cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Maternal immune activation with staphylococcal enterotoxin A produces unique behavioral changes in C57BL/6 mouse offspring.

Abstract Stimulation of the immune system during pregnancy, known as maternal immune activation (MIA), can cause long-lasting neurobiological and behavioral changes in the offspring. This phenomenon has been implicated in the etiology of developmental psychiatric disorders, such as autism and schizophrenia. Much of this evidence is predicated on animal models using bacterial agents such as LPS and/or viral mimics such as Poly I:C, both of which act through toll-like receptors. However, fewer studies have examined the role of direct activation of maternal T-cells during pregnancy using microbial agents. Bacterial superantigens, such as Staphylococcal Enterotoxin A and B (SEA; SEB), are microbial proteins that activate CD4+ T-cells and cause prominent T-cell proliferation and cytokine production. We injected pregnant and non-pregnant adult female C57BL/6 mice with 200 μ g/Kg of SEA, SEB, or 0.9% saline, and measured splenic T-cell-derived cytokine concentrations (viz., IL-2, IFN- γ , IL-6, and IL-4) 2 h later; animals injected with SEA were also measured for splenic concentrations of TNF- α and IL-17A. Half of the injected pregnant animals were brought to term, and their offspring were tested on a series of behavioral tasks starting at six weeks of age (postnatal day 42 [P42]). These tasks included social interaction, the elevated plus maze (EPM), an open field and object recognition (OR) task, prepulse inhibition (PPI) of sensorimotor gating, and the Morris water maze (MWM). Results showed that SEA and SEB induced significant concentrations of all measured cytokines, and in particular IFN- γ , although cytokine responses were greater following SEA exposure. In addition, pregnancy induced an inhibitory effect on cytokine production. Behavioral results showed distinct phenotypes among offspring from SEA- or SEB-injected mothers, very likely due to differences in the magnitude of cytokines generated in response to each toxin. Offspring from SEA-injected mothers displayed modest decreases in social behavior, but increased anxiety, locomotion, interest in a novel object, and short-term spatial memory, while offspring of SEB-injected mothers only exhibited increased anxiety and locomotion. There were no deficits in PPI, which was actually pronounced in SEA and SEB offspring. Overall, the novel use of SEA and SEB as prenatal immune challenges elicited distinct behavioral profiles in the offspring that both mirrors and diverges from previous models of maternal immune activation in important ways. We conclude that superantigen-induced T-cell-mediated maternal immune activation is a valid and valuable model for studying and expanding our understanding of the effects of prenatal immune challenge on neurodevelopmental and behavioral alterations in offspring.
The role of multiple-choice tests in increasing access to difficult-to-retrieve information

Answering multiple-choice questions improves access to otherwise difficult-to-retrieve knowledge tested by those questions. Here, I examine whether multiple-choice questions can also improve access...
Kock Pouch Procedures: Continuing Experience and Evolution in 135 Cases

AbstractBetween April 1985 and January 1989, 135 consecutive patients underwent construction of a Kock pouch (to the skin in 72 patients, a urethral pouch in 45, an ileorectal pouch in 10 and a hemi-Kock pouch augmentation cystoplasty in 8). The operative mortality (30 days) rate was 4.4%. There were 16 early complications (12.4%) leading to 14 reoperations (11%), with a followup of 6 to 60 months. After Kock pouch to the skin, the late complication rate was 26.1% in the Kock-Skinner technique group and 7.4% in the simplified technique group, and 94.2% of the patients were continent. After a urethral Kock pouch daytime continence was achieved in 93% of the patients within 2 months and nighttime dryness was noted in 65% within 3 months. After an ileorectal Kock pouch all patients were continent day and night, as were those after hemi-Kock pouch augmentation, although 5 of the latter patients required intermittent catheterization.
Temperature Trends in Minnesota

The change in average summer, winter, and annual temperatures of 19 Minnesota stations was investigated. Records were studied for a uniform number of years for comparative purposes as well as for t...
THE ROLE OF DISCRIMINATION LEARNING IN AGE DIFFERENCES IN RISK TAKING

AbstractOlder adults (OAs) are generally more risk averse than younger adults (YAs) on the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART), but OAs are also less successful in avoiding explosions than YAs. The present study examines whether these age differences are primarily driven by (1) risk-taking tendencies, or (2) both risk taking and learning. We hypothesized that OAs would perform less well than YAs, particularly with regard to discrimination between balloon capacities, and that this age difference would increase with experience. 49 younger females (mean age = 29.8, SD = 5.4) and 37 older females (mean age = 62.4, SD = 5.4) completed the BART with high- and low-capacity balloons, presented in a randomized order. OAs pumped less and gained fewer points than did YAs. Supporting our hypothesis, OAs, relative to YAs, discriminated less between balloon capacities. Exploratory analyses examining the role of physiological responses in discrimination learning will be discussed.
Neutrophilic leukemoid reaction associated with plasma cell neoplasm mimicking chronic neutrophilic leukemia

![Figure][1] A 60-year-old man presented with persistent leukocytosis (white blood cell [WBC] count, 26 × 109/L; panel A, original magnification ×400, Wright-Giemsa stain). Peripheral blood showed increased neutrophils (80%; absolute neutrophil count, 21 × 109/L) with toxic granules but no
Conformation dependence of tyrosine binding on the surface of graphene: Bent prefers over parallel orientation

Abstract Binding of tyrosine (Tyr) with two finite size graphene sheets of 62 and 186 carbon atoms was investigated using M06-2X/6-31G(d) level. Thorough conformational analysis was done for tyrosine to select few conformers to explore their complexation by considering different orientations on the surface of graphene. The binding energy values are not significantly changed while moving from small to large graphene. Tyrosine exhibits strong π-π interactions that support recent experiments on binding of aromatic amino acids on the surface of graphene and modified graphene. The binding energies of 9.4–9.9 kcal/mol were obtained for different conformers of tyrosine binding with graphene via parallel orientation (having π-π and C(β)-H…π interactions). Owing to multiple interactions including C-H…π, N-H/O-H…π and π-π, the bent prefers over parallel orientation (by 1 kcal/mol) for the high energy conformer of Tyr adsorption on graphene. The binding energies in the aqueous medium are slightly lower than those obtained in the gas phase. HOMO-LUMO energy gaps calculated at the TPSSh/6-31G(d) level suggest that adsorption of tyrosine conformers with different orientations on the surface of graphene does not affect the band gap value of graphene (1.43 and 0.08 eV correspondingly for small and large graphene). Intermolecular orbital interactions support the π-π interactions in bent and parallel orientations of tyrosine with graphene.
State filling and time-resolved photoluminescence of excited states in InxGa1-xAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots.

We present radiative lifetime measurements of excited states in semiconductor self-assembled quantum dots. By increasing the photoexcitation intensity, excited-state interband transitions up to n=5 can be observed in photoluminescence. The dynamics of the interband transitions and the intersublevel relaxation in these zero-dimensional energy levels lead to state filling of the lower-energy states, allowing the Fermi level to be raised by more than 200 meV due to the combined large intersublevel spacing and the low density of states. The decay time of each energy level obtained under various excitation conditions is used to evaluate the intersublevel thermalization time. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Comparison of Approaches to ent-Morphine via Radical, Cationic, and Heck-Type Cyclizations

3-(2-{6S-(2-Bromo-6-methoxyphenoxy)-5S-[tert-butyl(dimethyl)silyloxy)cyclohex-1-en-1-yl}ethyl)oxazol-2(3H)-one 14 was subjected to Heck cyclization conditions to afford diben- zofuran derivative 16. The comparison of stepwise vs cascade approaches to 8 via radical, cationic, and Heck-type cyclizations is discussed.
Realities and Myths of the 'Triple Nexus': Local Perspectives on Peacebuilding, Development, and Humanitarian Action in Mali

Despite decades of development programming for a country once upheld as a “model democracy” in Africa, Mali remains a country destabilized by extreme poverty; escalating violence and instability; and diminishing prospects for Malians’ futures in education, livelihoods, and security. Even in light of an ongoing international presence and intervention in the country, and millions of dollars raised and spent each year on humanitarian programming, the persistent degradation of governance, livelihoods, and security continues. What drives this state of affairs? How have international and regional actors contributed to sustaining a stagnating state at the expense of civilian populations and in the interest of preventing transnational Sahelian turmoil from expanding into the Maghreb and beyond to European borders? What are the expectations and aspirations of local communities as they navigate the interconnected influences of extremist groups, government actors, and international military forces? This paper examines these questions and offers reflections on various dynamics of the international response and the perceptions of local communities in this context. In particular, this analysis assesses the viability of the “triple nexus” concept, which aims — in protracted and complex crises such as Mali — to forge an operational and policy alignment between international peacebuilding, development, and humanitarian efforts. The paper is based on a desk analysis of relevant literature, as well as over 130 interviews and consultations undertaken with a variety of stakeholders, including government and non-state armed group representatives, civil society members, activists, journalists, humanitarians, analysts, diplomats, entrepreneurs, beneficiaries, displaced people, and students. The interviews were conducted in Mali, particularly in Bamako and in Central Mali, as well as abroad, between December 2018 and March 2019.
Characterization of amino acid substitutions in feline coronavirus 3C-like protease from a cat with feline infectious peritonitis treated with a protease inhibitor.

Abstract Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a highly fatal disease caused by a virulent feline coronavirus in domestic and wild cats. We have previously reported the synthesis of potent coronavirus 3C-like protease (3CLpro) inhibitors and the efficacy of a protease inhibitor, GC376, in client-owned cats with FIP. In this study, we studied the effect of the amino acid changes in 3CLpro of feline coronavirus from a feline patient who received antiviral treatment for prolonged duration. We generated recombinant 3CLpro containing the identified amino acid changes (N25S, A252S or K260 N) and determined their susceptibility to protease inhibitors in the fluorescence resonance energy transfer assay. The assay showed that N25S in 3CLpro confers a small change (up to 1.68-fold increase in the 50% inhibitory concentration) in susceptibility to GC376, but other amino acid changes do not affect susceptibility. Modelling of 3CLpro carrying the amino acid changes was conducted to probe the structural basis for these findings. The results of this study may explain the observed absence of clinical resistance to the long-term antiviral treatment in the patients.
Enteroids expressing a disease-associated mutant of EpCAM are a model for congenital tufting enteropathy.

Here, we develop a novel ex vivo enteroid model for congenital tufting enteropathy (CTE) based on epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EPCAM) gene mutations found in patients. With this model we demo...
Advances in Disease Mechanisms and Translational Technologies: Clinicopathologic Significance of Inflammasome Activation in Autoimmune Diseases.

Autoimmune diseases are characterized by dysregulated immune tolerance to self and inflammatory damage to tissues and organs. The development of inflammation involves multiple innate and adaptive immune pathways. Inflammasomes are multimeric cytosolic protein complexes that form to mediate host immune responses upon recognizing pathogen- or damage-associated molecular patterns via pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs). The accelerating pace of inflammasome research has demonstrated important roles for inflammasome activation in many pathologic conditions, including infectious, metabolic, autoinflammatory, and autoimmune diseases. The inflammasome generally comprises a PRR, procaspase 1, and an adaptor molecule connecting the PRR and procaspase 1. Upon inflammasome activation, procaspase 1 becomes active caspase 1 that converts pro-interleukin-1β (proIL-1β) and proIL-18 into mature and active IL-1β and IL-18, respectively. The cytokines IL-1β and IL-18 have multipotent effects on immune and nonimmune cells and induce and promote systemic and local inflammatory responses. Human studies have shown increased levels of these cytokines, altered activation of inflammasome-related molecules, and/or the presence of inflammasome activators in rheumatic diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, crystal-induced arthropathies, and Sjogren's syndrome. Such changes are found in the primary target organs, such as the kidneys, joints, and salivary glands, as well as in the cardiovascular system. In animal models of rheumatic diseases, inflammation and tissue damage improve upon genetic or pharmacologic targeting of the inflammasome, supporting its pathogenic role. Herein, we review the clinicopathologic significance and therapeutic targeting of inflammasome activation in rheumatic diseases and related conditions based on recent findings.
Remittances and Small-Scale Coastal Fishing in a Developing Country

Remittances to developing countries exceed $550 billion annually. Although many poor rural households that depend on these remittances also harvest local common-pool resources, few studies explore this relationship. We develop a dynamic model of a coastal fishing household with remittance income. Remittances increase fishing capital investment if households perceive current consumption to be scarce relative to discounted future consumption. This can occur if households heavily discount the future or expect fishing yields to recover. In an empirical application to a Malaysian fishery, we find that households with greater remittance receipts from family migrants either had larger boats and more hired labor, or were more likely to invest in labor-saving capital equipment. These relationships hold most strongly among small-scale artisanal fishers, who are most likely to be financially constrained and more heavily discount the future. We discuss the implications for broader remittance policies in comparison to traditional fisheries management policies.
Medical Education's Wicked Problem: Achieving Equity in Assessment for Medical Learners.

Despite a lack of intent to discriminate, physicians educated in United States medical schools and residency programs often take actions that systematically disadvantage minority patients. The approach to assessment of learner performance in medical education can similarly disadvantage minority learners. The adoption of holistic admissions strategies to increase the diversity of medical training programs has not been accompanied by increases in diversity in honor societies, selective residency programs, medical specialties, and medical school faculty. These observations prompt justified concerns about structural and interpersonal bias in assessment. This manuscript characterizes equity in assessment as a "wicked problem" with inherent conflicts, uncertainty, dynamic tensions, and susceptibility to contextual influences. The authors review the underlying individual and structural causes of inequity in assessment. Using an organizational model, they propose strategies to achieve equity in assessment and drive institutional and systemic improvement based on clearly articulated principles. This model addresses the culture, systems, and assessment tools necessary to achieve equitable results that reflect stated principles. Three components of equity in assessment that can be measured and evaluated to confirm success include intrinsic equity (selection and design of assessment tools), contextual equity (the learning environment in which assessment occurs), and instrumental equity (uses of assessment data for learner advancement and selection and program evaluation). A research agenda to address these challenges and controversies and demonstrate reduction in bias and discrimination in medical education is presented.
Understanding esophageal neurofibroma: A case series and systematic review.

Abstract Introduction Esophageal neurofibroma is a rare benign esophageal neoplasm. With very few cases documented in the literature, not much is known about the demographics and clinicopathologic features of this tumor. This study was aimed at presenting a case report of an esophageal neurofibroma, and to conduct a systematic review of published cases. Method This review was performed according to the PRISMA guidelines. Literature search was conducted through PubMed, SCOPUS, and Cochrane Databases from inception until May 2020 for all histologically confirmed cases of esophageal neurofibroma. Results 28 cases, including the newly reported case, were included in the review. The mean age at diagnosis was 53.3 years ±12.1. 53.6% were male. Dysphagia was the most common presenting symptom (53.6%). Most of the reported cases involved the upper esophagus (39.3%). The most utilized diagnostic test was esophagogastroduodenoscopy (57.1%). The mean tumor size was 6.1 cm ± 5.1. Preoperative biopsy was done for 9 cases, out of which seven were negative or inconclusive. In 17 cases (60.7%), immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of the resected tumor was not performed. S100 was the most utilized IHC stain. Enucleation (39.3%) was the most common treatment, followed by esophagectomy (28.6%). Conclusion Esophageal neurofibroma should be considered in the setting of dysphagia caused by a subepithelial tumor. Accurate preoperative histologic diagnosis by using a well-defined biopsy algorithm, in conjunction with IHC analysis, will favor less aggressive surgical treatment and surveillance of asymptomatic lesions. Minimally invasive surgical treatment is feasible and should be considered when the expertise is available.
A transfer learning approach for improved classification of carbon nanomaterials from TEM images

The extensive use of carbon nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes/nanofibers (CNTs/CNFs) in industrial settings has raised concerns over the potential health risks associated with occupational exposure to these materials. These exposures are commonly in the form of CNT/CNF-containing aerosols, resulting in a need for a reliable structure classification protocol to perform meaningful exposure assessments. However, airborne carbonaceous nanomaterials are very likely to form mixtures of individual nano-sized particles and micron-sized agglomerates with complex structures and irregular shapes, making structure identification and classification extremely difficult. While manual classification from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images is widely used, it is time-consuming due to the lack of automation tools for structure identification. In the present study, we applied a convolutional neural network (CNN) based machine learning and computer vision method to recognize and classify airborne CNT/CNF particles from TEM images. We introduced a transfer learning approach to represent images by hypercolumn vectors, which were clustered via K-means and processed into a Vector of Locally Aggregated Descriptors (VLAD) representation to train a softmax classifier with the gradient boosting algorithm. This method achieved 90.9% accuracy on the classification of a 4-class dataset and 84.5% accuracy on a more complex 8-class dataset. The developed model established a framework to automatically detect and classify complex carbon nanostructures with potential applications that extend to the automated structural classification for other nanomaterials.
Reduced-Order Models for Ranking Damage Initiation in Dual-Phase Composites Using Bayesian Neural Networks

The design and development of materials with increased damage resilience is often impeded by the difficulty in establishing the precise linkages, with quantified uncertainty, between the complex details of the internal structure of materials and their potential for damage initiation. We present herein a novel machine-learning-based approach for establishing reduced-order models (ROMs) that relate the microstructure of a material to its susceptibility to damage initiation. This is accomplished by combining the recently established materials knowledge system framework with toolsets such as feedforward neural networks and variational Bayesian inference. The overall approach is found to be versatile for training scalable and accurate ROMs with quantified prediction uncertainty for the propensity to damage initiation for a variety of microstructures. The approach is applicable to a large class of challenges encountered in multiscale materials design efforts.
Affinity and chemical enrichment strategies for mapping low-abundance protein modifications and protein-interaction networks

Protein post-translational modifications and protein interactions are the central research areas in mass-spectrometry-based proteomics. Protein post-translational modifications affect protein structures, stabilities, activities, and all cellular processes are achieved by interactions among proteins and protein complexes. With the continuing advancements of mass spectrometry instrumentations of better sensitivity, speed, and performance, selective enrichment of modifications/interactions of interest from complex cellular matrices during the sample preparation has become the overwhelming bottleneck in the proteomics workflow. Therefore, many strategies have been developed to address this issue by targeting specific modifications/interactions based on their physical properties or chemical reactivities, but only a few have been successfully applied for systematic proteome-wide study. In this review, we summarized the highlights of recent developments in the affinity enrichment methods focusing mainly on low stoichiometric protein lipidations. Besides, to identify potential glyoxal modified arginines, a small part was added for profiling reactive arginine sites using an enrichment reagent. A detailed section was provided for the enrichment of protein interactions by affinity purification and chemical cross-linking, to shed light on the potentials of different enrichment strategies, along with the unique challenges in investigating individual protein post-translational modification or protein interaction network.
Introduction and the Zeroth Law

The first law reminds us of the well known fact that energy is conserved and all of it must be accounted for. Therefore when heat energy \(\varDelta Q'\) is added to a system, and none of it escapes, then all of it must still be there. And if there should exist a procedure to convert some of this heat energy to work, say \(\varDelta W'\), then after such conversion only \(\varDelta Q'-\varDelta W'\) of it will still be present in the system. We call this increase in the system’s internal energy the left-over amount, \(\varDelta U\). Because the amount of heat energy input surely depends on what the temperature difference between the depositor and the depositee at any given time is, and because the total deposit of heat may have taken finite time, its magnitude will also depend on how long any particular instance, with some particular difference in temperature, lasted, etc. Similarly, the work that is done—namely, \(\varDelta W'\)—will also crucially depend on where, what, how, and when the work was carried out. These facts are generally labeled as path dependencies. Clearly, therefore, the size of both \(\varDelta Q'\) and \(\varDelta W'\) must depend on the paths that are taken in carrying out these tasks.
U.S. hospital culture profiles for better performance in patient safety, patient satisfaction, Six Sigma, and lean implementation

Abstract This study identifies prevalent organizational culture profiles in U.S. hospitals based on the Competing Value Framework and examines the relationship between these cultures and quality-related performance. Cross-sectional survey data from 215 U.S. hospitals were merged with secondary data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Hospital Compare website. Cluster analysis identified two different culture profiles: Strong Multidimensional Culture (SMC) and Weak Multidimensional Culture (WMC). T-tests were then employed to find significant differences between the groups. The SMC group outperformed the WMC group across a variety of quality-related performance measures, such as patient safety outcomes, patient satisfaction scores, Six Sigma, and Lean implementation. This study contributes to previous literature by being the first to propose an empirical taxonomy of hospital culture, based on the Competing Values Framework. This study also reveals that hospitals should employ a more comprehensive approach to organizational culture in order to enhance overall hospital quality performance, rather than focusing on one dominant culture type.
Measuring Transcription Factor Binding and Gene Expression using Barcoded Self-Reporting Transposon Calling Cards and Transcriptomes

Abstract Calling cards technology using self-reporting transposons enables the identification of DNA-protein interactions through RNA sequencing. By introducing a DNA barcode into the calling card itself, we have drastically reduced the cost and labor requirements of calling card experiments in bulk populations of cells. An additional barcode incorporation during reverse transcription enables simultaneous transcriptome measurement in a facile and affordable protocol. We demonstrate that barcoded self-reporting transposons recover in vitro binding sites for four basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors with important roles in cell fate specification: ASCL1, MYOD1, NEUROD2, and NGN1. Further, simultaneous calling cards and transcriptional profiling during transcription factor overexpression identified both binding sites and gene expression changes for two of these factors. RNA-based identification of transcription factor binding sites and gene expression through barcoded self-reporting transposon calling cards and transcriptomes is a novel and powerful method to infer gene regulatory networks in a population of cells.
The Right to Remain Silent: A Retrospective of the Privilege Against Self-Incrimination in the United States

This paper looks back at the development of the common law right to remain silent and its eventually being made a constitutional right as an amendment to the United States Constitution via the 5th Amendment. The paper also traces the historical development of the right not to incriminate oneself and the link between the right to remain silent found in the Fifth Amendment but also to the right to have counsel present during interrogation found in the Sixth Amendment.
A step-by-step guide home.

Shamash et al. probe the navigational strategies mice use as they escape from a threat. By systematically placing and removing obstacles blocking their initial path, the authors find evidence that mice memorize intermediate ‘subgoal’ locations to find their way home.
A clinical, histopathological, and molecular study of two cases of VEXAS syndrome without a definitive myeloid neoplasm.

VEXAS (vacuoles, E1 enzyme, X- linked, autoinflammatory, somatic) syndrome is caused by somatic mutations in UBA1 and is identified using a genotype-driven method. This condition connects unrelated men with adult-onset inflammatory syndromes in association with hematologic manifestations of peripheral cytopenia and bone marrow myeloid dysplasia. While bone marrow vacuolization restricted to myeloid and erythroid precursors has been identified in VEXAS patients, the detailed clinical and histopathological features of peripheral blood and bone marrows remain unclear. The current case report describes the characteristic hematologic findings in patients with VEXAS, including macrocytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, marked hypercellular marrow with granulocytic hyperplasia, megaloblastic changes in erythroid precursors, and the absence of hematogones in addition to prominent vacuoles in myeloid and erythroid precursor cells. Characterizing the clinical and hematologic features helps to raise awareness and improve diagnosis of this novel, rare, but potentially under-recognized disease. Prompt diagnosis expands the general knowledgeable and understanding of this disease, and optimal management might prevent patients from developing complications related to this refractory inflammatory syndrome and improve the overall clinical outcome.
England in the Reign of Edward III: Administration and finance

For the central government, Edward Ill's reign was a period of professionalization and definition rather than innovation. What stood out most was the unusually close rapport between Edward and his ministers. Except for tensions in 1340–1, 1371, and 1376–7, Edward could count on their unqualified support in executing his programmes. This story will be told here through the different functions of government: administration, justice, military organization, and finance. If the last two take up a disproportionate share of space, it is because they dominated governmental work in these years of war and conquest. Edward was fortunate because the government he inherited was small and personal. No office was immune from his intervention, and ministers served at his pleasure. While he pursued the Scots in the 1330s, the chancery, exchequer, and common bench packed up and moved to York to be near him. Nevertheless, most business was conducted routinely, without his personal participation. Government, moreover, was becoming sedentary. The process of implanting offices at Westminster began long before Edward came to the throne, and he carried it further. After the government returned to Westminster in 1338, for example, it never again strayed for long. London and Westminster gradually became a capital. Meetings of parliament contributed to the development. Of twenty-four councils and parliaments summoned in the first decade of the reign, only a third were held at Westminster. Over the next fifty years another fifty-one were summoned, but only three were held outside Westminster or London.
Architecture-Level Support for Software Component Deployment in Resource Constrained Environments

Software deployment comprises activities for installing or updating an already implemented software system. These activities include (1) deployment of a system onto a new host, (2) component upgrade in an existing system, (3) static analysis of the proposed system configuration, and (4) dynamic analysis of the configuration after the deployment. In this paper, we describe an approach that supports all four of these activities. The approach is specifically intended to support software deployment onto networks of distributed, mobile, highly resource constrained devices. Our approach is based on the principles of software architectures. In particular, we leverage our lightweight architectural implementation infrastructure to natively support deployment in resource constrained environments.
Ethical Behavior in Higher Educational Institutions: The Role of the Code of Conduct

The report of the Treadway Commission suggests that all public companies should establish effective written codes of conduct in promoting honorable behavior by corporations. The need for written "codes of conduct" for businesses is evident in the current literature. However, there is not sufficient evidence regarding the implication of codes of conduct in a college. Academic dishonesty has become an important issue in institutions of higher education. Codes of conduct can also provide a basis for ethical behavior in colleges and universities. Survey respondents were generally supportive of the concept of codes of ethical conduct in colleges and universities. The results of this study indicate that college codes of conduct tend to follow a "low road" approach. The results also suggest the following needed improvements in college and university codes of conduct: (1) greater emphasis on preventing financial, scientific, and academic fraud; (2) more inclusion of the faculty in the process; and (3) establishment of a proper process for implementation of the code.
The Gender Equity Dilemma: The Decade Ahead for Female Representation in the South African Public Service

With the formation of a democratic regime in 1996, the new Republic of South Africa established a number of goals, including the advancement of women in politics, society and the public service. Within the public service, ambitious targets were set for the representation of women in management and intensive efforts undertaken to achieve them. Women have made great strides, but have consistently failed to reach those goals. This paper utilizes the findings of prior research on impediments to the advancement of women in organizations (often called the glass ceiling) to suggest a framework for analysis. Then, data obtained from South Africa’s nationwide employment database provide the basis for examining how the structure and dynamics of the public service delay progress. It describes how such factors as concentration in certain departments and grade levels, methods of accession and turnover serve as obstacles, in some expected and unexpected ways. The markov chain method of workforce forecasting is employed to estimate women’s progress through the year 2022, and finds that current targets will remain elusive. It concludes by suggesting that a fruitful area for further research on women’s advancement, in South Africa and elsewhere, would be these kinds of analyses of how organizations’ internal structures and dynamics and interaction among them.
Human H4 histone gene transcription requires the proliferation-specific nuclear factor HiNF-D. Auxiliary roles for HiNF-C (Sp1-like) and HiNF-A (high mobility group-like)

The proximal promoter of the human H4 histone gene F0108 contains two in vivo protein binding domains, sites I and II. In this report we show that these sequences interact with three nuclear factors: HiNF-D, HiNF-C, and HiNF-A. HiNF-C is a metal ion-requiring protein that binds to an Sp1 consensus binding site. HiNF-C and HiNF-A bind independently to the distally located site I, possibly in conjunction with other proteins, and deletion of site I reduces transcription rates 4- to 6-fold in vitro. Factor HiNF-D binds to an H4 histone-specific element (5'-dGGTPyPyTCAATCNG-GTCCG, where Py indicates pyrimidine) present in site II that has previously been shown to be essential for in vivo expression of this H4 histone gene. All three binding activities are present in human HeLa S3 cells throughout the cell cycle and in exponentially growing mouse C127 and human HL60 cells. This result is consistent with the transcription of H4 histone genes throughout the cell cycle. However, unlike HiNF-A and HiNF-C, HiNF-D is not present in terminally differentiated HL60 cells, in which histone gene transcription is down-regulated. These findings suggest a crucial role for HiNF-D, with an auxiliary role for HiNF-C and possibly HiNF-A, in the regulation of H4 histone gene transcription. Furthermore, the conservation of potential HiNF-D binding sites in mammalian H4 histone gene promoters suggests that HiNF-D has an essential role in the coordinate transcriptional down-regulation of the H4 histone multigene subfamily during the shutdown of proliferation.
A markov model for inventory level optimization in supply-chain management

We propose a technique for use in supply-chain management that assists the decision-making process for purchases of direct goods Based on projections for future prices and demand, requests-for-quotes are constructed and quotes are accepted that optimize the level of inventory each day, while minimizing total cost The problem is modeled as a Markov decision process (MDP), which allows for the computation of the utility of actions to be based on the utilities of consequential future states Dynamic programming is then used to determine the optimal quote requests and accepts at each state in the MDP The model is then used to formalize the subproblem of determining optimal request quantities, yielding a technique that is shown experimentally to outperform a standard technique from the literature The implementation of our entry in the Trading Agent Competition-Supply Chain Management game is also discussed.
Influence of tonic neck posture upon grip strength of institutionalized mental retardates.

Abstract Sixty mentally retarded students classified at the Denton State School as moderately and mildly retarded were given grip strength tests with a Jamar dynamometer to determine the effect of the tonic neck posture upon preferred and nonpreferred grip. The independent variable was tonic neck posture, represented by 3 different positions of the head. The dependent variable was grip strength of the preferred and nonpreferred hands. The multivariate ANOVA of differences in grip strength scores revealed that grip strength performance of the mental retardates is a function of tonic neck posture and is consistent with the facilitation and inhibition parameters of the tonic neck reflex.
Clinical electrophysiology--a decade of progress.

Abstract During the past 14 years there have been major advances in the field of clinical electrophysiology. This progress is a result of a more extensive use of intracardiac electrode catheters with recordings from multiple sites in the right and left cardiac chambers, the introduction of programmed electrical stimulation techniques and the use of antiarrhythmic drugs for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes during acute electrophysiologic testing. This article examines the pioneering studies and the subsequent developments in the field of clinical electrophysiology. The specific topics that are reviewed include the sinus node and atrium, atrioventricular conduction, supraventricular tachycardia and ventricular tachycardia. The therapeutic implications of each topic are also discussed. Clinical electrophysiology in its initial stages was a descriptive technique, but has since become an important diagnostic and therapeutic tool. However, electrophysiologic testing is an intensive process, requiring specialized training and a substantial commitment of human and physical resources.
The Relation of Communication and Challenging Behaviors in Infants and Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorders

This study analyzes the relationship between communication, expressive and receptive, and challenging behaviors among 168 toddlers with autism spectrum disorder. Communication level was evaluated using the Battelle Developmental Inventory, 2nd Edition and challenging behaviors were assessed using Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits, Part 3. Results indicate that lower levels of expressive and receptive communication are significantly correlated with lower levels of aggressive/disruptive behavior and self injurious behavior. However, lower receptive communication alone significantly correlates with higher levels of stereotypies, self-injurious behavior, and to a lesser extent aggressive/disruptive behavior. Implications of the results and how they integrate into the current knowledge base are discussed.
Extending the soil moisture data record of the U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) and Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN)

Abstract Soil moisture estimates are valuable for hydrologic modeling, drought prediction and management, climate change analysis, and agricultural decision support. However, in situ measurements of soil moisture have only become available within the past few decades with additional sensors being installed each year. Comparing newer in situ resources with older resources, previously required a period of cross-calibration, often requiring several years of data collection. One new technique to improve this issue is to develop a methodology to extend the in situ record backwards in time using a soil moisture model and ancillary available data sets. This study will extend the soil moisture record of the U.S. Climate Reference Network (USCRN) by calibrating a precipitation-driven model during the most recent few years when soil moisture data are available and applying that model backwards temporally in years where precipitation data are available and soil moisture data are not. This approach is validated by applying the technique to the Soil Climate Analysis Network (SCAN) where the same model is calibrated in recent years and validated during preceding years at locations with a sufficiently long soil moisture record. Results suggest that if two or three years of concurrent precipitation and soil moisture time series data are available, the calibrated model’s parameters can be applied historically to produce RMSE values less than 0.033 m 3 /m 3 . With this approach, in locations characterized by in situ sensors with short or intermittent data records, a model can now be used to fill the relevant gaps and improve the historical record as well.
Quality of life as an outcome variable in the management of advanced cancer.

Background and Objective: Though well recognized in the West, palliative care and quality of life are relatively newer concepts in a developing country like India. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of palliative care on pain and quality of life and to identify the association between the two. Study Design: Observational prospective study. Materials and Methods: Patients with advanced cancer, receiving palliative drug therapy, were recruited from a tertiary care hospital. City of Hope Medical Center Quality of Life Survey and visual analog scale (VAS) were used to assess the quality of life and cancer pain severity, respectively. Results: A total of 100 patients were included in the study. Palliative drug therapy produced a significant reduction in pain scores expressed as mean±SD in VAS [7.13±2.2 vs. 2.62±2.1 (P<0.001) after 1 month in 93 patients; 7.06±2.1 vs. 2.47±2.1 (P<0.001) after 1 month and 2.02±1.9 (P<0.001) after 2 months in 51 patients]. Also, significant improvement in the quality of life scores [919.78±271.3 vs. 1280.65±306.8 (P<0.01) after 1 month in 93 patients; 950.39±238.2 vs. 1336.67±291 (P<0.01) after 1 month and 1405.49±368.3 (P<0.01) after 2 months in 51 patients] was obtained. There was a high correlation between the average change of pain intensity and quality of life scores (r=−0.53, P<0.02). Overall, a reduction in pain resulted in significant improvement in the quality of life (P<0.001). Conclusion: This study emphasizes the role of palliative care and, more importantly, pain management in improving the quality of life of advanced cancer patients.
Custom-Cut: a customizable feature recognizer

Abstract The tools and processes available in a given shop greatly influence the way in which manufacturers view a part and the way in which they decompose it into machinable volumes, or features. Likewise, a feature recognizer should be able to produce a different feature decomposition when different tools are available. Additionally, it should be easy for a user to add new tool descriptions to the system in order to maintain and customize the feature recognizer. We address this challenge in two parts. First, we present an extensible representation which allows users to easily add their own custom tool descriptions to a feature recognizer’s knowledge base. Second, we present C ustom -C ut , a tool-based, resource-adaptive feature recognizer. C ustom -C ut accepts the user-defined cutting tools as input and automatically identifies the areas of the part that can be cut using the custom tools. We call C ustom -C ut resource-adaptive because the features it identifies will be different if it is given different cutting tools. The advantages of this is that it is easier for the user to maintain and customize and provides greater assurance that the features identifies are actually machinable with the given set of equipment.
An evaluation of the deposit insurance subsidisation of Australian banks

Abstract To the extent that deposits in Australian banks are guaranteed, Australian banks receive deposit insurance at no cost. This cost is ultimately borne by the taxpayers of Australia. This paper examines the amount of subsidisation using techniques similar to studies of other deposit insurance systems. We show that the estimate for the deposit insurance premium depends critically upon the method of estimating the market value of assets and the asset volatility of the bank. We find that Australian banks received substantial insurance subsidies in 1990, 1991, and 1992.
Entrepreneurship and Development Finance: Keys to Rural Revitalization: Discussion

opment issues, business development. The papers deal with rural development, but, ironically, the interest in this area and the importance of the papers derive from a phenomenon that has been most pronounced in urban areas. David Birch (Inc., 1987b) has referred to this phenomenon as the "New Economy." This term alludes to the almost feverish economic activity among small, rapidly growing, technology or service-based businesses in the United States and to the important role played by entrepreneurship, innovation, risk or equity capital, and franchising. This "New Economy" is vibrant and generally consistent with our societal goals and values. However, it has significant distributional and regional implications. Inc. magazine (1987a) refers to America's "two economies" or, more specifically, to its "bicoastal" economy. To a large extent, the two economies coincide with and define rural and urban econ-
Understanding Success and Nonsuccess in the Drug Court

The drug court was developed as a response to the ineffectiveness of the traditional criminal justice response to addiction. It has grown from 1 Miami court in 1989 to more than 2,100 drug court programs across the United States in 2011. The drug court has been described as a restorative or community justice intervention that can benefit the offender, direct and indirect victims, and the community as a whole through its combination of treatment, intensive supervision, and regular court appearances. Although the number of qualitative drug court studies has increased in recent years, there are few studies that compare those who successfully complete the drug court program with those who do not complete. This article is a qualitative study of drug court participants in an Arkansas drug court program. The article compares and contrasts the perceptions of those graduated from the program with those who were terminated from the program.