cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Trolling the U.S. and EU Patent System: Solved by a Loser-Pays-Attorney-Fees Regime?

Frivolous litigation over patent issues poses a significant barrier to innovation, especially in United States where so-called “patent trolls” or PAEs are responsible for most legal conflicts on patent issues. In comparison, Europe has far less PAE-activity than the United States, but the number of such cases in Europe has increased in recent years. Although the situation is complex, the differences between PAE-activity in Europe and the United States are most likely caused by the use of different legal frameworks for fee-shifting, i.e. the presence and absence of a loser-pays-attorney-fees regime, respectively. In analyzing the arguments for and against moving to a loser-pays system, this paper concludes that the existing troll problem can be reduced by adopting, as a standard practice, a system under which the loser must pay the winner’s attorney fees. It follows that a loser-pays-attorney-fees system disincentivizes PAEs from filing frivolous suits, increases the quality of patents in lawsuits, ensures a more equal bargaining position for defendants in settlement negotiations, and results in lower settlements. Nevertheless, this paper also cautions that the benefits of fee-shifting substantially depend on the mechanism chosen. Limiting the reimbursable fees by pre-determined caps might render fee-shifting less effective. However, placing no limits on reimbursable fees might disincentivize innovation and potentially threaten access to justice. Therefore, this paper recommends two features to find a right balance between the reimbursable costs subject to fee-shifting on the one hand, and innovation and access to justice on the other. First, legislative and judicial authorities are advised to implement certain procedural safeguards to shift only reasonable and proportionate attorney fees. This can be accomplished through an issue-based approach and/or the adoption of mandatory case management conferences. Second, automatic fee-shifting should be limited to “PAE losers” only. In determining which parties should be exempted from automatic fee-shifting, this paper suggests, in line with the never adopted working-requirement, to exempt only those parties that submit proof of adequate patent commercialization.
MEDICAID FINANCING IN ASSISTED LIVING AND CHARACTERISTICS OF MEDICARE DUAL-ELIGIBLE RESIDENTS

An increasing number of assisted living (AL) residents rely on Medicaid waivers or state plans to pay for personal care and other supportive services. States may finance services for duals residing in AL through Medicaid waivers and state plans, but the availability of coverage varies – some states offer little to no Medicaid coverage for services in AL, and others offer multiple pathways to receiving assistance. Little is known about duals in AL, including how many have access to AL and the quality of care they receive there. The present study compares the characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries residing in large AL settings, by dual-eligibility status, and investigates the variability in the share of duals in AL among states. We identified 586,397 Medicare beneficiaries residing in AL in 2014. Medicare claims were used to measure health characteristics and health care utilization. Duals represented 16% of AL residents in our cohort. Compared to non-duals, duals were more often older adults of color (24 vs 4%), and more likely to qualify for Medicare due to disability (46 vs 7%). Duals had higher rates of hospitalizations (24 vs 21%) and skilled nursing facility use while in AL (11 vs 10%), and more chronic conditions than non-duals. States varied in the share of AL residents who are duals, ranging from 6% in New Hampshire to 41% in New York. State policies that may contribute to variation in the prevalence of duals in AL and implications of these findings for policy-makers and residents will be discussed.
Association of immune related adverse events with superior outcomes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with nivolumab.

e16630Background: Nivolumab, an anti-PD1 antibody, is FDA approved in patients (pts) with HCC. Anti-PD-1 promotes hyperstimulation of host immunity and is associated with a spectrum of toxicities k...
Constructing “purgatory”: How refugee camp architecture inscribes refugees into the a-political, a-historical, and moveable:

Recent studies in the field of Performance Studies have examined the performativity and spatial practices in refugee camps with particular attention to the political consequences of these psycho-so...
Benefits of Resistance Training in Older Adults.

: Aging is a natural process that may lead to detrimental health depending on someone’s lifestyle, family history, psychological/psychosocial health, chronic medical conditions, and genetics. However, whether the later conditions lead to faster aging or vice versa, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and psychological health has been shown to delay the process of aging and its associated problems. Two major problems that older adults face today are the inability to perform everyday tasks (defined as activities of daily living) and the increased risk of falls. Lack of muscular function (including neuromuscular function) and bone health is associated with the inability to perform the Activity of Daily Living (ADL) and increased risk of falls. This risk of falls has been associated with cardiovascular-related mortality in older adults. Research has shown that resistance exercises can maintain normal blood glucose levels, lipids, and cholesterol, and hence the management of chronic conditions like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes mellitus. Additionally, resistance exercises hinder the process of muscular (and neuromuscular) damage, improve bone health and psychological health and sleep. This mini-review will discuss the benefits of resistance exercises on reversing or at least ceasing the process of developing conditions associated with aging.
Effect of Obesity on Response to Spironolactone in Patients With Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction

Obesity is common in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Whether obesity modifies the response to spironolactone in patients with HFpEF remains unclear. We aimed to investigate the effect of obesity, defined by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC), on response to spironolactone in patients with HFpEF enrolled in Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure with an Aldosterone Antagonist trial. This was a post-hoc, exploratory analysis of the Americas cohort of Treatment of Preserved Cardiac Function Heart Failure with an Aldosterone Antagonist trial. BMI≥30 kg/m2 was used to define the obese group and WC≥102 cm in men and ≥88 cm in women were defined as high WC. In separate analyses, BMI and WC were treated as continuous variables. The effect of spironolactone versus placebo on outcomes was calculated by BMI and WC using Cox proportional hazard models. Obese patients were younger and had more co-morbidities. In multivariate analysis, spironolactone use was associated with a significant reduction in the primary end point, compared with placebo in obese [hazard ratio (HR = 0.618, 95% CI 0.460 to 0.831, p = 0.001), but not in nonobese subjects (HR = 0.946, 95% CI 0.623 to 1.437, p = 0.796; p for interaction = 0.056). There was a linear association between continuous BMI and the effect of spironolactone, with the effect becoming significant at 33kg/m2. Similar results were obtained for the WC-based analysis. In conclusion, use of spironolactone in obese patients with HFpEF was associated with a decreased risk of the primary end point, cardiovascular death and HF hospitalizations, compared with placebo. Further prospective randomized studies in obese subjects are required.
Weathering Mechanisms in Bitumen Modified with Polyphosphoric Acid

AbstractThis study examines the effect of weathering on bituminous composites containing polyphosphoric acid (PPA). PPA has been commonly used in bitumen to increase bitumen’s stiffness and elastic...
Enhancing Employee Well-Being Through Internal Communication

This chapter takes a practitioner-focused look at recent trends in internal communication and employee well-being. Specifically, I explore scholarly research that addresses the ways in which strategic communicators and organizational leaders hinder and promote the various aspects of employee well-being. This chapter also draws upon the job-demands resources model from the management literature to suggest that organizations are best served by viewing their communication processes and tools as job resources to contribute to employees’ social, psychological, and physical health. Conversely, a lack of information and unguided everyday talk in organizations can take a psychological toll on employees.
Observational Constraints on Cumulus Parameterizations

Observational tests of cumulus parameterizations are difficult. Since cumulus convection is generally embedded in a larger-scale flow pattern in which many feedbacks are acting, it is hard to tell what is causing what to happen. For those aspects of convection tightly embedded in feedback loops, the change in convective behavior caused by environmental changes needs to be correctly represented in parameterizations. However, it is precisely these changes that are difficult to observe, since negative large-scale feedback often minimizes the range of naturally occurring variations. For instance, suppose the convective mass flux were very sensitive to environmental instability, such that a slight increase in instability resulted in a large increase in convective mass flux. This in turn would generate large amounts of convective heating, which in turn would quickly stabilize the environment, thus reducing the vertical mass flux. In normal circumstances, large deviations from neutral stability would rarely occur, and observations of convective behavior in highly unstable conditions would be difficult to obtain. However, it is this abnormal behavior that needs to be studied in order to understand the feedback mechanisms that prevent it from occurring more frequently.
A New Epidemiology

Epidemiology has been a regular part of traditional social planning. In this case, the general idea is to determine the level of a problem in certain geographical or social region. Calculations are often made, for example, of the incidence and spread of a disease (Friedman, Primer of epidemiology, 1994). Typically these estimations are based on the presence of various empirical referents, particularly certain demographic and environmental factors. But following the advent of a community-based philosophy, this mode of social assessment is no longer thought to be adequate. The field of public health has not been exempt from this trend. But many analysts believe that these modes of assessment are abstract and reductionistic (Susser, Epidemiology, 15(5):519–520, 2004). For example, communities are treated as if they represent clusters of socio-economic traits. Furthermore, certain cultural features and psychological propensities, such as motivation or possibly moral character, are linked to the empirical characteristics of an environment. This abstract model is used to predict the onset, distribution, and impact of a problem. The notion that a community is more than a place, circumscribed by empirical indices, is not given serious consideration.
Biological vision systems

If the eventual goal of an automated inspection system is to duplicate human visual capabilities, those capabilities must first be well understood. Since the early 1900s researchers have attempted to define the limits of human visual and perceptual capabilities. These efforts have included the destructive dissection of the biological structures responsible for vision, the direct measurement of the responses of brain cells in animals to visual stimuli, and psychological testing of humans in which subjects are shown a specific visual stimulus and are then asked to explain their perception of that stimulus. Although much of this research is not recent, it forms the basis of most artificial vision systems presently under development.
Towards a Comprehensive Survey of Register-based Variation in Spanish Syntax

This study is based on a recent 20 million word corpus of Modern Spanish (1900-1999), containing equivalent sizes of conversation, fiction, and non-fiction. To date, this is the only large, tagged corpus of Spanish that contains texts from a wide range of registers. Nearly 150 syntactic features were tagged, and the frequency of these features in the 20 different registers was calculated. This data is now freely available to researchers via the web. Researchers can examine the frequency of any of the 150 features across the 20 different registers, or examine which of the 150 features are more common in one register than in another. Hopefully this detailed data will be used by teachers and materials developers to provide students of Spanish with a more realistic and holistic view of register variation than has been possible to this point.
Characterization of Poly-β-Hydroxybutyrate Extracted from Different Bacteria

Abstract Lundgren, D. G. (Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.), R. Alper, C. Schnaitman and R. H. Marchessault. Characterization of poly-β-hydroxybutyrate extracted from different bacteria. J. Bacteriol. 89:245–251. 1965.—Poly-β-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) from different bacterial genera was studied with regard to its crystal structure, infrared absorption, intrinsic viscosity, and electron microscopy. All PHB samples precipitated from dilute chloroform solution gave identical X-ray diffractograms confirming uniformity of crystal structure, and uniformity of molecular structure, based on the similarity of the recorded infrared spectra, was also established. Crystal morphology was also similar, showing the reported “lath” shape structure for purified polymer from Bacillus cereus. Intrinsic viscosity ranged from 0.04 to 11.5 depending upon the polymer treatment; polymer molecular weights, based upon viscometry, could be estimated to range from 1,000 to 250,000. It is concluded that the same basic molecule is involved in all PHB present in the bacterial kindgom.
Group dynamics for teams

PART I: CHARACTERISTICS OF TEAMS Chapter 1: Understanding Teams Chapter 2. Defining Team Success PART II: PROCESSES OF TEAMWORK Chapter 3. Team Beginnings Chapter 4. Understanding the Basic Team Processes Chapter 5. Cooperation and Competition Chapter 6. Communication PART III: ISSUES TEAMS FACE Chapter 7. Managing Conflict Chapter 8. Power and Social Influence Chapter 9. Decision Making Chapter 10. Leadership Chapter 11. Problem Solving Chapter 12. Creativity Chapter 13. Diversity PART IV: ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT OF TEAMS Chapter 14. Team, Organizational, and International Culture Chapter 15. Virtual Teamwork Chapter 16. Evaluating and Rewarding Teams Chapter 17. Team Building and Team Training Appendix: Guide to Student Team Projects
Association of Attorney Advertising and FDA Action with Prescription Claims: A Time Series Segmented Regression Analysis

Attorneys sponsor television advertisements that include repeated warnings about adverse drug events to solicit consumers for lawsuits against drug manufacturers. The relationship between such advertising, safety actions by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and healthcare use is unknown. To investigate the relationship between attorney advertising, FDA actions, and prescription drug claims. The study examined total users per month and prescription rates for seven drugs with substantial attorney advertising volume and FDA or other safety interventions during 2009. Segmented regression analysis was used to detect pre-intervention trends, post-intervention level changes, and changes in post-intervention trends relative to the pre-intervention trends in the use of these seven drugs, using advertising volume, media hits, and the number of Medicare enrollees as covariates. Data for these variables were obtained from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Kantar Media, and LexisNexis. Several types of safety actions were associated with reductions in drug users and/or prescription rates, particularly for fentanyl, varenicline, and paroxetine. In most cases, attorney advertising volume rose in conjunction with major safety actions. Attorney advertising volume was positively correlated with prescription rates in five of seven drugs, likely because advertising volume began rising before safety actions, when prescription rates were still increasing. On the other hand, attorney advertising had mixed associations with the number of users per month. Regulatory and safety actions likely reduced the number of users and/or prescription rates for some drugs. Attorneys may have strategically chosen to begin advertising adverse drug events prior to major safety actions, but we found little evidence that attorney advertising reduced drug use. Further research is needed to better understand how consumers and physicians respond to attorney advertising.
Mortality associated with medical therapy versus elective colectomy in ulcerative colitis: a cohort study.

The authors analyzed Medicare and Medicaid data from 2000 to 2011 to compare the survival of patients who had either elective colectomy or medical therapy for advanced ulcerative colitis.
Transit of solids through the human colon : regional quantification in the unprepared bowel

We used a noninvasive method to label the solid phase of contents in the unprepared human colon. 111In-labeled Amberlite pellets (0.5-1.8 mm diam) were placed in a gelatin capsule that was then coated with a pH-sensitive polymer (methacrylate). In vitro, the capsules disintegrated in simulated small bowel contents within 1-2 h; when ingested by healthy subjects, capsules released radiolabel in the distal ileum or proximal colon in 13 of 15 subjects. Transit of 111In-pellets through the unprepared colon could then be quantitated radioscintigraphically. Segmental transit was defined in the ascending (AC), transverse (TC), descending (DC), and rectosigmoid (RS) colon. Radioactivity was also quantitated in stools. At 12 h, radioactivity was most obvious in the AC (59 +/- 11%, mean +/- SE) and the TC (21 +/- 6%); at 24 h, counts were distributed equally between AC, TC, and stools (P greater than 0.05); by 48 h, 56 +/- 11% counts had been excreted, although 30 +/- 10% remained in the TC. At 24 and 48 h, the amount in DC or RS was lower (P less than 0.05) than in the TC or in stools. Emptying of the AC was characterized by an initial lag period, when no counts emptied into the TC, followed by a period of emptying that was approximately linear. Thus this simple approach is able to label contents in the healthy human colon. The ascending and transverse colon appear to be sites of storage of solid residue, whereas the left colon and rectosigmoid function mainly as conduits.
The Directionality of Interfacial Cracking in Bimaterials

Directionality of interfacial cracking resistance in bicrystals has been predicted by a modified Rice-Thomson model and supported by experimental results on Σ9 [110]/(2 $$\overline{2}$$ 1) Cu bicrystals in Wang and Anderson’s recent work. With the intention of extending this work to the behavior of interfacial cracks in dissimilar materials, Rice, Suo and Wang predicted that this directionality also occurs in bimaterials. Reported here are experimental results on Cu/sapphire specimens, which again support the prediction of the theory. A crack along the interface in a Cu/saprjhire bimaterial is brittle and decohesion of the interface occurs when the crack propagates in the [ $$\overline{1}$$ 14]Cu direction, whereas it is ductile and dislocation blunting operates if the crack is intended to propagate in the [1 $$\overline{14}$$ ]Cu direction. This finding is significant theoretically and is of helpful in understanding interfacial cracking in composites and film spalling in packaging materials.
Numerical Modeling of Precipitation and Cloud Shadow Effects on Mountain-Induced Cumuli

Abstract The effects of precipitation on a model of cumulus cloud initiation and development over mountains are studied by numerically integrating the equations of motion, equations of conservation of water substance, and the thermodynamic energy equation. The model is two-space dimensional with a vertical wind shear in a stable, incompressible atmosphere. Heating and evaporation at the valley and mountain interact with the initial ambient flow to initiate clouds which produce shadows on the surface and cut down both heating and evaporation. The model is restricted vertically to 3.5 km and horizontally to 7.0 km. Several precipitation parameters are studied in this model. One, the critical water content determines when cloud water converts to rainwater. A second, the autoconversion rate, determines how rapidly the cloud water converts to rainwater. The third parameter determines how quickly the precipitation evaporates beneath the cloud. The rainwater first forms by autoconversion and is then increased by...
Molecular pathogenesis of equine coital exanthema: temperature-sensitive function(s) in cells infected with equine herpesviruses.

Abstract Preliminary experiments have revealed that several laboratory and wild-type strains of the equine herpesvirus (EHV) triad were temperature-sensitive for growth when assayed at 39°C. The efficiencies of plating (EOP) observed were 10 −2 for both EHV 1 and 2, and 1 × 10 −6 for EHV 3. The EOPs were determined by plaque assays which compared titrations at 34°C and 39°C on equine fetal dermal fibroblast cells. Growth yield experiments, assayed at 34°C, reflected these EOP's, but did not indicate any difference in yields when infected cultures were incubated at 34°C and 37°C. Temperature shift experiments with EHV 3-infected cultures revealed that a temperature-sensitive function(s) responsible for the reduction in titer appeared to be a late function(s). All strains examined appeared to incorporate H 3 -thymidine into viral-density DNA at the non-permissive temperature of 39°C. Electron microscopy of EHV 3-infected cell cultures, incubated continuously at the non-permissive temperature and examined at 18 h after infection, revealed structures consistent with the accumulation of nucleocapsids within the nucleus. The evidence presented is consistent with the hypothesis that in equine dermal cells infected with a plaque-purified wild-type strain of EHV 3 (1118LP), a function needed for the egress of nucleocapsids from the nucleus is absent at 39°C. The significance of these findings relative to the pathogenicity of the disease (equine coital exanthema) caused by this virus is discussed.
Tes, Licuados, and Capsulas: herbal self-care remedies of Latino/Hispanic immigrants for type 2 diabetes.

PurposeThe purpose of this cross-sectional, descriptive study was to explore the characteristics of herbal remedy use for diabetes among Latinos/Hispanics with type 2 diabetes.MethodsA convenience ...
Seasonal light characteristics for a newly formed reservoir in Southwestern USA

Seasonal transparency and extinction coefficients are presented for two major habitats in the Lake Powell system, a large newly formed reservoir in the arid southwestern USA. These habitats include a shallow side canyon station subjected to periodic influx of dissolved and suspended materials and an open bay system. Maximum Secchi disk levels in the open bay station were at 7.7 meters with the Secchi disk estimated to disappear at a level of penetration approximating 10% of the solar radiation entering the lake surface. Mean compensation depth was calculated at 11.7 meters. Seasonal extinction coefficient for unfiltered light in the deeper bay station was 0.321 while extinction coefficients for blue, green and red filtered light were 0.323, 0.309 and 0.474 respectively. The effect of periodic influx of dissolved and suspended substances on the underwater light climate and phytoplankton populations are discussed for desert lakes.
Income dynamics and health.

The focus of this article is the economic dimension of socioeconomic status as it relates to health. In contrast to the assumptions of many life cycle models, the author finds household income to be quite volatile for many families, even during periods of macroeconomic growth. Income inequality has increased dramatically in the last 20 years. Studies relating various measures of health (e.g., low birth weight; cognitive development, stunting, wasting in early childhood; mortality in later adult years) to longitudinal measures of family income often find quite powerful effects of income, even after controlling for correlated aspects of socioeconomic status and baseline health status. The author discusses strategies for modeling income effects.
Rank-based inference in the proportional hazards model for interval censored data

SUMMARY A marginal likelihood approach to fitting the proportional hazards model to interval censored or grouped data is proposed; this approach maximises a likelihood that is the sum over all rankings of the data that are consistent with the observed censoring intervals. As in the usual proportional hazards model, the method does not require specification of the baseline hazard function. The score equations determining the maximum marginal likelihood estimator can be written as the expected value of the score of the usual proportional hazards model, with respect to a certain distribution of rankings. A Gibbs sampling scheme is given to generate rankings from this distribution, and stochastic approximation is used to solve the score equations. Simulation results under various censoring schemes give point estimates that are close to estimates obtained using actual failure times.
Single and Multiple Stripping of α Particles

Assuming the stripping process to take place mainly at the nuclear surface, expressions are derived for the differential cross sections for the processes in which one, two, or three nucleons are stripped from an incident $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ particle by the target nucleus. Comparison between the derived formulas and experimental data was carried out for the (${\mathrm{He}}^{3}$, $p$) and ($\ensuremath{\alpha}, p$) reactions and shows fairly good agreement.
Nature of the active site in surface-enhanced Raman scattering

Experiments involving competitive and cooperative adsorption of pyridine, Cl/sup -/, SCN/sup -/, and Tl, and voltage-induced resonance shifting show that the largest surface-enhanced Raman scattering intensity comes from complexes of these species adsorbed on defects which cover less than 3% of the Ag surface. The resonance is attributed to charge transfer excitation from Ag to pyridine and from SCN/sup -/ to Ag which is communicated to all vibrations of the complex.
Computation of the Nystagmogram

To study the interaction of the slow and fast component of the caloric nystagmus, the total velocity of the slow components were plotted against time. The individual quick components were added similarly into a continuous curve. Whereas increased stimulations create increased slow phase velocity, the fast component speed remains constant. Graded caloric stimuli alter with similar proportions the slow component speed as well as the frequency count at the culmination. Incongruence of these two phenomena, as well as traces on cathode ray oscilloscopes, indicates certain independence of the two phases of the vestibular nystagmus. Further evidence has been provided that both of these parameters, frequency count and slow phase velocity, are the best available expression of vestibular sensitivity.
Taking and teaching the test are not the same: a case study of first-year teachers’ experiences in high-stakes contexts

Background: Policymakers’ use of high-stakes exams to improve students’ academic achievement affects teachers and their tenure in the field at all levels of schooling. Novice teachers now being inducted into the field have been educated almost exclusively in these high-stakes learning environments. Yet, how their familiarity with these contexts combined with their experiences in their own classrooms affect novices’ induction into the field of teaching has not been fully examined. Aim: This article presents findings from an investigation into the experiences of two first-year teachers who were educated and trained to be teachers in the same high-stakes education system in which they taught. It examines how these first-year teachers viewed policymakers’ reforms affecting their teaching and tenure in the field. Methods: This qualitative case study centers on the experiences of two first-year teachers working in the same high-stakes standards-based accountability teaching context in which they were educated –...
A Biochip Microarray Fabrication System Using Inkjet Technology

An automated biological fluid dispensing system for microarray fabrication using inkjet technology is presented in this paper. The hardware of the system consists of a high-precision motion system, a robotic material handling system, computer control systems, and extensive vision systems. The system software includes algorithms to handle control, communication, and manufacturing process information. This fluid dispensing system has been successfully used to produce cDNA microarrays and in the investigation of protein microarray manufacturing.
Hyper–Kantianism in Recent Discussions of Mystical Experience

Much work on mystical experience has taken for granted a certain view about the relation between experience and its interpretation. This ‘traditional view’ has received perhaps its most explicit statement in Stace's Mysticism and Philosophy. It is a view which is attractive to proponents of the doctrine of unanimity, the doctrine (roughly put) that at the phenomenological level all mystical experiences are basically similar. Recently, however, in a growing body of literature, the traditional view has come under heavy fire. Its critics adopt a Kantian, indeed a hyper–Kantian, picture of experience. And they see the traditional view, accordingly, as ‘naive’ and ‘simplistic’. In addition, hyper–Kantians typically reject the doctrine of unanimity.
Influence of constituent properties upon the structural efficiency of fibrous composite shells.

Structural efficiency of orthotropic materials for cylindrical shells under axial load, including examination of fibrous composites characteristics
Differential Adhesion Molecule Expression during Murine Embryonic Stem Cell Commitment to the Hematopoietic and Endothelial Lineages

Mouse embryonic stem cells (ESC) make cell fate decisions based on intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The decision of ESC to differentiate to multiple lineages in vitro occurs during the formation of embryoid bodies (EB) and is influenced by cell-environment interactions. However, molecular mechanisms underlying cell-environmental modulation of ESC fate decisions are incompletely understood. Since adhesion molecules (AM) influence proliferation and differentiation in developing and adult tissues, we hypothesized that specific AM interactions influence ESC commitment toward hematopoietic and endothelial lineages. Expression of AM in the adherens, tight and gap junction pathways in ESC subpopulations were quantified. E-cadherin (E-cad), Claudin-4 (Cldn4), Connexin-43 (Cx43), Zona Occludens-1 (ZO-1) and Zona Occludens-2 (ZO-2) transcript levels were differentially expressed during early stages of hematopoietic/endothelial commitment. Stable ESC lines were generated with reduced expression of E-cad, Cldn4, Cx43, ZO-1 and ZO-2 using shRNA technology. Functional and phenotypic consequences of modulating AM expression were assessed using hematopoietic colony forming assays, endothelial sprouting assays and surface protein expression. A decrease in E-cad, Cldn4, Cx43 and ZO-1 expression was associated with less commitment to the hematopoietic lineage and increased endothelial differentiation as evidenced by functional and phenotypic analysis. A reduction in ZO-2 expression did not influence endothelial differentiation, but decreased hematopoietic commitment two-fold. These data indicate that a subset of AM influence ESC decisions to commit to endothelial and hematopoietic lineages. Furthermore, differentially expressed AM may provide novel markers to delineate early stages of ESC commitment to hematopoietic/endothelial lineages.
An evaluation of zafirlukast in the treatment of asthma with exploratory subset analyses

Abstract Background: Consensus asthma guidelines recommend antileukotriene agents as alternative therapy to existing anti-inflammatory medications; however, the full therapeutic potential of these medications has not yet been determined. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy and safety of the oral leukotriene receptor antagonist zafirlukast (20 mg twice daily) in subgroups of patients who have asthma with the use of integrated data from four 13-week trials. Methods: The trials had comparable designs, entry criteria, and clinical assessments. Patient subgroups were characterized by demographic and baseline asthma characteristics. Analysis of covariance models were tested for overall treatment effect and for interactions between treatment and subgroup characteristics. Results: Patients with mild-to-moderate asthma (12 to 76 years old) who were treated with albuterol alone were randomized (n Z = 879; n P = 605) and included in subset analyses. Significant overall treatment effects, favoring zafirlukast, were noted for measures of daytime and nighttime symptoms, β 2 -agonist use, and pulmonary function ( P 2 -agonist use ( P P 2 -agonist use (>8 puffs/day) and with greater baseline peak flow variability (≥20%) and baseline airflow obstruction (FEV 1 /forced vital capacity ratio, P Conclusions: Exploratory subset analyses showed that zafirlukast is similarly efficacious in patients with asthma who have differing demographic characteristics and degrees of subjective symptoms. Additionally, zafirlukast appears to be incrementally beneficial in patients with more moderate disease, defined by a greater requirement for as-needed rescue medication and more abnormal pulmonary function at baseline. Over 13 weeks, zafirlukast was well tolerated and demonstrated a safety profile clinically indistinguishable from placebo. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 1999;103:246-54.)
Bird song, ecology and speciation

The study of bird song dialects was once considered the most promising approach for investigating the role of behaviour in reproductive divergence and speciation. However, after a series of studies yielding conflicting results, research in the field slowed significantly. Recent findings, on how ecological factors may lead to divergence in both song and morphology, necessitate a re-examination. We focus primarily on species with learned song, examine conflicting results in the literature and propose some potential new directions for future studies. We believe an integrative approach, including an examination of the role of ecology in divergent selection, is essential for gaining insight into the role of song in the evolution of assortative mating. Habitat-dependent selection on both song and fitness-related characteristics can lead to parallel divergence in these traits. Song may, therefore, provide females with acoustic cues to find males that are most fit for a particular habitat. In analysing the role of song learning in reproductive divergence, we focus on post-dispersal plasticity in a conceptual framework. We argue that song learning may initially constrain reproductive divergence, while in the later stages of population divergence it may promote speciation.
Race/Ethnicity and Beliefs about Wealth and Poverty*

Objective. Lay explanations for ‘‘wealth’’ have been neglected in research on beliefs about social stratification. This study compares the nature and determinants of beliefs about the causes of both wealth and poverty, with special focus on race/ ethnic differences. Methods. Using survey data collected from Los Angeles County residents in 2000, descriptive and multivariate procedures are used to analyze ‘‘individualistic’’ and ‘‘structuralist’’ beliefs about wealth and poverty. In addition, one ‘‘fatalistic’’ belief, asking about the role of ‘‘God’s will’’ in shaping wealth and poverty, is examined. Analyses test (1) whether race/ethnicity and other social and political characteristics variables shape these stratification beliefs, and (2) whether African Americans, Latinos, and whites differ in the determinants of beliefs about wealth and poverty. Results. Respondents favor individualistic over structuralist reasons for wealth, but favor structuralist over individualistic beliefs in explaining poverty. Fatalistic beliefs are least popular. On beliefs about wealth, African Americans, Latinos, and whites show similar levels of support for individualistic explanations; however, the race/ethnic minorities are both more structuralist than whites on this issue. On beliefs about poverty, the race/ethnic minorities are simultaneously more structuralist and more individualistic than are whites. Social-class identification and self-reported conservatism both significantly impact beliefs about wealth and poverty, and do so differently across race/ethnic lines. Conclusions. Findings support the separate treatment and examination of beliefs about wealth and poverty, and reinforce recent calls for greater attention to ‘‘nonwhites’’ in studies of sociopolitical attitudes. That the United States is the wealthiest nation on earth and exhibits among the highest levels of economic inequality of any advanced industrial nation is well known in social scientific circles (Bradshaw and Wallace, 1996; Braun, 1991; Kerbo, 1996). What is less well understood is the nature of public opinion about the causes of the substantial economic disparities in the United States. Do people in the United States believe that the wealthy enjoy their privileged positions because of great talent and individual initiative? Alternatively, do they believe that some persons are able to amass
Femoral Neuropathy in a Dog with Iliopsoas Muscle Injury

Objective— To report femoral nerve dysfunction caused by focal iliopsoas muscle injury and treated by performing tenectomy of the muscle insertion. Study Design— Case report. Animals— A 4-year-old, castrated male, English Mastiff. Results— Iliopsoas muscle injury caused femoral nerve deficits and severe pain. Focal injury was not detected by ultrasonography or computed tomography but was visible on magnetic resonance (MRI) images. Tenectomy of the insertion of the iliopsoas muscle relieved signs of pain. Conclusions— Femoral nerve dysfunction may occur with iliopsoas muscle injury. Clinical Relevance— Iliopsoas muscle injury should be considered in patients with hip pain and MRI is a useful test for diagnosis. Tenectomy may be indicated for relief of chronic iliopsoas muscle pain.
Problems encountered during anti-tumour necrosis factor therapy.

Worldwide, over 400 000 patients have been treated with tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α antagonists for indications that include rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Since their approval, concerns regarding safety have been raised. There is a risk of re-activation of granulomatous diseases, especially tuberculosis, and measures should be taken for detection and treatment of latent tuberculosis infections. Preliminary data suggest that anti-TNF therapy may be safe in chronic hepatitis C. However, TNF-α antagonists have resulted in re-activation of chronic hepatitis B if not given concurrently with antiviral therapy. Solid tumours do not appear to be increased with anti-TNF therapy. Variable rates of increased lymphoma risk have been described with anti-TNF therapy compared with the general population, although no increased risk was found compared with a rheumatoid arthritis population. Large phase II and III trials with TNF-α antagonists in advanced heart failure have shown trends towards a worse prognosis, and should therefore be avoided in this population. Both etanercept and infliximab are associated with the formation of autoantibodies, and these autoantibodies are rarely associated with any specific clinical syndrome. Rare cases of aplastic anaemia, pancytopenia, vasculitis and demyelination have been described with anti-TNF therapy. This chapter will discuss the safety profile and adverse events of the three commercially available TNF-α antagonists: etanercept, infliximab and adalimumab. The data presented in this review have been collected from published data, individual case reports or series, package inserts, the Food and Drug Administration postmarketing adverse events surveillance system, and abstracts from the American College of Rheumatology and European Congress of Rheumatology meetings for 2005.
A Physics-Based Approach for Understanding Foldability

Statistical coupling analysis (SCA) indicates that in addition to the conservation of amino acid composition at individual site, the coupling information between sites is necessary and sufficient to specify a protein fold.[1] To investigate the significance of coupling information, we simulate a repertoire of artificial WW domain sequences using a physics-based search method called ZAM (Zipping and Assembly method).[2] Our result shows that coupling information has a remarkable influence on the local contacts of N-terminal β-turn of WW domains. This turn would not form correctly if lack of such information. Interestingly, the formation of N-terminal β-turn has been determined as the nucleator and rate-limiting step experimentally.[3] We also identify specific crucial contacts at the beginning of folding process, and accomplish to predict the foldability of a WW sequence, based on its favor of these crucial contacts.1. Socolich M, Lockless SW, Russ WP, Lee H, Gardner KH, Ranganathan R. 2005. Evolutionary information for specifying a protein fold. Nature 437: 5122. Ozkan SB, Wu GA, Chodera JD, Dill KA. 2007. Protein folding by zipping and assembly. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 104: 119873. Jager M, Nguyen H, Crane JC, Kelly JW, Gruebele M. 2001. The folding mechanism of a beta-sheet: The WW domain. Journal of Molecular Biology 311: 373
Bayesian credible intervals for response surface optima

In response surface methodology, one is usually interested in estimating the optimal conditions based on a small number of experimental runs which are designed to optimally sample the experimental space. Typically, regression models are constructed from the experimental data and interrogated in order to provide a point estimate of the independent variable settings predicted to optimize the response. Unfortunately, these point estimates are rarely accompanied with uncertainty intervals. Though classical frequentist confidence intervals can be constructed for unconstrained quadratic models, higher order, constrained or nonlinear models are often encountered in practice. Existing techniques for constructing uncertainty estimates in such situations have not been implemented widely, due in part to the need to set adjustable parameters or because of limited or difficult applicability to constrained or nonlinear problems. To address these limitations a Bayesian method of determining credible intervals for response surface optima was developed. The approach shows good coverage probabilities on two test problems, is straightforward to implement and is readily applicable to the kind of constrained and/or nonlinear problems that frequently appear in practice.
Durability of pericardial versus porcine bioprosthetic heart valves.

Objectives To compare the probability, and modes, of explantation for Carpentier-Edwards pericardial versus porcine valves. Methods Our porcine series began in 1974 and our pericardial series in 1991, with annual prospective follow-up. We used the Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression for estimation and analysis of patient mortality, and the cumulative incidence function and competing risks regression for estimation and analysis of valve durability. Results Through the end of 2010, we had implanted 506 porcine and 2449 pericardial aortic valves and 181 porcine and 163 pericardial mitral valves. The corresponding total and maximum follow-up years were 3471 and 24, 11,517 and 18, 864 and 22, and 645 and 9. The corresponding probabilities (cumulative incidence function) of any valve explant were 7%, 8%, 22%, and 8%, and of explant for structural valve deterioration were 4%, 5%, 16%, and 5% at 15 years for the first 3 series and at 8 years for the fourth (pericardial mitral valve) series. Using competing risks regression for structural valve deterioration explant, with age, gender, valve size, and concomitant coronary bypass surgery as covariates, a slight (subhazard ratio, 0.79), but nonsignificant, protective effect was found for the pericardial valve in the aortic position and a greater (subhazard ratio, 0.31) and almost significant (P = .08) protective effect of the pericardial valve in the mitral position. Leaflet tear was responsible for 61% of the structural valve deterioration explants in the porcine series and 46% in the pericardial series. Conclusions Using competing risks regression, the pericardial valve had a subhazard ratio for structural valve deterioration explant of less than 1 in both positions, approaching statistical significance in the mitral position. The mode of structural valve deterioration was predominantly leaflet tear for porcine valves and fibrosis/calcification for pericardial valves.
Early Adolescent Alcohol Use and Sexual Experience by Emerging Adulthood: A 10-Year Longitudinal Investigation

Purpose The current study examined the long-term relationship of early adolescent alcohol use to number of sexual partners by emerging adulthood.
Length-dependent optical properties of single-walled carbon nanotube samples

Abstract Contradictory findings have been reported on the length dependence of optical absorption cross sections and fluorescence quantum yields in single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). To clarify these points, studies have been made on bulk SWCNT dispersions subjected to length fractionation by electrophoretic separation or by ultrasonication-induced scission. Fractions ranged from ca. 120 to 760 nm in mean length. Samples prepared by shear-assisted dispersion were subsequently shortened by ultrasonic processing. After accounting for processing-induced changes in the surfactant absorption background, SWCNT absorption was found constant within ±11% as average nanotube length changed by a factor of 3.8. This indicates that the absorption cross-section per carbon atom is not length dependent. By contrast, in length fractions prepared by both methods, the bulk fluorescence efficiency or average quantum yield increased with SWCNT average length and approached an apparent asymptotic limit near 1 μm. This result is interpreted as reflecting the combined contributions of exciton quenching by sidewall defects and by the ends of shorter nanotubes.
A microassay system for measuring esterase activity and protein concentration in small samples and in high-pressure liquid chromatography eluate fractions

A microtiter plate spectrophotometric system has been used together with the Bradford, Ellman, and van Asperen assays to measure protein concentration (to 0.5 microgram) and the activities of acetylcholinesterase (to 10(-3) units) and carboxylesterase (to 30 micrograms beta-naphthol reaction product) in small samples such as high-performance liquid chromatographic eluate fractions. For 100-microliter samples, at least 300 Ellman acetylcholinesterase or Bradford protein assays can be conducted and read in less than 30 min, and a like number of van Asperen nonspecific esterase assays (including 1-h incubation) run in less than 90 min. The eluate from a single 20-min high-performance liquid chromatographic run of a biological sample can be collected as up to 300 fractions directly into microtiter plate wells, and the three assays run on all fractions in less than 90 min.