cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Acute decreases in serum potassium augment blood pressure

Potassium depletion is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension, and frequently is encountered in patients with end-stage renal disease. Since the treatment of end-stage renal disease might result in K+ depletion and postdialysis hypokalemia, we investigated the relationship between acute K+ removal by hemodialysis and changes in blood pressure at the completion of treatment compared with predialysis and 1-hour postdialysis blood pressure. The effects of three different dialysate potassium concentrations ([K+]d; 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 mmol/L) were investigated in 11 patients. Hemodialysis-induced K+ removal, serum [K+], total body K+, and blood pressure were measured. The use of 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0 mmol/L [K+]d resulted in the removal of 77.0 +/- 6.5, 54.5 +/- 7.9, and 42.5 +/- 9.9 mmol of K+ per treatment, respectively (P < 0.05, [K+]d 1.0 v [K+]d 3.0). Predialysis and postdialysis serum [K+] were 4.9 +/- 0.2 and 3.6 +/- 0.1 mEq/L for 1.0 mmol/L [K+]d, 5.1 +/- 0.3 and 3.9 +/- 0.1 mEq/L for 2.0 mmol/L [K+]d, and 5.3 +/- 0.3 and 4.2 +/- 0.2 mEq/L for 3.0 mmol/L [K+]d, respectively (P < 0.001 for each [K+]d). The baseline total body K+ corrected for gender, age, and race was 92% of predicted normal level and did not change significantly with the use of different [K+]d. Blood pressure decreased during hemodialysis as excess fluid was removed, regardless of [K+]d. Significant increases in blood pressure did occur 1 hour postdialysis compared with levels measured at the completion of treatment ("rebound hypertension") when hemodialysis was performed with 1.0 and 2.0 mmol/L, but not with 3.0 mmol/L [K+]d.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Moving water well: comparing hydraulic efficiency in twigs and trunks of coniferous, ring-porous, and diffuse- porous saplings from temperate and tropical forests

Summary • Coniferous, diffuse-porous and ring-porous trees vary in their xylem anatomy, but the functional consequences of these differences are not well understood from the scale of the conduit to the individual. • Hydraulic and anatomical measurements were made on branches and trunks from 16 species from temperate and tropical areas, representing all three wood types. Scaling of stem conductivity (Kh) with stem diameter was used to model the hydraulic conductance of the stem network. • Ring-porous trees showed the steepest increase in Kh with stem size. Temperate diffuse-porous trees were at the opposite extreme, and conifers and tropical diffuse-porous species were intermediate. Scaling of Kh was influenced by differences in the allometry of conduit diameter (taper) and packing (number per wood area) with stem size. • The Kh trends were mirrored by the modeled stem-network conductances. Ringporous species had the greatest network conductance and this value increased isometrically with trunk basal area, indicating that conductance per unit sapwood was independent of tree size. Conductances were lowest and most size-dependent in conifers. The results indicate that differences in conduit taper and packing between functional types propagate to the network level and have an important influence on metabolic scaling concepts.
Evaluation of a Global Health Training Program for Pediatric Residents

Background: At Children's Hospital of Michigan, an international health program was initiated in 2004. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of the program in imparting knowledge to pediatric residents. Design/Methods: A pretest examining international health knowledge was administered to pediatric residents, and they were reexamined at the end of 1 year. Results: Out of 20 residents who participated in the study, 11 (55%) fully participated in the international health program, and the other 9 partially participated. The mean overall pretest score was 56% and posttest score was 65.8% (P < .004). Full participant mean pretest was 57% and posttest was 69% (P < .005). Partial participant mean pretest was 55% and posttest was 62%, no significant difference (P = .10). Birth, medical education, residency training, or work history in a developing country did not impact pretest or posttest scores. Conclusions: Despite small numbers of participants, this evaluation suggests that knowledge in international healt...
The Role of GC-Biased Gene Conversion in Shaping the Fastest Evolving Regions of the Human Genome

GC-biased gene conversion (gBGC) is a recombination-associated evolutionary process that accelerates the fixation of guanine or cytosine alleles, regardless of their effects on fitness. gBGC can increase the overall rate of substitutions, a hallmark of positive selection. Many fast-evolving genes and noncoding sequences in the human genome have GC-biased substitution patterns, suggesting that gBGC-in contrast to adaptive processes-may have driven the human changes in these sequences. To investigate this hypothesis, we developed a substitution model for DNA sequence evolution that quantifies the nonlinear interacting effects of selection and gBGC on substitution rates and patterns. Based on this model, we used a series of lineage-specific likelihood ratio tests to evaluate sequence alignments for evidence of changes in mode of selection, action of gBGC, or both. With a false positive rate of less than 5% for individual tests, we found that the majority (76%) of previously identified human accelerated regions are best explained without gBGC, whereas a substantial minority (19%) are best explained by the action of gBGC alone. Further, more than half (55%) have substitution rates that significantly exceed local estimates of the neutral rate, suggesting that these regions may have been shaped by positive selection rather than by relaxation of constraint. By distinguishing the effects of gBGC, relaxation of constraint, and positive selection we provide an integrated analysis of the evolutionary forces that shaped the fastest evolving regions of the human genome, which facilitates the design of targeted functional studies of adaptation in humans.
Utilizing hunter harvest effort to survey for wildlife disease: A case study of West Nile virus in greater sage-grouse

Greater sage-grouse(Centrocercusurophasianus;sage-grouse) arehighlysusceptible toinfectionwith West Nile virus (WNV), with substantial mortality reported in wild populations and in experimentally infected birds. Although sage-grouse are hunted throughout much of their range, they have also recently been considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act. We used blood samples collected on filter-paper strips during the 2006-2010 Oregon, USA, annual sage-grouse hunt to survey for specific WNV-neutralizing antibodies that indicate a previous infection with WNV. During this period, hunters submitted 1,880 blood samples from sage- grouse they harvested. Samples obtained were proport ional for all 12 Oregon sage-grouse hunting units. Laboratory testing of 1,839 samples by the WNV epitope-blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (bELISA) followed by plaque reduction neutralization test on bELISA-positive samples yielded 19 (1%) and 1 (0.05%) positive samples, respectively. These data provided early baseline information for future comparisons regarding the prevalence of WNV-specific neutralizing antibodies in sage-grouse in Oregon. This methodology mayprovideotherstateswheresage-grouse(orotherspecies)populationsarehuntedandwhereWNVconstitutes a species conservation concern with a viable option to track the relative prevalence of the virus in populations. Published 2014. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.
Significant Uncertainties in Pennsylvanian Correlation in Illinois Coal Basin

In connection with the preparation of coal-bed structure maps stratigraphic studies have been made based on the matching of drilling logs of a series of wells extending from the vicinity of Carlinville on the west to western Cumberland County on the east. Such studies reveal a lack of agreement with correlations based on the study of outcrops. The pattern of succession on the western margin of the basin produced by the spacing of important limestone and coal beds appears to be traceable into the central part of the basin, indicating that the surface beds in the central area are much younger than those on the margin. Such a conclusion is at variance with conclusions that have been recently reached by the study of outcrops independent of coal-bed structures. Such studies ha e resulted in correlations which require a conspicuous spreading between the prominent limestone beds as they approach the inner part of the basin, resulting in a marked departure from parallelism with coal bed No. 6 on the part of the higher limestones. The paper points out the need of further studies and elaborates the evidence on which surface correlations are based.
Benefits of maternal and donor human milk for premature infants

Nutrition support of the premature infant must be designed to compensate for metabolic and gastrointestinal immaturity, immunologic insufficiency, and the demands of associated medical conditions. The beneficial effects of human milk extend to the feeding of premature infants. While human milk enhances immunity, nutritional concerns arise because the milk may not meet the expanded nutrient requirements of the very low birth weight (VLBW, less than 1500 g) premature infant. Human milk fortifiers are available to provide optimum nutrition. This review summarizes the benefits and limitations of human milk for the premature infant.
Novel resonance-based silicon nanophotonic structures

The development of ultra-compact integrated nanophotonic structures for communications, sensing, and signal processing has been of great interest lately. In this review paper, we first present the requirements for practical realization of integrated nanophotonic chips and then explain how these requirements are met by using low-loss waveguides and high quality resonators with careful engineering of the coupling between them. We will show that the ultimate realization of high Q microresonators can enable a wide range of applications including very compact on-chip spectrometers, tunable filters, and sensing modules.
Lattice Mn3+ Behaviors in Li4Ti5O12/LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 Full Cells

High voltage spinels LiNi0.5Mn1.5O4 (LNMO) with different contents of residual Mn3+ ions have been evaluated in full cells using Li4Ti5O12 (LTO) as standard anode. Greatly improved cycling stability has been observed for all spinels in LTO-limited full cell, compared with those in LNMO-limited ones, while the underlying mechanisms are quite different. It has been discovered that the participation of active Mn3+ in the extended cycling and thus its observable contribution to Li+ diffusion kinetics depend on the limiting electrode and the sufficiency of Li+ ions. Potential Mn dissolution has also been discussed to identify the key factors that need to be considered to construct full cells employing high voltage spinel as the cathode.
Annual Research Review: Progress in using brain morphometry as a clinical tool for diagnosing psychiatric disorders

Brain morphometry in recent decades has increased our understanding of the neural bases of psychiatric disorders by localizing anatomical disturbances to specific nuclei and subnuclei of the brain. At least some of these disturbances precede the overt expression of clinical symptoms and possibly are endophenotypes that could be used to diagnose an individual accurately as having a specific psychiatric disorder. More accurate diagnoses could significantly reduce the emotional and financial burden of disease by aiding clinicians in implementing appropriate treatments earlier and in tailoring treatment to the individual needs. Several methods, especially those based on machine learning, have been proposed that use anatomical brain measures and gold-standard diagnoses of participants to learn decision rules that classify a person automatically as having one disorder rather than another. We review the general principles and procedures for machine learning, particularly as applied to diagnostic classification, and then review the procedures that have thus far attempted to diagnose psychiatric illnesses automatically using anatomical measures of the brain. We discuss the strengths and limitations of extant procedures and note that the sensitivity and specificity of these procedures in their most successful implementations have approximated 90%. Although these methods have not yet been applied within clinical settings, they provide strong evidence that individual patients can be diagnosed accurately using the spatial pattern of disturbances across the brain.
Conference Scene: Endo 2010

The 92nd Annual Meeting & Expo of the Endocrine Society was held in San Diego, CA, USA, in June 2010 and offered presentations on cutting edge research and advances in clinical care across the full spectrum of endocrine disease. Topics related to diabetes and obesity figured prominently in the plenary sessions, symposia, oral sessions and poster presentations. Particularly popular sessions included debates, where audience participation was invited as leading endocrinologists advocated for different sides of crucial questions relevant to clinical practice and late-breaking abstract presentations. Nearly 7000 research scientists, clinicians and trainees had the opportunity to interact and hear about the latest findings in endocrinology at the beautiful San Diego Convention Center on the San Diego Bay.
Entropy-based depth from focus

The two-image depth-from-focus problem is reconsidered in terms of entropy loss in a linear filter. It is shown that this formulation leads to a relatively simple solution whose variance is equal to or less than that from a regression approach. The formulation is appropriate even when the point-spread function of the optical system is not well suited to a low-order regression fit or when both images used contain some degree of defocusing with distance.
Hard-Nosed Advice from a Cranky Law Professor: How to Succeed in Law School

This is an excerpt from a new book that provides advice to students on how to do well in law school. Included in the excerpt is the book's Summary of Contents, the Introduction, and Chapter Three – Professor Expectations. Each chapter of the book begins with the musing of the cranky professor, followed by the professor's advice stated in the form of a class lecture. The book has chapters that provide advice on: (1 ) how to prepare for law school; (2) how to brief cases; (3) understanding professor expectations; (4) how to outline; (5) studying techniques; (6) how to prepare and do well on law school exams; (7) extra-curricular and co-curricular activities; (8) developing a career; and (9) preparing for the bar exam. Carolina Academic Press is publishing the book in summer 2010. Below is the book's description from the publisher's website:If students wish to survive and excel in law school, they must approach it correctly. Students also need to understand what professors expect of them, or they will be left behind. Hard-Nosed Advice from a Cranky Law Professor: How to Succeed in Law School is a book that explains some of the correct ways to approach law school and provides insight into professor expectations.The book is designed for new law students who would like to improve their chances of doing well in law school. Written from the perspective of a crusty, cantankerous professor, the book side-steps pleasantries to provide no-nonsense, sometimes hard-nosed advice that is intended to instruct students on what they must do to succeed. While blunt, the practical advice is provided in a light-hearted, humorous way. The book’s aim is to give concise answers to questions that most students have when they begin law school.The book’s user-friendly style is one of its greatest assets. In tight, to-the-point chapters, the book addresses those tasks that students commonly face in law school: from reading and briefing cases, to outlining, to preparing and taking exams, to being called on in class. The book also provides advice on success outside the classroom, including advice on how to prepare for the bar exam. In many ways, through the professor’s grumblings, the book promotes professionalism and common sense.
Legal issues in complementary and integrative medicine: A guide for the clinician

Physicians integrating CAM therapies into clinical practice face many legal challenges, including the fact that legal rules governing CAM providers and practices are new and evolving in many cases. Laws vary by state, and their application depends on the specific clinical scenario in question. As more evidence accumulates regarding safety and efficacy or lack thereof of specific therapies for given conditions, physicians will find clinical knowledge more abundantly mapped and that the parameters of liability are increasingly clear. Meanwhile, good clinical practice and a working knowledge of major legal rules can help provide physicians with a good measure of legal protection in situations involving integration of CAM providers and therapies in conventional medical practice.
Measuring Substance Use and Misuse via Survey Research: Unfinished Business

This article reviews unfinished business regarding the assessment of substance use behaviors by using survey research methodologies, a practice that dates back to the earliest years of this journal's publication. Six classes of unfinished business are considered including errors of sampling, coverage, non-response, measurement, processing, and ethics. It may be that there is more now that we do not know than when this work began some 50 years ago.
Nuclear Deterrence Theory, Nuclear Proliferation, and National Missile Defense

On December 17, 2002, President George W. Bush ordered the deployment of a national missile defense (NMD). Proponents of missile defenses, both inside and outside the Bush administration, argue that, absent NMD, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the greater U.S. vulnerability that this entails will signicantly limit the United States ability to secure it foreign policy goals. “A policy of intentional vulnerability by the Western nations,” Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld argues, “could give rogue states the power to hold our people hostage to nuclear blackmail—in an effort to prevent us from projecting force to stop aggression.”1 Similarly, Walter Slocombe as undersecretary of defense in the Clinton administration asserted, “Without defenses, potential aggressors might think that the threat of strikes against U.S. cities could coerce the United States into failing to meet its commitments.”2 To what extent do the spread of nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them threaten U.S. interests and impede the United States ability to pursue its Nuclear Deterrence Theory
Molecular basis of congenital and acquired long QT syndromes.

In the United States, over 1,000 individuals will die suddenly each day due to a fatal ventricular arrhythmia. The vast majority of these individuals are middle-aged or elderly with coronary artery disease. Although less than 1% of these sudden cardiac deaths stem from a cardiac channelopathy like congenital long QT syndrome (LQTS), these deaths are particularly tragic. For example, there is the 3-year-old girl who died while playing in the sandbox, the 13-year-old teenager who dived into the pool and failed to resurface, and the 33-year-old new mother who died suddenly while breastfeeding her newborn. Then, there is the otherwise healthy individual who died suddenly while taking an antihistamine for allergies and the adult who died suddenly while taking an antibiotic. Although fortunately rare, drug-induced LQTS resulting in sudden death has resulted in the tragic sudden deaths of healthy individuals and has resulted in the demise of several medications. The common culprit for both congenital and
Enhanced wavelet-based zerotree coding of images

Abstract only given. This paper presents a wavelet based image coding method achieving high levels of compression. Our eigen-designed quadrature mirror filters are implemented in a multi-resolution subband decomposition system. Symmetrical extension and windowing of the multi-scaled subbands are incorporated to minimize the boundary effects. Next, the embedded zerotree wavelet (EZW) coding algorithm is used for data compaction. In our experiments, the EZW coded stream can be further reduced to yield a smaller symbol string by not coding the zero symbol in the last three subbands of the wavelet map, i.e. HL1, LH1, and HH1 which leads to an improved EZW algorithm. Additional compression is obtained with an adaptive arithmetic coder. Results of coding Lena are tabulated. For a low PSNR of 27.69 dB at a bit rate of 0.8554 for the aerial image, the quality of the decoded image is visually acceptable. No blocky effects are evidenced as compared to the JPEG coding technique.
Data quality in health care data warehouse environments

Data quality has become increasingly important to many firms as they build data warehouses and focus more on customer relationship management. This is especially true in the health care field where cost pressures and the desire to improve patient care drive efforts to integrate and clean organizational data. The paper reviews earlier work on data quality and extends it by providing a process model of architected data environments. This model allows practitioners and researchers to focus on processes that generate data quality problems. The paper also describes how the model was used in a real world health care organization and what implications there are for practitioners and researchers.
Effects of auxiliary element gain on the performance of power minimization GPS CRPAs

Controlled reception pattern antennas (CRPAs), also referred to as adaptive or smart antennas, are an effective anti-jam measure for GPS communications. CRPAs are often employed in high interference environments so that reliable communications can be maintained at all times. Some undesirable characteristics of antennas makes it necessary to modify existing CRPAs in such a way that the auxiliary element gain is reduced when compared to the primary reference element. In most cases, the modifications present a compromise of communication performance. This is often the result of reduced auxiliary element gain of power minimization CRPAs.
Exploiting globalization potential: U.S. and japanese strategies

This paper develops a model of global strategy that includes the constructs of industry globalization potential, the use of global strategy, the role of organization and management and the performance consequences of using global strategy. Propositions are developed as to why American and Japanese MNCs might differ in their perceptions of industry globalization potential, in their desired global strategy response, in their organizationally-derived ability to implement global strategy and in their resulting performance. The model and arguments are examined in extensive interviews with senior executives at 36 worldwide businesses belonging to some of the largest American and Japanese MNCs. Data are analyzed using a partial least squares causal model. The results show that the Japanese firms have more globalized stategies than do the Americans, and that this factor affects their performance favorably.
Optimized hypervisor scheduler for parallel discrete event simulations on virtual machine platforms

With the advent of virtual machine (VM)-based platforms for parallel computing, it is now possible to execute parallel discrete event simulations (PDES) over multiple virtual machines, in contrast to executing in native mode directly over hardware as is traditionally done over the past decades. While mature VM-based parallel systems now offer new, compelling benefits such as serviceability, dynamic reconfigurability and overall cost effectiveness, the runtime performance of parallel applications can be significantly affected. In particular, most VM-based platforms are optimized for general workloads, but PDES execution exhibits unique dynamics significantly different from other workloads. Here we first present results from experiments that highlight the gross deterioration of the runtime performance of VM-based PDES simulations when executed using traditional VM schedulers, quantitatively showing the bad scaling properties of the scheduler as the number of VMs is increased. The mismatch is fundamental in nature in the sense that any fairness-based VM scheduler implementation would exhibit this mismatch with PDES runs. We also present a new scheduler optimized specifically for PDES applications, and describe its design and implementation. Experimental results obtained from running PDES benchmarks (PHOLD and vehicular traffic simulations) over VMs show over an order of magnitude improvement in the run time of the PDES-optimized scheduler relative to the regular VM scheduler, with over 20× reduction in run time of simulations using up to 64 VMs. The observations and results are timely in the context of emerging systems such as cloud platforms and VM-based high performance computing installations, highlighting to the community the need for PDES-specific support, and the feasibility of significantly reducing the runtime overhead for scalable PDES on VM platforms.
RFID design using EM analysis

RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag and reader antennas can be easily designed using EM analysis software. In this tutorial overview paper, we describe several techniques for designing the key RF portion of both 13.53 MHz and 900 MHz RFID tags and readers. The advantages and disadvantages of various types of EM analysis are reviewed and societal issues related to RFID are raised. Specific examples of RFID design are illustrated by application of a planar EM analysis tool. A unique very broad bandwidth dipole appropriate for 900 MHz RFID is illustrated.
Rejoinder to Commentaries on Using Learning Progressions to Design Vertical Scales

We are most appreciative of all the authors who submitted commentaries to our focus article “Using Learning Progressions to Design Vertical Scales That Support Coherent Inferences About Student Gro...
Elimination of the Dynamics of the Rotational Levels in a Four-Level CO2 Laser Model

Recently2 it has been shown that certain dynamical behaviors of a single mode CO2 laser cannot be explained by the two-level model of a molecular laser. The alternative four-level model, in which the two active resonant levels of a CO2 molecule are strongly coupled with the other rotational levels of the vibrational bands,3 gives significantly better agreement with the experiment.2 Although this model introduces at least three degrees of freedom, a large class of phenomena, such as the dynamics of Q-switching, external sinusoidal modulation or external feedback,4 suggests that only two dynamical variables are relevant. It yields that this problem could be reduced to two dimensions.
Self-regulatory climate: A positive attribute of public schools

AbstractThis study contributes to the development of a positive framework for effective public schools in 2 ways. First, it advances the construct self-regulatory climate as consisting of 3 generative school norms—collective faculty trust in students, collective student trust in teachers, and student-perceived academic emphasis. The authors argue these norms signal a school climate supportive of student psychological needs. Second, they test the predictive validity of self-regulatory climate by empirically examining its relationship with school performance. Results of structural equation modeling support the theory that collective faculty trust in students, collective student trust in teachers, and student-perceived academic emphasis combine to form a self-regulatory climate that has positive consequences for urban school performance.
Detection of minimal residual disease in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: the St Jude experience.

Detection of minimal residual disease in acute lymphoblastic leukemia: the St Jude experience
Abstract 2010: A Network Phenotyping Strategy (NPS) for HCC identifies distinct coherent survival groupings from observed clinical traits

Background: HCC is a complex disease with tumor growth replacing adjacent liver. Our initial hypothesis was that tumor traits and loss of liver function are independent processes. We examined this, seeking evidence of coherent discrete structure with respect to survival. Methods: NPS was used to analyze 970 patients with biopsy-proven, non-surgical HCC, all followed prospectively until death. We assumed stochasticity with respect to timing of diagnosis and ambiguity of each variable with respect to survival and used a combination of k-partite graph-based analysis with statistical processing of pairwise dependencies of clinical data ordered by survival, each characterized by the mean of clinical parameters of the 100 patients with the closest survival, for 678 survivals. Results: NPS clearly identified heterogeneity, with 3 distinctive phenotypes based on coherence of multiple variables. Each had different survival ranges with trends of collinear relationships between bilirubin, AFP, alkaline phosphatase, SGOT and GGTP. In patients >70 years, the larger the tumor the higher the biochemical values, with the trends decreasing with longer survival. Above 80 years, bilirubin and AFP were normal, with long survival, 330-1250 days. There were 2 groups of younger patients ( Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 because the presenter was unable to attend. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2010.
Abstract A32: Interfering with Ras prenylation.

The attachment of Ras proteins to the cell membrane is a requisite for these proteins to exert their biological function. Many efforts have focused on interfering with this property of Ras proteins. Among them was the development of farnesyl transferase inhibitors. However, such inhibitors showed only very disappointing results in the clinics. Our approach is the selective and covalent modification of the CAAX-box cysteine in Ras proteins using tethering compounds. We screened a library of tethering compounds (JA Wells, QB3 UCSF) against FPLC purified K-Ras 4B and found a small number (~2%) of compounds that gave at least a 50% labeling in the presence of 500μM β-mercaptoethanol. Using in vitro prenylation assays we could show that some of the hit compounds very efficiently blocked K-Ras prenylation also in a dose dependent fashion. Furthermore, some of these hit compounds do not block prenylation of FPLC purified N-Ras which shows that it is possible to selectively target Ras proteins with this strategy. BIAcore experiments demonstrated that hit compounds also interacted with a second site in the target protein in a non-covalent fashion. Our strategy shows very promising results and demonstrates advantages over conventional farnesyl transferase inhibitors. We are now in the process of replacing the disulfide linker of our hit compounds with other electrophiles in order to improve the affinity to the CAAX-box cysteine. Once we have compounds that label K-Ras 4B irreversibly to near 100% then we will determine the crystal structure of full length K-Ras 4B bound to such a hit compound. Citation Format: Stephan C. Gysin, Cameron Pitt, Frank McCormick. Interfering with Ras prenylation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer: Progress and Challenges; Jun 18-21, 2012; Lake Tahoe, NV. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(12 Suppl):Abstract nr A32.
Kenneth Burke’s Divine Comedy: The Literary Form of The Rhetoric of Religion

In The Rhetoric of Religion, Kenneth Burke refigures Augustine's Confessions as a Platonist comedy, structuring his book as an Upward Way that imitates and overgoes the textual ascent he analyzes in Augustine. He links that ascent to the principles of hierarchy, order, guilt, and victimage: the sacrificial principle of tragedy. Yet he counters the tragic motif with a comic criticism, teaching a tolerant charity and humble irony. His comedy thus tropes the Confessions on a large scale, converting it to logology. Burke teaches us about the tendency toward perfection obvious in the Upward Way, yet inherent in all symbols. In the political realm, this tendency aims toward perfect order and works to anathematize the opposition, exerting the principle of victimage. Burke warns us against this principle, which functions as much in the rhetoric of politics as in the rhetoric of religion.
The toxic-tobacco law: "appropriate remedial action".

Tobacco products, despite being lethal and addictive, are highly attractive and accessible to children at hundreds of thousands of retail outlets. The proposed Toxic-Tobacco Law (the Law) will end this access by prohibiting U.S. corporations from making, marketing, or importing tobacco products. The Law will go into effect twenty years after enactment, giving all stakeholders (e.g., farmers) time to adjust. After this adjustment period, adults will be “free” to import tobacco products for personal use. Unlike Prohibition, which sought to stop Americans from consuming alcohol, the Toxic-Tobacco Law does not seek to restrict consumption by adults. The purpose of this law is to end the massive presence of tobacco products in American society in order to prevent the addiction of children to tobacco and its devastating health consequences (e.g., lung cancer). The U.S. Congress, under the “commerce clause” of the Constitution, has the authority to pass the Toxic-Tobacco Law.
ROLLING OUT ECCO GUIDELINES FOR OPPORTUNISTIC INFECTIONS INTO DAY TO DAY PRACTISE-STILL A WAY TO GO!!!

Introduction Best practise guidelines recommend that all patients starting Anti-TNF therapies should be pre-screened and vaccinated to reduce risk of opportunistic infections (ECCO guidelines 2009) and should be counselled re potential risks and benefits of treatments. Aims/Background To review documentation of anti-TNF therapy information provision and compliance with ECCO guidelines in prevention of opportunistic infections. Method We reviewed retrospectively the notes of all patients receiving infliximab therapy between Sep 2009 and Sep 2012 in BSH GI unit, Cork. Results 327 no of infusions was given to 39 patients (16 crohns/23 UC, M:F ratio 21:18) over study period. Discussion re treatment risks was clearly documented in 32/37(86%) patients, in 84% cases by IBD specialist nurse. Screening for opportunistic infections was incomplete. TB screening was undertaken in 100% (37/37) of cases but HIV testing was not routinely undertaken. 65%(24/37) patients had Hep B immunity status assessed but none were referred for vaccination programme. Varicella immunity was checked in 46% (17/37) patients, 2/17 (11.8%) patients non-immune! New tick-box proforma designed. Conclusion Rolling out of new guidelines which encorporate new practise is challenging and difficult to coordinate. In an effort to standardise approach we have designed a tick box proforma to use as part of our initial assessment of IBD patients. Our aim is to screen all patients at point of diagnosis of illness rather than at point of prescribing therapy so that vaccination can be coordinated when necessary in anticipation of requirement of therapies. Further studies will be required to look at success of this measure.
Heparin reduces nonspecific eosinophil staining artifacts in mass cytometry experiments

The analysis of heterogeneous cell samples by mass cytometry (CyTOF) relies on the assumption that metal labeled antibodies accurately bind to their target antigens. We report a previously unappreciated experimental artifact of non-specific antibody binding by eosinophils during intracellular CyTOF analysis of human whole blood samples. We hypothesized that this non-specific binding results from a charge-based interaction between the metal-labeled antibodies and highly cationic proteins found in eosinophillic granules and found that this non-specific staining artifact could be reduced to background levels with a simple blocking protocol using heparin as a competing anionic protein. This protocol eliminates a potential source of erroneous data interpretation in all experiments involving intracellular staining of human whole blood samples, and allows accurate assessment of dynamic changes in intracellular proteins in eosinophils by CyTOF. © 2016 International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.
Influence of moisture content of forage diets on intake and digestion by sheep.

To determine the effect of forage moisture content on intake and digestion kinetics in sheep, a metabolism trial was conducted using 16 mature wethers (44 kg BW) in a completely randomized design. Forage was harvested at two maturities in early spring from a naturalized pasture composed of temperate grass and legume species. Herbage was harvested at either 8 (early) or 16 cm (late) in height and fed after freezing (high-moisture) or as a dried hay. Intakes of DM (grams/[kilogram BW.75.day]), NDF, ADF, and CP (grams/day) (P < .05) and coefficients for DM, NDF, and ADF digestibilities were greater (P < .01) for hay than for high-moisture forage. Mean particulate retention times (MRT) were shorter (P < .05) for high-moisture forage (23.3 h) than for hay (30.7 h) diets. Early-harvested forages had shorter (P < .05) MRT values (23.9 h) than late-cut forages (30.1 h). Fractional passage rates of 1-mm nylon particles of specific gravity (SG) .90, 1.14, and 1.32 through the alimentary tract were influenced by moisture content of the forage (P < .10) and were faster for frozen forages and increased (P < .01) with an increase in SG. Nitrogen retention was greater (P < .01) for the hay than for the high-moisture forage. In situ DM digestion rates, determined using four ruminally fistulated wethers, showed no differences (P = .67) among forages. The results of this study indicate that differences in digestibilities between hays and high-moisture forages are most likely due to differences in digesta passage rates.
Improved meshing strategy for finite element modeling of PBGA thermal cycling

Plastic Ball Grid Array (PBGA) technologies are among the most popular and cost effective methods for packaging of medium to high I/O count semiconductor chips. Computational simulations with three dimensional finite element analysis (FEA) software are often utilized to predict the stresses, strains, and deformations of PBGA assemblies subjected to thermal cycling. These simulation results are then coupled with appropriate failure criteria to estimate solder joint fatigue life.
Abstract LB-205: Myeloid cells are required to establish an immune-suppressive regulatory network in pancreatic cancer by activating the PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint

Background: Pancreatic cancer is characterized by the accumulation of a fibro-inflammatory stroma. Myeloid cells are a predominant population within the stroma. Different myeloid cell subsets have been correlated with tumor promotion and unmasking of anti-tumor immunity. Objective: The goal of this study was to determine the effect of myeloid cell depletion on the onset and progression of pancreatic cancer, and to understand the relationship between myeloid cells and T cell infiltration and activity within the pancreatic cancer microenvironment. Methods: Primary mouse pancreatic cancer cells were transplanted in CD11b-DTR mice. CD11b+ cells (most myeloid cell populations) were depleted by Diphtheria Toxin treatment; either at the time of tumor implantation or after tumors had formed. Results Depletion of myeloid cells delayed tumor initiation. In pre-established tumors, myeloid cell depletion resulted in arrest of growth or tumor regression. We observed that tumor regression was dependent myeloid cell-mediated blockade of CD8+ T cell anti-tumor activity. We investigated the mechanism of this inhibition. We found that myeloid cells regulate expression of the immune checkpoint ligand Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in the tumor cells in an EGFR/MAPK dependent manner. Conclusions: Our results show that myeloid cells regulate a complex network of signals that ensure immune suppression within the pancreatic cancer microenvironment. Moreover, we show that depletion of the myeloid cell population is sufficient to restore anti-tumor immunity mediated by CD8+ T cells, a finding with implications for the design of immune therapies for pancreatic cancer. Citation Format: YAQING ZHANG, ESHA MATHEW, FLOR MENDEZ, KEVIN FLANNAGAN, DIANE SIMEONE, MARINA PASCA DI MAGLIANO. Myeloid cells are required to establish an immune-suppressive regulatory network in pancreatic cancer by activating the PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-205. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-LB-205
Increased expression of carbon monoxide-producing enzymes in the MPOA after sexual experience in male rats

The hypothalamus contains numerous nuclei involved in the regulation of reproductive, stress, circadian, and homeostatic behaviors, with many of these nuclei concentrated within the preoptic and anterior regions. The gaseous neurotransmitter, nitric oxide (NO), has already been shown to have an important regulatory role within the medial preoptic area (MPOA) of the anterior hypothalamus, where it facilitates sexual behaviors. However, little is known about the role of other gaseous neurotransmitters in this area. Here, we report that the carbon monoxide (CO) producing enzymes HO-1 and HO-2 are present in the MPOA and are differentially influenced by sexual experience in a manner similar to that previously reported for NO enzymes. Immunohistochemical staining of brains collected after 0, 1, or 7 sexual experiences reveals that HO-1 is expressed transiently after the first sexual experience, while HO-2 increases only with repeated experience. This increase appears to be specific to the MPOA, as nearby brain areas do not exhibit this degree or pattern of expression. We observed a transient increase in HO-2 colocalization with neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) after a single sexual experience, but these cells appear to be otherwise disparate, despite the fact that both express within the central nucleus of the MPOA. Together, these findings suggest that endogenous CO may be behaviorally relevant within the MPOA and that CO and NO may be differentially regulated there.
Characterizing Canine Lymphoma As a Potential Large Animal Model of Human Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma

Abstract 5193 Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) affects ∼25,000 people in the U.S. each year, and fewer than half of them are cured with standard therapy. DLBCL can be divided into two subtypes by gene expression profiling, germinal center B-cell (GCB) type and activated B-cell (ABC) type. ABC-type DLBCL patients have significantly poorer outcomes. To improve therapeutic options, better animal models that accurately mimic human DLBCL (hDLBCL) are needed. Canine DLBCL is one of the most common cancers in veterinary oncology. Similar to human DLBCL patients, dogs with lymphoma are treated with both CHOP-like regimens and autologous stem cell transplants. Morphologically, canine lymphomas are similar to hDLBCL, with shared histologic markers, such as CD20 and PAX5. With recent technologies based on knowledge of the canine genome sequence, it is now possible to evaluate dogs as a potential large-animal model for hDLBCL. We evaluated 58 canine B-cell lymphomas by generating comprehensive gene expression profiles and comparing them to previously published hDLBCL expression profiles. Canine B-cell lymphoma expression profiles were similar in some ways to hDLBCLs. For instance, increased expression of NF-kB pathway genes was noted in a subset of lymphomas, mirroring NF-kB pathway activation in human ABC-type DLBCL. Furthermore, immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) mutation status, which is correlated with ABC/GCB cell of origin in hDLBCL, separated canine DLBCL into two groups with statistically different progression-free and overall survival times. However, canine DLBCL differed from hDLBCL in other aspects, including rare immunohistochemical positivity for BCL6 and MUM1/IRF4. Collectively, these results define aspects of canine B-cell lymphomas that resemble hDLBCL, identifying molecular similarities that could allow dogs to be used as a representative model of hDLBCL. Further comparative studies, including therapeutic trials, could potentially improve outcomes in both species. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Immanent Injustice: Race and Gender

A review of the presence of Marxism and psychoanalysis in the discourses of race and gender reveals a scarcity of applications of psychoanalysis to issues of race and a corresponding disengagement from concrete political action in psychoanalytic feminism. It is necessary to recover perspectives from these discourses that apply to an effective political organization. Some feminist critiques hold that Freud (and Lacan) created a cultural cosmology that excludes the feminine from language a priori. The present study illuminates in Freud the more complete Oedipus complex, one that suppresses the feminine and forces its return as a symptom. Patriarchy is not an ontological given in human culture, but a contingent psychopolitical construct.
Ethics, Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure

Universities can and have existed without academic freedom and academic tenure. But academic freedom is necessary for a university dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge in a democratic society. Both academic freedom and academic tenure are not only rights but also carry with them moral obligations. Furthermore academic tenure is the best defense of academic freedom that American universities have found. Academic tenure can be successfully defended from the many contemporary attacks to which it is being subjected only insofar as it is necessary to defend academic freedom, and only if all involved in the system of tenure observe the ethical requirements that the system demands.
The Role of Interleukin-10 in the Pathophysiology of Preeclampsia

Purpose of review The pathophysiology of preeclampsia is complex and not entirely understood. A key feature in preeclampsia development is an immunological imbalance that shifts the maternal immune response from one of tolerance towards one promoting chronic inflammation and endothelial dysfunction. As a key regulator of immunity, IL-10 not only has immunomodulatory activity, but also directly benefits vasculature and promotes successful cellular interactions at the maternal-fetal interface. Here we focus on the mechanisms by which the dysregulation of IL-10 may contribute to the pathophysiology of preeclampsia. Recent findings Dysregulation of IL-10 has been demonstrated in various animal models of preeclampsia. Decreased IL-10 production in both placenta and peripheral blood mononuclear cells has been reported in human studies, but with inconsistent results. The significance of IL-10 in preeclampsia has shifted from a key biomarker to one with therapeutic potential. As such, a better understanding of the role of this cytokine in the pathophysiology of preeclampsia is of paramount importance.
A Minimal Introduction to Measure Theory

Chapter 7 provides a summary of the aspects of Lebesgue’s measure theory that are used in the earlier chapters. It is in no sense a rigorous introduction to Lebesgue’s theory. Instead, it simply states the central results and attempts to explain their origin as well as their role in probability theory.