cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
AML1/MDS1/EVI1 Induces Essential Thrombocythemia in Mice Independently of Jak2 Mutations.

The molecular etiology of subgroups of essential thrombocythemia (ET), as well as some other myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs) has been recently better understood by the identification of an activating somatic point mutation (Valine 617 to Phenylalanine) in Jak2 detected in patients with MPDs. Approximately 23%–57% of ET patients harbor this mutation, which is thought to be one of the dominant factors contributing to the disease. However, the pathways disrupted in at least half of ET patients who have wild type Jak2 are not known. The fusion gene AML1/MDS1/EVI1 (AME), a product of the t(3;21)(q26;q22) translocation, is associated with several hematopoietic disorders, primarily chronic myelogenous leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia, and to a lesser extent with ET. We have investigated the role of AME by generating C57BL/6J mice that express this fusion oncogene in their bone marrow after bone marrow infection and transplantation. After a latency of 12 ± 1.8 months, all the reconstituted mice invariably developed an ET-like disease. The disease was fatal and the animals died of anemia probably caused by bleeding. Until 1–2 weeks before death, at which time the mice were severely cytopenic, the peripheral blood hemoglobin and leukocyte counts of the reconstituted AME mice were normal. The only striking difference was the platelet counts, which were consistently above the normal range (1456–3153 and 940–1608 K/ml for AME and control mice, respectively, p=0.00029). Platelets appeared dysplastic with anisocytosis, various degrees of degranulation, and giant size. The bone core biopsies of AME mice were especially remarkable for large and giant megakaryocytes with a tendency for clustering. Touch preparations of the biopsies showed progressive maturation in the granulocytic and erythroid precursor cell lines, a normal myeloid to erythroid ratio and no evidence of dyshematopoiesis. These finding coupled with markedly increased levels of TPO but normal concentrations of c-Mpl and Epo-R are concordant with the morphologic and laboratory features of patients with ET. The sequence analysis of exon 12 of Jak2 demonstrated no guanine-to-thymine transversion at nucleotide 1849 in all AME mice tested. These data are valuable because they provide a novel mouse model for understanding the deregulated pathways in ET patients with wild-type Jak2.
Identification of Plants in the 1584 Murals of the Casa del Deán, Puebla, México

The murals in the Casa del Dean in Puebla, Mexico completed in 1584 by anonymous indigenous artists contain many plant illustrations in friezes including plants indigenous to Mexico as well as European plants. Five species native to New Spain ( Iris fulva , Mentzelia hispida , Prunus mexicana , Prunus serotina subsp. capuli , and Symphoria globulifera ) and three species introduced from Europe ( Punica granatum , Rosa damascena ‘Semperflorens’, and Vitis vinifera ) were identified. A number of fantasy or nebulous plants are recognized.
Peace, a Tactical Approach: How Britain and Germany Abused the Promise of Peace during the First World War

Influencing the United States to remain neutral was as important to Germany as American belligerency was to Britain. Attempting to position themselves to win the war, the belligerents did not hesitate to use the promise of peace in order to give their troops the time needed to win decisively. The tactical use of peace was extremely effective in influencing US President Woodrow Wilson and his advisors. From Britain’s perspective, American intervention was only necessary to the extent that the military claimed it was—the maintenance of American sympathy was of equal importance to the overall desire -to bring the war to a successful conclusion. As it became more apparent that the war could not be won without American intervention, British diplomats used the issues of peace to guide Wilson firmly into the British corner. Despite the anti-German feelings of many members of the Wilson administration, the German Foreign Office was able to continually use the idea of peace to defuse American angst. Germany’s initial calls for peace led President Wilson and Colonel House to believe there was at least a chance they could end the war before being drawn into it. Germany’s 1916 peace proposal allowed them time to manoeuvre in hopes of ending the war through military means before the United States could make a decisive impact. The German peace proposal should still be considered a success in that it bought Germany time to end the war on its own terms. This chapter demonstrates that Britain and Germany were both attempting to use the idea of peace as a means of directing US policy. It reveals that Britain and Germany spoke with the United States about peace only when they believed peace suited their purposes. Peace would not be discussed by Britain if it had recently suffered a military setback, nor would Germany discuss peace if it felt the situation at the front placed it in a weaker position. Peace was only an option for either country if it was perceived to be in a position of strength and could dictate the terms. Peace, it turned out, was simply another weapon of war.
Light-Mediated Reversible Assembly of Polymeric Colloids

This contribution highlights the functionalization of colloidal particles featuring high-symmetry patches with telechelic block copolymers and subsequent reversible self-assembly of the resulting particles into longer chain and branched structures using host–guest complexation. The 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TPM)-based anisotropic particles, obtained through a cluster-encapsulation process, consist of poly(styrene) patches and are site-specifically functionalized with block copolymers bearing pendant viologen or azobenzene motifs. Key to the design is the engineering of heterotelechelic α-hydroxy-ω-formyl-poly(norbornene)s via ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). The block copolymers feature both main chain anchor points to the particle surface, as well as orthogonal reactive sites for cyanine dye conjugation. The polymeric particles undergo directed and reversible supramolecular assembly in the presence of the host cucurbit[8]uril.
The evolution of the surgical management of severe lower extremity trauma.

A hundred years ago, the question of whether to amputate a severely injured extremity could be answered rather easily and did not pose a serious dilemma. However, the increasing reconstructive capabilities have permitted the retreat to amputation to be made less frequently and occasionally create a dilemma concerning the best means of securing optimal function for the traumatized extremity. The surgeon must carefully balance the extent of trauma with the likelihood that his or her reconstructive efforts would surpass the functional results afforded by prompt amputation and prosthetic fitting. Although the mechanisms of limb destruction have changed in the past 2 centuries, the fundamental dilemma confronting the trauma surgeon has remained unchanged. In the words of Samuel D. Gross: "The cases which may reasonably require and those which may not require interference with the knife are not always so clearly and distinctly defined as not to give rise, in very many instances, to the most serious apprehension ... that, while the surgeon endeavors to avoid Scylla, he may not unwittingly run into Charybdis, mutilating a limb that might have been saved, and endangering life by the retention of one that should have been promptly amputated."
Exact diffusion strategy for optimization by networked agents

This work develops a distributed optimization algorithm with guaranteed exact convergence for a broad class of left-stochastic combination policies. The resulting exact diffusion strategy is shown to have a wider stability range and superior convergence performance than the EXTRA consensus strategy. The exact diffusion solution is also applicable to non-symmetric left-stochastic combination matrices, while most earlier developments on exact consensus implementations are limited to doubly-stochastic matrices or right-stochastic matrices; these latter policies impose stringent constraints on the network topology. Stability and convergence results are noted, along with numerical simulations to illustrate the conclusions.
FMS — control and communications. The problems and the potential

Over the past few years FMS technology has progressed substantially. Having started out in 1968 with the Molins System 24, FMS is now a natural part of any well founded CIM strategy.
Nails, Tacks, and Hinges: The Archaeology of Camp Monticello, a World War II Prisoner of War Camp

“Provost Marshall General does not concur in the construction of outdoor dance floors at Monticello Internment Camp … Outdoor dance floors would be of no use at an internment camp,” the brigadier...
Graph topology recovery for regular and irregular graphs

In this paper, we study the recovery of the graph topology or structure. We first extend our previous work on graph signal recovery to present a joint graph signal and structure recovery framework. By doing this, we allow the algorithm to learn a graph structure from noisy and incomplete graph signals and recover the graph signals at the same time. In this paper, we particularly focus on the specific subproblem of graph structure learning and develop algorithms towards this problem and analyze them. We briefly study the implications when the underlying true graph structure is irregular or regular. Finally, we validate the proposed methods for both synthetic data and the real-world recovery problem of semi-supervised digit-image classification.
New Methods in the Psychology of Religion

Preferred assumptions for the study of religion by psychologists are noted. They are religious empathy, grounding in general psychology, and experimental methodology. Possible new approaches to the...
Durable Remains: Indigenous Materialisms in Duane Linklater: From Our Hands

This review essay addresses the complex significance of materiality in From Our Hands, a recent site-specific installation at New York City's 80WSE Gallery produced by Duane Linklater, an Omaskeko ...
Topological Orientation of the Membrane Protein URF13

Maize carrying the Texas male-sterile cytoplasm (cms-T) codes for a mitochondrial gene designated T-urf13 (Dewey et al., 1986). This unusual gene probably arose by mtDNA rearrangements caused by intramolecular recombinational events. T-urf13 has been implicated with cytoplasmic male sterility (cms), a cytoplasmically inherited trait causing pollen abortion, and with susceptibility to two fungal pathogens. In maize and most higher plants, the mitochondrial genome is transmitted strictly through the egg. Analysis of cms-T revertants provides the most convincing evidence that T-urf13 is responsible for the two traits (Rottman et al., 1987; Wise et al., 1987a). These studies showed that spontaneous deletions or a frame-shift mutation of the T-urf13 gene result in reversion to both male-fertile and disease-resistant phenotypes. In addition, these investigations indicate that the two traits are caused by the same gene, T-urf13, although the possibility of two closely linked loci cannot be discounted. Moreover, the nuclear restorer gene, Rf1 which is one of two genes needed to suppress pollen sterility in cms-T maize, reduces the expression of the T-urf13 encoded protein (Dewey et al., 1987).
Abstract TP464: System Changes Decrease Emergency Department Length of Stay for Hemorrhagic Stroke Patients

Background/Purpose: American Stroke Association guidelines recommend that a length of stay (LOS) in the Emergency Department (ED) of less than 6 hours improve outcomes in patients with hemorrhagic ...
A contribution to the embryology ofOldenlandia umbellata Linn.

The embryology ofOldenlandia umbellata Linn. has been investigated. Floral parts arise in acropetalous succession. A transection of an young anther shows a group of microscope mother cells followed by a layer of tapetum, a middle layer, an endothecium and an epidermis. The uninucleate tapetum is of the glandular type. Microspore tetrads are tetrahedral and isobilateral. The pollen grain is binucleate at the time of anther dehiscence and the endothecium fibrillar. A hypodermal archesporial cell directly functions as the megaspore mother cell. Embryo sac development follows the Polygonum type. Fertilisation is porogamous. Endosperm is free nuclear and embryogeny conforms to the solanad type.
On the Methods of Science

A number of writers, most of them long dead, have held that science proceeds by the “Inductive Method.” Very roughly, according to this method, we are to begin our investigations with the observation and collection of facts; then, by comparing those facts, and perhaps applying to them certain rules of reasoning, we are to arrive at scientific hypotheses, theories, and/or explanations. According to some versions of the Method, no further stages need be undergone, as the methods give proof of the conclusion; newer versions insist that proof is not given by inductive reasoning, that only probability is. Some newer versions also suppose a third stage, the testing of the hypothesis arrived at. Again, different variants disagree as to what that testing can do. According to some versions, it will produce evidence that will either verify or falsity (or confirm or disconfirm) the conclusion arrived at in Stage 2; for others, only falsification is possible. These differences, and indeed, all specific variants, will be irrelevant for the present discussion, except insofar as they are used as illustrative examples. Only the core version of the approach, according to which the first stage of scientific investigation is the collection of facts or data, will be relevant.
The association of penicillin allergy with outcomes after open ventral hernia repair.

Up to 11% of patients report a penicillin allergy (PA), with 1–2% demonstrating a true IgE mediated allergy upon testing. PA patients often receive non-beta-lactam antibiotic surgical prophylaxis (non-BLP). This study evaluates the relationship of PA to outcomes after open ventral hernia repair (OVHR). A prospective institutional database was queried for patients undergoing OVHR. Demographics, operative characteristics, and outcomes were evaluated by the reported PA and the administration of beta-lactam prophylaxis (BLP). Allergy histories were reviewed in 1178 patients. PA was reported in 21.6% of patients, with 55.5% reporting rash or hives, 15.0% airway compromise or anaphylaxis, and 29.5% no specific reaction. BLP was administered to 76.3% of patients, including 22.1% of PA patients and 89.9% of patients without PA. PA patients were more often female (64.6% PA patients vs. 56% non-PA, p = 0.01), with higher rates of chronic steroids, MRSA, anxiety, asthma, COPD, chronic pain, and sleep apnea (p < 0.03 all values). PA patients had higher rates of contaminated cases, including mesh infection and fistula. Of the 683 clean cases, 82.1% received BLP. Of the 117 clean contaminated cases (CDC wound class 2), 82.9% received BLP, which was associated with reduced long-term readmission for hernia complications (21.5 vs. 55%, p = 0.002, OR 0.27, CI 0.09–0.83). In the 120 CDC wound class 3 and 4 patients, 65.8% received BLP. In multivariate analysis, BLP was associated with lower rates of reoperation (OR 0.31, CI 0.12–0.76) and recurrence (OR 0.32, CI 0.11–0.86). BLP was given to 22.1% of the PA patients with no adverse reactions noted. PA patients had more comorbidities and complex ventral hernias. When controlling for contamination and MRSA history, BLP is associated with improved outcomes particularly in contaminated cases. PA may be a risk factor for patient complexity, and further studies are warranted to determine if allergy testing can be warranted in known or anticipated contaminated cases.
Social Movements in Iran: How Well Does the Dominant Narrative Work?:

In this paper, I apply the typical stages of social movements—emergence, coalescence, and institutionalization—to an Iranian environmental social movement. I show how each of the stages does, or do...
Derivation with Internal Validation of a Multivariable Predictive Model to Predict COVID-19 Test Results in Emergency Department Patients.

OBJECTIVES The COVID-19 pandemic has placed acute care providers in demanding situations in predicting disease given the clinical variability, desire to cohort patients, and high variance in testing availability. An approach to stratifying patients by likelihood of disease based on rapidly available emergency department (ED) clinical data would offer significant operational and clinical value. The purpose of this study was to develop and internally validate a predictive model to aid in the discrimination of patients undergoing investigation for COVID-19. METHODS All patients greater than 18 years presenting to a single academic ED who were tested for COVID-19 during this index ED evaluation were included. Outcome was defined as the result of COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing during the index visit or any positive result within the following 7 days. Variables included chest radiograph interpretation, disease-specific screening questions, and laboratory data. Three models were developed with a split-sample approach to predict outcome of the PCR test utilizing logistic regression, random forest, and gradient-boosted decision tree methods. Model discrimination was evaluated comparing area under the receiver operator curve (AUC) and point statistics at a predefined threshold. RESULTS A total of 1,026 patients were included in the study collected between March and April 2020. Overall, there was disease prevalence of 9.6% in the population under study during this time frame. The logistic regression model was found to have an AUC of 0.89 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.84 to 0.94) when including four features: exposure history, temperature, white blood cell count (WBC), and chest radiograph result. Random forest method resulted in AUC of 0.86 (95% CI = 0.79 to 0.92) and gradient boosting had an AUC of 0.85 (95% CI = 0.79 to 0.91). With a consistently held negative predictive value, the logistic regression model had a positive predictive value of 0.29 (0.2-0.39) compared to 0.2 (0.14-0.28) for random forest and 0.22 (0.15-0.3) for the gradient-boosted method. CONCLUSION The derived predictive models offer good discriminating capacity for COVID-19 disease and provide interpretable and usable methods for those providers caring for these patients at the important crossroads of the community and the health system. We found utilization of the logistic regression model utilizing exposure history, temperature, WBC, and chest X-ray result had the greatest discriminatory capacity with the most interpretable model. Integrating a predictive model-based approach to COVID-19 testing decisions and patient care pathways and locations could add efficiency and accuracy to decrease uncertainty.
On the separation of monetary and prudential policy: How much of the precrisis consensus remains?

Abstract Prior to the crisis, monetary policymakers and prudential authorities had clearly defined tools and goals with little or no conflict. The crisis revealed a variety of overlaps, where one set of policies seems to influence those in another. Does this mean that two policy realms can no longer remain separate? I address the question by first asking whether monetary policy creates significant financial stability risks. My answer is generally no. Given that, central bankers should refrain from reacting to financial stability risks in most circumstances. Instead, the job of safeguarding the financial system should be left, as it was prior to the crisis, to prudential policymakers. But how can prudential policy best maintain financial stability? I argue that given our current state of knowledge, stress tests are the best tool to ensure crisis will be rare and not terribly severe. So, my answer to the question in the title is that the precrisis consensus remains largely intact.
Radiographic evaluation of partial articular radial head fractures: assessment of reliability

Background Historically, treatment of partial articular radial head fractures has hinged on radiographic assessment and application of the Mason classification. The inter- and intra-rater reliability of radiographic assessment and classification of radial head fractures may be lower than previously reported. We hypothesized that radiographic assessment leads to an underestimation of the number of fragments, percentage of articular surface involved, and displacement in millimeters. Methods We performed a retrospective review of all Mason II radial head fractures treated at our institution. Four independent observers performed radiographic assessment of the cohort. An independent observer performed these measurements on high-resolution computed tomography (CT) imaging, the reference standard. Radiographic assessments were then correlated with the CT findings using Pearson's correlation coefficient and Kappa statistic, where indicated. Results Fifty-nine Mason II radial head fractures were reviewed. These results were not impressive, with all comparisons showing a Kappa statistic less than 0.5 (ie, weak agreement). Intra-rater reliability was similar: displacement (measured by Pearson's correlation coefficient) was 0.58, percent articular involvement was 0.74, and the number of fragments (measured by the Kappa statistic) was 0.28. Fracture displacement was generally underestimated on radiographic measurements when compared to CT scan. Nearly half (45%) of all cases demonstrated inaccurate fragment number assessment when compared to the reference standard. Conclusion Radiographs show poor inter- and intra-observer reliability for determining radial head fracture morphology. Assessment of the number of fragments was particularly inaccurate. High-resolution CT should be considered for patients with Mason II radial head fractures, especially in cases of poorly visualized fracture characteristics or borderline amounts of displacement, in an effort to appropriately indicate patients for the variety of treatment options available today.
Hardware Modifications for Controlling Duty Cycle to Reduce LED Power in Existing Infrared LED Scene Projectors

In our existing infrared LED scene projector system, the LEDs receive power 100% of the time when the system is drawing, resulting in unwanted heating and radiance droop. This paper characterizes the hardware modifications implemented to reduce the duty cycle of the LED power supplies.
ESG: Hyperboles and Reality

ESG has rapidly become a household name leading to both confusion about what it means and creating unrealistic expectations about its effects. In this paper, I draw on more than a decade of research to dispel several myths about ESG and provide answers to important questions around theories of influence, the relation between ESG and corporate value, and the usefulness of ESG assessments and ratings.
Erratum to: Graph-based deformable matching of 3D line segments with application in protein fitting

The online version of the original article can be found under doi: 10.1007/s00371-015-1115-x .
Reactions of Metallacycles of Nickel, Metallacyclopentanes, Hexanes and Butanes

Transition metal heterocycles, although known since the pioneering work of F.G.A. Stone,1,2 have only recently been explored in great detail as catalytic intermediates and as reagents. The following is a partial list of the simple metallacyclic complex. Those that have been isolated (or a derivative thereof) are in boxes.
Contracts of Adhesion-Some Thoughts About Freedom of Contract

WAith the development of a free enterprise system based on an unheard of division of labor, capitalistic society needed a highly elastic legal institution to safeguard the exchange of goods and services on the market. Common law lawyers, responding to this social need, transformed "contract" from the clumsy institution that it was in the sixteenth century into a tool of almost unlimited usefulness and pliability. Contract thus became the indispensable instrument of the enterpriser, enabling him to go about his affairs in a rational way. Rational behavior within the context of our culture is only possible if agreements will be respected. It requires that reasonable expectations created by promises receive the protection of the law or else we will suffer the fate of Montesquieu's Troglodytes, who perished because they did not fulfill their promises. This idea permeates our whole law of contracts, the doctrines dealing with their formation, performance, impossibility and damages. Under a free enterprise system rationality of the law of contracts has still another aspect.1 To keep pace with the constant widening of the market the legal system has to place at the disposal of the members of the community an ever increasing number of typical business transactions and regulate their consequences. But the law cannot possibly anticipate the content of an infinite number of atypical transactions into which members of the community may need to enter. Society, therefore, has to give the parties freedom of contract; to accommodate the business community the ceremony necessary to vouch for the deliberate nature of a transaction has to be reduced to the absolute minimum. Furthermore, the rules of the common law of contract have to remain Jus dispositivum-to use the phrase of the Romans; that is, their application has to depend on the intention of the parties or on their neglect to rule otherwise. (If parties to a contract have failed to regulate its consequences in their own way, they will be supposed to have intended the consequences envisaged by the common law.) Beyond that the law cannot go. It has to delegate legislation to the contracting parties. As far as they are concerned, the law of contract has to be of their own making.
Matrix Metalloproteinase Dysregulation in the Stria Vascularis of Mice with Alport Syndrome : Implications for Capillary Basement Membrane Pathology

Alport syndrome results from mutations in genes encoding collagen α3(IV), α4(IV), or α5(IV) and is characterized by progressive glomerular disease associated with a high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss. Earlier studies of a gene knockout mouse model for Alport syndrome noted thickening of strial capillary basement membranes in the cochlea, suggesting that the stria vascularis is the primary site of cochlear pathogenesis. Here we combine a novel cochlear microdissection technique with molecular analyses to illustrate significant quantitative alterations in strial expression of mRNAs encoding matrix metalloproteinases-2, -9, -12, and -14. Gelatin zymography of extracts from the stria vascularis confirmed these findings. Treatment of Alport mice with a small molecule inhibitor of these matrix metalloproteinases exacerbated strial capillary basement membrane thickening, demonstrating that alterations in basement membrane metabolism result in matrix accumulation in the strial capillary basement membranes. This is the first demonstration of true quantitative analysis of specific mRNAs for matrix metalloproteinases in a cochlear microcompartment. Further, these data suggest that the altered basement membrane composition in Alport stria influences the expression of genes involved in basement membrane metabolism.
System Description: Teyjus - A Compiler and Abstract Machine Based Implementation of lambda-Prolog

The logic programming language λProlog is based on the intuitionistic theory of higher-order hereditary Harrop formulas, a logic that significantly extends the theory of Horn clauses. A systematic exploitation of features in the richer logic endows λProlog with capabilities at the programming level that are not present in traditional logic programming languages. Several studies have established the value of λProlog as a language for implementing systems that manipulate formal objects such as formulas, programs, proofs and types. Towards harnessing these benefits, methods have been developed for realizing this language efficiently. This work has culminated in the description of an abstract machine and compiler based implementation scheme. An actual implementation of λProlog based on these ideas has recently been completed. The planned presentation will exhibit this system--called Teyjus--and will also illuminate the metalanguage capabilities of λProlog.
Studies on the Cytosolic Phospholipase A2 in Immortalized Astrocytes (DITNC) Revealed New Properties of the Calcium Ionophore, A23187

Besides playing an important role in the maintenance of cell membrane phospholipids, phospholipases A2 (PLA2) are responsible for the release of arachidonic acid (AA) which is a precursor for prostaglandin biosynthesis. The cytosolic PLA2 has been the focus of recent studies, probably due to its ability to respond to protein kinases and changes in intracellular calcium levels. In this study, we examined agents for stimulation of the cytosolic phospholipase A2 in immortalized astrocytes (DITNC). Incubation of DITNC cells with [14C]arachidonic acid (AA) resulted in a time-dependent uptake of the label into phospholipids (PL) and neutral glycerides. In prelabeled cells, release of labeled AA could be stimulated by calcium mobilizing agents such as calcium ionophore A23187 (4–20 μM) and thimerosal (100 μM), and by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA, 100 nM), an agent for activation of protein kinase C. The release of AA could also be stimulated by ATP (200 μM), probably through activation of the purinergic receptor but not by glutamate (1 mM). The stimulated release of AA was dependent on extracellular Ca2+ and was inhibited by mepacrine (50 μM), a non-specific PLA2 inhibitor. Western blot analysis further confirmed the presence of an 85 kDa cPLA2 in both membrane and cytosol fractions of these cells and stimulation by A23187 resulted in translocation of this protein to the membrane fraction. Besides labeled fatty acids, A23187 also stimulated the concomitant release of labeled PL into the culture medium and this event was accompanied by the increased release in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Results thus revealed that besides activation of cPLA2, the calcium ionophore A23187 is capable of perturbating cell membrane integrity.
The Family, the Market, and ADR

This article begins with the observation that in ADR practice and scholarship, the family recurs as a model for thinking about other kinds of relationships, even in spheres that are commonly thought to be purely commercial or transactional in nature. This conflation of family/market paradigms is intriguing because, as Janet Halley has shown, for much of the 19th and 20th centuries, American legal thought has virtually required “the division of intellectual labor” between the law of the family, on the one hand, and the law of the market, on the other hand. The article thus explores the unexpected connections between models of the family and the market in contemporary ADR and compares them to earlier twentieth-century dispute processing reforms. It argues that contemporary ADR has embraced a new privatized idea of “the social.” Unlike during earlier periods of reform when “the social” signified preexisting, collective policy concerns that demanded state intervention, “the social” in contemporary ADR literature instead signifies affective, mutual, ethical relationships that individuals can and should build themselves — in the market, as much as in the home. Using ADR as a case in point, the article critically considers the politics and potential distributional effects of contemporary governance regimes that aspire to integrate efficiency and relationality, economics and intimacy, the market and the family.
Scene Change Detection for Uncompressed Video

In this paper, we present a scene change or shot boundary detection method based in the changes in entropy of differences between uncompressed video frames. As in the uncompressed domain, cues for scene or shot boundaries are not available, detecting video content features is a non-trivial and typically requires additional complexity in the evaluation. The entropy presents a metric for the complexity of information. Used on the differences between video frames, the entropy is able to measure the complexity of changes. We find that due to content dependency, however, the relative entropy changes in the sequence of video frames is a better indicator for detection.
Evolution of dioecy and sex chromosomes via methylation driving Muller's ratchet

Why are there two sexes in certain species, instead of one hermaphroditic sex? Why are Y chromosomes shorter than X chromosomes, but only in certain lineages? I propose that differences between sexes are initially determined by differential methylation in nuclear DNA between females and males, driving Muller's ratchet. Methylation of promoters suppresses transcription, including loci coding for gamete production, thereby converting hermaphroditic individuals into females or males. Differential methylation of sex chromosomes suppresses recombination and increases mutation rate, thereby geometrically increasing the speed of Muller's ratchet. Higher mutability of methylated nucleotides plus loss of sex-determining function of previously methylated nucleotides provides selective pressure to excise these loci, resulting in shorter Y or W chromosomes. Derived lineages usually have more methylation than do ancestral ones, and hence have relatively shorter sex chromosomes. Methylation canalizes dioecy and degeneration of sex chromosomes. Latter stages of sex chromosome evolution may have occurred via other mechanisms, for example sexually antagonistic genes or chromosomal rearrangements. A few aberrant derived lineages lost most methylation, and their sex determination and sex chromosomes may have evolved via other means. Differential methylation provides a mechanism for early evolution of dioecy in anisogamous sexual diploid eukaryotes and of sex chromosomes in metazoans. © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2003, 80, 353–368.
Hemophilus influenzae, Type b, Antibody Frequencies Determined with Bactericidal and Radioimmunoassay Tests

Abstract Bactericidal and radioimmunoassay (RIA) antibodies to Hemophilus influenzae, type b, were measured in the sera of 85 children aged 18 through 71 months. Bactericidal antibodies were present in only 21% of those over 60 months; RIA levels rose linearly with increasing age (P < 0.005). Bactericidal antibodies were present in nine of 29 sera with RIA levels ≥0.7 μg/ml and in only four of 56 sera with RIA levels <0.7 μg/ml (P < 0.01). The discrepancies between the two tests probably reflect their measurement of different antibodies. Results of the RIA fit the clinical observation that H. influenzae meningitis becomes less frequent with age.
Increased Access to Palliative Care and Hospice Services: Opportunities to Improve Value in Health Care

Context: A small proportion of patients with serious illness or multiple chronic conditions account for the majority of health care spending. Despite the high cost, evidence demonstrates that these patients receive health care of inadequate quality, characterized by fragmentation, overuse, medical errors, and poor quality of life. Methods: This article examines data demonstrating the impact of the U.S. health care system on clinical care outcomes and costs for the sickest and most vulnerable patients. It also defines palliative care and hospice, synthesizes studies of the outcomes of palliative care and hospice services, reviews variables predicting access to palliative care and hospice services, and identifies those policy priorities necessary to strengthen access to high-quality palliative care. Findings: Palliative care and hospice services improve patient-centered outcomes such as pain, depression, and other symptoms; patient and family satisfaction; and the receipt of care in the place that the patient chooses. Some data suggest that, compared with the usual care, palliative care prolongs life. By helping patients get the care they need to avoid unnecessary emergency department and hospital stays and shifting the locus of care to the home or community, palliative care and hospice reduce health care spending for America's sickest and most costly patient populations. Conclusions: Policies focused on enhancing the palliative care workforce, investing in the field's science base, and increasing the availability of services in U.S. hospitals and nursing homes are needed to ensure equitable access to optimal care for seriously ill patients and those with multiple chronic conditions.
The Triana Mission-next generation systems architecture ready for flight

NASA's Triana Mission is the first to take full advantage of the powerful capabilities offered by modern digital electronics and comprehensive software architecture. Not only is the performance of these miniature systems well beyond that of their bulky predecessors, but the time to configure them for a particular mission has been dramatically reduced as well. As a result, the cost of these implementations is just a fraction of previous missions. This deep space Earth and solar science platform touts highly autonomous, 3-axis stabilized performance for only $77M. In just 21 months time, the Triana observatory will have gone from conceptual design to flight readiness, being launched by the Space Transportation System (STS) in early 2001. After deployment in LEO, Triana will boost itself into a trajectory to the L1 libration point approximately 1.5 million kilometers from Earth. There it will make observations of space weather, Earth climatic behavior, and whole Earth radiometry. The budget includes the development of the spacecraft, 5 scientific instruments, deployable booms and solar arrays, a hydrazine propulsion module, a new upper stage system based on the Thiokol Star-48 kick motor, all that goes with launching from the manned STS, and 2 years of continuous mission operations and scientific data analysis. This paper describes the novel approach taken to implement this mission, commenting on the technical architecture as well as the processes used. Experiences to date on the development status are also discussed.
On optimal mobile RSSI-sensor positioning for multi target tracking

This paper presents an analysis on optimal mobile sensor configuration for multiple-target-tracking (MTT) with Received- Signal-Strength-Indicator (RSSI) based measurements. The analysis is based on the underlying assumption that the complexity of this inherently high-dimensional problem is reduced by employing a multi-agent distributed tracking system. The assumed system assigns a single target of interest (TOI) to each agent and treats the remaining targets as interference sources. The measurement interference due to these sources is effectively compensated for by exchanging TOI information between agents, and fusing this information during the estimation process. Proper sensor placement within such an environment represents a unique challenge and optimal solutions are fundamentally different from a conventional MTT scenario. The main results of this paper include formulation and subsequent simplification of the optimality criterion along with a suboptimal solution yielding competitive performance and superior efficiency. Simulation results are presented demonstrating the performance of the proposed solution and comparisons are made to existing techniques.
The ins and outs of editing RNA in kinetoplastids

Over 30 million people in tropical regions suffer from Chagas disease, African sleeping sickness or leishmaniasis. The causative agents of these diseases, flagellated protozoa collectively known as kinetoplastids, represent an ancient lineage of eukaryotes. These unusual organisms carry out a large number of unique biochemical processes, one striking example being the sequence editing of mitochondrial messenger RNAs. In this review, Scott Seiwert focuses on recent studies that examine the reaction mechanism, molecular machinery and evolutionary history of this unusual RNA processing reaction.
Development of a cavity ringdown laser absorption spectrometer for detection of trace levels of mercury

A potential new laser-based air pollution measurement technique, capable of measuring ultralow concentrations of urban air toxins in the field and in real time, is examined. Cavity ringdown laser absorption spectroscopy (CRLAS) holds promise as an air pollution monitor because it is a highly sensitive species detection technique that uses either pulsed or continuous tunable laser sources. The sensitivity results from an extremely long absorption path length and the fact that the quantity measured, the cavity decay time, is unaffected by fluctuations in the laser source. In laboratory experiments, we reach detection limits for mercury of the order of 0.50 parts per trillion. We developed a CRLAS system in our laboratory and measured Hg with the system, investigating issues such as background interference. We report experimental results for mercury detection limits, the dynamic range of the sensor, detection of Hg in an absorbing background of ozone and SO2, and detection of a mercury-containing compound (HgCl2 in this case).
The effects of cognitive level and training procedures on the generalization of self-instructions

Preoperational and concrete operational first- and second-graders performed on a training task (Matching Familiar Figures Test) and a generalization task (a perceptual perspective-taking test) prior to and after serving in one of four self-instruction groups varying in the delivery procedures of the instructions. The instruction groups were a no-training control group, a didactic instruction control group, a fading self-instructions group, and a directed discovery self-instructions group. Children in the didactic instructions group received the same instructional content as children in the fading and directed discovery self-instructions groups, but without an active rehearsal component. Children in the fading group received the traditional five-step overt-to-covert rehearsal of instructions; those in the directed discovery group were led to “discover” the instructions through a Socratic dialogue exchange with the experimenter. Children in the fading and directed discovery self-instructions groups significantly improved their performance on the training task relative to children in both control groups. Only the concrete operational children in the directed discovery self-instruction group demonstrated significant improvement on the generalization task.
APPARENT INABILITY OF POLYPEPTIDES CONSTRUCTED FROM D-AMINO-ACIDS TO STIMULATE ANTIBODY FORMATION

Gill, Gould and Doty1 have demonstrated that while a synthetic polypeptide containing the L-amino-acids of lysine and glutamic acid stimulates antibody formation, a similar polypeptide constructed from D-amino-acids does not. Two possible explanations were offered for the inability of the latter to stimulate antibody formation: (1) some failure in the sequence of steps leading to antibody production, including the possibility that the ‘D-polypeptide’ cannot be transported to the site of antibody production, or that some prerequisite hydrolysis cannot be performed by the usual enzymes; (2) the inability of the γ-globulin chain to fold around the determinant portion of the ‘D-polypeptide’.
Microfluidic valves based on superhydrophobic nanostructures and switchable thermosensitive surface for lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems

This paper describes a novel valve concept using a nanostructured functional polymer surface. To prove the concept, two fully integrated microfluidic valves, one with a superhydrophobic polymer surface and the other with a switchable, thermosensitive polymer surface have been fabricated and tested. The passive valve with the superhydrophobic polymer surface selectively inhibits the flow of water-based reagents and passes aqueous solutions containing surfactants. In case of the thermosensitive valve, the switchable polymer surface becomes hydrophobic when heated to temperatures exceeding 65 °C, thus inhibiting the flow of water and becomes hydrophilic at room temperature, thus allowing the flow of water. The microchannels are fabricated by standard photolithography and wet etching techniques. The polymer surface for both the valves is fabricated using the layer-by-layer (LBL) deposition technique, in which multiple layers of polyelectrolytes are coated on a channel wall followed by silica nanoparticle treatment. For the thermosensitive valve, the polymer surface is further coated with the thermosensitive polymer poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm). The fabricated microfluidic valve was tested with liquids flowing in the microchannels under capillary action. It is shown that the valve selectively regulates the flow of test samples.
The temperature dependence of the deformation of bone.

Abstract The deformation characteristics of compact bone have been measured as a function of temperature in the range from −58 to 90°C. At temperatures below 25°C elastic, anelastic and plastic contributions to the strain could be distinguished. The Young's modulus increased as the temperature was reduced, while the nonelastic component was approximately independent of temperature. An interpretation of these results is made in terms of an idealised hydroxyapatite-collagen composite. At temperatures higher than 50°C the deformation was compounded by non-equilibrium recovery and an irreversible change in the structure of bone.
A multiple post-core technique

An indirect technique to prepare a multirooted pulpless tooth to receive a crown is presented. The crown also may be made on the newly completed core and its die. The procedure promotes the use of a commercial dental laboratory. The system, which uses divergent roots, results in a cast core having maximum retention.
Rheumatoid-factor-reactive sites on CH3 established by overlapping 7-mer peptide epitope analysis

Abstract Polyclonal IgM rheumatoid factors (RF) from ten patients with rheumatoid arthritis and six monoclonal IgM RF were isolated from monomeric IgG affinity columns and studied for their reactivity with the entire CH 3 domain of IgG synthesized as overlapping 7-mers using a pin-ELISA assay. All ten polyclonal IgM RF showed similar profiles of reactivity which included peptides with solvent accessible residues PREPQVY (residues 343–349), PQVYTLP (residues 346–352), TLPPRSE (350–356), DGSFFLY (401–407), WQQGNVF (417–423), CSVMHEG (425–430), EGLHNHY (430–436) and KSLSLSP (439–446) of the CH 3 domain. Substitution of a neutral glycine or alanine for each residue within these RF-reactive epitopes indicated that tyrosine at position 349, prolines at 343, 346 and 352, glutamine 347, valine 348, threonine 350, leucine 351, arginine 354, aspartic acid 401, tyrosine 407, serine 426, histidine 429, leucine 432, tyrosine 436 and lysine 439 represented important single amino acids within CH 3 for RF reactivity. Regions of CH 3 primary sequence with and without the single allotype-specific amino acid substitutions of glycine for alanine 431 (Gmx) or aspartic acid for glutamic acid (356) and leucine for methionine (358) (Gma) often showed considerable differences in reactivity with individual polyclonal and monoclonal RF. However, these differences in RF reactivity did not correlate with the individual anti-Gm RF specificity. Assays using monoclonal IgM RF produced from RA synovial B cells or peripheral blood B cells frequently showed a much more restricted spectrum of reactive CH 3 epitopes. 7-mer peptides representing RF-reactive sites on CH 3 preincubated with polyclonal IgM RF showed strong inhibition (55–66%) of RF binding to whole IgG on the ELISA plate. These studies indicate that it is possible to define portions of the IgG CH 3 domain participating in the reaction with IgM RF using reactive epitope-mapping with sequential linear peptides derived from the primary IgG CH 3 sequence.