cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Closer Look at the Genes: An Atypical Explanation for Diarrhea and Diabetes

Case Presentation: A 27 year-old male presented with hyperglycemia and chronic, incontinent diarrhea with purposeful restriction of food and water. He also endorsed skin abscesses, decreased appetite, fatigue, urinary frequency and weakness. Past medical history was significant for poorly controlled type 1 diabetes mellitus, recurrent admissions for diabetic ketoacidosis, pyelonephritis, MRSA bacteremia, prostatic abscess and skin abscesses. He was non-compliant with medications, including insulin. He was hypotensive to 79/53 mmHg and BMI was 17.7 kg/m2; remainder of vital signs were normal. Exam revealed a cachectic, small-framed male …
On the need for AI to triage encrypted data containers in U.S. law enforcement applications

Abstract This paper takes an analogical approach to define the parameters by which artificial intelligence (AI) can be utilized to facilitate warrantless searches at U.S. ports of entry. The authors tailor their discussion to the prevention of child pornography (also referred to as child abuse or exploitation materials in the academic literature), and the traffic thereof. By making the legal case to utilize AI, particularly eXplainable AI (XAI), to search encrypted devices for attributes indicative of child pornography, the authors hope to encourage research in this field and develop better technology to help catch criminals without relinquishing privacy rights.
Earth, Life, Space: The Social Construction of the Biosphere and Its Expansion Into the Solar System, and Beyond

This chapter will explore whether and how the scientific search for evidence of extraterrestrial life, in the solar system and beyond, has affected our conception of the terrestrial biosphere – and vice versa – and extended the idea of “biosphere” into outer space. From my biased perspective, as a long-time member of the astrobiology community, I’m convinced that, of course, the search for life elsewhere has affected the way we think about our home planet. This essay will consider the ways in which this has occurred. While it will not ignore the contributions of space-based Earth observations and human space flight to a change in conceptions of our biosphere, it will focus on the contributions of exobiology and astrobiology, focusing on the search for extraterrestrial life and, to some extent, the search for potentially habitable extrasolar planets (exoplanets).
Water Vapor Differential Absorption Lidar

Water vapor is one of the fundamental thermodynamic variables that define the state of the atmosphere. It is highly variable in space and time and influences many important processes related to weather and climate. For more than two decades the importance of water vapor profiling has been underscored by the research and operational weather communities. The ability to measure the spatial and temporal variability of moisture in the lower troposphere is necessary to improve our understanding of many atmospheric processes, improve numerical weather prediction forecasting skills, study weather phenomena, and study regional climate variability. Differential absorption lidar can provide accurate, continuous high-resolution measurements of water vapor. The technique spans from complex research systems capable of 3-D scanning to truly autonomous field-deployable profiling devices.
Accuracy of Perception Relative to Physiological State

The previous chapters have dealt with perceptual factors related to symptom reporting. An implicit assumption has been that individuals are not accurate about symptom perception relative to objective measures of physiological state. For example, several of the studies have shown that perceptions of body state can easily be manipulated when physiological state has remained constant. Does this mean that perception of physiological state and actual physiological state are independent of one another? This question lies at the heart of the present chapter.
Fascia Research from a Clinician/Scientist's Perspective

The upcoming Third International Fascia Research Congress will have much exciting information for the clinician, as well as for the clinical and basic science researcher. This paper provides a perspective from a clinician/scientist, including the fascial network of body-wide connections between and within individual cells, and sharing of loads between muscle and fascia. Basic studies of fibroblast cell shape show the impact of manual therapy, acupuncture, and yoga-like stretching at the cellular level. Advances in scientific equipment have made it possible to study a layer of hyaluronan fluid, which allows sliding between deep fascia and muscle. Collagen fibers within fascia affect both blood flow to muscles and lymphatic fluid flow.
Side-chain interactions governing the pairing of half-cystine residues in ribonuclease.

Fully reduced ribonuclease (RNase), devoid of demonstrable secondary or tertiary structure, may be oxidized by molecular oxygen to yield a product which is indistinguishable by physical measurements or enzymatic activity from the native enzyme (2-4). Since reduced RNase contains eight sulfhydryl groups, 105 possible arrangements with four disulfide bridges may occur (5, 6), yet the native enzyme can be recovered in nearly quantitative yields after such oxidations. It is apparent, then, that certain interactions among elements of the primary structure must serve as guides for the unique pairing of sulfhydryl groups. An attempt has been made to study these interactions by carrying out oxidations of reduced RNase in the presence of various reagents known to influence interor intramolecular bonding. Enzymatically inactive derivatives were produced, quite similar to native RNase in physical properties, which could, under appropriate circumstances, be rearranged to the native enzyme. These materials are believed to be a mixture representing some, if not all, of the possible isomeric configurations of disulfide bonding in the molecule. The observation that this mixture of materials can be readily converted to the native structure is taken as evidence that the unique secondary and tertiary structure of RNase is, thermodynamically, the most stable configuration.
Hormonal regulation of Mg2+ transport and homeostasis in eukaryotic cells.

The high concentrations of total and free magnesium (Mg2+ f ) within eukaryotic cells and its role as an essential co-factor or regulator for numerous cellular enzymes and functions surprisingly contrasts with the minimal knowledge of the mechanisms, genes and proteins that regulate Mg2+ homeostasis at the cellular and organismal level. The reasons for this limited knowledge are both conceptual and methodological. Conceptually, the abundance of intracellular Mg2+ has led to the idea that no major changes in Mg2+ concentration occur or are required, as the cation is plentiful at all times for its co-factor role. It is therefore unlikely to operate as a ‘on-off switch’ for enzymes inside the cell as Ca2+ and other second messengers do. In turn, this point of view has limited interest in developing suitable techniques and methodological approaches to measure changes in cellular Mg2+ concentration accurately. In the last 25 years, however, the concept that the intracellular content and/or concentration of Mg2+ is static has been revisited based on an increasing number of reports indicating that total cellular and plasma Mg2+ content can change significantly following varying hormonal and non-hormonal stimuli and consequently have a major physiological and/or pharmacological role in modulating cell and tissue functions. At the same time, to better detect changes in cellular Mg2+ concentration, technical approaches have been improved or developed. Although not all of them may work in every eukaryotic cell or tissue, we are now better equipped to detect and measure variations in cellular Mg2+ homeostasis and distribution. The present review will attempt to provide a general framework to understand how cellular Mg2+ content and transport are regulated in eukaryotic cells, and how changes in cellular and plasma Mg2+ content contribute to a physiological regulation of intracellular and extracellular enzymes. We will emphasize mammalian cells since Mg2+ transport in Arabidopsis is reviewed by Shaul in this issue. In addition, Mg2+ homeostasis in the kidney is reviewed by Romero.
On Saturation of Rayleigh-Taylor Instability

As is well known, the gravitational Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability of fluid layers occurs in various industrial and natural processes. Examples include coating flows with paint or photographic material, the boiling of liquids, inertial confinement fusion experiments in which pellets of deuterium-tritium fuel undergo laser implosion, and certain geophysical processes. Rupture is often undesirable, as in the breakup of the shell containing the fuel before the fuel is fully compressed in inertial confinement fusion (e.g., [1]).
The CHADS2 Components Are Associated with Stroke-Related In-hospital Mortality in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation.

Background The CHADS2 score predicts stroke risk in patients with atrial fibrillation. Although strokes caused by atrial fibrillation carry the highest mortality when compared with other etiologies, it is not known whether the CHADS2 score predicts stroke-related mortality in patients with atrial fibrillation. We hypothesized that higher CHADS2 scores would be associated with higher stroke-related in-hospital mortality. Methods Data were obtained from administrative claims data from all emergency department encounters and hospitalizations at California's nonfederal acute care hospitals between 2008 and 2011. Patients with atrial fibrillation and an admission for acute stroke were identified using appropriate International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9), Clinical Modification codes. Age and ICD-9 codes for hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, and prior stroke were used to calculate the CHADS2 score of patients with atrial fibrillation. The primary outcome was in-hospital stroke mortality and the primary predictor was CHADS2 score. A multivariate logistic regression model adjusted for sex and race was used to determine the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for the association between CHADS2 and mortality. Results Between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2011, 25,599 patients with atrial fibrillation were hospitalized with a stroke. The odds of in-hospital mortality was significantly higher with a CHADS2 score of 2 more versus less than 2 (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.08-1.23); however, there was no dose–response association between the CHADS2 score and in-hospital mortality. Among the individual CHADS2 score items, factors associated with increased in-hospital mortality were congestive heart failure (OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.53-1.70), age 75 years or older (OR, 1.27; 95% CI, 1.19-1.35), and diabetes (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.14-1.35). Conclusions Unlike prior studies, our studies show that the prestroke CHADS2 score is of limited use in predicting in-hospital mortality in ischemic stroke hospitalizations in patients with atrial fibrillation.
Neuroprotection and neuroregeneration triggered through the FUS-induced opening of the blood-brain barrier in a Parkinson’s mouse model

Over the past decade, numerous small- and large-molecule products have been developed for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases with mixed success. When administered systemically in vivo, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) inhibits their delivery to the regions affected by those diseases. A successful drug delivery system requires transient, localized, and noninvasive targeting of a specific tissue region as provided by Focused Ultrasound (FUS). Neurturin (NTN) is a neurotrophic factor that has demonstrated to have neuroprotective and regenerative effects on dopaminergic neurons in vivo using invasive drug delivery methods. Utilizing recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV), therapeutic genes can be delivered to the brain for long-lasting treatments. In this study, we investigate the neuroprotective and neuroregenerative effects of non-invasively delivered rAAV-GDNF vectors and NTN in a PD mouse model, respectively.
Fretting Fatigue of Ti-6Al-4V Alloy

A study of the fretting fatigue process in sheet specimens of Ti-6A1-4V alloy has been carried out. In the fretting experiments two fretting pads, also of Ti-6A1-4V, were clamped to the fatigue specimen by a calibrated proving ring. In the experiments the fretting pressure and the fatigue stress amplitude were varied. Specimens in the as-received condition as well as shot-peened specimens were tested to study the effect of surface condition on resistance to fretting. An approximate analysis of the shear transfer process was developed, and predictions are compared with the measured size of the fretting scars. The fatigue results of this investigation are discussed in terms of test variables as well as the predictions of the approximate theoretical treatment.
Investigation of characteristics of hard x-rays produced during implosions of wire array loads on 1.6 MA Zebra generator

Experimental study of the characteristics of hard x-ray (HXR) emission from multi-planar wire arrays and compact-cylindrical wire arrays (CCWA) plasmas on the 1.6 MA Zebra generator at UNR has been carried out. The characteristics of HXR produced by multi-planar wire arrays such as single, double, and triple planar as well as compact-cylindrical wire arrays made from Al, Cu, brass, Mo, and W were analyzed. Data from spatially resolved time-integrated and spatially integrated time-gated x-ray spectra recorded by LiF spectrometers, x-ray pinhole images, and signals from fast x-ray detectors have been used to study spatial distribution and time history of HXR emission with different loads. The dependence of the HXR yield and power on the wire material, geometry of the load and load mass is observed. Both HXR yield and power are minimum for Al and maximum for W loads. The HXR yield increases with the rise of the atomic number of the material for all loads. The presence of aluminum wires in the load with the main material such as Cu, Mo, or W in combined wire arrays decreases HXR yield. For W plasma, the intensity of cold L-shell spectral lines (1–1.5 A) correlates with corresponding amplitude of HXR signals which may suggest the evidence of generation of electron beams in plasma. It is found that HXRs are generated from different plasma regions by the interaction of electron-beam with the plasma trailing mass, with the material of anode and due to thermal radiation from plasma bright spots. The theoretical assumption of thermal mechanism of HXR emission predicts the different trends for dependency of HXR power on atomic number and load mass.
Strategies to improve health coverage and narrow the equity gap in child survival, health, and nutrition

Implementation of innovative strategies to improve coverage of evidence-based interventions, especially in the most marginalised populations, is a key focus of policy makers and planners aiming to improve child survival, health, and nutrition. We present a three-step approach to improvement of the effective coverage of essential interventions. First, we identify four different intervention delivery channels—ie, clinical or curative, outreach, community-based preventive or promotional, and legislative or mass media. Second, we classify which interventions' deliveries can be improved or changed within their channel or by switching to another channel. Finally, we do a meta-review of both published and unpublished reviews to examine the evidence for a range of strategies designed to overcome supply and demand bottlenecks to effective coverage of interventions that improve child survival, health, and nutrition. Although knowledge gaps exist, several strategies show promise for improving coverage of effective interventions—and, in some cases, health outcomes in children—including expanded roles for lay health workers, task shifting, reduction of financial barriers, increases in human-resource availability and geographical access, and use of the private sector. Policy makers and planners should be informed of this evidence as they choose strategies in which to invest their scarce resources.
Real-time reconstruction of evoked potentials using a new two-dimensional filter method

Standard techniques for evoked potential recording extract a stimulus-locked event from accompanying noise by averaging a large number of sequentially obtained responses. This approach is valid only to the extent that the nervous system's electrical response to successive stimuli is identical. The technique is suboptimal for recording unstable evoked potentials which vary with the subject's state and attention. Similarly, standard methods are suboptimal for efficiently analyzing rapid changes such as may be seen in the operating room. We developed an evoked potential recording method that reconstructs the individual evoked responses (or small subaverages of evoked potentials) to a series of stimuli. First, the raw data from an entire series of one to several hundred responses are recorded digitally. Using a frequency domain two-dimensional filter, the data are then filtered twice, once along the data sequence axis for each trial, and again along the cross-trial sequence axis for comparable frequency coefficients in sequential trials. The reconstructed filtered evoked potentials are plotted, with successive responses stacked for easy tracking of component changes.
Phasic not tonic pupillary responses vary with auditory vigilance performance.

Pupillary movements were monitored as 11 university students listened to a series of 1K Hz 50-msec tone bursts presented at 3.2-sec intervals for a period of 48 min. Their task was to report target tones (-3dB), which were presented randomly with a probability of 0.12. Under these conditions, monitoring performance deteriorated as a function of time on the task. This vigilance decrement was attributed to both a decrease in listener sensitivity and a conservative shift in decision criterion, as determined by a signal detection analysis. The amplitude of the phasic task-evoked pupillary response reflected these changes in performance, decreasing significantly over time on the task. Tonic or baseline pupillary diameter exhibited no such relationship with performance. These results are interpreted in the context of an activation theory of attention that suggests that a common neurophysiological system mediates both intensive and sustained attentional processes.
Effects of tannin on selection by sheep of forages containing alkaloids, tannins and saponins.

BACKGROUND: Mixtures of plant species provide biochemical diversity to pastures which may enhance productivity while decreasing reliance on herbicides and insecticides. All plants contain secondary metabolites (PSMs) that interact in plant communities in a variety of ways. For instance, tannins are a group of highly reactive chemical compounds with the potential to interact with other PSM such as alkaloids and saponins, neutralizing their negative effects. Our objective was to determine whether tannins modify the foraging behavior of sheep grazing on varieties of alfalfa, birdsfoot trefoil and tall fescue with high and low concentrations of saponins, tannins and alkaloids, respectively. RESULTS: Lambs that received intraruminal infusions of tannins increased their consumption of the high-saponin variety of alfalfa and the high-alkaloid variety of tall fescue relative to lambs not infused with tannins (controls). Lambs infused with tannins and then offered choices among the three high-PSM varieties of the forages also manifested higher consumption of the high-alkaloid variety of tall fescue than control lambs. In contrast, lambs infused with tannins reduced their consumption of the high-tannin variety of birdsfoot trefoil. Thus lambs modified their foraging behavior as a function of the presence/absence of tannins in their rumens. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that ruminants are able to discriminate the specific post-ingestive effects of forage varieties with high concentrations of PSM, and that PSM complementarities are likely to increase the efficiency of use of diverse forages with different biochemistries. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry
Atrial cannulation for left ventricular assistance: Superiority of the dome approach

Successful left ventricular support is dependent on adequate inflow drainage. We describe atrial cannulation using the dome of the left atrium, which in our experience has resulted in excellent inflow drainage.
Differential sensitivity of amphibian nodal and paranodal K+ channels to 4-aminopyridine and TEA.

Voltage-dependent K+ channels are blocked by several drugs, including 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) and tetraethylammonium (TEA). 4-AP is most widely used to localize K+ channels in mammalian and non-mammalian nerve fibers, but 4-AP and TEA alter various K+ channels and/or preparations in specific ways. The reason is not known, in part because dissociation constants for 4-AP and TEA have not been measured for nodal and internodal K+ channels in the same fibers. Smith and Schauf showed that the density of nodal versus paranodal K+ channels in frog nerves depends on fiber diameter. This size dependence was used to determine the relative sensitivity of nodal and internodal K+ channels to 4-AP and TEA, and to compare voltage- and time-dependent activation. The results show nodal and internodal K+ channels activate similarly. However, internodal channels are selectivity blocked by 4-AP while TEA is more effective on nodal channels. A high sensitivity of internodal K+ channels may explain why 4-AP improves symptoms in diseases such as multiple sclerosis.
Kernel Affine Projection Algorithms

The combination of the famed kernel trick and affine projection algorithms (APAs) yields powerful nonlinear extensions, named collectively here, KAPA. This paper is a follow-up study of the recently introduced kernel least-mean-square algorithm (KLMS). KAPA inherits the simplicity and online nature of KLMS while reducing its gradient noise, boosting performance. More interestingly, it provides a unifying model for several neural network techniques, including kernel least-mean-square algorithms, kernel adaline, sliding-window kernel recursive-least squares (KRLS), and regularization networks. Therefore, many insights can be gained into the basic relations among them and the tradeoff between computation complexity and performance. Several simulations illustrate its wide applicability.
Bacteriophage Resistance in Lactococcus lactis Engineered by Replacement of a Gene for a Bacteriophage Receptor

Abstract The objective of this study was to construct a food-grade, phage-resistant strain of Lactococcus lactis by replacing a specific chromosomal gene with an allele that had been mutated in vitro. Lactococcus lactis contains a chromosomal gene ( pip ) that is required for infection by bacteriophages of the c2 species. A nonsense mutation in pip was constructed in vitro. The wild-type pip on the chromosome of strain LM2301 was exchanged for the mutated pip . The exchange left no antibiotic resistance genes or nonlactococcal DNA in the engineered strain (JK101). JK101 was resistant to the same phages as a strain that contains a spontaneous mutation in pip . JK101 grew as well as the pip + isogenic strain did in minimal or rich media.
Orofacial infection of athymic mice with defined mixtures of acyclovir-susceptible and acyclovir-resistant herpes simplex virus type 1

Abstract Infection of athymic mice with defined populations of acyclovir-susceptible (thymidine kinase [TK]-positive) and acyclovir-resistant (TK-deficient or TK-altered) herpes simplex virus type 1 strains was used to simulate herpetic skin disease of the immunocompromised host. In vitro characterization of the defined virus mixtures revealed that the dye uptake method was quite sensitive in the detection of small amounts (3 to 9%) of acylovir-resistant virus. Mice infected with homogeneous virus populations exhibited a good correlation between clinical response and the in vitro drug susceptibility of the infecting virus. Animals infected with defined mixtures of viruses exhibited varied patterns of infection and responses to acyclovir treatment. However, disease severity was useful in predicting the TK phenotype of virus recovered from lesions. Pathogenic, TK-altered virus was responsible for progressive disease in animals receiving low-dose (0.25-mg/ml) prophylactic acyclovir or high-dose (1.25-mg/ml) delayed therapy. Although this mutant was recovered infrequently, it was responsible for clinically significant disease in the animals from which it was isolated.
Enterprise performance and management turnover in the Czech Republic

Abstract We study the effect of management turnover on changes in enterprise performance, using a cross-section of 706 Czech firms over the 1993–1997 period. Controlling for initial conditions, equity holdings by managers, and firm- and sector-specific effects, we find that the appointment of new managers is associated with improvements in profit margins and labor productivity, particularly if those managers were selected by private owners. The results highlight the importance of human capital in transition economies in bringing about improvements in corporate performance.
Inflammatory cytokine regulation of Fas-mediated apoptosis in thyroid follicular cells.

The occurrence of apoptosis in thyroid follicular cells induced by Fas activation has been a subject of much debate. This is due, in part, to the fact that no physiologically relevant treatment conditions have been reported to cause rapid and extensive Fas-mediated apoptosis in thyroid cells, whereas treatment with the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide prior to Fas activation allows for massive cell death. This indicates that the Fas signaling pathway is present but that its function is blocked in the overwhelming majority of cultured thyroid cells. To reconcile the conflicting reports, we set out to identify physiologically relevant conditions in which rapid, massive thyroid cell apoptosis in response to Fas activation could be demonstrated. We determined that susceptibility to Fas-activated apoptosis could be influenced by certain combinations of inflammatory cytokines. Although no single cytokine was effective, pretreatment of thyroid cells with the combination of γ-interferon and either tumor necrosis factor-α or interleukin 1β allowed for massive Fas-mediated apoptosis. Susceptibility to Fas-induced death correlated with an increase in expression of a tunicamycin-inhibitable high molecular weight form of Fas but not with aggregate expression of Fas.
Early uptake of 15N in shortgrass prairie

The early uptake 15N fertilizer in grassland was monitored by means of destructive samplings during the first two weeks after application. The predominantly litter compartments (aboveground dead, senescent and detrital roots) accounted for two-thirds of the 15N immobilization in plant parts in the first few hours after fertilization. This uptake is believed due partly to adsorption and partly to immobilization by the microorganisms associated with senescent and detrital plant parts. By 14 days, green tops and crowns accounted for 72%; live roots, 7%; and the aboveground dead and senescent and detrital roots, 21% of the total 15N uptake by the plant materials. The distribution of applied 15N between live and litter compartments was not significantly affected by rate of application.
Physics of the interaction of intense ultrashort laser pulses with metals and dielectrics

High temperatures and pressures are generated during absorption of high intensity short pulses. Short time scales and high intensity affect the laser material interaction. Absorption in metals and dielelectrics, material removal and energy transmission will be described.
Intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring and neurologic outcomes in patients with epidural spine tumors.

Abstract Purpose Multimodal intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring (IOM) provides assessment of spinal cord pathways during neurosurgery. Despite widespread use, few data exist regarding sensitivity and specificity of IOM in predicting neurologic outcome during decompression and instrumentation for epidural spine tumors. Methods Retrospective analysis evaluated consecutive spine procedures involving IOM modalities (somatosensory evoked potentials [SSEP], motor evoked potentials [MEP], and electromyography [(EMG]) from 2007 to 2009. Demographic and surgical information, intraoperative neurophysiologic data, and pre- and postoperative neurologic status were collected. All cases involved neoplastic epidural spinal cord compression by a primary or metastatic tumor and included posterolateral decompression and instrumented fusion. Results Two-hundred and eight consecutive patients had spine surgery during this time period and one hundred and fifty-two met inclusion criteria. All patients had SSEP monitoring, with 4 having transient changes and 7 persistent changes. One hundred and twenty-two patients had combined SSEP and MEP monitoring, with 3 having transient changes and 4 persistent changes in MEP signals. Two patients had neurophysiologic changes associated with hypotension and correction led to normalization. One developed new neurologic deficits after surgery. Two from the total cohort had new postoperative neurologic deficits. One had a transient decrease in MEP amplitude while the other had no intraoperative changes. Discussion These cases are often long with significant blood loss, and stability of multiple IOM modalities provides reassurance that spinal cord function remains intact. Signal changes should result in scrutiny of blood pressure, surgical technique and anesthesia. Preserved IOM signals are suggestive of preserved neurologic outcome.
ADHD among incarcerated youth: An investigation on the congruency with ADHD prevalence and correlates among the general population

The limited literature on the topic speculates that the rate of ADHD would be higher among incarcerated youth than found in the general population. However, to our knowledge no such published figures exist for juveniles in the United States. This study investigates the likelihood of ADHD diagnosis among 453 incarcerated youth and compares and contrasts a variety of demographic, social, educational, psychological, and criminal characteristics to the general literature on ADHD. Both similarities and differences are reported.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia presenting as acute renal failure

Background A 42-year-old previously healthy man presented with acute-onset headache and facial paralysis. He was treated for Bell's palsy with corticosteroids and valaciclovir. One week later, he developed acute renal failure requiring hospitalization. Investigation Physical examination, laboratory tests, urinalysis, renal ultrasound, renal biopsy, bone marrow biopsy, lumbar puncture, CT of the chest, abdomen and pelvis, MRI of the brain, and whole-body PET scan. Diagnosis Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, bilateral renal enlargement secondary to leukemic infiltration, acute renal failure, tumor lysis syndrome, and leukemic involvement of the facial nerve. Management The patient was treated with a modified induction chemotherapy regimen. He was given allopurinol for hyperuricemia and hydrated with alkalized intravenous fluids to prevent uric acid precipitation in the renal tubules. The profound tumor lysis that occurred after the cytotoxic chemotherapy required hemodialysis.
Shingled file system host-side management of Shingled Magnetic Recording disks

Shingled Magnetic Recording disks overlap tracks to increase storage density, and thus require a special processing to achieve unrestricted random sector updates without data loss. The Shingled File System (SFS) is a host-side level solution to this problem and allows more efficient optimizations compared to a disk firmware based approach. Experimental results show that no overhead is incurred for large file workloads, making SFS a suitable solution for video processing devices such as personal video recorders and set-top-boxes.
Dermal collagen matrices for ventral hernia repair: comparative analysis in a rat model

Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare inflammatory responses, tissue integration, and strength of the acellular dermal collagen matrices AlloDerm®* Regenerative Tissue Matrix, Permacol™**Surgical Implant (Permacol), and CollaMend™*** Implant in a rat model for ventral hernia repair.
Influence of inert gas pressure on the kinetics of wet CO oxidation

The kinetics of wet CO oxidation have been experimentally studied in considerable detail (see Ref. [1] and references therein) and have been very successfully reproduced by computer modeling I-2]. As a result the process is generally regarded as well understood. In a previous paper [3], however, the authors showed that, contrary to the global rate law determined by Dryer and Glassman [1], the rate of CO oxidation departs from first order in CO at low CO concentration and may essentially stop. This paper reports another complication, the effect of inert gas pressure upon the CO oxidation rate. While this effect may appear surprising and it is certainly not explicitly recognized in the previous literature, one may deduce its existence from elementary considerations via the following argument: Dryer's empirical rate law is based on experiments in which CO was oxidized in the presence of large amounts of nonreactive gases, N 2 and CO 2, in an apparatus restricted t o operation at one atmosphere total pressure [1]. The observed rate was first-order in CO, half-order in H20, and quarter-order in 0 2 . It is generally accepted that wet CO oxidation occurs chiefly by the reaction CO + OH--*CO 2 + H. By comparing the known rate constant for this elementary reaction with the rate of the overall oxidation, one may deduce that the OH concentration has a steady state value 100 times its equilibrium value for the conditions of the Dryer experiment. Steady state implies a balance between chain carrier production via the chainbranching reaction cycle and chain carrier removal via three-body processes. The latter may occur by
A framework to generate fault-based behavior models for complex systems design

Fault analysis has been identified as a crucial step during the design process. Any complex design problem requires careful consideration of fault modes, fault mechanisms, propagation of faults, etc. The verification and validation efforts in complex systems design can be improved by modeling faulty behavior. This can be done by using a library of pre-constructed faulty behavior models. Currently, a major limitation for modeling performance in complex systems design is that libraries only use nominal component behavior. Strictly using nominal behavior, as opposed to faulty behavior, leads to design uncertainty and poor verification and validation. In a reliability sense, the traditional method for dealing with uncertainty is to over-design the system. While this leads to a workable solution, it is not optimized in terms of design attributes and leads to wasted resources. This paper proposes an alternative method to capture faulty behavior by developing a framework to create component behavior models, with the goal of ultimately increasing design verification and validation during complex systems design. An example shows the implementation of the frictional wear fault mechanism for a gear component. While the results can be trivial for an individual component, the purpose of these models is to tackle complex systems design where the change in performance is measured at the system level.
A very slow basal layer underlying large-scale low-velocity anomalies in the lower mantle beneath the Pacific: evidence from core phases

A multi-phase analysis using long-period World Wide Standardized Seismograph Network and Canadian Network data has been conducted using core-phases for deep focus events from the southwest Pacific. These include SKS, S2KS, SVd_(iff), and SP_dKS. The last phase emerges from SKS near 106° and is associated with a P-wave diffracting along the bottom of the mantle. Patterns in S2KS - SKS differential travel times (T_(S2KS-SKS)) correlate with those in SP_dKS - SKS (T_(SPdKS-SKS)). T_(S2KS-SKS) values strongly depend on variations in V_S structure in the lower third of the mantle, whereas T_(SPdKS-SKS) values mainly depend on V_P structure and variations in a thin zone (100 km or less) at the very base of the mantle. Anomalously large T_(S2KS-SKS) and T_(SPdKS-SKS) values (relative to the Preliminary Reference Earth Model (PREM)) are present for Fiji-Tonga and Kermadec events (recorded in North and South America), along with anomalously large SV_(diff) amplitudes well into the core's shadow. More northerly paths beneath the Pacific to North America for Indonesian and Solomon events display both PREM-like and anomalous times. A model compatible with the observations is presented, and contains a thin very-low-velocity layer at the base of the mantle that underlies the large volumetric lower-mantle low-velocity regions in the southwest Pacific. A low-velocity layer of 20–100 km thickness with reductions of up to 5–10% (relative to PREM) can reproduce T_(SPdKS-SKS) as well as SV_(diff) amplitudes. Large-scale (more than 1000 km) lower-mantle V_S heterogeneity (2–4%) can explain long-wavelength trends in T_(S2KS-SKS). The exact thickness and velocity reduction in the basal layer is uncertain, owing to difficulties in resolving whether anomalous structure occurs on the source- and/or receiver-side of wavepaths (at the CMB).
Surface chemistry in the atomic layer deposition of TiN films from TiCl4 and ammonia.

The surface chemistry of atomic layer depositions (ALD) of titanium nitride films using alternate doses of TiCl4 and NH3 was characterized by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The nature of the species deposited by each half-reaction was explored first. Evidence was obtained for the partial loss of chlorine atoms and the reduction of the metal during the adsorption of the TiCl4. Subsequent ammonia treatment removes most of the remaining chlorine and leads to the formation of a nitride. Both half-reactions were proven self-limited, stopping after the deposition of submonolayer quantities of the materials. Repeated ALD cycles were shown to lead to the buildup of thick films. However, those films display a Ti3N4 layer on top of the expected TiN. The data suggest that the reduction of the Ti4+ species may therefore occur during the TiCl4, not NH3, dosing step. The incorporation of impurities in the films was also investigated. Chlorine is only deposited on the surface, and in negligible quantities. This...
Design and modeling of the multibeam injector

Abstract For both HIF and ion driven HEDP experiments, the beams a driver produces must have both high brightness and high current. The US HIF program has had extensive experience and success working with single, monolithic ion sources for accelerator experiments with moderate injector current requirements. Such sources produce up to hundreds of milliAmps with normalized emittances less than 1 - π -mm mrad. However, with a need for higher current, and more compact, sources up to and over 1 A, monolithic sources begin to suffer from the poor scaling of source area to current. That is, by combining the limits of space-charge limited emission, voltage breakdown, and good optics, the source area is seen to scale as a high power of the current, A ∝ I 8 / 3 . A means of bypassing the scaling, leading to a much more compact injector, is the use of multiple beamlets, each of which can have a much higher current density than a larger monolithic beam. The beamlets are merged near the end of the injector. A major challenge is the inherent emittance growth that occurs as the beamlets merge. In this paper, the design of such an injector will be presented along with simulations used to study and validate the design. This design offers other advantages, and some disadvantages, that will be described. Finally, comparisons will be made to experimental results from the merging beamlet experimental campaign on STS-500.
Sampling properties of estimators of a Weibull distribution of use in the lumber industry

We consider maximum-likelihood estimators of the three parameters in the Weibull distribution. Motivated by an application regarding the determination of a lower percentile of the strength of dimension lumber, we investigate the sampling properties of these estimators. Consistency is established when the shape parameter is greater than one, including some nonregular cases encountered in fitting lumber data. The joint distribution of the estimators is studied by a Monte Carlo approach. The maximum-likelihood estimator of the 5th percentile is compared with the sample 5th percentile. For the cases considered it was generally found that with sample size 70 the usual asymptotic normality does not hold.
A complex RARE is required for the majority of Nedd9 embryonic expression

Neural precursor cell expressed, developmentally down-regulated 9 (Nedd9, Casl, Hef1, p105cas, Ef1) is a scaffolding protein that assembles complexes involved in regulating cell adhesion, migration, division, and survival. Nedd9 is found very early in the developing embryonic nervous system. A highly conserved complex retinoic acid response element (RARE) is located 485 base pairs (bp) upstream of exon 2B in the promoter of the Nedd9 gene. Mice transgenic for a 5.2 kilobase (kb) region of the 2B Nedd9 promoter containing the RARE upstream of a lacZ reporter gene [Nedd9(RARE)-lacZ] show a large subset of the normal endogenous Nedd9 expression including that in the caudal hindbrain neuroepithelium, spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia (drg) and migrating neural crest (ncc). However, the transgenic mice do not recapitulate the native Nedd9 expression pattern in presumptive rhombomeres (pr) 3 and 5 of the early hindbrain, the base of the neuroepithelium in the midbrain, nor the forebrain telencephalon. Thus, the 5.2 kb region containing the intact RARE drives a large subset of Nedd9 expression, with additional sequences outside of this region needed to define the full complement of expression. When the 5.2 kb construct is modified (eight point mutations) to eliminate responsiveness of the RARE to all-trans retinoic acid (atRA) [Nedd9(mutRARE)-lacZ], virtually all β-galactosidase (β-gal, lacZ) expression is lost. Exposure of Nedd9(RARE)-lacZ transgenic embryos to excess atRA at embryonic day 8.0 (E8.0) leads to rostral ectopic transgene expression within 6 h whereas the Nedd9(mutRARE)-lacZ mutant does not show this effect. Thus the RARE upstream of the Nedd9 2B promoter is necessary for much of the endogenous gene expression during early development as well as ectopic expression in response to atRA.
Local patching for convex sets in Cn

We consider open sets Ω1 and Ω2 in ℂ n so that $$\bar \Omega _1 \cap \bar \Omega _2 = \{ 0\} $$ . We investigate the existence of a basis of pseudoconvex neighborhoods for $$\bar \Omega _1 \cup \bar \Omega _2 $$ and of local (pseudoconvex or polynomially convex) “patching.” Positive results are given for strictly convex sets, and counterexamples are given for strictly pseudoconvex sets (even convex ones).
Reelin supplementation recovers synaptic plasticity and cognitive deficits in a mouse model for Angelman syndrome

The Reelin signaling pathway is implicated in processes controlling synaptic plasticity and hippocampus-dependent learning and memory. A single direct in vivo application of Reelin enhances long-term potentiation, increases dendritic spine density and improves associative and spatial learning and memory. Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurological disorder that presents with an overall defect in synaptic function, including decreased long-term potentiation, reduced dendritic spine density, and deficits in learning and memory, making it an attractive model in which to examine the ability of Reelin to recover synaptic function and cognitive deficits. In this study, we investigated the effects of Reelin administration on synaptic plasticity and cognitive function in a mouse model of AS and demonstrated that bilateral, intraventricular injections of Reelin recover synaptic function and corresponding hippocampus-dependent associative and spatial learning and memory. Additionally, we describe alteration of the Reelin profile in tissue from both the AS mouse and post-mortem human brain.
TH‐C‐351‐02: Registration Based Automatic Segmentation and Wall Motion Analysis for 4D Cardiac Micro‐CT in Mice

Purpose: We present an automated method for segmentation and tracking of hearth anatomy using 4D cardiac micro‐CT datasets in mice. Cardiac motion is determined and analyzed using the deformation field obtained after non‐rigidly deforming a template to all the time frames of the 4D dataset. Method and Materials: 4D micro‐CT image sets were acquired with a temporal resolution of 10 ms and 100 microns spatial resolution in four mice using the Duke in‐house developed micro‐CT scanner and cardio‐respiratory gating. Ten cardiac phases were used in the data acquisition. The images of the heart at different phases were registered using a BSpline deformable model. The contour points on the diastolic phase were automatically mapped to the corresponding points on the images of other phases following the mapping relation established by the deformable model. The method's stability to noise and artifacts in the input images was assessed using the 4D virtual mouse Moby phantom. Results: The deformable model was capable of accommodating significant variability of cardiac motion over time and across different individuals. The template was warped to the first phase of the 4D dataset with an accuracy of 0.95, 0.96 and for the left ventricle, myocardium and right ventricle as compared by the Hausdorff measure to manual segmentation. In between phases, worst segmentation accuracy was 0.93, 0.95 and 0.94 for left ventricle, myocardium and right ventricle. Additionally, the method automatically measures regional motion and deformation by probing the deformation field on the segmented contours. Conclusion:Heart wall contour evolution in 4D micro‐CT images can be easily defined and tracked using a BSpline deformable model, with no user interaction required. The method provides pre‐clinical accuracy while eliminating the labor‐intensive segmentation procedure. Image acquisition was performed at the Duke Center for In Vivo Microscopy an NCRR/NCI National Resource (R21‐CA124584‐01, 2U24‐CA092656, P41‐RR005959).
Medical Illness and Response to Treatment in Primary Care Panic Disorder

Abstract Objective Although studies have suggested that comorbid medical illness can affect the outcome of patients with depression, little is known about whether medical illness comorbidity affects treatment outcome in patients with anxiety. Method Primary care patients with panic disorder ( n =232), participating in a randomized collaborative care intervention of CBT and pharmacology, were divided into those above ( n =125) and below ( n =107) the median for burden of chronic medical illness and assessed at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months. Results Subjects with a greater burden of medical illness were more psychiatrically ill at baseline, with greater anxiety symptom severity, greater disability and more psychiatric comorbidity. The intervention produced significant and similar increases in amount of evidence-based care, and reductions in clinical symptoms and disability that were comparable in the more and less medically ill groups. Conclusions The comparable response of individuals with more severe medical illness suggests that CBT and pharmacotherapy for panic disorder work equally well regardless of medical illness comorbidity. However, the more severe psychiatric illness both at baseline and follow-up in these same individuals suggest that treatment programs may need to be extended in time to optimize treatment outcome.