cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Earnings Management and Deferred Taxes: The Valuation Allowance for Deferred Tax Assets

A long-standing issue in the accounting literature is whether corporate managers exercise their accounting discretion to influence reported earnings. This paper extends this research by investigating whether managers manipulate the 'valuation allowance' for deferred tax assets. This account has several features that recommend it as a good place to look for earnings management. First, since this account is fairly 'new' (1992), there are no well-established formulae, or even any clear guidelines, for deciding on the appropriate level for this allowance. Second, the appropriate level of the allowance depends on managers' expectations about future earnings. For both of these reasons managers must exercise an unusual amount of discretion in choosing the appropriate level for this account. Finally, for many firms this provision is large enough to effect material adjustments to accounting earnings. We find that there is a good deal of variation across firms in the level of the valuation allowance. Part of this variation is explained by factors that appropriately reflect managers' expectations about whether their firms' deferred tax assets will be realized. In addition, after controlling for these factors, we find support for two earnings-management hypotheses: both the debt/equity hypothesis and income-smoothing have empirical support.
ENERGY DEPENDENCE OF THE FORM FACTOR IN K/sub e3/$sup 0$ DECAY.

A sample of 762 decays ${K}_{L}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\pi}+e+\ensuremath{\nu}$ in the 80-inch hydrogen bubble chamber have been identified using electron detection by shower production in a tantalum plate. The results are consistent with vector interaction and constant form factor.
State of Health Estimation of Lithium-Ion Batteries Using Neuron Network and 1kHz Impedance Data

This paper presents a state-of-health (SOH) estimator for lithium-ion batteries using neuron network and 1kHz impedance data. The battery ageing data collected in the laboratory indicates that there is a nonlinear and negative correlation between the magnitude of impedance at 1 kHz under fully charged condition and the values of SOH. Because of the powerful nonlinear fitting capability and the strong expressive nonlinear capability of neuron network, it is utilized to extract and map the correlation between the 1 kHz impedance data and the SOH values. The developed SOH estimator is evaluated by the test data. The preliminary evaluation experiment results indicate that the presented SOH estimator is able to achieve a good estimation accuracy.
The Chilean Infant Mortality Decline: Improvement for Whom? Socioeconomic and Geographic Inequalities in Infant Mortality, 1990–2005

Objective:To measure socioeconomic inequalities and differential risk in infant mortality on national and regional levels in Chile from 1990 to 2005, and propose new policy targets. Methods The study analysed Chilean vital events registries from 1990 to 2005 for infant mortality by maternal education, head of household occupational status, cause, age and location of death. Annual infant mortality rates and relative risk were calculated by maternal education and head of household occupational status for each cause and age of death. Socioeconomic inequalities were then mapped to 29 regional health services.Findings:Reductions in the national infant mortality rate were driven by reductions among highly educated mothers, while recent stagnation in the national rate is caused by high levels of infant mortality among uneducated mothers. These vulnerable households are particularly prone to infant mortality risk due to infectious disease and trauma. We also identify clustering of high socioeconomic inequalities in infant mortality throughout the poorer north, indigenous south and densely populated metropolitan centre of Santiago. Finally, we report large inequities in vital statistics coverage, with infant deaths among vulnerable households much more likely to be inadequately defined than in the remaining population.Conclusion:These results indicate that the socioeconomically disadvantaged in Chile are at a significantly higher risk for infant mortality by infectious diseases and trauma during the first month of life. Efforts to reduce national infant mortality in Chile and other countries must involve policies that target child survival for at-risk populations for specific diseases, ages and locations.
Measuring accessibility to grocery stores using radiation model and survival analysis

Abstract Measuring spatial accessibility to grocery stores and identifying food deserts have been of interest to planners and policy makers. However, measuring and quantifying accessibility in a way that relates to actual travel behaviors and preferences are challenging. This study aims to promote an existing radiation model by incorporating different transportation modes and time use diaries to provide a more realistic estimation of accessibility. We proposed a survival analysis method, such as the Cox proportional hazard model, as a novel approach to develop a cost decay function based on time use diaries. A multinomial logit model was applied to estimate the portion of people walking, traveling by car, and traveling by bus. A case study of grocery stores in Travis County, Texas, is used to illustrate the approach. The results indicate that for walking accessibility to grocery stores, the majority of zip codes fall into the very low, low, and moderate accessibility classes. Moreover, in most western zip codes transit accessibility to grocery stores is found to be very low. However, the spatial accessibility for some of such zip codes has been enhanced because of the presence of cars.
Occupational percutaneous injuries and exposures in a dental teaching environment: A 10-year report.

PURPOSE Percutaneous injuries (PIs) are woefully underreported and the risk at dental academic institutions is higher due to lack of knowledge and experience of students. The aims of this study are to (1) present data on the prevalence of PIs and exposures over a 10-year period in a dental teaching institution; (2) provide information on areas with increased risk as it relates to personnel and instruments; and (3) improve the awareness of the risk of occupational PIs and exposures in dentistry. METHODS Data presented were collected as a part of an infection control program. A description of the incident reporting and collecting methodology is provided. Distribution tables and confidence intervals for injuries by year were calculated. Overall associations were produced using either Fisher's exact or Chi-square test. RESULTS Between 2009 and 2019, a total of 342 PIs (338) and mucosal exposures (4) were reported. A significant number of injuries occurred while reaching for an instrument (15.2%), injecting local anesthetic (13.2%), and cleaning an instrument (11.7%). About 31% of the injuries were caused by needlesticks followed by burs (22.8%). There was a statistically significant association between work practice controls and activity type (p < 0.001) and position (p = 0.01). PIs and compliance issues were higher among the third-year dental students. CONCLUSIONS There was a declining trend in incidents over the years, which could be attributed to the extra-protective measures that were implemented. Uncovered dental burs and needlesticks continue to be the predominant cause of PIs in academia. We found that collection of data on such occupation-related injuries to be useful in observing any trends and implementation of corrective actions.
A Data-Driven Bayesian Model for Predicting Fatigue Crack Nucleation in Polycrystalline Ni-Based Superalloys

This paper develops a Bayesian, probabilistic crack nucleation model in the Ni-based superalloy Ren\'e 88DT for fatigue loading. A data-driven, machine learning approach is developed to identify the underlying mechanics driving crack nucleation. An experimental set of fatigue-loaded microstructures is characterized near crack nucleation sites using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) images to correlate grain morphology and crystallography to the spatial location of crack nucleation sites. A concurrent multiscale model that embeds polycrystalline microstructures, created from the EBSD images, in a self-consistent homogenized material is developed for low cycle fatigue simulations needed to create a database of state variables. The polycrystalline domain is modeled by a crystal plasticity finite element model (CPFEM), while a homogenized anisotropic plasticity model is used for the exterior domain. A Bayesian classification method is introduced to optimally select the most informative state variable predictors of crack nucleation and constructs a near-Pareto frontier of models with varying complexity. From this principal set of state variables, a simplified scalar crack nucleation indicator is formulated which encompasses all of the relevant components derived from the main discriminators. This Bayesian approach allows the micromechanical state variables responsible for causing crack nucleation events to come out naturally from existing data. The final result is a model that predicts the probability of nucleating a crack at a microstructural location, given the mechanical state of the material.
Skin Erosions in a Newborn.

A male term infant presents with skin erosions at delivery. ### Prenatal and Birth Histories ### Presentation Soon after delivery, the infant was noted to have large areas of superficially eroded skin with central granulation tissue and desquamation of borders at the head, nape of the neck, back of the ear (Fig 1), calf, and buttocks (Fig 2). The Nikolsky sign was absent, and no vesicles were noted. Because of these skin findings, the infant was admitted to the NICU for further evaluation and management. Figure 1. Erosion over the back of the neck and ear, with a part of the erosion visible at the top of the head. Figure 2. Erosion over the sacrum and buttocks of the patient. With a history of prolonged rupture of membranes, unknown maternal GBS status, and prior maternal HSV infection, a blood specimen was collected for aerobic bacterial cultures and HSV polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Empiric treatment with ampicillin, gentamicin, and acyclovir was initiated. Swabs of the skin erosions, conjunctiva, nasal mucosa, and rectum were obtained for HSV-PCR. Because of the skin sloughing, a lumbar puncture was not performed. An umbilical venous catheter was placed for maintenance fluid administration. ### Vital Signs
Recruitment cost and outcomes for an arthritis work disability prevention randomized clinical trial: The Work It study.

Abstract Background Despite the recommendations to increase recruitment of participants into clinical trials, investigators face costly challenges in trials investigating work disability interventions for people with arthritis and rheumatological conditions. This study aims to evaluate the recruitment costs and outcomes from a randomized controlled trial of an arthritis work disability prevention program conducted between 2011 and 2015, to inform planning and monitoring recruitment in similar studies. Methods Data were obtained from enrollment and financial records pertaining to recruitment costs for each recruitment approach employed. The cost for each recruitment method was calculated for total cost and cost per number of participants screened, eligible, and enrolled in the trial. Then the yield of each possible recruitment method was also determined based on the ratio of the number of randomized participants divided by the number of people contacted through each recruitment method. Finally, the Results Recruitment rate was lower than projected. Community advertising, specifically newspapers, was the most successful method of recruitment in terms of numbers, but social media, specifically Craigslist, was the least costly method used to recruit. Some social media approaches, including Facebook and LinkedIn, yielded few if any participants. Recruitment efforts used successfully in the past are not always effective. Conclusions Costs to recruit large numbers of people with arthritis into clinical trials are high. Investigators are encouraged to monitor recruitment efforts and evaluate the costs and outcomes of their strategies throughout the study period. Close consideration to recruitment costs should be considered as part of the research fiscal resources prior to and during the study period for long-term outcomes like work disability. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01387100, date: 06/01/2011.
Principles of hot electron thermionic emission (real space transfer) in semicoductor heterolayers and device applications

The principles of real space transfer and its phenomenological description in terms of the concepts of electron temperature and quasi Fermi levels are reviewed. It is shown that real space transfer is a mechanism to achieve ultrafast switching and storage of charge carriers. The real space transfer-glow cathod analogy, which demonstrates the existence of a new transistor principle, is discussed in detail.
Energy Requirements for Alternative Rice Production Systems in the Tropics

The report focuses on two dimensions of the energy issue in small farm rice production systems. The energy requirements of three alternative rice production systems used by most small Asian farmers are identified by task and energy source and the energy levels and components of each system compared. Human energy contributes a small portion of total energy input into most traditional Asian rice farming systems. As food production systems modernize, they become less energy efficient and more dependent on commercial energy.ADDITIONAL ABSTRACT:The energy requirements of traditional, mechanical and transitional rice production farming systems used by the majority of Asian farmers were analysed. The human, animal, machine, seed, fertilizer, insecticide and herbicide inputs for each stage of land preparation, sowing, crop care, harvesting, threshing and drying were considered. As the production systems modernized they became less energy efficient and more dependent on commercial energy
Cloning, expression and characterization of the pig liver GDP-mannose pyrophosphorylase. Evidence that GDP-mannose and GDP-Glc pyrophosphorylases are different proteins.

GDP-Man, the mannosyl donor for most Man-containing polymers is formed by the transfer of Man-1-P to GTP to form GDP-Man and PPi. This reaction is catalyzed by the widespread and essential enzyme, GDP-Man pyrophosphorylase (GMPP). The pig liver GMPP consists of an α subunit (43 kDa) and a β subunit (37 kDa). Purified pig GMPP catalyzes the synthesis of GDP-Glc (from Glc-1-P and GTP) and GDP-Man (from Man-1-P and GTP), but has higher activity for the formation of GDP-Glc than for synthesis of GDP-Man. In the present study, we report the cloning of the cDNA for the β subunit of GMPP, and its expression in a bacterial system resulting in the formation of active enzyme. The full length cDNA encoding the β subunit was isolated from a porcine cDNA library, and its predicted gene product showed high amino-acid sequence homology to GMPPs from other species. The gene was expressed in Escherichia coli cells, and a 37-kDa protein was over-produced in these cells. This gene product reacted strongly with antibody reactive to the native β subunit of pig GMPP. Most interestingly, this recombinant protein had high activity for synthesizing GDP-Man (from Man-1-P and GTP), but very low activity for the formation of GDP-Glc (from Glc-1-P and GTP). Other properties of the recombinant protein were also analyzed. This study suggests that the β subunit is the GMPP, whereas the α subunit, or a combination of both subunits, may have the GDP-Glc pyrophosphorylase activity.
Disability and Genetics: A Disability Critique of Pre‐natal Testing and Pre‐implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)

Selecting against embryos or foetuses on the basis of predicted disability reinforces the belief that disability is inimical to a worthwhile life. The disability critique of pre-natal testing and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) flows from the belief that life with disability can be valuable to individuals, their families, and society. Disability should be understood as just another form of human variation. Reassessment of the crucial elements of the parent–child relationship is fundamental to create a welcoming society for persons with varying abilities. Reforms should be made to the information provided about the lives of persons with disabilities and their families in order to enhance women and couples’ informed reproductive decision-making. Additionally, clinicians and genetics professionals need to understand that society contributes significantly to the difficulties that people with disabilities experience in attaining full participation in family and community life. Key Concepts: Neither PGD nor any method of pre-natal testing can accurately indicate a potential child's quality of life. The expressivist argument is only one type of disability critique, which focuses on the negative message that PGD or pre-natal testing followed by selective embryo implantation or selective abortion sends to current persons living with disabilities. The disability critique is not primarily expressivist. Most negative facets of life with disability can be attributed to societal attitudes and practices that are open to change, and not to the medical condition itself. Clinicians and professionals should understand that they have a role in ending discrimination against people with disabilities, much as they work to practice their professions without sexism or racism. Disability, like sex, race, and ethnicity, is a legitimate, respectable form of human variation. Preventing the incidence of disability is quite different from preventing the existence of persons with disability. Research indicates that people with disabilities and their families fare relatively the same as the rest of the population. The norms of good parenting include fostering and supporting the uniqueness of individual children, with all their mix of talents, personalities, strengths, and problems. Information about the nonmedical facets of life with disability and connections to disability support groups need to be provided to prospective parents deciding about their reproductive future. Keywords: disability; ethics; pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD); pre-natal diagnostic testing; pre-natal screening
An algorithmic development to minimize crossings in electronic circuits

In this paper we will look at the crossing numbers of graphs and will determine an algorithm that will allow us to construct graphs with minimal crossing numbers. Then we will use our results and apply them constructing more cost efficient electrical circuits.
Direction-Dependent Singularities for A 4 -Coupling

For the model of A4-coupling it is shown that in perturbation theory a direction-dependent term is required for formulating the local field equation in limit form.
Pulmonary vasodilation to adrenomedullin: a novel peptide in humans

The present study investigates the effects of human adrenomedullin (ADM) on the pulmonary vascular bed of isolated, blood-perfused rat lung. Because pulmonary blood flow and left atrial pressure were constant, changes in pulmonary arterial pressure directly reflect changes in pulmonary vascular resistance. Under conditions of resting (low) pulmonary vasomotor tone, intra-arterial bolus injections of ADM-(1-52) and two truncated sequences of ADM-(1-52) [ADM-(1-12) and ADM-(13-52)] did not alter pulmonary arterial pressure. When pulmonary vasomotor tone was increased by U-46619, a thromboxane A2 mimic, intra-arterial bolus injections of ADM-(1-52) and ADM-(13-52) at similar doses produced similar, dose-dependent reductions in pulmonary arterial pressure. On a molar basis, ADM-(1-52) had greater pulmonary vasodilator activity than isoproterenol. In contrast, ADM-(1-12) had no activity. When pulmonary vasomotor tone was actively increased to the same level using KCl, the pulmonary vasodilator activity of ADM-(13-52) was decreased 10-fold. The present data demonstrate that ADM-(1-52) dilates the pulmonary vascular bed and suggest that the pulmonary vasodilator activity of ADM is greater on pulmonary blood vessels preconstricted through a receptor-dependent mechanism. Because meclofenamate, nitro-L-arginine methyl ester, methysergide, BW A-1433U83, U-37883A, and calcitonin gene-related peptide [CGRP-(8-37)], a CGRP-receptor antagonist, did not alter the pulmonary vasodilator response to ADM-(1-52), the present data suggest that ADM dilates the pulmonary vascular bed independently of cyclooxygenase products, endothelium-derived relaxation factor, serotoninergic receptors, adenosine1 purinoreceptors, ATP-dependent potassium channels, and CGRP receptors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The polymerization of vinyl benzoate

Polymerization rates at 60 and 95°C. and molecular weights have been measured for vinyl benzoate. Copolymerization and branch sites in the polymer involving the aromatic ring were found to be subtantially absent. The rate of polymerization was found to be proportional to the square root of the initiator concentration and to the reciprocal of the degree of polymerization. The slow polymerization rate is explained in terms of reversible complex formation between the vinyl radical and the aromatic ring. Die Polymerisationsgeschwindigkeiten bei 60 und 95°C sowie Molekulargewichte fur die Polymerisation des Vinylbenzoats wurden bestimmt. Es wurde gefunden, das der aromatische Ring weder zu Copolymerisation noch zu Kettenverzweigungen Anlas gab. Die Polymerisationsgeschwindigkeit ergab sich proportional zur Quadratwurzel aus der Starterkonzentration und proportional zum reziproken Polymerisationsgrad. Die niederen Werte der Polymerisationsgeschwindigkeit wurden durch die Annahme einer reversiblen Komplexbildung zwischen dem Vinylradikal und dem aromatischen Ring erklart.
Taxol interferes with the interaction of microtubule-associated proteins with microtubules in cultured neurons

Treatment of neurons with taxol leads to the formation of microtubule bundles in which individual microtubules are much more closely spaced than in untreated neurons (Letourneau and Ressler, 1984). This suggests that taxol interferes with the mechanisms that regulate microtubule spacing in situ. I have determined whether treatment of neurons with taxol alters the composition of their microtubules, reasoning that such alterations may be related to the taxol-induced alterations in microtubule spacing. Cultures of sympathetic neurons were incubated with 35S-methionine and either taxol, podophyllotoxin, a potent microtubule-depolymerizing agent, or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), the solvent for the drugs. The levels of labeled microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) assembled into microtubules in the various cultures were then assayed biochemically. I focused on 4 MAPs: tau, chartins, MAP-2, and the MAP with a molecular mass of 210,000 Da (210 kDa). In untreated cultures, these MAPs are prominent components of microtubules. The levels of all MAPs, as well as tubulin, in microtubules were greatly reduced in cultures treated with podophyllotoxin, compared to controls. Taxol had varied effects on the interaction of MAPs with microtubules in situ. Microtubules formed in the presence of taxol contained normal or slightly elevated levels of tau and the 210 kDa MAP compared to microtubules in control cultures. In contrast, microtubules formed in the presence of taxol were almost completely devoid of chartin MAPs and MAP-2 compared to controls. These results show that taxol interferes with the interaction of some, but not all, MAPs with microtubules in situ. The altered MAP composition of microtubules in taxol-treated neurons may contribute to the abnormal spacing of microtubules seen in such neurons.
Relationship problems and physical aggression: The moderating role of temporal comparison

Because physical aggression in relationships frequently occurs within the context of disagreements, partners with more fodder for disagreements (e.g., more relationship problems) may be especially prone to engage in aggression. However, this may be less true among partners who have a means of coping with their relationship problems. Because previous research suggests that perceptions of improvement serve as a coping strategy in a wide range of adverse circumstances, the current study examined whether this coping strategy would prove effective in the context of relationship problems by examining data from a sample of married and cohabiting individuals. In both groups, perceived changes in problems moderated the association between problems and aggression; number of relationship problems was only significantly associated with level of physical aggression among partners who perceived low levels of improvement in those problems over time. Results are discussed in terms of implications for intervention strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
Mechanism of anticoagulant action by protien inhibitors from bovine testes and salmon sperm

A protein inhibitor was isolated from commercial preparations of salmon sperm and its physical and anticoagulant properties were compared with an inhibitor isolated earlier from commercial preparation of bovine testicular hyaluronidase. The inhibitor from bovine source was heat and acid labile and had a molecular weight of approximately equal to 35000 while the one from salmon sperm had a molecular weight of approximately equal to 5700 and was stable to heat and acid. To determine the mechanism of the inhibitory effect, a system of purified components consisting of isolated prothrombin, Factor Xa, Factor Va, Ca++, and vesicles of phosphatidylcholine (PCPS, 25% PS) was used. Included also was dansylarginine N- (3-ethyl-1,5-pentanedidyl) amide (DAPA) which binds newly formed thrombin and yields the time course of prothrombin conversion by virtue of enhanced fluorescence of the DAPA - thrombin complex. The inhibitor of bovine testes was effective only when PCPS was the limiting component suggesting that its action was directed against the phospholipid component of the prothrombinase complex. The inhibitor from salmon sperm was found to lower the rate of conversion of prothrombin to thrombin in an in vitro system where thrombin generation was measured by its action on the chromogenic substrate H-D-Phe-Pip-Arg-pNa (S-2238). It inhibited the conversion of Factor X to Xa and also the the amidolytic cleavage by Factor Xa of chromogenic substrate N-Benz-Ile-Glu-Gly-Arg-pNa (S-2222).
Effects of sterculic acid on stearoyl-CoA desaturase in differentiating 3T3-L1 adipocytes

The effects of sterculic acid on cell size, adiposity, and fatty acid composition of differentiating 3T3-L1 adipocytes are correlated with stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) expression (mRNA and protein levels) and enzyme activity. Fluorescence-activated cell scanning (FACS) analysis showed that adipocytes differentiated with methylisobutylxanthine, dexamethasone, and insulin (MDI) plus 100 microM sterculic acid comprised a population of predominantly large cells with reduced adiposity compared to MDI-treated cells. Although both groups had similar amounts of total fat, their fatty acid profiles were strikingly different: MDI-treated cells had high levels of the unsaturated palmitoleic (Delta(9)-16:1) and oleic (Delta(9)-18:1) acids, whereas the cells cultured with MDI plus sterculic acid accumulated palmitic (16:0) and stearic (18:0) acids together with a marked reduction in Delta(9)-16:1. Although the cells treated with MDI plus sterculic acid had similar levels of scd1 and scd2 mRNAs and antibody-detectable SCD protein as the MDI-treated cells, the SCD enzyme activity was inhibited more than 90%. The accumulation of 16:0 and 18:0, together with normal levels of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and aP2 mRNAs, shows that de novo synthesis and elongation of fatty acids, as well as cell differentiation, were not affected by sterculic acid. Because of the increase in cell size in the sterculic acid-treated cells, the insulin-stimulated 2-deoxyglucose (2-DOG) uptake was determined. Compared to MDI-treated cells, the 2-DOG uptake in the cells treated with sterculic acid was not affected. These results indicate that sterculic acid directly inhibits SCD activity, possibly by a turnover-dependent reaction, without affecting the processes required for adipocyte differentiation, scd gene expression or SCD protein translation.
The Constructive Mathematics of A. A. Markov

Andrei Andreevich Markov Jr. (born September 22, 1903, in St. Petersburg; died Oc tober 11, 1979, in Moscow) was the late and only child of the great Russian mathe matician Andrei Andreevich Markov Sr. (born June 14, 1856, in Ryazan7; died July 20, 1922, in Petrograd), universally recognized, in particular, for his contributions to the theory of probability (e.g., Markov chains and Markov processes). At his father's suggestion, young Andrei entered the chemistry section of the School of Physics and Mathematics at the University of Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg, then Leningrad, and now again St. Petersburg). The young man was fascinated by chemistry and al ready by 1920 had taken part in chemical research. The results of his and his coau thor's work were published in 1924. Thus Markov's first paper dealt with chemistry. In his sophomore year he became interested in theoretical physics, and he graduated in 1924 with a physics degree. Markov's publications in chemistry were followed by a series of papers on the three body problem and dynamical systems (1926-1937), and a paper on Schr?dinger's quantum mechanics. The latter was one of the first papers on quantum mechanics published in the U.S.S.R., appearing less than a year after Schr?dinger's own ground breaking series of publications. In this connection it should be noted that it was Markov who, in 1931, introduced the concept of an abstract (topological) dynamical system. In 1932 Markov published an intriguing paper (in German) on relativity titled "Deriving a World Metric from the Relation 'Earlier Than.' " His interest in abstract mathematics is represented by series of papers on topology, algebra, analysis, and geometry. After World War II Markov's interests turned to axiomatic set theory, mathematical logic, and the foundations of mathematics. He founded the Russian school of con structive mathematics in the late 1940s and early 1950s. But in private conversations Markov often said that he had nurtured constructivist convictions for a very long time, in fact, long before the war. The Moscow mathematical school had been interested in constructivism, especially intuitionism, since its inception in the 1920s. It is enough to mention the 1925 work of Kolmogorov on intuitionistic logic [10]. It may be that this interest was due, at
A Note on the Estimation of Missing Values in Time Series

This paper derives an expression for the likelihood function of the parameters in an autoregressive-moving average model when some values are missing from the observed time series. The estimation of the missing values and their mean squared errors is discussed. Stationary as well as nonstationary models are considered.
Course of the potential change in the human electroretinogram during light adaptation.

The positive potential of the ERG shows a decreasing course during light adaptation when the difference between the intensities of the test and adapting light is large. This is contrary to psychophysical measurements. In the human ERG, a test light of large area and high intensity is generally required to elicit adequate potentials, while psychophysical measurements of light adaptation use relatively weak test flashes to measure sensitivity by means of the difference threshold. If the intensity of the test light is reduced, or that of the adapting light is increased, the decreasing course of the ERG becomes less apparent, and when a red test light is used, the curve even shows a slight increase. When a red test light now is used on a weak adapting field, the ERG reveals both an x wave and a b wave. The curve of the x wave shows a slight increase, while the b wave shows a decreasing course. An analysis has been made of the differences among light adaptation curves of the human ERG measured under the various conditions, as compared with psychophysical measurement. It is suggested that the differences reflect the relative contributions of the photopic and scotopic mechanisms of the eye.
In vitro susceptibility of canine and feline Escherichia coli to fosfomycin.

Abstract Therapeutic options for multi-drug resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli in dogs or cats are limited. The objective of this study was to establish in vitro susceptibility of canine and feline E. coli to fosfomycin. Two sources of isolates were categorized based on susceptibility as to no resistance (NDR), single drug resistance (SDR), multidrug resistance (MDR) or extreme drug resistance (XDR). Clinical isolates were collected from throughout the US from dogs ( n = 157) or cats ( n = 43) with naturally occurring infection between March 2008 and January 2010. Experimental isolates were collected from fecal samples of dogs treated with no drug (NDR), amoxicillin (expressing SDR) or enrofloxacin (expressing MDR or XDR). Fosfomycin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were determined using E-Test ® . For clinical isolates, most (165/200) originated from the urinary tract, with the number of isolates per resistant category being: NDR ( N = 44, 22%), SDR ( N = 65, 32.5%), MDR ( N = 74, 37%), and XDR ( N = 17, 8.5%). Of these isolates, 99% (197/200) were susceptible to fosfomycin with the MIC 90 and MIC 50 being 2 and 1 μg/ml, respectively (range: 0.25–196 μg/ml). The number of experimental isolates in each category was NDR (3), SDR (23), MDR (38), and XDR (11) (29.3, 44, and 14.7%, respectively). Of these, 100% were susceptible to fosfomycin with MIC 90 and MIC 50 being 1.5 and 1 μg/ml (range: 0.38–4 μg/ml), respectively. The susceptibility of canine and feline MDR and XDR E. coli to fosfomycin at concentrations well below the susceptible breakpoint supports further investigation for its use when treating E. coli resistant to alternative antimicrobials.
A method to quantify confounding in regression analyses applied to data on diet and CHD incidence

We present a method to display the results of linear regression when the independent variables are highly correlated. In this method the sum of squares of regression (SSR) for pairs of variables are partitioned into orthogonal and shared components. A shared component is the reduction in the SSR of one of the variables when the other variable is added to the regression equation. This method shows how the SSR for one variable depends on the other variables present in the regression equation and explains apparent inconsistencies between forward and backward stepwise regression. To demonstrate the potential usefulness of this method we reanalyzed previously reported data on the relationship between coronary heart disease (CHD) and diet. The analysis suggested that carbohydrate and alcohol intake are negatively associated with CHD because they are associated with greater caloric intake. Protein and fat intake are also associated with greater caloric intake, but in addition they are associated with factors that increase the risk of CHD.
Linguistic correlates of style: authorship classification with deep linguistic analysis features

The identification of authorship falls into the category of style classification, an interesting sub-field of text categorization that deals with properties of the form of linguistic expression as opposed to the content of a text. Various feature sets and classification methods have been proposed in the literature, geared towards abstracting away from the content of a text, and focusing on its stylistic properties. We demonstrate that in a realistically difficult authorship attribution scenario, deep linguistic analysis features such as context free production frequencies and semantic relationship frequencies achieve significant error reduction over more commonly used "shallow" features such as function word frequencies and part of speech trigrams. Modern machine learning techniques like support vector machines allow us to explore large feature vectors, combining these different feature sets to achieve high classification accuracy in style-based tasks.
Lower-esophageal webs

A case of a true lower-esophageal web is reported. The web was not visualized on radiological examination, but was visualized and removed by endoscopy.
Modelling of fluidized bed combustion

Models of the combustion of coal under conditions pertinent to fluidized bed combustors are reviewed with particular attention to the calculation of carbon combustion efficiency, and the emissions of carbon monoxide and nitric oxide. Consideration of single particle combustion shows that devolatilization times are short relative to carbon burnout times and that external diffusion, pore diffusion, and surface kinetics all need to be considered in modelling combustion rates for the temperatures and particle sizes of interest in fluidized bed combustors. Carbon combustion efficiencies can be calculated with fair confidence from the consideration of the population balance for particle size distribution coupled with the pertinent mass balances and the Davidson-Harrison two-phase theory of fluidization. The emissions of nitric oxide and carbon monoxide are governed by complex interactions between the physical phenomena which determine gas-solid contacting and a large number of competing and sequential heterogeneous and homogeneous reactions, including CO/OH, NH3/NO, NH3/O2, NO/C and the catalyzed NO/CO reaction. First generation models of emission yield results which qualitatively simulate observations made on experimental beds, but there is need for considerable refinement of these models.
The effects of 5-hydroxytryptamine depletors and monoamine oxidase inhibitors on color changes of the fiddler crab, Uca pugilator: further evidence in support of the hypothesis that 5-hydroxytryptamine controls the release of red pigment-dispersing hormone.

Abstract 1. The monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors, iproniazid and nialamide, produced acceleration of the red pigment dispersion which occurs after intact crabs are transferred from a white to a black background but caused a decrease in the rate of red pigment concentration which occurs following transfer of intact crabs from a black to a white background. 2. In contrast, the 5-HT depletors, p -chlorophenylalanine and reserpine, produced effects opposite to those observed with the MAO inhibitors on the rates of migration of the red chromatophoric pigment in response to background changes. 3. These drugs do not have a direct effect on the red chromatophores. The drugs used did not produce either concentration or dispersion of the pigment in the red chromatophores of isolated legs. 4. The results obtained with these drugs which are known to alter the level of 5-HT in nerve tissue are consistent with the hypothesis that 5-HT controls the release of red pigment-dispersing hormone.
Psychosocial status in adolescents undergoing bariatric surgery.

Little is known about the psychosocial status of adolescents who undergo bariatric surgery. Our objective was to describe the psychological and behavioral characteristics of patients in this age group who underwent bariatric surgery at our institution. A review of clinical charts of patients aged 14–21 years who had bariatric surgery at our institution between 2000 and 2005 was conducted. Abstracted data included clinical information and the results of a psychosocial evaluation consisting of a clinical interview with a psychologist and self-reported data from the Weight and Lifestyle Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Twenty-five patient records were reviewed. Nineteen patients (76%) were female. The mean (±SD) age was 18.7 ± 1.6 years, and mean body mass index was 50.6 ± 7.9 kg/m2. Depression was the most common psychiatric comorbidity (68%). Abnormal eating behaviors were frequent and included binge eating (48%), rapid eating (44%), having guilt associated with eating (36%), eating until uncomfortably full (36%), loss of control (24%), eating without hunger (24%), and eating alone (20%). Sixteen patients were judged to be appropriate for surgery by the bariatric surgery team; surgery was delayed for nine patients primarily because of concerns about ability to adhere to the postoperative diet. These patients were recommended for additional dietary counseling and/or psychotherapeutic treatment prior to surgery. Among adolescent bariatric surgery candidates, depression and aberrant eating behaviors were very common. Early identification and management of these conditions may enable most of these patients to undergo bariatric surgery and optimize the likelihood for a successful outcome.
Topography of Human Uterine Prostaglandin E and F2α Receptors and Their Profiles during Pathological States

The topography of prostaglandin (PG) E and F2α receptors in uteri of premenopausal women was investigated by dividing uteri into six equal longitudinal strips and further dividing each strip into approximately 1-cm segments. Tissue for determination of smooth muscle content using the Trichrome stain was taken from each section, and the remainder was homogenized for binding studies with 3H-labeled PGs. The [3H] PGE1 binding (mean, 41.5 fmol/mg protein; range, 23.1–58.3) was about 8-fold greater in the fundus than [3H]PGF2α binding (mean, 4.8 fmol/mg protein; range, 1.3–13.0), and this trend was found in most uterine sections. The binding of both 3H-labeled PGs decreased from fundus to cervix, and this decrease was similar to the decrease in smooth muscle content. Scatchard analysis revealed apparent dissociation constants (Kds) of 1.4 and 76 nM and apparent specific binding capacities (Ns) of 25 and 488 fmol/mg protein for [3H]PGE2, and Kd values of 11.5 and 81 nM and Ns values of 19.4 and 58 fmol/mg prote...
Adapter Protein SH2B1β Binds Filamin A to Regulate Prolactin-Dependent Cytoskeletal Reorganization and Cell Motility

Prolactin (PRL) regulates cytoskeletal rearrangement and cell motility. PRL-activated Janus tyrosine kinase 2 (JAK2) phosphorylates the p21-activated serine-threonine kinase (PAK)1 and the Src homology 2 (SH2) domain-containing adapter protein SH2B1β. SH2B1β is an actin-binding protein that cross-links actin filaments, whereas PAK1 regulates the actin cytoskeleton by different mechanisms, including direct phosphorylation of the actin-binding protein filamin A (FLNa). Here, we have used a FLNa-deficient human melanoma cell line (M2) and its derivative line (A7) that stably expresses FLNa to demonstrate that SH2B1β and FLNa are required for maximal PRL-dependent cell ruffling. We have found that in addition to two actin-binding domains, SH2B1β has a FLNa-binding domain (amino acids 200–260) that binds directly to repeats 17–23 of FLNa. The SH2B1β-FLNa interaction participates in PRL-dependent actin rearrangement. We also show that phosphorylation of the three tyrosines of PAK1 by JAK2, as well as the presence of FLNa, play a role in PRL-dependent cell ruffling. Finally, we show that the actin- and FLNa-binding-deficient mutant of SH2B1β (SH2B1β 3Δ) abolished PRL-dependent ruffling and PRL-dependent cell migration when expressed along with PAK1 Y3F (JAK2 tyrosyl-phosphorylation-deficient mutant). Together, these data provide insight into a novel mechanism of PRL-stimulated regulation of the actin cytoskeleton and cell motility via JAK2 signaling through FLNa, PAK1, and SH2B1β. We propose a model for PRL-dependent regulation of the actin cytoskeleton that integrates our findings with previous studies.
Facile interstrand migration of the hydrocarbon moiety of a dibenzo[a,l]pyrene 11,12-diol 13,14-epoxide adduct at N2 of deoxyguanosine in a duplex oligonucleotide.

When a synthesized deoxyribonucleotide duplex, 5'-CCATCG*CTACC-3'·5'-GGTAGCGATGG-3', containing a trans 14R dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DB[a,l]P) adduct, corresponding to trans opening of the (+)-(11S,12R)-diol (13R,14S)-epoxide by N2 of the central G* residue, was allowed to stand for 2-6 days at ambient temperature in neutral aqueous solution, three new products were observed on denaturing HPLC. One of these corresponded to loss of the DB[a,l]P moiety from the original adducted strand to give an 11 -mer with an unmodified central dG. The other two products resulted from a highly unexpected migration of the hydrocarbon moiety to either dG 5 or dG 7 of the complementary strand, 5'-GGTAG 5 CG 7 ATGG-3'. Enzymatic hydrolysis of the two 11 -mer migration products followed by CD spectroscopy of the isolated adducted nucleosides indicated that, in both cases, the hydrocarbon moiety had undergone configurational inversion at C14 to give the cis 14S DB[a,l]P dG adduct. MS/MS and partial enzymatic hydrolysis showed that the major 11-mer had the hydrocarbon at dG 7 . Two 11-mer oligonucleotides were synthesized with a single cis 14S DB[a,l]P dG adduct either at G 7 or at G 5 and were found to be chromatographically identical to the major and minor migration products, respectively. Although HPLC evidence suggested that a small extent of hydrocarbon migration from the trans 14S DB[a,l]P dG diastereomer also occurred, the very small amount of presumed migration products from this isomer precluded their detailed characterization. This interstrand migration appears unique to DB[a,l]P adducts and has not been observed for their fjord-region benzo[c]phenanthrene or bay-region benzo[a]pyrene analogues.
Assessing Girls' Reactions to Science Workshops.

Many science education programs have recently been developed to increase girls' participation in science, however, few formal evaluations of these types of programs have been reported. The present research evaluated fifth grade girls' perceptions of a 1-day science education program. Students attended workshops describing different science fields. Study 1 revealed that attending the workshops increased students' interest in the specific field covered in the workshop. However, even after attending the workshops, students did not believe women typically entered those various fields. A second year evaluation revealed that most students agreed they had learned about individual tasks that scientists do in the various fields. However, significantly fewer believed they learned about educational requirements, problems women might face in the field, or how science can be used to help people. Results are discussed in terms of potential factors that workshop presenters might want to consider in future programs.
Ricardo: integrating R and Hadoop

Many modern enterprises are collecting data at the most detailed level possible, creating data repositories ranging from terabytes to petabytes in size. The ability to apply sophisticated statistical analysis methods to this data is becoming essential for marketplace competitiveness. This need to perform deep analysis over huge data repositories poses a significant challenge to existing statistical software and data management systems. On the one hand, statistical software provides rich functionality for data analysis and modeling, but can handle only limited amounts of data; e.g., popular packages like R and SPSS operate entirely in main memory. On the other hand, data management systems - such as MapReduce-based systems - can scale to petabytes of data, but provide insufficient analytical functionality. We report our experiences in building Ricardo, a scalable platform for deep analytics. Ricardo is part of the eXtreme Analytics Platform (XAP) project at the IBM Almaden Research Center, and rests on a decomposition of data-analysis algorithms into parts executed by the R statistical analysis system and parts handled by the Hadoop data management system. This decomposition attempts to minimize the transfer of data across system boundaries. Ricardo contrasts with previous approaches, which try to get along with only one type of system, and allows analysts to work on huge datasets from within a popular, well supported, and powerful analysis environment. Because our approach avoids the need to re-implement either statistical or data-management functionality, it can be used to solve complex problems right now.