cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
X-ray absorption study of the coordination of titanium in sodiumtitaniumsilicate glasses

Abstract The local structure around titanium in sodiumtitaniumsilicate glasses was determined as a function of the silica content and the Na Ti ratio. The samples covering the range 16.7–33 mol% Na2O and 16.7–33 mol% TiO2 were prepared by melting predetermined mixtures of Na2CO3, TiO2, and SiO2 at 1400°C. They were studied using X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopies around the Ti K-edge at 4966 eV. The data indicate that titanium is found in two sites in the glass. In one site, titanium is coordinated by six oxygens; in the other, titanium is coordinated by five oxygens. The number of five-coordinated titanium atoms increases relative to the number of six-coordinated titanium atoms as the silica content of the glass decreases. The ratio of five- to six-coordinated sites decreases as the Na Ti ratio of the glass decreases at a fixed silica content.
Seismic Reflection Study of a Shallow Aquifer During a Pumping Test

Seismic reflection surveys were used to follow the drawdown in a shallow aquifer during a pumping test. Using severe analog low-cut filters and 1/4-m geophone spacings, 335 Hz reflections were obtained from the top of the saturated zone 2.7 m deep. The reflections moved down in time as the saturated zone dropped in response to pumping. The dominant frequency and bandwidth both dropped during pumping indicating a more diffuse reflecting boundary. Slight pullups of reflectors at specific locations on the CDP sections may indicate a higher elevation of the capillary fringe and therefore finer sediments in those locations. Other potential applications of this technique include mapping cones of depression and detecting and delineating perched-water tables.
Attention and cognition

Abstract Forty 4-year-old children were subjects in an experimental designed to determine whether learning to attend to relevant cues is a sufficient condition for acquisition of length and number conservation. Three groups of non-conservers were trained by means of an oddity-problem procedure to attend to the cues specifying either length, number, or both length and number. They were subsequently tested along with an untrained control group on tasks of length, number, mass and continuous quantity conservation. Some improvement in conservation was found, but it was neither impressive in magnitude nor specific to the cues of training. For example, the group trained to attend to length cues conserved length about 25% of the time, the same rate at which this group also conserved number, mass, and liquid quantity. This non-specificity is contrary to an attention hypothesis and suggests instead that training, to the extent it was effective, induced a general, abstract quantitative knowledge.
Epidermal Growth Factor Induces Fibroblast Contractility and Motility via a Protein Kinase C δ-dependent Pathway

Myosin-based cell contractile force is considered to be a critical process in cell motility. However, for epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced fibroblast migration, molecular links between EGF receptor (EGFR) activation and force generation have not been clarified. Herein, we demonstrate that EGF stimulation increases myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation, a marker for contractile force, concomitant with protein kinase C (PKC) activity in mouse fibroblasts expressing human EGFR constructs. Interestingly, PKCδ is the most strongly phosphorylated isoform, and the preferential PKCδ inhibitor rottlerin largely prevented EGF-induced phosphorylation of PKC substrates and MARCKS. The pathway through which EGFR activates PKCδ is suggested by the fact that the MEK-1 inhibitor U0126 and the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor LY294002 had no effect on PKCδ activation, whereas lack of PLCγ signaling resulted in delayed PKCδ activation. EGF-enhanced MLC phosphorylation was prevented by a specific MLC kinase inhibitor ML-7 and the PKC inhibitors chelerythrine chloride and rottlerin. Further indicating that PKCδ is required, a dominant-negative PKCδ construct or RNAi-mediated PKCδ depletion also prevented MLC phosphorylation. In the absence of PLC signaling, MLC phosphorylation and cell force generation were delayed similarly to PKCδ activation. All of the interventions that blocked PKCδ activation or MLC phosphorylation abrogated EGF-induced cell contractile force generation and motility. Our results suggest that PKCδ activation is responsible for a major part of EGF-induced fibroblast contractile force generation. Hence, we identify here a new pathway helping to govern cell motility, with PLC signaling playing a role in activation of PKCδ to promote the acute phase of EGF-induced MLC activation.
An open-set speaker identification system using genetic learning classifier system

This paper presents the design and implementation of an adaptive open-set speaker identification system with genetic learning classifier systems. One of the challenging problems in using learning classifier systems for numerical problems is the knowledge representation. The voice samples are a series of real numbers that must be encoded in a classifier format. We investigate several different methods for representing voice samples for classifier systems and study the efficacy of the methods. We also identify several challenges for learning classifier systems in the speaker identification problem and introduce new methods to improve the learning and classification abilities of the systems. Experimental results show that our system successfully learns 200 voice features at the accuracies of 60% to 80%, which is considered a strong result in the speaker identification community. This research presents the feasibility of using learning classifier systems for the speaker identification problem.
CONTROL OF VEGETATION ON CONTRASTING SUBSTRATES: HERB PATTERNS ON SERPENTINE AND SANDSTONE

Binary discriminant analysis (BDA) reveals relationships between species distributions and environmental variables. In this study, BDA was applied to transects on serpentine and sandstone in the Wenatchee Mountains, Washington. Species presence and states of ten habitat variables were recorded in each quadrat. Species response patterns significantly different from a random expectation suggested that distributions are controlled by soil moisture far more strongly on serpentine than they are on sandstone, where light and its correlates are more important. Environmental patterns were explored with direct principal components analysis (PCA) of standardized environmental variables and indirectly by PCA of the significant D-values. The latter is biased towards variables to which species respond strongly. The results emphasize the environmental and floristic contrasts between substrates. On serpentine, direct PCA indicates that effective moisture, soil fertility, and insolation control the first three axes, while on sandstone, insolation, fertility, and effective moisture control the first three axes, respectively. The PCA of D-values (Q-mode) is similarly interpreted: moisture is strongly correlated with the first component on the serpentine transect, while insolation and fertility are correlated with the first component on sandstone. Species ordinations also result from Q-mode analysis. They reflect species responses to the identified gradients and indicate mutual species-environment interactions. These analyses conform to the hypothesis that mineral conditions of serpentine select against intolerant species and that survivors respond primarily to moisture conditions that are a result of low productivity, attributable to adverse nutrient conditions. On sandstone, the moisture gradient is less pronounced, and direct canopy effects that create variable light conditions predominate. BDA is a useful tool in ecological survey and pattern analysis. Species responses to environmental factors may be estimated quickly and directly. This method will help to focus subsequent research, improve experimental design, and generate explicit and testable hypotheses about species-habitat interactions.
The Role of Pluralistic Ignorance in the Reporting of Sexual Harassment

There have been many attempts to explain how and why people report incidents of sexual harassment. One area that has been overlooked is the influence of the targets' social cognition processes on these reports, particularly social comparison processes such as pluralistic ignorance. Pluralistic ignorance is a social comparison phenomenon whereby individuals mistakenly believe they are in the minority. In the case of harassment, pluralistic ignorance occurs when individuals mistakenly interpret the behavioral responses of others to mistakenly believe that they are alone in their discomfort with harassment. We investigated the role of pluralistic ignorance in this process by exposing undergraduate students to sexist jokes while manipulating their access to behavioral responses of others. We measured their comfort level and their perceptions of the humor of the jokes. We compared their responses, most importantly, with how many jokes they read prior to “reporting” their discomfort with the jokes. We found evi...
Total synthesis and spectral characterization of 5,8,14-icosatrienoic acid and 5,11,14-icosatrienoic acid and their acetylenic analogues.

Abstract Two isomeric icosatrienoic acids with double bonds at positions 5,8,14 and 5,11,14 and their 1-14C- and acetylenic analogues were prepared. The syntheses and chracterization of these acids are described.
Molecular asymmetry in extraterrestrial chemistry: Insights from a pristine meteorite

The nonracemic amino acids of meteorites provide the only natural example of molecular asymmetry measured so far outside the biosphere. Because extant life depends on chiral homogeneity for the structure and function of biopolymers, the study of these meteoritic compounds may offer insights into the establishment of prebiotic attributes in chemical evolution as well as the origin of terrestrial homochirality. However, all efforts to understand the origin, distribution, and scope of these amino acids' enantiomeric excesses (ee) have been frustrated by the ready exposure of meteorites to terrestrial contaminants and the ubiquitous homochirality of such contamination. We have analyzed the soluble organic composition of a carbonaceous meteorite from Antarctica that was collected and stored under controlled conditions, largely escaped terrestrial contamination and offers an exceptionally pristine sample of prebiotic material. Analyses of the meteorite diastereomeric amino acids alloisoleucine and isoleucine allowed us to show that their likely precursor molecules, the aldehydes, also carried a sizable molecular asymmetry of up to 14% in the asteroidal parent body. Aldehydes are widespread and abundant interstellar molecules; that they came to be present, survived, and evolved in the solar system carrying ee gives support to the idea that biomolecular traits such as chiral asymmetry could have been seeded in abiotic chemistry ahead of life.
OVIPOSITION AND DEVELOPMENT IN PREDACEOUS MITES FED WITH ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL DIETS (ACARI: PHYTOSEIIDAE)

Oviposition rate and developmental capacity was determined for Amblyseius hibisci (Chant), A. limonicus Garman and McGregor, A. largoensis (Muma), Metaseiulus pomoides Schuster & Pritchard, M. occidentalis (Nesbitt), Typhloseiopsis arboreus (Chant), Typhodromus pyri Scheuten, Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot, and Iphiseius degenerans (Berlese) on both artificial and natural diets. Oviposition and development occurred in seven of nine species when fed artificial diet and in all species when fed natural diets (phytophagous mites or pollen). The combined mean oviposition rate (21-d tests) for all species which oviposited on artificial diet was ca. one third the rate achieved by these species when tested on natural diets. Eggs and immature stages derived from oviposition tests with artificial diet showed no abnormalities and developmental times (egg to egg) were similar to those observed on natural diets. Predator cultures maintained on artificial diet showed gradual declines in viability within 2–3 months and only A. hibisci survived longer than 6 months. Adult predators of species which failed to oviposit when fed artificial diet survived longer than adults tested in the absence of food and water. Immature stages of these species failed to develop on artificial diet. RESUME PONTE ET DEVELOPPEMENT D'ACARIENS PREDATEURS ALIMENTES A PARTIR D'UN REGIME ARTIFICIEL ET D'UN REGIME NATUREL (ACARI: PHYTOSEIIDAE) Le nombre d'œufs pondus par 7 especes de Phytoseiidae nourries sur milieu artificiel a varie de 0,1 a 1,2 œuf/femelle/jour. Pour l'ensemble des especes, le nombre moyen d'œufs pondus a ete de 0,5 œuf/femelle/jour pour une periode de ponte moyenne de 18,5 jours. Deux especes, Phytoseiulus persimilis et Metaseiulus occidentalis nourries sur milieu artificiel, n'ont pas pondu; leurs longevites moyennes ont ete respectivement de 11,3 et de 10,3 jours. Avec un regime naturel (acariens phytophages ou pollen), le nombre d'œufs pondus, pour 9 especes de Phytoseiidae a varie de 0,8 a 3,2 œufs/femelle/jour. Pour l'ensemble des especes, le nombre moyen d'œufs pondus a ete de 1,7 œuf/femelle/jour pour une duree moyenne de la periode de ponte de 19,0 jours. La viabilite des œufs provenant des experiences de ponte avec regime artificiel etait elevee chez toutes les especes predatrices et les durees du developpement sur milieu artificiel etaient semblables a celles observees avec regime naturel. La viabilite des elevages de predateurs maintenus sur milieu artificiel a diminue progressivement et la plupart des elevages avaient disparu en moins de 6 mois. Les tentatives d'elevage de P. persimilis et M. occidentalis sur milieu artificiel ont ete negatives bien que les predateurs adultes femelles aient eu une plus grande longevite sur milieu artificiel qu'en absence de nourriture et d'eau.
Using insect sniffing devices for detection

Emerging information about the ability of insects to detect and associatively learn has revealed that they could be used within chemical detection systems. Such systems have been developed around free-moving insects, such as honey bees. Alternatively, behavioral changes of contained insects can be interpreted by sampling air pumped over their olfactory organs. These organisms are highly sensitive, flexible, portable and cheap to reproduce, and it is easy to condition them to detect target odorants. However, insect-sensing systems are not widely studied or accepted as proven biological sensors. Further studies are needed to examine additional insect species and to develop better methods of using their olfactory system for detecting odorants of interest.
A human mitochondrial transcriptional activator can functionally replace a yeast mitochondrial HMG-box protein both in vivo and in vitro.

Abstract Human mitochondrial transcription factor A is a 25-kDa protein that binds immediately upstream of the two major mitochondrial promoters, thereby leading to correct and efficient initiation of transcription. Although the nature of yeast mitochondrial promoters is significantly different from that of human promoters, a potential functional homolog of the human transcriptional activator protein has been previously identified in yeast mitochondria. The importance of the yeast protein in yeast mitochondrial DNA function has been shown by inactivation of its nuclear gene (ABF2) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells resulting in loss of mitochondrial DNA. We report here that the nuclear gene for human mitochondrial transcription factor A can be stably expressed in yeast cells devoid of the yeast homolog protein. The human protein is imported efficiently into yeast mitochondria, is processed correctly, and rescues the loss-of-mitochondrial DNA phenotype in a yeast abf2 strain, thus functionally substituting for the yeast protein. Both human and yeast proteins affect yeast mitochondrial transcription initiation in vitro, suggesting that the two proteins may have a common role in this fundamental process.
Certification, Training, and Other Programming Variables Affecting Special Education and the Paraprofessional Concept:

A survey of state education agencies with respect to the use of special education paraprofessionals indicates that these personnel are gaining widespread popularity in the provision of educational services. As a result, their importance in the development of state and local comprehensive systems of personnel development is apparent. The authors support their position with data relating to certification, training, and local programming variables that pertain to special education paraprofessionals.
Affective investments in the Manila region: Filipina migrants in rural Japan and transnational urban development in the Philippines

Over the past few decades, remittances from overseas migrant labourers have come to play an important role in fuelling demand for new residential developments in countries like the Philippines. This paper draws attention to how financial flows enabling this urban development are tied to transnational migrants’ experiences abroad. Drawing on more than 2 years of ethnographic fieldwork in Japan and the Philippines, it considers how, why and to what ends some Filipina wives of Japanese men in rural Nagano, Japan, aspire to build houses in the Manila region, and it explores how these real estate investments are linked to the affective processes through which these women transnationally craft lives and selves. Approaching affect as a site of subject-making, this essay suggests these houses are best understood as ‘affective investments’ that are shaped not only by capitalist practices and state policies, but also by the discourses of hope, frustration, shame, fear, desire and longing through which these women make sense of their transnational lives. The paper thereby illustrates how affect and political economics can intertwine in migrants’ investment decisions and, thus, the transnational role affect can play in articulating hegemonic urban development plans.
Types of Infant Formulas Consumed in the United States

We examined consumption of different types of infant formula (eg, cow’s milk, soy, gentle/lactose-reduced, and specialty) and regular milk among a nationally representative sample of 1864 infants, 0 to 12 months old, from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2010. Among the 81% of infants who were fed formula or regular milk, 69% consumed cow’s milk formula, 12% consumed soy formula, 5% consumed gentle/ lactose-reduced formulas, 6% consumed specialty formulas, and 13% consumed regular milk products. There were differences by household education and income in the percentage of infants consuming cow’s milk formula and regular milk products. The majority of infants in the United States who were fed formula or regular milk consumed cow’s milk formula (69%), with lower percentages receiving soy, specialty, gentle/sensitive, or lactose-free/reduced formulas. Contrary to national recommendations, 13% of infants younger than 1 year consumed regular milk, and the percentage varied by househol...
Tuberculosis beliefs, meanings, and stigmas through the eyes of Qatar's migrant workers: Survey analysis and narratives

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) kills nearly 3 million people and incurs at least 9 million new cases each year. While developing countries are most affected by this epidemic, migration contributes substantially to the spread of the disease. Qatar employs a vast migrant laborer workforce from TB epidemic countries, who live in high-density labor camps. Workers are grouped in the same camp rooms, and often work side by side. This puts workers at risk of developing MDR TB, with re-activation of their old TB strain or acquiring new TB infections. Objectives & Methods: This project proposed two major phases using quantitative and qualitative research methods to examine TB understandings in the migrant worker population: 1. Surveying worker perceptions of tuberculosis through widely distributed questionnaires 2. Collecting illness narratives through interviews with TB infected patients receiving treatment at the TB National Program in-patient clinic. Understanding these patients' journey with TB from the time ...
The effect of alcide®, a new antimicrobial drug, on rat blood glutathione and erythrocyte osmotic fragility, in vitro

Alcide† is an antimicrobial drug which has been demonstrated to kill a variety of common pathogenic bacteria as well as fungi, in vitro. This agent is supplied in liquid and gel forms and consists of two parts, one of which contains sodium chlorite, while the other contains lactic acid as the active ingredients. Mixing of the two parts prior to use produces chlorine dioxide (ClO2), a strong oxidizing agent. A dose-dependent decrease in glutathione content and erythrocyte osmotic fragility occurred after incubation of whole blood with alcide®. Glutathione concentration and erythrocyte osmotic fragility approached the control values after 240 min of incubation with alcide® containing 1 mM NaClO2. The addition of exogenous glutathione (50 mg 100 ml−1) or glutathione reductase and NADPH to rat blood in the presence of alcide® returned erythrocyte osmotic fragility to control values. Treatment of rat blood with alcide® did not change glutathione reductase or glutathione peroxidase activities after 1 h of incubation.
Scoring Rules and Decision Analysis Education

Experiential learning is perhaps the most effective way to teach. One example is the scoring procedure used for exams in some decision analysis programs. Under this grading scheme, students take a multiple-choice exam, but rather than simply marking which answer they think is correct, they must assign a probability to each possible answer. The exam is then scored with a special scoring rule, under which students' best strategy is to avoid guessing and instead assign their true beliefs. Such a scoring function is known as a strictly proper scoring rule. In this paper, we discuss several different scoring rules and demonstrate how their use in testing situations provides insights for both students and instructors.
Modeling transport processes in nonlinear systems: The example of solidification and convection

Although convection is commonly associated with phase change in the earth, numerical modeling of phase change and convection has not received as much attention as the modeling of either process alone. Recently formulated continuum models of phase change and convection are readily amenable to numerical solution. In the continuum models, one set of equations is used over the entire solution domain. Iteration within each time step accommodates the nonlinearity and strong coupling of the transport equations and the supplementary equations which relate enthalpy to temperature, fraction solid, and composition under the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium. We present a comparison of a set of laboratory experiments of the solidification and convection of aqueous ammonium chloride solution with two-dimensional numerical experiments using the continuum model. The numerical experiments reproduce the behavior observed in the laboratory experiments and show the profound effects of solidification on convective systems.
AQP1 and SLC4A10 as candidate genes for primary open-angle glaucoma.

Purpose: Recent evidence supports the role of reduced cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure in the pathogenesis of primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). We investigated the association of variants in two candidate genes that are important in CSF production, aquaporin 1 (AQP1) and solute carrier family 4, sodium bicarbonate transporter, member 10 (SLC4A10), with POAG in the Caucasian population. Methods: POAG subjects (n=382) met the criteria of glaucomatous optic neuropathy with consistent visual field loss. Intraocular pressure was not used as an inclusion criterion. Control subjects (n=363) did not meet any of the inclusion criteria and had no family history of glaucoma. Eleven tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for AQP1 and SLC4A10 were genotyped in the POAG and control subjects, using allelic discrimination assays. Genotype frequencies were compared between the POAG and control subjects, using logistic regression adjusted for gender. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in genotype frequencies between POAG and control subjects for any of the tested SNPs in AQP1 and SLC4A10 (p>0.05). Conclusions: There was no association between common sequence variants in the AQP1 or SLC4A10 genes and POAG in the Caucasian population. This is the first study to investigate the association between these two candidate genes and increased risk for POAG.
The Anti-Aging Fitness Prescription: A Day-by-Day Nutrition and Workout Plan to Age-Proof Your Body and Mind

Altug Z, Gensler TO. New York, NY 11101, Hatherleigh Press, 2006, paperback, 302 pp, illus, ISBN: 1-57826-215-1, $17.95. This book, written by a physical therapist and a dietician, provides guidelines for healthy aging. The program, in a nutshell, prescribes regular exercise, 3 daily meals, sufficient sleep, and adequate amounts of vitamin D. Although the target audience for this text is the layperson, the information presented can be useful to a variety of health care professionals who want to improve the quality of life for anyone, at any age. The book contains 7 …
Toward a microscopic model of a quasicrystal

Abstract We present strong evidence that short range interactions are capable of producing nonperiodicity not only in ground states but at low temperatures as well. Our model is a classical lattice gas with two-body nearest neighbor potentials.
Using focus groups to develop a culturally sensitive videotape intervention for HIV-positive women.

Research-based interventions for women with the HIV are usually developed without input from the women who receive the intervention. An exploratory study was performed using focus group methodology to develop a culturally sensitive videotape intervention for educating HIV-positive women about pregnancy and antiretroviral use. Women who met the study criteria were HIV-positive and of childbearing age. These women volunteered to participate in the focus groups to provide information on decisions concerning pregnancy and antiretroviral use during pregnancy to decrease perinatal transmission. A total of five focus groups were conducted in 1998. Responses to three questions that were relevant to the video are presented in this article. Information gained from the focus groups was used successfully to develop a videotape currently being used in a multi-site intervention study. Focus group methodology is a useful strategy to develop culturally and content relevant educational interventions for research and practice. (authors)
COMA: a cooperative management scheme for energy efficient implementation of real-time operating systems on FPGA based soft processors

FPGA based soft processors are an attractive choice for implementing many embedded systems. As real-time operating systems are adopted in the development of many applications using soft processors, we propose COMA, a cooperative management scheme in this paper for energy efficient implementation of real-time operating systems on soft processors. By utilizing the configurability of soft processors, we tightly couple several customized energy management hardware peripherals to them. These hardware peripherals cooperatively manage tasks and interrupts together with the processor while retaining the real-time responsiveness of the operating system. More specifically, they perform the following functionalities: (1) control the clock distribution network for driving the processor, the hardware peripherals and the communication interfaces between them; (2) take over the task and interrupt management responsibility of the operating system when the processor is shut off; (3) selectively wake up the processor and the corresponding hardware components for task execution based on the configurations of the processor and the hardware resource requirements of the tasks. We implement a real-time operating system on a popular soft processor to illustrate our approach. We show the development of an embedded application on the operating system enhanced with our energy management techniques. Actual measurements on an FPGA board demonstrates that our energy management scheme leads to energy reductions ranging from 73.3% to 89.9% and 86.8% on the average for the various execution scenarios considered in this paper.
Hospitalization and the Composition of Mental Patients' Social Networks

Social networks of 310 chronically mentally ill patients in Chicago-area State mental hospitals were examined to assess the relationship between the number of hospitalizations and network size and composition. As the number and length of admissions increases, although network size remains stable, there are fewer relatives and friends in the network. The networks of patients with frequent admissions are composed primarily of people met through the mental health system and those known for a short time. These differences are neither related to diagnosis nor to severity of mental illness. The results suggest that the process of hospitalization is related to patients' sources of social support. Implications for readmissions are discussed.
Infrared and Raman Spectra of Zirconia Polymorphs

The infrared and Raman frequencies of monoclinic zirconia and of stabilized and metastable tetragonal and cubic zirconias were established. Infrared spectra were examined by the powder transmission (CsI pellet) and surface reflection techniques. The effects of heating, grinding, and adding stabilizing oxides on the ir spectra were determined. The spectra develop additional bands as the crystal symmetry is lowered, and certain of these bands are highly sensitive to strain-induced distortions of the crystal lattice. Practical applications of ir and Raman spectroscopy to zirconia technology are discussed.
The effect of targeted therapy on overall survival in advanced renal cancer: a study of the national surveillance epidemiology and end results registry database.

Abstract Introduction With the advent and availability of targeted therapy, the treatment of advanced/metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) underwent a drastic change in 2005. The effect of this change on clinical outcome within the population has not been studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the overall survival (OS), before, and after availability of targeted therapy, for advanced RCC cases in the population-based Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry. Materials and Methods All advanced (regional and distant stage) RCC cases diagnosed within the 2000 to 2008 time periods were included. Because SEER does not report the exact therapy, and because targeted therapy was initially approved in 2005, we evaluated and compared the OS outcomes of advanced RCC cases diagnosed between the years 2000 and 2003 (before targeted therapy era) with that of those diagnosed between 2005 and 2008 (targeted therapy era). Results There was a significant improvement in OS for advanced RCC patients treated in the targeted therapy era (n = 12,330) compared with those treated in the era before targeted therapy (n =11,565) (median OS 20 months vs. 15 months, P = .0006). Multivariate analysis revealed that in the time period before targeted therapy, age older than 65 years, black race, and lack of nephrectomy were predictors of a shorter OS. Conclusion In univariate and multivariate analysis, targeted therapy demonstrated improvement in OS. Increasing access to targeted therapies is likely to improve outcomes in advanced RCC.
Analysis of double- or quadruple-ridged waveguides by a magnetic surface integral equation approach

The authors present a unified approach to the analysis of ridged waveguides by a magnetic field integral equation (MFIE) formulation. The MFIE approach allows an accurate and complete solution via a simple numerical implementation of pulse basis functions. The emphasis in the present work is on the design of ridged waveguides for applications in microwave components and systems, rather than on details of numerical algorithms. The proposed theory is verified by comparison with exact closed-form solutions and other published results. >
How Major Local Taxes Affect Private Employment An Empirical Analysis of Northeastern Illinois Municipalities

This empirical research focuses on three major local taxes—property tax, sales tax, and telecommunications tax—to examine their impacts on local economic development in the six-county Chicago metropolitan area. The statistical results indicate that these three major local taxes have significant negative effects on business employment. The study implies that it may be counterproductive for local governments to raise tax levels in order to address some immediate revenue shortfalls in the aftermath of the recent economic recession.
Effect of partial outlet obstruction on rabbit urinary bladder smooth muscle function.

Bladder outlet obstruction secondary to benign prostate hyperplasia is associated with many cellular changes. This study was designed to determine whether these changes involve the contractile appa...
Childhood self-regulatory skills predict adolescent smoking behavior

Cigarette smoking is the primary preventable cause of premature death. Better self-regulatory capacity is a key psychosocial factor that has been linked with reduced likelihood of tobacco use. Studies point to the importance of multiple forms of self-regulation, in the domains of emotion, attention, behavior, and social regulation, although no work has evaluated all of these domains in a single prospective study. Considering those four self-regulation domains separately and in combination, this study prospectively investigated whether greater self-regulation in childhood is associated with reduced likelihood of either trying cigarettes or becoming a regular smoker. Hypotheses were tested using longitudinal data from a cohort of 1709 US children participating in the Panel Study of Income Dynamics--Child Development Supplement. Self-regulation was assessed at study baseline when children ranged in age from 6 to 14 years, using parent-reported measures derived from the Behavior Problems Index and Positive Behavior Scale. Children ages 12-19 self-reported their cigarette smoking, defined in two ways: (1) trying and (2) regular use. Separate multiple logistic regression models were used to evaluate odds of trying or regularly using cigarettes, taking account of various potential confounders. Over an average of five years of follow-up, 34.5% of children ever tried cigarettes and 10.6% smoked regularly. Higher behavioral self-regulation was the only domain associated with reduced odds of trying cigarettes (odds ratio (OR) = .85, 95% confidence interval (CI) = .73-.99). Effective regulation in each of the domains was associated with reduced likelihood of regular smoking, although the association with social regulation was not statistically significant (ORs range .70-.85). For each additional domain in which a child was able to regulate successfully, the odds of becoming a regular smoker dropped by 18% (95% CI = .70-.97). These findings suggest that effective childhood self-regulatory skills across multiple domains may reduce future health risk behaviors.
Dielectric laser acceleration of sub-100 keV electrons with silicon dual-pillar grating structures

We present the demonstration of high-gradient laser acceleration and deflection of electrons with silicon dual-pillar grating structures using both evanescent inverse Smith-Purcell modes and coupled modes. Our devices accelerate subrelativistic 86.5 and 96.3 keV electrons by 2.05 keV over 5.6 μm distance for accelerating gradients of 370 MeV/m with a 3 nJ mode-locked Ti:sapphire laser. We also show that dual pillars can produce uniform accelerating gradients with a coupled-mode field profile. These results represent a significant step toward making practical dielectric laser accelerators for ultrafast, medical, and high-energy applications.
REBUTTING AND UNDERCUTTING IN MATHEMATICS

View Full Article (HTML) Enhanced Article (HTML) Get PDF (374K) In my (2009) I argued that a central component of mathematical practice is that published proofs must be “transferable” — that is, they must be such that the author's reasons for believing the conclusion are shared directly with the reader, rather than requiring the reader to essentially rely on testimony. The goal of this paper is to explain this requirement of transferability in terms of a more general norm on defeat in mathematical reasoning that I will call “convertibility”. I begin by discussing two types of epistemic defeat: “rebutting” and “undercutting”. I give examples of both of these kinds of defeat from the history of mathematics. I then argue that an important requirement in mathematics is that published proofs be detailed enough to allow the conversion of rebutting defeat into undercutting defeat. Finally, I show how this sort of convertibility explains the requirement of transferability, and contributes to the way mathematics develops by the pattern referred to by Lakatos (1976) as “lemma incorporation”.
Vaccines and febrile seizures: Quantifying the risk

* Abbreviations: DTaP — : diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis PCV — : conjugated pneumococcal vaccine VSD — : Vaccine Safety Datalink Vaccines can cause fever, and fever in young children can lead to febrile seizures; these facts are not new. Febrile seizures are the most common seizure disorder of childhood and occur in ∼5% of all children, usually those younger than 24 months. We know that vaccines, often administered to children in this age group, can trigger febrile seizures. The article by Duffy et al1 in this edition of Pediatrics provides pediatric practitioners with a fairly precise estimate of how often influenza vaccine, conjugated pneumococcal vaccine (PCV), and diphtheria-tetanus-acellular pertussis (DTaP) vaccines given alone or in various combinations lead to febrile seizures. This study, conducted by the Vaccine Safety Datalink2 (VSD), and others like it, are important as we engage in dialogue with parents about the risks and benefits of vaccines. The VSD, started in 1990, is a collaborative project between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Immunization Safety Office and 9 health care organizations and was created to address the upsurge of concerns about vaccine safety that have marked the past 2 decades. By leveraging the collective patient populations enrolled in these large organizations and the ability to evaluate the electronic medical … Address correspondence to Mark H. Sawyer, MD, 3020 Children’s Way, #5124, San Diego, CA 92123. E-mail: mhsawyer{at}ucsd.edu
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for invasive bladder carcinoma: Disease outcome and bladder preservation and relationship to local tumor response

Thirty-nine patients with locally advanced transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder received presurgical combination chemotherapy in an effort to improve survival, reduce local tumor recurrence and distant failure, and enhance surgical resectability and potentially salvage the bladder. One to six cycles (median 2.8) of M-VAC (methotrexate, vinblastine, doxorubicin, cisplatin), CMV (cisplatin, methotrexate, vinblastine), or VP16 CDDP (etoposide, cisplatin) were administered after initial diagnosis and clinical staging of the bladder cancer and transurethral resection of the tumor. Clinical staging was repeated before each cycle of chemotherapy. Transurethral resection and systemic neoadjuvant chemotherapy clinically downstaged 31 of 39 patients (79%). Subsequently, 26 patients underwent radical cystectomy and 13 patients received bladder salvage (6 received a partial surgical resection and 7 observation). At 41 months' median follow-up, 4-year overall survival was 63 +/- 17%, cancer-specific survival was 71 +/- 19%, local recurrence-free survival was 66 +/- 22%, and metastasis-free survival was 73 +/- 16%. Patients with a complete clinical and pathologic response had far better survival than those without a complete response; for pathologic stage, survival was 100% vs. 45% for those with residual tumor (p = 0.003). Local recurrence (Ta or TiS) occurred in 46% of those with their bladder salvaged and still in situ. These data suggest that with neoadjuvant chemotherapy bladder salvage seems feasible in selected patients, although they appear to be at higher risk for tumor recurrence. Accurate selection of the group of patients most likely to benefit is difficult and may not be possible in a predictable manner with currently available selection methods.
Moment Models: Microscopic to Macroscopic

In this chapter, we shall present alternative models to that of drift-diffusion. More precisely, the models developed here are refinements, for which drift-diffusion is a limiting case. The two which we select are the classical hydrodynamic model, and a class of energy transport models. A quantum transport variant of the hydrodynamic model is briefly discussed at the conclusion of the chapter. For the reader who wishes to pursue these topics in greater detail, a special issue of VLSI DESIGN, edited by the author, has appeared (vol. 3, no. 2, 1995).
Esophagectomy as a Treatment Consideration for Early-Stage Esophageal Cancer and High-Grade Dysplasia

Abstract In recent years, a number of endoluminal procedures such as endoscopic resection and thermal ablation have emerged as less invasive treatment options for early esophageal cancer. These therapies have demonstrated excellent oncologic outcomes for dysplasia as well as intramucosal cancers. However, few studies have directly compared long-term outcomes of endoscopic therapy versus traditional esophagectomy. Current esophagectomy techniques now deliver consistently good outcomes in the hands of experienced surgeons at high volume centers, and this option should be considered an important treatment consideration for early esophageal cancer. Under current recommendations, esophagectomy should be considered for tumors invading the submucosa, tumors with high-risk pathologic features, bulky tumors, multinodular tumors, tumors within a long segment of Barrett's esophagus, and tumors adjacent to a hiatal hernia. Likewise, individual patient factors and comorbidities must also be considered when determining...
Exchange rate exposure and financial crises: evidence from emerging Asian markets

This paper examines exchange rate exposures in six emerging Asian markets during the Asian financial crisis of 1997–1998 and the global financial crisis of 2007–8. Using firm-level stock return data and trade-weighted exchange rates on a daily basis during the period of 1994–2013, we find that changes in exchange rates affect individual firms’ stock returns systematically in most of the Asian economies. The results remain robust when the model is extended to include a set of additional control variables of stock market pricing factors. The two financial crises are shown to adversely affect firms’ stock returns in different patterns. Small emerging economies in Asia experienced significant exchange rate exposures during the Asian financial crisis. In contrast, the global financial crisis affected relatively larger Asian markets that have a close trade relationship with the U.S.
Contribution of brain glucose and ketone bodies to oxidative metabolism.

Ketone bodies are an alternative energy substrate to glucose in brain. Under conditions of oxidative stress, we hypothesize that ketosis stabilizes glucose metabolism by partitioning glucose away from oxidative metabolism towards ketone body oxidation. In this study we assessed oxidative metabolism in ketotic rat brain using stable isotope mass spectrometry analysis. The contribution of glucose and ketone bodies to oxidative metabolism was studied in cortical brain homogenates isolated from anesthetized ketotic rats. To induce chronic ketosis, rats were fed either a ketogenic (high-fat, carbohydrate restricted) or standard rodent chow for 3 weeks and then infused intravenously with tracers of [U-13C] glucose or [U-13C] acetoacetate for 60 min. The measured percent contribution of glucose or ketone bodies to oxidative metabolism was analyzed by measuring the 13C-label incorporation into acetyl-CoA. Using mass spectrometry (gas-chromatography; GC-MS, and liquid-chromatography; LCMS) and isotopomer analysis, the fractional amount of substrate oxidation was measured as the M + 2 enrichment (%) of acetyl-CoA relative to the achieved enrichment of the infused precursors, [U-13C]glucose or [U-13C] acetoacetate. Results: the percent contribution of glucose oxidation in cortical brain in rats fed the ketogenic diet was 71.2 ± 16.8 (mean% ± SD) compared to the standard chow, 89.0 ± 14.6. Acetoacetate oxidation was significantly higher with ketosis compared to standard chow, 41.7 ± 9.4 vs. 21.9 ± 10.6. These data confer the high oxidative capacity for glucose irrespective of ketotic or non-ketotic states. With ketosis induced by 3 weeks of diet, cortical brain utilizes twice as much acetoacetate compared to non-ketosis.
Responding to Campus Change: Rising Numbers of Chinese Undergraduates and Michigan State University’s Response

Chinese undergraduate enrollments grew at Michigan State University from 43 in the fall of 2005 to close to 4000 in the fall of 2014, representing an extraordinary increase of more than 80 times over 9 years. The purpose of this chapter is to tell the story of the issues MSU faced with the growth of the Chinese undergraduate enrollments and describe its responses from a variety of campus perspectives including international student services, central administration, admissions, residential life, academic departments, ESL services, mental health services, and community interactions.
Factors associated with developing vaginal dryness symptoms in women transitioning through menopause: a longitudinal study.

AbstractObjective:To evaluate factors associated with incident self-reported vaginal dryness and the consequences of this symptom across the menopausal transition in a multiracial/ethnic cohort of community-dwelling women.Methods:We analyzed questionnaire and biomarker data from baseline and 13 appr
Laser cladding of zirconium on magnesium for improved corrosion properties

Laser cladding of Mg-2 wt% Zr, and Mg-5wt% Zr powder mixture onto magnesium was carried out. The microstructure of the laser clad was studied. From the microstructural study, the epitaxial regrowth of the clad region on the underlying substrate was observed. Martensite plates of different size were observed in transmission electron microscope for Mg-2wt% Zr and Mg-5wt% Zr laser clad. The corrosion properties of the laser clad were evaluated in sea-water (3.5% NaCl). The position of the laser claddings in the galvanic series of metals in sea-water, the anodic polarization characteristics of the laser claddings and the protective nature and the stability of the passivating film formed have been determined. The formation of pitting on the surface of the laser clad subjected to corrosion has been reported. The corrosion properties of the laser claddings have been compared with that of the commercially used magnesium alloy AZ91 B.