cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Language to Action: Towards Interactive Task Learning with Physical Agents

Language communication plays an important role in human learning and skill acquisition. With the emergence of a new generation of cognitive robots, empowering these physical agents to learn directly from human partners about the world and joint tasks becomes increasingly important. In this talk, I will share some recent work on interactive task learning where humans can teach physical agents new tasks through natural language communication and demonstration. I will give examples of language use in interactive task learning and discuss multiple levels of grounding that are critical in this process. I will demonstrate the importance of common-sense knowledge, particularly the acquisition of very basic physical causality knowledge, in grounding human language to actions not only perceived but also performed by the agent. As humans and agents often have mismatched capabilities and knowledge, I will highlight the role of collaboration in communicative grounding to mediate differences and strive for a common ground of joint representations.
Prevalence of Solid Tumors in Incidentally Detected Homogeneous Renal Masses Measuring > 20 HU on Portal Venous Phase CT.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of solid tumors in incidental homogeneous renal masses with attenuation greater than 20 HU on portal venous phase CT images. MAT...
Violent Video Games Do Contribute to Aggression

In this chapter, we provide a brief review of the research investigating the connection between playing violent video games and aggression, summarizing key approaches and findings from survey research and experimental methodology. We trace through some of the main features of the debate surrounding the topic, present the grounds on which we arrive at our own interpretive position, and make some suggestions for future research. We find that effects are often contingent on (or made stronger or weaker by) features of games themselves and how they are played as well as differences that different users bring to the gaming experience. On balance, we make a case for the interpretation that playing violent video games does contribute a small but meaningful influence on aggression.
Genesea M. Carter and William H. Thelin, eds. Class in the Composition Classroom: Pedagogy and the Working Class. Logan, UT: Utah State University Press, 2017. 363 pages. $39.95 paperback.

I sit down to write this review at a fraught moment for talking about class, and especially the working class. On Facebook, many friends are discussing a recent Equality of Opportunity Project repo...
Low cloud reduction within the smoky marine boundary layer and the diurnal cycle

Abstract. Previous observational studies of the southeast Atlantic emphasize an increase in the stratocumulus cloud cover when shortwave-absorbing aerosols are present in the free-troposphere. Recent field measurements at Ascension Island (8° S, 14.5° W) reveal that smoke is also often present in the marine boundary layer, most evident in August when the smoke is highly absorbing of sunlight, the boundary layer is deeper, the cloud-top inversion is weaker, and a climatologically lower cloud fraction eases penetration of the sunlight to the surface, compared to later months. In these conditions, the low cloud cover decreases further with enhanced smoke loadings, reflecting a boundary layer semi-direct effect that is a positive feedback. The low cloud cover reduction is particularly pronounced in the afternoon, although the cloud liquid water path is more strongly reduced at night. The daily-mean surface-based mixed layer is warmer by approximately 0.5 K when more smoke is present in the boundary layer, with a warming peak in the late afternoon when the cloud cover reduction is largest. After sunset, sub-cloud moisture accumulates throughout the night, increasing the moisture stratification with the cloud layer. This increase in boundary layer decoupling is consistent with reduced turbulence. A new observation is that in the sunlit morning hours, the smokier boundary layer deepens by approximately 200 m, and both the liquid water paths and cloud top heights increase. We speculate this reflects radiatively-induced vertical ascent originating from within a well-mixed smoke-filled sub-cloud layer. Overall, the reduction in daytime low cloud decreases the top-of-atmosphere all-sky albedo, despite an increase in the top-of-atmosphere direct aerosol radiation of ~ 6.5 W m2 between the (most-least) smoky tercile composites. A convolving meteorological influence is also apparent near the cloud top, in that, although the free troposphere is also often smoky in August, the associated above-cloud potential temperatures are often cooler, rather than warmer, and better-mixed. The cooling weakens the inversion beyond that expected from the warming of the boundary layer and further encourages entrainment of more smoke into the already smoky boundary layer, increasing the longevity of the boundary layer smoke events. The free-tropospheric winds are also typically stronger and more easterly. More smoke appears to settle into the sub-cloud layer during the day than at night when it is smoky, speculated to reflect a deeper daytime sub-cloud layer facilitating entrainment, when the nighttime stratification does not.
#MeToo and Google Inquiries Into Sexual Violence: A Hashtag Campaign Can Sustain Information Seeking:

The #MeToo Movement has brought new attention to sexual harassment and assault. While the movement originates with activist Tarana Burke, actor Alyssa Milano used the phrase on Twitter in October 2017 in response to multiple sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. Within 24 hours, 53,000 people tweeted comments and/or shared personal experiences of sexual violence. The study objective was to measure how information seeking via Google searches for sexual harassment and assault changed following Milano's tweet and whether this change was sustained in spite of celebrity scandals. Weekly Google search inquiries in the United States were downloaded for the terms metoo, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual abuse, and rape for January 1, 2017 to July 15, 2018. Seven related news events about perpetrator accusations were considered. Results showed that searches for metoo increased dramatically after the Weinstein accusation and stayed high during subsequent accusations. A small decrease in searches followed, but the number remained very high relative to baseline (the period before the Weinstein accusation). Searches for sexual assault and sexual harassment increased substantially immediately following the Weinstein accusation, stayed high during subsequent accusations, and saw a decline after the accusation of Matt Lauer (talk show host; last event considered). We estimated a 40% to 70% reduction in searches 6 months after the Lauer accusation, though the increase in searches relative to baseline remained statistically significant. For sexual abuse and rape, the number of searches returned close to baseline by 6 months. It appears that the #MeToo movement sparked greater information seeking that was sustained beyond the associated events. Given its recent ubiquitous use in the media and public life, hashtag activism such as #MeToo can be used to draw further attention to the next steps in addressing sexual assault and harassment, moving public web inquiries from information seeking to action.
Ketamine sensitization: Influence of dose, environment, social isolation and treatment interval.

Abstract Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic first developed in the 1960s but is increasingly used at subanesthetic doses for both clinical and non-clinical purposes. There is evidence from human recreational users of compulsive use and addiction. Sensitization is an increase in an effect of a drug with repeated use that is thought to be important in the development of addiction. Research on psychomotor stimulants has shown the development of sensitization in laboratory animals to be modified by factors that influence addiction. In the current paper we describe four experiments on the development of sensitization in laboratory rats aimed at determining if ketamine sensitization is also influenced by factors thought to be important in addiction. Adult, male Sprague-Dawley rats received ketamine (5, 10, 20 or 50 mg/kg i.p.) for five or more days and the development of locomotor sensitization was followed. Experiment 1 examined the ability of low doses of ketamine to produce sensitization and found sensitization at 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg. Experiment 2 examined the influence of environmental context and found that ketamine sensitization (20 mg/kg) was greater when administration occurred in a novel environment (the experimental apparatus) than in home cages. Experiment 3 found that ketamine sensitization (20 mg/kg) did not occur when animals were housed in social isolation but occurred readily in pair-housed animals. Finally, Experiment 4 found that ketamine sensitization (20 or 50 mg/kg) was similar whether drug was administered daily or at 3-day intervals. Together, the results demonstrate that ketamine sensitization is robust and reliable, occurring under a variety of circumstances. Moreover, ketamine sensitization is influenced by factors that influence the development of addiction in humans. The current results may lead to a better understanding of ketamine abuse and addiction and may help inform clinical use of the drug.
The Role of Sex on Early Cochlear Implant Outcomes.

OBJECTIVE To determine the presence of sex differences in cochlear implant outcomes. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective chart review. SETTING Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS Adult patients having undergone cochlear implantation from 2009 to 2017. INTERVENTION(S) Standard electrode length cochlear implantation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) AzBio scores in quiet of the implanted ear at the 1 to 3 months and 6 to 9 months postoperative time points. RESULTS Of 55 patients with complete demographic and speech recognition testing, 36.4% (n = 20) were men. The mean age at time of surgery was 59.81 ± 16.54 years and the mean duration of hearing loss was 26.33 ± 18.54 years; there was no significant difference between men and women. The mean preoperative AzBio score was 11 ± 15.86% and there was no difference between men and women. Through 2 (sex) × 3 (time point) analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), there was no main effect of sex (F[1, 48] = 0.74, p = 0.39, η = 0.02) on postoperative AzBio scores, but there was a significant sex by time point interaction, (F[1.77, 85.03] = 4.23, p = 0.02, η = 0.08). At the 1 to 3 months postoperative time point, women exhibited higher relative improvement in AzBio scores than men (67 ± 27% versus 55 ± 31%). Further, this relative improvement increased and remained significant at the 6 to 9 months postoperative time point (women: 71 ± 22% versus 58 ± 30%). CONCLUSIONS Sex may play a role in early speech recognition outcomes after adult cochlear implantation.
Risk factors for earlier dementia onset in autopsy-confirmed Alzheimer's disease, mixed Alzheimer's with Lewy bodies, and pure Lewy body disease.

Introduction Clinical Alzheimer's disease (AD) and dementia with Lewy bodies often have mixed AD and Lewy pathology, making it difficult to delineate risk factors. Methods Six risk factors for earlier dementia onset due to autopsy-confirmed AD (n = 647), mixed AD and Lewy body disease (AD + LBD; n = 221), and LBD (n = 63) were entered into multiple linear regressions using data from the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center. Results In AD and AD + LBD, male sex and apolipoprotein E (APOE) ɛ4 alleles each predicted a 2- to 3-year-earlier onset and depression predicted a 3-year-earlier onset. In LBD, higher education predicted earlier onset and depression predicted a 5.5-year-earlier onset. Discussion Male sex and APOE ɛ4 alleles increase risk for earlier dementia onset in AD but not LBD. Depression increases risk for earlier dementia onset in AD, LBD, and AD + LBD, but evaluating the course, treatment, and severity is needed in future studies.
Dynamic Graded Subtraction: A Simple Method to Background Correct and Display Multicompartmental Radiopharmaceutical Scintigrams

A common procedure to enhance the localization of a poorly localized radiopharmaceutical is to mimic and subtract its undesirable component with a second radionuclide of a different photopeak that is physiologic nonspecific. Determination of the exact amount of the nonspecific radionuclide to subtract in a single step, however, is difficult. We describe the use of a simple method to enhance an image of a poorly localized radiopharmaceutical by incrementally subtracting another image of a specific radiopharmaceutical that mimics the objectionable image data and displays the corrected image series in cinematic mode. This method of image correction and dynamic display may be useful for a variety of procedures in which there is a significant nonspecific component of the radiotracer such as in radiolabeled antibodies, or to perform selective compartmental or organ subtraction in the case of a mixed specificity radiopharmaceutical.
Willardian Spiritual Formation, Novel Spiritual Disciplines, and Basketball: A Case Study:

Athletic participation provides a unique forum for the practice of spiritual disciplines. Central to Dallas Willard’s robust theory of spiritual formation is the critical role the body plays in eff...
Oncohistones: corruption at the core.

High-throughput biochemical and biological analyses of disease-associated histone mutations reveal key residues in globular cores that affect chromatin remodeling, nucleosome stability, and stem cell pluripotency.
Early factors in the immune response to biomaterials

Abstract The pathologic immune response to biomaterials and medical device implants is known as the foreign body response. This response is characterized by the presence of fibrotic macrophages and fibroblasts as well as adaptive immune cells such as T cells. These immune cells can be activated by early events in the foreign body response that include protein adsorption to the surface of materials. In this chapter, we review these early events in the foreign body response such as protein adsorption and clotting, and how those can activate downstream cellular responses resulting in pathogenic fibrosis. Download : Download full-size image
Coupling tangent-linear and adjoint models

We consider the solution of a (generalized) eigenvalue problem arising in physical oceanography that involves the evaluation of both the tangent-linear and adjoint versions of the underlying numerical model. Two different approaches are discussed. First, tangent-linear and adjoint models are generated by the software tool TAF and used separately. Second, the two models are combined into a single derivative model based on optimally preaccumulated local gradients of all scalar assignments. The coupled tangent-linear / adjoint model promises to be a good solution for small or medium sized problems. However, the simplicity of the example code at hand prevents us from observing considerable run time differences between the two approaches.
Abstract 18219: TGR5 - a Novel Membrane Receptor for Bile Acids Regulates Myocardial Response to Exercise, Catecholamine and Pressure Overload Induced Stress

Introduction: Perturbations in cardiac metabolism precede overt contractile failure and offer an early target for intervention and cure. Novel G protein coupled bile acid membrane receptor TGR5 regulates metabolism and function in brown adipose and skeletal muscles in mice. TGR5 is expressed in the hearts of mice and humans, but its role in myocardial cell biology and stress response is unknown. Hypothesis: We hypothesize that TGR5 deletion in mouse hearts impairs exercise tolerance, catecholamine response and exaggerates Transverse Aortic Constriction (TAC) induced contractile failure. Methods: Cardiomyocyte specific TGR5 deleted mice (TGR5flox/flox/cre+ [CM-TGR5del]) were generated from TGR5 floxed mice and transgenic αMHCcre mice. After confirmation of successful deletion at protein and RNA level, 12 week old male CM-TGR5del mice and their littermate (TGR5flox/flox/cre-[WT]) controls underwent baseline echocardiography (2DE), treadmill stress tests, acute catecholamine (isoprenaline [20mcg/kg i.p]) cha...
Hybrid resistance to EL-4 lymphoma cells. II. Association between loss of hybrid resistance and detection of suppressor cells after treatment of mice with 89Sr.

(C57BL/6 X DBA/2)F1 hybrid (B6D2F1) mice resist the growth of parental-strain (B6) EL-4 lymphoma cells inoculated intraperitoneally; that is, B6D2F1 mice survive longer than B6 mice and do not develop ascites. As compared with B6 mice, B6D2F1 mice have higher levels of natural killer (NK) activity against 51Cr-labelled EL-4 cells in their lymphoid organs. B6D2F1 mice treated with 89Sr lose NK activity for certain lymphoma cell targets, e.g. YAC-1, but NK(EL-4) function is usually intact. However, 89Sr-treated mice had lost hybrid resistance to EL-4 cells in vivo, as determined by survival by irradiated or unirradiated EL-4 cells, Corynebacterium parvum, or polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (pI:pC) in spleens of normal B6D2F1 mice, but NK(EL-4) activity was depressed within 3 days by such treatment in B6D2F1 mice previously injected with 89Sr. Suppressor cells for NK(EL-4) but not for NK(YAC-1) effectors were easily detected in spleens of 89Sr-treated mice "challenged' with C. parvum. Thus, agents capable of stimulating NK cell function in normal mice may lead to suppression of that activity in mice depleted of marrow-dependent cell function by 89Sr. Spleen cells of 89Sr-treated B6D2F1 mice were also unable to generate anti-EL-4 cytotoxic T lymphocytes in a cell-mediated lympholysis system; this defect appeared also to be mediated by suppressor cells. Lymphoid cells depleted by 89Sr-induced marrow aplasia may have two functions in host defences against tumours (especially lymphomas): they may lyse tumour cells directly and they may "down-regulate' suppressor cells capable of inhibiting other "natural' or "induced' immune functions.
Implications of Lexical Ambiguity Resolution for Word Recognition and Comprehension

Publisher Summary The implications of the lexical ambiguity problem go far beyond words with multiple dictionary entries. The issues involved in lexical ambiguity research are applicable to a wide range of comprehension phenomena. The selection processes that typify ambiguous words are, to some extent, relevant to all lexical access because all words normally have more information associated with them than is required in any particular context. Word-level ambiguity only exemplifies in an obvious way, because of characteristics that exist at virtually all levels of language comprehension. It is suggested in the chapter that phenomena such as metaphor, idiom, and indirect requests present a comprehender with essentially the same interpretive dilemma occasioned by words with more than one possible meaning. The chapter reviews briefly some of the recent research in lexical ambiguity and additionally discusses extensions of lexical ambiguity research to other issues of word recognition. It also describes a series of studies using lexical ambiguity to explore qualitative changes that occur with development of the ability to use context in facilitating word recognition, a problem to which the methodology of ambiguity seems very well suited.
A range searching engine for VLSI design CAE

The design of a VLSI (very-large-scale integration) chip for a range-searching engine is described. The chips are connected as identical nodes in a folded binary tree structure, and all leaf nodes are lined to a common data bus which reports the matched data to the host system. A software system for VLSI design that is based on the range-searching engine concepts has been built and tested. The results show that an O(R+k+log N) time complexity for a range-searching query is achieved. >
Financial crisis, REIT short-sell restrictions and event induced volatility

Abstract From September 19 through October 8, 2008 the SEC issued a short sale moratorium on approximately 800 financial stocks. The emergency order justified the ban based on concerns “that short selling in the securities of a wide range of financial institutions may be causing sudden and excessive fluctuations in the prices of such securities” (see Securities and Exchange Commission, 2008 ). Although Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) were initially excluded, the management of fourteen REITs requested that they be added to the restricted list. Diamond and Verrecchia (1987) develop a model in which short sale constraints decrease trading and increase the time required to adjust to new information resulting in greater price reaction. This research employs a GARCH version of the market model to test the impact of the SEC policy on the risk/return of the fourteen restricted REITs and a sample of fifty REITs not on the list. Rather than mitigate volatility it was determined that fifty of the sixty-four REITS in the combined samples exhibited significant event induced risk as a consequence of the ban with a significantly larger increase occurring among restricted REITs. A cross-sectional test failed to identify significant negative or positive abnormal returns as a consequence of the short sell ban.
Plasma Methotrexate Levels in Patients Receiving Etoposide, Methotrexate, Actinomycin, Cyclophosphamide, and Vincristine (EMA-CO) Chemotherapy for Trophoblastic Neoplasia

Abstract Methotrexate serum levels were measured in eight patients receiving etoposide, methotrexate, actinomycin, cyclophosphamide, and oncovin (EMA-CO) chemotherapy for high-risk and actinomycin-resistant gestational trophoblastic neoplasia. During 41 courses of EMA there were only 3 instances where the level of methotrexate was greater than 9 × 10 -7 M /liter at 24 hr postinfusion. A level higher than this may be associated with subsequent toxicity. Use of postmethotrexate leucovorin rescue should continue, but routine measurement of methotrexate with EMA-CO is unnecessary unless there is compromise of renal or hepatic function.
A challenge to vocational psychology: How important are aspirations in determining male career development?☆

Abstract Nationally representative longitudinal data on 1394 employed white men aged 15 to 24 in 1966 were used to assess whether job opportunities or vocational aspirations are the more important determinants of later job held. Support was found for two hypotheses: (a) men more often achieve congruence between their aspiration and their field of employment by changing aspirations to match the job rather than vice versa; and (b) aspirations for field of work generally are not as useful as actual job field for predicting the field of jobs held 1 to 5 years later. Contrary to expectation, middle-class young men were no more able to attain their aspirations either for field of employment or for status level of occupation than were lower-class male youths. These results suggest that although aspirations have some predictive power, the opportunity structure—which both conditions aspirations to narrow ranges early in life and affects the direction of early career development—is too often neglected by vocational psychology. One suggestion for counseling practice is that interest and maturity assessments be used as sources of information to both client and counselor about past influences. Attempts to actually counteract those influences should be clearly specified as such and separated from the assessment process.
Interpreting Power and Profit in Economic History: A Case Study of the Seven Years War

This article examines the economic costs to the British nation of the Seven Years War. Drawing upon manuscript records and secondary studies, the author analyzes in detail the diversion of resources to the Navy and the effect of increased debts on the economy. Finding that the burden was great but the impact apparently slight, the author suggests that the English may have drawn substantially upon extra-national sources of capital, labor and materials.
Public knowledge and concern about polar-region warming

In 2006 and 2010, before and after the International Polar Year, the General Social Survey asked cross-sections of the US public for their knowledge and opinions about polar regions. The opinion items sought respondents’ levels of concern about global warming in polar regions, and whether they favored opening Antarctica for development or reserving it for science. Polar knowledge scores show significant improvement from 2006 to 2010, while general science literacy scores and opinions remain largely unchanged. Regression of concern and Antarctic items on background characteristics, ideology, education and the two knowledge tests finds that ideology and knowledge have the most consistent effects. Conservative ideology negatively predicts all six concern items and supports for reserving the Antarctic. Polar knowledge exhibits a positive effect on most of the concern items and on support for reserving the Antarctic. General science knowledge has mainly positive effects on concern and Antarctic opinions as wel...
The Use of Polydisulfides and Copolymeric Disulfides in the Li/PEO/SRPE Battery System

Solid redox polymerization electrodes (SRPEs) have recently been used successfully as cathodes in lithium solid polymer electrolyte batteries. SRPEs contain organopolydisulfides, (SRS) n , as the electroactive material; upon cell discharge these materials are reductively depolymerized via scission of the disulfide linkages to di- or trithiolate salts. The thiolate salts are reoxidized to the polymeric disulfides when the cell is recharged. Organopolydisulfides are easily synthesized via a one-step process, are inexpensive, and exhibit high performance levels in batteries
Factors influencing configuration and performance of multipurpose manned entry vehicles

Multipurpose manned reentry vehicle capable of entry at circular to hyperbolic velocities - design study
Electron acoustic instabilities in the geomagnetic tail

Electron acoustic waves present in a two temperature electron plasma can be driven unstable when ion beams propagate along the magnetic field. Both linear theory and numerical simulations indicate that this instability contributes to the generation of broadband electrostatic noise (BEN) in the geomagnetic tail.
Air-Broadening Coefficients for the ν3Band of CF4☆

Abstract Air-broadening coefficients for the 1283 cm −1 , ν 3 , band of carbon tetrafluoride, CF 4 , have been measured over the temperature range 217–296 K using a tunable diode laser spectrometer. The dependence of the broadening coefficients on temperature and rotation has been investigated in order to improve analyses of atmospheric spectra. An average air-broadening coefficient at 296 K was determined to be 0.078 (±0.005) cm −1 /atm when averaged over all R ( J ) manifolds studied. The temperature dependence of the air-broadening coefficient, n, was also measured from the spectra and found to be in the range n = 0.64–0.69 from examination of spectra recorded at temperatures of 220, 250, and 296 K. The dependence of the broadening coefficients on the rotational quantum number, J, is also discussed.
System Issues and Tradeoffs Associated with Syngas Production and Combustion

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the basic technology of coal gasification for the production of syngas and the utilization of that syngas in power generation. The common gasifier types, fixed/moving bed, fluidized bed, entrained flow, and transport, are described, and accompanying typical product syngas compositions are shown for different coal ranks. Substantial variation in product gas composition is observed with changes in gasifier and coal feed type. Fuel contaminants such as sulfur, nitrogen, ash, as well as heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic, and selenium, can be removed to protect the environment and downstream processes. A variety of methods for syngas utilization for power production are discussed, including both present (gas turbine and internal combustion engines) and future technologies, including oxy-fuel, chemical looping, fuel cells, and hybrids. Goals to improve system efficiencies, further reduce NOx emissions, and provide options for CO2 sequestration require...
Tip link loss and recovery on chick short hair cells following intense exposure to sound.

Abstract Stereocilia tip links on chick short hair cells (SHCs) were counted in the ‘patch’ lesion produced by acoustic overstimulation. Tip links were also counted on tall hair cells (THCs) immediately superior to the lesion. Eight groups were studied with three exposed to intense sound for differing durations. Three other groups were allowed to recover from the longest exposure for different time periods. Tip link counts from non-exposed control hair cells came from two other groups. Chicks exposed for 4, 24 or 48 h to a 120-dB SPL 0.9-kHz pure tone showed SHC tip link loss of 30.3, 40.6, and 35.5%, respectively. Chicks exposed for 48 h were allowed to recover for 24, 96 or 288 h, and showed systematic tip link recovery to control levels. Tip link loss and recovery in THCs adjacent to the patch lesion were identical to that seen in SHCs. After 288 h of recovery, surviving SHCs were distinguished from newly regenerated SHCs in the patch lesion. A comparison of tip link presence in the surviving (74%) and regenerated (84%) SHCs revealed a significant difference. These results suggest that the process of tip link destruction and recovery following acoustic overstimulation is the same for THCs and SHCs. This observation is surprising based on differences in the degree of acoustic injury to THC and SHC regions of the papillae, and the difference between THC and SHC sensory hair bundle stimulation.
Nondeletional pathways for the development of autoreactive thymocytes

Conventional wisdom holds that autoreactive thymocytes always undergo negative selection. This paradigm should be reassessed in light of evidence showing that alternative T cell lineages can develop in certain autoreactive conditions.
Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image

The article reviews the book “Reputation: Realizing Value from the Corporate Image” by Charles J. Fombrun.
Dynamic aspects of air quality control costs

This paper investigates aggregate cost differentials due to implementing environmental regulations over alternative time periods. These differentials may be related t o premature obsolescence of the capital stock, technical advances in abatement, and perhaps other factors. Our estimates, which are subject to a number of qualifications, indicate that these differentials may be substantial. We conduct our investigation within a simple but complete general equilibrium model and contrast our approach with more conventional techniques of forecasting and policy assessment. Our model consists of a description of preferences, technology, and the interaction of economic agents which generates forecasts of economic variables for alternative scenario,.
Preparation of Secretory Vesicle-Free Plasma Membranes by Isopycnic Sucrose Gradient Fractionation of Neutrophils Purified by the Gelatin Method

Isolated human neutrophils serve as a model for the in vitro study of host defensive processes as well as the cell biology and biochemistry of primary human cells. We demonstrate that the requirements of the gelatinbased procedure for neutrophil isolation from whole blood induces the complete loss of secretory vesicles from in vitro isolated populations, whereas isolation by a dextran-based methodology results in the preservation of this organelle. Following density fractionation of cellular cavitates, examination of commonly employed plasma membrane marker activities yielded subcellular localization patterns that were indistinguishable between dextran- or gelatin-isolated populations, indicating both populations to be otherwise comparable in terms of the relative complexity and large-scale organization of plasma membranes. Given that the cell surface upregulation of secretory vesicles is implicated as an initial requirement of neutrophil activation as well as an intrinsic feature of neutrophil priming, we show that dextran and gelatin-isolated neutrophils may be considered to occupy functionally nonactivated and primed cellular states, respectively. These differences in phenotype can be exploited in specific ways. We suggest that the gelatin method has technical advantages with regard to the study of neutrophil plasma membranes. In particular, results from this study indicate the gelatin method to be a reliable and effective preparatory technique appropriate for tandem use with density fractionation procedures to achieve rapid isolation of plasma membranes that are uncontaminated by secretory organelles.
The linux farms of the RHIC computing facility

Abstract A description of the history, current status and future of the Linux Compute Farms at the RHIC Computing Facility.
Prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia by administration of bovine superoxide dismutase in preterm infants with respiratory distress syndrome

The effectiveness of bovine superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the prevention of bronchopulmonary dysplasia was evaluated in a prospective double-blind controlled study in 45 neonates (mean gestational age 28.7 weeks, mean weight 1154 gm) with severe respiratory distress syndrome. All were ventilator dependent with Fi O 2 ≥0.7 at 24 hours of age. Either bovine SOD (0.25 mg/kg) or saline solution was administered subcutaneously every 12 hours according to random selection until patients could be maintained in room air without ventilatory or continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) support. SOD levels were detected in all patients given treatment. Mean peak values at 4 hours after dose ranged from 0.15 μg/ml (dose 1) to 0.45 μg/ml (dose 10). The drug was well tolerated, and no side effects were detected. Among the 31 survivors (SOD 14, placebo 17) radiologic evidence of BPD was significantly less in patients given SOD (3/14 vs 12/17, P =0.008). Clinical signs of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (wheezing, pneumonia) were less in patients given SOD (3/14 vs 11/17, P =0.019). Patients given SOD required fewer days of CPAP ( P 2 therapy, intermittent positive pressure breathing, or incidence and severity of patent ductus arteriosus or intraventricular hemorrhage. This preliminary study suggests that SOD may be helpful in reducing the severity of bronchopulmonary dysplasia in infants with respiratory distress syndrome.
Functional Components in Peanuts

Peanut is one of the most widely used legumes due to its nutrition and taste. The fact that is has been recognized recently as a functional food, its evaluation for its role in a heart-healthy diet has received tremendous attention. Functional compounds have been isolated, identified, quantified, and even enhanced to maximize the amount for adequate health benefits. The peanut industry's byproducts such as peanut hulls and shells, skins, and even leaves and roots have also been identified as possible sources of bioactive compounds. New uses for these underutilized renewable sources can create new market opportunities and increase the value of agricultural residues.
Efficacy of selective dorsal rhizotomy (SDR) in spastic diplegia: Changes in spasticity and mobility after 24 months † 1742

Objective: To study the efficacy of SDR in spastic diplegia. Design: Single center investigator-masked randomized clinical trial. Subjects: 43 children were randomized to receive SDR plus physical therapy (PT), or PT alone. Interventions: SDR was guided with electrophysiologic monitoring. All subjects received equivalent PT. Spasticity was measured by an electromechanical torque device (EMT) and the Ashworth scale. The Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM) recorded changes in functional mobility. Investigator-masked outcome measures were collected at baseline, 12 and 24 months. Results: See Table. Conclusions: SDR is safe and reduces spasticity in children with spastic diplegia. SDR plus PT and equivalent PT without SDR result in equal improvements in mobility at 24 months.
Extensions of discontinuous deformation analysis for jointed rock masses

Beginning with the original work of Shi [Discontinuous deformation analysis: a new numerical method for the statics and dynamics of block systems. Ph.D. thesis, University of California, Berkeley (1988)], called the Discontinuous Deformation Analysis (DDA) method, a number of extensions to the method have been explored. The extensions consist of improving the contact algorithm, adding block fracturing and sub-blocking capabilities. Contacts between blocks have been modeled using an Augmented Lagrangian Method instead of the penalty method originally proposed by Shi. This allows block-to-block contacts to be enforced more precisely and block contact forces to be determined more accurately. A sub-blocking capability has been developed, whereby blocks are discretized into sub-blocks. The continuity of the sub-block contacts is preserved and the variation of stresses in each large block can be determined. The sub-blocking capability is done using a consistent formulation in which the same methodology is used for the sub-blocks as the original large blocks. This is different from other discrete block methods that imbed finite difference zones or finite elements inside larger blocks. Finally, two block fracturing algorithms have been implemented in the DDA method. Using a three-parameter (cohesion, friction, tensile strength) Mohr-Coulomb criterion, one algorithm allows intact rocks to be broken into smaller blocks. Fracturing can be in shear or tension. The second algorithm allows fractures to propagate in the sub-blocks either in Mode I (tensile fracturing) or Mode II (shear fracturing). All three extensions have been implemented into the original DDA program of Shi. With the three extensions, the DDA method is more applicable to a greater range of rock mechanics problems and other engineering problems involving blocky systems. Examples of application of the method, for plane stress condition, are presented with regard to rock fall, slope stability and underground excavation problems.
Designing a service science discipline with discipline

This paper relates our experiences at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), designing a service science discipline. We wanted to design a discipline of service science in a principled and theoretically motivated way. We began our work by asking, "What questions would a service science have to answer?" and from that we developed a new framework for understanding service science. This framework can be visualized as a matrix whose rows are stages in a service life cycle and whose columns are disciplines that can provide answers to the questions that span the life cycle. This matrix systematically organizes the issues and challenges of service science and enables us to compare our model of a service science discipline with other definitions and curricula. This analysis identified gaps, overlaps, and opportunities that shaped the design of our curriculum and in particular a new survey course that serves as the cornerstone of service science education at UC Berkeley.
Left ventricular function by echocardiography in children with fixed aortic stenosis

Left ventricular function was evaluated echocardiographically within 24 hours of cardiac catheterization in 45 children with fixed aortic stenosis. Left ventricular systolic time intervals, mean velocity of circumferential fiber shortening, left ventricular end-dastolic volume and shortening fraction were evaluated. Some patients with severe aortic stenosis had a shortened preejection period, prolonged ejection time and increased mean velocity of circumferential fiber shortening in comparison with normal subjects, but these findings were not consistent within the group with severe aortic stenosis or apparent in patients with mild or moderate aortic stenosis. Left ventricular end-diastolic volume was smaller in children with severe obstruction than in normal children. Evaluation of the shortening fraction provided good separation of patients with significant obstruction from those with mild disease. Further, there was a linear correlation between the shortening fraction and the left ventricular-aortic gradient demonstrated at cardiac catheterization. This correlation was also of use in evaluating the response of patients to surgical relief of obstruction. Pre- and postoperative echocardiographic evaluation of the shortening fraction appears to provide a readily available noninvasive method of assessing the course and severity of obstruction in fixed aortic stenosis in children.
Heart rate variability in emergency department patients with sepsis.

Objective To test the hypothesis that heart rate variability (HRV) can provide an early indication of illness severity among patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with sepsis. Methods The authors enrolled a convenience sample of 15 ED patients meeting the American College of Chest Physicians/Society of Critical Care Medicine criteria for sepsis. Each patient had continuous Holter monitoring performed in the ED. Acute Physiology and Chronic Health II (APACHE II) and Sequential Organ Failure (SOFA) scores were calculated for the day of presentation. Holter tapes obtained in the ED were analyzed off-line to calculate HRV variables for the 5-minute segment with the least artifact and non-sinus beats. These variables were correlated with APACHE II and SOFA scores. Results LFnu (normalized low-frequency power), an assessment of the relative sympathetic contribution to overall HRV, was correlated with increased illness severity as calculated using APACHE II (r = -0.67, r(2) = 0.43) and SOFA (r = -0.80, r(2) = 0.64) scores. LF/HF ratio (low-frequency/high-frequency ratio), a measure of sympathovagal balance, was correlated with the SOFA score [r = -0.54 (95% CI = -0.83 to -0.01), r(2) = 0.29]. All five patients who required critical care monitoring or ventilatory support or who died during the first 5 days of their hospitalization had LFnu values below 0.5 and LF/HF ratios less than 1.0. None of the patients with measurements greater than these threshold values died or required these interventions during the five days following admission. Conclusions A single variable, LFnu, which reflects sympathetic modulation of heart rate, accounted for 40-60% of the variance in illness severity scores among patients presenting to the ED with sepsis. HRV, as reflected in LFnu and the LF/HF ratio and measured with a single brief (5-minute) period of monitoring while in the ED, may provide the emergency physician with a readily available, noninvasive, early marker of illness severity. The threshold effect of LFnu and LF/HF in the prediction of early clinical deterioration was an unexpected finding and should be regarded as hypothesis-generating, pending further study.
Virtual cognition in language

This article is a survey of the old and current research and controversies on the human and machine cognition with emphasis on natural language sentence processing.
Second Wind: The Deadly and Destructive Inland Phase of East Coast Hurricanes

Most people are familiar with a hurricane's coastal impacts: storm surge, high winds, and heavy rain. Most hurricanes begin to rapidly weaken once they encounter land. The sustained winds steadily ...
An approach to synchronization for parallel computing

This paper proposes an approach to minimally constrained synchronization for the parallel execution of imperative programs in a shared-memory environment. Anti-dependencies and output-dependencies arising from array references within loops are completely removed, using run-time analysis if necessary. A parallel reference-pattern generation scheme based on one proposed in [13] is used in conjunction with dynamic allocation and binding of storage, to completely remove non-intrinsic data dependencies during execution.
Cannabis Use and Antisocial Behavior Among Youth

Despite the numerous efforts to curb substance use and abuse through legislation and interventions, marijuana consumption continues to be a major social problem, particularly among young adults in the United States. We provide new information on the relationship between cannabis use and antisocial behavior by analyzing a sample of young adults (aged 18–20) from the National Epidemiological Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). We examine a broad set of cannabis use patterns and multiple dimensions of antisocial behaviors and test the empirical importance of two prominent criminological theories—general strain and social bond—in explaining associations between cannabis use and antisocial behavior. We include important socioeconomic, demographic, health and health behaviors, and contextual information in all regressions to control for confounding factors. Our results imply that cannabis use is positively and significantly related to antisocial behavior among young adults, and general strain and social bond theories cannot fully explain our findings. As expected, the estimated association with antisocial behavior is stronger for more frequent cannabis users.
Neutron activation analysis of an Egyptian cigarette and its ash

The concentration of 28 elements in tobacco and cigarette paper in an Egyptian Cigarette were determined using instrumental neutron activation analysis. These elements are: Al, As, Ba, Br, Ca, Ce, Cl, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Hf, K, La, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sr, Th, Ti, V and Zn. The cigarette filter (before and after normal smoking) and the produced ash were analyzed to determine the adsorption of the elements on the filter and their remains in ash. The material balance for the determined elements were calculated.
PARTICIPATION OF SKELETAL MUSCLE AND KIDNEY DURING NONSHIVERING THERMOGENESIS IN COLD-ACCLIMATED RATS

The oxygen consumption of the partly isolated leg muscles and of the kidney was measured in situ in cold-acclimated rats before and during exposure to cold or during noradrenaline infusion. All rat...
Male insect-parasitic nematodes: a colonizing sex

An adaptive strategy enhancing reproductive success is described for parasitic nematodes. Male infective juveniles of insect-parasitic nematodes,Steinernema spp. (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae) are dispersers, and take greater risks than females during the host-finding phase of parasitism. They disperse, locate, and establish in distant live hosts before females. Parasitism by male infective juveniles renders the infected hosts suitable for nematode development, and more attractive to female infective juveniles. Such ‘recruitment’ may be a strategy to protect the nematodes against uncertainties of mate finding, thereby enhancing reproductive success.
The care-based ethic of Nazi medicine and the moral importance of what we care about.

��� This article reports on an inquiry into ideas used to justify the shift of medical ethos in Germany prior to and during the Nazi era, speciacally the principles of care advocated by Erwin Liek and Karl Kotschau, the era’s most inouential medical theorists, who argued that commitments to care of individual sick persons (Fursorge) had to give way to a preventive care that respects emerging needs of the entire society (Vorsorge). The article examines both the socio-cultural factors that shaped, and the far-reaching effects of, this manipulation of care. It argues that we should be attentive to the meaning and requirements of the care revealed in this debate, the ancient Greek idea of care as a concerned moral option.
Functions conjugating entire functions toentire functions and semigroups of analytic endomorphisms

Answering two questions ot Rubei, we prove that there are unbounded plane domains which are notconformally or anticonformally equwalent but whose semigroups of analytic endomorphisms are isomorphic. Further we show that if h is a one-to-one map of the plane onto itself, which is not initially assumed to be continilolus, such that h ∘ f ∘ h -1 is entire whenever f is entirc, then h is a linear polynomial in zor in z