cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Novel all-optical switching mechanisms in media with quadratic nonlinearity

Summary form only given. Quadratic nonlinearities offer unique possibilities to control light with light. Many all-optical switching devices based on second harmonic generation have been proposed and implemented recently. However, the required operation powers remain too high for commercial applications. We identify novel dynamic scenarios that allow for considerable reduction of required power levels. In practice one often encounters a situation when several nonlinear processes act simultaneously in the same medium. Examples are interaction between several modes in waveguides, multi-step third-harmonic generation, multiple frequency-mixing etc. Since the phase matching condition is usually fulfilled for only one process, other interaction channels are typically ignored. We show that even a weak nonlinear coupling into additional waves can substantially change the system's behavior. We develop a generic analytical approach toward multiple wave mixing in quadratic media and identify novel mechanisms of all-optical modulation.
Pilot estimates of glide path and aim point during simulated landing approaches

Thesis. 1978. E.A.A.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Joint Annotation of Search Queries

Marking up search queries with linguistic annotations such as part-of-speech tags, capitalization, and segmentation, is an important part of query processing and understanding in information retrieval systems. Due to their brevity and idiosyncratic structure, search queries pose a challenge to existing NLP tools. To address this challenge, we propose a probabilistic approach for performing joint query annotation. First, we derive a robust set of unsupervised independent annotations, using queries and pseudo-relevance feedback. Then, we stack additional classifiers on the independent annotations, and exploit the dependencies between them to further improve the accuracy, even with a very limited amount of available training data. We evaluate our method using a range of queries extracted from a web search log. Experimental results verify the effectiveness of our approach for both short keyword queries, and verbose natural language queries.
Atomically precise metal nanoclusters: stable sizes and optical properties

Controlling nanoparticles with atomic precision has long been a major dream of nanochemists. Breakthroughs have been made in the case of gold nanoparticles, at least for nanoparticles smaller than ∼3 nm in diameter. Such ultrasmall gold nanoparticles indeed exhibit fundamentally different properties from those of the plasmonic counterparts owing to the quantum size effects as well as the extremely high surface-to-volume ratio. These unique nanoparticles are often called nanoclusters to distinguish them from conventional plasmonic nanoparticles. Intense work carried out in the last few years has generated a library of stable sizes (or stable stoichiometries) of atomically precise gold nanoclusters, which are opening up new exciting opportunities for both fundamental research and technological applications. In this review, we have summarized the recent progress in the research of thiolate (SR)-protected gold nanoclusters with a focus on the reported stable sizes and their optical absorption spectra. The crystallization of nanoclusters still remains challenging; nevertheless, a few more structures have been achieved since the earlier successes in Au102(SR)44, Au25(SR)18 and Au38(SR)24 nanoclusters, and the newly reported structures include Au20(SR)16, Au24(SR)20, Au28(SR)20, Au30S(SR)18, and Au36(SR)24. Phosphine-protected gold and thiolate-protected silver nanoclusters are also briefly discussed in this review. The reported gold nanocluster sizes serve as the basis for investigating their size dependent properties as well as the development of applications in catalysis, sensing, biological labelling, optics, etc. Future efforts will continue to address what stable sizes are existent, and more importantly, what factors determine their stability. Structural determination and theoretical simulations will help to gain deep insight into the structure–property relationships.
Hydrologic Data Assimilation with the Ensemble Kalman Filter

Soil moisture controls the partitioning of moisture and energy fluxes at the land surface and is a key variable in weather and climate prediction. The performance of the ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) for soil moisture estimation is assessed by assimilating L-band (1.4 GHz) microwave radiobrightness observations into a land surface model. An optimal smoother (a dynamic variational method) is used as a benchmark for evaluating the filter’s performance. In a series of synthetic experiments the effect of ensemble size and non-Gaussian forecast errors on the estimation accuracy of the EnKF is investigated. With a state vector dimension of 4608 and a relatively small ensemble size of 30 (or 100; or 500), the actual errors in surface soil moisture at the final update time are reduced by 55% (or 70%; or 80%) from the value obtained without assimilation (as compared to 84% for the optimal smoother). For robust error variance estimates, an ensemble of at least 500 members is needed. The dynamic evolution of the estimation error variances is dominated by wetting and drying events with high variances during drydown and low variances when the soil is either very wet or very dry. Furthermore, the ensemble distribution of soil moisture is typically symmetric except under very dry or wet conditions when the effects of the nonlinearities in the model become significant. As a result, the actual errors are consistently larger than ensemble-derived forecast and analysis error variances. This suggests that the update is suboptimal. However, the degree of suboptimality is relatively small and results presented here indicate that the EnKF is a flexible and robust data assimilation option that gives satisfactory estimates even for moderate ensemble sizes.
Decreased binding of apoA-I to phosphatidylcholine monolayers containing 22:6 n-3 in the sn-2 position

Previous studies have shown that dietary fish oil can modify the distribution and fatty acyl composition of plasma phospholipids. Although it is known that the type of phospholipid can affect the binding of apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), little is known about the effect of n-3 fatty acid enrichment in phospholipids on apoA-I binding. We hypothesize that phosphatidylcholine (PC) surfaces containing n-3 fatty acids at the sn-2 position bind apoA-I less avidly than those containing sn-2 18:1. PC species containing sn-1 16:0 and sn-2 18:1 (POPC), sn-2 20:5 n-3 (PEPC), or sn-2 22:6 n-3 (PDPC) were used in apoA-I monolayer binding studies. The molecular surface area at any given surface pressure (tau) was ordered: PDPC > PEPC > POPC and at tau = 25 mN/m the molecular surface areas were 86.2, 78.8 and 72 A 2/molecule, respectively. Binding of [14C]apoA-I (radiolabeled by reductive methylation) to PDPC at tau i = 15 mN/m was less than that for POPC whether expressed as nmol A-I/m2 surface or molecules A-I/1000 PC. The apparent Kd for steady state apoA-I binding to PEPC (2.1 nM) and PDPC (2.2 nM) was greater than that for POPC (1.2 nM); the maximum binding capacity (nmol/m2) was ordered PEPC (9.4) > POPC (8.1) > PDPC (6.7). Similar results were found when a fixed amount of apoA-I was injected beneath the PC monolayers equilibrated at different initial surface pressures. The calculated surface area available for bound apoA-I was 15, 17, and 23 A 2/amino acid for POPC, PEPC, and PDPC at tau i = 15 mN/m, respectively. We conclude that the binding affinity of apoA-I for PDPC and PEPC is less than that for POPC and that apoA-I bound to PDPC is more loosely folded than that to POPC. These studies suggest that the type of sn-2 fatty acid can influence apoA-I binding to PC.
PP03.16 – 2713: Metabolic disorder disguises in pediatric neurology practice

Objective To present the case of a male pediatric patient aged 2 years, who was admitted to our Department for brief paroxysmal episodes consisting in left hemiplegia, with sudden onset and ending. To study the paraclinical aspects and evolution of a condition with metabolic substrate and atypical clinical manifestations. Methods The child has been evaluated clinically and para-clinically during periodical admissions within one year, since the onset of the symptoms. We performed a full blood count, thrombophilia workup and testing for metabolic disorders. Repeated wake and sleep electroencephalographic recordings, a cerebral MRI and a cardiologic evaluation were also performed. The evolution under treatment with topiramate and later on, with levetiracetam, was noted. Results The neurologic examination of the patient was normal, except for a relative delay in the acquisition of expresssive language. The thrombophilia workup revealed a homozigous A1298C mutation in the MTHFR gene. Intermittent orotic aciduria was found. The seric homocysteine, folate, vitamin B12 were normal. The cardiologic evaluation was normal. All of the electroencephalograms performed over time were normal. The cerebral MRI was normal. The paroxysmal episodes remitted under treatment with topiramate, which the patient took for 7 months. The treatment was switched to levetiracetam, taking into consideration the parents' concern for the child's cognitive development. Under this treatment, the patient was also free of paroxysmal episodes. Conclusion The case illustrates a possible interconnected mechanism of production of the paroxysmal episodes described above. Initially, their clinical aspect pointed us towards three possible diagnoses: epileptic seizures, recurrent transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and hemiplegic migraine. The paraclinical tests favored the TIA hypothesis, with a combined, metabolic and hypercoagulability, substrate. Although no pathological electroencephalographic patterns were found, the epileptic hypothesis remains supported by the positive evolution under antiepileptic treatment, not only topiramate which could also be linked to migraine, but also levetiracetam.
Human Resources Rating of Stress Factors in Delta State Secondary Schools, Nigeria

The study examined human resources in mean ratings of stress factors in secondary schools in Delta State, Nigeria. The population consists of 170 school personnel principals and 2633 teachers in the area. A sample of 24% representing 40 principals and 10.6%, representing 280 teachers was selected through the simple random sampling technique. The study was based on the ex-post facto design. Four hypotheses were formulated to guide the study, using t-test at 0.05 level of significance. The findings showed that principals and teachers experienced on the average a moderate level of stress and their ratings of stress factors of human resources in the schools. It also revealed that the level of stress and human resources rates of male and female, principals and teachers did not differ significantly in terms of the variables of the study such as inadequate funding, community relations and workload. Based on the findings, it was recommended that every school should set high standards of conduct for school principals and teachers; provide adequate infrastructure for teachers; and both principals and teachers should relate well with the school community and the immediate environment.
The Lattice Harp: A New Hybrid Instrument And Controller

This paper describes the Lattice Harp, a new musical instrument which functions simultaneously as an acoustic instrument and a hardware controller. The Lattice Harp consists of two overlaid, perpendicular planes of strings which are electrically connected to a microcontroller. The microcontroller detects when two strings are touching and treats this data as a button being pressed. Furthermore, each string has an individual piezoelectric pickup, which allows for the strings to be separately amplified and processed while providing a method for continuous control. The pairing of normally separate performance paradigms affords new, interesting, and unexpected performance techniques.
[Epidemiological analysis on recent infected HIV-1 patients among newly reported HIV cases in Beijing, from 2009 to 2011].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the epidemiologic characteristics on newly reported HIV cases and those recently infected HIV-1 cases in the past few years in Beijing so as to find out their correlates. METHODS: All the qualified newly reported HIV serum samples from both the first quarters of 2009 2010 and the second quarter of 2011 in Beijing were tested using the BED HIV-1 incidence capture enzyme immunoassay (BED-CEIA) to identify those recent HIV-1 infection (BED positive) samples and related socio-demographic characteristics. The proportions of BED positives were determined and the correlates analyzed by SPSS software. RESULTS: The Annual qualified newly reported HIV serum samples of each year from Beijing were 274 236 and 356 with BED positive rate among them as 35.0% 31.8% and 33.7% respectively. The majority of newly reported HIV cases of each year were males (89.1% 88.6% 91.9%) range of age as 20-39 years (77.4% 75.8% 82.0%) Han nationality (77.7% 88.6% 85.7%) and most of them were not permanent residents of Beijing (74.1% 80.5% 2011 data missed). The proportions of patients through sexual transmission showed upward trend (67.5% 76.2% 86.8%). Especially in the man having sex with man (MSM)group it showed a significantly increase (44.9% 45.3% 62.6%). The proportions of injection drug users (15.3% 8.1% 9.0%)declined to some extent during this period. Data from statistics indicated that the proportions of BED positives among newly reported HIV cases of each year were significantly correlated to factors as patients sex transmission route and source of samples but not significantly correlated to patents age or marital status. Male cases accounted for 96.9% and MSM accounted for 73.5% of all the BED-positives during 2009-2011. CONCLUSION: MSM accounted for both large portion of newly reported HIV cases and recent HIV-1 infections which suggested an increasing trend in 2009-2011. It seemed that the characteristic and changing trends of HIV epidemic in Beijing was oriented by MSM population in the last years.
A phase I study of weekly topotecan and vinorelbine in recurrent lung cancer

17140 Background: Topotecan is a topoisomerase I (topo I) inhibitor that directs cytotoxic effects by stabilizing the topo I-DNA complex. Alone, topotecan has shown activity in extensive small cell...
Synthesis and Characterization of Polysulfone-Containing Poly(butylene terephthalate) Segmented Block Copolymers

A facile synthetic approach to segmented polysulfone-containing polyesters affords a versatile family of high-temperature thermoplastics with tunable thermomechanical properties. End-capping of phenol-terminated polysulfone (PSU) using ethylene carbonate generated telechelic oligomers with primary alcoholic functionality. Melt transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate and 1,4-butanediol in the presence of PSU oligomers yielded high molecular weight segmented block copolymers with alternating PSU and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) sequences. Systematic variation in PSU incorporation resulted in tunable PBT segment length and accompanying thermal properties. DSC and SAXS elucidated a miscible, amorphous PSU and PBT phase, and PBT crystallinity remained below an 80 wt % incorporation of PSU. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) revealed a crystallinity-dependent plateau regime above the copolymers glass transition temperature (Tg), while SAXS and WAXD confirmed a semicrystalline morphology below 80 wt %...
A Laboratory Study of Sediment Transport in Free Surface Flow

This paper discusses an undergraduate fluid mechanics laboratory session. The lab allows the students to observe various sediment transport phenomena in a hands-on manner. The experiments are performed in a glass-walled, tilting sediment flume. The following sediment transport phenomena are created and observed by the students — bed load, suspended load, bed forms (ripples, dunes, antidunes...), surface waves over various bed forms and local scour at flow obstructions including bridge piers and abutments. Students are able to observe local scour using PVC pipes for bridge piers and dimension lumber for abutment scour. Since the flume is 12.2-m long, a large group of students can spread out along both sides of the flume to observe bed forms and to perform local scour tests.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Aerosol-Assisted Synthesis of Shape-Controlled CoFe2O4: Topotactic versus Direct Melt Crystallization

Compositionally complex materials can be prepared as nanocrystals with defined shapes by aerosol-assisted molten salt synthesis (AMSS), where the aerosol phase spatially and temporally confines crystal growth. Here, single-crystalline CoFe2O4 nanoplates and CoFe2O4 octahedra are achieved selectively by AMSS through the use of Na2CO3 and Na2MoO4 fluxes, respectively. The formation of CoFe2O4 nanoplates is generally unexpected given the cubic crystal symmetry of spinel ferrites, but this shape is accounted for by in situ formation of a layered double hydroxide (LDH) intermediate stabilized by the CO32– anions of the flux. Topotactic conversion of the LDH intermediate to CoFe2O4 preserves the plate morphology of the LDH crystals. In contrast, the formation of the LDH intermediate is not possible with the Na2MoO4 flux. Thus, product formation proceeds via crystallization from the molten media, with octahedral crystals consistent with the common crystal habit of the spinel phase produced. This demonstration of...
Analysis of the rural living and drinking water quality monitoring results in Xishuangbanna state from 2008 to 2010

Objective:To know about the health condition of drinking water in Xishuangbanna.Methods:According to "Standard test method for drinking water",the rural drinking water was analyzed by water sampling and monitoring in Xishuangbanna.Results:966 water samples were monitored from 2008 to 2010.The qualified rates of chloride,sulfate,total dissolved solid,smell and taste,total hardness and fluoride were all 100%.The lowest qualified rate was found in total coliform(8%),followed by thermotolerant coliforms(9.2%),total bacterial count(18%) and turbidity(24.4%).The qualified rate of water samples in dry season was higher than that in wet season(χ2=29.85,P0.01),while the qualified rates of treated water and tap water had no significant difference(χ2=0.324,P0.05).Conclusion:Serious microbial pollution indicated that the water was polluted by household waste and feces of human and animal.
Study on Tip-free and Tissue-culture of Fresh Ginger's Prathogeny Detection

Tip-free and tissue-culture fresh Ginger were used polymerase chain(PCR) reaction technique and scanning electron microscopy technology to detect pathogeny.The admixture genome DNA extracted from tissue-culture fresh Ginger's roots and solid medium were used universal primer of 16s RNA to clone 16s RNA,the results indicated no target pills were detected.RNA which were extracted from tissue-culture fresh Ginger s stems and roots by trizol did not detect by Gel electrophoresis.Tissue-culture fresh Ginger's stems were used scanning electron microscopy(SEM) to observe,the results revealed that there had no global,staff,oval,filamentous,coronal,Tadpole shape and other regulation shape virus particle,only epidermis,microtubule tissue and other structure.The study presume PCR technique and scanning electron microscopy technology were effective way to detect pathogeny of Tip-free and Tissue-culture fresh Ginger.
Employment Maintenance and Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major public health problem in the United States. Negative outcomes of IPV affect women’s attainment and maintenance of employment. The purpose of this study wa...
Chemotactic response of equine polymorphonuclear leucocytes to Streptococcus equi.

Streptococcus equi infection in horses is characterised by intense infiltration of lymph nodes by polymorphonuclear leucocytes ( pmns ) suggesting a potent chemotactic response to the organism or its products. Equine pmns were separated using Ficoll-Hypaque medium and used in an assay of chemotaxis under agarose to study the components of S equi involved in this response. Results showed that complement-derived chemotactic factors generated by activation of the alternative complement pathway were important in chemotactic responses to S equi. Both whole bacteria and peptidoglycan preparations were potent complement activators, whereas purified M protein was less active. In contrast, S equi culture supernatant protein did not activate complement; instead it directly inhibited migration of pmns . Moreover, pmns , when incubated with culture supernatant of a non-haemolytic strain, showed signs of cellular degeneration suggesting the presence of a cytotoxin distinct from haemolysin.
Characterization of Microbial Mat Microbiomes in the Modern Thrombolite Ecosystem of Lake Clifton, Western Australia Using Shotgun Metagenomics.

Microbialite-forming communities interact with the environment and influence the precipitation of calcium carbonate through their metabolic activity. The functional genes associated with these metabolic processes and their environmental interactions are therefore critical to microbialite formation. The microbiomes associated with microbialite-forming ecosystems are just now being elucidated and the extent of shared pathways and taxa across different environments is not fully known. In this study, we profiled the microbiome of microbial communities associated with lacustrine thrombolites located in Lake Clifton, Western Australia using metagenomic sequencing and compared it to the non-lithifying mats associated with surrounding sediments to determine whether differences in the mat microbiomes, particularly with respect to metabolic pathways and environmental interactions, may potentially contribute to thrombolite formation. Additionally, we used stable isotope biosignatures to delineate the dominant metabolism associated with calcium carbonate precipitation in the thrombolite build-ups. Results indicated that the microbial community associated with the Lake Clifton thrombolites was predominantly bacterial (98.4 %) with Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria comprising the majority of annotated reads. Thrombolite-associated mats were enriched in photoautotrophic taxa and functional genes associated with photosynthesis. Observed δ13C values of thrombolite CaCO3 were enriched by at least 3.5 ‰ compared to theoretical values in equilibrium with lake water DIC, which is consistent with the occurrence of photoautotrophic activity in thrombolite-associated microbial mats. In contrast, the microbiomes of microbial communities found on the sandy non-lithifying sediments of Lake Clifton represented distinct microbial communities that varied in taxa and functional capability and were enriched in heterotrophic taxa compared to the thrombolite-associated mats. This study provides new insight into the taxa and functional capabilities that differentiate potentially lithifying mats from other non-lithifying types and suggests that thrombolites are actively accreting and growing in limited areas of Lake Clifton.
Evolution of Empirical and Structured Programs

Managers of computer services with well-trained personnel are strongly advised to profit from requests for modification of empirical programs by having them reconstructed and organizing their data into tree structures. In many cases the investment is less than one might expect, and exceedingly worthwhile when further modifications are requested.
CHEEK POUCH CAPACITIES AND LOADING RATES OF DEER MICE (PEROMYSCUS MANICULATUS)

Eight deer mice ( Peromyscus maniculatus were attracted to bait stations in the field and filled their cheek pouches with seeds. Pouch capacity of the deer mice, which have small, internal cheek pouches, was 0.45 ± 0.11 mL, about 12-27% of that carried by similar-sized heteromyid rodents. Cheek pouches of deer mice, although small, give them the capacity to carry 3-5 times more food than unspecialized mice. This presumably increases efficiency of deer mice in exploiting small, particulate food items that are patchily distributed.
Clinical Characterization, Prognostic Implications, and Response to Therapy In Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) and Chromsome 17 Abnormality: A Single Institutional Experience

Abstract Abstract 2930 MDS is characterized by recurrent chromosomal abnormalities that reflect the underlying genomic instability of the disease and help to predict clinical prognosis. Abnormalities of chromosome 17 have been described previously in MDS and AML and may have some association to prior exposure to cytotoxic therapy. Abnormalities of the p53 gene, which is located in the short arm of chromosome 17 (17p), have been discovered in the non-deleted allele in a large proportion these cases – suggesting an association and likely contributing to the pathogenesis of this subgroup. Here we present the clinical characteristics, prognosis, and response to therapy of patients (pts) with MDS with and without chromosome 17 abnormalities in our single center experience. We analyzed our records for cases of MDS referred to MD Anderson Cancer Center from 2000–2009. Of the 1638 cases of MDS examined, 88 (5.4%) had evidence of any chromosome 17 abnormality (abnl). The specific chromosome 17 abnormalities were: 17p- in 8 (9%); der 17 in 1 (1%); -17 in 78 (89%); and 17p-, -17 in 1 (1%). In terms of the complete karyotype, the pts could be grouped as: 17 abnl with complex (95%), 17 abnl with -5 or -7 (94%), and 17 abnl non-complex (5%). There were no cases with an isolated 17 abnl. The median age of these pts with chromosome 17 abnormality (cohort A) was 67 yrs (range 16–87), compared to 67 (13-94) in the pts without chromosome 17 abnormality (cohort B, n=1550). The MDS diagnoses by WHO in cohort A were RA, MDS-U in 23 (26%), RAEB in 64 (73%), and 5q- in 1 (1%) compared with 47%, 52%, and 1% in cohort B respectively (p=0.001). Stratification by IPSS (International Prognostic Scoring System) in cohort A revealed 0 (0%) with low risk, 8 (9%) with intermediate-1 (INT-1), 56 (64%) with INT-2, and 20 (23%) with high risk compared with 19%, 40%, 29%, and 9% in the respective IPSS groups in cohort B (p Pts with MDS with a chromosome 17 abnormality represent a small percentage of the total cases. However, they are characterized by a high risk disease with elevated bone marrow blasts, complex/adverse cytogenetics, association with prior therapy, and a relatively poor survival. There is an association with chromosome 5 and 7 abnormality and may suggest cooperation in the pathogenesis. Given the high incidence of biallelic p53 loss in this group of pts, alternative antineoplastic therapies which circumvent the requirement for p53 function need to be developed. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Neurocognitive Deficits of Concussed Adolescent Athletes at Self-reported Symptom Resolution in the Zurich Guidelines Era.

Background:Previous studies have evaluated high school and collegiate athletes in the pre–Zurich guidelines era; whether adolescent athletes demonstrate similar neurocognitive decrements in the cur...
Here, There, and Back Again with the Social Foundations of Education: Tracing Conocimientos In/Toward Coalitional Journeys

This article narrates a parallel personal and professional journey of scholarly engagement with the field of the social foundations of education and its home in the American Educational Studies Association. It draws on Gloria Anzaldua's (2000) notion of conocimiento as multileveled and connective knowings, and Maria Lugones's (2008) idea of coalitional journeys to describe the histories and possibilities for the field.
Labels vs. Pictures: Treatment-Mode Effects in Experiments About Discrimination

Does treatment mode matter in studies of the effects of candidate race or ethnicity on voting decisions? The assumption implicit in most such work is that such treatment mode differences are either small and/or theoretically well understood, so that the choice of how to signal the race of a candidate is largely one of convenience. But this assumption remains untested. Using a nationally representative sample of white voting-age citizens and a modified conjoint design, we evaluate whether signaling candidate ethnicity with ethnic labels and names results in different effects than signaling candidate ethnicity with ethnically identifiable photos and names. Our results provide strong evidence that treatment-mode effects are substantively large and statistically significant. Further, these treatment-mode effects are not consistent with extant theoretical accounts. These results highlight the need for additional theoretical and empirical work on race/ethnicity treatment-mode effects.
Mapping race and environment: geography's entanglements with Aryanism

Abstract This article examines how theories of Aryanism influenced geographic theories of race and environmental influence. The argument is made that the entanglements between Aryanism and geographic theories of race provide a new site in assessing the history of geographic thought. It begins by illuminating the rise of Aryanism in colonial India. As it moved across time and space, Aryanism became a foundational element in racial science, and informed a number of disciplines, including geography. The majority of the article is devoted to exposing the influence of Aryanism in American geography from the mid nineteenth to the early twentieth centuries. The paper finds that the influential geographers Arnold Guyot, Nathaniel Shaler, Friedrich Ratzel, Ellen Semple, and Ellsworth Huntington were all indebted to Aryanism in the production of their theories of race and the environment.
GPR: A Data Mining Tool Using Genetic Programming

This paper proposes an inductive data mining technique (named GPR) based on genetic programming. Unlike other mining systems, the particularity of our technique is its ability to discover business rules that satisfy multiple (and possibly conflicting) decision or search criteria simultaneously. We present a step-by-step method to implement GPR, and introduce a prototype that generates production rules from real life data. We also report in this article on the use of GPR in an organization that seeks to understand how its employees make decisions in a “voluntary separation" program. Using a personnel database of 12,787 employees with 35 descriptive variables, our technique is able to discover employees’ hidden decision making patterns in the form of production rules. As our approach does not require any domain specific knowledge, it can be used without any major modification in different domains.
Impact of Man on Coastal Marine Ecosystems

ABSTRACT Dissolved Pb, ranging from 5 – 15 ng/kg in open-ocean surface waters up to 50 ng/kg in highly polluted coastal waters, enters marine food chains at the 10−8 g Pb/g fw level by adsorption onto surfaces of algae which are consumed by herbivores. Dissolved Pb and biological productivity tend to be inversely correlated in surface ocean waters. Benthic filter-feeders consume particles containing 10−6 g Pb/g wet wt, yet the 10−9 g Pb/g fw concentrations in their tissues are the same as those in benthic grazers whose food contains 10−8 g Pb/g fw. The isotopic composition of dated coastal basin sediment cores conclusively documents the increasing pollution of the marine biosphere by industrial Pb, derived primarily from gasoline Pb-alkyls.
Interleukin-6 Inhibits Fas-Induced Apoptosis and Stress-Activated Protein Kinase Activation in Multiple Myeloma Cells

Fas belongs to the family of type-1 membrane proteins that transduce apoptotic signals. In the present studies, we characterized signaling during Fas-induced apoptosis in RPMI-8226 and IM-9 multiple myeloma (MM) derived cell lines as well as patient plasma cell leukemia cells. Treatment with anti-Fas (7C11) monoclonal antibody (MoAb) induced apoptosis, evidenced by internucleosomal DNA fragmentation and propidium iodide staining, and was associated with increased expression of c-jun early response gene. We also show that anti-Fas MoAb treatment is associated with activation of stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK); however, no detectable increase in extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1 and ERK2) activity was observed. Because interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a growth factor for MM cells and inhibits apoptosis induced by dexamethasone and serum starvation, we examined whether IL-6 affects anti-Fas MoAb-induced apoptosis and activation of SAPK or p38 MAPK in MM cells. Culture of MM cells with IL-6 before treatment with anti-Fas MoAb significantly reduced both DNA fragmentation and activation of SAPK, without altering induction of p38 MAPK activity. These results therefore suggest that anti-Fas MoAb-induced apoptosis in MM cells is associated with activation of SAPK, and that IL-6 may both inhibit apoptosis and modulate SAPK activity.
Head and neck cancer in octogenarians: A single center experience.

e18044Background: The incidence of head and neck cancer (HNC) in the elderly is increasing. Although data regarding treatment paradigms for older patients have been published,there is little data f...
The State of the Union: Contemporary Interminority Attitudes in the United States

An emerging body of work examines relations among marginalized groups, presupposing that interminority interactions display increased levels of animosity or compassion as compared to majority–minor...
Beethoven and Musical Self-Consciousness

People talk so much about music and they say so little. I am absolutely certain that words are not adequate to it, and if ever I found that they were, I should eventually give up composition. – Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Mendelssohn's low opinion of talk about music, a common sentiment among composers, musicians, and music lovers, did not prevent him from continuing to engage in it. He not only composed many brilliant works, and performed many more, he also attended Hegel's lectures on aesthetics and read widely on music, art, and literature. He was a close friend of Adolf Bernhard Marx, the editor of the Berliner allgemeine musikalische Zeitung , a leading journal of music reviews and essays on music, and as both an active composer and a member of Berlin society, Mendelssohn had an excellent working knowledge of current debates in the philosophy of music. People in early-nineteenth-century Europe did, indeed, talk about music a lot, and the same issue came up repeatedly: does all this talk really have anything to do with the actual composition, performance, and experience of music? I believe that it does. Listeners from E. T. A. Hoffmann to the present have frequently reported the singular affective power of Beethoven's music and attributed some form of self-consciousness to it as well, but describing the relationship between this perceived content and Beethoven's compositional technique runs directly counter to the persistent view, expressed by Mendelssohn, Schiller, Hegel, Wordsworth, and many others, that music represents precisely the antidiscursive element contained in all art forms: the aesthetic.
Falling Again? Falls in Geriatric Adults-Risk Factors and Outcomes Associated With Recidivism.

Abstract Background The elderly population is at increased risk of fall-related readmissions (FRRs). This study is aimed to identify the factors predictive of repeat falls and to analyze the associated outcomes. Methods We studied the Nationwide Readmission Database for the year 2010 and identified the patients (≥65 years) who were admitted after falls, and from that subset, further analyzed patients with ≥1 FRRs. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze continuous and categorical variables. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify predictors of readmission in geriatric patients after controlling for covariates. Results A total of 358,581 initial fall-related admissions in geriatric adults were identified, and of these, 21,713 experienced ≥1 FRRs (6.06% risk of repeat fall-related admission). Females outnumbered males, and female gender was identified as an independent predictor of FRR (OR 1.10 95% CI 1.07-1.14 P = 0.000). The other independent predictors significantly associated with FRR were age (OR 1.007, 95% CI 1.005-1.009), depression (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.21-1.30), drug abuse (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.15-1.63), liver disease (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.15-1.43, P 500 was associated with lower odds (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.92-0.98, P 1 million) had higher odds of FRR (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.03 – 1.16) and (OR 1.10, 95% C1 1.07-1.14), respectively. With respect to discharge disposition, patients in the FRR group were less likely to go home (5.9% versus 21.0%) or with home health care (12.6% versus 18.5%), but more likely to be discharged to skilled nursing or intermediate-care facilities (64.1% versus 54.9%) and short-term hospitals (2.8% versus 1.4%). The mortality rate was higher in the FRR group but was not statistically significant (OR 1.06, 95% CI 0.99-1.14). Conclusions Given the high burden of fall-related injuries and FRRs to patients and the health care system, it is essential to identify those who are at risk. This study provides a comprehensive list of high-risk predictors as well as the impact on patient outcomes, and hence a chance to intervene for patients with FRRs.
Strategies to Respond to Climate Changes - the Role of International Organizations

This Congress is addressing crucial aspects of the most important global environmental problem, indeed after the question of nuclear arms and poverty in the developing world, control of climate change now surely ranks as the greatest international issue.
Dynamic Routing in ATM Networks

Given the great gains in performance achieved by dynamic routing for telephone networks, we are compelled to study similar routing schemes for ATM networks. Unlike traditional telephone networks, however, ATM networks statistically multiplex traffic with heterogeneous bandwidth and QoS requirements. The statistical multiplexing and the heterogeneity of traffic substantially complicate the design of the routing scheme.
Green, Low-Cost, User-Friendly, and Elastomeric (GLUE) Microfluidics

Micro total analysis systems (µTAS) are highly attractive across numerous fields including science, engineering and medicine due to their portability, low power use and efficient sample and reagent consumption. Development of fully-functional microfluidic devices is based on iterative design and testing of multiple prototype microdevices, and the use of hazardous conventional microfabrication methods makes this iterative process resource-intensive and prohibitive for many users worldwide. Rapid prototyping techniques can alleviate these issues, enabling accelerated development of microfluidic structures at reduced costs, making this technology available to a broader user base, from classrooms to researchers in laboratories with limited resources. Here, we present a Green, Low-cost, User-friendly and Elastomeric (GLUE) rapid-prototyping method to fabricate custom master molds for polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) based microfluidic devices, using an application of water-soluble poly(vinyl) acetate (PVAc) glue. T...
Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Rural-Urban Disparities and Considerations

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a primary cause of pediatric morbidity. The improved characterization of healthcare disparities for pediatric TBI in United States (U.S.) rural communities is needed to advance care. Methods: The PubMed database was queried using keywords ((“brain/head trauma” OR “brain/head injury”) AND “rural/underserved” AND “pediatric/child”). All qualifying articles focusing on rural pediatric TBI, including the subtopics epidemiology (N = 3), intervention/healthcare cost (N = 6), and prevention (N = 1), were reviewed. Results: Rural pediatric TBIs were more likely to have increased trauma and head injury severity, with higher-velocity mechanisms (e.g., motor vehicle collisions). Rural patients were at risk of delays in care due to protracted transport times, inclement weather, and mis-triage to non-trauma centers. They were also more likely than urban patients to be unnecessarily transferred to another hospital, incurring greater costs. In general, rural centers had decreased access to mental health and/or specialist care, while the average healthcare costs were greater. Prevention efforts, such as mandating bicycle helmet use through education by the police department, showed improved compliance in children aged 5–12 years. Conclusions: U.S. rural pediatric patients are at higher risk of dangerous injury mechanisms, trauma severity, and TBI severity compared to urban. The barriers to care include protracted transport times, transfer to less-resourced centers, increased healthcare costs, missing data, and decreased access to mental health and/or specialty care during hospitalization and follow-up. Preventative efforts can be successful and will require an improved multidisciplinary awareness and education.
Chapter 90 – Calcineurin

Publisher Summary Calcineurin is a protein phosphatase also known as proteinphosphatase 3, and calcium-dependent serine-threonine phosphatase. Calcineurin (also called PP2B), a protein phosphatase under the control of Ca2+ and calmodulin (CaM), is ideally suited to play an important role in modulating cellular responses in response to the second messenger Ca2+. The specific inhibition of calcineurin by FK506 and CsA and the overexpression of the catalytic subunit of a CaM-independent derivative of calcineurin (calcineurin Aα, residues 1 to 392) have been widely used to identify the roles of calcineurin in the regulation of cellular processes as diverse as gene expression, ion homeostasis, muscle differentiation, embryogenesis, secretion, and neurological functions. The alteration of calcineurin activity has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diseases such as cardiac hypertrophy, congenital heart disease, and immunological and neurological disorders. The functions of calcineurin include T cell activation, muscle differentiation, cardiac hypertrophy, cell death and differentiation, ion homeostasis, and maintaining neuronal functions. The importance of calcineurin in the regulation of cellular processes is well known. Equally significant is its involvement in the pathogenesis of many diseases, which is now well established, and the role of other signaling molecules. To fully assess the contribution of calcineurin in the transduction of so many diverse signals it is evident that it is imperative to understand how different pathways interact with each other, which is the focus of the chapter.
Market Power in the Presence of Adverse Selection

Market power can reduce the symptoms of adverse selection. To see the relationship, consider the incentive for a firm to offer a product that appeals to low-risk consumers and leads high-risk consumers to purchase insurance elsewhere. This incentive problem can be addressed through regulation but is also absent in a monopoly. This paper develops a model of welfare to explicitly characterize the substitutability between adverse selection regulation and market power. Market concentration has welfare benefits by reducing inefficient sorting of consumers among available plan options, a symptom of adverse selection. However, since market concentration also carries the welfare cost of higher markups, the magnitude and net direction of the effects are an empirical question. The model is estimated for the non-group market using novel choice data from a private online broker and a risk prediction model to relate preferences to marginal cost. The analysis focuses on two policies that target different dimensions of adverse selection: risk adjustment and the individual mandate. A simulation of a proposed merger of two insurance firms shows that, in the absence of a risk adjustment policy, the merger improves consumer welfare in markets that are not already highly concentrated. While the risk adjustment policy does not optimally price the sorting externality, it is successful in reducing the welfare cost of inefficient sorting and also eliminating the potential benefit to consumers from additional market power. The individual mandate is successful in increasing the insurance rate and lowering prices in the least concentrated markets, but leads to higher prices in the most concentrated markets. These results suggest that selection regulation is advantageous in competitive insurance markets, and less necessary and potentially harmful in very concentrated markets.
Guest editor’s overview

Each year the University Council for Educational Leadership (UCEA) honors a deserving educational leadership professor with the Jay D. Scribner Mentoring Award for making ‘substantive contribution[...
Broad P V Absorption in the BALQSO, PG 1254+047: Column Densities, Ionizations and Metal Abundances in BAL Winds

This paper discusses the detection of P V 1118,1128 and other broad absorption lines (BALs) in archival HST spectra of the low-redshift BALQSO, PG 1254+047. The P V identification is secured by excellent redshift and profile coincidences with the other BALs, such as C IV 1548,1550 and Si IV 1393,1403, and by photoionization calculations showing that other lines near this wavelength, e.g. Fe III 1123, should be much weaker than P V. The observed BAL strengths imply that either 1) there are extreme abundance ratios such as [C/H] >~ +1.0, [Si/H] >~ +1.8 and [P/C] >~ +2.2, or 2) at least some of the lines are much more optically thick than they appear. I argue that the significant presence of P V absorption indicates severe line saturation, which is disguised in the observed (moderate-strength) BALs because the absorber does not fully cover the continuum source(s) along our line(s) of sight. Computed optical depths for all UV resonance lines show that the observed BALs are consistent with solar abundances if 1) the ionization parameter is at least moderately high, log U >~ -0.6, 2) the total hydrogen column density is log N_H(cm-2) >~ 22.0, and 3) the optical depths in strong lines like C IV and O VI 1032,1038 are >~25 and >~80, respectively. These optical depths and column densities are at least an order of magnitude larger than expected from the residual intensities in the BAL troughs, but they are consistent with the large absorbing columns derived from X-ray observations of BALQSOs. The outflowing BALR, at velocities from -15,000 to -27,000 km/s in PG 1254+047, is therefore a strong candidate for the X-ray absorber in BALQSOs.
African Capital Markets: Challenges and Opportunities

Africa encompasses a wide range of market conditions, from rapidly emerging economies to countries with a long history with financial markets. Produced in partnership with the African Securities Exchanges Association, this collection of essays includes the perspectives of authors in local markets who provide their analysis of the history, current developments, and future outlook for South Africa, Nigeria, Mauritius, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Egypt, Botswana, and East Africa. For prospective investors, the book provides valuable insights on how changing regulation, evolving financial technology, and expanding investor access are transforming local markets on the continent.