cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Computational Notebook Approach to Large-scale Text Analysis: Balancing Accessibility with Scalability

Large-scale text analysis algorithms are important to many fields as they interrogate reams of textual data to extract evidence, correlations, and trends not readily discoverable by a human reader. Unfortunately, there is often an expertise mismatch between computational researchers who have the technical and programming skills necessary to develop workflows at scale and domain scholars who have knowledge of the literary, historical, scientific, or social factors that can affect data as it is manipulated. Our work focuses on the use of scalable computational notebooks as a model to bridge the accessibility gap for domain scholars, putting the power of HPC resources directly in the hands of the researchers who have scholarly questions. The computational notebook approach offers many benefits, including: fine-grained control through modularized functions, interactive analysis that puts the "human in the loop", scalable analysis that leverages Spark-as-a-Service, and complexity hiding interfaces that minimize the need for HPC expertise. In addition, the notebook approach makes it easy to share, reproduce, and sustain research workflows. We illustrate the applicability of our approach with usage scenarios on HPC systems as well as within a restricted computing environment to access sensitive, in-copyright data, and demonstrate the usefulness of the notebook approach with three examples from three different domains and data sources. These sources include historical topic trends in ten thousand scientific articles, sentiment analysis of tweets, and literary analysis of the copyrighted works of Kurt Vonnegut using non-consumptive techniques.
Monetary Unions and its Discontent: An Institutional Analysis of the West African Monetary Institute

The mission of the West African Monetary Institute (WAMI) is to create a common Central Bank and monetary unit for the regions member countries. In recent years, we have seen regional blocs forge agreements to strengthen their competitive advantage. In the West African region, member states have begun the consolidation process with limited success. The recent Euro crisis has given monetary unions globally an opportunity to reexamine their goal of convergence. In this study, the researcher conducts an institutional analysis to examine the ongoing pursuit of monetary and fiscal convergence among member countries. Finally, it is important to note that monetary convergence is of paramount importance because West African countries are too small to achieve economies of scale.
Evaluation of VTS CSMA for media access control in land mobile data communication

In land mobile data communication networks the Media Access Control facility regulates mobile data terminal access to the radio channel. In selecting the mobile radio channel access protocol, the emphasis should be placed on fair access for packet transmission among the mobile data terminals, with the objective of maximizing the throughput-delay performance. Given the severity of the noise characteristics for the mobile radio channel, the access protocol must provide a consistent high level of performance despite the inherent unreliability of data transmission. And, finally, due to the processing and memory limitations of a cost effective mobile data terminal, the access protocol must also be relatively simple to implement.
The effect of local water scarcity and drought on water conservation behaviors.

This study examines the influence of observed local water scarcity on individual water conservation behaviors. We examine three distinct sets dependent variables measuring water conservation behavi...
Cultural sensitivity and global pharmacy engagement in the United States

Objective. To provide a resource for schools and colleges of pharmacy in different regions of the world that are considering sending their students and faculty members to the United States for training. Methods. A literature review (2000-2018) was conducted that involved database and Internet searches using specific keywords and terms. Information was also solicited from authors in different regions of the United States who have hosted international students and faculty members. Recommendations for pharmacists and other health care practitioners on culturally sensitive engagement were formulated. Results. Global engagement between schools and colleges of pharmacy from different regions of the world and the United States is increasing. In addition to various cultural aspects, general information about the US health care system, pharmacy education programs, and pharmacy practice were found to be available to individuals who are charged with organizing and facilitating these exchanges. Common stereotypes and misconceptions about the United States were also identified. Conclusion. For international learners to have an enriching and fruitful engagement while in the United States, an understanding of American culture in general as well as the unique cultural aspects of different regions of the country as provided in this paper is critical.
Force-based assessment captures unseen changes in normal and abnormal arm motion

Abstract The way we move changes throughout our lifetime and often we move less as we age. Sometimes this slowdown is due to normal aging, other times the changes are caused by medical issues, such as stroke. The whole repertoire of human motion is enabled by unseen forces applied by our muscles and controlled by our complex nervous system. However, the current standard for assessing human movement in all branches of medicine and sports is based on devices that are blind to those forces. Here we developed a new algorithm to estimate muscle forces from the quantitative observation of motion. Using this force-based assessment, we show that aging causes the movements with dominant and non-dominant arms to be less symmetrical, even approaching the magnitude of interlimb differences caused by stroke. We also show that the force-based assessment provides consistently higher quality measures of individual motor deficits due to stroke compared to traditional motion-based assessment. Our force-based assessment enables a new type of automated measurement of human motion that can be used with current wearable technology for performance assessment and with telemedicine and mobile health initiatives for remote patient monitoring.
Strength of Mind: Courage, Hope, Freedom, Knowledge

This book provides philosophical and practical reflection on teaching undergraduate students at Christian institutions of higher learning. Goodson is a philosophy professor at one such school, Sout...
Effects of Carbohydrate Mouth Rinsing on Upper Body Resistance Exercise Performance.

Carbohydrate mouth rinsing has been shown to enhance aerobic exercise performance, but there is limited research with resistance exercise (RE). Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of carbohydrate mouth rinsing during a high-volume upper body RE protocol on performance, heart rate responses, ratings of perceived exertion, and felt arousal. Recreationally experienced resistance-trained males (N = 17, age: 21 ± 1 years, height: 177.3 ± 5.2 cm, mass: 83.5 ± 9.3 kg) completed three experimental sessions, with the first serving as familiarization to the RE protocol. During the final two trials, the participants rinsed a 25-ml solution containing either a 6% carbohydrate solution or an artificially flavored placebo in a randomized, counterbalanced, and double-blinded fashion. The participants rinsed a total of nine times immediately before beginning the protocol and 20 s before repetitions to failure with the exercises bench press, bent-over row, incline bench press, close-grip row, hammer curls, skull crushers (all completed at 70% one-repetition maximum), push-ups, and pull-ups. Heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion, and felt arousal were measured at the baseline and immediately after each set of repetitions to failure. There were no differences for the total repetitions completed (carbohydrate = 203 ± 25 repetitions vs. placebo = 201 ± 23 repetitions, p = .46, Cohen’s d = 0.10). No treatment differences were observed for heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion, or felt arousal (p > .05). Although carbohydrate mouth rinsing has been shown to be effective in increasing aerobic performance, the results from this investigation show no benefit in RE performance in resistance-trained males.
The impact of regional anesthesia on bladder cancer outcomes.

e15021 Background: Studies in breast and prostate surgery show reduced cancer recurrence after regional (RA) versus general anesthesia (GA). Mechanisms include RAOs reduced post-operative opioid us...
Resisting Restless Protestant Religious Consumers in the Korean Burnout Society: Examining Korean Protestantism’s Rising Interest in Apophatic and Desert Spirituality:

Why have Korean Protestants been enthusiastic for Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, and Orthodox books in recent years? This article proposes that apophatic spirituality and desert asceticism, influenti...
Advanced Process Control for Cost-Effective Glycol Loss Minimization in a Natural Gas Dehydration Plant under Upset Conditions

The monoethylene glycol (MEG)-based natural gas (NG) dehydration process often faces significant glycol losses at the stripper column because of vaporization and poor NG liquid recovery because of ...
Obesity and depression are risk factors for future eating disorder-related attitudes and behaviors in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

Objective(s) To identify clinical predictors of future eating disorder symptoms in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Design Prospective cohort study. Setting University center. Patient(s) One hundred sixty-four women with PCOS by the Rotterdam criteria. Intervention(s) Participants were characterized at a baseline visit between 2006 and 2017. A questionnaire including the validated Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire (EDE-Q) was self-administered at follow-up. Main Outcome Measure(s) EDE-Q global score (0–6, higher scores indicate more severe symptoms). Result(s) One hundred sixty-four women completed the follow-up survey an average of 5.3 years after the baseline visit. Compared with a normative population, women with PCOS had higher EDE-Q global scores (2.3 vs. 1.5) and scored higher on all subscales. Within the PCOS cohort, the following baseline clinical characteristics were independently predictive of scoring in the highest EDE-Q global score tertile: body mass index, waist circumference, hyperandrogenemia, high sensitivity C-reactive protein, and depression scores. Obesity at baseline conferred a 6.9-fold increase in the odds of elevated EDE-Q score (adjusted odds ratio = 6.89; 95% confidence interval, 2.70, 17.62), while a positive depression screen conferred 3.6-fold increased odds (adjusted odds ratio = 3.58; 95% confidence interval, 1.74-7.35). Compared with white women, nonwhite women were at risk of higher EDE-Q scores. Conclusion(s) Women with PCOS are at risk of disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, which may interfere with attempts at lifestyle interventions. Clinicians should screen women with PCOS for eating disorder psychopathology, especially those with obesity or depression. An exclusive focus on weight loss may have unintended consequences.
4.18 – Sulfotransferases

Sulfotransferases catalyze the formation of sulfuric acid esters, most often referred to as sulfates, from a wide range of xenobiotics and their metabolites, as well as various endogenous neurotransmitters, hormones, bile acids, carbohydrates, and proteins. This chapter is focused on the cytosolic sulfotransferases, a superfamily of enzymes that, depending on the specific substrates and products of the sulfation reaction, are responsible for either detoxication or metabolic activation of a wide range of drugs, toxins, carcinogens, environmental chemicals, and other xenobiotics. An overview of current aspects of the nomenclature, gene organization, regulation of expression, enzyme structures and catalytic mechanisms, specificities for substrates and inhibitors, and roles in toxicology is provided for these cytosolic sulfotransferases.
Anomaly Detection in Molecular Communications With Applications to Health Monitoring Networks

Early detection of diseases such as cancer plays a crucial role in their successful treatment. Motivated by this, anomaly detection in molecular nano-networks is studied. The proposed anomaly detection is, in fact, a two-tier network of artificial cells (ACs) in the first tier and a bio-cyber interface (BC) in the second tier. The ACs detect anomaly by variation in concentration of the biomarker molecules released by diseased cells (DCs) to the channel ending to ACs. This channel is modeled by a molecular communication (MC) paradigm. In the second tier, the ACs transmit a molecular message to a BC through the cardiovascular network, which is modeled again by the MC paradigm. A decision is made in the BC, which is implemented on the body skin, based on the received messages from different ACs. Due to the nature of the problem, a suboptimum design of detectors in the first and second tiers are provided. We use a Neyman-Pearson (NP) framework to analyze the detection performance of a health monitoring network. Based on bounding likelihood ratio (LR) a lower bound for the probability of detection and an upper bound for false alarm of each AC is derived. Next, taking into account the effect of ACs-BC channels, the overall performance of anomaly detection is analyzed in terms of probabilities of detection and false alarm.
Results of a National Text Message Poll of Youth: Perspectives on Primary Care.

Abstract Purpose There is a significant interest in improving adolescent access to primary care, yet limited attempts to incorporate youth feedback within these efforts. The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences related to primary care among a large national sample of adolescents to improve patient-centered care. Methods Youth were sent open-ended text message prompts via an ongoing study of 14- to 24-year-olds in the U.S. Text responses were analyzed using qualitative thematic analysis, including descriptive coding, consensus building, and theme development. Secondary quantitative analyses were conducted to determine differences by demographics. Results Of 1,123 eligible participants, 789 (70.2%) responded to at least one prompt. Four themes were developed: (1) youth recognized the importance of primary care, but barriers exist that limited their utilization; (2) youth felt that improving convenience would increase the use of primary care; (3) youth were unsure how to transition between primary care settings; and (4) feeling respected was essential to youth having positive experiences in a primary care health care setting. Older youth and those identifying as female, nonbinary, or transgender were more likely to report previous bad experiences with primary care. Conclusions Our findings describe barriers and possible solutions to primary care among youth. Because attitudes toward health and health care are established during adolescence, a transformation is needed to create more patient-centered care that aligns with young people's values and experiences. Thus, primary care providers have the opportunity to positively impact the health of young people today and the adults of the future.
Enhancing User Privacy Protection by Enforcing Clark-Wilson Security Model on Facebook

As Facebook becomes one of the most popular social media platforms, it has been sued by numerous privacy violations, notably the Cambridge Analytica scandal, reported in March 2018, where 87 million Facebook users' personal data were exposed and used for political purposes. This project aims to improve the Facebook user privacy control by enforcing Clark-Wilson (CW) security model. First, the Facebook privacy policy is reviewed and analyzed by categorizing it into major components and then the elements that contribute to high rate of user privacy and integrity threats are identified with the evaluation in relation to enforcement of user privacy integrity. Next, based on the identified limitations of existing measures that have been implemented to protect user privacy and data integrity, a new framework, known as I4A (Integrity, Audit, Authorization, Authentication and Access control), is proposed. This new framework provides a constructive enforcement of the privacy policy on Facebook by applying Clark-Wilson (CW) security model in which the Enforcement Rules (ERs) and Clarification Rules (CRs) are imposed to identify, verify and evaluate data integrity threats in privacy settings. Last, through comprehensive case studies, the new framework has demonstrated its potential in minimizing unnecessary disclosure of user's private information as well as in preventing excessive data mining by third party apps on Facebook.
Supporting racial, ethnic minority, and disadvantaged undergraduate nursing students with honors projects

Abstract Background Underrepresented racial and ethnic minority (UREM) and disadvantaged background (DB) students often feel a lack of belonging and community in higher education. Participation in Honors Programs has been shown to build a sense of belonging and community associated with short and long-term benefits for both students and their academic institutions. Purpose To describe the program we implemented (the MM program) to increase UREM and DB student representation in a SON Honors Program. Method A prospective, descriptive study of SON UREM and DB honors students with a May graduation date of 2017-2020. Results A total of 129 students completed honors with 23 MM UREM and DB students completing honors. Seven received highest honors award distinction that exemplifies excepetional work at a level beyond usually high expectations. Conclusions A supportive environment for UREM and DB students with resources are essential for students to consider and also complete a honors project.
Shoulder dislocations among high school-aged and college-aged athletes in the United States: an epidemiologic analysis.

Hypothesis/background Shoulder dislocations are common orthopedic injuries due to the mobile nature of the glenohumeral joint. High school and collegiate athletes are at particularly high risk for sustaining a dislocation event. Despite the prevalence of these injuries, there is a paucity in the literature regarding incidence of sports-related shoulder dislocations and mechanism of injury within these populations. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to (1) determine the incidence rate of shoulder dislocations in high school-aged and collegiate-aged athletes presenting to emergency departments (EDs) in the United States; (2) to determine the most common sports associated with shoulder dislocations; and (3) to compare the current rates and risk factors for shoulder dislocation with previous trends. Methods The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System is a statistically validated injury surveillance system that collects data from ED visits as a representative probability sample of hospitals in the United States. We queried the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System for the years 2015-2019 to examine the following variables for sports-related shoulder dislocations: patient age (high school = 13-17 years of age; collegiate = 18-23 years of age), sex, year of admission, and sport type. Using a weighted multiplier, annual incidence rates were estimated based on the US Census estimates and injury rates were compared by sex and age group across the study period. Results From 2015 to 2019, there were a total of 1329 athletic-related shoulder dislocations that presented to participating EDs. Of these, 698 (52.5%) shoulder dislocations occurred in collegiate athletes, while 631 (47.5%) occurred in high school athletes. Using weighted and adjusted estimates automatically generated by the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System database, this translates to 89,511 total athletic-related shoulder dislocations across the United States (95% confidence interval lower bound 68,224; 95% confidence interval upper bound 110,798). Male athletes demonstrated a higher proportion of shoulder dislocations (87%) than female athletes (13%). The most common sport-specific mechanisms of traumatic shoulder dislocation were basketball (24.1%), football (21%), soccer (7.1%), baseball (7.1%), and weightlifting (3.3%). Conclusion Sports-related shoulder dislocations are frequent in high school-aged and college-aged athletes presenting to the ED. Interventions to reduce incidence of injury should be sport-specific and focus on those participating in contact and noncontact sports. Male athletes have disproportionately higher rates of dislocation. These findings are consistent with the previous epidemiologic trends in the literature that have examined the incidence of shoulder dislocations in this population.
Counterterrorism, Investigative Detention, and the New Global Security Environment

Detention is among the most invasive and potent exercises of government power over an individual. Investigative detention — the pre-charge detention of a suspect for the purpose of obtaining evidence for use at a subsequent criminal prosecution. This differs from other kinds of detention that are relevant to counterterrorism operations (such as battlefield detention under the law of armed conflict) in that it is a detention power that exists within the ordinary, domestic criminal law frameworks of various jurisdictions. This paper explores the international and domestic legal developments related to investigative detention as it is carried out in the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. As part of this discussion, I explain the evolving threat environment that features investigative detention. This paper discusses the way in which each legal regime — based on its respective legal tradition and history — shapes the way in which investigative detention is exercised. Relatedly, this paper also highlights the way in which international law has served as a vector for change and convergence among these otherwise divergent legal systems — creating a rough similitude in the evolving approaches of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France to the problems associated with the investigative detention of terrorist suspects.
cis-Di­chloro(N,N,N′,N′-tetra­methyl-1,2-di­amino­ethane)­palladium(II)

The title compound, C6H16Cl2N2Pd, exhibits slightly distorted square-planar coordination about the metal atom, with normal Pd—Cl and Pd—N distances.
Heparan sulfate-growth factor interactions.

Publisher Summary This chapter examines the techniques that are typically used to demonstrate the dependence of receptor–growth factor interactions on heparan sulfate (HS), focusing on the fibroblast growth factors (FGFs). It describe methods for blocking the binding of growth factor to cell surface HS, and a novel method in which FGF and a soluble form of FGF receptor are used to detect endogenous HS that is capable of mediating their assembly into a signaling complex. Binding of growth factors to HS is dependent on the sulfation of the HS chain, a process that occurs in the Golgi apparatus through the action of specialized sulfotransferases. These enzymes utilize the high-energy sulfate donor phosphoadenosine phosphosulfate (PAPS), transferring sulfate from PAPS to the growing HS chain. A useful method for examining the binding specificity of a growth factor-receptor pair is to use the isolated proteins for direct binding studies in vitro . For the FGFs, this has been used extensively to determine the general sulfation requirements for binding. In addition, as the assembly of the FGF with the receptor is also dependent on HS, this assembly can be examined in vitro using FGF and soluble FR constructs as probes.
Optical network security: technical analysis of fiber tapping mechanisms and methods for detection & prevention

Increasing emphasis on reliable data transmission for homeland security and network-centric operations makes secure communications a critical component of national security. While fiber optic cables are immune to typical EMI/RFI issues, it is possible to intercept an optical signal successfully if risk areas are not understood and if detection and/or prevention mechanisms are not actively integrated into network management practices. There are several ways to 'tap' into an optical fiber, including fiber bending, splitting, evanescent coupling, scattering, and V-grooves. Many of these techniques require altering the physical characteristics of the fiber with a significant risk of damaging the fiber and having the optical intercept detected by the end user. Of all the techniques, the bent fiber tap is the most easily deployed with minimal risk of damage or detection. The paper quantifies the bend loss required to tap a signal propagating in a single mode fiber and analyzes the properties of the bend that could be used to detect that a tap is occurring. Understanding the mechanisms used for fiber tapping provides greater insight into ways of actively detecting unauthorized optical intercepts or compromised network security. Enhanced monitoring techniques enable the detection and localization of fiber taps. Monitoring techniques are reviewed with detailed analysis of each method's effectiveness in detecting bent fiber taps and their cost-effectiveness for integration into optical networks.
Hyper Encryption and Everlasting Secrets

A fundamental problem in cryptography is that of secure communication over an insecure channel, where a sender Alice wishes to communicate with a receiver Bob, in the presence of a powerful Adversary \( \mathcal{A}\mathcal{D} \). The primary goal of encryption is to protect the privacy of the conversation between Alice and Bob against \( \mathcal{A}\mathcal{D} \) . Modern cryptographic research has identified additional essentially important criteria for a secure encryption scheme. Namely that the encryption be non-malleable, be resistant to various chosen plaintext and ciphertext attacks, and if so desired, will allow the receiver to authenticate the received message and its sender. All these issues are now settled for the case that the Adversary \( \mathcal{A}\mathcal{D} \) is computationally unbounded.
Incorporation of Thymidine Analogs for Studying Replication Kinetics in Fission Yeast

Labeling DNA during in vivo replication by the incorporation of exogenous thymidine and thymidine analogs has been a mainstay of DNA replication and repair studies for decades. Unfortunately, thymidine labeling does not work in fungi, because they lack the thymidine salvage pathway required for uptake of exogenous thymidine. This obstacle to thymidine labeling has been overcome in yeast by engineering a minimal thymidine salvage pathway consisting of a nucleoside transporter to allow uptake of exogenous thymidine from the medium and a thymidine kinase to phosphorylate the thymidine into thymidine monophosphate, which can be used by the cell. This chapter describes the labeling of fission yeast, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, with the thymidine analog BrdU in order to identify sites and determine kinetics of DNA replication.
The astrocytic syncytium

Publisher Summary This chapter summarizes the evidence that gap junctions between astrocytes provide a pathway for direct intercellular exchange of ions, nutrients, and signaling molecules. It discusses that this direct intercellular pathway may be a part of the machinery responsible for the delivery of nutrients to neurons, ridding the extracellular space of excess of K + and glutamate, spreading intercellular waves of Ca 2+ , and exchanging cell death signals. Although this intercellular network is not truly syncytial, as it consists entirely of discrete cellular elements, the interconnections extend cellular functions, such as enlarging the buffer volume for dilution of K + and toxins, as well as integrating the cells with different classes of nonjunctional proteins into functional units. The chapter also reviews that new study carefully defining the surfaces of the interactions between individual astrocytes indicates that each has its own private volume, where intercellular communication is limited to the outermost fringes surrounding the autocellular space. Within this space, hundreds of oligodendrocytes may intermingle with fine astrocyte processes and tens of thousands of synapses are surrounded by individual processes of a single astrocyte.
Insecticidal activity of the CryIIA protein from the NRD-12 isolate of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki expressed in Escherichia coli and Bacillus thuringiensis and in a leaf-colonizing strain of Bacillus cereus

A 4.0-kb BamHI-HindIII fragment encoding the cryIIA operon from the NRD-12 isolate of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki was cloned into Escherichia coli. The nucleotide sequence of the 2.2-kb AccI-HindIII fragment containing the NRD-12 cryIIA gene was identical to the HD-1 and HD-263 cryIIA gene sequences. Expression of cryIIA and subsequent purification of CryIIA inclusion bodies resulted in a protein with insecticidal activity against Heliothis virescens, Trichoplusia ni, and Culex quinquefasciatus but not Spodoptera exigua. The 4.0-kb BamII-HindIII fragment encoding the cryIIA operon was inserted into the B. thuringiensis-E. coli shuttle vector pHT3101 (pMAU1). pMAU1 was used to transform an acrystalliferous HD-1 strain of B. thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki and a leaf-colonizing strain of B. cereus (BT-8) by using electroporation. Spore-crystal mixtures from both transformed strains were toxic to H. virescens and T. ni but not Helicoverpa zea or S. exigua.
Electoral Rules and Presidential Support in the Russian Duma, 1996-2003

Mixed-member electoral systems blend representation by using one set of electoral rules that encourages local representation and one set of electoral rules that encourages national representation. This mixture of electoral rules could, potentially, create a legislature divided along the lines created by these different electoral mandates. While the "mandate divide" hypothesis has been tested in several studies, there is no conclusion on whether they are a feature of mixed-member legislatures. This article adds to this debate by examining whether differences in electoral mandate created differences in support for the presidential legislative agenda. I argue that a mandate divide is more likely to occur when the president maintains a weak party or coalition in the legislature. Based on an analysis of support for the presidential agenda in the Russian Federation between 1996 and 2003, I show a mandate divide existed when the Russian president had weak support in the State Duma.
On the question of effective sample size in network modeling

The modeling and analysis of networks and network data has seen an explosion of interest in recent years and represents an exciting direction for potential growth in statistics. Despite the already substantial amount of work done in this area to date by researchers from various disciplines, however, there remain many questions of a decidedly foundational nature --- natural analogues of standard questions already posed and addressed in more classical areas of statistics --- that have yet to even be posed, much less addressed. Here we raise and consider one such question in connection with network modeling. Specifically, we ask, "Given an observed network, what is the sample size?" Using simple, illustrative examples from the class of exponential random graph models, we show that the answer to this question can very much depend on basic properties of the networks expected under the model, as the number of vertices N in the network grows. In particular, we show that whether the networks are sparse or not under our model (i.e., having relatively few or many edges between vertices, respectively) is sufficient to change the asymptotic rates for maximum likelihood parameter estimation by an order of magnitude, from N^(1/2) to N. We then explore some practical implications of this result, using both simulation and data on food-sharing from Lamalera, Indonesia.
Pyrolytic Removal of the Plastic Mandrel from Sputtered Beryllium Shells

An engineering model is presented for the removal of the plastic mandrel from the inside of a sputtered Be shell. The removal is accomplished by forcing heated air in and out of the 4 to 5 {micro}m laser drilled fill hole in the capsule wall by cycling the external pressure between 2 and 5 atm. The plastic is combusted to CO{sub 2} and H{sub 2}O by this exposure, thus removing the mandrel. Calculations are presented to evaluate the various parameters in the approach. Experimental confirmation of the effectiveness of the removal is shown.
Comment on “The Inhibiting Fc Receptor for IgG, FcγRIIB, Is a Modifier of Autoimmune Susceptibility”

FcγRIIB129−/− female mice produce detectable levels of anti-nuclear autoantibodies (ANAs) at the age of 4–5 mo ([1][1]). Moreover, these mice, compared with age-matched wild-type C57BL/6 mice, exhibit a reduced expression of the Aim2 gene (a member of the Ifi200 gene family), activation of
Neuroglial Responses to Elevated Glutamate in the Medial Basal Hypothalamus of the Infant Mouse

Elevated plasma glutamate can cause selective loss of neurons in the brains of infant mice. The arcuate nucleus-median eminence region exhibits the greatest sensitivity to glutamate while it undergoes developmental maturation during early postnatal life. To investigate glutamate-induced cellular responses, groups of nursing 7-d-old mice (n = 31-93) were given single subcutaneous injections of 0.1-0.5 mg monosodium glutamate (MSG)/g body wt or an equivalent volume (30-50 microL) of water vehicle (n = 93). Injection of 0.2 mg MSG/g body wt produced a 16-fold rise in plasma glutamate after 15 min (2.10 vs. 0. 122 mmol/L control) and was the lowest harmful dose tested. It not only induced injury of small bilateral groups of medial basal hypothalamic neurons at 5 h postinjection, but also enhanced their expression of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)R1 glutamate receptor subunit. Higher dosages of 0.3-0.5 mg MSG/g body wt yielded dose-related increases in NMDAR1 staining intensity and larger numbers of damaged neurons within the ventromedial arcuate nucleus. Administration of the live-cell nuclear stain bis-benzimide (0.95 micromol/L) indicated that MSG accessed the entire brain (n = 20) and methylene blue (1.0 g/L) permeated extracellular spaces by 15 min postinjection (n = 19), before cell death was evident (0.75 mmol/L propidium iodide) from co-injected MSG. Immunostaining, which mimicked that for glial fibrillary acidic protein, suggested that glutamate was retained in tanycytes. We conclude that elevated plasma glutamate induces glutamate receptor expression during selective injury of ventromedial arcuate neurons and propose that by sequestering glutamate, tanycytes may amplify local concentrations and promote neuronal damage in infant mice.
Calcium transport by Ehrlich ascites cell mitochondria in vitro and in situ.

Abstract The rate, maximum extent of accumulation, and passive release of Ca2+ by mitochondria within Ehrlich ascites tumor cells treated with digitonin and by isolated tumor mitochondria have been compared. The mitochondrial protein content of Ehrlich cells was determined by cytochrome and cytochrome oxidase analyses. The Ca2+ uptake rate in situ is approximately one-half the rate in vitro whereas maximum Ca2+ accumulation by mitochondria within the cell is about twice the value for isolated mitochondria. When isolated tumor mitochondria were supplemented with exogenous ATP the maximum uptake (approximately 3.0 μeq Ca2+/mg protein) was about the same as in situ. Adenine nucleotides retained in digitonized cells may account for the observed differences. The rate of uncoupler stimulated Ca2+ release from mitochondria within the cell (ca. 10 neq Ca2+/min · mg mitochondrial protein for Ca2+ loads up to 800 neq Ca2+/mg protein) agrees exceptionally well with previous estimates for isolated tumor mitochondria. Therefore the capacity for extensive Ca2+ accumulation without uncoupling and attenuation of Ca2+ efflux are virtually the same in the cell as in vitro.
Surgical management and strategies in the treatment of hypothermia and cold injury

Increased participation in outdoor activities and the epidemic of homelessness have caused the incidence of cold injuries in the civilian population to rise dramatically over the last 20 years. Knowledge of the treatment is crucial for emergency physicians in rural and urban areas. Recent developments have significantly advanced the understanding of the pathophysiology of hypothermic and frostbite injuries. Together with improved rewarming techniques and use of radiological assessment of tissue viability, future advancements should allow for a more aggressive and active approach to the management of these injuries.
Investigations on transition state geometry of the aldol condensation in aqueous medium

Abstract In aqueous medium, base-induced aldol condensations of keto aldehyde 1 show high anti-selectivity independent of metal ion and water content of the solvent. The acid-induced aldol condensations affords syn-aldol products in variable selectivity depending upon acid strength and water content of the medium.
Conceptualizing Sociocultural Factors within Clinical and Research Contexts

Cafri, Yamamiya, Brannick, and Thompson (this issue) reported results from a meta-analysis of relations between three sociocultural factors and body image dissatisfaction. Comparison of the effect sizes reveals that internalization of a thin ideal and perceived pressures have significantly stronger relations to body image dissatisfaction than does awareness of a thin ideal. The authors tested for and found no evidence of a moderating relationship involving age or ethnicity. The findings raise implications for advancing the study of body image dissatisfaction and eating disorders. In this commentary, I consider some of the challenges of studying sociocultural factors within the contexts of clinical research and practice. Specifically, I consider how cultural influences may arise and describe the utility of ecological frameworks for conceptualizing and assessing the impact of sociocultural factors within a treatment context.
Reaching beyond race

If white Americans could reveal what they really thought about race, without the risk of appearing racist, what would they say? This book aims to illustrate aspects of white American thinking about the politics of race previously hidden from site. Follow-up analysis points the way towards public policies that could gain wide support and reduce the gap between black and white Americans. The authors show that prejudice, although by no means gone, has lost its power to dominate the political thinking of white Americans. Concentrating on the new race-conscious agenda, they introduce a method of hidden measurement which reveals that liberals are just as angry over affirmative action as conservatives and that racial prejudice, while more common among conservatives, is more powerful in shaping political thinking of liberals. They also find that the good will many whites express to blacks is not fiegned but represents a genuine regard for blacks, which they will stand by even when given a perfectly acceptable excuse to respond negatively to blacks.
Silyl-substituted thioether ligands and their Ag(I) complexes.

Silyl-substituted thioether ligands were prepared that differed in the identity and number of ligating groups attached to silicon and the nature of the alkyl groups on silicon. The ligand syntheses involved deprotonation of a thioether with n-butyllithium followed by reaction with the appropriate chlorosilane. Yields were 45−75% after purification. The majority of the ligands reacted with silver(I) triflate to give stable crystalline products in high yields that could be characterized by single-crystal X-ray crystallography. Depending on the ligand, the structures of the products ranged from discrete complexes to infinite polymeric structures. Apparent argentophilic interactions were commonly observed in the solid-state structures of the complexes (Ag−Ag = 2.909−3.196 A).
Nanocharacterization of Relaxation Properties in Organic Thin Film Electronic Materials

With increased molecular complexity of organic thin film electronics, novel characterization methods are required to provide nanoscale material property information. Particularly important in polymer thin film electronics are methods characterizing the mobility properties of materials that are in amorphous unsteady states. If the unsteady nature of materials is paired with dimensional and interfacial constraints in anisotropic systems, such as thin films, it produces material systems of great challenges with enormous engineering potentials. Two examples are addressed in this paper, involving desired and undesired supramolecular alignments in polymer thin films, the spectral stability in organic blue-light emitting diodes and the electro-optical (EO) activity in organic non-linear optical (NLO) materials, in conjunction with novel scanning probe microscopy (SFM) based characterization tools. The nanoscopic methods discussed here, i.e., shear modulation force microscopy (SM-FM), and nanoscale isothermal friction analysis (NIFA), offer a quantitative approach for investigating the mobility/stability of organic semiconductor polymer films. Thereby, local properties such as energy barriers for sub-molecular motions (relaxations) and critical transition temperatures can be directly inferred from organic films that are used in actual electronic devices.
Does the SOX Definition of an Accounting Expert Matter? the Association between Audit Committee Directors' Accounting Expertise and Accounting Conservatism

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act mandates the disclosure of whether at least one member of the audit committee is a financial expert. However, the final version of the rule adopted by the SEC defined experts to include both accounting and non-accounting experts. Did the SEC do the right thing? Are the non-accounting experts just as competent as the accounting experts in enhancing the quality of financial reporting? For a sample of S&P 500 firms we examine whether the audit committee's financial expertise is associated with accounting conservatism, a fundamental characteristic of financial reporting. Our results suggest that an audit committee's financial expertise is positively associated with conservatism when financial expertise is defined to include only accounting experts. Our findings are consistent with the notion that accounting expertise contributes to greater monitoring by the members of the audit committee which in turn enhances conservatism. However, this finding is conditional upon the firm's overall corporate governance, i.e., in weak boards accounting financial expertise is ineffective in promoting conservative accounting. Our findings have implications for regulators, corporate boards, and the accounting profession. Our findings are also relevant to regulators in other countries who are considering adopting measures to enhance corporate governance, particularly the effectiveness of the audit committees.
DNA Synthesis Time and Related Parameters in Erythroid Cell Precursors of Rats

The double-labelling, two-emulsion autoradiographic technique was used to study DNA synthesis time and related nuclear sub-cycle durations of erythroid cell precursors in three week-old rats. As employed in this short-term investigation, the double-labelling technique permitted direct estimates of DNA synthesis time to be made independently of labelling indices from the flow of two populations of labelled cells through the S-phase of the nuclear cycle. The application of a second autoradiographic emulsion over single-emulsion preparations made possible a more objective distinction between the two labels than can be done with single emulsion preparations. The following estimates were obtained from counts made on nine rats and a total of 45,000 cells: DNA synthesis time, 7.0 ± 0.5 hours; mitotic time (not including early prophase), 20 ± 3 minutes; average turnover time, 19.0 ± 1.8 hours.
System-theoretic analysis of battery systems during equalization, charging, and discharging

The normal and reliable operation of the battery system in the electric vehicle plays a critical role to ensure safe and comfortable driving for users. In practice, a very common problem of battery system is charge imbalance. To solve this problem, battery equalization has been introduced as a part of the battery management system. In order to design a battery equalization system and improve its performance, it is necessary to understand its behavior and performance from the system-level based on quantitative metrics. For a battery system, the evaluation of the time to complete equalization, charging and discharging is of great importance, since many other performance metrics can be calculated from the equalization, charging, and discharging times. In this paper, mathematical model for a class of series-based battery equalization system is introduced to describe its operation under different working situations. Then, based on the mathematical model, the analytical formulas for calculating the equalization time and charging or discharging time are derived and validated by the simulations.
Salmonella pathogenicity island 2-dependent macrophage death is mediated in part by the host cysteine protease caspase-1.

Salmonella typhimurium invades host macrophages and can either induce a rapid cell death or establish an intracellular niche within the phagocytic vacuole. Rapid cell death requires the Salmonella pathogenicity island (SPI)1 and the host protein caspase-1, a member of the pro-apoptotic caspase family of proteases. Salmonella that do not cause this rapid cell death and instead reside in the phagocytic vacuole can trigger macrophage death at a later time point. We show here that the human pathogen Salmonella typhi also triggers both rapid, caspase-1-dependent and delayed cell death in human monocytes. The delayed cell death has previously been shown with S. typhimurium to be dependent on SPI2-encoded genes and ompR. Using caspase-1–/– bone marrow-derived macrophages and isogenic S. typhimurium mutant strains, we show that a large portion of the delayed, SPI2-dependent death is mediated by caspase-1. The two known substrates of activated caspase-1 are the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-18, which are cleaved to produce bioactive cytokines. We show here that IL-1β is released during both SPI1- and SPI2-dependent macrophage killing. Using IL-1β–/– bone marrow-derived macrophages and a neutralizing anti-IL-18 antibody, we show that neither IL-1β nor IL-18 is required for rapid or delayed macrophage death. Thus, both rapid, SPI1-mediated killing and delayed, SPI2-mediated killing require caspase-1 and result in the secretion of IL-1β, which promotes inflammation and may facilitate the spread of Salmonella beyond the gastrointestinal tract in systemic disease.
Pharma and CME: View from the US

In the United States, commercial support for continuing medical education has grown steadily over the past decade. In 2006 it provided more than half, about $1.5bn (£0.75bn, €0.95bn) or 60%, of the income for educational programmes doctors must take to maintain their medical licences. 1 Evidence shows that commercial support distorts what doctors learn. In 2007 I chaired the Josiah Macy, Jr conference on Continuing Education in the Health Professions: Improving Healthcare Through Lifelong Learning ( www.josiahmacyfoundation.org). A major recommendation emerging from the conference was that organisations providing accredited continuing education should not receive commercial support from drug or medical device companies. The Macy report, from the conference, summarised the ethical concerns. Commercial support places doctors and nurses who teach continuing education activities in the untenable position of being paid, directly or indirectly, by the manufacturers of healthcare products about which they teach. Commercial entities have an …