cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Expectations and Daniell Integrals

The most basic measures of size used in statistical work are Daniell (1918, 1920) integrals. These integrals are generally described in the literature of real analysis and probability theory. Useful references include Royden (1988, Ch. 16), Stone (1948), Tjur (1980), and Whittle (1992). Despite the name, Daniell integrals need not have any relationship to the customary Riemann integrals of calculus. Instead, Daniell integrals are countably additive positive linear functionals on linear lattices. Countable additivity is a generalization of the finite additivity property of Theorem 1.1. For populations S and T, let a function X from S to R T be summable if X(s) is summable for each s in S. For a positive linear functional H on a linear lattice Ω in R S , let no(X*, H) be the function on T with value no(X*(t), H) for t in T. The following definition may be used.
Control Problems Defined by Equations in Banach Spaces

This chapter discusses control problems defined by equations in Banach spaces. It presents the formulation of the optimal control problem and discusses the existence of minimizing relaxed and approximate solutions, the necessary conditions for a relaxed minimum, the necessary conditions for an original minimum, the convex cost functionals, and weak necessary conditions for an original minimum. The general models of an optimal control problem have been proposed, and corresponding necessary conditions for an original minimum have been studied, by Neustadt and by Gamkrelidze and Kharatishvili. The necessary conditions for these models are expressed in terms of certain mappings that must be appropriately defined for particular problems.
High-Throughput Purification of Proteins from Escherichia Coli

Publisher Summary This chapter describes a procedure for the expression and purification of proteins from Escherichia coli in an automatable 96-well format. The first step in high-throughput expression and purification of proteins is obtaining the corresponding protein expression constructs. The expression of proteins often requires that the gene sequences of interest be placed under the control of a specific transcriptional promoter near specific translational signals in association with a particular selectable marker. The addition of peptide tags requires that the un-translated regions flanking the coding sequences be removed. Finally, the importance of ensuring that the expression clone sequences accurately reflect the natural gene sequence cannot be overemphasized. Even subtle changes in the amino acid sequences of proteins can have profound effects on protein function. One needs to resuspend pellets by shaking the plate on a Beckman Thermoshaker for 30–60 min at 750 rpm at room temperature. This Swizzler improves lyses under both denaturing and non-denaturing conditions. If the goal is to recover functional protein by renaturation, the shaking speed should be reduced to 300 rpm after 5 min to minimize harmful oxidation of proteins.
DAT Conformation Does Not Predict the Ability of Atypical Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors to Substitute for Cocaine.

The reuptake inhibition of dopamine (DA) through the DA transporter (DAT) is thought to be the primary mechanism underlying the reinforcing effects of cocaine [1,2]. However, there are several DA reuptake inhibitors that do not produce appreciable cocaine-like effects in vivo [2-4]. Previously, there were several relatively viable hypotheses related to the mechanisms underlying the atypical effects of such agents, but new studies have decreased this number [3,5]. The new findings may contribute to the development of a better understanding of what constitutes cocaine-like behavioral effects.
Are the Transfusion Goals for a Premature Infant the Same As for a 7-Year-Old?

A 26-week-old ex-28-week premature infant presents for the resection of a congenital pulmonary adenomatous malformation (CPAM). He is intubated and sedated in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). You notice that the patient’s hemoglobin is 7 and his hematocrit is 21. The NICU fellow giving you the report informs you that in preparation for the upcoming surgery the patient was transfused with fresh frozen plasma “just to give him volume” (which doesn’t seem like a good reason to you) and is ready for the operation. You tell the fellow that this critically ill neonate needs to have hemoglobin of at least 10.
Identification of Sensitizing Targets to the Hypomethylating Agent 5-Azacytidine in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells Using RNAi-Based Functional Genomics Screening

• Hypomethylating agents like 5-Azacytidine (5Aza) have become an effective therapy for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and show promise in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In AML, complimentary mechanisms including epigenetic silencing of growth controlling genes, i.e. tumor suppressors, and activation of kinases contribute to malignant transformation. In order to enhance the therapeutic potential of epigenetic therapies, we developed a high-throughput RNA interference (HT-RNAi) platform for large-scale transient gene silencing in acute myeloid leukemia cells. This assay allows for the first time to individually silence hundreds or thousands of genes in combination with 5Aza to identify molecular targets whose inhibition enhances the anti-leukemic effect of hypomethylating agents. As part of assay development for HT-RNAi, ten AML cell lines were used to determine the median inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 5Aza for each AML cell lines. Furthermore, the ten cell lines were tested with a panel of cationic lipid transfection reagents at varying weight to volume (wt:vol) ratios to determine the optimal siRNA transfection conditions. Results from these studies identified two AML cell lines TF1 and ML4, which were advanced into kinome-epigenetic RNAi screens. Using a lipid-based method, cells were reverse transfected for 48hrs with 2 different siRNA sequences per gene targeting a total of 572 kinases. After 48hrs, 5Aza at the calculated IC25 was added for an additional 72 hrs and cell proliferation was measured using a luminescence-based assay. Data was background corrected and analyzed using the B-score method to report the strength and statistical significance of growth inhibition compared to controls. A B-score of 95% confidence); a B-score 87% confidence and was used as lowest cutoff given that screens are focused and contain validated siRNA to kinases. Analysis of two independent RNAi kinome screens, one in TF1 and the other in ML4, in combination with 5Aza, identified six and eleven kinases respectively whose silencing by two different siRNA sequences (2× coverage) potentiated the effects of 5Aza at B-score In summary, initial kinome RNAi screens in myeloid cells identified specific kinases as potential sensitizing targets to hypomethylating agents. Moreover, functional genomic RNAi screens provide a fast and attractive approach to identify molecular targets in AML for the rational development of combination therapies with hypomethylating agents as well as other drug classes.
Entrainment of a Bacterial Synthetic Gene Oscillator through Proteolytic Queueing

Internal chemical oscillators (chemical clocks) direct the behavior of numerous biological systems, and maintenance of a given period and phase among many such oscillators may be important for their proper function. However, both environmental variability and fundamental molecular noise can cause biochemical oscillators to lose coherence. One solution to maintaining coherence is entrainment, where an external signal provides a cue that resets the phase of the oscillators. In this work, we study the entrainment of gene networks by a queueing interaction established by competition between proteins for a common proteolytic pathway. Principles of queueing entrainment are investigated for an established synthetic oscillator in Escherichia coli. We first explore this theoretically using a standard chemical reaction network model and a map-based model, both of which suggest that queueing entrainment can be achieved through pulsatile production of an additional protein competing for a common degradation pathway w...
Neuropsychology of Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Human interest in substances that have the capacity to alter his intrapsychic state must be as ancient as humanity itself. Certainly, the desirable effects and many of the toxic properties of ethanol, cannabis, opium, and some of the naturally occurring central stimulants have been known from antiquity. In the late 19th century, progress in organic chemistry led to the ready availability of purified, naturally occurring psychoactive substances and their synthetic analogues. Although the chemistry and pharmacology of at least some representatives of most of the drug classes with which we shall be concerned in this chapter were already appreciated in the first half of the 20th century, it was not until the coming of the psychosocial revolution of the 1960s that any but a few scientists and small groups of addicts were aware of most of them (with the exception of alcohol). The sixties brought with them an interest in altering the psychological internal milieu. This philosophical disposition toward inner exploration was powerfully reinforced by an increasing popular understanding of some of the neurochemical bases of brain function, and by clinical psychiatry’s demonstration that powerful drugs could be used to alter mood, thinking, and behavior.
SynthETC: A Statistical Model for Severe Winter Storm Hazard on Eastern North America

AbstractThe authors develop, evaluate, and apply SynthETC, a statistical–stochastic model of winter extratropical cyclones (ETCs) over eastern North America. SynthETC simulates the life cycle of ETCs from formation to termination, and it can be used to estimate the probability of extreme ETC events beyond the historical record. Two modes of climate variability are used as independent covariates: El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Nino-3.4 index and the monthly North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). SynthETC is used to estimate the annual occurrence rate over sites in eastern North America of intense ETC passage in different ENSO and NAO states. Positive NAO is associated with increased rates over the North Atlantic, while negative NAO is associated with decreased rates over the North Atlantic and increased rates over northern Quebec. Positive ENSO is associated with decreased rates over the North Atlantic, Ontario, and the Canadian maritime, while negative ENSO is associated with increased rates over those re...
Changes in microbial ecology after fecal microbiota transplantation for recurrent C. difficile infection affected by underlying inflammatory bowel disease

Gut microbiota play a key role in maintaining homeostasis in the human gut. Alterations in the gut microbial ecosystem predispose to Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and gut inflammatory disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) from a healthy donor can restore gut microbial diversity and pathogen colonization resistance; consequently, it is now being investigated for its ability to improve inflammatory gut conditions such as IBD. In this study, we investigated changes in gut microbiota following FMT in 38 patients with CDI with or without underlying IBD. There was a significant change in gut microbial composition towards the donor microbiota and an overall increase in microbial diversity consistent with previous studies after FMT. FMT was successful in treating CDI using a diverse set of donors, and varying degrees of donor stool engraftment suggesting that donor type and degree of engraftment are not drivers of a successful FMT treatment of CDI. However, patients with underlying IBD experienced an increased number of CDI relapses (during a 24-month follow-up) and a decreased growth of new taxa, as compared to the subjects without IBD. Moreover, the need for IBD therapy did not change following FMT. These results underscore the importance of the existing gut microbial landscape as a decisive factor to successfully treat CDI and potentially for improvement of the underlying pathophysiology in IBD. FMT leads to a significant change in microbial diversity in patients with recurrent CDI and complete resolution of symptoms. Stool donor type (related or unrelated) and degree of engraftment are not the key for successful treatment of CDI by FMT. However, CDI patients with IBD have higher proportion of the original community after FMT and lack of improvement of their IBD symptoms and increased episodes of CDI on long-term follow-up.
Negotiating Leadership Roles

Successfully traveling the road to leadership not only requires you to negotiate a deal that gives you a leadership position, but it also demands that you negotiate a second leadership deal: a deal that gives you the leadership role you want to play. Leadership is not just a matter of position; it is also about a role, the diverse set of actions and functions that a leader actually takes to lead an organization or group. Your role concerns what you really do in the organization. The first leadership deal, the one about position, is usually the product of your negotiation with the people who have the authority to hire you and grant you a leadership position. The second is also the product of negotiations, albeit a much more complex and lengthy negotiation that must continually go on between you and the people you are supposed to lead. To travel the road to leadership successfully, you need to succeed at both negotiations.
Stage salience and situational likelihood in the formation of situation models during sentence comprehension

Two experiments examined the relation between event structure, situational likelihood and eye fixation time while reading predicate modifiers in isolated sentences. Experiment 1 used activity predicates and preparatory process predicates (climbed a mountain), which make salient the process that leads to a culmination. Preparatory process predicates increased first pass time on durative modifiers (for several years) and decreased total time on frequency modifiers (e.g., every year). Situational likelihood was associated with fixation times on frame modifiers (last year) but not with fixation times on durative or frequency modifiers. Experiment 2 used activity predicates and result state predicates (halted a class), which make salient the result that follows from a culmination. Result state predicates had no effect on fixation times on durative modifiers and decreased total time on frequency modifiers. Situational likelihood was associated only with total time on durative modifiers. These results demonstrate that readers use the meanings of predicates and modifiers to form an initial model of a sentence and that the likelihood of the reported situation is related to reading time relatively late. The results are discussed in terms of type coercion theory and situation models in sentences and narratives.
The Top Five Women’s Health Issues in Preventive Cardiology

This review elucidates gender-based determinants of cardiovascular disease in an effort to answer common questions that arise for practitioners as they provide preventive care to women. Five key topics are at the forefront of recent and ongoing research: (1) coronary microvascular dysfunction, (2) hormone replacement therapy, (3) breast arterial calcification, (4) calcium and vitamin D supplementation, and (5) metabolic considerations during pregnancy. Microvascular dysfunction is a common cause of angina in women, and should be treated with the same rigor as macrovascular coronary disease. Hormone replacement therapy is not universally cardioprotective and is safer when started closer to onset of menopause. Breast arterial calcifications should be considered as a significant cardiovascular risk factor. Supplementation with calcium in excess of physiologic levels might be harmful, and vitamin D has not been proven as an effective preventive strategy. Finally, metabolic disorders seen during pregnancy have long-lasting implications for the development of cardiovascular disease.
Persistent Tracers of Historic Ice Flow in Glacial Stratigraphy near Kamb Ice Stream, West Antarctica

Abstract. Variations in properties controlling ice flow (e.g., topography, accumulation rate, basal friction) are recorded by structures in glacial stratigraphy. When anomalies that disturb the stratigraphy are fixed in space, the structures they produce advect away from the source and can be used to trace flow pathways and reconstruct ice-flow patterns of the past. Here we provide an example of one of these persistent tracers: a prominent unconformity in the glacial layering that originates at Mt. Resnik, part of a subglacial volcanic complex near Kamb Ice Stream in central West Antarctica. The unconformity records a change in the regional thinning behavior seemingly coincident ( ∼ 3440 ± 117 a) with stabilization of grounding-line retreat in the Ross Sea Embayment. We argue that this feature records both the flow and thinning history far upstream of the Ross Sea grounding line, indicating a limited influence of observed ice-stream stagnation cycles on large-scale ice-sheet routing over the last ∼ 5700 years.
John Law and his Experiment with France, 1715–1726

From 1715 to 1720, a Scots gambler and economist named John Law was allowed to undertake one of the most radical experiments in monetary and financial history; it took another 6 years to deal with the consequences. Although best remembered as one of the famous ‘early bubbles,’ it is a singular albeit complex moment not just in the history of finance, but also in economic history and in the history of economic thought.
HORMONAL CONTROL OF METABOLISM AND IONIC REGULATION | The Hormonal Control of Osmoregulation in Teleost Fish

Hormones are critical to the physiological alterations necessary for ion homeostasis when fish move between freshwater and seawater. Cortisol promotes seawater acclimation through differentiation of salt-secreting mitochondrion-rich cells and ion transport proteins in the gill. The growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor I axis is also important in seawater acclimation and acts in synergy with cortisol. Prolactin (PRL) is important in freshwater acclimation through regulation of ion and water permeability in the gill, gut, and kidney. Cortisol also promotes ion uptake and may interact with PRL during freshwater acclimation. For many species of fish, growth hormone promotes acclimation to seawater, PRL promotes acclimation to freshwater, and cortisol interacts with both hormones, thus having a dual osmoregulatory function.
Effect of Dual-Carrier Processing on the Intelligibility of Concurrent Vocoded Sentences.

Purpose The goal of this study was to examine the role of carrier cues in sound source segregation and the possibility to enhance the intelligibility of 2 sentences presented simultaneously. Dual-c...
Clostridium perfringens testing improves the reliability of detecting non-point source sewage contamination in Hawaiian coastal waters compared to using Enterococci alone

Non-point sources of sewage-related pollution in tropical marine waters are difficult to ascertain. Enterococci (ENT) are widely used as indicators of human waste but their efficacy in tropical waters is highly debated due to natural presence in tropical soils. Clostridium perfringens (CP) is often used as a secondary indicator of fecal contamination because its presence indicates sewage, and in tropical waters environmental sources are unlikely. We analyzed a 27-year dataset containing over 29,000 samples collected by the State of Hawaii, to determine a proposed CP standard for detecting human sewage, which has applicability throughout tropical marine waters globally. Measured ENT concentrations were highly correlated with turbidity. In three instances, sewage contamination was not detected by ENT samples alone, and impairments from non-point pollution may be highly misinformed in Hawaii. The EPA should examine relationships between CP and human health and implement CP as the primary FIB in tropical marine waters.
Consumer Attitudes Towards Accepting SNAP Benefits at Farmers’ Markets

Farmers’ markets provide access to healthy, fresh fruits and vegetables. This study surveyed farmers’ market customers, SNAP and non-SNAP, regarding their opinions about SNAP EBT, debit, and credit...
Association of Opioids Prescribed to Family Members With Opioid Overdose Among Adolescents and Young Adults

Importance Family members are cited as a common source of prescription opioids used for nonmedical reasons. However, the overdose risk associated with exposure to opioids prescribed to family members among adolescents and young adults is not well established. Objective To assess the association of opioids prescribed to family members with pharmaceutical opioid overdose among youth. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study included 45 145 family units with a total of 72 040 adolescents and young adults aged 11 to 26 years enrolled in a Kaiser Permanente Colorado health plan in 2006 and observed through June 2018. Exposures Opioid prescriptions and dosage dispensed to family members and youth in the past month. Main Outcomes and Measures Fatal pharmaceutical opioid overdoses identified in vital records and nonfatal pharmaceutical opioid overdoses identified in emergency department and inpatient settings. Time to first overdose was modeled using Cox regression. Results The study population consisted of 72 040 adolescents and young adults (mean [SD] age across follow-up, 19.3 [3.7] years; 36 646 [50.9%] girls and women) nested in 45 145 family units. Youth were more commonly exposed to prescription opioids dispensed to a family member than through their own prescriptions. During follow-up, 26 284 youth (36.5%) filled at least 1 opioid prescription, and 47 461 youth (65.9%) had at least 1 family member with a prescription. Exposure to family members with opioid prescriptions in the past month was associated with increased risk of pharmaceutical opioid overdose (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 2.17; 95% CI, 1.24-3.79) independent of opioids prescribed to youth (aHR, 6.62; 95% CI, 3.39-12.91). Concurrent exposure to opioid prescriptions from youth and family members was associated with substantially increased overdose risk (aHR, 12.99; 95% CI, 5.08-33.25). High dosage of total morphine milligram equivalents (MME) prescribed to family members in the past month was associated with youth overdose (0 MME vs >0 to Conclusions and Relevance In this study of youth linked to family members, exposure to family members’ prescribed opioids was associated with increased risk of pharmaceutical opioid overdose, independent of opioids prescribed to youth. Further interventions targeting youth and families are needed, including counseling patients about the risks of opioids to youth in their families.
Epilepsy—Definition, Classification, Pathophysiology, and Epidemiology

Seizures affect the lives of 10% of the global population and result in epilepsy in 1 to 2% of people around the world. Current knowledge about etiology, diagnosis, and treatments for epilepsy is constantly evolving. As more is learned, appropriate and updated definitions and classification systems for seizures and epilepsy are of the utmost importance. Without proper definitions and classification, many individuals will be improperly diagnosed and incorrectly treated. It is also essential for research purposes to have proper definitions, so that appropriate populations can be identified and studied. Imprecise definitions, failure to use accepted terminology, or inappropriate use of terminology hamper our ability to study and advance the field of epilepsy. This article begins by discussing the pathophysiology and epidemiology of epilepsy, and then covers the accepted contemporary definitions and classifications of seizures and epilepsies.
Biot-pressure system with unilateral displacement constraints

Abstract A fully saturated poroelastic medium is confined by the sides of a cylinder, and the regions below and above the medium are filled with fluid at respective constant pressures. The filtration flow of fluid through the poroelastic medium and the small deformations of the medium are described by a quasi-static Biot system of partial differential equations. Our objective here is to establish the well-posedness of an initial-boundary-value problem for this system in which the poroelastic medium is fixed and sealed on the sides, free and in contact with the exterior fluid on the top and bottom, and displacement of the medium is unilaterally constrained on the top by a Signorini-type free boundary condition.
Battery Energy Storage System

This chapter discusses the various technical components of battery energy storage systems for utility-scale energy storage and how these technical components are interrelated. The introduction lists the basic types of large-scale storage and how storage can be used to mitigate the variability associated with renewable generation. It also provides an overview of how to define storage applications as primarily “power” or “energy” based. A basic description of how battery energy storage works is provided with several examples to illustrate how battery energy storage can be used in large-scale applications. A brief discussion of the various battery chemistries that are suited to large-scale applications is provided, as well as guidance on what factors to look for when trying to select an appropriate chemistry for a given application. An overview of how the storage system’s power electronics work is followed by a more detailed description of possible power electronic topologies and power electronic controls that are used to ensure that the system can be properly integrated with the generation source and, if necessary, the load. Battery management and battery monitoring via the power electronic controls is discussed briefly. This chapter concludes with a detailed example of battery energy storage system integration that is summarized with data obtained in the field.
Early detection of Alzheimer’s disease using creatine chemical exchange saturation transfer magnetic resonance imaging

Abstract Detecting Alzheimer's disease (AD) at an early stage brings a lot of benefits including disease management and actions to slow the progression of the disease. Here, we demonstrate that reduced creatine chemical exchange saturation transfer (CrCEST) contrast has the potential to serve as a new biomarker for early detection of AD. The results on wild type (WT) mice and two age-matched AD models, namely tauopathy (Tau) and Aβ amyloidosis (APP), indicated that CrCEST contrasts of the cortex and corpus callosum in the APP and Tau mice were significantly reduced compared to WT counterpart at an early stage (6-7 months) (p
Almost Periodic Solutions of the Differential Equation in Locally Convex Spaces

As an application of results obtained in Chap. 3, we will study conditions for almost periodicity of solutions of the linear differential equation \(x'(t)=Ax(t)+f(t),\;t\in \mathbb R\) and the associated homogeneous equation in locally convex spaces. We will start with the case of a bounded linear operator A and then study the general case of a (eventually unbounded) linear operator A, which generates an equicontinuous C0-semigroup of linear operators.
Effects of previous use of oral contraceptives on early follicular phase follicle-stimulating hormone.

Objective To determine if previous oral contraceptive (OC) use is associated with changes in early follicular phase FSH, LH or E 2 Design A cross-sectional study examining determinants of early follicular phase hormone levels. Subjects Subjects included 106 premenopausal women with a family history of ovarian cancer and 116 premenopausal women without this history who were not taking OCs currently. All subjects completed a structured interview and gave an early follicular phase blood sample. Setting Gynecologic Epidemiology Center and Familial Ovarian Cancer Research Center. Main Outcome Measures Follicle-stimulating hormone, LH, and E 2 were measured in early follicular phase plasma samples. Results Recency or length of prior OC use did not affect early follicular phase LH or E 2 levels. Length of OC use did not affect FSH levels in all subjects; but lower levels of FSH were observed in women over age 45 who had used OCs for >5years. Early follicular phase FSH is lower in women with OC use within the past 5years compared with women with more remote use or who never used OCs, after adjustment for age, smoking, and family history status. Conclusions Past use of OCs may have a residual effect on basal FSH levels in women not using them currently that depends on recency of use and to a lesser extent duration of prior use.
קווים לתכנית הלאומית להפחתת זיהום האוויר בישראל

חוק אוויר נקי שאושר ביולי 2008 ועתיד להיכנס לתוקף בינואר 2011 מטיל חובה על השר להגנת הסביבה להכין תכנית לאומית למניעה ולצמצום של זיהום האוויר, להביאה לאישור הממשלה ולדווח על יישומה לכנסת. מסמך זה משרטט קווים לדמותה של התכנית הלאומית הדרושה בישראל מנקודת מבטו של ארגון אדם, טבע ודין.חומרתן של בעיות זיהום האוויר הארץ, בפרט מזהמי האוויר אוזון, חלקיקים ומזהמי אוויר רעילים בקרבת מוקדי זיהום אוויר, מצריכה תכנון מהיר של התכנית במתודולוגיה קיימת ומעבר לפעולה מהירה. במובן זה יכולה לשמש התכנית הבריטית כמודל ראשוני. עפ"י המודל הבריטי נקבעים יעדים של ריכוז מרבי באוויר. הגעה ליעדים אלו נבדקת באמצעות תרחישי מדיניות שונים, שישימותם נבחנת בבדיקה טכנו-כלכלית.עם זאת, דרישת החוק להעמיד את ערכי היעד (ולא את ערכי הסביבה) בבסיס התכנית הלאומית מחייבת עדכון בלתי פוסק לתכנית הראשונית, ושילוב בה של עקרונות נוספים מעבר לתפיסה השמרנית של המודל הבריטי. עקרונות כאלו, לדוגמה, הם קביעת מכסת פליטות מרבית ארצית למזהמי אוויר שונים (cap) והפחתה מתמדת שלה, נקיטת אמצעי מדיניות מעבר לנקודת המינימום הכלכלי המתקבלת בניתוחי עלות-תועלת, יישום בתעשייה באזורים נפגעי זיהום אוויר של אמצעים מעבר לטכנולוגיה הטובה ביותר (BAT), הכללת שיקולים של הגנה על מערכות אקולוגיות בנוסף על ההגנה על בריאות הציבור, ועוד. הכנת התכנית הלאומית ויישומה הן המעשים המעבירים את ההתמודדות עם זיהום האוויר בארץ משלב איסוף הידע והתראה על הבעיות לשלב ההתמודדות האמיתית בניסיון למזער את הנגע שהפך לבעיה לאומית, ויפה שעה אחת קודם!
The Possible Role of PR Proteins in Multigenic and Induced Systemic Resistance

Timely accumulation of PR proteins during pathogenesis can be suggested as a part of defense mechanisms in plants against pathogens and pests. Some of these proteins may have a different role in plant metabolism and/or may just occur there as a part of regulatory systems overall happening during the plant—pathogen interactions. Specific isozymes of the hydrolytic enzymes, on the other hand, which demonstrate differential activity toward the substrate during the release of elicitor molecules from the pathogens may have been evolved as a part of defense mechanisms in “naturally resistant plants”. Such isozymes may be bred into the resistant lines of crop varieties act as recognition mechanism to initiate the whole battery of defense mechanisms. It is also clear that some of PR-proteins such as osmotins and hydrolytic enzymes have a direct involvement in reduction of pathogenesis as evidenced by genetic studies as well as microscopic observations. However, it is important to recognize that plant defense mechanisms are complex and more than one factor is involved in the successful existence of plant species over the centuries under the abundance of numerous organisms that can be potentially harmful to plants. Nevertheless pathogenesis is an exception, and is a result of failure of many pathways to be activated in a timely manner. PR proteins are certainly there for a reason, whether they are a part of a major defense mechanisms or not, according to the inducer, they are a part of induced systemic resistance and more studies will further show that they may be the reason of successful breeding efforts, which we have been doing over the centuries to breed disease resistant varieties carrying more than one gene for resistance.
Algorithms for scheduling parallel batch processing machines with non-identical job ready times

This research is motivated by a practical application observed at a printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturing facility. After assembly, the PCBs (or jobs) are tested in environmental stress screening (ESS) chambers (or batch processing machines) to detect early failures. Several PCBs can be simultaneously tested as long as the total size of all the PCBs in the batch does not violate the chamber capacity. PCBs from different production lines arrive dynamically to a queue in front of a set of identical ESS chambers, where they are grouped into batches for testing. Each line delivers PCBs that vary in size and require different testing (or processing) times. Once a batch is formed, its processing time is the longest processing time among the PCBs in the batch, and its ready time is given by the PCB arriving last to the batch. ESS chambers are expensive and a bottleneck. Consequently, its makespan has to be minimized. A mixed-integer formulation is proposed for the problem under study and compared to a formulation recently published. The proposed formulation is better in terms of the number of decision variables, linear constraints and run time. A procedure to compute the lower bound is proposed. For sparse problems (i.e. when job ready times are dispersed widely), the lower bounds are close to optimum. The problem under study is NP-hard. Consequently, five heuristics, two metaheuristics (i.e. simulated annealing (SA) and greedy randomized adaptive search procedure (GRASP)), and a decomposition approach (i.e. column generation) are proposed—especially to solve problem instances which require prohibitively long run times when a commercial solver is used. Extensive experimental study was conducted to evaluate the different solution approaches based on the solution quality and run time. The decomposition approach improved the lower bounds (or linear relaxation solution) of the mixed-integer formulation. At least one of the proposed heuristic outperforms the Modified Delay heuristic from the literature. For sparse problems, almost all the heuristics report a solution close to optimum. GRASP outperforms SA at a higher computational cost. The proposed approaches are viable to implement as the run time is very short.
Experiments with Financial Markets: Implications for Asset Pricing Theory

This article surveys financial markets experiments from a particular vantage point, namely, asset pric ing theory. The goal is to assess to what extent these experiments have (and could) shed light on the validity of the basic principles of asset pricing theory, namely (i) that markets equilibrate to the point that expected returns are proportional to covariance with aggregate risk, (ii) that markets aggregate dis persed information. There appears to be solid support for (i), yet the evidence regarding (ii) is mixed. The reason for the latter is hard to determine, because of features in the experimental design that are at odds with standard asset pricing theory (e.g., the payoff on a security depends on the identity of the hold er). Where we can interpret the results, the article demonstrates that the occasional aggregation failures ("mirages") agree with rational learning. More specifically, their number is consistent with the mistakes one expects a Bayesian to make even when she has full knowledge of the likelihood function (of any signals conditional on the value of the state variable that she is learning). This paper surveys experiments of financial mar kets that were designed with the competitive para digm in mind. The results will be analyzed from a particular theoretical angle, namely, asset pricing theory. That is, we discuss to what extent a given financial markets experiment can shed light on the validity of asset pricing theory.
Restructuring New York City's Schools

New York City's public school system is the largest in the nation. Its administrative structure is correspondingly large. It enrolls nearly one million students and has 120,000 staff people who work in over a thousand buildings. The New York City Public Schools transport over a half million students a day. Its school security staff would be the nation's sixth largest police force. Its budget is over seven billion dollars, larger than that of most states. In addition to its sheer size, the New York City school system has many serious problems. Perhaps most striking are those problems associated with poverty, language, and disability. A third of the children in the public school system are on public assistance, well over 100,000 are of limited English proficiency, and roughly 120,000 are in special education.1 The ebb and flow of the budget has affected profoundly the education system in New York City. One budget crisis was allowed to dismantle the City's education programs in 1975; however, the recession of the 1990s has not been allowed to divert a nascent reform movement. In fact, the school system has been able to meet current city budget constraints with management restructuring that parallels the City's school reforms. In late 1989, the operating structure of New York City's public schools resembled that of a large corporation. Unfortunately, that corporate structure had been discarded long ago by the business world. In the early 1970s, a team of corporate executives from the Economic Development Council helped restructure the school system headquarters. Utilizing a model adopted by many large corporations in the late 1960s, a military-style, hierarchical structure was placed atop the already fiercely hierarchical and top-down structure of the individual school. This structure changed little over the decades. The school system that the new Chancellor, Joe Fernandez, inherited on January 1, 1990, had shown itself to be immune to the wave of school restructuring that had swept other urban school systems. Few decisions could, or would, be made at the local school level, and mid-level bureaucrats habitually eschewed
Jury Decision Making: Using Group Theory to Improve Deliberation

Jury decision-making process is usually protected from the prying eyes of the public and social scientists. Our knowledge of the experience comes mainly from mock juries, post-verdict interviews, and occasional television documentaries. These methods have their limitations. Information about juries is currently driven by those few notorious trials, both criminal and civil, that attract high media attention. Unfortunately, that attention invites challenges to the ability of juries to make complex decisions and undermines the entire jury process. Group theory describes five special characteristics of successful group decision making: small size, purpose, identification, interaction, and accepted behavior. The author advocates that an understanding of group theory can help court officials improve the jury deliberation process by moving the deliberations to a higher level of reasoning and, consequently, improve the jury experience, the overall quality of jury decisions, and the public’s faith in those decisions. Specific suggestions for change are also included. No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgement of his equals or by the law of the land. —Magna Carta (1215)
Instability of a pEA29 marker in Erwinia amylovora previously used for strain classification

We examined the use of previously observed restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) of a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified fragment of plasmid pEA29 for differentiating strains of Erwinia amylovora. The PCR fragment from E. amylovora strain CA11 contains a region of 8-bp tandem repeats which is predicted to cause the RFLPs. Examination of a collection of 93 strains revealed the repeat sequence GATTACA(GAATTACA)nGAATTACA in pEA29 with n ranging from 3 to 14. Selected strains were examined after growth in liquid culture to establish the stability of this character. Four strains originally with n = 14, 13, 7, and 3 repeats were grown overnight in liquid culture and streaked onto agar plates to produce individual colonies. Respectively, 4, 10, 1, and 0 out of 17 colonies per strain had an altered copy number when retested. Considering the instability in the number of repeats, it is concluded that the polymorphism in this region of pEA29 is not useful as a marker for following the migration of E. amylovora.
Temperature monitoring of ultrasonically heated muscle with RARE chemical shift imaging

The ability to monitor tissue temperature in ultrasonically heated rabbit muscle is demonstrated using a chemical shift imaging approach based on the rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (RARE) fast imaging method [Hennig et al., Magn. Reson. Med. 3, 823-833 (1986)] applied in a line scan format. A three echo sequence with a 16 Hz spectral resolution with 64 ms echo readouts and 78 ms echo spacings is shown capable of measuring relevantly small water frequency shifts in phantoms. Applied to the in vivo model of ultrasonically heated rabbit muscle, water resonance frequencies at the ultrasonic focal point were found to be linearly related to temperature with a slope of -0.007 +/- 0.001 ppm/degree C (N = 6 studies). Measurements of the frequency shift in unheated tissue located away from the ultrasonically heated tissue varied by approximately 0.011 ppm over the course of the experiments, leading to an estimated temperature accuracy of +/- 1.6 degrees C in vivo.
Histopathological effects of diflubenzuron on the cirripede crustacean, Balanus eburneus.

Histopathological studies on the cirripede crustacean,Balanus eburneus, at light and electron microscopic levels indicated that the chitin-inhibiting insecticide, diflubenzuron, caused similar disruption of the exoskeleton as observed in insects. Under the light microscope, globular particles were present within the chitinous layers of the cuticle, and these particles appeared electron dense and pleomorphic at the ultrastructural level. The cytoplasm of the cuticle-secreting epidermal cells appeared more dense and showed at least a five-fold increase in multivesicular bodies, which possessed electron dense cores. Barnacles exposed to diflubenzuron for 10 days or longer at 750 and 1,000 ppb were delayed in the premolt phase of cuticle secretion.
In-vivo estimation of left ventricular mass: A double indicator technique using a single sensing catheter

To estimate left ventricular muscle mass for diagnosis in cardiac disease a coronary sinus catheter was developed that combines repetitive serial measurement of hydrogen concentration and thermodilution blood flow for estimation of left ventricular mass. The temperature of the injected indicator is measured by a thermistor within the lumen of a coronary sinus catheter. A platinum band encircling the catheter measures hydrogen concentration. Blood and blood-injectate temperature is measured by a thermistor appended to the outside of the band. The rate at which hydrogen leaves the tissue and is detected in venous blood depends directly on the rate of blood flow and inversely on the mass of tissue. Single exponential hydrogen washout curves were obtained and the washout rate constant measured at the same time thermodilution flows were recorded. Live dogs, pigs, and calves were catheterized using this instrument and each ventricle weighed after death. Calculated weights and actual weights showed a correlation coefficient of 0·973; p< 0·001.
Film thickness measurements using ellipsometry when the lower interface is uncharacterized

Abstract Film thickness measurements with ellipsometry involve using the optical parameters of the film-covered surface along with the optical parameters of the film-free surface. In many cases, the parameters of the film-free surface cannot be readily obtained. An example of this is a material which oxidizes so rapidly that the oxide-free surface only exists in a vacuum. In this work, we present ellipsometric results for oxide films on Ti:W and on WSi x , where the optical parameters for the film-free surface are postulated. A justification for the postulated values is presented based on ellipsometer measurements of the film-covered surface along with a small amount of data from Auger electron spectroscopy. With these parameters, ellipsometry can be used in the conventional way for subsequent film thickness measurements.
Note on social behavior of long-term captive female orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus abellii).

Summary Some observations of social behavior of two aging female orangutans with a younger male son of one were made in an outdoor and in an indoor enclosure during the day. These included social distance, grooming, and locomotion plus wrestling and genital stimulation. As noted 15 years earlier, the two old females were never in contact with each other. Each showed contact and noncontact with the younger male. No clear social relation between the females was evident. Careful study of aging zoo populations could be useful.
Age and Gender Differences with the Anger Expression Scale

The Anger Expression Scale (AX) was administered to 150 volunteers ranging in age from 21 to 83 years. Participants were placed into one of three groups on the basis of their chronological age: Young Adult (21 to 39 years), Middle Age (40 to 59 years) and Old (60 to 83 years). The AX yields three scores, anger-in, anger-out and total AX. Each of the three AX scores was analyzed by a 3 (Age Group) x 2 (Gender of Subject) ANCOVA with educational level as the covariate. Results indicated that the Young Adult Group expressed more anger-out than the Old Group, and both the Young Adult and Middle-Age groups had higher total AX than the Old. No significant main effects were observed for the variable anger-in, and no gender differences were found for any of the three variables. Implications of results are discussed.
The Efficiency of Comparative Negligence

UNTIL recently it has been thought that a negligence rule (with or without a contributory negligence defense) is economically efficient while a comparative negligence rule is not.' Haddock and Curran2 and Cooter and Ulen3 have corrected this misconception, arguing that it is possible to design an efficient comparative negligence rule. Cooter and Ulen have argued further that a comparative negligence rule is superior to a negligence rule when injurers and victims bear risk and there is evidentiary uncertainty.4