cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Introduction to Digital Financial Services (DFS)

Digital Financial Services (DFS) is a relatively new, low-cost means of digital access to transactional financial services. Often termed ‘mobile money’ or ‘mobile financial services,’ DFS is one of the core solutions used in developing countries to catalyze financial inclusion and provide much-needed low-cost access to financial services. Aimed at those at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) in developing countries, it shifts provision of financial services it uses digital access devices such as mobile phones and digital value transfer channels. It also features the emergence of agent networks for cash-handling and DFS account signups. DFS can be offered banks and non-banks – known as Digital Financial Service Providers (DFSPs) - who may be licensed or authorized by a range of regulators to provide these services, either on their own or in mandated partnerships. Core DFS regulators include the central bank, the financial intelligence unit and the national telecommunications authority. ‘Enabling and proportional’ regulatory regimes allow DFSPs to collect customer funds through agents operating on their behalf, convert those funds into electronic money (e-money) to be stored in customer stored value accounts (SVAs) that are used for primarily transactional purposes. While DFS has demonstrated novel responses and innovations from regulators and lawmakers to facilitate and supervise new market participants, often the regulatory innovations have been incremental or perfunctory, featuring some interesting carve-outs that often represent the local political economy, for example requiring formation of specific financial entity vehicles to provide DFS. Initial, foundational services include remittance and bill payments, but with limited interoperability between competing providers. There are signs however of a more integrated approach, where DFSPs integrate into a national payment system and the broader economy, while central banks themselves are building interoperable switches to catalyze this integration. Governments are increasing digital liquidity in DFS and hence driving DFS use by placing social payments into DFS SVAs. New forms of vendor platforms also facilitate these improvements. While some 690 million people in 91 countries actively use their DFS accounts, handicapping a more rapid evolution and adoption of DFS are strict anti-money laundering (AML) rules; poor identity document regimes in many countries that stifle account signups; and poor mobile coverage and lack of high speed mobile data coverage in rural areas that forces DFS customers there to use insecure and error prone text-based DFS user interfaces on their phones. All these factors appears to be the cause of a drop in account usage in some countries in favor of a dependency on agent-derived over-the-counter transactions. There is also a downstream effect on competition and the commercial viability of some DFSPs. This brief primer on DFS expands on these issues and demonstrates how technological, regulatory and commercial components interact to form the DFS ecosystem.
Use of Topical Vancomycin Powder to Reduce Surgical Site Infections after Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery: UCSF Experience and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE Surgical site infection (SSI) is the most common serious complication of deep brain stimulation (DBS) implantation surgery. Here, we report a single-surgeon experience on the efficacy of topical, intrawound vancomycin powder (VP) in reducing SSI for DBS surgery and present the first systematic review and meta-analysis examining the effect of topical vancomycin on SSI in patients after DBS surgery. METHODS For the retrospective review, all unique patients undergoing DBS surgery at UCSF for new hardware implantation or internal pulse generator (IPG) replacement by a single surgeon from September 2013 to March 2019, with at least 1 year of follow-up data, were included. For the meta-analysis, we included all primary studies that compared SSIs with and without application of topical vancomycin in DBS surgeries. RESULTS 368 unique patients met inclusion criteria; 195 patients received topical VP (VP group) and 173 did not (control). 99/195 patients in the VP group underwent new DBS implantation and 96/195 had IPG replacement. 71/173 patients in the control group had new DBS implantation and 102/173 had IPG replacement. There were 10 total cases of SSI: 4 patients from the VP group (3 new implants and 1 IPG replacement) and 6 patients from the control group (3 new implants and 3 IPG replacements), resulting in SSI rates of 2.1 and 3.5%, respectively (p value = 0.337). Including our retrospective analysis, 6 studies met inclusion criteria for the systematic review and meta-analysis. In the 4 studies that examined primary DBS implants, 479 total patients received topical VP and 436 did not; mean odds ratio for SSI with topical vancomycin was 0.802 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.175-3.678). Across the 5 studies that examined IPG implantations or replacements, 606 total patients received topical VP while 1,173 patients did not; mean odds ratio for SSI with topical vancomycin was 0.492 (95% CI 0.164-1.475). In either case, topical VP application did not significantly decrease risk of SSI. CONCLUSION Surgical infections after DBS surgery are uncommon events, with studies demonstrating mixed results on whether topical vancomycin reduces this risk. Our single-institution retrospective analysis and systematic review of prior studies both demonstrated no significant SSI rate reduction with topical VP. This is likely due to low baseline SSI rates, resulting in a small effect size for prevention. Given the cost-effectiveness, simplicity, and low risk, topical, intrawound VP remains a treatment option to further reduce risk of SSI, particularly in settings with higher baseline infection rates.
Endoscopic overestimation of colorectal polyp size

Background and Aims Polyp size ≥1 cm triggers more frequent colonoscopic surveillance, yet size is typically based on subjective endoscopic estimates. We sought to compare contemporary assessments of polyp size by endoscopic estimation and pathology measurement. Methods Colonoscopy and pathology reports were reviewed from the 2012 medical records at a large institution. Only polyps resected in toto with both endoscopic estimates and pathology measurements were included. Pathology measurements were considered the criterion standard. Factors affecting endoscopic miscall rates were assessed by multivariate analyses. Results From 6067 polyps resected, both endoscopic and pathology sizes were available on 1528. Distribution of polyp size appraised by endoscopy but not by pathology revealed modal clustering, particularly around 1 cm. Among 99 polyps endoscopically called 1 cm, 72% were P = .008. By configuration, 34% of pedunculated, 49% of sessile, and 61% of flat polyps were overcalled; P = .014. Endoscopic overestimation was more common in women (54%) than in men (40%) ( P = .03) and with proximal (56%) than distal (40%) sites; P = .02. Miscall rates were unaffected by endoscopist covariates. Conclusions Substantial discordance exists between endoscopic and pathology-based assessments of polyp size. Almost half of polyps called advanced on endoscopic estimates of size ≥1 cm fell below this threshold on actual pathology measurements.
Harnessing and Sharing the Benefits of State-Sponsored Research: Intellectual Property Rights and Data Sharing in California's Stem Cell Initiative

In recent years data-sharing has been a recurring focus of struggle within the scientific research community as improvements in information technology and digital networks have expanded the ways that data can be produced, disseminated, and used. Information technology makes it easier to share data in publicly accessible archives that aggregate data from multiple sources. Such sharing and aggregation facilitate observations that would otherwise be impossible. But data disclosure poses a dilemma for scientists. Data have long been the stock in trade of working scientists, lending credibility to their claims while highlighting new questions that are worthy of future research funding. Some disclosure is necessary in order to claim these benefits, but data disclosure may also benefit one's research competitors. Scientists who share their data promptly and freely may find themselves at a competitive disadvantage relative to free riders in the race to make future observations and thereby to earn further recognition and funding. The possibility of commercial gain further raises the competitive stakes. This article discusses data sharing in California's stem cell initiative against the background of other data sharing efforts and in light of the competing interests that the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is directed to balance. We begin by considering how IP law affects data-sharing. We then assess the strategic considerations that guide the IP and data policies and strategies of federal, state, and private research sponsors. With this background, we discuss four specific sets of issues that public sponsors of data-rich research, including CIRM, are likely to confront: (1) how to motivate researchers to contribute data; (2) who may have access to the data and on what conditions; (3) what data get deposited and when do they get deposited; and (4) how to establish database architecture and curate and maintain the database.
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome and the increase in non‐Hodgkin lymphoma incidence in New Jersey from 1979 to 1996

BACKGROUND In New Jersey, the age-adjusted incidence rate of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) increased more than a third from 1979 to 1996, the largest increase among the major cancers. METHODS Data from a linkage of New Jersey's population-based cancer and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) registries were used to obtain two sets of annual age specific incidence rates and estimated average annual percentage changes in the incidence rates, for each of five adult age groups within each gender, from Poisson regression models that 1) included all the NHL cases and 2) excluded the cases of AIDS-NHL. RESULTS During 1979–1996, of the NHL cases aged 15 years and older reported to the cancer registry, 687 (6%) of the 11,725 male cases and 139 (1%) of the 10,785 female cases were AIDS-NHL. The highest percentages of AIDS-NHL were in the younger age groups—15–29, 30–39, and 40–49 years. Among both men and women, average annual percentage increases in NHL occurred overall (3.1 and 3.0, respectively), and in each age group, ranging from 1.6 and 1.9, respectively, in the 50–59 years age group to 6.6 and 4.2, respectively, in the 30–39 years age group (P ≪0.01). Excluding AIDS-NHL, the estimated average annual percentage increases in NHL were greatest in the 30–39 and the 60 years and older age groups among men, and these two age groups plus the 15–29 years age group among women, ranging between 2.4 and 2.9 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS As elsewhere, factors in addition to AIDS are involved in the increasing incidence of NHL in New Jersey. Because diagnostic and classification changes probably do not explain the entire increase unrelated to AIDS, other risk factors are likely responsible. Public health interventions to reduce the incidence of NHL not related to AIDS are problematic until more is known about the causes of NHL. Cancer 2001;92:2948–56. © 2001 American Cancer Society.
Saving/damning non‐Muslims through translation

Though most Muslims do not consider translations of the Qur'an to be equivalent to the Arabic original, the overwhelming majority of believers do not understand Arabic and must rely on translators' interpretations. But since the Qur'an is widely considered the revealed word of God, there are great implications attached to any particular translator's word selections and parenthetical insertions. This is especially evident when considering the topic of salvation in Islam, specifically the salvation of Others (i.e. non-Muslims). In this paper, I explore how two popular yet dissimilar translations approach this consequential topic. The first of these translations is Interpretation of the meaning of the noble Qur'an by the Saudi-based scholars Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan; the second is The Qur'an: A new translation by the London-based Egyptian academic M. A. S. Abdel Haleem. Through a careful examination of both sources, one can appreciate the extent to which ideological persuasions lead translators either to conceal or to preserve certain semantic ambiguities.
A portfolio approach to algorithm select

Although some algorithms are better than others on average, there is rarely a best algorithm for a given problem. Instead, it is often the case that different algorithms perform well on different problem instances. Not surprisingly, this phenomenon is most pronounced among algorithms for solving NP-Hard problems, because runtimes for these algorithms are often highly variable from instance to instance. When algorithms exhibit high runtime variance, one is faced with the problem of deciding which algorithm to use; in 1976 Rice dubbed this the “algorithm selection problem” [8]. In the nearly three decades that have followed, the issue of algorithm selection has failed to receive widespread attention, though of course some excellent work does exist. By far, the most common approach to algorithm selection has been to measure different algorithms’ performance on a given problem distribution, and then to use only the algorithm having the lowest average runtime. This “winner-take-all” approach has driven recent advances in algorithm design and refinement, but has resulted in the neglect of many algorithms that, while uncompetitive on average, may offer excellent performance on particular problem instances. Our consideration of the algorithm selection literature, and our dissatisfaction with the winner-take-all approach, has led us to ask the following two questions. First, what general techniques can we use to perform per-instance (rather than per-distribution) algorithm selection? Second, once we have rejected the notion of winner-take-all algorithm evaluation, how ought novel algorithms to be evaluated? We offer the following answers:
Instability of statistical factor analysis

Factor analysis, a popular method for interpreting multivariate data, models the covariance among p variables as being due to a small number (k, 1 1 and η is rich enough, F ordered or, at least if k = 2 or 3, unordered, must have a singularity at some data set in X. The proofs are applications of algebraic topology. Examples are provided.
Colorimetry of Martian Features by Means of Area Scanning

The contrast between light and dark areas on Mars has been the subject of two photoelectric studies by Younkin (1966) and McCord (1969), both of which were somewhat limited in scope. Younkin’s data are based on one night’s observations. McCord had a more suitable instrument for making a comparison between two areas on Mars, but still used only six nights. The agreement between these two studies is excellent. However, there is ample evidence from photographs that there are short-term changes in the contrast and brightness of Martian surface features, especially in the case of blue clearing. Visual observations are unsuitable for investigating these changes, due to the limited wavelength range of the eye’s sensitivity, as well as the poor accuracy of the eye as a photometric instrument. Even photography is of limited usefulness when high accuracy is desired. Consequently, a program of continuous photoelectric observation of Mars was set up for the 1969 opposition. The technique of area scanning was chosen as the best method of recording the contrast of Martian surface features.
Computational algorithms for adaptive compliant motion

The authors explore performance issues linked to the effective implementation of adaptive manipulator controllers. In particular, they discuss computational implementations of the algorithm directly in Cartesian space, the utilization of kinematic redundancies, and applications to adaptive compliant motion control. The development is illustrated experimentally on a four-degree-of-freedom whole-arm articulated manipulator. It is suggested that the range of application of adaptive tracking controllers may extend well beyond adaptation to grasped loads. >
Cross-cultural adaptability and development of speech act production in study abroad

This study investigated a relationship between cross-cultural adaptability and development of speech act production during a semester study abroad. Participants were 22 learners of Japanese at a Japanese university. Cross-cultural adaptability subsuming four dimensions (emotional resilience, flexibility/openness, perceptual acuity, and personal autonomy) was measured using a 50-item survey (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88). Speech act production was measured with a speaking test involving 10 scenarios eliciting speech acts with different formality levels. The test was given at the beginning and end of the semester. Native Japanese speakers evaluated speech samples on appropriateness of speech style (polite and plain forms) and appropriateness of speech act. A significant relationship was found between cross-cultural adaptability and gains in the appropriateness of speech act but not speech style.
Persistent Adaptations in Afferents to Ventral Tegmental Dopamine Neurons after Opiate Withdrawal

Protracted opiate withdrawal is accompanied by altered responsiveness of midbrain dopaminergic (DA) neurons, including a loss of DA cell response to morphine, and by behavioral alterations, including affective disorders. GABAergic neurons in the tail of the ventral tegmental area (tVTA), also called the rostromedial tegmental nucleus, are important for behavioral responses to opiates. We investigated the tVTA–VTA circuit in rats after chronic morphine exposure to determine whether tVTA neurons participate in the loss of opiate-induced disinhibition of VTA DA neurons observed during protracted withdrawal. In vivo recording revealed that VTA DA neurons, but not tVTA GABAergic neurons, are tolerant to morphine after 2 weeks of withdrawal. Optogenetic stimulation of tVTA neurons inhibited VTA DA neurons similarly in opiate-naive and long-term withdrawn rats. However, tVTA inactivation increased VTA DA activity in opiate-naive rats, but not in withdrawn rats, resembling the opiate tolerance effect in DA cells. Thus, although inhibitory control of DA neurons by tVTA is maintained during protracted withdrawal, the capacity for disinhibitory control is impaired. In addition, morphine withdrawal reduced both tVTA neural activity and tonic glutamatergic input to VTA DA neurons. We propose that these changes in glutamate and GABA inputs underlie the apparent tolerance of VTA DA neurons to opiates after chronic exposure. These alterations in the tVTA–VTA DA circuit could be an important factor in opiate tolerance and addiction. Moreover, the capacity of the tVTA to inhibit, but not disinhibit, DA cells after chronic opiate exposure may contribute to long-term negative affective states during withdrawal. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Dopaminergic (DA) cells of the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are the origin of a brain reward system and are critically involved in drug abuse. Morphine has long been known to affect VTA DA cells via GABAergic interneurons. Recently, GABAergic neurons caudal to the VTA were discovered and named the tail of VTA (tVTA). Here, we show that tVTA GABA neurons lose their capacity to disinhibit, but not to inhibit, VTA DA cells after chronic opiate exposure. The failure of disinhibition was associated with a loss of glutamatergic input to DA neurons after chronic morphine. These findings reveal mechanisms by which the tVTA may play a key role in long-term negative affective states during opiate withdrawal.
Reprogenetics: third millennium speculation

On July 25 1978, Louise Joy Brown, the first baby to be conceived outside the human body, was born. Her birth made headlines as it showed that in vitro fertilisation techniques could provide a cure for infertility, helping couples who otherwise could not conceive. But Louise Joy Brown's birthday represents a singular moment in the history of humankind for another reason: science had brought the human embryo out of the darkness of the womb into the light of the laboratory. Today, in vitro fertilisation has become a commonplace service. The best IVF clinics offer their customers success rates of up to 70%—twice as high as that naturally achieved by fertile couples actively trying to have a baby. At the same time as assisted reproduction techniques have been improving, there has been an explosion of knowledge in genetic research and technology. The ‘Human Genome Project,’ will eventually identify each and every human gene and characterise how it interacts with other genes and with the environment. The results from this immense undertaking will allow researchers to determine how individuals differ at each of these genes and how these variations influence unique personal characteristics. These differences will include resistance or susceptibility to infectious and inherited diseases, as well as the efficacy of drugs or therapies (Kruglyak, 1997). With ever‐increasing knowledge, biologists will ultimately be able to make connections between genetic profiles and physical or mental attributes that we commonly refer to as innate talents. ![][1] New genetic technologies have implications for all fields in medicine, but when they are combined with reproductive technologies, the prospects are staggering. Indeed, the combination is so different from that of either technology alone that it deserves a new appellation: reprogenetics (Silver, 1998). Reprogenetics refers to the use of genetic information and technology to ensure or prevent the inheritance … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
Use of Dissolved and Colloidal Actinide Parameters within the 1996 Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Compliance Certification Application

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is a geologic repository operated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for disposal of transuranic radioactive wastes. The repository is located near Carlsbad in southeast New Mexico, and is approximately 650 meters underground in the Salado Formation. The geologic formations immediately above and below the Salado are the Rustler and Castile Formations, respectively. The Rustler is considered important because it contains the most transmissive units above the repository; the most significant of these is considered to be the Culebra Dolomite members. The Castile contains areas of pressurized brine (brine pockets); it is not known whether any such pockets are located directly under the repository. The 16 square miles surrounding the shafts, surface facilities, and the underlying subsurface are controlled by the DOE.
Testing the shift adjustment in the federal reserve's new shift adjusted M1-B

Abstract The Federal Reserve's estimates of the shift into M1-B from savings and other non-demand deposit sources following the legalization of NOW accounts nationwide in January, 1981 are tested formally. The results indicate that the Fed's estimates cannot be rejected on formal statistical grounds. However, there is some evidence that the Fed may have overestimated the shift.
Phytoestrogens in botanical dietary supplements: implications for cancer.

Phytoestrogens are plant constituents that possess either es- trogenic or antiestrogenic activity. Although their activities are weak as compared with human endogenous estrogens, the consumption of phytoestrogens may have clinically sig- nificant consequences. A number of botanicals, or the com- pounds contained therein, have been identified as putative estrogenic agents, but consensus in the biomedical commu- nity has been hampered by conflicting data from various in vitro and in vivo models of estrogenic activity. Phyto- estrogens may serve as chemopreventive agents while at the same time being capable of promoting growth in estrogen re- ceptor positive cancer cell lines. Furthermore, they may ex- ert their estrogenic influence through receptor-dependent and/or receptor-independent mechanisms. These findings have led to speculation that phytoestrogen intake might be ill advised for patients at an increased risk for hormone- dependent cancers, cancer patients, or cancer survivors. This article will attempt to sort out discrepancies between various experimental models and establish whether certain herbs possess estrogenic activity. The review will focus on 5 popular botanical dietary supplements: Trifolium pratense (red clover), Cimicifuga racemosa (black cohosh), Humulus lupulus (hops), Angelica sinensis (dong quai), and Glycyrrhiza glabra (licorice). It will address their mechanisms of action, clinical evidence bases, and implications for use in cancer.
U.S.-China trade : problems and prospects

Foreward by David N. Laux Introduction China's Changing Economic Role The Legal Environment Doing Business with China--Problems Doing Business with China--Opportunities The Art of Negotiating Conclusion Bibliography Index
Kinetics of peat soil dissolved organic carbon release from bed sediment to water. Part 1. Laboratory simulation.

Abstract Temporary water reservoirs built upon peat soil may exhibit water quality impairment from elevated dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Microbiological decay of the organic carbon in the bed with subsequent release produces “tea” colored water which may require treatment prior to use. This paper describes laboratory experiments designed to obtain data on the release process of DOC from soils containing 0.65%, 10% and 19% carbon. Parallel experiments with and without sodium azide treatment clearly distinguished the initial release of a porewater residual fraction and the microbial produced fraction. A one to two day quick-release DOC fraction, which ranges from 28% to 50%, first emerged from the bed, Step-1. This was followed by a constant rate of DOC production over four weeks, Step-2. The Step-2 average production rates were 3.4, 12, and 31 mg DOC/kg(dry)/day for the respective soils and increased as soil carbon content increased. The inorganic carbon (IC) behaved oppositely; its rate of production decreased with increasing soil carbon. A consistent and simple rate equation described the Step-2 DOC production process. This and other evidence obtained provided the basis for developing a mathematical model that couples both steps of the bed-to-water DOC release chemodynamics. The model is presented in a companion paper (Part-2).
Early stages of p53-induced apoptosis are reversible

Apoptosis is a type of physiological cell death that occurs during development, normal tissue homeostasis, or as a result of different cellular insults. The phenotype of an apoptotic cell is relatively consistent in most cases of apoptosis and involves at least changes in the cell membrane, proteolysis of cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins, and eventual destruction of nuclear DNA. Our laboratory is interested in the reversibility of apoptosis. We have initial evidence that DNA repair is activated early in p53-induced apoptosis and may be involved in its reversibility. The present work further strengthens our proposition that p53-induced apoptosis is reversible. We show that p53 activation induces phosphatidylserine (PS) externalization early in apoptosis, and that these early apoptotic cells with externalized PS can be rescued and proliferate if the apoptotic stimulus is removed. In addition, we show that unscheduled DNA synthesis occurs in early apoptotic cells, and that if DNA repair is inhibited by aphidicolin, apoptosis is accelerated. These results confirm that early p53-induced apoptotic cells can be rescued from the apoptotic program, and that DNA repair can modulate that cell death process.
Synthesis and characterization of novel solid polymer electrolytes based on poly(7-oxanorbornenes) with pendent oligoethyleneoxy-functionalized cyclotriphosphazenes

The development of novel cyclotriphosphazene and oligoethyleneoxy-functionalized poly(7-oxanorbornenes) for possible use as solid polymer electrolytes in the electrolyte layer of rechargeable lithium batteries is described. The length of the oligoethyleneoxy group on the cyclotriphosphazene has been varied, and the effects on ion transport were studied. The synthesis of 5-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxymethyl]-7-oxanorbornene and 5-[2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxymethyl]norbornene, their polymerization through ring-opening metathesis polymerization, and the characterization of the polymers are also discussed to illustrate the effect of oxygen atoms in the polymer backbone and in the cyclotriphosphazene side groups on the thermal and ion transport properties of these materials.
Corrective osteotomy and local bone grafting for extra-articular malunion of the proximal phalanx

Corrective osteotomies are often utilised to treat finger deformities that may occur due to a phalangeal malunion. Rotational or angular malalignment, in addition to shortening of the digit may negatively affect hand function and be aesthetically displeasing. Thorough preoperative examination of the malunion and its associated deformities is crucial in determining the type of osteotomy technique to be used. Osteotomies can create bony defects that need to be filled with bone graft or some type of graft substitute. We describe an opening wedge osteotomy with local cancellous bone graft combined with dual plating to treat a dorsal angular deformity in a proximal phalangeal malunion.
Microstructure of carbon blacks in pitch-bonded graphites and structural changes produced by gas—graphite oxidation reactions☆

Abstract Carbon blacks have been found in binder regions of typical pitch-bonded graphites. These blacks appear to be part of the quinoline-insoluble fraction of the coaltar pitch binder used in graphite manufacture. Replication techniques and direct transmission electron microscopy have been used to determine the structure of the blacks and their disposition throughout the graphites as well as structural changes produced by thermal and electronically-excited oxidation reactions. Individual blacks consist of roughly-spherical arrangements of graphite crystallites with a radial orientation of c-axes. Outer crystallites appear so well joined that the blacks are quite resistant to thermal oxidation in contrast to the surrounding binder regions. However, the blacks are easily attacked by microwave-excited oxygen, and the oxidation process reveals minute impurity particles on and/or within the polygonal carbon-black structure.
Aberrant regulation of pVHL levels by microRNA promotes the HIF/VEGF axis in CLL B cells

The molecular mechanism of autocrine regulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) B cells is unknown. Here, we report that CLL B cells express constitutive levels of HIF-1α under normoxia. We have examined the status of the von Hippel-Lindau gene product (pVHL) that is responsible for HIF-1α degradation and found it to be at a notably low level in CLL B cells compared with normal B cells. We demonstrate that the microRNA, miR-92-1, overexpressed in CLL B cells, can target the VHL transcript to repress its expression. We found that the stabilized HIF-1α can form an active complex with the transcriptional coactivator p300 and phosphorylated-STAT3 at the VEGF promoter and recruit RNA polymerase II. This is initial evidence that pVHL, without any genetic alteration, can be regulated by microRNA and explains the aberrant autocrine VEGF secretion in CLL.
Prevalence and burden of two rickettsial phylotypes (G021 and G022) in Ixodes pacificus from California by real-time quantitative PCR

The western black-legged tick, Ixodes pacificus Cooley and Kohls, commonly bites humans in the far western U.S. In addition to transmitting Lyme borreliosis and anaplasmosis, it is a host of nonpathogenic bacteria as well as some of unknown pathogenicity. In this study, we report the detection, prevalence, and burden of 2 rickettsial phylotypes with unknown pathogenicity in I. pacificus ticks from 6 California counties using real-time quantitative PCR with phylotype-specific primers and probes. Prevalence of rickettsial phylotypes G021 and G022 from 247 I. pacificus ticks was 100% and 2.0%, respectively. The median burden of phylotype G021 was 7.3 per tick cell, whereas the burden of phylotype G022 was 0.8 per tick cell. The burden of phylotype G021 significantly differed between collection sites and between vegetation habitats. Ticks collected from the coastal sage scrub habitat of southern California had a lower burden of phylotype G021 when compared to central California oak woodland, northern California oak woodland, and mixed evergreen and ponderosa pine-oak habitats of northern California. No significant correlation was found between the burden of the phylotype G021 in the presence and absence of the phylotype G022 in I. pacificus, suggesting that the presence of these Rickettsia species do not interfere with each other in I. pacificus.
Training 3‐year‐olds in rule‐based causal reasoning

Preschoolers' understanding of causal rules was examined using a marble and ramp apparatus operating in two distinct configurations. Experiment 1, conducted with 32 3-year-olds and 16 4-year-olds, examined whether children could predict where a marble would emerge when given verbal rules indicating the marble's trajectory. Over two sessions, 4-year-olds made correct predictions, irrespective of the apparatus's configuration. Three-year-olds, in contrast, were unable to alternate between rule sets and performed poorly when the marble rolled diagonally across the apparatus. In two additional experiments, with the ramp uncovered to reveal mechanical shunts and feedback given on each trial, the verbal rules were presented with (Experiment 2) or without pointing gestures (Experiment 3). Generalization was tested using the original protocol of Experiment 1. Older 3-year-olds in both experiments benefited from training, and most continued to perform well when gestures, feedback, and visual access to the mechanism were eliminated. Of the younger 3-year-olds, only those exposed to rules with gestures showed any improvement, and the improvement did not generalize. The results indicate that providing redundant non-verbal cues may facilitate preschoolers' use of complex rule systems, with poor generalization attributable to young children's dependence on cues to access the relevant rules.
Electrical source analysis of auditory ERPs in medial temporal lobe amnestic syndrome

Auditory event-related potential (ERP) components have been anatomically linked to temporal lobe structures and functionally related to attentional and memory processes. We recorded auditory ERPs using an "oddball" paradigm from two patients with amnestic syndromes secondary to medial temporal lobe encephalitic infections. The oddball paradigm elicits the exogenous N1 and P2 components, and the endogenous N2 and P3 components. Electrical source analysis was used to test for alterations in source strength and orientation in these patients compared to control subjects. Symmetric dipoles placed in the temporal lobe region were used to measure ERP component activity. In the patient with a lesion confined to the left, medial temporal lobe, including the posterior hippocampus, dipole orientation was displaced anteriorally. In the patient with lesions to the anterior medial temporal lobe, temporal poles, and orbital frontal cortex, the negative components of the ERP (N1 and N2) were reduced in the right hemisphere, accompanied by disturbed orientation. These findings are consistent with other evidence that the different components of the auditory ERP can be dissociated on the basis of lesion effects, and that the antero-posterior extent of encephalitic lesions may play an important role in modulating ERP abnormalities.
Scatter Compensation Techniques in PET.

PET is intrinsically a quantitative imaging modality that offers the possibility of quantitative assessment of tracer concentration in vivo. This quantification is valid only if accurate corrections for the physical degrading factors are performed. This article addresses the problem of Compton scattering as the dominant photon interaction process in biologic tissues for PET energies. It discusses the impact of scattered radiation detection on both image quality and the quantitative accuracy of reconstructed images. It also gives an overview of scatter compensation techniques and evaluation strategies used for the assessment of these correction methods.
Measurement of elliptic and higher order flow from ATLAS experiment at the LHC

We present a differential measurement of the azimuthal anisotropy of charged hadron production in Pb+Pb collisions at = 2.76 TeV. This azimuthal anisotropy is expanded into a Fourier series in azimuthal angle, where the coefficient for each term, vn, characterizes the magnitude of the anisotropy at a particular angular scale. We extract v2–v6 via a discrete Fourier analysis of the two-particle Δ–Δη correlation with a large Δη gap (|Δη| > 2), and via an event-plane method based on the forward calorimeter. Significant v2–v6 values are observed over a broad range in , η and centrality, and they are found to be consistent between the two methods in the transverse momentum region GeV. This suggests that the measured v2–v6 obtained from two-particle correlations at low with a large Δη gap are consistent with the collective response of the system to the initial-state geometry fluctuations, and is not the result of jet fragmentation or resonance decay.
Contribution of bacteria to standing crop of coastal plankton1

Water samples were collected from coastal waters near Cape Lookout, N.C., during March 1975 for direct count of bacteria and for adenosine triphosphate (ATP) analysis. Bacteria averaged 6.6 X 10/sup 5/ cells ml/sup -1/ and 0.09 ..mu../sup 3/ cell/sup -1/. Bacterial carbon was 4 to 25% of the ATP estimate of total plankton carbon. (auth)
Association of Sjögren's syndrome with HLA‐B8

HLA antigens were examined by microdroplet lymphocyte cytotoxicity in 31 patients with Sjogren's syndrome. Fifty percent of 22 Caucasian patients (7 of 17 females and 4 of 5 males) had HLA-B8, as compared to 21% of 1205 controls (P = 0.002). The presence of HLA-B8 was not correlated with parotid salivary flow, kerato-conjunctivitis sicca, or focus score. Because of its association with a number of autoimmune diseases, including Sjogren's syndrome, it is suggested that HLA-B8 is genetically linked to an immune response gene(s) that predisposes the individual to autoimmune phenomena. The expression of autoimmunity may be determined by infectious or environmental factors.
Gounod and Bizet: A study in musical paternity

Abstract Scholars have long acknowledged the personal and stylistic relationship of Gounod and Bizet; their father/son, master/disciple friendship has not previously received the detailed study it deserves, however. Extensive biographical connections between them began when Bizet was still a young teenager. Bizet transcribed many Gounod works and turned to his mentor for advice. In the later 1860s he drew back and developed a more distinctive personal style that still incorporated ideas and techniques from Gounod, specifically in repeating musical passages at rising tonal levels in the course of an act and also in interweaving voice and orchestra in more supple textures.
Linking Feature Lines on 3D Triangle Meshes with Artificial Potential Fields

We propose artificial potential fields as a support theory for a feature linking algorithm. This algorithm operates on 3D triangle meshes derived from multiple range scans of an object, and the features of interest are curvature extrema on the object's surface. A problem that arises with detecting these features is that results from standard algorithms are often incomplete in that feature lines are broken and discontinuous. Our novel linking algorithm closes these broken feature lines to form a more complete feature description. The main contribution of this algorithm is the use of arti- ficial potential fields to govern the linking process. In this paper, we discuss the feature detection process itself and then define the linking procedure in the context of potential fields. We present results for both synthetic and scanned models.
A potent gastric acid anti-secretory histamine H2 receptor antagonist, N-[2-[[[5-[(dimethylamino)methyl]-2-furanyl]methyl]thio]-ethyl]thieno[3,4-d]isothiazol-3-amine 1,1-dioxide, hydrochloride (Wy-45,727)

Abstract The synthesis of the title compound, a new histamine H2-receptor antagonist (pA2 = 8.2), (Wy-45,727; 7) is described. Its gastric acid anti-secretory potencies in the rat and dog were found to be significantly greater than those of cimetidine or ranitidine.
The scattering of van der Waals dimers from crystal surfaces. An extension of the binary collision model

Abstract The scattering of model rare gas—N2 van der Waals dimers from a corrugated rigid surface has been studied. It was found that the scattering angle, rotational state population and alignment of the product N2 were significantly different from those observed when N2 monomers are scattered. The results are explained by the binary collision model.
Hydrophobic and Superhydrophobic Polyphosphazenes

Polyphosphazenes are a class of hybrid organic–inorganic polymers that have good solubility in classical organic solvents and are thermo-oxidatively stable. Over the years, poly(dichlorophosphazene) has been used as a macromolecular intermediate to yield a number of polymers which can be hydrophobic or superhydrophobic. This review deals with several classical hydrophobic polyphosphazenes such as poly(bis-2,2,2-trifluoroethoxyphosphazene), species with siloxane containing substituents and phosphazene graft polymers. Poly(phosphazophosphazenes) and phenoxy-substituted polyphosphazenes are some of the more recent polymers that have been examined for their hydrophobic character. Processing methods such as electrospinning can enhance the hydrophobicity of polyphosphazenes to move them into the realm of superhydrophobic materials. Many polymers which are only borderline hydrophobic can now be converted into superhydrophobic materials by the use of environmental plasma treatment.
Isoproterenol-stimulated taurine influx in the perfused rat heart

Abstract Taurine influx in the perfused rat heart was characterized and the effect of isoproterenol on this process determined. Hearts were perfused by the Langendorff technique with [ 3 H]-taurine in a non-recirculating system. The rate of taurine influx was constant for at least 20 min and the process was saturable. A Km of 45 μM indicated that taurine influx is mediated by a high affinity transport system. Competition between taurine and β-alanine, but not α-amino acids, for influx indicated that the transport sites are specific for β-amino acids. Isoproterenol (4 × 10 −7 M) stimulated the rate of taurine influx, but propranolol (1 × 10 −8 M) blocked this stimulation. The enhancement of influx by isoproterenol was specific for β-amino acids in that α-amino acid influx was not affected. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP (1 × 10 −3 M) and theophylline (1 × 10 −3 M) also stimulated taurine influx, whereas alterations in heart rate had no effect on the rate of taurine influx. The results are suggestive of a β-adrenergically activated, cyclic AMP-mediated mechanism controlling isoproterenol-stimulated taurine influx.
WEIRD walking: Cross-cultural research on motor development

Motor development - traditionally studied in WEIRD populations - falls victim to assumptions of universality similar to other domains described by Henrich et al. However, cross-cultural research illustrates the extraordinary diversity that is normal in motor skill acquisition. Indeed, motor development provides an important domain for evaluating cultural challenges to a general behavioral science.
Usefulness of a discharge diagnosis of sepsis in detecting iatrogenic infection and quality of care problems.

To address the question of how often a diagnosis of sepsis in the discharge summary represents a condi tion present on hospital admission as opposed to an acquired condition, medical records from Veterans Affairs medical centers were reviewed. A random sample of discharged summaries coded for sepsis were obtained from five different hospitals. One hundred forty-one summaries involving 128 patients from 1989 were evaluated. Twenty-seven (18.7%) of the summaries were judged to be improperly coded. Of the remaining 114 summaries, 61 (53.5%) contained information supporting sepsis as an admission con dition. Comparison of other clinical attributes of these summaries indicates that patients with sepsis on ad mission have some characteristics that are different from those of patients who acquire sepsis during care. These attributes include a history of chemotherapy, an overall shorter length of stay, and a lower death rate. Sepsis, as a discharge diagnosis, cannot be as sumed to represent an iatrogenic conditio...
Relative risk of reducing the lifetime blood donation deferral for men who have had sex with men versus currently tolerated transfusion risks.

The risks of known and emerging transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) from reducing the current lifetime blood donation deferral for men who have had sex with men (MSM) to 1 or 5 years were compared to the risk from continuing to transfuse in the United States 12.5% of platelet doses as pooled whole-blood–derived (rather than single-donor) platelets. Assumptions made in mathematical models and blood donor/transfusion studies of the risks of TTIs since 2000 were evaluated. The number of HIV, hepatitis B virus, or hepatitis C virus TTIs from reducing the MSM deferral to 1 year is, respectively, 0.88 or 2.94, 66.9, or many more than 10 times smaller than the risk from pooled platelets. If erroneous release of HIV-positive units (a risk independent of a donor's source of infection) is not considered, the MSM risk is 1 HIV-infectious donation per 17 to 56 million MSM donations. Any purportedly increased risk of human herpesvirus-8 transmission from MSM donors is far smaller than the risk of transfusion-associated sepsis from pooled platelets. Single-donor platelets from MSM after 5 years' abstinence are as safe or 5 times safer than our current pooled platelets—if the next TTI to emerge were transmitted, respectively, sexually or by another route. Thus, acceptance of MSM as blood donors after 1 or 5 years' abstinence may result in a postulated increase in risk that is so much smaller than the currently tolerated transfusion risk and so small in absolute terms that the ethical question of fairness to the MSM group justifies the change in policy.
Viva la revolución: rethinking influenza a virus antigenic drift.

Rapid antigenic evolution of the influenza A virus hemagglutinin has precluded developing vaccines that provide durable protection. The yearly costs of influenza (circa $1011 in the USA alone) easily justify investments in better understanding the interaction of influenza with antibodies and other inducible elements of the immune system that potentially limit or circumvent antigenic variation. Here, I summarize exciting new findings that offer the possibility of a quantum improvement in vaccine efficacy, focusing on studies clearly documenting robust neutralizing antibody responses to the conserved stem region of the hemagglutinin.