cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Patterns of Electoral Governance in Africa's Emerging Democracies:

This article describes and explains patterns of electoral governance in Africa's emerging democracies through a systematic examination of election management bodies (embs), the formal units principally responsible for the organization and conduct of elections. The effectiveness of embs as institutional linchpins of electoral governance depends largely, but not exclusively, on their autonomy from the government. The article measures the degree of autonomy of embs as an indicator of the varying patterns of electoral governance in Africa's emerging democracies and employs an ordered probit model to account for them. The model confirms the expected combined effects of the institutional legacies of colonial governance and postcolonial neopatrimonial regimes, ethnopolitical fragmentation and political negotiations over new democratic institutions on the relative autonomy of embs. Predicted probabilities calculated from the probit coefficients accurately predict the separate impact of each independent variable o...
Strengthening managerial approaches to improving technological capabilities

This paper draws on an extensive array of theoretical and empirical studies covering a variety of industries in the U.S. and elsewhere in order: (a) to review common shortcomings found in evaluating technological innovations both before and after adoption, as well as in generating proposals for new innovations; and (b) to suggest means of improving each of these efforts.
Drug Evaluation: Oncologic, Endocrine & Metabolic: Irinotecan (CPT-11): Current status and perspectives

Irinotecan (CPT-11), a camptothecin derivative, is the first of a new family of cytotoxic agents, the topoisomerase I inhibitors, to be introduced to the market. By inhibiting DNA topoisomerase I, CPT-11 interferes with DNA replication and provokes a single- followed by a double-strand break forcing the cell to enter into an apoptotic process. Although it displays potentially interesting activity in many tumours (e.g., lung cancers, cervical cancer), currently, its most consistent efficacy is in metastatic colorectal cancer where response rates compare favourably with those of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), the only active drug for this indication over the past decades. The two principal adverse reactions of major concern are neutropaenia and a delayed and unpredictable diarrhoea. The mechanism underlying this latter reaction remains under active investigation and attempts are being made to improve the tolerability of CPT-11 treatment and to decrease the incidence of this side-effect. Nevertheless, CPT-11 can be ...
Pyrolytic carbon proximal interphalangeal joint arthroplasty: results with minimum two-year follow-up evaluation.

Purpose To retrospectively review the surgical technique, postoperative therapy/splinting protocols, and clinical and radiographic outcomes of patients who had pyrolytic carbon proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint arthroplasty. Methods A total of 50 PIP joint replacements in 35 patients were performed with a minimum follow-up period of 27 months. Indications for surgery included pain, decreased range of motion, instability, and/or deformity. The preoperative diagnosis was osteoarthritis in 14, rheumatoid arthritis in 11, and posttraumatic arthritis in 10. There were 20 women and 15 men affected. The average age at the time of surgery was 53 years. The fingers replaced included the index (15), middle (18), ring (10), and small (7). The preoperative arc of motion averaged 40° (0°–60°), and the pinch and grip measurements averaged 3 and 19 kg, respectively. The preoperative pain scores averaged 6 (scale, of 0–10) on a visual analog space scale. Results The arc of motion was 47° after surgery, and the average pinch and grip measurements were 4 and 25 kg, respectively. Pain scores improved to 1. At the final follow-up evaluation the overall patient satisfaction was nearly 80%. The results of index finger PIP replacements are compatible with other digits. Fourteen joints (in 14 patients) to date have required additional procedures to improve or maintain joint motion/function or pain; 5 for minor reasons and 9 for major complications. The revision arthroplasty rate was 8%. No infections were noted. Although not medically necessary, 2 patients requested and had an amputation. Radiographic subsidence and subsequent settling (in accordance with Wolff’s law) without apparent loosening occurred in 20 joints. Conclusions Our 2-year minimum follow-up evaluation of pyrolytic carbon implant arthroplasty showed improved pain relief and good overall patient satisfaction. Twenty-eight percent of patients required a second procedure and 8% required a revision arthroplasty. Radiographs showed gross changes in implant and eventual settling to a stable position in 40% of the joints. A longer follow-up period will help to better determine the efficacy of this implant. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic, Level IV.
Amino acid receptors in the antennules of Homarus americanus.

Abstract 1. 1. Electrophysiological techniques were utilized to establish the presence of amino acid sensitive chemoreceptors in lateral antennular filaments of Homarus americanus . 2. 2. Prolonged discharge is implicated as a possible mechanism of peripheral discrimination of specific amino acids.
Medical diagnoses of pediatric dental patients treated under general anesthesia: a 19 year review.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the records of pediatric dental patients treated under general anesthesia to determine if there had been any significant change in preoperative diagnoses between 1990-99 and 2000-08. Study Design: The records of 3298 pediatric dental patients treated in the operating room under general anesthesia at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Children's Hospital were examined and medical diagnoses recorded. The number of cases treated by calendar year was obtained. Results: The results of this study did not find any significant differences in percentage frequency of medical diagnoses between the years of 1990-99 and 2000-08. There has been a steady increase in the number of cases treated under general anesthesia over the period of the study. Conclusions: 1. Dental care under general anesthesia remains an important treatment option. 2. The medical diagnoses of children provided dental treatment under general anesthesia has not changed significantly over the ...
Cardiac troponin increases among runners in the Boston Marathon

Study objective Studies indicate that running a marathon can be associated with increases in serum cardiac troponin levels. The clinical significance of such increases remains unclear. We seek to determine the prevalence of troponin increases and epidemiologic factors associated with these increases in a large and heterogeneous cohort of marathon finishers. Methods Entrants in the 2002 Boston Marathon were recruited 1 to 2 days before the race. Data collected included demographic and training history, symptoms experienced during the run, and postrace troponin T and I levels. Simple descriptive statistics were performed to describe the prevalence of troponin increases and runner characteristics. Results Of 766 runners enrolled, 482 had blood analyzed at the finish line. In all, 34% were women, 20% were younger than 30 years, and 92% had run at least 1 previous marathon. Most runners (68%) had some degree of postrace troponin increase (troponin T ≥0.01 ng/mL or troponin I ≥0.1 ng/mL), and 55 (11%) had significant increases (troponin T ≥0.075 ng/mL or troponin I ≥0.5 ng/mL). Running inexperience ( Conclusion Troponin increases were relatively common among marathon finishers and can reach levels typically diagnostic for acute myocardial infarction. Less marathon experience and younger age appeared to be associated with troponin increases, whereas race duration and the presence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors were not. Further work is needed to determine the clinical significance of these findings.
Phosphate, not superoxide dismutase, facilitates electron transfer from ferrous salts to cytochrome c.

Abstract Peterson and Eaton (1989, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 165, 164–167) reported that the copper- and zinc-containing, but not the manganese-containing, superoxide dismutase catalyzes the reduction of cytochrome c by ferrous salts. This activity, erroneously attributed to the enzyme, is now shown to have been due to inorganic phosphate.
Stimulation of human omental adipose tissue lipolysis by growth hormone plus dexamethasone.

Abstract Growth hormone [GH] administration results in a reduction in adiposity of humans that is attributed to stimulation of lipolysis. We examined the effect of direct addition of human GH, in both the absence and presence of dexamethasone [Dex], as well as that of interferon β on lipolysis by omental adipose tissue explants from obese women incubated for 48 h in primary culture. There was a significant stimulation of lipolysis by GH in the presence of Dex but not by Dex or GH alone. There was also a significant further stimulation by GH in the presence of Dex of hormone-sensitive lipase, perilipin, lipoprotein lipase and β1 adrenergic receptor mRNA. We conclude that the direct lipolytic effect of GH is accompanied by an increase in HSL mRNA in the presence of DEX, but GH also increased the mRNAs for other proteins that could explain all or part of its lipolytic action.
Perturbation Theory of Pion Decays

To first order in the pion-baryon couplings, the Feynman diagram for the decay $\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\mu}+\ensuremath{\nu}$ essentially consists of a baryon loop. By requiring it to be finite, one obtains a linear relation between the coupling constants ${g}_{\ensuremath{\pi}N}$, ${g}_{\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremath{\Sigma}}$, and ${g}_{\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremath{\Xi}}$. (The coupling to the $\ensuremath{\Lambda}\ensuremath{\Sigma}$ system plays no role here.) A very simple choice of values is conjectured, which produces good agreement with experiment for both the charged and neutral pion decays, when these are calculated to first order in ${g}_{\ensuremath{\pi}N}$.
High Reynolds Number Airfoil Simulations Using the Immersed Boundary Method

The Immersed-Boundary Method is coupled to an incompressible-flow RANS solver, based on a two-equation turbulence model, to perform unsteady numerical simulations of airflow past the NACA-0012 airfoil for several angles of attack and Reynolds numbers of 5.0×105 and 1.8×106. Qualitative characterizations of the flow in the vicinity of the airfoil are obtained to show the need for locally refined grids to capture the thin boundary layers close to the airfoil leading edges. Quantitative analysis of aerodynamic force coefficients and wall pressure distributions are also reported and compared to experimental results and those from body-fitted grid simulations using the same solver to assess the accuracy and limitations of this approach. The Immersed-Boundary simulations compared well to the experimental and body-fitted results up to the occurrence of separation. After that point, neither computational approach provided satisfactory solutions.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Collectivism as a moderator of responses to organizational justice: implications for leader‐member exchange and ingratiation

Previous research indicates that employee justice perceptions are positively related to leader-member exchange (LMX). We examined collectivism as a moderator of this relationship. We hypothesized that because maintaining harmonious relationships is important for collectivists, and because protecting their individual identities is not a priority, there is a weaker relationship between interactional and distributive justice perceptions and LMX for individuals high in collectivism. Instead of engaging in behaviors that would lower the quality of their LMX relationships, collectivists are more likely to use soft influence tactics, specifically ingratiation, as a response to perceived unfairness. Thus, we expected a stronger relationship between justice perceptions and ingratiation for those high in collectivism. In a sample of textile-manufacturing employees in Istanbul, Turkey, we found that interactional justice had a weaker positive relationship with LMX for individuals high in collectivism. In addition, distributive justice had a nonsignificant relationship with LMX for those high in collectivism, whereas there was a positive relationship for those low in collectivism. Finally, for collectivists there was a negative relationship between interactional justice perceptions and frequency of ingratiation, suggesting that collectivists may use more subtle mechanisms when responding to interactional unfairness. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Barium Titanate Nanoparticles in Block Copolymer

Cubic BaTiO3 particles of ∼10 nm were crystallized predominantly within the hydroxylated polybutadiene matrix of a phase separated triblock copolymeric thin film of polystyrene−polybutadiene−polystyrene (Kraton D1102). The barium titanated Kraton thin film had remnants of the cylindrical morphology of a plain Kraton thin film with an interdomain spacing of ∼23 nm. The procedure of barium titanation consisted of three steps: (1) in situ hydroxylation of the polybutadiene matrix of an annealed Kraton thin film, (2) regioselective deposition of barium titanium methoxypropanoxide (BaTi(OCH2CH(CH2)OCH3)6) on the hydroxylated polybutadiene matrix, and (3) hydrothermal reduction of the organometallic complexes in an NH3/H2O atmosphere at 80 °C for 24 h. Isolated water clusters in step 3, condensed from the NH3/H2O atmosphere of 1 M NH4OH(aq) at 80 °C in the alkoxide−Kraton films, were believed to have a typical diameter of no more than 23 nm at a pH of 14. They gave a high pH environment to weaken the chelating...
Multichannel Astrometric Photometer--based Parallaxes of Evolved Stars: chi Cygni, 51 Andromedae, and OP Andromedae

Using data from Allegheny Observatory's Thaw/MAP astrometric system, absolute parallaxes are presented for Chi Cygni, 51 Andromedae, the newly discovered RS CVn variable OP Andromedae, and selected stars in these fields. Using existing angular diameter measures and the new parallaxes, linear diameters for Chi Cygni and 51 And are given. Chi Cygni has a perturbation in declination having a period of 0.75 yr and an amplitude of +/- 5 mas. Owing to the extreme variability of Chi Cygni, no further characterization of the system is possible at this time. Other results of spectral interest include the detection of a perturbation in the motion of BD +47 deg 466. This system was found to have a parallax of 14.4 +/- 1.2 mas.
Arterial pressures in street dogs: incidence and significance of hypertension.

SummaryHypertension resembling “clinical essential” hypertension may occur in dogs, but the weight of the evidence inclines us to the view that this condition must be very rare; what seems to be “spontaneous” canine hypertension is usually attributable to renal disease. The relatively narrow spread of arterial pressures in this series of street dogs indicates that the skill of the observer is at least as important as the training of the dog.
Online Trajectory Generation: Straight-Line Trajectories

A concept of online trajectory generation for robot motion control systems that enables instantaneous reactions to unforeseen sensor events was introduced in a former publication. This concept is now extended with the important feature of homothety. Homothetic trajectories are 1-D straight lines in a multidimensional space and are relevant for all straight-line motion operations in robotics. This paper clarifies 1) how online concepts can be used to generate homothetic trajectories and 2) how we can instantaneously react to (sensor) events with homothetic trajectories. To underline the practical relevance, real-world experimental results with a seven-degree-of-freedom (DOF) robot arm are shown.
Analysis on the Influencing Factors of Dynamic Characteristics for the Linear Motion Station of DCG

Dynamic characteristics of the system have been given more and more attention so as to improve the retention and reliability of machining accuracy. Research has shown that dynamic performance of the feed drive mechanism has significant impact on the processing quality and efficiency of CNC. This paper mainly focuses on the DCG which realizes its motion on the basis of a pair of lead screw. The dynamic performance of the DCG was analyzed by the method of finite element analysis. DCG structure and the key design parameters of the rail joint surface have been studied to find out the influence on its dynamic characteristics. These researches provided a basis for the realization of the CNC feed motion of high-speed and high-precision. Besides, it is also possible to improve the overall performance of CNC machine tools.
Cardiac allograft pathology: A clinicopathologic correlation.

The relationships among cardiac allograft pathology, clinical course, and results of endomyocardial biopsies in 55 transplanted adult hearts from 43 autopsies and 12 retransplants were studied. The mean survival was 8.9 months. All patients received cyclosporin-A immunosuppressive therapy. Histologic assessment of left and right ventricles (LV and RV) and coronary arteries allowed comparison of the following regions of each ventricle: endocardium, subendocardium, myocardium, epicardium, epicardial coronary arteries, and intramyocardial arteries. Histologic and clinical features were compared using Fisher's exact test. Survival curve analysis (Wilcoxon's rank sum test) for each histologic feature was performed to define a statistical image of the significant pathologic features of allografts with longer survival. Pathologic changes were similar in LV and RV. Cellular infiltrate was equivalent transmurally in both ventricles. Subendocardial changes in the right ventricle generally reflected the same pathologic changes elsewhere in LV and RV. A history of at least two rejection episodes correlated with a perimyocytic pattern of LV fibrosis. Infiltrate and fibrosis in the epicardium and irregularity of the epicardial-myocardial junction and were more frequent in longer-surviving allografts and correlated with myocardial and coronary artery pathology. No significant correlation was found between subendocardial or myocardial pathological changes and coronary artery pathology. The statistical model proved to be a useful approach to the study of large numbers of clinicopathologic variables and gave results that were pathologically sound.
Self-supported freight demand management: pricing and incentives

The paper designs and assesses the effectiveness of a self-supported freight demand management system that uses a small toll surcharge to generate an incentive budget that, in turn, is used to induce receivers of goods in congested urban areas to accept unassisted off-hour deliveries (OHD). To this effect, the authors use a behavioral micro-simulation that incorporates the chief principles that govern the joint decision of carriers and receivers about delivery times, including an ordinal discrete choice model to represent the receivers’ decisions concerning OHD in response to an incentive; and a cost function to estimate the carriers’ decisions. The paper analyzes the effectiveness of different combinations of toll surcharges (to only freight vehicles, or to all vehicles traveling in the regular hours) and incentives to receivers. The paper ends with a summary of the key findings and policy implications.
Evaluation of Peritoneal Microbubble Oxygenation Therapy in a Rabbit Model of Hypoxemia

Alternative extrapulmonary oxygenation technologies are needed to treat patients suffering from severe hypoxemia refractory to mechanical ventilation. We previously demonstrated that peritoneal microbubble oxygenation (PMO), in which phospholipid-coated oxygen microbubbles (OMBs) are delivered into the peritoneal cavity, can successfully oxygenate rats suffering from a right pneumothorax. This study addressed the need to scale up the procedure to a larger animal with a splanchnic cardiac output similar to humans. Our results show that PMO therapy can double the survival time of rabbits experiencing complete tracheal occlusion from $6.6 \pm 0.6$ min for the saline controls to $12.2 \pm 3.0$ min for the bolus PMO-treated cohort. Additionally, we designed and tested a new peritoneal delivery system to circulate OMBs through the peritoneal cavity. Circulation achieved a similar survival benefit to bolus delivery under these conditions. Overall, these results support the feasibility of the PMO technology to provide extrapulmonary ventilation for rescue of severely hypoxic patients.
Stress Affects Corticosteroid and Immunoglobulin Concentrations in Male House Mice (Mus musculus) and Prairie Voles (Microtus ochrogaster)

Glucocorticoids, secreted in response to perceived stress, can suppress immunoglobulin (Ig) levels and compromise immune function in mice and rats. Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) have been reported to exhibit basal corticosterone concentrations that would cause pathological changes in the immune function of most other rodents. The goals of the present study were to verify that serum corticosterone concentrations are high in prairie voles, as compared with house mice (Mus musculw), by measuring serum corticosterone with the same RIA; to examine the effects of mild stressors on corticosterone response in both species and to examine the effects of elevated corticosterone levels on IgM and IgG levels in prairie voles and house mice. After 2 weeks of randomly timed 15-min daily restraint or cold-water swim sessions, animals were injected with sheep red blood cells. The data confirmed that basal blood concentrations of corticosterone were higher in prairie voles than house mice, but these high levels doubled after the first swim session in prairie voles, indicating that the adrenals can respond to stressors by producing increased corticosterone. After stress, antibody production (both IgM and IgG) was reduced in house mice but not in prairie voles, despite higher hlood concentrations of glucocorticoids in prairie voles. Although body mass was statistically equivalent between species, prairie voles and mice differed dramatically in adrenal and splenic masses. Average adrenal mass of prairie voles was approxi- mately three times the average mass of these organs in house mice; in contrast, the average splenic mass of house mice was approximately three times that of prairie voles. These data may be relevant to seasonal changes in immune function and survival. COMP BIOCHEM PHYSIOL 118A;3:655-663, 1997. 0 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.
Challenges in Using Cultured Primary Rodent Hepatocytes or Cell Lines to Study Hepatic HDL Receptor SR-BI Regulation by Its Cytoplasmic Adaptor PDZK1

Background: PDZK1 is a four PDZ-domain containing cytoplasmic protein that binds to a variety of membrane proteins via their C-termini and can influence the abundance, localization and/or function of its target proteins. One of these targets in hepatocytes in vivo is the HDL receptor SR-BI. Normal hepatic expression of SR-BI protein requires PDZK1 - ,5% of normal hepatic SR-BI is seen in the livers of PDZK1 knockout mice. Progress has been made in identifying features of PDZK1 required to control hepatic SR-BI in vivo using hepatic expression of wild-type and mutant forms of PDZK1 in wild-type and PDZK1 KO transgenic mice. Such in vivo studies are time consuming and expensive, and cannot readily be used to explore many features of the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we have explored the potential to use either primary rodent hepatocytes in culture using 2D collagen gels with newly developed optimized conditions or PDZK1/SR-BI co-transfected cultured cell lines (COS, HEK293) for such studies. SR-BI and PDZK1 protein and mRNA expression levels fell rapidly in primary hepatocyte cultures, indicating this system does not adequately mimic hepatocytes in vivo for analysis of the PDZK1 dependence of SR-BI. Although PDZK1 did alter SR-BI protein expression in the cell lines, its influence was independent of SR-BI’s C-terminus, and thus is not likely to occur via the same mechanism as that which occurs in hepatocytes in vivo. Conclusions/Significance: Caution must be exercised in using primary hepatocytes or cultured cell lines when studying the mechanism underlying the regulation of hepatic SR-BI by PDZK1. It may be possible to use SR-BI and PDZK1 expression as sensitive markers for the in vivo-like state of hepatocytes to further improve primary hepatocyte cell culture conditions.
Chameleon: a software infrastructure for adaptive fault tolerance

This paper presents Chameleon, an adaptive infrastructure, which allows different levels of availability requirements to be simultaneously supported in a networked environment. Chameleon provides dependability through the use of special ARMORs-Adaptive. Reconfigurable, and Mobile Objects for Reliability-that control all operations in the Chameleon environment. Three broad classes of ARMORs are defined: 1) Managers oversee other ARMORs and recover from failures in their subordinates. 2) Daemons provide communication gateways to the ARMORs at the host node. They also make available a host's resources to the Chameleon environment. 3) Common ARMORs implement specific techniques for providing application-required dependability. Employing ARMORs, Chameleon makes available different fault-tolerant configurations and maintains run-time adaptation to changes in the availability requirements of an application. Flexible ARMOR architecture allows their composition to be reconfigured at run-time, i.e., the ARMORs may dynamically adapt to changing application requirements. In this paper, we describe ARMOR architecture, including ARMOR class hierarchy, basic building blocks, ARMOR composition, and use of ARMOR factories. We present how ARMORs can be reconfigured and reengineered and demonstrate how the architecture serves our objective of providing an adaptive software infrastructure. To our knowledge, Chameleon is one of the few real implementations which enables multiple fault tolerance strategies to exist in the same environment and supports fault-tolerant execution of substantially off-the-shelf applications via a software infrastructure only. Chameleon provides fault tolerance from the application's point of view as well as from the software infrastructure's point of view. To demonstrate the Chameleon capabilities, we have implemented a prototype infrastructure which provides set of ARMORs to initialize the environment and to support the dual and TMR application execution modes. Through this testbed environment, we measure the execution overhead and recovery times from failures in the user application, the Chameleon ARMORs, the hardware, and the operating system.
Gain saturation in a laser amplifier driven by a CW oscillator

Abstract A model is given for a cw oscillator driving an amplifier whose upper excited level is pumped instantaneously, continuously, or both. Although simple, this model includes the nonlinear effect of gain saturation. Closed-form solutions for the intensity are obtained for all times including an initial transient period. When initial pumping occurs, first derivatives are discontinuous across a characteristic emanating from the origin. Examples are presented that illustrate the dominant effect of gain saturation.
Vasoactive intestinal peptide receptor-1 (VPAC-1) is a novel gene target of the hemolymphopoietic transcription factor Ikaros.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide and its G-protein-coupled receptors, VPAC-1 and VPAC-2, are highly expressed in the immune system and modulate diverse T cell functions. The human VPAC-1 5′-flanking region (1.4 kb) contains four high affinity Ikaros (IK) consensus sequences. Ikaros native protein from T cell nuclear extracts and IK-1 and IK-2 recombinant proteins recognized an IK high affinity binding motif in the VPAC-1 promoter in electrophoretic mobility shift assays by a sequence-specific mechanism, and anti-IK antibodies supershifted this complex. Stable NIH-3T3 clones overexpressing IK-1 or IK-2 isoforms were generated to investigate Ikaros regulation of endogenous VPAC-1 expression as assessed by quantifying VPAC-1 mRNA and protein. By traditional and fluorometric-based kinetic reverse transcription-PCR and125I-labeled vasoactive intestinal peptide binding, both IK-1 and IK-2 suppressed endogenous VPAC-1 expression in NIH-3T3 clones by a range of 50–93%. When a series of nested deletions of the VPAC-1 luciferase reporter construct were transiently transfected into IK-2 clones there was up to a 41% decrease in transcriptional activity compared with vector control. Two major IK-2 binding domains also were identified at −1076 to −623 bp and at −222 to −35 bp, respectively. As both Ikaros and its novel target VPAC-1 are highly expressed in T cells, this system may be a dominant determinant of the VPAC-1 expression in immune responses.
The Measurement of the Effects of Overtraining On Job Attitudes

This paper presents various models for measuring the effect of being overtrained, where overtraining refers to a discrepancy between a person's training and the educational requirements of his job. The various assumptions regarding the effects of overtraining that are embodied in the different models are discussed. It is found that a simple additive model describes the effect of overtraining on job satisfaction, while a model adding interaction terms is needed to account for the effect of overtraining on job involvement.
The VC Dimension for Mixtures of Binary Classifiers

The mixtures-of-experts (ME) methodology provides a tool of classification when experts of logistic regression models or Bernoulli models are mixed according to a set of local weights. We show that the Vapnik-Chervonenkis dimension of the ME architecture is bounded below by the number of experts m and above by O (m4s2), where s is the dimension of the input. For mixtures of Bernoulli experts with a scalar input, we show that the lower bound m is attained, in which case we obtain the exact result that the VC dimension is equal to the number of experts.
Neurotrophin-regulated signalling pathways

Neurotrophins are a family of closely related proteins that were identified initially as survival factors for sensory and sympathetic neurons, and have since been shown to control many aspects of survival, development and function of neurons in both the peripheral and the central nervous systems. Each of the four mammalian neurotrophins has been shown to activate one or more of the three members of the tropomyosin-related kinase (Trk) family of receptor tyrosine kinases (TrkA, TrkB and TrkC). In addition, each neurotrophin activates p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR), a member of the tumour necrosis factor receptor superfamily. Through Trk receptors, neurotrophins activate Ras, phosphatidyl inositol-3 (PI3)-kinase, phospholipase C-g1 and signalling pathways controlled through these proteins, such as the MAP kinases. Activation of p75NTR results in activation of the nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) and Jun kinase as well as other signalling pathways. Limiting quantities of neurotrophins during development control the number of surviving neurons to ensure a match between neurons and the requirement for a suitable density of target innervation. The neurotrophins also regulate cell fate decisions, axon growth, dendrite growth and pruning and the expression of proteins, such as ion channels, transmitter biosynthetic enzymes and neuropeptide transmitters that are essential for normal neuronal function. Continued presence of the neurotrophins is required in the adult nervous system, where they control synaptic function and plasticity, and sustain neuronal survival, morphology and differentiation. They also have additional, subtler roles outside the nervous system. In recent years, three rare human genetic disorders, which result in deleterious effects on sensory perception, cognition and a variety of behaviours, have been shown to be attributable to mutations in brain-derived neurotrophic factor and two of the Trk receptors.
On the completeness of orientation rules for causal discovery in the presence of latent confounders and selection bias

Causal discovery becomes especially challenging when the possibility of latent confounding and/or selection bias is not assumed away. For this task, ancestral graph models are particularly useful in that they can represent the presence of latent confounding and selection effect, without explicitly invoking unobserved variables. Based on the machinery of ancestral graphs, there is a provably sound causal discovery algorithm, known as the FCI algorithm, that allows the possibility of latent confounders and selection bias. However, the orientation rules used in the algorithm are not complete. In this paper, we provide additional orientation rules, augmented by which the FCI algorithm is shown to be complete, in the sense that it can, under standard assumptions, discover all aspects of the causal structure that are uniquely determined by facts of probabilistic dependence and independence. The result is useful for developing any causal discovery and reasoning system based on ancestral graph models.
Evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of paediatric acne

Despite the fact that acne vulgaris is one of the most common skin diseases in children, there is still quite a bit of art in its treatment with significant variations in care. In May 2013, the American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) published a guideline addressing acne, entitled ‘Evidence-Based Recommendations for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Paediatric Acne’.1 The guideline provides practical, evidence-based algorithms for the treatment of paediatric acne. As North American dermatologists, we highlight common misconceptions and suboptimal prescribing based on referrals to our practices, one of which is a paediatric dermatology practice in which acne is a common chief complaint. We wish to highlight some of the key points from this excellent guideline for our readership, but also recommend reading the source document as well. There are no previous guidelines specifically addressing paediatric acne. In February 2012, a group of European experts published a guideline for evidence-based treatment of acne in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.2 In contrast to the AAP's publication, this guideline is not limited to the paediatric …
How Do RIM-BPs Link Voltage-Gated Ca(2+) Channels to Evoked Neurotransmitter Release?

Coupling between voltage-gated Ca 2+ influx and synaptic vesicle exocytosis is essential for rapid evoked neurotransmission. Acuna et al. show that the knockout of RIM-BPs, which are key structural components of this coupling, decreases the reliability of evoked neurotransmitter release.
Dynamic Latent Class Model Averaging for Online Prediction

We consider the problem of online prediction when it is uncertain what the best prediction model to use is. We develop a method called dynamic latent class model averaging, which combines a state-space model for the parameters of each of the candidate models of the system with a Markov chain model for the best model. We propose a polychotomous regression model for the transition weights to assume that the probability of a change in time depends on the past through the values of the most recent time periods and spatial correlation among the regions. The evolution of the parameters in each submodel is defined by exponential forgetting. This structure allows the ‘correct’ model to vary over both time and regions. In contrast to existing methods, the proposed model naturally incorporates clustering and prediction analysis in a single unified framework. We develop an efficient Gibbs algorithm for computation, and we demonstrate the value of our framework on simulated experiments and on a real-world problem: forecasting IBM's corporate revenue. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Reduced blood flow artifact in intraplaque hemorrhage imaging using CineMPRAGE

Magnetization Prepared Rapid Acquisition Gradient Echo (3D MPRAGE) has been shown to be a sensitive method to image carotid intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH). Since the MPRAGE sequence used to identify potential IPH does not utilize cardiac gating, it is difficult to optimize the inversion times due to the dynamic nature of flowing blood. As a result, a best fit inversion time is often determined experimentally and then used for in vivo clinical examination. This results in compromised blood suppression and occasional hemorrhage mimicking flow artifacts. We demonstrate that a retrospective cardiac correlated reconstruction can be applied to the conventional MPRAGE sequence (CineMPRAGE) to more accurately identify blood signal. This CineMPRAGE reconstruction uses the data from a standard non-gated MPRAGE sequence to generate a full sequence of cardiac correlated images throughout the cardiac cycle and therefore provides a dynamic view of the carotid artery and a better ability to discern blood signal from potential intraplaque hemorrhage. In our preliminary study of 35 patients, signal from potential hemorrhage was constant over the cardiac cycle while any signal from blood flow artifact was observed as an oscillating signal over the cardiac cycle.
Cancellation of unwanted motion in a handheld Doppler radar used for non-contact life sign monitoring

Human life signs can be monitored at a distance using mono-static Doppler radars operating in the CW mode. Such systems rely on phase modulation of the radar’s reflected signal due to physiological motion. If the antenna is also moving, this motion will combine with and might obscure physiological motion. In a hand-held radar the antenna motion must be compensated to enable life signs extraction. It will be shown that prior knowledge of antenna’s unwanted motion can be used to overcome this problem. A signal model has been developed and experimental results confirm that it is possible to extract heart signal in the presence of antenna motion with proper compensation.
Modeling Longitudinal Responses using Generalized Least Squares

In this chapter we consider models for a multivariate response variable represented by serial measurements over time within subject. This setup induces correlations between measurements on the same subject that must be taken into account to have optimal model fits and honest inference. Full likelihood model-based approaches have advantages including (1) optimal handling of imbalanced data and (2) robustness to missing data (dropouts) that occur not completely at random. The three most popular model-based full likelihood approaches are mixed effects models, generalized least squares, and Bayesian hierarchical models.
Information-Seeking Behaviors of Clinical Laboratory Scientists

Obtaining information is important in any profession. There have been prior studies on information-seeking behaviors of professionals but not in the field of clinical laboratory science. The findings of this study demonstrate that clinical laboratory scientists as a group exhibit information-seeking behaviors different from that observed in related research when a need for information arises. They …
Hypertension: Rest before blood pressure measurement: a lesson from SPRINT

The SPRINT data suggest a cardiovascular benefit of intensive blood pressure (BP) lowering in high-risk individuals. The BP measurement protocol, however, likely resulted in lower BP values than would normally be obtained in the clinic. Intensive BP targets might not be as safe if routine BP measurements are used.
Electrically Trimmable Phase Change Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 Resistors With Tunable Temperature Coefficient of Resistance

Electrically trimmable resistors have been manufactured using the phase change alloy Ge 2 Sb 2 Te 5 . High resistivity values (about 1 mΩ cm) and almost zero temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) have been obtained using resistors with hcp phase of metallic behavior and converting a small region of the film into the fcc phase, with opposite trend of resistance versus temperature. The conversion into the fcc phase has been obtained through two electric pulses, the first for melting and quenching in the amorphous phase and the second for crystallization in the fcc semiconductive phase. Theoretical considerations together with the experimental measurements allow to determine the proper ratio between the metallic and the semiconductive phase required to obtain a target resistance and temperature dependence. For example, a resistor almost independent on the temperature can be achieved by electrical trimming, increasing the resistance of about 10% of the initial value. The resistor layout has been optimized through electro-thermal simulations, to achieve the modification of the resistors structure only in a confined region. Experimental results confirm the theoretical expectations and demonstrate that phase change materials can be effectively used to obtain reversible electrically trimmable resistors with adjustable TCR.
Control of multi-terminal VSC-HVDC system based on V-I characteristics

This paper presents control strategies of multi-terminal HVDC transmission system(MTDC) using voltage source converters(VSCs) for integrating large distributed power system,such as large offshore wind farms.The framework and operation principles of the proposed system are described and control strategies for coordinating various VSCs are proposed.DC voltage control based on the DC voltage-current(V-I) droop characteristics of grid side converters is implemented to ensure stable system operation and flexible power dispatch between various onshore AC grids.To validate the performance of the proposed control strategies,a typical four terminal MTDC network,which connecting two offshore wind farms with two onshore AC grids,is established in PSCAD / EMTEC.Simulation results under normal and abnormal operation conditions verify the satisfactory performance of the proposed control strategy and correctness of the theoretical analysis.
Perianal hidradenitis suppurativa.

Perianal hidradenitis suppurativa, a chronic recurrent inflammatory disease of apocrine glands, adjacent anal canal skin, and soft tissues, is characteristically ignored and misdiagnosed. A retrospective analysis of 43 patients with perianal hidradenitis suppurativa was performed; 40 patients (93 percent) were male and 3 (7 percent) were female, with a median age at presentation of 29 years. Symptoms, including pain, swelling, purulent discharge, and pruritus, had been present for a median of six years. Diagnoses at the time of presentation included pilonidal disease (28 percent), anal fistula (37 percent), and perirectal abscess (16 percent). Associated medical conditions included diabetes (12 percent) and obesity (12 percent), and 70 percent of the patients were smokers. Once the correct diagnosis was established, 72 percent of patients had wide local excision with healing by secondary intention, and 28 percent of patients had incision and drainage or limited local excision. Although 67 percent of the patients had recurrence of disease after initial treatment, wide excision was more successful in preventing recurrence. Skin grafting failed uniformly, and colostomy was rarely necessary. Despite its relatively common occurrence, perianal hidradenitis suppurativa is infrequently diagnosed correctly and recurs in many patients despite appropriate surgical treatment, making the disease a source of frustration for surgeon and patient alike.
Inclusion-body myositis: newest concepts of pathogenesis and relation to aging and Alzheimer disease.

We review the newest advances related to seeking the pathogenic mechanism(s) of sporadic inclusion-body myositis (s-IBM) and present the pathologic diagnostic criteria of s-IBM. We discuss the possible pathogenic role of several themes, such as 1) increased amyloid-β precursor protein (AβPP) and of its fragment Aβ; 2) phosphorylation of tau protein; 3) oxidative stress; 4) abnormal a) signal-transduction, b) transcription, and c) RNA accumulation; 5) “junctionalization” and “myogenous” denervation; and 6) lymphocytic inflammation. Evidence is provided supporting our hypothesis that overexpression of AβPP within the aging muscle fibers is an early upstream event causing the subsequent pathogenic cascade. The remarkable pathologic similarities between s-IBM muscle and Alzheimer disease (AD) brain are discussed, and the possible cause and significance are addressed.
Gender and ethnicity as moderators: Integrative data analysis of multidimensional family therapy randomized clinical trials.

The extent that participant characteristics are associated with outcome disparities for behavioral treatments generally, and adolescent drug abuse treatments in particular, is arguably one of the most important, albeit difficult to answer questions in the psychotherapy field (Blake, Amaro, Schwartz, & Flinchbaugh, 2001). Limited knowledge about gender and ethnicity as moderators remains ubiquitous in treatment research. Sparse representation of minority individuals in RCTs and paucity of subgroup analyses based on ethnicity has been well-documented. For example, a recent review of NIMH-funded randomized clinical trials, revealed that only 10% and 5% reported moderation analyses for gender and ethnicity, respectively (Mak, Law, Alvidrez, & Perez-Stable, 2007). A major impediment for conducting these subgroup analyses has been small to moderate sample sizes (80% had less than 200 participants). Ethnic and gender subgroup sizes have been seldom more than 40 with consequently little power to test moderation (Mak et al., 2007). From this perspective, the state of the literature stands at odds with a growing emphasis on disseminating evidence-based treatments (EBT) on a wide-scale, and researchers have argued that results from existing RCTs cannot be generalized to individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds (Hall, 2001; Sue, Zane, Hall, & Berger, 2009). Correspondingly, there has been recognition that treatment needs, processes, and outcomes might differ across gender (American Psychological Association, 2007; Blake et al., 2001). Although girls and women generally have been adequately represented in RCTs, few researchers have investigated potential gender differences in treatment effects (Mak et al., 2007).
Effect of epigenetic modulation on interleukin-6 (IL-6) gene expression with adjuvant selenomethionine (Se-Met) with imatinib mesylate (IM) in remission of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML-cp) patients.

e17022 Background: Histone deacetylase (HDAC) are enzymes involved remodeling chromatin and epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACI) can reverse aberrant epi...
Toward Closing the Gap: Quantum Mechanical Calculations and Experimentally Measured Chemical Shifts of a Microcrystalline Lectin

NMR chemical shifts are exquisitely sensitive probes for conformation and dynamics in molecules and supramolecular assemblies. Although isotropic chemical shifts are easily measured with high accuracy and precision in conventional NMR experiments, they remain challenging to calculate quantum mechanically, particularly in inherently dynamic biological systems. Using a model benchmark protein, the 133-residue agglutinin from Oscillatoria agardhii (OAA), which has been extensively characterized by us previously, we have explored the integration of X-ray crystallography, solution NMR, MAS NMR, and quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) calculations for analysis of 13Cα and 15NH isotropic chemical shifts. The influence of local interactions, quaternary contacts, and dynamics on the accuracy of calculated chemical shifts is analyzed. Our approach is broadly applicable and expected to be beneficial in chemical shift analysis and chemical-shift-based structure refinement for proteins and protein assemblies.