year. He retired nine years ago and presently resides in Oregon, but he retains an active interest in the Preserve and visits it two to four times a year. Standing to sue entails personalized injury-in-fact, but Buono’s claim falls in a small class of cases of “unwanted exposure” to religious expression attributable to the government. That is, Buono has no individuated injury-in-fact, as is normally required by the Court, for his “injury” is merely the observance of government conduct which he sincerely believes to be unconstitutional. Nevertheless, in two instances - both under the Establishment Clause - the Supreme Court has reduced the normal rigor of its standing doctrine: taxpayer claims and “unwanted exposure” claims. Explaining why the Court has done so is the subject of this extended essay.
Modelling with Scenarios: Technology in North-South Development

This article outlines work in progress on a study of technological choice in the context of North-South development. Its main purpose is to describe the methodology being developed in the pilot phase of the study. This is of interest because it links together a. number of analytic techniques-sociopolitical scenario analysis, macroeconomic modelling, and certain microstudies. The methodological problems are general to much forecasting activity.
Multiple Vibrio vulnificus strains in oysters as demonstrated by clamped homogeneous electric field gel electrophoresis

Clamped homogeneous electric field gel electrophoresis and a computer program for managing electrophoresis banding patterns (ELBAMAP) were used to analyze genomic DNA of 118 Vibrio vulnificus strains, isolated from three oysters by direct plating. Analysis with SfiI resulted in 60 restriction endonuclease digestion profiles (REDP), while analysis with SrfI produced 53 different REDP. Similarities between REDP ranged from 7 to 93%. Principal-component analysis showed that the strains were heterogeneous.
Ensemble attribute profile clustering: discovering and characterizing groups of genes with similar patterns of biological features.

Ensemble attribute profile clustering is a novel, text-based strategy for analyzing a user-defined list of genes and/or proteins. The strategy exploits annotation data present in gene-centered corpora and utilizes ideas from statistical information retrieval to discover and characterize properties shared by subsets of the list. The practical utility of this method is demonstrated by employing it in a retrospective study of two non-overlapping sets of genes defined by a published investigation as markers for normal human breast luminal epithelial cells and myoepithelial cells. Each genetic locus was characterized using a finite set of biological properties and represented as a vector of features indicating attributes associated with the locus (a gene attribute profile). In this study, the vector space models for a pre-defined list of genes were constructed from the Gene Ontology (GO) terms and the Conserved Domain Database (CDD) protein domain terms assigned to the loci by the gene-centered corpus LocusLink. This data set of GO- and CDD-based gene attribute profiles, vectors of binary random variables, was used to estimate multiple finite mixture models and each ensuing model utilized to partition the profiles into clusters. The resultant partitionings were combined using a unanimous voting scheme to produce consensus clusters, sets of profiles that co-occured consistently in the same cluster. Attributes that were important in defining the genes assigned to a consensus cluster were identified. The clusters and their attributes were inspected to ascertain the GO and CDD terms most associated with subsets of genes and in conjunction with external knowledge such as chromosomal location, used to gain functional insights into human breast biology. The 52 luminal epithelial cell markers and 89 myoepithelial cell markers are disjoint sets of genes. Ensemble attribute profile clustering-based analysis indicated that both lists contained groups of genes with the functional properties of membrane receptor biology/signal transduction and nucleic acid binding/transcription. A subset of the luminal markers was associated with metabolic and oxidoreductase activities, whereas a subset of myoepithelial markers was associated with protein hydrolase activity. Given a set of genes and/or proteins associated with a phenomenon, process or system of interest, ensemble attribute profile clustering provides a simple method for collating and sythesizing the annotation data pertaining to them that are present in text-based, gene-centered corpora. The results provide information about properties common and unique to subsets of the list and hence insights into the biology of the problem under investigation.
Robust self‐navigated body MRI using dense coil arrays

Purpose To develop a robust motion estimation method for free-breathing body MRI using dense coil arrays. Methods Self-navigating pulse sequences can measure subject motion without using external motion monitoring devices. With dense coil arrays, individual coil elements can provide localized motion estimates. An averaged motion estimate over all coils is often used for motion compensation. However, this motion estimate may not accurately represent the dominant motion within the imaging volume. In this work, a coil clustering method is proposed to automatically determine the dominant motion for dense coil arrays. The feasibility of the proposed method is investigated in free-breathing abdominal MRI and cardiac MRI, and compared with manual motion estimate selection for respiratory motion estimation and electrocardiography for cardiac motion estimation. Results Automated motion estimation achieved similar respiratory motion estimation compared to manual selection (averaged correlation coefficient 0.989 and 0.988 for abdominal MRI and cardiac MRI, respectively), and accurate cardiac triggering compared to electrocardiography (averaged temporal variability 17.5 ms). Conclusion The proposed method can provide accurate automated motion estimation for body MRI using dense coil arrays. It can enable self-navigated free-breathing abdominal and cardiac MRI without the need for external motion monitoring devices. Magn Reson Med, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Nanoheteroepitaxial growth of GaN on Si by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy

Nanoheteroepitaxy has recently been proposed as a technique for significantly extending the thickness of pseudomorphic growth in mismatched heterostructures. This letter reports the experimental application of nanoheteroepitaxy for the growth of GaN on patterned 〈111〉 oriented silicon-on-insulator substrates by organometallic vapor phase epitaxy. Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the defect concentration decays rapidly away from the heterointerface as predicted by nanoheteroepitaxy theory. The melting point of the nanoscale islands is found to be significantly reduced, enhancing substrate compliance and further reducing the strain energy in the GaN epitaxial layer.
Vibrational analysis of the A′1Π state of barium oxide using two isotopes☆

Abstract Barium vapor is reacted with N 2 16 O and N 2 18 O at 0.7 Torr to produce clearly distinguishable isotopic bands of BaO A ′ 1 Π- X 1 Σ in the wavelength region of 320–415 nm. The unique vibrational numbering is determined by measuring the isotopic shift in the bandheads between Ba 16 O and Ba 18 O. Spectroscopic constants for the A ′ 1 Π state are determined from the present analysis to be ν 00 = 17 588 ± 15 cm −1 , ω e = 442.45 ± 0.3 cm −1 , and ω e x e = 1.652 ± 0.009 cm −1 . Uncertainties represent three standard deviations.
PRKACA mediates resistance to HER2-targeted therapy in breast cancer cells and restores anti-apoptotic signaling

Targeting HER2 with antibodies or small molecule inhibitors in HER2-positive breast cancer leads to improved survival, but resistance is a common clinical problem. To uncover novel mechanisms of resistance to anti-HER2 therapy in breast cancer, we performed a kinase open reading frame screen to identify genes that rescue HER2-amplified breast cancer cells from HER2 inhibition or suppression. In addition to multiple members of the MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinase) and PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) signaling pathways, we discovered that expression of the survival kinases PRKACA and PIM1 rescued cells from anti-HER2 therapy. Furthermore, we observed elevated PRKACA expression in trastuzumab-resistant breast cancer samples, indicating that this pathway is activated in breast cancers that are clinically resistant to trastuzumab-containing therapy. We found that neither PRKACA nor PIM1 restored MAPK or PI3K activation after lapatinib or trastuzumab treatment, but rather inactivated the pro-apoptotic protein BAD, the BCl-2-associated death promoter, thereby permitting survival signaling through BCL-XL. Pharmacological blockade of BCL-XL/BCL-2 partially abrogated the rescue effects conferred by PRKACA and PIM1, and sensitized cells to lapatinib treatment. These observations suggest that combined targeting of HER2 and the BCL-XL/BCL-2 anti-apoptotic pathway may increase responses to anti-HER2 therapy in breast cancer and decrease the emergence of resistant disease.
Field-based job dispatch and migration

AgentTeamwork-Lite is a mobile-agent-based job scheduling and monitoring framework that has been developed in the concept of field-based job dispatch and migration where agents migrate over a computing-resource field to highest performance computing nodes for executing their user jobs as if they were electrons sliding down on an electric field. The agents keep monitoring their computing-resource field and move their user jobs to better computing nodes. This paper presents the system design, execution model of the framework, and our performance evaluation using two applications: the Wave2D MPI-parallelized wave-propagation simulation and the Mandelbrot fractal generator benchmark programs.
Experimental Program in Expanded Functions for Dental Assistants: Phase 3 Experiment with Dental Teams

This study shows that many of the duties usually done only by the dentist can be performed accurately and efficiently by trained chairside assistants. In the experimental phase, about two fifths of the dentist’s work was delegated to auxiliaries. The findings of this phase are compared with those of the base-line and training phases.
Implications of Gene–Behavior Interactions: Prevention and Intervention for Obesity

A vast body of research exists to demonstrate that obesity is a complex disorder with a strong genetic basis and a multifactorial etiology. Yet despite the overwhelming evidence that genes play an important role in the development of obesity, many people argue that the increasing prevalence of obesity is simply due to an abundance of palatable food and a dearth of opportunities for physical exercise. While activity and eating behaviors contribute substantially to the development of obesity, considering these to be the only etiologic factors is directly contradictory to what is now known about how eating and energy balance are regulated. Our understanding of the molecular processes controlling eating behavior, in particular, has accelerated exponentially in the last 10 years, and this is one area in which obesity genetics has made great progress. Our challenge is to understand more fully how genetic variation may interact with behavioral factors to influence the regulation of body weight and adiposity. Although exercise and diet strategies are used routinely for obesity treatment, there is a huge variability in how individuals respond to these interventions. There is also a substantial amount of evidence that such responses may also be regulated by genes. Understanding gene-response relationships is the key to developing more efficacious intervention and prevention programs for obesity.
Radiofrequency Ablation vs. Resection for Hepatic Colorectal Metastasis: Therapeutically Equivalent?

The role of ablation for hepatic colorectal metastases (HCM) continues to evolve as ablation technology changes and systemic chemotherapy improves. Our aim was to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of HCM compared to surgical resection. A retrospective review of our 1,105 patient prospective hepatic database from August 1995 to July 2007 identified 192 patients with only hepatic resection or only ablation for HCM. Patients who underwent RFA were similar to resection patients based on a similar Fong score (1.8 vs. 2.1 p = 0.28), presence of extrahepatic disease (15% vs. 9% p = 0.19), mean number of hepatic lesions (2.8 vs. 2.1 p = 0.14), and prior chemotherapy (67% vs. 60% p = 0.33). Median time to recurrence was shorter with ablation than resection (12.2 vs. 31.1 months; p < 0.001). Recurrence at the ablation–resection site was more common with ablation than resection occurring 17% vs. 2% (p ≤ 0.001) of the time, respectively. Distant recurrence in the liver was also more common with ablation occurring in 33% of patients vs. 14% for resection (p = 0.002). Surgical resection is associated with a lower chance of recurrence and a longer disease-free interval than RFA and should remain the treatment of choice in resectable HCM.
Carbon storage assessment of U.S. Great Plains relies on data from Landsat and other sources

A new assessment of carbon storage in the U.S. Great Plains region helps to improve the understanding of carbon and greenhouse gas fluxes in parts of 14 states. It is the first of a series of such assessments, with the entire national assessment set for completion around 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced at a 6 December press briefing at the AGU Fall Meeting in San Francisco, Calif. The assessment, based on measured and observed data collected by USGS from Landsat and other sources, also indicates the value of the troubled Landsat satellites, according to USGS director Marcia McNutt. The assessment of the 2.17-million-square-kilometer region of the country, which contains a number of different ecosystems, examines carbon storage as well as carbon, methane, and nitrous oxide fluxes in all terrestrial ecosystems in the region during a baseline period. Projections of these fluxes also were extended to 2050. The report was carried out to fulfill a section of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
Relativistic models for quasielastic (e,e') at large momentum transfers.

Inclusive quasielastic response functions are calculated for electron scattering in a relativistic model including momentum dependent scalar and vector mean fields. The momentum dependence of the mean fields is taken from Dirac optical fits to proton nucleus scattering and is important in describing data at momentum transfers of 1 GeV/c or larger. Our simple model is applicable for quasielastic scattering over a large range of momentum transfers.
Analysis of dust and surface swab samples for octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and heptachlorodibenzo-p-dioxins by fused silica capillary GC with EC detection

A method is described for the analysis of contaminated building dust samples and surface swab samples for octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (OCDD) and heptachlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (HpCDDs). The samples were analyzed by fused silica capillary GC combined with electron capture detection. Analysis was preceded by a short HPLC cleanup step designed to remove polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other compounds that might interfere. The method was found to work successfully on surface swab and dust samples known to contain PCBs, OCDD, and HpCDDs. The overall recovery of the analysis procedure for OCDD was found to be approximately 80%. The detection limit for the method was sample dependent, but for one typical set of surface swab samples was 0.2 μg/m2 of OCDD.
Introduction: Comparing National Styles of Regulation in Japan and the United States

The articles in this issue generally reinforce conventional images of American regulation as often adversarial and legalistic and of Japanese regulation as more informal and cooperative. They also suggest that, in regulating pollution and occupational safety in larger firms, Japan’s regulatory style is equally effective and more economically efficient than the American approach. But Japan’s style appears less effective when regulation requires changes in elite attitudes, as in the realm of workplace equality for women. Moreover, developments in Japan’s financial sector reveal ways in which informal regulation can result in undue deference to business and political interests.
A class of numerical methods for the computation of Pythagorean sums

Moler and Morrison have described an iterative algorithm for the computation of the Pythagorean sum(a2 + b2)1/2 of two real numbers a and b. This algorithm is immune to unwarranted floating-point overflows, has a cubic rate of convergence, and is easily transportable. This paper, which shows that the algorithm is essentially Harley's method applied to the computation of square roots. provides a generalization to any order of convergence. Formulas of orders 2 through 9 are illustrated with numerical examples. The generalization keeps the number of floating-point divisions constant and should be particularly useful for computation in high-precision floating-point arithmetic.
Feminism, Gender studies, and Medieval Studies:

This article traces the multiple and rapid changes that have occurred during the past fifteen years, in theorizing “sex/gender arrangements”. A secondary aspect is the reception, application and above all modification of these theories by some scholars of European medieval cultural production, in which varieties of difference are found that do not apply in modern societies. Deconstruction of the binary m/f (whether thought of as sexual or gender difference) erupted among feminist thinkers in the 1990s and eventually “queered” academic discourses by destabilizing labels that had been naturalized, including a consistent gender identity for the individual in medieval or modern society. The author claims that queer and post-colonial theory, far from being antithetical to feminist theory, are out-growths of it, and exist in parallel; the proponents of each are concerned with the societal forces, including our own discourses, that maintain difference, and create communities of oppression Yet it is also necessar...
Microwave-assisted Synthesis of Perylene-3,4-dicarboximides: Highly Photostable Fluorescent Dyes

A new method for synthesis of perylene-3,4-dicarboximides (PDCIs) is reported. Modified from a literature reported synthetic method, microwave assisted heating was used to perform the reaction, which not only shortened the original reaction time, from 18 hours to 30 min, but also increased the corresponding reaction yield. A variety of PDCI derivatives were synthesized in order to correlate the influence of substituents on the reaction outcome. Moreover, the photophysical and electrochemical properties of PDCIs are characterized and reported.
Performance of Gears Under High Loads and Low Velocities

To obtain information concerning the ability of conventional parallel-shaft gears to transmit motion smoothly at low velocities under high load, experiments were conducted on a single commercial gear mesh about the same size as the last stage proposed for a radio telescope drive. Two torque levels of 130,000 and 197,000 lb-in. were used. The largest amplitude of angular disturbance which was measured was less than 10 arc sec, while the average disturbance was about one arc sec at the low speed shaft. The smooth performance of the industrial-quality gear trains eliminated the expense of special designing. In similar applications where smooth motion is a requirement, components of good reliability and comparatively ready availability can be specified with confidence.
Performance status after treatment for squamous cell cancer of the base of tongue--a comparison of primary radiation therapy versus primary surgery.

Purpose: To compare the quality of life and functional outcome in patients with squamous cell cancer of the base of tongue treated with primary radiation vs. primary surgery. Methods and Materials: At our institution, patients with base of tongue cancer are primarily treated either by radiation or surgery depending upon the philosophy of their primary physician. Primary radiation consists of 45–54 Gy external beam radiation followed by an 192Ir implant delivering an additiona 20–30 Gy over 2–3 days. A neck dissection is done at the same time as the implant for those with involved nodes. Primary surgery consists of resection of the base of tongue lesion, neck dissection and postoperative radiation therapy. Because both groups have similar local control in our experience (80–90%), we used a subjective performance status scale for head and neck cancer patients to assess the quality of life in these patients (0–100, 0 = worst function, 100 = normal function). This scale measures ability to eat in public, understandability of speech, and normalcy of diet. There were 30 radiation patients (21: T1−T2; nine: T3−T4) and ten surgery patients (five: T1−T2; five: T3−T4) available for long-term quality of life assessment. Results: Patients treated with radiation had consistently better performance status scores and quality of life according to our study. This was true for those with early (T1–2) as well as more advanced (T3–4) disease. For eating in public, T1–2 patients had scores of 85 vs. 75 (p = .31) and T3–4 patients had scores of 82 vs. 35 (p < .0001) for radiation vs. surgery, respectively. For understandability of speech, T1–2 patients had scores of 92 vs. 65 (p = .0021), and T3–4 patients had scores of 95 vs. 35 (p < .0001) for radiation vs. surgery, respectively. For normalcy of diet, T1–2 patients had scores of 74 vs. 50 (p = .047), and T3–4 patients had scores of 78 vs. 32 (p = .0012) for radiation vs. surgery, respectively. In addition, we compared scores for early vs. advanced disease treated by the same modality. For radiation, there was no difference in all three functional categories for T1–2 vs. T3–4 (p = .84), showing that quality of life scores remain high for all stages. For surgery, functional status deteriorated significantly when comparing T1–2 vs. T3–4 (p = .0014), consistent with the fact that larger tumors require more extensive operations. Conclusion: Radiation therapy provides a better performance status than surgery for base of tongue cancer. This is true for both early and advanced disease. Because radiation also provides similar local control and survival, our data suggests that radiation may be the preferred strategy. Functional scores remain high for all T stages treated with radiation, but deteriorate with more advanced T stages for patients treated with surgery. Similar studies using objective criteria are. needed to further compare these treatments.
The Effect of Selective Cyclooxygenase Inhibitors on Intestinal Epithelial Cell Mitogenesis

Abstract Introduction. Previous research has demonstrated that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents alter the incidence of colorectal cancer. It has been postulated that the response may be due to the effect of these agents on the activities of the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes. The COX enzymes catalyze the conversion of arachidonic acid to biologically active prostanoids. Two forms of COX have been identified. COX-1 is a constitutive enzyme, generally involved in cell functions, while COX-2 is commonly an enzyme which is inducible in response to various stimuli, including mitogens. Recently, specific inhibitors of COX-1 and COX-2 enzymes have been developed. Purpose. The present study was undertaken to determine the effects of specific COX-1 and COX-2 inhibitors on the proliferation and the induction of apoptosis of intestinal epithelial cells. Methods. A continuously proliferating rat small intestinal cell line (IEC-18) and a mouse colon cancer cell line (WB-2054) were utilized for these experiments. The cells were placed in microwells with serum-free or serum-supplemented media. The effects of serum on proliferation were then evaluated in the presence of the COX-1 inhibitor, valerylsalicyclic acid (VSA), the COX-2 inhibitor, SC-58125, or indomethacin. The presence of COX-1 and COX-2 protein was evaluated by Western blotting. Proliferation of intestinal cells was quantitated by incorporation of [ 3 H]thymidine into DNA and cell counting, and apoptosis was determined by evaluating cell attachment. COX activity was evaluated by prostaglandin E 2 production measured by enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA). Results. Western blotting of IEC-18 and WB-2054 cell protein demonstrated COX-1 enzyme in cells incubated in serum-free media with increased COX-1 expression produced by incubation in media supplemented with 10% serum. COX-2 enzyme was not demonstrated in serum-free media; however, it was present in cells maintained in 10% serum-supplemented media. Spontaneous DNA synthesis was present in both cell lines and serum increased proliferation. In both cell lines [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation stimulated by serum was inhibited by the COX-2 inhibitor SC-58125, but not by the COX-1 inhibitor VSA. Both indomethacin and SC-58125 produced a dose-dependent increase in apoptotic ratios in both cell lines. PGE 2 formation, stimulated by serum, was inhibited by SC-58125, VSA, and indomethacin. Conclusions. A differential effect on intestinal cell mitogenesis was seen with different COX inhibitors. The COX-2 inhibitor, but not the COX-1 inhibitor, significantly inhibited [ 3 H]thymidine incorporation in both cell types, suggesting COX-2 inhibitors may be specific inhibitors of normal epithelial cell proliferation and growth of malignant cells. SC-58125, a selective inhibitor of COX-2, has a potent apoptosis inducing effect. The inhibition of PGE 2 production did not correlate with the inhibition of proliferation, suggesting the two processes are unrelated.
Putting flesh to the phantoms

Free Radicals in Biology and Medicine. By Barry Halliwell and John M.C. Gutteridge. Clarendon: 1985. Pp.346. 30, 45.
Milk-Alkali Syndrome: A Historical Review and Description of the Modern Version of the Syndrome

Formerly recognized primarily for its historic interest as a disorder found in those taking milk and bicarbonate for peptide ulcer disease, milk-alkali syndrome (MAS) is experiencing a resurgence in its incidence largely due to the increased usage of calcium carbonate. The modern version of MAS affects a different patient population and has a different etiologic basis than was characterized in the original descriptions of the syndrome. Advances in parathyroid hormone measurement have allowed for improved diagnostic separation between MAS and hyperparathyroidism and have further explained some of the physiologic responses in the resolution of hypercalcemia. We have reviewed the reasons for the increasing incidence of MAS, described the typical patient with the modern form of the syndrome, and further elaborated on the pathophysiology of MAS, as it is currently understood. MAS is an important diagnostic consideration in the patient with hypercalcemia because the syndrome is now common and prompt diagnosis limits permanent kidney function impairment but depends strongly on considering the diagnosis as well as obtaining an over-the-counter medication history.
Adjacent solid boundaries alter the size of regurgitant jets on Doppler color flow maps.

Recent studies have attempted to predict the severity of regurgitant lesions from jet size on Doppler flow maps. Jet size is a function of both regurgitant volume and fluid entrained from the receiving chamber and, for a free jet, is a function of its momentum at the orifice. However, regurgitant jets often approach or attach to cardiac walls, potentially altering their momentum and ability to expand by entrainment. Therefore, this study addressed the hypothesis that adjacent walls influence regurgitant jet size as seen on Doppler flow maps. Steady flow was driven through circular orifices (0.02 to 0.05 cm2) at physiologic velocities of 2 to 5 m/s. At a constant flow rate and orifice velocity, orifice position was varied to produce three jet geometries: free jets, jets adjacent to a horizontal chamber wall lying 1 cm below the orifice and wall jets with the orifice at the level of the wall. Doppler color flow imaging was performed at identical instrument settings for all jets. Two long-axis views of the jet were obtained: a vertical view perpendicular to the wall, resembling that most commonly used in patients to image the length of the jet, and a horizontal view parallel to the chamber wall. Velocities along the jet were also measured by Doppler mapping. Jets with their orifices adjacent to the wall but not at its level were deflected toward the wall proximally (the Coanda effect), increasing jet area in the vertical plane by 8 ± 4% compared with corresponding free jets (p < 0.001), with no change in area in the horizontal plane. Wall jets with their orifices at the level of the wall were 34 ± 5% smaller in area than free jets in the vertical plane (p < 0.0005) and 13 ± 6% larger in area in the horizontal plane (p < 0.005). Distal velocities in jets encountering walls were higher than those of free jets (p < 0.0002). Therefore, in the views perpendicular to walls (vertical views) most commonly used in vivo for imaging jets near cardiac structures, a jet lying along the wall will appear smaller than a free jet produced by the same regurgitant flow. The wall jet can entrain fluid and expand only on one side and it spreads laterally over the surface to a greater extent than usual. The area of a deflected jet is slightly increased by the Coanda effect, which draws the proximal jet toward the wall. Therefore, jet size cannot be related to the degree of regurgitation without considering jet geometry and adjacent walls.
On the welfare implications of Southern catch-up

Abstract I examine the implications of technological catch-up by developing countries (the South). With Southern catch-up, production of unskilled-intensive goods moves South. Because the improved terms of trade fully offsets the income lost by having production migrate South, the North benefits.
Suppression by CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells is dependent on expression of heme oxygenase-1 in antigen-presenting cells.

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has been viewed as a cytoprotective protein, ameliorating the effects of inflammatory cellular damage, and as beneficial in allograft protection from acute and chronic rejection, suggesting important functions in both innate and adaptive immune responses. Mice deficient in HO-1 exhibit defective immune regulation characterized by a proinflammatory phenotype. We examined if impaired regulatory T cell (Treg) function contributes to the immunoregulatory defects observed in HO-1−/− mice. HO-1−/− mice exhibited a significantly higher proportion of Foxp3-expressing cells among total CD4+ and CD4+CD25+ cells in comparison to HO-1+/+ mice, and HO-1−/− Treg cells were at least as effective as HO-1+/+ Treg cells in suppressing proliferation of effector T cells in vitro from either HO-1+/+ or HO-1−/− mice. However, the absence of HO-1 in antigen-presenting cells abolished the suppressive activity of Treg cells on effector T cells. These findings demonstrate that HO-1 activity in antigen-presenting cells is important for Treg-mediated suppression, providing an explanation for the apparent defect in immune regulation in HO-1−/− mice.
Comparative safety & effectiveness of relief measures during labor

Abstract In brief, the findings in this series of 435 cases of labor reveal that: 1. 1. Normal labor, when allowed to progress to the completion of the second stage and when unattended by signs of maternal exhaustion or interference with fetal circulation, was found to be the least hazardous means of delivery. 2. 2. The maternal morbidity in spontaneous labor was less than in delivery by prophylactic forceps or version; lacerations of the birth canal were lessened in incidence and degree; and the maternal and fetal mortality was nil. 3. 3. The procedure second to spontaneous labor in low fetal mortality and maternal morbidity was prophylactic or low forceps. 4. 4. Prophylactic version yielded the highest fetal mortality and maternal morbidity. 5. 5. None of these procedures gave a maternal mortality.
High performance radiation transport simulations: preparing for Titan

In this paper we describe the Denovo code system. Denovo solves the six-dimensional, steady-state, linear Boltzmann transport equation, of central importance to nuclear technology applications such as reactor core analysis (neutronics), radiation shielding, nuclear forensics and radiation detection. The code features multiple spatial differencing schemes, state-of-the-art linear solvers, the Koch-Baker-Alcouffe (KBA) parallel-wavefront sweep algorithm for inverting the transport operator, a new multilevel energy decomposition method scaling to hundreds of thousands of processing cores, and a modern, novel code architecture that supports straightforward integration of new features. In this paper we discuss the performance of Denovo on the 20+ petaflop ORNL GPU-based system, Titan. We describe algorithms and techniques used to exploit the capabilities of Titan's heterogeneous compute node architecture and the challenges of obtaining good parallel performance for this sparse hyperbolic PDE solver containing inherently sequential computations. Numerical results demonstrating Denovo performance on early Titan hardware are presented.
Mass resolution in fission-fragment double-kinetic-energy measurements

Abstract The width of the fission-fragment mass distribution at the 1%-yield was found to be useful in determining the system mass resolution. The relationship between the 1% width and mass resolution is presented for both thermal-neutron fission of 235 U and spontaneous fission of 252 Cf.
Single-shot terahertz pulse characterization via two-dimensional electro-optic imaging with dual echelons

A single-shot measurement of terahertz electromagnetic pulses is implemented using two-dimensional electro-optic imaging with dual echelon optics. The reported embodiment produces sequentially delayed multiprobe beamlets, routinely providing a time window of >10 ps with ∼25 fs temporal step sizes. Because of its simplicity and robustness, the technique is ideally suited for real-time ultrashort relativistic electron bunch characterization.