cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic equilibria in an epidemic model with voluntary vaccinations.

The dynamics of an epidemic model with voluntary vaccinations are studied. Individual vaccination decisions are modelled using an economic/game-theoretic approach: agents in the model decide whether to vaccinate or not by weighing the cost and benefit of vaccination and choose the action that maximizes their net benefit. It is shown that, when vaccine efficacy is low, there are parameter values for which multiple steady-state equilibria and periodic equilibria coexist. When multiplicity of steady states is obtained, which one the population reaches in some cases depends entirely on agents’ expectations concerning the future course of an epidemic and not on the initial conditions of the model. †Comments and suggestions from anonymous referees of the journal are gratefully acknowledged. This paper is dedicated to the loving memory of Lucy Hauser
Naringenin inhibits glucose uptake in MCF-7 breast cancer cells: a mechanism for impaired cellular proliferation.

Certain flavonoids inhibit glucose uptake in cultured cells. In this report, we show that the grapefruit flavanone naringenin inhibited insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in proliferating and growth-arrested MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Our findings indicate that naringenin inhibits the activity of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), a key regulator of insulin-induced GLUT4 translocation, as shown by impaired phosphorylation of the downstream signaling molecule Akt. Naringenin also inhibited the phosphorylation of p44/p42 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK). Inhibition of the MAPK pathway with PD98059, a MAPK kinase inhibitor, reduced insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by approximately 60%. The MAPK pathway therefore appears to contribute significantly to insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in breast cancer cells. Importantly, decreasing the availability of glucose by lowering the glucose concentration of the culture medium inhibited proliferation, as did treatment with naringenin. Collectively, our findings suggest that naringenin inhibits the proliferation of MCF-7 cells via impaired glucose uptake. Because a physiologically attainable dose of 10 µM naringenin reduced insulin-stimulated glucose uptake by nearly 25% and also reduced cell proliferation, naringenin may possess therapeutic potential as an anti-proliferative agent.
Constructing free trade: from Manchester boosterism to global management

The free trade doctrine, now global common knowledge, has followed a complex spatio-temporal path of knowledge production from its origins in Manchester at the turn of the nineteenth century. While grounded in normative and cognitive claims, its transformation from local self-interest to global doctrine was a result of the scale-jumping tactics of the Anti-Corn Law League, combined with the popularity in Western Europe of private property liberalism and the hegemonic global positionality of early nineteenth-century Britain. Corn Law repeal in 1846 in London was constructed as the point in space–time where doctrine became practice, and Britain's subsequent prosperity was seen as proof of its validity. After 1880, except in Britain until 1914 and the colonies, performance belied the doctrine as progressive liberalism became influential, and import-substituting industrialization an effective catch-up strategy, for other nations. The free trade doctrine was reasserted, however, with the emergence of US hegemony, as a rationale for breaking up non-US colonial preference systems and, more recently, neoliberalism. The free trade doctrine is now performed routinely under the auspices of the World Trade Organization. Nevertheless, it remains a local epistemology, whose truth-like status is kept insulated from rigorous challenge by alternative epistemologies and practices.
The peritoneum and the pneumoperitoneum: a review to improve clinical outcome

The pneumoperitoneum has a direct effect on the peritoneum and influences the outcome of laparoscopic surgery. The quality of the gas used, its temperature and dryness cause physical and chemical alterations that are preventable. The traditional gas is 20°C and 0.0002% relative humidity (RH). The normal peritoneal cavity condition is 36°C and virtually 100% RH. Changing the gas to a more physiologic condition of 95°C and 95% RH maintains peritoneal fluid viscosity and reduces hypothermia significantly by preventing evaporation, reduces inflammation, cell stress, and maintains peritoneal integrity by eliminating desiccation and reduces pain by preventing release of acute-phase reactive chemicals related to cell stress and disruption. Keeping peritoneal surfaces moist continuously during laparoscopy maintains a normal physiologic environment that is important to improving patient outcomes.
Pharmacokinetics Laboratory and Consultation Service for Ambulatory Patients

When implementing clinical pharmacokinetics consultation services for ambulatory patients, one should strongly consider developing an outpatient pharmacokinetics laboratory. Published literature clearly documents the benefits of clinical pharmacokinetics services. In addition, there are educational, financial, and research advantages to creating an outpatient pharmacokinetics laboratory. One should demonstrate the need for the service; determine the scope of services; design patient and specimen work flow; decide what personnel, space, and equipment are needed; and justify costs and revenue. Recent federal legislation, such as the Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments and the Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemical in Laboratories Act (1988), will have a significant positive impact on an outpatient pharmacokinetics laboratory.
Quantification of green fluorescent protein by in vivo imaging, PCR, and flow cytometry: Comparison of transgenic strains and relevance for fetal cell microchimerism

Animal models are increasingly being used for the assessment of fetal cell microchimerism in maternal tissue. We wished to determine the optimal transgenic mouse strain and analytic technique to facilitate the detection of rare transgenic microchimeric fetal cells amongst a large number of maternal wild-type cells. We evaluated two strains of mice transgenic for the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP): a commercially available, commonly used strain (C57BL/6-Tg(ACTB-EGFP)10sb/J) (CAG) and a newly created strain (ROSA26-EGFP) using three different techniques: in vivo and ex vivo fluorescent imaging (for whole body and dissected organs, respectively), PCR amplification of gfp, and flow cytometry (FCM). By fluorescent imaging, organs from CAG mice were 10-fold brighter than organs from ROSA26-EGFP mice (P < 0.0001). By PCR, more transgene from CAG mice was detected compared to ROSA26-EGFP mice (P = 0.04). By FCM, ROSA26-EGFP cell fluorescence was more uniform than CAG cells. A greater proportion of cells from ROSA26-EGFP organs were positive for EGFP than cells from CAG organs, but CAG mice had a greater proportion of cells with the brightest fluorescent intensity. Each transgenic strain possesses characteristics that make it useful under specific experimental circumstances. The CAG mouse model is preferable when experiments require brighter cells, whereas ROSA26-EGFP is more appropriate when uniform or ubiquitous expression is more important than brightness. Investigators must carefully select the transgenic strain most suited to the experimental design to obtain the most consistent and reproducible data. In vivo imaging allows for phenotypic evaluation of whole animals and intact organs; however, we did not evaluate its utility for the detection of rare, fetal microchimeric cells in the maternal organs. Finally, while PCR amplification of a paternally inherited transgene does allow for the quantitative determination of rare microchimeric cells, FCM allows for both quantitative and qualitative evaluations of fetal cells at very high sensitivity in a plethora of maternal organs.
Unstructured-Mesh Discretizations and Solvers for Computational Aerodynamics

An overview of current unstructured-mesh discretization and solution techniques is given. Cell-centered vs vertex-centered discretizations are discussed, as well as issues of grid alignment with flow features, higher-order reconstruction, and viscous-term formulation. With regard to solution techniques, implicit and multigrid methods are discussed, as well as efficient implementation on massively parallel computer hardware. Sample calculations are used to illustrate the importance of grid resolution and issues in solution accuracy. The examples are taken mostly from transonic flow calculations and are used to argue that unstructured-mesh technology has reached a level of maturity on a par with block-structured or overset-mesh methods in this area, although important outstanding issues remain for other application areas, such as high-speed flows.
Continuous/discontinuous finite element approximations of fourth-order elliptic problems in structural and continuum mechanics with applications to thin beams and plates, and strain gradient elasticity

Abstract A new finite element method for fourth-order elliptic partial differential equations is presented and applied to thin bending theory problems in structural mechanics and to a strain gradient theory problem. The method combines concepts from the continuous Galerkin (CG) method, the discontinuous Galerkin (DG) method and stabilization techniques. A brief review of the CG method, the DG method and stabilization techniques highlights the advantages and disadvantages of these methods and suggests a new approach for the solution of fourth-order elliptic problems. A continuous/discontinuous Galerkin (C/DG) method is proposed which uses C0-continuous interpolation functions and is formulated in the primary variable only. The advantage of this formulation over a more traditional mixed approach is that the introduction of additional unknowns and related difficulties can be avoided. In the context of thin bending theory, the C/DG method leads to a formulation where displacements are the only degrees of freedom, and no rotational degrees of freedom need to be considered. The main feature of the C/DG method is the weak enforcement of continuity of first and higher-order derivatives through stabilizing terms on interior boundaries. Consistency, stability and convergence of the method are shown analytically. Numerical experiments verify the theoretical results, and applications are presented for Bernoulli–Euler beam bending, Poisson–Kirchhoff plate bending and a shear layer problem using Toupin–Mindlin strain gradient theory.
Effects of Prompted Voiding on Fecal Continence Among Nursing Home Residents

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of prompted voiding on fecal continence in nursing home residents. DESIGN: Prospective, uncontrolled trial of prompted voiding for urinary incontinence. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred sixty-five nursing home residents who completed a 9 to 10-week trial. MEASUREMENTS: Trained research aides performed physical checks for urinary and fecal incontinence hourly from 8 AM to 6 PM for 3 days (total of 33 checks) at baseline, for the last 3 days of a 1-week trial of prompted voiding, and after 9 to 10 weeks of prompted voiding. RESULTS: After 9 to 10 weeks of prompted voiding, there was no significant change in the frequency of incontinent bowel movements per resident (1.1 [95% CI .83, 1.4] to .87 [95% CI.67, 1.1]; P = 0.140). There was a significant increase in the number of continent bowel movements per resident (.17 [95% CI.10, .24] to .62 [95% CI.45, .80]; P = .000). This increase occurred in residents whose urinary incontinence responded well to prompted voiding as well as those whose urinary incontinence did not respond. The percentage of bowel movements that were continent also increased significantly from 18% (95% CI 8,29) at baseline to 45% (95% CI 32,57) after 9 to 10 weeks of intervention (P = .000). In addition to these findings, we noted a marked increase in the total frequency of bowel movements after the first week of prompted voiding. This may have resulted from the relief of fecal impactions caused by the increased toileting, mobility, and fluid intake that occurred with prompted voiding. CONCLUSION: Prompted voiding did not change the frequency of incontinent bowel movements significantly in this sample of nursing home residents. However, the number of continent bowel movements and the percentage of bowel movements that were continent did increase. Our data must be interpreted cautiously because our study was designed primarily as an intervention for urinary, not fecal, incontinence and the design was neither blinded nor controlled. Trials of systematic toileting schedules specifically directed at fecal incontinence, with attention to fecal impaction, diet, fluid intake and laxative use, should be conducted. J Am Geriatr Soc 44:424–428, 1996.
Understanding futures markets

Die Arbeit besteht aus drei Teilen: Der erste enthalt einige empirische Eigenschaften von Terminmarkten; der zweite gibt einen kurzen Uberblick uber die “klassischen” Theorien von Keynes, Kaldor und Working; und der dritte (Haupt-) Teil ist der modernen Theorie dieser Markte gewidmet. Die moderne Theorie unterscheidet sich von der klassischen u. a. durch eine explizite Berucksichtigung der Informationsstruktur und Erwartungsbildung sowie durch die systematische Verwendung von Gleichgewichtsbegriffen. Gestutzt auf neuere Resultate verschiedener Autoren wird gezeigt, wie die moderne Theorie zur Klarung einer Reihe von Fragen dienen kann, z. B. der Bedingungen, unter denen Terminmarkte zu einer Pareto-effizienten Allokation fuhren, des Zusammenhangs zwischen Terminpreisschwankungen und Informationsstruktur, des Einflusses von Terminmarkten auf Produktionsentscheidungen, des Ausmases, in dem die Preise auf Terminmarkten private Information aggregieren, usw.
A Generative Model of Mathematics Learning

meaning for mathematics education, this paper will begin with a hypothesis about human learning that has been developed from the investigator's research in cognition, discovery learning, and instruction in schools. It will then present a sample of the empirical studies that led to the generation of the hypothesis. Finally, some of the meaning of this research for mathematics learning will be discussed. The first point to emerge will be that we can be proud of the research in the learning of mathematics, including the development of curricular materials. The second point will be a recommendation that research in mathematics learning should increasingly be devoted to studying the stepby-step specific and higher-order intellectual processes that students engage in when they learn mathematics; such as when they are adding, subtracting, differentiating, and integrating. The hypothesis and empirical studies presented in this paper focus on the cognitive, generative processes that are involved in the learning of mathematics. These processes could perhaps be presented in simpler S-R terminology. The cognitive model emphasizes the learner's active, stepby-step processing of information, and is more compatible with the author's point of view. The data to be discussed will probably arouse recollections of the This is a slightly edited version of a paper commissioned by the ERIC Information Analysis Center for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education and presented at a session of the Special Interest Group for Research in Mathematics Education. The session, held 28 February 1973, was in conjunction with the AERA Annual Meeting. The paper was prepared pursuant to a contract with the Office of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. Contractors undertaking such projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their judgment in professional and technical matters. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official Office of Education position or policy.
On-demand use of β2-agonists led to better asthma control than did regular use in moderate-to-severe asthma

Source Citation Richter B, Bender R, Berger M. Effects of on-demand β 2-agonist inhalation in moderate-to-severe asthma. A randomized controlled trial. J Intern Med. 2000 Jun;247:657-66. 10886487 (...
Does preexisting mental illness influence outcome in pediatric trauma

Abstract Purpose. According to national estimates, up to 10% of American children suffer from some type of mental illness. Despite this high incidence, few studies have examined the role of a preexisting psychiatric disorder on childhood trauma. We hypothesize that children with such a diagnosis will have more severe injuries and poorer outcomes then other children. Methods. A 5-year (1998–2002) review of the Pennsylvania Trauma Outcome Study database was performed and information regarding children less than or equal to 16 years was abstracted. We evaluated the effects of a preexisting psychiatric diagnosis (not otherwise defined) and attention deficit disorder (ADD) on the type and mechanism of injury, injury severity, and outcome. Statistical analysis was performed using Student’s t-test, chi square, and Fisher’s exact test. Results. Over the study period 19,825 children were admitted to a Trauma Center: 530 (2.7%) had a preexisting psychiatric diagnosis (PD) and 189 (1%) had ADD. Children with ADD and PD were older than their peers (12.1 ± 3.3 versus 9.6 ± 5.6; P
Development and Characterization of a Novel Plug and Play Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) Source That Automates Connections between the Capillary Trap, Column, and Emitter

We report the development and characterization of a novel, vendor-neutral ultra-high pressure-compatible (∼10,000 p.s.i.) LC-MS source. This device is the first to make automated connections with user-packed capillary traps, columns, and capillary emitters. The source uses plastic rectangular inserts (referred to here as cartridges) where individual components (i.e. trap, column, or emitter) can be exchanged independent of one another in a plug and play manner. Automated robotic connections are made between the three cartridges using linear translation powered by stepper motors to axially compress each cartridge by applying a well controlled constant compression force to each commercial LC fitting. The user has the versatility to tailor the separation (e.g. the length of the column, type of stationary phase, and mode of separation) to the experimental design of interest in a cost-effective manner. The source is described in detail, and several experiments are performed to evaluate the robustness of both the system and the exchange of the individual trap and emitter cartridges. The standard deviation in the retention time of four targeted peptides from a standard digest interlaced with a soluble Caenorhabditis elegans lysate ranged between 3.1 and 5.3 s over 3 days of analyses. Exchange of the emitter cartridge was found to have an insignificant effect on the abundance of various peptides. In addition, the trap cartridge can be replaced with minimal effects on retention time (
The Contribution of Human Neutrophils and Serum to Host Defense Against Legionella micdadei

The interaction of Legionella micdadei with human polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) and serum was investigated to determine their roles in host defense against this organism. Serum and PMNs from normal donors having no antibody to L micadei were used. PMNs phagocytized once-agar-passaged (74.6% +/- 6.5%) and twice-agar-passaged (87.3% +/- 1.0%) L micdadei less (P less than 0.05) than L micdadei passaged multiple times on agar (97.5% +/- 1.0%) or Staphylococcus aureus (98.3% +/- 0.5%). Under the same conditions, no phagocytosis of Legionella pneumophila occurred. Use of heat-inactivated serum abolished phagocytosis. PMN killing of once-agar-passaged (1.5% +/- 1.5%) and twice-agar-passaged (0) L micdadei was less (P less than 0.001) than that of L micdadei passaged multiple times on agar (88.6% +/- 4.0%) or S aureus (96.8% +/- 0.5%). L micdadei was not killed by fresh serum, although, in contrast to L pneumophila, it was opsonized by C3. Thus virulent L micdadei is phagocytized, but not killed, by human PMNs, with complement being the major opsonin.
Kinetics and equilibrium properties of the biosorption of Cu2+ by algae.

The purpose of this study was to examine the kinetics and equilibrium properties of freshwater algae with Cu2+. This was a model system to explore using algae as biosensors for water quality. Methods included making luminescence measurements (fluorescence) and copper ion-selective electrode (CuISE) measurements vs. time to obtain kinetic data. Results were analyzed using a pseudo-first-order model to calculate the rate constants of Cu2+ uptake by algae: k p(Cu–algae) = 0.0025 ± 0.0006 s−1 by CuISE and k p(Cu–algae) = 0.0034 ± 0.0011 s−1 by luminescence. The binding constant of Cu–algae, K Cu–algae, was 1.62 ± 0.07 × 107 M−1. Fluorescence results analyzed using the Stern–Volmer relationship indicate that algae have two types of binding sites of which only one appears to affect quenching. The fluorescence-based method was found to be able to detect the reaction of algae with Cu2+ quickly and at a detection limit of 0.1 mg L−1.
Thermal (heat) shock biothermomechanical viewpoint.

Thermal (or heat) shock phenomena have been observed in all organisms at the cellular level. They cause an acceleration in the rate of expression of specific gene (heat shock genes), resulting in an increase and accumulation of heat shock proteins in cells. The purpose of this study is to investigate the mechanisms of thermal shock from two different viewpoint: biothermal and biothermomechanical aspects. The former predicts more severe consequences on cells that the latter, whose thermal wave fronts are smoothed due to the coupling effects of thermoelasticity
Volcanically influenced iron and aluminum cloud water deposition to Hawaii

Fog or cloud water (CW) deposition plays an important role in particle scavenging and the delivery of trace constituents to the Earth's surface. In this study, CW concentrations of total dissolvable iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) were measured in 60 samples spanning 26 individual CW events throughout 1999 in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park on the island of Hawaii. Al concentrations ranged from 8 to 10,489 nM, with a median of 344 nM while Fe concentrations ranged from < 1 to 6419 nM with a median of 32 nM. CW deposition fluxes for Fe and Al ranged from 0.15-0.52 mmol Fe m(-2) yr(-1) and 0.62-1.35 mmol Al m(-2) yr(-1), depending on the estimation method used. The large range in concentrations is higher than expected for a relatively pristine ecosystem. It appears that this inconsistency is due to emissions from the currently active nearby volcano, Kilauea. Categorizing CW events into volcanically versus less or non-volcanically impacted events suggests that although volcanically impacted events only accounted for 12% of fog water deposition, Kilauea Volcano was responsible at least 42% of the measured CW Al deposition and 61% of the CW Fe deposition measured for 1999. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Total gas pressure and oxygen and nitrogen saturation in warmwater ponds aerated with airlift pumps

Abstract Gas bubble disease and improper inflation of swim bladders in larval striped bass Morone saxatilis have been recently related in laboratory studies to very low levels of gas supersaturation. In other species, kills resulting from gas supersaturation have been reported in natural waters as large as Galveston Bay. We monitored warmwater ponds during spring to determine the extent of naturally occurring gas supersaturation and compared these levels with levels of gas saturation in ponds equipped with airlift pumps. Total gas pressure averaged 110% in the morning at the surface of non-aerated ponds and in the afternoon in ponds with airlift pumps. At other times of the day total gas pressure averaged 106–107% at the surface and bottom, morning and afternoon, in both aerated and non-aerated ponds. No evidence of gas bubble disease was found in 15-day-old striped bass fry cultured for 42 days in either aerated or non-aerated ponds.
Automated detection of breast masses on mammograms using adaptive contrast enhancement and texture classification

This paper presents segmentation and classification results of an automated algorithm for the detection of breast masses on digitized mammograms. Potential mass regions were first identified using density-weighted contrast enhancement (DWCE) segmentation applied to single-view mammograms. Once the potential mass regions had been identified, multiresolution texture features extracted from wavelet coefficients were calculated, and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used to classify the regions as breast masses or normal tissue. In this article the overall detection results for two independent sets of 84 mammograms used alternately for training and test were evaluated by free-response receiver operating characteristics (FROC) analysis. The test results indicate that this new algorithm produced approximately 4.4 false positive per image at a true positive detection rate of 90% and 2.3 false positives per image at a true positive rate of 80%.
Late-time breakup of laser-driven hydrodynamics experiments

Abstract Laser-driven blast waves are frequently used to explore hydrodynamic instability at high energy density. Experiments are designed such that the instability physics occurs in isolation, but secondary processes will eventually develop within the experimental system and affect the physics. At late times, as the blast wave diminishes in strength, these processes increasingly dominate while the instability physics weakens. The resulting dynamics can appear turbulent, and the root cause is not immediately apparent. In this work, we examine the conditions under which a system can begin to exhibit such behavior and, in this context, consider data from an experiment exploring Rayleigh–Taylor hydrodynamic instability, showing significant turbulent-like structure in the material mixing region.
Bilateral Carotid Endarterectomy: Impact of Staging on Early Results

Successive bilateral carotid endarterectomies were performed in 323 pa tients ; 193 (60%) had both sides operated on within fourteen days during the same hospitalization (Group I), and 130 (40%) were discharged after the first operation and readmitted for contralateral carotid endarterectomy more than two weeks later (Group II). High-risk patients who were older and sicker com prised the majority in Group II. Otherwise no attempt had been made to be selective based on preconceived criteria. There were 4 deaths (2.1 %) in Group I, and 1 death (0.7%) in Group II. Permanent neurologic complications occurred in 10 (5.2%) Group I patients and 8 (6.1%) Group II patients. Transient neuro logic complications were found in 8 (4.1%) of patients in Group I and 14 (10.8%) in Group II. No patients in Group II suffered any neurologic compro mise because of the waiting period between operations. A history of hyperten sion or previous cerebral infarction was found to place patients at increased risk for the development o...
Amount of photographic coverage for boys and girls on the sports page of newspapers as related to circulation size.

The present study analyzed the amount of photographic coverage devoted to high school athletics over I year. Previous research pertaining to sex differences in newspaper coverage of sports has focused on the amount of written coverage given. Present findings indicated that, as with written coverage given female athletes, photographic coverage differed singnificantly by newspaper circulation. Specifically, the larger the newspaper circulation, the more inequitable the photographic coverage of high school athletics was for girls.
Corporate restructuring : Converging world pattern or societally specific embeddedness ?

Recently the term “corporate restructuring” has been used to signify a series of strategies to relieve corporate cost burdens. In the American context, corporate restructuring has been synonymous w...
Primate supplementary eye field. II. Comparative aspects of connections with the thalamus, corpus striatum, and related forebrain nuclei.

The supplementary eye field (SEF) was defined electrophysiologically in behaving monkeys to study its connections with the diencephalon and corpus striatum. The specificity of SEF pathways was determined with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) histochemistry to compare its connections with those of the arcuate frontal eye field (FEF), contiguous dorsocaudal area 6 (6DC), and primary motor cortex (M1, arm/hand region). Results indicate that patterns of SEF connectivity were similar to the FEF and markedly different from areas GDC and Ml. Primary reciprocal thalamic pathways of the SEF were with the magnocellular ventral anterior (VA) nucleus, medial parvicellular VA, medial area X, and paralaminar medialis dorsalis (multi-formis and parvicellularis). FEF showed similar connections but its most robust pathway was with MD rather than VA. In contrast, area 6DC showed the most extensive reciprocal connections with lateral VApc and lateral area X with only sparse connections with paralaminar MD. Area 6DC also exhibited reciprocal connections with the ventral lateral (VL) complex and the ventral posterior lateral nucleus, pars oralis (VPLo). M1 showed dense bidirectional connections with VPLo, and to a lesser extent, with VL. M1 pathways with the medial dorsal nucleus were negligible. All areas exhibited connections with the paracentral and central lateral nuclei and only M1 lacked connections with the central superior lateral nucleus. SEF and FEF exhibited similar efferent projections to the caudate and putamen. In the caudate, terminal fields were restricted to a central longitudinal core while those from area 6DC were more widely distributed. Eye field efferents were restricted to the putamen's face region while 6DC projections were more exuberant. The arm/hand region of Ml projected to the arm/hand region of the putamen. Pathways are discussed with respect to their significance in oculomotor control.
Variation of normal derivatives of Green functions

Abstract We derive a variational formula for the outward normal derivative of the Green function for the Schrodinger and Laplace–Beltrami operators, viewed as perturbations of the Laplacian. As an application we begin to characterize elliptic growth—the growth of a domain pushed outward by its own Green function.
Effects of the β-lactamase gene and orientation of the kanamycin-resistance gene in plasmid pCED3 on the growth of Bacillus subtilis

Abstract Recombinant plasmid pCED3 inhibits growth of Bacillus subtilis cultures but in Escherichia coli, the plasmid has no effect on growth. We previously found that transcription from the tms promoter inhibits the expression of the plasmid-encoded kanamycin resistance gene (KNT) in B. subtilis resulting in the reduction of both β-galactosidase expression and cell growth rate in the presence of kanamycin. This effect was found to be markedly diminished by changing the orientation of the KNT gene on the plasmid. The primary β-lactamase gene product, which is not processed in B. subtilis, did not take part in growth inhibition. Thus the negative effect of tms-directed transcription on the cell's resistance to kanamycin and the high amount of pUB110-derived plasmid DNA in B. subtilis can account for the differential growth effect on B. subtilis and E. coli that plasmid pCED3 exerts.
An empirical investigation into the impact of refactoring on regression testing

It is widely believed that refactoring improves software quality and developer's productivity by making it easier to maintain and understand software systems. On the other hand, some believe that refactoring has the risk of functionality regression and increased testing cost. This paper investigates the impact of refactoring edits on regression tests using the version history of Java open source projects: (1) Are there adequate regression tests for refactoring in practice? (2) How many of existing regression tests are relevant to refactoring edits and thus need to be re-run for the new version? (3) What proportion of failure-inducing changes are relevant to refactorings? By using a refactoring reconstruction analysis and a change impact analysis in tandem, we investigate the relationship between the types and locations of refactoring edits identified by RefFinder and the affecting changes and affected tests identified by the FaultTracer change impact analysis. The results on three open source projects, JMeter, XMLSecurity, and ANT, show that only 22% of refactored methods and fields are tested by existing regression tests. While refactorings only constitutes 8% of atomic changes, 38% of affected tests are relevant to refactorings. Furthermore, refactorings are involved in almost half of the failed test cases. These results call for new automated regression test augmentation and selection techniques for validating refactoring edits.
Vector Autoregression with Mixed Frequency Data

The Vector Autoregression (VAR) model has been extensively applied in macroeconomics. A typical VAR requires its component variables being sampled at a uniformed frequency, regardless of the fact that some macro data are available monthly and some are only quarterly. Practitioners invariably align variables to the same frequency either by aggregation or imputation, regardless of information loss or noises gain. We study a VAR model with varied frequency data in a Bayesian context. Lower frequency (aggregated) data are essentially a linear combination of higher frequency (disaggregated) data. The observed aggregated data impose linear constraints on the autocorrelation structure of the latent disaggregated data. The perception of a constrained multivariate normal distribution is crucial to our Gibbs sampler. Furthermore, the Markov property of the VAR series enables a block Gibbs sampler, which performs faster for evenly aggregated data. Lastly, our approach is applied to two classic structural VAR analyses, one with long-run and the other with short-run identification constraints. These applications demonstrate that it is both feasible and sensible to use data of different frequencies in a new VAR model, the one that keeps the branding of the economic ideas underlying the structural VAR model but only makes minimum modification from a technical perspective.
Granular rheology and phase transition: DEM simulations and order-parameter based constitutive model

DEM (discrete element method) simulations are used to characterize granular rheology and granular phase transition by studying order parameter (OP) dynamics. These DEM simulations reveal the existence of a third stable granular phase that is neither completely fluid-like nor completely solid-like. Hence, a modified form of the free energy density function is proposed to account for this third stable granular phase observed in DEM simulations. Further, a constitutive model for granular flows is developed based on an objective version [Gao et al., Phys. Rev. E 71(021302), 2005] of the original OP concept proposed by Volfson et al. [Phys. Rev. E 68(021301), 2003], with the intention of capturing the transitional behavior in a continuum description of granular flows. This OP-based model is refined by extracting new model coefficients from 3D DEM simulations of homogeneous shear flow. The proposed linear version of the objective OP model has the advantage that the total granular stress is a linear combination of the solid-like and fluid-like stresses, and it is denoted as the refined order parameter (ROP) model. The performance of this ROP model along with other existing constitutive models is assessed in homogeneous shear flow, and the results are explained by analyzing granular stress data from DEM simulations.
The photophysical Characterisation of Novel 3,9-Dialkyloxy- and Diacyloxyperylenes

The fundamental photophysical properties of three symmetrically substituted 3,9-perylene analogues were examined in a diverse range of solvents. All three compounds exhibited solvent-dependent fluorescence quantum yield, which was lower than that of perylene or its diimides. Whilst the absence of a large excited state dipole moment suggests that there is no preferential charge accumulation in one side of the molecules, the data suggest that intramolecular electron transfer occurs and that such an event causes additional photochemical mechanisms in chlorinated compounds where the fluorescence quantum yield is lower than in all other solvents and the values of the fluorescence decay change significantly. The dyes could be an interesting new class of fluorescence tags for labeling biomolecules and as dyes for organic photovoltaic materials.
A novel bis-indole destabilizes microtubules and displays potent in vitro and in vivo antitumor activity in prostate cancer.

Purpose Microtubules are one of the most useful subcellular targets in chemotherapy. We identified a novel indole, (3-(1H-indol-2-yl)phenyl)(1H-indol-2-yl)methanone (15), that inhibits tubulin action and exhibits potent antitumor activity in various preclinical models.
Integrating ROVs with Conventional Diving Platforms, Pipelines and Subsea Wellheads

Offshore California is on the forefront of integrating ROV technology with conventional diving operations to achieve a more cost-effective result. This leadership is driven by the high cost of conventional divers on the West Coast, as well as, the fast rate that water depth increases offshore. In 1983, Oceaneering performed a variety of typical underwater projects including platform, pipeline and subsea wellhead inspection, maintenance and repair. Each job utilized ROV's to their maximum capabilities by performing all inspections and simple work tasks as engineered during the project planning. Navigation positioning was also integrated with the total operation. This paper will cover the details of each project and design interface considerations.
Mathematical models of human paralyzed muscle after long-term training

Abstract Spinal cord injury (SCI) results in major musculoskeletal adaptations, including muscle atrophy, faster contractile properties, increased fatigability, and bone loss. The use of functional electrical stimulation (FES) provides a method to prevent paralyzed muscle adaptations in order to sustain force-generating capacity. Mathematical muscle models may be able to predict optimal activation strategies during FES, however muscle properties further adapt with long-term training. The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of three muscle models, one linear and two nonlinear, for predicting paralyzed soleus muscle force after exposure to long-term FES training. Further, we contrasted the findings between the trained and untrained limbs. The three models’ parameters were best fit to a single force train in the trained soleus muscle ( N =4). Nine additional force trains (test trains) were predicted for each subject using the developed models. Model errors between predicted and experimental force trains were determined, including specific muscle force properties. The mean overall error was greatest for the linear model (15.8%) and least for the nonlinear Hill Huxley type model (7.8%). No significant error differences were observed between the trained versus untrained limbs, although model parameter values were significantly altered with training. This study confirmed that nonlinear models most accurately predict both trained and untrained paralyzed muscle force properties. Moreover, the optimized model parameter values were responsive to the relative physiological state of the paralyzed muscle (trained versus untrained). These findings are relevant for the design and control of neuro-prosthetic devices for those with SCI.
IMPACT OF DIETARY STEROLS ON LIFE-HISTORY TRAITS OF A CATERPILLAR

Although lepidopteran larvae have been shown to metabolise a number of different phytosterols, their life-history traits in response to these different phytosterols may vary with the species. Using the specialist moth, Plutella xylostella (Linaeus) (Lepidoptera), growth, development and fecundity on artificial diets containing host and non-host phytosterols were measured over two generations. Because of the nature of the experimental design, maternal effects linked to dietary sterol could be assessed. In both generations, survival was highest on diets containing sitosterol as the primary phytosterol. A significant decrease in survival on stigmasterol, a non-host phytosterol, was observed between generations. As expected, survival on a control diet with only trace-sterols decreased between generations. Larval duration and pupal duration in both generations was longest on the diets containing the non-host phytosterols, stigmasterol and spinasterol, and on the trace-sterol diet. Finally, fecundity was affected by dietary sterol. In the first generation, fewer viable eggs were produced on the stigmasterol and trace-sterol diets than on wheatgerm control diet. In both generations, dietary sterol significantly influenced percentage egg viability. Overall, these results indicate that differences in phytosterol structure can have pronounced effects on life-history traits, especially when they are projected to the population level. The implications of these results are discussed with respect to phytosterol use by phytophagous insects and their host plant affiliations.
Newspaper quality, pulitzer prizes, and newspaper circulation

Many journalists and journalism scholars contend that the profit motive of commercial media companies conflicts with the supply of high quality journalism. However, media companies should supply high quality news if quality yields sufficiently greater revenues. Quality journalism may not increase audience either because of a lemons problem or because consumers do not value the product dimensions that journalists do. The authors test whether news quality matters in a cross-section of U.S. newspapers. Newspapers winning Pulitzer Prizes in recent years have significantly higher circulation, even when controlling for the economic, demographic, and media characteristics of their markets.
Transforming the scholarly process through information technology

This chapter focuses on the influence of computers and communications technology on the scholarly process. Examples of this influence on all aspects of scholarship, from formulating ideas and gathering data to collaborating and publishing results, are discussed.
The interaction of living boar sperm and sperm plasma membrane vesicles with the porcine zona pellucida.

Abstract Enzymological, morphological, and immunological methods were used to characterize further the interaction of noncapacitated boar spermatozoa with the porcine zona pellucida. Transmission electron microscopy showed that sperm usually bind to the zona over the head region of the cell. Only the plasma membrane is involved in this binding. Bound sperm will undergo the acrosome reaction when treated with calcium and the ionophore A23187. The ability of intact sperm to bind to porcine eggs in vitro and the ability of sperm plasma membrane vesicles to absorb univalent antibody to the sperm binding site for the zona were used to determine the effects of various physical, chemical, and enzymological treatments on the sperm binding sites. These sites were resistant to a number of enzymes including proteases and polysaccharidases, but were inactivated by heat and trichloroacetic acid. Binding sites on the zona were inactivated by extracts from small quantities of sperm. Binding was also blocked by Fab antibody to whole zonae absorbed to other swine tissue and by similarly absorbed Fab antibody to sperm plasma membranes. These data provide further support for the presence of zona recognition sites on the plasma membrane of noncapacitated boar sperm. The binding sites on the sperm plasma membrane do not appear to be peripheral membrane proteins nor major constituents of a surface glycocalyx.
Is frozen section analysis of ureteral margins at time of radical cystectomy useful

The clinical utility of intraoperative frozen section analysis (FSA) of ureters at the time of radical cystectomy (RC) for urothelial cancer (UC) remains controversial and subject to considerable debate. Potential advantages include intraoperative detection of carcinoma in situ (CIS) or overt malignancy and directed ureteral sectioning to achieve negative margins to reduce anastomotic recurrence. The information gained at the time of FSA may be useful for risk-adapted upper tract surveillance. To critically assess the utility of FSA with respect to these potential advantages, we review the operating characteristics of FSA as a diagnostic test, the relationship between upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) recurrence and abnormal FSA, and the overall evidence for FSA on oncological end points and cost-effectiveness. Taken together, the weight of evidence suggests that while FSA is a reasonable diagnostic test, its utility has been recently questioned, and prospective study is warranted. There is a need to quantify the risk reduction in anastomotic recurrence in light of the cost-effectiveness of FSA compared to the alternative of only performing permanent analysis of proximal ureteral margins. Given the low rates of UTUC recurrence reported in the literature, the weak association between FSA and these recurrences, and mortality in retrospective studies, the clinical impact of reducing UTUC recurrence by FSA must continue to be critically evaluated.
Mass transfer into dilute polymeric solutions

Mass transfer into dilute polymeric solutions was studied by using a short wetted-wall column. Oxygen was absorbed into thin films of water and aqueous polymeric solutions. The polymer systems studied included dilute solutions of carboxymethylcellulose, polyethylene oxide, Carbopol, and Cyanamer. All of the above systems were moderately non-Newtonian with power law indexes less than unity. Methocel (a Newtonian fluid with a power law index of one) was also studied. The flow of liquid films was well within the laminar flow regime. The rheological properties of these solutions as well as equilibrium solubility of oxygen in these solutions were determined. In all of the polymer systems studied except Polyox the equilibrium so ubility of oxygen decreased with an increase in polymer concentration. In Polyox solutions, however, the equilibrium solubility of oxygen increased with an increase in polymer concentration. For all of the systems investigated (including Polyox) the mass transfer coefficient for absorption of oxygen at a given flow rate decreased with an increase in polymer concentration. The mass transfer coefficient was highest for water at all flow rates. The diffusivity of oxygen in all of the systems considered except Polyox was lower than that in water. This was attributed to the increased viscosity of the polymeric solutions. The diffusivity of oxygen in Polyox solutions was higher than it was in water. This was found to be due to the complex chemical reactions which occur in this system. In all of the pseudoplastic systems studied the diffusivity of oxygen increased with increasing wall shear rate (decreasing viscosity).
Moving Lines and Variable Criteria: Differences/Connections between Allopathic and Alternative Medicine

The standard narratives of medicine recognize its origins in natural cures and in religious or spiritual discourses. The uneasy relationships of such practices (now designated as complementary or alternative medicine [CAM]) to conventional health care today can be tracked to the formation of medicine as a distinct profession based on modern science. The author accepts four statements as a framework for exploring CAM in the context of modern medicine. The first is that all versions of unconventional medicine depend for their identity on the existence of conventional medicine. The second is that the distinctions between alternative and conventional medicine are variables of time, place, and the attitudes of health care practitioners. Third, CAM today in the West occupies no sharp and distinctive category. There are instead continuums of various slopes and lengths on which types of complementary and alternative medicine are arrayed. Fourth, the turn to CAM may represent a chronic (and, to some, welcome) incl...