cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characterization of the T-Cell Receptor Repertoire and Immune Microenvironment in Patients with Locoregionally Advanced Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

Purpose: Squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) is a lethal cancer with a suboptimal 5-year overall survival of approximately 50% with surgery and/or definitive chemoradiotherapy. Novel treatments are thus urgently awaited. Immunotherapy with checkpoint blockade has emerged as a promising option for patients with recurrent/metastatic SCCHN; however, it has not been investigated in the curative-intent setting yet. The purpose of this study was to investigate the T-cell receptor repertoire and the tumor microenvironment in tumor tissues of SCCHN patients with locoregionally advanced disease.Experimental Design: We performed T-cell receptor sequencing of tumor tissues from 44 patients with locoregionally advanced SCCHN prior to treatment with definitive chemoradiotherapy and correlated the T-cell clonality and the mRNA expression levels of immune-related genes with clinicopathologic parameters.Results: Clonal expansion of T cells was significantly higher in human papilloma virus (HPV)-negative compared with HPV-positive tumors, signifying more robust antigen presentation in HPV-negative tumors. The latter was supported by the higher percentage of HPV-negative tumors expressing HLA-A protein compared with HPV-positive tumors (P = 0.049). Higher GRZB levels correlated significantly with longer recurrence-free survival (log-rank, P = 0.003) independent of tumor size, nodal stage, and HPV status.Conclusions: Our findings support clonal expansion of T cells in SCCHN patients with locoregionally advanced disease and imply differences in the antigen presentation capacity between HPV-negative and HPV-positive tumors. Elevated GRZB mRNA levels may also serve as a favorable and independent predictor of outcome in SCCHN patients treated with chemoradiotherapy. These data provide rationale for the introduction of immunotherapeutic approaches in the curative-intent setting. Clin Cancer Res; 23(16); 4897-907. ©2017 AACR.
Listeria in Raw Milk Soft Cheese: A Case Study of Risk Governance in the United States Using the IRGC Framework

Between 1980 and 1996 there were 30 known and reported outbreaks of foodborne illness associated with cheese consumption in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Scandinavia (Cody et al. 1999), and 16 of these outbreaks were associated with cheese produced using unpasteurised milk contaminated with one or more of the following pathogens— Brucella sp, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp., and Yersinia enterocolitica (Teuber 2000). In this chapter, we will focus on only one of these pathogens—Listeria monocytogenes (Lm). Of the above outbreaks, three were caused by Lm, which resulted in 284 reported illnesses and 86 deaths (Teuber 2000). Periodic outbreaks of listeriosis from cheese have continued to occur; at least another six Lm outbreaks in the U.S., four in Europe, and two in Canada have been associated with cheese consumption since 1996 (de Valk et al. 2005; Food Safety Network 2005; Pagotto et al. 2006; U.S. Food and Drug Administration Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition [FDA CFSAN] et al. 2003).
Pratt's guide to private equity & venture capital sources

Since 1984, Pratt's Guide to Private Equity & Venture Capital Sources (Pratt's Guide) has been the go-to directory for researching actively investing private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) fi...
Dynamic energy and reliability management in network-on-chip based chip multiprocessors

I investigate techniques for dynamic reliability management (DRM) and dynamic energy management (DEM) in future network-on-chip based chip multiprocessors (CMPs). I propose and study a hybrid dynamic lifetime reliability management algorithm that combines thread migration and dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) techniques so that lifetime reliability of the overall system is increased to the desired target with minimal performance degradation. Furthermore, I introduce a novel algorithm for dynamic energy management under performance constraints. The proposed algorithm is a very effective heuristic that also uses the DVFS technique and a very efficient workload prediction technique based on Kalman filtering and long-short-term-memory (LSTM). In addition, this work is going to take advantage of deep neural networks (DNN) models in the next phase of this dissertation.
Venous Thromboembolism-Related Readmission in Emergency General Surgery Patients: A Role for Prophylaxis on Discharge?

Background Patients undergoing emergency general surgery (EGS) operations experience high rates of venous thromboembolism (VTE). The rates at which thrombus formation occurs after discharge, and whether VTE prophylaxis at discharge might be warranted to prevent readmission, are unknown. This analysis aimed to determine risk factors associated with VTE formation after discharge for EGS operations. Study Design An analysis of the American College of Surgeons NSQIP database from 2013 and 2014 of patients undergoing 10 common EGS operations in an emergent fashion. Multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to determine factors that predicted VTE after discharge. Results A total of 130,036 patients were included. The 30-day VTE rate was 1.30%, with 35% of all VTEs occurring after discharge. Of those who had VTE develop after discharge, 69.4% required readmission. Predictive factors for post-discharge VTE included prolonged length of stay (odds ratio [OR] 5.25; p Conclusions More than 30% of VTEs in the EGS population occur after discharge; of these, a vast majority require readmission. Select high-risk EGS subgroups might benefit from prophylactic anticoagulation at discharge.
Out-of-Circuit Vaporizers

The purpose of a vaporizer is to enrich the gas or gas mixture being delivered by an anaesthesia machine with the vapor of a liquid anaesthetic agent. Basically, there are two possible locations for a vaporizer on an anaesthesia apparatus. The vaporizer may be inserted into the fresh gas line which supplies the anaesthesia breathing system with the gas or gas mixture (out-of-circuit); or the vaporizer may be inserted into the breathing system itself (in-circuit). The following chapter is concerned primarily with the former arrangement. We will refer to the concentration of the vapor of the liquid anaesthetic agent in the gas as “the concentration delivered by the vaporizer” or, simply, “the concentration”. For convenience, the commonly used anaesthetic agents are listed with their physical properties in Fig. 29.
Production of Free Radicals

This chapter discusses the production of free radicals while focusing on oxygen free radicals. A free radical is defined in very general terms as an organizational state of a molecule or atom having a free electron associated with it. Almost all atoms or molecules in biological systems exist such that their electrons are paired. Thus the existence of a free radical is an unusual occurrence in most chemical and biochemical systems. Research results show that free radicals are important etiological agents in the development of cardiovascular diseases. The major free radicals that are of importance involve primarily two classes: oxygen free radicals and nitric oxide. A significant number of all patients who have a heart attack and survive eventually develop some type of neurological problems. In addition, there is an increasing number of people who suffer from neurodegenerative diseases. It is quite clear that oxygen free radicals play a significant role in the etiology of neurodegenerative diseases. Focusing on the cerebral vasculature, it becomes clear that the microvasculature cells produce oxygen free radicals in increased amounts as a result of anoxia/reoxygenation. The oxygen free radicals produced by localized activated leukocytes are also a significant source of oxidative damage.
Quantum Trigonometry of the Noh-Fougères-Mandel Experiments

We investigate the quantum trigonometry of a single mode of a harmonic oscillator using the concept of the phase propensity and the associated operational operators. This approach is motivated by an operational approach to phase fluctuations presented in the recent measurements of the phase properties of optical fields by Noh, Fougeres, and Mandel (NFM).
Design Considerations for High-Speed Low-Power Low-Voltage CMOS Analog-to-Digital Converters

This paper describes architecture and circuit approaches for the design of high-speed, low-power, pipelined analog-to-digital converters in CMOS. The role of pipeline architectures in high--speed conversion is first discussed. Then a number of design issues related to power optimization in pipeline A/D converters are discussed, including power minimization in switched capacitor gain blocks operated on low supply voltages, implementation of transmission gates on low voltages, and capacitor scaling in pipelines. The application of these approaches is illustrated using results from an experimental 10-bit 20-MS/s pipeline A/D converter implemented in 1.2-μm CMOS technology that achieves a power dissipation of 35 mW at full speed operation.
A phase II trial of older adults with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) receiving nab-paclitaxel: Melding the fields of geriatrics and oncology.

10035Background: The Institute of Medicine and ASCO identified key research priorities to improve the evidence base of older adults with cancer, including the need for therapeutic phase II trials. ...
Bile Diversion Improves Metabolic Phenotype Dependent on Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR)

Objective The current study investigated whether bile diversion (BD) improves metabolic phenotype under farnesoid X receptor (FXR) deficiency. Methods BD was performed in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed FXR knockout (FXRko) and wild-type (WT) animals. Metabolic phenotypes, circulating enteroendocrine hormones, total bile acids (BAs) and BA composition, and cecal gut microbiota were analyzed. Results FXR-deficient mice were resistant to HFD-induced obesity; however, FXR-deficient mice also developed hyperglycemia and exhibited increased liver weight, liver steatosis, and circulating triglycerides. BD increased circulating total BAs and taurine-b-muricholic acid, which were in line with normalized hyperglycemia and improved glucose tolerance in HFD-fed WT mice. FXR deficiency also increased total BAs and taurine-b-muricholic acid, but these animals remained hyperglycemic. While BD improved metabolic phenotype in HFD-fed FXRko mice, these improvements were not as effective as in WT mice. BD increased liver expression of fibroblast growth factor 21 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1β and elevated circulating glucagon-like peptide-1 levels in WT mice but not in FXRko mice. FXR deficiency altered gut microbiota composition with a specific increase in phylum Proteobacteria that may act as a possible microbial signature of some diseases. These cellular and molecular changes in FXRko mice may contribute to resistance toward improved metabolism. Conclusions FXR signaling plays a pivotal role in improved metabolic phenotype following BD surgery.
Redescription of Chusquea perligulata (Poaceae: Bambusoideae: Bambuseae: Chusqueinae) and description of a similar but new species of Chusquea from Ecuador

The poorly known but distinctive Chusquea perligulata , which was originally described from vegetative material and tentatively placed in Guadua , is completely described and illustrated, and its basionym is neotypified. As its name suggests, C. perligulata has well developed inner ligules (1–) 2–10 cm long on the foliage leaves. This species is endemic to Ecuador, as is a morphologically similar species described here as C. jorgemoranii . This species is distinguished from C . perligulata by a combination of features including abaxially hispid culm leaves lacking differentiation between the sheath and the blade, a dome-shaped central bud, shorter inner ligules, smaller synflorescences and slightly larger spikelets. Chusquea jorgemoranii is illustrated and compared with C. perligulata . Both species are classified within Chusquea sect. Verticillatae .
Molecular Profiling Establishes Genetic Features Predictive of the Efficacy of the p110β Inhibitor KIN-193.

Aberrant activation of the PI3K pathway is a common alteration in human cancers. Therapeutic intervention targeting the PI3K pathway has achieved limited success due to the intricate balance of its different components and isoforms. Here, we systematically investigated the genomic and transcriptomic signatures associated with response to KIN-193, a compound specifically targeting the p110β isoform. By integrating genomic, transcriptomic, and drug response profiles from the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer database, we identified mutational and transcriptomic signatures associated with KIN-193 and further created statistical models to predict the treatment effect of KIN-193 in cell lines, which may eventually be clinically valuable. These predictions were validated by analysis of the external Cancer Cell Line Encyclopedia dataset. These results may assist precise therapeutic intervention targeting the PI3K pathway. Significance: These findings provide new insights into molecular signatures associated with sensitivity of the p110β inhibitor KIN-193, which may provide a useful guide for developing precise treatment methods for cancer.
Enhancing the Program Quality and College-Level Success Metrics of an IT Program at a Large Public University

Student success is a widely discussed and studied topic in higher education. Colleges and universities have been using college-level success metrics (time to degree, graduation, and retention rates) to measure student success. There are multiple factors that affect student success. Our previous study found that non-accredited Information Technology (IT) program within the Department of Computer Science and the way IT and Computer Science (CS) programs were established within the department and the resulting social comparisons were one among many factors that had a negative consequence on IT students' success. However, the IT program at the targeted university received accreditation from the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in 2013, and since then, many changes were made in the program. In this paper, we examine student data from IT undergraduate program at a large public university to identify who started the program in Spring 2014 and Fall 2014 semesters and dropped out, changed their major or successfully completed the program by Fall 2017. We also conducted a network analysis of the IT program curriculum to determine courses that were causing difficulty for students to continue in the program. Our results suggest that there is no significant improvement in college-level student success metrics since ABET accreditation. We conclude that IT programs in higher education institutions need to take additional program improvement measures that are student-centered to improve students' course passing rate. Based on our analyses, we propose necessary measures to improve both college-level success metrics and program quality.
Initiating Task Card Activities With Teachers.

An assistant professor at the City University of New York, Philip White has taught mathematics and science methods courses for twelve years. The material in this article was originally developed for teachers attending an Open Education Workshop at the City College of New York. Bonnie Brownstein is an advisor at this Workshop Center for Open Education. Victor Wagner is adjunct instructor in mathematics education at the Bank Street College.
From spatial navigation via visual construction to episodic memory and imagination

This hybrid of review and personal essay argues that models of visual construction are essential to extend spatial navigation models to models that link episodic memory and imagination. The starting point is the TAM–WG model, combining the Taxon Affordance Model and the World Graph model of spatial navigation. The key here is to reject approaches in which memory is restricted to unanalyzed views from familiar places, and their later recall. Instead, we will seek mechanisms for imagining truly novel scenes and episodes. We thus introduce a specific variant of schema theory and VISIONS, a cooperative computation model of visual scene understanding in which a scene is represented by an assemblage of schema instances with links to lower-level “patches” of relevant visual data. We sketch a new conceptual framework for future modeling, Visual Integration of Diverse Multi-Modal Aspects, by extending VISIONS from static scenes to episodes combining agents, actions and objects and assess its relevance to both navigation and episodic memory. We can then analyze imagination as a constructive process that combines aspects of memories of prior episodes along with other schemas and adjusts them into a coherent whole which, through expectations associated with diverse episodes and schemas, may yield the linkage of episodes that constitutes a dream or a narrative. The result is IBSEN, a conceptual model of Imagination in Brain Systems for Episodes and Navigation. The essay closes by analyzing other papers in this Special Issue to assess to what extent their results relate to the research proposed here.
Nearshore Bathymetry From Fusion of Sentinel-2 and ICESat-2 Observations

Nearshore estimates of bathymetry are crucial for understanding coastal processes. However, current passive remote sensing methods for estimating bathymetry require in situ depth measurements to train inversion models, which can be difficult or impossible to obtain in many areas. To address this issue, we investigated the fusion of range measurements from the advanced topographic laser altimeter system (ATLAS) aboard the NASA ICESat-2 satellite, and multispectral satellite imagery from European Space Agency (ESA) Sentinel-2 using two common bathymetric inversion algorithms. The active ranging capability of the ATLAS green (532-nm) laser has been shown to generate returns of up to 38-m depth in optically clear waters, providing depth measurements to constrain passive bathymetric inversion results. Data acquired in November 2018 over the nearshore in Destin, FL, USA, offer a proof of concept for this approach. The results of the bathymetric inversion were quantitatively assessed by comparison with airborne bathymetric LiDAR collected using the U.S. Army Corps Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging LiDAR (CZMIL) system in October–November 2018. Overall, the results of the bathymetric inversion compared with the CZMIL data have a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.35 m in waters with similar turbidity and bottom reflectivity, and demonstrate that a combination of ICESat-2 depth observations with Sentinel-2 multispectral imagery can estimate seamless nearshore bathymetry for optically clear coastal waters.
Lipid-Encapsulated Fe3O4 Nanoparticles for Multimodal Magnetic Resonance/Fluorescence Imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and fluorescence imaging (FI) are widely used in disease detection, diagnosis, and image-guided therapy. Dual-modality MRI/FI probes can provide a unified imaging p...
P168 Student Vegetable Sensory Perception Questionnaire Responses Associated with School Lunch Vegetable Consumption

Background Children's willingness to try (WTT) foods is positively associated with dietary quality. Sensory characteristics of foods are likely to contribute to children's WTT and dietary intake, but there is little research investigating how sensory characteristics inform vegetable consumption in real-world settings. Objective To investigate the relationship between students’ vegetable sensory perception questionnaire responses and vegetable consumption during school lunch. Study Design, Setting, Participants This repeated cross-sectional study collected data at 3 rural Illinois schools over 3 months (3 dates at 2 schools, 2 dates at 1 school) when broccoli or peas were served. Schools participated in the National School Lunch Program and had students in grades K-8. Measurable Outcome/Analysis Vegetable consumption was measured by individual direct weighing of waste remaining from standardized vegetable portions. Questionnaire data used a 3-point scale, adapted from USDA Try-Day Taste-Testing Ballots, to assess if students tried the vegetable and WTT vegetable again, and allowed students to rate the vegetable's visual appeal and taste. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the study sample. Linear regression analyses (adjusted for grade, sex, and percent entree consumption) were used to examine the association between students’ questionnaire responses and school lunch percent vegetable consumption. Results Participants were 51% female and 49% male (n = 317 students, average of n = 40 per month per school). Responses to vegetable taste and visual appeal questions were significant predictors of percent vegetable consumption, such that students who responded positively to the questions consumed 17.1 and 17.8 percentage points more vegetables than those who responded neutrally (β = 17.1 and 17.8, respectively, P Conclusions Students’ vegetable sensory perception questionnaire responses are significant predictors of school lunch vegetable consumption. Subsequently, practitioners should consider improving the visual appeal and taste of school meals, and researchers should incorporate sensory perception measures when evaluating school meal interventions.
Imputation for Skewed Data: Multivariate Lomax Case

Most multiple imputation methods for multivariate missing data have been developed for normally distributed data. However, methods may not be suitable for nonnegative and/or highly skewed data. We propose an approach by using Expectation-Maximization (EM) method based on the assumption of multivariate Lomax distribution on non-negative skewed data. Extensive simulations show that this proposed method outperforms the regular normality-based EM and k-nearest-neighbor (k NN) imputation methods under the missing completely at random (MCAR) mechanism. An application on a real-world biomedical data is then provided.
Pleomorphic giant cell carcinoma of prostate: Rare tumor with unique clinicopathological, immunohistochemical, and molecular features

Pleomorphic giant cell carcinoma (PGCC) of the prostate is a rare entity categorized as a variant of prostatic acinar adenocarcinoma in the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) classification system. PGCC differs from conventional prostatic adenocarcinoma by having bizarre, markedly enlarged, and pleomorphic cells. It differs from high grade urothelial carcinoma by negativity for urothelial differentiation markers, and can be distinguished from sarcomatoid carcinoma by lack of spindle cells. Including two new cases described herein, there have been 51 cases of prostate PGCC reported in the English literature. Clinical features shared by cases of prostate PGCC include poor prognosis, occurrence in older patients, and frequent association with prior therapy. Pathologic features common to cases of prostate PGCC include admixture with a high-grade conventional prostate carcinoma component and absent or reduced expression of prostate differentiation markers. More recent studies have begun to elucidate the molecular characteristics of PGCC, detecting specific mutations and chromosomal translocations, and showing evidence of a high degree of molecular instability in these tumors. We report novel findings in two cases of PGCC including a PIK3CA p.His1047Arg mutation not previously described. One of our cases is the first to clearly demonstrate chronological loss of prostate markers during dedifferentiation from prior conventional prostate carcinoma to PGCC. Herein, we present our two new cases and comprehensively review the literature on all reported cases of PGCC with critical commentary on findings in cases of this rare tumor.
Daily Food Insecurity and Its Impact on Diet Quality in Low-Income Adults in Two Seasons: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study

Objectives Chronic food insecurity (FI) is common in low-income adults and is associated with a suboptimal diet. The dynamicity of FI in the short term in relation to diet is not well understood. We aim to examine if there are seasonal shifts in the relationship between FI and diet.
A Review of “The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World”

The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World (OEIW) contains over 750 articles and seeks to deal with all aspects of Islam: its religion, politics, economics, and culture. OEIW represents a substan...
Rational design of cytotoxic T-cell inhibitors.

This study describes the use of the CD8/major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I crystal structure as a template for the de novo design of low-molecular-weight surface mimetics. The analogs were designed from a local surface region on the CD8 α-chain directly adjacent to the bound MHC class I, to block the protein associations in the T-cell activation cluster that occur upon stimulation of the cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). One small conformationally restrained peptide showed dose-dependent inhibition of a primary allogeneic CTL assay while having no effect on the CD4-dependent mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). The analog's activity could be modulated through subtle changes in its side chain composition. Administration of the analog prevented CD8-dependent clearance of a murine retrovirus in BALB/c mice. In C57BL/6 mice challenged with the same retrovirus, the analog selectively inhibited the antiviral CTL responses without affecting the ability of the CTLs to generate robust allogeneic responses.
Synthesis of 2',4'-bridged nucleosides using a new orthogonally protected sugar synthon: 5-O-(tert-butyldiphenylsilyl)-4-C-hydroxymethyl-1,2-O-isopropylidene-3-O-napthyl-α-D-allofuranose.

2′,4′-Bridged nucleic acids (BNA) provide unprecedented increases in the thermal stability of oligonucleotide duplexes. Locked nucleic acids (LNA), a representative member of the BNA class, have shown promise in antisense applications and as a diagnostic tool. While a number of BNA analogs have been reported in the literature, their evaluation in vivo has been stymied by difficulties in securing enough amidite to support extensive animal experiments. A bottleneck has been the ability to prepare a key mono-protected allofuranose synthon that is the common starting material for all BNA analogs. This unit presents the synthesis of a novel orthogonally protected sugar synthon, 5-O-(tert-butyldimethylsilyl)-4-C-hydroxymethyl-1,2-O-isopropylidene-3-O-(2-methylnaphthlene)-α-d-allofuranose, which can be prepared in 100-gram quantities without any chromatographic purification of intermediates or the final product. The utility of this new synthon is exemplified by the synthesis of BNA analogs containing uracil nucleobases, substituted 2′,4′-bridges, and oxyamino functionalities that are otherwise more difficult to prepare using the 3′-O-benzyl protecting group strategy most commonly used in the literature. Curr. Protoc. Nucleic Acid Chem. 44:1.24.1-1.24.23. © 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Keywords: constrained MOE (cMOE); N-OMe-2′-amino BNA; Nap protecting group
The College Gender Gap in the United States, 1940-2000: Trends and International Comparisons

The enrollment of women in American institutions of higher learning passed that of men for the first time in 1979. Women now make up about 56 percent of college students in the United States and earn about 57 percent of bachelor's degrees. Before the 1970s, however, men were much more likely to obtain a college education than women, despite the fact that women were somewhat more likely to graduate from high school. This paper documents trends in college attainment by gender during the twentieth century, with an emphasis on the post-1940 period, using educational statistics and analysis of U.S. Census and Current Population Survey data. It then explores some potential economic explanations for the dramatic closing and reversal of the gender gap, focusing on the potential role of returns to human capital.
Youth Oppression as a Technology of Colonialism: Conceptual Frameworks and Possibilities for Social Justice Education Praxis

In this article, we conceptualize youth oppression as a social justice issue using SJE frameworks including Adams’ levels of oppression, Bell's defining features of oppression, Hardiman et. al.'s matrix of oppression, Young's Five Faces, and Love's internalized oppression. We examine youth as a social identity group, and youth oppression as a mechanism through which the roles of dominant and subordinate are installed on all humans, and through which we are socialized to participate in the maintenance and perpetuation of other forms of oppression.This conceptualization of youth oppression is rooted in examination of discourses that create childhood as a subordinate social status in relation to adults, and parallels with certain discourses of colonialism. Examination of parallels between discourses that create childhood and some of the discourses of colonialism illuminate youth oppression as a technology of colonialism. Colonialism, a complex oppressive system operating on multiple levels, maintains unequal...
Adaptive ensemble learning strategy using an assistant classifier for large-scale imbalanced patent categorization

Automatic patent classification is of great practical value for saving a lot of resources and manpower. As real patent classification tasks are often very-large scale and serious imbalanced such as patent classification, using traditional pattern classification techniques has shown inefficient and ineffective. In this paper, an adaptive ensemble learning strategy using an assistant classifier is proposed to improve generalization accuracy and the efficiency. The effectiveness of the method is verified on a group of real patent classification tasks which are decomposed in multiple ways by using different algorithms as the assistant classifiers.
Knowledge is Power: Consumer Education and the Subprime Mortgage Market

INTRODUCTION 634 I. AS TIME HAS PASSED, THE LEGITIMATE SUBPRIME MARKET HAS TAKEN ON CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PREDATORY MARKET, BLURRING THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE TWO 638 A. The Boom in Subprime Lending Led to the Birth of the Predatory Market 639 B. Characteristics of the Predatory Market Adopted by the Subprime Market 640 1. Lending without Considering Borrowers‘ Ability to Repay Will Likely Lead to Foreclosure 641 2. Financing Excessive Points and Fees Disguises the Cost of the Loan 642 3. Loan Flipping Strips Equity from the Borrower‘s Home 643 4. Hidden Prepayment Penalties Make it More Expensive for a Borrower to Refinance 644 5. Balloon Payments can be Used as Leverage to Deplete Borrowers‘ Equity 644 6. Negative Amortization Strips Equity Before it is Built 645 C. These Terms are the Most Abusive When Borrowers are ―Steered‖ into Accepting Them 645 D. Lack of Borrower Knowledge Further Blurs the Distinction Between Predatory and Subprime Loans ......... 646 II. CURRENT FEDERAL LEGISLATION HAS NOT BEEN ENOUGH TO PROTECT BORROWERS 647 A. The Truth in Lending Act 647 B. Home Ownership Equity Protection Act of 1994 648
Modeling time in hybrid systems: how fast is instantaneous?

Many of today's electro-mechanical devices exhibit both continuous and discrete behavior. Modeling these hybrid systems presents special challenges for automated modeling and simulation. We show how nonstandard analysis overcomes these challenges, provides a firm mathematical foundation, and satisfies our intuitions about the behavior of hybrid systems.
Scattering-induced downstream beam modulation by plasma scalded mirrors

ABSTRACT Previous work concluded that plasma scalds on laser-conditioned multilayer dielectric mirror coatings are a stable, benign damage morphology. Recent large- aperture measurements indicate that plas ma scalds may lead to fratricide of down-stream optics by increasing beam contrast. This paper describes the results of measurements performed to examine the effect of quasi-periodic plasma scalds covering the entire clear aperture on downstream beam modulation. A collimated, linearly-polarized 1053-nm beamline was constructed that irradiated approximately 5 cm 2 of the plasma scalded region. This beam was propag ated ~8 meters and sampled with a 10 -bit, megapixel CCD camera and analyzed for contrast (peak/average intensity). A lineout across the sample was built up by translating the optic across the beam. The contrast results were compared to a baseline wedged flat with surface figure of O /100 and a contrast adder for the plasma scalds calculated. This was defined by . In all, optics with average plasma scald fractions of 0.9, 2.3, 4 and 14% were measured. Preliminary results indicate that plasma scald fractions of 4% and below contribute a contrast adder of less than 2.5%. Keywords: dielectric mirror, laser conditioning, plasma scald, beam intensification, beam contrast, contrast adder, laser resistance
The Recombination of Propargyl Radicals: Solving the Master Equation

We have investigated theoretically the recombination reaction between two propargyl (C3H3) radicals using previously published BAC-MP4 calculations (supplemented by DFT-B3LYP results) to characterize the potential energy surface, RRKM theory to compute microcanonical rate coefficients, and solutions to the time-dependent, multiple-well master equation to predict thermal rate coefficients and product distributions as a function of temperature and pressure. The thermal rate coefficient k(T,p) drops off precipitously at high temperature, regardless of the pressure. Below 500 K, k(T,p) ≈ k∞(T), the high-pressure limit rate coefficient for initial complex formation, independent of p. For 500 K < T < 2000 K, the rate coefficient increases with increasing pressure, as one would normally expect. At 2000 K, the “coalescence temperature” for this reaction, k(T,p) = k0(T), the zero-pressure rate coefficient, and only bimolecular products (phenyl + H) are predicted, no matter how high we make the pressure. The latter...
Subunit analysis of bovine heart complex I by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Abstract An effective method was developed for isolation and analysis of bovine heart complex I subunits. The method uses C18 reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and a water/acetonitrile gradient containing 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid. Employing this system, 36 of the 45 complex I subunits elute in 28 distinct chromatographic peaks. The 9 subunits that do not elute are B14.7, MLRQ, and the 7 mitochondrial-encoded subunits. The method, with ultraviolet (UV) detection, is suitable for either analytical ( 250 μg protein) applications. Subunits eluting in each chromatographic peak were initially determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–time-of-flight/mass spectrometry (MALDI–TOF/MS) with subsequent positive identification by reversed-phase HPLC–electrospray ionization (ESI)/tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) analysis of tryptic digests. In the latter case, subunits were identified with a 99% probability using Mascot for database searching and Scaffold for assessment of protein identification probabilities. The reversed-phase HPLC subunit analysis method represents a major improvement over previous separation methods with respect to resolution, simplicity, and ease of application.
Role of the emergency medical services system in regionwide health monitoring and referral

The emergency medical services (EMS) system of the future has the opportunity to serve as a regional community health monitoring and referral system. Such a system would shift attention from care of the individual to cost-effective community health efforts using community resource integration, while emphasizing individual responsibility for health. This health care system model requires the establishment of a centralized monitoring agency, the "regional center." The regional center would coordinate the monitoring of regional EMS use and linkage of patients with essential health promotion and behavior change organizations. Many of these supporting organizations are in place but are functioning without the benefit of communitywide health monitoring or effective referral and follow-up links with other resources. Coordination through the EMS system and a regional center would permit these resources to be used in an efficient and accountable fashion. We propose a model in which the EMS system could contribute to coordinated regional health monitoring and maintenance, timely and appropriate health care legislation and regulation, and high-impact health care education and intervention in the setting of self-destructive individual behavior.
Evaluation of the exposure effects of a theory-based street outreach HIV intervention on African-American drug users.

Abstract The Street Outreach to Drug Abusers—Community AIDS Prevention (SODA—CAP) Project implemented and evaluated an HIV-prevention intervention aimed at current drug users. The intervention was developed using social cognitive theory and the transtheoretical model of change. The outreach team assessed individuals’ stages of change for the target behaviors and they were given stage-appropriate role-model stories. The program effects were evaluated using a quasi-experimental design with a repeated, cross-sectional sampling method in which community surveys were administered at baseline, 12 and 22 months. Multivariate statistical models were developed for four outcomes (condom use with main and other partners, treatment entry, and stopping all drug and alcohol use). Exposure to intervention was a significant predictor for condom use with other partners and for stopping drug and alcohol use.
Tight or loose coupling between components of the feeding neuromusculature of Aplysia

Like other complex behaviors, the cyclical, rhythmic consummatory feeding behaviors of Aplysia—biting, swallowing, and rejection of unsuitable food—are produced by a complex neuromuscular system: t...
Transluminal angioplasty of venous stenoses in polytetrafluoroethylene vascular access grafts

Transluminal angioplasty of venous stenoses in polytetrafluoroethylene vascular access grafts. Since 1984, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) utilizing high pressure balloon catheters has been used as an initial approach to restore patency of PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene, GORE-TEX) hemodialysis vascular access grafts. Seventeen stenotic lesions detected by fistulogram underwent elective PTA. Twelve of these lesions were detected after thrombectomy and five were detected because of increased venous pressures during dialysis. Fourteen attempts at PTA were completely successful in restoring functional patency to the vascular graft. Three attempts were unsuccessful; two of these three grafts were subsequently repaired surgically. Venous stenoses that extended for greater than 6 cm were not considered for PTA. We conclude that PTA is a technique of promise in the non-surgical salvage of failing PTFE grafts. PTA can prolong the useful life of PTFE vascular access grafts and can be performed on an outpatient basis, eliminating the hospitalization that is usually required for surgical revision.
Improved gel-filtration method for analysis of estrogen receptor binding

Abstract A method has been described whereby 100- to 300-mg amounts of breast tumor tissue can be analyzed for cytoplasmic estrogen receptor binding capacity. This procedure differentiates specific from nonspecific estrogen binding. In addition, competitive adsorption of estrogen to Sephadex gel has been measured and true receptor binding capacities evaluated. By submitting the corrected receptor binding data to Scatchard plot analysis, the dissociation constant of the estrogen receptor complex was determined with greater accuracy.
Laboratory measurements of growth in thin ice and flooded ice

Abstract A series of ice-sheet growth measurements in a small cold-room ice tank and in the large ice tank at the Institute for Marine Dynamics lends support to the use of the quasi-steady model for thin ice growth prediction. In view of the linearity of the ice temperature profile, a method is proposed to deduce the surface heat transfer coefficient from this profile. Using these results a simple, approximate, analytical theory is developed for flooded ice growth. The theory is used to predict the optimum flooding rate for the construction of flooded ice platforms and to suggest how this flooding rate may be estimated in the field.
Resistance in Tomato Accessions to the Tomato Pinworm

In the greenhouse, seedlings of 235 plant introductions of Lycopersicon were screened for resistance to the tomato pinworm, Keiferia lycopersicella (Walsingham). In initial screenings, accessions of Lycopersicon Pimpinellifolium (Jusl.) Mill. and L. esculentum × L. Pimpinellifolium were more susceptible while those of L. peruvianum (L.) Mill., L. peruvianum var. humifusum . Mull., L. esculentum × L. peruvianum, L. cheesmanii f. minor (Hook F.) Mull., and L. glandulosum Mull. were less susceptible than the commercial tomato cultivar ‘Walter’ ( L. esculentum Mill.). Selections of L. hirsutum Humb. and Bonpl. and L. hirsutum f. glabratum Mull, were most resistant and had 25–50% less damage and 50–75% fewer larvae than Walter. In secondary screening, accessions of L. cheesmanii f. minor, L. glandulosum, L. hirsutum and L. hirsutum f. glabratum had less damage and fewer larvae per plant than Walter. In a laboratory study with excised leaflets, larval survival and weight were less on P. I. 126445 and P. I. 127826 ( L. hirsutum ) and P. I. 126449 ( L. hirsutum f. glabratum ) than on Walter.
Barriers to sugar mill cogeneration in India: insights into the structure of post-2012 climate financing instruments.

The Indian government has set the challenging goal of increasing its electricity capacity six- to eight-fold in the next 30 years in the context of significant capacity shortfalls and a financially ailing electricity sector. The central and state governments are subsidizing renewable energy because of energy security concerns, to promote domestic resources and a diversity of fuel supply. International funds made available through the international climate change regime could potentially provide much needed support to pay the higher costs that most renewable energy requires. This article performs a case study analysis of the history of the development of one renewable energy technology in India—cogeneration of sugarcane waste—focusing on the barriers this technology has faced in the past and now faces, and how well international and domestic efforts have worked to overcome these barriers. The goal of this work is to lend insight into the effective structure of future international support mechanisms being ...
Trypan blue–assisted neodymium:YAG laser treatment for overfiltering bleb

Overfiltering blebs can lead to postoperative problems including hypotony maculopathy, decreased vision, and increased ocular discomfort. Many methods have been used in the past with varying results. Various lasers have been used in an attempt to cause localized scarring and fibrosis. We report a treatment technique to noninvasively treat a patient with an overfiltering bleb using trypan blue and a frequency-doubled continuous-wave neodymium:YAG laser emitting green light.
A Service Quality Process Map for Credit Card Processing

Evaluating marketing (external) and operations (internal) service quality performance in most organizations is a data-oriented management task that involves many variables for many different types of services. These two diverse sets of service quality information seldom “match up well” because the marketing and operations functions define and evaluate service quality “their way.” Management's interpretation of what the data “mean” often contributes to extra meetings, unnecessary disagreements within and between functional areas, and poor decision making. This situation can affect the quality and timing of decisions, and ultimately, the organization's profitability and market share. This paper quantitatively relates the customer's evaluation (perception) of service quality directly to the activities and performance criteria of the service delivery process for a credit card processing center. Basic statistical analyses and a recursive path analysis model define the relationships between marketing- and operations-based service quality information. The idea of a “service quality process map” is introduced. A service quality process map relates a flowchart of the service delivery process to the customer's perception of service using the power of multivariate data analysis. Management insights gained from an analysis of marketing (external) and operations (internal) measures of service quality performance can be used to allocate resources wisely. The objective is to gain the most improvement in the customer's perception of service for the least cost. Service quality with this type of evaluation capability can be used to gain competitive advantage in the marketplace.
On the existence and uniqueness of solutions in adaptive control systems

The issue of existence and uniqueness of solutions, which arises in the analysis of adaptive control systems, is investigated. Sufficient conditions that guarantee existence and uniqueness in positive time of solutions to differential equations describing a wide class of adaptive schemes are given. The concept of Filippov's solution is introduced as a method of dealing with discontinuous adaptive systems. >
Key Issues in Evaluation: Quantitative and Qualitative Methods and Research Design

A number of key issues frequently emerge in the practice of evaluation. One needs to be familiar with these issues to most effectively engage evaluation professionals in one’s program and to make a...
Identification of a p53-response element in the promoter of the proline oxidase gene

Proline oxidase (POX) is a p53-induced proapoptotic gene. We investigated whether p53 could bind directly to the POX gene promoter. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assays detected p53 bound to POX upstream gene sequences. In support of the ChIP results, sequence analysis of the POX gene and its 5' flanking sequences revealed a potential p53-binding site, GGGCTTGTCTTCGTGTGACTTCTGTCT, located at 1161 base pairs (bp) upstream of the transcriptional start site. A 711-bp DNA fragment containing the candidate p53-binding site exhibited reporter gene activity that was induced by p53. In contrast, the same DNA region lacking the candidate p53-binding site did not show significant p53-response activity. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) in ACHN renal carcinoma cell nuclear lysates confirmed that p53 could bind to the 711-bp POX DNA fragment. We concluded from these experiments that a p53-binding site is positioned at -1161 to -1188bp upstream of the POX transcriptional start site.
Synthesis and mass spectrometry characterization of centrally and terminally amine‐functionalized polyisobutylenes

This article reports the facile synthesis of novel terminally and centrally functionalized polyisobutylenes (PIBs) and the detailed characterization of the products by various mass spectrometry techniques. Specifically, HPIBCH2C(OH)CH3CH2NHCH3 and [HPIBCH2CH(OH)CH3CH2]2NCH3 were synthesized by the quantitative epoxidation of HPIBCH2C(CH3)CH2 and the subsequent conversion of the resulting epoxide with excess CH3NH2. Quaternization with CH3Cl of these mixtures of secondary and tertiary amines yielded exclusively HPIBCH2C(OCH3)CH3CH2N(CH3)2 from the secondary amine, whereas the tertiary (centrally functionalized) amine remained unchanged. Tandem mass spectrometry experiments provided unique insight into the precise connectivity of the functional end groups added to the PIB frame. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 946–958, 2005