cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Risk analysis of well blowout scenarios during managed pressure drilling operation

Abstract Offshore drilling involves complex operations and equipment; thus, faces many operational challenges, including well control incidents. The managed pressure drilling (MPD) provides a safer alternative; however, this technology, for the most part, is still in its infancy. Potential risks during well control operation in MPD need to be identified, assessed, and managed. The current study presents an advanced dynamic blowout risk model (DBRM) to assess safety during a managed pressure drilling operation. The DBRM involves three key steps of operation: a dynamic Bayesian network (DBN) model to describe the dynamic risk of drilling during an MPD operation, a numerical model to simulate failure of an MPD kick control operation, and dynamic risk analysis to assess the safety of the well control operation as drilling conditions change over time. The proposed DBRM implements a novel approach for simulating an MPD failure and assessing blowout risk through varying MPD kick control parameters/variables in a simulated system. The proposed DBRM successfully replicated the dynamic blowout risk scenarios presented in the Amberjack field case study from the Gulf of Mexico. The results show that the presence of drilling hazards, such as depleted formation, increases the likelihood of circulation loss and thus, the occurrence likelihood of kick. Moreover, as the kick intensity increases over time, the failure likelihood of an MPD system increases until its failure occurs after the kick intensity has exceeded the designed limits of the MPD control system. Thus, the increased likelihoods of these two events (kick and MPD failure) increase the risk of a blowout. Conversely, MPD failure and blowout risk can be reduced by up to 96% by making the MPD control system more robust. The results prove that the kick control variables can be used to assess the success/failure of an MPD operation, i.e. its safety, and are instrumental in providing useful information to predict the performance and/or diagnose the failure of an MPD operation.
A General-Purpose Algorithm for Constrained Sequential Inference

Inference in structured prediction involves finding the best output structure for an input, subject to certain constraints. Many current approaches use sequential inference, which constructs the output in a left-to-right manner. However, there is no general framework to specify constraints in these approaches. We present a principled approach for incorporating constraints into sequential inference algorithms. Our approach expresses constraints using an automaton, which is traversed in lock-step during inference, guiding the search to valid outputs. We show that automata can express commonly used constraints and are easily incorporated into sequential inference. When it is more natural to represent constraints as a set of automata, our algorithm uses an active set method for demonstrably fast and efficient inference. We experimentally show the benefits of our algorithm on constituency parsing and semantic role labeling. For parsing, unlike unconstrained approaches, our algorithm always generates valid output, incurring only a small drop in performance. For semantic role labeling, imposing constraints using our algorithm corrects common errors, improving F1 by 1.5 points. These benefits increase in low-resource settings. Our active set method achieves a 5.2x relative speed-up over a naive approach.
Significant Medical Comorbidities Are Associated With Lower Causality Scores in Patients Presenting With Suspected Drug-Induced Liver Injury.

INTRODUCTION Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a diagnosis of exclusion, and it can be challenging to adjudicate when there are multiple comorbidities and concomitant medications. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that comorbidity burden impacts the causality adjudication in patients with suspected DILI. METHODS We studied consecutive patients with suspected DILI enrolled in the Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network Prospective Study at 2 centers between 2003 and 2017. The comorbidity burden at presentation was determined using the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI). We analyzed the association between significant comorbidity (CCI > 75th percentile) and (i) the adjudication of DILI by expert consensus as definite, highly likely, or probable (high-confidence DILI) and (ii) the Roussel Uclaf Causality Assessment Method (RUCAM) scores. RESULTS Our cohort consisted of 551 patients who were classified as "no comorbidity" (54%, CCI = 0), "mild comorbidity" (29%, CCI = 1 or 2), and "significant comorbidity" (17%, CCI > 2). The probability of high-confidence DILI was significantly lower in patients with significant comorbidity compared with those with mild or no comorbidities (67% vs 76% vs 87%, respectively, P < 0.001). The mean RUCAM scores decreased with increasing comorbidity (no comorbidity 6.6 ± 2, mild comorbidity 6 ± 2.4, and significant comorbidity 5.6 ± 2.7, P < 0.001). In the multiple logistic regression, significant comorbidity had an independent inverse relationship with DILI (odds ratio: 0.37, 95% confidence interval: 0.2-0.69, P = 0.001). DISCUSSION Higher comorbidity burden impacts the causality assessment in patients with suspected DILI. Further studies are needed to investigate the utility of comorbidity burden as a variable in the DILI causality instruments.
Modifiable factors associated with mental health symptoms in siblings of adolescents with anorexia nervosa.

Research demonstrates that anorexia nervosa (AN) takes a significant toll on affected families, yet the well-being of siblings has been largely overlooked. This study examines mental health symptoms in siblings of adolescents with AN and seeks to identify modifiable factors associated with well-being. Participants included 34 siblings (aged 11–19) of adolescents with AN and 47 age and sex matched controls. Participants and their caregivers completed assessments of anxiety, depression, internalizing and externalizing problems, and parentification. Siblings of adolescents with AN also completed the Sibling Perception Questionnaire, an assessment of perceptions and attitudes about AN. Analyses indicated that siblings of adolescents with AN reported greater anxiety and parentification than controls. On caregiver reports of participants’ internalizing and externalizing symptoms, no significant differences were found across groups. In siblings of adolescents with AN, females were more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and negative attitudes and perceptions about AN than males. Perceived negative interpersonal interactions, specific to having a brother or sister with AN, were associated with greater anxiety and depression among AN siblings. Findings from this pilot study suggest that siblings of adolescents with AN are vulnerable to anxiety and parentification behaviors. Negative interpersonal interactions specific to having a brother or sister with AN may perpetuate risk for poorer well-being. Caregivers may not be attuned to these struggles, highlighting the importance of provider and family education about sibling vulnerabilities. Therapeutic interventions that target siblings of adolescents with AN are also indicated. Level III, case–control analytic study.
Correlates of Mental Health Symptoms Among US Adults During COVID-19, March-April 2020.

ObjectivesAn understanding of mental health symptoms during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is critical to ensure that health policies adequately address the mental health needs of...
Will Students Write Tests Early Without Coercion

Students faced with a programming task often begin their implementation without a sufficient understanding of the problem. Several prior papers suggest that formulating input–output examples before beginning one’s implementation is the key to averting problem misunderstandings, but that students are loath to actually do it. Is outright coercion instructors’ only hope to convince students to follow this methodology and hence help themselves? We conjecture that students’ reluctance may stem from the disaffordances of their programming environments. In this work, we augment the student’s programming environment to encourage examples-first development, and design a novel measure to assess students’ adherence to this methodology. We apply these measures to students using our modified environment in a semester-long course, and find high voluntary adherence, especially relative to the literature’s low expectations.
Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma: A multi-center series on clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes.

Abstract Background Acinar cell carcinoma (ACC) is a very rare tumor of the exocrine pancreas, representing less than 1% of all pancreatic malignancies. The majority of data regarding ACC are limited to small case series. Methods This is a retrospective study conducted at a large healthcare system from 1996 to 2019. Patients with pathologically confirmed ACC were included, and demographic data, tumor characteristics, and treatment outcomes were abstracted by chart review. Survival curves were obtained by using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. Results Sixty-six patients with ACC were identified. The median patient age at diagnosis was 64, and 42% presented with metastatic disease. The majority presented with abdominal pain or pancreatitis (69%), and laboratory parameters did not correlate with tumor size, metastatic disease, or survival. Several somatic abnormalities were noted in tumors (BRCA2, TP53, and mismatch-repair genes). In patients with localized disease that underwent resection, the median time to develop metastatic lesions was 13 months. The median overall survival (OS) was 24.7 months from diagnosis, with a survival difference based on metastatic disease at diagnosis (median 15 vs 38 mos). Surgery was associated with improved survival in non-metastatic cases (p = 0.006) but not metastatic cases (p = 0.22), and chemotherapy showed OS benefit in metastatic disease (p Conclusion Pancreatic ACC patients often present with advanced disease. Surgery was associated with survival benefit among patients presenting with localized disease. The use of FOLFOX or FOLFIRINOX chemotherapy regimens was associated with improved OS in metastatic patients. These data add to our knowledge in this rare malignancy, and improves understanding about the genomic underpinnings, prognosis and treatment for acinar cancers.
Explaining regional variations in mother-child health: Additional identified determinants in India and Bangladesh

Abstract This paper explores the sources of spatial variation in child wasting and maternal anemia in three Indian states and six Bangladeshi divisions. Our initial probability models incorporate traditionally-cited variables from Demographic and Health Surveys such as mother’s education, mother’s age and household wealth, along with seasonal fluctuations and regional fixed effects. The regional fixed effects are highly significant, even after controlling for the traditionally-cited determinants. We then re-estimate our models, replacing regional fixed effects with measures of four factors that exhibit spatial clustering in the study area: provision of health services, political instability, religious culture, and flood-proneness. Our re-estimated models show highly significant effects for all four factors, thereby highlighting potential gains from more effective policy interventions at the regional level. Mothers and children whose socioeconomic status is identical have much better health outcomes in areas where health services are relatively plentiful, political stability prevails, key protein sources are more plentiful, and water is abundant. Our results also demonstrate a strong association of mother’s health status post-partum with long term health outcomes for children.
Human Capital Accumulation and the Expansion of Women's Property Rights

Most U.S. states passed married women's property and earnings acts between 1850 and 1920. These acts gave married women the right to own and control their separate property, and to own their market earnings. We examine the acts' effects on investment by families in girls' human capital. Standard approaches to the economics of property rights imply that, as married women gain the right to their earnings and to own and control property, the incentive to invest in women's and girls' human capital will rise. This will be observed through increases in the rates of girls' schooling relative to boys'. We posit that a state's passage of a married women's property act and earnings act will lead to an increase in women's (girls') school attendance relative to boys. We use state level census data on school attendance to test for these effects, examining the difference in schooling rates for girls and boys. Our empirical analysis indicates that this expansion of women's economic rights resulted in higher rates of relative school attendance by girls, and that the effects of earnings acts are larger than those of the property acts. We also find that the effect of strengthening married women's property rights is substantially stronger in common law states than in community property states. These findings are robust to several ways of controlling for the possible endogeneity of changes in women's property rights.
Toward an Enterprise-ready Composable Infrastructure as a Service

A composable infrastructure is defined as resources such as compute, storage, accelerators, and networking, that are shared in a pool and that can be grouped in different configurations to varying meet business requirements. In this paper, we explore using the flexible environment of a Composable Infrastructure as a Service (CIaaS), to innovate in system and software design. Early experimentation provides insights into a hardware or software architecture to identify key performance bottlenecks, improve performance, reliability, cost, etc., this avoiding costly redesign. Systems and software evolve quickly, with innovations such as System on a Chip (SOC), and new accelerator types. Additionally, High performance computing (HPC) and AI workloads put pressure on designers to develop quickly, yet meet business goals. This paper details the design of an enterprise CIaaS that can be used for early experimentation, via a service model. Our experimental evaluations give insights into how the system works, evaluates the impact of various resource aggregations and reconfigurations on representative benchmarks, and show how these results can be used to inform the design of new systems. The use cases demonstrate using the CIaaS as an efficient, cost-effective approach to resource provisioning in data centers. In summary, our contributions are centered on 1. capability to dynamically dis-aggregate and compose resources, and 2. the enterprise readiness of the system, which allows it to be placed safely on an Extranet.
Hairy Cell Leukemia

Hairy cell leukemia is a B cell malignancy, accounting for 2% of all leukemias. Patients typically have splenomegaly, pancytopenia and an indolent course. Diagnosis requires identification of malignant cells in the bone marrow and peripheral blood with cytoplasmic projections and characteristic surface antigens. Splenectomy and interferon α were early treatments which have palliative value in the salvage setting. The purine analogs pentostatin and cladribine were found over 10 years ago to induce durable complete remissions in a high percentage of patients. Both are generally well tolerated, although with significant toxicity to CD4+ T cells and possibly hematopoietic stem cells, and it is unknown whether they differ in terms of long-term efficacy, safety, or association with secondary malignancies. Cladribine can induce complete remission with one cycle and is most commonly used. However, patients in complete remission can have minimal residual disease (assessed by immunologic studies) and its presence can increase the risk of early relapse. Molecular studies show that cladribine cannot eradicate the malignant hairy cell clone, and the lack of plateau in the disease free survival curve over time suggests that the present therapy cannot cure the disease. While retreatment with purine analogs is often successful, at least 25 to 35% of patients with HCL either initially or eventually become unresponsive and can succumb to infections and bleeding. The characteristic bright expression of several B-cell antigens on malignant cells, including CD20, CD22 and CD25, has led to the development of targeted therapy which is showing promising results in early clinical studies. Rituximab has activity, although duration and rates of response in clinical trials remain unclear. Recombinant immunotoxins LMB-2 and BL22 targeting CD25 and CD22, respectively, with truncated Pseudomonas exotoxin induce responses in 80 to 100% of patients who are resistant to purine analogs, and BL22 has a >60% complete remission rate in this setting. Further work is proceeding to increase the options for patients with hairy cell leukemia and to determine whether this disease can be cured.
A csoportperes törvénykönyv: Minta a polgárjogi államoknak (The Class Action Code: A Model for Civil Law Countries)

The English version of this document can be found at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=930439La versione italiana di questo articolo puo essere trovata in: http://ssrn.com/abstract=951889A versao em portugues deste artigo pode ser encontrada em: http://ssrn.com/abstract=947207La version francaise de ce document se trouvent a: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1406310La version en espanol de este articulo puede encontrarse en: http://ssrn.com/abstract=952445English Abstract: This is the Hungarian translation of a paper in which the author proposes the enactment of a Class Action Code in civil law countries. The proposed Model Code extensively regulates all aspects of modern class actions, including standing, adequacy, prerequisites, certification, notice, proof, settlement, judgment, res judicata, lis pendens, attorney fees, injunctive class actions, class action for damages, calculation of damages, distribution of the award, fund for group rights, defendant class actions, etc.The objective is to inspire the creation of the best possible code for class action suits, in light of the needs and peculiarities of civil law countries and the international experience with class actions. Although the proposal is focused primarily on civil-law countries, it may also prove useful to common law countries considering the adoption or improvement of class action rules.Hungarian Abstract: Az alabbi tervezet celja, hogy a csoport neveben inditott perhez szukseges legidealisabb szabalygyűjtemenyt dolgozza ki a polgari jogot alkalmazo orszagok igenyei es sajatossagai, valamint a csoportos perinditassal (kozismertebb neven a csoportperekkel vagy kollektiv keresetekkel) kapcsolatos nemzetkozi tapasztalatokat figyelembe veve. Az alabbi tervezet a szerző megoldasi javaslatainak valogatasa olyan problemakra, amelyek csoportok jogainak birosagi vedelmeből fakadnak. Minden egyes megoldasnak vannak előnyei, hatranyai, valamint az azokkal valo visszaelesre is van lehetőseg.
The Ischemic Penumbra and Neuronal Salvage

The majority of focal cerebral ischemic events result from arterial occlusion caused by embolism or in situ thrombosis. This interruption in blood flow, if severe and prolonged, leads to cerebral infarction. Brain infarction results from a disruption in blood flow, which causes a reduction in oxygen and glucose supplied to the tissue. Glucose and oxygen deprivation causes a metabolic shift toward the production of lactic acidic. Coincident with this impairment of the Na+/Ca++ exchange pump, excessive glutamate release causes an unregulated amount of calcium to enter the cells. Intracellular calcium increases trigger a variety of processes that result in the breakdown of membranes and nucleic acids. In addition, the release of free radicals, the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier and development of the inflammatory response all work together to promote further cellular injury.
An Application of Relational Algebra:: Specification of a Fault Tolerant Flight Control System

Abstract This paper discusses a case study where we use relations to represent the requirements of a fault tolerant flight control system. This task is part of a larger research project, carried out on behalf of Dryden Flight Research Center, whose purpose is to investigate the certification of an adaptive flight control system that is fault tolerant with respect to sensor faults. We find that relations offer a versatile tool to formulate requirements, and that they provide a sound basis for building computer supported oracles for the certification phase.
Estimating and Mapping Five Forest Attributes with Satellite Ancillary Data

We investigate ordinary kriging and three cokriging procedures for making continuous maps of five forest attributes. Both ordinary kriging and cokriging use a primary variable, but cokriging, like multivariate statistics, includes secondary variables. The secondary or ancillary variables are reflectance values and calculated vegetation indices from an August 1996 Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite image. Two methods for comparing the results include examining the residuals and breaking both the estimated and sampled data into classes and then examining the resulting confusion matrix. The comparison statistics are root mean square error, overall accuracy, and kappa statistic. For the cross-validation, an additional statistic was median absolute error. A cross-validation indicated that cokriging had a higher overall accuracy and kappa statistic and a lower median absolute error, while kriging yielded a slightly lower root mean square error. Both procedures captured the same trends in Connecticut. The developed areas around New York City and the I-91 corridor running from New Haven through Hartford into Massachusetts are less forested than the less developed and higher elevation areas in the northwestern portion of the state. Kriging smoothes the maps, missing the fine-scale heterogeneity of the landscape that cokriging detects.
The No Retraction Principle and the Morality of Negotiations

The central philosophical puzzle about contract law involves the ground upon which contractual obligation arises. Omri Ben-Shahar’s intriguing essay, Contracts Without Consent: Exploring a New Basis for Contractual Liability, proposes a new theory of contractual liability and contains the seeds of an appealing new approach to this puzzle. In place of the traditional agreement-based conception of contractual liability under which, as Ben-Shahar says, “a contract forms only when the positions of the two parties meet,” Ben-Shahar proposes a new regime. His proposal imagines that offers and counteroffers generate a converging sequence of liability, under the principle that “[a] party who manifests a willingness to enter into a contract at given terms should not be able to freely retract from her manifestation.” Ben-Shahar’s contribution to the philosophical foundations of contract does not figure prominently in his own presentation of this principle of “noretraction,” however, which emphasizes an economic approach. Indeed, Ben-Shahar expressly admits that “[i]t is beyond the scope of [his] Essay to inquire into the philosophical underpinnings of the non-rejectability of an individual’s own representations.” I shall therefore devote these pages to bringing out some of the philosophical
Phosphoglycerate kinase gene from Zymomonas mobilis: cloning, sequencing, and localization within the gap operon.

Abstract The Zymomonas mobilis gene encoding phosphoglycerate kinase (EC 2.7.3.2), pgk, has been cloned into Escherichia coli and sequenced. It consists of 336 amino acids, including the N-terminal methionine, with a molecular weight of 41,384. This promoterless gene is located 225 base pairs downstream from the gap gene and is part of the gap operon. Previous studies have shown that the specific activities of glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and phosphoglycerate kinase do not change coordinately in Z. mobilis, although the two enzymes appear to be under the control of a common promoter. The translated amino acid sequence for the Z. mobilis phosphoglycerate kinase is less conserved than those of eucaryotic genes. A comparison of known sequences for phosphoglycerate kinase revealed a high degree of conservation of structure with 102 amino acid positions being retained by all. In general, the amino acid positions at the boundaries of beta-sheet and alpha-helical regions and those connecting these regions were more highly conserved than the amino acid positions within regions of secondary structure.
Accuracy of ECG Algorithms in Predicting Accessory Pathway Location Prior to Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation in Children With Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. 122

Accuracy of ECG Algorithms in Predicting Accessory Pathway Location Prior to Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation in Children With Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. 122
The graphical advantages of finite interval confidence band procedures

When presented as graphical illustrations, regression surface confidence bands for linear statistical models quickly convey detailed information about analysis results. A taut confidence band is a compact set of curves which are estimation candidates for the unobservable, fixed regression curve. The bounds of the band are usually plotted with the estimated regression curve and may be overlaid by a scatter-plot of the data to provide an integrated visual impression. Finite-interval confidence bands offer the advantages of clearer interpretation and improved efficiency and avoid visual ambiguities inherent to infinite-interval bands. The definitive characteristic of a finite-interval confidence band is that it is only necessary to plot it over a finite interval in order to visually communicate all its information. In contrast, visual representations of infinite-interval bands are not fully informative and can be misleading. When an infinite-interval band is plotted, and therefore truncated, substantial info...
Imaging in acute basilar artery thrombosis.

The aim of this study was to review the imaging features in acute (<24 h) basilar artery thrombosis. CT and MR studies in 11 patients with clinical diagnosis of acute basilar artery thrombosis were retrospectively reviewed. MR angiography was obtained in 4 patients. Correlation with clinical symptoms was performed. Multiple cranial nerve palsies and hemiparesis were the most common clincal symptoms at presentation. CT revealed hyperdense basilar arteries (n=7) and hypodensities in the posterior circulation territory (n=8). In one instance, the infarction was hemorrhagic. MR imaging showed absence of flow void within the basilar in 6 patients and MRA (using both PC and TOF techniques) confirmed absence of blood flow in 4 basilar arteries. One week after presentation, 5 patients died. Autopsy was obtained in 1 case and confirmed the diagnosis of basilar artery thrombosis. Basilar artery thrombosis has fairly typical imaging features by both CT and MR. MRA may be used to confirm the diagnosis. Prompt recognition may lead to early thrombolytic treatment and may improve survival.
Biodegradation of a poly-(α-amino acid) hydrogel. II. In vitro

Proteolytic enzymes have been employed in an in vitro model to simulate the in vivo degradation of a synthetic poly(amino acid) hydrogel. Trypsin and collagenase had no effect on crosslinked poly(2-hydroxyethyl-L-glutamine) but pronase and papain dissolved the hydrogel. The initial effect of papain was to decrease the effective cross-link density without producing soluble material. This effect was similar to that observed previously in vivo. Analysis of the papain digestion products showed that oligomers of degree of polymerization 4–9 were the chief products. The rate at which oligomers were formed increased with increasing crosslink density. This phenomenon was attributed to hydrophobic effects.
Is psoriasis a T-cell disease?

The etiology and pathogenesis of psoriasis--one of the most common chronic, inflammatory, hyperproliferative skin disorders of man--have long fascinated dermatologists, pathologists and biologists alike. Here, we have a model disease that offers to study neuroectodermal-mesenchymal interactions in the widest sense possible. Epithelial, endothelial, and hematopoietic cells as well as neurons projecting into the skin apparently all interact with each other to generate the characteristic psoriatic lesion. For decades, the ongoing controversy on the molecular nature, choreography and hierarchy of these complex interactions e.g. between epidermal keratinocytes, T cells, neurotrophils, endothelial cells and sensory nerves has served as a driving force propelling investigative dermatology to ever new horizons. This debate has not only been at the heart of our quest to develop more effective forms of therapy for this socially crippling disease, but it also has profoundly influenced how we view the skin as a whole: the numerous competing theories on the pathogenesis of psoriasis published so far also are reflections on the evolution of mainstream thought in skin biology over the last decades. These days, conventional wisdom infatuated with a T-cell-centered approach to inflammatory skin diseases-- portrays psoriasis as an autoimmune disease, where misguided T lymphocyte activities cause secondary epithelial abnormalities. And yet, as this CONTROVERSIES feature reminds us, some authoritative "pockets of academic resistance" are still quite alive, and interpret psoriasis e.g. as a genetically determined, abnormal epithelial response pattern to infectious and/or physicochemical skin insults. Weighing the corresponding lines of argumentation is not only an intriguing, clinically relevant intellectual exercise, but also serves as a wonderful instrument for questioning our own views of the skin universe and its patterns of deviation from a state of homeostasis.
Phase curves of materials of Io: Interpretation in terms of Hapke's function

Disk-resolved near-opposition phase curves, derived for regions on Io suggest differences in surface texture among materials of different color on the satellite. This suggestion is tested quantitatively, using a photometric function having physically meaningful parameters. Derived values of the Hapke compaction parameter suggest that (1) a large percentage of the material on Io's surface has a porosity significantly greater than 60 percent and (2) average and polar materials are significantly more porous than Bright material, a contrast consistent with the Matson and Nash (1983) SO2 cold trap model. For the color classes, and for Io as a whole, the degree of backscattering tends to increase toward longer wavelengths. The average macroscopic roughness of the Ionian surface, characterized by a mean slope angle of about 25 degrees, is similar to that of other solid surfaces in the solar system.
The single-electron transistor

The discovery of periodic conductance oscillations as a function of charge density in very small transistors has led to a new understanding of the behavior of electrons in such small structures. It has been demonstrated that, whereas a conventional transistor turns on only once as electrons are added to it, submicronsize transistors, isolated from their leads by tunnel junctions, turn on and off again every time an electron is added. This unusual behavior is primarily the result of the quantization of charge and the Coulomb interaction between electrons on the small transistor. However, recent experiments demonstrate that the quantization of energy is important as well.
Empirical Radial Dependencies of the Energy Components in Magnetized Young Stellar Objects

Interstellar gas comes with empirical physical relations governing mean parameters such as the gas density n, diameter D, magnetic field B, and gas line width σ, with the forms n ~ Dc, B ~ Dp, B ~ nk, σ ~ Dq, and p = ck. Using these results, I derive simple formulae for the energy components in turbulent young stellar objects of Classes 0 and I as a function of clump size D (D 0.1 pc) turbulent and gravitational energies become dominant (x = 2). In addition, the expected relationship between turbulent width and magnetic field, σ ~ Bq/p, is not steep, and the observational data to date bear this out. Damping scenarios, magnetic field shapes, and ambipolar diffusion relevant to observations are discussed.
Recent Directions and Developments in Geographical Information Systems

Geographical information systems (GIS) are tools for handling and processing spatially referenced information that have permeated all facets of archaeology, frequently revolutionizing research by allowing easy access to vast amounts of information, new ways of data visualization that promote insight through pattern recognition, and unique methodologies that allow entirely new approaches to the study of the past. This comprehensive review examines and critiques recent advances achieved through GIS in regional and within-site databases, locational analysis and modeling, regional simulation, studies of landscape perception through intervisibility analysis, and models of spatial allocation, territoriality, and site access. The future prospects of GIS are enormous with the growth of the Internet, the resultant linking of databases, expected enhancements in satellite remote sensing, and the increasing pervasiveness of global positioning systems for spatial data capture.
Social class differences in sociodramatic play: A critical review

Studies of children’s sociodramatic play as a function of socioeconomic status report conflicting and marginal findings which militate against unqualified generalizations that economically disadvantaged children engage in less and poorer-quality sociodramatic play. Further, definitive conclusions on the basis of these studies are unwarranted because of flawed methodological procedures, confounding variables, and insufficient consideration of how verbal behavior. a critical component of sociodramatic play, is affected by situational variables. It is concluded that data from play intervention studies with low-income children and ethnographic studies of children from non-Western societies are virtually irrelevant to the issue of social class differences. The theoretical significance of social class differences in pretend play in general, and sociodramatic play in particular, even if found consistently, is unclear. In future research, priority should be given to both improved assessment of social class differences and clarification of how these differences relate to competences thought to be consequences of sociodramatic and pretend play. Preschool children’s pretend play is no longer regarded as “just play,” but serious business indeed. The seriousness with which developmental psychologists have come to regard play has fomented interest in its determinants. Variation in pretend play, particularly sociodramatic play, as a function of social class has been the focus of a number of research studies. This paper presents a critical examination of these studies and related literature to clarify the limits of our existing knowledge on this issue.
Influence of Allosteric Regulators on Individual Steps in the Reaction Catalyzed by Mycobacterium tuberculosis 2-Hydroxy-3-oxoadipate Synthase

Allosteric regulation often controls key branch points in metabolic processes. Mycobacterium tuberculosis 2-hydroxy-3-oxoadipate synthase (HOAS), a thiamin diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzyme, produces 2-hydroxy-3-oxoadipate using 2-ketoglutarate and glyoxylate. The proposed chemical mechanism in analogy with other ThDP-dependent carboligases involves multiple ThDP-bound covalent intermediates. Acetyl coenzyme A is an activator, and GarA, a forkhead association domain-containing protein known to regulate glutamate metabolism, is an allosteric inhibitor of HOAS. Steady state kinetics using assays to study the first half and the full catalytic cycle suggested that the regulators act at different steps in the overall mechanism. To explore the modes of regulation and to test the effects on individual catalytic steps, we performed circular dichroism (CD) studies using a non-decarboxylatable 2-ketoglutarate analog and determined the distribution of ThDP-bound covalent intermediates during the steady state of the HOAS reaction using one-dimensional 1H gradient carbon heteronuclear single quantum coherence NMR. The results suggest that acetyl coenzyme A acts as a mixed V and K type activator and predominantly affects the predecarboxylation steps. GarA does not inhibit the formation of the predecarboxylation analog and does not affect the accumulation of the postdecarboxylation covalent intermediate derived from 2-ketoglutarate; however, it decreases the abundance of the product ThDP adduct in the HOAS pathway. Thus, the two regulators act on different halves of the catalytic cycle in an unusual regulatory regime. Background: 2-Hydroxy-3-oxoadipate synthase is predicted to be essential for growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and is subject to allosteric regulation. Results: The role of regulators was characterized by kinetics and detection of thiamin diphosphate-bound covalent intermediate distribution. Conclusion: AcCoA activates steps leading to a predecarboxylation intermediate; GarA chiefly inhibits postdecarboxylation steps. Significance: This novel regulatory regime in thiamin diphosphate enzymes provides new leads to inhibition.
Tissue factor antigen and activity are not expressed on the surface of intact cells isolated from an acute promyelocytic leukemia patient

Tissue factor activity and antigen were measured in promyelocytes freshly isolated from a patient with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), FAB M3. Determination of functional activity revealed that physically disrupted cells expressed considerable tissue factor of which less than two percent was available prior to physical disruption of the cells. No tissue factor antigen was detectable on the cell surface by fluorescence flow cytometry. In contrast, endotoxin-stimulated peripheral blood monocytes and monoblastic cells isolated from a patient with monoblastic leukemia had notable populations of tissue factor-positive cells by flow cytometry, and expressed higher proportions of total tissue factor activity without disruption. While some cell types may express both tissue factor antigen and activity when intact, others, which can be extremely rich in tissue factor, may express neither antigen nor activity without a triggering event such as cell damage.
Impact of Liquidity and Information on the Mispricing of Newly Public Firms

We test whether the mispricing of newly public firms is affected by liquidity and information during the quiet period, from the end of the quiet period until the lock-up expiration date, and post lock-up. Liquidity is affected by the underwriter’s stabilization efforts during the quiet period and the founder’s ability to sell shares in the post-lockup period. Based on a sample of winner and loser events for more than 2,600 newly public firms during 1992–2001, the degree of under-or overreaction is conditioned on the period within the aftermarket following the IPO. We attribute the results to different liquidity and information effects among the three periods.
Aortic Debranching Procedures to Facilitate Endografting

Since approval of the Gore TAG device in 2005, endo-grafting of isolated descending thoracic aneurysms has been a welcome replacement to open surgery by many vascular and cardiac surgeons. Obvious constraints of this new technology are seal zones relative to adjacent brachiocephalic and visceral vessels. This is particularly important with regard to the more extensive thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms. Although branched or fenestrated stent grafts have been used for such cases, these technically advanced devices are not available for general use and, therefore, many practitioners are left with few alternatives other than standard open repair. Some centers have tinkered with various forms of extra-anatomic bypass to lengthen seal zone sites and facilitate stent graft repair. The lack of uniformity and long-term data hamper acceptance of this approach. This review attempts to cull all available information on this technique from recent case reports and series published in the literature.
Synthesis of cystine peptides 21-25/70-73 and 35-39/56-59 of the β-subunit of human choriogonadotropin

Syntheses of two asymmetrical cystine peptides with the amino acid residues 21-25/70-73 and 35-39/56-59, based on the linear amino acid sequence and the disulfide bond assignment in the beta-subunit of human choriogonadotropin (hCG-beta), are described. S-trityl and S-acetamidomethyl peptide fragments of each cystine peptide were prepared in solution phase and were subjected to oxidation with I2/MeOH to form the disulfide bridge. The cystine peptides were characterized by their amino acid analyses and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry. Immunological characterization by several homologous radioimmunoassay systems showed that peptide 21-25/70-73 had significant hCG, hCG-beta, and hLH activities while peptide 35-39/56-59 failed to reveal any immunoreactivity.
Digital-readout CMOS design for capacitive sensors using on-chip variable sense capacitor arrays

A digital readout design in CMOS technology is described for monolithic integration with microelectromechanical capacitive sensors using on-chip variable sense capacitor arrays with resolutions of 2.5 fF, 10 fF and 40 fF, respectively. The designed circuit produces a 4-bit digital readout proportional to the capacitive difference between the sense and the reference capacitors. The CMOS digital readout is compatible with +/- 1.5 V operation for low power consumption, uses a +1.5 V reference voltage with a switching speed of approximately 100 kHz. The digital readout design presented here is quite general and can be used in a wide variety of analog microsensors on the chip.
Atomic and molecular level modeling of genetic strings using generalized RLC circuits

We use generalized resistor-inductor-capacitor (RLC) circuits to model bases, nucleosides and nucleotides at the atomic and molecular levels and analyze the responses of these circuits to different types of input signals. Based on simple recurrence equations that characterize the impedances of such circuits, we develop compositions of these basic circuits to model arbitrarily long nucleotide strings representing DNA sequences and analyze the circuits to see if any putative connections can be established between circuit behavior and actual biological phenomena. The circuits' responses are then used to generate highly textured patterns which can be used in a variety of applications including DNA sequence mutation comparisons and assorted biometric identification schemes
Endotoxin Contamination in Recombinant Human Heat Shock Protein 70 (Hsp70) Preparation Is Responsible for the Induction of Tumor Necrosis Factor α Release by Murine Macrophages

Using commercially available recombinant human heat shock protein 70 (rhHsp70), recent studies have shown that rhHsp70 could induce the production of tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) by macrophages and monocytes in a manner similar to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) e.g. via CD14 and Toll-like receptor 4-mediated signal transduction pathway. In the current study, we demonstrated that a highly purified rhHsp70 preparation (designated as rhHsp70–1) with a LPS content of 1.4 pg/μg was unable to induce TNFα release by RAW264.7 murine macrophages at concentrations up to 5 μg/ml. In contrast, a less purified rhHsp70 preparation (designated as rhHsp70–2) at 1 μg/ml with a LPS content of 0.2 ng/μg was able to induce TNFα release to the same extent as that induced by 0.2 ng/ml LPS. Failure of rhHsp70–1 to induce TNFα release was not because of defective physical properties since rhHsp70–1 and rhHsp70–2 contained identical hsp70 content as determined by SDS gels stained with Coomassie Blue and Western blots probed with an anti-rhHsp70 antibody. Both rhHsp70 preparations also had similar enzymatic activities as judged by their ability to remove clathrin from clathrin-coated vesicles. Removal of LPS from rhHsp70–2 by polymyxin B-agarose column or direct addition of polymyxin B to the incubation medium essentially eliminated the TNFα-inducing activity of rhHsp70–2. The addition of LPS at the concentration found in rhHsp70–2 to rhHsp70–1 resulted in the same TNFα-inducing activity as observed with rhHsp70–2. The TNFα-inducing activities of rhHsp-2, LPS alone, and LPS plus rhHsp70–1 were all equally sensitive to heat inactivation. These results suggest that rhHsp-70 does not induce TNFα release from murine macrophages and that the observed TNFα-inducing activity in the rhHsp70–2 preparation is entirely due to the contaminating LPS.
Eu2+-activated BaCl2, BaBr2 and BaI2 scintillators revisited

We present new results obtained from single crystals of Ba binary halides of BaCl2, BaBr2 and BaI2 activated with Eu2+. While these compounds were known as scintillator materials, due to improvements in the crystal growth process and availability of higher purity compounds, we obtained crystals with better performances than what have been reported before. The luminosities of BaCl2:5%Eu2+, BaBr2:5%Eu2+ and BaI2:5%Eu2+ are about 90%, 70% and 60%, respectively, of their theoretical limit.
Microscopic imaging techniques for drug discovery

Microscopic imaging can enhance the drug discovery process by helping to describe how disease processes unfold and how potential therapies might intervene. Recently introduced technologies, and enhancements to existing techniques, are addressing technical issues that have limited the usefulness of microscopic imaging in the past. In particular, these innovations are improving spatial resolution, increasing tissue penetration, overcoming physical access issues and enhancing experimental throughput. Notable recent trends, which are discussed in this article, include the development of super-resolution microscopes, the incorporation of multiphoton techniques into intravital and fibre-optic microscopy and the automation of microscopy and image analysis for high-content screening. Together, these developments are augmenting the existing assays and disease models that are used in early drug discovery and, in some cases, enabling new ones.
Transcending self-interest: psychological explorations of the quiet ego, edited by Heidi A. Wayment and Jack J. Bauer

Transcending self-interest: psychological explorations of the quiet ego, edited by Heidi A. Wayment and Jack J. Bauer, Washington, DC, American Psychological Association, 2008, 263 p., US$79.95 (ha...
Do doctors vote

BACKGROUND Organizational leaders and scholars have issued calls for the medical profession to refocus its efforts on fulfilling the core tenets of professionalism. A key element of professionalism is participation in community affairs.