cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ethics and Corruption in Business and Government: Lessons from the South Sea Bubble and the Bank of the United States

This lecture addresses a phenomenon that arises repeatedly in history: concurrent and interrelated corruption in the political system and in business that puts political and business establishments on the defensive. When corruption from business spills over into government, the story is likely to end with politicians seeking to cover for their own actions or to elevate themselves on an ethical pedestal above their peers. Resulting legislative action - hostile to business and driven by self serving political considerations in the wake of scandal - is often not well thought out, and may hinder economic growth and stability. The lecture discusses two examples of this phenomenon in England and the United States respectively. First, the South Sea Bubble of 1720 - during which many Members of Parliament took bribes in South Sea Company stock and traded in the stock on inside information - was followed by Parliament's draconian restriction in the Bubble Act on transferability of shares for over 100 years thereafter. Second, there were two attempts at the end of the Eighteenth and the first half of the Nineteenth Century to establish a permanent Bank of the United States modeled on the Bank of England. This undertaking was championed by Federalist and Whig politicians who, while they may have sought economic stability, also encouraged speculation in government securities on inside information, and bribery by the Bank of Members of Congress. The debate over the Bank was in part a debate over corruption that came with it. The First Bank of the United States was opposed and eventually allowed to expire by Jeffersonian Democrats and the Second Bank was attacked, and then pushed out of business, by President Jackson. Congress failed to establish a national bank until the Wilson Administration in 1913, two and a quarter centuries after establishment of the Bank of England. The lecture concludes that corruption of government by business is not only bad for government, but in the long run bad for business. Business sometimes overreaches in influencing government officials, but at the risk of a backlash in which politicians - in self righteous indignation or in order to cover up for their own actions - embrace harsh anti-business policies, regardless of whether those policies are in the national economic interest.
Identification of /sup 148/Ho and /sup 149/Ho

The new nuclides, $^{148}\mathrm{Ho}$ and $^{149}\mathrm{Ho}$, were identified in $^{10}\mathrm{B}$ bombardments of $^{144}\mathrm{Sm}$. A gas-jet system was used to transport product nuclei to a shielded area suitable for $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray measurements. The 21-s isotope, $^{149}\mathrm{Ho}$, was found to decay primarily to a $^{149}\mathrm{Dy}$ level at 1091 keV and less intensely to the ${i}_{\frac{13}{2}}1073$-keV state observed in a previous in-beam $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray study. This radioactivity, in analogy to neighboring odd-$A$ terbium and holmium isotopes, probably represents the ${h}_{\frac{11}{2}}$ proton orbital in $^{149}\mathrm{Ho}$ which decays via an allowed $\ensuremath{\beta}$ transition to the 1091-keV level. The latter, is therefore, proposed to be the ${h}_{\frac{9}{2}}$ neutron state in $^{149}\mathrm{Dy}$. The 9-s isotope, $^{148}\mathrm{Ho}$, was identified mainly through a 1688-keV $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray which: (1)was in coincidence with dysprosium $K$ x rays, (2)increased dramatically in intensity when the $^{10}\mathrm{B}$ bombarding energy was raised from 85 to 96 MeV, and (3)remained constant (over the same range) in intensity relative to that of the 620-keV $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ ray known to belong to $^{148}\mathrm{Dy}$ decay. On the basis of systematics for low-lying levels in even-even $N=82$ nuclei, the 1688-keV transition is though to deexcite the first-excited state in $^{148}\mathrm{Dy}$.RADIOACTIVITY $^{148}\mathrm{Ho}$, $^{149}\mathrm{Ho}$, measured ${T}_{\frac{1}{2}}$, ${E}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$, ${I}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$, $\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\gamma}$ coin; $^{148}\mathrm{Dy}$, $^{149}\mathrm{Dy}$ deduced levels.
Similarity in Patient Support Forums Using TF-IDF and Cosine Similarity Metrics

The IEEE International Conference on Healthcare Informatics 2015 (ICHI 2015) announced a challenge in healthcare domain that concerns the quality of health inquiries on social media. The problem of the challenge is to reduce the repetition of posts for patient support forums. This problem gradually becomes hard to control due to the increase of forum users and lack of research within the forum's older posts. To address this problem we used a model that finds the similarity of forum posts using cosine similarity metric over the term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF). We applied our model on data that are provided by the challenge committee. We used three graduate students to annotate the data for us and find the agreement vote of similarity. The results of our model using cosine similarity and TF-IDF were improved over existing models that primarily use topic modeling approaches such as Latent dirichlet allocation (LDA), and Latent Semantic Index (LSI).
Determination of multiple forms of cytochrome P-450 in microsomes from the digestive gland of Cryptochitonstelleri

Abstract Polyclonal antibodies raised against purified trout cytochromes P-450 (P-450) LM2 (anti-LM2) and LM4b (anti-LM4b) were used in Western blot analyses with digestive gland microsomes from control and β-naphthoflavone (BNF)-treated gumboot chitons Cryptochiton stelleri . An increase and decrease in staining intensity subsequent to treatment with anti-LM4b and anti-LM2, respectively, was observed in digestive gland microsomes from BNF-treated chiton. Thus, there appears to be at least two forms of P-450 in microsomes from the digestive gland of Cryptochiton ; one of which is induced by BNF and perhaps is involved in benzo(a)pyrene (BP) biotransformation, and another form which is inhibited by BNF.
Kuramoto-Like Synchronization in Parametric Frequency Combs

We show that soliton modelocking dynamics in parametric frequency combs is equivalent to synchronization phenomena that occur in many physical systems as described by the Kuramoto model for coupled oscillators.
68Ga-DOTATATE Compared with 111In-DTPA-Octreotide and Conventional Imaging for Pulmonary and Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) are uncommon tumors with increasing incidence and prevalence. Current reports suggest that 68Ga-DOTATATE PET/CT imaging improves diagnosis and staging of NETs compared with 111In-DTPA-octreotide and conventional imaging. We performed a systematic review of 68Ga-DOTATATE for safety and efficacy compared with octreotide and conventional imaging to determine whether available evidence supports U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. Methods: Medline, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Cochrane Reviews electronic databases were searched from January 1999 to September 2015. Results were restricted to human studies comparing diagnostic accuracy of 68Ga-DOTATATE with octreotide or conventional imaging for pulmonary or gastroenteropancreatic NET and for human studies reporting safety/toxicity for 68Ga-DOTATATE with 10 subjects or more thought to have NETs. Direct communication with corresponding authors was attempted to obtain missing information. Abstracts meeting eligibility criteria were collected by a research librarian and assembled for reviewers; 2 reviewers independently determined whether or not to include each abstract. If either reviewer chose inclusion, the abstract was accepted for review. Results: Database and bibliography searches yielded 2,479 articles, of which 42 were eligible. Three studies compared the 2 radiopharmaceuticals in the same patient, finding 68Ga-DOTATATE to be more sensitive than octreotide. Nine studies compared 68Ga-DOTATATE with conventional imaging. 68Ga-DOTATATE estimated sensitivity, 90.9% (95% confidence interval, 81.4%–96.4%), and specificity, 90.6% (95% confidence interval, 77.8%–96.1%), were high. Five studies were retained for safety reporting only. Report of harm possibly related to 68Ga-DOTATATE was rare (6 of 974), and no study reported major toxicity or safety issues. Conclusion: No direct comparison of octreotide and 68Ga-DOTATATE imaging for diagnosis and staging in an unbiased population of NETs has been published. Available information in the peer-reviewed literature regarding diagnostic efficacy and safety supports the use of 68Ga-DOTATATE for imaging of NETs where it is available.
Acquired Resistance in Turkey Poults to Pasteurella multocida (P-1059 strain) during Aflatoxin Consumption

The potential for impairment by aflatoxin of the development of acquired immunity to fowl cholera in 8 week old turkey poults from a commercial flock was investigated by challenge of vaccinated poults at 10, 12, and 16 weeks of age. Sixty poults were allotted to 4 groups: A) aflatoxin fed, nonvaccinated; B) aflatoxin fed, vaccinated; C) control fed, nonvaccinated; and D) control fed, vaccinated. Aflatoxin B-1 (.5 ppm) was added to the control ration of groups A and B from 49 to 70 days of age. The avirulent CU (Clemson University) strain of Pasteurella multocida drinking water vaccine was given for one day to groups B and C. Challenge (5 poults from each group) was by administration of the virulent (P-1059) strain of P. multocida in the drinking water for 4 consecutive days. The presence of aflatoxin B-1 (.5 ppm) in the feed during oral vaccination with the avirulent strain of P. multocida did not impair the development of acquired resistance to later challenge with the virulent strain. Results indicate that age of poults and method of vaccination may be important factors in the development of acquired resistance to fowl cholera when aflatoxin is present in the diet.
On-Line Electrodialytic Salt Removal in Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry of Proteins

Salts and buffers, commonly used in isolation and stabilization of biological analytes, have a deleterious effect on electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Excessive concentrations of salts lead to ion suppression and adduct formation, which mask or complicate ion signals. In this work, we describe a salt remover (SR), configured as a three-compartment flow-through system, where the central compartment is separated from the outer compartments by a cation-exchange membrane (CEM) and an anion-exchange membrane (AEM). One platinum electrode is placed in each of the outer compartments, where water or electrolyte is flowing. The CEM electrode is held at a negative potential relative to the AEM side; cations/anions migrate by electrophoresis to the CEM/AEM receiver liquids, respectively. Proteins have poorer electrophoretic mobility relative to the buffer components, permitting removal of the salt. The salt-free proteins proceed to the ESI source. The capillary scale SR (internal volume 2.5 μL) des...
The Effects of Price-Comparison Advertising on Buyers’ Perceptions of Acquisition Value, Transaction Value, and Behavioral Intentions:

The authors expand and integrate prior price-perceived value models within the context of price comparison advertising. More specifically, the conceptual model explicates the effects of advertised ...
Chemosterilant effects of metepa and tretamine on larvae, pupae, and adults of Drosophila melanogaster.

Neither metepa nor tretamine when used in the larval food completely prevented larval development and pupal formation in drosophila melanogaster Meigen. When pupae were immersed in a solution of either chemical, the percent of adults that emerged was dependent on concentration and length of the dipping period. Adult females treated orally with 1.0% metepa showed 96.5% sterility and with 1.0% tretamine, 96.8% sterility. Metepa failed to induce complete sterility when orally treated females were paired with untreated males. To obtain complete sterility females required 1.5 times the amount of tretamine applied topically as treated males. Complete sterility could be obtained when metepa was applied topically in equal amounts to both sexes. Males treated with either chemosterilant and then mated with different ages of unfertilized females showed effective sterilization, regardless of what age they were mated or treated. The topical LD50 for metepa was 10.15 µg/male fly, at which concentration the sterility was 99.99%. The LD50 tretamine was 3.9 µg/male fly resulting in a sterility of 99.99%.
THE DESIGN OF AN AUTONOMIC CONTROLLER FOR SELF-MANAGED EMERGENCY DEPARTMENTS

Improving the operational efficiency of an Emergency Department (ED) is a complex task due the very large number of ED configurations that involve human and physical resources and due to the unpredictable nature of the ED’s workload. Thus, managing the performance of EDs becomes difficult and expensive when carried out by human beings alone. A new approach, called self-managed EDs, consists of building into the ED the mechanisms required to self-adjust the ED’s configuration parameters so that its Quality of Service (QoS) is constantly met. This paper presents the design of an autonomic controller for a self-managed Emergency Department and evaluates its effectiveness in maximizing a utility function of the ED subject to cost-constraints. The controller uses a combination of combinatorial search techniques with simulation models. Experimental results illustrate the operation of the controller and how it reacts to variations of patient interarrival times.
A prospective study of urologist-performed sonographic evaluation of the urinary tract in patients with prostatism.

AbstractIn this study 171 consecutive patients hospitalized for prostatectomy were prospectively evaluated by urologist-performed transabdominal ultrasound. The urologist-sonographers were blinded to the results of an excretory urogram (IVP) performed and interpreted by radiologists. All significant upper tract pathology (4 renal cell carcinomas and 1 transitional cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis) identified by an IVP also was detected by ultrasonography. Of 5 clinically silent stones seen on an IVP 4 were identified by sonography. There were 13 patients (7.6%) with severe contrast medium allergies or renal failure who were readily evaluated with ultrasonography. Urologist-performed sonography can safely replace an IVP for routine evaluation of the urinary tract before prostatectomy. Moreover, sonography provided significant additional data on prostate size and post-void residual. However, the cost-effectiveness of upper tract imaging in patients before prostatectomy may be questioned.
The general surgery model: a more appealing and sustainable alternative for the care of trauma patients.

The contemporary model of trauma care where dedicated trauma/critical care surgeons exclusively manage trauma patients has become progressively unsustainable. Little objective data, however, is available documenting that a better model exists. From September 2002 through August 2003, the trauma model at a 735-bed level I trauma teaching hospital was changed from the contemporary model to a new one where selected general surgeons with Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) certification covered in-house trauma and emergency surgery call on a rotational basis. As well, each pursued elective practices, admitting all inpatients (trauma, emergent, elective) to a single teaching service (formerly the trauma service). Critical care was managed by a separate group of intensivists. The purpose of this study was to objectively compare the two models. Quantitative, financial, and qualitative data were derived from August 2001 to January 2002 (trauma/critical care model) and compared to August 2003 to January 2004 (general surgery model). During the two periods (trauma/critical care vs general surgery), the mean Revised Trauma Score (7.1 vs 7.2; P = 0.029), the mean Injury Severity Score (ISS) (10.9 vs 10.8; P = 0.84), and the percentage of penetrating trauma (12.5% vs 13.2%; P = 0.79) were similar. Differences (trauma/ critical care vs general surgery, % increase/P value) included average daily census (24 vs 54, 225%), cases/attending (262 vs 543, 207%), cases/resident (54 vs 262, 485%), charges/attending ($353,811 vs $471,725, 133%), collections/attending ($106,143 vs $165,103, 156%), number of trauma patients (643 vs 748, 116%), trauma mortality (7.3% vs 4.0%; P = 0.007), trauma mortality with ISS >15 (21.7% vs 12.0%; P = 0.035), trauma complications (33.1% vs 17%; P < 0.001), and ICU morbidity (66.8% vs 43.9%; P <.001). The new general surgery model produced superior financial results and better quantitative surgical experience while exceeding trauma and ICU quality outcomes compared to the former trauma/critical care model. These data objectively support a model such as ours-one that is financially sustainable and more professionally attractive.
Vector parameter estimation in FMCW radar

Today's automotive radars are based on FMCW signaling. The estimation of range, speed, and direction of arrival (DoA) for FMCW radars can be mapped to frequency estimation problems. Current methods rely on independent scalar frequency estimation techniques in each of the range, Doppler and DoA dimensions. In this work we develop a vector parameter estimation method generalizing existing scalar estimation methods, thereby allowing joint estimation of any combination of range, Doppler, or DoA. We apply this framework to FMCW radar and derive the required model vectors. In simulation, we show that the multidimensional approach suffers no loss of estimation efficiency compared to the existing scalar method in degenerate cases, while providing the novel capability of describing targets that cannot be captured by a single frequency parameter. We provide a set of model vectors for point targets with constant velocity and a general method for finding model vectors for targets whose position is modeled by an arbitrary power series over time, as well as a method for extending a set of model vectors to include direction of arrival.
4π coded aperture imaging using 3d position-sensitive CdZnTe detectors

3D position sensitive CdZnTe semiconductor detectors have demonstrated 4π Compton imaging ability and excellent energy resolution at room-temperature operation. An array of such detectors would provide unique detection capabilities. However, Compton imaging is challenging at low energies due to the small Compton-scatter cross-section. This work extends the imaging capabilities to lower energies by utilizing multiple coded aperture masks. Each coded aperture mask is applied to one of five sides of a single 2cmx2cmx1.5cm CdZnTe detector via simulation. These simulations show that multiple weak, low energy sources with background can be imaged simultaneously. The ultimate objective is to apply multiple masks to cover 4π space, using an 18 detector array from the Polaris project.
Oceanographic and meteorological remote sensing buoy system

This paper describes an oceanographic and meteorological remote sensing system using remote buoys. The system is subdivided into the following subsystems; primary buoys, secondary buoys or transducers, and a shore computer controlled command system. The most distinguishing feature of the system is the immediate availability of the data to the investigator with no delays caused by the storage of data, and the ability of the investigator to change the sampling rate under varying environmental conditions. An inherent flexibility of the system is the ability of the primary buoys to act as repeater stations for the secondary buoys, thus reducing the power that is needed at the secondary buoys and the cost of the equipment. Data acquisition is controlled by a PDP-15/30 computer as directed by the investigating scientist. The computer will sample any desired parameter at a rate specified by the investigator storing the data in the computer system or graphically displaying it if the scientist desires to examine it. The PDP- 15/30 computer can also simultaneously process the raw data through mathematical or statistical routines into a form desired by the scientist. The primary buoys (having the pseudonym TOTEM) are the main data acquisition points of the system. Each of the primary buoys has 64 analog data channels, which are digitized at the buoy, 32 digital data channels, 32 command channels, 3 continuous analog channels, and a low-speed digital channel (100 bits per second). The primary buoy is controlled via a 600 bit per second VHF/UHF radio data link. Because of limitations of the present radio data link, the data acquisition rate is limited to 40 samples per second using 12 bit data words. Located on the primary buoys are the standard meteorological equipment as anemometers, barometers, air temperature and rain gauges. Oceanographic sensors are mounted on an instrument package that is lowered remotely by the computer measuring sea temperature, currents, turbulence, conductivity, and oxygen content from the surface to 500 meters, and ocean currents and temperature are measured at fixed depths with outriggers attached to the primary buoy. Also located on the buoy are sensors to measure wave height and direction along with other special purpose sensors to measure air-sea interactions and other parameters. The secondary buoys and transducers are designed to transmit data back to the computer through the primary buoys via radio or acoustical links to the primary buoy and by the normal data link to the computer. There is no set physical form for a secondary buoy or transducer as the individual system is tailored to the particular parameters desired and can be located anywhere from the ocean's surface to the ocean's bottom. The system's modular design permits investigators to attach an experiment to the system by inserting a printed circuit board. It should be noted that all of the system described on the primary buoy can operate simultaneously and an optional voice link exists for system maintenance and check out.
Elucidating the Mechanism of Uranium Mediated Diazene N═N Bond Cleavage

Investigation into the reactivity of reduced uranium species toward diazenes has revealed key intermediates in the four-electron cleavage of azobenzene. Trivalent Tp*2U(CH2Ph) (1a) (Tp* = hydrotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)borate) and Tp*2U(2,2′-bpy) (1b) both perform the two-electron reduction of diazenes affording η2-hydrazido complexes Tp*2U(AzBz) (2-AzBz) (AzBz = azobenzene) and Tp*2U(BCC) (2-BCC) (BCC = benzo[c]cinnoline) in contrast to precursors of the bis(Cp*) (Cp* = 1,2,3,4,5-pentamethylcyclopentadienide) ligand framework. The four-electron cleavage of diazenes to give trans-bis(imido) species was possible by using Cp*U(MesPDIMe)(THF) (3) (MesPDIMe = 2,6-((Mes)N═CMe)2-C5H3N, Mes = 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl), which is supported by a highly reduced trianionic chelate that undergoes electron transfer. This proceeds via concerted addition at a single uranium center supported by both a crossover experiment and through addition of an asymmetrically substituted diazene, Ph-N═N-Tol. Further investigation of 3 a...
Peptidomimetic therapeutics: scientific approaches and opportunities

Natural endogenously occurring peptides exhibit desirable medicinal properties, but are often limited in application by rapid proteolysis and inadequate membrane permeability. However, editing naturally occurring peptide sequences to develop peptidomimetic analogs created a promising class of therapeutics that can augment or inhibit molecular interactions. Here, we discuss a variety of chemical modifications, including l to d isomerization, cyclization, and unnatural amino acid substitution, as well as design strategies, such as attachment to cell-penetrating peptides, which are used to develop peptidomimetics. We also provide examples of approved peptidomimetics and discuss several compounds in clinical trials.
Breadwinner Bonus and Caregiver Penalty in Workplace Rewards for Men and Women

Two studies examine whether the workplace motherhood penalty and fatherhood bonus are better conceived, respectively, as a caregiver penalty and breadwinner bonus. Participants acting as employers ...
Correlation of in vitro chemotherapy drug resistance assay to clinical response to carboplatin and paclitaxel combination chemotherapy in ovarian carcinoma.

e16546 Background: Carboplatin sensitivity in drug resistance assays has been shown to be an independent predictor of longer progression free interval with conflicting results in overall survival. ...
Broadband mid-infrared and THz chemical detection with quantum cascade laser multi-heterodyne spectrometers (Conference Presentation)

Majority of chemical species of interest in security and safety applications (e.g. explosives) have complex molecular structures that produce unresolved rotational-vibrational spectroscopic signatures in the mid-infrared. This requires spectroscopic techniques that can provide broadband coverage in the mid-IR region to target broadband absorbers and high resolution to address small molecules that exhibit well-resolved spectral lines. On the other hand, many broadband mid-IR absorbers exhibit well-resolved rotational components in the THz spectral region. Thus, development of spectroscopic sensing technologies that can address both spectral regions is of great importance. Here we demonstrate recent progress towards broadband high-resolution spectroscopic sensing applications with Fabry-Perot quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) and frequency combs using multi-heterodyne spectroscopy (MHS) techniques. In this paper, we will present spectroscopic sensing of large and small molecules in the mid-IR region using QCLs operating at ~8.5µm. An example high-resolution, broadband MHS of ammonia (small molecule) and isobutane (broadband absorber) at atmospheric pressure in the 1165-1190 cm^-1 range will be discussed. We have developed a balanced MHS system for mitigation of the laser intensity fluctuations. Absorption spectroscopy as well as dispersion spectroscopy with minimum fractional absorption down to ~10^-4/Hz1/2 and fast spectral acquisition capabilities down to 10 µs/spectrum range will be demonstrated. In order to mitigate the shortcomings of the limited chemical selectivity in the mid-IR, THz QCL based spectrometer is currently under development to provide spectral de-congestion and thus significantly improve chemical identification. Preliminary characterization of the performance of THZ QCL combs for the THz QCL-MHS will be presented.
Transient Floating Potential Variations Attributed to High-Voltage Solar Array Operations

The International Space Station continues to be a productive space research laboratory after over 15 years of operations, and it has proven to be a valuable resource for observing spacecraft floati...
Triblock peptide–oligonucleotide chimeras (POCs): programmable biomolecules for the assembly of morphologically tunable and responsive hybrid materials

Triblock peptide–oligonucleotide chimeras (POCs) consisting of peptides and oligonucleotides interlinked by an organic core are presented and their assembly behaviour is investigated. Several factors influence POC assembly, resulting in the formation of either vesicles or fibres. Design rules are introduced and used to predict and alter POC assembly morphology.
Effect of size, color and height of pheromone baited sticky traps on captures of Dacus oleae flies

Το μέγeθος της παγίδας φeρομόνης μe κόλλα δeν έχeι eπίδραση στις συλλήψeις δάκου όταν η πυκνότητα του πληθυσμού του eντόμου eίναι χαμηλή. Σe πeριπτώσeις όμως υψηλών δακοπληθυσμών ο αριθμός των συλλαμθανομένων eντόμων αυξάνeται μe την αύξηση της eπιφάνeιας της παγίδας. Το χρώμα της παγίδας φeρομόνης δeν έχeι eπίδραση στις συλλήψeις δάκων σe πeριόδους υψηλής δραστικότητας της φeρομόνης, που συμπίπτουν μe τις πeριόδους υψηλής αναπαραγωγικής δραστηριότητας του eντόμου. Σe πeριόδους μeιωμένης δραστικότητας της φeρομόνης, eίτe λόγω χαμηλών θeρμοκρασιών κατά τις ώρeς δράσeως των παγίδων (σούρουπο), eίτe λόγω μeιωμένης αναπαραγωγικής δραστηριότητας του eντόμου, οι παγίδeς κίτρινου χρώματος συλλαμβάνουν πeρισσότeρα έντομα από τις παγίδeς λeυκού χρώματος. Το ύψος της παγίδας φeρομόνης eντός του φυλλώματος του δέντρου δeν έχeι eπίδραση στις συλλήψeις.
The patterns and predictors of smokeless tobacco onset among urban public school teenagers.

This study describes the patterns and predictors of smokeless tobacco (ST) use in a large sample of urban public school students in Los Angeles and San Diego. The use of ST is more common among men than women and among Caucasians than African Americans, Hispanics, and others. Approximately 20% of the male respondents and 5% of the female respondents reported use of ST at least once, and 10.1% of male students and 3.1% of female students who had never tried ST by seventh grade started to use it by eighth grade. Among Caucasians, about 30% of boys reported trying ST at least once and 13.7% of those who had never used ST by seventh grade initiated experimentation by eighth grade. These data are used to examine the family, peer, and intrapersonal predictors of ST onset. The family risk factors for ST onset include living with a single parent, parent-child conflicts, and parental alcohol use. The peer risk factors for ST use include peer drug use and activities with friends, such as parties and participation in sports. The intrapersonal risk factors include poor grades in school, risk taking, and stress. The study also shows that those who use cigarettes, alcohol, or marijuana are at higher risk of using ST and vice versa. This study supports a problem-prone behavior perspective of ST use and cigarette smoking. We suggest that both products be targeted because the same programs are likely to apply to both products to counteract problem-prone type variables.
Phylogenetic Relationships of Spiruromorph Nematodes (Spirurina: Spiruromorpha) In North American Freshwater Fishes

Abstract Nematodes are common in the parasite communities of North American freshwater fishes, and the majority of them belong to 1 conventional order, Spirurida Chitwood, 1933. Within the Spirurida, the superfamilies Habronematoidea Chitwood and Wehr, 1932 and Thelazioidea Sobolev, 1949 have undergone considerable diversification. The dominant families of these 2 superfamilies, Cystidicolidae Skrjabin 1946 and Rhabdochonidae Railliet, 1916, respectively, are particularly common, widely distributed, and diverse, especially in North America, yet their phylogenetic relationships remain largely unexplored. In this study, we use near complete sequences of the 18S rRNA genes (SSU rDNA) from species in 6 genera (Capillospirura Skrjabin, 1924, Cystidicola Fischer, 1798, Salmonema Moravec, Santos and Brasil-Sato, 2008, Rhabdochona Railliet, 1916, Spinitectus Fourment, 1883, and a putative new cystidicolid in mooneyes, Hiodontidae), along with a species of Hedruris Nitzsch, 1812 from newts as a surrogate for the f...
Rapid F-18 labeling of peptides using aniline catalyzed oximation with [18F]FDG

1498 Objectives Despite recent advances, F-18 labeling of peptides for PET imaging remains challenging. It involves multiple step synthesis and low overall yield. An oxime formation between an aminoxy derivatized peptide and [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose(FDG) offers a promising approach for peptide labeling. However, this approach is relatively inefficient due to lower reactivity of FDG. We have previously demonstrated that this reaction could be significantly accelerated using nucleophilic iminium catalysis.Similarly, FDG coupling was also significantly accelerated in the presence of aniline with a model substrate O-benzylhydroxylamine (OBzA). We have used this technique to develop methodology to efficiently label a novel peptide,β-endorphin(β-end) with F-18. Methods [19F]FDG and OBzA were used as model compounds to investigate the oxime coupling reaction. Extended incubation of equimolar amounts of [19F]FDG and OBzA yielded corresponding oxime in 39% yield. Similarly, 15 nmol of β-end was incubated with 0.2 μmol of [19F]FDG in 0.2 M amm. acetate or 0.2 M anilinium acetate acetate at 80o for 30 min. HPLC, mass spectrometry and radio-TLC/HPLC were used to confirm the formation of the desired oxime. Subsequently, oximation reaction was performed using [18F]FDG and OBzA or β-end under the similar conditions. Results As expected, in the cold synthesis with [19F]FDG, the oxime formation proceeded to yield the desired product with OBzA and β-end with or without the catalyst (aniline). The labeling efficiency, however, was significantly higher with the catalyst. In the presence of catalyst, with [18F]FDG, the radiolabeling efficiency of OBzA was 50-70% and with β-end was 20-30% respectively. Conclusions These preliminary data clearly demonstrate that oxime formation reaction catalyzed by aniline can be successfully applied for 18F labeling of peptides
Ground States of Highly Disordered Systems

In this chapter, based on [NS94] and [NS96a] (see also [CiMB94]), we consider, for each cube Λ L , couplings \(\mathop J\nolimits_e^{\left( L \right)} = \mathop J\nolimits_e^{{\Lambda _L}}\) which, like in the EA spin glass model, are i.i.d. symmetric random variables, on a fixed probability space (Ω,ℱ, ν). However, unlike the EA model, these couplings will (strongly) depend on L. The dependence, explained precisely below, is in terms of a fixed set of random variables \(\left\{ {{K_{e,}}{\alpha _e}:e \in {E^d}} \right\}\) and a nonlinear scaling parameter λ( L ). The sign \(\mathop J\nolimits_e^{\left( L \right)}\) of will simply be α e for every L while the magnitude \(|\mathop J\nolimits_e^{\left( L \right)}|\) will be determined by K e and λ( L ). Infinite volume ground states, defined as the limits of finite volume ground states s L ) for \(H_{{\Lambda _L}}^{{{\bar s}^{\left( L \right)}}}\) with arbitrary boundary conditions \({\bar s^{\left( L \right)}}\), will again have an intrinsic characterization. But here the characterization, in terms of \(\left\{ {{K_e},{\alpha _e}:e \in {E^d}} \right\}\), will take some time to derive. Since flipping the b.c. \({\bar s^{\left( L \right)}}{\rm{to - }}{\bar s^{\left( L \right)}}\) clearly flips the ground state \({s^{\left( L \right)}}{\rm{ to - }}{s^{\left( L \right)}}\) it follows that infinite volume ground states always come in pairs. The main issue we will address is whether or not there is a.s. only a single pair
Growth, reproductive performance, mammary development, and milk production of beef heifers as influenced by prepubertal dietary energy and administration of bovine somatotropin.

Three trials with 156 crossbred heifers were used to determine the effects of dietary energy and bovine somatotropin administration on subsequent heifer productivity. In Trial 1, heifer calves were weaned from their dams (n = 28 ; 113 ± 13 d of age) and assigned to a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of moderate (MDE) or high dietary energy (HDE) and injections of vehicle (VEH) or 250 mg of bovine somatotropin (bST) every 14 d. Heifer calves in Trial 2 (n = 28 ; 123 ± 20 d of age) and Trial 3 (n = 100 ; 134 ± 22 d of age) nursed their dams while grazing pasture and received no creep feed (MD E) or ad libitum access to creep feed (HDE) and received VEH or bST as in Trial 1. Treatments were administered for 112 d and heifers within trial were managed alike after that time. There were no dietary treatment x bST treatment interactions for any of the variables analyzed (P >.05). Dietary energy did not affect daily gain in Trial 1 ; however, heifers receiving HDE in Trials 2 and 3 had greater weight, hip height growth, and fat thickness (P <.01) by the end of the treatment period. Treatment with bST increased gain in Trials 1 and 2 ( P <.01) but did not affect growth in Trial 3. There were trends in all trials for HDE to reduce age at puberty (P <.15), but there were no consistent effects of bST on reproductive measures. Mammary gland composition and milk production were unaffected by treatment in Trial 1. In Trial 2, HDE decreased subsequent milk production, calf weaning weight, and mammary dry fat free tissue and DNA ( P <.05). Treatment with bST in Trial 3 tended (P =.08) to result in greater milk production and increased calf weaning weights ( P <.05). We conclude that bST treatment may enhance growth with no effect on reproduction. Treatment with bST did not overcome deleterious effects of HDE on milk production but may play an important role in mammogenesis.
Reflectance ratios: An extension of Land's retinex theory

Neighboring points on a smoothly curved surface have similar surface orientations and illumination conditions. Therefore, their brightness values can be used to compute the ratio of their reflectance coefficients. We develop an algorithm that estimates a reflectance ratio for each region in an image with respect to its background. The region reflectance ratio represents a physical property that is invariant to illumination and imaging parameters and is an extension of Land's “Lightness” defined in his Retinex theory. The ratio invariant is used to automatically build representations of objects and recognize objects from a single brightness image of a scene.
Optimal recovery of missing values for non-negative matrix factorization

Abstract We extend the approximation-theoretic technique of optimal recovery to the setting of imputing missing values in clustered data, specifically for non-negative matrix factorization (NMF), and develop an implementable algorithm. Under certain geometric conditions, we prove tight upper bounds on NMF relative error, which is the first bound of this type for missing values. We also give probabilistic bounds for the same geometric assumptions. Experiments on image data and biological data show that this theoretically-grounded technique performs as well as or better than other imputation techniques that account for local structure.
Analysis and uncertainty quantification of DNA fluorescence melt data: Applications of affine transformations.

Abstract Fluorescence-based measurements are a standard tool for characterizing the thermodynamic properties of DNA systems. Nonetheless, experimental melt data obtained from polymerase chain-reaction (PCR) machines (for example) often leads to signals that vary significantly between datasets. In many cases, this lack of reproducibility has led to difficulties in analyzing results and computing reasonable uncertainty estimates. To address this problem, we propose a data analysis procedure based on constrained, convex optimization of affine transformations, which can determine when and how melt curves collapse onto one another. A key aspect of this approach is its ability to provide a reproducible and more objective measure of whether a collection of datasets yields a consistent “universal” signal according to an appropriate model of the raw signals. Importantly, integrating this validation step into the analysis hardens the measurement protocol by allowing one to identify experimental conditions and/or modeling assumptions that may corrupt a measurement. Moreover, this robustness facilitates extraction of thermodynamic information at no additional cost in experimental time. We illustrate and test our approach on experiments of Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) pairs used study the thermodynamics of DNA loops.
A demonstration of willump: a statistically-aware end-to-end optimizer for machine learning inference

Systems for ML inference are widely deployed today, but they typically optimize ML inference workloads using techniques designed for conventional data serving workloads and miss critical opportunities to leverage the statistical nature of ML. In this demo, we present Willump, an optimizer for ML inference that introduces statistically-motivated optimizations targeting ML applications whose performance bottleneck is feature computation. Willump automatically cascades feature computation for classification queries: Willump classifies most data inputs using only high-value, low-cost features selected by a cost model, improving query performance by up to 5 x without statistically significant accuracy loss. In this demo, we use interactive and easily-downloadable Jupyter notebooks to show VLDB attendees which applications Willump can speed up, how to use Willump, and how Willump produces such large performance gains.
Designing a visualization tool for children to reflect on their collaborative dialogue

Abstract Collaborative learning is an essential part of children’s development, positively impacting academic achievement and fostering higher levels of reasoning. However, young learners often face challenges with taking turns in conversation, openly listening to ideas, and respecting different viewpoints. One way to foster collaborative skills may be to raise children’s awareness of their own collaborative dialogue. In this paper, we present a new interactive visualization application that supports children in reflecting on their collaborative dialogue from a recent prior interaction. The tool analyzes children’s completed dialogue and then presents temporal information about their interaction with their partner. We implemented two studies with 36 seventh grade children who collaboratively completed computing activities. We conducted think-aloud sessions to investigate children’s perceptions, preferences, and expectations of the collaborative dialogue visualizations. The results showed that the dialogue visualizations hold promise for helping children increase their awareness of collaborative dialogue and set their own goals regarding ways they would like to improve.
Subject Librarians Vs Collection Data: How to Use Data to Visualize a Small Monograph Collection

To understand an Anthropology print collection, a librarian at an urban university created data visualizations. The librarian analyzed the Library of Congress Classification call numbers GN, public...
Role of Immunomodulation of BCG Therapy on AML Remission.

Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) has been studied in various cancers for its immune modulation. Although the mechanism is yet to be completely understood, we do have positive experiences in many oncological cases. Hereby, we present a case of an 82-year-old male with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) post allogeneic Stem Cell Transplants (AlloSCT) as a salvage therapy, now in remission, who presented with hematuria. Workup confirmed non-muscle invasive Bladder Cancer (NMIBC), for which he was treated with nine sessions of intravesical BCG therapy. During BCG treatment, the patient developed gradually increasing lymphocyte counts. Flowcytometry of a peripheral blood sample showed polyclonal cell lymphocytosis with CD8+ T-cell expansion. Although further work up his lymphocytosis to be polyclonal, it has persisted at follow-up for the last 4 years. Also, we did not find any evidence of leukemia recurrence at follow-up prompting us to associate the BCG use for this patient and it is role as immunomodulation to keep AML disease in remission.
Active Learning Versus Traditional Teaching Methods in the Family Medicine Clerkship.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Active learning, defined as a variety of teaching methods that engage the learner in self-evaluation and personalized learning, is emerging as the new educational standard. This study aimed to evaluate how family medicine clerkship directors are incorporating active learning methods into the clerkship curriculum. METHODS Data were collected via a Council of Academic Family Medicine Educational Research Alliance survey of family medicine clerkship directors. Participants answered questions about the number and type of teaching faculty in their department, the various teaching methods used in their family medicine clerkship, and what challenges they had faced in implementing active learning methods. RESULTS The survey response rate was 64%; 97% of family medicine clerkships use active learning techniques. The most common were online modules, problem-based learning, and hands-on workshops. The number of teaching faculty was significantly correlated with hours spent in live (not online) active teaching. One-third of clerkship directors felt challenged by lack of resources for adopting active learning. Clerkship directors did not cite lack of expertise as a challenge to implementing active learning. Time dedicated to clerkship director duties or the presence of a dedicated educator in the department was not associated with the adoption of active learning. CONCLUSIONS The use of active learning in the family medicine clerkship is required both by educational standards and student expectations. Clerkship directors may feel challenged by lack of resources in their attempts to adopt active learning. However, there are many methods of active learning, such as online modules, that are less faculty time intensive.
Reproductive Deficits Induced by Prenatal Antimüllerian Hormone Exposure Require Androgen Receptor in Kisspeptin Cells.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common reproductive disorder characterized by elevated androgens and antimullerian hormone (AMH). These hormones remain elevated throughout pregnancy, and potential effects of hormone exposure on offspring from women with PCOS remain largely unexplored. Expanding on recent reports of prenatal AMH exposure in mice, we have fully characterized the reproductive consequences of prenatal AMH (pAMH) exposure throughout the lifespan of first- and second-generation offspring of both sexes. We also sought to elucidate mechanisms underlying pAMH-induced reproductive effects. There is a known reciprocal relationship between AMH and androgens, and in PCOS and PCOS-like animal models, androgen feedback is dysregulated at the level of the hypothalamus. Kisspeptin neurons express androgen receptors and play a critical role in sexual development and function. We therefore hypothesized that pAMH-induced reproductive phenotypes would be mediated by androgen signaling at the level of kisspeptin cells. We tested the pAMH model in kisspeptin-specific androgen receptor knockout (KARKO) mice and found that virtually all pAMH-induced phenotypes assayed are eliminated in KARKO offspring compared to littermate controls. By demonstrating the necessity of androgen receptor in kisspeptin cells to induce pAMH phenotypes, we have advanced understanding of the interactions between AMH and androgens in the context of prenatal exposure, which could have significant implications for children of women with PCOS.