cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Where are the chances

Not all probability ascriptions that appear in scientific theories describe chances. There is a question about whether probability ascriptions in non-fundamental sciences, such as those found in evolutionary biology and statistical mechanics, describe chances in deterministic worlds and about whether there could be any chances in deterministic worlds. Recent debate over whether chance is compatible with determinism has unearthed two strategies for arguing about whether a probability ascription describes chance—that is, to speak metaphorically, two different strategies for figuring out where the chances are: find the chances by focusing on chance’s explanatory role or find the chances by focusing on chance’s predictive role. These two strategies tend to yield conflicting results about where the chances are, and debate over which strategy is appropriate tends to end in stalemate. After discussing these two strategies, I consider a new view of chance’s explanatory role. I argue that one theoretical advantage of this new view is that allows us to make progress on the question of where the chances are by providing a principled way of determining which probability ascriptions describe chances. From the vantage of this new view, the correct application of both strategies involves figuring out where the chances are by figuring out where the probabilistic scientific explanations are and what those explanations are like.
Effects of Hepatic Impairment on the Pharmacokinetics of Abrocitinib and Its Metabolites.

Abrocitinib, an oral once-daily Janus kinase 1 selective inhibitor, is under development for the treatment of atopic dermatitis. This phase 1, nonrandomized, open-label, single-dose study (NCT03660241) investigated the effect of renal impairment on the pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of abrocitinib and its metabolites following a 200-mg oral dose. Twenty-three subjects with varying degrees of renal function (normal, moderate, and severe impairment) were enrolled. Active moiety exposures were calculated as the sum of unbound exposures for abrocitinib and its active metabolites. For abrocitinib, the adjusted geometric mean ratios (GMRs; %) for area under the concentration-time curve from time 0 extrapolated to infinite time (AUCinf ) and maximum plasma concentration (Cmax ) were 182.91 (90% CI, 117.09-285.71) and 138.49 (93.74-204.61), respectively, for subjects with moderate renal impairment versus normal renal function; corresponding GMRs were 121.32 (68.32-215.41) and 99.11 (57.30-171.43) for subjects with severe impairment versus normal renal function. Metabolite exposures generally increased in subjects with renal impairment. The GMRs of unbound AUCinf and Cmax of active moiety were 210.20 (154.60-285.80) and 133.87 (102.45-174.92), respectively, for subjects with moderate renal impairment versus normal renal function. Corresponding values were 290.68 (217.39-388.69) and 129.49 (92.86-180.57) for subjects with severe renal impairment versus normal renal function. Abrocitinib was generally safe and well tolerated. Both moderate and severe renal impairment led to higher exposure to abrocitinib active moiety, suggesting that abrocitinib dose should be reduced by half for patients with moderate or severe renal impairment. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03660241 This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Autonomic responses to affective visual stimuli.

Thirty-two subjects were categorized by an objective questionnaire as high or low in fear of mutilation. These subjects viewed six slides each from three categories: neutral, incongruous, and mutilation. As predicted, fearful subjects' cardiac responses to mutilation were acceleratory and their counterparts' deceleratory. Both groups reacted to incongruous stimuli with heart rate deceleration. Unexpectedly, both samples displayed cardiac acceleration to the neutral category. Respiratory patterns of initial expiration characterized low-fear subjects whereas inspiration was typical in the high-fear group. However, respiratory activity did not vary over slide types. The high-fear sample emitted electrodermal responses of greater amplitude and slower recovery to mutilation slides than to the other categories. In both respects, the high-fear sample exceeded their counterparts. Finally, fearful subjects exhibited a more pronounced tendency to judge mutilation slides more aversive than incongruous or neutral materials. In general, responses to mutilation materials indicated reactions of defense in fearful subjects and orientation in low-fear persons.
Health Risks and Chronic Health Conditions among Arab American and White Adults in Northern California.

Objectives: To characterize the prevalence of chronic cardiovascular conditions and risk factors among Arab American adults stratified by sex and compare these with non-Hispanic Whites. Design: Cross-sectional study using electronic health record data from visits be­tween January 2015 and December 2016. Age-adjusted prevalence estimates were cal­culated for men and women and compared using generalized linear models. Setting: Kaiser Permanente health plan in Northern California. Participants: Non-Hispanic White (N=969,566) and Arab American (N=18,072) adult members. Main Outcome Measures: Sex-stratified prevalence and prevalence ratios of diabe­tes, pre-diabetes, hypertension, and hyper­lipidemia diagnosed by December 2016 and of obesity, ever smoking, and current smoking status. Results: Arab American men had a significantly higher prevalence of ever smoking (41.8 vs 40.8%), diabetes (17.3 vs 12.5%), and hyperlipidemia (40.8 vs 34.7%) than White men, but a significantly lower prevalence of obesity (34.4 vs 37.8%) and hypertension (30.5 vs 33.3%). Arab American women had a significantly higher prevalence of diabetes (11.1 vs 8.7%) and hyperlipidemia (31.5 vs 28.3%) than White women but significantly lower prevalence of obesity (31.0 vs 34.2%), ever smoking (24.8 vs 34.5%), and hypertension (25.8 vs 28.4%). Conclusions: Hospital and health systems should intentionally collect data on Middle Eastern and North African ethnicity in electronic health records to identify and reduce the disparities this minority group faces. Ethn Dis. 2021;31(2):235-242; doi:10.18865/ed.31.2.235
A prospective clinical and transcriptomic feasibility study of oral-only hormonal therapy with radiation for unfavorable prostate cancer in men 70 years of age and older or with comorbidity

Background Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) improves outcomes in unfavorable-risk prostate cancer (PCa) treated with radiation therapy (RT). It was hypothesized that replacing luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) agonists with a 5-α-reductase inhibitor (5-ARI) would improve hormonal health-related quality of life (HRQOL) without differentially suppressing androgen-responsive (AR) gene expression. Methods Patients with localized unfavorable-risk PCa, aged ≥70 years or Charlson Comorbidity Index score ≥2 were treated with oral ADT (oADT), consisting of 4 months of bicalutamide, a 5-ARI, and RT at 78 Gy. The primary end point was Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite HRQOL at 6 months ≤30%, and improvement compared with a synchronous standard of care (SOC) cohort receiving 4 months of bicalutamide and long-term LHRH agonist with RT. RNA sequencing was performed from matched pre-/post-ADT prostate tumor biopsies in a subset of men. Differential gene and pathway expressional changes were examined using gene set enrichment. Results Between 2011 and 2018, 40 and 30 men were enrolled in the oADT and SOC cohorts, respectively. Median follow-up was 40 months. Those with ≤30% decline in hormonal HRQOL at 6 months was 97% (oADT) and 93% (SOC). The average 6-month hormonal decline was 1% (oADT) versus 12% (SOC; P = .04). The 4-year freedom from biochemical failure was 88% (oADT) versus 81% (SOC; P = .48). RNA sequencing (n = 9) showed similar numbers of downregulated and upregulated genes between the treatment groups (fold-change = 2; false-discovery rate-adjusted P ≤ .05). Both treatments comparably decreased the expression of 20 genes in canonical androgen receptor signaling. Conclusions For men with PCa undergoing RT, oral versus standard ADT may improve 6-month QOL and appears to have a similar impact on androgen-responsive gene expression.
A Novel Local Ablation Approach for Explaining Multimodal Classifiers

With the growing use of multimodal data for deep learning classification in healthcare research, more studies have begun to present explainability methods for insight into multimodal classifiers. Among these studies, few have utilized local explainability methods, which could provide (1) insight into the classification of each sample and (2) an opportunity to better understand the effects of latent variables within datasets (e.g., medication of subjects in electrophysiology data). To the best of our knowledge, this opportunity has not yet been explored within multimodal classification. We present a novel local ablation approach that shows the importance of each modality to the correct classification of each class and explore the effects of latent variables upon the classifier. As a use-case, we train a convolutional neural network for automated sleep staging with electroencephalogram (EEG), electrooculogram (EOG), and electromyogram (EMG) data. We find that EEG is the most important modality across most stages, though EOG is particular important for non-rapid eye movement stage 1. Further, we identify significant relationships between the local explanations and subject age, sex, and state of medication which suggest that the classifier learned specific features associated with these variables across multiple modalities and correctly classified samples. Our novel explainability approach has implications for many fields involving multimodal classification. Moreover, our examination of the degree to which demographic and clinical variables may affect classifiers could provide direction for future studies in automated biomarker discovery.
Taking CAR T cells up a synthetic Notch.

Two preprints by Choe et al. and Hyrenius-Wittsten et al. describe a ‘prime-and-kill’ strategy to target CAR T cells to solid tumours.
Tithes, Offerings and Sugar Beets: The Economic Logistics of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

The recent emergence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the media stems from its growth outside traditional Utah and increasing status of members in politics, business, entertainment, and sports. While the increasing prominence of individual members attracts media attention, it is the underlying growth of the Church that is significant. I present information on the geographic representation of its underlying organizational structure that facilitates its growth and mission and also discuss its temporal affairs including financing of their operations through voluntary donations, investments, and directly owned businesses. The Church is the physical and temporal manifestation of a spiritually conceived and based set of religious doctrines, values, beliefs, and practices that it uses to sustain, maintain, share, and perpetuate its religious/spiritual beliefs. Without organization the ability to fulfill its divinely inspired message is difficult to achieve. For organized religion to be successful, it must have both a compelling message and an organizational structure to sustain and perpetuate its message. While the good news is free to all who wish to hear it, the capabilities associated with delivering the message, along with charitable and humanitarian acts that the Church engages are not free. All organized religions/churches require some form of financial support to carry out their mission. To have resonance it must be a dynamic and ongoing concern, add adherents, create an organization outside of state control, and be well financed. The Church addresses its financial needs in three ways: use of tithing funds for Church buildings and maintenance; fast-offering funds, Church welfare farms, and donations; and profits from Church-owned businesses to supply funds for humanitarian efforts, disaster relief, and stipends for general authorities. The Church is growing because of its spiritual message and because its organization facilitates continued expansion.
Grown folks radio: U.S. election politics and a “hidden” black counterpublic

President Obama's 2008 electoral triumph garnered enormous journalistic and scholarly attention, but analysts have shown very little interest in African American media coverage of the campaign. In this piece, I focus on one major, nearly ignored, black media outlet: a syndicated radio show with a huge audience, commercial success, and progressive politics. I analyze the show's construction of a powerful mediatized black counterpublic, consider its rise parallel to the neoliberal deregulation of U.S. media, and narrate its coverage of the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. I also consider the political effects of a new cross-media platform synergy among black and progressive outlets.
Perceived organizational support and performance: Relationships across levels of organizational cynicism

Purpose – Perceived organizational support is considered a resource capable of positively influencing performance by reducing stressors and encouraging commitment. However, only a modest relationship has been shown between support and performance, suggesting that moderators affect this relationship. To date, no research has examined moderators that might serve to predict non‐linear support‐performance relational forms. The purpose of this research is to examine how cynicism moderates the relationship between support and performance in a non‐linear form.Design/methodology/approach – In study 1, 256 full‐time employees from a variety of industries and jobs completed surveys. In study 2, 143 full‐time state employees participated.Findings – Those reporting high cynicism actually construe levels of support negatively. Specifically, performance for cynics was highest when perceived support was at moderate levels only. Conversely, performance for cynics was lowest when perceived support was either high or low.R...
Tolerating concept and sampling shift in lazy learning using prediction error context switching

In their unmodified form, lazy-learning algorithms may have difficulty learning and tracking time-varying input/output function maps such as those that occur in concept shift. Extensions of these algorithms, such as Time-Windowed forgetting (TWF), can permit learning of time-varying mappings by deleting older exemplars, but have decreased classification accuracy when the input-space sampling distribution of the learning set is time-varying. Additionally, TWF suffers from lower asymptotic classification accuracy than equivalent non-forgetting algorithms when the input sampling distributions are stationary. Other shift-sensitive algorithms, such as Locally-Weighted forgetting (LWF) avoid the negative effects of time-varying sampling distributions, but still have lower asymptotic classification in non-varying cases. We introduce Prediction Error Context Switching (PECS) which allows lazy-learning algorithms to have good classification accuracy in conditions having a time-varying function mapping and input sampling distributions, while still maintaining their asymptotic classification accuracy in static tasks. PECS works by selecting and re-activating previously stored instances based on their most recent consistency record. The classification accuracy and active learning set sizes for the above algorithms are compared in a set of learning tasks that illustrate the differing time-varying conditions described above. The results show that the PECS algorithm has the best overall classification accuracy over these differing time-varying conditions, while still having asymptotic classification accuracy competitive with unmodified lazy-learners intended for static environments.
Transplacental clearance and blood flows of bovine gravid uterus at several stages of gestation

Rates of uterine and umbilical blood flows and transplacental clearance of deuterium oxide (D2O) were determined for cows on 137 +/- 1.0 (SE, n = 9), 180 +/- 0.5 (n = 8), 226 +/- 0.4 (n = 9), and 250 +/- 1.8 (n = 5) days of gestation. From days 137 to 250, rates increased 4.5-fold for uterine blood flow, 21-fold for umbilical blood flow, and 14-fold for clearance of D2O. Changes in rates of umbilical blood flow and D2O clearance paralleled increased rates of fetal growth and metabolism, which have previously been reported to occur during the last half of gestation. The regressions of D2O clearance on uterine and umbilical blood flows were significant (P less than 0.01) and explained 94-99% of the variation in placental clearance of D2O. Because the rate of D2O clearance was always less than that of uterine and umbilical blood flows, and because a relatively simple statistical model explained most of the variation in clearance, it was suggested that a concurrent or countercurrent arrangement of maternal and fetal placental microvasculatures is not adequate to explain clearance of highly diffusable substances across the bovine placenta. In addition, a placental exchange diagram of the data showed the existence of severe uneven distribution of maternal and fetal placental blood flows and/or significant shunting of maternal and fetal placental flows away from areas of exchange. Taken together, these data indicate that the placenta of the cow, like those of the sheep and goat, represents a relatively inefficient system of transplacental exchange.
Ported Tutte Functions of Extensors and Oriented Matroids

The Tutte equations are ported (or set-pointed) when the equations F(N) = g_e F(N/e) + r_e F(N\e) are omitted for elements e in a distinguished set called ports. Solutions F can distinguish different orientations of the same matroid. A ported extensor with ground set is a decomposible element in the exterior algebra over a vector space with a given basis, called the ground set, containing a distinguished subset called ports. These can represent ported matroids and have analogous dualization, deletion and contraction operations. A ported extensor function is defined using dualization, port element renaming, exterior multiplication, and contraction of non-ports. We prove that this function satisfies a sign-corrected variant of the Tutte equations over exterior algebra. For non-ported unimodular, i.e., regular matroids, our function reduces to the basis generating function and for graphs the Laplacian (or Kirchhoff) determinant. In general, the function value, as an extensor, signifies the space of solutions to Kirchhoff's and Ohm's electricity equations after projection to the variables associated to the ports. Combinatorial interpretation of various determinants (the Plucker coordinates) generalize the matrix tree theorem and forest enumeration expressions for electrical resistance. The corank-nullity polynomial, basis expansions with activities, and a geometric lattice expansion generalize to ported Tutte functions of oriented matroids. The ported Tutte functions are parametrized, which raises the problem of how to generalize known characterizations of parameterized non-ported Tutte functions.
The lattice algorithm of linear prediction applied to the inverse scattering problem given transmission data

A layer-recursive algorithm is derived for reconstructing an equal-travel-time layered acoustic medium from its transmission response to an impulsive plane wave incident from below. The medium is bounded below by an infinite half-space from which it is probed, and it is bounded above by a free surface at which its transmission response is measured. This problem arises in the nondestructive evaluation of layered composite materials, in which the transmission response is measured. The algorithm is related to the lattice algorithm for computing the QR factorization of a matrix. The algorithm is related to the Levinson, fast Cholesky, and lattice algorithms, all of which are known fast algorithms for signal processing. >
CEREBELLAR HEMORRHAGE: DEVELOPMENTAL & NEUROLOGIC OUTCOME

In an effort to elucidate the long-term effects of neonatal cerebellar hemorrhage, 6 children with this lesion documented on CT scan were assessed neurodevelopmentally. All were managed conservatively without surgical evacuation of the hematoma. Perinatal data and developmental performance (on the Gesell, Bayley or McCarthy) are shown below:
XANES Spectroscopy Studies of Cr(VI) Reduction by Thiols in Organosulfur Compounds and Humic Substances

The reduction of Cr(VI) by the thiol-containing compounds cysteine and glutathione and by reduced sulfur in humic substances was monitored with sulfur and chromium X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy in chromium-contaminated soils. Reaction of humic acids with Cr(VI) resulted in a reduction of the peak area of thiols and an increase in the peak area of disulfides in the sulfur XANES spectra. Analysis of the sulfur XANES spectra in various systems indicates that the reduction of Cr(VI) by humic substances involves a thiol/disulfide redox couple analogous to that of the Cr(VI) reduction by the simple thiol-containing compounds cysteine and glutathione. A fraction of the hexavalent chromium present in industrially-contaminated soils was not reducible by thiols. Reduction of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) in soils by thiols has little effect on the pH of the system in contrast to the pH decrease resulting from reduction by Fe(II).
Atrial natriuretic peptide in children with idiopathic hypercalciuria

We measured plasma atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) levels in 30 children with idiopathic hypercalciuria (IH) and 19 normal controls (NC). A calcium (Ca) loading test was performed in all patients to determine the type of IH. Subsequently plasma ANP, cAMP and renin activity (PRA), serum total and ionized Ca, intact parathyroid hormone, aldosterone, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D as well as urine Ca, cAMP, and electrolytes were determined in all subjects. The mean (SD) plasma ANP levels were significantly lower in patients with renal hypercalciuria (RH) [21.4 (4.8) pg/ml] than in those with absorptive hypercalciuria (AH) [26.8 (7.6) pg/ml, P<0.05] and NC [27.6 (6.6) pg/ml, P<0.01]. PRA was significantly lower in AH [2.9 (1.3) ng/ml per hour] than in RH patients [7.8 (6.8) ng/ml per hour, P<0.01] and in NC [6.8 (4.6) ng/ml per hour, P<0.005]. Serum aldosterone values were significantly lower in AH [14.5 (11.4) ng/dl] than in RH patients [25.4 (14.1) ng/dl, P<0.05] and in NC [32.6 (20.5), P<0.001]. The lower plasma ANP levels in RH than in AH patients and in NC may be due to Ca depletion. The lower PRA and serum aldosterone levels in AH than in RH patients and in NC may be attributed to Ca excess.
Equilibrium shapes of liquid bridges under gravity: Symmetry breaking and imperfect bifurcations of two-dimensional bridges

Abstract The equilibrium shapes of a two-dimensional liquid bridge are constructed via a shooting and continuation numerical solution of the Laplace—Young equation which focuses on the bifurcation points of the solution branches. For the neutrally buoyant case, two new asymmetric shapes bifurcate from the point of maximum excess pressure where circular profiles with reflective symmetry have been shown to be unstable with respect to constant pressure disturbances. This occurs when the profile is exactly at right angles to the support. With the introduction of gravitational effects, this codimension 5 singularity is retained although the critical contact angle decreases slightly below 90° as one increases the difference between the interior and the exterior densities. However, when a slight tilt angle is introduced to the bridge, the maximum pressure singularity degenerates into two turning points (folds) and the solution branches are isolated from each other. This indicates that hysteretic jumps in the surface curvature and excess pressure exist with respect to changes in diameter/length ratio or liquid volume. Our numerical solution also reveals the existence of a maximum bridge volume that can be sustained by a nonneutrally buoyant bridge. No equilibrium shapes, symmetric or asymmetric, exist for bridge volumes beyond this critical value.
Chest pain after recent stress test: Is there a warranty?

Study objectives: Emergency physicians often incorporate recent stress test results into their decisionmaking process for the evaluation and disposition of chest pain patients, which is based on studies of prognosis after stress testing. However, the subset of patients who present to an emergency department (ED) with chest pain and a history of a normal stress test is not adequately addressed in the literature. We seek to determine whether a history of a recent normal stress test result in patients presenting with chest pain to the ED is associated with a low risk ( Methods: Patients presenting to our ED with a chief complaint of chest discomfort between January 1, 1998, and September 30, 2002, and who had undergone a stress test at our institution within 2 years were included. The primary endpoint was acute myocardial infarction on ED visit or death within 30 days. The diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction was based on cardiac marker elevation or ECG. All ECGs were reread for the purpose of this study by an investigator blinded to all other clinical data. Previous stress tests included treadmill studies without imaging, treadmill studies with imaging, and pharmacologic imaging studies. Treadmill study results were considered normal if there were no ST-segment changes and no abnormalities of functional capacity or heart rate dynamics during or after exercise. Imaging study results were considered normal if there was no evidence of myocardial ischemia or scar. Results: There were 1,857 eligible patients, of whom 283 had treadmill tests without imaging (79 or 27% were normal), 750 had treadmill tests with imaging (235 or 31% were normal), and 824 had pharmacologic tests (448 or 54% were normal). There were 190 patients (10%) who had the primary endpoint; only 2 patients died within 30 days. The history of a normal stress test was associated with a lower risk of the primary endpoint (50/762 or 7% versus 140/1095 or 13%, odds ratio 0.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.34 to 0.67, P Conclusion: Among patients presenting with chest pain to the ED and a history of stress testing within the past 2 years, a normal stress test result was associated with a markedly reduced risk of having a major cardiac endpoint. However, with the possible exception of patients presenting with initially normal biomarkers and ECG findings, the absolute risk of 7% was not reassuringly low enough to justify early discharge.
Regulatory Politics And Short Selling

The SEC has plenary authority over the short selling of exchangeregistered securities. In the past it has altered the regulatory framework for short selling only occasionally, relying primarily on no-action letters to guide evolving practices and issues. Since early 2008, the SEC promulgated, either on a proposing, final, interim-final, or emergency basis, a raft of rules related to short selling, all of which generally restrict the ability of investors to sell stocks short. Much of this rulemaking reverses a course of policy set out by the SEC to carefully balance efficiency and market quality issues. This paper considers various reasons the SEC may have struck out on such a divergent course. In particular, it highlights the role of external influences on the SEC as it relates to short selling policy.
Molecular cloning of the sphingolipid activator protein-1 (SAP-1), the sulfatide sulfatase activator.

Summary A cDNA coding for SAP-1 was isolated from a λgt11 human hepatoma expression library using polyclonal antibodies raised against human SAP-1. Three positive clones were isolated with inserts of approximately 0.3 Kb (S1.1), 2 Kb (S1.2) and 2.2 Kb (S-1.3). The latter 2 contained an internal EcoRI site. All three clones cross-hybridized with one another, indicating sequence homology. The nucleotide sequence of S-1.1 was determined. Colinearity was established between 19 amino acids obtained by sequencing the amino terminus of pure SAP-1 and 57 bp from the 5′ and of S-1.1. The open reading frame of S-1.1 coded for 67 amino acids. One glycosylation site was found 21 residues from the amino terminus, and no stop codons were found. S-1.1 codes for a mature polypeptide chain with a calculated molecular weight of 8955 daltons, corresponding to approximately 99% of mature SAP-1.
Intelligent simulation of the battlefield (ISB)

Abstract This paper discusses the development of a meta-expert system, the Intelligent Simulation of the Battlefield (ISB), for assisting military commanders with managing battlefield information and decision making. The three main components of the ISB are the Standard Army Training System-Training Exercise Development System (SATS-TREDS), the Janus combat simulation model and the Command Support System (ComSS). Integrating simulation with artificial intelligence, the three main components of the ISB merge to enhance the command and control process. ISB creates an environment to measure the effectiveness of battle commanders to focus and operate in a simulated, yet realistic, dynamic, information-driven, knowledge-assisted environment. The front-end training preparation component of the ISB structures the exercise based on mission requirements and tasks. Once the training scenario is specified through SATSTREDS, the ISB utilizes a command interface designed to build information templates for displaying information based on a commander's profile and the particular mission. The ISB system's network is configured to accommodate the flow of information generated by the Janus simulation program. With assistance by ISRA intelligent agents and associates, the information is then pushed to the ComSS decision support system. Due to the enormous flow of information, only certain, preselected data are queried and reported during the battle. Through the SATS-TREDS program, the remainder of the information is stored for later preference and review for feedback on future training needs. The ISB system promises to be a beneficial tool for classroom, training and operational environments as it conforms to the demanding requirements of realistic, dynamic and flexible simulation users.
Do 1 and 1 Make 2?: Patterns of Influence by Collaborative Authors

This article presents a rationale for studying collaborative writing and evidence that coauthors can learn about the writing process from each other. Collaborative writing is explored as an instructional activity that can help students expand their repertoire of writing strategies and their mastery of written communication skills. Collaborative writing activities also offer researchers new insights into the writing process. This discussion about collaborative writing is followed by a case study of two coauthors in the fourth grade who represent general findings from a larger study of 43 fourth- and fifth-grade writers. Detailed analyses of the composing sessions, individual texts, collaborative texts, and interviews indicate that coauthors share creative input, evaluative perspectives, composing strategies, and notions about “good writing” when they work together. Collaborative writing, thus, can complement instruction because it is a direct—albeit subtle—form of learning.
Pitfalls in Computed Tomographic Evaluation of the Cavernous Sinus

Abstract Computed tomography (CT) is the diagnostic procedure of choice in cavernous sinus evaluation. Two patients are reported with painful ophthalmoplegia due to metastatic carcinoma to the cavernous sinus in which initial CT scanning was considered to be normal. These cases illustrate the necessity of thin tomographic sections (5 mm or less), multiple projections (axial, coronal) and large doses of intravenous contrast medium (bolus and drip infusion). Careful technique is essential in order to thoroughly evaluate the parasellar region and avoid a falsenegative CT examination.
High Politics, Low Politics, and Imagined Communities in the EU 27

This article considers two perspectives of the post-Communist European integration movement. One perspective addresses rational choice economics in driving support for both the European Union, a low politics organization that emphasizes trade and social policies and NATO, a high politics defense organization. The other perspective addresses the impact that languages and ethnicity have, two factors derived from Anderson's notion of an imagined community. These two perspectives exhibit differences on how voters perceive and endorse integration in three societies in three different parts of the former Warsaw Pact. In those societies that are more ethnically and linguistically heterogeneous such as Bulgaria and Latvia, there is greater variation in backing endorsement for Western Europe from 1997 through 2004 than in societies that are more homogeneous such as Poland.
CONCOMITANTS OF ANTICIPATORY NAUSEA AND EMESIS IN CANCER PATIENTS IN CHEMOTHERAPY

Summary.-125 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy mere assessed for anticipatory nausea and anticipatory emesis, two side effects of chemotherapy for cancer. 32% and 12% of the patients reporred experiencing anticipatory nausea and emesis, respectively. The prevalence and somatic concomitants of the anticipatory symptoms were assessed using the Cancer Chemotherapy Questionnaire and a standardized interview. Analysis of variance indicated that patients evidencing anticipatory nausea, emesis, and a combination of the two symptoms differed significantly from patients without these symptoms on six somatic side effects: vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, shortness of breath, muscle weakness, and fatigue. Results from the standardized interview indicated that patients with nausea or emesis had identified several cognitions and cues (visual, olfactory, but not gustatory) temporally contiguous with the anticipatory response. The possibility that this phenomenon is the result of a cognitive conditioning process was examined and the implications of such a process were discussed. The side effects of chemotherapy include a wide array of physiological changes. Two well known side effects are nausea and emesis (vomiting) typically occurring following the chemotherapy treatment. Two related, less familiar, side effects which have been termed anticipatory nausea and anticipatory emesis have recently been reported (Redd, Andresen, & Minagawa, 1982;
A “new rhetoric” for a “new dialectic”: Prolegomena to a responsible public argument

This essay offers, as a counterpart to pragma-dialectical argument, a “new rhetoric” produced in the situated discourse of a public forum when a community addresses matters of common urgency and undertakes informed action. Such a rhetoric takes the principles of discourse ethics as its informing dialectic by identifying an interlocutor as one who is obligatedboth to argue effectively,and also to hold open, even reinforce, norms of communicative reason. Implications concerning the study of fallacies and theethos obligations of communicative reasoning are discussed.
Towards a simpler method of operational semantics for language definition

One of the needs of the computer science community is a simple, clear and generally accepted method of defining programming language semantics. Towards this end, the author presents a new approach to operational semantics based on binding, which is dubbed relational semantics. By grouping bound elements in tuples, the primary language functions are defined in a clear and concise manner. Relational semantics may be used together with BNF for a more complete yet simple language definition tool.
A nucleus-targeted alternately spliced Nix/Bnip3L protein isoform modifies nuclear factor κB (NFκB)-mediated cardiac transcription

Abstract Several Bcl2 family proteins are expressed both as mitochondrial-targeted full-length and as cytosolic truncated alternately spliced isoforms. Recombinantly expressed shorter Bcl2 family isoforms can heterotypically bind to and prevent mitochondrial localization of their full-length analogs, thus suppressing their activity by sequestration. This “sponge” role requires 1:1 expression stoichiometry; absent this an alternate role is suggested. Here, RNA sequencing revealed coordinate regulation of BH3-only protein Nix/Bnip3L (Nix) and its alternately spliced soluble form (sNix) in hearts, but relative sNix/Nix expression of ∼1:10. Accordingly, we examined other putative functions of sNix. Although Nix expressed in H9c2 rat myoblasts localized to mitochondria, sNix showed variable cytoplasmic and nuclear distribution. Tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) induced rapid and complete sNix nucleoplasmic translocation concomitant with nuclear translocation of the p65/RelA subunit of NFκB. sNix co-localized and co-precipitated with p65/RelA after TNFα stimulation; TNFα-induced sNix nuclear translocation did not occur in p65/RelA null murine embryonic fibroblasts. ChIP sequencing of TNFα-stimulated H9c2 cells revealed sNix suppression of p65/RelA binding to a subset of weaker DNA binding sites, accounting for its ability to alter gene expression in cultured cells and in vivo mouse hearts. These findings reveal TNFα-stimulated cytoplasmic-nuclear shuttling of the alternately spliced non-mitochondrial Nix isoform and uncover a role for sNix as a modulator of TNFα/NFκB-stimulated cardiac gene expression. Transcriptional co-regulation of sNix and Nix, combined with sNix posttranslational regulation by TNFα, comprises a previously unknown mechanism for molecular cross-talk between extrinsic death receptor and intrinsic mitochondrial apoptosis pathways.
Observations from the Top Off exercise.

Thomas V. Inglesby, MDa For a number of reasons, an analysis of the May 2000 Top Off exercise is an appropriate place to begin this examination of the most important issues surrounding the containment of contagious disease. First, the Top Off exercise provided the most comprehensive test to date of our medical and public health systems' ability to respond to a bioweapons attack. It revealed valuable lessons as to how the United States might deal with future epidemics. By this measure alone, the exercise must be considered a success. Second, the issues presented by our panelists are all very much a part of what happened at Top Off, and a discussion of Top Off will put them in context with each other. Last, Top Off provides a good context for the scenario that will follow. My remarks are taken from an article written by my colleagues Rita Grossman and Tara O'Toole and myself. That article, in turn, was derived from the observations of 11 senior participating officials who were observers, partici pants, or controllers in the Top Off exercise, to whom we are very grateful. We also should note that this exercise brought out the best in medicine and public health at the state and federal levels in Denver, and many people worked tirelessly for days and nights on end during the exercise. In an effort to assess the nation's crisis and consequence management capacity under extraordinary conditions, the US Congress directed the Depart ment of Justice to conduct an exercise engaging key personnel in a response to large-scale terrorist attacks. The resulting exercise took place in May 2000 and was called Top Off, so named for its engagement of top officials of the US government. It was the largest exercise of its kind to date, involving $3 million in direct costs and much more in indirect costs.
Fractional retroreflection and observation angularity measurements using imaging technology

NIST has developed a photometric imaging based method for the measurement of the coefficient of retroreflected luminance. The imaging technology based system simultaneously collects a complete dataset of coefficients of retroreflected luminance (−4° < α < 4°, −π < ρ < π) for a given entrance angle and orientation angle. The advantages include the time required to collect a large number of data points. Over a million data points can be collected in one minute compared to the collection of a thousand data points, which are an incomplete sampling of the retroreflected rho angle and observation angle space, in over 3 hours. The fast measurement of the large number of points allows for a smaller uncertainty for the determination of parameters such as fractional retroreflectance and observation angularity. The direct comparison of the two methods revealed that a larger point-by-point set is required to validate the imaging method.
Psychoanalysis as the Patient: High in Feeling, Low in Energy:

This paper examines the increasingly important role that affect is assuming in psychoanalytic research and practice. This rise in the centrality of affect has been at the expense of an independent role for motivation and a dismissal of any energy concept. Difficulties with this affect-first approach are identified and an alternative offered that accords motivation an independent role and accommodates a useful energy concept. Research on esophageal atresia, addiction, and infant suckling are cited in support of this position.
Absence of association of fetal MTHFR C677T polymorphism with prenatal Down syndrome pregnancies.

Absence of association of fetal MTHFR C677T polymorphism with prenatal Down syndrome pregnancies
Conditioned Choropleth Maps and Hypothesis Generation

Abstract The article describes a recently developed template for multivariate data analysis called conditioned choropleth maps (CCmaps). This template is a two-way layout of maps designed to facilitate comparisons. The template can show the association between a dependent variable, as represented in a classed choropleth map, and two potential explanatory variables. The data-analytic objective is to promote better-directed hypothesis generation about the variation of a dependent variable. The CCmap approach does this by partitioning the data into subsets to control the variation in the dependent variable that is associated with two conditioning variables. The interactive implementation of CCmaps introduced here provides dynamically updated map panels and statistics that help in comparing the distributions of conditioned subsets. Patterns evident across subsets indicate the association of conditioning variables with the dependent variable. The patterns lead to hypothesis generation about scientific relation...
Wear improvement evaluation of non-homogeneous surface modified materials

Abstract Quantitative evaluation of the improvement of wear properties due to surface modification is complicated by the fact that these properties vary as the modified layer is penetrated. Different methods of evaluation of the same wear test results can yield different or even contrary conclusions. In order to evaluate wear behavior correctly, a wear model that accounts for depth-dependent wear rates is developed and applied to four typical wear tests. It is found that under fixed wear test conditions, the evaluation of wear in surface modified materials depends markedly on the final depth of penetration. This is in contrast to the case of homogeneous materials, where the comparison of the wear behaviour of different materials is largely independent of wear depth. An improvement factor is introduced as the basic quantity for evaluating the wear improvement provided by surface modification. The prediction of the improvement factor from a basic tribology test is carried out for nitrogen ion-implanted Ti-6Al-4V specimens.
Using Neutrino Nucleus Interactions as a Probe of the Strong Interaction

Neutrino scattering experiments have been studying QCD for over 30 years. From the Gargamelle experiments in the early 70's, through the subsequent bubble chamber and electronic detector experiments in the 80's and 90's, neutrino scattering experiments have steadily accumulated increasing statistics and minimized their systematic errors. An example of the more recent studies of QCD with neutrinos is from the TeVatron neutrino beam—the NuTeV ν‐Fe experiment. The problem the community faces in trying to study QCD with modern neutrino data is that there is no experimentally verified way to scale neutrino‐nucleus (for example, Fe) results to the equivalent neutrino‐nucleon values making it difficult to combine neutrino nucleus scattering data with charged‐lepton nucleus and nucleon scattering data in QCD global fits to extract parton distribution functions. This is particularly crucial since there is now indications that nuclear effects in neutrino nucleus interactions are different than those measured in charged‐lepton nucleus scattering. To better understand this situation, the MINERνA neutrino‐nucleus scattering experiment at Fermilab, a collaboration of elementary‐particle and nuclear physicists, is systematically studying neutrino nuclear effects off of He, C, Fe and Pb for a more thorough A‐dependent study of nuclear PDFs and these correction factors.
Global vegetation dynamics - Satellite observations over Asia

The weekly global vegetation index (GVI) derived from the NOAA AVHRR instrument has been analyzed for the 1982-1985 period over a wide range of vegetation formations of Asia. Temporal development curves of the index are presented for environments ranging from the desert of central Asia to the tropical forest of Borneo. The paper shows that, despite the coarse resolution of the GVI product, a large set of useful information on ecosystem dynamics and cropping practices can be consistently derived from time series of such data. In addition, it is shown that the impact of the 1982-1983 El Nino Southern Oscillation-related drought can be detected in the GVI data through an analysis of anomalies in the development of selected vegetation formations. The relevance of such analysis for global vegetation monitoring and change detection is then underlined.
Performance of Children with Learning Disablities and Motor Delays on the Pediatric Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction for Balance (P-CTSIB)

The ability of children with learning disabilities and motor delays to maintain postural stability under conditions of sensory conflict was compared to that of children who were typically developing. Thirty-six children, 6 through 9 years of age, with identified learning disabilities and motor delays were matched according to age, sex, and ethnicity with 36 children who were typically developing. The Pediatric Clinical Test of Sensory Interactions for Balance (P-CTSIB) was administered to both groups. This test requires children to maintain standing balance while the sensory environment is systematically altered. Performance of the two groups on six sensory system scales were compared using the Mann-Whitney U. The children with learning disabilities and motor delays received significantly lower scores on four of the six sensory system scales. These results suggest that some children with learning disabilities and motor delays have defecits in sensory organization related to balance which may contribute to...
National Theaters on the Iberian Peninsula

In his article "National Theaters on the Iberian Peninsula," Anxo Abuin Gonzalez discusses the rise of national theaters understood as processes of national planning, starting with certain common systemic parameters developed and implemented in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. While the context Abuin Gonzalez's analysis is located in is Spain's centralized literary system, his focus is on the interliterary and systemic relationship between Galician and Portuguese theater, with some references to Catalan theater. Anxo Abuin Gonzalez, "National Theaters on the Iberian Peninsula" page 2 of 7 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 13.5 (2011): Special issue New Trends in Iberian Galician Comparative Literature. Ed. M.T. Vilarino Picos and A. Abuin Gonzalez