cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Who needs capacity

The UK Law Commission's Discussion Paper, Criminal Liability: Insanity and Automatism, recommends introducing the concept of capacity to the insanity defence. The concept of capacity has an established role in those parts of the law that concern the validity of the decisions that people make, for instance in composing a will or entering into a contract. Making mental capacity a criterion for criminal responsibility in a mentally disordered defendant, however, is potentially problematic. First, the term capacity already has several different meanings in the literature on the jurisprudence of mental abnormality. Second, using the concept of capacity in the way that the Law Commission proposes poses difficulties that relate to the provision of testimony by expert witnesses.
Reproductive dysfunction in rhesus monkeys exposed to low levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (Aroclor 1248)

Abstract Eighteen female and four male adult rhesus monkeys were fed the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) Aroclor 1248 at levels of either 2·5 or 5·0 ppm in the diet. These levels are equal to and 50% of the concentration allowed in certain foods destined for human consumption. After consuming these diets for 2 months, some of the females developed acne, alopecia, erythema and swelling of the eyelids, and by 6 months all females exhibited these changes to some degree. Modifications in serum lipids developed gradually, with a trend towards hypocholesterolaemia, hypolipidaemia and decreased serum triglycerides. In addition there was a shift in the plasma albumin/globulin ratio and an increase in serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase activity. Analysis of subcutaneous fat showed an accumulation of the PCB isomers in the adipose tissue. The concentrations in this tissue reached a plateau, after which only slight variations were observed. Within 4 months, menstrual cycles were altered menostaxis and menorrhagia occurred frequently and at times amenorrhoea was apparent. The ability of the animals to maintain pregnancy was impaired, as indicated by frequent resorptions and abortions. When infants were born they were small, and the transplacental movement of PCBs was evident from analyses of skin biopsies of neonates and of autopsy tissue from one stillborn. Moreover, additional accumulation of PCBs occurred in infants during breast feeding. All males fed 5·0 ppm PCB exhibited only slight periorbital oedema and erythema after 14 months on the diet and showed no alterations in their breeding capacities. The data presented indicate that long-term, low-level exposure of female non-human primates to PCBs can affect many important biological parameters.
PROD: A VLSI Fault Diagnosis System

Faults in the manufacturing of VLSI chips lower the effective yield, thus increasing manufacturing cost. Early diagnosis of faults can avoid this sitution. Such diagnoses can be made by PROD, a diagnostic expert system that analyzes the joint probability density function of measured IC parameters density fuction of measured IC parameters to determine the source of faults resulting in faults chips. PROD can identify both parametric and catastrophic faults, and the expert system can be expanded to diagnose faults that cannot be described quantitatively. This article describes PROD's diagnostic algorithms and their implementation in the complete diagnostic system, and includes several exmples that illustrate its capabilities.
Children's understanding of equality--inequality relationships for liquid quantities: the role of minimal-difference concept examples.

When one of two same-amount liquid quantities was actually, or proposed to be, altered by a very tiny (smidgen) amount, kindergartners and 2nd graders failed to recognize the resulting inequality, whereas 3rd and 4th graders were increasingly successful. Alterations larger than a smidgen, but still small, improved the judgments of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders but left kindergartners still thinking that equality was unchanged. Alterations in larger amounts that provided noticeable perceptual discrepancies led to nearly perfect inequality judgments across all grade levels. A rigorous evaluation of children's understanding of equality-to-inequality changes must include minimal-amount differences in a quantity along with the solicitation of verbal reports.
HER 2/neu expression and gene amplification in colon cancer.

HER 2/neu is an important oncogene in breast cancer, but the prevalence and significance of HER 2/neu gene amplification in colon cancer have been poorly documented. We have evaluated HER 2/neu gene amplification and protein overexpression in a series of colon cancers to assess the frequency, concordance and clinical significance of these events. HER 2/neu gene copy number was measured in 154 primary colon tumors, 15 liver metastases and matched normal tissues using a quantitative PCR/ligase detection reaction (LDR) technique developed and validated in our laboratory. HER 2/neu copy number was confirmed by fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) in all tumors found to have gene amplification. In an independent and blinded fashion, HER 2/neu expression was assessed in paraffin sections from 139 of the tumor specimens using the HercepTest kit. HER 2/neu gene amplification was observed in 4 (2.4%) of the 169 tumor specimens and in none of the normal tissues. There was no apparent association with stage of disease, tumor grade or patient survival. Among 139 cases evaluated by immunohistochemistry (IHC), HER 2/neu overexpression was seen in 5 cases (3.6%). There was extremely high concordance (kappa = 0.852) between gene amplification and protein overexpression. The low prevalence of HER 2/neu gene amplification and protein overexpression suggests that this oncogene plays an infrequent role in the development and progression of colon cancer. These data indicate that the primary mechanism of dysregulated HER 2/neu expression in colon cancer, as in breast cancer, is gene amplification.
Validation of the Intrapersonal Technology Integration Scale: Assessing the Influence of Intrapersonal Factors that Influence Technology Integration

ABSTRACT Teachers' beliefs about their self-efficacy for integrating technology, their outcome expectations for integrating technology, and their interest in using technology to support student learning influence their intentions for incorporating technology into their instructional practices. To date, instruments developed to examine the relationships among these factors have focused primarily on measuring self-efficacy. The Intrapersonal Technology Integration scale was developed to expand our understanding of intrapersonal cognitive variables that affect teachers' predispositions toward integrating technology into their teaching.
Time-Complexity Semantics for Feasible Affine Recursions

The authors' ATR programming formalism is a version of call-by-value PCF under a complexity-theoretically motivated type system. ATR programs run in type-2 polynomial-time and all standard type-2 basic feasible functionals are ATR -definable ( ATR types are confined to levels 0, 1, and 2). A limitation of the original version of ATR is that the only directly expressible recursions are tail-recursions. Here we extend ATR so that a broad range of affine recursions are directly expressible. In particular, the revised ATR can fairly naturally express the classic insertion- and selection-sort algorithms, thus overcoming a sticking point of most prior implicit-complexity-based formalisms. The paper's main work is in extending and simplifying the original time-complexity semantics for ATR to develop a set of tools for extracting and solving the higher-type recurrences arising from feasible affine recursions.
Genetic Reconstruction of the Aerobic Central Metabolism in Escherichia coli for the Absolute Aerobic Production of Succinate

Most reported efforts to enhance production of the industrially valuable specialty chemical succinate have been done under anaerobic conditions, where E. coli undergoes mixed-acid fermentation. These efforts have of- ten been hampered by the limitations of NADH availability, poor cell growth, and slow production. An aerobic succi- nate production system was strategically designed that allows E. coli to produce and accumulate succinate effi- ciently and substantially as a product under absolute aer- obic conditions. Mutations in the tricarboxylic acid cycle (sdhAB, icd, iclR) and acetate pathways (poxB, ackA-pta) of E. coli were created to construct the glyoxylate cycle for aerobic succinate production. Experiments in flask studies showed that 14.28 mM of succinate could be produced aerobically with a yield of 0.344 mole/mole using 55 mM glucose. In aerobic batch reactor studies, succinate pro- duction rate was faster, reaching 0.5 mole/mole in 24 h with a concentration of 22.12 mM; further cultivation showed that succinate production reached 43 mM with a yield of 0.7. There was also substantial pyruvate and TCA cycle C6 intermediate accumulation in the mutant. The results suggest that more metabolic engineering improve- ments can be made to this system to make aerobic succi- nate production more efficient. Nevertheless, this aerobic succinate production system provides the first platform for enhancing succinate production aerobically in E. coli based on the creation of a new aerobic central metabolic
Broiler Carcass Bacterial Counts After Immersion Chilling Using Either a Low or High Volume of Water

A study was conducted to investigate the bacteriological impact of using different volumes of water during immersion chilling of broiler carcasses. Market-aged broilers were processed, and carcasses were cut into left and right halves along the keel bone immediately after the final bird wash. One half of each carcass pair was individually chilled at 4 degrees C in a separate bag containing either 2.1 L/kg (low) or 16.8 L/kg (high) of distilled water. Carcass halves were submersed in a secondary chill tank containing approximately 150 L of an ice-water mix (0.6 degrees C). After chilling for 45 min, carcass halves were rinsed with 100 mL of sterile water for 1 min. Rinses and chill water were analyzed for total aerobic bacteria (APC), Escherichia coli, Enterobacteriaceae, and Campylobacter. After chilling with a low volume of water, counts were 3.7, 2.5, 2.6, and 2.1 log(10) cfu/mL of rinse for APC, E. coli, Enterobacteriaceae, and Campylobacter, respectively. When a high volume of chill water was used, counts were 3.2, 1.7, 1.6, and 1.8 log(10) cfu/mL of rinse for APC, E. coli, Enterobacteriaceae, and Campylobacter, respectively. There was no difference in bacterial counts per milliliter of chill water among treatments. These results show that using additional water during immersion chilling of inoculated broilers will remove more bacteria from the carcass surfaces, but numbers of bacteria per milliliter in the chiller water will remain constant. The bacteriological impact of using more water during commercial immersion chilling may not be enough to offset economic costs.
Nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate : A new Ca2+ releasing agent in kidney

Nicotinic acid adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAADP), a molecule derived from beta-NADP, has been shown to trigger Ca2+ release from intracellular stores of invertebrate eggs and mammalian cell microsomes. NAADP-induced Ca2+ release occurs through a mechanism distinct from that of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate- or cyclic ADP-ribose-elicited Ca2+ release. This study investigated whether NAADP can be synthesized in rat kidney. Extracts from glomeruli, mesangial cells, and papilla have high NAADP synthetic capacities. Conversely, synthesis of NAADP in kidney cortex was almost undetectable. Furthermore, 9-cis-retinoic acid significantly up-regulated NAADP synthesis in mesangial cells. Authenticity of NAADP biosynthesis in glomeruli was affirmed by HPLC analysis. NAADP stimulated Ca2+ release from mesangial cell microsomes through a pathway distinct from that of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate or cyclic ADP-ribose. NAADP-triggered Ca2+ release may play an important role in regulation of renal function.
Microstructural development in an aluminum alloy-SiC whisker composite

Abstract Microstructural development in a powder metallurgy 2124 aluminum alloy-SiC whisker composite subject to controlled and systematic aging treatments was investigated using analytical transmission electron microscopy, quantitative analysis of precipitate growth, matrix microhardness measurements and studies of changes in electrical conductivity. In order to build a basis for comparison, the precipitation characteristics of the unreinforced matrix material with an identical processing history were also examined. The results indicate that the matrix of the composite material has a much greater density of dislocations than the control alloy. The increased dislocation density facilitates the nucleation of strengthening precipitates whereby the incubation time for precipitate nucleation and the aging time to achieve peak hardness in the matrix are significantly reduced for the composite as compared to the unreinforced matrix material. Theoretical analyses of dislocation generation due to thermal expansion mismatch and of the punching of dislocations at whisker ends are examined in the context of microstructural development in the metal-matrix composite. An attempt is made to address the issues essential to a thorough and systematic microstructural characterization and to develop a framework for a fundamental understanding of microstructural evolution in discontinuous fiber-reinforced metal-matrix composites.
work and autonomy: women in Accra

This paper evaluates the autonomy that a group of nonelite urban Ghanaian women possess in their work options. To that end, I examine those factors that have been influential. These include: the association of education and employment and the exclusion of women, both outgrowths of Victorian attitudes; traditional notions about “the woman's place” and female occupations; the influence of others; and financial considerations. I suggest that the women operate in a society in which dependencies exist and shift, in which they are dependent upon the guidance of others. Furthermore, they have internalized the same values that have kept them out of the modern occupational structure. As a consequence, they are not free to make their own decisions and go into new fields of endeavor.
Multiple transcription factors directly regulate Hox gene lin-39 expression in ventral hypodermal cells of the C. elegans embryo and larva, including the hypodermal fate regulators LIN-26 and ELT-6

Hox genes encode master regulators of regional fate specification during early metazoan development. Much is known about the initiation and regulation of Hox gene expression in Drosophila and vertebrates, but less is known in the non-arthropod invertebrate model system, C. elegans. The C. elegans Hox gene lin-39 is required for correct fate specification in the midbody region, including the Vulval Precursor Cells (VPCs). To better understand lin-39 regulation and function, we aimed to identify transcription factors necessary for lin-39 expression in the VPCs, and in particular sought factors that initiate lin-39 expression in the embryo. We used the yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) method to screen for factors that bound to 13 fragments from the lin-39 region: twelve fragments contained sequences conserved between C. elegans and two other nematode species, while one fragment was known to drive reporter gene expression in the early embryo in cells that generate the VPCs. Sixteen transcription factors that bind to eight lin-39 genomic fragments were identified in yeast, and we characterized several factors by verifying their physical interactions in vitro, and showing that reduction of their function leads to alterations in lin-39 levels and lin-39::GFP reporter expression in vivo. Three factors, the orphan nuclear hormone receptor NHR-43, the hypodermal fate regulator LIN-26, and the GATA factor ELT-6 positively regulate lin-39 expression in the embryonic precursors to the VPCs. In particular, ELT-6 interacts with an enhancer that drives GFP expression in the early embryo, and the ELT-6 site we identified is necessary for proper embryonic expression. These three factors, along with the factors ZTF-17, BED-3 and TBX-9, also positively regulate lin-39 expression in the larval VPCs. These results significantly expand the number of factors known to directly bind and regulate lin-39 expression, identify the first factors required for lin-39 expression in the embryo, and hint at a positive feedback mechanism involving GATA factors that maintains lin-39 expression in the vulval lineage. This work indicates that, as in other organisms, the regulation of Hox gene expression in C. elegans is complicated, redundant and robust.
The SEED and the Rapid Annotation of microbial genomes using Subsystems Technology (RAST)

In 2004, the SEED (http://pubseed.theseed.org/) was created to provide consistent and accurate genome annotations across thousands of genomes and as a platform for discovering and developing de novo annotations. The SEED is a constantly updated integration of genomic data with a genome database, web front end, API and server scripts. It is used by many scientists for predicting gene functions and discovering new pathways. In addition to being a powerful database for bioinformatics research, the SEED also houses subsystems (collections of functionally related protein families) and their derived FIGfams (protein families), which represent the core of the RAST annotation engine (http://rast.nmpdr.org/). When a new genome is submitted to RAST, genes are called and their annotations are made by comparison to the FIGfam collection. If the genome is made public, it is then housed within the SEED and its proteins populate the FIGfam collection. This annotation cycle has proven to be a robust and scalable solution to the problem of annotating the exponentially increasing number of genomes. To date, >12 000 users worldwide have annotated >60 000 distinct genomes using RAST. Here we describe the interconnectedness of the SEED database and RAST, the RAST annotation pipeline and updates to both resources.
Aging, Obsolescence, and Organizational Innovation:

This paper investigates the relationship between organizational aging and innovation processes to illuminate the dynamics of high-technology industries, as well to resolve debates in organizational...
Whistler mode radio sounding from IMAGE of field aligned electron and ion densities in the plasmasphere below 4000 km

Whistler mode sounding from IMAGE is a unique and novel method that permits remote sensing of field aligned electron density and ion composition in the altitude range 90–4000 km. These measurements are not possible with topside radio sounders utilizing other plasma wave modes. We present results from the radio sounding of the plasmasphere. Preliminary analysis of more than 250 cases of whistler mode echoes observed on IMAGE was performed to obtain: (1) dayside and nightside distribution of electron and H+, O+, and He+ ion densities in the L-shell range 1.6 to 4 during geomagnetically quiet to moderate conditions, and (2) variations in electron and ion densities as a function of geomagnetic storm activity. The results from whistler mode sounding will lead to new empirical models of field aligned electron and ion densities within the plasmasphere as a function L-shell, MLT, and geomagnetic activity. These models can be used to build as well as to test physics based models of the ionosphere and plasmasphere and of the coupling between the two and the underlying thermosphere.
A View of the Commercial Application of Ion Implantation for Silicon VLSI Manufacturing

The development of ion implantation for doping of Si-IC devices is reviewed with a special focus on some of the commercial as well as technological factors.
Dynamical modeling and controller design of four wheels driven intelligent vehicle on three-dimensional terrain

Research on intelligent vehicle which based on three-dimensional terrain is the kernel of control technology. The focus of this work is to design trajectory tracking control system via state space method. We established the kinematic and dynamic models, inferred the state space equations under the condition of given parameters. Then the trajectory tracking controller and computer simulation were made. The results indicate that tracking time is short and steady errors between reference outputs and current outputs goes to zero asymptotically, so control system design scheme is feasible.
Using Simulation Modeling and Analysis to Assess the Effect of Variability and Flexibility on Supply Chain Lead Time

In today’s highly competitive marketplace, enterprises are in constant need to improve and sustain their existence. Two key supply-chain performance measures are lead time and variability in lead time, both of which affect sustainability of manufacturing and logistics systems. One way that has been proposed to improve both measures is to increase supplier flexibility. Our research focuses on defining the effects of various manufacturing and logistics flexibility-related factors on lead time and its variability. We use simulation modeling and analysis as the basis for studying the impact of both design and system factors on performance. In this chapter, we present our findings on the effect on lead time of supplier flexibility level, proportion of process time that is production and transportation time, and level of variability in process time. We also discuss briefly our flexibility-factor framework and conceptual model for the simulation, as well as its implementation in FlexSim simulation software.
DMT achieving schemes for the isotropic fading vector broadcast channel

In this paper, we consider the isotropic fading broadcast channel. This channel refers to the case when no directional information is available at the transmitter side, and was studied by Jafar et al in. It was shown that the isotropic vector broadcast channel (BC-V) can be reduced to an equivalent scalar broadcast channel (BC-S). It is well known from [2]http://www.pimrc2008.org/ that BC-S is degraded in the same order as the channel magnitude. This implies that the optimal strategy that maximizes the sum capacity for BC-S and BCV consists on allocating the whole power to the strongest user. Based on these results, we derive in this paper the diversity multiplexing tradeoff (DMT) of the isotropic fading BC-S and BC-V, and we propose optimal schemes that achieve these DMT.
Structuring Joint Ventures between For-profit and Tax-exempt Entities

Not-for-profit entities are increasingly seeking partnerships with individual investors and for-profit entities as a source of financing for exempt-related projects. These joint ventures, however, are fraught with danger for the tax-exempt entity. The IRS has vacillated between a favorable stance and an unfavorable stance towards tax-exempt status of tax-exempt and for-profit entity partnerships. A 1991 General Council Memorandum sent a chill through non-profit and for-profit partnerships by reviewing three letter rulings (all of which had approved non-profit and for-profit partnerships) by advising modification or revocation of each prior ruling. This apparent reversal of prior IRS opinion increased the uncertainty for practitioners. Recent rulings clarify the partnership structure needed to protect the non-profit status of the tax-exempt partner. This article reviews recent guidance in forming these partnerships in a manner that will protect the non-profit entity's tax-exempt status, yet still allow it to attract needed capital from taxable partners.
Abstract 93: Androgen Regulation of Protection Provided by Inhibition of TRPM2 Channels against Experimental Stroke in Mice

Introduction: Stroke is a sexually dimorphic disease that affects men more severely than women. Transient receptor potential (TRP) channels have been implicated in ischemia-induced neuronal damage. We recently demonstrated that pharmacological and genetic inhibition of TRPM2, a member of the TRP channel superfamily, protects against cerebral ischemia in male mice, while having no effect in females. In addition, TRPM2 channels are activated by adenine dinucleotide phosphate ribose (ADPr) generated by poly(ADPr) polymerase (PARP). In this study, we examined the role of male sex steroids in TRPM2 engagement following experimental stroke. Methods: Focal ischemia was induced by 60 min of middle cerebral artery occlusion in male C57Bl/6 mice. To assess the efficacy of post-insult administration of TRPM2 inhibitor clotrimazole (CTZ), intact mice were treated with either CTZ (30 mg/kg) or vehicle 1 h after reperfusion. Mice were castrated (CAST) in order to remove sex steroids and either dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or vehicle was implanted. Then, animals were treated with either CTZ or vehicle 1 hr after reperfusion. The infarct sizes were evaluated in TRPM2 -/- mice to confirm TRPM2 engagement. We further compared the PARP activity in intact male and female brain to that in ischemic brain. Results: Animals treated with CTZ had significantly smaller infarcts compared to vehicle treated animals (46.2±3.1% (n=8) in vehicle vs. 32.5±3.6% (n=8; P -/- mice had smaller infarcts compared to wild type (28.4±7.0 (n=5) vs. 49.0±1.2 (n=5); P Conclusions: These data indicate that TRPM2 inhibition provides protection from ischemic stroke in male animals in an androgen-dependent manner. Therefore, androgen status must be considered when considering inhibition of TRPM2 channels as a potential therapeutic strategy in men.
Medicare as Insurance Innovator: The Case of Hospice

The stylized fact is that while private insurance has tended to innovate on the benefit design side of the insurance contract, Medicare has lead innovation on the payment side. Traditional or Fee-For-Service Medicare has produced many innovations in the payment for health care services, such as Prospective Payment for hospitals, Diagnostic-Related Groups to categorize care, and the Resource-Based Relative Value System used by the program to pay physicians, while private insurance has produced a series of benefit design innovations. This story misses one important example of Medicare benefit innovation: the creation of the Medicare hospice benefit. A key question is whether Medicare can again lead a system-wide benefit design effort to improve upon current hospice and palliative care policy.
The cAMP-dependent kinase pathway and human sperm acrosomal exocytosis.

The human sperm acrosome reaction (AR) appears to be analogous to various somatic cell exocytotic events. The AR can be induced in vitro by naturally occurring and synthetic compounds, such as, human periovulatory follicular fluid (hFF) and calcium ionophore A23187. The events that culminate in the AR appear to involve at least two second messenger pathways. One pathway involves the generation of the second messenger adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) by the amplifying enzyme adenylate cyclase and leading to the activation of cAMP-dependent kinase (PKA). The effect of PKA stimulators, such as, forskolin and cAMP analogues, on AR was tested and they were found to stimulate the AR. Inhibitors of specific components in the PKA pathway, e.g. adenosine analogues and PKA inhibitors, induced dose-dependent reductions in the AR. Furthermore, naturally occurring agonists, including, hFF and solubilized human zona pellucida (sZP), in combination with PKA inhibitors, led to a significantly lower AR. Collectively, these data provide strong support for the role of the PKA pathway in the AR.
328 THROMBOCYTOPENIC SYNDROMES MASQUERADING AS CHILDHOOD IMMUNE THROMBOCYTOPENIC PURPURA: A 10-YEAR REVIEW.

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is the most common cause of thrombocytopenia in children and adolescents. However, there are a number of other diagnoses that are often mistaken for ITP. A 10-year retrospective chart review (1993-2003) was performed at the Children9s Hospital of Alabama to characterize ITP. Initially, 492 patients who had the coded diagnosis of ITP (ICD 287.3) were identified. However, 83 (17%) patients were found to have alternative diagnoses on chart review. Of the 83 patients, 13 patients represented coding errors or study classification errors. The 70 remaining patients had an alternative explanation for their thrombocytopenia, consisting of 31 different diagnoses. The most common diagnoses were familial thrombocytopenia (10%), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (9%), hypersplenism (9%), neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (7%), and Wiskott-Aldrich disease (7%). Sixteen of the patients (23%) were ultimately diagnosed with one of a number of congenital syndromes with concurrent thrombocytopenia. These included Wiskott-Aldrich, thrombocytopenia with absent radii, Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, Fanconi9s anemia, Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome, DiGeorge syndrome, and osteopetrosis. Ten patients (14%) were diagnosed with a rheumatologic/autoimmune disease (SLE, rheumatoid arthritis, Evan9s syndrome, and Crohn9s disease). Four patients (6%) had an infectious etiology (CMV, HIV, gram-negative septicemia). Six patients (9%) had disorders of impaired hematopoiesis or platelet segmentation (macrothrombocytopenia, May Hegglin anomaly, amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia, and aplastic anemia). There were nine patients (13%) who had neonatal autoimmune thrombocytopenia. The alternative diagnoses were defined by history, physical examination, blood smear interpretation, and further diagnostic studies. Although our review confirms that most children with thrombocytopenia are diagnosed with ITP, fully 17% of our population in a tertiary care medical center manifested other diagnoses. The clinician evaluating a child with thrombocytopenia must keep an open mind about the possible diagnosis and perform a comprehensive evaluation to include careful physical examination, complete blood count with differential, review of the peripheral blood smear to evaluate for platelet size, morphology and leukocyte inclusions, and other directed laboratory studies based on the clinical picture. ITP must be a diagnosis of exclusion as misdiagnosis of ITP in a child with thrombocytopenia may have a significant impact on morbidity and mortality.
A Method to Identify Properties of Cross-Country Faults Occurred in Common-Tower Double-Circuit Transmission Line With Shunt Reactors

The terminal voltage of faulty phase in common-tower double circuit transmission lines with shunt reactors is analysed in complex frequency domain in detail, and a method to identify the property of the fault by β mode voltage in the fault phases is proposed, here the β mode voltage is the mean value difference of voltages of fault phases in different circuits. Simulation of the IABIIBC cross-country fault is performed and a conclusion that the properties of cross-country faults can be identified by β mode voltage of fault phases is attained synthetically, and the general formula to calculate the β mode voltage under different types of cross-country faults is given. Under transient cross-country faults both power frequency component and free frequency component exist in the β mode voltage; under permanent cross-country faults only power frequency component exists in the β mode voltage. Extracting the amplitude of free frequency component in the β mode voltage by least squares method the property of the fault can be identified exactly. The principle of the proposed method is simple and it is of high sensitivity. A lot of ATP simulation results show that using the proposed method the properties of different types of cross-country faults can be identified, and this method can be applied to adaptive reclosure of common-tower double-circuit transmission lines with shunt reactors.
HIV prevalence and demographic determinants of condomless receptive anal intercourse among trans feminine individuals in Beirut, Lebanon

Introduction : Growing evidence suggests increased HIV incidence in the Middle East and North Africa among “key populations.” To date, epidemiological data have not accurately included and measured HIV prevalence and risk among trans feminine individuals in the region. Through the lens of the Gender Affirmation Framework, we assessed demographic correlates of risk behaviour and the prevalence of HIV among trans feminine individuals in Lebanon. Methods: Long-chain referral sampling was used to recruit 53 participants for completion of a behavioural survey and optional free rapid HIV tests. Data were collected using interviewer-administered questionnaires. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to identify demographic determinants of HIV risk behaviour. Results: Fifty-seven percent of participants reported condomless receptive anal intercourse (CRAI) with male partner(s) in the last three months, 40% of whom reported not knowing the HIV status of the partner(s). Of the participants tested for HIV as part of the study or via self-report, four (10%) were HIV positive; 13 declined HIV testing. Forty percent of the sample had no prior history of HIV testing. A history of trauma such as sexual abuse/assault was reported by almost half of the participants (49%). Sixty-eight percent reported experiencing physical violence and 32% police arrest, because of gender identity or presentation. A staggering 98% reported having experienced gender identity or gender presentation-related discrimination. Sixty-six percent of the sample reported current sex work; sex work was correlated with CRAI but was not significant in multivariate analysis. In regression analysis, “openness”/“outness” about transgender identity at work or school was significantly associated with CRAI. Surprisingly, a history of sexual abuse/assault was negatively correlated with CRAI, suggesting the need for further inquiry. Conclusions: The results of this study provide implications for how to address sexual health among trans feminine individuals in Lebanon and the greater Middle East and North Africa region. Keywords: trans feminine; transgender; Lebanon; Middle East and North Africa (MENA); URAI; CRAI; HIV prevalence. (Published: 17 July 2016) Citation: Kaplan RL et al. Journal of the International AIDS Society 2016, 19(Suppl 2) :20787 http://www.jiasociety.org/index.php/jias/article/view/20787 | http://dx.doi.org/10.7448/IAS.19.3.20787
SYMPTOM PRESENTATIONS AND CLASSIFICATION OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER IN EARLY CHILDHOOD: APPLICATION TO THE DIAGNOSTIC CLASSIFICATION OF MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS OF INFANCY AND EARLY CHILDHOOD (DC:0–5)

Over the past 5 years, a great deal of information about the early course of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has emerged from longitudinal prospective studies of infants at high risk for developing ASD based on a previously diagnosed older sibling. The current article describes early ASD symptom presentations and outlines the rationale for defining a new disorder, Early Atypical Autism Spectrum Disorder (EA-ASD) to accompany ASD in the new revision of the ZERO TO THREE Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC:0–5) (in press) alternative diagnostic classification manual. EA-ASD is designed to identify children who are 9 to 36 months of age presenting with a minimum of (a) two social-communication symptoms and (b) one repetitive and restricted behavior symptom as well as (c) evidence of impairment, with the intention of providing these children with appropriately tailored services and improving the likelihood of optimizing their development.
Hematologic Nadirs During Chemoradiation for Anal Cancer: Temporal Characterization and Dosimetric Predictors

Purpose Pelvic bone marrow (BM) constraints may offer a means to reduce the toxicity commonly associated with chemoradiation for anal cancer. We conducted a bi-institutional analysis of dose-volume metrics in a time-sensitive fashion to devise practical metrics to minimize hematologic toxicity. Methods and Materials Fifty-six anal cancer patients from 2 institutions received definitive radiation therapy (median primary dose of 54 Gy) using intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT, n=49) or 3-dimensional (3D) conformal therapy (n=7) with concurrent 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and mitomycin C. Weekly blood counts were retrospectively plotted to characterize the time course of cytopenias. Dose-volume parameters were correlated with blood counts at a standardized time point to identify predictors of initial blood count nadirs. Results Leukocytes, neutrophils, and platelets reached a nadir at week 3 of treatment. Smaller volumes of the pelvic BM correlated most strongly with lower week 3 blood counts, more so than age, sex, body mass index (BMI), or dose metrics. Patients who had ≥750 cc of pelvic BM spared from doses of ≥30 Gy had 0% grade 3+ leukopenia or neutropenia at week 3. Higher V40 Gy to the lower pelvic BM (LP V40) also correlated with cytopenia. Patients with an LP V40 >23% had higher rates of grade 3+ leukopenia (29% vs 4%, P =.02), grade 3+ neutropenia (33% vs 8%, P =.04), and grade 2+ thrombocytopenia (32% vs 7%, P =.04) at week 3. On multivariate analysis, pelvic BM volume and LP V40 remained associated with leukocyte count, and all marrow subsite volumes remained associated with neutrophil counts at week 3 ( P Conclusions Larger pelvic BM volumes correlate with less severe leukocyte and neutrophil nadirs, suggesting that larger total "marrow reserve" can mitigate cytopenias. Sparing a critical marrow reserve and limiting the V40 Gy to the lower pelvis may reduce the risk of hematologic toxicity.
An introduction of Markov chain Monte Carlo method to geochemical inverse problems: Reading melting parameters from REE abundances in abyssal peridotites

Abstract Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation is a powerful statistical method in solving inverse problems that arise from a wide range of applications. In Earth sciences applications of MCMC simulations are primarily in the field of geophysics. The purpose of this study is to introduce MCMC methods to geochemical inverse problems related to trace element fractionation during mantle melting. MCMC methods have several advantages over least squares methods in deciphering melting processes from trace element abundances in basalts and mantle rocks. Here we use an MCMC method to invert for extent of melting, fraction of melt present during melting, and extent of chemical disequilibrium between the melt and residual solid from REE abundances in clinopyroxene in abyssal peridotites from Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Central Indian Ridge, Southwest Indian Ridge, Lena Trough, and American-Antarctic Ridge. We consider two melting models: one with exact analytical solution and the other without. We solve the latter numerically in a chain of melting models according to the Metropolis–Hastings algorithm. The probability distribution of inverted melting parameters depends on assumptions of the physical model, knowledge of mantle source composition, and constraints from the REE data. Results from MCMC inversion are consistent with and provide more reliable uncertainty estimates than results based on nonlinear least squares inversion. We show that chemical disequilibrium is likely to play an important role in fractionating LREE in residual peridotites during partial melting beneath mid-ocean ridge spreading centers. MCMC simulation is well suited for more complicated but physically more realistic melting problems that do not have analytical solutions.
Prebiotics, Probiotics, and Health Promotion:: An Overview

The gastrointestinal tract is more than a cell-lined tube just digesting and absorbing nutrients. It is a complicated specialized ecosystem where not just the walls but the contents interact with each other and everything that enters it. It is home to over 500 different species of bacteria and an appendage to the host. The detrimental effects of harmful bacteria are well known, but now discoveries are being made on the benefits of other bacteria, probiotics, and how to stimulate their growth with prebiotics. Benefits range from improving immune function to prevention of travel diarrhea and possibly even colorectal cancer and the management of obesity.
The Role of Content Knowledge in Ill-Structured Problem Solving for High School Physics Students.

While Physics Education Research has a rich tradition of problem-solving scholarship, most of the work has focused on more traditional, well-defined problems. Less work has been done with ill-structured problems, problems that are better aligned with the engineering and design-based scenarios promoted by the Next Generation Science Standards. This study explored the relationship between physics content knowledge and ill-structured problem solving for two groups of high school students with different levels of content knowledge. Both groups of students completed an ill-structured problem set, using a talk-aloud procedure to narrate their thought process as they worked. Analysis of the data focused on identifying students’ solution pathways, as well as the obstacles that prevented them from reaching “reasonable” solutions. Students with more content knowledge were more successful reaching reasonable solutions for each of the problems, experiencing fewer obstacles. These students also employed a greater variety of solution pathways than those with less content knowledge. Results suggest that a student’s solution pathway choice may depend on how she perceives the problem.
“When” Students Miss School: The Role of Timing of Absenteeism on Students’ Test Performance:

Policy and practice have charged forward with emphasizing the necessity to reduce school absenteeism in the fall (i.e., Attendance Awareness Month). However, no empirical basis served to bolster th...
Value-added effects of transit-oriented development: The impact of urban rail on commercial property values with consideration of spatial heterogeneity

This study investigates the impact of the Austin MetroRail on commercial property values. Spatial Durbin models (SDM) suggest a modest price premium associated with rail transit across the study area. A premium gradient is also presented at different distance tiers from stations. When it comes to transit-oriented development (TOD), a synergistic effect in enlarging the premium is found: with additional $9.0/ft2, $8.6/ft2 and $5.3/ft2 at 0.25 mi, 0.25–0.5 mi and 0.5–0.75 mi, respectively. Furthermore, geographically weighted regression shows the premium is significantly higher in central business district (CBD) and TOD areas. Such recognition of the heterogeneous price effect is of use in the design of project financing and TOD strategies.
A Dataset and Classifier for Recognizing Social Media English

While language identification works well on standard texts, it performs much worse on social media language, in particular dialectal language—even for English. First, to support work on English language identification, we contribute a new dataset of tweets annotated for English versus non-English, with attention to ambiguity, code-switching, and automatic generation issues. It is randomly sampled from all public messages, avoiding biases towards pre-existing language classifiers. Second, we find that a demographic language model—which identifies messages with language similar to that used by several U.S. ethnic populations on Twitter—can be used to improve English language identification performance when combined with a traditional supervised language identifier. It increases recall with almost no loss of precision, including, surprisingly, for English messages written by non-U.S. authors. Our dataset and identifier ensemble are available online.
Müller glial microRNAs are required for the maintenance of glial homeostasis and retinal architecture.

To better understand the roles of microRNAs in glial function, we used a conditional deletion of Dicer1 (Dicer-CKOMG) in retinal Muller glia (MG). Dicer1 deletion from the MG leads to an abnormal migration of the cells as early as 1 month after the deletion. By 6 months after Dicer1 deletion, the MG form large aggregations and severely disrupt normal retinal architecture and function. The most highly upregulated gene in the Dicer-CKOMG MG is the proteoglycan Brevican (Bcan) and overexpression of Bcan results in similar aggregations of the MG in wild-type retina. One potential microRNA that regulates Bcan is miR-9, and overexpression of miR-9 can partly rescue the effects of Dicer1 deletion on the MG phenotype. We also find that MG from retinitis pigmentosa patients display an increase in Brevican immunoreactivity at sites of MG aggregation, linking the retinal remodeling that occurs in chronic disease with microRNAs.
Utilizing Clinical Pharmacist Specialist to Manage Hepatitis C Virus Patients on Direct-Acting Antiviral Therapy

Objectives:To evaluate outcomes of a clinical pharmacist specialist (CPS)-managed hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment clinic (HCVTC) in treating HCV-infected veterans with direct-acting antivirals (D...
Exploring native genetic elements as plug-in tools for synthetic biology in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

The unicellular cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 has been widely used as a photoautotrophic host for synthetic biology studies. However, as a green chassis to capture CO2 for biotechnological applications, the genetic toolbox for Synechocystis 6803 is still a limited factor. We systematically characterized endogenous genetic elements of Synechocystis 6803, including promoters, ribosome binding sites, transcription terminators, and plasmids. Expression from twelve native promoters was compared by measuring fluorescence from the reporter protein EYFP in an identical setup, exhibiting an 8000-fold range of promoter activities. Moreover, we measured the strength of twenty native ribosome binding sites and eight native terminators, indicating their influence on the expression of the reporter genes. In addition, two shuttle vectors, pCA-UC118 and pCB-SC101, capable of replication in both Synechocystis 6803 and E. coli were constructed. Expression of reporter proteins were significantly enhanced in cells containing these new plasmids, thus providing superior gene expression platforms in this cyanobacterium. The results of this study provide useful and well characterized native tools for bioengineering work in the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis 6803.
The value of inventory and the direction of the supply chain bullwhip effect

The bullwhip effect (BWE) is the amplification of demand variability in a supply chain and can be quite costly for industry and society. In this empirical investigation of the BWE a three-stage supply chain is examined using monthly industry-level data. Time series regression equations are used to detect the BWE and its direction. Empirical evidence is found suggesting the BWE of a supply chain member is influenced by the BWE of the other members, as well as the values of inventory and inventory to sales ratios of own member and other members of supply chain. In addition, there is evidence that the direction of the BWE is not influenced by the members' horizontal positions in the network. It is shown that the wholesale BWE exhibits heteroscedastic and non-stationary behaviour; thus, making it difficult to predict over a long-horizon time period, unlike the BEW of the manufacturing and retail industries.
Percutaneous Carotid Artery Stenting

Stroke is a major cause of mortality and disability. It is the third leading cause of death in the United States. In fact, the annual incidence of new or recurrent stroke in the United States is about 700,000. Almost 25% of stroke victims will die within 1 yr of the event. About 70% of all strokes represent first attacks, making identification of those at greatest risk for stroke before the first event critical to impacting its overall incidence. Moreover, health care costs linked both directly and indirectly to stroke were estimated to exceed $51 billion in the United States in 2003, representing about 14% of the total expenditure for cardiovascular disease (1).