cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Histologic types of epithelial ovarian cancer: have they different risk factors?

Objectives. The histologic types of epithelial ovarian cancer differ in clinical behavior, descriptive epidemiology, and genetic origins. The goals of the current study were to characterize further the relation of histologic-specific ovarian cancer risks to reproductive and lifestyle attributes. Methods. The authors conducted a pooled analysis of 10 case-control studies of ovarian cancer in US White women, involving 1834 patients with invasive epithelial ovarian cancer (1067 serous, 254 mucinous, 373 endometrioid, and 140 clear cell) and 7484 control women. Results. Risks of all four histological types were inversely associated with parity and oral contraceptive use, but the histologic types showed different associations with nonreproductive factors. Unique associations include an inverse relation of serous cancer risk to body mass index, a positive relation of mucinous cancer risk to cigarette smoking, and a weakly positive relation of endometrioid cancer risk to body mass index. Risk of all histologic types was unassociated with age at menarche, age at menopause, a history of infertility, noncontraceptive estrogen use, and alcohol consumption. Conclusions. The most important modifiers of ovarian cancer risk (parity and oral contraceptive use) showed similar associations across the histologies. Nevertheless, the unique associations seen for other modifiers support the conjecture that the histologic types of epithelial ovarian cancer have different etiologies, which should be addressed in future investigations of the molecular basis of ovarian cancers and their responses to therapies.
The reliability of side to side measurements of upper extremity activity levels in healthy subjects.

Background: In both clinical and occupational settings, ambulatory sensors are becoming common for assessing all day measurements of arm motion. In order for the motion of a healthy, contralateral side to be used as a control for the involved side, the inherent side to side differences in arm usage must be minimal. The goal of the present study was to determine the reliability of side to side measurements of upper extremity activity levels in healthy subjects. Methods: Thirty two subjects with no upper extremity pathologies were studied. Each subject wore a triaxial accelerometer on both arms for three and a half hours. Motion was assessed using parameters previously reported in the literature. Side to side differences were compared with the intraclass correlation coefficient, standard error of the mean, minimal detectable change scores and a projected sample size analysis. Results: The variables were ranked based on their percentage of minimal detectable change scores and sample sizes needed for paired t-tests. The order of these rankings was found to be identical and the top ranked parameters were activity counts per hour (MDC% = 9.5, n = 5), jerk time (MDC% = 15.8, n = 8) and percent time above 30 degrees (MDC% = 34.7, n = 9). Conclusions: In general, the mean activity levels during daily activities were very similar between dominant and non-dominant arms. Specifically, activity counts per hour, jerk time, and percent time above 30 degrees were found to be the variables most likely to reveal significant difference or changes in both individuals and groups of subjects. The use of ambulatory measurements of upper extremity activity has very broad uses for occupational assessments, musculoskeletal injuries of the shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand as well as neurological pathologies.
Spinal cord magnetic resonance imaging in autosomal dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia

Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is a genetically heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by progressive lower extremity weakness and spasticity. HSP pathology involves axonal degeneration that is most pronounced in the terminal segments of the longest descending (pyramidal) and ascending (dorsal columns) tracts. In this study, we compared spinal cord magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 13 HSP patients with four different types of autosomal dominant hereditary spastic paraplegia (SPG3A, SPG4, SPG6, and SPG8) with age-matched control subjects. The cross-section area of HSP subjects at cervical level C2 was 59.42±12.57 mm2 and at thoracic level T9 was 28.58±5.25 mm2. Both of these values were less than in the healthy controls (p<0.001). The degree of cord atrophy was more prominent in patients with SPG6 and SPG8 who had signs of severe cord atrophy (47.60±6.58 mm2 at C2, 21.40±2.4 mm2 at T9) than in subjects with SPG3 and SPG4 (66.0±8.94 mm2 at C2, p<0.02; 31.75±2.76 mm2 at T9, p<0.001). These observations indicate that spinal cord atrophy is a common finding in the four genetic types of HSP. Spinal cord atrophy was more severe in SPG6 and SPG8 HSP subjects than in other types of HSP we studied. This may suggest a different disease mechanism with more prominent axonal degeneration in these two types of HSP when compared with HSP due to spastin and atlastin mutations.
Close-coupled canard-wing vortex interaction

THE present experiment investigates the interaction of canard and wing vortices and their effect on the lifting wing's flowfield turbulence and Reynolds stresses. Spanwise wing blowing was used to enhance the leading edge vortex and alter the vortex trajectory in an effort to keep it locked to the wing's leading edge for lift enhancement. The turbulence intensity and Reynolds stress values, obtained by using hot film anemometers, illustrate the vortex structure. Contents The flow at the leading edge of sweptback wings at moderate to high angles of attack separates and produces vortex sheets that roll up into vortices on the wing's upper surface. When canards are closely coupled with the wings, an interference between the leading edge vortices occurs. The interference changes the turbulence characteristics and the trajectories of the vortices.1'7 Turbulence intensity and Reynolds stress measurements were performed by means of hot wire anemometers for various canard-wing body configurations. The data obtained refer to the canard-wing vortex interaction and can be used to improve the eddy viscosity models used in the solution of the Navier-Stokes equations applied to the present aerodynamic configuration.8 The tests were performed in the 5-ft (1.524-m) subsonic wind tunnel of the Air Force Institute of Technology. The sting-mounted canard-wing model used is shown Fig. 1. The canard area was 28% of the wing area. The hot film crossshaped anemometer used was aligned with the freestream direction, and the data were taken in the z direction, perpendicular to the wind tunnel axis. Model and instrumentation details are found in Ref. 9. A screen with tufts was placed behind the model to locate the vortices position. The tests were performed at Mach number M^ =0.134, a unit Reynolds number of 2.8 x 106/m, and at angles of attack of a= 10, 16, and 20 deg. Three configurations were tested: 1) close-coupled canards coplanar with the wings, 2) closecoupled canards placed 4.29 cm higher than the wings, and 3) canards removed. Spanwise mass injection was used in some tests to alter the trajectory of the wing leading edge vortex. The distribution of the axial mean velocity u/V^ shows that the leading edge vortex emanating from the canard has a wave-like behavior because of a velocity decrease at its center and an increase at its edge. Spanwise contours of the velocity and stresses at the canard trailing edge give a good visualization of the canard leading edge vortex's position and are shown in Ref. 9. In Figs. 2 and 3, the lateral velocity and Reynolds stresses in the axial plane (perpendicular to the wing) are shown for a= 16 deg at a location just outboard of
Multiple Sequence Multicarrier CDMA for Interference-free Multiple Access

This paper shows a general structure for multicarrier (MC) CDMA that avoids multiuser interference even over fading channels. The technique converts a multi-access interference (MAI) channel into an inter symbol interference (ISI) channel for every user. ISI does not pose as big a problem as MAI does due to the absence of the near-far effect. Conventional equalization techniques can be used to remove the effects of ISI. The technique is based on transmitting multiple sequences for each user over the same channel. Even though each sequence of a given user interferes with sequences of other users, the sum of the interferences of the multiple sequences of the user is identically equal to zero. The system is designed such that the total number of users supported is the same as that supported by conventional MC-CDMA.
[Reply to “Space Station?” by L. H. Meredith] Yes

In Eos, September 29, p. 770, Editor in Chief A. F. Spilhaus Jr., invited readers to respond to the Forum piece Space Station? by L. H. Meredith. Meredith observed that most space station discussion has been about its design and cost, arguing that objectives and use also merit discussion. He asserted “that the only basis on which the Space Station can be justified is that of reasserting U.S. pre-eminence in space by creating a permanent manned presence and of providing a required step toward the manned exploration of the Solar System.” Letters in this Forum are replies to Meredith's opinions. After 3 years of service on a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Advisory Committee devoted to studying the U.S./International space Station in the context of scientific uses, I have come to the following conclusions that may be of interest to the geophysics research community.
Device Performance Using Magnetic Waves at X Band

The development of samarium cobalt magnets, high quality epitaxial yttrium iron garnet (YIG) films, and a better understanding of surface magnetic waves have resulted in a new class of signal processing devices at X band.
Antagonism of Experimentally Induced Tonic Seizures Following a Lesion in the Midbrain Tegmentum

Midbrain tegmental lesions, which prevent the hindlimb extensor (HLE) component of maximal electroshock seizures (MES), were found to have no effect on the electroshock, flurothyl, or pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) seizures thresholds. However, these lesions were found to antagonize the HLE component of the maximal PTZ seizure, and to elevate the threshold for electroshock induced tonic flexion. These findings suggest that lesion of the midbrain tegmentum involving the superior cerebellar peduncle and/or the midbrain reticular formation antagonize the tonic component of generalized seizures, but have little or no effect on the clonic component.
A statistical mechanical model for adsorption and flow of pure and mixed gases in porous media with homogeneous surfaces. Part II: Applications

Application of the model of Part I is made to several systems with various graphitized carbon blacks over wide ranges of temperatures and submonolayer coverage. Agreement with all data for equilibrium and transport is probably within experimental error.
Trophic matches and mismatches: can polar bears reduce the abundance of nesting snow geese in western Hudson Bay?

Climate change driven advances in the date of sea ice breakup will increasingly lead to a loss of spring polar bear foraging opportunities on ringed seal pups creating a phenological trophic ‘ mismatch ’ . However, the same shift will lead to a new ‘ match ’ between polar bears and ground nesting birds. Th is new match will be especially prevalent along the Cape Churchill Peninsula of western Hudson Bay where both polar bears and nesting snow geese are abundant. Easily foraged goose eggs will provide at least some of the earlier arriving polar bears with compensation for the energy defi cit accrued through lost seal hunting opportunities. We examine the potential impact of changes in the extent and pattern of polar bear egg predation on snow goose abundance using projection models that account not only for increases in the temporal overlap of the two species but also for autocorrelation and stochasticity in the processes underlying polar bear onshore arrival and snow goose incubation. Egg predation will reduce reproductive output of the nesting lesser snow geese and, under all but trivial rates, will lead to a reduction in the size of their nesting population on the Cape Churchill Peninsula. Stochasticity associated with the asymmetrical advances in polar bear onshore arrival and the snow goose incubation period will lead to periodic mismatches in their overlap. Th ese, in turn, will allow snow goose abundance to increase periodically. Climate driven changes in trophic matches and mismatches may reduce snow goose numbers but will not eliminate this over-abundant species that poses a threat to Arctic landscapes.
Temperature Dependent Characterization of Imbedded InAs Quantum Dots in GaAs Superlattice Solar Cell Structures by High Resolution X-ray Diffraction

The insertion of nanostructured materials (such as quantum wells, wires, and dots) into the intrinsic region of p-i-n solar cells introduces an intermediate band within the bandgap of the host material. It has been shown that the sub-bandgap conversion provided by the nanostructured materials, enhances the short circuit current as well as the overall efficiency of InAs quantum dots (QD) imbedded in GaAs superlattice (SL) solar cells [1]. As a contender for space applications, it is necessary to subject these solar cell structures to temperatures encountered in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO), probing for any material degradation. Herein, we focus on temperature dependent characterization using high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) of InAs QD enhanced GaAs solar cell structures with varying growth parameters. The structures characterized can be classified into three groups: (1) GaP strain compensation coverage, (2) GaAs barrier coverage, and (3) InAs coverage for QD formation. HRXRD rocking curves of each structure focusing around the GaAs peak are analyzed at a range of temperatures up to 200˚C. Although no noticeable shifts in the SL peaks are detected, interfacial diffusion decreased the resolution of fringes produced by reflections at the SL interfaces in test structures with varying InAs QD coverage. Unbalanced strain in the same structures shows a distortion in the GaAs peaks.
COMPARISONS OF NITRIFICATION AND DENITRIFICATION IN PRAIRIE AND AGRICULTURALLY INFLUENCED STREAMS

Whole-stream nitrification and denitrification rates were calculated from field incubation studies of representative substrata in Kings Creek and Shane Creek watersheds at the Konza Prairie Biological Station, Kansas, USA. Substrata from a relatively pristine upstream and an agriculturally influenced downstream reach were measured in both watersheds. Rates were scaled to the whole stream by the mass of each substratum in the stream reach. Substrata sampled included epilithon, leaf packs and wood (coarse benthic organic matter, CBOM), filamentous green algae, bryophytes, fine benthic organic matter (FBOM), and suspended particulate organic matter. Upstream sites had significantly lower nitrification and denitrification rates than downstream sites. Nitrification rates were dominated by nitrification associated with epilithon and filamentous green algae. Downstream sites had a higher proportion of nitrification occurring in the water column relative to upstream sites. Whole-stream denitrification was dominat...
Magnetization transfer: a potential method to determine the age of multiple sclerosis lesions.

PURPOSE To determine whether magnetization transfer contrast can differentiate acute from chronic lesions in multiple sclerosis. METHODS Thirteen patients with multiple sclerosis and eight healthy patients were studied with MR using a 0.1-T system. Relatively T2-weighted spin-echo images were obtained without and with magnetization transfer contrast. The magnetization transfer effect of multiple sclerosis lesions was calculated and compared with the ages of the lesions. The magnetization transfer effect of normal-appearing white matter in patients with multiple sclerosis was calculated and compared with the magnetization transfer effect of white matter in healthy volunteers. Statistical analysis was performed. RESULTS White matter in the healthy volunteers had values from 0.40 to 0.45. Normal-appearing white matter in the patients with multiple sclerosis had magnetization transfer effect values ranging from 0.41 to 0.45. Multiple sclerosis plaques of less than 1 year9s duration had magnetization transfer effect values ranging from 0.05 to 0.26; older plaques had values from 0.25 to 0.41. The difference in the distributions of these values for acute and chronic multiple sclerosis plaques is statistically significant. CONCLUSION Current imaging modalities do not differentiate acute multiple sclerosis lesions from chronic ones. Our data on magnetization transfer show a statistically significant difference in magnetization transfer effect values between lesions of less than 1 year9s duration and older lesions. The different values may correspond to the histologic changes of multiple sclerosis plaques over time. Magnetization transfer may be a reliable method for determining the age of multiple sclerosis lesions.
A Traffic Descriptor-Based Flow Control Scheme for Efficient Video Transmission over ATM

Video transmission requires high transmission bandwidth and a sophisticated flow control scheme in order to guarantee the quality of service. In this paper, we design a traffic descriptor model for variable-hit-rate sources in ATM networks, and develop a rate-based flow control scheme to reduce queueing delay and possible buffer overflow. VBR traffic flow can be modeled as a two-state Markov Chain via an overload state and a underload state. Each state is characterized by its load index and duration. Based on the utilization factor of the queueing system, the transmission rate is determined from the traffic descriptor parameters. Since the traffic model gives a macroscopic view for traffic variations over time, our scheme is feasible for implementation in real-time flow control systems.
Blue and red up-conversion light emission in TM-doped A2B2O7 oxides

Abstract The crystal structure and light emission property of Yb/Tm doped gadolinium titanate and gadolinium zirconate with chemical composition of A2B2O7 were studied by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical spectroscopy measurements, respectively. XRD results suggest that the rare earth titanates have an ordered pyrochlore structure and a defect-fluorite structure for the zirconates. Photoluminescence activated with 1064 nm infrared laser light shows different light emission behaviors for the titanate and zirconate samples, which is related to the different site occupancy of Tm3+ in the lattice of the samples. Only a weak near-infrared (NIR) (∼800 nm) light emission was observed in the titanate samples while a strong blue and red up-conversion emission was detected in the Tm3+-doped zirconate samples. The strong blue and red emission is due to the 7-fold coordinated Tm3+ in the structure.
Effect of suprarenalectomy on sugar tolerance.

The rabbit adapts itself well for the determination of sugar tolerance because of the convenience with which sugar can be given in the ear vein and the ease with which the blood can be withdrawn without excitement. Bilateral suprarenalectomy can readily be performed in 2 stages with good recovery of the animal but with a variable survival period.1 The rabbits in these experiments were all of a uniform inbred stock free of any parasitic infections. They were kept on an alfalfa-barley diet. The right gland, which was always removed at the first stage operation, lies so closely against the vena cava that its removal with its capsule intact is difficult without injury to the vessel. To overcome this difficulty, a curved clamp was applied between the gland and the vena cava including a part of the vessel. A crescent shaped portion of the vessel wall was then removed together with the gland which had previously been freed. The vena cava, was then ligated by placing the ligature behind the convex portion of the ...
Disposable peak urinary flowmeter estimates lower urinary tract obstruction.

Abstract: Peak urinary flow rate represents the highest flow rate achieved during a single urination and, as such, represents the patient’s best effort at micturition. Peak flow rate, correlated with patient age and volume voided, effectively estimates lower urinary tract obstruction. The 63 normal and 368 abnormal male subjects urinated in privacy into a plastic sterile disposable device (the peakometer), which measured peak flow rate and volume voided. These data plus age, ultimate diagnosis and interval since last urination comprised our data base.Percentage distribution of diagnosis in this population was prostatic obstruction 47.3 per cent, stricture 19.3 per cent, normal 14.6 per cent, prostatitis 8.4 per cent, neurogenic bladder 2 per cent and miscellaneous 8.4 per cent.The average peak flow rate for normal male subjects reaches 27.6ml. per second, which differs significantly from that for patients with prostatic obstruction—9.4ml per second, stricture—10.5ml. per second, prostatitis—16.3ml per sec...
THU0039 Regulation of ASK-1 Expression by Microrna-17 and Its Correlation with Rheumatoid Arthritis Pathogenesis

Background Deregulated expression of microRNAs (miRs) has shown to be critical for the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) 1,2 . Apoptosis signal regulating kinase (ASK)-1, a member of MAP3K family upstream of p38 MAPK has recently been associated with RA pathogenesis 3 . Objectives To evaluate the role of ASK-1 in RA pathogenesis and its epigenetic regulation by miRNA in human RA synovial fibroblasts (RA-FLS) and rat adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) model. Methods Bioinformatics analysis was performed to identify the predicted miRNA targets at 39UTR region of ASK-1 gene. ASK-1 expression in FLS from RA, osteoarthritis (OA), or non-diseased (NH) donors was compared and correlated with miR-17 expression using qRT-PCR and Western immunoblotting. Effect of IL-1β (10 ng/ml) or TNF-α (20 ng/ml) stimulation alone or in the presence of ASK-1 inhibitor (TC-ASK-10) on ASK-1 mRNA and protein and IL-6 production was examined using ELISA. Transfection of RA-FLS with a 39UTR reporter construct and pre-miRNAs was performed to verify the miRNA: mRNA interaction. Effect of overexpression and inhibition of miR-17 on ASK-1 expression was evaluated by transient transfections of RA-FLS. Findings from human FLS were validated in vivo using a rat AIA model. Results Bioinformatics analysis predicted miR-17 binding sites at 39UTR region of ASK-1. MiR-17 expression was down-regulated by ∼70% in RA-FLS as compared to NH-FLS (p Conclusions This study provides evidence for the role of ASK-1 in RA pathogenesis and a novel mechanism of its epigenetic regulation by miR-17 in RA-FLS and rat AIA model. References Wittman J, et al. Ann. Rheum. Dis. 2011; 70 (Suppl 1): i92-i96. Duroux-Richerd I, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 2012; 64(1):11-20. Mnich SJ, et al. Int. Immunol. 2010;10:1170-76. Acknowledgements This study was supported by the NIH grant AR063104 (S.A.), The Arthritis Foundation Innovative Research Grant (S.A.), and the Start-up funds from Washington State University. Disclosure of Interest None declared
Silencing the (Other) Self: Wordsworth as ‘Wordsworth!’ in ‘There was a boy’

Amid the continuing conversation about Wordsworth’s revisionary practices, we sometimes forget that Wordsworth’s greatest revision was performed in a text but on himself. The constant writing and rewriting of poems with many titles over many decades was a textual act designed, at least in part, to create a version of the word ‘Wordsworth’ that would satisfy the poet’s expectations and the expectations of his imagined, as well as real, readers. The Wordsworth(s) thus created, from the descriptive narrator of the 1790s to the autobiographer of 1805, are best understood as complex dramatized projections developed through a series of incomplete narratives, rather than as an authentic reflection of the historical William Wordsworth who grew to adulthood in the English Lake District between 1770 and 1790.
The Politics of Walmart Moms: Parenthood and Political Attitudes in the 2012 Election

ABSTRACTThis research uses 2012 National Election Studies data to explore how parenthood shapes the public opinion of women and men. Our analyses show that being a parent shapes attitudes on issues directly connected to children, such as government funding for education and day care, but also on issues less connected to the day-to-day activities of parenting, including the appropriate role of government and abortion. While the label “Walmart Mom” captures the reality that a large and growing number of mothers are struggling economically, the effect of motherhood, on most issues, holds for all women, regardless of socioeconomic status. This article discusses the implications of our findings concerning the politics of motherhood and fatherhood in light of the changing structure of America’s families.
Consent and Bargaining Leverage: Signaling Dynamics in Peacekeeping Negotiations

Why do peacekeeping missions succeed or fail? Prior work has focused primarily on the behavior of the organization supplying the mission, the mandate and resources devoted to the mission and the characteristics of the conflict into which the mission is being sent. Missing from the literature is an analysis of how the belligerents help shape the peacekeeping mission that ultimately arrives in country and what those efforts mean for the mission’s outcome. Peacekeeping missions almost always go to a conflict with at least one party’s consent. Thus scholars have worked from the assumption that consent is a signal of long-term peaceful intentions, rarely considering the strategic behavior belligerents exhibit in their interactions with peacekeeping institutions. This paper demonstrates that the mixed record of peacekeeping is evidence that presence or absence of consent is not a powerful enough indicator of intentions to settle. Next, the paper offers an alternative source of information about belligerents commitment to peace. Drawing from formal theories of war termination, I hypothesize that the nature of the belligerents peacekeeping offer is more informative than the presence or absence of consent. Starting from the perspective that consent serves as a mechanism for bargaining leverage, I argue that what belligerents try to negotiate with respect to the peacekeeping mission may serve as a clue to their true interest in committing to lasting peace. I expect belligerents who try to negotiate weaker peacekeeping to be more likely to violate ceasefires and/or attack missions, with important consequences for the effectiveness of the mission. I demonstrate these dynamics with empirical tests on new data that capture the terms of consent for peacekeeping missions sent to civil wars.
Mitigation of Impacts on Ecosystems and Their Inhabitants Directly from Human Activities

Human activities have polluted ecosystem atmospheres, waterways and soils. They have sickened and killed ecosystem life including human beings. This originates from coal burning power plants, smelters, and other industries that burn coal and use or manufacture chemicals, metal, and metal products, from agricultural chemicals runoff, and other sources. From the section on pollution we know that many of these sources generate emissions that include heavy metals, fine particulates (<2.5 μm), and gases (e.g., SO2 that react with moisture catalyzed by the sun in the atmosphere to yield acid rain). Others generate polluted effluents that contaminate waterways and soils. In many countries, legislation passed to protect human health and the environment has required a great lessening of the emissions at their sources by the use of scrubbers that capture chemical emissions and precipitators that capture particles as they rise up chimneys. Laws also provide for treatment of effluents before discharge and/or a great reduction in their discharge. What has been lacking in some instances is enforcement of the legislation where plant managers limited use of available control and capture equipment or treatment protocols and/or did not maintain equipment to operate at maximum efficiency. This results in the use of less energy and reduced capital outlay to cut operational expenses and increase profits.
A Battery Balancing Auxiliary Power Module With Predictive Control for Electrified Transportation

This paper proposes the integration of the auxiliary power module (APM) and nondissipative balancing hardware of a high-voltage battery. The proposed battery-balancing APM is projected to reduce the costs of nondissipative battery balancing by providing two functionalities: balancing of the high-voltage battery cells and charging of the low-voltage battery. This paper proposes two model predictive control strategies that address simultaneous balancing and charging. Both approaches make unbalanced charge available that increases the effective capacity of the high-voltage battery. The monolithic controller solves the balancing and charging problem as a single optimization problem. In contrast, the decoupled controller defines a separate control law for charging to achieve a higher bandwidth, e.g., for systems without dedicated low-voltage battery. The battery-balancing APM concept is validated on a software-in-the-loop and experimental test bench.
VS-κ0 Correction Factors for Input Ground Motions Used in Seismic Site Response Analyses

Input motions used in seismic site response analyses are commonly selected based on similarities between the shear wave velocity (VS) at the recording station, and the reference depth at the site o...
Rugged Individualists and Systemic Coups: Imagining Mercenary Masculinities in The Dogs of War (1974)

Fox explores the construction of heroic mercenary masculinities and identities across fictional and factual narratives connected to Frederick Forsyth’s 1974 novel The Dogs of War. Through a close reading of the novel, Fox argues that alpha-mercenary Cat Shannon represents a construction of a modern, ‘authentic’ mercenary masculinity—a principled rugged individualist, conscientious professional warrior, and noble trickster folk hero—distinct from ‘false’ mercenaries who fight only for money. As a pedagogical text, the novel teaches readers about vast, complicated global systems of war and the impact a careful individual can make. Analyzing the imbrications of fact and fiction in the novel’s structure, storytelling, conditions of production, and legacy, Fox argues that literary constructions of mercenaries create ways of defining and understanding ‘real-life’ mercenaries and masculinities.
Chapter 15 – Chorea gravidarum

Publisher Summary Chorea gravidarum (CG) is a syndrome that describes any chorea beginning during pregnancy. CG is a syndrome in which an etiology can be identified. It is important to investigate all patients who develop chorea during pregnancy because the underlying disease processes often require very specific treatment. This chapter discusses the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of CG. CG may be unilateral or bilateral, and the movements disappear during sleep. Symptoms associated with CG include personality changes, depression, tourettism, severe hypnic hallucinations, delirium, and chronic cognitive deficits. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) are the most common identifiable causes of CG. CG is considered in the differential diagnosis of Huntington's disease (HD). The history and physical examination is used to guide the clinician to an appropriate evaluation. Treatment strategies for CG can be divided into two categories: symptomatic treatment for chorea and treatment targeted at the underlying disease. CG is now a rare entity and with proper treatment many pregnancies precede to term, with normal infant mortality rates. If a woman develops chorea during pregnancy and no etiology can be identified, then CG is the proper nomenclature.
Distribution of Placobdella hollensis (Whitman, 1892) (Hirudinida: Glossiphoniidae)

ABSTRACT: Confusion regarding the identification of Placobdella hollensis (Whitman, 1892) (Hirudinida: Glossiphoniidae) has led to an unclear understanding of the distribution of the species. Two specimens of P. hollensis were collected from Merchants Millpond State Park, Gates County, North Carolina, U.S.A., representing a new geographic distribution record. Specimens were confirmed as P. hollensis by morphological and molecular study. Specimens of P. hollensis from North Carolina, had accessory eyes, 2 thin paramedial dark lines, and 3 pairs of pre-anal papillae. Molecular comparison of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I sequence data revealed a 99.0 to 99.7% similarity to specimens of P. hollensis collected from its type locality (Barnstable County, Massachusetts, U.S.A.). From confirmed specimens of P. hollensis, this report supports the assertion that P. hollensis has an Atlantic coastal distribution.
Fourier Analysis and the Free Particle

The quantum theory of a free particle requires not just a state space \({\mathcal {H}}\), but also an inner product on \({\mathcal {H}}\), which should be translation invariant so that translations act as unitary transformations.
Translational gap in ongoing clinical trials for glioma

Despite the vast amounts of information gathered about gliomas, the overall survival of glioma patients has not improved in the last four decades. This could partially be due to an apparent failure to include basic concepts of glioma biology into clinical trials. Specifically, attempts to overcome the limitations of the blood brain barrier (BBB) and the chemoresistance of glioma stem cells (GSCs) were seldom included (a phenomenon known as the translational gap, TG) in a study involving 29 Phase I/II clinical trials (P2CT) published in 2011. The aim of this study was to re-evaluate this finding with a new series of 100 ongoing, but still unpublished, P2CT in order to determine if there is a TG reduction. As indicators, we evaluated in each P2CT the number of drugs tested, concomitant radiotherapy, and the ability of drugs to pass the BBB and to target GSCs. Compared to clinical trials published in 2011, we found that while in OCT there is an increase in the number of P2CT using two drugs (from 24.1% to 44.9%), and an increase in the number of drugs able to pass the BBB (7.14% versus 64.29%) and target GSCs (0% versus 16.3%), there was a decrease in the number of P2CT using concomitant radiotherapy (34.5% versus 18.37%). Overall our results suggest that there is only a modest improvement regarding reducing the TG because the vast majority of ongoing P2CT are still not including well known concepts of glioma biology important for a successful treatment.
On the Incalculable Influence of Friedrich August Von Hayek on Management and the Firm

In the panoply of management history, it is interesting to note that some of the most enduring ideas and theories have not necessarily all been from management scholars or practicing managers. Rath...
Notes from the editorial office

Studies in international, micropolitan, and/or regional settings provide the context for this issue. Contributing authors provide new insights for common frameworks as well as shed new light on div...
Generalized stochastic Petri Net model based security risk assessment of software defined networks

Software-defined networking (SDN) is a networking paradigm to provide automated network management at run time through network orchestration and virtualization. A central controller realizes the automatic network configuration in SDN at run time by conforming to a control plane protocol (e.g., OpenFlow) and switches act as simple forwarding devices. However, SDN are susceptible to cyber attacks and there is a need to understand and quantify the cyber risks. In this paper, we present a model to analyze attacks on SDN and generate risk assessment scores that can aid mitigation. We build and analyze a Generalized Stochastic Petri Net (GSPN) model for Denial of Service attack in SDN using the PIPE tool. The results show all possible attacker paths during the attack. Moreover, they indicate that there is a direct relation between the risk score of the transitions and the average time the attacker needs to successfully perform individual attack action. These results can be used to improve countermeasures of SDN attacks in future work.
Sparse Simultaneous Recurrent Deep Learning for Robust Facial Expression Recognition

Facial expression recognition is a challenging task that involves detection and interpretation of complex and subtle changes in facial muscles. Recent advances in feed-forward deep neural networks (DNNs) have offered improved object recognition performance. Sparse feature learning in feed-forward DNN models offers further improvement in performance when compared to the earlier handcrafted techniques. However, the depth of the feed-forward DNNs and the computational complexity of the models increase proportional to the challenges posed by the facial expression recognition problem. The feed-forward DNN architectures do not exploit another important learning paradigm, known as recurrency, which is ubiquitous in the human visual system. Consequently, this paper proposes a novel biologically relevant sparse-deep simultaneous recurrent network (S-DSRN) for robust facial expression recognition. The feature sparsity is obtained by adopting dropout learning in the proposed DSRN as opposed to usual handcrafting of additional penalty terms for the sparse representation of data. Theoretical analysis of S-DSRN shows that the dropout learning offers desirable properties such as sparsity, and prevents the model from overfitting. Experimental results also suggest that the proposed method yields better performance accuracy, requires reduced number of parameters, and offers reduced computational complexity than that of the previously reported state-of-the-art feed-forward DNNs using two of the most widely used publicly available facial expression data sets. Furthermore, we show that by combining the proposed neural architecture with a state-of-the-art metric learning technique significantly improves the overall recognition performance. Finally, a graphical processing unit (GPU)-based implementation of S-DSRN is obtained for real-time applications.
Subunit structure, function, and arrangement in the yeast and coated vesicle V-ATPases.

The vacuolar (H+)-ATPases (or V-ATPases) are ATP-dependent proton pumps that function both to acidify intracellular compartments and to transport protons across the plasma membrane. Acidification of intracellular compartments is important for such processes as receptor-mediated endocytosis, intracellular trafficking, protein processing, and coupled transport. Plasma membrane V-ATPases function in renal acidification, bone resorption, pH homeostasis, and, possibly, tumor metastasis. This review will focus on work from our laboratories on the V-ATPases from mammalian clathrin-coated vesicles and from yeast. The V-ATPases are composed of two domains. The peripheral V1 domain has a molecular mass of 640 kDa and is composed of eight different subunits (subunits A–H) of molecular mass 70–13 kDa. The integral V0 domain, which has a molecular mass of 260 kDa, is composed of five different subunits (subunits a, d, c, c', and c”) of molecular mass 100–17 kDa. The V1 domain is responsible for ATP hydrolysis whereas the V0 domain is responsible for proton transport. Using a variety of techniques, including cysteine-mediated crosslinking and electron microscopy, we have defined both the overall shape of the V-ATPase and the V0 domain as well as the location of various subunits within the complex. We have employed site-directed and random mutagenesis to identify subunits and residues involved in nucleotide binding and hydrolysis, proton translocation, and the coupling of these two processes. We have also investigated the mechanism of regulation of the V-ATPase by reversible dissociation and the role of different subunits in this process.
Higher Education Engaging with the ‘Developing’ World: The Case of the Virtual Colombo Plan

Australian higher education institutions are becoming increasingly globalized, in that they are becoming more and more entangled in the processes of global exchanges of capital, knowledge, and cultural practices. Large metropolitan universities with long standing international ties are expanding and enhancing their global positions, while newer universities in metropolitan and rural areas are moving into a range of international projects such as off-shore programs, development consultancies, twinning arrangements and the like. One major recent internationalization initiative in which Australian higher education institutions have been invited to participate is the Virtual Colombo Plan (VCP). Fostered by the Australian Government’s aid organization AusAID, in collaboration with the World Bank, the VCP purports to link Australian higher education institutions and technology companies with ‘developing’ countries so that the latter can overcome poverty by accessing knowledge through information communication technologies. In this chapter I analyse the major official documents describing the VCP, especially in terms of the models of ‘third world’ development they employ. Development is not an unproblematic concept; it has come under sustained attack in various quarters for a wide range of reasons (see, for example, Rist 1997, Carmen 1996, Escobar 1995, Dichter 2003). It is important, therefore, for Australian higher education institutions to engage in a critical reading of the VCP by examining the VCP proposals, and the merits and potential problems of the way the VCP depicts ‘developing’ countries, higher education, teaching and learning, and Australia’s relations with its neighbours. Such an analysis is also salutary for higher education institutions in other countries that are seeking to expand their offerings and activities beyond their own shores, because it brings to the surface a number of assumptions of
Definitive radiation therapy for cervical cancer: Non-white race and public insurance are risk factors for delayed completion, a pilot study.

Abstract This is a pilot study to assess whether racial disparities exist in time to initiation and completion of external beam pelvic radiation therapy and brachytherapy in cervical cancers treated with definitive chemoradiation. A retrospective analysis was conducted on all cervical cancer patients treated with definitive radiotherapy between 2006 and 2016 at a single institution. Patient demographics including age, race, insurance status and stage at diagnosis were obtained. Analyses were performed according to the following definitions of wait times: interval from pathologic diagnosis of cervical cancer to (1) initiation of radiation therapy, (2) completion of external beam radiation therapy and (3) completion of external beam radiation therapy plus brachytherapy if indicated. Of 50 women, 21 self-identified as white, 25 as black and 4 as Hispanic. Due to small numbers, Hispanic women were included with black women as a non-white group. The average age was 52 years for women in this cohort. Mean days to initiation of radiation therapy were 41.8 days: 33.7 days among white patients versus 47.8 days for non-white patients (p-value 0.101). Mean days from diagnosis to completion of external beam pelvic radiation therapy were 81.3 days: 70.9 days among white patients versus 88.9 days among non-white patients (p-value 0.006). Non-white patients were more likely to have public insurance, which was also associated with a longer time to completion of radiation treatment. We conclude that non-white patients experienced delays to completing external beam radiation therapy, which was no longer present after adjusting for insurance status.
Reducing children's injection pain: lidocaine patches versus topical benzocaine gel.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of lidocaine patches and topical anesthetic gel in reducing injection pain in children. METHODS Thirty-two children received bilateral greater palatine injections of 0.2 cc of 2% lidocaine with 1:100,000 epinephrine at the same visit. Injections followed a 15 minute application of DentiPatch (20% lidocaine) or a 1 minute application of topical anesthetic gel (Topex, 20% benzocaine). Each child completed a Faces Pain Scale and Visual Analog Scale after each injection and was asked which injection hurt more. Injections were videotaped and two independent evaluators, using the Sounds, Eyes, and Motor Scale, rated observed pain-related behavior. Inter-rater reliability was established at 96%. RESULTS A significant difference was shown in observed pain-sounds favoring use of the DentiPatch (P < .003, Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test). Using Wilcoxon Sign Rank Test and paired t-tests, no significant differences were shown in either reported pain or observed pain-motor. CONCLUSIONS A statistically significant decrease in observed verbal indicators of injection pain was found when the DentiPatch was used 20%: compared to a 1 minute application of topical anesthetic gel. However, no significant difference was found between the two study groups in either reported pain or observed pain-motor responses.
Abstract 003: Change in Cardiovascular Risk Factors Associated with Weight Gain in the Dallas Heart Study

Background: Concerning trends in weight gain from 2000-2009 exist in the Dallas Heart Study (DHS), a probability-based sample of Dallas County residents aged 30-65. However, the impact of significant weight gain (≥ 5% increase in body weight) on cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) in this contemporary, multi-ethnic population is not known. Methods: We measured weight, LDL-c, blood pressure (SBP and DBP), and fasting glucose (FG) in 2,022 DHS participants (58% female) at study entry in 2000 and in 2009. Using logistic regression stratified by sex and race/ethnicity, we determined the age-adjusted odds of worsening CVRF (any increase in LDL-c, SBP, DBP or FG) for people who gained significant weight compared to those who did not. Results: Among women, 43% (N=500) gained significant weight, compared to 42% of men (N=355). Despite similar average weight gain (9.7±5.8 kg for women vs. 10±5.6 kg for men, p=0.4), women who gained significant weight had almost twice as large an increase in LDL-c (14±34 vs. 8±39 mg/dl, p=0.01) and SBP (12±18 vs. 6±19 mmHg, p<0.001) compared with men who gained significant weight. Increases in DBP (5±10 vs. 4±11 mmHg, p=0.05) and FG (4±29 vs. 2±32 mg/dl, p=0.30) were not significantly different between men and women. Among those with significant weight gain who were not on medications, SBP and LDL-c increases were higher in women compared with men (p<0.05). Differences in the amount of weight gained stratified by race and sex were modest (Table). Black women who gained significant weight were likely to have a worsening of all CVRF, while Hispanic women had the highest likelihood of having an increase in SBP associated with weight gain. In contrast, significant weight gain among men was not associated with worsening CVRF. Conclusions: Significant weight gain was associated with a deleterious impact on CVRF among women but not men. Disparate effects of weight gain between men and women highlight the importance of targeting aggressive weight control interventions toward women to help prevent adverse cardiac outcomes. ![Graphic][1] [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif