cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A synthesis of disaster resilience measurement methods and indices

Abstract Disaster resilience has become an important societal goal which captures the attention of academics and decision makers from various disciplines and sectors. Developing tools or metrics for measuring and monitoring progress of resilience is a critical component that requires extensive research to achieve better understanding. However, different fields have different emphases and the knowledge gained from the various studies are scattered and fragmented. To provide an integration of the literature and reflect on the current state of resilience measurement, we conducted a synthesis analysis through a systematic review of 174 scholarly articles on disaster resilience measurement from 2005 to 2017. Using a review table designed for this study and content analysis, we extracted key information from each article on resilience definition, type of measurement method, resilience indicators used, and proposed adaptation strategies. Results indicate that 39.7% of the articles used qualitative methods for resilience measurement and 39.1% of the articles used quantitative methods. However, only 10.3% of all the 174 articles conducted empirical validation of their proposed resilience indices. The three most frequently suggested adaptation strategies were empowering local governments and leaders, raising community awareness, and enhancing community infrastructure and communication. These findings suggest that future research need to incorporate validation and inferential ability into resilience measurement. Extending from static resilience measurement to dynamic system modeling and bridging the disconnection between resilience scientific research and practical actions are also pressing needs.
Increasing Schedule Predictability in Hourly Jobs: Results From a Randomized Experiment in a U.S. Retail Firm:

For hourly workers, schedule predictability often depends on how far in advance schedules are posted. This article presents results from a process evaluation of an intervention to increase advance ...
Cancer-Related Risk Perceptions and Beliefs in Texas: Findings from a 2018 Population-Level Survey

Background: Cancer beliefs and perceptions of cancer risk affect the cancer continuum. Identifying underlying factors associated with these beliefs and perceptions in Texas can help inform and target prevention efforts. Methods: We developed a cancer-focused questionnaire and administered it online to a nonprobability sample of the Texas population. Weighted multivariable logistic regression analysis identified key factors associated with perceptions and beliefs about cancer. Results: The study population comprised 2,034 respondents (median age, 44.4 years) of diverse ethnicity: 45.5% were non-Hispanic white, 10.6% non-Hispanic black, and 35.7% Hispanic. Self-reported depression was significantly associated with cancer risk perceptions and cancer beliefs. Those indicating frequent and infrequent depression versus no depression were more likely to believe that: (i) compared to other people their age, they were more likely to get cancer in their lifetime [OR, 2.92; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.95–4.39 and OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.17–2.74, respectively]; and (ii) when they think about cancer, they automatically think about death (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.56–2.69 and OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.11–1.92, respectively). Frequent depression versus no depression was also associated with agreement that (i) it seems like everything causes cancer (OR, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.26–2.22) and (ii) there is not much one can do to lower one9s chance of getting cancer (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.09–1.89). Other predictors for perceived cancer risk and/or cancer beliefs were sex, age, ethnicity/race, being born in the United States, marital status, income, body mass index, and smoking. Conclusions: Depression and other predictors are associated with cancer risk perceptions and beliefs in Texas. Impact: Increased attention to reducing depression may improve cancer risk perceptions and beliefs.
Memory response and neuroimaging correlates of a novel cognitive rehabilitation program for memory problems in epilepsy: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND Memory deficits are very common in epilepsy, but no standard of care exists to effectively manage them. OBJECTIVE We assessed effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation (CR) on memory and neural plasticity in people with epilepsy (PWE) reporting memory impairments. METHODS Nine PWE completed 6 weekly sessions adapted from 2 generic CR programs enriched with information regarding epilepsy. Participants completed neuropsychological, mood, and quality of life (QOLIE-31) measures prior and after completion of CR; 5/9 participants also completed pre- and post-CR fMRI while performing a verbal paired associates learning task. FMRI data were analyzed using group spatial independent components analysis methods; paired t-tests compared spatial activations for pre-/post-CR. RESULTS Improvements were seen in immediate recall in Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Task, QOLIE-31, and read word recognition in paired associates task (all p's≤0.05). FMRI changes comparing pre-to-post CR were noted through increased activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and anterior cingulate and decreased activation in the left superior temporal gyrus; also noted were decreased activations in the default mode network (DMN), right cingulate, right middle temporal gyrus, right supramarginal gyrus, and increased DMN activation in the left cuneus. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates feasibility of conducting CR program in PWE with fMRI as a mechanistic biomarker. Improvements in cognition and cortical plasticity await confirmation in larger samples.
Predictors and Incidence of Atrial Flutter After Catheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial flutter (AFL) is a common form of arrhythmia recurrence after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. We aimed to define (1) the incidence of AFL and (2) the clinical factors associated with cavo-tricuspid isthmus dependent (typical) and atypical AFL, after AF ablation. The retrospective cohort consisted of 1,029 patients that underwent initial radiofrequency AF ablation from May 2005 to December 2013 at a single academic center. Patients with missing follow-up data, history of AFL ablation, and those with undocumented AFL were excluded. Atrial volumes were measured using three-dimensional cardiac computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. A total of 607 patients were included in the final cohort (age 59.2 ± 10.6 years, 76.0% men, 58.7% paroxysmal AF). During a median follow-up of 845 days (interquartile range 389 to 1,597 days), 122 (20.1%) patients developed AFL. Of these, 17 had typical AFL, 98 had atypical AFL, and 7 patients had both circuits. In the multivariable Cox regression analysis, only right atrial volume index (hazard ratio [HR] 1.25 per 10 ml/m2, confidence interval [CI] 95% 1.10 to 1.42) was associated with incident typical AFL; whereas persistent AF (HR 1.59, CI 95% 1.06 to 2.40), linear lesions (HR 1.58, CI 95% 1.02 to 2.46) and left atrial volume index (HR 1.17 per 10 ml/m2, CI 95% 1.07 to 1.27) were associated with incident atypical AFL. In conclusion, noninvasive measures of right and left atrial remodeling are strongly associated with incident AFL after AF ablation. Strategies to prevent incident AFL using these measures after index ablation warrant further investigation.
Patient-Reported Knee Outcome Scores With Soft Tissue Quadriceps Tendon Autograft Are Similar to Bone–Patellar Tendon–Bone Autograft at Minimum 2-Year Follow-up: A Retrospective Single-Center Cohort Study in Primary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Surgery:

Background:Quadriceps tendon (QT)–bone autografts used during anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction have provided comparable outcomes and decreased donor-site morbidity when compared with...
The Arab Winter: Democratic Consolidation, Civil War, and Radical Islamists

In 2011, the world watched as dictators across the Arab world were toppled from power. In Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq, ordinary Arab citizens mobilized across the region during the Arab Spring to reinvent the autocratic Arab world into one characterized by democracy, dignity, socioeconomic justice, and inviolable human rights. This unique comparative analysis of countries before, during and after the Arab Spring seeks to explain the divergent outcomes, disappointing and even harrowing results of efforts to overcome democratic consolidation challenges, from the tentative democracy in Tunisia to the emergence of the Islamic State, and civil war and authoritarian retrenchment everywhere else. Tracing the period of the Arab Spring from its background in long-term challenges to autocratic regimes, to the mass uprisings, authoritarian breakdown, and the future projections and requirements for a democratizing conclusion, Stephen J. King establishes a broad but focused history which refines the leading theory of democratization in comparative politics, and realigns the narrative of Arab Spring history by bringing its differing results to the fore.
Stereoisomer specific reaction of hexabromocyclododecane with Fe(II) associated with iron oxides

The reactions of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) isomers with Fe(ii) associated with iron oxides were performed in a pH range from 6.15 to 7.50 at room temperature. It was observed that Fe(ii) associated with iron oxides (i.e., goethite, magnetite, hematite) is a better reductant than just an aqueous solution of Fe(ii) to potentially reduce HBCD in subsurface environments. The reaction of HBCD with Fe(ii) associated with iron oxides is also stereoisomer specific with α-HBCD reacting much slower than β-HBCD and γ-HBCD. The reaction is pH dependent and it is faster with increased pH. The initial concentration of Fe(ii) and HBCD can also affect the reaction rate. The reaction is negligible when all the Fe(ii) is sorbed to magnetite and no Fe(ii) remains dissolved. It was also observed that the reaction of 100 nM HBCD is slower than the reaction of 1.0 μM HBCD with Fe(ii) associated with magnetite. In addition, natural organic matter (NOM) was found to inhibit the degradation of HBCD by Fe(ii) associated with iron oxides.
Using Close-Range Photogrammetry to Measure Pavement Texture Characteristics and Predict Pavement Friction:

Pavement friction measurements are collected and used to assess the functional characteristics of pavements to ensure an adequate level of friction. There are several factors that affect pavement f...
Five different solutions to mitigate overprescribing opioid medications

Purpose The University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine took 5 distinct actions to mitigate the amount of opioids prescribed at the dental school between the years 2016-2020. Methods This retrospective study evaluated a comprehensive 5-step quality improvement strategy which was implemented to decrease opioid prescribing. a) development of a Dental Pain Management Protocol, b) implementation of the protocol with pre-doctoral students, c) incorporating the results of a Master's project that determined the actual postoperative pain after periodontal/oral surgical procedures, d) development of a favorite electronic prescription list, and e) creation of patient instructions to allow for information on nonopioid analgesic use after dental procedures to be disseminated to the patient. Results There was a significant decrease (P = 0.05) in the opioid prescribing trend with the implementation of these 5 actions, resulting in an overall 68.8% decrease for prescription writing of opioids and a 78.6% decrease of opioid pills over this 3 year period. Conclusion Simple guidelines and protocols resulted in a drastic decrease in opioid prescribing, with limited negative feedback from faculty and patients.
Positive Organizational Politics: A Grounded Theory Study

When presented with the term “organizational politics,” most people immediately think of a negative connotation. However, some scholars believe that organizational politics can have a positive impact in the workplace. Positive organizational politics is a relatively underdeveloped field when compared to research on the negative aspects of workplace politics. Using Grounded Theory methodology, we present a model of positive workplace politics that illuminates the features of political behaviors that can be seen as positive. The primary construct that influenced perception was the number of beneficiaries. If a group benefited, the action is most likely perceived in a positive light whereas if an individual benefited, the action is most likely perceived negatively. Anomalies noted during our research led to the discovery that transparency and emotional intelligence moderate positive perception. The relationship between number of beneficiaries and perceptions of positivity is weakened when the process is hidden as opposed to transparent. Actors use various skill sets including emotional intelligence and political skill to achieve positive outcomes for an organization. We also found that higher quality results can be achieved more quickly when the actor has high political skill and social capital.
Nusinersen treatment of older children and adults with spinal muscular atrophy.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine how effective administration of nusinersen was at improving motor function in older adolescent and adult patients with spinal muscular atrophy, using standardized motor outcome measures. Data were gathered through a retrospective chart review of older spinal muscular atrophy patients (ages 5–58) being treated at Rady Children's Hospital and the University of California, San Diego with nusinersen from April 2017-June 2019. Linear mixed effects analyses found that, for older children and adult patients with SMA 1, 2, and 3, motor scores as measured by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Infant Test of Neuromuscular Disorders for non-sitters improved by 6 points (p = .01) and the Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination-2 by 2.6% (p = .008) over the 22-month study period. Over the same period, sitters improved on the Revised Upper Limb Module by 4.4 points (p = .02) and on the Hammersmith Functional Motor Scale-Expanded by 3.3% (p = .00005) post treatment with nusinersen. Older spinal muscular atrophy patients (5–58 years) being treated with nusinersen at our institutions are improving. Not only have symptoms stabilized, but their motor function has shown incremental improvements. Based on the results of this study, we suggested that nusinersen is well-tolerated and efficacious when treating older children and adult patients with spinal muscular atrophy 1, 2, and 3.
Federal Leadership Perspectives on the Early Years of Special Education

This article is part of a case study of federal leadership in special education from the perspective of those who served in the roles of Assistant Secretaries of Office of Special Education and Reh...
The modified US heart allocation system improves transplant rates and decreases status upgrade utilization for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND On October 18, 2018, the US heart allocation policy was restructured to improve transplant waitlist outcomes. Previously, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients experienced significant waitlist mortality and functional decline, often requiring status exemptions to be transplanted. This study aims to examine changes in waitlist mortality and transplant rates of HCM patients in the new system. METHODS Retrospective analysis was performed of the United Network for Organ Sharing Transplant Database for all isolated adult single-organ first-time heart transplant patients with HCM listed between October 17, 2013 and September 4, 2020. Patients were divided by listing date into eras based on allocation system. Era 1 spanned October 17, 2013 to October 17th, 2018 and Era 2 spanned October 18th, 2018 to September 4, 2020. RESULTS During the study period, 436 and 212 HCM patients were listed in Eras 1 and 2, respectively. Across eras, no differences in gender, ethnicity, BMI or functional status were noted (p>0.05). LVAD utilization remained low (Era 1: 3.7% vs Era 2: 3.3%, p = 0.297). Status upgrades decreased from 49.1% to 31.6% across eras (p = 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in waitlist mortality across eras (p = 0.332). Transplant rates were improved in Era 2 (p = 0.005). Waitlist time among transplanted patients decreased in Era 2 from 97.1 to 63.9 days (p<0.001). There was no difference in one-year survival post-transplant (p = 0.602). CONCLUSIONS The new allocation system has significantly increased transplant rates, shortened waitlist times, and decreased status upgrade utilization for HCM patients. Moreover, waitlist mortality remained unchanged in the new system.
Deflection-based Attack Detection for Network Systems

This paper considers a deflection-based detector for random attacks compromising the inputs of a network system, using measurements from nodes non-collocated with the input nodes. We derive the decision rule of our deflection-based detector, and characterize its performance as a function of the edge weights, attack and noise statistics, and the locations of input and output nodes. In the asymptotic measurement regime, we show that the detector's performance is governed by the singular values of the system's transfer function matrix. Finally, for a given input and output node locations, we numerically solve an optimization problem to find the optimal network edge weights that maximize the detector's performance. Numerical examples are presented to validate the theoretical results.
The Landscape of Regulatory Noncoding RNAs in Ewing’s Sarcoma

Ewing's sarcoma (ES) is a pediatric sarcoma caused by a chromosomal translocation. Unlike in most cancers, the genomes of ES patients are very stable. The translocation product of the EWS-FLI1 fusion is most often the predominant genetic driver of oncogenesis, and it is pertinent to explore the role of epigenetic alterations in the onset and progression of ES. Several types of noncoding RNAs, primarily microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs, are key epigenetic regulators that have been shown to play critical roles in various cancers. The functions of these epigenetic regulators are just beginning to be appreciated in ES. Here, we performed a comprehensive literature review to identify these noncoding RNAs. We identified clinically relevant tumor suppressor microRNAs, tumor promoter microRNAs and long noncoding RNAs. We then explored the known interplay between different classes of noncoding RNAs and described the currently unmet need for expanding the noncoding RNA repertoire of ES. We concluded the review with a discussion of epigenetic regulation of ES via regulatory noncoding RNAs. These noncoding RNAs provide new avenues of exploration to develop better therapeutics and identify novel biomarkers.
DroneKey: A Drone-Aided Group-Key Generation Scheme for Large-Scale IoT Networks

The Internet of Things (IoT) networks are finding massive applications in mission-critical contexts. A group key is needed to encrypt and authenticate broadcast/multicast messages commonly seen in large-scale wireless networks. In this paper, we propose DroneKey, a novel drone-aided PHY-based Group-Key Generation (GKG) scheme for large-scale IoT networks. In DroneKey, a drone is dispatched to fly along random 3D trajectories and keep broadcasting standard wireless signals to refresh the group keys in the whole network. Every IoT device receives the broadcast signals from which to extract the Channel State Information (CSI) stream which captures the dynamic variations of the individual wireless channel between the IoT device and the drone. DroneKey explores a deep-learning approach to extract the hidden correlation among the CSI streams to establish a common group key. We thoroughly evaluate DroneKey with a prototype in both indoor and outdoor environments. We show that DroneKey can achieve a high key-generation rate of 89.5 bit/sec for 10 devices in contrast to 40 bit/sec in the state-of-art prior work. In addition, DroneKey is much more scalable and can support 100 devices in contrast to 10 nodes in the state-of-art prior work with comparable key-generate rates.
The Raptor Join Operator for Processing Big Raster + Vector Data

Pre-processing spatial data for machine learning applications often includes combining different datasets into a form usable by the machine learning algorithms. Spatial data is generally available in two representations, raster and vector. The best data science and machine learning applications need to combine multiple datasets of both representations which is a data and compute intensive problem. This paper proposes a formal raster-vector join operator, Raptor Join, that can bridge the gap between raster and vector data. It is modeled as a relational join operator in Spark that can be easily combined with other operators, while also offering the advantage of in-situ processing. To implement the Raptor join operator efficiently, we propose a novel Flash index that has a low memory requirement and can process the entire operation with one data scan. We run an extensive experimental evaluation on large scale satellite data with up-to a trillion pixels, and big vector data with up-to hundreds of millions of segments and billions of points, and show that the proposed method can scale to big data with up-to three orders of magnitude performance gain over baselines.
Disasters and Capacity Development Mirage

Disaster impacts are increasing globally. At the same time, disaster risk management capacity remains low in many developing countries despite conscious capacity development efforts. Apart from human agony and pain, this capability trap situation affects a country’s economic and social development potential, pushing it into a lagged developmental trajectory. This chapter introduces the central theme of this book, illustrating with examples how some developing countries are facing capability trap situation in spite of conscious capacity development efforts by governments and international development agencies. The chapter starts with an overview of rising disaster impacts worldwide followed by the kind of capacity development programs usually undertaken to prevent and prepare for disasters and how these programs are mostly unable to develop effective capacity. With examples from various countries facing recurrent disasters and rising disaster impacts, this chapter raises many critical questions to discuss challenges associated with capacity development in disaster risk management, primarily in a developing country context. The chapter provides an overview of how the book is organized and how solutions to various questions, which are raised in this chapter, are explored in the remaining book.
Sex differences in familiarity preferences within fission–fusion brown-headed cowbird, Molothrus ater, flocks

Many vertebrates inhabit dynamic and loosely structured groups where group size and social composition continually fluctuates. The ability to sustain nonrandom interaction preferences across group changes is an important aspect in maintaining social organization. In two experiments, we explored the strength and persistence of social preferences for familiar conspecifics in brown-headed cowbirds. In the first experiment, we demonstrated that females preferentially associate with familiar females when introduced into a flock containing novel individuals. In the second experiment we investigated the consistency of familiarity preferences across a series of social introductions. Females maintained preferences to approach familiar conspecifics, and the individual strength of those preferences remained consistent across introductions. Male preferences changed across the introductions. In the first introduction, males showed a significant preference to approach familiar conspecifics, but increased their approaches towards novel conspecifics in subsequent introductions. Our findings suggest that female cowbirds are an important factor in maintaining social organization through their enduring associations with familiar individuals, whereas males facilitate social integration by extending connections towards novel individuals during periods of change. © 2015 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Techniques and Complications of Intravenous Therapy

The intravenous route of drug administration is employed for many cancer agents for two reasons: 1) the physical characteristics of the drug require a specific formulation or 2) the drug is particularly unstable and may coagulate proteins which if administered intramuscularly will irritate the local tissues. Drugs which are unstable in acid solution cannot be administered orally because of the presence of acid in the stomach. Drugs which may be degraded, rapidly inactivated, or which cannot be transported across the gastrointestinal lining similarly must be administered by the intravenous route. Continuous infusion to promote adequate blood levels over protracted periods may be necessary if the drug is inactivated by the proteins or enzymes in the blood. The distinctions between infusion, perfusion, and bolus injection are reviewed in Chapter 4. For some drugs, only intravenous preparations are available.
Introduction: Symposium on Thirteen Ways to Steal a Bicycle

What is the optimal level of specificity for defining criminal offenses? How should we divide and classify crimes so that they accurately represent a given criminal act’s distinctive features -- whether it is wrongfulness, harmfulness, deterrability, or detectability -- while at the same time avoiding the kind of over-particularity that leads to needless confusion and problems in administrability? Nowhere are these issues more difficult or contested than in connection with the law of theft -- owing to the extraordinary diversity in how rights in property are formulated, the peculiar twists and turns of legal history and law reform, and the sheer ingenuity that offenders use to infringe such rights. The proper level of offense specificity in theft law is a key theme dealt with in my recent book, Thirteen Ways to Steal a Bicycle: Theft Law in the Information Age. It is also a theme that, to one degree or another, has engaged the attention of the distinguished group of commentators gathered by the New England Law Review for this symposium on the book: Susan Brenner, David Gray and Chelsea Jones, Peter Karol, Mary Sigler, and Ken Simons. This introduction sets the stage for the contributions that follow and offers a selective rebuttal to at least some of the arguments offered.
Akt pathway activation converts anaplastic astrocytoma to glioblastoma multiforme in a human astrocyte model of glioma

Human malignant gliomas are thought to develop as the result of stepwise accumulations of multiple genetic alterations. Recently, we showed that E6/E7-mediated inactivation of p53/pRb, ras pathway activation (initiated by expression of mutant H-Ras), and expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) in combination converted normal human astrocytes into cells that formed intracranial tumors resembling human anaplastic astrocytoma (AA). In this study, we created human astrocytes that, in addition to expressing E6/E7, hTERT, and Ras, also expressed a constitutive activated form of Akt intended to mimic the Akt activation noted in grade IV glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Although these cells grew no differently than astrocytes expressing E6, E7, and H-Ras in vitro or in the first 28 days following s.c. implantation, they ultimately formed tumors four to six times larger than those formed by the E6/E7/hTERT/Ras cells. Unlike the poorly vascularized, necrosis-free AA formed by E6/E7/hTERT/Ras cells, the tumors formed by s.c. or intracranial injection of Akt-expressing cells had large areas of necrosis surrounded by neovascularization and were consistent in appearance with grade IV human GBM. These results show that activation of the Akt pathway is sufficient to allow conversion of human AA to human GBM.
Single-cell concepts for obtaining photovoltaic conversion efficiency over 30 percent

Although solar photovoltaic conversion efficiencies over 30 percent (one sun, AM1) can be expected for multiple-cell configurations using spectral splitting techniques, the highest practical single-cell conversion efficiency that can be attained using present concepts is estimated to be about 27-28 percent. To achieve conversion efficiencies above 30 percent using single-cell configurations it will be necessary to employ different concepts, such as spectral compression and broad-band detection. The implementation of these concepts would require major breakthroughs that are not anticipated in the near future.
How to Diagnose and Exclude Drug-Induced Liver Injury

The diagnosis of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is largely a diagnosis of exclusion because, with the possible exception of protein:drug adducts in paracetamol overdose, there are no laboratory, bio
A Novel Methionine-Based Signaling Mechanism Regulating the Expression of Thymidylate Synthase

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase 1 (PARP-1) is a nuclear zinc finger DNA-binding protein that is implicated in the repair of DNA damage. Inhibition of PARP-1 through genetic knockouts causes cells to become hypersensitive to various chemotherapeutic agents. We tested the chemopotentiating ability of the PARP-1 inhibitor, CEP-6800, when used in combination with temozolomide (TMZ), irinotecan (camptothecin or SN38), and cisplatin against U251MG glioblastoma, HT29 colon carcinoma, and Calu-6 non-small cell lung carcinoma xenografts and cell lines, respectively. Exposure of tumor cells to TMZ, camptothecin (or SN38), and cisplatin before, or in the presence of, CEP-6800 significantly increased the onset and the magnitude of DNA damage, the duration for cells to effect repair, and the onset, duration, or fraction of cells arrested at the G2/M boundary. In addition, in vivo biochemical efficacy studies with CEP-6800 showed that it was able to attenuate irinotecan- and TMZ-induced poly(ADP-ribose) accumulation in LoVo and HT29 xenografts, respectively. Treatment of CEP 6800 (30 mg/kg) with TMZ (17 and 34 mg/kg) resulted in 100% complete regression of U251MG tumors by day 28 versus 60% complete regression caused by TMZ alone. CEP-6800 (30 mg/kg) in combination with irinotecan (10 mg/kg) resulted in a 60% inhibition of HT29 tumor growth versus irinotecan alone by day 33. The combination therapy of cisplatin (5 mg/kg) with CEP-6800 (30 mg/kg) caused a 35% reduction in Calu-6 tumor growth versus cisplatin alone by day 28. These data suggest that CEP-6800 could be used as a chemopotentiating agent with a variety of clinically effective chemotherapeutic agents.
Contribution of the dog to the science of nutrition.

In the 19th century when the basic principles of nutrition were established, the main work was done first in France and then in Germany. In each country dogs were the overwhelming choice as the model experimental animal. In France the complexity of nutritional requirements first came to be appreciated and the inadequacy of gelatin as a substitute for muscle protein was identified. In Germany quantitative balance procedures for nutrients were developed and it was shown that balance could be achieved at many levels after a period of adaptation. In the U.S.A. at the beginning of this century, Russell Chittenden showed that dogs could do well when fed low protein diets so long as they contained some nonprotein factors that were provided by meat and milk. On the basis of that work Joseph Goldberger developed a diet which produced a condition analogous to pellagra in dogs. This led to the discovery that yeast was a potent preventive of the disease and to the eventual identification of niacin as the primary active factor. Work in Britain with dogs as models for experimental rickets gave apparently conflicting results, with either environmental or dietary changes apparently protecting from the disease. Further work showed that calciferol could be obtained either by irradiation of the skin or by the consumption of another animal's store. Lastly, Edward Mellanby's continued work on the rachitic effect of cereals led to the spin-off finding that wheat flour improved with nitrogen chloride, although nontoxic to rats, was responsible for the problem of canine hysteria in dogs that had developed in the 1930s and 1940s. Its use by millers was than banned.
Neoliberalism inside two American high schools

This article examines ‘neoliberalism’ inside two American public high schools. The work of one leading critical theorist, Mark Olssen, is explained and examined. Particular attention is paid to Olssen’s concepts of ‘homo economicus’ and ‘manipulatable man.’ It is concluded that Olssen’s theories on neoliberalism accurately describe developments in public education in the West since the early 1980s. It is also believed that his theories could benefit from a study that ‘looks inside the black box’ and reveals what neoliberalism looks like inside schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 teachers and two principals at two public high schools in the American state of Louisiana. Analysis reveals that an educator’s sense of professional autonomy relates to students’ socioeconomic backgrounds. That is, educators at poor schools tend to have dramatically less freedom from local school boards than educators in non-poor schools.
A robotic system for underground coal mining

The authors describe a system that automates a continuous miner, enabling it to maneuver in highly constrained environments and cut coal without a human operator onboard. The system consists of a modified continuous miner, a laser range sensor, a SPARCstation, and control software. To date, the system has been tested on a mobile robot and on a continuous miner both above ground and in a real coal mine. The authors note that this system is the first instance of an intelligent robotic system for cutting coal. >
The Trouble with Dignity and Rights of Recognition

In United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act violated the Fifth Amendment. This Essay examines the unusual right to recognition that forms the basis of the Court’s decision and explains how such dignity rights have a problematic relationship to individual rights and to the structural protections of federalism. A right to recognition, standing alone, has never been part of our constitutional jurisprudence. To the extent that dignitary themes arose in previous cases, they were incidental to the finding of individual rights. I argue that there is good reason why recognition has not been afforded constitutional protection. Claims for recognition are only derivative of individual rights and cannot apply universally. Moreover, the dignity of recognition, because not an individual right, creates an unresolved tension with existing state laws that prohibit same‐sex marriage — a tension between the dignity of recognition and the dignity of state sovereignty.
Lexicographic generation of ordered trees

Abstract We show a one-one correspondence between all the regular binary trees with n internal nodes and certain integer sequences, an algorithm for generating these trees lexicographically, and the ranking function and the corresponding unranking procedure. We then extend the generating algorithm to k-ary trees, and analyze the amount of work done per tree. Relations to existing algorithms are discussed.
Systematic optimization of an H2 PEM fuel cell power generation system with heat integration

An H2 Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell power generation system composed of three subsystems: fuel reforming, fuel cell stack, and post combustion is examined. The system is simulated and optimized with a fuel cell model integrated within the process flow sheet. A case study optimization of the entire power generation system is presented and the influence of heat integration on the optimization is demonstrated. Our objectives are to maximize the energy and system efficiencies as well as the system profit. Here, optimization formulations with heat integration are used to realize our objectives, which explore the synergy between optimization and heat integration. Our results showed that we can achieve an energy efficiency as high as 58.30% and a system efficiency as high as 28.35%. For comparison, we provide results obtained from sequential process optimization followed by heat integration. The gain from the synergy is mostly exemplified in the profit maximization study, where the profit increases by almost 27.15% in the best case. Finally, we obtain optimization results that include feed vaporization of water to steam as a comparison for the heat integration. These results demonstrate the importance of simultaneous optimal heat integration for fuel cell-based processes. © 2006 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2006
Morphology of Al—Ni—Ge ohmic contacts to n-GaAs as a function of contact composition

Abstract Al—Ni—Ge ohmic contacts on n-GaAs(001) were prepared by sequential vapor deposition and subsequent annealing at 500°C. Structural properties were studied as a function of contract composition, by transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy, in addition to other techniques. In all cases, Al was deposited as the top layer at a fixed thickness. While all metallizations exhibit a non-spiking interface with the GaAs substrate, it was found that the contact morphology varies strongly with the Ge:Ni thickness ratio. For a Ge:Ni thickness ratio of 3:4 or greater, annealing results in the formation of a thick Al 3 Ni layer adjacent to the GaAs substrate, as well as a non-uniform surface layer, characterized by dendritic Ge precipitates in an Al matrix. By lowering the Ge:Ni thickness ratio to 1:2, the surface morphology was greatly improved and the contact displays a stable layered structure of the type Al 3 Ni/(Ni—Ge)/GaAs. These results were accounted for on the basis of a recently developed Al—Ni—Ge ternary phase diagram.
Surgical left atrial appendage ligation is frequently incomplete: a transesophageal echocardiographic study

OBJECTIVES This study sought to determine the incidence of incomplete ligation of the left atrial appendage (LAA) during mitral valve surgery. BACKGROUND Ligation of the LAA to prevent future thromboembolic events is commonly performed during mitral surgery. However, success in completely excluding the appendage from the circulation has never been systematically assessed. METHODS Using transesophageal Doppler echocardiography, we studied 50 patients who underwent mitral valve surgery and ligation of the LAA. Thirty patients were studied immediately postoperative, and 20 patients were studied 6 days to 13 years after surgery. Incomplete ligation was detected by demonstrating a color jet traversing the separation between the left atrial body and appendage. RESULTS Transesophageal echocardiography detected incomplete LAA ligation in 18 of 50 (36%) patients. The incidence of incomplete ligation was not significantly different between patients studied immediately postoperative and patients studied at various times after surgery. Type of mitral surgery (repair vs. replacement), operative approach (sternotomy vs. port access), left atrial size or degree of mitral regurgitation did not significantly correlate with the incidence of incomplete appendage ligation. However, the power to detect a significant difference in left atrial size was only 64%. Spontaneous echo contrast or thrombus was identified within appendages in 9 of 18 (50%) patients with incomplete ligation, while 4 of these 18 (22%) patients had thromboembolic events. CONCLUSIONS Surgical LAA ligation is frequently incomplete. The similar incidence of incomplete ligation detected immediately postoperative and at various times thereafter suggest that this results from an intraoperative phenomenon rather than from gradual dehiscence of sutures over years. The incidence of incomplete left atrial ligation was unrelated to type of surgery, surgical approach, left atrial size or degree of mitral regurgitation. Residual communication between the incompletely ligated appendage and the left atrial body may produce a milieu of stagnant blood flow within the appendage and be a potential mechanism for embolic events.
The benefit of migration in parallel evolutionary algorithms

Parallelization is becoming a more and more important issue for solving difficult optimization problems. Various implementations of parallel evolutionary algorithms (EAs) have been applied in the past decades. Island models combine phases of independent evolution with migration where genetic information is spread out to neighbored islands. Compared to panmictic models, this mechanism can lead to an increased diversity within the population.We perform a first rigorous runtime analysis for island models and construct a function where phases of independent evolution as well as communication among the islands is essential. A simple island model with migration finds a global optimum in polynomial time, while panmictic populations as well as island models without migration need exponential time, with very high probability. Our results lead to new insights on the usefulness of migration and contribute to the theoretical foundation of parallel EAs
Using Linkage Genome Scans to Improve Power of Association in Genome Scans

Scanning the genome for association between markers and complex diseases typically requires testing hundreds of thousands of genetic polymorphisms. Testing such a large number of hypotheses exacerbates the trade-off between power to detect meaningful associations and the chance of making false discoveries. Even before the full genome is scanned, investigators often favor certain regions on the basis of the results of prior investigations, such as previous linkage scans. The remaining regions of the genome are investigated simultaneously because genotyping is relatively inexpensive compared with the cost of recruiting participants for a genetic study and because prior evidence is rarely sufficient to rule out these regions as harboring genes with variation of conferring liability (liability genes). However, the multiple testing inherent in broad genomic searches diminishes power to detect association, even for genes falling in regions of the genome favored a priori. Multiple testing problems of this nature are well suited for application of the false-discovery rate (FDR) principle, which can improve power. To enhance power further, a new FDR approach is proposed that involves weighting the hypotheses on the basis of prior data. We present a method for using linkage data to weight the association P values. Our investigations reveal that if the linkage study is informative, the procedure improves power considerably. Remarkably, the loss in power is small, even when the linkage study is uninformative. For a class of genetic models, we calculate the sample size required to obtain useful prior information from a linkage study. This inquiry reveals that, among genetic models that are seemingly equal in genetic information, some are much more promising than others for this mode of analysis.
Strategies for Financial Reforms: Interest Rate Policies, Stabilization, and Bank Supervision in Developing Countries

Economic stability, effective bank supervision, and an appropriate sequencing of stabilization, banking regulations, and interest rate policies are identified as common characteristics of the relatively successful experiments in financial sector liberalization. Recent theoretical developments help to explain why interest rates in free markets may fall short of market-clearing levels, or may rise to risky levels, with adverse consequences for financial institutions and the economy at large. To prevent such outcomes, economic stabilization and improved bank supervision should generally precede complete removal of control on interest rates.
Quantifying oscillatory ventilation during exercise in patients with heart failure.

Abstract Background This study examined the validity of a novel software application to quantify measures of periodic breathing rest (PB) and oscillatory ventilation during exercise (EOV) in heart failure patients (HF). Methods Eleven male HF patients (age = 53 ± 8 yrs, ejection fraction = 17 ± 4, New York Heart Association Class = III(7)/IV(4)) were recruited. Ventilation and gas exchange were collected breath-by-breath. Amplitude and period of oscillations in ventilation ( V ˙ E ) , tidal volume (VT), end-tidal carbon dioxide ( P ET CO 2 ) , and oxygen consumption ( V ˙ O 2 ) were measured manually (MAN) and using novel software which included a peak detection algorithm (PK), sine wave fitting algorithm (SINE), and Fourier analysis (FOUR). Results During PB, there were no differences between MAN and PK for amplitude of V ˙ E , VT, P ET CO 2 , or V ˙ O 2 . Similarly, there were no differences between MAN and SINE for amplitude of V ˙ E or VT although P ET CO 2 and V ˙ O 2 were lower with SINE (p V ˙ E , VT, P ET CO 2 , and V ˙ O 2 compared to MAN (p V ˙ E , VT, P ET CO 2 , and V ˙ O 2 . SINE demonstrated significantly lower amplitudes for VT, P ET CO 2 , and V ˙ O 2 (p V ˙ E was not different. PK demonstrated shorter periods for all variables (p Conclusion These data suggest PK consistently captures amplitudes while underestimating period. In contrast, SINE and FOUR consistently capture period although SINE underestimates amplitude. Thus, an optimal algorithm for the quantification of PB and/or EOV in patients with HF might combine multiple analysis methods.
Magnetocaloric effect and temperature coefficient of resistance of La2/3(Ca,Pb)1/3MnO3

The magnetocaloric effect of a La2/3(Ca,Pb)1/3MnO3 single crystal was examined. From the measurements of isothermal magnetization and heat capacity around the Curie temperature, we have calculated the maximum isothermal magnetic entropy change as ∼7.5 J/kg K and the adiabatic temperature changes as ∼5.6 K, near room temperature for a 7 T magnetic field variation. Besides, the sharp drop of resistivity at the insulator–metal transition associated with the magnetic transition gives rise to a large temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR). For the La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 and La2/3(Ca,Pb)1/3MnO3 single crystal, the peak of TCR is ∼50%/K at 218 K and ∼10%/K at 290 K, respectively.
The second heart sound in normal and abnormal conditions.

Abstract Changes of the second heart sound are caused by shifting in position and changes in magnitude of the aortic or pulmonary component, or both. Differences in the magnitude of each component are primarily related to changes in pressure but are also affected by structural changes of the vascular walls. Positional changes are influenced by the time of closure of the respective valve (in turn related to time of ventricular activation, duration of systole and pressure gradient across the valve) and by the interval between valve closure and vascular vibration at the time of rebound. Normal splitting is present during inspiration and decreases or disappears during expiration. Marked differences related to age are present. Three abnormalities may occur: wide splitting during inspiration that persists during expiration; single second sound; and reverse splitting, either occurring only during, or accentuated by, expiration (occasionally also occurring during inspiration).