cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Copula credibility for aggregate loss models

Abstract This paper develops credibility predictors of aggregate losses using a longitudinal data framework. For a model of aggregate losses, the interest is in predicting both the claims number process as well as the claims amount process. In a longitudinal data framework, one encounters data from a cross-section of risk classes with a history of insurance claims available for each risk class. Further, explanatory variables for each risk class over time are available to help explain and predict both the claims number and claims amount process. For the marginal claims distributions, this paper uses generalized linear models, an extension of linear regression, to describe cross-sectional characteristics. Elliptical copulas are used to model the dependencies over time, extending prior work that used multivariate t -copulas. The claims number process is represented using a Poisson regression model that is conditioned on a sequence of latent variables. These latent variables drive the serial dependencies among claims numbers; their joint distribution is represented using an elliptical copula. In this way, the paper provides a unified treatment of both the continuous claims amount and discrete claims number processes. The paper presents an illustrative example of Massachusetts automobile claims. Estimates of the latent claims process parameters are derived and simulated predictions are provided.
Propagation of aberrations through phase-induced amplitude apodization coronagraph

The specification of polishing requirements for the optics in coronagraphs dedicated to exoplanet detection requires careful and accurate optical modeling. Numerical representations of propagated aberrations through the system as well as simulations of the broadband wavefront compensation system using multiple DMs are critical when one devises an error budget for such a class of instruments. In this communication, we introduce an analytical tool that serves this purpose for phase-induced amplitude apodization (PIAA) coronagraphs. We first start by deriving the analytical form of the propagation of a harmonic ripple through a PIAA unit. Using this result, we derive the chromaticity of the field at any plane in the optical train of a telescope equipped with such a coronagraph. Finally, we study the chromatic response of a two-sequential-DM wavefront actuator correcting such a corrugated field and thus quantify the requirements on the manufacturing of PIAA mirrors.
Facilitating the Moral Growth of College Students

AbstractContributors to Facilitating the Moral Growth of College Students introduce and apply James Rest’s four component model of moral functioning to diverse student affairs contexts and discuss ways to support collegians’ moral growth. This edited book contains both theoretical and historical overviews of moral development in higher education, as well as diverse and innovative campus initiatives that foster moral growth. Student affairs educators will find the tightly interwoven theoretical and practical discussions beneficial.
Vehicle Stability Control Through Predictive and Optimal Tire Saturation Management

This paper presents a predictive vehicle stability control (VSC) strategy that distributes the drive/braking torques to each wheel of the vehicle based on the optimal exploitation of the available traction capability for each tire. To this end, tire saturation levels are defined as the deficiency of a tire to generate a force that linearly increases with the relevant slip quantities. These saturation levels are then used to set up an optimization objective for a torque distribution problem within a novel cascade control structure that exploits the natural time scale separation of the slower lateral handling dynamics of the vehicle from the relatively faster rotational dynamics of the wheel/tire.The envisaged application of the proposed vehicle stability strategy is for vehicles with advanced and emerging pure electric, hybrid electric or hydraulic hybrid power trains featuring independent wheel drives. The developed predictive control strategy is evaluated for, a two-axle truck featuring such an independent drive system and subjected to a transient handling maneuver.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
A framework for transmission-related applications of energy storage systems for wind power integration

This paper proposes a probabilistic unit commitment (PUC) to evaluate the transmission-related applications of energy storage systems for wind power integration. Statistical distributions are used to stochastically model the wind speed and load. A (2m+1)-point estimate method incorporates the power system uncertainties into the PUC. The IEEE 24-bus system is used as a benchmark to test the proposed method for different scenarios. The distributed storage system is introduced as a solution to decrease the incremental congestion cost of the co-located wind and centralized storage system.
Adverse reactions to intravenous contrast media in patients treated with interleukin-2

Seventy patients consecutively admitted to a single institution were treated with high-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) and analyzed for determining the incidence and risk factors associated with reactions to i.v. contrast media. Patients with metastatic renal cancer (n = 44) or melanoma (n = 26) received 74 cycles of IL-2 administered at 2 to 6 x 10(6) U/m2/d for 10-21 days either alone or with lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells or tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs). Seventy-four computed tomography (CT) scans were performed before administration of IL-2; and 74, 59, and 35 CT scans were performed, respectively, 2, 6, and 10 weeks after administration of IL-2. Of the 168 scans performed after therapy with IL-2, non-ionic media were used in 110 and ionic media were used in 58. There were no reactions before administration of IL-2, but there were nine reactions after therapy with IL-2. Reactions to contrast media occurred 1-4 hours after media infusion and included fever, chills, emesis, diarrhea, rash, wheezing, hypotension, edema, and oliguria. Hospitalization was required in seven cases, including intensive care unit support in four, but all patients recovered fully. Contrast reactions were more frequent 2 weeks after therapy with IL-2 (eight of 74 scans, 11%) compared with 6 weeks after IL-2 (one of 59 scans, 1.7%), but the difference was not statistically significant (McNemar's test). Six patients who reacted to contrast 2 weeks after IL-2 treatment received contrast 4 weeks later: five had no reaction and only one experienced a reaction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A resonant impurity mode and the Mössbauer effect for europium doped MnF2

Abstract A low frequency lattice impurity mode has been observed with far infrared techniques for Eu 2+ doped MnF 2 . The Mossbauer cross-section for the one resonant phonon process is estimated.
Induction of Dendritic Cell Differentiation by IFN-α in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Dendritic cells (DCs) are important in regulating both immunity and tolerance. Hence, we hypothesized that systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease characterized by autoreactive B and T cells, may be caused by alterations in the functions of DCs. Consistent with this, monocytes from SLE patients' blood were found to function as antigen-presenting cells, in vitro. Furthermore, serum from SLE patients induced normal monocytes to differentiate into DCs. These DCs could capture antigens from dying cells and present them to CD4-positive T cells. The capacity of SLE patients' serum to induce DC differentiation correlated with disease activity and depended on the actions of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha). Thus, unabated induction of DCs by IFN-alpha may drive the autoimmune response in SLE.
Propagation of Velocity Discontinuities on Potential Vorticity Fronts

Abstract The propagation of finite-length velocity discontinuities along a potential vorticity front is studied. The front is oriented in a fundamentally north-south direction on the β-plane. The potential vorticity on either side of the front is constant. According to a semigeostrophic theory, the shear disturbances propagate with a speed which depends on the difference of the deformation radius across the front and on the local depth, hB, of the moving fluid layer at the front. The disturbance steepens as it propagates. Breaking is predicted by the semigeostrophic theory at a time which depends inversely on the propagation speed and the initial steepness of the perturbation to the layer depth. Small velocity discontinuities will grow as they propagate.
Size-based tournaments for node selection

In genetic programming, the reproductive operators of crossover and mutation both require the selection of nodes from the reproducing individuals. Both unbiased random selection and Koza 90/10 mechanisms remain popular, despite their arbitrary natures and a lack of evidence for their effectiveness. It is generally considered problematic to select from all nodes with a uniform distribution, since this causes terminal nodes to be selected most of the time. This can limit the complexity of program fragments that can be exchanged in crossover, and it may also lead to code bloat when leaf nodes are replaced with larger new subtrees during mutation. We present a new node selection method that selects nodes based on a tournament, from which the largest participating subtree is selected. We show this method of size-based tournaments improves performance on three standard test problems with no increases in code bloat as compared to unbiased and Koza 90/10 selection methods.
Subprime Bailouts and the Predatory State.

Recent bailouts in response to the subprime crisis evince an ad hoc government response that benefited general unsecured creditors and managers within the financial sector, while inflicting great loss upon taxpayers. The bailouts violated notions of the rule of law and sound macroeconomic science. In fact, the bailouts were followed by restricted lending and capital hoarding. This paper argues that such bailouts should be powerfully discouraged by imposing a legal framework including civil, criminal and administrative sanctions designed to discourage CEOs and other senior managers from flirting with too-big-to-fail status. Specifically, such managers would face near-automatic termination, discharge of employment agreements, the loss of protections under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, civil fines for causing losses to TBTF firms through unsafe and unsound practices, criminal sanctions for recklessly causing a loss to TBTF firms, and the prospect of administratively ordered prudential divestitures of operating units when a regulator identifies a firm as being TBTF. The goal is to eliminate the attractiveness of TBTF and thereby avert the huge costs implicit in TBTF. This should assure that bailouts are not a function of political power rather than sound economic policy.
The yeast polyubiquitin gene is essential for resistance to high temperatures, starvation, and other stresses

Conjugation of ubiquitin to intracellular proteins mediates their selective degradation in eukaryotes. In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, four distinct ubiquitin-coding loci have been described. UBI1, UBI2, and UBI3 each encode hybrid proteins in which ubiquitin is fused to unrelated sequences. The fourth gene, UBI4, contains five ubiquitin-coding elements in a head-to-tail arrangement, and thus encodes a polyubiquitin precursor protein. A precise, oligonucleotide-directed deletion of UBI4 was constructed in vitro and substituted in the yeast genome in place of the wild-type allele. ubi4 deletion mutants are viable as vegetative cells, grow at wild-type rates, and contain wild-type levels of free ubiquitin under exponential growth conditions. However, although ubi4/UBI4 diploids can form four initially viable spores, the two ubi4 spores within the ascus lose viability extremely rapidly, apparently a novel phenotype in yeast. Furthermore, ubi4/ubi4 diploids are sporulation-defective. ubi4 mutants are also hypersensitive to high temperatures, starvation, and amino acid analogs. These three conditions, while diverse in nature, are all known to induce stress proteins. Expression of the UBI4 gene is similarly induced by either heat stress or starvation. These results indicate that UBI4 is specifically required for the resistance of cells to stress, and that ubiquitin is an essential component of the stress response system.
Management Attempts to Avoid Accounting Disclosure Oversight: The Effects of Trust and Knowledge on Corporate Directors’ Governance Ability

Management has the opportunity to promote self-serving accounting practices, such as earnings management, when management can effectively avoid oversight by the audit committee. This article investigates the effects of financial knowledge and dispositional trust on the ability of audit committee members to recognize management attempts to avoid full disclosure to the board and potentially deceive board members. The results of a controlled laboratory experiment with 40 experienced audit committee member participants indicate that: (1) Audit committee members with less financial knowledge are more likely to accept insufficient client explanations for accounting judgments than are more knowledgeable audit committee members; (2) Audit committee members with less financial knowledge are more likely to reject sufficient client explanations for accounting judgments than are more knowledgeable audit committee members; and (3) Audit committee members that place higher levels of trust in others are more likely to accept insufficient client explanations for accounting judgments than are less trusting committee members.
Transfer RNA gene organization and RNase P

Mature tRNAs are remarkably similar in all cells. However, the primary transcripts from tRNA genes can vary considerably due to differences in gene organization. RNase P must be able to recognize the elements that are common to all tRNA precursors to accurately remove the 5'-leader sequences.
Order statistics and selection methods of evolutionary algorithms

Selection methods are essential components of evolutionary algorithms (EAs). This paper reviews five popular selection methods used in EAs. The algorithms are examined using the cumulants of the fitness distribution of the selected individuals. The cumulants are calculated using order statistics. The method presented here considers finite populations of arbitrary size. The results show important differences among the selection methods considered, even when they are configured to have the same selection intensity.
Citation indexing for research and development management

This paper reviews a number of studies of the correlation between the number of citations and the article quality and concludes that citation patterns do reflect the intellectual links between publications and that number of citations does correlate with quality of work.
Examining the dimensionality of coupon proneness: a random coefficients approach

Abstract Many previous studies have sought to measure consumers’ coupon proneness but have tended to assume that this trait is unidimensional in nature, i.e., an individual's coupon proneness is the same for all types of coupons. It is argued in this study that because consumers differ in the products they shop for and in the types of coupons they are exposed to, their coupon proneness is likely to vary across different coupon types, i.e., is likely to be multidimensional. The authors test this proposition using the item response theoretic (IRT) model proposed by Bawa et al. (J. Marketing Res. 34 (1997) 517). In the Bawa et al. study a single coupon proneness parameter was estimated for each individual. The current study extends the IRT model via a random coefficients approach and estimates separate coupon proneness parameters for different coupon types. The results indicate the presence of distinct segments among consumers, with some consumers displaying a generalized coupon proneness tendency across coupon types and others displaying type-specific coupon proneness.
Schizarin B, C, D, and E, Four New Lignans from Kadsura matsudai and Their Antihepatitis Activities

Bioassay-directed fractionation of ethanolic extract of Kadsura matsudai Hayata has resulted in the isolation of four novel C18 dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans, schizarin B (1), schizarin C (2), schizarin D (3), and schizarin E (4). Schizarin B (1) showed moderate to strong activity for antihepatitis in both anti-HBsAg and anti-HBeAg assays, and 3 and 4 also were active in the latter assay. Compounds 1−4 were inactive in vitro against HIV replication in H9 lymphocytes. All new structures were elucidated using spectral analysis. Their structural elucidation by spectral and structure−activity relationships is also discussed.
It wasn’t up to Jones: unavoidable actions and intensional contexts in Frankfurt examples

In saying that it was up to someone whether or not she acted as she did, we are attributing a distinctive sort of power to her. Understanding such power attributions is of broad importance for contemporary discussions of free will. Yet the ‘is up to…whether’ locution and its cognates have largely escaped close examination. This article aims to elucidate one of its unnoticed features, namely that such power attributions introduce intensional contexts, something that is easily overlooked because the sentences that express these attributions admit of both intensional and extensional readings. I argue that this kind of power attribution should inform discussions of Frankfurt’s counterexample strategy, in that an alternative possibility should not be considered robust unless it’s up to the agent whether or not it’s realized. I argue, as well, that understanding robust alternatives in this way sheds light on the relationship between the Frankfurt literature and the Luck Objection to libertarianism.
Role of counterions in the gigahertz relaxation of wet DNA.

We have measured the dielectric properties of concentrated solutions and gels (\ensuremath{\le}30 mg/ml) of random-sequenced DNA from E. coli in the 400-MHz--26-GHz range. Two Debye-type relaxations are evident, one with a relaxation time near 9 ps and attributable to the classical Debye relaxation of water. More noteworthy is a second relaxation process with a characteristic time in the 20--200-ps range, i.e., a relaxation frequency in the 0.8--8-GHz range, depending upon the species of the counterions and the temperature. The slower relaxation process has an enthalpy of 3.3 kcal/mol and is accounted for by a counterion-based relaxation process. These experimental results are considered in terms of two models from polyelectrolyte theory, one by Oosawa [Biopolymers 9, 677 (1970)] and Wyllie [in Dielectric and Related Molecular Processes, edited by M. Davies (American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C., 1972), Vol. 1], and the other by Manning [Q. Rev. Biophys. 11, 179 (1978); Acc. Chem. Res. 12, 443 (1979)], and we propose that different ion-based relaxation mechanisms dominate in different hydration regimes.
Pharmacologic management of asthma

Therapy for asthma has largely been focused on the end-organ effect of bronchoconstriction on airway smooth muscle. Xanthine derivatives such as theophylline were the initial oral bronchodilators used to manage asthma. Recent therapies directed at airway smooth muscle relaxation promote bronchodilation through stimulation of the b-adrenoreceptor. 1 The pharmacologic evolution of b-adrenergic agonists has led to the development of airway smooth muscle receptor‐specific agents, agents that can be administered topically through aerosol inhalation, and agents that are long lasting. Epidemiologic studies have validated the safety of the long-acting b-adrenoreceptor drugs and established that tachyphylaxis, as measured by the direct bronchodilating effect of these agents after repeated use, is inconsequential. More recently, the focus of asthma therapy development has been on modification of the inflammatory component of this disorder. 2 Oral corticosteroids cause substantial improvement in objective measures of lung function, but these agents are associated with considerable toxicity. 3, 4 The development of potent, highly lipidsoluble agents permits twice-daily dosage and may lead to a reduction in oral corticosteroid use in patients with corticosteroid-dependent asthma. Furthermore, inhaled corticosteroids provide an effective means of managing the pathology of inflammation with minimal adverse effects. With the enhanced understanding of asthma pathophysiology, drugs now are being designed to act against different steps in the inflammatory process. Newer agents include those directed at antagonizing the effects of leukotrienes that are secreted from inflammatory cells. These include two classes: 5-lipoxygenase inhibitors and leukotriene receptor antagonists. A number of other therapies are currently in development. Some of these interventions (e.g., monoclonal antibodies) prevent adhesion of inflammatory cells to vascular endothelium in conducting airways. Other mechanisms of action of investigational agents include modification of Thelper (TH2) cell interactions that trigger inflammatory activation, suppression of eosinophil development, and induction of eosinophil apoptosis in the bone marrow. PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
A buffered, constant gain, opamp with rail-to-rail common-mode range

A buffered, high frequency, high DC gain, rail-to-rail, constant transconductance (G/sub m/) operational amplifier was designed. The operational amplifier is a part of an analog/digital system which implements a Gabor convolution for real-time dynamic image processing. This op amp is designed to drive the input impedance (50 /spl Omega//spl par/35 pF) of an off-chip analog-to-digital converter (ADC). It operates from a single 5 V power supply, offers a 66 dB open loop voltage gain (A/sub vol/), and a 9.5 MHz unity gain-bandwidth (GBW) for the above mentioned load. Its uniqueness includes a rail-to-rail input and output voltage swing with a phase margin (PM) of 77/spl deg/ and a DC common mode rejection ratio (CMRR) of 105 dB as well as a power dissipation of 10 mW. The buffer is able to drive the ADC input impedance with a positive and negative slew rate (SR) of 12 V//spl mu/s. In addition to rail-to-rail output voltage swing, the op amp has a constant G/sub m/ over the whole common mode (CM) voltage range.
Poverty Duration, Maternal Psychological Resources, and Adolescent Socioemotional Outcomes

This study seeks to assess the impact of maternal psychological well-being on the depression and anxiety levels and social withdrawal in a sample of young African American and Caucasian adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14 (N = 854) using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 child sample. Analyses using structural equation modeling found (a) that the duration of time mothers spend in poverty strongly predicts maternal mastery and depressive symptoms and (b) that the effects of poverty duration on adolescent outcomes are mediated primarily by maternal depression and sense of mastery even after controlling for parenting behavior and other familial background characteristics.
ATP-Binding Site Lesions in FtsE Impair Cell Division

FtsE and FtsX of Escherichia coli constitute an apparent ABC transporter that localizes to the septal ring. In the absence of FtsEX, cells divide poorly and several membrane proteins essential for cell division are largely absent from the septal ring, including FtsK, FtsQ, FtsI, and FtsN. These observations, together with the fact that ftsE and ftsX are cotranscribed with ftsY, which helps to target some proteins for insertion into the cytoplasmic membrane, suggested that FtsEX might contribute to insertion of division proteins into the membrane. Here we show that this hypothesis is probably wrong, because cells depleted of FtsEX had normal amounts of FtsK, FtsQ, FtsI, and FtsN in the membrane fraction. We also show that FtsX localizes to septal rings in cells that lack FtsE, arguing that FtsX targets the FtsEX complex to the ring. Nevertheless, both proteins had to be present to recruit further Fts proteins to the ring. Mutant FtsE proteins with lesions in the ATP-binding site supported septal ring assembly (when produced together with FtsX), but these rings constricted poorly. This finding implies that FtsEX uses ATP to facilitate constriction rather than assembly of the septal ring. Finally, topology analysis revealed that FtsX has only four transmembrane segments, none of which contains a charged amino acid. This structure is not what one would expect of a substrate-specific transmembrane channel, leading us to suggest that FtsEX is not really a transporter even though it probably has to hydrolyze ATP to support cell division.
Regulation of tyrosine hydroxylase promoter activity by the von Hippel–Lindau tumor suppressor protein and hypoxia‐inducible transcription factors

Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in catecholamine biosynthesis, is induced by hypoxia in oxygen-sensitive cells of the carotid body and pheochromocytoma-derived PC12 cells. TH is also regulated by the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor protein (pVHL). Here, we report that induction of TH gene expression involves activation of the hypoxia-inducible transcription factors (HIFs) that interact with a specific hypoxia-responsive element (HRE) in the proximal region of the TH promoter. We also show that some of the effects of pVHL on activity of the TH promoter are mediated through HIFs. Low levels of pVHL are associated with decreased HIFalpha ubiquitination, increased accumulation of HIFalpha proteins, increased binding of HIFs to the HRE within the TH promoter, and increased activity of a TH promoter-reporter construct. In contrast, high levels of pVHL repress HIF accumulation and inhibit its activity in hypoxic cells. These results indicate that HIFs may play an important role in regulation of TH gene expression in oxygen-sensitive cells and also in the development of hypercatecholaminemia in pheochromocytoma tumors.
Income distribution, fiscal policy, and delays in stabilization

This paper presents an explanation of the cycles of large fiscal expansions and macroeconomic stabilizations that are frequently observed in developing countries. In the model, different coalitions form and change depending on the position of three groups over the degree of redistribution and the timing of debt repayment. I show that seemingly unsustainable fiscal policies arise from a coalition of the poor and the rich when the distribution of income is highly unequal. When income is distributed more equally, instead, the patterns of fiscal policy and of the trade balance are consistent with the standard predictions of representative agent models. These features of the model seem consistent with available empirical evidence.
A shared transcriptional program in early breast neoplasias despite genetic and clinical distinctions.

Background: The earliest recognizable stages of breast neoplasia are lesions that represent a heterogeneous collection of epithelial proliferations currently classified based on morphology. Their role in the development of breast cancer is not well understood but insight into the critical events at this early stage will improve efforts in breast cancer detection and prevention. These microscopic lesions are technically difficult to study so very little is known about their molecular alterations. Results: To characterize the transcriptional changes of early breast neoplasia, we sequenced 3′- end enriched RNAseq libraries from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue of early neoplasia samples and matched normal breast and carcinoma samples from 25 patients. We find that gene expression patterns within early neoplasias are distinct from both normal and breast cancer patterns and identify a pattern of pro-oncogenic changes, including elevated transcription of ERBB2, FOXA1, and GATA3 at this early stage. We validate these findings on a second independent gene expression profile data set generated by whole transcriptome sequencing. Measurements of protein expression by immunohistochemistry on an independent set of early neoplasias confirms that ER pathway regulators FOXA1 and GATA3, as well as ER itself, are consistently upregulated at this early stage. The early neoplasia samples also demonstrate coordinated changes in long non-coding RNA expression and microenvironment stromal gene expression patterns. Conclusions: This study is the first examination of global gene expression in early breast neoplasia, and the genes identified here represent candidate participants in the earliest molecular events in the development of breast cancer.
Creative State: Forty Years of Migration and Development Policy in Morocco and Mexico.

A review of the book "Creative State: Forty Years of Migration and Development Policy in Morocco and Mexico," by Natasha Iskander is presented.
Pokefind: a novel topological filter for use with protein structure prediction.

Motivation: Our focus has been on detecting topological properties that are rare in real proteins, but occur more frequently in models generated by protein structure prediction methods such as Rosetta. We previously created the Knotfind algorithm, successfully decreasing the frequency of knotted Rosetta models during CASP6. We observed an additional class of knot-like loops that appeared to be equally un-protein-like and yet do not contain a mathematical knot. These topological features are commonly referred to as slipknots and are caused by the same mechanisms that result in knotted models. Slip-knots are undetectable by the original Knotfind algorithm. We have generalized our algorithm to detect them, and analyzed CASP6 models built using the Rosetta loop modeling method. Results: After analyzing known protein structures in the PDB, we found that slip-knots do occur in certain proteins, but are rare and fall into a small number of specific classes. Our group used this new Pokefind algorithm to distinguish between these rare real slip-knots and the numerous classes of slip-knots that we discovered in Rosetta models and models submitted by the various CASP7 servers. The goal of this work is to improve future models created by protein structure prediction methods. Both algorithms are able to detect unprotein-like features that current metrics such as GDT are unable to identify, so these topological filters can also be used as additional assessment tools.
Functional Impact of Manipulation on the Relative Orientation of Human Prolactin Receptor Domains

Hormone binding creates active receptor dimers for class 1 cytokine receptors; however, the detailed molecular mechanism by which these receptors are activated by their ligands is not well characterized, and it is unknown if these receptors share common mechanisms. A rotation model has been proposed for the activation of human erythropoietin receptor and human growth hormone receptor and is supported by evidence showing that additions of alanine at the junction of the transmembrane (TM) and intracellular (IC) domains and/or within the TM domain influenced receptor activities. This evidence suggests that alanine additions changed the relative orientations of the IC domains and their subsequent activation. We wished to determine if a similar mechanism was at play with human prolactin receptor (hPRLr). Up to four alanines were added between the TM and either the IC or extracellular (EC) domains to extend the TM helix and to rotate the IC or EC domains. Also, up to four glycines were placed between the TM and IC domains to provide increased flexibility between these two domains. Wild-type hPRLr or various mutant receptors were expressed in human embryonic kidney 293T cells that express endogenous Janus kinase 2. In the absence of human prolactin (hPRL), none of the alanine or glycine additions increased the level of receptor phosphorylation above that of wild-type hPRLr. In the presence of hPRL, both wild-type hPRLr and each of the mutant receptors were successfully phosphorylated. These data do not support a rotation mechanism for hPRLr activation or a requirement of a fixed spatial relationship between the TM and IC domains for hPRLr activation. In a second set of experiments, both wild-type hPRLr and either alanine- or glycine-extended receptors were coexpressed in 293T cells. In the absence of hPRL, there was no detectable phosphorylation of hPRLr. Such data do not support a piston movement between the hPRLr pair in their activation.
Stability analysis of the fundamental dark surface wave

We present a numerical stability analysis of the recently reported fundamental dark surface wave [ J. Opt. Soc. Am. B8, 759 ( 1991)]. We show that the dark-power dispersion relation for the wave bifurcates into two branches and that the lower-power branch is stable, whereas the higher-power branch is unstable. This bifurcation is a result of topological differences between the phase-space portraits for each of the surface-wave solutions. Finally, we show that the numerical results of the analysis may be understood with the aid of a coupled-mode model.
Concomitant information in competing risk analysis

A competing risk model, accommodating both Type I censoring and random withdrawals, is expanded to incorporate concomitant information by allowing the parameters of the underlying distributions to be a linear function of two covariates. The model is developed for two competing risks, one following a Weibull distribution and the other a Rayleigh distribution, and random withdrawals following a Weibull distribution. A method is developed for testing the equality of the coefficients for a given covariate for each of the competing risks using MLE'.
W/B4C multilayer x-ray mirrors

One of the most important considerations in the design and manufacture of multilayer mirrors is material compatibility. Ideally, the materials selected should not chemically react or interdiffuse, thereby avoiding the formation of second phases, thus enhancing the smoothness of the layer interfaces and the reflectivity of the optic. The transparency of the spacing layers can therefore be augmented by materials of low absorption. Initial findings with B4C layers indicate deposits that show smoother layering than those containing carbon, with the advantages of greater stability, lower absorption, and therefore greater reflectivity. The manufacture, microstructure, and reflectivity of W/B4C multilayers are discussed.
Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in patients with sensitive low-grade lymphoma or mantle cell lymphoma

Abstract PURPOSE: To report survival outcomes of allogeneic BMT in patients with low-grade lymphoma or mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-five patients with low-grade lymphoma (48%), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (26%), or MCL (26%) underwent myeloablative allogeneic BMT from HLA-identical siblings at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center. Patients had a median age of 46 years, a median of 2 prior treatments, and 31% were in complete remission at the time of transplantation. The preparative regimen was cyclophosphamide/total body irradiation for most patients. All grafts were T-cell depleted by counter flow centrifugal elutriation with CD34+ augmentation. RESULTS: The incidence of acute GVHD grade >2 was 6% and of grades 1 to 2 was 37%. The incidence of chronic GVHD was 6%. The median follow-up time was 25 months. The rate of event-free survival (EFS) was 50% (95% confidence interval [CI], 33%-66%). Only 1 patient relapsed. The transplantation-related mortality (TRM) was 46% for all patients. The TRM was 86% for patients with resistant disease and 14% for patients with sensitive disease and Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2001;7(10):561-7.
Excellent studio teaching in architecture

ABSTRACT Design studios are the heart of most architecture curricula, yet few efforts have been made to determine what makes for excellent studio teaching. Based on interviews with university teachers who have won awards for teaching excellence in design studios, the study identifies 14 factors that can contribute to effective studio teaching. The need for such insights is great, for studio teachers receive no training; there are no guidelines for young teachers. This study also can help experienced teachers improve their teaching, particularly teachers who are off their stride. Furthermore, it can aid administrators in advising teachers—both young and experienced.
Spatiotemporal Genetic Structure in a Protected Marine Fish, the California Grunion (Leuresthes tenuis), and Relatedness in the Genus Leuresthes

The genus Leuresthes displays reproductive behavior unique among marine fish in which mature adults synchronously emerge completely out of the water to spawn on beach land. A limited number of sandy beaches, which are suitable for these spawning events, are present in discontinuous locations along the geographic range of the species, potentially limiting gene flow and the degree of genetic homogeneity between intraspecific populations. Here, we tested for molecular genetic differentiation between 363 individuals, representing 3 populations of California grunion, Leuresthes tenuis, by employing 2 mitochondrial and 4 nuclear DNA markers. We include temporally diverse sampling to evaluate contemporary and temporal divergence, and we also analyze 28 individuals from one population of Gulf grunion (restricted to the Gulf of California), Leuresthes sardina, at the same markers to evaluate the molecular evidence for their separate species distinction. We find no significant differences between temporal samples, but small significant differences among all populations of L. tenuis, and unequivocal support for the separate species distinction of L. sardina. Genetic data suggest that the Monterey Bay population of L. tenuis near the species' most northern range likely represents a relatively recent colonization event from populations along the species' more traditional range south of Point Conception, California. We conclude that both the topographic features of the California and Baja California coastlines and the grunions' unique reproductive behavior have influenced the genetic structure of the populations.
What is the best immunosuppression in living donor liver transplantation

Abstract Introduction As we have learned, there are no golden rules of immunosuppression in solid organ transplantation, and every transplant program is using its own regimen to prevent or treat rejection. We have retrospectively analyzed the incidence and severity of acute rejection in a consecutive series of living donor liver transplants. The major objective during the whole study period was to ultimately avoid any steroids from the beginning. Methods Twenty one adult patients and five children received 23 right, one left, and two left lateral lobe grafts from genetically or emotionally related living donors, including four ABO-incompatible pairs. The majority of patients had triple initial immunosuppression, based on tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil or sirolimus, and basiliximab or daclizumab. Except methylprednisolone administered before reperfusion in 13 patients, only seven had prednisolone after transplantation, and 12/26 had a completely steroid-free regimen. Results The overall incidence of biopsy-proven acute rejection was 4/21 in adults (19%) and 4/5 in children (80%). Rejections were mild in five and moderate in three cases, respectively, and easily reversed with steroids in all patients. Different combinations of immunosuppressive drugs or ABO incompatibility did not seem to have an influence on the risk of rejection. Conclusion Despite the small number of patients in this series, completely steroid-free triple-drug immunosuppression with tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and basiliximab is safe and efficient to prevent acute rejection in adult recipients of living donor liver transplants. At least short-term administration of prednisolone should be considered in pediatric patients.
Encephalopathy associated with metoclopramide use in a patient with Parkinson’s disease

Purpose The case of a patient with Parkinson’s disease (PD) who experienced profound encephalopathy after short-term exposure to metoclopramide is described. Summary A 79-year-old man with PD received metoclopramide (10 mg i.v. every six hours) for stimulation of gastric motility after a colon resection; the first of three doses of the drug was administered about 30 minutes after completion of the afternoon procedure. The evening after surgery, the patient appeared to be resting comfortably without pain, although he was somewhat agitated; two more metoclopramide doses were administered during the night. Over the next several hours his mental status deteriorated, and the next morning he was found to be unresponsive and could not be aroused. Although the patient had received minimal narcotics, naloxone was administered but failed to produce an improvement in the patient’s mental status. The results of laboratory tests, computer tomography scanning, and other diagnostic studies ruled out cardiac ischemia, infectious disease, and other potential causes of the abrupt change in mental status. Within eight days of the discontinuation of metoclopramide use, the patient gradually returned to his baseline mental status. The application of the algorithm of Naranjo et al. in this case indicated a possible adverse reaction to metoclopramide as the cause of acute metabolic encephalopathy, with the patient’s underlying PD and PD-related dementia suspected to have been contributing factors. Conclusion A 79-year-old man with long-term PD developed acute encephalopathy after the administration of i.v. metoclopramide.
Docosahexaneoic acid (22:6,n-3) regulates rat hepatocyte SREBP-1 nuclear abundance by Erk- and 26S proteasome-dependent pathways.

Insulin induces and dietary n-3 PUFAs suppress hepatic de novo lipogenesis by controlling sterol-regulatory element binding protein-1 nuclear abundance (nSREBP-1). Our goal was to define the mechanisms involved in this regulatory process. Insulin treatment of rat primary hepatocytes rapidly augments nSREBP-1 and mRNASREBP-1c while suppressing mRNAInsig-2 but not mRNAInsig-1. These events are preceded by rapid but transient increases in Akt and Erk phosphorylation. Removal of insulin from hepatocytes leads to a rapid decline in nSREBP-1 [half-time (T1/2) ∼ 10 h] that is abrogated by inhibitors of 26S proteasomal degradation. 22:6,n-3, the major n-3 PUFA accumulating in livers of fish oil-fed rats, suppresses hepatocyte levels of nSREBP-1, mRNASREBP-1c, and mRNAInsig-2 but modestly and transiently induces mRNAInsig-1. More importantly, 22:6,n-3 accelerates the disappearance of hepatocyte nSREBP-1 (T1/2 ∼ 4 h) through a 26S proteasome-dependent process. 22:6,n-3 has minimal effects on microsomal SREBP-1 and sterol-regulatory element binding protein cleavage-activating protein or nuclear SREBP-2. 22:6,n-3 transiently inhibits insulin-induced Akt phosphorylation but induces Erk phosphorylation. Inhibitors of Erk phosphorylation, but not overexpressed constitutively active Akt, rapidly attenuate 22:6,n-3 suppression of nSREBP-1. Thus, 22:6,n-3 suppresses hepatocyte nSREBP-1 through 26S proteasome- and Erk-dependent pathways. These studies reveal a novel mechanism for n-3 PUFA regulation of hepatocyte nSREBP-1 and lipid metabolism.
Alternative Measures for the Financial Condition of the Multifamily Housing Stock

Indicators of the financial condition of the multifamily housing stock can potentially inform several policy issues, such as the loss of affordable rental units, multifamily developers’ access to capital, and the emerging secondary mortgage market for multifamily properties. Several rules of thumb exist for assessing financial condition. This article uses the Residential Finance Survey to investigate whether it matters, from a practical standpoint, which one is employed. Specifically, we ascertain how five measures—loan-to-value, debt coverage, rent-to-value, net operating income‐to-value, and vacancy loss ratios—relate to each other and rank properties. We found that Pearsonian correlations among the measures varied dramatically. Factor analysis produced two factors, one corresponding to a rent-flow measure and the other to a debt-burden measure. Spearman rank-order correlations revealed that with one exception, measures yielded noticeably dissimilar financial condition rankings. We conclude that single-dimensional measures of financial condition should not be used in isolation.
Real-time 3D internal marker tracking during arc radiotherapy by the use of combined MV-kV imaging

To minimize the adverse dosimetric effect caused by tumor motion, it is desirable to have real-time knowledge of the tumor position throughout the beam delivery process. A promising technique to realize the real-time image guided scheme in external beam radiation therapy is through the combined use of MV and onboard kV beam imaging. The success of this MV?kV triangulation approach for fixed-gantry radiation therapy has been demonstrated. With the increasing acceptance of modern arc radiotherapy in the clinics, a timely and clinically important question is whether the image guidance strategy can be extended to arc therapy to provide the urgently needed real-time tumor motion information. While conceptually feasible, there are a number of theoretical and practical issues specific to the arc delivery that need to be resolved before clinical implementation. The purpose of this work is to establish a robust procedure of system calibration for combined MV and kV imaging for internal marker tracking during arc delivery and to demonstrate the feasibility and accuracy of the technique. A commercially available LINAC equipped with an onboard kV imager and electronic portal imaging device (EPID) was used for the study. A custom built phantom with multiple ball bearings was used to calibrate the stereoscopic MV?kV imaging system to provide the transformation parameters from imaging pixels to 3D world coordinates. The accuracy of the fiducial tracking system was examined using a 4D motion phantom capable of moving in accordance with a pre-programmed trajectory. Overall, spatial accuracy of MV?kV fiducial tracking during the arc delivery process for normal adult breathing amplitude and period was found to be better than 1 mm. For fast motion, the results depended on the imaging frame rates. The RMS error ranged from ~0.5 mm for the normal adult breathing pattern to ~1.5 mm for more extreme cases with a low imaging frame rate of 3.4 Hz. In general, highly accurate real-time tracking of implanted markers using hybrid MV?kV imaging is achievable and the technique should be useful to improve the beam targeting accuracy of arc therapy.
Producing Visual Traditions Among Workers: The Uses of Photography at Pullman

From 1880 to 1980 the Pullman Company repeatedly turned to photography to shape the attitudes and behavior of its workers. It built the Pullman Car Works and adjoining town on the fringes of Chicago as a model industrial community with the goal of resolving the endemic conflict between capital and labor. However, despite its claim that the model town was intended as purely “practical” philanthropy—that is, that sanitary and beautiful conditions would increase profits by improving workers' performance and preventing strikes—Pullman could not achieve its goal without also creating affective bonds with workers.
Continuous-wave operation of all-epitaxial InP-based 1.3 [micro sign]m VCSELs with 57% differential quantum efficiency

All-epitaxial InP-based 1.3 /spl mu/m VCSELs with a record-high continuous-wave differential quantum efficiency (57%) for single active region long-wavelength devices are demonstrated. Low-loss optical mode confinement is achieved through a selectively etched undercut tunnel-junction aperture. Singlemode continuous-wave lasing was observed up to 87/spl deg/C and the room-temperature output power was 1.1 mW at a current of 4.1 mA and a wavelength of 1.305 /spl mu/m.