cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Demographic effects of sex preselection: a formal model

The demographic effects of sex preselection technology are studied by means of mathematical models for completed family size and the sex ratio at birth. It is shown that in the case of an indefinite amount of time available to achieve desired family composition, sex preselection has a substantial effect on completed fertility. When a finite reproductive period is introduced (for example, due to distributions of age at marriage and secondary female sterility) the impact of sex preselection on fertility is greatly reduced. The effect of sex preselection on the sex ratio at birth is pronounced, as illustrated by several hypothetical examples.
Palladium Catalysts for Fatty Acid Deoxygenation: Influence of the Support and Fatty Acid Chain Length on Decarboxylation Kinetics

Supported metal catalysts containing 5 wt% Pd on silica, alumina, and activated carbon were evaluated for liquid-phase deoxygenation of stearic (octadecanoic), lauric (dodecanoic), and capric (decanoic) acids under 5 % H2 at 300 °C and 15 atm. On-line quadrupole mass spectrometry (QMS) was used to measure CO + CO2 yield, CO2 selectivity, H2 consumption, and initial decarboxylation rate. Post-reaction analysis of liquid products by gas chromatography was used to determine n-alkane yields. The Pd/C catalyst was highly active and selective for stearic acid (SA) decarboxylation under these conditions. In contrast, SA deoxygenation over Pd/SiO2 occurred primarily via decarbonylation and at a much slower rate. Pd/Al2O3 exhibited high initial SA decarboxylation activity but deactivated under the test conditions. Similar CO2 selectivity patterns among the catalysts were observed for deoxygenation of lauric and capric acids; however, the initial decarboxylation rates tended to be lower for these substrates. The influence of alkyl chain length on deoxygenation kinetics was investigated for a homologous series of C10–C18 fatty acids using the Pd/C catalyst. As fatty acid carbon number decreases, reaction time and H2 consumption increase, and CO2 selectivity and initial decarboxylation rate decrease. The increase in initial decarboxylation rates for longer chain fatty acids is attributed to their greater propensity for adsorption on the activated carbon support.
Phenotype of blood lymphocytes in PTSD suggests chronic immune activation

Patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have a past history of extremely stressful experience and often present with somatic complaints. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of patients with PTSD associated with a history of childhood sexual abuse were examined for changes in immune phenotype. The ratio of CD45RO-positive to CD45RA-positive lymphocytes (CD45RO/CD45RA), an index of lymphocyte activation, was higher (P = 0.04) in the PTSD subjects than in the normal subjects. No differences were observed for the number of PBL or the representation of major T, B, or NK lymphocyte subsets. These findings suggest the presence of increased lymphocyte activation in the PBL of patients with PTSD.
Patent focus on antidiabetic agents: September 1999 - February 2000

This focus highlights the most relevant patent disclosures in the field of oral antidiabetic therapy for the period of September 1999 to February 2000. As diabetes is a multi-faceted disease of decreased insulin secretion, increased peripheral (muscle, fat and liver) insulin resistance and dysregulated hepatic glucose production, recent drug development activities have centred around insulin secretagogues, insulin sensitisers and inhibitors of hepatic glucose output. Of particular note recently, are agents which increase insulin sensitivity (PPARγ and RXR agonists), modulate the insulin signalling pathway (PTP-1B and GSK-3 inhibitors), decrease hepatic gluconeogenesis and/or glycogenolysis (G6Pase, F1,6BPase and GP inhibitors), modulate glucose metabolism (PDHK inhibitors) and increase insulin secretion (DPP IV inhibitors).
Influences of Rotatory Inertia, Shear and Loading on Vibrations of Flexible Manipulators

Abstract In this paper a comprehensive study is presented on the influence of rotatory inertia, shear deformation and tip load on the vibration behavior of one-link flexible manipulators. Three types of dynamic models, the Euler-Bernoulli model, the Euler-Bernoulli model with rotatory inertia, and the Timoshenko model, have been established and used for the analysis of modal frequencies and vibration modes. Explicit solutions of the asymptotic behavior of high order modal frequencies and vibration modes are given and verified with the numerical results. Both asymptotic analysis and numerical results indicate that the effect of shear deformation cannot be ignored for high order vibrations or for shorter manipulators. It has also been found that, in certain cases, the tip load has a profound effect on the vibration behavior of flexible manipulators. Finally, the experiments conducted for modal frequency identification have shown an excellent agreement between the analytic prediction and the experimental results.
The Effect of CYP2D6 polymorphisms on the Response to Pain Treatment for Pediatric Sickle Cell Pain Crisis

Objectives To test the hypothesis that children taking hydoxyurea who fail codeine therapy have an increase in reduced-functioning cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) alleles. Study design Children with sickle cell disease presenting to an emergency department with a pain crisis unresponsive to codeine were genotyped. The proportion of children with reduced-functioning alleles and CYP2D6 enzyme activity scores ≤1.5, were compared, by χ 2 analysis, in children taking hydoxyurea and those with mild disease. Results Of the 73 children completing the study, 42 had reduced-functioning alleles; 82% of the 27 children taking hydoxyurea had reduced-functioning alleles, versus 47% of 36 those with mild disease ( P P Conclusions Failing codeine therapy for a pain crisis while taking hydoxyurea is associated with an increase in reduced-functioning CYP2D6 alleles. We recommend genetic analysis or trial of a non-CYP2D6 analgesic for these children.
Smallpox Inoculation (Variolation) in East Africa with Special Reference to the Practice Among the Boran and Gabra of Northern Kenya

Smallpox inoculation (variolation) was widely reported in sub-Sahara Africa before, during, and after the colonial era. The infective smallpox materials and techniques used, as well as the anatomical sites for inoculation, varied widely among different ethnic groups. The practice among the Boran and Gabra pastoralists of northern Kenya resembled that which was prevalent in a number of areas of Ethiopia. This is not surprising as the Boran also live in southern Ethiopia, and Gabra herdsmen frequently cross the border into this region. The Boran and Gabra technique for smallpox inoculation consisted of taking infective material from the vesicles or pustules of those with active smallpox, and scraping it into the skin on the dorsum of the lower forearm. Although the intent was to cause a local reaction and at most a mild form of smallpox, severe cases of the disease not infrequently resulted. Also, variolated individuals were capable of infecting others with smallpox, thereby augmenting outbreaks and sustaining them. The limited known reports of smallpox inoculation among the Boran and Gabra are presented in this communication. The expansion of vaccination with effective heat stable vaccines, the development of medical and public health infrastructures, and educational programs all contributed to the eventual disappearance of the practice among the Boran and Gabra.
Exercise as Great Medicine: A Taiwanese Reflection on Aging and the Human Spirit

The need for elder care is a pressing issue in Taiwanese society. To this end, inspired by the Buddha's experience with elders, the nuns of Dafossu (Great Buddhist) Temple provide practical instruction and meaningful activities that enable elders to cultivate their spiritual life and keep physically fit. The simple exercises are grounded in mental concentration.
Deferred harvests: The transition from hunting to animal husbandry

We define animal husbandry as prey conservation. Conservation is rare among extant hunters and only likely to occur when prey are highly valued, private goods. The long-term discounted deferred returns from husbandry must also be greater than the short-term returns from hunting. We compare the returns from hunting and husbanding strategies as a function of prey body size. Returns from husbanding are estimated using a maximum sustainable yield (MSY) model. Following Charnov (1993), allometric analyses show that the MSY is nearly independent of prey body size. The opportunity costs of husbanding are measured as prey standing biomass times the discount rate. Since standing biomass scales positively with body size, the opportunity costs of husbanding are greater for larger animals. An evolutionary discount rate is estimated following Rogers (1994) to be between 2.4% and 6%. Using these values, the prey body size for which hunting and meat-only husbanding provide the same return is approximately 40kg. Animals greater than 40kg are predicted to be hunted, [animal husbandry, evolutionary ecology, allometry, hunting, Neolithic transition]
The Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS) and Assessment of Intellectual Giftedness

The Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS) (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2003) is a psychometrically sound, individually administered test of intelligence developed and standardized for ages 3 thro...
2-Methoxyestradiol interferes with NFκB transcriptional activity in primitive neuroectodermal brain tumors: implications for management

Medulloblastoma (MB) is a primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) of the central nervous system (CNS) and the most common malignant primary brain tumor in children. Currently, poor risk and recurrent MB patients are treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy alone or in combination with surgery and irradiation. In order to improve on therapeutic outcome and reduce toxicity of current treatment strategies, new and novel therapeutic agents are needed for MB patients. To that purpose, we have examined the effect of 2-methoxyestradiol (2-ME), an endogenous non-toxic estrogenic metabolite on the growth of three medulloblastoma cell lines (DAOY, D341 and D283); and two high-grade anaplastic astrocytoma/glioblastoma cell lines, U-87MG and T-98-G. We present evidence to show that 2-ME preferentially inhibits the growth of medulloblastoma cells significantly by blocking cell cycle progression predominantly in G(2)/M phase. 2-ME treatment results in phosphorylation of cdc25C without any significant alterations in the expression of cyclin B1 or p34cdc2. In addition, we observed a decrease in the levels of 14-3-3 proteins following treatment with 2-ME. Furthermore, 2-ME-mediated growth inhibition is accompanied by induction of apoptosis as evidenced by morphological alterations and DNA fragmentation analysis. Of interest is the finding that 2-ME induced apoptosis is not mediated through alterations in the expression of p53 or Bax and that transcriptional activity of NF kappa B and DNA binding activity is reduced indicating that 2-ME disrupts the NF kappa B signaling pathway. These results suggest that 2-ME may prove to be a useful therapeutic agent in the treatment of PNET brain tumors such as medulloblastoma. In addition, as 2-ME inhibits growth predominantly through G(2)/M block, it may enhance the effectiveness of radiation therapy.
Exploring the Latent Structures of Psychological Constructs in Social Development Using the Dimensional-Categorical Spectrum.

This paper provides an introduction to a recently developed conceptual framework— the dimensional–categorical spectrum—for utilizing general factor mixture models to explore the latent structures of psychological constructs. This framework offers advantages over traditional latent variable models that usually employ either continuous latent factors or categorical latent class variables to characterize the latent structure and require an a priori assumption about the underlying nature of the construct as either purely dimension or purely categorical. The modeling process is discussed in detail and then illustrated with data on the delinquency items of Achenbach’s child behavior checklist from a sample of children in the National Adolescent and Child Treatment Study.
COMPARISON AND HISTORY IN THE STUDY OF RELIGIOUS ETHICS: An Essay on Michael Cook's Commanding Right and Forbidding Wrong in Islamic Thought1

Qur'an 3:104 speaks of “commanding right and forbidding wrong” as a constitutive feature of the Muslim community. Michael Cook's careful and comprehensive study provides a wealth of information about the ways Muslims in various contexts have understood this notion. Cook also makes a number of comparative observations, and suggests that “commanding” appears to be a uniquely Muslim practice. Scholars of religious ethics should read Cook's study with great appreciation. They will also have a number of questions about his comparative comments. In this article, I suggest that scholars of comparative ethics should think less about the “uniqueness” of the materials examined by Cook, and more about the ways groups of human beings discipline their members, thereby constituting and maintaining themselves as communities of virtue.
Isoprene Emission from Plants: Why and How

BACKGROUND Some, but not all, plants emit isoprene. Emission of the related monoterpenes is more universal among plants, but the amount of isoprene emitted from plants dominates the biosphere-atmosphere hydrocarbon exchange. SCOPE The emission of isoprene from plants affects atmospheric chemistry. Isoprene reacts very rapidly with hydroxyl radicals in the atmosphere making hydroperoxides that can enhance ozone formation. Aerosol formation in the atmosphere may also be influenced by biogenic isoprene. Plants that emit isoprene are better able to tolerate sunlight-induced rapid heating of leaves (heat flecks). They also tolerate ozone and other reactive oxygen species better than non-emitting plants. Expression of the isoprene synthase gene can account for control of isoprene emission capacity as leaves expand. The emission capacity of fully expanded leaves varies through the season but the biochemical control of capacity of mature leaves appears to be at several different points in isoprene metabolism. CONCLUSIONS The capacity for isoprene emission evolved many times in plants, probably as a mechanism for coping with heat flecks. It also confers tolerance of reactive oxygen species. It is an example of isoprenoids enhancing membrane function, although the mechanism is likely to be different from that of sterols. Understanding the regulation of isoprene emission is advancing rapidly now that the pathway that provides the substrate is known.
Pattern recognition using Boltzmann machine

An approach for pattern recognition using neural networks is proposed. Particularly, a Boltzmann machine, a Hopfield neural net model, is used in pattern recognition with desirable learning ability. The Boltzmann machine features stochastic learning, which acts as the connection dynamics for determining the weights on the connections between the neuron-like cells (processing elements) of different layers in the neural network. An algorithm for pattern recognition using Boltzmann machine is also presented, which could be coded with the C programming language or others to implement the approach for efficient pattern recognition.
Style translation for human motion

Style translation is the process of transforming an input motion into a new style while preserving its original content. This problem is motivated by the needs of interactive applications, which require rapid processing of captured performances. Our solution learns to translate by analyzing differences between performances of the same content in input and output styles. It relies on a novel correspondence algorithm to align motions, and a linear time-invariant model to represent stylistic differences. Once the model is estimated with system identification, our system is capable of translating streaming input with simple linear operations at each frame.
High pressure phase diagrams of two homologous series of Inotropics

Abstract The hexagonal-isotropic transition is studied in two homologous series of lyotropic liquid crystals. The high pressure phase diagrams are mapped up to 2 kbar for three homologues from each of the Triton X and Triton N series of non-ionic surfactants. We find that an interesting hexagonal-isotropic re-entrant phenomenon is a common feature of the transition lines of homologues in each series. For each homologue in each series, we report a systematic increase in the average value of dP/dT with decreasing concentration correlated with the presence of the re-entrant phenomenon.
Note on the Definition and Calculation of the Per-Unit-Length Internal Impedance of a Uniform Conducting Wire

The Thevenin theorem is used to define the internal impedance per unit length (p.u.l.) of a uniform conducting wire of arbitrary cross-sectional geometry. Two different boundary value problems are then proposed for the calculation of the internal impedance of the wire, which are both consistent with the proposed Thevenin theorem-based definition. For the important case of rectangular conducting strips, an advantage is taken of the separable cross-sectional geometry for the development of analytical expressions for the internal impedance of the wires. It is shown that these expressions reproduce correctly both the resistance of the wire p.u.l. length at dc and the trend of R(omega) ap omegaL(omega) at sufficiently high frequencies such that the skin effect is well developed.
DETERMINING THE EFFECTS OF STATUS INCONSISTENCY

Gerhard Lenski, in his "Comment" on the methodology of the status inconsistency studies in the Summer 1964 issue of the Public Opinion Quarterly, deals with the behavioral effects of inconsistency between an individual's ranks on a pair of status dimensions., He sets forth a procedure for distinguishing the behavioral effects of this kind of status inconsistency per se from the behavioral effects of each of the two status dimensions in terms of which the inconsistency is defined. This result is accomplished by determining whether, in a three-variable table consisting of the two status dimensions and a dependent variable, there is an interaction effect of the two dimensions upon the dependent variable. Only if an interaction effect is found can it be said that status inconsistency is associated with the dependent variable. Professor Lenski's discussion will, it is hoped, stimulate still further efforts to solve the methodological problems that have plagued the status inconsistency studies. Furthermore, it seems to me that the method he proposes constitutes a useful diagnostic device, in a sense which I will try to make clear later on. However, there appear to be two serious flaws in his procedures. Both of these, as will be shown below, result from a failure to take into account, in assessing this kind of status inconsistency data, the nature of the association of each of the two status dimensions with the dependent variable. The first difficulty encountered in the use of Lenski's method is that the same kind of result is obtained whether just one or both of the two opposite kinds of high-low and low-high status inconsistency is associated with the dependent variable. The hypothetical data in Table i illustrate this point. Following Lenski's procedure, we would compare the sum of the high-high and low-low percentages to the sum of the percentages in the high-low and low-high cells. Since the latter sum exceeds the former, the conclusion, according to the Lenski formula, would be that occupation-ethnicity inconsistency produces stress. However, suppose that occupational and ethnic rank are both negatively associated with stress. Assuming this to be the case, an examination of Table 1
Integration of design education, research and practice at Carnegie Mellon University: a multi-disciplinary course in wearable computer design

The Engineering Design Research Center (EDRC) at Carnegie Mellon University has created a two-semester design course that integrates research and education though industrially sponsored design projects. Over each of the six semesters that the course has been taught, teams of undergraduate and graduate students have designed, fabricated, and delivered a new generation of wearable computers. The Wearable Computer Design course at the EDRC is cross-disciplinary and inter-departmental, drawing students from four colleges in nine disciplines including five engineering departments (chemical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering, and engineering and public policy), architecture, computer science, industrial administration and industrial design, The students in this course learn about design theory and practice, participate in research, and successfully deliver products to sponsors. Furthermore, the students are exposed to the complete cycle of design from concept through initial theoretical modeling and design, multi-disciplinary design tradeoffs to manufacturing, and finally to customer satisfaction and user feedback. This class also serves as a testbed for learning about the needs of a multi-disciplinary design team, for anticipating the needs of geographically-distributed design teams, for reflecting on the interplay between product design and design process, and for evaluating the design tools and design methodologies that have been developed at the EDRC. The paper describes the evolution of the Wearable Computer Design course, the integration of design education, design research and design practice in an interdepartmental course. It also describes the interplay between disciplines, between theory, practice and education, and between designers and users.
An alternative information web for visually impaired users in developing countries

Websites in World Wide Web are primarily meant for visual consumption. Moreover, the wide variety of visual controls available make it harder to interpret the websites with screen readers. This problem of accessing information and services on the web escalates even further for visually impaired in developing regions since most are either semi-literate/illiterate or cannot afford computers and high-end phones with screen reading capability.In this paper, we present an alternate platform -- the World Wide Telecom Web (WWTW). WWTW is already being successfully deployed as a network of VoiceSites that can be created and accessed by a voice interaction over an ordinary phone. WWTW presents a whole new set of opportunities for delivering information and services to the visually impaired. We present a preliminary user study that leads us towards the belief that the Telecom Web can be the mainstream Web for blind users.
Psychiatric rehabilitation of schizophrenia: Unresolved issues, current trends, and future directions

Abstract Psychiatric rehabilitation refers to a treatment philosophy and to a set of assessment and treatment techniques designed to reduce disability and maximize environmental adaptation. The field of psychiatric rehabilitation of schizophrenia is now well developed, and successful interventions exist for teaching many essential community-living skills and for promoting maintenance and generalization of these gains. Recent developments include the creation of new skills-training interventions and cognitive rehabilitation techniques and improvements in the delivery of vocational and substance abuse treatments. As a field, psychiatric rehabilitation is continuing to develop in a manner that is responsive to perceived treatment needs, shortcomings of existing interventions, and developments in related fields (e.g., social psychology, neuroscience of schizophrenia). Some of these developments in theory and research point to areas of conceptual/theoretical weaknesses in existing treatments and assessment measures and suggest directions for further development. This article reviews the current status of a number of areas within the psychiatric rehabilitation of schizophrenia, highlighting future needs.
Stochastic dynamics simulation with generalized interval probability

Two types of uncertainties are generally recognized in modelling and simulation, including variability caused by inherent randomness and incertitude due to the lack of perfect knowledge. In this paper, a generalized interval-probability theory is used to model both uncertainty components simultaneously, where epistemic uncertainty is quantified by generalized interval in addition to probability measure. Conditioning, independence, and Markovian probabilities are uniquely defined in generalized interval probability such that its probabilistic calculus resembles that in the classical probability theory. A path-integral approach can be taken to solve the interval Fokker–Planck equation for diffusion processes. A Krylov subspace projection method is proposed to solve the interval master equation for jump processes. Thus, the time evolution of both uncertainty components can be simulated simultaneously, which provides the lower and upper bound information of evolving probability distributions as an alternative...
Modeling and control of the resonant fiber scanner of a novel scanning scope

The single fiber scanning endoscope is designed with a resonant fiber scanner at the distal end of a thin flexible shaft to produce a flying spot scan for image acquisition purposes. Dynamic nonlinearities during large amplitude vibrations of the resonant fiber scanner result in distortions in the two-dimensional scan pattern and the acquired images. The nonlinearities produce nonlinear amplitude and phase responses, jump and whirl. A dynamic model which includes the fibers dynamic nonlinearities, as well as its piezotube actuators nonlinearities, has been developed to understand the nonlinear behavior and as the basis of a controller to remove the scan distortion. A robust state-space controller with feedback linearization has been implemented to force the resonant fiber scanner to follow three reference scan patterns: raster, propeller, and spiral formats. Acquired images at 250/spl times/250 pixel resolution demonstrate improved image fidelity over previous images taken with open-loop scanning.
State Estimation in Discrete Event Systems Modeled by Labeled Petri Nets

In this paper, we address the problem of state estimation in Discrete Event Systems (DES) modeled by labeled Petri nets that may have nondeterministic transitions (i.e., transitions that share the same label) or unobservable transitions (i.e., transitions that are associated with the null label). More specifically, given knowledge of the initial Petri net state (or set of states), we show that the number of consistent markings in a Petri net with nondeterministic transitions is at most polynomial in the length of the observation sequence (i.e., in the number of labels observed) even though the set of possible firing sequences can be exponential in the length of the observation sequence. The result applies to general Petri nets without any specific assumption on the structure of the Petri net or the nature of the labeling function. By restricting attention to bounded Petri nets with acyclic unobservable subnets, this polynomial dependency of the number of consistent markings on the length of the observation sequence also applies to Petri nets with unobservable transitions.
A smooth-turn mobility model for airborne networks

Effective routing in airborne networks (ANs) relies on suitable mobility models that capture the random movement pattern of airborne vehicles. As airborne vehicles cannot make sharp turns as easily as ground vehicles do, the widely used mobility models for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (such as Random Waypoint and Random Direction models) fail. In this paper, we introduce a novel AN mobility model, called the Smooth Turn Mobility Model, that captures the correlation of acceleration for airborne vehicles across time and spatial coordinates. The model is realistic in capturing the tendency of airborne vehicles toward making straight trajectory and smooth turns with large radius, and is simple enough for tractable connectivity analysis and routing design. We first describe the mathematics of this model and then prove that the stationary node distribution of this mobility model is uniform.
LEGION-Based Automatic Road Extraction From Satellite Imagery

An automatic method for road extraction from satellite imagery is presented. The core of the proposed method is locally excitatory globally inhibitory oscillator networks (LEGION). The road extraction task is decomposed into three stages. The first stage is image segmentation by LEGION. In the second stage, the medial axis of each segment is computed, and the medial axis points corresponding to narrow regions are selected. The third is the road grouping stage. Alignment-dependent connections between selected points are established, and LEGION is utilized to group well-aligned points, which represent the extracted roads. Due to the selective gating mechanism of LEGION, different roads in an image are grouped separately. Road extraction results on synthetic and real images are presented. A comparison with other methods shows that the proposed method produces very competitive extraction results.
Authenticity and Imagination.

Central to development of authenticity in teaching is selfunderstanding and self-awareness. Using a Jungian perspective, the author suggests that the imaginative dimensions of the self play a critical role in our journey and experience as teachers, and in developing selfawareness and authenticity in our teaching.
A gap analysis of HMO service quality.

(1998). A Gap Analysis of HMO Service Quality. Health Marketing Quarterly: Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 1-15.
Photochemical production of uracil quantified in bromodeoxyuridine-substituted SV40 DNA by uracil DNA glycosylase and a lysyl-tyrosyl-lysine tripeptide

Exposure to UVA radiation of SV40 DNA substituted with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) in the presence of Hoechst dye 33258 results in the production of uracil. The yield of uracil was determined by measuring the increase in the single-strand break (SSB) yield after incubation of the photolyzed DNA with uracil-DNA glycosylase (UDG) in the presence of the tripeptide lysyl-tyrosyl-lysine (KYK). UDG removes uracil to leave an abasic site which is then cleaved to a SSB by KYK. The SSB yield was quantified by digital video imaging of ethidium fluorescence after separation of the I, II and III forms of SV40 DNA by agarose gel electrophoresis. Uracil is not detected when photolysis is carried out in the absence of the dye nor when unsubstituted DNA is used as the substrate. Without UDG or KYK treatment, the F0 for the loss of form I DNA is 100 J/m2. This falls to 13 J/m2 after incubation with UDG and KYK, indicating that uracil formation is approximately 5-fold more efficient than SSB formation. Formation of uracil suggests a mechanism for the high cellular toxicity of the dye-BrdU-UVA treatment.
Extending Chakravarthy's strategy framework to cope with constrained and unstable environments: imitative catching-up e-commerce at Patagon.com

Most of the extant electronic commerce (EC) models implicitly assume a developed country environment that is technologically advanced and information rich, with a stable, nondisruptive political and economic climate that favors free markets, and with unconstrained access to technological, financial, and human resources. These are not features found in most less-developed country environments. This study empirically analyzes the history of Patagon.com, a pioneer in Latin American Internet-based financial services. Its primary contribution is to extend Chakravarthy's strategy framework for coping with turbulence to conceptualizing imitative catch-up EC strategy in constrained and unstable environments, such as those in less-developed countries. The case analysis also suggests some practical implications that should help to better understand how organizations that are not pioneers of novel breakthroughs in developed countries can participate in EC.
The impact of service rate fluctuations in wireless packet data systems

Following a model similar to that of Telatar and Gallager, multiuser communication systems with a varying number of users are studied. It is shown that fading causes variability in the service process, and reduces the effective service rate seen by a user. This result is used to design a power control scheme that balances the twin goals of low service variability and high mean service rate.
Design and engineering human forms of monoclonal antibodies

The antibody molecule has multiple properties that make it a key component of the immune response. These include its ability to recognize a vast array of different foreign substrates and to interact with and activate the host effector systems. Antibodies with defined specificities may serve as “magic bullets” for the diagnosis and therapy of multiple diseases. With the development of the hybridoma technology, it was possible to produce rodent (mouse or rat) monoclonal antibodies that are the product of a single clone of antibody producing cells and have only one antigen binding specificity. However, the therapeutic use of rodent monoclonals antibodies in humans is limited by their immunogenicity, short circulating half-life, and inability to efficiently trigger human effector mechanisms. However, it proved difficult to produce human monoclonal antibodies using the same methods. To address these problems genetic engineering and expression systems have instead been used to produce chimeric, humanized, and totally human antibodies as well as antibodies with novel structures and functional properties. In addition, the use of yeast and human artificial chromosome vectors for animal transgenesis has allowed the development of animal models that produce antigen specific antibodies that are totally human. As a consequence, recombinant antibody-based therapies are now used to treat a variety of clinical conditions including infectious diseases, inflammatory disorders, and cancer. This article summarizes and compares different strategies for designing and engineering human antibodies and their derivatives. Drug Dev. Res. 61:121–136, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A comparative evaluation of software techniques to hide memory latency

Software oriented techniques to hide memory latency in superscalar and superpipelined machines include loop unrolling, software pipelining, and software cache prefetching. Issuing the data fetch request prior to actual need for data allows overlap of accessing with useful computations. Loop unrolling and software pipelining do not necessitate microarchitecture or instruction set architecture changes, whereas software controlled prefetching does. While studies on the benefits of the individual techniques have been done, no study evaluates all of these techniques within a consistent framework. This paper attempts to remedy this by providing a comparative evaluation of the features and benefits of the techniques. Loop, unrolling and static scheduling of loads is seen to produce significant improvement in performance at lower latencies. Software pipelining is observed to be better than software controlled prefetching at lower latencies, but at higher latencies, software prefetching outperforms software pipelining. Aggressive prefetching beyond conditional branches can detrimentally affect performance by increasing the memory bandwidth requirements and bus traffic. >
Existence and Uniqueness of a Solution of a Partially Observed Stochastic Control Problem

We develop a general methodology for a partially observed stochastic control problem. The dynamics is governed by a discrete-time Markov process. We describe an application to an inventory system with possibility of shrinkage, and introduce unnormalized conditional probabilities to transform the nonlinear state evolution into a linear one. We then prove the existence and uniqueness of the solution for the Bellman equation between the floor and the ceiling functions in the case of unbounded costs.
Coping with chronic community violence: the variety and implications of women's efforts.

To date, most researchers concerned with chronic community violence have studied children, and focused on the types, extent, and effects of their violence experiences. In contrast, using a series of in-depth repeated interviews, the current study explored African American women's methods for coping with chronic community violence. This article describes the variety of ways these women developed to avoid, minimize, or manage their own and their children's encounters with community violence. It argues for the importance of using these data to inform professional intervention and suggests specific implications for practice, program development, and policy. Language: en
Validity of Linear Response Theory for Time-Dependent Fluorescence in Staphylococcus Nuclease

We report a theoretical study on the relaxation dynamics of Staphylococcus nuclease following photon excitation. Molecular dynamics simulations were implemented for both ground state and excited state surface of Trp140. Over the course of 40 ns ground state simulation, a structural transition was observed from one isomeric protein configuration to another. No obvious isomerization process was exhibited in the excited state simulations. Using linear response theory and direct nonequilibrium approach, time-dependent Stokes shift, as well as its time-infinity value, was evaluated for both ground state isomers. Comparison between these methods exhibits severe disagreement. The nonequilibrium simulations show the similar relaxation dynamics as the excited state linear response approach, whereas they severely differ from the ground state linear response evaluation. Further examination reveals that the isomerization process breaks the characteristics of the energy gap histogram from Gaussian statistics. We also ...
Structural study of the ammonium octafluoroneptunate, [NH4]4NpF8

Abstract The [NH4]4NpF8 salt was prepared from the solid-state reaction of NpO2 with NH4HF2 and characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. The diffraction results confirm the compound to be isostructural to [NH4]4UF8 with the following lattice parameter (a = 13.054(4) A, b = 6.681(2) A, c = 13.676(5) A, β = 121.14 A). For the first time, a neptunium fluoride complex has been characterized by XAFS spectroscopy. The energy position of the white line and inflection of the XANES spectra of [NH4]4NpF8 are consistent with the presence of Np(IV). Adjustment of the EXAFS spectra indicates that the coordination number (7.4 ± 1.5) and the average Np–F distance (2.26(1) A) are consistent with the presence of the NpF8 dodecahedron. The average Np–F distance is ∼0.02 A shorter than the U–F distance in [NH4]4UF8 and is a result of the actinide contraction.
Perspectives on Gastrointestinal Infections in AIDS

SUMMARY Gastrointestinal illnesses are among the most common and debilitating complication of infections with HIV, affecting 50 per cent to almost 100 per cent of AIDS patients in developed and developing countries, respectively. A number of factors including relevant modes of transmission, the environment, and immunosuppression conspire to determine which enteric infectious agents HIV-infected persons acquire. In developed countries, transmission of a diverse spectrum of bacteria, viruses, and protozoa is facilitated by unprotected receptive anal intercourse and anal-lingual contact among homosexual men with multiple partners. In developing countries, where most HIV infections occur among heterosexual persons, waterborne and foodborne transmission are the principal modes of transmission of enteric organisms. The severity and duration of symptoms associated with enteric pathogens are determined by the host’s immunologic response to the organism. Candida albicans often causes local mucosal disease but less often causes systemic infections in HIV-infected persons, likely because polymorphonuclear cell function is intact. The ability of AIDS patients to control infections with G. lamblia and C. jejuni is related to their ability to mount an antibody response to these organisms during infection. The virulence of the organism may also affect the clinical response to infection. Cryptosporidium causes diarrheal symptoms in both immunocompetent and AIDS patients, but illness is more severe and prolonged in the latter. Giardia lamblia and C. jejuni infections are associated with a range of clinical manifestations in both AIDS patients and HIV-seronegative persons, whereas CMV and possibly adenovirus appear to cause significant disease only among immunocompromised subjects. The availability of effective therapy is among the most decisive factors in determining the duration of enteric infections in AIDS patients. For example, Giardia lamblia may cause acute abdominal pain and diarrhea in HIV-infected subjects but prolonged infections with the parasite are uncommon because effective therapy is available. In contrast, infections with CMV and Cryptosporidium may be severe and chronic as available therapy is generally ineffective or only transiently effective. Awareness of these clinical, epidemiologic, immunologic, and therapeutic aspects of gastrointestinal illness in HIV-infected subjects should help to direct the diagnostic evaluation of these patients and to direct areas of research.
Comparison of chemical treatment methods for loblolly pine to utilize as enzyme hydrolyzate feedstock

Abstract The ground pine wood chips (GPWC) were examined through chemical treatment methods employing alkaline hydrogen peroxide treatment (AHP, consisted of 50 g L −1 potassium hydroxide, and 50 g L −1 hydrogen peroxide with added water at 78 °C for 24 h), and ethyl-hydro-oxides treatment (EHOs, consisted of 60% ethanol (of total solution), 50 g L −1 potassium hydroxide, and 50 g L −1 hydrogen peroxide with added water at 78 °C for 24 h). The effects of chemical treatments on GPWC were examined through combination of chemical composition followed by enzymatic hydrolysis (using Accellerase ® 1500). The application of EHOs treatment removes the foaming issue that currently occurs due to AHP treatment at the elevated temperature. A removal of the foaming phenomenon increased the enzymatic glucan conversion (>70%) which is important in increasing the efficiency of biorefinery. The interaction of different variables in EHOs solvent formulations including ethanol concentration (0–60%), potassium hydroxide concentration (0–50 g L −1 ), hydrogen peroxide concentration (0–50 g L −1 ), and processing temperature (38 °-78 °C) were analyzed through four variables response surface methodology using glucan conversion and total polysaccharide conversion as responses. The glucan conversion and total polysaccharide conversion were analyzed to determine the specific and overall effects of Accellerase ® 1500 on the amorphous polysaccharide contents of GPWC resulted through EHOs treatment formulations, respectively. The implications of all these findings are discussed with the available literature.
Ayumu: Efficient lifelogging with focused tasks

Today’s lifelogging devices capture images periodically without considering what data is important to users. Due to their small form factors and limited battery capacities, these lifeloggers are bound to miss important data either because they record at a slow rate to conserve power, or because they record at such a high rate that they must frequently recharge. In this paper, we present a new approach to lifelogging that better utilizes a device’s battery by integrating knowledge of the specific information that a user wants captured. We have developed the first instance of such a focused-task lifelogging system called Ayumu, which aims to capture the reading material that a user interacts with over the course of a day. Instead of capturing images periodically, Ayumu uses a suite of inexpensive sensors to record only when reading material is present. By recognizing when it would be most beneficial to capture images, Ayumu can achieve superior precision and comparable recall to a conventional, periodic lifelogger while using less energy.
A Spiritual Question

The author explores spirituality and counseling through research poetry created from in-depth interviews with nine counselor educators. The purpose of the narrative study was to explore the religio...
Book Review: Dive into Inquiry

Dive into Inquiry, written by Trevor MacKenzie, introduces the increasingly-popular concept of inquiry-based learning. In addition to defining “inquiry,” the author illustrates best practices of employing this method of teaching by referring to his own narrative in the classroom. The strategies for teaching inquiry-based lessons are categorized into Four Types of Student Inquiry and interactive examples of each type are provided throughout the book. This book is easy to read and allows all teachers – novice and expert, alike – to gain best practices in planning, teaching, and assessing students in authentic and engaging learning experiences.
CRISPR-Cpf1 correction of muscular dystrophy mutations in human cardiomyocytes and mice

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), caused by mutations in the X-linked dystrophin gene (DMD), is characterized by fatal degeneration of striated muscles. Dilated cardiomyopathy is one of the most common lethal features of the disease. We deployed Cpf1, a unique class 2 CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) effector, to correct DMD mutations in patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and mdx mice, an animal model of DMD. Cpf1-mediated genomic editing of human iPSCs, either by skipping of an out-of-frame DMD exon or by correcting a nonsense mutation, restored dystrophin expression after differentiation to cardiomyocytes and enhanced contractile function. Similarly, pathophysiological hallmarks of muscular dystrophy were corrected in mdx mice following Cpf1-mediated germline editing. These findings are the first to show the efficiency of Cpf1-mediated correction of genetic mutations in human cells and an animal disease model and represent a significant step toward therapeutic translation of gene editing for correction of DMD.
High-resolution simulations of cylindrical void collapse in energetic materials: Effect of primary and secondary collapse on initiation thresholds

Void collapse in solid explosives leads to hot spot formation and enhanced sensitivity. Here a grid resolution study is presented for a two-dimensional circular void for various shock strengths. We find that mesoscale simulations of voids may contain significant predictive uncertainty.
Anxiety Among Adolescent Survivors of Pediatric Cancer.

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this review was to synthesize current knowledge about anxiety among adolescent survivors of pediatric cancer and highlights areas for future research. Methods Systematic literature searches were conducted in five databases for articles published anytime before December 28, 2015. Manuscripts were reviewed by a team of six coders. Included manuscripts reported outcomes relevant to anxiety, worry, and post-traumatic stress in survivors of pediatric cancer (age at the time of study: 10–22 years) who were off treatment. Results Twenty-four articles met inclusion criteria. Included results were categorized into the following domains: post-traumatic stress, anxiety, cancer-related worry, and interventions. With the exception of post-traumatic stress, there was little research about anxiety in this population; however, studies generally indicated that adolescent survivors of pediatric cancer are at elevated risk for anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and cancer-related worry. Conclusions This review provides preliminary evidence that anxiety is a relevant, but understudied, psychosocial outcome for adolescent survivors of pediatric cancer. More research is needed to better understand the presentation of anxiety in this population, its effect on survivors' quality of life, and possible areas for intervention.