cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Aerodynamic Control using Distributed Bleed

Aero-effected flight control using distributed active bleed driven by pressure differences on lifting surfaces and regulated by low-power louver actuators is investigated in wind tunnel experiments. The interaction between unsteady bleed and the cross flows alters the apparent aerodynamic shape of the lifting surface and consequently the distributions of aerodynamic forces and moments. The experiments are conducted using a 2-D dynamically pitching VR-7 model over a wide range of angles of attack from pre- to post-stall. Induced changes in surface vorticity concentrations are measured using PIV with emphasis on the effects of leading edge bleed at high angles of attack on the evolution of the dynamic stall vorticity concentrations. Leading edge bleed leads to large variations in lift and pitching moment and extends the static stall margin, enabling over 50% variation in the baseline lift without external control surfaces. At high reduced frequencies (k > 0.1), the bleed alters the dynamics of vorticity production and advection and interacts with the dynamic stall vortex to increase the stability of the pitch motion and minimize negative damping with low lift penalty. I. Overview Aerodynamic bleed, by exploiting pressure differences over moving lifting surfaces or bluff bodies, is attractive for flow control since the actuation is derived from regulation of the bleed flow through surface openings and therefore requires relatively little power. However, while in common with zero net mass flux (synthetic jet) actuation, active bleed utilizes fluid from the embedding flow, unlike synthetic jets, and the operating bandwidth is limited by the characteristics of the fluidic circuit and the magnitude of the available pressure drop. The use of passive porosity for aerodynamic flow control by exploiting inherent pressure differences over surfaces of moving bodies is not new and has been explored in a number of earlier investigations. In a typical application, fluid is bled from high- to low-pressure domains through porous surface segments and an internal passage or a plenum. The ensuing interaction of the ejection or suction with the cross flow can result in a local modification of the pressure distribution (and pressure gradients), lead to alteration of the flow over the surface, and in some cases result in global changes in aerodynamic forces. Several examples include reduction of the drag of bluff bodies by base bleed (Tanner, 1975), laminar flow control (Carpenter and Porter, 2001), tip vortex control (Han and Leishman, 2004), aerodynamic maneuvering forces (Hunter, Viken, Wood, and Bauer, 2001), mitigation of flow separation (Lopera, Ng, and Patel, 2004), and reduction of shock-induced separation on transonic airfoils (Savu and Trifu, 1984). It is noteworthy that studies of multiple slots that act as conduits for bleed flow between the pressure and suction side of various airfoils were investigated as early as the 1920s (Lachmann, 1924, and Weick and Shortal, 1932).
Improved Delivery through Biological Membranes. Synthesis and Antiviral Activity of a Series of Ribavirin Chemical Delivery Systems: 2′ and 3′ Derivatives

Ribavirin was chemically manipulated to provide a number of derivatives in which a 1,4-dihydrotrigonellinate species was attached to either the 2′ or 3′-position. In addition, a variety of other modifications was used to augment the lipophilicity and stability of the ribavirin redox systems. Prepared compounds were tested in a murine model of viral encephalitis. Intravenous administration of an isomeric pair of derivatives (1-[3′-O-(N-methyl-3-carbonyl-1,4-dihydropyridine)-2′-O-benzoyl-β-D-ribofuranosyl]-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide/1-[2′-O-(N-methyl-3-carbonyl-1,4-dihydropyridine)-3′-O-benzoyl-β-D-ribofuranosyl]-1,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide) resulted in 43% survival compared with 0% for vehicle treatment and resulted in a decrease in brain viral titres by 10-fold.
Tics and School Dysfunction

The prevalence of tics in special education (SpEd) students and in a matched control sample of students in regular classroom programs (RegEd) was determined in a large-scale, community-based epidemiological study at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, NY.
Trees in Alley Cropping: Competitors or Soil Improvers?:

Agroforestry has a high potential to sustain agricultural production in the humid tropics. One specific type of agroforestry, alley cropping, has received much attention as a means of producing sta...
HER2 antibodies pertuzumab and trastuzumab differ in their effect on cell signaling and growth inhibition in breast cancer cells

3836 HER2 overexpression occurs in about 20-30% of breast cancers and is associated with a poor prognosis. Therapy with the anti-HER2 antibody trastuzumab has significantly improved the outcome of patients with breast cancers that overexpress HER2. A novel anti-HER2 antibody, pertuzumab binds to domain II of HER2, whereas trastuzumab binds to domain IV. Here we report that pertuzumab almost completely blocks heregulin-induced HER3-p85 association with PI3K, AKT activation, and ERK1/2 activation, whereas trastuzumab only partially reduces heregulin-induced HER3-p85 association and activation of AKT or ERK1/2. Trastuzumab inhibits by 40% the anchorage-dependent growth of BT474 and SKBr3 cells that overexpress HER2 in vitro, but had no effect on cell growth of T47D and MCF-7 cells that express low levels of HER2. Pertuzumab had no inhibitory effect on each of the four cell lines in vitro in the absence of heregulin stimulation. Pertuzumab did, however, block heregulin-stimulated cell proliferation of T47D. In contrast to trastuzumab, pertuzumab did not inhibit CDK2, induce p27Kip1 or induce G1 arrest of the cell cycle in BT474 or SKBr3 cells. Using protein lysates array, trastuzumab was found to reduce activation of AKT, p70S6K, and 4EBP-1. In contrast, pertuzumab did not inhibit activation of AKT, p70S6K, and 4EBP-1 in either BT474 or SKBr3 cells. By using biotinalized-trastuzumab, biotinalized-pertuzumab, and streptoavidin-FITC, both trastuzumab and pertuzumab were found to internalize slowly, although trastuzumab internalized slightly faster than pertuzumab. After 16-48 hrs at 37 degrees Celsius, 96.7% of pertuzumab-treated SKBr3 cells were still surface-FITC positive with a fluorescent intensity of 65, whereas 93% of trastuzumab-treated cells were surface-FITC positive with a fluorescent intensity of 64. Trastuzumab could not block the binding sites of pertuzumab. Anti-HER2 monoclonal antibodies TA1 and ID5 could block neither trastuzumab nor pertuzamab binding sites, whereas 4D5 completely block trastuzumab-binding sites as expected. Like trastuzumab, pertuzumab inhibited invasion of breast cancer cells. In conclusion, HER2 antibodies pertuzumab and trastuzumab differ in their effect on cell signaling and growth inhibition in breast cancer cells.
Apolipoprotein L1 nephropathies: 2017 in review.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW To review publications relating to apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) renal risk variants published 2017. RECENT FINDINGS The study of APOL1 variants continues to be highly active; 24 articles published in 2017 were selected to highlight. These include clinical studies of kidney disease, kidney transplantation, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and genetic diversity. Laboratory studies included APOL1 association with vesicle-associated membrane soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor activating protein receptor protein and with soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor, mitochondrial dysfunction, endolysosomal dysfunction, and inflammasome activation. SUMMARY Our understanding of the role of APOL1 genetic variants and the mechanisms for renal toxicity continues to deepen. It is not yet clear which pathways are most relevant to human disease, and so, the most relevant drug targets remain to be defined.
Poor and powerless: Economic and political inequality in cross-national perspective, 1981–2011:

The relationship between economic and political inequality has long concerned social scientists, but research remains limited in scope. Most studies focus on isolated cases, highly restricted subsa...
Regulation of Corneal Endothelial Cell Proliferation

Mammalian corneal endothelial cells (CECs) are considered to be nonproliferative or to have a very limited proliferative capacity in vivo. Human CECs are arrested in late G1 phase rather than in the G0 phase of the cell cycle, indicating that CECs exhibit a senescence-like growth arrest rather than permanent exit from the cell cycle. Despite a limited capacity to divide in vivo, CECs proliferate in response to certain growth factors and can be immortalized. Therefore, CECs retain some proliferative capacity in vitro. This article summarizes the known regulatory mechanisms that contribute to the G1 phase growth arrest of CECs.
Mendelssohn, Wolff, and Bernoulli on Probability

In his “On Probability,” Moses Mendelssohn proposed to use a mathematical ­formulation of the definition of probability, found in the work of Christian Wolff to support the validity of induction (against Hume) and the view that all our actions, even including those supposed to be the result of free will, are predetermined (in agreement with Leibniz). Mendelssohn went into few of the details of mathematical probability as they had been developed by mathematicians like Jacob Bernoulli in the century before he wrote.
Y-chromosomal Window onto the History of Terrestrial Adaptation in the Cercopithecini

Y-chromosomal patterns agree with earlier karyotypic studies in depicting a close relationship among patas, vervets, and l’Hoest’s monkeys distinct from other members of the Cercopithecini. This relationship is suggested to be one of shared ancestry, rather than one due to past hybridization. Thus, on the working assumption that the earliest guenons were arboreal, terrestriality appears to have originated only once among the extant cercopithecins. Consequently, taxonomic revision is necessary as relates to the three terrestrial taxa: Erythrocebus patas, Cercopithecus aethiops, and C. lhoesti.
3 – Continuous-Space Models for Population Dynamics

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of models for ecological dynamics in continuous space, while focusing on spatial rather than landscape ecology. In particular, it explores spatial moment equations, a relatively new framework for analyzing spatial dynamics in terms of mean population densities and spatial covariances. The chapter also gives a sample derivation of a set of spatial moment equations; summarizes various applications of moment equations for single-species and community dynamics; contrasts the strengths and weaknesses of the approach with other frameworks such as PDEs and IPSs; and discusses future directions and potential of spatial moment equations. Although this chapter concentrates on the effects of endogenous rather than exogenous variability, it also describes some strategies for incorporating both kinds of heterogeneities and bridging the gap between spatial and landscape ecology. Spatial moment equations are a powerful tool for this task; other advantages include preservation of the spatial and stochastic character of ecological systems; analytical tractability; and simple connections to field data on individual dispersal and performance and to well-established spatial statistical measures.
Comparative tactile sensitivity of the fingertip and apical tongue using complex and pure tactile tasks.

Abstract Both the tongue and fingertip are highly tactile tissues relevant in texture perception, but work comparing relative sensitivity to elucidate potential differences in stimulus processing is limited. Presently, the acuity of the tongue and fingertip were compared using a series of tactile acuity tasks. We hypothesized the tongue would show superior acuity regardless of stimuli due to an absent epidermal barrier and its involvement in many high-sensitivity behaviors (e.g. eating, speaking). Acuity was determined using three different tests, two “purely-tactile” just noticeable difference (JND) tasks (punctate pressure and roughness sensitivity) and a more-complex, stereognostic letter-recognition task to evaluate point-and-edge sensitivity. JNDs were determined using the forced-choice staircase method for the punctate deformation force of a monofilament (F;0.0044–0.010 g) and the surface roughness of stainless steel coupons (Ra; 0.177–0.465 μm) in populations of 30 and 31 individuals, respectively. Point-and-edge sensitivity was assessed by determining the letter recognition threshold (RT) based on height (h;1.5–8.0 mm) in an additional 28 individuals using a modified staircase method. While subjects had significantly lower JNDs with their tongues for both “purely-tactile” tasks (punctate: 0.0017 ± 0.0001 g vs. 0.0023 ± 0.0002 g (fingertip), p = .018; roughness: 0.039 ± 0.004 μm vs. 0.112 ± 0.020 μm (fingertip), p
Pulmonary Hypertension and Eisenmenger Physiology

It is estimated that 10% of patients with repaired and up to 30% of patients with unrepaired congenital heart disease with left-to-right shunting also have pulmonary arterial hypertension. This chapter focuses on the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management of patients who develop pulmonary hypertension as well as those who progress to Eisenemger physiology with reversal of shunt flow.
Como normas constitucionais colapsam | How Constitutional Norms Break Down

A partir do momento em que Donald Trump foi eleito presidente, criticos se angustiaram com o colapso das normas constitucionais. A historia demonstra, no entanto, que as normas constitucionais estao perpetuamente em fluxo. A principal fonte de instabilidade nao e que essas regras nao-escritas possam ser destruidas por politicos que negam sua legitimidade, sua validade ou seu valor. Na verdade, a principal fonte de instabilidade e que as normas constitucionais podem ser decompostas - interpretadas dinamicamente e aplicadas de formas consideradas adequadas, mas que limitam sua capacidade de restringir a conduta de agentes do governo. Este artigo chama a atencao para essa instabilidade latente e, ao faze-lo, comeca a taxonomizar e teorizar a estrutura da mudanca da norma constitucional. Exploramos alguns dos diferentes modos em que normas nao-escritas colapsam em nosso sistema constitucional e os diferentes perigos e oportunidades associados a cada um deles. Alem disso, argumentamos que, sob certas condicoes plausiveis, sera mais preocupante quando as normas forem sutilmente revisadas do que quando forem abertamente desprezadas. Este argumento um tanto paradoxal sugere que muitos comentaristas tem julgado de forma equivocada nosso momento atual: o flagrante desafio do presidente Trump as normas pode nao ser uma ameaca tao grande a nossa democracia constitucional como a deterioracao mais complexa de normas em curso em outras instituicoes.
Reverberation Noise Suppression in the Aperture Domain Using 3D Fully Convolutional Neural Networks

Reverberation clutter is image noise resulting from multiple reflections between tissue layers and leads to image degradation. We propose a 3D fully convolutional neural network (FCNN) to selectively remove reverberation noise from ultrasound channel data. A training set was generated using Field II Pro to simulate full synthetic aperture channel data. Reverberation noise was approximated by adding bandpass filtered noise to the noise-free simulated channel data. This channel data, with and without noise, was used to train a 3D FCNN with a custom architecture to remove the reverberation and thermal noise. The network was evaluated on a simulated validation set and on an ATS 549 phantom using a L12-3v transducer connected to a Verasonics Vantage 256 system with reverberation noise. The resulting network shows significant reverberation noise reduction. Across the validation set, the normalized RMS loss between the noisy and noise free images decreased from 77% to 39% after being decluttered using 3D FCNN.
Experience shapes activity dynamics and stimulus coding of VIP inhibitory and excitatory cells

ABSTRACT Cortical circuits are flexible and can change with experience and learning. However, the effects of experience on specific cell types including distinct inhibitory types are not well understood. Here we studied how excitatory and VIP inhibitory cells in layer 2/3 of mouse visual cortex were impacted by visual experience in the context of a behavioral task. Mice learned to perform an image change detection task with a set of eight natural scene images. Subsequently, during 2-photon imaging experiments, mice performed the task with these familiar images and three additional sets of novel images. Familiar images evoked less overall activity in both excitatory and VIP populations, and excitatory cells showed higher selectivity for familiar images. The temporal dynamics of VIP cells differed markedly between novel and familiar images: VIP cells were stimulus-driven for novel images but displayed ramping activity during the inter-stimulus interval for familiar images. Moreover, when a familiar stimulus was omitted, VIP cells showed extended ramping activity until the subsequent image flash. This prominent shift in response dynamics suggests that VIP cells may adopt different modes of processing during familiar versus novel conditions. HIGHLIGHTS Experience with natural images in a change detection task reduces overall activity of cortical excitatory and VIP inhibitory cells Encoding of natural images is sharpened with experience in excitatory neurons VIP cells are stimulus-driven by novel images but show pre-stimulus ramping for familiar images VIP cells show strong ramping activity during the omission of an expected stimulus
Non-Reciprocal Graphene Gratings Based on Spatiotemporal Modulation

This paper presents a nonreciprocal grating based on graphene strips on top of a dielectric substrate for THz frequencies. Nonreciprocity is achieved by applying a directional temporal modulation with different phases to different graphene strips of the grating. Quite importantly, only three distinct modulation regions are necessary to achieve strong nonreciprocity, relaxing the fabrication requirements. Simulation results show very large isolation with moderate insertion loss for realistic parameters for graphene, making the proposed structure suitable for practical applications at THz frequencies.
Fluvial and eolian sediment mixing during changing climate conditions recorded in Holocene Andean foreland deposits from Argentina (31-33° S)

Continental drainage systems archive complex records of rock uplift, source area relief, precipitation, glaciation, and carbon cyclicity driven largely by tectonics and climate. Significant progress has been made in linking such external environmental forcings to the geomorphic expression of landscapes and the stratigraphic record of depositional basins in coastal and offshore areas. However, there are large uncertainties in the degree to which sediment dispersal processes can modify signals between the erosional sources and the depositional sinks. We investigate a Holocene sediment transfer zone with contrasting fluvial and eolian sediment transport mechanisms to understand how river and wind processes impact the propagation of environmental signals in continental-scale drainage systems. To quantify these processes, we employ sediment fingerprinting methods for unconsolidated sand samples (detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology), incorporate sediment mixing models, and correlate the findings with the regional geologic and geomorphic framework. Three contrasting source regions deliver sediment to the Andean foreland: volcanic rocks of the Frontal Cordillera, sedimentary rocks of the Precordillera, and metamorphic basement of the Sierras Pampeanas. Although all samples of Holocene eolian dunes accurately record sediment input from three fluvial source regions, spatial variations in U-Pb results are consistent with north-directed paleowinds, whereby river sediments from Frontal Cordillera sources are transported northward and progressively mixed with river sediments from Precordillera and Sierras Pampeanas sources. In contrast, samples of modern rivers show progressive southward (downstream) mixing along a large axial fluvial system. Sediment mixing induced by eolian transport and reworking of various sources is likely a critical, climate-modulated process in the propagation of environmental signals, potentially involving the aliasing of tectonic signals, local storage and recycling of synorogenic river sediment, and cyclical patterns of sediment starvation and delivery to distal zones of accumulation.
Intersection Homology: Definition, Properties

In this chapter, we introduce intersection homology from a chain-theoretic perspective, as originally developed by Goresky–MacPherson
Targeting assessment: how to hit the bull's eye

From the faculty lunchroom to the Oval Office everyone is talking about assessment. Unfortunately, the topic covers such a broad spectrum that it is often difficult to find references that assist computer science departments in formulating and implementing an assessment plan. In this paper we describe our experiences in developing an assessment plan for both CSAB and university accreditation, and we outline an assessment procedure that we believe is both unambiguous and effective.
Lactobacillus rhamnosus Bacteremia in an Immunocompromised Renal Transplant Patient.

Conventionally, Lactobacillus species are considered as low virulence organisms and rarely cause infection in immunocompetent individuals. However, it might be an opportunistic infection source in immunocompromised patients and can cause invasive serious infections. To our knowledge, there are only a handful of cases in the literature reporting primary bloodstream infection caused by Lactobacilli spp. in transplant recipients. Here, we report a case of a kidney transplant recipient with Lactobacillus rhamnosus bacteremia.
Dual-task costs of texting while walking forward and backward are greater for older adults than younger adults

Abstract Cognitive-motor dual-tasking involves concurrent performance of two tasks with distinct cognitive and motor demands and is associated with increased fall risk. In this hypothesis-driven study, younger (18–30 years, n = 24) and older (60–75 years, n = 26) adults completed six walking tasks in triplicate. Participants walked forward and backward along a GAITRite mat, in isolation or while performing a verbal fluency task. Verbal fluency tasks involved verbally listing or typing on a smartphone as many words as possible within a given category (e.g., clothes). Using repeated measures MANOVA models, we examined how age, method of fluency task (verbal or texting), and direction of walking altered dual-task performance. Given that tasks like texting and backward walking require greater cognitive resources than verbal and forward walking tasks, respectively, we hypothesized older adults would show higher dual-task costs (DTCs) than younger adults across different task types and walking directions, with degree of impairment more apparent in texting dual-task trials compared to verbal dual-task trials. We also hypothesized that both age groups would have greater DTCs while walking backward than while walking forward, regardless of task. Independent of age group, velocity and stride length were reduced for texting compared to the verbal task during both forward and backward walking; cadence and velocity were reduced while walking forward compared to walking backward for the texting task; and stride length was reduced for forward walking compared to backward walking during the verbal task. Younger adults performed better than older adults on all tasks with the most pronounced differences seen in velocity and stride length during forward-texting and backward-texting. Interaction effects for velocity and stride length while walking forward indicated younger adults performed better than older adults for the texting task but similarly during the verbal task. An interaction for cadence during the verbal task indicated younger adults performed better than older adults while walking backward but similarly while walking forward. In summary, older adults experienced greater gait decrement for all dual-task conditions. The greater declines in velocity and stride length in combination with cadence being stable suggest reductions in velocity during texting were due to shorter strides rather than a reduced rate of stepping. Contrary to our hypotheses, we found greater DTCs while walking forward rather than backward, which may be due to reduced gait performance during single-task backward walking; thus, further decrements with dual-tasking are unlikely. These findings underscore the need for further research investigating fall risk potential associated with texting and walking among aging populations and how interventions targeting stride length during dual-task circumstances may improve performance.
Chapter 23 – Laws, Regulations, and Organizations†

Publisher Summary Congress passed the Atomic Energy Act of 1946, amended in 1954, to further peaceful purposes, as well as to maintain defense. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was formed to administer the programs. Later, the AEC was split. Currently the Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for development of nuclear energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) enforces rules on radiation set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) helps developing countries and monitors nuclear inventories. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) emphasizes detection of nuclear materials. Among other influential organizations are the INPO, the EPRI, and the NEI. The ANSI and the ANS are active in developing standards for processes and procedures in the nuclear industry. Education and training in nuclear technology are provided by a number of universities. The Energy Policy Act of 1992 provides comprehensive national goals and requirements on energy efficiency and generation. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 has many provisions favoring nuclear and deals with protection against terrorism.
Sooting tendencies of 20 bio-derived fuels for advanced spark-ignition engines

Abstract The sooting tendencies of 20 bio-derived fuels suggested as potential blendstocks for spark-ignition engines by the Co-Optimization of Fuels & Engines (Co-Optima) Initiative are studied. The Yield Sooting Index (YSI) is used to quantify the sooting tendencies. The Co-Optima Chemical Model is used to predict the numerical YSIs for all test fuels, and these results are compared with measurements. Experimental YSIs are newly measured for 2 furans and are taken from our previous work for the other compounds. Overall, the predicted YSIs agree well with measurements, within the experimental uncertainties, except for 2,5-dimethylfuran (2,5-DMF). It is found that Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) growth reactions have little influence on the relative soot production from each fuel and therefore on YSI predictions. A modified sensitivity coefficient formulation is proposed to evaluate reaction sensitivities specifically for YSI. This formulation is applied to the 2,5-DMF-doped flame, and six 2,5-DMF initial decomposition reactions, which lead to different major soot precursors, are identified as the most sensitive reactions. The impact of the chemical kinetic uncertainties embedded in these reactions is quantified by randomly perturbing their reaction rates within a factor of two. The resulting prediction uncertainty in the 2,5-DMF-doped flame is found to be ±8 YSI units (±11%), which demonstrates that the test-fuel-specific decomposition reactions indeed have considerable influence on its YSI prediction. This work suggests that more accurate kinetic parameters for fuel initial decomposition reactions can potentially improve YSI predictions effectively, without altering the YSI predictions of other fuels with significantly different molecular structures.
Back to the Drawing Board

In recent years, individuals have brought suit against school systems because their children were graduated from high school even though their reading achievement scores indicated functional illiteracy. It is safe to say that for them a key goal of development was not reached. At a recent conference, Ira Gordon of the University of Florida spoke of two intermixed sets of developmental goals. The first set is competence and a sense of competence. The second set is selfregard and regard for others. The goals of development, then, are to arrive at competence and a sense of competence, and to arrive at self-regard and regard for others. Millions of young people read poorly; they have developed neither competence nor a sense of competence. They are in this sad state, we feel, because the educators responsible for their (mis) education were not cognizant of child growth and development principles, of learning-teaching principles, and of strategies and tactics for teaching the basic skills of reading and language development. These principles and skills, then, must be put into the service of meaningful development so that the student can determine what the arrangements of words mean, what they imply, how accurate they are, how they are related to other meanings, and how and when they should be acted upon. In the following paragraphs we present some educational principles, ask why they are so often violated, give examples of some of these violations, and state what can be done to rectify these situations. Finally, we point to the need of a Great Awakening in school systems, universities, and state departments of education. Our concern,
The Two Sides of Business Groups: Implications for Disclosure Practices

We examine the relation between business group affiliation and earnings management across twenty-two countries to better understand how ownership structure interacts with country-level institutions to shape financial reporting outcomes. Our empirical tests are motivated by studies that link business groups to two countervailing forces that affect disclosure -- improving access to finance and consuming private benefits. We find that while group firms manage earnings less than non-group firms in countries with strong investor protection, they manage earnings more in poor investor protection countries. Consistent with private benefits consumption, groups manage earnings more when there is a greater divergence between insider cash flow and control rights. Growth opportunities and equity issuances moderate group firms' earnings management in poor investor protection environments. The lower earnings management in high investor protection environments is confined to diversified groups that are likely to operate an internal capital market. Overall, these results accentuate the complex interaction between firm-level incentives and country-level institutions in shaping financial reporting outcomes.
Manipulation and Mixing of 200 Femtoliter Droplets in Nanofluidic Channels Using MHz-Order Surface Acoustic Waves.

Controllable manipulation and effective mixing of fluids and colloids at the nanoscale is made exceptionally difficult by the dominance of surface and viscous forces. The use of megahertz (MHz)-order vibration has dramatically expanded in microfluidics, enabling fluid manipulation, atomization, and microscale particle and cell separation. Even more powerful results are found at the nanoscale, with the key discovery of new regimes of acoustic wave interaction with 200 fL droplets of deionized water. It is shown that 40 MHz-order surface acoustic waves can manipulate such droplets within fully transparent, high-aspect ratio, 100 nm tall, 20-130 micron wide, 5-mm long nanoslit channels. By forming traps as locally widened regions along such a channel, individual fluid droplets may be propelled from one trap to the next, split between them, mixed, and merged. A simple theory is provided to describe the mechanisms of droplet transport and splitting.
The possibility of modern India

The history of modern constitutionalism has immortalized several events of much moment. It has, however, cast scant attention upon a great deal other episodes that merit greater engagement. Among t...
Targeting immune evasion in cancer immunotherapy.

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 SY04-02 Vaccination with irradiated tumor cells engineered to secrete granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) augments tumor immunity in murine models through improved tumor antigen presentation by mature CD11b+ dendritic cells and macrophages. CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, CD1d-restricted invariant NKT cells, and antibodies mediate protective immunity. We have performed several Phase I clinical trials of this immunization strategy, using adenoviral mediated gene transfer to engineer autologous tumor cells to secrete human GM-CSF, in patients with advanced melanoma, non-small lung carcinoma, ovarian carcinoma, and myeloid leukemia. These investigations have demon strated that vaccination increases tumor immunity in the majority of subjects, as distant metastases become densely infiltrated with T and B cells that accomplish extensive tumor necrosis. Antibody based-expression cloning technologies have revealed a large number of novel targets of these vaccine-induced responses, with evidence of a coordinated antigen-specific cellular and humoral reaction. Despite improved immunity, however, the majority of vaccinated patients eventually succumb to progressive disease. While the evolution of antigen-loss variants presents one obstacle to durable tumor control, negative immune regulation constitutes an additional major challenge. In preliminary clinical studies, the administration of a fully human monoclonal antibody that blocks cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) to previously vaccinated patients evokes additional tumor destruction with lymphocyte and granulocyte infiltrates and the disruption of the tumor vasculature. CTLA-4 blockade may also breach tolerance to normal tissues, as indicated by the development of autoimmunity. A key issue of ongoing investigation is to determine whether tumor destruction and serious autoimmunity can be dissociated. Studies of patients responding to CTLA-4 blockade have begun to clarify the ways in which protective immunity can be safely induced and, in so doing, immunosuppressive mechanisms reversed.
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Stanley Fish

In this review essay, Kathryn Abrams examines Stanley Fish's There's No Such Thing as Free Speech and it's a Good Thing, Too, a compilation of essays in which Fish exposes all forms of interpretive practice, be they legal, literary, or historical, as undeniably rhetorical: that is, without foundation in any transcendent, universal norms. Professor Abrams explores Fish's use of antifoundationalism in a range of academic arenas to attack misleadingly valorizing terms such as "objectivity," "tradition," and "merit"; such terms, Fish reveals, have always been contingent on time and place, and thus are always contestable. While she shares Fish's antifoundationalist insight, Professor Abrams disputes his ultimate conclusion, that there is absolutely no normative value to be derived from this insight. To the contrary, Professor Abrams identifies a variety of contexts (the reasonable woman standard in sexual harassment claims, for example) in which prescriptive programs are indeed rooted in an antifoundationalist insight. Moreover, Professor Abrams argues that by intervening in debates to expose the rhetoric of opponents of multiculturalism and affirmative action, Fish himself is engaging in a practice inspired by the very theory he describes as devoid of normative content.
Library 2.0: A Review of the Literature

In recent years the professional literature has seen an increase in articles written about Library 2.0 implementation in academic reference departments. These articles have focused on the integration and introduction of services such as blogs, wikis, social networking Websites, RSS, and podcasting. This article reviews the content of this literature to see which articles demonstrate a qualitative or quantitative benefit to the libraries where they are used.
Task Importance Effects on Prospective Memory Strategy Use

Summary Mnemonic strategies generally improve prospective memory (PM) performance. However, little is known about why people use such strategies. In the Motivational-Cognitive Prospective Memory model, task importance is thought to influence performance via multiple mechanisms, including increased strategy use. Our main purpose was to test this mechanism: higher PM task importance was hypothesized to cause greater strategy use. We also tested whether importance would specifically increase the use of more effective (external) strategies. Participants reported their strategy use for two hypothetical PM tasks. As predicted, they listed more strategies for more important tasks. This result demonstrates one mechanism for motivational effects in early phases of the task. We found weaker support for the prediction that participants would selectively increase their use of better strategies for more important tasks. This finding supports a relatively pessimistic view of meta-memory in PM, at least when it comes to modulating one's use of dependable strategies. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Position-dependent cell interactions and commitments in the formation of the leech nervous system.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the cellular basis of a particular instance of positional specification—the divergence of the O and P cell lines that occur during the embryonic development of the leech. Positional specification requires that cells be able to detect and respond to positional cues by choosing one of two or more alternative developmental pathways. The means by which cells detect and respond to position is a central issue in the field of pattern formation, and by studying this process within a context of defined cell lineages, it may be possible to resolve positional cues in terms of specific interactions occurring among a manageable number of cells. The chapter describes the way in which position-dependent cell interactions become converted into cell-intrinsic states of commitment, leading to a discussion of the ways in which developmental commitment of an embryonic progenitor cell may influence the composition of its descendant clone. Position-dependent cell interactions are a fundamental part of vertebrate neurogenesis and an understanding of pattern formation in invertebrate nervous systems may lend insights there as well.
Point success rate for patient therapeutic response prediction by continuous biomarker scores.

Various predictive diagnostic tests are highly demanded to guide optimal treatments for individual patients, as individual patients with the same disease such as cancer frequently exhibit dramatically different therapeutic responses to multiple available treatment options. A large number of clinical trials have thus been performed to test the predictive ability and utility of various therapeutic biomarker tests. However, in these trial designs the conventional optimization criteria such as positive predictive value or negative predictive value cannot reflect each patient’s true chance of success associated with continuous predictive biomarker scores. We have developed a novel statistical concept, point success rate (PSR), to overcome deficiencies in these conventional methods for optimizing biomarker-based clinical trials. We demonstrate statistical superiority as well as clinical improvement by a PSR-based treatment selection both with simulated and breast cancer patient data.
A rapid fluorometric method for the estimation of DNA in cultured cells

Abstract We present here a procedure for the rapid measurement of both DNA and protein from the same aliquot of cell lysate. DNA estimates obtained by this method were compared to replicate determinations using the method of Kissane and Robins (1). The optimal range for the estimation of DNA (1 to 20 μg) is well suited for use with portions of extracts from individual cell cultures; the remainder of the extract remains available for enzyme assays or other parallel determinations.
Unlimited-Size Mosaicking of Airborne Image Data

This paper presents a system that creates and navigates an unlimited-size mosaic with geographical information. The input is a sequence of airborne images with or without telemetry data, and the output is a mosaic with a combined geographical coordinate layer inherited from the input images. Rather than registering input images with an orthoimage, which is popular in existing applications, the proposed system only takes use of telemetry data as prior information. The airborne images embedded with geo-information are pair-wise registered, based on image feature correspondence. We extract feature points and form a modified EDGE-based descriptor for image registration. Subsequently, the geographical coordinate layers derived from the telemetry data stream are fused using a registration matrix computed from the previous step. However, due to the unreliability of the telemetry data, the new geodetic coordinate layer might be inconsistent with the image coordinate layer and therefore requires rectification to minimize the squared error between the mosaic coordinate layer and the warped geographical coordinate layer. The above process is incorporated into a cluster framework so that the output mosaic is extensible to an infinite size. That is, once the current mosaic size has expanded beyond computer memory limitations, the image is saved to a database. Its spatial relationship with respect to the world coordinate system is also saved to the database so that the system can navigate the collection of image mosaic data by querying the spatial database and retrieving the relevant mosaics. This method is especially suitable for video sequences spanning large regions, such as surveillance video from a micro UAV. Results with real-world UAV video are provided to demonstrate the performance of the proposed system.
INFLUENCE OF NONLINEAR WHEEL/RAIL CONTACT GEOMETRY ON STABILITY OF RAIL VEHICLES

Nonlinear behavior caused by wheel flanges, worn wheel treads, and dry friction can have an important effect on rail-vehicle stability. In this paper the influence of such nonlinearities on the stability of rail freight vehicles is investigated using quasi-linearization techniques. Nonlinear equations of motion are presented that describe the lateral behavior of a 9-degree-of-freedom representation of a complete freight car with three-piece trucks. The nonlinear wheel/rail geometric constraint functions for the rolling radii, angle of wheel/rail contact, and wheelset roll angle are found by a numerical technique. The suspension description includes dry friction where appropriate. The hunting stability of the freight car is studied by employing describing-function techniques. Results are presented for a typical freight car with three different wheel profiles. The stability results illustrate the dependence of behavior on the amplitudes of vehicle motions. Application of the results in realistic situations and suggestions for future quasi-linear studies are discussed.
Cyclic voltammetric studies of the effects of time and temperature on the capacitance of electrochemically deposited nickel hydroxide

A cyclic voltammetric (CV) technique was used to study the combined effects of annealing temperature and time on the pseudocapacitance of thermally treated electroprecipitated nickel hydroxide thin films. Through the analysis of the areas of the CVs cycled between 0 and 0.35 V (versus Ag/AgCl) it is shown that the optimal treatment condition for maximum film capacitance occurs at 300°C for 3 h. On the other hand, using the anodic and cathodic peak currents of the CVs cycled between 0 and 0.5 V (versus Ag/AgCl), the maximum film capacitance is also shown to occur at a thermal treatment condition of 300°C and 3.5 h (or 320°C and 3.2 h for linear approximations). The two methods demonstrate simple ways of extracting useful information on the electrochemical performance properties of thin films.
Introduction to inferential statistics and hypothesis testing.

When performing research, rarely are we able to work with an entire population of individuals. Instead, we usually test our treatment or intervention on a sample of individuals from the population. It is hoped that, if our treatment is successful, we can infer that the results from our sample apply to the population of interest. Inferential statistics involves making inferences from sample statistics, such as the sample mean and the sample standard deviation, to population parameters such as the population mean and the population standard deviation. Suppose we are interested in the relationship between exercise and quality of life in depressed adolescent patients. A reasonable hypothesis is that depressed patients who exercise regularly will have higher quality-of-life scores than those who do not exercise regularly. Inferential statistics provides us with a way to test this hypothesis, i.e., make a decision about the relationship between exercise and quality of life in depressed adolescent patients. To test our hypothesis, we need to reformulate it as two statements or hypotheses, the null hypothesis and the alternative hypothesis. However, before we actually specify the null and alternative hypotheses for our study, we need to operationalize our variables. The independent variable, exercise, will be defined as either use of a stationary bicycle 45 minutes per day (5 days per week for 6 weeks at a work load of 50% of maximum capacity) or no prescribed exercise. The dependent variable, a quality-of-life inventory (QL), is an indicator of quality of life and is measured as a score between 1 and 100. If our hypothesis is correct, we would expect that subjects who exercise will have a higher quality-of-life index than those who do not exercise regularly, and a higher score on the inventory would indicate improvement in these depressed adolescents. (This assumes an increased score from baseline in the intervention group. A difference could also occur if there is worsening in the nonexercising adolescents.) The null hypothesis states that the mean QL of the population of those who receive the intervention is equal to the mean QL of the population of those who do not receive the intervention. If the null hypothesis is true, the intervention of exercise has not been successful in changing quality of life. The alternative hypothesis states that the mean QL of the population of those who receive the intervention will be greater than the mean QL of the population of those who do not receive the intervention. If the null hypothesis is false, or rejected, the
Sodium-beta alumina batteries: Status and challenges

This paper provides a review of materials and designs for sodium-beta alumina battery technology and discusses the challenges ahead for further technology improvement. Sodium-beta alumina batteries have been extensively developed in recent years and encouraging progress in performance and cycle life has been achieved. The battery is composed of an anode, typically molten sodium, and a cathode that can be molten sulfur (Na-S battery) or a transition metal halide incorporated with a liquid phase secondary electrolyte (e.g., ZEBRA battery). In most cases the electrolyte is a dense solid β″-Al2O3 sodium ion-conducting membrane. The issues prohibiting widespread commercialization of sodium-beta alumina technology are related to the materials and methods of manufacturing that impact cost, safety, and performance characteristics.