cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fiduciary Principles in International Law

This chapter explores how fiduciary principles have shaped international law from colonial times to the present. Fiduciary principles are evident not only in the text of the League of Nations Covenant and the United Nations Charter, but also in various subfields of international law, including the law governing international territorial administration, military occupation, the legal status and duties of states, and the responsibilities of diplomatic officers. Although international law affirms that certain offices, institutions, and roles attract fiduciary duties, the international community has struggled to develop credible mechanisms for enforcing these duties.
Effects of a Brief, Online, Focused Attention Mindfulness Training on Cognition in Older Adults: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Many cognitive changes occur in later life, including declines in attentional control and executive functioning. These cognitive domains appear to be enhanced with mindfulness training, particularly focused attention mindfulness (FAM) meditation, suggesting this practice might slow age-related change. We hypothesized that FAM training would increase self-reported and behaviorally measured mindfulness; improve executive functioning, attentional control, and emotion regulation; and reduce self-reported daily cognitive errors in older adults. To address the call for higher methodological rigor in the field, we used a RCT design with an active control group, measured credibility and expectancy, used objective measures, and attempted to isolate mechanisms of action of mindfulness. Fifty older adults aged 65 to 90 (M = 75.7, SD = 5.7) completed pre-training testing followed by 6 weeks of online daily FAM or mind-wandering (control) training and then returned for post-training testing. Conditions were comparable with respect to credibility and expectancy. However, most hypotheses were not supported. Though aspects of mindfulness, Fs(1,45) ≥ 7.42, ps ≤ .009, ηp2s ≥ 0.13, CIs90% = [0.02, 0.37] and inhibitory control, F(1,43) = 4.95, p = .031, ηp2 = 0.10, CI90% = [0.01, 0.25], increased, this was not specific to mindfulness training. There was modest evidence of an improvement in attentional control specific to the mindfulness group, F(1,43) = 4.59, p = .038, ηp2 = 0.10, CI90% = [0.01, 0.24], but this was not consistent across our two measures. Results are encouraging for the continued study of mindfulness for improving aspects of attentional control in older adults. However, the present research requires replication in a larger, more diverse sample. Implications for future mindfulness studies with older adults are discussed.
"Basically, You Had Cancer and Now You Don't": Exploring the Meaning of Being a "Cancer Survivor" Among Adolescents and Young Adult Cancer Survivors.

Purpose: Survivorship experiences among adolescent and young adults (AYA) with cancer are unique and may involve a process of identity construction. This qualitative study explored AYA survivors' f...
Chapter Three - SLC4A Transporters

SLC4A gene family proteins include bicarbonate transporters that move HCO3− across the plasma membrane and regulate intracellular pH and transepithelial movement of acid–base equivalents. These transporters are Cl/HCO3 exchangers, electrogenic Na/HCO3 cotransporters, electroneutral Na/HCO3 cotransporters, and Na+-driven Cl/HCO3 exchanger. Studies of the bicarbonate transporters in vitro and in vivo have demonstrated their physiological importance for acid–base homeostasis at the cellular and systemic levels. Recent advances in structure/function analysis have also provided valuable information on domains or motifs critical for regulation, ion translocation, and protein topology. This chapter focuses on the molecular mechanisms of ion transport along with associated structural aspects from mutagenesis of particular residues and from chimeric constructs. Structure/function studies have helped to understand the mechanism by which ion substrates are moved via the transporters. This chapter also describes some insights into the structure of SLC4A1 (AE1) and SLC4A4 (NBCe1) transporters. Finally, as some SLC4A transporters exist in concert with other proteins in the cells, the structural features associated with protein–protein interactions are briefly discussed.
Terahertz Van Atta Retroreflecting Arrays

As an initial step in developing steerable mirrors for terahertz (THz) wireless communication systems, this paper describes the development of a passive planar terahertz retroreflectors based on the Van Atta array. The retroreflector is optimized and simulated using finite-element modeling (FEM) software, fabricated via a low-cost additive manufacturing method, and characterized using THz time-domain spectroscopy. Comparison to a flat metal plate shows a significant increase in retroreflectivity for off-normal angles of incidence.
Low Energy Thermodynamics of JT Gravity and Supergravity

Aspects of the low energy physics of certain Jackiw-Teitelboim gravity and supergravity theories are explored, using their recently presented non-perturbative description in terms of minimal string models. This regime necessarily involves non-perturbative phenomena, and the inclusion of wormhole geometries connecting multiple copies of the nearly AdS$_2$ boundary in the computation of ensemble averages of key quantities. A new "replica-scaling" limit is considered, combining the replica method and double scaling with the low energy limit. Using it, the leading free energy, entropy, and specific heat are explored for various examples. Two models of particular note are the JT supergravity theory defined as a (1,2) Altland-Zirnbauer matrix ensemble by Stanford and Witten, and the Saad-Shenker-Stanford matrix model of ordinary JT gravity (non-perturbatively improved at low energy). The full models have a finite non-vanishing spectral density at zero energy. The replica-scaling construction suggests for them a low temperature entropy and specific heat that are linear in temperature.
Abstract P087: Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species Mediate Endothelial Glycocalyx Damage And Vascular Dysfunction In Hemorrhagic Shock And Resuscitation

The endothelial glycocalyx forms an anti-thrombotic layer on the apical surface of endothelial cells and maintains the selective permeability barrier of blood vessels. Ischemia reperfusion injury l...
Personalising Outcomes after Child Cardiac Arrest (POCCA): design and recruitment challenges of a multicentre, observational study.

INTRODUCTION: Blood and imaging biomarkers show promise in prognosticating outcomes after paediatric cardiac arrest in pilot studies. We describe the methods and early recruitment challenges and solutions for an ongoing multicentre (n=14) observational trial, Personalising Outcomes following Child Cardiac Arrest to validate clinical, blood and imaging biomarkers individually and together in a clinically relevant panel. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: Children (n=164) between 48 hours and 17 years of age who receive chest compressions irrespective of provider, duration, or event location and are admitted to an intensive care unit are eligible. Blood samples will be taken on days 1-3 for the measurement of brain-focused biomarkers analysed to predict the outcome. Clinically indicated and timed brain MRI and spectroscopy biomarkers will be analysed to predict the outcome. The primary outcome for the trial is survival with favourable (Vineland Adaptive Behavioural Scale score >70) outcome at 1 year. Secondary outcomes include mortality and pre-event and postdischarge measures of emotional, cognitive, physical and family functioning and health-related quality of life. Early enrollment targets were not met due to prolonged regulatory and subcontract processes. Multiple, simultaneous interventions including modification to inclusion criteria, additional sites and site visits were implemented with successful improvement in recruitment. Study procedures including outcomes and biomarker analysis are ongoing. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Twelve of 14 sites will use the centralised Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the University of Pittsburgh (PRO14030712). Two sites will use individual IRBs: Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Institutional Review Board and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin IRB. Parents and/or guardians are consented and children assented (when possible) by the site Primary investigator (PI) or research coordinator for enrollment. Study findings will be disseminated through scientific conferences, peer-reviewed journal publications, public study website materials and invited lectures. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02769026.
Reduced health services at under-electrified primary healthcare facilities: Evidence from India.

Primary healthcare systems worldwide suffer from major gaps in infrastructure and human resources. One key infrastructure gap is access to reliable electricity, absence of which can significantly affect the quantity and quality of healthcare services being delivered at rural primary health facilities. However, absence of granular empirical evidence is a barrier for quantitatively understanding the significance of electricity access as one of the determinants of access to reliable primary healthcare. Using data from India’s District Level Household and Facility Survey, we develop zero-inflated negative binomial models with co-variates and state-level fixed effects to estimate the relationship between levels of electricity access and the quantity of basic health services delivered at Primary Health Centers (PHCs). We find that lack of electricity access is associated with a significant and large decrease in the number of deliveries (64 percent), number of in-patients (39 percent), and number of out-patients (38 percent). We further find that lower level of electricity access at primary health centers is disproportionately associated with adverse effects on women’s access to safe and quality healthcare.
Impacts of 2018 California Wildfires on Organic Aerosol Composition and Air Quality under Low Smoke Conditions

Wildfires make significant impacts on air quality due to large emissions of gas and particle phase species. Far from the source, smoke plumes are diluted and aging processes may transform much of t...
Forging Strategic Partnerships How civil organisers and lawyers helped unaccompanied children cross the English Channel and reunite with family members

This paper investigates legal and political advocacy of lawyers and civil society organisers in the United Kingdom on behalf of unaccompanied children seeking international protection. In 2015, civil society activists and lawyers in London partnered to assist children in Calais, France, who made the harrowing journey to reach Europe in the hopes of reuniting with family residing in the UK. By turning to the UK courts and engaging in public advocacy, lawyers and activists united hundreds of unaccompanied children with their family members, achieving remarkable legal mobilisation success, despite the country’s antagonistic environment for asylum seekers. Drawing on socio-legal scholarship and empirical studies of effective legal mobilisation, this paper explores whether partnership between lawyers and civil rights activists makes overcoming structural and cultural barriers to accessing courts, winning in court, and attaining practical policy change more likely. It highlights the benefits of lawyer-civil society collaboration and identifies the hazards of invoking unaccompanied children’s vulnerability as a means to achieve far-reaching political change.
Active-Passive Surface Soil Moisture Retrievals with L-Band and C-Band Active and L-Band Passive Measurements

The NASA Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) mission design includes two instruments that make coincident active and passive measurements in the low frequency microwave L-band range. In the design, the two instruments share the large (6 meter) light-weight mesh rotating reflector and some of the antenna subsystems. The passive radiometer measurements provide measurements that are highly sensitive to surface soil moisture but at coarse resolution. The active radar measurements provide high-resolution measurements but less sensitive to soil moisture variations because of two-way attenuation through the overlying vegetation canopy and more complex rough soil surface scattering. The synergy between the active and passive measurements allows retrieval of surface soil moisture at intermediate scales and with intermediate accuracy. The SMAP radar failed after three months, thus allowing only about three months of active-passive products. The SMAP project switched to using the Copernicus Sentinel 1-A and 1-B C-band SAR measurements for its active-passive product. The disadvantage of the switch-over is the greater vegetation attenuation and more complex rough-surface scattering of C-band when compared to L-band. The advantages are greater resolution of the C-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). The revisit times are also affected since data from two platforms with different swath widths have to be combined. In this presentation we explore the algorithm issues associated with the switch and compare the products during the period when both the SMAP radar and Sentinel-1 SARs were operating.
On the Sample Complexity of Learning under Invariance and Geometric Stability.

Many supervised learning problems involve high-dimensional data such as images, text, or graphs. In order to make efficient use of data, it is often useful to leverage certain geometric priors in the problem at hand, such as invariance to translations, permutation subgroups, or stability to small deformations. We study the sample complexity of learning problems where the target function presents such invariance and stability properties, by considering spherical harmonic decompositions of such functions on the sphere. We provide non-parametric rates of convergence for kernel methods, and show improvements in sample complexity by a factor equal to the size of the group when using an invariant kernel over the group, compared to the corresponding non-invariant kernel. These improvements are valid when the sample size is large enough, with an asymptotic behavior that depends on spectral properties of the group. Finally, these gains are extended beyond invariance groups to also cover geometric stability to small deformations, modeled here as subsets (not necessarily subgroups) of permutations.
Mapping Complex Brain Torque Components and Their Genetic Architecture and Phenomic Associations in 24,112 Individuals

Abstract Background The functional significance and mechanisms determining the development and individual variability of structural brain asymmetry remain unclear. Here, we systematically analyzed all relevant components of the most prominent structural asymmetry – brain torque (BT) and their relationships with potential genetic and nongenetic modifiers in a sample comprised 24,112 individuals from 6 cohorts. Methods BT features, including petalia, bending, dorso-ventral shift, brain tissue distribution asymmetries and cortical surface positional asymmetries, were directly modelled using a set of automatic 3D brain shape analysis approaches. Age, sex- and handedness-related effects on BT were assessed. The genetic architecture and phenomic associations of BT were investigated conducting genome- and phenome-wide association scans. Results Our results confirmed the population-level predominance of the typical anticlockwise torque and suggested a “first attenuating, then enlarging” dynamic across the lifespan (3-81 years) primarily for frontal, occipital and perisylvian BT features. Sex/handedness, BT and cognitive function of verbal-numerical reasoning were found to be interrelated statistically. We observed differential heritability of up to 56% for BT, especially in temporal language areas. Individual variations of BT were also associated with various phenotypic variables of neuroanatomy, cognition, lifestyle, sociodemographics, anthropometry, physical health, adult and child mental health. Our genomic analyses identified a number of genetic associations at lenient significance levels, which need to be further validated using larger samples in the future. Conclusions This study provides a comprehensive description of BT and insights into biological and other factors that may contribute to the development and individual variations of BT.
"The Feasibility of Targeted Muscle Reinnervation for the Management of Morton's Neuroma".

BACKGROUND Despite multiple surgical modalities available for the management of Morton's neuroma, complications remain common. Targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) has yet to be explored as an option for the prevention of recurrence of Morton's neuroma. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the consistency of the relevant foot neurovascular and muscle anatomy and to demonstrate the feasibility of TMR as an option for Morton's neuroma. METHODS The anatomy of 5 fresh-tissue donor cadaver feet was studied, including the course and location of the medial and lateral plantar nerves (MPNs and LPNs), motor branches to abductor hallucis (AH) and flexor digitorum brevis (FDB), as well as the course of sensory plantar digital nerves. Measurements for the locations of the muscular and sensory branches were taken relative to landmarks including the navicular tuberosity (NT), AH, FDB, and the third metatarsophalangeal joint (third MTPJ). RESULTS The mean number of nerve branches to FDB identified was 2. These branch points occurred at an average of 8.6 cm down the MPN or LPN, 9.0 cm from the third MTPJ, 3.0 cm distal to AH distal edge, and 4.8 cm from the NT. The mean number of nerves to AH was 2.2. These branch points occurred at an average of 6.3 cm down the MPN, 11.9 cm from the third MTPJ, 0.8 cm from the AH distal edge, and 3.8 cm from the NT. CONCLUSIONS Recurrent interdigital neuroma, painful scar, and neuropathic pain are common complications of operative management for Morton's neuroma. Targeted muscle reinnervation is a technique that has demonstrated efficacy for the prevention and treatment of neuroma, neuropathic pain, and phantom limb pain in amputees. Herein, we have described the neuromuscular anatomy for the application of TMR for the management of Morton's neuroma. Target muscles, including the AH and FDB, have consistent innervation patterns in the foot, and consequently, TMR represents a viable option to consider for the management of recalcitrant Morton's neuroma. LEVELS OF EVIDENCE V.
Law in Signification Processes

The purpose of this book is not to produce a (hitherto unwritten) history of semiotics in the 20th century, nor to describe the applicability of semiotics in law and legal discourse. The text focuses on a deeper problem. Semiotics, daughter of linguistics at the end of the 19th century, still suffers from predominantly static features—those static properties do thoroughly infect law in its exegesis, interpretation, fact-finding, judgment, for short: its mechanistic jurisprudential dimensions. How can legal semiotics be set free from those static properties, when lawyers feel safe with them? The proper location of the question is in the heart of signification processes. With this in mind, one reads Peirce, who distinguished between ‘universes’ and ‘the universe’; one reads Welby who stated 1906: if we are individual in any sense we are merely items; one reads the Russian structural linguist Saumjan who distinguished surface structures of language from deep structures, and one reads that idea with Greimas as well as Kristeva. They are altogether attempts to bring dynamics in semiotics and signification/meaning.
Goddard Ground System Environment

This slide presentation reviews the Goddard Mission Services Evolution Center's work in providing the Ground System Infrastructure to allow for standard interfaces, and allow for a mix of heritage and new components. This software has been used by NASA and other Government users. Telemetry and command services are also provided as are mission planning and scheduling systems. Other areas that the presentation covers are work on trending systems, and data management system.
The Digital Transition in Cartography: USGS Data Innovations, 1970s

The 1970s were a period of data innovation in the evolution of geographic information system technology and geographic information science. Each new form of data innovated new data structures, which in a way is a new model of geographic information, providing a base for new applications of topographic map data. U.S. Geological Survey scientists were actively engaged in this data model development with at least four different objectives: the conversion of existing cartographic data from topographic maps into a dataset built from a data model that incorporated topological structure in the form of a Digital Line Graph; the building of a nationwide database of land cover, also topologically structured, but available in raster format, in the Land Use Data Analysis Program; the automation of producing graphic products including topographic maps with the Digital Cartographic Software System and the Graphic Map Production System; and terrain representation as a Digital Elevation Model, a byproduct of the orthophoto generation process and new digital production techniques. These innovations in data-model development were followed by sustained programs of nationwide data production from these efforts providing digital geographic data that catalyzed the GIScience industry in the 1980s and 1990s. The U.S. Geological Survey efforts in this area continue with the evolution of these 1970s data models to the seamless nationwide databases of today of The National Map and the new graphic product called US Topo.
Language, Pain, and Fear

A primitive man, on meeting other men, will first have experienced fright. His fear will make him see these men as larger and stronger than himself; he will give them the name giants. After many experiences, he will discover that the supposed giants are neither larger nor stronger than himself, and that their stature did not correspond to the word giant. He will then invent another name that he has in common with them, such as, for example, the word man, and will retain the word giant for the false object that impressed him while he was being deluded.
The Lucas hypothesis on the Phillips Curve: Further international evidence

Abstract This paper is a further attempt to test the ‘Lucas Hypothesis on the Phillips Curve’ by making cross country comparisons. That hypothesis posits that nominal shocks affect real aggregates only if individuals mistake them for what they are not — movements in real variables. The existence of a trade-off between output and inflation is conditional on economic agents misinterpreting the price movements they observe. Countries with widely fluctuating exogenous shocks will have a more vertical Phillips Curve as their inhabitants sharpen their instrumental to differentiate between real and nominal shocks. Hence cross country comparisons provide fertile grounds to test this hypothesis; if it holds true, we should find a positive correlation between Phillips Curve slopes and the standard deviations of the exogenous shocks. The evidence presented here confirms Lucas's findings.
Review of Rulemaking, Participation and the Limits of Public Law in the USA and Europe by Theodora Th. Ziamou and Review of Governing by Numbers: Delegated Legislation and Everyday Policy-Making, by Edward C. Page

This article reviews two books: Rulemaking, Participation and the Limits of Public Law in the USA and Europe by Theodora Th. Ziamou and Governing by Numbers by Edward C. Page. In Rulemaking, Ziamou compares the law of rulemaking in the United States, Germany, Greece, and England. Ziamou covers the distinction between administrative rules and other administrative acts, the constitutional law of rulemaking, rulemaking procedure, the ability of private organizations to adopt rules that bind themselves and third parties, and judicial review. Readers are left with a better understanding of American and European rulemaking but may not be convinced that Europe has a problem or that the American system is any better. Governing by Numbers is also about rulemaking in Europe, specifically Great Britain, but this book addresses the very different perspective of qualitative political science. Page focuses on rules, known in Britain as delegated legislation or statutory instruments. By doing so, he studies the broader phenomenon of what he calls “everyday politics,” that is, matters that do not mobilize political parties and cause partisan debate in Parliament and the press, but are nevertheless significant. Page concludes that the government dominates both high politics and everyday politics; however, junior ministers, low-level civil servants, and highly specialized lobbying groups are politics’ most important players.
Retrograde degeneration of retinal ganglion cells in homonymous hemianopsia.

Background The aim of this study was to demonstrate the relationship between topographic reduction in macular ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness as detected with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and visual field defects caused by ischemic occipital cortical injury. Methods This study was a retrospective review of all patients who presented to our eye institution between January 2012 and July 2014 with visual field defects secondary to ischemic cortical injury. The visual field defect pattern and mean deviation were analyzed. Retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and macular GCC were both assessed with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. Patients with any ocular pathology that could affect these measurements were excluded. The topographic relationship of visual field defect to reduction in GCC was specifically analyzed. Results Nine patients met the inclusion criteria. Their average age was 65 (57-73) years; eight were men and six had right hemianopsias. The laterality of the visual field defect was used to assign an affected and unaffected side of analysis for RNFL and GCC layer thickness. A right hemianopsia meant that the nasal fibers of the right eye and temporal fibers of the left eye were assigned as the "affected side", and the temporal fibers of the right eye and nasal fibers of the left eye were assigned as "unaffected". There was no statistically significant difference between affected and unaffected RNFL. However, there was a significant difference in GCC layer reduction between the affected and unaffected sides (P=0.029). Conclusion There is evidence of retrograde trans-synaptic retinal ganglion cell loss in patients with homonymous hemianopsias from cortical visual impairment. This relationship is reflected in thinning of the GCC and maintains the topographic relationship of the visual field defect.
Bounded Awareness: Focusing Failures in Negotiation

Recent reviews have documented a shift over the last 25 years in the study of negotiation toward the decision-making process of the negotiator (Bazerman, Curhan, & Moore, 2000; Bazerman, Curhan, Moore, & Valley, 2000; Neale & Fragale, this volume; Neuberg & Fiske, 1987; Thompson & Fox, 2000). The decision perspective to negotiation has highlighted important ways in which negotiator judgment falls systematically short of rationality. This paper is broadly compatible with this perspective, but highlights an underexplored aspect of the judgmental failure - how decision-makers and negotiators systematically ignore valuable information that is readily available. Recent research in social and cognitive psychology has documented the ability of the human mind to focus on specific information while failing to incorporate other information that is readily available and relevant. We use this literature to integrate what we know about this failure, and organize this knowledge under our organizing construct of "bounded awareness". We define bounded awareness as an individual's failure to "see" and use accessible and perceivable information while "seeing" and using other equally accessible and perceivable information. We believe that bounded awareness is relevant to both individual decision making and negotiation. Thus, after reviewing the decision perspective to negotiation, we develop the individual decision making aspect of bounded awareness before identifying the specific application of the concept to negotiation. We conclude by suggesting future research directions on bounded awareness in negotiation.
The effects of diaper brands, urine volume, and time on specific gravity measurement.

Abstract Nurses use urine specific gravity to assess fluid volume status in pediatric patients. Specific gravity of five leading brands of disposable diapers was measured to determine the effects of diaper brand, urine volume, time elapsed, and method of specific gravity measurement comparing the two methods of refractometry and N-Multistix SG (Ames Division, Miles Inc., Elkhart, IN). Immediately after a baby voided 20 mL of urine into any disposable diaper, the specific gravity by refractometer accurately compared with the control standard. Measurement accuracy by N-Multistix SG was only assured if Pampers (Procter & Gamble, Cininati, OH) were used. However, both methods were inaccurate at 4 hours with 20 mL of urine. Immediately after a baby voided 40 mL of urine into any disposable diaper, both methods were accurate when compared with the control. At 4 hours, only Pampers and Chux (Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, OH) were accurate by refractometry, and Pampers alone was accurate by N-Multistix SG.
Curing Consumer Warranty Woes Through Regulated Arbitration

This article proposes legislative procedural reforms accounting for the realities of consumer arbitration that have threatened and denied consumers' access to remedies for companies' violations of public, or statutory, warranty remedies under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA). Furthermore, the Article proposes to clarify and expand the MMWA's current dispute resolution template in order to resolve judicial disagreement regarding the template's application and foster beneficial use of finding arbitration. Accordingly, this is not a call to ban all pre-dispute arbitration clauses in consumer contracts, but is instead an invitation for more politically palatable reforms that preserve both companies' savings and consumers' access to warranty remedies through arbitration. The time is ripe for legislative reforms that account for the importance of procedural justice and temper contractors' and courts' deference to consumer form contracts.
Discordance of histopathologic parameters in cutaneous melanoma: Clinical implications.

Background Histopathologic analysis remains the gold standard for the diagnosis of melanoma, however previous studies have shown a substantial rate of interobserver variability in the evaluation of melanocytic lesions. Objective We sought to evaluate discordance in the histopathological diagnosis and microstaging parameters of melanoma and subsequent impact on clinical management. Methods This was a retrospective review of 588 cases of cutaneous melanoma and melanoma in situ from January 2009 to December 2014 that were referred to Emory University Hospital, Atlanta, GA, for treatment. Per institutional policy, all outside melanoma biopsy specimens were reviewed internally. Outside and institutional reports were compared. Results Disagreement between outside and internal reports resulted in a change in American Joint Committee on Cancer pathologic stage in 114/588 (19%) cases, resulting in a change in management based on National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines in 105/588 (18%) cases. Limitations Given the retrospective nature of data collection and the bias of a tertiary care referral center, cases in this study may not be representative of all melanoma diagnoses. Conclusion These findings confirm consistent subjectivity in the histopathologic interpretation of melanoma. This study emphasizes that a review of the primary biopsy specimen may lead to significant changes in tumor classification, resulting in meaningful changes in clinical management.
Male Gender Bias in Autism and Pediatric Autoimmunity

Male bias in both autism and pediatric autoimmune disease is thought to involve hormonal perturbations in pregnancy or early childhood in the context of genetic control. These early molecular events, at a time of rapid development, are intimately linked to concurrent development in the brain and immune system. It is suggested here that these early regulatory events may overlap between autism and autoimmunity in determining male sex bias and may provide evidence of an etiological link among autism, immune dysregulation, and autoimmune disease. Autism Res 2012,••:••–••. Published 2012 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.†
Identification of Copy Number Aberrations in Breast Cancer Subtypes Using Persistence Topology

DNA copy number aberrations (CNAs) are of biological and medical interest because they help identify regulatory mechanisms underlying tumor initiation and evolution. Identification of tumor-driving CNAs (driver CNAs) however remains a challenging task, because they are frequently hidden by CNAs that are the product of random events that take place during tumor evolution. Experimental detection of CNAs is commonly accomplished through array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) assays followed by supervised and/or unsupervised statistical methods that combine the segmented profiles of all patients to identify driver CNAs. Here, we extend a previously-presented supervised algorithm for the identification of CNAs that is based on a topological representation of the data. Our method associates a two-dimensional (2D) point cloud with each aCGH profile and generates a sequence of simplicial complexes, mathematical objects that generalize the concept of a graph. This representation of the data permits segmenting the data at different resolutions and identifying CNAs by interrogating the topological properties of these simplicial complexes. We tested our approach on a published dataset with the goal of identifying specific breast cancer CNAs associated with specific molecular subtypes. Identification of CNAs associated with each subtype was performed by analyzing each subtype separately from the others and by taking the rest of the subtypes as the control. Our results found a new amplification in 11q at the location of the progesterone receptor in the Luminal A subtype. Aberrations in the Luminal B subtype were found only upon removal of the basal-like subtype from the control set. Under those conditions, all regions found in the original publication, except for 17q, were confirmed; all aberrations, except those in chromosome arms 8q and 12q were confirmed in the basal-like subtype. These two chromosome arms, however, were detected only upon removal of three patients with exceedingly large copy number values. More importantly, we detected 10 and 21 additional regions in the Luminal B and basal-like subtypes, respectively. Most of the additional regions were either validated on an independent dataset and/or using GISTIC. Furthermore, we found three new CNAs in the basal-like subtype: a combination of gains and losses in 1p, a gain in 2p and a loss in 14q. Based on these results, we suggest that topological approaches that incorporate multiresolution analyses and that interrogate topological properties of the data can help in the identification of copy number changes in cancer.
Finite subset spaces of closed surfaces

The kth finite subset space of a topological space X is the space exp_k X of non-empty finite subsets of X of size at most k, topologised as a quotient of X^k. The construction is a homotopy functor and may be regarded as a union of configuration spaces of distinct unordered points in X. We show that the finite subset spaces of a connected 2-complex admit "lexicographic cell structures" based on the lexicographic order on I^2 and use these to study the finite subset spaces of closed surfaces. We completely calculate the rational homology of the finite subset spaces of the two-sphere, and determine the top integral homology groups of exp_k Sigma for each k and closed surface Sigma. In addition, we use Mayer-Vietoris arguments and the ring structure of H^*(Sym^k Sigma) to calculate the integer cohomology groups of the third finite subset space of Sigma closed and orientable.
Bayesian implementation of a time stratified Lincoln–Petersen estimator for salmon abundance in the upper Matanuska River, Alaska, USA

Abstract Time stratified Lincoln–Petersen mark–recapture models can generate estimates of salmon abundance that are robust to capture heterogeneity. Bayesian implementation of these estimators provides a flexible framework to formulate different model structures, including random effects structures and models with functional relationships between parameters and covariates, and can successfully generate estimates in the face of sparse data. In this article, we used a Bayesian time stratified Lincoln–Petersen model to provide first ever abundance estimates of chum, Oncorhynchus keta , coho, O. kisutch , and sockeye salmon, O. nerka , in the upper Matanuska River, Alaska, USA, using tagging data from 2009. For each species, we formulated a suite of twelve model structures and used deviance information criterion based multimodel inference and model averaging to estimate salmon abundance. Model averaged point estimates for upper river 2009 chum, coho, and sockeye salmon were 54,720, 11,430, and 13,750, fish respectively, supporting a growing body of ecological research which demonstrates that glacial river systems can sustain significant Pacific salmon runs. Results identified time varying probability of capture for chum and coho salmon, and population estimates were 17% and 8% higher, respectively, than estimates from a simple pooled Lincoln–Petersen model which has been demonstrated to be biased low in the face of capture heterogeneity. Capture heterogeneity was not found for sockeye salmon, and the model averaged time stratified and pooled Lincoln–Petersen estimates agreed closely. Time stratified models can potentially produce more accurate estimates, however, the additional model complexity results in less precise abundance estimates compared to the simple pooled Lincoln–Petersen estimator.
Shear induced asymmetric cross-correlation functions in liquid water: a computer simulation

Abstract A computer simulation of liquid water under an applied shearing force has been used to show the presence of asymmetric cross-correlation functions (ccf's) of molecular orientation, implying that the frequency dependence of dielectric complex permittivity depends on shear, even though there is no net shear induced polarisation. These results confirm earlier simulations in atomic ensembles.
Treatment of intractable sciatic pain due to protruded intervertebral discs

Abstract Intractable sciatic pain which is persistent, intermittent, and does not respond satisfactorily to any type of treatment should be suspected as being due to a protruded intervertebral disc. In a large percentage of cases a careful and complete examination will elicit certain evidences of underlying pathologic change, although it may be necessary to localize and identify the lesion by means of roentgenologic examinations following the injection of radiopaque oil within the subarachnoid space. The presence of increased protein in the cerebrospinal fluid and the positive Lasegue sign, changes in reflexes, and tenderness in the sciatic nerve, are helpful although not essential in making the diagnosis. The treatment of choice is laminectomy, with removal of the protruded intervertebral disk as well as a possible associated hypertrophied ligamentum flavum. There were no deaths in a series of 100 cases. Postoperatively, the patient should be cautioned not to return to work too soon, and for a long period of time no heavy labor should be attempted. As a group the patients suffering from intractable sciatic pain caused by protruded intervertebral discs are permanently relieved of their pain and disability.
Plasma 5α-Reduced Androgens in Men and Hirsute Women: Role of Adrenals and Gonads

Abstract The contributions of the adrenal glands and gonads to the plasma content of the 5α-reduced androgens [androsterone, 3α-androstanediol (3α-diol), and 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT)] and two of their precursors (androstenedione and testosterone) were evaluated in men and women. Androsterone values were markedly reduced and 3α-diol values were moderately reduced (P < 0.003 and P < 0.03, respectively) in men with Addison's disease compared to normal men. Metyrapone administration to women produced supranormal concentrations of androsterone (P < 0.02), 3α-diol (P < 0.003), and androstenedione (P < 0.003), whereas DHT and testosterone values were not elevated significantly. Oral contraceptives administered for several weeks to six normal women resulted in subnormal plasma levels of androsterone (P < 0.004) and androstenedione (P < 0.04). All five androgens were elevated significantly in thirty premenopausal women with idiopathic hirsutism and reduced significantly (P < 0.05–0.001) by 3 weeks of therapy w...
Experiments on reverse translation

Effects of addition have been studied for each of four amino acids (glycine, lysine, phenylalanine, proline), dipeptides, Leuchs homopolymers, and thermal proteins rich in those amino acids on the polymerization of mononucleotides and derivatives. Free phe (phenylalanine) decelerates the synthesis of oligonucleotides from the 5' phosphorimidazolides of purinic adenosine (ImpA) and guanosine (ImpG) up to 57%, but does not influence the polymerization of pyrimidine phosphorimidazolides, ImpC and ImpU. Free gly (glycine), pro (proline), or lys (lysine) do not influence the polymerization of each of the 5'-phosphorimidazolides. Gly-gly accelerates the formation of GpG and CpC from ImpG and ImpC respectively. Pro-pro also accelerates the synthesis of GpG. Gly-gly decelerates the synthesis of (pG) . Other dipeptides studied have little effect onnthese syntheses. The Leuchs homopolymer of lys decelerates such synthesis up to 30%. Leuchs polymers of gly, phe, or pro do not influence such syntheses of oligonucleotides. Thermal proteins rich in each of the four amino acids show selective effects on the formation of (PN) from ImpN. Thermal proteins influence, e.g. accelerate, polymerization of each nucleoside triphosphate but these have not yet been studied systematically. The differences between peptides and polymers, homopeptides and heteropeptides, and related influences will be discussed.
Imaging in turbid media using modulation frequency scanning

We propose an imaging scheme to detect an object inside a turbid medium using intensity modulated waves as a probe. We show how the new degree of freedom represented by the modulation frequency allows sufficient control to reconstruct the image from the scattered wave signal.
Lowest-landau-level description of a Bose-Einstein condensate in a rapidly rotating anisotropic trap

A rapidly rotating Bose-Einstein condensate in a symmetric two-dimensional trap can be described with the lowest Landau-level set of states. In this case, the condensate wave function $\ensuremath{\psi}(x,y)$ is a Gaussian function of ${r}^{2}={x}^{2}+{y}^{2}$, multiplied by an analytic function $P(z)$ of the single complex variable $z=x+iy$; the zeros of $P(z)$ denote the positions of the vortices. Here, a similar description is used for a rapidly rotating anisotropic two-dimensional trap with arbitrary anisotropy $({\ensuremath{\omega}}_{x}∕{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{y}\ensuremath{\leqslant}1)$. The corresponding condensate wave function $\ensuremath{\psi}(x,y)$ has the form of a complex anisotropic Gaussian with a phase proportional to $xy$, multiplied by an analytic function $P(\ensuremath{\zeta})$, where $\ensuremath{\zeta}\ensuremath{\propto}x+i{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{\ensuremath{-}}y$ and $0\ensuremath{\leqslant}{\ensuremath{\beta}}_{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\leqslant}1$ is a real parameter that depends on the trap anisotropy and the rotation frequency. The zeros of $P(\ensuremath{\zeta})$ again fix the locations of the vortices. Within the set of lowest Landau-level states at zero temperature, an anisotropic parabolic density profile provides an absolute minimum for the energy, with the vortex density decreasing slowly and anisotropically away from the trap center.
Quantal size is not altered by abrupt changes in nerve terminal volume

ACETYLCHOLINE (ACh) is released from stimulated nerve terminals in packets or quanta, each containing roughly 10,000 molecules1,2, but we still do not know how the quanta are formed. A widely accepted hypothesis is that the ACh contained in vesicles found in the nerve terminal is released by exocytosis, while an alternative suggestion is the gated channel hypothesis. This takes into account the fact that the ACh which seems to be in free solution in millimolar concentrations in the terminals4 is probably the source of the ACh which leaks molecule by molecule from the resting terminals (only a small fraction of the spontaneous release is quantal5,6). Other evidence against the vesicle hypothesis is that when nerves are exposed to radioactive precursors, the free ACh is labelled first, and with stimulation the newly synthesised ACh is released preferentially7. The free ACh could also be released in packets if stimulation opens gates on channels through which ACh diffuses from the terminals; with each opening of a channel, about 10,000 transmitter molecules might escape by moving out of the terminal down a concentration gradient. One way to test the gated channel hypothesis is to change abruptly the concentration of free ACh in the terminal, and so change the number of ACh molecules per quantum. This has been achieved in a molluscan, cholinergic neurone by injecting acetylcholinesterase into the cell body. The enzyme diffuses down to the terminals, hydrolyses the free ACh, and produces a transmission block8. Unfortunately, in this preparation it is not possible to determine the quantal size, so it is not certain that the block occurs because the quanta become smaller. Quantal size is readily estimated at the vertebrate neuromuscular junction, but it is not possible to inject substances into the fine nerve terminals and there does not seem to be a feasible way to increase or decrease abruptly the amount of ACh in the terminal. An alternative approach, which I have used here, is to change the concentration of free ACh by moving water in or out of the nerve terminal, using osmotic pressure as the driving force9,10.
Decentralized estimation with correlated additive noise: Does dependency always imply redundancy?

This paper studies decentralized estimation with correlated observations. Focusing on the additive model with correlated Gaussian noises, we attempt to answer several distinct yet related questions in decentralized estimation: 1. When does correlation imply redundancy, i.e., incur performance degradation compared with that of independent observations; 2. What is the optimal quantizer structure that maximizes the Fisher information at the fusion center; 3. What is the preferred communication direction in a tandem fusion network involving correlated observations? It is shown that there exist different correlation regimes whose impacts on the estimation performance are in sharp contrast with each other. For the Gaussian model, it is established that quantizing the observation is optimal regardless of the correlation coefficients; this is true despite the fact that subsequent estimators may differ at the fusion center. Finally, it is always beneficial to have the better sensor (i.e., that has a higher SNR) to serve as a fusion center in a tandem fusion network for all correlation regimes.