cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
What Drives Adoption of National Labels as Global Reference Labels? A Case Study With the JPI

Pharmaceutical labeling describes the safe and effective use of an approved product. Such information may be provided to consumers and/or health care physicians, and available online or in the pack in a variety of different formats according to local or regional regulations. Depending on the Health Authority (HA), content within a nationally approved label is generally reliant on two primary sources, a Company Core Data Sheet (CCDS), and the text approved by the Health Authority. Content in the nationally approved label may differ from the CCDS for a variety of reasons. In some countries, HAs require the Marketing Authorization Holder (MAH) to base their national label on an already approved label in a "major market" economy, only approving changes to the label when there is evidence that the major market has already approved. In this paper, we examine recent steps taken by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) to change labeling regulation in Japan in the context of the recently communicated national strategy, and assess whether this may impact on uptake of the J-PI as a reference label. Decreases in approval times by PMDA for new products, development of basic principles on multiregional clinical trials, greater transparency of content on the PMDA website, and increasing outreach to other Asian Agencies in recent years are highlighted. Labeling harmonization across regions, particularly of safety-related information, represents a key factor in promoting patient safety and risk communication, and is a worthy topic for future ICH consideration.
Early life socioeconomic status associates with interleukin-6 responses to acute laboratory stress in adulthood

Abstract It is proposed that environmental exposures in early life influence immune programming. Specifically, socioeconomic disadvantage is thought to program an immune phenotype that is prone to inflammation and associated with increased risk for inflammatory disease later in life. Existing literature shows an inverse association of early childhood socioeconomic status (SES) with adult levels of systemic inflammation. Here, we extend that literature to examine whether early childhood SES also relates to the magnitude of inflammatory response to acute psychological stress in adulthood. Healthy volunteers (N = 110; 40–58 years; 59% female; 90% white) performed a laboratory stress protocol, with blood samples drawn at the end of a 30-min baseline, a 5-min speech task, and a 30-min recovery to assess interleukin (IL)-6 stress responses. An early childhood SES index was derived from reports of parental home and vehicle ownership, and number of bedrooms per child in the home across ages 1–2, 3–4, and 5–6. Regressions adjusted for current age, sex, race, and BMI showed that lower SES at age 1–2 was associated with larger IL-6 stress responses in adulthood (ΔR2 = 0.05, β = −0.24, p = .03). This association was independent of adult SES and task-evoked affective responses. No association was found between SES at ages 3–4 or 5–6 and IL-6 responses. These results provide initial evidence for a link between disadvantage in the first 2 years of life and heightened inflammatory response to stress in adulthood; this link may contribute to the increased disease risk that accompanies being raised in disadvantaged socioeconomic circumstances.
Identifying the Responsible Group for Extreme Acts of Violence Through Pattern Recognition

The expansion of Internet has eased the broadcasting of data, information, and propaganda. The availability of myriads of social and televised media have turned the spotlight on violent extremism, widened the rift between different sides of the spectrum, and expanded the scope and impact of ideology-oriented acts of violence on citizens and nations. The human casualties and psychological impacts on societies make any study on such acts worthwhile, let alone attempting to detect patterns among them. This study focuses on mining the information about each violent act, including human casualties and fatalities, level of coordination and expertise, importance of the targeted process, and the extent of its impact on the process, to identify the responsible group. Decision tree, a non-linear classifier, reached 20% cross-validation accuracy in identifying the correct group among 38 groups. This is the highest accuracy achieved in comparison with other linear classifiers, including Perceptron, SVM, and least squares. Our results also underscored the human casualties and fatalities as the most important predictors. The other four variables, including level of coordination, level of expertise, importance of the targeted process, and the extent of the impact on the process were all partly correlated and less helpful. However, the single feature, generated by linear combination of these four features using PCA, was as good of a predictor as the human casualties and fatalities.
Fine Structure of Hereditary Defects of the Central Nervous System in Mice

Of all the laboratory animals that exhibit hereditary defects of the nervous system, the house mouse (Mus musculus) has proven to be one of the richest sources of material. Not only are there numerous inbred strains of mice, but the number and variety of neurological mutations continue to grow. The latter thus serve as useful models for analyzing comparable human disorders. In many instances it is not known whether the mutant condition in an animal represents a human defect until a thorough morphological and physiological study is made. Moreover, although some defects, such as exencephaly, are immediately obvious, others may first be detected only as a behavioral disturbance, such as ataxia. Still other neurological defects may not be at all obvious until various morphological and functional features of the nervous system are methodically observed and tested.
Branched-Chain Amino Acids

Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine, and valine in the muscle are converted into branched-chain α -ketoacids (BCKAs) through transamination. BCKAs circulated to the liver then undergo oxidative decarboxylation, mediated by the mitochondrial BCKA dehydrogenase complex (BCKDC), to produce branched-chain acyl-coenzymes. Genetic defects in the BCKDC result in maple syrup urine disease (MSUD), characterized by often-fatal ketoacidosis, neurological derangements, and mental retardation. The rate-limiting step in BCAA oxidation is at the BCKDC, which is acutely regulated by phosphorylation (inactivation)/dephosphorylation (reactivation), in response to hormonal and nutritional stimuli. Among BCAAs, leucine serves as key nutrition and endocrine signals to promote protein synthesis in muscle and trigger insulin release from pancreatic β -islet cells. A murine knockout model with block at the transamination step provokes a leucine-mediated energy-wasting futile cycle, resulting in significantly reduced body weight and body fat mass. Similar effects were obtained with dietary supplements of leucine or BCAAs. In the brain, a leucine–glutamate cycle is responsible for maintaining a steady supply of glutamate, a major excitatory neurotransmitter for interneuronal communication. BCKAs accumulated in MSUD compromise brain energy metabolism by blocking the respiratory chain and inhibiting creatine kinase activity. The above advances indicate that BCAAs and BCKAs are important amino acids that play a multifaceted role in metabolism, neurophysiology, and clinical applications.
Oxidation and Hot Corrosion Performance of NiCoCrAlY Coatings Fabricated Via Electrolytic Codeposition

The oxidation and hot corrosion performance of NiCoCrAlY coatings fabricated via electrolytic codeposition was investigated. The cyclic oxidation behavior of NiCoCrAlY coatings on Ni-based superalloys was evaluated at 1000 and 1100 °C. Preliminary Type I hot corrosion testing was conducted to assess the hot corrosion resistance of these coatings in a Dean rig with flowing O2 + 0.1% SO2 gas. NiAl coatings synthesized by a non-contact pack cementation method were included in the oxidation and corrosion tests for comparison. The NiAl coatings exhibited excellent oxidation resistance; however, they showed very poor hot corrosion performance at 900 °C. The electro-codeposited NiCoCrAlY coatings demonstrated good overall resistance to both cyclic oxidation and hot corrosion and also showed better chemical/microstructural compatibility with the superalloy substrates.
Eliminating mesh sensitivities in microstructure design with an adjoint algorithm

Abstract A microstructure design approach utilizing a discrete adjoint sensitivity analysis scheme is addressed. The microstructure is modeled with a one-point probability descriptor, known as Orientation Distribution Function (ODF). The ODF measures the volume densities of the unique orientations in a polycrystalline material. It can be discretized within an orientation space to describe the microstructure-sensitive features and calculate volume-averaged material properties. In this work, a finite element scheme is applied to discretize the ODF values in the Rodrigues orientation space to obtain the macro-scale properties. An adjoint sensitivity analysis is integrated into the solution framework to perform a design optimization for the microstructure to minimize/maximize a macro-scale property. Next, a gradient-based design optimization which utilizes the outputs of the sensitivity analysis is performed to enhance the material properties. The adjoint technique is shown to save a significant computational time compared to the existing design approaches. This is because the adjoint method is independent of the number of design variables. Thus, it eliminates the solution dependence to the finite element mesh that is used to model the problem.
Modeling nonlinear tidal evolution in an energetic estuary

Abstract Three-dimensional numerical simulations of a tidally dominated estuary within the Gulf of Maine are performed using the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) and validated with observations of sea surface elevation and velocity time series obtained between 1975 and 2016. The model is forced at the ocean boundary with tidal constituents (M2, S2, N2, O1, K1), a time series of observed subtidal elevations and discharge from seven rivers that drain into the estuary. Harmonic analysis is used to determine the tidal dissipation characteristics and generation of overtides within the system. Amplitude decay and phase shift of the dominant semidiurnal (M2) tidal component shows good agreement with observations throughout the main channel of the Piscataqua River and over the channels and mudflats of the Great Bay. The model simulates harmonic growth of the overtides across the spectrum, and indicates a spatial evolution of the tide consistent with a shoaling wave that evolves from a skewed elevation profile with ebb dominance in the lower parts of the estuary, to a more asymmetric, pitched-forward shape consistent with flood dominance. The M4 constituent has spatial variation qualitatively similar to the observations but has magnitudes that are under-predicted in the complex bathymetric region of the Piscataqua River where much of the M2 tidal dissipation occurs. The M6 tidal constituent agrees well with the observations throughout the estuary suggesting that frictional effects on harmonic growth are well modeled. Root-mean-square model-data differences in velocities (~0.05 m/s) and sea surface elevation (~0.1 m) agree to within about 10% of the tidal amplitudes. Differences between model simulations with and without subtidal oscillations in the estuary are small, suggesting that interactions between the tide and other low frequency (subtidal) mean flows are weak and can be ignored when considering tidal dynamics. Including average fresh water discharge in the model does not affect the behavior of the tidal flows, but can generate high frequency baroclinic velocities potentially important to mixing within the estuary.
Enhancement of Long-Term External-Internal Correlation by Phase-Shift Detection and Correction Based on Concurrent External Bellows and Internal Navigator Signals.

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to enhance the correlation between external and internal respiratory motions by dynamically determining and correcting the patient-specific phase shift between external and internal respiratory waveforms acquired concurrently during respiratory-correlated 4-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Methods and Materials Internal-navigator and external-bellows waveforms were acquired simultaneously during 6- to 15-minute respiratory-correlated 4-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging scans in 10 healthy participants under an institutional review board–approved protocol. The navigator was placed at the right lung–diaphragm interface, and the bellows were placed ∼5 cm inferior to the sternum. Three segments of each respiratory waveform, at the beginning, middle, and end of a scan, were analyzed. Three phase-domain methods were employed to estimate the phase shift, including analytical signal analysis, phase-space oval fitting, and principal component analysis. A robust strategy for estimating the phase shift was realized by combining these methods in a weighted average and by eliminating outliers (>2 σ) caused by breathing irregularities. Whether phase-shift correction affects the external-internal correlation was evaluated. The cross-correlation between the 2 waveforms in the time domain provided an independent check of the correlation enhancement. Results Phase-shift correction significantly enhanced the external-internal correlation in all participants across the entire 6- to 15-minute scans. On average, the correlation increased from 0.45 ± 0.28 to 0.85 ± 0.15 for the combined method. The combined method exhibited a 99.5% success rate and revealed that the phase of the external waveform leads that of the internal waveform in all 10 participants by 57 o ± 17o (1.6 ± 0.5 bins) on average. Seven participants exhibited highly reproducible phase shifts over time, evidenced by standard deviations (σ) Conclusions Correcting the phase shift estimated by the phase-domain methods provides a new approach for enhancing the correlation between external and internal respiratory motions. This strategy holds promise for improving the accuracy of respiratory-gated radiation therapy.
Andre Delbecq, a leader’s leader and master mentor

This is a tribute to Andre Delbecq in memory of his contributions as a master mentor, teacher, consultant, and innovator in spirituality and leadership – as written through the lens of our relation...
Risk of mortality varies by type of fat consumed in a longitudinal cohort of head and neck cancer patients.

6056Background: Dietary interventions have promise for improving cancer outcomes, but remain an understudied area of cancer care. The relationship between head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNS...
Übertragung des Indikatordiagramms in das Entropiediagramm

Die im vorigen Abschnitt erklarte Methode kann in umgekehrter Reihenfolge verwendet werden, um die vom Indikator aufgezeichnete tatsachliche Kompressionslinie in das Entropiediagramm zu ubertragen.
Cranial Neuralgias, Sinus Headache, and Vestibular Migraine

Pain associated with regions of the head is often difficult to diagnose and requires careful assessment of the patient history, a detailed examination, and often diagnostic testing before a thorough differential diagnosis can be developed. Patients presenting with head and/or neck pain may not realize the true origins of the pain they are experiencing, and may not accurately differentiate between, for example, sinus headaches and migraine attacks. Treatment options are presented here for several headache disorders, including cranial neuralgias, sinus headache, and vestibular migraine, by reviewing the clinical characteristics, basic pathophysiology, and clinical presentation.
Rational Design of Novel Polyelectrolytes: Aluminosilicate/Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Copolymers

The field of solvent-free polymer electrolytes includes both polymer-salt complexes and more recently, polyelectrolytes. These materials comprise a class of solid ionic conductors which have been the subject of increasing attention in recent years due to their unique integration of desirable mechanical and electrochemical properties1. Solvent-free polymer electrolytes are the subject of much research as potential electrolytes for high energy density advanced batteries and other electrochemical devices.2
Values, Ideologies, Attitudes, and Preferences for Relative Allocations to Park and Recreation Services

Local park and recreation agencies rely heavily on tax-based allocations as a funding source. However, such allocations have recently been cut both overall and relative to other services, incentivi...
Complications and Corrections of Temporary Dermal Fillers

Facial augmentation using temporary dermal fillers is the second most popular nonsurgical cosmetic procedure in the world. Patients are satisfied with the results, duration of effect, safety profile, and the less invasive nature of the procedures. Although temporary dermal filler products are safe and effective when used by qualified practitioners, the possibility of a complication remains. The demand for dermal filler treatments has grown along with the number of practitioners and this led to an increase in complications.
How Social Media Analytics Can Inform Content Strategies

Social media has become a strategic tool for businesses and nonprofit organizations to connect with audiences. However, no comprehensive framework exists to support the continued improvement of soc...
Microstructure and diffusion behavior of uranium fuel with minor additives

Abstract Fission product lanthanides in metallic fuels are known to cause adverse fuel-cladding chemical interaction (FCCI). Tin (Sn) and palladium (Pd) are being explored as the potential additives to reduce or mitigate lanthanide-induced FCCI by forming stable Sn-Ln and Pd-Ln compounds. The current study is an investigation of the fuel alloys, U–4Sn, U–4Sn-4Ln, U–4Pd, and U–4Pd-4Ln (wt. %), and their diffusion behaviors with Fe. Microstructural analysis was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The binary phases in the UPd and USn alloys are identified as UPd3 and suspected U2Sn, where U2Sn is unknown in the literature. The binary phases in the UPdLn alloy are identified as PdLn and Pd-rich Pd-Ln (Pd4Ln3 and Pd3Ln2), and in the USnLn alloy is SnLn. Diffusion of Fe with these binary phases is insignificant compared to the diffusion with U. The Ln-induced FCCI can be mitigated by the additives.
Owning vs. Renting: the benefits of residential stability?

In housing research, owning, as compared to renting, is generally depicted as more desirable and associated with better outcomes. This paper explores differences in outcomes between owners and rent...
Cycloidal Reluctance Electric Machine

A variable reluctance electric machine with a two-order rotor motion characterized by rotation around the center of the rotor and orbiting around the center of the stator is studied. One motivation for adopting such rotor motion would be to allow torque generation through both the radial and tangential components of the electromagnetic forces created in the airgap, as opposed to common rotary machines in which torque is a byproduct of the tangential component of the airgap electromagnetic forces only. Furthermore, the rotor motion provides a built-in gearing action similar to a cycloidal drive which allows natural torque multiplication. Due to the reluctance nature of the torque, and because of the distinctive rotor motion profile which resembles the motion of a cycloid, the studied machine is called a cycloidal reluctance (CR) electric machine (CRM). In this paper, the principle of operation of CRM is explained, and its performance is compared to a counterpart switched reluctance machine (SRM). A prototype is built, and the theoretical torque calculations are validated by experimental measurements.
Has OBM Found Its Heart? An Assessment of Procedural Acceptability Trends in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management

Procedural acceptability measures can be used to inform and improve the long-term viability of interventions in Organizational Behavior Management (OBM). However, little is known regarding the use ...
Forced Sales and Dealer Choice in OTC Markets

Using novel trade-level data, we study how municipal bond mutual funds trade in response to daily flows. When forced to sell bonds to satisfy redemptions, funds prearrange fewer trades, sell more liquid bonds, and trade with more central dealers, who offer faster execution. Funds are especially likely to turn to more central dealers when trading lower rated bonds, when funds have low cash buffers, and when trading after periods of aggregate outflows. More central dealers charge higher markups when funds demand fast execution.
The female Tourette patient: Sex differences in Tourette Disorder.

Abstract Tourette Disorder (TD) is a male predominant neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by tics and frequent psychiatric comorbidities. Girls with TD have later peak symptoms, less remission with age, and worse impairment from tics, particularly in adulthood. Female TD patients are less likely to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and more likely to have anxiety and mood disorders. Hyperandrogenism is associated with TD in both sexes, and neuroanatomic sexual dimorphism is reduced in adult TD patients. Some women report catamenial tics, which may relate to estrogen withdrawal or rises in allopregnanolone. Limited data suggest that several neuroanatomic alterations present in boys with TD are not present in girls with TD. Female sex predicts better response to haloperidol. Further research into female tic pathophysiology may influence sex-specific treatment development.
Broadband time-modulated absorber beyond the Bode-Fano limit by energy trapping

Wide-band absorption is a popular topic in microwave engineering to protect sensitive devices against broadband sources. However, the Bode-Fano criterion defines the trade-off between bandwidth and efficiency for all passive, linear, time-invariant systems. In this letter, we propose a broadband absorber beyond the Bode-Fano limit by creating an energy trap using time-modulated switch/diodes. This work starts with an ideal circuit model to prove the concept, followed by two EM realizations - a freuqnecy selective surface (FSS) approach for general bandwidth broadening and a low-profile PCB design. The prototype of the latter is built and measured, demonstrating a Bode-Fano integral larger than one. This approach paves a way to many practical ultra-wide band absorber designs.
Human-Automation Interaction for Assisting Novices to Emulate Experts by Inferring Task Objective Functions

In this paper, we propose a human-automation interaction scheme to improve the task performance of novice human users with different skill levels. The proposed scheme includes two interaction modes: learn from experts mode and assist novices mode. In the learn from experts mode, the automation learns from a human expert user such that the awareness of task objective is obtained. Based on the learned task objective, in the assist novices mode, the automation customizes its control parameter to assist a novice human user towards emulating the performance of the expert human user. We experimentally test the proposed human-automation scheme in a designed quadrotor simulation environment, and the results show that the proposed approach is capable of adapting to and assisting the novice human user to achieve the performance that emulates the expert human user.
Global Information Systems and Technology Focus on the Organization and Its Functional Areas

Focuses on global IT applications at the functional levels of the organisation, examining such subjects as: how to realise the potential of IS in a global market; how applications can overcome currency and accounting problems; and how to use IT to manufacture products for multiple markets.
An fir predictor interpretation of LS estimation of sinusoidal amplitudes followed by extrapolation

Prediction of time series consisting of a weighted sum of complex sinusoids corrupted by additive noise can be used for e.g. mobile radio channels. Least squares estimation of the complex amplitudes of sinusoids with known frequencies followed by extrapolation to the desired prediction range, is here interpreted as a linear FIR predictor using a sinusoidal filter. This interpretation enables an analysis of the properties of the predictor. An improved method utilizing a Wiener predictor, designed under the assumption that all the complex sinusoids have equal magnitudes, is proposed. The performance of the different prediction methods are evaluated in simulations and the proposed predictor is seen to have a performance close to the optimal Wiener predictor.
RESULTS FROM OPTICAL AND UV STELLAR FLARE SPECTROSCOPY

Optical and ultraviolet spectroscopy can enable the assessment of the physical conditions characterizing a stellar flare atmosphere and thereby potentially elucidate the possible radiative and hydrodynamic transport mechanisms operative during stellar flares. In this review, I present illustrative examples of the spectroscopic diagnostic techniques that can be applied to the analysis of stellar flare spectroscopic data and the resulting inferences concerning stellar flare properties for M dwarf flare events.
Survival in octogenarians undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy compared to the general population.

Background Many patients eligible for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) are over 80 years of age. Survival in this population and how it compares to the general octogenarian population has not been established. Methods We extracted clinical data on a cohort of 800 consecutive patients undergoing the new implantation of a CRT device between April 15, 2004 and August 6, 2007. Patients over age 80, with class III-IV New York Heart Association heart failure symptoms on optimal medical therapy undergoing initial CRT implantation, were included in the final cohort. Using the United States Social Security Period Life Table for 2006, fractional survival for octogenarians in the general population was calculated and matched to our cohort based on age and gender. A comparison was then made between octogenarians undergoing CRT compared to the general population. Results A total of 95 octogenarians who met inclusion criteria were identified, of whom 86.3% received a biventricular defibrillator and the remainder a biventricular pacemaker. Over a mean follow-up of 3.6 ± 1.5 years, there were 47 deaths (47.4%). The mean survival time was 4.1 years (95% CI 3.7–4.5), and survival at 2 years was 78.9%. Compared to the general octogenarian population, octogenarians receiving CRT had only modestly worse survival over the duration of follow-up with the survival curves diverging at 2 years of follow-up (P = 0.03). Conclusions Octogenarians with advanced heart failure have a reasonable mean survival time following CRT. All-cause mortality in this patient population is only modestly worse compared to the general octogenarian population. Therefore, in octogenarians deemed to be reasonable candidates, CRT should not be withheld based on age alone.
Preserving Community Assets: Do Foreclosure Sales Need to Negatively Impact the Neighborhood?

Research has linked concentrated foreclosures with negative neighborhood outcomes; for instance, increased crime and decreased property values. These outcomes drain community asset holdings and impact the longer term trajectory of the neighborhood. However, data reported in this article from a Boston study challenge the assumption that negative neighborhood outcomes are a foregone conclusion in the face of foreclosures. Analysis of interviews with real estate agents and other foreclosure professionals, neighborhood ethnographic observation, and citywide sales and foreclosure sales documents demonstrate that the distinct nature of the foreclosure sales process creates market disruptions heightening the risk for documented negative neighborhood outcomes. Attempts by the seller to reduce financial risks in the sale increase the likelihood of vacancy and create a market oriented toward investor–buyers. Understanding the risk preferences of key decision makers in the foreclosure sale process reveals new interv...
Well-balanced positivity preserving central-upwind scheme for the shallow water system with friction terms

Summary Shallow water models are widely used to describe and study free-surface water flow. While in some practical applications the bottom friction does not have much influence on the solutions, there are still many applications, where the bottom friction is important. In particular, the friction terms will play a significant role when the depth of the water is very small. In this paper, we study shallow water equations with friction terms and develop a semi-discrete second-order central-upwind scheme that is capable of exactly preserving physically relevant steady states and maintaining the positivity of the water depth. The presence of the friction terms increases the level of complexity in numerical simulations as the underlying semi-discrete system becomes stiff when the water depth is small. We therefore implement an efficient semi-implicit Runge-Kutta time integration method that sustains the well-balanced and sign preserving properties of the semi-discrete scheme. We test the designed method on a number of one-dimensional and two-dimensional examples that demonstrate robustness and high resolution of the proposed numerical approach. The data in the last numerical example correspond to the laboratory experiments reported in [L. Cea, M. Garrido, and J. Puertas, Journal of Hydrology, 382 (2010), pp. 88–102], designed to mimic the rain water drainage in urban areas containing houses. Since the rain water depth is typically several orders of magnitude smaller than the height of the houses, we develop a special technique, which helps to achieve a remarkable agreement between the numerical and experimental results. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Chapter 33 Game theory and public economics

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews some areas of public economies where the theory of games has made important contributions. Game theory has been successfully employed in economics whenever the standard—private goods—competitive model did not provide an adequate framework for analysis. Public economics is one of these cases. The chapter presents a survey on the problem of allocating pure public goods under conditions of complete information and discusses the controversial issue of local public goods. Local public goods are generally defined as public goods with exclusion. In most instances, the theory suggests that the set of consumers (or players) be partitioned where members of each set in the partition are associated with such objects as jurisdictions, communities, and locations etc., all of which have a spatial character. The chapter addresses the question of income and wealth distribution, which has always been a central problem for economic theory. Given a set of initial property rights of agents, the theory of general competitive equilibrium provides a positive theory for the distribution of income that emerges with prices.
Parallel parsing: Evidence from reactivation in garden-path sentences

An all-visual, on-line, lexical priming technique was used to investigate whether the human sentence processor computes syntactic representations serially or in parallel. Structurally ambiguous garden-path sentences such as the following were studied: “The psychologist told the wife that the man bumpedthat her car was stolen.” Despite the strong preference for the sentential-complement reading of the ambiguous region (italicized), a reactivation effect for the head of the relative clause (wife) was observed immediately following the presentation of the embedded verb (bumped), suggesting that the relative clause analysis is also computed. This finding is taken as evidence for parallel parsing since both possible analyses were shown to have a processing reflection simultaneously: Computation of the sentential-complement analysis was demonstrated by the fact that readers garden-path when that analysis turns out to be incorrect, and computation of the relative clause analysis was demonstrated by the reactivation effect.
CometCloud: An Autonomic Cloud Engine

Clouds typically have highly dynamic demands for resources with highly heterogeneous and dynamic workloads. For example, the workloads associated with the application can be quite dynamic, both in terms of the number of tasks processed as well as computation requirements of each task. Furthermore, different applications may have very different and dynamic QoS requirements, for example, one application may require high throughput while another may be constrained by a budget, and a third may have to balance both throughput and budget. The performance of a cloud service can also vary based on these varying loads as well as failures, network conditions, etc., resulting in different quality of service to the application. Combining public cloud platforms and integrating them with existing grids and data centers can support on-demand scale-up, scale-down as well as scale-out. Users may want to use resources in their private cloud (or datacenter or grid) first before scaling out onto a public cloud, and may have preference for a particular cloud or may want to combine multiple clouds. However, such integration and interoperability is currently non-trivial. Furthermore, integrating these public cloud platforms with exiting
Solution structure of Ca 2+ –calmodulin reveals flexible hand-like properties of its domains

The solution structure of Ca2+-ligated calmodulin is determined from residual dipolar couplings measured in a liquid crystalline medium and from a large number of heteronuclear J couplings for defining side chains. Although the C-terminal domain solution structure is similar to the X-ray crystal structure, the EF hands of the N-terminal domain are considerably less open. The substantial differences in interhelical angles correspond to negligible changes in short interproton distances and, therefore, cannot be identified by comparison of NOEs and X-ray data. NOE analysis, however, excludes a two-state equilibrium in which the closed apo conformation is partially populated in the Ca2+-ligated state. The difference between the crystal and solution structures of Ca2+–calmodulin indicates considerable backbone plasticity within the domains of calmodulin, which is key to their ability to bind a wide range of targets. In contrast, the vast majority of side chains making up the target binding surface are locked into the same χ1 rotameric states as in complexes with target peptide.
(D) Routes of delivery: Case studies

Abstract Transdermal drug delivery has attracted considerable attention in recent years and the potential advantages of this mode of administration have been well documented [1]. The transdermal delivery of peptides and small proteins is of particular interest, since percutaneous administration overcomes many of the problems associated with conventional means of administering these potent therapeutic agents. The major obstacles to the passive permeation of peptidic agents are their hydrophilicity and size; however, therapeutically significant dosage levels have been achieved in vivo using either electrical or chemical enhancement.
Hepatic peroxisomal abnormalities in abetalipoproteinemia

Abstract Spinocerebellar degeneration in a 17-yr-old boy with abetalipoproteinemia was associated with vitamin E deficiency and hepatic steatosis. In liver biopsy samples before and after 15 mo of vitamin E treatment, hepatocellular peroxisomes were morphologically abnormal; pleomorphic, with a broadened range of sizes; often larger than normal; and with marginal bars in some. In the first sample, peroxisomes exhibited matrical heterogeneity and dense nucleoids. Peroxisomes in the second biopsy sample lacked nucleoids and contained more homogeneous matrices. The mean peroxisomal diameter increased from 0.77 ± 0.33 to 0.86 ± 0.32 μM (normal, 0.62 ± 0.14). These observations raise the possibility that peroxisomes may be involved in the metabolism of apolipoprotein B or may be affected by the disturbances of hepatocellular lipid metabolism caused by this disease.
Expression of Hepatitis B Virus Surface Antigen Gene in Cultured Cells by Using Recombinant Plasmid Vectors

Abstract By using a new host-vector system, expression of the gene coding for hepatitis B surface antigen has been studied. A subgenomic fragment of cloned hepatitis B viral DNA was inserted into the plasmid vector pSV010. Transfection of COS cells with the recombinant plasmid vector containing hepatitis sequences leads to the synthesis of hepatitis B surface antigen, which is released in the culture medium in the form of 22-nm particles similar to those found in the sera of hepatitis carriers.
DNA Methylation Is a Nonredundant Repressor of the Th2 Effector Program

The extent to which DNA methylation contributes to proper regulation of murine T cell effector function is unclear. In this study, we show that in the absence of the maintenance DNA methyltransferase Dnmt1, silencing of IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, and IL-10 in CD8 T cells was abolished, and expression of these Th2 cytokines increased as much as 1000-fold compared with that of control CD8 T cells. Th2 cytokine expression also increased in Dnmt1(-/-) CD4 T cells, but the increase ( approximately 20-40-fold for IL-4 and IL-10, </=5-fold for IL-5 and IL-13) was less than for CD8 T cells. As a result, both Dnmt1(-/-) CD4 and CD8 T cells expressed high and comparable amounts of Th2 cytokines. Loss of Dnmt1 had more subtle effects on IL-2 (</=5-fold increase) and IFN-gamma ( approximately 5-10-fold increase) expression and did not affect the normal bias for greater IL-2 expression by CD4 T cells and greater IFN-gamma expression by CD8 T cells, nor the exclusive expression of perforin and granzyme B by the CD8 T cells. These results indicate that Dnmt1 and DNA methylation are necessary to prevent cell autonomous Th2 cytokine expression in CD8 T cells but are not essential for maintaining proper T cell subset-specific expression of Th1 or CTL effectors. We also found that the expression of Th2 cytokines by Dnmt1(-/-) T cells was appropriately up-regulated in Th2 conditions and down-regulated in Th1 conditions, indicating that transcription factors and DNA methylation are complementary and nonredundant mechanisms by which the Th2 effector program is regulated.
Instability of FIFO in a simple queueing system with arbitrarily low loads

We show, using a simple example, that the First-In-First-Out (FIFO) policy can be unstable in a system with arbitrarily low load. Our proof is based on the observation that the special structure of the example we use allows us to establish stability using a much simpler queueing system.
Simple structural differences between coding and noncoding DNA.

Background The study of large-scale genome structure has revealed patterns suggesting the influence of evolutionary constraints on genome evolution. However, the results of these studies can be difficult to interpret due to the conceptual complexity of the analyses. This makes it difficult to understand how observed statistical patterns relate to the physical distribution of genomic elements. We use a simpler and more intuitive approach to evaluate patterns of genome structure. Methodology/Principal Findings We used randomization tests based on Morisita's Index of aggregation to examine average differences in the distribution of purines and pyrimidines among coding and noncoding regions of 261 chromosomes from 223 microbial genomes representing 21 phylum level groups. Purines and pyrimidines were aggregated in the noncoding DNA of 86% of genomes, but were only aggregated in the coding regions of 52% of genomes. Coding and noncoding DNA differed in aggregation in 94% of genomes. Noncoding regions were more aggregated than coding regions in 91% of these genomes. Genome length appears to limit aggregation, but chromosome length does not. Chromosomes from the same species are similarly aggregated despite substantial differences in length. Aggregation differed among taxonomic groups, revealing support for a previously reported pattern relating genome structure to environmental conditions. Conclusions/Significance Our approach revealed several patterns of genome structure among different types of DNA, different chromosomes of the same genome, and among different taxonomic groups. Similarity in aggregation among chromosomes of varying length from the same genome suggests that individual chromosome structure has not evolved independently of the general constraints on genome structure as a whole. These patterns were detected using simple and readily interpretable methods commonly used in other areas of biology.
Ocular trauma: time for action.

(1998). Ocular trauma: time for action. Ophthalmic Epidemiology: Vol. 5, No. 3, pp. 115-116.
Mechanism of the protective effects of long chain n-alkyl glucopyranosides against ultrasound-induced cytolysis of HL-60 cells

Abstract Recently it has been shown that long chain (C5–C8) n-alkyl glucopyranosides completely inhibit ultrasound-induced cytolysis [J.Z. Sostaric, N. Miyoshi, P. Riesz, W.G. DeGraff, and J.B. Mitchell, Free Radical Biol. Med., 39 (2005) 1539]. This protective effect has possible applications in HIFU (high intensity focused ultrasound) for tumor treatment, and in ultrasound assisted drug delivery and gene therapy. n-Alkyl glucopyranosides with hexyl (5 mM), heptyl (3 mM), octyl (2 mM) n-alkyl chains protected 100% of HL-60 cells in vitro from 1.057 MHz ultrasound-induced cytolysis under a range of conditions that resulted in 35–100% cytolysis in the absence of glucopyranosides. However the hydrophilic methyl- β - d -glucopyranoside did not protect cells. The surface active n-alkyl glucopyranosides accumulate at the gas–liquid interface of cavitation bubbles. The OH radicals and H atoms formed in collapsing cavitation bubbles react by H-atom abstraction from either the n-alkyl chain or the glucose moiety of the n-alkyl glucopyranosides. Owing to the high concentration of the long chain surfactants at the gas–liquid interface of cavitation bubbles, the initially formed carbon radicals on the alkyl chains are transferred to the glucose moieties to yield radicals which react with oxygen leading to the formation of hydrogen peroxide. In this work, we find that the sonochemically produced hydrogen peroxide yields from oxygen-saturated solutions of long chain (hexyl, octyl) n-alkyl glucopyranosides at 614 kHz and 1.057 MHz ultrasound increase with increasing n-alkyl glucopyranoside concentration but are independent of concentration for methyl-β- d -glucopyranoside. These results are consistent with the previously proposed mechanism of sonoprotection [J.Z. Sostaric, N. Miyoshi, P. Riesz, W.G. DeGraff, and J.B. Mitchell, Free Radical Biol. Med., 39 (2005) 1539]. This sequence of events prevents sonodynamic cell killing by initiation of lipid peroxidation chain reactions in cellular membranes by peroxyl and/or alkoxyl radicals [V. Misik, P. Riesz, Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci., 899 (2000) 335].
Role of automation in new instrumentation.

In recent years there has been an unprecedented increase in the development of automated instrumentation for ophthalmic diagnostic and assessment purposes. An important part of this growth in automated clinical ophthalmic instrumentation has been directed to perimetry and visual field testing. In less than 15 years automated perimetry has advanced from a laboratory curiosity to become the standard for clinical visual field testing. This paper will provide a brief overview of the impact that automated perimetry has had on current clinical ophthalmic practice and patient management. It is presented as a general example of the influence that automated instrumentation has exerted on the clinical environment
Scalability and interoperability within glideinWMS

Physicists have access to thousands of CPUs in grid federations such as OSG and EGEE. With the start-up of the LHC, it is essential for individuals or groups of users to wrap together available resources from multiple sites across multiple grids under a higher user-controlled layer in order to provide a homogeneous pool of available resources. One such system is glideinWMS, which is based on the Condor batch system. A general discussion of glideinWMS can be found elsewhere. Here, we focus on recent advances in extending its reach: scalability and integration of heterogeneous compute elements. We demonstrate that the new developments exceed the design goal of over 10,000 simultaneous running jobs under a single Condor schedd, using strong security protocols across global networks, and sustaining a steady-state job completion rate of a few Hz. We also show interoperability across heterogeneous computing elements achieved using client-side methods. We discuss this technique and the challenges in direct access to NorduGrid and CREAM compute elements, in addition to Globus based systems.
A DIDACTIC APPROACH TO THE USE OF IRT TRUE‐SCORE EQUATING

This paper discusses the assumptions required by the item response theory (IRT) true-score equating method (with Stocking & Lord, 1983; scaling approach), which is commonly used in the nonequivalent groups with an anchor data-collection design. More precisely, this paper investigates the assumptions made at each step by the IRT approach to calibrating items and equating tests, and discusses the approaches that one might take for checking whether these assumptions are met for a particular data set. We investigated two types of tests: tests that consist of multiple-choice items only, and tests that consist of both multiple-choice and free-response items. Real data from the AP® Calculus AB exam are used to illustrate the application of the IRT true-score equating method as well as for the comparisons.
Effect of doping on point defect incorporation during silicon growth

Abstract The incorporation of either vacancies or self-interstitials into growing crystal is controlled by the V / G ratio ( V is the growth rate and G is the near-interface temperature gradient). The critical value of V / G for the change-over from interstitial to vacancy incorporation is generally sensitive to the presence of impurities. The most straightforward impurity effect is a shift in the equilibrium concentrations of defects at the melting point induced by a shift in the Fermi level or by lattice strain; the latter effect is however negligible for conventional dopant concentration. Particularly, the well-known boron effect on ( V / G ) cr can be attributed entirely to a Fermi level shift. Some neutral impurities also affect ( V / G ) cr . Such phenomena indicate to impurity reactions with intrinsic point defects and particularly, to transitions between substitutional and interstitial states of impurity atoms.
A comparison of self-assessed satisfaction among wearers of dentures, hearing aids, and eyeglasses

Patient assessment of dental prostheses, hearing aids, and eyeglasses can provide valuable data regarding adaptability of geriatric patients. This article describes a cross-modality evaluation of patient satisfaction with dental, hearing, and vision prostheses. Three hundred ninety-one subjects with recently placed prostheses were evaluated for self-assessed satisfaction and other related information. Patient satisfaction was compared with, age, type of prosthesis, and level of impairment. No statistical evidence of an age-related dissatisfaction with prostheses was found. Significant differences in levels of satisfaction were noted between different types of prostheses. Irrespective of level of impairment, patients expressed greatest satisfaction with dental prostheses and least satisfaction with hearing aids.