cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How to Construct a Stock Selection Strategy: Multi-Factor Analysis

In this chapter, we introduce stock selection strategies and demonstrate how to employ a multi-factor model to build alphas for such a strategy. How can we forecast stock returns? To answer this critical question, we first discuss market inefficiency and identify sources of return anomalies. We then show how to transform these fundamental sources into a multi-factor alpha model. Regarding related finance theory, we introduce the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). On the quantitative side, we present the ordinary least squares (OLS) method. We explore estimation, inference, and properties and conditions of OLS estimates. Regarding industry insights, we show, using the Russell 1000 security level data, how to construct a multi-factor alpha model for a large-cap core stock selection portfolio. For R programming, we introduce commonly used utility functions in quantitative investing.
Chirp-Assisted Sum Frequency Generation of over 200 THz from Near-Infrared to Visible

Sum frequency generation (SFG) with short pulses requires phase matching as well as temporal overlap across broad bandwidths. We introduce a chirp assisted SFG technique for the efficient transfer of over 200 THz of supercontinuum from the near infrared (NIR) to the visible.
Pilot Performance at Collision Avoidance during Closely Spaced Parallel Approaches

To examine the issues with collision avoidance during closely spaced parallel approaches, two related studies have been performed. First, the most hazardous relative positions of aircraft on parallel approaches were identified through fast-time simulations of collision trajectories. Second, a part-task flight simulator evaluation of traffic displays, the need for automatic alerts and for autopilot control of the approach was conducted. While a need was identified for alerting systems to command effective avoidance maneuvers, pilots were found to frequently not conform to the commanded avoidance maneuver, with a resulting decrease in performance. Based on these results, concerns meriting further study are discussed.
Diminazene, an ACE2 Activator Modulates Gut Microbiota and Provides Protection Against Pulmonary Hypertension

We have previously demonstrated that Diminazene aceturate (DIZE), an ACE2 activator attenuates pulmonary hypertension (PH). It is becoming clearer that disruption of the gut microbiome leads to met...
Practical Uses of the Human Capability Framework - An Outsiders's View of a Concept Guiding Public Policy and Research

The Human Capability Framework (HCF) was presented at LEW 9 as a really exciting concept that had proved very useful in Massey University's Labour Market Dynamics Research Programme. It had come from the Department of Labour. Personal amazement at the apparent change of direction in the Department's thinking this represented was succeeded by the realisation of its immediate usefulness for a research funding application then in process. This paper explores the author's perceptions of the original model and its origins. Then the outcomes that have flowed from the use of the model in the succeeding two years is considered. After an initial explanation of the HCF, there is an analysis of its use as a policy tool at national and regional levels. Its use in various research projects is described as well. The paper concludes with a consideration of the academic acceptability of the concept and some questions for further research.
Evaluation of the Reaction Mechanism of the Sodium Pump by Steady-State Kinetics

Publisher Summary Extensive investigation of the partial biochemical reactions and of the ion exchanges carried out by the Na pump has supported the reaction mechanism for the overall transport cycle originally proposed by Post and Albers. Although the partial reactions support the model, it is still possible that they are not, in fact, part of the main reaction pathway but are side reactions. For a partial reaction to be considered part of the overall reaction mechanism, it must in the first place be shown to be kinetically competent. The partial reaction occurs while the overall reaction is proceeding. The utility of the steady­ state kinetic approach to the evaluation of a reaction mechanism lies in its ability to distinguish between plausible mechanisms that are consistent with the known partial reactions. In particular, by a steady-state approach, it is frequently possible to determine the order in which substrates add and products are released while the overall reaction is proceeding.
Money Matters: Judicial Market Interventions Creating SubsidesAnd Awarding Fees and Costs in Individual and Aggregate Litigation

The law of attorneys' fees is the subject of dozens of law review articles; both academic and popular literature evidence a shared sense that "something" needs to be done. This article explores why figuring out what to do is so difficult. Attorney fee allocations -- specifically in mass torts, in which individual cases are often aggregated but also when poor litigants seek court-assisted access to courts -- results in judicial intervention into the market for legal services. Judicial allocation of lawyers' fees turns judges into the purchasers of services. Hence, both aggregate processing and efforts to settle such aggregates pose new challenges for judges, now required (in light of recent Supreme Court decisions in two class action asbestos litigations) to ensure that adequate representation is provided to diverse sets of litigants within aggregates as a predicate to closure for such litigations. This essay reviews alternative conceptions of the civil justice system, including the tensions between state subsidies as contrasted with unaided access to courts, laissez-faire lawyering as contrasted with regulated advocacy, as well as the difficulties of achieving inter-litigant equity -- hence increasing the appeal of aggregate processing. Based on the transformations of the last three decades, this essay suggests the directions that attorney-fee law needs to take to implement judicial obligations to ensure the adequacy of process in aggregate cases and the challenges that such obligations pose for judges.
Assessment and Active Learning Strategies for Introductory Geology Courses.

Educational research findings suggest that instructors can foster the growth of thinking skills and promote science literacy by incorporating active learning strategies into the classroom. Active learning occurs when instructors build learner participation into classes. Learning in large, general education Earth Science classes was evaluated using formative assessment exercises conducted by students in groups. Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive development was used as a guide to identify critical thinking skills (comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, evaluation) that could be linked to specific assessment methods such as conceptests, Venn diagrams, image analysis, concept maps, open-ended questions, and evaluation rubrics. Two instructors conducted a series of analyses on sample classes taught with traditional lecture and inquiry-based learning methods. Qualitative and quantitative analyses show that such methods are preferred by students, improve student retention, produce no decrease in content kn...
A Replication of the Procedures from Bem (2010, Study 8) and a Failure to Replicate the Same Results

We replicated the procedure of Experiment 8 from Bem (2010), which had originally demonstrated retroactive facilitation of recall. We failed to replicate the result. The paper includes a description of our procedure and analysis as well as a brief discussion for some reasons why we obtained a different result than in the original paper.
The end of an entanglement

Observations of the early disappearance of quantum coherence between two systems may have implications for information processing.
Rate multiplicity and oscillations in single species surface reactions

Abstract The steady states for surface reaction of a single species in an isothermal stirred reactor are examined for various functional forms of adsorption, desorption, and reaction rates. Adsorbate-adsorbate interactions, vacant site reaction requirements, precursor intermediates, and other deviations from Langmuir kinetics are shown to introduce factors in rates which can be approximated as e−αθ or (1−θ)m. It is shown that these factors in the reaction term can lead to multiple steady states, although with three steady states at least one is stable, producing hysteresis but no oscillatory states. A factor e−αθ in the desorption rate can produce multiple steady states and oscillations. However, this occurs only when the adsorption-desorption equilibrium isotherm predicts multiple surface phases. The number and stability of steady states then depends on whether the reactor load line intersects in stable, metastable, or unstable branches of the adsorption isotherm. Introduction of several simultaneous rate anomalies and relaxation of adsorption-desorption equilibrium assumptions can lead to multiple steady states, but rate oscillations can only be obtained when multiple surface phases are predicted. Oscillations will then only be observed when the metastable branches are sufficiently stable that a single uniform phase exists on the surface because coexistence of multiple surface phases tends to eliminate both oscillations and hysteresis.
Integrated tunable DBR quantum cascade lasers with 30 cm-1 tuning range at 4.7 μm

We report the fabrication and measurement results of an integrated distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) tunable buriedheterstructure (BH) quantum-cascade-laser (QCL) emitting around λ ~ 4.7 μm. We also demonstrated a special laser device bonding technique by utilizing two submounts for the gain and DBR grating sections of the laser. As a result, separated temperature controls of the two sections were successfully accomplished. At 293K, a wavelength tuning from 4.605 μm to 4.670 μm was obtained when the grating section temperature was changed by a miniature thermoelectric (TE) cooler. This is corresponding to a tuning range of 65 nm or equivalently 29.831 cm-1. The tuning efficiency is 0.0325 nm/mA. This technology is particularly desirable for chemical sensing, spectroscopic measurements and medical applications.
Protein C Activation and Factor Va Inactivation on Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells

Abstract The inactivation of factor Va was examined on primary cultures of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), either after addition of activated protein C (APC) or after addition of α-thrombin and protein C (PC) zymogen. Factor Va proteolysis was visualized by Western blot analysis using a monoclonal antibody (αHVaHC No. 17) to the factor Va heavy chain (HC), and cofactor activity was followed both in a clotting assay using factor V–deficient plasma and by quantitation of prothrombinase function. APC generation was monitored using the substrate 6-(D-VPR)amino-1-naphthalenebutylsulfonamide (D-VPR-ANSNHC4H9), which permits quantitation of APC at 10 pmol/L. Addition of APC (5 nmol/L) to an adherent HUVEC monolayer (3.5×105 cells per well) resulted in a 75% inactivation of factor Va (20 nmol/L) within 10 minutes, with complete loss of cofactor activity within 2 hours. Measurements of the rate of cleavage at Arg506 and Arg306 in the presence and absence of the HUVEC monolayer indicated that the A...
Progress in the fabrication of high-aspect-ratio zone plates by soft x-ray lithography

Soft x-ray lithography technology has been applied to fabrication of phase shifting Fresnel Zone Plate (FZP's) for hard x-rays. Effects of the exposure conditions, developing system, and electroplating process parameters on line width and aspect ratio have been analyzed. The process has been optimized and an aspect ratio of 11 has been achieved for 110 nm outermost zone width. SEM and AFM have been used for preliminary metrology of the FZPs. The FZP optical performance was characterized at 8 keV photon energy at the 2-ID-D beam line at the Advanced Photon Source. Focusing efficiencies of 23% for FZPs apertures to 100 microns and 18% for 150-micron-diameter apertures have been obtained. The parameters of the fabricated FZP are in good agreement with the predicted values.
Humor and the Emeritus Professor an Interview with Gene Roth

This essay is a compilation of several conversations with Dr. Gene Roth, Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus at Northern Illinois University. Dr. Roth is past President of the Academy of Human Resource Development, and although he is well known for his efforts in bringing humor into the field of HRD, he is not the same Gene Roth that played many bad guy characters in several Three Stooges short films.
The Compliment Sequence.

The compliment sequence occurs frequently, yet elusively, within daily interaction. The present research describes 150 compliment sequences that were tape‐recorded in a quasi‐natural setting. A coding scheme for description of the compliment sequence is presented. Results indicate that the way a compliment is worded (i.e., semantic and syntactic formulas), the type of statement that precedes or follows the compliment, and the status and sex of the compliment participants each affect the course and outcome of both parts of the compliment sequence.
Evaluating taurine status: determination of plasma and whole blood taurine concentration

The most reliable estimation of body taurine status is based on plasma and whole blood taurine concentrations. A rapid and sensitive measurement of plasma and whole blood taurine that utilizes pre-column derivatization and HPLC after preliminary sample purification by ion-exchange column chromatography is described below
Cell cycle control at the first restriction point and its effect on tissue growth

Cell cycle is controlled at two restriction points, R (1) and R (2). At both points the cell will commit apoptosis if it detects irreparable damage. But at R (1) an undamaged cell also decides whether to proceed to the S phase or go into a quiescent mode, depending on the environmental conditions (e.g., overpopulation, hypoxia). We consider the effect of this decision at the population level in a spherical tissue {r < R(t)}. We prove that if the cells have full control at R (1), they can manipulate the size of R(t) to ensure that 0 < c <or= R(t) <or= C < infinity; simulations further show that R(t) can be made nearly stationary. In the absence of such control, R(t) will either increase to infinity or decrease to 0. The mathematical model and analysis involve a system of PDEs in {r < R(t)}.
Diuresis during maintenance of adrenalectomized dogs with ascites on cortisone.

It has been demonstrated previously (Volwiler, et al., 1950; Hwang, et al., 1950; Davis, Howell and Southworth, 1953) that at least two factors, namely, elevated hepatic venous pressure and adrenocortical salt retaining hormones are essential for sodium (Na) retention during the formation of experimental ascites. The pattern of urinary (low Na and potassium (K)) and fecal (low Na and elevated K) electrolyte excretion characteristic of ascites formation in dogs with intact adrenal cortices (Davis and Howell, 1953) disappeared following bilateral adrenalectomy during maintenance on 0.5 mg./day of desoxycorticosterone acetate (DCA) and ascites ceased to accumulate (Davis, Howell and Southworth, 1953). Subsequently, large doses of DCA effected complete replacement of the abnormal pattern of electrolyte excretion and resulted in rapid accumulation of ascitic fluid. The present study was undertaken to determine whether an 11, 17-oxysteroid would lead to the formation of ascites in adrenalectomized dogs with tho...
Neurophysiological marker of inhibition distinguishes language groups on a non-linguistic executive function test.

Abstract Successful interaction with the environment depends on flexible behaviors which require shifting attention, inhibiting primed responses, ignoring distracting information, and withholding motor responses. These abilities, termed executive function (EF), are believed to be mediated by inhibitory processes in the frontal lobes. Superior performance on EF tests (i.e., faster reaction times (RT), and fewer errors) has been shown in bilinguals compared to monolingual speakers. However, findings are inconsistent, and no study has directly linked this bilingual advantage to frontal lobe inhibitory processes. To clarify this uncertainty, we concomitantly tested neural inhibitory processes and behavioral responses on an EF test in bilinguals and monolinguals. Specifically, we compared English monolinguals (N = 15) to Spanish/English bilinguals (N = 13) on event-related brain potentials (ERP) during a non-linguistic, auditory Go/NoGo task, a task linked to non-motor, cognitive inhibition in monolinguals. Participants responded with a button press on trials in which target tone-pairs (Go trials) were presented and withheld their responses on non-target trials (NoGo trials). Results revealed significantly greater inhibition (i.e., greater mean N2 amplitude) in bilinguals compared to monolinguals during NoGo trials even though both groups performed the task equally well (i.e., withheld a motor response). On Go trials where participants pressed a response button, neither ERPs nor RT distinguished the groups. Additionally, scores on a second language proficiency test (i.e., English in our bilingual group) were positively correlated with N2 amplitude. These findings are the first to directly link this bilingual advantage to a neural correlate of inhibition and to reveal that inhibition in bilinguals is moderated by second language proficiency. Results are discussed in the context of plasticity, and we propose that evaluating bilinguals at varying levels of second-language proficiency may serve as a model of human neuroplasticity.
Application Efficacy and Field Persistence of Bacillus thuringiensis when Applied to Corn for European Corn Borer Control

Granular and foam formulations of Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner var. kurstaki applied to field corn were more effective in controlling Ostrinia nubilalis (Hubner) than a spray formulation. On the basis of assays of corn foliage, the granular and foam formulations also were superior to the spray in persistence and efficacy.
Intensity of precommercial crop tree release increases diameter growth and survival of upland oaks

In 1988, seven study areas were established in Connecticut to examine the effects of precommercial crop tree release on development of sapling red oaks (Quercus rubra L.) (n = 1250). Crown class at canopy closure, competition from adjacent trees for growing space and limited resources, and interaction of these factors were major determinants of survival, upper canopy persistence, and diameter growth over the 18 year period studied. Complete release from competition of neighboring trees, but not partial release, increased survival of intermediate and codominant stems. Complete release did not increase survival of oaks in the dominant crown class. Few intermediate and no suppressed oaks ascended into the upper canopy without crop tree release. Complete release doubled the proportion of codominant trees that remained in the upper canopy and increased the proportion of intermediates that ascended into the upper canopy. Complete release increased 18 year diameter growth only for dominant and codominant oaks. B...
Molecular biology of rickettsiae

Our understanding of the biology of the rickettsiae, organisms that are the archetype of the obligate intracytoplasmic bacterial parasites, remains muddy and fragmentary. For example although we all appreciate that the rickettsiae can exploit their unique environment, the host cell cytoplasm, but are unable to grow axenically, the basis of this fact is still one of microbiology's central mysteries. It is unfortunate, but true, that because of the inherent difficulty of working within this system, progress on the answers to such questions will be slow and laborious. However, with the application of molecular biological methods, that is, the powerful modern approaches of genetics and biochemistry, the rickettsiology community has the realistic prospect that this field is far from being at a stand-still and that significant increases in our comprehension of the fundamental problems of rickettsial biology are occurring and will continue to occur at ever accelerating rates. Some examples, both in terms of scientific conclusions and technical approaches, of the progress made in recent years and expectations for the near future will be presented.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF CONCEPT AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

It was hypothesized that children, both white and Negro, attending a de facto segregated school have less positive self concepts than do children attending desegregated schools, and that there is a significant positive relationship between self concept and academic achievement. Sixty children from the intermediate grades of each of the elementary schools in a small city in northern New Jersey were matched on the basis of age, grade, ex, race, intelligence, and socio-economic status. Analyses of variance were computed on the scores obtained rom the self-report instrument administered and correlations between these scores and achievement scores were alculated. It was found that children attending the de facto segregated school had less positive self concepts. There was also a significant positive relationship between self concept and academic achievement. That is, those children having more positive self concepts had higher academic achievement.
Effects of GNA transgenic sugarcane on life history parameters of Parallorhogas pyralophagus (Marsh) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a parasitoid of Mexican rice borer.

Abstract Parallorhogas pyralophagus (Marsh) is the principal parasitoid of the Mexican rice borer [Eoreuma loftini (Dyar)], the primary pest of sugarcane in south Texas. Insect resistant transgenic sugarcane producing Galanthus nivalis agglutinin (GNA) was developed to improve control of E. loftini. The present laboratory study addressed whether over two consecutive generations transgenic sugarcane delivered via artificial diet has adverse host-mediated effects on P. pyralophagus life history parameters. The results of this study showed that a number of life history parameters were affected by transgenic sugarcane, whereas others were not affected, and that effects varied between generations. In the first generation, adult longevity was increased by ≈2 d, and cocoon to adult and egg to adult developmental times were prolonged by ≈1 d in parasitoids exposed to transgenic sugarcane, whereas effects were not evident on adult size; egg load; egg to cocoon developmental time; rates of gain of longevity and egg...
Two types ofPropionibacterium avidum with different isomers of diaminopimelic acid

Of 38 strains ofPropionibacterium avidum, most fell into one of two groups. One group (20 strains) hadLl-diaminopimelic acid as the diaminoacid of peptidoglycan, did not ferment inositol, and reacted with serum to strain VPI 0576; the other group (11 strains) hadDl-diaminopimelic acid as the peptidoglycan diaminoacid, fermented inositol, and reacted with serum to strain VPI 0670. DNA sequence similarity studies showed that, while overall intergroup similarity was about 80%, within each group the sequence similarities were over 90%. Seven strains were anomalous and did not fit exactly into either group.
Fluid Dynamics of Ventricular Filling in the Embryonic Heart

The vertebrate embryonic heart first forms as a valveless tube that pumps blood using waves of contraction. As the heart develops, the atrium and ventricle bulge out from the heart tube, and valves begin to form through the expansion of the endocardial cushions. As a result of changes in geometry, conduction velocities, and material properties of the heart wall, the fluid dynamics and resulting spatial patterns of shear stress and transmural pressure change dramatically. Recent work suggests that these transitions are significant because fluid forces acting on the cardiac walls, as well as the activity of myocardial cells that drive the flow, are necessary for correct chamber and valve morphogenesis. In this article, computational fluid dynamics was used to explore how spatial distributions of the normal forces acting on the heart wall change as the endocardial cushions grow and as the cardiac wall increases in stiffness. The immersed boundary method was used to simulate the fluid-moving boundary problem of the cardiac wall driving the motion of the blood in a simplified model of a two-dimensional heart. The normal forces acting on the heart walls increased during the period of one atrial contraction because inertial forces are negligible and the ventricular walls must be stretched during filling. Furthermore, the force required to fill the ventricle increased as the stiffness of the ventricular wall was increased. Increased endocardial cushion height also drastically increased the force necessary to contract the ventricle. Finally, flow in the moving boundary model was compared to flow through immobile rigid chambers, and the forces acting normal to the walls were substantially different.
The Lymphotoxin-β Receptor Is Necessary and Sufficient for LIGHT-mediated Apoptosis of Tumor Cells

Abstract LIGHT is a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) ligand superfamily member, which binds two known cellular receptors, lymphotoxin-β receptor (LTβR) and the herpesvirus entry mediator (HveA). LIGHT is a homotrimer that activates proapoptotic and integrin-inducing pathways. Receptor binding residues via LIGHT were identified by introducing point mutations in the A′ → A" and D → E loops of LIGHT, which altered binding to LTβR and HveA. One mutant of LIGHT exhibits selective binding to HveA and is inactive triggering cell death in HT29.14s cells or induction of ICAM-1 in fibroblasts. Studies with HveA- or LTβR-specific antibodies further indicated that HveA does not contribute, either cooperatively or by direct signaling, to the death pathway activated by LIGHT. LTβR, not HveA, recruits TNF receptor-associated factor-3 (TRAF3), and LIGHT-induced death is blocked by a dominant negative TRAF3 mutant. Together, these results indicate that TRAF3 recruitment propagates death signals initiated by LIGHT-LTβR interaction and implicates a distinct biological role for LIGHT-HveA system.
Digital AM transmitters

Digital amplitude modulation (AM) generates a high-quality AM signal with an overall efficiency of greater than 80%. Digital AM was introduced in March 1987 with a 10-kW solid-state transmitter. Also completed are 25-kW and 50-kW transmitters, and plans exist for transmitters up to 2000 kW. The digital AM system utilizes a high-speed 12-bit analog-to-digital converter (A/D), a digital modulation encoder, and a power-multiplying digital-to-analog converter. The latter reconverts the digital information back to analog to form an AM signal. Use of this system results in an AM transmitter with outstanding efficiency, audio performance, and reliability. >
Design of metamorphic dual-junction InGaP/GaAs solar cell on Si with efficiency greater than 29% using finite element analysis

Heterogeneous integration of multijunction III–V solar cells on Si is a promising solution for the widespread commercialization of III–V cells. However, the polar on non-polar epitaxy and 4% lattice-mismatch between GaAs and Si results in formation of defects and dislocations, which can significantly impede the minority carrier lifetime and hence the cell performance. We have investigated the impact of threading dislocation density on the performance of dual-junction (2J) n+/p InGaP/GaAs solar cells on Si. Using our calibrated model, the metamorphic 2J cell on Si was optimized by tailoring the 2J cell design on Si to achieve current-matching between the subcells at a realistic threading dislocation density of 106 cm−2. We present a novel 2J InGaP/GaAs cell design on Si at a threading dislocation density of 106 cm−2 which exhibited a theoretical conversion efficiency of greater than 29% at AM1.5G spectrum, indicating a path for viable III–V multijunction cell technology on Si.
Higher-Order Spectral Estimation of Drift Force QFRF's for Random Waves

A preliminary study of the statistical estimation of the quadratic frequency response function (QFRF) using higher order spectral analysis is carried out and compared with an analytical QFRF. The QFRF is estimated via digital higher-order spectral analysis from simulation data of sea wave elevation and slow sway drift wave force on a ship in a unidirectional random sea. The initial result shows that the two QFRF's are in good agreement in the difference-interaction region where in good agreement in the difference-interaction region where the slow drift force dominates. The estimated QFRF is able to "predict" the simulation drift force within 1% mean square error.
Matthiessen's rule and its variation for cyclotron resonance width in two and three dimensions

Based on the proper connected diagram expansion, we calculated cyclotron resonance widths Γn associated with neighboring Landau states (n, n +1) for free electrons in interaction with more than one kind of impurities. In 3D usual Matthiessen's rule Γn=Γ(1)n+Γ(2)n+…where Γ(i)n represent widths calculated separately for each kind, is obtained. In 2D a new rule: Γn=[Γ(1)2n+Γ(2)2n+…]12 is obtained.
Spatial price discrimination and location choice with non-uniform demands

Abstract Using a general model with non-uniform demands, this paper analyzes the effects of spatial price discrimination under both exogenously and endogenously determined location of the firm. When location is exogenously determined, the well-known conclusion that output is unaffected and consumer surplus and total welfare fall under spatial price discrimination continues to hold. However, when location is chosen endogenously, output falls and consumer surplus and total welfare may rise or fall under discriminatory pricing.
Comparing the Picture Exchange Communication System and the iPad™ for Communication of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Delay

Both picture exchange, a low-tech picturebased communication system, and technologybased interventions, such as the iPad™ with communication application, are emerging treatments for students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to the National Autism Center (2009). Recently, investigations regarding the use of the Apple iPad™ to communicate have been conducted with mixed results. The authors used a single-subject alternating treatment design during an extended school year (ESY) program for students with disabilities to compare the independent use and effectiveness of the two approaches (low-tech picture-based versus iPad™ equivalent) for three pre-school and two elementary students with ASD and developmental delay (DD). The authors concluded that teaching low-tech picture exchange prior to introducing the iPad™ may be effective progression in teaching communication reciprocity skills for some students with ASD/DD. Limitations and strengths of both technologies are discussed.
The centrality and prestige of CACM

Journal rankings identify the most respected publications in a field, and can influence which sources to read to remain current, as well as which journals to target when publishing. Ranking studies also help track the progress of the field, identifying core journals and research topics, and tracking changes in these topics and perceptions over time. Past journal ranking studies have consistently found Communications of the ACM (CACM) to be very highly respected within the IS discipline. However, the exact nature of its relationships to other IS journals has not been thoroughly examined. In this article, we report a social network analysis (SNA) of 120 journals for the purpose of exploring in detail CACM's position within the IS journal network.
Health Care in Crisis

There is a crisis in American medicine brewing up a perfect storm that could capsize our healthcare system as we know it. The culprits are a health insurance system that leaves more than 41 million Americans without coverage; a fatally flawed payment system that threatens the foundation of Medicare; onerous rules and regulations that are forcing physicians to spend more time on paperwork than with patients; unreasonable (and unfunded) government mandates; and the ongoing attempts by some insurers to delay, deny, or “downcode” the legitimate claims physicians submit for the care and healing they provide. The most threatening component of the healthcare storm, however, is a broken medical liability system that defies common sense and reason. This danger is picking up speed like a tornado sweeping through states, leaving patient access problems in its wake. This broken liability system is forcing talented and gifted physicians out of high-risk specialties, leaving some communities without access to critical healthcare services. An American Medical Association (AMA) analysis shows that medical liability has reached crisis proportions in 19 states, with another 35 states on the brink of crisis. What is a crisis? The AMA considers it a crisis when a pregnant woman is in labor and distress and no obstetrician is available, or when a 9-year-old boy has a head injury but there is no neurosurgeon remaining in his region. This is happening to the patients we care for and care about across the country. Last summer, the only maternity ward in South Philadelphia shut its doors because of medical liability costs. Today, not one hospital in South Philadelphia delivers babies, and 7 of 39 maternity wards have closed or are about to close. An exodus of physicians out of Pennsylvania is also taking place, especially among high-risk specialists and new MDs. One of …
Appearance of the normal pericardium on coronary MR angiograms

We evaluated the appearance of the normal pericardium on breath-hold MR images used to visualize coronary arteries. A coronary MR angiogram was obtained in 23 subjects (17 healthy volunteers and six patients with no known pericardial disease) using a breath-hold K-space segmented gradient-recalled echo sequence with fat suppression. Each coronary MR angiographic study included imaging planes equivalent to the following echocardiographic planes: four-chamber view, vertical two-chamber view, and two short-axis views (at base and mid ventricular level). The average pericardial thickness was 1.7 mm (range, 1.5-2.0 mm), and an average length of 60 mm (range, 20-110 mm) of pericardium was visualized. A significantly longer portion of the pericardium was seen in the vertical two-chamber view and the basal short-axis view than in the two other views (P < .001). Normal anatomic variations and overlapping structures and image artifacts can alter the appearance of the pericardium. Breath-hold MR imaging techniques used for coronary MR angiography allow routine, time-efficient evaluation of large portions of the pericardium.
Relationship of Hospital Prices to Costs

(1971). Relationship of Hospital Prices to Costs. Applied Economics: Vol. 3, No. 2, pp. 115-125.
Tissue-Specific Expression of β-Catenin in Normal Mesenchyme and Uveal Melanomas and Its Effect on Invasiveness☆

This paper is the first in a series aimed at understanding the role of beta-catenin in epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and acquisition of mesenchymal invasive motility. Here, we compare the expression of this and related molecules in the two major tissue phenotypes, epithelial and mesenchymal, the latter including normal avian and mammalian fibroblasts and malignant human uveal melanoma cells. Previously, it was proposed that src initiates EMT by tyrosine phosphorylation of the cadherin/catenin complex resulting in a negative effect on epithelial gene expression. On the contrary, we found that although beta-catenin becomes diffuse in the cytoplasm during embryonic EMT, the cytoplasmic beta-catenin of the embryonic and adult mesenchymal cells we examined is not tyrosine phosphorylated. Pervanadate experiments indicate that cytoplasmic PTPases maintain this dephosphorylation. GSK-3beta is present, but little or no APC occurs in normal and neoplastic mesenchymal cells. The function of the nonphosphorylated cytoplasmic beta-catenin in mesenchyme may be related to invasive motility. Indeed, in order to invade extracellular matrix, transitional (Mel 252) melanoma cells transform from an epithelial to a mesenchymal phenotype with increased cytoplasmic beta-catenin. Moreover, antisense beta-catenin and plakoglobin ODNs inhibit Mel 252 and corneal fibroblast invasion of collagen. All fibroblastic, transitional, and spindle melanoma cells contain nuclear as well as cytoplasmic beta-catenin, but they are not significantly more invasive than normal fibroblasts that contain only cytoplasmic beta-catenin.
Is QCD consistent with quantum field theory

The conventional treatment of QCD as a quantum field theory violates the requirement that the vacuum state must be unique. This apparent inconsistency is removed by establishing the incoherence of the degenerate states, a result similar to Borchers' result for a large class of theories (not including QCD) that they have many incoherent vacuum states. For QCD the physical vacuum state is set by a boundary condition. There are two possibilities, conventional QCD and an alternative that leads to new physical results. Thus the correct version can be identified by experiments.
Educators in American online universities: understanding the corporate influence on higher education

As many higher educational institutions offer their courses online, college professors are faced with new challenges: pedagogical shift, a different type of relationship with students, and a need for redefining their role. Measurable goals and enforced accountability are challenging the conventional ways of which universities operate today. This paper explores the world of online education and the influence of corporate culture by paying special attention to the teachers' perspectives. The researcher observed virtual classrooms provided by American proprietary higher educational institutions that offer extensive courses online and conducted interviews with online instructors who teach at such institutions.
An analysis of 73 cases of pediatric malignant tumors of the thymus.

Abstract Background Tumors of the thymus are very rare in the pediatric population. This study examines the current trends and outcomes of children with thymus tumors. Methods The Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registry was queried for all patients Results A total of 73 pediatric patients were identified with malignant thymic tumors. The median age at diagnosis was 13 y old. Among the 20 patients that presented with distant disease, 70% died. Conversely, among the 23 patients that presented with locoregional disease, 70% survived. Although the overall mean survival time was 89 ± 116 mo, 45% of patients died over the study period. Patients with Hodgkin lymphomas and germ cell tumors exhibited the highest survival (76% and 60% at 10 y, respectively). Multivariate analysis was used to identify local or regional tumor stage (odds ratio = 4.5, 95% confidence interval = 1.4–14.5) and surgical resection (OR = 3.8, 95% confidence interval = 1.4–10.8) as independent predictors of survival. Conclusions Malignant thymomas and lymphomas are the most common histological variants of pediatric thymus tumors, and patients with Hodgkin lymphomas exhibit the highest survival. Surgery is more commonly performed on malignant thymomas and is an independent prognostic indicator of survival.
Medicare’s Policy On Carotid Stents Limited Use To Hospitals Meeting Quality Guidelines Yet Did Not Hurt Disadvantaged

Medicare began covering the use of carotid stents to treat arterial blockages in 2005 under an innovative policy requiring hospitals to meet quality-of-care benchmarks before seeking reimbursement....
Design of Feedforward-Cascade Controllers for Multivariable Systems

The problems of disturbance decoupling and command matching in linear multivariable systems by means of feedforward and cascade controllers are formulated and solved in a transfer-function setting. It is shown that a necessary and sufficient condition for existence of the required controllers is that the plant zero polynomial is not identically zero and is stable. The required controllers are realized by parallel combination of a proportional-multiple-derivative term and a dynamic term, where the order of the dynamic term does not exceed the number of plant transmission zeros. The control scheme proposed in the paper is composed of a stabilizing feedback controller to enhance system stability, a feedforward controller to achieve disturbance decoupling and a cascade controller to ensure command matching. The three controllers have no effect on each other and can therefore be designed independently. A numerical example is given for illustration.
The exact steady-state solution of a class of non-linear stochastic systems

Abstract In this paper exact steady state solutions are constructed for a class of non-linear systems subjected to stochastic excitation. The results are then applied to both classical and non-classical oscillator problems.
Site-specific recombination: Synapsis and strand exchange revealed

Abstract Recently determined crystal structures of several members of the λ integrase family of site-specific recombinases have provided insights into the cis versus trans action of active site constituents, and the processes of synapsis and strand exchange.
Evidence for the presence of an N-acetyllactosamine-type chain in epiglycanin.

Mannose-labeled epiglycanin was prepared by incubation of TA3-Ha ascites cells with [2-3H]mannose, removal of the epiglycanin by incubation of viable cells with l-1-p-to-sylamino-2-phenylethyl chloromethyl ketone-trypsin, and isolation of the large epiglycanin glycopeptides by gel filtration. Purification of epiglycanin glycopeptides was performed by wheat germ agglutinin affinity chromatography. Extensive incubation of epiglycanin with Pronase, followed by passage through a calibrated column of Bio-Gel P-4 (Column P-4), gave three fractions. The fraction of lowest apparent molecular weight, about 5000, upon incubation with a purified extract from F. meningosepticum containing an N-glycosyl hydrolase and an endo-N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminidase (T. H. Plummer et. al. (1984) J. Biol. Chem.259, 10700–10704) and passage through Column P- 4 gave a peak of radioactivity at apparent Mr 3000. Incubation of nonlabeled epiglycanin under similar conditions with the same enzyme preparation followed by passage through Column P-4, gave two peaks, based upon total mannose content. One of these, partially deglycosylated epiglycanin, was present in the void volume. Its composition indicated that approximately 80% of the mannose content of epiglycanin had been removed by the enzyme treatment, whereas no change was noted in the proportion of the other carbohydrate components. The effluent volume of the second peak coincided precisely with the peak obtained from the Pronase-cleaved fraction. Its composition and apparent Mr were consistent with those of an N-lactosamine-type chain with four antennae, Man3Gal4GlcNAc5NeuAc2–3.
Structural determinants for agonist binding affinity to thromboxane/prostaglandin endoperoxide (TP) receptors. Analysis of chimeric rat/human TP receptors

The two most extensively characterized thromboxane/prostaglandin endoperoxide (TP) receptors, from human platelets and rat vascular smooth muscle, exhibit thromboxane agonist [15-(1alpha,2beta(5Z), 3alpha-(1E,3S), 4alpha)]-7-[3-hydroxy-4-(p-iodophenoxy)-1-butenyl-7-oxabi cyclohepteno ic acid (I-BOP) binding affinities that differ by an order of magnitude, rat TP having the higher affinity. We utilized this difference in I-BOP affinity to identify structural determinants of TP receptor heterogeneity. No significant difference was found in the rank order of affinities for a series of thromboxane receptor ligands to bind to cloned human TPalpha versus rat TP, indicating that these represent species homologs, not distinct TP subtypes. Structural determinants for observed differences in I-BOP binding Kd were localized by creating chimeric human/rat TP followed by mutational substitution of specific critical amino acids. Initially, seven chimeric receptors with splice sites in transmembranes 1, 2, 4, or 7 were constructed and expressed in HEK293 cells for analysis of ligand binding properties. Substitution of any part except the carboxyl tail of the human TP into the rat TP resulted in a receptor with I-BOP binding affinity intermediate between the two. Analysis of chimeras in which only the extracellular amino terminus and a portion of transmembrane 1 were switched localized the determinant of high affinity binding to the region between amino acids 3 and 40. Using this chimera, amino acids in the human portion (extracellular amino terminus and part of transmembrane 1) were replaced with analogous amino acids from rat TP to regain high affinity I-BOP binding. Only when amino acid Val37 and either Val36 or Ala40 were reverted to their respective rat TP counterparts (Ala36, Leu37, and Gly40, respectively) was high affinity I-BOP binding recovered. The mechanism for the increased I-BOP affinity may be the lengthening of the amino acid side chain at position 37, thus extending this group further into the putative I-BOP binding pocket, with compensatory shortening of side chains in spatially adjacent amino acids.
Isolated femoral mononeuropathy to the vastus lateralis: EMG and MRI findings

A 16-year-old female track athlete experienced sudden onset of right anterolateral thigh pain, initially thought to be cramping. After 2 months of continued postexercise pain she sought medical evaluation. A 3-cm thigh circumference discrepancy was noted on physical exam. She was referred for electromyography (EMG) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. Femoral and screening nerve conduction studies were normal. Needle EMG revealed acute neuropathic changes confined to the right vastus lateralis only. These findings were confirmed by MRI, including short T1 inversion recovery (STIR) sequences. All other medical work-up was normal, including lumbar and pelvic MRI, and complete serologic studies. This case represents a unique presentation of an idiopathic femoral mononeuropathy isolated to the vastus lateralis only, which has not been previously reported. The highly unusual anatomical presentation of this case illustrates the emerging complementary usefulness of EMG and MRI in delineating neuromuscular pathology.
Myocardial Flow Reserve in Long-Term Survivors of Repair of Anomalous Left Coronary Artery From Pulmonary Artery

Abstract Objectives. This study sought to evaluate regional myocardial flow reserve in long-term survivors of repair of anomalous left coronary artery from pulmonary artery (ALCAPA) and to relate the flow abnormalities to the patients’ exercise performance. Background. Patients with ALCAPA usually present during infancy with severe ischemic cardiomyopathy. The left ventricular function recovers after surgical repair. However, the extent of recovery of myocardial blood flow (MBF) and its potential physiologic significance in long-term survivors are unknown. Methods. We evaluated MBF (ml/g per min) at baseline and during maximal coronary vasodilation by adenosine in 11 patients after ALCAPA repair (median age 17 years, range 7 to 22) using nitrogen-13 ammonia and dynamic positron emission tomographic imaging. Patients also underwent an incremental exercise test with metabolic monitoring. In each patient, MBF was quantified in the three major vascular territories: the left anterior descending and left circumflex coronary artery territories and the right coronary artery (control region) territory. Results. Basal MBF was mildly reduced in the left coronary territories versus the control region (0.79 ± 0.14 vs. 0.85 ± 0.19, p = 0.05). During hyperemia, flow in the left coronary territories was significantly lower than that in the control region (2.1 ± 0.5 vs. 2.6 ± 0.5, p Conclusions. Long-term survivors of ALCAPA repair demonstrate regional impairment of myocardial flow reserve. This may contribute to impaired exercise performance by limiting cardiac output reserve.