cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Established and novel disease‐modifying treatments in multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a presumed autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system, resulting in inflammatory demyelination and axonal and neuronal injury. New diagnostic criteria that incorporate magnetic resonance imaging have resulted in earlier and more accurate diagnosis of MS. Several immunomodulatory and immunosuppressive therapeutic agents are available for relapsing forms of MS, which allow individualized treatment based upon the benefits and risks. Disease-modifying therapies introduced in the 1990s, the beta-interferons and glatiramer acetate, have an established track record of efficacy and safety, although they require administration via injection. More recently, monoclonal antibodies have been engineered to act through specific mechanisms such as blocking alpha-4 integrin interactions (natalizumab) or lysing cells bearing specific markers, for example CD52 (alemtuzumab) or CD20 (ocrelizumab and ofatumumab). These agents can be highly efficacious, but sometimes have serious potential complications (natalizumab is associated with progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy; alemtuzumab is associated with the development of new autoimmune disorders). Three new oral therapies (fingolimod, teriflunomide and dimethyl fumarate, approved for MS treatment from 2010 onwards) provide efficacy, tolerability and convenience; however, as yet, there are no long-term postmarketing efficacy and safety data in a general MS population. Because of this lack of long-term data, in some cases, therapy is currently initiated with the older, safer injectable medications, but patients are monitored closely with the plan to switch therapies if there is any indication of a suboptimal response or intolerance or lack of adherence to the initial therapy. For patients with MS who present with highly inflammatory and potentially aggressive disease, the benefit-to-risk ratio may support initiating therapy using a drug with greater potential efficacy despite greater risks (e.g. fingolimod or natalizumab if JC virus antibody-negative). The aim of this review is to discuss the clinical benefits, mechanisms of action, safety profiles and monitoring strategies of current MS disease-modifying therapies in clinical practice and of those expected to enter the market in the near future.
Duties of a ‘good citizen’: colonial secondary school textbook policies in late nineteenth-century India

The late nineteenth century, which was marked by the earliest instances of students’ participation in anti-colonial political agitations in the Bengal and Bombay Presidencies, witnessed significant shifts in the British colonial education policies in India. This article highlights the political significance of the Indian child in the British colonial project by investigating a key locus of knowledge production and dissemination – the colonial school, specifically the school curriculum. Against the background of an emerging politicized child, the British colonial state intervened in school curriculum and aimed to thwart the spread of ‘sedition’ among students. The colonial state devised methods to extend greater control over the processes of curriculum selection to combat its anxieties over ‘seditious’ deviant youth and to generate loyal imperial subjects. Textbooks of ‘aggressive character’ were censored and substituted by those imparting lessons on ‘state feeling’ and duties of a ‘good citizen’. I examin...
Oxygen Requirement for the Biosynthesis of theS-2-Hydroxymyristate Moiety in Salmonella typhimurium Lipid A FUNCTION OF LpxO, A NEW Fe2+/α-KETOGLUTARATE-DEPENDENT DIOXYGENASE HOMOLOGUE

Lipid A molecules of certain Gram-negative bacteria, including Salmonella typhimurium andPseudomonas aeruginosa, may contain secondaryS-2-hydroxyacyl chains. S. typhimurium has recently been shown to synthesize itsS-2-hydroxymyristate-modified lipid A in a PhoP/PhoQ-dependent manner, suggesting a possible role for the 2-OH group in pathogenesis. We postulated that 2-hydroxylation might be catalyzed by a novel dioxygenase. Lipid A was extracted from a PhoP-constitutive mutant of S. typhimurium grown in the presence or absence of O2. Under anaerobic conditions, no 2-hydroxymyristate-containing lipid A was formed. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry of lipid A from cells grown in the presence of 18O2confirmed the direct incorporation of molecular oxygen into 2-hydroxyacyl-modified lipid A. Using several well characterized dioxygenase protein sequences as probes, tBLASTn searches revealed unassigned open reading frame(s) with similarity to mammalian aspartyl/asparaginyl β-hydroxylases in bacteria known to make 2-hydroxyacylated lipid A molecules. The S. typhimuriumaspartyl/asparaginyl β-hydroxylase homologue (designatedlpxO) was cloned into pBluescriptSK and expressed inEscherichia coli K-12, which does not containlpxO. Analysis of the resulting construct revealed thatlpxO expression is sufficient to induce O2-dependent formation of 2-hydroxymyristate-modified lipid A in E. coli. LpxO very likely is a novel Fe2+/α-ketoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase that catalyzes the hydroxylation of lipid A (or of a key precursor). The S. typhimurium lpxO gene encodes a polypeptide of 302 amino acids with predicted membrane-anchoring sequences at both ends. We hypothesize that 2-hydroxymyristate chains released from lipopolysaccharide inside infected macrophages might be converted to 2-hydroxymyristoyl coenzyme A, a well characterized, potent inhibitor of protein N-myristoyl transferase.
Size Dependence of Resistive Switching at Nanoscale Metal-Oxide Interfaces

Size dependent variations in resistive switching using a metal-semiconducting oxide model to examine the underlying mechanisms are reported. In the range of 20 nm to 200 nm, Au nanoparticle/SrTiO3 interface transport properties are size dependent. The size dependence is attributed to the combination of geometric scaling and size-dependent Schottky properties. After electroforming, the observed “eight-wise” bipolar resistive hysteresis loop is modulated by trap/detrap process. The size-dependent high resistance state is consistent with changes in both the interfacial area and Schottky properties. The low resistance state exhibits size independent resistance through the dominant fast conductive path. Detrapping requires more work for smaller interfaces due to the associated larger built-in electric field.
Measured isoprene emission rates of plants in California landscapes: comparison to estimates from taxonomic relationships

Abstract Isoprene emission rates of 64 plant species found in California's urban and natural landscapes were measured using a dynamic flow-through chamber enclosure technique. Species were selected to provide data for previously unmeasured species and to test estimates of isoprene emission rates based upon taxonomic relationships developed for compilation of biogenic emission inventories as proposed by Benjamin et al. (1996, Atmospheric Environment 30, 1437–1452) . Branch-level isoprene emission rates ranged from undetectable for 47 species, to 54 μg g−1 h−1 for Quercus kelloggii, California black oak. Isoprene emission rate estimates based on taxonomy agreed well with our measurements for species within the same genus, with the exception of the Quercus genus for which a wide range of isoprene emission rates have been reported. As expected, family-level estimates based on taxonomy showed greater deviation from our measured values than did genus-based estimates. The data developed in the present study support use of a taxonomic predictive methodology, especially if previous measurements within specific families, sub-families, and genera are extensive, and the results of such assignment are treated with proper caution. A taxonomic approach may be most useful where plant species in natural and urban landscapes are numerous, such as in California, where no experimental measurements are available for thousands of species.
Distributed Real-Time Software for Cyber–Physical Systems

Real-time embedded software today is commonly built using programming abstractions with little or no temporal semantics. This paper addresses this problem by presenting a programming model called programming temporally integrated distributed embedded systems (PTIDES) that serves as a coordination language for model-based design of distributed real-time embedded systems. Specifically, the paper describes the principles of PTIDES, which leverages network time synchronization to provide a determinate distributed real-time semantics. We show how PTIDES can function as a coordination language, orchestrating components that may be designed and specified using different formalisms. We show the use of this environment in the design of interesting and practical cyber-physical systems, such as a power plant control system.
Cerebellar pathology in BDNF -/- mice : the classic view of neurotrophins is changing

Recent studies of neurotrophin knockout mice shed light on the distinct requirements for neurotrophins in the central as compared to the peripheral nervous system. These findings reveal pleiotropic roles for neurotrophins including roles in neuronal patterning and differentiation.
Ultra-compact and X-ray binaries in globular clusters

A summary of ongoing work on the properties, origin, and evolution of low-mass X-ray binaries in globular clusters and in the Galactic Bulge is presented. This discussion centers on the insights into these problems that can be derived from study of the ultracompact binary systems, such as the recently discovered 11-minute binary in the globular cluster NGC 6624.
Graves' disease in severe combined immunodeficient mice.

Graves' disease (GD) is an autoimmune thyroid disorder involving an antibody (TSAb) directed against the TSH receptor (TSHR) producing thyroid stimulation. We have developed an animal model of GD by engrafting peripheral blood mononuclear cells or T cell lines plus autologous thyroid tissue into severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. We xenografted Graves' thyroid tissue from six patients into six groups of SCID mice. Autologous PBMC and T cell lines reactive to recombinant human TSHR extracellular domain and non-TSHR lines were injected ip into the designated groups. In some of the studies, thyroid tissue was irradiated with 2000 rads before xenografting. Irradiation of xenografts induced thyroid tissue damage and release of thyroid antigens and hormones. Mice reconstituted with peripheral blood mononuclear cells or nonspecific T cell lines did not simulate GD. However, we achieved production of TSAb, elevation of serum T3, and TSAb-dependent survival and function of human Graves' thyroid tissue in...
Epigenetic modifications as therapeutic targets

Epigenetic modifications work in concert with genetic mechanisms to regulate transcriptional activity in normal tissues and are often dysregulated in disease. Although they are somatically heritable, modifications of DNA and histones are also reversible, making them good targets for therapeutic intervention. Epigenetic changes often precede disease pathology, making them valuable diagnostic indicators for disease risk or prognostic indicators for disease progression. Several inhibitors of histone deacetylation or DNA methylation are approved for hematological malignancies by the US Food and Drug Administration and have been in clinical use for several years. More recently, histone methylation and microRNA expression have gained attention as potential therapeutic targets. The presence of multiple epigenetic aberrations within malignant tissue and the abilities of cells to develop resistance suggest that epigenetic therapies are most beneficial when combined with other anticancer strategies, such as signal transduction inhibitors or cytotoxic treatments. A key challenge for future epigenetic therapies will be to develop inhibitors with specificity to particular regions of chromosomes, thereby potentially reducing side effects.
Hereditary properties of analytic cauchy-stieltjes transforms

Suppose μ is a complex-valued Borel measure on {ζ:|ζ| = 1} and 0<α<β. This paper studies various properties of that are passed down to
Inhibition of cardiopulmonary input to thoracic spinothalamic tract cells by stimulation of the subcoeruleus-parabrachial region in the primate.

Abstract Effects of electrically stimulating the subcoeruleus-parabrachial (SC-PB) region on 31 spinothalamic tract neurons which receive excitatory input from cardiopulmonary sympathetic afferent fibers were studied in 21 monkeys anesthetized with chloralose. A conditioning stimulus to the SC-PB region inhibited the activity of 5 cells responding to the test stimulus applied to sympathetic afferent fibers. At a conditioning-test interval of 10 ms, test responses were maximally reduced to 47 ± 6% of the control. Inhibitory effects were present at conditioning-test intervals up to 150 ms. Excitatory effects of both Aϑ- and C-fiber sympathetic afferents were reduced by stimulation of the SC-PB region; however, C-fiber input was more powerfully inhibited. Intracardiac injection of the algesic agent bradykinin excited 8 of 12 spinothalamic tract neurons tested; the responding cells increased their activity from 12 ± 3 to 31 ± 8 impulses/s. SC-PB stimulation (212 ± 45 μA) reduced the peak activity caused by bradykinin to 6 ± 2 impulses/s. Aortic occlusion increased the discharge rate of 5 out of 8 neurons from 13 ± 3 to 21 ± 4 impulses/s. At the peak of the response of aortic occlusion. SC-PB stimulation (238 ± 20 μA) decreased neuron activity to 3 ± 0 impulses/s. Effective sites for inhibition of spinothalamic tract cell activity were located in the lateral and medial parabrachial nuclei and the nucleus subcoeruleus. This study demonstrates that stimulation of the dorsolateral pons can inhibit the responses of upper thoracic spinothalamic tract neurons to cardiopulmonary sympathetic afferent input. Our laboratory previously has shown that stimulation of cardiopulmonary vagal afferents inhibits spinothalamic tract cells via supraspinal mechanisms. The SC-PB region may be a site activated by cardiac vagal afferents during ischemia and therefore, may be involved in the etiology of painless myocardial infarctions.
Chronic running wheel activity attenuates the antinociceptive actions of morphine and morphine-6-glucouronide administration into the periaqueductal gray in rats.

Abstract Chronic exercise in a running wheel increases baseline pain sensitivity while attenuating the antinociceptive effects of peripherally administered opiate agonists in laboratory rodents. To determine if these effects are due to exercise-induced changes in the central nervous system (CNS) or an artifact of exercise-induced alterations in peripheral physiology, the present study evaluated the antinociceptive actions of centrally administered opiate agonists in active and inactive female rats. Rats were implanted with cannula into the right periaqueductal gray (PAG) area of the midbrain. After the completion of the surgery, the animals were allowed ad libitum access to running wheels or housed in standard cages for three weeks. Pain sensitivity was measured on the tail flick test before and immediately following microinjections of either morphine (0, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, 20.0 μg/rat) or the more potent morphine metabolite, morphine-6-glucuronide (M6G) (0, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 1.0 μg/rat). Baseline tail flick latencies were significantly shorter in active than in inactive rats. Additionally, active animals were less sensitive to the antinociceptive effects of morphine and M6G than inactive rats. These findings provide evidence for the involvement of the CNS in exercise-mediated alterations in pain sensitivity and opiate drug actions.
Rethinking Medical Education Through Injury Control.

Injuries are predictable and preventable. Prevention may be applied at bedside or in the community. Greater emphasis on injury control would radically alter the health care provider's role, and shift the direction of communication from the physician to the community and to the individual patient. Success with prevention strategies requires new sets of skills and greater outreach by medical providers. (MSE) Language: en
Graphics Terminal Requirements for the 1970's

If new applications of computer graphics are to be developed and used, the graphics terminal must meet the requirements of users and applications. Studies conducted at the IBM Research Laboratory in San Jose have resulted in the identification of 30 specific requirements for the display screen, the associated hardware for input, output, processing and storage, the interaction rates, the terminal packaging, and the support of the applications programmer. Comparison of existing graphics terminal alternatives in terms of the requirements indicates that 18 of these 30 requirements are not being adequately met today.
Community Health Workers Speak Out About the Kin KeeperSM Model

Community health workers (CHWs) informed students and researcher alike on the Kin KeeperSM Cancer Prevention Intervention. Students interested in medicine, guided by faculty, conducted a focus group session with 13 CHWs to find out if the intervention was effective for delivering breast and cervical cancer education. Strengths reported were (1) cultural appropriateness, (2) home visits, (3) CHW resource kits, and (4) increased awareness. The barriers were privacy perceptions and scheduling home visits. Overall, the CHWs indicated that the intervention was effective and flexible enough to accommodate the African American, Latina, and Arab groups of women.
Contrasting digestive strategies of fruit-eating birds

1. Sugary fruits dominate the annual diet of Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum), whereas lipid-rich foods dominate the diets of frugivorous thrushes. Nutrient utilization and preferences of Cedar Waxwings and thrushes fed sugary and lipid-rich natural fruits were assessed to ascertain the potential for nutrient-based specializations that could explain diet selection in nature. 2. Compared allometrically, Cedar Waxwings showed higher rates of sugar assimilation from sugary fruits than did thrushes, by virtue of higher intake rates, and achieved the highest energy assimilation rates when eating a sugary fruit. A trade-off to this digestive strategy appears to be less efficient utilization of lipids when eating exclusively lipid-rich fruits. 3. Thrushes digested lipids more efficiently than Cedar Waxwings as a function of intake rate or estimated retention time, and thrushes achieved the highest energy assimilation rates when eating a lipid-rich fruit. Specialization to a diet rich in lipids appears to limit the rate at which sugary fruits can be processed. 4. Within each bird species, sugar digestive efficiencies were high and were not reduced at higher intake rates. Lipids were consumed at lower rates than sugars, and lipid digestive efficiencies declined with increasing intake rates. Frugivorous birds modulated digestive processing of fruits according to the time needed for efficient digestion and/or absorption of sugars and lipids, respectively. 5. Rate of nitrogen intake, not sugar assimilation, positively influenced body mass changes of birds. Sugary fruits appear nutritionally rich in energy, but limited in protein for avian frugivores. Relatively high intake rates and low protein requirements of Cedar Waxwings suggest that specialization to sugary, low-protein diets involves traits that facilitate acquisition and conservation of protein/amino acids. 6. Cedar Waxwings and thrushes show digestive specialization to the utilization of sugars and lipids, respectively, as dominant dietary nutrients. These traits explain patterns of food selection by these birds in the laboratory and in nature. Variation in the value of particular fruit nutrients to different birds renders the dietary descriptor of ‘frugivore’ ambiguous in a nutritional context.
An analytical model to predict interstitial lubrication of cartilage in migrating contact areas

For nearly a century, articular cartilage has been known for its exceptional tribological properties. For nearly as long, there have been research efforts to elucidate the responsible mechanisms for application toward biomimetic bearing applications. It is now widely accepted that interstitial fluid pressurization is the primary mechanism responsible for the unusual lubrication and load bearing properties of cartilage. Although the biomechanics community has developed elegant mathematical theories describing the coupling of solid and fluid (biphasic) mechanics and its role in interstitial lubrication, quantitative gaps in our understanding of cartilage tribology have inhibited our ability to predict how tribological conditions and material properties impact tissue function. This paper presents an analytical model of the interstitial lubrication of biphasic materials under migrating contact conditions. Although finite element and other numerical models of cartilage mechanics exist, they typically neglect the important role of the collagen network and are limited to a specific set of input conditions, which limits general applicability. The simplified approach taken in this work aims to capture the broader underlying physics as a starting point for further model development. In agreement with existing literature, the model indicates that a large Peclet number, Pe, is necessary for effective interstitial lubrication. It also predicts that the tensile modulus must be large relative to the compressive modulus. This explains why hydrogels and other biphasic materials do not provide significant interstitial pressure under high Pe conditions. The model quantitatively agrees with in-situ measurements of interstitial load support and the results have interesting implications for tissue engineering and osteoarthritis problems. This paper suggests that a low tensile modulus (from chondromalacia or local collagen rupture after impact, for example) may disrupt interstitial pressurization, increase shear stresses, and activate a condition of progressive surface damage as a potential precursor of osteoarthritis.
IL-10 differentially regulates mRNA expression induced by lipopolysaccharide and interferons in murine peritoneal macrophages

IL-10 has been referred to as 'macrophage deactivator' because it suppresses macrophage activity by blocking cytokine production and accessory functions. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of IL-10 on genes that are induced by the well characterized macrophage activators, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferons (IFNs). Using Northern blot analysis to measure the effects of IL-10 on the expression of a large panel of LPS and IFNinducible genes, the data suggest that in murine macrophages IL-10 is not a general suppressor of gene induction but, rather, exerts differential effects on gene expression. Induction of certain genes by LPS was indeed blocked to a great extent (70-80%), while expression of others were less inhibited, not modulated at all, or augmented by IL-10. IFN-α and IFN-γ induce a subset of the genes that are also induced by LPS and, within this subset, IL-10 was found to interfere to a lesser extent with IFN- than LPS-induced gene expression. The participation of NF-KB in t...
Random Test Generation With Input Cube Avoidance

Test generation procedures attempt to assign values to the inputs of a circuit so as to detect target faults. We investigate a complementary view whereby the goal is to avoid the assignment of certain input values in order not to prevent faults from being detected. We describe a procedure for computing input cubes (or incompletely specified input vectors) that should be avoided during test generation for target faults. We demonstrate that avoiding such input cubes leads to the detection of target faults after the application of limited numbers of random input vectors. This indicates that explicit test generation is not necessary once certain input values are precluded. Other potential uses of the computed input cubes are in a deterministic test generation procedure to reduce the search space, and during built-in test generation to preclude input vectors that will not lead to the detection of target faults. We consider stuck-at faults in full-scan circuits. We also extend the discussion to four-way bridging faults.
Enregistering internet language

This article investigates the enregisterment of an internet-specific language variety and its features. The enregisterment of internet language is explored through several sites of metadiscourse: academic scholarship about computer-mediated communication, uses of the metalinguistic terms netspeak and chatspeak in print media, and online comment threads about language and the internet. This metadiscourse provides evidence of a shared concept of internet language as comprising distinctive written features, primarily acronyms, abbreviations, and respellings. Internet language's enregisterment emerges from standard language ideology and deterministic views of technology, where the construal of these features as both nonstandard and internet-specific articulates the perceived distinctiveness of internet interactions. Yet empirical evidence shows that these features are relatively rare in instant messaging conversations, one form of interaction to which internet language is attributed; this discrepancy has implications for the application of indexical order to enregisterment. (Enregisterment, language ideology, computer-mediated communication, internet, metadiscourse, indexical order, Standard English, technological determinism, mass media)*
Attribute networking: A technique for modeling social perceptions1

An original, network-based technique is presented for modeling community members’ conceptions of local social space. Social categories derived from the model are used to investigate the social meaning of linguistic variation. The technique is first explained and then demonstrated using linguistic and ethnographic data from Worthington, Ohio, a Columbus suburb. Two linguistic variables are analyzed: (1)/l/ vocalization; and (2) the phonetic realization of the before vowel-initial words. The results are discussed in the context of Columbus-area urban sprawl and its perceived threat to Worthington's distinctiveness.
Patients' perceptions of cultural factors affecting the quality of their medical encounters.

Objective The aim of this study was to identify key domains of cultural competence from the perspective of ethnically and linguistically diverse patients. Design The study involved one-time focus groups in community settings with 61 African-Americans, 45 Latinos and 55 non-Latino Whites. Participants' mean age was 48 years, 45% were women, and 47% had less than a high school education. Participants in 19 groups were asked the meaning of 'culture' and what cultural factors influenced the quality of their medical encounters. Each text unit (TU or identifiable continuous verbal utterance) of focus group transcripts was content analysed to identify key dimensions using inductive and deductive methods. The proportion of TUs was calculated for each dimension by ethnic group. Results Definitions of culture common to all three ethnic groups included value systems (25% of TUs), customs (17%), self-identified ethnicity (15%), nationality (11%) and stereotypes (4%). Factors influencing the quality of medical encounters common to all ethnic groups included sensitivity to complementary/alternative medicine (17%), health insurance-based discrimination (12%), social class-based discrimination (9%), ethnic concordance of physician and patient (8%), and age-based discrimination (4%). Physicians' acceptance of the role of spirtuality (2%) and of family (2%), and ethnicity-based discrimination (11%) were cultural factors specific to non-Whites. Language issues (21%) and immigration status (5%) were Latino-specific factors. Conclusions Providing quality health care to ethnically diverse patients requires cultural flexibility to elicit and respond to cultural factors in medical encounters. Interventions to reduce disparities in health and health care in the USA need to address cultural factors that affect the quality of medical encounters.
Disposition of Prof. R. R. Kudo's Myxosporidan Type Material*

SYNOPSIS. Notification is given of the deposit of paratype material of 36 species of Myxosporida. described by Prof. R. R. Kudo, with the U. S. National Museum.
Oui, mais il faut parier: fidelidade e dúvida no Memorial de Aires

This article investigates the role played by Beethoven's Fidelio in Machado de Assis' Memorial de Aires. In this extraordinary novel, Counselor Aires avoids condemning a woman who, nevertheless, is put under suspicion by his treacherous diary. In the opera, Leonora hides nothing, because behind her mask there is nothing but loyalty to her imprisoned husband. Machado de Assis, however, begins his novel in a cemetery, where the beloved husband is buried. The main question that is left is: What to do if fidelity refers to an object, be it the beloved or a literary referent, that does not exist any longer?
Enforcing strict model-view separation in template engines

The mantra of every experienced web application developer is the same: thou shalt separate business logic from display. Ironically, almost all template engines allow violation of this separation principle, which is the very impetus for HTML template engine development. This situation is due mostly to a lack of formal definition of separation and fear that enforcing separation emasculates a template's power. I show that not only is strict separation a worthy design principle, but that we can enforce separation while providing a potent template engine. I demonstrate my StringTemplate engine, used to build jGuru.com and other commercial sites, at work solving some nontrivial generational tasks.My goal is to formalize the study of template engines, thus, providing a common nomenclature, a means of classifying template generational power, and a way to leverage interesting results from formal language theory. I classify three types of restricted templates analogous to Chomsky's type 1..3 grammar classes and formally define separation including the rules that embody separation.Because this paper provides a clear definition of model-view separation, template engine designers may no longer blindly claim enforcement of separation. Moreover, given theoretical arguments and empirical evidence, programmers no longer have an excuse to entangle model and view.
TOWARD A BANKRUPTCY MODEL FOR NON-CLASS AGGREGATE LITIGATION

In recent years, aggregate litigation has moved in the direction of multidistrict litigation followed by mass settlement without certification of a class action — a form commonly referred to as the “quasi-class action.” Driven by increased restrictions on class certification, the rise of the quasi-class action has been controversial. In particular, critics object that it overempowers lawyers and devalues the consent of individual claimants in the name of achieving “closure” in litigation. This Article presents two claims.First, the debate about the proper scope and form of the quasi-class action too frequently relies on the class action as the touchstone for legitimacy in aggregate litigation. References to the class action, however, are more often misleading than helpful. The basic assumptions behind the class action are different in degree and in kind from the reality of the quasi-class action. Overreliance on the class action as the conceptual framework for aggregation carries the significant risk of unintentionally shackling courts in their attempts to coordinate litigation. The very reason the quasi-class action emerged as a procedural device — the ossification of the class action model of litigation — suggests that courts and commentators should look for another reference model when assessing what is proper or improper in quasi-class actions.Second, bankruptcy serves as a better model for judging when to use, and how to order, non-class aggregation of mass tort litigation. The entirety of bankruptcy practice need not be imported to realize that bankruptcy may provide a useful lens for viewing aggregation more generally. That lens helps to clarify some of the most troubling concerns about the quasi-class action, such as the proper role of lawyers and the place of claimant consent. Bankruptcy serves as a superior reference model because it starts with an assumption that collective resolution is necessary but tempers the collective with individual and subgroup consent as well as with institutional structures to counterbalance excessive power by lawyers or particular claimants.
Safety icons and usability: A Peircean reanalysis

Recent studies have examined the usage of and effectiveness of icons, particularly safety icons. Collectively, these studies have found that some icons tend to be more effective than others. Various factors influence usability of an icon: culture, familiarity [1], detail, stylizing, simplification [2], color, and adherence to an archetype [3], “naturalness” and “differentiation,” [4], but also familiarity, uniqueness, completeness and clarity [5]. So far, no study has attempted a ranking for these factors, differentiating important and minor considerations. Also missing is an organizing model of icon interpretation, explaining how these various factors relate, and a lack of theoretical understanding in usability studies generally as discussed by Lund [6]. Without a consistent framework for understanding visual interpretation, when “errors” are found and corrected in a visual form, the change in visual form may or may not actually increase usability [7]. This study organizes previous safety icon research using the Peircean framework proposed by Amare and Manning[8] [9] [10] [11].
Locally Weighted Learning Methods for Predicting Dose-Dependent Toxicity with Application to the Human Maximum Recommended Daily Dose

Toxicological experiments in animals are carried out to determine the type and severity of any potential toxic effect associated with a new lead compound. The collected data are then used to extrapolate the effects on humans and determine initial dose regimens for clinical trials. The underlying assumption is that the severity of the toxic effects in animals is correlated with that in humans. However, there is a general lack of toxic correlations across species. Thus, it is more advantageous to predict the toxicological effects of a compound on humans directly from the human toxicological data of related compounds. However, many popular quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) methods that build a single global model by fitting all training data appear inappropriate for predicting toxicological effects of structurally diverse compounds because the observed toxicological effects may originate from very different and mostly unknown molecular mechanisms. In this article, we demonstrate, via applic...
Negotiating the Meaning of Difference

The move from theorizing difference to dealing with difference in an intercultural collaboration creates generative conflicts for educators and students. This article tracks the conflicting discourses, alternative representations, and political consequences the construct “Black English” had for Black and White mentors, teenage writers, and instructors in a Community Literacy Center collaboration. Comparing the accounts offered by resistance, conversation, and negotiation theory, it examines the dilemmadriven process of constructing a new negotiated meaning in the face of conflicting forces, voices, and representations. Dealing with difference in such collaboration means not only interpreting diverse verbal and nonverbal signifying systems based on values, experience, and competing discourses but constructing a new negotiated representation in the face of conflict that offers an (at least provisional) ground for action.
Role of PV generated DC power in transport sector: Case study of plug-in EV

The challenge of meeting the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards of 2025 is leading to major developments in the transportation sector, not the least of which is the utilization of clean energy sources. Solar energy as a main source of on-board fuel has not been extensively investigated. This paper reports on the usage of solar energy for transportation and investigates the extended driving range, the economic value, and the energy return of investment (EROI) of adding on-board photovoltaic (PV) technologies to plug-in electric vehicles (EV). The study develops a comprehensive PV system model and optimizes the solar energy to DC electrical power output ratio for on-driving mode. In times of no-use, the proposed system transforms into a flexible energy generation system that can be fed into the grid and used to power DC electrical devices in homes and offices. The results show that by adding on-board PVs to cover less than 50% of the projected horizontal surface area of a typical passenger EV, up to 50% of the total daily miles traveled by a person in the U.S. could be driven by solar energy. For the lifetime driving cost, even with low electricity price (0.13 $/kWh), adding on-board PV shows a positive impact if the system is operating in high solar energy environment (e.g. Arizona). If the electricity price is high ((0.35 $/kWh), there is positive economic impact even in low solar energy environments (e.g. Massachusetts). The energy payback time (EPBT) is found in a range 3.5–4.8 years, depending on where the system operates and energy return of investment (EROI) is between 6.2 to 8.6 times.
The Professional Man and His Reading

The mean reading rate of the average educated adult is about 250 words per minute. Perhaps the top 5 per cent read twice this fast. Slow readers read no better than fast ones. Slow reading is a bad habit, and a needless waste of time. Most educated adults, in a few weeks' time, could achieve rates of four to five hundred words per minute, in their ordinary reading, and do so without loss in comprehension. The reading rate of a given person varies, of course, with a number of conditions; but the person who reads a given selection rapidly tends to read other selections at a proportional rate. Readers tend to maintain their relative ranks as material and purpose vary.
Towed antennas for US submarine communications: a historical perspective

The evolution of the submarine and the development of radio communication are interrelated. From the earliest days, the effectiveness of a submarine as a war-fighting vessel was linked to its ability to receive orders via the then new medium of radio. This paper traces the earliest work that linked the two together - particularly from the viewpoint of the antenna as the ship's electronic "ears" - to the present, where work is being done to provide the "silent service" with the communications sensors needed to participate fully in the battle space of the future.
The Theory of Sensitivity in Networks

This chapter primarily presents a concise account of the applications of sensitivity theory in network analysis and synthesis and is an up-dated and revised version of [1C. 1 & 2]. Here we have categorized the pertinent literature into 14 different groups of active research in network sensitivity theory. This survey on various aspects of sensitivity theory provides only an entry guide for an interested researcher.
An oral contraceptive with 3 approved indications.

This introductory article provides a historical overview of COCs in addition to describing the contents of the journal issue which is to inform clinician about YAZ a COC that is unique in several ways. YAZ is a low-dose COC that combines 3 mg of drospirenone with 20 microg of EE; its regimen consists of 24 days of active pills in a 28-day cycle.
22.2 A 176-channel 0.5cm3 0.7g wireless implant for motor function recovery after spinal cord injury

Epidural spinal stimulation has shown effectiveness in recovering the motor function of spinal cord transected rats by modulating neural networks in lumbosacral spinal segments [1, 2]. The state-of-the-art neuromodulation implant [3] reports a 4-channel stimulator with wireless data and power links for small animal experiments, yet weighs 6g and has a volume of 3cm3. It is preferable that the implant package has a comparable size to its bioelectronics and a high-density stimulator to support stimulation with high spatial resolution. Furthermore, the epidural electrode should be soft and flexible because a mechanical mismatch exists at the tissue-electrode interface [1]. Unlike other implant/SoCs that stimulate with pre-loaded patterns [4–5], the implant for motor function recovery should be capable of adaptively adjusting its stimulation patterns at run time in response to the subject's varying physiological states [2]. Measuring the electrode-tissue impedance is also critical to ensure safe stimulation. Deriving the equivalent circuit model of the electrode-tissue interface determines the safe stimulation boundary (i.e. pulse width and intensity) to ensure the electrode overpotential is within the water window [6]. However, an SoC implementation of this function has not been reported.
Application of Crack Layer in Modeling of Slow Crack Growth in High-Density Polyethylene

Crack layer model provides a comprehensive foundation for modeling of fracture growth, failure analysis, and lifetime prediction. During the past two decades, it has been widely applied for modeling various aspects of brittle fracture in general. This paper illustrates in details the procedure of implementation by an example of slow crack growth in a commercialized high-density polyethylene undergoing creep conditions. Firstly, we determine experimentally the basic parameters employed in constitutive equations of crack layer model such as draw ratio λ, the specific energy of transformation γtr, and drawing stress σdr, etc.. Secondly, we implement crack layer model numerically in lab-developed “Simulator”. The paper provides a paradigm for implementation of crack layer model in slow crack growth, and a blueprint for potential software development that can be used in ranking and the lifetime assessment of a large set of engineering polymers.© 2013 ASME
Veterinary Benevolent Fund bungalows.

THE Veterinary Benevolent Fund (VBF) owns two pairs of semi-detached bungalows, set in a large garden in a quiet cul-de-sac in Burton, near Christchurch, Dorset. The bungalows are used for charitable purposes to accommodate members of the profession, their widows …
Note on pitch discrimination learning.

Miller (1956) has suggested that the number of stimuli which can be identified in an "absolute" discrimination task is 7-1 2, about 2.8 bits of transmitted information. Considering the abiliry of the human operator to handle very large amounts of stimulus information, under optimum conditions one might intuitively expect absolute discrimination to exceed Miller's magical 7 by at least an order of magnitude. A preliminary investigation suggested that "absolute" pitch discrimination improves as a result of experience without informative feedback or knowledge-of-results ( K R ) and that K R training results in additional improvement. Rather marked differences across individuals were also observed. The experimental hypotheses suggested by the preliminary investigation are: (1) "absolute" pitch discrimination improves as a function of experience without K R , ( 2 ) once the improvement stated in (1) has taken place, K R training will result in further improvement, and ( 3 ) performance differs across Ss. Ss were 22 introductory psychology students. The signal and response arrays were designed in a manner such that they each contained an ordinal structure and could be encoded easily by S. The stimuli were 18 simple sine-wave tones arranged in three scales with frequencies corresponding to the musical notes A, B, C, E, P , and G. The responses were coded alpha-numerical symbols. Thus A1 indicated a tone with a frequency of 220 Hertz, A 2 indicated 880 Hertz, and A3 indicated 3520 Hertz. K R was not available during the first four sessions composed of a total of 756 test tones plus 72 warm-up tones. An a priori performance stability criterion was reached by the end of the fourth session calling for implementation of K R training for the fifth session. During the K R condition, E correctly identified each tone after S had responded to it. K R was not available for Session 6; thus performance on Sessions 4 and 6 could be compared in a pre-treaunent vs post-treatment manner to test the effects of K R training. Sessions 5 and 6 were each composed of 216 test tones plus 1 8 warm-up tones. Bits of information transmitted was used (mere ly ) as the criterion measure; and appropriate non-parametric statistical tests were conducted to test the experimental hypotheses. The results supported all of the experimental hypotheses. Improvement was from 2.17 bits in Session 1 to 2.38 bits in Session 6. The results did not indicate that K R training had been continued long enough to produce a maximum effect; thus more training might have resulted in further improvement. Further research into the effects of more extensive and intensive K R training, and possibly other training techniques, is indicated.
Preparation of α-(Si.Ge):H Alloys by D.C. Glow Discharge Deposition

We report the preparation of α-(Si,Ge):H alloy films by decomposition of SiF4, GeF4, and H2 in a d.c. glow discharge. Germanium is incorporated very efficiently from GeF4. The germanium content and optical gap can be controlled by varying the GeF4 flow while keeping the SiF4 and H2 flows constant. The films, all prepared at 300 °C substrate temperature, exhibit high photo- to dark-conductivity ratios for compositions of up to −25% germanium.