cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Evolution of Supply and Demand in Markets for Generic Drugs.

Policy Points Much concern about generic drug markets has emerged in recent policy debates. Important changes in regulations, the structure of purchasing, and the length of the drug supply chain have affected generic drug markets. Effective price competition remains the rule in generic markets for large-selling drugs. Smaller markets and those for injectable products often have less price competition and are more susceptible to supply disruptions. Context The image of generic drugs as a commodity sold in competitive markets is an oversimplification, as evidenced by increasing accounts of price spikes, sustained high price-cost margins, and market disruptions. The mismatch between the canonical economic model of generic drug markets and reality motivated our empirical project. Methods To explore recent changes in those factors impacting the supply and demand for generic drugs, we studied, from a variety of sources, the data on price, competition, supply disruptions and recalls, changes to the supply chain, and buy-side concentration. We examined quarterly data through 2018 for a cohort of 77 molecules that lost patent protection during the so-called patent cliff between 2010 and 2013. Findings On the supply side, we found that for large-market oral solids, generic entry and price declines were consistent with past studies showing a significant number of market entrants and substantial reductions in the average price of a molecule. In smaller markets for oral solids and injectable products, we observed fewer entrants, higher rates of exit, smaller price reductions, and, in some cases, considerable price instability. The number of reported shortages increased across all generic market types over time, with the rate of shortage increases especially pronounced in markets for injectable products. The number of product recalls also rose over our study period. Although we did not estimate causal effects, we did find several changes in the market environment for generic drugs that may contribute to these phenomena. The demand side for generics has become more concentrated. Supply chains rely more on producers outside the United States (particularly from China and India). Contracting practices have undergone changes that may inhibit competition in product supply. FDA regulatory scruitiny has increased. Conclusions Competition in generic drug markets varies widely by market size and product form. Recent changes in demand-side market structure imply more downward pressure on prices stemming from buy-side concentration. The FDA's greater regulatory oversight puts upward pressure on costs, and the lengthening of the supply chain increases production uncertainty for producers. Demand and supply-side changes point to further market instabilities across all generic markets due to producers' changing economic position.
Annually and Cumulative Radiographic Alveolar Bone Loss Rates using Digital Scanning Image for the Periodontal Disease Groups before and after Periodontal Treatment

The aim of the present study was to assess the cumulative radiographic alveolar bone loss (CRABL) and yearly radiographic periodontal attachment loss (YRABL) of periodontal disease groups over 5 years or more. A total of 53 subjects, who had taken two sets of full-mouth standardized paralleling radiographs with separated periods of 5 years or more in Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital during 1981-2001, were collected for the past 20 years. The radiographic alveolar bone levels at mesial and distal aspects of teeth were assessed by measuring the distance between cemento-enamel junction and alveolar bone crest using an electronic digimatic caliper (EDC) under a 3.5X magnified radiographs. The results revealed that 1) patients with a periodic recall (3-4 times/yr.) showed a significantly lower loss rate than patients without periodic recalls; 2) mean CRPAL was highest in the generalized aggressive periodontitis (GAgP) group (5.52±3.27mm), then the chronic periodontitis (CP) group (4.82±3.47mm), and the localized aggressive periodontitis (LAgP) group (4.47±3.47mm) followed, and lowest in the periodontal healthy (PH) group (1.05±0.59mm); 3) mean YRPAL was the highest in the LAgP group (0.26±0.25mm/yr.), then the GAgP group (0.20±0.13 mm/yr.), and the CP group (0.12±0.09 mm/yr.) followed, and lowest in the periodontal healthy group (0.07±0.06 mm/yr.). It was concluded that: 1) sites with more advanced alveolar bone loss are more likely to undergo further breakdown; 2) patients with a periodic recall showed a significantly lower alveolar bone loss rate and bone gain, irrespective disease groups; 3) mean CPBLs was highest in the GAgP group; mean YRABLs was highest in the LAgP.
Mitigating end-of-life burden: Parallel perspectives of physician-patients & family caregivers.

ABSTRACT Context Patients and family caregivers perceive burden in care at the end of life differently even when the patient is a physican. . Objective We describe how older adult physicians as prospective patients (hereafter “physician-patients”) and family caregivers of physician-patients view burden in care at the end of life. Methods Interviews with physician-patients (N=28) and family caregivers (N=26) of physician-patients who had died were conducted as part of a shared decision-making study. Both groups expressed concerns with burden at the end of life. We coded and analyzed descriptions of burden using inductive and deductive approaches to coding sub-themes as in qualitative description. We then created a conceptual model depicting the relationships among the concepts, returning to the interviews to verify respective contexts. Results Unilateral actions taken at different points in the illness trajectory by both groups suggested different concerns about burden occurring in parallel. While everyone anticipated burden associated with care at the end of life, physician-patients made legal and financial arrangements to minimize this burden. Nevertheless several family caregivers described the burden that they experienced. We propose a conceptual model to guide future research and care. Conclusions Physician-Patients ‘ clinical insights drive their attempts to alleviate burden on their families. However, family caregivers still experienced burden. Recognizing the parallel perspectives of burden may inform the type and timing of interventions to effectively minimize burden and provide compassionate care to both patients and families at the end of life.
Welfare Reform and Sexual Regulation

Inspired by the political interventions of feminist women of color and Foucauldian social theory, Anna Marie Smith explores the scope and structure of the child support enforcement, family cap, marriage promotion, and abstinence education measures that are embedded within contemporary United States welfare policy. Presenting original legal research and drawing from historical sources, social theory, and normative frameworks, the author argues that these measures violate the rights of poor mothers. Drawing on several historical precedents the author shows that welfare policy has consistently constructed the sexual conduct of the racialized poor mother as one of its primary disciplinary targets. The book concludes with a vigorous and detailed critique of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's support for welfare reform law and an outline of a progressive feminist approach to poverty policy.
Is virtualization an appropriate method of disaster recovery for the hospitality industry

Is virtualization an appropriate method of disaster recovery for the hospitality industry? by Manognya Murukutla Dr. Pearl Brewer, Committee Chair Full Professor and Director of Graduate Studies of Hotel Management University of Nevada, Las Vegas Organizations across all business sectors are making increasing use of IT today. While other industries have understood the consequences of this dependence in the event of IT disasters and placed a large emphasis on disaster recovery plans and technology, the hospitality industry is lagging behind. One of the reasons why the hospitality industry does not place as much of an importance to disaster recovery is the cost. However, IT disaster is a very damaging occurrence, and measures should be taken to mitigate the event. Loss of a property's information technology (IT) functions can cause chaos in a hotel’s operations leading to revenue losses and negative publicity that may take years to overcome. Virtualization is a relatively new technology, which is easier to manage, and it is said to be cost effective, and ideal for disaster recovery purposes. However, it may not be suitable to every industry. The purpose of this study is to examine virtualization as a method of disaster recovery for the hospitality industry.
Calcium/Calmodulin-Dependent Protein Kinase II

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the structure of CaMKII and its regulation by autophosphorylation, as well as current ideas about how its characteristics are used to regulate synaptic function. Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is the most complex in structure and regulation of the family of calmodulin-dependent protein kinases. CaMKII is expressed in many tissues, including spleen, heart, and skeletal muscle; however, its level of expression in neurons of the forebrain is extraordinarily high. It constitutes approximately 2 percent of total protein in homogenates of the adult rat hippocampus and approximately 1 percent of total protein in rat forebrain homogenates. CaMKII was first purified from rat brain homogenates. It consists of a dodecameric hetero-oligomer of two subunits, termed α (50 kDa) and β (60 kDa). These subunits are highly homologous to each other and are both catalytic. They appear to assemble together into dodecamers that contain the same average proportions of α and β subunits as are present at the time of synthesis. Thus, the holoenzyme composition in a given cell is not homogenous, but is instead distributed randomly according to the proportion of available subunits at the time of assembly. CaMKII is extensively regulated by autophosphorylation, and this property appears to be critical for its role in regulation of neuronal properties. Rapid autophosphorylation of a single threonine residue in the regulatory domain of the catalytic subunit causes the catalytic unit to remain active until it is dephosphorylated by cellular phosphatases. The autophosphorylation occurs only within single holoenzymes, but requires intersubunit catalysis.
The Judicial Posner on Negligence versus Strict Liability: Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co. v. American Cyanamid Co.

Judge Richard Posner's opinion in Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad is a staple of torts courses on the basic question of negligence versus strict liability. This paper critically examines the importance and problematic aspects of the opinion. But, the main conclusion is that much of his analysis was beside the point. Judge Poser was not presented with a torts case, that is, a case calling for judicial regulation of the market. Rather the parties in that case and others like it should allocate the risk of accident by contract or pay the cost of using the courts to resolve their dispute.
Locality optimization of stencil applications using data dependency graphs

This paper proposes tiling techniques based on data dependencies and not in code structure. The work presented here leverages and expands previous work by the authors in the domain of non traditional tiling for parallel applications. The main contributions of this paper are: (1) A formal description of tiling from the point of view of the data produced and not from the source code. (2) A mathematical proof for an optimum tiling in terms of maximum reuse for stencil applications, addressing the disparity between computation power and memory bandwidth for many-core architectures. (3) A description and implementation of our tiling technique for well known stencil applications. (4) Experimental evidence that confirms the effectiveness of the tiling proposed to alleviate the disparity between computation power and memory bandwidth for many-core architectures. Our experiments, performed using one of the first Cyclops-64 many-core chips produced, confirm the effectiveness of our approach to reduce the total number of memory operations of stencil applications as well as the running time of the application.
LearnIT: enhanced search and visualization of IT projects

Year over year, the majority of IT projects fail to deliver the required features on time and budget, costing billions of dollars. The task of portfolio managers is to make a selection of prospective projects, given only rough cost-benefit estimates for them. In this paper, we present LearnIT, a tool to aid portfolio managers in their portfolio selection job. LearnIT identifies past or current IT projects within a large database on the basis of similarity to a given IT project or proposal. Furthermore, LearnIT is capable of being trained with expert user feedback, via example. LearnIT also provides a means for visualizing and making evident any relationships between IT projects in order to help IT managers design templates for future projects thus increasing their success rate.
Butch-Femme Subcultures in Sexual Minority Communities

The terms butch and femme refer to two gender identities that are rooted in sexual minority women's communities. Butch and femme can be descriptions of gender expressions as well as gender identities. Within this article, the origins of these identities are reviewed, as well as the ways in which they have changed over time. Research on butch and femme identities, relationships, and experiences of discrimination is reviewed as is methodological issues related to this research.
Traction boundary conditions for molecular static simulations

Abstract This paper presents a consistent approach to prescribe traction boundary conditions in atomistic models. Due to the typical multiple-neighbor interactions, finding an appropriate boundary condition that models a desired traction is a non-trivial task. We first present a one-dimensional example, which demonstrates how such boundary conditions can be formulated. We further analyze the stability, and derive its continuum limit. We also show how the boundary conditions can be extended to higher dimensions with an application to a dislocation dipole problem under shear stress.
Increasing fructose 2,6-bisphosphate overcomes hepatic insulin resistance of type 2 diabetes.

Hepatic glucose production is increased as a metabolic consequence of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes. Because fructose 2,6-bisphosphate is an important regulator of hepatic glucose production, we used adenovirus-mediated enzyme overexpression to increase hepatic fructose 2,6-bisphosphate to determine if the hyperglycemia in KK mice, polygenic models of type 2 diabetes, could be ameliorated by reduction of hepatic glucose production. Seven days after treatment with virus encoding a mutant 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase designed to increase fructose 2,6-bisphosphate levels, plasma glucose, lipids, and insulin were significantly reduced in KK/H1J and KK.Cg-A(y)/J mice. Moreover, high fructose 2,6-bisphosphate levels downregulated glucose-6-phosphatase and upregulated glucokinase gene expression, thereby reversing the insulin-resistant pattern of hepatic gene expression of these two key glucose-metabolic enzymes. The increased hepatic fructose 2,6-bisphosphate also reduced adiposity in both KK mice. These results clearly indicate that increasing hepatic fructose 2,6-bisphosphate overcomes the impairment of insulin in suppressing hepatic glucose production, and it provides a potential therapy for type 2 diabetes.
Osmium‐Catalyzed Vicinal Oxyamination of Olefins by Chloramine‐T: cis‐2‐(p‐Toluenesulfonamido)Cyclohexanol and 2‐Methyl‐3‐(p‐Toluenesulfonamido)‐2‐Pentanol

Osmium-catalyzed vicinal oxyamination of olefins by chloramine-T: cis-2-(p-toluenesulfonamido)cyclohexanol and 2-methyl-3-(p-toluenesulfonamido)-2-pentanol product: cis-2-(p-toluenesulfonamido)cyclohexanol product: 2-methyl-3-(p-toluenesulfonamido)-2-pentanol Keywords: addition, to CC; 1% osmium tetroxide reagent; osmium tetroxide
Tools for organizational decision support: the design and development of an organizational memory system

Organizations, be they global, multinational, or local, are finding that information technology is a powerful enabler of their business processes. IT management decisions therefore have profound impact on organizational performance. Such decisions then have qualities that set them apart from other types of decisions (e.g., individual, group, etc.) and special considerations must be accorded to support these decisions. Recent studies of organizational decision support have brought forth the need to focus on organizational memory, its retention, retrieval, and use, as an effective support and coordination mechanism. Organizations retain memory among its individuals, culture, transformations, structure, and ecology, but it is the memory retained by the individuals that we find most conducive to systematizing. In our proposal, we describe a model for the retention and retrieval of organizational memory among the individuals. We propose to build a prototype of the system built around readily available off-the-shelf software whenever possible and field test the use of the system.
The prostaglandins. Physiologic actions and clinical potential.

Prostaglandins (PGs) of which there are 6 primary compounds synthesize in a variety of human tissues where they can be identified in low concentrations. The mode of action of PGs is not yet clearly known but it appears that they can modify known metabolic functions by accelerating or slowing a variety of cellular reactions through regulation of the cyclic adenosine 3 5 monophosphate mechanism. In vitro investigations have shown very complicated actions of PGs. In the nonpregnant uterus PGE2 inhibits contractions while PGF2alpha stimulates them; in the pregnant uterus both compounds stimulate the smooth muscle. Intravenous infusion of both compounds have proven very useful in induction of labor perhaps more useful than oxytocin infusion although the question is still debated. PGE2 seems to be 40 times more potent than PGF2alpha which is 8 times more active than PGE1. Both PGs have been administered intravenously at rates between 25-100 mcg/min to induce therapeutic abortion with very good success. Intrauterine administration through a catheter has also been proven successful as has the intravaginal route; side effects are common. It is possible that PGs cause a sharp decline in progesterone production to the extent that the pregnancy cannot be maintained and the uterine contractions lead to expulsion of the conceptus. It has been indicated that PGEs may play an important role in fertility since semen samples from men in infertile marriages had PGE concentrations of 15 mcg/ml instead of the usual 55.2 mcg. PGA has been used to treat hypertension; it produces a marked but transient fall in blood pressure apparently producing its hypotensive effect by peripheral vasodilation with unchanged or increased cardiac output.
Variational method for solving the Bethe-Salpeter equation for excitons in GaAs-(Ga,Al)As quantum wells in perpendicular magnetic fields

The Bethe-Salpeter (BS) formalism is used to study the effect of the coupling between the center of mass and the relative internal motions of quantum-well excitons in a constant magnetic field. The BS equation in the case of an in-plane magnetic field is reduced to the well-known Schr\"odinger equation for magnetoexcitons. In a perpendicular magnetic field, the BS equation has an extra term (BS term) that does not exist in the Schr\"odinger equation. Within the framework of the variational method, it is shown that (i) the ground-state energy of a heavy-hole magnetoexciton with a zero wave vector in GaAs-(Ga,Al)As quantum wells, which is calculated by means of the BS formalism, is very close to the ground-state energy obtained from the Schr\"odinger equation by using the same trial function; and (ii) in a strong perpendicular magnetic field, the magnetoexciton dispersion (in-plane magnetoexciton mass) is determined mainly by the BS term rather than the term that describes the electron-hole Coulomb interaction in the Schr\"odinger equation.
Ventilatory response of goats to transient changes in CO2 and O2 during acute hypoxia.

Abstract The authors assessed the relative sensitivity of the peripheral chemoreceptors of 4 goats to a transient decrease in inspired CO 2 using a 2-breath test. This test provides a steady-state background of hypoxia ana hypercapnia and then, for 2 breaths, an equally hypoxic gas mixture containing no CO 2 . Another type of 2-breath test, providing 2 breaths of a hyperoxic gas mixture against a background of hypoxia, was used to establish the time course of a response known to come from peripheral chemoreceptors. Seven human subjects were studied in a similar fashion to establish the validity of the procedure. Except for 2 responses, the author's human data agree with those reported previously by others. All 4 goats resembled man in responding to removal of hypoxia with a significant decrease in ventilation, but 3 of the 4 goats, unlike man, showed no significant decrease in ventilation when CO 2 was removed. The authors conclude that the peripheral chemoreceptors of goats are commonly insensitive to transient changes in inspired CO 2 during acute hypoxia.
Self and informant ratings of SCID-II personality disorder items for nonreferred college women : Effects of item and participant characteristics

Examined the relationship between self- and informant-ratings on Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders (SCID-II) items. Seventy-five female undergraduate student volunteers and their roommates also completed the Brief Symptom Inventory, Rubin's Liking Scale, and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. Self-rating scores on personality disorder items were significantly higher than informant-ratings on five personality disorder scales. Participants and informants endorsed more personality disorder items rated higher on social desirability. No relationship was found between subjectivity of personality disorder scales and differences between self- and informant-ratings. Participants with higher needs for positive self-presentation rated themselves lower on nine personality disorder scales. A higher level of liking for roommates was associated with lower informant ratings for six personality disorder scales.
Large hemispheric infarction, deterioration, and intracranial pressure

Neurologic deterioration from large hemispheric infarction with edema (LHIE) often leads to the use of therapies directed at decreasing intracranial pressure (ICP). Many of these ICP therapies can potentially accentuate tissue shifts from unilateral mass lesions and lead to rebound ICP elevations. We sought to determine whether ICP elevation is a common cause of deterioration from LHIE by measuring the initial ICP and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) in 19 patients deteriorating to stupor from LHIE within 3 hours of deterioration, after ruling out metabolic aberrations, medication side effects, infection, and seizures and prior to commencement of any ICP-lowering therapies. We evaluated 19 patients aged 23 to 77 years--14 with complete middle cerebral artery and five with complete internal carotid artery territory infarctions. Stupor began 59 +/- 37 hours after the stroke onset. ICP monitoring (12 ipsilateral Camino, five contralateral ventriculostomy, and two ipsilateral epidural) demonstrated elevation of ICP (> 15 mm Hg) in only five patients (26.3%), with group mean initial ICP = 13.4 +/- 10 mm Hg. Similarly, the initial CPP was diminished (< 55 mm Hg) in only two patients (10.5%), with group mean initial CPP = 74.9 +/- 14 mm Hg. Globally elevated ICP is not a common cause of initial neurologic deterioration from LHIE mass effect.
How to average microbial densities to characterize risk

In the past, the geometric mean, or less frequently the arithmetic mean, has been used as a summary descriptor of microorganism densities in waters and other environmental media. It is shown in this paper that, if the interest is characterizing the risk from organisms that are described by either an exponential dose-response relationship, or a dose-response relationship that is linear at low doses, the appropriate summary descriptor is the arithmetic mean. Therefore, in future work, authors should be encouraged to report data on such organisms using this summary descriptor.
Influence of Salt Intake, ANG II Synthesis and SFO Lesion on Thirst and Blood Pressure During Sodium Depletion ☆

Water intake was elevated in sodium-depleted rats during a daytime salt appetite test, but other rats drank a similar amount of water when saline was not available for drinking during the test. This water intake stimulated by sodium depletion was blocked by an inhibition of angiotensin (ANG) II synthesis with a high dose of captopril (100 mg/kg, sc). Captopril did not reduce water intake by causing hypotensive shock or uremia, because water and saline intakes were increased rather than decreased after a low dose of captopril (5 mg/kg) that also reduced blood pressure and elevated blood urea nitrogen. The water intake, but not salt appetite, induced by sodium depletion was greatly reduced by a lesion of the subfornical organ (SFO) in one-bottle tests, and this was not clearly related to any effects of the lesion on blood pressure. A physiological role for ANG II in water intake induced by sodium depletion has recently been disputed, but the simplest explanation for the data remains that elevated levels of circulating ANG II bind to receptors in the SFO to generate daytime water drinking during sodium depletion.
Synthesis of controlled release device with supercritical CO2 and co-solvent

Abstract Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO 2 ) has found use as a replacement for organic solvents in the creation of controlled release drug devices. This study uses supercritical carbon dioxide with ethanol as a co-solvent. Ethanol increases the solubility of β-estradiol in scCO 2 for impregnation into the glassy polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVPP), leading to more efficient polymer impregnation. Experimental conditions cover a range of temperatures from 40 °C to 50 °C and pressures up to 2500 psi. The effect of polymer swelling time on the sorption process also is studied. A dual mode sorption model describes the sorption of drug into the glassy polymer. The determined sorption parameters allow analysis of polymer conformation and suggest optimum impregnation conditions.
Dual roles for the Mss116 cofactor during splicing of the ai5γ group II intron

The autocatalytic group II intron ai5γ from Saccharomyces cerevisiae self-splices under high-salt conditions in vitro, but requires the assistance of the DEAD-box protein Mss116 in vivo and under near-physiological conditions in vitro. Here, we show that Mss116 influences the folding mechanism in several ways. By comparing intron precursor RNAs with long (∼300 nt) and short (∼20 nt) exons, we observe that long exon sequences are a major obstacle for self-splicing in vitro. Kinetic analysis indicates that Mss116 not only mitigates the inhibitory effects of long exons, but also assists folding of the intron core. Moreover, a mutation in conserved Motif III that impairs unwinding activity (SAT → AAA) only affects the construct with long exons, suggesting helicase unwinding during exon unfolding, but not in intron folding. Strong parallels between Mss116 and the related protein Cyt-19 from Neurospora crassa suggest that these proteins form a subclass of DEAD-box proteins that possess a versatile repertoire of diverse activities for resolving the folding problems of large RNAs.
A flexible full-screen applications development workspace utilizing APL syntax

A user/programmer support package for developing full-screen read and write applications is described. The design makes strong use of inherent APL syntax. The applications functions are device- and feature- independent, and may easily be extended or modified to support similar image-formatting tasks. Details of the supporting local auxiliary processor are not addressed. The design illustrates the advantages to be gained by using a well-chosen data structure to determine the requirements of the supporting functions, rather than creating APL functions to follow the restrictions of specific applications hardware.
Dissipation of intense vortices

In this article, we extend the space-time analogy shared by viscous vortices to generalize the dissipation of intense vortices Vatistas and Aboelkassem (Am. Inst. Aeronaut. Astronaut. J. 44, 912 (2...
Relative Valuation of Health Outcomes Expressed by the Use of Diagnostic Technology in Medicine

It is well known that the optimal use of a diagnostic medical technology can be determined by a mathematical relationship involving the relative valuation of outcomes, the prior probability of disease and the operating characteristic of the medical technology. By inverting this relationship a measure of the relative valuation of health outcomes that is expressed by the observed use of the technology can be derived. This measure motivates empirical studies to document how healthcare outcomes are valued via the use of diagnostic technology, and might therby identify disparities in our society and subpopulations.
Anionic synthesis of well‐defined polymers with amine end groups

The results for efficient tertiary and primary amine functionalization of polymeric organolithium compounds in hydrocarbon solution at room temperature are described for termination reactions with N-trimethylsilylbenzophenone imine, 3-dimethylaminopropyl chloride and 2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-(3-chloropropyl)-1-aza-2,5-disilacyclopentane. Functionalizations with the functionalized initiator, 2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-1-(3-lithiopropyl)-1-aza-2,5-disilacyclopentane are presented. Conditions for quantitative amine functionalization were observed for all of these reactions and reagents.
Putting a new twist on actin: ADF/cofilins modulate actin dynamics

The actin-depolymerizing factor (ADF)/cofilins are a family of essential actin regulatory proteins, ubiquitous among eukaryotes, that enhance the turnover of actin by regulating the rate constants of polymerization and depolymerization at filament ends, changing the twist of the filament and severing actin filaments. Genetic and cell-biological studies have shown that an ADF/cofilin is required to drive the high turnover of the actin cytoskeleton observed in vivo. The activity of ADF/cofilin is regulated by a variety of mechanisms, including specific phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. This review addresses aspects of ADF/cofilin structure, dynamics, regulation and function.
The Alzheimer's associated 5' region of the SORL1 gene cis regulates SORL1 transcripts expression.

SORL1 has been identified as a major contributor to late onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD). We test whether genetic variability in the 5′ of SORL1 gene modulates the risk to develop LOAD via regulation of SORL1-messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression and splicing. Two brain structures, differentially vulnerable to LOAD pathology, were examined in 144 brain samples from 92 neurologically normal individuals. The temporal cortex, which is more susceptible to Alzheimer's pathology, demonstrated ∼2-fold increase in SORL1-mRNA levels in carriers of the minor alleles at single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs7945931 and rs2298525, compared with noncarriers. No genetic effect on total-SORL1-mRNA levels was detected in the frontal cortex. However, rs11600875 minor allele was associated with significantly increased levels of exon-2 skipping, but only in frontal cortex. No correlation of SORL1-mRNAs expression was found between frontal and temporal cortexes. Collectively, these indicate the brain region specificity of the genetic regulation of SORL1 expression. Our results suggest that genetic regulation of SORL1 expression plays a role in disease risk and may be responsible for the reported LOAD associations. Further studies to detect the actual pathogenic variant/s are necessary.
A phoneme probability display for individuals with hearing disabilities

We are building an aid for individuals with hearing impairments which converts continuous speech into an animated visual display. A speech analysis system continuously estimates phoneme probabilities from the input acoustic stream. Phoneme symbols are displayed graphically with brightness in proportion to estimated phoneme probabilities. We use an automated layout algorithm to design the display to group acoustically confusable phonemes together in the graphical display.
Energy and climate effects of second-life use of electric vehicle batteries in California through 2050

Abstract As the use of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) further increases in the coming decades, a growing stream of batteries will reach the end of their service lives. Here we study the potential of those batteries to be used in second-life applications to enable the expansion of intermittent renewable electricity supply in California through the year 2050. We develop and apply a parametric life-cycle system model integrating battery supply, degradation, logistics, and second-life use. We calculate and compare several metrics of second-life system performance, including cumulative electricity delivered, energy balance, greenhouse gas (GHG) balance, and energy stored on invested. We find that second-life use of retired PEV batteries may play a modest, though not insignificant, role in California's future energy system. The electricity delivered by second-life batteries in 2050 under base-case modeling conditions is 15 TWh per year, about 5% of total current and projected electricity use in California. If used instead of natural gas-fired electricity generation, this electricity would reduce GHG emissions by about 7 million metric tons of CO2e per year in 2050.
Sparse Bayesian Adversarial Learning Using Relevance Vector Machine Ensembles

Data mining tasks are made more complicated when adversaries attack by modifying malicious data to evade detection. The main challenge lies in finding a robust learning model that is insensitive to unpredictable malicious data distribution. In this paper, we present a sparse relevance vector machine ensemble for adversarial learning. The novelty of our work is the use of individualized kernel parameters to model potential adversarial attacks during model training. We allow the kernel parameters to drift in the direction that minimizes the likelihood of the positive data. This step is interleaved with learning the weights and the weight priors of a relevance vector machine. Our empirical results demonstrate that an ensemble of such relevance vector machine models is more robust to adversarial attacks.
Percolation theory and the conductivity of random close packed mixtures of hard spheres

Abstract The conductivity of random close packed mixtures of conducting and insulating spheres has been measured. The composition dependence and the critical percolation density are similar to what has been observed in crystalline systems.
Fluctuation versus inhomogeneity broadening of the superconducting transition

Abstract A simple formula is derived for the excess conductivity σ ′( T ) = σ ( T )− σ N near the transition of a one-dimensional superconductor assuming an arbitrary variation of transition temperatures along the sample. Comparison with experiment indicates that the observed broadening of the resistive transition cannot be easily attributed to sample inhomogeneity.
Dependence of esr signals in seeds on moisture content

Abstract Endogenous electron spin resonance (ESR) signals in seeds depend inversely and reversibly on their moisture content. This conclusion is based directly on correlations of ESR signals with relative moisture indices and indirectly on correlations with heat treatments. Our results confirm and extend previous observations by LOfroth et al. (9) These moisture-dependent variations in background ESR signals may confuse studies of signals that are induced by irradiation or other treatments.
Competition, Monopoly Power and the Uniform Rate of Profit

This paper examines whether, with the rise of monopoly capital, the classical theory of competition and the prices of production framework has to be replaced by a theory emphasizing the balance of power relations between different economic groups. It briefly reviews concepts of competition and monopoly power, the recent literature in support of classical competition, and develops a model synthesizing the Sraffian prices of production framework and the Kalecki-Steindl monopoly power theory. It shows that although monopoly power and the uniform rate of profit are not necessarily inconsistent, the theory of prices may well have to be revised as a result of the emergence of monopoly power.
Attenuation of renal ischemia and reperfusion injury by human adrenomedullin and its binding protein.

Background Acute renal failure secondary to ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury poses a significant burden on both surgeons and patients. It carries a high morbidity and mortality rate and no specific treatment currently exists. Major causes of renal I/R injury include trauma, sepsis, hypoperfusion, and various surgical procedures. We have demonstrated that adrenomedullin (AM), a novel vasoactive peptide, combined with AM binding protein-1 (AMBP-1), which augments the activity of AM, is beneficial in various disease conditions. However, it remains unknown whether human AM/AMBP-1 provides any beneficial effects in renal I/R injury. The objective of our study therefore was to determine whether administration of human AM/AMBP-1 can prevent and/or minimize damage in a rat model of renal I/R injury. Methods Male adult rats were subjected to renal I/R injury by bilateral renal pedicle clamping with microvascular clips for 60 min followed by reperfusion. Human AM (12 μg/kg BW) and human AMBP-1 (40 μg/kg BW) or vehicle (52 μg/kg BW human albumin) were given intravenously over 30 min immediately following the clip removal (i.e., reperfusion). Rats were allowed to recover for 24 h post-treatment, and blood and renal tissue samples were collected. Plasma levels of AM were measured using a radioimmunoassay specific for rat AM. Plasma AMBP-1 was measured by Western analysis. Renal water content and serum levels of systemic markers of tissue injury were measured. Serum and renal TNF-α levels were also assessed. Results At 24 h after renal I/R injury, plasma levels of AM were significantly increased while plasma AMBP-1 was markedly decreased. Renal water content and systemic markers of tissue injury (e.g., creatinine, BUN, AST, and ALT) were significantly increased following renal I/R injury. Serum and renal TNF-α levels were also increased post injury. Administration of human AM/AMBP-1 decreased renal water content, and plasma levels of creatinine, BUN, AST, and ALT. Serum and renal TNF-α levels were also significantly decreased after AM/AMBP-1 treatment. Conclusion Treatment with human AM/AMBP-1 in renal I/R injury significantly attenuated organ injury and the inflammatory response. Thus, human AM combined with human AMBP-1 may be developed as a novel treatment for patients with acute renal I/R injury.
The mod2 cohomology rings of the symmetric groups and invariants

Abstract Generators and relations are given for two closely related kinds of rings. These are the mod 2 cohomology rings of the finite symmetric groups and the symmetric invariants of a tensor product of a finite number of copies of a polynomial algebra over a field of characteristic 2.
Low power RAM-based hierarchical CAM on FPGA

Content Addressable Memories (CAMs) have been widely used to implement various high speed search functions in network devices such as routers and servers. In these devices, the role of CAM is to classify, drop or forward internet packets (i.e., packet classification). However, CAM suffers from several shortcomings such as high power consumption and low integration density. In addition, CAM is not available in most of modern Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), which has broad applications in network infrastructures. Therefore RAM-based CAM emulation has emerged as a promising alternative to CAM not only because RAM is a relatively mature technology but also due to the fact that there are more and larger RAM blocks on modern FPGA. In this paper, we propose a hierarchical search scheme for RAM-based CAM on FPGA. If a match is found in previous blocks, no subsequent search will be triggered and therefore average power consumption is reduced. Comparing with previous works which have not employed this technique, simulation results show that our method could reduce the power consumption up to 11.0% and 9.7% for block RAM based and distributed RAM based implementation respectively.
The Potential for Effective Regional Development Agencies in Turkey: A Comparative Analysis

Legislation passed in 2006 by the Turkish Parliament provided an opportunity to transition toward regionalized economic development through the establishment of a national system of semi-private Regional Development Agencies (RDA). This reform strategy is complicated by Turkey's highly centralized state tradition and the country's low level of economic development; characteristics which are seen as significant obstacles to vibrant regional economies. This paper uses the establishment of these RDAs as an opportunity to analyse the potential for successful regional economic development in Turkey and to further the general discussion of regional economic development in underdeveloped countries. First, the Turkish agencies are placed in an analytical context, based in European Union Regional Policy and the New Regionalism literature, and a relevant model of regional economic development effectiveness is defined. Secondly, cases of development agency establishment in comparable national contexts are identified...
Arthritis self-management program variations: three studies.

Objectives. (1) Determine strengths and weaknesses of the Arthritis Self-Management Program (ASMP). (2) Compare 3- and 6-week ASMP. (3) Evaluate 1.5-hour arthritis program. Methods. Study 1: Qualitative methods incorporating incomplete block design. Study 2: Comparison of 3- and 6-week outcomes. Study 3: Pretest/ posttest comparison. Results. Study 1: Pain management, exercise, and sharing ranked as the most useful aspects of the ASMP. Nutrition, medications, and making decisions about nontraditional treatments ranked least useful. Study 2: Six-week ASMP subjects improved pain, health distress, illness impact, exercise, cognitive pain management, self-efficacy, and reduced visits to physicians (P < 0.05). Three-week subjects improved health distress, cognitive pain management, and self-efficacy (P < 0.05). Study 3: Improved knowledge, self-efficacy, and pain (P < 0.05). Conclusions. The traditional 6-week ASMP is more effective than a 3-week version. A 1.5-hour community program is effective in increasing knowledge, self-efficacy, and contact with the Arthritis Foundation.
Integrating Skills and Content Knowledge in the Marketing Curriculum

Business schools are frequently criticized for focusing too much attention on theories and concepts and not enough attention on communication, decision making, and other skills that are at least as important to career success as content knowledge. This article presents a six-step approach that has been used successfully to integrate skills training into an undergraduate marketing curriculum. The process is general and appropriate for other faculty groups considering systematic integration of skills training into their curricula.
Optimization of accessible catalase activity in polyacrylamide gel-immobilized saccharomyces cerevisiae

The permeabilization of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast), either before or after immobilization in polyacrylamide gel (PAG), has been examined as a means to increase the catalase activity of PAG-immobilized yeast cells. Prior permeabilization of the cells resulted in large losses of catalase activity during immobilization, but permeabilization after immobilization produced increases in the catalase activity of yeast/PAG particles. A dependence of the accessible catalase activity on the concentration of polyacrylamide in permeabilized yeast/PAG particles, and on the method of permeabilization of the immobilized cells, was observed. Optimal levels of stable catalase activity (1000–2000 IU/g PAG particles; ca. 5%–10% of total available activity) were obtained by immobilizing yeast cells (0.5 g wet cells/mL gel) in 10% (w/v) PAG, followed by permeabilization of the entrapped cells with either cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, Triton X-100 and one freeze-thaw, or five freeze-thaw cycles. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Territorial Politics in Hard Times: The Welfare State under Pressure in Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom

The author argues that the design of decentralized political institutions shapes the effect of economic crisis on the welfare state. He proposes a simple framework for understanding the effects of crisis on areas under the responsibility of regional governments: their responses and mediating effects will vary with the financial system, degree of regional input into central decisions, and legal framework. Further, the ways in which territorial political institutions channel economic pressures should lead to changing territorial politics as the relative resources and credibility of governments change. The author discusses the influence of territorial political institutions on responses to economic crisis in Germany, Spain, and the UK. It is concluded that Germany is most likely to proceed unchanged, Spain might see the hardest landing due to the difficult finances of many regional governments, and devolution in the UK is economically sustainable and limits negative welfare-state effects but might be politic...
Correcting INS Drift in Terrain Surface Measurements

Modern terrain measurement systems use an inertial navigation system (INS) to measure and remove vehicle movement from laser measurements of the terrain surface. Instrumental and environmental biases inherent in the INS produce noise and drift errors in these measurements. The evolution and implications of terrain surface measurement techniques and existing methods for correcting INS drift are reviewed as a framework for a new compensation method for INS drift in terrain surface measurements. Each measurement is considered a combination of the true surface and the error surface, defined on a Hilbert vector space, in which the error is decomposed into drift (global error) and noise (local error). The global and local subspaces are constructed such that the drift is modeled as a random walk process and the noise is a zero-mean process. This theoretical development is coupled with careful experimental design to identify the drift component of error and discriminate it from true terrain surface features, thereby correcting the INS drift. It is shown through an example that this new compensation method dramatically reduces the variation in the measured surfaces to within the resolution of the measurement system itself.
Evidence for phosphorylation of the extracellular acid phosphatase of Leishmania donovani

The presence of two phosphorylated molecular species in the culture supernatants of axenically cultivated Leishmania donovani promastigotes was demonstrated by biosynthetically labeling cultures with [32P]phosphate. One of these species was resolved into two bands with Mr's of 149,000 and 97,000 by dissociating polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and copurified with the extracellular acid phosphatase activity produced by the promastigotes. The site of phosphorylation of the extracellular acid phosphatase is not yet known.