cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How China's government and state enterprises partitioned property and control rights

In 1980, China's government owned and controlled its state enterprises, which were managed (inefficiently) by bureaucrats. During the 1980s, the government experimented with decentralizing state enterprises to boost productivity. By decade's end, China's state enterprises had become more market-oriented, and the structure of enterprise property rights had changed dramatically. The author examines how China's government and state enterprises partitioned property rights -how the government and enterprises decided about incentives, financial arrangements, and control rights. The author assumes that the government is risk-neutral and the enterprise manager is risk-averse; that the government's goal is to increase revenue (or profitability), to retain control of the firms (by bailing out firms in financial trouble and collective heavier taxes on high-performing firms). The enterprise manager and employees, on the other hand, have an informational advantage over the government that allows them to earn a rent; that advantage leads to suboptimal efforts. Among the author's findings: (1) The ways the government and enterprises partitioned property rights were consistent with the prediction of the principal-agent model based on the above assumption. (2) Many of the changes in property rights reflected the government's attempt to cope with managerial informational advantage. (3) The government, in striving for equality, rewards inefficient firms while penalizing efficient ones (the so-called ratchet effect). Efficient firms are unwilling to reveal their true efficiency. They pretend to be inefficient by slacking, so they can get more transfers. So, there are inherent conflicts between two of the government's goals: profitability and equality. And the government's desire to control state enterprises prevents many of them from becoming decentralized and improving their productivity.
Deferred updates for flash-based storage

The NAND flash memory based storage has faster read, higher power savings, and lower cooling cost compared to the conventional rotating magnetic disk drive. However, in case of flash memory, read and write operations are not symmetric. Write operations are much slower than read operations. Moreover, frequent update operations reduce the lifetime of the flash memory. Due to the faster read performance, flash-based storage is particularly attractive for the read-intensive database workloads, while it can produce poor performance when used for the update-intensive database workloads. This paper aims to improve write performance and lifetime of flash-based storage for the update-intensive workloads. In particular, we propose a new hierarchical approach named as deferred update methodology. Instead of directly updating the data records, first we buffer the changes due to update operations as logs in two intermediate in-flash layers. Next, we apply multiple update logs in bulk to the data records. Experimental results show that our proposed methodology significantly improves update processing overhead and longevity of the flash-based storages.
Umbilical cord knots and cord blood gases, erythropoietin and nucleated red blood cell levels: a study of possible chronic fetal hypoxia.

Umbilical cord knots are reported to occur in 0.3 to 2.1% of pregnancies [1]. From one to as many as five knots in a single cord have also been reported. [2–4]. Cord knots can be diagnosed by ultra...
Biofilm Formation as Microbial Development

▪ Abstract Biofilms can be defined as communities of microorganisms attached to a surface. It is clear that microorganisms undergo profound changes during their transition from planktonic (free-swimming) organisms to cells that are part of a complex, surface-attached community. These changes are reflected in the new phenotypic characteristics developed by biofilm bacteria and occur in response to a variety of environmental signals. Recent genetic and molecular approaches used to study bacterial and fungal biofilms have identified genes and regulatory circuits important for initial cell-surface interactions, biofilm maturation, and the return of biofilm microorganisms to a planktonic mode of growth. Studies to date suggest that the planktonic-biofilm transition is a complex and highly regulated process. The results reviewed in this article indicate that the formation of biofilms serves as a new model system for the study of microbial development.
The Genetics of Maize Evolution

▪ Abstract Maize and its closest wild relatives, the teosintes, differ strikingly in the morphology of their female inflorescences or ears. Despite their divergent morphologies, several studies indicate that some varieties of teosinte are cytologically indistinguishable from maize and capable of forming fully fertile hybrids with maize. Molecular analyses identified one form of teosinte (Zea mays ssp. parviglumis) as the progenitor of maize. Analyses of the inheritance of the morphological traits that distinguish maize and teosinte indicates that they are under the control of multiple genes and exhibit quantitative inheritance. Nevertheless, these analyses have also identified a few loci of large effect that appear to represent key innovations during maize domestication. Remaining challenges are to identify additional major and minor effect genes, the polymorphisms within these genes that control the phenotypes, and how the combination of the individual and epistatic effects of these genes transformed teo...
In vivo Fluoride Concentrations Measured for Two Hours After a NaF or a Novel Two-solution Rinse

The concentrations of fluoride in various samples from the oral environment were measured at timed intervals after a novel rinse or a NaF rinse, both containing a total of 12 mmol/L (228 ppm) fluoride. The novel rinse consisted of two solutions mixed just before application: Part A contained calcium chloride and sodium acetate; part B contained a hydrolyzable source of fluoride (sodium hexafluorosilicate) and sodium phosphate. Samples were obtained as follows: Single-site plaque-fluid samples were obtained by centrifugation of first-molar plaque; pooled whole-plaque samples were collected from second molars; centrifuged, pooled whole-saliva was collected by vacuum. All samples were analyzed by micro-analytical methods. Results showed that, compared with NaF, the two-solution rinse produced significantly higher salivary fluoride concentrations, plaque-fluid fluoride concentrations, and acid-extractable fluoride in the whole plaque by factors of about 4, 2, and 6, respectively, at 120 min. The results of this study suggest that the new rinse may provide a greater cariostatic effect at the same fluoride dosage than does a NaF rinse.
Numerical evaluation of the K-Bessel function by saddlepoint integration

A probability distribution that has gained particular attention in the modeling of non-gaussian phenomenon is the K-distribution. Because of its widespread use in radar and underwater acoustics a method for calculating the distribution that is both easy and efficient is required. The paper presents a method for calculating the K-distribution (in particular the K-Bessel function) using saddlepoint integration.
Induced Fit, Folding, and Recognition of the NF-κB-Nuclear Localization Signals by IκBα and IκBβ

Abstract Protein structure prediction codes based on the associative memory Hamiltonian were used to probe the binding modes between the nuclear localization signal (NLS) polypeptide of NF-κB and the inhibitors IκBα and IκBβ. Experimentally, it is known that the NLS polypeptide is unstructured in the NF-κB complex with DNA but it forms an extended helical structure with the NLS (residues 301–304) between the two helices in the NF-κB/IκBα complex. The simulations included the NF-κB(p65) and (p50) NLS polypeptides and various mutants alone and in the presence of IκBα and IκBβ. The simulations predict that the NLS polypeptide by itself binds tightly to IκBα and IκBβ. In the NF-κB (p50/p65) heterodimer, the p50 NLS is predicted to remain free to bind to importin α. In the interaction with IκBα, both p65 NLSs are predicted to be bound. In IκBβ, the NLS polypeptide binds to two binding sites, as seen in the crystal structure, with one site heavily favored for stable binding.
Comprehensive geriatric assessment in patients with gastric and gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma undergoing gastrectomy.

Objective The purpose of this study was to identify clinical and geriatric assessment variables associated with outcome in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma who have undergone gastrectomy. Methods We reviewed demographic, clinical, and geriatric assessment variables, including recent falls, pain, performance status, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, assistive device use, comorbidity, polypharmacy, and weight change, for patients undergoing gastrectomy between 2005 and 2014. Outcome variables included morbidity, mortality, hospital length of stay, and readmission. Results Of 279 patients, 133 (48%) underwent total gastrectomy. The 90-day major morbidity rate was 24% and the mortality rate was 1%. Length of hospital stay ≥14 days occurred in 38%, with readmission within 30 days in 13%. On multivariate analysis, gastroesophageal junction involvement, (odds ratio [OR] 2.5, 95% confidence interval [1.1–5.8]), additional organ resection, (OR 3.2, [1.6–6.3]), pain score >0 (OR 3.8, [1.6–8.7]), Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status >0, (OR 2.3, [1.2–4.6]), and polypharmacy (OR 2.4, [1.1–5.2]) were associated with major morbidity. Hospital stay ≥14 days was associated with age ≥75 years (OR 3.9, [1.7–9.2]), total gastrectomy (OR 3.5, [2.0–6.3]), performance status >0 (OR 1.8, [1.0–3.2]), and preoperative chemotherapy (OR 0.3, [0.2–0.7]). Conclusions Future studies are needed to identify methods to improve performance status, as this may improve postoperative complications and resource utilization. J. Surg. Oncol. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Succession in Family Firms: The Problem of Resistance:

Succession is problematic for a majority of family firms. This paper argues that resistance to succession exists across many levels in these organizations and proposes a model that highlights the multiple contributing factors.
Parametric Design of a Spherical Eight-Bar Linkage Based on a Spherical Parallel Manipulator

This paper presents a procedure that determines the dimensions of two constraining links to be added to a three degree-of freedom spherical parallel manipulator so that it becomes a one degree- of-freedom spherical (8, 10) eight-bar linkage that guides its endeffector through five task poses. The dimensions of the spherical parallel manipulator are unconstrained, which provides the freedom to specify arbitrary base attachment points as well as the opportunity to shape the overall movement of the linkage. Inverse kinematics analysis of the spherical parallel manipulator provides a set of relative poses between all of the links, which are used to formulate the synthesis equations for spherical RR chains connecting any two of these links. The analysis of the resulting spherical eight-bar linkage verifies the movement of the system.
Energy and performance evaluation of lossless file data compression on server systems

Data compression has been claimed to be an attractive solution to save energy consumption in high-end servers and data centers. However, there has not been a study to explore this. In this paper, we present a comprehensive evaluation of energy consumption for various file compression techniques implemented in software. We apply various compression tools available on Linux to a variety of data files, and we try them on server class and workstation class systems. We compare their energy and performance results against raw reads and writes. Our results reveal that software based data compression cannot be considered as a universal solution to reduce energy consumption. Various factors like the type of the data file, the compression tool being used, the read-to-write ratio of the workload, and the hardware configuration of the system impact the efficacy of this technique. In some cases, however, we found compression to save substantial energy and improve performance.
Performance of Hybrid ARQ Schemes with ML Code Combining over a Block-Fading Rayleigh Channel

This paper considers two well-known selective-repeat retransmission schemes, namely, hybrid type-I ARQ and hybrid type-II ARQ, using convolutional coding, in conjunction with maximum-likelihood code combining. Our theoretical analysis, based upon the concept of generalized weight distribution, shows that the use of code combining yields a significant throughput at very high channel error rates not only in constant AWGN channels but also in fading channels. To demonstrate this, we consider a widely-used block-fading Rayleigh channel model, in which the channel is assumed to be constant during each block of data and the fading is assumed to be independent from block to block. A key parameter in designing retransmission protocols for delay-limited applications in such channels is the minimum number of retransmissions, needed to achieve error-free decoding at almost all channel conditions (low outage probability). This number can be reduced significantly when code combining is employed.
The Paper World of Bernard Suits

Here I consider the utopian claim of Bernard Suits, that the ideal life consists in playing games. I argue that his claim has no meaning. Just as it makes no sense to maintain that everything is an illusion, since we would have no sense then of the correlative ‘reality’, so too it makes no sense to speak of a world consisting entire of playing. Also I examine Suits’ definition of play, which he takes to describe the forms of play that we actually have. I show how it fails to describe them. I end by showing how the Utopia of the Grasshopper self-destructs into postmodern babble—which is perhaps what Suits [should have] intended all along. Once upon a time Oets, a fellow from Nebraska, wrote about Descartes’ problem of universal skepticism in Meditation 1. Could the Evil Genius deceive us about everything? Could she deceive us into believing that the entire world was as we believe it to be, while in reality it was made out of paper? Following his roshi (master) Wittgenstein, Oets argued that it turns out that the Evil Genius herself was being deceived. Despite her best efforts, she had created a less flimsy world of three-dimensional objects and creatures. Instead, in creating, she was giving herself the delusion that she had created a two-dimensional paper world and was fooling all those creatures. (3: pp. 95–7) I submit that Bernard Suits has gotten himself, or his insect, into a similar position in his utopia, The Grasshopper. Suits does ask for himself to be considered an evil genius. He has his arthropod puppeteer say:
Toxicity induced enhanced extracellular matrix production in osteoblastic cells cultured on single-walled carbon nanotube networks

A central effort in biomedical research concerns the development of materials for sustaining and controlling cell growth. Carbon nanotube based substrates have been shown to support the growth of different kinds of cells (Hu et al 2004 Nano Lett. 4 507-11; Kalbacova et al 2006 Phys. Status Solidi b 13 243; Zanello et al 2006 Nano Lett. 6 562-7); however the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly defined. To address the fundamental question of mechanisms by which nanotubes promote bone mitosis and histogenesis, primary calvariae osteoblastic cells were grown on single-walled carbon nanotube thin film (SWNT) substrates. Using a combination of biochemical and optical techniques we demonstrate here that SWNT networks promote cell development through two distinct steps. Initially, SWNTs are absorbed in a process that resembles endocytosis, inducing acute toxicity. Nanotube-mediated cell destruction, however, induces a release of endogenous factors that act to boost the activity of the surviving cells by stimulating the synthesis of extracellular matrix.
Ischemic mitral valve regurgitation: the new challenge for magnetic resonance imaging

Ischemic mitral valve regurgitation (IMVR) refers to mitral regurgitation in patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD) in the presence of a structurally normal mitral valve. IMVR contributes significantly to morbidity and mortality in patients with IHD. The thresholds for clinical management, surgical intervention, and the choice of surgical procedure continue to evolve and independent determinants for surgical success in the pre- and post-operative evaluation of IMVR are still controversial. Although echocardiography has been valued as the gold standard in the evaluation of IMVR, new technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be seen as applicable to the investigation of this complex pathology. MRI may allow for detection of parameters that could help clinicians and surgeons to better assess IMVR and eventually guide appropriate treatment whenever necessary. The present article discusses the main parameters that should be routinely investigated while adopting MRI technology to assess patients with IMVR. The review is the result of a multidisciplinary approach to this complex etiopathogenic entity and involves expertise spanning from radiology, cardiology, to cardiac surgery.
Why liquids are fragile.

The fragilities Tg-normalized temperature dependence of -relaxation times of 33 glass-forming liquids and polymers are compared for isobaric, mP, and isochoric, mV, conditions. We find that the two quantities are linearly correlated: mP =37± 3 +0.84± 0.05mV. This result has obvious and important consequences, since the ratio mV /mP is a measure of the relative degree to which temperature and density control the dynamics. Moreover, we show that the fragility itself is a consequence of the relative interplay of temperature and density effects near Tg. Specifically, strong behavior reflects a substantial contribution from density jammed dynamics, while the relaxation of fragile liquids is more thermally activated. Drawing on the scaling law log = IT, a physical interpretation of this result in terms of the intermolecular potential is offered. The glass transition remains one of the more intriguing topics in condensed matter physics, with much effort focused on understanding the progressive slowing down of the dynamics. This process extends over more than ten decades in time, with the supercooled liquid eventually arriving in a nonequilibrium state below its glass temperature, Tg. Efforts to probe this feature of vitrifying liquids often employ the fragility,
Forest ecosystem processes at the watershed scale: Sensitivity to remotely-sensed leaf area index estimates

Abstract Recent research has shown that general trends in forest leaf area index along regional climatic gradients can be adequately characterized by using ratios of near-infrared and red reflectances. However it has proven difficult to represent properly the spatial distribution of Leaf Area Index (LAI) at sub-regional scales such as small catchments. The key problem at Thematic Mapper scale is the variation in canopy closure and understorey contribution, which dramatically influences near-infrared reflectance from conifer forests, [n this paper, a new spectral index is presented to estimate LAI of conifer forests using a combination of Red, NIR and mid-IR reflectances from the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM). A simulation system (RHESSys) was used first, to generate potential vegetation patterns around a watershed in order to test them against remotely-sensed vegetation patterns, and secondly, to test the sensitivity of forest ecosystem processes to LAT estimated from combinations of the Thematic Mapper da...
Multi-platform assessment of transcriptional profiling technologies utilizing a precise probe mapping methodology

Background The arrival of RNA-seq as a high-throughput method competitive to the established microarray technologies has necessarily driven a need for comparative evaluation. To date, cross-platform comparisons of these technologies have been relatively few in number of platforms analyzed and were typically gene name annotation oriented. Here, we present a more extensive and yet precise assessment to elucidate differences and similarities in performance of numerous aspects including dynamic range, fidelity of raw signal and fold-change with sample titration, and concordance with qRT-PCR (TaqMan). To ensure that these results were not confounded by incompatible comparisons, we introduce the concept of probe mapping directed “transcript pattern”. A transcript pattern identifies probe(set)s across platforms that target a common set of transcripts for a specific gene. Thus, three levels of data were examined: entire data sets, data derived from a subset of 15,442 RefSeq genes common across platforms, and data derived from the transcript pattern defined subset of 7,034 RefSeq genes.
Fluid Dynamics and Viscosity in Strongly Correlated Fluids

We review the modern view of fluid dynamics as an effective low energy, long wavelength theory of many body systems at finite temperature. We introduce the concept of a nearly perfect fluid, defined by a ratio $\eta/s$ of shear viscosity to entropy density of order $\hbar/k_B$ or less. Nearly perfect fluids exhibit hydrodynamic behavior at all distances down to the microscopic length scale of the fluid. We summarize arguments that suggest that there is fundamental limit to fluidity, and we review the current experimental situation of measurements of $\eta/s$ in strongly coupled quantum fluids.
Unipolar and bipolar organic field-effect transistors

This paper describes the characteristics and performance levels of unipolar as well as bipolar organic field-effect transistors (FETs) and also the possible applications enabled by these performance levels. Unipolar FETs can be either p-channel or n-channel depending on the active semiconductor chosen as well as the nature of the semiconductor-insulator interface, and bipolar FETs can be used as light-emitting devices. Bipolar FETs can be designed with a single semiconductor or in configurations involving material mixtures, vertical and lateral heterostructures.
Suicidality as a function of impulsivity, callous–unemotional traits, and depressive symptoms in youth.

Suicidality represents one of the most important areas of risk for adolescents, with both internalizing (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalizing-antisocial (e.g., substance use, conduct) disorders conferring risk for suicidal ideation and attempts (e.g., Bridge, Goldstein, & Brent, 2006). However, no study has attended to gender differences in relationships between suicidality and different facets of psychopathic tendencies in youth. Further, very little research has focused on disentangling the multiple manifestations of suicide risk in the same study, including behaviors (suicide attempts with intent to die, self-injurious behavior) and general suicide risk marked by suicidal ideation and plans. To better understand these relationships, we recruited 184 adolescents from the community and in treatment. As predicted, psychopathic traits and depressive symptoms in youth showed differential associations with components of suicidality. Specifically, impulsive traits uniquely contributed to suicide attempts and self-injurious behaviors, above the influence of depression. Indeed, once psychopathic tendencies were entered in the model, depressive symptoms only explained general suicide risk marked by ideation or plans but not behaviors. Further, callous-unemotional traits conferred protection from suicide attempts selectively in girls. These findings have important implications for developing integrative models that incorporate differential relationships between (a) depressed mood and (b) personality risk factors (i.e., impulsivity and callous-unemotional traits) for suicidality in youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved). Language: en
Complex Litigation: CAFA and the Eleventh Amendment

Commentary and analysis of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in In re Katrina Canal Litigation Breaches, 2008 U.S. App. Lexis 7933 (5th Cir. April 11, 2008), discussing whether a state may evade removal under the Class Action Fairness Act (CAFA) by invoking Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity, where the state added private citizens to its complaint. In this litigation arising over claims as a consequence of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, the state of Louisiana pursued litigation as plaintiff in state court. The defendants removed the case under CAFA, and Louisiana sought remand, invoking sovereign immunity principles. The problem of state sovereignty immunity in diversity cases has long eluded analysis because under settled principles it has long been settled that a state is not a person for diversity purposes. However, CAFA’s grant of jurisdiction to minimal diversity cases has allowed the issue of sovereign immunity to emerge as a problem. After extensive discussion of Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity principles, federal diversity, and CAFA, the Fifth Circuit ultimately sidestepped resolution of these intersecting issues by deciding the case based on waiver doctrine. The general point of the court’s extended exegesis of Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity principles is to point out that the doctrine traditionally has protected states as defendants, but not as plaintiffs, and therefore the 11th Amendment is inapplicable where the state is a plaintiff.
REACTOR KINETIC PARAMETERS OF LATTICES OF PLUTONIUM AND URANIUM IN WATER.

The ratio βeff/l has been deduced from reactor noise measurements in several uniform light-water lattices in the Plutonium Recycle Critical Facility. These lattices included one in which the fissil...
Reduced perplexity: Uncertainty measures without entropy

Conference paper presented at Recent Advances in Info-Metrics, Washington, DC, 2014. Under review for a book chapter in "Recent innovations in info-metrics: a cross-disciplinary perspective on information and information processing" by Oxford University Press.
Size-Dependent Coherent-Phonon Plasmon Modulation and Deformation Characterization in Gold Bipyramids and Nanojavelins

Localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) arising from metallic nanoparticles offer an array of prospective applications that range from chemical sensing to biotherapies. Bipyramidal particles exhibit particularly narrow ensemble LSPR resonances that reflect small dispersity of size and shape but until recently were only synthetically accessible over a limited range of sizes with corresponding aspect ratios. Narrow size dispersion offers the opportunity to examine ensemble dynamical phenomena such as coherent phonons that induce periodic oscillations of the LSPR energy. Here, we characterize transient optical behavior of a large range of gold bipyramid sizes, as well as higher aspect ratio nanojavelin ensembles with specific attention to the lowest-order acoustic phonon mode of these nanoparticles. We report coherent phonon-driven oscillations of the LSPR position for particles with resonances spanning 670 to 1330 nm. Nanojavelins were shown to behave similarly to bipyramids but offer the prospect of s...
Intraerythrocytically administered tubercidin (7-deazaadenosine) and immune protection of mice.

SummaryTubercidin (Tu) when administered to mice after its prior absorption into 20-30% of their red cells, did not interfere with the ability of Type I pneumococcal polysaccharide to confer full protection upon the mice against challenge with pneumococci of the same serotype. This finding indicates that the amount of Tu released daily into the general circulation for periods up to 1 wk before injection of the pneumococcal antigen, and thereafter, did not inhibit the production of protective antibodies by mice.
The case -- IVF treatment for an HIV-discordant transgender couple?.

To submit a case that has been reviewed by an ethics committee or to submit papers on related topics in clinical ethics, readers are invited to contact Ruchika Mishra, editor of “Ethics Committees and Consultants at Work,” at: ruchika.mishra@gmail.com.
Catalytic reduction of O2 to H2O by vanadium-schiff base complexes in acetonitrile

A Summary Report to The Electrochemical Society for the 2000 Department of Energy Summer Research Fellowship.
Combining functional MRI and EEG source imaging

Even though the entire data for multislice imaging in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can be acquired in 50-100 ms using echo-planar imaging, the effective temporal resolution for studying brain function is limited to 1-2s due to the relatively slow temporal response of the underlying hemodynamics. The objective of the preliminary study reported here was to combine evoked potential measurements (commonly referred to as EEG) with fMRI of the same subject to improve temporal resolution. EEG and 1.5T fMRI data were acquired from the subjects during checkerboard stimulation. The EEG data were recorded on a standard 10-20 electrode placement system and sources were reconstructed using a 4-sphere model based on the anatomical MRI of the subjects. Simulated annealing based algorithms were developed to estimate single equivalent dipole and multiple dipole parameters for both single time-point and spatio-temporal EEG data. The results from both single and multiple dipole estimations indicate good correlation between the dipole locations and fMRI. >
Purpose and passion: The rationales of public alternative educators

Abstract Alternative schools are popular interventions for marginalized students, including students with disabilities, but little research has focused on professionals in these settings. Today, close to 11,000 public alternative schools or programs are believed to exist in the United States education system (Foley & Pang, 2006) and as many as one million students are currently attending alternative learning programs in the United States (Lehr, Tan, & Ysseldyke, 2009). While public alternative schools can vary from one another in many ways, they exist to serve youth marginalized in traditional public settings. In this study, we explore the ways teachers, administrators, and nurses in alternative settings collaborate to support mentally healthy school environments for marginalized student populations. Drawing on the process of rationale development ( Hawley & Crowe, 2016 ; Hawley & Jordan, 2014 ; Shaver, 1977 ; Shaver & Strong, 1982) as rooted in social studies education, we explore the perceived purposes of these professionals as they work with some of the nation׳s most marginalized children. Through focus groups and one-on-one interviews, the data bridge social studies themes rooted in democracy and equity with special education themes of inclusiveness. This work offers insight into the rationales of teachers and professionals engaged in critical work, and provides a platform for helping professionals undergo the rationale development process.
Plasma pharmacokinetics, oral bioavailability, and interspecies scaling of the DNA methyl transferase inhibitor, zebularine (NSC 309132), in mice, rats, and Rhesus monkeys

4167 Purpose : We developed and validated a liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric (LC/MS) method and performed pharmacokinetic studies in mice, rats, and monkeys to define the plasma pharmacokinetics and bioavailability of zebularine, an inhibitor of DNA methyltransferase being considered for clinical evaluation. Experimental Design : Stability and protein binding of zebularine were characterized in mouse, rat, dog, monkey, and human plasma. Pharmacokinetic studies were performed in CD 2 F 1 mice (100 mg/kg i.v. or 1,000 mg/kg p.o.), Fischer 344 rats (50 mg/kg i.v., 250 mg/kg p.o., or 500 mg/kg p.o.), and rhesus monkeys (either 500 mg/kg or 1,000 mg/kg i.v. and p.o.). Plasma zebularine concentration versus time data were analyzed with non-compartmental and compartmental methods. Interspecies scaling was performed according to standard methods. Results : In mice, plasma zebularine concentrations declined with terminal half-lives (t 1/2 ) of 40 min and 91 min after 100 mg/kg i.v. and 1,000 mg/kg p.o., respectively. Zebularine plasma concentration versus time curves (AUC) after 100 mg/kg i.v. and 1,000 mg/kg p.o.doses were 7,323 μg/ml · min and 4,935 μg/ml · min, respectively, corresponding to a total body clearance (Cl tb ) of 13.65 ml/min/kg, an apparent total body clearance (Cl app ) of 203 ml/min/kg, and an oral bioavailability of 6.7%. In rats, plasma zebularine concentration declined with t 1/2 of 363 min, 110 min, and 126 min after 50 mg/kg i.v., 250 mg/kg p.o., and 500 mg/kg p.o. doses, respectively. The zebularine AUC’s after 50 mg/kg i.v., 250 mg/kg p.o., and 500 mg/kg p.o. doses were 12,526 μg/ml · min, 1,969 μg/ml · min, and 7,612 μg/ml · min, corresponding to a Cl tb 3.99 ml/min/kg for the 50 mg/kg i.v. dose and Cl app of 127 and 66 ml/min/kg for the 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg p.o. doses, respectively. Oral bioavailabilities of 3.1% and 6.1% were calculated for the 250 mg/kg and 500 mg/kg p.o. doses, respectively. In rhesus monkeys, the zebularine t 1/2 ranged from 70 to 150 min, Cl tb ranged from 3.55 to 10.85 ml/min/kg after i.v. administration and Cl app ranged from 886 to 39,572 ml/min/kg after oral administration of 500 and 1,000 mg/kg. Zebularine oral bioavailability was less than 1% in each of the four monkeys studied. Species scaling produced a relationship described by the equation: CL tb = 6.46 (weight 0.9 ) Conclusions : Zebularine has limited oral bioavailability, which is lower in non-human primates than in rodents. Interspecies scaling projects a zebularine CL tb of 296 ml/min in a 70-kg human, but clinical studies will be required to characterize the actual CL tb and oral bioavailability in humans. The LC/MS assay developed should be applicable in those studies.
Surgical Treatment of Heart Failure.

More than 5 million Americans suffer from heart failure and more than 250,000 die annually. Cardiac surgery, as applied to advanced heart failure, has evolved significantly in the past 50 years. Current therapeutic interventions are focused on the appropriate assessment of myocardial dysfunction as a means to select the right patient for the appropriate procedure using state-of-the-art myocardial viability testing and metabolic testing to determine candidacy for conventional interventions, mechanical devices, or transplant. Advances in mechanical circulatory support with more efficient and less morbid ventricular assist devises offer the potential to change the trajectory of this growing epidemiologic dilemma.
Growth Induced and Patterned 0-Dimensional Quantum Structures

Investigations of semiconductor quantum dot structures have been predominately conducted on lithographically defined 2-dimensional electron gas structures at milli-Kelvin temperatures. Intriguing observations such as electron wave effects, single electron charging effects and electron-electron interactions have been observed. Although this work continues to expand our understanding of 0-dimensionally confined systems, higher temperature operating devices are limited because current lithography techniques are limited to approximately 500A feature sizes. An alternative approach is the use of growth induced islanding in strained heteroepitaxial semiconductor systems to create 0-dimensional systems without using lithography. Whereas the milli-Kelvin experiments use mature growth and lithography techniques, the growth induced islanding approach is comparatively new and current efforts in this area are devoted to understanding and controlling the growth of these islands and simple optical and electronic characterization. In this paper we bring together our recent work in these two areas.
Immunologic response to intracerebral fetal neural allografts in the rhesus monkey.

Publisher Summary There are multiple factors involved in the immunologic response to a particular type of brain graft. This chapter investigates whether cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum leukocyte counts, protein electrophoresis, CSF myelin basic protein (MBP), and routine histological and immunohistochemical evaluations of the animal's brains under experimentation, indicate significant immune reactions to the fetal mesencephalic allografts. The results show that the transplant recipients do not produce lymphocytotoxic antibodies to the lymphocyte antigens of the parents of the donors, despite rhesus leukocyte antigen (RhLA) mismatching. Histological and immunohistochemical evaluation show no evidence of significant local inflammatory cell responses to the grafts. The chapter indicates that the results presented were unable to document a significant humoral or cellular immune response to the fetal mesencephalic allografts. Further animal investigations on the neuroimmunology of brain grafts are needed to answer remaining important questions, prior to presenting non-autografts as viable transplantation options for patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and other neurological diseases.
Efficient frontiers in a frontier state: Viability of mobile dentistry services in rural areas

Abstract This study investigates the implications of adding mobile dentistry services to a community health center (CHC) in a rural area. CHCs are not-for-profit healthcare organizations which provide comprehensive primary care services to patients in the US, primarily for under-served and uninsured populations. We estimate the demand for the service in a five-county region in southwestern Montana, USA and work with stakeholders to determine a set of potential service locations. A mixed-integer optimization model is formulated to determine the frequency of stops in each location over a finite (six month) planning horizon with the goal of improving accessibility and availability of dental services while maintaining financial sustainability of the CHC. The financial considerations and social impact of offering a mobile dentistry service in southwestern Montana are assessed. Computational results based on a case study demonstrate the challenges facing mobile dentistry operations to increase access to under-served populations in a financially viable manner. Hybrid solutions, in which care is offered at a mix of fixed locations and mobile locations, appear to best balance the objectives of financial sustainability and expanded access to care.
Photoconductive ZnO Films Printed on Flexible Substrates by Inkjet and Aerosol Jet Techniques

Zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films have remarkable versatility in sensor applications. Here, we report simple ink synthesis and printing methods to deposit ZnO photodetectors on a variety of flexible and transparent substrates, including polyimide (Kapton), polyethylene terephthalate, cyclic olefin copolymer (TOPAS), and quartz. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed the dependence of the film orientation on the substrate type and sintering method, and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) absorption measurements revealed a band edge near 380 nm. van der Pauw technique was used to measure the resistivity of undoped ZnO and indium/gallium-codoped ZnO (IGZO) films. IGZO films showed lower resistivity and larger average grain size compared with undoped ZnO films due to addition of In3+ and Ga3+, which act as donors. A 365-nm light-emitting diode was used to photoirradiate the films to study their photoconductive response as a function of light intensity at 300 K. The results revealed that ZnO films printed by aerosol jet and inkjet techniques exhibited five orders of magnitude photoconductivity, indicating that such films are viable options for use in flexible photodetectors.
Intersections of Maximal Subspaces of Zeros of Two Quadratic Forms

We calculate the dimensions of the intersections of maximal subspaces of zeros of a nonsingular pair of quadratic forms. We then count the number of sets of distinct such subspaces that intersect in a given dimension.
Refractive outcomes of phacoemulsification cataract surgery in glaucoma patients

Purpose To evaluate refractive outcomes after phacoemulsification cataract surgery in patients with glaucoma. Setting University of Colorado Health Eye Center, Aurora, Colorado, USA. Design Retrospective case series. Methods The incidence of refractive surprise was evaluated in patients with and without glaucoma after phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Refractive surprise was defined as the difference in spherical equivalent of the refractive target and postoperative refraction in diopters (D). Results The study comprised 206 eyes in the glaucoma group and 1162 control eyes. The refractive surprise greater than ±0.5 D and ±1.0 D was 29.9% and 4.9% in the control group and 40.3% (P = .0061) and 11.2% (P = .0011) in the glaucoma group. Primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) (n = 154 eyes), chronic angle-closure glaucoma (n = 18 eyes), and pseudoexfoliation glaucoma (n = 23 eyes) had odds ratios of 1.90 (P = .1760), 14.54 (P = .0006), and 7.27 (P = .0138), respectively, of refractive surprise greater than ±1.0 D compared with patients without glaucoma. Refractive surprise was noted more often in POAG eyes with axial lengths longer than 25.0 mm (P = .0298). Glaucoma eyes had worse mean postoperative corrected distance visual acuity than control eyes (glaucoma: 0.1088 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution [logMAR]; controls: 0.0358 logMAR; P = .01). Conclusion Patients with a diagnosis of glaucoma were more likely to have a refractive surprise and/or worse visual outcome after phacoemulsification cataract surgery.
Magnetic Flux Compression by Expanding Plasma Armatures

A one-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic computer code has been developed to study magnetic flux compression using explosively-driven plasma armatures in cylindrically symmetric systems. This work supports a program to develop a compact, non-destructive, repetitive pulse power generator capable of multimegajoule outputs with pulse widths of about 10−5 sec. Details of the code construction and results of some calculations including the dynamics of the explosive detonation are presented.
Evaluation by quantitative acid elution and radioimmunoassay of multiple classes of immunoglobulins and serum albumin associated with platelets in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.

Immunoglobulins (Igs) and serum albumin were eluted from normal platelets and platelets from patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) with a quantitative acid elution procedure followed by solid-phase radioimmunoassay (SPRIA). Acid elution was shown to release a reproducible fraction of platelet-associated Igs, and the amounts released per platelet were independent of the platelet concentration over a wide range of concentrations. This procedure is suitable for sensitive, reproducible, and specific quantitation of large numbers of samples. Washed platelets from 13 normal donors contained the following components (expressed in femtograms per platelet, mean +/- 2 SEM): IgG, 1.40 +/- 0.26; IgA, 0.72 +/- 0.36; IgM 0.078 +/- 0.036; albumin 7.7 +/- 1.5. Immunoglobulins and albumin eluted from the platelets of ten ITP patients (two in remission), expressed as femtograms per platelet, mean (range), were: IgG 104 (0.3 to 750); IgA 90 (0.9 to 715); IgM 162 (1.2 to 1,300); and albumin 34 (6.8 to 199). All platelet-associated Igs from thrombocytopenic ITP patients were found to be elevated twofold to 2,300-fold with one Ig class occasionally elevated 50-fold to 100-fold higher than the others. A similar group of ten thrombocytopenic ITP patients was found to have twofold to 26-fold elevations of platelet- associated albumin. This demonstration of increases in multiple classes of Igs as well as serum albumin associated with platelets from ITP patients suggests that some nonimmune process may be contributing to the phenomenon of increased platelet-associated proteins in ITP.
Reducing cesarean delivery rates in managed care organizations.

BACKGROUND A national consensus has emerged that cesarean delivery (CD) rates are excessive. OBJECTIVES To review the subject of CD delivery and to discuss options for reducing CD delivery rates in managed care organizations (MCOs) from the current rate of approximately 22% to a rate of 10% to 15% in 5 years, as proposed by the World Health Organization. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Literature review. RESULTS Contracted physicians could be provided with evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for CD as well as data on acuity-adjusted physician-specific CD rates within the MCO and could be offered supplementary fees for performing vaginal deliveries after a previous CD. Administrators and physician leaders of contracted hospitals could also be asked to adopt written criteria for lack of progress in labor, to review all indications for CD for all cases, to encourage use of vaginal delivery after a previous CD, and to require a second opinion for performing all except emergency CDs. Members of MCOs who become pregnant could be mailed an educational pamphlet that encourages vaginal delivery rather than CD. CONCLUSIONS To facilitate dissemination of information, MCOs should report their experience in implementing, monitoring, and evaluating the effectiveness and outcomes of programs to reduce CD delivery rates. The MCO objective would be to lower CD rates without alienating physicians or attempting to impose a regimented approach that would offend and be counterproductive for consumers.
Is imagining a voice like listening to it? Evidence from ERPs.

Readers who have seen the Harry Potter movies before reading the novels may "hear" actors' voices in their heads when they later read the books. This phenomenon of mentally simulating the voice of speakers depicted in texts has been referred to as auditory perceptual simulation (APS). How much is this mental simulation of voices like listening to actual voices? Two event-related potential (ERP) experiments examined the auditory perceptual simulation of native and non-native English speech while participants silently read English sentences containing subject-verb agreement errors or pronoun-case errors. The aim was to compare readers' ERPs when imagining native and non-native speech to the results of Hanulikova, van Alphen, van Goch, and Weber (2012), who recorded ERPs while participants listened to native and non-native speech and found that native-speaking listeners "forgive" errors (signaled by reduced P600 effects) by non-native speakers. Our participants listened to samples of a native and a non-native English speaker's speech and were then asked to imagine the voice of either one or the other speaker while reading sentences. Results revealed differences in N400 and P600 waveforms when imagining the non-native speaker's voice compared to the native speaker's voice. Importantly, when imagining the non-native speaker committing subject-verb agreement errors, P600 amplitudes were no different from error-free items.
\(\vec A.\vec p or\vec r.\vec E?.\) Minimal Coupling and Multipolar Hamiltonians in the Quantum Theory of Radiation

From the earliest beginnings of the quantum theory, the canonical procedure for coupling matter to the electromagnetic field has been based on a local interaction between charge-current densities and the four-component electromagnetic vector potential.1
Thoughts on Edge Intelligence

Machine learning methods have exploded in the past half-dozen years. Machine learning is being applied to a huge range of problems across the spectrum of applications. Initial results relied on server-oriented computations. But many applications will require deploying aspects of machine learning throughout the network hierarchy. Several factors motivate the development of Edge Intelligence architectures and algorithms: network bandwidth, power consumption, latency, privacy, etc. This talk will start the motivation for edge intelligence with several examples from manufacturing and health care and outline some important problems for VLSI systems.