Export Control Proliferation: The Effects of United States Governmental Export Control Regulations on Small Businesses—Requisite Market Share Loss; A Remodeling Approach

Made in the USA. This phrase, stamped on the bottom of many domestic items, is becoming increasingly difficult to find abroad. The United States government, of course, regulates almost every good manufactured in America. The obvious federal regulations encompass topics such as, but not limited to, consumer safety, durability, and warranty. However, perhaps the most important of these regulations are those aimed at national security. Federal regulations concerning national security is the junction at which export controls come into play. The central goal of export controls in the United States, and globally, is to promote security. The main issue this raises for businesses–especially smaller manufacturing businesses–is that, in the process of compliance with national security protocols, business productivity may be adversely affecte

Export Control Proliferation: The Effects of United States Governmental Export Control Regulations on Small Businesses—Requisite Market Share Loss; A Remodeling Approach

Made in the USA. This phrase, stamped on the bottom of many domestic items, is becoming increasingly difficult to find abroad. The United States government, of course, regulates almost every good manufactured in America. The obvious federal regulations encompass topics such as, but not limited to, consumer safety, durability, and warranty. However, perhaps the most important of these regulations are those aimed at national security. Federal regulations concerning national security is the junction at which export controls come into play. The central goal of export controls in the United States, and globally, is to promote security. The main issue this raises for businesses–especially smaller manufacturing businesses–is that, in the process of compliance with national security protocols, business productivity may be adversely affecte

Bacterial Vaginosis Associated with Increased Risk of Female-to-Male HIV-1 Transmission: A Prospective Cohort Analysis among African Couples

In a prospective study, Craig Cohen and colleagues investigate the association between bacterial vaginosis and the risk of female-to-male HIV-1 transmission

The Grizzly, November 11, 2004

USGA Passes Sigma Pi • Two Students Wear Questionable Costumes • Lonnie Graham is the Spark • Ursinus Proposes Possible Plans for Honor Code • The Benefits for a Professor on Sabbatical • Effects of Election Still Resonate in Ursinus Community • Do Ursinus Students Make use of Proximity to Philadelphia? • Opinions: Is Online Dating a Safe Alternative for Meeting People or a Risky Plea of Desperation?; All is not Lost for Liberals • Field Hockey Team Wins Centennial Conference Title • It\u27s All Over for Three Women Soccer Players • The Collegeville Cursehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1571/thumbnail.jp

Accrual of Older Patients With Breast Cancer to Alliance Systemic Therapy Trials Over Time: Protocol A151527

Despite increasing awareness of accrual challenges, it is unknown if accrual of older patients to breast cancer treatment trials is improving

Quantum phase transitions of light

Recently, condensed matter and atomic experiments have reached a length-scale and temperature regime where new quantum collective phenomena emerge. Finding such physics in systems of photons, however, is problematic, as photons typically do not interact with each other and can be created or destroyed at will. Here, we introduce a physical system of photons that exhibits strongly correlated dynamics on a meso-scale. By adding photons to a two-dimensional array of coupled optical cavities each containing a single two-level atom in the photon-blockade regime, we form dressed states, or polaritons, that are both long-lived and strongly interacting. Our zero temperature results predict that this photonic system will undergo a characteristic Mott insulator (excitations localised on each site) to superfluid (excitations delocalised across the lattice) quantum phase transition. Each cavity's impressive photon out-coupling potential may lead to actual devices based on these quantum many-body effects, as well as observable, tunable quantum simulators. We explicitly show that such phenomena may be observable in micro-machined diamond containing nitrogen-vacancy colour centres and superconducting microwave strip-line resonators.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures (2 in colour

Blinatumomab consolidation post-autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Outcomes in patients with relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who undergo autologous stem cell transplant (auto-SCT) are poor. Blinatumomab is a CD3/CD19 bispecific T-cell engager that directs cytotoxic T cells to CD19+ cells. Here, we performed a pilot study of blinatumomab consolidation after auto-SCT for 14 patients with DLBCL or transformed follicular lymphoma. All patients underwent standard-of-care auto-SCT with carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, and melphalan (BEAM) conditioning followed by 1 cycle (4 weeks continuous infusion) of blinatumomab consolidation starting at day 42 after auto-SCT. All 14 patients treated on study completed BEAM auto-SCT and 1 cycle of posttransplant blinatumomab. Five patients developed grade 1 cytokine release syndrome (CRS), with no grade 2 or higher CRS. Immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome was not observed. Patients were followed up for 3 years after auto-SCT, with median follow-up of 37 (range, 12-65) months. One-hundred days after auto-SCT (1 month after blinatumomab consolidation), 12 patients (86%) had achieved complete remission. At 1 year after auto-SCT, 7 patients (50%) remained in CR, and 1 patient had died of progressive disease. Patients who relapsed had a lower CD8:CD4 T-cell ratio before starting blinatumomab than patients who remained in remission. This pilot study demonstrates blinatumomab consolidation after auto-SCT is safe and well tolerated. Strategies to increase the CD8:CD4 ratio and use additional cycles of consolidation in a larger randomized trial are needed to confirm the efficacy of consolidation with blinatumomab after auto-SCT. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT03072771

Intracranial aneurysms in sickle cell disease are associated with hemodynamic stress and anemia

Although hemodynamic stress plays a key role in aneurysm formation outside of sickle cell disease (SCD), its role is understudied in patients with SCD. We hypothesized that tissue-based markers of hemodynamic stress are associated with aneurysm presence in a prospective SCD cohort. Children and adults with SCD, with and without aneurysms, underwent longitudinal brain magnetic resonance imaging/magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) to assess cerebral blood flow (CBF) and oxygen extraction fraction (OEF). Baseline characteristics were recorded. In the subgroup of adults, stepwise mixed-effect logistic regression examined clinical variables, CBF, and OEF as predictors of aneurysm presence. Cumulative rates of new aneurysm formation were estimated using Kaplan-Meier analyses. Forty-three aneurysms were found in 27 of 155 patients (17%). Most aneurysms were ≤3 mm and in the intracranial internal carotid artery. On univariate analysis, older age (P = .07), lower hemoglobin (P = .002), higher CBF (P = .03), and higher OEF (P = .02) were associated with aneurysm presence. On multivariable analysis, age and CBF remained independently associated with aneurysm presence. Seventy-six patients (49% of enrollment) received follow-up MRAs (median, 3.5 years). No aneurysm grew or ruptured, however, 7 new aneurysms developed in 6 patients. The 3-year cumulative rate of aneurysm formation was 3.5%. In 155 patients with SCD, 17% had intracranial aneurysms. Three-year aneurysm formation rate was 3.5%, although limited by small longitudinal sample size and short follow-up duration. Aneurysm presence was associated with elevated CBF in adults, as a tissue-based marker of cerebral hemodynamic stress. Future studies may examine the predictive role of CBF in aneurysm development in SCD

Determining Effective Methadone Doses for Individual Opioid-Dependent Patients

BACKGROUND: Randomized clinical trials of methadone maintenance have found that on average high daily doses are more effective for reducing heroin use, and clinical practice guidelines recommend 60 mg/d as a minimum dosage. Nevertheless, many clinicians report that some patients can be stably maintained on lower methadone dosages to optimal effect, and clinic dosing practices vary substantially. Studies of individual responses to methadone treatment may be more easily translated into clinical practice. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A volunteer sample of 222 opioid-dependent US veterans initiating methadone treatment was prospectively observed over the year after treatment entry. In the 168 who achieved at least 1 mo of heroin abstinence, methadone dosages on which patients maintained heroin-free urine samples ranged from 1.5 mg to 191.2 mg (median = 69 mg). Among patients who achieved heroin abstinence, higher methadone dosages were predicted by having a diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder or depression, having a greater number of previous opioid detoxifications, living in a region with lower average heroin purity, attending a clinic where counselors discourage dosage reductions, and staying in treatment longer. These factors predicted 42% of the variance in dosage associated with heroin abstinence. CONCLUSIONS: Effective and ineffective methadone dosages overlap substantially. Dosing guidelines should focus more heavily on appropriate processes of dosage determination rather than solely specifying recommended dosages. To optimize therapy, methadone dosages must be titrated until heroin abstinence is achieved