cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Breast: An Analysis of a Rare Tumor Type in the SEER Database

Results: Median age was 65 years (range 40-85). Minorities comprised 83.7% of patients (31/37), with 54.4% (20) identified as African American and 27% (10) Hispanic. White women comprised 16.2% (6), and Asian 2.7% (1). The majority of lesions were low (14/37, 37.8%) or intermediate (17/37, 45.9%) grade; there were 6 (16.2%) G3 lesions. Median DCIS size was 0.5cm (range 0.1-2.4cm), and all margins were negative. All lesions were ER+/PR+ with the exception of one (ER+/ PR-). The DCIS Scores ranged from 0 to 53, corresponding to risks of ipsilateral breast events at 10 years of 9% to 21%; Median and mean DCIS Scores differed among Whites (0 and 12.8, respectively), African American (8 and 18.2), and Hispanics (26 and 23.1). Adjuvant RT was recommended to 8 patients, all but one of whom was African American or Hispanic. Five of these 8 women underwent treatment, and 3 declined therapy (1 White and 2 minority patients). In addition, 6 minority patients whose recurrence risk was below 15% (5/6 were 14%) chose to undergo RT. The median age for the patients recommended for RT was 68.5 years (58-85). Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this is the only evaluation of the use of DCIS Scores in the management of DCIS in a predominately minority population. Patient outcomes, as well as issues specific to this population, will be further evaluated. Author Disclosure: R. Young: None. N. Ohri: None. M. Garg: None. S. Patel: None. S. Kalnicki: None. J. Fox: None.
Recording of diabetes on death certificates. Has it improved

Objective: To determine whether the recording of diabetes on death certificates improved from 1986 to 1993. Method: Comparison of two National Mortality Follow-back Surveys that selected independent samples of death certificates with the purpose of obtaining information from informants about the decedents. Results: The recording of diabetes on death certificates did not improve from 1986 to 1993. Conclusion: Periodic monitoring of the accuracy of death certificates is essential for proper interpretation of mortality statistics which are routinely used to describe the burden of diabetes in our society.
Food Bank Users in and Around the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada, Are Characterized by Food Insecurity and Poor Produce Intake

This study examined the (1) food security status, produce intake, and produce-related behaviors of food bank clients from 4 food banks in and around British Columbia's (BC's) lower mainland; (2) differences in food security status, produce intake, and produce-related behaviors among those 4 food banks; and (3) relationship of food security status to produce intake and produce-related behaviors in food bank clients from 4 food banks in and around BC's lower mainland. Participants (n = 528) attended one of 4 food banks in BC. Overall, only 4.7% of food bank users in our sample lived in food secure households. These data are in stark contrast to Health Canada's 2007–2008 data estimating that food insecurity affected 7.7% of households in BC (4.8% moderately food insecure, 2.9 severely food insecure). Daily vegetable intake (1.7 ± 1.9; n = 474; P = .292), daily fruit intake (1.3 ± 1.6; n = 478; P = .935), and daily total produce intake (3.0 ± 2.9; n = 474; P = .548) were less than Health Canada recommendation...
Axonal transport of glycoconjugates in the rat visual system.

: Long-Evans rats at 45 days of age were injected intraocularly with 25 μCi of [3H]glucosamine. Incorporation of radioactivity into retinal gangliosides, glycoproteins, and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) was determined at various times after injection. Portions of all three classes of radioactive macromolecules were committed to rapid axonal transport in the retinal ganglion cells. With respect to gangliosides about 60% of those synthesized in the retina were retained in that structure, 30% were committed to transport to regions containing the nerve terminal structures (lateral geniculate body and superior colliculus), and about 10% were deposited in stationary structures of the axons (optic nerve and tract). With the exception of ganglioside GD3 the molecular species distribution of gangliosides synthesized in the retina matched that committed to transport. In contrast to gangliosides a smaller fraction of newly synthesized retinal glycoprotein (less than 12% of that synthesized in the retina) was committed to rapid transport to nerve ending regions and only about 0.5% was retained in the nerve and tract. The molecular-weight distribution of glycoproteins committed to transport differed quantitatively from that of the retina. With respect to GAGs an even smaller portion (1-2%) of that synthesized in the retina was committed to rapid transport; of this portion almost all was recovered in nerve terminal-containing structures. A constant proportion of each retinal GAG species was transported to the superior colliculus. We suggest that most of the retinal gangliosides are synthesized in neurons and preferentially in ganglion cells (possibly a function of the large surface membrane area supported by these cells). Subcellular fractionation experiments indicated that transported gangliosides, glycoproteins, and GAGs may be preferentially distributed into different subcellular compartments.
Irreversible perinatal imprinting of adult expression of the principal sex-dependent drug-metabolizing enzyme CYP2C11

We proposed to determine whether, like other sexual dimorphisms, drug metabolism is permanently imprinted by perinatal hormones, resulting in its irreversible sex-dependent expression. We treated newborn male rats with monosodium glutamate (MSG), a total growth hormone (GH) blocker, and, using cultured hepatocytes, examined expression of adult CYP2C11, the predominant cytochrome-P450 expressed only in males, as well as the signal transduction pathway by which episodic GH solely regulates the isoform's expression. In addition, adolescent hypophysectomized (hypox) male rats served as controls in which GH was eliminated after the critical imprinting period. Whereas renaturalization of the masculine episodic GH profile restored normal male-like levels of CYP2C11, as well as CYP2C12, in hepatocytes from hypox rats, the cells derived from the MSG-treated rats were completely unresponsive. Moreover, GH exposure of hepatocytes from hypox rats resulted in normal induction, activation, nuclear translocation, and binding to the CYP2C11 promoter of the signal transducers mediating GH regulation of CYP2C11 expression, which dramatically contrasted with the complete unresponsiveness of the MSG-derived hepatocytes, also associated with hypermethylation of GH-response elements in the CYP2C11 promoter. Lastly, neonatal MSG treatment had no adverse effect on postnatal and adult testosterone levels. The results demonstrate that the sexually dimorphic expression of CYP2C11 is irreversibly imprinted shortly after birth by a hormone other than the customary testosterone, but likely by GH.—Das, R. K., Banerjee, S., Shapiro, B. H. Irreversible perinatal imprinting of adult expression of the principal sex-dependent drug-metabolizing enzyme CYP2C11.
Energetics of hydrogen bond network rearrangements in liquid water.

A strong temperature dependence of oxygen K-edge x-ray absorption fine structure features was observed for supercooled and normal liquid water droplets prepared from the breakup of a liquid microjet. Analysis of the data over the temperature range 251 to 288 kelvin (–22° to +15°C) yields a value of 1.5 ± 0.5 kilocalories per mole for the average thermal energy required to effect an observable rearrangement between the fully coordinated (“ice-like”) and distorted (“broken-donor”) local hydrogen-bonding configurations responsible for the pre-edge and post-edge features, respectively. This energy equals the latent heat of melting of ice with hexagonal symmetry (ice Ih) and is consistent with the distribution of hydrogen bond strengths obtained for the “overstructured” ST2 model of water.
Drainage in the San Joaquin Valley as it may be affected by the Central Valley Project

Drainage-conditions as we find them today, in the San Joaquin Valley, are largely man-made. Without attempting to go into detail, or, in fact, even to verify this statement from historical records, it would appear logical to believe that the only primeval need for drainage in the Valley was confined to its flatter portions which were overflowed during the spring and early summer. Our characteristic two-season climate would limit overflow to periods of heavy rains from January to March and to the first few hot days of early summer when the accumulated snows were melting rapidly. Probably the only permanently swampy areas were the Delta country at the confluence of the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers where the influence of tidal action was more dominant than the flood-stage of the streams and the Tulare and Buena Vista Lake areas of Kings and Kern counties. Overflowed areas along the San Joaquin from Mendota to the delta I have not considered as permanently wet as they probably dried up completely during the late summer and fall.
Peripheral lipopolysaccharide administration impairs two-way active avoidance conditioning in C57BL/6J mice.

Abstract Peripheral administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or interleukin-1 (IL-1) may lead to alterations of CNS function and behavioral changes designated “sickness behavior.” Further, some experiments show evidence of LPS- and cytokine-mediated alterations in learning and memory. The current series of experiments examined the effects of a single or repeated intraperitoneal LPS injections, at a number of doses and time points before or after test sessions, on behavior in a two-way active avoidance conditioning paradigm. Subjects were able to avoid the mild shock stimulus, escape it, or fail to respond to it. Subjects treated with LPS at many, but not all, of the time points sampled showed impaired learning, by exhibiting significantly fewer avoidance responses than controls. Furthermore, an LPS-induced increase in non-cued inter-trial interval crossings was observed during the later days of testing, suggesting that a greater percentage of their avoidance responses was not conditioned and their behavior was less efficient. Taken together, the results suggest that LPS-treated animals showed a diminished association between conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US). These results support the theory that peripheral immune stimuli may induce deleterious effects on learning, and extend the work to a negatively reinforced operant procedure.
Brandom on Modality, Normativity and Intentionality

1. Professor Brandom's paper is addressed to a methodological question: When we set out to account for the intentionality of thought and language, what resources may we exploit? Which notions (concepts, words) may we use? Brandom is a famously ambitious theorist. Unlike his colleague, John McDowell, Brandom has long maintained that we should at least aspire to explain intentionality in non-intentional terms. This leaves it open, however, which non-intentional resources are legitimate. Brandom's foil, the reductive naturalist, insists upon an idiom that is both non-intentional and non-normative. Contemporary naturalism differs from its mid-century (Quinean) variant in allowing certain modal notions to serve as unexplained explainers for this purpose. This is true not just of causal and information-theoretic approaches, but also of Millikan's teleosemantics, in which the central technical notion-proper function-is defined in modal terms. Brandom clearly admires these modem naturalists for their ambition and for their rigor. And he does not deny the legitimacy of their starting point. Naturalists are entitled to their modal words, even if they cannot define them in more basic terms. His aim is rather to defend the ecumenical thesis that if this sort of modal naturalism is legitimate, then so is a moderate form of anti-naturalism which allows certain irreducibly normative notions in the explanatory/reductive basis.
High-performance work system implementation in small and medium enterprises: A knowledge-creation perspective

While it is well established that high-performance work systems (HPWSs) affect firm-level outcomes within large, complex organizations, less is known about how they create benefits for firms within the small-business sector. Using a knowledge-creation perspective, this study examines the impact of HPWSs in small and medium enterprises and examines whether the impact observed depends on the small-business leader's capacity to obtain additional HR knowledge from an external expert, as well as the leader's HR background and knowledge. Archival and survey data were obtained from 294 small-business organizations, with survey responses obtained from both the small-business leader and an HR consultant assigned to the small business. Findings suggest that leader perceptions of HR effectiveness are positively related to the use of HPWSs and that this relationship is moderated both by the communication patterns between the small-business leader and the HR consultant assigned to the firm and the small-business leader's HR knowledge. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Inhibition of fat cell lipolysis by low FFA to albumin ratios

Epididymal fat cells isolated from chronically cold-exposed rats were used to study the inhibition of lipolysis with albumin bound FFA. It was demonstrated that lipolysis becomes inhibited as the class 2 binding sites on albumin are filled and that 50% inhibition occurs at free fatty acid (FFA) to albumin ratios\((\bar v)\) between 4.6 and 4.0. Experiments with dibutyryl adenosine cyclic phosphate suggest that this is an effect on the fat cell lipases rather than the lipase activating system or phosphodiesterase. The results indicate that reesterification proceeds as a relatively constant percentage of the rate of lipolysis and, therefore, in the absence of exogenous FFA, conditions that reduce lipolysis reduce reesterification. On the other hand, high rates of reesterification can apparently be stimulated even when the class 1 binding sites on albumin are not filled.
A novel motif identified in dependence receptors.

Programmed cell death signaling is a critical feature of development, cellular turnover, oncogenesis, and neurodegeneration, among other processes. Such signaling may be transduced via specific receptors, either following ligand binding—to death receptors—or following the withdrawal of trophic ligands—from dependence receptors. Although dependence receptors display functional similarities, no common structural domains have been identified. Therefore, we employed the Multiple Expectation Maximization for Motif Elicitation and the Motif Alignment and Search Tool software programs to identify a novel transmembrane motif, dubbed dependence-associated receptor transmembrane (DART) motif, that is common to all described dependence receptors. Of 3,465 human transmembrane proteins, 25 (0.7%) display the DART motif. The predicted secondary structure features an alpha helical structure, with an unusually high percentage of valine residues. At least four of the proteins undergo regulated intramembrane proteolysis. To date, we have not identified a function for this putative domain. We speculate that the DART motif may be involved in protein processing, interaction with other proteins or lipids, or homomultimerization.
Is bacterial vaginosis a stronger risk factor for preterm birth when it is diagnosed earlier in gestation

Objective It is stated commonly that the earlier in pregnancy bacterial vaginosis is diagnosed, the greater is the increase in risk of preterm birth compared with women without bacterial vaginosis. However, this contention is based on small numbers of women. Study design In this analysis of 12,937 women who were screened for bacterial vaginosis as part of a previously conducted clinical trial, the odds ratio of preterm birth ( Results The odds ratio of preterm birth among bacterial vaginosis–positive versus bacterial vaginosis–negative women ranged from 1.1 to 1.6 and did not vary significantly according to the gestational age at which bacterial vaginosis was screened. The odds ratio for preterm birth did not vary significantly by gestational age at diagnosis when bacterial vaginosis was subdivided into Gram stain score 7 to 8 or 9 to 10. Conclusion Although bacterial vaginosis was associated with an increased risk of preterm birth, the gestational age at which bacterial vaginosis was screened for and diagnosed did not influence the increase.
Mouse strain variation in SMA(+) myofibroblast development after corneal injury.

The purpose of present study was to investigate differences in myofibroblast development after haze-generating injury in different commonly used strains of mice. The inbred mouse strains used in this study were Balb/c, C57BL/6, C3H/HeJ and DBA/1J. All mice had uniform irregular phototherapeutic keratectomy with an excimer laser according to a previously published method to generate stromal haze. DBA/1J mice generated significantly greater density of alpha smooth muscle actin (SMA)-positive myofibroblasts in the anterior stroma compared to Balb/c (p < 0.05), C57BL/6 (p < 0.05) and C3H/HeJ (p < 0.01) mice. The C3H/HeJ strain had significantly lower density of SMA-positive myofibroblasts compared to other three mouse strains. These results indicate that mouse strain must be considered in designing experiments and interpreting the results of experiments in which corneal haze and myofibroblast generation is studied in mice. Further investigation of genetics underlying mouse strain variation could provide insight into the corneal wound healing and haze generation processes.
Local multiplicity adjustments for spatial cluster detection.

The spatial scan statistic is a widely applied tool for cluster detection. The spatial scan statistic evaluates the significance of a series of potential circular clusters using Monte Carlo simulation to account for the multiplicity of comparisons. In most settings, the extent of the multiplicity problem varies across the study region. For example, urban areas typically have many overlapping clusters, while rural areas have few. The spatial scan statistic does not account for these local variations in the multiplicity problem. We propose two new spatially-varying multiplicity adjustments for spatial cluster detection, one based on a nested Bonferroni adjustment and one based on local averaging. Geographic variations in power for the spatial scan statistic and the two new statistics are explored through simulation studies, and the methods are applied to both the well-known New York leukemia data and data from a case–control study of breast cancer in Wisconsin.
Effects of antihypertensive drug treatment on the risk of dementia and cognitive impairment

Dementia is a common and serious health problem that affects 33 million persons globally. With the increase in life expectancy, the prevalence of dementia is expected to reach 81.1 million persons by 2040. Dementia impairs quality of life and is associated with profound disease burden, morbidity, and mortality in both patients and caregivers. Therefore, identifying measures to prevent dementia is a research priority. Midlife hypertension has increased the risk of dementia in large prospective cohort studies. Researchers have investigated the blood pressure-lowering effects of antihypertensive drugs on the incidence of dementia. Although prospective cohort studies have shown that use of antihypertensive drugs was associated with a reduced rate of cognitive impairment and dementia, these studies were not placebo controlled. Four randomized, placebo-controlled studies-the Systolic Hypertension in Europe (Syst-Eur) study, Study on Cognition and Prognosis in the Elderly (SCOPE), Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program (SHEP), and Perindopril Protection Against Recurrent Stroke Study (PROGRESS)-investigated the effects of antihypertensive agents on the incidence of dementia. The Syst-Eur study found that active treatment with nitrendipine, enalapril, and/or hydrochlorothiazide reduced the rate of dementia by 50% compared with placebo (p=0.05). The PROGRESS study showed that active treatment with perindopril and indapamide was associated with reduced cognitive decline compared with placebo (risk ratio 19%, p=0.01). In contrast, the SCOPE study (candesartan or hydrochlorothiazide vs placebo) and the SHEP trial (chlorthalidone, atenolol, or reserpine vs placebo) found no significant difference between the active treatment and placebo groups on the incidence of dementia. Some researchers have suggested that certain antihypertensive drug classes, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin II receptor blockers, diuretics, and calcium channel blockers, may offer benefit in reducing dementia risk in addition to their blood pressure-lowering effect. Further prospective randomized studies comparing different antihypertensive classes are needed to provide more evidence regarding the effects of antihypertensive drugs on dementia risk and to determine whether certain antihypertensive classes provide greater benefits than others.
Effects of N doping on ZnO thin films grown by MOVPE

Abstract Effects of N doping on zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) using diethyl zinc (DEZn) and O 2 precursors and NH 3 as the doping source have been studied. N-doped ZnO thin films were deposited on c-plane sapphire substrates with NH 3 flow rates from 0.2% to 4% during growth. Highly resistive ZnO thin films with p-type carrier concentrations of 4.24×10 14 cm −3 and mobility of 16.55 cm 2 /Vs were obtained. Resistivity for the as-grown films on the order of 2.3×10 6 Ω cm was observed. The PL results of the N-doped ZnO show suppression of the band-edge luminescence and two broad peaks centered at 480 and 600 nm attributable to deep N acceptor luminescence were seen. Rapid thermal annealing at 800 °C in N 2 ambient turned all the N-doped ZnO films, irrespective of doping concentration, to highly conductive n-type with carrier concentration on the order of 5.92×10 18 cm −3 , mobility on the order of 34.91 cm 2 /Vs and resistivity of 0.09 Ω cm.
Is the liquid penetration in diesel sprays mixing controlled

Computations of spray penetration and vaporization under diesel conditions are performed under different injection and ambient conditions. A two-fluid model which solves Eulerian field equations for the gas and the liquid phases is employed to model vaporizing non-combusting sprays under high injection pressure diesel conditions. As a first step, the locally homogenous flow (LHF) approximation is considered where the two phases have the same velocity at a given spatial location and time. Under this assumption, the mixing controlled vaporization is modeled using thermodynamic equilibrium between the two phases. The liquid-phase penetrantion is compared with constant-volume measurements made under diesel conditions by Siebers at Sandia National Laboratories. The variation of liquid penetration with the injection velocity, ambient temperature, and the ambient density is studied. Comparison with measurements show reasonable agreement of trends with respect to injection velocity and ambient temperature. The trends of variation with ambient density to not show adequate agreement at lower densities. The results suggest that vaporization may be largely controlled by turbulent mixing at higher ambient densities, but non-equilibrium vaporization effects may be important at lower ambient densities. Furthermore, the LHF approximation may not be applicable, in particular, at lower densities where the two phases have significantly different velocities.
Can faith be a doxastic venture

In a recent article in this journal, John Bishop argues in defence of conceiving of Christian faith as a ‘doxastic venture’. That is, he defends the claim that, in exercising faith, agents believe beyond ‘what can be established rationally on the basis of evidence and argument’. Careful examination reveals that Bishop fails adequately to show that faith in the face of inadequate epistemic reasons for believing is, or can even be, a uniquely doxastic venture. I argue that faith is best conceived of as a sub-doxastic venture that involves pragmatically assuming that God exists.
Doping of epitaxial silicon-behavior of solid solutions

Abstract This paper presents a theoretical model for the behavior of solid solutions of group III and V impurities in silicon. The impurities are considered as weak electrolytes dissolved in an ionizing medium. The Fermi level, the activity coefficient and the dissociation equilibrium constants for the dopants are calculated, using Fermi-Dirac statistics, as functions of temperature and doping level. The solid solutions obey Henry's law at very low concentrations and exhibit positive deviations as the concentration is increased. Ionization of impurities or dopants as a function of their concentrations are discussed.
Hierarchical memory mapping during synthesis in FPGA-based reconfigurable computers

One step in the synthesis for FPGA-based Reconfigurable Computers (RCs) involves mapping the design data structures onto the physical memory banks available in the hardware. The advent of Xilinx Virtex-style FPGAs and of hierarchical memory schemes on reconfigurable boards introduced an added complexity to this mapping. The new RC boards offer a wealth of memory banks many of them on-chip (such as the BlockRAMs available in the Virtex architecture) and many of them offering variable number of ports and several depth/width configurations. Along with the external RAMs, a hierarchy of memories with varying access performances are available in a reconfigurable computer. It becomes critical to perform a good mapping to achieve optimal design performance. This paper presents an automatic memory mapping methodology which takes into account: the number of words and word size of design data segments and physical memory banks, number of ports on the banks, access latency of the banks, proximity of the banks to the processing unit, life cycle analysis of data segments, and it also incorporates configuration selection from the multiple configurations available in BlockRAMs of Virtex series FPGAs. In the case of multiple processing elements on board, the paper also provides a framework in which the task of memory mapping interacts with spatial partitioning to provide the best implementation.
About the nature and future of interactive marketing

Abstract The essence of interactivity is exchange. Degree of contingency and frequency are among the more important dimensions of a marketing exchange. Technology enables and enhances these dimensions on a scale and scope unprecedented in human history. The author argues that information technology and the collaborative potential of the Internet may eventually change human cognitive processes as much or more than writing technology did. He offers anecdotal evidence that technology-assisted human collaboration can systematically lead to synergetic, “previously unthinkable,” (and therefore unpredictable) breakthroughs. While it is therefore not reasonable to expect accurate predictions of what the breakthroughs in interactive marketing and “e-business” will be, it is possible to think about ways to discover them earlier. Two areas of research are suggested as being of special interest: whether or not the collaborative potential of technology is likely to transform business-as-games-against-competitors into business-as-games-with-customers; and what are the necessary and sufficient conditions for interactive technology to lead to breakthrough creativity.
Genome-Wide Association Study of d-Amphetamine Response in Healthy Volunteers Identifies Putative Associations, Including Cadherin 13 (CDH13)

Both the subjective response to d-amphetamine and the risk for amphetamine addiction are known to be heritable traits. Because subjective responses to drugs may predict drug addiction, identifying alleles that influence acute response may also provide insight into the genetic risk factors for drug abuse. We performed a Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) for the subjective responses to amphetamine in 381 non-drug abusing healthy volunteers. Responses to amphetamine were measured using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects design. We used sparse factor analysis to reduce the dimensionality of the data to ten factors. We identified several putative associations; the strongest was between a positive subjective drug-response factor and a SNP (rs3784943) in the 8 th intron of cadherin 13 (CDH13; P=4.58610 28 ), a gene previously associated with a number of psychiatric traits including methamphetamine dependence. Additionally, we observed a putative association between a factor representing the degree of positive affect at baseline and a SNP (rs472402) in the 1 st intron of steroid-5-alpha-reductase-a-polypeptide-1 (SRD5A1; P=2.53610 27 ), a gene whose protein product catalyzes the rate-limiting step in synthesis of the neurosteroid allopregnanolone. This SNP belongs to an LD-block that has been previously associated with the expression of SRD5A1 and differences in SRD5A1 enzymatic activity. The purpose of this study was to begin to explore the genetic basis of subjective responses to stimulant drugs using a GWAS approach in a modestly sized sample. Our approach provides a case study for analysis of high-dimensional intermediate pharmacogenomic phenotypes, which may be more tractable than clinical diagnoses.
Kant's Refutation of Idealism: Once More Unto the Breach

In ‘Kant's Refutation of Idealism’ ( Nous , 47), I defend a version of the Refutation, pioneered by Paul Guyer in Kant and the Claims of Knowledge , whose core idea is that the only way that one can know the order of one's own past experiences, except in certain rare cases, is by correlating them with the successive states of perceived external objects that caused the experiences. Andrew Chignell has offered a probing critique of my reconstruction of Kant's argument ( Philosophical Quarterly , 60), and I have responded ( Philosophical Quarterly , 61). In a rebuttal of my response, Chignell raises three new objections ( Philosophical Quarterly , 61). My purpose in this paper is to reply to these.
A novel technique for probing the transverse interactions between an electron beam and a plasma

In laser-plasma interaction experiments there are a variety of effects which will scatter or deflect a probing electron beam. For example, a longitudinally probing electron beam is defocused by the ponderomotive force of a laser, but in a plasma the laser can set up fields which actually confine the electron beam. In the cases of plasma wave excitation via the beatwave or wakefield mechanisms, the thermalization of the electron distribution function can lead to large scale magnetic fields via the Weibel instability. A novel Cherenkov probe has been built and tested which measures the transverse current distribution of an electron beam with at least 50 ps time resolution. A solenoid lens is used to map angular deflections within the interaction region into x-y space at the location of the Cherenkov probe. This allows the cases mentioned above to be experimentally studied.
ANAESTHETIC MODIFICATION OF REGIONAL MYOCARDIAL FUNCTIONAL ADJUSTMENTS DURING MYOCARDIAL ISCHAEMIA: HALOTHANE VS FENTANYL

During myocardial ischaemia, functional compensation occurs by non-ischaemic regions of the left ventricle (LV). Anaesthetics may affect compensation by altering contractility, metabolism and perfusion. This was studied in dogs anaesthetized with fentanyl (150 ng kg−1 loading dose and 100 fig kg−1h−1) or 0.75% and 1.5% halothane and subjected to left anterior descending artery (LAD) occlusion. After 15 min of anterior wall ischaemia, cardiac output, mean arterial pressure and LV maximum dP/dt were diminished in the 1.5% halothane but not in the 0.75% halothane or fentanyl groups. In all groups, stroke volume decreased, LV end-diastolic pressure increased and anterior wall function deteriorated (measured as systolic shortening, peak systolic intramyocardial pressure (IMP), regional wall stroke work (RSW) and slope of preload recruitable stroke work curve (Mw)) with ischaemia. Functional changes in the lateral (non-ischaemic) wall were different between groups. Regional function during occlusion in this area improved with fentanyl (mean (SEM) IMP, RSW and Mw increased by 23 (2)%, 37 (3)% and 69 (7)%, respectively), was relatively well-maintained with 0.75% halothane and diminished with 1.5% halothane.
Social Memory as Ritual Practice: Commemorating Spirits of the Military Dead at Yasukuni Shinto Shrine

For architects of citizenship and nationhood, there is no shortage of conflicts and wars from which to build modern myths about submerging individual suffering and loss to greater causes. The grief, anger, and despair of individuals can be integrated over time into collectively shared assumptions about the indebtedness of the living to their heroic compatriots and ancestors. To remember these conflicts and those who (depending on the political context) either “lost” or “gave” their lives has been throughout recent history a vital act of citizenship, both “affirming the community at large and asserting its moral character” (Winter 1995, 85). Certainly from an American perspective, national identity remains “inexorably intertwined with the commemoration and memory of past wars” (Piehler 1995, 3). This observation applies even more intensely elsewhere in the world (e.g., Russia, China, France, Japan) where the loss of combatant and civilian life has been far greater.
Improved clinical outcomes and survival following repair of acute type A aortic dissection in the current era

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to compare early postoperative outcomes and actuarial-free survival between patients who underwent repair of acute type A aortic dissection during 2000–2005 and 2006–2010. METHODS: A total of 251 patients from four academic medical centres underwent repair of acute type A aortic dissection between January 2000 and October 2010. Of those, 111 patients underwent repair during 2000–2005, whereas 140 patients underwent repair during 2006–2010. Median ages were 62 years (range 20–83) and 58 years (range 30–80) for patients repaired from 2000–2005 compared with those repaired during 2006–2010, respectively (P= 0.180). Major morbidity, operative mortality and 5-year actuarial survival were compared between groups. Multivariate logistic regression was used to determine predictors of operative mortality. RESULTS: Operative mortality was strongly influenced by surgical era (24% for 2000–2005 vs 12% for 2006–2010, P= 0.013). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, haemodynamic instability [odds ratio (OR) = 17.8, 95% confidence intervals (CIs) = 0.05–0.35, P 200 min (OR = 9.5, 95% CI = 0.14–0.64, P= 0.002) and earlier date of surgery (OR = 5.8, 95% CI = 1.18–5.14, P= 0.016) emerged as independent predictors of operative mortality. Actuarial 5-year survival was worse for earlier compared with later date of surgery (64% for 2000–2005 vs 77% for 2006–2010, log-rank P<0.001).
Nonhierarchical ribonucleoprotein assembly suggests a strain-propagation model for protein-facilitated RNA folding.

Proteins play diverse and critical roles in cellular ribonucleoproteins (RNPs) including promoting formation of and stabilizing active RNA conformations. Yet, the conformational changes required to convert large RNAs into active RNPs have proven difficult to characterize fully. Here we use high-resolution approaches to monitor both local nucleotide flexibility and solvent accessibility for nearly all nucleotides in the bI3 group I intron RNP in four assembly states: the free RNA, maturase-bound RNA, Mrs1-bound RNA, and the complete six-component holocomplex. The free RNA is misfolded relative to the secondary structure required for splicing. The maturase and Mrs1 proteins each stabilized long-range tertiary interactions, but neither protein alone induced folding into the functional secondary structure. In contrast, simultaneous binding by both proteins results in large secondary structure rearrangements in the RNA and yielded the catalytically active group I intron structure. Secondary and tertiary foldin...
Evidence Against a Defect in Immune Host Defenses as a Primary Process in IBD

Since the description of ulcerative colitis more than 100 years ago and Crohn’s disease over 50 years ago, numerous hypotheses have been put forth to explain the etio-pathogenesis of IBD. Up to now, no true etiologic agent or defect has been defined, leaving the door open for wide and disparate speculations. We have moved forward from the time when investigators thought that UC was a milk allergy and that Crohn’s disease was caused by an overeating of corn flakes. Still, there is no clear cut evidence that the investigators proposing these theories were incorrect. We have all assumed that the improvement seen in Crohn’s colitis following diversion of the fecal stream, which has been described by many groups (1), is related to the reduction of antigenic load, allowing mucosal defense mechanisms to re-regulate themselves. However, it is just as plausible to postulate that pathogenic dietary or infectious agents, or both, are diverted from the inflamed site. After all, the layman’s outlook on these diseases, that is that bowel disease is caused by something you eat, is not so far-fetched. We all accept that dietary fats and low fiber diets predispose to colon cancer. Just because we cannot identify a compound or an agent does not mean that it is not there, a point that should be kept in mind for immunologic processes as well.
Asteroid and comet flux in the neighborhood of Earth

Significant advances in the knowledge and understanding of the flux of large solid objects in the neighborhood of Earth have occurred. The best estimates of the collision rates with Earth of asteroids and comets and the corresponding production of impact craters are presented. Approximately 80 Earth-crossing asteroids were discovered through May 1988. Among 42 new Earth-crossing asteroids found in the last decade, two-thirds were discovered from observations at Palomar Observatory and 15 were discovered or independently detected in dedicated surveys with the Palomar Observatory and 15 were discovered or independently detected in dedicated surveys with the Palomar 46 cm Schmidt. Probabilities of collision with Earth have been calculated for about two-thirds of the known Earth-crossing asteroids. When multiplied by the estimated population of Earth-crossers, this yields an estimated present rate of collision about 65 pct higher than that previously reported. Spectrophotometric data obtained chiefly in the last decade show that the large majority of obvserved Earth-crossers are similar to asteroids found in the inner part of the main belt. The number of discovered Earth-crossing comets is more than 4 times greater than the number of known Earth-crossing asteroids, but reliable data on the sizes of comet nuclei are sparse. The flux of comets almost certainly was highly variable over late geologic time, owing to the random perturbation of the Oort comet cloud by stars in the solar neighborhood.
Ancient T-independence of mucosal IgX/A: gut microbiota unaffected by larval thymectomy in Xenopus laevis

Many studies address the influence of the gut microbiome on the immune system, but few dissect the effect of T cells on gut microbiota and mucosal responses. We have employed larval thymectomy in Xenopus to study the gut microbiota with and without the influence of T lymphocytes. Pyrosequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA genes was used to assess the relative abundance of bacterial groups present in the stomach, small and large intestine. Clostridiaceae was the most abundant family throughout the gut, while Bacteroidaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, and Flavobacteriaceae also were well represented. Unifrac analysis revealed no differences in microbiota distribution between thymectomized and unoperated frogs. This is consistent with immunization data showing that levels of the mucosal immunoglobulin IgX are not altered significantly by thymectomy. This study in Xenopus represents the oldest organisms that exhibit class switch to a mucosal isotype and is relevant to mammalian immunology, as IgA appears to have evolved from IgX based upon phylogeny, genomic synteny, and function.
Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy: Complications and Management

Over the past 10 years, minimally invasive esophagectomy has become an accepted approach to the management of esophageal and gastroesophageal benign and malignant neoplasms. There are many interpretations of the minimally invasive esophagectomy. Currently, the most frequently performed surgeries include combined thoracoscopic esophageal mobilization and laparoscopic gastric mobilization with creation of a cervical esophagogastrostomy anastomosis (“3-hole” esophagectomy); laparoscopic Ivor-Lewis technique, utilizing a laparoscopic mobilization of the stomach followed by a thoracoscopic intrathoracic esophagogastrostomy anastomosis; laparoscopic transhiatal esophagectomy, utilizing a laparoscopic mobilization of the stomach and a trans-abdominal laparoscopic mediastinal esophageal dissection, combined with a cervical esophageal blunt dissection and creation of an esophagogastrostomy anastomosis in the neck.
Requirements for design-relevant psychological models

Cognitive engineering is largely concerned with creating environmental designs to support skillful and effective human activity. Psychological models must meet special constraints in order to effectively support this enterprise. The goal is to identify a set of constraints that models must meet if they can usefully guide design. The author discusses two types of constraints on acceptable psychological models that arise due to the need to represent both internal and external influences on cognition and behavior. The first set of constraints is structural. The second set of constraints concerns the content of acceptable models. It is concluded that cognitive engineering most requires models capable of representing the human and environment as an integrated unit, and which represent the activities underlying fluent, skilled behavior. >
Does zoning matter? A comparative analysis of landscape change in Redland, Florida using cellular automata

Landscape change is a key feature of social–ecological change, and is especially marked in, urbanizing regions. Planning institutions use land use zoning to control and direct such changes. Urban growth models are commonly used to better understand past landscape changes as well as, forecast and plan for future landscape changes. Many of these models, however, do not utilize zoning, information in their deployment because many model designers do not believe zoning to be a relevant, criterion for the prediction of urban growth. This research offers a novel methodology for integrating, zoning information into a cellular automaton urban growth model, SLEUTH. It additionally tests the, utility of such information by comparing metrics of fit with past data under different zoning inclusion, conditions in a community of Miami-Dade County, Florida. These conditions include one scenario, where zoning is ignored and three others where it is included. The latter three test different methods, of including zoning data for three generalized zoning categories – arbitrarily guessing, measuring urban, growth in each zoning category for the entire study area, and measuring urban growth in each zoning, category only in those areas more likely to experience growth. Results indicate that this final condition, generates the highest model performance metric and creates a more fair comparison since remote, areas in the study area, less likely to experience growth, exaggerate differences in urban growth rates, across the different zoning categories. We conclude that zoning information, when utilized, appropriately, improves model performance and is therefore relevant for landscape change.
Does the USA have market power in importing ethanol from Brazil

With the ever increasing requirement in the USA to blend higher volumes of advanced biofuels with gasoline and the shortfall in domestic production to fulfil this requirement, imports of ethanol from Brazil will likely take on an even more vital role. In this paper, we examine US buyer power over Brazil. For methodology, we estimate the sugarcane ethanol residual supply function facing the USA. We find that while the USA had buyer power before the enactment of the advanced biofuels mandate, that buyer power disappeared after the mandate. One possible explanation is that, given that Brazil is the primary source of the sugarcane ethanol, the mandate requirement has increased rivalry between the USA and the remaining importers, creating a perfect market overlap between the rivals.
Pulmonary dose-volume predictors of radiation pneumonitis following stereotactic body radiation therapy

Abstract Purpose Radiation pneumonitis (RP) may be severe after stereotactic body radiation therapy. Our purpose was to identify pulmonary and cardiac dosimetric parameters that predicted for post-stereotactic body radiation therapy grade ≥2 RP. Methods and materials A total of 335 patients with ≥3 months' follow-up were included. Normal pulmonary volume was total lungs minus gross tumor volume. Pulmonary maximum dose, mean lung dose (MLD), and the percent of lung receiving ≥x Gy for 5 to 50 Gy in 5-Gy increments were collected. Cardiac maximum dose, mean dose, volume of lung receiving ≥0.1 Gy (V0.1), V0.25 to V1, and V2.5 to V12.5 were recorded. Multivariable logistic regression with manual backward stepwise elimination was used to identify the best dosimetric predictors of toxicity. Optimal dose-volume cutoffs were isolated with recursive partitioning analysis (RPA). Results The grade ≥2 RP rate was 18.8%. Pulmonary V5 to V50, MLD, and cardiac V0.1 to V2.5 were significantly associated with toxicity on univariate analysis. On multivariable logistic regression, V10 was the strongest dosimetric predictor of grade ≥2 RP (odds ratio, 1.052; 95% confidence interval, 1.014-1.092; P = .007). RPA identified a 21.6% risk of grade ≥2 RP with V10 ≥6.14% (vs 3.8% with P = .031). RPA identified a 25.0% risk of grade ≥3 RP with MLD ≥7.84 Gy (vs 8.0% when Conclusions With a grade ≥2 RP rate of 18.8%, lung V10 was the best predictor of grade ≥2 toxicity. MLD was the best predictor of grade ≥3 RP.
Age-Friendly Cities: For Whom? By Whom? For What Purpose?

This chapter addresses complexities and controversies regarding the conceptualization and creation of age-friendly cities. Many of these reflect unresolved issues concerning the very nature of age-friendly cities, including what they are, whom they are for, how they can be created, and indeed whether or not age-friendly cities are even desirable or possible. The chapter first examines overarching perspectives and underlying conceptualizations of age-friendly cities, then explores the characteristics that are indicative of age friendliness, follows with a critical examination of approaches to helping cities become more age-friendly, and closes with a number of issues that require further attention if we truly are to create livable communities for all ages.