cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Radioactive Iodine Treatment and Cancer Mortality in Hyperthyroid Patients: Questioning Standard Clinical Practice Requires Indisputable Scientific Data

1502 Background: Copper transporter receptor (CTR) have been postulated to be present only in high grade brain tumors/ Glioma. This knowledge obtained from imaging with Copper will further help to choose potential candidate for theragnostic therapy with other copper isotopes. We report preliminary evidence of 64CuCl2 uptake in various grades of brain tumors to aim towards this goal. Materials and methods: A prospective study was done on patients presented with suspected brain tumors based on MRI finding. After taking informed consent all patients were administered 64CuCl2(~175MBq) and brain positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging was performed at 2 and 24 hours after administration. Standardized uptake values (SUV) were calculated. After imaging all patients advised for surgery and 64CuCl2 PET/CT imaging findings were correlated with MRI and HPE. Results: Total 15 patients have been enrolled till now. Out of 15 patients, MRI was suggestive of high-grade brain tumor in 10, low grade in 4 and meningioma in 1 patient. Eight out of 15 patients showed 64CuCl2 uptake on PET/CT with variable SUVmax (1.4- 20). HPE were suggestive of low grade astrocytoma (2 patients, SUVmax- 1.4 and 3.5 at 2 and 24 hours), pilocytic astrocytoma (2 patients, SUVmax- 3.8 and 1.5 at 2 and 24 hours), anaplastic astrocytoma (2 patient, SUVmax- 11.1 and 20.0 at 2 and 24 hours), meningothelial meningioma(SUVmax- 10.3 and 5.17 at 2 and 24 hours) and atypical meningioma (SUVmax- 2.4 and 1.3 at 2 and 24 hours). In 7 patients with no uptake on PET-CT, HPE was available in 2 patients, which revealed anaplastic oligoastrocytoma and oligodendroglioma. For rest of the 5 patient, HPE was not available. Conclusion: This preliminary study suggests that 64CuCl2 is accumulating in some but not all high-grade brain tumors. There appears to variability in the grade of Copper uptake in all grades of tumors. More data is being accumulated to define the cutoff of copper uptake as potential differentiating features for identifying possible theragnostic targets.
Using Building Codes to Rewrite the Tailoring Rule and Mitigate Climate Change

In 2008, Mass. v. EPA effectively forced the EPA to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The plain language of the Clean Air Act gave the EPA an impossible mandate of regulating millions of buildings on a case-by-case basis. The EPA, through the Tailoring Rule, decided to regulate fewer sources. This paper shows that the EPA’s approach is legally suspect. Instead, the EPA should regulate more sources using general permits that avoid the impossibility of case-by-case regulation of millions of sources. The EPA can regulate buildings under the Clean Air Act by mandating stricter building codes for regulated buildings through State Implementation Plans (SIPs). Mandating stricter building codes is both an allowable interpretation of the Clean Air Act and a practical solution to the difficult problem of regulating carbon dioxide emissions from millions of buildings. Furthermore, stricter building codes helps both mitigate climate change and solve market failures that reduce energy efficiency.
Hope-Colored Glasses: Perceptions of Prognosis Among Pediatric Oncology Patients and Their Parents.

PURPOSE:Cancer patients' belief about prognosis can heavily influence medical decision making and goals of care. It is known that parents of children with cancer tend to be optimistic regarding the...
The clinical development of antibody-drug conjugates - lessons from leukaemia

Advances in our understanding of cancer biology have enabled drug development to progress towards better targeted therapies that are both more effective and safer owing to their lack of off-target toxicities. In this regard, antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), which have the potential to combine the selectivity of therapeutic antibodies with the cytotoxicity of highly toxic small molecules, are a rapidly developing drug class. The complex and unique structure of an ADC, composed of a monoclonal antibody conjugated to a potent cytotoxic payload via a chemical linker, is designed to selectively target a specific tumour antigen. The success of an ADC is highly dependent on the specific properties of its components, all of which have implications for the stability, cytotoxicity, pharmacokinetics and antitumour activity of the ADC. The development of therapeutic ADCs, including gemtuzumab ozogamicin and inotuzumab ozogamicin, provided great knowledge of the refinements needed for the optimization of such agents. In this Review, we describe the key components of ADC structure and function and focus on the clinical development and subsequent utilization of two leukaemia-directed ADCs - gemtuzumab ozogamicin and inotuzumab ozogamicin - as well as on the mechanisms of resistance and predictors of response to these two agents.
Characteristics and Uses of SRL Microanalysis across Diverse Contexts, Tasks, and Populations: A Systematic Review

The primary purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature regarding the characteristics, use, and implementation of an emerging assessment methodology, SRL microanalysis. Forty-...
Youth Experiences of the IDEA-Mandated Transition Planning Process: a Metasynthesis of Youth Voices

Many youth are not meaningfully engaged in their school-based transition process. Understanding youth’s perceptions of their engagement and factors influencing engagement is important to increase engagement. A search of six databases produced 975 studies; 11 which were included. Inclusion criteria: Qualitative research on youth’s perspectives of the transition process in the United States; youth’s primary disability is not intellectual or physical disability. Analysis: Applied guidelines for study quality and content analysis of results sections. Youth described interactions and personal factors that contribute to disengagement in transition planning. Yet, youth have transition-related goals and preferences and take actions during transition. Findings highlight the complex social structure of IEP teams and potential ways to expand transition-related interventions.
In vitro digestion of raw, roasted, and pressure-flaked corn.

Abstract We compared raw, roasted, and pressure-flaked com in dry matter and starch digestion studies in vitro . For dry matter digestion, incubations were 1, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 48h. Dry matter digestion was increased in hours 1 through 24 by processing. Digestion in the 48-h period was decreased by processing which suggests that processing may increase the ease of utilization but not total utilization. Roasting decreased 48-h dry matter digestion more than pressure flaking. Starch digestion with incubations 1, 4, 24, and 48h favored processed corn at all hours except 4. The 48-h observations from both studies indicate that while processing enhances starch utilization, it impairs utilization of other components in the grain. Prediction equations for dry matter and starch digestion for each corn treatment from length of incubation period and squared length of incubation period had multiple correlations of .96 or greater.
Rarity of Somatic Mutation and Frequency of Normal Sequence Variation Detected in Sporadic Colon Adenocarcinoma Using High-Throughput cDNA Sequencing

We performed high-throughput cDNA sequencing in colorectal adenocarcinoma and matching normal colorectal epithelium. All six hundred three genes in the UCSC database that were expressed in colon cancers and contained open reading frames of 1000 nucleotides or less were selected for study (total basepairs/bp, 366,686). 304,350 of these 366,686 bp (83.0%) were amplified and sequenced successfully. Seventy-eight sequence variants present in germline (i.e. normal) as well as matching somatic (i.e. tumor) DNA were discovered, yielding a frequency of 1 variant per 3,902 bp. Fifty-one of these sequence variants were homozygous (26 synonymous, 25 non-synonymous), while 27 were heterozygous (11 synonymous, 16 non-synonymous). Cancer tissue contained only one sequence-altered allele of the gene ATP50, which was present heterozygously alongside the wild-type allele in matching normal epithelium. Despite this relatively large number of bp and genes sequenced, no somatic mutations unique to tumor were found. High-throughput cDNA sequencing is a practical approach for detecting novel sequence variations and alterations in human tumors, such as those of the colon.
Reading, writing, and prison education reform?

Purpose – Development of prison postsecondary education and training programs since the elimination of Pell Grants to inmates has been constructed through smaller‐scale educators and institutions working toward more democratic access to higher education. The authors of this article work as educators and program developers in two such programs in women's correctional facilities and use these programs as exemplars to describe the necessary components and potential pitfalls in developing and implementing college‐in‐prison and vocational‐training‐in‐prison. The purpose of this paper is to describe the experiences and challenges faced by the authors, first as educators and then as program developers, as they attempted to expand the impact of educational opportunity across a larger segment of the US incarcerated population in the prisons where they teach.Design/methodology/approach – This article steps away from day‐to‐day classroom descriptions and focuses on the larger picture of the conditions necessary to s...
Large-Scale Roughness in Open-Channel Flow

A new method of predicting resistance to flow in open channels with large roughness elements is proposed. The roughness elements investigated consisted of 6-in. and 3.75-in. cubes; these were arranged in a variety of symmetric and random patterns. The majority of patterns used 6-in. cubes and one random pattern included both 6-in. and 3.75-in. cubes. It was found that systematic relationships do exist among the Manning's n, Reynolds Number, Froude Number, and a special quantitative parameter of the roughness pattern.
Similar Is Different in Hippocampal Networks

Physiological evidence links the hippocampus to representation of the environment. However, nonspatial signals also activate hippocampal neurons. In his Perspective, [BuzsAiki][1] discusses the proposal made by [ Leutgeb et al ][2]. that a dual coding scheme by hippocampal neurons handles this perplexing problem. The idea is based on observations of ensemble activity of hippocampal neurons in rats placed in either the same or different chambers and in the same or different rooms. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/309/5734/568 [2]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/309/5734/619
Psychological distancing: the effects of narrative perspectives and levels of access to a victim's inner world on victim blame and helping intention

To explore what is an (in)effective way to tell victim stories in order to elicit support for charitable causes, an experiment was conducted to examine how narrative perspectives (first-person versus third-person) and levels of access to a victim's inner world (high versus low) may influence reactions to the victim. It found that the two factors interacted to influence victim blame and helping intention through affecting the perceived psychological distance of the victim. Specifically, the first-person (versus third-person) narrative increased victim blame and reduced helping intention by motivating participants to distance themselves from the victim when the level of access to the victim's inner world was relatively high but not when the level of access was relatively low. The findings contribute to our understanding of what would be an (in)effective way of telling victim stories to elicit compassionate reactions to those in need. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Las Elecciones Presidenciales Estadounidenses De 2008 Y La Teoria Del Votante Medio

In an election where two candidates will compete under the majority rule, it is common the existence of the medium voter. The candidate which situates himself/herself closer to this medium voter will be invariably the winner. According to the Slate Magazine journalist Mickey Kaus, the last American presidential elections of 2000 2004 were decided by this theorem. To better explain how this theory can be applied to the current presidential elections of 2008, the article is divided into three parts: (1) a brief presentation of the medium voter theorem; (2) basic information on the presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, their history and their political positions; and (3) a conclusion that will analyze whether the changing of their positions represent or not an attempt of getting the medium voter support.
Intralesional therapy with PV-10 (Rose Bengal) for in-transit melanoma

Rose Bengal is a novel injectable agent that has been evaluated as a rational treatment strategy for melanoma patients with recurrent unresectable local/regional metastases accessible for intralesional injection. PV-10 (10% Rose Bengal) has completed phase 1 and phase 2 multi-center clinical trials demonstrating significant local/regional disease control and also responses in non-injected regional bystander lesions and distant metastases. The published results of studies that have assessed PV-10 are presented, and the rationale for combining its use with recently approved immunotherapeutic agents is discussed.
Rising air and stream-water temperatures in Chesapeake Bay region, USA

Monthly mean air temperature (AT) at 85 sites and instantaneous stream-water temperature (WT) at 129 sites for 1960–2010 are examined for the mid-Atlantic region, USA. Temperature anomalies for two periods, 1961–1985 and 1985–2010, relative to the climate normal period of 1971–2000, indicate that the latter period was statistically significantly warmer than the former for both mean AT and WT. Statistically significant temporal trends across the region of 0.023 °C per year for AT and 0.028 °C per year for WT are detected using simple linear regression. Sensitivity analyses show that the irregularly sampled WT data are appropriate for trend analyses, resulting in conservative estimates of trend magnitude. Relations between 190 landscape factors and significant trends in AT-WT relations are examined using principal components analysis. Measures of major dams and deciduous forest are correlated with WT increasing slower than AT, whereas agriculture in the absence of major dams is correlated with WT increasing faster than AT. Increasing WT trends are detected despite increasing trends in streamflow in the northern part of the study area. Continued warming of contributing streams to Chesapeake Bay likely will result in shifts in distributions of aquatic biota and contribute to worsened eutrophic conditions in the bay and its estuaries.
Homicides with Partial Limbic Seizures: Is Chemical Seizure Kindling the Culprit?

Recreational intermittent, subthreshold amounts of alcohol and/or drugs might evoke chemical kindling of nonconvulsive, simple partial seizures in the limbic system, with secondary, brief, prefrontal lobe dysfunctioning; preserved core consciousness; and memory for the bizarre, out-of-character, motiveless, unplanned homicidal acts performed during a fleeting psychosis. Such acts persisted for 2 to l0 minutes despite forceful external interruption in three single, white male loners. In contrast, five nonusers, with otherwise similar symptomatology, aborted their homicidal attacks on external interruption, in a previously proposed syndrome with only experiential kindling with memory revival of past hurts in limbic psychotic trigger reaction. Thus, this article hypothesizes that either chemical kindling alone or as a superimposition on experiential kindling might occur in the form of unusual persistence or enhancement of partial seizures.
Factor Affecting Bubble Creation and Bubble Size

This paper presents the factors affecting air bubble size when air is injected through a perforated membrane into a water pool. Critical factors that govern the size of air bubbles are the air pressure and the flow rate as well as the hole size of the diffuser membrane. In order to have a better understanding of how bubble size can be affected and what the most effecting conditions are, the study was conducted in a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) investigation, which was validated by the experimental results.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Performance of the x-ray free-electron laser oscillator with crystal cavity

Simulations of the x-ray free-electron laser (FEL) oscillator are presented that include the frequency-dependent Bragg crystal reflectivity and the transverse diffraction and focusing using the two-dimensional FEL code GINGER. A review of the physics of Bragg crystal reflectors and the x-ray FEL oscillator is made, followed by a discussion of its numerical implementation in GINGER. The simulation results for a two-crystal cavity and realistic FEL parameters indicate $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{9}$ photons in a nearly Fourier-limited, ps pulse. Compressing the electron beam to 100 A and 100 fs results in comparable x-ray characteristics for relaxed beam emittance, energy spread, and/or undulator parameters, albeit in a larger radiation bandwidth. Finally, preliminary simulation results indicate that the four-crystal FEL cavity can be tuned in energy over a range of a few percent.
STUDIES OF IFN-INDUCED TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVATION UNCOVER THE JAK-STAT PATHWAY

ABSTRACT Sharing the Milstein Award with George R. Stark and Ian M. Kerr in the fall of 1997 brought this invitation to record personal reflections on our experiments concerning the mechanisms of a...
Relationship between radiative-transport theory and Maxwell’s equations in dielectric media

The relationship between Maxwell’s equations and radiative-transport theory is studied for isotropic, nondispersive media that have arbitrary permittivity variations. It is demonstrated that the postulates of transport theory are consistent with Maxwell’s equations if the characteristics of the medium and the fields are such that the field-correlation tensor possesses certain properties and if the relative permittivity fluctuations in the medium are small in comparison with unity and have correlation lengths that satisfy appropriate requirements.
A linked feature space approach to exploring lidar data

A typical approach to exploring Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) datasets is to extract features using pre-defined segmentation algorithms. However, this approach only provides a limited set of features that users can investigate. To expand and represent the rich information inside the LIDAR data, we introduce a linked feature space concept that allows users to make regular, conjunctive, and disjunctive discoveries in non-uniform LIDAR data by interacting with multidimensional transfer functions. We achieve this by providing interactions for creating multiple scatter-plots of varying axes, establishing chains of plots based on selection domains, linking plots using logical operators, and viewing selected brushing results in both a 3D view and selected scatter-plots. Our highly interactive approach to visualizing LIDAR feature spaces facilitates the users' ability to explore, identify, and understand data features in a novel way. Our approach for exploring LIDAR data can directly lead to better understanding of historical LIDAR datasets, and increase the turnaround time and quality of results from time-critical LIDAR collections after urban disasters or on the battlefield.
The fate of Notch-deficient nephrogenic progenitor cells during metanephric kidney development

To determine which nephron segments require Notch signals for development, we conditionally deleted Rbpj , a transcription factor required for canonical Notch signaling, in nephrogenic progenitors (NPs) of the metanephric mesenchyme. The retinoic acid receptor-β2 (Rarb2) promoter efficiently directed Cre-recombinase (Cre) activity to these progenitors. Conditional knockout of Rbpj in mice (Rarb2Cre + / Rbpj f/− ) caused severe renal hypoplasia, as indicated by a 70–95% reduction in nephron number and the development of tubular cysts. To track the fate of NPs following Rarb2Cre expression, we labeled them with membrane-associated enhanced green fluorescent protein (GFP). In TomatoGFP + /Rarb2Cre + control mice, NPs differentiated into epithelia of all nephron segments, except into collecting ducts. In TomatoGFP + /Rarb2Cre + /Rbpj f/− conditional knockout mice, NPs developed into podocytes or distal tubular epithelia, indicating that canonical Notch signals were not required for mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition or for the specification of these nephron segments. Conversely, the few proximal tubules and associated cysts that developed in these mice were derived from the 5–10% of NPs that had failed to express Cre and, therefore, had intact Notch signaling. Thus, our fate mapping studies establish that the profound effect of Notch signaling on nephrogenesis is due to the specification of proximal but not distal tubules or podocytes.
Exploration of the effect of Category Match Score in search advertising

Categorical (topic) similarity between a web page and an advertisement (ad) text has long been used for contextual advertising. In this paper, we explore the use of the categorical similarity score, referred to as Category Match Score (CMS), in the context of search advertising. In particular, we explore the effect of CMS on various ad-effectiveness prediction tasks, including user-judgment prediction, ad click-through-rate prediction (CTR), and revenue-per-impression prediction. Our extensive experiments on two editorial datasets and one live traffic dataset demonstrate that CMS is one of the strongest features in the judgment prediction task and that CMS-based filtering is very effective in improving revenue per impression as well as CTR. We believe that our analyses can be extremely effective in helping web service providers serve more relevant and profitable ads to users.
Overexpression of cloned genes using recombinant Escherichia coli regulated by a T7 promoter: I. Batch cultures and kinetic modeling.

A novel Eschericha coli expression system directed by bacteriophage T7 RNA Polymerase utilized for overexpression of the cloned gene. The recombinant cell contains the plasmid with a bacteriophage promoter, the T7 promoter, to regulate the expression of the target gene. This promoter is recognized only by T7 RNA polymerase, whose gene has been fused into the host chromosome and is under control of the lacUV5 promoter. Therefore, the target gene on the plasmid can be expressed only in the presence of T7 RNA polymerase, which is induced by isopropyl-beta-D-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG). The batch cultures were performed to investigate the effect of induction on kinetics of cell growth and foreign protein formation and to determine the optimal induction strategy. It was observed that the specific growth rates of the recombinant cells dramatically decrease after induction, and that there is an optimal induction time for maximizing the accumulated intracellular foreign protein. This optimal induction time varies significantly with inducer concentration. To better understand the optimal behavior, a lumped mechanistic model was constructed to analyze the induced cell growth and foreign protein formation rates.
Political Dynamics and the Circulation of Power: CEO Succession in U.S. Industrial Corporations, 1960-1990

This paper is based on my doctoral dissertation research at Stanford University. An earlier version appeared in the Academy of Management Best Papers Proceedings 1993. I would like to thank my dissertation committee, Jeff Pfeffer, Bill Barnett, Jim March, and Joel Podolny, as well as Deborah Ancona, Mauro Guillen, Marshall Meyer, Paul Osterman, Maureen Scully, John Van Maanen, Marc Ventresca, Jim Walsh, and three anonymous ASO reviewers for invaluable advice, suggestions, and encouragement. Any remaining errors are my own. To explain patterns of political dynamics, this paper develops a model of the circulation of power and compares it with an alternative model, the institutionalization of power, in an event history analysis of CEO succession. The circulation of power emphasizes the internal contests for control and opposition to the CEO that emerge with increased executive tenure and under conditions of economic adversity. The study finds support for an increasing rate of CEO succession during the first decade of tenure, consistent with the model of circulation, followed by a slow decline afterward, consistent with institutionalization. The effects of economic adversity were found to trigger circulation when combined with long prior board tenure and large board size. Also, contrary to conventional views, under economic adversity, more inside board members increase CEO succession.'
Chemistry of the main group metals: A stereoselective synthesis of allyl vinyl thioethers for the thio—claisen reaction

Abstract A stereoselective route to allyl vinyl thioethers has been developed which relies on the reaction of vinylalanates with allyl thiosulfonates.
Lower thoracic syndrome – A differential screen for back pain following vertical compression injury: A case report

Summary A 36-year-old male experienced left sided back and radiating flank pain, following a fall on his buttock. A detailed medical evaluation ruled out the presence of red flags. Initial examination revealed positive findings of comparable local tenderness over the left T11, T12 and left paraspinal area, and a 2 cm shortening of the left leg. 8 treatment visits for a period of 4 weeks addressed mechanical dysfunction at the T11, T12, lumbar and pelvic region, comprising manual therapy, therapeutic exercise and pain relieving modalities. Reduction of local tenderness, back and radiating flank pain was observed. Additionally, resolution of the persistent apparent shortening of his left leg was observed, following a high velocity thrust (HVT) manipulation of the T11, T12 segments. The vertebral motion segment of T11, T12, the thoracoabdominal nerves, the 12th rib, the quadratus lumborum and the serratus posterior inferior are speculated to be potential symptom mediators. The findings in the case report suggest the lower thoracic region to be included during the evaluation process of back pain, especially when the mechanism of injury is a vertical compression.
Colorectal cancer screening disparities related to obesity and gender

BACKGROUND: Obesity is associated with a higher incidence of colorectal cancer and increased colorectal cancer mortality. Obese women are less likely to undergo breast and cervical cancer screening than nonobese women. It is not known whether obesity is associated with a lower likelihood of colorectal cancer screening.
Non-involuting congenital haemangioma associated with high-output cardiomyopathy

Non-involuting congenital haemangioma (NICH) is a rare cutaneous vascular tumour about which little is known. Fully formed at birth, NICH enlarges proportionally with age but fails to involute as most infantile haemangiomas do. In addition to this unique clinical character, NICH demonstrates several distinct features. Doppler and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies reveal persistent high-flow arterial feeders and a tumour-like capillary blush; however, NICH fails to demonstrate early venous opacification in contrast to arteriovenous malformation (AVM). NICH lesions also contain microscopic dermal arteriovenous fistulas as well as prominent interlobular veins. Here, we present the first known case of NICH-related high-output cardiomyopathy in a 2-year-old boy.
Contributions of Seed Meristems to Radiobiology

“Dry” or dormant biological systems such as bacterial spores, cysts of brine shrimp and seeds of higher plants have been extensively used as test organisms in radiobiological studies. In particular, experiments conducted with the bacterial spore have contributed much to our knowledge of certain radiobiological concepts (see ref. 39 for a review). Plant seeds have been used in similar studies and although inferior to the bacterial spore in population size which can be studied, the seed has several advantages. It represents a multicellular organism with a complex chromosome structure and in addition to reduced survival (the only kind of damage studied in the spore) other radiobiological end-points such as mutations, chromosome aberrations and growth reduction can be readily measured.
Pure mucinous carcinoma of the breast

Abstract Background The lack of a standard definition of “pure” mucinous carcinoma of the breast has made it difficult to compare data from different studies. This study used the most stringent criteria to define parameters for truly pure lesions. Methods Sixty-five patients were identified. The database was used to evaluate patients' demographics, tumor characteristics, and outcomes. Survival curves and predictors of survival were analyzed. Results The mean age of presentation was 67 years. The majority (96%) of patients presented with early-stage disease. The 5- and 10-year overall survival rates were 93.6% and 72.8%, respectively. The number of involved axillary lymph nodes was the only significant predictor of death ( P = 0.02). Conclusions Pure mucinous carcinoma of the breast has a favorable prognosis. Tumor size does not appear to impact survival, perhaps because the volume of mucin overestimates tumor burden. The number of involved axillary lymph nodes was the only significant predictor of death from disease.
Using an object-based grid system to evaluate a newly developed EP approach to formulate SVMs as applied to the classification of organophosphate nerve agents

This paper extends the classification approaches described in reference [1] in the following way: (1.) developing and evaluating a new method for evolving organophosphate nerve agent Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers using Evolutionary Programming, (2.) conducting research experiments using a larger database of organophosphate nerve agents, and (3.) upgrading the architecture to an object-based grid system for evaluating the classification of EP derived SVMs. Due to the increased threats of chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction (WMD) by international terrorist organizations, a significant effort is underway to develop tools that can be used to detect and effectively combat biochemical warfare. This paper reports the integration of multi-array sensors with Support Vector Machines (SVMs) for the detection of organophosphates nerve agents using a grid computing system called Legion. Grid computing is the use of large collections of heterogeneous, distributed resources (including machines, databases, devices, and users) to support large-scale computations and wide-area data access. Finally, preliminary results using EP derived support vector machines designed to operate on distributed systems have provided accurate classification results. In addition, distributed training time architectures are 50 times faster when compared to standard iterative training time methods.
Phyto-removal of trinitrotoluene from water with batch kinetic studies

Abstract A series of batch reactor studies were conducted to obtain kinetic data for optimizing phyto-treatment of water contaminated with trinitrotoluene (TNT). A plant screening study indicated that stonewort and parrotfeather were the most effective among the plants tested; parrotfeather being chosen for further testing because it is heartier and easier to cultivate than stonewort. Treatment was reproducible under similar conditions, and sequential formation and breakdown of aminodinitrotoluene (ADNT) and diaminonitrotoluene (DANT) were observed in the aqueous phase. TNT removal rates increased with increased plant density, and removal kinetics increased with increasing temperature up to 34° C. Michaelis–Menton kinetics applied to the phyto-removal of TNT. At concentrations less than 5.5 mg/l TNT, a pseudo-first-order approximation of the Michealis–Menton equation was used with acceptable deviation. Prior exposure to TNT did not appear to have a significant effect on phyto-transformation rates, suggesting that the mechanisms for removal were not induced. Small concentrations of ADNT were found in the plant material, however, TNT was not detected. The results indicated that optimized reactors for the phyto-treatment of contaminated wastewater and groundwater are feasible, increasing degradation rates and decreasing reactor volumes.
Shifting Motives: Explaining the Buildup in Official Reserves in Emerging Markets Since the 1980s

Why have emerging market economies (EMEs) been stockpiling international reserves? We find that motives have varied over time?vulnerability to current account shocks was relatively important in the 1980s but, as EMEs have become more financially integrated, factors related to the magnitude of potential capital outflows have gained in importance. Reserve accumulation as a by-product of undervalued currencies has also become more important since the Asian crisis. Correspondingly, using quantile regressions, we find that the reason for holding reserves varies according to the country's position in the global reserves distribution. High reserve holders, who tend to be more financially integrated, are motivated by insurance against capital account rather than current account shocks, and are more sensitive to the cost of holding reserves than are low-reserve holders. Currency undervaluation is a significant determinant across the reserves distribution, albeit for different reasons.
Green With Envy: Psychological and Social Predictors of Lawn Fertilizer Application

Fertilizer application has many known environmental impacts, and household use of fertilizer for lawn cultivation contributes a significant amount toward these impacts. Previous study provides a compelling narrative of the social, political, and cultural factors that drive fertilizer application; however, the psychological factors involved are not well known. This article examines factors that motivate fertilizer application using surveys among a sample of 194 residents within an urban watershed. Measures included aesthetic preferences, financial concerns, social norms, and environmental concerns. A principal components analysis (PCA) revealed four orthogonal factors. Among them, individual interests and social pressures positively predicted fertilizer application, as did the likelihood that children and pets play on a resident’s lawn. Environmental concerns were not predictive. These data contribute to an evolving storyline suggesting that households make tradeoffs between lawn aesthetics and concern for the environment and exposure to chemicals in part due to strong social pressures surrounding lawn maintenance.
Cholinergic systems in the rat brain: I. Projections to the limbic telencephalon

The cholinergic projections to the limbic telecephalon in the rat were investigated by use of fluorescent tracer histology in combination with choline-O-acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunohistochemistry and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemistry (pharmacohistochemical regimen). Propidium iodide or Evans Blue was infused into the olfactory bulb, hippocampus, dorsal retrohippocampal region, amygdala, and the entorhinal, perirhinal, pyriform, insular, and cingular cortices. Retrogradely transported fluorescent labels and ChAT and/or AChE were microscopically analyzed on the same brain section. Virtually all of the cholinergic projections to the limbic telencephalon derived from the basal forebrain cholinergic system composed of neurons associated with the medial septal nucleus, nuclei of the vertical and horizontal limbs of the diagonal band, the magnocellular preoptic area, the subpallidal substantia innominata and its rostral extension into the regions of the ventral pallidum laterally and the lateral preoptic area medially, and the nucleus basalis. The cingulate cortex received a small cholinergic projection from the dorsolateral tegmental nucleus in the brainstem. All of the presumed cholinergic innervation of the olfactory bulb, hippocampus, and dorsal retrohippocampal area and the majority of cholinergic afferents to posterior cingulate and entorhinal cortices derived from the medial septal nucleus, vertical and horizontal limbs of the diagonal band, magnocellular preoptic area, and rostral substantia innominata. Putative cholinergic afferents to the amygdala and to pyriform, insular, perirhinal, and anterior cingulate cortices orginated from ChAT-positive cells concentrated more caudally in the basal forebrain cholinergic system. Within the basal forebrain, no simple topographic pattern emerged to explain the cholinergic innervation of the limbic telencephalon, although an essentially reverse rostrocaudal organization was observed for afferents to the cingular region. It was noted, however, that most regions of the limbic telencephalon received cholinergic input from rostral portions of the basal forebrain cholinergic system, an observation inviting speculation that anterior aspects of the basal forebrain provide cholinergic afferents primarily to limbic structures in the telencephalon whereas more caudal portions are the source of cholinergic fibers preferentially innervating non-limbic regions. Of the total number of projection neurons innervating a given region of the limbic telencephalon, a greater proportion was ChAT-positive if phylogenetically newer target structures were innervated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Applications of magnetic resonance imaging to ion‐exchange resins

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to determine swollen resin morphology in cation–exchange beads. The study of the nonuuniformity of the swelling of cation–exchange beads [sulfonated styrene–divinylbenzene (SDVB) copolymers] is of interest because the exchange kinetics and other properties are expected to be strongly influenced by the swelling. MRI can replace current invasive and destructive methods for studying the morphology of these resins. Several types of ion–exchange resins were examined including beads which exhibit homogeneous swelling, heterogeneous swelling, and partially sulfonated beads. The variation in intensity observed is due to a variation in crosslink density, degree of sulfonation, composition, sulfone bridging, or a combination of these variables. Due to their small size, the beads were also imaged using a small coil insert. Results are compared to commercially available insert images in terms of signal-to-noise and experiment time. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Going with the Flow

A growing synergy between rheology and biophysics is yielding insights into the flow properties of polymers and biomolecules.
A reassessment of PWR pressure vessel integrity during overcooling accidents, considering 3-D flaws

A continuing analysis of the pressurized-thermal-shock problem associated with PWR postulated overcooling accidents indicates that the previously accepted degree of conservatism in the fracture-mechanics model needs to be more closely evaluated, and, if excessive, reduced. One feature that was believed to be conservative was the use of two-dimensional as opposed to finite-length (threedimensional) flaws. The degree of conservatism could not be adequately investigated because of computational limitations and a lack of knowledge regarding flaw behavior; however, that situation has changed to the extent that some cases involving finite-length flaws can be studied. A flaw of particular interest is one that is located in an axial weld of a plate-type vessel. For those vessels that suffer relatively high-radiation damage in the welds, the length of the flaw will be no greater than the length of the weld, and recent calculations indicate that a deep flaw of that length ( about 2 m) is not effectively infinitely long, contrary to previous thinking. The benefit to be derived from consideration of the 2-m flaw and also a semi-elliptical flaw with length-to-depth ratio of 6/1 was investigated by analyzing several postulated transients. In doing so the sensitivity of the benefit to a specified maximummore » crack-arrest toughness and to the duration of the transient was investigated. Results of the analysis indicate that for some conditions the benefit in using the 2-m flaw is substantial, but it decreases with increasing pressure, and above a certain pressure there may be no benefit, depending on the duration of the transient and the limit on crack-arrest toughness.« less
Pressure-volume changes in human forearm veins after atropine administration.

Summary1) Observations on forearm venous distensibility, volume and pressure were made in normal subjects before and after intravenous administration of atropine sulfate. Venous pressure fell in 16, venous constriction occurred in 17 and venous volume fell in each of 18 experiments. These responses were not altered significantly in the 5 instances where experiments were repeated with a lower body anti-gravity suit inflated. 2) Atropine did not cause venous dilatation or venous pooling. Venous constriction occurred almost uniformly and in each instance blood shifted from the forearm.
Healing of Cortical Bone Grafts in the Dog The Role of Azathioprine

Sixteen unrelated beagles, randomly divided into groups of four, were used in evaluating the role of therapeutic immunosuppression in the healing of fresh cortical bone allografts over a 16-week period. The four groups included: nontreated allograft, treated allograft, nontreated autograft, and treated autograft. A 2.7-cm tibial cortical graft was fixed orthotopically using a dynamic compression plate. Healing was evaluated by radiography and by gross and histologic studies at 2, 4, 8, and 16 weeks after surgery. The treated dogs were immunosuppressed with azathioprine for eight weeks postsurgery. The conclusions were that: temporary immunosuppression did not significantly alter healing of fresh cortical bone autografts; healing of fresh cortical bone allografts in immunosuppressed dogs was similar to healing of fresh cortical bone autografts; slight differences were observed in the healing of bone grafts in all groups after eight weeks; and cellular reaction typical of graft rejection was found in nontreated allografts, but healing still occurred.
To Teach the Holocaust in Poland: Understanding Teachers' Motivations to Engage the Painful Past.

This article highlights the role of teachers in confronting traumatic, hidden wartime histories in communities traumatized by them. The study illuminates patterns based on field observations, emails, and surveys of 60 teachers who participated in a Holocaust teacher preparation program in Poland during the summer of 2010. The teachers surveyed were motivated to teach the Holocaust out of a personal or familial need, a sense of personal duty, and a desire to understand themselves and their histories. They also were concerned that their students lacked knowledge of the Holocaust in Poland. Findings from this research help to inform theory and practice related to the implementation of successful reconciliation curriculum across communities that have been traumatized by ethnic cleansing, racism, war, and intolerance.
Prevalence of Use of Human Milk in US Advanced Care Neonatal Units

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends all preterm infants receive human milk. The objective of this study was to describe the use of human milk in advanced care neonatal units of US maternity hospitals. METHODS: We used Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s national Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care survey from 2007, 2009, and 2011 to analyze 2 questions to describe the prevalence of US advanced care (special/level 2 or intensive/level 3) neonatal units routinely providing human milk to infants, and the use of any donor milk in these units. RESULTS: In 2011, 30.8% of maternity hospitals reported that most infants (≥90%) were routinely provided human milk in advanced care units, compared with 26.7% in 2009 and 21.2% in 2007 (trend P < .001). States in the Northwest and Northeast had a higher prevalence of hospitals routinely providing human milk to ≥90% of infants in advanced care units. In 2011, 22.0% of maternity hospitals providing advanced care used banked donor milk, compared with 14.4% in 2009 and 11.5% in 2007 (trend P < .001). Most of this increase occurred in intensive care units (25.1% 2007 vs 45.2% 2011; trend P < .001). There was substantial geographic variation in the prevalence of advanced care units using donor milk; generally the prevalence was higher in the West and in states with a milk bank in the state or a neighboring state. CONCLUSIONS: The use of human milk in US advanced care neonatal units is increasing; however, only one-third of these units are routinely providing human milk to most infants. * Abbreviations: AAP — : American Academy of Pediatrics HMBANA — : Human Milk Banking Association of North America mPINC — : Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care survey
Generating speckle patterns with tailored intensity statistics

We generate speckles with controllable intensity statistics by carefully designing the phase patterns applied to a spatial light modulator. The speckle patterns with predetermined intensity distribution exhibit an axially varying contrast.
Cloning and constitutive expression of structural genes encoding gonococcal porin protein in Escherichia coli and attenuated Salmonella typhimurium vaccine strains

Abstract Previous reports [Gotschlich et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84 (1987) 8135–8139; Carbonetti and Sparling, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 84 (1987) 9084–9088; Carbonetti et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85 (1988) 6841–6845] concluded that synthesis of the porin protein (Por) from Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Escherichia coli was toxic to that organism, which limited studies of the biology of Por in foreign hosts. We assembled intact por genes from the gonococcal strains, FA19 (serogroup PIA) and FA6434 (a hybrid Por containing epitopes from serogroups PIA and PIB), and observed stable expression in E. coli without evident toxicity. Expression of por from strain MS 11 (serogroup PIB) in E. coli was difficult, but por from MS11 was expressed without toxicity when the −35 region of the por promoter was removed. Encouraged by this, we moved por from E. coli into attenuated Salmonella typhimurium strains and expressed por either in single copy from the chromosome or in multiple copy from plasmids. Expression levels of por in S. typhimurium were higher from plasmids than from the chromosome, probably due to a gene dosage effect. This work will enable study of the immune response to Por in mice vaccinated orally with live S. typhimurium.
Separation of fluorescent phosphatidyl inositol phosphates by CE

Phosphatidyl inositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP 2 ) and phosphatidyl inositol 3,4,5-trisphosphate (PIP 3 ) labeled with 4,4-difluoro-5,7-dimethyl-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-propionic acid (BODIPY FL) on the acyl chain or a phosphatidyl ethanolamine head group were separated by CE with LIF detection. Several methods and capillary-coating procedures were tested for the separation of these phosphatidyl inositol phosphates (PIPs) at 20°C. Separation of the PIPs in less than 20 min with excellent resolution was achieved using a buffer containing sodium deoxycholate (SDC), 1-propanol, MgCl 2 and the polymer coating reagent, EOTrol™ LR. The efficiency of the optimized method was as high as 1.3 x 10 5 plates. The dependence of the separation on the concentration of 1-propanol, SDC, and MgCl 2 was determined. The separation of PIP 2 and PIP 3 was primarily due to differential binding of the lipids to Mg 2+ rather than to different solubilities in the micellar phase. The role of the SDC was to prevent adsorption of the hydrophobic lipids to the capillary wall and thus enhance the efficiency. The fluorescent PIPs are of value for both in vitro and in vivo assays of phospholipid metabolism. In particular, the use of these lipids with the optimized capillary-based separation will be of utility for drug screening as well as cell-based assays.