cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cost-effectiveness of integrated HIV prevention and family planning services for Zambian couples.

OBJECTIVE To present the incremental cost from the payer's perspective and effectiveness of couples' family planning counseling (CFPC) with long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) access integrated with couples' voluntary HIV counseling and testing (CVCT) in Zambia. This integrated program is evaluated incremental to existing individual HIV counseling and testing and family planning services. DESIGN Implementation and modelling. SETTING Fifty-five government health facilities in Zambia. SUBJECTS Patients in government health facilities. INTERVENTION Community health workers and personnel promoted and delivered integrated CVCT+CFPC from March 2013 to September 2015. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES We report financial costs of actual expenditures during integrated program implementation and outcomes of CVCT+CFPC uptake and LARC uptake. We model primary outcomes of cost-per-: adult HIV infections averted by CVCT, unintended pregnancies averted by LARC, couple-years of protection against unintended pregnancy by LARC, and perinatal HIV infections averted by LARC. Costs and outcomes were discounted at 3% per year. RESULTS Integrated program costs were $3 582 186 (2015 USD), 82 231 couples received CVCT+CFPC, and 56 409 women received LARC insertions. The program averted an estimated 7165 adult HIV infections at $384 per adult HIV infection averted over a 5-year time horizon. The program also averted 62 265 unintended pregnancies and was cost-saving for measures of cost-per-unintended pregnancy averted, cost-per-couple-year of protection against unintended pregnancy, and cost-per-perinatal HIV infection averted assuming 3 years of LARC use. CONCLUSION Our intervention was cost-savings for CFPC outcomes and CVCT was effective and affordable in Zambia. Integrated couples-focused HIV and family planning was feasible, affordable, and leveraged HIV and unintended pregnancy prevention.
Gritting it out: The importance of non-cognitive skills in academic mismatch

Abstract I examine the importance of non-cognitive skills in the matching process in higher education in the United States. Across two longitudinal data sources, I show that students with lower non-cognitive skills are more likely to undermatch (enrolling in less selective colleges given their academic credentials) and less likely to overmatch. The application process drives the relationship between non-cognitive skills and academic mismatch, as students with low non-cognitive skills are less likely to apply to a well-matched institution. I further show that non-cognitive skills are strong predictors of Bachelor’s degree completion. I propose an alternative definition of undermatch, which additionally considers students’ non-cognitive skills. Under this definition, a smaller share of high-achieving students undermatch in higher education.
PFAS exposure and overweight/obesity among children in a nationally representative sample.

Abstract Purpose Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a class of manmade chemicals commonly used in consumer product manufacturing. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are two of the most highly studied PFASs. Both are present in the blood of the most Americans. PFASs are associated with intermediate cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes, but their relationship with obesity, a risk factor for intermediate and advanced CVD, remains largely unconfirmed. In this context, we aimed to explore the relationship between PFASs and both overweight/obesity and abdominal obesity among children. Methods We examine associations between PFOA and PFOS levels, and Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in a representative sample (N = 2473) of US children, aged 12–18 years from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2012. Overweight/obesity is defined as age-, sex-specific BMI z-score ≥ 85th percentile; abdominal obesity is defined as age-, sex-specific waist circumference ≥90th percentile. Results Associations between PFASs and anthropometric outcomes show a dose-response relationship overall. For overweight/obese BMI z-score, findings indicate OR = 1.42 and 95% CI: 0.85–2.38 for quartile 2 of PFOA exposure; OR = 2.22 (95% CI: 1.20–4.13) for quartile 3 of PFOA exposure; and OR = 2.73 (95% CI:1.10–6.74) for quartile 4 of PFOA exposure. Discussion Findings indicate an association between elevated PFOA and overweight/obesity among children after multivariable adjustment.
Nonlinear sigma model with particle-hole asymmetry for the disordered two-dimensional electron gas

The nonlinear sigma model is a well-established theoretical tool for studies of transport and thermodynamics in disordered electronic systems. The conventional sigma model approach for interacting systems does not account for particle-hole asymmetry. It is therefore not suited for studying quantities that are sensitive to this effect such as the thermoelectric transport coefficient. Here, we derive a minimal extension of the Keldysh nonlinear sigma model tailored for two-dimensional interacting systems. We argue that this model can be used to systematically study the combined effect of interactions and disorder on thermoelectric transport. As a first step in this direction, we use the model to analyze the structure of the heat density-density correlation function and calculate interaction corrections to its static part. The calculation of interaction corrections to the dynamical part of the correlation function and the thermodynamic transport coefficient is left for future work.
Selective Labeling and Identification of the Tumor Cell Proteome of Pancreatic Cancer In Vivo

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is among the deadliest cancers. Dissecting the tumor cell proteome from that of the non-tumor cells in the PDAC tumor bulk is critical for tumorigenesis studies, biomarker discovery, and development of therapeutics. However, investigating the tumor cell proteome has proven evasive due to the tumor's extremely complex cellular composition. To circumvent this technical barrier, we have combined bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT) and data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry (DIA-MS) in an orthotopic PDAC model to specifically identify the tumor cell proteome in vivo. Utilizing the tumor cell-specific expression of a mutant tRNA synthetase transgene, this approach provides tumor cells with the exclusive ability to incorporate an azide-bearing methionine analogue into newly synthesized proteins. The azide-tagged tumor cell proteome is subsequently enriched and purified via a bioorthogonal reaction and then identified and quantified using DIA-MS. Applying this workflow to the orthotopic PDAC model, we have identified thousands of proteins expressed by the tumor cells. Furthermore, by comparing the tumor cell and tumor bulk proteomes, we showed that the approach can distinctly differentiate proteins produced by tumor cells from those of non-tumor cells within the tumor microenvironment. Our study, for the first time, reveals the tumor cell proteome of PDAC under physiological conditions, providing broad applications for tumorigenesis, therapeutics, and biomarker studies in various human cancers.
A floristic survey of the Boulder Mountain Park: with notes on its conservation and management (Boulder, Colorado, U.S.A.)

The City of Boulder Mountain Park sits in the eastern foothills of the northern Front Range of Colorado. Approximately 7000 acres (2800 ha) in extent, the study area is characterized by a foothills and montane vegetation and flora, predominantly of western North American distribution. Situated at the interface of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains, the flora of the Mountain Park is distinguished by a wealth of species with eastern woodland affinities, as well as a number of southern Rocky Mountain species endemic to the Front Range. Six hundred and ninety-eight (698) species of vascular plants in 426 genera and 100 families are documented in this survey. Twenty (20) of the plants are listed as Species of Special Concern by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program, with an additional 26 listed as sensitive by the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks Department (OSMP). Introduced non-native species constitute 21% of the flora (147 species), a figure that exaggerates their ecological role in the Park; less than a dozen introduced species are of serious concern in their impact upon native diversity. The Mountain Park is viewed by many as the crown jewel of the City’s OSMP system, and serves as a model for public land management across other open spaces in urban areas nationwide. These forested foothills, with their prominent relief and associated diversity of habitats, serve as one of the last low-elevation nature refuges along the Colorado Front Range. With the increasing urbanization of the region and the loss of biological diversity worldwide, the wisdom of the Boulder community in protecting this landscape is becoming ever more apparent. This report presents a thoroughly revised checklist of the flora of the Boulder Mountain Parks since the area was last inventoried in 1993.
Judicial Independence and its Enemies

Judicial independence appears under siege. Federal courts are condemned by President Trump for their political bias; his erstwhile presidential opponents mull various court-packing plans; and they, in their turn, are lambasted for abandoning a long-held constitutional convention against such institutional manipulation. As in the streets so too in chambers. Across varied lines of jurisprudence, the Roberts Courts evinces a deep worry about judicial independence, albeit defined in a more formal and machined manner thanin contemporary political rhetoric. This concern shapes recent decisions on administrative deference, targeted changes to substantive law, bankruptcy, patent adjudication, and jurisdiction-stripping. The ensuing caselaw, however, is characterized by gaps, incoherence, and even invitations to open circumvention. The Article’s first contribution of this Roberts Court jurisprudence to show how it understands judicial independence, and how its doctrinal rules fall far short of realizing that aspiration. This case study in doctrinal specification suggests a gap exists between the ethical aspiration toward judicial independence and its institutional substrates, a gap that generates confusion, uncertainty, and controversy. The Article then moves away from the particulars of the Roberts Court to explore the origins of this aspiration/implementation gap. In this more general analysis, I show that there is a large range of decision options for a constitutional maker seeking to create independent courts. The Framers of Article III selected among these options, preferring ex post to ex ante checks on political interference in the judiciary. Subsequent experience, though, has demonstrated that their decision rested on deeply flawed presuppositions. In particular, the Framers failed to anticipate either the rise of partisanship as a motivating principle for national political action, or the unexpectedly strong forces that push legislatures toward vague or ambiguous statutory texts that leave ample discretion to judges. As a result of these presumptions’ collapse, elected actors operate in a domain in which they wield ample discretion to unravel judicial independence of the kind the Court holds dear. I offer a taxonomy of the instruments of such unraveling, which I label cracking, packing, and stacking by analogy to techniques of partisan gerrymandering. This exercise illuminates why the jurisprudence and politics of judicial independence fall so far short of professed ethical aspirations. It further points toward the possibility of a more institutionally grounded account of what plausibly can be expected from federal courts.
The effects of daily mood and couple interactions on the sleep quality of older adults with chronic pain

We examined the effect of daily negative and positive mood on the sleep quality of knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients (N = 152) and whether a partner’s daily responses to a patient’s pain behaviors moderated these associations. Patients and their partners completed a baseline interview and 22 daily diary assessments. After controlling for demographic characteristics, OA severity, comorbidities, medication use, relationship satisfaction, and depressed mood, multilevel modeling analyses demonstrated main effects of negative and positive mood on sleep quality indicators. Mood and partner responses interacted such that high solicitous and punishing responses strengthened the association between negative mood and worse sleep. Further, high solicitous responses increased the degree of association between low positive mood and poor sleep, and empathic responses combined with positive mood were associated with better sleep. Results demonstrate that daily negative and positive mood fluctuations can interact with partner responses to affect sleep quality among older adults with chronic pain.
Analysis of Single Polymer Fibers by Fourier Transform Infrared Microscopy: The Results of Case Studies

Infrared (IR) microscopic analysis was performed in tandem with traditional techniques of fiber analysis in case studies in order to determine the feasibility of IR microscopy as a routine technique for fiber analysis. All fibers which were comparable by visual, optical microscopy were also found to be comparable by IR microscopy. Several minor spectral differences between comparable fibers were encountered. The sources of these spectral differences fell into three major categories: (1) interference fringes, (2) contaminants, and (3) pressure effects due to sample preparation. The utility of a computerized spectral library of fibers for the identification of generic class and subclass was evaluated. Sheath and core bicomponent fibers were also examined along with a new type of poly(benzimidazole) (PBI), a high-performance fiber.
Assessing Potential Enrollment and Budgetary Effects of SCHIP Premiums: Findings from Arizona and Kentucky

Objective. To assess whether new premiums in SCHIP affect rates of disenrollment and reenrollment in SCHIP and whether they have spillover enrollment effects on Medicaid. Data Source. We used SCHIP administrative enrollment data from Arizona and Kentucky. The enrollment data covered July 2001 to December 2005 in Arizona and November 2001 to August 2004 in Kentucky. Study Design. We used administrative data from two states, Arizona and Kentucky, which introduced new premiums for certain income categories in their SCHIP programs in 2004 and 2003, respectively. We used multivariate hazard models to study rates of disenrollment and re-enrollment for the recipients who had been enrolled in the categories of SCHIP in which the new premiums were implemented. Competing hazard models were used to determine if recipients leaving SCHIP following the introduction of the premium were obtaining other public coverage or exiting public insurance entirely at higher rates. We also used time-series models to measure the effect of premiums on changes in caseloads in premium-paying SCHIP and other categories of public coverage and we assessed the budgetary implications of imposing premiums. Principal Findings. In both states, the new premiums increased the rate of disenrollment and decreased the rate of re-enrollment in premium-paying SCHIP among the children who were enrolled in those categories before the premiums were implemented. The competing hazard models indicated that almost all of the increased disenrollment is caused by recipients leaving public insurance entirely. The time-series models indicated that the new premium reduced caseloads in premium-paying SCHIP, but that it might have increased caseloads for other types of public coverage. The amount of premiums collected net of the costs associated with administering premiums is small in both states. Estimating the full budgetary effects with certainty was not possible given the imprecision of the key time-series estimates. Conclusion. These results suggest that the new premium reduced enrollment in the premium-paying group by 18 percent (over 3,000 children) in Kentucky and by 5 percent (over 1,000 children) in Arizona, with some of these children apparently leaving public coverage altogether. While most children enrolled in these categories did not appear to be directly affected by the imposition of $10–$20 monthly premiums, the premiums may have caused some children to go without health insurance coverage, which in turn could have adverse effects on their access to care. Imposing nominal premiums may reduce state spending, but projected savings appear to be small relative to total state SCHIP spending and resulting increases in enrollment in other public programs and in uninsurance rates could offset those savings.
Mycetoma caused by microsporum audouinii. First reported case.

A 25-year-old black man had generalized tinea corporis for 19 years and had associated subcutaneous mycotic granuloma of the scalp and nape of the neck for 17 years. The dermatophyte from the skin was identified as Microsporum audouinii and responded to oral griseofulvin treatment. Biopsy specimens of the subcutaneous nodules revealed yellowish granules containing masses of irregularly septated hyaline hyphae with frequent vesicles. This fungus differed only in gross colonial morphology from the M. audouinii isolated from the skin and has also been identified as M. audouinii . The subcutaneous nodules were treated and controlled by amphotericin B and are still under treatment.
On the Complexity of Nonlinear Mixed-Integer Optimization

This is a survey on the computational complexity of nonlinear mixedinteger optimization. It highlights a selection of important topics, ranging from incomputability results that arise from number theory and logic, to recently obtained fully polynomial time approximation schemes in fixed dimension, and to strongly polynomialtime algorithms for special cases.
First, do no harm: health professionals and Guantánamo.

I would like to thank the organizers of this event for this important teach-in and convening this panel to address the ways in which health professionals have become embroiled in human rights violations against detainees in U.S. custody. Just as the embrace by the Bush Administration of torture as an interrogation strategy led to a corrosion of law, so did it undermine the ethics of the health professions and the integrity of the tradition, within the military, of medical independence and commitment to the health of soldiers and detainees. What is surprising is not that physicians, psychologists, and other health workers can become enmeshed in the machinery of torture, from design to execution to monitoring⎯there is a long history of such engagement. Rather, what is startling is the ease with which this role was officially developed and new rules and ethical standards that were adopted to facilitate it. The shift began in 2002, following the Bush Administration’s reinterpretation of laws designed to prevent and criminalize the prac-
Resistance of Free-Living Nematodes to Staphylococcal Enterotoxin

Abstract The usefulness of free-living nematodes for assaying staphylococcal enterotoxin was evaluated with a 98% pure enterotoxin B on five different nematodes. Included in the evaluation was an enterotoxin B in a crude culture filtrate. The filtrate of a culture of nonenterotoxigenic strains of Staphylococcus aureus, the uninoculated respective broth media, and distilled water were used as controls. The purified enterotoxin was found to exert no toxic effects at dosages ranging from 10 to 1,000 μg/ml for as long as 24 hr. Utilization of the toxin-protein by these nematodes was evidenced by their propagation after exposure times longer than 24 hr. The crude filtrate, containing 28 μg of enterotoxin per ml, was detrimental to nematodes to the same degree as the nontoxic filtrate and the uninoculated broths, in that they all caused irritation to external genitalia, motility changes, and death after comparable exposure times. This is in agreement with earlier observations that standard bacteriological fluid media, or broths containing over 1% protein hydrolysate or 1 to 2% salts, exert toxic effects on free-living nematodes.
General Parton Distributions and Counting of Helicity-Flip Nucleon Form Factors

We give a brief overview of the General Parton Distributions(GPDs), including their properties, connections to conventional quantities, and relationships to physical observables. We also perform a systematic analysis on the non-forward matrix elements of twist-two quark and gluon helicity-flip operators and explain their relationships to the GPDs. We systematically count the number of independent nucleon form factors in non-forward scattering (of matrix elements of these operators), by matching the allowed quantum numbers with their crossing channel counterparts and time reversal symmetry considerations. We finally analyze and write down the form factor expansion of the quark operator matrix elements.
Nucleotide specificity and conformation of the active site of creatine kinase. Magnetic resonance and sulfhydryl reactivity studies.

Abstract The manganese-enzyme-substrate complexes of a number of nucleoside diphosphate substrates of creatine kinase showed a range of enhanced values of the longitudinal proton relaxation rate of water with respect to the manganous aquocation, although the small enhancement factors, ϵa, of all the binary manganese-nucleotide complexes were the same, approximately 1.6. The order of the values of ϵt, the enhancement factor of the respective ternary enzyme-metal-substrate complexes, was: manganese-adenosine diphosphate (19.4) g Mn-3'-dADP (7.7) g Mn-2'-dADP (6.7) g manganese-inosine diphosphate (5) g manganese-guanosine diphosphate (4). This same order is observed for the maximum velocity of the enzymatic reaction with these substrates. There was no significant difference in the dissociation constants of the enzyme-metal-substrate complexes for the three manganese-adenine nucleotides. Values of ϵt for the nucleoside triphosphates were: MnATP (9.8) g Mn-2'-dATP (4.5) g MnGTP (3.7) g MnITP (3.2). The order of relative velocities was found to be MnATP g Mn-2'-dATP g MnITP g MnGTP. The relative effects of a number of substrates and inhibitors of creatine kinase on the rate of reaction between iodoacetic acid and the essential sulfhydryl groups of the enzyme was also investigated. Metal nucleoside diphosphates increased the —SH reactivity in the order M-ADP g M-2'-dADP g M-IDP g M-GDP, while the free nucleotides protected in the order ADP g 2'-dADP g IDP g GDP. Both the metal complexes and the free forms of nucleoside triphosphates protected creatine kinase against iodoacetic acid, although the effects were much greater for the free nucleotides. With both series of compounds, an order similar to that for the diphosphates was observed. The parallel order of the values of ϵt, the maximum velocities of the enzymatic reaction, and the rate constants for the iodoacetic acid reaction with the different metal-nucleotides may be ascribed to differing degrees of conformational change induced at the active site of creatine kinase. Thus, the properties of water in the coordination sphere of the manganese in the enzyme-metal-substrate complex as manifested by the enhancement of proton relaxation rate may be used as a probe to reveal changes in the conformation of the enzyme at its active site in the same way as the modification of the reactivity of the essential cysteine residues is used. With the latter criterion, the effect of binding free nucleotides and metal-nucleotides could be investigated and the observed rate constants for the reaction between iodoacetic acid and creatine kinase could be explained by induced conformational changes, which increased the accessibility of the —SH groups upon binding of metal nucleotides and decreased the accessibility of the —SH groups upon binding of the free nucleotides.
Symmetric alpha-stable filter theory

Symmetric /spl alpha/-stable (S/spl alpha/S) processes are used to model impulsive noise. Wiener filter theory is generally not meaningful in S/spl alpha/S environments because the expectations may be unbounded. To develop a filter theory for linear finite impulse response systems with independent identically distributed S/spl alpha/S inputs, we propose median orthogonality as a linear filter criterion, present a generalized Wiener-Hopf solution equation, and show a necessary condition for a filter to achieve the criterion. For non-Gaussian S/spl alpha/S densities, zero-forcing least-mean-square is the only well-known filter that satisfies the criterion, but others can easily be designed. We present a second algorithm and simulations showing that both converge to the generalized Wiener-Hopf solution.
A Prediction Interval Estimator for the Original Response When Using Box–Cox Transformations

The authors develop an approximate prediction interval on the response variable Y, where it is assumed that a normal-theory linear model is fit using a transformed version of Y, and the transformation type is contained in the Box–Cox family.
Cytomorphology and immunohistochemistry of a recurrent clear cell odontogenic carcinoma with molecular analysis: A case report with review of literature

Clear cell odontogenic carcinoma (CCOC) is a rare, odontogenic tumor of the jaws with mandibular involvement usually present in sixth decade of life with female preponderance. It is classified as a malignant tumor of odontogenic origin in 2005 by the World Health Organization because of its aggressive and destructive growth capacity and potential to metastasize. It needs to be distinguished from other primary and metastatic clear cell tumors of the oral and maxillofacial region. Recently, CCOCs have been noted to harbor a Ewing sarcoma breakpoint region 1 gene RNA-binding protein 1 (EWSR1) and activating transcription factor (ATF) gene translocation. To date, cytologic features of only one case have been reported in the literature. We report an additional case of 55-year-old woman with enlarging mass in the left mandible. This report describes cytologic and immunohistochemical features of CCOC with positive EWSR1 gene rearrangements by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). As diagnosis of CCOC is challenging on fine-needle aspiration, immunohistochemistry and FISH analysis are very useful diagnostic tool in clear cell lesions of mandible.
Electrode erosion as a function of electrode materials in high current, high energy transient arcs

The mechanisms for electrode material heating and removal are discussed briefly. Onset conditions are derived as a function of materials properties and pulse parameters for thermal damage at the electrode surface for both arc joule heating and electrode joule heating with and without the skin effect. Material figure of merits are presented which should roughly rank a materials ability to withstand erosion under different pulse conditions.
So Close, Yet So Far: Why Solutions to the Closeness Problem for the Doctrine of Double Effect Fall Short

According to the classical Doctrine of Double Effect (DDE), there is a morally significant difference between intending harm and merely foreseeing harm. Versions of DDE have been defended in a variety of creative ways, but there is one difficulty, the so-called “closeness problem”, that continues to bedevil all of them. The problem is that an agent's intention can always be identified in such a fine-grained way as to eliminate an intention to harm from almost any situation, including those that have been taken to be paradigmatic instances in which DDE applies to intended harm. In this paper, we consider and reject a number of recent attempts to solve the closeness problem. We argue that the failure of these proposals strongly suggests that the closeness problem is intractable, and that the distinction between intending harm and merely foreseeing harm is not morally significant. Further, we argue that there may be a deeper reason why such attempts must fail: the rationale that makes the best fit with DDE, namely, an imperative not to aim at evil, is itself irredeemably flawed. While we believe that these observations should lead us to abandon further attempts to solve the closeness problem for DDE, we also conclude by showing how a related principle that is supported by a distinct rationale and avoids facing the closeness problem altogether nevertheless shares with DDE its most important features, including an intuitive explanation of a number of cases and a commitment to the relevance of intentions.
Thin-film superconductor in an exchange field.

Using the technique of spin-polarized tunneling, we studied tunnel junctions with EuS/Al bilayer electrodes. We found a large effective internal field in the Al film, which gives rise to extra Zeeman splitting in the superconducting quasiparticle density of states and which is attributed to the exchange interaction between the Eu ions and the Al conduction electrons. This exchange field, acting only on the electron spins, is inversely proportional to the thickness of the Al, causes no observable orbital depairing in the Al, and leads to a first-order transition to the normal state.
Histomorphological and geometric properties of human femoral cortex in individuals over 50: Implications for histomorphological determination of age-at-death.

Cortical area, area moment of inertia, and polar moment of inertia were determined from the midshafts of a series of 62 femurs (34 female and 28 male) from a U. S. white population, ages 51-95. The density of osteons and osteon fragments (per mm2 ) was also determined. Neither osteon nor osteon fragment density was significantly correlated with age. These variables were correlated, however, with normalized cortical and endosteal areas, normalized area moment of inertia, and polar moment of inertia. Osteon fragment numbers alone are not highly correlated with cross-sectional properties. This research suggests that osteon density and osteon fragment density are significantly related to cortical mass and distribution in older people, but are not a direct function of age in persons over 50 years of age. Histological age estimates in older individuals must, therefore, be used with extreme caution. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Dark matter in the solar system

Many small bodies in the solar system, including planetary satellites, comets, and asteroids, have a surface component consisting at least in part of a very low albedo (0.06 or less) solid substance of neutral or red color in the wavelength region 0.3-2.5 microns. Laboratory spectra of organic residues from meteorites and mixtures with hydrous silicates suggest that complex mixtures of complex organic molecules (kerogens) together with aqueous alteration products of igneous minerals may be the source of the dark matter that is distributed so widely throughout the solar system.
International Transfer Pricing and Intellectual Property: The PrimeCo Case

This case introduces students to issues related to international transfer pricing for intellectual property. PrimeCo is a manufacturer of cellular telephone (cell phone) components. The firm has invested extensively in research and development activities. As a result, it has received many patents for innovative cell phone parts. PrimeCo recently established a subsidiary (SubCo) to manufacture its products for the Asia‐Pacific region. The establishment of SubCo raises many difficult questions. Specifically, students are asked to address issues related to modes of entry into foreign markets, methods of transfer pricing in royalty arrangements, tax laws underlying transfer pricing, and ethical aspects of applying transfer prices.
A brucellosis disease control strategy for the Kakheti Region of the country of Georgia: an agent-based model.

Summary Brucellosis has been reported in livestock and humans in the country of Georgia with Brucella melitensis as the most common species causing disease. Georgia lacked sufficient data to assess effectiveness of the various potential control measures utilizing a reliable population-based simulation model of animal-to-human transmission of this infection. Therefore, an agent-based model was built using data from previous studies to evaluate the effect of an animal-level infection control programme on human incidence and sheep flock and cattle herd prevalence of brucellosis in the Kakheti region of Georgia. This model simulated the patterns of interaction of human–animal workers, sheep flocks and cattle herds with various infection control measures and returned population-based data. The model simulates the use of control measures needed for herd and flock prevalence to fall below 2%. As per the model output, shepherds had the greatest disease reduction as a result of the infection control programme. Cattle had the greatest influence on the incidence of human disease. Control strategies should include all susceptible animal species, sheep and cattle, identify the species of brucellosis present in the cattle population and should be conducted at the municipality level. This approach can be considered as a model to other countries and regions when assessment of control strategies is needed but data are scattered.
Population dynamics and nutrient fluxes in an aquatic microcosm

An aquatic microcosm, consisting of three spatially separated yet mutually dependent trophic levels, was established in the laboratory and monitored for 310 days. A three-fold research approach evaluates the experimental potential of this large, multicompartmental microecosystem. Realistic biological and chemical features and nutrient fluxes parallel identifiable patterns observed in natural aquatic ecosystems as well as in published laboratory observations. Two successional patterns developed in the autotrophic community: a sequential change in species composition and a progression from a one-compartment planktonic situation to a two-phased planktonic-attached system. Although the microcosm was initially seeded with an axenic culture of Cryptomonas ovata var. palustris Ehr, contamination by Chlorella, Scenedesmus, Closterium, and Anabaena occurred within 41 days. The appearance of attached algae, noted on day 5, marked the transition from a planktonically-based ecosystem to a heterogeneous system. Crashes in the cladoceran population occurred on days 103 and 202. The second collapse was final. Repeated attempts to reestablish Daphnia middendorffiana failed. Mineralization and nutrient cycling are recognizable properties of the microcosm. Ammonification, nitrification, and nitrogen assimilation occurred predominantly in the decomposer tank as did the regeneration of inorganic phosphorus. A peak on day 205 in the ammonia input to the algal tank drawn from beneath the bacterial filter bed followed a peak in total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) (day 135) and preceded peaks in nitrate (day 219) and TKN (day 233). Although levels in the algal tank were undetectable after three weeks, dissolved orthophosphate was actively regenerated in the decomposer bed, recycled to the autotroph unit, and rapidly assimilated by the algae. Characteristic patterns of radiotracer circulation also were evident. Sequential movement of 32P from the dissolved compartment to phytoplankton to attached algae was proposed. Conversely, 14C was steadily incorporated into the phytoplankton compartment; filtrate activities fluctuated. Tracer behaviors in the cladoceran compartment were superficially cyclic. Carbon turnover times in the algal and zooplankton compartments were 17 and 11.11 hours, respectively. Indicative of the greater biological mobility of phosphorus, respective turnover times of 2.50 and 2.44 hours were similarly calculated for phosphorus. Unlike dissolved carbon which had a turnover time of 625 hours, dissolved phosphorus was rapidly cycled into the algae (turnover time = 0.58 h).
Glider flight environment modeling for optimal control

This paper describes the process of creating a computationally-inexpensive yet relatively accurate atmospheric environment model for use in stochastic optimal control problems for glider flight management. In such problems, estimates of transition probabilities between flight in updrafts, downdrafts and thermals of varying strength are needed. This work proposes an atmospheric environment model that predicts updraft and downdraft strengths in a given region and, when combined with existing glider flight data, estimates thermal locations and strengths. The resultant predictions can be utilized to compute the desired transition probabilities. A simple approach currently employed in flight simulator games is adapted for updraft and downdraft modeling. The method is empirical and requires the computation of a linear factor. Interestingly, when validated against actual flight data, this technique is 92.4 percent accurate on average. This paper also shows that the location and intensity of thermals can be deduced from flight data by utilizing updraft and downdraft predictions. The work then illustrates the modeling process for a sample topographical area, and utilizes the model to solve a stochastic drift counteraction optimal control problem where control policies that maximize glider flight range are generated.
Cerebral Microvascular Inflammation in DOCA Salt-Induced Hypertension: Role of Angiotensin II and Mitochondrial Superoxide:

Angiotensin II-mediated hypertension (HTN) is accompanied by a pro-inflammatory and pro-thrombotic state in the cerebral microvasculature. Whether comparable phenotypic changes are elicited in other models of HTN remains unclear. Using wild-type mice with deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) salt-induced HTN and intravital microscopy, we observed significant increases in the adhesion of both leukocytes and platelets in cerebral venules, compared with uninephrectomized control mice, without an accompanying increase in blood-brain barrier permeability. The cell-cell interactions in hypertensive mice were more pronounced after ischemic stroke, but no difference in infarct size was detected. The blood cell recruitment was largely prevented in the following groups of DOCA salt mice: losartan (angiotensin II AT1 receptor blocker) treated, AT1 receptor knockout mice, tempol (a membrane-permeable oxygen radical scavenger) treated, and mito-TEMPO (a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant) treated. A similar pattern of protection was noted in mice subjected to ischemic stroke. The blunted cell recruitment responses were not accompanied by reductions in blood pressure (BP). These findings implicate mitochondria-derived oxygen radicals and angiotensin II in the cerebral inflammation associated with DOCA salt HTN and suggests that BP per se is not a critical determinant of the phenotypic changes that accompany HTN, even after ischemic stroke.
Wheat germ agglutinin binding sites in the adult mouse cerebellum: light and electron microscopic studies.

The binding properties of derivatized wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) have been examined in fixed tissue sections from the adult mouse cerebellum and also in axonal tracing paradigms following cerebellar injections. The aim of these studies is to begin to distinguish the roles different binding sites may play in generating diverse biological activities which lead to neuronal uptake and axonal transport of lectins or glycoconjugates. Vibratome sections from aldehyde-fixed cerebellum were incubated in N-[acetyl-3H] WGA or WGA conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP). Sections from this in vitro binding paradigm and those from cerebellar pressure injection eases using those tracers (in vivo binding paradigm) were processed for light microscopic autoradiography, histochemistry, and electron microscopy. Blocking experiments were also performed with various sugar haptens to confirm the binding specificity of these lectin preparations. Light microscopy of lectin binding patterns within the cerebellar cortex has revealed that both derivatized WGA preparations bind most intensely to the molecular layer. Within the deep cerebellar nuclei, binding is unique and produces a punctate delineation of cell bodies and dendrites. Electron microscopy revealed that these binding sites are associated with glial processes which abut the plasma membrane of deep nuclei cells. Cerebellar WGA-HRP injection sites contain labeled profiles involved in uptake and axonal transport of the labeled lectin (e.g., multivesicular and dense bodies) in addition to label associated with synapses, glia, undetermined components of the extracellular space, and neuronal plasma membranes. These sites are therefore presumed to possess a high affinity or capacity for binding derivatized WGA. Binding studies performed here thus reveal, for the first time, the existence of discrete glial sites that display an extraordinary attraction for lectins such as WGA. The roles such glial glycoconjugates play in diverse biological activities including neuronal uptake and transport of macromolecules need further study.
Infected femoral artery pseudoaneurysm in drug addicts: the beneficial use of the internal iliac artery for arterial reconstruction.

Background Infected femoral artery pseudoaneurysm (IFAP) is a severe complication in parenteral drug abusers, with difficult and controversial management. Ligation alone without revascularization is frequently associated with later intermittent claudication and limb amputation. Furthermore, arterial reconstruction with a synthetic or venous conduit is limited because of a contaminated field and, often, unavailability of autologous venous grafts. In this study, we present our experience with the internal iliac artery (IIA) as a graft for arterial reconstruction after IFAP excision in these patients. Methods Data of 14 consecutive patients who presented with IFAP secondary to parenteral drug abuse from 2001 to 2005 were analyzed. Twelve patients (85.7%) were male. The median age was 27 years (range, 19-42 years). In 13 cases, the IFAP involved the common femoral artery, and in 1 case it involved the profunda femoris artery (PFA). In nine patients, we used the IIA for arterial reconstruction (five as a patch and four as an interposition graft), whereas in two patients the arterial deficit was repaired with a great saphenous vein patch. In two cases, an extra-anatomic bypass with a synthetic polytetrafluoroethylene graft was performed. In one patient, the pseudoaneurysm involved the PFA and was treated with excision and ligation of the PFA. Results All nine patients who underwent revascularization with the use of IIA were free of claudication symptoms. None of them experienced any perioperative complications, had signs of reinfection, or required limb amputation during the follow-up period (median, 19 months; range, 4-52 months). Regarding the remaining five patients, one died 25 days after surgery because of multiorgan failure, and one underwent reoperation because of proximal anastomotic rupture of a synthetic graft. The latter patient finally underwent a transmetatarsal amputation. Conclusions The use of IIA for arterial reconstruction after IFAP excision in drug abusers is safe and effective. These preliminary results indicate that the implementation of this technique offers many advantages compared with traditional treatment options.
Buckling behavior of bead-stiffened composite panels

Abstract The integral formation of stiffeners in a panel is economically attractive in terms of a reduced number of parts and manufacturing operations. For thermoplastic composite panels stiffened by integral formed open-section beads, the effects of bead spacing and bead cross-section geometry on the initiation of buckling under uniaxial compression and uniform shear loading have been investigated. Approximate analytical relationships for buckling of flat, orthotropic plates have been verified by the use of classical solution methods. Finite element results for a range of stiffened panel sizes and bead geometries are presented and compared with closed-form solutions based on an effective flat plate size. Experimental verification of analytical predictions for four of the panels is described.
The comparison of individuals with recurrent tension-type headache and headache-free controls in physiological response, appraisal, and coping with stressors: A review of the literature

It is widely accepted that stress plays an important role in the experience of tension-type headache. This article reviews the literature in which individuals with recurrent tension-type headache are compared to headache-free controls in the experience and appraisal of stress, psychophysiological response to stress, and coping with stress. A modified and extended version of the transactional model of stress as it might apply to tension-type headache is used to organize the relevant literature. In summary, there is evidence to suggest that individuals with recurrent tension-type headache experience more stressful events and are more sensitive and have a lower threshold to pain. There are some suggestions that headache sufferers may use different coping strategies for stress and pain. There is little evidence of differences in physiological responses to stressful events. The shortcomings of this body of literature are addressed and directions for future research are identified.
Three-dimensional imaging of microstructure in Au nanocrystals

X-ray diffraction using a coherent beam involves the mutual interference among all the extremities of small crystals. The continuous diffraction pattern so produced can be phased because it can be oversampled. We have thus obtained three-dimensional images of the interiors of Au nanocrystals that show 50 nm wide bands of contrast with ${111}$ orientation that probably arise from internal twinning by dynamic recrystallization during their formation at high temperature.
Elastic modulus dependence on density for polymeric foams with systematically changing microstructures

Several series of foams were prepared by filling an open-cellular foam preform with varying amounts of polymer. The foams had systematically changing cellular structures and their compressive moduli were found to vary as the square of the density. A change from plastic to elastic-plastic behaviour occurred as the density increased. Current mathematical models did not adequately handle the observed relationship between yield strength and density.
Mirror notation : Symbol manipulation without inscription manipulation

Stereotypically, computation involves intrinsic changes to the medium of representation: writing new symbols, erasing old symbols, turning gears, flipping switches, sliding abacus beads. Perspectival computation leaves the original inscriptions untouched. The problem solver obtains the output by merely alters his orientation toward the input. There is no rewriting or copying of the input inscriptions; the output inscriptions are numerically identical to the input inscriptions. This suggests a loophole through some of the computational limits apparently imposed by physics. There can be symbol manipulation without inscription manipulation because symbols are complex objects that have manipulatable elements besides their inscriptions. Since a written symbol is an ordered pair of consisting of a shape and the reader's orientation to that inscription, the symbol can be changed by changing the orientation rather than inscription. Although there are the usual physical limits associated with reading the answer, the computation is itself instantaneous. This is true even when the sub-calculations are algorithmically complex, exponentially increasing or even infinite.