cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
sm"FISH"ing for Hedgehog.

Patched (Ptch) receptors are critical negative regulators of Hedgehog signaling, where Ptch1 loss causes basal cell carcinoma and Ptch1;Ptch2 loss disrupts skin and hair follicle development. Adolphe et al. use single molecule fluorescent in situ hybridization to show quantitatively that Ptch receptors create a Hedgehog signaling gradient that may specify hair follicle development.
A Stochastic Stability Characterization of the Foschini-Miljanic Algorithm in Random Wireless Networks

Power control has been an important field in wireless communications with many applications. The well-known Foschini-Miljanic (FM) algorithm, which has greatly influenced the subsequent literature, is a simple and elegant distributed power control scheme that enjoys several desirable properties. However, the channel environment in the FM algorithm is assumed to be fixed and constant over time, an unrealistic assumption in most practical situations. In this paper, we lift this assumption and study the robustness of the FM algorithm by characterizing its stochastic stability in the presence of stochastic time- varying channel environments. We identify sufficient conditions that are both easily interpretable and efficiently verifiable, for ensuring such stochastic stability. We also present simulation examples to demonstrate the correctness and utility of our conditions.
Patterns of Pelvic Lymph Node Dissection at the Time of Radical Prostatectomy for Low-risk Men

Objective To examine nationwide patterns of lymph node dissection (LND) in men with D'Amico low-risk prostate cancer, including the rate of detected lymph node metastasis and factors associated with the decision to perform LND. Existing guidelines recommend against LND at the time of radical prostatectomy (RP) in low-risk men, yet this is still a common practice. Materials and Methods The 2013 National Cancer Database includes 1,208,180 cases of prostate cancer diagnosed between 2004 and 2013. Of these, 50,245 met D'Amico low-risk criteria, had complete clinicopathologic data, and underwent RP. Mixed effects multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify hospital and treatment characteristics independently associated with LND, extended LND, and the detection of lymph node metastasis. Results A total of 20,556 men (40.9%) underwent LND and 4360 (8.7%) had extended LND. Lymph node metastasis was present in 76 cases (0.37%). On multivariable analysis, robotic vs open RP had odds ratio (OR) = 0.16 (0.14-0.17), P P P Conclusion LND is performed in nearly half of low-risk men, more commonly during open surgery at academic centers, yet metastasis is discovered less than 1% of the time. Guidelines suggest that percentage core involvement should be considered, but if the overall risk of metastasis is low, LND should not be performed.
The need to revisit ochratoxin A risk in light of diabetes, obesity, and chronic kidney disease prevalence

Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mycotoxin, or fungal toxin, that contaminates multiple foodstuffs worldwide. Affected commodities include oats, wheat, maize, barley, raisins and other dried vine fruits, wine, beer, coffee, and cocoa. Although OTA has been shown to cause kidney disease, including kidney cancer, in multiple animal species, the impact of dietary OTA on human health from a global perspective has been less clear. Several epidemiological studies suggest an association between OTA exposure and human kidney disease, but evidence of causality has been limited. Nonetheless, because OTA is common in so many foodstuffs and may play a role in kidney disease, we consider it important to improve the body of evidence surrounding OTA's adverse effects to humans, as well as human dietary exposures in different parts of the world. This is especially true in the light of increasing type 2 diabetes and obesity prevalence worldwide; both conditions frequently lead to chronic kidney disease (CKD), and may synergize with dietary OTA exposure to increase CKD risk.
The correlation between speckle tracking echocardiography and coronary artery disease in patients with suspected stable angina pectoris.

Abstract Background To examine the value of speckle tracking echocardiography to detect the presence, extent and severity of coronary artery affection in patients with suspected stable angina pectoris. Methods Two hundred candidates with suspected stable angina pectoris and normal resting conventional echocardiography were subjected to speckle tracking echocardiography and coronary angiography. Global and segmental longitudinal peak systolic strain were assessed and were correlated to the results of coronary angiography for each patient. Results There was a statistically significant difference in the mean of global longitudinal peak systolic strain between normal coronaries and different degrees of coronary artery disease (CAD) (−20.11 ± 0.8 for normal, −18.34 ± 2.52 for single vessel, −16.14 ± 2.85 for two vessels, −14.81 ± 2.12 for three vessels, −13.01 ± 2.92 for left main disease). GLPSS showed high sensitivity for the diagnosis of single vessel CAD (90%, specificity 95.1%, cutoff value: −18.44, AUC: 0.954); two vessels disease (90%, sensitivity 88.9%, cutoff value −17.35, AUC: 0.906) and for three vessels CAD (cutoff value −15.33, sensitivity 63% and specificity 72.2% AUC 0.681) segmental LPSS also showed statistical significance for localization of the affected vessel for left anterior descending, left circumflex and right coronary artery (ρ = 0.001) and inverse correlation with syntax score that was significant with high and intermediate score (ρ = 0.001) and insignificant for low syntax score (ρ value 0.05). Conclusion Two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography has good sensitivity and specificity to predict the presence, extent and severity of CAD.
Preferential encoding of movement amplitude and speed in the primary motor cortex and cerebellum

Voluntary movements require control of multiple kinematic parameters, a task carried out by a distributed brain architecture. However, it remains unclear whether regions along the motor system encode single, or rather a mixture of, kinematic parameters during action execution. Here, rapid event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to differentiate brain activity along the motor system during the encoding of movement amplitude, duration, and speed. We present cumulative evidence supporting preferential encoding of kinematic parameters along the motor system, based on blood-oxygenation-level dependent signal recorded in a well-controlled single-joint wrist-flexion task. Whereas activity in the left primary motor cortex (M1) showed preferential encoding of movement amplitude, the anterior lobe of the right cerebellum (primarily lobule V) showed preferential encoding of movement speed. Conversely, activity in the left supplementary motor area (SMA), basal ganglia (putamen), and anterior intraparietal sulcus was not preferentially modulated by any specific parameter. We found no preference in peak activation for duration encoding in any of the tested regions. Electromyographic data was mainly modulated by movement amplitude, restricting the distinction between amplitude and muscle force encoding. Together, these results suggest that during single-joint movements, distinct kinematic parameters are controlled by largely distinct brain-regions that work together to produce and control precise movements. Hum Brain Mapp 38:5970-5986, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Glenoid component loosening associated with increased critical shoulder angle at midterm follow-up.

Background Glenoid component loosening is a common failure mode of total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA). A larger critical shoulder angle (CSA) may cause superior glenoid component loading and more rapid component loosening. The purpose of this study was to define the relationship between the CSA and glenoid component loosening in midterm follow-up after TSA. Methods We conducted a retrospective study of 61 primary TSAs for osteoarthritis with an average follow-up of 5.0 ± 2.2 years without surgical revision. Standard true anteroposterior radiographs postoperatively and at longest follow-up were graded in a blinded and repetitive nature for pegged glenoid radiolucent lines and measured for the CSA. An “at-risk” glenoid was defined as grade 3 or higher lucency. Results The average CSA was 32° ± 5°, median midterm lucency grade was 2 (range, 0-5), and median progression of lucency grade was 1 (range, −1 to 4). At midterm follow-up, 20% of TSAs were grade 3 or higher mean glenoid lucency, with an average CSA of 36°. There was a statistically significant correlation between CSA and both glenoid lucency grade (odds ratio, 1.20 per degree CSA) and progression of lucency grade (odds ratio, 1.24). An increase in CSA of 10° was associated with a 6.2-fold increased odds of having an at-risk glenoid. Conclusion This study identifies the CSA as a risk factor for glenoid component loosening after TSA. Our findings suggest that the CSA may be a modifiable factor during surgery to improve glenoid component outcomes.
Sensitivity Monitoring of the SECCHI COR1 Telescopes on STEREO

Measurements of bright stars passing through the fields of view of the inner coronagraphs (COR1) on board the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) are used to monitor changes in the radiometric calibration over the course of the mission. Annual decline rates are found to be $0.648 \pm 0.066$ %/year for COR1-A on STEREO Ahead and $0.258 \pm 0.060$ %/year for COR1-B on STEREO Behind. These rates are consistent with decline rates found for other space-based coronagraphs in similar radiation environments. The theorized cause for the decline in sensitivity is darkening of the lenses and other optical elements due to exposure to high-energy solar particles and photons, although other causes are also possible. The total decline in the COR-B sensitivity when contact with Behind was lost on 1 October 2014 was 1.7%, while COR1-A was down by 4.4%. As of 1 November 2017, the COR1-A decline is estimated to be 6.4%. The SECCHI calibration routines will be updated to take these COR1 decline rates into account.
Social dilemma of autonomous cars a critical analysis

Autonomous vehicles has become a reality in an unusually fast pace. Just few years ago, the lay person just heard of it as a science fiction. Today, they are driving on the public roads with a very good performance and safety record; rare for such a young technology. However, due to this unusual rise, the focus of researchers, engineers, and media is mainly about their technical abilities and limitations, and little on their potential effect on our culture or daily life. This paper provides a critical analysis of current autonomous vehicles social dilemma. The paper raises questions regarding their impact on our society and in turn the society impact on these vehicles. It summarizes the flaws, the problems and the uncanny valley of autonomous cars and raise a question why we should look beyond these for a safe future.
Who Will Stay and Who Will Go? Related agglomeration and the mortality of professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, 1871–1997:

Professional sports leagues play a major role in our society, but little attention has been given to organizational factors related to league survival. We address this issue by examining the effect...
Sub-nucleosomal organization in urine cell-free DNA

Abstract Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in urine is a promising analyte for noninvasive diagnostics. However, urine cfDNA is highly fragmented and whether characteristics of these fragments reflect underlying genomic architecture is unknown. Here, we perform comprehensive characterization of fragmentation patterns in urine cfDNA. We show modal size and genome-wide distribution of urine cfDNA fragments are consistent with transient protection from degradation by stable intermediates of nucleosome disassembly. Genome-wide nucleosome occupancy and fragment sizes in urine cfDNA are informative of cell of origin and renal epithelial cells are amongst the highest contributors in urine. Compared to a nucleosome occupancy map based on control urine samples, we observe a higher fraction of fragments with aberrant ends in cancer patients, distinguishing cancer samples with an area under the curve of 0.89. Our results demonstrate sub-nucleosomal organization in urine cfDNA and are proof-of-principle that genome-wide fragmentation analysis of urine cfDNA can enable cancer diagnostics.
Receptor Tyrosine Kinases as Therapeutic Targets for Alcohol Use Disorder.

The receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) are a large family of proteins that transduce extracellular signals to the inside of the cell to ultimately affect important cellular functions such as cell proliferation, survival, apoptosis, differentiation, and migration. They are expressed in the nervous system and can regulate behavior through modulation of neuronal and glial function. As a result, RTKs are implicated in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders such as depression and addiction. Evidence has emerged that 5 RTKs (tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB), RET proto-oncogene (RET), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR), and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)) modulate alcohol drinking and other behaviors related to alcohol addiction. RTKs are considered highly “druggable” targets and small-molecule inhibitors of RTKs have been developed for the treatment of various conditions, particularly cancer. These kinases are therefore attractive targets for the development of new pharmacotherapies to treat alcohol use disorder (AUD). This review will examine the preclinical evidence describing TrkB, RET, ALK, FGFR, and EGFR modulation of alcohol drinking and other behaviors relevant to alcohol abuse.
Regenerative Medicine for Axial and Radicular Spine‐Related Pain: A Narrative Review

Introduction Regenerative injection-based therapy has established itself as a therapeutic option for the management of a variety of painful musculoskeletal conditions. The aim of this work was to review the current literature regarding regenerative injection therapy for axial/radicular spine pain. Methods A comprehensive literature review was conducted on the use of regenerative medicine for axial/radicular spine pain. Eligible articles analyzed the therapeutic injection effects of platelet-rich plasma (PRP), prolotherapy, or mesenchymal signaling cells (MSCs) via intradiscal, facet joint, epidural, or sacroiliac joint delivery. Results Regarding intradiscal PRP, there are level I/IV studies supporting its use. Regarding intradiscal prolotherapy, there are level III to IV studies supporting its use. Regarding intradiscal MSCs, there are level I/IV studies supporting its use with the exception of one level IV study that found no significant improvement at 12 months. Regarding facet joint injections with PRP, there are level I/IV studies supporting its use. Regarding facet joint injections with prolotherapy, there are level IV studies supporting its use, though the one level I study did not demonstrate any statistical significance supporting its use. Regarding epidural injections with PRP, there are level I/IV studies supporting its use. Regarding epidural injections with prolotherapy, there are level IV studies supporting its use, though the one level I study did not demonstrate statistical significance beyond 48 hours. Regarding sacroiliac joint injections with PRP, there are level I/IV studies supporting its use. Regarding sacroiliac joint injections with prolotherapy, there are level I/III studies supporting its use. Conclusions Currently, there are level I studies to support the use of PRP and MSC injections for discogenic pain; facet joint injections with PRP; epidural injections of autologous conditioned serum and epidural prolotherapy; and PRP and prolotherapy for sacroiliac joint pain. One level I study showed that facet joint prolotherapy has no significant benefit. Notably, no intervention has multiple published level I studies.
Applying an extended theory of planned behavior to examine state-branded food product purchase behavior: The moderating effect of gender

The purpose of this study was to use an extended model of the theory of planned behavior to investigate the antecedents which lead to consumers’ purchase of state-branded food products. Relationshi...
Bio-inspired Design for Sustainable and Resilient Supply Chains

Abstract Supply chain design has traditionally focused on using the shortest path or the minimum number of paths to reduce operational costs. This approach, however, fails to account for a system's response to external disruptions. A novel supply chain design is proposed that mimics the optimal balance of efficient and redundant pathways found in nature's resilient ecosystems. A comparison of traditional and bio-inspired supply chain designs are done using a disruption scenario, showing that the bio-inspiration significantly reduces the supply chain's vulnerability to cascading failures.
Use of Navigation Beacons to Support Lunar Vehicle Operations

To support a wide variety of lunar missions in a condensed regime, solutions are needed outside of the use of Earth-based orbit determination. This research presents an alternate approach to in-situ navigation through the use of beacons, similar to that used on Earth as well as under technology development efforts. An overview of the current state of navigation aids included as well as discussion of the Lunar Node - 1 payload being built at NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center. Expected navigation results of this beacon payload for planned operation from the lunar surface are provided. Applications of navigation beacons to multiple stages of the proposed human lunar landing architecture are given, with initial analysis showing performance gains from the use of this technology. This work provides a starting point for continued analysis and design, laying out the foundation of how navigation beacons can be incorporated into the architecture to enable continued analysis, design, and future expanded capability.
Hack distributions of rill networks and nonlinear slope length–soil loss relationships

Abstract. Surface flow on rilled hillslopes tends to produce sediment yields that scale nonlinearly with total hillslope length. The widespread observation lacks a single unifying theory for such a nonlinear relationship. We explore the contribution of rill network geometry to the observed yield–length scaling relationship. Relying on an idealized network geometry, we formally develop probability functions for geometric variables of contributing area and rill length. In doing so, we contribute towards a complete probabilistic foundation for the Hack distribution. Using deterministic and empirical functions, we then extend the probability theory to the hydraulic variables that are related to sediment detachment and transport. A Monte Carlo simulation samples hydraulic variables from hillslopes of different lengths to provide estimates of sediment yield. The results of this analysis demonstrate a nonlinear yield–length relationship as a result of the rill network geometry. Theory is supported by numerical modeling, wherein surface flow is routed over an idealized numerical surface and a natural surface from northern Arizona. Numerical flow routing demonstrates probability functions that resemble the theoretical ones. This work provides a unique application of the Scheidegger network to hillslope settings which, because of their finite lengths, result in unique probability functions. We have addressed sediment yields on rilled slopes and have contributed towards understanding Hack's law from a probabilistic reasoning.
Counter-Terrorizing: The Use of Torture in Peru's Counterterrorism Campaign

In this article I identify and evaluate numerous reasons why torture became common practice during the state counterterrorism campaign in Peru between 1980 and 2000, despite international and domestic legal obligations to protect human rights. I describe common structural conditions, organizational factors, and individual-level explanations often associated with torture practices. I then identify seven logics and motivations behind torture use in counterterrorism campaigns. I describe and analyze actual torture use in Peru using quantitative incident-level data, and I provide descriptive statistics concerning variation in the frequency and methods of torture. Finally, I examine specific incidents of torture to illustrate and assess the different logics and motivations for torture. I draw heavily from testimonies collected by Peru's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. I also rely on personal interviews carried out during fieldwork in the Junin and Ayacucho regions of Peru. I find that aggregate torture in...
Authenticating Email Search Results

Alice uses a web mail service and searches through her emails by keywords and dates. How can Alice be sure that search results she gets contain all the relevant emails she received in the past? We consider this problem and provide a solution where Alice sends to the server authentication information for every new email. In response to a query, the server augments the results with a cryptographic proof computed using the authentication information. Alice uses the proof and a locally-stored cryptographic digest to verify the correctness of the result. Our method adds a small overhead to the usual interaction between the email client and server.
The Role of Economics in the Discourse on RLUIPA and Nondiscrimination in Religious Land Use

Courts have been divided over the proper application of the substantial burden and equal terms provisions of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (“RLUIPA”) to religious land-use cases. In particular, courts and scholars have had trouble balancing the competing concerns between municipalities and religious institutions regarding control over land-use regulations. The basic question remains, how to provide religious institutions with protection against discrimination without conceding too much control over land-use regulations. This Note observes the use of economic principles in Judge Posner’s opinions, which can help guide a balanced, fact-sensitive application of RLUIPA’s provisions. Using this approach, courts can balance competing concerns by weighing them against relevant facts that are specific to each community. Nevertheless, although the economic approach sheds light on the application of RLUIPA, it also reveals new tensions both within RLUIPA’s application and the economic approach generally.
A Potential Treatment Alternative for Swine Wastewater in the Tropics

Development of a low-cost and effective swine waste management system in the tropics is the main objective of this study. Because of the apppropriate temperature environment and abundance of sunlight, an integration of an anaerobic digestion and an algal biomass process was selected and investigated. A pilot, plant integrating a 20 m3 anaerobic digester with sludge recycling and a 120 m3 algal-biomass raceway were installed and evaluated. Maximum gas production rate of 1.527 liter/liter/day (69% methane content) can be achieved by a TVS loading rate of 4.23 gram/liter/day. A sludge production rate of 0.82-2.62 g TS/liter is obtained from a TVS loading rate of 0.76-4.23 g TVS/liter/day. Critical SRT for maximum gas production rate is 2.67. For the algal biomass raceway, a loading rate of 0.097 g SCOD/liter/day or 0.017 g NH4-N/liter/day would achieve SCOD and NH4-N removal efficiencies of 94.44% and 98.42%, respectively. Combining the previous analysis of energy input and land requirement for an algal biomass raceway and mass balance of energy production and utilization, integrating the energy production (anaerobic digestion) and energy utilization (dehydration of digested sludge and power requirement of raceway) provides a great potential for a swine wastewater treatment in the tropics.
Efficacy of monensin for beef cows.

Monensin fed to beef cows at levels of 50, 200 or 300 mg daily during late gestation and early lactation induced feed savings of 3.2, 10.5 and 13.5%, respectively, when feed intakes were regulated to produce similar changes in cow weights, condition scores and weight to height ratios during the 168-day feeding period. Feed dry matter intakes were different (P < .05) for the orthogonal single degree of freedom comparisons that were made. The monensin treatments and the adjustments in feed intake associated with them had no apparent effect on (1) calf birth weights, (2) adjusted 205-day weaning weights or (3) first-service conception rates for the cows. Monensin increased (P < .05) the proportion of propionate and the ratio of acetate to propionate in rumen samples taken prepartum, but not in samples taken postpartum. Blood samples obtained at the same time that rumen samples were obtained showed no treatment effects on serum creatinine, lactic dehydrogenase, alkaline phosphatase, inorganic phosphorus, calcium, creatine phosphokinase, glutamic-pyruvic transaminase or total protein.
Purification and Regulatory Properties of the Adenosine Diphosphate-activated Threonine Dehydratase

Abstract The ADP-activated threonine dehydratase of Clostridium tetanomorphum has been purified approximately 1100-fold in 20% yield and crystallized. Such preparations are homogeneous when examined by sedimentation, electrophoretic, and immunological techniques. The pure enzyme displays an absorption maximum at 415 mµ in neutral solutions, which is consistent with a Schiff base linkage between pyridoxal phosphate and an amino group donor on the protein. Kinetic analyses performed at pH 8.0 in phosphate buffer gave evidence only for normal Michaelis behavior, even in the absence of the allosteric activator ADP. Cooperative effects were observed between ADP and l-threonine. Assays conducted in the absence of phosphate and ADP, however, exhibited an abnormal kinetic behavior which normalized as reaction time increased. Under similar conditions, the enzyme was observed to dissociate into subunits which reaggregated when ADP or l-threonine was present. These findings suggested that the abnormal kinetics was due to a dissociation-association reaction which occurred under conditions of the enzymatic assay. ADP, threonine, and phosphate were capable of preventing the dissociation to varying extents, but only ADP was observed to have the additional effect of altering the binding of substrate to enzyme.
Magnetospheric Accretion and Winds from Pre-Main Sequence Disks

In the “standard model” for pre-main sequence stars, the long-wavelength excess emission arises from an extended, dusty circumstellar disk, while the optical-ultraviolet excess continuum emission arises in the boundary layer between rapidly-rotating disk and slowly-rotating central star (Lynden-Bell & Pringle 1974). The standard model has proved to be quite useful as a paradigm for interpreting observations (see Beckwith’s article), although there are problems in understanding some details of observed spectral energy distributions. Simple boundary layer models have apparently been quite successful in interpreting the enigmatic short-wavelength excess emission of T Tauri stars (Kenyon & Hartmann 1987; Bertout, Basri, & Bouvier 1988; Basri & Bertout 1989; Bouvier & Bertout 1993)
Steganography Over Video Files Using Multiple Least Significant Bits

Steganography is an excellent means of conversing covertly if there are guarantees on the integrity of the channel of communication. If the video is seen by normal person, it is found that there is nothing but the normal video, but only the known persons can find out the decrypted message from the video[4]. The Different encryption format can be agreed by the two persons in such a way that no one can find the information from the video. Some hybrid system is used in such a way that even though someone finds out the one technique, it is used only on few frames and other frames contains different kind of steganography techniques like DCT[1] and hence total secrete message is not delivered. Due to these embedding the video Steganography get dispersed using different types[9]. LSB & MLSB approach is used for embedding of data.
Bifurcation at 1:1 resonance in a reversible system using the 3- jet of the normal form

Abstract The bifurcations of symmetric cycles in a fourth order reversible system, which is the steady-state system of a reaction-diffusion system introduced by H. Shyldkrot and J. Ross ( J. Chem. Phys. 82 , No. 1, 1985, 113-122), are studied via a normal form analysis. Numerical approximations of spatially periodic steady states of this system, bifurcating from a constant steady state at both strong and subharmonic resonances, were obtained by N. Kazarinoff and J. Yan ( Phys. D 48 , 1991, 147-168). These solutions emerge through bifurcations produced by varying a diffusion coefficient. Here we focus on the bifurcation regime at 1 : 1 resonance. A normal form reduction, through cubic order terms, of the steady-state system is performed. This bifurcation is analyzed by embedding the normal form in a one-parameter family of reversible systems. We conclude that the bifurcation at 1 : 1 resonance is of hyperbolic type. Using the 3-jet of the normal form, the spatial structure of the bifurcating small amplitude symmetric cycles is approximated by a hyperbolic dispersion relation. The results obtained are verified by numerical calculations. Analytic solutions of the linear system are also compared with numerical solutions of the nonlinear system. We observed that certain characteristic features of the spatial pattern are preserved by solutions when nonlinearity takes over. This observation is explained by studying the hyperbolic curves that are the intersections of the manifold of symmetric cycles and the set of fixed points of the involution. An analytic equation approximating the hyperbolic curve is obtained, from which important information about the system is derived.
Assessing intervention responsiveness: Conceptual and technical issues.

Implementing an intervention responsiveness approach to the identification of learning disabilities (LD) requires specification of procedures for the assessment process. In this article, the author uses examples in the literature to explore conceptual and technical issues associated with options for specifying three assessment components: the timing of the measurement of student response to intervention; the criterion for demarcating learning as inadequate (below which students are identified as LD); and the nature of the intervention. Then, the author summarizes research contrasting alternative assessment methods within an intervention responsiveness approach to LD identification. Conclusions are drawn, and future related work is described.
Dilepton production in schematic causal viscous hydrodynamics

Assuming that in the hot dense matter produced in relativistic heavy-ion collisions, the energy density, entropy density, and pressure as well as the azimuthal and space-time rapidity components of the shear tensor are uniform in the direction transversal to the reaction plane, we derive a set of schematic equations from the Isreal-Stewart causal viscous hydrodynamics. These equations are then used to describe the evolution dynamics of relativistic heavy-ion collisions by taking the shear viscosity to entropy density ratio of $1/4\ensuremath{\pi}$ for the initial quark-gluon plasma (QGP) phase and of 10 times this value for the later hadron-gas (HG) phase. Using the production rate evaluated with particle distributions that take into account the viscous effect, we study dilepton production in central heavy-ion collisions. Compared with results from the ideal hydrodynamics, we find that although the dilepton invariant mass spectra from the two approaches are similar, the transverse momentum spectra are significantly enhanced at high transverse momenta by the viscous effect. We also study the transverse momentum dependence of dileptons produced from QGP for a fixed transverse mass, which is essentially absent in the ideal hydrodynamics, and find that this so-called transverse mass scaling is violated in the viscous hydrodynamics, particularly at high transverse momenta.
The prospects—fuel cell motorcycle in Taiwan

Abstract The motorcycle industries in Taiwan are facing intensive challenges both from the continuously stringent emission and fuel economy regulation implemented by the government while still having to meet the performance and cost requirements from for the motorist. This paper describes the technology progress of the transition to clean motorcycle propulsion system in Taiwan and also the first zero emission motorcycle pilot commercial programs in the country. From the internal combustion engine to the hybrid system and pure electric power motorcycle, the prospects of fuel cell motorcycle are discussed from the product, the infrastructure and the policy aspects.
The Densities of Hydrogen Spectral Lines as a Function of the Electronic Velocity of Excitation

The densities of the principal lines of the singlet and triplet systems of molecular hydrogen, as well as ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$, ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\beta}}$, and ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$ were measured for electronic velocities in the range 19 to 220 equivalent volts, the electron emission and the gas pressure being kept constant. The triplet lines have no maximum density in this range but seem to be approaching one slightly below 19 volts. All the singlet lines show a decided maximum of density between 30 and 35 volts. The densities of ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$, ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\beta}}$ and ${\mathrm{H}}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$ decrease very rapidly below 30 volts indicating that the number of dissociating collisions which produce an excited atom must be very small at 19 volts. The use of curves showing the variation in the ratio of the densities of singlet and triplet lines with voltage is suggested as a method for finding the mean electronic velocities in certain types of gaseous discharges.
Differential Immune Responses to Staphylococcal Enterotoxin B Mutations in a Hydrophobic Loop Dominating the Interface with Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Receptors

Bacterial superantigens, such as staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), can trigger acute pathologic effects in humans. A hydrophobic loop on the surface of SEB and other bacterial superantigens, centered around a conserved leucine (L45) residue, is essential for binding to class II major histocompatibility complex molecules. Single residue changes of wild type SEB, designated Q43P, F44P, or L45R, resulted in nonlethal proteins at a dose equivalent to 30 murine LD50 of SEB. Relative to SEB, the mutant proteins did not elevate serum concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines in mice and caused minimal proliferation of human lymphocytes. Anti-SEB titers of mice immunized with Q43P, F44P, L45R, or SEB were similar and protected 77%-100% of animals against a lethal SEB challenge. Levels of toxin-specific IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, and IgG3 in mice immunized with SEB, Q43P, or F44P were equivalent, but animals immunized with L45R had significantly elevated levels of IgG2a and IgG2b. Vaccines against staphylococcal superantigens should focus on this critical leucine residue.
Glycolytic and gluconeogenic enzymes in the quahog, Mercenaria mercernaria

Abstract 1. 1. A number of key glycolytic and gluconeogenic enzymes were identified in the foot, mantle and gill tissue of the quahog, Mercenaria mercenaria . 2. 2. Catalytic rates averaged about 4 per cent of the rates found in rat liver, but revealed a general similarity in proportional enzyme activity between molluscan and mammalian tissue. 3. 3. Quahogs maintained under conditions of partial starvation showed changes in glycogen, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and fructose diphosphatase levels similar to those observed in mammalian tissue.
The susceptibility of muscle cells to oxidative stress is independent of nitric oxide synthase expression.

The free radical, nitric oxide (NO·), has been implicated in the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophies because the enzyme, nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which produces NO·, binds to the dystrophin–glycoprotein complex (DGC). In various studies of tissue samples from human and animal muscular dystrophies due to DGC defects, correlations between reductions of NOS activity and disease severity have been reported. To test for any direct effect of NOS expression on muscle cell susceptibility, we examined muscle cells in vitro under conditions of experimentally altered NOS activity. There were no differences in susceptibility to oxidative stress between differentiated myotube cultures from wild-type and from neuronal NOS (nNOS)-deficient mice. Likewise, pharmacological inhibition of NOS did not alter cellular susceptibility to oxidative challenges. Overexpression of NOS neither enhanced nor diminished cellular susceptibility to oxidative stress. Finally, we assessed the effect of NOS overexpression on myotube cultures from dystrophin-deficient (mdx) mice. NOS protein was localized to both membrane and cytosolic compartments in the transduced cells. Still, no difference in susceptibility to oxidative stress was found between the NOS-overexpressing cells and control cells. These data suggest that muscle cell susceptibility to oxidative challenges is independent of the level of NOS expression. Therefore, any role NO· may play in the pathogenesis of muscular dystrophies is likely to be independent of its effect on the redox state of the cell. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 24: 502–511, 2001
Bullous pemphigoid induced by PUVA therapy IS THIS THE AETIOLOGY OF THE ACRAL BULLAE PRODUCED DURING PUVA TREATMENT

SUMMARY Among 24 psoriatic patients treated with PUVA therapy, five developed bullae. Direct and indirect immunofluorescence studies supported the diagnosis of bullous pemphigoid in one patient. In the others, the blisters were a phototoxic acral eruption.
On Advanced and Retarded Potentials

WHeeler and Feynman1 in their absorber theory of radiation have attempted to circumvent the classical infinsities of point charges by introducing retarded and advanced potentials of interaction on an equal footing. Their theory has provoked much (unpublished) favorable as well as adverse comment. In view of the importance of the question whether a description of nature using advanced forces of interaction at a distance is possible, the following purely critical remarks may not be out of place.
Novel 'hybrid' classification method employing bayesian networks

Standard statistical discriminant analysis techniques inherently make assumptions about underlying class structures in data, limiting their validity and effectiveness. Other classification methods, such as soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) or artificial neural networks, replace the disadvantage of making such assumptions with an equally impeding lack of interpretability. The intention of this work was to formulate a classification scheme that avoids these and other obstacles. A new classification technique has been designed that combines the recursive partitioning feature of tree-based classifiers (e.g. classification and regression trees (CART)) with the probabilistic reasoning of Bayesian networks. The proposed hybrid approach benefits from all the advantages of tree-based classifiers and Bayesian networks without experiencing the usual limitations associated with these methods individually. The resulting classifier outperformed several standard methods and has the added benefits of being both statistically and semantically justifiable.
Effects of Postfailure Material Behavior on System Reliability

AbstractThis paper investigates the reliability of systems considering the postfailure behavior of their components. The effects of system modeling type, correlation among the resistances of the components, coefficients of variation of loads and resistances, and the mean value of loads on the system reliability are analyzed using nondeterministic systems. The procedure for calculating the reliability of ductile, brittle, and ductile-brittle systems is provided, and the impact of postfailure material behavior factor on the system reliability is studied. Based on the proposed procedure, the reliability associated with ductile and brittle systems consisting of large number of components is evaluated, considering different system modeling types and several resistance correlation cases. Finally, a bridge example is presented to illustrate the application of the proposed approach.
Credit market discipline: Theory and evidence

Popular in the academic literature and financial press, the credit market discipline hypothesis holds that credit markets, through risk premia increasing in debt level, constrain governments from borrowing and thus, impose fiscal discipline on sovereign borrowers. While several papers document rising risk premia, none have investigated the consumption response. This paper fills this gap by using data on U.S. states' risk premia from 1973–98. An optimizing model is formulated, whereby states intertemporally smooth consumption in the face of interest rates which increase with debt. Deviations from optimality are considered by allowing for governments which consume out of contemporaneous resources. In both cases, credit market discipline is rejected. Rejection is robust to sample splits based on ideology and the stringency of balanced budget requirments.
Effect of nitrogen incorporation on 1/f noise performance of metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors with HfSiON dielectric

Nitrided hafnium silicate is the leading candidate for possible replacement of SiON as a gate dielectric. 1/f noise characteristics of plasma and thermally nitrided Hf-based high-dielectric constant (high-k) gate dielectrics were investigated. Plasma nitrided samples showed less noise than thermally nitrided samples. The mobility fluctuation component of 1/f noise was found to show a strong process dependence, specifically on the nitridation technique. Increase in the number of Coulomb scattering sites due to the additional Si–N bonds near the high-k/Si interface is suggested as the reason for this dependence. This work represents the first investigation on the effect of different nitridation methodologies on low-frequency noise mechanisms in ultrathin (∼2 nm) Hf-based high-k nMOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor).
Teredolites, wood substrates, and sea-level dynamics

Allochthonous logs and/or Teredolites , clavate borings produced within xylic (wood) substrates, occur in extraordinary abundance as sedimentary components in transgressive marine shelf deposits of the lower Paleocene Clayton Formation in western Alabama. It is pro-posed herein that the abundance and preservational state of these components were controlled by (1) an influx pulse of xylic substrates into marine and marginal-marine environments, (2) hydraulic concentration of substrates during ravinement, and (3) condensation associated with sediment starvation, all three of which are induced by sea-level rise. The proposed relations among fossil wood, ichnofossils produced therein, and sea-level dynamics may be of use in the discrimination of sequence stratigraphic packages and their bounding surfaces; these relations also have implications for paleobotanical prospecting and the biological evolution and stratigraphic distribution of marine organisms that inhabit xylic substrates.
The atrocity paradigm applied to environmental evils

Environmental ethicists have been remarkably reticent to use the word "evil" in describing ecological ills. This is not to say that we are somehow behind the curve in the wider world of philosophy. Claudia Card has rightly noted (2000, 9), "Until the past two decades, surprisingly few secular moral philosophers have attended specifically to the concept of evil." Shortly thereafter she notes that her own list of atrocities "includes evils done to animals who are raised on factory farms and butchered in mass-production slaughterhouses," and elsewhere she mentions that some might consider the widespread use of pesticides and nuclear power as evils (8,14). I take it as uncontroversial that we can identify ecological evils, at least on an intuitive level. I remember my shock at learning of the near-decimation of the buffalo of the American West, my creeping horror at being told every person on the earth stores trace amounts of DDT in their bodies, and the depression from reading a quote by someone who said merrily, in the nineteenth century, that hundreds of years of logging could not begin to deforest south central Wisconsin.1 While I am persuaded both by the theory of evil advanced by Claudia Card in The Atrocity Paradigm and by the idea that there are evils done to the environment, I argue that the theory of evil she describes has difficulty
Polarity suppression by the Q gene product of bacteriophage λ

Abstract The late genes of bacteriophage λ are positively regulated by the phage Q protein. It has been proposed that Q stimulates late gene transcription by acting as an antiterminator of transcription, allowing extension of the 6 S transcript into the late genes. We have examined the ability of Q to act as an antiterminator by analysis of lysogenic strains in which the bacterial gal operon is oriented in the same direction as the prophage late genes. This orientation is achieved in lysogens carrying a λgt -C′ prophage, which has an inversion of the region containing the phage att site. In such λgt -C′ lysogens, synthesis of the gal K product (galactokinase) is induced by the phage Q protein. Galactokinase expression is likewise induced by Q in strains carrying polar mutations in the gal operon ( ochre and amber nonsense mutations and IS1 and IS2 insertion elements). Q-dependent relief of polarity does not require the phage N protein, early promoters, or any phage proteins under Q control and does not require replication of the prophage DNA. Q protein thus appears to be sufficient to suppress polarity and hence is a late gene analogue of the early gene transcription antiterminator, N protein.
Viscosity of many-component glasses

Abstract The effect of composition on the viscosity ( η ) of multicomponent glasses is expressed as B = ∑ i = 1 N B i x i where B = T ln ( η / η ∞ ) is the activation energy (in K), B i is the i -th component coefficient, x i is the i -th component mass fraction, T is the absolute temperature, and η ∞ ≈ 10 −5 Pa ⋅ s. The B i coefficients for three composition regions (labeled as CVS-1&2, CVS-3, and CVS-4) containing various subsets of Al 2 O 3 , B 2 O 3 , Bi 2 O 3 , CaO, Cr 2 O 3 , F, Fe 2 O 3 , K 2 O, Li 2 O, MgO, MnO, Na 2 O, NiO, P 2 O 5 , SiO 2 , UO 2 , and ZrO 2 as major components are summarized and compared. This paper presents a detailed account of the recent experimental study that generated viscosity data for the CVS-4 region of glass composition. Whereas CVS-1&2 is a well publicized dataset, CVS-3 viscosity data, though produced in 1995, are published and evaluated here for the first time. Limits of applicability of the composition models are discussed.