cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The great heretics

"In every age," writes Bronowski (1973), in The Ascent of Man, ''there is a turning point, a new way of seeing and asserting the coherence of the world." Similarly, Abraham Lincoln (1862) said, "As our case is new, we must think and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves . . ." It seems clear that the great forward leaps of human progress have been made by people who "disenthrall" themselves and develop "a new way of seeing and asserting the coherence of the world." We see this in Galileo and Copernicus, who had the audacity to claim the earth was not the center of the universe. We see this in Charles Darwin, who took on the religious establishment with the heretical idea that man was a product of evolution. We see it in political systems where Locke and Jefferson had the revolutionary ideas that humankind could govern themselves. We see it in Freud with his upsetting idea that man was not always a rational animal. All of these people challenged the current ordained wisdom of the time and all of them proved correct. These people were labeled heretics. Their ideas were aired amidst great controversy. Huxley once observed that, "All great truths begin as heresy." Humankind falls into a routine way of viewing the world and then, breaking the continuity, someone observes that the current orthodoxy is at variance with reality. A great debate ensues. New ideas are upsetting. Attempts are made to shout down new opinion. If the idea is grounded in
American Muslims stand up and speak out: trajectories of humor in Muslim American stand-up comedy

Muslim American stand-up comedy is a unique response to post-9/11 negative social discrimination where socially critical comedians debate the stereotypes and realities of Muslim American life. Thus they continue an American minority tradition of engaging with American social life through public humor. The analysis draws from functionalist theories of the sociology of humor in order to discern the intended social messages of jokes that are meant to entertain and also educate. It shows how Muslim American comedy intends to influence opinions held not only about Muslims but also amongst Muslims. The paper suggests how competing forces related to being Muslim and American undercut the critical public humor of comedians who use these performances to argue what American Muslims should be saying and doing in order to advance their cause for social justice.
Timing of sexual debut and initiation of postsecondary education by early adulthood.

CONTEXT: Although sexual debut has been negatively associated with adolescent educational performance and aspirations, it is not clear whether such relationships continue beyond adolescence. METHODS: Initiation of postsecondary education by young adulthood was assessed among 3,965 participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health who had not experienced sexual intercourse at baseline. Associations between age at sexual debut and educational progress were examined in bivariate and multivariable Poisson regression analyses. RESULTS: Most respondents experienced sexual debut during adolescence: 15% before age 16 (early) and 53% at ages 16–18 (typical). Sixty-five percent of respondents initiated postsecondary education by early adulthood; however, the proportion was significantly lower among those who had had an early (49%) or typical sexual debut (63%) than among those who debuted late (78%). In unadjusted analyses, early and typical debut were associated with a reduced likelihood of initiation of postsecondary education for both females (relative risk ratios, 0.6 and 0.8, respectively) and males (0.7 and 0.8). However, in adjusted analyses, the associations were attenuated for females (0.8 and 0.9) and were at best marginally significant for males. Childbearing was a significant mediator of this relationship. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent sexual debut appears to be modestly negatively associated with early adult postsecondary education initiation, particularly for females. Targeting mediators of the sexual debut–education relationship, such as early childbearing, could lead to effective interventions.
Computerization in the US ornamental nursery industry

This research analyzes the determinants of computer application adoption by US nurseries. A loglinear model, commonly used for the analysis of contingency tables, was adapted to the problem. This approach allowed the computer adoption and application adoption decisions to be considered together, and permitted the modeling of the effect of adopting a given computerized application on the probability of adopting another. The effects of firm size, age, retail sales percentage, and the number of permanent employees on the computerization of accounting, word processing, inventory, and marketing are analyzed. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Formaldehyde (CH2O) Concentrations in the Blood of Humans and Fischer-344 Rats Exposed to CH2O Under Controlled Conditions

The effect of exposure to formaldehyde (CH2O) on the CH2O concentration of the blood was determined. Eight male F-344 rats were exposed to 14.4 ± 2.4 ppm of CH2O for 2 hours and the blood was collected immediately after exposure. Formaldehyde concentrations in the blood were determined by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The blood of eight rats unexposed to CH2O was collected and analyzed in the same manner. Measured CH2O concentrations (µg/g of blood) were: controls, 2.24 ± 0.07; exposed, 2.25 ± 0.07 (mean ± S.E.). Formaldehyde concentrations in human blood were determined by analyzing samples of venous blood collected before and after exposure of six human volunteers (4 M, 2 F) to 1.9 ± 0.1 ppm of CH2O for 40 min. Average CH2O concentrations (µg/g of blood) were: before exposure, 2.61 ± 0.14; after exposure, 2.77 ± 0.28. In neither experiment was there a statistically significant effect of exposure on the average CH2O concentration of the blood. However, human subjects differed significantly with r...
The RAMCloud Storage System

RAMCloud is a storage system that provides low-latency access to large-scale datasets. To achieve low latency, RAMCloud stores all data in DRAM at all times. To support large capacities (1PB or more), it aggregates the memories of thousands of servers into a single coherent key-value store. RAMCloud ensures the durability of DRAM-based data by keeping backup copies on secondary storage. It uses a uniform log-structured mechanism to manage both DRAM and secondary storage, which results in high performance and efficient memory usage. RAMCloud uses a polling-based approach to communication, bypassing the kernel to communicate directly with NICs; with this approach, client applications can read small objects from any RAMCloud storage server in less than 5μs, durable writes of small objects take about 13.5μs. RAMCloud does not keep multiple copies of data online; instead, it provides high availability by recovering from crashes very quickly (1 to 2 seconds). RAMCloud’s crash recovery mechanism harnesses the resources of the entire cluster working concurrently so that recovery performance scales with cluster size.
A General Bargaining Model of Legislative Policy-making

We present a general model of legislative bargaining in which the status quo is an arbitrary point in a multidimensional policy space. In contrast to other bargaining models, the status quo is not assumed to be bad for all legislators, and delay may be Pareto efficient. We prove existence of stationary equilibria. We show that if all legislators are risk averse or if even limited transfers are possible, then delay is only possible if the status quo lies in the core. Thus, we expect immediate agreement in multidimensional models, where the core is typically empty. In one dimension, delay is possible if and only if the status quo lies in the core of the voting rule, and then it is the only possible outcome. Our comparative statics analysis yield two noteworthy insights: moderate status quos imply moderate policy outcomes, and legislative patience implies policy moderation.
Antecedents of gregarious alcoholism: An a priori model

Path analysis procedures were used to test a causal model that concerns possible antecedent conditions in relation to gregarious drinking patterns. Selected scales from The California Psychological Inventory (CPI) and The Alcohol Use Inventory (AUI) constituted the assessments. The model was partially corroborated with reference to a group of 40 alcoholics (32 males; 8 females; M age = 33) in an outpatient treatment setting. The presumed causal variables accounted for 26% of the variance in self-reported gregarious drinking. Support was obtained for the assumption that certain interpersonal deficiencies may combine with beliefs in social benefits via alcohol usage to produce gregarious alcoholism. Language: en
Photo-isomerization of fluvoxamine in aqueous solutions.

Abstract The hydrolysis and photolysis of fluvoxamine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, in aqueous buffer solutions (pH 5, 7, and 9), in synthetic humic water, and lake waters were investigated in the dark and in a growth chamber outfitted with fluorescent lamps simulating the UV output of sunlight at 25 °C. No significant hydrolytic degradation/isomerization was observed for 30 days in all aqueous solutions. However, fluvoxamine was moderately isomerized to its (Z)-isomer by simulated sunlight. The photo-isomerization occurred in two stages. The photo-isomerization occurred rapidly within the first 7 days and slowly thereafter with a rate constant of 0.12–0.19 day−1 for the first stage and 0.04–0.05 day−1 for the second stage. Photosensitized rate constants in synthetic humic water and in lake waters were approximately 6–7 times faster than that in pH 9 buffer with the rate constants of 1.15–1.34 day−1 in the first stage. The (Z)-isomer of fluvoxamine was the only product detected in all aqueous solutions and was identified using LC–ESI-MS.
Changing the social ecologies of adolescent sexual offenders : Implications of the success of multisystemic therapy in treating serious antisocial behavior in adolescents

Current treatment models for adolescent sexual offenders are individually oriented and have limited empirical support. These models may not be effective in reducing recidivism because they do not address the multiple factors (i.e., individual, family, peer, school) related to sexual offending. Multisystemic therapy (MST), an ecologically based treatment model that addresses multiple determinants of behavior, has proven effective with chronic, violent nonsexual offenders in several randomized trials. Preliminary research also indicates promise for MST with sexual offenders. This article: (a) presents empirical support for use of an ecological approach with adolescent sexual offenders based on a multidetermined etiology, (b) provides a theoretical and clinical description of MST, and (c) describes a recent adaptation of MST that maintains the ecological emphasis of MST and integrates important conceptualizations from the literature on adolescent sexual offending.
Dosimetric characteristics of a linear array of γ or β‐emitting seeds in intravascular irradiation: Monte Carlo studies for the AAPM TG‐43/60 formalism

In principle, the AAPM TG-43/60 formalism for intravascular brachytherapy (IVBT) dosimetry of catheter-based sources is fully valid with a single seed of cylindrical symmetry and in the region comparable to or larger than the mean-free path of emitting radiation. However, for the geometry of a linear array of seeds within the few millimeter range of interest in IVBT, the suitability of the AAPM TG-43/60 formalism has not been fully addressed yet. We have meticulously investigated the dosimetric characteristics of catheter-based γ ( 192 Ir ) and β ( 90 Sr/Y ) sources using Monte Carlo methods before applying the AAPM TG-43/60 formalism. The dosimetric perturbation due to radiation interactions with neighboring seeds is at most 2% over the entire region of interest for the 192 Ir source, while it increases to about 5% for the 90 Sr/Y source. As the transaxial distance (y) increases beyond 3 mm, the sum of the dose contributions from neighboring seeds exceeds the dose contribution from the center seed for both sources. However, it continues to increase with the increasing y for 192 Ir but is saturated beyond y=5 mm for 90 Sr/Y . Even within a few millimeters from the seeds, the dose from the low-energy betas of 192 Ir is still less than 1% of the total dose. The radial dose and anisotropy functions are reformulated in reduced cylindrical coordinate with the reference point at y=2 mm . The dose rate constant of 192 Ir and the dose rate of 90 Sr/Y at the reference point showed a fairly good agreement ( within ±2%) with earlier studies and the NIST-traceable value, respectively. We conclude that the dosimetric perturbation caused by close proximity of neighboring seeds is nearly negligible so that the AAPM TG-43/60 formalism can be applied to a linear array of seeds.
MINE: Module Identification in Networks

Background Graphical models of network associations are useful for both visualizing and integrating multiple types of association data. Identifying modules, or groups of functionally related gene products, is an important challenge in analyzing biological networks. However, existing tools to identify modules are insufficient when applied to dense networks of experimentally derived interaction data. To address this problem, we have developed an agglomerative clustering method that is able to identify highly modular sets of gene products within highly interconnected molecular interaction networks.
Biconstituent fibers from segmented polyurethanes and nylon 6

The characteristics of Monvelle, a new biconstituent fiber from nylon 6 and a segmented polyurethane, are reviewed briefly, and some of the technical problems inherent in producing such a fiber are discussed. The characterization of two series of polyurethanes which can be melt spun is given in detail. The chemical composition of the hard segment was maintained constant, being derived from 4,4′-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) and 1,4-butanediol, in all polymers. In one series using poly(butylene adipate) of MW 2000 as the soft segment, the average hard segment content was varied from 33% to 54%. In the other series, the hard segment content was held at 43%, and three additional soft segments, each at MW 2000, were used: poly(ethylene adipate), polycaprolactone and poly-1,4-oxybutylene glycol (PBG). Characterizations include molecular weight distributions, thermal analysis, rheological studies, and selected small-angle and wide-angle x-ray diffraction and polarized light microscopy. Crystallinity, melt viscosity, and activation energy of flow increased with increasing hardsegment content. Changes in the polyester soft segments had little effect on the properties studied, but with PBG the crystalline melting point of the polymer, without annealing, was higher and the melt viscosity was slightly higher than corresponding polyester-based samples, in agreement with previous reports of sharper phase separation in polyether urethanes, compared to polyester urethanes.
The Determinants of Poverty in Côte d'Ivoire in the 1980s

This paper assesses empirically the role of household endowments in determining the poverty status of households, over and above effects attributable to the macroeconomy and the household's socioeconomic status and region of residence. The empirical setting is Cote d'Ivoire in the 1980s. A probit model is estimated separately for urban and rural areas, and sensitivity analysis is undertaken for shifts in the poverty line. The results confirm that human and physical capital endowments of households are important determinants of poverty outcomes of households in Cote d'Ivoire. Especially the way in which the household utilises its human capital to link to the labour market is crucial. The role of these endowments increased as the economic recession of the 1980s became more severe. Copyright 1997 by Oxford University Press.
Alternative tissue analysis method developed for organochlorine contaminants in aquatic organisms.

The exposure of aquatic life to organochlorine contaminants has been investigated during the past two decades because of human and ecosystem health concerns related to the bioaccumulation of hazardous, lipophilic substances. The toxic effects of polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxines and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are well known, and recent evidence also suggests that low level exposure to lipophilic organochlorines may interfere with normal development during sensitive early life history stages. As the use of lipophilic organochlorines, such as DDT, in third world countries continues and with the purported global cycling and food chain accumulation of persistent organochlorines, the occurrence of these compounds in aquatic organisms is a critical global environmental issue. An understanding of the fate of organochlorines in the environmental clearly remains an extremely important subject related to water quality. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has recently gained congressional approval in the United States to track nation wide trends in water quality through the establishment of the National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA). Among the goals defined by NAWQA, aquatic organisms, including fish, shellfish, and plants, collected from major drainage basins will be analyzed for, along with other contaminants, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine insecticides, and chlorobenzenes. The purpose of this report is tomore » present quality assurance data obtained from the development of a PCB, chlorobenzene, and organochlorine insecticide tissue analysis method in support of NAWQA and other large-scale water quality programs conducted through our laboratory. 12 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.« less
Barbarians in Gaul, Usurpers in Britain

In the first decade of the fifth century Gaul and Britain, Spain and Italy all suffered from a succession of barbarian invasions and Roman civil wars. We possess not just one but several literary accounts of the crisis, along with chronicles, poetry, and imperial laws that all help to illuminate its course, but the sequence of events bristles with technical difficulties. These have not been satisfactorily resolved in the countless modern narratives of the period, which regularly depend on one another rather than the ancient sources. The most recent treatment of the topic, by John Drinkwater, appeared in the pages of this journal, and represents a tremendous advance on our understanding of the crisis. Drinkwater's analysis clarifies any number of crucial interpretative points, and should be the first port of call for any one interested in the study of the period. Problems nevertheless remain. Drinkwater's episodic treatment of the period encourages a certain obscurity that a more systematic narrative might dispel, and he relies heavily upon badly understood ancient slanders against the regent Stilicho to underpin important parts of his narrative. What follows is in no sense an attack on Drinkwater's magisterial interpretation of usurpation and crisis, which warrants wholehearted endorsement. Instead, I would like to suggest that the welter of modern literature on the crisis has blinded us to how little we actually know about it, and that only by maintaining a rigorous awareness of what actually appears in the primary sources can we hope to enjoy the fruits of more nuanced interpretation.
Distributed calibration of Camera Sensor Networks

We propose a distributed algorithm for calibrating the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of a Camera Sensor Network (CSN). We assume that only one of the cameras is calibrated and that the network graph, i.e. the graph over which the cameras communicate, is connected. Each camera uses simple algorithms based on epipolar geometry to obtain its calibration matrix as well as its pose relative to a reference frame. A distributed consensus algorithm is derived to enforce a globally consistent solution for the recovered 3D structure across the entire network. We demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of our method through synthetic experiments.
Comparison of cardiac excitation-contraction coupling in isolated ventricular myocytes between rat and mouse

Transgenic animals offer many advantages for physiological study. The mouse is the most extensively utilized mammalian model for gene modification. Isolated ventricular myocytes are pivotal for assessment of cardiac function by allowing direct cellular and environmental manipulation without interference from compensatory mechanisms that may exist in vivo. This study was designed to compare the basic excitation-contraction coupling properties of mouse and rat ventricular myocytes. Cardiac myocytes were isolated from age- and gender-matched mice (FVB and C57BL/6) and rats (Sprague-Dawley (SD) and Wistar). Mechanical and intracellular Ca2+ properties were measured with an IonOptix SoftEdge system, including peak shortening (PS), time-to-PS (TPS), time-to-90% relengthening (TR(90)), maximal velocity of shortening and relengthening (+/-dL/dt), and intracellular Ca2+ fura-2 fluorescence intensity and decay rate (tau). Resting cell length was variable among the different species or strains. PS from FVB group was significantly higher than the SD group. TPS and TR(90) were significantly shorter in mice. +dL/dt was similar among all groups whereas -dL/dt was significantly faster in the C57BL/6 group compared to the rat groups. Resting intracellular Ca2+ was lower in mice than in rats, and Ca2+-induced Ca2+ release was variable among the four groups. Intracellular Ca2+ decay was slower in Wistar compared to all other groups. The myocytes from C57BL/6 did not respond to increases in extracellular Ca2+. Myocytes from the FVB group exhibited a lesser reduction in PS in response to elevated stimulus frequency. These data suggest that inherent differences between strains or species should be taken into consideration when comparing results from these different animal models.
Using Wireless Response Systems to Replicate Behavioral Research Findings in the Classroom

College instructors are increasingly relying on wireless clicker systems as instructional tools in the classroom. Instructors commonly use clicker systems for such classroom activities as taking attendance, giving quizzes, and taking opinion polls. However, these systems are uniquely well suited for the teaching of psychology and other courses that emphasize behavioral research methods. Specifically, instructors can use the clicker system to engage students in an in-class replication of a known empirical phenomenon. This article describes 2 classroom demonstrations that reveal the usefulness of wireless clicker systems for replicating empirical phenomena in behavioral research.
Three-Dimensional Imaging of Complex Neural Activation in Humans From EEG

Electro- or magnetoencephalography (EEG/MEG) are of utmost advantage in studying transient neuronal activity and its timing with respect to behavior in the working human brain. Direct localization of the neural substrates underlying EEG/MEG is commonly achieved by modeling neuronal activity as dipoles. However, the success of neural source localization with the dipole model has only been demonstrated in relatively simple localization tasks owing to the simplified model and its insufficiency in differentiating cortical sources with different extents. It would be of great interest to image complex neural activation with multiple sources of different cortical extensions directly from EEG/MEG. We have investigated this crucial issue by adding additional parameters to the dipole model, leading to the multipole model to better represent the extended sources confined to the convoluted cortical surface. The localization of multiple cortical sources is achieved by using the subspace source localization method with the multipole model. Its performance is evaluated with simulated data as compared with the dipole model, and further illustrated with the real data obtained during visual stimulations in human subjects. The interpretation of the localization results is fully supported by our knowledge about their anatomic locations and functional magnetic resonance imaging data in the same experimental setting. Methods for estimating multiple neuronal sources at cortical areas will facilitate our ability to characterize the cortical electrical activity from simple, early sensory components to more complex networks, such as in visual, motor, and cognitive tasks.
A tetranuclear manganese carboxylate cluster with bis(2-pyridyl)amine ligation: [Mn4O2(O2CEt)7(bpya)2](ClO4)

Abstract The title complex has been prepared and characterized by X-ray crystallography, magnetochemistry, cyclic voltammetry and 1 H NMR spectroscopy. The complex contains a [Mn 4 (μ 3 -O) 2 ] 8+ core with bridging EtCO 2 − and chelating bpya groups. The magnetochemical studies indicate an S =0 ground state as a result of antiferromagnetic exchange interactions between the Mn III ions. The 1 H NMR spectra support retention of the solid-state structure on dissolution in MeCN.
The analgesic impact of preoperative lumbar plexus blocks for hip arthroscopy. A retrospective review

This study aimed to examine the impact of preoperative lumbar plexus blockade on perioperative analgesia and opioid consumption following hip arthroscopy. The records of patients (n = 236) who underwent hip arthroscopy between July 27, 2004 and November 15, 2009 were reviewed (118 patients with preoperative lumbar plexus block and 118 procedure matched patients without a preoperative block). Baseline patient characteristics were similar between groups. Immediate post-anaesthesia care unit (PACU) pain scores, peak PACU pain scores, perioperative opioid administration, and PACU antiemetic administration favoured preoperative block placement. Postoperative modified Harris Hip scores and postoperative day one pain scores were similar between groups. Total hospital time following the surgical procedure was longer in the block group. While preoperative lumbar plexus blockade may be helpful for analgesia following hip arthroscopy, more research needs to be done to determine the ideal analgesic regimen for these patients.
Future Goals of the Benzylisoquinolinium Ester Program

This program originally sought to produce three nondepolarizing relaxants: short-, intermediate- and long-acting drugs which at the time (1975)1 were unknown. The proposed compounds are described in Fig 1. Now, twenty years later, much progress has been made, yet there is still room for additional improvement.
Intricate structural coordination and domain plasticity regulate activity of serine protease HtrA2

HtrA2, a complex trimeric pyramidal mitochondrial serine protease that regulates critical biological functions and diseases, including apoptosis and cancer, is a promising therapeutic target. It promotes apoptosis through multiple pathways, complex mechanisms of which are still elusive. The existing model of activation that emphasizes relative intramolecular movements between C-terminal PDZ and protease domains (PDZ-protease collapse in inactive and resting states) has not been able to unambiguously demonstrate dynamics of its actions. Using structure-guided design, molecular biology and protein biochemistry, we obtained various combinations of HtrA2 domains and mutants. Conformational changes and stability were characterized using molecular dynamics simulation and spectroscopic tools while functional enzymology delineated their roles in regulating enzyme catalysis. Quantitative Forster resonance energy transfer showed lesser intramolecular PDZ-protease distance in trimeric HtrA2 compared to its inactive monomeric counterpart (∼21 and ∼22.3 A, respectively, at 37°C). Our findings highlight importance of N-terminal region, oligomerization, and intricate intermolecular PDZ-protease interaction in proper active-site formation, enzyme-substrate complex stabilization, and hence HtrA2 functions. These observations redefine the existing activation model and showcase a unique example of how precise interdomain coordination, plasticity, and intermolecular contacts lead to distinct functional properties and hence provide new insights into HtrA2 structure, function, and dynamics.
Land cover classification by SAR

A 7.5 km/spl times/12.4 km test site located in northern Michigan was used to evaluate the land-cover classification accuracy attainable by automatic classifiers using various combinations of SAR polarizations and frequency bands. The scene was imaged by the JPL AirSAR at L- and C-bands. Using all available polarimetric data at both bands, a level-1 classifier was developed capable of correctly classifying each pixel in the scene as belonging to one of the following four categories: urban, tall vegetation (trees), short vegetation (grasses and crops), and bare surfaces (water, roads and bare soil) with an accuracy of 95% or better. The classification results provided by this L/C polarimetric combination are compared in this study with results based on L-band hh-polarization alone (representing the JERS-1 SAR), C-band vv-polarization alone (representing ERS-1 SAR), both of the preceding channels in combination, as well as other frequency/polarization combinations. The strengths and weaknesses of the different combinations are evaluated and related to the physical interactions taking place. Subsequently, a level-2 classifier was then developed to distinguish between three different tree types. Again, a comparison was made with the various combinations, and an analysis is given of the important physical interactions. Lastly, a study was made of the importance of resolution and number of looks in regard to the use of texture for classification. >
Optimal methods for identifying depression following hospitalization for myocardial infarction

Abstract Methods for detecting depression were evaluated in 64 men mean age 53 ± 4 yr who underwent treadmill exercise testing 3 and 7 weeks after clinically uncomplicated myocardial infarction. Following an open-ended interview, a therapist rated 9 33 patients as moderately to severely depressed, of whom 3 33 (9%) were judged to require treatment for depression. Two self report scales identified only 2 of the 9 patients with moderate to severe depression and only 1 of the 3 patients requiring treatment. Following a standardized interview, a technician rated 4 of the next 31 patients as moderately to severely depressed, all of whom ( 4 31 , 13%) were judged by the therapist to require treatment for depression. Self report identified only 2 of the 4 patients judged by the therapist to require treatment. A trained technician and a therapist detect about the same proportion of patients requiring treatment for depression after myocardial infarction. Both methods of interview are superior to self report scales for the detection of moderately severe depression requiring treatment.
Screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms during transthoracic echocardiography

Patients undergoing transthoracic echocardiography often have atherosclerotic vascular disease and may be at risk for the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms. We therefore examined the abdominal aorta by ultrasound in 323 consecutive patients undergoing routine two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography over a 6-month period. Measurements were made of aortic length (diaphragm to most caudal portion visualized) and maximum diameter. The study group comprised 169 men and 154 women with an average age of 57 ± 19 years (range 13 to 94). The abdominal aorta was imaged in 265 (82%) patients. The average aortic length visualized was 13.0 ± 4.6 cm, the average diameter 1.7 ± 0.4 cm, and the time required for screening <5 minutes. Seven (3%) patients were identified as having abdominal aortas ≥2.5 cm in diameter: 1 with an aneurysm measuring 6.7 cm in diameter and 6 with mild dilatations measuring 2.5 to 3.0 cm in diameter. One of the patients with mild aortic dilatation was subsequently found to have an infrarenal aneurysm measuring 3.5 cm in diameter. Aortic dilatation was associated with male gender (p = 0.0006) and older age (p = 0.05) but was not associated with a history of ischemic heart disease (p = 0.16). From these results, we conclude that screening for abdominal aortic aneurysms in patients undergoing transthoracic echocardiography is practical and clinically useful. Only a small number of these patients are identified as having aneurysms, but the low cost and brief time required suggest that routine screening in this population may be worthwhile.
Effects of an Organizational Control System on Managerial Satisfaction and Performance

Previous research on goal setting and feedback is placed in the context of an organizational control system model. Using a sample of 100 managers, the independent impacts of three components of a control system (goal setting, measurement, and corrective actions) on managerial satisfaction and performance are examined. Results show that aspects of each of the three model components are independently related to performance but not to satisfaction. Respondents' perceptions of top management's support for the performance-appraisal system, a factor not considered in most research on feedback and goal setting, emerges as an important correlate of high performance.
Colorectal polyps and polyposis syndromes

A polyp is defined as any mass protruding into the lumen of a hollow viscus. Colorectal polyps may be classified by their macroscopic appearance as sessile (flat, arising directly from the mucosal layer) or pedunculated (extending from the mucosa through a fibrovascular stalk). Colorectal polyps may also be histologically classified as neoplastic or as non-neoplastic (hyperplastic, hamartomatous, or inflammatory). The neoplastic polyps are of primary importance because they harbor a malignant potential, which represents a stage in the development of colorectal cancer. For this reason, it is essential to identify these polyps at a sufficiently early stage, when a simple outpatient procedure to remove them can interrupt the development of colorectal cancer and prevent disease and death. When invasive carcinoma arises in a polyp, careful consideration must be given to ensuring the adequacy of treatment. Although most neoplastic polyps do not evolve into cancer, it is well accepted that the majority of colorectal carcinomas evolve from adenomatous polyps; the sequence of events leading to this transformation is referred to as the adenoma-to-carcinoma sequence. The presence of a systemic process that promotes the development of multiple gastro-intestinal polyps is termed 'polyposis'. Hereditary gastro-intestinal polyposis syndromes account for approximately 1% of all cases of colorectal cancer and are associated with a broad spectrum of extra-colonic tumors. Early detection and accurate classification of these syndromes are essential, in order to initiate a surveillance program for the early detection of cancer. Several polyposis syndromes have been described, each having its own genetic basis and characteristic polyp distribution, clinical presentation, and malignancy risk. Diagnostic modalities and treatment options for neoplastic polyps-as well as the most prevalent polyposis syndromes-are reviewed below.
Estimating the photosynthetic contribution of developing peach {Prunus persica) fruits to their growth and maintenance carbohydrate requirements

CO2 exchange rates (CO2 evolution) of late-maturing cv. Cal Red peaches, exposed to different photon flux densities, were simulated from 24 days after flowering (DAF) until harvest by using light and temperature response curves measured on attached fruits in the field at biweekly intervals. The daily patterns of dark respiration rates per unit dry weight indicated their dependence on temperatures. Fruit CO2 exchange rates in light were also affected by photosynthetic photon flux densities. Daily photosynthetic rates per unit dry weight and per fruit were significantly lower in shaded fruits receiving 7% of the full daily sunlight compared to fruits exposed to 35% sunlight. However, the difference in photosynthetic rates in peach fruits receiving 21 and 35% of total daily sunlight was small. Within the last 4 weeks before harvest, weekly carbohydrate requirements for the production of dry matter rose rapidly in cv. Cal Red peaches and were related to high carbohydrate accumulations, especially of sucrose, in the peach mesocarp. Weekly photosynthetic contribution of late-maturing cv. Cal Red peaches to these carbohydrate accumulations increased up to 115 DAF. A decline in photosynthetic contributions between 115 DAF and harvest was related to decreasing photosynthetic activities in association with declining chlorophyll contents. Photosynthesis of late-maturing cv. Cal Red peaches provided 3–9% of the weekly fruit carbohydrate requirements early in the season and 8–15% in the midseason depending on fruit exposure to light. Photosynthesis of mature fruits contributed 3–5% of the total fruit carbohydrate requirements. Since fruit photosynthetic rates approach saturation at a photosynthetic photon flux density of about 600 μmol m2 s−2, the difference in weekly photosynthetic contributions was small between exposed and partially exposed (35 and 21% sunlight, respectively) peach fruits. However, a shaded fruit (7% sunlight) supplied significantly less of its weekly carbohydrate requirements through photosynthesis compared to exposed fruits. During the growing period of 24 DAF until harvest, dry matter accumulation of latematuring cv. Cal Red peaches accounted for 78% of the total carbohydrate requirements and 22% was used in respiration. Fruit photosynthesis of shaded peach fruit, partially exposed fruit and exposed fruit (receiving 7. 21 and 35% of full sunlight over the day, respectively) contributed 5. 8 and 9%, respectively, of the total growth and maintenance carbohydrate requirements during the growing season.
Do Minimum Wages Really Reduce Teen Employment? Accounting for Heterogeneity and Selectivity in State Panel Data: Do Minimum Wages Really Reduce Teen Employment?

Traditional estimates that often find minimum wage disemployment effects include controls for state unemployment rates and state- and year-fixed effects. Using CPS data on teens for the period 1990–2009, we show that such estimates fail to account for heterogeneous employment patterns that are correlated with selectivity among states with minimum wages. As a result, the estimates are often biased and not robust to the source of identifying variation. Including controls for long-term growth differences among states and for heterogeneous economic shocks renders the employment and hours elasticities indistinguishable from zero and rules out any but very small disemployment effects. Dynamic evidence further shows the nature of bias in traditional estimates, and it also rules out all but very small negative long-run effects. In addition, we do not find evidence that employment effects vary in different parts of the business cycle. We also consider predictable versus unpredictable changes in the minimum wage by looking at the effects of state indexation of the minimum wage.
The Endothelial Cell-Produced Antiangiogenic Cytokine Vascular Endothelial Growth Inhibitor Induces Dendritic Cell Maturation

Angiogenesis is an essential component of chronic inflammation that is linked to carcinogenesis. In this study, we report that human vascular endothelial growth inhibitor (VEGI, TNF superfamily 15), an endothelial cell-produced antiangiogenic cytokine, induces mouse dendritic cell (DC) maturation, a critical event in inflammation-initiated immunity. VEGI-stimulated bone marrow-derived immature DCs display early activation of maturation signaling molecules NF-κB, STAT3, p38, and JNK, and cytoskeleton reorganization and dendrite formation. The activation signals are partially inhibited by using a neutralizing Ab against death domain-containing receptor-3 (DR3) or a truncated form of DR3 consisting of the extracellular domain, indicating an involvement of DR3 in the transmission of VEGI activity. A VEGI isoform, TL1A, does not induce similar activities under otherwise identical experimental conditions. Additionally, the cells reveal significantly enhanced expression of mature DC-specific marker CD83, secondary lymphoid tissue-directing chemokine receptor CCR7, the MHC class-II protein (MHC-II), and costimulatory molecules CD40, CD80, and CD86. Functionally, the cells exhibit decreased Ag endocytosis, increased cell surface distribution of MHC-II, and increased secretion of IL-12 and TNF. Moreover, VEGI-stimulated DCs are able to facilitate the differentiation of CD4 + naive T cells in cocultures. These findings suggest that the anticancer activity of VEGI arises from coupling the inhibition of endothelial cell growth with the promotion of the adaptive immune mechanisms through the stimulation of DC maturation.
The case for anomalous link discovery

In this paper, we describe the challenges inherent to the task of link prediction, and we analyze one reason why many link prediction models perform poorly. Specifically, we demonstrate the effects of the extremely large class skew associated with the link prediction task. We then present an alternate task --- anomalous link discovery (ALD) --- and qualitatively demonstrate the effectiveness of simple link prediction models for the ALD task. We show that even the simplistic structural models that perform poorly on link prediction can perform quite well at the ALD task.
Symmetric Non-rigid Registration: A Geometric Theory and Some Numerical Techniques

This paper proposes ℒ2- and information-theory-based (IT) non-rigid registration algorithms that are exactly symmetric. Such algorithms pair the same points of two images after the images are swapped. Many commonly-used ℒ2 and IT non-rigid registration algorithms are only approximately symmetric. The asymmetry is due to the objective function as well as due to the numerical techniques used in discretizing and minimizing the objective function. This paper analyzes and provides techniques to eliminate both sources of asymmetry. This paper has five parts. The first part shows that objective function asymmetry is due to the use of standard differential volume forms on the domain of the images. The second part proposes alternate volume forms that completely eliminate objective function asymmetry. These forms, called graph-based volume forms, are naturally defined on the graph of the registration diffeomorphism f, rather than on the domain of f. When pulled back to the domain of f they involve the Jacobian J f and therefore appear “non-standard”. In the third part of the paper, graph-based volume forms are analyzed in terms of four key objective-function properties: symmetry, positive-definiteness, invariance, and lack of bias. Graph-based volume forms whose associated ℒ2 objective functions have the first three properties are completely classified. There is an infinite-dimensional space of such graph-based forms. But within this space, up to scalar multiple, there is a unique volume form whose associated ℒ2 objective function is unbiased. This volume form, which when pulled back to the domain of f is (1+det(J f )) times the standard volume form on Euclidean space, is exactly the differential-geometrically natural volume form on the graph of f. The fourth part of the paper shows how the same volume form also makes the IT objective functions symmetric, positive semi-definite, invariant, and unbiased. The fifth part of the paper introduces a method for removing asymmetry in numerical computations and presents results of numerical experiments. The new objective functions and numerical method are tested on a coronal slice of a 3-D MRI brain image. Numerical experiments show that, even in the presence of noise, the new volume form and numerical techniques reduces asymmetry practically down to machine precision without compromising registration accuracy.
EUS followed by EMR for staging of high-grade dysplasia and early cancer in Barrett's esophagus.

Background Accurate staging of high-grade dysplasia and of early cancer in Barrett's esophagus is important in the selection of patients for endoscopic therapy. Methods Patients with Barrett's esophagus and biopsy specimen proven high-grade dysplasia and adenocarcinoma in focal nodular lesions or in endoscopically unapparent flat lesions in short-segment Barrett's esophagus were initially staged with EUS. In patients with disease limited to the mucosa on EUS, cap-assisted EMR was performed. The depth of tumor invasion on EMR specimens was classified in a similar manner to squamous-cell cancer of the esophagus: m1 (epithelial layer, dysplasia), m2 (lamina propria invasion), m3 (muscularis mucosae invasion), sm (submucosal invasion). Results EUS was performed in 48 consecutive patients (27 with focal nodular lesions and 21 with microscopic lesions), and submucosal invasion was diagnosed in 8 (confirmed in 7/8 at surgery). EMR was carried out in the remaining 40 patients without significant complications. In the 25 patients with high-grade dysplasia on prior biopsy specimens, EMR confirmed m1 disease in 19; whereas in 6 (24%), invasive adenocarcinoma was detected (to m2 in 4; to m3 in 2). In the 15 patients with invasive cancer on prior biopsy specimens and staged as intramucosal cancer on EUS, intramucosal carcinoma was confirmed in 9 (m2 in 3; m3 in 6); whereas, in 6 patients (40%), submucosal invasion was found. Overall, EUS provided accurate staging in 41/48 patients (85%) with one patient overstaged and 6 patients understaged compared with pathologic staging obtained by surgery or EMR. Of the 34 patients with m1 to m3 staging after EMR, 29 were treated endoscopically and had no evidence of cancer after a mean follow-up of 22.9 months(standard deviation 9.2 months). Conclusions EMR provides pathologic staging information that, in addition, may be helpful after EUS if a stage-determined approach is used in the management of high-grade dysplasia and of early cancer in Barrett's esophagus. EMR may be particularly useful for staging of focal nodules or in short-segment Barrett's esophagus with microscopic lesions when endoscopic therapy is an option.
A CASE STUDY OF AN “AUTISTIC-SAVANT”: MENTAL FUNCTION IN THE PSYCHOTIC CHILD WITH MARKEDLY DISCREPANT ABILITIES

SUMMARY This paper describes discrepant mental function in an. autistic-savant boy, so labelled because he has the behavior of an autistic child and the cognitive profile of the idiot savant. Major findings are that: perception is adequate for visual discrimination, but not for spatial orientation; superior memory- exists for specialized data of limited scope and is explained, not by unusual rates of initial learning, but by a failure to forget; abstract associations are formed while developmentally easier tasks are failed. It is suggested that these contradictions—frequently found in psychotic children—are a natural developmental outcome of deficiencies in somatic awareness.
The Making of Modern Colombia: A Nation in Spite of Itself

Colombia's status as the fourth largest nation in Latin America and third most populous--as well as its largest exporter of such disparate commodities as emeralds, books, processed cocaine, and cut flowers--makes this, the first history of Colombia written in English, a much-needed book. It tells the remarkable story of a country that has consistently defied modern Latin American stereotypes--a country where military dictators are virtually unknown, where the political left is congenitally weak, and where urbanization and industrialization have spawned no lasting populist movement. There is more to Colombia than the drug trafficking and violence that have recently gripped the world's attention. In the face of both cocaine wars and guerrilla conflict, the country has maintained steady economic growth as well as a relatively open and democratic government based on a two-party system. It has also produced an impressive body of art and literature. David Bushnell traces the process of state-building in Colombia from the struggle for independence, territorial consolidation, and reform in the nineteenth century to economic development and social and political democratization in the twentieth. He also sheds light on the modern history of Latin America as a whole.