cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Putting it all together in CMML risk stratification.

In this issue of Blood, Elena et al1 report integration of molecular genetic data into a previously published2 chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML)–specific prognostic scoring system (CPSS); the resulting clinical/molecular CPSS (CPSS-Mol) is a new 4-tier integrated clinical-pathological-genetic risk-stratification tool for CMML.
Hearing Care Intervention for Persons with Dementia: A Pilot Study.

Objective Hearing loss is a commonly unmet need among adults with dementia that may exacerbate common dementia-related behavioral symptoms. Accessing traditional audiology services for hearing loss is a challenge because of high cost and time commitment. To improve accessibility and affordability of hearing treatment for persons with dementia, there is a need for unique service delivery models. The purpose of this study is to test a novel hearing intervention for persons with dementia and family caregivers delivered in outpatient settings. Methods The Memory-HEARS pilot study delivered a 2-hour in-person intervention in an outpatient setting. A trained interventionist provided hearing screening, communication strategies, and provision of and instruction using a simple over-the-counter amplification device. Caregivers (N = 20) responded to questionnaires related to depression, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and caregiver burden at baseline and 1-month postintervention. Results Overall, caregivers believed the intervention was beneficial, and most participants with dementia wore the amplification device daily. For the depression and neuropsychiatric outcome measures, participants with high symptom burden at baseline showed improvement at 1-month postintervention. The intervention had no effect on caregiver burden. Qualitative responses from caregivers described improved engagement for their loved ones, such as laughing more, telling more stories, asking more questions, and having more patience. Conclusion The Memory-HEARS intervention is a low-cost, low-risk, nonpharmacologic approach to addressing hearing loss and behavioral symptoms in patients with dementia. Improved communication has the potential to reduce symptom burden and improve quality of life.
Generalized bi-prediction method for future video coding

This paper presents a generalized bi-prediction (GBi) technique to extend the notion of the existing weighted bi-prediction to prediction unit (PU) level. GBi allows bi-prediction weights to be transmitted at the coding unit (CU) level and used for the bi-predicted PUs within that CU. The candidate set of weights in the GBi mode includes a total of 7 weights, including 1/2 used for conventional bi-prediction. An index pointing to the entry of a weight value in the candidate weight set is signaled. At most one index per CU is signaled and the corresponding weight values are shared across all the bi-prediction PUs and all color components in that CU. Besides, GBi can also be extended to inter coding tools, such as, merge mode and affine prediction that support bi-prediction. Experimental results show that GBi performs consistently better than the JEM-2.0 anchor in all rate points, with an average Y Bjentegaard delta rate reduction of 1% and no extra decoding burden introduced.
Sucrase-isomaltase: a marker associated with the progression of adenomatous polyps to adenocarcinomas.

Adenocarcinomas of the colon arise from adenomatous polyps. We hypothesized that sucrase-isomaltase (SI), a glycoprotein hydrolase, found in normal small intestine, fetal colon, and colon carcinomas is a marker associated with progression of adenomatous polyps with dysplasia to adenocarcinomas. To examine this hypothesis, we performed immunostaining using a polyclonal antihuman SI antibody in 32 adenomatous polyps with varying degrees of dysplasia. In addition, sucrase enzyme activity was determined in three sets of simultaneously harvested polyps, cancer, and adjacent normal mucosa from the same patient. All severely dysplastic polyps (6/6) exhibited SI staining. Most polyps (85%) with 3+ staining (i.e., greater than 10% of polyp positive for SI) had severe dysplasia, whereas those with mild dysplasia had either 1% to 5% staining or no staining in 95% of the cases. These data indicate that the extent of SI immunostaining in polyps correlates with the degree of dysplasia (p = 0.0001). Sucrase-isomaltase activity in the polyps was 18.1 +/- 1.8 mU/mg (mean +/- SD); in adjacent carcinoma SI activity was 29.1 +/- 1.8 mU/mg. Adjacent mucosa showed no activity in all cases. In summary, our results suggest that SI expression correlates with the progression of dysplastic adenomatous polyps to carcinoma. Sucrase-isomaltase expression may be useful as a clinical marker to improve our prognostic capabilities in patients with dysplastic lesions of the colon, that is, inflammatory bowel disease.
Neuroma in Continuity

Carpal tunnel release is one of the most common procedures performed in the upper extremity and while outcomes are usually very good, complications do occur. Iatrogenic injury to the median nerve is a devastating complication which can be minimized by careful surgical technique. Those patients who sustain an intraoperative nerve injury require careful assessment and meticulous surgical reconstruction in order to maximize their recovery.
DGAT1-Dependent Lipid Droplet Biogenesis Protects Mitochondrial Function during Starvation-Induced Autophagy

Lipid droplets (LDs) provide an "on-demand" source of fatty acids (FAs) that can be mobilized in response to fluctuations in nutrient abundance. Surprisingly, the amount of LDs increases during prolonged periods of nutrient deprivation. Why cells store FAs in LDs during an energy crisis is unknown. Our data demonstrate that mTORC1-regulated autophagy is necessary and sufficient for starvation-induced LD biogenesis. The ER-resident diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) selectively channels autophagy-liberated FAs into new, clustered LDs that are in close proximity to mitochondria and are lipolytically degraded. However, LDs are not required for FA delivery to mitochondria but instead function to prevent acylcarnitine accumulation and lipotoxic dysregulation of mitochondria. Our data support a model in which LDs provide a lipid buffering system that sequesters FAs released during the autophagic degradation of membranous organelles, reducing lipotoxicity. These findings reveal an unrecognized aspect of the cellular adaptive response to starvation, mediated by LDs.
Multiple Legionella pneumophila effector virulence phenotypes revealed through high-throughput analysis of targeted mutant libraries.

Legionella pneumophila is the causative agent of a severe pneumonia called Legionnaires’ disease. A single strain of L. pneumophila encodes a repertoire of over 300 different effector proteins that are delivered into host cells by the Dot/Icm type IV secretion system during infection. The large number of L. pneumophila effectors has been a limiting factor in assessing the importance of individual effectors for virulence. Here, a transposon insertion sequencing technology called INSeq was used to analyze replication of a pool of effector mutants in parallel both in a mouse model of infection and in cultured host cells. Loss-of-function mutations in genes encoding effector proteins resulted in host-specific or broad virulence phenotypes. Screen results were validated for several effector mutants displaying different virulence phenotypes using genetic complementation studies and infection assays. Specifically, loss-of-function mutations in the gene encoding LegC4 resulted in enhanced L. pneumophila in the lungs of infected mice but not within cultured host cells, which indicates LegC4 augments bacterial clearance by the host immune system. The effector proteins RavY and Lpg2505 were important for efficient replication within both mammalian and protozoan hosts. Further analysis of Lpg2505 revealed that this protein functions as a metaeffector that counteracts host cytotoxicity displayed by the effector protein SidI. Thus, this study identified a large cohort of effectors that contribute to L. pneumophila virulence positively or negatively and has demonstrated regulation of effector protein activities by cognate metaeffectors as being critical for host pathogenesis.
Unsung Heroes: Women’s Contributions in the Military and Why Their Song Goes Unsung

Six years after the terrorist attacks on the United States, the debate of women’s roles in the military continues to be hotly contested. The debate persists in spite of the fact that one of seven soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan (Ledford 2003) is a female and that women have received the Bronze Star for bravery in combat since the war in Iraq began in 2003. Officially, the US Pentagon maintains the policy that women cannot be assigned to a combat unit. However, women are assigned to support services that may be attached to a combat unit. Unofficially, however, the policy and the practice are apparently out of step. Whatever the assignments’ officially’ are, the reality is that any military assignment can potentially lead to a combat situation. The distinction between combatants and military support personnel is blurred. Those in the military are trained that’ a soldier is a soldier first and foremost’ and that they belong to the same team. The soldier’s sex/gender, on the other hand, is socially significant only to the degree that society makes it so.
The Stone–von Neumann Theorem

The Stone–von Neumann theorem is a uniqueness theorem for operators satisfying the canonical commutation relations. Suppose A and B are two self-adjoint operators on H satisfying \([A,B] = i\hslash I.\) Suppose also that A and B act irreducibly on H,meaning that the only closed subspaces of H invariant under A and B are {0} and H.Then provided that certain technical assumptions hold (the exponentiated commutation relations)
Dexterous Manipulation by Two Fingers with Coupled Joints

This paper studies dexterous manipulation in the plane by a two-fingered hand in the plane. The dynamics of each finger, which consists of two links with coupled joints, are derived based on Lagrangian mechanics. As an object is being manipulated, its orientation and the two independent joint angles of the hand constitute the state of the entire system. Contact kinematics, accounting for both stick and slip modes, are combined with dynamics to establish a dependence of the object's linear and angular accelerations on joint accelerations. This allows control of joint torques, under a proportional-derivative (PD) law, to move the object to a target position in a desired orientation.
Diagnosis Recommendation Using Machine Learning Scientific Workflows

Diagnosis recommendation plays a significant role in healthcare, where a clinician infers an optimal diagnosis for a patient. This problem has a major impact on improving patients’ quality of life. Existing machine learning techniques for solving this problem require many labeled instances, which are not readily available. To overcome this limitation, in this paper, we present a scientific workflow for representing a semisupervised clustering based diagnosis recommendation model. In this approach, initial clusters are formed from a labeled dataset; then imposing certain relative threshold to a cluster, frequent patterns and their corresponding labels are obtained. Subsequently, unlabeled instances are labeled by assigning them to the most similar clusters. Finally, we form clusters on the generated new datasets and recommend the diagnosis label by applying a certain minimum threshold. To evaluate our model, we perform extensive experiments on the i2b2 datasets and compared our proposed algorithms with the self-training and co-training methods. The experimental results show that our proposed algorithm outperforms the mentioned methods in most cases. The proposed workflow is implemented in the DATAVIEW system.
Multiple Myeloma and Fatty Acid Metabolism

Multiple myeloma (MM) accounts for 13% to 15% of all blood cancers1 and is characterized by the proliferation of malignant cells within the bone marrow (BM). Despite important advances in treatment, most patients become refractory and relapse with the disease. As MM tumors grow in the BM, they disrupt hematopoiesis, create monoclonal protein spikes in the blood, initiate systemic organ and immune system shutdown,2 and induce painful osteolytic lesions caused by overactive osteoclasts and inhibited osteoblasts.3, 4 MM cells are also extremely dependent on the BM niche, and targeting the BM niche has been clinically transformative for inhibiting the positive-feedback "vicious cycle" between MM cells and osteoclasts that leads to bone resorption and tumor proliferation.5, 6, 7, 8 Bone marrow adipocytes (BMAs) are dynamic, secretory cells that have complex effects on osteoblasts and tumor cells, but their role in modifying the MM cell phenotype is relatively unexplored.9, 10, 11, 12, 13 Given their active endocrine function, capacity for direct cell-cell communication, correlation with aging and obesity (both MM risk factors), potential roles in bone disease, and physical proximity to MM cells, it appears that BMAs support MM cells.14, 15, 16, 17 This supposition is based on research from many laboratories, including our own. Therapeutically targeting the BMA may prove to be equally transformative in the clinic if the pathways through which BMAs affect MM cells can be determined. In this review, we discuss the potential for BMAs to provide free fatty acids to myeloma cells to support their growth and evolution. We highlight certain proteins in MM cells responsible for fatty acid uptake and oxidation and discuss the potential for therapeutically targeting fatty acid metabolism or BMAs from where they may be derived. © 2019 The Authors. JBMR Plus published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Intranasal Dexmedetomidine for Sedation During Magnetoencephalography.

Purpose Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a noninvasive tool used clinically for presurgical evaluation of patients with medically intractable epilepsy. These recordings require patients to lie still for prolonged periods of time in a magnetically shielded room. Children or uncooperative adults with epilepsy may require sedation to reduce movement artefact and obtain high-quality recordings. Potential challenges related to the use of total intravenous anesthesia in the MEG environment include limited access to the patient's airway, remote location, suppression of cortical activity, and increased patient care expenses. We report our experience with intranasal dexmedetomidine as sedation for intractable epilepsy patients undergoing MEG. Methods Sleep deprivation occurred the night before MEG testing. Intranasal dexmedetomidine (2 μg/kg) was administered and oxygen saturation, blood pressure, and pulse rate were recorded continuously on a monitor outside the magnetically shielded room. A recording of spontaneous neuromagnetic activity was immediately followed by median nerve electrical stimulation. Results Twenty-six patients (mean age 12.2 ± 4.2 years) with medically intractable epilepsy were recorded using this protocol. There were no failures of sedation, and although patients experienced transient bradycardia, none required intervention and the recording did not need to be stopped. In all cases, artefact-free MEG recordings were obtained with sufficient interictal discharges available for source analysis. Conclusions Our experience suggests that intranasal dexmedetomidine is an advantageous sedation option for children and adults with intractable epilepsy who are undergoing MEG. Further research is needed to determine the best ways to apply these methods to younger children and those with developmental disabilities.
Adverse Events Associated With Radium-223 in Metastatic Prostate Cancer: Disproportionality Analysis of FDA Data Reflecting Worldwide Utilization.

Abstract Background Radionuclide radium-223 improves survival in men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer. The United States (US) Food and Drug Administration Adverse Events Reporting System (FAERS) is a post-market pharmacovigilance database valuable for adverse event (AE) assessments. We analyzed FAERS to identify disproportionate AE signals related to radium-223, and to explore radium-223’s international utilization. Materials and Methods We identified 2182 radium-223 cases associated with AE(s) from 2013 to 2018. The duration of radium-223 therapy was calculated. Reporting odds ratio (ROR) and proportional reporting ratio (PRR), with 95% confidence intervals (CIs), were calculated for AEs of interest. ROR shows disproportionate signals if the lower limit of the 95% CI > 1. PRR shows disproportionate signals if PRR ≥ 2, χ2 statistic ≥ 4, and ≥ 3 AEs were reported. We identified any US Food and Drug Administration enforcement actions for radium-223. Results A majority (60.8%) of events occurred outside the US. Among patients with radium-223-associated AEs, the median therapy duration was only 56 days (corresponding to 2-3 treatment cycles). Disproportionate signals were detected for general health deterioration (ROR, 5.03; 95% CI, 4.23-5.98 and PRR, 4.94; 95% CI, 4.16-5.87), bone pain (ROR, 4.53; 95% CI, 3.67-5.59 and PRR, 4.48; 95% CI, 3.63-5.53), and hematologic AEs including anemia (ROR, 2.89; 95% CI, 2.55-3.27 and PRR, 2.80; 95% CI, 2.48-3.17), thrombocytopenia (ROR, 3.22; 95% CI, 2.77-3.74 and PRR, 3.16; 95% CI, 2.72-3.67), and pancytopenia/bone marrow failure (ROR, 4.83; 95% CI, 4.11-5.67 and PRR, 4.73; 95% CI, 4.03-5.55). There were no enforcement actions for radium-223. Conclusions Patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer experiencing AEs are only receiving one-half the prescription dose of radium-223 required for survival benefit. Radium-223 is associated with health deterioration, bone pain, and hematologic AEs. Real-world analyses are important for ongoing radium-223 risk-benefit assessments.
Confessions Selected by Consequences: An Operant Analysis of False Confessions and Interrogation Techniques

Documented cases of innocent persons in the United States having confessed to crimes that they did not commit have become commonplace since the emergence of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing as a means for confirming a person’s innocence or guilt. The risk of imprisoning any more innocent individuals on the basis of false confessions warrants a closer look at the contingencies that give rise to this kind of tragedy. Using Skinner’s (1957, Verbal Behavior, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall) and Palmer’s (1991, “A Behavioral Interpretation of Memory,” in L. J. Hayes & P. N. Chase [Eds.], Dialogues on Verbal Behavior [pp. 261–279], Reno, NV: Context Press) analyses of verbal behavior and memory, this article explores how verbal episodes between suspects and law enforcement can culminate in a false admission of guilt. In addition, to try to identify the variables that might lead to high rates of false confessions in the United States, this article examines some of the contingencies under which law enforcement investigations operate. Finally, we provide some recommendations for how the behavior analyst can fulfill the role of an expert witness, how to take into consideration a systemic and cultural perspective, and how to incorporate some technological safeguards and additional precautions when interacting with vulnerable populations.
A Matrix-Free Hyperviscosity Formulation for High-Order ALE Hydrodynamics

Abstract The numerical approximation of compressible hydrodynamics is at the core of high-energy density (HED) multiphysics simulations as shocks are the driving force in experiments like inertial confinement fusion (ICF). In this work, we describe our extension of the hyperviscosity technique, originally developed for shock treatment in finite difference simulations, for use in arbitrarily high-order finite element methods for Lagrangian hydrodynamics. Hyperviscosity enables shock capturing while preserving the high-order properties of the underlying discretization away from the shock region. Specifically, we compute a high-order term based on a product of the mesh length scale to a high power scaled by a hyper-Laplacian operator applied to a scalar field. We then form the total artificial viscosity by taking a non-linear blend of this term and a traditional artificial viscosity term. We also present a matrix-free formulation for computing the finite element based hyper-Laplacian operator. Such matrix-free methods have superior performance characteristics compared to traditional full matrix assembly approaches and offer advantages for GPU based HPC hardware. We demonstrate the numerical convergence of our method and its application to complex, multi-material ALE simulations on high-order (curved) meshes.
Perceived parenting styles, academic achievement, and life satisfaction of college students: the mediating role of motivation orientation

Using the perspective of self-determination theory, we examined college students’ motivation orientation as a mediator of the relationship between parenting style and life satisfaction or GPA. The sample was drawn from a medium size university in the northeast of the USA (N = 432). While controlling for gender, age, and ethnicity, we used structural equation modeling and found that all three motivation types (intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation) act as partial mediators of the relationship between authoritative parenting and life satisfaction, whereas amotivation acts as a partial mediator of the relationship between authoritarian parenting and life satisfaction. Although we did not find support that motivation types act as mediators between perceived parenting style and GPA, we did find that the external and the introjected motivations, as well as the intrinsic motivation to know significantly and negatively correlate with GPA, whereas the identified extrinsic motivation and the intrinsic motivation to accomplish significantly and positively correlate with GPA. Our results imply that both perceived parenting style and motivation types are important and inter-related factors for the wellbeing and performance of college students.
Behavioral and genomic sensory adaptations underlying the pest activity of Drosophila suzukii

ABSTRACT Studying how novel phenotypes originate and evolve is fundamental to the field of evolutionary biology as it allows us to understand how organismal diversity is generated and maintained. However, determining the basis of novel phenotypes is challenging as it involves orchestrated changes at multiple biological levels. Here, we aim to overcome this challenge by using a comparative species framework combining behavioral, gene expression, and genomic analyses to understand the evolutionary novel egg-laying substrate-choice behavior of the invasive pest species Drosophila suzukii. First, we used egg-laying behavioral assays to understand the evolution of ripe fruit oviposition preference in D. suzukii as compared to closely related species D. subpulchrella and D. biarmipes, as well as D. melanogaster. We show that D. subpulchrella and D. biarmipes lay eggs on both ripe and rotten fruits, suggesting that the transition to ripe fruit preference was gradual. Secondly, using two-choice oviposition assays, we studied how D. suzukii, D. subpulchrella, D. biarmipes and D. melanogaster differentially process key sensory cues distinguishing ripe from rotten fruit during egg-laying. We found that D. suzukii’s preference for ripe fruit is in part mediated through a species-specific preference for stiff substrates. Lastly, we sequenced and annotated a high-quality genome for D. subpulchrella. Using comparative genomic approaches, we identified candidate genes involved in D. suzukii’s ability to seek out and target ripe fruits. Our results provide detail to the stepwise evolution of pest activity in D. suzukii, indicating important cues used by this species when finding a host, and the molecular mechanisms potentially underlying their adaptation to a new ecological niche.
A COVID-19 Case Complicated by Candida dubliniensis and Klebsiella pneumoniae-Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae

There has been increasing evidence of co-infections with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia, which increases the severity of the disease. Organisms such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus pneumoniae have been previously isolated. We present a case of a COVID-19 patient treated with baricitinib and dexamethasone who later developed Klebsiella pneumoniae-carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and Candida dubliniensis bloodstream infections, treated with meropenem/vaborbactam and micafungin, respectively. These infections are exceedingly rare and are mostly reported in immunosuppressed patients. The finding of these bloodstream infections raises concerns on the cause of immunosuppression in this patient infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) treated with baricitinib and dexamethasone. There has been no report so far of COVID-19 associated with these co-infections.
Abstract IA23: The role of EZH2 gain-of-function mutations in lymphoma

Follicular lymphomas (FLs) are slow-growing, indolent tumors containing extensive follicular dendritic cell (FDC) networks and recurrent EZH2 gain-of-function mutations. Paradoxically, FLs originate from highly proliferative germinal center (GC) B cells with proliferation strictly dependent on interactions with T follicular helper cells. Herein, we show that EZH2 mutations initiate FL by attenuating GC B-cell requirement for T-cell help and driving slow expansion of GC centrocytes that become enmeshed with and dependent on FDCs. By impairing T-cell help, mutant EZH2 prevents induction of proliferative MYC programs. Thus, EZH2 mutation fosters malignant transformation by epigenetically reprograming B cells to form an aberrant immunologic niche that reflects characteristic features of human FLs, explaining how indolent tumors arise from GC B cells. Citation Format: Wendy Beguelin. The role of EZH2 gain-of-function mutations in lymphoma [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Meeting: Advances in Malignant Lymphoma; 2020 Aug 17-19. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Blood Cancer Discov 2020;1(3_Suppl):Abstract nr IA23.
Post-graduation Plans of Undergraduate BME Students: Gender, Self-efficacy, Value, and Identity Beliefs

This study investigates career intentions and students’ engineering attitudes in BME, with a focus on gender differences. Data from n = 716 undergraduate biomedical engineering students at a large public research institution in the United States were analyzed using hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis. Results revealed five clusters of intended post-graduation plans: Engineering Job and Graduate School, Any Job, Non-Engineering Job and Graduate School, Any Option, and Any Graduate School. Women were evenly distributed across clusters; there was no evidence of gendered career preferences. The main findings in regard to engineering attitudes reveal significant differences by cluster in interest, attainment value, utility value, and professional identity, but not in academic self-efficacy. Yet, within clusters the only gender differences were women’s lower engineering academic self-efficacy, interest and professional identity compared to men. Implications and areas of future research are discussed.
Holomorphic Quantum Computing

We introduce a model of computing on holomorphic functions, which captures bosonic quantum computing through the Segal-Bargmann representation of quantum states. We argue that this holomorphic representation is a natural one which not only gives a canonical definition of bosonic quantum computing using basic elements of complex analysis but also provides a unifying picture which delineates the boundary between discrete- and continuous-variable quantum information theory. Using this representation, we show that the evolution of a single bosonic mode under a Gaussian Hamiltonian can be described as an integrable dynamical system of classical Calogero-Moser particles corresponding to the zeros of the holomorphic function, together with a conformal evolution of Gaussian parameters. We explain that the Calogero-Moser dynamics is due to unique features of bosonic Hilbert spaces such as squeezing. We then generalize the properties of this holomorphic representation to the multimode case, deriving a non-Gaussian hierarchy of quantum states and relating entanglement to factorization properties of holomorphic functions. Finally, we apply this formalism to discrete- and continuous-variable quantum measurements and introduce formally the model of Holomorphic Quantum Computing. Non-adaptive circuits in this model allow for a classification of subuniversal models that are generalisations of Boson Sampling and Gaussian quantum computing, while adaptive circuits capture existing universal bosonic quantum computing models. Our results leave open the possibility that continuous-variable quantum computations may outperform their discrete-variable counterpart.
A general class of change point and change curve modeling for life time data

Change point hazard rate models arise in many life time data analysis, for example, in studying times until the undesirable side effects occur in clinical trials. In this paper we propose a general class of change point hazard model for survival data. This class includes and extends different types of change point models for survival data, e.g. cure rate model and lag model. Most classical approach develops estimates of model parameters, with particular interest in change point parameter and often the whole hazard function, but exclusively in terms of asymptotic properties. We propose a Bayesian approach, avoiding asymptotics and provide inference conditional upon the observed data. The proposed Bayesian models are fitted using Markov chain Monte Carlo method. We illustrate our proposed methodology with an application to modeling life times of the printed circuit board.
Integrating Spatio-Thematic Information

Mechanisms for overcoming semantic heterogeneity in diverse information sources are critical components of any interoperable system. In the case of diverse geographic information sources, such mechanisms present particular difficulties since the semantic structure of geographic information cannot be considered independently of its spatial structure. This paper develops an approach to the integration of semantically heterogeneous geographic information that is capable of addressing the spatial and thematic aspects of geographic information in concert. The approach is founded on an algebraic model of spatio-thematic information layers. Variations in the thematic structure of layers are explored, including the integration of layers with hierarchical thematic structure. The effects of changes in the thematic granularity of layers are also considered. Finally, a case study of the integration of heterogeneous land cover data is used to illustrate the relevance of the formal model within a practical application.
Why Is There No Partisan Competition in City Council Elections?: The Role of Election Law

Despite the attention given to the anticompetitive effects of gerrymandering on national and state elections, little notice is paid to the least competitive legislative elections in America: its city council elections. In cities with partisan elections, individual competitive seats are rarer than at the national level and there is almost never competition for partisan control of councils. Nonpartisan city council elections are even worse, with virtually undefeatable incumbents and no policy competition of any kind. The dominant explanation in the political science literature for this phenomenon is that the lack of partisan competition in local elections is a result of the issues at play in local politics. Local politics, the argument goes, is not ideological - it is only about the competence with which public goods are provided and the allocation of these goods to different groups. This claim cannot stand up to scrutiny. Debates over issues like policing strategy and urban development are ideological, and voters do have beliefs about them, but there is still no partisan competition.This paper argues that the explanation for the lack of partisan competition in city council elections lies in the laws governing these elections. Several laws - by my definition "unitary party rules" - serve to ensure that the national parties are on the ballot in local elections and that candidates, activists and voters do not defect from dominant national parties during local elections. When combined with the little information available about individual council candidates, the existence of the national party heuristic on local ballots crowds out other information and the laws create severe barriers to entry for potential local parties. The result is that the vote in city council elections directly tracks the vote in national elections, despite strong empirical evidence that voters have very different beliefs about local and national issues. In cities in which one party dominates at the national level, there is no competition. Thus, local legislatures are extremely unrepresentative of voter preferences and have little democratic legitimacy. Repealing the unitary party rules would spur a rearrangement of the two-party system at the local level and create party competition at the local level.
Grundlagen der Organisationsforschung

Wissenschaft last sich definieren als Erkenntnisgewinnung objektiv wahrer Aussagen zur Bewaltigung von Lebensaufgaben, vor die sich der Mensch in seiner Umwelt gestellt sieht.
Equilibrium Selection, Inefficiency, and Instability in Internet Advertising Auctions

This paper studies equilibrium selection and stability in the generalized second price auction used by major search engines to sell advertisement slots. We assume that a bidder who bids randomly (noise bidder) participates in the auction with a small probability. The main finding is that the VCG-equivalent equilibria, considered plausible in this literature, do not survive in this model, even as the probability that the noise bidder appears converges to 0. An efficient equilibrium is essentially unique if it exists. This equilibrium is further justified in a model without the noise bidder as a unique limit of efficient trembling-hand perfect equilibria in which all bidders make mistakes in similar ways. However, the noise-bidder model may not have any efficient equilibrium, or even any pure strategy equilibrium. Simulations indicate that the set of parameters for which no pure strategy equilibrium exists occupies almost 99% of the parameter space if six or more positions are auctioned.
NGC 2777: Amorphous — and Young?

We report imaging and spectroscopy of the irregular galaxy NGC 2777. The galaxy was observed as part of a pilot program to study the properties of companion galaxies. NGC 2777 (m pg = 13.9; V⊙ = 1319 km sec−1) is a companion of the Sa galaxy NGC 2775 (m pg = 11.4; V⊙ = 1180 km sec−1). NGC 2777 exhibits a high surface brightness core surrounded by an extended halo (0.8 × 0.6 arcmin) The core (0.6 × 0.4 arcmin) is broken up into numerous knots.
Escherichia coli Co(II) Alkaline Phosphatase

Abstract Substitution of Co(II) for the native Zn(II) ions of Escherichia coli alkaline phosphatase results in an enzymatically active protein with an intense visible absorption spectrum. The major absorption peaks occur at 640 mµ (e = 260), 605 (e = 220), 555 (e = 378), and 510 (e = 335). Spectrophotometric titration of the apoenzyme with Co(II) reveals two cobalt-binding sites per enzyme dimer which contribute equally to the spectrum. Circular dichroic (CD) spectra show most of these bands to be optically active and reveal additional transitions between 300 and 400 mµ associated with the cobalt chromophores. Phosphate produces a large change in the band structure of the visible absorption spectrum and an inversion of the CD spectrum in the region of 550 mµ. One phosphate molecule per enzyme dimer induces the spectral changes. The visible absorption and CD spectra of both the Co(II) enzyme and its phosphate complex were simultaneously fitted with a series of gaussian absorption bands which reveal that all four spectra may be fitted by 9 bands of the same frequency and band width. Phosphate induces no change in band energies, but changes the relative oscillator strengths and induces large negative ellipticity in a previously optically inactive band. Thus it appears that phosphate produces alterations in the immediate dissymmetrical environment of the Co(II) without major changes in coordination geometry. Computer calculation of the visible optical rotatory dispersion from the resolved CD bands generates curves similar to those observed experimentally. Ultraviolet CD measurements show that neither Co(II) nor phosphate produces major changes in the conformation of the molecule. A mutant alkaline phosphatase, that from E. coli U47, does show major changes in the conformation of the metal-binding site and significant changes in the conformation of the peptide backbone.
Representable and Normal-valued ℓ-groups

Clifford [40] and Lorenzen [49a] first observed that an abelian l-group could be represented as a subdirect product of totally ordered groups; soon thereafter Lorenzen [49b] provided a characterization of those l-groups admitting such a representation.
Effect of pH on cooperativity in peptide binding to MHC class II (APP2P.105)

Initiation of an adaptive immune response occurs when peptides bound to class II MHC (MHCII) molecules expressed on the surface of Antigen Presenting Cells are recognized by CD4+ T Cells. Formation of peptide-MHCII complexes (pMHCII) occurs within acidic endosomal compartments. The effect of acid pH on peptide binding is well known, and is usually associated with an enhancement of binding and acceleration in kinetics relative to pH 7.4. We have shown that peptide binding to and release from MHCII at extracellular pH are function of structural permissiveness and affected by cooperative effects. To resolve whether cooperativity, thus system flexibility, is a function of pH, we measured the affinity of peptides derived from influenza H3 HA306-319 via cycle-mutation for the human MHCII allele HLA-DR1 (DR1) at pH 5.4, 6.4, and 7.4. In keeping with prior results, cooperativity affects peptide affinity in an exponential fashion, and increasing values of pH are associated to increasing values of cooperativity. This pH-dependence of cooperativity can be observed for destabilizing combinations of mutations, as well as for multiple substituted peptides whose binding is improved as compared to the single substituted sequences. These results indicate that the endosomal pH enhances system permissiveness with respect to extracellular conditions, increasing the probability of peptides with suboptimal chemistry to complex with MHCII.
Coupled eddy current and thermodynamic analysis with the SPARK code

In order to accurately model the dynamic response of the Compact Ignition Tokamak (CIT) toroidal field (TF) coil system, it became necessary to include the temperature dependence of both the electrical resistivity and the heat capacity of the conducting material. Because of the Bitter-type design of the TF system, the coil currents undergo a significant redistribution during normal operation. The eddy current code SPARK was modified to incorporate a loop voltage driver option and the primary magnetodynamic differential equations were augmented by a set of differential equations representing the adiabatic thermal response driven by the resistive power dissipation. The modifications necessary for dynamically solving the coupled electrical and thermal systems of equations are described. Both a SPARK 1.2 model and a SPARK 2.0 model were analyzed in this manner. The models are briefly described. Additional modifications were also included to model the nuclear power dissipation and the current clamping of the power supply. The resulting temperature and Lorentz loads at the nodes of the model are in compatible form with the codes employed in the corresponding structural analysis. The results produced by the modified SPARK code are in good agreement with the original modeling by U.R. Christensen (Proc IEEE Thirteenth Symp. Fus. Eng., p.1142). >
Light emission properties of porous silicon

Abstract Visible light emission in porous silicon is of current interest both scientifically and technologically. Since this system can exhibit a wide variety of structures and particle sizes, however, a large volume of data exists, which at times can be quite contradictory. In this paper, a review of the general properties of porous silicon that have been reported thus far will be given, along with a discussion of the possible mechanisms for the luminescence process. The model of quantum confinement, amorphous silicon luminescence, a polysilane mechanism and the siloxene model will be discussed, along with the support for and drawbacks of each particular model.
Controlling the spread of ballistic missiles to the third world

(1986). Controlling the spread of ballistic missiles to the third world. Arms Control: Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 31-46.
Serotonergic response to social stress and artificial social sign stimuli during paired interactions between male Anolis carolinensis.

Serotonergic activity is influenced by social status and manipulation of social signals. In the lizard Anolis carolinensis, eyespot formation, i.e. darkening of postorbital skin from green to black, appears during stressful and agonistic situations, forming first in males that become dominant. To assess the effect of eyespots on central serotonergic activity during social interaction, males were paired by weight and painted postorbitally with green or black paint. Manipulation of eyespot color influenced social interactions and status. All males that viewed an opponent with black painted eyespots became subordinate. In these subordinate animals, serotonergic activity was elevated in hippocampus, striatum, nucleus accumbens and locus ceruleus. In contrast, males that viewed opponents with hidden eyespots (painted green) and became dominant had increased serotonergic activity in hypothalamus, medial amygdala and raphe. Pre-painted eyespots produced results that distinguish dominant and subordinate relationships based on serotonergic activity not previously seen in unmanipulated pairs. Results from experiments using pairs are similar to those using mirrors for medial amygdala and locus ceruleus, but not hippocampus, nucleus accumbens or raphe. Decreased hypothalamic serotonin was associated with increased aggressive behavior. These results, when compared with previous studies, suggest some flexibility in central serotonergic systems, which may shape dominant and subordinate rank acquisition, and appear to be influenced by the completion of social role formation. Furthermore, social status and central serotonergic activity was influenced by a visual cue, the presence or absence of postorbital eyespots on an opponent.
Photoinactivation of microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase.

Abstract 1. 1.Rat liver microsomal glucose-6-phosphatase ( d -glucose 6-phosphate phosphohydrolase, EC 3.1.3.9) is relatively insensitive to protein modifying reagents but is rapidly and completely inactivated by photooxidation in the presence of appropriate concentrations of methylene blue or rose bengal. 2. 2.Inactivation is strictly dependent upon both light and the presence of dye. 3. 3.A competitive inhibitor, Pi partially protects against the photoinactivation; although the binding is weak the apparent KD for protection agrees reasonably well with the Ki for inhibition. 4. 4.The pH dependence of the photoinactivation corresponds to a titration curve of an ionic group with a pK value between 6.5 and 6.9.
Sex differences in neuron number in the binocular area of the rat visual cortex.

We have previously shown that the thickness of the binocular area of the primary visual cortex is sexually dimorphic in rats. In the present study, sex differences in the number of neurons in this cortical area were examined in nine littermate pairs of 90-day-old Long-Evans hooded rats. Cytoarchitectonic characteristics were used to define the binocular visual cortex, and its volume was estimated through three-dimensional reconstruction of serial coronal sections for each hemisphere. Neuronal and glial density as well as neuronal soma size were estimated from semithin sections through a stereological technique, the disector, in the same animals that were used to estimate volume. The volume of the binocular area was 19% greater in males than in females. While there were no sex differences in soma size or in neuronal density, the differences in the volume of the binocular area resulted in significant sex differences (male > female) in the number of neurons overall and in every layer, except layer IV. Glial density was not different between the sexes, but the total number of glial cells was higher in males than in females. These results demonstrate that the binocular visual cortex of the rat is sexually dimorphic in its volume and much of the difference is due to sex differences in the number of neurons and glial cells. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The ability to sustain great breathing efforts.

Abstract After a period of training, five healthy young adult males voluntarily hyperventilated according to fixes breathing regimes to exhaustion. Alveolar PCO2 was kept constant, but frequency and tidal volume were prescribed for set fractions (55–100%) of maximum breathing capacity. Analysis is given in terms of endurance time. The logarithm of endurance time varied linearly (negative slope) with % MBC and was independent of frequency, associated exercise (walking), or reduced inspired oxygen (9%). Substitution of He:O2 mixture gave points on the same %MBC curve, but the absolute values of ventilation were greater than with air. Estimates of power requirements provided a linear fit against the reciprocal of endurance time over certain ranges of ventilation. The data are consistent with a simple model in which energy is derived from a fixed finite store and by a steady supply. Exhaustion occurs when the store is depleted. The rate of supply was estimated to be adequate to sustain ventilation at about 55 %MBC. It is deduced that the efficiency of the respiratory apparatus is markedly reduced at the highest minute volumes of ventilation.
Changes in the protein composition of mouse brain myelin during development.

— Myelin was isolated from the brains of mice at various ages by a procedure involving a final purification on a continuous CsCl gradient. Myelin protein accumulated throughout development, increasing from 0.25 mg of protein/brain at 8 days of postnatal age to 3.5 mg of protein/brain at 300 days, although the rate of accumulation was greatest at about 21 days of age. Quantitative studies of the protein composition of these samples were carried out, utilizing discontinuous polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in buffers containing sodium lauryl sulphate. Mouse brain myelin, contained (in order of increasing molecular weight) two basic proteins, an uncharacterized doublet, proteolipid protein, and a group of high molecular weight proteins. There were marked changes in the quantitative distribution of these proteins with increasing postnatal age. The basic protein fraction of total myelin protein increased from about 18 per cent at 8 days to 30 per cent at 300 days of age. Proteolipid protein increased even more dramatically, from 7 to 27 per cent in the same time interval. These chemical studies were correlated with ultrastructural investigations, both of the developing myelin sheath in situ and the isolated myelin obtained from mice of various ages. A hypothesis, relating the observed changes in protein composition of myelin during development to its mode of formation, is developed. Another subcellular fraction, separated from myelin, by virtue of its greater density in a CsCl gradient, was also studied. It was a vesicular, membranous fraction present at a level of 0.35 mg of protein/brain at all ages and was related to myelin in terms of protein composition.