cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tradeoffs in Trade Data: Do Our Assumptions Affect Our Results?

Researchers investigating the link between trade and peace often face a severe problem of list-wise deletion from missing trade data. Attempts to mitigate this problem include assuming that most observations are zero or imputing the values of such flows. We compare two frequently used trade data sets (the Gleditsch data set and the Correlates of War Project data set). We classify individual observations as observed, constructed or missing. We demonstrate that state attributes are systematically related to different categories of trade data. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we also find that replacing some missing data with estimated values tends to inflate the effects of trade in conflict models, although the effects differ by data set.
Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome protein is required for NK cell cytotoxicity and colocalizes with actin to NK cell-activating immunologic synapses

The Wiskott–Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is a primary immunodeficiency disorder caused by a mutation in WAS protein (WASp) that results in defective actin polymerization. Although the function of many hematopoietic cells requires WASp, the specific expression and function of this molecule in natural killer (NK) cells is unknown. Here, we report that WAS patients have increased percentages of peripheral blood NK cells and that fresh enriched NK cells from two patients with a WASp mutation have defective cytolytic function. In normal NK cells, WASp was expressed and localized to the activating immunologic synapse (IS) with filamentous actin (F-actin). Perforin also localized to the NK cell-activating IS but at a lesser frequency than F-actin and WASp. The accumulation of F-actin and WASp at the activating IS was decreased significantly in NK cells that had been treated with the inhibitor of actin polymerization, cytochalasin D. NK cells from WAS patients lacked expression of WASp and accumulated F-actin at the activating IS infrequently. Thus, WASp has an important function in NK cells. In patients with WASp mutations, the resulting NK cell defects are likely to contribute to their disease.
The Focus of Advocacy in the LD Field

In our field, the intent of all advocacy is to benefit those with learning disabilities. Currently, there is great emphasis on case-by-case advocacy designed to ensure client rights to services and to guarantee that informed consent and due process practices are followed correctly. And there also continues to be class advocacy, which moves the focus from individuals to groups and often strives for changes in prevailing policies and system practices to ensure benefits for the entire group. But there is more to understand about advocacy than might be gleaned from observation of these practices.Advocacy in a field has many facets. It may be formal or informal, explicitly outlined or covert, highly organized or relatively uncoordinated. It may indeed take the form of case-by-case or class advocacy regarding daily practices, but it also may be concerned about the proper focus of the field's research and training activity as well. Besides its form and focus, advocacy also involves a variety of strategies rangin...
Variability of shoreline erosion and accretion within a beach compartment of Flathead Lake, Montana

We measured shoreline reconfiguration and variability in shoreline retreat in Flathead Lake, which is a large glacial lake regulated by a hydroelectric dam at its natural outlet. Wave-induced erosion rates ranged from 0.5 to 2.5 m yr -I at the northshore study site where fetch, and hence wave energy, was maximal. Shoreline retreat was not solely related to storm intensity or volumetric changes in nearshore bars. Three erosive processes were involved in the measured variability of shoreline retreat: undercutting, endstripping, and ovcrwash. Wave scour on an exposed bank caused undercutting and endstripping, while overwash resulted when water was forced over the top of the shoreline. Shoreline morphology and vegetation determined the type of erosion process and the rate of shoreline retreat. Shoreline retreat was offset by localized and dramatic accretion caused by sediment entrapment by drift logs bordering the shoreline. The eroding shoreline and ncarshore bed were sediment sources for the accretion. Drift logs naturally protcctcd the shoreline from direct wave attack and stimulated sediment accretion, providing new rccruitmcnt arca for riparian vegetation. Each stretch of sea coastline or lake shorcline uniquely responds to the physical processes associated with erosion and accretion. Change in shoreline position is one measurable response to the complex processes that continually shape the littoral zone. Shoreline erosion depends on many site-specific factors such as ncarshore morphology, relative changes in water levels, varying wave energies, patterns of net littoral drift, and sediment composition and grain size (Warnkc et al. 1966; Sharaf El Din 1974; Sakalowsky 1975; Morton 1979). Therefore, when addressing shoreline behavior it is necessary to examine and identify components and processes that determine the observed shoreline response. On a local scale, beach erosion and shoreline retreat are largely episodic, corresponding to periods of intense storms. However, this general association of erosion with the cncrgy level of waves creates an oversimplified impression of the actual processes causing shoreline retreat
A chondroitin sulfate small molecule that stimulates neuronal growth.

Chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycans are sulfated polysaccharides involved in cell division, neuronal development, and spinal cord injury. Here, we report the synthesis and identification of a chondroitin sulfate tetrasaccharide that stimulates the growth and differentiation of neurons. These studies represent the first, direct investigations into the structure−activity relationships of chondroitin sulfate using homogeneous synthetic molecules and define a tetrasaccharide as a minimal motif required for activity.
Hot-carrier reliability enhancement via input reordering and transistor sizing

Hot-carrier effects and electromigration are the two important failure mechanisms that significantly impact the long-term reliability of high-density VLSI ICs. In this paper, we present a probabilistic switch-level method for identifying the most susceptible hot-carrier MOSFETs and improving their hot-carrier reliability using two techniques: (i) reordering of inputs to logic gates, and (ii) selective MOSFET sizing. We also show that for a given circuit, the best design in terms of hot-carrier reliability does not necessarily coincide with the best design in terms of power consumption.
The isotopic abundance of molybdenum in terrestrial minerals

Abstract The isotopic abundance of molybdenum has been analyzed in molybdenite and wulfenite minerals from six locations all over the world and no anomalies have been found greater than 0.15%. No results were obtained with respect to differences in mass-dependent fractionation of the samples because of overriding instrumental mass discrimination.
Kinetic isotope effects in the characterization of catalysis by protein tyrosine phosphatases.

Abstract Although thermodynamically favorable, the uncatalyzed hydrolysis of phosphate monoesters is extraordinarily slow, making phosphatases among the most catalytically efficient enzymes known. Protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) are ubiquitous in biology, and kinetic isotope effects were one of the key mechanistic tools used to discern molecular details of their catalytic mechanism and the transition state for phosphoryl transfer. Later, the unique level of detail KIEs provided led to deeper questions about the potential role of protein motions in PTP catalysis. The recent discovery that such motions are responsible for different catalytic rates between PTPs arose from questions originating from KIE data showing that the transition states and chemical mechanisms are identical, combined with structural data demonstrating superimposable active sites. KIEs also reveal perturbations to the transition state as mutations are made to residues directly involved in chemistry, and to residues that affect protein motions essential for catalysis.This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Enzyme Transition States from Theory and Experiment.
Timeliness of automated routine laboratory tests: a College of American Pathologists Q-Probes study of 653 institutions.

Abstract Benchmarks for timeliness of early morning routine clinical laboratory tests were developed from over 17 000 urea nitrogen and 16 000 white blood cell count measurements made for inpatients in 653 institutions participating in the College of American Pathologists Q-Probes program. Urea nitrogen and white blood cell counts were considered surrogates for routine chemistry and hematology tests. Laboratories at the 50th percentile reported median urea nitrogen and white blood cell counts by 09.04 and 08.51 h, respectively, whereas those at the 10th percentile reported these median measurements by 11.30 and 11.18 h, respectively. Results were available sooner in non-teaching than teaching institutions, and in smaller rather than larger institutions, with the degree of computerization affecting test availability. Timeliness also was affected by instrument type and mode of operation, but was unaffected by the percentage of stat testing. Based on modeling by regression analysis, there was little evidence that longer routine test turnaround times affect patient length of stay.
Growth kinetics and microstructure of carbon nanotubes using open air laser chemical vapor deposition

Abstract Open air laser-induced chemical vapor deposition (LCVD) was used to rapidly deposit a carbon nanotube forest on a moving substrate prepared with gold–palladium nanoparticles. Butane and propane were used as the carbon source, which was combined with hydrogen gas. Nanotube growth kinetics and alignment characteristics were strongly dependent on laser power density, substrate velocity, catalyst particle size, and the type of precursor mixture used. An increase in the hydrogen concentration improved the purity of the nanotubes by reducing the formation rate of amorphous carbon on the catalytic surface. A multi-stage growth model was proposed.
Volcanic hazards and remote sensing in Pacific Latin America

[1] PASI Workshop on Open Vent Volcanoes; San Jose, Costa Rica, 10–24 January 2011; Open-vent volcanoes are a class of volcano that contain a relatively open path from the subsurface to the atmosphere without a major vent obstruction. Their persistent, low-level activity, which poses little danger to communities, may be punctuated by violent activity without warning. These complex systems challenge and provide opportunity for observatories and national and international investigators. Long-lived eruptions are also laboratories for students and scientists and a locus for developing collaborations and field testing new instrumentation and methods. Pacific Latin America hosts a high density of active volcanoes, and many are under-monitored and under-researched despite the efforts of local volcano observatories and their accessibility to U.S. and European scientists.
Unique reconstruction of a band-limited multidimensional signal from its phase or magnitude

The mathematical problem of unique recovery of a band-limited multidimensional signal from its phase or its magnitude is considered. Specifically, we show that any irreducible band-limited function f(s1, …, sn), si∈C, i = 1, …, n is uniquely determined, except for trivial associates, from (1) the phase of f(x1, …, xn), xi∈ ℛ, i = 1, …, n, if not all the zeros of f(s1, …, sn) occur in conjugate pairs; or (2) the magnitude of f(x1, …, xn), xi∈ ℛ, i = …, n.
Integrating Faith and Learning in the Foreign Language Classroom.

Among the biggest challenges of teaching at a Christian institution of higher education is determining how best to integrate issues of faith into our teaching. Beginning level foreign language classes pose unique challenges for this integration because the students' language skills do not allow them to engage in extended discourse. Referring to both the Oral Proficiency Guidelines of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, and Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, I will demonstrate how issues of faith, religion, and spirituality do not necessarily need to be addressed at an advanced level of intellectual skill but can be accomplished through other student competencies that more accurately reflect their foreign language proficiency. This paper will examine this problem from two angles: incorporating a faith component into coursework (beginning level French), and incorporating a field of study (French) into a faith-based setting (weekly French chapel, or convocation). As a...
Fluconazole: Interspecies Scaling and Allometric Relationships of Pharmacokinetic Properties

— Fluconazole is a novel azole antifungal agent with low lipophilicity and high metabolic stability which has been investigated pharmacokinetically in six animal species and in man. The pharmacokinetic parameters of this drug have been compared across species and allometric relationships for fluconazole have been established. The volume of distribution was an ‘invariant’ parameter. When expressed in units corrected for bodyweight, the volume of distribution was constant across species, in keeping with being distributed throughout body water. Allometric relationships were obtained for total and renal clearance parameters. The closeness of the allometric exponents was in keeping with renal elimination accounting for most of the clearance in all species investigated. It also follows from the invariant characteristics of the volume of distribution term that an allometric relationship for plasma elimination half-life (t½) was also evident. Fluconazole thus possesses pharmacokinetic properties which are predictable for all terrestrial mammals. More detailed analysis of renal clearance (CLR) with regard to its relationship with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) has also been carried out. The data suggest that CLR is a direct function of GFR, involves only passive diffusion phenomena and that the extent of tubular re-absorption (approx. 80%) is constant across species. These observations are in keeping with the moderate lipophilicity and plasma protein binding of fluconazole and the incomplete re-absorption of the drug from the kidney tubules. It follows from these investigations that a knowledge of GFR in patients with altered renal function should allow a mechanistically based prediction of elimination characteristics of fluconazole.
A cultural-political approach to reinventing the political

This paper argues that the World Social Forum and larger Global Justice and Solidarity Movement of which it is a part are important sites for the elaboration of a new form of cultural politics. Although culture is often considered secondary or subservient to supposedly more serious political issues, various actors and practices, as well as the events of the Forum, demonstrate that culture is a key site for transformative political action. The paper argues that in order for concerned actors to both understand and develop the potential of the new political tools presented by the World Social Forum, and other actors critical of neo-liberal globalisation, we must dispel common misconceptions about the nature of culture and politics. We must recognise the centrality of culture to all political action. The paper considers both the way the Forum has been written about and particular struggles within the social forum processes that demonstrate the salience of these cultural politics.
Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic waves (RF-EMW) from cellular phones on human ejaculated semen: an in vitro pilot study

Objective To evaluate effects of cellular phone radiofrequency electromagnetic waves (RF-EMW) during talk mode on unprocessed (neat) ejaculated human semen. Design Prospective pilot study. Setting Center for reproductive medicine laboratory in tertiary hospital setting. Samples Neat semen samples from normal healthy donors (n = 23) and infertile patients (n = 9). Intervention(s) After liquefaction, neat semen samples were divided into two aliquots. One aliquot (experimental) from each patient was exposed to cellular phone radiation (in talk mode) for 1 h, and the second aliquot (unexposed) served as the control sample under identical conditions. Main Outcome Measure(s) Evaluation of sperm parameters (motility, viability), reactive oxygen species (ROS), total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of semen, ROS-TAC score, and sperm DNA damage. Result(s) Samples exposed to RF-EMW showed a significant decrease in sperm motility and viability, increase in ROS level, and decrease in ROS-TAC score. Levels of TAC and DNA damage showed no significant differences from the unexposed group. Conclusion(s) Radiofrequency electromagnetic waves emitted from cell phones may lead to oxidative stress in human semen. We speculate that keeping the cell phone in a trouser pocket in talk mode may negatively affect spermatozoa and impair male fertility.
Cryptic biodiversity effects: importance of functional redundancy revealed through addition of food web complexity

Interactions between predators and the degree of functional redundancy among multiple predator species may determine whether herbivores experience increased or decreased predation risk. Specialist parasites can modify predator behavior, yet rarely have cascading effects on multiple predator species and prey been evaluated. We examined influences of specialist phorid parasites (Pseudacteon spp.) on three predatory ant species and herbivores in a coffee agroecosystem. Specifically, we examined whether changes in ant richness affected fruit damage by the coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) and whether phorids altered multi-predator effects. Each ant species reduced borer damage, and without phorids, increasing predator richness did not further decrease borer damage. However, with phorids, activity of one ant species was reduced, indicating that the presence of multiple ant species was necessary to limit borer damage. In addition, phorid presence revealed synergistic effects of multiple ant species, not observed without the presence of this parasite. Thus, a trait-mediated cascade resulting from a parasite-induced predator behavioral change revealed the importance of functional redundancy, predator diversity, and food web complexity for control of this important pest.
Design Thinking: A Fresh Approach for Transformative Assessment Practice.

Management and professional business education is central to developing human talent that can help organizations be competitive in today’s complex business environment. So the question for manageme...
A dual population of islets of Langerhans in bovine pancreas.

A morphological study of the bovine pancreas from fetus to adult documents the presence of two distinct types of pancreatic islets: large islets, 100 to 1600 μm in diameter, enmeshed in interlobular connective tissue; small islets, 25–200 μm in diameter, enmeshed in exocrine tissue. Large islets consisting primarily of well granulated B cells, decrease in relative volume with increasing age and in the adult are seldom seen. The overall relative volume of endocrine tissue is age dependent and ranges from 30% in the sixth month fetus to 10% in the neonate and 5% in the adult. Small islets contain B cells that increase their cytoplasmic secretory granularity with increasing fetal age, significantly degranulate just prior to birth and subsequently regranulate several weeks after birth. Beta cells of the small islets are uniquely characterized by junctional complexes in close association with large numbers of maculae adherentes (desmosomes). Using lanthanum-hydroxide and freeze-fracture techniques the junctional complexes are shown to consist of macula occludens (focal tight junctions) enclosing nexuses (gap junctions). The two types of islet differ in distribution, times of growth and times of B-cell granularity and may be indicative of functional differences yet to be elucidated.
Antiandrogens Inhibit ABCB1 Efflux and ATPase Activity and Reverse Docetaxel Resistance in Advanced Prostate Cancer

Purpose: Previous studies show that inhibition of ABCB1 expression overcomes acquired docetaxel resistance in C4-2B-TaxR cells. In this study, we examined whether antiandrogens, such as bicalutamide and enzalutamide, could inhibit ABCB1 activity and overcome resistance to docetaxel. Experimental Design: ABCB1 efflux activity was determined using a rhodamine efflux assay. ABCB1 ATPase activity was determined by Pgp-Glo assay systems. The effects of the antiandrogens bicalutamide and enzalutamide on docetaxel sensitivity were determined by cell growth assays and tumor growth in vivo . Results: We found that bicalutamide and enzalutamide inhibit ABCB1 ATP-binding cassette transporter activity through blocking ABCB1 efflux activity. Bicalutamide inhibited ABCB1 efflux activity by 40%, whereas enzalutamide inhibited ABCB1 efflux activity by approximately 60%. Both bicalutamide and enzalutamide inhibit ABCB1 ATPase activity. In addition, bicalutamide and enzalutamide inhibit ABCB1 efflux activity and desensitize docetaxel-resistant and androgen receptor (AR)–negative DU145 cells. Combination of bicalutamide with docetaxel had a significant antitumor effect in both AR-positive and AR-negative docetaxel-resistant xenograft models, suggesting that bicalutamide desensitizes docetaxel-resistant cells to docetaxel treatment independent of AR status. Conclusions: We identified a novel mechanism of action for antiandrogens such as bicalutamide and enzalutamide as inhibitors of ABCB1 efflux and ATPase activity. Bicalutamide and enzalutamide desensitize docetaxel-resistant prostate cancer cells to docetaxel treatment independent of AR status. These studies may lead to the development of combinational therapies with bicalutamide/enzalutamide and docetaxel as effective regimens to treat advanced prostate cancer independent of AR status, and possibly other types of cancer. Clin Cancer Res; 21(18); 4133–42. ©2015 AACR .
TCR-Engineered, Customized, Antitumor T Cells for Cancer Immunotherapy: Advantages and Limitations

The clinical outcome of the traditional adoptive cancer immunotherapy approaches involving the administration of donor-derived immune effectors, expanded ex vivo, has not met expectations. This could be attributed, in part, to the lack of sufficient high-avidity antitumor T-cell precursors in most cancer patients, poor immunogenicity of cancer cells, and the technological limitations to generate a sufficiently large number of tumor antigen-specific T cells. In addition, the host immune regulatory mechanisms and immune homeostasis mechanisms, such as activation-induced cell death (AICD), could further limit the clinical efficacy of the adoptively administered antitumor T cells. Since generation of a sufficiently large number of potent antitumor immune effectors for adoptive administration is critical for the clinical success of this approach, recent advances towards generating customized donor-specific antitumor-effector T cells by engrafting human peripheral blood-derived T cells with a tumor-associated antigen-specific transgenic T-cell receptor (TCR) are quite interesting. This manuscript provides a brief overview of the TCR engineering-based cancer immunotherapy approach, its advantages, and the current limitations.
Social norms information enhances the efficacy of an appearance-based sun protection intervention

This experiment examined whether the efficacy of an appearance-based sun protection intervention could be enhanced by the addition of social norms information. Southern California college students (N=125, predominantly female) were randomly assigned to either an appearance-based sun protection intervention that consisted of a photograph depicting underlying sun damage to their skin (UV photo) and information about photoaging or to a control condition. Those assigned to the intervention were further randomized to receive information about what one should do to prevent photoaging (injunctive norms information), information about the number of their peers who currently use regular sun protection (descriptive norms information), both injunctive and descriptive norms information, or neither type of norms information. The results demonstrated that those who received the UV photo/photoaging information intervention expressed greater sun protection intentions and subsequently reported greater sun protection behaviors than did controls. Further, the addition of both injunctive and descriptive norms information increased self-reported sun protection behaviors during the subsequent month.
Neural network analysis of DNA sequences

Summary form only given. Attention is given to a project which investigates the applicability of recently developed neural network programs to analyze DNA sequences in a few simple cases to determine parameters such as learning times. Specifically, the ability of various macromolecules to bind to nucleic acid with a recognizable pattern has been considered. The group of enzymes known as restriction endonucleases was considered as an example. These molecules bind and cut DNA at specific nucleotide sites. The neural network is taught to recognize a set of patterns of interest and is then tested on its performance on extended DNA sequences. >
Mathematical Cognition Deficits in Children With Learning Disabilities and Persistent Low Achievement: A Five-Year Prospective Study

First- to fifth-grade mathematics and word reading achievement were assessed for children with mathematical learning disability (MLD, n = 16), persistent low achievement (LA, n = 29), and typical achievement (n = 132). Intelligence, working memory, processing speed, and in-class attention were assessed in 2 or more grades, and mathematical cognition was assessed with experimental tasks in all grades. The MLD group was characterized by low school-entry mathematics achievement and poor word reading skills. The former was mediated by poor fluency in processing or accessing quantities associated with small sets of objects and corresponding Arabic numerals, whereas the latter was mediated by slow automatized naming of letters and numbers. Both the MLD and LA groups showed slow across-grade growth in mathematics achievement. Group differences in growth were mediated by deficits or delays in fluency of number processing, the ability to retrieve basic facts from long-term memory and to decompose numbers to aid in problem solving, and by the central executive component of working memory and in-class attention.
Single-copy IMH3 allele is sufficient to confer resistance to mycophenolic acid in Candida albicans and to mediate transformation of clinical Candida species.

ABSTRACT Parasexual genetic analysis of Candida albicansutilized the dominant selectable marker that conferred resistance to mycophenolic acid. We cloned and sequenced theIMH3r gene from C. albicans strain 1006, which was previously identified as resistant to mycophenolic acid (MPA) (A. K. Goshorn and S. Scherer, Genetics 123:213–218, 1989). MPA is an inhibitor of IMP dehydrogenase, an enzyme necessary for the de novo biosynthesis of GMP. G. A. Kohler et al. (J. Bacteriol. 179:2331–2338, 1997) have shown that the wild-typeIMH3 gene, when expressed in high copy number, will confer resistance to this antibiotic. We demonstrate that theIMH3r gene from strain 1006 has three amino acid changes, two of which are nonconservative, and demonstrate that at least two of the three mutations are required to confer resistance to MPA. We used this gene as a dominant selectable marker in clinical isolates of C. albicans and Candida tropicalis. We also identified the presence of autonously replicating sequence elements that permit autonomous replication in the promoter region of this gene. Finally, we found the excision of a φ-type long terminal repeat element outside the IMH3 open reading frame of the gene in some strains. We used the IMH3r allele to disrupt one allele of ARG4 in two clinical isolates, WO-1 and FC18, thus demonstrating that a single ectopic integration of this dominant selectable marker is sufficient to confer resistance to MPA.
NEW ALGORITHM FOR ATTITUDE DETERMINATION USING GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM SIGNALS

A novel technique for  nding a point-by-point (deterministic) attitude solution of a vehicle using Global Positioning System phase difference measurements is presented. This technique transforms a general cost function into a more numerically ef cient form by determining three-dimensional vectors in either the body or reference coordinate system. Covariance relationships for the new algorithm, as well as methods that minimize the general cost function, are also derived. The equivalence of the general cost functionand transformed cost function is shown for the case of orthogonal baselines or sight lines. Simulation results are shown that demonstrate the usefulness of the new algorithm and covariance expressions.
Impact of Age and Primary Disease Site on Outcome in Women With Low-Grade Serous Carcinoma of the Ovary or Peritoneum: Results of a Large Single-Institution Registry of a Rare Tumor

Purpose Low-grade serous carcinoma of the ovary (LGSOC) or peritoneum (LGSPC) is a rare subtype of ovarian or peritoneal cancer characterized by young age at diagnosis and relative resistance to chemotherapy. The purpose of this study is to report our updated experience with women diagnosed with LGSOC or LGSPC to assess the validity of our original observations. Patients and Methods Eligibility criteria for patients from our database were: stage I to IV LGSOC or LGSPC, original diagnosis before January 2012, and adequate clinical information. All patients were included in progression-free survival, overall survival, and multivariable Cox regression analyses. A subset analysis was performed among patients with stage II to IV low-grade serous carcinoma treated with primary surgery followed by platinum-based chemotherapy. Results We identified 350 eligible patients. Median progression-free survival was 28.1 months; median overall survival was 101.7 months. In the multivariable analysis, compared with women a...
Birth Mothers’ Perspectives on Their Relationship With the Birth Father 12 to 20 Years After Adoption

This study investigates birth mothers’ perspectives on their relationships with birth fathers after adoption placement. A total of 125 birth mothers were interviewed 12 to 20 years postplacement about the nature of their relationship with the birth father and their satisfaction with their contact with the birth father both at the time of placement and currently. These interviews were part of a larger longitudinal study of birthparents, adoptive parents, adopted persons, and adoption agency personnel. Recalling the time of the adoption placement, birth mothers reported many negative feelings about the birth father. However, by 12 to 20 years after the adoption, birth mothers were moving toward a more neutral emotional stance regarding the birth father. Most of the birth mothers do not have current contact with the birth father, and of those who do, most characterize their relationship as friendship.
The Duality of Human Nature: Coercion and Prosociality in Youths’ Hierarchy Ascension and Social Success

In the present article, I argue for a shift in perspective regarding aggression, prosociality, and social affinity. Psychological approaches construe antisociality and prosociality as serving opposing functions. In contrast, I here consider them to serve the same function and to form the behavioral foundation of human status striving as early as the preschool years. Children who have mastered both coercive and prosocial tactics show themselves to be socially competent, materially successful, and socially attractive. I compare models in psychology derived from the field of medicine with models stemming from evolutionary theory.
Comment on Orthotropic Models for Concrete and Geomaterials

Incrementally linear constitutive equations that are characterized by an orthotropic tangential stiffness or compliance matrix have recently become widely used in finite element analysis of concrete structures and soils. It does not seem to be, however, widely appreciated that such constitutive equations are limited to loading histories in which the prinicipal stress directions do not rotate, and that a violation of this condition can sometimes have serious consequences. It is demonstrated that in such a case the orthotropic models do not satisfy the form‐invariance condition for initially isotropic solids, i.e., the condition that the response predicted by the model must be the same for any choice of coordinate axes in the initial stress‐free state. An example shows that the results obtained for various such choices can be rather different. The problem cannot be avoided by rotating the axes of orthotropy during the loading process so as to keep them parallel to the principal stress axes, first, because t...
Aspects of aspect

Performing an action and concurrently describing it creates possibilities for observing how speech and action are synchronized and mutually shape each other. The results to be described show that iconicity is an organizing principle of motion control — actions are performed in relation to speech in such a way as to create an image of the meaning in part. Four English-speaking subjects described their goal-directed actions, step by step, as they assembled a small aquarium. Among the factors observed to have an impact on synchrony are, in speech, perfectivity (imperfective or perfective) and, in action, the logical form of the action (Vendler’s activities, accomplishments and achievements). These factors must be considered jointly. Depending on the logical form, speakers placed the linguistic center (‘L-Center’) of the description — the satellite or a preposition in the case of activities and accomplishments; the verb itself in the case of achievements — in such a way as to recreate the aspectual viewpoint concurrently encoded in speech. Imperfective aspect was indexed with progressive verbs. L-Centers with this aspect were placed inside or prior to the completion of the action. Perfective aspect was indexed with non-progressive verbs. L-Centers of this kind were placed after the action. In addition, the actions themselves were longer with imperfective aspect, even when the same logical form of action was involved. Non-functional movements were added to goal-directed actions to help create the imperfective aspect, and both speech and action timing were adjusted to create the aspectual viewpoint. These patterns are reminiscent of the perfectivity differences in gesture performance described by S. Duncan (2003) for Mandarin and English. Motor movements adapt to language in a way similar to gestures. Theoretically, there is a three-sided synchrony of two forms of motor action (speech, manual manipulation) and the logical form of the action. The theoretical discussion considers two ramifications: the implications for ‘cognitive being’ of building aspect into action, which suggests a mechanism of the mutual shaping of speech and action; and the brain organization that might underlie the three-sided synchrony, with emphasis on the role of BA 44 and BA 45 (‘mirror neurons’), collectively ‘Broca’s Area’, in the orchestration of actions under some meaning (actions of gesture, manipulation, and speech); these areas include language but are broader in function than the classical term ‘language area’ implies.
Cooperative Game Theory

Game theory models situations of conflict and/or cooperation between economic agents. Cooperative games with transferable utilities and two-person bargaining games, the two most important contributions of cooperative game theory to economic analysis, are reviewed and illustrated with examples. Keywords: cooperation between economic agents; risk exchange; allocation of profit; measurement of voting power; bargaining and negotiation
The 'Huddled Masses' Myth: Immigration and Civil Rights

This short book review of Kevin R. Johnson's THE HUDDLED MASSES MYTH: IMMIGRATION AND CIVIL RIGHTS explains how Johnson supports his contention that U.S. immigration history includes discriminatory and often harsh treatment of noncitizens long sanctioned and legitimized by law. The discriminatory treatment of immigrants, in Johnson's view, has worrisome consequences for domestic minorities as they struggle to secure civil rights and full societal membership. Topics discussed in detail in Johnson's book and analyzed in the review include the extraconstitutional nature of immigration law, and the exclusion and deportation of political undesirables, the indigent, criminals. Furthermore, the disparate treatment of noncitizen women, lesbians and gays under U.S. immigration law is discussed in Johnson's book and analyzed in the review as well. The review finds that Johnson takes a deep historical and comprehensive approach to the analysis of immigration law and civil rights in a highly readable work that can reach a broad audience.
Network growth by copying

We introduce a growing network model in which a new node attaches to a randomly selected node, as well as to all ancestors of the target node. This mechanism produces a sparse, ultrasmall network where the average node degree grows logarithmically with network size while the network diameter equals 2. We determine basic geometrical network properties, such as the size dependence of the number of links and the in- and out-degree distributions. We also compare our predictions with real networks where the node degree also grows slowly with time---the Internet and the citation network of all Physical Review papers.
Cooking methods, carcinogens, and diet-cancer studies.

Abstract A neglect of natural, preservative, and cooking‐induced carcinogens or mutagens in food, along with a neglect of dietary patterns during the first portion of a person's lifetime, may be responsible for the many conflicting epidemiological reports dealing with dietary factors and cancer. From animal and occupational studies, we know that the two most important factors in the study of cancer are the dose of carcinogen and allowance for a long latent period. Most of the recent nutrition and cancer studies have ignored both factors. Some bile acids or other endogenous factors may be influenced by diet and may act as cancer‐promoting agents, but promoting agents cannot be studied in the absence of knowledge about, or control of, the cancer‐initiating events with which they must interact.
Systematic Risk and Yield Premiums in the Bond Market

This research shows traditional measures of systematic risk of bonds have very large downward biases and develops an improved method for calculating the market betas of credit instruments. An empirical evaluation indicates that yield spreads are highly related to such estimates of systematic risk. These betas in conjunction with yields enable estimates for the market price of risk that are empirically found to be useful indicators of future excess returns on the aggregate market. The ex-ante systematic risk premiums are discovered to be negatively related to past market returns on bonds and be positively associated with past market volatility.
Role of Intimacy in the Prosecution and Sentencing of Capital Murder Cases in the United States Armed Forces, 1984-2005

Scholars interested in the intersection between domestic violence and criminal law have posited that the existence of an intimate relationship between a defendant and a victim may act as an automatic mitigator in the prosecution of violent felonies. This tendency to discount the severity of domestic homicide has been called the domestic discount. While a number of scholars have studied the influence of a domestic discount on other crimes, very little work has been done in capital prosecutions and sentencing. This article seeks to advance the discussion by considering whether such a discount exists in the United States military’s prosecution of 104 death eligible homicides between 1984 and 2005. More specifically, this paper considers whether, after all legitimate factors are considered, the 25 death eligible cases involving a domestic homicide are less likely to be prosecuted as a capital case, convicted of a death eligible murder, or sentenced to death than similarly situated cases that are not domestic homicides. Ten additional cases allow this paper to explore the merit of excluding predatory domestic homicides as well as cases in which the accused killed only his or her child or children from the primary definition of domestic homicide. These results lend qualified support to the proposition that a domestic discount may operate in death sentencing decisions in the military capital punishment system. In contrast, they do not find a domestic discount in charging decisions. As such, the results highlight the importance of focusing on individual decision points in case analyses and of including appropriate controls, including controls for time where appropriate. Finally, this study lends support to Prof. Elizabeth Rapaport’s recommendation that predatory domestic homicides be excluded from primary analyses in research considering the presence of a domestic discount. In every instance where the domestic homicide subset included the predatory domestic homicides, the evidence of discount diminished and the evidence of aggressive prosecution increased. For example, the odds of the prosecution seeking death more than doubled with the inclusion of the predatory cases. Given the limited sample size in this study, it would be useful to replicate this model in a larger study.
Basic Needs and Growth-Welfare Trade-offs

Can nations achieve both growth and equity or must one value be sacrificed to attain the other? The controversy over trade-offs between aggregate economic performance and social welfare lies at the heart of recent debates on development policy. This study reviews these debates, identifies the specific forms of likely trade-offs, and examines the evidence over a twenty-five-year period for a sample of 104 nations. We employ a cross-national panel design to ask two questions: (1) Does basic needs achievement compromise future growth? (2) Does rapid growth undermine future needs achievement? We find no evidence for the orthodox view that basic needs fulfillment or improvement compromise growth. To the contrary, we find that basic needs attainment facilitates long-term economic growth. The evidence is somewhat less clear regarding the second question, although it appears that rapid growth does not produce substantial basic needs improvements.
Boll Weevils: Fertility and Competitiveness of Males Destined to Enter Diapause

Males of Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman destined to enter diapause are capable of inseminating females that can in turn produce fertile eggs. However, these males have greatly reduced mating vigor and do not compete as well for virgin females as reproductive males do. Therefore, populations in which a large percentage of the weevils are destined to enter diapause may be more vulnerable to the releases of sterile laboratory-reared insects for decreasing the chances that native overwintered females would lay fertile eggs prior to mating in the spring. This approach, when used in combination with the technique of disruption of pheromonal communication, should increase the effectiveness of the disruption technique.
The comparative effectiveness of aureomycin, terramycin, chloramphenicol erythromycin, and thiocymetin in suppressing experimental rickettsial infections in chick embryos.

pounds in suppressing experimental infections caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, R. akari, R. prowazekii, R. typhi, and Coxiella burnetii. The data dealing with aureomycin, terramycin, and chloramphenicol corroborate the work of previous investigators, particularly that of Jackson,9 with which it can be most closely compared. The results with these three compounds furnish a basis for the Received for publication April 27, 1954. 1. Wong, S. C. and Cox, H. R. 1948, Action of aureomycin against experimental rickettsial and viral infections. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sc. 51: 290-305.
Impact of Aggregate Size and Structure on the Photocatalytic Properties of TiO2 and ZnO Nanoparticles

Aggregation of photocatalytic semiconductors was determined to reduce the generation of free hydroxyl radicals in aqueous suspensions in a fashion dependent on aggregate size and structure. Static light scattering measurements were used to follow temporal changes in the fractal dimension of aggregating TiO(2) and ZnO nanoparticles. At length scales comparable to nanoparticle size, the structure of aggregated TiO(2) nanoparticles was independent of particle stability and the associated aggregation rate, consistent with the fused nature of TiO(2) primary particles in the initial suspension. In contrast, ZnO aggregates were characterized by smaller fractal dimensions when ionic strength, and the resulting aggregation rate, were increased. The photocatalytic activity of ZnO and TiO(2) in generating free hydroxyl radicals varied with aggregate structure and size, consistent with theory that predicts reduced reactivity as aggregates become larger and more dense.
Emergency thoracic diskectomy for the acute onset of paraplegia: report of two cases.

AbstractBackground: Thoraeie disk herniation is a rare event, and acute presentation of this lesion is even less common.Methods: Case reports.Findings: Both patients presented with rapidly progressing lower extremity weakness and sphincter dysfunction. Radiographie work-up revealed large herniated thoracic disks with spinal cord compression. Emergency thoracic diskectomy was performed.Results: Both patients had partial reversal of neurologic and sphincter abnormalities after emergency surgery.Conclusions: Thoraeie disk herniation, although rare, should be considered when patients present with acute thoracic myelopathy. Early surgical intervention may reverse some neurologic injuries.
Two-Layer Elastographic 3-D Traction Force Microscopy

Cellular traction force microscopy (TFM) requires knowledge of the mechanical properties of the substratum where the cells adhere to calculate cell-generated forces from measurements of substratum deformation. Polymer-based hydrogels are broadly used for TFM due to their linearly elastic behavior in the range of measured deformations. However, the calculated stresses, particularly their spatial patterns, can be highly sensitive to the substratum's Poisson's ratio. We present two-layer elastographic TFM (2LETFM), a method that allows for simultaneously measuring the Poisson's ratio of the substratum while also determining the cell-generated forces. The new method exploits the analytical solution of the elastostatic equation and deformation measurements from two layers of the substratum. We perform an in silico analysis of 2LETFM concluding that this technique is robust with respect to TFM experimental parameters, and remains accurate even for noisy measurement data. We also provide experimental proof of principle of 2LETFM by simultaneously measuring the stresses exerted by migrating Physarum amoeboae on the surface of polyacrylamide substrata, and the Poisson's ratio of the substrata. The 2LETFM method could be generalized to concurrently determine the mechanical properties and cell-generated forces in more physiologically relevant extracellular environments, opening new possibilities to study cell-matrix interactions.