cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic monopolies and feedback vertex sets in hexagonal grids

In a majority conversion process, the vertices of a graph can be in one of the two states, colored or uncolored, and these states are dynamically updated so that a vertex becomes colored at a certain time period if at least half of its neighbors were in the colored state in the previous time period. A dynamic monopoly is a set of vertices in a graph that when initially colored will eventually cause all vertices in the graph to become colored. This paper establishes a connection between dynamic monopolies and the well-known feedback vertex sets which are sets of vertices whose removal results in an acyclic graph. More specifically, we show that dynamic monopolies and feedback vertex sets are equivalent in graphs wherein all vertices have degree 2 or 3. We use this equivalence to provide exact values for the minimum size of dynamic monopolies of planar hexagonal grids, as well as upper and lower bounds on the minimum size of dynamic monopolies of cylindrical and toroidal hexagonal grids. For these last two topologies, the respective upper and lower bounds differ by at most one.
Photoreceptor-specific overexpression of platelet-derived growth factor induces proliferation of endothelial cells, pericytes, and glial cells and aberrant vascular development: an ultrastructural and immunocytochemical study

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is necessary for the normal development of the retinal vasculature and its overexpression is likely to contribute to proliferative retinal disorders, such as proliferative vitreoretinopathy. Transgenic mice that overexpress PDGF-B in the photoreceptors (rho/PDGF-B mice) develop traction retinal detachment. In the present study, a detailed histopathological analysis was performed in rho/PDGF-B mice. In these transgenic mice, endothelial cells, pericytes, and glial cells begin to proliferate at postnatal day 7 (P7). All three cell types increase in numbers, forming a highly vascularized cell mass, which reaches a maximum thickness at P14. Cords of endothelial cells and glia invade the retina and exert traction, generating retinal folds; however, the deep capillary bed never forms. Griffonia simplicifolia isolectin B4 (GSA)-positive endothelial cells form tubes and penetrate the retina to the level of the outer plexiform layer, but they never interconnect to form the deep capillary bed. The vessels within the cell mass are patent, but have a very immature morphology. They often are thin-walled with fenestrations. Pericytes and glial cells are usually found in clusters and are not associated with the abnormal vessels. The lack of this association may account for the failure to form a mature vasculature.
Introducing mNUMA: an extended PGAS architecture

We describe design details of a Light Weight Processing migration-NUMA architecture, a novel high performance system design that provides hardware support for a partitioned global address space, migrating subjects, and word level synchronization primitives. Using the architectural definition, combinations of structures are shown to work together to carry out basic actions such as address translation, migration, in-memory synchronization, and work management. We present results from simulation of microkernels showing that LWP-mNUMA compensates for latency with far greater memory access concurrency than possible on a conventional systems. In particular, several microkernels model tough, irregular access patterns that have limited speedups -- in certain problem areas -- to dozens of conventional processors. On these, results show speedup increasing up to 1024 multicore mNUMA processing nodes, running over 1 million threadlets.
Three-Dimensional Volumetric Display of CT Data: Effect of Scan Parameters upon Image Quality

Of the many steps involved in producing high quality three-dimensional (3D) images of CT data, the data acquisition step is of greatest consequence. The principle of "garbage in, garbage out" applies to 3D imaging--bad scanning technique produces equally bad 3D images. We present a formal study of the effect of two basic scanning parameters, slice thickness and slice spacing, on image quality. Three standard test objects were studied using variable CT scanning parameters. The objects chosen were a bone phantom, a cadaver femur with a simulated 5 mm fracture gap, and a cadaver femur with a simulated 1 mm fracture gap. Each object was scanned at three collimations: 8, 4, and 2 mm. For each collimation, four sets of scans were performed using four slice intervals: 8, 4, 3, and 2 mm. The bone phantom was scanned in two positions: oriented perpendicular to the scanning plane and oriented 45 degrees from the scanning plane. Three-dimensional images of the resulting 48 sets of data were produced using volumetric rendering. Blind review of the resultant 48 data sets was performed by three reviewers rating five factors for each image. The images resulting from scans with thin collimation and small table increments proved to rate the highest in all areas. The data obtained using 2 mm slice intervals proved to rate the highest in perceived image quality. Three millimeter slice spacing with 4 mm collimation, which clinically provides a good compromise between image quality and acquisition time and dose, also produced good perceived image quality. The studies with 8 mm slice intervals provided the least detail and introduced the worst inaccuracies and artifacts and were not suitable for clinical use. Statistical analysis demonstrated that slice interval (i.e., table incrementation) was of primary importance and slice collimation was of secondary, although significant, importance in determining perceived 3D image quality.
Targeted drug delivery in cancer therapy

Chemotherapy has been the main modality of treatment for cancer patients; however, its success rate remains low, primarily due to limited accessibility of drugs to the tumor tissue, their intolerable toxicity, development of multi-drug resistance, and the dynamic heterogeneous biology of the growing tumors. Better understanding of tumor biology in recent years and new targeted drug delivery approaches that are being explored using different nanosystems and bioconjugates provide optimism in developing successful cancer therapy. This article reviews the possibilities and challenges for targeted drug delivery in cancer therapy.
Uncoupling of Nonreceptor Tyrosine Kinases from PLC-γ1 in an SLP-76-Deficient T Cell

Activation of nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) is essential for T cell receptor (TCR) responsiveness; however, the function of individual PTK substrates is often uncertain. A mutant T cell line was isolated that lacked expression of SLP-76 (SH2 domain-containing leukocyte protein of 76 kilodaltons), a hematopoietically expressed adaptor protein and PTK substrate. SLP-76 was not required for TCR-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of most proteins, but was required for optimal tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of phospholipase C-gamma1 (PLC-gamma1), as well as Ras pathway activation. TCR-inducible gene expression was dependent on SLP-76. Thus, coupling of TCR-regulated PTKs to downstream signaling pathways requires SLP-76.
A high-temperature oven for laser spectroscopy

A commercial heat-pipe oven (HPO) was modified to extend the useful temperature range from 700°C to ∼1700°C. The utility of the modified heat pipe oven as an atom source for spectroscopy is demonstrated with a laser atomic absorption study of the hyperfine splitting of Tm (m.p. 1545°C).
Phenomenological theory of static critical phenomena

Abstract A phenomenological theory of second order phase transitions is presented, and relations among the critical exponents are derived from it. When combined with scaling laws, these relations predict a set of exponents in good agreement with experiment.
Commercial bilirubin: A trinity of isomers.

Commercial preparations of the bile pigment, bilirubin, are used (frequently without further purifrcation) in metabolic investigations, as a convenient starting material for the preparation of other bile pig ments, as standards for clinical analyses, and in studies of the chemistry of bilirubin itself. The commercial material, which is obtained from bile or gallstones of bovine or porcine origin, is generally believed to consist essentially of bilirubin IX-a (fig. 1 B) formed metabolically via stereospecific cleavage of the a-methene bridge of protohaem-IX and the only isomer of bilirubin known to occur naturally. Although evidence has been published [l] suggesting that commercial bilirubin contains trace amounts of other isomers (bilirubin IX-0 and -6) arising from cleavage
Imaging of systemic mastocytosis by FDG-PET/CT demonstrates increased activity in cortical bone.

Abstract:A patient with systemic mastocytosis underwent a FDG-PET/CT scan. CT demonstrated loss of corticomedullary differentiation in the axial skeleton and thickening of cortical bone in the appendicular skeleton consistent with myelofibrosis and osteosclerosis. Remarkably, the bones of the lower
Presynaptic and postsynaptic contributions to ontogeny of sympathetic control of heart rate in the pre-weanling rat.

Abstract 1. The dependence of heart rate on sympathetic nerve development and on ontogeny of cardiac responses to sympathetic neurotransmitters was evaluated in neonatal rats by use of the ganglionic blocking agent, chlorisondamine, and the beta-adrenoceptor agonist, isoprenaline. 2. Basal heart rates of anaesthetized 4, 7 and 11 day old rats were the same as in adult rats, but the heart rate in 16 day old rats (an age at which sympathetic tone appears to be elevated) was significantly higher. 3. Chlorisondamine failed to lower heart rate significantly in 4 or 7 day old rats, but lowered the rate by 50 to 80 beats per min in the older animals and eliminated the difference in rate between 16 day old and the other ages; atropine had little or no effect on heart rate. 4. Heart rate responses to isoprenaline were lower in 4, 7 and 11 day old rats than they were in adults but were indistinguishable from them by 16 days of age, indicating that the heart is less sensitive to beta-adrenoceptor stimulation early in neonatal life. 5. The ontogeny of sympathetic control of heart rate in the rat depends upon maturational changes in both presynaptic and postsynaptic elements.
M4 transitions observed in pion inelastic scattering on 15N.

Cross sections for ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}$ and ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$ elastic and inelastic scattering to states in $^{15}\mathrm{N}$ have been measured at an incident pion energy of 164 MeV. Transitions to states at 10.7, 12.5, 14.0, and 17.2 MeV were found to contain significant M4 strength. The M4 assignments are supported both by angular distribution shapes and by additional ${\ensuremath{\pi}}^{+}$ cross sections measured at 120 and 260 MeV. The angular distributions are compared with distorted-wave impulse-approximation calculations to extract isoscalar and isovector spectroscopic amplitudes. These amplitudes are compared with model predictions.
Light chain fragments: aberrant expression of immunoglobulin genes

Abstract Lymphoid cells frequently express both a normal light chain and a fragment of L, which encoded by a separate aberrantly rearranged or mutant L gene. Analysis of fragments of light chain should continue to provide insights into: formation of light chain genes by DNA rearrangement, allelic and isotypic exlusion, and other facets of gene expression.
Variable speed operation of turbogenerators to improve part-load efficiency

Our investigation of variable speed operation of turbogenerators, including both single-shaft and twin-shaft variants, shows significant opportunities to improve part-load efficiency in those certain electrical power generation applications that permit variable speed operation. Efficiency improvement increases as load decreases and the improvement is larger for single-shaft engines than for twin-shaft engines. For example, when operating at 20% loading, adjusting the engine speed can improve fuel efficiency by 14% for single-shaft gas turbines, and by 2% for twin-shaft gas turbines. In addition, we present a semi-theoretical analysis that provides a procedure to obtain the gas turbine optimal efficiency and its corresponding optimal speed as a function of shaft load. Simulation results of part-load variable speed modeling of gas turbines further confirmed the theoretical analysis. This has important practical implications. An analysis of fuel consumption by a gas turbine that operates with a load profile representative of a typical propulsion profile for a DDG51 ship, shows a 15% reduction in fuel consumption when variable speed operation is used, as compared to fixed speed operation. In addition, the analysis presented in this paper provides a general method to evaluate the steady-state performance of gas turbines operating with variable speed.
The EGF Receptor Binding of Recombinant Heregulinβ1/EGF Hybrids Is Blocked by Heregulin Residue Glutamate 195

Abstract Defined sequences from the EGF-like domain of human heregulin-β1 (HRGβ1) were recombined with a synthetic gene for human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) in an attempt to locate receptor-specific determinants within the HRGβ1 molecule that blocks its inappropriate association with the EGF receptor (EGFR). Receptor competition assays detected only minor changes in relative EGFR affinity for those hybrids containing up to 12 N-terminal HRGβ1 residues. However, extending the N-terminal substitution to include 20 HRGβ1 residues resulted in a 100-fold drop in relative EGFR binding. Both interruption of the major β-sheet structure of hEGF by insertion of a three amino acid loop present in HRGβ1 and replacement of nearly the entire C-terminal hEGF subdomain with segments of HRGβ1 sequence resulted in a 5-fold decreased EGFR affinity. The results presented here demonstrate that while a substantial portion of the hEGF and HRGβ1 protein sequences were nearly interchangeable with regard to EGFR binding, the introduction of HRGβ1 residue Glu195 effected a major decrease in EGFR binding.
Multi-faceted requirements modeling

Modern systems engineering mandates the integration of heterogeneous models in systems design and analysis. Analysis of modern, mixed technology systems requires the horizontal integration of heterogeneous models for predictive analysis. The ever increasing role of performance constraints such as power, cost and throughput requires vertical integration of heterogeneous component models describing different requirements facets. The Rosetta (Alexander et al., 2000; 2001) specification language has been developed to address the issue of specification and analysis of heterogeneous models. We describe the semantics of Rosetta's specification composition in the context of systems level requirements modeling.
Patients, their doctors, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and the perception of risk.

This article is about risk. Risk is probably the most misunderstood component in determining therapeutic intervention; however, it is probably the most relevant issue to consider in the context of expected benefit. The rarity of quantitative risk–benefit assessment and the lack of comparative risk–benefit when alternative therapies exist for a given condition leads to inadequate decisions. Without some quantitation of the risks associated with specific therapies, doctors and patients cannot make optimal risk–benefit calculations. Patients may abandon effective therapies for which benefits may still outweigh risks, or opt for therapies with less well-publicized potential adverse events of even greater frequency or severity. When only small incremental benefits accrue to patients from the use of a given therapy, on the other hand, even very rare serious events may play a role in decision-making by patients, by their health care providers and by regulatory authorities.
Wrist tendon forces with respect to forearm rotation.

Purpose Early motion therapy protocols are desirable to reduce wrist stiffness after carpal injuries and distal radius fractures. Based on our assumption that a reduction in wrist tendon forces will be associated with a reduction in radioulnar carpal joint reaction force, the goal of this study was to determine the forearm position at which the wrist tendon forces required to initiate wrist motion were the least. Methods We tested 8 fresh-frozen cadaver forearms in a wrist and forearm motion simulator. In each specimen, we generated a wrist flexion-extension motion and a radioulnar deviation motion by pulling on the wrist flexor and extensor tendons with the forearm in supination, pronation, or neutral. We also performed a wrist flexion-extension motion during active forearm rotation. During each motion, we continuously recorded the forces in the 5 wrist tendons. We used repeated-measure analyses of variance to compare tendon forces. Results During the wrist flexion-extension motion, the summed peak wrist extensor forces were significantly less with the wrist in forearm supination than with the forearm in neutral or during active forearm rotation. For the summed peak wrist flexor forces, flexor tendon forces were significantly less with the forearm in supination compared with active forearm rotation. The extensor carpi radialis longus and flexor carpi ulnaris forces were significantly less in supination than during active forearm motion. During wrist radioulnar deviation motion, peak extensor carpi ulnaris force was significantly less with the forearm in supination than in neutral, and peak flexor carpi radialis force was significantly less with the forearm in supination than in pronation. Conclusions Peak wrist tendon forces were least in the static forearm supinated position. Clinical relevance To reduce deforming forces on a fresh carpal injury or distal radial fracture, active rehabilitation appears to be best initiated with the forearm held in supination.
Teaching Rational Entitlement and Responsibility: A Socratic Exercise

The paper reports on a Socratic exercise that introduces participants to the norm of rational entitlement, as distinct from political entitlement, and the attendant norm of rational responsibility. The exercise demonstrates that, because participants are not willing to exchange their own opinion at random for another differing opinion to which the owner is, by the participants’ own admission, entitled, they treat their entitlement to their own opinion differently, giving it a special status. This gives rise to rational obligations such as the obligation to provide reasons, and a willingness to risk those opinions to the force of the better reason.
Toxicology of Newer Insecticides in Small Animals

In the broadest definition, a pesticide (from fly swatters to chemicals) is a substance used to eliminate a pest. Newer insecticides are much safer to the environment, humans, and nontarget species. These insecticides are able to target physiologic differences between insects and mammals, resulting in greater mammalian safety. This article briefly reviews toxicity information of both older insecticides such as organophosphates, carbamates, permethrins, and pyrethroids, as well as some newer insecticides.
Assessment of a Method to Detect Signals for Updating Systematic Reviews

Background Systematic reviews are a cornerstone of evidence-based medicine but are useful only if up-to-date. Methods for detecting signals of when a systematic review needs updating have face validity, but no proposed method has had an assessment of predictive validity performed.
Improving High Quality TTS using Circular Linear Prediction and Constant Pitch Transform

Current high quality concatenative TTS systems are based on unit selection from a database that is contextually and prosodically rich. These systems are computationally expensive and require a very large footprint. This paper presents a new method for representing speech segments that can improve the quality and scalability of concatenative TTS systems. The circular linear prediction model combined with the constant pitch transform provides a robust representation of speech signals that allows for limited prosodic movements without perceivable loss in quality. A method is presented for constraining the LSF tracks of speech segments to realize pitch modifications with minimal artifacts. The results of formal listening tests demonstrate that limited prosodic modifications can produce speech from fewer units whose quality equals or exceeds large database unit-selection systems. Additionally, this method is used to realize high quality emphasized speech.
Masculinity and National Identity on the Early American Stage

This essay explores how the early American stage functioned as an incubator for ideas about national identity, artistic expression, and masculinity. Reading four plays from the early years of the Republic – Royall Tyler’s The Contrast, William Dunlap’s Andre, John Augustus Stone’s Metamora, and Robert Montgomery Bird’s The Gladiator, I demonstrate how early American drama addressed changing concepts of ideal masculinity, republican democracy, and the colonial past.
Image theory for chiral bodies

Image theory for a chiral body over a perfect electric or magnetic conducting ground plane is developed using the chiral volume equivalence theorem and conventional image theory for electric and magnetic currents. It is shown that the image of the chiral body has the same material parameters as the original body, except that the chirality admittance of the image is the negative of the original. In essence the mirror image of a chiral object is that object, such as a helix, with the opposite handedness. Alternatively, the same results can be obtained using tensor analysis. >
Southern Partisan Changes: Dealignment, Realignment or Both?

This paper draws on presidential and congressional surveys between 1952 and 1984 in order to survey the extent of southern partisan changes and to evaluate the electoral evidence for realignment or dealignment. The partisan balance in the South has shifted in recent years, but no consensus exists about whether these changes constitute realignment or dealignment. Native southern whites--both young and old--have accounted for the largest share of the changes. Settling on a single term to summarize the changes is an oversimplification since aspects of both realignment and dealignment have characterized the South. Southern Republicans have profited from the decreased importance of parties in a still-Democratic region, but since partisanship means less in some senses, Republican consolidation is constrained and the significance of the Democratic decline restricted.
Use of activity-based probes to develop high throughput screening assays that can be performed in complex cell extracts.

Background: High throughput screening (HTS) is one of the primary tools used to identify novel enzyme inhibitors. However, its applicability is generally restricted to targets that can either be expressed recombinantly or purified in large quantities. Methodology and Principal Findings: Here, we described a method to use activity-based probes (ABPs) to identify substrates that are sufficiently selective to allow HTS in complex biological samples. Because ABPs label their target enzymes through the formation of a permanent covalent bond, we can correlate labeling of target enzymes in a complex mixture with inhibition of turnover of a substrate in that same mixture. Thus, substrate specificity can be determined and substrates with sufficiently high selectivity for HTS can be identified. In this study, we demonstrate this method by using an ABP for dipeptidyl aminopeptidases to identify (Pro-Arg)2-Rhodamine as a specific substrate for DPAP1 in Plasmodium falciparum lysates and Cathepsin C in rat liver extracts. We then used this substrate to develop highly sensitive HTS assays (Z’.0.8) that are suitable for use in screening large collections of small molecules (i.e .300,000) for inhibitors of these proteases. Finally, we demonstrate that it is possible to use broad-spectrum ABPs to identify target-specific substrates. Conclusions: We believe that this approach will have value for many enzymatic systems where access to large amounts of active enzyme is problematic.
Avian Nest Survival in Coastal Forested Buffer Strips on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska

Abstract In an effort to provide wildlife habitat and link blocks of forested habitat, coastal forested buffer strips in the Pacific Northwest are managed to mitigate effects of fragmentation that result from timber harvesting adjacent to a coastline. We examined the effect of coastal forest buffer strip width on avian nest survival on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska, in 2003 and 2004. We established nest monitoring plots in two buffer width treatments, narrow ( 350 m, n = 3), and monitored a total of 142 nests of six species: the Pacific-slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis), Chestnut-backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens), Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes), Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus), Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus), and Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius). We modeled and compared the daily survival rate (DSR) of each species in both buffer width treatments. Point estimates for DSRs were slightly higher within wide buffers, but confidence intervals overlapped for al...
Variability and energy awareness: a microarchitecture-level perspective

This paper proposes microarchitecture-level models for within die (WID) process and system parameter variability that can be included in the design of high-performance processors. Since decisions taken at microarchitecture level have the largest impact on both performance and power, on one hand, and global variability effect, on the other hand, models and associated metrics are needed for their joint characterization and analysis. To assess how these variations affect or are affected by microarchitecture decisions, we propose a joint performance, power and variability metric that is able to distinguish among various design choices. As a design-driver for the modeling methodology, we consider a clustered high-performance processor implementation, along with its globally asynchronous, locally synchronous (GALS) counterpart. Results show that, when comparing the baseline, synchronous and its GALS counterpart, microarchitecture-driven impact of process variability translates into 2-10% faster local clocks for the GALS case, while when taking into account the effect of on-chip temperature variability, local clocks can be 8-18% faster. If, in addition, voltage scaling (DVS) is employed, the GALS architecture with DVS is 26% better in terms of the joint quality metric employing energy, performance, and variability.
Simulating the effects of different fire regimes on plant functional groups in Southern California

A spatially explicit landscape model of disturbance and vegetation succession, LANDIS, was used to examine the effect of fire regime on landscape patterns of functional group dominance in the shrublands and forests of the southern California foothills and mountains. Three model treatments, frequent (35 year), moderate (70 year), and infrequent (1050 year) fire cycles, were applied to the landscape for 500 year. The model was calibrated and tested using a dataset representing an initial random distribution of six plant functional groups on an even-aged landscape. Calibration of the three fire regime treatments resulted in simulation of fire cycles within 7% of these intended values when fire cycles were averaged across ten replicated model runs per treatment. Within individual 500-year model runs, the error in the simulated fire cycle (average area burned per decade) reached 11% for the moderate and frequent fire cycle treatments and 53% for infrequent. The infrequent fire regime resulted in an old landscape dominated by the three most shade tolerant and long-lived functional groups, while shorter-lived and less shade tolerant seeders and resprouters disappeared from the landscape. The moderate fire regime, similar to what is considered the current fire regime in the southern California foothills, resulted in a younger landscape where the facultative resprouter persisted along with the long-lived shade tolerant functional groups, but the obligate seeder with low fire tolerance disappeared, despite its moderate shade tolerance. The frequent fire regime resulted in the persistence of all functional groups on the landscape with more even cover, but the same rank order as under the moderate regime. The model, originally developed for northern temperate forests, appears to be useful for simulating the disturbance regime in this fire-prone Mediterranean-type ecosystem.
DIFFERENTIATION OF HUMAN FIGURE DRAWINGS MADE BEFORE AND AFTER TEMPORAL LOBECTOMY AND BY SCHIZOPHRENICS.

-Twenty-one clinical psychologists with from 1 to 25 years of experience judged figure drawings made by epileptics before and after temporal lobectomy and by hospitalized schizophrenics. There was no significant ability to differentiate the prefrom the postoperative drawings, or the schizophrenic from either the preor postoperative drawings. There was no significant relationship between the ability to differentiate the dran-~ngs and years of experience, nor bemeen this ability and certainty of judgment
Does Selective Migration Matter? Explaining Ethnic Disparities in Educational Attainment among Immigrants' Children

Understanding why some national-origin groups excel in school while others do not is an enduring sociological puzzle. This paper examines whether the degree of immigrants’educational selectivity - that is, how immigrants differ educationally from non-migrants in the home country - influences educational outcomes among groups of immigrants’children. This study uses published international data and U. S. Census and Current Population Survey data on 32 immigrant groups to show that as immigrants’educational selectivity increases, the college attainment of the second generation also increases. Moreover, the more positive selection of Asian immigrants helps explain their second generations’higher college attendance rates as compared to Europeans, Afro-Caribbeans, and Latinos. Thus, the findings suggest that inequalities in relative pre-migration educational attainments among immigrants are often reproduced among the next generation in the United States.
Answering Reading Comprehension Items Without Passages on the SAT

Performance of college undergraduates on the Reading Comprehension task of the SAT was well above chance when the passages were deleted. Moreover, examinees and test items performed similarly with or without the passages: individual performance correlated with verbal SAT score, and the difficulty of items belonging to a passage correlated with a normative measure based on equated delta. The findings demonstrate that the Reading Comprehension task substantially measures factors unrelated to reading comprehension.
Regulating The Pharmaceutical Industry In The European Union: A Dilemma Of Achieving A Single Market

Pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement regulations create a dilemma to achieve a single pharmaceutical market in the European Union (EU). Although considerable progress has been made in the past years in harmonization of the pharmaceutical markets, the pricing decisions or systems have continued to be operated on a national basis, which results in price differences across the member states. These price differences create opportunity for parallel trade which, in combination with the EU single market principle calling for the free movement of goods, could lead to reduction in price differences. Among the harmonization efforts by the European Commission, national decisions on pricing and controls, plus parallel trade dilemma, we attempt to analyze the bilateral drug price differences using a sample of countries that represent from strict to relatively less pharmaceutical regulations. Almost all member countries regulate pharmaceutical prices, either directly or indirectly, in the EU, which creates less or more price differences despite market integration. This paper is simply aimed at analyzing price differences in the European pharmaceutical market, employing annual 1994–2003 IMS Health Data from five EU countries (Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Spain) on prices of molecules used to treat cardiovascular disease. The analysis includes a two step approach. First, we calculate the common use of Laspeyres and Paasche weighted price and quantity indices to make comparisons for both bilaterally matched molecules (considering Spain as the base country) and diffused molecules that are available for five countries. Second, we adopt a hedonic price regression to control observable quality and market characteristics and then re-analyze price differentials. The study concludes that price differences still exist, but are decreasing over time. Even though the results are sensitive to sample and methods used, we found implicit evidence that harmonization efforts by the European Commission may ease reducing price differences in the long run, but it should not be interpreted as moving toward complete elimination of price differences due to complexities in this industry.
Radiographic osteoradionecrosis of the jaw with intact mucosa: Proposal of clinical guidelines for early identification of this condition

Osteoradionecrosis (ORN) remains an unintended debilitating complication of radiation therapy despite the advent of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) which aims to deliver doses of radiation to the tumor site while minimizing doses to healthy tissues [[1], [2], [3], [4]. The etiopathogenesis of ORN has been attributed to the avascular effect of radiation to the bone resulting in hypoxia, hypovascularity, and hypocellularity [5], [6]. Radiation-induced fibrosis has also been implicated in the pathophysiology of ORN [7. Recent studies have placed reported incidences of ORN at 1–30% [2], [8], [9], [10], [11]. ORN of the jaw was defined as an area of exposed necrotic bone greater than 1 cm in an area of previous irradiation that failed to heal after 6 months [5]. This definition of ORN has been used for years and still remains the most widely used clinical criterion for the diagnosis of ORN though it fails to incorporate cases with radiologic evidence of necrosis with intact mucosa [5], [12], [13], [14], [15]. Although a report by Van Merkesteyn et al. described a case of ORN of the jaw with intact mucosa [16], subsequently only two series have likewise reported this condition. In 2000, Store and Boysen reported 17 patients with radiographic osteoradionecrosis of the jaw (rORN) with intact mucosa at initial diagnosis as did He et al. in a recent article where they described 16 patients presenting with rORN with intact mucosa [17], [18]Thus, it appears that rORN with intact mucosa is underdiagnosed. The objectives of this article are to: 1. Describe new cases of rORN with intact mucosa. 2. Correlate the dosimetric analyses of the involved area with the radiographic presentation and to determine the best predictor of rORN with intact mucosa. 3. Propose modification of Store and Boysen’s staging system of ORN. 4. Propose clinical guidelines for early identification of rORN with intact mucosa.
Use of Fruit Juice in the Diets of Young Children

Fruit juice is a modern addition to the infant9s diet due to the development of technology for juice extraction and an adequate supply of fruit. It has been marketed as healthy, natural, and nutritious. As a result, parents (in trying to do what is best for their infants) have been feeding juices in increasing quantities. In 1992, $164 million was spent on bottled baby juice in the United States according to Information Resources, Inc, a marketing company that tracks the consumer industry. For the past several decades, pediatricians have recognized that excessive consumption of fruit juice has been associated with diarrhea, gassiness, stomachaches, and other abdominal complaints.
Another Option for Older, Nonviolent Juveniles: Statutory Retention of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction Past the Age of Majority

The retention of juvenile jurisdiction past the age of majority better serves the needs of both older, nonviolent offenders and society. Retention in juvenile court ultimately solves the overwhelming juvenile crime problem by providing appropriate treatment otherwise unavailable to the older, nonviolent offender. This Note explains the origin and development of the juvenile justice system and demonstrates that the rehabilitative and retributive goals, with respect to juveniles, are best served by the retention of juvenile court jurisdiction. This Note offers a comprehensive statute to deal with all aspects of retaining juvenile court jurisdiction. Further, this Note contains a model statute allowing for the retention of juvenile court jurisdiction past the age of majority and suggests that all states adopt it to better achieve the rehabilitation of juveniles and retribution for society.
The era of hybrid revascularization

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery has evolved over the last 50 years since the development of the cardiopulmonary bypass machine by Gibbons in the 1950s. The progress of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) research and development of stents with improved qualities and evolution of CABG led to the birth of the new concept of hybrid revascularization. In the past, median sternotomy to access the heart for CABG has been the gold standard. In recent years, modern technology has brought about the possibility of minimally invasive cardiac surgery, in particular minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass surgery on selected accessible target coronary vessels and simultaneous PCI to other culprit lesions. This collaborative approach has led to cardiothoracic surgeons and cardiologists working hand in hand to improve overall patient care—the important role of the “heart team.” This paper shall aim to review the development of hybrid revascularization, its roots, the progress and the future. Answer questions and earn CME: https://www.wileyhealthlearning.com/Activity2/3707284/Activity.aspx
Cognitive Neural Network Models of the Brain and the Interaction with Natural Human Surroundings

In this article, we summarize an approach to deriving statistical distributions of extensive and non-extensive statistics of the interactions of neural nodes in the human brain. The method includes a description of electrical charge discharge 'communication’ between neurons, and includes coupling with the global electromagnetic field generated by the brain. Moreover the coupling nature of regions of the brain is modeled via an electrical charge transport coupling scheme that is mathematically rigorous as it relies on Green's theorem for coupling the Green's functions of the probability distributions of the various regions of the brain. We also simplify the model to the capacitance model of a neuron and derive non-extensive statistics of the model. We then re-define the model to one where the neurons behave as random oscillators, explaining the transformation and the physics, and derive non-extensive statistics of the random oscillator model, which in the q- > 1 limit reduces to the Wiener model. We discuss a possible mechanism for the physical origin of the Q-cavity-like frequency dependent intensity graph.
Couple-Level Predictors of Perceived Fairness During Pregnancy in First-Time Parents

Researchers have suggested that apart from the actual division of household labor, housework ideology and spousal support also influence perceptions of fairness regarding the division of household labor. Furthermore, although only individual perceived fairness predictors are typically examined, researchers acknowledge that an individual’s perceived fairness is often contingent on a combination of characteristics within a couple. In addition to self-perceived fairness, we examined perceptions of fairness for spouse in 104 couples expecting their first child. Results indicate that couple-level actual division of housework and housework ideology significantly predict perceptions of fairness. Furthermore, our data provide evidence to suggest that some predictors’ influence may depend on the level of analysis (couple vs. individual), as well as the type of perceived fairness examined (self vs. spouse). Findings illustrate the importance of considering predictors at the dyadic level, as well as examining self-p...
The 100 Most Cited Articles in Business and Management Education Research

Research in the area of business and management education is relatively young as compared to many other areas in the field of business. As such, little analysis has been undertaken that examines th...
Development of Genetic Markers Distinguishing Two Invasive Fire Ant Species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and Their Hybrids

Summary Three single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers were developed that were completely diagnostic in distinguishing the 2 fire ant species Solenopsis invicta Buren and Solenopsis richteri Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Although a 4th marker was not fully diagnostic, it was still useful given that one of the variants was confined to S. richteri. Joint use of these markers was shown to consistently distinguish hybrids from the 2 parental species. The development of these SNP markers distinguishing the 2 introduced fire ant species and their hybrids represents a significant advance over existing methods because this method is robust, easily transferable, and cost effective.
Letter by Daniels and Burns Regarding Article, "Incidence, Cause, and Comparative Frequency of Sudden Cardiac Death in National Collegiate Athletic Association Athletes: A Decade in Review".

We read with interest the article by Harmon et al,1 which found that 2% of sudden cardiac deaths in National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes are attributed to Kawasaki disease (KD). We suspect that sudden cardiac death in these individuals …
Electron-phonon coupling effect on charge transfer in nanostructures

Two simple quantum electron networks are considered: one has an interference structure, and one is a simple chain. The network is coupled at one edge site to a metal reservoir that works as a sink for arriving charges. When the electron reaches the edge site and has an energy at or above the Fermi level of the metal sink, we assume that it will be absorbed. The adiabatic electron phonon coupling will lower the energy level of the last site (before the sink) when the electron enters it. When this polarization-corrected energy is lower than the Fermi level, the absorption into the sink has to be activated above the metal Fermi sea and the absorbing rate will be slowed down.
Two New Chytrid Parasites of Chytriomyces

During the course of a study of an isolate of Chvtriomyces hyalinus Karling (5) the sporangia of this chitinophyllic fungus became heavily infected with two other chytrids. The first of these parasites to be reported here relates to the eucarpic. rhizidiaceous genus Rhizophydium. It occurred first in great abundance on a pure culture of C. hyalinus which was growing on purified shrimp chitin. but later a few of its thalli were found on C. aureus also. In view of the latter discovery, inoculation tests were made at once to determine whether or not this fungus will infect other chitinophyllic chytrids. Heavily infected sporangia of C. hyalinus were repeatedly introduced into cultures of Asterophlyctis sarcoptoides, Siphonaria variabilis, Obelidium mucronatum, Chytriomyces appendiculatus, Rhizophlyctis petersenii, Polychytrium aggregatum, and Rhizidium sp., but none of these chytrids became infected. Likewise, cultures of Achlya flagellata, Saprolegnia ferax, Aphanomyces sp., and various species of Pythium were inoculated in the same manner, but no infection occurred. These results suggest that the parasite may be limited in host range to two species of Chytriomyces. It is significant to note that it has not infected C. appendiculatus, another chitinophyllic species of Chvtriomvces from Virginia and Connecticut. So far only six, or possibly seven, Rhizophydium parasites of other fungi have been reported: R. carpophilum on various aquatic Oomycetes (Zopf, 12, and others), R. (Mastigochytrium) Saccardiae on the ascocarps of Saccardia Durantae (Lagerheim, 6), R. Pythii on Pythium complens (de Wildeman, 10), R. fungicolum on the hyphae of Gloeosporium (Zimmerman, 11), R. pollinis on conidia of Sclerospora graminicola (Muller, 8) and oospores of Albugo bliti (Melhus, 7), R, parasitans on Rhizophydium gonio-
Determination of Bromate in Water by Ion Chromatography

[Objective]To establish and optimize the method for quantitative detection of bromate in drinking water. [Methods]The detection of bromate was achieved with gradient elution and large volume direct injection.The method could be used to determine variety of anions simultaneously. [Results]In this method,the detection limit of bromate was 0.2 μg/L,good linear relationship show at the range of 1~100 μg/L(r=0.999 8),good analytic precision was obtained(RSD%l.0),the average recoveries rates were between 95.4% and 105.5%.The method could achieve the simultaneous determination of 5 anions. [Conclusion]The method is simple,rapid,sensitive.It has good adaptability to the daily determination of bromate in water.
Screening and discovery of novel MDR modifiers from naturally occurring bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids.

Background. The failure of conventional cancer chemotherapy has been linked to overexpression of a membrane associated P-glycoprotein (P-gp) that acts as an energy-dependent drug efflux pump. A promising strategy to conquer multidrug resistance (MDR) is to develop functional MDR modifiers that can inhibit the activity of P-gp. Materials and Methods, We used MTT in combination with other in vitro drug evaluation assays to screen potential MDR modifiers from a series of naturally occurring Bisbenzylisoquinoline Alkaloids (BBIs) that were isolated from natural plants. Results. Our in vitro screening assays indicated that at least six of these natural compounds (FF0019, FF0018, FF0015, FF0014, FF0011 and FF0012) showed potent activities to restore sensitivity of resistant tumor cells, such as MCF-7/adr and KBv200 cells, to many antitumor drugs including doxorubicin and vincristine. Further analyses by measurement of radioactive [ 3 H]-Vincristine indicated that these BBIs increased intracellular drug accumulation in MDR cells, but had little effect on drug-sensitive cells. Conclusions. These results suggested that the mechanism of these compounds to reverse MDR was associated with the increase in the intracellular drug accumulation through inhibiting the activity of P-gp. Another important feature is that the in vitro cytotoxic effect of these naturally occurring BBIs themselves on tumor cells was very low. Thus, these compounds may possess great promise in being developed into novel MDR modifiers.
Visualizing Vascular Networks in Zebrafish: An Introduction to Microangiography

Visualizing the circulatory pattern in developing embryos becomes an essential technique for the field of cardiovascular biology. In the zebrafish model system, there are currently several techniques available to visualize the circulatory pattern. Microangiography is a simple technique in which a fluorescent dye is injected directly into the Sinus Venosus and/or the Posterior Cardinal Vein, allowing for the rapid labeling and easy detection of patent vessels. Here, we compare microangiography to other vascular labeling techniques, describe the benefits and potential applications of microangiography, and give step by step instructions for microangiography.