cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Long Georgia, Short Colorado? The Geography of Return Predictability

This study investigates whether local stock returns vary with local business cycles in a predictable manner. We conjecture that, in the presence of local bias and incomplete risk sharing, local macroeconomic variables that characterize local business cycles would predict the returns of local stocks. In particular, during local economic recessions, the average returns of local stocks would increase as local risk aversion increases and the ability of local investors to smooth consumption declines. Consistent with this conjecture, we find that U.S. state portfolios earn higher (lower) returns when state-level unemployment rates are higher (lower) and state investors face stronger (weaker) borrowing constraints. During the 1980-2004 period, trading strategies that exploit this state-level predictability earn annualized risk-adjusted return of over 7 percent. The evidence of predictability is stronger among less visible firms and in regions in which investors exhibit stronger local bias and hold more concentrated portfolios. Overall, our results indicate that the stock return generating process contains a predictable local component.
Ensuring ADA Compliance During COVID-19: Communication for People with Disabilities (Presentation Slides)

As institutions of higher education and financial aid and wellness offices are working through COVID-19, professionals are delivering digital communication across multimedia more rapidly than ever. Although student-focused communication is critical, ensuring that all people have equal access to information is of paramount importance during this crisis. The Americans with Disabilities Act holds Title IV institutions of higher education accountable for communicating equitably with people with disabilities, many of whom do not enjoy the privilege of physical distancing. As a result, institutions of higher education must practice web accessible communication to ensure all stakeholders access COVID-19 related communication equitable, complying with ADA and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This webinar will detail ADA-focused web accessibility guidelines, provide free software and resources, and outline best practices for practitioners looking to communicate in the most technologically equitable way possible.
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support in a Young Patient With COVID-19 Infection

Critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection often require mechanical ventilation, and still many of them will progress to worsening hypoxia and death. Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) has been used in some centers, but its role in the setting of COVID-19 infection is still unclear to date. We describe a case of a young female patient with obesity but otherwise no other underlying medical conditions who was admitted with respiratory failure secondary to COVID-19. Given her severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with refractory hypoxemia, she was treated with VV-ECMO. After a prolonged hospital course, she improved clinically and was able to have VV-ECMO explanted, after 18 days of extracorporeal therapy. The complexity of ECMO therapy requires a well-trained multidisciplinary team present only at expert centers. The high resource cost is a challenge to the health care system in times of a global pandemic. Considering the limitations of this resource-intensive therapy, clinical judgment is crucial to decide whether ECMO is an appropriate option for the patient. However, for young patients with no underlying conditions who are critically ill despite optimized mechanical ventilation, we believe that extracorporeal therapy represents a reasonable option when available.
Benjamin Harrison, Ideas, and the Seeds of Economic Crisis: 1889-1893

What role does the US president, and their political ideology, play in fostering destabilizing political-economic crises? This paper examines the little-studied presidency of Benjamin Harrison for answers. During the 1890s, the US suffered its worst financial crisis and economic depression to date. Surprisingly, the seeds of this crisis were planted by the strangely inconsistent policies of the Harrison administration. Benjamin Harrison was, by most measures, supremely equipped to deliver a booming economy. However, instead of prosperity, Harrison created the conditions for a devastating financial crisis and a deep recession. Harrison’s ideology and beliefs drove his actions as president, and were the sin qua non of this political-economic disaster. This case therefore has important implications for theories of presidential power, American political development, partisanship, democratic governance, and the role of ideas in politics.
Ethical considerations for mandating food worker vaccination during outbreaks: an analysis of hepatitis A vaccine

A widespread global outbreak of Hepatitis A virus (HAV) has prompted regulations in a few cities in the United States (US) mandating HAV vaccination of food service workers. This Viewpoint considers the global impact of HAV, analyzes ethical issues pertinent to recent mandatory vaccination regulations and the core values of public health. It explores the health and rights of stakeholders and ethical criteria for mandatory vaccination that could be applied globally with the ethical codes of the World Health Organization and the American Public Health Association. The goal is to help create ethical guidance for determining under what conditions, and for what populations, should regulations be created requiring vaccination for a communicable disease.
Unique behavioral strategies in visuomotor learning: Hope for the non-learner.

Abstract The existence of individual differences in motor learning capability is well known but the behaviors or strategies that contribute to this variability have been vastly understudied. What performance characteristics distinguish an expert level performer from individuals who experience little to no success, those labeled non-learners? We designed a rule-based visuomotor task which requires identification (discovery) and then exploitation of specific explicit and implicit task components that requires a specific movement pattern, the task rule, for goal achievement. When participants first attempt the task, they are informed about the goal, but are naive to the task rule. Therefore, the purpose of this experiment is to determine how acquisition of both implicit and explicit task components, the inherent elements of the task rule, reveals differing strategies associated with performance and task success. We test the hypothesis that an examination of performance will reveal sub-groups with varying levels of success. Further, for each subgroup, we expect to find a unique relationship between visual Time-in-Target feedback (a measure of success) and subsequent updating of each task component. Out of 32 non-disabled adults, we identified three distinct sub-groups: (Low Performer/Non-Learner (LP, N = 9), Moderate Performer (MP, N = 12) and High Performer (HP, N = 11)). A quantitative analysis of behavioral patterns reveals three findings: First, the LP sub-group demonstrated significantly lower task success which was associated with difficulty identifying the explicit component of the task. Second, the HP sub-group acquired the two task components in parallel over practice. Third, when both explicit and implicit component performance is plotted across sub-groups, a task component continuum emerges that seamlessly progresses from low to moderate to high performer groups. An exploratory analysis reveals that self-reported level of prior lifetime accumulation of video game and physical activity experience is a significant predictor of individual task performance (R2 = 0.50). In summary, what appears to be a key distinction between varying levels of human rule-based motor learning is the process by which feedback is used to update performance of inherent elements of the task rule. Evidence of a performance continuum and limited prior experience suggests that Low Performer/Non-Learners are generally inexperienced with these kinds of tasks, although the role of genetics and other innate learning capabilities in visuomotor learning is still largely unknown. These findings provoke new research directions toward probing the differential performance strategies associated with expertise and the development of interventions aimed to convert non-learners into learners.
A Scoping Review of Artificial Intelligence Algorithms in Clinical Decision Support Systems for Internal Medicine Subspecialties

Objectives Artificial intelligence (AI)-based clinical decision support systems (CDSS) have been developed to solve medical problems and enhance health care management. We aimed to review the literature to identify trends and applications of AI algorithms in CDSS for internal medicine subspecialties. Methods A scoping review was conducted in PubMed, IEEE Xplore, and Scopus to determine articles related to CDSS using AI algorithms that use deep learning, machine learning, and pattern recognition. This review synthesized the main purposes of CDSS, types of AI algorithms, and overall accuracy of algorithms. We searched the original research published in English between 2009 and 2019. Results Given the volume of articles meeting inclusion criteria, the results of 218 of the 3,467 articles were analyzed and presented in this review. These 218 articles were related to AI-based CDSS for internal medicine subspecialties: neurocritical care (n = 89), cardiovascular disease (n = 79), and medical oncology (n = 50). We found that the main purposes of CDSS were prediction (48.4%) and diagnosis (47.1%). The five most common algorithms include: support vector machine (20.9%), neural network (14.6%), random forest (10.5%), deep learning (9.2%), and decision tree (8.8%). The accuracy ranges of algorithms were 61.8 to 100% in neurocritical care, 61.6 to 100% in cardiovascular disease, and 54 to 100% in medical oncology. Only 20.1% of those algorithms had an explainability of AI, which provides the results of the solution that humans can understand. Conclusion More AI algorithms are applied in CDSS and are important in improving clinical practice. Supervised learning still accounts for a majority of AI applications in internal medicine. This study identified four potential gaps: the need for AI explainability, the lack of ubiquity of CDSS, the narrow scope of target users of CDSS, and the need for AI in health care report standards.
Structuring Multiclaim Litigation: Should Rule 23 Be Revised?

Class actions have become a prominent feature of the litigation landscape. The class-action device is now employed in a wide variety of types of litigation, including consumer, securities, antitrust, employment, civil rights, and institutional-reform litigation, and increasingly in mass-accident, product-liability, and toxic-tort litigation. But as class actions have become more prominent, they also have come under increasing scrutiny because of their impact on parties and others and because of the magnitude of the stakes. As courts confront the difficult issues class actions raise, scholarly comment and criticism abound, and political controversy rages. All of this has led to close examination of the fountainhead of class-action jurisprudence, Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and has raised the question whether it should be revised. The question can be approached from diverse perspectives. For example, those whose interests are in mass-tort litigation likely will take an entirely different approach from others who are interested in consumer litigation or civil rights litigation or securities litigation. As Professor Edward Cooper has observed, the arguments for and against amending Rule 23 rest on assumptions about how well it works, or does not work, now.1 But judgments about how well the Rule works necessarily turn on one's expectations, and the expectations of those litigating in different fields differ greatly. The question whether Rule 23 should be revised therefore is not susceptible to a global answer unless revision is stylistic only, limited to making the text more elegant and even stylistic revision is likely to have some substantive impact, even if unintended. But if the argument for revision is that the Rule is in some respect deficient and should be made to work better, one must begin by answering the question how it should work. That in turn depends on defining the Rule's purpose what it is intended to accomplish.
Phase transitions in single-crystal Tb/sub 5/Si/sub 2.2/Ge/sub 1.8/

The magnetic anisotropy and magnetic phase transition of a single crystal Tb/sub 5/(Si/sub 2.2/Ge/sub 1.8/) is investigated by of M-H and M-T measurements along the a, b and c axes. The transition from paramagnetic to ferromagnetic is observed at T = 110 K . Below this transition temperature, M-H curves show very strong anisotropy which is believed to be due to complex spin configuration. M-H measurements at T = 110 K show that the a axis is the easy axis, and that the saturation magnetization is 200 emu/g. The b axis is the hard axis, which needs an external magnetic field much higher than 2 T to saturate the magnetization in that direction, indicating a high magnetocrystalline anisotropy. The c axis is of intermediate hardness.
Prevention of iatrogenic neonatal respiratory distress syndrome: Elective repeat cesarean section and spontaneous labor

Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is an important complication of elective repeat cesarean section. In a review of 68,880 consecutive deliveries, 1,897 women underwent elective cesarean section at a gestation estimated to be greater than or equal to 38 weeks. Seventy-one (4.3%) of the infants of the 1,649 women who were not in labor at the time of delivery developed neonatal RDS. None of the infants of the 248 women who were in spontaneous labor at the time of delivery developed RDS (P less than 0.005). There were no cases of uterine rupture in either group. Of the 71 infants who developed RDS, 29 (41%) were judged to be at term on the basis of both examination and birth weight. Misapplication of fetal ultrasound data contributed to the premature delivery of more than one third of the infants with RDS. Awaiting the onset of spontaneous labor to determine the timing of repeat cesarean section in women at term is an effective way to preventing iatrogenic neonatal RDS.
Synthesis and Characterization of Nanocrystalline Barium Strontium Titanate Ceramics

Nano-grained Barium Titanate based ceramics are of interest, for applications in ultra thin dielectric layers. In this work, we have synthesized nanocrystalline Barium Strontium Titanate (Ba 0.7 Sr 0.3 TiO 3 ) powder in the range of 15 - 25 nm using a simple sol-gel processing route. Barium acetate, strontium acetate and titanium isopropoxide were used as precursors. By varying the pH of the sol and the calcination temperature a simple sol-gel synthesis was developed which can be easily repeated. Thermal properties of the processed gel were determined using Differential Scanning Calorimetry. and Therrrrogravimetric analysis. The Ba 0 7 S r03 TiO 3 gel obtained was dried at 200°C. to form powder and subsequently calcined in the temperature range of 400°C to 700"C for crystallization. X-Ray Diffraction technique was used to study the phase evolution and phase purity during synthesis. Crystallite size of the powder was also determined using X-ray diffraction patterns. XRD patterns showed variation in phase evolution as a function of pH of the solution. Scanning Electron Microcopy of the synthesized powder calcined at 700°C showed that the powder was in agglomerates, which were consisted of very fine particles. High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM) results showed that the particle size of the B a07 Sr 03 TiO 3 powder obtained after calcination at 700°C was in the range 15-25 nm.
Application of augmented lagrangian relaxation to coordinated scheduling of interdependent hydrothermal power and natural gas systems

This study proposes an optimisation model for the coordinated scheduling of interdependent electric power and natural gas transmission systems from a joint operator's viewpoint. The objective is to minimise the coordinated social cost while satisfying network and temporal constraints of the two interdependent systems. The joint operator will coordinate hourly schedules to supply natural gas to loads or generate electric power. The authors consider the application of Lagrangian relaxation (LR) or augmented LR to relax the coupling constraints of the two systems. The Lagrangian dual is decomposed into the security-constrained unit commitment subproblem with the hydro coordination and the natural gas allocation subproblem. The application of LR for solving the coordinated problem could cause oscillations in the dual solution which is due to the non-convex characteristics of the coordinated problem represented by integer variables and network constraints. Moreover, with slight changes in multiplier values, the linear cost function of the natural gas well may result in a cycling behaviour of the gas well output between its max and min limits. To avoid numerical oscillations and improve the solution quality, the augmented LR with a piecewise linear approximation of quadratic penalty terms and the block descent coordination technique are proposed. The authors consider the 6-bus with 7-node and the 118-bus with 14-node systems to verify that the applicability of the proposed method to the coordinated scheduling of electric power and natural gas transmission systems.
B lymphocyte antigens in the differential diagnosis of human neoplasia

Human B lymphocyte antigens (HBLA) were detected with fluorescent- labeled antibodies on malignant cells of 102 patients with Hodgkin disease and other lymphomas, plasma cell myeloma, and nonlymphoreticular neoplasms including carcinomas of the breast, lung, and ovary, soft tissue sarcomas, and neuroblastoma. HBLA were present in Hodgkin disease and other lymphomas of B cell or histiocyte derivation. They were absent in plasma cell myeloma and nonlymphoreticular neoplasms. Absorption studies revealed that malignant T cells had smaller amounts of HBLA, usually not detected by immunofluorescence. Expression of HBLA was dependent on both cell differentiation and origin. Detection of HBLA enabled immunologic distinction of Reed-Sternberg and other lymphoma cells from morphologically similar cells of nonlymphoreticular origin. The rapidity, reproducibility, and economy of the immunofluorescence test make this a useful clinical tool for the differential diagnosis of lymphoma from other malignant disorders in man.
Does the presence of placental basal plate myometrial fibres increase the risk of subsequent morbidly adherent placenta: a case-control study.

Objective Antenatal diagnosis of morbidly adherent placenta has been shown to improve outcomes, but existing predictors lack sensitivity. Our objective was to determine whether the presence of myometrial fibres attached to the placental basal plate (BPMYO) in an antecedent pregnancy is associated with subsequent morbidly adherent placenta. Design A case–control study. Setting Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Pathology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. Sample Women who had at least two pregnancies with placental pathological evaluation. Methods Cases were defined as women with evidence of morbidly adherent placenta (both clinically and pathologically) in their most recent pregnancy whereas women without evidence of morbidly adherent placenta served as controls. Pathological specimens of placentas from previous pregnancies were evaluated for BPMYO. The presence of BPMYO on a previous placenta was evaluated to determine whether it could be used to improve the antenatal diagnosis of morbidly adherent placenta. Results Of the 25 cases of morbidly adherent placenta, 19 (76%) had BPMYO present on their previous placenta compared with 41 (41%) of controls (odds ratio 4.8, 95% CI 1.8–13.0). Adding BPMYO to a regression including other risk factors for morbidly adherent placenta (i.e. maternal age, number of previous caesarean sections, placenta praevia, previous multiple gestation, any previous curettage, and ultrasonographic suspicion of placenta accreta) significantly improved the sensitivity of antenatal diagnosis of morbidly adherent placenta (61% versus 39%, P < 0.001) without a change in specificity (97% versus 97%, P = 1.00). Conclusion BPMYO on previous placental pathology is associated with an increased risk of morbidly adherent placenta in a subsequent pregnancy. These findings may shed light on the pathophysiology of accreta and inform future research on predictors of accreta. Tweetable abstract Previous basal plate myometrium improves the ability to detect subsequent morbidly adherent placenta.
Brief announcement: failure detectors encapsulate fairness

Fairness is a measure of the number of steps a process takes relative to other processes and/or messages in transit. We argue that failure detectors encapsulate fairness. As evidence, we specify models for fairness-based message-passing systems that are the weakest to implement the Chandra-Toueg failure detectors from [1].
Lender Heterogeneity and the Maturity of International Loans

International capital markets are populated by heterogeneous investors. Some have better facilities to evaluate foreign borrowers and are more permanent players on the international scene. They are also more likely to invest longer-term. Others are more occasional, smaller-scale investors, and are more prone to shorter-term financing. As a country becomes more attractive for investment, the proportion of capital supplied by the latter type increases. Since those investors supply mostly short-term debt, the average maturity of loans becomes shorter. Therefore, higher levels of investment are associated with shorter maturity. Data on international lending by U.S. banks lend support to that hypothesis.
Transport and reaction in microscale segmented gas–liquid flow

We use micro particle image velocimetry (μPIV) and fluorescence microscopy techniques to characterize microscale segmented gas–liquid flow at low superficial velocities relevant for chemical reactions with residence times of up to several minutes. Different gas–liquid microfluidic channel networks of rectangular cross section are fabricated in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) using soft lithography techniques. The recirculation motion in the liquid segments associated with gas–liquid flows as well as the symmetry characteristics of the recirculations are quantified for straight and meandering channel networks. Even minor surface roughness effects and the compressibility of the gas phase induce loss of symmetry and enhance mixing across the centerline in straight channels. Mixing is further accelerated in meandering channels by the periodic switching of recirculation patterns across the channel center. We demonstrate a new, piezoelectrically activated flow injection technique for determining residence time distributions (RTDs) of fluid elements in multiphase microfluidic systems. The results confirm a narrowed liquid phase RTD in segmented flows in comparison to their single-phase counterparts. The enhanced mixing and narrow RTD characteristics of segmented gas–liquid flows are applied to liquid mixing and in sol–gel synthesis of colloidal nanoparticles.
HST battery test expert systems

During the testing of nickel-cadmium and nickel-hydrogen batteries for the Hubble Space Telescope, an urgent need for data management was recognized. Testing of these batteries generates much needed data that is used for vital decision making, such as when to recondition, change the charging scheme, or adjust the workload of the batteries. To solve this problem, an expert system called NICBES was developed. NICBES can recognize a testbed anomaly, identify the malfunctioning component, recommend a course of action, evaluate battery status, and provide decision support. A description of NICBES and some of its enhancements are given. >
ACUTE: a high performance analog complementary polysilicon emitter bipolar technology utilizing SOI/trench full dielectric isolation

The advantages of using full dielectric isolation, in the form of SOI substrates and trench isolation, are well known, namely the reduction of substrate parasitic currents due to high voltage, high temperature or harsh radiation environments. Moreover, high voltage analog bipolar transistors can also benefit from full dielectric isolation in terms of limiting substrate capacitance and providing the means to achieve well matched, densely packed transistors. A high voltage analog SOI/trench dielectrically isolated complementary bipolar technology is described, which achieves well matched, leakage-free high-speed transistor performance. >
Rapporteur summary: the use of technology to control and quantify health care costs

There was a consensus among the panelists that innovative (state-of-the-art) technology is seen by many politicians as a major driving force in the escalation of health care costs. It was recommended that a basic premise of any policy should be to provide high quality care while being cost effective through the proper assessment and use of technology. Technology assessment should be used to reduce ineffectiveness by comparing the efficacy and effectiveness of an emerging technology, comparing the relative effectiveness of alternate technologies, and performing cost effectiveness analysis.
Comparative analysis of angiogenic gene expression in normal and impaired wound healing in diabetic mice: effects of extracorporeal shock wave therapy

Impaired wound healing is a persistent clinical problem which has been treated with mixed results. Studies aimed at elucidating the mechanism of impaired wound healing have focused on small cohorts of genes which leave an incomplete picture of the wound healing process. We aimed to investigate impaired wound healing via a comprehensive panel of angiogenic/inflammation-related genes and wound closure kinetics with and without the application of extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT), which has been demonstrated to improve wound healing. Full-thickness skin from the dorsal surface of "normal" (BALB/c) and "impaired" (db (+)/db (+)) mice was excised, and wound margin tissue was harvested 2, 7, and 10 days post injury. A separate, but identical wound model was established over 40 days in order to measure wound closure kinetics. Over time, the normal non-ESWT treated wounds exhibited varying patterns of elevated expression of 25-30 genes, whereas wounds with impaired healing displayed prolonged elevated expression of only a few genes (CXCL2, CXCL5, CSF3, MMP9, TGF-α). In response to ESWT, gene expression was augmented in both types of wounds, especially in the expression of PECAM-1; however, ESWT had no effect on wound closure in either model. In addition, multiple doses of ESWT exacerbated the delayed wound healing, and actually caused the wounds to initially increase in size. These data provide a more complete picture of impaired wound healing, and a way to evaluate various promising treatments.
Matrix factorizations in optimization of nonlinear functions subject to linear constraints

Several ways of implementing methods for solving nonlinear optimization problems involving linear inequality and equality constraints using numerically stable matrix factorizations are described. The methods considered all follow an active constraint set approach and include quadratic programming, variable metric, and modified Newton methods.
The effects of DDT, dieldrin and 2,4-D on amphibian spawn and tadpoles

Spawn of the common frog (Rana temporaria) or tadpoles of the common frog, common toad (Bufo bufo) or smooth newt (Triturus vulgaris) were maintained for 24 or 48 h in amphibian saline to which pesticide had been added. After treatment they were transferred to fresh saline. Tadpoles that hatched from treated spawn and tadpoles that had been treated were observed for up to three weeks. DDT did not penetrate well-developed spawn and was only detected in hatching tadpoles after freshly laid spawn had been treated. These tadpoles became hyperactive after their external gills were lost. In the experiments in which frog and toad tadpoles were exposed to DDT, tadpoles were most susceptible either just before or just after developing hind limb buds and at these and later stages they became hyperactive when tissue concentrations reached 2–3 and 3–4 ppm respectively. During tail resorption small frogs, unlike small toads, were susceptible to tissue residues of DDT that had been acquired during larval development. At every stage of development, toads were more resistant to DDT than frogs, some toad tadpoles surviving despite tissue concentrations of >300 ppm. After treatment with DDT, DDe was often detected in newt tadpoles and in frog and toad tadpoles with hind limbs. Dieldrin caused lower mortality amongst tadpoles than DDT and had less effect on behaviour, although, like DDT, it produced distinct behavioural changes and morphological abnormalities. Only frog tadpoles were treated with 2,4-D. It had no visible effect and no tissue residues could be detected even after treatment in 50 ppm for 48 h.
The First Catalytic Asymmetric Addition of Dialkylzincs to α-Ketoesters

The first catalytic, enantioselective addition of organozinc reagents to α-ketoesters is described. Modular bifunctional salen catalysts that contain Lewis acid and Lewis base activating groups accelerate the carbonyl addition to a much greater extent than the competing carbonyl reduction. α-Hydroxyesters containing new quaternary stereogenic centers are obtained in high yield and moderate enantiomeric excess. Enrichment to 98% ee can be effected by recrystallization of the corresponding α-hydroxy acid.
Cheilitis Granulomatosa: A Review

Cheilitis granulomatosa (CG) is a cosmetically disturbing and persistent idiopathic lip swelling. It is one manifestation of orofacial granulomatosis (OFG), which is a clinical entity describing facial and oral swelling in the setting of non-caseating granulomatous inflammation and in the absence of systemic disease such as Crohn’s disease and sarcoidosis. CG can occur by itself or as part of the Melkersson–Rosenthal syndrome, which includes facial palsy and a plicated tongue. Other proposed causes of OFG include dietary allergens such as cinnamon and benzoates. Similar orofacial swelling may be an early manifestation of Crohn’s disease or sarcoidosis, and so clinical history is important in diagnosis. The cause of CG has not been wholly elucidated, but a current hypothesis holds that a random influx of inflammatory cells is responsible. Other granulomatous and edematous causes of lip swelling must be investigated prior to diagnosis. Options for treatment include dietary modifications, antibiotics, systemic or intralesional corticosteroids, and surgery, although treatment is not always necessary. CG should be considered in the differential of persistent lip swelling.
Effects and generalizability of communally oriented HIV-AIDS prevention versus general health promotion groups for single, inner-city women in urban clinics

A primary prevention, behavioral intervention designed to reduce HIV risk behavior was tested in a randomized, controlled trial with single, inner-city women. A total of 935 women were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: a small group, 6-session communally oriented HIV prevention intervention; a yoked general health promotion intervention control; or a standard care control. Both interventions involved the interactive use of videotapes by live group leaders. The HIV prevention intervention, in particular, resulted in significant positive effects on self-reported and behaviorally assessed safer-sex behavior. Women in the HIV prevention group showed reduced point prevalences of medically tested sexually transmitted diseases at follow-up in some comparisons.
Management of Premenopausal Women with Neoadjuvant Endocrine Therapy: A Single-Institution Experience

Background In postmenopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer, neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (ET) provides effective downstaging of tumor for improved surgical outcome and offers an important advantage of assessing tumor endocrine responsiveness for individualized therapy in the adjuvant setting. Although approximately 60 % of breast cancers in premenopausal women are HR positive, the role of neoadjuvant ET in this population is not well defined.
The Relationship of Prostate Gland Volume to Extended Needle Biopsy on Prostate Cancer Detection

ABSTRACTPurpose: We investigated the relationship between prostate volume and cancer detection by needle biopsy, and determined the effect of an increased number of cores on the sampling error of needle biopsy on large prostate glands.Materials and Methods: The study cohort included 750 consecutive patients who underwent first time transrectal ultrasound guided prostate needle biopsy from January 1995 to August 2001. Prostate volumes were divided into quartiles (13 to 34, 34.1 to 45, 45.1 to 64 and 64.1 to 244 cc). Multivariate analysis controlling for age, prostate specific antigen (PSA) and biopsy indication was performed to determine the effect of the number of cores and prostate volume on prostate cancer detection.Results: Patients diagnosed with prostate cancer were older (p = 0.0035) and had higher PSA levels (p = 0.0002) than those with no cancer on biopsy. Decreasing cancer detection rates were seen with increasing prostate volume (p = 0.0074). The OR of detection for each additional core was 0.99...
Movement of Air through Water in Partly Saturated Soils

WHEN the water content of a soil is reduced below saturation, the interfaces between air and water lie within pores, and are curved because of surface tension, σ. The pressure of the water Pw is lower than that of the surrounding air Pa by where rs is the radius of the interfaces. As the water content is reduced, drainage occurs from progressively smaller openings, and the interface radius decreases. The pressure of the water also falls, in accordance with equation 1, producing the well known “suction‐moisture content” relationship.
Through Deming's Eyes: A Cross-National Analysis of Quality Assurance Policies in Higher Education.

Abstract Efforts to improve the quality of academic programmes in the US, the UK, and the Netherlands have followed three general approaches: the logic of competitive markets, the application of incentives, and the process of professional self‐regulation. The first two approaches have been much influenced by the field of information economics, particularly the concept of insufficient information and the principal‐agent model. Professional self‐regulation has relied on the critical assumption of the existence of cohesion in academic disciplines and fields. The strengths and weaknesses of these three approaches for improving academic quality are critiqued through the lens of the work of W. Edwards Deming, a leading American thinker on quality management. The analysis suggests that quality assurance policies will likely make the most important contribution by fostering the development of ‘social capital’, both within and between academic institutions. How this might be accomplished is explored through an exa...
Effects of Beet necrotic yellow vein virus in Spinach Cultivars.

Abstract Beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV) causes one of the most economically destructive diseases of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris), rhizomania, which may reduce sugar yield by 80%. This field investigation was conducted to evaluate the interactions between spinach genotypes and different BNYVV strains, and to determine whether BNYVV is transmitted through spinach seeds. Eight commercial spinach cultivars were planted in two BNYVV-infested fields and two control fields in Salinas, CA in 2009. Spinach plants in the BNYVV-infested fields showed disease symptoms of yellow-green or light-green vein clearing, mottling, or yellow-green chlorotic lesions on younger leaves as early as 28 days after planting (four- to six-true leaf stage). Leaves may also become stiff, more crinkled, and necrotic. There was an increase of lateral roots and leaf number but a decrease in leaf weight compared to healthy plants. Infected plants often became stunted, deformed, wilted, and dead. Symptomatic leaves and roots from pla...
Magneto-optical disk drive technology using multiple fiber-coupled flying optical heads. Part II. Laser noise considerations

A magneto-optical data storage system utilizing single-mode fiber is capable of providing high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) recording if laser noise sources are properly managed. In particular, mode partition noise (MPN) associated with use of a Fabry-Perot laser diode can be a significant problem in a fiber-based system. The various mechanisms leading to MPN as well as to laser phase noise are discussed in the context of a system constructed with polarization-maintaining fiber. The primary noise mechanisms include spurious fiber-endface reflections and errors in the quarter-wave plate on the recording head. An understanding of these effects is essential for fabrication of a fiber-based recording system with suitable SNR performance.
Color change in exercising crabs: evidence for a hormone

Three species of crabs exercised to fatigue showed a blanching and/or reddening of the body and legs. InUca pugilator this effect was due to white and red pigment dispersion in the leucophores and erythrophores, respectively, and a black pigment concentration in the melanophores. The pigment movements were induced by factor(s) present in the blood of exercisingUca; blood (hemolymph) removed from an exercised crab and injected into the isolated leg segment of another individual cause pigment movements similar to those seen in intact fatigued crabs. The blood of exercisedUca also caused similar chromatophore changes in isolated leg segments of the crabSesarma cinereum. The evidence suggests that blood-borne factor(s) related or identical to chromatophorotropins are released during vigorous exercise in crabs. We speculate that the effects of these exercise factor(s) are secondary to possible effects on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism associated with exercise.
The Use of Genetic Manipulation of MA-10 Leydig Tumor Cells to Demonstrate the Role of Mitochondrial Proteins in the Acute Regulation of Steroidogenesis*

The true rate-limiting step in steroidogenesis is the delivery of cholesterol to the inner mitochondrial membrane where it is converted to pregnenolone by the cholesterol side-chain cleavage complex. This process is known to require de novo protein synthesis. We have previously described the synthesis of a family of 37, 32, and 30 kilodalton mitochondrial proteins in response to hormone stimulation in MA-10 mouse Leydig tumor cells and have proposed that these proteins are involved in the acute regulation of steroidogenesis. In this study we have used two subclones of MA-10 cells to further demonstrate the correlation between the quantity of these proteins and the production of steroids in response to hormone treatment. One of these, designated MA-10(K3), has been transfected with a mutant gene of the type 1 regulatory subunit of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase under the control of a metallothionein promoter, whereas the other, designated MA-10(P+29), is a constitutive overproducer of a cAMP-phosphodies...
Non-grey radiative heat transfer in conservative plane-parallel media with reflecting boundaries

Abstract The normal-mode-expansion technique is used to solve a class of non-grey radiative heat transfer problems in finite plane-parallel media appropriate to radiative and local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions. The frequency-dependent absorption coefficient is characterized by a two-band ‘picket-fence’ model. The boundary surfaces are maintained at uniform, but arbitrary, temperatures and are allowed to be diffuse emitters of radiant energy and to possess both specular and diffuse components of reflectivity. Rigorous solutions of the vector equation of transfer are constrained to meet the considered boundary conditions, and pertinent orthogonality relations are invoked to convert the resulting singular integral equations to coupled non-singular integral equations. All relevant integrals are represented by a high-order Gaussian-quadrature scheme, and the system of regular integral equations is solved iteratively to yield sufficiently accurate solutions for the required expansion coefficients. In addition to being used to evaluate the accuracy of developed, tractable analytical approximations, these ‘exact’ expansion coefficients render available the complete angular intensity of radiation at any optical depth in the medium. To report a parameter survey tabular results are given for the temperature-profile and heat-flux functions for a representative class of cases.
Effect of the somatostatin analogue SMS-201-995 on the adrenergic response to glucose ingestion in patients with postprandial hypotension

Abstract purpose: The somatostatin analogue SMS-201-995 has recently been introduced as a new therapy for postprandial hypotension in patients with autonomic neuropathy. The present study was performed to determine the effect of SMS-201-995 on the adrenergic response to glucose ingestion in patients with this disorder. patients and methods: Eleven patients with postprandial hypotension were studied: six with central autonomic dysfunction (multiple system atrophy) and five with peripheral sympathetic dysfunction (progressive autonomic failure). Patients received either a subcutaneous injection of SMS-201-995 or a placebo injection, immediately before administration of a 50-g glucose drink. Each treatment was given on separate, consecutive days in a randomized fashion. results: Glucose ingestion caused a decrease in blood pressure (from 82 ± 6 mm Hg to 66 ± 7 mm Hg, p conclusion: Our data indicate that the pressor effect of SMS-201-995 is independent of the sympathetic nervous system in patients with multiple system atrophy, but may suppress the adrenergic response to glucose ingestionin patients with progressive autonomic failure.
COG1410, an Apolipoprotein E-based Peptide, Improves Cognitive Performance and Reduces Cortical Loss Following Moderate Fluid Percussion Injury in the Rat

Abstract COG1410, a small, novel ApoE-mimetic peptide derived from the receptor binding region of apolipoprotein E (ApoE), has been classified as anti-inflammatory in nature and improves motor, sensorimotor, and cognitive dysfunction following cortical contusion injury (CCI). In order to further examine COG1410's preclinical efficacy on cognitive recovery, the present study evaluated COG1410 following moderate fluid percussion injury (FPI). Animals were prepared with a moderate, unilateral FPI over the hippocampus. Following FPI, animals received a regimen of five doses of COG1410 or vehicle at 2 and 4 h (1.0 mg/kg, i.v.) followed by additional doses administered 24, 48, and 72 h (1.0 mg/kg, i.p.). Prior to injury, animals were trained for 4 days (4 trials/day) in the Morris water maze (MWM) and then tested for retrograde amnesia on post-FPI day 11 and then on a working memory task on day 18. Testing for motor dysfunction on the tapered balanced beam began on day 2 post-FPI. Administration of this regimen of COG1410 significantly improved retention of memory in the retrograde amnesia test compared to vehicle post-FPI. However, COG1410 did not significantly improve acquisition of working memory in the MWM. Motor dysfunction on the tapered beam post-FPI was improved in the COG1410-treated group compared to vehicle treatment. Cortical lesion analysis revealed that the COG1410-treated animals demonstrated significantly less tissue loss compared to vehicle-treated animals. The results of this study suggest that COG1410 significantly limited the behavioral dysfunction and tissue loss associated with FPI and demonstrated continued preclinical efficacy for TBI.
Two-dimensional optical iterative processor

An optical architecture based on optically addressed amorphous silicon ferroelectric liquid crystal spatial light modulators has been built and demonstrated for optical iterative processing of two dimensional images. An optical ring in which a two dimensional optical delay line has been introduced, allows control of the cycling rate of the optical iterative processor from a few Hertz to up to 15 kHz. Potential applications for real time optical iterative processing includes scaling and rotation for optical based ATRs, optical fractal analysis, optical wavelet transform, and optical artificial neural network implementations.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Prevention of hypoxia and hyperoxia during endotracheal suctioning.

A new suction catheter, designed to deliver alternately oxygen or suction, prevented episodes of hypoxia and hyperoxia in a group of infants during endotracheal suctioning. Twenty infants received both conventional endotracheal suctioning and suctioning by the new catheter. The infants had a maximal change from a presuctioning transcutaneous oxygen (PtcO2) of 12 +/- 8 torr and required 3.1 +/- 2 min to regain their presuctioning oxygenation level compared to a maximal change of 21 +/- 10 torr (p less than .05) and a stabilization time of 5.3 +/- 2.6 min (p less than .05) in the conventionally treated group. Three study infants experienced an abnormal PtcO2 (either less than 40 or greater than 90 torr), while 13 control infants suffered these abnormalities (p less than .01). The use of this new suction device effectively reduced the exposure of this group of infants to episodes of aberrant oxygen states and allowed for a shorter recovery time.
Two glucose-sensing pathways converge on Rgt1 to regulate expression of glucose transporter genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae deploys two different types of glucose sensors on its cell surface that operate in distinct glucose signaling pathways: the glucose transporter-like Snf3 and Rgt2 proteins and the Gpr1 receptor that is coupled to Gpa2, a G-protein α subunit. The ultimate target of the Snf3/Rgt2 pathway is Rgt1, a transcription factor that regulates expression of HXT genes encoding glucose transporters. We have found that the cAMP-dependent protein kinase A (PKA), which is activated by the Gpr1/Gpa2 glucose-sensing pathway and by a glucose-sensing pathway that works through Ras1 and Ras2, catalyzes phosphorylation of Rgt1 and regulates its function. Rgt1 is phosphorylated in vitro by all three isoforms of PKA, and this requires several serine residues located in PKA consensus sequences within Rgt1. PKA and the consensus serine residues of Rgt1 are required for glucose-induced removal of Rgt1 from the HXT promoters and for induction of HXT expression. Conversely, overexpression of the TPK genes led to constitutive expression of the HXT genes. The PKA consensus phosphorylation sites of Rgt1 are required for an intramolecular interaction that is thought to regulate its DNA binding activity. Thus, two different glucose signal transduction pathways converge on Rgt1 to regulate expression of glucose transporters.
What an omnipotent agent can do

Judging from the recent literature, the problem of defining or analyzing the concept of omnipotence is a formidable one. One author has claimed to have proved the impossibility of defining omnipotence,1 and of those who have recently made the attempt, none has succeeded in providing a definition which is not subject to refutation by counter-example .2 The leading and novel idea of our paper is that if one is sensitive to the essential temporal propertes of states of affairs, then one can construct an adequate definition of omnipotence. Working from this insight, we formulate an informative and consistent analysis of omnipotence which incorporates the following two principles: first, that what an agent brings about can be "cashed out" in terms of his bringing it about that an unrestrictedly repeatable state of affairs obtains; second, that by making use of the notion of unrestricted repeatability, one can single out a class of states of affairs, S, such that necessarily, an agent, A, is omnipotent just in case for any member, e, of S, A has the ability to bring it about that e obtains.