cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
1994-P: Task-Oriented Connectivity Analysis of Disease-Dependent Effects of Diet

Previous results have demonstrated that short-term dieting attenuates neuronal inhibitory control on appetite measured with blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) responses to a food cue task. Because recent studies have suggested that functional connectivity measured during the task is strongly predictive of disease states, we sought to investigate the effect of weight loss on brain functional connectivity during the picture viewing task. Sixteen healthy obese (10F/6M, age 44.4±8 years, BMI 32.7±2) and 9 type 2 diabetes (T2DM) obese subjects (5F/4M, age 48±9, BMI 33.9±2) underwent functional MRI (fMRI) before and after an 8-week low-calorie diet. Brain connectivity (BOLD) was recorded while subjects viewed preselected images (high-calorie food, low-calorie food, and non-food). Participants lost 2.9±2.8 kg (p Disclosure C. Watt: None. T.K. Stanley: None. C. Lacadie: None. K.W.Y. Lam: None. M. Savoye: None. R. Sinha: None. T. Constable: None. D. Seo: None. J.J. Hwang: Research Support; Self; General Electric. R. Belfort-DeAguiar: Research Support; Self; Silver Palate Kitches. Funding National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (P30DK045735, K23 DK098286-02, R01DK020495); National Institutes of Health (UL1TR001863)
Critical Decisions in Crisis Management: Rational Strategies of Decision Making

Turbulent environment can create crises that management has to soles in a limited time with critical decisions. Critical decisions are an attempt to apply efficient modes of cognition and action to enable the organization to cope with consequential environmental threats or take advantage of important opportunities in the presence of highly restricted time in turbulent markets and/or specific situations. Critical decisions involve a process of the organization’s leadership to think, consult, act, gain acceptance for optimal solutions to complex problems in the presence of highly restricted time in crisis given by scarce resources, uncertain factors, aversive environment, environmental difficulties, ambiguous circumstances, unclear and volatile situations, or a combination of these factors. This study presents the endogenous and exogenous types of crises for organizations and vital factors for critical decisions that can be categorized in responsitive, proactive and recovery critical decisions. After that, the study shows strategic operations and steps of critical decisions in a perspective of reductionism, and a rational structure based on tree diagram to systematize the process of decision making. The study here also suggests strategies for critical decisions in different environments based on theory of rational choice, such as max-min, max-max and min-max approaches, described with a vital example. Final part of this study shows how a complex problem can be treated in different ways in a wider perspective of ecological rationality by approaches of resolution, solution and dissolution. The implications of strategic management are that the approach of dissolution of a complex problem requires design of a critical decision that may incorporate research and trial and error activities. Overall, then, this paper suggests one of the most effective way of solving systemic and complex problems by private and public organizations operating in, more and more, turbulent markets and volatile environments.
Reasons for Sharing With Separate Social Media Audiences During Life Transitions

During life transitions, people sometimes turn to social media audiences separate from their typical online networks. By qualitatively analyzing open-ended data from a U.S.-based survey (N= 775), we examined why and how people discuss life transitions with these separate audiences. Survey questions asked about life events experienced, separate networks and the interactions that occurred there, and participants' reasoning behind these online behaviors. We found that people use separate networks, especially online support groups, to interact with others anonymously, receive informational and emotional support, and have direct and focused discussions with people with similar experiences.
Do Something: Mid-twentieth Century Developments

Life cycle thinking as it pertains to cost through time is developed for the US military industrial complex. An analyst working in the late 1950s for the military contractor, RAND, introduces and applies the life cycle concept and term to nonliving things. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, popular sentiment, science, and government (EPA) use it as a structure in the modern environmental movement.
Learning Online from Corrective Feedback: A Meta-Algorithm for Robotics.

A key challenge in Imitation Learning (IL) is that optimal state actions demonstrations are difficult for the teacher to provide. For example in robotics, providing kinesthetic demonstrations on a robotic manipulator requires the teacher to control multiple degrees of freedom at once. The difficulty of requiring optimal state action demonstrations limits the space of problems where the teacher can provide quality feedback. As an alternative to state action demonstrations, the teacher can provide corrective feedback such as their preferences or rewards. Prior work has created algorithms designed to learn from specific types of noisy feedback, but across teachers and tasks different forms of feedback may be required. Instead we propose that in order to learn from a diversity of scenarios we need to learn from a variety of feedback. To learn from a variety of feedback we make the following insight: the teacher's cost function is latent and we can model a stream of feedback as a stream of loss functions. We then use any online learning algorithm to minimize the sum of these losses. With this insight we can learn from a diversity of feedback that is weakly correlated with the teacher's true cost function. We unify prior work into a general corrective feedback meta-algorithm and show that regardless of feedback we can obtain the same regret bounds. We demonstrate our approach by learning to perform a household navigation task on a robotic racecar platform. Our results show that our approach can learn quickly from a variety of noisy feedback.
GSEAplot: A Package for Customizing Gene Set Enrichment Analysis in R.

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) is used to identify differentially expressed gene sets that are enriched for annotated biological functions. The existing GSEA R code is not in the form of a fle...
Design principles of acidic transcriptional activation domains

Abstract Acidic activation domains are intrinsically disordered regions of transcription factors that bind coactivators. The intrinsic disorder and low conservation of activation domains have made it difficult to identify general rules governing their function. To address this problem, we designed thousands of variants in seven acidic activation domains and measured their activities with a new high-throughput assay in human cell culture. From these data we identify three design principles of acidic activation domains: hydrophobic motifs must be balanced by acidic residues; acidic residues make large contributions to activity when they are adjacent to motifs; and motif composition reflects the structural constraints of coactivator interactions. These design principles motivated a simple predictor of activation domains in the human proteome: scanning for clusters of aromatic and leucine residues embedded in regions of high acidity identifies known activation domains and accurately predicts new ones. Our results support a flexible model in which acidic residues solubilize hydrophobic motifs so that they can interact with coactivators.
Greater higher order aberrations induced by toric orthokeratology versus soft toric multifocal contact lens wear

PURPOSE Spherical orthokeratology and soft multifocal contact lenses are commonly used for myopia control and correction, but have been shown to increase spherical aberration, coma and total higher order root mean square (HORMS) aberrations. There are limited myopia control contact lens options for patients with moderate to high astigmatism. The purpose of this study was to quantify changes in higher order aberrations (HOA) in myopic astigmatic eyes fitted with toric orthokeratology (TOK) and soft toric multifocal (STM) contact lenses. METHODS Ocular wavefront aberrations were measured in both eyes of 30 adult subjects and are reported through the 6th radial order over a 5 mm, dilated pupil. All eyes met refractive criteria of myopia (-5.00 D to plano) and cylinder (-3.50 to -1.25 D). Three measurements were taken at baseline and after 10 ± 2 days of lens wear (TOK, STM). Sixteen subjects achieved logMAR high contrast visual acuity of 0.30 or better in both eyes and were included in this analysis. Repeated measures analysis of variance and post-hoc paired t-tests were used, as appropriate, with Benjamini-Hochberg correction. RESULTS Higher order root mean square, spherical aberration (C12), and coma RMS (C7, C8) increased with TOK (0.641 [0.222], 0.409 [0.157], 0.426 [0.187] µm, respectively) and STM (0.481 [0.107], 0.223 [0.139], 0.320 [0.130] µm, respectively) from baseline (all p < 0.001). TOK was elevated compared to STM for HORMS (p = 0.03), spherical aberration (p = 0.001) and coma RMS (p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS Toric orthokeratology induced more HORMS, spherical aberration and coma RMS than STM in myopic astigmats; however, both lens types showed an increase in HOA compared to baseline, which placed patients outside the age and pupil size matched normative ranges. While the optical changes that accompany these modalities are helpful for myopia management, the induction of HOAs may have unintended consequences on visual performance.
“Cartography” in 7-Dimensions at CHESS: Mapping of Structure in Real Space, Reciprocal Space, and Time Using High-Energy X-rays

CHESS, the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, is a high-intensity X-ray source located on the Cornell University Ithaca campus. Since its inception in 1980, CHESS has been a leader in the prod...
ST-T Waveform Features, QT and Mortality Risk

QT interval is the repolarization time (RT) of the ventricular region repolarized last. Epicardial and endocardial RT (RTepi and RTendo) represent regional RTs and QT subintervals. Based on these ECG measures of repolarization a working model was constructed to account for gender differences in the waveform of the ST and the durations of QT and QT subintervals.
Arachnoid cysts in children: ultrastructural findings.

Light and electron microscopic features of four arachnoid cysts in children are presented. The wall of the cyst appeared composed of a dense collagen tissue in which dark and clear cells were intermingled without any specific arrangement. Abutting onto this membrane, at the luminal surface, these cells were arranged in layers. Tightjunctions between arachnoid cells were absent. It is suggested that the arachnoid cysts derive from a developmental aberration of the meninges.
Kaposi sarcoma is a therapeutic target for vitamin D3receptor agonist

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) is responsive to a number of different steroid hormones, such as glucocorticoids and retinoids. An active metabolite of vitamin D, 1alpha,25 dihydroxyvitamin D(3), was used to study the effect of this steroid hormone in KS. Steroid hormones exert their effect through their cognate nuclear receptors, which for vitamin D metabolites is the vitamin D receptor (VDR). It was first shown that KS cell lines and primary tumor tissue express high levels of VDR, whereas endothelial cells had minimal expression and fibroblasts had no expression. Second, KS cell growth was inhibited by VDR agonist 1alpha,25 dihydroxyvitamin D(3) with a 50% inhibitory concentration of 5 x 10 -8 mol/L, whereas endothelial cells and fibroblast cells showed no response. Studies on the mechanism of KS tumor growth inhibition by 1alpha,25 dihydroxyvitamin D(3) showed that production of autocrine growth factors interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 was reduced in a dose-dependent manner, whereas no effect was observed on vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor. Transcription initiated at the IL-6 promoter was repressed by VDR agonist. The DNA sequences required to mediate this repression were localized to nucleotides -225/-110 in the 5'-flanking region. The antitumor activity of VDR agonists was also confirmed in KS tumor xenograft and after topical application in patients with KS. 1alpha,25 Dihydroxyvitamin D(3) and its analogs may thus be candidates for clinical development in KS.
An investigation of the performance of a distributed functional digital simulator

The performance results for a distributed, multilevel functional digital simulator are presented. The interprocessor synchronization mechanism for the simulator is derived from the virtual time algorithm. Initial studies demonstrate that simulations using n processors execute 0.80 n to 0.95 n times faster than a uniprocessor implementation. >
Dipicolinic Acid Greatly Enhances Production of Spore Photoproduct in Bacterial Spores upon UV Irradiation.

Formation of the spore photoproduct (SP) (5-thyminyl-5,6-dihydrothymine) in DNA of dormant spores of Bacillus subtilis upon UV irradiation is due to binding of α/β-type small, acid-soluble proteins (SASP). However, the yield of SP as a function of UV fluence is ∼15-fold higher in spores than in an α/β-type-SASP-DNA complex in vitro. The yield of SP as a function of UV fluence in forespore DNA from mutants which make α/β-type SASP but not dipicolinic acid (DPA) was 10 to 20 times lower than that in dormant spores. Furthermore, the yield of SP as a function of UV fluence in an α/β-type-SASP-DNA complex in vitro was increased sixfold by DPA. These data provide further support for the idea that the high DPA level in dormant spores increases the yield of SP as a function of UV fluence and thereby sensitizes spores to UV.
Abstract 4345: Dysregulated miR-205 signaling promotes symmetric division of self-renewing mammary stem cells and mammary tumorigenesis

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Epigenetic control plays a key role in regulation of tumorigenesis in response to the microenvironmental stimuli, however, the regulatory mechanism involved in the process is largely unclear. We now report that a critical epigenetic regulator miR-205 is repressed by Jagged1, a ligand shown to be secreted from the tumor stroma, to promote the cancer stem cell phenotype. Loss of miR-205 in mammary epithelial cells leads to epithelial-mesenchymal transition, disrupted epithelial cell polarity, and enhanced symmetric division to expand the stem cell population. Furthermore, mice deficient of miR-205 spontaneously develop mammary lesions, and activation of miR-205 significantly diminishes the breast cancer stemness. These data provides the first evidence to link microenvironment and microRNA regulation to the disrupted epithelial polarity and aberrant stem cell division, leading to an expansion of the stem cell population and tumorigenesis. Together, this study elucidates a new role for miR-205 in regulation of stem cell fate, providing a promising therapeutic target to eradicate the genesis of breast cancer. Citation Format: Meng-Ju Wu, Chi-Hong Chao, Chao-Ching Chang, Chun-Ju Chang. Dysregulated miR-205 signaling promotes symmetric division of self-renewing mammary stem cells and mammary tumorigenesis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4345. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4345
Using the UNIDROIT Principles to Fill Gaps in the CISG

The United Nations Convention on the International Sale of Goods (CISG) sets forth only a basic framework for the recovery of damages, thereby giving a court of tribunal broad authority to determine an aggrieved party's loss based on circumstances of the particular case. Unfortunately, the lack of specificity has resulted in much litigation, and seemingly conflicting results. To remedy this problem, some have argued that the gaps in the CISG damages provisions should be filled with the UNIDROIT Principles of International Commercial Contracts. In this paper, I argue that the gap-filling rules of CISG preclude the UNIDROIT Principles from being used as the primary source of authority for resolving issues not expressly settled by the Convention. However, the Principles may still have a role to play. They help us understand the general principles of the CISG that guide courts and tribunals in resolving matters not expressly dealt with in the Convention. In addition, they provide support for solutions to open issues reached through an analysis of the Convention itself.
What's happening in semantic web: and what FCA could have to do with it

The SemanticWeb [27] is gaining momentum. Driven by over 10 years of focused project funding in the US and the EU, Semantic Web Technologies are now entering application areas in industry, academia, government, and the openWeb. The Semantic Web is based on the idea of describing the meaning - or semantics - of data on the Web using metadata - data that describes other data - in the form of ontologies, which are represented using logic-based knowledgerepresentation languages [26]. Central to the transfer of Semantic Web into practice is the Linked Open Data effort [7], which has already resulted in the publication, on the Web, of billions of pieces of information using ontology languages. This provides the basic data needed for establishing intelligent system applications on the Web in the tradition of Semantic Web Technologies. Despite considerable success and progress, the field of Semantic Web Technologies still requires considerable conceptual advances in order to come to its full potential [23,24,29]. Below, we briefly list some research challenges where Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) could contribute as a method, and list some of the past FCA-related work on these issues.
The black hole information paradox

A concise survey of the black hole information paradox and its current status is given. A summary is also given of recent arguments against remnants. The assumptions underlying remnants, namely unitarity and causality, would imply that Reissner Nordstrom black holes have infinite internal states. These can be argued to lead to an unacceptable infinite production rate of such black holes in background fields. (To appear in the proceedings of the PASCOS symposium/Johns Hopkins Workshop, Baltimore, MD, March 22-25, 1995).
Neutron Scattering Studies of Spin Fluctuations in High Temperature Superconductors

Neutron scattering can provide detailed information about the energy and momentum dependence of the magnetic dynamics of materials provided sufficiently large single crystals are available. This requirement has limited the number of rare earth high temperature superconducting materials that have been studied in any detail. However, improvements in crystal growth in recent years has resulted in considerable progress in our understanding of the behaviour of the magnetism of the CuO planes in both the superconducting and normal state. This review will focus primarily on the spin fluctuations in La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} and YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7-x} since these are the two systems for which the most detailed results are available. Although gaps in our understanding remain, there is now a consistent picture of on the spin fluctuation spectra in both systems as well as the changes induced by the superconducting transition. For both La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} and underdoped YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7-x} the normal state response is characterised by incommensurate magnetic fluctuations. The low energy excitations are suppressed by the superconducting transition with a corresponding enhancement in the response at higher energies. For YBa_{2}Cu_{3}O_{7-x} the superconducting state is accompanied by the rapid development of a commensurate resonant response whose energy varies with T_{c}. In underdoped samples this resonance persists above T_{c}.
Choices Among Alternative Risk Management Strategies: Evidence from the Natural Gas Industry

This paper examines the substitutability and complementarity of a variety of risk management strategies that firms can use to reduce price risk exposure. Time-series analysis over a period of significant regulatory changes indicates that natural gas companies increased diversification and started using derivatives as price risk increased following price deregulation and the regulated unbundling of sale and transmission activities. The use of derivatives is a substitute both for holding internal cash and for storing gas underground. The latter two activities are complements. In choosing between derivatives and storage or cash holdings, less profitable and more financially distressed firms are more likely to manage risk using derivatives. Accounting earnings management strategies, however, are not complements to activities that have a "real" effect on cash flow volatilityand diversification is not related to financial hedging activities. Market-based estimates of wellhead gas price sensitivities are negative prior to deregulation and become significantly positive following price deregulation. The change in exposure is consistent with the changing role of pipelines from buyers of gas for transport to only transporters of gas resulting from deregulation. Cross-sectional variation in price sensitivities is related to firms' use of combinations of operational (non-accounting) and financial hedging activities. Firms that pursue these activities have smaller and less variable risk-adjusted wellhead gas return exposures than firms that do not, especially post-deregulation.
Posterior circulation cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome after high flow external carotid artery to middle cerebral artery bypass

Abstract We present the first report, to our knowledge, in which revascularization of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) with a high flow extracranial-intracranial procedure resulted in symptomatic hyperemia of the posterior circulation. Cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome (CHS) is a poorly understood phenomenon that is classically seen in the distribution of a revascularized artery. A 37-year-old woman presented with a 3 month history of cognitive and speech difficulties, persistent headaches, weakness, numbness, and paresthesia which was worse in the right extremities and face. She was found to have bilateral watershed infarcts worse in the left cerebral hemisphere, severe bilateral stenosis of the supraclinoid internal carotid artery, and a small left superior hypophyseal aneurysm. The patient underwent left cerebral hemisphere revascularization with a high flow external carotid artery to MCA bypass with aneurysm trapping. During skin closure, significant changes were seen in her bilateral upper extremity motor-evoked potentials. The patient’s postoperative exam was noted for an intermittent inability to follow commands, bilateral upper extremity weakness, vertical nystagmus, and alogia that all dramatically improved with strict blood pressure control. Postoperative perfusion imaging revealed posterior circulation hyperemia. This patient highlights the potential for hyperemic complications outside the revascularized arterial territory. Strict blood pressure control is recommended in order to prevent and manage hyperemia-associated symptoms. Improving our understanding of CHS may assist in identifying at risk patients and at risk arterial territories in order to optimize CHS prevention and management strategies.
Neutronic design of hydride fueled BWRs

Abstract This paper summarizes the neutronic part of a study of the feasibility of designing BWR cores to have enhanced power density and simplified fuel bundle by using hydride instead of oxide fuel. A 3D fuel bundle neutronic analysis is performed for a limited number of geometries to determine attainable discharge burnup, pin-by-pin power distribution, axial power distribution, reactivity coefficients, reactivity worth of control elements and burnable absorber effects. It is found that hydride fuel bundle design can be simplified by eliminating water rods and partial length fuel rods and by reducing the volume of water in-between the fuel bundles. Both an ideal and more practical bundle designs are examined. A companion study of the thermal–hydraulic and vibration characteristics of BWR cores predicts that the increase in the number of fuel rods per given core volume enables increasing the BWR power density by up to ∼30% relative to oxide fuelled core design. The net outcome is expected to be improved BWR economics even though hydride fuel requires higher uranium enrichment to compensate for its reduced uranium loading.
Work in progress — Application of the Boe-Bot in teaching K12 electricity fundamentals

Louisiana Tech University has recently developed a curriculum (NASA-Threads) that integrates engineering, mathematics, and physics. The curriculum, which targets junior and senior high school students, uses hands-on projects that develop student ability to solve realistic multiple-step problems and bring excitement into the classroom. NASA-Threads integrates NASA applications, fundamentals, technology, and communication through hands-on projects that are enabled by an inexpensive micro-controller/robotic platform, the Parallax Boe-Bot. The Boe-Bot provides the enabling technology for projects throughout the course. The course is developed so that a natural progression of fundamental topics is presented. This paper provides clear examples of K12 projects that utilize the Boe-Bot for teaching electricity fundamentals.
Formation of the Earth's Core

IN the conventional view of core formation the Earth accreted from a homogeneous mixture of iron and silicates, and the core formed when radioactive heating melted the iron which subsequently drained toward the centre1, the change in gravitational potential energy increasing the average temperature of the Earth by some 2,000 K. In these circumstances core formation would be the major event in the thermal evolution of the Earth2.
Evidence for oxidative stress in the developing cerebellum of the rat after chronic mild carbon monoxide exposure (0.0025% in air).

Background The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that chronic very mild prenatal carbon monoxide (CO) exposure (25 parts per million) subverts the normal development of the rat cerebellar cortex. Studies at this chronic low CO exposure over the earliest periods of mammalian development have not been performed to date. Pregnant rats were exposed chronically to CO from gestational day E5 to E20. In the postnatal period, rat pups were grouped as follows: Group A: prenatal exposure to CO only; group B: prenatal exposure to CO then exposed to CO from postnatal day 5 (P5) to P20; group C: postnatal exposure only, from P5 to P20, and group D, controls (air without CO). At P20, immunocytochemical analyses of oxidative stress markers, and structural and functional proteins were assessed in the cerebellar cortex of the four groups. Quantitative real time PCR assays were performed for inducible (iNOS), neuronal (nNOS), and endothelial (eNOS) nitric oxide synthases.
Relationships among hippocampal volumetry, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and verbal memory in temporal lobe epilepsy.

Summary: Purpose: To examine the relationship between hippocampal volumes, 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS)-identified hippocampal metabolic function, and verbal memory in patients with unilateral mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). Methods: Hippocampal volumes, 1H MRS-derived hippocampal creatine to N-acetylaspartate (Cr/NAA), and verbal memory assessment were obtained preoperatively in 22 patients (six right, 16 left) with EEG-defined unilateral MTLE. Results: Left hippocampal volume correlated significantly with left hippocampal Cr/NAA (r = −0.549, p < 0.01), whereas right volume correlated significantly with right Cr/NAA (r = −0.478, p < 0.05). Verbal memory correlated significantly with left hippocampal Cr/NAA (r = −0.594, p < 0.01), but not with left hippocampal volume or right hippocampal measures. Conclusions: Hippocampal volumes and 1H MRS-derived metabolite ratios are statistically related, but share only a small percentage of variance, suggesting separate but related pathophysiologic processes. Left hippocampal Cr/NAA appears to be more sensitive to verbal memory function than volumes.
Complete viscous flowfield solutions about a blunt parabolic body in a supersonic stream

A hybrid computational technique which splits the flowfield into inviscid and viscous regions is used to investigate the complete flowfield about axisymmetric parabolic blunt bodies in a supersonic stream. The solutions are carried out on the CDC CYBER-203 computer which, with its extensive memory, allows for the use of a large number of finite-difference mesh points, allowing resolution of important flowfield features. A range of freestream Mach number of 2-5 and a range of Re number based on nose radius of 500-125,000 was run for a sonic corner body. Contour plots of density, pressure, and Mach number, velocity vector plots, and surface distributions of pressure, heat transfer, and shear stress are presented. Also, correlations of the downstream extent of the base recirculation region with Re number based on nose radius are given.
Advanced solar imaging from the GOES-R spacecraft

The NOAA Space Environment Center is proposing enhanced real-time solar observations to be conducted aboard the GOES satellites in the next decade. These spacecraft are in geosynchronous orbit and offer a convenient platform for near-continuous, high data rate monitoring of the Sun and the interplanetary environment. The instrument complement being considered includes at least two solar imagers: 1) an advanced soft X-ray telescope featuring selectable spectral bandpass, large dynamic range, and high image cadence; and 2) a white light coronagraph with moderate resolution and a field of view sufficient to capture events of geophysical significance. Used in combination with other observational assets, this instrumentation would make a significant improvement in space weather forecast capabilities.
Child daycare policy in Japan: an examination of the program and its impacts

Recent reforms with regard to Japan's child daycare policies have moved in the direction of deregulation, increased privatization and private/public partnerships. These reforms have substantially increased the availability of diversity of child daycare services. However, initiatives creating diversity have introduced issues of lack of equal access to highly desired services as, with privatization, higher quality services may cost more. Also, in municipally-provided care, parents are paying a greater proportion of the cost of childcare. These factors create a situation where poorer parents may not be able to afford the best care. The dominant Liberal Democratic Party has been reluctant to substantially increase national expenditures for child daycare and other supportive family policies. While it has provided initiatives that have eased the predicament of some working women, it has not resolved the cultural issue of utilizing women in a secondary role in employment and emphasizing the mother's responsibili...
New Onset DQA1*0501 + Juvenile Dermatomyositis (JDMS): MRI Directed Muscle Biopsies (MBx): Immunohistochemistry and Lack of T Cell Receptor (TCR) Vβ8 Oligoclonality. ♦ 1843

Children with active untreated JDMS are lymphopenic with ↑% CD19+ B cells, ↓CD8/CD3 cells and ↑CD4/CD8 ratio. To investigate these abnormalities, we measured the phenotypic profile of the peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLy) and Ly present in concurrently obtained MRI directed MBx of 6 untreated DQA1*0501+ JDMS (3 [male], 3 [female], 5 Caucasian, 1 Hispanic, [xbar] disease duration= 1.7 months). Phenotypic analysis of PBLy was determined by 2 color flow cytometry (FC); analysis of MBx used immunohistochemistry and morphometry. The phenotypic results were expressed as ratios of Ly subsets. A consistent observation was the ↑proportion of CD8+ Ly in the MBx vs. PB as expressed by median CD4/CD8 ratio (2.2 in PB vs. 0.7 in MBx) and median CD8/CD3 ratio (0.34 in PB vs. 0.90 in MBx). In 2/6 the CD19/CD3 ratio was increased in MBx vs PBLy (1.30 and 1.39 vs 0.32 and 0.53 respectively). In addition, TCR Vβ gene utilization in MBx was assessed by RT-PCR, with primers from 23 TCR families (2 for Vβ5), a downstream Cβ primer and detection with a Cβ specific biotinylated probe. Only Vβ8 and Vβ14 was present in all MBx. To detect possible Vβ8 oligoclonality, the PCR products from 3 children of similar ethnic background were subcloned into a plasmid (pGEM T) and 10 clones/child sequenced; no restriction of the CDR3 region was found. We conclude 1) New onset JDMS muscle had -↑ proportions of CD8+ Ly (vs PB) with no identified oligoclonality, despite controlling for DQA1*0501; 2) ↑ proportions of B cells were present in 2/6 muscle, suggesting disease heterogeneity.
The Potential Impact of Vouchers.

This article provides an updated review of recent empirical research on the potential impact of private school vouchers. It addresses 3 questions: (a) do students that use vouchers to attend a private school obtain better outcomes than would be obtained in a public school? (b) Do vouchers encourage student sorting and how does sorting affect student outcomes? (c) Does the offer of vouchers promote competition, improving outcomes of students who remain in public schools? Conclusions are that African American students who are offered vouchers experience small achievement gains. The results are highly sensitive to analytical assumptions and are not evident for other racial or ethnic groups. The evidence further indicates that large-scale voucher plans encourage sorting that could lower the achievement of public school students. There is no compelling evidence that such losses are outweighed by competitive gains in public schools. The conclusions on sorting and competition are most applicable to unrestricted ...
London penetration depth in single crystals of F- and Co-doped RFeAsO (R = La, Nd) superconductors

Abstract The in-plane magnetic penetration depth, λ ( T ), has been measured in single crystals of NdFe 1− x Co x AsO, NdFeAsO 1− x F x , and LaFeAsO 1− x F x . In the Nd compounds we found an upturn in λ ( T ) below 4 K and attribute it to the paramagnetic contribution from the Nd 3+ ions. After the correction for this contribution, the in-plane temperature dependent London penetration depth, λ L ( T ), in F-doped crystals was found to follow a power-law dependence, Δ λ L ( T ) ∝ T n , n ≈ 2. Similar power-law behavior was found in direct measurements of non-magnetic LaFeAsO 1− x F x with n ≈ 2. In NdFe 1− x Co x AsO, on the other hand, after the paramagnetic correction, we found n ≈ 3. Our results indicate unconventional pairing in the pnictides, incompatible with a single isotropic gap or a gap with line nodes. The power-law behavior is observed down to T / T c = 0.02 indicating significant gap anisotropy.
Redefining C3 glomerulopathy: ‘C3 only’ is a bridge too far

To the Editor: We read with interest the recent articles highlighting the clinicopathologic findings in patients with ‘C3 glomerulopathy’.1, 2 These important studies add a considerable amount to our understanding of this entity and have important implications for the evolving classification scheme for C3 glomerulopathy.
Optical Comparison of Thin Ag Films on Glass and Formvar

The optical characteristics of vapor-deposited Ag films were investigated as a function of Ag thickness on both glass and Formvar-coated glass substrates. The optical density and the wavelength at maximum optical density were found to depend on the nature of the substrate.
Treatment strategies for insulin-dependent diabetics with ESRD: A cost- effectiveness decision analysis model

Clinical decision analysis has become an important tool for evaluating specific clinical scenarios and exploring public health policy issues. A decision analysis model that incorporates patient preferences regarding various outcomes, as well as cost, may be particularly informative in patients with type I diabetes and end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Such a model that includes pancreas transplantation as a treatment choice has not been performed and is presented in this study. The decision tree consisted of a choice between four possible treatment strategies: dialysis, kidney-alone transplant from a cadaver (KA-CAD) or living donor (KA-LD), and simultaneous pancreas-kidney (SPK) transplant. The analysis was based on a 5-year model, and the measures of outcome used in the model were cost and cost adjusted for quality of life. The measure of preference for quality of life was obtained using the "Standard Reference Gamble" method in 17 SPK transplant recipients who underwent transplantation between January, 1992 and June, 1996 at our center. The measures for various outcome states (mean +/- 1 SD) were dialysis-free/insulin-free = 1, dialysis-free/insulin-dependent = 0.6 (0.4 to 0.8), dialysis-dependent/insulin-free = 0.5 (0.36 to 0.64), dialysis-dependent/insulin-dependent = 0.4 (0.21 to 0.59), and death = 0. The expected 5-year costs for each of the treatment strategies in the model were dialysis, $216,068; KA-CAD transplant, $214,678; KA-LD transplant, $210,872; and SPK transplant, $241,207. The expected cost per quality-adjusted year for each of the treatment strategies in the model were dialysis, $317,746; KA-CAD transplant, $156,042; KA-LD transplant, $123,923; and SPK transplant, $102,422. SPK transplantation remained the optimal strategy after varying survival probabilities, costs, and utilities over plausible ranges by means of one-way sensitivity analysis. In conclusion, according to the 5-year cost-utility model presented in this study, SPK transplantation is the most cost-effective treatment strategy for a patient with type I diabetes and ESRD. From a policy standpoint, looking at the cost alone of pancreas transplantation is deceiving. In these patients, who may view various outcome states differently, it would be important to take into account cost adjusted for quality of life when evaluating this procedure.
Ranking fuzzy numbers by their left and right wingspans

Based on the area between the curve of the membership function and the horizontal real axis, concepts of left and right wingspans are introduced. By them, a new index, called the w-center for fuzzy numbers is proposed. It is continuous with respect to the convergence of fuzzy number sequence. An intuitive and reasonable ranking method for fuzzy numbers based on their w-center is also established. This new ranking method is useful in fuzzy decision making and fuzzy data mining. The paper also points out that, in literature, some ranking methods based on the centroid of fuzzy numbers are not reasonable.
Calculation of interband optical conductivity of Tl 2 CaBa 2 Cu 2 O 8 and Tl 2 Ca 2 Ba 2 Cu 3 O 10 superconductors

The interband optical conductivities Tl2CaBa2Cu2O8 and Tl2Ca2Ba2Cu3O10 superconductors are calculated by of using a first-principles method. The results for the two compounds are quite similar, both showing strong anisotropy behavior and a strong momentum matrix effect. The complex dielectric function, the electron energy-loss function, and the reflectivity spectrum are then derived. The values of the static dielectric constant ∊0 and the plasmon frequency ωp are also obtained. These optical properties are discussed together with similar results for the YBa2Cu3O7 and Bi2CaSr2Cu2O8 superconductors. Implications of these results forthe possible mechanism in these compounds are discussed.
Regional versus multilateral liberalization of services

Many WTO members have been engaging in efforts at the regional level to liberalize services trade even as they are negotiating under the GATS. This duplication of negotiating effort might appear misplaced, unless regional trade agreements can actually produce results going beyond those at the multilateral level and thus serve the interests of their members. This paper explores in what areas regional agreements on services have surpassed the GATS in terms of delivering on three key objectives set out by all service agreements, namely the promotion of transparency, stability, and liberalization for services trade. The paper comments on how countries may evaluate where to best direct their negotiating efforts, according to the type of service activity in question, and suggests that regional agreements can prove to be useful in supporting and pushing forward multilateral services liberalization.
PERCEPCIONES ESTUDIANTILES SOBRE LAS TÉCNICAS UTILIZADAS EN LA ENSEÑANZA DEL INGLÉS COMO LENGUA EXTRANJERA

Resumen es: Este articulo presenta los resultados de un estudio de 575 estudiantes de ingles como lengua extranjera en Chile. Los participantes fueron preguntados so...
An enantioselective total synthesis of epiisopodophyllotoxin

Abstract An enantioselective total synthesis of epiisopodophyllotoxin in which an asymmetric Diels- Alder reaction between a chiral butenolide and an alpha oxy ortho xylylene as the key step is described.
Thomas-Fermi-Dirac Calculations of Incoherent-Scattering Factors

The incoherent-scattering factor ($S$) derivation of Heisenberg is extended to include the Thomas-Fermi-Dirac (TFD) model of the atom. TFD neutral-atom calculations of the electron densities and potentials are made with the use of a slope-iteration scheme. The calculations of $S$ show that the TFD values of $S$ are much smaller than the Thomas-Fermi values for small momentum transfers and, therefore, are in better agreement with Hartree-Fock values. The improvement is much greater for small-$Z$ atoms. A comparison of Hartree-Fock and TFD $S$ values is given over a wide range of momentum transfers for the rare gases.
Setting basestock levels in multi-product systems with setups and random yield

This paper provides procedures for setting optimal, or near-optimal, basestock levels in a multi-product system with setups and random yield. The procedures are derived using a novel polling system model of the system that contains both queues for production orders and queues for temporary storage of rework orders with routing occurring between these two types of queues. Both systems with backlogging and lost sales are analyzed using existing work on polling models with routing and possibly finite buffers. For a system with backlogging, we provide a cost function that is minimized by solving a set of single-item newsvendor problems. In systems with lost sales, each queue is given a finite buffer equal to the basestock level and excess demand is lost. We provide a cost function and show that finding optimal solutions for large problems is not tractable; thus, we provide a heuristic for finding the basestock levels and demonstrate the effectiveness of the heuristic and accuracy of the cost approximation thr...
Precise parameter estimation in reaction modelling — sensitivity in choosing experimental conditions

A sequential experimental design developed by Box and coworkers was reviewed and the sensitivity of experimental conditions in increasing the preciseness of parameter estimates was examined. Continuous kinetic data were utilized for the examination. It is found that experimental conditions are in some cases rather sinsitive and slightly deviated experimental conditions from those specified by the criterion may induce some difficulty in reducing the size of confidence region of parameter estimates. On a etudie un projet sequentiel mis au point experimentalement par Box et al. et examine la sensibilite des conditions experimentales pour l'amelioration de la precision des estimes de parametres; on a utilise, a cette fin, des donnees de mouvement continu. On a trouve que les conditions experimentales sont dans certains cas plus sen-sibles et qu'une faible deviation de celles que le critere specifie peut engendrer des difficultes en reduisant les dimensions de la region ou l'on peut se fier aux estimes des parametres.
Medulloblastoma: A Population-based Study of 532 Cases

Five hundred thirty-two cases of medulloblastoma (males n = 327 and females n = 205), aged 0 to 86 years diagnosed between 1973 and 1986 were studied to determine the incidence in different geographic regions of the United States and to evaluate the effect of various factors on survival. The median age was 9 years and average follow-up time was 45 months. The overall incidence rate was 1.8 per one million person-years. Variables that were statistically significant (p less than 0.05) in a multivariate model determining survival in rank order were treatment group, sex, geographic region, year group and age. This observational study found that 1) age and sex were statistically significant factors in describing the incidence rates, whereas year group and geographic region were not; 2) no incidence peak in the third decade of life was observed; 3) a significant improvement in survival was observed in the combined 1978 to 1986 year groups relative to the 1973 to 1977 year group; 4) the overall 5-year survival probability was 45%; and 5) there has been an increase over time in the use of more than two modalities of treatment.
Ribulose-1,5-diphosphate from and CO2 fixation by Tetragonia expansa leaves extract☆☆☆

Abstract 1. 1. Using Tetragonia expansa leaves, a carboxylation enzyme system, carboxydismutase, capable of fixing CO 2 with RuDP to give two molecules of phosphoglyceric acid is found free from other enzymes. 2. 2. The enzymic acitivity is not sensitive to dialysis with certain conditions. It seems to act as an independent system. 3. 3. The enzymic activity is sensitive to p -chloromercuribenzoate; this last inhibitor being reversible by addition of cysteine, suggests the participation of -SH groups in the CO 2 fixation.
Children's Reasoning about Norms and Traits as Motives for Behavior.

Two important sources of information for social judgments are personality dispositions (traits) and social norms. Existing research suggests that young children do not find traits salient. To what extent might they rely on a different source of information? Two experiments explored how information about preferences (what someone likes) and rules (what is allowed or forbidden) affected social judgments. Five-year-olds predicted people’s future behavior would be consistent with rules, but appeared insensitive to information about preferences. Preferences were better predictors than rules for 8-year-olds. Older children and adults consistently judged that actors would want to, and be happy to, satisfy preferences rather than rules. Younger children were more likely to use rules to infer people’s psychological states. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that deontic relations, such as rules and norms play a central role in young children’s social cognition, with ideas of individual psychological dispositions emerging in middle childhood.
Patterns of Chemotherapy Use for Women With Ovarian Cancer: A Population-Based Study

Purpose: To evaluate adherence to published recommendations for chemotherapy for ovarian cancer patients in the general community and to identify factors associated with its use. Patients and Methods: The study population consisted of 2,150 women residing in Northern California with a first diagnosis of primary epithelial ovarian cancer between January 1994 and December 1996. Patients were identified through the California Cancer Registry and their physicians were surveyed to supplement registry treatment information. Results: Almost 89% of women younger than 75 years with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage III or IV tumors received chemotherapy, with levels of treatment highest for women diagnosed at stage III. Patients 75 years of age and older were significantly less likely than younger women to receive chemotherapy (58.2% v 86.1%; P = .001) regardless of stage at diagnosis. Approximately 20% of patients younger than 55 years with early-stage (stage IC and II) cancer received n...