cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The ‘Total Market,’ Globalization, and Discourses of Aging

Various scholars have characterized the social conditions brought about by neoliberal globalization as a “total market.” Developed by various Latin American writers, this phrase designates social conditions in which the market has not only achieved global scale but is also identified with the totality of human existence. The total market corresponds to that period in history when political leaders like Margaret Thatcher could paradoxically proclaim, “there is no such thing as society” and propose the market as the only viable model of social order. In the last quarter of the twentieth century, this market-based ideology displaced the more robust social imagery that had legitimated welfare state policies in Western countries while also validating narrow neoliberal models of development for other nations. Neoliberal policies and the total market conditions they foster have also impacted the ways social identities can be imagined.
Pareto Optimality Explanation of the Glycolytic Alternatives in Nature

The Entner-Doudoroff (ED) and Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) glycolytic pathways are largely conserved across glycolytic species in nature. Is this a coincidence, convergent evolution or there exists a driving force towards either of the two pathway designs? We addressed this question by first employing a variant of the optStoic algorithm to exhaustively identify over 11,916 possible routes between glucose and pyruvate at different pre-determined stoichiometric yields of ATP. Subsequently, we analyzed the thermodynamic feasibility of all the pathways at physiological metabolite concentrations and quantified the protein cost of the feasible solutions. Pareto optimality analysis between energy efficiency and protein cost reveals that the naturally evolved ED and EMP pathways are indeed among the most protein cost-efficient pathways in their respective ATP yield categories and remain thermodynamically feasible across a wide range of ATP/ADP ratios and pathway intermediate metabolite concentration ranges. In contrast, pathways with higher ATP yield (>2) while feasible, are bound within stringent and often extreme operability ranges of cofactor and intermediate metabolite concentrations. The preponderance of EMP and ED is thus consistent with not only optimally balancing energy yield vs. enzyme cost but also with ensuring operability for wide metabolite concentration ranges and ATP/ADP ratios.
Metallic photonic crystal-based sensor for cryogenic environments.

We investigate the design, characterization, and application of metallic photonic crystal (MPC) structures, consisting of plasmonic gold nanogratings on top of a photonic waveguide, as transducers for lab-on-chip biosensing in cryogenic environments. The compact design offers a promising approach to sensitive, in situ biosensing platforms for astrobiology applications (e.g., on the “icy moons” of the outer solar system). We fabricated and experimentally characterized three MPC sensor geometries, with variable nanograting width, at temperatures ranging from 300 K to 180 K. Sensors with wider nanogratings were more sensitive to changes in the local dielectric environment. Temperature-dependent experiments revealed an increase in plasmonic resonance intensity of around 13% at 180 K (compared with 300 K), while the coupled plasmonic-photonic resonance was less sensitive to temperature, varying by less than 5%. Simulation results confirm the relative temperature stability of the plasmonic-photonic mode and, combined with its high sensitivity, suggest a novel application of this mode as the sensing transduction mechanism over wide temperature ranges. To our knowledge, this is among the first reports of the design and characterization of a nanoplasmonic sensor specifically for low-temperature sensing operation.
Virtual Pharmacophore Screening Identifies Small-Molecule Inhibitors of the Rev1-CT/RIR Protein-Protein Interaction.

Translesion synthesis (TLS) has emerged as a mechanism through which several forms of cancer develop acquired resistance to first-line genotoxic chemotherapies by allowing replication to continue in the presence of damaged DNA. Small molecules that inhibit TLS hold promise as a novel class of anticancer agents that can serve to enhance the efficacy of these front-line therapies. We previously used a structure-based rational design approach to identify the phenazopyridine scaffold as an inhibitor of TLS that functions by disrupting the protein-protein interaction (PPI) between the C-terminal domain of the TLS DNA polymerase Rev1 (Rev1-CT) and the Rev1 interacting regions (RIR) of other TLS DNA polymerases. To continue the identification of small molecules that disrupt the Rev1-CT/RIR PPI, we generated a pharmacophore model based on the phenazopyridine scaffold and used it in a structure-based virtual screen. In vitro analysis of promising hits identified several new chemotypes with the ability to disrupt this key TLS PPI. In addition, several of these compounds were found to enhance the efficacy of cisplatin in cultured cells, highlighting their anti-TLS potential.
Improving Reading Comprehension with Readers Theater.

Although readers theater has traditionally been recommended as a method for improving reading fluency, this 18-week quasi-experimental study examined the effects of a readers theater instructional ...
A simulation analysis of large contests with thresholding agents

Running contests has been an effective way to solicit efforts from a large pool of participants. Existing research mostly focuses on small contests that typically consist of two or several perfectly rational agents. In practice, however, agents are often founded in complex environments that involve large numbers of players, and they usually use thresholding policies to make decisions. Despite the fact, there is a surprising lack of understanding of how contest factors influence their outcomes. Here, we present the first simulation analysis on how parameters of the contest success function, the population dynamics, and the agents' cutoff policies influence the outcomes of the contests with thresholding agents that are non-cooperative. Experimental results demonstrate that stakeholders can design (approximately) optimal contests to satisfy both their interests and the agents' by choosing a relatively low bias factor. Our work brings new insights into how to design proper competitions to coordinate thresholding agents.
Permissible idealizations for the purpose of prediction.

Abstract Every model leaves out or distorts some factors that are causally connected to its target phenomenon—the phenomenon that it seeks to predict or explain. If we want to make predictions, and we want to base decisions on those predictions, what is it safe to omit or to simplify, and what ought a causal model to describe fully and correctly? A schematic answer: the factors that matter are those that make a difference to the target phenomenon. There are several ways to understand differencemaking. This paper advances a view as to which is the most relevant to the forecaster and the decision-maker. It turns out that the right notion of differencemaking for thinking about idealization in prediction is also the right notion for thinking about idealization in explanation; this suggests a carefully circumscribed version of Hempel’s famous thesis that there is a symmetry between explanation and prediction.
Through the magnifying glass: Exploring aggregations of COVID-19 datasets by county, state, and taxonomies of U.S. regions

In this preliminary study, we investigate the case of COVID-19 United States confirmed cases datasets, and perform experiments with aggregations of data by county, state, and different taxonomies for U.S. regions. The overarching goals of this study is to uncover potential data quality issues due to different levels of geospatial aggregation of data.
Evaluating the psychometric properties of the Immunotherapy module of the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory.

Introduction Immunotherapies have revolutionized the treatment of various cancers, but little is known about their symptomatic toxicity. Assessing these symptoms is best accomplished by asking the patients themselves. However, such reports are subjective and may face challenges as bonafide scientific data. Demonstrating the validity of symptom assessment tools, mainly through the reduction of measurement errors, has the potential to improve patient care if these tools are widely adopted. To that end, we present herein the psychometric properties of the Immunotherapy for Early-Phase Trials module of the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI-Immunotherapy EPT) in patients receiving various immunotherapies in early phase trials at a major cancer center. Methods One hundred forty-five patients completed the inventory at baseline, with 85 of them also doing so after 9 weeks of treatment. The mean (±SD) age of the patients was 57.0±12.9 years. Also, 56% of the patients were women, 79% identified as white, and 49% had at least some college education. Results The internal consistency reliability of the MDASI-Immunotherapy EPT was excellent, as the Cronbach’s alphas for all of its subscales were at least 0.88 (range 0.88–0.95). Known-group validity based on Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status groupings was excellent at 9 weeks after the start of an immunotherapy trial for the MDASI-Immunotherapy EPT severity (effect size, 0.96) and interference (effect size, 0.82) subscales. We found substantial changes in the symptom items difficulty remembering (effect size, −0.85), fever and/or chills (effect size, −0.63), disturbed sleep (effect size, −0.52), diarrhea (effect size, −0.42), and swelling of hands, legs, or feet (effect size, −0.39). Conclusions In conclusion, the MDASI-Immunotherapy EPT is a valid, reliable, and sensitive tool for measuring symptomatic toxicity.
Perceptual restoration fails to recover unconscious processing for smooth eye movements after occipital stroke

Abstract Visual pathways that guide actions do not necessarily mediate conscious perception. Patients with primary visual cortex (V1) damage lose conscious perception but often retain unconscious abilities (e.g. blindsight). Here, we asked if saccade accuracy and post-saccadic following responses (PFRs) that automatically track target motion upon saccade landing are retained when conscious perception is lost. We contrasted these behaviors in the blind and intact fields of 8 chronic V1-stroke patients, and in 8 visually-intact controls. Saccade accuracy was relatively normal in all cases. Stroke patients also had normal PFR in their intact fields, but no PFR in their blind fields. Thus, V1 damage did not spare the unconscious visual processing necessary for automatic, post-saccadic smooth eye movements. Importantly, visual training that recovered motion perception in the blind field did not restore the PFR, suggesting a clear dissociation between pathways mediating perceptual restoration and automatic actions in the V1-damaged visual system.
Outcomes of Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treated With Gemtuzumab-Ozogamicin: Cue To Optimized Chemotherapy Backbone

Abstract Background The optimal approach to combine gemtuzumab-ozogamicin (GO) with various chemotherapy backbones and other newer agents safely remains to be determined. Materials and Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of the safety and outcomes of adult patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with GO with intensified versus standard anthracycline doses (daunorubicin dose 90 mg/m2 vs 60 mg/m2) ± FLT3 inhibitors. The χ2 test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare categorical and continuous data. Survival estimates were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method and survival comparisons made using log‐rank test. Results We report a 97% overall response rate in 34 patients with newly diagnosed AML with a median age of 54 years (19-75 years) treated with GO and standard induction. The 11 patients (100%) receiving GO plus daunorubicin dose 90 mg/m2 as part of 7 + 3 induction achieved complete response versus 91% (20/22) complete response in the standard daunorubicin dose group (P = NS). No increased toxicity was noted with the higher daunorubicin dose or when GO and 7 + 3 were combined with FLT3 inhibitors in 3 younger patients ( Conclusion We demonstrate that anthracycline dose intensification with GO may offer higher response rates without increased toxicity in younger patients presenting with de novo AML across European Leukemia Net risk categories.
Scarcity and the State in the Midst of Climate and Economic Crises: Governing Water in India

My talk today draws on my new book, Governing Water in India.11 All examples and quotes in this talk are from Governing Water in India: Inequality, Reform and the State (University of Washington Pr...
SU-D-BRD-03: Improving Plan Quality with Automation of Treatment Plan Checks

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of an automated plan check tool to improve first-time plan quality as well as standardize and document performance of physics plan checks. Methods: The Plan Checker Tool (PCT) uses the Eclipse Scripting API to check and compare data from the treatment planning system (TPS) and treatment management system (TMS). PCT was created to improve first-time plan quality, reduce patient delays, increase efficiency of our electronic workflow, and to standardize and partially automate plan checks in the TPS. A framework was developed which can be configured with different reference values and types of checks. One example is the prescribed dose check where PCT flags the user when the planned dose and the prescribed dose disagree. PCT includes a comprehensive checklist of automated and manual checks that are documented when performed by the user. A PDF report is created and automatically uploaded into the TMS. Prior to and during PCT development, errors caught during plan checks and also patient delays were tracked in order to prioritize which checks should be automated. The most common and significant errors were determined. Results: Nineteen of 33 checklist items were automated with data extracted with the PCT. These include checks formore » prescription, reference point and machine scheduling errors which are three of the top six causes of patient delays related to physics and dosimetry. Since the clinical roll-out, no delays have been due to errors that are automatically flagged by the PCT. Development continues to automate the remaining checks. Conclusion: With PCT, 57% of the physics plan checklist has been partially or fully automated. Treatment delays have declined since release of the PCT for clinical use. By tracking delays and errors, we have been able to measure the effectiveness of automating checks and are using this information to prioritize future development. This project was supported in part by P01CA059827.« less
- ZmPK1: ZmPK1 (Zea mays)

ZmPK1 is a protein kinase found in the plasma membranes of young maize seedlings. In vitro the enzyme will autophosphorylate on serine. ZmPK1 is a potential plant receptor serine/threonine PK but its physiological function is not known. With regard to the domain structure, the extracellular region is related to the self-incompatibility locus (S-locus) glycoproteins of Brassica spp. The Cys-rich region contains 12 cysteines that are conserved between all S-locus related proteins. The protein kinase domain is related to the Raf family and other plant receptor-like protein kinases. ZmPK1 is expressed in the root, mesocotyl and coleoptile of young maize seedlings. The protein is found in plasma membrane-enriched fractions. There is also a low level of mRNA expression detected in the silks.
Export Pioneers in Latin America

Export Pioneers in Latin America analyzes a series of case studies of successful new export activities throughout the region to learn how pioneers jump-start a virtuous process leading to economic transformation. The cases of blueberries in Argentina, avocados in Mexico, and aircraft in Brazil illustrate how an initially successful export activity did not stop with the discovery of a single viable product, but rather continued to evolve. The book explores the conjecture that costly burdens to entrepreneurial self-discovery (due to the deterrent effects of imitation by competitors) have held back potential exporters in post-reform Latin America. It also considers the conjecture that new export activities are a complex enterprise that can only come to fruition when innovative contributions of many actors are somehow provided jointly.
Disputants' Perceptions of Dispute Resolution Procedures: A Longitudinal Empirical Study

Disputants who file claims in civil court have a multitude of procedural options. They can settle via negotiation, mediation, arbitration, trial or a host of other alternatives. To the extent that courts and lawyers want to competently advise disputants about how various procedures might satisfy their needs, legal professionals face the challenge of understanding how disputants initially evaluate their options, and how they perceive procedures after they have experienced them. To date, empirical studies of actual civil disputants have examined their perceptions of procedures almost exclusively after their disputes have ended. Moreover, none of the published research has assessed their perceptions both before and after experiencing a dispute resolution procedure for the same dispute. The relevant research as a whole, then, appears to disregard important ways in which disputants' perceptions might be dynamic. To fill this significant gap in the literature, we present the first pre-experience (ex ante) and post-experience (ex post) longitudinal field study of actual civil disputants. Consistent with previous laboratory research, we found that disputants initially evaluated their options on the basis of the relative control they offered disputants as opposed to third parties. We also found that initial attraction to third party control predicted ex post satisfaction with adjudicative procedures. However, initial attraction to disputant control did not predict ex post satisfaction with nonadjudicative procedures. This pattern suggests that adjudication met disputants' expectations but nonadjudicative procedures failed to do so. Recommendations for court policy and future research are discussed.
Isotopic evidence for the role of plant development on transpiration in deciduous forests of southern United States

[1] We evaluated D/H ratios of soil- and plant-extracted water during the 1997 growing season to assess the influence of temperature, humidity, and rainfall on water distribution in deciduous forests. Three state parks (Chicot in Arkansas; Natchez in Mississippi, and St. Bernard in Louisiana) were identified along a 13.5-cm precipitation gradient established during the studied growing season within the Mississippi River basin. Samples were collected for isotopic determinations from five to six species at each site early (March) and late (June) in the growing season. To capture the isotopic variability in water sources, samples of rainwater, groundwater, and soil water were collected. Isotopic results for rainwater showed an average increase of 4% from March to June. This increase did not transfer to soil water: soil water dD values throughout the growing season showed values close to those measured for March rainwater. In contrast, leaf water showed dD values that were 15% to 20% higher in March compared to June dD values. Elevated March dD values in leaf water were observed in virtually all species at the three sites. Change in leaf water dD value during the growing season was not correlated with precipitation rate, temperature, humidity, or changes in atmospheric water vapor isotopic composition. We propose that this widespread March isotopic enrichment resulted from enhanced evaporative demand induced by accelerated plant growth early in the growing season. This suggestion implies a decoupling of environmental factors and plant response, pointing to the important role of plant developmental timing in ecosystem functioning. INDEX TERMS: 1851 Hydrology: Plant ecology; 0315 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions; 1655 Global Change: Water cycles (1836); 1818 Hydrology: Evapotranspiration; KEYWORDS: hydrogen isotopes, evaporation, hydrological cycle, soil water, deuterium
Distributed-Software Engineering

Distributed software engineering is an area of software engineering that is concerned with the development and the maintenance of reliable software for distributed systems. These systems are characterized by the presence of units that can be executed in parallel with respect to each other. In addition, these units communicate with one another by passing messages over a communication network rather than by sharing structures stored in common areas of memory. Keywords: temporal logic; process algebra; design issues; task partitioning; task allocation; programming language; testing; analysis; error issues
The Restructuring of Dakota Growers Pasta Company

The decision discussed in this case is to examine the advantages and disadvantages of restructuring Dakota Growers Pasta. Cookâ€™s life cycle taxonomy of cooperatives is used to explain how the cooperative moved throughout its life until it restructured as a closely-held organization. The organization does not appear to have changed greatly in its operation since the conversion.
Glare from automobile rear-vision mirrors

Four studies were carried out to measure disability and discomfort glare from automotive rear-view mirrors. The results of the first three studies, which were concerned with disability effects, indicated that there are significant losses in forward visibility even at glare levels associated with low-beam headlamps. The last study measured comfort levels and showed that drivers rated even moderate glare levels uncomfortable, especially if they were exposed to them for a relatively long period of time. The implications of these findings for headlamp design are discussed.
Assisted suicide, recent judicial decisions, and implications for critical care nurses

The passage of the Oregon Death With Dignity Act on November 8, 1994, heralded a wake-up call for healthcare professionals. Oregon, the first state to systematically "ration care" was thought to be a fertile ground for testing new and, some say, radical concepts in healthcare and government. Although the act was not implemented because it was tied up in legal action until February 1997, the fact that more than 50% of the voters in Oregon voted for it mandates that healthcare providers listen to their patients. Patients want more control of their pain, the way they die, and the resources spent on their care in the final days of their lives. Thoughts of future suffering engender great fear on the part of healthcare consumers. Concern exists that physician-assisted suicide in the ICU will affect not only physicians but also nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, and other clinicians as terminally ill patients make requests for assisted suicide while in the acute and critical care setting of the hospital. Critical care nurses must examine their value systems, review the Code for Nurses, and make their own decisions about participation in deliberately ending lives of patients. With the impending Supreme Court decision due in July 1997, the court may leave these issues to the individual states, opening the door for assisted suicide to occur throughout the United States. Therefore, the possibility will remain that critical care nurses may be put in positions in which physicians are providing assistance to patients who wish to commit suicide and are requesting nurses' assistance to do so.
Temperature-dependent kinetic measurements and quasi-classical trajectory studies for the OH(+) + H2/D2 → H2O(+)/HDO(+) + H/D reactions.

We have measured the temperature-dependent kinetics for the reactions of OH+ with H2 and D2 using a selected ion flow tube apparatus. Reaction occurs via atom abstraction to result in H2O+/HDO+ + H/D. Room temperature rate coefficients are in agreement with prior measurements and resulting temperature dependences are T0.11 for the hydrogen and T0.25 for the deuterated reactions. This work is prompted in part by recent theoretical work that mapped a full-dimensional global potential energy surface of H3O+ for the OH+ + H2 → H + H2O+ reaction [A. Li and H. Guo, J. Phys. Chem. A 118, 11168 (2014)], and reported results of quasi-classical trajectory calculations, which are extended to a wider temperature range and initial rotational state specification here. Our experimental results are in excellent agreement with these calculations which accurately predict the isotope effect in addition to an enhancement of the reaction rate constant due to the molecular rotation of OH+. The title reaction is of high importance to astrophysical models, and the temperature dependence of the rate coefficients determined here should now allow for better understanding of this reaction at temperatures more relevant to the interstellar medium.
Abstract 3492: A next generation sequencing biopsy protocol

Background Sampling metastatic tumor sites, especially bone, can be challenging, at times yielding suboptimal tissue even for diagnosis. With introduction of next generation sequencing (NGS) in cancer care, high quality genomic material is required. The following is our multi-disciplinary approach to validate an effective biopsy protocol and tissue processing that generates superior samples for clinical and research application. Design After informed consent as part of an IRB approved protocol, image-guided biopsies of metastatic sites were performed on 42 consecutive cancer patients. Novel interventional radiology tools were implemented on a case-by case basis (i.e. OnControl drill for sclerotic bone metastases). Fresh tissue was transported on wet ice to Pathology. After gross examination, a photograph was taken and tissue was placed on Tissue Tek™ OCT, frozen in isopentane/dry ice combination to avoid freeze artifact. An HE 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 3492. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-3492
In silico simulation of biological network dynamics

Realistic simulation of biological networks requires stochastic simulation approaches because of the small numbers of molecules per cell. The high computational cost of stochastic simulation on conventional microprocessor-based computers arises from the intrinsic disparity between the sequential steps executed by a microprocessor program and the highly parallel nature of information flow within biochemical networks. This disparity is reduced with the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA)-based approach presented here. The parallel architecture of FPGAs, which can simulate the basic reaction steps of biological networks, attains simulation rates at least an order of magnitude greater than currently available microprocessors.
Substance Use and Mental Health Disorders Among Heterosexual Identified Men and Women Who Have Same-Sex Partners or Same-Sex Attraction: Results from the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions

This study examined sexual orientation discordance, a mismatch between self-reported sexual identity and sexual behavior or sexual attraction, by describing the characteristics, substance use disorders, and mental health risks of heterosexual identified individuals who endorsed this pattern of sexual identification, behavior, and attraction. Using data from the National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), we created three groups based on participants’ reported sexual identity and either their sexual behavior or sexual attraction: heterosexual concordant, homosexual concordant, and heterosexual discordant. Bivariate models assessed the relationship of discordant status and demographic correlates, lifetime substance use disorders, and mental health diagnoses. Logistic regression models tested associations between both behavior discordance and attraction discordance and the likelihood of having lifetime disorders of substance use, major depression, and generalized anxiety. Results of this study provided evidence of varying levels of substance use and mental health disorder risk by gender, discordance status, and discordance type. Behavioral discordance was associated with increased risk of mental health and substance use disorder among women (compared to heterosexual concordance). Findings among men were less consistent with heightened risk of alcohol and inhalant use only. Attraction discordance was notably different from behavioral discordance. The odds of substance use and mental health disorders were the same or lower compared with both the heterosexual and homosexual concordance groups. Future research should begin to test theoretical explanations for these differences.
Ab Initio Quality Electrostatic Atomic and Molecular Properties Including Intermolecular Energies from a Transferable Theoretical Pseudoatom Databank

The development of a theoretical databank of transferable pseudoatoms for fast prediction of the electron densities and related electronic properties of proteins is described. Chemically unique pseudoatoms identified on the basis of common connectivity and bonding are extracted from ab initio molecular densities of a large number of small molecules using a least-squares projection technique in Fourier transform space. The performance of the databank is evaluated by comparison of the electron densities and electrostatic properties of the amino acids GLN, SER, and LEU and their dimers with those obtained from molecular calculations on the same test compounds. It is found that deformation density bond peaks are reproduced to within 0.02−0.10 e/A3, whereas electrostatic potentials, bond critical point indices, atomic charges, and molecular moments show differences with results from calculations performed directly on the test molecules which are comparable with or smaller than the spread of the values between ...
Functions of Crop Yield from Applied Water

Although there is no unique crop water production function (yield vs. applied water), curves of general functional relationships have utility and are commonly presented in the litterature. Some crop production functions used in research and practice are assumed to be linear. Other functions are assumed to be quadratic, or less frequently some other non-linear form. Though these functions may be adequate for the purpose for chich they are used, they do not always produce a realistic shape. As the need to know and display the correct shape of the function becomes greater, an improved mathematical expression of the function is required (...)
Using Neural Measures of Economic Value to Solve the Public Goods Free-Rider Problem

Every social group needs to decide when to provide public goods and how to allocate the costs among its members. Ideally, this decision would maximize the group’s net benefits while also ensuring that every individual’s benefit is greater than the cost he or she has to pay. Unfortunately, the economic theory of mechanism design has shown that this ideal solution is not feasible when the group leadership does not know the values of the individual group members for the public good. We show that this impossibility result can be overcome in laboratory settings by combining technologies for obtaining neural measures of value (functional magnetic resonance imaging–based pattern classification) with carefully designed institutions that allocate costs based on both reported and neurally measured values.
Regional chemotherapy of colorectal cancer.

Abstract Hepatic metastases are a major cause of mortality in patients with colorectal carcinoma. The rationale for hepatic arterial chemotherapy has an anatomical and pharmacological basis as presented below. The randomised studies are reviewed and demonstrate a significantly higher response rate with hepatic arterial therapy versus systemic therapy. Survival information is difficult to evaluate because some of the studies are small, and some had a crossover design, but two studies demonstrate a significant improvement in 2-year survival after hepatic arterial therapy compared with systemic therapy. New combinations of 5-fluoro-2-deoxyuridine with dexamethasone and/ or leucovorin have produced response rates as high as 72%, median survivals of 22–27 months, and a 2-year survival of 66%. More recent studies on patients who have failed previous systemic chemotherapy have produced response rates around 50%. Hepatic toxicity, especially biliary sclerosis, is the dose limiting toxicity, occurring in 6–25% of patients. To truly define the role of regional therapy, a more accurate randomised study will have to be conducted, to determine if hepatic arterial infusion improves the quality of life and, or survival in patients with hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer.
Joint Pricing and Platform Configuration in Product Family Design With Genetic Algorithm

Manufacturers add numerous product variants to address different customer preferences for mass customization. One approach to implement the mass customization is to develop or produce products based on the platform architecture. A platform is a set of common components, modules or parts shared by product variants in one product family. One product variant makes use of the platform as the starting point and then add or remove components to change features of the product. The problem of determining the platform configuration is considered as maximizing the overall profit under the price-dependent demand market environment while satisfying the part assembly constraints. Platform configuration and sale prices are decision variables in the problem. A strategy based on Genetic Algorithm is proposed to solve the illustrating problem involving the product family of cordless drills. Results manifest that the sale price decision could have significant influence on the product family design, e.g. the platform configuration and the profitability of one product family.© 2009 ASME
Planet detection in visible light with a single aperture telescope and nulling coronagraph

Abstract This paper describes the latest progress for visible dir ect detection of Earth like extr asolar planets using a nullingcoronagraph instrument behind a 4m class telescope. Such a system is capable of satisfying the scientific objectives ofthe Terrestrial Planet Finder mission In our design, a 4 be am nulling interferometer is synthesized from the telescopepupil, producing a very deep null proportional to T 4 which is then filtered by a coherent array of single mode fibers tosuppress the residual scattered light. With diffraction limited telescope optics and similar quality components in theoptical train ( O /20), suppression of the starlight to 10 -10 is achievable. Such a telescope with this nulling interferometer as back-end instrument can image and detect planets, or provide the in put to a low resolution spectrometer. Shown are keyfeatures of this system in a space mission, latest results of laboratory measurements demonstrating achievable null depth,and progress toward fabrication of co herent single mode fiber arrays.
A soil-borne virus associated with the corky ringspot disease of potato.

A SAP-TRANSMISSIBLE rod-shaped virus which is carried in the soil has been recovered from corky ringspot-affected Sebago potato tubers and from a certain percentage of potato plants produced from diseased tubers. The virus has also been recovered from systemically infected potato seedlings, pepper and tobacco when these plants were grown in the greenhouse in virus-containing loamy fine sand soil, obtained from the site of field infection in northern Florida.
Neuropeptide Y in the infundibular nucleus and hypophysis of great apes

We studied the distribution of neuropeptide Y (NPY) immunoreactivity in the infundibular nucleus and the hypophysis of the chimpanzee, gorilla, and orangutan. Using antibodies developed in rabbit against synthetic porcine NPY, we found numerous NPY-immunoreactive neuronal somata in the infundibular nucleus; this nucleus was also filled with short NPY-positive processes and an abundance of punctate structures that could be indicative of synaptic terminals. Numerous varicose NPY-positive fibers were concentrated in the upper infundibular stem in association with capillary loops of the portal vasculature and with the long portal vessels. Bundles of long varicose fibers ran down the infundibular stem, some appearing to terminate in the lower stem in the vicinity of short portal vessels. The bulbous infundibular process contained only sparsely distributed fibers; they were mostly concentrated near vessels at the border between the infundibular process and the anterior pituitary gland, where the fibers often terminated in a spray-like fashion near blood vessels. No NPY immunoreactivity was seen in the anterior pituitary gland. These results provide anatomical evidence for the release of NPY into the portal vasculature of great apes.
Trend‐Following Trading Strategies in U.S. Stocks: A Revisit

We show that previous findings regarding the profitability of trend-following trading rules over intermediate horizons in futures markets also extend to individual U.S. stocks. Portfolios formed using technical indicators such as moving average or channel ratios, without employing cross-sectional rankings of any kind, tend to perform about as well as the more commonly examined momentum strategies. The profitability of these strategies appears significant, both statistically and economically, through 2007, but evidence of profitability vanishes after 2007. Market-state dependence, while clearly present, does not explain the post-2007 reduction in returns to these strategies.
Evidence for the role of 2-hydroxychromene-2-carboxylate isomerase in the degradation of anthracene by Sphingomonas yanoikuyae B1

Sphingomonas yanoikuyae B1 is extremely versatile in its catabolic ability. An insertional mutant strain, S. yanoikuyae EK504, which is unable to grow on naphthalene due to the loss of 2-hydroxychromene-2-carboxylate isomerase activity, was utilized to investigate the role of this enzyme in the degradation of anthracene by S. yanoikuyae B1. Although EK504 is unable to grow on anthracene, this strain could transform anthracene to some extent. A metabolite in the degradation of anthracene by EK504 was isolated by high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and was identified as 6,7-benzocoumarin by UV-visible, gas-chromatographic, HPLC/mass-spectrometric, and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectral techniques. The identification of 6,7-benzocoumarin provides direct chemical and genetic evidence for the involvement of nahD in the degradation of anthracene by S. yanoikuyae B1.
The lift of a cylinder executing rotary motions in a uniform flow

The mean lift coefficient of a circular cylinder executing rotary motions in a uniform flow is investigated. These motions include steady rotation, and rotary oscillations with a net rotation rate. Results for the steadily rotating cylinder show that for a given rotation rate, larger cylinder aspect ratios yield higher lift coefficients. It was also found that the addition of forced rotary oscillations to the steady rotation of the cylinder increases the lift coefficient in the cases where the wake would normally be separated in the steadily rotating case, but decreases it otherwise. In addition, a method for estimating the mean lift of a rotating cylinder is presented. Estimates based on this method compare favourably with similar data published for steadily rotating cylinders.
Development and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry method for the determination of artemether and its active metabolite dihydroartemisinin in human plasma.

Abstract To study the pharmacokinetic profile of artemether in children and in the context of antiviral drugs for HIV infected patients co-infected with malaria, an LC-MS/MS method was developed and validated to simultaneously determine artemether and its metabolite dihydroartemisinin in human plasma. Using artemisinin as the internal standard, 0.5 mL samples were processed with solid phase extraction (Waters Oasis ® HLB column), the elutes were directly injected onto a C 18 LC column (Waters, Symmetry ® , 150 mm × 4.6 mm, 5 μm). Mass detection utilized ESI + as the ionization mode and MRM as the quantitation mode. In respect to the low ionization capacity of artemether, ammonium formate was added to the LC mobile phase to facilitate ionization (M+NH 4 + ). The calibration range was 2–200 ng/mL. The recovery was 73–81% for artemether and 90–99% for dihydroartemisinin. The validated method was applied to analysis of clinical samples with results in good agreement with an existing method.
Child Care Subsidy and Program Quality Revisited

Research Findings: Previous research has documented conflicting results on the relationship between program quality and the percentage of children receiving subsidized child care (subsidy density) in early childhood centers. This research examined the relationship between subsidy density and the quality of infant and preschool classrooms in child care centers, taking into consideration teacher education and salary as well as other structural variables associated with quality. A multimethod evaluation was conducted with 110 child care centers utilizing an interview of center directors as well as classroom observations using standardized measures of quality and language/literacy in the classroom. Regression analyses indicate that subsidy density does not predict the quality of infant classrooms. However, subsidy density is a significant predictor of the quality of preschool classrooms. Teacher education is predictive of some quality indicators, but teacher salary is not. Practice or Policy: Practice and pol...
Cerebrospinal fluid chromogranin A is unchanged in Alzheimer dementia

Several lines of evidence link chromogranin A (CgA), the major soluble protein in catecholamine storage vesicles, with the cholinergic nervous system, abnormalities of which may play a central role in memory deficits in Alzheimer dementia. Because of reported elevations of CgA in Alzheimer brains and its presence in the senile plaque lesions of such brains, we evaluated the concentration of CgA in cerebrospinal fluid of Alzheimer dementia patients and matched controls. CgA was detectable in each sample, but the results in dementia showed substantial overlap with and no significant (p = 0.55) difference from the results in healthy controls. We conclude that measurement of cerebrospinal fluid CgA offers no diagnostic assistance in Alzheimer dementia.
Overproduction and secretion of free fatty acids through disrupted neutral lipid recycle in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Abstract The production of fuels and chemicals from biorenewable resources is important to alleviate the environmental concerns, costs, and foreign dependency associated with the use of petroleum feedstock. Fatty acids are attractive biomolecules due to the flexibility of their iterative biosynthetic pathway, high energy content, and suitability for conversion into other secondary chemicals. Free fatty acids (FFAs) that can be secreted from the cell are particularly appealing due to their lower harvest costs and straightforward conversion into a broad range of biofuel and biochemical products. Saccharomyces cerevisiae was engineered to overproduce extracellular FFAs by targeting three native intracellular processes. β-oxidation was disrupted by gene knockouts in FAA2, PXA1 and POX1, increasing intracellular fatty acids levels up to 55%. Disruptions in the acyl-CoA synthetase genes FAA1, FAA4 and FAT1 allowed the extracellular detection of free fatty acids up to 490 mg/L. Combining these two disrupted pathways, a sextuple mutant (Δfaa1 Δfaa4 Δfat1 Δfaa2 Δpxa1 Δpox1) was able to produce 1.3 g/L extracellular free fatty acids. Further diversion of carbon flux into neutral lipid droplet formation was investigated by the overexpression of DGA1 or ARE1 and by the co-overexpression of a compatible lipase, TGL1, TGL3 or TGL5. The sextuple mutant overexpressing the diacylglycerol acyltransferase, DGA1, and the triacylglycerol lipase, TGL3, yielded 2.2 g/L extracellular free fatty acids. This novel combination of pathway interventions led to 4.2-fold higher extracellular free fatty acid levels than previously reported for S. cerevisiae.
Design of a lead glass drift calorimeter with MWPC detection

Abstract A drift collection calorimeter having a combined radiator and field shaping structure made of lead glass tubing is described. A high resistance metallic layer is formed by reduction of the lead oxide at the surface of the glass and forms a continuous voltage divider for drift field shaping. The energy resolution of such a calorimeter is modeled, for several configurations, by the Monte Carlo technique.
Power of Some Standard Goodness-of-Fit Tests of Normality against Asymmetric Stable Alternatives

Abstract In this article, we investigate the power of six standard goodness-of-fit tests of normality; several of these are sensitive to departures from normality in both skewness and kurtosis—the omnibus property. The power is estimated through simulation when the alternative is stable with α = 1.0(.3)1.9, β = .00(.25)1.00, and samples are of size n = 10, 20, 50, 100. The goodness-of-fit tests are based on the skewness statistic ✓b 1, the kurtosis statistic b 2, a joint test using ✓b 1 and b 2, the Shapiro-Wilk W, the Studentized range test u, and the D'Agostino D. Our results indicate that the test based on b 2 is generally preferred if n ≥ 50 and |β| ≤ .75. For the remaining configurations of n, α, and β, the test based on ✓b 1 is generally preferred.
Approach to the Patient with Multiple Somatic Symptoms

Patients with multiple and persistent physical symptoms are common in primary care. Collaboration with the patient is critical for effective management. Patients should be actively involved in setting treatment goals and deciding among therapeutic options. Screening and treatment of depression and anxiety disorders is a key component of management. Patients should be educated about how psychosocial stressors and somatic symptoms interact. Somatization can occur among patients with chronic medical conditions, such as cardiovascular disease or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Providers should avoid setting up a dichotomy between mental health and physical causation of symptoms. Twenty percent to 25% of patients with multiple somatic symptoms develop a chronic course of illness. Management should focus on improving functional status and avoiding unnecessary or invasive diagnostic tests and use of potentially addictive medications that increase the risk of iatrogenic complications. Patients with persistent somatic symptoms should have regular follow-up. Somatic symptom burden can be followed with a validated instrument, such as the 8-item Somatic Symptoms Scale.
COLEY'S TOXINS IN PERSPECTIVE

Despite initial hopes, the efficacy of tumour necrosis factor in treating cancer patients has been disappointing. But a more careful selection of patients, and more appropriate treatment, might be fruitful.
Recovery of information on the microstructure of porous/microcracked materials from the effective elastic/conductive properties

Recovery of microstructural information from the effective properties (elastic and conductive) is analyzed. We consider materials with porous/cracked microstructures that are, generally, anisotropic. The extent of uncertainty in such information recovery is discussed. The analysis utilizes an approximate representation of the fourth rank tensor of elastic constants in terms of a certain second rank tensor. This results in a relatively simple theoretical framework, requiring a reduced number of the effective moduli for the information recovery. Applications to geomaterials, to thermal barrier coatings and to the bone tissue are considered.