cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Barriers for Retinal Gene Therapy: Separating Fact from Fiction

The majority of recent preclinical gene therapy studies targeting the retina have used adeno-associated virus (AAV) as the gene transfer vector. However, AAV has several limitations including the ability to generate innate inflammatory responses, the ability to cause insertional mutagenesis at a frequency of up to 56% in some tissues and a limited cloning capacity of 4.8Kb. Furthermore, AAV is known to generate limiting immune responses in humans despite the absence of similar immune responses in preclinical canine and murine studies. Three clinical trials to treat Leber's congenital amaurosis using AAV are under way. A clinical trial to treat Stargardt's using lentivirus vectors has also been recently announced. However, very limited evidence currently exists that lentivirus vectors can efficiently transduce photoreceptor cells. In contrast, very few preclinical ocular gene therapy studies have utilized adenovirus as the gene therapy vector. Nonetheless, the only two ocular gene therapy clinical trials performed to date have each used adenovirus as the vector and more significantly, in these published trials there has been no observed serious adverse event. These trials appear to be poised for Phase II/III status. Activation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes limits duration of transgene expression in the retina from first generation adenovirus vectors. However, an advanced class of adenovirus vectors referred to as Helper-dependent Adenovirus (Hd-Ad) have recently been shown to be capable of expressing transgenes in ocular tissues for more than one year. Hd-Ad vectors have many properties that potentially warrant their inclusion in the retinal gene therapy toolbox for the treatment of retinal degenerative diseases.
Genetic Nondiscrimination and Health Care as an Entitlement

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 prohibits most forms of discrimination on the basis of genetic information in health insurance and employment. The findings cited as justification for the act, the almost universal political support for it, and much of the scholarly literature about genetic discrimination, all betray a confusion about what is really at issue. They imply that genetic discrimination is wrong mainly because of genetic exceptionalism: because some special feature of genetic information makes discrimination on the basis thereof wrong. I suggest, to the contrary, that the best arguments against genetic discrimination assume that health care is an entitlement. I do this by examining two different exceptionalist arguments for genetic nondiscrimination, showing that they do not furnish good reasons for prohibiting genetic discrimination unless one supposes that health care is an entitlement.
Gewinnung von Titan durch Schmelzflußelektrolyse und der Einfluß des Energiepreises auf die Herstellungskosten

Die technischen Schwierigkeiten der Titan-Elektrolyse, die besonders in der Weiterverarbeitung eines schwammigen, Elektrolyt-Einschlusse enthaltenden Niederschlags bestehen, werden erortert und Verfahren zur Gewinnung kompakten Titans diskutiert. Eine Kostenanalyse fur Elektrolyt-Titan zeigt, das gegenwartig der Preis des Ausgangsmaterials kostenbestimmend ist, wahrend der Preisanteil der elektrischen Energie nur bei etwa 20% liegt. Eine Senkung des Energiepreises durfte sich daher erst dann auf den Preis von Elektrolyt-Titan merklich auswirken, wenn diese mindestens 20% betragt.
Application of Acibenzolar-S-Methyl Enhances Host Resistance in Tomato Against Ralstonia solanacearum

ABSTRACT The chemical elicitor acibenzolar-S-methyl (ASM; Actigard 50 WG), which induces systemic acquired resistance (SAR), was investigated to determine the effect on bacterial wilt of tomato caused by Ralstonia solanacearum on moderately resistant cultivars under greenhouse and field conditions. In greenhouse experiments, ASM was applied as foliar spray and/or soil drench (3 μg/ml) before and as foliar spray (30 μg/ml) after transplanting. The chemical elicitor was ineffective in reducing bacterial wilt incidence on susceptible tomato cultivars Equinox and FL 47 when plants were inoculated with R. solanacearum. However, greenhouse studies indicated that ASM significantly enhanced resistance in cultivars with moderate resistance to bacterial wilt such as Neptune and BHN 466. It appeared that ASM-mediated resistance was partially due to prevention of internal spread of R. solanacearum toward upper stem tissues of tomato plants. The effect of ASM on moderately resistant cultivars was consistent in field e...
Nutrition in Pancreas-Renal Transplantation

Combined pancreas-kidney transplantation is a relatively new and exciting field in the world of surgery. With recent advances, graft survival and patient survival rates have increased dramatically; however, questions have arisen regarding the effects and complications of this procedure. Why is there an increased incidence in development of type II diabetes after transplantation? Can the combined organ transplant alter the progression of secondary microvascular complications frequently associated with the original type I diabetes? Nutrition plays a key role in the lives of individuals with insulin-dependent diabetes and end-stage renal disease. The extent to which nutrition intervention is needed after a pancreas-renal transplantation is still speculative and depends on surgical complications including bladder leak, infection, pancreatitis, and intestinal obstructions. Dietitians should assess the needs of patients and provide individualized care that is planned to meet both the nutrition and educational requirements of each patient.
N-tree Disjoint-Set Forests for Maximally Stable Extremal Regions

In this paper we introduce the NDS-Forest data structure, which can be used for the calculation and representation of Maximally Stable Extremal Regions in real-time video. In contrast to the standard MSER algorithm, the NDSForest stores information about the extremal regions as they are formed, making it unnecessary to regrow the regions from seed pixels. Using the NDSForest structure, we describe a system that uses MSERs in an automobile for face registration, segmentation, and pose estimation of the driver.
The relative roles of three DNA repair pathways in preventing Caenorhabditis elegans mutation accumulation

Mutation is a central biological process whose rates and spectra are influenced by a variety of complex and interacting forces. Although DNA repair pathways are generally known to play key roles in maintaining genetic stability, much remains to be understood about the relative roles of different pathways in preventing the accumulation of mutations and the extent of heterogeneity in pathway-specific repair efficiencies across different genomic regions. In this study we examine mutation processes in base excision repair-deficient (nth-1) and nucleotide excision repair-deficient (xpa-1) Caenorhabditis elegans mutation-accumulation (MA) lines across 24 regions of the genome and compare our observations to previous data from mismatch repair-deficient (msh-2 and msh-6) and wild-type (N2) MA lines. Drastic variation in both average and locus-specific mutation rates, ranging two orders of magnitude for the latter, was detected among the four sets of repair-deficient MA lines. Our work provides critical insights into the relative roles of three DNA repair pathways in preventing C. elegans mutation accumulation and provides evidence for the presence of pathway-specific DNA repair territories in the C. elegans genome.
Metabolic syndrome and postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF).

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia seen in clinical practice, and the lifetime risk of developing AF is 25%.1 Even in the absence of structural heart disease AF is extremely common and is associated with an increased risk of stroke, heart failure, and death. Risk factors for AF are age, sleep apnoea, valvular heart disease, hypertension, obesity, male gender, and type 2 diabetes.1 The key lesion in developing AF is dilatation of the left atrium, for which there are multiple causes in the type 2 diabetic patient.2 Approximately 75% of type 2 diabetic subjects are hypertensive. For every molecule of glucose that is filtered and reabsorbed in the kidney, one molecule of sodium is also absorbed. High insulin and glucose levels lead to salt and water retention, activation of the sympathetic nervous system, activation of angiotensin II receptors, and increased free fatty acid levels. In addition, insulin resistance is associated with increased sodium and calcium content of the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and remodelling of the arterial wall due to proliferation of VSMCs.3 Even in the absence of hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and stiffening and thickening of the arterial wall often develop in the diabetic patient due to the trophic effects of angiotensin, aldosterone, and hyperinsulinaemia. Overall, 71% of type 2 diabetic subjects have LVH, and another 50–60% have diastolic dysfunction due to diabetic cardiomyopathy.4 Thus, for various reasons, including hypertension, LVH, diabetic cardiomyopathy, and heart failure, insulin-resistant and/or type 2 diabetic patients often develop dilation of the left atrium. While ectopic foci in pulmonary veins trigger the … *Corresponding author. Tel: +1 205 933 2667, Fax: +1 205 933 2693, Email: dshbell{at}yahoo.com
CHRONOTROPIC EFFECTS OF NOREPINEPHRINE AND TYRAMINE: A SYSTEM RESPONSE ANALYSIS.

An analog simulation of the chronotropic effects of norepinephrine and tyramine in the canine heart-lung preparation is presented. The temporal aspects of those responses are described in quantitative terms. Reserpine produced deprivation suprasensitivity to norepinephrine may be considered as a corollary of the system response nonlinearity to that drug. Discrepancies between tyramine rate responses and the relatively small amounts of norepinephrine released are resolved by the assumption that the receptor space for norepinephrine has a capacitative function and is not in free dilutional equilibrium with the perfusing blood. This mechanism would allow for a unitary explanation of tyramine action based upon competition with norepinephrine for available storage sites.
Multi-aspect detection of surface and shallow-buried unexploded ordnance via ultra-wideband synthetic aperture radar

An ultra-wideband (UWB) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system is investigated for the detection of former bombing ranges, littered by unexploded ordnance (UXO). The objective is detection of a high enough percentage of surface and shallow-buried UXO, with a low enough false-alarm rate, such that a former range can be detected. The physics of UWB SAR scattering is exploited in the context of a hidden Markov model (HMM), which explicitly accounts for the multiple aspects at which a SAR system views a given target. The HMM is trained on computed data, using SAR imagery synthesized via a validated physical-optics solution. The performance of the HMM is demonstrated by performing testing on measured UWB SAR data for many surface and shallow UXO buried in soil in the vicinity of naturally occurring clutter.
Unique hue data and CIECAM02: A comment on Xiao et al

This letter to the editor notes the offsets from the origin of unique hue loci in the recent article, Unique Hue Data for Colour Appearance Models. Part III: Comparison with NCS Unique Hues by Xiao et al. [Color Res Appl 2015;40:256–263] and suggests that modifications to the cone response function in CIECAM02 be explored. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2015
Real Time Optimal Guidance of Low-Thrust Spacecraft: An Application of Nonlinear Model Predictive Control

Real time optimal guidance is considered for a class of low thrust spacecraft. In particular, nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) is utilized for computing the optimal control actions required to transfer a spacecraft from a low Earth orbit to a mission orbit. The NMPC methodology presented is able to cope with unmodeled disturbances. The dynamics of the transfer are modeled using a set of modified equinoctial elements because they do not exhibit singularities for zero inclination and zero eccentricity. The idea behind NMPC is the repeated solution of optimal control problems; at each time step, a new control action is computed. The optimal control problem is solved using a direct method-fully discretizing the equations of motion. The large scale nonlinear program resulting from the discretization procedure is solved using IPOPT--a primal-dual interior point algorithm. Stability and robustness characteristics of the NMPC algorithm are reviewed. A numerical example is presented that encourages further development of the proposed methodology: the transfer from low-Earth orbit to a molniya orbit.
Discrimination of muscle and neuronal Na-channel subtypes by binding competition between [3H]saxitoxin and mu-conotoxins.

Abstract The effect of two mu-conotoxin peptides on the specific binding of [3H]saxitoxin was examined in isolated plasma membranes of various excitable tissues. mu-Conotoxins GIIIA and GIIIB inhibit [3H]saxitoxin binding in Electrophorus electric organ membranes with similar KdS of approximately equal to 50 X 10(-9) M in a manner consistent with direct competition for a common binding site. GIIIA and GIIIB similarly compete with the majority (80-95%) of [3H]saxitoxin binding sites in rat skeletal muscle with KdS of approximately 25 and approximately 140 X 10(-9) M, respectively. However, the high-affinity saxitoxin sites in lobster axons, rat brain, and rat heart are virtually insensitive to GIIIA concentrations up to 10 microM. These results and previously published data suggest that three Na-channel subtypes can be distinguished on the basis of toxin pharmacology: Na channels of skeletal muscle and Electrophorus electroplax have high affinity for mu-conotoxins and tetrodotoxin, neuronal Na channels have low affinity for mu-conotoxins and high affinity for tetrodotoxin, while heart Na channels and a similar subtype also found in denervated muscle have low affinity for both mu-conotoxin and tetrodotoxin.
ChemDB update—full-text search and virtual chemical space

ChemDB is a chemical database containing nearly 5M commercially available small molecules, important for use as synthetic building blocks, probes in systems biology and as leads for the discovery of drugs and other useful compounds. The data is publicly available over the web for download and for targeted searches using a variety of powerful methods. The chemical data includes predicted or experimentally determined physicochemical properties, such as 3D structure, melting temperature and solubility. Recent developments include optimization of chemical structure (and substructure) retrieval algorithms, enabling full database searches in less than a second. A text-based search engine allows efficient searching of compounds based on over 65M annotations from over 150 vendors. When searching for chemicals by name, fuzzy text matching capabilities yield productive results even when the correct spelling of a chemical name is unknown, taking advantage of both systematic and common names. Finally, built in reaction models enable searches through virtual chemical space, consisting of hypothetical products readily synthesizable from the building blocks in ChemDB. Availability: ChemDB and Supplementary Materials are available at http://cdb.ics.uci.edu. Contact: pfbaldi@ics.uci.edu Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Comparison of Female Attractiveness and Male Response Among Populations of Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris) in Western and Eastern U.S. Apple Orchards

Female obliquebanded leafrollers, Choristoneura rosaceana (Harris), collected from Oregon, Michigan, and New York were deployed in delta traps in Michigan apple orchards to compare their relative attractiveness to Michigan males of the same species. Females originating from Oregon attracted more males than females originating from New York during both generations of leafroller sight in Michigan. Also, females from Oregon attracted more males in Michigan than did "native" Michigan females during the Þrst generation of sight. Analysis of gland extracts from the three populations revealed signiÞcantly more of each pheromone component in females originating from Oregon (approximately nine-fold more pheromone per female overall) than those from Michigan. However, there were no signiÞcant differences in the relative amounts of each pheromone component between Oregon and Michigan females. A 100:4:5:2 blend of Z11Ð14:OAc, E11Ð14:OAc, Z11Ð14:OH, and Z11Ð14:Ald was optimal for catching males in Michigan with no added or detrimental effect of Z11Ð14:Ald, conÞrming previous studies. However, 100:1 ratios of Z11Ð14:OAc relative to either E11Ð14:OAc or Z11Ð14:OH (also containing 2% Z11Ð14:Ald) captured more males in Oregon apple orchards compared with 100:4 and 100:10 ratios of Z11Ð14:OAc relative to either E11Ð14:OAc or Z11Ð14:OH. Addition of increasing amounts of Z11Ð14:Ald relative to Z11Ð14:OAc (range, 0 Ð 8:100) into a blend also containing 4% E11Ð14:OAc and 5% Z11Ð14:OH increased male catch in Oregon but not in Michigan. Our results suggest that pheromone blend quantity rather than blend quality may explain greater attractiveness of western compared with eastern female C. rosaceana to males in Michigan. Also, an optimized generic blend for monitoring male C. rosaceana across North America should contain Z11Ð14:Ald as has been previously shown, but should not exceed 4:100 ratios of both E11Ð14:OAc and Z11Ð14:OH relative to Z11Ð14:OAc for optimized catch of males in the western United States.
Using Data for Local Quality Improvement

Surgical morbidity and mortality rates vary widely and suggest room for improvement. Data presented for benchmarking can be leveraged to motivate change, but current efforts to improve outcomes are somewhat limited by a lack of understanding of underlying mechanisms underlying variations. Developing and implementing best practices to improve care has been effectively done on a local or regional level. These smaller collaborative groups have the agility to leverage these meaningful changes in data collection or practice behaviors.
Inconsistencies in thermodynamic analyses of long-term isolation of high-level waste

Important thermodynamic analyses of possible reactions affecting the long-term performance of the engineered materials being considered for isolation of high-level waste are reviewed. Analysis of the literature on the possible failure mechanisms of copper waste packages in granite and basalt environments shows that many of the conclusions from postulated thermodynamic equilibria reactions are inconsistent with the original assumptions and with observations. The absence of evidence for the existence of reactions calculated to have negative free energy changes is classically explained by kinetic inhibitions.
Primary cutaneous T-cell-rich B-cell lymphomas with flow cytometric immunophenotypic findings. Report of 3 cases and review of the literature.

Abstract Background.—Primary cutaneous T-cell–rich B-cell lymphoma is a relatively rare entity that has been diagnosed most commonly using immunohistochemical and molecular techniques. Flow cytomet...
Tunable Luminescence in CdSe Quantum Dots Doped by Mn Impurities

In this work, we study the effect of a dual luminescence for CdSe quantum dots (QDs) doped by a manganese impurity. In this effect, one line has fast relaxation and corresponds to light emission from CdSe conduction band, whereas the second is very slow in relaxation with the relaxation time of 0.1–1.0 ms. The second line disappears for quantum dots (QDs) with diameters D ≥ 3.3 nm, and therefore, the luminescence becomes tunable by a QD size. The problem is computationally challenging because of large size QDs and a high degeneracy of the energy states. To overcome this problem, we make four assumptions. These assumptions are the following: (1) a QD optical gap is independent of an Mn impurity for small concentrations; (2) we combine electronic structure calculations for medium size CdSe QDs with the effective mass calculations for medium and large QD sizes and match them in the medium size region, assuming that based on assumption 1, the optical spectrum is independent of Mn even for larger QDs; (3) we c...
TUMIDOTHERES, A NEW GENUS FOR PINNOTHERES MARGARITA SMITH, 1869, AND PINNOTHERES MACULATUS SAY, 1818 (BRACHYURA: PINNOTHERIDAE)

The genus Tumidotheres is erected to receive its type species Pinnotheres margarita Smith, 1869, from the East Pacific, and P. maculatus Say, 1818, from the West Atlantic. It differs from other pinnotherid genera principally in 3 features: (1) the gastric and cardiac regions are separated from the branchiohepatic area by depressions, all these regions tumid; (2) the palp of the third maxilliped is composed of 3 articles, with the carpus shorter than the spatulate propodus, the dactylus narrowly spatulate, inserted medially on the propodal inner margin and not overreaching the tip of this latter article; and (3) male and female abdomen composed of 7 free abdominal somites. An analysis of morphology of several postplanktonic stages of T. (formerly Pinnotheres) margarita suggested that this species should be considered as a senior synonym of P. pubescens (Holmes, 1894), which apparently was described from a hard-stage female. In addition, the life history, phylogenetic relationships, and larval morphology of Tumidotheres are discussed.
Optimization Algorithm of Power Supply Equipment Maintenance Scheduling and Its Application in Regional Power Network

According to actual condition of maintenance scheduling arrangement of a certain regional power company,a maintenance scheduling optimization model that can satisfy the demand of regional power company is built.Based on the range of supply interruption the proposed model generates variable set,and takes the minimum deviation from the due maintenance time of equipments and most reasonable distribution of workload as objective function,then by use of chaos particle swarm optimization(CPSO) the model is solved.The proposed method divides all particles into several particle sub-clusters,during the drawing of particles close optimal point the chaotic search is implemented in the solution space and the historical optimal value of particles is updated.Through the calculation example from a certain regional power network,the calculation results by CPSO algorithm,genetic algorithm(GA) and standard particle swarm optimization(PSO) algorithm respectively are compared.Comparison result shows the global search ability and convergence performance of CPSO is better than that of GA and standard PSO,thus it is available in engineering application.
The epidemiology of emergency department-treated burn injuries associated with portable heaters in the United States, 2003-2013

The purpose of this study is to examine the epidemiology of portable space heater-related burn injuries among an emergency department nationally representative population of the United States. The data analyzed in this study were collected from the Consumer Products Safety Commission's 2003-2013 National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. There were approximately 53,636 space heater-related thermal burn injuries attributed to portable space heaters from 2003 to 2013. The rate of injuries was relatively constant during the 10-year span. The number of burn injuries was highest during winter months. Young children, older adults, males, and Blacks had the highest rates of injury. The body part most commonly injured was the hand, which accounted for 33.3% of all burn injuries. It is important to understand the characteristics of persons who have an increased risk of portable space heater burn and trip/fall injuries, so that preventative methods and awareness strategies can be used to help reduce the number of annual portable space heater injuries.
Coherent operation of tour GaAlAs lasers by injection locking

Injection locking of multiple semiconductor lasers to a single master laser is a promising technique for increasing the amount of coherent optical power available from this highly efficient light source. With FM sideband injection locking,1 the technique can also be used for frequency multiplexing for optical fiber communications and to generate narrowband microwave signals.2 Injection locking of a single semiconductor slave laser (SL) by a master laser (ML) has been extensively studied.3-4 Injection locking of many slave lasers, however, makes the requirements of wavelength matching between the lasers and relative frequency stability more difficult to achieve.
Sums of Integers

As a first, very simple case study of alternative proofs, consider the following four proofs of the identity \(1 + 3 +\ldots +(2n - 1) = n^{2}\) (a result known since antiquity, and one that is readily conjectured from specific instances): 1. Proof via gnomons (Figure 3.1) 2. Proof by induction:The result is true when n = 1, since 1 = 12. Assuming that it is true when n = k, suppose \(n = k + 1\). Then \(1+3+\ldots +(2k-1)+(2(k+1)-1) = 1+3+\ldots +(2k+1) = k^{2}+(2k+1) = (k+1)^{2}\). By induction, the result therefore holds for all n. 3. Proof via Gauss’s method (recalling the tale of his schoolboy summation of the first hundred integers1): $$\displaystyle\begin{array}{rcl} 1 + 3 + 5 +\ldots +(2n - 1)& =& S {}\\ (2n - 1) +\ldots +5 + 3 + 1& =& S {}\\ \end{array}$$ whence, adding the equations together column by column, \(2n + 2n +\ldots +2n = 2S\), where the left member of the equation has n equal summands. Thus 2n ⋅ n = 2S, or S = n2. 4. The stairstep proof (Figure 3.2): Which of these proofs are to be regarded as essentially different, and on what grounds?
Four One-Act Comedies and ‘Shrivings’

When Five Finger Exercise brought him international attention in 1958, Peter Shaffer was a young man of thirty-two, experimenting with prose fiction along with drama. During the twelve-year period between Five Finger Exercise and The Battle of Shrivings, he devoted all his creative energies to drama, working with a variety of formats and techniques. Among the successes from this productive time were London and Broadway productions of four one-act comedies, a major film script (Lord of the Flies, 1963, co-authored with Peter Brook), skits and revues for stage and television (The Merry Roosters’ Panto and That Was the Week that Was, both 1963, and a monumental dramatic epic (The Royal Hunt of the Sun, 1964). Closing this period in his career, a new full-length drama, The Battle of Shrivings (1970), faltered in London after a short run. That failure remains painful to the playwright to this day. Yet its deficiencies alerted Shaffer to problematic elements in his writing, notably a tendency to slip into overheated language when dealing with serious themes.
Bleomycin Pulmonary Toxicity Does Impact on Hodgkin’s Disease Outcome.

Background : Bleomycin-containing chemotherapy regimens have become the mainstay of treatment in Hodgkin’s Disease (HD). The risk of bleomycin pulmonary toxicity (BPT) ranges from 0–46% and mortality rates range from 0–27%. Although there is no excepted standard treatment for BPT, corticosteroid treatment, withholding bleomycin from subsequent chemotherapy, and proceeding with a non-bleomycin containing regimen is the most common approach. We reviewed our experience to better delineate outcome and appropriate treatment in these patients. Methods : We reviewed all patients managed for HD at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, from January 1986 to February 2003. BPT was defined by the presence of pulmonary symptoms, bilateral interstitial infiltrates, and no evidence for an infectious etiology. Results : A retrospective review identified 141 patients with HD treated with a bleomycin-containing regimen. The mean age of patients at diagnosis was 34 years. Fifty four percent were males. The histology was nodular sclerosing in 85%. The Hasenclever index was 0 in 15%, 1 in 35%, 2 in 24%, 3 in 16%, 4 in 9%, and >5 in 1%. Frontline chemotherapy included ABVD in 57%, MOPP-ABV(D) in 33%, COPP-ABV in 8%, BEACOPP in 3%, and Stanford V in 2%. Forty one percent of patients received radiation. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and progression free survival (PFS) for all patients were 87% and 79% respectively. BPT was observed in 18% of patients (25/141). There was a significant decrease in OS, 63% in patients with BPT versus 90% in non-BPT patients at 5 years (p=0.0013). The mortality from BPT was 4.2% (6/141) in all patients and 24% (6/25) in patients who developed the pulmonary syndrome. These 6 patients all died within 9 months of their HD diagnosis from BPT. The Hasenclever index was 3 or less in 5 of these 6 patients. CR rates were equal at 91% and 93% in BPT and non-BPT patients respectively (p=0.299). Twenty two percent (31/141) of patients, either symptomatic or asymptomatic, had bleomycin omitted at any time from their regimen with no difference in OS or PFS, 83% versus 88% (p=0.369) and 82% versus 78% (p=0.853) respectively. The mean bleomycin dose was 84 mg/m2 (range of 20–180 mg/m2). Bleomycin dose had no impact on OS or PFS. In BPT patients subsequent non-bleomycin therapy included AVD 44%, MOPP-AV 31%, or no further chemotherapy 25%. The five-year OS was equal between the AVD and MOPP-AV groups at 91%. However in patients who received no further chemotherapy 5-year OS was 30% (p=0.0001). Conclusion : Bleomycin pulmonary toxicity (BPT) results in a significant decrease in OS survival at 5 years in patients being treated for Hodgkin’s Disease. In patients who do not die acutely from pulmonary toxicity both OS and PFS appear equal despite the omission of bleomycin.
Controlling feeding practices mediate the association between food insecurity and parent-reported child BMI percentile

Although literature is mixed, some research suggests that food insecurity likely predicts obesity beginning in childhood. Child feeding practices may be one possible mechanism for this association....
A small spacecraft for multipoint measurement of ionospheric plasma

Measurement of ionospheric plasma is often performed by a single in situ device or remotely using cameras and radar. This article describes a small, low-resource, deployed spacecraft used as part of a local, multipoint measurement network. A B-field aligned sounding rocket ejects four of these spin-stabilized spacecraft in a cross pattern. In this application, each spacecraft carries two retarding potential analyzers which are used to determine plasma density, flow, and ion temperature. An inertial measurement unit and a light-emitting diode array are used to determine the position and orientation of the devices after deployment. The design of this spacecraft is first described, and then results from a recent test flight are discussed. This flight demonstrated the successful operation of the deployment mechanism and telemetry systems, provided some preliminary plasma measurements in a simple mid-latitude environment, and revealed several design issues.
Introduction of Substituents at C3

As C3 is the preferred site for electrophilic substitution, direct alkylation and acylation procedures are often effective. Even mild electrophiles such as alkenes with EW substituents can react at the 3-position of the indole ring. Techniques for preparation of 3-lithioindoles, usually by halogen-metal exchange, have been developed and this provides access not only to the lithium reagents but also to other organometallic reagents derived from them. The 3-position is also reactive toward electrophilic mercuration. The best procedures for 3-vinylation or 3-arylation of the indole ring involve palladium intermediates. Vinylations can be done by Heck reactions starting with 3-halo or 3-sulfonyloxyindoles. Under the standard conditions the active catalyst is a Pd(0) species which reacts with the indole by oxidative addition. A major consideration is the stability of the 3-halo or 3-sulfonyloxyindoles, and usually an EW substituent is required on nitrogen. Arylation reactions can involve generation of either a nucleophilic (for example, stannane, organozinc, boronic acid) or electrophilic (for example, halide or triflate) derivative of indole. A complementary reagent provides the 3-substituent and palladium is used to catalyze coupling. Coupling proceeds by oxidative addition of the electrophilic component on Pd(0) and ligand exchange with the nucleophilic component to generate a diarylpalladium(II) intermediate, which undergoes reductive elimination.
A Wireless RFID Compatible Sensor Tag Using Gold Nanoparticle Markers for Pathogen Detection in the Liquid Food Supply Chain

A wireless antibody-free biosensor for rapid detection of pathogenic bacteria in milk was developed using dextrin-capped gold nanoparticles (d-AuNP) as markers. The developed system consists of an interdigitated capacitor coupled to an inductor forming an inductorcapacitor ( LC ) resonant tank; a Smart vial onto which E. coli C3000 suspended in milk matrix adheres and are labeled with d-AuNP markers; and a wireless pick up coil. Detection is based on impedance loading of the interdigitated sensor by d-AuNP bound to the pathogenic bacteria. The resonance frequency shift of the LC tank is correlated with the concentration of E. coli cells in the milk. The sensors are field-operable and can detect bacteria counts as low as 5 log CFUml within an hour. Spectrophotometry is used to verify the sensitivity of the developed sensor. The resonance frequency of these sensors can be easily designed to match the existing radio frequency identification (RFID) frequency bands. The developed tag holds potential application in detection of a variety of pathogenic bacteria for quality control along the liquid food supply chain.
Data assimilation using high-speed measurements and LES to examine local extinction events in turbulent flames

Abstract Data assimilation techniques are investigated to determine how high-speed experimental measurements can be infused into a combustion simulation with the goal of capturing transient combustion events and isolating model deficiencies. To this end, an ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is employed to assimilate simultaneous measurements from tomographic PIV and OH-PLIF into a combustion LES of a turbulent DME jet flame, taking into consideration experimental uncertainties and modeling errors. It is shown that by assimilating experimental data, EnKF improves the prediction of the extinction and reignition dynamics observed in this flame. Subsequently, the capability of the assimilation method in evaluating the model performance is examined by considering an assimilation sequence. It is shown that the combustion model investigated (namely a flamelet/progress variable model) exhibits a tendency to relax towards a more reactive state, indicating a deficiency in quantitatively predicting the extent of extinction and reignition with this particular model.
The Oxford Calculators and Mathematical Physics: John Dumbleton’s Summa Logicae et Philosophiae Naturalis, Parts II and III

What made the Oxford Calculators famous, or infamous, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries was their subtlety. In this, although their distinctiveness lay in their use of mathematics within physics, their reputation merged with that of English logicians such as William of Ockham, their work being put along with terminist logic into the general category of ‘Anglican subtleties.’ In recent papers I have tried to show that this linking of mathematical and logical work arose in part because of the importance of certain disputations at Oxford, in particular the disputations de sophismatibus and the disputations that constituted the ‘determinations’ that occurred at the time of the student becoming a bachelor of arts.1 Within the context of these student disputations, the Calculators’ facility with mathematics was valued because it provided students with complex, often counterintuitive, results which they might use to defeat their opponents.
Forgiveness and Relational Ethics: The Perspective of the Contextual Therapist

Contextual therapy can offer a very useful framework to address the issue of forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace-building that complements the framework proposed by individual psychology in general, developmental psychology, trauma psychology, or even peace psychology. Contextual therapists propose that some of the important determinants of our behavior are located outside of our psyche. They believe that one of the most important determinants of our actions lies in our expectation of fairness and reciprocity in relationships.
Micropropagation of Brassica oleracea (Cole Crops)

Brassica oleracea, (family Brassicaceae), also referred to as cole crops (Nieuwhof 1969; Yamaguchi 1983; Nonnecke 1989), is an economically important vegetable species composed mostly of biennially herbaceous plants, grown as annuals or biennials, depending on the part harvested. Practically every part of the plant can be used, including leaves (cabbage, kale), axillary buds (Brussels sprouts), stems (kohlrabi), flower buds (broccoli), and floral primordia (cauliflower). It is a highly polymorphic species, and has over 40 members (Bailey 1976). Table 1 summarizes eight of the most important varieties commonly grown throughout the world.
P018 : IDENTIFICATION OF UNACCEPTABLE HLA ANTIGENS WHEN PRESENT IN TRANSPLANT PATIENT SERA AT AN UNDILUTED OR NEAT TITER BUT NOT PRESENT AT A LOW TITER (⩽1:16)

Characteristics identifying clinically deleterious HLA antibodies (Ab) may include specificity, mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) and C1q reactivity. These factors are also used when identifying unacceptable HLA antigens (Ags). However, if unacceptable HLA Ab specificities are present in undiluted sera but not present when sera are diluted 1:16 then these Ab specificities may be ignored when deciding on which unacceptable Ab specificities to report. This reduction in unacceptable Ags would allow for easier matching of highly sensitized patients (with high numbers of HLA Ab specificities) to an appropriate donor. Thirty-nine cI/cII high PRA sera were evaluated for the presence of HLA Abs and their Ag specificities at neat and at a 1:16 titer. The number of Ab specificities were compared at the two dilutions. One Lambda, Inc. reagents were used per the manufacturers instructions. The HLA cI/cII PRAs were 77 ± 25% and 84 ± 21% respectively for the 39 sera. The total number of HLA cI/cII Ags identified in undiluted sera were 46 ± 22 and 34 ± 22 respectively per patient. In addition, there were 7 ± 8 cI and 5 ± 4 cII falsely identified HLA Ags respectively per patient. When sera were titrated to a 1:16 dilution 71 ± 25% of cI and 51 ± 28% of cII unacceptable Ags were eliminated. The total number of cI Ags eliminated were 21 ± 10 and 15 ± 9 cII Ags. When false positive Ags were included in the evaluation the frequency for Ag elimination at a 1:16 dilution for cI became 85 ± 14% and 66 ± 24% for cII respectively. Fifty-four patients with donor specific antibody (DSA) titers of ⩽1:16 were identified. 81% (44/54) had both negative cytotoxic (AHG) and flow cytometric (FCXM) donor specific crossmatches whereas 10 patients (19%, 10/54) displayed a negative AHG but a positive FCXM. When transplanted, the FCXM negative patients had a two year graft survival of 91% vs. 60% for the FCXM positive patients ( p These data suggest that titration studies of high PRA, multiple Ab specificity presenting sera, can be used when identifying unacceptable Ags. Moreover, while the presence of DSA in low concentration (⩽1:16) may falsely suggest a positive virtual crossmatch it may not result in a real time positive crossmatch. HLA Ab specificities that are eliminated at a low titer (1:16) may allow for easier matching of highly sensitized patients to donors for transplant.
Wasting Diseases and Metabolic Impact on Bone: Emerging Therapeutics and Treatment Options

Many chronic diseases have adverse bone effects, often arising both from the disease process and from the pharmacologic therapies employed as treatments. Persons with wasting disorders have a particularly high risk of bone disease, due to their direct impact on lean muscle mass, which is both a key determinant of childhood bone accrual and is important for the maintenance of bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) in adults.
A Study of Field Effect on In-Plane Graphene Structure for RF Application

In this novel work, we present the experimental result of electric field distribution of in-plane graphene structure by investigating the IV-CV measurements at room temperature. In this work, we also studied the Raman spectroscopy at 532nm and correlative analysis of energy selective backscattered electrons mapping taken by ESB detector and the secondary electrons image acquired by the In-Lens detector at different energy level to confirm the graphene layer present on specific location and the layer thickness. The experimental results shows that the capacitance coupling between two electrode is 450 fFmm-1 at 0.18V potential difference. Contact resistance and resistivity have been measured are $\pmb{\sim 220 \ \Omega-\mu \mathrm{m}}$ and a resistivity $\pmb{\sim 1.8\times 10^{-4}\Omega-}$ cm−2. Extrapolated parasitic resistance and capacitance measured from transfer length method are $\pmb{\sim 200\Omega-\mu \mathrm{m}}$ and 445fFmm−1. These results are promising for high linearity graphene devices in radiofrequency application.
How Collective Engagement Creates Competitive Advantage for Organizations: A Business‐Level Model of Shared Vision, Competitive Intensity, and Service Performance

We argue that collective engagement can serve as a unique value‐creation capacity at the business level by linking shared vision and service performance. We also propose that competitive intensity will be a market indicator by which management can enhance the effect of shared vision on collective engagement, and indirectly strengthen service performance (through collective engagement). Furthermore, we argue that this distinctive value‐creation capability, embedded in collective engagement, generates competitive advantage; specifically, one that competing organizations will struggle to replicate. We examine our moderated‐mediation model by using a three‐time‐point method derived from five different sources in 198 retail‐service branches. Our findings indicate that collective engagement, fueled by shared organizational vision, improves service performance. Furthermore, as this conditional indirect effect of shared vision on service quality and customer satisfaction was solely generated through collective engagement rather than other mechanisms (i.e., commitment and involvement), it creates a competitive advantage for engagement‐oriented organizations.
Sr-induced dipole scatter in Ba x Sr 1 − x TiO 3 : Insights from a transferable-bond valence-based interatomic potential

In order to design next-generation ferroelectrics, a microscopic understanding of their macroscopic properties is critical. One means to achieve an atomistic description of ferroelectric and dielectric phenomena is classical molecular dynamics simulations. Previously, we have shown that interatomic potentials based on the bond valence molecular dynamics method can be used to study structural phase transitions, ferroelectric domain nucleation, and domain wall migration in several perovskite oxides and fixed-composition binary and ternary alloys. Most modern devices, however, use variable-composition perovskite oxide alloys such as ${\mathrm{Ba}}_{x}{\mathrm{Sr}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{TiO}}_{3}$ (BST). In this paper, we extend our bond valence approach to BST solid solutions and, in so doing, show that the potential parameters for each element are transferable between materials with different $x$. Using this potential, we perform bond valence molecular dynamics simulations investigating the temperature and composition dependence of the lattice constants, Ti displacements, and ferroelectric polarization of BST and find that our predictions match experiments and first-principles theory. Additionally, based on a detailed analysis of local dipole distributions in rhombohedral BST, we demonstrate that substitution of Sr for Ba scrambles dipoles, reduces global polarization, and enhances the order-disorder character of the ferroelectric-paraelectric phase transition.
Permanganate Oxidation of Microcystin-LA: Kinetics, Quantification, and Implications for Effective Drinking Water Treatment

Permanganate pretreatment of drinking water is effective in transforming dissolved, noxious contaminants and in reducing halogenated by-products. Permanganate targets specific compounds such as taste and odor compounds, disinfection precursors, manganese, and natural organic contaminants that are not removed readily by conventional treatment alone. Cyanobacterial blooms (cHABs) can increase disinfection by-product precursors as well as the cyanotoxin, microcystin (MC), a potent liver toxin. MC toxicity is conferred by a unique, conserved amino acid, Adda, that inhibits protein phosphatase 1 and 2A. Although over 150 MC congeners have been reported, thousands of MCs are statistically possible. Over the last ten years, one congener, MC-LA, has been reported with increasing frequency, making it one of the most common cyanotoxins identified in North American freshwater systems; yet its oxidation has not been widely studied. Frequently, Adda specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and protein phosphatase inhibition assay (PPIA) are used to quantitate total MCs to evaluate treatment efficiency and exposure. Anecdotal reports suggest that MC degradation products can cause interference with the Adda-ELISA. MC-LA was used as the model MC compound in this study. PPIA quantitation of MC-LA in water agreed with liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (LC/HRMS), whereas the ELISA quantitation did not agree with LC/HRMS quantitation. We determined the second order rate constant for MC-LA as 118 ± 9 M−1 s−1, the activation energy to be 21.2 kJ mol−1, and the rate to be independent of pH between pH 6 and 9. Ten oxidation products (OPs) were observed by LC/HRMS and three primary reaction pathways are proposed. The reaction pathways were used to explain differences in the quantification by Adda-ELISA, HRMS, and PPIA. The oxohydroxylation of MC-LA produced two major OPs, C46H67N7O14 [M+H] + = 942.4819 and C46H69N7O15 [M+H]+ =960.4925. Major OPs may contain an unmodified Adda and are the likely cause of interference with the Adda-ELISA. Several governmental agencies recommend the use of the Adda-ELISA to determine the MC quantitation for treatment efficiency and customer exposure; yet our results suggest that these or other OPs interfere with the Adda-ELISA causing artificially high values for total MCs.