cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Neuropsychiatric disorders at the presentation of type 2 diabetes mellitus in children.

Objectives: To estimate the frequency of neuropsychiatric disease (NPD) in an urban pediatric type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) population, to compare demographic characteristics of affected patients with those unaffected with NPD, and to determine the frequency of psychotropic medication treatment. Study Design: Retrospective chart review of patients with T2DM at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Results: Of 237 patients with T2DM, 46 (19.4%) were found to have NPD at the presentation of diabetes. Diagnoses by report included depression, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), neurodevelopmental disorders, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Those affected were 63% females and 37% males, with a mean age of 14.6 yr and body mass index (BMI) of 34.3 kg/m2 at diagnosis of T2DM. Patients were 79% African American, 13% Caucasian, 4.3% Hispanic, and 4.3% Asian. There were no statistically significant differences in demographic characteristics or BMI between those affected and unaffected with NPD. Twenty-nine patients (63%) were on psychotropic medication and were prescribed 58 medications, most commonly mood stabilizers (n = 20) and atypical antipsychotics (n = 17). Conclusions: Our data reveal a high frequency of NPD among pediatric patients with T2DM at presentation to a tertiary care, urban medical center. Many affected patients are receiving psychotropic medication. These data have implications for screening regimens for pediatric populations at high risk for T2DM and for therapeutic interventions, including lifestyle measures.
Reaction-diffusion modeling in the NEURON simulator

The NEURON simulator is a widely used tool for studying detailed single cell and network models. In recognition of the growing importance of multi-scale modeling, we have expanded NEURON’s support for intracellular chemical dynamics. In particular, we discuss our work with stochastic reaction-diffusion models and three-dimensional simulations. Unlike previous NEURON mechanisms, arbitrary new reaction schemes may be specified at run-time via HOC or Python; no separate compilation step is required. This flexibility allows us to import models written in the Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML), which will facilitate collaboration between the neuroscience and cell biology communities. In certain situations, such as calcium dynamics near a spine, only a few particles of a given chemical species are present. As these particles randomly move around, there is the potential for large percentage deviations from the mean concentration. To study these effects, we support the Gillespie and tau-leaping algorithms for stochastic reaction-diffusion, and our methods can easily be extended to other compartment-based approaches. Deterministic diffusion is also supported. For electrophysiological simulations, NEURON employs a one-dimensional approximation of neuronal morphologies, but certain chemical reaction-diffusion problems in neurons exhibit behavior that cannot be captured by a such an approximation due to a small space constant. Many previous modelers have implemented radial diffusion as well as longitudinal diffusion, but this too misses many biologically important phenomena such as the nature of calcium microdomains near a spine or diffusion into the soma. Spatial simulations present additional challenges not present in one-dimensional approximations: geometric details can no longer be ignored; for example, a spatial simulator must define the shape of the joins between dendritic sections. Constructing a mesh becomes more complicated. For performance reasons, we allow different species to use different meshes, but this requires care when transferring data between grids. We discuss these problems and present our current strategies for resolving them. We show preliminary modeling results illustrating the utility of these techniques to study the interaction of chemical and electrical dynamics in neuronal information processing.
Functionalization of carbon nanotubes by electrochemical reduction of aryl diazonium salts: a bucky paper electrode

Small-diameter (ca. 0.7 nm) single-wall carbon nanotubes are predicted to display enhanced reactivity relative to larger-diameter nanotubes due to increased curvature strain. The derivatization of these small-diameter nanotubes via electrochemical reduction of a variety of aryl diazonium salts is described. The estimated degree of functionalization is as high as one out of every 20 carbons in the nanotubes bearing a functionalized moiety. The functionalizing moieties can be removed by heating in an argon atmosphere. Nanotubes derivatized with a 4-tert-butylbenzene moiety were found to possess significantly improved solubility in organic solvents. Functionalization of the nanotubes with a molecular system that has exhibited switching and memory behavior is shown. This represents the marriage of wire-like nanotubes with molecular electronic devices.
Public/private partnerships for broadband buildout

Public-private partnerships for the development of broadband infrastructure have been proposed as a method of increasing buildout, while addressing such issues as the digital divide and network externalities. This paper begins with a summary of the history of public/private interplay in the telecommunications industry. The defining parameters of a public/private partnership are then identified and discussed. These parameters include ownership vs. control, the role of government regulators, foreign participation, laws and legal precedents, the maturity of the existing network, and risk perception. The paper concludes with recommendations on the formation of public/private partnerships for broadband buildout.
Separation of primary and scatter components of measured photon beam data

When measured absorbed doses for photon beams are to be separated into their primary and scatter components, the extrapolation method proposed gives consistent results. Information about the head-scatter factor H(s) is required to implement the extrapolation and can be determined by supplementary measurements in air. In this study, H(s) was derived from normalised peak scatter factor for the X-ray beams and already eliminated in the 60Co tissue-air ratio data. Information about the attenuation of the beam is also needed and can be provided by narrow-beam measurements in air. The procedure can be applied to tissue-maximum ratio data, as was done in this study, but also to other representations of doses on the central axis, after transformation to TMR. All doses used for the extrapolation must be measured under electron equilibrium conditions. It simplifies the procedure if all tabulated doses are normalised to one combination of depth and field size, also sufficient for electron equilibrium.
Tool wear analysis on multi-layered coated carbide tools in face milling of AISI 1045 steel

Face milling tests on AISI 1045 steel were performed to study the flank wear of multilayered coated carbide tools. The cutting tools were dual (TiN/TiAlN) and triple (TiN/Al2 O3 /TiCN) layered, coated carbide inserts processed by PVD and CVD respectively. As expected, the depth of cut (DOC) did not play an important role on the development of flank wear while the cutting speed had a significant role in the development of flank wear. Using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and wavelet transform, the flank wear evolution was analyzed and abrasive wear was found to be a dominant tool wear mechanism. Adhesion of the work material was also observed after the carbide substrate was exposed. Edge chipping and micro-fracture were additional tool failure modes. After comparing the performance of the two inserts, we concluded that the dual layer coating was superior to the triple layer coating under various cutting conditions mainly due to the benefit coming from the coating processes themselves. It was claimed that the superior performance of the multilayer coating came from preventing the gross crack-induced removal of coating materials by propagating the fracture along the coating interfaces. However, no such observations were found in our milling experiment. Therefore, the hardness of the coating materials is the most important criteria for the development of flank wear.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Drift waves and transport

Drift waves occur universally in magnetized plasmas producing the dominant mechanism for the transport of particles, energy and momentum across magnetic field lines. A wealth of information obtained from quasistationary laboratory experiments for plasma confinement is reviewed for drift waves driven unstable by density gradients, temperature gradients and trapped particle effects. The modern understanding of Bohm transport and the role of sheared flows and magnetic shear in reducing the transport to the gyro-Bohm rate are explained and illustrated with large scale computer simulations. The types of mixed wave and vortex turbulence spontaneously generated in nonuniform plasmas are derived with reduced magnetized fluid descriptions. The types of theoretical descriptions reviewed include weak turbulence theory, Kolmogorov anisotropic spectral indices, and the mixing length. A number of standard turbulent diffusivity formulas are given for the various space-time scales of the drift-wave turbulent mixing.
Kissing the Old Class Politics Goodbye

Verity Burgmann's call for a reinvigorated class politics and language is timely. This essay shares her goal of strengthening social movements in which class is taken seriously. It argues, however, that her efforts to resuscitate an antiquated class politics dressed up in identity clothes will not further that goal. This response offers an alternative reading of the nature and history of the “new” and the “old” social movements, of what can be learned about class and class-conscious movements from “identity politics” and from cultural theorists, and of what is needed to encourage future movements for social and economic justice. It calls for a class politics that recognizes the diversity of the working classes, embraces multiple class identities, reflects the fluid and multitiered class structures in which we live, and honors the aspirations of working people for inclusion, equity, and justice.
Brand name as a heuristic cue: The effects of task importance and expectancy confirmation on consumer judgments.

Abstract Previous research on brand name utilization in consumer judgments has yielded mixed results. In this study, we attempted to understand brand name effects within the framework of the heuristic-systematic model. Subjects read a message that portrayed a new product as possessing either important or unimportant attributes, and the product was associated with either a favorable brand name or an unfavorable brand name. Brand name valence was thus either congruent or incongruent with attribute importance. Accuracy motivation was also manipulated by varying the importance of subjects' processing task. Results show that low-task importance subjects' evaluations were influenced only by brand name valence. High-task importance subjects' evaluations were affected only by attribute importance in the incongruent conditions, whereas both attribute importance and brand name valence influenced evaluations in the congruent conditions. The findings indicate that both consumers' level of motivation, and the extent to which brand name based expectations are confirmed by subsequent processing of attribute information moderate brand name utilization. Also, the results extend previous research relevant to the heuristic-systematic model's additivity and attenuation assumptions.
Optical-Model and Distorted-Wave Analyses of Some 18-MeV Alpha-Particle Scattering Cross Sections for Ar 40 , S 32 , P 31 , Na 23 , and Ne 20

The 18-MeV elastic and inelastic alpha-particle cross sections for some states of ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{20}$ (Gnd., 1.632 MeV), ${\mathrm{Na}}^{23}$ (Gnd., 0.439, 2.080 MeV), ${\mathrm{P}}^{31}$ (Gnd., 1.265, 2.232 MeV), ${\mathrm{S}}^{32}$ (Gnd.), and ${\mathrm{Ar}}^{40}$ (Gnd., 1.462 MeV) have been analyzed in terms of the nuclear optical model and the distorted-wave theory. Although good qualitative agreement between the empirical and optical-model cross sections is found, particularly at forward angles, the quantitative agreement is significantly poorer than that found for heavier target nuclei at higher incident energies. Further intercomparison of the results of the present and previous studies strongly suggests that for the prevailing experimental and physical circumstances (${E}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}\ensuremath{\approx}18$ MeV and $Al40$) of the present investigation the applicability of the optical model is marginal. The distorted-wave predictions are in fair agreement with the experimental data at the more forward angles ($\ensuremath{\theta}\ensuremath{\lesssim}80\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$) in that they generally reproduce the positions and relative amplitudes of two or more of the maxima. For larger angles ($\ensuremath{\theta}g80\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$) the quality of the fits deteriorates insofar as detail is concerned; however, the calculated curves do follow the general trend of the data. For the inelastic angular distributions the quality of the fits is poorer and the angular range over which the fits are acceptable is smaller than for the corresponding elastic cross sections.
Abstract 2489: Glycoproteomic analysis of breast cancer cell lines for biomarker discovery

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Glycosylation is one of the most ubiquitous protein post-translational modifications observed in eukaryotic organisms. In cancer, key cellular pathways and interactions, related to invasion and metastasis, are disrupted by altered protein glycosylation. Many current clinical cancer biomarkers are glycoproteins (i.e. CEA, CA15-5, CA125, and PSA). Glycosylation is known to be aberrant in breast cancer. However, systematic studies to identify glycoproteins in cancer have been limited, and typically focus on single proteins of interest or glycans released from proteins. We have developed a novel protein fractionation and enrichment strategy for glycoproteomic analysis of the secreted proteins, incorporating lectin affinity capture for glycoprotein enrichment, intact protein separation, and enzymatic digestion followed by LC-MS/MS analysis. Here, we apply this workflow to capture and analyze glycoproteins in the cancer secretome, which includes proteins secreted and/or shed from cancer cells into the extracellular space. Four breast cancer cell lines (HCC70, HCC1806, BT474, and ZR75-1) and one normal mammary epithelial cell line (MCF10A) were subjected to glycoproteomic analysis. Proteins corresponding to 3360 unique gene names were identified. Subsequent data analysis yielded a variety of types of information about glycoproteins in the cell line secretomes. 1) Fucosylated and branched-sugar containing glycoforms of proteins were identified by lectin binding properties. For example, PHA-P/PHA-L lectins showed high affinity for aldolase, immunoglobulins, and inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitor, suggesting these proteins contain branched sugar structures. 2) Enrichment of some proteins was observed in breast cancer cell lines compared to the normal mammary epithelial cell line and vice versa. For example, high expression of fucosylated vimentin was observed in MCF10A, but not breast cancer cell lines. 3) Differences in glycosylation patterns of proteins were observed between cell lines. For example, the protease legumain was observed to be highly fucosylated in MCF10A, but had a higher affinity for PHA-P/PHA-L in HCC70. Additional substrates and inhibitors of legumain were also identified. Proteins of interest were further studied in additional follow-up experiments including western blotting and glycostaining. Additional proteins of interest were measured in plasma samples from women with (benign or malignant) breast lesions. Citation Format: Maria Arampatzidou, Majlinda Kullolli, Sharon J. Pitteri. Glycoproteomic analysis of breast cancer cell lines for biomarker discovery. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 2489. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-2489
Protracted Contest: Sino–Indian Rivalry in the Twentieth Century. By John W. Garver. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2001. 447p. $50.00.

India's nuclear tests in May 1998 came as a surprise to many observers and proved all the more puzzling when Indian Prime Minister A. B. Vajpayee, in a letter to President Clinton, singled out China as the focal point of Indian security concerns. This statement and others led some, including Beijing's own foreign policy community, to view the tests as an effort to boost India's status internationally and to shore up domestic support for a new coalition government. John Garver's book challenges this domestic-driven interpretation of the tests by chronicling in detail a half-century of contentious relations between the world's two most populous states. Seen in historical perspective, India's nuclear tests were another episode in what Garver terms a “protracted conflict” (p. 3) between Beijing and Delhi. (The milder-sounding “protracted contest” serves as the book's title, but “protracted conflict,” a term Garver uses with some frequency, better captures the book's thesis.)
The Initiation and Horizontal Scale Selection of Convection over Gently Sloping Terrain

Abstract Two- and three-dimensional numerical simulations were performed to investigate the scale selection and initiation of both moist and dry convection over gentle western and gentle eastern slopes where the latter represents an idealization of the eastern Colorado region of the Great Plains of North America. This work extends earlier studies of thermally forced convection by considering a model framework that is large enough to resolve both the convective scale dynamics as well as the larger scale dynamics within which the convection is embedded. As a result, the scale interaction problem leading to the selection of the dominant deep modes of the troposphere and consequent convection initiation is more realistically treated. The main physical mechanisms involved in the initiation of convection in these studies are the usual boundary-layer instabilities leading to the development of eddies and/or shear-aligned rolls, the excitation of gravity waves by the boundary-layer motions interacting with the fr...
Experimental Determination of Permeability and Inertia Coefficients of Mechanically Compressed Aluminum Porous Matrices

A heat exchanger, using mechanically compressed microporous matrices, is being developed for cooling high power electronics. The thermal efficiency of this new device depends on the hydraulic characteristics (porosity Φ, permeability K, and Forchheimer coefficient c F ) of the matrix inserted in it. These quantities have to be obtained experimentally as predictive models do not exist. Twenty-eight compressed matrices are initially chosen for experimental testing. Based on structural requirements, nine matrices are selected for full hydraulic characterization. The determination of permeability and inertia coefficient of each matrix is performed following a proposed direct methodology based on the curve fitting of the experimental results. This methodology is found to yield more consistent and accurate results than existing methods. The uncertainty of the experimental results is evaluated with a new and general procedure that can be applied to any curve fitting technique. Results indicate that the tested matrices have a unique characteristic, that of a relatively wide porosity range, from 0.3 to 0.7, within a relatively narrow permeability range, from 1.0 x 10 -10 m 2 to 12 X 10 -10 m 2 . The inertia coefficient varies from 0.3 to 0.9. These hydraulic characteristics lead to a microporous heat exchanger performing within requirements.
Causal connectives increase inference generation

The influence of interclause connectives on inference generation was examined in three experiments. In Experiment 1, participants supplied lexical decisions on inference words following the word‐by‐word presentation of sentences containing the connective because and when the clauses were presented as two independent sentences (i.e., no connective). The results indicated that the causal knowledge‐based inferences were generated in the connective condition, but not in the no‐connective condition. Experiment 2 examined whether this finding would generalize to an additive connective (i.e., and). This experiment replicated the results of Experiment 1 for because, but there was little evidence that and had elicited inferences. In Experiment 3, the temporal connective after was examined. The results indicated that after did not produce causal‐based inferences, suggesting that the effect of because was not due to temporal cuing. The pattern of results across the experiments indicate that readers incorporate causa...
Analysis of the mineral entrapped fatty acids isolated from the Green River Formation.

Minerally entrapped fatty acids analyzed after demineralization liberation of exhaustively extracted oil shale from Green River Formation
Do abnormal accruals affect the life expectancy of audit engagements

We examine the cross-sectional determinants of audit engagement length, paying particular attention to abnormal accruals as a potential driver. We are interested in how the potentially incongruent incentives of managers and auditors can cause frictions, and in turn affect the audit engagement’s life expectancy. We estimate a hazard model in the form of a multi-period logit model, allowing us to estimate (the inverse of) the life expectancy of audit engagements. We find that audit engagement life expectancy at any age decreases when firms make relatively large positive or large negative abnormal accruals. One interpretation of these results is that large positive (negative) abnormal accruals make the auditor (client) more likely to terminate the engagement. Conversely, smaller abnormal accruals reflect a compromise which extends the life of the engagement. Our results are robust to several alternative specifications and controls. However, because there is no complete theoretical model that explains audit engagement length, our results should be interpreted with caution.
Economic Consequence Analysis of the ARkStorm Scenario

AbstractThe business interruption (BI) impacts of ARkStorm, a severe winter storm scenario developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and partners, is estimated. BI stems from losses of building function, productivity of agricultural land, and lifeline services. A dynamic computable general equilibrium model of the California economy is developed to perform this economic consequence analysis. Economic resilience in the form of input and import substitution is inherent in the model’s equilibrium solution, and the model parameterization is adjusted to reflect other forms of resilience such as production recapture. Varying assumptions about the timing and source of funds for reconstruction results in a range of recovery paths. Five years after the storm, flood-induced building damage is the overwhelming source of gross domestic product (GDP) losses, timely and partially externally funded reconstruction mitigates impacts by approximately 50%, and the economy is not guaranteed to return to its baseline GDP trajec...
FUNCTIONAL ESTIMATION BY ASYMPTOTIC REGRESSION

Through an appeal to asymptotic Gaussian representations of certain empirical stochastic processes, the techniques of continuous regression are applied to derive estimates for underlying parametric probability laws. This asymptotic regression approach yields estimates for a wide range of statistical problems, including estimation based on the empirical quantile function, Poisson process intensity estimation, and parametric density estimation.
Improving Structural Response to Permanent Ground Displacement

Structural damage due to permanent ground displacement is a common occurrence during seismic events. Light-frame structures, typical of residential construction, seem both particularly susceptible to and easily reinforced against moderate ground failure. Because the foundations of these structures typically receive little or no engineering attention, a spreadsheet capable of quickly checking the capacity of a foundation to resist anticipated lateral and vertical displacement might encourage residential designers to require more appropriate foundation cross sections. Unfortunately, a simple strengthening of the foundation elements is generally insufficient. Designs must also eliminate noncontinuous interior bearing supports, which are highly vulnerable to horizontal ground displacement. Site remediation, including the installation of free-draining base materials, may also be needed to enable placement of the footer at or near grade. Finally, we should strive for more efficient designs: smaller, more compac...
Harmonic alternatives to the Almon polynomial technique

Abstract The Almon technique for estimating distributed lag coefficients uses polynomial approximations to the true but unknown distributed lag function. The technique is used primarily to increase the efficiency of the estimators over OLS estimators. This paper proposes the use of harmonic approximations which is at least as reasonable a priori as approximations by polynomials. This method can be used as an alternative to the Almon method in certain cases and as a convenient check against misspecification problems.
Relationship between an enhancer element in the human antithrombin III gene and an immunoglobulin light-chain gene enhancer

Enhancers, cis-acting transcriptional control elements have been described in both viral and cellular genes1. They influence transcription in a quantitative fashion, act over relatively large distances (several kilobases, kb) and behave independently of their position and orientation. Enhancers have been described in immunoglobulin, chymotrypsin and insulin genes2–9. They bear little homology with each other except for an 8-base pair (bp) 'consensus' core element, GTGGAAATTTG (refs 10, 11), but even this element is sometimes non-homologous9.I have searched for such elements in the human antithrombin HI (AT-III) gene. AT-III is an important coagulation protein which inactivates thrombin12. It is produced by the liver and, to a lesser extent, by the kidney13. Here, I report that the 5' flanking region of the AT-III gene encodes a segment homolgous with the enhancer containing the joining–constantκ (Jκ–Cκ) intron of immunoglobulin κ-chain genes. This extensive homology suggests the existence of regulatory factors that recognize common DNA sequences in lymphoid tissues and in those which express AT-III.
Image processing library for reconfigurable computers (abstract only)

Reconfigurable Computers (RCs) are parallel systems that are designed around multiple general-purpose processors and multiple field programmable gate array (FPGA) chips. These systems can leverage the synergism between conventional processors and FPGAs to provide low-level hardware functionality at the same level of programmability as general-purpose computers. RCs have proposed very high processing capabilities for computationally intensive applications such as Image Processing. This is due to the inherently parallel operation paradigm of the FPGA hardware.In this paper we present the design and implementation of image processing kernels for RCs. This library of kernels have been tested and verified for performance on one of the state-of-the-art reconfigurable computers, SRC-6E. This paper shows that RCs are between 8 to 400 times faster than comparable Pentiums for image based tasks.
The effect of topical anesthetics on skin sensation and soleus motoneuron reflex excitability

Abstract The effect that topical anesthetics has on cutaneous sensation and on soleus motoneuron reflex excitability was studied in a healthy population. Data were obtained from 16 volunteers (7 men and 9 women) between 20 and 47 years of age. The experiment consisted of recording H-reflexesnd Achills tendon reflexes (ATR) before and after administration of a 20% benzocaine spray or a placebo to the skin of the posterior calf. In addition, a sensory evaluation was conducted to determine objectively the actual quality of anesthesia obtained. Subjects served as their own controls, randomly receiving both the active medication and a placebo. The study was conducted in a single blind fashion with only the experimenter being aware of what medication (active/placebo) was being applied during a given experiment. H-reflex amplitudes increased significantly following the application of benzocaine and the placebo spray compared to control (p
A directional asymmetry in Chinese tone sandhi systems

Chinese tone sandhi systems are often classified as left-dominant or right-dominant depending on the position of the syllable retaining the citation tone. An asymmetry exists between the two types of systems: left-dominant sandhi often involves rightward extension of the initial tone to the entire sandhi domain; right-dominant sandhi, however, often involves default insertion and paradigmatic neutralization of nonfinal tones. I argue that the extension of a tone to a larger domain may serve two markedness purposes: the reduction of tonal contours on a syllable and the reduction of pitch differences across syllable boundaries, both of which have a rightward directionality preference. The former is due to the durational advantage afforded by final lengthening; the latter is due to the universal preference for progressive tonal coarticulation. I show that a theory that formally encodes these preferences via intrinsic constraint rankings can predict the directional asymmetry noted above.
Birth Parents’ Portrayals in Children’s Adoption Literature:

Few studies have systematically analyzed adoption-themed books for children or how birth parents are depicted. This article analyzes 104 books in English designated for children aged 4 to 8 years that are focused on adoption to understand how birth parents are portrayed. Findings indicate that birth parents are often represented with stereotypical, value-based, and cultural perceptions, resulting in an inability to care for children as the reasons or choices for adoption placement. As parents rely on books to develop narratives and to socialize children, the lack of accurate depictions of birth parents and the structural barriers they face has implications for adoptee understanding of adoption and for adoptee adjustment and identity.
Refractivity from clutter (RFC) estimation using a hybrid genetic algorithm-Markov chain Monte Carlo method

A hybrid genetic algorithm - Markov chain Monte Carlo sampler (GA-MCMC) is introduced for estimation of low altitude atmospheric radio refractivity. This is done by inverting for the environmental parameters using the returned radar clutter data. A classical Bayesian framework is used so that the solution can be described in terms of a posterior probability distribution (PPD). An electromagnetic split-step fast Fourier transform (FFT) parabolic equation is used as the forward propagation model. The problem is solved with five different optimizers/samplers including the exhaustive search, genetic algorithms, Metropolis-Hastings and Gibbs samplers, some of which were used in previous literature, as well as the new GA-MCMC hybrid based on the nearest neighborhood algorithm (NN). The results show that the new hybrid method improves the speed of a conventional MCMC sampler by a factor of 10 or more while conserving the accuracy in estimating the probability distributions of the inverted parameters
Hepatitis-B-virus resistance to lamivudine given for recurrent infection after orthotopic liver transplantation

Summary Background Orthotopic liver transplantation for end-stage hepatitis-B-virus (HBV) infection is commonly complicated by recurrence of HBV. Lamivudine, a cytosine nucleoside analogue, has been shown to suppress HBV infection. We report the development of resistance to lamivudine in three patients who underwent transplantation for end-stage liver disease secondary to hepatitis B. Methods Two of the patients received lamivudine for recurrent HBV infection after transplantation, whereas the third patient began treatment 1 month before transplantation in an attempt to prevent HBV recurrence after transplantation. The three patients initially responded well to treatment, but viral recurrence occurred after 9–10 months of treatment in all patients. HBV DNA was amplified from serum and sequenced through a conserved polymerase domain—the tyrosine, methionine, aspartate, aspartate (YMDD) locus. We assessed the susceptibility of HBV to lamivudine by infecting primary human hepatocytes with serum taken before the start of treatment and after recurrence in varying concentrations of lamivudine. Findings DNA sequencing showed a common mutation within the YMDD locus of the HBV polymerase gene in all patients during lamivudine treatment. In hepatocyte cultures infected with pretreatment serum, HBV DNA concentrations were reduced to less than 6% of those in control cultures by addition of lamivudine in concentrations as low as 0·03 μol/ L. By contrast, in cultures treated with serum taken after recurrence, HBV DNA concentrations did not fall below 20% of control values, even with lamivudine at 30 μmol/ L. Interpretation Resistance to lamivudine has been reported in HIV patients with mutations in the YMDD locus of the polymerase gene. Our findings indicate a common mechanism of lamivudine resistance for HIV and HBV that involves similar point mutations in homologous domains of the viral polymerases.
Distributions of individual susceptibility among humans for toxic effects. How much protection does the traditional tenfold factor provide for what fraction of which kinds of chemicals and effects

: A significant data base has been assembled on human variability in parameters representing a series of steps in the pathway from external exposure to the production of biological responses: contact rate (e.g., breathing rates/body weight, fish consumption/body weight); uptake or absorption (mg/kg)/intake or contact rate; general systemic availability net of first pass elimination and dilution; systemic elimination or half-life; active site availability/general systemic availability; physiological parameter change/active site availability; functional reserve capacity-change in baseline physiological parameter needed to pass a criterion of abnormal function or exhibit a response. This paper discusses the current results of analyzing these data to derive estimates for distributions of human susceptibility to different routes of exposure and types of adverse effects. The degree of protection is tentatively evaluated by projecting the incidences of effects that would be expected for a tenfold lowering of exposure from a 5% incidence level if the population distribution of susceptibility were truly log-normal out to the extreme tails, and if the populations, chemicals, and responses that gave rise to the underlying data were representative of the cases to which traditional uncertainty factor is applied. The results indicate that, acting by itself, a tenfold reduction in dose from a 5% effect level is associated with effect incidences ranging from slightly less than one in ten thousand, for a median chemical/response, to a few per thousand, for chemicals and responses that have greater human interindividual variability than 19 out of 20 typical chemicals/responses. In practice, for many of the cases where the traditional tenfold factor is applied, additional protection is provided by other uncertainty factors. Nevertheless, the results generate some reason for concern that current application of traditional safety or uncertainty factor approaches may allow appreciable incidences of responses in some cases.
Answering and Questioning for Machine Reading

Machine reading can be defined as the automatic understanding of text. One way in which human understanding of text has been gauged is to measure the ability to answer questions pertaining to the text. In this paper, we present a brief study designed to explore how a natural language processing component for the recognition of textual entailment bears on the problem of answe ring questions in a basic, elementary school reader. An alternative way of testing human understanding is t o assess one's ability to ask sensible questions for a given text. We survey current computational systems that are capab le of generating questions automatically, and suggest tha t understanding must comprise not only a grasp of semantic equivalence, but also an assessment of the importan ce of information conveyed by the test. We suggest that this observation should contribute in the design of an o verall evaluation methodology for machine reading.
Geographic Information Systems and Spatial Data Processing in Demography: a Review

This paper reviews the use of geographic information systems (GIS) software for spatial data processing in demography. The review begins with an introduction to GIS. Next, it traces the three major types of spatial data problems confronting demographers: the geocoding and geoprocessing of microdata, estimation of detailed population surfaces, and combining data aggregated to incompatible zone systems. GIS and non-GIS solutions to these problems are contrasted, with examples from published research. Spatially pre-processed datasets available to demographers are then discussed. The author concludes by noting that the solutions GIS provides to previously intractable data problems in spatial demography might encourage a focus on dynamic processes of population change in local areas.
Repeated Questions, Deception, and Children’s True and False Reports of Body Touch:

Four- to 7-year-olds’ ability to answer repeated questions about body touch either honestly or dishonestly was examined. Children experienced a play event, during which one third of the children were touched innocuously. Two weeks later, they returned for a memory interview. Some children who had not been touched were instructed to lie during the interview and say that they had been touched. Children so instructed were consistent in maintaining the lie but performed poorly when answering repeated questions unrelated to the lie. Children who were not touched and told the truth were accurate when answering repeated questions. Of note, children who had been touched and told the truth were the most inconsistent. Results call into question the common assumption that consistency is a useful indicator of veracity in children’s eyewitness accounts.
Design of high-resolution grazing-incidence echelle monochromators

A grazing-incidence configuration to achieve high spectral resolution in the extreme ultraviolet and soft x-ray regions is presented. It adopts a grating in the off-plane mount operated at high diffracted orders. Resolutions in the 10(5) range can be achieved in a relatively compact size. The monochromator can be tuned in a complete octave by using different diffracted orders without changing the geometrical parameters of the configuration. The optical design of the configuration and the application to a beamline for free-electron-laser radiation centered at 120 eV are discussed.
Expanding the Scope of Museums' Ethical Obligations With Respect to Nazi-Looted Art: Incorporating Restitution Claims Based on Private Sales Made as a Direct Result of Persecution

Since the late 1990s, the American museum community has nobly sought to resolve restitution claims involving Nazi-looted art in an equitable fashion. Under the auspices of various ethical guidelines recognizing the horrific tragedies of the Holocaust, museums have made a commitment to purge their collections of artwork tainted by Nazi theft. It remains unclear, however, whether these guidelines govern restitution claims that are based, not on Nazi theft, but on coerced sales arising from Nazi persecution. This article argues that the scope of the guidelines should be expanded to govern restitution claims arising from coerced sales, and that coerced sales include not only sales in which the Nazis participated, but also private sales made by individuals who, as a direct result of Nazi persecution, were forced to sell their artwork in order to flee or otherwise survive the Holocaust.
Construction of a specialized‐ribosome vector or cloned‐gene expression in E. coli

An expression system utilizing specialized ribosomes has been constructed with beta-galactosidase as the product. Ribosomes specific for lacZ mRNA are generated due to a mutation within the anti-Shine-Dalgarno region of a plasmidborne 16S rRNA gene that is complementary to a mutation within the ribosome-binding site of lacZ. Hence, a subpopulation of ribsomes specific for translation of the cloned gene mRNA is produced. Transcription of the lacZ gene is regulated by the tac promoter, while transcription of the mutated rrnB locus is controlled by the lambdaP(L) promoter. Batch experiments indicate that full induction of both operons (2 mM IPTG, 42 degrees C) leads to maximal beta-galactosidase activity per cell at levels 35% higher than that obtained using a wild-type ribosome expression system. Using a novel, site-directed mutagenesis technique, construction of the specialized ribosome vector is outlined, and the results of lacZ expression are presented as transcription of both the cloned-gene and the specialized-ribosome locus are induced.
Arginine-239 in the beta subunit is at or near the active site of bovine pyruvate dehydrogenase

Abstract We have modified bovine pyruvate dehydrogenase (E1), the first catalytic component of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, with pyreneglyoxal. Treatment of E 1 with pyreneglyoxal resulted in the loss of enzyme activity. Pyruvate plus thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP) afforded approximately 80% protection against this inactivation and protected two arginine residues per mol of E1 tetramer ( α 2 β 2 ) from modification. Circular dichroism spectral analysis indicated absence of any gross structural changes in the enzyme as a result of modification. Comparison of the peptide maps, monitored at 345 nm of unprotected and pyruvate plus TPP protected E1s after V8 digestion revealed that a peptide in the protected enzyme was labeled by pyreneglyoxal to a lesser extent than its counterpart in the unprotected enzyme. Sequence analysis of the peptide demonstrated that it corresponded precisely to amino-acid residues 235 to 246 in the human E1β sequence, with arginine residues at positions 239 and 242. Since Arg-239 is conserved in the β-subunit of all presently known sequences of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase complex, it is strongly suggested that Arg-239 in the human E1β sequence is at or near the active site of bovine E1.
Emerging Roles of School District Administrators: Implications for Planning, Budgeting, and Management

School district administrators are defining new roles for themselves, adding to their more traditional role. The traditional role is characteristic of purely “public sector” managers, whereas the emerging roles are more characteristic of purely “private sector” managers (both the for-profit and not-for-profit private sectors). A primary cause of the development of the new role is that school administrators are beginning to pursue revenue-generating opportunities via private sector models due to the limits of the public sector model. The traditional role, the new role, and the implications of their mutual presence in school districts are examined in this paper.
Phylogenetic comparative methods and the geography of speciation

The geography of speciation has long been contentious. In recent years, phylogenetic approaches have been proposed to determine the geographical mode of speciation. If reliable, these methods not only provide a means of settling the debate about the geography of speciation, but also indicate that sympatric speciation is surprisingly common and that peripatric speciation is relatively rare. Similar to any phylogenetic inference, reconstructions of speciation mode are only useful if the underlying assumptions of the method are met. In this case, the key assumption is that the geographical range of both extant and ancestral species at the time of speciation can be inferred from present-day distributions. We discuss whether, and under what circumstances, such assumptions could be met. We conclude that interspecific phylogenies are unable to test alternative hypotheses concerning the geography of speciation rigorously because of the lability of geographical ranges and the lack of correlation between the role of adaptive processes and geographical mode of speciation.
Potential Effects of the Affordable Care Act on Loss Calculations

This chapter examines how the Affordable Care Act (ACA) might affect the analysis of future care costs. Prior to the ACA, victims’ future health care costs would generally be paid for out-of-pocket since plaintiffs typically had limited access to insurance. Nowadays, plaintiffs can obtain insurance that will cover a significant portion of future medical costs. We describe the basic structure of the ACA, how it has affected health insurance markets, and provide examples of how the ACA might be introduced into economic analyses. In addition, case law regarding the application of the ACA is examined as well as arguments for and against considering the availability of health insurance in medical litigation. Finally, we address details regarding the application of the ACA by the practicing forensic economist.
Empire and Extraterritoriality in 20th Century America

Powerful nations have long sought empires. The United States is no exception, though its imperial experience is distinctive. In this brief essay I examine the American approach to empire in the 20th century. In the early years of the century the U.S. experienced a brief burst of traditional empire-building. By the Second World War, however, American leaders for the most part foreswore traditional empire, even as the nation became a superpower with global reach and ambition. They instead pioneered a new form of political dominance, which produced many of the effects of empire in a different form. This new form of empire had several important features, but the key was that it was essentially extraterritorial in nature. Traditional empires controlled territory directly or indirectly; that control was reflected in maps that showed, for example, the territorial holdings of the British Empire in red. The postwar American empire, by contrast, projected national power outward without controlling foreign territory directly. It was predicated not on territorial control but on extraterritorial power and presence. Through military bases sited on the territories of other states, the extension of domestic statutes overseas, and a web of multilateral institutions that embedded and extended American power while creating a favorable environment for American firms, the US achieved many of the ends of empire without the form. The unusual structure of postwar order the United States created and led reflected the nation’s newfound superpower status after 1945. It was, in many respects, an “empire by invitation,” since it was welcomed by many states around the world. But it was also consistent with a wide range of constitutional concerns that had arisen in the Theodore Roosevelt and Taft administrations, largely stemming from the acquisition of the Philippine Islands from Spain. An extraterritorial empire proved more comfortable fit with our constitutional framework, and with our political interests, than traditional territorial empire.