cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Out of the shadows or into the dark? Economic openness, IMF programs, and the growth of shadow economies

The existence of shadow economies is an important, yet understudied, issue for international political economy and development. This study examines how two distinct types of international economic engagement—economic openness and participation in International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs—affect the growth of shadow (informal) sectors. We theorize that increased economic openness will reduce the size of countries’ shadow sectors. More specifically, we posit that eliminating market-distorting trade barriers will decrease the incentives for shadow sector activities such as smuggling. Additionally, we posit that increased participation in global production and supply chains is likely to lead to a positive, “climb to the top” effect on states’ regulatory and labor policies that enhance the prospective benefits associated with formal sectors. Conversely, we argue that participation in IMF structural adjustment programs can lead to great shadow sector activity as IMF-imposed structural conditions might cause significant near-term economic hardship and degrade states’ regulatory capacity. The results from a panel of 145 countries from 1971 to 2012 indicate that economic openness reduces the size of the shadow economy, while participation in IMF programs is significantly related to a larger shadow economy. These findings have important implications for understanding how the divergent forms of international economic engagement might affect shadow economies.
Auditor and FASB Responsibilities for Representing Underlying Economics—What U.S. Standards Actually Say

SYNOPSIS Does the auditor's responsibility under U.S. authoritative guidance extend to providing assurance of financial reporting quality—specifically whether financial statements “faithfully reflect the firm's underlying economics”—after the auditor has concluded that financial statements are fairly presented in conformity with GAAP, in all material respects? The question arises because DeFond and Zhang (2014) state such a view and cite U.S. authoritative guidance as support. We review SEC, PCAOB, and FASB guidance and other sources and find no authoritative support for DeFond and Zhang's (2014) view. We also find that the PCAOB explicitly recognizes the lack of objective criteria that would be necessary to evaluate financial reporting quality beyond application of GAAP to events and transactions. Further, we find no evidence that practicing auditors do (separately) assess or assure that financial statements faithfully reflect the entire firm's underlying economics. Overall, these findings suggest DeFond...
Quality of Primary Care Provided to Medicare Beneficiaries by Nurse Practitioners and Physicians.

Objective:To examine differences in the quality of care provided by primary care nurse practitioners (PCNPs), primary care physicians (PCMDs), or both clinicians.Data Sources:Medicare part A and part B claims during 2012–2013.Study Design:Retrospective cohort design using standard risk-adjustment me
Regulation of CD4+ T cell activation and effector function by the histone acetyltransferase Myst1 (IRM6P.662)

Chromatin remodeling events are central molecular mechanisms that serve to govern CD4+ T cell function through regulation of gene accessibility. Myst1 is a histone acetyltransferase responsible for the acetylation of the protein tail of histone 4 at lysine residue 16, and is thought to participate in the activation of gene transcription. Studies of murine and human CD4+ T cells indicate that Myst1 is upregulated upon T cell receptor stimulus. Deletion of the gene encoding Myst1 resulted in a significant proliferation defect in these cells that is unaffected by the addition of exogenous IL-2. Myst1-deficient T cells also exhibit modulations in cytokine production and lineage commitment following skewing to various effector lineages in vitro . Additionally, signal transduction via STAT5 may play a role in Myst1 expression, as downregulation of STAT5a/b expression via siRNA transfection significantly decreased Myst1 expression levels in T cells. These results suggest an important role for the STAT5-Myst1 axis in governing the activation and effector function of CD4+ T cells.
Cutting Process Optimization Practical Procedure

Cutting process optimization could be considered in different levels and approaches. How to select tools and how to take care of evident waste of time and costs can not be considered as a competitiveness market factor any more. Everyone responsible for cutting process planning must be up to date with these procedures and the tool makers are ready to help their customers. Otherwise, after the best selected tool and cutting conditions are settled and the process is running in shop floor many things could be done to go deeper in the cutting process optimization. One of them is how to consider the cutting process system and scenario influence on cutting condition, more specifically, on the cutting speed, which is usually to select from data published in catalogues and normally based on the pair tool/workpiece. The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss, step by step, a mathematical method and practical procedure to search the best cutting condition in different industrial scenarios.
Predation impacts and management strategies for wildlife protection

Wildlife management activities often serve to balance wildlife populations with perceived available habitat and agency management objectives or recovery goals. Predation management, while controversial in the public arena, is occasionally necessary to help balance populations of prey and predators. To conduct predation management in a responsible manner, the nature of predation impacts to prey populations must be examined and understood. The authors discuss: 1) various factors which affect predation impacts, 2) behavioral changes in prey populations which result in secondary predation impacts, and 3) strategies which may be implemented to facilitate prey populations to attain agency management objectives.
The Nature and Origin of Supraspecific Taxa Revisited—with Special Reference to Trilobita

Phylogenetic analysis of fossil and recent taxa has much to tell us, of course, about the origin, persistence, and ultimate demise of monophyletic groups. Coupled with biostratigraphic and biogeographic data, the outlines, at least, of the history of biological diversity have become fairly clear over the past 200 years or so of concerted research. But science (to paraphrase Ernst Mach) concerns itself not only with the material entities of the universe—in evolutionary history, the spatiotemporal distributions of taxa and their interrelationships; science is also concerned with causal interactions among the material components of the universe. In the case of evolution, such interactions are to be found among organisms within and among taxa, and with the physical components of the world’s ecosystems—the processes that generate that evolutionary history. In my view, we collectively still have a long way to go towards framing an accurate causal theory of evolution based on the solid evidence of the history of life amassed over the preceding several centuries. In other words, there is still a rather wide gap between canonical evolutionary theory and what we think we know about the actual history of life.
Biphasic contractile response to ouabain: Species specific? Calcium dependent? Altered sensitivity?

Up to now, only the rat, an “ouabain insensitive” rodent, has shown a consistent biphasic positive inotropic response to ouabain, “low-dose” effect ED50 ~ 0.3–0.5 µM, “high dose” effect ED50 > 10 µM. The “low-dose” (high affinity?) effect was masked by high Ca++ (2 mM) and emphasized in low Ca++ (0.5 mM). The “low-dose” inotropic effect in rat ventricular strips was significantly diminished by repeated exposure to high ouabain concentrations as was 3H-ouabain binding (KD and Bmax). The decrease of the “low-dose” effect could be desensitization, tachyphylaxis (quick tolerance) or continued receptor occupancy by residual ouabain. The contractile activity of the preexposed strips did not indicate the presence of residual ouabain since their basal contractile force was decreased 12% compared to initial control instead of an expected 20% increase if ouabain occupancy had continued. The maximal response to high ouabain concentrations was identical in both exposures. In Langendorff perfused rat heart preparations the “low-dose” response was not diminished by repeated ouabain exposure and 3H-ouabain binding was not altered. The “low-dose” effect was not present in rat atrial strip preparations.
Cardiac Markers of Myocardial Necrosis: A History and Discussion of Milestones and Emerging New Trends

Laboratory testing for blood-based biomarkers of myocardial injury has steadily evolved over the past 60 years. Initial assays were cumbersome and were neither sensitive nor specific for myocardial necrosis. Major improvements have included the development of more cardiospecific markers, the introduction of random access immunoassays that facilitated near-real-time reporting of results, the development of rapid whole-blood point-of-care testing, and progressive improvements in assay design leading to modern high-sensitivity troponin assays that are now being introduced to the market. These new high-sensitivity assays will dramatically change the approach to patients presenting with acute coronary syndromes.
CD3-positive diffuse large B-cell lymphoma relapses as CD3-negative large B-cell lymphoma: Loss of aberrant antigen expression in B-cell lymphoma after chemotherapy.

Abstract Aberrant expression of CD3 on diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is rare, and its mechanism and biological significance are currently unclear. Herein we report a case of Epstein-Barr virus-negative, CD3-positive DLBCL in a 53 year-old male, who had a remote history of renal transplantation. After standard chemotherapy, the patient was in clinical remission. He relapsed three years later, but at this time with apparent loss of CD3 expression. PCR-based IGK gene rearrangement studies demonstrated clonal amplicons with an identical nucleotide size between the primary and secondary DLBCL, confirming the clonal relationship despite their phenotypic differences. To our knowledge, this is the first case of CD3-positive DLBCL that demonstrated a loss of aberrant CD3 on relapse. The chronologic change in phenotype seen in this case suggests that the source of the patient’s lymphoma relapse may arise from either a quiescent subclone without CD3 expression, or from an upstream neoplastic precursor cell.
Comparing the Utility of Mitochondrial and Nuclear DNA to Adjust for Genetic Ancestry in Association Studies

Mitochondrial genome-wide association studies identify mitochondrial single nucleotide polymorphisms (mtSNPs) that associate with disease or disease-related phenotypes. Most mitochondrial and nuclear genome-wide association studies adjust for genetic ancestry by including principal components derived from nuclear DNA, but not from mitochondrial DNA, as covariates in statistical regression analyses. Furthermore, there is no standard when controlling for genetic ancestry during mitochondrial and nuclear genetic interaction association scans, especially across ethnicities with substantial mitochondrial genetic heterogeneity. The purpose of this study is to (1) compare the degree of ethnic variation captured by principal components calculated from microarray-defined nuclear and mitochondrial DNA and (2) assess the utility of mitochondrial principal components for association studies. Analytic techniques used in this study include a principal component analysis for genetic ancestry, decision-tree classification for self-reported ethnicity, and linear regression for association tests. Data from the Health and Retirement Study, which includes self-reported White, Black, and Hispanic Americans, was used for all analyses. We report that (1) mitochondrial principal component analysis (PCA) captures ethnic variation to a similar or slightly greater degree than nuclear PCA in Blacks and Hispanics, (2) nuclear and mitochondrial DNA classify self-reported ethnicity to a high degree but with a similar level of error, and 3) mitochondrial principal components can be used as covariates to adjust for population stratification in association studies with complex traits, as demonstrated by our analysis of height—a phenotype with a high heritability. Overall, genetic association studies might reveal true and robust mtSNP associations when including mitochondrial principal components as regression covariates.
Plant biology: Equal-parenting policy.

During early embryo development in animals, maternal genes are expressed in preference to those of the zygote — the newly fertilized egg. But in plants it seems that zygote genomes switch on within hours of fertilization. See Letter p.94 Maternally derived gene products control embryonic development before the activation of the zygotic genome in animals. The textbook view is that much the same happens in plants, yet this seems to conflict with some genetic and gene-expression results. Using transcriptome sequencing and analysis from carefully constructed hybrid embryos, Michael Nodine and David Bartel show that, in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, early embryogenesis is mostly under zygotic control, with both parental genomes making essentially equal contributions to the zygotic transcriptome.
Different pathways of radical translocation in yeast cytochrome c peroxidase and its W191F mutant on reaction with H(2)O(2) suggest an antioxidant role.

In the absence of exogenous donors, turnover of 10 molar equivalents of H2O2 by wild-type recombinant cytochrome c peroxidase [CCP(MI)] and its W191F mutant at pH 7.0 occurs by oxidation of endogenous donors on the polypeptide. No O2 evolution was observed with either enzyme on reaction with 10 molar equivalents of H2O2, eliminating catalase-like activity \({\rm{(2H}}_{\rm{2}} {\rm{O}}_{\rm{2}} \buildrel {} \over \rightleftharpoons {\rm{O}}_{\rm{2}} + {\rm{2H}}_{\rm{2}} {\rm{O)}}\) , but O2 evolution was observed when 100 molar equivalents of H2O2 were added to the enzymes. Protein dimers were observed by SDS-PAGE following H2O2 turnover by the peroxidases, and dimeric forms of CCP(MI) and CCP(W191) were isolated by gel-permeation chromatography. LC-ESI-MS analysis of the tryptic digests of the dimers revealed the previously reported T6-T6 crosslink and a new crosslink between T6-T26, but no T26-T26 crosslink. The crosslinked tryptic peptides contain the exposed tyrosine residues Tyr36, Tyr39 and Tyr42 (T6), and Tyr229 and Tyr236 (T26). Addition of a spin trap, 2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane (MNP), to the CCP(MI)/H2O2 reaction resulted in MNP labeling of peptides T6, T21 (which contains Tyr153) and T26. MNP labeling of Tyr236 was found by sequencing peptide T26. MNP labeling did not compete with dimerization of H2O2-oxidized CCP(W191F), suggesting that dityrosine formation in this mutant is very rapid owing to the high reactivity of radicals formed on T6. H2O2-dependent formation of CCP-cytochrome c heterodimers was observed for both CCP(MI) and W191F in the presence of ferricytochrome c, the oxidized form of CCP's donor substrate. Interestingly, no H2O2-dependent cytochrome crosslinking to the W51F mutant was observed, even though this mutant underwent extensive homocrosslinking. The translocation of oxidizing equivalents from the heme to the surface residues of CCP is discussed in terms of an antioxidant role for CCP.
Differential Roles of Hypothalamic AVPV and Arcuate Kisspeptin Neurons in Estradiol Feedback Regulation of Female Reproduction

Mammalian reproductive function includes puberty onset and completion, reproductive cyclicity, steroidogenesis, gametogenesis, fertilization, pregnancy, and lactation; all are indispensable to perpetuate species. Reproductive cycles are critical for providing the hormonal milieu needed for follicular development and maturation of eggs, but cycles, in and of themselves, do not guarantee ovulation will occur. Here, we review the roles in female reproductive neuroendocrine function of two hypothalamic populations that produce the neuropeptide kisspeptin, demonstrating distinct roles in maintaining cycles and ovulation.
Economic Development Benefits from Wind Energy in Nebraska: A Report for the Nebraska Energy Office (Revised)

This report focuses on the economic development impacts estimated from building and operating 7,800 MW of new wind power in Nebraska. This level of development is on the scale envisioned in the Department of Energy (DOE) report 20% Wind Energy by 2030. A practical first step to building 7,800 of wind is completing 1,000 MW. We also include the estimated economic impacts to Nebraska from building 1,000 MW of wind power. Our primary analysis indicates that the development and construction of approximately 7,800 MW of wind energy in Nebraska by 2030 will support 20,600 to 36,500 annual full-time equivalents (AFTE). In addition, operating the full 7,800 MW of wind energy could support roughly 2,000 to 4,000 full-time workers throughout the operating life of the wind facilities (LFTE). Nebraska's economy is estimated to see an average annual boost in economic activity ranging from $140 million to $260 million solely from construction and development related activities between 2011 and 2030. An additional boost of $250 - $442 million annually is estimated from operating 7,800 MW of wind capacity.
Computing without Processors: Heterogeneous systems allow us to target our programming to the appropriate environment.

From the programmer’s perspective the distinction between hardware and software is being blurred. As programmers struggle to meet the performance requirements of today’s systems, they will face an ever increasing need to exploit alternative computing elements such as GPUs (graphics processing units), which are graphics cards subverted for data-parallel computing, and FPGAs (field-programmable gate arrays), or soft hardware.
Female Monasticism in Revolutionary Times: The Nizhnii Novgorod Convent of the Exaltation of the Cross, 1917–1935

Even though after the October Revolution in 1917 the Bolsheviks enjoyed uninterrupted power and pursued radical secularist objectives, the majority of female monastic communities in Nizhnii Novgorod province were able to survive much longer than their counterparts in the French and Mexican Revolutions. Using the Convent of the Exaltation of the Cross as a case study, this article shows how—despite extremely challenging conditions and the hostility of the Soviet state—female monastic communities proved to be remarkably resilient and managed to exploit openings created by both the Bolsheviks’ strategy for subverting them and conflicts between Soviet authorities. The resiliency of the community at the Convent of the Exaltation of the Cross stemmed from the solidarity, flexibility, and leadership skills it cultivated prior to World War I through the combination of its religious character and practices and its communal organization. By the early 1920s, the community had adapted effectively to post-civil war Soviet urban conditions and was able to survive local attempts to dissolve it. But by the late 1920s, the survival of the community had become intolerable for Soviet authorities, who—like the revolutionary regimes in France and Mexico—ultimately resorted to compulsory means to “liquidate” the community between 1927 and 1935.
Free energy of grain boundary phases: Atomistic calculations for Σ 5 ( 310 ) [ 001 ] grain boundary in Cu

Atomistic simulations are employed to demonstrate the existence of a well-defined thermodynamic phase transformation between grain boundary (GB) phases with different atomic structures. The free energy of different interface structures for an embedded-atom-method model of the $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}5(310)[001]$ symmetric tilt boundary in elemental Cu is computed using the nonequilibrium Frenkel-Ladd thermodynamic integration method through molecular dynamics simulations. It is shown that the free-energy curves predict a temperature-induced first-order interfacial phase transition in the GB structure in agreement with computational studies of the same model system. Moreover, the role of vibrational entropy in the stabilization of the high-temperature GB phase is clarified. The calculated results are able to determine the GB phase stability at homologous temperatures less than 0.5, a temperature range particularly important given the limitation of the methods available hitherto in modeling GB phase transitions at low temperatures. The calculation of GB free energies complements currently available 0 K GB structure search methods, making feasible the characterization of GB phase diagrams.
Alcohol Induced Liver Disease

Genetic predisposition, including the presence of PNPLA3 and the single nucleotide polymorphism in the Solute Carrier Family 38, Member A4 (SLC38A), seems to play a role in developing alcoholic liver disease (ALD), considering that only 15% of the subjects who drink alcohol excessively develop cirrhosis.
The uniqueness of Daubentonia

The aberrant features of the genus Daubentonia, such as the superficially rodent-like dentition, the globose and foreshortened brain case, and the filiform third manual digit have long been known. But the current assessment of the genus as lemuriform, and within that group as closest to the indriids, depends upon greater weight being placed upon other characteristics such as the cranial arterial pattern, the molariform teeth, and the developmental characteristics of the dentition. Prior multivariate morphometric studies have shown that though the shoulder structure of Daubentonia is uniquely different from that of all other primates, the structure of its pelvis may not be especially different from that of many relatively non-specialized primates. A large series of studies have been summated here in which many different anatomical regions (shoulder, arm, forearm, forelimb as a whole, pelvis, femur, hindlimb as a whole, forelimb and hindlimb combined, and total bodily proportions including limbs, trunk, and head) have been characterized osteometrically in a wide range of primate genera. The resulting data sets have been studied by discriminant function analyses. The differences that have been found are large enough that it can be confidently asserted that in its postcranial skeleton, Daubentonia is more different from the primates as a whole than is any other primate genus. These differences are big enough that their statistical and biological significance is not at all in doubt, notwithstanding the very small numbers of available specimens of this rare genus. They are so great that functional implications exist though they cannot, in our present state of knowledge of the habits of the genus, be ascribed with any certainty. They are so great indeed, paralleling the enormous differences of Daubentonia from other primates in its dentition, skull and cheiridia, that we may prefer to keep open minds about its taxonomic placement.
Mining Temporal Association Patterns under a Similarity Constraint

We study the problem of mining all associated itemsets whose prevalence variations are similar to a given reference sequence from temporal databases. The discovered temporal association patterns can reveal interesting relationships of itemsets which co-occur with a particular event over time. A user-defined subset specification which consists of a reference sequence, a similarity function, and a dissimiliarty threshold is used for defining interesting temporal patterns and guiding the similarity search. We develop algorithms with exploring interesting properties for efficiently finding the similar temporal association patterns. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithms are efficient than a naive approach.
Airport Noise Pollution: Is There a Solution in Sight?

Airport noise pollution is a widespread and growing problem in the United States. Traditionally the regulation of airport noise was left to state and local regulatory efforts as well as judicial actions brought under nuisance and inverse condemnation theories of liability. With the enactment of several pieces of federal legislation beginning in the 1970s, however, Congress has clarified its intent to preempt local control of airport noise. Local governments and airport proprietors have to comply with a complicated scheme of federal regulation and rely on insufficient funds to fully address the airport noise problem in their communities. This Comment suggests changes should be made to the regulatory framework governing the control of aircraft noise through reestablishment of the Office for Noise Abatement and Control within the Environmental Protection Agency, additional funds for noise mitigation projects, and research on the effects of aircraft noise, as well as a shift in the liability structure for noise violations.
Package requirements for high performance VLSI CMOS chips

There is a set of unique characteristics that can make the choice of package attributes even more critical for CMOS than when designing with a bipolar or GaAs technology. The CMOS packaging concerns are caused by features that make it a desirable technology choice for high performance systems. They are: switching speed, high density, and no DC power. These items can drive the need for a package definition that requires all of the complexity and cost of the kinds of packaging normally thought of for mainframes and supercomputers. >
Shapley's Impact

Harlow Shapley’s legacy can be divided into three aspects: his scientific contributions, the institutions he built, and his multi-faceted efforts to publicize astronomy. Today’s public funding of science undoubtedly owes much to Shapley’s enthusiasm for astronomy.
Threat assessment using visual hierarchy and conceptual firearms ontology

The work that established and explored the links between visual hierarchy and conceptual ontology of firearms for the purpose of threat assessment is continued. The previous study used geometrical information to find a target in the visual hierarchy and through the links with the conceptual ontology to derive high-level information that was used to assess a potential threat. Multiple improvements and new contributions are reported. The theoretical basis of the geometric feature extraction method was improved in terms of accuracy. The sample space used for validations is expanded from 31 to 153 firearms. Thus, a new larger and more accurate sequence of visual hierarchies was generated using a modified Gonzalez' clustering algorithm. The conceptual ontology is elaborated as well and more links were created between the two kinds of hierarchies (visual and conceptual). The threat assessment equation is refined around ammunition-related properties and uses high-level information from the conceptual hierarchy. The experiments performed on weapons identification and threat assessment showed that our system recognized 100% of the cases if a weapon already belongs to the ontology and in 90.8% of the cases, determined the correct third ancestor (level concept) if the weapon is unknown to the ontology. To validate the accuracy of identification for a very large data set, we calculated the intervals of confidence for our system. (C) 2015 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) Language: en
Regulation of Ureteric Bud Outgrowth and the Consequences of Disrupted Development

Ureteric bud (UB) outgrowth from the nephric (Wolffian) duct depends on a number of pathways, and its perturbation can cause diseases such as renal agenesis, vesicoureteral reflux, obstructive uropathy, and congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract, which can result in chronic kidney disease. This chapter describes current knowledge on UB outgrowth during early kidney development based on in vivo and ex vivo (in vitro) rodent studies and applies it to human diseases. We describe how defining complex molecular interactions during early kidney induction is useful for understanding diseases relating to perturbed UB outgrowth.
Multilevel populations and the evolution of antibiotic resistance through horizontal gene transfer.

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) can create diversity in the genetic repertoire of a lineage. Successful gene transfer likely occurs more frequently between more closely related organisms, leading to the formation of higher-level exchange groups that in some respects are comparable to single-species populations. Genes that appear fixed in a single species can be replaced through distant homologs or iso-functional analogs acquired through HGT. These genes may originate from other species or they may be acquired by an individual strain from the species pan-genome. Because of their similarity to alleles in a population, we label these gene variants that are exchanged between related species as homeoalleles. In a case study, we show that biased gene transfer plays an important role in the evolution of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS). Many microorganisms make use of these genes against naturally occurring antibiotics. We suggest that the resistance against naturally occurring antibiotics is the likely driving force behind the frequent switching between divergent aaRS types and the reason for the maintenance of these homeoalleles in higher-level exchange groups.
Development and distribution of radon risk maps in New York State

Radon maps for each county in New York State have been developed onthe township level indicating the percent of homes with .148 Bq/m 3 (4 pCi/l)in the indoor air of the basement and living area. Estimates are based ona combination of nearly 45,000 basement-screening measurements and correlationsto surficial geology. Many of the towns and cities in the State with the highestaverage indoor radon concentrations are located on highly-permeable gravellysoils formed during the retreat of the Wisconsinan Glaciation. As many towns(32% of total) had .5 measurements, a project to obtain additional measurementsin high-risk towns produced results comparable to estimates based on correlationsto surficial geology. Radon risk maps for each county have been distributedto municipal governments, schools, and professionals in activities relatedto homes, buildings, and indoor air quality.
High-Altitude Polycythemia

the french physician Viault traveled by train from Lima to Morococha, a small mining town situated at 4,520 m in the Peruvian Andes, in 1980. There he noted for the first time that the number of red cells increased at high altitude and thereby settled a dispute that had been argued for years about the mechanisms of acclimatization (11). Subsequently C. M. Monge and many of his followers in Peru fully described the polycythemia in high-altitude natives.
Depression and epilepsy: Epidemiologic and neurobiologic perspectives that may explain their high comorbid occurrence

Depression is the most frequent psychiatric comorbidity in people with epilepsy (PWE) with lifetime prevalence rates ranging between 30 and 35%. Multifactorial variables play a pathogenic role in the high comorbid occurrence of these two disorders. These variables were critically examined during an international symposium held in Chicago in September 2010, the results of which are presented in two companion manuscripts. The first manuscript summarizes new epidemiologic data highlighting the bidirectional relation between depression and epilepsy and related methodological issues in studying this relationship. An examination of the neurobiologic aspects of primary mood disorders, mood disorders in PWE and pathogenic mechanisms of epilepsy derived from studies in animal models and humans is allowing a better understanding of the complex relation between the two conditions. In the first manuscript, we review data from animal models of epilepsy in which equivalent symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders develop and, conversely, animal models of depression in which the kindling process is facilitated. Data from structural and functional neuroimaging studies in humans provide a further understanding of potential common pathogenic mechanisms operant in depression and epilepsy that may explain their high comorbidity. The negative impact of depression on the control of seizure disorders has been documented in various studies. In this manuscript, these data are reviewed and potential mechanisms explaining this phenomenon are proposed.
Fuzzy Logic Approach to Risk Assessment Associated with Concrete Deterioration

AbstractDetermining the level and importance of concrete deterioration in a given structure is a multivariate decision-making problem with parameters that vary extensively, depending on which specific structural element(s) is/are implicated. This paper presents the development of a tool to measure the extent of the criticality of the concrete deterioration to help quantify if the deterioration warrants intervention for repair. The decision-making logic is based on fuzzy set theory (FST), a well-developed tool used to address uncertainties in decision making. Investigation of the extent of deterioration is conducted using nondestructive testing (NDT) of concrete—specifically, the Schmidt hammer. An assessment is performed using the fuzzy logic analysis. The tool presented herein is generic enough to allow the user to encompass the criteria of the structure at hand and to render a judgment to determine the optimum timing for repair. The objective of this research is the development of a decision-support mod...
A competitive solid-phase radioimmunoassay for translational factors employing monoclonal antibodies.

Abstract Monoclonal antibodies produced by the hybridoma techniques were purified by chromatography on DEAE Affi-Gel blue, and covalently coupled to Affi-Gel 10 to purify their antigens. The purified components were used to develop a sensitive competitive radioimmune assay for the quantitative determination of translational factors, as described here with a monoclonal antibody directed against yeast elongation factor 3. Antigen was adsorbed to polyvinyl chloride plastic surfaces and a limiting concentration of monoclonal antibody necessary to bind to the adsorbed antigen was determined. Varying concentrations of purified antigen and of samples containing unknown amounts of antigen were then mixed with the limiting concentration of monoclonal antibody, prior to or at the same time as the reaction of the antibody with the surface-adsorbed antigen. The amount of monoclonal antibody that bound to the surface-adsorbed antigen was determined with a second antibody, radioactive goat anti-mouse antibody. The addition of the free antigen preparations to the monoclonal antibody served to compete for the antibody with the antigen adsorbed to the plastic surfaces. The concentration of antigen in the unknown samples was estimated from the titration curves obtained with varying concentrations of pure antigen. This technique did not require isotopic labeling, modification or derivation of the monoclonal antibody or its antigen.
Oxcarbazepine in treatment of childhood epilepsy: A survey of 46 children and adolescents

Oxcarbazepine (OCBZ) is one of the new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) currently available in several countries. While it is rated as having fewer side effects than carbamazepine (CBZ) there has been a paucity of studies in children. We retrospectively reviewed our results in 46 children (26 female, 20 male) with a mean age of 10.3 years (range: 1.3–17.9 years) with a mean duration of the epilepsy of 7.2 years. The patients previously were treated with three to 15 (mean 8.2) other AEDs. The mean dose of OCBZ was 56.7 mg/kg/d (range: 19–123 mg/kg/d); the mean blood serum level of monohydroxy derivative was 29.9 mg/l. The most common comedication was valproic acid. After 1 year follow-up, OCBZ was beneficial in 50%: one child had a seizure reduction of 50%–74%, 18 had a reduction of 75%–99%, and four became seizure free. We were not able to identify any relevant parameter as indicator whether OCBZ will be efficient or not. The spectrum of side effects was similar to that of CBZ. Despite the severity of the epilepsy in our patients, OCBZ was efficacious and safe and is a helpful advancement in the treatment of epilepsies.
Targeting immune checkpoint pathways overcomes tumor-induced CD8+ T cell suppression

The immune system has the potential to be a powerful tool to destroy tumors. However despite ample evidence of anti-tumor immune responses in many patients, as well as years of immunotherapy development, truly effective immune-based therapies remain out of reach. We have previously shown that short-term in vitro co-culture of human T cells with human-derived tumor cell lines of various origins can induce the gain of senescence-like features in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, particularly the loss of CD27/CD28 expression. We found this tumor-induced senescence does not involve activation/proliferation, and also results in the gain of a potent suppressive function in in vitro suppression assays. In subsequent studies, we found that IL-7 could protect T cells from CD27/CD28 loss and acquisition of suppressive function and that this process is highly dependent on the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1. In the current study we sought to determine whether a similar process could not only be found in mice, but also in tumor-resident T cells (TIL) collected from human patient specimens. We show that the process of tumor-induced dysfunction also induces the expression of PD-1 in both human and mouse T cells in vitro, and that tumor-exposed mouse T cells are also capable of suppressive function. Similar to published reports, we find tumor-resident human CD8+ TIL to have significant losses in CD27/CD28 expression, and that loss of these markers is accompanied by the gain in PD-1 expression, as well as other known checkpoint inhibitors, especially Tim-3. In mice, TIL also highly express PD-1, Tim-3, and Lag-3 but similar to in vitro studies, do not lose expression of CD27 and CD28. Using cell sorting to isolate CD3+ CD8+ PD-1+ Tim-3+ T cells from both mouse and human tumors, we find that this population is able to suppress autologous or syngeneic responder T cells in ex vivo proliferation assays. We further show that use of antibody blockade of PD-1 and Tim-3 signaling in vitro and in vivo prevents the development of suppression. Ongoing studies will examine the signaling mechanisms responsible, especially by evaluating the role of Mcl-1 expression in generation of dysfunctional CD8 T cells in vivo. These studies demonstrate that tumor-derived factors can induce suppressive CD8+ T cells, and that blockade of negative regulators of T cell function can help prevent this process, indicating an additional benefit to the clinical use of these immunotherapies.
Communication network research and group discussion

(1964). Communication network research and group discussion. Today's Speech: Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 11-14.
Analysis of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) to characterize microbial communities in aquifers

This paper reviews published applications of lipid-based biochemical techniques for characterizing microbial communities in aquifers and other deep subsurface habitats. These techniques, such as phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, can provide information on a variety of microbial characteristics, such as biomass, physiology, taxonomic and functional identity, and overall community composition. In addition, multivariate statistical analysis of lipid data can relate spatial or temporal changes in microbial communities to environmental factors. The use of lipid-based techniques in the study of groundwater microbiology is advantageous because they do not require culturing and can provide quantitative data on entire communities. However, combined effects of physiological and phylogenetic changes on the lipid composition of a community can confound interpretation of the data, and many questions remain about the validity of various lipid techniques. Despite these caveats, lipid-based research has begun to show trends in community composition in contaminated and pristine aquifers that contribute to our understanding of groundwater microbial ecology and have potential for use in optimization of bioremediation of groundwater pollutants.
Pediatric hypocalcemic seizures: A case of Rickets

Although cases of Vitamin D-deficient Rickets have declined since the Industrial Revolution, certain populations remain at risk. Risk factors for developing vitamin D-deficient Rickets include breast-feeding without formula or vitamin supplementation, very dark skin and inadequate exposure to sunlight. We describe a case of Rickets in a breastfed infant with dark skin who presented with hypocalcemic seizures. The pathophysiology of Rickets is briefly described along with the emergency management of infants presenting with hypocalcemic seizure.
Acute myelogenous leukemia presenting as atypical mastoiditis

Abstract Acute leukemia presenting as otitis media is a rare presentation of the disease [1–5]. We present a patient that was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) who had signs and symptoms of acute otitis media and mastoiditis. His workup revealed granulocytic sarcoma involving the superior sagittal sinus, sigmoid sinus, internal jugular vein, and parotid gland. This extensive involvement of granulocytic sarcoma has not been described. This case report highlights the importance of complete hematologic and radiologic workup prior to consideration for surgical intervention for mastoiditis.
Parameter estimation from small biased samples: Fuzzy sets vs statistics

We consider a problem of estimating an unknown location parameter from several small biased samples. The biases and scale parameters of the samples are not known as well. For the case of two samples a fuzzy estimator based on a triangular membership function is introduced and studied. In particular, it is shown that its asymptotic bias is less than that of the weighted mean for the majority of key parameters in the problem. For small samples the fuzzy estimator is compared with the weighted mean and weighted median for a bunch of distributions. The main conclusion is that the fuzzy estimator performs better in most of the scenarii, however its advantage is subtle except for a few cases. Similar conclusions are obtained for the case of three information sources. The theoretical and simulation results for two samples might serve as a guidance for choosing a particular estimation method from the discussed ones based on preliminary information on relations between unknown parameters.
Cardiovascular Toxicities of Performance-Enhancing Substances in Sports

Athletes commonly use drugs and dietary supplements to improve athletic performance or to assist with weight loss. Some of these substances are obtainable by prescription or by illegal means; others are marketed as supplements, vitamins, or minerals. Nutritional supplements are protected from Food and Drug Administration regulation by the 1994 US Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act, and manufacturers are not required to demonstrate proof of efficacy or safety. Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration lacks a regulatory body to evaluate such products for purity. Existing scientific data, which consist of case reports and clinical observations, describe serious cardiovascular adverse effects from use of performance-enhancing substances, including sudden death. Although mounting evidence led to the recent ban of ephedra (ma huang), other performance-enhancing substances continue to be used frequently at all levels, from elementary school children to professional athletes. Thus, although the potential for cardiovascular injury is great, few appropriately designed studies have been conducted to assess the benefits and risks of using performance-enhancing substances. We performed an exhaustive OVID MEDLINE search to identify all existing scientific data, review articles, case reports, and clinical observations that address this subject. In this review, we examine the current evidence regarding cardiovascular risk for persons using anabolic-androgenic steroids including 2 synthetic substances, tetrahydrogestrinone and androstenedione (andro), stimulants such as ephedra, and nonsteroidal agents such as recombinant human erythropoietin, human growth hormone, creatine, and β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate.
Explaining Bias in Teacher Ratings of Behavior Alteration Techniques: An Experimental Test of the Heuristic Processing Account.

The purpose of this study was to assess the heuristic processing account of likelihood‐of‐use ratings for message strategies, an account offered to explain the problematically high correlation between the rated likelihood of use of message items and the rated social appropriateness of those items. The heuristic processing explanation was tested by manipulating the conditions which evoke heuristic information processing. Respondents in a control group provided likelihood‐of‐use ratings to Kearney et al. ‘s checklist of Behavior Alteration Techniques under standard instructions while those in the experimental group rated messages under conditions intended to decrease heuristic information processing. The decreased heuristic processing treatment altered the pattern of respondents' likelihood‐of‐use ratings such that (a) the association between likelihood‐of‐use ratings and the perceived politeness of checklist items was significantly (p < .05) smaller in the experimental condition than the control condition,...
A Thirteen-Gene Expression Signature Predicts Survival of Patients with Pancreatic Cancer and Identifies New Genes of Interest

Background Currently, prognostication for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is based upon a coarse clinical staging system. Thus, more accurate prognostic tests are needed for PDAC patients to aid treatment decisions.
Semi-global stabilization of minimum phase nonlinear systems in special normal forms

Abstract We semi-globally stabilize certain minimum phase nonlinear systems which are in a normal form where the nonlinear subsystem is driven by an output of a linear system that possesses (possibly) nonzero peaking exponents. We eliminate the peaking phenomenon by stabilizing part of the linear system with a high-gain linear control and part of the linear system with a small, bounded control. The interpretation of this approach will be that we are redefining the outputs to add asymptotically stable nonlinear zeros to the system in a manner that allows the new composite zero dynamics to be asymptotically stable on arbitrarily large compact sets.
Aqueous shunts in the treatment of glaucoma.

The main goal of surgical glaucoma treatment is to reduce the intraocular pressure. The standard procedure over the past 40 years has been trabeculectomy, first described in 1968. This procedure comes with a very high risk profile, and results in moderate long-term results at best. Tube shunt devices were introduced as an alternate means to divert fluid out of the glaucomatous eye, attempting to improve upon the poor long-term outcomes of trabeculectomy, particularly in refractory cases that had failed attempts at prior glaucoma surgeries. They are currently available in a handful of different designs and have evolved from representing a second- or third-line treatment in refractory cases, to their current standing of accepted first-line surgical intervention for many surgeons. The designs of the aqueous shunts are simple and installation involves straightforward principles of ophthalmic surgery. Recent additions to the literature, as well as the development of the Ex-PRESS Miniature Shunt, are changing t...
Multi-pomeron selection rules

Abstract In dual loop models with spin 1 2 partons: (1) Gribov's triple pomeron vertex vanishes identically. (2) Multi-pomeron cuts decouple from pions. (3) The pomeron conserves s-channel helicity when there is no l-excitation, but not otherwise. (4) The αp = 0 tachyon cancels. All four are due just to the spin structure of the pomeron “current”, and agree with experiment.