cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Peak power tailoring and phase nulling of the AN/FPS-85 radar

The AN/FPS-85 radar is a large, fixed-position, phased-array radar located at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. The radar has a peak radiated power of about 32 MW generated by a 72 X 72 matrix of transmitter elements that are individually rated for a maximum peak power output of 10 kW. The current transmitter modules have no automatic phase nulling capability and no remote output power adjustment capability. The result is a randomly varying amplitude pattern across the beam aperture. Southwest Research Institute is currently under contract by the U.S. Air Force to redesign the transmitter units and supply three operational prototypes. Part of the design and performance upgrade will be an automated, remotely controlled power and phase adjustment system which will utilize a centrally located host computer to send phase and amplitude adjustments to the individual transmitters via a digital serial link.
CHARACTERISTICS OF SOME RADIATION‐RESISTANT HEMOLYTIC MICROCOCCI ISOLATED FROM CHICKEN

Radiation-resistant micrococci isolated from chicken were studied because of their hemolytic properties. Morphology, growth, and physiological characteristics were similar in most ways to the common microcococci. There were some differences in pigmentation, nitrate reduction, hydrolysis of proteins, and salt tolerance. None of these characteristics appeared to be uniquely linked to radiation resistance of micrococci. Present knowledge does not indicate these bacteria to be of public health significance or to pose an organoleptic problem in quality protection.
Factors affecting mental illness hospitalization rates: analysis of state-level panel data

Abstract Previous studies have shown that social conditions such as poverty may place large segments of the population at greater risk for mental illness. However, most studies have been very limited in time and scope. This study involves a state-level statistical analysis of economic and demographic factors that may influence rates of clients receiving inpatient mental health treatment in all organizations (excluding prisons) for selected years over a 12-year time period spanning most of the 1980s through the mid-1990s. Explanatory factors in our model include poverty, real per capita income, unemployment rate, age, race, education, and region-wide effects. Regression results indicate that poverty rates, real per capita income, and percent of the population age 20–24 are all significant and positively associated with the rate of clients receiving inpatient mental health treatment. Another finding of this study is that after accounting for all of the above factors, there still remain significant differences across Census Divisions in hospitalization rates for mental illness. For example, the Middle Atlantic states, East North Central states, and Pacific states have the highest share of inpatients and the New England states, Mountain states, and East South Central states have the lowest share of inpatients.
Incremental network querying in biological networks

Comparative network analysis finds similarities between a query and a target network by aligning them. Biological network evolves over time; and so does the topology of the query network extracted from it. We denote a sequence of query networks where each network in the sequence differs slightly from the preceding one as dynamically evolving queries. Existing network alignment methods consider each query network independently. Thus, the total cost of aligning all the query networks in a given sequence of dynamically evolving queries is equal to the sum of the alignment costs of all the individual networks in this sequence. This cost can be prohibitively expensive particularly for large queries as well as large sequence of queries. We develop an incremental network alignment method, named INQ, for aligning a sequence of dynamically evolving query networks to a target network. Unlike existing methods, INQ benefits from the alignment of each query network while aligning the next query network in the sequence. As a result, it cuts down the search space and thus the running time dramatically. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study which aligns networks in an incremental fashion. Our extensive experiments on both real and synthetic networks demonstrate that INQ is orders of magnitude faster than existing methods such as ColT. We also demonstrate that the results of INQ are highly accurate even for very long sequence of query networks and INQ successfully finds functionally similar pathways in cross-species protein interactions networks.
Relief of Superior Vena Cava Syndrome Due to Fibrosing Mediastinitis Using the Palmaz Stent

Relief of superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome due to non-neoplastic mediastinal disease presents a formidable challenge. Long-term patency of surgically created bypass grafts has been poor, and the morbidity associated with these procedures is substantial. We report a case of SVC syndrome, caused by fibrosing mediastinitis, treated with Palmaz balloon expandable intravascular stents. Intravascular stents are a promising alternative for relief of non-neoplastic SVC obstruction.
Hitchhiking on Host Chromatin: how Papillomaviruses Persist

Persistent viruses need mechanisms to protect their genomes from cellular defenses and to ensure that they are efficiently propagated to daughter host cells. One mechanism by which papillomaviruses achieve this is through the association of viral genomes with host chromatin, mediated by the viral E2 tethering protein. Association of viral DNA with regions of active host chromatin ensures that the virus remains transcriptionally active and is not relegated to repressed heterochromatin. In addition, viral genomes are tethered to specific regions of host mitotic chromosomes to efficiently partition their DNA to daughter cells. Vegetative viral DNA replication also initiates at specific regions of host chromatin, where the viral E1 and E2 proteins initiate a DNA damage response that recruits cellular DNA damage and repair proteins to viral replication foci for efficient viral DNA synthesis. Thus, these small viruses have capitalized on interactions with chromatin to efficiently target their genomes to beneficial regions of the host nucleus. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Chromatin in time and space.
Sympathectomy for glaucoma: Its rise and fall (1898–1910)

The influence of the sympathetic nervous system upon intraocular pressure (IOP) has been a subject of great interest since 1727, when the first experimental ocular sympathetic paralysis was produced in dogs. By the middle of the 19th century, it was known that excision of the superior cervical sympathetic ganglion lowered, and that electrical stimulation of the sympathetic nerve trunk raised IOP in various animals. From these observations, it was thought that excision of this ganglion could replace or supplement the available operations for glaucoma of which iridectomy was the most popular. Iridectomy was acknowledged to be of great value in acute and subacute glaucoma, but less useful in chronic glaucoma. Iridectomy, however, was associated with major surgical complications and long-term failure, so that there was considerable appeal of an extraocular operation that avoided the risks of intraocular surgery. Beginning in 1898, cervical sympathectomy became a widely performed operation around the world, with most surgeons enthusiastic about its results, at least initially, and many publications from 1898 to 1905 claimed excellent results for various types of glaucoma. Opponents of the procedure emphasized that the effect on IOP was transient, and that the published reports of successful results were poorly documented. The popularity of sympathectomy gradually diminished and by 1910 it was abandoned. I discuss the reasons why cervical sympathectomy received such initial enthusiasm but was then questioned and discarded. These included bias from the surgeons promoting this surgery; the placebo effect; short follow-up; inaccurate, subjective, and variable measures of the surgical results; and the development of more effective procedures such as filtering surgery and cyclodialysis.
Central cyclic-AMP-linked noradrenergic receptors: new findings on properties as related to the actions of stress

Central noradrenergic receptors that control cyclic AMP formation in the brain may be involved in the process of adaptation to stress and in the clinical actions of antidepressant drugs. The present paper reviews recent findings on the properties and susceptibility to stress of these receptors. Two types of adrenergic receptors are known to mediate the central cAMP response, beta and alpha receptors. It has been found that chronic stress causes a selective desensitization of the alpha receptors (alpha-1 subtype) producing a partial reduction of the overall cAMP response to catecholamines. This desensitization occurs in the cerebral cortex, hypothalamus and possibly other areas of the forebrain. The physiological factor responsible for the effect appears to be an elevated corticosterone secretion. The behavioral function of the stress-induced desensitization may be to reduce behavioral inhibition and facilitate the recovery of behavioral function during adaptation to stress.
Influence of thermal degradation and saline exposure on dielectric permittivity of polyimide

Abstract This paper studies the relationship between dielectric permittivity and mechanisms of thermal degradation of polyimide (PI) film in air and saline exposure. The real permittivity and loss factor of dried PI were measured at temperatures from −140 to 180 °C and frequencies from 1 Hz to 1 MHz. Two peaks in the temperature-dependent loss factor revealed the occurrence of β- and γ-relaxations in PI. Following thermal degradation at 475 °C for 3 h, the real permittivity of PI was observed to increase by 14% because of the formation of free radicals. The intensity of β-relaxation was also greatly increased after thermal degradation due to scission of chemical bonding in imide groups. Activation energy obtained from the Arrhenius law for γ-relaxation did not change after thermal degradation. For samples exposed to either distilled water or salt water, the variation in salinity did not significantly influence the dielectric permittivity.
Differential inhibition of neutrophil superoxide generation by nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs

In order to further characterize the effects of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs on neutrophil superoxide (O2−) generation, human neutrophils were incubated in the presence of sulfinpyrazone, phenylbutazone, and indomethacin prior to exposure to a variety of oxidative stimuli. Stimuli used included the chemotactic peptideN-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (FMLP, 5.0 × 10−7 M), NaF (20 mM), phorbol myristate acetate (PMA, 3.2 × 10−7 M), and opsonized zymosan (250μg/ml). superoxide release induced by FMLP was inhibited by all three drugs with half-maximal inhibition (Ki50) at 2.5, 30, and 120μM for sulfinpyrazone, phenylbutazone, and indomethacin, respectively. This inhibition was not due to drug interference with the assay system since comparable inhibition was not observed in a cell-free O2−-generating system. The neutrophil's response to NaF was blunted by sulfinpyrazone (Ki50=400μM) and phenylbutazone (Ki50=65μM), but was unaffected by indomethacin. A similar inhibitory pattern was observed when zymosan was used as the oxidative stimulus. Sulfinpyrazone and phenylbutazone inhibited the response to zymosan (Ki50s of 425 and 32μM, respectively), whereas indomethacin augmented it. PMA stimulation evoked O2− production which was inhibited by phenylbutazone (Ki50=350μM) but not by sulfinpyrazone or indomethacin in concentrations up to 1 mM. The results support the hypothesis that the enzyme system responsible for neutrophil O2− generation can be activated by more than one mechanism. The results also emphasize the need to evaluate pharmacologie modulation of neutrophil responses in light of the stimulus used to evoke the response.
Sine-wave phase coding at low data rates

In the context of a sinusoidal representation for speech waveforms, it is shown that synthetic speech of high quality can be obtained using a parametric model for the sine-wave phases, hence obviating the need to code the phases at low data rates. It was found that if a synthetic linear phase term was computed based on the time of occurrence of an artificially generated sequence of pitch pulses, then high-quality voiced speech reconstruction was possible. For unvoiced speech, the modeling study showed that the sine-wave phases were essentially uniformly distributed random variables. >
Spermatogenesis in the mosquito, Aedes dorsalis (Meigen).

The chromosome morphology and behavior pattern during spermatogenesis in Aedes dorsalis was studied. The results were compared with the findings of similar investigations in other species of mosquitoes. Chromosome preparations were made from testes-tissue of fourth instar and pupal stages by the squash technique and stained with aceto-lactic-orcein. The two testes of an individual may have cells at different divisional stages. Leptotene and zygotene stages of meiotic prophase were not distinguishable. The unwinding of the homologous chromosomes in later stages of prophase I was found to progress at different rates on either side of the centromere. The separation of the chromosomes during anaphase I was mostly synchronous. The polarization of arms of the prophase II chromosomes was observed. The repulsive forces between the sister chromatids in metaphase II were less apparent and the chromosomes at this period were H-shaped in configuration.
Hydrogen permeability of canine gastric antral and fundic mucosa following exposure to pancreatic juice.

Abstract The effects of pancreatic juice were evaluated on ionic movement across fundic and antral mucosa. Solutions of 0.16 N HCl were instilled into vagally denervated fundic asd antral pouches. Pancreatic juice applied topically to gastric mucosa had no effect on the antrum and only a brief significant effect on the fundus. Loss of H + was mildly increased and this was rapidly reversible. If reflux of duodenal contents is important in the etiology of gastric ulcers, it is concluded that impairment of the mucosal barrier is the result of bile reflux rather than that of pancreatic juice.
The superiority of a new type (2,2)-step iterative method over the related Chebyshev method

A new type (2,2)-step iterative method related to an optimal Chebyshev method is developed for solving real and nonsymmetric linear systems of the form Ax=b. It is an extension of the (2,2)-step iterative method introduced in [Numer. Linear Algebra Appl. 7 (2000) 169]. The superiority of the new type (2,2)-step iterative method over the optimal Chebyshev method is derived in the case where the known (2,2)-step iterative method may not improve the asymptotic rate of convergence. Two numerical examples are given to illustrate the results.
The Association of Shiga Toxin and Other Cytotoxins with the Neurologic Manifestations of Shigellosis

The neurologic symptoms in human shigellosis have often been attributed to Shiga toxin, although its exact role has not been determined. By use of a [3H] thymidine-labeled HeLa cell assay, cytotoxic activity was demonstrated in stool but not cerebrospinal fluid or serum from five patients with shigellosis presenting with seizures or encephalopathy. Bacterial isolates produced 16.0-88.2 CD50 (50% cytotoxic dose) of cytotoxin/mg of protein. The toxin activity in stool and the cytotoxic activity of the isolates were not neutralized by antiserum to purified Shiga toxin. DNA hybridization studies showed that Shigella isolates from these patients lacked the structural genes for Shiga toxin. The cytotoxin produced was also distinct from Shiga-like toxins I and II. Sonicates of the Shigella strains injected intraperitoneally into mice caused lethargy and lethality. The toxin activity was heat-labile and sensitive to trypsin, indicating that its active component is protein. Ultrafiltration and gel filtration chromatography showed a molecular mass of 100-125 kDa. Thus Shiga toxin production is not essential for the development of neurologic manifestations of shigellosis; other toxic products may play a role.
On the relic abundance of stable neutrinos

Abstract The relic abundance of neutrinos with only the usual electroweak interactions is well known. Here, we calculate the relic neutrino abundance in models where neutrinos have additional “stronger than weak” interactions and give numerical results for the model of Gelmini and Roncadelli. In models with new neutrino interactions, the relic abundance depends upon the strength of the new interactions and can take on virtually any value. As a consequence, the universe can be neutrino-dominated for any neutrino mass in the range 30 eV-3 GeV, provided that the new interaction has the appropriate strength. Furthermore, neutrinos in the mass range 30 eV-3 GeV can be “cosmologically safe” even if their lifetimes are greater than the age of the universe.
Synchronization of ventricular fibrillation with real-time feedback pacing: implication to low-energy defibrillation

Wavefront synchronization is an important aspect preceding the termination of ventricular fibrillation (VF). We evaluated the defibrillation efficacy of a novel multisite pacing algorithm using opt...
Molecular bases for the asynchronous activation of sodium and potassium channels required for nerve impulse generation.

SUMMARY Most action potentials are produced by the sequential activation of voltage-gated sodium (Nav) and potassium (Kv) channels. This is mainly achieved by the rapid conformational rearrangement of voltagesensor (VS) modules in Nav channels, with activation kinetics up to6-foldfasterthanShaker-typeKvchannels. Here, using mutagenesis and gating current measurements, we show that a 3-fold acceleration of the VS kinetics in Nav versus Shaker Kv channels is produced by the hydrophilicity of two ‘‘speed-control’’ residues located in the S2 and S4 segments in Nav domains I–III. An additional 2-fold acceleration of the Nav VS kinetics is provided by the coexpression of the b1 subunit, ubiquitously found in mammal tissues. This study uncovers the molecular bases responsible for the differential activation of Nav versus Kv channels, a fundamental prerequisite for the genesis of action potentials.
Has Europe Solved the Problem of War? Explaining the ‘Long Peace’ of the Post-1945 Era

May 9, 2010, marks the 60th anniversary of what is arguably the boldest and ostensibly the most successful experiment in the history of international politics. On that date, in 1950, the Schuman Declaration1 was issued, seeking to release Europe from its centuries of fratricidal war, those conflagrations having just previously reached near suicidal proportions. The process of European integration – culminating in today’s European Union – was launched by six states at the heart of the continent, for the purposes of making war ‘not only unthinkable, but materially impossible.’ There is today little empirical question of Europe’s success. War between former bitter enemies has never been even remotely near the horizon during the period that has now become known as ‘The Long Peace,’ and, looking forward, such militarized conflict remains all but inconceivable. But was it the process of European integration that produced this achievement? And if so, is the model exportable to other regions? This essay catalogues the factors that account for Europe’s success in ending the scourge of war on a continent where it had been a commonly employed extension of politics for centuries. I conclude that the integration process represents an important contribution, but is only one of a plethora of causal factors that massively over-determined Europe’s long peace of our time, and that the European experiment is mostly non-exportable to other parts of the world.
The Androgen Metabolite, 5α-Androstane-3β, 17β-Diol, Is a Potent Modulator of Estrogen Receptor-β1-Mediated Gene Transcription in Neuronal Cells

5alpha-Androstane-3beta, 17beta-diol (3betaAdiol) is a metabolite of the potent androgen, 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone. Recent studies showed that 3betaAdiol binds to estrogen receptor (ER)-beta and regulates growth of the prostate gland through an estrogen, and not androgen, receptor-mediated pathway. These data raise the possibility that 3betaAdiol could regulate important physiological processes in other tissues that produce 3betaAdiol, such as the brain. Although it is widely accepted that the brain is a target for 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone action, there is no evidence that 3betaAdiol has a direct action in neurons. To explore the molecular mechanisms by which 3betaAdiol might act to modulate gene transcription in neuronal cells, we examined whether 3betaAdiol activates ER-mediated promoter activity and whether ER transactivation is facilitated by a classical estrogen response element (ERE) or an AP-1 complex. The HT-22 neuronal cell line was cotransfected with an expression vector containing ERalpha, ER-beta1, or the ERbeta splice variant, ER-beta2 and one of two luciferase-reporter constructs containing either a consensus ERE or an AP-1 enhancer site. Cells were treated with 100 nM 17beta-estradiol, 100 nM 3betaAdiol, or vehicle for 15 h. We show that 3betaAdiol activated ER-beta1-induced transcription mediated by an ERE equivalent to that of 17beta-estradiol. By contrast, 3betaAdiol had no effect on ERalpha- or ER-beta2-mediated promoter activity. Moreover, ER-beta1 stimulated transcription mediated by an ERE and inhibited transcription by an AP-1 site in the absence of ligand binding. These data provide evidence for activation of ER signaling pathways by an androgen metabolite in neuronal cells.
Clearance of normal and tumor-related thyroglobulin from the circulation of rats: Role of the terminal sialic acid residues

Abstract The transplantable rat thyroid tumor 1-1C2 has been used to study circulating thyroglobulin (TG) related to thyroid cancer. Since tumor 1-1C2 is defective in its ability to incorporate sialic acid into TG, the role of the terminal carbohydrate residues in the clearance of rat TG from the circulation was also studied. Sialic acid was removed from normal TG by treatment with V. cholerae neuraminidase (asialo-TG) and the newly exposed galactose residues were oxidized with galactose oxidase (galox-TG). Native TG, the modified TGs, and tumor TG gave parallel radioimmunoassay displacement curves. These preparations were injected into rats that had been thyroidectomized by surgery and 131 I − and subsequently maintained on T 3 . The clearance rates were determined by measuring sequential plasma concentrations by radioimmunoassay. The circulating TG in tumor-bearing rats had sedimentation properties characteristic of poorly iodinated TG. At low temperature the sedimentation rate decreased and there was partial dissociation into subunits. The half-life of native TG was 4.4 hr whereas asialo-TG disappeared from the rat circulation 18-fold faster, with a half-life of 15 min. The half-life of TG isolated from the 1-1C2 tumor, 12 min, was also much more rapid than native TG half-life. Compared with asialo-TG and tumor TG, the half-life of galox-TG, 1.5 hr, returned towards normal. Asialofetuin competed with asialo-TG for degradation and prolonged the circulating lifetime of the latter. These results suggest that TG is cleared from the circulation by the same pathway used for fetuin and therefore by the common degradative pathway for glycoproteins. Sialic acid residues protect circulating TG by shielding its galactose residues, which are recognized by the degradative system. The TG of the 1-1C2 tumor behaves like poorly iodinated, sialic-acid-poor TG. The 1-1C2 transplantable tumor should be a useful model for the study of circulating TG related to thyroid cancer.
Formation of multinucleated giant cells and microglial degeneration in rats expressing a mutant Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase gene

Background Microglial neuroinflammation is thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The purpose of this study was to provide a histopathological evaluation of the microglial neuroinflammatory response in a rodent model of ALS, the SOD1G93A transgenic rat.
Thermodynamic characterization of separation phenomena at the polymer/alkyl-modified silica interface within glass-reinforced composites using thermogravimetric analysis. Part II

Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) have been used to investigate the adsorption behavior at an interface between an epoxy and a silica surface. Consistent with an earlier report, the results confirm that the adsorption constant of the amine hardener (Jeffamine T-403) is greater than that of the resin (Dow DER-332). It was also found that nonpolar silica materials functionalized with C-18 groups and end-capped with alkylsilanes behave as though they have distinct regions of polar and nonpolar adsorption character. While this changes the net behavior of the surface so that it more evenly adsorbs both components of the epoxy premix, it does so by reducing the overall strength of adsorption between the components and the surface.
A multi-chip module substrate testing algorithm

Discusses substrate short/open fault detection in MCM manufacturing, and propose a complete open fault coverage algorithm which generates a minimum number of tests required to completely cover all open faults. The algorithm generates only about half of the test size compared to that of ordinary approaches. Multi-dimensional TSP algorithms are devised to optimize probe routes with quite encouraging results. >
Chronic Migraine, Classification, Differential Diagnosis, and Epidemiology

Chronic migraine (CM) is the most disabling of the 4 types of primary chronic daily headache (CDH) of long duration, a syndrome defined by primary headaches 15 or more days per month for at least 3 months with attacks that last 4 hours or more per day on average. CDH of long duration includes CM, chronic tension-type headache, new daily persistent headache, and hemicrania continua. CM affects approximately 2% of the adult population in Western countries, imposing substantial burdens on individual sufferers and their families and, more broadly, upon society. Although this disorder is highly disabling and prevalent, it remains largely underdiagnosed and undertreated. Diagnosing CM requires a systematic approach that includes these steps: (1) exclude a secondary headache disorder, and (2) diagnose a specific primary headache syndrome based on frequency and duration, for example, short-duration episodic, long-duration episodic, or long-duration chronic. CM usually develops as a complication of episodic migraine after a period of increasing headache frequency. This migraine transformation is associated with a number of risk factors, some of which cannot be modified, including age and race. Other risk factors for CM are modifiable, such as obesity, snoring, head injury, stressful life events, and overuse of opioids and barbiturates. However, risk factor modification has not yet been shown to decrease the likelihood of CM onset. According to a cross-sectional analysis of data from the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention study published this year in Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, when compared to patients with episodic migraine, patients with CM were significantly less likely to be employed full-time and almost twice as likely to be occupationally disabled. In addition, patients with CM were nearly twice as likely to have anxiety, chronic pain, or depression. Furthermore, patients with CM had higher cardiovascular and respiratory risk, were 40% more likely to have heart disease and angina, and were 70% more likely to have a history of stroke. These findings highlight the paramount importance of clinical vigilance, accurate diagnosis, and appropriate, effective management - including treatment or referrals - to improve patient outcomes.
Indonesian Local Government Spending, Taxing and Saving: An Explanation of Pre‐ and Post‐decentralization Fiscal Outcomes*

As a result of Indonesia’s decentralization program, local governments have gained significantly more responsibility for service delivery, considerably larger fiscal resources, and much greater authority over the use of those resources than before. The present paper develops a simple budget model to describe and explain the substantial differences in pre- and post-decentralization local government fiscal behavior related to spending, taxing and saving. During the post-decentralization period special attention is paid to the fiscal behavior of natural resource rich regions. Among other things, the evidence suggests that: post-decentralization local government spending is partly responsive to increasing needs and partly the subject of elite capture; local government taxation has become more aggressive under decentralization and appears to be mostly driven by local bureaucratic expectations related to routine overhead budgets; and the increased savings of local governments during the post-decentralization period is determined to a large degree by delayed central government transfer payments.
The Effect of ABCG2 and ABCC4 on the Pharmacokinetics of Methotrexate in the Brain

Methotrexate (MTX) is the cornerstone of chemotherapy for primary central nervous system lymphoma, yet how the blood-brain barrier (BBB) efflux transporters ABCG2 and ABCC4 influence the required high-dose therapy is unknown. To evaluate their role, we used four mouse strains, C57BL/6 (wild-type; WT), Abcg2(-/-), Abcc4(-/-), and Abcg2(-/-);Abcc4(-/-) (double knockout; DKO) to conduct brain microdialysis studies after single intravenous MTX doses of 50 mg/kg. When the area under the concentration-time curve for plasma (AUC(plasma)) was used to assess systemic exposure to MTX, the rank order was Abcc4(-/-) < WT < Abcg2(-/-) < Abcg2(-/-)Abcc4(-/-). Only the DKO exposure was significantly higher than that of the WT group (P < 0.01), a reflection of the role of Abcg2 in biliary excretion and Abcc4 in renal excretion. MTX brain interstitial fluid concentrations obtained by microdialysis were used to calculate the area under the concentration-time curve for the brain (AUC(brain)), which found the rank order of exposure to be WT < Abcc4(-/-) < Abcg2(-/-) < Abcg2(-/-)Abcc4(-/-) with the largest difference being 4-fold: 286.13 ± 130 μg*min/ml (DKO) versus 66.85 ± 26 (WT). Because the transporters affected the systemic disposition of MTX, particularly in the DKO group, the ratio of the AUC(brain)/AUC(plasma) or the brain/plasma partition coefficient Kp was calculated, revealing that the DKO strain had a significantly higher value (0.23 ± 0.09) than the WT strain (0.11 ± 0.05). Both Abcg2 and Abcc4 limited BBB penetration of MTX; however, only when both drug efflux pumps were negated did the brain accumulation of MTX significantly increase. These findings indicate a contributory role of both ABCG2 and ABCC4 to limiting MTX distribution in patients.
Nuclear survivability-too much of a good thing or misunderstood blessing?

Considers nuclear survivability by stating what it is, discussing the regulatory mechanism that demands and enforces the attainment of nuclear survivability, discussing what can be done to tailor the requirement to the system, and then mentioning what other, non-nuclear, problems might also be solved. >
Numerical modelling of ozone production in a wire?cylinder corona discharge and comparison with a wire?plate corona discharge

The effect of electrode configuration on ozone production in the direct-current corona discharge of dry and humid air is studied by a numerical model that combines the electron distribution in the corona plasma, plasma chemistry and transport phenomena. Two electrode configurations are considered: wire‐cylinder discharge with air flowing along the wire axis and wire‐plate discharge with air flowing transverse to the wire. The ozone distributions in both types of discharges are compared. For both electrode configurations, the ozone production rate is higher in the negative corona than in the positive corona and it decreases with an increase in relative humidity. More importantly, the detailed ozone distribution in the neighbourhood of the discharge wire, together with the ozone kinetics, reveals the possible difference in the ozone production from the two discharges. With the same operating conditions and sufficiently short flow residence time, the ozone production rate is nearly the same for both electrode configurations. When the flow residence time is longer than the characteristic time for homogeneous ozone destruction, the net ozone production is higher in the wire‐cylinder discharge than in the wire‐plate discharge due to relatively less ozone destruction. (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)
Exploring VXIbus systems and instrumentation

The author attempts to increase the awareness of the advanced triggering features offered by VXI and to introduce some new system configurations to potential users. These configurations offer higher performance for repeatability of test, timing accuracy, and system throughput. A discussion of extended start/stop protocol and SYNC100 triggering illustrates how tight timing synchronization between instrument modules results in a high degree of measurement repeatability. In addition, it is noted that dramatic improvements in throughput can be achieved utilizing hardware sequencing where VXI system resources are used to minimize time-consuming intervention by the system controller. A test system comprising a digitizer, an arbitrary waveform generator, and a scanner is discussed, with emphasis on the implementation of extended start/stop protocol and hardware sequencing to potential system applications. Attention is given to the instrument features differentiating these products from their rack and stack counterparts. >
Mitral valve repair for significant mitral insufficiency

Abstract There has been skepticism since the early days of open heart surgery that good long-term or even short-term results were possible with repair for pure mitral insufficiency. The authors report 145 patients in whom a markedly insufficient mitral valve was repaired 6 months to 17 years previously and another 55 patients in whom repair of the insufficient mitral valve was performed along with myocardial revascularization from 6 months to 7 years previously. Comparative data with other published work reveals superior results with repair than with replacement with Starr-Edwards and Hancock glutaraldehyde-treated porcine valves and with far less emboli. Conservatism is urged in operating upon patients with mitral insufficinecy. Repair of the valve rather than replacement is stressed for those patients requiring surgery.
The propagation of cosmic‐ray nuclei in interstellar space and solar system

Cosmic ray nuclei propagation in interstellar space and solar system examined from balloon, rocket and satellite soundings
Introduction: NATO Advanced Study Institute on Regression of Atherosclerotic Lesions

Since the arteries of most living adults in the Western World presumably have atherosclerotic plaques and their progression may lead to infirmity or death, the possibility that plaques can regress has considerable practical significance. Therefore, atherosclerosis regression is a subject of importance to both experimentalists and clinicians.
Laboratory confirmation of scopolamine co-intoxication in patients using tainted heroin.

Background: First described in 1995, at least 325 patients with a history of heroin use have since required emergency medical evaluation in several eastern US cities, because of an anticholinergic toxidrome following use of heroin. This co-intoxication has been alleged to result from an atropine-like compound. We report the clinical findings and laboratory analysis of one of several individuals who presented to our Emergency Department during this epidemic. Case Report: A 23-year-old male was one of 3 patients brought to the Emergency Department due to agitated behavior after insufflating heroin. Following physical and chemical restraint, vital signs were pulse 134 bpm, BP 160/90 mm Hg, RR 24/min, and T 37.3°C. Physical examination was remarkable for dilated pupils 8–9 mm without nystagmus, along with dry mouth, decreased bowel sounds, and flushed dry skin. A bladder catheter was placed and 500 mL of urine was obtained. Electrocardiogram revealed sinus tachycardia only. Additional sedation was required fo...
Ohio Hopewell Ceremonial Bladelet Use at the Moorehead Circle, Fort Ancient

In the past twenty years, lithic use-wear studies have been used to determine the function of Hopewell bladelets. These studies have uniformly shown that the bladelets were multipurpose, utilitarian tools in domestic contexts. Debate arises as to their function in ritual or ceremonial contexts. The question of bladelet function in ceremonial contexts remains unanswered because use-wear studies of bladelets have not been extensively applied to well-provenienced ceremonial assemblages. Microwear analysis was conducted on a sample of bladelets recovered from the Moorehead Circle within the Fort Ancient Earthworks in order to comment on the above debate as well as to determine the activities that occurred there prehistorically. The Moorehead Circle was a center of intensive activity as evidenced by the high rate of utilization and numerous tasks performed with bladelets. Intersite comparison indicates that the Moorehead Circle bladelets were utilized for the same range of tasks as bladelets from other sites in Ohio.
The Biomechanical Effects of 1.0 to 1.2 Mrad of Gamma Irradiation on Human Bone–Patellar Tendon–Bone Allografts

Background:Recent data suggest that anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction with irradiated allograft tissue may lead to increased failure rates.Hypothesis:Low-dose (1.0-1.2 Mrad) gamma irradiation does not significantly alter the preimplantation biomechanical properties of bone–patellar tendon–bone (BTB) allografts.Study Design:Controlled laboratory study.Methods:Cyclic and failure mechanical properties were evaluated for 20 paired central-third human BTB allografts, with and without 1.0 to 1.2 Mrad of gamma irradiation. Testing included cyclic loading at 0.5 Hz for 100 cycles from 50 to 200 N and failure testing at a strain rate of 10% per second.Results:Cyclic elongation did not change significantly (P = .151) with irradiation, increasing from a mean ± SD of 9.4 ± 2.1 mm to 11.3 ± 3.4 mm. Cyclic creep strain approached a significant increase with irradiation (1.3% ± 0.8% to 2.6% ± 1.5%; P = .076). Failure testing was not affected with irradiation with regard to maximum load (1680 ± 417 mm to 14...
State Suppression of Buddhism and Royal Patronage of the Ritual of Water and Land in the Early Choso˘n Dynasty

The Buddhist Ritual of Water and Land was at the center of controversy in fifteenthcentury Chos?n Korea because it received state sponsorship and royal patronage at a time when the state was attempting to reduce the institutional power of Buddhism. I argue that the seemingly inconsistent acts of the early Chos?n kings derived from their view that the state should uphold the ritual traditions of diverse religions regardless of the validity of their doctrinal claims. As the state gradually institutionalized a system of governance based on Confucianism in the mid-fifteenth century, Confucian officials urged the kings to put an end to the sponsorship of the ritual by the state and the royal family. In the second half of the fifteenth century, Confucian scholar-officials put forth the idea that Confucianism could not flourish unless the state banned the practices of other religions. This exclusivist attitude represented a break with the existing tradition in Korea that had been characterized by diversity in terms of religion and customs. The end of state sponsorship of the Ritual of Water and Land in the early sixteenth century signaled the ascension to dominance of Confucian values in Chos?n Korea.
Future cost-competitive electricity systems and their impact on US CO2 emissions

Carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation are a major cause of anthropogenic climate change. The deployment of wind and solar power reduces these emissions, but is subject to the variability of the weather. In the present study, we calculate the cost-optimized configuration of variable electrical power generators using weather data with high spatial (13-km) and temporal (60-min) resolution over the contiguous US. Our results show that when using future anticipated costs for wind and solar, carbon dioxide emissions from the US electricity sector can be reduced by up to 80% relative to 1990 levels, without an increase in the levelized cost of electricity. The reductions are possible with current technologies and without electrical storage. Wind and solar power increase their share of electricity production as the system grows to encompass large-scale weather patterns. This reduction in carbon emissions is achieved by moving away from a regionally divided electricity sector to a national system enabled by high-voltage direct-current transmission. Combined energy and weather modelling suggests that CO2 emissions from the US electricity sector can be reduced by up to 80% using existing technologies, and without increasing the cost of electricity.
Clonal evolution of AML on novel FMS -like tyrosine kinase-3 ( FLT3 ) inhibitor therapy with evolving actionable targets

Abstract For acute myeloid leukemia (AML), identification of activating mutations in the FMS -like tyrosine kinase-3 ( FLT3 ) has led to the development of several FLT3 -inhibitors. Here we present clinical and next generation sequencing data at the time of progression of a patient on a novel FLT3 -inhibitor clinical trial (ASP2215) to show that employing therapeutic interventions with these novel targeted therapies can lead to consequences secondary to selective pressure and clonal evolution of cancer. We describe novel findings alongside data on treatment directed towards actionable aberrations acquired during the process. (Clinical Trial: NCT02014558; registered at: 〈https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02014558〉)
Decision Analysis: MIBI Imaging of Nonpalpable Breast Abnormalities

UNLABELLED Scintimammography using sestamibi has provided exciting preliminary results in evaluating suspicious breast lesions. A computer simulation was performed using projected test characteristics to guide future studies and to evaluate the clinical and financial consequences of the anticipated use of noninvasive breast evaluation strategies. METHODS A decision analysis model compared sestamibi breast imaging, stereotaxic core biopsy and surgical biopsy as breast evaluation strategies for hypothetical cohorts of 1000 women with nonpalpable breast lesions. All women with a negative original procedure would have a 6-mo follow-up. Sensitivity and specificity were estimated from the literature and from a recent multicenter assessment for sestamibi. Probabilities of 10% for both invasive cancer and in situ cancer were based on mammographic features. Costs were based on the costs incurred by patients who were evaluated at our institution and the costs of sestamibi projections. RESULTS Per 1000 women, core biopsy was projected to miss about seven invasive and 10 in situ cancers more than would surgery. Sestamibi imaging was projected to miss an additional 16 invasive cancers and 12 in situ cancers, compared to core biopsy. Most misses would be detected at 6-mo follow-up. Compared to immediate surgery, the cost would be reduced by 20% with the core biopsy and 39% with the sestamibi strategy. Sixty-five percent of women having sestamibi imaging would avoid any invasive biopsy. The projected cost savings of core biopsy or sestamibi imaging, compared to surgery, ranged fom $17,700 to $77,500 per delayed cancer diagnosis. CONCLUSION If sestamibi imaging has similar test characteristics outside the research setting, then sestamibi imaging or sterotaxic core biopsy will lead to substantial cost savings compared to surgery with a slight compromise in the rate of early cancer detection. A decision analysis simulation can aid in designing clinical trials and exploring new strategies. The adopting of nonsurgical biopsy techniques will likely depend on confirming or establishing their test characteristics in lower-risk lesions, the natural history of cancers whose diagnosis is delayed and patient preferences of the value on avoiding any form of breast biopsy.
A Dancing Star: Arguments From Imagination

A dancing star should shake off traditional practice and theory. It's comfortable to delude ourselves that the practice-of-governance-and bureaucracy-we-need, even in the longer run, should be an incremental change over the practice we already have. Same for theorizing! I agree it's comfy for many; I disagree it's desirable for any. I favor euthanasia for the traditions we have, and for organizations that nourish such tradi tions. As Nietzsche's Zarathustra exclaims, "I tell you: one must have chaos in one, to give birth to a dancing star" (Nietzsche, 1958, p. 46). I discuss aspects of Arguments from Imagination for dancing-star practice and theorizing. One such argument appeals to a contradiction between (a) the need for radical imagination in governance and (b) the hostility to radical imagination in traditional practice. More precisely, I should say "contrary" rather than contradiction. Another such argu ment appeals to a contrary between (a) the need for radical imagination in practice and (b) the unlikelihood of helpful wisdom being available from traditional theorizing. These arguments could be filled out in a variety of ways. There could be a barnburner discussion, for instance, about traditional theory's subservience to tinkering excessively with the machinery of government, to tinkering with micro concerns, to having so little to show for its history of tinkering, and more. The discussion could talk about (again) the excessive catering to the needs of the mid level manager, and the reluctance to fly higher than the limits of what counts as common sense. The claim in the Arguments from Imagination is not that traditional practice and theory could vanish (see the quote from Daniel Martin, above); it is that the traditional should pass away. Neither traditional practice nor theorizing can give us what we need; it's time to move on. Such arguments are of the following form. First, X
Smoking in pregnancy and risk of cancer among young children: A population-based study.

Smoking during pregnancy is a plausible risk factor for childhood cancer, yet previous studies have yielded conflicting results, and few prospective studies have been published. Data on maternal smoking were obtained from California birth certificates. We linked California birth certificates (births 2007-2011) with California Cancer Registry records for childhood cancer cases (diagnosed January 2007-September 2013) that were ages 5 or younger at diagnosis (N cases = 2,021). Controls (N = 40,356) were frequency-matched by birth year and randomly selected from birth certificate records. We used unconditional logistic regression to obtain odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) to assess the association between smoking during pregnancy and childhood cancer. We observed positive associations for gliomas (OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.0-3.4) and retinoblastoma (OR = 3.0, 95% CI: 1.4-6.6), particularly bilateral retinoblastoma (OR = 9.4, 95% CI 3.6-24.7) with maternal smoking in pregnancy. Maternal smoking during pregnancy may be a risk factor for retinoblastoma and certain types of childhood brain tumors.