cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
REVIEW OF PHARMACOTHERAPY OPTIONS FOR THE TREATMENT OF ATTENTION-DEFICIT/ HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD) AND ADHD-LIKE SYMPTOMS IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS

Developmental disorders such as subaverage intelligence, pervasive developmental disorders, and genetic syndromes are frequently associated with comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or ADHD-like symptoms. While there are not pharmacological cures for these developmental disorders, coinciding ADHD and ADHD-like symptoms that contribute to difficulties in psychosocial functioning are frequently able to be addressed by pharmacotherapy. This article reviews what is known about the efficacy and tolerability of pharmacological interventions for the treatment of children and adolescents suffering from developmental disorders and comorbid ADHD/ADHD-like symptoms.
Measuring Mortar Shrinkage and Cracking by Pulse Pre-Pump Brillouin Optical Time Domain Analysis with a Single Optical Fiber

Abstract In this study, a new method to measure strain distribution and detect cracking with pulse pre-pump Brillouin optical time domain analysis (PPP-BOTDA) is proposed. A mortar cylinder was cast in a corrugated polyethylene mold with two end plugs and tested according to ASTM C1698 for autogenous shrinkage. It was instrumented with two sensors made of a single optical fiber: one for combined strain and temperature measurement and the other for temperature compensation. The shrinkage-induced compressive strain was non-uniformly distributed over the sensor length. The average of the distributed strain was in excellent agreement with autogenous shrinkage that can be determined from the ASTM test. The location and magnitude of each peak of the distributed strain can be used to detect a corresponding invisible hidden crack.
Molecular Orbital Studies of Methoxy-1,3,5-cycloheptatriene Isomers: Results from Semiempirical, ab Initio, and Density Functional Theory Calculations

The fully optimized structures and relative energies of all possible methoxy-1,3,5-cycloheptatriene (MCHT) isomers have been determined by semiempirical, ab initio, and density functional theory (DFT) molecular orbital calculations. All methods identify the boat conformation of 1-methoxy-1,3,5-cycloheptatriene as the most stable species in this group of compounds. In order to evaluate boat interconversion barriers, optimizations of the planar isomers were also performed. For comparison purposes, we applied the same computational methodologies to boat and planar conformations of 1,3,5-cycloheptatriene (CHT). Among the semiempirical methods, the SAM1 approximation was found to best reproduce the ab initio and DFT results. Examination of rotational energy profiles allowed for identification of the factors controlling the preferred orientations of the methoxy group in these compounds. The calculations predict that methoxy substitution has little influence on the preferred conformation of the seven-membered ri...
Comparison of Adolescents' Reports of Sexual Behavior on a Survey and Sexual Health History Calendar

Assessing sexual risk is critical for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention with adolescents. This article compares sexual risk reports from two self-administered instruments, a standard survey and a sexual health history calendar (SHHC), among racially diverse youth (n = 232) ages 14 to 21 seeking services at a public health clinic. Agreement between methods was assessed using Lin's concordance correlation coefficients (CCC) and Bland-Altman plots. Lin's CCC showed poor to moderate agreement between instruments on reports of sexual partners in the past 3 (0.47), 6 (0.55), and 12 (0.49) months. While individual sexual partner questions were refused a total of 179 times on the survey, youth reported having sexual partners during the same time period on the SHHC in most (77.1%) of these instances. Poor agreement was also found for condom use frequency (CCC = 0.17), with youth's frequency of condom use on the SHHC differing from that reported on the survey for...
The state of American sociology

Sociology appears to be one of the most internally divided disciplines, if not the most. Departmental struggles, which have led to sociologists complaining to administrators about each other, have put the field in bad repute among campus officials and have endangered its survival in some schools. The American Sociological Society and American Sociological Association have been among the most conflict-ridden associations in academe for generations. Severe internecine struggles have a long history in the field. It may be suggested that they are related to the propensity of the field to attract social reformers and political activists. But hard evidence indicates sociology graduate students are among the weakest, as judged by test scores.
Accurate SVDs of weakly diagonally dominant M-matrices

We present a new O(n3) algorithm which computes the SVD of a weakly diagonally dominant M-matrix to high relative accuracy. The algorithm takes as an input the offdiagonal entries of the matrix and its row sums.
Effects of Visual Display and Motion System Delays on Operator Performance and Uneasiness in a Driving Simulator

The role of visual-motion coupling delays and cueing order on operator performance and uneasiness was assessed in a driving simulator by means of a response surface methodology central-composite design. The most salient finding of the study was that visual delay appears to be more disruptive to an individual's control performance and well-being than motion delay. Empirical multiple regression models were derived to predict 10 reliable measures of simulator operator driving performance and comfort. Principal components analysis on these 10 models decomposed the dependent measures into two significant models which were labeled vestibular disruption and degraded performance. Examination of the empirical models revealed that, for asynchronous delay conditions, better performance and well-being were achieved when the visual system led the motion system. A secondary analysis of the role of subject gender and perceptual style on susceptibility to simulator sickness revealed that neither of these independent vari...
Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Regulates Oligodendroglial Development

The expression of the gut tumor suppressor gene adenomatous polyposis coli (Apc) and its role in the oligodendroglial lineage are poorly understood. We found that immunoreactive APC is transiently induced in the oligodendroglial lineage during both normal myelination and remyelination following toxin-induced, genetic, or autoimmune demyelination murine models. Using the Cre/loxP system to conditionally ablate APC from the oligodendroglial lineage, we determined that APC enhances proliferation of oligodendroglial progenitor cells (OPCs) and is essential for oligodendrocyte differentiation in a cell-autonomous manner. Biallelic Apc disruption caused translocation of β-catenin into the nucleus and upregulated β-catenin-mediated Wnt signaling in early postnatal but not adult oligodendroglial lineage cells. The results of conditional ablation of Apc or Ctnnb1 (the gene encoding β-catenin) and of simultaneous conditional ablation of Apc and Ctnnb1 revealed that β-catenin is dispensable for postnatal oligodendroglial differentiation, that Apc one-allele deficiency is not sufficient to dysregulate β-catenin-mediated Wnt signaling in oligodendroglial lineage cells, and that APC regulates oligodendrocyte differentiation through β-catenin-independent, as well as β-catenin-dependent, mechanisms. Gene ontology analysis of microarray data suggested that the β-catenin-independent mechanism involves APC regulation of the cytoskeleton, a result compatible with established APC functions in neural precursors and with our observation that Apc-deleted OPCs develop fewer, shorter processes in vivo. Together, our data support the hypothesis that APC regulates oligodendrocyte differentiation through both β-catenin-dependent and additional β-catenin-independent mechanisms.
Incidental subepithelial sigmoid colon lesion.

63-year-old woman presented for screening coAlonoscopy that revealed a 15-mm subepithelial lesion on a short stalk in the sigmoid colon (Figure A). Endoscopic ultrasound showed a well-defined, hypoechoic lesion limited to the muscularis mucosae (MM) (Figure B). To decrease the risk of postpolypectomy bleeding, a detachable endoloop (HX-400U-30; Olympus Corporation, Tokyo, Japan) was placed at the base of the lesion, which was then successfully resected without complications. Histopathology showed proliferation of smooth muscle cells in the MM with negative resection margins (Figure C). Immunohistochemistry was positive for smooth muscle actin and negative for CD-117, DOG1, and S-100. These findings were consistent with a colonic leiomyoma. Gastrointestinal leiomyomas, subepithelial benign smooth muscle tumors, are most commonly found in the esophagus. Colonic leiomyomas (Figure A) are rare, constitute only 3% of these tumors, and are usually located in the rectosigmoid area. They are most commonly asymptomatic but can present with abdominal pain, obstruction, bleeding, or perforation. Endoscopic resection is a safe option in select lesions. If the tumor is confirmed by endoscopic ultrasound to arise from the MM (Figure B), it can be safely resected during endoscopy. Alternatively, safety of resection can be confirmed by submucosal injection technique in an attempt to lift the lesion. Positive non-lifting sign is
A simple optofluidic platform for label-free cell-surface marker screening

Current technologies for cell surface marker screening such as flow cytometry and florescence microscopy, though indispensable, are not well suited for deployment in low resource or point-ofcare settings. Recently, node-pore sensing (NPS) has emerged as a microfluidic platform for labelfree cell surface marker screening. In NPS the transit time of individual cells being flowed through an antibody-functionalized microchannel are measured. Cells that express surface markers corresponding to a functionalized region are delayed due to specific, transient interactions with the surface. In this manner, the presence or absence of a particular surface marker is determined with single cell resolution. Here we show that by measuring the transit time optically as opposed to electrically, the abilities of NPS can be extended. We demonstrate this approach through measurements on human breast cancer cells. The technology presented here could potentially be deployed in low-resource settings as a diagnostic tool.
Structure-aware hair capture

Existing hair capture systems fail to produce strands that reflect the structures of real-world hairstyles. We introduce a system that reconstructs coherent and plausible wisps aware of the underlying hair structures from a set of still images without any special lighting. Our system first discovers locally coherent wisp structures in the reconstructed point cloud and the 3D orientation field, and then uses a novel graph data structure to reason about both the connectivity and directions of the local wisp structures in a global optimization. The wisps are then completed and used to synthesize hair strands which are robust against occlusion and missing data and plausible for animation and simulation. We show reconstruction results for a variety of complex hairstyles including curly, wispy, and messy hair.
PIT and Cache dynamics in CCN

In this simulation-based performance study, we focus on the interplay of Cache-PIT dynamics in CCN under congested and non-congested network settings with a varied set of topologies (both synthetic and real-world) and workloads. We show that the PIT aggregation effect increases commensurately with both network load and the Betweenness Centrality attribute of the topology. While both PIT aggregation and in-network caching contribute significantly to achieving savings in network bandwidth consumption, they do not do so in an additive fashion. As network load increases, gains from cache hits diminish and are replaced by gains from PIT aggregation without dramatically impacting the overall level of savings achieved.
Neurotoxic effects of sodium nitroprusside in rat hippocampal slices

To investigate the possible role of nitric oxide (NO) in n-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-induced neurotoxicity we examined the effects of sodium nitroprusside (SNP) in rat hippocampal slices. Incubation with 3 mM SNP for up to 2 h produced neuronal damage characterized by "nuclear ballooning" in CA3 and CA1 pyramidal neurons and interneurons. The nuclear ballooning was not blocked by lowering the external calcium concentration or coincubation with MK-801 and/or 6,7-dinitro-quinoxaline-2,3-dione. Two lines of evidence suggest that the SNP neurotoxicity is not mediated by NO. First, inactivation of SNP by UV light failed to prevent the nuclear ballooning. Second, the toxicity was not attenuated by coadministration of hemoglobin. Although cyanide can be released from SNP, potassium cyanide did not mimic the nuclear ballooning. In electrophysiological experiments, 100 microM SNP irreversibly diminished the CA1 population spike amplitude while having less effect on the field excitatory postsynaptic potential. The effect of SNP on population spikes was inhibited by hemoglobin and was not mimicked by light-inactivated SNP. These results suggest that active SNP and light-treated SNP have different effects on hippocampal neurons and that SNP induces damage that differs from that produced by NMDA or cyanide.
6-aminonicotinic acid hydrochloride

The title compound, 2-amino-5-carboxypyridinium chloride, C 6 H 7 N 2 O 2 + .Cl - , was isolated from a 1 M HCl aqueous solution containing 2-amino-5-cyanopyridine. The structure is held together by extensive hydrogen bonding between the chloride ions and the carboxylic acid, amino and pyridinium H atoms. The molecules pack as sheets, with the sheets at a distance of 3.21 (3) A from one another.
Alcohol-induced cardiac hemodynamic and Ca2+ flux dysfunctions are reversible☆

Abstract Cardiac hemodynamic function and calcium accumulation by cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane vesicles were studied in control rats, in rats that had consumed alcohol as 39% of their daily calories for 10 months, and in alcoholic rats after a period of withdrawal from alcohol to determine if alcohol-induced alterations were reversible. Cardiac pump function was assessed with an isolated working whole heart preparation. Alcoholic rat hearts exhibited decreased response of left ventricular peak systolic pressure, d P d t max , peak aortic flow, and − d P d t max to challenge with the sympathomimetic agent, dobutamine (0.1 μ m ). After alcohol was withdrawn from the diet for 4 to 6 months, cardiac hemodynamic response to dobutamine was not significantly different from controls. In alcoholic rats, Ca 2+ binding and uptake were significantly lower than in controls. Four to six months following withdrawal of alcohol, Ca 2+ binding and uptake had returned to control values. The data indicate that chronic alcohol consumption results in cardiac impairment characterized by inability of the heart to fully respond to β-adrenergic stimulation. This adrenergic subsensitivity may be caused, at least in part, by defect(s) in relaxation and excitation-contraction coupling mediated by intracellular Ca 2+ fluxes. These defects were reversible since cardiac pump function and calcium accumulation returned to normal after withdrawing alcohol.
The Etiology of the Occurrence of En Banc Review in the U.S. Court of Appeals

The U.S. Courts of Appeals, working principally through three-judge panels, constitute important final arbiters of the meaning of the federal constitution, laws, and regulations and, hence, significant policymakers within the federal system. En banc rehearing—reconsideration of the decision of a three-judge panel by the full complement of judges appointed to the circuit—is an institutional device that ensures circuit decisions are in line with the established preferences of the circuit. The use of en banc varies in frequency across circuits and within circuits over time. Drawing on legal, attitudinal, and strategic perspectives of judicial behavior, we develop and test a set of integrated expectations regarding the causes of this variation. Our analysis finds support for the operation of all three models and suggests that the influence of ideology on the use of en banc in the recent era is not unique but part of a long-standing pattern.
The risks of knowing and not knowing

I can recall three distinct injunctions early in my psychotherapeutic training. Only later I discovered that each of them was the 'fundamental rule' of one of the psychiatric schools. This was before I saw dearly that there were psychiatric schools, indeed that psychiatry as a whole hardly existed: so the separate injunctions were carried as one. I knew from my medical training that one should look for symptoms and signs, that there were disease pictures which could crystallize out of even psychopathological phenomena. True, I suspected before I read Sullivan that the steadiness of these symptoms and signs was in question, specifically how much the observer provoked or continued their existence. I did not yet suspect, however, the extensive 'corporealization' of mind that medical training developed in many psychiatrists. The psychoanalytic injunction was the one most clearly demarcated: Say whatever comes to mind. I f I failed to grasp its imperative nature, and the effects of commanding on freedom and associating in general, I saw the purpose and admired the courage that silence and waiting required. My principal difficulty lay in the very different ways in which my teachers carried the injunction out. Most were laid-back and quiet; some you could almost hear breathe. One, Ives Hendrick, was the opposite, intrusive and intuitive; he did not walt for the unconscious; he tracked it down and attacked it. Even to this day I feel a double pull during associative work, to listen and wait on one hand, to speak my intuitions on the other. Thirdly, another teacher, Elvin Semrad, did something plainly different from the other analysts and at first hard to describe. He also listened but not from afar. At the same time, though very dose, he did not intrude. He was with the patient and not so much verbally as affectively. It was my First, at that time unidentified, experience with empathic as opposed to intuitive listening. I also did not realize it was my first encounter with existential work. There was a fourth injunction, but it was not formulated at all then and only dearly formulated 20 years later. In those days, in the conservative city of Boston, you carried the writings of Harry Stack Sullivan around in a brown paper bag. He was called a neoFreudian, which he was not, and disreputable, which indeed he was. But in some strange way, reading him helped with the difficult cases. He did not explain how, and I was afraid to ask my teachers. In any event, they could not have told me. I had to fred that one out for myself. I can see now that these were the seeds of much that came after for me: the management of distance in psychotherapy, the language of the schools, the roles of knowing and feeling,
Life Course Perspectives on Adolescent Parenthood Research

Three strategies to make models of adolescent parenthood more realistic and more relevant to social policy are presented: 1 Behavioral hypotheses linking early parenthood to presumed causes and later consequences should reflect a “continuous adjustment” perspective on the young adult life course rather than the prevailing “fixed-order equilibrium” perspective. 2 Variables used to measure the timing of first childbearing should differentiate among distinct actions and circumstances that lead to the initial childbearing. 3 Constraints and incentives (especially those subject to policy influence) present in the immediate environments of young adults and potentially affecting the transition to parenthood should be explicitly represented in models.
Effects of visual access and orientation on the discovery of integrative bargaining alternatives

Forty-six bargaining pairs took part in an experiment in which a 2 × 2 factorial design was used to assess the importance of visual access and bargaining orientation on the ability of subjects to discover mutually advantageous alternatives. A barrier which eliminated visual contact was found to facilitate the discovery of mutually advantageous alternatives for subjects instructed to disregard their opponent's needs (an individualistic orientation). It had no effect on subjects instructed to consider their opponent's position (a problem-solving orientation). The barrier led to a reduction in the occurrence of dysfunctional verbal process (threats and persuasive arguments) in the individualistic orientation condition. The effect was apparently due to the elimination of facial gaze and physical proximity cues. Both of these nonverbal behaviors were negatively related to joint outcome and positively related to competitive verbal processes.
High-speed test station for solid state imagers

A PC-based programmable solid-state imager test station has been designed and is in final development phases. It is designed to provide a flexible universal high-speed platform for evaluation of different imager designs and formats including various multiport configurations. The system provides drive and acquisition circuitry and components to allow electro-optic characterization of imagers as a function of pixel readout rate. The data are scan-converted to RS-170 format for analysis. The system's functional capabilities and performance are presented. Examples of program code to generate three phase clocks for an 8-port Frame Transfer EEV CCD are included. A sampling of preliminary results obtained from variable rate clocking of this imager are discussed.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Reliability of vertical-cavity lasers at Hewlett-Packard

Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers (VCSELs) have rapidly been adopted for use in data communications modules due largely to the improvement in reliability over that of competing compact disc lasers. While very long mean lifetimes for VCSELs have been published elsewhere (> 5 X 106 h MTTF at 40C), telecommunications switching applications require further reduction in the early failure rate to meet targets of < 0.5% failures over 25 years at 50 - 70 degree(s)C. Therefore, a extensive reliability program is needed to measure both the wear-out lifetime and the random failure rate of the devices. The results of accelerated life tests will be presented, and we will discuss the methodology used to estimate the failure rate. Models of current and thermal acceleration will be presented. Degradation mechanisms observed in HP lasers will be briefly discussed. We also present preliminary results from HP oxide-aperture VCSELs.
Public inputs and child schooling in Brazil

Household data from a one percent sample of the 1970 Brazilian census are used to analyze the effect of public inputs, i.e. the supply of schooling, on children's school attainment in Brazil. The household data are combined with measures of school availability and quality derived directly from the same census data; the measures are based on the number and education of schoolteachers in each of 169 different areas of the country. Elasticities of demand with respect to these public inputs are estimated; these elasticities are high in both rural and urban areas. In urban areas, the positive effect of public inputs is greater for children from households with poorer and less-educated parents. In rural areas, the positive effect of public inputs is greater, if anything, for children from households that are relatively better off, at least compared to other rural households.
On division of the question

I believe that the mathematical theory of voting may be used to shed light on traditional rules of parliamentary procedure. For example, Black's [2] theory of voting on issues when the alternatives can be ordered so that each member's preferences are single-peaked highlights the importance of the chairman's casting vote in the case of an even number of voters. In this paper I study how another rule, division of the question on amendments, affects the creation of successful packages.
A ‘log—beta’ vs. the log—normal distribution for particle populations with a wide finite size range

Abstract A population is defined as ‘log—beta’ distributed when its normalized logarithmic size is beta distributed. Computer-generated log—normal distributions with a wide spread, of two or more decades, were fitted by the ‘log—beta’ model using nonlinear regression, and it was shown that the two models are highly compatible despite their mathematical dissimilarity. Since the ‘log—beta’ model is not restricted to distributions that are skewed to the right, it is particularly attractive for systems that involve size distributions that are skewed to the left. It can also describe distributions that, although skewed to the right, cannot be described by the log—normal distribution.
Gas analysis by computer-controlled microwave rotational spectrometry

Microwave rotational spectrometry has inherently high resolution and is thus nearely ideal for qualitative gas mixture analysis. Quantitative gas analysis is also possible by a simplified method which utilizes the ease with which molecular rotational transitions can be saturated at low microwave power densities. This article describes a computer-controlled microwave spectrometer which is used to demonstrate for the first time a totally automated analysis of a complex gas mixture. Examples are shown for a complete qualitative and quantitative analysis, in which a search of over 100 different compounds is made in less than 7 min, with sensitivity for most compounds in the 10 to 100 ppm range. This technique is expected to find increased use in view of the reduced complexity and increased reliability of microwave spectrometers and because of new energy-related applications for analysis of mixtures of small molecules.
Does pharmacotherapy induce paradoxical worsening in some patients

Unexpected clinical worsening has been described anecdotally during pharmacotherapy for depression. We analyzed data front 7,974 patients in double-blind, controlled trials (fluoxetine, placebo, tricyclics; mood/nonmood disorders). Paradoxical worsening with placebo either exceeded (bulimia nervosa, obesity) or was comparable (depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder) to that with fluoxetine or tricyclics. Paradoxical worsening appears to be part of the disease course, not uniquely the result of pharmacotherapy. Depression 1:105–107(1993). © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Thulium sensitization of praseodymium and neodymium mid-infrared transitions in potassium lead chloride

Thulium is investigated as a sensitizing ion for the mid-infrared transitions of praseodymium and neodymium doped into low-phonon energy crystals. Pumping thulium with 800 nm laser diodes enhances emission of mid-infrared fluorescence between 4000 and 5500 nm in potassium lead chloride co-doped with Tm3+ - Pr3+ and Tm3+ - Nd3+.
Drinking refusal self-efficacy and tension-reduction alcohol expectancies moderating the relationship between generalized anxiety and drinking behaviors in young adult drinkers.

Despite the substantial comorbidity between generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and alcohol use disorders (AUD), little is known about contributing factors to this relationship. This lack of knowledge has limited the development of theoretical models explicating the interesting yet complex relationship between GAD and AUD. The current study examined the roles of generalized anxiety, tension-reduction alcohol expectancies, and drinking refusal self-efficacy in accounting for the variance of alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences in a sample of young adult drinkers (N = 474; 18-25 years of age, median age 19, 66% female) from a large, urban Midwestern university. Results showed that generalized anxiety level interacted with both tension-reduction alcohol expectancies and drinking refusal self-efficacy to predict alcohol consumption and alcohol-related consequences. Findings support the assessment of both alcohol-related consequences and alcohol consumption, and highlight the importance of drinking refusal self-efficacy, which is a currently underexamined variable. Study results also enhance the knowledge about the underlining mechanisms of GAD and AUD comorbidity, which facilitates the development of an empirically based theoretical paradigm for their relationship. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved). Language: en
The consequences of abortion and contraception policies on young women's reproductive choices, schooling and labor supply

I specify a dynamic life-cycle model of abortion, contraceptive use, schooling, and labor supply decisions of US women. I structurally estimate the model, allowing for abortion misreporting, using from the NLSY97, aggregate abortion provider data from the Guttmacher Institute, and information on mandatory counseling restrictions at the state level. I simulate a series of policies and find that eliminating access to abortion services increases contraceptive use but decreases womenâ€™s schooling and lifetime earnings. I also find that providing free contraception would increase contraceptive use and decrease abortion rates substantially, while also leading to an increase in womenâ€™s schooling.
Two Items Remembered as Precisely as One How Integral Features Can Improve Visual Working Memory

In the ongoing debate about the efficacy of visual working memory for more than three items, a consensus has emerged that memory precision declines as memory load increases from one to three. Many studies have reported that memory precision seems to be worse for two items than for one. We argue that memory for two items appears less precise than that for one only because two items present observers with a correspondence challenge that does not arise when only one item is stored—the need to relate observations to their corresponding memory representations. In three experiments, we prevented correspondence errors in two-item trials by varying sample items along task-irrelevant but integral (as opposed to separable) dimensions. (Initial experiments with a classic sorting paradigm identified integral feature relationships.) In three memory experiments, our manipulation produced equally precise representations of two items and of one item.
THE CHALLENGE OF REVOLUTIONARY DEMOCRACY IN THE LIFE AND THOUGHT OF ROSA LUXEMBURG

Rosa Luxemburg's life and wisdom have illuminated the human experience and inspired many people to reach for a better world. Many of her insights and inclinations seem to place her with certain cothinkers or partial cothinkers who, like her, are central to the Marxist tradition—whether Kautsky, or Lenin, or Trotsky. Her own distinctive insights come through, I think, in the way she talks about the natural world, in her sense of kinship with other creatures of this planet, in her open and penetrating engagement with human dignity and human suffering, in her often luminously sensual formulations and turns of phrase, and also in her wonderful humor. Her writings are incredibly alive.1
Network topology discovery using finite mixture models

We propose a network topology estimation strategy using unicast end-to-end packet pair delay measurements that is based on mixture models for the delay covariances. An unsupervised learning algorithm is applied to estimate the number of mixture components and delay covariances. The leaf pairs are clustered by a MAP criterion and passed to a hierarchical topology construction algorithm to rebuild the tree. Results from an ns simulation show that our algorithm can identify a network tree with 8 leaf nodes.
Perspectives and experiences of homeless young people

Aim. This paper reports a study describing the experiences and perspectives of homeless young people as research participants. Background. Worldwide, homeless young people are an especially vulnerable group due to their age, socio-economic disadvantage, and stigmatized status, and can suffer from human rights abuses. Researchers and advocates have noted that we know relatively little about the effects of research participation on adolescents in general, and much less about marginalized adolescents such as homeless young people; nor do we know about their perceptions and experiences as research participants. There is a lack of studies reported to help guide the ethical conduct of research with homeless young people. Methods. Individual interviews with 30 street and clinic-based homeless young people aged 15–23 years and two focus groups with a total of 13 additional homeless young people were conducted in a large West-coast city in the United States of America. The study took place between January and June 2003. Interviews and focus groups were tape-recorded, transcribed, preliminarily coded, with final coding crosschecked and verified with a second researcher. Findings. The majority of young people reported positive experiences as research participants in the past. None reported coercive research experiences; however, many stated that they would have liked more information about how the data they provided would be used by the researchers. All participants reported that it was important to be provided with research incentives, and thought that small monetary or pre-paid phone cards were appropriate incentives. They did express concerns that larger research incentives could be coercive and harmful for some homeless young people. Conclusion. Researchers working with homeless young people should seek greater input from them on the overall design of the study, especially concerning the appropriate use of research incentives.
ScholarWiki system for knowledge indexing and retrieval

The goal of this research is to develop a tri-dimensional metadata model and implement this model through the ScholarWiki system to combine the machine-induced, user-enhanced metadata for more effective knowledge discovery and information retrieval. The tri-dimensional model captures the Structural, Descriptive, and Referential (SDR) metadata and incorporates them into a social media platform—ScholarWiki system. By allowing low-barrier participation, scholars (both as authors and users) can participate in the knowledge and metadata editing and enhancing process and benefit from more accurate and effective information retrieval. The ScholarWiki system utilizes machine-learning techniques that can automatically produce self-enhanced metadata through learning the structural metadata that scholars contribute. The cumulated machine learning will add intelligence to automatically enhance and update the publication metadata Wiki pages.
Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Gene Regulation Transcriptional and Posttranscriptional Mechanisms

Angiotensin II (Ang II), the major bioactive peptide of the renin–angiotensin system, was originally described as a potent vasoconstrictor. It is now recognized as a multifunctional hormone influencing many cellular processes, including cell growth, apoptosis, migration, inflammation, and fibrosis.1,2 Under pathological conditions, the vasoconstrictor, mitogenic, proinflammatory, and profibrotic actions of Ang II contribute to altered vascular tone, structural remodeling, and endothelial dysfunction.3–6 Thus, Ang II plays a key role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. The biological responses of Ang II are mediated by its interaction with 2 distinct high-affinity G protein–coupled receptors now designated Ang II type 1 receptor (AT1R) and Ang II type 2 receptor.7 Most of the known physiological and pathophysiological effects of Ang II are mediated via the AT1R.1–7 This receptor subtype is expressed in cardiovascular-relevant cell types including vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), endothelial cells, cardiac myocytes, cardiac fibroblasts, and renal mesangial cells.7 The multiple actions of Ang II, mediated through the AT1R, are a result of complex intracellular signaling pathways including stimulation of the phospholipase C/inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate/diacylglycerol cascade, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/extracellular signal-regulated kinases, tyrosine kinases, and RhoA/Rho kinase.1,2,4,6,7 In addition, AT1Rs mediate many of their pathophysiological effects by stimulating reactive oxygen species generation via an reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide/reduced nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase-dependent mechanism.2,8 Reactive oxygen species, in turn, influences downstream signaling molecules, including transcription factors, tyrosine kinases/phosphatases, Ca2+ channels, and MAPKs.2,8 The expression level of the AT1R defines the biological efficacy of Ang II; hence, overexpression of the AT1R is one potential mechanism by which Ang II can contribute to cardiovascular disease. Importantly, aberrant expression of the AT1R has been shown to have pathophysiological relevance in cell culture, animal studies, …
Modeling and evaluation of traffic flow and availability for mobile ad hoc networks

Recently mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) are attracting increasing attention. Much work has been done by using various simulations tools. In this paper, we evaluate the performance of MANETs by analytic modeling. Based on two-dimensional Markov processes, several analytical models for packet traffic flow and connection availability are built by considering the impact of various types of failures. Some interesting performance metrics are then determined, e.g., steady state path availability (SSPA), mean end-to-end packet delay (EEPD), and loss of packets due to unavailability (LPU). The developed models and metrics are expected to serve as the first step for performance evaluation and guide for protocol design of MANETs
A fuzzy similarity measure based on the centrality scores of fuzzy terms

The idea of bow tie graphs had generated interest in Web graphs, Web mining algorithms, and the study of hubs and authorities in Web graphs. A bow tie graph is a graph such that at the center of the bow tie is the knot, which is "the strongly connected core", the left bow consists of pages that eventually allow users to reach the core, but that cannot themselves be reached from the core, i.e., L, where L=(L/sub 1/, L/sub 2/ ,L/sub 3/,....,L/sub m/), and the right bow consists of "termination" pages that can be accessed via links from the core but that do not link back into the core, i.e., R where R=(R/sub 1/, R/sub 2/, R/sub 3/.....,R/sub n/) and where n is different from m. We use this idea to construct a new fuzzy similarity measure between 2 fuzzy concepts. We say that 2 fuzzy terms t/sub 1/ and t/sub 2/ are fuzzy /spl epsi/(/spl epsi/>=0) "bow tie similar" or "/spl cong//spl epsi/BT" iff: t/sub 1//spl cong//spl epsi/BT t/sub 2/ iff |C/sub t1/,/sub t2/| >=/spl epsi/ and |C/sub t2/,/sub t1/| >=/spl epsi/, where C/sub ti/,/sub tj/ is the centrality score distribution of term t/sub 1/ for term t/sub j/. A centrality score C/sub tj/ is defined iteratively as: (C/sub ti/)/sub k/ =1 at k=0; (C/sub tj/)/sub k+1/=Max(Min((B/spl deg/ (C/sub tj/)/sub k/ /spl deg/ AT, BT /spl deg/ (C/sub tj/)/sub k/ /spl deg/ A ))//spl par/ B /spl deg/ (C/sub ti/)/sub k/ /spl deg/ AT + BT /spl deg/ (C/sub ti/)/sub k/ /spl deg/ A)/spl par/, where, /spl deg/ is the symbol of composition of 2 relations, T is the transpose of the mapping, /spl par/ is an absolute value, B is a fuzzy relation on L/spl times/{/sub t1/,t/sub 2/}, where L=(L/sub 1/, L/sub 2/, L/sub 3/,.....,L/sub m/), A is a fuzzy relation on {t/sub 1/,t/sub 2/} /spl times/ R, where R=(R/sub 1/, R/sub 2/, R/sub 3/,.....,R/sub n/). Remember that the centrality score definition stems from the following observation on bow tie graphs: (L/sub 1/, L/sub 2/, L/sub 3/, ....., L/sub m/) is t/sub 1/ & (L/sub 1/, L/sub 2/, L/sub 3/, .....L/sub m/) is t2 and t1 is (R/sub 1/, R/sub 2/, R/sub 3/,.....R/sub n/). Our fuzzy similarity measure is a new fuzzy similarity measure and was never used before. We study different kinds of fuzzy membership functions for the relation A and B. We apply our fuzzy similarity measure to different terms that we picked from the dictionary at http://www.eleves.ens.fr/home/senellar/. We compare those results to existing non-fuzzy similarity measures. Our results show that similarity between terms based on fuzzy /spl epsi/ "bow tie similar" is a better similarity between terms than the equivalent non-fuzzy similarity measures.
Neuroprotective Activity of pDING in Response to HIV‐1 Tat

Although neurons are not productively infected with HIV-1, neuronal injury and death are frequently seen in the brains of AIDS patients with neurological and neurocognitive disorders. Evidently, viral proteins including Tat and cellular inflammatory factors released by activated and/or infected microglia, macrophages, and astrocytes contribute to neuronal cell death. Several studies have demonstrated that HIV-1 associated neuronal cell injury is mediated by dysregulation of signaling pathways that are controlled, in part, by a class of serine/threonine kinases. In this study, we demonstrate that pDING, a novel plant-derived phosphate binding protein has the capacity to reduce the severity of injury and death caused by HIV-1 and its neurotoxic Tat protein. We demonstrate that pDING, also called p27SJ/p38SJ, protects cells from the loss of neuronal processes induced by Tat and promotes neuronal outgrowth after Tat-mediated injury. Further, expression of pDING prevents Tat-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial permeability. With its profound phosphatase activity, pDING controls the activity of several kinases including MAPK, Cdk5, and their downstream target protein, MEF2, which is implicated in neuronal cell protection. Our results show that expression of pDING in neuronal cells diminishes the level of hyperphosphorylated forms of Cdk5 and MEF2 caused by Tat and the other neurotoxic agents that are secreted by the HIV-1 infected cells. These observations suggest that pDING, through its phosphatase activity, has the ability to manipulate the state of phosphorylation and activity of several factors involved in neuronal cell health in response to HIV-1.
The Architectural Case for Direction-Controlled Artificial Gravity

Artificial gravity produced by a rotating torus or spinning centrifuge is unidirectional, as gravity is on Earth. But in space environments, a strong architectural case can be made for providing direction-controlled artificial gravity for the most efficient habitable space structures, as might be used in space exploration. This is a far more exciting concept, from an architectural viewpoint, because it permits any plane to be a localized “vertical” plane for the object in question. In other words, a person could be working on the “floor”, the “side walls”, or the “ceiling” of the habitable space structures, but would still, at all times, consider his or her gravity axis to be “vertically down”. In low-stress environments, the criteria of design are then ergonomic considerations for good architecture and minimum surface area for economical design. Further, in a direction-controlled artificial gravity environment, the ergonomic shapes can be “nested” for minimum volume and hence most cost-effective design. The paper uses these concepts in the architectural design of the space structures for a tunnel, an interchange station, and a fitness facility. In each case, for any activity under consideration, an ergonomic “cocoon” is first generated. This cocoon does consider entry and exit modes to the activity. The nesting of such cocoons and the circulation patterns between activities then lead to the shape of the overall space structure. Finally, internal curves are replaced by straight surfaces for the most economical design.
Q&A: Cooperativity

What is the importance of cooperativity? That depends on the system, but let’s take hemoglobin. Hemoglobin’s mission is to pick up a large amount of oxygen in the lungs, where the oxygen concentration (or partial pressure) is about 100 torr, and then drop off a good fraction of it in the peripheral tissues where the oxygen concentration is about 20 torr. Cooperativity helps make this transport efficient.
Construct Validity and Psychometric Properties of the Cornell Critical Thinking Test (Level Z): A Contrasted Groups Analysis:

Total scores and section scores (both corrected and uncorrected for guessing) on the Cornell Critical Thinking Test—Level Z were analyzed for evidence of construct validity. The test performance of three ability groupings of college students and a “no-booklet” (guessers) group (Total N = 527) was examined. Statistically significant differences were found among the corrected total score means for all four groups. Differences among the means of the three ability groups were statistically significant on one corrected and one uncorrected section of the test. In addition, the formula which corrects for guessing substantially improved the estimate of internal consistency reliability for the low-ability group only. Support for the heterogeneity of the thinking skills measured by Form Z was mixed and inconclusive. Implications for the use or modification of the test are discussed.
Treatment of microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis with topical fumagillin

Encephalitozoon hellem is a newly described cause of microsporidial keratoconjunctivitis, occurring chiefly in patients with significantly diminished CD4+ T-lymphocyte levels. This disorder is symptomatically disabling and generally recalcitrant to topical antimicrobial therapy. Two homosexual men with E. hellem keratoconjunctivitis diagnosed by Gram stain, transmission electron microscopy, and specific indirect immunofluorescent assay were treated with topical fumagillin (Fumidil B). Both patients had marked symptomatic improvement with reduction of clinical findings. Symptoms and signs recurred with temporary discontinuation of the drug. Both patients, however, remained symptom-free on maintenance levels of topical fumagillin with no evidence of toxic side effects.
Effects of tolterodine ER on patient-reported outcomes in sexually active women with overactive bladder and urgency urinary incontinence

ABSTRACTObjective: To assess the effects of tolterodine extended release (ER) on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in sexually active women with overactive bladder (OAB) and urgency urinary incontinence (UUI).Research design and methods: This multicenter, double-blind, placebo controlled trial included 411 women aged ≥18 years reporting OAB symptoms for ≥3 months; ≥8 micturitions per 24 hours (including ≥0.6 UUI episodes and ≥3 OAB micturitions) in 5-day bladder diaries at baseline, and being in a sexually active relationship for ≥6 months. Subjects randomized to placebo or tolterodine ER completed validated OAB- or incontinence-specific questionnaires, including the Patient Perception of Bladder Condition (PPBC), Overactive Bladder Questionnaire (OAB-q), Urgency Perception Scale (UPS), and the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire (IIQ) at baseline and week 12, as well as the Perception of Treatment Benefit and Treatment Satisfaction questions at week 12. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (iden...