cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Monopoly and external costs: An application of second-best theory to the automobile industry☆

Abstract A monopoly that creates external costs poses a classic second-best problem: Whereas optimal allocation would be achieved by both removal of the monopoly and correction of the externality, it cannot be presumed that either action taken alone would improve welfare. It is shown that the desirability of pursuing either policy in isolation depends on the relative size of the external cost and the monopolist's price-cost margin. The analysis is applied to the automoblie manufacturing industry. Under current estimates of pollution damage and price-cost margin, industry output is suboptimal. Whereas this finding may not be translated directly into policy recommendations, it suggests that some skepticism about internalizing pollution costs is justified unless such action is accompanied by an appropriate reduction in monopoly power.
Specialized subregions in the cat motor cortex: A single unit analysis in the behaving animal

(1) Participation of the motor cortex in initiating muscle contraction in an isometric tracking task was assessed in cats trained to make accurate force adjustments using forelimb muscles, in response to a vibrissal/visual display stimulus. Behavior in the task was characterized by short reaction times. While the task was performed, recordings of single cortical units were made in zones within area 4γ defined by the effects of microstimulation in forelimb muscles and by receptive fields on the forelimb. (2) Two types of receptive fields with different regional distributions were observed. Cells with simple receptive fields (superficial or deep) were seen throughout the area sampled, consisting of the lateral half of the anterior and posterior sigmoid gyri. Cells whose receptive fields had complex features (directional specificity, temporal lability, multiple foci, etc.) were preferentially located in the cortex rostral to the cruciate sulcus. (3) The area of motor cortex rostral to the cruciate sulcus also differed from the area caudal to the cruciate sulcus in the timing of task-related activity. Neurons that were active before response onset (lead cells), and could therefore contribute to response initiation, were preferentially located in the rostral cortex, and, in general, had complex receptive fields. (4) Lead cells were active at a constant latency from the stimulus, rather than being timed to response onset. However, the modulation of their activity was related to both the direction and magnitude of the force response. (5) These results suggest that the pericruciate motor cortex of the cat contains two functional subdivisions: a caudal one concerned with ongoing movement, perhaps under the control of specific sensory inputs from the responding limb, and a rostral one involved in initiating movement. Because behaviorally relevant stimuli can rapidly activate a specialized population of cells in the rostral cortex, this area is able to participate in responses with short reaction times.
An overview of Mermera: a system and formalism for non-coherent distributed parallel memory

The authors give an overview of Mermera, a system that gives the programmer the choice of coherent and noncoherent behavior in the same program. They sketch a formal model that describes Mermera's noncoherent behavior. This model helps identify a new noncoherent behavior called local consistency. Measurements from a pilot implementation on a BBN Butterfly are reported which show the response time of pipelined-RAM operations to be an order of magnitude faster than that of coherent operations. Thus, a new tradeoff is discovered in which the programmer can significantly improve shared memory performance at the cost of tolerating varying degrees of noncoherence. >
A Perfectly matched layer for lossy media at extremely low frequencies

The perfectly matched layer (PML) is an effective means of absorbing outgoing waves for finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations. This letter describes the development of a PML specifically for underwater simulations at low frequencies.
A MEMS-Based Power-Scalable Hearing Aid Analog Front End

A dual-channel directional digital hearing aid front end using microelectromechanical-systems microphones, and an adaptive-power analog processing signal chain are presented. The analog front end consists of a double differential amplifier-based capacitance-to-voltage conversion circuit, 40-dB variable gain amplifier (VGA) and a power-scalable continuous time sigma delta analog-to-digital converter (ADC), with 68-dB signal-to-noise ratio dissipating 67 μ W from a 1.2-V supply. The MEMS microphones are fabricated using a standard surface micromachining technology. The VGA and power-scalable ADC are fabricated on a 0.25-μ m complementary metal-oxide semciconductor TSMC process.
Method for increasing the accuracy of the radioiodine uptake as a test for thyroid function by the use of desiccated thyroid.

THE accumulation of radioiodine by the thyroid has become well established as one of the most sensitive and reliable tests of thyroid function. Nevertheless, there are some patients seen at most clinics in whom it is impossible to make an unequivocal diagnosis with this procedure. These usually fall into three groups: a) patients with many signs and symptoms of hyperthyroidism but with thyroidal radioiodine uptake within the normal range; b) patients with little or no clinical evidence of hyperthyroidism but with I131 accumulation above the normal range; c) patients with or without symptoms, who have an equivocal, “borderline” uptake ranging between the euthyroid and hyperthyroid levels. A fourth group of patients who are clinically euthyroid but have a subnormal uptake are not included in this consideration, since such a discrepancy is usually explained by saturation of the “iodine pool” of the body. It has been found that the daily administration of physiologic amounts of desiccated thyroid to euthyroid...
23Molecular Pathology of Burkitt Lymphoma

In 1958, Dr. Denis P. Burkitt reported on a series of 32 children presenting with large malignant tumors of the jaw at Mulago Hospital in Uganda and six other district hospitals. The syndrome was notable for starting in the mandible and often spreading to other jaw quadrants, as well as to the adrenals, kidneys, and liver. No involvement of spleen or lymph nodes was detected in these initial 38 patients. Of note, in that initial report, the histopathology was described as “strongly resembling lymphocytes… [and] in some cases the tumor [resembled] a lymphosarcoma.” Definitive classification of this as a lymphoma would await O’Conor and Davies’ description of these and other cases in 1960.
Bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells incorporate into the prostate during regrowth.

Background Prostate cancer recurrence involves increased growth of cancer epithelial cells, as androgen dependent prostate cancer progresses to castrate resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) following initial therapy. Understanding CRPC prostate regrowth will provide opportunities for new cancer therapies to treat advanced disease.
Quantitative outcome measures for assessing motor control in a rodent model of spinal contusion injury

We present a 2-D kinematic measure, a 3-D kinematic measure and a kinetic measure to evaluate motor recovery in a rodent model of incomplete spinal cord injury. These measures allow serial assessment of recovery over time. Post injury there is a significant increases in hindlimb stance width and eversion angles, overextension of the ankle and hip angles, impaired knee angle control, and higher variability in all joint angle profiles. Not only hindlimb but also forelimb movement is impaired. The animals also have an impaired ability to maintain balance.
Sustainability: The Water and Energy Problem, and the Natural Design Solution

People like to say that energy and water are two problems, two vital commodities in short supply. Here I draw attention to the emerging literature and physics principle (constructal law) that provide the scientific foundation for sustainability. I show that the sustainability need is about flow: the flow of energy and the flow of water through the inhabited space. All the flows needed for human life (transportation, heating, cooling, water) are driven by the purposeful consumption of fuels. This is why the wealth of a country (the GDP) is directly proportional to the annual consumption of fuel in that country. This hierarchical organization happens; it is natural and efficient. Sustainability is the one-word need that covers all the specific needs. Sustainability comes from greater freedom in changing the organization – the flow architecture – that sustains life. Greater freedom to change the design (from water and power to laws and government) leads to greater flow, wealth, life and staying power, i.e. sustainability.
Nitric Oxide–Induced Motility in Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells. Role of Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase SHP-2 and GTP-Binding Protein Rho

We have previously reported that SHP-2 upregulation is necessary for NO-stimulated motility in differentiated rat aortic smooth muscle cells. We now test the hypothesis that upregulation of SHP-2 is necessary and sufficient to stimulate cell motility. Overexpression of SHP-2 via recombinant adenoviral vector stimulated motility to the same extent as NO, whereas the expression of C463S-SHP-2, the dominant-negative SHP-2 allele, blocked the motogenic effect of NO. On the basis of previous studies, we next tested the hypothesis that NO decreases RhoA activity and that this event is necessary and sufficient to explain NO-induced motogenesis. We found that NO decreased RhoA activity in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, a dominant-negative SHP-2 allele, DSH2, blocked the NO-induced inhibition of RhoA activity, indicating that upregulation of SHP-2 is necessary for this event. Expression of G14V-RhoA, the constitutively active RhoA allele, decreased cell motility and blocked the motogenic effect of NO, whereas the expression of T19N-RhoA, the dominant-negative RhoA allele, increased cell motility to an extent similar to that induced by NO. Dominant-negative RhoA reversed the effect of dominant-negative SHP-2, indicating that RhoA functions downstream from SHP-2. To investigate events downstream from RhoA, we treated cells with fasudil, a selective Rho kinase inhibitor, and found that it increased cell motility. These results indicate that upregulation of SHP-2, leading to downregulation of RhoA, which is followed by decreased Rho kinase activity, is a sequence of events necessary and sufficient to explain NO-induced cell motility in differentiated aortic smooth muscle cells. The results may be of relevance to in vivo events such as neointimal formation, angiogenesis, and vasculogenesis.
A boundary element formulation of the conjugate heat transfer from a convectively cooled discrete heat source mounted on a conductive substrate

A novel formulation is presented for solving the conjugate heat transfer problem that arises due to a thin flush heat source mounted on a conductive substrate. The geometry is a paradigm for direct air cooling of components on conducting boards. PCB thermal algorithms based on this approach are being developed for rapid estimation of the thermal field in a direct air cooled board. The algorithms are part of a suite of tools for integrated electronic packaging design being developed at the Center for Electronic Packaging Research (CEPR). This paper presents the formulation of the approach and demonstrates its utilization for parametric studies of board level thermal management, in particular for studying the effects of board conductivity. The unique formulation allows one to couple a wide variety of flow models to the solid conduction. The solid side is modelled with a Boundary Element Method (BEM). The temperature field in the fluid side is not explicitly solved, rather, analytical "step temperature" solutions, relevant to the particular flow model, are used to express convective heat flux as a function of interface temperatures. A non-iterative solution for the conjugate problem is found by matching the temperatures and fluxes at the solid-fluid interface. Results of a parametric study of the effects of board conduction on component thermal performance are presented. >
Prediction of Surface Water Supply Sources for the District of Columbia Using Least Squares Support Vector Machines (LS-SVM) Method

In this research, we developed a predictive model based on least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) that forecasts the future streamflow discharge using the past streamflow discharge data. A Gaussian Radial Basis Function (RBF) kernel framework was built on the data set to tune the kernel parameters and regularization constants of the model with respect to the given performance measure. The 10-fold cross-validation is used as a cost function for estimating the performance of the model. The training process of LS-SVM was designed to train the support values and the bias term of an LS-SVM for function approximation. After the network has been well trained, we test the prediction performance on the new testing samples, as well as the training samples. The USGS real-time streamflow data were used as time series input. The experimental results showed that the proposed LS-SVM algorithm is a reliable and efficient method for streamflow prediction, which has an important impact to the water resource management field.
A projection-based level-set approach to enhance conductivity anomaly reconstruction in electrical resistance tomography

In this paper we consider level-set-based methods for anomaly reconstruction for applications involving low-sensitivity data concentrating specifically on the problem of electrical resistance tomography (ERT). Typical descent-based inversion methods suffer from poor reconstruction precision in low-sensitivity regions and typically display quite slow convergence. In this paper, we develop a method for constructing the level-set speed function that is capable of overcoming these problems. In the case of the gradient-descent-based level-set evolution, the speed function is defined in terms of the dot products of residual and sensitivity functions. For Gauss–Newton-type methods, however, the speed function is the solution of the linearized inverse problem at each iteration. Here we propose a projection-based approach where the displacement of the level zero, i.e. estimated anomaly contour, at each point depends on the correlation coefficients between the sensitivity of the data to conductivity perturbations and the residual error. In other words, the proposed velocity field is invariant to the absolute amplitudes of both residual and sensitivity, but rather is a reflection of the angle between these two quantities. We demonstrate that our method is a descent-based reconstruction and we relate the mathematical formulation of the projection-based speed function to that of the gradient-descent method and the Gauss–Newton-type approach. The comparison suggests that the proposed technique can be seen as a diagonal approximation of the Gauss–Newton formulation. Using a quasi-linear source-type formulation of the forward problem, we describe an efficient implementation of the projection-based approach for finite-domain imaging problems. The proposed algorithm is simulated with numerical 2D and 3D data and its performance and efficiency are compared to those of the gradient-descent method.
Compensating for denoising artifacts

Noise degrades speech signals, affecting their perceptual quality, intelligibility, as well as their downstream processing, e.g. coding or recognition. One obvious solution to this is to denoise the signals, but denoising algorithms filter out an estimate of noise, which is often inexact. As a result, denoising can attenuate spectral components of speech, which may enhance perceptual quality but further reduce it's intelligibility. We address the latter issue and propose a method to restore lost spectral components in denoised speech. Our algorithm modifies the standard NMF formulation to represent clean speech as a composition of bases, and denoised speech as a composition of distortions of these bases. By decomposing the denoised signal into a composition of the distorted bases, the corresponding clean signal can be estimated as an identical composition of the clean bases.
Control relevant RIE modeling by neural networks from real time production state sensor measurements

In the present paper we address the problem of control relevant process modeling from production data for the n-well reactive ion etching processed by LAM Rainbow Etchers. Due to physical constraints we consider building an empirical neural network model using one lot of data which usually contains 24 wafers. Using the existence result of feedforward networks as universal approximators, we experimentally developed different network structures as models of the etching process under investigation. Our results are built upon extensive simulations on different lots of the process.
Extremely thermophilic microorganisms as metabolic engineering platforms for production of fuels and industrial chemicals

Enzymes from extremely thermophilic microorganisms have been of technological interest for some time because of their ability to catalyze reactions of industrial significance at elevated temperatures. Thermophilic enzymes are now routinely produced in recombinant mesophilic hosts for use as discrete biocatalysts. Genome and metagenome sequence data for extreme thermophiles provide useful information for putative biocatalysts for a wide range of biotransformations, albeit involving at most a few enzymatic steps. However, in the past several years, unprecedented progress has been made in establishing molecular genetics tools for extreme thermophiles to the point that the use of these microorganisms as metabolic engineering platforms has become possible. While in its early days, complex metabolic pathways have been altered or engineered into recombinant extreme thermophiles, such that the production of fuels and chemicals at elevated temperatures has become possible. Not only does this expand the thermal range for industrial biotechnology, it also potentially provides biodiverse options for specific biotransformations unique to these microorganisms. The list of extreme thermophiles growing optimally between 70 and 100°C with genetic toolkits currently available includes archaea and bacteria, aerobes and anaerobes, coming from genera such as Caldicellulosiruptor, Sulfolobus, Thermotoga, Thermococcus, and Pyrococcus. These organisms exhibit unusual and potentially useful native metabolic capabilities, including cellulose degradation, metal solubilization, and RuBisCO-free carbon fixation. Those looking to design a thermal bioprocess now have a host of potential candidates to choose from, each with its own advantages and challenges that will influence its appropriateness for specific applications. Here, the issues and opportunities for extremely thermophilic metabolic engineering platforms are considered with an eye toward potential technological advantages for high temperature industrial biotechnology.
Swimming Energetics of Striped Bass (Morone Saxatilis) and Bluefish (Pomatomus Saltatrix): Hydrodynamic Correlates of Locomotion and Gill Ventilation

1. 1. Swimming patterns of striped bass and bluefish were monitored using a miniature accelerometer to record instantaneous acceleration and instantaneous deceleration during tail-thrusts over a wide range of swimming speeds. In addition, ventilatory excurrent flow patterns were visualized in swimming striped bass by injecting milk via a buccal catheter. 2. 2. Both species accomplish steady swimming with both symmetric and asymmetric thrusts; other transient swimming patterns were observed as well. 3. 3. Over the transition range from active branchial to ram gill ventilation, no measurable change in forward acceleration amplitude occurred with adoption of ram gill flow in both species; this can only occur if drag does not change over the ventilatory transition. 4. 4. From metabolic measurements and from implications about swimming drag deduced from acceleration amplitude, the cost of active ventilation just prior to adoption of ram gill ventilation was estimated to be 8·1% and 8·4% of total metabolism for striped bass and bluefish respectively. 5. 5. Ventilatory effluent flow patterns during cyclic ventilation in swimming striped bass induce substantial turbulence and probably boundary layer separation. Flow patterns during ram ventilation result in streamlined flow over most of the length of the fish. 6. 6. The results show that transfer from active to branchial to ram gill ventilation provides important hydrodynamic advantages to these fishes at cruising velocities.
Diffusion of miscible polymers in multilayer films

Thermal and optical properties of multilayer films of miscible polyethyloxazoline (PEOx) and poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) have been studied as a function of time and temperature. Differential scanning calorimetry showed that the distinct, characteristic Tg's of the component polymers of the original films disappear after only short heating periods above Tg, and a single transition appears. The new transition region is broad at first, but narrows on subsequent heating. The measurement of light transmittance as a function of wavelength through the heat-treated films also confirms the diffusion of the miscible polymers and gives results which are comparable to the thermal measurements. Films from immiscible polymers of polystyrene and PEOx retain their properties after various heat treatments. A qualitative discussion of the diffusion process as examined by the thermal measurements is presented.
Action of sulfhydryl and other denaturing agents on the protein toxins of Pasteurella pestis.

Abstract The interaction of various denaturing agents with proteins from Pasteurella pestis was studied with use of biological, immunological, and electrophoretic techniques. Only the larger molecular weight toxin, Toxin A, was sensitive to deoxycholate. Both the smaller molecular weight Toxin B, and Toxin A, were inactivated by urea and sulfhydryl reagents such as p -chloromercuribenzoate (CMB), N -ethylmaleimide, and silver ions. Toxin B was particularly sensitive to low concentrations of reagents for sulfhydryl groups. Increasing the concentration of these reagents resulted in the complete loss of Toxin B's electrophoretic and immunologic identity. Loss in toxicity of both toxins was directly related to the concentration of these inhibitors. Increased silver ion concentration resulted in an increased amount of toxin precipitation. The resolubilized silver precipitate was biologically inactive, but activity was retained in the supernatant fluid. The resolubilized precipitate could be reactivated with glutathione, but not by dialysis. At low concentrations of CMB, one to several SH groups reacted per milligram of toxin as assayed by mercaptide formation. More of these groups reacted per milligram of Toxin B than A. The addition of 0.5% of lithium bromide increased by 5- to 8-fold the number of available SH groups to react with CMB. Under the latter conditions all activity of the toxin is lost. Therefore a certain number of SH groups apparently must be available to maintain toxicity of both Toxin A and B.
TRIBUTE: A Phase III Trial of Erlotinib Hydrochloride (OSI-774) Combined With Carboplatin and Paclitaxel Chemotherapy in Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Purpose Erlotinib is a potent reversible HER1/epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor with single-agent activity in patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Erlotinib was combined with chemotherapy to determine if it could improve the outcome of patients with NSCLC. Patients and Methods TRIBUTE randomly assigned patients with good performance status and previously untreated advanced (stage IIIB/IV) NSCLC to erlotinib 150 mg/d or placebo combined with up to six cycles of carboplatin and paclitaxel, followed by maintenance monotherapy with erlotinib. Random assignment was stratified by stage, weight loss in the previous 6 months, measurable disease, and treatment center. The primary end point was overall survival (OS). Secondary end points included time to progression (TTP), objective response (OR), and duration of response. Results There were 1,059 assessable patients (526 erlotinib; 533 placebo). Median survival for patients treated with erlotinib was 10.6 v 10.5 months ...
Performance of reduced-rank linear interference suppression

The performance of reduced-rank linear filtering is studied for the suppression of multiple-access interference. A reduced-rank filter resides in a lower dimensional space, relative to the full-rank filter, which enables faster convergence and tracking. We evaluate the large system output signal-to-interference plus noise ratio (SINR) as a function of filter rank D for the multistage Wiener filter (MSWF) presented by Goldstein and Reed. The large system limit is defined by letting the number of users K and the number of dimensions N tend to infinity with K/N fixed. For the case where all users are received with the same power, the reduced-rank SINR converges to the full-rank SINR as a continued fraction. An important conclusion from this analysis is that the rank D needed to achieve a desired output SINR does not scale with system size. Numerical results show that D=8 is sufficient to achieve near-full-rank performance even under heavy loads (K/N=1). We also evaluate the large system output SINR for other reduced-rank methods, namely, principal components and cross-spectral, which are based on an eigendecomposition of the input covariance matrix, and partial despreading. For those methods, the large system limit lets D/spl rarr//spl infin/ with D/N fixed. Our results show that for large systems, the MSWF allows a dramatic reduction in rank relative to the other techniques considered.
Vehicle model identification by integrated prediction error minimization

We present a highly effective approach for the calibration of vehicle models. The approach combines the output error technique of system identification theory and the convolution integral solutions of linear systems and stochastic calculus. Rather than calibrate the system differential equation directly for unknown parameters, we calibrate its first integral. This integrated prediction error minimization (IPEM) approach is advantageous because it requires only low-frequency observations of state, and produces unbiased parameter estimates that optimize simulation accuracy for the chosen time horizon. We address the calibration of models that describe both systematic and stochastic dynamics, such that uncertainties can be computed for model predictions. We resolve numerous implementation issues in the application of IPEM, such as the efficient linearization of the dynamics integral with respect to parameters, the treatment of uncertainty in initial conditions, and the formulation of stochastic measurements and measurement covariances. While the technique can be used for any dynamical system, we demonstrate its usefulness for the calibration of wheeled vehicle models used in control and estimation. Specifically we calibrate models of odometry, powertrain dynamics, and wheel slip as it affects body frame velocity. Experimental results are provided for a variety of indoor and outdoor platforms.
End-to-End eScience: Integrating Workflow, Query, Visualization, and Provenance at an Ocean Observatory

Data analysis tasks at an Ocean Observatory require integrative and and domain-specialized use of database, workflow, visualization systems. We describe a platform to support these tasks developed as part of the cyberinfrastructure at the NSF Science and Technology Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction integrating a provenance-aware workflow system, 3D visualization, and a remote query engine for large-scale ocean circulation models. We show how these disparate tools complement each other and give examples of real scientific insights delivered by the integrated system. We conclude that data management solutions for eScience require this kind of holistic, integrative approach, explain how our approach may be generalized, and recommend a broader, application-oriented research agenda to explore relevant architectures.
Association of fasting insulin with longitudinal changes in blood pressure in children and adolescents. The Bogalusa Heart Study.

A cohort of children and adolescents (n = 801) aged 5 to 11 years living in Bogalusa, Louisiana was examined in three consecutive cross-sectional surveys over a 6 year period. The relationship between fasting insulin and glucose at baseline and longitudinal changes in blood pressure were examined. Significantly positive correlations were observed between fasting insulin and glucose at baseline and systolic and diastolic blood pressure at follow-up in white boys and girls (r = 0.19 to 0.38, P < .01), but not in blacks. After adjustment for several covariates, the association still existed in whites. In multiple regression analysis, fasting plasma insulin was observed to be a major contributor of subsequent systolic blood pressure levels independent of age, sex, height, obesity, and glucose levels in white children. These data suggest that insulin can be a determinant of blood pressure levels in children as suggested in adults. The relationship of insulin to blood pressure differs between black and white children and is likely modulated by the multiple mechanisms active in maintenance of blood pressure.
Microstructures in Sic and Si3N4 Implanted with Ti and Heat Treated

Bulk SiC and Si 3 N 4 have been implanted with Ti at room temperature, and subsequently vacuum heat treated between 800° and 1100°C. All specimens were backthinned by ion milling and examined in TEM. SiC becomes amorphous on implantion, and develops a fine dispersion of TiC precipitates up to 800°C. At 900°C recrystallization has begun, possibly nucleated by the TiC particles. Si 3 N 4 shows fine TiN particles in an amorphous matrix even as implanted. This structure is retained up to 900°C. At 1000°C, regrowth of the Si 3 N 4 apparently from the substrate begins, and the TiN particles also grow as large as 200nm.
Mechanisms of Reproductive Isolation in Two New Mexican Sod Webworms, including Sex Pheromone Influences

Two sympatric species of sod webworms, Crambus harpipterus Dyar and Agriphila plumbifimbriella Dyar, were studied in relation to their mechanisms of reproductive isolation, including habitat selection, mating periodicities, and sex pheromone activity. It was found that the 2 species are partially separated by habitat selection, temporarily separated with respect to mating, and that the females of both species attract only males of their own species. Possible advantages of several isolating mechanisms are discussed.
Man in an Insect World

“If it was not for the ingenuity of man, this would be an insect world”. This is not my own comment but was made several years ago by a well known entomologist addressing an audience such as this. On the surface the reasoning seems logical and has apparently never been seriously challenged. However, it does not stand up under close examination. Factually, neither of the two simple statements which the quoted comment contains, is true The “if” has no place in the picture as, numerically speaking, this is very definitely an insect world, not only with respect to man, but with respect to all other forms of life on earth. Also, “man's ingenuity” has no bearing on the situation and, actually, is pitted against only the most outlying reaches of that world in his effort to maintain a relationship satisfactory to his own standard of living.
Effect of age on left ventricular filling in children of hypertensive parents.

Doppler transmitral flow velocity A/E ratio is a useful noninvasive estimate of left ventricular (LV) filling. However, the A/E ratio increases with age. To evaluate the effect of age on LV filling in children, Doppler transmitral flow velocity A/E ratios and echocardiographic measurements were obtained in 51 normal children (mean age 12 +/- 4 years) of hypertensive parents (study children), sex- and age-matched against 28 normal children (mean age 12 +/- 4 years) from normotensive parents (control children). There was a significant correlation between age and LV systolic and diastolic internal dimensions (r = 0.74 and 0.83, respectively, P less than .0001, in study children, and r = 0.70 and 0.79, respectively, P less than .0001, in control children), total wall thickness (r = 0.72, P less than .0001, in study children, and 0.61, P less than .001, in control children), and with LV mass index (r = 0.56, P less than .0001 and r = 0.45, P less than .02, respectively). In contrast, there was no correlation between age and transmitral flow velocity A/E ratio in either group (r = 0.12 and 0.07, respectively). In conclusion, age does not have an effect on LV filling in normal children from either normotensive or hypertensive parents. Therefore, age correction of A/E ration, which is necessary in adults, is not required in children. Because of a strong correlation between age and LV mass as well as LV mass index, age should be taken into account when defining criteria for LV hypertrophy in children.
Recognition of AIDS among unlicensed prostitutes in Jinnan district of Tianjin

[Objective]By investigating the demographic features,the behavior characteristics and the knowledge about AIDS among unlicensed prostitutes in Jinnan district of Tianjin,to explore the effective ways and methods of AIDS education in unlicensed prostitutes.[Methods]Using stratified cluster random sampling,the education of AIDS knowledge and field questionnaire were conducted in 407 unlicensed prostitutes from 38 entertainment places.The data were analyzed with SPSS 16.0.[Results]The total awareness rate of basic knowledge about AIDS was 84.52%.The rate of using condoms at the last visit was 70.2%.47.42% had used the condoms during their sexual behavior each time in the last month.[Conclusion]The cognition degree of knowledge about AIDS and safe sexual behavior among unlicensed prostitutes in entertainment places is low,and the condom use rate is poor.It is necessary to enhance health education to reduce the incidence of AIDS among unlicensed prostitutes,stop spread of AIDS from high-risk population to the general population.
Stability of Correct Reasoning

A note by Aizerman somewhat misrepresents the work of Smale and its implications for control theory, and calls for the creation of systems of argument ‘correct to within pathological cases’ of which, however, examples exist already (though not using fuzzy sets as Aizerman suggests).
Information Use Behavior of Smaller Nonexporting Firms: An Empirical Study

Segmentation of nonexporting firms on the basis of export information gathering behavior is demonstrated. Empirical data regarding information gathering behavior is provided for the suggested segments. Policy implications derived are aimed at improved targeting of export stimulational information.
Automatically reducing iodine in contrast head CT scans by image processing

Iodinated contrast agent is commonly used in head CT scans. However, the use of iodinated contrast material may result in an adverse reaction in the patient, and is also relatively expensive. It is therefore of interest to investigate whether it is possible to reduce the amount of iodinated contrast material without any loss of diagnostic information. In this paper, we develop a computer simulation method to study the effect of iodine reduction on clinical image quality. An automatic enhancement and detection of the “difference iodine” images is presented. This research will result in an output of a cost-effective clinical diagnostic system in head CT scans.
Mechanisms of Photoreceptor Patterning in Vertebrates and Invertebrates

Across the animal kingdom, visual systems have evolved to be uniquely suited to the environments and behavioral patterns of different species. Visual acuity and color perception depend on the distribution of photoreceptor (PR) subtypes within the retina. Retinal mosaics can be organized into three broad categories: stochastic/regionalized, regionalized, and ordered. We describe here the retinal mosaics of flies, zebrafish, chickens, mice, and humans, and the gene regulatory networks controlling proper PR specification in each. By drawing parallels in eye development between these divergent species, we identify a set of conserved organizing principles and transcriptional networks that govern PR subtype differentiation.
Grafting: Making Space for International and Comparative Education in a Pre-service Teacher Social Foundations Class

This article contributes to a growing appreciation and understanding of both the ways to include exposure to Comparative and International Education (CIE) in undergraduate teacher education as well as to how students take up and respond creatively to opportunities for comparative exploration. In order to make space for comparative education in the already oversubscribed pre-service teacher’s program of study, we (1) explore a strategy to use a required undergraduate social foundations’ class for pre-service teachers at a large public university as a platform for comparative education, and (2) share the lessons learned from creating space for students to express their international and comparative curiosities. We open the article by introducing the “grafting” strategy to make space for the comparative; we then turn to the ways we employed a pedagogical tool we call “drawing out” to allow students to make comparative connections by responding to our deliberate, comparative prompts. We found that by embracing the grafting approach we created opportunities for students to make their own conclusions about the value of comparative considerations and to express their organic interest in the international to better understand domestic developments and options. The full text of the article can be found at 10.18275/fire201603011062
Entropy redistribution controls allostery in a metalloregulatory protein

Abstract Allosteric communication between two ligand-binding sites in a protein is a central aspect of biological regulation that remains mechanistically unclear. Here we show that perturbations in equilibrium picosecond–nanosecond motions impact zinc (Zn)-induced allosteric inhibition of DNA binding by the Zn efflux repressor CzrA (chromosomal zinc-regulated repressor). DNA binding leads to an unanticipated increase in methyl side-chain flexibility and thus stabilizes the complex entropically; Zn binding redistributes these motions, inhibiting formation of the DNA complex by restricting coupled fast motions and concerted slower motions. Allosterically impaired CzrA mutants are characterized by distinct nonnative fast internal dynamics “fingerprints” upon Zn binding, and DNA binding is weakly regulated. We demonstrate the predictive power of the wild-type dynamics fingerprint to identify key residues in dynamics-driven allostery. We propose that driving forces arising from dynamics can be harnessed by nature to evolve new allosteric ligand specificities in a compact molecular scaffold.
Alicyclic carboxylic acids in soil humic acid as detected with ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry and multi-dimensional NMR

Abstract It has been well accepted that humic acids in soils comprise both aromatic and aliphatic structural units that harbor mainly oxygenated functional groups such as carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones, and hydroxyl groups. Recent mass spectral data obtained from electrospray ionization-Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI-FTICRMS) suggest that the main functional groups in humic acids are carboxylic acids bound to both alicyclic and condensed aromatic molecules. It was suggested that these structural entities originate from oxidation of lignin. To provide additional support, detailed structural characteristics were obtained here using several multi-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques to observe the molecular connectivity of humic acid components, with a focus on carboxylic acids in particular. The humic acid sample examined had been shown to exhibit structural characteristics similar to a larger set of soil humic acids. In this study, many carboxylic acid resonances were found to correlate with protons that could be assigned to aliphatic and alicyclic chemical shift regions. Functional groups with heteroatoms such as alcohols, some olefins and an assortment of methyl groups were found to correlate within 2–3 bonds of carboxylic acid groups. The collection of structural components and their proximity to a variety of carboxylic groups supports the occurrence of carboxylated alicyclic molecules as important elements of the aliphatic portion of soil humic acids and a pathway from lignin is consistent with recent findings.
Abstract 5373: 3D genome architecture changes during cancer cell migration and metastasis

Metastasis, the most deadly part of cancer, results from cancer cell migration and invasion from a tumor into surrounding tissues. During this migration, the cell often has to squeeze and deform its nucleus through tight spaces. This nuclear squeezing is a rate-limiting step in migration, and the deformations can even rupture the nucleus. The organization of the genome inside the nucleus into loops, domains, and territories is important for proper gene regulation, DNA replication, and genome repair. However, little is known about the characteristics of nuclear organization that might allow for the nuclear deformation of metastatic cancer cells. We are using Chromatin Conformation Capture (Hi-C) and microscopy techniques to study genome organization during cancer cell migration. Using photoconvertible fluorophore Dendra2-H4 we draw and monitor patterns on nuclei of cells migrating through dense collagen matrices, Transwell filters, or microfluidic channels. Our data show changes in these patterns, indicating spatial reorganization of the genome during migration. Previous work has suggested that cancer cell migration requires global condensation of the genome. Some cancer chemotherapeutics act on epigenetic marks to decondense chromatin. We are testing whether such chromatin decondensation affects the physical deformability of the nucleus and thus effective migration. We have used Transwell and wound healing migration assays to monitor migration of cells treated with histone deacetylase inhibitors and histone methyltransferase inhibitors. Our results show that the drugs inhibit migration in a Transwell assay but not in the wound healing assay. This suggests that genome decondensation prevents the passage of the nucleus through narrow 3D spaces. But, a condensed genome organization is not necessary for 2D cell motility, where nuclei are unconfined. Hi-C experiments on migrating cells with deformed nuclei and drug-treated cells will characterize the specific rearrangements in genome structure that occur during cancer cell migration and whether these specific changes are counteracted by epigenetically active drugs. Citation Format: Rachel Patton McCord, Rosela Golloshi. 3D genome architecture changes during cancer cell migration and metastasis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 5373. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-5373
When Multicultural Education Is Not Enough

In the face of rising white nationalism, multicultural education is simply not enough. In addition to suggestions for curriculum and instruction, in this article the author suggests that teachers, parents, administrators, and students need to be organizing to push back against this tide of racism, sexism, and xenophobia and find ways to concretely support their students and communities.
Adverse Effects of the Metabolic Acidosis of Chronic Kidney Disease

The kidney has the principal role in the maintenance of acid-base balance, and therefore, a fall in renal net acid excretion and positive H+ balance often leading to reduced serum [HCO3-] are observed in the course of CKD. This metabolic acidosis can be associated with muscle wasting, development or exacerbation of bone disease, hypoalbuminemia, increased inflammation, progression of CKD, protein malnutrition, alterations in insulin, leptin, and growth hormone, and increased mortality. Importantly, some of the adverse effects can be observed even in the absence of overt hypobicarbonatemia. Administration of base decreases muscle wasting, improves bone disease, restores responsiveness to insulin, slows progression of CKD, and possibly reduces mortality. Base is recommended when serum [HCO3-] is 26 mEq/L might be associated with worsening of cardiovascular disease adds complexity to treatment decisions. Further study of the mechanisms through which positive H+ balance in CKD contributes to its various adverse effects and the pathways involved in mediating the benefits and complications of base therapy is warranted.
Differential diagnostic perspectives provided by en face microscopic examination of articular surface defects

Surface defects have a central position in diagnosis of articular pathology. Recognizing the limitations of standard radiologic techniques and those imposed by positioning and averaging artifacts on CT evaluation, direct visualization of surface defects was pursued to identify disease characteristics that would facilitate interpretation of radiologic findings. Epi-illumination surface microscopy was utilized to examine macroscopically recognized articular surface defects in individuals in the Hamann-Todd, Terry, and Huntington human skeletal collections with previously verified diagnoses of rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthropathy, juvenile inflammatory arthritis (JIA), calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPPD), gout, metastatic cancer, multiple myeloma, septic arthritis, tuberculosis, fungal arthritis, histiocytosis and sickle cell anemia (Rothschild and Rothschild Clin Infect Dis 20(5):1402–1408, 1995; Rothschild et al. Amer J Phys Anthropol 82(4):441–449, 1990; Rothschild and Rothschild Amer J Phys Anthropol 96(4):357–563, 1995; Rothschild and Woods Clin Exp Rheumatol 10(2):117–122, 1992; Barrett and Keat Radiographics 24(6):1679–1691, 2004; Rothschild and Heathcote Amer J Phys Anthropol 98(4):519–525, 1995; Rothschild and Woods Am J Phys Anthropol 85:25–34, 1991; Hershkovitz et al. Amer J Phys Anthropol 106(1):47–60, 1998; Winland et al. Amer J Phys Anthropol 24:S243, 1997; Rothschild et al. Clin Exp Rheumatol 10(6):557–564, 1992; Rothschild and Martin , 2006; Rothschild et al. Amer J Phys Anthropol 102(2):249–264, 1997). Observed alterations were compared with standard radiographs. Fronts of resorption distinguished inflammatory arthritis from those caused by the other disorders studied. Multiple myeloma, fungal disease, and gout are expansile character; the latter accompanied by reactive new bone formation more prominent than that noted with spondyloarthropathy and JIA. Those were clearly distinguished from the crumbling alterations found with CPPD. Histiocytosis had a unique crenulated appearance, while nodules were prominent with syphilis. Defects in sickle cell anemia had ivory fragments at their base. These findings provided explanation for radiologic observations. Direct surface microscopy revealed characteristics apparently pathognomonic for specific disorders and facilitated distinguishing among them. The technique provides visualization an order of magnitude greater than that available with clinical radiologic techniques and identifies new characteristics which should facilitate clinical diagnoses. This demonstrates that there would be value to the development of higher resolution, clinically applicable imaging techniques.
On the Propagation of Planar Blast Waves Through Nonuniform Channels

The propagation of shock waves through nonuniform channels with slowly varying cross sections has been studied analytically from the 1950s.