cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stimulating response to market surveys of business professionals

Abstract This study presents results of an investigation into the effects of monetary reward, survey sponsorship, and type of appeal on overall response rate and response completeness in surveys of business professionals. It is concluded that: (1) as in surveys of the general public, university sponsorship is more effective than commercial sponsorship, (2) a help-the-sponsor appeal is significantly more effective than other appeals under university sponsorship but significantly less effective under commercial sponsorship, and (3) monetary rewards enhance response rates when used in conjunction with ego or social utility appeals but disenhance response rates when used in conjunction with a help-the-sponsor appeal. Thus, important interactions among these three response-inducing techniques are found and discussed. Finally, it is concluded that these effects do not extend to response completeness.
Evaluating theoretical models of protein interaction network evolution without seed graphs

Here we develop an alternate method to evaluate the evolutionary mechanics of theoretical network models which is free of the bias introduced by seed graph selection. We run a model in reverse directly on empirical data, and then run the model forward to generate a network topology to compare against the empirical data. We implement this method on a well-regarded gene duplication and divergence model, and find that it is unable to generate the high clustering found in the empirical data.
Sa1475 Endoscopic and Medical Therapies for Angiodysplasias and GAVE: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

presented to our ER with acute GI bleeding from Jan. 2009 to Dec. 2010 was performed using a prospectively maintained endoscopic database. Patients who presented with melena or hematochezia were included, whereas those with hematemesis were excluded to minimize bias in favor of ER physician assessment. ER physician prediction as to source of bleeding was performed prior to laboratory testing. Endoscopy was performed within 24 hours of presentation in all patients. Data were abstracted for patient demographics, laboratory studies, and definitive endoscopic findings. Inter-rater agreement and diagnostic performance of ER physician assessment vs. BUN/Cr ratio for upper GI bleeding source were compared against endoscopic findings. Strength of agreement was assessed using the Landis and Koch’s criteria for kappa statistics. Results: Ninety-eight (48 men; mean age 69.6 13.3 years) of the 400 patients evaluated met the inclusion criteria. A prior history of GI bleeding was found in 28 (29%) patients. There were 55 (56%) patients on NSAIDs and 43 (44%) patients on PPI at the time of presentation. A total of 48 (49%) patients presented with melena, whereas 50 (51%) patients had hematochezia. The mean Hgb was 10.7 2.4 g/dl, mean BUN was 26.3 16.8 mg/dl, and mean Cr was 0.98 0.39 mg/dl. A total of 48 (49%) patients had an upper GI bleeding source, whereas 50 (51%) patients had a lower source according to endoscopic findings. Inter-rater agreement between ER physician assessment and BUN/Cr ratio was fair with 0.24. The sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) for physician prediction of an upper GI bleeding source were 94%, 88% and 88%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity and PPV of the BUN/Cr ratio for predicting an upper GI bleeding source were 35%, 100% and 100%, respectively. Overall accuracies of ER physician assessment and BUN/Cr ratio for predicting an upper GI bleeding source were 91% and 68%, respectively. Conclusion: There was only fair agreement between ER physician assessment and BUN/Cr ratio in predicting an upper GI bleeding source. ER physician assessment was more sensitive, less specific, and more accurate than the BUN/Cr ratio for prediction of an upper GI bleeding source.
Brief paper: Convergence of Markov chain approximation on generalized HJB equation and its applications

This work is concerned with numerical methods for a class of stochastic control optimizations and stochastic differential games. Numerical procedures based on Markov chain approximation techniques are developed in a framework of generalized Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations. Convergence of the algorithms is derived by means of viscosity solution methods.
Subcellular compartmentalization of calcium-dependent and calcium-independent neutral proteases in brain.

In the present experiments, we studied the subcellular distribution of three types of extralysosomal, neutral proteolytic activities in rat telencephalon: (1) nonthiol proteases (NTP), (2) thiol proteases (TP), and (3) calcium-activated thiol proteases (calpains I and II). Subcellular fractionation was performed by using conventional differential and sucrose-gradient centrifugation techniques. The only significant proteolytic activity detected in crude homogenates could be assigned to calpain II, the high-threshold calcium-activated protease. Within the primary fractions prepared from the homogenates, the highest levels of calpain II were found in S3, or the soluble cytoplasmic fraction. Significant activity of the enzyme was also present in P2, the crude mitochondrial/synaptosomal fraction. In contrast, the specific activity of calpain I was greatest in P2 with somewhat lesser enzymatic activity in P1 and S3. Most of the calpain I in P2 was recovered after differential centrifugation through sucrose gradients and lysis of the resultant subfractions. In marked contrast, only a small percentage of the calpain II activity was recovered in the gradient bands. In all, calpain II appears to be predominantly localized in the soluble cytoplasmic compartment while the greatest concentrations of calpain I are found in the soluble components of small glial and neuronal processes (pinched off during homogenization) that constitute the P2 fraction. The highest specific activity of the calcium-independent proteases was obtained in P3, a fraction essentially devoid of calpain, with a secondary peak in P2. Subfractionation of P2 revealed that calcium-independent TP in P2 was associated with mitochondria while the calcium-independent NTP was more uniformly distributed across myelin, synaptosomes, and mitochondria. In all cases, calcium-independent neutral proteases proved to be associated with membranes to a far greater degree than the calpains. These results indicate that neutral proteases in brain are compartmentalized to a surprising degree and therefore are likely to be operating at different stages or aspects of extralysosomal protein degradation. The concentration of calpain I in the P2 fraction and synaptosomal subfractions provides a plausible explanation for the occurrence of partially digested structural proteins obtained in highly purified postsynaptic densities isolated from cerebral cortex.
Membrane binding and subcellular targeting of C2 domains.

C2 domains are a ubiquitous structural module and many of them function in Ca 2+ -dependent membrane binding and thereby serve as Ca 2+ effectors for divergent Ca 2+ -mediated cellular processes. Extensive structural, biochemical, biophysical, and cellular studies of C2 domains and host proteins in the past decade have shown that due to their structural diversity C2 domains have disparate Ca 2+ sensitivity, lipid selectivity and membrane binding mechanisms. This review summarizes the basic structural and functional properties of C2 domains as well as recent findings on Ca 2+ and membrane binding, lipid selectivity, and subcellular localization of C2 domains and their host proteins.
Anti‐nuclear activism in the USSR and its successor states: A surrogate for nationalism?

Anti‐nuclear movements in Armenia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia, where the USSR's nuclear power installations were situated, blossomed in the perestwika period of the late 1980s, but this explosio...
Dynamic light scattering of polyethylene. II. Results and interpretation

Dynamic light-scattering measurements are reported for a medium-density and a low-density polyethylene. It is found that the scattering at small angles can be described in terms of the deformation of spherulites, whereas that at larger angles depends upon rearrangements of partially ordered crystals within the spherulites.
Interactive Effects of Anxiety Sensitivity and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation: An Examination among Individuals in Residential Substance Use Treatment with Comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exhibit deficits in cognitive and emotional processes. PTSD severity is positively associated with anxiety sensitivity (AS) and difficulties in emotion regulation, and difficulties in emotion regulation mediate the relation between AS and PTSD. However, previous research has not examined the interactive nature of these variables. Associations between PTSD, AS, and difficulties in emotion regulation were examined in patients with PTSD in a residential substance use treatment program (N = 120). Conditional process analyses indicated an interactive effect of difficulties in emotion regulation and AS for predicting PTSD symptom severity. For individuals high in emotion regulation difficulties, PTSD symptom severity was high regardless of level of AS; conversely, for individuals high in AS, increased PTSD severity was observed regardless of level of emotion regulation difficulties. Results suggest directions for future research, including examination of whether targeting patient-specific cognitive-affective processes enhances PTSD treatment response among substance-dependent individuals.
Bondholders vs. Direct Investors? Competing Responses to Expropriation

We often presume that international financial actors have the same preferences, but this paper asks whether the property rights of foreign direct investors matter to sovereign bondholders. When governments expropriate direct investors, different investors' preferences could align over property rights issues. However, bondholders likely take positive signals if expropriation generates revenue for the state. Using a novel data set (1995–2011), I find that governments that earn revenue from expropriation can enjoy lower long-term spreads on sovereign bonds. Although governments that expropriate lose out on FDI, they can benefit by generating revenue and enjoying rewards in sovereign debt markets. Unpacking investor preferences thus reveals gaps in market-based informal property rights enforcement. When bondholders' and direct investors' preferences conflict, governments gain space to prioritize other goals over the protection of private property.
Cooperative elliptic instability of a vortex pair.

In this paper, we investigate the three-dimensional instability of a counter-rotating vortex pair to short waves, which are of the order of the vortex core size, and less than the inter-vortex spacing. Our experiments involve detailed visualizations and velocimetry to reveal the spatial structure of the instability for a vortex pair, which is generated underwater by two rotating plates. We discover, in this work, a symmetry-breaking phase relationship between the two vortices, which we show to be consistent with a kinematic matching condition for the disturbances evolving on each vortex. In this sense, the instabilities in each vortex evolve in a coupled, or ‘cooperative’, manner. Further results demonstrate that this instability is a manifestation of an elliptic instability of the vortex cores, which is here identified clearly for the first time in a real open flow. We establish a relationship between elliptic instability and other theoretical instability studies involving Kelvin modes. In particular, we note that the perturbation shape near the vortex centres is unaffected by the finite size of the cores. We find that the long-term evolution of the flow involves the inception of secondary transverse vortex pairs, which develop near the leading stagnation point of the pair. The interaction of these short-wavelength structures with the long-wavelength Crow instability is studied, and we observe significant modifications in the longevity of large vortical structures.
Developmental intersensory interference: Premature visual experience suppresses auditory learning in ducklings

Abstract The present study was undertaken to test a recent hypothesis that in human and animal infants, premature stimulation in a later developing sensory system (e.g., vision) interferes with the normal functioning of an earlier developing system (e.g., audition) when the earlier system is still undergoing maturation. When mallard duck embryos are exposed to a mallard maternal assembly call they learn the features of the call as evidenced by their postnatal behavioral preference for it over an unfamiliar maternal call of the same species. However, if the embryos are given the opportunity to experience pattern vision prematurely, while undergoing auditory exposure to the call, they do not learn the maternal call. Further experiments showed that the interference only occurs when the exposure to the maternal call is concomitant with the premature visual experience. When otherwise prematurely visually stimulated duck embryos are exposed to the maternal call during periods of darkness they learn the call. Also, the premature visual experience does not interfere with the later postnatal auditory learning ability of such embryos. They are capable of learning the call when they are exposed to it after hatching. Consequently, the deleterious effect of premature visual experience would appear to be a transient phenomenon related to the distracting effects produced by concurrent auditory and visual stimulation that overtaxes the attentional abilities of the “preterm” duckling. Premature visual experience does not necessarily result in a persistent alteration in the developmental competence of the earlier developing auditory system, as predicted by a strong form of the developmental intersensory interference (DII) hypothesis. A weak form of the DII hypothesis is offered, which is predicated on transient, rather than permanent, effects involving momentary attentional difficulties caused by the concurrent stimulation of two immature or incompletely developed sensory systems.
Sources and Migration of Plutonium in Groundwater at the Savannah River Site

The isotopic composition, size distribution, and redox speciation of plutonium (Pu) in the groundwater in the vicinity of the F-area seepage basins at the U.S. Department of Energy Savannah River Site (SRS) were examined. A low 240Pu/239Pu ratio in the upstream control well signifies a Pu source other than global fallout and indicates reactor-produced Pu. Elevated 240Pu/239Pu atom ratios downstream from the seepage basins are due to the decay of transplutonium isotopes, mainly 244Cm to 240Pu, which were generated at the SRS. Evidence suggests that the migration of basin-released Pu isotopes is minor. Rather, it is the transplutonium isotopes that migrate preferentially downstream and in the process decay to yield progeny Pu isotopes. Size fractionation studies with cross-flow ultrafiltration show that <4% of the 239Pu or 240Pu is found in the colloidal fraction, a finding that is consistent with the higher Pu oxidation states observed in the SRS groundwater. The observation of a low abundance of colloid-a...
Predicting modes of toxic action from chemical structure: Acute toxicity in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas)

In the field of aquatic toxicology, quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSARs) have developed as scientifically credible models for predicting the toxicity of chemicals when little or no empirical data are available. In recent years, there has been an evolution of QSAR development and application from that of a chemical-class perspective to one that is more consistent with assumptions regarding modes of toxic action. The objective of this research was to develop procedures that relate modes of acute toxic action in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) to chemical structures and properties. An empirically derived database for diverse chemical structures of acute toxicity and corresponding modes of toxic action was developed through joint toxic action studies, the establishment of toxicodynamic profiles, and behavioral and dose-response interpretation of 96-h LC50 tests. Using the results from these efforts, as well as principles in the toxicological literature, approximately 600 chemicals were classified as narcotics (three distinct groups), oxidative phosphorylation uncouplers, respiratory inhibitors, electrophiles/proelectrophiles, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, or central nervous system seizure agents. Using this data set, a computer-based expert system has been established whereby chemical structures are associated with likely modes of toxic action and, when available, corresponding QSARs.
Management of Patients with Developmental and Hereditary Spinal Cord Disorders

Neural tube defects are the most common congenital malformation of the central nervous system. The primary focus of this article will be to discuss their epidemiology, etiology, manifestations, complications, management, and prevention. The primary abnormalities of myelomeningocele are hydrocephalus, Chiari II malformation, and spinal cord dysplasia. This article will discuss the management of the major clinical manifestations, such as bowel and bladder dysfunction, various orthopaedic complications including lower extremity deformities and scolisosis, and cognitive abnormalities. Rehabilitation of youth with myelomeningocele must be developmentally based and comprehensive, including psychosocial issues. Perinatal use of folic acid has been effective in reducing the incidence of neural tube defects. Last, there will be brief discussions on prenatal diagnosis and intrauterine surgical repair of myelomeningocele.
In situ localization of progesterone receptors in normal mouse mammary glands: Absence of receptors in the connective and adipose stroma and a heterogeneous distribution in the epithelium

In normal mammary glands of both rodents and humans, progesterone promotes the proliferation of epithelial cells and several lines of evidence suggest that this action of progesterone may be mediated by progesterone receptor (PR). It is well established that normal mammary development involves a complex interplay between the epithelial cells and the surrounding fatty stroma. Furthermore, during mammary development, there is a change in both the relative proportion of epithelial cells and the steady-state levels of PR. Therefore, towards understanding the precise role of PR in mammary development, we have generated a highly sensitive antibody against mouse PR and examined its pattern of localization. Immunoreactive PR was detected only in the epithelial cells of the ducts while both the adipose and fibrous stroma surrounding these ducts were receptor negative. Similarly, PR mRNA was also associated only with the ductal epithelial cells. Approximately only 45-50% of the ductal cells were receptor positive and this distribution remained unchanged whether or not the tissues had been exposed to estrogen, suggesting that they may represent a distinct subpopulation. The potential significance of these findings to mammary development is discussed.
Quasiparticle spectrum in superconducting YBa2Cu3O7.

We have used the real-axis Eliashberg equations for an anisotropic superconductor to study the quasiparticle density of states of superconducting ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{7}$ in a temperature range from 0 up to 120 K. A first-principles electronic structure and a nonorthogonal tight-binding method was used to calculate the electron-phonon interaction. The large variation we found in gap energies for different bands and directions on the Fermi surface and strong frequency dependence of the gap explains broad features seen in the low temperature tunneling density of states as well as structure seen close to ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$. Above 50 K we have evidence for a gapless superconductor with s-wave pairing.
Epidural clonidine relieves intractable neuropathic itch associated with herpes zoster-related pain.

Abstract Objective: We present a case of intense herpes zoster-related pain and itching in the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve (V1). Successful pain and itch management was achieved after insertion of a high thoracic epidural catheter with a continuous infusion of bupivacaine and clonidine. Case Report: A 73-year-old woman with metastatic malignant melanoma developed acute herpes zoster-related pain and itching unresponsive to conventional oral medications. The patient described severe and frequent attacks of lancinating pain occurring in the dermatomal distribution of the left ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve. She also had a disturbing itch in the same distribution as her pain. The patient had significant reduction in the frequency and intensity of the lancinating attacks after placement of a thoracic epidural catheter with continuous infusion of 1 μg/mL clonidine and 0.05% bupivacaine. The itching resolved completely as well. Conclusion: High thoracic epidural infusion of bupivacaine and clonidine was beneficial in relieving neuropathic itch in a patient with acute herpes zoster-related pain in the distribution of the trigeminal nerve.
Modified metropolis annealing algorithm for QM-AYA arithmetic coder design optimization

The QM-Coder is an adaptive binary arithmetic coder for the JPEG and JBIG image compression standards. This coder employs a probability estimation state table (finite state machine). The present state corresponds to the current probability estimate. The estimate takes the form of the augend value that (on encode) is added to the code string if the less probable symbol occurs. The state changes only if the arithmetic coder experiences a renormalization. The QM-AYA coder is derived from the Q-Coder and the QM-Coder. A modified Metropolis method was used to fine-tune the QM-AYA augend values for improved compression performance. Heuristics in the search strategy to determine the next change in augend values reduce the estimated 54 year run time of the generalized annealing algorithm to 4 weeks.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Stark wave packets viewed with half-cycle pulses

We have directly observed the motion of Rydberg wave packets of cesium in a static electric field through their ionization by half-cycle electromagnetic field pulses. Both Kepler orbital motion as well as angular motion, i.e., the periodic change in orbit ellipticity due to angular momentum evolution, can be clearly seen. The latter has never been directly observed, because conventional photoionization and two-pulse optical interferometry experiments are only sensitive to dynamics near the ion core and not when the wave packet has a high angular momentum.
The Role of Bioethics and Business Ethics

Managed care represents a profound transformation in the architecture and process of health care delivery. Whether motivated by the economics of health care and the widely perceived need for cost containment1, 2 or by the quality improvements that a systems approach potentially permits,3, 4 managed care organizations represent a new level of organization in health care delivery. Formerly the fundamental unit of health care delivery was the individual clinician whose focus was principally the individual patient. Now the fundamental unit is a health care organization, and its focus is its covered population. Thus, an organizational perspective is being created alongside that of the individual, with considerable potential for conflict.
Impacts of information technology on organizational size and shape: Control and flexibility effects

We argue that the study of information technology (IT) impacts on organizations has been hindered by the shortage of formal models from which empirically testable implications of such impacts can be derived. This article demonstrates the feasibility and usefulness of this approach by constructing and analyzing optimization models of the organizational design problem for a restricted class of hierarchical organizations. The literature suggests that two organizational characteristics likely to be affected by IT are organizational “flexibility”; and the nature of organizational control problems. Thus, first, a particular concept of flexibility is defined and parameterized. Second, organizational design is formalized as an optimization problem having parameters for flexibility and control effects. Third, probable effects of four broad classes of IT on the model's parameters are spelled out and then analyzed via comparative statics and numerical experiments. One general result is that some types of IT impacts ...
Confirmation and quantification of pesticide residues by mass spectrometry

The sensitivity and specificity of mass spectrometry makes this an attractive technique for the confirmation and quantification of trace levels of pesticide residues. Two applications of mass spectrometry are outlined, that of combined headspace gas chromatography (g.c.)/mass spectrometry (m.s.), for the analysis of volatile fumigants such as ethylene dibromide (EDB) in imported fruits and multi-residue halogenated compounds in bran products, and that of quantitative g.c./m.s. for the determination of a range of organochlorine pesticide residues. The approach to setting-up a capillary g.c. multiple ion monitoring programme is described, with emphasis on quantitative aspects, and in particular the use of stable isotope internal standards. This is illustrated with an example of the quantification of organochlorine pesticide residues in eggs.
Kinetic characterization of the GTPase activity of phage lambda terminase: evidence for communication between the two "NTPase" catalytic sites of the enzyme.

The terminase enzyme from bacteriophage λ is responsible for the insertion of viral DNA into the confined space within the capsid. The enzyme is composed of the virally encoded proteins gpA (73.3 k...
The effects of naloxone, diprenorphine, and diazepam on responding suppressed by pre-shock and pre-food stimuli.

Abstract The lever-pressing of rats was reinforced with food according to a variable-interval 1-min schedule. In one group, occasional illumination of cue lights for 30-sec periods was followed by a brief electric shock; responding was suppressed during these periods. Naloxone (0.01–10 mg/kg) did not change the degree to which responding was suppressed during the pre-shock stimulus. Diprenorphine (0.1–10 mg/kg) slightly attenuated suppression, and diazepam (1.0–3.0 mg/kg) increased responding during the stimulus to normal levels. These results confirm that opiate antagonists do not always enhance the effects of shock on behavior. In a second group, occasional illumination of the cue lights for 20-sec periods was followed by delivery of free food pellets. Responding was also suppressed during the pre-food stimulus. Neither naloxone nor diprenorphine had any effect on response rate during this stimulus. In contrast to the results of earlier studies using benzodiazepines, diazepam (1.0–3.0 mg/kg) produced a marked attenuation of response suppression during the pre-food stimulus.
OPTIMAL BLOOD PRESSURE IN PATIENTS WITH ATRIAL FIBRILLATION

The exact relationship between blood pressure (BP) and mortality is unclear in a population of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We performed a post hoc analysis of 3,947 participants from the Atrial Fibrillation Follow-Up Investigation of Rhythm Management (AFFIRM) Trial. Systolic (SBP) and
When is a minority a minority? Active versus passive minority advocacy and social influence

Some conceptions of minority influence have stressed the impact of the mere existence of an unpopular, deviant position. Others (e.g. Moscovici, 1980) have emphasized the active opposition of a committed minority to a powerful majority. An active advocate is defined as one that is aware of the level of support for his/her position, expresses his/her position openly, and whose outcomes may depend on others' agreement/disagreement. In the present study, the potential moderating role of an advocates' active/passive status on opinion change was examined. When the issue was highly relevant to the target of influence, all that mattered was the quality of the source's arguments (i.e. majority≈ minority, active source = passive source). When the issue was not highly relevant to the target, though, active and passive sources had different impact: (1) active sources prompted attention to argument quality (for minorities) and heuristic compliance (for majorities); (2) passive sources prompted insensitivity to both the popularity of the position and to the quality of the source's arguments. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of a health system's medical error disclosure program on gastroenterology-related claims rates and costs.

Effect of a Health System's Medical Error Disclosure Program on Gastroenterology-Related Claims Rates and Costs
Parental hope for children with advanced cancer.

BACKGROUND: Previous work suggests that parents of children with cancer can remain hopeful despite receiving prognostic information, but we know little about what hope means to such parents, or the extent to which parents can feel hopeful even while facing the child’s impending death. METHODS: We audiotaped conversations between clinicians and parents of 32 children with relapsed or refractory cancer, and then interviewed parents about their hopes and expectations for their child. RESULTS: Parent statements about prognosis in interviews mirrored those made by clinicians during discussions about the child’s diagnosis with refractory or relapsed cancer. Clinicians used language referring to hope during these conversations but did not ask parents directly about their hopes. Parents expressed a range of hopes for their children, from hopes related to cure or treatment response, to quality of life, normalcy, and love and relationships for the child. For most parents, expectations about prognosis were not aligned with their hopes for the child; for example, many parents hoped for a cure and also reported that they did not believe cure was possible. Many parents were able to acknowledge this incongruence. CONCLUSIONS: Parents accurately conveyed the reality of their child’s serious condition in the setting of advanced cancer, and yet maintained hope. Hopes were not limited to hope for cure/treatment response. Clinicians should be encouraged to engage in direct conversations about hope with parents as a means to elicit realistic hopes that can help to focus the most meaningful plans for the child and family.
A unified approach to the steady-state and tracking analyses of adaptive filters

Most adaptive filters are inherently nonlinear and time-variant systems. The nonlinearities in the update equations tend to lead to difficulties in the study of their steady-state performance as a limiting case of their transient performance. This paper develops a unified approach to the steady-state and tracking analyses of adaptive algorithms that bypasses many of these difficulties. The approach is based on the study of the energy flow through each iteration of an adaptive filter, and it relies on a fundamental error variance relation.
Tumor necrosis factor-α is an endogenous inhibitor of Na+-K+-2Cl− cotransporter (NKCC2) isoform A in the thick ascending limb

The effects of TNF gene deletion on renal Na+-K+-2Cl− cotransporter (NKCC2) expression and activity were determined. Outer medulla from TNF−/− mice exhibited a twofold increase in total NKCC2 prote...
Clay Mineralogy of Soils Developed from Quaternary Deposits of the Eastern Sierra Nevada, California

The types and abundances of clay minerals in soils formed on glacial and glaciofluvial deposits of the eastern Sierra Nevada were studied in relation to age and lithology of the soil parent material, and to variations in present climate and vegetation. The most abundant soil clay minerals are illite and halloysite. Halloysite is usually more abundant than illite in the subhu-mid northern part of the sampling traverse, whereas the converse is true in the semiarid southern part, where the persistence of kaolin minerals is striking. Montmorillonite occurs primarily in soils developed under semiarid climatic conditions from deposits derived partly from mafic or intermediate igneous rocks. The kaolin mineral most commonly associated with montmorillonite is kaolinite. Other locally abundant clay minerals include mixed-layer clays and “vermiculite.” Soil clay mineral assemblages do not vary with age of soil parent material (glacial drift); thus, time or paleoclimatic variations, or both, are not the main controlling factors of clay formation. An important corollary of this conclusion is that factors of soil and clay formation, including climate, may have been relatively constant during middle and late Quaternary weathering episodes in the eastern Sierra Nevada. Either the climate during all the weathering episodes was within the climatic limits for the stability of the observed clay mineral assemblages, or the magnitude or duration of departures from those climatic limits, or both, were too small to leave a clear signature in the soil clay mineralogy. It is concluded that factors other than age are more important in determining soil clay mineral assemblages. The abundance of kaolin minerals relative to that of illite appears to be primarily related to climate and vegetation; the persistence of kaolin minerals at the southern end of the traverse, however, may result from lithologic controls as well as climate and vegetation. The presence or absence of montmorillonite apparently also reflects a combination of lithology, climate, and vegetation.
Severe Lactic Acidosis in a Patient with B-Cell Lymphoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Lactic acidosis is commonly observed in clinical situations such as shock and sepsis, as a result of tissue hypoperfusion and hypoxia. Lymphoma and leukemia are among other clinical situations where lactic acidosis has been reported. We present a case of a 59-year-old female with lactic acidosis who was found to have aggressive B-cell lymphoma. There have been 29 cases of lymphoma induced lactic acidosis reported thus far; however all reported cases have abnormal vital signs or concomitant medical conditions that may lead to lactic acidosis. The pathogenesis of malignancy-induced lactic acidosis is not well understood; however associated factors include increased glycolysis, increased lactate production by cancer cells, and decreased hepatic clearance of lactate. When it occurs, lactic acidosis is a poor prognostic sign in these patients. Prompt diagnosis and treatment of underlying lymphoma or leukemia remains the only way to achieve complete resolution of lactic acidosis in these patients.
The jewel wasp Nasonia: querying the genome with haplo-diploid genetics.

The jewel wasp Nasonia vitripennis is considered the "Drosophila melanogaster of the Hymenoptera." This diminutive wasp offers insect geneticists a means for applying haplo-diploid genetics to the analysis of developmental processes. As in bees, haploid males develop from unfertilized eggs, while diploid females develop from fertilized eggs. Nasonia's advantageous combination of haplo-diploid genetics and ease of handling in the laboratory facilitates screening the entire genome for recessive mutations affecting a developmental process of interest. This approach is currently directed toward understanding the evolution of embryonic pattern formation by comparing Nasonia embryogenesis to that of Drosophila. Haplo-diploid genetics also facilitates developing molecular maps and mapping polygenic traits. Moreover, Nasonia embryos are also proving amenable to cell biological analysis. These capabilities are being exploited to understand a variety of behavioral, developmental, and evolutionary processes, ranging from cytoplasmic incompatibility to the evolution of wing morphology.
Current Advances in the Pathogenesis of Varicose Veins

Varicose veins have a wide prevalence and are characterized by their tortuous, dilated, and serpentine appearance. This pattern is the result of disruption of the normal arrangement of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and smooth muscle cells (SMC) in veins. Valvular incompetence and the effect of increased hydrostatic pressure have been implicated in the pathogenesis of varicose veins. Alterations in the ECM and varied expression of metalloproteinases and their inhibitors can effect changes in venous wall remodeling. Gene expression and specific candidate markers have been identified in varicose veins. Differential gene transcription may influence the adaptive response of the venous wall to stimuli and the remodeling of the ECM that leads to the development of varicose veins.
Adding secure deletion to your favorite file system

Files or even their names often contain confidential or secret information. Most users believe that such information is erased as soon as they delete a file. Even those who know that this is not true often ignore the issue. Nevertheless, recovering deleted files is trivial and can be performed even by novice hackers. The problem is exacerbated by the widespread of portable and mobile storage devices. This type of unwanted after-deletion data recovery is in part an education problem. Users believe that deleted files are erased, even though they are not. Retraining and educating users is difficult. Therefore, storage systems should behave appropriately - the data should be erased from the storage on a per-delete basis. We found that existing solutions are either inconvenient, inefficient, or insecure. We have designed Purgefs: a file system extension that transparently overwrites files on the per-delete basis. Purgefs can be automatically added to a number of existing and future file systems, including networked and stackable file systems. Purgefs supports multiple policies to trade-off performance with the level of purging guarantees. We demonstrate that Purgefs does not add overheads or perturb users' activity under typical user workloads
Light Chain Replacement: A New Model for Antibody Gene Rearrangement

A functional B cell antigen receptor is thought to regulate antibody gene rearrangement either by stopping further rearrangement (exclusion) or by promoting additional rearrangement (editing). We have developed a new model to study the regulation of antibody gene rearrangement. In this model, we used gene targeting to replace the J kappa region with a functional V kappa-J kappa light chain gene. Two different strains of mice were created; one, V kappa 4R, has a V kappa 4-J kappa 4 rearrangement followed by a downstream J kappa 5 segment, while the other, V kappa 8R, has a V kappa 8-J kappa 5 light chain. Here, we analyze the influence of these functional light chains on light chain rearrangement. We show that some V kappa 4R and V kappa 8R B cells only have the V kappa R light chain rearrangement, whereas others undergo additional rearrangements. Additional rearrangement can occur not only at the other kappa allele or isotype (lambda), but also at the targeted locus in both V kappa 4R and V kappa 8R. Rearrangement to the downstream J kappa 5 segment is observed in V kappa 4R, as is deletion of the targeted locus in both V kappa 4R and V kappa 8R. The V kappa R models illustrate that a productively rearranged light chain can either terminate further rearrangement or allow further rearrangement. We attribute the latter to editing of autoantibodies and to corrections of dysfunctional receptors.
Dark Soliton Formation for Light-Induced Waveguiding in Photorefractive inP:Fe

We present experimental evidence for the observation of steady-state dark photorefractive screening solitons trapped in bulk InP:Fe.
The equivalence of two cyclic objects on pq elements

Abstract Palfy showed that two equivalent cyclic objects on n elements are equivalent by a multiplier provided gcd( n , ϕ ( n )) = 1 or n = 4. He also showed that there exist equivalent cyclic objects on n elements that are not multiplier equivalent when gcd( n , ϕ ( n )) ≠ 1 and n ≠ 4. Huffman et al. (1993) showed that when n = p 2 , p an odd prime, two equivalent cyclic objects on n elements are equivalent by elements chosen from a list of at most ϕ ( n ) permutations. In this paper we show that when n = pq , p and q primes, with gcd( pq , ϕ ( pq )) ≠ 1, two equivalent cyclic objects on n elements are equivalent by elements chosen from a list of at most ϕ ( n ) permutations. In fact, these permutations are products of multipliers and “pieces” of multipliers.
ASCL1 reprograms mouse Müller glia into neurogenic retinal progenitors

Non-mammalian vertebrates have a robust ability to regenerate injured retinal neurons from Muller glia (MG) that activate the gene encoding the proneural factor Achaete-scute homolog 1 (Ascl1; also known as Mash1 in mammals) and de-differentiate into progenitor cells. By contrast, mammalian MG have a limited regenerative response and fail to upregulate Ascl1 after injury. To test whether ASCL1 could restore neurogenic potential to mammalian MG, we overexpressed ASCL1 in dissociated mouse MG cultures and intact retinal explants. ASCL1-infected MG upregulated retinal progenitor-specific genes and downregulated glial genes. Furthermore, ASCL1 remodeled the chromatin at its targets from a repressive to an active configuration. MG-derived progenitors differentiated into cells that exhibited neuronal morphologies, expressed retinal subtype-specific neuronal markers and displayed neuron-like physiological responses. These results indicate that a single transcription factor, ASCL1, can induce a neurogenic state in mature MG.
The Political Consequences of Social Movements

Research on the political consequences of social movements has recently accelerated. We take stock of this research with a focus on movements in democratic polities and the United States in comparative and historical perspective. Although most studies demonstrate the influence of the largest movements, this research has not addressed how much movements matter. As for the conditions under which movements matter, scholars have been revising their initial hypotheses that the strategies, organizational forms, and political contexts that aid mobilization also aid in gaining and exerting political influence. Scholars are exploring alternative arguments about the productivity of different actions and characteristics of movements and movement organizations in the varied political contexts and institutional settings they face. Researchers are also employing more innovative research designs to appraise these more complex arguments. Scholarship will advance best if scholars continue to think through the interactions between strategies, organizations, and contexts; address movement influences on processes in institutional politics beyond the agenda-setting stage; situate case studies in comparative and historical perspective; and make more comparisons across movements and issues.
Hormonal and Immunological Properties of Insulin Fragments: II. Products Obtained by Enzymatic Hydrolysis

Beef insulin was subjected to tryptic digestion to obtain desoctapeptide insulin (removal of the C-terminal 8 amino acid residues of the B-chain) and to carboxypeptidase digestion to obtain desalanine-desasparagine insulin (removal of the C-terminal residue from each chain). Both fragments appeared to be inertwhen tested for insulin-like activity on rat diaphragm and rat fat pad assays and both seemed to have lost the capacity to interact with “insulin-neutralizing” antisera. However, both fragments were apparently capable of reacting with a human reaginic antibody to insulin. (Endocrinology 85: 577, 1969)
Periodontal disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Results: The SGRQ scores were all significantly correlated with major lung function parameters (r2=–0.37 to –0.28; p<0.0001) and Medical Research Council dyspnea scale (r2=0.23 to 0.30; p<0.0001). The SGRQ scores also correlated with the 6 minute walk test (r2=–0.15 to –0.13; p<0.05). Of periodontal health parameters, missing tooth number and plaque index appeared to be related to the scores of quality of life. The age and gender–adjusted Pearson’s correlation coefficients between missing teeth and total, symptom and activity score were 0.09, 0.12 and 0.12, respectively (p<0.05). The Pearson’s correlation coefficients between plaque index and symptom and activity score were 0.09 and 0.09 (p<0.05). After adjusting for age, gender, body mass index and smoking status, missing teeth remained significantly associated with symptom and activity score (p=0.033, p=0.030, respectively), while plaque Periodontal Disease and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
To DFM or not to DFM

Design for manufacturability (DFM) is inevitable because of the formidable challenges encountered in nano-scale integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing. Unfortunately, it is difficult for designers to understand the cost-benefit tradeoff when tuning their design through DFM to achieve better manufacturability. This work attempts to assist the designer in this aspect by providing a methodology (called RADAR --- Rule Assessment of Defect-Affected Regions) which uses failing-IC diagnosis results to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of DFM rules. RADAR is applied to the fail data from a 90nm Nvidia graphics processing unit (GPU) to demonstrate its viability. Specifically, evaluation of the via-enclosure rules revealed that they are much more needed in metal layers 3--6 than the remaining layers.
Error analysis for piecewise quadratic curve fitting algorithms

We analyze the convergence of piecewise quadratic curve fitting algorithms which preserve geometric properties of the data such as monotonicity and convexity. In the process, we suggest two new algorithms which improve the order of convergence of existing algorithms.
SUPERCONVERGENCE OF GRADIENT RECOVERY SCHEMES ON GRADED MESHES FOR CORNER SINGULARITIES

For the linear nite element solution to the Poisson equation, we show that superconvergence exists for a type of graded meshes for corner singularities in polygonal domains. In particular, we prove that the L 2 -projection from the piecewise constant eld ruN to the continuous and piecewise linear nite element space gives a better approximation of ru in the H 1 -norm. In contrast to the existing superconvergence results, we do not assume high regularity of the exact solution. Mathematics subject classication: 65N12, 65N30, 65N50.
On the differences between information systems' users and analysts: Managing perceptions of systems quality

Abstract Previous research in information systems quality has concluded that higher user involvement (UI) leads to higher success, i.e., higher satisfaction or higher perceived usefulness. This research has taken a different approach by investigating the effect of differences in analyst and user perceptions of UI on perceived usefulness. We conclude that more understanding can be gained by including the analyst point of view and viewing user involvement as a problem of differences in perceptions. Congruency in this research has been defined as similarity in perceptual views between the analyst and user. The results of this research show that high user involvement remains important to explaining systems success. But the amount of perceived systems usefulness depends on the UI perceptions of the other person (user or analyst).