cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Survival after liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma in the model for end-stage liver disease and pre-model for end-stage liver disease eras and the independent impact of hepatitis C virus

It has been suggested that hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) may have worse outcomes after liver transplantation (LT) because of more aggressive tumor biology. In this study, we determined the post-LT survival of HCC patients with and without HCV using United Network for Organ Sharing data from January 1994 to March 2008. Patients with HCC were stratified into HCV (HCC-HCV) and non-HCV (HCC-non-HCV) groups. In the era before the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD), there were 1237 HCC patients (780, HCV; 373, non-HCV; 84, unknown HCV status), and during the MELD era, there were 4933 HCC patients (3272, HCV; 1348, non-HCV; 313, unknown). In the pre-MELD era, 5-year graft (58.6% versus 53.7%) and patient (61.7% versus 59.3%) survival rates were marginally higher for HCC-non-HCV patients than for HCC-HCV patients. In the MELD era also, 5-year graft (61.2% versus 55.5%) and patient (63.7% versus 58.2%) survival rates were marginally higher for HCC-non-HCV patients than for HCC-HCV patients. In patients without HCC, pre-MELD and MELD era graft/patient survival rates for non-HCV patients were higher than those for HCV patients. The differences in survival rates for HCC patients with and without HCV were lower than those for non-HCC patients stratified by their HCV status. HCV had no additional negative impact on the post-LT survival of patients with HCC, and this was further confirmed by multivariate analysis. In conclusion, the survival of HCC patients has remained unchanged in the past 2 decades. HCV patients have a lower survival rate than non-HCV patients, regardless of their HCC status, but HCV has no additional negative impact on survival in patients with HCC.
Adjustment Problems of Students with LD: A Review of Current Interventions

Dealing effectively with adjustment problems requires a knowledge both of the problems and of current interventions.
Different crab species influence feeding of the snail Nucella lapillus through trait-mediated indirect interactions

Indirect interactions are among the many important factors that influence the community structure of the rocky intertidal zone. Trait-mediated indirect interactions, in which the presence of a predator or competitor can influence the relationship between two other species, have emerged as vital for understanding community dynamics. This study examined the effect of different crab species on the feeding habits of an intertidal snail, Nucella lapillus. Crab species were defined as being sympatric predatory (Carcinus maenas and Cancer irroratus), sympatric non-predatory (Uca pugnax and Pagurus longicarpus), or allopatric predatory (Mithrax sculptus and Percnon gibbesi). Nucella lapillus were potentially exposed to risk cues from each of the crab species. Crabs were kept in perforated boxes, which allowed any chemical cues to be emitted but prevented direct contact. Nucella lapillus had significantly lower feeding rates in the presence of sympatric predatory crab species than N. lapillus exposed to either sympatric non-predatory crabs or allopatric predatory crabs. There was no difference in feeding rate between N. lapillus exposed to the sympatric non-predatory crabs and to the allopatric predatory crabs. Nucella lapillus in the presence of sympatric predatory crabs had a feeding rate of only 0.07 barnacles per snail per day, whereas N. lapillus housed with non-predatory crabs and allopatric predatory crabs had rates of 0.11 and 0.12, respectively, suggesting that N. lapillus alter their behavior in response to chemical risk cues from local predators. These results suggest that the ability to detect and respond to risk cues is a selectively evolved trait.
Escalating predation on crinoids in the Devonian: negative community-level evidence

Previous morphological studies suggest that predation on stalked crinoids increased in the Devonian. However, there was no concomitant decline in the occurrence of dense, shallow-water stalked crinoid assemblages in North America from the Ordovician and Silurian to the Mississippian. The evolution of crinoid defensive adaptations may have kept pace with rising durophagy, forestalling the expected decline of crinoid communities. It is also possible that the demise of reefs after the Frasnian-Famennian mass extinction indirectly decreased predation pressure on crinoids by removing shelter for predatory fish. A third possibility is that stalked crinoid abundance was affected neither by new predators nor by the decline of reefs. □Crinoidea, dense crinoid assemblages, Echinodermata, North America, Paleozoic, predation.
How The Melting Pot Stirred America: The Reception of Zangwill's Play and Theater's Role in the American Assimilation Experience

Israel Zangwill's The Melting Pot caused quite a stir in its initial run across the United States in 1908 and 1909. With Zangwill then regarded as one of the leading writers in Britain,1 the play appeared in a succession of large theaters before varied audiences. It opened in Washington, D.C. before President Theodore Roosevelt and went on to tour Chicago and the West for several months before coming to New York a year later. Initial reviews praised it as an entertaining and serious examination of American culture; Roosevelt himself was among its most extravagant boosters. In New York, however, it met with a different sort of reception: popular enough to have a lengthy run, it was generally panned; critics called it formally flawed, a play that simply did not work. There is nothing unusual about a play's receiving mixed reviews, of course, but the nature of the mixed reviews of The Melting Pot is striking. The play itself is heterogeneous; with a sentimental love story at its center, it also boasts symphonic music, ethnic stereotyping, slapstick, melodramatic descriptions of dead fathers and sisters, and pointed political criticism. The Washington and Chicago critics were able to see the political philosophy in the midst of the other elements and they praised it, along with the performance of the actors, as a powerful articulation of the promise of America. Critics in New York, however, saw little but its formal messiness. As one New York Times headline ran, "New Zangwill Play Cheap and Tawdry: A Sentimental Story Poorly Built on the Structure of a Fine Idea" (7 September 1909, 9). The same play, therefore, with the same lead cast evoked such different reactions across the country that it seems as if it were a different play altogether.2 One as yet unconsidered reason for the play's uneven reception, I argue, is that it played before an America that was renegotiating the aesthetic conventions of theater as one means of articulating what it
Ischemia-modified albumin increases after skeletal muscle ischemia during arthroscopic knee surgery

Abstract Background Ischemia can alter the ability of albumin to bind free metal atoms. Based on these biochemical changes, methods to quantify ischemia modified albumin (IMA) were developed to assist in the evaluation of patients with symptoms of cardiac ischemia. Since ischemia can occur in any vascular bed, the specificity of IMA for cardiac muscle ischemia is unclear and requires further investigation. Methods We evaluated the specificity of an IMA test in patients with skeletal muscle ischemia during arthroscopic knee surgery. A pressurized thigh cuff was continuously inflated to 300 mm Hg on the operative leg, in order to arrest blood flow during the procedure. Samples were collected before surgery, 15 min after surgery, and prior to discharge. Results Twenty-three patients were enrolled in the study. Median tourniquet time was 29 min (range 19–108). Median pre-operative IMA was 90.2 KU/l (range 77–101.6). Statistically significant ( p Conclusions Post-operative myoglobin elevations indicated that skeletal muscle ischemia was sufficient to produce detectable myocyte necrosis. Post-operative IMA increases are consistent with ischemic modification of albumin during exposure to ischemic conditions in skeletal muscle during and /or immediately after tourniquet application. However, the negative correlations between IMA and albumin results suggest that increases in IMA were in part due to lower post-operative albumin concentrations resulting in decreased cobalt binding.
Modification and Evaluation of a Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatographic Method for Amino Acid Analysis

A reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic method was used to separate the o-phthaldialdehyde derivatives of of amino acids from food protein hydrolysates. Comparison of hydrolysis with hydrochloric, methanesulfonic and mercaptoethanesulfonic acids revealed that the latter could not be used because it interfered with derivatization. Methanesulfonic acid is preferable to hydrochloric acid since it protects the tryptophan in samples low in carbohydrates. Hydrolysates were prepurified with a Sep Pak C18 cartridge prior to derivatization. A linear gradient was used for combining the binary solvent system composed of acetonitrile and phosphate buffer. The derivatives were measured fluorometrically and histamine was used as an internal standard. Results obtained with this method were similar to those obtained with an ion exchange chromatography except that threonlne and glycine coeluted and cysteine, cystine and proline were not detected.
Reflections on spatial autocorrelation

Abstract The concept, spatial autocorrelation, is central to many concerns expressed in Regional Science and Urban Economics. The term, first used in 1967, had precursors embodied in such ideas as distance-decay and spatial interaction. Today, spatial autocorrelation is the mainstay of the burgeoning field of spatial econometrics. Its study has many advantages such as providing tests on model misspecification. The Moran's I statistic is one of many ways spatial autocorrelation can be represented. Interestingly, the concept has yet to make a significant appearance in the mainstream econometrics literature.
Free-space optical communication using mid-infrared or solar-blind ultraviolet sources and detectors

Free-space optical communication is a promising solution to the "last mile" bottleneck of data networks. Conventional near infrared-based free-space optical communication systems suffer from atmospheric scattering losses and scintillation effects which limit the performance of the data links. Using mid-infrared, we reduce the scattering and thus can improve the quality of the data links and increase their range. Because of the low scattering, the data link cannot be intercepted without a complete or partial loss in power detected by the receiver. This type of communications provides ultra-high bandwidth and highly secure data transfer for both short and medium range data links. Quantum cascade lasers are one of the most promising sources for mid-wavelength infrared sources and Type-II superlattice photodetectors are strong candidates for detection in this regime. The same way that that low scattering makes mid-wavelength infrared ideal for secure free space communications, high scattering can be used for secure short-range free-space optical communications. In the solar-blind ultraviolet (< 280 nm) light is strongly scattered and absorbed. This scattering makes possible non-line-of-sight free-space optical communications. The scattering and absorption also prevent remote eavesdropping. III-Nitride based LEDs and photodetectors are ideal for non-line-of-sight free-space optical communication.
Art and science education collaboration in a secondary teacher preparation programme

Background and purpose: The purpose of this study was to record and measure the level of involvement and appreciation that prospective teachers in art and science education programmes demonstrated during a four-session integrated activity. Art and science education prospective teachers from a Rocky Mountain region university in the US worked in partnership to produce a science-related art piece using a silk batik painting technique. This project incorporated the use of two hands-on activities (a sampler and a final piece). In addition, pre- and post-activity surveys helped researchers investigate whether an integrated activity led to changes in attitudes towards collaborative instruction among students from art and science education. A practical implication of these results could guide students’ teaching assignments and professional careers. Sample: This project involved the participation of 34 prospective teachers enrolled in secondary art and science education pedagogical content courses at a public uni...
Comparison of alphabetical versus categorical display format for medication order entry in a simulated touch screen anesthesia information management system: An experiment in clinician-computer interaction in anesthesia

Anesthesia information management system (AIMS) records should be designed and configured to facilitate the accurate and prompt recording of multiple drugs administered coincidentally or in rapid succession. We proposed two touch-screen display formats for use with our department’s new EPIC touch-screen AIMS. In one format, medication “buttons” were arranged in alphabetical order (i.e. A-C, D-H etc.). In the other, buttons were arranged in categories (Common, Fluids, Cardiovascular, Coagulation etc.). Both formats were modeled on an iPad screen to resemble the AIMS interface. Anesthesia residents, anesthesiologists, and Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists (n = 60) were then asked to find and touch the correct buttons for a series of medications whose names were displayed to the side of the entry screen. The number of entries made within 2 minutes was recorded. This was done 3 times for each format, with the 1st format chosen randomly. Data were analyzed from the third trials with each format to minimize differences in learning. The categorical format had a mean of 5.6 more drugs entered using the categorical method in two minutes than the alphabetical format (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.5 to 6.8, P < 0.0001). The findings were the same regardless of the order of testing (i.e. alphabetical-categorical vs. categorical - alphabetical) and participants’ years of clinical experience. Most anesthesia providers made no (0) errors for most trials (N = 96/120 trials, lower 95% limit 73%, P < 0.0001). There was no difference in error rates between the two formats (P = 0.53). The use of touch-screen user interfaces in healthcare is increasingly common. Arrangement of drugs names in a categorical display format in the medication order-entry touch screen of an AIMS can result in faster data entry compared to an alphabetical arrangement of drugs. Results of this quality improvement project were used in our department’s design of our final intraoperative electronic anesthesia record. This testing approach using cognitive and usability engineering methods can be used to objectively design and evaluate many aspects of the clinician-computer interaction in electronic health records.
Patent Standards Under TRIPS and the Pharmaceutical Industries in Brazil and India

ABSTRACT The legal and economic environment of the pharmaceuticals industry is analyzed in the context of the development of national and international legal standards for the protection of intellectual property. Empirical studies on the relationship between intellectual property laws and economic growth are used to examine the actual outcomes under differing approaches to legal protections for the industry in two countries.
Reading and Writing Systems: Conveying and Archiving Language

I had a really great idea just before falling asleep the other night, but I was too tired to get up and write it down. At least I'm pretty sure it was a great idea, although I just can't remember e...
Inviting Twenty-First Century Students to the Eighteenth-Century Party

This article describes a classroom activity that increases students’ connection to literary characters, and by extension, texts. The activity, constructed as a party attended by literary characters, tasks students with taking on the point of view of one character in an assigned novel. This can encourage a student to see the viewpoint of a character that differs from him or her in gender, social status, or any other category of difference. In heightening students’ relationship to eighteenth-century characters, I argue, instructors can bring the eighteenth century closer to contemporary students as well as increase students’ sensitivity to viewpoints that differ from their own. A post-activity writing assignment extends the activity to encourage student analysis and reflection.
Effects of intermittent acidic irrigations on soybean yields and frogeye leaf spot

Abstract Acidic irrigations, adjusted to pH 2, were slightly injurious to leaves of Glycine max (L.) Merr., yet concentrations of most chemical elements in leaf tissue, seed yield, seed size (100 seed weight), and plant weight of two southern cultivars (‘Hampton-266A’ and ‘Kirby’) were unaffected by six or seven irrigations in the Georgia piedmont. Sulfur levels in leaf tissue receiving acidic irrigations increased above those levels in plants receiving only ambient rain, but not above those irrigated with well-water containing 10 ppm sulfate at pH 6.8–6.9. There was a suppression of lesions induced by Cercospora sojina K. Hara in acid-irrigated ‘Kirby’ soybean, but development of powdery mildew on ‘Hampton-266A’ soybean was not affected. Hydrogen ion concentrations of current ambient rains in the region probably have little effect on yields. If intermittent ambient precipitation with dramatically lower pH should occur, then frogeye leaf spot on soybean could be less severe.
Some targets for mathematical psychology

Abstract Concern among mathematical psychologists regarding the present status of the discipline arises from two sources. One is the growing disparity between the rapid development of mathematical psychology as an adjunct to research and the slower and more uncertain progress toward a cumulative body of theory. The other is the problem of adjusting to the encroachment of computers and computer simulation models into the traditional province of mathematical methods. It appears that these problems might be alleviated by recognition of the complementary aspects of mathematical and computer simulation approaches to psychological theory and by a shift of emphasis from tactics to strategy in the construction and evaluation of models of both types.
Prediction of Sloshing Effects Using a Coupled Non-Linear Seakeeping and CFD Code

In this paper, a numerical approach for predicting sloshing or roll-stabilization effects is proposed. A 3D non-linear time domain seakeeping code, MOTSIM, was coupled with a commercial CFD code (Flow-3D) and used to predict roll stabilizing performance of an unconventional U-tube tank installed in an oceanographic vessel. The codes were fully coupled and thus provided coupled effects of the external flow field and the motion of the fluid with a free surface inside the anti-roll tank on the ship motion in six degrees of freedom. MOTSIM is a well validated code that has been proven to provide accurate motion prediction for various vessels. The CFD code allows for modeling of complex tank geometry as well as detailed investigation of locations in the tank where severe loads might be experienced. Comparisons of the simulation results with experimental data showed good agreement and significant effects of the anti-roll tank on decreasing the ship’s roll motion. This study also demonstrated the coupled code’s potential use for any type of sloshing problems including the design of roll-stabilization tanks and LNG carriers.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
The influence of trace components on the melting point of methyl soyate

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of various amounts of unsaponifiables and bound glycerol on the crystallization temperatures of methyl soyate used as biodiesel. The preparation of methyl esters did not affect the amount of unsaponifiable matter in biodiesel. A synthetic unsaponifiable mixture added to distilled methyl soyate and blends of methyl soyate and No. 1 diesel fuel (20:80, vol/vol) did not affect the crystallization onset temperature, cloud point, or pour point at concentrations up to 3% by weight. The amounts of monoglycerides and diglycerides in methyl soyate decreased from 2.60 and 9.87%, respectively, to 0% as the methanol/soybean oil ratio increased from 90 to 200% of the theoretical requirement. Transesterification reactions conducted with less than 130% of the theoretical amount of methanol resulted in methyl soyate with a higher cloud point because of the presence of saturated mono- and diglycerides. Pure mono- and diglycerides added to distilled methyl soyate at 0 to 1.0% did not change the pour point of the esters, but the cloud point of esters increased with increasing amount of saturated mono- or diglyceride. Pure saturated mono- or diglyceride presented in concentrations as low as 0.1% increased the cloud point of methyl soyate. Similar results were obtained with mono- and diglyceride mixtures present in incompletely converted methyl soyate.
AP-S Distinguished Lecturer Program [Chapter News]

The full abstracts of the Distinguished Lecturers' talks as well as the biographies of the Distinguished Lecturers can be found on the AP-S Web site by vis iting http://www.ieeeaps.org/ distlectureres.html.
Visual performance with wave aberration correction after penetrating, deep anterior lamellar, or endothelial keratoplasty.

Purpose. To investigate the contribution ocular aberrations have on visual performance by quantifying improvements in best-corrected visual acuity (VA) and contrast sensitivity (CS) obtained with higher-order aberration (HOA) correction after penetrating (PK), deep anterior lamellar (DALK), or Descemet's stripping automated endothelial keratoplasty (DSAEK).
Responses to Central Oxotremorine and Scopolamine Support the Cholinergic Control of Male Mating Behavior in Hamsters

The responses of hamsters to intracranial injections of the cholinergic agonist oxotremorine (OXO) implicate cholinergic mechanisms in the medial preoptic area (MPOA) in the control of male mating behavior. To extend these observations, we ran three studies of responses to cholinergic drugs delivered singly or in combination to the vicinity of the MPOA. The first tested responses to OXO, confirming its ability to reduce the postejaculatory interval. The second complemented the first by examining responses to MPOA microinjections of the cholinergic antagonist scopolamine (SCO). These caused several changes revolving around intromission. These included increases in intromission frequency and ejaculation latency. They also included a change in the patterning of intromissions, marked by continuous strings without the usual separation by dismounts. The final study resembled the others in examining the effects of MPOA injections of OXO and SCO but focused on the ability of each drug to antagonize responses to the other. Most of the responses to OXO and SCO individually replicated earlier findings, though the measures examined here also permitted the description of effects on some noncopulatory sexual behaviors, specifically the male's inspection of the female. However, the most interesting results may be those suggesting asymmetry in the responses to the addition of the second drug: Whereas responses to OXO tended to be antagonized by SCO, OXO was less effective at counteracting responses to SCO. Though the explanation of this asymmetry is not completely clear, it is consistent with previous suggestions of differences in the affinities of these drugs for subtypes of muscarinic receptors. Therefore, it suggests that the cholinergic synapses and circuits controlling distinct elements of male behavior could differ in their dependence on these receptors.
Pulsed RF Operation Analysis

The need for a very low final amplifier output impedance, always associated with class "A" operation, requires a very large power waste in the final tube. The recently suggested pulsed rf operation, while saving a large amount of power, increases the inherent final amplifier non linearity. A method is presented for avoiding the "large signal non linear analysis" and it is shown how each component of the beam induced voltage depends upon all the beam harmonics via some "coupling coefficients" which are evaluated.
Southwestern Internal Medicine Conference: preoperative pulmonary evaluation.

ABSTRACT The purpose of preoperative pulmonary assessment is to predict which patients are at greatest risk of pulmonary complications, under which circumstances such complications may occur, and whether surgery should be denied based on that risk. In this article, the author addresses the following major issues in preoperative pulmonary assessment: 1) the risks of pulmonary complications in relation to the type of surgical procedure; 2) the value of preoperative pulmonary function testing, including when such testing should be performed and how the results should be used; and 3) guidelines for assessment of those patients about to undergo resectional surgery of the lung.
Speed of sound and temperature in the ocean by Brillouin scattering.

A method is described to measure the speed of sound and the temperature in the sea as functions of depth. Backscattered laser light is analyzed with an interferometric spectrometer. The speed of sound at very short acoustic wavelengths is obtained directly from the wavelength shift of the Brillouin scattered light, and the temperature is deduced from the speed of sound together with auxiliary information on depth and salinity. Experiments are described.
Determinants of foreign ownership in international R&D joint ventures: Transaction costs and national culture

Abstract In this study, we integrate the transaction costs economics and national culture perspectives by examining the determinants of foreign equity ownership in international R&D joint ventures. Specifically, we focus on the impact of different uncertainty dimensions–environmental and behavioral–on the share of equity that multinational enterprises take in their overseas R&D joint ventures. We further investigate the roles that two national culture components–power distance and uncertainty avoidance–play in this process. Using 543 international R&D joint venture announcements by foreign enterprises in China, India, Japan, and the United States during the period of 1985 to 2004, our results provide support for both transaction costs economics and the national culture perspectives.
Tertiary structure variability within the quaternary states of hemoglobin: a spin label study

Abstract Using variable temperature techniques, the spin label spectral resolution of hemoglobin labeled at the β93 cysteines with N-(1-oxyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidinyl)iodoacetamide has been greatly enhanced. The effects of different ligands, inositol hexaphosphate, pH and salt concentration upon spin labeled ferrous and ferric hemoglobin indicate that the β chain tertiary structure exhibits considerable variability within the oxy and deoxy quaternary structures. From these studies ligand and spin state changes both appear to be of significance in producing structural changes; binding of inositol hexaphosphate then produces further structural changes secondary in amplitude.
A fully-coupled upwind discontinuous Galerkin method for incompressible porous media flows: High-order computations of viscous fingering instabilities in complex geometry

We present a new approach to the simulation of viscous fingering instabilities in incompressible, miscible displacement flows in porous media. In the past, high resolution computational simulations of viscous fingering instabilities have always been performed using high-order finite difference or Fourier-spectral methods which do not posses the flexibility to compute very complex subsurface geometries. Our approach, instead, by means of a fully-coupled nonlinear implementation of the discontinuous Galerkin method, possesses a fundamental differentiating feature, in that it maintains high-order accuracy on fully unstructured meshes. In addition, the proposed method shows very low sensitivity to mesh orientation, in contrast with classical finite volume approximation used in porous media flow simulations. The robustness and accuracy of the method are demonstrated in a number of challenging computational problems.
Bridged Polygermsesquioxanes. Organically Modified Germanium Oxide Materials

Sol-gel processed polysilsesquioxanes are hybrid organic-inorganic materials with potential applications as photoresists, membranes, or catalytic supports. Hydrolytic conversion of trichloro- or trialkoxysilanes often leads to amorphous or crystalline oligosilsesquioxanes instead of high polymers. In light of the intimate dependence of polysilsesquioxane properties of tightly controlled reaction conditions and processing, recent emphasis has been placed on control of polymer microarchitecture via the introduction of arylene-, acetylene-, and alkylene-bridging groups. Another strategy for modifying the properties of hybrid organic-inorganic polymers is to substitute a group IVA metal, such as germanium, for silicon. The authors report the synthesis and characterization of bifunctional hexylene-bridged organogermanium monomers X[sub 3]Ge-(CH[sub 2])[sub 6]GeX[sub 3] (X = Cl; OEt) and the formation of polymeric materials through sol-gel hydrolysis-condensation of the monomers. 15 refs., 2 figs.
Two mechanisms for localization? Evidence for separation-dependent and separation-independent processing of position information.

The Weber function for separation—i.e. Δs as a function of separation s 3-is typically measured using a pair of targets presented roughly symmetrically relative to the fovea. With this paradigm, as the separation increases, the eccentricity of the individual targets increases also. To disentangle the effects of separation and eccentricity on the Weber function for separation, we systematically examined each of these variables and also examined the effects of target size and exposure duration. Separation discrimination thresholds were measured for average separations from 3 to 6 deg across a wide range of eccentricities, and for eccentricities of 2.5–10 deg for a range of separations. The dependence of threshold on target size was measured by varying the length of the stimuli from 1 to 120 min arc; the dependence on exposure duration was measured using durations of 100 and 500 msec at 10 deg eccentricity for comparison with data collected previously at smaller eccentricities. We found that for separations less than the eccentricity of the targets, thresholds depend primarily on separation; for larger separations, thresholds depend solely on eccentricity. In general, unless the targets are very small or quite brief, the spatial and temporal characteristics of the targets are not major contributors to the slope of the Weber function. Two mechanisms are proposed to account for thresholds in the two regions, one separation-dependent and one separation-independent.
Osteoblasts make for good neighbors

PLENARY PAPER Over 25 years ago, Schofield[1][1] hypothesized the existence of a niche, or dedicated space, within bone marrow where hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) could establish residence and proliferate. The concept of a stem cell niche is now recognized as a central component of stem cell
Running risks morally

I defend normative externalism from the objection that it cannot account for the wrongfulness of moral recklessness. The defence is fairly simple—there is no wrong of moral recklessness. There is an intuitive argument by analogy that there should be a wrong of moral recklessness, and the bulk of the paper consists of a response to this analogy. A central part of my response is that if people were motivated to avoid moral recklessness, they would have to have an unpleasant sort of motivation, what Michael Smith calls “moral fetishism”.
Course Substitution Practices, Policies, and Implications for Students with Disabilities.

Data from 65 colleges and universities across the United State were used to study course substitution practices for postsecondary students with disabilities. Data indicate that the majority of surveyed institutions (90.8%) allow course substitutions, yet only 50% had written policies directing substitution decisions. At responding institutions (N = 65), foreign language and math are the most common courses requested for substitution. In addition, at surveyed institutions, students with learning disabilities are more likely than other students with disabilities to request and be offered substitutions. These findings are discussed in regard to §504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, subsequent legislation, and two key cases, Southeastern Community College v. Davis (1979) and Guckenberger et al. v. Boston University (1998).
A view from the street: an exploratory study of consumer attitudes toward offshoring of professional services in the United States

Purpose – The study aims to examine consumer attitudes toward offshore-outsourcing of professional services in the USA. It focuses on the services of accountants, attorneys and doctors to provide a framework for discussing policy and marketing implications. Design/methodology/approach – The study reviews a review of the literature on consumer decision-making under uncertainty and attitude formation, and a focus group study to examine consumers’ attitudes toward offshore-outsourcing of professional services. Findings – Contrary to reports in the popular press, this paper suggests that consumers do not have a generalized negative attitude toward offshore-outsourcing of all forms of professional services. While consumers do not mind offshore-outsourcings of the services of medical doctors and attorneys, they seem to be concerned about offshore-outsourcings of accounting or financial services. These results suggest that persons engaged in offshore-outsourcings of tax and other related services must re-strateg...
Frequency response characteristics for sinusoidal movement in the fovea and periphery

Threshold sensitivity was measured for sinusoidal movement of bright 1-deg lines against a dark background as a function of oscillation frequency and retinal location. Sensitivity was greatest in the fovea and at a frequency of 1–2 Hz. Peripheral sensitivity was more narrowly tuned than foveal sensitivity. The presence of a stationary reference line affected mainly the foveal sensitivity. The results are interpreted as evidence for both position- and velocity-sensitive mechanisms in the movement detection system.
How Constitutional Law Rationalizes Racism

In its constitutional jurisprudence on race, the United States Supreme Court subjects laws that explicitly invoke racial classifications to a very detailed judicial scrutiny. Race represents a red flag. I argue that constitutional law's use of strict scrutiny rests on a dangerous assumption, namely that racism may be rational. Requiring such scrutiny perversely errs on the side of deeming credible and sensible that which is already groundless and irrational. In turn, this higher scrutiny jeopardizes remedial legislation, legislation that seeks to ameliorate the effects of racism. Those who favor affirmative action needlessly place themselves in a constitutional bind. They accept higher scrutiny for racist laws—scrutiny that is unnecessary given the irrationality of racism—and then fight against it when championing remedial race-conscious legislation. They would do better to reject this scrutiny outright, leaving a rational review analysis to do the necessary distinguishing work.
In vitro cultivation of an acanthocephalan, Octospinifer macilentis

Abstract Literature relating to in vitro experimentation with acanthocephalans is reviewed. Octospinifer macilentis was studied by axenic cultivation. Experiments were conducted with 192 mature adults, 7 to 18 mm long; 56 cystacanth larvae, 0.7 to 0.9 mm long; and 100 immature adults, 3 to 5 mm long. Worms in the latter group proved most useful. Altogether, 28 media were tested for adequacy by noting, for cultured worms, survival, increase in standard length, and maintenance of normal turgor and body movements. The medium showing greatest potential contained neopeptone, yeast extract, horse serum, glucose, inorganic salts, water soluble vitamins, and essential amino acids. Maximum increase in length was 45% in 43 days. Undoubtedly, O. macilentis reflects causes for stringent host specificity by narrow limits of nutritional and ecological requirements.
Inactivation of hypothalamic FAS protects mice from diet-induced obesity and inflammation.

Obesity promotes insulin resistance and chronic inflammation. Disrupting any of several distinct steps in lipid synthesis decreases adiposity, but it is unclear if this approach coordinately corrects the environment that propagates metabolic disease. We tested the hypothesis that inactivation of FAS in the hypothalamus prevents diet-induced obesity and systemic inflammation. Ten weeks of high-fat feeding to mice with inactivation of FAS (FASKO) limited to the hypothalamus and pancreatic β cells protected them from diet-induced obesity. Though high-fat fed FASKO mice had no β-cell phenotype, they were hypophagic and hypermetabolic, and they had increased insulin sensitivity at the liver but not the periphery as demonstrated by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamps, and biochemically by increased phosphorylated Akt, glycogen synthase kinase-3beta, and FOXO1 compared with wild-type mice. High-fat fed FASKO mice had decreased excretion of urinary isoprostanes, suggesting less oxidative stress and blunted tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) responses to endotoxin, suggesting less systemic inflammation. Pair-feeding studies demonstrated that these beneficial effects were dependent on central FAS disruption and not merely a consequence of decreased adiposity. Thus, inducing central FAS deficiency may be a valuable integrative strategy for treating several components of the metabolic syndrome, in part by correcting hepatic insulin resistance and suppressing inflammation.
Mean Diversion: When Getting Back to the Old Economy Isn’t Possible

Policy makers love to speak about restoring the economy and the associated “good” jobs as voters imagine they were in the past. But is such economic nostalgia reasonable in a dynamic global economy? Moreover, has it actually been true that the economy, and particularly the labor market, were ever as stable as we imagine? Our work here suggests that the labor market has been constantly evolving since 1970 and that there is no tendency to return to “normal” if such a normal were to be defined as it was in the good old days. Moreover, labor market policies built on such nostalgia in an attempt to return to the past are misplaced at best and likely to hurt workers more by providing false hopes and also lead to a misallocation of economic resources than if forward looking policies were adopted to adapt workers for the future of the labor market opportunities. Our efforts suggest that since 1970 the mean and standard deviation of employment growth had actually been decreasing for each decade up until the 1990-99. For the most recent (2000-09) period, the standard deviation shows an uptick and a significant reduction in the mean. Moreover, when we evaluate the entire period as a whole, 1970-2009, we find that the trend coefficient is statistically significant and has a negative sign. That implies the employment growth rate has a decreasing pattern over time. In addition, the high volatility in the employment series is evidence by a standard deviation (1.93%) that is greater than the mean (1.63%). We apply the traditional unit root tests, efficient unit root tests, and unit root tests with structural break on the employment series. In addition, we follow Hamilton’s approach and apply an Auto Regressive Conditional Heteroscedasticity (ARCH) approach on the employment series Our results suggest that the level of the employment growth rates is mean-diverting and subject to a structural break. Second, in the presence of the ARCH effect, OLS standard errors can be misleading, with a spurious regression possibility. Finally, the ARCH effect and unit root problem have serious consequences for forecasting and the forecast band could be narrower than the actual. Key Words: Employment; Structural Change; ARCH; Mean Diversion.JEL Classification: C10; J21; J30
Regulation of fecal bile acid excretion in male Golden Syrian hamsters fed a cereal-based diet with and without added cholesterol

The objective of these studies was to investigate the comparative physiology and regulation of bile acid metabolism in the male Golden Syrian hamster by measuring the rate of fecal bile acid excretion and bile acid pool size in animals fed a cereal-based diet either alone, or with added cholesterol or cholestyramine. In group-housed hamsters fed only the plain diet fecal bile acid excretion in animals at 6, 10, and 15 weeks of age averaged 11.0, 8.0, and 6.9 μmol/d per 100 g body weight (bw), respectively. Pool size, measured by subtracting from the total amount of bile acid washed out over 12 hours of biliary diversion the amount of bile acid excreted in the stools over the same period, equalled 17.8 μmol/100 g bw in 15-week-old hamsters fed the plain diet. Hence, under basal conditions, these animals turned over about 38% of their bile acid pool daily. In hamsters fed a diet with 3% cholestyramine for 18 days, fecal bile acid excretion averaged 20.6 μmol/d per 100 g bw, and the pool size contracted to 5.8 μmol/100 g bw. In matching animals fed a diet containing 0.12% cholesterol for 30 days, hepatic cholesterol levels increased from 1.9 ± 0.1 to 12.6 ± 0.7 mg/g, fecal bile acid excretion increased marginally from 5.8 to 8.0 μmol/day per 100 g bw, while pool size was unchanged (16.6 μmol/100 g bw). When the cholesterol content of the diet was raised to 1.0%, hepatic cholesterol levels reached 66.5 ± 2.6 mg/g, but bile acid excretion remained at 8 μmol/d per 100 g bw. These data define some of the basal features of bile acid metabolism in the hamster, and substantiate the view that the marked cholesterolemic response of this species may relate partly to a limited ability to convert dietary cholesterol to bile acid.
Environment, Structure, and Consensus in Strategy Formulation: A Conceptual Integration

This paper suggests an integrative framework for research on consensus in strategy formulation—performance relationships. The proposed model has two components. First, a descriptive component explores the environment—consensus relationship in which the environment is conceptualized along the dimensions of munificence, complexity, and dynamism. Second, a normative component investigates the role that the match between environment, consensus, and integrating structure plays in explaining differences in organizational performance.
Snail and the microRNA-200 family act in opposition to regulate epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and germ layer fate restriction in differentiating ESCs

The reprogramming of somatic cells to inducible pluripotent stem cells requires a mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition. While differentiating ESCs can undergo the reverse process or epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), little is known about the role of EMT in ESC differentiation and fate commitment. Here, we show that Snail homolog 1 (Snail) is expressed during ESC differentiation and is capable of inducing EMT on day 2 of ESC differentiation. Induction of EMT by Snail promotes mesoderm commitment while repressing markers of the primitive ectoderm and epiblast. Snail's impact on differentiation can be partly explained through its regulation of a number of ESC-associated microRNAs, including the microRNA-200 (miR-200) family. The miR-200 family is normally expressed in ESCs but is downregulated in a Wnt-dependent manner during EMT. Maintenance of miR-200 expression stalls differentiating ESCs at the epiblast-like stem cell (EpiSC) stage. Consistent with a role for activin in maintaining the EpiSC state, we find that inhibition of activin signaling decreases miR-200 expression and allows EMT to proceed with a bias toward neuroectoderm commitment. Furthermore, miR-200 requires activin to efficiently maintain cells at the epiblast stage. Together, these findings demonstrate that Snail and miR-200 act in opposition to regulate EMT and exit from the EpiSC stage toward induction of germ layer fates. By modulating expression levels of Snail, activin, and miR-200, we are able to control the order in which cells undergo EMT and transition out of the EpiSC state. Stem Cells 2011;29:764–776
Lateral diffusion of molecules partitioned into silica-bound alkyl chains: influence of chain length and bonding density.

Lateral diffusion of a hydrophobic fluorescent molecule partitioned into monomeric alkyl chains bound to a planar silica substrate was measured as a function of chain density and chain length. Measurement of fluorescence recovery after patterned photobleaching was used to observe the diffusional relaxation of a concentration profile of probe molecules over distances of micrometers. The diffusion rate of the probe molecule partitioned into C-18 chains decreased with decreasing chain coverage. As the chain length was reduced from C-18 to C-8 and C-4, the rate of diffusion also decreased. These results, when combined with results from a previous study of the effect of overlaying solvent on diffusion rate (Hansen, R. L.; Harris, J. M. Anal. Chem. 1995, 67, 492−498), are consistent with a domain model for long-range transport of partitioned molecules through the bound ligands. Fluorescence recovery experiments in which diffusion is monitored over a distance of micrometers offer a unique means to probe long-ran...
Learning to Predict Video Saliency using Temporal Superpixels

Visual Saliency of a video sequence can be computed by combining spatial and temporal features that attract a userâs attention to a group of pixels. We present a method that computes video saliency by integrating these features: color dissimilarity, objectness measure, motion difference, and boundary score. We use temporal clusters of pixels, or temporal superpixels, to simulate attention associated with a group of moving pixels in a video sequence. The features are combined using weights learned by a linear support vector machine in an online fashion. The temporal linkage for superpixels is then used to find the saliency flow across the image frames. We experimentally demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method and that the method has better performance when compared to state-of-the-art methods.
Development of fully depleted back-illuminated charge-coupled devices

The status of CCD development efforts at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is reviewed. Fabrication technologies for the production of back-illuminated, fully depleted CCD’s on 150 mm diameter wafers are described. In addition, preliminary performance results for high-voltage compatible CCD’s, including a 3512 × 3512, 10.5 µm pixel CCD for the proposed SuperNova Acceleration Probe project, are presented.