cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Should Investment be Measured? The Role of Investors' Uncertainty

We study the effect of alternative accounting methods (capitalizing versus expensing) of long-term asset on firms' investment behavior in such assets. We consider a setting where there is information asymmetry between firm insiders and outside market regarding the profitability of such investments and when firms are myopic in the sense that they care about short-term prices. We show that, contrary to conventional wisdom that myopia results in underinvestment of long-term assets, firms' investments are excessively sensitive to the profitability of those investments, implying overinvestment when the profitability is high and underinvestment when the profitability is low. In addition, capitalizing long-term investments results in an even higher sensitivity to the profitability than expensing and is unambiguously worse (better) when the information asymmetry regarding the profitability is sufficiently large (small). Our results thus provide a justification for the common practice of capitalizing tangible investments but expensing intangible investments, to the extent that information asymmetry of the profitability of tangible investments is much smaller than that for intangible investments.
Switching frequency selection for ultra-low-inductance machines

Advances in power electronics devices and materials are creating opportunities to improve both machine and drive design in order to obtain better overall system performance by designing each to exploit the advantages available from technology development in the other. In order to combine wide-band-gap devices with novel machine designs that can benefit from their application, guidance about the interactions between the machine and drive in terms of overall system performance is necessary. Herein, a method of evaluating the effect of switching frequency on system losses is presented and demonstrated using conventional and novel machine designs and power electronic devices.
A measurement framework to increase transparency in historic preservation decision-making under changing climate conditions

Abstract Today, cultural heritage planning and decision-making operate under considerable climate, political, and financial uncertainties and constraints. Consequently, decision-makers are often left making value-laden judgments of what to preserve, restore, and maintain in their best judgments, which can leave them open to criticism for not protecting the cultural resources most important to various and diverse stakeholder groups. Thus, a transparent and robust process to optimally maintain cultural heritage values for present and future generations is needed. We address this knowledge gap by developing a novel, transparent, and value-based measurement framework for assessing relative “historical significance” and “use potential” of diverse historic buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places (United States). Measures of historical significance include: the association of a building with the purpose of a NPS site's foundation, the current physical condition of a building, the building's historic character, and National Register listing criteria. Specific measures of use potential consider the importance of historic building's operational, third party, visitor, interpretative, and scientific uses. The application of the framework is presented using a subset of buildings located within two separately listed historic districts at Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina. The framework focuses on the current status of the cultural resource's significance and use potential while acknowledging that corresponding attributes, metrics and weights can change over time and should be regularly updated. It is hoped that the historical significance and use potential framework can assist the decision-makers and stakeholders, and better inform both the cultural heritage management and allocation prioritization for climate adaptation planning when it is applied in tandem with climate change vulnerability assessments.
Two-Dimensional Culture Systems to Investigate Mechanical Interactions of the Cell

Creation of well-controlled two dimensional cell culture systems continues to be important for the advancement of basic cell biology investigations as well as innovative platforms for drug development, toxicity testing, and diagnostic assays. These cell culture systems have become more advanced in order to provide the appropriate biomechanical and biochemical cues that better mimic the milieu of in vivo conditions. Additionally the platforms themselves can aid in the measurement of cell/cell and cell/substrate mechanical interactions through the use of microscopy techniques. Here we review state-of-the art cell culture systems that involve a range of different substrates, protein micropatterning, and markers for measurement of strains and tractions, including those developed by our labs. We will evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of several culture systems with a focus on those used with stem cell-derived cell types and provide examples of the quantitative measures that can be made with techniques such as traction force microscopy, digital image correlation, and scanning gradient Fourier transform analysis.
Collapsing the Tumor Ecosystem: Preventing Adaptive Response to Treatment by Inhibiting Transcription

Summary: Adaptation and resistance to treatment are the results of a multitude of (epi)genetic events unmasked or directly triggered by therapies targeting the genetic driver(s) of a dominant cell population within a tumor mass. Rusan and colleagues report that drug-tolerant cells are sensitive to THZ1, a dual CDK7/12 inhibitor, which, by impairing the transcriptional machinery, can prevent cellular rewiring to survive therapeutic attack. Cancer Discov; 8(1); 17–9. ©2018 AACR . See related article by Rusan et al., p. 59 .
Nonlinear optical media in photonic crystal waveguides: Intrinsic localized modes and device applications: Research Articles

A review is given of some of the properties of photonic crystal waveguides containing or interacting with nonlinear optical media including discussions of potential device applications. An introduction is given to photonic crystals, photonic crystal waveguide technologies, the properties of Kerr nonlinear dielectric media, the properties of new types of excitations in these systems known as intrinsic localized modes, and optical bistability. Device designs for switches, waveguide couplers, interferometers, transistors, photonic crystal receivers and transmitters, and photonic crystal sensors are reviewed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 12: 18–32, 2007
Wearable activity monitors to assess performance status and predict clinical outcomes in advanced cancer patients.

An objective evaluation of patient performance status (PS) is difficult because patients spend the majority of their time outside of the clinic, self-report to providers, and undergo dynamic changes throughout their treatment experience. Real-time, objective activity data may allow for a more accurate assessment of PS and physical function, while reducing the subjectivity and bias associated with current assessments. Consenting patients with advanced cancer wore a wearble activity monitor for three consecutive visits in a prospective, single-cohort clinical trial. Provider-assessed PS (ECOG/Karnofsky) and NIH PROMIS® patient-reported outcomes (PROs) were assessed at each visit. Associations between wearable activity monitor metrics (steps, distance, stairs) and PS, clinical outcomes (adverse events, hospitalizations, survival), and PROs were assessed using correlation statistics and in multivariable logistic regression models. Thirty-seven patients were evaluated (54% male, median 62 years). Patients averaged 3700 steps, 1.7 miles, and 3 flights of stairs per day. Highest correlations were observed between average daily steps and ECOG-PS and KPS (r = 0.63 and r = 0.69, respectively p < 0.01). Each 1000 steps/day increase was associated with reduced odds for adverse events (OR: 0.34, 95% CI 0.13, 0.94), hospitalizations (OR: 0.21 95% CI 0.56, 0.79), and hazard for death (HR: 0.48 95% CI 0.28–0.83). Significant correlations were also observed between activity metrics and PROs. Our trial demonstrates the feasibility of using wearable activity monitors to assess PS in advanced cancer patients and suggests their potential use to predict clinical and patient-reported outcomes. These findings should be validated in larger, randomized trials. Wearable activity monitors provide an objective and continuous measure of general wellbeing and physical function among patients with advanced cancer. Gillian Gresham from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, USA, and colleagues enlisted 37 patients with metastatic or inoperable cancer to wear wristbands that wireless measure heart rate and activity patterns over the span of 2 weeks. At weekly clinic visits, the patients also filled in health questionnaires and their healthcare providers made independent evaluations. The researchers found a reasonably high correlation between the clinician-assessed performance status and the average daily step total calculated by the wristband. More steps also translated into lower odds of serious complications, hospitalizations or death. The study shows the feasibility of using wearable technology to track the ability of patients with advanced cancer to perform certain activities of daily living.
Clinical Molecular Diagnostic Techniques: A Brief Review

The identification and characterization of the genetic basis of disease is often fundamental to diagnosis. Detection of pathogenic mutations in a DNA sample can lead to a diagnosis, possible prognosis, and prospective therapy treatments. Over the years, a variety of molecular biology techniques have been utilized in clinical diagnostic laboratories in the analysis of patient samples. The recent development of next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques has revolutionized the field of clinical molecular diagnostics. In this chapter, we review the development of molecular diagnostic approaches and some of the most commonly used assays prior to the NGS era. Although PCR-based methods are the most commonly used assays in molecular diagnostics today, a number of caveats must be taken into consideration and are also discussed.
Telomerase: from Aging to Human Cancers

Telomeres protect DNA sequences that form the ends of chromosomes. Telomeric maintenance is a prerequisite for the indefinite proliferation of cells, cell immortalization and neoplastic growth. Telomere dysfunction also promotes chromosomal fusions that facilitate the development of human cancers. Telomerase is an active enzyme which appears in embryonic development and down-regulated in all human somatic cells prior to birth. Telomerase is transiently active in normal somatic cells throughout life and is elevated in more than 85 % of human cancers but not benign tissues. Also, expression of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) is up-regulated in almost all human cancers but not in normal tissues. The level of telomerase activity and hTERT expression are useful diagnostic and prognostic indicator for human cancers. Progressive telomere shortening predominantly occurs during early carcinogenesis before telomerase activation. The telomere dysfunction promotes chromosomal fusions that facilitate the development of carcinomas in the p53 deficiency cells in human cancers. The activated telomerase maintains telomere length stability in almost all cancer cells. The gene encoding the endogenous telomerase inhibitor PinX1 (PIN2/TRF1), is located at human chromosome 8p23, a region frequently exhibiting heterozygosity in many common human cancers. When PinX1 binds to hTERT, it will inhibit the telomerase activity. Proteins TRF-1 and TRF-2 are negative regulators, but Tankyrase is a positive regulator of human cancers. This suggests that PinX1 could be considered as a putative tumor suppressor genes and telomerase inhibitors and considered to be used in treating cancers with highly expressed telomerase. Also, GRN163L(Imetelstat), Cisplatin, Vincristine and AZT drugs have shown potentials to decrease the telomerase activity in leukemia, lymphomas, carcinomas and sarcomas. The telomerase reactivation is vital for initiation of all human malignancies since it removes the short telomere barriers inhibitory for tumor progression. Thus, telomerase is useful biomarker for detection of cancer and aging progression. This chapter will describe the molecular characterization and regulation of telomerase activity in cancer and aging as well as its therapeutic effects.
Introduction to Mathematica: Hello World in Text and Graphics

Mathematica is a powerful programming environment for symbolic mathematics. The chapter introduces the basic principles for using it with an eye to producing graphics in financial analysis.
Intrahepatic Delivery of Pegylated Catalase Is Protective in a Rat Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury Model

Abstract Background Ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) can occur during liver surgery. Endogenous catalase is important to cellular antioxidant defenses and is critical to IRI prevention. Pegylation of catalase (PEG-CAT) improves its therapeutic potential by extending plasma half-life, but systemic administration of exogenous PEG-CAT has been only mildly therapeutic for hepatic IRI. Here, we investigated the protective effects of direct intrahepatic delivery of PEG-CAT during IRI using a rat hilar clamp model. Materials and methods PEG-CAT was tested in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, enriched rat liver cell populations were subjected to oxidative stress injury (H2O2), and measures of cell health and viability were assessed. In vivo, rats underwent segmental (70%) hepatic warm ischemia for 1 h, followed by 6 h of reperfusion, and plasma alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, tissue malondialdehyde, adenosine triphosphate, and GSH, and histology were assessed. Results In vitro, PEG-CAT pretreatment of liver cells showed substantial uptake and protection against oxidative stress injury. In vivo, direct intrahepatic, but not systemic, delivery of PEG-CAT during IRI significantly reduced alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase in a time-dependent manner (P Conclusions Direct intrahepatic administration of PEG-CAT achieved significant protection against IRI by reducing the volume distribution and taking advantage of the substantial hepatic first-pass uptake of this molecule. The mode of delivery was an important factor for protection against hepatic IRI by PEG-CAT.
Assessment of Communication Technologies Supporting Smart Streetlighting Applications

With increasing availability of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and smart devices, many smart city applications have emerged. Smart streetlighting is one of most important building blocks in a smart city. As streetlights are widely distributed across a city and some are already networked, they have a great potential to serve as a readily available infrastructure supporting additional sensing and control devices, such as environmental sensors, traffic sensors and/or IP cameras, to provide city-wide services. To connect different sensors and actuators, communication technologies and networks are of prime importance. A variety of communication technologies are available, such as Cellular, WiMAX, LTE, SigFox, LoRa and Weightless. The objective of this paper is to review various communication technologies available for supporting different applications implemented on networked streetlights. Evaluation criteria are based on specific network requirements of different smart streetlighting applications with respect to their data rate, latency, reliability and security.
Current Evidence for Acute Pain Management of Musculoskeletal Injuries and Postoperative Pain in Pediatric and Adolescent Athletes.

Objective Sports-related injuries in young athletes are increasingly prevalent with an estimated 2.6 million children and adolescents sustaining a sports-related injury annually. Acute sports-related injuries and surgical correction of sports-related injuries cause physical pain and psychological burdens on pediatric athletes and their families. This article aims to evaluate current acute pain management options in pediatric athletes and acute pain management strategies for postoperative pain after sports-related injuries. This article will also elucidate which areas of pain management for pediatric athletes are lacking evidence and help direct future clinical trials. Data sources We conducted a literature search through PubMed and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials to provide an extensive review of initial and postoperative pain management strategies for pediatric sports-related musculoskeletal injuries. Main results The current knowledge of acute pain management for initial sports-related injuries, postoperative pain management for orthopedic surgeries, as well as complementary and alternative medical therapies in pediatric sports-related injuries is presented. Studies evaluating conservative management, enteral and nonenteral medications, regional anesthesia, and complementary medical therapies are included. Conclusions Adequate pain management is important for sports injuries in children and adolescents for emotional as well as physical healing, but a balance must be achieved to provide acceptable pain relief while minimizing opioid use and side effects from analgesic medications. More studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of nonopioid analgesic medications and complementary therapies in pediatric patients with acute sports-related injuries.
Solute and Volume Dosing during Kidney Replacement Therapy in Critically Ill Patients with Acute Kidney Injury.

Among critically ill patients with severe acute kidney injury either continuous kidney replacement therapy (CKRT) or intermittent hemodialysis (IHD) can be performed to provide optimal solute and volume control. The modality of KRT should be chosen based on the needs of the patient, hemodynamic status, clinician expertise, and resource available under a particular setting and consideration of costs. Evidence from high-quality randomized trials suggests that an effluent flow rate of 25 mL/kg/hour per day using CKRT and Kt/V of 1.3 per session of IHD provide optimal solute control. For volume dosing, the net ultrafiltration (UFNET) rate should be prescribed based on patient body weight in milliliters per kilogram per hour, with close monitoring of patient hemodynamics and fluid balance. Emerging evidence from observational studies suggests a "J"-shaped association between UFNET rate and outcomes with both faster and slower UFNET rates being associated with increased mortality compared with moderate UFNET rates. Thus, randomized trials are required to determine optimal UFNET rates in critically ill patients. How to cite this article Murugan R. Solute and Volume Dosing during Kidney Replacement Therapy in Critically Ill Patients with Acute Kidney Injury. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(Suppl 3):S107-S111.
The Bouncy Bounceback

Introduction: Ataxia is a lack of coordination of movement and balance (1). Etiologies range from benign age-related clumsiness or viral cerebellitis to life-threatening malignancies. This case emphasizes the importance of maintaining a broad differential when evaluating ataxia in pediatric patients. Case Report: A previously healthy 14-month-old female presented with sudden-onset ataxia and two recent falls without loss of consciousness. Unsteady gait began four days prior to presentation. She was born full-term without any significant complications, and had normal growth and development. She was discharged with a suspected diagnosis of post-viral …
Abstract 12627: I Na Remodeling and Conduction Deficits in a Murine Model of Human LMNA -R545H Mutation

Introduction: We have identified a de novo mutation of LMNA (LMNA-R545H) in a 34-year-old man with high-grade atrioventricular block. Studies in HEK-293 cells showed that LMNA-R545H reduced the amp...
Performance efficiency and water quality index of a two-stage horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland system polishing anaerobically treated brewery effluent

Abstract The disposal of untreated or partially treated brewery wastewater can cause pollution problems to the receiving water bodies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a two-stage horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetland (HSSFCW) system planted with Cyperus alternifolius and Typha latifolia in polishing an up-flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor treating brewery effluent in Kombolcha, Northern Ethiopia. The system was integrated with the UASB reactor, and its performance efficiency was monitored for a year using standard methods. The first-order kinetic model was used to correlate the influent and effluent pollutant concentrations and estimate the areal rate constant (kA) by fitting the experimental data to the model. The HSSFCW's water quality index (WQI) and oxygen transfer rate (OTR) were also calculated. The findings showed that HSSFCW removed 89% total suspended solids (TSS), 92% chemical oxygen demand (COD), 83.6% total nitrogen (TN), 92.9% ammonium – nitrogen (NH4+ − N), 74.4% total phosphorous (TP), and 79.5% orthophosphate (PO43−). Literature comparable OTR values were obtained for each HSSFCW stage with a total OTR value of 23.5 g−2d−1. Effluent concentrations of COD, TN and NH4+ − N were reasonably correlated (R2 ≥ 0.85) to influent concentrations. The calculated kA (md-1) for TSS, COD, TN, NH4+ − N, TP, and PO43− were 0.26, 0.26, 0.11, 0.18, 0.08, and 0.08, respectively. Further polishing of the effluent with two-stage HSSFCW has shifted the WQI from a good to excellent water quality rating and thus, can be used as a sustainable polishing technique for agro-process wastewaters.
Biological Degradation of Toxic Pollutants

Biological degradation of toxic pollutants promise success for the purification of the environment. Enzymes are specific catalysts which are able to degrade specifically certain chemical compounds. Organophosphorus pesticides, for example, can be degraded by the enzymes lipase and bacterial and animal cholinesterases to non-toxic fragments. The enzymes rhodanase and cyanide injectase are capable of converting the toxic HCN to non-toxic product. Carbamase catalyzes the specific hydrolysis of carbamates. Hydrocarbon oxidases isolated from soil bacteria are capable of oxidizing selective hydrocarbons to CO2 and water. The use of these and other enzymes systems in the identification of toxic substances in air and in the purification of the environment will be discussed. Methods of inducing specific enzymes for the degradation of selective pollutants will be discussed as will various immobilization techniques for holding the enzyme to retain its activity over long periods of time. Spectroscopic and electrochemical methods for monitoring the identification and degradation reactions will be discussed, and the possible application of such techniques to large-scale anti-pollution devices will be covered.
NEPAL : A Framework for Efficiently Structuring Applications for Network Processors

Publisher Summary This chapter proposes a runtime system, the Dynamic Module Manager (DMM), that controls the overall execution of the applications in network processors. The runtime system has information of the overall execution precedence of the tasks in the application. This is achieved through representing the applications as a control-data flow diagram consisting of modules. A module is a distinct task that has to be performed on the packet. By using the module diagram, the runtime system controls which modules to activate. It also selects where to activate the selected module. By performing these tasks dynamically, a designer is relieved from complex responsibilities such as task allocation and synchronization. There is usually a very small amount of data communication between the modules, increasing the parallelism during execution. DMM efficiently partitions the application and executes the parts in different execution cores, increasing the overall efficiency of a variety of network processor designs.
Strong generative capacity, weak generative capacity, and modern linguistic theories

What makes a language a natural language? A longstanding tradition in generative grammar holds that a language is natural just in case it is learnable under a constellation of auxiliary assumptions about input evidence available to children. Yet another approach seeks some key mathematical property that distinguishes the natural languages from all possible symbol-systems. With some exceptions for example, Chomsky's demonstration that a complete characterization of our grammatical knowledge lies beyond the power of finite state languages the mathematical approach has not provided clear-cut results. For example, for a variety of reasons we cannot say that the predicate is context-free characterizes all and only the natural languages. Still another use of mathematical analysis in linguistics has been to diagnose a proposed grammatical formalism as too powerful (allowing too many grammars or languages) rather than as too weak. Such a diagnosis was supposed by some to follow from Peters and Ritchie's demonstration that the theory of transformational grammar as described in Chomsky's Aspects of the Theory of Syntax could specify grammars to generate any recursively enumerable set. For some this demonstration marked a watershed in the formal analysis transformational grammar. One general reaction (not prompted by the Peters and Ritchie result alone) was to turn to other theories of grammar designed to explicitly avoid the problems of a theory that could specify an arbitrary Turing machine computation. The proposals for generalized phrase structure grammar (GPSG) and lexical-functional grammar (LFG) have explicitly emphasized this point. GPSG aims for grammars that generate context-free languages (though there is some recent wavering on this point; see Pullum 1984); LFG, for languages that are at worst context-sensitive. Whatever the merits of the arguments for this restriction in terms of weak generative capacity and they are far from obvious, as discussed at length in Berwick and Weinberg (1983) one point remains: the switch was prompted by criticism of the nearly two-decades old Aspects theory. Much has changed in transformational grammar in twenty years. Modern transformational grammars no longer contain swarms of individual rules such as Passive, Raising, or Dative. The modern government-binding (GB) theory does not reconstruct a "deep structure", does not contain powerful deletion rules, and has introduced a whole host of new constraints. Given these sweeping changes, it would seem appropriate, then, to re-examine the Peters and Ritchie result, and compare the power of the newer GB-style theories to these other current linguistic theories. That is the aim of this paper. The basic points to be made are these:
Construction of a liposome dialyzer for the preparation of high-value, small-volume liposome formulations

Performing biochemical reactions within liposomes requires the supply of reagents and removal of products present in very small quantities. By using this protocol, a liposome dialyzer can be easily constructed to enable reagent exchange in small volumes.
Multiple Bovine Thrombin Components

Abstract Purified thrombins are isolated from Parke-Davis thrombin topical and from bioactivated crude prothrombins obtained from single animal plasmas. Six thrombin components are present in the former by gel electrophoresis at pH 8.9, ionic strength 0.16, and 30°, but interband protein is high. Ultracentrifugation and gel filtration studies show that, as either ionic strength or temperature is decreased, reversible thrombin self-association and interaction with the gel matrix increase. Electrophoretic mobility and resolution decrease, the latter to give a single diffuse band. Partial fractionation of the six components, numbered according to increasing anodal mobility, was accomplished by differential elution from cellulose phosphate. T2 and T6 were isolated essentially in pure form. Specific activities and component abundances of fractions revealed that T1, T2, and T3 have significantly higher activities than T4, T5, and T6. Thrombins from 60 single animal plasmas contained only T1, T2, and T3, in two distribution types: I, having T1, T2, and T3 in a ratio of 1:2:1, or II, having T1 and T2 as a 1:1 ratio, with T3 absent or present at about 5% of total thrombin. Distribution type for pedigreed animals correlates (a) with age: below 8 months, only I was observed (5 animals); between 8 and 30 months, either I or II was observed (16 animals); and above 30 months, only II was observed (11 animals); and (b) with the two-stage clotting time of the original plasma, with the use of the corresponding serum to supply activators. Other correlations were not found. Component distribution is not a simple, genetically determined characteristic. During activation to produce Distribution I, T1 and T2 may first appear at a ratio of 1:2. An attractive model is as follows. Two prothrombins, P1 and P2, are present in equal amounts. P2 yields T2, and P1 yields T1 and T3, but not sequentially. As the animal ages, the pathway to T3 is lost. Reduction and alkylation of thrombin from thrombin topical results in a dispersion of five fragments between molecular weight of ∼32,000 and ∼5,000. Thrombins from single animal plasmas yield only these two. Probably T4, T5, and T6 are derived from T1, T2, and T3 as a result of peptide cleavages in the larger fragment.
The Importance of a Constructivist View

Niche Construction The Neglected Process in Evolution. by F. John Odling-Smee, Kevin N. Laland, and Marcus W. Feldman. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 2003. 488 pp. $75, £49.95. ISBN 0-691-04438-4. Paper, $39.50, £26.95. ISBN 0-691-04437-6. Monographs in Population Biology 37. The authors combine empirical data, conceptual models, and theoretical population genetics to extend evolutionary theory by formally including processes of organism-driven environmental modification.
Limit Theorems for Measure-Valued Diffusion Processes that Arise in Wave Propagation in a Randomly Inhomogenous Ocean

In this paper we investigate the limit behaviour of a certain class of diffusion processes YN (t) ɛ N, (N-1) dimensional simplex, as N approaches to infinity. We obtain an analog of the law of large numbers for this system. That is, the weak convergence of YN(.) to a deterministic process in C ([0, ∞); M([0,1])), the space of probability measure valued continuous functions on [0, ∞). Then, we prove the convergence of appropriately normalized fluctuations of YN(t) around its mean, to a distribution-valued Gaussian process.
Fiscal Transparency in Comparative Law: France/U.S.A.

The article presents a comparison of U.S. and French tax law to show their differences regarding the treatment of double taxation of corporate dividends.
The creation of a mandatory Emergency Medicine clerkship: a model for implementing the Josiah Macy Foundation Report recommendations

During the academic year 1994-95, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine created a mandatory four-week clerkship in Emergency Medicine for all fourth-year medical students. The first week of the clerkship begins with didactic lecture, skill stations and Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS). During the remaining three weeks, the students experience l00 hours of clinical exposure in an Emergency Department and an eight-hour EMS shift. Students either have their clinical rotation at the university hospital or a community hospital. Course data indicate that students encountered similar types of patients at both the university and community hospital. According to 83% of medical students, at least 20-50% of their clinical experience in an Emergency Department was new to them. The medical students have rated the Emergency Medicine clerkship higher than any other third- or fourth-year clerkship. It is possible to successfully implement a clerkship in Emergency Medicine which provides medical students with...
Assay of Thiamine in Biologic Fluids

A method based on the protozoan Ochromonas malhamensis has been developed for assaying thiamine in biologic fluids. It is sensitive, specific and reproducible. Results by this method agree well with other less convenient methods of thiamine assay.
Clinical outcomes of hepatitis B virus coinfection in a United States cohort of hepatitis C virus-infected patients.

The effect of hepatitis B virus (HBV) co-infection in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) remains unclear. We used the National Veterans Affairs HCV Clinical Case Registry to identify patients with confirmed HCV viremia during 1997–2005. We defined HBV co-infection as a positive test for hepatitis B surface antigen, HBV DNA, or hepatitis B e antigen. We defined cirrhosis and HCC based on the validated ICD9 codes and determined mortality through the end of 2009. We performed Cox proportional hazard regression analyses to examine the effect of HBV co-infection stratified by HBV DNA status (positive or negative) on the risk of cirrhosis, HCC, and death adjusting for patients’ age, gender, race, HIV infection, alcohol or drug use, Deyo Score, and antiviral treatment. Among 99,548 patients with HCV infection, 1370 patients (1.4%) had HBV co-infection. Of the co-infected patients, 677 (49.4%) patients had at-least 1 HBV DNA test done and 303 patients (44.7%) tested positive for HBV DNA. The incidence rates of cirrhosis, HCC, and death were significantly higher in patients with HBV co-infection and detectable HBV DNA compared to HCV mono-infection (36.8, 6.9, and 41.7 versus 17.4, 3.6, and 31.4 per 1,000 person-years, respectively; p<0.05 for all comparisons). After adjustment for demographic, clinical, and treatment factors, patients with detectable HBV DNA had a significantly higher risk for cirrhosis, (hazard ratio [HR] =1.89 95% CI=1.46–2.45), HCC (HR=2.12, 95%CI=1.26–3.60), and death (HR=1.62, 95%CI=1.33–1.99), respectively, compared to HCV mono-infected patients. There were no differences in the risk of cirrhosis, HCC, or overall mortality between co-infected patients with undetectable HBV DNA and those with HCV mono-infection (HRs=1.18, 95% CI=0.90–1.55; 1.54, 95% CI=0.93–2.56; 1.08, 95% CI=0.88–1.33, respectively). In conclusion, we found that while only a small number of HCV patients were co-infected with HBV, patients with documented HBV viremia were at a significantly higher risk for cirrhosis, HCC, and overall death than HCV mono-infected patients. Absence of HBV replication was associated with a clinical course similar to that of HCV mono-infected patients.
Trust-based protocols for regulating online, friend-of-a-friend communities

An online community is a group whose members are connected by means of information technologies, typically the Internet rather than face to face. Online communities allow social and cultural barriers to be spanned for communication. Social communities rely on interpersonal trust to regulate cohesion in their communities. After a general discussion, we offer protocols that extend viability of friend-of-a-friend framework along with experimental results.
Beyond the local approximation to exchange and correlation: The role of the Laplacian of the density in the energy density of Si

We model the exchange-correlation (XC) energy density of the Si crystal and atom as calculated by variational Monte Carlo (VMC) methods with a gradient analysis beyond the local density approximation (LDA). We find the Laplacian of the density to be an excellent predictor of the discrepancy between VMC and LDA energy densities in each system. A simple Laplacian-based correction to the LDA energy density is developed by means of a least-square fit to the VMC XC energy density for the crystal, which fits the homogeneous electron gas and Si atom without further effort.
Ultrastructural and Biochemical Characterization of Autonomic Neuropathy in Rats with Chronic Streptozotocin Diabetes

Alterations in the extrinsic innervation of the alimentary tract and in various sympathetic autonomic ganglia were examined using quantitative ultrastructural and biochemical methods in streptozotocin diabetic rats maintained without treatment for 9-15 months. Ileal mesenteric nerves of 13-15 month diabetics showed the characteristic alterations of neuroaxonal dystrophy qualitatively similar to changes seen in this system in animals which were diabetic for shorter durations. Dystrophic axonopathy was not accompanied by significant axonal loss or atrophy. Dystrophic axons, presumably involving presynaptic elements, also were increased in frequency in the superior mesenteric ganglia, but not in the superior cervical ganglia, of animals diabetic for various durations. In addition, the superior mesenteric ganglia of diabetic animals contained an increased number of postsynaptic dendritic processes which were dilated by unusual tubular profiles. These ganglionic alterations were not accompanied by changes in the activity of the presynaptic cholinergic marker enzyme, choline acetyltransferase. The activity of the noradrenergic marker enzyme, dopamine-beta-hydroxylase, was unaltered in diabetic superior mesenteric ganglia compared to controls, but showed a 30-40% decrease in diabetic superior cervical ganglia, in which site it was unaccompanied by neuronal loss, atrophy, or ultrastructural alterations.
Extended Family Support and Relationship Satisfaction Among Married, Cohabiting, and Romantically Involved African Americans and Black Caribbeans

Data from the National Survey of American Life are used to investigate relationship satisfaction and their relation to extended family relations (i.e., emotional support and negative interaction) among nationally representative samples of African American and Black Caribbean adults. The study contributes to the literature by focusing on two groups of unmarried persons—those who are cohabiting and persons who are unmarried/non-cohabiting—in addition to married persons. Findings indicate that emotional support from extended family is positively associated with relationship satisfaction for married and cohabiting African Americans and Black Caribbeans who are romantically involved. Negative interaction from extended family is associated with lower relationship satisfaction for married, cohabiting, and romantically involved African Americans and for married Black Caribbeans. Differences in the pattern of associations between extended family relations and relationship satisfaction are discussed in terms of the distinctive social and family contexts of Black Caribbean and African American families.
Analyzing space-time sensor network data under suppression and failure in transmission

In this paper we present a fully model-based analysis of the effects of suppression and failure in data transmission with sensor networks. Sensor networks are becoming an increasingly common data collection mechanism in a variety of fields. Sensors can be created to collect data at very high temporal resolution. However, during periods when the process is following a stable path, transmission of such high resolution data would carry little additional information with regard to the process model, i.e., all of the data that is collected need not be transmitted. In particular, when there is cost to transmission, we find ourselves moving to consideration of suppression in transmission. Additionally, for many sensor networks, in practice, we will experience failures in transmission--messages sent by a sensor but not received at the gateway, messages sent but arriving corrupted. Evidently, both suppression and failure lead to information loss which will be reflected in inference associated with our process model. Our effort here is to assess the impact of such information loss under varying extents of suppression and varying incidence of failure. We consider two illustrative process models, presenting fully model-based analyses of suppression and failure using hierarchical models. Such models naturally facilitate borrowing strength across nodes, leveraging all available data to learn about local process behavior.
Binding and transport of melanoma-specific antigenic peptides by the transporter associated with antigen processing

To gain insight into how tumor antigens are generated and presented, a panel of peptides corresponding to melanoma-specific T cell epitopes were tested for their transport capacity by the transporter associated with antigen processing (TAP). The melanoma epitopes exhibited differential capacities to be transported by TAP in streptolysin O-permeabilized cells, as well as differential competition for peptide binding to TAP. The data indicate that some melanoma-specific epitopes are good substrates for TAP, while others are poor substrates for TAP. One of the epitopes, derived from tyrosinase, was transported into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), in spite of being a poor competitor for reporter peptide transport and for peptide binding. These results suggest that the melanoma antigens follow distinct pathways for presentation, along the MHC class I pathway.
How important is asset allocation

Strategic asset allocation is part of the management of investors. Tactical asset allocation and security selection are part of the management of investments. Financial advisers provide great value as managers of investors as well as managers of investments; they do not increase their value by misinterpreting Brinson, Hood and Beebower's study to imply that strategic asset allocation is more important than tactical asset allocation and security selection. This paper focuses on the value of financial advisers, the importance of strategic asset allocation, tactical asset allocation and security selection, and the interpretation of Brinson, Hood and Beebower's study.
Influence of hemicholinium (HC-3) on morphine analgesia, tolerance, physical dependence and on brain acetylcholine

Abstract Administration of HC-3 intracerebrally at a dose which reduced brain acetylcholine (ACh) without any change in choline (Ch) levels antagonized morphine antinociception slightly as measured by inhibition of the tail-flick response, in both naive mice and in mice rendered tolerant to and dependent on morphine by pellet implantation. However, the development of tolerance to morphine and of dependence on morphine were not affected by HC-3. Although naloxone precipitated withdrawal jumping was enhanced irrespective of whether the HC-3 was administered before or after the dependence on morphine had developed, body weight loss during abrupt withdrawal was unaffected by HC-3. The results indicate that although some of the acute and withdrawal effects of morphine may be associated either directly or indirectly with acetylcholine, these actions do not appear to be the primary process responsible for initiating the development of tolerance and dependence.
Advancements in endoscopic imaging for the detection of esophageal dysplasia and carcinoma

Advanced esophageal cancer, whether squamous cell or adenocarcinoma associated with Barrett's disease, carries a dismal prognosis. Dysplasia and early carcinoma, however, are amenable to surgery or endotherapy using techniques such as endoscopic resection, photodynamic therapy, and radiofrequency ablation. Therefore, the early detection of esophageal dysplasia and neoplasia is one of the most important goals of gastrointestinal endoscopy. This article will review several endoscopic imaging techniques and technologies that have been developed to enhance the visualization of mucosal glandular and vascular changes associated with early neoplasia, including the use of chromoendoscopy using vital dyes and stains. Also, reviewed in this article are endoscopic innovations that have received regulatory approval, are commercially available, and are supported by controlled clinical studies confirming their utility, such as high-resolution endoscopy and "virtual chromendoscopy" using narrow band imaging. The use of confocal laser endomicroscopy will be discussed, as this device provides real-time, histology-like information of cellular and vascular architecture. These technologies move us closer to the reality of an "optical biopsy," with a tissue biopsy diagnosis made in the gastrointestinal endoscopy unit. In addition to emphasizing the practical aspects of these techniques, this article will summarize other advanced imaging technologies that await regulatory approval, commercial availability, and clinical validation.
Eosinophils from asthmatics release IL-5 in an autocrine fashion to prevent apoptosis through upregulation of Bcl-2 expression.

Interleukin (IL)-5 plays an important role in maintaining the survival of eosinophils via the specific α-subunit of its receptor. Apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death, is thought to represent a mechanism that promotes the resolution of eosinophilic inflammation in asthma. The aim of our present study is to investigate whether IL-5 acts in an autocrine fashion on eosinophil apoptosis in asthmatics. Immunoreactivities of intracellular IL-5 and IL-5 receptor α-subunit (Rα) were detected uniquely on the eosinophils. The magnitude of IL-5 and IL-5 Rα expression on eosinophils was significantly higher in asthmatics than that of normal subjects (p < 0.05) determined by flow cytometry. Apoptosis of eosinophils was measured by the propidium iodide staining method and DNA ladder. The percent of apoptotic eosinophils from asthmatics was significantly increased by coincubation with anti-hIL-5 Rα Ab (0.1, 0.5, and 2.5 µg/mL) for 1, 2, or 16 hours than was those of corresponding controls (p < 0.05, n = 8). Howeve...
Risk factors for domestic violence during pregnancy: a meta-analytic review

This article presents the results of a meta-analysis of the existing research literature, in an effort to increase our understanding of the prevalence of domestic violence (DV) among pregnant women, and of risk factors associated with DV during pregnancy. Across 92 independent studies, the average reported prevalence of emotional abuse was 28.4%, physical abuse was 13.8%, and sexual abuse was 8.0%. Composite odds ratio effect sizes were calculated for the demographic, behavioral, and social risk factors identified by 55 independent studies. Both victimization and perpetration risk factors were analyzed. Abuse before pregnancy and lower education level were found to be strong predictors of abuse during pregnancy. Pregnancy being unintended by either the victim or the perpetrator, lower socioeconomic status, and being unmarried were found to be moderate predictors of abuse during pregnancy.
Analysis of lens mount interfaces

Lenses are typically mounted into precision machined barrels and constrained with spacers and retaining rings. The details of the interfaces between the metal and the glass are chosen to balance the accuracy of centration and axial position, stress in the glass, and the cost for production. This paper presents a systematic study of sharp edge, toroidal, and conical interfaces and shows how to control accuracy, estimate stress, and limit production costs. Results are presented from computer models, finite element simulations, and experimental testing.