cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A refined nonlinear model of composite plates with integrated piezoelectric actuators and sensors

Abstract A fully nonlinear theory for the dynamics and active control of elastic laminated plates with integrated piezoelectric actuators and sensors undergoing large-rotation and small-strain vibrations is presented. The theory fully accounts for geometric nonlinearities (large rotations and displacements) by using local stress and strain measures and an exact coordinate transformation. Moreover, the model accounts for continuity of interlaminar shear stresses, extensionality, orthotropic properties of piezoelectric actuators, dependence of piezoelectric strain constants on induced strains, and arbitrary orientations of the integrated actuators and sensors. Extension and shearing forces and bending and twisting moments are introduced onto the plate along the boundaries of the piezoelectric actuators. Five nonlinear partial differential equations describing the extension-extension-bending-shear-shear vibrations of laminated plates are obtained, which display linear elastic and nonlinear geometric couplings among all motions. Piezoelectric actuator-induced warping is also addressed, and comparisons with other simplified models and nonlinear theories are made.
Spatiotemporal variability of stream habitat and movement of three species of fish

Relationships between environmental variability and movement are poorly understood, due to both their complexity and the limited ecological scope of most movement studies. We studied movements of fantail (Etheostoma flabellare), riverweed (E. podostemone), and Roanoke darters (Percina roanoka) through two stream systems during two summers. We then related movement to variability in measured habitat attributes using logistic regression and exploratory data plots. We indexed habitat conditions at both microhabitat (i.e., patches of uniform depth, velocity, and substrate) and mesohabitat (i.e., riffle and pool channel units) spatial scales, and determined how local habitat conditions were affected by landscape spatial (i.e., longitudinal position, land use) and temporal contexts. Most spatial variability in habitat conditions and fish movement was unexplained by a site's location on the landscape. Exceptions were microhabitat diversity, which was greater in the less-disturbed watershed, and riffle isolation and predator density in pools, which were greater at more-downstream sites. Habitat conditions and movement also exhibited only minor temporal variability, but the relative influences of habitat attributes on movement were quite variable over time. During the first year, movements of fantail and riverweed darters were triggered predominantly by loss of shallow microhabitats; whereas, during the second year, microhabitat diversity was more strongly related (though in opposite directions) to movement of these two species. Roanoke darters did not move in response to microhabitat-scale variables, presumably because of the species' preference for deeper microhabitats that changed little over time. Conversely, movement of all species appeared to be constrained by riffle isolation and predator density in pools, two mesohabitat-scale attributes. Relationships between environmental variability and movement depended on both the spatiotemporal scale of consideration and the ecology of the species. Future studies that integrate across scales, taxa, and life-histories are likely to provide greater insight into movement ecology than will traditional, single-season, single-species approaches.
Performance of the Kenward-Roger method when the covariance structure is selected using AIC and BIC

ABSTRACT This study investigated Type I error rates for tests of fixed effects in mixed linear models using Wald F-statistics with the Kenward–Roger adjustment. Data were generated using 15 covariance structures. Correct covariance structures as well as those selected using the Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC) and Schwarz's Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) criteria were examined. Performance of the AIC and BIC criteria in selecting the true covariance structure was also studied. Type I error rates for the correct models were often adequate depending on the sample size and complexity of covariance structure. Type I error rates for the best AIC and BIC models were always higher than target values, but those obtained using BIC were closer to the target value than those obtained using AIC. For unbalanced data, Type I error rates for the between-subjects effect were closer to target values for positive pairing while those for the within-subject effect were closer for negative pairing. Success of AIC an...
Rape Reporting: "Classic Rape" and the Behavior of Law

Two theories of rape reporting, the Classic Rape perspective and Black's Theory of the Behavior of Law, are tested in this article. We offer the first comprehensive multivariate test of Classic Rape predictions among a nationally representative sample of victims, as well as the first test of Black's predictions for rape reporting. Through the construction of multinomial regression models, we are able to examine reporting patterns for both victims and third parties. Weapon use and physical injury consistently predicted reporting. The likelihood of victim reporting significantly increased when assaults occurred either in public or through a "home blitz," whereas place of assault did not affect the likelihood of third-party reporting. On the other hand, victim-offender relationship significantly affected the likelihood of third-party reporting but was not significant in the victim-reporting models. There were mixed findings regarding Black's stratification and morphology predictions, and we found no significant effects for culture, organization, or social control. Overall, these findings lend greater support to the Classic Rape perspective than to Black's model.
The shocking predatory strike of the electric eel.

Electric eels can incapacitate prey with an electric discharge, but the mechanism of the eel’s attack is unknown. Through a series of experiments, I show that eel high-voltage discharges can activate prey motor neurons, and hence muscles, allowing eels to remotely control their target. Eels prevent escape in free-swimming prey using high-frequency volleys to induce immobilizing whole-body muscle contraction (tetanus). Further, when prey are hidden, eels can emit periodic volleys of two or three discharges that cause massive involuntary twitch, revealing the prey’s location and eliciting the full, tetanus-inducing volley. The temporal patterns of eel electrical discharges resemble motor neuron activity that induces fast muscle contraction, suggesting that eel high-voltage volleys have been selected to most efficiently induce involuntary muscle contraction in nearby animals.
Increases in spontaneous neural activity in the hamster dorsal cochlear nucleus following cisplatin treatment: a possible basis for cisplatin-induced tinnitus.

Abstract Recent investigations in the hamster have implicated increased spontaneous activity (SA) in the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) as a contributing factor in the etiology of tinnitus induced by intense sound exposure. It might therefore be expected that increased SA would also develop in the DCN of hamsters treated with cisplatin, another cause of tinnitus. We tested this hypothesis by measuring the effects of cisplatin on SA in the DCN. Adult hamsters were divided into three groups, each receiving five injections of cisplatin at one of the following doses: 3 mg/kg, 2.25 mg/kg, or 1.5 mg/kg. Each group had corresponding controls receiving injections of isotonic saline. The effects of cisplatin were studied electrophysiologically 1 month after treatment by recording multiunit SA on the surface of the DCN. Measurements of SA were obtained in three rows of 13–15 locations spaced roughly 100 μm apart and spanning the length of the DCN along the tonotopic axis. Effects of cisplatin were evaluated by comparing plots of mean SA vs. tonotopic locus for cisplatin-treated groups with those of their corresponding untreated control groups. The results demonstrated a consistently higher level of SA in cisplatin-treated groups than in untreated controls. Whereas the highest rates of mean SA in control groups were between 10 and 15 events/s, the highest mean spontaneous rates in cisplatin-treated groups were between 25 and 38 events/s. The cisplatin-induced hyperactivity was greatest in the medial half of the DCN corresponding to the high frequency portion of the tonotopic range. These results suggest that cisplatin treatment is an effective inducer of hyperactivity in the DCN. This hyperactivity may be an important neural correlate of cisplatin-induced tinnitus.
TH-A-201C-01: Quantitative Molecular Imaging Using PET/CT to Assess Response to Therapy

Recent publications have established quantitative measures of tracer uptake used in positron emission tomography(PET)imaging as a predictor of patient outcome including pathologic response disease‐free survival and overall survival in single institution imaging and therapy trials. There is increasing interest in using PET as a biomarker to evaluate response to therapy and possibly as an endpoint for cancertherapeutic response in multi‐center trials. However several sources of variance and inherent in quantifying PET tracer uptake should understood and determined in order to ascertain the significance of differences in serial measurements and aid estimation of expected variances during clinical trial design. In this presentation we will review the major sources of bias and variability from the patient imaging protocol data processing and image analysis. We will also briefly discuss artifacts from PET and PET/CT imaging. The presentation will conclude with a review of efforts to address complexities that arise from combining quantitative PET/CT data from multiple patients at multiple sites. Research partially supported by NIH grant U01‐CA148131 and NCI Contract 24XS036‐004 (RIDER).
Nodal sets of eigenfunctions on Riemannian manifolds.

Soit M n une variete connexe compacte a metrique Riemannienne C ∞ . Soit Δ le laplacien de M. Soit F une fonction propre reelle de Δ de valeur propre λ. On demontre que la fonction propre F s'annule au plus a l'ordre c(λ) 1/2 pour tout point dans M
The histone deacetylase inhibitor, sodium butyrate, alleviates cognitive deficits in pre-motor stage PD.

Abstract Parkinson's disease (PD) patients often times experience impairment in their cognitive abilities early on in the progression of the disease. The reported deficits appear to mainly involve functions that are associated with frontal lobe and frontal-striatal pathways subserving attentional set-shifting, working memory and executive function. The current study explored executive function deficits in a rat model of PD in the pre-motor deficit stage. The rats were lesioned with 12 μg of 6-hydroxydonpamine (6-OHDA) in the striatum in a two step process (10 μg/μl followed by 2 μg/μl) 48 hours apart. Executive function was tested at 3 weeks post-surgery using a rat analogue of Wisconsin card sorting test called the Extra Dimensional/Intra Dimensional (ED/ID) set-shifting task. The results demonstrated that performance by the pre-motor rat model of PD was equivalent to that of the control groups in the simple and the compound discriminations as well as the intra-dimensional set-shifting. However the PD group exhibited attentional set-shifting deficits similar to those observed in PD patients. Additionally, sodium butyrate, a short chain fatty acid derivative and inhibitor of class I and II histone deacetylase (HDACi), was tested as a potential therapeutic agent to mitigate the pre-motor cognitive deficits in PD. The results indicated that the sodium butyrate treatment not only effectively alleviated the set-shifting deficits, but also improved the attentional set formation in the treated rats.
Improving Outcomes for Patients with Diffuse Large B‐cell Lymphoma

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most commonly occurring form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the western world. Until the mid 1990s the incidence of DLBCL increased in both sexes, across racial categories, and across all age groups except the very young, the etiology of most cases remains unknown. DLBCL is associated with an aggressive natural history, but it can be cured with combination chemotherapy regimens like cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP), which has been the mainstay of therapy for several decades. Remarkable progress has been made in understanding the biological heterogeneity of DLBCL and in improving survival for DLBCL patients with novel combinations of chemotherapy and immunotherapy. Gene expression profiling (GEP) has uncovered DLBCL subtypes that have distinct clinical behaviors and prognoses, and the addition of the monoclonal antibody, rituximab, to CHOP has markedly improved outcomes. Future approaches to DLBCL management will use molecular signatures identified through GEP to provide prognostic information and to isolate therapeutic targets that are being evaluated for DLBCL patients who relapse or those with high risk disease.
Accounting Scholarship that Advances Professional Knowledge and Practice

ABSTRACT: Recent accounting scholarship has used statistical analyses on asset prices, financial reports and disclosures, laboratory experiments, and surveys of practice. The research has studied the interface among accounting information, capital markets, standard-setters, and financial analysts and how managers make accounting choices. But as accounting scholars have focused on understanding how markets and users process accounting data, they have distanced themselves from the accounting process itself. Accounting scholarship has failed to address important measurement and valuation issues that have arisen in the past 40 years of practice. This gap is illustrated with missed opportunities in risk measurement and management and the estimation of the fair value of complex financial securities. This commentary encourages accounting scholars to devote more resources to obtaining a fundamental understanding of contemporary and future practice and how analytic tools and contemporary advances in accounting and...
Effects of pollutant accumulation by the invasive weed saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima) on the biological control agent Diorhabda elongata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

Hydroponic greenhouse studies were used to investigate the effect of four anthropogenic pollutants (perchlorate (ClO4 ), selenium (Se), manganese (Mn), and hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI))) on the biological control agent Diorhabda elongata Brulle ´ . Contaminant concentrations were quantified for experimental Tamarix ramosissima Ledab. plants and D. elongata beetles. Growth of larvae was significantly reduced by Se contamination, but was not affected by the presence of perchlorate, Mn, or Cr (VI). All of the contaminants were transferred from plants to D. elongata beetles. Only Cr (VI) was accumulated at greater levels in beetles than in their food. Because T. ramosissima grows in disturbed areas, acquires salts readily, and utilizes groundwater, this plant is likely to accumulate anthropogenic pollutants in contaminated areas. This study is one of the first to investigate the potential of an anthropogenic pollutant to influence a weed biological control system.
Ascorbate regulation of collagen biosynthesis in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, type VI

We studied two unrelated individuals with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type VI, which is characterized by congenital hypotonia, lax joints, severe kyphoscoliosis, friable skin, and hemorrhagic hypotrophic scars. The diagnosis was confirmed by decreased hydroxylysine residues in dermal collagen and decreased collagen lysyl hydroxylase activities in their cultured skin fibroblasts. Despite the diminished hydroxylysine residues in dermal collagen from the probands, we found no differences in hydroxylysyl residues of collagen synthesized by fibroblasts in culture. When patient 1 was given oral sodium ascorbate (5 g/d) for 3 weeks, ascorbate concentrations increased two-fold in plasma and 300-fold in urine. Urinary excretion of hydroxylysine and hydroxyproline increased during ascorbate administration. After a 1-year interval, bleeding time, wound healing, and muscle strength improved. Ascorbate supplementation (50 micrograms/mL) to confluent fibroblasts cultured from the two patients and controls increased hydroxyprolyl and hydroxylysyl residues of fibroblasts four to seven and three to four-fold respectively. Total protein associated with the cell layer increased 14% to 32% without concomitant change in cellular DNA. Total soluble collagenous material recovered from culture media increased 61% to 103% with ascorbate supplementation. These studies demonstrate that ascorbate improves the clinical status of patients with impaired collagen lysyl hydroxylase activity by enhancing lysyl and prolyl hydroxylation and total collagen production.
Surface and Shape Deposition Manufacturing for the Fabrication of a Curved Surface Gripper

Biological systems such as the gecko are complex, involving a wide variety of materials and length scales. Bio-inspired robotic systems seek to emulate this complexity, leading to manufacturing challenges. A new design for a membrane-based gripper for curved surfaces requires the inclusion of microscale features, macroscale structural elements, electrically patterned thin films, and both soft and hard materials. Surface and shape deposition manufacturing (S2DM) is introduced as a process that can create parts with multiple materials, as well as integrated thin films and microtextures. It combines SDM techniques, laser cutting and patterning, and a new texturing technique, surface microsculpting. The process allows for precise registration of sequential additive/subtractive manufacturing steps. S2DM is demonstrated with the manufacture of a gripper that picks up common objects using a gecko-inspired adhesive. The process can be extended to other integrated robotic components that benefit from the integration of textures, thin films, and multiple materials.
Pediatric blunt renal trauma: its conservative management and patterns of associated injuries.

Abstract Objectives To review the conservative management of pediatric renal trauma and investigate the significance of associated nonrenal injuries. Methods We performed a retrospective review of 63 pediatric patients with blunt renal injury who were treated expectantly. A comparison was made between operative and nonoperative management, mechanism of injury, treatment complications, requirement for blood transfusion, length of hospital stay, associated injuries, and incidence of pre-existing urologic conditions. Results The renal injury grade was grade I in 31 patients, grade II in 12, grade III in 8, grade IV in 10, and grade V in 2. Two patients underwent acute surgical exploration; one for nonrenal causes and one (2%) for life-threatening renal bleeding (grade V injury). Renorrhaphy was not performed, and 98% of patients were initially treated nonoperatively. Three patients (5%) underwent delayed renal surgery: one nephrectomy for Wilms’ tumor, one partial nephrectomy for nonhealing grade IV injury, and one attempted repair of a renal pelvis injury with subsequent nephrectomy. Excluding 1 patient who died and one nephrectomy for tumor control, our renal salvage rate was 97% (59 of 61). The overall mean hospital stay was 7.7 days and was similar across all grades (grade I, 7.7 days; grade II, 7.8; grade III, 6.1; grade IV, 9.2; and grade V, 10.5 days). Conclusions The results of our study have shown that pediatric patients with blunt nonexsanguinating renal injuries treated conservatively do well. The length of hospital stay did not increase with worsening severity of renal injury and, instead, was determined by the severity of the nonrenal associated injuries. This report adds to a growing body of published data that suggest that conservative management of pediatric blunt renal trauma is safe.
A nonrandomized minimax solution for passing scores in the binomial error model

A nonrandomized minimax solution is presented for passing scores in the binomial error model. The computation does not require prior knowledge regarding an individual examinee or group test data for a population of examinees. The optimum passing score minimizes the maximum risk which would be incurred by misclassifications. A closed-form solution is provided for the case of constant losses, and tables are presented for a variety of situations including linear and quadratic losses. A scheme which allows for correction for guessing is also described.
Automated Regional Citrate Anticoagulation: Technological Barriers and Possible Solutions

Background: Large-scale adoption of regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) is prevented by risks of the technique as practiced traditionally. Safe RCA protocols with automated deliv
Emotions and Family Business Creation: An Extension and Implications

Morris, Allen, Kuratko, and Brannon found that family founders, nonfamily managers working in family firms, and nonfamily founders experience a wide range of emotions during the first 4 years of es...
Aircraft Passenger Cabin ECS-Generated Ventilation Velocity and Mass Transport CFD Simulation: Mass Transport Validation Exercise

A collaborative research project established between the University of Tennessee (UT) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) lab and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) sought to validate CFD prediction of the environmental control system (ECS)-generated ventilation velocity vector field with induced mass transport. The results of the velocity field validation exercise were published previously. An FAA Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) project generated an experimental database of time-dependent inserted mass distributions in the CAMI Aircraft Environmental Research Facility (AERF). The companion CFD mass transport simulations were conducted at the UT CFD Lab using both commercial and proprietary computer codes. This paper reports the qualified results of the mass transport validation exercise.
Laterality of brain damage and emotional disturbance in adults

Although there has been agreement that brain injury often alters emotional functioning, there has been little agreement regarding the effects of lateralized brain injury on emotional status. The current study examined a fairly large sample of lateralized brain injured patients (N = 186) and compared scores on an objective self-report measure of personality or emotional status (MMPI). Results are consistent with prior studies by Reitan and others in that there were no significant differences between lateralized groups. Both groups showed moderate elevations (T scores in the low 60s) on scales 1, 2, 3, and 8. This was interpreted as reflecting somatic concern, mild-moderate depression, and interpersonal difficulties.
Agent and Observer Attributions of Influence The Effects of Target Response

The Schopler and Layton (1972b) framework for influence attributions was employed to investigate the effects of two factors on attributions of influence. Participants were either agents or observers of an influence attempt, which was followed by a target's compliance, noncompliance or countercompliance. The results supported predictions that influence attributed to the agent (by both agent and observer) would be highest following compliance, moderate following countercompliance, and lowest following noncompliance. Agent-observer differences in attributions occurred only in conditions of target compliance, in which agents attributed more influence to themselves than did the observers, as predicted. The results suggest the need to include undesired changes in a target as an aspect of interpersonal influence processes.
A synthesis technique of general petri nets

The general Petri net (GPN) is useful for modeling flexible manufacturing systems with multiple robots and workstations [15] and for parallel programs [8]. A problem of using reachability analysis for analyzing Petri nets (PN) is the large number of states generated. Most of the existing synthesis techniques do not deal with GPN. Koh et al.[15] invented a synthesis technique for GPN. We propose to improve their achievement by adding the simple Arc-ratio rules to Yaw's knitting technique [37, 38, 39] based on the notion of structure relationship together with new path generations, which mark the most distinct feature compared with other approaches. The synthesis rules and procedures of how to update the temporal matrix and structure synchronic distance are presented. The Arc-ratio rules for GPN are also presented. One can successfully synthesize complicated Petri nets using these rules. An example to synthesize a Petri net in [15] is illustrated. The correctness of each synthesis rule with an appropriate Arc-ratio rule for GPN is proved.
Solubility of Anthracene in Binary Alcohol + Methyl Acetate Solvent Mixtures at 298.2 K

Experimental solubilities are reported for anthracene dissolved in eight binary alcohol + methyl acetate solvent mixtures at 25 °C. The alcohol cosolvents studied were 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, 2-methyl-1-propanol, 1-pentanol, 2-pentanol, and 3-methyl-1-butanol. Results of these measurements are used to test two mathematical representations based upon the combined nearly ideal binary solvent (NIBS)/Redlich−Kister and modified Wilson equations. For the eight systems studied, the combined NIBS/Redlich−Kister equation was found to provide the better mathematical representation of the experimental data, with overall average absolute deviations between measured and calculated values being approximately ±0.5%. Considerably larger deviations were noted in the case of the modified Wilson equation.
Multiple eIF4GI-specific protease activities present in uninfected and poliovirus-infected cells

Cleavage of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4GI (eIF4GI) is required for shutoff of host cell translation during poliovirus (PV) infection of HeLa cells. Reports published by several groups have led to confusion whether this cleavage is mediated by viral 2A protease (2A(pro)) or a putative cellular enzyme (termed eIF4Gase) which is activated by 2A(pro) or other aspects of viral infection. Here we have further investigated eIF4Gase activities in PV-infected cells. Column purification of eIF4GI cleavage activity separated two activities which generated N-terminal cleavage products of different lengths. Both activities were detected using either native eIF4G or radiolabeled recombinant eIF4G as the substrate. Analysis of cleavage products formed by each activity on native and mutant substrates suggests that one activity cleaves eIF4G1 at or very near the 2A(pro) cleavage site and the other activity cleaves approximately 40 residues upstream of the 2A(pro) cleavage site. When PV infections in HeLa cells were supplemented with 2 mM guanidine, which indirectly limits expression of 2A(pro), two distinct C-terminal cleavage fragments of eIF4GI were detected. These C-terminal cleavage fragments of eIF4GI were purified from infected cells, and a new eIF4GI cleavage site was mapped to a unique site 43 amino acids upstream of the known 2A(pro) cleavage site. Further, eIF4GI cleavage in vivo could be blocked by addition of zVAD to PV-guanidine infections. zVAD is a broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor which had no effect on 2A(pro) cleavage activity or PV polyprotein processing. Lastly, similar types of eIF4Gase cleavage activities were also detected in uninfected cells under various conditions, including early apoptosis or during cell cycle transit. The data suggest that the same types of eIF4GI cleavage activities which are generated in PV-infected cells can also be generated in the absence of virus. Taken together, the data support a model in which multiple cellular activities process eIF4GI in PV-infected cells, in addition to 2A(pro).
Texture segmentation using Voronoi polygons

The authors have developed a texture-segmentation algorithm based on the Voronoi tessellation. The algorithm first builds the Voronoi tessellation of the tokens that make up the image. It then computes a set of features from the Voronoi polygons. Finally, it performs a probabilistic relaxation labeling on the tokens, to identify the interior and the border regions of the textures. The algorithm has successfully segmented images containing textures whose primitives have identical second order statistics. >
Variation of the synarcual in the California Ray, Raja inornata(Elasmobranchii: Rajidae)

Seven juvenile specimens of Raja inornata were CT scanned and digitally modeled to examine the variation of synarcual morphology with changing size. The synarcual is a highly variable skeletal element across batoids with great potential for use in phylogenetic studies. Results show that as R. inornata increases in body size, the synarcual becomes more elongate and laterally compressed. Projections of the synarcual become more pronounced with increasing size as well. The synarcual of R. inornata is narrower than that of R. erinacea . There appears to be a correlation between median crest width and synarcual spine size.Also, in the context of higher-level batoid phylogenetics, the morphologically ventral position of the u-shaped lateral stay is considered primitive.
Introduction to virology

In one hundred pages we have here the essentials of virology written in a straight-forward fashion by an expert. Dr. Dalldorf is the Director, The Division of Laboratories and Research of the New York State Department of Health. He writes of the "opportunities for the virus fisherman" and in particular for the hospital pathologist starting with "one agate mortar and pestle." The book deals systematically with poxes and rashes, diseases of the liver, lungs, and central nervous system. The last two chapters, dealing with the setting up of a virus laboratory and the common techniques used, are particularly valuable. This monograph makes excellent spare-time reading. It leads the student from the early observation that the word virus means a poison and that measles was transmitted experimentally to volunteers in 1758 to the latest tissue-culture techniques and hemagglutination-inhibition tests. Here we find simple explanations of virological jargon which often is a
AN INTRODUCTION TO ECONOMETRIC THEORY: A. Ron Gallant, Princeton University Press, 1997

This book is a modern introduction to measure theoretic probability and statistical inference well targeted for graduate students in econometrics at top institutions. It would make an excellent textbook for first year graduate students who intend to specialize in econometrics or who have an advanced mathematical background, and it would also be a useful part of any graduate econometrics course. It is concise and intensely focused on the key conceptual points, thus counteracting the tendency toward long-windedness apparent in some recent econometric texts. Nevertheless, it provides many valuable insights into difficult material. In particular, the discussions of sigma fields and conditional expectation given a sigma field are very helpful. The coverage of multivariate concepts alongside univariate ones is particularly useful to econometricians and something that is missing from most comparable statistical texts. The author has a mature attitude to proof, providing complete and illuminating proofs of some results but making liberal use of simplifications provided by special cases, for example in Theorems 4.1 and 4.5 and Section 5.2.2, to shorten and focus the arguments. The proofs themselves are very clear and well presented. Carefully chosen diagrams are given throughout the book that nicely illustrate many of the key concepts. In addition, each chapter contains a long list of problems of varying complexity, which will be useful to instructors.
New Approaches to the Adjuvant Therapy of Colon Cancer

Analysis of data from patients treated outside clinical trials suggests that adjuvant chemotherapy for stage II colon cancer provides less than a 3% absolute improvement in survival at 5 years. This is remarkably close to the small degree of benefit suggested by controlled studies. An overview of the data suggests that surgery alone cures approximately 75% of stage II patients. Between 20% and 25% of patients experience disease recurrence despite surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy, whereas adjuvant chemotherapy cures between 1% and 6%. In stage III patients, the benefit of adjuvant therapy is greater overall. The extent of benefit relates to tumor grade, invasion, and nodal involvement. Incorporation of molecular markers in the design of current trials may enable us to refine our identification of patients at highest risk of recurrence and hence those standing to gain most from adjuvant therapy.
Immune profiling of pregnant Toxoplasma-infected US and Colombia patients reveals surprising impacts of infection on peripheral blood cytokines.

In North America (NA) and Europe, the majority of toxoplasmosis cases are benign and generally asymptomatic, whereas in South America (SA) toxoplasmosis is associated with much more severe symptoms in adults and congenitally infected children. The reasons for these differences remain unknown; currently, there is little information from patients in either region on how the immune system responds to infection with Toxoplasma gondii. Here, we report the relative abundance of 51 serum cytokines from acute and chronic toxoplasmosis cohorts of pregnant women from the United States, where approximately one-half of clinical isolates are Type II, and Colombia, where clinical isolates are generally "atypical" or Type I-like strains. Surprisingly, the results showed notably lower levels of 23 cytokines in acutely infected patients from the United States, relative to uninfected US controls. In acutely infected Colombian patients, however, only 8 cytokine levels differed detectably with 4 being lower and 4 higher relative to uninfected controls. Strikingly, there were also differences in the cytokine profiles of the chronically infected patients relative to uninfected controls in the US cohort. Hence, Toxoplasma appears to specifically impact levels of circulating cytokines, and our results may partly explain region-specific differences in the clinical spectrum of toxoplasmosis.
A novel integrated class/web-based curriculum for the course “Introduction to Electrical Engineering for non majors”: progresses made — lessons learned

This paper introduces the progress made in optimizing the curriculum for the interdisciplinary service course Introduction to Electrical Engineering (EE) for non-EE majors at Michigan Technological University1. The curriculum optimizes the current 3-credit service course by clarifying the relationship between EE and non-EE fields. The paper presents the lessons learned from a pilot study of the course. Evaluation of the pilot study showed that there were problems with the specialized web-content that had a negative impact on the students taking the optimized course. Information from surveys and focus group discussions is being used to revise the curriculum. The revisions are: (a) the re-alignment of the components of the course, and in particular lectures and web content delivery; (b) the development of application-based problems in order to better bridge non-EE and EE concepts; and, (c) revising web-based materials to maintain a clear relationship between EE and non-EE concepts (without going through non-essential theoretical details).
Endotoxin-Induced IL-6 Promoter Activation in Skeletal Muscle Requires an NF-κB Site

Previous studies in monocytes and other cell types have provided evidence of a role for the NF-κB pathway in IL-6 induction. The purpose of the present study was to examine the involvement of NF-κB in the induction of the IL-6 promoter in skeletal muscle cells by endotoxin (LPS), TNFα or IL-1α. Transfection of C2C12 mouse myocytes with a luciferase reporter under the control of the IL-6 promoter indicated each immunomodulator enhanced IL-6 promoter activity. Mutation and inhibitor studies indicate this response was dependent on the IL-6 NF-κB binding site, but independent of NF-IL6, AP-1, CREB or C/EBP. Cotransfection with an expression vector which constitutively activates the RelA pathway increased IL-6 promoter activity, and activity could not be further enhanced by cytokines or LPS. However, cotransfecting various dominant negative upstream NF-κB kinase expression vectors which inhibited RelA or RelB pathways either individually or in combination had no effect on LPS-induced activation of the IL-6 promoter, but abolished induction from a NF-κB-based promoter. This lack of effect was not due to a lack of NF-κB pathway activation in C2C12 myocytes because both Western analysis and EMSA supershifting showed an LPS-induced increase in nuclear RelA and RelA phosphorylation. However, another protein was observed bound to the IL-6 NF-κB site that does not bind to a consensus NF-κB site. The present findings provide novel insights regarding inflammation-induced stimulation of IL-6 promoter activity in skeletal muscle which is an important but non-traditional component of the innate immune system.
The Informational Content of an Open Limit Order Book

We assess the informational content of an open limit order book from three directions: (1) Does the limit order book allow better inferences about a security's value than simply the best bid and offer prices from the first step of the book? If it does, how much additional information can be gleaned from the book? (2) Are imbalances between the demand and supply schedules informative about future price movements? and (3) Does the shape of the limit order book impact traders' order submission strategies? Our empirical evidence suggests that the order book beyond the first step is informative - its information share is about 30%. The imbalance between demand and supply from step 2 to 10 provides additional power in explaining future short-term returns. Finally, traders do use the available information on the state of the book, not only from the first step, but also from other steps, when developing their order submission strategies.
Campus Press, Inc.: A critical analysis of the corporatization of collegiate media:

This article examines the corporatization of collegiate media in the United States. Gannett Company, Inc.’s purchase of two university publications, the FSView & Florida Flambeau (FSView) at Florid...
Spatial patterns of solar photovoltaic system adoption: The influence of neighbors and the built environment

The diffusion of new technologies is often mediated by spatial and socioeconomic factors. This article empirically examines the diffusion of an important renewable energy technology: residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. Using detailed data on PV installations in Connecticut, we identify the spatial patterns of diffusion, which indicate considerable clustering of adoptions. This clustering does not simply follow the spatial distribution of income or population. We find that smaller centers contribute to adoption more than larger urban areas, in a wave-like centrifugal pattern. Our empirical estimation demonstrates a strong relationship between adoption and the number of nearby previously installed systems as well as built environment and policy variables. The effect of nearby systems diminishes with distance and time, suggesting a spatial neighbor effect conveyed through social interaction and visibility. These results disentangle the process of diffusion of PV systems and provide guidance to stakeholders in the solar market.
A Rapid Method for Counting Nucleated Erythrocytes on Stained Blood Smears by Digital Image Analysis

Measures of parasitemia by intraerythrocytic hematozoan parasites are normally expressed as the number of infected erythrocytes per n erythrocytes and are notoriously tedious and time consuming to measure. We describe a protocol for generating rapid counts of nucleated erythrocytes from digital micrographs of thin blood smears that can be used to estimate intensity of hematozoan infections in nonmammalian vertebrate hosts. This method takes advantage of the bold contrast and relatively uniform size and morphology of erythrocyte nuclei on Giemsa-stained blood smears and uses ImageJ, a java-based image analysis program developed at the U.S. National Institutes of Health and available on the internet, to recognize and count these nuclei. This technique makes feasible rapid and accurate counts of total erythrocytes in large numbers of microscope fields, which can be used in the calculation of peripheral parasitemias in low-intensity infections.
Open Letter: A Future for Legal Education

A deepening malady marks the present and threatens the future of legal education: not enough of it can be properly described as education, much of it is mere training, and the remainder is neither. The immediate cause of the malady of legal education is the prevailing structural bias of law schools toward three symbiotic attitudes, which I label practicism, minimalism, and parochialism. This open letter explains the nature and effects of practicism, minimalism, and parochialism before outlining four proposals for the future of legal education.
Estimating the Reliability of Quantities Derived from Empirical Production Functions

T HE estimation of production functions and the use of the empirically derived functions to estimate optimum levels and combinations of resource inputs has become quite common in agricultural economics research. Although measures of reliability (e.g. variances or confidence intervals) are generally given for the original coefficients, similar measures are seldom if ever reported for the derived quantities' (e.g. "maximum profit points," isoclines, etc.). Since the derived quantities are often the end products of, as well as the motivation for, such research, it would seem highly desirable to have available measures of reliability for these estimates. It is the purpose of this paper to illustrate how techniques for variance estimation and setting of confidence regions may be applied to the estimates derived from estimated production functions. The derived quantities can in general be expressed as functions of the estimated coefficients of the production function. Thus the statistical properties of these quantities are determined by the statistical properties of the estimated production function coefficients. The following formulation for the variances of such quantities will be used extensively. Given that a,, a2, * , ar are r variables distributed with variance-covariance matrix estimated unbiasedly by 2; and zl, z2, ? * * , z,, are m variables defined by given functions of the a's, e.g. zl=fl(ai, a2, '* * , ar), z2=f2(ai, a2, ' ' , ar), etc.; then the variance-covariance matrix of the z's is estimated by D D' (1) where D is the m by r matrix: azi Zzl zzl'
A multi-method approach for describing the contributions of student engagement on fifth grade students' social competence and achievement in mathematics

Abstract Multiple perspectives of measuring engagement (i.e., student-, teacher-, and observer-report) were used to describe the contributions of engagement during mathematics instruction on fifth graders' (N = 387) social skills and achievement. Students completed questionnaires on their mathematics engagement. Teachers completed questionnaires on students' engagement and social skills. Researchers observed student engagement during math lessons. Students' scores on a standardized test were used to assess mathematics achievement. All three approaches to measuring engagement were significantly associated with students' social skills in math class. Teacher-reported student engagement and observer-reported student engagement were significantly associated with students' mathematics achievement, but student-reported engagement was not significantly associated with achievement. Moderation analyses revealed that associations between math engagement and outcomes were no different for boys than girls. Findings are useful when considering ways to identify engagement and promote social interactions and achievement during mathematics instruction.
Effect of additions to ACD blood on erythrocyte preservation.

Summary1. Based on the working hypothesis that the deterioration of erythrocytes during storage may be due to enzymatic processes affecting the cell membrane, experiments were carried out in which a variety of compounds known to modify enzymatic reactions were added to ACD blood. The effect of these additions on the rate of development of osmotic fragility (hemolysis in 0.6% NaCl solution) was determined. 2. The “in vitro survival time” (resistance toward 0.6% NaCl solution) of red cells was considerably shortened by a number of compounds, for example by sodium fluoride, which also prevented the utilization of glucose, delayed the rate of increase of inorganic phosphate during storage, but had no effect on the gradual increase of plasma potassium concentrations. 3. The most promising results in retarding the development of osmotic fragility were obtained with 10- (2 -dimethylamino-propyl) phenothia-zine. ACD blood from 55 donors showed on exposure to 0.6% NaCl solution after 21 days storage 5 to 23%, and ...
Plasmon-Enhanced Metasurfaces for Controlling Optical Polarization

A method is proposed for controlling optical polarization using metasurfaces formed from arrays of planar chiral-patterned dielectric metamolecules with embedded achiral plasmonic nanostructures. At plasmon resonance, the subwavelength plasmonic nanoinclusions induce enhanced polarization of the surrounding dielectric, which gives rise to rotation of the polarization azimuth in the transmitted field. Full-wave electromagnetic analysis is used to investigate the optical response of various proposed media as a function of the symmetry and spacing of the metamolecules. The analysis shows that the metamolecules can be tailored to control the polarization state of light and produce frequency selective giant rotation of the polarization azimuth exceeding 105 deg/mm in the visible to near-infrared spectrum with relatively low loss. The proposed method opens up opportunities for the development of versatile ultrathin media that can manipulate optical polarization for novel micro-optical applications.
PULMONARY NEOPLASMS: SURGICAL EXPERIENCE AT MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL, 1930-1963.

Few advances have been made in surgery of lung tumors in recent years. However, refinements in ancillary technics have made it possible to offer surgery to a larger number of patients.A study of the total surgical experience with pulmonary neoplasms at Massachusetts General Hospital has demonstrated the success of pulmonary resection in cases of metastatic tumors, favorable results in removing bronchial adenomas, and the value of thoracotomy in confirming diagnosis in a large majority of cases.
Successful repair of common ventricle associated with complete atrioventricular canal.

The case history of a patient with common ventricle associated with complete atrioventricular (A-V) canal, severe mitral insufficiency, and tricuspid insufficiency is described. Successful repair was accomplished through the right atrium by excising the A-V valves, partitioning the ventricular cavity with a patch, inserting two Braunwald-Cutter prostheses in the A-V position, and continuing the patch cephalad to close the atrial septal defect. A His bundle locater was employed, and normal sinus rhythm was preserved.
Femoral neuropathy following major pelvic surgery : etiology and prevention

AbstractWe report a case of femoral neuropathy occurring after radical cystoprostatectomy and continent urinary diversion. Urologists who perform major pelvic surgery need to be familiar with this complication to prevent its occurrence.