cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Detection of Hepatitis Viruses Based on J48, KStar and Naïve Bayes Classifier

In this paper, the target is to detect hepatitis according to symptoms, mode of transmission and relevant tests. Hepatitis is not only the diseases of liver but also infect other sites of the body. It can attack people of any age. Many viruses cause hepatitis. From there mainly five viruses are mentioned as hepatitis viruses because they are mainly tainted in the liver. They are HAV, HBV, HCV, HDV, and HEV. The Naive Bayes, KStar and J48 classifiers are used in WEKA software to calculate the result. Naive Bayes is the algorithm used for solving text classification problems. Basically, it is used for text classification that includes high dimensional training data sets. KStar is an instance-based learner. It conducts an entropy-based distance function. J48 classifier in weka is actually an algorithm generally known as C4.5 algorithm. This algorithm is often called a statistical classifier. In Naive Bayes the accuracy of result 93.8% stands for 10 fold cross-validation. In J48 classifier the accuracy is 98.6% by using 10 fold cross-validation and in KStar it is 97.2% by using 10 fold cross-validation.
Abstract 264: Utilizing Risk Scoring for Prescribing Statins to Hospitalized Patients to Primarily Prevent Coronary Artery Disease

Background: Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in the United States. Approximately 25% of total deaths in the United States are attributed to cardiovascular diseases. Modifica...
Medical management of meningiomas

Meningiomas are the most frequently occurring primary brain tumors in adults, representing almost one-third of all primary central nervous system tumors. Several factors have been suggested as an underlying cause in the development of meningiomas, such as ionizing radiation (therapeutic or other incidental exposure), hormonal factors, and genetic predisposition syndromes. Other established factors associated with meningiomas include age, female gender, and those from non-Hispanic Black backgrounds. Though the 2016 World Health Organization Classification of Brain Tumors largely preserves the existing grading scheme for organization of meningioma, there is increasing understanding of the molecular factors underlying the development of meningioma, some of which now form the basis for active clinical investigation. The mainstay of treatment has been the combination of radiation therapy and surgery, with a limited role for systemic therapy due to low efficacy, short duration of treatment response, and lack of uniform response criteria. Similar to other primary and metastatic brain tumors, immune-based therapies hold promise and are still under investigation.
Early seizure spread and epilepsy surgery: A systematic review.

Objective A fundamental question in epilepsy surgery is how to delineate the margins of cortex that must be resected to result in seizure freedom. Whether and which areas showing seizure activity early in ictus must be removed to avoid postoperative recurrence of seizures is an area of ongoing research. Seizure spread dynamics in the initial seconds of ictus are often correlated with postoperative outcome; there is neither a consensus definition of early spread nor a concise summary of the existing literature linking seizure spread to postsurgical seizure outcomes. The present study is intended to summarize the literature that links seizure spread to postoperative seizure outcome and to provide a framework for quantitative assessment of early seizure spread. Methods A systematic review was carried out according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A Medline search identified clinical studies reporting data on seizure spread measured by intracranial electrodes, having at least 10 subjects and reporting at least 1-year postoperative outcome in the English literature from 1990 to 2019. Studies were evaluated regarding support for a primary hypothesis: Areas of early seizure spread represent cortex with seizure-generating potential. Results The search yielded 4562 studies: 15 studies met inclusion criteria and 7 studies supported the primary hypothesis. The methods and metrics used to describe seizure spread were heterogenous. The timeframe of seizure spread associated with seizure outcome ranged from 1-14 seconds, with large, well-designed, retrospective studies pointing to 3-10 seconds as most likely to provide meaningful correlates of postoperative seizure freedom. Significance The complex correlation between electrophysiologic seizure spread and the potential for seizure generation needs further elucidation. Prospective cohort studies or trials are needed to evaluate epilepsy surgery targeting cortex involved in the first 3-10 seconds of ictus.
The Impact of the Minimum Wage on DI Participation

This report provides an empirical analysis of the impact of the minimum wage on DI claims and awards. It draws on data from the Social Security Administration’s State Agencies Monthly Workload Dataset, from which a state-by-year panel of DI claims and awards is constructed for 2002-2017 and matched to data on the real effective minimum wage, the higher of the federal and state minimum wage in each state and year. Then two reduced-form estimation methodologies are employed. The first follows studies in the hourly wage-inequality literature and models log DI claims as a function of the bindingness of the minimum wage in the state hourly wage distribution. The second follows studies in the minimum wage disemployment literature and models log claims (in both levels and first-differences) as a function of a distributed lag of the minimum wage.
Quakers, Slaves and the Founders: Profiling to Save the Union

Racial and religious profiling is inconsistent with a fundamental Fourth Amendment doctrine. In most circumstances, law enforcers must possess fact-based, particularized suspicion before they can seize or search a person or property. ‘Racial profiling, "the invidious use of race or ethnicity as a criterion in . . . law enforcement, violates that rule. Without more, a person's race, religion, ethnicity or alienage cannot supply the factual basis for a constitutional search or seizure. No logical relationship exists between any of these characteristics and the commission of crimes. Yet searches and seizures based upon these impermissible grounds occur, and the phenomenon is not new. Constitutional history provides provocative examples of racial and religious profiling in every century of the nation's existence. The examples of "profiling" discussed in this article originated with the Founders. The first example occurred during the Revolutionary War, when the Congress authorized the seizure and lengthy incarceration of Quakers suspected of being British sympathizers precisely because they were Quakers. These individuals were seized without any showing that they were aiding or even supporting the enemy, and no hearing was ever held (either before, during or after the incarceration) to determine the validity of these seizures. Their captivity ended, in part because the immediate military crisis ended, in part because of incessant agitation by the captives, their families, friends and supporters, and in part because many Revolutionary leaders worried about the long term consequences of allowing seizures without proper justification. The second example, laws justifying the seizure of people alleged to be runaway slaves, originated with the political compromises that preserved slavery in the original constitutional scheme, compromises justified by the exigencies of the time and the hazards of nation building. The Framers included the Fugitive Slave Clause in Article IV of the Constitution, and the Second Congress enacted the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, which authorized slave owners to recover their human property. Efforts to recover fugitive slaves generated the crudest forms of racial profiling, as well as opposition to slave catchers, particularly in border states. One by-product of resistance to was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, an even more odious statute that was an essential element of the Compromise of 1850, the historic congressional attempt to resolve with political means the intractable national crises flowing from slavery. The 1850 statute was necessary, its proponents argued, to preserve the United States from dissolution, and perhaps from civil war. Both the seizure of Quakers during the Revolution and the enforcement of laws permitting seizures of blacks alleged to be runaway slaves were justified as necessary responses to threats to the very existence of the nation. As a result, these early examples of what we would label today as religious or racial profiling have implications for the current debate about profiling in the “war on terror.”
Native proline-rich motifs exploit sequence context to target actin-remodeling Ena/VASP proteins

The human proteome is replete with short linear motifs (SLiMs) of 4-6 residues that are critical for protein-protein interactions, yet the importance of the sequence surrounding such motifs is underexplored. We devised a proteomic screen to systematically examine the influence of SLiM sequence context on protein-protein interactions. Focusing on the EVH1 domain of ENAH, an actin regulator that is upregulated in invasive cancers, we screened 36-residue proteome-derived peptides for binding. We discovered a pocket on the ENAH EVH1 domain that diverged from its orthologs to recognize extended SLiMs, and we found that proteins with two EVH1-binding SLiMs can wrap around a single domain. We also found that the ciliary protein PCARE uses an extended 23-residue region to obtain higher affinity than any known ENAH EVH1-binding motif. Our screen provides a way to uncover the effects of broader proteomic context on motif-mediated interactions, revealing diverse mechanisms of contextual control over EVH1 interactions and establishing that SLiMs cannot be fully understood outside of their native context.
JAPAN PACIFIC ICT CENTRE & ICT FOR HUMAN DEVELOPMENT & SECURITY AT USP

The South Pacific Region has many problems related to environmental and economic issues. The University of the South Pacific (USP) is an ideal platform for provision of development of Human Resources and enhancement of Human Security in the Pacific. Main objective of Japan Pacific ICT Centre is to build human-resource for ICT capacity development all across developing countries in the south pacific while “bridging the digital divide”. Main Goal was to provide USP with appropriate resources to take the lead role in driving the Pacific through Human Resource Development Programs. Specific Goal is to focus on developing and strengthening ICT skills applicable at the e-services level. The author discusses the development of new Japan Pacific Information Communications Technologies (ICT) Centre at the University of the South Pacific and ICT for Human Development and Security in the South Pacific Region. USP motivation was to accommodate increasing demand for ICT-related education and training in the region and to accelerate research and development activities in the Pacific. The Japan Pacific ICT Center will play a facilitator role for ICT related education, Training; and Research and Development for the Pacific. Japan Pacific ICT Centre will promote innovation and development in the areas of e-Learning, e-Health, e-Government, e-Journalism, etc. The Centre will support software development in the areas of Web 2.0 combined with the 3D Telepresence, Future Internet, Semantic Web Technologies to support creation of social networks, content retrieval and analysis. This will contribute towards the research and innovation in the areas of future fully automated cyberspace. Current dynamic Internet developments and continuous demand for the ubiquitous connectivity combined with the next generation of networks contributes towards creation the future cyberspace infrastructures worldwide. Implementation of the cyberspace in the government and corporate infrastructures, contributes towards creation of new paradigm in the decision making processes. Decisions that are currently governed by the human intelligence knowledge and intuition may be influenced by the cyber-data and processes. Future cyberspace will ultimately impact the decision making processes by government, corporate, industrial and academic institutions worldwide. In conclusion the author promotes discussion on the role of the Japan Pacific ICT Centre at USP and in the Region. The author opens discussion on Japan Pacific ICT Centre social and ethical impact in the south pacific region in the context of governance vs. privacy.
World history of the dance

More inclusive than any other art, the dance has been associated with every phase of human life. In relation to their historical setting the author deals with the magic powers attributed to the dance, and such motives as fertility, war, marriage and health. We read that the Indian divorces his wife in the dance and, when he is ill, dances to dispel the disease; and that once in front of the Turkish soldiers sixty Greek mothers and girls danced the old Romaiika as they threw themselves one after another into the abyss. The book includes analyses of many forms of the art--sitting dances, dances of the hands, solo, group and couple dances--and a discussion of rhythm and melody in relation to the dance. But it is not only because of its informative character that the book is distinguished. World History of the Dance, written with rare force and insight, communicates a feeling for its subject such as is seldom found in works of historical research. It is the author's understanding of the essence of the art, its exhilaration and power to break down the distinctions of ordinary life, that makes his book so rich a contribution to the knowledge and appreciation of the dance.
E.P. Thompson's Capital:: Political Economy in The Making

THe MAking of tHe EnglisH Working ClAss was not written by an historian. In 1963 its author, E.P. Thompson, was a writer and political activist, who worked as a Tutor in English for the Extra Mural Studies Department at the University of Leeds. His first book had been a spirited political biography of William Morris; his second an edited collection of essays gathered in the wake of Khrushchev’s 1956 denunciation of Stalin at the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (cpsu), which was soon followed by the British incursion into the Suez and the Soviet invasion of Hungary. As an activist, Thompson played a key role in the creation of the New Left. He co-edited with John Saville the Reasoner, a mimeographed journal of dissent within the Communist Party of Great Britain (cpgb), which became the New Reasoner after he and Saville left the party rather than obey a directive to suspend publication; and he was a local organizer of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (cnd), which mobilized hundreds of thousands of people in Great Britain to call for an end to both nuclear testing and nuclear weapons. Thompson and his New Left comrades wanted to create a viable alternative, on the one hand, to the cpgb, which was almost solely identified in the public mind with defending the national interests of the USSR, whatever the impact of such defense on the interests of workers elsewhere; and, on the other, to the British Labour Party, which devoted itself far too slavishly in the opinion of Thompson and his comrades to defending the national interest of the United States and its nato front. He wrote The Making of the English Working Class as a contribution to this creation, a witness to the possibility of a different kind of politics and a different kind of world. Things did not turn out the way Thompson had hoped, though that is not a story I will tell here. My goal here is simply to help honor The Making of the English Working Class and its author, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of its publication, by emphasizing the book’s importance not only as a work of history but also as a political, and even a theoretical, tract for our time. I want especially to underscore the ways in which The Making was not just a product of the New Left but also a strategic intervention within it. It was addressed primarily to a broad audience of activists and working-class students rather than historians; and it was intended more to change the way history was made than to change the way it was written. Moreover, Thompson did not write with just an English audience in mind, or with just the past in view: the working class for him was global, and he was as concerned with its prospects as with its formation. He sought to show the world, including those parts of it to which his students belonged, as well as his comrades on the Left and the many people
PLASMA STABILIZATION REQUIREMENTS OF THE REFERENCE THETA-PINCH REACTOR (RTPR)*

We consider the Reference Theta-Pinch Reactor (RTPR) as a high-beta stellarator, feedback stabilized to the m = 1 MHD mode and finite-Larmor-radius-stabilized to the m ≥ 2 Vlasov-fluid modes. For an l = 1, 0 equilibrium with l = 2 feedback fields the ratio of peak feedback power to thermonuclear power output for a linear-amplifier-driven system is found to be negligible. An impulse-control system involving capacitor drive further reduces the ratio by two orders of magnitude. Stabilization of the m ≥ 2 modes is a critical consideration. It requires lowering the RTPR line density, subject to the constraint of acceptably low feedback power. The required decrease in discharge filling pressure or minor radius must also be constrained by maintaining reactor energy balance. A parametric analysis indicates the relationship between plasma stabilization and reactor energy balance. There is a critical trade-off between the first-wall radius and the helical equilibrium field to maintain stabilization and energy balance.
A Component Assignment Framework for Improved Capacity and Assured Performance in Web Portals

Web portals hosting large-scale internet applications have become popular due to the variety of services they provide to their users. These portals are developed using component technologies. Important design challenges for developers of web portals involve (1) determining the component placement that maximizes the number of users/requests (capacity) without increasing hardware resources and (2) maintaining the performance within certain bounds given by service level agreements (SLAs). The multitude of behavioral patterns presented by users makes it hard to identify the incoming workloads. This paper makes three contributions to the design and evaluation of web portals that address these design challenges. First it introduces an algorithmic framework that combines bin-packing and modeling-based queuing theory to place components onto hardware nodes. This capability is realized by the Component Assignment Framework for multi-tiered internet applications (CAFe). Second, it develops a component-aware queuing model to predict web portal performance. Third, it provides extensive experimental evaluation using the Rice University Bidding System (RUBiS). The results indicate that CAFe can identify opportunities to increase web portal capacity by 25% for a constant amount of hardware resources and typical web application and user workloads.
Stream sediment exploration for gold and silver in Nevada — application of an old prospecting method using modern analytical techniques

Abstract The Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology has completed a mineral resource assessment of the Nellis Air Force Range (NAFR), an area of about 12,000 km 2 in southern Nevada that has essentially been withdrawn from mineral entry since the early 1940s. The NAFR is mainly underlain by Proterozoic and Paleozoic miogeoclinal rocks, Tertiary volcanic rocks, and Quaternary continental deposits. It contains all or part of 36 historic mining districts, about 18 of which are precious metals districts with known but minor gold and silver production. Most of the precious metals mineralization is hosted by Tertiary volcanic rocks and includes both low-sulfidation and high-sulfidation deposit types. Assessment of potential for metallic mineral deposits in the NAFR was carried out using background rock sampling, stream sediment sampling, and remote sensing, followed by examination and sampling of historic mining districts and alteration areas. Silt and float chip sampling were selected as the most efficient methods following a pilot stream sediment sampling study in regional mining districts that also included panned concentrate analyses. Threshold values for anomalous samples were determined from background rock samples. Float chip samples, which consist of small fragments of visibly mineralized and altered rock (generally limonitized and silicified) collected from stream sediment sampling sites, were determined to be the most effective in the differentiation of favorable areas for gold and silver deposits. Ag, As, and Au were present in anomalous amounts in dry stream beds draining more than most of the areas that were determined to have high potential on the basis of subsequent rock sampling. Hg, Mo, and Te were also found to be effective precious metal pathfinders in many cases. Silt sampling was clearly less effective. Ag, As, and Au appear to be the best indicators of potential in silt samples. On the basis of this work, combined silt and float chip sampling is recommended for gold and silver exploration in Tertiary volcanic rocks.
Hypoxia increases erythropoiesis and decreases thrombocytopoiesis in mice : a comparison of two mouse strains

Several previous studies have shown that hypoxia increases erythropoiesis and decreases thrombocytopoiesis in mice. It has been postulated that the thrombocy- topenia is caused by stem cell competition between the erythrocytic and megakaryocytic cell lines. In the present work, we compared the effects of severe hypoxia (5.5-6.0% 02) in both male and female C3H and BALB/c mice by measuring their abilities to produce red blood cells and platelets. All mice hald significant increases in packed cell volumes and marked decreases in platelet prodiuction after hypoxia; however, there were significant differences in the degree of stimulation in the two mouse strains. After 14 days of hypoxia, the percentage of 35S incorporation into platelets, total circulating platelet counts and total circulating platelet masses were lower in C3H mice than in BALB/c mice, but platelet sizes were larger. Also, hypoxia caused greater changes in male mice than in female mice, with male C3H mice showing the greatest increase in packed cell volumes and the lowest platelet counts of all mice tested. The least responses were observed in female BALB/c mice. BALB/c mice had higher P50 (right- shifted O2 dissociation curves) and lower erythrocyte 2,3-diphosphoglycerate values than C3H mice, indicating a lower hemoglobin O2 affinity for BALB/c mice. The results indicate that the effects of hypoxia are not direct upon platelet production, but that the thrombocytopenia is a result of stimulation of erythropoiesis. These data support the stem cell competition hypothesis and illustrate that the degree of the inverse relationship between red blood cells and platelet production of hypoxic mice is dependent, to a large degree, upon the sex and strain of mice that are used. (P S E.B.M 1991, Vol 1971
Effects of variations in interpair interval and type of feedback on paired-associate learning

Subjects were required to learn a list of paired associates, with three response alternatives. Following an error S s were either told which response had been correct (Correction procedure), that one or the other of the remaining response alternatives had been correct (Partial correction), or that they had been wrong (Noncorrection). Half of the S s were run under a 0-sec interpair interval, and half were run under a 5-sec interpair interval. Performance of S s run under the 5-sec interpair interval was superior to performance under the 0-sec interval. Type of feedback was found to have no significant effect, nor did type of feedback interact with interpair interval.
Appearance of normal pancreatic duct: A study using real‐time ultrasound

Using a linear array real-time scanner and a video disc with slow-motion review capability, the pancreatic duct was seen in 86% of normal subjects. It appeared as a tubular structure in 65% of patients and as a single line echo in 21%. The normal pancreatic duct measures 2 mm in diameter or less.
Mapping flow and dispersion in a packed column by MRI

This article reports spatially resolved measurements of fluid velocity and apparent dispersion coefficient in a packed column of impermeable polystyrene beads by magnetic-resonance-imaging velocimetry (MRIV).
Robust beamforming via matrix completion

Beamforming methods rely on training data to estimate the covariance matrix of the interference pulse noise. Their convergence slows down if the signal of interest is present in the training data, thus requiring a large numbers of training snapshots to maintain good performance. In a distributed array, in which the array nodes are connected to a fusion center via a wireless link, the estimation of the covariance matrix would require the communication of large amounts of data, and thus would consume significant power. We propose an approach that enables good beamforming performance while requiring substantially fewer data to be transmitted to the fusion center. The main idea is based on the fact that when the number of signal and interference sources is much smaller than the number of array sensors, the training data matrix is low rank. Thus, based on matrix completion theory, under certain conditions, the training data matrix can be recovered from a subset of its elements, i.e., based on sub-Nyquist samples of the array sensors. Following the recovery of the training data matrix, and to cope with the errors introduced during the matrix completion process, we propose a robust optimization approach, which obtains the beamforming weight vector by optimizing the worst-case performance. Numerical results show that combination of matrix completion and robust optimization is very successful in suppressing interference and achieving a near-optimal beamforming performance with only partial training data.
d- and l-2‘,3‘-Didehydro-2‘,3‘-dideoxy-3‘-fluoro-carbocyclic Nucleosides: Synthesis, Anti-HIV Activity and Mechanism of Resistance

Introducing 2'-fluoro substitution on the 2',3'-double bond in carbocyclic nucleosides has provided biologically interesting compounds with potent anti-HIV activity. As an extension of our previous works in the discovery of anti-HIV agents, D- and L-2',3'-unsaturated 3'-fluoro carbocyclic nucleosides were synthesized and evaluated against HIV-1 in human peripheral blood mononuclear (PBM) cells. Among the synthesized L-series nucleosides, compounds 18, 19, 26 and 28 exhibited moderate antiviral activity (EC50 7.1 microM, 6.4 microM, 10.3 microM, and 20.7 microM, respectively), while among the D-series, the guanosine analogue (35, D-3'-F-C-d4G) exhibited the most potent anti-HIV activity (EC50 0.4 microM, EC90 2.8 microM). However, the guanosine analogue 35 was cross-resistant to the lamivudine-resistant variants (HIV-1M184V). Molecular modeling studies suggest that hydrophobic interaction as well as hydrogen-bonding stabilize the binding of compound 35 in the active site of wild type HIV reverse transcriptase (HIV-RT). In the case of L-nucleosides, these two effects are opposite which results in a loss of binding affinity. According to the molecular modeling studies, cross-resistance of D-3'-F-C-d4G (35) to M184V mutant may be caused by the realignment of the primer and template in the HIV-RTM184V interaction, which destabilizes the RT-inhibitor triphosphate complex, resulting in a significant reduction in anti-HIV activity of the D-guanine derivative 35.
Concurrent quantum/continuum coupling analysis of nanostructures

Abstract A general multiscale computational framework that concurrently couples the quantum-mechanical model with the continuum model is developed. This approach is then used to study the electronic properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) influenced by geometry and deformation. The electronic properties of the CNT, such as the band structure and band gap, are intimately connected to its electrical and thermal properties, mechanical stiffness, failure strength, chemical reactivities and many others. The CNT geometry is featured by a cylindrical-shaped structure, which leads to a mixture of the electronic structures that were originally present in graphite. These important effects are incorporated in a coarse-grained tight-binding model based on an extension to the Bloch theorem and the virtual atom cluster model developed previously by the authors. With this approach, we study the correlation among the electronic structures/properties, CNT geometry and applied deformation for a wide variety of tubes. The major technical ingredients and findings are (1) Compared with the computational cost of O ( n e 3 ) of the full-scale tight-binding calculation with ne being the electronic base functions used, we have developed an efficient concurrent approach as it scales with O(NG) with NG being the number of quadrature points; (2) We have established a new coarse-grained cluster model that provides a direct way of coupling deformation mapping with the quantum-mechanical model. A unique feature of this coarse-grained model is that it does not use any stress and strain concepts as in a standard continuum approach; (3) We report strong influences of CNT geometry on its electronic properties. For zigzag tubes with chiral index of (n, 0) and radius r, the band gap Eg ∝ r−0.695 when the remainder of n divided by 3 (mod(n, 3)) is 1 and Eg ∝ r−1.109 when mod(n, 3) = 2; (4) We report significant changes in the band gap and electrical conductance as functions of the applied tensile strain and twist. Transitions from metal to semiconductor and vice versa are observed; (5) There is a weak coupling between the band gap, electrical conductance and applied bending angle. Based on extensive studies, we conclude that the electron–mechanical coupling relations obtained in this work are more robust than the previous analytical studies in that it takes into account the important effects of curvature and relaxation. The simulation results highlight the importance of the concurrent coupling among the electronic properties, CNT geometry and mechanical deformation.
Parameters Influencing the Photocatalytic Degradation of Geosmin and 2-Methylisoborneol Utilizing Immobilized TiO2

Geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) are taste and odor compounds that negatively impact potable water and freshwater aquaculture species. Conventional water treatment methods are generally ineffective for the removal of these compounds. Prior studies using TiO2 photocatalysts have shown promising results, but are primarily limited to laboratory scale batch slurry systems. Immobilization of TiO2 is essential for the effective scale-up and conversion to a flow through system. In this study, the degradation of MIB and geosmin from laboratory spiked and naturally tainted water samples was demonstrated utilizing an immobilized TiO2 photocatalyst. The benefits of TiO2 photocatalysis, in comparison to photolysis, are discussed. Further, the influence of pH on the degradation rates was analyzed to optimize process location in an aquaculture production facility. Geosmin degradation reached a maximum near a pH of 6. While MIB degradation is highest at low pH, there is an inflection in this trend above the pH at which TiO2 has a zero surface charge. Photocatalytic processing is recommended to occur after nitrification and before base addition to maximize MIB and geosmin removal rates. The findings of this work have been incorporated into a larger project, which assesses the continuous operation of TiO2 photocatalyst in a recirculating aquaculture system.
Induced pluripotent stem cells: it's like déjà vu all over again.

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) were first derived in the early 1980s simultaneously by 2 independent groups,1,2 and because of their plasticity and potentially unlimited capacity for self-renewal, they were predicted to transform research in mammalian development, genetics, stem cell biology, and regenerative medicine. However, it quickly became apparent that although ESCs would become an invaluable tool to study development and stem cell biology, translating their promise into the clinics would be problematic. Twenty-eight years after the first report describing mouse ESCs and 10 years after the successful derivation of human ESCs, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first human ESC-related clinical trial for spinal cord injuries this year; however, it is now on its second clinical hold, and no subjects have yet been enrolled. Although this delay in translation to human trials is likely multifactorial, major obstacles remain with the clinical use of ESCs over ethical issues, oncogenic risk, and the fact that ESC derivatives for tissue repair involve the use of allogeneic cells that can lead to rejection of mismatched cellular grafts. The oncogenic risk associated with stem cell therapies is no longer just theoretical. This year, the first report of a patient who developed multiple tumors in his brain and spinal cord after receiving fetal neural stem cells was published.3 Thus, therapeutic application of pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), particularly in the cardiovascular field, requires further advancement and new approaches such as that described by Zwi et al4 in this issue of Circulation . Article see p 1513 Although how to minimize the oncogenic risk of PSCs continues to be an area of intense research, investigators have long sought to overcome the ethical and immunologic issues surrounding ESCs by creating autologous PSCs. Initial attempts to create these cells involved nuclear cloning technology in which …
Preferred Stock Returns, CreditWatch, and Preferred Stock Rating Changes

This paper examines the announcement effects of CreditWatch placement and reratings upon a sample of preferred stock issues that were placed on CreditWatch and later rerated or affirmed by Standard & Poor's. Results indicate that CreditWatch provides information to market participants and may have reduced the surprise associated with subsequent reratings. CreditWatch placement may be an erroneous signal, however, since nearly 50 percent of the issues placed for negative reasons were not downgraded, but affirmed, upon removal from Credit Watch.
A CHARACTERIZATION OF FAST DECAYING SOLUTIONS FOR QUASILINEAR AND WOLFF TYPE SYSTEMS WITH SINGULAR COEFFICIENTS

Abstract This paper examines the decay properties of positive solutions for a family of fully nonlinear systems of integral equations containing Wolf potentials and Hardy weights. This class of systems includes examples which are closely related to the Euler–Lagrange equations for the extremal functions of several classical inequalities such as the Hardy–Sobolev and Hardy–Littlewood–Sobolev inequalities. In particular, a complete characterization of the fast decaying ground states in terms of their integrability is provided in that bounded and fast decaying solutions are shown to be equivalent to the integrable solutions. In generating this characterization, additional properties for the integrable solutions, such as their boundedness and optimal integrability, are also established. Furthermore, analogous decay properties for systems of quasilinear equations of the weighted Lane–Emden type are also obtained.
Decision-Focused Transformation of Additive Value Models to Improve Communication

When using multiobjective decision analysis with an additive value/utility model, we may define local ranges of the value measures that are bounded by the set of alternatives, or we can define global ranges of the value measures that are bounded by our preferences for some future set of alternatives. Local value models use the full value space defined by the alternatives to distinguish between the alternatives. Global value models may identify new objectives and may help us develop better alternatives, but the alternatives do not usually span the full global value space. We present a mathematical transformation of a global value model's single-dimensional value functions and swing weights to a decision-focused value model using the global value, alternative scores, and transformation equations. When the transformation is appropriate, the decision-focused value model can provide useful distinctions to better communicate the trade-offs between alternatives. We prove that the transformation preserves the rank ordering of the alternatives, and we discuss the appropriate conditions for use.
Allele increasing susceptibility to human breast cancer may be linked to the glutamate-pyruvate transaminase locus

The patterns of the occurrence of breast cancer in 11 high-risk families were evaluated by segregation and linkage analysis. These patterns were consistent with the hypothesis that increased susceptibility to breast cancer was inherited as an autosomal dominant allele with high penetrance in women. The postulated susceptibility allele in these families may be chromosomally linked to the glutamate-pyruvate transaminase (E.C. 2.6.1.2, alanine aminotransferase) locus. Confirmation of this linkage in other families would establish the existence of a gene increasing susceptibility to breast cancer. Since there is no association in the general population between a woman9s glutamate-pyruvate transaminase genotype and her cancer risk, the glutamate-pyruvate transaminase linkage cannot be used as a screening test for breast cancer.
Teaching about the American Economy in the People's Republic of China.

Based on extensive personal observation and study, the author provides a view of how economic education about American economic institutions and practices takes place and is developing in the People's Republic of China.
Targeted disruption of CD1d prevents NKT cell development in pigs

Studies in mice genetically lacking natural killer T (NKT) cells show that these lymphocytes make important contributions to both innate and adaptive immune responses. However, the usefulness of murine models to study human NKT cells is limited by the many differences between mice and humans, including that their NKT cell frequencies, subsets, and distribution are dissimilar. A more suitable model may be swine that share many metabolic, physiological, and growth characteristics with humans and are also similar for NKT cells. Thus, we analyzed genetically modified pigs made deficient for CD1d that is required for the development of Type I invariant NKT (iNKT) cells that express a semi-invariant T-cell receptor (TCR) and Type II NKT cells that use variable TCRs. Peripheral blood analyzed by flow cytometry and interferon-γ enzyme-linked immuno spot assays demonstrated that CD1d-knockout pigs completely lack iNKT cells, while other leukocyte populations remain intact. CD1d and NKT cells have been shown to be involved in shaping the composition of the commensal microbiota in mice. Therefore, we also compared the fecal microbiota profile between pigs expressing and lacking NKT cells. However, no differences were found between pigs lacking or expressing CD1d. Our results are the first to show that knocking-out CD1d prevents the development of NKT cells in a non-rodent species. CD1d-deficient pigs should offer a useful model to more accurately determine the contribution of NKT cells for human immune responses. They also have potential for understanding how NKT cells impact the health of commercial swine.
REVISED METHODS FOR THE SALMONELLA MUTAGENICITY TEST

The methods for detecting carcinogens and mutagens with the Salmonella mutagenicity test were described previously (Ames et al., 1975b). The present paper is a revision of the methods. Two new tester strains, a frameshift strain (TA97) and a strain carrying an ochre mutation on a multicopy plasmid (TA102), are added to the standard tester set. TA97 replaces TA1537. TA1535 and TA1538 are removed from the recommended set but can be retained at the option of the investigator. TA98 and TA100 are retained. We discuss other special purpose strains and present some minor changes in procedure, principally in the growth, storage, and preservation of the tester strains. Two substitutions are made in diagnostic mutagens to eliminate MNNG and 9-aminoacridine. Some test modifications are discussed.
Using Discussion Pedagogy to Enhance Oral and Written Communication Skills

This research project examines students' reactions to in-class discussion as an instructional technique by investigating the effect of participation practices on communication-based skill development. The findings provide evidence that active preparation and participation in class discussion can be linked to students' reports of improved oral and written communication skills. Conclusions suggest that discussion can be a useful addition to cross-curricular programs (such as writing and speaking across the curriculum) and standalone courses (such as public speaking). This technique can be used in combination with other strategies.
Computer applications in population studies

Population genetics is the study of forces that change or maintain genotypic frequencies. With support from computers, research emphasis recently has shifted from the conceptual synthesis of simple models to issues related to the maintenance of genetic variability in actual populations. That man himself has become the preferred organism for many types of population research results not only from motivations for human benefit but also from the fact that the large number of recognizable single-gene differences in man far exceeds the known polymorphisms in Drosophila and other classical genetic material. With this research emphasis on human populations, computers become indispensable both for data analysis and modeling.
Using GC–MS/Combustion/IRMS to determine the 13C/12C ratios of individual hydrocarbons produced from the combustion of biomass materials—application to biomass burning

Abstract Simultaneous mass spectral detection and stable carbon isotope analysis was performed on individual indigenous n -alkanes isolated from single C 4 and C 3 plant species and on a series of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) produced from the combustion of these same biomass materials. The analysis technique used a combined gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer/combustion/isotope ratio mass spectrometer (GC–MS/C/IRMS). Precision (2 σ ) for replicate measurements of individual compounds in standard solutions using this novel configuration ranged between 0.2 and 0.5‰ for n -alkanes and 0.3 and 0.8‰ for PAH. Accuracy of the n -alkane measurements ranged between 0.1 and 0.4‰ and that of the PAH measurements ranged between 0.2 and 0.9‰. Replicate GC–MS/C/IRMS measurements on the combustion-derived n -alkene/alkane pairs were performed to within a precision of between 0.1 and 1.1‰ and the precision for the combustion PAH was similar to the standard PAH solution. No notable isotopic effects were observed when altering the temperature of the combustion process from 900 to 700°C, or as a result of the individual n -alkenes/alkanes partitioning between the gaseous and condensate fractions. Combustion-derived n -alkenes/alkanes ranged from C 11 to C 31 , and the C 4 -derived n -alkenes/alkanes were approx. 8‰ more enriched in 13 C than the C 3 -derived compounds. Both the C 4 and C 3 -derived n -alkenes/alkanes (C 20 –C 30 ) were isotopically similar to the indigenous n -alkanes and were 2–3‰ more depleted in 13 C than the lower mol. wt (C 11 –C 19 ) n -alkenes/alkanes, suggesting an independent origin for the lower mol. wt compounds. Combustion-generated C 4 and C 3 -derived 2-, 3-, and 4-ring PAH were also isotopically distinct (Δ δ =10‰). Unlike the n -alkenes/alkanes, no compound-to-compound variations were observed between the low and high mol. wt PAH. This study demonstrates that the isotopic composition of original plant biomass material is mainly preserved in the aliphatic hydrocarbons and PAH generated by its combustion. Consequently, analyses of these compounds in sediments impacted by fire occurrences may provide useful information about paleo-fire activity that may help elucidate the impact biomass burning may have had and could have on climate–biosphere interactions.
Ritual Intuitions: Cognitive Contributions to Judgments of Ritual Efficacy

Lawson and McCauley (1990) have argued that non-cultural regularities in how actions are conceptualized inform and constrain participants’ understandings of religious rituals. This theory of ritual competence generates three predictions: 1) People with little or no knowledge of any given ritual system will have intuitions about the potential effectiveness of a ritual given minimal information about the structure of the ritual. 2) The representation of superhuman agency in the action structure will be considered the most important factor contributing to effectiveness. 3) Having an appropriate intentional agent initiate the action will be considered relatively more important than any specie c action to be performed. These three predictions were tested in two experiments with 128 North American Protestant college students who rated the probability of various e ctitious rituals to be effective in bringing about a specie ed consequence. Results support Lawson and McCauley’ s predictions and suggest that expectations regarding ordinary social actions apply to religious rituals.
Squeezing data from pancreatic juice

Commentary to:Differentiating Pancreatic Lesions by Microarray and QPCR Analysis of Pancreatic Juice RNAsCarmelle Rogers, Noriyoshi Fukushima, Norihiro Sato, Chanjuan Shi, Nijaguna Prasad, Steven Hustinx, Hiroyuki Matsubayashi, Marcia Canto, James Eshleman, Ralph Hruban and Michael Goggins
Mother-Child and Father-Child Dyadic Interaction: Parental and Child Bids and Responsiveness to Each Other During Early Childhood

In accord with the now prevailing ecological view that both parent and child play an active role in shaping their interactions, the present study assessed the number of bids by parents and children for social engagement, compliance, and emotion regulation, and the quality of each partner’s responsiveness to these bids, in a sample of mothers and fathers of 3-, 4-, and 5/6-year-old children (N = 145). Consistent with developmental changes in early childhood, parents made fewer attempts to influence or regulate older children’s mood, older children made more influence but fewer negative bids, and both parents and children used social bids most frequently. There were consistencies within a particular family system, but also distinctions—mothers made more social and mood-regulating bids, whereas fathers made more influence attempts. Results speak to the importance of considering both parental and child behaviors during multiple developmental periods in investigations of the evolving parent-child relationship.
Competing Demands from Aging Parents and Adult Children in Two Cohorts of American Women

In late middle age, individuals may face competing demands on their time and financial resources from elderly parents and young adult children. This study uses the Panel Study of Income Dynamics to examine changes over time in the probability of having children and living parents for women age 45 to 64. We compare two cohorts: those born in the 1920s and 1930s and those born in the 1940s and 1950s. We find that there has been a dramatic increase in the probability of having children and living parents and that this increase has been driven mainly by changes in life expectancy of the parent generation. We further examine transfers of money and co-residence for women in the later cohort. We find that while women may not give to parents and children concurrently, approximately thirty percent of them have provided support to both parents and children at some point in the past.