cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
T-cell differentiation antigen cluster 2 (CD2) is a receptor for accessory cells and can generate and/or transduce accessory signals.

Abstract The role of CD2 antigen in T-cell activation was investigated using soluble-phase or crosslinked monoclonal anti-CD2 antibodies. Soluble-phase anti-CD2 inhibited T-cell activation when accessory signals were provided with accessory cells and not when 12- O -tetradecanoylphorbol -13-acetate provided the accessory signals to anti-CD3-treated T cells. Soluble-phase anti-CD2 also inhibited anti-CD3 and accessory cell-dependent increases in intracellular free calcium concentration. Crosslinked anti-CD2, on the other hand, mediated an increase in the concentration of intracellular free calcium in T cells. Crosslinked anti-CD2 also functioned as an accessory cell substitute in that it generated the required accessory signals and mediated significant proliferation of anti-CD3-treated T cells. Collectively, these findings support the concept that the CD2 antigen is a receptor for accessory cells and participates in accessory signal generation and/or transduction.
Altered expression of epithelial integrins and extracellular matrix receptors in oral erythema multiforme

Inflammation and ulceration at the epithelium-connective tissue interface, a characteristic of erythema multiforme (EM), may be associated with altered molecular attachment of basal keratinocytes. To determine the expression of basal keratinocyte-associated integrins and their basement membrane ligands in oral EM, specimens of clinically and microscopically confirmed EM (n = 12) and mucosal controls (n = 7) were stained immunohistochemically for the integrins alpha 3, beta 6, beta 1, and beta 4 and for extracellular matrix proteins laminin 1, laminin 5, collagen IV, and collagen VII using a standard avidin-biotin-peroxidase technique. In EM, results showed increased staining intensity for all integrins studied in basal and suprabasal keratinocytes. Basement membrane-associated staining of a6 and b4 was intense, but disrupted and fragmented. In EM, integrin staining was most marked at the summit of the connective tissue papillae. Laminin 5 staining was more intense than in controls, was frequently fragmented, and extended into the lamina propria. Laminin 1 staining was discontinuous and was frequently less intense than in controls. Collagen IV staining in EM was interrupted along the basement membrane. Collagen VII staining was fragmented but unchanged in intensity. These alterations in interface adhesion molecules suggest that hemidesmosome-associated molecules are important in the pathogenesis of EM. The staining intensities and patterns of expression of these adhesion molecules suggest that oral EM is initially focused in the connective tissue papillae.
A comparison of the school mental health referral profiles of young ESL and English-Speaking children

School adjustment profiles of demographically matched English-as-a-second-language (ESL), and non-ESL, children, both groups largely Hispanic, referred for school mental health services were compared. Comparisons were based on total, factor, and item scores from two measures of school adjustment, the Teacher-Child Rating Scale (T-CRS) and Child Rating Scale (CRS). Teachers judged ESLs to have fewer acting-out, and more shy/anxious and learning problems than non-ESLs. English-as-a-second-language students were also judged to have fewer competencies than non-ESLs overall, and in the specific areas of assertive social skills and peer-social skills, but to have greater frustration tolerance. Separate factor analyses of the T-CRS with referred ESL and non-ESL children confirmed the factor structure previously obtained with non-referred, English-speaking children. Factor analysis of the CRS, however, yielded an expanded (9-item) anxiety factor for ESL children that included three prior peer-sociability items. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Assessing solution quality in stochastic programs

Determining whether a solution is of high quality (optimal or near optimal) is fundamental in optimization theory and algorithms. In this paper, we develop Monte Carlo sampling-based procedures for assessing solution quality in stochastic programs. Quality is defined via the optimality gap and our procedures' output is a confidence interval on this gap. We review a multiple-replications procedure that requires solution of, say, 30 optimization problems and then, we present a result that justifies a computationally simplified single-replication procedure that only requires solving one optimization problem. Even though the single replication procedure is computationally significantly less demanding, the resulting confidence interval might have low coverage probability for small sample sizes for some problems. We provide variants of this procedure that require two replications instead of one and that perform better empirically. We present computational results for a newsvendor problem and for two-stage stochastic linear programs from the literature. We also discuss when the procedures perform well and when they fail, and we propose using ɛ-optimal solutions to strengthen the performance of our procedures.
Energy-gain spectroscopy studies of electron capture from helium by slow multiply charged neon ions

Energy spectra of the projectile ions have been measured following electron capture by slow ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{q+}$ ions on He for $3\ensuremath{\le}q\ensuremath{\le}8$. Both single-capture and transfer ionization were observed. The reactions are all exoergic with positive energy defects between 3.6 and 31 eV, and with crossing radii between 8 and 2.1 \AA{}. Capture is found to selectively populate states whose crossings lie at a radius which can be calculated on the basis of a simple prescription. The total transfer cross sections range up to 55% of the geometrical ones deduced from the measured crossing radii.
Inhalation intake fraction of pollutants from episodic indoor emissions

Abstract The intake fraction is the attributable pollutant mass inhaled by an exposed population per unit mass released from a source. In this paper, mathematical models are combined with empirical data to explore how intake fraction varies with governing parameters for episodic indoor pollutant releases, such as those from cleaning, cooking, or smoking. Broadly, the intake fraction depends on building-related factors (e.g., ventilation rate), occupant factors (e.g., occupancy), and pollutant dynamic factors (e.g., sorption). In the simple case of the episodic release of a nonreactive pollutant into a well-mixed indoor space with steady occupancy and constant ventilation and breathing rates, the intake fraction is the ratio of the occupants’ volumetric breathing rate to the building's ventilation flow rate. Factors such as incomplete mixing, time-varying occupancy, and sorptive interactions modify this basic relationship.
An ion pump mechanism based on channel processes in the Na,K-ATPase

Abstract An ion pump mechanism can be based on channel processes in the Na,K-ATPase, where conformational changes result from charge shifts within the protein during enzyme activity. A shift of charge, from a high charge density region to a low density region, causes a channel to open and also affects the ionic gradients (freeing bound counter-ions in the high charge region, and binding counter-ions in the low charge region). The simultaneous changes can result in a transient reversed local concentration gradient driving ions through the opened channel. If the enzyme surfaces bind ions preferentially, a local gradient of particular ions can be created.
WE-E-T-617-02: Dosimetric Impact of Anatomic Variations for Head & Neck Cancer Patients Undergoing IMRT Treatment Analyzed by Deformable Imaging Registration

Purpose: The anatomy in some head and neck cancer patients can vary significantly during the course of radiation therapy due to weight loss and/or tumor shrinkage. The purpose of this study is to investigate the dosimetric impact of such changes for patients who have had second CT imaging during their IMRT treatments. Method and Materials: Patients had second CT imaging at the request of their treating physician due to a change in the patients' anatomy. In order to focus on the dosimetric effect due to soft tissue changes only (excluding setup errors), the second CT was first registered to the planning CT using an in-house CT-to-CT translation-only bony-registration algorithm. Then the IMRT fields for the same treatment plan were applied to the second CT to obtain the dose distribution in the altered anatomy. In order to compare the dose distributions relative to the original plan, a voxel-by-voxel deformable image registration algorithm was used to map the dose distribution delivered to the 2nd CT back to the original treatment plan. The dosimetric effect can be then analyzed using the original contoured structures for critical organs and the planned targets. Results: There were significant variations in doses to some normal structures such as the ipsilateral parotid gland; while the mean dose to CTVs had only modest changes. In a preliminary analysis of 5 patients, the mean ipsilateral parotid dose increased 6.3±5.6 Gy(18.4%±16.5%), while the mean contralateral parotid dose only increased 0.7±1.4 Gy(2.4%±5.1%). The coverage for CTVs was reduced 3.1±3.5%. There was no significant change in the doses to spinal cord, brainstem, or mandible. Conclusion: We found noticeable changes in dosimetry for patients undergoing IMRT treatments, particularly in the ipsilateral parotid gland. With deformable image registration, we have demonstrated dosimetric changes for head and neck cancer patients during their courses of radiation therapy.
Tables of angular distribution coefficients for gamma rays of mixed multipolarities emitted by aligned nuclei

Abstract Values of angular-distribution coefficients have been calculated for gamma rays of mixed multipolarities emitted by aligned nuclei in transitions both between states of integral spins and half-integral spins.
Common Denominators of Promoter Control in Pseudomonas and Other Bacteria

The analysis of gene regulation in bacteria is entering a new phase. Global regulatory networks, signal processing, responses of complexly regulated sets of genes, and interactions between regulatory systems are becoming a focus of intensive research efforts. Our understanding of how bacteria integrate diverse external and internal stimuli into a concerted cellular response may be the key to successfully engineer commercially important microbes, and treat medically significant bacteria. Research on Pseudomonas has contributed to the overall progress in this field.
Comprehensive Echocardiographic Assessment of Normal Mitral Medtronic Hancock II, Medtronic Mosaic, and Carpentier-Edwards Perimount Bioprostheses Early after Implantation

Background Normal Doppler-derived hemodynamic data for mitral valve bioprostheses are limited. Methods To establish parameters for identifying normal function for each of the 3 types of bioprostheses examined, we conducted a comprehensive, retrospective, two-dimensional, and Doppler echocardiographic assessment of 179 patients who underwent implantation of the Medtronic Hancock II or the Medtronic Mosaic (Medtronic, Inc, Minneapolis, MN) porcine mitral valve bioprosthesis or the Carpentier-Edwards Perimount (Edwards Lifesciences LLC, Irvine, CA) bovine pericardial mitral valve bioprosthesis. Results All bioprostheses were normal by clinical examination, intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography, and postoperative transthoracic echocardiography. Regardless of valve type and body surface area, the pressure half-time was Conclusion These cutoff values (mean + 2 standard deviation) are specific, but not sensitive, for identifying mitral valve prosthesis dysfunction. Prostheses with hemodynamic values that are higher than these cutoff values are likely dysfunctional, but in select cases, mitral valve prosthesis dysfunction may be present even when hemodynamic values are lower than these thresholds.
Children’s causal inferences from indirect evidence: Backwards blocking and Bayesian reasoning in preschoolers

Previous research suggests that children can infer causal relations from patterns of events. However, what appear to be cases of causal inference may simply reduce to children recognizing relevant associations among events, and responding based on those associations. To examine this claim, in Experiments 1 and 2, children were introduced to a “blicket detector,” a machine that lit up and played music when certain objects were placed upon it. Children observed patterns of contingency between objects and the machine’s activation that required them to use indirect evidence to make causal inferences. Critically, associative models either made no predictions, or made incorrect predictions about these inferences. In general, children were able to make these inferences, but some developmental differences between 3and 4-year-olds were found. We suggest that children’s causal inferences are not based on recognizing associations, but rather that children develop a mechanism for Bayesian structure learning. Experiment 3 explicitly tests a prediction of this account. Children were asked to make an inference about ambiguous data based on the base rate of certain events occurring. Four-year-olds, but not 3-year-olds were able to make this inference. © 2003 Cognitive Science Society, Inc. All rights reserved.
Chrysymenia tigillis sp. nov. (Rhodymeniales, Rhodophyta) from the Sultanate of Oman, with a census of currently recognized species in the genus Chrysymenia

SUMMARY Chrysymenia tigillis sp. nov. is described on the basis of a few specimens collected from Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman. The new species is known only from southern Oman, a region of the northern Arabian Sea that is strongly impacted by the upwelling from the summertime monsoon. It is distinguished from other species of the genus by the simple nature of the blades, their dimensions (to 75 cm in length and to 21 cm in width), the rough, bumpy surface of the blades, and the presence of internal struts connecting the inner sides of the blades. A census of the currently recognized species in the genus Chrysymenia is provided.
Linear Regression of Interlevel Wind Velocities

Studies of the statistical data of wind velocities at various altitudes indicate that the orthogonal components of wind at the same altitude are practically independent of each other statistically and each component is approximately normally distributed. On the other hand, these data also indicate that there is a linear regression of each orthogonal component at one altitude on that at a different altitude. This property of linear regression can be used for the prediction of wind velocities at all altitudes knowing the velocity at one altitude, the regression coefficients, and the average wind profiles. The uncertainties and the confidence level of the prediction are discussed. Possible application is indicated. Mathematical representation of the wind profiles and the regression coefficients are mentioned briefly.
P2-33-2SUCCESSFUL MULTIMODAL TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE METASTATIC RECTAL CANCER IN AN ELDERLY PATIENT WITH CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE

Abstract A 75-year-old man, having history of angina pectoris and chronic renal failure (CKD stage4), was admitted due to melena. Colonoscopy revealed advanced rectal cancer and Miles operation was performed (pApN1M0, stageIIIa). Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy using S-1 was introduced but was canceled because of nausea and general malaise. One year after the surgery, he revealed to have multiple lung and liver metastases detected by follow-up CT. Considering severe renal failure, he started 75% dose of FOLFOX6 therapy and a total of 13 courses had completed without severe adverse events. The status of lung lesions was PR (almost disappeared except for one lesion), but two liver lesions remained NC status. Subsequently, he underwent laparoscopic partial liver resection 21 months after the initial surgery. Despite of continuation of 75% dose FOLFOX6 therapy postoperatively, the remnant lung lesion became PD 33 months after the initial surgery, and he underwent radiation therapy (50Gy/25Fr). Soon after the radiation therapy, relapse of multiple lung metastases occurred. Since FOLFOX therapy was canceled due to peripheral neuropathy, he started half dose of oral uracil-tegafur and leucovorin therapy, maintaining the SD tumor status for 19 months, but finally discontinued the therapy due to drug eruption. Instead, bevacizumab and irinotecan therapy was administered every 3 weeks and SD status was maintained for additional 21 months until now. The patient is currently 80 years of age, 5 years after the initial surgery, and has maintained excellent performance status with good disease control. Standardization of chemotherapy or other therapeutic modalities has not been established for the treatment of recurrent colorectal cancer in elderly patients with chronic renal failure. We discussed efficacy of multidisciplinary treatment for such high risk colorectal cancer patients with the review of the literature.
Frameworks for faculty development

Faculty development is pivotal to improvement in engineering education. Faculty perceptions of these efforts as well as their attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions about learning and teaching, in addition to their experience and operational confidence regarding implementation of innovative approaches all impact translation of innovative approaches to actual classroom practice. Improvement efforts can be derailed due to faculty mental models that result in misunderstanding and/or misapplication of new content and pedagogy. Therefore, more understanding about the nature of faculty development activities is a necessary co-requisite for efforts to improve engineering education. The MESSAGE framework applies concepts from learning theory approaches to faculty development and offers structural factors to consider in developing learning activities for faculty members. The goal of this paper is to provide a framework for non-traditional approaches to faculty development as well as traditional approaches such as workshops and individual consultations and to explore these approaches within the MESSAGE framework
Simulation of a strapdown magnetic azimuth detector for wing tip mounted applications

This paper addresses the instrument performance issues of a wing tip mounted solid state magnetic azimuth detector (MAD). The approach taken here dynamically tracks the wing tip deflections so that when used in conjunction with a fuselage mounted inertial reference unit (IRU), wing tip sensed magnetic measurements can be used to derive heading. Presented is a discussion of other strapdown approaches and their shortcomings with respect to wing mounted applications. This discussion is followed by a definition of the error sources associated with the new approach and a simulation illustrating the expected performance. >
Understanding the Role of the Self in Prime-to-Behavior Effects: The Active-Self Account

In this article, the authors review research showing the different roles that the self-concept can play in affecting prime-to-behavior effects. As an organizing framework, an Active-Self account of stereotype, trait, and exemplar prime-to-behavior effects is presented. According to this view, such primes can influence people's behavior by creating changes in the active self-concept, either by invoking a biased subset of chronic self-content or by introducing new material into the active self-concept. The authors show how involvement of the active self-concept can increase, decrease, or reverse the effects of primes and describe how individual differences in responsiveness of the self to change and usage of the self in guiding behavior (e.g., self-monitoring) can moderate prime-to-behavior effects. The Active-Self account is proposed as an integrative framework that explains how the self is involved in prime-to-behavior effects and helps predict how changes in the self determine which motivational and behavioral representations will guide behavior.
Revision of a Parent-Completed Developmental Screening Tool: Ages and Stages Questionnaires

Examined the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ), a series of 11 developmental questionnaires designed to be completed by parents and caregivers of young children from 4 to 48 months of age. The ASQ were recently revised and additional psychometric data were gathered. Analyses on over 7,000 questionnaires indicated high test—retest reliability, interobserver reliability, and internal consistency. Concurrent validity using standardized measures yielded an overall agreement of 85%, with a range of 76-91%. Specificity was high across questionnaire intervals while sensitivity was lower and varied across intervals. Use of parent-completed screening tools such as the ASQ is attractive in terms of costeffectiveness, parental involvement, and flexibility in administration procedures.
Effects of Adeno-Associated Virus on Adenovirus Replication and Gene Expression during Coinfection

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) is a nonpathogenic parvovirus that requires adenovirus (Ad) or another helper virus for a fully permissive infection. AAV-mediated inhibition of Ad is well documented, yet many details of this interaction remain unclear. In this study, we observed a maximum 50-fold decrease in infectious virus production and a 10- to 40-fold reduction in Ad DNA synthesis during coinfections with AAV. With the exception of the E3 gene, AAV decreased all steady-state Ad mRNA levels at 24 h postinfection (hpi) in a dose-dependent manner. However, not all transcription units were affected equally. E4 and late transcription were the most strongly inhibited, and E1A and E2A were the least affected. The temporal effects of AAV on Ad mRNA transcript levels also varied among the Ad genes. Ad protein expression paralleled mRNA levels at 24 hpi, suggesting that coinfecting AAV does not exert substantial effects on translation. In plasmid transfection assays, Rep78 protein most effectively limited Ad amplification, while Rep40 had no effect. Since E2a and E4 proteins are essential for efficient Ad DNA amplification, we examined the relationship between reduced E2A and E4 expression and decreased DNA amplification. Transfected Rep78 did not reduce E2A and E4 transcript levels prior to DNA replication. Also, AAV-induced inhibition of E2A and E4 mRNA production did not occur in the presence of hydroxyurea. It is therefore unlikely that decreased early gene expression is solely responsible for AAV's suppression of Ad DNA replication. Our results suggest that AAV amplification and/or Rep gene expression inhibits Ad DNA synthesis.
Hierarchical Encoding Makes Individuals in a Group Seem More Attractive

In the research reported here, we found evidence of the cheerleader effect-people seem more attractive in a group than in isolation. We propose that this effect arises via an interplay of three cognitive phenomena: (a) The visual system automatically computes ensemble representations of faces presented in a group, (b) individual members of the group are biased toward this ensemble average, and (c) average faces are attractive. Taken together, these phenomena suggest that individual faces will seem more attractive when presented in a group because they will appear more similar to the average group face, which is more attractive than group members' individual faces. We tested this hypothesis in five experiments in which subjects rated the attractiveness of faces presented either alone or in a group with the same gender. Our results were consistent with the cheerleader effect.
Bait additives as a means of improving acceptance by rodents

There is a general desire by those formulating rodent baits to improve them to achieve better rodent control. Various bait additives are currently in use while others have been evaluated without significant benefit. Some food or taste preferences are innate while other specific food preferences of rodents are learned during early experiences in life. Sugar (sweet items) and vegetable oils and animal fats are the most universally effective additives for cereal baits to improve acceptance and palatability for the three major species of commensal rodents. Salt, monosodium glutamate, and a wide array of natural, semi-natural, and synthetic flavors/aromas as bait enhancers have been explored as gustatory (taste) and olfactory (odor) additives. Their influence on rodents seeking out the bait and on bait acceptance are varied and inconsistent. Flavor additives to baits have often decreased rather than increased consumption.
New frameshift CF mutation 3729delAinsTCT in a Tunisian cystic fibrosis patient

More than 1800 CFTR (cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene) sequence variations have been identified in the cystic fibrosis (CF) mutation database (http://www.genet.sickkids.on.ca/cftr/). For North African populations, however, the nature and frequency of the major CFTR mutations remain unclear, although a small number of CFTR mutation detection studies have been done in Algeria and Tunisia, which have largely shown European mutations such as 1653del CTT (F508del), 1756 G→T (G542X) and 4036 C→G (N1303K), albeit at different frequencies, which presumably emerged via population admixture with European Caucasians (Messaoud et al. 2005; Loumi et al. 2008). In this study, we report identification of a new frameshift mutation, 3729 delA insTCT, in exon 19 of the CFTR gene associated with 3442 G→T (E1104X) mutation in a Tunisian CF patient, and its clinical manifestation. Determination of this new mutation enhances the epidemiological data for the Tunisian population. It was helpful in providing genetic counselling to the affected family.
A novel α-galactosidase a mutant (M42L) identified in a renal variant of Fabry disease

A 65-year-old man presented to our institution for workup of proteinuria. His serum creatinine level was 1.7 mg/dL (130 μmol/L), and he had proteinuria with protein of almost 5 g/24 h. Fabry disease was diagnosed by means of kidney biopsy and low serum and leukocyte levels of α-galactosidase A. Review of his history, family history, physical examinations, and diagnostic studies did not show other findings typical of this disease. His renal function continued to decline, and he eventually underwent a living unrelated renal transplantation 5 years later. Three years after transplantation, his creatinine level is 1.7 mg/dL (130 μmol/L), and corrected iothalamate clearance is 53 mL/min/1.73 m 2 . Genetic studies showed that he has a novel missense mutation (M42L) in exon 1. Methionine at codon 42 is highly conserved in eukaryotic α-galactosidase A orthologues. This genotype predicts a minor misfolding of α-galactosidase A because of a small difference in hydrophobicity between methionine and leucine. His mutation resulted in a very low, but detectable, serum level of α-galactosidase A (0.002 U/L; normal range, 0.016 to 0.2 U/L). Cases of Fabry disease that present with predominantly renal manifestations are rare and require a high index of suspicion for diagnosis. Because treatment for Fabry disease recently has become available, it is important for clinicians to be aware of this disease and pursue the diagnosis in cases of otherwise unexplained renal dysfunction.
Clinical histologic-microbiologic analysis of 419 lymph node biopsy specimens

The results of culture and histopathologic examination of 419 lymph node biopsy specimens obtained from 414 patients in 1978-1983 were correlated with clinical histories. The clinical diagnosis was lymphadenopathy of unknown etiology in 113 cases, sarcoidosis in 93, malignant lymphoma in 86, metastatic carcinoma in 17, histoplasmosis in 18, tuberculosis in 13, and other miscellaneous conditions in 79. All but two clinically significant microbial isolates from lymph nodes were either mycobacteria or fungi: the only exceptions were staphylococcal isolates from two children with lymphadenitis. Of 66 lymph nodes associated with bacterial, mycobacterial, or fungal disease, 48 included granulomatous and/or acute inflammatory lesions. Of 33 lymph nodes that were culture-positive, two had histologic evidence of lymphoid hyperplasia, and the remainder included granulomatous and/or acute inflammatory lesions. With one exception, lymph node cultures in immunocompetent patients were positive only when there was a granuloma and/or an acute inflammatory lesion in the tissue. On the basis of these findings, it was concluded that lymph nodes from immunocompetent patients should be cultured only when a granuloma and/or an acute inflammatory lesion are detected and that the cultures can be limited to mycobacteria and fungi.
Combined Modality Treatment for Central Nervous System Malignancies

This review summarizes the current status and future prospects for combined modality treatment of primary and metastatic central nervous system malignancies. The laboratory and clinical basis for multimodality therapy, including surgery, ionizing radiation, and drug therapy, are outlined and critically reviewed. The central nervous system diseases discussed include: glioma (low and high grade), brain metastases, and primary central nervous system lymphoma. Collectively, these data suggest a shift favoring combined modality approaches in several of these diseases; however, the incremental gains are indeed modest. The individual practitioner must weigh these with the additional toxicities before making a therapeutic decision for a particular patient. The future direction of combined modality therapy in these diseases will likely revolve around the increased use of molecular diagnostics resulting in the application of targeted therapy. Clearly, such promising innovations must be delineated in the context of continued preclinical studies and controlled clinical trials.
The Impact of Simulation Training on Call Center Agent Performance: A Field-Based Investigation

The most prevalent form of training call center agents is via classroom instruction coupled with role-plays. Role-play training has a theoretical base in behavior modeling that entails observation, practice, and feedback. Emerging simulation-based technologies offer enhancements to behavior modeling that are absent in role-play training. This study evaluates the effectiveness of simulation-based training (henceforth, simulation training) as a behavior modeling technique vis-a-vis role-play training in a real-world call center environment across tasks of different levels of complexity. We collaborate with call centers at two Fortune 50 firms and examine on-job performance metrics to evaluate the effectiveness of simulation training. The performance measures of interest are call accuracy and call duration because these are two important factors that influence customer satisfaction and productivity in call center operations. After controlling for factors such as trainee's learning and technology orientation, age, education, and call center experience, results show that simulation training outperforms role-playing-based training in terms of both accuracy and speed of processing customer calls. Further, the relative superiority of simulation training improves at higher levels of task complexity.
Remaking Arctic governance: the construction of an Arctic Inuit polity

This article focuses on the construction of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), the aim being to offer the historical context within which the ICC came to serve as a significant voice for Arctic policy making and as a representative of Inuit peoples in general. It explores the role of the ICC in relation to the domestic, regional, and international political events taking place during its formative years in order to provide the basis through which the ICC came to be a political authority in the Arctic. While the main coalescence of events was around the theme of Arctic resource development, each event significantly helped lay the foundation for, and structures under which, Arctic policy would proceed into the future. This includes a changing Arctic narrative that has transformed the Arctic from a being a region concentrated on resource extraction and Cold War security into a region serving as a symbolic pinnacle for global sustainable development. Through the expanded political agency of the ICC and an international focus on the Arctic, a vision of the Arctic has emerged under which it is defined by its natural environment and by the indigenous peoples who inhabit this space. This is an INDIPO project paper (Tennberg 2006).
A Note on the Recruitment and Reward Equity of Organizations: U.S. Universities Before Affirmative Action

Do the personnel equity patterns of organizations within a single industry show substantial variance? What statistical relationship exists among the various dimensions of equity in organizations? To answer these questions, a method for measuring and comparing the objective equity of organizations in recruiting and rewarding personnel is presented. After controlling for differences in qualifications and performance, inequities in recruitment, rank, tenure, and salary of men and women faculty in the late 1960s are systematically measured at each of 79 universities. Almost all universities exhibited inequity in the recruitment, rank, and salary attainment processes of women faculty; but, in most cases, they were not disadvantaged in the tenure process. On all equity dimensions, however, there was sizeable variation in the patterns exhibited. The extent of equity in recruitment, rank, tenure, and salary were found to be largely unrelated to one another. The implications of this work for segmented labor market research and for the analysis of stratification systems in science are discussed.
Circle of Competence and the Gradual Diffusion of Information in Prices

I examine how information in the price of one firm is incorporated into the price of another related firm. Information in prices diffuses slowly across firms affected by common shocks. Further, this phenomenon is most pronounced across firms each affected by many types of shocks, i.e. complex firms. To explain these empirical regularities, I incorporate structural uncertainty and ambiguity aversion into a standard multi-asset rational expectation model. In the model, each firm is affected by multiple types of shocks and investors, endowed with limited kinds of expertise, do not know the riskiness, i.e. volatility, of some of these shocks. Investors are especially fearful of unknown risks, so they assume that shocks of unknown riskiness are extremely risky in their investment decisions. This behavior prevents the price of one firm from efficiently incorporating information in the price of a related firm, especially if both firms in the pair are complex firms. The model also explains the diversification discount.
Ion-binding properties of a K+ channel selectivity filter in different conformations

K+ channels are membrane proteins that selectively conduct K+ ions across lipid bilayers. Many voltage-gated K+ (KV) channels contain two gates, one at the bundle crossing on the intracellular side of the membrane and another in the selectivity filter. The gate at the bundle crossing is responsible for channel opening in response to a voltage stimulus, whereas the gate at the selectivity filter is responsible for C-type inactivation. Together, these regions determine when the channel conducts ions. The K+ channel from Streptomyces lividians (KcsA) undergoes an inactivation process that is functionally similar to KV channels, which has led to its use as a practical system to study inactivation. Crystal structures of KcsA channels with an open intracellular gate revealed a selectivity filter in a constricted conformation similar to the structure observed in closed KcsA containing only Na+ or low [K+]. However, recent work using a semisynthetic channel that is unable to adopt a constricted filter but inactivates like WT channels challenges this idea. In this study, we measured the equilibrium ion-binding properties of channels with conductive, inactivated, and constricted filters using isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). EPR spectroscopy was used to determine the state of the intracellular gate of the channel, which we found can depend on the presence or absence of a lipid bilayer. Overall, we discovered that K+ ion binding to channels with an inactivated or conductive selectivity filter is different from K+ ion binding to channels with a constricted filter, suggesting that the structures of these channels are different.
Foreclosure Rescue Fraud and Net Benefit Analysis: Making the Case for an Equitable Mortgage

Equity stripping fraud often masquerades as a sale-leaseback contract. Homeowners anticipating a refinance to settle a foreclosure are victimized through a transfer of ownership and theft of equity. The doctrine of equitable mortgage is a legal theory used to challenge these fraudulent transactions. Demonstrating that an economic alternative exists that affords a superior means to retain homeowner equity/wealth can support a recharacterization of a conveyance transaction as an equitable mortgage. The superior sophistication and bargaining power of an acquirer supports comparing the transaction that in fact transpires to a best available alternative. Alternatives will depend on the particulars of the case and can include the accepting the foreclosure, a sale of the property prior to foreclosure, a refinance, or a reverse annuity mortgage. The net benefit of a sale to avoid foreclosure is used here by way of illustration and is a practical alternative when the fair market value of the property is known. In this illustration, the sale to avoid foreclosure yields a preferred impact on net wealth since the homeowner does not suffer a loss of equity to the acquirer. In addition, the sale-leaseback agreement is likely to reduce the likelihood of the homeowner buying back the property or a similar property when there is equity stripping and non-reporting of on-time payments to credit bureaus.
Attacks on Health Care in Syria — Normalizing Violations of Medical Neutrality?

Many hospitals and clinics have been decimated in the Syrian conflict, and hundreds of medical personnel have been killed, 95% of them by government forces. Yet the international community has failed to enforce the Geneva Conventions.
Multicommodity Network Flow Problems with Overlapping Capacities for Several Products

Typically the models described in the literature for multistage multicommodity distribution-systems assume, that features combining different commodities only occur in the objective. Therefore, in the case of linear or linearized distribution-system design problems the masterproblem decomposes into as many independent subproblems as there are different commodities. Therefore, each of these subproblems can be solved by known standard optimizing algorithms. Contrary to these assumptions real-life applications usually show a lot of constraints concerning two or more products. Frequently, each client has to be assigned to exactly one distribution center (single-source constraint) or there are capacitated resources at the facilities for production and throughput for all commodities or only subsets of the different commodities. Considering these constraints it’s no longer possible to solve the original master-problem as a sequence of independent one-product subproblems.
Recent Studies in Regional Urban Systems in India: Trends, Patterns and Implications

An urban system is defined as a network of towns, cities and its hinterland characterized by exchange and interdependence. These cities and towns are arranged in a hierarchical settlement pattern within the development continuum in which people, goods, services and capital flow in the city system hierarchy. A national urban system comprises regional urban systems (RUSs) which is dominated by a large urban area. The Indian RUS can be delineated into four broad macro-regional urban systems: Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai. Given this background this chapter addresses three questions: (1) What are the broad trends of RUSs research in India? (2) What insights have the various conceptual approaches provided to the understanding of Indian regional urbanization? (3) Is there a new approach that can manifest an alternative insight to Indian RUS? Four observations can be made: (1) Indian cities have grown rapidly followed by polarization reversal, (2) hierarchic studies have sparked an interest in regional service development planning utilizing location-allocation models (3) Indian urbanization is characterized by a lack of national primacy but the presence of state primacy and regional rank-size tendency, and (4) complexity approach is a novel approach to model macro-behavior such as city development or urban sprawl using micro-motives or local interaction such as land use changes.
Comparison of bladder segmentation using deep-learning convolutional neural network with and without level sets

We are developing a CAD system for detection of bladder cancer in CTU. In this study we investigated the application of deep-learning convolutional neural network (DL-CNN) to the segmentation of the bladder, which is a challenging problem because of the strong boundary between the non-contrast and contrast-filled regions in the bladder. We trained a DL-CNN to estimate the likelihood of a pixel being inside the bladder using neighborhood information. The segmented bladder was obtained from thresholding and hole-filling of the likelihood map. We compared the segmentation performance of the DL-CNN alone and with additional cascaded 3D and 2D level sets to refine the segmentation using 3D hand-segmented contours as reference standard. The segmentation accuracy was evaluated by five performance measures: average volume intersection %, average % volume error, average absolute % error, average minimum distance, and average Jaccard index for a data set of 81 training and 92 test cases. For the training set, DLCNN with level sets achieved performance measures of 87.2±6.1%, 6.0±9.1%, 8.7±6.1%, 3.0±1.2 mm, and 81.9±7.6%, respectively, while the DL-CNN alone obtained the values of 73.6±8.5%, 23.0±8.5%, 23.0±8.5%, 5.1±1.5 mm, and 71.5±9.2%, respectively. For the test set, the DL-CNN with level sets achieved performance measures of 81.9±12.1%, 10.2±16.2%, 14.0±13.0%, 3.6±2.0 mm, and 76.2±11.8%, respectively, while DL-CNN alone obtained 68.7±12.0%, 27.2±13.7%, 27.4±13.6%, 5.7±2.2 mm, and 66.2±11.8%, respectively. DL-CNN alone is effective in segmenting bladders but may not follow the details of the bladder wall. The combination of DL-CNN with level sets provides highly accurate bladder segmentation.
LARGE ANGLE pi- p ELASTIC SCATTERING AT 3.63-GeV/c.

The differential cross section for elastic scattering of $3.63\ensuremath{-}\frac{\mathrm{GeV}}{c} {\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ mesons on protons was studied with a hydrogen bubble chamber, the emphasis being on large-angle scattering. From 90 to 180\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} in the barycentric system, the cross section is roughly flat with an average value of 2.7\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}1.0 \ensuremath{\mu}b/sr. Near and at 180\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, there may be a slight peak of magnitude 10\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}6 \ensuremath{\mu}b/sr. But if such a peak exists, it is only one-third to one-fourth the size of the 180\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} peak found in 4.0 $\frac{\mathrm{GeV}}{c} {\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}+p$ elastic scattering. In addition to comparison with other ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\ensuremath{-}}+p$ and ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}+p$ large-angle elastic-scattering measurements, this measurement is compared with large-angle $p+p$ elastic scattering. In the forward hemisphere a small peak or a plateau exists at $cos {\ensuremath{\theta}}^{*}=+0.60$. This appears to be a second diffraction maximum such as has been found in lower-energy $\ensuremath{\pi}+p$ elastic scattering. A survey of indications of such a second diffraction maximum in other $\ensuremath{\pi}+p$ measurements shows that it always occurs in the vicinity of $\ensuremath{-}t=1.2 {(\frac{\mathrm{GeV}}{c})}^{2}$, where $t$ is the square of the four-momentum transfer. As the incident momentum increases, the relative size of this second maximum decreases.
The potential role of phoresy in the evolution of parasitism: radiolabelling (tritium) evidence from an astigmatid mite

Using tritium as a radiolabel marker of interspecific fluid transfer, we present experimental evidence that the heteromorphic deutonymph of an astigmatid mite (Hemisarcoptes cooremani) acquires materials (at least water) directly from the haemolymph of its beetle host (Chilocorus cacti). This acquisition is above that obtained from atmospheric vapour. The material acquired from the host is necessary for the completion of the ontogeny of H. cooremani and is likely procured through the action of the caudal ventral suckers of the heteromorphic deutonymph (hypopus). On gross morphological criteria, this mite-beetle relationship was previously defined as phoretic (for dispersal). Scanning electron photomicrographs of the physical relationship between the hypopodes and the heetles shed light on the ‘parasitic’ nature of the hypopus of H. cooremani. Our findings are discussed in terms of the evolution of parasitism from a free-living astigmatid form. This transition into parasitism is facilitated by the heteromorphic hypopus and represents a classic ‘wolf-insheep's-clothing’ strategy. The heteromorph retains the characteristic phoretic morphology while exploiting the host in transit.
Phylogeography and genealogy of the tsetse fly Glossina pallidipes (Diptera: Glossinidae)

Glossina pallidipes, a widely but discontinuously distributed African savanna species, is one of the economically important tsetse flies because it is a vector of trypanosomiasis, a lethal disease of cattle and other domestic animals. DNA sequences of ribosomal (r16S2, 249 bp) and cytochrome oxidase I (COI, 421 bp) concatenated mitochondrial genes were analysed in 23 geographically diverse samples of G. pallidipes from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Among 873 flies, we detected 181 composite haplotypes and found that their spatial diversities and frequency distributions were heterogeneous. Haplotype and nucleotide diversities were greatest in Ethiopia and least in southern Africa. We observed little haplotype and nucleotide diversity among regions, and detected severely limited maternal gene flow among the sampled populations (ΦST= 0.42). Tests for demographic stability and analysis of mismatch distributions revealed regionally contrasting demographic histories. The Ethiopian populations were phylogenetically the oldest and genetically the most diverse, and exhibited successive waves of contraction and expansion. The southern African populations were phylogenetically the youngest and genetically the least diverse, and showed only a single, recent expansion. Likely ecological correlates of historical tsetse fly demography include population suppression trials in East Africa and recurring rinderpest epizootics in southern Africa, beginning in the late nineteenth century that reduced host mammalian populations.