cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Driver turnover in the trucking industry: What's the cost of reducing driver quit rates?

Abstract This paper empirically examines the personal characteristics of truck drivers that are associated with a greater probability of driver turnover. Exploration of this phenomenon is significant in part because knowing who is likely to leave a trucking company helps decision makers in trucking firms identify effective measures needed to reduce driver turnover. Estimation results of a discrete driver quit choice model along with findings from estimating a driver wage equation, are used to predict the driver compensation needed to mitigate high driver turnover. These findings show that at the mean, drivers who stay on the job receive $54.25 (2018 dollars) more per week than drivers who leave, which translates to $2836.20 annually and is 6.02% percent above the mean wage of drivers who leave their job. The value of this annual wage differential is less than the mean value of the conservatively low estimate of $3654.72 (2018 dollars) computed in past research as the per driver cost of truck driver turnover. We interpret these results to suggest that it is cost effective for trucking companies to increase driver compensation. Indeed, truck driver wage trends do show a recent pattern of wage gains.
The effects of Hurricane Harvey on the physical and mental health of adults in Houston

Using data from the 2017-18 Health of Houston Survey, this study estimates the effect of Hurricane Harvey, the second costliest storm in the history of the United States, on the physical and mental health of adults living in Houston, Texas. The survey was fielded to a population-based probability sample whose data collection activities were interrupted and delayed by Hurricane Harvey. This interruption in data collection created a natural experiment that allowed for a comparison of community health before and after the storm. Following the storm, adults in Houston on average experienced an increase of 1.12 days a month of poor physical health and an increase of 1.31 days a month of poor mental health. These effects were most pronounced in parts of the city where structural damage from the storm was most severe.
ONE HUNDRED YEARS IN PRISON FOR $126 MILLION FRAUD

This case examines the multimillion dollar Ponzi scheme perpetuated by Edward Okun. Okun was convicted in 2009 of 23 counts including wire fraud, money laundering, bulk cash smuggling and other offenses. In this case, students will learn about fraud, money laundering, federal currency reporting requirements, aspects of tax law, and ethics. This case is suitable for either undergraduate or graduate students. It can be used in an Introduction to Business, an Ethics, or a Fraud course. Students typically require 2-3 hours outside of class to complete the case. Approximately one hour of class time is needed to go over the case. This case can help students develop both written and verbal skills.
Classical conditioning increases reproductive success in Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica

We examined the adaptive significance of learning by determining whether classical conditioning increases reproductive success. Male and female quail received conditioning trials in which a small light (conditioned stimulus or CS) signalled access to a copulation partner. After this learning experience, pairs of subjects received a single 2-min (experiment 1) or 5-min (experiment 2) copulation test during which both the female and the male, only the female, only the male, or neither bird received the conditioned stimulus signalling access to a copulation partner. Signalling the copulatory episode for both the female and the male significantly increased the percentage of fertilized eggs that were produced and increased the efficiency of the copulatory behaviours that occurred. Presenting the CS to just one or the other sexual partner had no effect. These findings demonstrate that classical conditioning can enhance reproductive success, but the effect requires that both the male and the female be able to anticipate a sexual encounter.
eQTL networks unveil enriched mRNA master integrators downstream of complex disease-associated SNPs

Display Omitted We study the downstream transcriptome systems properties of 6432 SNPs of 574 complex diseases.eQTL network analyses unveil that downstream mRNAs are targeted by an excess number of SNPs.Thus multiple complex diseases associated SNPs tend to target the same group of mRNAs.These mRNA hubs display a novel systems property: master integrators.Our findings provide novel insights into the pleiotropy of mRNAs targeted by complex disease polymorphisms. The causal and interplay mechanisms of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with complex diseases (complex disease SNPs) investigated in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) at the transcriptional level (mRNA) are poorly understood despite recent advancements such as discoveries reported in the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) and Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTex). Protein interaction network analyses have successfully improved our understanding of both single gene diseases (Mendelian diseases) and complex diseases. Whether the mRNAs downstream of complex disease genes are central or peripheral in the genetic information flow relating DNA to mRNA remains unclear and may be disease-specific. Using expression Quantitative Trait Loci (eQTL) that provide DNA to mRNA associations and network centrality metrics, we hypothesize that we can unveil the systems properties of information flow between SNPs and the transcriptomes of complex diseases. We compare different conditions such as nave SNP assignments and stringent linkage disequilibrium (LD) free assignments for transcripts to remove confounders from LD. Additionally, we compare the results from eQTL networks between lymphoblastoid cell lines and liver tissue. Empirical permutation resampling (p<0.001) and theoretic MannWhitney U test (p<1030) statistics indicate that mRNAs corresponding to complex disease SNPs via eQTL associations are likely to be regulated by a larger number of SNPs than expected. We name this novel property mRNA hubness in eQTL networks, and further term mRNAs with high hubness as master integrators. mRNA master integrators receive and coordinate the perturbation signals from large numbers of polymorphisms and respond to the personal genetic architecture integratively. This genetic signal integration contrasts with the mechanism underlying some Mendelian diseases, where a genetic polymorphism affecting a single protein hub produces a divergent signal that affects a large number of downstream proteins. Indeed, we verify that this property is independent of the hubness in protein networks for which these mRNAs are transcribed. Our findings provide novel insights into the pleiotropy of mRNAs targeted by complex disease polymorphisms and the architecture of the information flow between the genetic polymorphisms and transcriptomes of complex diseases.
Supply-Chain Management Issues In The Oil And Gas Industry

The oil and gas industry is involved in a global supply-chain that includes domestic and international transportation, ordering and inventory visibility and control, materials handling, import/export facilitation and information technology. Thus, the industry offers a classic model for implementing supply-chain management techniques. In a supply-chain, a company is linked to its upstream suppliers and downstream distributors as materials, information, and capital flow through the supply-chain. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of supply-chain management in the oil and gas industry. This paper also discusses the application of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) to supply-chain management issues. Then, several strategies are examined for improving supply-chains in the oil and gas industry. Finally, two case studies are introduced to show how improving supply-chain logistics in the oil and gas industry can improve efficiency and the bottom line.
Real radiation at next-to-next-to-leading order in QCD: e+e- --> 2 jets through O(alpha2s).

We present a calculation of the differential two-jet cross section in ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ annihilation through next-to-next-to-leading order (NNLO) in the strong coupling constant ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{s}$. The calculation is performed using a new method for dealing with real radiation suggested recently by us. For the first time, the two-jet event rate is computed directly, without any reference to the inclusive cross section ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\mathrm{\text{hadrons}}$. We also calculate the energy distribution of the leading jet in ${e}^{+}{e}^{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}2$ jets and find significant modifications of the shape of this distribution at NNLO.
Interlimb Influences on Paretic Leg Function in Poststroke Hemiparesis

After stroke, paretic leg motor impairment is typically viewed as a unilateral control deficit. However, much of the neural circuitry controlling normal leg function is organized bilaterally to produce coordinated, task-specific activity in the two legs. Thus, as a result of contralesional neural control processes, paretic leg motor pattern generation may be substantially influenced by the nonparetic leg sensorimotor state during bilateral lower limb tasks. Accordingly, we investigated whether different paretic leg motor patterns are observed during mechanically equivalent bilateral and unilateral tasks and, if so, whether nonparetic leg participation improved or exacerbated paretic leg coordination deficits. A pedaling apparatus that mechanically decoupled the legs was used to present subjects with increasingly complex bi- and unilateral motor tasks: isometric force generation, discrete movement, and pedaling. Bilateral electromyographic and pedal force data were collected from 21 persons with chronic poststroke hemiparesis and 11 similarly aged controls. During isometric force generation and discrete movements, nonparetic leg influences on paretic leg coordination were similar and not markedly different from interlimb influences in controls. In bilateral pedaling, however, interlimb influences differed from controls such that paretic leg coordination deficits were exacerbated. During pedaling movements, the suppression of interlimb influences similar to those observed in isometric and discrete movement may occur in controls but may be disrupted in hemiparesis. We suggest that the coupling of pattern generation between the two legs may result in greater, albeit more impaired, paretic leg motor output during bilateral pedaling than during unilateral pedaling.
The Teaching of Evolution in the United States

THERE appears in the recent translation of Kammerer's “Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics”, by A. Paul Maerker-Branden, the following statement:
The influence of drawing parameters on the mechanical properties of two beta-titanium alloys.

The total cold reduction and reduction per pass used during the drawing of fine wires affected the mechanical properties of two beta-titanium alloys. Both Ti-11.5Mo-6Zr-4.5Sn and Ti-13V-llCr-3Al showed increased yield strengths and low moduli of elasticity, which resulted in wires appropriate for orthodontic application.
Generation and kilohertz rate amplification of synchronized femtosecond and picosecond laser pulses

Synchronized femtosecond and tunable picosecond laser pulses have been generated using a linear cavity configuration in both lasers. The long-term stability of the synchronization, as well as the frequency of the synchronously pumped femtosecond dye laser, is assured by active stabilization of the cavity length. Additionally, the picosecond and femtosecond pulses have been amplified in dual amplifier chains to pulse energies in the microjoule range at a 1 kHz repetition rate. The total peak intensity available for two-photon, nonlinear excitations is on the order of 10/sup 9/ times greater than that available from unamplified beams. >
Comparing risk aversion in a probability triangle

An agent's acceptance set consists of the probability distributions preferred to the status quo. One agent is more risk averse than another if the more risk averse agent's acceptance set is a proper subset of the less risk averse agent's acceptance set. An agent's odds premium expresses the odds in favor of winning the largest cash prize in a lottery over the best and worst alternatives that is indifferent to the the agent's initial wealth. Comparisons of two agents odds premia completely characterizes the risk aversion relations between them when facing lotteries in a probability triangle. The result applies to expected utility and some non-expected utility theories.
Calculating the potential for within-flight transmission of influenza A (H1N1)

Background Clearly air travel, by transporting infectious individuals from one geographic location to another, significantly affects the rate of spread of influenza A (H1N1). However, the possibility of within-flight transmission of H1N1 has not been evaluated; although it is known that smallpox, measles, tuberculosis, SARS and seasonal influenza can be transmitted during commercial flights. Here we present the first quantitative risk assessment to assess the potential for within-flight transmission of H1N1.
Industry evolution with sunk costs and uncertain market conditions

Firms often make decisions which entail sunk costs and have long-lasting effects. For example firms often must decide which technology to install in a plant without knowing what market conditions will prevail during the life of the plant. This paper presents a dynamic competitive equilibrium framework in which to analyze these issues.
Design of specific mechanism-based inactivators of hepatic and adrenal microsomal cytochromes P-450 responsible for progesterone 21-hydroxylation.

(1989). Design of Specific Mechanism Based Inactivators of Hepatic and Adrenal Microsomal Cytochromes P-450 Responsible for Progesterone 21-Hydroxylation. Drug Metabolism Reviews: Vol. 20, No. 2-4, pp. 645-655.
Coalitional Maintenance: Politicians, Parties, and Organized Groups

Research on parties has bifurcated between studies of parties in elections and parties in the legislature. This analysis brings the theoretical insights from the study of legislative parties to bea...
A cluster method for finding minimum energy spin states

Abstract The common intuitive method for finding minimum energy spin states in Ising or classical vector-spin models consists of ordering spins in pairs in a manner that is consistent when one considers the spin ordering of the whole crystal. This method fails whenever there are competing interactions. It is shown how to directly extend this method so that such failure is no longer inevitable. The applicability of the extended or cluster method to various problems is investigated, and comparisons with the generalized Luttinger-Tisza methods is made. It is found that the two approaches are complementary, although there are problems in which both fail. In cases where both approaches work (which include the Ising problems considered by Luttinger), the cluster method provides the intuitively clearer derivation.
Computational stochastic homogenization of random media elliptic problems using Fourier Galerkin method

In mechanics, research topics on probabilistic effects and combination of atomistic, statistical and continuum approaches are being identified as a future research direction. Challenges of complex multiscale interactions and limits of available tools provide an opportunity for probability theory and stochastic processes, so far remained in the background, being brought to the frontier. As far as real problems characterized with non-periodic and random processes are concerned, stochastic homogenization has been mostly tackled with pure mathematical formulations without giving a practical computational recipe. To provide a numerical stochastic homogenization procedure, a recent attempt has been made by Xu and Graham-Brady [A stochastic computation method for evaluation of global and local behavior of random elastic media, Comput. Methods Appl. Mech. Eng. 194(42-44) (2005) 4362-4385] proposing a concept of stochastic representative volume element (SRVE). In this work, the SRVE concept is applied to general divergence-type stochastic partial differential equation (PDE), which is numerically solved with a numerical Fourier Galerkin recipe and the stochastic Galerkin method. This technique provides not only a means of global homogenization but also solution for statistical descriptors (such as variance) of the local solutions to such PDEs. A convergence study is conducted for the computing algorithm of Gaussian random media problems.
Algebraic analogs of the Connes spectrum

Abstract In this paper we obtain algebraic analogs of certain known results on crossed products of von Neumann algebras and of C ∗ -algebras. Of particular interest here is the Connes spectrum, introduced by A. Connes in his classification of factors of type III. In addition, we are concerned with certain von Neumann algebra results contained in the work of Connes, Takesaki, and Nakagami and with certain, more algebraic, C ∗ -algebra results from the work of Olesen, Pederson, and Kishimoto. Let G be a finite group and let A be a G -graded ring with 1. Then there exists an extension ring of A , determined by this structure, called the smash product of A by G ∗ . This overring comes from the theory of Hopf algebras and we denote it by A # G ∗ . In the first half of this paper, we introduce and study the Connes and strong Connes subgroups of G and we relate them to the ideal structure of A # G ∗ . In particular we obtain criteria for A # G ∗ to be prime or simple. In a different direction, suppose A is a K -algebra and G is a finite abelian group of K -automorphisms of A . If the field K contains appropriate roots of unity, then the skew group ring AG has a natural smash product structure A # G ∗ where G = Hom (G,K′) is the dual group of G . The problem is to explicitly determine the Connes subgroup of G in terms of the action of G on A . This is achieved in the second half of the paper under the additional assumption that A is a prime ring. A more detailed discussion of the operator algebra sources of our results will be given in the Appendix.
New perspectives on the evolution of lung ventilation mechanisms in vertebrates

In the traditional view of vertebrate lung ventilation mechanisms, air-breathing fishes and amphibians breathe with a buccal pump, and amniotes breathe with an aspiration pump. According to this view, no extant animal exhibits a mechanism that is intermediate between buccal pumping and aspiration breathing; all lung ventilation is produced either by expansion and compression of the mouth cavity via the associated cranial and hyobranchial musculature (buccal pump), or by expansion of the thorax via axial musculature (aspiration pump). However, recent work has shown that amphibians exhibit an intermediate mechanism, in which axial muscles are used for exhalation and a buccal pump is used for inhalation. These findings indicate that aspiration breathing evolved in two steps: first, from pure buccal pumping to the use of axial musculature for exhalation and a buccal pump for inspiration; and second, to full aspiration breathing, in which axial muscles are used for both inhalation and exhalation. Furthermore, the traditional view also holds that buccal pump breathing was lost shortly after aspiration breathing evolved. This view is now being challenged by the discovery that several species of lizards use a buccal pump to augment costal aspiration during exercise. This result, combined with the observation that a behavior known as “buccal oscillation” is found in all amniotes except for mammals, suggests that a reappraisal of the role of buccal pumping in extant and extinct amniotes is in order.
Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the spine: Computed tomography appearance and review of the literature

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of bone was first described as a separate entity in 1972. It is an uncommon tumor occurring in older age groups and only rarely occurs in the spine. The plain film radiographic features of this condition have been described, however, we have found no reports of the computed tomography appearance. We present a case of spinal malignant fibrous histiocytoma that occurred in a 17-year-old female. The computed tomography characteristics of this lesion are described, and use of computed tomography in the evaluation of malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the spine is defined.
Necrotizing fasciitis associated with Haemophilus aphrophilus. Report of a case.

Necrotizing fasciitis, a serious infection requiring prompt antibiotic and surgical therapy, previously has not been associated with Haemophilus aphrophilus . We report a case of necrotizing fasciitis associated with methylphenidate abuse from which H aphrophilus was isolated. Surgical and antibiotic therapy based on in vitro susceptibility testing resulted in eradication of the infection. ( Arch Intern Med 138:1714-1715, 1978)
Online recursive estimation of attention and salient regions in visual scenes

This paper describes an algorithm and system for rapidly generating a saliency map and finding interesting regions and in large-sized (i.e., extremely high-resolution) imagery and video. Previous methods of finding salient or interesting regions have a fundamental shortcoming: they need to process the entire image before the saliency map can be outputted and are therefore very slow for large images. Any prior attempts at parallelizing this operation involve computing feature maps on separate processors, but these methods cannot provide a result until the entire image has been processed. Rather than employing a single-step process, our system uses a recursive approach to estimate the saliency, processing parts of the image in sequence and providing an approximate saliency map for these regions immediately. With each new part of the image, a series of normalization factors is updated that connects all image parts analyzed so far. As more of the image parts are analyzed, the saliency map of the previously analyzed parts as well as newly analyzed parts becomes more exact. In the end, an exact global saliency map of the entire image is available. This algorithm can be viewed as (1) a fast, parallelizable version of prior art, and/or (2) a new paradigm for computing saliency in large imagery/video. This is critical, as the analysis of large, high-resolution imagery becomes more commonplace. This system can be employed in a default, bottom-up manner or a directed, top-down manner which will assign a preference to certain features over others. One can apply this system to any static scene, whether that is a still photograph or an image captured from video.
Enhancement of the Contact Hypersensitivity Reaction by Acute Morphine Administration at the Elicitation Phase

The present study investigated the effects of morphine on the irritant contact sensitivity (ICS) and contact hypersensitivity (CHS) reaction. ICS was induced by croton oil application on the pinnae of naive rats. Morphine injected prior to croton oil application did not affect the ICS response when assessed by measurements of pinnae thickness. CHS was induced by applying the antigen 2,4-dinitro-1-fluorobenzene (DNFB) to the pinnae of rats sensitized to DNFB. Rats received an injection of morphine prior to either initial antigen exposure (sensitization) or antigen reexposure (challenge). Morphine prior to challenge, but not sensitization, resulted in a pronounced enhancement of the CHS response as measured by pinna thickness. Quantitative PCR also showed increased IFN-γ mRNA levels in the inflamed tissue of morphine-treated rats. Naltrexone blocked the morphine-induced enhancement of the CHS response. The differential effects of morphine suggest that opioids have a more pronounced effect on in vivo immune responses that involve immunological memory.
Proton-dependent zinc release from intracellular ligands

In cultured cortical and hippocampal neurons when intracellular pH drops from 6.6 to 6.1, yet unclear intracellular stores release micromolar amounts of Zn(2+) into the cytosol. Mitochondria, acidic organelles, and/or intracellular ligands could release this Zn(2+) . Although exposure to the protonophore FCCP precludes reloading of the mitochondria and acidic organelles with Zn(2+) , FCCP failed to compromise the ability of the intracellular stores to repeatedly release Zn(2+) . Therefore, Zn(2+) -releasing stores were not mitochondria or acidic organelles but rather intracellular Zn(2+) ligands. To test which ligands might be involved, the rate of acid-induced Zn(2+) release from complexes with cysteine, glutathione, histidine, aspartate, glutamate, glycine, and carnosine was investigated; [Zn(2+) ] was monitored in vitro using the ratiometric Zn(2+) -sensitive fluorescent probe FuraZin-1. Carnosine failed to chelate Zn(2+) but did chelate Cu(2+) ; the remaining ligands chelated Zn(2+) and upon acidification were releasing it into the medium. However, when pH was decreasing from 6.6 to 6.1, only zinc-cysteine complexes rapidly accelerated the rate of Zn(2+) release. The zinc-cysteine complexes also released Zn(2+) when a histidine-modifying agent, diethylpyrocarbonate, was applied at pH 7.2. Since the cytosolic zinc-cysteine complexes can contain micromolar amounts of Zn(2+) , these complexes may represent the stores responsible for an acid-induced intracellular Zn(2+) release. This study aimed at identifying intracellular stores which release Zn(2+) when pHi drops from 6.6 to 6.1. It was found that these stores are not mitochondria or acidic organelles, but rather intracellular Zn(2+) ligands. When the pH was decreasing from 6.6 to 6.1, only zinc-cysteine complexes showed a rapid acceleration in the rate of Zn(2+) release. Therefore, the stores responsible for an acid-induced intracellular Zn(2+) release in neurons may be the cytosolic zinc-cysteine complexes.
The functions of male–male aggression in a female-dominated mammalian society

In most mammals, male–male contests over access to resources select for males to be larger, more aggressive and better armed than females. However, the functional significance of male–male aggression has been little studied in sex-role-reversed species, such as spotted hyaenas, Crocuta crocuta. This species has highly aggressive, socially dominant females, to which male access cannot be directly improved by fighting. Here, we first demonstrated that males nevertheless display intrasexual aggression at rates similar to rates of intrasexual aggression displayed by adult females. We then tested three hypotheses suggesting functions of this aggression among males. Males aggressed significantly less in the presence of an adult female than when adult females were absent, suggesting that they do not use aggression to prevent other males from remaining in close proximity to females. New immigrants received significantly more aggression from other immigrants than did established immigrants, but new and established immigrants were treated equally by adult natal males. These results supported a hypothesis suggesting that male–male aggression functions to restrict clan membership, although the data indicated that immigrants, not adult natal males, engage in aggression for this reason. Finally, a hypothesis suggesting that this behaviour functions to provide access to food was supported by data showing that male–male aggression occurred significantly more frequently, and at higher intensities, in the presence than the absence of food. In contrast to male–male contests in most mammals, those in spotted hyaenas appear to increase a male's access to females only indirectly, which is presumably due to the sex-role-reversed nature of social dominance in spotted hyaenas.
Symbolic valorization in the culture of entertainment: The example of legal drug use

Durkheim argued that a society's central ideals are valorized through a process of emotional transfer that occurs as the excitement of intensive interaction comes to be associated with key symbols. In this article, I argue that a very similar process may occur in contemporary society as people interact with, and become deeply engaged in, the practices of entertainment and consumption. The argument is based upon a single example, routines of early phase legal drug consumption among college students. Legal drug use, like many forms of entertainment and discretionary consumption in contemporary American society, can in some cases be understood as a form of play. Often participants become caught up in their play, so preoccupied with the fictional world of the play that the cognitive and emotional salience of the day-to-day world begins to fade. Here I argue that for some beginning users of alcohol and tobacco, becoming caught up in this way enhances users' convictions about the capacity of the drug to produce...
Femtosecond transmission studies of n-type and p-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon pumped in the exponential band tails

The results of transient transmission studies utilizing femtosecond laser pulses on n-type and p-type hydrogenated amorphous silicon are presented. In these studies, both the pump and probe photon energies are tuned through the exponential band tail region. The responses of the different materials are quite different, allowing the technique to clearly distinguish between them. It is shown that while recombination is dominant in intrinsic a-Si:H, trapping becomes important in the doped material. A model of the experimental results gives additional insight into the density of states in the band tail region.
The association of quality of life with potentially remediable disruptions of circadian sleep/activity rhythms in patients with advanced lung cancer

Cancer patients routinely develop symptoms consistent with profound circadian disruption, which causes circadian disruption diminished quality of life. This study was initiated to determine the relationship between the severity of potentially remediable cancer-associated circadian disruption and quality of life among patients with advanced lung cancer. We concurrently investigated the relationship between the circadian rhythms of 84 advanced lung cancer patients and their quality of life outcomes as measured by the EORTC QLQ C30 and Ferrans and Powers QLI. The robustness and stability of activity/sleep circadian daily rhythms were measured by actigraphy. Fifty three of the patients in the study were starting their definitive therapy following diagnosis and thirty one patients were beginning second-line therapy. Among the patients who failed prior therapy, the median time between completing definitive therapy and baseline actigraphy was 4.3 months, (interquartile range 2.1 to 9.8 months). We found that circadian disruption is universal and severe among these patients compared to non-cancer-bearing individuals. We found that each of these patient's EORTC QLQ C30 domain scores revealed a compromised capacity to perform the routine activities of daily life. The severity of several, but not all, EORTC QLQ C30 symptom items correlate strongly with the degree of individual circadian disruption. In addition, the scores of all four Ferrans/Powers QLI domains correlate strongly with the degree of circadian disruption. Although Ferrans/Powers QLI domain scores show that cancer and its treatment spared these patients' emotional and psychological health, the QLI Health/Function domain score revealed high levels of patients' dissatisfaction with their health which is much worse when circadian disruption is severe. Circadian disruption selectively affects specific Quality of Life domains, such as the Ferrans/Powers Health/Function domain, and not others, such as EORTC QLQ C30 Physical Domain. These data suggest the testable possibility that behavioral, hormonal and/or light-based strategies to improve circadian organization may help patients suffering from advanced lung cancer to feel and function better.
Virally mediated increased neurotensin 1 receptor in the nucleus accumbens decreases behavioral effects of mesolimbic system activation.

Dopamine receptor agonist and NMDA receptor antagonist activation of the mesolimbic dopamine system increases locomotion and disrupts prepulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response (PPI), paradigms frequently used to study both the pharmacology of antipsychotic drugs and drugs of abuse. In rats, virally mediated overexpression of the neurotensin 1 (NT 1 ) receptor in the nucleus accumbens antagonized d-amphetamine- and dizocilpine-induced PPI disruption, hyperlocomotion, and d-amphetamine-induced rearing. The NT receptor antagonist SR 142948A [2-[[5-(2,6-dimethoxyphenyl)-1-(4- N -(3-dimethylaminopropyl)- N -methylcarbamoyl)-2-isopropylphenyl)-1 H -pyrazole-3-carbonyl]amino] adamantane-2-carboxylic acid, hydrochloride] blocked inhibition of dizocilpine-induced hyperlocomotion mediated by overexpression of the NT 1 receptor. Together, these results suggest that increased nucleus accumbens NT neurotransmission, via the NT 1 receptor, can decrease the effects of activation of the mesolimbic dopamine system and disruption of the glutamatergic input from limbic cortices, resembling the action of the atypical antipsychotic drug clozapine. In contrast to clozapine, virally mediated overexpression of the NT 1 receptor in the nucleus accumbens had prolonged protective effects (up to 4 weeks after viral injection) without perturbing baseline PPI and locomotor behaviors. These data further confirm the NT 1 receptor as the receptor mediating the antistimulant- and antipsychotic-like properties of NT and provide rationale for the development of NT 1 receptor agonists as novel antipsychotic drugs. In addition, the NT 1 receptor vector might be a valuable tool for understanding the mechanism of action of antipsychotic drugs and drugs of abuse and may have potential therapeutic applications.
Sex differences in the effects of retinoids on carcinogenesis by N-nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)amine in Syrian hamsters.

Abstract Syrian hamsters were given in a single dose of N -nitrosobis(2-oxopropyl)-amine (BOP) (40 mg/kg, s.c.) and 1 week later were fed 1 of 4 retinoid types (13- cis -retinoic acid (13- cis -RA), N -ethylretinamide (ERA), 2-hydroxy-ethylretinamide (OH-ERA), or 4-hydroxyphenylretinamide (PRA)) each at 3 levels (0.05, 0.1, 0.2 mM/kg diet). The pancreatic carcinoma incidence was not influenced significantly by feeding retinoids. The pancreatic adenoma incidence, however, was reduced by feeding each of the retinoids to female hamsters, with the reduction varying with the retinoid fed (13- cis -RA > ERA and OH-ERA > PRA). In male hamsters increased numbers of pancreatic adenomas were observed after feeding OH-ERA and PRA. Tumors induced in other tissues were reduced by retinoids in females, but not in males. Females fed 13- cis -RA and ERA had a lower incidence of gall bladder polyps, and feeding OH-ERA reduced the liver tumor incidence. Food consumption and serum alkaline phosphatase and aspartate amino transferase activities were not influenced by BOP or retinoid type or level. Body and pancreas weights were influenced by retinoid level, but the effects were not consistently dose-related.
Double-resonant enhancement of surface enhanced Raman scattering using high contrast grating resonators

We propose a high contrast grating double-resonator design, which can enhance SERS signal by >105 by simultaneously enhancing both the surface-normal incident pump and the Raman signal, whereby both enhancements are at the same spatial location.
Lottery mechanism design for school choice

A new centralized mechanism was introduced in New York City and Boston to assign students to public schools in district school-choice programs. This mechanism was advocated for its superior fairness property, besides others, over the mechanisms it replaced. In this paper, we introduce a new framework for investigating school-choice matching problems and two notions of fairness in lottery design, strong ex-ante stability and ex-ante stability. This framework generalizes known one-to-many two-sided and one-sided matching models. We first show that the new NYC/Boston mechanism fails to satisfy these fairness properties. We then propose two new mechanisms, the fractional deferred acceptance mechanism, which is ordinally Pareto dominant within the class of strongly ex-ante stable mechanisms, and the fractional deferred acceptance and trading mechanism which is constrained ordinally Pareto efficient within the class of exante stable mechanisms.
Differential radio-sensitivities of human chromosomes 1 and 2 in one donor in interphase- and metaphase-spreads after 60Co γ-irradiation

Radiation-induced chromosome aberrations lead to a plethora of detrimental effects at cellular level. Chromosome aberrations provide broad spectrum of information ranging from probability of malignant transformation to assessment of absorbed dose. Studies mapping differences in radiation sensitivities between human chromosomes are seldom undertaken. Consequently, health risk assessment based on radio-sensitivities of individual chromosomes may be erroneous. Our efforts in this article, attempt to demonstrate differences in radio-sensitivities of human chromosome-1 and/or -2, both in interphase and metaphase spreads. Upon blood collection, dosimetry and irradiation were performed. Lymphocytes were isolated after whole-blood irradiation with 60Co γ-rays in the dose range of 0–5 Gy for both interphase, and metaphase aberration studies. Induction of premature chromosome condensation in interphase cells was accomplished using a phosphatase inhibitor, calyculin-A. Metaphase spreads were harvested from short-term peripheral blood lymphocyte cultures following colcemid arrest and using an automated metaphase harvester and spreader. Aberration analysis in both interphase and metaphase spreads were done using FISH. In interphase, aberrant cell and aberration frequency involving chromosome 1 and/or 2 increased linearly with radiation dose. In metaphase, aberrations increased in a linear-quadratic manner with dose. Our studies ascertain that chromosome-2 is more radio-sensitive than chromosome-1 in both interphase and metaphase stages, albeit the DNA content of chromosome-2 is lesser than chromosome-1 by almost 10 million base pairs. Differences in radio-sensitivities of chromosomes have implications in genetic damage, chromosome organization, and chromosome function. Designing research experiments based on our vital findings may bring benefit to radiation-induced risk assessment, therapeutics and development of chromosome specific biomarkers.
Possible mechanisms for nonlinear de Haas-van Alphen oscillations in heavy fermion compounds

Abstract Three possible many-body mechanisms giving rise to de Haas-van Alphen oscillations with frequencies that correspond to linear combinations of ordinary closed orbits of the Fermi surface are discussed in the context of heavy-fermion systems. The mechanisms are: (i) magnetic breakdown across the Kondo hybridization gap (magnetically induced tunneling), (ii) the strong nonlinear dependence of the heavy-fermion magnetization of the magnetic field may give rise to frequency mixing (Shoenberg effect), and (iii) the incipient antiferromagnetic order in many heavy-fermion compounds at low T provides a nonlinear coupling mechanism via modulation of the antiferromagnetic order parameter. The latter should be very effective in weak antiferromagnets.
Deformable mesh registration for the validation of automatic target localization algorithms

Purpose: To evaluate deformable mesh registration (DMR) as a tool for validating automatic target registration algorithms used during image-guided radiation therapy. Methods: DMR was implemented in a hierarchical model, with rigid, affine, and B-spline transforms optimized in succession to register a pair of surface meshes. The gross tumor volumes (primary tumor and involved lymph nodes) were contoured by a physician on weekly CT scans in a cohort of lung cancer patients and converted to surface meshes. The meshes from weekly CT images were registered to the mesh from the planning CT, and the resulting registered meshes were compared with the delineated surfaces. Known deformations were also applied to the meshes, followed by mesh registration to recover the known deformation. Mesh registration accuracy was assessed at the mesh surface by computing the symmetric surface distance (SSD) between vertices of each registered mesh pair. Mesh registration quality in regions within 5 mm of the mesh surface was evaluated with respect to a high quality deformable image registration. Results: For 18 patients presenting with a total of 19 primary lung tumors and 24 lymph node targets, the SSD averaged 1.3 ± 0.5 and 0.8 ± 0.2 mm, respectively. Vertex registration errors (VRE) relative to the applied known deformation were 0.8 ± 0.7 and 0.2 ± 0.3 mm for the primary tumor and lymph nodes, respectively. Inside the mesh surface, corresponding average VRE ranged from 0.6 to 0.9 and 0.2 to 0.9 mm, respectively. Outside the mesh surface, average VRE ranged from 0.7 to 1.8 and 0.2 to 1.4 mm. The magnitude of errors generally increased with increasing distance away from the mesh. Conclusions: Provided that delineated surfaces are available, deformable mesh registration is an accurate and reliable method for obtaining a reference registration to validate automatic target registration algorithms for image-guided radiation therapy, specifically in regions on or near the target surfaces.
A "Unisex" Occupational Scale for the Strong- Campbell Interest Inventory

Previous research has shown that the female Pharmacist scale on the Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) was more valid than the male Pharmacist scale for both male and female college students. The female scale was not as valid for men as it was for women, however, because of the sex differences reflected in its item content. In an attempt to develop a "unisex" occupational scale which would be equally effective for men and women, all items which differentiated between males and females by 10 percentage points or more were eliminated from the female scale. The re maining items (20 of 39 original items) formed a short unisex scale that was nearly as reliable and valid as the original scale over short time periods. The unisex version did not require separate norms or different interpretations of the scores for men and women. The possibility of constructing an abbreviated form of the SCII that contains only sex-balanced items merits further consideration.
Word‐of‐mouth communication in the service marketplace

Word‐of‐mouth communication (WOM) is a dominant force in the marketplace for services. However, the current body of research provides little insight into the nature of WOM in the service marketplace. Reports the results of a content‐analytic study that provides insight into WOM’s content and the catalysts by which it is stimulated. The goal was to capture a series of “grounded events” from which broader patterns could be discerned. These grounded events were actual incidents of WOM as described by the recipients of a communication. Three content categories and ten catalyst categories are identified. Implications for managers are addressed.
Lithium prevents long-term neural and behavioral pathology induced by early alcohol exposure

Fetal alcohol exposure can cause developmental defects in offspring known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD). FASD symptoms range from obvious facial deformities to changes in neuroanatomy and neurophysiology that disrupt normal brain function and behavior. Ethanol exposure at postnatal day 7 in C57BL/6 mice induces neuronal cell death and long-lasting neurobehavioral dysfunction. Previous work has demonstrated that early ethanol exposure impairs spatial memory task performance into adulthood and perturbs local and interregional brain circuit integrity in the olfacto-hippocampal pathway. Here we pursue these findings to examine whether lithium prevents anatomical, neurophysiological, and behavioral pathologies that result from early ethanol exposure. Lithium has neuroprotective properties that have been shown to prevent ethanol-induced apoptosis. Here we show that mice co-treated with lithium on the same day as ethanol exposure exhibit dramatically reduced acute neurodegeneration in the hippocampus and retain hippocampal-dependent spatial memory as adults. Lithium co-treatment also blocked ethanol-induced disruption in synaptic plasticity in slice recordings of hippocampal CA1 in the adult mouse brain. Moreover, long-lasting dysfunctions caused by ethanol in olfacto-hippocampal networks, including sensory-evoked oscillations and resting state coherence, were prevented in mice co-treated with lithium. Together, these results provide behavioral and physiological evidence that lithium is capable of preventing or reducing immediate and long-term deleterious consequences of early ethanol exposure on brain function.
Compressed sensing in noisy imaging environments

Compressive Sampling, or Compressed Sensing, has recently generated a tremendous amount of excitement in the image processing community. Compressive Sampling involves taking a relatively small number of non-traditional samples in the form of projections of the signal onto random basis elements or random vectors (random projections). Recent results show that such observations can contain most of the salient information in the signal. It follows that if a signal is compressible in some basis, then a very accurate reconstruction can be obtained from these observations. In many cases this reconstruction is much more accurate than is possible using an equivalent number of conventional point samples. This paper motivates the use of Compressive Sampling for imaging, presents theory predicting reconstruction error rates, and demonstrates its performance in electronic imaging with an example.
Trichloroethylene (TCE) adsorption using sustainable organic mulch.

Soluble substrates (electron donors) have been commonly injected into chlorinated solvent contaminated plume to stimulate reductive dechlorination. Recently, different types of organic mulches with economic advantages and sustainable benefits have received much attention as new supporting materials that can provide long term sources of electron donors for chlorinated solvent bioremediation in engineered biowall systems. However, sorption capacities of organic mulches for chlorinated solvents have not been studied yet. In this study, the physiochemical properties of organic mulches (pine, hardwood and cypress mulches) were measured and their adsorption capacity as a potential media was elucidated. Single, binary and quaternary isotherm tests were conducted with trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), trans-dichloroethylene (trans-DCE) and cis-dichloroethylene (cis-DCE). Among the three tested mulches, pine mulch showed the highest sorption capacity for the majority of the tested chemicals in single isotherm test. In binary or quaternary isotherm tests, competition among chemicals appears to diminish the differences in Qe for tested mulches. However, pine mulch also showed higher adsorption capacity for most chemicals when compared to hardwood and cypress mulches in the two isotherm tests. Based upon physicochemical properties of the three mulches, higher sorption capacity of pine mulch over hardwood and cypress mulches appears to be attributed to a higher organic carbon content and the lower polarity.