cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SU-FF-T-176: Dosimetric Effects of Metallic Hip Implants On Image Guided Radiation Therapy

Purpose:Image guided radiation therapy allows us to track the prostate location daily, and to compensate for prostate movement by shifting the treatment isocenter. For patients with metallic hip prostheses, this may result in dosimetric errors due to the presence of high Z materials in the fields. The purpose of this work is to determine whether shifting the isocenter to compensate for prostate motion delivers the proper dose in patients with hip prostheses. Method and Materials: A retrospective study was performed using IMRT plans for five prostate cancer patients with hip prostheses. For each patient, six copies of the contours defining the prostate were created, and shifted 1.5 cm (representing the worst case scenario) in the anterior‐posterior, superior‐inferior, or lateral direction to simulate prostate movement. The dose to the shifted prostate was calculated using the original treatment plan with an isocenter shift corresponding to the change in the prostate position. Results: Without compensating for prostate movement, a 1.5 cm displacement in prostate position has significant dosimetric effects, resulting in an average decrease in the dose delivered to 95% of the prostate (D95%) by 33%. We found that for patients without hip prostheses, shifting the isocenter to track prostate motion reduces the change in D95% to under 1%. The presence of hip prostheses did not have a significant effect, except in a case using lateral beams in a patient with bilateral prostheses. In that particular case, D95% decreased 5% even when an isocenter shift was used to compensate for prostate motion. Conclusion: In IMRTtreatment of prostate cancer, it is possible to compensate for prostate motion by simply shifting the isocenter without creating a new treatment plan, even in patients with hip prostheses. The effect of hip prostheses can be minimized by avoiding beam angles that pass through the prostheses.
Interpretation of vector magnetograph data including magneto-optic effects. I - Azimuth angle of the transverse field

In this paper, the presence of Faraday rotation in measurements of the orientation of a sunspot's transverse magnetic field is investigated. Using observations obtained with the Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC) vector magnetograph, the derived vector magnetic field of a simple, symmetric sunspot is used to calculate the degree of Faraday rotation in the azimuth of the transverse field as a function of wavelength from analytical expressions for the Stokes parameters. These results are then compared with the observed rotation of the field's azimuth which is derived from observations at different wavelengths within the Fei 5250 A spectral line. From these comparisons, we find: the observed rotation of the azimuth is simulated to a reasonable degree by the theoretical formulations if the line-formation parameter ηo is varied over the sunspot; these variations in ηo are substantiated by the line-intensity data; for the MSFC system, Faraday rotation can be neglected for field strengths less than 1800 G and field inclinations greater than 45°; to minimize the effects of Faraday rotation in sunspot umbrae, MSFC magnetograph measurements must be made in the far wings of the Zeeman-sensitive spectral line.
Synergism of DDT effects by DMC on labellar receptors of resistant and susceptible house flies

Abstract Effects of DDT or a mixture of DDT and DMC on the salt response of labellar hairs in DDT-resistant and DDT-susceptible house flies were studied electrophysiologically. The normal regular firing pattern was disrupted by either treatment, with the spikes becoming grouped into trains. The nontoxic analog DMC had no effect on the firing pattern when applied alone. In every case studied, the DDT:DMC mixture produced greater effects than DDT alone over a 30-min observation period. The differences were statistically significant in the moderately resistant Roberds strain and the highly susceptible NAIDM strain using a mixture of 100 ppm DDT:400 ppm DMC. Tests of 100 ppm DDT:100 ppm DMC in the moderately susceptible Stauffer and 100 ppm DDT:200 ppm DMC in the Roberds produced results in the expected direction but they did not reach statistical significance. DMC showed a high degree of synergism in whole-fly application in the Stauffer and Roberds strains and little, if any, in the NAIDM. The synergistic effect of DMC at the site of action may be due to its known inhibitory effect on the enzyme DDT-dehydrochlorinase, or to some as yet unknown factor.
Mechanisms underlying transitional and turbulent boundary layer (TBL) flow-induced noise in underwater acoustics (II)

This research applies dynamical system methods (i.e., Chaos Theory) to the processing of time sequences of transitional and turbulent wall-pressures impinging on the face of station probes mounted along the wall of an axisymmetric body of revolution during a buoyant ascent from the bottom of a deep water test basin. It is demonstrated that the turbulent pressure fluctuations for this experiment can be described as a dynamical system of sufficiently low order (i.e., less than ten degrees of freedom). This opens up several possibilities for the control of turbulence. In underwater acoustics this translates to flow noise reduction in sonar applications and to drag reduction in ship dynamics. Other potential commercial applications include control of flow through pipelines, and aerodynamic design
The role of surgery in abdominal Burkitt's lymphoma

The abdomen is the most frequent site of involvement in nonendemic Burkitt's lymphoma (small noncleaved cell). Some authors have proposed a role for extensive surgical resection or "second look" laparotomy in these patients. We retrospectively reviewed our series of 53 patients with Burkitt's lymphoma (1977 to 1990) to assess the role of surgery in their treatment. Patients were 2.5 to 21 years of age (median, 9.5 years) and 44 were males. The primary site of disease was the abdomen (38), head and neck (12), axilla (1), and bone marrow (2). Twenty-four of the 38 patients with abdominal primaries underwent laparotomy. Twelve of these patients presented with acute abdominal symptoms (right lower quadrant pain or intestinal obstruction) and at exploration underwent resection of the primary tumor. Ten of these 12 patients achieved grossly complete excision of tumor (9 had disease limited to the ileocecal area and adjacent mesentery and one had exophytic tumor adherent to the liver, which was excised). Of note, only 1 of these 12 patients had metastatic disease outside of the abdomen. The remaining 12 patients who underwent laparotomy had an incisional biopsy performed. Of the 14 patients who did not have a laparotomy, the diagnosis was made by bone marrow biopsy (6), and/or cytology of pleural fluid or ascites (6), lymph node biopsy (1), testicular biopsy (1), tibial biopsy (1), and percutaneous biopsy (1). Murphy staging for these 38 patients was: stage II (10), stage III (19), stage IV (5), and B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (4). All patients received cyclophosphamide-containing combination chemotherapy regimens and stage III/IV/B cell ALL patients received central nervous system (CNS) prophylaxis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
How well do evolutionary trees describe genetic relationships among populations

Bifurcating evolutionary trees are commonly used to describe genetic relationships between populations, but may not be appropriate for populations that did not evolve in a hierarchical manner. The degree to which bifurcating trees distort genetic relationships between populations can be quantified with R(2), the proportion the variation in a matrix of genetic distances between populations that is explained by a tree. Computer simulations were used to measure how well the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) and neighbor-joining (NJ) trees depicted population structure for three evolutionary models: a hierarchical model of population fragmentation, a linear stepping-stone model of gene flow and a two-dimensional stepping-stone model of gene flow. These simulations showed that the UPGMA did an excellent job of describing population structure when populations had a bifurcating history of fragmentation, but severely distorted genetic relationships for the linear and two-dimensional stepping-stone models. The NJ algorithm worked well in a broader range of evolutionary histories, including the linear stepping-stone model. A computer program for performing the calculations described in this study is available for download at www.montana.edu/kalinowski.
Searching for experts on the Web: A review of contemporary expertise locator systems

This article presents the role of ontologies and Web mining techniques in the construction and maintenance of experts' profiles. This article also discusses the development of contemporary expertise-locator knowledge management systems and, specifically, the implementation details of two such systems: the Searchable Answer Generating Engine (SAGE), and Expert Seeker. SAGE is a Web-based expertise locator system, which searches for researchers in universities in Florida based on specified criteria, including expertise in a specific domain. Expert Seeker's purpose is to search for experts in one of the best-known knowledge organizations, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Implementation details, results to date, and future plans for these systems are also presented.
A synchronous digital signal processing method for detecting face-to-face organizational communication behavior☆

Abstract During the past decade, progress in research on human communication networks has been impeded by the discovery that self-reports of communication are not valid measures of independently observable behavior. Research on observable communication behavior has since languished because direct measurement of communication behavior by human observers is impractical. This report describes a method for using digital signal analysis of synchronous, independent-channel audio recordings to detect instances of message exchange behavior. The system achieved 95.1% agreement with a human observer in a laboratory test. Considerations for extension to the field are discussed.
Community Resources for Enabling Research in Distributed Scientific Workflows

A significant amount of recent research in scientific workflows aims to develop new techniques, algorithms and systems that can overcome the challenges of efficient and robust execution of ever larger workflows on increasingly complex distributed infrastructures. Since the infrastructures, systems and applications are complex, and their behavior is difficult to reproduce using physical experiments, much of this research is based on simulation. However, there exists a shortage of realistic datasets and tools that can be used for such studies. In this paper we describe a collection of tools and data that have enabled research in new techniques, algorithms, and systems for scientific workflows. These resources include: 1) execution traces of real workflow applications from which workflow and system characteristics such as resource usage and failure profiles can be extracted, 2) a synthetic workflow generator that can produce realistic synthetic workflows based on profiles extracted from execution traces, and 3) a simulator framework that can simulate the execution of synthetic workflows on realistic distributed infrastructures. This paper describes how we have used these resources to investigate new techniques for efficient and robust workflow execution, as well as to provide improvements to the Pegasus Workflow Management System or other workflow tools. Our goal in describing these resources is to share them with other researchers in the workflow research community. All of the tools and data are freely available online for the community at http://www.workflowarchive.org. These data have already been leveraged for a number of studies.
Long-term renal function in type I diabetics after kidney or kidney-pancreas transplantation: influence of number, timing, and treatment of acute rejection episodes.

Background. Previous studies comparing renal function in diabetic subjects receiving either a kidney or kidney-pancreas transplant generally have indicated no differences; however, these studies have been limited by inclusion of either a small number of patients or selected patients followed for relatively short periods of time. Methods. To compare long-term renal function and factors affecting renal function in type I diabetic patients receiving either kidney or kidney-pancreas transplants, the slopes of regression lines generated by plotting the reciprocal of serum creatinine (1/Cr) versus time were measured in 109 consecutive patients followed for at least 12 and up to 102 months after transplantation. Multivariate analyses included linear regression using the slope of 1/Cr versus time as the dependent variable and logistic regression using a positive or negative slope as the dependent variable. Results. Significant differences between kidney-pancreas (n=64) and kidney recipients (n=45) included a smaller proportion of African-Americans, lower rates of HLA matching, lower levels of panel-reactive antibodies, shorter cold ischemia times, a lower incidence of delayed graft function, and a higher incidence of acute renal allograft rejection episodes in the kidney-pancreas group. Trough cyclosporine blood levels were significantly higher in the kidney-pancreas group for the first 12 posttransplant months. The slopes of 1/Cr versus time were negative in each group with a trend toward a more negative slope in the kidney-pancreas group. Multivariate analyses indicated that a concomitant pancreas allograft did not influence long-term renal function. The total number of renal rejection episodes was the best independent predictor of a negative slope of 1/Cr versus time. However, use of OKT3 for the treatment of rejection within the first 3 months of transplantation exerted a surprisingly beneficial effect on long-term renal function, a phenomenon that was most apparent in the kidney-alone group. Conclusions. The frequency and timing of acute rejection episodes are more important than the influence of a simultaneously transplanted pancreatic allograft in determining long-term function of the transplanted kidney. A concerning trend toward late deterioration of renal function in kidney-pancreas recipients suggests that the benefits of sustained eugly-cemia, shorter cold ischemia times, lower rates of sensitization, and early use of OKT3 ultimately may be outweighed by the negative effects of more frequent renal rejection episodes.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid Relatedness Among Species of the "Streptomyces cyaneus" Cluster

Summary The genetic diversity among strains in the phenetically defined “Streptomyces cyaneus” cluster was evaluated by DNA hybridization. The DNA relatedness data support the reduction of the blue-spored species S. bellus and S. curacoi to synonomy with S. coeruleorubidus, and the red-spored species S. afghaniensis, S. janthinus, S. roseoviolaceus, and S. violatus to synonymy with S. purpurascens. Most of the strains in this phenetic cluster exhibit DNA relatedness 40% with the other strains in the cluster, providing genetic evidence in support of the species group or sibling species concept. S. cyaneus is one of the most genetically distant strains in the cluster, exhibiting only low, genus-background relatedness to the other strains. Emended descriptions of Streptomyces coeruleorubidus and Streptomyces purpurascens are given.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BULK AND SURFACE PROPERTIES OF RUTILE TiO2(110)

We report scanning tunneling microscopy and complementary spectroscopic measurements on TiO2(110) surfaces. We show data on (i) a surface restructuring process that results from annealing in oxygen; (ii) Pt clusters, grown at room temperature and encapsulated upon high temperature annealing; and (iii) adsorption of sulfur. In each case, heavily reduced, dark crystals show a very different behavior than more stoichiometric, light blue ones.
THz Magneto-photoresponse of an InAs-based quantum point contact in the region of cyclotron resonance

We have studied the THz magneto-photoresponse of a 2DEG in an InAs quantum well with an embedded Quantum Point Contact in the frequency/field region where electron cyclotron resonance (CR) dominates the response. The photoresponse near CR is manifested as an envelope of the amplitude of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations of the 2DEG with a peak near the CR field. Clear spin-splitting of the quantum oscillations is observed for B > 4 T. Data were simulated by a model of resonant carrier heating, and from the simulations the carrier density, the CR effective mass, scattering times and the g-factor were obtained. We find a significantly enhanced g-factor apparently due to exchange interaction.
A revised Self- and Family Management Framework

Abstract Background Research on self- and family management of chronic conditions has advanced over the past 6 years, but the use of simple frameworks has hampered the understanding of the complexities involved. Purpose We sought to update our previously published model with new empirical, synthetic, and theoretical work. Methods We used synthesis of previous studies to update the framework. Discussion We propose a revised framework that clarifies facilitators and barriers, processes, proximal outcomes, and distal outcomes of self- and family management and their relationships. Conclusions We offer the revised framework as a model that can be used in studies aimed at advancing self- and family management science. The use of the framework to guide studies would allow for the design of studies that can address more clearly how self-management interventions work and under what conditions.
Size- and scale-dependent chemical attraction contribute to an ontogenetic shift in sociality.

Abstract Caribbean spiny lobsters, Panulirus argus , reside solitarily during the first months postsettlement, but shift to gregarious shelter use in later juvenile stages, at sizes as small as 15 mm in carapace length. To determine whether receptivity to or production of a chemical attractant among spiny lobster conspecifics is dependent upon body size or spatial scale, we conducted a series of overnight Y-maze shelter choice experiments. We placed a test lobster in an experimental arena and allowed it to choose between two shelters, which differed only in that water flowing by one shelter contained sea water that had passed through a header tank containing a conspecific. We varied the size of the lobster in the arena, the size and number of lobsters in the header tank, and the size of the experimental arena. Lobsters of all sizes tested released odours that attracted conspecifics; however, a single small lobster could attract other conspecifics only in the small arena. Lobsters greater than 15 mm in carapace length were attracted to shelters from which conspecific odours were emanating, while smaller lobsters were not. The results of this study suggest that: (1) the earliest benthic stages (less than 15 mm in carapace length) are unresponsive to conspecific odours, but lobsters greater than 15 mm in carapace length are attracted by conspecific odours; and (2) large lobsters produce a sufficient quantity of scent to attract conspecifics over distances of at least a few metres, whereas small lobsters (15–30 mm in carapace length) cannot. Body size- and spatial scale-dependent attraction could contribute to the shift from solitary to gregarious shelter use among Caribbean spiny lobsters.
Political beliefs and subjective indicators of quality of life

A recent article by Buttel et al. argued that the subjective satisfaction of individual respondents with their personal lives may be related to their political ideological beliefs. Employing survey data collected in Wisconsin in 1974 they demonstrated a significant linkage between total life satisfaction and political cynicism. This paper proceeds to reanalyze their results, employing 1972 election data collected by the Survey Research Center. The paper argues that one must differentiate a standard measure of political cynicism from the type of measure employed in the Buttel et al. work. For the standard measure of political cynicism no linkage was found with total life satisfaction, but for a personal measure that was similar to the one employed in the Buttel et al. article there was a relationship. The previous results suggest that the findings of the Buttel et al. article were brought about by the unique manner in which they defined political cynicism.
Multiple Scattering, Parton Energy Loss and Modified Fragmentation Functions in Deeply Inelastic eA Scattering

Modified quark fragmentation functions in deeply inelastic $\mathrm{eA}$ collisions and their QCD evolution equations are derived for the first time in the framework of multiple parton scattering. Induced radiation gives rise to additional terms in the evolution equations and thus softens the modified quark fragmentation functions. The results in the next-leading-twist depend on both diagonal and off-diagonal twist-four parton distributions and the combination of which clearly manifests the LPM interference pattern. The predicted modification depends quadratically on the nuclear size ( ${A}^{2/3}$). Generalization to the case of hot QCD medium is also discussed.
Laser shock peening on fatigue crack growth behaviour of aluminium alloy

The effect of laser shock peening (LPS) in the fatigue crack growth behaviour of a 2024-T3 aluminium alloy with various notch geometries was investigated. LPS was performed under a 'confined ablation mode' using an Nd: glass laser at a laser power density of 5 GW cm -2 . A black paint coating layer and water layer was used as a sacrificial and plasma confinement layer, respectively. The shock wave propagates into the material, causing the surface layer to deform plastically, and thereby, develop a residual compressive stress at the surface. The residual compressive stress as a function of depth was measured by X-ray diffraction technique. The fatigue crack initiation life and fatigue crack growth rates of an Al alloy with different preexisting notch configurations were characterized and compared with those of the unpeened material. The results clearly show that LSP is an effective surface treatment technique for suppressing the fatigue crack growth of Al alloys with various preexisting notch configurations.
Anti-Cancer Actions of Denosumab

Denosumab works by binding to and inhibiting receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL). Through this mechanism, it can inhibit any cause of bone destruction and thus shows great efficacy in high-turnover osteoporosis. The FREEDOM (Fracture Reduction Evaluation of Denosumab in Osteoporosis Every 6 Months) trial established the effectiveness of denosumab as a therapy for menopausal bone loss, whereas several newer trials have found denosumab to have shown denosumab to be beneficial in preventing skeletal events from bone metastases. This review highlights the potential novel anti-cancer mechanisms of action of denosumab in mammary tumors.
Effect of genetic disruption of poly (ADP-ribose) synthetase on delayed production of inflammatory mediators and delayed necrosis during myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury.

ABSTRACT—The nuclear enzyme poly (ADP ribose) synthetase (PARS) has been shown to play an important role in the pathogenesis of various forms of ischemia or reperfusion injury and circulatory shock. Recent studies demonstrated that inhibition or genetic inactivation of PARS is beneficial in the earl
TEXTURE OF FROZEN FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

This review discusses factors responsible for the texture of fruits and vegetables and the changes brought about by freezing. It describes some of the early work on frozen food texture, as well as the more recent studies of cryogenic and other rapid freezing methods. The effects of storage and cooking on texture are also considered.
Shock tube technique for measuring opacities at high pressures for gaseous-core nuclear rockets

A new method of opacity determination is described that uses an improved shock tube design and is applicable to measurements of Planck and Rosseland mean opacities in hydrogen or seeded hydrogen at hydrogen partial pressures of 500 atm, at temperatures from 2300 to 8000 K. The selection of seed materials to be added to the gases to make them semiopaque is discussed. Currently favored seeds are silicon and carbon or graphite for reactive seeds, and depleted uranium and tungsten 184 for nonreactive seeds.
Two- and three-dimensional magnetoinductive particle codes with guiding center electron motion

Abstract A magnetoinductive (Darwin) particle simulation model developed for examinig low frequency plasma behavior with large time steps is presented. Electron motion perpendicular to the magnetic field is treated as massless keeping only the guiding center motion. Electron motion parallel to the magnetic field retains full inertial effects as does the ion motion. This model has been implemented in two and three dimensions. Computational tests of the equilibrium properties of the code are compared with linear theory and the flunctuation dissipation theorem. This code has been applied to the problems of Alfven wave resonance heating and twist-kink modes.
Identification of testis‐specific ubiquitin‐conjugating enzyme in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis

The ubiquitin-proteasome system is known to play a key role in fertilization in ascidians, sea urchins, and mammals. To obtain insights into the ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (Ube2) involved in reproductive systems, we systematically explored Ube2 enzymes expressed in the testis of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Here, we report cDNA cloning and characterization of a novel type of Ube2r (Ci0100152677) that is capable of making a thiolester bond with ubiquitin. Northern analysis, whole-mount in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry indicate that this enzyme is exclusively expressed in the testis, mainly in the germ cells during the late stage of spermatogenesis, and is localized in the sperm head and tail, suggesting possible participation in fertilization or spermatogenesis/spermiogenesis.
Reply to Dr. Chacko

to the editor: We are writing this letter in response to Dr. Chacko's second letter to the editor ([1][1]). It was not our intent to devalue her opinions with our rebuttal to her first letter. We fully respect and value her opinions, and it was our intention to respond to her remarks with our own
Fatty acids of the ameboid sperm of Ascaris suum (nematoda)

Abstract 1. 1. Total lipids were extracted from the ameboid sperm of Ascaris suum and separated into neutral, glyco- and polar lipid fractions by silicic acid column chromatography and preparative TLC. 2. 2. The fatty acid composition of fractions was determined by gas-liquid chromatographic (GLC) analysis of fatty acid methyl esters. 3. 3. Six saturated: (12:0, 14:0, 16:0, 18:0, 20:0, 22:0) and sixteen unsaturated (14:1, 14:2, 16:1, 16:2, 18:1, 18:2, 20:1, 20:2, 20:4, 20:5, 22:1, 22:3, 22:4, 22:5, 22:6, 24:1) fatty acids were identified in the sperm extract. One saturated (18:0; 12%) and five unsaturated (18:1, 18:2, 20:1, 20:2, 22:1; 74%) fatty acids represented 86% of the total. 4. 4. The major neutral lipid component of the sperm migrated as a free fatty acid when analyzed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). This component was purified by preparative TLC; GLC analysis indicated that it contained five major fatty acids identified as 18:0, 18:1, 18:2, 20:1 and 20:2.
RRT ∗ -Smart: Rapid convergence implementation of RRT ∗ towards optimal solution

Rapidly Exploring Random Tree (RRT) is one of the quickest and the most efficient obstacle free path finding algorithm. However, it cannot guarantee finding the most optimal path. A recently proposed extension of RRT, known as Rapidly Exploring Random Tree Star (RRT∗), claims to achieve convergence towards the optimal solution but has been proven to take an infinite time to do so and with a slow convergence rate. To overcome these limitations, we propose an extension of RRT∗, called RRT∗-Smart, which aims to accelerate its rate of convergence and to reach an optimum or near optimum solution at a much faster rate and at a reduced execution time. Our novel algorithm inculcates two new techniques in RRT∗: these are path optimization and intelligent sampling. Simulation results presented in various obstacle cluttered environments confirm the efficiency of RRT∗-Smart.
Renal trauma in multiple-injured child

Between 1959 and 1981, 251 renal injuries occurred in 248 children up to the age of sixteen years. Of the 36 children with renal laceration, rupture, or pedicle injury, 35 (97%) had associated injuries; 31 of these children (89%) with associated injuries required an immediate laparotomy by general surgeons for intra-abdominal injury. Immediate surgical management was performed on 27 severe renal injuries and resulted in nephrectomy in 3 of 20 renal lacerations (15%), in 4 of 4 ruptures (100%), and in 1 of 3 pedicle injuries (33%). Two of the 3 pedicle injuries (67%) had immediate repair with salvage of the kidney. Conservative management was carried out in 10 severe renal injuries. Delayed renal surgery was required in 3 cases (30%) and total renal loss (nephrectomy plus main renal artery injury) occurred in 5 of the 10 cases (50%). The severe degrees of renal injury did not all settle by themselves. Immediate surgical management of the patient with a severe renal injury resulted in a nephrectomy rate comparable with that of conservatively managed renal injuries.
NICE: Network Introspection by Collaborating Endpoints

NICE, or Network Introspection by Collaborating Endpoints, is a research project that explores novel approaches to network discovery and topology mapping in enterprise networks. The goal of NICE is to develop and demonstrate a capability for mapping networks without relying on traditional network management tools and protocols (such as SNMP), which presume some knowledge of the network topology a priori and require administrative credentials to managed network devices in order to collect their data. NICE targets the security administrator - who does not have either the knowledge or authority to manage the network infrastructure - as opposed to the network administrator. The security administrator does have authority to manage client security software on every managed endpoint. By leveraging this presence on the endpoints, NICE attempts to extract the security-relevant network information that the security administrator needs in order to prevent, ameliorate, and respond to security incidents. The NICE project consists of research and development in multiple areas. NICE uses low-level network switch properties to locate and map all the switches on a subnet and then associate rogue systems with specific physical switches. NICE also captures a wealth of information about rogue systems, authorized systems/devices, and topology simply by listening to broadcast traffic. Lastly, NICE explores techniques for having pairs of endpoints talk across the network to infer the presence of intermediate devices and processing. We have produced a NICE integrated system prototype addressing these research areas and conducted some experimentation to evaluate the effectiveness and scalability of the approach.
Predicting drug-drug interactions: an FDA perspective

Pharmacokinetic drug interactions can lead to serious adverse events, and the evaluation of a new molecular entity’s drug–drug interaction potential is an integral part of drug development and regulatory review prior to its market approval. Alteration of enzyme and/or transporter activities involved in the absorption, distribution, metabolism, or excretion of a new molecular entity by other concomitant drugs may lead to a change in exposure leading to altered response (safety or efficacy). Over the years, various in vitro methodologies have been developed to predict drug interaction potential in vivo. In vitro study has become a critical first step in the assessment of drug interactions. Well-executed in vitro studies can be used as a screening tool for the need for further in vivo assessment and can provide the basis for the design of subsequent in vivo drug interaction studies. Besides in vitro experiments, in silico modeling and simulation may also assist in the prediction of drug interactions. The recent FDA draft drug interaction guidance highlighted the in vitro models and criteria that may be used to guide further in vivo drug interaction studies and to construct informative labeling. This report summarizes critical elements in the in vitro evaluation of drug interaction potential during drug development and uses a case study to highlight the impact of in vitro information on drug labeling.
Effects of spontaneous ischemia on aerobic metabolism of cortical and medullary homogenates of dog kidney.

SummarySpontaneous ischemia of the kidney has been reported in dogs subsequent to anesthesia and/or surgical trauma. This phenomenon can be characterized as having a differential effect on intrarenal aerobic metabolism. Washed homogenates of cortical and medullary tissue were prepared from nonischemic and ischemic kidneys. The rates of O2 consumption, α-KG utilization, and P1 disappearance were the same in cortical homogenates of ischemic and nonischemic kidneys. Each of these rates was significantly lower in medullary homogenates of ischemic kidneys than in nonischemic kidneys. Cortical homogenates that were stressed secondarily by acute aging had rates of O2 consumption, α-KG utilization, and P1 disappearance that were below that of fresh homogenates. The changes in metabolism cannot be explained by changes that were observed in the activities of MDH and ICDH.
The effect of crack face contact on the anisotropic effective moduli of microcrack damaged media

The generalized self-consistent method (GSCM) in conjunction with a computational finite element method is used to calculate the anisotropic effective moduli of a medium containing damage consisting of microcracks with an arbitrary degree of alignment. Since cracks respond differently under different external loads, the moduli of the medium subjected to tension, compression and an initially stress-free state are evaluated and shown to be significantly different, which will further affect the wave speed inside the damaged media. There are four independent material moduli for a 2-D plane stress orthotropic medium in tension or compression, and seven independent material moduli for a 2-D plane stress orthotropic cracked medium, which is initially stress free. When friction exists, it further changes the effective moduli. Numerical methods are used to take into account crack face contact and friction. The wave slowness profiles for microcrack damaged media are plotted using the predicted effective material moduli.
Multidisciplinary treatment of biliary tract cancers

Ninety-six patients referred for radiation therapy to Washington University affiliated institutions with tumors of the extrahepatic biliary tree form the basis of this report. Patients were examined with regard to demographic factors, tumor primary site, presenting symptoms, methods of diagnosis, and methods of management. The median survival of all 96 patients in this series was 11 months. There was no significant difference between patients with gallbladder cancer and patients with cancer of the biliary ductal system. There was a statistically significant improvement in survival in those patients undergoing resection as management or as a component of the management of their tumors (P = 0.02). Patients receiving > 4,000 cGy of radiation therapy had an improved survival compared to those patients receiving < or = 4,000 cGy of radiation therapy (P = 0.003). While surgical resection improved survival for those patients undergoing removal of all gross tumor, this effect was noted especially in patients with gallbladder cancer.
Formation and pathways of intermediate water in the Parallel Ocean Circulation Model's Southern Ocean

[1] The formation mechanisms and pathways of intermediate water in the Southern Ocean are analyzed from output of a high-resolution ocean general circulation model. Deep winter mixed layer formation in the Southern Ocean is diagnosed from the model results and is found to be mostly consistent with observations. Diapycnal water mass transformations by air-sea fluxes and internal mixing are quantified and split into mean and eddy components. The diapycnal formation of the water masses that constitute the Antarctic intermediate water layer in the southeast Pacific is found to occur mainly in the western Pacific Ocean in this model. In winter, convection up to 900 m is found to set the potential vorticity characteristics of this layer. Eddy fluxes of heat and buoyancy play an important role in the formation of the intermediate waters by transferring water from the southern parts of the subtropical gyres into the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and vice versa. The effects of eddy fluxes are found to vary significantly along the path of the ACC. They are strongly concentrated in the regions near the Agulhas Return Current in the Indian Ocean and the Brazil-Malvinas Confluence in the Atlantic.
Multi-layered fuzzy behavior fusion for real-time control of systems with many sensors

A modular architecture for real-time fuzzy mapping of sensors to control signals is presented. The function is broken down into multiple agents, each of which samples a subset of a large sensor input space. Additional fuzzy agents are employed to fuse the recommendations of the local agents. Real-time implementation without special hardware is possible by using singleton output values during fuzzy rule evaluation. A linguistic syntax for fuzzy systems development is presented, allowing complex nonlinear control functions to be defined using qualitative expressions rather than mathematical terms. Our development tool, PCFUZ, translates this syntax off-line into a data structure for fast execution at run time. Using this system, a fuzzy behavior-based reactive control system has been implemented on an autonomous mobile robot, MARGE, with great success. >
Internet Alley: High Technology in Tysons Corner, 1945–2005

Internet Alley: High Technology in Tysons Corner, 1945–2005, Paul E. Ceruzzi, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA (2008). 192 pp. US$29.95 (hbk). ISBN-13: 978 0 262 03374 9. I am inspired by Paul Ceruzzi's bo...
Why has the Middle East been so Slow to Globalize

The notion that the poor countries of the world can in any reasonable interval achieve rich-country incomes without trade and capital flows is utterly implausible. If the poor countries of the world have to depend on themselves for the saving to finance the investment that they need, or have to develop themselves the skills and technology they need to become rich by our standards, its going to take forever.—Nobel Laureate Robert Solow George Seurat created sweeping ‘Pointillist’ landscapes by painting millions of tiny dots. But that effort is nothing compared with the painstaking detail involved in creating a landscape of economic, political and social reform.—King Abdullah II of Jordan, April 2004
The power of the weak: recognition of ion pairs in water using a simple array sensor

An array sensor comprising six off-the-shelf indicators doped in a poly(ether–urethane) recognizes five cations, seven anions and thirty-five ion pairs at pH 5–9 in water. Such a discrimination capacity and recognition efficiency (6 : 35) with ≥93% accuracy is rare. Low cost and wide availability of various polymers and indicators could make this approach useful in numerous applications.
Functional patterning of PDMS microfluidic devices using integrated chemo-masks.

Microfluidic devices can be molded easily from PDMS using soft lithography. However, the softness of the resulting microchannels makes it difficult to photolithographically pattern their surface properties, as is needed for applications such as double emulsification. We introduce a new patterning method for PDMS devices, using integrated oxygen reservoirs fabricated simultaneously with the microfluidic channels, which serve as “chemo-masks”. Oxygen diffuses through the PDMS to the nearby channel segments and there inhibits functional polymer growth; by placement of the chemo-masks, we thus control the polymerization pattern. This patterning method is simple, scalable, and compatible with a variety of surface chemistries.
Category and compact leaves

We prove that if F is a C 1 –foliation of a compact manifold M with finite transverse saturated LS category, cat ∩ | s (M, F )< ∞ ,t henF has a compact leaf. In contrast, we show that if F is expansive on some non-trivial minimal set of F , then cat ∩ |
Childhood Epilepsy With Occipital Paroxysms: Variations on the Theme

This review reports on the various presentations as well as new revealed data relating to the epileptic disorder defined as childhood epilepsy with occipital paroxysms characterized by occipital epileptic discharges recorded by electroencephalography. The initial rigidly delineated subtypes by the International League Against Epilepsy included the following: (a) Panayiotopoulos syndrome-early-onset seizure disorder presenting with prolonged infrequent, nocturnal autonomic seizures, accompanied by eye deviation and ictal vomiting. (b) Gastaut syndrome-late-onset type presenting with short diurnal frequent seizures and visual ictal manifestations along with migrainous headaches. A high percentage of children present, however, with mixed clinical phenomena making it difficult to comply with the rigidly segregated syndromes reported by several authorities including our recent report on 28 children of whom 14 showed mixed phenomena. Therefore, childhood epilepsy with occipital paroxysm should be suspected at any age presenting with nocturnal vomiting, autonomic impairment, focal motor fits with head deviation, migraine headaches, and/or visual perturbations.
Cervical spine standards for flexion radiograph interspinous distance ratios in children

Rationale and Objectives. The purpose of this study was to quantitate the interspinous distances in a group of children as they underwent flexion during lateral radiography. Materials and Methods. The cases of 59 children with minor trauma who underwent lateral flexion radiography were studied retrospectively. Measurements of each cervical interspinous distance and anteroposterior diameter of the adjacent body were used to calculate a ratio of interspinous distance to vertebral body diameter at each level. Linear regression analyses of each ratio to patient age were performed, and means and standard deviations of the ratios at each level were calculated. Results. The ratios did not correlate in a statistically significant manner at any level with age. Therefore, data from all 59 children were used to calculate the mean and standard deviation at each cervical level. Most children with severe ligamentous injury who were considered for fusion had interspinous ratios greater than 2 standard deviations above the mean for the control group. Conclusion. Standards for interspinous distances during flexion by children are presented. These standards may prove to be helpful in the evaluation of children for cervical ligamentous injury.
Cytokine transcriptional events during helper T cell subset differentiation

The molecular basis for changes in cytokine expression during T helper (Th) cell subset differentiation is not well understood. We have characterized transcriptional events related to cytokine gene expression in populations of naive T cell receptor-transgenic T cells as they are driven in vitro toward Th1 or Th2 phenotypes by interleukin (IL)-12 or IL-4 treatment, respectively. Quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis of cytokine transcripts indicates that interferon (IFN) gamma, IL-4, and IL-2 mRNA are expressed with distinct kinetics after naive T cells are stimulated with antigen and either IL-4 or IL-12. IFN-gamma mRNA appears as early as 6 h in IL-12-treated cultures, IL-4 appears only after 48 h in IL-4-treated cultures, and IL-2 is equivalently expressed in both types of cultures. Analyses were performed to determine if there were any differences in activation of IL-2 or IL-4 transcription factors that accompanied Th1 versus Th2 differentiation. These studies demonstrated that signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) binds to a sequence in the IL-4 promoter and that this STAT6-binding site can support IL-4-dependent transcription of a linked heterologous promoter. Prolonged activation of STAT6 is characteristic of populations undergoing Th2 differentiation. Furthermore, STAT6 is activated in an autocrine manner when differentiated Th2 populations are stimulated by antigen receptor ligation. Th1 populations derived from IL-12 plus antigen treatment of naive T cells remain responsive to IL-4 as indicated by induction of STAT6 and IL-4 mRNA. These data indicate that Th1 and Th2 differentiation represents the combination of different, apparently independently regulated transcriptional events. Furthermore, among transcription factors that bind to the IL-4 or IL-2 promoters, STAT6 is the one whose activation distinguishes Th2 versus Th1 development.
Microarray Analysis of the Genome-Wide Response to Iron Deficiency and Iron Reconstitution in the Cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

A full-genome microarray of the (oxy)photosynthetic cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 was used to identify genes that were transcriptionally regulated by growth in iron (Fe)-deficient versus Fe-sufficient media. Transcript accumulation for 3,165 genes in the genome was analyzed using an analysis of variance model that accounted for slide and replicate (random) effects and dye (a fixed) effect in testing for differences in the four time periods. We determined that 85 genes showed statistically significant changes in the level of transcription (P ≤ 0.05/3,165 = 0.0000158) across the four time points examined, whereas 781 genes were characterized as interesting (P ≤ 0.05 but greater than 0.0000158; 731 of these had a fold change >1.25×). The genes identified included those known previously to be Fe regulated, such as isiA that encodes a novel chlorophyll-binding protein responsible for the pigment characteristics of low-Fe (LoFe) cells. ATP synthetase and phycobilisome genes were down-regulated in LoFe, and there were interesting changes in the transcription of genes involved in chlorophyll biosynthesis, in photosystem I and II assembly, and in energy metabolism. Hierarchical clustering demonstrated that photosynthesis genes, as a class, were repressed in LoFe and induced upon the re-addition of Fe. Specific regulatory genes were transcriptionally active in LoFe, including two genes that show homology to plant phytochromes (cph1 and cph2). These observations established the existence of a complex network of regulatory interactions and coordination in response to Fe availability.
Improving Graduate Theological Instruction: Using Classroom Assessment Techniques to Connect Teaching and Learning

Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) offer immediate, relevant feedback to professors on the teaching process as well as feedback to students on the learning process. While Classroom Assessment Techniques have been introduced, studied and analyzed in undergraduate education, application to graduate theological education has not been advanced. The author describes a recent research project that discerned faculty attitudes toward the implementation of Classroom Assessment Techniques in a seminary setting in hopes that more effective faculty development programs can be designed by implementing CATs.