cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Female-typical sexual behavior of rhesus and defeminization by androgens given prenatally.

Abstract Adult rhesus monkeys were observed in standardized tests for female-typical sexual and related social responses. In the first experiment reported, 7 castrated males and 5 spayed females were paired with each of 4 intact males on two occasions following intramuscular injection with estradiol benzoate (EB) (6 μg/kg × 14 days) and on two other occasions without such treatment. In tests without EB, males and females did not behave differently toward the intact male partners, and all responses were displayed at low frequencies. In tests with EB, females showed reliably higher frequencies than males of approaching, sitting close to, grooming, and soliciting, and they presented to a higher proportion of the male partner's sexual contacts. EB reliably increased the frequency of display of all of these same five responses in females but not in castrated males. The intact male partners displayed reliably fewer approaches, sexual contacts, mounts, intromissions, and ejaculations to castrated males than to spayed females regardless of estrogenization. In a second experiment 10 intact adult pseudohermaphroditic females and 6 intact control females were tested following EB injections with each of the same 4 intact males. Pseudohermaphrodites were experimentally produced by injecting pregnant females with either testosterone propionate (TP) or dihydrotestosterone propionate (DHTP). Pseudohermaphrodites, regardless of type of androgen used in their production, showed reliably fewer solicits than controls to male partners. Moreover, they displayed most of the other responses at lower average frequencies than controls. Frequencies of intromission and ejaculation by intact male partners were reliably lower with pseudohermaphrodites than with control females, but frequencies of approach, sexual contact, and mount were not reliably different. We conclude that in this testing and measurement situation male and female rhesus monkeys differ markedly in the degree of expression of female-typical sexual behaviors, and genotypic males are behaviorally less responsive to estrogens than females. Exposing genotypic females to androgens during fetal life decreases the expression of female-typical, estrogen-influenced responses, and the effect is most pronounced on those soliciting responses that subserve proceptivity.
Circulatory Effects of Atracurium in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease

Atracurium 0.4 mg kg−1 which was sufficient to produce neuromuscular blockade sufficient for intubation, was administered as divided bolus doses to 40 patients with severe cardiovascular disease. Little haemodynamic change occurred. A transient reduction in arterial pressure was noted in one patient. Atracurium was found to be safe and effective, and administration in small bolus doses separated by 30 may reduce the likelihood of significant circulatory changes.
Behind organizational slack and firm performance in China: The moderating roles of ownership and competitive intensity

Extensive studies of the organizational slack–performance relationship offer mixed findings in developed economies while little research attends to transition economies. Replicating and extending earlier work by Tan and Peng (2003), this study examines the relationship between organizational slack and firm performance in China and focuses on the moderating effects of firm ownership and competitive intensity. Empirical findings based on longitudinal data from 60,945 firms during 1998–2002 suggest that the impact of organizational slack on performance is stronger for private enterprises than for SOEs and foreign-invested enterprises. Furthermore, industry competitive intensity positively moderates the effect of organizational slack on performance. In a three-way interaction effect, the moderating effect of competitive intensity on the organizational slack–performance relationship is weaker in SOEs than in private enterprises and foreign invested enterprises.
Endothelin-1 and prevalent coronary heart disease in older men and women (the Rancho Bernardo Study).

Endothelin-1 has been implicated in atherosclerotic and ischemic heart disease. No population-based studies have examined the association of endothelin-1 with coronary heart disease (CHD). We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 961 older women and men. CHD was defined as a history of myocardial infarction, coronary surgery, angina, or major Q-wave abnormality on electrocardiography. We examined the association of endothelin-1 with CHD after adjusting for known risk factors and atherosclerosis measures. A total of 248 women and 156 men had CHD. Median endothelin-1 levels were similar by gender and higher among those with versus those without CHD (3.3 vs 3.1 pg/ml, p
Holistic Pattern Analysis as an Alternative to Pattern Cladistics in Hypothesizing Crustacean Phylogenetic Sequences

There has been a growing realization that ‘true’ phylogenetic relationships cannot be determined using pattern cladistical methods alone. The applications of such techniques to the problem of crustacean evolution is first examined using the results presented by Wilson (in this issue). It is found that the degree of correlation of characters in the head vs trunk regions explains very well the grouping of taxa in the cladograms, suggesting that the groups are nothing more than mathematical constructs. The argument is presented that functions of different parts of the crustacean body need to be determined, along with an understanding of how the body morphology is designed in accordance with the dominant functions. A method for producing hypothesized phylogenetic sequences from an analysis of body morphology is proposed and examined using the amphipod family Iphimediidae. It is suggested that cladograms are merely hypotheses and can be tested using functional morphological information of the type outlined.
A functional approach to feature recognition in production planning

Abstract One of the key elements for improving manufacturing productivity is the integration of CAD/CAM systems. An essential intermediate step is planning for production. This requires the automatic conversion of design data to an understandable format for computer-aided process planning (CAPP) systems in the preparation of process plans. The paper examines the functions of planning for production from the integration viewpoint and proposes a methodology for one of the functions — feature recognition.
The Importance of Transient Nucleation and Non-Equilibrium Viscosity for Glass Formation

The process of nucleation and growth in glasses and undercooled liquids is modeled by directly simulating the evolution of the molecular cluster distribution under both isothermal and non-isothermal conditions. Results of that simulation for the nucleation rate during the quench, and for the number of nuclei produced and the volume fraction transformed at the end of the quench are presented. The following three points are discussed: (1) The importance of transient, or non-steady state, nucleation rates on glass formation is assessed by considering three model glass forming systems: lithium disilicate, a relatively good glass former, and two metallic glasses, (Au85Cu15)77Si9Gd14 and Au81Si19. (2) Using experimentally determined values for the steady state nucleation rates and growth velocities for Pd40Ni40P20, it is demonstrated that, in agreement with recent experimental results, this alloy may be cycled at rates on the order of 1 K/sec between the melting and glass transition temperatures without crystallization. Transient effects are shown to be unimportant under these conditions in this system. (3) The effect on glass formation of a non-equilibrium viscosity during the quench due to configurational freezing is evaluated by assuming a phenomenological model for the changing viscosity.
A Hardware-Software Platform for Intrusion Prevention

Preventing execution of unauthorized software on a given computer plays a pivotal role in system security. The key problem is that although a program at the beginning of its execution can be verified as authentic, its execution flow can be redirected to externally injected malicious code using, for example, a buffer overflow exploit. We introduce a novel, simplified, hardware-assisted intrusion prevention platform. Our platform introduces overlapping of program execution and MAC verification. It partitions a program binary into blocks of instructions. Each block is signed using a keyed MAC that is attached as a footer to the block. When the control flow reaches a particular block, its instructions are speculatively executed, while dedicated hardware verifies the attached MAC at run-time. The computation state is preserved during speculative execution using a mediating buffer placed between the processor and L1 data cache. Upon MAC verification, the results from this buffer are propagated externally. Central to this paper is the proposal of a novel optimization technique that initially identifies instructions that are likely to stall execution, and reorders basic blocks within a given instruction block to minimize the execution overhead. While the presented optimization technique is problem specific, it is flexible such that it can be adjusted for different optimization goals. Preliminary results showed that our optimization methods produced an average overhead reduction of 60% on the SPEC2000 benchmark suite and Microsoft Visual FoxPro.
Measurement of surface shear stress vectors using liquid crystal coatings

Under normal white light illumination and oblique observation, liquid crystal coating (LCC) color-change response to shear depends on both shear stress magnitude as well as the direction of the applied shear relative to the observer's line of sight. These color-change responses were quantified by subjecting a LCC to a wall-jet shear flow and measuring scattered-light spectra using a fiber optic probe and spectrophotometer. At any fixed shear stress magnitude, the maximum color change was measured when the shear vector was aligned with and directed away from the observer; changes in the relative in-plane view angle to either side of this vector/observer aligned position resulted in symmetric Gaussian reductions in measured color change. Based on these results, a surface shear stress vector measurement methodology, involving multiple oblique-view observations of the test surface, was formulated. Under present test conditions, the measurement resolution of this technique was found to be ±1 deg for vector orientations and ±5% for vector magnitudes. An approach to extend the present methodology to full-surface applications is proposed. Nomenclature Cf = skin friction coefficient D = jet exit diameter / = spectral scattering intensity N = number of data points used in curve fits or in datareduction technique V = velocity W = white light X, Y = chromaticity coordinates a = above-plane view angle, measured positive upward from zero in plane of test surface
A Maximum Likelihood Approach to Parallel Imaging With Coil Sensitivity Noise

Parallel imaging is a powerful technique to speed up magnetic resonance (MR) image acquisition via multiple coils. Both the received signal of each coil and its sensitivity map, which describes its spatial response, are needed during reconstruction. Widely used schemes such as SENSE assume that sensitivity maps of the coils are noiseless while the only errors are in coil outputs. In practice, however, sensitivity maps are subject to a wide variety of errors. At first glance, sensitivity noise appears to result in an errors-in-variables problem of the kind that is typically solved using total least squares (TLSs). However, existing TLS algorithms are in general inappropriate for the specific type of block structure that arises in parallel imaging. In this paper, we take a maximum likelihood approach to the problem of parallel imaging in the presence of independent Gaussian sensitivity noise. This results in a quasi-quadratic objective function, which can be efficiently minimized. Experimental evidence suggests substantial gains over conventional SENSE, especially in nonideal imaging conditions like low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), high g-factors and large acceleration, using sensitivity maps suffering from misalignment, ringing, and random noise.
Empirical Testing of an Affective Learning Paradigm

The investigation studied the effectiveness of a cyclical affective learning paradigm based on the premise that student affect toward a course of instruction will dictate, in part, cognitive perfor...
Underwater optical communication using software defined radio over LED and laser based links

Underwater optical communication is an attractive means to achieve high datarate, low latency, and covert communication between underwater vehicles or sensor nodes. We demonstrate the viability of using a software defined radio system to communicate at Mbps rates using LEDs and lasers underwater and examine the performance of BPSK and GMSK simplex and duplex links.
Using statistical and uncertainty analyses in design, applied to a tokamak central solenoid

An uncertainty analysis combines the resulting prediction limits with estimated effects of a number of factors, of which the most important are: the statistical variability and limited number of specimens, the largest undetected crack length, the plate-to-plate variability, and the allowance for oversights. The total effect of these (and many more minor) effects is to reduce the allowable stress, for chosen odds against fracture of 10000 to 1, to about 2/3 of the central statistical value. The analysis highlights the factors needing further study and illustrates the value of statistical and uncertainty analyses, which should be combined with cost-benefit and fault-free analyses to complement code-based design. >
Vote prediction by iterative domain knowledge and attribute elimination

Data mining the American National Election Study (ANES), a rich but disparate source of information about Americans' vote choices, is the focus of this research. Specifically, we use data mining classification to construct a decision tree to select important predictors of the vote from the more than 900 items that compose the ANES. We use an iterative domain expert and data mining process to identify a limited number of survey questions intended to predict for which party an individual will vote in a presidential election or whether that individual will vote at all.
Optimal Class Length in Marketing Undergraduate Classes: An Examination of Preference, Instructor Evaluations, and Student Performance:

Some believe that the longer the face to face classroom meeting time, the more effective the learning experience. Others point out disadvantages of lengthier classes (e.g., student attention proble...
Folate-targeted immunotherapy effectively treats established adjuvant and collagen-induced arthritis

Activated macrophages express a cell surface receptor for the vitamin folic acid. Because this receptor is inaccessible or not measurably expressed on other normal cells, folic acid has been recently exploited to selectively deliver attached radio-emitters to sites of activated macrophage accumulation, allowing scintigraphic imaging of inflamed joints and organs of arthritic rats. We demonstrate here that folate-linked haptens can also be targeted to activated macrophages, decorating their cell surfaces with highly immunogenic molecules. Under conditions in which the rodent has already been immunized against keyhole limpet hemocyanine-(fluorescein isothiocyanate) FITC, activated macrophages are eliminated. Administration of folate-FITC conjugates to rodents with experimental arthritis attenuates (a) systemic and peri-articular inflammation, (b) bone and cartilage degradation, and (c) arthritis-related body weight loss. Treatment with folate-hapten conjugates is comparable to methotrexate, etanercept, anakinra, and celecoxib at alleviating the symptoms of arthritis. We conclude that reduction of activated macrophages by folate-targeted immunotherapy can ameliorate the symptoms of arthritis in two rodent models of the disease.
The Limits of Vococentrism: Chris Marker, Hans Richter and the Essay Film

The legacies of Left Bank Cinema and the essay film have become mutually intertwined. The former is a small but influential filmmaking movement in postwar France, primarily thought to consist of three friends, artists and filmmakers: Chris Marker, Alain Resnais and Agnes Varda, though Georges Franju is sometimes included in the coterie. 1 The group has significant overlap with the French New Wave in that both share the same historical moment and geographic space, as well as a common interest in exploring personal expression within cinematic signifying practices, and advancing the aesthetic possibilities of the film form. Ginette Vincendeau states that films directed by members of the French New Wave "lacked an interest in political or social issues, concentrating on personal angst among the (male) Parisian middle class (although an- other less media-prominent band of filmmakers known as the 'Left Bank' group…showed greater political awareness)" (110). Moreover, the New Wave filmmakers made almost exclusively fiction films, while the Left Bank group was also interested in documentary. The politically engaged, aesthetically bold documentary voiced with strong personal expression is how the essay film has come to be theorized. 2 Hence, many studies of the form consider the Left Bank group as most fully inaugurating the presently recognized dimensions of the essay film form. 3 Alexandre Astruc's 1948 manifesto, "The Birth of a New Avant- Garde: La Camera-Stylo," is frequently invoked as an influential article thought to anticipate and/or incite both Left Bank Cinema and the essay film. 4 Indeed, Resnais referred to his first film, Ouvert pour cause d'inventaire (1946), now lost, as "the sort of thing (that was) later called 'camera-stylo'" (cited in Joram ten Brink, 236). With his notion of the camera as pen, As- truc expressed his desire for a cinematic mode of signifying thought and personal expression. Engagements with the essay film have utilized the camera-stylo as metaphor for a film form that articulates intelligence and an individual point of view, typically accomplished through voice-over. Timothy Corrigan argues that many engagements with the essay film
Compositional variations within scoria cones

Basaltic to andesitic monogenic scoria cones from the southern Cascades exhibit large chemical variations within the products of single eruptions. Two types of chemical variations occur within cones. First, there are several instances where the chemistry of the late-stage lava flow is significantly different from that of the scoria. The two magma types cannot be related to each other by fractional crystallization, and instead seem to be derived from different sources. Second, chemical variations occur within the scoria, most easily recognized in ratios of large ion lithophile elements to high field strength elements. Repeatedly, an ocean-island basalt–like component has erupted contemporaneously with the dominant calc-alkaline compositions, requiring two distinct mantle sources (one ocean-island basalt source and one mid-ocean-ridge basalt source) as well as the variable addition of slab-derived fluids. Such variations within the scoria suggest that either magma chambers do not exist and the melt migrates from the source through dike-like structures without homogenization, or that magma chambers are inefficient in their ability to mix liquids. Small volumes of basalt, which may normally be thermally challenged to reach the surface, might ascend through the crust through pathways recently traveled by previous melt batches, causing pairs of magmas to erupt at each vent.
Research Article: The effects of 3,4-diaminopyridine in a frog model of Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome

Abstract Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome (LEMS) is a neuromuscular disorder characterized by muscle weakness in which the motor nerve has difficulty releasing enough neurotransmitter to cause muscle contraction. Through clinical trials, 3,4-diaminopyridine (DAP) has been shown to successfully treat LEMS by increasing muscle contraction and strength. However, the precise effect of DAP on synaptic facilitation (an increase in transmitter release seen during high frequency stimulation) is not well understood. Here a well described neuromuscular synaptic preparation and a selective neurotoxin is used to model LEMS. Using the cutaneous pectoris muscle of the leopard frog (Rana pipiens), the electrical response of muscle cells to various frequencies of synaptic stimuli was measured using intracellular recording methods. The amplitude of muscle cell response to the nerve stimuli was used as an assay of neurotransmitter release in both LEMS-like and control (low calcium) conditions. The data indicate that, as e...
Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitory and antioxidant compounds from the truffle Elaphomyces granulatus

The ethanol extract of fruiting bodies of Elaphomyces granulatus, a truffle-like fungus, was evaluated for cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enzyme inhibitory and antioxidant activities. Inhibition of COX-2 activity was evaluated in mouse macrophages (RAW 264.7). The extract of E. granulatus caused a 68% inhibition of COX-2 activity at 50 microg/mL. Bioassay-guided investigation led to the isolation and identification of two active compounds, syringaldehyde and syringic acid. Syringaldehyde moderately inhibited COX-2 activity with an IC(50) of 3.5 microg/mL, while syringic acid strongly inhibited COX-2 activity with an IC(50) of 0.4 microg/mL. The antioxidant activity of the extract and isolated compounds was evaluated in HL-60 cells by the DCFH-DA method. The extract of E. granulatus showed a potent antioxidant effect, with an IC(50) of 41 microg/mL. Of the pure compounds, syringic acid displayed a strong antioxidant activity, with an IC(50) of 0.7 microg/mL, while syringaldehyde showed no activity in the assay.
How do we discover the unknown unknowns? Screening 'Well' patients after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation.

This editorial refers to ‘Persistent iatrogenic atrial septal defect after pulmonary vein isolation by cryoballoon: an under-recognized complication’ by N-Y. Chan et al. , on page 1406. [T]here are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know. -Former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld Atrial fibrillation (AF) remains a therapeutic challenge for millions of patients and their treating physicians. Advances in pharmacotherapy, including the development of novel antiarrhythmics1 and anticoagulants,2 have provided clinicians newer—but not necessarily better—treatment options for AF patients. There has been a concurrent evolution in catheter ablation for AF; novel ablation techniques have come, and in some cases gone,3 over the last several years. Whether these novel techniques will translate into improved safety and efficacy of AF ablation remains to be seen. While ablation modalities used in catheter-based therapy for AF are evolving, the physical introduction of those catheters into the left atrium (LA) remains a nearly universal constant. This is true for standard radiofrequency ablation approaches [i.e. wide, circumferential lesion sets to isolate the pulmonary veins (PV)], for more targeted LA ablation (of complex fractionated atrial electrograms, sympathetic ganglia, or putative rotors, for example), and for newer methods of achieving PV isolation (cryoablation, cyroballoon ablation, laser, microwave, robotically assisted catheter ablation, and so on). Each of these approaches relies on the delivery of one (and frequently more than one) catheter into the LA. …
Edward Shils' Turn Against Karl Mannheim: The Central European Connection

This paper traces Edward Shils’ transition, during World War II, from enthusiasm to harsh criticism of Karl Mannheim, the Hungarian-born sociologist of knowledge. While serving in London, Shils drew upon a direct and explicit intellectual assault on Mannheim by fellow emigres to England. Even while Shils maintained regular contact with Mannheim, Shils was exposed to an often vituperative dismissal of Mannheim’s work by Karl Popper and Friedrich Hayek, in the pages of the London School of Economics (LSE) journal Economica. After the war, when both Popper and Shils joined the LSE faculty—Hayek’s affiliation dated to 1931—Shils’ encounter with their critiques was deepened. And in these early postwar years, Shils became close friends with yet another emigre Mannheim critic, Michael Polanyi. Combined, these sustained and sophisticated criticisms helped wrest Shils from his interwar, Mannheim-friendly intellectual coordinates. The implications for Shils’ later propagation of the “mass society theory” label are considered.
A large-scale neural network model of the influence of neuromodulatory levels on working memory and behavior

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), which is regarded as the primary site for visuospatial working memory in the brain, is significantly modulated by dopamine (DA) and norepinephrine (NE). DA and NE originate in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and locus coeruleus (LC), respectively, and have been shown to have an ‘inverted-U’ dose-response profile in dlPFC, where the level of arousal and decision-making performance is a function of DA and NE concentrations. Moreover, there appears to be a sweet spot, in terms of the level of DA and NE activation, which allows for optimal working memory and behavioral performance. When either DA or NE is too high, input to the PFC is essentially blocked. When either DA or NE is too low, PFC network dynamics become noisy and activity levels diminish. Mechanisms for how this is occurring have been suggested, however, they have not been tested in a large-scale model with neurobiologically plausible network dynamics. Also, DA and NE levels have not been simultaneously manipulated experimentally, which is not realistic in vivo due to strong bi-directional connections between the VTA and LC. To address these issues, we built a spiking neural network model that includes D1, α2A, and α1 receptors. The model was able to match the inverted-U profiles that have been shown experimentally for differing levels of DA and NE. Furthermore, we were able to make predictions about what working memory and behavioral deficits may occur during simultaneous manipulation of DA and NE outside of their optimal levels. Specifically, when DA levels were low and NE levels were high, cues could not be held in working memory due to increased noise. On the other hand, when DA levels were high and NE levels were low, incorrect decisions were made due to weak overall network activity. We also show that lateral inhibition in working memory may play a more important role in increasing signal-to-noise ratio than increasing recurrent excitatory input
Soil enzyme responses to varying rainfall regimes in Chihuahuan Desert soils

Extracellular enzyme activities (EEAs) are indicators of both soil microbial activity and nutrient availability for plants. However, it is unclear how EEAs change over the growing season in desert grasslands. We examined whether EEAs changed in response to the size and frequency of rain events during the summer monsoon in the northern Chihuahuan Desert, and if the response varied between plant and interspace associated soils. Potential EEAs were measured within a rainfall manipulation experiment at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in central New Mexico, USA. Rainfall treatments included either three 10-mm events or one 30-mm rain event per month throughout the three month summer monsoon (July–September). EEAs were measured immediately before and within hours after experimental rain events under plants and in unvegetated interspaces. Throughout the season hydrolase activities were higher under vegetation than in interspace soils. Potential activities of hydrolytic enzymes were similar for the two rai...
Dead‐end intermediates in the enterobacterial common antigen pathway induce morphological defects in Escherichia coli by competing for undecaprenyl phosphate

Bacterial morphology is determined primarily by the architecture of the peptidoglycan (PG) cell wall, a mesh-like layer that encases the cell. To identify novel mechanisms that create or maintain cell shape in Escherichia coli, we used flow cytometry to screen a transposon insertion library and identified a wecE mutant that altered cell shape, causing cells to filament and swell. WecE is a sugar aminotransferase involved in the biosynthesis of enterobacterial common antigen (ECA), a non-essential outer membrane glycolipid of the Enterobacteriaceae. Loss of wecE interrupts biosynthesis of ECA and causes the accumulation of the undecaprenyl pyrophosphate-linked intermediate ECA-lipid II. The wecE shape defects were reversed by: (i) preventing initiation of ECA biosynthesis, (ii) increasing the synthesis of the lipid carrier undecaprenyl phosphate (Und-P), (iii) diverting Und-P to PG synthesis or (iv) promoting Und-P recycling. The results argue that the buildup of ECA-lipid II sequesters part of the pool of Und-P, which, in turn, adversely affects PG synthesis. The data strongly suggest there is competition for a common pool of Und-P, whose proper distribution to alternate metabolic pathways is required to maintain normal cell shape in E. coli.
Interrelationships between BMI, skinfold thicknesses, percent body fat, and cardiovascular disease risk factors among U.S. children and adolescents

Although the estimation of body fatness by Slaughter skinfold thickness equations (PBFSlaughter) has been widely used, the accuracy of this method is uncertain. We have previously examined the interrelationships among the body mass index (BMI), PBFSlaughter, percent body fat from dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (PBFDXA) and CVD risk factor levels among children who were examined in the Bogalusa Heart Study and in the Pediatric Rosetta Body Composition Project. The current analyses examine these associations among 7599 8- to 19-year-olds who participated in the (U.S.) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1999 to 2004. We analyzed (1) the agreement between (1) estimates of percent body fat calculated from the Slaughter skinfold thickness equations and from DXA, and (2) the relation of lipid, lipoprotein, and blood pressure levels to BMI, PBFSlaughter and PBFDXA. PBFSlaughter was highly correlated (r ~ 0.85) with PBFDXA. However, among children with a relatively low skinfold thicknesses sum (triceps + subscapular), PBFSlaughter underestimated PBFDXA by 8 to 9 percentage points. In contrast, PBFSlaughter overestimated PBFDXA by 10 points among boys with a skinfold thickness sum ≥ 50 mm. After adjustment for sex and age, lipid levels were related similarly to the body mass index, PBFDXA and PBFSlaughter. There were, however, small differences in associations with blood pressure levels: systolic blood pressure was more strongly associated with body mass index, but diastolic blood pressure was more strongly associated with percent body fat. The Slaughter equations yield biased estimates of body fatness. In general, lipid and blood pressure levels are related similarly to levels of BMI (following adjustment for sex and age), PBFSlaughter, and PBFDXA.
IT, CSR And Industry Relationships: A Descriptive Study

From the resource-based perspective, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and investment in information technology (IT) are both associated with a firm’s profitable performance. Corporations, taking socially responsible actions, can create valuable intangible assets such as improved relations with stakeholders. In a similar fashion, effective investment in and use of information technology can positively impact a firm’s competitive advantage. Both CSR and IT investments consume organizational resources and each may lead to a competitive advantage separately. This paper explores if one complements or opposes the other. Investment in information technology and the socially responsible activities of companies vary across industries. The purpose of this paper is to offer an exploratory analysis into a possible association between IT investment and CSR at the industry level. The findings indicate that there is no discernible relationship.
Berger–Parker Index

The Berger–Parker diversity index has been used typically to assess the dominance of species in a community. The index has been used to compare differences in species abundances across communities within the same ecosystem, where community composition may remian relatively constant but where abundance of individuals of each species may vary. The limitations of the Berger–Parker index should be noted in any application for which it is used and, for a more holistic understanding of an ecological community, it should be used alongside indices that capture other measures of diversity. This chapter outlines the development of the index, common applications of the index, and how the index compares to other commonly used diversity indices.
The Mental Health Practitioner and Psychopharmacology

Today's mental health practitioner is likely to be quite familiar with a rather diverse range of pharmacological issues confronting clients seeking mental health services. Indeed, drug therapies are commonplace, and in some cases, might be viewed as the primary intervention for a presenting problem. Pharmacological approaches to mental health concerns can be effective, and provide treatment options with significant therapeutic potential. Nevertheless, the current pharmacological and ever-growing biomedical milieu that so often characterizes modern health care can potentially undermine the importance of the bio-psycho-social perspective of mental health assessment and intervention. The growing emphasis on pharmacotherapy must certainly be recognized by the mental health practitioner, but frameworks for mental health service delivery should continually identify better ways to integrate pharmacological options with the psychological and socio-cultural context that influence the behaviors, cognitions, and emo...
Paclitaxel administration to gynecologic cancer patients with major cardiac risk factors.

PURPOSETo examine the safety of administering paclitaxel to patients with preexisting significant cardiac risk factors.PATIENTS AND METHODSThe medical records of gynecologic cancer patients with major cardiac risk factors who had been treated with paclitaxel (single-agent or combination regimen with cisplatin or carboplatin) at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation from 1993 through February 1998 were examined to determine the acute toxicity of therapy.RESULTSA total of 15 patients were found who met these criteria, of whom none were found to have suffered a worsening of cardiac function following treatment with paclitaxel. A single patient developed a severe paclitaxel-associated hypersensitivity reaction, but no cardiac sequela.CONCLUSIONThis series suggests that paclitaxel can be safely administered as a single agent or in a combination regimen with a platinum agent to some patients with significant cardiac risk factors, such as those associated with ischemic heart disease. However, since few patients had ba...
Thinking Algorithmically About Impossibility (Invited Talk)

Complexity lower bounds like P != NP assert impossibility results for all possible programs of some restricted form. As there are presently enormous gaps in our lower bound knowledge, a central question on the minds of today's complexity theorists is how will we find better ways to reason about all efficient programs? I argue that some progress can be made by (very deliberately) thinking algorithmically about lower bounds. Slightly more precisely, to prove a lower bound against some class C of programs, we can start by treating C as a set of inputs to another (larger) process, which is intended to perform some basic analysis of programs in C. By carefully studying the algorithmic "meta-analysis" of programs in C, we can learn more about the limitations of the programs being analyzed. This essay is mostly self-contained; scant knowledge is assumed of the reader.
Prospects with Multifactorial Approaches Emphasizing Improvement in Life Style

Ability to Reduce the Current High Mortality Rates from Premature Heart Attack in the U. S.A. — Evidence from International Studies
Optimal and robust design for efficient system-wide synchronization in networks of randomly-wired neuron-nodes

We describe a mode of signal transmission among neuronnodes in a finite deterministic network. In this mode, an activated node passes a signal to its nearest neighbors and becomes deactivated, unless it concurrently receives the signal from a nearest neighbor. By means of matrix representation, we show that a connected network equipped with this mode of signal transmission converges to one of two states: 1) System-Wide Synchronization (SWS), wherein all nodes are activated; and 2) Subgroup Alternation (SGA), wherein two subsets of nodes alternate on and off. Conditions on wiring configuration required for SWS are presented. We then focus on finite random networks in which the presence of wiring between any two nodes is stochastically determined. We consider two optimal design problems: 1) How can we allocate wiring probabilities subject to a budget constraint in order to maximize the probability of achieving SWS? 2) What impact does a robustness criterion have on the optimal wiring structure? We implement the simulated annealing algorithm to find such optimal probability allocations and present our results. Under a robustness requirement, we show that robust random networks require a larger budget and significantly more triangular-loop sub-structures.
Raman spectroscopy and cage occupancy of hydrogen clathrate hydrate from first-principle calculations.

Statistically averaged Raman spectra of H2 in hydrogen clathrate are calculated by quantum-mechanical calculations and molecular dynamics simulations. The result shows that the H2 molecules in the large cages and singly occupied small cages are loosely encaged and the vibrational modes are softened and uncoupled, while those in the doubly occupied small cages are tightly confined, the vibrational modes are strongly coupled, and the frequencies are blue-shifted relative to the free gas. This finding provides important new insights on characterizing the cage occupancy and could inspire innovative experiments for synthesizing the clathrate as a hydrogen storage medium.
Digital Measurement for Cylinder Head Combustion Chamber Volume of Automobile Engine

In order to solve the difficulties and problems such as low accuracy and low efficiency in current measure of cylinder head combustion chamber volume by titration method, a new method based on liner scanner three-dimensional measuring system was proposed. The volume of cylinder head combustion chamber can be measured rapidly and precisely with the proposed method. Besides, the method has been applied in actual engineering. In this article, the measuring principle and process were introduced, and the key method was expounded for getting cylinder head combustion chamber volume through a series of filtering and volume compute procedures, including point cloud filtering, hole fixing, surface reconstruction, extraction of effective point cloud and volume compute, etc. Lastly, based on the prototyping platform, the method has been verified.
Dialysis : Cost-effective SUPPORT for patients with acute renal failure

ARECENT REPORT published in the Annals of Internal Medicine by Hamel et al1 carefully examined the cost-effectiveness of initiating dialysis and providing aggressive supportive care to seriously ill hospitalized adults with acute renal failure (ARF). The authors determined that the estimated cost per qualityadjusted life year (QALY) saved was $128,200, far in excess of the $50,000 benchmark some have used to deem a procedure or therapeutic strategy cost-effective. Costs incurred within the first 6 months were estimated from hospital charge to cost ratios, accounting for readmission rates, and longer-term costs were estimated from Medicare data. Long-term quality-adjusted survival was estimated using valid, traditional techniques, including the declining exponential approximation of life expectancy, and the timetradeoff method. Sensitivity analyses were performed to test the model’s dependence on multiple assumptions (eg, the incidence of endstage renal disease among ARF survivors). Hamel et al1 should be commended for their important contribution. Nevertheless, because of several questionable assumptions regarding dialysis and the utilization of a convenience cohort assembled to study patients with extremely poor prognoses (50% survival at 6 months), readers might infer that the provision of dialysis is a costly endeavor that rarely leads to shortor long-term benefit. Viewed in appropriate context, one might alternatively conclude that for most patients who require renal support during a serious episode of ARF, dialysis is not only extraordinarily effective therapy, but is cost-effective as well. In this brief editorial, four specific issues are addressed:
Hemoglobin Concentration and Risk of Incident Stroke in Community-Living Adults

Background and Purpose— In previous observational studies, hemoglobin concentrations have been associated with an increased risk of stroke. However, these studies were limited by a relatively low number of stroke events, making it difficult to determine whether the association of hemoglobin and stroke differed by demographic or clinical factors. Methods— Using Cox proportional hazards analysis and Kaplan–Meier plots, we examined the association of baseline hemoglobin concentrations with incident stroke in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study, a cohort of black and white adults aged ≥45 years. Results— A total of 518 participants developed stroke over a mean 7±2 years of follow-up. There was a statistically significant interaction between hemoglobin and sex ( P =0.05) on the risk of incident stroke. In Cox regression models adjusted for demographic and clinical variables, there was no association of baseline hemoglobin concentration with incident stroke in men, whereas in women, the lowest ( 14.0 g/dL) quartiles of hemoglobin were associated with higher risk of stroke when compared with the second quartile (12.4–13.2 g/dL; quartile 1: hazard ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.09–2.31; quartile 2: referent; quartile 3: hazard ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.59–1.38; quartile 4: hazard ratio, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.08–2.35). Similar results were observed in models stratified by hemoglobin and sex and when hemoglobin was modeled as a continuous variable using restricted quadratic spline regression. Conclusions— Lower and higher hemoglobin concentrations were associated with a higher risk of incident stroke in women. No such associations were found in men.
18 F-FDG-Directed Surgery and 18 F-FDG-Directed Interventional Procedures

The use of positron-emitting and high-energy gamma photon-emitting radiopharmaceuticals, like fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG), for real-time cancer detection and surgical guidance within the operating room and for real-time guidance of diagnostic and therapeutic interventional procedures within the interventional radiology suite, has great clinical potential. This technology may allow for (1) real-time intraoperative staging of the extent of disease; (2) real-time intraoperative surgical planning and execution of the necessary and most appropriate operation, determination of the extent of surgical resection, and determination of the completeness of surgical resection; (3) real-time pathologic evaluation of intact surgical resected specimens for the confirmation of completeness of surgical resection and for surgical margin assessment; (4) real-time pathologic evaluation of diagnostically biopsied tissues for confirmation of correctness of tissue diagnosis; and (5) real-time guidance of diagnostic and therapeutic interventional procedures within the interventional radiology suite. This chapter discusses (1) the history and development of positron imaging and detection, (2) the fundamental basis for the use of 18F-FDG in positron imaging and detection strategies, (3) the inherent limitations of 18F-FDG in positron imaging and detection strategies, (4) radiation detection devices utilized during 18F-FDG-directed surgery, (5) the clinical applications of real-time 18F-FDG-directed surgery and real-time 18F-FDG-directed interventional procedures, (6) timing issues related to 18F-FDG-directed surgery, (7) the inherent challenge of in situ detection of 18F-FDG with a gamma photon detection device, and (8) occupational radiation exposure during 18F-FDG radioguided surgical procedures.
PDF: A Probabilistic Data Fusion Framework for Retrieval and Ranking

Data fusion has been shown to be a simple and effective way to improve retrieval results. Most existing data fusion methods combine ranked lists from different retrieval functions for a single given query. But in many real search settings, the diversity of retrieval functions required to achieve good fusion performance is not available. Researchers are typically limited to a few variants on a scoring function used by the engine of their choice, with these variants often producing similar results due to being based on the same underlying term statistics.This paper presents a framework for data fusion based on combining ranked lists from different queries that users could have entered for their information need. If we can identify a set of "possible queries" for an information need, and estimate probability distributions concerning the probability of generating those queries, the probability of retrieving certain documents for those queries, and the probability of documents being relevant to that information need, we have the potential to dramatically improve results over a baseline system given a single user query. Our framework is based on several component models that can be mixed and matched. We present several simple estimation methods for components. In order to demonstrate effectiveness, we present experimental results on 5 different datasets covering tasks such as ad-hoc search, novelty and diversity search, and search in the presence of implicit user feedback. Our results show strong performances for our method; it is competitive with state-of-the-art methods on the same datasets, and in some cases outperforms them.
The Synthesis and Characterization of Highly Fluorescent Polycyclic Azaborine Chromophores

Six new heteroaromatic polycyclic azaborine chromophores were designed, synthesized, and investigated as easily tunable high-luminescent organic materials. The impact of the nitrogen-boron-hydroxy (N-BOH) unit in the azaborines was investigated by comparison with their N-carbonyl analogs. Insertion of the N-B(OH)-C unit into heteroaromatic polycyclic compounds resulted in strong visible absorption and sharp fluorescence with efficient quantum yields. The solid-state fluorescence of the heteroaromatic polycyclic compounds displayed a large Stokes shift compared to being in solution. The large Stokes shifts observed offset the self-quench effect in the solid state.