cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Radioimmunotherapy Using Vascular Targeted 213Bi: The Role of Tumor Necrosis Factor α in the Development of Pulmonary Fibrosis

A monoclonal antibody (201B) specific to murine thrombomodulin, covalently linked to cyclohexyl diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid, successfully delivers chelated 213 Bi, an α-particle emitter, ( 213 Bi-201B) rapidly to lung vascular endothelium. When injected at doses of 1 MBq/mouse, 213 Bi-201B destroyed most of the 100 colonies of EMT-6 mammary carcinomas growing as lung tumors of up to 2000 cells/colony. Some mice were cured of lung tumors, and others had extended life spans compared to untreated control animals but eventually succumbed to tumor recurrence. At injected doses of 4–6 MBq/mouse, 100% of lung tumor colonies were eliminated; however, 3–4 months later, these mice developed pulmonary fibrosis and died. The mechanisms leading to the fibrotic response in other pulmonary irradiation models strongly implicate tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), released from damaged tissues, as the pivotal inflammatory cytokine in a cascade of events that culminate in fibrosis. Attempts to prevent the development of pulmonary fibrosis, by using antibodies or soluble receptor (rhuTNFR:Fc) as inhibitors of TNF-α, were unsuccessful. Additionally, mice genetically deficient for TNF-α production developed pulmonary fibrosis following 213 Bi-201B treatment. Interestingly, non-tumor-bearing BALB/c mice receiving rhuTNFR:Fc or mice genetically deficient in TNF-α production and treated with 213 Bi-201B, had significantly reduced life spans compared to mice receiving no treatment or 213 Bi-201B alone. We speculate that in normal mice, although TNF-α may induce an inflammatory response following α-particle radiation mediated tumor clearance and pulmonary damage, its effects in the post-tumor clearance time period may actually retard the development of fibrosis.
Surface waves on a grounded dielectric slab covered by a resistive sheet

Surface wave propagation in a grounded dielectric slab covered with a resistive sheet is examined. Transcendental equations are derived for each polarization and are solved using iterative techniques. Attenuation and phase velocity are shown for a representative geometry. The results are applicable to both a grounded slab covered with a resistive sheet and an ungrounded slab covered on each side with a resistive sheet. >
Understanding the Impact of Multi-Core Architecture in Cluster Computing: A Case Study with Intel Dual-Core System

Multi-core processors are growing as a new industry trend as single core processors rapidly reach the physical limits of possible complexity and speed. In the new Top500 supercomputer list, more than 20% processors belong to the multi-core processor family. However, without an in-depth study on application behaviors and trends on multi-core clusters, we might not be able to understand the characteristics of multi-core cluster in a comprehensive manner and hence not be able to get optimal performance. In this paper, we take on these challenges and design a set of experiments to study the impact of multi-core architecture on cluster computing. We choose to use one of the most advanced multi-core servers, Intel Bensley system with Woodcrest processors, as our evaluation platform, and use benchmarks including HPL, NAMD, and NAS as the applications to study. From our message distribution experiments, we find that on an average about 50% messages are transferred through intra-node communication, which is much higher than intuition. This trend indicates that optimizing intra- node communication is as important as optimizing inter- node communication in a multi-core cluster. We also observe that cache and memory contention may be a potential bottleneck in multi-core clusters, and communication middleware and applications should be multi-core aware to alleviate this problem. We demonstrate that multi-core aware algorithm, e.g. data tiling, improves benchmark execution time by up to 70%. We also compare the scalability of a multi-core cluster with that of a single-core cluster and find that the scalability of the multi-core cluster is promising.
Use of the Medical Futility Rationale in Do-Not-Attempt-Resuscitation Orders

Objective. —To describe the use of the medical futility rationale in do-not-attempt-resuscitation (DNAR) orders written for medical inpatients. Design. —Structured interviews with medical residents. Methods. —Second- and third-year internal medicine residents (n=44) were telephoned weekly and briefly interviewed about each patient who received a DNAR order in the preceding week. Setting. —Two university-affiliated hospitals: a veterans affairs medical center and a municipal hospital. Patients. —One hundred forty-five medical inpatients for whom DNAR orders were written during their hospitalization. Results. —Residents stated that the medical futility rationale applied for 91 patients (63%), but this rationale was invoked independent of patient or surrogate choice for only 17 patients (12%). Of the 91 patients for whom futility applied, both quantitative futility (low probability of success) and qualitative futility (poor quality of life if cardiopulmonary resuscitation [CPR] were performed) applied to 45 (49%), quantitative futility alone to 30 (33%), and qualitative futility alone to 16 (18%). Residents report that they discussed resuscitation issues with all communicative patients for whom the medical futility rationale was invoked. Among patients for whom quantitative futility applied, residents'predictions of the probability that patients would survive to hospital discharge after CPR varied from 0% (for 60% of patients) to 75%. For 32% of these patients, residents predicted survival at 5% or more. Logistic regression modeling showed that the presence of organ failure (odds ratio [OR], 8.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.3 to 23.9), the residents' estimates of the probability of surviving CPR (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.88 to 0.99), and nonwhite race (OR, 2.7; 95% CI, 1.1 to 6.3) were associated with the determination of quantitative futility. In one third of the cases where qualitative futility applied, residents made the judgment of qualitative futility without discussing quality of life with communicative patients. Logistic regression modeling showed immobility (OR, 3.2; 95% CI, 1.1 to 9.0) and age ≥75 years (OR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.1 to 0.8) to be associated with the determination of qualitative futility. Conclusions. —While residents did not appear to use the medical futility rationale to avoid discussing DNAR issues with patients, we found evidence of important misunderstandings of the concepts of both quantitative and qualitative futility. If the futility rationale is to be applied to withholding or withdrawing medical interventions, practice guidelines for its use should be developed, and education about medical futility must be incorporated into medical school, residency training, and continuing medical education programs. ( JAMA . 1995;273:124-128)
A low-voltage CMOS DC-DC converter for a portable battery-operated system

Motivated by emerging battery-operated applications that demand compact, lightweight, and highly efficient DC-DC power converters, a buck circuit is presented in which all active devices are integrated on a single chip using a standard 1.2 /spl mu/ CMOS process. The circuit delivers 750 mW at 1.5 V from a 6 V battery. To effectively eliminate switching loss at high operating frequencies, the power transistors achieve nearly ideal zero-voltage switching (ZVS) through an adjustable dead-time control scheme. The silicon area and power consumption of the gate-drive buffers are reduced with a tapering factor that minimizes short-circuit current and dynamic dissipation for a given technology and application. Measured results on a prototype IC indicate that on-chip losses at full load can be kept below 8% at 1 MHz. >
Early Developmental Disturbances of Cortical Inhibitory Neurons: Contribution to Cognitive Deficits in Schizophrenia

Cognitive dysfunction is a disabling and core feature of schizophrenia. Cognitive impairments have been linked to disturbances in inhibitory (gamma-aminobutyric acid [GABA]) neurons in the prefrontal cortex. Cognitive deficits are present well before the onset of psychotic symptoms and have been detected in early childhood with developmental delays reported during the first year of life. These data suggest that the pathogenetic process that produces dysfunction of prefrontal GABA neurons in schizophrenia may be related to altered prenatal development. Interestingly, adult postmortem schizophrenia brain tissue studies have provided evidence consistent with a disease process that affects different stages of prenatal development of specific subpopulations of prefrontal GABA neurons. Prenatal ontogeny (ie, birth, proliferation, migration, and phenotypic specification) of distinct subpopulations of cortical GABA neurons is differentially regulated by a host of transcription factors, chemokine receptors, and other molecular markers. In this review article, we propose a strategy to investigate how alterations in the expression of these developmental regulators of subpopulations of cortical GABA neurons may contribute to the pathogenesis of cortical GABA neuron dysfunction and consequently cognitive impairments in schizophrenia.
On multipliers for Hardy-Sobolev spaces

It is shown that membership of holomorphic functions in Hardy-Sobolev spaces in the unit ball cannot be characterized by finiteness of any integral norm. In addition, sufficient conditions are given for a holomorphic function to be a pointwise multiplier of a Hardy-Sobolev space.
An experimental determination of the stress–microstructure relationship in semi-concentrated fiber suspensions

Abstract The relationship between the stress and the fiber orientation distribution in semi-dilute (nL3⪢1,nL2d 1) fiber suspensions was investigated. Here, n is the fiber number density, L the length, and d is the diameter. A highly viscous, index-matched suspension was developed to permit measurements of both the microstructure and rheology using the same suspension. By removing the ambiguity of comparing data taken using different suspending fluids and fibers, a more accurate evaluation of available stress–structure models was made possible. The measured period of rotation and the distribution among Jeffery orbits were compared to the results of a theory for hydrodynamic fiber interactions and a simulation incorporating mechanical contacts. At low concentrations, the period increased above the dilute, Jeffery value. As the fiber loading was increased, the period peaked and decreased to approach the dilute result. The distribution of orbits shifted slightly towards the vorticity axis with increasing concentration. The inclusion of a nematic potential in the hydrodynamic theory provided a possible explanation for the decrease in the period of rotation. Measurements of the viscosity and first normal stress differences of the same suspensions were compared to theoretical predictions based on the orientation results. The measured viscosity was in good agreement with the mechanical contact simulation results but was much larger than predicted by hydrodynamic theories. The high viscosity and the measurement of significant first normal stress differences are suggestive of an enhanced stress resulting from the presence of fiber–fiber contacts.
Using Facebook to Connect Alumni, Current Students, and Faculty: A How-to Guide

Maintaining contact with alumni can result in a number of benefits for psychology departments. For example, alumni may give feedback useful for curriculum assessment and departmental planning, assi...
Stimulant use by young adult African Americans in a rural community: a pipeline to prison?

The association between stimulant use and legal outcomes was examined in rural adults aged 18–21 years (n = 98) in the Mississippi River Delta of Arkansas from 2003 through 2008. Participants were interviewed at baseline and every 6 months for 2 years, using the Substance Abuse Outcomes Module, Addiction Severity Index, Short-Form 8 Health Survey, Brief Symptom Inventory, Patient Health Questionnaire depression screen, and an abbreviated antisocial personality disorder measure. More than three quarters were arrested before baseline; 47 were arrested over the next 2 years. Early arrest but not substance use was related to subsequent arrest. Limitations and implications for interventions are discussed.
Productive and Healthy Debate

A productive, healthy debate is informative and insightful, and collectively moves the debaters and the audience closer to a potential solution or agreement by examining the issues from multiple viewpoints and critiquing those arguments. Micro editor in chief David Albonesi introduces four debates on computer architecture from the Computer Architecture Research Directions (CARD) workshop that was held as part of the 13th Annual IEEE/ACM International Symposium on High-Performance Computer Architecture in February 2007.
Differences of retinal nerve fiber layer thickness between normal and glaucoma‐like optic disks (physiological cups) Matched by optic disk area

. We matched by disk area size 23 eyes of patients with glaucoma-like disks (physiological cups) with normal ocular pressures and no visual field loss with 23 eyes of normal subjects. Using stereophotogrammetry we found a significant decrease in retinal nerve fiber layer thickness in the eyes with glaucoma-like disks compared to the normal eyes (P=0.0081), especially in the nasal quadrant (18.1%). A similar significant decrease was noted in the neuroretinal rim area and a significant increase in cup volume, area, depth and slope for the total disk and its quadrants. The use of computerized image analysis also showed a significant increase in pallor area for glaucoma-like disks compared to normal disks. Eyes with glaucoma-like disks or physiological cups showed evidence of an optic neuropathy and may be manifesting the same damage to the optic nerve occurring in high pressure open angle glaucoma.
Brain Tumors in Mice Are Susceptible to Blockade of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) with the Oral, Specific, EGFR-Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor ZD1839 (Iressa)

Iressa (ZD1839) is a p.o.-active, selective, epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) that blocks signal transduction pathways implicated in cancer cell proliferation, survival, and host-dependent processes promoting cancer growth. EGFR is up-regulated in primary malignant tumors of the central nervous system (CNS) and in many systemic tumors that metastasize to the CNS. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of p.o.-administered ZD1839 for the treatment of established intracerebral (i.c.) tumors expressing EGFR or the tumorigenic mutated variant EGFRvIII, which is constitutively phosphorylated. Oral administration of ZD1839 at 50 or 100 mg/kg/day for 3 weeks in athymic mice with established i.c. A431 human epidermoid carcinoma expressing EGFR increased median survival by 88% (P = 0.009) and 105% (P < 0.001), respectively. Additionally, there was no evidence of systemic or CNS toxicity. However, ZD1839 failed to inhibit either s.c. or i.c. in vivo tumor growth when tumorigenicity was conferred by EGFRvIII. Western blotting revealed that treatment with ZD1839 virtually ablated phosphorylation of EGFR Tyr-1173 in A431 tumors. However, treatment of NR6M tumors with ZD1839 only partially decreased phosphorylation of EGFRvIII Tyr-1173 while up-regulating overall expression, suggesting that EGFRvIII may not be susceptible to the same molecular mechanisms of tyrosine kinase inhibition as EGFR. In conclusion, ZD1839 is active in a brain tumor model expressing EGFR, but not EGFRvIII, as EGFR mutations may lead to relative therapeutic resistance. On the basis of these observations, we believe that clinical trials of ZD1839 against brain tumors expressing EGFR are warranted, but that special consideration should be given to tumors that coexpress EGFRvIII.
Two-dimensional electrophoresis of proteins in principal cells, spermatozoa, and fluid associated with the rat epididymis.

Spermatozoa, fluids, and principal cells from different regions of the epididymis were characterized by twodimensional electrophoresis. Rete testis fluid was collected after 36-h efferent duct ligation, and cauda epididymal fluid was collected by retrograde perfusion through the vas deferens. Spermatozoa were collected after their exudation from minced caput and corpus epididymal tissue. Principal cells were recovered after enzymatic disaggregation and centrifugal elutriation of epididymides. Two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to prepare protein profiles of all samples. Comparison of the proteins found in rete testis fluid versus those found in cauda epididymal fluid revealed a dramatic change in composition, including the loss, addition, or retention of specific proteins as well as changes in the relative concentrations of certain proteins. Prominent cauda epididymal fluid proteins, possibly contributed by the epididymal epithelium, were detected at 16, 23, and 34 kDa. After epididymal transit, a considerable decrease was observed in the number of aqueous-soluble sperm proteins. Differences in the protein composition of epididymal epithelial principal cells from the cap Ut versus corpus epididymidis were also noted, suggesting that functional differences exist for these epididymal regions. Of particular interest was the occurrence of a prominent protein of approximately 20-23 kDa found in all sperm samples, in fluids, and in caput and corpus principal cells. However, this protein was absent in cauda epididymal sperm after 36-h efferent duct ligation. The rapid loss of this protein from sperm after efferent duct ligation suggests that this surgical intervention may affect spermatozoa residing within the epididymis.
Failure analysis of nanocrystals embedded high-k dielectrics for nonvolatile memories

Semiconducting and metallic nanocrystals have been embedded in high-k dielectrics for nonvolatile memories for advantages of low leakage currents, large charge storage capacities, and long retention times. However, there are few studies on the reliability issues, such as the breakdown mechanism and relaxation current decay rate. In this paper, authors investigated the reliability of four different kinds of nanocrystals, i.e., ruthenium, indium tin oxide, silicon, and zinc oxide, embedded in the Zr-doped HfO2 high-k thin film. Although all nanocrystals embedded samples have charge storage capacity about one order of magnitude higher than that without nanocrystals embedded samples, the formerpsilas relaxation currents are higher and decay times are longer than those of the latter. When the relaxation currents were fitted to the Curie-von Schweidler law, the formerpsilas n values were between 0.4 and 0.65, which are different from the latterpsilas n values of near 1. When the naocrystals embedded sample was broken under a high bias gate voltage stress, the high-k part failed while the nanocrystals remained unattacked. This is demonstrated by the lack of polarity change of the relaxation current. The time to breakdown of the high-k film was also extended due to the inclusion of nanocrystals in the film. Therefore, the embedded nanocrystals play an important role for the reliability of this kind of nonvolatile memory device.
Multidatabase transactions: impediments and opportunities

The authors discuss approaches that can be used to enforce global serializability and provide recovery in a multidatabase environment. They present solutions to the problem of transaction management in a multidatabase environment. Rather than developing a new global mechanism that duplicates the functionality of local systems, they attempt to take full advantage of the existence of their local concurrency control, commitment, recovery, and access granting facilities. They discuss the concept of a subtransaction ticket and the optimistic ticket method for multidatabase transaction management. They also describe a multidatabase recovery scheme that is based on write-ahead logs. >
Rational Design of a Humanized Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist Antibody

Bovine antibody BLV1H12 possesses a unique "stalk-knob" architecture in its ultralong heavy chain CDR3, allowing substitutions of the "knob" domain with protein agonists to generate functional antibody chimeras. We have generated a humanized glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist antibody by first introducing a coiled-coil "stalk" into CDR3H of the antibody herceptin. Exendin-4 (Ex-4), a GLP-1 receptor agonist, was then fused to the engineered stalk with flexible linkers, and a Factor Xa cleavage site was inserted immediately in front of Ex-4 to allow release of the N-terminus of the fused peptide. The resulting clipped herceptin-Ex-4 fusion protein is more potent in vitro in activating GLP-1 receptors than the Ex-4 peptide. The clipped herceptin-Ex-4 has an extended plasma half-life of approximately four days and sustained control of blood glucose levels for more than a week in mice. This work provides a novel approach to the development of human or humanized agonist antibodies as therapeutics.
Microvessel density as a predictor of PSA recurrence after radical prostatectomy. A comparison of CD34 and CD31.

Whether prostate cancer recurrence can be predicted by microvessel density (MVD) measurements is controversial. One reason for the lack of agreement may be the differing antibodies used to determine MVD. We evaluated MVD using 2 different antibodies against endothelial cells, CD31 and CD34, on 102 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy without adjuvant hormonal therapy. The tumors from these cases were identified, and areas with the highest Gleason pattern were immunostained. Average MVD determined by CD31 (MVD/CD31) staining was significantly lower than that obtained by MVD/CD34 staining (60.1 vs 80.3). By using Kaplan-Meier analysis, prostatespecific antigen (PSA) recurrence was correlated with MVD/CD31 and MVD/CD34. MVD/CD34 and MVD/CD31 were associated strongly with PSA recurrence on a univariate level. However, only MVD/CD34 was an independent predictor of PSA failure. Therefore, some of the confusion about MVD value as a prognostic indicator may be due to the antibodies used.
Conserved sequences at the origin of adenovirus DNA replication

Abstract The origin of adenovirus DNA replication lies within an inverted sequence repetition at either end of the linear, double-stranded viral DNA. Initiation of DNA replication is primed by a deoxynucleoside that is covalently linked to a protein, which remains bound to the newly synthesized DNA. We demonstrate that virion-derived DNA-protein complexes from five human adenovirus serological subgroups (A to E) can act as a template for both the initiation and the elongation of DNA replication in vitro, using nuclear extracts from adenovirus type 2 (Ad2)-infected HeLa cells. The heterologous template DNA-protein complexes were not as active as the homologous Ad2 DNA, most probably due to inefficient initiation by Ad2 replication factors. In an attempt to identify common features which may permit this replication, we have also sequenced the inverted terminal repeated DNA from human adenovirus serotypes Ad4 (group E), Ad9 and Ad10 (group D), and Ad31 (group A), and we have compared these to previously determined sequences from Ad2 and Ad5 (group C), Ad7 (group B), and Ad12 and Ad18 (group A) DNA. In all cases, the sequence around the origin of DNA replication can be divided into two structural domains: a proximal A · T-rich region which is partially conserved among these serotypes, and a distal G · C-rich region which is less well conserved. The G · C-rich region contains sequences similar to sequences present in papovavirus replication origins. The two domains may reflect a dual mechanism for initiation of DNA replication: adenovirus-specific protein priming of replication, and subsequent utilization of this primer by host replication factors for completion of DNA synthesis.
Abstract 3143: Alternative splicing of CD19 mRNA in leukemias escaping CART-19 immunotherapy eliminates the cognate epitope and contributes to treatment failure

CD19 is expressed on most B-cell neoplasms, including acute lymphoblastic leukemias (B-ALL). Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-armed T cells targeting CD19 (CART-19) yield complete remission rate of 70-90% in B-ALL patients; the bispecific anti-CD19/CD3 antibody blinatumomab also shows clinical efficacy. Yet relapses due to the apparent CD19 loss have been observed following both therapies. Here we investigated the molecular mechanisms of epitope loss using five B-ALL samples obtained after CD19-directed therapy. These samples were matched, when available, with CD19-positive pre-treatment leukemias. Although the CD19 epitope recognized by CART-19 was undetectable in relapsed specimens, in all cases the CD19 genomic sequence was retained and the mRNA levels were only slightly reduced, suggesting regulation at the level of transcript processing. Indeed, using RT-PCR and RNA-Seq we detected several alternatively spliced CD19 mRNA species lacking exons 5-6 and/or exon 2 (Δex2), which encodes the cognate CART-19 epitope. In the sets of matched samples, the relative abundance of the Δex2/5-6 mRNA isoforms was increased post-treatment, and accordingly truncated CD19 protein variants were detectable using antibodies recognizing alternative epitopes. In one relapsed leukemia with a nonsense mutation in exon 2 of CD19, Δex2 was the only expressed isoform. To determine the contribution of alternative splicing to immune escape, we introduced CD19-expressing retroviruses into murine neoplastic B-cells, which had lost endogenous CD19 expression following silencing of its main transcriptional regulator Pax5. While skipping of exon 2 made the resultant protein invisible to CART-19, it partly rescued the defects in cell proliferation associated with CD19 loss. Collectively, these data suggest the existence of a novel mechanism of resistance to immunotherapy, based not on mutations in the coding sequence but rather on selection for alternatively spliced target protein isoforms (e.g., CD19 Δex2). Our findings could lead to the development of additional CD19-targeting CARTs for treating relapsed patients. Citation Format: Elena Sotillo, David Barrett, Aseb Bagashev, Kathryn Black, Caludia Lanauze, Derek Oldridge, Robyn Sussman, Colleen Harrington, Elaine Y. Chung, Ted J. Hofmann, Shannon L. Maude, Nicole M. Martinez, Pichai Raman, Marco Ruella, David Allman, Elad Jacoby, Terry Fry, Yoseph Barash, Kristen W. Lynch, Crystal Mackall, John Maris, Stephen A. Grupp, Andrei Thomas-Tikhonenko. Alternative splicing of CD19 mRNA in leukemias escaping CART-19 immunotherapy eliminates the cognate epitope and contributes to treatment failure. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3143. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3143
Spikes matter for phase-locked bursting in inhibitory neurons

We show that inhibitory networks composed of two endogenously bursting neurons can robustly display several coexistent phase-locked states in addition to stable antiphase and in-phase bursting. This work complements and enhances our recent result [Jalil, Belykh, and Shilnikov, Phys. Rev. E 81, 045201(R) (2010)] that fast reciprocal inhibition can synchronize bursting neurons due to spike interactions. We reveal the role of spikes in generating multiple phase-locked states and demonstrate that this multistability is generic by analyzing diverse models of bursting networks with various fast inhibitory synapses; the individual cell models include the reduced leech heart interneuron, the Sherman model for pancreatic beta cells, and the Purkinje neuron model.
Reaction N 15 ( p , γ ) O 16

The reaction ${\mathrm{N}}^{15}(p, \ensuremath{\gamma}){\mathrm{O}}^{16}$ has been studied up to a proton energy of 4 Mev by using a gas target and NaI(Tl) detectors. Above the well-known resonance at a proton energy of 1.05 Mev where the peak cross section is 1 mb, the cross section drops to a minimum of about 8 \ensuremath{\mu}b around a proton energy of 3 Mev and then increases slightly towards the higher energies. There are no pronounced new resonances and in particular the cross section up to a proton energy of about 3 Mev can be largely accounted for in terms of the high-energy tail of the 1.05-Mev resonance. There is no sign of the very strong quadrupole emission which earlier results on the inverse photodisintegration reaction had led one to expect near a proton energy of 2.8 Mev with a peak cross section of about 90 \ensuremath{\mu}b. Over the whole range of proton energy the gamma-ray emission is isotropic to within about 10%, and this suggests that the 13.09-Mev state of ${\mathrm{O}}^{16}$ (the 1.05-Mev resonance) is well described as ${p}^{\ensuremath{-}1}2s$ and probably contains less than 3% in intensity of ${p}^{\ensuremath{-}1}d$.
System Requirements Development Methodology

This concept paper describes a computer processor which assists users in developing performance requirements for new systems. The output of the processor is function based objectives, performance based system criteria and environmental conditions which may effect system performance. The system criteria are based on the cognitive decision rules of experts for assessing the effectiveness of system performance. These are obtained from a regression based technique in which the experts rate the effectiveness of a system several times, each time with different values for each of the several candidate system performance criteria.
Long-term culture of human corticotropin-secreting adenomas on extracellular matrix and evaluation of serum-free conditions

Tissues from 12 human corticotropin-secreting adenomas, obtained during surgery for Cushing's disease (CD, ten cases) or Nelson's Syndrome (NS, two cases), were exclusively mechanically dispersed. Single cells and cell aggregates were plated on extracellular matrix derived from bovine corneal endothelia. Functional responses to physiological stimuli were analyzed by measuring human β-endorphin (βh-EP) immunoreactivity (IR) by radioimmunoassay in the culture medium. All adenomas responded with stimulated secretory activity to arginine vasopressin (AVP), corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), or both. Cortisol higher than 10−8 M suppressed basal secretion and CRF- or AVP-stimulated βh-EP-IR secretion. There was no consistent difference in response of the cells when cultured in medium containing 10% fetal calf serum (FCS) or in serum-free conditions. A change of cells from serum to serum-free conditions usually resulted in 10%–50% reduction in the basal secretion level that remained stable for at least 2 weeks and, in one case (NS), 10 weeks. In cells maintained in medium supplemented with 5% serum obtained from the respective patients 40 min after adenoma removal, basal secretion was suppressed to 60% of the baseline level in a 10% FCS control. Long-term incubation with CRF (10−9 M) showed sustained stimulation of hormone secretion. No remarkable cell proliferation was observed under basal conditions or during long-term, low-dose incubation with cholera toxin (10−12 M) in two cases (CD), or CRF (10−9 M) in two cases (NS, CD). Parallel β-EP-IR and adrenocorticotropin secretion was verified in selected cases.
Conformational Dynamics of a G Protein-Coupled Receptor at the Single-Molecule Level

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the integral membrane proteins that detect extracellular ligands and mediate signal transduction. Binding of ligands promotes transitions from inactive to active receptor conformations, which are recognized by intracellular effectors. Chemically distinct ligands may trigger different signaling responses by altering dynamics of the receptor. We developed a single-molecule fluorescence system to observe conformational switching of the β2-adrenergic receptor in real-time within a native-like membrane environment. The receptor was covalently labeled with a photostable and environmentally-responsive Cy3 fluorophore at the cytoplasmic end of either transmembrane (TM) helix VI or helix VII. Individual receptor molecules were incorporated in phospholipid nanodiscs, tethered to a microscope cover slip and visualized over time by total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy. We observed spontaneous transitions of TM helices VI and VII between inactive and active conformations, even in the absence of any ligands. Studies of ligands that span a comprehensive range of pharmacological efficacies showed that full agonists shorten the time spent in the inactive conformations and prolong the time in the active conformations, leading to an increased population of active species, while an inverse agonist prolonged the time spent in inactive conformations. These observations provide new insights into the mechanism of GPCR activation and the molecular basis for the variable pharmacological efficacies of different drug molecules.
The military gates to US citizenship: Latina/o “aliens and non-citizen nationals” and military work

This article examines the formation of a contemporary US federal statute (8 U.S.C. §1440) that allows the granting of citizenship to non-citizens in military active duty, including migrants who did not adhere to terms of their visas, or entered the United States without formal authorization. While the actual language of the statute dates back to 1952, its origins are in the Civil War. It is a de facto form of amnesty but one that is generally excluded in contemporary debates about comprehensive immigration reform, DREAM Act proposals, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals initiative and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents. The essay contextualizes the statute within the long-standing and widespread forms of amnesty deployed in the United States, and explores the political process of inclusion through exclusion.
Experimental Evidence on Transfer Pricing

We use incentivized economics experiments to test both the point predictions and comparative static predictions of optimal transfer pricing models, comparing behavior under varying conditions, including wholly versus partially-owned subsidiaries and different tariff and tax rates. As predicted, we find that transfer prices are responsive to relative tax and tariff rates as well as ownership proportions. Additionally, we examine convergence and learning in this setting. While individuals do not choose optimal transfer prices, their choices converge to optimal levels with experience. This paper thus makes two important contributions. First, by comparing behavior with theoretical predictions it provides evidence of whether (and when) individuals set transfer prices optimally. Second, by comparing behavior under conditions of full and partial ownership it provides evidence on the impact of policy interventions (like regulating ownership proportions by MNEs) on tax revenues.
New approach in design of selectively toxic antimalarials

Malaria is still a major cause of lost productivity, misery and mortality in the world today (Hanlon & Pickett, 1979). It causes an estimated one million deaths annually in Africa (Wyler, 1983) and kills some 40% of the children in the developing world under the age of 5 (Desowitz, 1981). Following the initial success of the World Health Organization global malaria eradication programme of the 1950s there have been a combination of technical, political and economic difficulties which have seriously frustrated malaria control measures (Wernsdorfer & Kouznetsov, 1980; Bruce-Chwatt, 1980; Noguer et al., 1976). Fortunately, methods for the continuous in vitro cultivation of Plasmodium falciparum were developed by Trager & Jensen (1976), followed by Haynes et al. (1976) which have significantly aided the attempts for development of a practical antimalarial vaccine and the search for antiplas-modial drugs.
Adolescent Changes in Aerobic Fitness Are Related to Changes in Academic Achievement.

There is a growing trend of decreasing physical fitness among adolescents, which may not only result in poorer physical health, but also poorer academic achievement.Purpose:The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in aerobic fitness and academic achievement in reading and mathematics during middle school.Method:This study employed a prospective, longitudinal cross-sectional design. Fifty-two adolescents were followed from sixth grade through eighth grade. In the spring of sixth, seventh, and eight grade students completed PACER tests measuring aerobic fitness. In addition, students also completed ISAT academic achievement tests in reading and mathematics.Results:Changes in aerobic fitness between sixth and eighth grade were positively related to changes in academic achievement in both reading and mathematics between sixth and eighth grade.Conclusions:These data suggest that changes in aerobic fitness may modulate changes in academic achievement. These findings highlight the importance of p...
Performing Arts Center Management: Patricia Dewey Lambert and Robyn Williams, Routledge Research in Creative and Cultural Industries Management series, New York, NY, Routledge, 2016, 290 pp., $150.00, ISBN: 978-1-138-69593-1/1-138-69593-9

In a time when the majority of scholarly work in the field of performing arts management focuses largely on the management of companies or organizations that produce their own artistic work, Lamber...
Practical Teaching Strategies for Hypothesis Testing

Teaching the concept of inferential statistics is one of the most challenging tasks for statistics educators. Often, students cannot make logical connections between inferential statistics and othe...
La búsqueda de la diferencia en la traducción

In contrast to previous work in translation studies focusing on difficulties departing from the original text and excessive reliance on “direct” translation, this paper addresses the habit some translators display of trying to convey the original textual content and effects in a manner arbitrarily divergent from the source material, just for the sake of difference. After a first approach to the phenomenon, it is shown that it constitutes a futile quest that, by excluding the most obvious target-language options, can result in various problems for the translator. Finally, the paper closes with a recapitulation and some possible directions for future research.
Destinations of Admitted Out-of-State Students: A Case of One Institution

In recent years many public colleges have attempted to attract and enroll high-achieving and diverse out-of-state students. Understanding why admitted out-of-state students choose to accept or decline their offers of admission has become an important part of these institutions’ efforts to achieve their enrollment goals. In this study, out-of-state students admitted to a public research university over a period of 5 years are tracked using the National Student Clearinghouse database to establish their destination institutions. The dependent variable reflects the type of institution chosen by these students, i.e. private or public, in-state or out-of-state, 4-year or 2-year. The baseline group is composed of those out-of-state students who chose to enroll at the study institution. Mixed multinomial models are estimated using the R mlogit package. Findings indicate that the type of institution these students choose is associated with their high school performance and their parents’ educational attainment and income, as well as with the financial aid they were offered by the study institution.
Intelligent, Affective Systems: People's Perspective & Implications

AI-based systems are shifting and will increasingly shift how we relate to content, context and each other. This extended keynote abstract discusses insights from a global study that focused on people's perceptions, attitudes, thresholds and expectations of intelligent systems as well as their perspectives on smart home, autonomous cars, and smart workspace. Insights helped create ten design guidelines to assist intelligent systems designers, technologists and decision makers.
Price Setting and Price Discovery Strategies with a Mix of Frequent and Infrequent Internet Users

In this paper we develop an analytical model that characterizes the structure of price dispersion observed in electronic markets. Findings of our model are consistent with empirical evidence in these e-markets. We show that when different types of buyers' have different search costs, firms follow noncompetitive pricing strategies. Also, our model shows that price dispersion may actually increase if search costs falls, challenging the common belief that price dispersion decreases as search costs fall. We derive multiple price dispersion equilibria, with differing levels of welfare implications. These results are generated without the need for assumption of asymmetric information, and heterogeneity amongst buyers and/or firms. Our results show that the process of search alone may generate price dispersion, and highlight the importance of processes of search not only on prices, but also on the efficiency of e-markets.
Cellular and tissue mechanisms of primate uterine endometrial renewal: an hypothesis

Recent advances in hormonal regulation of cyclic uterine differentiation and preimplantation biology are evident in the remarkable announcements that normal live primate newborns can be produced through artificial menstrual cycles in ovariectomized rhesus monkeys and women (1–3). Such fertile menstrual cycles are produced in rhesus monkeys by a program of insertion and removal of subcutaneous silastic implants of estradiol and progesterone that serve as effective “artificial ovaries” until the placenta takes over the maintenance of pregnancy. These tangible demonstrations provide new stimulus for experimental analysis of endometrial cell and tissue compartments in the primate (rhesus) uterus with regard to the hormonal mechanisms that control cyclic renewal.
Ubiquitous Mail: Speech and Graphical User Interfaces to an Integrated Voice/E-Mail Mailbox

This paper describes the design of a prototype mailbox which allows access to voice mail and e-mail using speech and graphical user interfaces. Through the prototype and user study reported here, we explored several questions. One set of questions concerns how to design an interface based on recognized and recorded speech as input, and recorded and computer-generated text-to-speech as output. Our study suggested that the biggest problem people had with the speech interface was finding specific messages quickly; once they found the desired message they had no problem carrying out a variety of operations. Another set of issues concerns how to design speech and graphical user interfaces which facilitate transfer between the two interface styles. We took the view that the two interfaces should provide a consistent view of the mailbox and the consequences of operations on the mailbox. The specific dialogs should depend on the characteristics of the interface modalities. We found evidence for positive transfer between the interfaces using this approach.
Is Attachment to God a Unique Predictor of Mental Health? Test in a Jewish Sample

Research suggests that religion and spirituality generally correlate positively with various aspects of mental health, although mediators remain unclear. We explored whether attachment to God is a ...
A Case of Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type II With Additional Balanced Translocation t(1;20)(p13;p11.2).

AbstractBackground: Osteogenesis imperfect (OI) type II is a genetic disorder of bone characterized by bone fragility, multiple fractures, severe bowing and shortening of long bones, and perinatal ...
Leveraging whole genome sequencing data for demographic inference with approximate Bayesian computation.

Accounting for historical demographic features, such as the strength and timing of gene flow and divergence times between closely related lineages, is vital for many inferences in evolutionary biology. Approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) is one method commonly used to estimate demographic parameters. However, the DNA sequences used as input for this method, often microsatellites or RADseq loci, usually represent a small fraction of the genome. Whole genome sequencing (WGS) data, on the other hand, have been used less often with ABC, and questions remain about the potential benefit of, and how to best implement, this type of data; we used pseudo-observed data sets to explore such questions. Specifically, we addressed the potential improvements in parameter estimation accuracy that could be associated with WGS data in multiple contexts; namely, we quantified the effects of (a) more data, (b) haplotype-based summary statistics, and (c) locus length. Compared with a hypothetical RADseq data set with 2.5 Mbp of data, using a 1 Gbp data set consisting of 100 Kbp sequences led to substantial gains in the accuracy of parameter estimates, which was mostly due to haplotype statistics and increased data. We also quantified the effects of including (a) locus-specific recombination rates, and (b) background selection information in ABC analyses. Importantly, assuming uniform recombination or ignoring background selection had a negative effect on accuracy in many cases. Software and results from this method validation study should be useful for future demographic history analyses.
Effect of alcohol consumption on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is estimated to be 26.3% among the US population. A subset of this population exhibits an aggressive histological phenotype, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) with ≥ stage 2 fibrosis, which may progress to cirrhosis. The definition of NAFLD excludes excessive alcohol intake, which is well known to cause alcoholic liver disease and will not be discussed here. Most NAFLD clinical trials use ~14 drinks per week as the cutoff for excessive alcohol intake. Alcohol consumption below this threshold, which we define as moderate alcohol consumption, is common in the US. According to the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), 56% of the US adult population consume alcohol, but only 8.2% report drinking heavily and 18.3% report binge drinking. The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Practice Guidance of 2018 states that there are insufficient data to make a recommendation with regard to moderate alcohol consumption in patients with NAFLD, citing a lack of longitudinal studies that examine the impact of moderate alcohol consumption on disease progression and its extrahepatic harms versus benefits, specifically in individuals with established NAFLD. NAFLD prevalence studies have generally noted a negative correlation between modest alcohol consumption and NAFLD. However, prevalence studies have limited application to patients with established NAFLD who present to the clinic. There can also be many confounding factors, because modest alcohol consumption is also negatively associated with some NAFLD risk factors, and those risk factors may not be adequately adjusted for in analyses. The prevalence of NASH with significant fibrosis (≥ F2) is more important because this is the group that is believed to have progressive disease. Thus, cohort studies of disease progression are more important from the patient’s standpoint. Because these patients have already developed NAFLD or NASH, their interest lies in their odds of disease progression if they have moderate alcohol consumption compared to abstinence. It is also noteworthy that cardiovascular disease is the most important cause of death among patients with NAFLD. Moderate alcohol consumption has been associated with a reduction in overall mortality, but mostly in cardiovascular mortality. However, this protective effect has not been demonstrated specifically in patients with NAFLD.