cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
PHILOSOPHY IN THE INFORMATION AGE

Abstract: In the past, major scientific and technological revolutions, like the Copernican Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, have had profound effects, not only upon society in general, but also upon Philosophy. Today's Information Revolution is no exception. Already it has had significant impacts upon our understanding of human nature, the nature of society, even the nature of the universe. Given these developments, this essay considers some of the philosophical contributions of two “philosophers of the Information Age”—Norbert Wiener and Luciano Floridi—with regard to the nature of the universe, human nature, the nature of society, and the nature of “artificial agents” such as robots, softbots, and cyborgs.
First principles calculations of Si(2 1 1) surface reconstructions

Abstract Total energy calculations are performed on ideal and reconstructed surfaces of silicon (2 1 1). Specifically, the surface energies of 2 × 1 and rebonded 1 × 1 reconstructions are reported. Our calculations predict the 1 × 1 reconstruction to be more stable. While bond stretching and bending energies are less in the 2 × 1 reconstruction, the density of dangling bonds is greater and hence so also is the surface energy.
Micro-rheology: evaluating the rigidity of the microenvironment surrounding antibody binding sites

The microscopic rigidity of structural elements of the cell and of the extracellular matrix control the genetic expression of factors that control critical aspects of malignancy including metastasis and neoangiogenesis. Methods of measuring the rigidity in vitro are being developed and exploited to explore the mechanisms involved. But no methods that function in vivo are available. We demonstrate proof of concept that the stiffness of the microenvironment surrounding bound magnetic nanoparticles can be measured using the shape of the spectra of the magnetization induced by a harmonic applied field. The microscopic region where the stiffness is measured can be selected by selecting the antibody binding sites for which the nanoparticles are targeted. In other applications, the same signal from the nanoparticles has been measured in vivo at very low concentrations so the methods demonstrated here should be capable of measuring low concentrations in vivo as well. The ability to measure the rigidity in vivo will enable the links between genetic control and rigidity to be explored in the complex in vivo environment for the first time.
Some aspects of the variation of the strain anisotropy in titanium

Strain anisotropy in commercial purity titanium was studied between 77° and 973°K using the technique of Rittenhouse and Picklesimer. Both longitudinal and transverse tensile specimens were used that were machined from a plate with a strong alignment of the basal planes of the grains parallel to the rolling plane. The contractile strain along the transverse plate direction was always larger than that parallel to the rolling plane normal. The strain anisotropy was greatest at the highest temperature. With decreasing temperature it became smaller at an ever increasing rate. At 973°K the strain anisotropy was strain independent. At lower temperatures it decreased with increasing strain. It is believed that deformation twinning can account for most of the temperature and strain dependence of the strain anisotropy. Quantitative microstructure studies show good correspondence between changes in the volume fraction of twins and changes in the strain anisotropy. Transverse specimens exhibited a greater degree of strain anisotropy, and this is consistent with the original texture of the titanium plate used in this investigation.
Picosecond backside optical detection of internal signals in flip-chip mounted silicon VLSI circuits

Abstract We present picosecond backside optical measurements of currents and voltages, propagation delays, and glitches in flip-chip mounted silicon IC's. These signals are shown to compare well with prior circuit simulations, but they showed additional features not easily simulated.
Exploring motivations and the capacity for business crowdsourcing

The use of crowds to solve business problems, or to take advantage of market opportunities, appears to be increasingly popular. The impact of crowdsourcing across the marketing domain, suggests the importance of examining this phenomenon. Firms use crowds of consumers to perform many of the traditional tasks of marketing, such as choosing designs (e.g., Threadless t-shirts), testing offerings (e.g., Microsoft), creating promotions (e.g., Facebook), and determining pricing (e.g., Travelocity). To more effectively harness the power of crowds and to learn from crowds, firms should understand their capacity for absorbing crowd contributions and the motives underlying the participation of the crowd as well as their own participation. An eclectic review of the literature offers a base for distinguishing crowds using a range of motives from intrinsic to extrinsic. Exploration of these dimensions results in a propositional inventory identifying motivations for both crowdsourcing and crowd participation. These inform practitioners of consequences of crowdsourcing decisions and offer future research directions.
The best asymptotic constant of a class of approximation operators

Abstract The best asymptotic constant was established by Esseen for Bernstein operators. In this paper, we extend Esseen's result to a class of linear positive operators and as byproduct we obtain the best asymptotic constant for Szasz, Baskakov, Gamma, and B -Spline operators.
Application of solid state detectors for dosimetry of therapeutic proton beams.

A PTW Riga diamonddetector and LiF TLDs have been evaluated for use in proton beam dosimetry by comparing results of proton beam calibration with those obtained using thimble ionization chambers. The thimble ionization chambers were calibrated in terms of exposure while the TLDs and diamonddetector were calibrated in terms of absorbed dose in a 60Co beam. Absorbed doses to muscle in proton beams for ionization chambers were derived using the TG 20 charged particle protocol. Absorbed doses to muscle for solid state detectors were derived using absorbed dose proton beam quality correction factors. Differences between the derived doses for ionization chambers and solid state detectors were found to be within the uncertainties of measurements: 4.5% for ionization chambers and 5% for solid state detectors.
Security Analytics and Measurements

The magazine's founding editor in chief, George Cybenko, and his first successor, Carl E. Landwehr, provide perspectives on the need for measuring security and the meaning of those measurements in the context of adversarial dynamics.
Mind Frames Towards Dying and Factors Motivating Their Adoption by Terminally Ill Elders

Discussion. The results demonstrate the importance of assessing the mind frame adopted by a terminally ill elder and his or her level of satisfaction with it. Terminally ill elders may experience a higher quality dying process when a traditional medical care approach is replaced by a holistic approach that addresses physical, spiritual, emotional, and social needs.
Hard Times: The Effects of Financial Strain on Home Care Services Use and Participant Outcomes in Michigan

Purpose: When government funding for long-term care is reduced, participant outcomes may be adversely affected. We investigated the effect of program resources on individuals enrolled in the Michigan Home- and Community-Based Services (HCBS) waiver program for elderly and disabled adults. Design and Methods: Using dates of major policy and budget changes, we defi ned 4 distinct time periods between October 2001 and December 2005. Minimum Data Set for Home Care assessment records for HCBS participants ( n = 112,182) were used to examine temporal trends in formal care hours and 6 outcomes: emergency room (ER) use, hospitalization, caregiver burden, death, nursing facility (NF) use, and permanent NF placement. Controlling for demographics, functional status, and cognitive status, adjusted odds of outcomes were obtained using discrete-time survival analysis. Results: As resources diminished, mean formal care hours decreased, declining most for persons with moderate functional or cognitive impairment, for up to an approximately 30% decrease. In the most fi nancially restricted period, 3 adverse outcomes increased relative to baseline: hospitalization (odds ratio [OR] = 1.10; 95% confi dence interval [CI] = 1.03 – 1.18), ER use (OR = 1.13; 95% CI = 1.03 – 1.24), and permanent NF placement (OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.00 – 1.42). Implications: Reductions in resources for home care were associated with increased probability of adverse outcomes. Cutting funds to home care programs can increase utilization of other more costly services, thus offsetting potential health care savings. Policymakers must consider all ways in which budget reductions and policy changes can affect participants.
A New Approach To Ciliary Locomotion: There is Much Room in the Micro-World- With or Without Life

In the micro-world of biomedical interest, one of the primary subjects would be the single-celled protozoa, called flagellates and ciliates. The latter is similar in function and structure to ciliary organelles existing in some mammalian organs, such as the trachea, in the ear, oviduct, and in other bio-tracts. The well-being or illness of these organelles appears to be relevant to human health.
Microglia: An Active Player in the Regulation of Synaptic Activity

Synaptic plasticity is critical for elaboration and adaptation in the developing and developed brain. It is well established that astrocytes play an important role in the maintenance of what has been dubbed "the tripartite synapse". Increasing evidence shows that a fourth cell type, microglia, is critical to this maintenance as well. Microglia are the resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS). Because of their well-characterized inflammatory functions, research has primarily focused on their innate immune properties. The role of microglia in the maintenance of synapses in development and in homeostasis is not as well defined. A number of significant findings have shed light on the critical role of microglia at the synapse. It is becoming increasingly clear that microglia play a seminal role in proper synaptic development and elimination.
On game-theoretic power control under successive interference cancellation

Game-theoretic analytical techniques have been applied, of late, to uplink power control in DS-CDMA networks. We extend our previous analysis [1] of game-theoretic power control under successive interference cancellation performed under a dynamic cancellation ordering. Both continuous and discrete power control are investigated. Under continuous power control, we prove the nonexistence of a symmetric power control equilibrium, illustrating that no easily applicable equilibrium existence result applies to this power control problem. Under discrete power control, we demonstrate empirically a high probability of equilibrium if the action set is not too precise, an encouraging result in the absence of a pure-strategy equilibrium guarantee.
Carbon-hydrogen vs. carbon-halogen oxidative addition of chlorobenzene to a cationic iridium(I) system — A density functional theory study

Density functional theory (DFT) is used to explore the competitive C−H and C−Cl oxidative additions (OA) of chlorobenzene to the cationic Ir(I) complex: [(PNP*)IrI]+ [PNP* = 2,6-bis((dimethylphosph...
Family Functioning in Foster Care

This study examined the family functioning of a cross-sectional sample of all approved and insured child-foster-care families in a mid-Atlantic state. The families studied functioned from well to e...
Ordered binary decision diagrams and minimal trellises

Ordered binary decision diagrams (OBDDs) are graph-based data structures for representing Boolean functions. They have found widespread use in computer-aided design and in formal verification of digital circuits. Minimal trellises are graphical representations of error-correcting codes that play a prominent role in coding theory. This paper establishes a close connection between these two graphical models, as follows. Let /spl Cscr/ be a binary code of length n, and let f/sub c/(x/sub 1/, ..., x/sub n/) be the Boolean function that takes the value 0 at x/sub 1/, ..., x/sub n/ if and only if (x/sub 1/, ..., x/sub n/)/spl isin//spl Cscr/. Given this natural one-to-one correspondence between Boolean functions and binary codes, we prove that the minimal proper trellis for a code /spl Cscr/ with minimum distance d>1 is isomorphic to the single-terminal OBDD for its Boolean indicator function f/sub c/(x/sub 1/, ..., x/sub n/). Prior to this result, the extensive research during the past decade on binary decision diagrams (in computer engineering) and on minimal trellises (in coding theory) has been carried out independently. As outlined in this work, the realization that binary decision diagrams and minimal trellises are essentially the same data structure opens up a range of promising possibilities for transfer of ideas between these disciplines.
Advances in Quantitative Meta-Strategies

Quantitative Meta-Strategies (QMS) are quantitative strategies designed to manage investment strategies. As a field, QMS is the mathematical study of the decisions made by the supervisor of a team of investment managers, regardless of whether their investment style is systematic or discretionary.
Hedgehog Cholesterolysis: Specialized Gatekeeper to Oncogenic Signaling

Discussions of therapeutic suppression of hedgehog (Hh) signaling almost exclusively focus on receptor antagonism; however, hedgehog’s biosynthesis represents a unique and potentially targetable aspect of this oncogenic signaling pathway. Here, we review a key biosynthetic step called cholesterolysis from the perspectives of structure/function and small molecule inhibition. Cholesterolysis, also called cholesteroylation, generates cholesterol-modified Hh ligand via autoprocessing of a hedgehog precursor protein. Post-translational modification by cholesterol appears to be restricted to proteins in the hedgehog family. The transformation is essential for Hh biological activity and upstream of signaling events. Despite its decisive role in generating ligand, cholesterolysis remains conspicuously unexplored as a therapeutic target.
Communicating science to the public: MMR vaccine and autism

Media attention and consequent public concerns about vaccine safety followed publication of a small case-series of children who developed autism after receipt of the measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) vaccine. Many well-controlled studies performed subsequently found no evidence that MMR vaccine causes autism. However, despite these studies, some parents remain concerned that the MMR vaccine is not safe. We will discuss the origins of the hypothesis that the MMR vaccine causes autism, studies performed to test the hypothesis, how these studies have been communicated to the public, and some suggested strategies for how this communication can be improved.
The Influence of Surface Oxides on Whiskering

Some mechanistic models of tin (Sn) whisker growth presume that surface oxidation plays an important role in whisker formation. The notion is that Sn whiskers grow through weak spots in the Sn oxide, which is cracked during whisker growth and propagation. It is often implied that a surface oxide is necessary for whisker growth. However, the premise of a surface oxide requirement for whiskering is clearly questionable. Not only have there been anecdotal reports of Au whiskers, but studies by Moon, Handwerker, et al. [31] and our laboratory show that Sn whiskers can grow from atomically clean surfaces and/or surfaces having extremely low amounts of oxygen. This paper reports a definitive test of the surface oxidation hypothesis by attempting to grow whiskers from surfaces having no native oxide (Au). The results show that high aspect ratio Au whiskers can be grown within a few weeks from intrinsically (compressively) stressed thin films of sputtered Au on silicon.
Transient fault models and AVF estimation revisited

Transient faults (also known as soft-errors) resulting from high-energy particle strikes on silicon are typically modeled as single bit-flips in memory arrays. Most Architectural Vulnerability Factor (AVF) analyses assume this model. However, accelerated radiation tests on static random access memory (SRAM) arrays built using modern technologies show evidence of clustered upsets resulting from single particle strikes. In this paper, these observations are used to define a scalable fault model capable of representing fault multiplicities. Applying this model, a probabilistic framework for incorporating vulnerability of SRAM arrays to different fault multiplicities into AVF is proposed. An experimental fault injection setup using a detailed microarchitecture simulation running generic benchmarks was used to demonstrate vulnerability characterization in light of the new fault model. Further, rigorous fault injection is used to demonstrate that conventional methods of AVF estimation overestimate vulnerability up to 7× for some structures.
Outcome of Primary Tumor in Patients With Synchronous Stage IV Colorectal Cancer Receiving Combination Chemotherapy Without Surgery As Initial Treatment

Purpose The purpose of this study was to describe the frequency of interventions necessary to palliate the intact primary tumor in patients who present with synchronous, stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC) and who receive up-front modern combination chemotherapy without prophylactic surgery. Patients and Methods By using a prospective institutional database, we identified 233 consecutive patients from 2000 through 2006 with synchronous metastatic CRC and an unresected primary tumor who received oxaliplatin- or irinotecan-based, triple-drug chemotherapy (infusional fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin; bolus fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan; or fluorouracil, leucovorin, and irinotecan) with or without bevacizumab as their initial treatment. The incidence of subsequent use of surgery, radiotherapy, and/or endoluminal stenting to manage primary tumor complications was recorded. Results Of 233 patients, 217 (93%) never required surgical palliation of their primary tumor. Sixteen patients (7%) requir...
901 – Pump it up; is it worth it?

Introduction The US Drug Enforcement Agency maintains a tight leash on drugs of abuse and has already banned newer designer drugs like Spice and Bath Salts. However, there is increase in the use of a new drug called pump it (PI). There is some evidence that it contains Geranamine Methylhexamine (DMAA). This is a report of a patient who exhibited unusual behavior after using PI. Case presentation A 40-yo male was brought to the Emergency Room after he stabbed himself in the abdomen using a knife sustaining laceration to the liver. Psychiatry consult was requested for attempted suicide. The patient had total amnesia surrounding the event. Collateral information from the wife revealed that his pupils were widely dilated and he appeared agitated, paranoid and diaphoretic just before stabbing himself. Six weeks prior, he began snorting to self detoxify himself from opioids. He experienced a 40 lb. weight loss, severe insomnia and impulsive behavior translating into dangerous acts like medication overdose and walking into oncoming traffic. He had no such symptoms prior to using PI. Discussion Geranamine is a stimulant is presumed to act by releasing norepinephrine . It is used as a dietary supplement for weight loss and energy gain. It has been reported to produce paranoia, hallucinations, mood lability and seizures. Conclusion Substance induced mood disorder should be considered as a differential diagnosis of suicide attempt and clinicians should be aware about the fact that some "dietary supplements" may pose severe danger to patients.
The ‘Neo-Taliban’ and Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan

The Taliban and the Crisis of Afghanistan Robert D Crews & Amin Tarzi (eds) Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2008 Koran, Kalashnikov, and Laptop: The Neo-Taliban Insurgency in Afghanistan Anton...
Reduction of bias in maximum likelihood ellipse fitting

An improved maximum likelihood estimator for ellipse fitting based on the heteroscedastic errors-in-variables (HEIV) regression algorithm is proposed. The technique significantly reduces the bias of the parameter estimates present in the direct least squares method, while it is numerically more robust than renormalization, and requires less computations than minimizing the geometric distance with the Levenberg-Marquardt optimization procedure. The HEIV algorithm also provides closed-form expressions for the covariances of the ellipse parameters and corrected data points. The quality of the different solutions is assessed by defining confidence regions in the input domain, either analytically or by bootstrap. The latter approach is exclusively data driven and it is used whenever the expression of the covariance for the estimates is not available.
Mitigating 3G interferrence to GPS due to coexistence in 3G handset

Co existence of Global Positioning System services (GPS) with cellular and other services and features in a mobile handset presents challenges to GPS performance. Particularly challenging is the over the air (OTA) interface to the GPS receiver that results from carriers like the Global System for Mobile (GSM) and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) where the transmit (TX) section of the latter could interfere with the performance of the GPS due to TX band noise injected into the GPS band. For the case of WCDMA, the problem is the out of band interference due to the TX wide band noise which has a spectrum that matches the GPS spectrum; both use spread spectrum technology to encode the data.
A New Species of Predaceous Diving Beetle, Heterosternuta phoebeae (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae), from the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas

Heterosternuta phoebeae, new species, is described, illustrated, and discussed in the context of other members of the genus. The bizarre, large, trifid aedeagus of this species is unique in Heterosternuta Strand.
The Joint FASB/IASB Lease Project: Discussion And Industry Implications

Over several decades, the Financial Accounting Standards Board and International Accounting Standards Board have enacted numerous changes to the controversial lease accounting rules. As currently prescribed, operating leases are treated as rental arrangements whereby the lessee does not record a liability - a situation generally referred to as off-balance sheet financing. In an attempt to increase transparency and comparability, the FASB and IASB will soon require all leases to be capitalized. This paper quantifies the impact of the new leasing standard on the financial statements and ratios of the firms and industries represented in the S&P 100 under a variety of discount rates.
Length-dependent axo-terminal degeneration at the neuromuscular synapses of type II muscle in SOD1 mice

In motor neuron diseases, there is a prolonged period of time before any clinical symptoms begin to appear. During this time, distal axonal degeneration, or "dying back" axonopathy, begins to occur before the onset of clinical symptoms and motor neuron death. This preclinical degeneration is a hallmark of motor neuron diseases in both animal models and human patients. Generally, in muscles with mixed fiber types, distal degeneration occurs in fast-fatigable α-motor axons innervating type IIb muscle fibers before axons innervating slow, type I muscle fibers. We investigated whether the "dying back" axonopathy in a pure fast-fatigable α-motor axon nerve is a length-dependent process. The lateral thoracic nerve (LTN) exclusively consists of motor nerves that innervate the very thin cutaneous maximus muscle (CMM) that solely contains type II neuromuscular synapses. We characterized the LTN and CMM synapses both morphologically and physiologically in the superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) mutant mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). By 60days of age, there was a significant "dying back" phenomenon at the caudal region while the rostral region remained intact. The longer axons innervating the caudal region appear to be more susceptible to degeneration in the SOD1 mouse indicating that the axonal degeneration of motor neurons innervating type II fibers is a length-dependent process. Additionally, we identified how the simplicity of the LTN-CMM system offers a better method to investigate axon degeneration in an ALS mouse model and may be used to investigate possible therapeutic compounds for axon protection and regeneration.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act: Confidentiality, Privacy, and Security

On average, $180 million could pay for 90,000 intensive care unit days, 225,000 regular inpatient days, or an extraordinary amount of outpatient care. Yet, that is the amount of money that the federal government, on behalf of the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, may be spending—not on health care—but to settle a healthcare lawsuit. Filed in the fall of 2000, the lawsuit claims that, due to a lack of security, the computer system at any Veterans Affairs Healthcare facility has enabled workers to access personal and medical information about any patient or employee. Although the Veterans Affairs has installed a “software patch,” one can override this and still gain access to the information. Individuals also cite that their personal information is already noted and being used for criminal activity such as opening up credit cards in their names [1].
Ion Emissions from Liquids (Review)

The production of charged particles by spraying or otherwise disrupting liquid surfaces has been studied for more than a century [1] but only during the past twenty years has ion emission from liquids been used as a source of ions for mass spectrometry. Applications to organic mass spectrometry are of even more recent origin. Several studies have shown that it is possible to extract ions from solution and inject them into a mass spectrometer without significantly increasing their internal energy; as a result, desorption of ions from liquid solutions provides a potentially attractive approach to applying mass spectrometry to large, nonvolatile, or thermally labile compounds not accessible by conventional techniques.
Marcus Garvey: A Reappraisal

(1972). Marcus Garvey: A Reappraisal. The Black Scholar: Vol. 4, The Black Masses, pp. 38-49.
Interspecific Mating of Amblyomma Hebraeum and Amblyomma Variegatum (Acari: Ixodidae)

When fed males of Amblyomma hebraeum were confined with unfed females of A. variegatum under sleeves on the backs of rabbits, pairing occurred and the females engorged and produced egg masses. Similar results were obtained with the reciprocal cross. Although interspecific matings occurred, conspecific matings outnumbered them when ticks were given a choice. A species-specific pheromone is speculated as the critical specific recognition factor, but physical recognition factors are not eliminated. After males and females attached to hosts next to heterospecific ticks, they did not move 5 cm even to conspecific potential mates. All egg masses produced from interspecific matings were infertile (<1% hatch). Chromosomal differences between the 2 species are different enough to probably preclude successful hybridization.
High Temperature Forced-Air Treatments with Fixed Time and Temperature for ‘Dancy’ Tangerines, ‘Valencia’ Oranges, and ‘Rio Star’ Grapefruit

High temperature forced air treatments for ‘Dancy’ tangerines, ‘Valencia’ oranges and ‘Rio Star’ grapefruit were tested and confirmed as quarantine treatments against Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens (Loew). Our approach was to initially determine fruit tolerance to potentially insecticidal time-temperature combinations, then perform dose-response tests on larvae within fruit to determine mortality levels corresponding to 99.9968% mortality (=LD9). Lastly, we confirmed treatment efficacy by killing the required number of larvae in fruit. We developed an estimation method for LD9 mortality by examining dose-response data, heating rates, and tolerances of larvae at fixed treatment temperatures for 3 types of citrus fruit. Use of the upper 95%confidence estimate from probit analysis provided an illogical conclusion because the upper 95%confidence estimate of LD9 for faster heating oranges required a longer treatment time than for slower-heating grapefruit. An estimate of LD9 in fruit was made by taking the average of 3 different probit analyses including the 99% confidence estimate of 99% mortality, the 95% confidence estimate of LD9 mortality, and the, heating time plus the 95%confidence of LD9 mortality of larvae in water at the given treatment temperature. A reduction in the treatment for oranges (to 230-min), however, resulted in survivors in the confirmatory tests. A treatment time of 210-min at 45°C for tangerines, 250-min at 46°C for oranges and 300-min at 46°C for grapefruit achieved LD9 at the 95% confidence interval in confirmatory trials.
Federalism at the American Founding: In Defense of the Diamond Theses

Vincent Ostrom's analysis of The Federalist's understanding of federalism fails to consider the historical and theoretical context of The Federalist's arguments. Ostrom takes certain rhetorical devices of The Federalist too much at face value. He correctly sees that the authors of The Federalist view eighteenth-century federalism as bad government. He incorrectly concludes that since it is bad government, that understanding could not have been the true meaning offederalism. The Federalist understands eighteenth-century federalism to be "the true meaning" offederalism as established by the political discourse of the times. The Constitution departs radically from eighteenth-century federalism, but The Federalist seeks to conceal how radical the departure is, in part, by offering a looser definition of federalism that will allow the Constitution to be characterized as afederal system. A consideration of the writings of the opponents to the Constitution suggests the limited success of this attempt at redefinition.
Echinomycin (NSC 526417) in recurrent and metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. A phase II trial of the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG).

Nineteen evaluable patients with recurrent or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix were treated with 1,500μg/m2 of echinomycin every 4 weeks. No patient had received prior chemotherapy. There was one partial response (5% response, 95% confidence interval for response of 0% to 26%). The major toxicity was nausea and vomiting which was moderate to severe in six patients. Myelosuppression was not observed. Echinomycin, in this dose and schedule displays no major activity in chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced squamous-cell carcinoma of the cervix.
The encoding of word forms into memory may be challenging for college students with developmental language impairment.

AbstractPurpose: To describe the word-learning problems characteristic of developmental language impairment (LI).Method: College students with LI (n = 39) or normal language development (ND, n = 40) attempted to learn novel word forms. Training for half of the words was meaning-focused; training for the other half was form-focused. Form recognition and stem completion tasks administered immediately after training tapped encoding of the lexical configuration and a repetition of the stem completion task one week later tapped consolidation. A visual world paradigm tapped lexical engagement.Result: At the immediate post-test, the LI group was poorer at recognition and completion of word forms than their ND peers, suggesting a deficit in encoding the lexical configuration. However, the gap between the LI and ND groups in stem completion did not grow over the week, suggesting intact consolidation. Form-focused training yielded better performance than meaning-focused training at immediate- and one week tests. Fo...
Outage Behavior of LTE-A with Non-Identical Rician Relay Links

In this paper, we investigate the outage behavior of the LTE-A relay system subject to the non- identical Rician fading. For the case of decode- and-forward (DF) relaying without the direct link, a closed-form formulas is derived. Moreover, for the case of DF relaying with the direct link, an exact expression in series is derived. Furthermore, a closed-form formula is derived for the situation where no component of line-of-sight exists in the direct link. Based on these formulas, it is shown that the availability of a direct link in the LTE-A relay system can reduce the outage probability significantly.
Junípero Serra: California, Indians, and the Transformation of a Missionary. By Rose Marie Beebe and Robert M. Senkewicz.

Junipero Serra: California, Indians, and the Transformation of a Missionary . Before Gold: California under Spain and Mexico Series. By Rose Marie Beebe and Robert M. Senkewicz. (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2015. 504 pp. Illustrations, maps, glossary, appendix, notes, bibliography, index. $39.95.) Using the exacting and poetic method of translation that has characterized their other books, Rose Marie Beebe and Robert M. Senkewicz have brought forth another. Junipero Serra interweaves new translations of many of his most important writing with a narrative history of his life. Well over half of the book is composed of Junipero Serra’s writing. The authors chose pieces in which Serra poignantly discusses why he chose to go into the missionary field after years as professor at a Franciscan university in Mallorca, Spain; his fervor for the … lhaas{at}ucsc.edu
Analysis of Gap Times Based on Panel Count Data With Informative Observation Times and Unknown Start Time

ABSTRACTIn biomedical studies, one is often interested in repeat events with longitudinal observations occurring only intermittently, resulting in panel count data. The first stage of labor, measured through unit-increments of cervical dilation in pregnant women, provides such an example. Obstetricians are interested in assessing the gap time distribution of per-unit increments of cervical dilation for better management of labor process. Typically, only intermittent medical examinations for cervical dilation occur after (already dilated) women get admitted to hospital. The observation frequency is very likely correlated to how fast/slow she dilates. Thus, one could view such data as panel count data with informative observation times and unknown start time. Here, we propose semiparametric proportional rate models for the event process and the observation process, with a multiplicative subject-specific frailty variable capturing the correlation between the two processes. Inference procedures for the gap ti...
Expanding the role of injectable collagenase clostridium histolyticum for the treatment of active phase Peyronie’s disease

Collagenase clostridium histolyticum (CCH) (Xiaflex TM ) has recently become the mainstay and gold standard of minimally invasive management of Peyronie’s disease. Approved by the FDA in 2013 after phase III studies demonstrated efficacy and safety, collagenase is a popular and promising, albeit expensive treatment option. With the exception of phase II and phase III study data, there is a dearth of published outcomes and safety data. At present, Yang and Bennett’s single-provider, prospectively collected series of 49 patients undergoing Xiaflex injections, is only the second published series cataloging efficacy and safety (1).
Thermal control of mother-young contact revisited: hyperthermic rats nurse normally.

Abstract Morphine (MOR) is known to inhibit maternal behavior and induce hyperthermia; at appropriate doses, concurrent administration of naloxone (NAL) counteracts its disruption of maternal behavior but not the hyperthermia. We used these findings to evaluate the view that lactating rats terminate nursing due to intolerable hyperthermia. After a dam–litter separation of 4 h on Day 7 postpartum (PP), mother–litter interactions were observed continuously for 1 h. One hour before reunion, the dams received two injections (1 ml/kg ip each) of saline (SAL), MOR (20 mg/kg) and/or NAL (1 mg/kg) in the following combinations (n=7 each): SAL+SAL, SAL+NAL, MOR+SAL or MOR+NAL. MOR profoundly disrupted maternal behavior, thereby preventing litter weight gains; these effects were completely counteracted by NAL, which alone had no discernible effects. In contrast, MOR-induced hyperthermia (∼0.7 °C increase in each hour, before and after reunion with pups) was not antagonized by NAL at the doses used. Thus, an additional 0.7–1.4 °C of body temperature (T) did not delay the onset or reduce the duration of nursing compared with SAL-treated controls. Further, there were no group differences in behaviors displayed both shortly before and after a nursing bout that included milk ejections or in the resumption of nursing. Together with earlier methodological and empirical criticisms of the thermal control theory, as well as knowledge about the somatosensory determinants of nursing, the present results suggest that nursing bouts in lactating rats are not limited by the mother's T.
The Media and Black Masculinity: Looking at the Media Through Race[d] Lenses

This paper is a response to the efforts made by educators, scholars, and concerned citizens on creating educational spaces that discuss State violence against young Black people. From the standpoint that the media is a salient contributor to the racial contract, this paper discusses the following: (1) the connection of the racial contract to news media; (2) the intersectionality of Critical Media Education and Critical Race Theory; and (3) the need to develop the Critical Race Media Literacy of students and citizens.
The Angiopoietin-Tie2 Signaling Axis in Systemic Inflammation

Systemic inflammation is a hallmark of commonly encountered diseases ranging from bacterial sepsis to sterile syndromes such as major trauma. Derangements in the host vasculature contribute to the cardinal manifestations of sepsis in profound ways. Recent studies of control pathways regulating the vascular endothelium have illuminated how this single cell layer toggles between quiescence and activation to affect the development of shock and multiorgan dysfunction. This article focuses on one such control pathway, the Tie2 receptor and its ligands the angiopoietins, to describe a growing body of genetic, biochemical, mechanistic, and human studies that implicate Tie2 as a critical switch. In health, activated Tie2 maintains the endothelium in a quiescent state characterized by dynamic barrier function and antiadhesion against circulating leukocytes. In sepsis and related diseases, expression of the angiopoietins becomes markedly imbalanced and Tie2 signaling is greatly attenuated. These rapid molecular changes potentiate pathophysiologic responses throughout the body, resulting in injurious vascular leakage and organ inflammation. The Tie2 axis, therefore, may be a promising avenue for future translational studies.
Differences of alternative methods of measuring abdominal wall hernia defect size: a prospective observational study.

Despite the importance of defect size, there are no standardized recommendations on how to measure ventral hernias. Our aims were to determine (1) if any significant differences existed between various methods of measuring ventral hernias and (2) the effect of these methods of measurement on selection of mesh size. A prospective study of all patients enrolled in a randomized trial assessing laparoscopic ventral hernia repair at a single institution from 3/2015 to 7/2016 was eligible for inclusion. Abdominal wall hernia defect size was determined by multiplying defect length and width obtained separately using each of five methods: radiographic (CT), intraoperative with abdomen desufflated, intraoperative with abdomen insufflated to 15 mmHg (intra-abdominal aspect), intraoperative with abdomen insufflated to 15 mmHg (extra-abdominal aspect), and clinical. The primary outcome was intraclass correlation between the five different methods of measurement for each patient. Secondary outcome was changes in mesh selection assuming a 5 cm overlap in each direction. Fifty patients met inclusion criteria for assessment. The five different measurement methods had an intraclass correlation for each patient of 0.533 (95% CI 0.373–0.697) (weak correlation) for length; 0.737 (95% CI 0.613–0.844) (moderate correlation) for width; and 0.684 (95% CI 0.544–0.810) (moderate correlation) for area. Different types of measurements affected mesh selection in up to 56% of cases. Among five common methods of measuring abdominal wall hernia defect, sizes are only weakly to moderately correlated. Further studies are needed to determine which method results in optimally sized abdominal wall prostheses and superior ventral hernia repair.
Introduction: Popular Panics

In the 1992 documentary, The Art of Horror , Clive Barker makes an extraordinary claim. He says that when the new millennium begins and we look back to discover the images that shaped twentieth-century Western culture, among the most prevalent we will find Mickey Mouse, King Kong, Fay Wray, and Hollywood actor Boris Karloff as Frankenstein’s monster (Barker 1992).
On the matter of dynamic optimality in an extended model for tree access operations

The model of node access operations taking place in binary search trees subject to rotations is extended to unordered binary trees, as motivated by consideration of certain self-adjusting priority queues. Rotations in this extended model can be preceded by sibling subtree swaps. Whereas the Wilber lower bound for off-line computation extends to this model of computation - a precondition for the possibility of dynamic optimality - the goal of dynamic optimality is nonetheless demonstrated to be unattainable in this model.
Variation in Activity State, Axonal Projection, and Position Define the Transcriptional Identity of Individual Neocortical Projection Neurons.

Single-cell RNA sequencing has generated catalogs of transcriptionally defined neuronal subtypes of the brain. However, the cellular processes that contribute to neuronal subtype specification and transcriptional heterogeneity remain unclear. By comparing the gene expression profiles of single layer 6 corticothalamic neurons in somatosensory cortex, we show that transcriptional subtypes primarily reflect axonal projection pattern, laminar position within the cortex, and neuronal activity state. Pseudotemporal ordering of 1,023 cellular responses to sensory manipulation demonstrates that changes in expression of activity-induced genes both reinforced cell-type identity and contributed to increased transcriptional heterogeneity within each cell type. This is due to cell-type biased choices of transcriptional states following manipulation of neuronal activity. These results reveal that axonal projection pattern, laminar position, and activity state define significant axes of variation that contribute both to the transcriptional identity of individual neurons and to the transcriptional heterogeneity within each neuronal subtype.
X-Ray Spectroscopic Characterization of BaO, Ba(OH)2, BaCO3, and Ba(NO3)2

Abstract Simple inorganic barium compounds are difficult to study spectroscopically in the surface sensitive soft X-ray regime due to significant surface contamination that can dominate the spectra. Here we present a near-edge X-ray absorption (NEXAFS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic (XPS) study of four barium compounds: BaO, Ba(OH)2, BaCO3, and Ba(NO3)2. Using an ambient-pressure XPS instrument we prepared thin film samples in situ, which provided a high degree of control over the surface chemistry and significantly reduced the amount of contamination. The O K-edge spectrum for BaO presented here is in excellent agreement with the latest calculations in the literature, and indicates that experimental spectra in the literature for this compound may have suffered from carbonate contamination.
Iron and Heme Coordinate Erythropoiesis through HRI-Mediated Regulation of Protein Translation and Gene Expression

Iron and heme play central roles in red blood cell production. However, the mechanisms by which iron and heme levels coordinate erythropoiesis remain incompletely understood. HRI is a heme-regulated kinase that controls translation by phosphorylating eIF2α. Here, we investigate the global impact of iron, heme and HRI on protein translation in vivo in murine primary erythroblasts using ribosome profiling. By defining the underlying changes in translation during iron and HRI deficiencies, we validate known regulators of this process, including Atf4, and identify novel pathways such as co-regulation of ribosomal protein mRNA translation. Surprisingly, we found that heme and HRI pathways, but not iron-regulated pathways, mediate the major protein translational and transcriptional responses to iron deficiency in erythroblasts in vivo and thereby identify previously unappreciated regulators of erythropoiesis. Our genome-wide study uncovers the major impact of the HRI-mediated integrated stress response for the adaptation to iron deficiency anemia.
The impact of an SEC investigation on conference call participation and analysts’ forecast quality

Abstract We examine the impact of a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigation of Regulation Fair Disclosure (Reg FD) violations on participation during conference calls and on analysts’ forecast quality. We hand-collected conference call transcript data for quarterly conference calls surrounding the date of the SEC investigation announcement over the period 2002 – 2013. We find that management's discriminatory practices are significantly higher for firms under investigation for a Reg FD violation, but management's discriminatory practices significantly decrease after a Reg FD investigation is announced. In this post-investigation period, there is greater forecast accuracy and lower forecast dispersion for firms under investigation compared to firms not being investigated. Overall, we find that when the SEC publicly discloses the existence of a Reg FD investigation, there is a decrease in management's discriminatory practices on quarterly conference calls, an increase in forecast accuracy, and a decrease in forecast dispersion. Our findings suggest that the SEC should publicly announce its investigations as soon as possible given the positive implications for the investing public, analysts, and management's discriminatory practices.