cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Autoimmune Disease and Subsequent Risk of Developing Alimentary Tract Cancers Among 4.5 Million US Male Veterans

BACKGROUND: Autoimmunity is clearly linked with hematologic malignancies, but less is known about autoimmunity and alimentary tract cancer risk, despite the specific targeting of alimentary organs and tissues by several autoimmune diseases. The authors therefore conducted the first systematic evaluation of a broad range of specific autoimmune diseases and risk for subsequent alimentary tract cancer. METHODS: On the basis of 4,501,578 US male veterans, the authors identified 96,277 men who developed alimentary tract cancer during up to 26.2 years of follow-up. By using Poisson regression methods, the authors calculated relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: A history of autoimmune disease with localized alimentary tract effects generally increased cancer risks in the organ(s) affected by the autoimmune disease, such as primary biliary cirrhosis and liver cancer (RR, 6.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.76-7.57); pernicious anemia and stomach cancer (RR, 3.17; 95% CI, 2.47-4.07); and ulcerative colitis and small intestine, colon, and rectal cancers (RR, 2.53; 95% CI, 1.05-6.11; RR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.70-2.48; and RR, 2.07; 95% CI, 1.62-2.64, respectively). In addition, a history of celiac disease, reactive arthritis (Reiter disease), and systemic sclerosis all were associated significantly with increased risk of esophageal cancer (RR, 1.86-2.86). Autoimmune diseases without localized alimentary tract effects generally were not associated with alimentary tract cancer risk, with the exception of decreased risk for multiple alimentary tract cancers associated with a history of multiple sclerosis. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the importance of localized inflammation in alimentary tract carcinogenesis. Future research is needed to confirm the findings and improve understanding of underlying mechanisms by which autoimmune diseases contribute to alimentary tract carcinogenesis. Cancer 2011. Published 2010 by the American Cancer Society.
A new equation of scattering theory and its use in inverse scattering

Abstract This paper considers scattering for the Schrodinger equation and for the wave equation with variable speed. A new integral equation, which we call the unifying equation, is derived. This unifying equation is used to remove a difficulty in earlier work on the inverse scattering problem for the wave equation. In addition it allows a new representation for the speed in terms of scattering quantities.
Active piezoceramic-driven flexure actuator

The objective of this paper is to describe the creation, modeling and testing of an active diaphragm flexure. The flexure is a circular stainless steel plate with three sets of spatial concentric slits. Such a flexure is commonly used as a passive centering spring but may be made active with the addition of piezoceramics. By adding piezoceramics as bi-morph pairs, out of plane motion is induced in the flexure. This active flexure is modeled using finite elements to determine the flexure's stiffness and natural frequency. A simplified analytical model is also developed. From this simple model, design equations for stiffness and frequency can be determined. By changing flexure properties, such as thickness, ring width or plate materials; approximate values of stiffness and natural frequency can be determined. For this paper only variations in the thickness of the flexure are examined. A comparison between experimentally obtained results and both the finite element and analytical models is presented. Results show that both numerical and analytical models can be used as predictive tools to determine flexure properties.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Reduced glucocorticoid receptors: consequence or cause of depression?

Dysfunction of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis is common in patients with major depression. A recent study demonstrates that reduced expression of the glucocorticoid receptor in mice causes depression-like behaviors and HPA axis dysfunction following stressor exposure. This model offers a novel system for the study of the pathophysiology that underlies depression-like behaviors. It also adds to the growing evidence that implicates glucocorticoid receptor dysfunction in depression.
Optimal systems root loci: Relation to the McMillan structure of the open-loop system

This note shows that the orders of the Butterworth patterns formed by the asymptotes of optimal closed-loop poles of a time-invariant linear feedback system, as the weight of the input in the performance criterion approaches zero, always correspond to twice the McMillan orders of the zeros at infinity of the open-loop transfer matrix. Furthermore, bounds are given, in terms of the Newton polygons, on the orders of the Butterworth patterns formed by the root loci at finite pole-zero locations. Finally, some examples are presented to show that in the latter case the branching behavior need not always correspond to the McMillan structure of the open-loop system.
Pulmonary stress injury within physiological ranges of airway and vascular pressures

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the respective role of a small elevation in pulmonary capillary pressure, airway pressure, or both on alveolar capillary barrier permeability in an isolated perfused rat lung model. Materials and Methods: Four groups were studiedwith low or high airway pressure (LA: 10 mL/kg (tidal volume); HA: 20 mL/kg), low or high pulmonary artery pressure (LP: 9 mm Hg; HP: 12 mm Hg): LALP, HALP, LAHP, and HAHP The lungs were ventilated and penfused ex vivo for 30 minutes. Quantification of fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled (FITC) dextran in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and radiolabeled tracers assessed alveolar capillary barrier permeability. Results: BALF FITC-dextran was similar in the threegroups with either one or two low-pressure parameters (LALP, LAHP, HALP), but high amounts were found in the HARP group (375.2 × 10 −6 mg/mL v, respectively, 21.4, 26.2, and 30 × 10 −6 mg/mL, P = .0001). These results were consistent with the albumin space and extravascular lung water: higher values only in the HARP group statistically different from the other groups ( P P Conclusions: We can conclude that elevation of eitherthe pulmonary artery pressure from 8 to 11 mm Hg or the alveolar pressure from 10 to 15 mm Hg alone does not change the permeability of the alveolar capillary membrane; however, there is an additive effect of these pressures.
Benthic algal response to invasive mussels in Saginaw Bay: a comparison of historical and recent data

Benthic algal communities in the Laurentian Great Lakes (USA and Canada) have been strongly affected by the invasion of dreissenid mussels. Early (1990–1995) studies in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron, demonstrated a shift from light to nutrient (phosphorus, P) limitation of benthic algae, and large changes in benthic algal community composition once zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) became established. We conducted benthic algal sampling and a nutrient enrichment experiment at a historic sampling site to quantify benthic algae under current environmental conditions and to compare current results with historical data. Benthic algal P-demand was apparently saturated immediately post-invasion, but in subsequent years, algal growth on artificial substrata was consistently P-limited (p always <0.005), perhaps as a result of declining mussel abundance. Epilithic benthic algal community composition displayed large interannual changes, perhaps in response to mussel-induced alteration of light availability and natural...
Mate Preference for Novel Phenotypes: A Fresh Face Matters

Conspicuous polymorphism in sexually selected traits is usually attributed to processes such as frequency-dependent selection that can maintain genetic variation. Recent evidence indicates that dramatic variation of male coloration in guppies (Poecilia reticulata) is promoted by a form of frequency-dependent selection in which males bearing rare or novel color patterns achieve higher mating success than males bearing common patterns. Active female preference for unfamiliar or rare color patterns has been implicated in generating this rare-phenotype advantage, but the behavioral processes responsible for the preference remain unclear. To determine whether familiarity that is developed over a very short timescale can lead to a rare-male mating advantage, we measured female response to courtship by males with color patterns that were the same as or different from that of the previous male to court. Females showed two types of short-term preference variation in this experiment. On the first trial day, females shifted their preferences on a timescale of minutes, showing strong preference for males bearing a color pattern different from that of the immediately previous male to court. Twenty-four hours later, females were less responsive to male courtship overall, and there was no difference in females’ response to different- and same-morph males. Females also preferred males with more orange coloration on both trial days, but this color preference was independent of the preference for ‘different’ color patterns. These data suggest that the behavioral process underlying rare-male advantage in guppies is that females prefer males bearing unfamiliar color patterns and that familiarity is determined over a very short timescale.
Flooding of Sinking Creek, Garretts Spring karst drainage basin, Jessamine and Woodford counties, Kentucky, USA

Tashamingo Subdivision in Sinking Creek karst valley, a tributary of the Garretts Spring drainage basin in Jessamine and Woodford counties, Kentucky, was flooded in February 1989. To determine the cause of flooding, the groundwater basin boundary was mapped, discharge data were measured to determine intake capacity of swallets, and hydrologic modeling of the basin was conducted. Swallet capacity was determined to be limited by the hydraulic parameters of the conduit, rather than by obstruction by trash. Flooding from a precipitation event is more likely, and will be higher, when antecedent soil moisture conditions in the watershed are near saturation. Hydrologic modeling shows that suburban development of 20 percent of the southeast basin will cause a small increase in flood stage at Tashamingo Subdivision.
Mesh–bone cement sandwich for sternal and sternoclavicular joint reconstruction

Resection of the manubrium including both sternoclavicular joints is occasionally performed in the case of sternal tumours. Sternoclavicular joints are the only true joints connecting the axial skeleton to the upper extremity. Therefore, they play an important role in shoulder function. However, data on their reconstruction are lacking. Here, we described the case of a sternal reconstruction including both sternoclavicular joints using a mesh-bone cement sandwich. The mechanical properties of the construct mimicked those of the original sternoclavicular joints and could therefore restore shoulder strength allowing the patient to perform overhead work.
Role of the pediatrician in setting and using standards for child care.

Standards for child care settings define expected performance. Other types of requirements applicable to operation of child care facilities include funding requirements, accreditation criteria, and regulations (legal requirements). During licensing inspections, program monitoring by funding agencies, evaluations by accrediting organizations, and self-evaluations, programs become aware of opportunities for improvement. The process of evaluation alone leads to improved program performance1; the majority of providers want to do a good job. When requirements are used for systematic surveillance, the compliance data generated identify problems to be targeted for quality improvement. Training, technical assistance, linkage to existing resources, and development of new resources are common interventions that lead to improved performance in child care programs. These interventions may be applied at the level of an individual child care facility or at any level involved with child care services. Thus, training and technical assistance may be given to caregivers, to licensors, to policy makers, or to the public. A surveillance system should continuously measure the impact of interventions and focus attention on problems that require further corrective action. When performance data from individual programs are aggregated, they provide powerful tools to assess the need for communitywide interventions. Some changes cannot be accomplished within the limited resources of an individual child care facility. Sometimes program improvement requires one or more types of intervention at the community, regional, state, and/or national level. Updating requirements, conducting surveillance to measure compliance with requirements, and analyzing data to target interventions and measure the impact of actions on program performance are the basic elements of a systems model for improving quality in child care (see Figure).
On Stieltjes’ continued fraction for the gamma function

The first forty-one coefficients of a continued fraction for In 17(z) + z (z 1/2) In z lnJ/27r, are given. The computation, based on Wall's algorithm for converting a function's power series representation to a continued fraction representation, was run on the algebraic manipulation system MACSYMA.**
Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Academic Settings

The purpose of this article is to examine the contribution made by the self-efficacy component of Bandura’s (1986) social cognitive theory to the study of self-regulation and motivation in academic settings. The difference between self-efficacy beliefs and other expectancy constructs is first explained, followed by a brief overview of problems in self-efficacy research. Findings on the relationship between self-efficacy, motivation constructs, and academic performances are then summarized. These findings demonstrate that particularized measures of self-efficacy that correspond to the criterial tasks with which they are compared surpass global measures in the explanation and prediction of related outcomes. The conceptual difference between the definition and use of expectancy beliefs in social cognitive theory and in expectancy value and self-concept theory is then clarified. Last, strategies to guide future research are offered.
Institutional research productivity and the connection to average student quality and overall reputation

Abstract We posit that institutions of higher education attempt to maximize their reputation, and that an institution's reputation, research output, and average student quality are determined simultaneously. Because these outputs are produced jointly, three-stage least squares is used to estimate the parameters of the model. We find that faculty research productivity is positively related to reputation but negatively related to student quality at research universities, but that reputation and student quality have little impact on research productivity at liberal arts colleges.
Boll injury and yield losses in cotton associated with brown stink bug (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) during flowering.

Brown stink bug, Euschistus servus (Say), was infested on cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., plants during reproductive stages to determine the effects on boll injury and seedcotton yield. During each week in 2002 and 2003, significantly more bolls with ≥1 injured locule, bolls with ≥2 injured locules, and bolls with discolored lint were recorded on stink bug-infested plants compared with that on noninfested plants. Significantly fewer bolls displayed external injury on the boll exocarp compared with bolls with only internal locule injury. Boll injury was significantly underestimated by the presence of external symptomology. The boll population increased 6.6- and 5.1-fold from weeks 1–5 in 2002 and 2003, respectively. There was a corresponding 6.2- and 4.6-fold increase in 2002 and 2003, respectively, for total bolls injured from weeks 1–5. Percentage of boll injury ranged from 10.7 (week 4) to 27.4 (week 2) in 2002 and from 9.2 (week 3) to 16.0 (week 2) in 2003. Percentage of injury was greatest during weeks 1 and 2 in both years and also in week 5 in 2002. Brown stink bug significantly reduced seedcotton yield of bolls present on cotton plants during weeks 1, 2, and 5 in 2002 and in weeks 4 and 5 in 2003. However, total seedcotton yield, as a function of bolls exposed to brown stink bug and subsequent bolls produced on plant in the absence of stink bugs, was not significantly different for plots infested during weeks 1–4 in 2002 and weeks 1–3 in 2003. Flowering period and boll population influence the severity of stink bug injury on seedcotton yield. Infestation timing and number of bolls should be considered, in addition to insect densities, when initiating treatments against brown stink bug.
Conclusion and the future

This brief concluding chapter offers final observations and potential new developments in tracking community college students.
Understanding simple picture programs

A collection of powerful ideas—description, plans, linearity, insertions, global knowledge and imperative semantics--are explored which are fundamental to debugging skill. To make these concepts precise, a computer monitor called MYCROFT is described that can debug elementary programs for drawing pictures. The programs are those written for LOGO turtles.
Effects of incubation and imagery training on creativity

Abstract: One hundred five business school students were given anagram and open‐ended ideational tasks under one of several conditions. One group of students received an incubation interval prior to problem solving. A second group received no such interval. A third group received imagery training to aid problem solving in addition to an incubation interval. A fourth group received imagery training but no incubation interval. The fifth and sixth groups received imagery training, incubation or no incubation, respectively, and deliberate instructions to use imagery in problem solving. Results showed significant effects for incubation on originality of ideas and imagery training on anagram solving, but the latter were inhibitory. Results are discussed in terms of incubation and imagery theories.
INTEGRATED NEURAL FLIGHT AND PROPULSION CONTROL SYSTEM

This paper describes an integrated neural flight and propulsion control system. which uses a neural network based approach for applying alternate sources of control power in the presence of damage or failures. Under normal operating conditions, the system utilizes conventional flight control surfaces. Neural networks are used to provide consistent handling qualities across flight conditions and for different aircraft configurations. Under damage or failure conditions, the system may utilize unconventional flight control surface allocations, along with integrated propulsion control, when additional control power is necessary for achieving desired flight control performance. In this case, neural networks are used to adapt to changes in aircraft dynamics and control allocation schemes. Of significant importance here is the fact that this system can operate without emergency or backup flight control mode operations. An additional advantage is that this system can utilize, but does not require, fault detection and isolation information or explicit parameter identification. Piloted simulation studies were performed on a commercial transport aircraft simulator. Subjects included both NASA test pilots and commercial airline crews. Results demonstrate the potential for improving handing qualities and significantly increasing survivability rates under various simulated failure conditions.
Novel Fluorogenic Substrates for Imaging β-Lactamase Gene Expression

A new class of small nonfluorescent fluorogenic substrates becomes brightly fluorescent after β-lactamase hydrolysis with up to 153-fold enhancement in the fluorescence intensity. Less than 500 fM of β-lactamase in cell lysates can be readily detected, and β-lactamase expression in living cells can be imaged with a red fluorescence derivative. These new fluorogenic substrates should find uses in clinical diagnostics and facilitate the applications of β-lactamase as a biosensor.
Using Statistical Analysis for Setting Process Validation Acceptance Criteria for Biotech Products

This paper discusses the challenges of setting process validation acceptance criteria for biotech products for cases where using statistical tools is appropriate. Data are analyzed under three different scenarios that are frequently encountered in biotech applications. Scenario A represents the case when a small data set around center point conditions is available for setting acceptance criteria. Scenario B represents the case when a larger data set within normal operation conditions is available for setting acceptance criteria. Scenario C represents the case when a large characterization data set is available for setting acceptance criteria and it is possible to accurately model the impact of operation conditions on performance of the step. Statistical approaches including mean +/- 3SD, tolerance interval analysis, prediction profiler, and Monte Carlo simulation are applied to the different scenarios. Strengths and shortcomings of the different statistical tools are discussed, and the best approach for each scenario is recommended. It is shown that selection of the right statistical approach is a critical first step toward setting appropriate acceptance criteria.
A chernoff bound approximation for risk-averse integer programming

In this paper we consider optimization problems with a stochastic performance measure, where the goal of the problem is to find a solution that minimizes the probability that this performance measure exceeds a given threshold. It is known that this and related problems are computationally intractable, so we consider an approach that seeks to minimize an upper bound on the probability of exceeding the given threshold. From this approach, we obtain a suboptimal solution, together with a guaranteed upper bound on the achieved exceedance probability. First, we present an algorithm that minimizes a Chernoff bound by solving a binary integer program. For problems with totally unimodular constraint sets, this Chernoff bound can be minimized by solving a linear program. This formulation is shown to recover several known results for the cases of Gaussian and stochastically dominant costs. We then briefly consider these problems in a closed loop setting, where solutions can be refined as the values of uncertain quantities in the model are revealed. We propose an open-loop feedback control algorithm where a binary integer program (or possibly linear program) is solved in each time step given the current state of the system.
MEMBRANOUS EXPRESSION OF HER3 IS ASSOCIATED WITH A DECREASED SURVIVAL IN HEAD AND NECK SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) still remains a lethal malignancy benefiting from the identification of the new target for early detection and/or development of new therapeutic regimens based on a better understanding of the biological mechanism for treatment. The overexpression of Her2 and Her3 receptors have been identified in various solid tumors, but its prognostic relevance in HNSCC remains controversial. Three hundred eighty-seven primary HNSCCs, 20 matching metasis and 17 recurrent HNSCCs were arrayed into tissue microarrays. The relationships between Her2 and Her3 protein expression and clinicopathological parameters/survival of HNSCC patients were analyzed with immunohistochemistry. Her3 is detected as either a cytoplasmic or a membranous dominant expression pattern whereas Her2 expression showed uniform membranous form. In primary tumor tissues, high membranous Her2 expression level was found in 104 (26.9%) cases while positive membranous and cytoplasmic Her3 expression was observed in 34 (8.8%) and 300 (77.5%) samples, respectively. Membranous Her2 expression was significantly associated with histological grade (P = 0.021), as grade 2 tumors showed the highest positive expression. Membranous Her3 over-expression was significantly prevalent in metastatic tissues compared to primary tumors (P = 0.003). Survival analysis indicates that membranous Her3 expression is significantly associated with worse overall survival (P = 0.027) and is an independent prognostic factor in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 1.51; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-2.23; P = 0.040). These results suggest that membranous Her3 expression is strongly associated with poor prognosis of patients with HNSCC and is a potential candidate molecule for targeted therapy.
Spatial frames of reference in language and thought

This is an important book that makes basic arguments of real consequence for current understanding of the relation among language, gesture, and mind. Convincing new experimental and field data from a wide range of languages are used to argue that human spatial cognition is organized into a limited set of types, that cross-linguistic variation in spatial categorization is far more extensive than previously known, and that language structure has a profound, if mediated, influence on thought, gesture, and other modalities of nonlinguistic cognition. Levinson carefully separates linguistic from cognitive analyses in order to trace the relations between them. His book is also an exercise in comparative linguistics, and a strong proposal for a typology of linguistic systems of spatial representation. The scope and strength of the arguments ensure the significance of the book and the debates it has already begun to provoke (see Gallistel 2002, Levinson et al. 2002, Li & Gleitman 2002, Majid 2002). A central finding reported in the book is the diversity of spatial expression, based on careful studies of about forty languages, predominantly non-Western and many unwritten, which are spoken under hugely varying ecological conditions (urban, rural, mountainous, flat, wooded, open, etc.). The surprising diversity gives way to a generalized model of what Levinson calls Frames of Reference (FORs), of which there are exactly three from which all languages must select. Though the FORs are distinct, some languages show more than one, a fact that permits further linguistic typology according to which FORs languages display. Through a series of ingenious experiments, spatial reasoning is plotted apart from language. Using visual memory tasks, gestures and other nonverbal modalities, it is argued that the three FORs account for how people apprehend space. Language structure plays a double role, both "selecting from" the universal set of three cognitive types, hence as output, and guiding speakers to notice and deal with those scenes in specific ways, hence as input. Linguistic differences "correlate with and seem to induce, major differences in spatial cognition across
Convective Clouds over the Bay of Bengal

Abstract The behavior of convective activity over the Bay of Bengal during the 1988 and 1999 monsoon seasons is examined using 3-hourly satellite infrared data. More organized convective activity, spreading farther south into the bay, occurred in 1988 than in 1999. A distinct spatial grouping of convective systems by size is found. The east side of the bay experiences most of the rainfall over water, and here the convective systems are relatively small, short lived, and frequent. At the northwest side of the bay near most of the land-based rainfall, convective activity is organized into much larger and longer-lived systems. The diurnal cycle of all the systems over the bay, regardless of size, shows a 0600 local time (LT) maximum in very cold cloud tops (infrared brightness temperature <210 K), with genesis occurring between 2100 and 0300 LT (2100 LT for the larger, longer-lived systems). The cloud systems dissipate after sunrise, with the larger systems lasting until the afternoon. The land–water interfa...
Total Western Diet Alters Mechanical and Thermal Sensitivity and Prolongs Hypersensitivity Following Complete Freund's Adjuvant in Mice

Abstract Obesity and chronic pain are often comorbid and their rates are increasing. It is unknown whether increased pain is caused by greater weight or poor diet quality or both. Therefore, we utilized a Total Western Diet (TWD) to investigate the functional and physiologic consequences of nutritionally poor diet in mice. For 13 weeks on the commercially available TWD, based on the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, thresholds of TWD-fed mice significantly increased in both thermal and mechanical tests. Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging revealed a significant increase in fat mass with a concomitant decrease in lean mass in the TWD-fed mice. In addition, there were significant increases in levels of serum leptin and inflammatory cytokines. After chronic pain induction using complete Freund's adjuvant, hypersensitivity was more pronounced and significantly prolonged in the TWD-fed mice. Therefore, prolonged exposure to poor diet quality resulted in altered acute nociceptive sensitivity, systemic inflammation, and persistent pain after inflammatory pain induction. Perspective These results highlight the negative effects of poor diet quality with respect to recovery from hypersensitivity and susceptibility to chronic pain. A complete understanding of the impact of diet can aid in treatment and recovery dynamics in human clinical patients.
Challenging notions of being normal in the CS classroom

This paper describes a diversity intensive computer science course that challenges the notion of what it means to be normal by looking through the lens of disability. We discuss the why and the how of this course: why a diversity intensive course focusing on disability is relevant to the computer science curriculum, and how such a course can be designed and implemented. Increasing disability awareness among computer science students fosters innovation that benefits a wide range of communities.
Delayed duplicate intra frames (DDI) for low-delay video encoding

Video conferencing and other real-time multimedia traffic poses challenge for transmission over constant bandwidth network due to high instantaneous bandwidth generated by intra-predicted frames (I-frame). This paper proposes a novel solution for significant reduction of peak instantaneous bandwidth requirements using a new type of frame called delayed duplicate intra frames (DDI frame) in addition to the frame types defined in various video coding standards. DDI-frames is a redundant encoding and transmission scheme which uses tools like - long term reference and Supplemental Enhancement Information message, defined in various video coding standards. By intelligent use of these tools and small bitrate overhead on real-time/non-real-time transmission channels the peak instantaneous bandwidth requirement can be spread over longer duration. The proposed method is applicable to multiple video format (e.g. HEVC, H.264, VC1 etc) as well as variety of use-cases such as video conferencing, video streaming etc. The scheme additionally helps achieve better error resiliency and concealment purposes in case of packet drop. The scheme also does not have the quality flicker problem present in alternate solutions.
Autoimmune manifestations in the transforming growth factor-beta 1 knockout mouse

Targeted disruption of the transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) gene in mice results in the development of a massive multifocal inflammatory disease in many tissues. Because no detectable pathogen was identified, we examined whether autoimmune mechanisms played a role in initiating or maintaining the inflammatory disease. The serum of TGF- beta 1 knockout mice contained elevated titers of antibodies to nuclear antigens (ssDNA, dsDNA, Sm, and RNP) as well as reactivity against the 16/6 idiotype (16/6 Id). In addition, Ig deposits were detected in renal glomeruli of TGF- beta 1 knockout mice. Transplantation of TGF- beta 1 knockout hematopoietic cells into normal irradiated recipients resulted in a similar profile of autoantibody production as well as in the induction of inflammatory lesions. Our results describe autoimmune activity that ensues when the TGF-beta 1 cytokine is absent.
Bootstrap Signal-to-Noise Confidence Intervals: An Objective Method for Subject Exclusion and Quality Control in ERP Studies.

Analysis of event-related potential (ERP) data includes several steps to ensure that ERPs meet an appropriate level of signal quality. One such step, subject exclusion, rejects subject data if ERP waveforms fail to meet an appropriate level of signal quality. Subject exclusion is an important quality control step in the ERP analysis pipeline as it ensures that statistical inference is based only upon those subjects exhibiting clear evoked brain responses. This critical quality control step is most often performed simply through visual inspection of subject-level ERPs by investigators. Such an approach is qualitative, subjective, and susceptible to investigator bias, as there are no standards as to what constitutes an ERP of sufficient signal quality. Here, we describe a standardized and objective method for quantifying waveform quality in individual subjects and establishing criteria for subject exclusion. The approach uses bootstrap resampling of ERP waveforms (from a pool of all available trials) to compute a signal-to-noise ratio confidence interval (SNR-CI) for individual subject waveforms. The lower bound of this SNR-CI (SNRLB) yields an effective and objective measure of signal quality as it ensures that ERP waveforms statistically exceed a desired signal-to-noise criterion. SNRLB provides a quantifiable metric of individual subject ERP quality and eliminates the need for subjective evaluation of waveform quality by the investigator. We detail the SNR-CI methodology, establish the efficacy of employing this approach with Monte Carlo simulations, and demonstrate its utility in practice when applied to ERP datasets.
The Uses of History by Recent Presidents

A N intense interest in the varied uses of history probably distinguishes twentieth-century Presidents from those of the preceding century. Three of them, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and John F. Kennedy, wrote historical works before their election to the presidency, and two, Herbert Hoover and Dwight D. Eisenhower, published volumes pertaining to the history of their own technical professions. Save for William Howard Taft and Wilson every twentieth-century President who survived his term in office has left some sort of autobiographical comment upon his own years in the White House. Like Winston Churchill, the Presidents made certain, through their own authorship, that at least one account would deal gently with their activities. By the encouragement of official war histories, the founding of presidential libraries, the appointment of "court historians," and the official publication of their own public papers, the most recent Presidents have given even more tangible evidence of their marked interest in how the future might judge their stewardships. It is toward this smaller group of post-World War I Presidents, from Warren G. Harding to Kennedy inclusive, that this study is directed. Moreover, it will be limited strictly to the presidential public uses of history while holding office, and not with what good, bad, or indifferent accounts the Presidents may have authored before coming to the White House, or with what ornamented hindsight they produced after leaving it. The research was greatly aided, of course, by the private printing of Franklin D. Roosevelt's public utterances and the very recent official publication of most of the comments of his three successors, a project which now totals over thirty bulky volumes.'
Assessment and Interpretation of En Route Weather Avoidance Fields from the Convective Weather Avoidance Model

†‡ This paper presents the results of a study to quantify the performance of Weather Avoidance Fields in predicting the operational impact of convective weather on en route airspace. The Convective Weather Avoidance Model identifies regions of convective weather that pilots are likely to avoid based upon an examination of the planned and actual flight trajectories in regions of weather impact. From this model and a forecast of convective weather from the Corridor Integrated Weather System a probabilistic Weather Avoidance Field can be provided to automated decision support systems of the future impact of weather on the air traffic control system. This paper will present three alternative spatial filters for the Convective Weather Avoidance Model, quantify their performance, address deficiencies in performance, and suggest potential improvements by looking at the ATC environment and common situational awareness between the cockpit and air traffic control.
Thermal transitions in dry and hydrated layer-by-layer assemblies exhibiting linear and exponential growth.

Layer-by-layer (LbL) assemblies are remarkable materials, known for their tunable mechanical, optical, and surface properties in nanoscale films. However, questions related to their thermal properties still remain unclear. Here, the thermal properties of a model LbL assembly of strong polyelectrolytes, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)/poly(styrene sulfonate) (PDAC/PSS), assembled from solutions of varying ionic strength (0–1.25 M NaCl) are investigated using quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) and modulated differential scanning calorimetry. Hydrated exponentially growing films (assembled from 0.25 to 1.25 M NaCl) exhibited distinct thermal transitions akin to a glass transition at 49–56 °C; linearly growing films (assembled without added salt) did not exhibit a transition in the temperature range investigated and were glassy. Results support the idea that exponentially growing films have greater segmental mobility than that of linearly growing films. On the other hand, all dry LbL ...
Alignment of PPI Networks Using Semantic Similarity for Conserved Protein Complex Prediction

Network alignment is a computational technique to identify topological similarity of graph data by mapping link patterns. In bioinformatics, network alignment algorithms have been applied to protein-protein interaction (PPI) networks to discover evolutionarily conserved substructures at the system level. In particular, local network alignment of PPI networks searches for conserved functional components between species and predicts unknown protein complexes and signaling pathways. In this article, we present a novel approach of local network alignment by semantic mapping. While most previous methods find protein matches between species by sequence homology, our approach uses semantic similarity. Given Gene Ontology (GO) and its annotation data, we estimate functional closeness between two proteins by measuring their semantic similarity. We adopted a new semantic similarity measure, simVICD, which has the best performance for PPI validation and functional match. We tested alignment between the PPI networks of well-studied yeast protein complexes and the genome-wide PPI network of human in order to predict human protein complexes. The experimental results demonstrate that our approach has higher accuracy in protein complex prediction than graph clustering algorithms, and higher efficiency than previous network alignment algorithms.
Trends in the AIDS epidemic among men who reported sex with men in New York City: 1981-1993

New York City is a major urban epicenter of the AIDS epidemic in the United States, and has reported nearly one fifth of the nation's cases. This paper chronicles trends in the AIDS epidemic among men who have sex with men (MSM) from 1981 through 1993 in New York City. Annual AIDS incidence and cumulative deaths are described, results of survival analysis by race/ethnicity for three time periods are reported, and the effects of the epidemic on premature mortality are shown from the beginning of the epidemic through 1993. Among 25,812 cases reported in MSM, 52% were white, 25% were black and 21% were Hispanic. AIDS incidence among whites has been declining since 1987 and is continuing to increase among minorities. Survival has been improving over time among all groups analyzed, but a persistent differential in survival between different race and ethnic groups is found, with whites surviving longer than minorities. Overall, nearly one half a million person years of life before age 65 were lost among MSM between 1981 and 1993. A rapid increase in AIDS cases among men born 1970-79 who were diagnosed after 1988 suggests a new wave of the epidemic may be occurring, and continued efforts in AIDS education and prevention among MSM entering the age of sexual activity is required.
The Variable Transformation in Metastases from Testicular Germ Cell Tumors: The Need for Selective Biopsy

The propensity for metastatic testicular teratocarcinoma to undergo differentiation, particularly when associated with successful cancer chemotherapy, means that the histology of residual disease following chemotherapy cannot be assumed without biopsy. We present 4 cases in which biopsy of a metastasis was important in determining the management of the patient. We conclude that because of the variable nature of the transformation of metastases in testicular germ cell tumors, particularly after chemotherapy, residual disease will often need further biopsy to establish whether it represents residual malignant disease or benign transformation.
The time-dependent Schrödinger equation

Prerequisite: Chapter 2. Thus far with Schrodinger's equation, we have considered only situations where the spatial probability distribution was steady in time. In our rationalization of the time-independent Schrodinger equation, we imagined we had, for example, a steady electron beam, where the electrons had a definite energy; this beam was diffracting off some object, such as a crystal or through a pair of slits. The result was some steady diffraction pattern (at least, the probability distribution did not vary in time). We then went on to use this equation to examine some other specific problems, including potential wells, where this requirement of definite energy led to the unusual behavior that only specific, “quantized” energies were allowed. In particular, we analyzed the problem of the harmonic oscillator and found stationary states of that oscillator. On the face of it, stationary states of an oscillator (other than the trivial one of the oscillator having zero energy) make little sense given our classical experience with oscillators – a classical oscillator with energy oscillates. Clearly, we must expect quantum mechanics to model situations that are not stationary. The world about us changes, and if quantum mechanics is to be a complete theory, it must handle such changes. To understand such changes, at least for the kinds of systems where Schrodinger's equation might be expected to be valid, we need a time-dependent extension of Schrodinger's equation.
Performance characteristics of a suite of volume phase holographic gratings produced for the Subaru prime focus spectrograph

The Subaru Prime Focus Spectrograph[1] (PFS) requires a suite of volume phase holographic (VPH) gratings that parse the observational spectrum into three sub-spectral regions. In addition, the red region has a second, higher resolution arm that includes a VPH grating that will eventually be incorporated into a grism. This paper describes the specifications of the four grating types, gives the theoretical performances of diffraction efficiency for the production designs and presents the measured performances on the gratings produced to date.
Long-Term Outcome of ADHD

The adult outcome of hyperactive boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was evaluated by prospective follow-up and direct psychiatric interviews of 85 probands and 73 comparison subjects at the Child and Adolescent Behavior Center, Long Island Jewish Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY.
Localization of Post-Translational Modifications in Peptide Mixtures via High-Resolution Differential Ion Mobility Separations Followed by Electron Transfer Dissociation

Precise localization of post-translational modifications (PTMs) on proteins and peptides is an outstanding challenge in proteomics. While electron transfer dissociation (ETD) has dramatically advanced PTM analyses, mixtures of localization variants that commonly coexist in cells often require prior separation. Although differential or field asymmetric waveform ion mobility spectrometry (FAIMS) achieves broad variant resolution, the need for standards to identify the features has limited the utility of approach. Here we demonstrate full a priori characterization of variant mixtures by high-resolution FAIMS coupled to ETD and the procedures to systematically extract the FAIMS spectra for all variants from such data. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.
“I Am a Mother, but Not a Mother”: The Paradox of Virtual Mothering

After I discovered an internet cafe for birth mothers in June 2005, I wrote a post, asking for participants willing to be interviewed. Only one person came forward. The volunteer was Min Yeh Jin, then a 25-year-old birth mother and an active blogger at the internet cafe. Before heading to our interview, I prepared by reading her postings. We met in person at her two- bedroom, half-basement apartment in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, on August 2, 2005. She was living alone with her two dogs. I realized that I had brought my own expectations to this meeting when I met her, and saw that she was different from what I had expected. She seemed to be an ordinary woman in her twenties, like I might see in my own neighborhood. We talked for three or four hours, during which time we ate, listened, cried, laughed and interpreted the letter she received from her daughter’s adoptive parents. Finally, it was time to go. It was raining outside and she insisted that I take her umbrella, even though both of us knew that I might not ever be able to return it. Five years passed, during which time I officially began collecting birth mother oral histories. I tried to contact her several times via various means and was not able to reach her.
Intersectional Masculinities and Gendered Political Consciousness: How Do Race, Ethnicity and Sexuality Shape Men’s Awareness of Gender Inequality and Support for Gender Activism?

Gendered political consciousness refers to having an awareness of gender inequality, viewing this inequality as illegitimate, and supporting collective efforts to bring about greater gender equality. The present study draws from social psychology, theories of masculinities, and intersectionality to assess the factors associated with men’s political consciousness of gender. Multivariate regression analyses of data from the U.S.-based 2012 Evaluations of Government and Society Study (N = 598) (American National Election American National Election Study 2012) highlights how social statuses of race/ethnicity and sexuality—along with beliefs about racial/ethnic and sexuality-based inequalities—correlate with men’s awareness of gender inequality and support for women fighting for greater gender equality. Results show that Non-Hispanic Black men and married men are significantly more likely than are non-Hispanic White men and unmarried men to see high levels of gender inequality. Men who see high levels of racial/ethnic and sexuality-based inequalities are also significantly more likely to perceive high levels of gender inequality. Bivariate analyses show that Non-Hispanic Black men, as well as men who see high levels of other inequalities, are also more likely than are other men to support women fighting for greater gender equality, but in multivariate regression models these effects are eclipsed by political ideology—the single best predictor of men’s support for women fighting for gender equality. Results underscore the need to differentiate awareness of gender inequality and support for efforts to challenge gender inequality, and they highlight the potential of intersectionality for conceptualizing men’s gendered political consciousness.