cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Deep penetration of light into biotissue

The results of a study of deep (several centimeters) light penetration into biological tissue are presented in order to estimate its significance to potentially photosensitive structures and processes including the fetal eyes. In order to accomplish this goal, samples of various tissues (fat, muscle, and uterus) from surgical patients and autopsies were examined with a double integrating sphere arrangement to determine their optical properties. The results were implemented in a Monte Carlo modeling program. Next, optical fiber probes were inserted into the uterus and abdominal wall of patients undergoing laparoscopic procedures. The fibers were couples to a photomultiplier tube with intervening filters allowing measurements of light penetration at various wavelengths. To determine the feasibility of stimulation in utero, a xenon lamp and waveguide were used to transilluminate the abdomen of several labor patients. Light in the range of 630 to 670 nm where the eye sensitivity and penetration depth are well matched, will likely provide the best chance of visual stimulation. Fetal heart rate, fetal movement, and fetal magnetoencephalography (SQUID) and electroencephalography (EEG) were observed in different studies to determine if stimulation has occurred. Since internal organs and the fetus are completely dark adapted, the amount of light required to simulate in our opinion could be on the order of 10(superscript -8 Watts.
Oral erosive lichen planus with epidermolytic hyperkeratosis during interferon alfa-2b therapy for chronic hepatitis C virus infection

mal keratinization--aU features reminiscent of the outer root sheath. 11-13 In addition, cytologic and architectural evidence of malignancy should be present. It is not known whether trichilemmomal carcinoma can evolve from a preexisting tdcholemmoma or whether "de n o v o " occurrence is more the rule. 14 Trichilemmomal carcinoma can be locally aggressive, but metastases appear to be rare. 15 We suggest that, once the diagnosis o f Cowden ' s disease is established, routine biopsy of facial Trichilemmomas is unn~essary. However, biopsy should be performed on any changing or atypical facial lesion.
Professional Schools: Research and Assessment Involving Multiple Constituencies.

Adopting the concept of multiple constituencies as an approach to organizational effectiveness, this chapter identifies key constituents and highlights areas and circumstances in which these constituents have an impact on research and assessment of professional schools.
Scale- and resolution-invariance of suitable geographic range for shorebird metapopulations

Abstract The habitat suitability of a shorebird metapopulation is studied as a function of the scale (extent) and resolution (grain-size) of the environmental covariates with a maximum entropy species distribution model ( MaxEnt ) for integration with climate change simulations. For this study, the species considered is the Snowy Plover (Charadrius a. nivosus), which is a threatened shorebird whose geographic range spans the northwest and southwestern gulf coasts of Florida. The habitat suitability is analyzed at different resolutions by coarsening the classes of the ecogeographical variables with two algorithms: (i) preserving the information of each class at the finer resolution (conservative algorithm); and (ii) considering the most frequent class (majority algorithm). Ultimately, the most suitable habitat is found to be estuarine and ocean beaches made of alkaline medium and fine white sand and silt. The model fit to the observed species distribution decreases with the resolution. Due to the loss of the physical habitat (barrier islands) resulting from the coarsening operation, there is a threshold below which the model fails to predict the species distribution. As a result, the suitable geographic range is resolution-invariant below a resolution-threshold that is determined by the geomorphological features of the landscape rather than by biological constrains. This result holds for both the coarsening algorithms, however the conservative algorithm allows a continuous mapping of the habitat suitability. The suitable geographical range is found to be scale- and resolution-invariant, yet the habitat suitability at-a-point appears scale-dependent due to the strong heterogeneity of the ecogeographical variables. The scale- and resolution-invariance of the suitable geographic range appears a universal result for metapopulations of different species. This is important for reducing the uncertainty of population viability models that are based also on the choice of extent and grain-size of habitat predictions. However, attention must be paid in choosing a resolution that is not too large in order to correctly represent the physical habitat of the species. This implies a potential increase in the effectiveness of conservation campaigns to face the threats of climate change, such as sea-level rise for the Snowy Plover.
Amphetamine-induced taste aversion learning in young and old F-344 rats following exposure to 56Fe particles

Exposure to 56Fe particles produces changes in dopaminergic function and in dopamine-dependent behaviors, including amphetamine-induced conditioned taste aversion (CTA) learning. Because many of these changes are characteristic of the changes that accompany the aging process, the present study was designed to determine whether or not there would be an interaction between age and exposure to 56Fe particles in the disruption of an amphetamine-induced CTA. One hundred and forty F-344 male rats 2-, 7-, 12-, and 16-months old, were radiated with 56Fe particles (0.25–2.00 Gy, 1 GeV/n) at Brookhaven National Laboratory. Three days following irradiation, the rats were tested for the effects of radiation on the acquisition of a CTA produced by injection of amphetamine (3 mg/kg, i.p.). The main effect of age was to produce a significant decrease in conditioning day sucrose intake; there was no affect of age on the acquisition of the amphetamine-induced CTA. Exposing rats to 56Fe particles disrupted the acquisition of the CTA produced by injection of amphetamine only in the 2-month-old rats. These results do not support the hypothesis of an interaction between age and exposure to 56Fe particles in producing a disruption of amphetamine-induced CTA learning. As such, these results suggest that the aging produced by exposure to 56Fe particles may be endpoint specific.
Influence of Patient, Physician, and Hospital Factors on 30-Day Readmission Following Pancreatoduodenectomy in the United States

Importance It is not known whether hospital and surgeon volumes have an association with readmission among patients undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy. Objective To evaluate patient-, surgeon-, and hospital-level factors associated with readmission. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective cohort study using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)–Medicare data with cases diagnosed from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 2005, and followed up until December 2007. Population-based cancer registry data were linked to Medicare data for the corresponding patients. A total of 1488 unique individuals who underwent a pancreatoduodenectomy were identified. Interventions Undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy at hospitals classified by volume of pancreatoduodenectomy procedures performed at the facility were either very-low, low, medium, or high volume. Undergoing pancreatoduodenectomy by surgeons classified by volume of pancreatoduodenectomy procedures performed by the surgeon were either very-low, low, medium, or high volume. Main Outcomes and Measures In-hospital morbidity, mortality, and 30-day readmission were examined. Results The median age was 74 years, and 1436 patients (96.5%) had a least 1 medical comorbidity. Patients were treated by 575 distinct surgeons at 298 distinct hospitals. Length of stay was longest (median, 17 days) and 90-day mortality highest (17.2%) at very-low-volume hospitals ( P P = .02). The presence of significant preoperative medical comorbidities was associated with an increased risk for hospital readmission after pancreatoduodenectomy. A comorbidity score greater than 13 had a pronounced effect on the chance of readmission following pancreatoduodenectomy (odds ratio, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.56-2.71; P Conclusions and Relevance Nearly 1 in 5 patients are readmitted following pancreatoduodenectomy. While variation in readmission is, in part, attributable to differences among hospitals, the largest share of variation was found at the patient level.
Laser Chemical Vapor Deposition Using Cw And Pulsed Lasers

Laser chemical vapor deposition (LCVD) uses a focused laser beam to locally heat the substrate and drive the CVD reaction. LCVD, therefore, shares the advantages of other laser processing techniques including spatial resolution and control and rapid heating and cooling rates. Characteristics of several types of LCVD films and experiments in optical monitoring of LCVD rates using both pulsed and cw laser are presented.© (1982) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
An antimicrobial sesterterpene from a Palauan sponge

Abstract An unidentified sponge from Palau contained the antimicrobial sesterpene 1 that was identified by interpretation of spectral data and conversion into a degradation product of illimaquinone.
Low‐Temperature Tolerance of American Plaice in Relation to Declines in Abundance

Abstract I examined the short- and long-term low-temperature tolerance of American plaice Hippoglossoides platessoides, a coldwater flatfish species, in an attempt to relate temperature tolerance in the laboratory to declines in the species' abundance following years with unusually cold water temperatures. American plaice were very tolerant of rapid declines in temperature over 96 h, and no fish died when placed in temperatures of less than –1.30°C until acclimation temperatures were above 10°C. They also survived 77 d at –1.40°C; although they were more active at that temperature than fish at 0.18°C, they did not eat, and they lost weight. The observed declines in population biomass may have been caused by starvation rather than by cold itself.
An Asynchronous Parallel Linear Equation Solution Technique

Key to the development of an efficient parallel reservoir simulator is the implementation of an efficient parallel linear equation solver. Although recent advances in distributed memory parallel computers have seen a significant improvement in communications overhead among the processors, increases in processor performance have kept the ratio of communications to node performance about the same. This study investigates the implementation of asynchronous message-passing schemes to further reduce communications overhead for the parallel solver. The basic idea is for each processor to proceed with the linear solution without interruption from waiting to receiver massages. This study implements an asynchronous parallel preconditioner for ORTHOMIN(k). The preconditioner has two parts: Z-line relaxation and a block incomplete LU factorization (ILU(0)). Also included in the solution is the use of a reduced three-dimensional subproblem which is solved on one of the processors. Because of the asynchronous implementation of the solver, each of the nodes may perform a different number of iterations and converge to different tolerances; however, the overall tolerance for convergence is checked periodically to determine when the linear solution can be halted. This technique has been implemented on the IBM SP2, Intel IPSC/860 and Intel Paragon with problem sizes varying from 4096 tomore » 184,320 grid blocks. For the largest problem significant performance improvements were observed.« less
Risk and Recreancy: Weber, the Division of Labor, and the Rationality of Risk Perceptions

Most analyses of risk perceptions have focused on the characteristics of individual perceivers, but given the societal changes that have occurred since the early days of the industrial revolution, there is need for greater attention to the institutions that are reasponsible for risk management. Risks of death have been dropping significantly for more than a century, but during that time, there has been a dramatic growth societal interdependance and hence of the potential for recreancy. The recreancy concept may have significant applicability in contexts involving the potentiality problematic performance of specialized responsabilities.
The Ideological Evolution of Horst Mahler: The Far Left–Extreme Right Synthesis

In the late 1990s, Horst Mahler, a former leader of the Red Army Faction and scion of the radical left, announced his affinity for the extreme right and joined the National Democratic Party of Germany (Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands; NPD)—Germany's principal far right party. Later distancing himself from party politics, he founded the Deutsches Kolleg, a far right think tank that promotes German nationalism. Although ostensibly now a rightist, Mahler has synthesized much of his original left-wing ideology into a far right Weltanschauung that features nationalism, anti-Americanism, and anti-Semitism, with a strident critique of capitalism. As such, it has the potential to appeal to some segments of the contemporary anti-globalization movement, the international extreme right, and even Islamists.
Deuterium: natural variations used as a biological tracer.

The suggestion is made that isotope tracing be carried out by monitoring the natural variations in deuterium concentrations. As an example, the natural variations in deuterium concentrations between food and water collected in Illinois and food and water collected in Colorado were used to determine the residence time of water in the blood and urine of rats. We observed not only a 5 ½- day turnover time of water in the blood and urine, but also evidence for the influx of water vapor from the atmosphere through the lungs into the blood.
From genome to wheat: Emerging opportunities for modelling wheat growth and development

Ecophysiological models of crop growth and development sometimes show unrealistic responses that are attributable to our incomplete understanding of the processes the models attempt to describe. Rapid advances in plant genetics, genomics and biochemistry offer important opportunities for improving representations of key processes of growth and development. Research on incorporation of genetic information in models supports this potential, especially in modelling cultivar performance across environments. This paper reviews progress in using information from genetics, genomics and allied fields in modelling and examines approaches suitable for modelling wheat (Triticum aestivum L. and T. durum Desf.). Efforts to model wheat crops should first focus on the relatively well-understood genetic systems affecting phenology and plant height. A simple gene-based approach using linear equations to estimate cultivar-specific parameters has the advantage that it can easily be implemented in existing wheat models. One requirement is to integrate data on the genetic makeup of wheat cultivars with results from field trials that can be used to estimate genetic effects and evaluate model performance. Concomitantly, modellers should exploit findings from genomics and allied fields on wheat and other plant species in order to improve sub-models of individual processes, using more complex representations of gene action. Advances in these more mechanistic representations require much more detailed and quantitative studies on how gene action varies with specific environmental signals such as temperature and photoperiod.
Nutrient Intake of First Generation Gujarati Asian Indian Immigrants in the U.S.

Objective: To examine the nutrient intake of Gujarati Asian Indian immigrants in the U.S. and the influence of length of residence in the U.S. and socioeconomic status (SES) on their macronutrient intake.Methods: Subjects were male (n = 90) and female (n = 99) Gujarati Asian Indian immigrants over the age of 45. Each participant completed a 24-hour dietary recall. Dietary recalls were analyzed using Food Processor nutrient analysis software. Participants were classified into recent immigrants ( 10 years length of residence in the U.S.) and into low, medium and high education groups, based on highest level of education achieved, to examine the influence of these variables on their macronutrient intake.Results: The macronutrient contributions to the total energy intake of these Gujarati Asian Indian immigrants were as follows: carbohydrate 57%, protein 12% and total fat 33%. The diets were low in cholesterol (<100 mg/day) and high in dieta...
Setting the bar for powder flow properties in successful high speed tableting

Abstract An inadequate powder flow leads to problems in tablet manufacturing. The knowledge of minimum flow properties required for successful tableting on a high speed press is critically important to the efficient development of pharmaceutical tablets. This may be achieved by identifying a powder that exhibits minimally acceptable flow properties on a high speed tablet press. A grade of a common tablet excipient, microcrystalline cellulose (Avicel PH102) lies near the borderline between acceptable and poor flow regions during high speed tableting. It can therefore serve as a reference material for judging adequacy of flow properties of prototype formulations by the way of comparison. A powder exhibiting poorer flow properties than Avicel PH102 likely exhibits flow problems and should be avoided. An implementation of this simple approach in formulation development can minimize potential flow problems during large scale tablet manufacture.
Evaluation of two forms of sustained release nifedipine using 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.

Therapeutic interchange between the available forms of sustained release nifedipine (osmotic-pump and coat-core forms of nifedipine) is a matter of controversy. This study was initiated to determine whether there is a difference in clinical outcomes when there is interchange between the two forms of sustained release nifedipine when used for the treatment of hypertension. A total of 43 patients with a history of stage I hypertension who were receiving stable doses of the osmotic-pump form of nifedipine for > 3 months with controlled blood pressures (< 150/90 mm Hg) were enrolled. Patients were then switched to the same dose of the coat-core form of nifedipine and were followed for 3 months. In the 36 patients who completed the study, mean trough serum nifedipine concentrations were significantly higher with the osmotic-pump from (46.5 ± 35.0 ng/mL) of nifedipine compared with the coat-core form (27.2 ± 20.4 ng/mL) (P < .05). However, blood pressure control as determined by the indices of 24 h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, trough blood pressures and load blood pressures were similar between the osmotic-pump and coat-core forms of nifedipine. The coat-core form of nifedipine was discontinued in four patients for possible side effects. In this group of patients with mild hypertension, there were no clinically relevant differences in blood pressure control between the two forms of nifedipine. Some patients on the coat-core form of nifedipine may need to discontinue therapy due to intolerable side effects.
Attenuation of the DNA damage response by transforming growth factor-beta inhibitors enhances radiation sensitivity of non-small-cell lung cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Purpose To determine whether transforming growth factor (TGF)-β inhibition increases the response to radiation therapy in human and mouse non–small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) cells in vitro and in vivo. Methods and Materials TGF-β–mediated growth response and pathway activation were examined in human NSCLC NCI-H1299, NCI-H292, and A549 cell lines and murine Lewis lung cancer (LLC) cells. Cells were treated in vitro with LY364947, a small-molecule inhibitor of the TGF-β type 1 receptor kinase, or with the pan-isoform TGF-β neutralizing monoclonal antibody 1D11 before radiation exposure. The DNA damage response was assessed by ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) or Trp53 protein phosphorylation, γH2AX foci formation, or comet assay in irradiated cells. Radiation sensitivity was determined by clonogenic assay. Mice bearing syngeneic subcutaneous LLC tumors were treated with 5 fractions of 6 Gy and/or neutralizing or control antibody. Results The NCI-H1299, A549, and LLC NSCLC cell lines pretreated with LY364947 before radiation exposure exhibited compromised DNA damage response, indicated by decreased ATM and p53 phosphorylation, reduced γH2AX foci, and increased radiosensitivity. The NCI-H292 cells were unresponsive. Transforming growth factor-β signaling inhibition in irradiated LLC cells resulted in unresolved DNA damage. Subcutaneous LLC tumors in mice treated with TGF-β neutralizing antibody exhibited fewer γH2AX foci after irradiation and significantly greater tumor growth delay in combination with fractionated radiation. Conclusions Inhibition of TGF-β before radiation attenuated DNA damage recognition and increased radiosensitivity in most NSCLC cells in vitro and promoted radiation-induced tumor control in vivo. These data support the rationale for concurrent TGF-β inhibition and RT to provide therapeutic benefit in NSCLC.
Functional group modification via organotellurium chemistry. Synthesis of allyl alcohols from chloromethyloxiranes.

Abstract Treatment of 2-substituted-2-chloromethyloxiranes with telluride ion gives 2-substituted allyl alcohols, presumably through an epitellurlde intermediate.
Do Forecasts Produced By Organizations Reflect Anchoring and Adjustment

In attempting to improve forecasting, many facets of the forecasting process may be addressed including techniques, psychological factors, and organizational factors. This research examines whether a robust psychological bias (anchoring and adjustment) can he observed in a set of organizationally-produced forecasts. Rather than a simple consistent bias, biases were found to vary across organizations and items being forecast. Such bias patterns suggest that organizational factors may be important in determining the biases found in organizationally-produced forecasts,
Cellular MRI and its role in stem cell therapy

Hematopoietic, stromal and organ-specific stem cells are under evaluation for therapeutic efficacy in cell-based therapies of cardiac, neurological and other disorders. It is critically important to track the location of directly transplanted or infused cells that can serve as gene carrier/delivery vehicles for the treatment of disease processes and be able to noninvasively monitor the temporal and spatial homing of these cells to target tissues. Moreover, it is also necessary to determine their engraftment efficiency and functional capability following transplantation. There are various in vivo imaging modalities used to track the movement and incorporation of administered cells. Tagging stem cells with different contrast agents can make these cells probes for different imaging modalities. Recent reports have shown that stem cells labeled with iron oxides can be used as cellular MRI probes demonstrating the cell trafficking to target tissues. In this review, we will discuss the status and future prospect...
Counterface topographical effects on the wear of polyetheretherketone and a polyetheretherketone-carbon fiber composite

The unlubricated sliding wear behavior of non-reinforced polyetheretherketone (PEEK) and a PEEK-carbon fiber (PEEK-Cf) composite was investigated under lightly loaded conditions against mild steel counterfaces. The results showed the occurrence of a relative minimum in wear for the non-reinforced PEEK-mild steel system, resulting from interfacial film formation. In addition, the wear particle morphology changed substantially as the counterface became rougher. For PEEK on abraded mild steel, attempts were made to correlate the wear rate with the average asperity radius model of Hollander and Lancaster. The PEEK-Cf composite, when compared under similar experimental conditions, also displayed a relative minimum in wear; however, it occurred against rougher counterfaces compared with those corresponding to the non-reinforced PEEK. In this case, the relative wear and transferred wear debris morphology reflected the addition of the carbon fibers.
On Parameter Differentiation for Integral Representations of Associated Legendre Functions

For integral representations of associated Legendre functions in terms of mo- dified Bessel functions, we establish justification for differentiation under the integral sign with respect to parameters. With this justification, derivatives for associated Legendre functions of the first and second kind with respect to the degree are evaluated at odd-half- integer degrees, for general complex-orders, and derivatives with respect to the order are evaluated at integer-orders, for general complex-degrees. We also discuss the properties of the complex function f : Cnf 1; 1g! C given by f(z) = z=( p z + 1 p z 1).
Sediment Impacts of the 1994 Failure of IVEX Dam (Chagrin River, NE Ohio): A Test of Channel Evolution Models

The 1994 seepage piping failure of IVEX dam, resulting in catastrophic dewatering of the reservoir, was an analog for the one-step process commonly used for dam removals. This study evaluates the impact of the sediment release in the context of channel evolution models (CEMs), and compares short-term (2-month) versus long-term (12-year) released sediment volumes using a downstream reservoir that acted as a sediment trap. The CEM of Doyle et al. (2003) calls upon six stages (stage A-F) in the restoration of quasi-equilibrium conditions following a dam removal. This study confirmed the model's validity but proposes several significant changes: (1) a new stage A2 represents pre-dam failure sediment erosion including channeling and longitudinal scours in the reservoir sediments; (2) an extensively modified stage B represents development of an early-breach drainage network that cross-cut earlier features; and (3) an extensively modified stage E represents lateral channel migration and incision, resulting in channel backfilling (terraces and point bars). The 12-year study shows that respective stages lasted from minutes (stage B), to days (stage C), to 2–3 months (stages D and E), to 3–5 years (stage F). Failure of IVEX dam had significant impacts on the downstream reservoir. For the 2-month interval following failure, sedimentation rates increased about three orders of magnitude, and the volume of trapped sediment approximately doubled. However, over the subsequent decade this initial sediment flush was only about one-third of the decadal sediment loading, illustrating the importance of long-term downstream migration of the coarse-grained sediment fraction stored in the reservoir.
Detecting Profile Injection Attacks in Collaborative Recommender Systems

Collaborative recommender systems are known to be highly vulnerable to profile injection attacks, attacks that involve the insertion of biased profiles into the ratings database for the purpose of altering the systems recommendation behavior. In prior work, we and others have identified a number of models for such attacks and shown their effectiveness. This paper describes a classification approach to the problem of detecting and responding to profile injection attacks. This technique significantly reduces the effectiveness of the most powerful attack models previously studied.
Forensic DNA Analysis on Microfluidic Devices: A Review

The advent of microfluidic technology for genetic analysis has begun to impact forensic science. Recent advances in microfluidic separation of short-tandem-repeat (STR) fragments has provided unprecedented potential for improving speed and efficiency of DNA typing. In addi- tion, the analytical processes associated with sample preparation--which include cell sorting, DNA extraction, DNA quantitation, and DNA amplifica- tion--can all be integrated with the STR separation in a seamless manner. The current state of these microfluidic methods as well as their advantages and potential shortcomings are detailed. Recent advances in microfluidic device technology, as they pertain to forensic DNA typing, are discussed with a focus on the forensic community.
Recidivism in Released Lifestyle Change Program Participants

A group of 291 released inmates who completed one or more levels of the Lifestyle Change Program (LCP) were significantly less likely to be arrested or incarcerated during the follow-up than a grou...
Engineering Exchange Coupling in Double Elliptic Quantum Dots

Coupled elliptic quantum dots with different aspect ratios containing up to two electrons are studied using a model confinement potential in the presence of magnetic fields. Single and two-particle Schrodinger equations are solved using numerical exact diagonalization to obtain the exchange energy and chemical potentials. As the ratio between the confinement strengths in directions perpendicular and parallel to the coupling direction of the double dots increases, the exchange energy at zero magnetic field increases, while the magnetic field of the singlet-triplet transition decreases. By investigating the charge stability diagram, we find interdot quantum mechanical coupling increases with the dot aspect ratio, whereas the electrostatic coupling between the two dots remains nearly constant. With increasing interdot detuning, the absolute value of the exchange energy increases superlinearly followed by saturation. This behavior is attributed to the electron density differences between the singlet and triplet states in the asymmetric QD systems
Treating Depression and Oppositional Behavior in Adolescents

Adolescents with depression and high levels of oppositionality often are particularly difficult to treat. Few studies, however, have examined treatment outcomes among youth with both externalizing and internalizing problems. This study examines the effect of fluoxetine, cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), the combination of fluoxetine and CBT, and placebo on co-occurring oppositionality within a sample of depressed adolescents. All treatments resulted in decreased oppositionality at 12 weeks. Adolescents receiving fluoxetine, either alone or in combination with CBT, experienced greater reductions in oppositionality than adolescents not receiving antidepressant medication. These results suggest that treatments designed to alleviate depression can reduce oppositionality among youth with a primary diagnosis of depression.
A generalization of the residence time concept

An abstraction and generalization of the residence time distribution function method of analysis of distributed property reactor systems is developed for the special cases of well-mixed and fixed residence time reactors. By defining a generalized describing variable and applying a conservation law, the event space distribution function method is developed. With this method it is possible to formulate and solve reactor problems that are beyond the scope of the residence time distribution method. The residence time method is shown to be a special case of the event space method. Several applications of the method are presented. Une nouvelle methode d'analyse des reacteurs dite “methode de la fonction de repartition de l'ensemble des evenements aleatoires” est developpee. Cette methode provient de la combinaison d'un principe de conservation approprie avec une variable caracteristique du systeme sous etude plutǒt que de l'emploi de la duree de sejour. II est demontre que la nouvelle methode constitue une generalisation de la methode habituelle faisant appel a la fonction de repartition de la duree de sejour et qu'elle permet la solution de problemes debordant les limites d'application de celle-ci. Plusieurs exemples d'application sont donnes.
Can Quality-Adjusted Life-Years and Subgroups Help Us Decide Whether to Treat Late-Arriving Stroke Patients With Tissue Plasminogen Activator?

The amount of brain saved by recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) is thought to increase with the size of the stroke and decrease with the time between symptom onset and drug administration. Meanwhile, the risk of death or disability caused by intracranial hemorrhage may increase with both stroke size and time. These tradeoffs underlie the question faced by clinicians as they treat stroke patients who, as most do, arrive too late for treatment within the 3-hour window: Do the diminishing benefits of rtPA outweigh the increasing risks? The ECASS-III trial (European Cooperative Acute Stroke Study) concluded that rtPA is beneficial in a highly selected population of late-arriving stroke patients. A subsequent reanalysis of those data concluded that the benefit is consistent across population subgroups. A cost-effectiveness analysis of the ECASS-III results concluded that rtPA is cost-effective in the overall study population. In this newest permutation, subgroups and cost-effectiveness are combined: Boudreau et al asked whether rtPA appears to be cost-effective when the ECASS-III data are chopped into subgroups and then reassembled by applying the subgroup data to a simulated population of stroke patients. The Boudreau article addresses several timely topics. But does it help us understand whether to use rtPA in stroke patients who would receive it 3 to 4.5 hours after the onset of symptoms? A therapy can be cost-effective only if it is effective; with the caveat that efficacy in clinical trials does not prove actual effectiveness, we therefore start with an overview of the efficacy data. There have been 4 randomized controlled trials of rtPA therapy in stroke that focused on patients in the 3to 4.5-hour window. The most consistent finding is that rtPA substantially increases the risk of intracranial hemorrhage. Results are inconclusive about 90-day mortality—no study was powered to detect a mortality difference, and the 95% confidence intervals even for the pooled results are so wide (odds ratio 0.75 to 1.43) that a meaningful effect (as high as a few percentage points s
‘A white guy who doesn’t get it, or does he?’: a multilayered analysis of one activist’s effort to build coalitions across race

This ethnographic study uses discourse analysis to examine how one White college‐educated activist worked in coalition with other White and African American activists to create a ‘Community Learning Center’ for African American residents of a low‐income housing project. Dissatisfied with Whiteness theories that mark White activists as privileged and therefore failed or successful in their coalition efforts, this paper applies a multilayered analysis of Whiteness and coalition‐building. By juxtaposing two different readings (coalition and Whiteness) of the same transcript, the paper works outside the binary of success and failure to discuss educative moments that emerge when activists talk across difference and debrief their efforts to reconstitute what is coalition‐building.
Primitive Capabilities for Visual Perception

Visual perception is a phenomenon that has puzzled computational scientists for a long time now. Core mnemonics are needed to emulate human cognitive behavior. Mnemonics for aural perception have been developed and designed by the authors. These are used for formulating primitive natural language constructs and for automated musical compositions. We now propose and define fundamental mnemonics that form the basis for Visual Perception. These are a) Present, b) Aligned, c) Rotation, d) Link, and e) Combination, and f) Composition. We present our theory using points and linear arrangements.
Up-regulation of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase activity following glutathione depletion has a compensatory rather than an inhibitory effect on mitochondrial complex I activity: Implications for Parkinson’s disease

Up-regulation of activity of γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) has been reported to occur in the Parkinsonian substantia nigra, the area of the brain affected by the disease. Increased GGT activity has been hypothesized to play a role in subsequent mitochondrial complex I (CI) inhibition by increasing cysteine as substrate for cellular uptake. Intracellular cysteine has been proposed to form toxic adducts with dopamine which can be metabolized to compounds which inhibit CI activity. We have demonstrated that in addition to CI inhibition, GGT activity is up-regulated in dopaminergic cells as a consequence of glutathione depletion. Inhibition of GGT rather than resulting in increased CI inhibition results in exacerbation of this inhibitory effect. This suggests that increased GGT activity is likely an adaptive response to the loss of glutathione to conserve intracellular glutathione content and results in a compensatory effect on CI activity rather than in its inhibition as has been previously widely hypothesized.
Process and device simulation at Harris Semiconductor

The state of the art in the field of process and device simulation at Harris Semiconductor, universities, and vendors is reviewed. Particular emphasis is on interrelationships between these groups and between the supporters of the simulation tools at Harris and Harris process/device designers. Simulation of one of the advanced processes is discussed in detail to show how important simulation has become to process development and to illustrate many of the points discussed. Availability of the source code to the companies has allowed Harris programmers to make several incremental improvements at user's request in the time needed. Some of these enhancements are also discussed. >
ReDABLS: Revisiting Device Attestation with Bounded Leakage of Secrets

Many commodity operating systems and applications become infested with malicious software over time, primarily due to exploits that take advantage of software flaws and operator errors. In this paper, we present the salient features of a system design which allows remote-device authentication by a verifier, reaching malware-free memory states, and trusted application booting in the presence of malicious software that is controlled by a network adversary. Our system design revisits the notion of device attestation with bounded leakage of secrets (DABLS), and illustrates both the significant challenges of making it work in practice and how to overcome them.
A framework for uplink power control in cellular radio systems

In cellular wireless communication systems, transmitted power is regulated to provide each user an acceptable connection by limiting the interference caused by other users. Several models have been considered including: (1) fixed base station assignment where the assignment of users to base stations is fixed, (2) minimum power assignment where a user is iteratively assigned to the base station at which its signal to interference ratio is highest, and (3) diversity reception where a user's signal is combined from several or perhaps all base stations. For the above models, the uplink power control problem can be reduced to finding a vector p of users' transmitter powers satisfying p/spl ges/I(p) where the jth constraint p/sub j//spl ges/I/sub j/(p) describes the interference that user j must overcome to achieve an acceptable connection. This work unifies results found for these systems by identifying common properties of the interference constraints. It is also shown that systems in which transmitter powers are subject to maximum power limitations share these common properties. These properties permit a general proof of the synchronous and totally asynchronous convergence of the iteration p(t+1)=I(p(t)) to a unique fixed point at which total transmitted power is minimized. >
Suppressing latchup in insulated gate transistors

Two-dimensional computer modeling of insulated gate transistor (IGT) structures has been used to demonstrate the suppression of latchup in the parasitic thyristor by increasing the p-base conductivity using a deep p+ diffusion in the device cells. Experimental verification of these modeling results has been performed with thyristor latching current density of over 1000 A per cm2achieved in 600-V devices at room temperature.
Robust isothermal electric control of exchange bias at room temperature

Voltage-controlled spin electronics is crucial for continued progress in information technology. It aims at reduced power consumption, increased integration density and enhanced functionality where non-volatile memory is combined with high-speed logical processing. Promising spintronic device concepts use the electric control of interface and surface magnetization. From the combination of magnetometry, spin-polarized photoemission spectroscopy, symmetry arguments and first-principles calculations, we show that the (0001) surface of magnetoelectric Cr(2)O(3) has a roughness-insensitive, electrically switchable magnetization. Using a ferromagnetic Pd/Co multilayer deposited on the (0001) surface of a Cr(2)O(3) single crystal, we achieve reversible, room-temperature isothermal switching of the exchange-bias field between positive and negative values by reversing the electric field while maintaining a permanent magnetic field. This effect reflects the switching of the bulk antiferromagnetic domain state and the interface magnetization coupled to it. The switchable exchange bias sets in exactly at the bulk Neel temperature.
Surface-Enhanced Raman Vapor Dosimeter

This paper describes a new direct-reading personal dosimeter designed to detect vapors of organic chemicals. The device employs the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) technique for direct measurement of the amount of analyte collected on the dosimeter, requiring no sample desorption or wet-chemical extraction procedure. The time-weighted average exposure to the chemical vapors can be determined on the dosimeter substrate. The results with benzoic acid used as the model compound illustrate the usefulness of this SERS-based dosimeter.
Effects of Surface Wax Variation in Pisum sativum on Herbivorous and Entomophagous Insects in the Field

Seven accessions or varieties of cultivated pea Pisum sativum L. varying in surface waxbloom characteristics were grown in replicated small plots (1 m2) for two seasons to monitor natural infestations of insect herbivores and abundance of predatory insects. Waxbloom was quantified on the basis of the amount of waxes extractable from leaf surfaces, densities of wax crystals visible with scanning electron microscopy, and visual appearance. During each season, pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) (Homoptera: Aphidae), densities per plant were significantly lower on peas with reduced surface waxbloom as compared with peas with standard or ‘normal’ surface waxbloom. This difference was greatest between two near-isolines of peas differing in expression of a mutation that reduces surface waxes. Although reduced-waxbloom plants had lower end-of-season above ground biomass and vine lengths, including these variables as covariates did not affect the significance of the waxbloom effects on aphid densities. Damage to leaves and stipules by the pea leaf weevil Sitona lineatus (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) was greater on reduced-waxbloom peas than normal-waxbloom peas. Thus, as occurs in other crops, reduced waxbloom in peas is associated with lower natural infestations of an aphid, but also with increased susceptibility to a folivorous beetle. Populations of predatory coccinellids did not differ consistently between years on reduced-waxbloom versus normal-waxbloom peas, failing to support a hypothesis that predator populations are higher on reduced waxbloom peas, contributing to the lower aphid populations on these plants.
Gender, Race, and Health Insurance Status in Patients Undergoing Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation.

Catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF) has emerged as a popular procedure. The purpose of this study was to examine whether there exist differences or disparities in ablation utilization across gender, socioeconomic class, insurance, or race. Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (2000 to 2012), we identified adults hospitalized with a principal diagnosis of AF by ICD 9 code 427.31 who had catheter ablation (ICD 9 code–37.34). We stratified patients by race, insurance status, age, gender, and hospital characteristics. A hierarchical multivariate mixed-effect model was created to identify the independent predictors of AF ablation. Among an estimated total of 3,508,122 patients (extrapolated from 20% Nationwide Inpatient Sample) hospitalized with a diagnosis of AF in the United States from the year 2000 to 2012, 102,469 patients (2.9%) underwent catheter ablations. The number of ablations was increased by 940%, from 1,439 in 2000 to 15,090 in 2012. There were significant differences according to gender, race, and health insurance status, which persisted even after adjustment for other risk factors. Female gender (0.83 [95% CI 0.79 to 0.87; p
Abstract 1230: Nicotine induces expression of integrin-linked kinase in human lung carcinoma cells through A7 nAChR-mediated inhibition of AP-2A

Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC We previously demonstrated that nicotine stimulates non small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) cell proliferation through nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR)-mediated induction of fibronectin expression. However, the mechanisms by which this agent affects human lung cancer occurrence and progression remain incompletely elucidated. Here, we show that nicotine increases the expression of integrin-linked kinase (ILK), a unique intracellular adaptor and kinase that has been implicated in the regulation of cancer cell growth/survival. This effect was blocked by the α7 nAChR antagonist, α-bungarotoxin, and by α7 nAChR siRNA. Silencing of ILK blocked the stimulatory effect of nicotine on phosphorylation of the PI3-K downstream target Akt and on cell growth. Furthermore, nicotine increased ILK gene promoter activity through inhibition of transcription factor AP-2α protein expression. Silencing of AP-2α enhanced, while exogenous expression of AP-2α attenuated, the stimulatory effect of nicotine on ILK expression. These findings appear to be relevant in vivo since we found that nicotine treatment increased tumor growth in animal models. Collectively, our results demonstrate that nicotine increases ILK gene expression through α7 nAChR-mediated inhibition of AP-2α followed by stimulation of PI3-K/Akt signaling. In turn, this leads to increased NSCLC cell growth. This study unveils a novel mechanism by which nicotine promotes human lung carcinoma cell growth/survival. 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 1230.