cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DET1, a negative regulator of light-mediated development and gene expression in arabidopsis, encodes a novel nuclear-localized protein

The mechanisms by which plants integrate light signals to modify endogenous developmental programs are largely unknown. One candidate for a signal transduction component that may integrate light with developmental pathways is the Arabidopsis DET1 gene product. Here we report the positional cloning of the DET1 locus and show that DET1 is a unique nuclear-localized protein. An analysis of a number of det1 mutants indicates that mutants with partial DET1 activity develop as light-grown plants in the dark. det1 null mutants share this phenotype, but also display severe defects in temporal and spatial regulation of gene expression. These results suggest that DET1 acts in the nucleus to control the cell type-specific expression of light-regulated promoters.
Visual data exploration using Legendre wavelets

Hierarchical decomposition of data using Haar and Legendre scaling functions as well as multiresolution compression and decomposition of data using hyperbolic 3D Haar wavelets, Battle-Lemarie wavelets, and biorthogonal wavelets have been used in the past to visually explore large volumetric data sets. In this work we explore the use of Legendre wavelets for efficient volumetric compression and rendering of data. There are several advantages of using Legendre wavelets. First, by using wavelets rather than scaling functions, we gain the advantages associated with multiresolution decomposition of data. This includes efficient exploration of data at different levels of detail and advantages of incremental rendering of data and progressive transmission. Second, the main advantage of these wavelets over other wavelet models arises from the fact that they do not overlap and therefore require filters of only unit length. In contrast, Battle-Lemarie wavelets require filters of infinite length. Similarly, if B-spline wavelets are used, they will require filters of infinite length as well. Biorthogonal wavelets require filters of finite length; however Legendre wavelets use filters of only unit length. This results in relatively simple and efficient computation. We use coherent projection method and L2 error criterion to compress and render the volumetric data, although the model is flexible to accommodate other volumetric rendering techniques and other error criteria. The Legendre wavelet model for volumetric data compression and rendering has been implemented. The system has been used for visual data exploration of several large volumetric data sets. Detailed statistical measures of compression ratios, rendering time, and associated errors have been derived for different threshold values of many volumetric data sets. Although for lossless compression Legendre wavelet model requires much more time and space, it clearly outperforms Haar wavelet model in compression and image quality for lossy compression with very small L2 errors. This characteristic is very helpful in visual exploration of data.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Horizontal wavenumber spectra of MLS radiance fluctuations

Abstract Radiance fluctuations from Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite Microwave Limb Sounder (UARS MLS) reflect atmospheric temperature oscillations of short (⩾30 km ) horizontal and long (>10 km ) vertical wavelengths at 38– 80 km altitudes. These radiance fluctuations often show wave-like structures with clear phase coherence among different altitudes. This paper applies a spectral analysis to MLS limb-tracking radiances and obtains a seasonal climatology of horizontal wavenumber spectra at scales of 50– 800 km for 6 altitudes (38, 43, 48, 53, 61 and 80 km ) and 8 latitudes (from 70°S to 70°N). Most of the power spectra exhibit a slope close to −2 but some can be as steep as −3 in wave active regions. The spectral power density is strongly season-and-latitude dependent in the stratosphere, which is thought largely due to the modulation of the background winds on the vertical wavenumber spectrum. The spectral amplitudes grow exponentially with height between 38 and 50 km but the growth rate becomes small or close to zero near and above 50 km . The growth rates at 38– 53 km altitudes are scale-dependent showing less efficient vertical propagation for larger-scale waves. The near-zero growth in the lower mesosphere is thought mainly due to wave saturation/breaking at these altitudes.
Visual Communication and the Map: How Maps as Visual Objects Convey Meaning in Specific Contexts

Abstract This article reports the results of a case study of two maps, produced by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Natural Resources Defense Council, and their involvement in a federal court case over the deployment of the Navy's low-frequency active sonar. Borrowing from Kress and van Leeuwen's (1996) approach to visual analysis, Turnbull's (1989) understanding of the map, and Latour's (1990) understanding of how visuals work in social contexts, the article offers an analytical approach to studying maps as powerful visual, rhetorical objects.
Loss of D2 Dopamine Receptor Function Modulates Cocaine-Induced Glutamatergic Synaptic Potentiation in the Ventral Tegmental Area

Potentiation of glutamate responses is a critical synaptic response to cocaine exposure in ventral tegmental area (VTA) neurons. However, the mechanism by which cocaine exposure promotes potentiation of NMDA receptors (NMDARs) and subsequently AMPA receptors (AMPARs) is not fully understood. In this study we demonstrate that repeated cocaine treatment causes loss of D2 dopamine receptor functional responses via interaction with lysosome-targeting G-protein-associated sorting protein1 (GASP1). We also show that the absence of D2 downregulation in GASP1-KO mice prevents cocaine-induced potentiation of NMDAR currents, elevation of the AMPA/NMDA ratio, and redistribution of NMDAR and AMPAR subunits to the membrane. As a pharmacological parallel, coadministration of the high-affinity D2 agonist, aripiprazole, reduces not only functional downregulation of D2s in response to cocaine but also potentiation of NMDAR and AMPAR responses in wild-type mice. Together these data suggest that functional loss of D2 receptors is a critical mechanism mediating cocaine-induced glutamate plasticity in VTA neurons.
Lipid peroxidation and membrane aging

Abstract This critique points out that a number of possible alterations in cell metabolism could lead to changes in membrane structure and that the observed effects might not necessarily play a primary role in the physiology of aging. Experimental approaches, while not simple, should distinguish causes of altered membrane asymmetry from its consequences.
Physiological responses of larval and postmetamorphic Rana pipiens to growth hormone and prolactin

Bovine prolactin stimulates growth of tadpoles, whereas bovine growth hormone stimulates growth of postmetamorphic frogs. The biochemical composition of liver, muscle, and fat body were examined to determine whether there were any changes in carbohydrate, protein, fat, or nucleic acids which might correlate significantly with the growth effects of the hormones in the two stages of development. In the frog, the major effect of growth hormone was to depress carbohydrate and lipid stores, with little or no effect on protein and nucleic acids in most experiments. Prolactin had similar but smaller effects on carbohydrate, and no effect on fat body lipid in the frog. In tadpoles prolactin suppressed muscle glycogen, but otherwise did not affect tissue composition. Growth hormone had no effects in the tadpole. Ways in which the interrelated developmental and metabolic effects of growth hormone and prolactin could increase the adaptive significance of distinct larval and postmetamorphic growth-regulating hormones in the amphibians are discussed.
Host-cell reactivation of reporter genes introduced into cells by adenovirus as a convenient way to measure cellular DNA repair

In order to conveniently measure cellular DNA repair in immortalized and primary human cells we have combined the features of high cellular infectivity of adenovirus (Ad) with that of host-cell reactivation (HCR) of ultraviolet light (UV)-damaged reporter genes. We show that Ads having either the cat (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase) or seap (secreted alkaline phosphatase) reporter gene under control of a strong constitutive promoter can be used to measure relative levels of DNA repair by HCR. Most importantly, the SEAP assay allows for a convenient, inexpensive, and sensitive colorimetric microtiter assay. Only a few steps are involved and it is possible to process many samples simultaneously in a relatively short time, which is not as easily done with other reporter gene assays. Furthermore, we show that co-infection of UV-damaged SEAP Ad with an Ad carrying a prokaryotic repair gene significantly increased the HCR levels in xeroderma pigmentosum cells. The Ad gene delivery system, and the SEAP assay in particular, should simplify existing HCR assays considerably. By using non-lytic Ad as a vehicle it should be possible to quantitatively introduce normal or dominant negative mutant DNA repair genes into bulk cell populations for DNA repair studies.
Efficacy of an Essential Oil-Based Pesticide for Controlling Bed Bug (Cimex lectularius) Infestations in Apartment Buildings.

Bed bugs (Cimex lectularius L. and Cimex hemipterus F.) are among the most difficult urban pests to manage. Many essential oil-based bed bug control products that are considered reduced risk to mammals compared to synthetic insect neurotoxins have become commercially available, but their effectiveness as a stand-alone control method is unknown. This study assessed the field efficacy of an essential oil-based bed bug control product (EcoRaider; a.i. 1% geraniol + 1% cedar oil + 2% sodium lauryl sulfate) compared to a pyrethroid and neonicotinoid mixture spray (0.075% Temprid SC; a.i. beta-cyfluthrin + imidacloprid). After 12 weeks, the three treatments—EcoRaider, Temprid SC, and EcoRaider + Temprid SC caused 92.5 ± 2.7, 92.9 ± 3.0, and 91.7% ± 2.7% bed bug count reduction, respectively. No significant differences existed in the bed bug reduction among the treatments. Bed bugs were eliminated from only 22% of the treated apartments. Among those still with bed bugs, 76% of the residents did not know bed bugs were present. We documented the residents’ self-control practices and discussed the potential of using essential oil-based insecticides in bed bug management programs to minimize the health risks to building occupants and pets and to slow down the development of insecticide resistance.
Traceless Semisynthesis of a Set of Histone 3 Species Bearing Specific Lysine Methylation Marks

Considerable mechanistic insight into the function of histone post-translational modifications and the enzymes that install and remove them derives from in vitro experiments with modified histones, often embedded in nucleosomes. We report the first semisyntheses of native-like histone 3 (H3) bearing tri- and dimethyllysines at position 79 and trimethyllysine at position 36, as well as more facile and traceless semisyntheses of K9 and K27 trimethylated species. These semisyntheses are practical on a multi-milligram scale and can also generate H3 with combinations of marks. Each of these modifications has distinct functional consequences, although the pathways by which H3K36me3 and H3K79me2/3 act have not been entirely mapped. To this end, we demonstrated that our semisynthetic histones, when reconstituted into nucleosomes, are valuable affinity reagents for unbiased binding partner discovery and compare them to their methyllysine analogue (MLA) counterparts at the nucleosome level.
Development of an Instrument for Studying Verbal Behaviors in a Secondary School Mathematics Classroom

MUCH OF the research relating to the improve ment of classroom teaching has been dependent on measurements carried out in the pre-lesson and/or the post-lesson periods. This app roach, valuable as it is, is indirect, and there is need for a more direct approach. It seems reasonable to suppose that direct study of the lesson by an observational technique would avoid certain of the variables encountered in the indirect approach and, at the same time, should possess intrinsic valid ity. Simultaneous c o n s i d e ration of the subject matter taught and the method of its development two interdependent facets of the lesson?could al so be achieved. There follows, hereafter, a description of the design of an instrument for direct observation of the verbal interaction of teacher and pupils in a mathematics classroom. Support for this design is sought in a brief empirical study of aspects of validity and reliability of such an instrument in cluding effective ways of reporting the ob s e rva tions.
The Couples Gender-Based Questionnaire (CGQ): Thirty-Three Relationship Considerations:

Thirty-three research-referenced gender differences are explored by means of a couple's gender-based questionnaire (CGQ). Couples take the questionnaire individually and then collaboratively choose one answer relative to whether each statement is more characteristic of males, females, or both genders. A review of gender-related literature follows. Implications and applications to the couples themselves conclude the article.
The Global Phenomenon of "Humanizing" Terrorism in Literature and Cinema

In her paper "The Global Phenomenon of 'Humanizing' Terrorism in Literature and Cinema" Elaine Martin presents -following a discussion of two early examples, Schiller's The Robbers and Heinrich von Kleist's Michael Kohlhaas (1810) -an analysis of several contemporary works that model different ways of representing terrorism: Heinrich Boll's The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (1975) and its 1976 filmic adaptation by Volker Schlondorff, Doris Lessing's The Good Terrorist (1985), Santosh Sivan's film The Terrorist (1999), and Tom Tykwer's film Heaven (2002). Edward Said provided a critique of the battle against terrorism, saying that it is selective ("we" are never terrorists; "they" always are) and that it attempts to obliterate history and temporality by isolating the enemy from time, from causality, and from prior action ("The Essential Terrorist"). Provocatively, literary texts and films about terrorism have repeatedly broken these official taboos by locating terrorist figures and terrorist acts within an interlocking grid of time, causality, and history. This is true of models as early as Schiller's 1781 The Robbers as well as many twentiethand twenty-first-century works. This extensive temporal span is paralleled by a similarly broad geographical span, in that works on terrorism that challenge the official/governmental interpretation of the phenomenon come from virtually every continent. Elaine Martin, "The Global Phenomenon of 'Humanizing' Terrorism in Literature and Cinema" page 2 of 9 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 9.1 (2007): Thematic Issue, Representing Humanity in an Age of Terror. Ed. Sophia A. McClennen and Henry James Morello
Erweiterungen des konventionellen Rechnungswesens zum Informations- und Steuerungssystem

Ursprunglich diente das Rechnungswesen vor allem der Aufschreibung der schuldrechtlichen Anspruche und Verpflichtungen sowie der Uberwachung weiterer Vermogensbestande. Diese Funktion hat heute noch ihre Gultigkeit. Daneben ist aber das Rechnungswesen zu einem Fuhrungsinstrument der Unternehmungsleitung ausgeweitet worden, das einen vertieften Einblick in das innere Gefuge und die wirtschaftliche Entwicklung einer Unternehmung geben soll.
Video-assisted thoracic surgery lobectomy: experience with 1,100 cases.

Background Although many video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomies have been performed over the 12 years since the first VATS lobectomy, controversies about the procedure remain regarding the safety and associated morbidity and mortality of that procedure. This series is reviewed to assess these issues. Methods Between 1992 and 2004, we performed 1,100 VATS lobectomies in 595 women (54.1%) and 505 men (45.9%), with a mean age of 71.2 years. Diagnoses were as follows: benign disease (53), pulmonary metastases (27), lymphoma (5), and lung cancer (1,015). Of the primary lung cancers, 641 (63.1%) were adenocarcinoma. With visualization on a monitor, anatomic hilar dissection and lymph node sampling or dissection were performed, primarily through a 5-cm incision without spreading the ribs. Results There were 9 deaths (0.8%), and none was intraoperative or due to bleeding; 932 patients had no postoperative complications (84.7%). Blood transfusion was required in 45 of 1,100 patients (4.1%). Length of stay was median 3 days (mean, 4.78). One hundred eighty patients (20%) were discharged on postoperative day 1 or 2. Conversion to a thoracotomy occurred in 28 patients (2.5%). Recurrence developed in the incisions in 5 patients (0.57%). In 2003, 89% of 224 lobectomies were performed with VATS. Conclusions VATS lobectomy with anatomic dissection can be performed with low morbidity and mortality rates. The risk of intraoperative bleeding or recurrence in an incision seems minimal.
Membrane‐assisted vapor stripping: energy efficient hybrid distillation–vapor permeation process for alcohol–water separation

BACKGROUND: Energy efficient alternatives to distillation for alcohol recovery from dilute solution are needed to improve biofuel sustainability. A process integrating steam stripping with a vapor compression step and a vapor permeation membrane separation step is proposed. The objective of this work is to estimate the energy and process costs required to make a fuel grade ethanol (0.5 wt% water) from 1 and 5 wt% ethanol aqueous streams using the proposed process. RESULTS: Using process simulation and spreadsheeting software, the proposed membrane-assisted vapor stripping process was estimated to require as little as 8.9 MJ of fuel-equivalent energy per kg of fuel grade ethanol recovered from a 1 wt% ethanol feed stream, 2.5 MJ kg−1 for a 5 wt% ethanol solution. This represents an energy saving of at least 43% relative to standard distillation producing azeotropic ethanol (6 wt% water). Process costs were also found to be lower than for distillation at the 3.0 × 106 kg-ethanol year−1 scale modeled. CONCLUSION: In this hybrid system, the stripping column provides high ethanol recoveries and low effluent concentrations while the vapor compression-membrane component enables the efficient recovery of latent and sensible heat from both the retentate and permeate streams from the membrane system. Published in 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Orthognathic Surgery in Patients With Congenital Myopathies and Congenital Muscular Dystrophies: Case Series and Review of the Literature

Purpose This case series examined preoperative findings and the surgical, anesthetic, and postoperative management of 6 patients with congenital myopathies (CMs) and congenital muscular dystrophies (CMDs) treated at a tertiary medical institution with orthognathic surgery over 15 years to describe pertinent considerations for performing orthognathic surgery in these complex patients. Materials and Methods According to the institutional review board–approved protocol, chart records were reviewed for all orthognathic surgical patients with a clinical, genetic, or muscle biopsy-proved diagnosis of CM or CMD. Results Six patients (5 male, 1 female) qualified, and they were treated by 4 surgeons in the division of oral and maxillofacial surgery from 1992 through 2007. Average age was 19.5 years at the time of orthognathic surgery. Five patients had Class III malocclusions and 1 patient had Class II malocclusion. All 6 patients had apertognathia with lip incompetence. Nasoendotracheal intubation with a difficulty of 0/3 (0=easiest, 3=most difficult) was performed in all cases. Routine induction and maintenance anesthetics, including halogenated agents and nondepolarizing muscle relaxants, were administered without malignant hyperthermia. All 6 patients underwent Le Fort level osteotomies; 4 also had mandibular setback surgery with or without balancing mandibular inferior border osteotomies. Five patients required planned intensive care unit care postoperatively (average, 18.4 days; range, 4 to 65 days). Postoperative respiratory complications resulting in major blood oxygen desaturations occurred in 5 patients; 4 of these patients required reintubation during emergency code response. Five patients required extended postoperative intubation (average, 4.2 days; range, 3 to 6 days) and ventilatory support. Average hospital length of stay was 21.8 days (range, 6 to 75 days). Average postoperative follow-up interval was 29.8 weeks (range, 6 to 128 weeks). Conclusions Patients with CMs or CMDs often have characteristic dentofacial malocclusions that contribute to functional problems with feeding and drooling and psychosocial problems. Orthognathic surgery, usually bimaxillary, can be judiciously considered in these patients; these procedures typically require multidisciplinary pre- and postoperative evaluation and care over lengthy hospital stays with a high risk of respiratory complications that bear consideration in treatment planning.
Impact of Political Reservations in West Bengal Local Governments on Anti-Poverty Targeting

Political reservation for disadvantaged groups is believed to be a way of improving targeting of publicly provided goods to those groups. This paper examines the impact of political reservations for women and scheduled castes and tribe (SC/ST) candidates in local governments in West Bengal, India between 1998-2004 on targeting to landless, low caste and female-headed households. It differs from existing literature by differences in geographic coverage, time span, and use of selfreported household benefits across a broad range of programs. Reservation of chief executive (pradhan) positions in local government for women was associated with a significant worsening of within-village targeting to SC/ST households, and no improvement on any other dimension of targeting. Reservation of pradhan posts for SC/ST members was associated with a significant increase in benefits received by the village as a whole, improvement in intra-village targeting to female-headed households, and to the group (SC or ST) of the pradhan. The effects of women’s reservations are not consistent with simple citizen-candidate or elite capture models of electoral politics. They are consistent with a more complex hypothesis of capture-cum-clientelism which is weakened by election of politically inexperienced women to reserved pradhan posts.
Estimation of the structure and elasticities of Mexican imports in the period 1961–1979☆

Abstract This paper examines the changing structure of Mexican imports over the period 1961–1979 and its relationship to the acceleration of imports in 1978–1979. It is found that the more lenient policies adopted by the government in that period seem to be associated with the higher import levels. A review of Mexican policy with respect to foreign trade in 1980 seems to be consistent with the results reported in this paper.
Truth and Objectivity Regained

There is no greater threat to the relevance of organizational and administrative research, or to effective management, than erosion of confidence in truth and objectivity. The authors warn management and organization researchers against becoming institutionalized into an exaggerated perspective of self-doubt by giving too much credence to discussions of subjectivity and the underdetermination of theory by evidence. The concepts of trustworthiness, integrity, honesty, reliability, competency, fairness, or bias all rest on the concepts of truth and objectivity. The authors urge managers to seek the truth and base decisions on evidence and good theory. In responding to a cluster of recent promising articles on the topic, the authors carefully explicate the notions of truth and objectivity, show how these are attached to the notion of trust, and detail their place in social science and the art of management. The authors demonstrate that it is a mistake to think that one can abandon the notions of truth and ob...
Influence of initial morphology and thickness of Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn intermetallics on growth and evolution during thermal aging of Sn-Ag solder/Cu joints

Intermetallic-layer formation and growth in Pb-free solder joints, during solder reflow or subsequent aging, has a significant effect on the thermal and mechanical behavior of solder joints. In this study, the influence of initial intermetallic morphology on growth rate, and kinetics were examined in a Sn-3.5Ag solder reflowed on Cu. The initial morphology of the intermetallic was tailered by cooling in water, air, or furnace conditions. Solder aging was conducted at 100°C, 140°C, and 175°C and aged for 0–1,000 h. Cooling rate, aging temperature, and aging time played an important role on microstructure evolution and growth kinetics of Cu6Sn5 (η) and Cu3Sn (ɛ) intermetallic layers. Prior to aging, faster cooling rates resulted in a relatively planar Cu6Sn5 layer, while a nodular Cu6Sn5 morphology was present for slower cooling. Intermetallic-growth rate measurements after aging at various times, indicated a mixed growth mechanism of grain-boundary and bulk diffusion. These mechanisms are discussed in terms of the initial intermetallic thickness and morphology controlled by cooling rate, diffusion kinetics, and the competition between Cu6Sn5 and Cu3Sn growth.
An Infrastructure for Dynamic Composition of Grid Services

This poster presented Rudder, an agent-based infrastructure for the dynamic composition of gid services. Rudder is based on an associative composition space abstraction, and supports dynamic workflow enactment using software agents. The agents semantically discover and select services required by the workflow, and compose the selected services. The agents manage the execution of the workflow at runtime, and adapt the workflow reactively. Prototypes of Rudder and the Comet substrate have been developed and deployed as Java services within the JXTA framework
Political Discourse of a Working-Class Town

Critical discourse analysis (CDA) studies have examined the construction, reproduction, and mental appropriation of `top-down' discourses of dominance but have paid little attention to `bottom-up' analyses of semi-formal texts such as Letters to the Editor (LEs) in small-town newspapers. We investigate here the discourse of LEs written by candidates for political office, their supporters, and opponents. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed on a corpus of 123 LEs. Four research questions were addressed. The results of the study indicate that (1) letter writers used four specific forms of argumentation and selectively addressed issues; (2) LEs furnished a convenient platform for political campaigning but did not provide an effective medium for constructive dialogue leading to action and social change; (3) tax increases, ratables, the environment, and morality in education emerged as major topics; and (4) gender and class differences were salient in the discourse of LEs. An underlying discour...
Synchronizing multimodal data streams acquired using commodity hardware

We have developed tools and techniques that allow video frame level synchronization of multiple free-running commodity video cameras,microphones,and computer nodes using non-realtime operating systems.The techniques rely on physical audiovisual synchronization pulses,statistical procedures to correlate and interpolate the multiple timestamp streams,and software tools for review to produce smoothed and drift-corrected timestamp streams in our multimodal corpora. In this article we present those techniques and tools. Our project is open source and we are seeking collaborative developers for future work.
A Randomized Sublinear Time Parallel GCD Algorithm for the EREW PRAM

Abstract We present a randomized parallel algorithm that computes the greatest common divisor of two integers of n bits in length with probability 1 − o ( 1 ) that takes O ( n log log n / log n ) time using O ( n 6 + ϵ ) processors for any ϵ > 0 on the EREW PRAM parallel model of computation. The algorithm either gives a correct answer or reports failure. We believe this to be the first randomized sublinear time algorithm on the EREW PRAM for this problem.
Chemical aspects of a brine pool at the East Flower Garden bank, northwestern Gulf of Mexico1

A small pool on the flank of the East Flower Garden bank at a depth of 72 m in the Gulf of Mexico contains anoxic, hypersaline (approx. 200 g.kg/sup -1/) water. The flux of brine into and out of the pool contributes to erosional processes on the bank. The bulk ionic composition of the brine is similar to that of the Orca Basin brine, but differences between the two in gaseous hydrocarbon and carbon isotope content indicate different modes of origin. High levels of bacterial activity in the brine are indicated by ATP (> 80 ng.liter/sup -1/), hydrogen sulfide (> 2000 ..mu..mol.liter/sup -1/), isotopically light ..sigma..CO/sub 2/ (delta/sup 13/C =-23/sup 0///sub 00/ and the apparent generaton of elemental sulfur.
Investigation of the Effect of Uv-Assisted Oxidation and Nitridation of Hafnium Metal Films

Hf metal thin films were deposited on Si substrates using a pulsed laser deposition technique in vacuum and in ammonia ambients. The films were then oxidized at 400 °C in 300 Torr of O2. Half the samples were oxidized in the presence of ultraviolet (UV) radiation from a Hg lamp array. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and grazing angle X-ray diffraction were used to compare the crystallinity, roughness, and composition of the films. It has been found that UV radiation causes roughening of the films and also promotes crystallization at lower temperatures.Furthermore, increased silicon oxidation at the interface was noted with the UVirradiated samples and was shown to be in the form of a mixed layer using angle-resolved X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Incorporation of nitrogen into the film reduces the oxidation of the silicon interface.
CRT-401 Ivabradine Versus Metoprolol For Heart Rate Reduction In Computed Tomography Coronary Angiography

Ivabradine, a sinus node blocker, has been evaluated in multiple studies for heart rate reduction in computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA). We aimed to performed a meta-analysis of studies comparing Ivabradine with Metoprolol for the same. Pubmed, EBSCO and Cochrane databases were
Survey on Food Contamination in Shijiazhuang City

[Objective]To understand the status of food contamination in Shijiazhuang City during 2005—2007.[Methods]According to the task from Hebei Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC),national standard testing method(GB/T 5009) and the document issued by Ministry of Health were adopted to perform contamination detection on food.[Results]Lots of pesticide residues could be found in vegetable and tea.Among them,the detection rate for phorate,parathion,methamidophos and omethoate was 2%,2%,18% and 8%,respectively.The cadmium content in the pig kidneys was up to51 mg/kg which was 4.66 times of national standard.Based on the standard of lead level in fish,the lead contents in shellfish,freshwater fish and shrimps,marine fish,prawns,crabs were 80% higher than national standard.The lead contents in 3 kinds of vegetable exceeded the national standard,and the highest lead content was 0.30 mg/kg.For the rice,there were 3 samples which contained excessive lead.Although the lead content in tea was not more than national standard,the distribution of lead was wide and the detection rate was as high as 99%.In 2007,the categories and detection rates of pesticide residues greatly declined.The highest cadmium content in pig's kidneys was 0.14 mg/kg.[Conclusion]The problem of heavy metals and pesticide residues in food is serious in Shijiazhuang.
WE-B-BRC-03: Risk in the Context of Medical Imaging

Prospective quality management techniques, long used by engineering and industry, have become a growing aspect of efforts to improve quality management and safety in healthcare. These techniques are of particular interest to medical physics as scope and complexity of clinical practice continue to grow, thus making the prescriptive methods we have used harder to apply and potentially less effective for our interconnected and highly complex healthcare enterprise, especially in imaging and radiation oncology. An essential part of most prospective methods is the need to assess the various risks associated with problems, failures, errors, and design flaws in our systems. We therefore begin with an overview of risk assessment methodologies used in healthcare and industry and discuss their strengths and weaknesses. The rationale for use of process mapping, failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) and fault tree analysis (FTA) by TG-100 will be described, as well as suggestions for the way forward. This is followed by discussion of radiation oncology specific risk assessment strategies and issues, including the TG-100 effort to evaluate IMRT and other ways to think about risk in the context of radiotherapy. Incident learning systems, local as well as the ASTRO/AAPM ROILS system, can also be useful in the risk assessment process. Finally, risk in the context of medical imaging will be discussed. Radiation (and other) safety considerations, as well as lack of quality and certainty all contribute to the potential risks associated with suboptimal imaging. The goal of this session is to summarize a wide variety of risk analysis methods and issues to give the medical physicist access to tools which can better define risks (and their importance) which we work to mitigate with both prescriptive and prospective risk-based quality management methods. Learning Objectives: 1. Description of risk assessment methodologies used in healthcare and industry 2. Discussion of radiation oncology-specific risk assessment strategies and issues 3. Evaluation of risk in the context of medical imaging and image quality E. Samei: Research grants from Siemens and GE
Pain management in the outpatient surgical setting

Extracted from text ... COMMENTARY 24 Pain management in the outpatient surgical setting Robert S. Wolf MD American Sports Medicine Institute Birmingham, AL USA emptive and post-operative setting. These medications inhibit prostaglandin synthesis, promote analgesia, and consequently decrease the post-operative demand for opioids. This is beneficial as excess opioid use can result in significant morbidity in terms of gastrointestinal side effects, mental status changes, and potential for addiction. However, traditional non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have side effects including platelet inhibition and gastric ulceration which may prevent their use in the pre-operative setting. Moreover, ketorolac is contraindicated before major operations due to the increased ..
Using Backward Design to Align the Core Clerkships with the EPAs

Since the publication of the Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) project by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), institutions have been exploring how to integrate and assess EPAs into a pre-existing medical education curricular structure. Here, we describe a systematic approach for achieving this task using the third year Core Clerkships as a model. We utilized the process of Backward Design to integrate the EPAs into our existing third year Core Clerkship Curriculum by creating common student learning outcomes and implementing a standardized assessment strategy. Specifically, our manuscript shares the process we used, barriers we faced, methods to evaluate the changes, our ideas to continue to improve this process in the future, and how other institutions can generalize this process. Our redesign efforts revealed that many perceptors were unable to evaluate student performance on key EPA-based outcomes we identified as appropriate to the third year. This finding has implications for how to begin making Entrustment decisions by helping to better establish where key entrustable performances are best observed and assessed.
Adaptive Carrier Tracking for Direct-To-Earth Mars Communications

We propose a robust and low complexity scheme to estimate and track carrier frequency from signals traveling under low SNR conditions in highly non-stationary channels. These scenarios arise in planetary exploration missions subject to high dynamics, such as the Mars exploration rover missions. The method comprises a bank of adaptive linear predictors supervised by a convex combiner that dynamically aggregates the individual predictors. The adaptive combination is able to outperform the best individual estimator in the set, leading to a universal scheme for frequency estimation and tracking.
Breast Reconstruction With Postmastectomy Radiation: Choices and Tradeoffs

Abstract The Oncology Grand Rounds series is designed to place original reports published in the Journal into clinical context. A case presentation is followed by a description of diagnostic and management challenges, a review of the relevant literature, and a summary of the authors' suggested management approaches. The goal of this series is to help readers better understand how to apply the results of key studies, including those published in Journal of Clinical Oncology, to patients seen in their own clinical practice. A 45-year-old premenopausal woman presented with multifocal cancer in the right breast, with lesions at 1:00 and 4:00, the largest measuring approximately 3 cm on exam, and multiple palpable right axillary lymph nodes. A core biopsy confirmed invasive ductal carcinoma, grade 2 of 3, that was estrogen receptor positive, progesterone receptor positive, and HER2 negative. Fine needle aspiration of a right axillary node confirmed metastatic carcinoma. A positron emission tomography (PET)/ computed tomography done before starting chemotherapy demonstrated an absence of metastatic disease with expected avidity in two separate breast masses and multiple conglomerated 1-2 cm level I and II axillary lymph nodes. She received neoadjuvant chemotherapy with doxorubicin plus cyclophosphamide, followed by paclitaxel, and had a complete clinical response with resolution of the breast and axillary masses on exam. A repeat PET/computed tomography demonstrated reduced size of the breast and axillary disease, and no significant residual PET avidity. Her breast surgeon recommended a right mastectomy with axillary node dissection. As part of her multidisciplinary treatment plan, she consulted with two plastic surgeons to discuss reconstruction options. Plastic Surgeon A advised placement of an implant at the time of mastectomy while Surgeon B contrasted the pros and cons of an autologous transverse rectus abdominis muscle flap reconstruction with an implant based reconstruction. Surgeon B believed that autologous reconstruction would yield the best long-term cosmetic outcome. Before making her surgery decision, the patient consulted with a radiation oncologist to discuss the effect radiation may have on her reconstruction outcome.
The impact of single and multiagent chemotherapy on stage III colon cancer survival.

e13093Background: NCCN guidelines recommend Folfox chemotherapy for patients under age 70, but state that there is no clear benefit of oxaliplatin in adjuvant therapy for stage III colon cancer for...
RESISTANCE IN SWEET POTATOES TO THE SWEETPOTATO WEEVIL, CYLAS FORMICARIUS ELEGANTULUS (SUMMERS)

Fourteen sweet potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam] cultivars and varieties were examined for resistance to the sweetpotato weevil [Cylas formicarius elegantulus (Summers)] in artificially infested fields in Yoakum, TX. One cultivar W-226, appeared to have a greater level of resistance than the other cultivars examined. The data are compared to earlier resistance trials to show that the germplasm presently available has greater levels of resistance than that in previous years. The resistance levels of “Resisto” and “Regal” for the past 4 years are discussed.
Bayesian Estimates and the Effectiveness of Metal Detection Devices

When a small number of observations is used to estimate the performance of a walk-through metal detector (WTMD), it is difficult to compare the observations made with different numbers of tests on different machines. Standard tests for metal detectors, whether hand-held (wand) or walk-through, are expressed in terms of specific test objects and a requirement [1], typically of the following form: “the object is to be detected at least 19 times in 20 trials.” Complementary requirements for suppressing false positives take various forms, depending on what is to be “not detected.” An example is the case of “no object at all,” for which the requirement may be “20 trials with no alarms.” Practitioners use much shorter tests to assess whether a machine is working on the day of the event, and they have no principled guidance about how to interpret that information, particularly if the information from each test is logged and thus might be aggregated to detect that a specific machine is slipping out of calibration. This article develops a principled Bayesian analysis that can convert a test of any size into a common language of expected odds ratio, which can then be used to compare tests with different sample sizes. Some technical issues of forming a “reasonable prior” are discussed. This research has the potential to turn quick checks, conducted in operational settings, into a rigorous and accumulated source of useful information about detection devices and procedures.
Hypoxia regulates placental angiogenesis via alternatively activated macrophages.

Problem Uterine and placental macrophages play critical roles in maintaining a normal pregnancy. The majority of these macrophages are believed to be alternatively activated macrophages (M2). Method of study Mouse bone marrow cells were differentiated into macrophages and polarized to M2 in vitro by treatment with IL-4 [M2a] or IL-10 [M2c] and M1 with LPS/IFN-γ as controls. Macrophage subtypes were confirmed by surface markers and characterized by gene expression profiles. Results Compared to M1, M2 showed strong pro-angiogenic activity by expressing higher mRNA for angiogenic-associated factors (Cxcl12, Vegfa, PlGF, Mmp2). M2c produced the highest levels of PlGF, Mmp2, and Cxcr4. To mimic the normal placental microenvironment, M2 were exposed to hypoxia and sex hormones (progesterone, estrogen). In both M2c and M2a, severe hypoxic (1%-3% O2 ) exposure significantly suppressed PlGF, Cxcl12, and Mmp2 mRNA, but not Vegfa, compared to normoxia (21% O2 ) or physiological hypoxia (5% O2 ). mRNA expression returned to normal when hypoxic cells were returned to normoxia. Hypoxia (1%) reduced antioxidant levels in M2 and re-exposure to normoxia significantly increased superoxide dismutase (Sod1, Sod2) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) levels in M2a, and only glutathione peroxidase (Gpx1, Gpx3, Gpx4) in M2c. However, progesterone and estrogen treatment had minimal effects on angiogenic factor expression in M2. Conclusion M2, particularly M2c, displayed strong pro-angiogenic potential, which decreased under severe hypoxia such as in early pregnancy. Thus, conditions that alter the placental oxygen microenvironment or macrophage response in early pregnancy might cause aberrant angiogenesis and vascular remodeling, and lead to abnormal placental vascular development.
Use of Biomass Pyrolysis Oils for Preparation of Modified Phenol Formaldehyde Resins

Fast pyrolysis can be used to convert a wide variety of biomass feedstocks into a liquid oil. A phenolic-rich (PN) component can be extracted from this oil and used as a low-cost replacement for petroleum-derived phenol in phenol formaldehyde (PF) resins. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has developed an extraction process to recover this PN fraction, and it has demonstrated the performance of these PN oils in modified PF wood adhesives. Experience has shown that the performance of PN-PF wood adhesives depends on the chemical features of the PN.
Secure Two-party Threshold ECDSA from ECDSA Assumptions

The Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) is one of the most widely used schemes in deployed cryptography. Through its applications in code and binary authentication, web security, and cryptocurrency, it is likely one of the few cryptographic algorithms encountered on a daily basis by the average person. However, its design is such that executing multi-party or threshold signatures in a secure manner is challenging: unlike other, less widespread signature schemes, secure multi-party ECDSA requires custom protocols, which has heretofore implied reliance upon additional cryptographic assumptions such as the Paillier encryption scheme. We propose new protocols for multi-party ECDSA key-generation and signing with a threshold of two, which we prove secure against malicious adversaries in the random oracle model using only the Computational Diffie-Hellman Assumption and the assumptions already implied by ECDSA itself. Our scheme requires only two messages, and via implementation we find that it outperforms the best prior results in practice by a factor of 55 for key generation and 16 for signing, coming to within a factor of 12 of local signatures. Concretely, two parties can jointly sign a message in just over two milliseconds.
Abstract 3750: Xenoestrogens cause estrogen receptor-dependent R-loop formation and DNA damage

Background: The hormone 17β-estradiol (E2) plays an important role in breast cell proliferation and development but prolonged exposures and higher levels of E2 have been linked to genomic instability and breast cancer. Recent studies show E2 induced transactivations lead to DNA damage. A variety of environmental chemicals mimic the activities of estrogen, referred to as xenoestrogens. Thus, our hypothesis is to determine whether xenoestrogens stimulate transcriptional response and induce DNA damage similarly like E2. Methods: The T-47D breast cancer cell line is used as a model because it expresses both estrogen receptors (ERα & ERβ) as found in normal breast tissue. Cells were exposed a physiologic range of E2 (17β-estradiol) [0.5-100nM] and the xenoestrogens, e.g., benzophenone-3 (BP-3) [0.5-50µM] and propyl paraben (PP) [0.5-10µM] with or without ER-antagonist ICI (1µM) for 24 hours. Transcriptional responses were quantified using an integrated ERE-luciferase reporter and qPCR for endogenous genes. Proliferation was monitored using the Alamar Blue assay. DNA damage was determined using γ-H2AX. R-loops were detected using the S9.6 antibody against DNA-RNA hybrids in the genome. Results: Exposure of T-47D cells to physiologic levels of E2, PP and BP3 causes significant increase in DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) as determined by γ-H2AX staining. We demonstrate a concomitant increase in R-loop formation with increase in γH2AX intensity. Treatment with RNaseH depletes R-loop intensity, corroborating the result. E2 and PP induce transactivation as determined by Luciferase reporter assay as well as expression of ER-response genes (PGR and AREG), whereas BP3 has modest effect on transactivation of PGR. ER transactivation as well as R-loop formation by E2, PP and BP3 were abrogated with ICI, demonstrating ER-dependency of R-loop formation. Consistent with the transcriptional response, proliferation studies determined that E2 showed highest proliferation followed by PP. However, BP3 showed no increase in proliferation. Conclusions: Our results show that xenoestrogens have strikingly different activities in transactivation and proliferation. However, both xenoestrogens appear to stimulate R-loop accumulation that leads to DSB in an ER-dependent manner. Citation Format: Karen A. Dunphy, Prabin Dhangada Majhi, Aman Sharma, Amy L. Roberts, Elizabeth A. Daniele, Sallie S. Schneider, D Joseph Jerry. Xenoestrogens cause estrogen receptor-dependent R-loop formation and DNA damage [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3750.