cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Regulatory Perspectives on the Use of Biomarkers and Personalized Medicine in CNS Drug Development: The FDA Viewpoint

Abstract Drug development for central nervous system (CNS) disorders is challenging and has faced a mixed bag of successes. Failures to identify safe and effective therapies for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease have been attributed to lack of good preclinical disease models, absences of link between biomarkers, and clinical end points and adequate heterogeneity in disease progression. Understanding reasons for the disease heterogeneity and identifying early markers for treatment effect have been recognized as important factors for successful drug development for CNS disorders. Recent scientific advances in genetic sequencing and imaging technologies offer promising ways to accelerate the development of therapies. Toward achieving this goal, several FDA regulatory initiatives, such as biomarker qualification program (BQP), Critical Path Innovations Meeting (CPIM), and expedited drug approval pathways, could potentially lead to successful and more targeted CNS therapies in the future.
Social Returns to Private Choice? Effects of Charter Schools on Behavioral Outcomes, Arrests, and Civic Participation

Abstract The vast majority of literature on school choice, and charter schools in particular, focus on attending an elementary or middle school grades and often focus on test scores or other proximal outcomes. Much less is known about the long-term effects of attending a charter school in 9th grade. It is important to fill this information void for a few reasons. First, schools in general affect more than just students’ test scores. Second, secondary schools (including grades 9–12) make up a larger share of the charter sector. Third, school choice depends on freely available information for parents and students to make informed decisions about where to attend, including potential long-term benefits. We add to the empirical research on charter school effects by using a doubly-robust inverse probability weighted approach to evaluate the impacts of secondary charter school attendance on 9th grade behavioral outcomes and individuals propensity to commit crime and participate in elections as young adults in North Carolina, a state with a large and growing charter school sector.
Distributed Minimum Energy Leader-Follower Algorithm for Multi-Agent Systems with an Active Non-Homogenous Leader

In this paper, we consider a leader-follower problem for a group of homogeneous linear time invariant (LTI) follower agents that are interacting over a directed acyclic graph. In our problem of interest, only a subset of the follower agents has access to the state of the leader in specific sampling times. The dynamics of the leader that generates its states is unknown to the followers. For interaction topologies in which the leader is a global sink in the graph, we propose a distributed algorithm that allows the agents to arrive at the sampled state of the leader before the next sample arrives. We prove that the control input to take the followers from one sampled state to the next one is minimum energy for all the followers. We also show that after the first sampling epoch, the states of all the follower agents are synchronized with each other. We demonstrate the application of our proposed algorithm for two leader-follower problems for mobile agents. Our first example shows the application of our algorithm in control of unicycle robots in a formation motion. In the second example, we demonstrate the use of our algorithm for reference state tracking via a group of second order integrator followers with bounded control. In this example, we show that the properties of our proposed leader-follower algorithm allow us to design the arrival times at the reference states in such a way that the input bounds of the agents never get violated.
Fluorescence imaging for rapid monitoring of translocation behaviour of systemic markers in snap beans for automated crop/weed discrimination

Investigating the translocation behaviour of fluorescent markers is significant for the effective application of the markers in weed and crop differentiation. Snap bean was used as a model plant to study the systemic movement of Rhodamine B (Rh-B) in specialty crops for weed control. A fluorescence imaging system was developed to monitor the uptake and translocation of Rh-B from dyed snap bean seeds to bean plants. Bean samples were dyed using different concentrations of Rh-B solutions. As the concentration of Rh-B applied to the seeds increased, the fluorescent signal of the marker was at first enhanced, then weakened. After germination, this marker was observed from the stems of bean seedlings at stages of first leaf to multiple leaves over time. The fluorescence response on the hypocotyl was stronger than that on the epicotyl, while there was limited translocation observed in plant roots and leaves based on this fluorescence imaging system. The fluorescence peak at 590 nm, measured by a spectrometer (350–1050 nm), exhibited the greatest contrast between untreated and treated plant samples. The proposed crop signalling approach based on Rh-B emission was able to classify snap bean plants from different weeds (e.g. burning nettle, groundsel, and barley). The results demonstrate that fluorescence imaging technology is a rapid and effective approach to studying the real-time translocation behaviour of a signalling marker in a crop system. Based on the unique fluorescence property, visualisation of the marker in vivo specialty crops grown from Rh-B treated seeds provides potential for their successful application in early season weed discrimination.
An Aeolian Grainflow Model for Martian Recurring Slope Lineae.

Abstract Recurring Slope Lineae (RSL) on Mars have been enigmatic since their discovery; their behavior resembles a seeping liquid but sources of water remain puzzling. This work demonstrates that the properties of RSL are consistent with observed behaviors of Martian and terrestrial aeolian processes. Specifically, RSL are well-explained as flows of sand that remove a thin coating of dust. Observed RSL properties are supportive of or consistent with this model, which requires no liquid water or other exotic processes, but rather indicates seasonal aeolian behavior. These settings and behaviors resemble features observed by rovers and also explain the occurrence of many slope lineae on Mars that do not meet the strict definition of RSL. This indicates that RSL can be explained simply as aeolian features. Other processes may add complexities just as they could modify the behavior of any sand dune.
Profiles of adolescents’ civic attitudes in sixteen countries: Examining cross-cohort changes from 1999 to 2009:

The purpose of this study is to examine profiles of students’ attitudes toward citizenship norms and inclusiveness in the political process, focusing on changes in the frequency of particular profi...
Radiative Lifetime Measurement of the Excited State of Sodium Dimers

Lifetimes of the first excited-state of sodium dimers are measured using time-resolved spectroscopy. Molecular fluorescence decay-time was recorded using time-correlated photon-counting technique and lifetime was extracted using a Stern-Volmer plot.
An integrative review: Women's psychosocial vulnerability in relation to paid work after a breast cancer diagnosis.

AIM The aim of this integrative review was to explore psychosocial vulnerabilities in women after a breast cancer diagnosis that are related to their paid work. DESIGN The review methodology was guided by Whittemore and Knafl. The Mehnert Cancer Survivorship and Work Model provided a lens through which to view vulnerability in working women with a focus on facilitating interventions to improve both recovery and work outcomes. DATA SOURCES PUBMED, CINAHL, Web of Science, and PsycNET databases were searched for English language papers published between January 2014-June 2020. REVIEW METHODS Titles and abstracts were screened. Inclusion/exclusion criteria were then applied to full text screen of the remaining articles following PRISMA guidelines. Thirteen studies meeting the inclusion criteria were critically appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist. A constant comparison approach was used to systematically distil findings into categories and assess their fit within the Mehnert Model subdomains. RESULTS Vulnerabilities coalesced predominantly within the following subdomains: (a) changes in identity and role functioning; (b) social reintegration; (c) coping strategies; and (d) social supports. Patterns and themes within these subdomains were related both positively and negatively to form the contours of a survivor's satisfaction/dissatisfaction with quality of life related to work and breast cancer recovery. CONCLUSION Overall, findings highlight the importance of employment and work environments in bolstering women's psychosocial health after a breast cancer diagnosis. IMPACT Findings from this review support adapting psychosocial distress screening to include vulnerabilities relating to work life. Nurses are ideally positioned to facilitate this screening and engage clinicians in a dialogue surrounding patient's support needs due to nursing's central role on the interdisciplinary team. Nurses may also foster collective accountability for implementing ongoing multidisciplinary survivorship care plans that include a return to work component.
Charles A. Broadwater and the main chance in Montana

slowed their gait, then stopped as they heard: "Broad is dead." In the commercial center of Montana's capital city, where he had strolled with confidence, people stood shocked at the news that Charles A. Broadwater had died in the early morning hours only a few months before his fifty-second birthday. During the next few days, as businessmen and public officials trimmed their buildings in black and admirers telegraphed their condolences, Helena's citizens reflected on their loss. One of their premier town-builders had been stricken down in his prime. "I have never known a death to touch a whole community as deeply as this has," GovernorJoseph K. Toole said on hearing the news. "Everybody seems to realize that a potent if not dominant factor in social, commercial and political life is gone." Over five thousand people attended Broadwater's funeral and heard eulogies from friends and adversaries alike. Although he was worth one and a half million dollars at his death, Broadwater seems not to have generated antagonisms as other frontier barons had. "There was something wonderfully human about him," the Helena Independent editorialized, "there was something undefinably magnetic about him." But more than that, his life stood as a testimonial to the attraction that had brought men and women to the frontier in the first place-the pursuit of that elusive "main chance." Broadwater's life, the Independent concluded, "illustrates in every way the results that may come to a boy possessed of brains, energy, pluck and perseverance and honest purpose." The text is classic rags-to-riches lore, the stuff that ran through American success stories from Benjamin Franklin to Horatio Alger. Especially for Montanans living on the apex of the great boom that had catapulted their declining mining frontier into statehood, Broadwater's life was an attractive description of the "path to riches." As the personification of the self-made man in America, Broadwater stood as a true representative of the hope that those who play the game by the rules and better their communities surely will garner rich rewards and be justified. That is one of our prevailing myths, and we have long been encouraged to draw lessons from the lives of men like Broadwater; but his biography is not quite as simple as an example of how to succeed through "pluck and perseverance and honest purpose." To begin with, Charles Broadwater was a member of Montana's pioneer generation, the men and women who claimed and settled the country for whites and who drew lessons for themselves from their own accomplishments. Not unlike his contem-
Classifier Design with Parzen Windows

A number of methods are available in the literature to estimate the class-conditional densities for pattern classification. The Parzen-window method of density estimation is studied with emphasis on techniques for optimal window-width estimation. We report the window-widths obtained by using the BOOTSTRAP technique and compare them with MSE, MEISER and the LEAVE-ONE-OUT techniques. The performance of classifiers based on the Parzen window density estimate is compared with other well-known classifiers such as linear, quadratic, K-Nearest Neighbor, and binary tree on several real data sets.
Psychological Groupwork with Acute Psychiatric Inpatients by Radcliffe, J., Hajek, K., Carson, J. & Manor, O. (Eds.)

To read Psychological Groupwork with Acute Psychiatric Inpatients, edited by Jonathan Radcliffe, Katja Hajek, Jerome Carson, and Oded Manor, is to join a cadre of group workers who are struggling t...
Hypersensitivity: Antibody-mediated Cytotoxic (Type II)

Few disease states occur on the basis of a single hypersensitivity reaction. Type II hypersensitivity reactions cause tissue damage without the involvement of lymphocytes. Keywords: hypotension; perforin; agglutination; goodpasture syndrome
The Biology of CXC Chemokines and Their Receptors

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the biology of CXC chemokines and their receptors. It also discusses the structure, function, and history of the CXC chemokine ligands and receptors. The chapter discusses the biochemistry and cell biology underlying the signaling of these molecules and elaborates the concept of cellular trafficking and the roles that these chemokines play in normal and pathological states, addressing potential therapeutic targets of this system. Chemokines are released by cells to induce the migration of other cells that possess appropriate G‐protein‐coupled receptors towards higher chemokine concentrations. Chemokine activity is the immune system's predominant type of internal signal for speciﬁc recruitment of particular cell types to important sites. This cell recruitment is essential for the innate immune system's inflammatory responses, for proper tissue development in the organs of the cardiovascular, nervous, and immune systems, and for the activation and the specialized regional development of memory and effector lymphocytes in the adaptive immune system of the adult animal.
The herpes simplex virus type-1 origin binding protein. DNA helicase activity.

The herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) origin binding protein, the product of the UL9 gene, catalyzes the unwinding of DNA in the 3‘-5‘ direction. Helicase activity is coupled to the hydrolysis of ATP or dATP and to a lesser extent to CTP, dCTP, or UTP. It requires a divalent cation (Mg2+ > Mn2+ > Ca2+) with an optimum at 2.5 mM MgCl2. Activity is optimal at high pH (8.5-9.5) and high temperature (45 degrees C) and is inhibited at ionic strengths > 50 mM NaCl. The helicase activity is specifically stimulated by the HSV-1-encoded single-stranded DNA-binding protein, ICP8, which increases both the rate and extent of helicase activity. Helicase action appears to be stoichiometric, requiring a DNA-dependent assembly of a multimeric UL9 protein complex. Under optimal conditions, the rate of DNA unwinding is approximately 75 base pairs/min.
Astronomy. The red ragged edge.

Small objects in the Kuiper belt - a zone at the very edge of our Solar System - appear to come in two shades. The redder ones may be furthest from the Sun.
Positivity-based control system synthesis using alternating LMIs

This paper describes a method to synthesize positivity-based controllers for flexible systems. A strictly positive real controller guarantees unconditional stability in the closed-loop system with respect to plant parametric uncertainty provided the plant is positive real. By adopting static output feedbacks and the performance specification in terms of decay rate, the positivity approach results in a simple setting involving coupled LMIs. The alternating LMIs method is proposed in this paper to solve the synthesis problem. The Draper's tetrahedral truss example is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of this method in solving flexible structure robust control problems.
JOHN TYLER RYLAND, 1786-1841: A FURTHER ASSESSMENT

This article is an expansion of Stella Read, ‘Further information on the Ryland family,’ Baptist Quarterly, 36 (1995), 202–3. It looks at the Birth Registers for Broadmead Baptist Church, Bristol, 1780–1909, which provide further detailed information about the large family of John Tyler Ryland. The information about various members of the family found in the Bristol Directories, and the Bristol Poll Books is noted, and this helps to understand the contribution made to the city of Bristol by J. T. Ryland's family, and particularly that of Charles Julius Ryland, his youngest son.
Phase-coherent, injection-seeded, table-top soft-X-ray lasers at 18.9 nm and 13.9 nm

There is keen interest in generating intense, coherent, soft-X-ray beams for scientific and measurement applications1. Here, we report the demonstration of soft-X-ray lasers with essentially full spatial and temporal coherence operating at wavelengths below 20 nm, and in particular within the 13-nm spectral region, which is important for the manufacturing of computer chips using extreme uv lithography. Gain-saturated pulses were produced in dense laser-created plasmas by amplifying high-harmonic seed pulses in the 18.9-nm and 13.9-nm transitions of nickel-like molybdenum and silver ions, respectively. These results, obtained using an injection seeding technique that can also be applied to improve the temporal coherence of free-electron lasers, extend our ability to generate bright phase-coherent laser beams to significantly shorter wavelengths. Moreover, the experiments were conducted using a practical table-top laser2. These compact soft-X-ray lasers offer new scientific opportunities, such as high-resolution coherent imaging and phase-coherent probing of atomic and molecular systems, in small laboratory environments.
Inpatient safety trends in laparoscopic and open nephrectomy for renal tumours

Study Type – Cohort study Level of Evidence 2b What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Laparoscopic radical nephrectomy for renal cancer provides equivalent long-term cancer control with shorter hospital stays, less postoperative pain, and faster resumption of normal activities, but it has diffused slowly into clinical practice, perhaps as a result of perceptions about safety. Patient safety outcomes for laparoscopic and open radical nephrectomy using validated measures remain incompletely characterized. This is the first study to investigate peri-operative outcomes of radical nephrectomy using validated patient safety measures. We found a 32% decreased probability of adverse patient safety events occurring in laparoscopic compared with open radical nephrectomy. The safety benefits of laparoscopy were attained only after 10% of cases were completed laparoscopically – a proportion some have proposed as the ‘tipping point’ for the adoption of surgical innovations. This observation could have implications for patient safety in the setting of diffusion of new surgical techniques. OBJECTIVE • To compare peri-operative adverse patient safety events occurring in laparoscopic radical nephrectomy (LRN) with those occurring in open radical nephrectomy (ORN). METHODS • We used the US Nationwide Inpatient Sample to identify patients undergoing kidney surgery for renal tumours from 1998 to 2008. • We used patient safety indicators (PSIs), which are validated measures of preventable adverse outcomes, and multivariate regression to analyse associations of surgery type with patient safety. RESULTS • Open radical nephrectomy accounted for 235 098 (89%) cases while 28 609 (11%) cases were LRN. • Compared with ORN, LRN patients were more likely to be male (P= 0.048), have lower Charlson comorbidity scores (P < 0.001), and to undergo surgery at urban (P < 0.001) and teaching (P < 0.001) hospitals. • PSIs occurred in 18 714 (8%) of ORN and 1434 (5%) of LRN cases (P < 0.001). • On multivariate analysis, LRN was associated with a 32% decreased probability of any PSI (adjusted odds ratio 0.68, 95% confidence interval: 0.6 to 0.77, P < 0.001). Stratification by year showed that this difference was initially manifested in 2003, when the proportion of LRN cases first exceeded 10%. CONCLUSIONS • We found that LRN was associated with substantially superior peri-operative patient safety outcomes compared with ORN, but only after the national prevalence of LRN exceeded 10%. • Further study is needed to explain these patterns and promote the safe diffusion of novel surgical therapies into broad practice.
IN-HOUSE CONFLICT RESOLUTION PROCESSES: HEALTH LAWYERS AS PROBLEM-SOLVERS

Conflict is inevitable in healthcare. Disputes easily arise over adverse outcomes, medical necessity and payment determinations, peer review actions, quality evaluations and clinical care decisions, to name a few. Employment relationships between hospitals and physicians are another source of challenges. Although hospital-physician conflicts are not necessarily more frequent or more important, they can illustrate the ways in which health lawyers must understand the role of conflict in healthcare, and the need to build solid, user-friendly structures for conflict resolution into these relationships. Those structures are the focus of this article. In the case discussed, numerous issues arose after a hospital purchased a physician practice. The relationship ended in “divorce” – a dissolution of the employment arrangement. This article proposes that built-in conflict resolution processes, ranging from on-the-spot problem solving to formal mediation, might have instead permitted the parties to resolve these problems amicably. Finally, the discussion distills specific suggestions for health lawyers.
The Preparation and Distribution of Machine-Readable Astrometric Data

The acquisition, preparation and distribution of machine-readable astrometric data by the Astronomical Data Center (ADC) are described. Examples of certain general changes in data structure and format to improve compatability with other computers and software processing systems and to increase storage efficiency are discussed, as are the present data archive and request history of the ADC. Current development work in the areas of astrometric and positional catalogs is described.
Islam and the Politics of Secularism in Europe

Modern secularism, as theorized by prominent liberal philosophers such as John Rawls and Jurgen Habermas, prescribes that the state should treat all religions equally on condition that they and their adherents relinquish their theocratic aspirations and recognize the political sovereignty and superiority of man-made law. Convinced that the secular bargain undermines the moral virtue of society and its members, a small, fragmented, but nevertheless conspicuous number of Islamists in Europe prefers to observe Islamic law in all walks of life, private and public. Alarmed by Islamists and informed by Orientalist readings of Islam, an increasingly vehement and vociferous contingent of Islamophobes avers that Islam is inherently incompatible with democracy and urges European governments to treat neither Islam nor Muslims equally, but rather suspiciously as real or potential threats to the wellbeing of European societies. In contrast, advocates of Euro-Islam insist that Islam can be reformed, like Christianity, to meet the requirements of modern secularism. This paper contends that elements of all three of these vying positions have found their way into policymaking targeting Muslims in several European lands. The resulting inconsistency and contradiction – what I call policy “messiness” – corroborate the process of “mutual fragilization” theorized by Charles Taylor in which actors facing radical value pluralism develop solicitude regarding their own principles as well as greater tolerance for ambivalence. The latter, in particular, creates what Homi Bhabha terms a “third space” from which actors confronting cultural pluralism can freely and constructively explore cross-fertilizations and hybrid combinations with the potential to yield yet unimagined approaches and solutions to the problems of “super-diversity.” Just such creative hybridity does the paper identify among a younger generation of European Muslims whom many observers dub “post-Islamists.”
Subtypes of type I IFN differentially enhance cytokine expression by suboptimally stimulated CD4(+) T cells.

Human type I interferons (IFNs) include IFN-β and 12 subtypes of IFN-α. During viral infection, infiltrating memory CD4+ T cells are exposed to IFNs, but their impact on memory T-cell function is poorly understood. To address this, we pretreated PBMCs with different IFNs for 16 h before stimulation with Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B and measured cytokine expression by flow cytometry. IFN-α8 and -α10 most potently enhanced expression of IFN-γ, IL-2, and IL-4. Potency among the subtypes differed most at doses between 10 and 100 U/mL. While enhancement of IL-2 and IL-4 correlated with the time of preincubation with type I IFN, IFN-γ production was enhanced best when IFN-α was added immediately preceding or simultaneously with T-cell stimulation. Comparison of T-cell responses to multiple doses of Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B and to peptide libraries from RSV or CMV demonstrated that IFN-α best enhanced cytokine expression when CD4+ T cells were suboptimally stimulated. We conclude that type I IFNs enhance Th1 and Th2 function with dose dependency and subtype specificity, and best when T-cell stimulation is suboptimal. While type I IFNs may beneficially enhance CD4+ T-cell memory responses to vaccines or viral pathogens, they may also enhance the function of resident Th2 cells and exacerbate allergic inflammation.
An Evolutionarily Conserved Transmembrane Protein That Is a Novel Downstream Target of Neurotrophin and Ephrin Receptors

Appropriate development of nervous system connectivity involves a variety of processes, including neuronal life-and-death decisions, differentiation, axon guidance and migration, and synaptogenesis. Although these activities likely require specialized signaling events, few substrates unique to these neurotrophic functions have been identified. Here we describe the cloning of ankyrin repeat-rich membrane spanning (ARMS), which encodes a novel downstream target of neurotrophin and ephrin receptor tyrosine kinases, Trk and Eph, respectively. The amino acid sequence of ARMS is highly conserved from nematode to human, suggesting an evolutionarily conserved role for this protein. The ARMS protein consists of 1715 amino acids containing four putative transmembrane domains, multiple ankyrin repeats, a sterile α motif domain, and a potential PDZ-binding motif. In the rat, ARMS is specifically expressed in the developing nervous system and in highly plastic areas of the adult brain, regions enriched in Trks and Eph receptors. ARMS can physically associate with TrkA and p75 neurotrophin receptors. Moreover, endogenous ARMS protein is tyrosine phosphorylated after neurotrophin treatment of pheochromocytoma 12 cells and primary hippocampal neurons or ephrin B treatment of NG108-15 cells, demonstrating that ARMS is a downstream target for both neurotrophin and ephrin receptors.
The Length of a Wide Highway: On the Archive, the (Electronic) Marketplace, and the End of a Collection

This essay is an image-driven reflection on the archive, the collection and collecting, and the act of acquisition. Using parts of her collection of cinema-related ephemera, the author draws on the writing of Apollinaire, Benjamin, Canudo, Derrida, and Dugas to animate questions about their ownership and their place and function in both the archive and the activities of writing and research. By also examining the dynamics of real and virtual marketplaces, the author in turn explores how questions concerning reproduction, purchasing and repetition inhabit the theoretical strata of today’s archive, as well as comprise the archival strata of the collection itself.
CT scan-detected pneumoperitoneum: An unreliable predictor of intra-abdominal injury in blunt trauma

Abstract Introduction Free intra-peritoneal air in blunt trauma is a classic sign associated with hollow viscus injury, traditionally mandating laparotomy. In blunt abdominal trauma, the CT scan has become the diagnostic modality of choice. The increased sensitivity of CT scans may lead to detection of free intra-peritoneal air that is not clinically significant. Objective To characterize conditions and findings that allow for the safe observation of blunt trauma patients with free air and to propose a patient management algorithm to decrease rates of non-therapeutic laparotomy. Design A retrospective review of 5877 blunt trauma patients who had an abdominal CT scan upon admission to our hospital from 2003 to 2011. A secondary CT review was performed by a single radiologist to further characterize the CT findings in the 74 patients with free air reported on initial scan. Management and hospital course were reviewed in these patients. Results Of the 74 patients with intra-abdominal free air, 36 patients with a benign clinical picture were observed and 38 patients underwent urgent exploratory laparotomy. Eleven patients received a non-therapeutic laparotomy. The majority (61%) of patients, 45 of 74, had free air and no significant injury suggesting the presence of benign free air. Patients who had intra-abdominal injury also typically had other clinical or radiologic signs of injury. Findings that were highly predictive of intra-abdominal injury in the setting of free air were free fluid (P Conclusions CT scans may detect free air that is not always clinically significant. Free fluid, seatbelt sign or radiographic signs of bowel trauma in the presence of pneumoperitoneum is highly predictive of injury and these patients should be explored. Based on the results of our study, we created an algorithm to aid in identifying those patients with intra-abdominal free air who may be observed safely.
Biocides, drug resistance and microbial evolution

Antimicrobial biocides are widely used in critical human health situations in which rigorous infection control is needed. Increasingly, biocidal agents are being marketed for home use, although there is little evidence that they significantly improve home hygiene. Biocide resistance mechanisms share many themes with antibiotic resistance mechanisms.
A Maximum Likelihood Approach to Emission Image Reconstruction from Projections

The stochastic nature of the measurements used for image reconstruction from projections has largely been ignored in the past. If taken into account, the stochastic nature has been used to calculate the performance of algorithms which were developed independent of probabilistic considerations. This paper utilizes the knowledge of the probability density function of the measurements from the outset, and derives a reconstruction scheme which is optimal in the maximum likelihood sense. This algorithm is shown to yield an image which is unbiased -- that is, on the average it equals the object being reconstructed -- and which has the minimum variance of any estimator using the same measurements. As such, when operated in a stochastic environment, it will perform better than any current reconstruction technique, where the performance measures are the bias and viariance.
Hasta la Victoria (Deportista) Siempre: Revolution, art, and the representation of sport in Cuban visual culture

Since 1959, Cuban artists have produced an extensive and distinguished body of poster art, while the international success of Cuban athletes has likewise been lauded. Although poster production is primarily focused on themes related to domestic sovereignty and anti-imperial struggles, sport and health-related subjects also figure prominently in the larger Cuban visual tradition. By incorporating methodologies drawn from art history and visual studies, particularly using approaches illustrated in the writings of Roland Barthes, Susan Sontag, Aldolfo Sanchez Vasquez and Guy Debord, this article highlights the manner that understanding the ‘visual turn in sport’ initiates historical ways of knowing that are different from other ways of understanding sport history. By analysing photographs of Fidel Castro and other barbudos (bearded revolutionaries) engaged in sport, as well as sport-themed posters, the author begins to uncover how art history and visual studies may aid in creatively understanding sport histo...
Bioturbation on the Pelagian Platform: Ichnofacies variations as paleoclimatic indicator

Abstract X-radiographs of apparently structureless split cores collected on the outer Pelagian platform (Tunisia) display highly bioturbated sequences. The study of these sequences enabled us to determine ichnofacies variations that might be related to hydrologic and climatic changes occurring in this area during the late Quarternary epoch. This interpretation is supported by mineralogic and paleontologic analyses and by the radiocarbon dating.
Instabilities of the Skyrme Model

Previous efforts to apply finite difference methods to the Skyrme model to simulate time evolution have discovered apparent numerical instabilities. As a result, previous authors have been forced to take unusually small time-steps and introduce artificial viscosity to maintain stability. This paper analyzes finite difference schemes for the Skyrme model, demonstrates two mechanisms for the instability, and derives a corrective measure. A stable finite difference scheme in three dimensions which uses a factor of eight less memory than previous schemes is described.
Melanocyte-stimulating hormones from sheep pituitary glands.

Abstract The melanocyte-stimulating hormones, α- and β-MSH were isolated from sheep pituitary glands. Ovine α-MSH was found to have the same amino acid sequence as α-MSH from other animals. Three varieties of β-MSH from sheep were studied. One appeared to be identical with bovine β-MSH.
A Re-Reexamination of Comparative Tax Progressivity in the United States:

Indices of progressivity may need some arbitrary assumptions for their calculation. The assumptions the authors make are no more unreasonable than those suggested by Kiefer. Those that are salient concern the mean incomes in each bracket and the movement of families between brackets in the pre- and posttax distributions. If one accepts the authors' assumptions as reasonable, then there is little correlation between transitional measures of progressivity and more modern welfare-based measures.
Characterization of Materials II

In addition to the mechanical and thermal properties of materials, other physical properties could be important in particular applications of biomaterials. Properties considered in this chapter include electrical, optical, absorption of X rays, density, porosity, acoustic, ultrasonic, and diffusion.
Use of 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Principal Component Analysis for Automated Analysis of Styrene/Butadiene Copolymers

Principal component analysis (PCA) is used here to determine percent composition of the four monomer units styrene, 1,2-butadiene (vinyl), trans -1,4-butadiene ( trans ), and cis -1,4-butadiene ( cis ) in styrene/butadiene rubber (SBR) copolymers and the three monomer units (vinyl, trans, and cis ) in butadiene rubber (BR) polymers. Comparison of PCA with current methods is described. Cluster analysis is used to classify the SBR and BR into groups.
Carotid endarterectomy after noninvasive evaluation by duplex ultrasonography and magnetic resonance angiography.

ABSTRACTRECENT STUDIES DOCUMENTING the efficacy of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) in selected patients provide further impetus for developing noninvasive techniques to evaluate carotid occlusive disease. Eliminating the morbidity due to preoperative angiography would further refine the treatment of th
Rules, Processes, and Interpretations: Geertz, Comaroff, and Roberts

Since the late 1960s, there has been a shift in the theoretical and philosophical framework that structures most research in the anthropology of law. The importance of the shift will be explored in this essay by looking at two recent studies, one by Comaroff and Roberts, which reflects the change in paradigm, while the other, by Geertz, does not.' The essay will thus review the recent development of the anthropology of law2 and will conclude by suggesting how this shift in paradigms may be important to other areas of research in the field of social inquiry on law.
Tao of Downfall: The Failures of High-Profile Entrepreneurs in the Chinese Economic Reform

Through historical reviews and case studies, this research seeks to understand why some initially successful entrepreneurs failed in the economic boom of past decades. Among various factors contributed to their downfalls are a unique political and business environment, fragile financial systems, traditional cultural influences and personal characteristics. Notwithstanding that these factors should be further tested through empirical studies, those high-profile entrepreneurs are oblivious but essential actors in the grand theatre of China's economic transformation and their failures have contributed to the swift development of the Chinese entrepreneurship over the last 30 years.
Numerical schemes for stability in probability of perturbed dynamical systems

To analyze the stability in probability of perturbed dynamical systems, it is necessary to find the transient probability density of the components of the vector process, which can be calculated from the stationary solutions of the associated Fokker–Planck–Kolmogorov equations. For multi-dimensional systems, explicit forms for these solutions are difficult to find. The paper presents a numerical scheme that computes these solutions. As a comparison criterion, a numerical simulation of the Ito equations is carried out using the Monte-Carlo simulation (MCS) method. Both methods are applied to a parametrically excited three-dimensional system subjected to a combined effect of harmonic excitations and stochastic perturbations. As an example, the instability of a cylindrical shell under axial force and internal pressure is considered
An emerging legal framework for permanency planning

Abstract Recent legal developments relevant to permanency planning are described and discussed. Topics include keeping families intact, encouraging permanence for children placed in care, and facilitating termination of parental rights and subsequent adoption.
Techniques for successful laryngotracheal reconstruction in children with severe subglottic stenosis

Subglottic stenosis (SGS) continues to present challenges to the surgeon. Treatment options for severe SGS have evolved over the past 3 decades; however, deciding which procedure to use in a particular situation remains difficult. Options for open surgical procedures to treat severe SGS include laryngotracheoplasty with cartilage expansion, partial crico-tracheal resection with anastomosis, or a combination of the two. It is essential to carefully evaluate each patient and select the most appropriate surgery for that particular patient to achieve success.
Dynamically vulcanized blends of oil‐resistant elastomers with HNBR

Dynamic vulcanizates were produced from hydrogenated nitrile rubber (HNBR) and three different oil-resistant elastomers. These are polychloroprene (CR), expoxidized natural rubber (EIR), and carboxylated nitrile rubber (XNBR). These elastomers are dispersed and crosslinked during mixing with HNBR. These dynamic vulcanizates all have an HNBR continuous phase. The HNBR matrix is subsequently crosslinked. Stress-strain measurements in tension and tear resistance were measured on the crosslinked dynamic vulcanizates as well as on cured HNBR, CR, EIR, and XNBR. Measurements were also made following hot air and oil aging. Following aging, the dynamic vulcanizates retain a significant amount of their properties due to the presence of the HNBR matrix.
Transparency of 0.2% GdCl3 doped water in a stainless steel test environment

Abstract The possibility of neutron and neutrino detection using water Cherenkov detectors doped with gadolinium holds the promise of constructing very large high-efficiency detectors with wide-ranging application in basic science and national security. This study addresses a major concern regarding the feasibility of such detectors: the transparency of the doped water to the ultraviolet Cherenkov light. We report on experiments conducted using a 19-m water transparency measuring instrument and associated material test tank. Sensitive measurements of the transparency of water doped with 0.2% GdCl 3 at 337, 400 and 420 nm were made using this instrument. These measurements indicate that the use of GdCl 3 in stainless steel constructed water Cherenkov detectors is problematic.
Retrospective Study of Body Weight in Patients with Multiple Myeloma through Different Stages of the Disease

Little is known regarding body weight changes in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) during the course of their disease, and the influence of obesity in the overall survival (OS) of patients affected by this cancer. We retrospectively collected clinical data from 318 MM patients, and analyzed their weight and body mass index (BMI) at various points throughout the course of the disease, including baseline, pre- and post-peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT), and time of death. At the time of diagnosis, median BMI was 28.1 (±5.7 SD; range, 15.3–51.8). The majority of MM patients were either overweight or obese, both at the time of initial diagnosis (80%) and in the terminal phase of the disease (66%). Only 5% of patients had malnutrition at the time of death. Median body weight was 81.5 and 79.4 kg before and 6 weeks after high-dose chemotherapy and PBSCT (p The majority of MM patients, at least in our cohort of U.S. residents, are either overweight or obese. Despite the common notion that the terminal phase of cancer is associated with cachexia, most MM patients did not experience a significant and progressive weight loss. PBSCT was associated with a statistically significant but clinically negligible weight loss. Obesity did not seem to influence overall survival in MM.
Trajectories of Development: International Heritage Management of Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa

Archaeology and material heritage are increasingly being used for development projects aimed at producing economic growth and reducing poverty. I am interested in how these projects construct particular ‘developmental’ visions of heritage, orienting and circumscribing relationships both with the past and contemporary social contexts. Here I address these processes as developmental technologies that produce poverty as a ‘local’ affair, in need of intervention, set in contrast to the traveling and translational abilities of international expertise in heritage management and development. I trace the expansion of this expertise across the Middle East and North Africa region, in a variety of contexts where material heritage is mobilized to reduce poverty. Importantly, the question of the economic value of heritage is necessarily placed center-stage in such projects. I argue that as archaeologists we need to engage with the economic value of material heritage, in order to start examining how exactly material heritage works in the world: to what ends and results, in what contexts, who gains to profit, and who suffers.
Injection molding in disk-shaped cavities

Experimental results together with predictions based on a numerical simulation are reported for the filling by injection molding of a center gated, disk-shaped cavity with acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene terpolymer (Lustran ABS Q714) and with polypropylene (Pro-fax 6523). At a specified fractional fill, the output of a pressure transducer (Δπzz) near the sprue was measured and the clamp force (F) was obtained by. integrating the output of four pressure transducers over the projected area. A systematic study was made to determine the effect of the (1) material properties, (2) cavity thickness, (3) melt temperature in the barrel, and (4) injection rate on the measured and simulated values for the pressure transducer output and clamp force. For a given barrel temperature, cavity thickness and intermediate-to-high injection rates, the pressure transducer output and clamp force were found to be nearly independent of injection rate for ABS and to increase with increasing injection rate for polypropylene. As the injection rate approached zero, the pressure transducer output and clamp force increased because of the long time available for cooling the flowing melt. For ABS the simulated results were about 5-25 percent higher than experiment, whereas for polypropylene they were about 10 percent lower than experiment when the viscosity model included solidification Flow instabilities were observed to occur at conditions where the pressure transducer output curve showed a marked upturn with decreasing injection rate.
NAMPT inhibition sensitizes pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells to tumor-selective, PAR-independent metabolic catastrophe and cell death induced by β-lapachone.

Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) inhibitors (e.g., FK866) target the most active pathway of NAD+ synthesis in tumor cells, but lack tumor-selectivity for use as a single agent. Reducing NAD+ pools by inhibiting NAMPT primed pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) cells for poly(ADP ribose) polymerase (PARP1)-dependent cell death induced by the targeted cancer therapeutic, β-lapachone (β-lap, ARQ761), independent of poly(ADP ribose) (PAR) accumulation. β-Lap is bioactivated by NADPH:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) in a futile redox cycle that consumes oxygen and generates high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that cause extensive DNA damage and rapid PARP1-mediated NAD+ consumption. Synergy with FK866+β-lap was tumor-selective, only occurring in NQO1-overexpressing cancer cells, which is noted in a majority (∼85%) of PDA cases. This treatment strategy simultaneously decreases NAD+ synthesis while increasing NAD+ consumption, reducing required doses and treatment times for both drugs and increasing potency. These complementary mechanisms caused profound NAD(P)+ depletion and inhibited glycolysis, driving down adenosine triphosphate levels and preventing recovery normally observed with either agent alone. Cancer cells died through an ROS-induced, μ-calpain-mediated programmed cell death process that kills independent of caspase activation and is not driven by PAR accumulation, which we call NAD+-Keresis. Non-overlapping specificities of FK866 for PDA tumors that rely heavily on NAMPT-catalyzed NAD+ synthesis and β-lap for cancer cells with elevated NQO1 levels affords high tumor-selectivity. The concept of reducing NAD+ pools in cancer cells to sensitize them to ROS-mediated cell death by β-lap is a novel strategy with potential application for pancreatic and other types of NQO1+ solid tumors.
High-latitude contribution to global variability of air–sea sensible heat flux

AbstractThe study examined global variability of air–sea sensible heat flux (SHF) from 1980 to 2009 and the large-scale atmospheric and ocean circulations that gave rise to this variability. The contribution of high-latitude wintertime SHF was identified, and the relative importance of the effect of the sea–air temperature difference versus the effect of wind on decadal SHF variability was analyzed using an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) approach. The study showed that global SHF anomalies are strongly modulated by SHF at high latitudes (poleward of 45°) during winter seasons. Decadal variability of global wintertime SHF can be reasonably represented by the sum of two leading EOF modes, namely, the boreal wintertime SHF in the northern oceans and the austral wintertime SHF in the southern oceans. The study also showed that global wintertime SHF is modulated by the prominent modes of the large-scale atmospheric circulation at high latitudes. The increase of global SHF in the 1990s is attributable to t...