cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Advances in Combining Ability of Super Hybrid Rice

The studies on combining ability of super hybrid rice are the important processes in the application of rice heterosis and plant type breeding for super hybrid rice.For screening and creating novel elite rice germplasm,evaluation of combining ability is critical for determining breeding goal and direction.In this review,key points of hybrid rice breeding and research status quo and recent progresses of combining ability among yield,quality,plant type and photosynthetic traits of hybrid rice were summarized.
Research on Orientation of Minority Graduates

There are many factors about how minority graduates obtain employment.In this paper,the writer finds out that self-evaluation is a main factor to this problem through investigation and interview and puts forwards some suggestiens for the benefit of students,university and nation.
Stereospecific receptor sites for d-lysergic acid diethylamide in rat brain: effects of neurotransmitters, amine antagonists, and other psychotropic drugs.

A method in vitro designed to determine specifically the stereospecificity of tissue receptor sites was used to study the characteristics of d-lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) binding by rat brain particulates and the effects of selectively chosen drugs. There is a high- and a low-affinity binding, and both are stereospecific. The high-affinity binding is saturable (half-saturation at 4 nM) and shows definite regional and subcellular differences. The highest binding relative to protein content occurs in the striatum regionally and in microsomal fractions subcellularly. The subcellular distribution data also suggest that the d-LSD acceptor substance need not be confined to the neuronal soma or terminal membrane. The effects of related hallucinogens, neurotransmitters, serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine antagonists, and other drugs were studied to help determine whether central 5-HT receptors are identical with a site of LSD binding. Of the drugs tested, methiothepin was most effective in blocking the high-affinity, stereospecific binding of d-LSD. The pattern of drug effects suggests that the high-affinity, stereospecific binding site on brain membranes may not be identical with a 5-HT or dopamine receptor, but that LSD and nonpsychotomimetic congeners can bind to such receptors while simultaneously binding to one or more other points on the membrane in the immediate vicinity of the receptor. This is consistent with the view that LSD can act either agonistically or antagonistically at central 5-HT, and possibly dopamine, receptors in vivo.
Empirical links between trace metal cycling and marine microbial ecology during a large perturbation to Earth's carbon cycle

Abstract Understanding the global redox state of the oceans and its cause-and-effect relationship with periods of widespread organic-carbon deposition is vital to interpretations of Earth's climatic and biotic feedbacks during periods of expanded oceanic oxygen deficiency. Here, we present a compilation of new and published data from an organic-rich locality within the proto-North Atlantic Ocean during the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary event that shows a dramatic drawdown of redox-sensitive trace elements. Iron geochemistry independently suggests euxinic deposition (i.e., anoxic and sulfidic bottom waters) for the entire section, thus confirming its potential as an archive of global marine metal inventories. In particular, depleted molybdenum (Mo) and vanadium (V) concentrations effectively record the global expansion of euxinic and oxygen-deficient but non-sulfidic waters, respectively. The V drawdown precedes the OAE, fingerprinting an expansion of oxygen deficiency prior to an expansion of euxinia. Molybdenum drawdown, in contrast, is delayed with respect to V and coincides with the onset of OAE2. Parallel lipid biomarker analyses provide evidence for significant and progressive reorganization of marine microbial ecology during the OAE in this region of the proto-North Atlantic, with the smallest relative eukaryotic contributions to total primary production occurring during metal-depleted intervals. This relationship may be related to decreasing supplies of enzymatically important trace elements. Similarly, box modeling suggests that oceanic drawdown of Mo may have approached levels capable of affecting marine nitrogen fixation. Predictions of possible nitrogen stress on eukaryotic production, locally and globally, are consistent with the low observed levels of Mo and a rise in 2-methylhopane index values during the peak of the OAE. At the same time, the environmental challenge presented by low dissolved oxygen and euxinia coincides with increased turnover rates of radiolarian clades, calcareous nanofossils, and foraminifera, suggesting that the temporal patterns of anoxia/euxinia and associated nutrient limitation may have contributed to the fabric of OAE2-related turnover.
InGaN-based true green laser diodes on novel semi-polar {2 0 2̄ 1} GaN substrates

The crystal quality and emission characteristics of InGaN-based laser diodes (LDs) with lattice-matched quaternary InAlGaN cladding layers on novel semi-polar {2 0 2 1} plane GaN substrates were investigated. Highly homogeneous InGaN quantum wells (QWs) with a suppressed piezoelectric field can be realized on the {2 0 2 1} plane even in the green spectral region. Optical polarization measurements revealed that [1 0 1 4] oriented stripes are advantageous for LDs on {2 0 2 1} planes. Gain-guided LDs on the novel (2 0 2 1) plane exhibited the longest lasing wavelength at 533.6 nm under pulsed operation. Continuous-wave (cw) operation at the lasing wavelength of 523.3 nm at 115 mA was also demonstrated. The I th , J th , V th , and the slope efficiency were 110 mA, 9.2 kA/cm 2 , 7.4 V, and 0.04 W/A, respectively. These results indicate that the green LDs on semi-polar {2 0 2 1} plane GaN substrates are promising candidates for laser display applications.
American History Unbound: Asians and Pacific Islanders. By Gary Y. Okihiro

American History Unbound: Asians and Pacific Islanders. By Gary Y. Okihiro. (Oakland: University of California Press, 2015. xiii + 499 pp. Illustrations, maps, tables, notes, bibliographical notes, index. $39.95, £27.95, paper.) Among studies of the experiences of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the U.S., American History Unbound serves as a kind of Swiss Army knife because it performs numerous functions. Gary Y. Okihiro conceived and wrote the work as a textbook for college students; thus each chapter includes a list of suggested readings, a primary-source document for discussion, and a timeline of key events. Yet American History Unbound engages other audiences as well. Researchers will appreciate its nearly encyclopedic coverage of different groups, periods, and regions of the U.S. Scholars will appreciate how it … jfindlay{at}u.washington.edu
Abstract A05: The mitochondrial RNA polymerase is an essential downstream effector of the MYC oncoprotein

Much of the metabolic reprogramming seen in cancer cells, known as the Warburg effect, is regulated by the MYC oncoprotein. Among MYC-regulated changes are: addiction to exogenous glutamine and increased transcription of the lactate dehydrogenase-A gene. MYC also regulates expression of the cad gene, which encodes three enzymes in the pyrimidine biosynthesis pathway, as well as other enzymes linked to nucleotide biosynthesis. Another MYC-regulated change is increased mitochondrial biogenesis and mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) content, despite a decrease in ATP generation via the mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC). Via a screen designed to isolate MYC targets whose transcription is tightly correlated with malignant transformation, the mitochondrial RNA polymerase (POLRMT) gene was identified by our group. POLRMT levels are regulated by MYC in cells from many forms of human cancer, including those from various forms of leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma, melanoma, and epithelial tumors. POLRMT is a nuclear gene that encodes the single-chain polypeptide RNA polymerase responsible for all transcription in the mitochondria. We have demonstrated that MYC controls transcription of the mitochondrial genome via POLRMT. Genetic rescue experiments show that induction of POLRMT is necessary for MYC to cause increased mtDNA content. Remarkably, blocking induction of POLRMT by MYC causes a synthetic lethality whereby the cells undergo apoptosis. This has been accomplished using either RNAi methods or small molecules that selectively inhibit POLRMT. POLRMT function is critical for a number of biochemical pathways in the cell and we have focused on defining which of these explains the strict requirement for POLRMT in the survival of MYC expressing tumor cells. POLRMT has well-characterized roles in Electron Transport Chain (ETC) subunit expression and has recently been shown to interact with the Mitochondrial Transcription Factor B1 (TFB1M) to regulate translation of mitochondrial-encoded genes. In addition, a splice variant of POLRMT has also been shown to transcribe a small subset of genes in the nuclear genome. Our results suggest that the nuclear isoform of POLRMT is not linked to the survival of MYC expressing cells. Among the many mitochondrial events that are disrupted by blocking POLRMT function are ETC integrity (and subsequent decreases in ATP production and increases in ROS levels), and pyrimidine biosynthesis (which relies on ETC-dependent function of the mitochondrial DHODH enzyme). Ultimately, our goal is to understand which of these defects explains the robust apoptosis induced in MYC-expressing cells by POLRMT inhibition. Citation Format: Amanda Taylor, Xiaoyong Zhang, Justin Cotney, Gerald Shadel, Craig Cameron, Steven McMahon. The mitochondrial RNA polymerase is an essential downstream effector of the MYC oncoprotein. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Myc: From Biology to Therapy; Jan 7-10, 2015; La Jolla, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2015;13(10 Suppl):Abstract nr A05.
Social Security's financial outlook: The 2007 report in perspective

The Trustees of the Social Security system have just issued the 2007 report. The report includes projections for the system over the next 75 years, prepared by the Social Security's Office of the Actuary. The bottom line is that the long-run outlook has remained virtually unchanged for the last thirteen years ? the system has a 75-year deficit equal to about 2 percent of taxable payrolls and the trust fund faces exhaustion in the early 2040s, after which the system will be able to pay only about 70 percent of promised benefits. The clear message of the persistent deficits is that the financing shortfall should be eliminated so that people can be assured they receive the income they need in retirement.
Contemporary Art Biennials and Development: The Istanbul Experience

This chapter addresses the subject of biennials of contemporary art in emerging and developing countries with a major focus on the Istanbul biennial, created in 1987. With a hybrid structure—between the event and the art institution—biennials are largely perceived as motors for social progress and cultural development, as illustrated by their phenomenal growth over the last 30 years in places such as Gwangju (Korea), Havana (Cuba), Tirana (Albania), Sharjah (UAE) and Istanbul (Turkey). An in-depth examination of the Istanbul experience will provide a crucial evaluation of the biennial’s impact on the Turkish cultural landscape; is this “Biennial Miracle” real? By analyzing the relationship between the art event, the city, its infrastructures and economy, as well as the dynamics between international and local concern, this essay will also investigate the position of biennials in the globalized art world in order to discuss the influence and limits of such a model.
Dogs with acute myeloid leukemia or lymphoid neoplasms (large cell lymphoma or acute lymphoblastic leukemia) may have indistinguishable mediastinal masses on radiographs.

Acute myeloid leukemia is an uncommon hematopoietic neoplasm of dogs that should be differentiated from lymphoid neoplasms, such as lymphoma, because of different treatment protocols and a worse prognosis. Thoracic radiography is performed frequently in dogs with suspected hematopoietic neoplasia, and detecting a mediastinal mass often prioritizes lymphoma as the most likely diagnosis. However, we have observed a mediastinal mass in several dogs with acute myeloid leukemia and hypothesized that (1) the frequency of a mediastinal mass was higher and (2) the size of the mass was larger in dogs with acute myeloid leukemia compared to dogs with lymphoid neoplasms. In this analytical study (observational, retrospective, and cross-sectional), the sample population included 238 dogs with hematopoietic neoplasia. These dogs were divided into lymphoid (large cell lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia) and myeloid groups based on standard phenotyping tests. A mediastinal mass was detected during thoracic radiography in 73/218 (33%) and nine of 20 (45%) dogs in the lymphoid and myeloid groups (P = 0.21), respectively. The median size ratio of mediastinal mass to cardiac silhouette was 0.20 and 0.23 in the lymphoid and myeloid groups (P = 0.96), respectively. Additionally, we observed normal thoracic radiographs in 111/218 (51%) dogs in the lymphoid group and nine of 20 (45%) dogs in the myeloid group. In conclusion, acute myeloid leukemia should be considered when a mediastinal mass is detected during radiography in dogs with suspected hematopoietic neoplasia-but the presence or size of a mediastinal mass does not differentiate between myeloid and lymphoid neoplasms.
Tunneled central venous catheters in pediatric intestinal failure: a single-center experience.

BACKGROUND Parenteral nutrition for intestinal failure (IF) often requires a tunneled central venous catheter (CVC). The purpose of this study was to characterize complications after CVC placement and contributors to line loss in pediatric IF patients. METHODS An institutional review board-approved retrospective review of pediatric (<18 y) IF patients who had a silicone tunneled CVC newly inserted or exchanged from 2012 to 2016 in an IF center was conducted. Patient demographics, procedure service (surgery versus interventional radiology), procedure type (new versus exchange), vessel, and complications related to CVCs were evaluated. Complications included dislodgement, infection, break, occlusion/malfunction, and others. An ethanol-lock protocol for silicone CVCs in IF patients was instituted in January 2012. RESULTS Twenty-nine IF patients with tunneled CVCs were identified with 182 lines and 18,534 line d. Median age at line insertion was 17.1 mo (interquartile range [IQR] 7.6-31.5) with a median of five catheters (IQR 2-8) per patient. There were 19.2 complications per 1000 line d. Occlusions/malfunctions were the most common complication (6.0/1000 line d) followed by breaks (5.6/1000 line d). Median life of catheters was 51.5 d (IQR 21-129). On regression, adjusting for age, insertion service, and procedure type, shorter line life was associated with younger age (P = 0.04) and placement by interventional radiology (P < 0.01). Dislodgement was associated with newly placed lines relative risk 6.5 (95% CI 2.2-28.8). CONCLUSIONS CVCs in pediatric IF patients have frequent complications and short line lifetimes. Dislodgement of CVC was an unexpectedly common complication with loss of access in newly placed lines. There may be modifiable processes to mitigate CVC complications.
Flavokawains in Cancer Prevention and Treatment: Potentials and Challenges

Flavokawain A and B are naturally-occurring chalcones existing in several plant products, including Piper methysticum Forst. (Kava), Alpinia pricei (Hayata), and Goniothalamus gardneri (Annonaceae). These plant products have been safely used as herbal medicine, social drink and food for thousands of years and have beneficial potentials of promoting general health. Flavokawain A and B have recently been identified as novel apoptosis inducers against many cancer cells. This chapter will provide mechanistic insight into the pleiotropic actions of flavokawain A and B leading to induction of apoptosis and cell cycle arrest, and regulation of intracellular signaling pathways that are known to play an important role in inflammation, cell survival and carcinogenesis. The recent preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies suggested that flavokawains could be useful as a chemopreventive agent and as an adjunct to conventional therapeutics. Therefore, this chapter will also discuss the challenges present to advancing flavokawains for actual clinical use as anti-cancer agents.
Basic Data Movement Operations on the LARPBS Model

Linear array with a reconfigurable pipelined bus system (LARPBS) is a parallel computational model designed based on fiber optics. Many algorithms have been designed for the model by several research groups, and the results show that most of the algorithms can be executed efficiently on the LARPBS model. In this chapter, the main features of the LARPBS model are introduced and several basic data movement operations on the model are described. The scalability issue of the model is also addressed via demonstrating scalable algorithms on the model. Finally, its relation to other similar models is also discussed.
Leukemic cell insensitivity to cyclophosphamide and other oxazaphosphorines mediated by aldehyde dehydrogenase(s).

“Acquired” insensitivity to cyclophosphamide and theroxazaphosphorines, e.g., 4-ydroperoxycyclophosphamide (4HC), mafosfamide, ifosfamide and 4-hydroperoxyifosfamide, on the part of the leukemias for which these agents are used is encountered all too often clinically. Increased detoxification of the oxazaphosphorines catalyzed by relatively elevated levels of any of several aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) present in target (malignant) cells could, at least in some cases, account for the relative insensitivity to these agents. Presently, however, there is no direct evidence (as would be provided by a prospective study, or even retrospective analysis, comparing [1] therapeutic responses to therapeutic strategies of which an oxazaphosphorine is a part with [2] cellular levels of relevant ALDH activity) to support that notion. By the same token, there is little direct evidence disputing it. Herein summarized is the indirect evidence consistent, as well as inconsistent, with the aforementioned possibility
Role of endothelial cells in human hematopoiesis: modulation of mixed colony growth in vitro

The identification of clonal human multipotent hematopoietic progenitors has permitted an analysis of the growth factor requirements for these cells. Human endothelial cell cultures were used to examine the effects of media conditioned by the endothelial cells on human multipotent (CFU-mix) and committed erythroid (BFU-E, CFU-E) and myeloid (CFU-GM) precursors. These studies demonstrate that endothelial cells produce proteins of approximately 30,000 daltons, with isoelectric focusing points of 4.5 and 7.2, which stimulate the growth of human BFU-E and CFU-mix. A heat-labile protein(s) of 30,000 and 15,000 daltons stimulated the proliferation and differentiation of granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) colonies. No erythropoietin was detected in endothelial cell supernatants. This suggests that endothelial cells, a normal component of marrow stroma, play an active role in the modulation of human hematopoietic stem cell growth.
The efficacy of rue resolution experimental results and heuristic theory

We present and analyse experimental results in the first extensive use of a theorem prover based on Resolution by Unification and Equality. Implicit use is made of equality axioms by the Inference rules RUE and NRF to achieve incisive refutations for E-unsatisfiability. Since a primary issue in automated deduction is the efficiancy of convergence to proof, we describe in detail the heuristics which were used to obtain proofs. A comparative tabulation with the results of McCharen, Overbeek and Wos, who used unification resolution, shows sharply reduced cumulative unification counts.
Computer Oriented Analytical Dynamics of Machinery

These lectures consist of a survey of the theory of multi-body machine systems based on analytical mechanics formulated in such a way as to facilitate solutions by digital computers. The material is divided into the following four subdivisions: 1 Analytical Kinematics The relationship between Lagrangian Coordinates, and Generalized Coordinates will be introduced, and used to clarify the concept of Degree of Freedom. The determination of displacements, velocities, and accelerations of individual links, or of points of interest anywhere in the system, is expressed in a uniform notation associated with the Lagrangian Coordinates. Special consideration is given to the determination of appropriate velocity and acceleration coefficients for both plane and spatial motions. Existing computer programs for kinematic analysis of mechanical systems are briefly reviewed. 2 Statics of Machine Systems The advantages and disadvantages of Vectorial Mechanics (the direct use of Newton’s Laws) versus Analytical Mechanics are discussed. The basic terminology needed for Analytical Mechanics is introduced in describing the Principle of Virtual Work for ideal mechanical systems. The use of Lagrange Multipliers is demonstrated, and the special case of conservative systems is covered. The determination of reaction forces and moments at joints of the system, and the effects of Coulomb friction is also treated. 3 Kinetics of Machine Systems It is shown how the governing system of differential equations for any mechanical system is conveniently formulated through the use of Lagrange’s form of d’Alembert’s Principle (a generalization of the Principle of Virtual Work to Dynamics). This formulation is contrasted to the more common use of Lagrange’s Equations (of second type). The important special case of single-freedom systems is described. Problems of kinetostatics, including the determination of joint reactions and other kinetostatic considerations, are covered. A brief discussion is given of balancing of machinery, the effects of flexibility, and of joint clearances. 4 Numerical Methods of Solving the Differential Equations of Motion Prior to utilizing any numerical method of integrating the differential equations of motion, it is necessary to establish the appropriate initial values of all Lagrangian coordinates and all Lagrangian velocities. It is shown how this may be achieved, thereby paving the way for use of any of the differential equation algorithms discussed elsewhere in this Symposium. A brief survey of existing general-purpose computer programs for the dynamic analysis of machine systems is presented.
Gaussian process based optimization of molecular geometries using statistically sampled energy surfaces from quantum Monte Carlo

Optimization of atomic coordinates and lattice parameters remains a significant challenge to the wide use of stochastic electronic structure methods such as quantum Monte Carlo (QMC). Measurements of the forces and stress tensor by these methods contain statistical errors, challenging conventional gradient-based numerical optimization methods that assume deterministic results. Additionally, forces are not yet available for some methods, wavefunctions, and basis sets and when available may be expensive to compute to sufficiently high statistical accuracy near energy minima, where the energy surfaces are flat. Here, we explore the use of Gaussian process based techniques to sample the energy surfaces and reduce sensitivity to the statistical nature of the problem. We utilize Latin hypercube sampling, with the number of sampled energy points scaling quadratically with the number of optimized parameters. We show these techniques may be successfully applied to systems consisting of tens of parameters, demonstrating QMC optimization of a benzene molecule starting from a randomly perturbed, broken symmetry geometry.
Comparison of Anesthesia Times and Billing Patterns by Anesthesia Practitioners.

Importance Most physicians must exercise discretion in choosing billing details that determine payment for their services. Understanding the degree to which physicians inappropriately use this discretion has important implications for payment policies. However, separating higher case complexity from inappropriate billing has made this a challenging issue to study. Anesthesia offers a useful test case because practitioners are partly compensated by self-reported length of time (anesthesia time) spent on a case. Objective To characterize the incidence and consequences of inappropriate billing practices among anesthesia practitioners. Design, Setting, and Participants In this cross-sectional study of data from a large anesthesia registry, 6 261 955 procedures performed by 4221 anesthesia practitioners (physician anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, and anesthesiologist assistants) between January 1, 2010, and March 31, 2015, were studied. A total of 3047 practitioners practiced primarily in community hospitals, whereas 453 practiced primarily in university hospitals and 721 practiced in other settings (eg, specialty hospital). Exposures Practitioners with anomalous patterns were identified as those reporting an unusually high number of anesthesia times ending in a multiple of 5 minutes (eg, 65 minutes). Main Outcomes and Measures Incidence of anomalous patterns among anesthesia practitioners and the increase in anesthesia times associated with these patterns. Results This study included 4221 practitioners who each performed at least 300 anesthetic procedures. Practitioners in the top fifth percentile reported anesthesia times ending in a multiple of 5 minutes a mean (SD) of 53.7% (13.7%) of the time (range, 36.8%-96.1%), whereas practitioners in the 6th to 10th percentiles reported anesthesia times ending in a multiple of 5 minutes a mean (SD) of 31.8% (2.0%) of the time (range, 29.2%-36.7%). Practitioners in the top fifth percentile submitted billing for anesthesia times that exceeded the expected time by a mean of 21.5 minutes (95% CI, 15.8-27.1 minutes). Conclusions and Relevance In this study, findings suggest that anesthesia practitioners with the highest tendency to report anesthesia times ending in a multiple of 5 minutes did so with high frequency, which reflects anomalous billing. These practitioners also sought payment for longer-than-expected anesthesia times, which would correspond to higher payment for their services.
Psychology of Inferences

The goal of comprehension is to understand what the speaker intended the text to mean. Inferences are driven by a desire to make the interpretation both more coherent and more elaborate than the text itself. The goal of research on inferencing is to specify how the computational processes involved in making inferences vary with the comprehender's knowledge, the conditions that promote inferencing, the various types of inferences and methodological problems involved in assessing them, and, most recently, the neural bases of inferencing.
Alternating activity patterns and a chimeralike state in a network of globally coupled excitable Morris-Lecar neurons

Spatiotemporal chaos collapses to either a rest state or a propagating pulse in a ring network of diffusively coupled, excitable Morris-Lecar neurons. Adding global varying synaptic coupling to the ring network reveals complex transient behavior. Spatiotemporal chaos collapses into a transient pulse that reinitiates spatiotemporal chaos to allow sequential pattern switching until a collapse to the rest state. A domain of irregular neuron activity coexists with a domain of inactive neurons forming a transient chimeralike state. Transient spatial localization of the chimeralike state is observed for stronger synapses.
Fibers in Ore Extensions

Let R be a finitely generated commutative algebra over an algebraically closed field k and let A=R[t;σ,δ] be the Ore extension with respect to an automorphism σ and a σ-derivation δ. We view A as the coordinate ring of an affine noncommutative space X. The inclusion R→A gives an affine map ξ: X→SpecR, and X is a noncommutative analogue of A 1×SpecR. We define the fiber X p of ξ over a closed point peSpecR as a certain full subcategory ModX p of ModA. The category ModX p has the following structure. If p has infinite σ-orbit, then ModX p is equivalent to the category of graded modules over the polynomial ring k[x] with deg x=1. If p is not fixed by σ, but has finite σ-orbit, say of size n, then ModX p is equivalent to the representations of the quiver A n−1 with the arrows all going in the same direction. If p is fixed by σ, then ModX p is equivalent to either Modk or Modk[x]. It is also shown that X is the disjoint union of the fibers X p in a certain sense.
Market Liquidity, Funding Liquidity, and Hedge Fund Performance

This paper provides evidence on the interaction between hedge funds’ performance and their market liquidity risk and funding liquidity risk. Using a 2-state Markov regime switching model we identify regimes with low and high market-wide liquidity. While funds with high market liquidity risk exposures earn a premium in the high liquidity regime, this premium vanishes in the low liquidity states. Moreover, funding liquidity risk, measured by the sensitivity of a hedge fund’s return to the Treasury-Eurodollar (TED) spread, is an important determinant of fund performance. Hedge funds with high loadings on the TED spread underperform low-loading funds by about 0.49% (10.98%) annually in the high (low) liquidity regime, during 1994-2012. These results provide support for the Brunnermeier and Pedersen (2009) theoretical model that rationalizes the link between market liquidity and funding liquidity.
Assessing success of the Global War on Terror: terrorist attack frequency and the backlash effect

ABSTRACTDo states contributing military forces to the Global War on Terror leave their citizens vulnerable to retaliatory terrorist attacks? Despite the vast amount of coverage dedicated to the war...
Seismic Performance of Bridge-Deck-Pier-Type-Structures with Yielding Columns Supported by Rocking Foundations

The major objective of this paper is to investigate the seismic behavior of bridge-deck-pier-foundation type structures incorporating both structural and soil yielding using a realistic computation...
Evaluation of patterning instruction for kindergartners

To determine whether patterning instruction was as useful or more useful than other forms of instruction, kindergarten children (age five) were taught either patterning or early literacy or mathema...
The Turbulent Future of International Relations

Four structural forces will shape the future of International Relations: globalization (but without liberal rules, institutions, and leadership); multipolarity (the end of American hegemony and wider distribution of power among states and non-states); the strengthening of distinctive, national and subnational identities, as persistent cultural differences are accentuated by the disruptive effects of Western style globalization (what Sam Huntington called the “non-westernization of IR”); and secular economic stagnation, a product of longer-term global decline in birth rates combined with aging populations. These structural forces do not determine everything. Environmental events, global health challenges, internal political developments, policy mistakes, technology breakthroughs or failures, will intersect with structure to define our future. But these four structural forces will impact the way states behave, in the capacity of great powers to manage their differences, and to act collectively to settle, rather than exploit, disputes arising from local conflicts, challenges of climate change, threats to biodiversity, global diseases, nuclear proliferation and an accelerating nuclear arms race, and alleviating global poverty and inequality. Structure will increase uncertainty and exacerbate conflict. It will also diminish the disposition and capacity of the global system to address the inevitable shocks of the next decade.
Status of the KTeV Experiment at Fermilab

The KTeV experiment is a fixed target experiment at Fermilab. Its primary goal is the search for direct CP violation in the decay of neutral kaons. Its current status and some preliminary results will be discussed.
Long-Horizon Vehicle Motion Planning and Control Through Serially Cascaded Model Complexity

The computational burden of nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) often limits its use to short planning horizons, simple systems with slow dynamics, offline applications, or approximations of the optimal control problem. This article introduces a novel concept for NMPC, to help enable real-time integrated motion planning and control with a long planning horizon for automated vehicles. The proposed framework cascades plant models of different levels of complexity within a single planning horizon, in a single optimization problem. Leveraging the receding nature of MPC, a high-fidelity plant model in the first part of the planning horizon continuously provides a high quality of control, while the planning horizon is extended significantly at low computational cost with a lower fidelity model. Cascading the model complexity serially in a single planning horizon, rather than in different control loops, avoids infeasible reference trajectories between control loops. The concept is successfully validated with real-time motion planning and control of a full-scale automated race car, featuring combined lateral and longitudinal control and operating the vehicle near the limits of tire-road friction. The framework is deployed with open-source numerical optimization tools. In the real-world experiment, the proposed design both better approaches the optimal minimum-time solution and has a lower median solve time compared to a benchmark architecture with a single-vehicle model and a necessarily shorter planning horizon.
From banking integration to housing market integration - Evidence from the comovement of U.S. Metropolitan House Prices

Abstract We find that the movement of urban house prices in the U.S. has become more synchronized since the early 2000s. The elevated comovement is substantial, widespread, occurring for the majority of city-pairs, and continued even after the housing market turned to bust in 2007. We investigate whether and to what extent the comovement increase can be explained by banking integration following deregulations in the banking industry. Utilizing novel measures of city-level banking integration based on bank deposit data, we find that an increase in banking integration leads to an increase in the comovement of urban house prices. City-pairs that are more connected through national banking system had experienced a greater increase in comovement, after controlling for a variety of explanatory variables. Our findings can be interpreted as spillover effect, rather than substitution effect, of banking integration at work.
Binding of Monomeric and Polymeric Alzheimer’s Aβ peptides to Exosomes

Abstract Exosomes are secreted by every cell in our body under both physiological and pathological conditions. They travel in the blood, CSF, and all studied biofluids. Their biological roles have been reported to include delivery of important physiological cargo between organs and cells, clearance of toxic proteins; maintenance of cellular stasis, and the propagation of disease pathology. In the case of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) exosomes have been shown to carry pathological proteins such as amyloid, yet the specificity of this association of amyloid and exosomes is unclear. To address this deficiency, we utilized Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (ITC) to measure the binding of amyloid to exosomes. Here we report that Aβ40 and Aβ42 bind to exosomes in a saturable and endothermic manner, a phenomenon not observed with the scrambled versions of either peptide. This points to this interaction being more specific than previously understood, and to amyloid associated with exosomes as an important pool of this peptide in the plasma.
Speculative crops: Gambling on the onion in rural India

Abstract This paper examines the political ecology of onions in India, one of the largest producer countries in the world. Although the cost of producing onions is significant, an increasing number of farmers are drawn to its cultivation. Onion prices are, however, highly volatile, fluctuating wildly within the span of a few days, making it a notorious gamble on the market. As a kitchen staple and the second highest consumed vegetable in India, it is also a politically significant crop – high retail rates are held responsible for the fall of governments, and are met with price controls, storage limits, and export restrictions. Yet, in the expectation of spectacular gains, farmers try their luck with its cultivation, investing in inputs, storing and sorting, hoping and waiting for the perfect time to sell. Building on ethnographic fieldwork in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh, I consider how the specific socio-ecological qualities of onion cultivation, harvesting and storage – from high yields to limited storability and the seasonality of cultivation – shape its speculative possibilities. This research finds that it is largely privileged classes and castes of farmers who have access to the ‘means of speculation’ and thereby, to spectacular profits from onion cultivation, leading to the worsening of social inequalities among farmers of this crop. Broadly, this article theorizes the onion as a ‘speculative crop’, one that symbolizes the precarity and possibilities of Indian agriculture in an age of intensive cash-cropping and climate change.
Serial Arrival Prediction Coding; A Serial Predictive Model for Use by System Designers.

Abstract This article describes a model conceived as an aid to the designer of serials management systems for structuring the serial arrival prediction, check-in, and claiming functions of these systems. The model is described with examples of its application to known serial issue arrival cases in a table of examples.
Evidence suggesting that the potentiating action of neuropeptide Y on luteinizing hormone (LH)-releasing hormone-induced LH release remains unaltered in aged female rats.

Several lines of evidence suggest that one of the mechanisms by which the hypothalamic neuropeptide Y plays an obligatory role in the preovulatory luteinizing hormone (LH) discharge in young rats is to potentiate the action of LH-releasing hormone (LHRH) on LH release at the level of the pituitary. This study examined whether an alteration in the potentiating action of neuropeptide Y on LHRH-induced LH release may contribute to the attenuation or absence of LH surges during female reproductive ageing. Young regularly cycling (2-3-month-old) and old constant oestrous (19-20-month-old) rats ovariectomized for 7 days were primed with oestradiol-17beta-filled Silastic capsules. Two days later, rats received s.c. progesterone at 09.00 h and then were injected i.p. with either saline or pentobarbital at 13.30 hours. Pentobarbital-treated rats received i.v. pulses of neuropeptide Y, LHRH, a combination of neuropeptide Y and LHRH, or saline, every 30 min from 14.00 to 18.00 h via a jugular cannula. Hourly blood samples were collected between 11.00 and 21.00 h. In old rats, the progesterone-induced LH surge was significantly attenuated and delayed as compared to that of young rats. Pentobarbital injection completely blocked the LH surge. Neuropeptide Y pulses alone had no significant effect on LH release. In contrast, LHRH pulses increased LH release in both age groups, although the response was significantly reduced in older rats. While combined pulses of neuropeptide Y and LHRH significantly increased LH release in both young and old rats as compared to that of LHRH alone, the potentiating action of neuropeptide Y on LHRH-induced LH release remained unchanged between the two age groups. These results, together with our recent demonstration of altered hypothalamic neuropeptide Y neuronal activity in middle-aged pro-oestrous rats, suggest that a deficit in neuropeptide Y secretion and action in the hypothalamus, rather than a decrease in pituitary responsiveness to neuropeptide Y, may partially be responsible for the absence of LH surges in old rats.
Using Tabu search to solve MINLP problems for PSE

Abstract Tabu search is used to solve a MINLP formulation of a heat exchanger synthesis problem and a molecular design problem. The results are compared with those obtained by more traditional optimization algorithms. A particularly interesting feature of TS is that various sub-optimal solutions can be easily located and recorded.
Knowledge Mining With VxInsight: Discovery ThroughInteraction

The explosive growth in the availability of information is overwhelming traditional information management systems. Although individual pieces of information have become easy to find, the larger context in which they exist has become harder to track. These contextual questions are ideally suited to visualization since the human visual system is remarkably adept at interpreting large quantities of information, and at detecting patterns and anomalies. The challenge is to present the information in a manner that maximally leverages our visual skills. This paper discusses a set of properties that such a presentation should have, and describes the design and functionality of VxInsight, a visualization tool built to these principles.
Regulation of ribonucleic acid synthesis in Escherichia coli during diauxie lag: accumulation of heterogeneous ribonucleic acid.

The synthesis of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and of protein in Escherichia coli during glucose-lactose diauxie lag have been examined. The rate of RNA synthesis is about 7%, of the corresponding rate during exponential growth and the rate of protein synthesis 10 to 15%. Inhibition of RNA synthesis occurs to the same extent in both rel and rel+ strains. The RNA which accumulates during 20 min in diauxie lag is composed of about 50% ribosomal and transfer RNA species and about 50% of a fraction which resembles messenger RNA (mRNA) in its heterogeneous sedimentation properties. Decay of the heterogeneous fraction occurs in the presence of glucose and actinomycin D with a half-life of 3 min, the same as that of pulse-labeled mRNA; however, during the diauxie lag, the half-life of this RNA is about 25 min. Accumulation of the heterogeneous RNA is further increased when protein synthesis is blocked by chloramphenicol. The data suggest that the disproportionate accumulation of mRNA during diauxie lag and energy source shift-down may be attributed at least in part to increased stability of mRNA, but do not rule out a preferential synthesis of mRNA.
Dancing to the Telephone: Network Requirements and Opportunities

L'invention du telephone est decrite comme une nouvelle technologie associant l'automatisation et la transmission du son
Defective interfering particles of Sindbis virus: V. Sequence relationships between SVSTD 42 S RNA and intracellular defective viral RNAs☆☆☆

Abstract The annealing of Sindbis virus RNAs was studied and optimal conditions were determined (50% formamide, 6× SSC, 60°). Using these conditions, we examined the sequence relationships between various Sindbis virus 32 P-labeled single-stranded probe RNAs (42, 26, and a defective 22 S species) and five different driver double-stranded RNAs (22 S, RF-3, and the defective 18, 15, and 12 S species). It was concluded that each defective viral RNA represents a unique nonrepetitive fraction of the SV STD genome and that all of the sequences present in the smallest defective RNA are present in the larger defective RNAs generated earlier in the passage series. Furthermore, as they decreased in size, the defective RNAs retained about 1000 nucleotides from the 26 S region of the genome, but progressively smaller amounts from the non-26 S region. These results, along with observations of other workers, are consistent with the idea that defective viral RNAs are derived from the viral genome by a progressive process of internal deletion.
An impulse realization of short-term-memory dynamics

Impulse neural networks use pulse sequences to communicate instantaneous neuron activation levels. CMOS electronic circuits which emulate chemical and voltage-gated membrane channels and communicate in a fashion similar to that of natural neurons are described. These circuits require less area and dissipate less power than the operational amplifier realizations previously used for continuous-time neural network implementation. An impulse network which realizes general short-term memory dynamics is discussed. >
Evidence That Differences in Bankruptcy Law Among Countries Affect Equity Returns

We provide the first empirical evidence that differences in firm equity returns are correlated with differences in bankruptcy code among six of the G-7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan and the U.S.). We document patterns in both filing data and equity returns for a sample of bankrupt firms in these countries and tie these to differences and similarities in law. We find evidence of both intra- and inter-country factors that affect returns for bankrupt firms, though our results suggest that both categories of factors are unsystematic in an ex ante pricing sense. Among our more striking findings are that British firms lose 89% of equity value in the three years prior to a bankruptcy filing and the loss occurs quickly. In contrast, U.S. firms lose 61% and lose it much more slowly. Patterns in France are largely unrelated to other countries, which we believe occurs because of the emphasis on protecting labor. Firms in Japan and Germany lose 77% of equity value and are highly correlated with each other, which appears to be an outgrowth of the similarity in the interlocking relationships between banks and firms in both countries. Finally, Canadian firms drop 84% in value, second only to Britain, but have important similarities to the other countries. These findings have important implications for financing choices that firms make in these countries, and for the development of capital markets, generally. They also provide important information to consider as the European Union moves towards developing common bankruptcy policies.
Serologic reactivity to purified recombinant and native 29-kilodalton peripheral membrane protein of pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica.

Abstract The 29-kDa peripheral membrane protein of Entamoeba histolytica has recently been demonstrated to have epitopes on pathogenic clinical isolates which were not detected by monoclonal antibodies on nonpathogenic isolates. To analyze the serological response to this protein, we tested 93 serum specimens (from 33 patients with amebic liver abscess, 7 patients with colitis, 2 patients with ameboma, 18 individuals harboring a nonpathogenic zymodeme strain, 10 healthy Mexican migrant workers, and 23 healthy controls) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using immunoaffinity-purified native or recombinant protein. When tested by ELISA with the native antigen, 79% (26 of 33) of the serum specimens from patients with amebic liver abscess, 4 of 9 serum specimens from symptomatic patients with colitis or ameboma, and serum from one migrant worker were positive. None of the 18 subjects harboring a nonpathogenic strain or 23 control individuals were seropositive to the native antigen (sensitivity, 71%; specificity, 98%). Of 30 serum specimens from patients with amebic liver abscess tested with recombinant antigen, 27 were seropositive (90%). In addition, six patients with colitis or ameboma and two individuals who harbored a nonpathogenic strain were seropositive to the recombinant antigen. One healthy Mexican migrant worker tested positive by both ELISAs (sensitivity, 87%; specificity, 94%). Immunoblotting of 51 serum specimens to sodium dodecyl sulfate-denatured native 29-kDa protein was less sensitive (65%) than ELISA in detecting serum antibodies to the antigen. These results suggest a similar antibody response to native and recombinant antigens (r = 0.86) and support the potential utility of a quantitative assay with defined recombinant antigen for the serodiagnosis of invasive amebiasis in nonendemic areas in conjunction with other diagnostic tools.