cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Learning models for writing better doctor prescriptions

We develop a data-driven approach for learning and improving the prescription policy physicians use to treat Type 2 diabetes. Our model combines regression, classification and strategy optimization. We use regression algorithms to predict the outcomes of prescriptions, and then adopt a parameterized classification method to learn the physicians' prescription policy. Finally, we improve the prescription policy by optimizing over the parameters in the prescription policy model. Compared with the original prescription policy, patients who shift their treatment according to the recommended policy see significant blood glucose reduction on average. The proposed prescription recommendations offer a better therapeutic effect than the state-of-art deterministic algorithms. Our framework can also be applied to improving the prescription policy for other diseases.
Disciplinary Literacy: From Infusion to Hybridity:

This article argues that for disciplinary literacy to be addressed successfully by subject-area teachers and students, it needs to choose a different path than the one it has been on. It explains h...
Typical and Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome in the Critically Ill

Hemolytic uremic syndrome is characterized by microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute kidney injury. Disseminated intravascular coagulation, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, and hemolytic uremic syndrome have a similar clinical presentation. Diagnostic needs to be prompt to decrease mortality, because identifying the different disorders can help to tailor specific, effective therapies. However, diagnosis is challenging and morbidity and mortality remain high, especially in the critically ill population. Development of clinical prediction scores and rapid diagnostic tests for hemolytic uremic syndrome based on mechanistic knowledge are needed to facilitate early diagnosis and assign timely specific treatments to patients with hemolytic uremic syndrome variants.
II – Lateral Head

Publisher Summary This chapter illustrates the anatomic section of lateral head. This is the most lateral section. The pinna of the external ear is demonstrated inferiorly, and above it is a section of the squamosa of the temporal bone. This is the first lateral section that shows the cranial cavity. At this point, the middle cranial fossa is surrounded by a ring of bone representing the squamosa of the temporal bone. The superior portion of the ring is formed by the parietal bone. Anterior is the junction of the temporal bone, the frontal bone, and the sphenoid bone with the parietal bone. The junction is marked by a channel formed by the anterior temporal diploic vein. The anterior temporal diploic veins are contained in the posterior part of the frontal and the anterior part of the parietal bone. Immediately above the cartilaginous external auditory canal is the supramastoid crest, which marks the arbitrary line or division between the squamous and mastoid portions of the temporal bone. The channel for the anterior temporal diploic vein is more prominent. This is the first lateral section that shows the mastoid air cells. The lateral section of the zygomatic arch is longer than on the previous section. The superior attachment of the temporomandibular ligament is to this inferior border of the zygomatic process of the temporal bone. The anterior temporal diploic vein is visible at the junction of the greater wing of the sphenoid with the frontal bone. The articular eminence is not parallel to the external auditory canal but rather runs from anterior to posterior, going medially. Therefore, the medial edge of the articular eminence is closer to the external auditory canal than is the lateral edge.
Retrospective Analysis of the Safety and Outcomes of Percutaneous Radiologic Gastrostomy in Obese vs Nonobese Patients

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study is to compare the safety and outcomes of percutaneous radiologic gastrostomy (PRG) in obese vs nonobese patients. METHODS This is an institutional review board-approved retrospective study of 109 patients (male:female, 68:41; mean age, 64.7 years; range, 21-94 years) who underwent PRG with or without gastropexy at a single academic medical center between 2015 and 2018. Body mass index (BMI) of ≥30 kg/m2 was defined as obese. Patient demographics, indications, technical success, intraoperative variables, and major/minor complications were analyzed. Major and minor complications occurring within 30 days of the procedure were recorded and categorized based on the Society of Interventional Radiology Quality Improvement guidelines. RESULTS Of 109 patients included in the study, 22.9% (n = 25) of patients were obese (average BMI, 34.6 kg/m2 ; range, 30-50). Overall technical success in the obese and nonobese groups was 100% each. In the obese vs nonobese group, major and minor complications were not significantly different. There were also no significant differences in procedure time, fluoroscopy time, or contrast volume. However, mean peak skin dose was significantly increased in the obese group vs nonobese group (190.3 ± 224.2 vs 59.1 ± 71.1 mGy; P < .0001). CONCLUSION PRG is a safe procedure in obese patients with similar technical success, major and minor complication rates, procedure time, fluoroscopy time, and contrast volume. However, PRG is associated with increased radiation dose with obese patients; therefore, optimal methods of radiation protection should be utilized.
Suicide Among the Emergency Medical Systems Occupation in the United States.

Author(s): Vigil, Neil H.; Beger, Samuel; Gochenour, Kevin S.; Frazier, Weston H.; Vadeboncoeur, Tyler F; Bobrow, Bentley J. | Abstract: Introduction: Suicide claimed 47,173 lives in 2017 and is the second leading cause of death for individuals 15-34 years old. In 2017, rates of suicide in the United States (US) were double the rates of homicide. Despite significant research funding toward suicide prevention, rates of suicide have increased 38% from 2009 to 2017. Recent data suggests that emergency medical services (EMS) workers are at a higher risk of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts compared to the general public. The objective of this study was to determine the proportionate mortality ratio (PMR) of suicide among firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMT) compared to the general US working population. Methods: We analyzed over five million adult decedent death records from the National Occupational Mortality Surveillance database for 26 states over a 10-year non-consecutive period including 1999, 2003–2004, and 2007–2013. Categorizing firefighters and EMTs by census industry and occupation code lists, we used the underlying cause of death to calculate the PMRs compared to the general US decedent population with a recorded occupation.Results: Overall, 298 firefighter and 84 EMT suicides were identified in our study. Firefighters died in significantly greater proportion from suicide compared to the US.working population with a PMR of 172 (95% confidence interval [CI], 153-193, Pl0.01). EMTs also died from suicide in greater proportion with an elevated PMR of 124 (95% CI, 99-153), but this did not reach statistical significance. Among all subgroups, firefighters ages 65-90 were found to have the highest PMR of 234 (95% CI, 186-290), Pl0.01) while the highest among EMTs was in the age group 18-64 with a PMR of 126 (95% CI, 100-156, Pl0.05).Conclusion: In this multi-state study, we found that firefighters and EMTs had significantly higher proportionate mortality ratios for suicide compared to the general US working population. Firefighters ages 65-90 had a PMR more than double that of the general working population. Development of a more robust database is needed to identify EMS workers at greatest risk of suicide during their career and lifetime.
Theories and Laws of Scientific Development

How does science evolve? This study confronts this problem here by showing different models of scientific development from sociology, philosophy and history of science. Firstly, this paper clarifies the concept of science and scientific research. Secondly, the study proposes different theories that can explain how science and its scientific disciplines develop over the course of time. Thirdly, some relevant laws about the production and evolution of science and scientific fields are presented. Overall, then, this study clarifies, as far as possible, some approaches and characteristics of the evolutionary dynamics of science that can lay a foundation for the development of comprehensive properties to explain the advancement of science and technology in society.
Regional Surveys of CH 4 Point Sources Across North America: Campaigns, Algorithms, and Results

The last five years have seen dramatic growth in the use of Visible Shortwave Infrared (VSWIR) and Thermal Infrared (TIR) imaging spectrometers to detect and characterize greenhouse methane sources. Targets include: dairy and animal husbandry emissions; landfills; fossil fuel extraction, storage, and transport infrastructure; geologic sources; natural emissions associated with sensitive arctic ecosystems; and more. These campaigns have resulted in significant new discoveries and advances in our understanding of the North American CH4 budget. Recent algorithm improvements have been critical for these campaigns, enabling robust statistical CH 4 measurement, fully-automated image-space source identification, and quantification of flux. Here we survey recent campaigns by NASA's Next Generation Airborne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS-NG) and NASA's Hyperspectral Thermal Emission Spectrometer (HyTES). We describe their algorithmic advances and major findings.
Real-World Virtual Reality With Head-Motion Parallax

Most of the real-world virtual reality (VR) content available today is captured and rendered from a fixed vantage point. The visual–vestibular conflict arising from the lack of head-motion parallax degrades the feeling of presence in the virtual environment and has been shown to induce nausea and visual discomfort. We present an end-to-end framework for VR with head-motion parallax for real-world scenes. To capture both horizontally and vertically separated perspectives, we use a camera rig with two vertically stacked rings of outward-facing cameras. The data from the rig are processed offline and stored into a compact intermediate representation, which is used to render novel views for a head-mounted display, in accordance with the viewer’s head movements. We compare two promising intermediate representations—Stacked OmniStereo and Layered Depth Panoramas—and evaluate them in terms of objective image quality metrics and the occurrence of disocclusion holes in synthesized novel views.
Purpose in life, loneliness, and protective health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background and objectives Social distancing, while effective in slowing the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), can increase social isolation. The current preregistered study examined purpose in life as a psychological resource that may buffer against loneliness and increase intentions to engage in health-protective behaviors. Research design and methods During the COVID-19 pandemic, 517 adults (mean = 37.71, SD = 11.30; range = 19-73) reported their levels of purpose in life, current and prepandemic levels of loneliness, and degrees to which they intended to engage in behaviors known to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Results Across age, having a stronger sense of purpose in life was associated with lower loneliness, as well as greater intentions to engage in COVID-protective behaviors. Higher loneliness was associated with lower intentions to maintain social distance and engage in additional health promotion behaviors such as handwashing. However, this link was not present at higher levels of purpose in life. Older age was also associated with less loneliness, but not for individuals with lower levels of purpose in life. Discussion and implications Results suggest that psychological resources such as purpose in life are associated with increased protective health behaviors. Furthermore, purpose in life may reduce loneliness and counteract the negative effects of stressors that diminish the willingness to engage in health-protective behaviors. Our data also highlight resilience among older individuals in times of isolation during a global pandemic.
Fascism or ustashism? Ukrainian integral nationalism of the 1920s–1930s in comparative perspective ☆

Abstract Although considering Ukrainian integral nationalism as a variety of fascism is not without foundation (especially within the framework of the history of ideas), the fascist model has a limited heuristic value for the Ukrainian case. The proper designation for the ideology and practice of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and similar movements in stateless nations is not fascism, but rather ustashism (from the Croatian Ustasa), which can be defined as revolutionary integral nationalism developing under conditions of perceived foreign oppression and using violence for the purpose of national liberation and the creation of an independent authoritarian state.
Prof-Life-Log: Analysis and classification of activities in daily audio streams

A new method to analyze and classify daily activities in personal audio recordings (PARs) is presented. The method employs speech activity detection (SAD) and speaker diarization systems to provide high level semantic segmentation of the audio file. Subsequently, a number of audio, speech and lexical features are computed in order to characterize events in daily audio streams. The features are selected to capture the statistical properties of conversations, topics and turn-taking behavior, which creates a classification space that allows us to capture the differences in interactions. The proposed system is evaluated on 9 days of data from Prof-Life-Log corpus, which contains naturalistic long duration audio recordings (each file is collected continuously and lasts between 8-to-16 hours). Our experimental results show that the proposed system achieves good classification accuracy on a difficult real-world dataset.
Studies on the genesis of polyribosomes. II. The association of nascent messenger RNA with the 40 S subribosomal particle.

The fate of nascent vaccinia messenger RNA has been determined by pulse-labeling with [3H]uridine for very short periods of time. The findings may be interpreted thus: vaccinia messenger RNA has a free half-life of about 30 sec, after which it combines with a 40 s subribosomal particle. Certain properties of the resultant complexes are described. They can be chased into polyribosomes; their free half-life in the cytoplasm is of the order of three minutes. It is proposed that they represent the first intermediates in the genesis of polyribosomes.
Extracting Neutron Structure Functions in the Resonance Region

A new iterative method is presented for extracting neutron structure functions from inclusive structure functions of nuclei, focusing specifically on the resonance region. Unlike earlier approaches, this method is applicable to both spin‐averaged and spin‐dependent structure functions. We show that in numerical tests, this method is able to reproduce known input functions of nearly arbitrary shape after only 5–10 iterations. We illustrate the method on extractions of F2n and g1,2n from data, and discuss the treatment of systematic errors from this extraction procedure.
Linking substance and practice: a case study of the relationship between socio-economic structure and population estimation

Population estimation methods designed for the state/provincial and county levels generally exhibit high levels of accuracy. However there are persistent shortcomings that have not been resolved through methodological development. We argue that at least some of these shortcomings would be better understood by linking these methods with the substantive socio-economic and demographic dynamics that clearly must be underlying the changes in population that the methods are designed to measure. To illustrate our main point we conduct a case study of Indiana over two periods 1970-1980 and 1980-1990. Indiana is selected because a common population estimation method exhibits a common problem over the two periods: its coefficients change. We link these changes to Indianas transition to a post-industrial economy and describe how this transition operated through demographic dynamics that ultimately affected the estimation model. (EXCERPT)
Approximate Fitting a Circular Arc When Two Points Are Known

The task of approximating points with circular arcs is performed in many applications, such as polyline compression, noise filtering, and feature recognition. However, the development of algorithms that perform a significant amount of circular arcs fitting require an efficient way of fitting circular arcs with complexity O(1). The elegant solution to this task based on an eigenvector problem for a square nonsymmetrical matrix is described in [1]. For the compression algorithm described in [2], it is necessary to solve this task when two points on the arc are known. This paper describes a different approach to efficiently fitting the arcs and solves the task when one or two points are known.
Pontryagin’s maximum principle for optimal control of the stationary primitive equations of the ocean

Abstract We study in this article Pontryagin’s maximum principle for a class of control problems associated with the stationary primitive equations (PEs) of the ocean. These optimal problems involve a state constraint similar to that considered in [G. Wang, Pontryagin’s maximum principle for optimal control of the stationary Navier–Stokes equations, Nonlinear Anal. 52 (2003) 1853–1866] in the case of the three-dimensional Navier–Stokes (NS) equations. The main difference between this work and the one cited above is that the nonlinearity in PEs is stronger than that in the three-dimensional NS equations.
Design and Fabrication of a Micro Coulter Counter with Thin Film Electrodes

We report a new approach for micro Coulter counter with thin film electrodes. Traditional Coulter counter measures DC resistance change to sense particles passing through an aperture between two flow chambers. One of the biggest challenges to miniaturize the device is to overcome the large resistance encountered. We propose a new approach to use thin film metal electrodes in micron size range for sensing. Resolution can be improved and it's easy for system integration. A device based on this approach was built and tested.
Adenosine A2A receptor ligands: Effects on neuronal excitability

Our evolving understanding of the mechanisms involved in the actions of adenosine on central neurons during the course of the past three decades has largely been a consequence of certain specific advances. Early recognition that adenosine could either inhibit or stimulate cyclic AMP formation led to the concept of A 1 (inhibitory) or A 2 (stimulatory) receptors coupled via G proteins to adenylate cyclase. The early development of selective agonists and antagonists for the A 1 binding site then stimulated a considerable volume of pharmacological research on the actions of this receptor. Evidence for the existence of more than one type of A 2 receptor also accumulated, culminating in the cloning of two receptors, the high-affinity A 2A and lower-affinity A 2B receptors. The synthesis and availability of CGS 21680, a selective agonist for the A 2A receptor, made possible studies on the pharmacological effects of its activation and the subsequent development of a series of A 2A receptor antagonists has further clarified the roles that this receptor plays in the central nervous system. Whereas A 1 receptor activation inhibits synaptic transmission, primarily by decreasing excitatory neurotransmitter release from presynaptic nerve terminals, A 2A receptor stimulation appears to enhance neurotransmitter release as a result of increased Ca 2+ uptake. In brain slices, CGS 21680 facilitates excitatory transmission by increasing glutamate and acetylcholine release. However, when tested in vivo on central neurons by iontophoretic application, CGS 21680 has had a powerful depressant effect on neuronal activity which was blocked by coapplication of an A 2A receptor antagonist but not by a selective A 1 receptor antagonist. Further studies with the GABA A antagonists bicuculline and picrotoxin, which also block the inhibitory actions of CGS 21680, revealed that in this instance A 2A receptor activation facilitates GABA release, causing inhibition of neuronal firing. Whether the GABA release is a consequence of enhanced excitatory drive to GABAergic neurons or is a direct effect of an action at A 2A receptors on GABAergic nerve terminals remains uncertain.
Free electron laser beam quality — from Castelgandolfo to Rome

Abstract Since the Castelgandolfo FEL conference photo injectors and advances in beam transport has lead to many orders of magnitude improvement in beam brightness as well as our understanding of what constitutes a high-quality beam. We find that beam compression may increase brightness, but not beam quality; and that, when the relation λ = πe is satisfied, the FEL is well into the kinetic regime of operation. A good measure of beam quality is the scaled thermal velocity. In some cases space charge may improve beam quality.
The Cognitive Skill of Theory Articulation: A Neglected Aspect of Science Education.

It is argued that scientific literacy requires that students know how to apply scientific theories. However, the process of articulating a theory with respect to a particular phenomenon, fact, or regularity is quite complex. Also, the procedures used to apply a theory are not part of the theory itself, and therefore are not necessarily learned by studying the content of the theory. It follows that the skill of theory articulation has to be taught explicitly. A preliminary analysis of textbooks and tests indicates that this is not currently done. Recent research on science education has not focussed on theory articulation, but Roger C. Schank's theory of explanation provides a starting point.
Conversion of some C14-labelled compounds into the neutral lipid ofNeurospora crassa

Conidia-free mycelia ofNeurospora crassa converted C14-acetate into neutral lipid more efficiently than C14-labelled mevalonic acid or six other compounds tested. Pyruvate, glucose, and alanine contributed little to the neutral lipid fraction, but that contribution was mainly as fatty acids. Substantial losses of C14 as carbon dioxide indicated that all of the labelled compounds participated in cell metabolism.
Pediatric residents' use of jargon during counseling about newborn genetic screening results

OBJECTIVE. The goal was to investigate pediatric residents’ usage of jargon during discussions about positive newborn screening test results. METHODS. An explicit-criteria abstraction procedure was used to identify jargon usage and explanations in transcripts of encounters between residents and standardized parents of a fictitious infant found to carry cystic fibrosis or sickle cell hemoglobinopathy. Residents were recruited from a series of educational workshops on how to inform parents about positive newborn screening test results. The time lag from jargon words to explanations was measured by using “statements,” each of which contained 1 subject and 1 predicate. RESULTS. Duplicate abstraction revealed reliability κ of 0.92. The average number of unique jargon words per transcript was 20; the total jargon count was 72.3 words. There was an average of 7.5 jargon explanations per transcript, but the explained/total jargon ratio was only 0.17. When jargon was explained, the average time lag from the first usage to the explanation was 8.2 statements. CONCLUSION. The large number of jargon words and the small number of explanations suggest that physicians’ counseling about newborn screening may be too complex for some parents.
Ion Trajectory Analysis Program (ITAP)

Abstract ITAP is a 2 1 2 -dimensional FORTRAN code developed for the first-order design of charged-particle transport systems. The Ion Trajectory Analysis Program (ITAP) utilizes the paraxial-ray equation with no space charge to determine image size and divergence along the beam line. A discretized transfer-matrix technique is used to model particle transport through drift spaces, symmetrical electrostatic lenses, quadrupoles, wein filters, sector mass separators, deflection plates, and solenoids. Dispersion effects are also included for the prisms. ITAP contains an iterative design option which can determine the excitations, thicknesses, or gaps required in the model to produce either a desired size or divergence at the pseudo-image. Multiple elements may be designed in sequence permitting complete model optimization. Output consists of trajectory data as well as summary tables which describe the focal properties of each ion-optical element. Plots of the trajectories, divergences, and specific transverse planes are also produced.
Theory, Method, and Analysis in Research on the Relations Between Peer Collaboration and Cognitive Development

It is important to make explicit the theoretical framework within which research is conducted because one's choice of theory constrains the choice of what to study and which methods to use for doing research. From a perspective informed by the writings of T. Kuhn (1962), S. C. Pepper (1942), and L. T. Winegar (1997), the author assessed the extent to which each of the articles in this special issue related theory to methods and to analysis. The author identified limitations in each of the articles, caused primarily by the use of methods or analyses that did not seem well suited to the theory of choice. However, each of the articles also had great strengths, and, taken together, they further our understanding of the complexity of the relationships between peer collaboration and cognitive development. They also provide some stimulating and productive ways of studying the collaborative processes themselves.
Interleukin-6 up-regulates the oxytocin receptor in cultured uterine smooth muscle cells

Munksgaara, Copennagen PROBLEM: Intra-uterine infection results in the production of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin-6 (IL-6). Increased oxytocin-receptor (OTR) concentrations are associated with the onset of preterm labor. We hypothesize that infection up-regulates OTR expression through IL-6-induced transcription factors. METHOD OF STUDY: Primary cultures of human myometrium were treated for various time periods or with different concentrations of IL-6 and OTR mRNA as well as OTR binding were measured by means of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and 125 I-ornithine-vasotocin-binding assay. To study underlying mechanisms of OTR changes with IL-6 treated, cells were also incubated with genistein or H7 (tyrosine and serine phosphorylation inhibitors), respectively. RESULTS: OTR mRNA increased 2.5-fold after 4 hr of IL-6 treatment and OTR binding 1.4-fold after 8 hr of cytokine stimulation. The IL-6-induced increase in binding was blocked by genistein and H7. CONCLUSIONS: IL-6 up-regulates uterine OTR mRNA expression and binding capacity in cultured human myocytes most likely through tyrosine and serine phosphorylation pathways involving the nuclear factor STAT-3.
Antipsychotic drug-induced weight gain: development of an animal model

OBJECTIVE: Weight gain is a prominent effect of most atypical antipsychotic drugs (AAPDs); yet, the mechanisms are not fully understood and no well-established mouse models exist for investigating the mechanisms. Thus, we developed a mouse model to evaluate the effects of AAPDs on eating, body weight (BW), and body composition. METHODS: Female C57BL/6J mice were used to test olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, and risperidone. Mice were acclimated to individual housing, given ad libitum access to chow and water, dosed with placebo peanut butter pills for 1 week, and then dosed daily with AAPD-laced peanut butter pills for 4 weeks. Weekly food intakes and BWs were measured, and body compositions were determined at the end of each experiment. RESULTS: After 4 weeks of treatment, olanzapine, quetiapine, ziprasidone, and risperidone caused significant weight increases, but only olanzapine and quetiapine were associated with significantly increased food intake. Body composition data revealed that olanzapine-treated mice had more relative fat mass and risperidone-treated mice had more relative lean mass than did control mice. Quetiapine and ziprasidone did not significantly affect relative body composition even though BW was increased. CONCLUSIONS: Oral AAPD administration causes increased BW in female mice. Our mouse model of AAPD-induced weight gain resembles the human response to these medications and will be used to investigate the mechanisms for weight gain and fat accumulation.
Pathogen effects on vegetative and floral odours mediate vector attraction and host exposure in a complex pathosystem.

Pathogens can alter host phenotypes in ways that influence interactions between hosts and other organisms, including insect disease vectors. Such effects have implications for pathogen transmission, as well as host exposure to secondary pathogens, but are not well studied in natural systems, particularly for plant pathogens. Here, we report that the beetle-transmitted bacterial pathogen Erwinia tracheiphila – which causes a fatal wilt disease – alters the foliar and floral volatile emissions of its host (wild gourd, Cucurbita pepo ssp. texana) in ways that enhance both vector recruitment to infected plants and subsequent dispersal to healthy plants. Moreover, infection by Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV), which also occurs at our study sites, reduces floral volatile emissions in a manner that discourages beetle recruitment and therefore likely reduces the exposure of virus-infected plants to the lethal bacterial pathogen – a finding consistent with our previous observation of dramatically reduced wilt disease incidence in ZYMV-infected plants.
Molecular Structures for Azatitanatranes

Ab initio geometry optimizations for a series of azatitanatranes, ZTi[−NR(CH2)2−]3N, where Z = CH3, NH2, OH, F, and N(CH3)2 and R = H and CH3, have been performed using a triple-ζ basis set for Ti and a 6-31G(d) basis set for all other atoms. An analysis of the transannular Ti−N interaction indicates that it is significantly stronger than that found in the analogous azasilatranes. In addition there is reasonable agreement between the calculated structure and the available X-ray data for Z = N(CH3)2 and R = CH3. Of special significance in this calculation is the fact that theory correctly predicts that the axial Ti−N bond is shorter than the equatorial Ti−N bonds.
Evaluation of therapy with methanol extraction residue of BCG (MER).

The current status of therapy with the methanol extraction residue of BCG (MER) is reviewed. We have identified 41 evaluable clinical trials of MER therapy, involving approximately 3,000 patients with malignant disease. The diagnoses have included lung, colon, and breast cancer, malignant melanoma, acute leukemia, and a small number of other malignancies. MER has been used as an adjunct to therapy for advanced disease and as prophylaxis against recurrence after surgery. Most studies have used the intradermal route but subcutaneous, intralesional, and intravenous routes have also been explored. The major local toxicity is pain and sterile abscess formation. The major systemic toxicity with administration by the intravenous route includes fever, malaise, and the development of pulmonary infiltrates. With the intradermal route little activity has been observed and there is no confirmed example of an increased remission rate, remission duration, or survival induced by MER therapy. When given by the intralesional route MER can cause regression of metastatic malignant melanoma nodules, and when given by the intravenous route MER is a potent immunoadjuvant. Antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and natural killer cell activity were both boosted after one dose of intravenous MER. In rare patients receiving either intradermal or intravenous MER alone, without other therapy, tumor regression has been noted. These cases have included gastrointestinal cancer, lymphoma, and leukemia. Overall, the data indicate that the future of therapy with mycobacterial fractions awaits the development of more potent, less toxic fractions that can be administered systemically.
Secondary structure at the bacteriophage G4 origin of complementary-strand DNA synthesis: in vivo requirements

The bacteriophage G4 origin of complementary strand DNA synthesis, G4 ori, contains several regions of potential secondary structure. In this study, we ask whether DNA secondary structure is important for G4 ori function in vivo. Point mutations were generated within a region of potential secondary structure so as to disrupt intrastrand base pairing. These mutations led to a strong temperature-dependent reduction in ori function in vivo. A double point mutation which introduces the same base substitutions without destabilizing intrastrand base pairing did not cause a temperature-dependent disruption in ori function. The double mutant did display a slight temperature-independent reduction in ori function compared to the wild-type G4 ori. Based on these findings, we conclude that DNA secondary structure, as well as recognition of specific sequences, is required for G4 ori activity in vivo.
Detecting and quantifying male sea urchin spawning with time-integrated fertilization assays

There has been much modeling and experimentation on factors affecting fertilization success in free-spawning marine invertebrates, but for many species spawning has rarely been observed in nature, if at all, and then mostly qualitatively. Understanding the dynamics of spawning and fertilization is especially important for species, such as the green sea urchin, Strongylocentrotusdroebachiensis (O.F. Muller), that have been widely depleted by harvesting. Time-integrated fertilization assays provide measures of sperm-availability adjacent to spawning populations for extended periods and with unprecedented temporal resolution. In such assays unfertilized eggs are held in baskets permeable to sperm and suspended in the water column as long as the eggs remain viable. In a consecutive series of 24- to 72-h assays the time course and spatial extent of sperm availability were measured near an aggregation of 250 sea urchins suspended in a cage at a field site in West Boothbay Harbor, Maine, USA. The assays were conducted in March and April, 2000, the spawning season of the green sea urchin. The distribution of embryonic stages within the assays revealed fine-scale temporal information on the timing of fertilization. The time series of multiple assays indicated that over a substantial portion of the spawning season there was an almost continuous low level of male spawning, a pattern consistent with a slow decline in gonad index observed in both male and female urchins. Fertilization rates averaged only 17% for the eggs in the basket nearest the spawning urchins (20 cm away), and the rates declined sharply over a distance of <1 m. Thus, despite the potential benefits of long egg life in integrating sperm supply over several days, the spatial effects on fertilization success were marked. Owing to the urchins' captivity and the lack of site replication, the generality of the observed spawning pattern must be confirmed. Nonetheless, the method lends itself to wider application among natural populations.
Dark Energy and Neutrino Masses from Future Measurements of the Expansion History and Growth of Structure

We forecast the expected cosmological constraints from a combination of probes of both the universal expansion rate and matter perturbation growth, in the form of weak lensing tomography, galaxy tomography, supernovae, and the cosmic microwave background incorporating all cross-correlations between the observables for an extensive cosmological parameter set. We allow for nonzero curvature and parameterize our ignorance of the early universe by allowing for a non-negligible fraction of dark energy (DE) at high redshifts. We find that early DE density can be constrained to 0.2% of the critical density of the universe with Planck combined with a ground-based LSST-like survey, while curvature can be constrained to 0.06%. However, these additional degrees of freedom degrade our ability to measure late-time dark energy and the sum of neutrino masses. We find that the combination of cosmological probes can break degeneracies and constrain the sum of neutrino masses to 0.04 eV, present DE density also to 0.2% of the critical density, and the equation of state to 0.01---roughly a factor of 2 degradation in the constraints overall compared to the case without allowing for early DE. The constraints for a space-based mission are similar. Even a modest 1% dark energy fraction of the critical density at high redshift, if not accounted for in future analyses, biases the cosmological parameters by up to $2\ensuremath{\sigma}$. Our analysis suggests that throwing out nonlinear scales (multipoles $g1000$) may not result in significant degradation in future parameter measurements when multiple cosmological probes are combined. We find that including cross-correlations between the different probes can result in improved constraints by up to a factor of 2 for the sum of neutrino masses and early dark energy density.
Black anti-White attitudes: The influence of racial identity and the Big Five

Two studies involving community-based samples of Blacks assessed the extent that Black anti-White attitudes are associated with racial identity and the Big Five. The two forms of anti-White attitudes assessed were ingroup-directed bias (i.e., discriminatory expectations) and outgroup-directed bias. The results of study one indicated that ingroup-directed bias was negatively related to humanism and positively related to nationalism, while outgroup-directed bias was negatively associated with humanism and positively associated with centrality and nationalism. The results of study two indicated that ingroup-directed bias was associated with lower agreeableness and higher neuroticism, while outgroup-directed bias was associated with lower agreeableness, lower conscientiousness, and higher openness to new experience.
Reduction of Constraints on Arbitrage Trading and Market Efficiency: An Examination of Ex‐Day Returns in Hong Kong after Introduction of Electronic Settlement

Previous research documents positive ex-dividend day returns in excess of one percent in the unique institutional setting of Hong Kong, where neither dividends nor capital gains are taxed. Short-term arbitrage trades around the ex-day were hampered by physical settlement procedures. After the recent switch to an electronic settlement system, which enables such trades, ex-day abnormal returns have declined to an insignificant 0.17 percent. This drop is more pronounced for high-yield stocks, which are more likely to attract dividend capture trading. The evidence points to the crucial role of short-term traders in ensuring the pricing efficiency of financial markets. THE ROLE OF SHORT-TERM TRADERS IN FINANCIAL MARKETS is a matter of considerable controversy. The debate on this issue has heightened in the wake of the recent Asian currency crisis, which some governments blamed on the activities of short-term traders. Critics contend that short-term traders engage in speculation, leading to excessive and debilitating volatility in market prices. Others argue that short-term traders perform a useful role by increasing valuable liquidity. Berkman and Eleswarapu (1998) report that regulatory changes on the Bombay Stock Exchange curbing short-term trading had a measurably adverse impact on asset values. Supporters of short-term traders also argue that these traders make a key contribution to the efficiency of financial markets by constantly scouring the markets for arbitrage opportunities. This study examines the impact of the
On-line expert system for odor complaints in a refinery

On-line capabilities of modern expert systems are of special interest due to the possibility of real-time environmental monitoring and detection of possible rules violations in their early phase of development. One of the most difficult environmental problem for some refineries located in fairly populated areas are released refinery odors. In an attempt to solve this problem, an odor expert system is proposed in this paper. It includes a historical data base with all available odor complaints, real-time monitoring of weather data and selected process variables, a detailed map, and rules. The rules are based on the developed methodology for quantitavely correlating process variables with odor complaints. The methodology includes threshold values calculations for selected variables at the Waste Water Treatment Plant and their correlation with process variables in different units inside the refinery. The proposed expert system has been implemented in the GENSYM G2 software environment at StarEnterprise refinery in Delaware City, Delaware, USA.
Determination of the polarizability of Na-like silicon by study of the fine structure of high- L Rydberg states of Si 2 +

The fine-structure intervals in the $n=29$ state of ${\mathrm{Si}}^{2+}$ separating levels from $L=8$ to $L=14$ have been measured by microwave spectroscopy. A beam of ${\mathrm{Si}}^{3+}$ (Na-like silicon) captures a single electron from an $n=10$ Rydberg target, forming highly excited Rydberg states of ${\mathrm{Si}}^{2+}$ near $n=29.$ Specific L levels within $n=29$ are selectively detected by excitation with a Doppler-tuned ${\mathrm{CO}}_{2}$ laser, followed by Stark ionization. This allows the detection of microwave induced transitions between different L levels in the $n=29$ state, determining the fine-structure intervals. The fine-structure pattern can be used to deduce the dipole polarizability of the ${\mathrm{Si}}^{3+}$ ion, which forms the core of the Rydberg system. The result ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{d}=7.404(11)$ is in good agreement with calculations that are comparable in precision.
The effects of filler size on the properties of thermoplastic polyolefin blends

The effects of filler size on the properties of a thermoplastic polyolefin (TPO) blend were examined by using wollastonite and talc with particle sizes ranging from 1.2 to 40 μm. While addition of filler produced significant changes in the mechanical properties of the blend, filler size affected only impact strength. However, filler size, filler coating, and injection speed had a major effect on the surface properties of the blend. Faster injection produced denser “shear zone layers” which exhibited better scratch resistance and poorer paint adhesion than those obtained with slower injection. Scartch resistance and paint adhesion also decreased with increasing filler particle size. Filler coatings altered the scratch and adhesion properties of the polypropylene (PP) blends.
Southern Tradition and Regional Progress: A Perspective from the 1970's

N 1960 I published 'a book, Southern Tradition and Regional Progress, which (by my very modest standards) was a "best seller." How much influence, if any, it may have had on subsequent events, I do not know. But at least it gave me the opportunity to get out of my system some strong views which I felt-as a Southerner and as an American-needed to be said and were then being voiced inadequately or not at all.1 I am flattered that our President Vernon Ruttan at least remembered my book and felt that it might be worthwhile for its author publicly to take a new look at his analysis of the Southern region after more than a decade had elapsed. I welcomed the opportunity because, once again, our region and nation are at a crucial stage of our history in wh'ich-after much progress on some of the basic issues of regional economic development, race, and poverty-we are threatened with the imminent possibility of serious economic and sociopolitical retrogression. In my book of a decade ago, I analyzed in detail the principal tenets of Southern tradition and their combined effect as a strong barrier to regional economic progress; argued that Southerners must-insofar as their foremost objective is the achievement of higher per-capita incomes -choose between tradition and progress; and called for effective and constructive leadership on the part not only of the South's politicians but also of its privileged classes in making a smooth and successful transition from the tradition-bound Old South to the progressive New South. I believe that my 1960 analysis of the South's traditional values is still valid if one is
The Scalar Production of Injustice within the Urban Forest

Research has recently argued, quite successfully, for a more dialectic appreciation of urban nature/society relations. Despite this progress, there is still the need to recognize that the social production of urban environments explicitly leads to uneven urban environments and environmental injustice. Environmental inequalities clearly exist within cities; when taking into account how environmental externalities play out at different scales, the degree to which something is unjust becomes less clear. This paper discusses how the scales at which socially produced urban forest externalities play out pose difficulties for considering environmental injustice. This issue, while interesting from the point of view of considering scalar nature/social dialects, also makes policy considerations for urban reforestation problematic as a result of the ways in which urban forests contribute to local/global ecological scenarios.
Heisenberg-to-Ising crossover in a random-field model with uniaxial anisotropy

Uniaxial anisotropy causes a crossover between Ising and Heisenberg behavior in a random-field model. At random-field strengths and dimensionalities, intermediate between those which give either the Ising and Heisenberg domain states, a new ``boundary'' domain state appears. A novel criterion is also derived for domain-boundary roughening in the Heisenberg limit. The two-dimensional version of this model can be applied to ferromagnetic-antiferromagnetic sandwiches with interface randomness and leads to a prediction of an exchange anisotropy effect below a critical thickness of order the domain-wall width, and an enhancement of this effect below a second critical thickness.
Dynamics of Frontal, Striatal, and Hippocampal Systems during Rule Learning

We examined interactions between frontal, striatal, and hippocampal systems during a rule-learning task. Nineteen healthy young adults solved multiple rule-learning problems requiring hypothesis testing while functional magnetic resonance images were obtained. Activity in the head of the caudate peaked early after the beginning of each problem and then dropped rapidly. In contrast, activity in prefrontal cortex areas reached peak values later. These results are in accordance with theories suggesting that the striatum identifies the behavioral context necessary for the frontal lobe to select an appropriate strategy. Striatal and hippocampal systems showed antagonistic patterns of activity: Activation in the anterior hippocampus decreased, whereas caudate activity increased. Good learners showed higher activity in the body and tail of the caudate than poor learners, whereas learning success correlated negatively with activity in the hippocampus. Activation in the head of the caudate correlated negatively with hippocampal activation, indicating a potential mechanism for hippocampal activity reduction.