cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Multi-Factor Analysis of Country Fund Returns

Previous closed-end country fund research concludes that returns behave more like the U.S. market than like their target markets. We argue this finding may be biased by model misspecification and inappropriate estimation techniques. We propose a single-equation model containing five hypothesized factors of fund returns. We estimate this model for nineteen pooled seasoned funds using time series cross-section regression that corrects for two types of autocorrelation. We show that returns are strongly related to target markets. Returns are also related to changes in discounts, exchange rates, and other countries' markets, but are only weakly related to the U.S. market.
Anisotropic colloidal interactions & assembly in AC electric fields.

We match experimental and simulated configurations of anisotropic epoxy colloidal particles in high frequency AC electric fields by identifying analytical potentials for dipole–field and dipole–dipole interactions. We report an inverse Monte Carlo simulation algorithm to determine optimal fits of analytical potentials by matching simulated and experimental distribution functions for non-uniform liquid, liquid crystal, and crystal microstructures in varying amplitude electric fields. Two potentials that include accurate particle volume and dimensions along with a concentration dependent prefactor quantitatively capture experimental observations. At low concentrations, an effective ellipsoidal point dipole potential works well, whereas a novel stretched point dipole potential is found to be suitable at all concentrations, field amplitudes, and degrees of ordering. The simplicity, accuracy, and adjustability of the stretched point dipole potential suggest it can be applied to model field mediated microstructures and assembly of systematically varying anisotropic particle shapes.
ORBIT-RT: A Real-Time, Open Platform for Knowledge-Based Quality Control of Radiotherapy Treatment Planning.

PURPOSEAccess to knowledge-based treatment plan quality control has been hindered by the complexity of developing models and integration with different treatment planning systems (TPS). Online Real...
"A Question Which Convulses a Nation": The Early Republic's Greatest Debate About the Judicial Review Power

I. CONTEXT AND CHRONOLOGY ...... 835 A. The Political Culture and Legal Landscape of Early-Nineteenth-Century Kentucky... 836 I. "Steady to the principles of pure republicanism" 836 2. "The laws of Virginia for the appropriation of lands were the greatest curse that ever befell Kentucky" 839 B. The Crisis Unfolds 844 . The Triggering D ecision 845 2. Removal and Reorganization 849 3. Response and Retrenchment 852 II. POWER, LEGITIMACY, AND CONSTITUTIONALISM .... 855 A. Competing Structural Theories of Sovereignty 857 i. Questions of Representation ........ 857 2. "[I]n ... a multiplicity of checks the freedom of the whole will be safe" 862 3. "Aristocrats" and "Farmers" 865 B. The Locus and Methodology of Constitutional Interpretation 869 i. The New Court's Populist View of Constitutionalism . 870 (a) Judicial Illegitimacy and Incompetency in Constitutional Interpretation 870 (b) "That little book": Implications of Writtenness for Popular Constitutional Theory 871 2. The Old-Court Party's Moderate Judicial Constitutionalism 874 III. RAMIFICATIONS ACROSS GEOGRAPHY, TIME, AND THEORY 877 A. Insights Regarding Marbury's Influence and the Opinions of National Leaders ......... 879 I. "Marberry and Madison ... [an] unhappy citation[]" . 879 2. The Views of National Leaders 881 B. Influences on Judicial Behavior and Andrew Jackson's Constitutionalism 884 I. Judicial Behavior 884 2. Jackson's Constitutionalism 886 C. Broader Historical and Theoretical Lessons 888 i. Recent Scholarship Assessing Conceptions of Judicial Review in the Early Republic 888 2. A n U ncertain C onsensus 892 3. The Public's Constitutional Moment 894 4. Taming the Judges 896
Thyroid Nodules and Malignancy

The prevalence of palpable thyroid nodules in the US population is estimated to be 4–7 % in adults. By contrast, autopsy studies have shown that thyroid nodules are present in a much higher percentage of people – up to 50 % of adults – demonstrating that most nodules are rarely clinically detected. An aging population and the use of high-resolution ultrasonography have raised our awareness of non-palpable nodules. The challenge, thus, arises in differentiating nodules that are clinically significant from those that are not. Thyroid cancer remains an infrequent cause of malignancy, accounting for an estimated 1 % of cancer diagnoses per year. Although thyroid carcinoma typically follows an indolent course, some tumors are aggressive and capable of progressing to metastatic disease. This highlights the importance of early identification and appropriate treatment.
Identification of the Toxic Principle in a Sample of Poaefusarin

A sample of poaefusarin (a mycotoxin suspected of being one of the toxins involved in alimentary toxic aleukia in the U.S.S.R.) was received from a Soviet scientist for evaluation and comparison with other mycotoxins. Although poaefusarin is presumed to be a steroid, analyses by thin-layer chromatography, gas-liquid chromatography, and infrared, ultraviolet, and mass spectrometry could not confirm the presence of a steroid structure. However, 2.5% of the sample was made up of the trichothecene T-2 toxin, an amount sufficient to explain the toxicity found in the rat and rabbit skin toxicity tests. In addition, neosolaniol (0.14%), T-2 tetraol (0.6%), and zearalenone (F-2) (0.43%) were present in the sample. Since the toxicity was found to be associated only with T-2 toxin, no attempt was made to determine the nature of the other nontoxic components of the sample.
Deuterium NMR study of structural and dynamic properties of horseradish peroxidase.

High field deuterium NMR spectra have been recorded for various horseradish peroxidase complexes reconstituted with hemins possessing specific 2H labels. The line width of the 2H NMR signals of deuteroheme reconstituted-horseradish peroxidase (HRP) and its cyano complex for the immobilized skeletal 2-2H and 4-2H labels yield the overall protein rotational correlation time (22 ms at 55° C), which is consistent with expectations based on molecular weight. Meso-2H4 labels yield broad (1.3 kHz) signals just upfield from the diamagnetic protein envelope for HRP, and in the central portion of the protein envelope for the CN− ligated resting state HRP. Meso-2H4-labeled mesohemin-reconstituted HRP exhibits a similar signal but shifted further upfield by ∼10 ppm. The net upfield meso-H hyperfine shifts confirm a five-coordinate structure for resting state HRP. 2Ha resonances for essentially rotationally immobile vinyl groups were detected in both resting state HRP and CN− ligated resting state HRP. Heme methyl-2H-labeling yields relatively narrow lines (∼80 Hz) indicative of effective averaging of the quadrupolar relaxation by rapid methyl rotation. Thus the 2H line width of rapidly rotating methyls in hemoproteins can be used effectively to determine the overall protein tumbling rate. Preliminary 2H experiments in meso-2H4-labeled compound I do not support large π spin density at these positions on the porphyrin cation radical, and argue for a a1u rather than a a2u orbital ground state.
3D functional models of monkey brain through elastic registration of histological sections

In this paper we describe a method for the reconstruction and visualization of functional models of monkey brains. Models are built through the registration of high resolution images obtained from the scanning of histological sections with reference photos taken during the brain slicing. From the histological sections it is also possible to acquire specifically activated neurons' coordinates introducing functional information in the model. Due to the specific nature of the images (texture information is useless and the sections could be deformed when they were cut and placed on glass) we solved the registration problem by extracting corresponding cerebral cortex borders (extracted with a snake algorithm) and computing an image transform from the deformation linking them. The mapping is modeled as an affine deformation plus a non-linear field evaluated as an elastically constrained deformation minimizing contour distances. Registered images and contours are used then to build 3D models of specific brains by a software tool allowing the interactive visualization of cortical volumes together with the spatially referenced neurons classified and differently colored according to their functionalities.
Microsomes, microsomal phospholipids, and fatty acid synthesis.

Abstract The effect of microsomes on fatty acid synthesis by the soluble fraction of rat liver cells has been studied. It was shown that the microsomes contain a heat-labile inhibitory factor, presumably ATPase, and a heat-stable stimulatory factor. The latter was localized in the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum and could be activated by treatment with Pronase. The factor was extractable in lipid solvents and was shown to be phospholipid in nature. Synthetic phospholipids also stimulated fatty acid synthesis, while preliminary treatment of microsomes with phospholipase C removed stimulatory activity. The factor was shown to activate hepatic acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase and presumably stimulated fatty acid synthesis in the soluble fraction by this mechanism.
Objective of the Firm

The objective of the firm is discussed. Alternatives to the concept of profit maximization are considered. Keywords: profit maximization; total revenue; bankruptcy
ADR Holdings of U.S.- Based Emerging Market Funds

The benefits of cross-listing for a foreign "issuer" are extensively documented in the literature, however it is not clear what motivates "investors" to hold American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) rather than the underlying stock of these issuers. We analyze the investment allocation decision of mutual fund managers to invest in emerging market firms that are listed in their domestic markets and have also issued ADRs in the U.S. Although legal provisions are typically assumed to affect ADRs and their underlying domestic shares equally, investors holding ADRs may have a higher level of legal protection as these securities are issued and traded in the U.S. We find that ADRs are the preferred mode of holdings if the local market of the issuer has weak investor protection, low liquidity and high transaction costs, and if the firm is small and has limited analyst following. We also find that not all ADR listings are associated with low liquidity in the underlying security. In fact, firms with strong liquidity for their underlying security are likely to be held via their underlying security rather than the ADRs. This suggests that ADR listings of local firms might not negatively impact local markets if the investment climate is good.
David Schulenberg, The Music of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach

Over the past few decades Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach has steadily regained his long-lost prestigious status, yet his music still belongs to what Richard Taruskin describes as the “historiographical ...
Students' Precollege Preparation for Participation in a Diverse Democracy.

This study focuses on how students' precollege experiences predisposed them to 3 democratic outcomes: (a) ability to see the world from someone else's perspective; (b) beliefs that conflict enhances democracy; and (c) views about the importance of engaging in social action activities. We analyzed data from 3 flagship universities as part of a nationally funded research project and found first-year females are more likely than males to report values and beliefs consistent with democratic outcomes. Participation in race/ethnic discussions, student clubs, and volunteer work, as well as studying with students of different groups and discussing controversial issues are significant predictors in each model. Results also indicate that students might be unprepared to negotiate conflict in a diverse democracy, suggesting that college engagement will play a key role in fostering the development of democratic citizenship. This study also provides new measures of democratic outcomes to assess the impact of diversity and service learning initiatives.
Contextualizing Vocabularies of Motive in International Migration: The Case of Taiwanese in the United States

Immigrants’ motives are central to understanding immigration, yet they remain an under-researched subject in immigration studies. To fill this gap, this article examines Taiwanese immigrants’ motives for relocating to the United States. Following Mills’ concept of vocabularies of motive, this article treats immigration as situated actions and explores how cumulative causation and structural positions shape immigrants’ interpretations of their immigration decisions. Based on 75 in-depth interviews, this study discovers important differences in motive during two migration phases, initial migration and permanent settlement, as well as differences according to gender, ethnicity, and social class. Migration through education comprises the major pattern of Taiwanese immigration, as most Taiwanese move to the United States to study and then settle there for job opportunities. While men settle for careers, women stay for family wellbeing. One ethnic group, benshengren, tends to settle for job opportunities, while the other, waishengren, migrates to unite their families. Moreover, professionals always consider return as an option, while labourers are determined to stay permanently. Findings of the study suggest the importance of examining the influences of immigration contexts and individual structural positions in shaping personal motives.
Agent-based modeling with social networks for terrorist recruitment

The Seldon model combines concepts from agent-based modeling and social network analysis to create a computation model of social dynamics for terrorist recruitment. The underlying recruitment model is based on a unique hybrid agent-based architecture that contains simple agents (individuals such as expatriates) and abstract agents (conceptual entities such as society and mosques). Interactions between agents are determined by multiple social networks which form and dissipate according to the actions of the individual. We have implemented a Java-based toolkit to evaluate the dynamics of social behavior and the specific dynamics associated with terrorist recruitment described by expert social scientists, creating an architecture for simple adaptation to other group phenomenon.
Boundary local time and small parameter exit problems with characteristic boundaries

The exit problem for an asymptotically small random perturbation of a stable dynamical system $x(t)$ in a region D is considered. The connection between the distribution of the position of first exit and the equilibrium density of the perturbed system subject to reflection from the boundary of D is developed. Earlier work treated the case in which $x(t)$ enters D nontangentially. Here the case in which $x(t)$ is everywhere tangent to the boundary is examined. The “small-noise” asymptotics of the boundary local time turn out to be of primary importance.
A universal spectrophotometer

By placing the sample between the monochromator of a prism-grating spectrophotometer, considerable versatility is obtained. Absorption, emission, fluorescence, excitation, polarized fluorescence, polarized excitation, phosphorescence, light scattering, and other types of spectral data may be obtained. Readily interchanged accessories fitting into the sample compartment are utilized. The instrument may be used in three modes—single-beam, double-beam time-shared, or double-beam space-shared. The monochromators may be used independently or simultaneously. High-brilliancy mercury and xenon sources are provided in addition to the standard hydrogen and tungsten lamps.
I/O characteristics of NoSQL databases

The advent of the so-called NoSQL databases has brought about a new model of using storage systems. While traditional relational database systems took advantage of features offered by centrally-managed, enterprise-class storage arrays, the new generation of database systems with weaker data consistency models is content with using and managing locally attached individual storage devices and providing data reliability and availability through high-level software features and protocols. This work aims to review the architecture of several existing NoSQL DBs with an emphasis on how they organize and access data in the shared-nothing locally-attached storage model. It shows how these systems operate under typical workloads (new inserts and point and range queries), what access characteristics they exhibit to storage systems. Finally, it examines how several recently developed key/value stores, schema-free document storage systems, and extensible column stores organize data on local filesystems on top of directly-attached disks and what system features they must (re)implement in order to provide the expected data reliability.
Themes That Facilitate the Success of Female Counselors in Specialty Areas

As the profession of counseling continues to grow and expand, counselors’ careers are diversifying across specialty areas and practice settings often led by women. However, information regarding how these women accomplished this career expansion is lacking. The authors used a qualitative case study to identify 8 themes that influenced and empowered female counselors to develop careers that successfully extended into specialty areas: (a) managing family and career choices, (b) the importance of mentors, (c) overcoming career obstacles, (d) parental support with expectations, (e) integrating experiences with passions, (f) overcoming personal life challenges, (g) a sense of uniqueness, and (h) resourcefulness.
Compulsive polydipsia presenting as diabetes insipidus: A behavioral approach

Although compulsive polydipsia or self-induced water intoxication is known to occur with a relatively high frequency in psychiatric patients, much of the literature has focused on medication treatment and interactions; little has been written describing alternative methods of intervention. This paper describes an inpatient treatment using both EMG biofeedback and response prevention. The relationship between compulsive appetitive behaviors and more classic presentations is discussed. Because the patient was treated on the endocrine service, the importance of adequately training non-psychiatric staff is emphasized. It is suggested that this may be a model for the behavioral management of psychiatric problems on medical/surgical wards.
Forelimb locomotor rating scale for behavioral assessment of recovery after unilateral cervical spinal cord injury in rats

Abstract Background Cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) models in rats have become increasingly useful because of their translational potential. The goal of this study was to design, develop and validate a quick and reliable forelimb locomotor rating scale for adult rats with unilateral cervical SCI injury. New method Adult female rats were subjected to a C5 unilateral mild contusion ( n = 10), moderate contusion ( n = 10) or hemisection injury ( n = 9). Forelimb locomotion was evaluated before injury, four times during the first week (Days 2, 3, 4 and 7) and weekly for up to 8 weeks post-injury. Scoring categories were identified and animals were ranked based on their performance in these categories. The scale was validated for its usefulness by comparing animals with different injury models (dorsolateral funiculotomy C3/4), levels of injury (moderate contusion C4) and sex (male – moderate contusion C3/4) and also by correlating FLS scores with other established behavioral tests (grid walking and kinetic tests). Results and comparison with existing methods Forelimb performance on both the grid-walking and kinetic tests was positively correlated with the forelimb locomotor rating scale (FLS). Histological analysis established a positive correlation between the spared tissue and the observed FLS score. Our results show that the new rating scale can reliably detect forelimb deficits and recovery predicted by other behavioral tests. Furthermore, the new method provides reproducible data between trained and naive examiners. Conclusion In summary, the proposed rating scale is a useful tool for assessment of injury and treatments designed to enhance recovery after unilateral cervical SCI.
Extranasal type of nasal glioma

Summary A case of a rare congenital tumor; a nasal glioma of the extranasal type has been presented which seems sufficiently unusual to be worthy of reporting. The various theories as to the origin and nature of these lesions have been discussed in the paper by Hill6 and others, 1, 2, 5 but it is the belief of the authors that most or probably all of these lesions represent a congenital malformation.
The distinct roles of spirituality and religiosity in physical and mental health after collective trauma: a national longitudinal study of responses to the 9/11 attacks

Researchers have identified health implications of religiosity and spirituality but have rarely addressed differences between these dimensions. The associations of religiosity and spirituality with physical and mental health were examined in a national sample (N = 890) after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks (9/11). Health information was collected before 9/11 and health, religiosity, and spirituality were assessed longitudinally during six waves of data collection over the next 3 years. Religiosity (i.e., participation in religious social structures) predicted higher positive affect (β = .12), fewer cognitive intrusions (β = -.07), and lower odds of new onset mental (incidence rate ratio [IRR] = .88) and musculoskeletal (IRR = .94) ailments. Spirituality (i.e., subjective commitment to spiritual or religious beliefs) predicted higher positive affect (β = .09), lower odds of new onset infectious ailments (IRR = 0.83), more intrusions (β = .10) and a more rapid decline in intrusions over time (β = -.10). Religiosity and spirituality independently predict health after a collective trauma, controlling for pre-event health status; they are not interchangeable indices of religion.
The super period matrix with Ramond punctures

Abstract We generalize the super period matrix of a super Riemann surface to the case that Ramond punctures are present. For a super Riemann surface of genus g with 2 r Ramond punctures, we define, modulo certain choices that generalize those in the classical theory (and assuming a certain generic condition is satisfied), a g | r × g | r period matrix that is symmetric in the Z 2 -graded sense. As an application, we analyze the genus 2 vacuum amplitude in string theory compactifications to four dimensions that are supersymmetric at tree level. We find an explanation for a result that has been found in orbifold examples in explicit computations by D’Hoker and Phong: with their integration procedure, the genus 2 vacuum amplitude always vanishes “pointwise” after summing over spin structures, and hence is given entirely by a boundary contribution.
Life span of small lymphocytes in the thymolymphatic tissues of normal and thymus-deprived BALB/C mice

Autoradiography and scintilation counting have been used after various schedules of 3H-thymidine injections to evaluate lymphocyte kinetics in normal and thymus-deprived BALB/C mice. The thymus was found to be an active production site of small lymphocytes, the majority of these cells having thymic residence times of three to five days. Peripheral lymphoid tissues--including spleen, lymph nodes and Peyer's patches--were dominated by long-lived lymphocytes and produced very few small lymphocytes. Nearly identical percentages of long-lived lymphocytes with comparable grain counts were found in the peripheral tissues. In adult thymectomized animals, and in mice thymectomized and reconstituted with bone marrow cells following total body irradiation, percentages and lifespan of long-lived lymphocytes were found to be of the same order as in normal or sham-operated controls. It is concluded that T cells in the peripheral long-lived pool can be formed outside the thymus and that the bone marrow probably produces long-lived B lymphocytes.
High molecular weight complexes of folic acid in mammalian tissues.

Abstract Twenty-four hours after injection of tritiated folic acid into normal rats, a large amount of labeled folates were found to be associated with the high molecular weight fraction of liver, kidney and intestine. The bound folate was associated with three fractions in the liver cell supernatant having approximate molecular weights of ⪰ 350,000, 150,000 and 25,000 daltons, respectively. A fourth fraction which had an approximate molecular weight of 90,000 daltons was isolated from the liver nuclear fractions. The bound folates associated with these fractions were almost exclusively polyglutamate forms.
Expression of AT2 receptors in rat fetal subdermal cells.

Abstract Using an in situ receptor binding assay with emulsion autoradiography, angiotensin II receptors have been localized to the subdermal/subcutaneous region of the E19 rat skin. Radioligand binding studies on membranes of epidermis, dermis, and subdermal tissues confirmed the localization of receptors to these regions and displacement of binding by PD123177 showed the receptor was AT2. Scatchard analysis of whole skin membrane binding studies showed the receptor had a K d of 0.8 nM, with a B max of 2240 fM/mg protein. Fetal mesenchymal cells were placed in culture and angiotensin II binding which was minimal at 48 h increased by 30–50-fold after 96 h in culture with the majority of the receptors being AT2. Increasing concentrations of FBS caused a decrease in angiotensin II binding, while maintaining the same percentage of AT2 binding sites. Increasing the initial cell density at which the cells were plated dramatically increased the angiotensin II radioligand bound, while decreasing the percentage bound to AT2 receptors. These findings demonstrate the presence of both angiotensin II receptor subtypes in cultured skin mesenchymal cells. They also demonstrate that the culture conditions used can either modulate the expression of receptor subtypes or select for cells expressing a receptor phenotype. The lower number of AT2 binding sites in rapidly dividing cell cultures suggests that the AT2 receptor may not have a function in cell replication or growth.
Expression of glutathione peroxidase and catalase in copper-deficient rat liver and heart

Oxidative stress resulting from dietary copper deficiency in rats differentially regulates the expression of copperl zinc- and manganese-superoxide dismutases in the liver and heart. It was hypothesized that the expression of catalase and glutathione peroxidase, the non-copper-containing antioxidant enzymes, in the rat heart and liver may also be regulated by dietary copper deprivation. The expression of the activities, protein concentrations, and mRNA levels for glutathione peroxidase and catalase were studied in the liver and heart of rats made copper-deficient for 4 weeks. The activities and mRNA levels for liver selenium (Se)-dependent glutathione peroxidase and catalase as well as the immunoreactive protein concentration for the catalase were reduced to a similar extent in copper-deficient animals, which suggests transcriptional regulation. The mRNA, activity, and protein concentration for the myocardial catalase were increased in copper-deficient rats. However, the increase was larger for the mRNA than for the activity and protein concentration; this indicates that its regulation probably involves both transcriptional and post-translational mechanisms. Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase was not changed in the heart of copper-deficient rats. These results demonstrate that dietary copper deficiency in rats differentially alters the expression of Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase and catalase in the liver and heart.
Cost Burden of 30-Day Readmissions Following Medicare Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty

article i nfo The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has proposed bundling of payments for acute care episodes for certain procedures, including total joint arthroplasty. The purpose of this study is to quantify the readmission burden of TJA as a function of readmission rate and reimbursement for the bundled payment. Using the hospital's administrative database, we identified all unplanned 30-day readmissions following index admissions for total hip and total knee arthroplasty, and revision hip and knee arthroplasty among Medicare beneficiaries from 2009 to 2012. For each group, we determined 30-day readmission rates and direct costs of each readmission. The hospital cost margins for Medicare TJAs are small and any decrease in these margins can potentially make performing these procedures economically unfeasible potentially decreasing Medicare patient access.
Composite Device Computing Environment: A Framework for Situated Interaction Using Small Screen Devices

Contemporary small screen devices are used as personal companion or communication devices. However, their physical dimensions constrain the processing, communication and user interface capabilities. Thus, rich content presentation and diverse service access via small screen appliances is limited accordingly. This paper introduces the Composite Device Computing Environment (CDCE) that provides a framework for dynamically detecting and utilising surrounding computing resources to overcome the small screen device limitations. CDCE includes the communication infrastructure in addition to supporting alternative models for interactivity between small screen clients and surrounding computing resources.
Gene Profile of Myeloid-Derived Suppressive Cells from the Bone Marrow of Lysosomal Acid Lipase Knock-Out Mice

Background Lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) controls development and homeostasis of myeloid lineage cells. Loss of the lysosomal acid lipase (LAL) function leads to expansion of myeloid-derived suppressive cells (MDSCs) that cause myeloproliferative neoplasm. Methodology/principal findings Affymetrix GeneChip microarray analysis identified detailed intrinsic defects in Ly6G(+) myeloid lineage cells of LAL knock-out (lal-/-) mice. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis revealed activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, which functions as a nutrient/energy/redox sensor, and controls cell growth, cell cycle entry, cell survival, and cell motility. Loss of the LAL function led to major alteration of large GTPase and small GTPase signal transduction pathways. lal-/- Ly6G(+) myeloid cells in the bone marrow showed substantial increase of cell proliferation in association with up-regulation of cyclin and cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) genes. The epigenetic microenvironment was significantly changed due to the increased expression of multiple histone cluster genes, centromere protein genes and chromosome modification genes. Gene expression of bioenergetic pathways, including glycolysis, aerobic glycolysis, mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, and respiratory chain proteins, was also increased, while the mitochondrial function was impaired in lal-/- Ly6G(+) myeloid cells. The concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was significantly increased accompanied by up-regulation of nitric oxide/ROS production genes in these cells. Conclusions/significance This comprehensive gene profile study for the first time identifies and defines important gene pathways involved in the myeloid lineage cells towards MDSCs using lal-/- mouse model.
Vitamim D3 metabolism in immature Japanese quail: effects of ovarian hormones.

The possible influence of exogenous estradiol and progesterone injection on in vitro renal metabolism of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 was investigated in immature (4 weeks old) female and male Japanese quail. Estradiol benzoate was injected (3 mg/kg) for 3 consecutive days in 1 female and 1 male group (5 birds/group). One female and 1 male control group received corn oil only. Progesterone (5 mg/kg) and oil were injected similarly in 4 groups of quail. All injections were given im. Birds were placed on normal calcium diet (2.3 to 3.3% Ca) during the treatment period. On the fourth day kidneys were incubated with [3H]- 25-(OH)D3 substrate for 20 min. Separation of the vitamin D3 metabolites was done using Sephadex LH-20 and chloroform: Skellysolve B (65:35) solvent system. Heparinized plasma was analyzed for calcium and phosphate. Oviduct, testis and defatted, dried femur weights were recorded. Both females and males treated with estradiol had significantly (P < 0.01) increased production of 1,25- dihydroxyvitamin...
Rac1 and Cdc42 are regulators of HRasV12-transformation and angiogenic factors in human fibroblasts

Background The activities of Rac1 and Cdc42 are essential for HRas-induced transformation of rodent fibroblasts. What is more, expression of constitutively activated mutants of Rac1 and/or Cdc42 is sufficient for their malignant transformation. The role for these two Rho GTPases in HRas-mediated transformation of human fibroblasts has not been studied. Here we evaluated the contribution of Rac1 and Cdc42 to maintaining HRas-induced transformation of human fibroblasts, and determined the ability of constitutively activated mutants of Rac1 or Cdc42 to induce malignant transformation of a human fibroblast cell strain.
A food frequency questionnaire for youth: psychometric analysis and summary of eating habits in adolescents

Abstract Purpose: To examine the reliability and validity of the Eating Habits Questionnaire (EHQ) for adolescents and assess eating habits in the context of the Food Pyramid. Methods: Subjects were 446 students (81.2% female) attending three middle schools (sixth to eighth grades). Over half (56.9%) were African-American. Reliability was assessed with 48-h and 2-week retests on two subsamples ( n = 62) and validity was assessed by comparison with three 24-h recalls on an additional subsample ( n = 24) and by factor analysis. The EHQ is a self-administered questionnaire consisting of 83 food items and questions assessing food habits and food preparation style. Results: Internal validity, determined with factor analysis, found that 10 factors explained 81.3% of the variance in eating habits. Overall perfect agreement between food groups reported on the 24-h recall and on the EHQ was 56%. Internal consistency, assessed by Cronbach alpha, ranged from .60 to .89. Test–retest correlations were highest at 48 h, ranging from .46 to .85 for the 10 factors. Adolescents ate more servings of fats and sugars (11.2) and meats (6.0) and fewer breads (5.2) and vegetables (1.6) than recommended in Food Pyramid guidelines. In addition, subjects consumed more high-fat protein than low-fat protein servings. Conclusions: The EHQ is a valid and reliable food frequency questionnaire that has been tested with African-American and white adolescents in the Southeast. It showed that adolescents consume higher than recommended daily servings of fats, sweets, and meats and lower than recommended servings of vegetables and breads.
Gender comparisons of cerebral glucose metabolic rate in healthy adults during a cognitive task

Forty-one healthy volunteer subjects (26 men and 15 women; ages 18–45) underwent positron emission tomography (PET) to measure global and regional cerebral glucose metabolic rate (GMR). Subjects performed a cognitive activation task, the continuous performance test of attention, during uptake of the [18F]deoxyglucose as a metabolic tracer. No gender effect was seen in regional or global GMR; relative GMR (ratio of regional GMR to whole brain GMR) showed seven regions that differed between males and females. This suggests that during an activation task some brain regions may elicit gender differences when compared to the whole brain.
Four lectures on strongly coupled Quark Gluon Plasma

The four lectures are divided evenly between phenomenology and theory. Lecture 1 describes the hydrodynamical treatment of the high energy heavy ion collisions: we discuss in it the appearance of the notion of the “strongly coupled” QGP. Another phenomenological lecture is about perturbations of this expansion, by fluctuations of different types. We will in particularly argue that matter in a near- T c situation is quite special, with an electric field imbedded in it for a long time: this situation should be described by dual-magnetohydrodynamics (DMHD). Two theoretical lectures focus on two dualities. The electric-magnetic duality, describing gradual transition from electric plasma at high- T to a magnetic-dominated plasma in the near- T c domain. The last lecture is about applications of AdS/CFT duality, between strongly coupled N = 4 SYM gauge theory in 4 dimensions and string theory in the A d S 5 ∗ S 5 background.
Second Order Differential Equations over Hardy Fields

On etablit une nouvelle classe d'equations differentielles d'ordre 2 dont les solutions ont une croissance reguliere a l'infini
Patient-reported outcomes for tension-free vaginal tape-obturator in women treated with a previous anti-incontinence procedure

Our purpose was to evaluate the outcome of a subset of patients that had a tension-free vaginal tape-obturator (TVT-O) placed following a previous anti-incontinence procedure. We performed a retrospective analysis of 27 consecutive women who had a TVT-O placed from January 2004 to December 2007. Patients were given the Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) questionnaire starting at the 3-month follow-up. Of 174 women who had a TVT-O placed, 27 (15.5%) had a prior failed anti-incontinence procedure or surgery performed. The mean age was 63.8 years (range 43–87). Mean follow-up was 25.7 months (range 12–47 months). Based on the PGI-I, the overall success rate was 80% (20/25). In the properly selected patients with prior intervention for stress urinary incontinence (SUI), the success rate for TVT-O of 80% appears to be comparable to that of patients who never had a previous surgical or minimally invasive treatment for SUI.
"Mute Marbles": Roman Aesthetics in the Poetry

MLA 2009—Philadelphia Herman Melville: A Writer and His Books CHAIR: PETER NORBERG, SAINT JOSEPH’S UNIVERSITY From left to right: Ida Rothschild, Brian Yothers, Shelly Jarenski, Dennis Berthold, Peter Norberg. Photo courtesy of Wyn Kelley. In 1868, as he began to read again the major poets of the British romantic tradition, Melville acquired a copy of Lady Jane Shelley’s Shelley Memorials (Boston, Ticknor and Fields, 1859). Among the numerous passages he marked in this book is a description of reading in a letter from William Godwin to Percy Shelley that bears directly on Melville’s own habits of reading and writing. Godwin wrote: “A true student is a man seated in his chair, and surrounded with a sort of intrenchment and breastwork of books. It is for C © 2010 The Authors Journal compilation C © 2010 The Melville Society and Wiley Periodicals, Inc. L E V I A T H A N A J O U R N A L O F M E L V I L L E S T U D I E S 111
Filamin-A and Rheological Properties of Cultured Melanoma Cells

Here we report the rheological properties of cultured hsFLNa (filamin-A)-expressing (FIL+) and hsFLNa-deficient (FIL−) melanoma cells. Using magnetic twisting cytometry over a wide range of probing frequencies, and targeting either cortical or deeper cytoskeletal structures, we found that differences in stiffness of FIL+ versus FIL− cells were remarkably small. When probed through deep cytoskeletal structures, FIL+ cells were, at most, 30% stiffer than FIL− cells, whereas when probed through more peripheral cytoskeletal structures FIL− cells were not different except at very high frequencies. The loss tangent, expressed as an effective cytoskeletal temperature, was systematically greater in FIL− than FIL+ cells, but these differences were small and showed that the FIL+ cells were only slightly closer to a solidlike state. To quantify cytoskeletal remodeling, we measured spontaneous motions of beads bound to cortical cytoskeletal structures and found no difference in FIL+ versus FIL− cells. Although mechanical differences between FIL+ and FIL− cells were evident both in cortical and deeper structures, these differences were far smaller than expected based on measurements of the rheology of purified actin-filamin solutions. These findings do not rule out an important contribution of filamin to the mechanical properties of the cortical cytoskeleton, but suggest that effects of filamin in the cortex are not exerted on the length scale of the probe used here. These findings would appear to rule out any important contribution of filamin to the bulk mechanical properties of the cytoplasm, however. Although filamin is present in the cytoplasm, it may be inactive, its mechanical effects may be small compared with other crosslinkers, or mechanical properties of the matrix may be dominated by an overriding role of cytoskeletal prestress.
An anticorrelation between polar and equatorial rotation of the solar photosphere

Published spectroscopic measurements of solar rotation are analyzed to show that when the rotation velocity increases at high latitudes it tends to decrease at low latitudes, and conversely. The high latitude velocities typically vary over only 20% of the range of those near the equator and the smallest variations of all occurred near latitude 60° during the rising portion of the previous solar cycle. The anticorrelation is consistent with a recent suggestion that differential rotation on the sun arises from photospheric wind systems whose strength is determined, ultimately, by oscillations within the Sun.
Child functioning predictors of outcome among boys at risk for psychological disorder.

Abstract This study examined the success of child functioning measures in predicting child outcome for 97 boys with one parent previously hospitalized for psychiatric illness. The best predictors of adaptive functioning at a 3-year follow-up were IQ and clinician ratings based on parent report. Peer and teacher assessments and clinician ratings from interviews were moderately successful.
Cassini CAPS automation within operations and data processing

The Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) is one of twelve instruments on the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft. As the mission has progressed from launch, through Cruise, Tour, and Extended Mission, the level of automation within Operations and Data Processing has increased. As the Solstice Mission (2nd extended mission) has been approved, a move towards a final set of automated tools is in progress. This paper will address how automation has changed and what decisions were involved in the choice of the final set of automated tools to last through the Solstice Missions (into July 2017).1 2
Relationship Between Detection of Adenomas by Flexible Sigmoidoscopy and Interval Distal Colorectal Cancer

Background & Aims Low rates of adenoma detection by colonoscopy have been associated with increased rates of interval colorectal cancer. We evaluated the relationship between the rate of adenoma detection by flexible sigmoidoscopy and interval distal colorectal cancer. Methods We analyzed data from the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer screening trial, which used flexible sigmoidoscopy as a colorectal cancer screening modality (46,835 subjects; 66,711 examinations by 93 examiners). An adenoma detection rate was defined for each examiner as the number of examinations that identified adenomas (confirmed by pathology analysis) divided by the total number of screening examinations. Interval cancers were defined as cancers presumed detectable but not detected, which was based on the stage at diagnosis and the elapsed time from screening to diagnosis. Results The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer study identified 32 interval distal cancers. The incidence of interval cancer for individuals screened by examiners in the lowest quartile of distal adenoma detection (2.0%–7.2%) was 9.0/10,000 examinations, whereas the incidence of interval cancers was lower among individuals whose examiners were in higher quartiles of adenoma detection, ranging from 3.0 to 5.4/10,000 examinations. The odds of interval distal cancer were significantly increased for patients of examiners in the lowest quartile of distal adenoma detection ( P = .02). Conclusions Lower levels of adenoma detection by flexible sigmoidoscopy increase the risk for interval distal cancer. Detection of distal adenomas is a marker of the performance quality of flexible sigmoidoscopy. The parent study is registered under ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00002540.
Comparison of Quality Management Practices: Across the Supply Chain and Industries

SUMMARY This article reports the findings of an exploratory study that compares the quality management practices of manufacturing firms at different levels of the supply chain and across different industries. Firms are first separated into three levels in the supply chain — final assemblers, top-tier suppliers, and tertiary-tier suppliers. The study also separates firms into three industry groups — automotive, electronics, and others. A mailed survey was used to collect the data. The analysis found no statistical difference in the level of quality management practices across the supply chain. This contradicts the general speculation that tertiary-tier suppliers have fallen behind final assemblers and top-tier suppliers in quality management practices. However, the results did reveal an industry effect regarding strategic quality planning. The manufacturers in the automotive industrywere more active in strategic quality planning than their counterparts in the electronics industry.
Lysophospholipase and transacylase activities of rat gastric mucosa.

Abstract A transacylase that converts 1-palmitoyl lysophosphatidylcholine to dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine was demonstrated in the rat gastric mucosa. This enzyme required neither ATP or CoA nor bile salt and detergent for its activity. The enzyme preparation also exhibited powerful lysophospholipase activity. The transacylase and lysophospholipase were both located in the cytosol fraction, and their activities remained associated at a constant ratio throughout the purification steps, including the isoelectrofocusing procedure. They responded similarly with respect to the addition of metal ions, bile salt, detergent, and heat treatment. Both enzyme activities also exhibited similar apparent K m values for lysophosphatidylcholine. These observations suggest that both the lysophospholipase and transacylase activities may reside in the same enzyme.