cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Study of Experimental Meningococcal Infection. III. Effect of Anti-bacterial Immune Serum

SummaryRabbit antimeningococcus immune sera as well as commercial therapeutic sera in high dilutions protect mice against infection with virulent meningococci. In comparatively low dilution they exert a favorable action on the course of the experimental infection even when administered relatively late in its course. The mouse protection test is regarded as a more reasonable method than those at present employed for the standardization of therapeutic antimeningococcus sera.
The Role of Accounting in the Design of CEO Equity Compensation

We examine the role of accounting in CEO equity compensation design. For a sample of ExecuComp firms in 1995–2001, we find that financial reporting concerns are positively related to stock option use and total compensation, and negatively related to the use of restricted stock. We confirm our findings by examining changes in CEO compensation in firms that begin expensing options in 2002 or 2003. We find that these firms reduce their option use and increase their restricted stock use after starting to expense options but exhibit no decrease in total compensation. Taken together, our analyses suggest that favorable accounting treatment for options led to a higher use of options and lower use of restricted stock than would have been the case absent accounting considerations.
Oxidant abundances in rainwater and the evolution of atmospheric oxygen.

H2O2 is probably the dominant oxidant in rainwater at O2 levels lower than 0.01-0.001 present atmospheric levels (PAL), and the magnitude of its dissolved flux is sensitive to the concentration of the trace gases NO, CO, and CH4 in the atmosphere, as well as to the partial pressure of atmospheric CO2. The earlier interpretation of the paleosol data in terms of the ratio of p-O2/p-CO2 in the atmosphere must be modified by taking into account the effects of photochemically produced oxidants and reactants at p-O2 of les than 0.01 PAL.
Analysis of parallel incomplete point factorizations

Abstract Incomplete point factorizations are analyzed regarding their parallelism and the norm of the error matrix, and the relation between the two.
Carbohydrate sources and sinks in woody plants

Each perennial woody plant is a highly integrated system of competing carbohydrate sinks (utilization sites). Internal competition for carbohydrates is shown by changes in rates of carbohydrate movement from sources to sinks and reversals in direction of carbohydrate transport as the relative sink strengths of various organs change. Most carbohydrates are produced in foliage leaves but some are synthesized in cotyledons, hypocotyls, buds, twigs, stems, flowers, fruits, and strobili. Although the bulk of the carbohydrate pool moves to sinks through the phloem, some carbohydrates are obtained by sinks from the xylem sap. Sugars are actively accumulated in the phloem and move passively to sinks along a concentration gradient. The dry weight of a mature woody plant represents only a small proportion of the photosynthate it produced. This discrepancy results not only from consumption of plant tissues by herbivores and shedding of plant parts, but also from depletion of carbohydrates by respiration, leaching, exudation, secretion, translocation to other plants through root grafts and mycorrhizae and losses to parasites. Large spatial and temporal variations occur in the use of reserve- and currently produced carbohydrates in metabolism and growth of shoots, stems, roots, and reproductive structures. A portion of the carbohydrate pool is diverted for production of chemicals involved in defense against fungi, herbivores, and competing plants. Woody plants accumulate carbohydrates during periods of excess production and deplete carbohydrates when the rate of utilization exceeds the rate of production. Stored carbohydrates play an important role in metabolism, growth, defense, cold hardiness, and postponement or prevention of plant mortality.
The use of a discrete digital simulation for assessing administrative performance

The purpose of this paper is to present a new approach in the study of administrative performance in the field of education. The primary objective of the research is to identify relationships which may exist between selected personal characteristics of school principals and the decisions they make in a simulated elementary school. The results of the research to date support the theory which indicates that differences in educational background and experience of the subjects are reflected in differences in their decision making, as they use the simulation model.
Bridge Bidding with Imperfect Information

Multiplayer games with imperfect information, such as Bridge, are especially challenging for game theory researchers. Although several algorithmic techniques have been successfully applied to the card play phase of the game, bidding requires a much different approach. We have shown that a special form of a neural network, called a self-organizing map (SOM), can be used to effectively bid no trump hands. The characteristic boundary that forms between resulting neighboring nodes in a SOM is an ideal mechanism for modeling the imprecise and ambiguous nature of the game
The Molecular Diversity of Glycosaminoglycans Shapes Animal Development

Proteoglycans (PGs), molecules in which glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are covalently linked to a protein core, are components of the extracellular matrix of all multicellular organisms. Sugar moieties in GAGs are often extensively modified, which make these molecules enormously complex. We discuss here the role of PGs during animal development, emphasizing the in vivo significance of sugar modifications. We explore a model in which the modification patterns of GAG chains may provide a specific code that contributes to the correct development of a multicellular organism.
New pharmacotherapeutic modalities for negative symptoms in psychosis

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia comprise a psychopathologic and pathophysiologic syndrome which is absent from normal mental function. Renewed interest in negative symptoms has led to the development of better measuring instruments, among which is the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), which provides a way of measuring and reporting positive and negative symptoms in a balanced and convenient form. A number of strategies are being investigated for treating negative symptoms. Dopamine agonists such as levodopa, amphetamines and bromocriptine have been shown to produce improvements in negative symptoms, although good, well-controlled clinical trials are lacking. Partial dopamine agonists, such as MAR 327, are also currently under investigation and results are expected soon. Tricyclic, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and monoamine oxidase antidepressants appear to be able to modify negative symptoms in schizophrenia, although, once again, carefully designed trials are needed. Modification of GABAergic transmission has shown little promise, but the use of glycine to augment transmission at N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) synapses suggests that the strategy may be beneficial. These results also imply that altered glutamate receptor function may be partly responsible for negative symptoms. One strategy that has been shown to have a beneficial effect against negative symptoms is combined serotonin/dopamine antagonism. Clozapine was found to have this profile after its introduction, and the recently introduced antipsychotic, risperidone was developed intentionally to be a combined 5-HT2/D2 antagonist. Both risperidone and clozapine have been shown to be effective against negative symptoms. One problem associated with the assessment of drug effects on negative symptoms, however, is that drugs can act on both primary and secondary negative symptoms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
3,4-Dichloropropionanilide (DCPA) Inhibits T-Cell Activation by Altering the Intracellular Calcium Concentration following Store Depletion

Stimulation of T cells through the T-cell receptor results in the activation of a series of signaling pathways that leads to the secretion of interleukin (IL)-2 and cell proliferation. Influx of calcium (Ca(2+)) from the extracellular environment, following internal Ca(2+) store depletion, provides the elevated and sustained intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) critical for optimal T-cell activation. Our laboratory has documented that exposure to the herbicide 3,4-dichloropropionanilide (DCPA) inhibits intracellular signaling events that have one or more Ca(2+) dependent steps. Herein we report that DCPA attenuates the normal elevated and sustained [Ca(2+)](i) that follows internal store depletion in the human leukemic Jurkat T cell line and primary mouse T cells. DCPA did not alter the depletion of internal Ca(2+) stores when stimulated by anti-CD3 or thapsigargin demonstrating that early inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate-mediated signaling and depletion of Ca(2+) stores were unaffected. 2-Aminoethyldiphenol borate (2-APB) is known to alter the store-operated Ca(2+) (SOC) influx that follows Ca(2+) store depletion. Exposure of Jurkat cells to either DCPA or 50 microM 2-APB attenuated the increase in [Ca(2+)](i) following thapsigargin or anti-CD3 induced store depletion in a similar manner. At low concentrations, 2-APB enhances SOC influx but this enhancement is abrogated in the presence of DCPA. This alteration in [Ca(2+)](i), when exposed to DCPA, significantly reduces nuclear levels of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) and IL-2 secretion. The plasma membrane polarization profile is not altered by DCPA exposure. Taken together, these data indicate that DCPA inhibits T-cell activation by altering Ca(2+) homeostasis following store depletion.
Inhibition of Branched-Chain α-Keto Acid Dehydrogenase Kinase and Sln1 Yeast Histidine Kinase by the Antifungal Antibiotic Radicicol

The 90-kDa heat shock family (HSP90) of protein and two-component histidine kinases, although quite distinct at the primary amino acid sequence level, share a common structural ATP-binding domain known as the Bergerat fold. The Bergerat fold is important for the ATPase activity and associated chaperone function of HSP90. Two-component histidine kinases occur in bacteria, yeast, and plants but have yet to be identified in mammalian cells. The antifungal antibiotic radicicol (Monorden) has been shown to bind to the Bergerat fold of HSP90 and to inhibit its ATPase activity. The structural similarity between the Bergerat fold of HSP90 and bacterial two-component histidine kinases prompted our inquiry into whether radicicol could be a potential inhibitor of histidine kinase-like proteins. Structural homology searches suggest that the ATP-binding domains of the yeast histidine kinase Sln1 and the mammalian, branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase kinase are very similar to that of other Bergerat fold family members. On the basis of structural homology, we tested radicicol as a potential inhibitor of Sln1 and branched-chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase kinase (BCKDHK) and propose a mechanism of inhibition of these kinases. Although BCKDHK has been shown to have serine autophosphorylation activity, we speculate, based on the results from this study and other supporting evidence, that BCKDHK may also have intrinsic histidine kinase activity.
Effect of transforming growth factor-beta on plasminogen activator production of cultured human uveal melanoma cells.

Purpose. Human uveal melanoma cells have been shown to produce plasminogen activator (PA), an enzyme which can enhance tumor metastasis by promoting degradation of extracellular matrix. This study used cultured human uveal melanoma cells to determine whether the PA production of uveal melanoma cells could be modulated by transforming growth factor-beta2 (TGF-beta2), a mitogen present in the uvea.Methods. Five different cell lines of human uveal melanoma of differing cellular morphology (2 spindle, 2 epithelioid, 1 mixed) derived from tumors from different locations in the eye (3 choroidal, 1 ciliochoroidal, 1 orbital) were grown in serum-free media, in the presence or absence of TGF-beta2 (lng/ml to lOOng/ml). After 24 hrs, the conditioned media were collected and quantitated for PA activity by measuring the radial diffusion in fibrin-agarose clot and for total PA concentration using an enzyme-linked immunoassay.Results. Among the cell lines studied, all produced PA. Cell lines derived from intraocular tu...
Social psychology of psychologists: volunteer vs nonvolunteer therapists.

Summary.-External validiry is questionable whenever generalizations are made over any facet sampled selectively in a design, including experimenters. Sampling experimenters selectively is particularly common in research on outcome of therapy in which typically only volunteer therapists are included. Using archival data capturing a 6-mo. period, the present study yielded differences between therapists who did (n = 5) and did not (n = 9) volunteer to serve as experimenters in a study of outcome on three variables, number of "no show" clients, average total number of sessions clients were seen, and age ' of experimenter. These findings suggest the importance of considering hidden interactions between therapist volunteer status and experimental treatments, interactions which would limit the external validity of results of study of outcome. When designing and conducting studies of outcome, researchers guard the internal validity of their work carefully (Mahoney, 1978). External validity is typically afforded less attention; it is considered to be threatened seriously only by biases in subject sampling (Kazdin, 1978) and target sampling (Borkovec, Stone, O'Brien, & Kaloupek, 1974) or reactivity in measurement (Bernstein & Paul, 1971). However, external validity is in jeopardy whenever generalizations are made over any facet that is sampled in a design, including experimenter-therapists (McGuigan, 1963). Moreover, the risk of consistently overgeneralizing from a body of research increases as groups of individual studies repeatedly follow similar sampling strategies over the same design facet (MacDonald & Tobias, 1976). Rosenthal and Rosnow's (1969) work provides an illustration of this point. In examining the impact of sampling over the design facet of subjects, they found that volunteer subjects differed from nonvolunteer subjects in a number of stable ways. Subsequent studies showed that where differences between volunteer and nonvolunteer subjects are relevant to the treatrnent(s) under investigation, interactions of subject and treatment occur (Neale & Liebert, 1973). As a result of these interactions, studies including only volunteer subjects to study variables which interact with differences between volunteer and nonvolunteer subjects have limited external validities. Where groups of researchers consistently study the effects of these variables with volunteer subjects only, this limitation in external validity will remain undetected. Most studies of outcome in therapy include only therapists who volunteer
Experimental Diabetes Is Associated With Functional Activation of Protein Kinase Cε and Phosphorylation of Troponin I in the Heart, Which Are Prevented by Angiotensin II Receptor Blockade

A cardiomyopathy that is characterized by an impairment in diastolic relaxation and a loss of calcium sensitivity of the isolated myofibril has been described in chronic diabetic animals and humans. To explore a possible role for protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated phosphorylation of myofibrillar proteins in this process, we characterized the subcellular distribution of the major PKC isoforms seen in the adult heart in cardiocytes isolated from diabetic rats and determined patterns of phosphorylation of the major regulatory proteins, including troponin I (TnI). Rats were made diabetic with a single injection of streptozotocin, and myocardiocytes were isolated and studied 3 to 4 weeks later. In nondiabetic animals, 76% of the PKC epsilon isoform was located in the cytosol and 24% was particulate, whereas in diabetic animals, 55% was cytosolic and 45% was particulate (P < .05). PKC delta, the other major PKC isoform seen in adult cardiocytes, did not show a change in subcellular localization. In parallel, TnI phosphorylation was increased 5-fold in cardiocytes isolated from the hearts of diabetic animals relative to control animals (P < .01). The change in PKC epsilon distribution and in TnI phosphorylation in diabetic animals was completely prevented by rendering the animals euglycemic with insulin or by concomitant treatment with a specific angiotensin II type-1 receptor (AT1) antagonist. Since PKC phosphorylation of TnI has been associated with a loss of calcium sensitivity of intact myofibrils, these data suggest that angiotensin II receptor-mediated activation of PKC may play a role in the contractile dysfunction seen in chronic diabetes.
Heat release in the reactor core

Chapter 1 contains introductory information about the heat release in the reactor core, the thermal power and thermal power density in the fuel, structures and moderator, the influence of the thermal power density on the coolant temperature, and the spatial distribution of the thermal power density. Finally, some measures are introduced for equalizing of the spatial distribution of the thermal power density.
Can disordered radical pair systems provide a basis for a magnetic compass in animals

A proposed mechanism for magnetic compasses in animals is that systems of radical pairs transduce magnetic field information to the nervous system. One can show that perfectly ordered arrays of radical pairs are sensitive to the direction of the external magnetic field and can thus operate, in principle, as a magnetic compass. Here, we investigate how disorder, inherent in biological cells, affects the ability of radical pair systems to provide directional information. We consider biologically inspired geometrical arrangements of ensembles of radical pairs with increasing amounts of disorder and calculate the effect of changing the direction of the external magnetic field on the rate of chemical signal production by radical pair systems. Using a previously established signal transduction model, we estimate the minimum number of receptors necessary to allow for detection of the change in chemical signal owing to changes in magnetic field direction. We quantify the required increase in the number of receptors to compensate for the signal attenuation through increased disorder. We find radical-pair-based compass systems to be relatively robust against disorder, suggesting several scenarios as to how a compass structure can be realized in a biological cell.
Velocity Dispersion Estimation

Summary In this work, we explore the feasibility of estimating velocity dispersion based on velocity analysis of pre-stack seismic data. We tested the methodology on a set of synthetic CMP gathers with different central frequencies. Pre-stack synthetic seismic data was generated from a model that consists of 509 homogeneous and isotropic layers and includes a periodically layered zone. The results show that the velocity variation due to multiple scattering ranges from 4% to 28%. Most of the values are higher than 10%, which is a realistic uncertainty in velocity analysis.
Quai Branly in Process

Viewed from the Seine, through its glass palisade, the museum looks like a capsized container ship ... in dry dock. Hoisted on pillars, the exhibition plateau seems exposed and incongruous. Red, gray, yellow windowless boxes protrude. Seen from the rue de l'Universite, on the opposite side, the long, scored body seems already to be rusting. Three smaller buildings are yoked to one end; a domed restaurant perches on top. Underneath, a garden, or rather, a forest, is taking root. The trees are small, anchored by stakes and wires, accompanied by thousands of seedlings and grasses whose irrigation tubes and valves haven't yet been made to vanish. When the surrounding forest has grown up, the museum will, according to its architect, mysteriously dematerialize. The colored boxes will be glimpsed as if they were native "huts" poking through jungle foliage. Time will tell how the Musee du Quai Branly eventually looks and how its ambitious program is realized. Opened to great fanfare and widespread grumbling, it is a work in process dynamic, pretentious, and raw. As of fall 2006, the central exhibition space is largely complete (though like all "permanent" displays it will certainly be revised as tastes and times change). An impressive array of public events and research resources has been projected, and a first round of temporary exhibitions is under way. The guiding priorities and style of the new project are becoming clear, as are some of its contradictions and tensions.1 Quai Branly is clearly more than one thing, a coalition of different agendas that will, no doubt, be renegotiated. The founding vision and dramatic architecture create possibilities and impose limits. It will be interesting to track how those who animate this project curators, anthropologists, historians, bureaucrats, technicians,
General Robust-Optimization Formulation for Nonlinear Programming

Most research in robust optimization has been focused so far on inequality-only, convex conic programming with simple linear models for the uncertain parameters. Many practical optimization problems, however, are nonlinear and nonconvex. Even in linear programming, the coefficients may still be nonlinear functions of the uncertain parameters. In this paper, we propose robust formulations that extend the robust-optimization approach to a general nonlinear programming setting with parameter uncertainty involving both equality and inequality constraints. The proposed robust formulations are valid in a neighborhood of a given nominal parameter value and are robust to the first-order, thus suitable for applications where reasonable parameter estimations are available and uncertain variations are moderate.
How to Improve Your Search Engine Ranking: Myths and Reality

Search engines have greatly influenced the way people access information on the Internet, as such engines provide the preferred entry point to billions of pages on the Web. Therefore, highly ranked Web pages generally have higher visibility to people and pushing the ranking higher has become the top priority for Web masters. As a matter of fact, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has became a sizeable business that attempts to improve their clients’ ranking. Still, the lack of ways to validate SEO’s methods has created numerous myths and fallacies associated with ranking algorithms.In this article, we focus on two ranking algorithms, Google’s and Bing’s, and design, implement, and evaluate a ranking system to systematically validate assumptions others have made about these popular ranking algorithms. We demonstrate that linear learning models, coupled with a recursive partitioning ranking scheme, are capable of predicting ranking results with high accuracy. As an example, we manage to correctly predict 7 out of the top 10 pages for 78p of evaluated keywords. Moreover, for content-only ranking, our system can correctly predict 9 or more pages out of the top 10 ones for 77p of search terms. We show how our ranking system can be used to reveal the relative importance of ranking features in a search engine’s ranking function, provide guidelines for SEOs and Web masters to optimize their Web pages, validate or disprove new ranking features, and evaluate search engine ranking results for possible ranking bias.
ColSpace: Towards algorithm/implementation co-optimization

Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are physical implementations of algorithms, so implementation metrics are determined in large part by the algorithm specification. However, the system abstraction layers that have been developed to manage the ever-increasing complexity of digital systems separate algorithm designers from hardware designers, forcing the latter to work within the design space specified by the former, even for applications such as multimedia that do not have hard fidelity requirements. Designers typically employ informal iterative design to adjust fidelity, but a formal design methodology would increase designer efficiency and improve the quality of the solutions. This paper introduces such a methodology (and accompanying tool) that enables algorithm and implementation metrics to be co-optimized during early design exploration, opening the design space to include solutions that may provide, for example, significant performance improvements while only slightly compromising fidelity. Hierarchical dependency graphs (HDGs) are used to represent both the algorithm and the implementation architecture, providing a common interface through which algorithm designers and hardware designers can explore the collaborative space (ColSpace) together. Using the proposed technique, the ColSpace tool can trade off various metrics to find the best overall design while managing complexity with the HDG hierarchy. Two image processing case studies demonstrate that in ColSpace-optimized designs, latency savings can exceed fidelity losses, resulting in cost function reductions that would not have been possible without this co-optimization methodology.
A Review of: “Medical Statistics: A Textbook for the Health Sciences, Fourth Edition, by D. Machin, M. J. Campbell, and S. J. Walters”

The significance of understanding statistical concepts in order to apply them effectively to various fields in health sciences cannot be emphasized enough. An example of this type of application to...
Configuring Distributed Computations Using Response Surfaces

Configuring large distributed computations is a challenging task. Efficiently executing distributed computations requires configuration tuning based on careful examination of application and hardware properties. Considering the large number of parameters and impracticality of using trial and error in a production environment, programmers tend to make these decisions based on their experience and rules of thumb. Such configurations can lead to underutilized and costly clusters, and missed deadlines.In this paper, we present a new methodology for determining desired hardware and software configuration parameters for distributed computations. The key insight behind this methodology is to build a response surface that captures how applications perform under different hardware and software configuration. Such a model can be built through iterated experiments using the real system, or, more efficiently, using a simulator. The resulting model can then generate recommendations for configuration parameters that are likely to yield the desired results even if they have not been tried either in simulation or in real-life. The process can be iterated to refine previous predictions and achieve better results.We have implemented this methodology in a configuration recommendation system for MapReduce 2.0 applications. Performance measurements show that representative applications achieve up to 5× performance improvement when they use the recommended configuration parameters compared to the default ones.
Mobile Codes: The Migration of Colonial Law into Post-Colonial Ghana, 1957-1990

Between 1957 and 1993, various Ghanaian regimes modified and redeployed colonial legal codes as social control mechanisms. The Emergency Powers Act, 1957 was said by the Nkrumah government to be in substitution for the Emergency Powers Order in Council, 1939; the Book and Newspaper Registration Act, 1961 was almost identical to the Newspaper Registration Ordinance, 1894, and the Newspapers, Books and Printing Presses Ordinance, 1934; the Newspaper Licensing Decree 1973, replicated the Newspaper Registration Ordinance, 1896, and the Books and Newspapers Registration Ordinance, 1897; the Preventive Custody Law 1982, was similar to the Emergency Powers Order in Council, 1939; and the Newspaper Licensing Law, 1989 was almost an exact replica of the Books and Newspapers Registration Ordinance 1894, the Books and Newspaper Registration Ordinance 1897, and the Books and Printing Presses Ordinance 1934. What are the conceptual and political implications of the use of colonial-style legal codes in postcolonial spaces? This paper argues that conceptually, it further complicates the notion of the postcolonial; politically, it obstructed the survival of the regimes that imported and redeployed them. The paper is based on research conducted at the Ghana national archives, supported by a body of secondary material on Ghana and the postcolonial.
The Hormones of Renal Sodium Conservation Act Synergistically to Arouse a Sodium Appetite in the Rat

Central or systemic administration of angiotensin1,2,4 as well as peripheral administration of either desoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA) or aldosterone8,9 will arouse a sodium appetite in the rat but only when large doses of the hormone are used or when negative sodium balance is induced6,7, Recently, Epstein3 has suggested that these same hormones may act in a synergistic manner at physiological concentrations, to produce a sodium appetite and that their concurrent action may underly the sodium appetite which occurs naturally in states of sodium depletion. Fluharty and Epstein5 have since supported this hypothesis by arousing a rapid and robust sodium appetite upon central administration of angiotensin II (Ang II) to sodium replete rats given subcutaneous injections of DOCA. The doses of both hormones were insufficient to arouse a sodium appetite when given alone, and the appetite occured in animals that were in positive sodium balance. We have now extended this line of investigation to the naturally occuring mineralocorticoid, aldosterone, enquiring whether it is the synergistic partner with angiotensin II in generating the appetite.
Systems Modeling for the Laser Fusion-Fission Energy (LIFE) Power Plant

AbstractA systems model has been developed for the Laser Inertial Fusion-Fission Energy (LIFE) power plant. It combines cost-performance scaling models for the major subsystems of the plant including the laser, inertial fusion target factory, engine (i.e., the chamber including the fission and tritium breeding blankets), energy conversion systems and balance of plant. The LIFE plant model is being used to evaluate design trade-offs and to identify high-leverage R&D. At this point, we are focused more on doing self consistent design trades and optimization as opposed to trying to predict a cost of electricity with a high degree of certainty. Key results show the advantage of large scale (>1000 MWe) plants and the importance of minimizing the cost of diodes and balance of plant cost.
Managing Pharyngeal and Oral Mucosal Pain

Oropharyngeal pain is a common chief complaint in the emergency department and primary care offices. Etiologies include pharyngitis from viral or bacterial infections, tonsillitis, oral mucositis from chemotherapeutic agents, infections such as the herpes simplex virus, aphthous stomatitis and dental pain from abscesses, decay and post-extractions. Patients present for evaluation of their disease, but importantly, patients also seek pain control. This review focuses on pain management of the simple acute sore throat, dental pain, and oral mucosal pain. Common medications such as acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDS), corticosteroids, topical agents, and natural agents may be utilized for oropharyngeal and dental discomfort. With the exception of two societies that recommend NSAIDs and acetaminophen as first line medications for managing pain from acute pharyngitis, no other guidelines or useful recommendations are currently available. Thus, while this review does discuss several options for pain control, it will be up to the clinician to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of the medications and find the right one for each patient and his or her condition.
Privacy Rules: Method and System for Conveying Location-Granularity Preferences with Location-Based Service Requests

The results of an online survey support a growing body of evidence that user discomfort increases in proportion to the accuracy with which wireless communication networks determine the physical location of a wireless device. We describe a method for conveying and applying user preferences for location granularity (inaccuracy) with such location-based services. Using this method, a user may limit the location granularity either globally, for particular services, or for particular individuals who might wish to locate the user. Upon detecting a request to use a location service, a wireless device sends to the service provider a message directing how to carry out the requested service. Upon receiving the instructions, the service provider would proceed to determine the location of the device, adjust the granularity as appropriate to the user's preference, then return the adjusted location. We believe that this method will alleviate some of users' concerns related to the privacy and control of location informa...
Studies of Chicken Sarcoma (Strain 13). A Review

Abstract Strain 13 was described as a virus-induced tumor in 1935. Its study was dropped for lack of support, but it was preserved by desiccation after freezing. Twenty years later the desiccated virus was reactivated by injection into day-old-chicks. Attempts to produce resistance by introduction of the virus into the vent, by vent drop and vent brush methods, and into the bursa of Fabricius, failed. Methods for extraction of the virus were studied followed by injection of different dilutions of the virus into the wing-web, with analysis of the data by dose responses, time frequencies, and tumor incidences, resulting in a method of bio-assay. Three weeks old chicks were found more susceptible than younger or older chicks, and female chicks showed a higher number of tumors than males. The virus was found sensitive to ether and chloroform. The virus remained stabile at pH 6.0 through pH 9.0. Contact of the virus with the enzymes, trypsin, lipase, and hyaluronidase, showed no effect on its ability to produce tumors when injected into chickens. Young guinea fowl developed tumors when injected with the virus.
What Role Do Food and Beverage Prices Have on Diet and Health Outcomes

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that over one-third of U.S. adults are obese, while about 17 percent of children are obese. The high cost of obesity-related illnesses--medical costs as well as lost productivity from disabilities or premature deaths--motivates the public health community and policymakers to identify causes as well as solutions. Some public health advocates have argued that falling real, or inflation-adjusted, prices for many high-calorie foods encourage people to buy and consume more of these foods, leading to poor diet quality and rising rates of obesity. A closer look at how consumers respond to food price variation--over time, across geographic markets, in different types of stores, and in response to taxes and subsidies--reveals how food prices affect people’s food choices, and their waistlines. In short, price matters, but not very much, and it is not the only factor.
Experimental Realization of a Metamaterial Detector Focal Plane Array

We present a metamaterial absorber detector array that enables room-temperature, narrow-band detection of gigahertz (GHz) radiation in the S band (2-4 GHz). The system is implemented in a commercial printed circuit board process and we characterize the detector sensitivity and angular dependence. A modified metamaterial absorber geometry allows for each unit cell to act as an isolated detector pixel and to collectively form a focal plane array . Each pixel can have a dedicated microwave receiver chain and functions together as a hybrid device tuned to maximize the efficiency of detected power. The demonstrated subwavelength pixel shows detected sensitivity of -77 dBm, corresponding to a radiation power density of 27 nW/m(2), with pixel to pixel coupling interference below -14 dB at 2.5 GHz.
Capnia caryi, an interesting new species of winter stonefly from the American Southwest (Plecoptera: Capniidae)

Capnia caryi , a new species of Nearctic Capniidae, is described from adults collected from high-elevation locations in the Southern Rocky Mountains of southern New Mexico and Arizona. Males are distinguished by their rounded club-shaped epiproct and sclerotized knobs on abdominal terga 8 and 9. Females possess a darkly sclerotized subgenital plate that covers most of tergum 8 and is produced posteriorly as a pair of broadly rounded lobes.
Zhuangzi’s Ironic Detachment and Political Commitment

Paul Gewirtz has suggested that contemporary Chinese society lacks a shared framework. A Rortian might describe this by saying that China lacks a “final vocabulary” of “thick terms” with which to resolve ethical disagreements. I briefly examine the strengths and weaknesses of Confucianism and Legalism as potential sources of such a final vocabulary, but most of this essay focuses on Zhuangzian Daoism. Zhuangzi 莊子 provides many stories and metaphors that can inspire advocates of political pluralism. However, I suggest that Zhuangzi is ultimately an “ironist” in Rorty’s sense. Many intellectuals assume there is something progressive and liberating about broadly ironic stances like relativism and skepticism. Ethically, though, irony is “the night in which all cows are black”: since it regards all positions as equally undermined, an ironic stance cannot be enlisted in support of tolerance or humanitarianism or in opposition to absolutism or cruelty.
The Yeast CUP1 Gene: A Model for Biological Detoxification of Heavy Metal Effluents

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, CUP1 codes for a small copper-binding, cysteine-rich protein, copper chelatin. We cloned and sequenced the CUP1 gene and find that the protein encoded is similar but not identical to mammalian metallothionein. Strains sensitive to copper contain only a single gene copy, while resistant strains harbor many tandemly organized copies. Resistant laboratory strains contain 12, 13, or 14 copies while industrial strains have 2–16 repeats. Moderate selection for enhanced resistance yields strains with up to 28 copies. These strains retain their high copy numbers in the absence of continued selection. Copper chelatin is pro-duced by cells challenged with copper in direct proportion to the gene copy number. CUP1 genes are transcribed; mRNA levels being induced approximately 20-fold above the basal level by Cu++ ions. A strain’s basal level is directly related to its gene number. Copper uptake is extremely rapid; 50% of the maximal level is achieved in 15 seconds, and Weser (1979) showed that the metal ion is bound covalently.
Research on Marriage between Imperial Families and "Families of General"in Northern Song Dynasty

In Northern Song Dynasty,there's a rather noticeable trend of marriagebetween imperial families and "families of general".This trend was originallybrought into practice mainly by the groups in power in early Song Dynasty sincethey tried to buy over senior military officers.Later the trend became one of thepolicies against military officers, namely frustrating and corrupting them,andthen produced quite a few well-known families of general holding armies with longmarriage relationship with imperial families.
Behavioral functions of narcotic antagonists: response-drug contingencies

Behavioral effects of the narcotic antagonist naloxone are discussed in terms of stimulus functions. As an eliciting stimulus, the effects of naloxone depend on prior administration of narcotic. Administered independently of responding, naloxone can increase or decrease rates of narcotic-reinforced responding depending on the dose of naloxone. When naloxone is administered as a consequence of narcotic self-injection, the future probability of that behavior is reduced; thus, naloxone can function as a punishing stimulus. As a negatively-reinforcing stimulus, naloxone can maintain behavior which germinates or prevents delivery in morphine-dependent monkeys. In animals with previous naloxone avoidance-escape experience, unavoidable-inescapable injections of naloxone produce increases in avoidance-escape response rates. In these animals, responding subsequently can be maintained, at least temporarily, when naloxone is administered only as the consequence of responding.—Woods, J. H., D. A. Downs and J. Carney. Behavioral functions of narcotic antagonists: response-drug contingencies. Federation Proc. 34: 17771784, 1975.
Drying Characteristics of Bean Analog – A Sorghum Based Extruded Product

Bean analog is a novel bean-like re-formed product made from the extrusion of three flour combinations (sorghum, wheat and soy). This product was evaluated under three drying conditions, namely oven, infrared and solar drying, and were fitted to empirical and semi-empirical models. Infrared drying produced the highest drying rate of all methods. Effective moisture diffusivity (EMD), which is an indication of drying rate, ranged from 6.8 × 10−10 to 1.74 × 10−9, 2.05 to 9.22 × 10−9 and 8.70 × 10−10 to 6.10 × 10−9 m2/s for the oven, infrared and solar dried bean analog, respectively. Low EMD for oven drying, against expectation, is attributed to low heat transfer due to limited air circulation. Page equation fitted the drying data better than Lewis, and Henderson and Pabis, with higher R2 values. Oven dried samples rehydrate better compared with others, which can be attributed to slower drying impact on structural changes. Practical Applications Re-formed foods are becoming avenue to substitute for or increase access to deficient nutrients in major staple foods, especially protein and micronutrients like vitamin A and iron. Bean analog is a newly developed navy bean like product made from extrusion of combined ingredients like sorghum, soybean and wheat, which are excellent sources of proteins. This study addressed the stability of the product for storage by evaluating the drying characteristics of the product under different drying methods, and using various empirical and semi-empirical models to fit the drying data.
Estimating the Pólya process

ABSTRACTTraditionally, a Polya process is approached from a probability point of view. No prior inference work has been done on them. In this study, we approach the continuous-time Polya process from an estimation point of view. We construct efficient estimators for the replacement matrix of certain classes of Polya processes.
Simplified Methods of Dosimetry

Although the calculation of the radiation absorbed dose to the tumor and normal tissues is the standard practice in radiation oncology using external radiation sources, the calculation of the radiation absorbed dose to tumors and normal tissues for 131I therapies is problematic for several reasons. First and as cited by Thierens et al., these measurements are difficult to perform and possibly subject to large errors. Second, full dosimetry such as described by Benua and Leeper can be demanding for both the patient and personnel, and they can be outside of the capability and/or desires of many nuclear medicine facilities to perform. As a result, alternative procedures to simplify the Benua and Leeper dosimetric approach in order to help determine patient-specific prescribed activities of 131I for treatment of DTC would be valuable, and a number of alternative approaches have been suggested. The objective of this chapter is to discuss several of those simplified dosimetric methods for calculation of the maximum tolerated activity to the blood (e.g., bone marrow).
Risk of Atrial Fibrillation and Bleeding Diathesis Associated With Ibrutinib Treatment: A Systematic Review and Pooled Analysis of Four Randomized Controlled Trials

Abstract Background Clinical trials raised concern that ibrutinib may increase the risk of atrial fibrillation/flutter (Afib/Aflutter) and major bleeding. However, the association has not been statistically validated, and there is no consensus regarding optimal management of anticoagulation among patients receiving ibrutinib who develop Afib/Aflutter. We performed a systematic review and pooled analysis to precisely assess the risk of Afib/Aflutter and bleeding associated with ibrutinib treatment in patients with hematologic malignancies. Patients and Methods We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Database, and meeting abstracts up to May 15, 2016, for randomized controlled trials comparing ibrutinib to chemotherapy, monoclonal antibody, or a combination. Primary outcomes were serious Afib/Aflutter and major bleeding. Secondary outcomes were all-grade Afib/Aflutter and bleeding. We calculated the Mantel-Haenszel risk ratio (RR) and estimated the effect of the treatments using a fixed-effects model. Results Ibrutinib treatment was associated with a significantly higher incidence of serious Afib/Aflutter (3.03% vs. 0.80%, RR = 3.80, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.56-9.29, P = .003), all-grade Afib/Aflutter (8.18% vs. 0.93%, RR = 8.81, 95% CI = 2.70-28.75, P = .0003), and all-grade bleeding (4.85% vs. 1.55%, RR = 2.93, 95% CI = 1.14-7.52, P = .03) compared to control treatments. The observed between-treatment difference in major bleeding rates was not statistically significant (3.69% vs. 2.13%, RR = 1.72, 95% CI = 0.95-3.11, P = .07). The risk of these adverse events was not different between subgroups on the basis of pathology, treatment setting, dose, and duration of ibrutinib exposure. Conclusion The risks of Afib/Aflutter and all-grade bleeding were significantly higher in the ibrutinib group. These results indicate the need for vigilant monitoring while the patient is receiving ibrutinib therapy, and careful assessment of the risks and benefits of anticoagulation is required.
Individual- and County-Level Religious Participation, Corporal Punishment, and Physical Abuse of Children: An Exploratory study

Parental religiosity has been associated with corporal punishment. However, most of this research has focused exclusively on Christians and has not examined physical abuse. In addition, little is known about how the larger religious environment might be associated with discipline behaviors. In this exploratory study, we examine how individual- and county-level religious attendance are related to corporal punishment and physical abuse. We sampled and surveyed 3,023 parents of children aged 12 and younger from 50 mid-sized California cities. We used weighted Poisson models to calculate the frequency of corporal punishment and physical abuse in the past year. Parents who attend religious groups used corporal punishment more frequently than parents who did not attend religious groups. However, those who lived in counties with greater rates of religious participation used corporal punishment less frequently than those living in counties with lower rates of religious participation. There were no effects for religious participation on physical abuse at the individual or county level. This exploratory study suggests that parents who attend religious groups may be more likely to use some types of physical discipline with children. Religious groups could be imparting parenting norms supporting corporal punishment at the individual level. More research examining specific doctrines and faiths is needed to validate the study findings.
The Social Networks of Cyberbullying on Twitter

This research applies a social network perspective to the issue of cyber aggression, or cyberbullying, on the social media platform Twitter. Cyber aggression is particularly problematic because of its potential for anonymity, and the ease with which so many others can join the harassment of victims. Utilizing a comparative case study methodology, the authors examined thousands of Tweets to explore the use of denigrating slurs and insults contained in public tweets that target an individual's gender, race, or sexual orientation. Findings indicate cyber aggression on Twitter to be extensive and often extremely offensive, with the potential for serious, deleterious consequences for its victims. The study examined a sample of 84 aggressive networks on Twitter and visualize several social networks of communication patterns that emanate from an initial, aggressive tweet. The authors identify six social roles that users can assume in the network, noting differences in these roles by demographic category. Serious ethical concerns pertain to this technological, social problem.