cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
FACTORS AFFECTING T‐BOND HEDGE RATIO INSTABILITY

Unstable hedge ratios can adversely affect the measure of hedging effectiveness in the regression approach to minimize risk. This paper examines the relative importance of the correlation coefficient versus the standard deviation ratio as the cause of unstable hedge ratios using T-bond futures. The paper concludes that the standard deviation ratio is significantly more important than the correlation coefficient in determining changes in the hedge ratio for the Bellwether series, while both the standard deviation ratio and the correlation coefficient are important for the two-year T-note series. These results have implications for forecasting and analyzing hedge ratios when the hedge ratios are unstable over time.
Social marketing meets health literacy: Innovative improvement of health care providers' comfort with patient interaction.

Objective It is essential to train health care providers to deliver care sensitive to the needs of diverse individuals with varying degrees of health literacy. We aimed to evaluate an innovative, theory-based, educational intervention involving social marketing and health literacy.
Variation in hemoglobin concentration among samples of high-altitude natives in the Andes and the Himalayas.

This paper presents data on hemoglobin concentration in a rural Andean sample at 3,800-3,900 m and incorporates them into a review intended to evaluate possible sources of the range of variation in mean hemoglobin concentration among samples obtained at high altitude. Between 3,400 and 4,000 m, rural Himalayan highlanders average 1.4 gm/dl lower mean hemoglobin concentration than rural Andean highlanders. With respect to potential causes of anemia, it is concluded that the relatively low values of rural Himalyan populations are not explicable by lower hypoxic stress or different techniques of obtaining and analyzing blood samples and are probably not explicable by nutritional deficiency and disease. With respect to potential causes of polycythemia within Andean populations, it is concluded that the somewhat higher values of some mining and urban samples of Andean higlanders may not be due to the mining occupation per se but may be due partly to the inclusion of European and mestizo (with at most 500 years of high-altitude ancestry) along with Amerindian highlanders (with millenia of high-altitude ancestry) as well as to the inclusion of highlanders living well above their own habitual altitudes of residence. The Andean polycythemia is probably not due to obesity, high androgen levels, or frequent intermittent hypoxemia during sleep. The effect of heavy smoking cannot be evaluated. Further work on hematological adaptation to high altitude must pay special attention to sample characteristics.
Maternal Iron and Zinc Supplementation during Pregnancy Affects Body Weight and Iron Status in Rat Pups at Weaning

Pregnant women worldwide are frequently iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn) deficient. Therefore, cosupplementation with Fe and Zn during pregnancy is common. Although Fe supplementation programs are successful, studies suggest that Zn supplementation negatively affects maternal Fe metabolism. However, little is known about the effects of maternal Fe or Zn supplementation on Fe metabolism in the offspring. We developed a rat model to investigate if Fe and/or Zn supplementation during pregnancy affects regulation of nonheme Fe absorption and Fe status in offspring and if these effects are dependent upon maternal Fe and Zn status at conception. Control (C; fed a Fe- and Zn-adequate diet; 75 and 25 μg/g, respectively) or Fe- and Zn-deficient (D; fed a Fe- and Zn-deficient diet; 12 and 10 μg/g, respectively) rats were supplemented with Fe (27 mg/wk), Zn (4.5 mg/wk), Fe+Zn (27 mg Fe, 4.5 mg Zn/wk), or placebo throughout pregnancy. At postnatal d 21, body weight (BW), hemoglobin (Hb), hematocrit (Hct), liver and intestine Fe concentration, liver hepcidin, and intestine Fe transporter expression were determined in pups. Zn supplementation of C dams decreased pup BW (P < 0.0001), whereas it increased pup BW in D dams (P < 0.0001). Zn supplementation of C dams did not affect Hb and Hct in pups but increased the liver Fe concentration (P = 0.0002). However, Zn supplementation of D dams decreased hepcidin expression in their offspring (P < 0.0001). In C dams, Fe and Fe+Zn supplementation decreased ferroportin levels in pup intestine compared with pups from unsupplemented dams (P < 0.05). In conclusion, Zn supplementation of dams with adequate Fe and Zn status increases offspring liver Fe concentration and postnatally compromises BW. Therefore, potential adverse effects of Zn supplementation should be evaluated.
Intelligent Gateways Placement for Reduced Data Latency in Wireless Sensor Networks

Many applications of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have emerged over the last few years. In such networks resource-constrained sensor nodes are deployed to probe their surroundings and send the collected data to one or multiple gateways for processing. Therefore, proper placement of sensors and gateways in the area of interest facilities communications and allows for better operation of the network. While sensors in many WSN applications are randomly deployed, gateways often can be placed in a controlled manner. In this paper, we introduce two novel algorithms for proper positioning of gateways in WSNs. We employ genetic algorithms for selecting the best spot for placing each gateway so that sensors' data can be delivered to a gateway with the least latency. The two algorithms differ in their complexity and the quality of the solution that they can achieve and thus enable a design level trade-off. Validation results confirm the effectiveness of both algorithms in reducing the data delivery delay and their positive impact on other performance metrics such as the network lifetime.
Fuzzy Modeling Based Resource Management for Virtualized Database Systems

The hosting of databases on virtual machines (VMs) has great potential to improve the efficiency of resource utilization and the ease of deployment of database systems. This paper considers the problem of on-demand allocation of resources to a VM running a database serving dynamic and complex query workloads while meeting QoS (Quality of Service) requirements. An autonomic resource-management approach is proposed to address this problem. It uses adaptive fuzzy modeling to capture the behavior of a VM hosting a database with dynamically changing workloads and to predict its multi-type resource needs. A prototype of the proposed approach is implemented on Xen-based VMs and evaluated using workloads based on TPC-H and RUBiS. The results demonstrate that CPU and disk I/O bandwidth can be efficiently allocated to database VMs serving workloads with dynamically changing intensity and composition while meeting QoS targets. For TPC-H-based experiments, the resulting throughput is within 89.5 -- 100% of what would be obtained using resource allocation based on peak loads, For RUBiS, the response time target (set based on the performance under peak-load-based allocation) is met for 97% of the time. Moreover, substantial resources are saved (about 62.6% of CPU and 76.5% of disk I/O bandwidth) in comparison to peak-load-based allocation.
New design for efficient diesel particulate trap regeneration

Using numerical simulations shows that particulate trap regeneration does not occur below a certain critical inlet temperature, 679 K, for a typical diesel exhaust mass flow rate of 0.0523 kg/s. A new bypass design for particulate trap regeneration has been studied, where the exhaust flow is divided into several channels, which results in a smaller flow rate in each particulate filter. This reduces the critical inlet temperature by 20 K to 40 K, depending on the number of channels, and allows for improved regeneration efficiency with low electric energy consumption. In addition, a zero-order analytical estimate for the ignition time is also developed, given by uig = 2.50/ξ + ln|ri| − 0.344, where uig is a dimensionless ignition time, ri is a reduced temperature, and ξ depends upon feed temperature, flow rate, oxygen concentration, and initial deposit thickness. An optimal design using three bypass channels is obtained by theory and simulation. © 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 50: 184–191, 2004
Go Girls!: Results from a Nutrition and Physical Activity Program for Low-Income, Overweight African American Adolescent Females

This article describes the development, implementation, and results of an intervention designed for inner-city, overweight African American adolescent women. Fifty-seven participants were recruited from four public housing developments. Participants were administered physiologic, dietary, and cognitive assessments at baseline and immediately postintervention. Each session comprised three elements: (1) an educational/behavioral activity, (2) 30 to 60 minutes of physical activity, and (3) preparation and tasting of low-fat meals. In the absence of a control group, results were compared for high and low attenders, the former defined as attending at least 50% of the sessions. High attenders (n = 26) showed more favorable 6-month posttest values for most outcomes compared with low attenders (n = 31). These effects achieved statistical significance for nutrition knowledge, low-fat practices, perceived changes in low-fat practices, and social support.
Proton radiation therapy for primary sphenoid sinus malignancies: Treatment outcome and prognostic factors

Background The purpose of this study was to determine treatment outcome and prognostic factors in patients with locally advanced primary sphenoid sinus malignancy treated with proton radiation therapy. Methods Between 1991 and 2005, 20 patients with primary sphenoid sinus malignancy received proton beam to a median dose of 76 Gray equivalent. Results With a median follow-up of 27 months, the 2-year local, regional, and freedom from distant metastasis rates were 86%, 86%, and 50%, respectively. The disease-free and overall-survival rates at 2 years were 31% and 53%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, oropharyngeal involvement (p = .005) and anterior cranial fossa invasion (p = .02) were predictive for poor disease-free survival rate. Brain invasion was predictive for decreased overall-survival rate (p = .05). Conclusions Proton radiation therapy results in excellent local control in patients with advanced primary sphenoid sinus malignancy. Brain invasion, involvement of the oropharynx and anterior cranial fossa are important prognostic factors. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2009
Susceptibility of the noise-toughened auditory system to noise-induced trauma.

Abstract The auditory system ‘toughened’ by an interrupted noise exposure has been shown in several reports, to be less affected by (or protected from) a subsequent high level noise exposure. A group of chinchillas (n=12) was exposed to an interrupted noise at 95 dB SPL, 0.5 kHz octave band, 6 h/day for 10 days. Threshold shifts measured over the 10 day exposure showed that the animals responded by either (1) developing a large toughening effect (i.e., thresholds after day 10 of the exposure were considerably better than at the end of day 1) (n=5) or (2) not showing any toughening, instead thresholds continued to get worse over the course of the exposure (n=7). After a 5 day interval, during which thresholds of all the animals returned to normal, they, along with a control group (n=10) not exposed to the interrupted noise, were exposed to an asymptotic threshold shift producing traumatic noise (127 dB peak SPL narrow band impact, 1 kHz center frequency, 24 h/day for 5 days). Auditory evoked potential audiometry and surface preparation histology showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the response of any of the above groups to the traumatic noise. The interrupted noise exposure, whether it produced a toughening or not, did not provide any protection from a subsequent high-level noise.
Removal of spurious solutions in finite element vector boundary-value problems

A strategy for eliminating spurious computational modes in vector FEM (finite element method) boundary-value problems is proposed. It consists of modifying the weak form of the governing vector equation. This is directly related to the penalty term alteration in the eigenvalue context without the need to select a problem-dependent penalty parameter. The main advantage of this approach is that it involves only a trivial change in conventional FEM formulations which can be carried out during element assembly. Thus, it preserves all the attractive features associated with standard scalar bases, including energy balance, explicit enforcement of boundary conditions on normal field components, coupling to exterior solutions (hybrid methods), and validity on meshes composed of the simplest of linear and bilinear elements. Results obtained with this approach are presented. >
Summary of NASA Langley's Pilot Scan Behavior Research

The present investigation is concerned with the information acquired in a series of basic studies designed to obtain an understanding of the pilot's scanning behavior. In the studies, use was made of an oculometer system which operates by shining a beam of collimated infrared light at the subject's eyes. A number of oculometer software modifications have been made to make the oculometer user-friendly and versatile. Scanning is found to be a subconscious conditioned activity. The conditioned activity of scanning is different for each pilot. There are also slight variations between test runs for the same conditions for the same pilot. This indicates that scanning is situation dependent. Attention is given to the rate of information transfer, the possibility that scanning can be disrupted, the visual approach look-point, and workload sensitive measures.
Seismology 1979–1982

The years 1979 to 1982 have been marked by a continuing expansion and development of seismology in the United States. In this introduction, we summarize some of the highlights of this period as a prelude to the more detailed papers that follow. These papers cover improvements in our understanding of earth processes together with improvements in the various geophysical techniques available to study them. Perhaps the most traditional area of seismology is the study of the structure of the earth's interior, though recent developments are following most untraditional directions. Highlights of this area include significant new intormation on lateral heterogeneity, anisotropy, and the mechanisms of scattering and attenuation. Using a variety of techniques, we are beginning to identify the regions of the earth that are the most heterogeneous and to characterize the heterogeneity in those regions. The upper mantle has long been known to contain lateral variations, particularly in the uppermost part. New data are beginning to suggest substantial heterogeneity in the transition region between 400 and 670 km depth. In addition, more evidence is confirming lateral variations in the lower 200 km of the mantle. Attempts to relate these various heterogeneities to tectonic processes at the earth's surface and motions in the earth's core are continuing.
In silico discovery of androgen receptor antagonists with activity in castration resistant prostate cancer.

Previously available androgen receptor (AR) antagonists (bicalutamide, flutamide, and nilutamide) have limited activity against AR in prostate cancers that relapse after castration [castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC)]. However, recent AR competitive antagonists such as MDV3100, generated through chemical modifications to the current AR ligands, appear to have increased activity in CRPC and have novel mechanisms of action. Using pharmacophore models and a refined homology model of the antagonist-liganded AR ligand binding domain, we carried out in silico screens of small molecule libraries and report here on the identification of a series of structurally distinct nonsteroidal small molecule competitive AR antagonists. Despite their unique chemical architectures, compounds representing each of six chemotypes functioned in vitro as pure AR antagonists. Moreover, similarly to MDV3100 and in contrast to previous AR antagonists, these compounds all prevented AR binding to chromatin, consistent with eac...
Laser Scanning For The Graphic Arts

ABSTRACTSome general principles are presented for determining likely applications for laser scanning in the print- ing industry. The special requirements of imagery in this field are discussed. Stress is laid on cost/effectiveness and the systems approach. The implications of these ideas for scanner design are developed.Three examples are given of production systems which follow these principles.IntroductionPrinting presses - letterpress, lithographic, and gravure - produce billions of images every day, account-ing for the vast majority of imagery of all kinds. The preparation of images for printing is a disciplinewith a long tradition, generally high standards, and in a state of very active technological development.It is no accident that the term "Graphic Arts" is generally used to describe this field, as it is oftenviewed more as an art than a science, partaking as it does of elements of esthetics and personal taste. Alarge proportion of workers in the field have learned by doing, at least in the U.S., rather than byeducation or organized training. This increases the tendency to think of the various processes in qualita-tive rather than quantitative terms, and produces numerous pitfalls for the scientifically- trained workerwho tries to introduce new technology.With the increasing cost /effectiveness of laser scanners, and their ability to produce imagery of highquality in a form useful for printing, numerous applications appear practical now or in the near future.These include transmission of original art (pictures, drawings, etc.) or complete pages, recording ofintermediate images (graphics or typography) or of pages, processing of components of final pages in con-junction with optical, mechanical, or electronic apparatus, or by computer, and, finally, the directproduction of printing plates, perhaps remotely.General Requirements
Pancreatic Endocrine Tumor with Signet Ring Cell Features: A Case Report with Novel Ultrastructural Observations

The case of a malignant pancreatic endocrine neoplasm with an unusual signet ring cell appearance is reported. The tumor was resected from a 30-year-old man with a 4.0-cm tumor in the body of the pancreas diagnosed by computerized tomographic (CT) scan. The resected tumor had a unique morphology characterized by numerous mucin-negative, signet ring cells, which were argyrophilic and immunoreactive for cytokeratin (CAM 5.2), chromogranin, synaptophysin, neuron specific enolase, and gastrin. Dense-core neurosecretory-type granules and numerous cytoplasmic lamellar inclusions were identified by electron microscopy. These inclusion bodies consisted of multilayered concentric osmiophilic lamellae (myelin figures), which most likely represent an abnormal accumulation of degenerating organelles. Two years later, the patient developed an abdominal recurrence of the tumor, confirming its malignant behavior. This case expands the spectrum of pancreatic endocrine tumors to include an aggressive signet ring cell tumor with a novel ultrastructural basis.
A method for constructing commodity by industry flow matrices

This paper presents theory and methods used to construct an interregional commodity by industry flow matrix for the United States. The interregional flow matrix method involves the construction of single-state (and DC) social accounting matrices (SAMs) using data derived from IMPLAN. Once complete, the interregional flows connecting states are estimated using a method based on the commodity flow survey data published by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. The estimated interregional SAM is then adjusted to insure the integrity of intra-regional and system-wide accounts. The procedures have been designed with ease of replicability as a goal so that updates and extensions of the database can be generated efficiently and at low cost as new data are released. The resulting US interregional framework describes flows within and among the 51 regions. The method is flexible and will provide a valuable database for a broad range of analyses on regions, interregional relationships, and policy.
Defying Convention: Geopolitics and Drafting the UN Treaty on Women’s Rights

Cold War battles between the United States and the Soviet Union had blocked progress on women’s rights, both at home and in the transnational arena, since the end of World War II. In the 1970s, a window for change opened up as the result of two major shifts, one domestic and the other geopolitical. Within the US, the emergence of the feminist movement led to strong bipartisan support for women’s rights legislation. The Democrats and Republican both supported ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, publically funded childcare, and family planning. Representatives from both parties participated in the committee that drafted CEDAW. Within the UN, developing countries formed a majority bloc that voted down the preferences of the United States and, often, the Soviet Union. The Nixon, Ford, and Carter administrations supported women’s rights to capitalize on women’s electoral support at home, to strengthen their alliances with third world countries, to challenge the dominance of the Soviet Union on women’s rights, and to reassert leadership within the United Nations. The US supported two major UN initiatives for women — International Women’s Year and the drafting of CEDAW — as a way to press its advantage with regard to the Soviets.
GLP-1 influences food and drug reward

Natural rewards, including food, water, sleep and social interactions, are required to sustain life. The neural substrates that regulate the reinforcing effects of these behaviors are also the same neurobiological mechanisms mediating mood, motivation and the rewarding effects of pharmacological stimuli. That the neuropeptide glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) is under investigation for both the homeostatic and hedonic controls of feeding is not surprising or novel. However, if the neural substrates that underline food reward are shared with other reward-related behaviors generally, then future research should investigate and embrace the likelihood that endogenous and exogenous GLP-1 receptor activation may influence multiple reward-related behaviors. Indeed, studies of the neurobiological mechanisms underlying motivated feeding behavior have informed much of the basic research investigating neural substrates of drug addiction. An emerging literature demonstrates a role for the GLP-1 system in modulating maladaptive reward behaviors, including drug and alcohol consumption. Thus, if GLP-1-based pharmacotherapies are to be used to treat drug addiction and other diseases associated with maladaptive reward behaviors (e.g. obesity and eating disorders), the neuroscience field must conduct systematic, mechanistic neuropharmacological and behavioral studies of each GLP-1 receptor-expressing nucleus within the brain. It is possible that behavioral selectivity may result from these studies, which could inform future approaches to targeting GLP-1R signaling in discrete brain nuclei to treat motivated behaviors. Equally as likely, non-selective effects on natural reward and maladaptive reward behaviors may be observed for GLP-1-based pharmacotherapies. In this case, a better understanding of the effects of increased central GLP-1R activation on motivated behaviors will aid in clinical approaches toward treating aberrant feeding behaviors and/or drug dependence.
Safety as a Major Health Problem

(1951). Safety as a Major Health Problem. Journal of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation: Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 41-43.
Yes-No Voting

This chapter discusses voting systems in which a single alternative, such as a bill or an amendment, is pitted against the status quo. In these systems, each voter responds with a vote of “yea” or “nay.” A yes-no voting system is simply a set of rules that specifies exactly which collections of “yea” votes yield passage of the issue at hand. The following four real-world examples of yes-no voting systems will be used to illustrate several concepts introduced later in this chapter.
Single chain Fv: a ligand in receptor-mediated gene delivery.

We have used an anti-human polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (plgR) single chain Fv (scFv) to deliver reporter genes to epithelial cells in vitro. The scFv was constructed from a monoclonal antibody directed against plgR and a cysteine residue was added at the carboxyl end to facilitate its conjugation to polylysine (polyK) via the heterobifunctional cross-linker SPDP. ScFv-cys was expressed in Drosophila S2 cells and purified to homogeneity using conventional column chromatography. ScFv-polyK, and polyK as control, were condensed with a DNA expression plasmid containing the luciferase reporter genre driven by the CMV promoter into unimolecular (with respect to DNA) complexes under high salt conditions. Target cells were MDCK cells transfected with human plgR and repeatedly sorted for high-level receptor expression, with untransfected MDCK cells as control. Receptor-bearing MDCK cells were readily transfected by scFv-cys containing, plgR directed complexes, and expression could be blocked by addition of excess human secretory component (SC), the extracellular portion of plgR. In contrast, MDCK cells that did not express plgR were not transfected. Nontargeted complexes were not effective in transfecting MDCK cells with or without plgR. Targeted complexes also transfected human tracheal epithelial cells in primary culture, corroborating the plgR-mediated gene delivery. These data indicate that a scFv directed against human plgR can direct foreign genes specifically into receptor-bearing cells in vitro. We have expressed and purified a ligand that is efficient and specific in plgR-mediated gene delivery.
Abstract 2725: 2-Deoxyglucose inhibits KSHV replication under normoxic conditions

BACKGROUND: Cancer cells are more glycolytic than normal cells and thereby take up more glucose, as demonstrated by the positron emission tomography (PET) scan. This can be exploited for cancer therapy using glycolytic inhibitors such as 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG). Due to its similarity to mannose, 2DG also interferes with N-linked glycosylation resulting in an unfolded protein response (UPR), which slows growth of tumors. Additionally, 2DG inhibits productive infection of enveloped viruses, e.g. herpesviruses, due to its interference with glycosylation of viral proteins. Kaposi9s sarcoma (KS) is a cancer that is caused by infection of a gammaherpesvirus; KS might be particularly vulnerable to 2DG, given the chemical9s properties as both an anti-cancer and an anti-viral agent. We are investigating the mechanisms and their resulting effects by which cell culture models for KS are sensitive to 2DG treatment in the context of viral replication. DESIGN: Two models of herpesvirus infection were used for 2DG treatment in vitro: KS-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and murine herpesvirus-68 (MHV-68). Human embryonic kidney cells latently infected with a recombinant KSHV genome (HEK293rKSHV.219) were induced to lytic reactivation upon addition of sodium butyrate. Murine embryonic fibroblasts were infected de novo with MHV-68 to cause lytic replication. In each model, cells were treated with nontoxic doses of 2DG. RNA and protein levels were measured at 24 hours treatment; cell proliferation and viral copy number were measured at 72 hours. RESULTS: In two different models of gammaherpesvirus infection we find that 2DG inhibits expression of early and late viral lytic genes, as well as interferes with the ability of the host to produce infectious virions. While 2DG is used at nontoxic concentrations, the compound inhibits cell proliferation. Treatment with inhibitors of glycolysis–but not glycosylation–does not significantly decrease viral copy number or infectious particles released from infected cells. Furthermore, 2DG is correlated with UPR induction by the phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of eukaryotic translation initiation factor-2 as well as up-regulation of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) chaperone glucose-regulated protein-78 at both the RNA and protein levels. CONCLUSION: Overall, these results indicate that a major mechanism by which 2DG inhibits viral replication might be through ER stress/UPR. Furthermore, 2DG action takes place early in the viral lytic cycle, preventing the induction of viral genes, which correlates to the inability to produce mature viral particles. These data suggest that 2DG may be clinically beneficial in the treatment of herpesvirus-induced cancers. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2725. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2725
Systemic Insecticides with Spring-Seeded Alfalfa for Control of Potato Leafhoppel

Systemic insecticides (2.24 kg AI/ha of broadcast granular carbofuran, or phorate-, or ethoprop-disulfoton combination, or of flowable carbofuran in a tank mixture with preemergence herbicide) applied at planting of spring-seeded alfalfa were more effective in controlling Empoasca fabae (Harris) in Maryland where the population peaked in late June than in Pennsylvania where it peaked in early July. However, treatments reduced populations of potato leafhoppers, resulted in taller plants, prevented stand loss in 2 of 3 tests, prevented any significant loss of yield when conventional harvesting methods were used, and resulted in plants with significantly larger root diameter. Treated alfalfa appeared greener than untreated alfalfa, but chemical analyses did not show that it was higher in quality.
E-065 Revascularization of internal carotid artery occlusion by using a flow reversal system

Introduction and purpose To assess the feasibility and safety of carotid revascularization in subacute conditions, using a flow reversal system. Materials and method A total of five patients presenting with subacute carotid occlusion and non-disabling neurologic deficits underwent endovascular revascularization of their occluded vessel by using a flow reversal system as a protection device against embolic phenomena. In two cases, in addition to the flow reversal system a protective filter has been added on prior to completion of revascularization. All patients underwent the intervention under general anesthesia. After revascularization, all patients underwent placement of stents at the locations presumed responsible for their occlusions. All patients were managed immediately in the neurointensive care unit under strict blood pressure control. Results Technically, all of the procedures were successful with no embolic phenomena. In patients where a filter device was used in addition to the flow reversal system, the filter was inspected visually after removal and no clots or debris were identified. There were no neurological deficits associated with the procedure. There were no systemic or local complications associated. In one patient a 6 month clinic and angiographic follow-up was obtained. This demonstrated patency of the stent. The patient did not develop any additional neurological deficits. Conclusion Preliminary results of using a flow reversal system in carotid artery subacute revascularization suggest that this technique is feasible and effective. A larger patient cohort would be necessary to further address the safety of the procedure, indications and long term results.
Structural and Magneto-transport Properties of Cr-doped In2O3 Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors

We report the experimental study of the structural and magnetotransport properties of chromium-doped indium oxide (In2O3:Cr) thin films using x-ray diffractometer, and by measuring the resistivity and Hall effect as a function of temperature in various magnetic fields. The In2O3:Cr diluted magnetic semiconductor thin films were grown under different partial oxygen pressures (Po2) on sapphire substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Observed expansions in lattice parameter and crystal size in these films with increase in oxygen growth pressure are traceable to the reduction in oxygen vacancies. A redshift of the absorption edges of the samples with increase in oxygen growth pressure is attributed to the significant improvement in crystallinity. The exchange interaction between the electron spins in the conduction band and the spins of the Cr 3d electrons was evident in the anomalous Hall effect (AHE), which persisted up to 300 K. An analysis of the dc electrical transport in the films was carried out using hopping conduction and ionized impurity scattering models.
Topological optimization design for flexible structure

Problems on characteristics of flexibility structure, basic principle and method of topological optimization design, present situation of study and development at home and abroad and applications in engineering design etc. were discussed. Finally, the direction of development of topological optimization design for flexible structure, the problems need to be solved and the possible resolution scheme etc was set out as well.
"Doc, I need a smart pill"-requests for neurologic enhancement.

Prescribing neuroenhancement falls in the category of physicians’ activities that are not ethically obligatory because they do not directly serve the traditional goals of medicine, but do not compromise the profession’s ability to fufill its social mission. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Sparse Solutions for Single Class SVMs: A Bi-Criterion Approach

In this paper we propose an innovative learning algorithm - a variation of One-class nu Support Vector Machines (SVMs) learning algorithm to produce sparser solutions with much reduced computational complexities. The proposed technique returns an approximate solution, nearly as good as the solution set obtained by the classical approach, by minimizing the original risk function along with a regularization term. We introduce a bi-criterion optimization that helps guide the search towards the optimal set in much reduced time. The outcome of the proposed learning technique was compared with the benchmark one-class Support Vector machines algorithm which more often leads to solutions with redundant support vectors. Through out the analysis, the problem size for both optimization routines was kept consistent. We have tested the proposed algorithm on a variety of data sources under different conditions to demonstrate the effectiveness. In all cases the proposed algorithm closely preserves the accuracy of standard one-class nu SVMs while reducing both training time and test time by several factors.
MRI Findings in Narcolepsy

The neuropathology of narcolepsy is unknown. Recently, Plazzi et al. (1) reported magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) abnormalities in the pontine tegmentum of three patients with long-standing idiopathic narcolepsy. Considering the localization of the neuroradiological findings in the pontine reticular formation, where rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is generated, the authors suggested a causal relationship between narcolepsy and MRI abnormalities. Frey and Heiserman, however, found pontine MRI abnormalities in only two of 12 patients with narcolepsy both of whom had long-standing hypertension (2). Pullicino et al. noted similar pontine MRI abnormalities in patients with subcortical arteriosclerotic encephalopathy-like ischemic rarefaction of the pons (3). Thus, the changes noted by Plazzi et al. may have been caused by small-vessel disease rather than narcolepsy. To assess whether altered pontine MRI signals are a regular feature of idiopathic narcolepsy, we selected randomly from our database seven patients with narcolepsy with cataplexy. Of these seven, three agreed to have brain MRIs; their cases are described below. None had pontine MRI abnormalities.
Inhibition of DNA Methylation in the Developing Rat Brain Disrupts Sexually Dimorphic Neurobehavioral Phenotypes in Adulthood

Accumulating evidence indicates a critical implication of DNA methylation in the brain development. We aim to determine whether the disruption of DNA methylation patterns in the developing brain adversely affects neurobehavioral phenotypes later in life in a sex-dependent manner. 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine (5-Aza), a DNA methylation inhibitor, was administered in newborn rats from postnatal day 1 to 3. Neurobehavioral outcomes were analyzed at 3 months of age. 5-Aza treatment significantly inhibited DNA methyltransferase activity and decreased global DNA methylation levels in neonatal rat brains, resulting in asymmetric growth restriction with the increased brain to body weight ratio in both male and female rats at 14 days and 3 months of age. Compared with the saline control, 5-Aza treatment significantly improved performance of male rats on the rotarod test, and 5-Aza-treated female rats demonstrated less anxiety, less depression-like behaviors, and enhanced spatial learning performance. Of importance, neonatal 5-Aza treatment eliminated the sexually dimorphic differences in several neurobehavioral tests in adult rats. In addition, 5-Aza treatment decreased promoter methylation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) gene and significantly increased BDNF mRNA and protein abundance in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus of female rats in a sex-dependent manner. Thus, brain DNA methylation appears to be essential for sexual differentiations of the brain and neurobehavioral functions. Inhibition of DNA methylation in the developing brain of early life induces aberrant neurobehavioral profiles and disrupts sexually dimorphic neurobehavioral phenotypes in adulthood, of which altered BDNF signaling pathway may be an important mediator.
Business planning under uncertainty: quantifying variability

In business, planning often starts with a predetermined annual goal. As the year progresses the attainability of this target becomes the focus of planning and controls groups. This paper summarises our research into ways to understand and quantify the uncertainty present in such a planning process. We will describe three aspects of planning uncertainty, and our mathematical formulation and empirical foundation of our uncertainty model. We will also describe how to quantify the magnitude of each aspect of uncertainty. Finally, we will briefly mention how these models can be used to assess the attainability of targets and make annual business risk outlooks. In business, planning often starts with year-end financial goals. To achieve these goals, annual plans for financial controls and sales of individual products are generated. These plans for products are then divided into monthly numbers which represent a feasible path, in terms of manufacturing schedules and marketing support, to attaining the plans. These paths for products can also be aggregated to give paths for achieving the financial goals. We will call the monthly planning numbers the track. The track is clearly important as a manufacturing schedule. It is equally important for monitoring sales against expectations, and for determining whether action needs to be taken. As an example, the action for a product determined to be selling below its track could be to lower the track and manufacturing schedule, or to create marketing programs such as sales bonuses to bring sales back on track. The first step in the monitoring function of planning is to determine whether sales are on track and in agreement with the annual plan. In order to make these determinations, it is crucial to understand and quantify the uncertainties of the business and its planning. In this note we will describe three aspects of uncertainty and how they are quantified. We will also mention how our uncertainty models are used to answer planning questions. 2 Three aspects of business planning uncertainty The framework of planning used in this note is that a planner starts with a predeter- mined annual plan and apportions it into monthly numbers or the track. The track is generated according to how the planner foresees the future business environment (e.g. available products, supply constraints, prices, economic conditions) and how custom- ers will respond. We will describe three aspects of uncertainty within this framework: error in the total annual plan and two statistical components of the total error in apportioning the track. The word total is used to make the distinction between the individual components and their sum more obvious. The two statistical pieces of the total error in apportioning the track are systematic error and random variability. We will call the random component inherent variability to emphasise that it is that component of sales variability which is inherent in the business, and is therefore not
Education, Party Polarization and the Origins of the Gender Gap in U.S. Party Identification

The partisan gender gap - the tendency of men to identify more with the Republican party and less with the Democratic party than women - is a fixture of modern American politics. A variety of often contradictory claims are made about why this partisan gender gap formed and persists. We test a number of these claims in a new dataset of individual-level responses to 1822 Gallup polls asking about gender and party identification from 1953 through 2012. We find that a gender gap emerged in the 1960s and 1970s among the highly educated, but not until the 1980s among the less educated. These differences in the partisan gender gap with respect to education do not appear to be driven primary by differences in the race, age, region of residence, income, employment status, or marital status of those with more and less amounts of education. Using ANES data, we find suggestive evidence that the gender gap emerged earlier among those with high amounts of education because the highly educated were more aware of the growing ideological polarization of the parties.
Pork, by Any Other Name...Building a Conceptual Scheme of Distributive Politics

When parties or candidates get voters to support them not by promising desirable public policies, advertising their past record in office, making ideological appeals, invoking shared identities, or relying on partisan attachments, but instead by offering them material inducement, scholars are not sure what to call this strategy. The problem is more than terminological: without clear conceptual distinctions, our attempts at causal explanation can be frustrated. Much research in distributive politics is implicitly motivated by a sense that these strategies depart from what is normatively desirable. Yet just as conceptual confusion obscures causal explanation, so it obscures normative considerations. This paper proposes a conceptual scheme to distinguish terms and concepts such as clientelism, patronage, vote buying and pork-barrel and distributive politics, and others. The distinctions are guided by the scope of strategies that one observes in the world and by their normative implications.
Introductory Note to X and Others v. Austria

This Introductory Note to X and Others v. Austria, a case decided by the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in 2013, was printed along with the text of the decision in International Legal Materials, a publication of the American Society of International Law. In X and Others v. Austria, the European Court of Human Rights held by a majority of ten to seven that Austria violated Article 14 (prohibition on discrimination) taken in conjunction with Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms when it denied an unmarried same-sex couple the right to a second-parent adoption when second-parent adoptions are available to unmarried opposite-sex couples. This is the first time that the European Court of Human Rights has recognized a right to second-parent adoption by same-sex couples. The Introductory Note seeks to provide context to the case by describing the European Court of Human Rights’ jurisprudence on same-sex adoption, the rationale of the decision, and its significance in international law. The Introductory Note is available at 53 ILM 620 (2014).
Hypertensive disease in pregnancy in Botswana: Prevalence and impact on perinatal outcomes.

Abstract Objectives Perinatal morbidity in sub-Saharan Africa has been attributed to infection, obstetric emergencies, and preterm birth, but less is known about hypertension in pregnancy. Our objective was to characterize the prevalence of hypertension in pregnancy and the impact of hypertension on perinatal outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. Study design We performed surveillance of obstetric records at eight of the largest public hospitals in Botswana. Women were included in this analysis if they were HIV-uninfected and had singleton gestations and at least one prenatal blood pressure measurement. Main outcome measures We measured stillbirth, preterm birth, small for gestational age, and neonatal death in women with and without hypertension in pregnancy. Results We included 14,170 pregnancies. Hypertension occurred in 3156 (22.2%) women, with 602 (19.1%) defined as severe. Severe hypertension increased risk of stillbirth (RR 4.4; 95% CI 3.2–6.2), preterm birth (RR 2.5; 95% CI 2.2–2.8), small for gestational age (RR 2.7; 95% CI 2.3–3.1) and neonatal death (RR 5.1; 95% CI 2.9–5.6). Non-severe hypertension increased risk of stillbirth (RR 2.0; 95% CI 1.5–2.7), preterm birth (RR 1.2; 95% CI 1.1–1.3), and small for gestational age (RR 1.6; 95% CI 1.4–1.8). Perinatal outcomes were worse in women with hypertension who had spontaneous preterm birth compared to those who underwent iatrogenic preterm delivery. Conclusions Hypertension in pregnancy is common in Botswana and leads to a large number of adverse outcomes. Improved management of hypertension in pregnancy may improve perinatal morbidity and mortality.
A pilot study of neoadjuvant cetuximab in locally advanced squamous cell carcinomas of skin (SCCS).

TPS9092 Background: The incidence of SCCS has increased over the past two decades, including a high risk subset with aggressive behavior. Due to a lack of high-quality clinical trials in this popul...
Global Adaptive Dynamic Programming for Nonlinear Polynomial Systems

This chapter brings more advanced optimization techniques, such as semidefinite programming (SDP) and sum‐of‐squares (SOS) programming, into adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) design. The goal is to achieve adaptive suboptimal online learning and, at the same time, maintain global asymptotic stability of the closed‐loop system. The chapter considers an auxiliary optimization problem, which helps to obtain a suboptimal solution to the minimization problem, and develops a policy iteration method for polynomial systems using SOS‐based methods. The chapter also develops an online learning method based on the idea of ADP to implement the iterative scheme with real‐time data, instead of identifying the system dynamics. Finally, it extends the proposed global ADP method to deal with an enlarged class of nonlinear systems, and covers the numerical simulation for four different examples.