cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Risk Mitigation Study for Instrumentation Layout Along Wing Leading Edge of a 1.8%-Scale Space Shuttle Model Using TSP

As part of an ongoing study to categorically define the wing leading edge heating rates during re-entry for the Space Shuttle Orbiter, testing has begun at the Aerothermal AeroOptics Evaluation Center (AAEC) in the LENS I hypersonic shock tunnel facility in which the full test program is defined by two major phases. Phase I, which has been completed and is the scope of this paper, consisted of the design, fabrication and testing of a 1.8%-scale Orbiter model employing Temperature Sensitive Paint (TSP) to define locations of peak heating. In addition to the TSP, a Macor piece instrumented with thin-film heat transfer gauges were also installed on the opposite wing at a location representative of RCC panels 8-12 as a means of obtaining limited quantitative measurements. Due to a lack of current experimental data regarding locations of peak heating along the wing leading edge, the TSP tests were done as a risk mitigation study for placement of a densely instrumented suite of thin-film gauges to acquire quantitative heat transfer rates along the wing leading edge during Phase II of this program. The TSP and limited thin-film test results presented in this paper show how the peak heating location changes with respect to Mach number, angle of attack and yaw for both the chordwise and spanwise directions along the wing. From the experimental data set collected, recommendations are presented as to suitable locations for the placement of a full arsenal of thin-film gauges for Phase II of this study.
Theophylline in the ambulatory treatment of chronic obstructive lung disease: resolving a controversy.

BACKGROUND Recent reports of a high frequency of theophylline toxicity, which usually occurs at theophylline blood levels >20 μg/mL, coupled with the recent addition of metered-dose, inhaled anticholinergics to the beta-2 agonist inhalers already available for treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, has led some authors to suggest that theophylline should no longer be used in the ambulatory management of this disease. OBJECTIVE The author suggests an alternate approach to theophylline dosing as a means of resolving the current controversy. SUMMARY Because of the log-linear relationship between bronchodilation and blood level, little bronchodilator efficacy is lost by using a target therapeutic theophylline blood level of 10 ± 2 μg/mL. This target provides a greater range between therapeutic and toxic blood levels than the 17 ± 2 μg/mL therapeutic target blood level that has also been recommended. CONCLUSIONS Because theophylline has a different mode of action than the sympathomimetic or anticholinergic drugs, it continues to have a useful place in the ambulatory management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Reports of theophylline toxicity and the arrival of newer agents have caused some to advocate abandoning theophylline for the treatment of COPD. An alternative is offered.
Phylogenetic analysis of enterovirus 71 isolates in Chengdu during 2010 to 2013

Objective To understand the variation in VP1 gene of enterovirus 71(EV71) isolates in Chengdu during 2010 to 2013(first half of the year) and provide scientific evidences for the prevention and control of disease.Methods In total of 25 positive samples of EV71 were selected and amplified,then VP1 gene was sequenced and analyzed.Results All the 25 samples belonged to C4 subtype,with little difference from Fuyang isolate.The nucleotide homology of VP1 genes among the 25 strains were 82.72%-100%,and 96.29%-100% of the amino acid with 11 mutational sites.Conclusion There is no obvious mutation of VP1 in EV71 in Chengdu during 2010 to 2013(first half of the year).However,the critical amino acid mutations and the possible challenges in disease prevention and control should be concerned about.
Level of sex hormone in the patients less than two years old with simple premature thelarche

Objective To study the significance of the level of sex hormone of the patients less than two years old with simple premature thelarche and with undeveloped breasts.Methods 67cases were classified to simple premature thelarche group(35 cases) and normal control group(32 cases) which were detected the content of follicle stimulating hormone(FSH),luteinizing hormone(LH),estadiol(E2) and prolactin(PRL).Results The level of FSH and E2 in simple premature thelarche group were higher than that of normal control group(P0.01).Conclusion If they were high level of FSH and E2,the patients less than 2-year with simple premature thelarche needn't special treatment.
Analysis of Eemiological characteristics of Hand-Foot-Mouth Disease in zhengyang in 2010

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of children with hand-foot-mouth disease(HFMD) in zhengyang in 2010.Methods Collected the data of hand-foot-mouth disease in zhengyang in 2010 and analyzed the data by descriptive epidemiology method.Results There were 769 cases in zhengyang in 2010,the incidence rate was 97.34/100 000,and peaked from Mayto August,the incidence in urban area was higher than that in rural area.HFMD appeared mainly in the children below 5 years old(98.05%),and the incidence was the highest for 1 to 3 years old children.There were 39 laboratory diagnosis cases,and 31 cases of EV71-positive in total(79.49%).There were 107cases with severe HFMD in 2010(13.91%),the incidence in rural area was higher than that in urban area.Conclusion It has a high incidence of HFMD in zhengyang in 2010,and appeares area clustering in zhengyang,the main pathogens of HFMD is EV71.
Successful Academic-Public Health Practice Collaboration: What Works From the Public Health Workforce's Perspective.

CONTEXT Public health departments and academic institutions engage in a range of cooperative activities that can greatly benefit a public health department and can often be mutually beneficial. Yet, little is known regarding practitioners' views of successful academic collaborations. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to explore predictors and correlates of beneficial academic collaboration from the perspective of those on the front lines--the practitioners constituting the public health workforce. DESIGN Analysis of the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS), a cross-sectional survey of state health department practitioners, conducted in 2014. PARTICIPANTS PH WINS is a nationally representative survey of state health department practitioners. Data were available for a total of 8718 respondents in 37 states. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Two main outcome measures were used--(a) whether a respondent reported collaborating with an academic entity (including faculty/staff/students) in the past year, and (b) when collaboration did occur, the success of the collaboration insofar as the respondent perceived the engagement as very helpful. RESULTS Health department practitioners (27.2%) reported participating in an academic-practice collaboration. Factors associated with partnering included respondents' supervisory status, positional duties, and public health background. Of these respondents, 46.6% reported a successful collaboration. Factors associated with a successful collaboration included respondents' self-reported job skills and public health background. CONCLUSION While characteristics related to a public health practitioner's position are most significant in predicting whether a collaboration will occur, characteristics of the individual him- or herself are more relevant in predicting whether a collaboration will be successful. Public health managers interested in fostering an environment that promotes a successful academic-practice collaboration may benefit from ensuring that the public health practitioners involved in such collaborations are themselves trained in public health.
Holmium laser sclerostomy in glaucomatous eyes with prior surgery: 24-month results.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of holmium laser sclerostomy in glaucoma patients who have had prior intraocular surgery. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of outcomes for 25 patients who underwent holmium laser sclerostomy from 1991 to 1993. RESULTS: Postoperative success (defined as a drop in intraocular pressure of 30% and a final intraocular pressure of less than 22 mm Hg) at 24 months ranged from 36% to 52%, depending on criteria chosen for success. There were no major complications from the procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Holmium laser sclerostomy can be successful in a highly select group of patients undergoing filtration procedures who have had prior intraocular surgery.
Premilking teat disinfection for the prevention of environmental pathogen intramammary infections

A natural exposure study was conducted for 14 months to evaluate efficacy of 0.25% iodine premilking teat disinfectant for the prevention of new intramammary infections. Predipping was compared with a negative control using a split-udder experimental design. All teats were dipped after milking with the same teat dip. Most new major pathogen intramammary infections resulted from Streptococcus species, primarily Streptococcus uberis and Streptococcus dysgalactiae , and from gram-negative bacteria, primarily Escherichia coli . New infections by gram-negative bacteria were significantly lower in quarters with teats predipped and postdipped than in quarters with teats postdipped only. Percentage of quarters newly infected by major mastitis pathogens was 48.6% lower in quarters with teats predipped and postdipped than in quarters with teats postdipped only. Statistical differences in incidence of clinical mastitis between treatment groups were not observed. Predipping and postdipping was no more effective against Staphylococcus species and Corynebacterium bovis than postdipping only. These data suggest that pre- and postdipping with the test product was more effective against major pathogens than postdipping only and provide additional evidence that premilking teat disinfection is an effective management procedure for prevention of environmental pathogen intramammary infections.
Fine-grained encryption-based access control for big data

Big Data technologies are increasingly used to store and/or analyze personally identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive data. In order to comply with various regulations and organizational policies, such data needs to be stored encrypted and the access to them needs to be controlled based on the identity attributes of users. A simple solution is to use an efficient symmetric key encryption scheme. However, it requires sharing many keys with various entities in the system increasing the risk of key leakage. Further, when the user membership changes, these symmetric keys need to be re-issued incurring a high overhead. A better solution is to utilize attribute based encryption (ABE) techniques. While ABE provides fine-grained access control for encrypted data, they require expensive pairing operations and, further, attribute revocation is inefficient. Having identified the strengths and weakness of these solutions, we propose a novel approach using attribute based group key management. Unlike the direct application of symmetric key encryption, keys are not stored in the system; they are dynamically derived when data is to be decrypted. Our approach is an order of magnitude efficient than the ABE based approach as ours is based on symmetric key encryption and broadcast group key management. The main bottleneck in our approach is the key generation operation. We utilize MapReduce framework to improve the performance of the key generation by generating intermediate keys during Map phase and generating the final key during the Reduce phase. We demonstrate our approach using Hadoop, a popular Big Data platform. The data blocks stored at DataNodes are encrypted and public information required to derive the key are stored as part of metadata in the NameNode. The encryption is performed at the granularity of HDFS (Hadoop Distributed File System) blocks. If the group membership changes before appending some new blocks to a file, a new symmetric key and public information are generated to encrypt the new blocks. Highlights of our approach are that the symmetric keys are neither stored nor transmitted, and the evolution of encryption is transparent to the Clients and the JobTracker which performs MapReduce tasks on Clients' data.
Hybrid Global Supply Chain Design Considering Product Families and Layered Cellular Design

This paper proposes a new hybrid global supply chain strategy for a global blood sugar manufacturing company. In this approach, products are analyzed based on product families. Product families can share cells across the globe if needed. The results are compared with the host market strategy where three manufacturing plants located in three regions to meet world demand. Manufacturing plants are designed considering layered cellular design approach under stochastic demand. This approach allows three cell types; (1) dedicated cells where each dedicated cell can be used only by one family, (2) shared cells where a cell can be shared by two product families, and (3) remainder cells where a cell can be used by three or more families. The main focus of this paper is to compare both alternatives with respect to number of manufacturing cells and number of machines needed. In this case, number of machines remained the same for both approaches. However, the proposed new approach led to more dedicated cells.
Giant Cutaneous Horn Arising in an Epidermal Nevus

Cutaneous horns, which rarely occur in children, can overlie a large array of pathologic lesions that range from benign to malignant. When a cutaneous horn is encountered, it is not the horn itself that is of relevance, it is the nature of the underlying disease that dictates overall prognosis and management. In this report we present a case of a cutaneous horn arising within a linear verrucous epidermal nevus and briefly review cutaneous horns, with an emphasis on their clinical implications and differential diagnosis.
Written in the Body?: Healing the Epigenetic Molecular Wounds of Complex Trauma Through Empathy and Kindness.

While research on the biological/genetic approach to trauma transmission has become increasingly abundant over the past 15 years, this research has been primarily limited to scientific research journals and has not yet significantly appeared in practice journals, graduate programs, clinical settings, or policy decisions. This paper aims to develop a bridge across disciplines, integrating a review of biological science literature with mental health literature to provide a multidisciplinary overview of the role of epigenetic mechanisms in the transmission of complex trauma. Such a multidisciplinary overview is important in allowing professionals across disciplines to approach their work with a more complete understanding of the way in which ecological systems shape trauma transmission and healing. While encouraging collaboration between researchers and providers across fields, this paper argues that to heal the person, one must first work to heal the environment.
Improved Clinical Detection of Cerebellar Lesions in Multiple Sclerosis Patients (P4.376)

Objective: We evaluated 2 simple balance tasks for sensitivity to detect cerebellar lesions relative to the cerebellar functional system (FS) of the EDSS. Background: People with early multiple sclerosis (MS) may have subclinical imbalance not reflected by changes in the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS). Lesion topography has been shown to impact disability accumulation. Design/Methods: 105 early MS patients (18 CIS, 87 RRMS, diagnosis Results: 42/105 patients had cerebellar lesions. Abnormal cerebellar FS score was not reliably related to presence (p=0.09, sensitivity=19%, specificity=92.1%) or volume (p=0.281) of lesions. Lesions were more common among patients who failed the NIH balance task (p=0.002, sensitivity=28.6%, specificity=93.7%). Worsened postural sway was associated with greater lesion volume (p=0.004). Patients with imperfect beam scores were more likely to have lesions (p=0.001); sensitivity=50%, specificity =82.5%). Both NIH balance and balance beam task scores were more closely related to patient reported deficits compared to the cerebellar FS score. Conclusions: We identify simple balance tasks that are more sensitive for detecting topography of cerebellar lesions, and more closely reflect patient reported cerebellar deficits, than the EDSS. These tasks may identify subtle patient reported deficits during relapses or longitudinal changes occurring during progression. Disclosure: Dr. Ayeni has nothing to disclose. Dr. Krieger has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with acorda, bayer, biogen, emd serono, genentech, genzyme, mallinckrodt, medday, novartis, teva, and tg therapeutics . Dr. Brandstadter has nothing to disclose. Dr. Harel has nothing to disclose. Dr. Petracca has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lewis has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lublin has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Consulting and advisory boards: Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals; Biogen Idec; EMD Serono; Novartis; Teva; Actelion; Sanofi/Genzyme; Acorda; F. Hoffmann-La Roche/Genentech; MedImmune; Receptos/Celgene; Forward Pharma; Akros; TG Therapeutics; Abbvie; Rege. Dr. Lublin has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Co-Chief Editor of Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. Dr. Lublin has received research support from Research funding from: Biogen Idec; Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp; Teva Neuroscience, Inc.; Genzyme; Sanofi; Celgene; Transparency Life Sciences; NIH; NMSS. Dr. Miller has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Accordant Health Services (Caremark), Adama, BiogenIdec, Celgene, Genzyme/Sanofi, Mallinckrodt, Mapi-Pharma, Novartis, Roche/Genentech. Dr. Pelle has nothing to disclose. Dr. Pepe has nothing to disclose. Dr. Inglese has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sumowski has nothing to disclose.
« Entendez-vous dans nos campagnes »

La « Republique des lettres », a l’image de la societe francaise, n’est pas aveugle a la race. Ecrivain noir, ecrivain francophone ou postcolonial, litterature beur: la categorisation racialisee es...
Dietary Modulation of Oxidative DNA Damage

Breast cancer is a major cause of death and disability among women in the United States. One in nine women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives. Over the years, treatment modalities have improved, but mortality from breast cancer has changed little since 1930.1 This observation dictates a need for greater efforts toward disease prevention. One important new prevention strategy to reduce the incidence of breast cancer is dietary intervention.
Osler, Langdell, and the Atelier: Three Tales of Creation in Professional Education

This article traces the origins of the casebook classroom, the medical school teaching hospital, and the architectural school design studio. These parallel histories show how and why legal education diverged from norms being established in the other two fields. The divergence left legal education stronger within universities than it otherwise might have been. But it also left legal education insulated from its own profession and, to that extent, diminished intellectually.Uniquely among the professions, law schools use a required curriculum has changed little since 1870. Medical and architecture schools are built around settings where those professions are practiced: teaching hospitals and design studios. The typical law school, however, is built around its library, which is essential to faculty scholarship but has only a minor role in the practice of law. Medical and architectural faculties are dominated by people close to practice, but law faculties are the reverse. And law school resources are allocated today within the context of a bargain Langdell came to in the late nineteenth century. The Langdellian bargain may be the most fundamental reason why so little has changed in legal education since then.
Changes In End-Of-Life Care In The Medicare Shared Savings Program

End-of-life care is often overly aggressive and inconsistent with patients’ preferences. Although end-of-life care could therefore be a natural target for accountable care organizations (ACOs) in t...
The mechanistic links between insulin and human organic anion transporter 4

Human organic anion transporter 4 (hOAT4) belongs to a class of organic anion transporters that exert critical function in the secretion, absorption, and distribution of numerous drugs in the body, such as anti-viral drugs, anti-cancer therapeutics, antibiotics, antihypertensive medicine, and anti-inflammatory drugs. hOAT4 is richly existent in the kidney and placenta. We previously established that serum- and glucocorticoid-inducible kinases (sgk) stimulate hOAT4 expression and transport activity by abrogating the inhibitory effect of a ubiquitin ligase Nedd4-2. Insulin is one of the upstream signaling molecules for sgk. We therefore investigated the effect of insulin on hOAT4 function. We showed that insulin stimulated hOAT4 expression and transport activity, and the action of insulin was abolished in cells overexpressing Nedd4-2-specific siRNA to knockdown the endogenous Nedd4-2. We further showed that insulin phosphorylated serine 327 on Nedd4-2 and weakened the interaction between hOAT4 and Nedd4-2. Interestingly, in cells overexpressing sgk2, the stimulatory effect of insulin on hOAT4 was diminished. In addition, the stimulatory effect of insulin on hOAT4 was blocked by wortmannin and buparlisib, two PI3K inhibitors. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that insulin stimulates hOAT4 expression and transport activity by abrogating the inhibition effect of Nedd4-2 on the transporter. Moreover, insulin regulates hOAT4 by competing with sgk2 rather than through sgk2.
Testing the temperature of patient safety in the NHS.

John Tingle reflects on the Care Quality Commission's assessment of the state of services in England, and the issues around regulating compliance with the duty of candour.
Control Structures of Drug Resistance in Cancer Chemotherapy

The primary factor limiting the success of chemotherapy in cancer treatment is the phenomenon of drug resistance. Resistance manifests through a diverse set of molecular mechanisms, such as the upregulation of efflux transporters on the cell membrane, enhanced DNA damage repair mechanisms, and/or the presence of cancer stem cells. Classically, these mechanisms are understood as conferred to the cell by random genetic mutations, from which clonal expansion occurs via Darwian evolution. However, the recent experimental discovery of epigenetics and phenotype plasticity complicates this hypothesis. It is now believed that chemotherapy can produce drug-resistant clones. In this work, we study a previously introduced framework of drug-induced resistance, which incorporates both random and drug induced effects. A time-optimal control problem is then presented and analyzed utilizing differential-geometric techniques. Specifically, we seek the treatment protocol which prolongs patients life by maximizing the time of treatment until a critical tumor size is reached. The general optimal control structure is determined as a combination of both bang-bang and path-constrained arcs. Numerical results are presented which demonstrate decreasing treatment efficacy as a function of the ability of the drug to induce resistance. Thus, drug-induced resistance may dramatically effect the outcome of chemotherapy, implying that factors besides cytotoxicity should be considered when designing treatment regimens.
Racial Disparities in Arrests: A RaceSpecific Model Explaining Arrest Rates Across Black and White YoungAdults

Three theories attempt to explain the racial disparities in arrest between White and Black Americans: Differential Involvement Hypothesis, Differential Selection and Processing Hypothesis, and Social Disorganization Theory. We tested these hypotheses simultaneously in a multiple-group longitudinal panel model with the ADD Health dataset (Black n = 2459, Whiten = 7403). After controlling for contextual and behavioral factors, we still found Black young adults were arrested seven times more often than their White counterparts. To maintain cultural competence, it is imperative for clinicians to be aware of these disparities when working with families of different races in order to adjust treatment accordingly, but advocacy for greater systemic change may be more important for some communities than therapy alone.
Comparative gain-of-function effects of the KCNMA1-N999S mutation on human BK channel properties.

KCNMA1-linked channelopathy is a new neurological disorder characterized by mutations in the BK voltage- and calcium-activated potassium channel. The epilepsy- and dyskinesia-associated gain-of-fun...
Bayesian Data Analysis

(1999). Bayesian Data Analysis. Journal of Quality Technology: Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 127-127.
Faith and Positive Emotions

In this chapter, we review research on the relationship between faith and positive emotions such as happiness, life satisfaction, gratitude, and well-being. First, we consider how emotions relate to religion and how emotions can take on a religious or spiritual nature. We suggest ways to study emotions in a religious or spiritual form, providing examples from empirical literature. We include a discussion of whether faith-based emotions are distinct from other emotions. Next, we examine how various faith variables can elicit positive emotions, paying particular attention to meta-analyses, longitudinal research, and studies of diverse religions. We examine possible moderators and mediators for links between faith and emotional well-being. We close the chapter by considering the implications of the faith-emotion link to the field of psychology, along with suggestions for future research.
Incorporating SCADA Cybersecurity in Undergraduate Engineering Technology & Information Technology Education

The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, it makes the case for incorporating cybersecurity principles into undergraduate Engineering Technology Education and for incorporating Industrial Control Systems (ICS) principles into undergraduate Information Technology (IT)/Cybersecurity Education. Specifically, the paper highlights the knowledge/skill gap between engineers and IT/Cybersecurity professionals with respect to the cybersecurity of the ICS. Secondly, it identifies several areas where traditional IT systems and ICS intercept. This interception not only implies that ICS are susceptible to the same cyber threats as traditional IT/IS but also to threats that are unique to ICS. Subsequently, the paper identifies several areas where cybersecurity principles can be applied to ICS. By incorporating cybersecurity principles into Engineering Technology Education, the paper hopes to provide IT/Cybersecurity and Engineering Students with (a) the theoretical knowledge of the cybersecurity issues associated with administering and operating ICS and (b) the applied technical skills necessary to manage and mitigate the cyber risks against these systems. Overall, the paper holds the promise of contributing to the ongoing effort aimed at bridging the knowledge/skill gap with respect to securing ICS against cyber threats and attacks.
The United States of Stress

This chapter draws general conclusions about what the five events reveal about the structural weaknesses of the contemporary United States. They revealed: a commitment to Empire, a discounting of risks and the deregulation of oversight of risky enterprises, the unchallenged metanarratives of neoliberalism, magical thinking, a health system geared for profit, and the lack of a strong and resilient social safety net.
Cumulative impact of multiple evidence based strategies on postnatal growth of extremely-low-birth-weight infants.

Summary Background Postnatal growth failure is common in very preterm infants and is associated with worse neurodevelopmental outcome. Objective To evaluate the cumulative impact of multiple evidence based strategies on the postnatal growth of extremely-low-birth-weight (ELBW) infants. Methods We conducted a prospective observational study. Based on current literature, changes were implemented to provide optimal parenteral and enteral nutrition. Daily intakes of calories, protein, lipids and carbohydrates were calculated. The average growth velocity (GV) was calculated using 2-point exponential model and is reported as grams/kg/day. The length and head circumference gains are reported as centimeters/week. Results The mean gestational age and birth weight for 38 ELBW survivors were 27.0 ± 2.1 weeks and 752 ± 147 g respectively. The GV was 13.2 ± 2.2 g/kg/day (range 8.8–17.4) and gains in length and head circumference were 0.88 ± 0.9 (range 0.15–1.42) and 0.71 ± 0.5 (range 0.22–0.96) centimeters/week respectively. Twenty nine (76.3%) infants were small-for-gestational-age (SGA) at discharge and 23 of these (60.5% of all infants) had weight below 3rd percentile. All 11 infants who were SGA at birth were SGA at discharge as well. Of 25 appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) infants at birth, 16 (64%) were SGA at discharge. The number of infants with length and head circumference below 10th percentile at birth and discharge were 11 (28.9%) and 29 (76.3%) for length and 20 (52.6%) and 27 (71.1%) for head circumference. Infants with multiple morbidities and more hospital days with no enteral feeds had lower GV. Conclusion All infants born SGA at birth and majority of ELBW survivors born AGA at birth had weight, length and head circumference below 10th percentile at discharge despite aggressive nutrition supplementation.
Interactions in vitro between hormones and DNA: III. Effects of plant and animal hormones on the action of DNA ligase and its relationship to age

Abstract 1. DNA ligase isolated from plants catalyzes the formation of covalently linked circular conformations of plant and animal DNA's. Such circular structures are formed only in the presence, but not in the absence of specific plant and animal hormones. Hormones have no cyclization effects on prokaryotic DNA. 2. The above DNA circles consist, to a larger extent, of covalently joined internal loops and not end-to-end links as in γ-phage DNA. 3. The capability of eukaryotic DNA to form internal loops in response to specific hormones decreases with advancing age.
Secret-Key Agreement without Public-Key Cryptography

In this paper, we describe novel approaches to secret-key agreement. Our schemes are not based on public-key cryptography nor number theory. They are extremely efficient implemented in software or make use of very simple uuexpensive hardware. Our technology is particularly well-suited for use in cryptographic scenarios like those of the Clipper Chip, the recent encryption proposal put forward by the Clinton Administration.
5'-exoribonuclease 1: Xrn1.

Publisher Summary The detection, purification, and partial characterization of 5′-exoribonuclease 1 (Xrn1) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a 160-kDa RNase was reported in 1980 and 1985. The enzyme is a processive exonuclease hydrolyzing RNA from the 5′ end with the production of 5′-mononucleofides. The XRN1 gene was cloned in several laboratories, and the results showed that it encodes a 175-kDa protein. This chapter describes the purification of Xrn1 from yeast cells containing the gene in a GALI0 expression vector. Assay methods for analysis of 5′-exoribonuclease activity as well as the substrate specificity of Xrn1 are also described. The first evidence of the involvement of Xrn1 in RNA metabolism was the finding that yeast cells with a disrupted gene accumulate an internal transcribed spacer fragment of pre-rRNA. It was then found that short-lived mRNAs lacking both the poly(A) tail and the cap structure also accumulate. The findings suggested that Xrn1 is involved in cytoplasmic RNA metabolism and mRNA is hydrolyzed after its deadenylation and decapping.
The influence of colloidal organic matter on iron and iron-phosphorus cycling in an acid bog lake1

The relationship between iron and phosphorus and the relationship of these elements to colloidal organic matter (COM ) was studied in a meromictic acid bog lake by chemical characterization, filtration and in situ dialysis, and in situ experiments with labeled components. Bathophenanthroline ( BPN ) rcactivc ferrous iron existed in true solution ( dialyzable ) in constantly anaerobic monimolimnetic water; iron was of colloidal size. in the aerobic epilimnion reactive ferric Intermediate depths, oxygenated only during spring, contained two forms of ferrous iron reactive to BPN: dialyzable ferrous iron (Fe’+) and colloidal Fe( II ) which may have originated through in situ reduction of colloidal reactive ferric iron and may be present as a COM-Fe”’ complex. The amount of COM influenced the fate of dialyzable Fe” (92% of total iron) and dialyzable POC-P (85% of total phosphorus) present in anaerobic strata before aeration. Aeration with soluble organic matter present (COM absent) resulted in the formation of colloidal nonreactive ferric iron (84% of total iron) and %0/o colloidal PO.I-P, while aeration with 20 mg liter-’ COM resulted in only 36% colloidal, nonreactive ferric iron and 19% colloidal PO.i-P. COM apparently masks the cationic propertics of colloidal ferric iron and retards the formation of nonreactive Fc( III), allowing most of the Pot-P to remain free in solution and biologically available.
A hybrid strategy based on data distribution and migration for optimizing memory locality

The performance of a NUMA architecture depends on the efficient use of local memory. Therefore, software-level techniques that improve memory locality (in addition to parallelism) are extremely important to extract the best performance from these architectures. The proposed solutions so far include OS-based automatic data migrations and compiler-based static/dynamic data distributions. This paper proposes and evaluates a hybrid strategy for optimizing memory locality in NUMA architectures. In this strategy, we employ both compiler-directed data distribution and OS-directed dynamic page migration. More specifically, a given program code is first divided into segments, and then each segment is optimized either using compiler-based data distributions (at compile-time) or using dynamic migration (at runtime). In selecting the optimization strategy to use for a program segment, we use a criterion based on the number of compile-time analyzable references in loops. To test the effectiveness of our strategy in optimizing memory locality of applications, we implemented it and compared its performance with that of several other techniques such as compiler-directed data distribution and OS-directed dynamic page migration. Our experimental results obtained through simulation indicate that our hybrid strategy outperforms other strategies and achieves the best performance for a set of codes with regular, irregular, and mixed (regular + irregular) access patterns.
Chapter 4 The Evolution of Music Markets

Abstract This chapter traces the development of markets for music over the past several centuries. Formally organized music was at first supported primarily by churches and the nobility. Indeed, during the 18th century there was a kind of “arms race” in which noble houses competed for prestige through the quality of their orchestras and operas. Gradually, however, the role of churches and the nobility declined and more market-oriented venues, including vibrant markets for free-lance performance and composition, became dominant. A survey of 646 musicians born between 1650 and 1849 quantifies these trends, along with the increasing tendency for composers to earn their livelihood in part by teaching in conservatories and other music schools. The same data set is tapped to show the various ways in which composers learned their musical skills. When the data are analyzed in still another way, Austria is found to be the most intensive employer of composer–musicians per million population and also to have given birth to the largest number of composers relative to its population. The territory that in 1990 was Czechoslovakia was second in births; Germany was second in employment. One means by which composers derived income, especially with the ascendance of free-lance composition, was publication of their creations. The evolution of publishing technology and music copyright is traced. Gradually, as income per capita grew in the industrialized nations, audiences for musical performances broadened until by the end of the 19th century mass markets came into being. Radio and the phonograph radically transformed the ways music was enjoyed and widened the market for music even more. The electronic media in turn intensified a tendency that was already evident in the early 18th century – the ability of a few “superstars” to achieve spectacular financial success.
Financing Transactions: Private Equity, Hedge Funds, and Leveraged Buyout Structures and Valuation

This chapter discusses how transactions are financed, with an emphasis on the financing, structuring, and valuation of highly leveraged transactions. In a leveraged buyout (LBO), borrowed funds are used to pay for most of the purchase price, with the remainder provided by a financial sponsor, such as a private equity investor group or hedge fund. LBOs can be of an entire company or divisions of a company. LBO targets can be private or public firms. Typically, the tangible assets of the firm to be acquired are used as collateral for the loans. The most highly liquid assets often are used as collateral for obtaining bank financing. This chapter begins with a discussion of the changing face of LBOs and then explains how such transactions often are financed, alternative LBO structures, the risks associated with poorly constructed deals, how to take a company private, how to develop viable exit strategies, and how to estimate a firm's financing capacity. The terms buyout firm and financial sponsor are used interchangeably, as they are in the literature on the subject, throughout the chapter to include the variety of investor groups, such as private equity investors and hedge funds, that commonly engage in LBO transactions. Empirical studies of pre- and postbuyout returns to shareholders also are reviewed. The chapter concludes with a discussion of how to analyze and value highly leveraged transactions and to construct LBO models.
Signatures of niche conservatism and niche shift in the North American kudzu (Pueraria montana) invasion

Aim Recent advances have improved our ability to determine the degree to which the climatic niche of invasive populations resembles (niche conservatism) or differs from (niche shift) that of native progenitors. We compared the climatic niche of kudzu (Pueraria montana), one of the most devastating invasive species in North America, between its native (East Asia) and invasive (United States) ranges. Location East Asia and United States. Methods To compare kudzu climatic niches, we calculated niche overlap, stability, unfilling (native climates not colonized in the invasive range) and expansion (invasive climates not colonized in the native range) from principal component analysis and performed niche hypothesis tests. Reciprocal ecological niche models (ENMs) examined kudzu's current versus potential distributions. To gain insight into the dynamics of different components of kudzu's niche, we performed these analyses on two climate datasets: one with variables selected by Maxent (Model M) and one with variables chosen a priori based on their putative ecological importance (Model E). Results Niche conservatism was indicated by niche similarity tests and high niche stability. Niche shift between native and invasive niches was also observed but varied with variable selection: niche unfilling was detected for Models M (0.622–0.903) and E (0.265–0.577), while expansion was found only for Model M (0.576–0.959). ENMs predicted suitable climatic habitat throughout regions in the western United States where kudzu is currently absent. Main conclusions Niche dynamics in the North American kudzu invasion are complex but can be thoroughly explored using unique variable datasets that illuminate different facets of the niche. Results presented here provide troubling evidence that kudzu has not yet occupied all climatic habitats in the United States that resemble its native range and that some invasive populations have expanded into climatically novel areas. Midwestern/western US regions appear to be most at risk for kudzu spread in the near future.
Centralizers of Involutions and the Classification Problem

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the centralizers of involutions and the classification problem. Conditions placed on the components of the centralizers of involutions are described in the chapter. Conditions on the weakly regulated components of a group H are presented in the chapter and a theorem is described suggesting that it is possible to show that G satisfies the conditions of a weakly regulated admissible component.
Synthesized articulated behavior using space-temporal on-line principal component analysis

This paper presents a new framework to synthesize humanoid behavior by learning and imitating the behavior of an articulated body using motion capture. The video-based motion capturing method has been developed mainly for analysis of human movement, but is very rarely used to teach or imitate the behavior of an articulated body to a virtual agent in an on-line manner. Using our proposed applications, new behaviors of one agent can be simultaneously analyzed and used to train or imitate another with a novel visual learning methodology. In the on-line learning phase, we propose a new way of synthesizing humanoid behavior based on on-line learning of principal component analysis (PCA) bases of the behavior. Although there are many existing studies which utilize PCA for object/behavior representation, this paper introduces two criteria to determine if the dimension of the subspace is to be expanded or not and applies a Fisher criterion to synthesize new behaviors. The proposed methodology is well-matched to b...
A Higher Calling? Academic Aspirations in Guatemalan Religious Schools

This study examines the effect of religious schools onacademic aspirations in a developing world context.Data from 21Catholic, evangelical and secular private schools in Guatemala are used to compare student aspirations in each school type. Hierarchical linear models are constructed to examine differences controlling for keytheoretical determinants. Results reveal that surprisingly high percentages of private school children in the sample (75%) aspire to complete university.School comparisons demonstrate that evangelical school students(particularly girls) are more likely than students from other private schools to aspire to attend university. Theoretical and practical implications for development are discussed.
Spontaneous rupture of the spleen in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

A case of spontaneous rupture of the spleen in a 67-year-old woman with chronic lymphocytic leukemia is presented. The patient had been hospitalized and treated with chlorambucil but had complained of left upper quadrant pain during and subsequent to her hospitalization. Immediately prior to death this became extremely severe and the patient exhibited weakness and nausea. At autopsy generalized lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly were noted. Other cases of spontaneous rupture of the spleen also are summarized from the literature. Only 32 cases have been found in leukemic patients and all but 3 have been in men. Although spontaneous rupture of the spleen is an unusual occurrence, the authors conclude that in some cases there is no history of injury or stress.
When Is the Physician “Playing God”?

In the author's opinion, the medical profession is committed to the preservation and prolongation of life through use of all ordinary remedies, but is not obliged ethically or morally to apply extraordinary measures when there is no realistic hope of recovery. In addition to the proper medical therapy, the care given during the dying phase of life by the physician includes the responsibility of deciding whether the geriatric patient should be allowed to die in a dignified manner. The question of who should bear this responsibility is discussed.
GaN based high temperature strain gauges

Gallium Nitride based electronic devices have several unique properties such as robustness to high temperature, and both strong spontaneous and piezoelectric polarization fields. The polarization effects of Gallium Nitride are stable at high temperatures; therefore, it is an ideal material to fabricate high temperature strain gauges. In this work we have fabricated metal-insulator-semiconductor(MIS) capacitors to be used as a high temperature strain gauge. GaN based MIS capacitors were fabricated and tested both at room and high temperature. The gauge factor was measured to be 75 at room temperature. AlGaN/GaN heterostructures were also used to make MIS capacitors for testing at both room and high temperature. The gauge factors were measured on these devices to be 575 at room temperature, and 361 at 400 °C.
RDX Degradation Potential in Soils Previously Unexposed to RDX and the Identification of RDX-Degrading Species in One Agricultural Soil Using Stable Isotope Probing

The aim of this work was to investigate the susceptibility of the explosive hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) to biodegradation in a range of soils and to identify RDX-degrading organisms using stable isotope probing (SIP). RDX degradation was examined in ten soils, primarily from agricultural areas. RDX biodegradation was observed in six samples and only when the microcosms were not aerated. For one soil, 15N- and 13C-based DNA SIP was used to identify the microorganisms responsible for RDX degradation. Two RDX concentrations were examined (10 and 20 mg/L), however, only the higher concentration resulted in a significant SIP signal. In these ultracentrifugation fractions, one terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (TRFLP) fragment (260 bp) showed a reliable trend of label uptake. This fragment was of higher relative abundance in the heavier fractions from labeled samples compared with the heavier fractions from the unlabeled control samples, indicating that the organism producing this fragment was responsible for label uptake (hence RDX degradation). Partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing indicated the organisms represented by fragment 260 bp belonged to either Sphingobacteria (phylum Bacteroidetes) or the phylum Acidobacteria. To date, these organisms have not previously been directly linked to RDX degradation. The 16S rRNA sequences were compared with the NCBI database and, in all cases, were most similar to uncultured bacteria. The results suggest SIP is a viable method for discovering novel, previously uncultured, RDX degraders.
A chemoselective rhodium(II) mediated solid phase 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition and its application to a thermally self-cleaving furan scaffold

Abstract A chemoselective rhodium(II) mediated 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction on solid-phase for the construction of a template-directed scaffold is described. In this paper, the reaction of acetylenes with isomunchnones is presented as a general methodology for the combinatorial formation of a furan based library. Additionally, through the development of a novel thermolytic cleavage step, this furan synthesis yields pure product from the solid-phase in a temperature dependent manner.