cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ecological factors predicting adolescent contraceptive use: implications for intervention.

Questionaires addressing areas expected to relate to contraceptive use were completed by 230 female adolescents. Contraceptive use among the 130 sexually active subjects were predicted by a model composed of 12 scales assessing social permissiveness, costs and benefits of contraception, parent communication, boyfriend support, sex education and knowledge, attitudes about pregnancy and contraception, and access to contraception services. Scales from the predictive model which raise ideas for potential intervention strategies assessed parent communication, boyfriend support, and perceived costs and benefits related to contraception. Since there has been public concern that intervention programs for enhancing adolescent contraceptive use might also stimulate sexual activity, correlations were computed between the predictive scales and the measure of sexual experience among all 230 subjects. These data indicated that positive parent communication about sexuality and a perception of high benefits and low costs associated with contraceptive use were not positively correlated with sexual experience. Implications for the prevention of adolescent pregnancy are discussed with an emphasis on designing innovative sex education, improving parent-child communication, resolving conflicts in contraceptive decisionmaking, and supporting the role of boyfriends in contraceptive use.
Abstract C53: Fractional response to small-molecule TKIs in single cancer cells: A combination rational to overcome adaptive drug resistance.

Targeted cancer therapies block the growth and spread of cancer cells by interfering with specific molecules that support tumor growth and progression. Despite the successful application of these drugs in clinical settings, patient-to-patient variability and acquired resistance are still the primary challenges facing development and use of such cancer therapies. Here, we describe a cell cycle dependent mechanism of drug sensitivity and the consequential fractional response in a library of small-molecules. In particular, using high-throughput single-cell imaging methods we show how perturbing specific biochemical nodes in a signaling pathway controlling cellular machinery for metabolism and growth leads to heterogeneity in abundance of response modulating protein complexes with known functional roles in cellular senescence and apoptosis. Furthermore, we provide evidence towards a feedback mechanism coordinating signaling state with cell cycle that leads to adaptive drug resistance and propose a combination therapy rational to overcome this resistance. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):C53. Citation Format: Saman Honarnejad. Fractional response to small-molecule TKIs in single cancer cells: A combination rational to overcome adaptive drug resistance. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2013 Oct 19-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr C53.
A high time resolution study of the solar wind-magnetosphere energy coupling function

A high time resolution study of the relationships between the solar wind-magnetosphere energy coupling function and the total energy dissipation rate of the magnetosphere is made using 5-min average values of solar wind data and of the geomagnetic indices AE and Dst. All the results are essentially the same as those obtained by the earlier studies which were based on the hourly average data set. Therefore, it is confirmed that the magnetosphere is primarily a driven system
Pulsus Alternans During Halothane Anesthesia in a Dog

An adult dog with pyloric obstruction was anesthetized with thiamylal and halothane for surgical revision. When an ECG was attached, the QRS-complex rate was noted to differ dramatically from the peripheral pulse rate. A dorsal pedal arterial catheter was introduced, and direct arterial pressure measurements revealed a blood pressure waveform that alternated in amplitude. Blood pressure and ECG traces were recorded, and the condition was diagnosed as pulsus alternans. The inhalation anesthetic was changed to isoflurane, and the condition was resolved.
Love, friendship, and feminism in later 19th-century England

Abstract Throughout the history of the women's movement, the political practices of women have actively challenged the narrow definition of politics by which male organisations and institutions organise themselves. The history of the 19th-century English women's movement is as much the history of friendships, emotional attachments, and social and intellectual networks as it is the history of organised campaigns and lobbying. This paper traces the broad and inclusive networks within which Victorian feminism worked and argues that, in understanding not only the politics of women's oppression, but also that of their defiance, we need to redefine the meaning of the word politics.
Low filaggrin monomer repeats in African American pediatric patients with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis.

The severity of atopic dermatitis (AD) and intragenic filaggrin (FLG; OMIM 135940) copy number variant (CNV) genotypes were assessed in African American pediatric patients, a health disparities group that is disproportionately affected with AD.1
A multidisciplinary approach to sexual dysfunction in medical education.

Objective Addressing sexual health concerns in medical practice has been an emerging concept for the past two decades. However, there have been very few educational opportunities in medical training that would prepare future physicians for such a responsibility. Since assessing and treating sexual problems requires knowledge that encompasses many disciplines and requires skills typically not within the purview of medical training, the authors propose a multidisciplinary model that includes collaboration with sex therapists.
Individual and age-related differences in children’s working memory

The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which age-related and individual differences in children’s working memory (WM) are due to a general or task-specific capacity system. Experiment 1 correlated children’s (N=146; age range 5–19 years) verbal and visual-spatial working memory performance with various intelligence and achievement measures. The results supporting a general system were that (1) visual-spatial and verbal WM measures were significantly intercorrelated with and without age partialed out and (2) both verbal and visual-spatial WM measures were significantly correlated with diverse achievement and intelligence measures. Experiment 2 compared three age groups (N=192; 7-, 10-, and 13-year-olds) on working-memory performance tasks under initial, enhanced (cued), and maintenance conditions. The results supporting a general capacity system were that (1) age-related performance differences in WM were found on all conditions and not isolated to specific processes, (2) the maintenance measures (high-load condition) predicted the variance better in age-related performance than process measures, and (3) although individual differences in WM performance reflected two independent operations, these operations produced similar correlations to achievement within age groups. Overall, the results support a general capacity explanation of age-related and individual differences in children’s WM performance.
Anti-enolase-α autoantibodies in cancer-associated retinopathy : Epitope mapping and cytotoxicity on retinal cells

Patients with cancer-associated retinopathy syndrome (CAR), a progressive blinding disease related to retinal degeneration and systemic tumor outside the eye, develop autoantibodies against alpha-enolase. A small percentage of healthy subjects without evident tumor or visual symptoms also possess autoantibody against enolase. In these studies we examined the fine specificity of anti-enolase antibodies derived from patients with CAR and healthy individuals, using synthetic peptides covering the entire sequence of human alpha-enolase. Epitope mapping revealed that three binding regions of enolase within the residues 31-38 (FRAAVPSG), 176-183 (ANFREAMR), and 421-428 (AKFAGRNF) were common for all autoantibodies tested. However, pathogenic sera recognized an additional unique region, the sequence 56-63 (RYMGKGVS). There were also differences in in vitro cytotoxic activities on E1A.NR3 retinal cells and cell-death promoting activities between anti-enolase antibodies of healthy and CAR affected individuals. These studies showed that anti-enolase antibodies from patients with CAR were able to induce apoptotic cell death in E1A.NR3 retinal cells and provided a potential mechanism for retinal degeneration in humans.
Effects of tunicamycin on secretion and enzymatic activities of cellulase fromTrichoderma reesei

The effects of tunicamycin, an inhibi-tor of N-asparagine linked glycosylation, on the synthesis, secretion, and activities of the cellulases produced byTrichoderma reesei wild type QM6a and hypersecrefing mutant RL-P37 were studied. Neither the level of secreted cellutase nor the total amount of secreted protein was affected by the drug at a concentration (5 μg/ml) that slightly in-hibited growth. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electro-phoretic mobilities of proteins secreted during growth in tunicamycin were similar to those of proteins from control cultures that had their N-linked oligosaccharides removed by endoglycosi-dase H. Isoelectric focusing patterns of secreted proteins were also altered by growth in the pres-ence of tunicamycin. All of the bands stained with Schiff’s reagent, indicating that the secreted cellu-lases contained O-linked oligosaccharides in ad-dition to N-linked sugars. Endoglucanase activity in culture broths from tunicamycin grown mycelia was more thermolabile and protease-sensitive than the same activity from control cultures. Thus, N-asparagine linked oligosaccharides do not appear to be necessary forT. reesei cellulase secretion or activity, but do seem to contribute to the stability of the enzymes. The role of O-finked oligosaccharides is being investigated.
CAUTION PROFILE AND DRIVING RECORD OF UNDERGRADUATE MALES

With a device called an Apprehension Meter, 60 undergraduate males watched a 5-min film of highway driving as seen from the driver's seat and recorded a moment-by-moment judgment of degree of danger, or caution level. From responses to six discrete hazards and to intervening uneventful periods, several summary scores were derived of which five differentiated significantly by driving record. The Safe Record group remained more cautious during the uneventful (baseline) periods, reacted to hazards sooner but more gradually, relaxed more gradually after their disappearance, and consequently remained alert to each hazard longer. The Violations group were at the other extreme, and the Accidents group intermediate. Hence the Safe group appeared more prompt in detecting danger, but less abrupt in responding to it, than did the groups with infractions. In terms of consistency across six hazards or 10 baselines, reliability (Cronbach's alpha) ranged from 0.48 to 0.99. A composite caution index had an alpha of 0.85 across hazards and correctly classified 77 per cent of subjects as either safe or non-safe. The results were found consistent with those in other studies.
Antagonistic Interactions between Ikaros and the Chromatin Remodeler Mi-2β Determine Silencer Activity and Cd4 Gene Expression

Lineage commitment is induced by changes in gene expression dictated by the intimate interaction between transcription factors and chromatin regulators. Here, we revealed the antagonistic interplay between Ikaros and its associate the chromatin remodeler Mi-2β during T cell development, as exemplified by the regulation of Cd4 expression. Loss of Ikaros or Mi-2β led to activation or repression, respectively, of the Cd4 locus at inappropriate stages of development. Their combined mutation reverted to normal CD4 expression. In double-negative thymocytes, Ikaros binding to the Cd4 silencer contributed to its repressive activity. In double-positive thymocytes, concomitant binding of Mi-2β with Ikaros to the Cd4 silencer caused silencer inactivation, thereby allowing for CD4 expression. Mi-2β facilitated recruitment of histone acetyl transferases to the silencer. This recruitment possibly antagonized Ikaros and associated repressive activities. Thus, concomitant interactions between functionally opposing chromatin-regulating machineries are an important mode of gene regulation during lineage determination.
Modeling and animating gases with simulation features

In modeling natural phenomena, artists often compromise the benefits of direct control for the visual realism of physics-based simulation. For gases, Eulerian simulations traditionally provide realistic results, but a poor representation for artistically shaping the media. In our system, users work with a more intuitive set of continuously extracted features whose manipulation feeds back into the original simulation. This novel approach overcomes common control issues by providing modeling tools to manipulate high-level behavior in Eulerian simulations. We employ techniques in feature extraction, real-time gas simulation, and volume rendering to build an interactive system to sculpt three-dimensional flows.
A model of visual cortical temporal frequency tuning

Abstract There are several response properties that distinguish cortical simple cells of cat V1 layer 4 from the geniculate cells that provide their input. We have recently demonstrated that a developmentally motivated pattern of intracortical inhibition, in conjunction with the observed pattern of geniculocortical connections, can robustly account for the contrast-invariance of simple cell orientation tuning. We now show that this same model circuit unexpectedly accounts for the low-pass shift in the temporal frequency tuning curves of cortical cells relative to geniculate cells. This arises when NMDA-mediated excitatory conductances are included in the thalamocortical synapses, at levels observed experimentally.
On the interaction between two circular voids in a nonlinear elastic solid

We study finite plane strain deformations of an infinite body containing two circular voids and made of a Blatz-Ko material. The body is subjected to either uniform tensile tractions at infinity or a uniform pressure on the void surfaces. In each case, the effect of varying the distance between the void centers on the deformations of the body is analyzed. When the voids are located close to each other, a uniform pressure on the void surfaces results in noncircular deformed voids, and for a fixed value of the pressure, the deformation induced increases as the voids get closer to each other. When the body is subjected to uniform tensile tractions at infinity, say along thex-axis, the voids are deformed into ellipsoids with major axes aligned along thex-axis.
Valuation of American options on foreign currency

Abstract Pricing models for American call and put options on foreign currency are derived herein. These models are used to investigate the efficiency of the market for foreign currency options. The evidence presented here indicates that market prices for these options deviate substantially from their corresponding model prices. In addition, it is shown that a hedging strategy executed at transaction prices can be used to translate an observed deviation of market from model prices into positive excess profits. However, these profits are eliminated if the strategy is executed at bid and offer prices.
Test-induced priming of false memories.

Of interest was whether prior testing of related words primes false memories in the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. After studying lists of related words, subjects made old-new judgments about zero, three, or six related items before being tested on critical nonpresented lures. When the recognition test was self-paced, prior testing of list items led to faster false recognition judgments, but did not increase the rate of false alarms to lures from studied lists. Critically, this pattern changed when decision making at test was speeded. When forced to respond quickly—presumably precluding the use of monitoring processes—clear test-induced priming effects were observed in the rate of false memories. The results are consistent with an activation-monitoring explanation of false memories and support that retrieving veridical memories can be a source of memory error.
BOOK REVIEW OF MODERN FORAMINIFERA (B.K. SEN GUPTA, EDITOR. KLUWER ACADEMIC PUBLISHERS, DORDRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS; ISBN 0-412-82430-2)

Foraminiferologists comprise a hodge-podge of micropaleontologists and marine scientists, with an occasional cell biologist straggling along for the good company. Educating students, and especially other scientists, about the global importance of Foraminifera seems to be an all-consuming task for us. Barun Sen Gupta has made this endeavor a little less daunting by assembling many of the top names in the predominantly North American foraminiferal collective, and producing a book explicitly stated to serve both as an advanced text for university students and as a reference book for professionals. I doubt that many “Fundamental Foraminiferology” classes exist, so what type of course might use this as a textbook? Goldstein’s contribution is an excellent introduction to the biology of Foraminifera, and is well suited for a graduate-level protistology class (assuming the medical slant typical of these classes will permit proper coverage of such free-living protists). To illustrate its utility in less formal instruction, research interns must now swallow Goldstein’s chapter whole and spit the information back correctly before entering my lab. Unfortunately, the lumping of all the references at the end of the book makes it unwieldy to carve out chapters for such purposes. The absence of a glossary also makes it less student-friendly. (Perhaps …
HIV protease mutations associated with amprenavir resistance during salvage therapy: importance of I54M

Abstract Objective: To examine the clinical significance of HIV protease mutations detected before and after therapy with amprenavir. Study design: Serial plasma HIV loads and protease gene mutations were monitored in 31 patients who received amprenavir, including 19 who had been exposed to other protease inhibitors (salvage therapy). Recombinant phenotyping was used to assess the significance of new mutations appearing after amprenavir therapy. Results: After 6–8 months of amprenavir, 4 treatment-naive and 5 salvage patients had an undetectable plasma HIV load, while 12 other salvage patients showed less than 10-fold HIV load reduction. HIV protease mutations associated with amprenavir resistance included I84V, I50V, I47V, V32I, and I54M. Among mutations newly detected after amprenavir treatment, I54M occurred in six cases, I54L in two cases, M46I in two cases, I47V in one case and I50V in one case. When compared with pretreatment plasma without the mutation, recombinant phenotyping showed that I54M increased the amprenavir resistance by at least 6-fold, resulting in up to 48-fold resistance over a drug-sensitive control. Conclusions: Protease I54M frequently appears after amprenavir therapy, and when combined with pre-existing mutations, leads to high-level amprenavir resistance and treatment failure.
A comparison of alternative certainty calibration techniques in contingent valuation

Abstract A field test of two types of certainty calibration techniques in contingent valuation of public lands indicated that a 10-point certainty scale reduced WTP estimates by about half. Adjusting for uncertainty via a ‘Not Sure’ option did not reduce WTP estimates but the variance increased. There are several differences between these two ways of accounting for respondents' uncertainty, which may suggest why they provide different WTP value estimates and variances.
Anxiety, Attributional Style, and perceived coping ability

Subjects (N =134) completed an instrument package consisting of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Attributional Styles Questionnaire, the Beck Depression Inventory, and scales designed to assess efficacy expectation, outcome expectation, situational perception of danger, and situational importance. The study was designed to assess attributional styles and cognitive measures associated with anxiety as distinct from depression. Multiple regression was used to determine which predictor variables significantly accounted for explained variance on the three criterion variables of state anxiety, trait anxiety, and depression, respectively. Results showed that bad outcomes-global contributed significantly to explained variance on trait anxiety and that efficacy expectation, importance, and bad outcomes-stable contributed significantly to explained variance on depression. When BDI scores were entered first, no other predictor variables contributed significantly to explained variance on either state or trait anxiety. Significant correlations among the BDI and efficacy expectation, bad outcomes-stable, and trait anxiety were found.
The diagnostic value of buttressing of the femoral neck

The skeletal system can react to disease in limited ways and it is therefore not surprising that different pathologic conditions may to some extent exhibit similar radiologic features. Certain combinations of findings are more likely to occur in some diseases than others. One may speak of the “predictive” value of various radiologic features relative to the clinical condition being considered. Buttressing of the medial aspect of the femoral neck is much more common in some diseases of the hip than others. Figures 1 to 4 illustrate the roentgenographic findings in the hip in four joint diseases. Buttressing of the femoral neck is present in Figures 1 and 2, but absent in Figures 3 and 4. In addition there are other radiologic features that are important considerations in the differential diagnosis. The four diseases represented are: ischemic osteonecrosis, rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and osteoarthritis. Can you match these diseases with the figures? The answer may be found at the end of the article. Buttressing, or subperiosteal bone apposition, of the femoral neck is frequent in osteoarthritis and ischemic necrosis of the femoral head. It was evident radiologically in 33 of 73 consecutive patients with idiopathic osteoarthritis ( 1 ) and in 24 of 32 hips in which
The Lorentz forces on an electrically conducting sphere in an alternating magnetic field

A method to calculate the Lorentz force on an electrically conducting sphere placed in an arbitrary sinusoidally varying magnetic field is developed. The crux of this method lies in expressing the external magnetic held and the eddy current density in the sphere in terms of a "source function" of the current sources and a "skin depth dependent function". The general formula for the Lorentz force is used to derive the special case of a sphere in an axisymmetric stack of circular current loops. Numerical results for this case are presented as a function of the stack geometry. Approximations of the skin depth functions for practical situations are presented. Finally, a procedure to determine the magnetic pressure distribution on the surface of a levitated liquid metal droplet is given.
Genre independent subgroup detection in online discussion threads: a pilot study of implicit attitude using latent textual semantics

We describe an unsupervised approach to the problem of automatically detecting subgroups of people holding similar opinions in a discussion thread. An intuitive way of identifying this is to detect the attitudes of discussants towards each other or named entities or topics mentioned in the discussion. Sentiment tags play an important role in this detection, but we also note another dimension to the detection of people's attitudes in a discussion: if two persons share the same opinion, they tend to use similar language content. We consider the latter to be an implicit attitude. In this paper, we investigate the impact of implicit and explicit attitude in two genres of social media discussion data, more formal wikipedia discussions and a debate discussion forum that is much more informal. Experimental results strongly suggest that implicit attitude is an important complement for explicit attitudes (expressed via sentiment) and it can improve the sub-group detection performance independent of genre.
Uncertainty estimation and prediction for interdisciplinary ocean dynamics

Scientific computations for the quantification, estimation and prediction of uncertainties for ocean dynamics are developed and exemplified. Primary characteristics of ocean data, models and uncertainties are reviewed and quantitative data assimilation concepts defined. Challenges involved in realistic data-driven simulations of uncertainties for four-dimensional interdisciplinary ocean processes are emphasized. Equations governing uncertainties in the Bayesian probabilistic sense are summarized. Stochastic forcing formulations are introduced and a new stochastic-deterministic ocean model is presented. The computational methodology and numerical system, Error Subspace Statistical Estimation, that is used for the efficient estimation and prediction of oceanic uncertainties based on these equations is then outlined. Capabilities of the ESSE system are illustrated in three data-assimilative applications: estimation of uncertainties for physical-biogeochemical fields, transfers of ocean physics uncertainties to acoustics, and real-time stochastic ensemble predictions with assimilation of a wide range of data types. Relationships with other modern uncertainty quantification schemes and promising research directions are discussed.
Impact of unit commitment constraints on generation expansion planning with renewables

Growing use of renewables pushes thermal generators against operating constraints — e.g. ramping, minimum output, and operating reserves — that are traditionally ignored in expansion planning models. We show how including such unit-commitment-derived details can significantly change energy production and optimal capacity mix. We introduce a method for efficiently combining unit commitment and generation expansion planning into a single mixed-integer optimization model. Our formulation groups generators into categories allowing integer commitment states from zero to the installed capacity. This formulation scales well, runs much faster (e.g. 5000×) than individual plant binary decisions, and makes the combined model computationally tractable for large systems (hundreds of generators) at hourly time resolutions (8760 hours) using modern solvers on a personal computer. We show that ignoring these constraints during planning can result in a sub-optimal capacity mix with significantly higher operating costs (17%) and carbon emissions (39%) and/or the inability to meet emissions targets.
Ranking function optimization for effective Web search by genetic programming: an empirical study

Web search engines have become indispensable in our daily life to help us find the information we need. Although search engines are very fast in search response time, their effectiveness in finding useful and relevant documents at the top of the search hit list needs to be improved. In this paper, we report our experience applying genetic programming (GP) to the ranking function discovery problem leveraging the structural information of HTML documents. Our empirical experiments using the Web track data from recent TREC conferences show that we can discover better ranking functions than existing well-known ranking strategies from IR, such as Okapi, Ptfidf. The performance is even comparable to those obtained by support vector machine.
Grafting Segments from the Extracellular Surface of CCR5 onto a Bacteriorhodopsin Transmembrane Scaffold Confers HIV-1 Coreceptor Activity

Components from the extracellular surface of CCR5 interact with certain macrophage-tropic strains of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) to mediate viral fusion and entry. To mimic these viral interacting site(s), the amino-terminal and extracellular loop segments of CCR5 were linked in tandem to form concatenated polypeptides, or grafted onto a seven-transmembrane bacteriorhodopsin scaffold to generate several chimeras. The chimera studies identified specific regions in CCR5 that confer HIV-1 coreceptor function, structural rearrangements in the transmembrane region that may modulate this activity, and a role for the extracellular surface in folding and assembly. Methods developed here may be applicable to the dissection of functional domains from other seven-transmembrane receptors and form a basis for future structural studies.
DIMENSIONS OF SELF-DESIGNATED OPINION LEADERSHIP AND THEIR CORRELATES

A central focus in the study of influence in modern communications research has been the phenomenon of opinion leadership. Included in the series of studies that initially contributed to a systematic understanding of opinion leadership are The People's Choice, the Rovere study, Voting, and Personal Influence.1 The principal mode of measuring opinion leadership in these studies was by means of so-called self-designated indices, and the need for systematic investigation of the validity of such measures has been recognized from their earliest use. The study reported by Katz and Lazarsfeld2 constituted, in one important respect, a major contribution to the meeting of this need, and the results were sufficiently supportive, particularly in certain areas, to warrant further utilization of the selfdesignated measures. This paper reports and analyzes some data relevant to another aspect of the use of self-designated measures of opinion leadership, i.e. their unidimensionality. While the main body of findings described in Personal Influence proceeds on the basis of a unidimensional conception of opinion leadership, and utilizes two interview questions combined into a single operational variable, the authors recognized the need to consider the question of dimensionality.3 In fact, in one of the
A search for antigen-antibody complexes in pre-eclampsia: further evidence against immunologic pathogenesis.

Abstract Circulating immune (antigen-antibody) complexes have been proposed as possibly important in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia. Thirty-four serum samples from pre-eclamptic women were examined for the presence of antigen-antibody complexes by the C 1 q binding and Raji cell assays. Slightly abnormal C 1 q binding occurred in two serum samples, while all Raji cell determinations were found to be in the normal range for a healthy, nonpregnant population. It is concluded that circulating immune complexes do not occur regularly in pre-eclampsia.
The Average Spectrum Method for the Analytic Continuation of Imaginary-Time Data

In this paper we present the average spectrum method, a new method for obtaining real-frequency information from imaginary-time quantum Monte Carlo data. This technique does not require the adjustable parameters, smoothness constraints, or model forms of some previous techniques, yet produces smooth, consistent spectra from noisy data-Various tests of the method on mock data are presented, as well as realistic applications to the two-dimensional Hubbard model.
The Challenge of Optimism and Complexity: Inadequately Addressed by the FCIC’s Report

There are some notable themes within the report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) on the recent financial crisis in the United States. One is that the crisis was avoidable; the other is that there were many causes for the crisis. The causes included: eroded mortgage lending standards; monetary policy of the Federal Reserve; increased capital flows from abroad; the originate-to-distribute model of mortgage origination; failure of regulators to respond satisfactorily; inadequate due diligence by investors; failure of firms to adhere to underwriting standards; and the failure of rating agencies to issue accurate ratings. This article suggests that these were proximate causes of the crisis and symptoms of more fundamental issues. Underlying these causes was something much simpler - and much harder to address when determining measures to prevent such a crisis. It appears that there was an overabundance of optimism in a complex economic environment. This suggests that the actors who created the financial crisis were not acting culpably as much as they were behaving irrationally or imprudently. This does not suggest they should have acted the way they did, or could not have acted otherwise. The FCIC is correct that the crisis was avoidable. But the real question is whether reasonable people should have been expected to act in a way to have avoided the crisis. The FCIC’s report accurately framed the events leading to the crisis. However, failing to address the reasons behind the proximate causes may cast all the actors in the crisis in an overly harsh light and will impede any attempts to reduce the chances that a similar crisis will recur. And to the extent the actors creating the crisis feel mis-assessed and unfairly blamed, they will be inclined to push back against beneficial and desirable regulation proposals.
Electrostatic Adhesion Testing for the Evaluation of Metallization Adhesion

Quantitative measurement of the adhesion strength of thin film metallizations has been achieved by a novel technique employing electrostatic forces to generate delaminating stresses. This technique has been used in testing the adhesion of Al-Cu, Cu, and Al multilayer films deposited on Si. Micro-blister-type failure is revealed by scanning electron microscopy. The delamination process and the geometry of the blister are discussed. The measured adhesion data fit a Weibull distribution function.
The use of SPECT-CT in differentiated thyroid cancer: A review of the literature

1008 Learning Objectives 1. To review the literature regarding the clinical utility of Single Photon Emission Computer Tomography combined with radiographic computer tomography (SPECT-CT) in differentiated thyroid cancer and its potential impact on patient management, 2. To list the various SPECT-CT cameras available and their differences, 3. To list the advantages and disadvantages of SPECT-CT relative to conventional nuclear medicine imaging techniques such as planar whole body imaging and pinhole collimator imaging, and 4. To present an atlas of SPECT-CT images demonstrating some of the clinical utility of SPECT-CT in imaging of differentiated thyroid cancer. SPECT in combination with CT allows integration of the functional and anatomic information and is playing an increasingly important role in imaging differentiated thyroid cancer. This educational exhibit will review the new important publications involving radioiodine SPECT-CT with emphasis on altering the management of differentiated thyroid cancer (e.g. potential impact on staging of disease, altering therapeutic management, and follow-up) and the time of imaging (e.g. pre-131I therapy, post-131I therapy, and radioiodine surveillance scanning). The various SPECT-CT cameras that are commercially available will also be briefly discussed, and the advantages and disadvantages of SPECT-CT will be summarized with particular attention to its incremental role in better anatomical localization and characterization of areas of radioiodine uptake over planar imaging. Selected images demonstrating the utility of SPECT-CT in anatomical localization of distant metastases, distinguishing regional nodal metastases from thyroid remnants, and distinguishing physiological uptake from pathological lesions will be presented. With the information presented, the nuclear medicine physicians, radiologists, endocrinologists and the residents will be able to optimize the use of SPECT-CT in imaging of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer
ZILVER PTX DRUG-COATED PERIPHERAL ARTERY STENT USE IN A U.S. MULTICENTER REGISTRY

There are limited data regarding frequency of use and outcomes of the only approved drug coated stent (DCS; Zilver PTX®; Cook) during endovascular revascularization of infrainguinal arteries. We compared DCS to bare metal stent (BMS) use in procedures performed from January 2013 - August 2014,
Abstract SY12-02: Computational cancer genomics: Biological discovery and translation.

Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC The analysis of genes and cellular pathways that are altered in different cancers can lead to biological discoveries and potential patient-specific and subtype-specific therapeutic hypotheses. Several large-scale studies, including those from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC), aim to survey the landscape of genomic and molecular profiles of thousands of tumor samples in tens of different tumor types from generous patients. We analyze these informative genetic and molecular profiles to better understand the processes of oncogenesis, vulnerabilities to therapeutic interventions and tumor-subtype specific differences. Hypotheses can then be tested in focussed cell line and mouse model experiments and, if validated, advanced to clinical trials. To assist the general community of cancer biologists, we make available a generally useful feature map of essential information in the Cancer Genome Atlas via the information service cbioportal.org. Analysis and information services reported are based on the work of Niki Schultz, Giovanni Ciriello, Nils Weinhold, William Lee, Jian Jiong Gao, Rileen Sinha, Anders Jacobsen, Erik Larsson, Arman Aksoy, Gideon Dresdner, Benjamin Gross, several clinical research collaborators and the TCGA network. Citation Format: Nikolaus Schultz, Chris Sander. Computational cancer genomics: Biological discovery and translation. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr SY12-02. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-SY12-02
Li‐ion battery dynamics model parameter estimation using datasheets and particle swarm optimization

Summary Dynamics modeling is of fundamental importance to Li-ion battery design and manufacturing. Accurate dynamics models established can be used to optimize the operation strategy, manage the life cycle, and thus ensure the economic and safe operation of the batteries. The Li-ion dynamics model examined in this paper has integrated both empirical and electrochemical aspects, and it has been specifically validated for electric vehicle applications using experimental data. Previously, the model parameter estimation was done by manually picking three key points from the discharge curve obtained from the datasheet. The approach is quite subjective and error prone. The resulted model may deviate greatly from the experimental curve. To address this issue, this paper proposes to use particle swarm optimization to more objectively estimate the model parameters. Results from case studies show that the proposed approach provides more accurate estimation of the true parameters, and thus the new approach can more precisely capture the battery dynamics. In addition, this approach is generic because it is independent of specific battery chemistries and applicable to many different types of Li-ion batteries. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Analysis on HBsAg Screening among Puerperants and First Does Hepatitis B Vaccination of their Newborns in Shandong province in 2009

Objective To know HBsAg screening rate and HBsAg prevalence rate in puerperants giving birth to children in hospital and the timely first dose hepatitis B coverage of their newborns,providing evidence for improving immunoprophylaxis strategy for Hepatitis B in Shandong province.Methods Data about HBsAg HBsAg screening among puerperants and first dose Hepatitis B vaccination of their newborns were reported to local center for disease control and prevention by the hospitals every month,the data in the whole district were collected and analyzed in the end of the year.Results A total of 11974 puerperants were reported by the hospitals and HBsAg screening rate was 96.92% in Taishan district in 2009,The HBsAg positive rate in those who had screened for HBsAg was 3.3%. A total of 11974 newborns given birth in hospital were reported and their timely birth-dose coverage was 98.15%,the reason of delayed vaccination was because of premature birth,difficult labour or /and low birth weight and various illnesses after birth.Conclusion The Antepartum HBsAg screening rate was high among those who gave birth to children in hospitals,the timely dose coverage of their newborns were also high in Taishan district.
Studies on Fused, a Mutant Gene Producing Ovarian Tumors in Drosophila melanogaster

Flies homozygous for the mutant gene fused (fu) are characterized by fused wing veins, a maternal effect upon embryogenesis, and ovarian tumors. A number of mutant alleles have been studied and all exhibit this same syndrome. The rate at which ovarian tumors develop is characteristic for each allele. This rate was shown to be independent of modifying genes and unaffected by the maternal cytoplasm. The rate is also temperature-sensitive, tumors appearing more slowly at 18 than at 25 degrees C. Females heterozygous for all possible combinations of these alleles were produced, and, in all 21, tumors were observed in the compound females. Cases of dominance, complementarity, and interference were observed with reference to certain allelic combinations. A model is proposed to explain the diverse effects on development of the fused gene and also the interaction of the alleles in ovarian development. Females homozygous for fused and either heterozygous or homozygous for the second chromosomal recessive gene female-sterile (fes) were also studied. The fes gene was shown to be epistatic to fu in fu/fu; fes/fes females, and the rate of tumor production was greater in fu/fu; fes/+ females than in fu/fu; +/+ females. A mechanism for the action of fu and fes in controlling cell division is presented.
Predictors of axillary lymph node metastasis in T1 breast carcinoma.

This study was designed to determine the predictors of axillary lymph node metastasis in T1a ( 0.5 cm and 1.0 cm and < or =2.0 cm) breast cancers. The charts of 204 patients who underwent axillary lymph node dissections for T1 breast carcinomas at our institution were reviewed. Of these, 23 (11%) patients had T1a cancers, 55 (27%) patients had T1b cancers, and 126 (62%) patients were diagnosed with T1c lesions. Fifty patients (24.5%) had axillary node metastases. Of those with T1a lesions, one (4.3%) patient had axillary node involvement, compared with 9 (16.4%) patients with T1b and 40 (31.7%) patients with T1c lesions. Nodal involvement was significantly increased in T1c cancer compared with either T1a (odds ratio = 8.24; P < 0.05) or T1b (odds ratio = 2.73; P < 0.05). Similar results were found in tumors with grade 3 nuclear pleomorphism (odds ratio = 10.45 versus grade 1 and 3.46 versus grade 2; P < 0.05). The presence of lymphovascular invasion was also associated with an increased likelihood of nodal involvement (odds ratio = 3.15; P < 0.05). Predictors of axillary lymph node metastasis in T1 breast carcinomas include increasing tumor size, grade 3 nuclear pleomorphism, and the presence of lymphovascular invasion. These predictors may have a role in stratifying patients with T1 breast carcinomas into subgroups that may benefit from less invasive methods of evaluating axillary lymph node status.
Validity of the iPhone M7 motion co-processor as a pedometer for able-bodied ambulation

ABSTRACTPhysical activity benefits for disease prevention are well-established. Smartphones offer a convenient platform for community-based step count estimation to monitor and encourage physical activity. Accuracy is dependent on hardware–software platforms, creating a recurring challenge for validation, but the Apple iPhone® M7 motion co-processor provides a standardised method that helps address this issue. Validity of the M7 to record step count for level-ground, able-bodied walking at three self-selected speeds, and agreement with the StepWatchTM was assessed. Steps were measured concurrently with the iPhone® (custom application to extract step count), StepWatchTM and manual count. Agreement between iPhone® and manual/StepWatchTM count was estimated through Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman analyses. Data from 20 participants suggested that iPhone® step count correlations with manual and StepWatchTM were strong for customary (1.3 ± 0.1 m/s) and fast (1.8 ± 0.2 m/s) speeds, but weak for the slow (1...
U.S. hospital workforce-to-population ratios by service area.

Traditionally, hospital productivity has been measured in terms of episodic patient services such as days or admissions. However, the delivery of health care is shifting toward a greater focus on the health of a covered population. Thus, population-based indicators of hospital productivity are needed. This work analyzes hospital FTEs per 10,000 served population across the United States as a function of regional demographic, socioeconomic, and geographic factors. For managers of integrated service networks, it provides benchmarks for hospital FTEs per service population for several personnel categories. Important findings for public policy include an 11 percent increase in FTEs per 1 percent increase in interns and residents and a 2 percent increase in FTEs per 1 percent increase in the elderly.
Precarious Workers and Collective Efficacy

Scholars of contemporary capitalism have argued that the rise of flexible accumulation and precarious employment has left workers disillusioned and adrift, experiencing an erosion of solidarities a...
Changes in structural connectivity following a cognitive intervention in children with traumatic brain injury: a pilot study

Objective. Structural connectivity analysis based on graph theory and diffusion tensor imaging tractography is a novel method that quantifies the topological characteristics in the brain network. T...
Metal nanofoams via a facile microwave-assisted solvothermal process

A novel, facile, non-hazardous, low temperature/pressure microwave solvothermal method of producing pure copper, silver, and nickel metal nanofoams is presented. The nanofoams have been produced using inexpensive metal acetates and polyglycol solvent. The nanofoam formation proceeds in two steps within a single-pot synthesis: formation of metal nanoparticles, followed by the sintering of nanoparticles into nanofoams. The nanofoams have many potential uses in clean energy applications, particularly lithium-ion batteries.
Restoration of Animal, Plant, and Microbial Diversity

Conservation of biodiversity is the central goal of most restoration efforts and ranges from reintroductions of individual species of rare plants and animals to efforts to reintroduce a high diversity of species. Restoration may be defined as the manipulation of organisms and ecological processes to create self-organizing, sustainable, native ecosystems as integral parts of the landscape, as much as possible as they existed before disruptive human disturbances. In this article, we will examine the possibilities and the limits to restoration of biodiversity.