cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Computing slater rankings using similarities among candidates

Voting (or rank aggregation) is a general method for aggregating the preferences of multiple agents. One important voting rule is the Slater rule. It selects a ranking of the alternatives (or candidates) to minimize the number of pairs of candidates such that the ranking disagrees with the pairwise majority vote on these two candidates. The use of the Slater rule has been hindered by a lack of techniques to compute Slater rankings. In this paper, we show how we can decompose the Slater problem into smaller subproblems if there is a set of similar candidates. We show that this technique suffices to compute a Slater ranking in linear time if the pairwise majority graph is hierarchically structured. For the general case, we also give an efficient algorithm for finding a set of similar candidates. We provide experimental results that show that this technique significantly (sometimes drastically) speeds up search algorithms, Finally, we also use the technique of similar sets to show that computing an optimal Slater ranking is NP-hard. even in the absence of pairwise ties.
Detection of multiple preceding cars in busy traffic using taillights

This paper presents an improved method for detecting and segmenting taillight pairs of multiple preceding cars in busy traffic in day as well as night. Novelties and advantages of this method are that it is designed to detect multiple car simultaneously, it does not require knowledge of lanes, it works in busy traffic in daylight as well as night, and it is fast irrespective of number of preceding vehicles in the scene, and therefore suitable for real-time applications. The time to process the scene is independent of the size of the vehicle in pixels, and the number of preceding cars detected. One of the previous night taillight detection methods in literature is modified to detect taillight pairs in the scene for both day and night conditions. This paper further introduces a novel hypothesis verification method based on the mathematical relationship between the vehicle distance from the vanishing point and the location of and distance between its taillights. This method enables the detection of multiple preceding vehicles in multiple lanes in a busy traffic environment in real-time. The results are compared with state-of-the-art algorithms for preceding vehicle detection performance, time and ease of implementation.
Confronting Research Misconduct in Citizen Science

So, you suspect that someone in a citizen science project committed research misconduct. What do you do now? As citizen science methods become increasingly popular, it seems inevitable that at some point, someone identifying themselves as a citizen scientist will be accused of committing research misconduct. Yet the growth of the field also takes research increasingly outside of traditional regulatory mechanisms of identifying, investigating, and delivering consequences for research misconduct. How could we prevent or handle an allegation of scientific misconduct in citizen science that falls outside of our familiar regulatory remedies? And more broadly, what does this imply for ensuring scientific integrity in citizen science? I argue that the increasing use of new research methods in citizen science poses a challenge to traditional approaches to research misconduct, and that we should consider how to confront issues of research misconduct in citizen science. I briefly describe existing approaches to research misconduct and some aspects of citizen science giving rise to the problem, then consider alternative mechanisms, ranging from tort law to professional responsibility to a proposed “research integrity insurance,” that might be deployed to address and prevent such cases.
EduAware: using tablet-based navigation gestures to predict learning module performance

In this paper, we develop a context-aware, tablet-based learning module for adult education. Specifically, we focus on adult education in healthcare-teaching learners to perform a medical screening...
Sentence Mover’s Similarity: Automatic Evaluation for Multi-Sentence Texts

For evaluating machine-generated texts, automatic methods hold the promise of avoiding collection of human judgments, which can be expensive and time-consuming. The most common automatic metrics, like BLEU and ROUGE, depend on exact word matching, an inflexible approach for measuring semantic similarity. We introduce methods based on sentence mover’s similarity; our automatic metrics evaluate text in a continuous space using word and sentence embeddings. We find that sentence-based metrics correlate with human judgments significantly better than ROUGE, both on machine-generated summaries (average length of 3.4 sentences) and human-authored essays (average length of 7.5). We also show that sentence mover’s similarity can be used as a reward when learning a generation model via reinforcement learning; we present both automatic and human evaluations of summaries learned in this way, finding that our approach outperforms ROUGE.
Analytical techniques for cell fractions. XXII. Two-dimensional analysis of serum and tissue proteins: multiple gradient-slab gel electrophoresis.

Abstract Two-dimensional electrophoresis of proteins and protein subunits, employing isoelectric focusing in the first dimension and electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate in the second, yields the highest resolutions currently available. In this paper separations in the second dimension are considered (the so called DALT system). Methods for multiple-parallel casting of gradient gels in slab gel holders are described. The problem of electrical isolation of the ends of the slabs together with continuous cooling of both surfaces of the slab gel holder along their entire length has been achieved by running the gels in a horizontal direction in a three-compartment tank with the holders inserted in insulating septa. In the system described, 10 slabs are run simultaneously. This, however, is not the upper limit of the number of slabs which can be conveniently run in parallel.
Iron Nutrition, Erythrocytes, and Erythropoietin in the NICU: Erythropoietic and Neuroprotective Effects

Prematurity, maternal diabetes, maternal smoking, being medically underserved, and small size for gestational age are common characteristics of neonates in the NICU and can predispose them to develop congenital iron deficiency. Iron is critical for organ development. In the fetus and newborn, iron is prioritized for red blood cell production, sometimes at the expense of other tissues, including the brain. It is critical to optimize iron levels in newborns to support erythropoiesis, growth, and brain development. Available studies support improved neurodevelopmental outcomes with either iron supplementation or delayed umbilical cord clamping at birth. Erythropoietic doses of erythropoietin/erythrocyte-stimulating agents may also improve neurocognitive outcomes. However, the literature on the effect of liberal red blood cell transfusions on long-term neurodevelopment is mixed. Understanding age-specific normal values and monitoring of iron indices can help individualize and optimize the iron status of patients in the NICU.
Thinking Globally, Acting Locally: Ecology and Human Rights in Gioconda Belli’s Waslala

espanol“Waslala”, novela futuristica de Gioconda Belli, revela las multiples tensiones que surgen cuando se exploran los derechos humanos en el contexto de la crisis ecologica global. Mientras la novela critica la explotacion humana de recursos naturales y la resultante desigualdad de desarrollo humano y economico, a la vez afirma el acceso a y control de los recursos como un derecho humano fundamental. Haciendo uso de las teorias de Steve Stern y Scott Straus sobre “la paradoja de los derechos humanos” y del concepto del “Capitaloceno” de Jason Moore, postulo que “Waslala” demuestra dos tensiones fundamentales entre los derechos humanos y los problemas ambientales. Primero, la novela muestra como atender a los principios universales del balance ecologico global puede socavar los derechos humanos de individuos limitados por razones geograficas o economicas. Segundo, demuestra como el derecho humano a la propiedad esta implicado en la crisis ecologica global. Aunque “Waslala” intenta situar los derechos humanos por encima de los temas medioambientales, al mismo tiempo hace hincapie en la imposibilidad de separar a los dos, lo cual provoca que se reconsidere la definicion y practica de los derechos humanos dentro del contexto de la ecologia global. EnglishGioconda Belli’s futuristic novel “Waslala” reveals the many tensions that arise when one explores human rights within a context of planetary ecological crisis. While the novel criticizes human exploitation of natural resources and the resultant differential development and economic inequality, at the same time it affirms access to and control of resources as a fundamental human right. Using Steve Stern and Scott Straus’s framework of the “human rights paradox” and Jason Moore’s description of the “Capitalocene,” I argue that “Waslala” demonstrates two fundamental tensions between human rights and environmental issues. First, the novel shows how attention to the universal principles of global ecological balance may undermine the human rights of individuals constrained by geography or economic class. Second, it demonstrates how the human right to property is implicated in global ecological crisis. Although “Waslala” purports to privilege human rights over ecological concerns, at the same time it highlights the impossibility of separating the two, prompting a rethinking of the definition and practice of human rights within the context of global ecology.
Electrochemically Regenerable Hydrogen Atom Acceptors: Mediators in Electrocatalytic Alcohol Oxidation Reactions

A class of electrochemical mediators is described for electrocatalytic oxidation reactions that are catalyzed by metal hydrides. The octahedral ruthenium complex [Ru(acac)2(pyimN)] (RuIIIN 3) is sh...
Reduced Water Negatively Impacts Social Bee Survival and Productivity Via Shifts in Floral Nutrition

Pollinators provide a key ecosystem service vital for the survival and stability of the biosphere. Identifying factors influencing the plant-pollinator mutualism and pollinator management is necessary for maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Since healthy beehives require substantial amounts of carbohydrates (nectar) and protein (pollen) from forage plants such as clover, we must assess how resources offered by plants change under limited water conditions in order to fully understand how drought modifies the pollination mutualism. Here we document how reduced water availability leads to decreased nectar quality and quantity and decreased protein quality of pollen. Furthermore, we provide conclusive evidence that these lower quality resources lead to decreased survival and productivity in both developing honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and bumble bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae). The results emphasize the importance of the nutritional effects of reduced water on bees when predicting shifts of pollination mutualisms under climate change.
Presumed Ocular Histoplasmosis Syndrome

Presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome is an ocular syndrome of peripheral punched-out chorioretinal lesions (histo spots), peripapillary atrophy, macular scarring with or without choroidal neovascular membranes and absence of vitritis. It is caused by presumed exposure to the dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum, which grows in soil (mold) and inside animals/birds (yeast) and is endemic in the Ohio and Mississippi River valleys, the “Histo belt.”
Demonstration of the use of test results from the Leaching Environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF) to develop screening-level leaching assessments.

Abstract Environmental management often benefits from leaching assessment as a predictive tool for estimating constituent leaching from solid and waste materials. The Leaching Environmental Assessment Framework (LEAF) provides both validated tests methods for characterizing materials and a methodology for developing screening assessments based on material characterization results. The use of LEAF data in a screening-level environmental assessment approach is demonstrated through a hypothetical case study of copper/lead smelter soil remediation. The LEAF test methods characterize leaching behavior from a wide range of materials as either constituent liquid-solid partitioning as functions of pH and liquid-to-solid ratio (L/S) or as a rate of constituent mass transport. In this study, leaching characteristics of a contaminated smelter soil and the same soil treated by solidification/stabilization with Portland cement were compared to hypothetical environmental thresholds. Screening assessments were developed for total content, available content, and maximum concentrations over relevant pH domains and L/S ranges. Assessment ratios for barium, beryllium, and fluoride indicated that estimated leaching would be less than thresholds in both materials and these constituents were removed from further analysis. Similarly, chromium (in soil) and zinc (in solidified material) were screened from further analysis. For the remaining constituents, scenario-based assessment could refine estimated leaching concentrations by considering anticipated conditions of leaching scenario.
Neurological update: cognitive rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis.

Cognitive impairment is a common and debilitating symptom in multiple sclerosis (MS). There is limited evidence that disease-modifying therapies are effective in treating cognitive dysfunction. Cognitive rehabilitation is a promising approach to treat cognitive dysfunction in MS, gaining empirical support over the last 10 years. The current review will provide a brief overview of cognitive rehabilitation in MS. Overall, there is evidence that cognitive rehabilitation programs (either restorative or compensatory) are efficacious in treating MS-related cognitive dysfunction. Clinicians should consider this low-cost, low-risk, yet effective treatment approach for their patients.
Do the Ends Justify the Means? Variation in the Distributive and Procedural Fairness of Machine Learning Algorithms

Recent advances in machine learning methods have created opportunities to eliminate unfairness from algorithmic decision making. Multiple computational techniques (i.e., algorithmic fairness criteria) have arisen out of this work. Yet, urgent questions remain about the perceived fairness of these criteria and in which situations organizations should use them. In this paper, we seek to gain insight into these questions by exploring fairness perceptions of five algorithmic criteria. We focus on two key dimensions of fairness evaluations: distributive fairness and procedural fairness. We shed light on variation in the potential for different algorithmic criteria to facilitate distributive fairness. Subsequently, we discuss procedural fairness and provide a framework for understanding how algorithmic criteria relate to essential aspects of this construct, which helps to identify when a specific criterion is suitable. From a practical standpoint, we encourage organizations to recognize that managing fairness in machine learning systems is complex, and that adopting a blind or one-size-fits-all mentality toward algorithmic criteria will surely damage people’s attitudes and trust in automated technology. Instead, firms should carefully consider the subtle yet significant differences between these technical solutions.
Order within Anarchy: The Laws of War as an International Institution

Order within Anarchy focuses on how the laws of war create strategic expectations about how states and their soldiers will act during war, which can help produce restraint. The success of the laws of war depends on three related factors: compliance between warring states and between soldiers on the battlefield, and control of soldiers by their militaries. A statistical study of compliance of the laws of war during the twentieth century shows that joint ratification strengthens both compliance and reciprocity, compliance varies across issues with the scope for individual violations, and violations occur early in war. Close study of the treatment of prisoners of war during World Wars I and II demonstrates the difficulties posed by states' varied willingness to limit violence, a lack of clarity about what restraint means, and the practical problems of restraint on the battlefield.
Thermal, Mechanical & Creep Behavior of Metal Matrix Composites

The high strength/weight ratio and thermal conductivities of metal matrix composites are properties which make them attractive for application in modern components for which low weight and good thermal efficiency are essential. An intrinsic difficulty in establishing the mechanics of these materials is that they are at a very early stage of their development when changes in their manufacture are frequent and many. As a consequence the amount of material available for comprehensive testing is limited. Furthermore, the test specimens tend to be small and have high strength so that problems associated with gripping are considerable. Consequently, the mechanics describing the behavior of metal matrix composites must be achieved with only very little information. However, the recent advances in computational techniques combined with established mechanics principles are helpful in establishing the material properties and their effect on component performance.
Chapter 10 The membrane-bound enzymes of the archaea

Publisher Summary The archaea, which are found in ecosystems characterized by extremes of pH, temperature, and ionic strength, contain membranes whose lipids are unlike those found in the bacteria and eucarya. This situation raises the possibility of examining how this lipid environment moderates the effects of these extremes on the enzymes associated with the membranes. Any of the methods used to disrupt bacteria are successful when applied to archaeal cells. The only qualifier is that conditions used during breakage take into account the peculiar properties of archaeal proteins. A common difficulty experienced when disrupting cells at low pressures is the unmanageable viscosity because of the presence of deoxyribo nucleic acid (DNA). Incubating extracts with traces of DNAase at room temperature effectively deals with this problem. This is true even in the case of extracts of extreme halophiles where the disrupted cells are suspended in solutions that are 4 M with respect to NaCI. Successful solubilization of the membrane components of the extreme halophdes can also be achieved by manipulating the ionic strength of the solutions in which the membranes are suspended.
The changing impact of El Niño on US winter temperatures

[1] In this study, evidence is presented from statistical analyses, numerical model experiments, and case studies to show that the impact on US winter temperatures is different for the different types of El Nino. While the conventional Eastern-Pacific El Nino affects winter temperatures primarily over the Great Lakes, Northeast, and Southwest US, the largest impact from Central-Pacific El Nino is on temperatures in the northwestern and southeastern US. The recent shift to a greater frequency of occurrence of the CentralPacific type has made the Northwest and Southeast regions of the US most influenced by El Nino. It is shown that the different impacts result from differing wave train responses in the atmosphere to the sea surface temperature anomalies associated with the two types of El Nino. Citation: Yu, J.-Y., Y. Zou, S. T. Kim, and T. Lee (2012), The changing impact of El Nino on US winter temperatures, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L15702, doi:10.1029/2012GL052483.
Gel Chromatography of Proteins in Denaturing Solvents COMPARISON BETWEEN SODIUM DODECYL SULFATE AND GUANIDINE HYDROCHLORIDE AS DENATURANTS

Abstract Reduced proteins in aqueous solutions of 6 m guanidine hydrochloride or sodium dodecyl sulfate assume conformations such that the hydrodynamic shape varies predictably with molecular weight. Consequently, gel chromatography can be used to determine both effective hydrodynamic radii and molecular weights of polypeptide chains in these solvents. Data obtained with the same support media in the two different solvent systems suggest that gel chromatography can be used as a substitute for other hydrodynamic measurements in the determination of gross conformation of proteins in these solvents.
Tantalizing Transcriptomes--SAGE and Its Use in Global Gene Expression Analysis

Victor Velculescu, the winner of this year's Pharmacia Biotech & Science Prize for Young Scientists, discusses his doctoral research on the development of SAGE (serial analysis of gene expression) and its application to unraveling the differences in gene expression between normal cells and tumor cells.
Transport of β-Galactosides in Lactobacillus plantarum NC2

The ability of Lactobacillus plantarum NC2 to transport thiomethyl-beta-d-galactoside in the presence or absence of various inhibitors was investigated to determine the mechanism of beta-galactoside transport in this bacterium. A novel system employing l-arabinose as an energy-generating compound is described, and evidence that this transport is energized by an ATP-driven proton motive force is presented.
Constructive and Destructive Marital Conflict, Parenting, and Children's School and Social Adjustment

This study addresses the links between destructive and constructive marital conflict and mothers' and fathers' parenting to understand associations with children's social and school adjustment. Multi-method, longitudinal assessments of 235 mothers, fathers, and children (129 girls) were collected across kindergarten, first, and second grades (ages 5-7 at Time 1; ages 7-9 at Time 3). Whereas constructive marital conflict was related to both mothers' and fathers' warm parenting, destructive marital conflict was only linked to fathers' use of inconsistent discipline. In turn, both mothers' and fathers' use of psychological control was related to children's school adjustment, and mothers' warmth was related to children's social adjustment. Reciprocal links between constructs were also explored, supporting associations between destructive marital conflict and mothers' and fathers' inconsistent discipline. The merit of examining marital conflict and parenting as multidimensional constructs is discussed in relation to understanding the processes and pathways within families that affect children's functioning.
The effect of African-American acculturation on neuropsychological test performance in normal and HIV-positive individuals

Two studies were conducted to examine the relationship of acculturation to neuropsychological test performance among (1) medically healthy, neurologically normal African Americans (N = 170); and (2) HIV positive (HIV+) subgroups of African Americans and Whites (Ns = 20) matched on age, education, sex, and HIV disease stage. Acculturation was measured through self report for all participants, and linguistic behavior (Black English use) was assessed in a subset of medically healthy individuals (N = 25). After controlling for the effects of age, education, and sex, medically healthy African Americans who reported less acculturation obtained lower scores on the WAIS-R Information subtest and the Boston Naming Test than did more acculturated individuals. Black English use was associated with poor performance on Trails B and the WAIS-R Information subtest. HIV+ African Americans scored significantly lower than their HIV+ White counterparts on the Category Test, Trails B, WAIS-R Block Design and Vocabulary subtests, and the learning components of the Story and Figure Memory Tests. However, after accounting for acculturation, ethnic group differences on all measures but Story Learning became nonsignificant. These results suggest that there are cultural differences within ethnic groups that relate to neuropsychological test performance, and that accounting for acculturation may improve the diagnostic accuracy of certain neuropsychological tests.
Pathogens in fruit.

Publisher Summary Fresh fruit and processed fruit products have generally been considered safe from pathogenic bacteria because of their high acid content. However, recent outbreaks of Escherichia coli O157 : H7 and Salmonella spp. in apple and orange juices have challenged the belief that high acid foods cannot harbor viable pathogenic bacteria. Owing to the acidic similarity of berry juice (pH 3.0–4.5), apple juice (3.0–4.0), and orange juice (3.0–4.0), there is concern that fruit juices could also act as a vector for foodborne illness. Laboratory studies have determined that berry juices and purEes can support bacteria, such as E. coli O157 : H7 and Salmonella spp. These findings suggest that berries and berry products, if contaminated, might harbor pathogenic organisms long enough to cause foodborne illnesses. This chapter illustrates the potential sources and vectors of contamination of the fruit during production and processing, as well as the potential food borne pathogens. It introduces a major source of microbial infection through contaminated water used on fresh produce during growth, harvesting, and processing. Water can be a carrier of pathogenic bacteria ( E. coli, Salmonella spp., Vibrio cholerae, Shigella spp.), protozoa ( Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia lamblia, Cyclospora cayetanensis, Toxiplasma gondii ), mycotoxin-producing fungi and viruses (Norwalk and hepatitis A). If these organisms are accidentally consumed, even in small amounts, illness can result. Another significant source of pathogens arises from unsanitary field conditions. Cattle manure and the feces of sheep and deer may harbor E. coli O157 : H7, resulting in contamination of fresh produce during harvesting. Improper worker hygiene may also spread Salmonella, Cryptosporidium , and other pathogens through human fecal matter. The chapter describes some major concerns about pathogens in fruit.
Look-ahead in dynamic programming and quantizer loops

The add-compare-select (ACS) loop operation in serial dynamic programming (DP) problems inherently limits the speed or the iteration period. The author shows that the ACS loop operation (although nonlinear) can exploit look-ahead. He uses techniques of look-ahead, decomposition, and incremental computation, and proposes fine-grain pipelined and parallel architectures for area-efficient high-speed VLSI implementation of DP problems. The word-level arithmetic implementation complexity of the architecture is proportional to the cube of the number of states of the DP problem, logarithmic in number of loop pipeline levels, linear in block size, and additive with respect to pipelining and block processing. The data-dependent nature of the quantization operation limits the opportunities to pipeline the quantizer loops. The author proposes an approach to transform the quantizer loop into an equivalent form that can exploit look-ahead. The transformed quantizer loop recursion is shown to be similar to the DP recursion, and variations of the DP processor architectures can be used for high-speed implementation of simple quantizer loops. >
Is obesity a risk factor for low back pain? An example of using the evidence to answer a clinical question

Obesity as a causal factor for low back pain has been controversial with no definitive answer to this date. The objective of this study was to determine whether obesity is associated with low back pain. In addition this paper aims to provide a step-by-step guide for chiropractors and osteopaths on how to ask and answer a clinical question using the literature. A literature review using the MEDLINE search engine using the keywords "obesity", "low back pain", "body mass index" "BMI" and "osteoarthritis" from years 1990 to 2004 was utilised. The method employed is similar to that utilised by evidence-based practice advocates. The available data at this time is controversial with no clear-cut evidence connecting low back pain with obesity. There is a lack of a clear dose-response relationship between body mass index (BMI) and low back pain. Further, studies on the relationship between obesity and related lumbar osteoarthritis, knee pain, and disc herniation are also problematic.There is little doubt that future studies with controlled variables are needed to determine the existence of an unambiguous link, if any.
Developmental Heterogeneity of Cardiac Fibroblasts Does Not Predict Pathological Proliferation and Activation

Rationale: Fibrosis is mediated partly by extracellular matrix–depositing fibroblasts in the heart. Although these mesenchymal cells are reported to have multiple embryonic origins, the functional consequence of this heterogeneity is unknown. Objective: We sought to validate a panel of surface markers to prospectively identify cardiac fibroblasts. We elucidated the developmental origins of cardiac fibroblasts and characterized their corresponding phenotypes. We also determined proliferation rates of each developmental subset of fibroblasts after pressure overload injury. Methods and Results: We showed that Thy1 + CD45 − CD31 − CD11b − Ter119 − cells constitute the majority of cardiac fibroblasts. We characterized these cells using flow cytometry, epifluorescence and confocal microscopy, and transcriptional profiling (using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and RNA-seq). We used lineage tracing, transplantation studies, and parabiosis to show that most adult cardiac fibroblasts derive from the epicardium, a minority arises from endothelial cells, and a small fraction from Pax3-expressing cells. We did not detect generation of cardiac fibroblasts by bone marrow or circulating cells. Interestingly, proliferation rates of fibroblast subsets on injury were identical, and the relative abundance of each lineage remained the same after injury. The anatomic distribution of fibroblast lineages also remained unchanged after pressure overload. Furthermore, RNA-seq analysis demonstrated that Tie2-derived and Tbx18-derived fibroblasts within each operation group exhibit similar gene expression profiles. Conclusions: The cellular expansion of cardiac fibroblasts after transaortic constriction surgery was not restricted to any single developmental subset. The parallel proliferation and activation of a heterogeneous population of fibroblasts on pressure overload could suggest that common signaling mechanisms stimulate their pathological response.
Short gamma-ray bursts and binary mergers in spiral and elliptical galaxies: Redshift distribution and hosts

We combine a large database of population synthesis calculations, models for the star formation history of the universe, and a simple selection model for bursts to predict short GRB detection rates, redshift distributions, and host galaxy distributions. We compare our space of possible models with observations of short GRBs (rates and redshifts) and, when assuming short GRBs are produced from NS-NS binaries, the current estimates for NS-NS merger rates from close binary pulsars in the Milky Way. Whether short GRBs are assumed to arise from BH-NS or NS-NS mergers, we conclude that a fraction of models are in agreement with available short GRB and binary pulsar observations. We do not need to introduce artificial models with long delay times. Most commonly, models produce mergers preferentially in spiral galaxies if short GRBs arise from NS-NS mergers alone. On the other hand, typically BH-NS mergers can also occur in elliptical galaxies, in agreement with existing observations. We expect that a higher proportion of short GRBs should occur at moderate to high redshift (e.g., z > 1) than has presently been observed, in agreement with recent observations which suggest a strong selection bias toward successful follow-up of low-redshift short GRBs. Finally, if we add plausible additional assumptions about what BH-NS mergers could produce short GRBs based on the work of Belczynski and coworkers, then we expect only a small fraction of BH-NS models could be consistent with all current available data.
TV Ratings and Verbal and Visual Sexual Content in Promotional Ads

Promotional advertisements from the February 2003 sweeps were content analyzed for verbal and visual elements of sexual content. Nearly one-third of the promos contained some aspect of sexuality, which represented an increase over previous years. Duration of the visual aspects of the promos did not predict exposure to the programs advertised, as measured by Nielsen ratings. However, intensity of the sexual content significantly predicted exposure to programs, but only after removing the effects of frequency on ratings.
Toward a general theory of climate behavior based on the viewpoint of systems theory

The construction of a qualitative theory of climate change based on systems theory is discussed. Specifically, the importance of initial conditions, nonlinearities, feedback mechanisms, forcing functions and stability concepts, as they pertain to the climatic behavior of the Earth are shown. Suggestions regarding areas of prime importance are advanced and feedback mechanisms are identified. The paper serves three goals: (1) provides a first approximation qualitative model outline, useful for subsequent quantitative calculations regarding climate change, (2) introduces systems theorists to the subject of climate, and (3) summarizes current literature in the field of climate behavior, its modification and simulation. A first-approximation, quantitative model based on the principles discussed in this paper will be the subject of a second paper.
Immunoglobulin and Lymphocyte Responses Following Silica Exposure in New Zealand Mixed Mice

Epidemiological studies have shown strong associations between silica exposure and several autoimmune diseases, including scleroderma and systemic lupus erythematosus.We previously reported that the New Zealand mixed (NZM) mouse develops silicosis and exacerbated autoimmunity following crystalline silica exposure, including increased levels of autoantibodies, proteinuria, circulating immune complexes, pulmonary fibrosis, and glomerulonephritis. In this study, the NZM mouse was used to examine changes in immune activation following silica exposure by measuring levels of immunoglobulin, cytokines and lymphocyte populations. Levels of immunoglobulin (Ig) G1 were significantly decreased from 1124 ± 244 µg/ml in saline exposed mice to 614 ± 204 µg/ml in silica-exposed mice, suggesting a decrease in the Th2 response. The levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were significantly increased (1.5-fold) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of the silica-exposed mice as compared to the saline-exposed mice. The number...
Regulation of Myocardial Glucose Transporters GLUT1 and GLUT4 in Chronically Anemic Fetal Lambs

Little is known about the chronic adaptations that take place in the fetal heart to allow for increased substrate delivery in response to chronic stress. Because glucose is an important fuel for the fetal cardiomyocytes, we hypothesized that myocardial glucose transporters 1 and 4 (GLUT1 and GLUT4, respectively) are up-regulated in the fetal sheep heart that is chronically stressed by anemia. Fetal sheep at 128 d gestation underwent daily isovolumic hemorrhage and determination of myocardial blood flow, oxygen consumption, and substrate utilization. At the end of 3 or 7 d of anemia, myocardial levels of GLUT1 and GLUT4 mRNA and protein were measured and subcellular localization was determined. Despite stable heart rate and blood pressure, anemia caused a nearly 4-fold increase in right and left ventricular (RV and LV) free wall blood flow. No significant change in myocardial glucose uptake was found and serum insulin levels remained stable. Both 3-d RV and LV and 7-d RV mRNA and protein levels of GLUT1 and GLUT4 were unchanged; 7-d LV GLUT1 and GLUT4 mRNA levels were also stable. However, LV GLUT1 protein levels declined significantly, whereas LV GLUT4 protein levels were increased. In the steady state, GLUT4 protein localized to the sarcolemma membrane. These findings suggest that the glucose transporters are post-transcriptionally regulated in myocardium of chronically anemic fetal sheep with changes that mimic normal postnatal development. Unlike the postnatal heart, localization of GLUT4 to the cell membrane suggests the importance of GLUT4 in basal glucose uptake in the stressed fetal heart.
Supersolvable M * -groups

A compact bordered Klein surface of genus g ≥ 2 has maximal symmetry [4] if its automorphism group is of order 12(g − 1), the largest possible. An M*-group [8] acts on a bordered surface with maximal symmetry. The first important result about these groups was that they must have a certain partial presentation [8, p. 5]. However, research has tended to focus more on the surfaces with maximal symmetry than on the M*-groups, and results about these groups typically deal with existence.
Reality Check: There is No Such Thing as a Miracle Food

A recent episode of the Dr. Oz Show suggested endive, red onion, and sea bass as foods that can decrease the risk of ovarian cancer by up to 75%. However, the scientific evidence supporting these recommendations is limited. This commentary discusses some of the concerns related to the promotion of "miracle foods" by the media. Nutritional scientists and epidemiologists should be cognizant of the public health messages that are taken from their individual studies and not sensationalize the findings of a single study.
Exposure to hepatitis B virus and development of the chronic HBAg carrier state in children.

Paired serum samples from 200 U. S. children and 1,165 children from West Africa and two Pacific Islands were tested for the presence of hepatitis B antigen (HBAg) and antibodies to hepatitis B antigen (anti-HBAg). Sera from normal U. S. children were nonreactive for HBAg; comparable sera from overseas children showed antigen in 2.0 to 10.9 per cent—a prevalence significantly higher than the 0.2 per cent reported for U. S. adults. “Per cent carriers,” calculated to reflect the per cent of individuals infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) who become chronic carriers of HBAg, ranged from 28.6 to 40.0 for children in the study groups compared with 1.8 to 3.5 calculated for U. S. adults. The study demonstrates that children more frequently become chronic HBAg carriers following infection with hepatitis B virus than do U. S. adults. The likelihood of development of chronic HBAg carriers in the study groups did not appear to correlate with HBV subtype or with the sex or geographic origin of the children.
The solution properties of some polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene surfactants in nonaqueous solvents

Results obtained with Pluronic polyol homologues in benzene and in dioxane by light-scattering, ultracentrifugal and vapor pressure lowering measurements in addition to data obtained in water and in butyl chloride by light-scattering and ultracentrifugal determinations are described. The systems are examined over a wide range of solute concentrations at about 37C. Considerable difference appears to exist between weight and number-average micellar weight obtained by light-scattering and two methods of measuring vapor pressure lowering of the solutions. Divergence in micellar weight values appears to be less pronounced between the latter technique and ultracentrifugal determinations. Possible micellar configurations of these Pluronic polyols are presented.
Exploiting Web querying for Web people search

Searching for people on the Web is one of the most common query types submitted to Web search engines today. However, when a person name is queried, the returned Webpages often contain documents related to several distinct namesakes who have the queried name. The task of disambiguating and finding the Webpages related to the specific person of interest is left to the user. Many Web People Search (WePS) approaches have been developed recently that attempt to automate this disambiguation process. Nevertheless, the disambiguation quality of these techniques leaves major room for improvement. In this article, we present a new WePS approach. It is based on issuing additional auxiliary queries to the Web to gain additional knowledge about the Webpages that need to be disambiguated. Thus, the approach uses the Web as an external data source by issuing queries to collect co-occurrence statistics. These statistics are used to assess the overlap of the contextual entities extracted from the Webpages. The article also proposes a methodology to make this Web querying technique efficient. Further, the article proposes an approach that is capable of combining various types of disambiguating information, including other common types of similarities, by applying a correlation clustering approach with after-clustering of singleton clusters. These properties allow the framework to get an advantage in terms of result quality over other state-of-the-art WePS techniques.
DNA Transfection to Study Translational Control in Mammalian Cells

Mammalian cells respond to changes in their environment by rapid and reversible covalent modification of the translational machinery. In most cases, these modifications involve the phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of translation initiation factors (for review see Ref. 1). The modification of translation initiation factors may affect translational activity of either specific mRNAs or general cellular mRNAs. To study the effect of a particular factor or its modification on the translational capacity of an mRNA, there are a number of potential approaches that include in vitro translation reactions as well as in vivo experiments. Generally, experiments initially report a covalent modification that correlates with altered translational capacity of either a specific or a general class of mRNAs. The modification and the particular amino acid residue involved are then identified. Then mutations are made at the modified residue to prevent modification (for example, a serine-to-alanine mutation to prevent phosphorylation) and the effect of the mutant factor on the translation of a target mRNA is tested. The most convenient method for monitoring the effect of a mutant translation factor on translation is the use of transient DNA transfection. However, in certain situations it is desirable to isolate stably transfected cell lines to study the effect of overexpression, underexpression, or expression of a particular mutant translation factor. This article reviews two methods that are routinely used to study translational control that involve either transient or stable DNA transfection.
Coplanar Waveguide Aperture Coupled Patch Antennas with Ground Plane/Substrate of Finite Extent

Coplanar waveguide (CPW)/aperture coupled microstrip patch antennas constructed with ground coplanar waveguide (GCPW), finite coplanar waveguide (FCPW) and channelized coplanar waveguide (CCPW) are demonstrated. The measured characteristics show that the CCPW/aperture coupled microstrip patch antenna has the largest bandwidth, whereas the GCPW/aperture coupled microstrip patch antenna has the best front-to-back ratio.
Platinum/palladium thin-film thermocouples for temperature measurements on silicon wafers

Abstract A platinum versus palladium thin-film thermocouple system has been established for measuring temperatures on silicon wafers in a rapid thermal processing (RTP) tool. The application includes a silicon wafer with an array of thin-film thermocouples welded to wire thermocouples, used to calibrate radiometric temperature measurements of the RTP tool. The thin-film thermocouples have advantages over present technology using wire thermocouples because the films cause less disturbance of the heat transfer to and from the silicon wafer during periods of high heat flux. High-purity platinum and palladium films have been chosen because of their stability, their resistance to oxidation at high temperatures (to 900 °C), and their compatibility with Pt/Pd wire thermocouples. The research effort has concentrated on developing solutions to the adhesion problems for platinum and palladium on silicon; measuring the change in resistance of the films after exposure in air to high temperatures (up to 1050 °C); quantifying the drift and hysteresis of the thin-film thermocouples in calibration tests; and determining the effects of composition, stress, and morphology on the Seebeck coefficient. The results of the testing indicate that the Pt/Pd thin-film thermocouples on silicon can perform satisfactorily up to 850 °C. We present a discussion of the factors that affect the stability of the films; these include diffusion, chemical reactions, and thermal-mechanical stress, as well as the limitations of this material system.
Treatment of cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma with retinoids

Retinoids are biologic regulators of differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis, and immune response. Retinoids (all-trans retinoic acid, 13-cis-retinoic acid, and the synthetic analogs isotretinoin, etretinate, and acitretin) have been used for years as monotherapy and/or in combination for treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL). Orally administered bexarotene, the first synthetic highly selective retinoid X receptor retinoid to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration for CTCL, was shown to be active against the cutaneous manifestations of all stages of CTCL. The topical gel formulation was also effective for early cutaneous manifestations of CTCL or as an adjunct to systemic or phototherapy. Use of retinoids in future long-term clinical trials and their eventual application in CTCL regiments will require strategies to decrease the side effects of existing retinoids, identify novel receptor subtype-selective retinoids with better therapeutic index, and explore biologically based synergistic combination therapies with other active agents.
BAALC and ERG expression levels are associated with outcome and distinct gene and microRNA expression profiles in older patients with de novo cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia: a Cancer and Leukemia Group B study

BAALC and ERG expression levels are prognostic markers in younger (< 60 years) cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia (CN-AML) adults; their prognostic impact in older (≥ 60 years) patients requires further investigation. We evaluated pretreatment expression of BAALC and ERG in 158 de novo patients treated on cytarabine/daunorubicin-based protocols. The patients were also characterized for other established molecular prognosticators. Low BAALC and ERG expression levels were associated with better outcome in univariable and multivariable analyses. Expression levels of both BAALC and ERG were the only factors significantly associated with overall survival upon multivariable analysis. To gain biological insights, we derived gene expression signatures associated with BAALC and ERG expression in older CN-AML patients. Furthermore, we derived the first microRNA expression signatures associated with the expression of these 2 genes. In low BAALC expressers, genes associated with undifferentiated hematopoietic precursors and unfavorable outcome predictors were down-regulated, whereas HOX genes and HOX-gene-embedded microRNAs were up-regulated. Low ERG expressers presented with down-regulation of genes involved in the DNA-methylation machinery, and up-regulation of miR-148a, which targets DNMT3B. We conclude that in older CN-AML patients, low BAALC and ERG expression associates with better outcome and distinct gene and microRNA expression signatures that could aid in identifying new targets and novel therapeutic strategies for older patients.
Forecasting: The myth of control

Many managers are disillusioned by the dismal record of their strategic and financial planners in forecasting even the near future. And trustworthy futurist gurus are getting harder to find. The thoughtful expositions of Herman Kahn (Hudson Institute) and Amelia Peccei (Club of Rome) have been replaced by the pop speculation of Naisbitt. Does futurism have a future? Donald Michael recasts our understanding of what to expect from futurism in this interview with Planning Review's editor, Robert Allio.