cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of RTOG breast/chest wall guidelines on dose-volume histogram parameters

Treatment planning for breast cancer has been traditionally based on clinical landmarks. The Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) published consensus guidelines on contouring target volumes (TV) for the breast/chest wall and draining lymphatics. The effect of these guidelines on dosimetric parameters in surrounding organs at risk (OAR) and TVs is unknown. Fourteen patients treated with clinically derived plans from 2007-2011 (Group I) and fourteen patients treated with target volume-based plans from 2011-2012 were selected for comparison (Group II). Treatment plans were constructed based on clinical landmarks (Group I) or TVs (Group II) to a median dose of 50.4 Gy to the breast/chest wall, axilla (Ax), supraclavicular (SCV), and internal mammary (IMN) lymph nodes. The RTOG TVs were then contoured in Group I patients by a single investigator blinded to the dose distributions. Dose-volume histograms (DVH) were computed for the RTOG TVs and OARs in both groups, and DVH parameters were compared. In Group II, coverage improved for the SCV (V90 = 78.0% versus 93.6%, p = 0.02) and intact breast (V95 = 95.6% versus 99.3%, p = 0.007). The dose to the cord, the lung (V20Gy and V30Gy), and contralateral breast (V5Gy) were the same. Finally, the low dose to the heart and lung was decreased in Group II (heart V5Gy= 48.7% versus 27.3%, p= 0.02, heart V10Gy = 33.5% vs. 17.5%, p = 0.01, and ipsilateral lung V5Gy = 84.5% vs. 69.3%, p = 0.001). Overall, our study supports that treatment planning using the RTOG consensus guidelines can improve coverage to certain target volumes compared to treatments based solely on clinical landmarks. Additionally, treatment planning using these target volumes does not increase dose to the contralateral breast, cord, heart, or lungs. Longer follow-up is needed to determine if using these target volumes will affect clinical outcomes.
A robust tool highlights the influence of bird migration on influenza A virus evolution

One of the fundamental unknowns in the field of influenza biology is a panoramic understanding of the role wild birds play in the global maintenance and spread of influenza A viruses. Wild aquatic birds are considered a reservoir host for all lowly pathogenic avian influenza A viruses (AIV) and thus serve as a potential source of zoonotic AIV, such as Australasian-origin H5N1 responsible for morbidity and mortality in both poultry and humans, as well as genes that may contribute to the emergence of pandemic viruses. Years of broad, in-depth wild bird AIV surveillance have helped to decipher key observations and ideas regarding AIV evolution and viral ecology including the trending of viral lineages, patterns of gene flow within and between migratory flyways and the role of geographic boundaries in shaping viral evolution (Bahl et al. 2009; Lam et al. 2012). While these generally 'virus-centric' studies have ultimately advanced our broader understanding of AIV dynamics, recent studies have been more host-focused, directed at determining the potential impact of host behaviour on AIV, specifically, the influence of bird migration upon AIV maintenance and transmission. A large number of surveillance studies have taken place in Alaska, United States-a region where several global flyways overlap-with the aim of detecting the introduction of novel, Australasian-origin highly pathogenic H5N1 AIV into North America. By targeting bird species with known migration habits, long-distance migrators were determined to be involved in the intercontinental movement of individual AIV gene segments, but not entire viruses, between the Australasian and North American flyways (Koehler et al. 2008; Pearce et al. 2010). Yet, bird movement is not solely limited to long-distance migration, and the relationship of resident or nonmigratory and intermediate-distance migrant populations with AIV ecology has only recently been explored by Hill et al. (2012) in this issue of Molecular Ecology. Applying a uniquely refined, multidimensional approach, Hill et al. validate the innovative use of stable isotope assays for qualifying migration status of wild mallards within the Pacific flyway. The authors reveal that AIV prevalence and diversity did not differ in wintering mallard ducks with different migration strategies, and while migrant mallards do indeed introduce AIV, these viruses do not circulate as the predominant viruses in resident birds. On the other hand, resident mallards from more temperate regions act as reservoirs, possibly contributing to the unseasonal circulation and extended transmission period of AIV. This study highlights the impact of animal behaviour on shaping viral evolution, and the unique observations made will help inform prospective AIV surveillance efforts in wild birds.
Regulation of isopentenoid biosynthesis by plant growth retardants in Nicotiana tabacum

Abstract The effects of AMO-1618, AY-9944 and SKF-7997 on the growth of Nicotiana tabacum and on the biosynthesis of acidic and neutral isopentenoids in the seedlings were examined. All three compounds significantly retarded stem elongation but not dry wt of the plants. Incorporation of radioactivity from [2- 14 C]-mevalonate into acidic and neutral isopentenoids showed a direct relationship between the radioactivity in the two fractions and stem growth. All three compounds inhibited steps before as well as after squalene formation, but the acylic and polycyclic isopentenoids which accumulated as a result of the inhibition were not necessarily the same in each of the treatment groups. This indicates that stem growth is probably influenced not by a single product of isopentenoid biosynthesis, but rather by several products, which may even act independently in their effects on developmental processes.
On the utility of distributed cryptography in P2P and MANETs: the case of membership control

Peer-to-peer systems enable efficient resource aggregation and are inherently scalable since they do not depend on any centralized authority. However, lack of a centralized authority prompts many security-related challenges. Providing efficient security services in these systems is an active research topic which is receiving much attention in the security research community. In this paper, we explore the use of threshold cryptography in peer-to-peer settings (both Internet- and MANET-based) to provide, in a robust and fault tolerant fashion, security services such as authentication, certificate issuance and access control. Threshold cryptography provides high availability by distributing trust throughout the group and is, therefore, an attractive solution for secure peer-groups. Our work investigates the applicability of threshold cryptography for membership control in peer-to-peer systems. In the process, we discover that one interesting proposed scheme contains an unfortunate (yet serious) flaw. We then present an alternative solution and its performance measurements. More importantly, our preliminary work casts a certain degree of skepticism on the practicality and even viability of using (seemingly attractive) threshold cryptography in certain peer-to-peer settings.
Maternal Smoking, Preeclampsia, and Infant Health Outcomes in New York City, 1995–2003

A number of previous studies have reported an inverse association between maternal smoking and preeclampsia. Additionally, some have suggested that smokers who develop preeclampsia have worse maternal and fetal outcomes than nonsmokers who develop preeclampsia. The authors examined the relation of smoking to preeclampsia among 674,250 singleton pregnancies in New York City between 1995 and 2003. Although smoking was associated with a reduced risk of preeclampsia overall (adjusted odds ratio = 0.88, 95% confidence interval: 0.82, 0.94), no association was found for preeclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension (adjusted odds ratio = 1.04, 95% confidence interval: 0.90, 1.21). Furthermore, the apparent protection conferred by maternal smoking was restricted to women aged ≤30 years. Contrary to previous reports, the authors found evidence of a negative interaction between smoking and preeclampsia with respect to preterm delivery and birth weight; smokers who developed preeclampsia had a lower risk of preterm delivery, and a lower adjusted mean difference in birth weight, than would have been expected based on the independent effects of smoking and preeclampsia. These data suggest that smoking is only protective against preeclampsia without pregestational hypertension, and even then principally among younger women. Additionally, smokers who develop these disorders have no increased risk of adverse birth outcomes relative to nonsmokers who develop the same conditions.
Coupling Mitigation in 3-D Multiple-Stacked Devices

A 3-D multiple-stacked IC has been proposed to support energy efficiency for data center operations as dynamic RAM (DRAM) scaling improves annually. 3-D multiple-stacked IC is a single package containing multiple dies, stacked together, using through-silicon via (TSV) technology. Despite the advantages of 3-D design, fault occurrence rate increases with feature-size reduction of logic devices, which gets worse for 3-D stacked designs. TSV coupling is one of the main reliability issues for 3-D multiple-stacked IC data TSVs. It has large disruptive effects on signal integrity and transmission delay. In this paper, we first characterize the inductance parasitics in contemporary TSVs, and then we analyze and present a classification for inductive coupling cases. Next, we devise a coding algorithm to mitigate the TSV-to-TSV inductive coupling. The coding method controls the current flow direction in TSVs by adjusting the data bit streams at run time to minimize the inductive coupling effects. After performing formal analyses on the efficiency scalability of devised algorithm, an enhanced approach supporting larger bus sizes is proposed. Our experimental results show that the proposed coding algorithm yields significant improvements, while its hardware-implemented encoder results in tangible latency, power consumption, and area.
Determining the temperature and density distributions from a Z-pinch radiation source

High temperature radiation sources exceeding one hundred eV can be produced via Z-pinches using currently available pulsed power. The usual approach to compare the Z-pinch simulation and experimental data is to convert the radiation output at the source, whose temperature and density distributions are computed from the 2-D MHD code, into simulated data such as a spectrometer reading. This conversion process involves a radiation transfer calculation through the axially symmetric source, assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and folding the radiation that reaches the detector with the frequency-dependent response function. In this paper, the authors propose a different approach by which they can determine the temperature and density distributions of the radiation source directly from the spatially resolved spectral data. This unfolding process is reliable and unambiguous for the ideal case where LTE holds and the source is axially symmetric. In reality, imperfect LTE and axial symmetry will introduce inaccuracies into the unfolded distributions. They use a parameter optimization routine to find the temperature and density distributions that best fit the data. They know from their past experience that the radiation source resulting from the implosion of a thin foil does not exhibit good axial symmetry. However, recent experiments carried out at Sandia National Laboratory using multiple wire arrays were very promising to achieve reasonably good symmetry. For these experiments, the authors' method will provide a valuable diagnostic tool.
The evolution of behaviorism.

New data on conditioning processes favor an eclecticism between the traditional nativist and environmentalist extremes in the analysis of be- havior. It is suggested that the theory of behavior based on conditioning processes can be reconciled with the new data, but only by revising certain tacit be- haviorist assumptions about the parameters of the con- ditioning processes, particularly instrumental or oper- ant conditioning. Operant conditioning specifies how stimuli, responses, reinforcers, and drive states are woven into relationships that change and sustain an organism's behavior. The new data undermine tradi- tional assumptions about each of those elements rather than about the form of their interrelationship. Be- cause some of the assumptions fall under the heading of motivation, it is concluded that behaviorism is at last reflecting motivation's subtleties, after several decades of failing to do so. Thus refined, behaviorism appears to merge with the main lines of ethology as a more complete science of behavior than either one alone has been. Whether or not it has a future, the brand of be- haviorism known as Skinnerian theory has a past worth understanding. "Skinnerianism" is, to be sure, vague as psychological theory. Nevertheless, it stands for a movement dedicated to the study of behavior as behavior, to environmental ist)! as op- posed to nativism, and to the primacy of the law of effect in guiding the behavior of higher organisms, especially human beings. It is a movement whose controversiality has grown along with its influence. Breland and Breland's 1961 paper "The Misbe- havior of Organisms" marked an early point in the rising tide of anti-Skinnerj anism within American psychology. The Brelands were students of Skin- ner's who went into the commercial animal train- ing business. After more than a decade of training pigs, chickens, raccoons, and other animals for show business, they reported their fading enthusi- asm for the Skinnerian theory—a reflection of their troubles with the Skinnerian method. Fif- teen years later, the tide of criticism is still rising. Articles and books whose titles are variations on the theme of Biological Boundaries of Learning (Seligman & Hager, 1972) ought by now to be a separate entry in the index to the Psychological Abstracts. These works, and many others, seem to be finding holes in the fabric of Skinnerianism . Yet these last IS years also mark a rising tide of pro-Skinneria nism. By any measure of public recognition, Skinnerian psychology has flourished, crowding out of the American public eye other varieties of behaviorism. Behavior modification (which actually has Hullian and Pavlovian ante- cedents no less than Skinnerian) threatens to over- whelm a sizeable portion of traditional psycho- therapy; educators are increasingly willing to plan contingency management in classrooms; "skinner box," in lower case letters, is an entry in Webster's Third New International Dictionary. And my
Nitroxidation, nitration, and oxidation of a BODIPY fluorophore by RNOS and ROS.

BODIPY C11 581/591 (BODIPY11) represents a sensitive probe for quantification of relative antioxidant capacity. However, the mechanism of BODIPY11 fluorescence decay in the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reactive nitrogen oxide species (RNOS) requires clarification. Azo-initiators provide a continuous source of peroxyl radicals that in simple, aerobic, homogeneous, buffered solution simulate lipid peroxyl radical formation. Inhibition of BODIPY11 fluorescence decay was assayed and quantified for several families of antioxidants, including phenols, NO donors, and thiols. Fluorescence decay of BODIPY11 in these systems demonstrated similar patterns of antioxidant activity to those observed in classical oxygen pressure measurements, and provided a readily applied quantification of antioxidant capacity and mechanistic information, which was analyzed by measurement of induction periods, initial rates, and net oxidation. LC/MS analysis confirmed that peroxyl radical-induced irreversible fluorescence decay of the BODIPY11 fluorophore is due to oxidative cleavage of the activated phenyldiene side chain. The behavior of BODIPY11 towards RNOS was more complex, even in these simple systems. Incubation of BODIPY11 with bolus peroxynitrite or a sydnonimine peroxynitrite source produced a variety of novel products, characterized by LC/MS, derived from oxidative cleavage, nitroxidation, and nitration reactions. The ‘‘NO scavenger’’ PTIO reinforced the antioxidant activity of NO, and inhibited BODIPY11 oxidation induced by the sydnonimine. These observations suggest that BODIPY11 is a well-behaved fluorescence probe for peroxidation and antioxidant studies, but that for study of RNOS even co-application of fluorescence decay with LC/MS measurements requires careful analysis and interpretation.
Comparison of fMRI activation at 3 and 1.5 T during perceptual, cognitive, and affective processing.

Previous studies comparing fMRI data acquired at 1.5 T and higher field strengths have focused on examining signal increases in the visual and motor cortices. No information is, however, available on the relative gain, or the comparability of data, obtained at higher field strengths for other brain regions such as the prefrontal and other association cortices. In the present study, we investigated fMRI activation at 1.5 and 3 T during visual perception, visuospatial working memory, and affect-processing tasks. A 23% increase in striate and extrastriate activation volume was observed at 3 T compared with that for 1.5 T during the visual perception task. During the working memory task significant increases in activation volume were observed in frontal and parietal association cortices as well as subcortical structures, including the caudate, globus pallidus, putamen, and thalamus. Increases in working memory-related activation volume of 82, 73, 83, and 36% were observed in the left frontal, right frontal, left parietal, and right parietal lobes, respectively, fo r 3 T compared with 1.5 T. These increases were characterized by increased activation a t3Ti nseveral prefrontal and parietal cortex regions that showed activation at 1.5 T. More importantly, at 3 T, activation was detected in several regions, such as the ventral aspects of the inferior frontal gyrus, orbitofrontal gyrus, and lingual gyrus, which did not show significant activation at 1.5 T. No difference in height or extent of activation was detected between the two scanners in the amygdala during affect processing. Signal dropout in the amygdala from susceptibility artifact was greater at 3 T, with a 12% dropout at 3 T compared with a 9% dropout at 1.5 T. The spatial smoothness of T2* images was greater a t3Tb yless than 1 mm, suggesting that the greater extent of activation at 3 T beyond these spatial scales was not due primarily to increased intrinsic spatial correlations at 3 T. Rather, the increase in percentage of voxels activated reflects increased sensitivity for detection of brain activation at higher field strength. In summary, our findings suggest that functional imaging of prefrontal and other association cortices can benefit significantly from higher magnetic field strength. © 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.
Security issues in SCADA networks

The increasing interconnectivity of SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) networks has exposed them to a wide range of network security problems. This paper provides an overview of all the crucial research issues that are involved in strengthening the cyber security of SCADA networks. The paper describes the general architecture of SCADA networks and the properties of some of the commonly used SCADA communication protocols. The general security threats and vulnerabilities in these networks are discussed followed by a survey of the research challenges facing SCADA networks. The paper discusses the ongoing work in several SCADA security areas such as improving access control, firewalls and intrusion detection systems, SCADA protocol analyses, cryptography and key management, device and operating system security. Many trade and research organizations are involved in trying to standardize SCADA security technologies. The paper concludes with an overview of these standardization efforts.
So what is the role of menstrual bacterial endotoxin

Bacterial infections may adversely affect ART. However, the meaning and risks of menstrual endotoxin are not known.
Liver transplantation for children with Wilson disease: comparison of outcomes between children and adults

Arnon R, Annunziato R, Schilsky M, Miloh T, Willis A, Sturdevant M, Sakworawich A, Suchy F, Kerkar N. Liver transplantation for children with Wilson disease: comparison of outcomes between children and adults. Clin Transplant 2011: 25: E52–E60. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Abstract: Liver transplantation (LT) is lifesaving for patients with Wilson disease (WD) presenting with fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) or chronic liver disease (CLD) unresponsive to treatment. Aim: To determine the outcome of LT in pediatric and adult patients with WD. Methods: United Network for Organ Sharing data on LT from 1987 to 2008 were analyzed. Outcomes were compared for patients requiring LT for FHF and CLD after 2002. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine risk factors for death and graft loss. Results: Of 90 867 patients transplanted between 1987 and 2008, 170 children and 400 adults had WD. The one- and five-yr patient survival of children was 90.1% and 89% compared to 88.3% and 86% for adults, p = 0.53, 0.34. After 2002, 103 (41 children) were transplanted for FHF and 67 (10 children) for CLD. One- and five-yr patient survival was higher in children transplanted for CLD compared to FHF; 100%, 100% vs. 90%, 87.5% respectively, p = 0.30, 0.32. One- and five-yr patient survival was higher in adults transplanted for CLD compared to FHF; 94.7%, 90.1% vs. 90.3%, 89.7%, respectively, p = 0.36, 0.88. Encephalopathy, partial graft, and ventilator use were risk factors for death by logistic regression. Conclusion: LT is an excellent treatment option for patients with WD. Patients transplanted for CLD had higher patient survival rates than patients with FHF.
Revealing the accretion disc corona in Mrk 335 with multi-epoch X-ray spectroscopy

Active galactic nuclei host an accretion disc with an X-ray producing corona around a supermassive black hole. In bright sources, such as the Seyfert 1 galaxy Mrk 335, reflection of the coronal emission off the accretion disc has been observed. Reflection produces spectral features such as an iron emission line, which allow for properties of the inner accretion disc and the corona to be constrained. We perform a multi-epoch spectral analysis of all XMM-Newton, Suzaku, and NuSTAR observations of Mrk 335, and we optimize our fitting procedure to unveil correlations between the Eddington ratio and the spectral parameters. We find that the disc's ionization parameter correlates strongly with the Eddington ratio: the inner disc is more strongly ionized at higher flux. The slope of the correlation is less steep than previously predicted. Furthermore, the cut-off of the power-law spectrum increases in energy with the Eddington ratio, whereas the reflection fraction exhibits a decrease. We interpret this behaviour as geometrical changes of the corona as a function of the accretion rate. Below ~10% of the Eddington limit, the compact and optically thick corona is located close to the inner disc, whereas at higher accretion rates the corona is likely optically thin and extends vertically further away from the disc surface. Furthermore, we find a soft excess that consists of two components. In addition to a contribution from reflection in low ionization states, a second component is present that traces the overall flux.
Water-Quality Management in Irrigation Systems

The management of irrigation systems entails not only the design and construction of physical works for supplying water and removing drainage, but considers the impact of these operations on water quality. The behavior of irrigation systems that may be represented as controlled hydrologic entities is examined. A systematized approach for predicting the quality response of these systems to changes in irrigation practice is proposed, and a series of mathematical models through which river system operation may be simulated on a digital computer is suggested. These models are described, and results obtained by simulation of the Sacramento River System are compared to the quality response of the prototype.
Synthesis of Polyimides Utilizing the Diels-Alder Reaction

New polyimide polymers have been prepared by the Diels-Alder reaction. An exocyclic 1,3-diene system provided monomers and polymers that had very low solubilities and inconsistent composition. These polyimides did form good films, but exhibited no detectable Tg. To enhance the monomer and polymer solubility and to alter the reactivity of the monomer, the 1,3-dienering structure was opened. Three new systems were evaluated before a polymer of known composition and with good properties was obtained that provided films with Tg’s in the range of 200–260°C.
Pediatric Spinal Cord Tumors

Pediatric spinal cord tumors comprise a rare but challenging subset of neoplasms with regards to neurosurgical and neuro-oncologic management. Spinal cord tumors may present with more common findings of weakness or back pain in older children or with more subtle findings of early handedness or head tilt in younger children and infants. An understanding of the diverse presentation of pediatric spinal cord tumors, their radiographic features and management strategies is crucial as delayed diagnosis may affect clinical outcome. While the vast majority of pediatric spinal cord tumors are histologically benign, their anatomic location often makes them a challenge to treat, both surgically and medically, as there is no universal consensus of the management of these children. Gross total surgical resection is the mainstay of therapy whenever feasible, however, intramedullary tumors pose a unique set of challenges for the neurosurgeon. Adjuvant chemotherapy plays a lesser role in the management of spinal cord tumors compared to their cerebral counterparts. Radiation therapy is a very important adjuvant therapy in the treatment of spinal cord tumors. However, depending on the age of the child and extent of radiation field, this may carry future risks of scoliosis or future secondary malignancy. There has been a relative lack of progress in non-surgical management of children with spinal cord tumors. The rarity of pediatric spinal cord tumors, together with small tissue sizes obtained during surgery portends a lesser understanding of the biologic mechanism of this disease. In this chapter, we will present the most common pediatric spinal cord tumors, their clinical and neuroradiographic features, as well as tumor biology and treatment strategies.
American Osteopathic Association adopts policies on treatment of patients in pain: an overview.

At its July 2005 meeting, the House of Delegates of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) approved two new policy statements and amended another that are especially relevant to the editorial goals of the four supplements devoted to pain management that JAOA-The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association published this year.
The Role of the δ Opioid Receptor Gene, OPRD1 , in Addiction

Abstract Opioid receptors are intimately involved in the molecular processes underlying addiction, as both direct and indirect targets of drugs of abuse. Despite a historical focus on the μ opioid receptor (MOR) in the field, an increasing number of studies have specifically implicated the δ opioid receptor (DOR) in addiction susceptibility. Genetic variants in the DOR gene, OPRD1, have been associated with dependence on multiple drugs of abuse and treatment efficacy for some addictions. Rodent models of addiction have provided substantial support for the human data, demonstrating changes in self-administration and other addiction phenotypes associated with disruption of DOR. The study of DOR has also expanded in recent years with a new focus on MOR–DOR heterodimers. These heterodimers have been shown to have altered downstream signaling compared to MOR or DOR alone and many common opioids have higher efficacy at the heterodimer complex. It is hoped that further research will clarify the roles of DOR and MOR–DOR heterodimers in human addiction.
Observations of Gonapodya in Pure Culture: Growth, Development and Cell Wall Characterization

Gonapodya prolifera was isolated from a pond in Athens, Georgia, and its development in pure culture is reported for the first time. While the fungus grew well on a diversity of media, the morpholo...
Childhood trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in a real-world Veterans Affairs clinic: Examining treatment preferences and dropout.

OBJECTIVE The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has promoted large-scale dissemination efforts of evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In spite of efforts to make gold-standard treatments available to veterans, few veterans with PTSD receive a full course of psychotherapy. It is unclear if type of trauma experienced is related to treatment initiation and completion. This study aimed to identify patient factors, including experiencing childhood trauma that related to treatment preferences and dropout in a real-world VA PTSD clinic. METHOD A chart review was conducted for veterans who were referred for individual EBPs for PTSD (N = 199). Extracted variables included demographics, PTSD symptoms, treatment preferences, and treatment completion/dropout. RESULTS Veterans choose to engage in individual EBP (48%), group treatment (11%), nontrauma focused psychotherapy (15%), or no psychotherapy (26%). Slightly over half of the veterans who began individual EBP completed it, with no statistical differences in completion rates for prolonged exposure and cognitive processing therapy. Childhood trauma was the second-most common type of trauma experienced, next to combat exposure. Those who completed EBP had higher rates of combat trauma (88%) than noncompleters (70%), and noncompleters (50%) had higher rates of childhood trauma than completers (29%). Regardless of trauma experienced, those who completed an EBP experienced substantial reductions in PTSD symptoms. CONCLUSIONS Assessing veterans for childhood trauma and emotion regulation difficulties may be beneficial even in VA clinics where treatment is most often focused on combat trauma. (PsycINFO Database Record
143 INVASIVE RECORDING OF INFRASLOW ICTAL ACTIVITY WITH DC-COUPLED AMPLIFIERS IN PATIENTS WITH MEDICALLY INTRACTABLE LOCALIZATION-RELATED EPILEPSY.

Background We recently described noninvasive techniques to perform long-term DC-coupled EEG recordings at the bedside and have used these methods to demonstrate that inspection of infraslow ( Study Design and Methods Recordings were performed on patients receiving invasive monitoring for medically intractable localization-related epilepsy. Recordings were made by digital acquisition software using a commercial DC amplifier coupled to surgically placed subdural arrays of platinum electrodes, epilepsy with a total of 38 seizures in 9 patients captured during monitoring. The frequency bandwidth of record was limited from 0 to 70 Hz. The time of onset, location, amplitude, duration, and shape of infraslow signals up to 10 minutes prior to and 10 minutes after clinical onset of seizure (or electrical onset of seizure for subclinical seizures) were catalogued by a nonepileptologist (W.K.). Results Unequivocal infraslow signals, the majority having amplitude ranging from 800 to 4,000 μV in magnitude, were seen in 20 seizures in eight patients following the electrical ictal onset determined from the conventional recording (with a frequency band of 0.5 to 100 Hz), with a delay ranging from 5 seconds to 493 seconds. Of the 20 seizures with infraslow ictal activity, 16 localized to the same channel(s) as the ictal onset in conventional recording and one signal localized in a channel adjacent to the location of ictal onset. Conclusions Seizure localization using infraslow activity was concordant with that obtained from analysis of higher-frequency activity. The high voltage of this activity helps explain why infraslow activity can sometimes localize seizures better than conventional EEG on scalp recordings. We believe that the millivolt range shift observed in the DC-coupled EEG recordings is due to recruitment of sufficient volume of epileptogenic brain to elicit local changes in blood-brain barrier permeability or blood volume.
Screening Biological Macromolecules Interacting with PtCDD by Using Yeast Two-hybrid Method

We construct cDNA library of Poplar regeneration system,Using yeast two-hybrid,we screen the potential interacting target of PtCDD in cDNA library of poplar secondary vascular regeneration.we got two potential targetable,AD1-10,AD12-2.AD1-10 has been identified as a robusta small subunit ribosomal RNA(mtSSU) gene,mitochondrial gene for mitochondrial product,while AD12-2 is a EST induced by drought stress.And the PtCDD protein interactions with AD1-10 is verified in vitro by Pierce Lightshift EMSA.suggesting PtCDD likely participate in regulation of mitochondrion-mediated PCD of secondary vascular regeneration in woody plants.
Toward RNA nanoparticle vaccines: synergizing RNA and inorganic nanoparticles to achieve immunopotentiation

Traditionally, vaccines have been composed of live attenuated or killed microorganisms. Alternatively, individual protein subunits or other molecular components of the microorganism can serve as the antigen and trigger an antibody response by the immune system. The immune system is a coordinated molecular and cellular response that works in concert to check the spread of infection. In the past decade, there has been much progress on DNA vaccines. DNA vaccination includes using the coding segments of a viral or bacterial genome to generate an immune response. However, the potential advantage of combining an RNA molecule with inorganic nanoparticle delivery should be considered, with the goal to achieve immuno-synergy between the two and to overcome some of the current limitations of DNA vaccines and traditional vaccines. WIREs Nanomed Nanobiotechnol 2017, 9:e1415. doi: 10.1002/wnan.1415 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Vascularized Composite Tissue Transplant Pathology

Throughout the past few decades, vascularized composite tissue allotransplantation (CTA) has been introduced as an option for limb replacement and reconstruction of tissue defects. The first successful hand transplant was performed in Lyon, France, in September of 1998. Subsequently, over 90 upper extremity transplants have been performed, making these grafts the most common form of CTA. These tissue grafts are complex in that they consist of a heterogeneous mixture of tissues, including skin, fat, muscle, nerves, lymph nodes, bone, cartilage, ligaments, and bone marrow. In addition, they are unique because the skin provides a visual assessment of how the graft is functioning and aids in the diagnosis of rejection. The aforementioned phenomenon is secondary to the fact that the skin demonstrates the highest immunological activity in the context of acute rejection and is the first tissue to display signs of rejection. Clinically, early cutaneous presentation allows immediate detection of acute rejection and is particularly essential given the absence of reliable serological or cellular markers indicative of composite tissue rejection.
Adam Smith on Sensory Perception: A Sympathetic Account

The aim of this chapter is to propose an account of sensory perception from the known writings of Adam Smith, chiefly his juvenile work, ‘On the External Senses’1. This account asserts that when we perceive an object we simulate its painful or pleasurable effects on our body — we imaginatively place ourselves in proximity to the object and feel some measure of the pain or pleasure we naturally associate or have learned to associate with its presence. When we smell food, our mouths water with the pleasure we anticipate will result from eating it (ES 80). When we hear a loud sound, we automatically shrink with fright in anticipation of the pain we imagine would be caused by such an object (ES 87). As Adam Smith writes, the senses ‘instinctively suggest to us some conception of the solid and resisting substances which excite their respective sensations’ (ES 75).
Retreat and its consequences

Since the last National Military Strategy was published in 2011, global disorder has significantly increased while some of our comparative military advantage has begun to erode. – Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff For more than seven decades, the international role of the United States has included, inter alia , creating and sustaining international institutions, supporting regional stability, providing deterrence and reassurance for allies, opposing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, underpinning the global economy, promoting trade liberalization and economic development, environmental protection, and – often but not always – encouraging human rights and democratization. In that unique capacity, it effectively served not only as the leader, defender, and promoter of the liberal democracies and market economies, but also of the rules and norms of the existing international order, the durability of which so many take for granted. Now, however, America is less robustly engaged and faces a world in which power is more diffused. Revisionist states of varying sizes and capabilities – China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela – pose more formidable or at least more stubborn challenges to the existing order. At the same time, longtime allies in Europe as well as Japan mostly find themselves less willing or capable of projecting power or of paying significant economic, political, or military costs in addressing common international concerns and sustaining global order. Commitments by countries such as Britain, France, Germany, and other Northern European states to combat climate change or to aid economic development in sub-Saharan Africa represent partial exceptions, as does the French role in combating al-Qaeda and ISIS in sub-Sahran Africa (the Sahel), but their overall effect on security and order remains limited. In addition, neither the BRICS nor other emerging powers have been inclined to contribute to solving collective action problems at the global level, let alone preserving Western inspired rules and institutions toward which their own views range from indifference to hostility. Ironically, that predisposition is typically the case for countries that have greatly benefitted from these arrangements, notably China, but also Brazil, Turkey, Malaysia, and others. This brings us back to the question of whether or not the active engagement and leadership of a powerful America is essential for the maintenance of regional and world order and for dealing with urgent international problems.
Electrochemical Separation of Barium into Liquid Bismuth by Controlling Deposition Potentials

Abstract Electrochemical separation of barium from multi-component molten salt electrolyte (BaCl2-LiCl-CaCl2-NaCl) at 500–700 °C is demonstrated using a liquid bismuth electrode which possesses strong chemical interactions with barium. While the standard emf analysis suggests Na to be the first species to deposit in this electrolyte followed by Ca, Li, and finally Ba, barium was found to be the first species to be reduced into the bismuth electrode followed by Ca. The exceptional deposition behavior of barium was ascribed to the activity of the constituent alkali/alkaline-earth metals in the bismuth metal. The activity of barium in bismuth was extremely low (as low as 10−15), shifting the redox potential of barium to the most positive potentials and enabling the separation of barium into liquid bismuth. By exploiting the differential interactions of constituent ions with the liquid bismuth, it was possible to separate conventionally non-separable barium species from the electrolyte solution. In addition, high coulombic efficiencies of the liquid bismuth electrode (>99%) suggest that electrode processes are chemically reversible for co-deposition of barium and calcium. The analyses of electrode potentials at various current densities and electrochemical impedance spectra indicate charge transfer as the most significant overpotential mechanism during electrolysis.
Kv1.3 channels mark functionally competent CD8+ tumor infiltrating lymphocytes in head and neck cancer

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) are potent mediators of an antitumor response. However, their function is attenuated in solid tumors. CD8+ T-cell effector functions, such as cytokine and granzyme production, depend on cytoplasmic Ca2+, which is controlled by ion channels. In particular, Kv1.3 channels regulate the membrane potential and Ca2+ influx in human effector memory T (TEM) cells. In this study, we assessed the contribution of reduced Kv1.3 and Ca2+ flux on TIL effector function in head and neck cancer (HNC). We obtained tumor samples and matched peripheral blood from 14 patients with HNC. CD3+ TILs were composed of 57% CD4+ (82% TEM and 20% Tregs) and 36% CD8+ cells. Electrophysiology revealed a 70% reduction in functional Kv1.3 channels in TILs as compared with peripheral blood T cells from paired patients, which was accompanied by a decrease in Ca2+ influx. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that CD8+ TILs expressing high Kv1.3 preferentially localized in the stroma. Importantly, high expression of Kv1.3 correlated with high Ki-67 and granzyme B expression. Overall, these data indicate that defective Kv1.3 channels and Ca2+ fluxes in TILs may contribute to reduced immune surveillance in HNC. Cancer Res; 77(1); 53-61. ©2016 AACR.
Spaces, Kernels, and Disintegration

Borel and measure spaces; Product and factorial measures; Kernels and operators; Disintegration; Differentiation.
Characteristics of meltwater export from Jakobshavn Isbræ and Ilulissat Icefjord

Jakobshavn Isbrae, which terminates in Ilulissat Icefjord, has undergone rapid retreat and is currently the largest contributor to ice-sheet mass loss among Greenland's marine terminating glaciers. Accelerating mass loss is increasing fresh water discharge to the ocean, which can feed back on ice melt, impact marine ecosystems and potentially modify regional and larger scale ocean circulation. Here we present hydrographic observations, including inert geochemical tracers, that allow the first quantitative description of the glacially-modified waters exported from the Jakobshavn/Icefjord system. Observations within the fjord suggest a deep-reaching overturning cell driven by glacial buoyancy forcing. Modified waters containing submarine meltwater (up to 2.5 ± 0.12%), subglacial discharge (up to 6 ± 0.37%) and large portions of entrained ocean waters are seen to exit the fjord and flow north. The exported meltwaters form a buoyant coastal gravity current reaching to 100 m depth and extending 10 km offshore.
Political Elites: Recruitment and Careers

The question of who rules is always central to political science precisely because power is never evenly distributed. Modern elite theory is derived from Pareto and Mosca. It has undergone many changes since its initial formulation but many of the same arguments continue. The pattern of power distribution and the nature of elites, however, has changed dramatically over time. Societies have become more differentiated and patrimonial orders have given way to authority derived from ‘rational laws,’ in the Weberian sense, agreed to by the people. With few exceptions even authoritarian regimes seek to achieve legitimacy on that basis. The structure of power among elites in a polyarchic political order depends on a variety of factors including whether the regime is presidential or parliamentary and the nature of the party system. In most societies politics is now a profession. Key political elites, today, include high-level bureaucratic officials and, in some countries, the judiciary. In the twenty-first century among the key issues relating to the composition of the political elite will be those of gender and ethnicity.
Inhibitory effects against α-glucosidase and α-amylase of the flavonoids-rich extract from Scutellaria baicalensis shoots and interpretation of structure–activity relationship of its eight flavonoids by a refined assign-score method

A flavonoids-rich extract of Scutellaria baicalensis shoots and its eight high content flavonoids were investigated for their inhibitory effects against α-glucosidase and α-amylase. Results show that abilities of the extract in inhibiting the two enzymes were obviously higher than those of acarbose. Moreover, inhibitory abilities of all the eight individual flavonoids against the two enzymes show exactly a same order (i.e., apigenin > baicalein > scutellarin > chrysin > apigenin-7-O-glucuronide > baicalin > chrysin-7-O-glucuronide > isocarthamidin-7-O-glucuronide), and their structure–activity relationship could be well-interpretated by the refined assign-score method. Furthermore, based on the inhibitory abilities and their contents in the extract, it was found that the eight flavonoids made predominant contributions, among which baicalein and scutellarin played roles as preliminary contributors, to overall inhibitory effects of the extract against the two enzymes. Beyond these, contributions of the eight flavonoids to the overall enzyme inhibitory activity were compared with those to the overall antioxidant activity characterized in our recent study, and it could be inferred that within the basic flavonoid structure the hydroxyl on C-4′ of ring B was more effective than that on C-6 of ring A in enzyme inhibitory activities while they behaved inversely in antioxidant activities; scutellarin and apigenin contributed more to the overall enzyme inhibitory activity, and baicalin and scutellarin, to the overall antioxidant activity of the extract; and flavonoids of the extract, apart from directly inhibiting enzymes, might also be conducive to curing type 2 diabetes via scavenging various free radicals caused by increased oxidative stresses.
Image Compression of Digitized NDE X-Ray Radiographs by Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation

Characterizing images as redundant waveforms is not a new concept and neither is modeling autocorrelated signals by linear prediction [1,2]. By encoding image waveforms as prediction error samples, it is possible to obtain better signal reconstructions for a given coding rate than by encoding the original waveforms. Similarly, it is possible to reduce the coding rate for a given level of SNR [3].
Enantioselective Vanadium-Catalyzed Oxidative Coupling: Development and Mechanistic Insights.

The evolution of a more reactive chiral vanadium catalyst for enantioselective oxidative coupling of phenols is reported, ultimately resulting in a simple monomeric vanadium species combined with a Bronsted or Lewis acid additive. The resultant vanadium complex is found to effect the asymmetric oxidative ortho-ortho coupling of simple phenols and 2-hydroxycarbazoles with good to excellent levels of enantioselectivity. Experimental and quantum mechanical studies of the mechanism indicate that the additives aggregate the vanadium monomers. In addition, a singlet to triplet crossover is implicated prior to carbon-carbon bond formation. The two lowest energy diastereomeric transition states leading to the enantiomeric products differ substantially with the path to the minor enantiomer involving greater torsional strain between the two phenol moieties.