cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Climate as a game of chance

We use general concepts and simple models to examine the role of randomness in chaotic systems, like Earth's climate, in response to external forcing. The response of a simple homogeneous system is determined by its correlation function in accordance with the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. A structured (patterned) system responds in a more complicated way. Whereas its mean state (for example, Earth's global temperature) is changing only slightly, extreme events (such as floods and droughts) are increasing more dramatically in number. The statistics of extremes reveals remarkable properties, in particular, clustering (troubles never come alone, the saying goes) and are here illustrated by precipitation and space climate processes.
Comparative Effectiveness of Sulfonylurea and Metformin Monotherapy on Cardiovascular Events in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Cohort Study

Background The effects of sulfonylureas and metformin on outcomes of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in type 2 diabetes are not well-characterized. Objective To compare the effects of sulfonylureas and metformin on CVD outcomes (acute myocardial infarction and stroke) or death. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting National Veterans Health Administration databases linked to Medicare files. Patients Veterans who initiated metformin or sulfonylurea therapy for diabetes. Patients with chronic kidney disease or serious medical illness were excluded. Measurements Composite outcome of hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction or stroke, or death, adjusted for baseline demographic characteristics; medications; cholesterol, hemoglobin A1c, and serum creatinine levels; blood pressure; body mass index; health care utilization; and comorbid conditions. Results Among 253 690 patients initiating treatment (98 665 with sulfonylurea therapy and 155 025 with metformin therapy), crude rates of the composite outcome were 18.2 per 1000 person-years in sulfonylurea users and 10.4 per 1000 person-years in metformin users (adjusted incidence rate difference, 2.2 [95% CI, 1.4 to 3.0] more CVD events with sulfonylureas per 1000 person-years; adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.21 [CI, 1.13 to 1.30]). Results were consistent for both glyburide (aHR, 1.26 [CI, 1.16 to 1.37]) and glipizide (aHR, 1.15 [CI, 1.06 to 1.26]) in subgroups by CVD history, age, body mass index, and albuminuria; in a propensity score-matched cohort analysis; and in sensitivity analyses. Limitation Most of the veterans in the study population were white men; data on women and minority groups were limited but reflective of the Veterans Health Administration population. Conclusion Use of sulfonylureas compared with metformin for initial treatment of diabetes was associated with an increased hazard of CVD events or death. Primary funding source Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
New Synthetic Pathways to Tilorone Hydrochloride

Abstract Tilorone hydrochloride (1), the dihydrochloride of bis-2, 7-[(diethylamino)ethoxy]fluoren-9-one, is an orally active, interferon stimulating, antiviral agent in mice.1,2 Extensive studies have also shown the effectiveness of this compound as an antitumor and antiinflammatory agent.3,4 Tilorone hydrochloride is currently being investigated as an adjuvant in the early treatment of cancer.5
Contemporary issues on clopidogrel therapy: a critical appraisal

receptorantagonist. Following the results of the pivotal Clopidogrelversus Aspirin in Patients at Risk of Ischaemic Events(CAPRIE) trial [1], it received approval from the Food andDrug Administration in 1997 and Conformite´ Europe´ennein 1998. Subsequent studies extend on the indications forits use in the setting of acute coronary syndromes (ACS)[2], ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction [3, 4] andpercutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) [5, 6]. Despitethe robust clinical ﬁndings and indications for clopidogrelusage derived from these large-scale clinical trials per-formed over the course of the past decade, which areclearly reﬂected in clinical practice guidelines [7–9], thereare a large number of uncertainties regarding clopidogrelusage in daily real world practice. This is reﬂected by theplethora of publications dealing with clopidogrel over thecourse of the past several years. In a PubMed research, atotal of 660 citations were identiﬁed from the years 2000–2005, which is almost sevenfold higher than that of theprevious half-decade (1995–2000; n = 96). Strikingly,from years 2006 to 2008, the number of clopidogrel relatedcitations is 827 (Fig. 1). It is quite certain that these ﬁgureswill continue to increase over the course of the upcomingyears with the introduction of novel antiplatelet agents thatall have as their comparison agent clopidogrel, as this stillrepresents the ADP P2Y
Conformation analysis of 2,4-dibromopentane and 2,5-dibromohexane

Abstract IR spectra for 2,4-dibromopentane and 2,5-dibromohexane in the liquid and solid states, and liquid-state Raman spectra are reported. Conformational studies have been undertaken with the aid of normal coordinate calculations. The pentane exists in approximately equal concentrations of S HH S HH (meso) and S HH S CH ( dl ) conformers, but a small amount of S CH S CH ( meso ) is also present. The hexane exists in the dl form, but the presence or absence of the meso form could not be determined. The S HH S ′ HH and S HH S CH conformers are abundant in the neat liquid, but the sample crystallizes in the S HH S ′ HH conformation (CH 3 and Br on the same end of the molecule directed out of the plane of the carbon chain). The S CH S CH conformer is present in low concentration.
Ethics of over-scheduling: when enough becomes too much.

You are a busy vascular surgeon who takes emergency room call in a large private hospital with resident staff. As usual, your first two cases took longer than expected and you are getting ready to start a third case before the elective schedule closes and operating room (OR) staffing drops off. Between cases, you were consulted to perform a percutaneous tracheotomy on a patient in the intensive care unit (ICU) and now can either join a vascular surgery resident, who is waiting to perform the procedure, or start your third elective case. The resident is highly skilled, has passed general surgery boards, and has done many such procedures successfully. You have plans to attend a daughter's gymnastics meet. You have a busy clinic scheduled tomorrow.
Systematic Risk and Revenue Volatility

We introduce the degree of economic leverage (DEL) as an extension of the existing method of decomposing beta and assess its incremental explanatory power through empirical testing. The DEL is defined as the percentage change in the firm's sales resulting from a unit percentage change attributable to an exogenous economic disturbance. The exogenous economic disturbance employed is the ratio of long-term T-bond rates to short-term T-bill rates. The evidence supports the DEL's role in explaining systematic risk at both the industry and portfolio levels. However, we find mixed results at the firm level.
Photophysics and electron transfer in poly(3-octylthiophene) alternating with Ru(II)- and Os(II)-bipyridine complexes.

A series of soluble metal−organic polymers that contain Ru(II)− and Os(II)−polypyridine complexes interspersed within a π-conjugated poly(3-octylthiophene) backbone are prepared. Detailed electrochemical and photophysical studies are carried out on the polymers and two model complexes to determine the extent that the metal−polypyridine units interact with the π-conjugated system. The results indicate that there is a strong electronic interaction between the metal-based chromophores and the π-conjugated organic segments, and consequently the photophysical properties are not simply based on the sum of the properties of the individual components. In the Ru(II) polymers, the metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) excited state is slightly higher in energy than the 3π,π* state of the poly(3-octylthiophene) backbone. This state ordering results in a material that displays only a weak MLCT luminescence and a long-lived transient absorption spectrum that is dominated by the 3π,π* state. In the Os(II) polymer the ...
Monoclonal rat antibodies to murine IgM determinants.

Abstract A series of 6 hybrid clones are described which produced antibodies directed to murine IgM. These were derived by immunizing rats with W279 B-lymphoma cells and then fusing the immune spleen cells to enzyme-deficient murine plasmacytoma cell lines. Immunoenzymatic techniques were used to select clones producing desirable antibodies to cell surface or soluble antigens. Antibodies from 3 of the clones (293.14, 414.18 and 307.5) preferentially bound to idiotypic determinants of W279 immunoglobulin whereas the remaining 3 clones made antibodies which bound to various myeloma and normal cell surface IgM molecules. One IgM-specific clone (287.2) produced antibody of relatively low avidity. The two other clones (81.20 and 331.12) which secreted anti-μ antibodies appeared to be directed to determinants which differed in glutaraldehyde lability and expression in F(ab′) 2 preparations.
Long-term diabetogenic effect of single pregnancy in women with previous gestational diabetes mellitus

Abstract Summary Background Pregnancy is associated with marked insulin resistance that seems to have little, if any, impact on the long-term risk of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) in the general population. The aim of this study was to test whether pregnancy would alter the risk of NIDDM among women with a high prevalence of pancreatic β-cell dysfunction, as indicated by a history of gestational diabetes mellitus. Methods The cohort consisted of 666 Latino women with gestational diabetes attending a high-risk family planning clinic. They were followed up for up to 7·5 years, during which time they were weighed and underwent an oral glucose-tolerance test annually. The effect of an additional pregnancy, and of other risk factors for diabetes, was examined. Findings 87 (13%) of the women completed an additional pregnancy. 80 of those women did not have NIDDM immediately after the additional pregnancy and their subsequent annual incidence rate of NIDDM was 30·9% (95% Cl 12·7-49·1), more than 2·5 times the annual incidence rate of NIDDM in the cohort overall (11·9%; 95% Cl 10·0-13·8). Proportional hazards regression analysis using the presence or absence of an additional pregnancy as a time-dependent variable confirmed that an additional pregnancy increased the rate ratio of NIDDM to 3·34 (95% Cl 1·80-6·19), compared with women without an additional pregnancy after adjustment for other potential diabetes risk factors during the index pregnancy (antepartum oral glucose tolerance, highest fasting glucose, gestational age at diagnosis of gestational diabetes) and during follow-up (postpartum body mass index [BMI], and glucose tolerance, weight change, breast feeding, and months of contraceptive use). Weight gain also was independently associated with an increased risk of NIDDM; the rate ratio was 1·95 (95% Cl 1·63-2·33) for each 10 lb (4·5 kg) gained during follow-up after adjustment for the additional pregnancy and the other potential risk factors. Interpretation The study showed that a single pregnancy, independent of the well-known effect of weight gain, accelerated the development of NIDDM in a group of women with a high prevalence of pancreatic β-cell dysfunction. This finding implies that episodes of insulin resistance may contribute to the decline in β-cell function that leads to NIDDM in many high-risk individuals.
Exploring complexity with the Hohokam Water Management Simulation: A middle way for archaeological modeling

Abstract The Hohokam Water Management Simulation is a simulation model constructed to explore the dynamics that underlie the long-term trajectory of the Hohokam, a people who lived in what is today Arizona (USA) and who built large-scale irrigation systems and operated them successfully for approximately 1000 years. The nature of the data available and the form of questions that the context prompts lead to a novel modeling approach that is described here. The core of the approach is the ability to shift the model's components along axes from highly detailed to very abstract, while pursuing a suite of related but distinct goals. The intent is to allow questions about the behavior of the entire socionatural system to be investigated to discern and explore complex system dynamics. The modeling framework and underlying theory is explicated, a (purely demonstrative) example is presented, and current work and future plans are discussed.
Transplacental transfer of oseltamivir carboxylate.

Objectives: Determine the bidirectional transfer of oseltamivir carboxylate (OC) across term human placenta and its distribution between the tissue, maternal and fetal circuits. Methods: The techni...
Detection and classification performance levels of mammographic masses under different computer-aided detection cueing environments1☆

Abstract Rationale and objectives The authors evaluated the impact of different computer-aided detection (CAD) cueing conditions on radiologists’ performance levels in detecting and classifying masses depicted on mammograms. Materials and methods In an observer performance study, eight radiologists interpreted 110 subtle cases six times under different display conditions to detect depicted masses and classify them as benign or malignant. Forty-five cases depicted biopsy-proven masses and 65 were negative. One mass-based cueing sensitivity of 80% and two false-positive cueing rates of 1.2 and 0.5 per image were used in this study. In one mode, radiologists first interpreted images without CAD results, followed by the display of cues and reinterpretation. In another mode, radiologists viewed CAD cues as images were presented and then interpreted images. Free-response receiver operating characteristic method was used to analyze and compare detection performance. The receiver operating characteristic method was used to evaluate classification performance. Results At these performance levels, providing cues after initial interpretation had little effect on the overall performance in detecting masses. However, in the mode with the highest false-positive cueing rate, viewing CAD cues immediately upon display of images significantly reduced average performance for both detection and classification tasks ( P Conclusion CAD systems with low sensitivity (≤80% on mass-based detection) and high false-positive rate (≥0.5 per image) in a dataset with subtle abnormalities had little effect on radiologists’ performance in the detection and classification of mammographic masses.
Integrating spectral preprocessing, spatial subband decomposition, and linear prediction to accomplish lossy ultraspectral image compression

We propose a new architecture to accomplish lossy ultraspectral data compression where we particularly focus on AIRS (Atmospheric Infrared Sounder) images. In general AIRS images are good candidates for compression as they include more than two thousand spectral bands that account for over 40MB of data per single data cube. In our proposed compression technique the input image is first preprocessed by means of spatial subband decomposition followed by a spectral band ordering stage which is applied in order to increase the correlation between contiguous spectral bands. The resulting image is segmented on a spectral band basis in such a way that spectral bands are scanned to generate a speech-like signal that exhibits a higher spectral interband than intraband correlation and therefore can be modeled as an AR (autoregressive) process. As final step the data is processed through a compression stage involving short and long term forward linear prediction that produces an error signal that is encoded using a CELP (Code Excited Linear Prediction) scheme. The forward linear prediction filter order and the resolution of the CELP codebooks are adjusted depending on the spatial subband that originates the signal being predicted. By manipulating several parameters of both the preprocessing and compression stages different rate-distortion curves are obtained and highly efficient compression is achieved.
Evaluating medication-related services in a hospital setting using the disconfirmation of expectations model of satisfaction.

Abstract Background Patient satisfaction is considered an important outcome measure of services and associated with behavioral intentions. The appraisal process commonly used in satisfaction models is the disconfirmation of expectations. A patient compares his or her experience to preexisting expectations. The resulting satisfaction from this comparison is dependent on whether the patient's expectations are superior, inferior, or just as expected. Objectives The aims of this study were to (1) determine the relationship between disconfirmation of expectations with medication-related services and patient satisfaction with medical care; and (2) determine if patient satisfaction is related to the likelihood to say good things about the medical care provided at the hospital to family and friends. Methods A cross-sectional, nonexperimental study design was implemented to test the disconfirmation of expectations model. Patients on warfarin therapy and recently discharged from an acute care hospital to their homes were surveyed by mail. The survey asked about how well the hospital services related to medication therapy met patient expectations. Satisfaction with medical care and the likelihood of positive word of mouth regarding the medical care were also measured. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the model. Results The survey response rate was 34% (n = 187). Factor analysis of the 7 disconfirmation of expectation items resulted in a 2-factor solution: (1) medication counseling and (2) discharge medication services. The SEM demonstrated that the model was significant; however, the disconfirmation of expectation items did not significantly relate to the 1-item satisfaction measure. Patient satisfaction and the behavioral intentions measures were significantly related. A post hoc analysis using SEM demonstrated that the disconfirmation of expectations factors did significantly relate to a higher-order latent construct. This construct also related to patient satisfaction. Conclusion The disconfirmation of expectations has a role in a postservice experience response expressed by the patient, but not as a direct antecedent to patient satisfaction. Opportunities to improve the model are the use of a multi-item satisfaction measure and the inclusion of patient affect.
Simultaneous mass flow and third-sound measurements in /sup 4/He films near the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition

We report simultaneous mass transport and third-sound measurements on a /sup 4/He film adsorbed on a flat glass substrate in the vicinity of the Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. The effective thermal conductance deduced from the mass transport measurements is consistent with earlier work on Mylar. The attenuation of third sound is observed to rise dramatically in the vicinity of the transition in general agreement with expectations. Results for sigma/sub s//T as a function of film thickness are presented.
What's happening on Music Television? A gender role content analysis

This study analyzed 40 Music Television (MTV) music videos across gender role based content categories. Videos were rated at 30-second intervals by four trained raters using a consensus model. Results included the following: (a) men appeared nearly twice as often as women; (b) men engaged in significantly more aggressive and dominant behavior; (c) women engaged in significantly more implicitly sexual and subservient behavior; and (d) women were more frequently the object of explicit, implicit, and aggressive sexual advances. Overall, MTV video content primarily included implicit sexuality, objectification, dominance, and implicit aggression. Implications of these findings with respect to sex role stereotyping and the development of negative attitudes toward women were discussed.
Beacon assisted discovery protocol (BEAD) for self-organizing hierarchical ad-hoc networks

This paper describes a beacon assisted discovery mechanism for self-organizing hierarchical ad-hoc networks. The discovery protocol, which operates between the medium access control (MAC) and network layers, is responsible for topology formation in the ad-hoc network taking into account performance objectives such as throughput, delay, energy consumption and robustness. The proposed discovery protocol operates by listening to augmented MAC-layer beacons from neighboring radio nodes and then selects a subset of these for routing associations based on specified criteria. A distributed heuristic algorithm for topology formation is considered and compared with upper-bound centralized algorithms with optimization objectives such as maximum throughput, minimum delay or minimum energy. Simulation results (based on ns-2 models) are given for the performance of the proposed discovery methods, demonstrating significant improvements in routing overhead when compared to an ad hoc network without discovery. A proof-of-concept prototype implementation for an IEEE 802.11b-based three-tier hierarchical ad hoc network is briefly described in conclusion.
Design of high efficiency Flyback converter with energy regenerative snubber

The flyback converter is frequently used for multiple outputs and low power application due to its simplicity and both step-up and step-down characteristics. However, the high leakage inductance of the flyback transformer can causes high voltage spike and could damage the main transistor when the switch is turned off. Therefore, a turn-off snubber is needed to limit the peak voltage stress. In this paper, some common snubbers are discussed in comparison with the energy regenerative snubber. The operation of the energy regenerative snubber is analyzed and the design procedures are optimized for energy efficiency followed by experimental verification.
1K-4 Differentiation of Dystrophic and Normal Skeletal Muscle Tissues with Energy and Entropy Images Acquired In Vivo from the Biceps of mdx and Wild-Type Mice

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a severe wasting disease, involving replacement of necrotic muscle tissue by fibrous material and fatty infiltrates. One primary animal model is the X chromosome-linked mdx strain of mice, which exhibit a clinical phenotype comparable to a mild expression of Duchenne muscular dystrophy in humans. The goals of the present work were to validate and quantify the capability of both energy and entropy metrics of radio-frequency ultrasonic backscatter to differentiate among normal, dystrophic, and steroid treated skeletal muscle in the mdx model
Lateral Flow Assay with Near-Infrared Dye for Multiplex Detection

Background: Lateral flow assays (LFAs) are popular point-of-care diagnostic tools because they are rapid and easy to use. Nevertheless, they often lack analytical sensitivity and quantitative output and may be difficult to multiplex, limiting their usefulness in biomarker measurement. As a proof-of-concept study, we detail the design of a quantitative, multiplex LFA with readily available near-infrared (NIR) detection to improve analytical sensitivity. Methods: NIR dye was conjugated to selected antibodies and incorporated into LFAs. We used singleplex, optimized NIR-LFAs to measure interleukin (IL)-6 from 0 to 200 pg/mL and developed duplex assays to simultaneously measure IL-6 from 0 to 100 pg/mL (0 to 4.5 pmol/L) and C-reactive protein (CRP) from 50 to 2500 ng/mL (0.4 to 20 nmol/L) on a single test strip. Assays were tested on 60 different spiked samples and compared to ELISA results. Results: NIR-LFAs detected IL-6 in a 10% plasma matrix with a limit of detection of 4 pg/mL (182 fmol/L) and a CV <7%. Duplex NIR-LFAs quantitatively measured IL-6 and CRP concentrations simultaneously. Values strongly correlated to ELISA measurements, with R 2 values of 0.9825 and 0.9711 for IL-6 and CRP, respectively. Conclusions: NIR-LFAs exhibit quantitative measurement at pg/mL concentrations owing to a high signal-to-background ratio and robust detection antibody clearance through the test strip. Moreover, NIR-LFAs are able to detect molecules present at vastly different concentrations in multiplex format and compare favorably to ELISAs. LFAs with direct NIR detection may be a valuable tool for biomarker evaluation in the point-of-care setting.
An object-oriented analysis model of an iconic interface to Macsyma

This describes the object-oriented analysis conceptual model (OOAM) of a highly visual interface to Macsyma, which is an interactive, text-based system for performing symbolic, mathematical computations. It shows how the prominent structural features of the OOAM permit the analyst to graphically and mathematically evaluate aspects of interface perceptual quality through various metrics. The model grows like O(n) with the number, n, of mathematical operators in the interface. This kind of model is particularly suited for analyzing the user's perception of interfaces that change over time or in which the visual aspects dominate the textual ones. >
Low Temperature Grown Thin InAlAs Step Graded Buffers for Application on Optical Modulator at 1.3 μM

Preliminary results are described about the growth, structure and properties of multiple quantum well(MQW) Quantum Confined Stark Effect (QCSE) modulators grown on GaAs substrates for operation at 1.3μm in wavelength. Step graded InAlAs buffer layers grown at low temperature by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) with a total thickness of 0.3 μm are used to relieve the strain caused by the lattice-mismatch between the GaAs substrate and the In0.35Ga0.65As/In0.35Al0.65As MQW heterostructure. X-ray diffraction spectra show that significant lattice relaxation takes place in the buffer. A quantum confined Stark shift of the exciton absorption peak of 48meV was obtained with an applied electric field of 130KV/cm, measured in PIN diode structures consisting of 30 period 95AIn0.35Ga0.65As/100AIn0.35Al0.65As MQWs on a 3 stage compositionally step graded InxAl1−xAs buffer doped with Si to 5*1017/cm3 grown on a nominally 1018/cm3 n-type doped GaAs substrate.
Reproductive costs for everyone: How female loads impact human mobility strategies

While mobility strategies are considered important in understanding selection pressures on individuals, testing hypotheses of such strategies requires high resolution datasets, particularly at intersections between morphology, ecology and energetics. Here we present data on interactions between morphology and energetics in regards to the cost of walking for reproductive women and place these data into a specific ecological context of time and heat load. Frontal loads (up to 16% of body mass), as during pregnancy and child-carrying, significantly slow the optimal and preferred walking speed of women, significantly increase cost at the optimal speed, and make it significantly more costly for women to walk with other people. We further show for the first time significant changes in the curvature in the Cost of Transport curve for human walking, as driven by frontal loads. The impact of these frontal loads on females, and the populations to which they belong, would have been magnified by time constraints due to seasonal changes in day length at high latitudes and thermoregulatory limitations at low latitudes. However, wider pelves increase both stride length and speed flexibility, providing a morphological offset for load-related costs. Longer lower limbs also increase stride length. Observed differences between preferred and energetically optimal speeds with frontal loading suggest that speed choices of women carrying reproductive loads might be particularly sensitive to changes in heat load. Our findings show that female reproductive costs, particularly those related to locomotion, would have meaningfully shaped the mobility strategies of the hominin lineage, as well as modern foraging populations.
Assessment of the Validity of Reported Antibiotic Allergic Reactions in Pediatric Patients

Study Objective. To determine whether a reported antibiotic allergy was likely to have been immunologically mediated. Design. Questionnaire-based study. Setting. Tertiary care, freestanding children's hospital. Patients. One hundred patients aged 1 month-18 years for whom guardians reported an allergy to an antibiotic at the time of hospital admission between October 2009 and March 2010. Intervention. Guardians of the patients were interviewed by using a standardized allergy assessment questionnaire. Measurements and Main Results. Based on answers to the questionnaire, the reported allergic reactions were categorized to determine if they were true allergies or adverse reactions. Among the 100 patients, reported allergies were categorized as immunologically mediated reactions in 58%, non-immunologically mediated adverse drug reactions in 27%, no reaction in 3%, and unknown in 12%. Reactions to penicillins, cephalosporins, or sulfonamides were reported most frequently and were attributed to immunologically mediated reactions in 68% (26/38), 74% (17/23), and 67% (10/15) of instances, respectively. Conclusion. Use of the allergy assessment questionnaire determined that 58% of the 100 reported antibiotic allergies fulfilled criteria for an immunologically mediated reaction. These findings underscore the utility of an allergy assessment questionnaire, versus a simple drug history, in improving the accuracy of reported antibiotic reactions.
Reassessing Descriptive Representation by Women and Men of Color New Evidence at the Subnational Level

This research uses the concept of intersectionality to help improve understanding of the relationship between race and gender as it pertains to the jurisdictional context of elective offices held by Blacks, Latinos, Asian-Americans, and American-Indians at the subnational level. Utilizing an enhanced version of a comprehensive data set associated with the Gender and Multicultural Leadership Project, we document more substantial evidence of ethnoracial descriptive representation in state and local offices than previously known as well as important variations by race, gender, level/type of office, and their intersections. To help disentangle the paradoxical position of political women of color, we discuss with three scenarios implications of jurisdictional context on building electoral coalitions across race or gender by women of color.
Distinct Retinal Pathways Drive Spatial Orientation Behaviors in Zebrafish Navigation

Navigation requires animals to adjust ongoing movements in response to pertinent features of the environment and select between competing target cues. The neurobiological basis of navigational behavior in vertebrates is hard to analyze, partly because underlying neural circuits are experience dependent. Phototaxis in zebrafish is a hardwired navigational behavior, performed at a stage when larvae swim by using a small repertoire of stereotyped movements. We established conditions to elicit robust phototaxis behavior and found that zebrafish larvae deploy directional orienting maneuvers and regulate forward swimming speed to navigate toward a target light. Using genetic analysis and targeted laser ablations, we show that retinal ON and OFF pathways play distinct roles during phototaxis. The retinal OFF pathway controls turn movements via retinotectal projections and establishes correct orientation by causing larvae to turn away from nontarget areas. In contrast, the retinal ON pathway activates the serotonergic system to trigger rapid forward swimming toward the target. Computational simulation of phototaxis with an OFF-turn, ON-approach algorithm verifies that our model accounts for key features of phototaxis and provides a simple and robust mechanism for behavioral choice between competing targets.
Wittgenstein's Problem and the Methods of Psychology How `Grammar Depends on Facts'

The philosophy of Wittgenstein is often used to attack scientific approaches to psychological subject matter. Maraun (1998) furthers the anti-psychological interpretation of Wittgenstein by criticizing contemporary assumptions about reliability, validity and the measurement of psychological concepts in general. On one reading, Maraun's argument amounts to the modest claim that scientific measurement is (in part) a matter of following prescriptive rules and norms. A more substantial but seriously problematic version of the argument is that measurement claims are entirely independent of empirical evidence. Drawing on textual analysis and scientific examples, we demonstrate that conceptual and empirical issues are interdependent in a variety of ways and that this interdependence is consistent with Wittgenstein's observation that `grammar depends on facts'. By clarifying the significance of Wittgensteinian philosophy of psychology, it is hoped that conceptual confusions concerning measurement techniques may b...
Scattering of gravity waves by a circular dock

The scattering of a gravity wave of wave number k by a circular dock of radius a and draft d – h in water of depth d is calculated through a variational approximation. The total and differential scattering cross-sections, the peripheral displacement, and the lateral force on the dock are presented as functions of ka with d/a and h/d as parameters and compared with the classical results for a circular cylinder (h = 0). A pronounced resonance is found near ka = 2 for certain values of d/a and h/d.
Patterns of Identification and Performance Among Gifted Students Identified Through Performance Tasks A Three-Year Analysis

This study tracks the profile data of identification for gifted students in South Carolina, where a new performance-based dimension of identification has been employed, during a 3-year period. Targeted to identify more low-income and minority students, the identification protocol demonstrates efficacy in doing so. The study also tracks comparative data, showing the verbal and nonverbal profiles of students identified using this protocol in comparison to students more traditionally identified. Results suggest that students identified using performance tasks were more likely to be identified through the nonverbal assessment component of the tasks. Performance data are tracked across 2 years, showing that performance task-identified students, in general, perform at levels below traditionally identified students. In their area of strength, however, they tend to approach the mean for the traditionally identified gifted students on that portion of the high-stakes state test.
The possible role of red blood cell microvesicles in atherosclerosis.

Abstract The tendency of sickle cells to adhere to the endothelium reflects the surface features not only of the red cells but also of the endothelial cells. Sickle cell disease is a prototype of a condition where the erythrocyte is under stress, ischemic, oxidative, or shear stress, that causes changes in the erythrocyte morphology. This change leads eventually to enhanced erythrocyte-endothelial cell adhesion. Reactive oxygen species generated by cytokine-activated inflammatory cells oxidize lipoproteins such as LDL and lipoprotein(a) within the vessel wall, facilitating uptake of these particles by activated macrophages and smooth muscle cells, with conversion into lipid-laden foam cells. Notably, the membranes of sickle RBCs have undergone excessive cytoskeletal protein thiol oxidation, and sickle RBCs are abnormally prone to vesiculation during mechanical stress in vitro and apparently in vivo. This abnormality was successfully reproduced in normal RBCs by causing stress conditions using PMS-induced stimulation of intracellular superoxide generation, a process similar to that occurring in sickle RBCs. It could be that the generation of reactive oxygen species in atherosclerosis activates red blood cells, and microvesicles of red blood cells are formed, enhancing the activation of the vascular endothelium and leading to vascular inflammation and atherogenesis.
Chickadees are selfish group members when it comes to food caching.

Many food-caching animals live in groups and cache pilferage may be one of the negative consequences of social living. Several hypotheses have been proposed to suggest that individuals may benefit from caching even when cache pilferage is high if all individuals can cache and pilfer equally. Stable groups may hypothetically support the evolution of such ‘reciprocal pilfering’ because all group members may potentially have numerous opportunities to pilfer each other’s caches. If that were the case, then we would expect animals to cache openly in front of their group members, but to avoid caching in direct view of unknown conspecifics. We tested this hypothesis by allowing mountain chickadees, Poecile gambeli, to cache food in three experimental conditions: (1) with a familiar observer from the same group and an unfamiliar conspecific observer; (2) with a familiar observer from the same group only and (3) without any observers. When presented with both a familiar and an unfamiliar observer, the caching chickadees treated both observers equally by choosing caching sites that were both farther away and out of sight of both observers. When only the familiar observer was present, chickadees shifted their choice of caching sites to the surfaces both away from and out of sight of the observer. When no observers were present, all available caching sites were used equally. Our results thus do not support the reciprocal cache sharing hypothesis and suggest that chickadees try to minimize cache pilferage from both familiar group members and unfamiliar conspecifics. 2010 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The prognostic and therapeutic implications of cytologic atypia in patients with endometrial hyperplasia

From 1970 to 1992, 136 patients with a histologic diagnosis of endometrial hyperplasia underwent total abdominal hysterectomy at the University of Kentucky Medical Center. Slides of the curettage or biopsy specimens were reviewed and classified according to the International Society of Gynecologic Pathologists System as simple or complex endometrial hyperplasia with or without cytologic atypia. Slides of the hysterectomy specimens were likewise reviewed independently and classified according to the same system. Eighty-two patients had a preoperative diagnosis of simple or complex endometrial hyperplasia without atypia. There were no cases of occult endometrial carcinoma in the hysterectomy specimens of these patients. Simple or complex hyperplasia with atypia was present in 54 patients and endometrial adenocarcinoma was observed in 19 of these cases (35%). The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage and histologic grade of these patients was as follows: Stage IA grade 1--5; Stage IB grade 1--10; Stage IB grade 2--1; Stage IC grade 1--1; Stage IC grade 2--1; and Stage IIIA grade 2--1. The risk of associated endometrial cancer in patients with atypical hyperplasia was independent of age, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or the use of exogenous estrogens. All patients with endometrial cancer have been followed for 1-12 years (mean 3.0 years) after therapy and no patient has experienced tumor recurrence. These data suggest that there is a significant risk of endometrial cancer in patients with histologic evidence of atypical endometrial hyperplasia on curettage or biopsy. At the time of surgery, patients with atypical endometrial hyperplasia should have careful inspection of the uterine specimen. Any endometrial tissue suspicious for malignancy should be examined histologically, and if cancer is confirmed, complete surgical staging should be performed.
A review of the content and format of transgender-related webpages.

Transgender persons represent a highly diverse group of individuals who have been historically underserved, despite being disproportionately at risk for HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and other health conditions. Despite the need for more research on transgender health issues, no review of online transgender-related resources has been conducted. The purpose of this study was to broadly characterize (1) the types of transgender-related webpages that appear as a result of keyword searches, and (2) the extent to which webpages differ in content and format depending on whether the intended audience for the webpage was transgender individuals, health professionals, or the general population. An online search using 28 keywords yielded 204 eligible webpages, of which 58% targeted transgendered individuals, 23% targeted health professionals, and 39% targeted the general public. The highest percentage of webpages appeared to be operated and/or created by transgender individuals or groups (46%), followed by for...
Tango: a hardware-based data prefetching technique for superscalar processors

We present a new hardware-based data prefetching mechanism for enhancing instruction level parallelism and improving the performance of superscalar processors. The emphasis in our scheme is on the effective utilization of slack time and hardware resources not used for the main computation. The scheme suggests a new hardware construct, the program progress graph (PPG), as a simple extension to the branch target buffer (BTB). We use the PPG for implementing a fast pre-program counter pre-PC, that travels only through memory reference instructions (rather than scanning all the instructions sequentially). In a single clock cycle the pre-PC extracts all the predicted memory references in some future block of instructions, to obtain early data prefetching. In addition, the PPG can be used for implementing a pre-processor and for instruction prefetching. The prefetch requests are scheduled to "range" with the core requests from the data cache, by using only free time slots on the existing data cache tag ports. Employing special methods for removing prefetch requests that are already in the cache (without utilizing the cache-tag ports bandwidth) and a simple optimization on the cache LRU mechanism reduce the number of prefetch requests sent to the core-cache bus and to the memory (second level) bus. Simulation results on the SPEC92 benchmark for the base line architecture (32 K-byte data cache and 12 cycles fetch latency) show an average speedup of 1.36 (CPI ratio).
Commentary—Defined Contribution Health Plans: Attracting the Healthy and Well-Off

Driven by a philosophy that favors unbridled faith in the free marketplace, the year 2003 may well go down in health care history as the year that the health care system officially abandoned the premise that the community has a responsibility to care for each member, replacing it with the philosophy that individuals should each look after themselves. The most visible change that nudges the system toward self-insurance is the provision in the Medicare bill that expands and makes permanent “health savings accounts” (HSAs) (formerly known as “medical savings accounts” or MSAs). This provision allows most Americans to set up tax-advantaged savings accounts (no tax is paid when money is paid in or when paid out, an unprecedented new tax loophole), when they also have a high-deductible health insurance policy. These new accounts are likely to favor the healthy (who stand to benefit financially from a new tax shelter since their accounts need not be depleted on health care expenses) and the wealthy (the higher tax brackets mean higher tax benefits).1 In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush's proposal for a new tax deduction for premiums for high-deductible policies introduced the possibility that health savings accounts' penetration of the marketplace—and the demise of the employer-based health care system—will be accelerated.2 The second development is the encroachment of so-called consumer-driven health care plans (CDHC) into the employer-based health insurance marketplace. This new approach is dressed up with a consumer-friendly name, but in reality, as noted in Christianson, Parente, and Feldman (2004, this issue), this new approach is characterized by higher deductibles for employees. A more apt label, and one that seems to have been overtaken by CDHC, is “defined contribution health care.” As a gentle reminder to health researchers and policymakers that a consumer-friendly name should not be used to mask a marketplace change that may be harmful to consumers, I will use the “defined contribution health plan” (DCHP) label to refer to these new plans. “Defined contribution” accurately connotes limited employer liability for health care costs. “Consumer-driven” implies that the consumer exerts considerable control—hardly an accurate portrayal of high-risk consumers' likely experience with a high-deductible plan. The two studies raise red flags about the potential for these new plans to appeal disproportionately to the healthy and those with high income. They contribute to the dangerous distraction of policymakers from the goal of working toward a health care system that provides affordable, quality health care to all by spreading costs broadly and fairly across the community.
Reestimation of e-business planning model in real business world

Strategic business planning is a critical decision problem determining the long-term survival and prosperity of companies especially in this E-era. However, due to the dynamic and complicated nature of the e-business environment and decision makers' lack of technological sophistication, the development of e-business strategies constitutes a major challenge for managers. In an ongoing project, we have been focusing on DMSS development and its role in decision support for e-business planning. An E-business planning model was estimated and developed using empirical eBay data. This current study thus aims to reestimate and evaluate such implementation to further broaden the application base in a practical field setting.
Gemcitabine and docetaxel (GEMDOX) for the treatment of relapsed and refractory pediatric sarcomas.

Background Patients with relapsed pediatric sarcomas have a poor outcome and are in need of novel effective therapies. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta who were treated with gemcitabine (675 mg/m2) intravenously (IV) on Day 1 and Day 8, and docetaxel (75 mg/m2) IV on Day 8, repeated every 3 weeks. Results Nineteen patients with a median age of 11 years were treated from 2006–2010 and received 123 total courses. Two patients (11%), both with rhabdomyosarcoma, demonstrated objectives responses [one complete response (CR) and one partial response (PR)]. Seven other patients (39%) had stable disease (SD). The 1-year progression-free survival (PFS) of the entire cohort was 24% ± 10% with a median time to progression of 2 months (range: 0.5–14 months). The 1-year overall survival (OS) was 43% ± 11%. Grade 3 or 4 toxicities occurred in 14 patients (74%) and 52 courses (42%), and were most commonly hematologic (neutropenia = 37, anemia = 17, and thrombocytopenia = 23 courses). Conclusions The dismal outcomes for patients with relapsed and refractory sarcomas and the lack of effective sarcoma salvage regimens highlight the need for new approaches. This report of the therapeutic activity of gemcitabine and docetaxel (GEMDOX) in rhabdomyosarcoma and other pediatric reports describing activity in osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma suggest that this combination should be considered for formal evaluation in a pediatric specific clinical trial. At a minimum, it appears to offer a reasonable, tolerable, palliative option. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2012; 59: 854–858. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.