cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modeling and Fabrication of a Piezoelectric Artificial Cochlea Electrode Array With Longitudinal Coupling

In this study, inspired from human cochlea, we propose an artificial basilar membrane structure based on an array of gold electrodes microfabricated along the opposite surfaces of a piezoelectric continuum. The proposed piezoelectric continuum features an isosceles trapezoidal geometry and is situated atop an elastomer matrix with embedded electrode grooves and a duct. At first, a detailed analytical model is presented, which formulates the continuum’s planar deflection equation, governing its elastodynamic behavior. Subsequently, in order to verify the analytical outcomes, a multiphysics finite-element analysis is performed in COMSOL®. Both analytical and numerical models demonstrate desired frequency selectivity akin to the capability of a biological basilar membrane. Subsequently, a proof-of-concept model of the proposed structure is custom-fabricated through standard photo- and soft lithography techniques using Polyvinylidene Difluoride (PVDF), gold, and Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) materials. Finally, the fabricated artificial basilar membrane that is intended to be used as a broad band sensor, and artificial cochlea for seamless human-robot interaction is experimentally characterized using a custom-built acoustic exciter, and its effective performance is validated within the frequency range of 3 kHz to 8 kHz.
The genetics of ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas in the year 2020: dramatic progress, but far to go

The publication of the “Pan-Cancer Atlas” by the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes Consortium, a partnership formed by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), provides a wonderful opportunity to reflect on where we stand in our understanding of the genetics of pancreatic cancer, as well as on the opportunities to translate this understanding to patient care. From germline variants that predispose to the development of pancreatic cancer, to somatic mutations that are therapeutically targetable, genetics is now providing hope, where there once was no hope, for those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
The Tragedy of Empire: From Constantine to the Destruction of Roman Italy: London, UK: Profile Books, 416 pp., $26.89, ISBN 978-1781256329, Publication Date: October 2019

What distinguished the Gothic leader Alaric from the Roman commander Aetius? Apparently, not much. This premise, from Michael Kulikowski’s Tragedy of Empire, unravels a longstanding politicized nar...
Quadrotor State Estimation With IMU and Delayed Real-Time Kinematic GPS

This article presents an estimation scheme for the six degree-of-freedom position and attitude of an aerial vehicle by integrating an inertial measurement unit (IMU) and a low-cost real-time kinematic GPS unit, which delivers a precise relative position measurement corrupted by a time-delay. Assuming that the time-delay is known, the extended Kalman filter is generalized to fuse the time-lagged position measurement from GPS with the synchronous attitude and angular velocity measurements from IMU. More specifically, it is formulated as an optimal prediction where the past state is corrected by the position measurement before being propagated up to the current time with the history of the IMU measurements. This provides a compact formulation to merge multiple sensors with varying time-delays in an optimal fashion. The efficacy of the proposed approach is illustrated by a numerical example, experimental data collected over a Navy research vessel, and an outdoor autonomous flight of a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle.
Five Years and Moving Forward: A Successful Joint Academic-Practice Public Partnership to Improve the Health of Hawaii's Schoolchildren.

BACKGROUND: In 2014, the Hawaii Department of Education (DOE), the only statewide school system in the United States, predominately enrolled children (keiki) from underserved communities and lacked school nurses or a school health program. Chronic absenteeism due to health concerns was identified as a barrier to academic success. METHODS: The DOE and a public university created Hawaii Keiki: Healthy and Ready to Learn (HK), a program to provide school-based services for 170 Title 1 schools in urban and rural settings and build momentum for statewide collective action. HK has maintained support from public and private entities to address student health. RESULTS: This paper describes 5 years of program development, implementation, and continuing challenges. Most recently in 2020-2021, HK pivoted in the face of school campus closings due to COVID-19 with strategic plans, including telehealth, to move forward in this changed school environment. CONCLUSIONS: The HK program has increased awareness of students' needs and is addressing the imperative to build health services within public schools. The multipronged approach of building awareness of need, providing direct services, educating future care providers, and supporting sound policy development, has an impact that goes beyond any one individual area.
Acid or base? How do plants regulate the ecology of their phylloplane?

Plants interface with and modify the external environment across their surfaces, and in so doing, can control or mitigate the impacts of abiotic stresses and also mediate their interactions with other organisms. Botanically, it is known that plant roots have a multi-faceted ability to modify rhizosphere conditions like pH, a factor with a large effect on a plant’s biotic interactions with microbes. But plants can also modify pH levels on the surfaces of their leaves. Plants can neutralize acid rain inputs in a period of hours, and either acidify or alkalinize the pH of neutral water droplets in minutes. The pH of the phylloplane—that is, the outermost surface of the leaf—varies across species, from incredibly acidic (carnivorous plants: as low as pH 1) to exceptionally alkaline (species in the plant family, Malvaceae, up to pH 11). However, most species mildly acidify droplets on the phylloplane by 1.5 orders of magnitude in pH. Just as rhizosphere pH helps shape the plant microbiome and is known to influence belowground interactions, so too can phylloplane pH influence aboveground interactions in plant canopies. In this review, we discuss phylloplane pH regulation from the physiological, molecular, evolutionary, and ecological perspectives and address knowledge gaps and identify future research directions.
Grammar and Understanding

Despite significant advances in various special areas in the study of language, the question of what the basic nature of the theory of a language is remains controversial and unclear. In this paper we propose to rectify this situation and argue for a general perspective one which only a few theorists have explicitly endorsed1 by showing that it is at once theoretically illuminating and empirically plausible. This perspective consists of the following claims: (1) that the most basic theory of a language is atheory of communication viz., of understanding and production ; (2) that a theory of communication in this sense presupposes a theory of thought; (3) that a grammar is most fruitfully thought of as (in a suitable sense) a component of a theory of communication; and (4) that so-called theories of meaning form a rather heterogeneous group, some of which being fragments of grammars, others being theories of thought, and still others being
PHENIX study of dihadron correlation in Au+Au collision at \( \sqrt {s_{NN} } \) = 200 GeV: jet quenching and medium response

We provide a detailed survey study of dihadron azimuthal angle (Δϕ) correlations in a broad range of transverse momentum (0.4 5 GeV/c and the later dominates at pT < 4 GeV/c.
Rural–Urban Differences in Medical Care for Nursing Home Residents with Severe Dementia at the End of Life

OBJECTIVES: To identify factors associated with the use of selected medical services near the end of life in cognitively impaired residents of rural and urban nursing homes. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study using Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrative data for 1998 through 2002. SETTING: Minnesota and Texas nursing homes. PARTICIPANTS: Nursing home residents aged 65 and older with severe cognitive impairment who subsequently died during 2000/01. MEASUREMENTS: Minimum Data Set and Medicare Provider Analysis and Review, Hospice, and Denominator files were used to identify subjects and to assess medical service use. U.S. Department of Agriculture metro–nonmetro continuum county codes defined rural (codes 6–9) and urban (codes 0–2) nursing homes. Nursing home residents with hospice or health maintenance organization benefits were excluded. Use of hospital services at the end of life was adjusted for use of corresponding services before the last year of life. Outcome variables were feeding tube use, any hospitalization, more than 10 days of hospitalization, and intensive care unit (ICU) admission. RESULTS: The population included 3,710 subjects (1,886 rural, 1,824 urban). In multivariable logistic regression analyses (all P<.05), feeding tube use was more common in urban nursing home residents, whereas rural nursing home residents were at greater risk for hospitalization. Rural residence was also associated with lower risk of more than 10 days of hospitalization and ICU admission. Nonwhite race and stroke were associated with higher use of all services. CONCLUSION: Rural nursing home residence is associated with lower likelihood of use of the most-intensive medical services at the end of life.
Automatic generation of high throughput energy efficient streaming architectures for arbitrary fixed permutations

Due to their high data-rate and simple control, streaming architectures have become popular for hardware implementation of data intensive applications. A key problem in designing such architectures is to permute streaming data. In this paper, we present a technique to realize arbitrary fixed permutation on streaming data. We develop a parameterized architecture which accepts data streams as input and generates the permuted data after a certain amount of delay. Our design accepts continuous input at a fixed rate of p per cycle, where p is the data parallelism of the architecture. To construct the streaming architecture for a given fixed permutation, we develop a mapping approach by configuring the classic Benes network to obtain the datapath and the control logic. We demonstrate a complete design automation tool which takes as input design parameters including the permutation pattern and the data parallelism p, and produces register-transfer level Verilog description of the design. We evaluate the generated designs on Xilinx Virtex-7 FPGA using post place-and-route results.
Combining integrated genomics and functional genomics to dissect the biology of a cancer‐associated, aberrant transcription factor, the ASPSCR1–TFE3 fusion oncoprotein

Oncogenic rearrangements of the TFE3 transcription factor gene are found in two distinct human cancers. These include ASPSCR1-TFE3 in all cases of alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) and ASPSCR1-TFE3, PRCC-TFE3, SFPQ-TFE3 and others in a subset of paediatric and adult RCCs. Here we examined the functional properties of the ASPSCR1-TFE3 fusion oncoprotein, defined its target promoters on a genome-wide basis and performed a high-throughput RNA interference screen to identify which of its transcriptional targets contribute to cancer cell proliferation. We first confirmed that ASPSCR1-TFE3 has a predominantly nuclear localization and functions as a stronger transactivator than native TFE3. Genome-wide location analysis performed on the FU-UR-1 cell line, which expresses endogenous ASPSCR1-TFE3, identified 2193 genes bound by ASPSCR1-TFE3. Integration of these data with expression profiles of ASPS tumour samples and inducible cell lines expressing ASPSCR1-TFE3 defined a subset of 332 genes as putative up-regulated direct targets of ASPSCR1-TFE3, including MET (a previously known target gene) and 64 genes as down-regulated targets of ASPSCR1-TFE3. As validation of this approach to identify genuine ASPSCR1-TFE3 target genes, two up-regulated genes bound by ASPSCR1-TFE3, CYP17A1 and UPP1, were shown by multiple lines of evidence to be direct, endogenous targets of transactivation by ASPSCR1-TFE3. As the results indicated that ASPSCR1-TFE3 functions predominantly as a strong transcriptional activator, we hypothesized that a subset of its up-regulated direct targets mediate its oncogenic properties. We therefore chose 130 of these up-regulated direct target genes to study in high-throughput RNAi screens, using FU-UR-1 cells. In addition to MET, we provide evidence that 11 other ASPSCR1-TFE3 target genes contribute to the growth of ASPSCR1-TFE3-positive cells. Our data suggest new therapeutic possibilities for cancers driven by TFE3 fusions. More generally, this work establishes a combined integrated genomics/functional genomics strategy to dissect the biology of oncogenic, chimeric transcription factors.
Entitled to solutions: The need for research on workplace entitlement

Summary Workplace entitlement is a pressing concern for modern organizations and managers. Organizational scholars, however, have largely overlooked this phenomenon in their research. In this Incubator, we summarize the untapped opportunities that entitlement research offers for impacting both scholarly thinking and practitioner knowledge on the subject. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Large-area broadband saturable Bragg reflectors by use of oxidized AlAs.

Broadband saturable Bragg reflectors (SBRs) are designed and fabricated by monolithic integration of semiconductor saturable absorbers with broadband Bragg mirrors. The wet oxidation of AlAs creates low-index AlxOy layers for broadband, high-index-contrast AlGaAs/AlxOy or InGaAlP/AlxOy mirrors. SBR mirror designs indicate greater than 99% reflectivity over bandwidths of 294, 466, and 563 nm for center wavelengths of 800, 1300, and 1550 nm, respectively. Highly strained and unstrained absorbers are stably integrated with the oxidized mirrors. Large-scale lateral oxidation techniques permit the fabrication of SBRs with diameters of 500 µm. Large-area, broadband SBRs are used to self-start and mode lock a variety of laser systems at wavelengths from 800 to 1550 nm.
The shikimate pathway as an entry to aromatic secondary metabolism.

The shikimate pathway is often referred to as the common aromatic biosynthetic pathway, even though nature does not synthesize all aromatic compounds by this route. This metabolic sequence converts the primary metabolites PEP and erythrose-4-P to chorismate, the last common precursor for the three aromatic amino acids Phe, Tyr, and Trp and for p-amino and p-hydroxy benzoate (Fig. 1). The shikimate pathway is found in bacteria, fungi, and plants. In monogastric animals, Phe and Trp are essential amino acids that have to come with the diet and Tyr is directly derived from Phe. Since bacteria use in excess of 90% of their metabolic energy for protein biosynthesis, for most prokaryotes, the three aromatic amino acids represent nearly the entire output of aromatic biosynthesis, and regulatory mechanisms for shikimate pathway activity are triggered by the intracellular concentrations of Phe, Tyr, and Trp. This is not so in higher plants, in which the aromatic amino acids are the precursors for a large variety of secondary metabolites with aromatic ring structures that often make up a substantial amount of the total dry weight of a plant. Among the many aromatic secondary metabolites are flavonoids, many phytoalexins, indole acetate, alkaloids such as morphine, UV light protectants, and,
Agglomeration Potential: The Spatial Scale of Industry Linkages in the Southern California Economy

ABSTRACT Targeting industry clusters for economic development has become popular despite the lack of empirical evidence about the spatial scales over which various clusters agglomerate. This paper identifies twenty manufacturing industry clusters from a principal components analysis of interindustry patterns of trade and measures the spatial employment concentration of each cluster's plants within a polycentric framework. Two to eight centers of employment concentration are detected within the Southern California region for each set of trade linkages. Our spatial half-life measure reveals that half of a cluster's employment in associated establishments is located within a typical range of eight to twelve kilometers (about 5–7.5 miles) to the nearest employment center or subcenter for the particular cluster. Furthermore, employment in seventeen of the twenty clusters is found to be more spatially concentrated than manufacturing employment as a whole, suggesting that geographic proximity is important to interindustry linkages in the Southern California economy. More important, the spatial concentration across industry clusters varies considerably within the metropolitan area, implying that economic development practitioners should consider local context and adapt industry cluster theories to the specific advantages and disadvantages of their immediate locality.
Degree graphs of simple orthogonal and symplectic groups

Abstract Let G be a finite group and let cd ( G ) be the set of irreducible ordinary character degrees of G. The degree graph of G is the graph Δ ( G ) whose set of vertices is the set of primes dividing degrees in cd ( G ) , with an edge between primes p 1 and p 2 if p 1 p 2 divides some degree in cd ( G ) . We determine the graph Δ ( G ) for the finite simple groups of types B l , C l , D l and D l 2 ; that is, for the simple orthogonal and symplectic groups.
The Inhibition of RANKL Causes Greater Suppression of Bone Resorption and Hypercalcemia Compared with Bisphosphonates in Two Models of Humoral Hypercalcemia of Malignancy

Humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy (HHM) is mediated primarily by skeletal and renal responses to tumor-derived PTHrP. PTHrP mobilizes calcium from bone by inducing the expression of receptor activator for nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (RANKL), a protein that is essential for osteoclast formation, activation, and survival. RANKL does not influence renal calcium reabsorption, so RANKL inhibition is a rational approach to selectively block, and thereby reveal, the relative contribution of bone calcium to HHM. We used the RANKL inhibitor osteoprotegerin (OPG) to evaluate the role of osteoclast-mediated hypercalcemia in two murine models of HHM. Hypercalcemia was induced either by sc inoculation of syngeneic colon (C-26) adenocarcinoma cells or by sc injection of high-dose recombinant PTHrP (0.5 mg/kg, s.c., twice per day). In both models, OPG (0.2-5 mg/kg) caused rapid reversal of established hypercalcemia, and the speed and duration of hypercalcemia suppression were significantly greater with OPG (5 mg/kg) than with high-dose bisphosphonates (pamidronate or zoledronic acid, 5 mg/kg). OPG also caused greater reductions in osteoclast surface and biochemical markers of bone resorption compared with either bisphosphonate. In both models, hypercalcemia gradually returned despite clear evidence of ongoing suppression of bone resorption by OPG. These data demonstrate that osteoclasts and RANKL are important mediators of HHM, particularly in the early stages of the condition. Aggressive antiresorptive therapy with a RANKL inhibitor therefore might be a rational approach to controlling HHM.
Medical therapy for spermatogenic failure

Medical treatment of men with primary spermatogenic failure remains largely ineffective in contrast to those with secondary testicular failure. Treatment has been attempted with a multitude of agents ranging from hormones to nutritional supplements (antioxidants). While some studies have demonstrated benefit to some treatments, no treatments have consistently demonstrated efficacy nor has it been possible to reliably identify patients likely to benefit. Idiopathic spermatogenic failure likely results from multiple discrete defects in sperm production that are as yet unidentified. A better understanding of these defects will yield more effective treatment options and appropriate triage of patients to specific therapeutic regimens. This review focuses on the rationale and current evidence for hormonal and antioxidant therapy in medical treatment of male infertility, spermatogenic failure in particular. Although empiric medical therapy for spermatogenic failure has been largely replaced by assisted reproductive techniques, both treatment modalities could play a role, perhaps as combination therapy.
Venus Atmosphere: Structure and Stability of the ClOO Radical

Abstract The ClOO radical has been suggested as an important intermediate in a Cl atom catalyzed combination of CO and O2 enabling conservation of the observed low mixing ratios for CO and O2/ in the predominantly C O2 Venusian atmosphere. We review evidence concerning the existence, structure and stability of this radical. From theoretical considerations we conclude that the decomposition rate for ClOO in conditions appropriate to the Venus atmosphere is pressure-dependent with a second-order rate constant given approximately byThis rate is probably sufficiently slow to enable the oxidation of CO by ClOO to successfully compete with ClOO decomposition, at least to the extent required to maintain the observed composition of the Venus atmosphere.
Beyond Involvement: Promoting Student Ownership of Learning in Classrooms

With many states adopting new standards and evaluation systems, teachers must adopt effective instructional strategies and assessment methods aligned to the rigor of new standards and assessments. ...
Low NA+ concentration: A factor contributing to diminished uptake and incorporation of amino acids by diapausing mouse blastocysts?

Uptake and incorporation of 14C amino acids by normal and diapausing blastocysts was found to be Na+ dependent with one exception. Delayed embryos preincubated 25 h in medium containing 124 mM Na+ had labeling characteristics independent of the Na+ concentration present during labeling. Since diapausing embryos preincubated 25 h in low Na+ medium (55mM) retained their Na+ dependent labeling characteristics, delayed blastocysts may be in a low Na+ environment in situ. Low Na+ may explain why delayed blastocysts are unable to utilize radioactive methionine in vivo (Weitlauf and Greenwald, '68).
Unique and repetitive DNA sequences in the genome of Chironomus tentans.

Abstract It is estimated that 95.5% of the DNA represents single-copy sequences. Sequences in the redundant fraction are repeated approx. 120 times. Heterodisperse high molecular weight RNA synthesized by salivary glands hybridizes in situ specifically to the Balbiani rings of salivary gland chromosomes. It is concluded that the DNA at these loci contains redundant sequences.
Moving singularity creep crack growth analysis with the (ΔT)c and C∗ integrals

Abstract The physical meaning of (ΔT)c and its applicability to creep crack growth are reviewed. Numerical evaluation of(ΔT)c and C ∗ is discussed with results being given for compact specimen and strip geometries. A moving crack-tip singularity, creep crack growth simulation procedure is described and demonstrated. The results of several crack growth simulation analyses indicate that creep crack growth in 304 stainless steel occurs under essentially steady-state conditions. Based on this result, a simple methodology for predicting creep crack growth behavior is summarized.
Nitrate reductase synthesis in squash cotyledons

Abstract Nitrate reductase (EC 1.6.6.1) catalyzes the pyridine nucleotide-linked reduction of nitrate to nitrite in higher plants. We have shown that in squash ( Cucurbita maxima Duchesne var. Buttercup), exogenous nitrate supplied to plants enhances in vitro nitrate reductase activity in cotyledons, while glutamine represses this activity. Maximal activity was observed 20 h following the addition of exogenous nitrate. Two dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealed no significant changes in the amounts of other major cellular proteins from plants supplied nitrate compared with those supplied glutamine. Dot blots of poly A + mRNA screened with a 1.2 kb cDNA clone of the nitrate reductase gene have shown nitrate reductase specific mRNA to be most abundant in squash plants given 50 mM nitrate. Little detectable hybridization was seen with mRNA isolated from plants given either no nitrogen or 10 mM glutamine. The combination of 50 mM nitrate and 10 mM glutamine resulted in intermediate levels of hybridization. Thus, changes in nitrate reductase activity in squash cotyledons correlate with changes in the steady state levels of nitrate reductase specific mRNA.
Detector design and intercept metrics for intra-pulse radar-embedded communications

This paper discusses the design of low probability of intercept (LPI) communication paradigm that make use of masking radar illumination. Such a system, by its very nature, must provide a robust and reliable communication link to the desired receiver while masking its presence from intercept receivers. To ensure detection reliability at the desired receiver, a two-stage Neyman Pearson criterion is considered that regulates BER by effectively inducing an SNR-dependent data rate. Two intercept metrics are considered to assess the covert nature of such a communication system. These intercept metrics are compared to the detection metric to show the efficacy of the proposed system.
FlexPref: A framework for extensible preference evaluation in database systems

Personalized database systems give users answers tailored to their personal preferences. While numerous preference evaluation methods for databases have been proposed (e.g., skyline, top-k, k-dominance, k-frequency), the implementation of these methods at the core of a database system is a double-edged sword. Core implementation provides efficient query processing for arbitrary database queries, however this approach is not practical as each existing (and future) preference method requires a custom query processor implementation. To solve this problem, this paper introduces FlexPref, a framework for extensible preference evaluation in database systems. FlexPref, implemented in the query processor, aims to support a wide-array of preference evaluation methods in a single extensible code base. Integration with FlexPref is simple, involving the registration of only three functions that capture the essence of the preference method. Once integrated, the preference method “lives” at the core of the database, enabling the efficient execution of preference queries involving common database operations. To demonstrate the extensibility of FlexPref, we provide case studies showing the implementation of three database operations (single table access, join, and sorted list access) and five state-of-the-art preference evaluation methods (top-k, skyline, k-dominance, top-k dominance, and k-frequency). We also experimentally study the strengths and weaknesses of an implementation of FlexPef in PostgreSQL over a range of single-table and multi-table preference queries.
Super Bowl Advertising Effectiveness: Hollywood Finds the Games Golden

ABSTRACT Super Bowl advertising receives considerable media attention each year, in part, because of the large TV audience the event attracts. Since 2000, advertisers have spent an average of over $2 million to run 30-second advertisements in these games. The question is often asked: “Are these ads worth it?” This study examines Super Bowl advertising effectiveness from the Hollywood movie industry9s perspective. Results indicate that the average Super Bowl promoted film achieved twice as much first weekend, first week, and total U.S. box office revenue than its average non-Super Bowl promoted movie counterpart for the years 1998—2001. When all movies with production budgets of $35 million or more and U.S. release dates within 7 months of the 1998—2001 Super Bowls were considered, Super Bowl promoted movies grossed nearly 40 percent more than non-Super Bowl promoted movies. Conclusions are drawn and future research directions are outlined.
An analytic solution to the Monod-Wyman-Changeux model and all parameters in this model

Starting from the Monod-Wyman-Changeux (MWC) model (Monod, J., J. Wyman, and J. P. Changeux. 1965. J. Mol. Biol. 12:88–118), we obtain an analytical expression for the slope of the Hill plot at any ligand concentration. Furthermore, we derive an equation satisfied by the ligand concentration at the position of maximum slope. From these results, we derive a set of formulas which allow determination of the parameters of the MWC model (kR, C, and L) from the value of the Hill coefficient, nH, the ligand concentration at the position of maximum slope [( A]0), and the value of nu/(n-nu) at this point. We then outline procedures for utilizing these equations to provide a "best fit" of the MWC model to the experimental data, and to obtain a refined set of the parameters. Finally, we demonstrate the applicability of the technique by analysis of oxygen binding data for Octopus hemocyanin.
N,N′-bis(2-mercaptoethyl)ethylenediamine-N,N′-diacetic acid; an effective ligand for indium(III)

The formation constant of the In(III) complex of the sexadentate ligand N,N′-bis(2-mercaptoethyl)ethylenediamine-N,N′diacetic acid has been determined by potentiometric measurement of its competition with EDTA. Its stability constant, 1037.0, is higher than that of Ga(III) (1035.6) and is higher than that of any In(III) complex thus far reported. Its pM value of 30.4 under physiological conditions (pH 7.4, 100% excess ligand) indicates that the IIIIn complex of this ligand would be a very effective radiopharmaceutical for diagnostic purposes.
Additivity, utility, and subjective probability

Abstract The additive conjoint measurement model is applied to the study of decision making under certainty and risk. A data matrix is called additive if it is possible to rescale its cell entries such that their order is preserved and that every rescaled entry can be expressed as a sum of its row and column components. It is shown that the SEU model, according to which individuals attempt to maximize their subjectively expected utility, is equivalent to additivity for a specified class of risky choices. In the experimental study eleven prisoners bid for both risky and riskless offers. Additivity is confirmed by the data supporting the independence between utility and subjective probability. Two alternative variants of the SEU model are used to derive subjective probability and utility functions for each subject. In order to account for the data, one needs either (a) a positive utility for gambling or (b) subjective probability functions where complementary events do not sum to unity. Neither variant is compatible with classical utility theory but both are successful in predicting an independent set of data. Relationships to existing data and implications for future research are discussed.
Radiation therapy for tumors of the pineal region

Abstract This manuscript presents the results of treatment for 25 patients with tumors in the pineal region and related ectopic locations. Twenty two were treated with radiation therapy. Twelve patients died; autopsies were performed on 11 which allowed for a definition of the spread and failure patterns. A review of the literature with over 100 case studies was added to the present series in order to increase the significance of comparisons in failure rates by irradiated brain volumes and total doses delivered. The overall median survival for these patients was 10 years; at 5 years, 63% were alive and free of disease. The data suggests more than a 50% probability for tumors in these locations to extend by direct contiguity or by seeding along the third ventricle into adjacent supratentorial and infratentorial structures. The apparent tendency of some of these neoplasms to spread extensively within the cranium indicates the potential value of whole brain irradiation or at least the use of fields that are sufficiently large to encompass the entire ventricular system. In contrast, the low probability (≤5 10%) of metastasis to the spinal cord after adequate primary therapy does not indicate the routine use of elective spinal irradiation.
The polyubiquitin gene of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae: structure and expression

The polyubiquitin gene from the mosquito Anopheles gambiae has been cloned and sequenced, and its structure is reported along with sequence analysis results. The gene consists of approximately seven tandem head-to-tail repeat units of the seventy-six amino acid-coding ubiquitin monomer. It is expressed constitutively in larvae, pupae and adults of An. gambiae, as well as in a cell line derived from this mosquito species. A probe made from a DNA fragment containing the coding region of the gene recognizes transcripts of approximately 3.6 kb and 4.4 kb in RNA isolated from all mosquito developmental stages and a unique transcript of approximately 3.0 kb in RNA from the cell line. Single monomeric units of the An. gambiae polyubiquitin gene shared from 75.9% to 85.5% identity at the DNA level with homologous sequences from other organisms ranging from yeast to man. A comparison of individual repeat units of the An. gambiae gene revealed that, in general, the 5' ends of the individual monomers are more highly conserved than the 3' ends. The gene mapped by in situ hybridization on ovarian nurse cell polytene chromosomes to a primary site at division 12C on chromosome 2R and to a secondary site at division 9C on the same chromosome.
Left ventricular hypertrophy and hypertension.

The level of left ventricular (LV) mass as measured by echocardiography or other techniques in hypertensive patients reflects the integrated effects of the level of arterial pressure, the concomitant volume load imposed on the heart, and of alterations in arterial waveform morphology as well as of body size and non-hemodynamic variables. The LV may respond to these stimuli by concentric or eccentric hypertrophy or by the recently-described pattern of concentric remodeling, in which LV mass is normal but relative wall thickness is increased. The are strong parallelisms between increases in cardiac and systemic arterial wall thicknesses, and patients with discrete atheromas detectable by carotid ultrasound have elevated LV masses. Patients with eccentric and concentric LV hypertrophy have two to four-fold increases in the incidence of cardiovascular morbid events compared to hypertensive patients with normal LV geometry, and the change in LV mass during treatment has been associated with the risk of subsequ...
Self-conceptions and gender role: The correspondence between gender-role categorization and open-ended self-descriptions

Open-ended responses to the query “I am” were examined for differences in general content and in masculine/feminine content among respondents who differed in their gender roles. The correspondence between gender role and definitions of masculinity and femininity were also considered. Differences among the gender-role groups and between the sexes were obtained in terms of the general content, and the masculine and feminine content, self-descriptions. Although there was considerable consensus in how respondents defined masculinity and femininity, a number of gender and gender-role differences were obtained. The findings support the conclusion that androgyny inventories measure salient dimensions of the self-concept but raise some question as to whether these inventories measure “masculinity” and “femininity” as defined by respondents.
How To Stay Current With Special Education Issues

Rapid changes in the field of special education directly affect school administrators who must implement and manage the instructional implications of these changes. To be effective, administrators must stay informed about these issues.
Operant conditioning of heart rate in free-moving dogs.

The magnitude of changes in heart rate that could be induced by the operant conditioning of beat-to-beat intervals was determined. Shock avoidance methods were employed during 71 sessions conducted ov
DNA binding and in vivo function of C.elegans PEB-1 require a conserved FLYWCH motif.

Abstract Caenorhabditis elegans PEB-1 is a novel protein containing a DNA-binding domain in its N terminus, which includes a Cys/His-rich FLYWCH motif also found in Drosophila Mod(mdg4) proteins, and a large C-terminal domain of unknown function. PEB-1 is expressed in most pharyngeal cell types, but its molecular function remains unclear. Here we describe comparative and functional analyses of PEB-1. Characterization of the PEB-1 sequence from C. briggsae indicates highest conservation in the DNA-binding domain (including the FLYWCH motif) and the C terminus, suggesting two functional domains. The PEB-1 FLYWCH motif is essential for DNA-binding and in vivo function; however, it does not bind detectable metal. Likewise, the PEB-1 C terminus is necessary for full activity in vivo, although the DNA-binding domain alone is sufficient for partial function. Both the FLYWCH motif and the C-terminal domain are required for efficient nuclear localization, suggesting PEB-1 must bind DNA and other components to remain in the nucleus. Analysis of binding sites revealed a YDTGCCRW PEB-1 consensus-binding site, and matches to this consensus are widespread in the C. elegans genome.
Kant on Right and Moral Rights

Etude de la distinction entre devoir juridique et devoir par vertu dans la doctrine du devoir developpee par Kant dans les «Fondements de la metaphysique des moeurs». Examinant les notions de devoir parfait, d'action droite et de droit d'action, l'A. souleve le probleme de l'interpretation des deux premieres formulations de l'imperatif categorique (la loi universelle et le principe d'humanite), d'une part, et montre que la justification kantienne du droit et de la coercition permet de repondre aux motivations des actions mauvaises, d'autre part.
A meshless, compositional approach to shape optimal design

Meshless computational strategies for shape optimal design through the composition of behavioral fields are developed in this paper. The composition of behavioral fields is carried out in a manner that is procedurally similar to composition of primitive geometrical entities through set theoretic Boolean operations in constructive solid geometry. The methodology is shown to lead to a tighter integration between design and analysis and is termed constructive solid analysis. A meshless approximation using non-uniform rational B-spline basis functions is used to discretize the behavioral fields defined over the geometrical primitives. Remeshing, which is a critical bottleneck in shape optimization using conventional finite element analysis is either eliminated or limited to those primitives that are modified. Further, it is demonstrated that the reconstruction of stiffness matrices is required only for those geometrical primitives that are affected by the design changes. Design sensitivity analysis techniques are developed for the discretized solution system arising out of the compositional analysis. An adaptive numerical integration scheme is developed and shown to be necessary to accurately compute the effect of small domain perturbations on the problem functions. Some of the common challenges in conventional shape optimization problems such as difficulty in creating and merging multiple holes are naturally resolved using the developed compositional approach. Several representative problems are solved to validate and to demonstrate the methodology.
Metabolic Fingerprint of Dimethyl Sulfone (DMSO2) in Microbial–Mammalian Co-metabolism

There is growing awareness that intestinal microbiota alters the energy harvesting capacity of the host and regulates metabolism. It has been postulated that intestinal microbiota are able to degrade unabsorbed dietary components and transform xenobiotic compounds. The resulting microbial metabolites derived from the gastrointestinal tract can potentially enter the circulation system, which, in turn, affects host metabolism. Yet, the metabolic capacity of intestinal microbiota and its interaction with mammalian metabolism remains largely unexplored. Here, we review a metabolic pathway that integrates the microbial catabolism of methionine with mammalian metabolism of methanethiol (MT), dimethyl sulfide (DMS), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), which together provide evidence that supports the microbial origin of dimethyl sulfone (DMSO2) in the human metabolome. Understanding the pathway of DMSO2 co-metabolism expends our knowledge of microbial-derived metabolites and motivates future metabolomics-based studies on ascertaining the metabolic consequences of intestinal microbiota on human health, including detoxification processes and sulfur xenobiotic metabolism.
A novel oral contraceptive initiation method: assessment of bleeding patterns.

Objective: Our overarching objective is to assess whether a simplified approach to oral contraceptive (OC) initiation increases continuation. However if modified approaches lead to an increase in irregular bleeding such simplifications may paradoxically decrease continuation. OCs are conventionally initiated during a woman’s menses which often means waiting weeks after prescription to take the first pill. Many women do not begin their OCs due to confusion about starting instructions ambivalence or intervening pregnancy. Taking the first pill under direct observation regardless of cycle day is an alternative initiation method employed in the Columbia- Presbyterian Family Planning Clinics. This approach simplifies health education and is easy to implement. Design: This randomized trial compared 90-day bleeding patterns between women who were assigned to begin their OCs the Sunday after the start of their next menstrual period and women who started their OCs immediately with directly observed ingestion of the first pill at the time of study enrollment. Materials/Methods: Eligible women were 18-35 years old had regular menstrual bleeding in the past 12 months had no contraindications to the use of OCs and were not current users of hormonal contraception. Eligible women underwent a routine assessment and pregnancy test. At baseline we collected information on demographics menstrual bleeding contraceptive and reproductive history and partner influence. Each participant received a 4-month supply of an FDA approved oral contraceptive and a bleeding diary to be completed daily for 90 days from the start of OCs. Participants underwent monthly follow-up and after 90 days returned their diaries and completed an exit interview; some enrolled participants have not yet completed the follow-up period. When 100 participants have completed follow-up the study will have 80% power to detect a clinically important difference of 3 or more bleeding days between the two groups. To compare bleeding patterns we are employing the modified WHO 90-day reference period method using both intention-to-treat analysis and analysis based on actual cycle day of OC initiation. The primary outcome is a comparison of the number of bleeding/spotting days and episodes in the two groups. Secondary outcomes include perceived bleeding changes and proportions of women discontinuing OCs. Results: Participants are ethnically diverse (15% Hispanic; 21% African American; 44% Caucasian; and 20% Asian); their mean age is 25. Fifty-one women have completed the 90-day follow-up. These participants experienced 22 bleeding/spotting days. Thus far there is no difference in the number of bleeding/spotting days between the conventional and immediate start groups. Conclusions: Starting OCs outside of the first week of the menstrual cycle may not adversely affect bleeding patterns. (authors)
Anthropological research and the politics of HIV prevention: Towards a critique of policy and priorities in the age of AIDS

This paper is based on the author's ethnographic HIV prevention research at a community-based residence for women in New York City who have a history of homelessness and diagnosis of mental illness. The author presents the human face of this American tragedy, while exploring the ways in which larger social forces circumscribe these women's lives. The author also critically assesses the HIV prevention agenda, including the dominant paradigm in prevention intervention. Despite acceptance by the most prominent players in AIDS prevention in the United States, the most popular prevention theories are theoretically and substantively inadequate. While educational interventions and behavior change efforts may have some impact on inhibiting HIV transmission, the focus on the individual as the sole locus of change tends to obscure the social and material factors in the spread of the disease. An anthropologically informed alternative, integrating social responsibility and social justice, is explored. Also considered are dilemmas in applying anthropology to AIDS prevention research and how to translate theoretical abstractions into humane and pragmatic social programs.
Information Usefulness and Acquisition during Organizational Encounter.

The assimilation literature suggests that newcomers need several types of information to reduce the uncertainty surrounding organizational entry. One hundred seventeen newcomers were surveyed to as...
A kinetic model for neoclassical transport in EBT with enhanced ion tail

The best currently available transport coefficients for neoclassical transport of ions in EBT i n the plateau regime are based on the assumption of a lowest-order ion velocity distribution function that is Maxwellian. Experimental evidence, however, suggests the presence of an enhanced high-energy tail on the ion distribution function, and a simple theoretical analysis indicates that an enhanced tail may be a major contributor to neoclassical losses. For a study of these effects, a kinetic model for neoclassical transport is developed assuming isotropic velocity distributions. Three coupled non-linear integrodifferential equations i n one velocity dimension are solved numerically; this includes, for the first time, a self-consistent solution for the lowest-order ion distribution function which proves to be non-Maxwellian and has an enhanced high-energy tail due to electron-ion collisions. It is shown that this non-Maxwellian lowest-order solution leads to higher core ion temperatures and to much larger ion diffusion rates than those obtained when a Maxwellian distribution is assumed.
An Aesthetic Approach to the Anterior Cranial Fossa: The Endoscopic Transadnexal Transorbital Roof Method

Background This case report describes a transadnexal transorbital roof approach to the anterior cranial fossa to treat an epidural abscess in a patient who had previously undergone extensive craniofacial reconstruction secondary to fibrous dysplasia. A standard frontal craniotomy or even a supraciliary craniotomy would have been burdensome due to the positioning of the porous polyethylene implant as well as extensive scar tissue and adhesions from prior surgical procedures.
Generalized Representation of Electric Fields in Sheet Beam Klystron Gaps

Kosmahl and Branch's derivation for the electric field in a round beam gap is closely followed to derive the electric field for a sheet beam klystron gap. The wider of the two transverse dimensions of the gap is taken to be infinite in extent and the field is derived based on an approximation of the gap field at the drift tube edge. The electric field equations are generalized using a Fourier series representation of the gap field at the drift tube edge. The analytical results are compared with the numerical computations.