cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Association of young patient age with high-risk pathologic features and recurrence in papillary thyroid cancer.

6064 Background: Certain histopathologic features may be risk factors for recurrent disease after resection of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Age is also an important prognostic factor, with highe...
The Impact of Yield Slope on Stock Performance

This study investigated the linkage between the effects of yield slope and the performance of stocks for the period, 2006-2012. The paper found a significant link between the two variables. The sharp increase of yield slope positively affected stock market performance of small, mid and big cap stocks examined. When 12 month lagging effects were considered, the linkage was statistically significant at 2% level of 2-tailed test for all sample groups of stocks.
Quickest change detection under transient dynamics

The problem of transient quickest change detection (QCD) is studied, in which the change from the initial to the final phase does not happen instantaneously, but after a series of cascading transient phases of finite durations, each one corresponding to a different probability distribution. The goal is to design a stopping rule to detect the change as quickly as possible, subject to false alarm constraints. In previous work, the D-CuSum algorithm was proposed for such a QCD problem. The D-CuSum does not incorporate any prior statistical information about the durations of the transient periods. In this work, we develop an algorithm, the D-S-R algorithm, which incorporates geometric priors on the durations of the transient periods. We compare the D-CuSum and D-S-R algorithms in numerical examples to develop some insights about the role of the prior on the transient durations on the performance.
"Individual, Dyadic, and Situational Factors Affecting the LMX-Performance Relationship"

Although there is a large body of research supporting the positive relationship between leader-member exchange (LMX) and job performance, there is a need to further examine the process and boundary...
Transfer of Life Skills in Sport-Based Youth Development Programs: A Conceptual Framework Bridging Learning to Application

ABSTRACTResearch has demonstrated that many quality sport-based youth development programs promote life skill acquisition (e.g., leadership, self-control) with the ultimate goal of facilitating positive outcomes in youth participants’ social and academic environments. Researchers call this “transfer of life skills” (i.e., the idea that physical, behavioral, and cognitive skills youth learn in sport can be applied in non-sport settings to promote healthy development). However, research surrounding this topic has been mixed, as many studies found evidence of transfer. In this article, a variety of learning theories were integrated to propose a conceptual framework for the transfer of life skills in sport-based youth development. Specifically, this article focuses on how research overlooked the cognitive processes that bridge student learning within a sport program to application outside of the program. A description of the cognitive components youth experience during transfer are described and represented i...
Schools for the Lord's Service: The Rule of St. Benedict for Christian Camping:

The aim of this essay is to explore the connections between Benedictine monasticism and contemporary Christian camping. It examines the history and philosophy of Christian camping and offers a desc...
Experimental evolution of diverse Escherichia coli metabolic mutants identifies genetic loci for convergent adaptation of growth rate

Cell growth is determined by substrate availability and the cell's metabolic capacity to assimilate substrates into building blocks. Metabolic genes that determine growth rate may interact synergistically or antagonistically, and can accelerate or slow growth, depending on genetic background and environmental conditions. We evolved a diverse set of Escherichia coli single-gene deletion mutants with a spectrum of growth rates and identified mutations that generally increase growth rate. Despite the metabolic differences between parent strains, mutations that enhanced growth largely mapped to core transcription machinery, including the β and β' subunits of RNA polymerase (RNAP) and the transcription elongation factor, NusA. The structural segments of RNAP that determine enhanced growth have been previously implicated in antibiotic resistance and in the control of transcription elongation and pausing. We further developed a computational framework to characterize how the transcriptional changes that occur upon acquisition of these mutations affect growth rate across strains. Our experimental and computational results provide evidence for cases in which RNAP mutations shift the competitive balance between active transcription and gene silencing. This study demonstrates that mutations in specific regions of RNAP are a convergent adaptive solution that can enhance the growth rate of cells from distinct metabolic states.
Pre-purchase Homebuyer Education and Counseling: Diverse Strategies for Diverse Homebuyers

Pre-purchase homebuyer education and counseling have evolved significantly over the past few decades. While there is much support for homebuyer education and counseling generally, particularly in light of the recent mortgage crisis, less attention has been given to the diversity of interventions, targeted homebuyers, and desired outcomes. Pre-purchase homebuyer education is not (nor should it be) a “one size fits all” strategy; rather, drawing from insights from consumer behavior and financial education, this chapter argues that different approaches and content are appropriate to the decision at hand.
The University of Michigan Cases: Social Scientific Studies of Diversity and Fairness

In 1997, the then-president of the University of Michigan, Lee Bollinger, was named as a defendant in two lawsuits brought in federal district court. The College of Literature, Science and Arts had denied admission to Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hammacher, two White residents of Michigan. The applicants claimed that the University’s race-sensitive admissions policy had deprived them of their constitutional and statutory rights. Meanwhile, the University of Michigan Law School had denied admission to another White applicant, Barbara Grutter, and she too claimed reverse discrimination. How could the University defend itself? American jurisprudence is built around the concept of stare decisis: Precedent matters. It is helpful to an organization to be able to argue that its behaviors conform to and promote principles that the Court has explicitly endorsed in prior rulings. In American courts of law, as in the court of public opinion, a successful defense also requires that the defendant construct a cogent and coherent story about its behaviors and intentions. Increasingly, compelling stories must show that they are consistent not only with prevailing moral values but also with accepted social scientific data. Ever since the Supreme Court acknowledged in Brown v. Board of Education that social scientific studies have a legitimate role to play in its reasoning, lawyers have increasingly, and with varying degrees of success, called on social scientists to provide expert testimony. Social scientific data have made their way into public debates about policy and about law as well (Smith & Crosby, in press). Three questions thus faced the University of Michigan as it constructed a defense of race-sensitive admissions policies. First, could it articulate a coherent story to describe both its intentions and its actions? Second, could it link that story to established legal principles? Third, could it bring forward social scientific data to support its claims and could it refute social scientific data put forward by the other side? At least two different avenues lay open to the University as it set about to find answers and to construct a defense (Lehman, 2004; Stohr, 2004). It could decide to follow the road that led to the 1954 Brown victory for civil rights, emphasizing that, in view of the present consequences of historical discrimination,
Comparative effectiveness of management options for patients with small renal masses: a prospective cohort study

Objectives To explore the comparative effectiveness of partial nephrectomy (PN), radical nephrectomy (RN), ablative therapies (ablation) and active surveillance (AS) for small renal masses (SRMs; tumour diameter ≤4.0 cm) in the domains of survival, renal function and quality of life (QoL) using the prospectively maintained Delayed Intervention and Surveillance for Small Renal Masses (DISSRM) Registry. Patients and methods Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated from creatinine values to determine renal function. QoL was measured using the Short Form 12 (SF-12) questionnaire. The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox proportional hazards regression were used for survival analysis. The mixed-effects model was used for renal function and QoL analysis. Results Of 638 patients, 231 (36.2%) chose PN, 41 (6.4%) RN, 27 (4.2%) ablation and 339 (53.1%) AS. Cancer-specific survival at 7 years was 98.8% in PN patients and 100% in all other groups. Overall survival (OS) at 7 years was 87.9%, 90.2%, 83.5% and 66.1% in PN, RN, ablation and AS patients, respectively. The OS rate was significantly worse in the AS group than other groups and likely attributable to older age and increased comorbidities. The eGFR was lowest in RN patients but comparable in all other groups. QoL was lowest in AS patients due to lower physical health scores, but mental health scores were similar in all groups. Conclusions With excellent oncological outcomes in all groups, nephron-sparing approaches, like PN and ablation, are preferred over RN when intervention is indicated for SRMs. AS is a reasonable option for select patients, given the comparable oncological and mental health outcomes.
Statins and Muscle Damage

Abstract Statin-induced muscle toxicity may impact up to 20% of treated patients. Many patients will experience mild muscle aches and weakness without evidence for muscle damage. More severe muscle toxicity includes myositis, rhabdomyositis, and autoimmune-mediated necrolizing myositis. The exact mechanism underlying myonecrosis is not fully understood but may involve pathways that have roles in muscle atrophy. Myalgias can be relieved in some patients by changing the statin medication to a differently metabolized statin or using alternative dosing schedules. Significant muscle damage requires stopping the statin and considering alternative lipid-lowering agents.
Additions to the Last Millennium Reanalysis Multi-Proxy Database

Progress in paleoclimatology increasingly occurs via data syntheses. We describe additions to a collection prepared for use in paleoclimate state estimation, specifically the Last Millennium Reanalysis (LMR). The 2290 additional series include 2152 tree ring chronologies and 138 other series. They supplement the collection used previously and together form a database titled LMRdb 1.0.0. The additional data draws from lake core, ice core, coral, speleothem, and tree ring archives, using published data primarily from the NOAA Paleoclimatology archive and a set of tree ring width chronologies standardized from raw International Tree Ring Data Bank ring width series. In contrast to many previous paleo compilations, the data were not selected (screened) on the basis of their environmental correlation, multi-century length, or other attributes. The inclusion of proxies sensitive to moisture and other environmental variables expands their use in data assimilation. A preliminary calibration using linear regression with mean annual temperature reveals characteristics of the proxy series and their relationship to temperature, as well as the noise and error characteristics of the records. The additional records are structured as individual files in the NOAA Paleoclimatology format and archived at NOAA Paleoclimatology (Anderson et al. 2018) and will continue to be improved and expanded as part of the LMR Project. The additions represent a four-fold increase in the number of records available for assimilation, provide expanded geographic coverage, and add additional proxy variables. Applications include data assimilation, proxy system model development, and paleoclimate reconstruction using climate field reconstruction and other methods.
Bridging the Gap Between Paper Patient Records and EHR Systems with the piClinic Console

Clinics with limited resources rely on paper patient records because they are easy to use, reliable, and can be supported by the clinics' financial and technical resources. Electronic health record (EHR) systems provide benefits in patient information management and reporting; however, they often require financial and technical resources that exceed those available to the clinics. This paper hypothesizes that limited-resource clinics could successfully install and sustain a patient-record automation system if it did not require resources beyond the reach of those clinics—if such a system was available. Because no system was found, the piClinic Console was developed to test this hypothesis. The piClinic Console is a Raspberry-Pi-based, patient-record automation system that provides essential patient-record automation functions and runs on hardware that costs less than $300 USD per clinic. This paper describes the features that provide the most benefit to the clinics and that run on a low-cost system as determined through end-user observation, participatory design, and iterative user testing. Preliminary testing shows that the piClinic Console can provide immediate benefits to clinic information processing and can prepare the clinic for a smoother transition to more complete EHR system when the resources to sustain one become available. The piClinic Console system is in its early stages of field testing and this paper describes the design and development process, the results of performance and user testing, and the plans for future research and development.
A dichotomy between the cytolytic activity and antigen-induced proliferative response of human γδ T cells

T cells bearing the γδ T cell receptor have been commonly found to display non-MHC-restricted, NK-like cytolytic activity (Moingeon 1987, Bosnes 1989, Fisch 1990). Other subsets of γδ T cells proliferate in response to mycobacterial antigens, in particular the 65 kd heat shock protein (HSP) of mycobacteria (Holoshitz 1989, Modlin 1989, Haregewoin 1989, O’Brien 1989, Janis 1989, Kabelitz 1990). We have previously reported four CD4-CD8- γδ T cell clones isolated from the synovial fluid of a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. These clones were selected by virtue of their proliferative response to mycobacteria and were found to recognize the mycobacterial HSP65. Their reactivity to mycobacteria was not restricted by MHC. In the present report we studied the cytolytic activity of these cells. We found that our γδ T cells display “promiscuous” non-MHC-restricted cytolytic activity against neoplastic cells. The cytolytic activity was not directed against exogenously added HSP65 or endogenous HSPs induced by heat. These results suggest that the cytolytic activity and recognition of soluble antigens are two distinct functional properties.
Stability and Predictors of Students’ Treatment Acceptability of Check & Connect Across Time:

Student views of treatment acceptability of an intervention is important but still is neither regularly assessed nor studied beyond non-behavioral interventions. Furthermore, assessment of treatmen...
A Generalized Simulation-Based Multi-Functional Differential Mode and Common Mode LCL Filter Design Method

Existing PV inverter filter design methods either focus on grid current harmonic suppression or EMI noise attenuation. This paper proposes a simulation-based, multi-functional filter design method for PV inverters, which can simultaneously handle multiple objectives, including minimizing grid current THD, conductive EMI noise, ground leakage current, touch current, filter weight, etc. By modelling equivalent filter circuit and simulating in PSIM software, the approach avoids traditional complicated circuit analysis and mathematical computation. The application example verifies effectiveness by simulation results.
The Interaction Effects of Leader and Follower Conscientiousness on Person-Supervisor Fit Perceptions and Follower Outcomes: A Cross-Level Moderated Indirect Effects Model

ABSTRACTThe primary purpose of this study is to examine how the cross-level interaction between leader and follower conscientiousness influences person-supervisor (PS) fit perceptions, which in tur...
Silence as a cue to the perception of syllable-initial and syllable-final stop consonants

Abstract To assess the role of silence as a cue for stop manner, we varied the silent closure interval between the stops in utterances of the form CVC1 //C2 V and asked listeners to transcribe the utterances. At short closure intervals, the listeners generally did not report the syllable-final stops; only the syllable-initial stops were reported. At longer closure intervals both the initial and final stops were reported. However, the interval necessary to report the syllable-final stop varied as a function of place of articulation and as a function of whether the syllable-final and syllable-initial stops shared place of articulation. When place of articulation was shared, an extremely long closure interval was necessary.
Connected Vehicle: Monitor Automotive Embedded Systems via IoT Protocol UI

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of smart objects which are embedded with sensors, microcontrollers, communication protocols, and software, which helps these smart objects to share or exchange the data remotely. The Machine-to-Machine technology in IoT leads to a more comfortable lifestyle. The fundamental purpose of this project is to design, implement and refine an IoT based system to monitor automotive embedded systems. And the primary focus of the project is to alert the owner from potential risks to their vehicle as quickly as possible when it is parked. Specifically, in this paper, a novel automotive security system is designed using a Raspberry Pi (or other microcontroller breakout board), sensors and use IoT protocols to monitor any alarms from a mobile device.
Similarity structure and diachronic emergence

I provide a formally precise account of diachronic emergence of properties as described within scientific theories, extending a recent account of synchronic emergence using similarity structure on the theories’ models. This similarity structure approach to emergent properties unifies the synchronic and diachronic types by revealing that they only differ in how they delineate the domains of application of theories. This allows it to apply also to cases where the synchronic/diachronic distinction is unclear, such as spacetime emergence from theories of quantum gravity. In addition, I discuss two further case studies—finite periodicity in van der Pol oscillators and two-dimensional quasiparticles in the fractional quantum Hall effect—to facilitate comparison of this approach to others in the literature on concepts of emergence applicable to the sciences. My discussion of the fractional quantum Hall effect in particular may be of independent interest to philosophers of physics concerned with its interpretation.
Comparative evaluation of multi-basin production performance and application of spatio-temporal models for unconventional oil and gas production prediction

Modern data analytic techniques, statistical and machine-learning algorithms have received widespread applications for solving oil and gas problems. As we face problems of parent–child well interactions, well spacing, and depletion concerns, it becomes necessary to model the effect of geology, completion design, and well parameters on production using models that can capture both spatial and temporal variability of the covariates on the response variable. We accomplish this using a well-formulated spatio-temporal (ST) model. In this paper, we present a multi-basin study of production performance evaluation and applications of ST models for oil and gas data. We analyzed dataset from 10,077 horizontal wells from 2008 to 2019 in five unconventional formations in the USA: Bakken, Marcellus, Eagleford, Wolfcamp, and Bone Spring formations. We evaluated well production performance and performance of new completions over time. Results show increased productivity of oil and gas since 2008. Also, the Bakken wells performed better for the counties evaluated. We present two methods for fitting spatio-temporal models: fixed rank kriging and ST generalized additive models using thin plate and cubic regression splines as basis functions in the spline-based smooths. Results show a significant effect on production by the smooth term, accounting for between 60 and 95% of the variability in the six-month production. Overall, we saw a better production response to completions for the gas formations compared to oil-rich plays. The results highlight the benefits of spatio-temporal models in production prediction as it implicitly accounts for geology and technological changes with time.
Indirect study of low-energy resonances in 31P(p, alpha )28Si and 35Cl(p, alpha )32S.

The reaction sequences governing the reaction flow in the rp process are important for the understanding of the energy generation and nucleosynthesis of heavy elements in hot and explosive stellar hydrogen burning. Of considerable interest are (p,\ensuremath{\alpha}) reactions along the process path which lead to the formation of reaction cycles rather than to chains of proton capture processes and \ensuremath{\beta} decays. Previous direct attempts to measure the low-energy reaction cross sections for $^{31}\mathrm{P}$(p,\ensuremath{\alpha}${)}^{28}$Si and $^{35}\mathrm{Cl}$(p,\ensuremath{\alpha}${)}^{32}$S resulted only in upper limits for the strengths of possible low-energy resonances which may dominate the reaction rates. In this paper an indirect experimental approach is presented to study the structure of the low-energy unbound states in the compound nuclei $^{32}$ S and $^{36}\mathrm{Ar}$. The results allow a more accurate determination of the contributions of these low-energy levels in the (p,\ensuremath{\alpha}) reaction channel.
A Programmable Nanodroplet Device with Direct Sample-to-Droplet Interface toward High-Throughput Screening

Droplet microfluidics offers a promising technology for high-throughput screening due to its potential for massive parallelization of nano- to picoliter-sized reactions. Fulfillment of this promise, however, has been impeded by ineffective "sample-to-droplet" interfaces with shortcomings ranging from significant waste of sample volume, limited scalability of the number of samples, to lengthy idle time due to sample injection and switch. In response, we have developed a programmable nanodroplet device with a "direct" sample-to-droplet interface that has low sample waste, high scalability, and minimal idle time. In our device, each sample (0.8 μL) is directly spotted onto an open-to-atmosphere device inlet. The sample-to-droplet interface of our device uses programmable microfluidic valves to regulate vacuum-assisted infusion of the sample from the open inlet into the device, as well as pressure-driven generation of nanodroplets (as small as ~5 nL) from the sample with minimal waste. Our device ensures high scalability, as series of samples are simply processed by the sample-to-droplet interface in succession. Parallelization of a pair of our sample-to-droplet interfaces and effective cleaning between successive samples help minimize idle time and cross-contamination. Finally, we have integrated nanodroplet assembly and on-chip incubation capabilities in our device and have coupled our device with an in-house laser-induced fluorescence detector to achieve in-line fluorescence detection of our nanodroplets. For demonstration, we perform a cytochrome P450-based drug screening assay in 50-nL nanodroplets - a 2000-fold reduction from 100-μL benchtop reactions - in our device and achieve excellent differentiation of no-drug controls from inhibitor controls (Z′ = 0.84).
Abstract IA010: Immunology of endometrial cancers: Tumor genetics, immune recognition, and immunotherapy response

Immune checkpoint blockade therapy targeting the T cell immune inhibitory receptors (e.g. PD1 and CTLA4) has reinvigorated the field of cancer immunotherapy and demonstrated the power of harnessing the adaptive immune system to fight cancers. However, fundamental challenges and questions remain. Endometrial cancers specifically, are largely resistant to immune checkpoint blockade, while the underlying mechanisms of why T cell-mediated tumor elimination largely fails in EC are not well understood. Endometrial cancer encompasses a number of genetically-distinct diseases characterized by recurrent molecular alterations driving each disease subtype. Specifically, four major molecular subtypes have been identified, including POLE-ultramutated, MSI-high, and microsatellite stable copy-number high (serous-like) and copy number-low (endometrioid) cancers. In MSI-H endometrial cancers specifically, response rates of over 50% to single agent PD-1/PD-L1 blockade have been reported across a number of studies. Unfortunately, in non-MSI-H tumors, responses to immune checkpoint inhibitors have been rather limited, calling for novel combinations. Importantly, a trial of combination of multi-targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) lenvatinib with pembrolizumab (anti-PD1) demonstrated response rates of close to 40% irrespective of MMR status, which established this combination as a new standard of care treatment in metastatic endometrial cancer. Nevertheless, even with these promising findings: 1) A large proportion of patients does not benefit; 2) Predictive biomarkers and mechanisms defining immunotherapy response or resistance remain unknown; and 3) Insights into the mechanistic basis underlying the TKI/anti-PD-1 synergy are desperately needed. There is a growing appreciation that intrinsic tumor genomic features are critical in shaping the composition and phenotype of the immune microenvironment, including the recruitment, infiltration, phenotypes and functional states of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. Understanding how these features predict response to immune checkpoint blockade will be key to development of novel biomarkers and therapeutic combinations. Citation Format: Dmitriy Zamarin. Immunology of endometrial cancers: Tumor genetics, immune recognition, and immunotherapy response [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference: Endometrial Cancer: New Biology Driving Research and Treatment; 2020 Nov 9-10. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2021;27(3_Suppl):Abstract nr IA010.
“I’m sick of doing nothing:” how boredom shapes rape crisis center volunteers’ social movement participation

Extensive research shows that emotions influence social movement participation. Scholars argue that emotions like anger and pride generally activate – i.e. increase movement participation – whereas...
Social and Behavioral Factors Associated with BMI and Waist Circumference among Adolescents: The Jackson Heart KIDS Pilot Study.

Background: African American children and adolescents make up a disproportion­ately large segment of those classified as overweight and obese. The purpose of this study was to examine social and behavioral factors associated with accelerated ac­cumulation of weight and adiposity among this group. Methods: The data for this cross-sectional study were drawn from the Jackson Heart KIDS Pilot Study – an offspring cohort study comprising 12- to 19-year-old descen­dants of Jackson Heart Study participants (N=212). Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were the outcomes of interest. Daily hassles, fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, television watching, parent/grandparent weight status and participant birth weight, age and sex were the independent variables included in the analyses. Results: Males and females were equally represented in the study and the mean BMI and waist circumference for adolescents in the study was 25.81±7.78 kg/m2 and 83.91 ± 19.81 cm, respectively. Fully adjusted linear regression models for the total sample produced results indicating that age, televi­sion viewing, weight control, and parental weight status were positively associated with BMI and waist circumference, respectively. Findings from sex-stratified models for BMI and waist circumference indicated that the significance of coefficients for age, television viewing, and parent/grandparent weight status varied by sex. Conclusions: Knowledge is limited about how sex or gender interact with social and behavioral factors to influence African Americans’ health and additional studies are needed to specify how these factors interact to accelerate weight gain and adipose tissue accumulation over the life course. Ethn Dis. 2021;31(3):453-460; doi:10.18865/ed.31.3.453
Correlates of solitary alcohol and cannabis use among American Indian adolescents.

Background Solitary substance use, or using substances while alone, is common among adolescents but understudied. This is the first study to examine solitary substance use among American Indian (AI) adolescents. The objective was to examine correlates of solitary alcohol use and solitary cannabis use that occur within the individual, family, school, peer, and cultural domains of the social ecology. Method Data were from the 2009-2013 Drug Use Among Young American Indians Study, a cross-sectional cohort study. Two sets of hierarchical logistic regressions were conducted to examine solitary alcohol use (getting drunk) among lifetime alcohol users (n = 2082; Mage = 15.12 years; SD = 1.68; 54.2% female) and solitary cannabis use among lifetime cannabis users (n = 2085; Mage = 14.99 years; SD = 1.69; 50.5% female), including adjustment for level of substance involvement. Results Prevalence of solitary alcohol use among lifetime drinkers was 24.9%. Among lifetime cannabis users, 53.6% reported solitary cannabis use. Regression analyses for solitary alcohol use showed statistically significant positive associations with coping motive, descriptive norms, violent behavior, depression, peer models for use, and (unexpectedly) peer sanctions against use and a negative association with family sanctions against use. Regression analyses for solitary cannabis use showed statistically significant positive associations with coping motive, violent behavior, and peer models for use and a negative association with family sanctions against use. Conclusions Solitary alcohol and cannabis use are prevalent among AI adolescents and might, in particular, reflect attempts to cope with adversity. Findings could help guide the development of screening and prevention efforts.
The International Criminal Court and the Sovereign State

Terrorism, drug trafficking, and internecine conflict spurred revival in 1989 of a decades-old proposal for an international court to judge persons accused of the world’s worst crimes. Within years the Security Council of the United Nations established ad hoc tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, amid negotiations for a permanent tribunal with broader jurisdiction. Diplomats produced a statute for the International Criminal Court at a conference in Rome in 1998.2 A majority of the world’s states welcomed the institution the statute envisioned, so much so that the treaty bearing the statute took effect a scant four years later. A few states nonetheless voiced opposition. Unremitting resistance has come from the United States. US critics variously have said that the ICC Statute: contains a provision “contrary to the most fundamental principles of treaty law”;3 suffers from a “deep democratic defect”;4 and is “a fundamental threat to American sovereignty”.5 Examination of such complaints, cloaked as they are in certain notions of sovereignty and the role of the nation-state, may contribute to a larger understanding of the contemporary challenges of global governance.
Care of the Dying Child at Home

The purpose of our study, “Care of the Dying Child at Home,” is to examine the feasibility and desirability of a home care alternative to hospitalization for children dying of cancer. Home care is defined as “the delivery of services, coordinated by nurses with physicians and other health care professionals as consultants, to enable parents to give comfort care required by a child at the end stage of life.” The feasibility and the desirability issues are broad, recognizing the state of knowledge at the time we began, in that we were even unsure whether parents could provide the necessary care or if they desired such an alternative.
Is the plasma amino acid consumption test an accurate test of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency

Abstract Background/Aims: The amino acid consumption test has been proposed as an accurate test of exocrine pancreatic function. The diagnostic accuracy of this test was determined by simultaneously measuring plasma amino acids and enzyme secretion during stimulation of the pancreas with cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-OP) in 60 consecutive patients suspected of having pancreatic insufficiency. Methods: All patients underwent duodenal intubation and intravenous infusion of CCK-OP (40 ng·kg −1 ·h−1). Pancreatic enzyme (lipase and trypsin) outputs and plasma amino acids were measured for a period of 1 hour. Total and individual plasma amino acids were quantitated by ion-exchange chromatography. The severity of pancreatic insufficiency was graded on the basis of enzyme output during CCK-OP infusion. Results: There was no relationship between pancreatic enzyme output and plasma concentrations of individual or total amino acids before or during CCK-OP stimulation. Using a total amino acid decrease of 12% as the cutoff, the amino acid consumption test was 91% sensitive, but very nonspecific (21% specificity) for detection of pancreatic insufficiency. Conclusions: The amino acid consumption test with CCK-OP stimulation does not discriminate between patients with normal and impaired exocrine pancreatic secretion.
Measuring Interestingness – Perspectives on Anomaly Detection

We live in a data deluge. Our ability to gather, distribute, and store information has grown immensely over the past two decades. With this overabundance of data, the core knowledge discovery problem is no longer in the gathering of this data, but rather in the retrieving of relevant data efficiently. While the most common approach is to use rule interestingness to filter results of the association rule generation process, study of literature suggests that interestingness is difficult to define quantitatively and is best summarized as, “a record or pattern is interesting if it suggests a change in an established model.” In this paper we elaborate on the term interestingness , and the surrounding taxonomy of interestingness measures, anomalies, novelty and surprisingness. We review and summarize the current state of literature surrounding interestingness and associated approaches. Keywords: Interestingness, anomaly detection, rare-class mining, Interestingness measures, outliers, surprisingness, novelty
Conformance testing in systems with semicontrollable interfaces

In a conformance testing environment, an implementation under test (iut) communicates with multiple entities. A tester may have differing degrees of control on the interactions between these entities and the iut : directly controllable, semicontrollable, or uncontrollable. Semi-controllable inputs most likely render portions of an IUT untestable. In addition, multiple communicating entities may create race conditions during testing. This paper presents a test generation methodology for systems where the semicontrollable inputs can be generated indirectly. The test sequences obtained from the converted graph fully utilize the semicontrollable inputs (where possible) while avoiding the race conditions. Although, for the most general case, the graph conversion results in a exponentially large number of nodes, practical considerations make the converted graph size feasible. This approach is used to generate tests for mil-std 188-220B. By applying the proposed graph conversion and the race condition elimination techniques, the number of testable state transitions increased from approximately 200 to over 700, which represents a coverage of 95% of the transitions defined in the specification.
Longitudinal Patterns of Stages of Change for Exercise and Lifestyle Intervention Outcomes: An Application of Latent Class Analysis with Distal Outcomes

Stages of change measure an individual's readiness to alter a health behavior. This study examined the latent longitudinal patterns of stages of change (SoC) for regular exercise over time among individuals participating in a lifestyle intervention project. It also investigated the association between the longitudinal patterns of SoC and intervention outcomes using a new statistical method to assess the relationship between latent class membership and distal outcomes. We analyzed data from the Special Diabetes Program for Indians Diabetes Prevention Program, a lifestyle intervention program to prevent diabetes among American Indians and Alaska Natives. Latent class analysis (LCA) was conducted to identify the longitudinal patterns of SoC for regular exercise reported at three time points. LCA with distal outcomes was performed to investigate the associations between latent class membership and behavioral changes after the intervention. The parameters and standard errors of the LCA with distal outcomes models were estimated using an improved three-step approach. Three latent classes were identified: Pre-action, Transition, and Maintenance classes. The Transition class, where stage progression occurred, had the greatest improvements in physical activity and weight outcomes at both time points post-baseline among female participants. It also had the largest improvements in weight outcomes among male participants. Furthermore, the Pre-action class had more attenuation in the improvements they had achieved initially than the other two classes. These findings suggest the potential importance of motivating participants to modify their readiness for behavioral change in future lifestyle interventions.
Scanning the environment of tourism attractions: A content analysis approach

The objective of this research project was to identify patterns of activity that exist in the context of the general environment of the tourism industry and to identify possible trends emanating from this environment that will likely shape the structure of the industry over the next 10 years. The content analysis research methodology was used to scan the body of literature relevant to the industry environment. The major trends identified and explored are: changing consumer preferences, smaller scale tourist attractions appealing to more niche oriented segments, greater local involvement in tourism development decisions, more precise targeting and aggressive marketing, greater use of technology in marketing and servicing tourists, increased alliances especially among small firms, greater and more aggressive involvement of industry association and greater international expansion in the developing world.
A compressible approach in finite element analysis of rubber-elastic materials

Abstract This paper presents a finite element procedure for rubber-elastic materials based on a strain energy function of the compressible type. A brief review on the material's description and the related numerical methods is given. A compressible strain energy function is developed by adding a bulk (dilatational) term to the Ogden-Tschoegl model and is used for finite element formulations. An ideal dilatation test is used to show that the penalty method is equivalent to modifying a strain energy function from an incompressible form to a compressible form and that the penalty parameter is related to the Lame's constant λ. The numerical approach to near incompressibility in this work is a natural penalty method which does not use an artificial penalty function. A method for finite element implementation of a strain energy function in terms of principal stretches is proposed, in which the stresses and the material moduli are initially calculated in principal directions and are then transformed to the axial directions of an active coordinate system. Two finite element formulations, the total Lagrangian (TL) and the updated Lagrangian (UL), are given explicitly. Finite element codes for plane stress, plane strain, axisymmetric and three-dimensional problems are developed. The TL formulation is used in programming except for the three-dimensional code which uses the UL formulation. Numerical experiments are conducted on benchmark problems to show the effectiveness of the proposed procedure for the analyses of rubber-elastic materials.
Distribution-invariant risk measures, entropy, and large deviations

The simulation of distributions of financial assets is an important issue for financial institutions. If risk measures are evaluated for a simulated distribution instead of the model-implied distribution, the errors in the risk measurements need to be analyzed. For distribution-invariant risk measures which are continuous on compacts, we employ the theory of large deviations to study the probability of large errors. If the approximate risk measurements are based on the empirical distribution of independent samples, then the rate function equals the minimal relative entropy under a risk measure constraint. We solve this minimization problem explicitly for shortfall risk and average value at risk.
Failure of pimozide and metergoline to antagonize the RDS-127-induced facilitation of ejaculatory behavior

Metergoline, a serotonin-receptor antagonist, when administered in either an ascorbic acid or ethanol containing vehicle was without effect on male rat copulatory behavior (3 mg/kg, 90 minutes pretest). When initially dissolved in several drops of acetic acid, however, the same dose of metergoline dramatically suppressed male rat sexual behavior. Thus, one-half of the treated rats failed to intromit and ejaculate, and those displaying the behaviors exhibited elongated intercopulatory and postejaculatory intervals. The administration of the putative dopamine-receptor agonist RDS-127 (2-N,N-di-n-propylamino-4,7-dimethoxyindane; 3 mg/kg, six minutes pretest) induced seminal emission ex copula and drastically reduced intromission frequency and ejaculation latency in copula, as well as effecting lesser reductions in the intercopulatory and postejaculatory intervals in two sequential copulatory series. RDS-127-induced seminal emission was effectively antagonized by pretreatment with the dopamine-receptor antagonist pimozide (250 micrograms/kg, two hours pretest), but not by pretreatment with metergoline. In contrast to seminal emission ex copula, pimozide pretreatment failed to antagonize the RDS-127 facilitation of ejaculatory behavior in copula. Metergoline pretreatment also failed to antagonize the RDS-127-induced facilitation of ejaculatory behavior in copula. However, RDS-127 prevented the suppressive effects of metergoline treatment, suggesting that RDS-127 has some agonistic action at serotonergic receptors.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Prolongations to higher jets of Estabrook-Wahlquist coverings for PDE's

Using a definition of the (infinite-dimensional) Lie algebras introduced by Estabrook and Wahlquist (EW) that ‘lives’ directly on the jet bundle, we establish explicit methods to determine prolongations of these algebras to higher jet spaces, and calculate these prolongations for Burgers' equation and the KdV equation, to arbitrary level on the infinite jet bundle. Each level of prolongation introduces additional generator(s) of the algebra. For Burgers' equation, we first find the Kac-Moody algebra that is the (universal) completion of that algebra on the lowest-order jet space. We then show how each new generator creates a free flow of the lower-order algebra over the jet bundle, without requiring any new commutation relations. For the KdV equation, one new generator creates a flow, but the other introduces into the structure of the prolonged total derivative operators the characteristics for the hierarchy of conserved quantities of the PDE, thereby mixing together these ‘nonlocal’ symmetries with the local ones in a way that may be valuable. In the limit to the infinite jet bundle, we acquire the EW algebra for the entire KdV hierarchy of PDE's, moving toward a comparison of this approach with the work of the Japanese school.
An efficient algorithm for gossiping in the multicasting communication environment

We present an algorithm for the gossiping problem defined over an n processor communication network, N, where message multicasting is allowed. The algorithm generates a communication schedule with a total communication time at most N+r, where r is the radius of the network. Our algorithm begins by constructing a spanning tree (or tree network T) with the least possible radius. Then, all the communications are carried out in the tree network as follows: each processor waits its turn to transmit "almost" consecutively to its parent and children all the messages in its subtree. During other times, each processor transmits to its children all the messages emanating elsewhere in the network.
The impact of vegetation on sedimentary organic matter composition and PAH desorption.

Abstract Relationships between sedimentary organic matter (SOM) composition and PAH desorption behavior were determined for vegetated and non-vegetated refinery distillate waste sediments. Sediments were fractionated into size, density, and humin fractions and analyzed for their organic matter content. Bulk sediment and humin fractions differed more in organic matter composition than size/density fractions. Vegetated humin and bulk sediments contained more polar organic carbon, black carbon, and modern (plant) carbon than non-vegetated sediment fractions. Desorption kinetics of phenanthrene, pyrene, chrysene, and C3-phenanthrene/anthracenes from humin and bulk sediments were investigated using Tenax® beads and a two-compartment, first-order kinetic model. PAH desorption from distillate waste sediments appeared to be controlled by the slow desorbing fractions of sediment; rate constants were similar to literature values for kslow and kvery slow. After several decades of plant colonization and growth (Phragmites australis), vegetated sediment fractions more extensively desorbed PAHs and had faster desorption kinetics than non-vegetated sediment fractions.
Acrolein induces axolemmal disruption, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial impairment in spinal cord tissue.

Abstract Acrolein, a byproduct of oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation, has been implicated in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, but not in spinal cord trauma, as a possible key factor in neuronal degeneration. Using an isolated guinea pig spinal cord model, we have found that acrolein, in a dose- and time-dependent manner, inflicts severe membrane disruption, a factor thought to be critical in triggering axonal deterioration and cell death. The concentration threshold of such detrimental effect is shown to be around 1 μM when acrolein was exposed for 4 h. The membrane damage is likely mediated in part by reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation, which were elevated in response to acrolein exposure. Antioxidants were able to significantly reduce acrolein-mediated membrane disruption which further supports the role of reactive oxygen species in the loss of membrane integrity. Mitochondrial function was also impaired after acrolein exposure which not only implicates but emphasizes the role of this organelle in reactive oxygen species generation. In summary, our data strongly suggest that at a clinically relevant concentration, acrolein can severely compromise membrane integrity and may further serve as an initiating toxin triggering secondary injury cascades following the initial physical insult to the spinal cord.