cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Subnational Government Tools for Budget Stabilization

The two major policy tools for budget stabilization at the subnational level are general fund surplus (GFS) and budget stabilization funds (BSF); this chapter elaborates on these two tools with regard to their definitions, working mechanisms, data sources, and changing patterns over their evolution in the past half century. The chapter starts with general fund surplus as the informal policy tool, then treats budget stabilization funds as the formal policy tool. The chapter pays more attention to BSF, providing details on their enabling legislation, structural features, and diffusion across US states over time. Early research of subnational budget stabilization did not provide concise definitions of concepts used nor paid due attention to the enabling legislations of BSFs; the couplet of the two aspects partly contributed to confusion and difficulty in data mining. This chapter clearly defines GFS and BSF and offers detailed analyses of state BSF legislations and reliable data sources using a unique data source and collection method. BSF structural features are classified into purposes, funding sources, balance caps, and use-approval procedures. This chapter also analyzes the trends of GFS and BSF balances from 1979 to 1999, thereby laying a solid foundation for empirical work in the rest of the book.
Integrating avian ecology into emerging paradigms in urban ecology

We discuss emerging paradigms in the conceptual and methodological approaches to the study of urban ecosystems. We review methods used in urban studies of avian ecology, both historically and in this book, and discuss how the results of these studies can be incorporated into these paradigms. We explore the mechanistic links between the urban environment and between different levels of biological organization, from physiology to individuals to populations to communities and we suggest future approaches to increase the applicability of urban avian ecology to understanding the functioning of cities as ecosystems. These approaches require and will benefit from interdisciplinary research and education.
Low Back Biomechanics of Keg Handling Using Inertial Measurement Units

Workers handling beer kegs experience risk factors associated with occupational low back pain (heavy loads, awkward trunk postures). Many breweries are small and lack resources for materials handling equipment, causing much work to be done manually (including keg handling).
Catalytic Formic Acid Dehydrogenation and CO2 Hydrogenation Using Iron PNRP Pincer Complexes with Isonitrile Ligands

It has previously been demonstrated that complexes of the form (iPrPNP)Fe(H)(C≡NR) (iPrPNP = N(CH2CH2P(iPr)2)2–, R = 2,6-dimethylphenyl or 4-methoxyphenyl), which contain a pincer ligand capable of...
Pediatricians' proficiency in the care of the dysphonic child.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Pediatricians are the first physicians to see a dysphonic child (DC), yet there are limited data on their proficiency in caring for them. The objective of this study was to understand how pediatricians' experience and their comfort in recognizing/diagnosing voice disorders affects their referral patterns and use of basic treatment options. STUDY DESIGN Survey study. METHODS A 13-question survey was sent to pediatricians in the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's primary care network; 45/216 were returned. Statistical analyses were performed using the Student t test, linear/logistic regression model, Fisher exact test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman's correlation test. RESULTS Pediatricians practicing longer are more comfortable recognizing dysphonia (P = .0022). They are significantly more likely to refer a DC, even without subjective complaints of hoarseness by the family/patient or compounding medical issues. For each year in practice, the probability of referring increases by 1.55% (P = .0017). Pediatricians with a higher percentage of dysphonic children in their practice are more likely to trust their own perceptual recognition when deciding to refer (P = .0496). Nearly all pediatricians (40/45) would refer to a pediatric otolaryngologist. None would refer to a laryngologist or a voice therapist. No factors significantly affected treatment options. CONCLUSIONS Veteran pediatricians feel more comfortable diagnosing a voice disorder and are more likely to refer a DC, regardless of patient/parent complaints or compounding factors. Pediatricians are most likely to refer to a pediatric otolaryngologist versus a voice specialist. These findings suggest that education of younger, less-experienced pediatricians about recognizing voice disorders and options for referral is needed. This may improve the overall care of the DC. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4 Laryngoscope, 129:1756-1762, 2019.
On the Use of Spatial Coherence for in Situ Peak Rarefaction Pressure Estimation

Tissue harmonic image quality has been shown to increase with elevated pressure output. The Peak Rarefaction Pressure (PRP) for a given transmit, however, is limited by the Mechanical Index (MI) guideline. We have previously demonstrated that the MI overestimates in situ PRP for tightly focused beams such as F/1.5 because it does not account for phase aberration. In this study, we propose a new spatial coherence based metric to estimate phase aberration and predict in vivo PRP. We show harmonic Short Lag Spatial Coherence (SLSC) to linearly correlate with in situ PRP with a 0.86 coefficient of determination across 11 different body walls. This correlation suggests the potential for more accurate PRP estimation in situ than the current MI scheme, allowing patient specific acoustic output.
Being on the Productivity Frontier: Identifying “Triple Aim Performance” Hospitals

Hospital decision‐makers face trade‐offs that make it difficult to obtain the trifecta of high performance on clinical quality, patient experience, and technical efficiency. We use the term “triple aim performance” (TAP) to refer to the simultaneous achievement of these three goals. Using datasets from 2010 and 2012 and data envelopment analysis, we identify about 20 triple aim performance hospitals in each year among U.S. acute care hospitals with at least 200 beds. We also examine factors that influence the probability of being a TAP hospital. We find that the percentage of physicians employed by the hospital has a positive and significant relationship with TAP, and that bed utilization rate has a positive relationship with technical efficiency, but a negative relationship with clinical quality and patient experience performance.
Workforce Preparation: Academic Curricula and Concerns

Despite increasing emphasis for more than two decades on utilizing a process of evidence-based practice or evidence-supported treatment models, a gap remains between what we know works and what we actually do. Curriculum development and instruction in professional degree programs are significant contributing factors to this research-to-practice gap. Curricula are developed by faculty and reviewed and approved (or not) by faculty committees. Faculty concerns or misconceptions, their knowledge and experience, can support, slow, or impede the integration of evidence-based practice and implementation science into academic workforce preparation. Faculty opinions and beliefs, what they know or don’t know, what they can or cannot do, shape academic and field curricula. Logically, in addition to professional values and ethics, advances in science, funding source expectations and the related needs of service systems and organizations should inform the focus and content of curricula.
Comparison of Slotted Aloha-NOMA and CSMA/CA for M2M Communications in IoT Networks

The Internet of things (IoT), which is the network of physical devices embedded with sensors, actuators, and connectivity, is being accelerated into the mainstream by the emergence of 5G wireless networking and the support of Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications. Due to the simplicity of IoT devices and their sporadic traffic in such application, a simple medium access control (MAC) protocol is needed to connect M2M devices to the Internet through a hub (IoT gateway). This paper compares two MAC protocols namely: the newly introduced slotted Aloha-NOMA protocol and the well-known carrier sensing multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol. The comparison is based on two metrics, the throughput and the average delay. Simulation results show that the throughput of slotted Aloha-NOMA is higher than CSMA/CA at low probability of transmission at the cost of increased average delay caused by novel power level selection mechanism.
Comparison of telemedicine versus in-person visits for persons with multiple sclerosis: A randomized crossover study of feasibility, cost, and satisfaction.

Abstract Background Telemedicine, the remote delivery of health care services, increases access to care for patients with mobility or geographic limitations. Virtual house calls (VHCs) are one type of telemedicine in which clinical visits are conducted remotely using an audio-visual connection with the patient at home. Use of VHCs is more established in other neurologic disorders but is only recently being formally evaluated in multiple sclerosis (MS). This randomized crossover study systematically assessed VHCs compared with in-clinic visits in persons with MS. Methods Recruitment occurred in a university based MS clinic. Each subject completed one VHC and one in-clinic follow-up visit. A 1:1 randomization determined whether the VHC or in-clinic follow-up visit occurred first. Baseline surveys included demographics and MS history; post-visit surveys elicited subject responses regarding each visit type to assess feasibility, satisfaction, and cost differences. Outcomes were compared using t-tests for continuous variables and Fisher's exact test for proportions. Results Thirty-six participants completed both study visits and both post-visit surveys. VHC feasibility was demonstrated by a lack of statistically significant difference in the number of completed VHCs as compared with in-clinic visits. VHCs provided both cost and time savings to participants. The majority of participants reported that they would recommend telemedicine visits to others (97.1%) and rated it easy to connect via telemedicine (94.3%). In qualitative comments, participants expressed appreciation for VHCs due to convenience and similarity to in-clinic visits. Conclusions VHCs were found to be feasible, cost-effective, and appealing to persons with MS and physicians, supporting their utility as a care delivery method for MS.
Crowdfunding and the Public/Private Divide in U.S. Securities Regulation

Conceptions of publicness and privateness have been central to U.S. federal securities regulation since its inception. The regulatory boundary between public offerings and private placement transactions is a basic building block among the varied legal aspects of corporate finance. Along the same lines, the distinction between public companies and private companies is fundamental to U.S. federal securities regulation.The CROWDFUND Act, Title III of the JOBS Act, adds a new exemption from registration to the the Securities Act of 1933. In the process, the CROWDFUND Act also creates a new type of financial intermediary regulated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and amends the 1934 Act in other ways. Important among these additional changes is a provision exempting holders of securities sold in crowdfunded offerings from the calculation of shareholders that requires securities issuers to become reporting companies under the 1934 Act.This article attempts to shed more light on the way in which the CROWDFUND Act, as yet unimplemented (due to a delay in necessary SEC rulemaking), interacts with public offering status under the 1933 Act and public company status under the 1934 Act. Using the analytical framework offered by Don Langevoort and Bob Thompson, along with insights provided in Hillary Sale’s work, the article briefly explores how the CROWDFUND Act impacts and is impacted by the public/private divide in U.S. securities regulation. The article also offers related broad-based observations about U.S. securities regulation at the public/private divide.
Ventilation Heterogeneity and Its Association with Nodule Formation Among Participants in the National Lung Screening Trial—A Preliminary Investigation

Rationale and Objectives We have developed a technique to measure ventilation heterogeneity (VH) on low dose chest CT scan that we hypothesize may be associated with the development of lung nodules, and perhaps cancer. If true, such an analysis may improve screening by identifying regional areas of higher risk. Materials and Methods Using the National Lung Screening Trial database, we identified a small subset of those participants who were labeled as having a positive screening test at 1 year (T1) but not at baseline (T0). We isolated the region in which the nodule would form on the T0 scan (“target region”) and measured VH as the standard deviation of the linear dimension of a virtual cubic airspace based on measurement of lung attenuation within the region. Results We analyzed 24 cases, 9 with lung cancer and 15 with a benign nodule. We found that the VH of the target region was nearly statistically greater than that of the corresponding contralateral control region (0.168 [0.110–0.226] vs. 0.112 [0.083–0.203], p = 0.051). The % emphysema within the target region was greater than that of the corresponding contralateral control region (1.339 [0.264–4.367] vs. 1.092 [0.375–4.748], p = 0.037). There was a significant correlation between the % emphysema and the VH of the target region (rho = +0.437, p = 0.026). Conclusion Our study provides the first data in support of increased local VH being associated with subsequent lung nodule formation. Further work is necessary to determine whether this technique can enhance screening for lung cancer by low dose chest CT scan.
Validation of a biopsychosocial distress screening tool, "You, Your Family and COH Are a Team".

OBJECTIVE We examined the psychometric properties of a biopsychosocial screening tool "You, Your Family and City of Hope are a Team" implemented via touchpad technology (YYFcore03) at a cancer center in newly diagnosed patients and patients on active treatment, with the primary objective to evaluate concurrent validity with screening criterion measures of depression and anxiety. METHODS YYFcore03, Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9], and Generalized Anxiety Disorder [GAD-7] were administered to 608 patients in out-patient clinics. A subset of 158 patients responding a second time to YYFcore03 at a subsequent visit were included for assessing reliability. Exploratory factor analysis followed by confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to identify underlying factors. The identified factor of psychological distress (PD) was then correlated with PHQ-9 and GAD-7 for concurrent validity and to estimate sensitivity-specificity. Demographic and clinical variables associated with the PD score were identified. Test-retest reliability of PD score was examined. RESULTS Factor analysis suggested three factors, including PD. Correlations between PD score and PHQ-9 and GAD-7 were 0.63 and 0.67, respectively. Treating PHQ-9 and GAD-7 as criterion measures, PD score had a sensitivity of 0.77 for identifying depression and 0.86 for identifying anxiety. Younger age, lower household income, and cancer (vs noncancer) diagnosis were independently associated with worse PD score. Omega total for composite reliability was 0.88; intraclass correlation was 0.78. CONCLUSIONS The YYFcore03 administered via touchpad is a valid instrument for identifying PD in newly diagnosed patients and patients undergoing active treatment.
Atrial Fibrillation and Atrial Flutter

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia in the inpatient setting. It is often precipitated by physical stressors such as acute illness or surgery and can result in patient discomfort, hemodynamic instability, heart failure and thromboembolism. Prevention of stroke with risk-based application of systemic anticoagulation is the most important treatment goal, while numerous pharmacologic and procedure-based therapies are available for control of ventricular response rate and the rhythm itself.
Propagation of a Stress Pulse in a Heterogeneous Elastic Bar

The propagation of a wave pulse due to low-speed impact on a one-dimensional, heterogeneous bar is studied. Due to the dispersive character of the medium, the pulse attenuates as it propagates. This attenuation is studied over propagation distances that are much longer than the size of the microstructure. A homogenized peridynamic material model can be calibrated to reproduce the attenuation and spreading of the wave. The calibration consists of matching the dispersion curve for the heterogeneous material near the limit of long wavelengths. It is demonstrated that the peridynamic method reproduces the attenuation of wave pulses predicted by an exact microstructural model over large propagation distances.
Structure sensitivity of ammonia electro-oxidation on transition metal surfaces: A first-principles study

Abstract Ammonia electro-oxidation is a promising catalytic reaction for application in alkaline fuel cells. Here, we study the trends in this reaction on the (1 0 0) facet of eight fcc transition metals: Au, Ag, Cu, Pt, Pd, Ni, Ir, and Rh. We calculate from first-principles (DFT-GGA-PW91) the energetics for two mechanisms: (i) the N + N mechanism and (ii) the Gerischer-Mauerer mechanism. The onset potentials for both mechanisms are provided for both (1 0 0) and (1 1 1) facets. We also calculate the activation energies for the N-N bond-making non-Faradaic events on Cu, Pt, Pd, Ni, Ir, and Rh. We discover that N* – which is considered a poison for Pt(1 1 1) – is a reactive intermediate on Pt(1 0 0), allowing for a facile dimerization to N2 on Pt(1 0 0) at high potentials. We draw similar analyses for the structure sensitivity on the other metals, and we conclude with some general principles to guide catalyst design for this reaction.
Optimizing the management of inpatient cardiac arrest.

ABSTRACT Cardiac arrest is a common event in the inpatient setting, and although attempts have been made to simplify the approach to its management via systemwide training in CPR and Advanced Cardiac Life Support, significant challenges remain in implementing these guidelines in the management of cardiac arrest.
Skepticism about Chinese GDP growth - the Chinese GDP elasticity of energy consumption*

According to Chinese official statistics, from 1991 to 1994, China's total domes­ tic gross product (GDP) growth rates were 9.3%, 14.2%, 13.5%, and 11.8%, and industrial GDP growth rates are as high as 13.8%, 21.8%, 21 %, and 18%1. These are unusually high. Many economists, even some Chinese, do not believe these official statistics [2-5].
Seating virtual coach: A smart reminder for power seat function usage

The virtual coach is designed to guide power seat function users to use those functions safely and appropriately. The virtual coach can monitor user compliance with clinician prescriptions, and provide feedback to the user via reminders and alerts. An array of pressure, tilt, and IR sensors provides data to the virtual coach. The results from a user study are presented.
Development of an accelerator-based BNCT facility at the Berkeley Lab

The clinical success of boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) depends on both the selective concentration of the boron carrying drug in the tumor cells and the quality of the available neutron beam. For the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) the ability of the neutron beam to deeply penetrate is of great importance.
Structure of a HAP1–DNA complex reveals dramatically asymmetric DNA binding by a homodimeric protein

HAP1 is a member of a family of fungal transcription factors that contain a Zn2Cys6 binuclear cluster domain and bind as homodimers to sequences containing two DNA half sites. We have determined the 2.5 A crystal structure of HAP1 bound to a cognate upstream activation sequence from the CYC7 gene. The structure reveals that HAP1 is bound in a dramatically asymmetric manner to the DNA target. This asymmetry aligns the Zn2Cys6 domains in a tandem head-to-tail fashion to contact two DNA half sites, positions an N-terminal arm of one of the protein subunits to interact with the inter-half site base pairs in the DNA minor groove, and suggests a mechanism by which DNA-binding facilitates asymmetric dimerization by HAP1. Comparisons with the DNA complexes of the related GAL4, PPR1 and PUT3 proteins illustrate how a conserved protein domain can be reoriented to recognize DNA half sites of different polarities and how homodimeric proteins adopt dramatically asymmetric structures to recognize cognate DNA targets.
Suture-free technique for canine ureteral resection-anastomosis using a microvascular anastomotic system: a cadaveric study.

Objective To describe a suture-free technique for canine ureteral resection-anastomosis using a microvascular anastomotic system (MAS) and to compare surgical time and burst pressure of hand-sewn (HS) ureteral end-to-end anastomosis with the MAS technique. Study Design Experimental ex vivo study. Animals Canine cadavers (n = 8). Methods For each cadaver, 1 ureter was randomly assigned to undergo HS anastomosis and the contralateral ureter had MAS anastomosis. The first 3 cadavers (6 ureters) were used to refine the MAS technique. In the other 5 dogs, surgical time and ureteral burst pressure were compared between groups (n = 5 ureters/group). Results Preliminary procedures showed that selective impaling of the mucosa and submucosa (without muscularis and adventitia) is necessary to allow complete mechanical interlock of the anastomotic rings for the MAS technique. Median anastomotic time was significantly shorter for MAS (7.6 min) than HS (16.6 min; p = .029) and burst pressure higher for MAS (393 cm H2O) than HS (180 cm H2O; p = .012). Conclusion This study demonstrated the feasibility of a suture-free technique of canine ureteral resection-anastomosis using a commercially available MAS. The MAS anastomosis was faster and had higher burst strength compared with the HS anastomosis.
A Lesson Still Unlearned: Arendt and Radical Evil

Hannah Arendt’s notion of radical evil constitutes an important advance on Kantian ideas about the sources and extent of moral impropriety. For Kant as for many other moral thinkers, the selfish privileging of one’s own interests over those of others threatens to lead to the reduction of others to the status of mere means to one’s own ends. Arendt recognized that even worse than treating others as resources or objects is representing them as superfluous; in the latter case, others are represented not just as possessing value relative to one’s own projects, but as possessing no value at all. This paper lays out Arendt’s analysis of the conditions for the representation of others as superfluous, and argues that this notion of radical evil can illuminate troubling features of contemporary life, especially the anthroposupremacist refusal to acknowledge that sentient non-human animals matter morally.
The stringency and magnitude of androgen-specific gene activation are combinatorial functions of receptor and nonreceptor binding site sequences.

Abstract The mechanism by which specific hormonal regulation of gene expression is attained in vivo is a paradox in that several of the steroid receptors recognize the same DNA element in vitro. We have characterized a complex enhancer of the mouse sex-limited protein (Slp) gene that is activated exclusively by androgens but not by glucocorticoids in transfection. Potent androgen induction requires both the consensus hormone response element (HRE) and auxiliary elements residing within the 120-bp DNA fragment C' delta 9. Multiple nonreceptor factors are involved in androgen specificity, with respect to both the elevation of androgen receptor activity and the inactivity of glucocorticoid receptor (GR), since clustered base changes at any of several sites reduce or abolish androgen induction and do not increase glucocorticoid response. However, moving the HRE as little as 10 bases away from the rest of the enhancer allows GR to function, suggesting that GR is repressed by juxtaposition to particular factors within the androgen-specific complex. Surprisingly, some sequence variations of the HRE itself, within the context of C' delta 9, alter the stringency of specificity, as well as the magnitude, of hormonal response. These HRE sequence effects on expression correspond in a qualitative manner with receptor binding, i.e., GR shows a threefold difference in affinities for HREs amongst which androgen receptor does not discriminate. Altering the HRE orientation within the enhancer also affects hormonal stringency, increasing glucocorticoid but not androgen response. The effect of these subtle variations suggests that they alter receptor position with respect to other factors. Thus, protein-protein interactions that elicit specific gene regulation are established by the array of DNA elements in a complex enhancer and can be modulated by sequence variations within these elements that may influence selection of precise protein contacts.
Counselor Preparation and the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling Competencies: An Exploratory Study

A national study of American Counseling Association members (N = 230) examined perceptions of the importance of the 14 Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) Spiritual Competencies and perceived ability to practice those competencies. Learning pathways to achieve knowledge of the ASERVIC Competencies were explored. Participants viewed the competencies as important but felt less able to consistently practice them. Prior exposure to the content of the competencies through spiritual topics covered in graduate school was positively correlated to perceived ability to practice the competencies. Recommendations were made for strengthening teaching of spirituality in counselor education.
Artful Concealment and Strategic Visibility: Transgender Bodies and U.S. State Surveillance After 9/11

This article considers recent measures of U.S. state surveillance that may first appear unrelated to transgender people, to demonstrate that such policies are in fact deeply rooted in the maintenance and enforcement of normatively gendered bodies, behaviors and identities. The paper argues that surveillance of these bodies centers less on their identification as transgender per se than it does on the perceived deception underlying transgressive or non-normative gender presentation. Finally, the paper argues that the primary strategies and responses offered by transgender advocacy organizations tend to reconsolidate U.S. nationalism and support the increased policing of deviant bodies.
The lace web spiders (Araneae, Phyxelididae) of Madagascar: phylogeny, biogeography and taxonomy

We briefly review the potential history of Madagascar as either a Darwinian or a Wallacean island, summarize the phylogenetic evidence regarding the biogeography of Madagascar spiders, examine the dispersal history of the Madagascar Phyxelididae, and monograph the family in Madagascar. Molecular phylogenetic analyses for 32 Malagasy phyxelidid exemplars, nine confamilial outgroup taxa, and seven other more distant outgroups are performed for three nuclear markers and one mitochondrial genetic marker (28S, 18S, H3 and COI) utilizing Bayesian, maximum-likelihood and parsimony methods. These analyses suggest that there are 14 species of Phyxelididae that may be recognized from Madagascar, that these may be divided into three genera, and that the Malagasy phyxelidids form a monophyletic group, probably resulting from a single invasion of the island by an ancestor from Africa. Two new genera, ten new species, and two new combinations are proposed: Manampoka atsimo gen. nov., sp. nov.; Rahavavygen. nov., including R. ida sp. nov. and R. fanivelona (Griswold, 1990) comb. nov. and R. malagasyana (Griswold, 1990) comb. nov.; and Ambohima andrefana sp. nov., A. antsinanana sp. nov., A. avaratra sp. nov., A. maizina sp. nov., A. ranohira sp. nov., A. vato sp. nov., A. zandry sp. nov. and A. zoky sp. nov. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2012, 164, 728–810.
Mapping and Characterization of the Functional Domains Responsible for the Differential Activity of the A and B Isoforms of the Human Progesterone Receptor

Abstract In humans, the biological response to progesterone is mediated by two distinct forms of the progesterone receptor (human (h) PR-A, 94 kDa and hPR-B, 114 kDa). These two isoforms are transcribed from distinct estrogen-inducible promoters within a single copy PR gene; the only difference between them is that the first 164 amino acids of hPR-B (B-upstream sequence) are absent in hPR-A. In most cell lines such as MCF-7 (human breast cancer cells), CV-1 (monkey kidney fibroblasts), and HeLa (human cervical carcinoma cells), hPR-A functions as a transcriptional repressor, whereas hPR-B functions as a transcriptional activator of progesterone-responsive genes. Interestingly, in these cell contexts, hPR-A also acts as a trans-dominant repressor of the transcriptional activity of other steroid hormone receptors. In contrast to hPR-A, which functions predominantly as a ligand-dependent transcriptional repressor, we show in this study that the A isoform of the chicken PR (cPR-A) lacks this trans-dominant repressor function and is a transcriptional activator in all contexts examined. By constructing chimeras between the N-terminal domains of the chicken and human PR, we mapped the trans-dominant repressor function of hPR-A to the first 140 amino acids of the protein. Notably, when this 140-amino acid “repressor” domain is placed onto chicken PR-A, the activity of the latter changes from a transcriptional activator to a repressor. Interestingly, however, this “repressor domain” is necessary, but not sufficient, for trans-repression as it is inactive when it is tethered to a heterologous protein. This suggests that the trans-repression function is comprised not only of the repressor domain of hPR-A but also requires the context of the receptor to function. The identification of a discrete inhibitory region within hPR-A which is transferable to another receptor implies that this region interacts with a set of transcription factors or adaptors that are distinct from those recognized by hPR-B, the identification of which will be required to define the mechanism by which hPR-A modulates steroid hormone receptor transcriptional activity. Thus, although chickens and humans both produce two very similar forms of the progesterone receptor, it is clear from these studies that the mechanism of action of progesterone in these two systems is quite different.
Growth of Single Crystal 3C-SiC(111) on a Poly-Si Seed Layer

A novel method for growing highly-crystalline 3C-SiC on an oxide release layer via a poly-Si seed layer is reported. Silicon carbide’s potential role as a ubiquitous material for MEMS fabrication lies in its dual role as an electronic and mechanical material. Unfortunately, due to residual stresses and crystal defects stemming from the large lattice constant mismatch and the thermal expansion coefficient difference between SiC and Si, the use of SiC in Si-based MEMS fabrication techniques has been very limited. The growth of 3C-SiC on a poly-Si seed layer deposited on oxide on (111)Si substrates (i.e., p-Si/ SiO2/(111)Si) provides an alternative fabrication method to expensive, traditional SOI bonding techniques for producing free-standing 3C-SiC MEMS structures. 3C-SiC grown with a poly-Si seed layer on SiO2 should experience reduced residual stress and far fewer defects due to the compliance of the SiO2 layer. Although poly-Si is utilized as a seed layer in this process, a well-ordered monocrystalline 3C-SiC layer was achieved and the process and film properties reported.
Maternal youth and pregnancy outcomes: Middle school versus high school age groups compared with women beyond the teen years

Abstract Objective: We sought to measure and compare pregnancy complications in middle school versus high school versus older maternal age groups. Study Design: From January 1988 through December 31, 1991, maternal and infant data from 16,512 consecutive nulliparous women were collected and electronically stored. These women were divided into three study groups: middle school (11 to 15 years old), high school (16 to 19 years old), and women 20 to 22 years old at delivery. Statistical analysis included logistic regression to control for potentially confounding demographic variables. Results: Middle school-aged mothers were disproportionately black (50% vs 36% Hispanic vs 14% white), and very low birth weight (4% vs. 2%, p = 0.003) was increased in these youthful mothers. First births to high school-aged mothers were not found to be compromised compared with those of women 20 to 22 years old, and, indeed, cesarean birth was less frequent in these women compared with those ≥ 20 years old. Conclusions: We conclude that the health hazard associated with school-age pregnancy is predominantly prematurity and is increased only in middle school-aged mothers. High school-aged mothers do not experience excess medical complications of pregnancy compared with older women. We suggest that middle school pregnancy, particularly for inner-city teenagers, should be a special focus for pregnancy prevention and intervention.
Urinary albumin excretion in renal transplant donors.

Summary Twenty-four hour urinary albumin excretion was measured using sensitive methods in 129 renal transplant donors 1 to 22 years (mean 7.3 years) after kidney donation. The 24 hour urinary albumin excretion values for the donor group was 6 ± 9.9 mg (mean ± standard deviation) (range of 0.1 to 65.2 mg) and was 7.7 ± 4.5 mg for the control group. Five donors (3.9 percent) had 24 hour urinary albumin excretion levels of 25.5 to 65.2 mg 6 to 13 years after donation, values that were greater than a single value from any member of the control group. Elevated diastolic blood pressure (90 mm Hg or greater) was present in these five donors, and in three, labile or established hypertension was present at the time of donation. It is likely that more careful screening of
Plasma corticosteroid stress response of fourteen species of warmwater fish to transportation

Abstract Plasma corticosteroid concentrations were measured in 14 species of fish immediately after they were electrofished from reservoirs on the Alabama River and after they had been transported for 2 h. There was no corticosteroid response in spotted gars Lepisosteus oculatus. Bowfins Amia calva, longnose gars Lepisosteus osseus, and freshwater drums Aplodinotus grunniens had only small corticosteroid increases (14–39 ng/mL) during transportation. Corticosteroids increased by intermediate amounts (59–184 ng/mL) during transportation in blue catfish Ictalurus furcatus, paddlefish Polyodon spathula, largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides, channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus, river carpsuckers Carpiodes carpio, white bass Morone chrysops, striped bass Morone saxatilis, and crappies Pomoxis sp. The greatest increases were 223 ng/mL in gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum and 286 ng/mL in common carp Cyprinus carpio. Spotted and longnose gars, largemouth bass, and common carp also were held in tanks for about 2 ...
The Last Summer of Your Life [Perspectives on Graduate Life]

The first year of medical school ended in early June, officially beginning what is always referred to as the last summer of your life. Following the end of the second year of school, all medical students will start clinical rotations in the hospital, so there is no longer an extended summer vacation. Once starting this type of clinical work in the hospital, time off essentially becomes like any other job. Even so, our summer following the end of our first year lasted for only nine weeks, which allowed the students to have one week of vacation time and then eight weeks to pursue a project or job that interested them (e.g., research and internships).
Solitons in dispersion-compensated optical fibers with loss

A dispersion-compensated optical fiber is proposed for optical soliton propagation. The scheme is studied by a variational approach. Numerical analyses show that the proposed scheme can retain the soliton property for a much longer distance than normal systems. It is shown that, after 48 km, the pulsewidth in the proposed system remains similar to the initial pulsewidth, whereas in the normal system, the pulsewidth has already reached 10 times the initial value. It is demonstrated that significant improvements in soliton propagation characteristics can be achieved by properly cascading fibers with different degrees of group velocity dispersion in finite steps. >
On some interior-point algorithms for nonconvex quadratic optimization

Recently, interior-point algorithms have been applied to nonlinear and nonconvex optimization. Most of these algorithms are either primal-dual path-following or affine-scaling in nature, and some of them are conjectured to converge to a local minimum. We give several examples to show that this may be untrue and we suggest some strategies for overcoming this difficulty.
Ecosystem services: Valuing ecosystems for climate

Ecosystems regulate climate through biogeochemistry and biophysics, but current policies only recognize biogeochemical influences. A new proposal to include biophysical effects changes the climate value of ecosystems, and sets the stage to expand the suite of climate regulation services considered in global policies and carbon markets.
Direct search algorithms for truck-dispatching problems

Abstract In this paper problem-solving procedures for solving a number of truck dispatching problems have been discussed. In Part I discussion has focused principally on single-route problems and has included a range of problem characteristics such as weight or volume limits on the carrier, limits on the maximum number of stops allowable per trip, earliest or latest acceptable times for the delivery of items at particular destinations, partial deliveries and optional deliveries. All of the problem-solving procedures developed have been reliable in the respect that when carried out to completion they guarantee the discovery of an optimal solution when one exists. Moreover, they have all been direct algorithms which proceed first to the discovery of a feasible solution and then to successively better and better feasible solutions until ultimately one is discovered which is shown to be optimal. These procedures are thus well suited for use in adaptive systems wherein it is desirable or mandatory that the amount of problem-solving effort expended on a particular problem in a given instance be made dependent on environmental considerations and/or on the economic value of the problems currently in the system and the problem-solving effort. With minor modification these same algorithms can be used to determine all optimal solutions having a value within a specified range or percentage of the optimal value, a specified number of the most preferred solutions, and so on.
An Empirical Approach to Subspace Detection

Waveform cross‐correlation detection methods, or match filter techniques (Van Trees, 1968), exploit waveform similarity for proximal events, and have proven to be a powerful approach for detecting and characterizing seismic events. Among the advantages over more traditional techniques is the ability to detect in adverse observational conditions either when events are closely spaced in time, such that waveforms overlap, or when the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) is much less than unity because signal strength is low. Correlation methods can also be used for precise measurements of relative arrival time (e.g., Schaff et al. , 2004) and relative amplitude (Rubinstein and Ellsworth, 2010) in support of precise relative location and relative size measurements. A complete and precise measurement of seismic events is critical for understanding earthquake processes, and as a result, the use of correlation‐based detection methods is growing rapidly. They have been used on mining‐induced seismicity (Gibbons and Ringdal, 2006), in nuclear test ban treaty verification research (Rowe et al. , 2012), to understand tectonic tremor as a swarm of low‐frequency earthquakes (Shelly et al. , 2006, 2007), and to increase the number of detected early aftershocks by more than an order of magnitude (Peng and Zhao, 2009). They have also been applied to detect previously unobserved earthquakes in situations of suspected induced seismicity (van der Elst et al. , 2013). Waveform matching is not always applicable because it requires prior identification of template events that are highly similar to the event(s) of interest. The subspace detection method is a generalization of template detection that exploits features common to a design set of earthquakes (Harris, 2006; Harris and Paik, 2006). Subspace detection uses the singular value decomposition (SVD) of the design set of waveforms to find an orthonormal representation (left singular vectors) that efficiently captures the important common characteristics of the waveforms. …
A note on the existence of progressive tax structures

This paper studies the possibility of progressive income taxation of heterogeneous populations. While a result due to Moyes and Shorrocks (1994) indicates that there does not exist a universally inequality-reducing tax structure which distinguishes between at least two subpopulations (in the sense of applying a different tax function to each subclass), it is shown here that a minimal refinement of the universality of inequality reduction leads one to a possibility conclusion. Informally stated, we prove the existence of uncountably many differentiated tax structures which are strictly progressive almost everywhere.
Acetylene spectra near 2.6 THz

Abstract We present high precision frequency measurements of acetylene in the 2.5–2.7 THz range obtained with our most recent multiplier technology.
On the question of 3D seed reconstruction in prostate brachytherapy: the determination of x-ray source and film locations.

Inaccuracy in seed placement during permanent prostate implants may lead to significant dosimetric deviations from the intended plan. In two recent publications (Todor et al 2002 Phys. Med. Biol. 47 2031–48, Todor et al 2003 Phys. Med. Biol. 48 1153–71), methodology was described for identifying intraoperatively the positions of seeds already implanted, thus allowing re-optimization of the treatment plan and correcting for such seed misplacement. Seed reconstruction is performed using fluoroscopic images and an important (and non-trivial) component of this approach is the ability to accurately determine the position of the gantry relative to the treatment volume. We describe the methodology for acquiring this information, based on the known geometry of six markers attached to the ultrasound probe. This method does not require the C-arm unit to be isocentric and films can be taken with the gantry set at any arbitrary position. This is significant because the patient positioning on the operating table (in the lithotomy position) restricts the range of angles at which films can be taken to a quite narrow (typically ±10°) interval and, as a general rule, the closer the angles the larger the uncertainty in the seed location reconstruction along the direction from the x-ray source to the film.
The chemical composition of midwater fishes as a function of depth of occurence off southern California

Abstract Thirty-seven species of midwater fishes were analyzed for water, ash, carbohydrate, lipid, protein, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen. The variation in these components as a function of minimum depth of occurence and habits is considered. The water content increased depth of occurrence while all the other components decreased in concentration with increasing depth. The caloric value of these fishes also decreased with increasing depth. Some of the vertically migrating myctophids have high caloric values and may therefore be important in the trophic structure at greater depths and as transporters of energy to greater depths. Respiratory rates of the analyzed fishes were predicted on the basis of protein content and showed a dramatic decrease with increasing depth.
The 'Problem' of Science in China

The overall ‘problem’ in early accounts of science and/or medicine in China seemed to center upon whether or not China possessed or could acquire modern Western science. However, in the twenty-first century there is now little debate over whether or not China has science. Yet, questions and concerns about science in China linger. The ‘problem’ of science in China has moved away from a paradigm focused on possession or capability, to that of the correct or ethical application of Chinese science and technology. In this essay, I will argue that the shifting of the so-called problem of Chinese science reflects larger Western concerns about the definition and control of science itself, the rise of China as an international power, and the ability to 'compete' in a global market predicated on the creation and application of new science and technologies.
Comparison of bone mineral content and biochemical markers of bone metabolism in stall- vs. pasture-reared horses.

Summary Sixteen Arabian yearlings were assigned randomly to 2 groups, confined to stall and pastured, to investigate the effects of confinement vs. pasture-rearing on bone mineral content and biochemical markers of bone metabolism over a 140 day period. Following an 84 day pretraining period, 6 horses from each group were selected randomly to complete a 56 day training period. Serum osteocalcin concentrations were determined from blood samples collected every 14 days. Urinary deoxypyridinoline concentrations and mineral content of the third metacarpus, as determined by lateral and medial radiographic bone aluminum equivalency (RBAE), were determined every 28 days from 24 h urine samples and radiographs of the left forelimb, respectively. In comparison with starting values, lateral RBAE was lower in the confined horses at Day 28 and remained lower throughout most of the project, while pastured horses had increasing lateral RBAE. Horses kept in stalls had lower medial RBAE at Day 28 than pasture-reared horses. Medial RBAE tended to remain lower in confined horses than in pastured horses throughout most of the project The onset of training failed to negate the loss of mineral. Serum osteocalcin concentrations were lower and urinary deoxypyridinoline concentrations were higher in the confined horses at Days 14 and 28, respectively, compared with the pastured horses, and subsequently returned to baseline. These results suggest that housing yearling/2-year-old horses in stalls may be associated with a loss of bone mineral content in comparison with horses maintained on pasture.
Lesions in respiratory bronchioles and conducting airways of monkeys exposed to ambient levels of ozone.

Abstract Bonnet monkeys were exposed for 7 days, 8 hr/day to 0.2 and 0.35 ppm ozone. Ozone at 0.2 ppm is commonly encountered by man in urban areas. Two anatomically related gradients of airway damage were present in the exposed monkeys. The first and most severe gradient was present in proximal generations of respiratory bronchioles and resulted in mild hyperplasia of nonciliated cuboidal epithelial cells and intraluminal accumulation of alveolar macrophages. Squamous respiratory bronchiolar epithelial cells and type 1 epithelial cells in proximal alveoli of respiratory bronchioles were reduced in number and occasionally had swollen cytoplasm. A second gradient of ozone-induced damage was less consistently produced in tracheas and proximal generations of bronchi. Clusters and longitudinal tracts of ciliated cells in these airways had markedly shortened cilia. Numerous microvilli-covered cells in the area and cells with short cilia were interpreted as being regenerating ciliated cells. The results of this study demonstrate that airway lesions are consistently produced in primates by short-term exposure to ozone concentrations commonly encountered by man and that respiratory bronchioles are the focus of the most consistent damage.