cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Estrogen-Progestin Replacement and Risk of Breast Cancer

To the Editor: Dr Schairer and colleagues 1 conclude that the estrogen-progestin regimen is associated with higher risks of breast cancer than estrogen alone. However, several aspects of the study deserve careful consideration. First, the study was not conducted in a representative sample of women but in a select population for whom the risk of breast cancer may be high. Only a sample of women who had neither surgery nor the recommendation for it at baseline were included in the analysis. Furthermore, type of hormone used was not assessed in the first phase of follow-up. Some hormone use was measured retrospectively, possibly introducing recall bias. 2 Moreover, the authors report no results for women who had mammography regularly. An analysis excluding cases of breast cancer that occurred in the first phase of the study would address the possibility of surveillance bias. An analysis of events by follow-up phase would add to a possible causal interpretation by providing a biologically appropriate lag time for cancer development. Presenting analyses stratified by frequency of mammography would strengthen the conclusion that these results were not caused by surveillance bias. It is well documented that women who receive hormone replacement therapy (HRT) also may be more likely to receive regular mammograms. 3,4 In addition, an analysis comparing estrogen-progestin with estrogen alone may be in order given the authors’ stated conclusions. Finally, a discussion of breast cancer mortality, total mortality, and risk vs benefit of HRT with respect to cardiovascular disease would help place these results in a public health context.
AGE-RELATED CHANGES IN HUMAN POSTURE CONTROL: SENSORY ORGANIZATION TESTS

Postural control was measured in 214 human subjects ranging in age from 7 to 81 years. Sensory organization tests measured the magnitude of anterior-posterior body sway during six 21 s trials in which visual and somatosensory orientation cues were altered (by rotating the visual surround and support surface in proportion to the subject's sway) or vision eliminated (eyes closed) in various combinations. No age-related increase in postural sway was found for subjects standing on a fixed support surface with eyes open or closed. However, age-related increases in sway were found for conditions involving altered visual or somatosensory cues. Subjects older than about 55 years showed the largest sway increases. Subjects younger than about 15 years were also sensitive to alteration of sensory cues. On average, the older subjects were more affected by altered visual cues whereas younger subjects had more difficulty with altered somatosensory cues.
At the Intersection of Sovereignty and Contract: Traffic Cameras and the Privatization of Law Enforcement Power

Many municipalities are making critical errors in their attempts to alleviate current financial burdens by contracting with private entities to perform many of their essential functions, most notably those agreements with companies to install traffic cameras and, in many cases, to monitor and cite offenders. By subcontracting part of their exclusive power to enforce law, these municipalities essentially bargain away sovereignty by parting with portions of their inherent police power. As these cameras fill a role played by the state’s law enforcement personnel, municipalities impermissibly infringe on the actual sovereignty of the state as well as the conceptual sovereignty of the people. Because sovereignty is envisioned as residing with a people at large but is practically exercised by the state, these contracts may represent a new model of sovereignty. This model does not follow the traditional view of sovereignty as a binary or a tension between the state and the people. Rather than returning sovereignty to the conceptual rulers, these contracts represent a new delegation of sovereign powers to private entities.
Giant HI clouds in the Galaxy

A substantial fraction of the mass of all the interstellar material in the outer Galaxy is in the form of giant cloud complexes that extend for several hundred parsecs each, at a mean density of ~10 cm -3 and a mass of 107Mo (McGee and Milton 1964; Kerr 1964; Burke, Turner and Tuve 1964). McGee and Milton found 29 such clouds in the outer Galaxy. The HI map in Henderson, Jackson and Kerr (1983; Figure 1) has approximately 12% of its emission inside ~8 closed contours where the column density exceeds 7 x 10 z° cm-2; the average mass inside each contour is 6 x 107Me . Grabelsky et al. (1987) find that the CO clouds in the outer galaxy cluster inside these giant HI clouds.
Reconfigurations of History and Embodying Books in Gould's Book of Fish

Richard Flanagan’s Gould’s Book of Fish presents the relationship among colonizers, the colonized, and outsiders through an exploration of written documents. This article explores the violence that certain reconstructions of history cause, the relationship between characters and physical texts, and Flanagan’s own physical construction of his novel. This article looks at the written form’s connection to the question that floats throughout the narrative: what does it mean to represent history?
THE ESCHERICHIA COLI ALKB PROTEIN PROTECTS HUMAN CELLS AGAINST ALKYLATION-INDUCED TOXICITY

Escherichia coli can ameliorate the toxic effects of alkylating agents either by preventing DNA alkylation or by repairing DNA alkylation damage. The alkylation-sensitive phenotype of E. coli alkB mutants marks the alkB pathway as an extremely effective defense mechanism against the cytotoxic effects of the SN2, but not the SN1, alkylating agents. Although it is clear that AlkB helps cells to better handle alkylated DNA, no DNA alkylation repair function could be assigned to the purified AlkB protein, suggesting that AlkB either acts as part of a complex or acts to regulate the expression of other genes whose products are directly responsible for alkylation resistance. However, here we present evidence that the provision of alkylation resistance is an intrinsic function of the AlkB protein per se. We expressed the E. coli AlkB protein in two human cell lines and found that it confers the same characteristic alkylation-resistant phenotype in this foreign environment as it does in E. coli. AlkB expression rendered human cells extremely resistant to cell killing by the SN2 but not the SN1 alkylating agents but did not affect the ability of dimethyl sulfate (an SN2 agent) to alkylate the genome. We infer that SN2 agents produce a class of DNA damage that is not efficiently produced by SN1 agents and that AlkB somehow prevents this damage from killing the cell. Images
Mechanical ventilation: Past and present

Emergency physicians commonly manage patients with acute respiratory failure who require assisted mechanical ventilation. Several different modes of positive pressure mechanical ventilation can be used to manage these patients when they present to the emergency department. These modes of ventilation have evolved over the last three decades. A comprehensive review of the most important historical moments in mechanical ventilation as well as the different modes commonly used in the emergency department are presented. In addition, new techniques in noninvasive mechanical ventilation are presented.
Writing solid code: Microsoft's techniques for developing bug-free programs

Written by a former Microsoft developer, this book takes on the problem of bugs by examining the development process and the places where developers typically make mistakes. The author provides practical solutions for detecting mistakes and examples of how bugs are caught at Microsoft. More advanced sections talk in detail about stepping through code to find programming errors and using the C run-in library as an ally against bugs. This book is of special interest to readers who have bought "Programming Windows", "Microsoft Guide to C++ Programming", "Microsoft C Run-Time Library Reference" or "Code Complete".
Study Describes Research Scientists' Information Seeking Behaviour, but Methodological Issues Make Usefulness as Evidence Debatable

A Review of: Hemminger, B.M., Lu, D., Vaughan, K.T.L., & Adams, S. J. (2007). Information seeking behavior of academic scientists. Journal of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 58(14), 2205-2225. Abstract Objective – To quantify the transition to electronic communication in information-seeking behaviour of academic scientists. Design – Census survey. Setting – University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a large public research university. Subjects – Nine hundred two faculty, research staff, and graduate students involved in research in basic or medical science departments. Participants self-selected (26%) from 3523 recruited. The sample reflected the larger population in terms of gender, age, university position, and department. Methods – The authors developed a web-based survey and delivered it via PHP Survey Tool. They developed the questions to parallel similar earlier studies to allow for comparative analysis. The survey included 28 main questions with some questions including further follow-up questions depending on the initial answer. The instrument included three initial questions designed to reveal the participant’s place and role in the university, and further coding classified participants’ department as either basic or medical science. The questions included categorical, continuous, and open-ended types. While most questions focused on the scientists’ information seeking behaviour, the three final open-ended questions asked about their opinions of the library and ideal searching environment. Answers were transferred into a MySQL database, then imported into SAS to generate simple descriptive statistics. Main Results – Participants reported easy access to online resources, and a strong preference for conducting research online, even when access to a physical library is convenient. Infrequent visits to the library predominantly took place to utilize materials not available online, although the third most common answer for visiting was to take advantage of the library building as a quiet reading space (14%). Additional questions revealed both type and specifics of most popular sources for research, preferred journals, current awareness tools, reasons for choice of journal for publication, and use of bibliographic management tools. Conclusion – Scientists prefer online tools for conducting library research, although specific contexts influence the preference, and online articles may be printed out for reading or annotation. The participants are taking advantage of the developing online arena, utilizing databases for research, as well as literature searching, access to journals and conference proceedings, and to keep abreast of current research.
College students who endorse a sub‐threshold number of DSM‐5 alcohol use disorder criteria: Alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drug use in DSM‐5 diagnostic orphans

OBJECTIVES: Diagnostic orphans (DOs) represent a group of individuals with no formal diagnosis, despite endorsing some criteria of an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Prior research has indicated that rates of DSM-IV DOs in college are high and closely resemble those with an alcohol abuse diagnosis across pertinent alcohol use risk factors. However, significant changes to the DSM-IV AUD criteria have been made for the current DSM-5 manual, which may impact how DOs are classified. This study examined the unique alcohol and illicit drug use characteristics of a group of 2,620 DSM-5 DOs in college and tested whether DOs differed from those with and without a DSM-5 AUD across pertinent alcohol and drug use risk factors. METHODS: Participants were 2,620 DSM-5 DO undergraduate college students, between the ages of 18 and 30, recruited from three public universities in the Southeastern, United States. RESULTS: Diagnostic orphans represented 19.6% (n = 506) of the sample; with the most frequently endorsed criteria being tolerance and consuming alcohol in hazardous situations. DOs reported significantly greater alcohol consumption, alcohol and drug related problems, and illicit drug use compared to those with no DSM-5 AUD diagnosis. Alternatively, DOs reported significantly lower alcohol use and illicit drug use compared to those with a DSM-5 AUD. CONCLUSION: The present findings indicate that DSM-5 DOs in college represent a distinct group of drinkers relative to those with and without a DSM-5 AUD. Current screening initiatives should target this group to prevent future escalation of problem drinking. (Am J Addict 2014;XX:XX-XX). Language: en
Charitable donations are more responsive to stock market booms than busts

Abstract This paper examines aggregate time series data on individual charitable donations from 1968 to 2007. We find that changes in individual giving show an asymmetric response to changes in the S&P 500: individuals are more responsive to stock market upturns than downturns.
Partial purification and characterization of an acetylcarnitine hydrolase from bovine epididymal spermatozoa.

Abstract We previously reported that intact epididymal spermatozoa from bulls and hamsters oxidize [1- 14 C]acetyl- l -carnitine to 14 CO 2 at about the same rate as they oxidize [1- 14 C]acetate. In addition, we showed that acetylcarnitine is hydrolyzed by a hydrolase present in the plasma membrane and that the carnitine moiety does not enter the cell. Here we report the partial purification of the acetylcarnitine hydrolase from bovine spermatozoa and describe some of its properties. The detergent-extracted enzyme was purified by FPLC using an anion-exchange Mono-Q column. The hydrolase activity eluted from the column with the application of 0.22 to 0.30 m NaCl and was separated from acetylcholinesterase activity, which eluted with 0.35 to 0.40 m NaCl. Specific inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase had little effect on acetylcarnitine hydrolase but p -hydroxymercuriphenylsulfonate was a potent inhibitor of the hydrolase. Kinetic studies of the hydrolase yielded a K ′ m of 6–10 m m for acetylcarnitine and a V ′ max of 0.16 nmol min −1 mg protein −1 . Similar studies with the acetylcholinesterase yielded a K ′ m for acetylcholine of about 300 μ m and a V ′ max of 165 nmol min −1 mg protein −1 . Acetylcarnitine was a poor substrate for the acetylcholinesterase. Several acyl- l -carnitines were tested as substrates for the hydrolase and the preferred substrate was acetylcarnitine. The role of acetylcarnitine hydrolase in the metabolism of acetylcarnitine by epididymal spermatozoa is discussed.
A placebo-controlled, random-assignment, parallel-group pilot study of adjunctive topiramate for patients with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type.

Objectives: This pilot study evaluated the efficacy and safety of adjunctive topiramate compared with placebo in the treatment of patients with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type (SAD-BT). Methods: A sample of 48 adult patients with a Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) diagnosis of SAD-BT (supported by the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorder, Patient Edition) were randomly assigned in a 2:1 ratio (favoring topiramate) to 8 weeks of double-blind treatment with topiramate (100–400 mg/day) or placebo. Patients who had achieved a ≥20% decrease from baseline in their Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total scores were given the opportunity to continue for an additional 8 weeks of double-blind treatment. The dosage of the study medicine was continued unchanged from the earlier 8-week study period. At the end of the study period, the study medicine was tapered and discontinued over a 2-week period. Primary efficacy was assessed at 8 weeks using the mean change between treatment groups of the PANSS total scores in the intent-to-treat population of randomized patients. Several secondary measures were also assessed. Safety analyses included monitoring of adverse events, vital signs, electrocardiogram (ECG) and laboratory values. Results: Even though both treatments reduced scores on various psychopathology rating scales, adjunctive topiramate treatment (nearly 275 mg/day) did not show increased efficacy relative to placebo on the primary outcome measure (PANSS scale) or any of the secondary outcome measures. Topiramate-treated patients lost significantly more body weight than placebo-treated patients, which led to a significant reduction in body mass index (BMI). Relative to adjunctive placebo, topiramate-treated patients experienced higher rates of paresthesia, sedation, word-finding difficulty, sleepiness, and forgetfulness, but these differences were not statistically significant. There were no clinically significant abnormalities in either the ECG or laboratory results. There were no serious adverse events in the study. Further, there was no worsening of the PANSS total scores (to ≥10% from baseline), and no significant differences between the treatments on worsening of total Montgomery–Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) scores [1/13 (7.7%) for placebo; 1/25 (4.0%) for topiramate]. Conclusions: This pilot study did not support clinical efficacy for adjunctive topiramate treatment in patients with SAD-BT. There were no major safety or tolerability issues in this study. Confirming the results of other studies, topiramate-treated patients did experience greater body weight loss and reduction in BMI.
Design of a 1 MeV3He+ RFQ for the SAIC PET accelerator facility

Abstract The novel design of a 1 MeV 3 He + radiofrequency quadrupole (RFQ) accelerator is discussed. This RFQ is the first segment of an accelerator for the production of radioisotopes for positron emission tomography (PET) applications. This RFQ is unusual in that two specific innovations were incorporated into the design. The mechanical design is a hybrid of conventional four-vane and four-rod geometries. This hybridization reduces the physical dimensions of the accelerator without sacrificing too much in rf efficiency and has the added benefit of reducing the sensitivity to mechanical alignment errors. In addition, the beam dynamics of the last few cells was modified to tailor the output beam parameters to improve the beam transport through the next accelerator section. The details of the mechanical structure, the mechanical and electrical alignment experiences, and a comparison of the theoretical and experimental performance of this accelerator are also discussed.
Two-dimensional doppler echocardiographic diagnosis of a traumatic intracardiac shunt

Abstract Doppler echocardiography is an excellent noninvasive tool for detecting and quantifying cardiac valvular lesions and shunts. 1–3 It is also helpful in the diagnosis of rare vascular and intracardiac communications [e.g., left ventricular-right atrial shunt, 4 aortico-left ventricular tunnel 5 and coronary artery fistula 6 ]. We recently studied a patient with penetrating chest trauma in whom a combination of 2-dimensional (2-D) and Doppler echocardiography helped identify the site of a residual ventricular septal defect (VSD) and delineate the pattern of blood flow.
Local thermal control of the human cutaneous circulation

The level of skin blood flow is subject to both reflex thermoregulatory control and influences from the direct effects of warming and cooling the skin. The effects of local changes in temperature are capable of maximally vasoconstricting or vasodilating the skin. They are brought about by a combination of mechanisms involving endothelial, adrenergic, and sensory systems. Local warming initiates a transient vasodilation through an axon reflex, succeeded by a plateau phase due largely to nitric oxide. Both phases are supported by sympathetic transmitters. The plateau phase is followed by the die-away phenomenon, a slow reversal of the vasodilation that is dependent on intact sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerves. The vasoconstriction with local skin cooling is brought about, in part, by a postsynaptic upregulation of α(2c)-adrenoceptors and, in part, by inhibition of the nitric oxide system at at least two points. There is also an early vasodilator response to local cooling, dependent on the rate of cooling. The mechanism for that transient vasodilation is not known, but it is inhibited by intact sympathetic vasoconstrictor nerve function and by intact sensory nerve function.
Pediatric CI therapy for stroke-induced hemiparesis in young children

In this laboratory we have developed a set of techniques that randomized controlled studies and a multisite randomized controlled trial have shown can substantially reduce the motor deficit of adul...
Loss of myocardial protection after preconditioning correlates with the time course of glycogen recovery within the preconditioned segment.

BACKGROUND Although previous investigators have demonstrated that myocardial preconditioning reduces infarct size, the mechanisms of cardioprotection associated with preconditioning are not completely understood. METHODS AND RESULTS To test the hypothesis that preconditioning (four 5-minute episodes of ischemia each followed by 5 minutes of reperfusion) reduces infarct size by depleting cardiac glycogen stores and attenuating the degree of intracellular acidosis during subsequent prolonged left coronary artery occlusion, preconditioned and control rats were subjected to 45 minutes of left coronary artery occlusion and 120 minutes of reflow immediately after preconditioning (groups 1P and 1C, respectively) or after 30 minutes (groups 2P+30m and 2C), 1 hour (groups 3P+60m and 3C), or 6 hours (groups 4P+360m and 4C) of nonischemic recovery after preconditioning but before prolonged ischemia. In each group, cardiectomy was performed in selected rats immediately before prolonged ischemia for cardiac glycogen assay. In selected animals, 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed to monitor intracellular pH and measure high-energy phosphate levels during ischemia and reperfusion. Group 1P rats demonstrated marked glycogen depletion after preconditioning compared with controls (0.72 +/- 0.39 [n = 9] versus 5.67 +/- 1.73 [n = 12] mg glucose/g wet wt; p CONCLUSIONS Glycogen depletion and the attenuation of intracellular acidosis during ischemia appear to be important factors in delaying irreversible injury and reducing infarct size in this animal model of myocardial preconditioning.
American nurses' association nursing service standards viewed as norms

Abstract A first step has been taken to describe and analyse some normative characteristics of the ANA standards for organized nursing services using the typology devised by Richard T. Morris. Widespread knowledge and acceptance of the standards, proper and consistent enforcement, and a creative approach to internalizing the standards within the culture of the health care system offers hope for achieving the purposes for which the standards were prepared. Achievement of the purposes should result in "the best possible nursing care for patients, under the most ideal working conditions for employees, and within reasonable limits of financial expenditure." (1)
Electron microscope observations on granulosis virus replication in the fruit tree leaf roller, Archips argyrospila: Infection of the midgut

Abstract An electron microscope study was made of a granulosis virus causing epizootics in three consecutive generations of the fruit free leaf roller, Archips argyrospila. Replication of the virus in midgut epithelial cells was observed in only one insect, and the cytopathology indicated that viral replication at this site was partially blocked or inhibited.
Role of over the scope clips in the management of iatrogenic gastrointestinal perforations

Advances in endoscopic and surgical techniques have increased the frequency and complexity of these procedures and associated complications such as gastrointestinal perforation. With the advancements in the field of gastroenterology, the promising use of an over the scope clips (OTSC) has fulfilled the unmet need for a reliable endoscopic devise in approximation of gastrointestinal perforation. This novel approach has raised the level of confidence in endoscopist in dealing with this serious complication during endoscopy. Here we have shared our experience with OTSC to evaluate its efficacy and safety in managing iatrogenic gastrointestinal perforations during endoscopy.
Evidence for a molybdenum cofactor common to all molybdenum enzymes based on the in vitro assembly of assimilatory NADPH-nitrate reductase using the Neurospora mutant nit-1

Abstract The in vitro assembly of an active Neurospora-like assimilatory NADPH—nitrate reductase (E.C. 1.6.6.2) has been effected by incubation of cell-free extracts of the Neurospora crassa nitrate reductase mutant nit-1 with (a) cell-free preparation of certain non-allelic mutants or uninduced wild type or (b) acid-treated molybdenum enzyme from diverse phylogenetic sources (20 different non-molybdenum enzymes were found to be inactive under the same experimental conditions). There is also a specific stimulatory effect of added molybdenum compounds on the in vitro assembly of NADPH-nitrate reductase. The incorporation of 99Mo, or its in vivo competitive inhibitor 185W, occurred in the in vitro assembly of nitrate reductase from a labelled, cell-free preparation of uninduced wild type (obtained by growth on a 99MoO42− or 185WO42−-containing medium) when incubated with an extract of unlabelled induced nit-1. Reciprocal experiments using labelled nit-1 and unlabelled, uninduced wild type showed no incorporation of radioactivity in the in vitro assembly of the enzyme. The results provide direct evidence for the view that molybdenum, presumably as a component of a larger, and as yet, unidentified cofactor, is furnished exclusively by uninduced wild type or acid-treated molybdenum enzymes in the in-vitro assembly system. It is postulated that the molybdenum cofactor of molecular weight approximately 1000 serves as both a link that binds the enzyme sub-units of nit-1 to yield the active enzyme and as an electron carrier.
The reaction of 1-chloro-2-methyl-2-propanol on oxygen-covered Ag(110): epoxide formation via a surface chlorohydrin reaction

Abstract Temperature programmed desorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy have been used to study the reactions of 1-chloro-2-methyl-2-propanol (Cl t BuOH) on clean and oxygen-covered Ag(1 1 0) surfaces. Cl t BuOH reacts on the oxygen-covered surface to produce chloro- tert -butoxy (Cl t BuO(a)) intermediates and water. Cl t BuO(a) subsequently reacts to produce isobutylene oxide (IBO) and surface chlorine. Small amounts of methyl ethyl ketone were also detected in some coverage regimes. Multiple desorption channels for Cl t BuOH and IBO were observed; the relative importance of each channel depends on surface coverage. These studies suggest that formation of the IBO product proceeds either through an oxametallacycle intermediate that is not stable under the reaction conditions, or via a concerted process analogous to the olefin chlorohydrin synthesis of epoxides. Theoretical models for oxametallacycle ring closure are presented, and the implications of these studies for the silver-catalyzed epoxidation of olefins are discussed.
Quetiapine-induced hyperglycemic crisis and severe hyperlipidemia: a case report and review of the literature.

Quetiapine, dispensed as Seroquel, has become 1 of the 100 most commonly prescribed medications in the United States in the past 10 years. It has fewer extrapyramidal side effects than first-generation antipsychotics, but it has been associated with low to moderate weight gain, hyperlipidemia/hypercholesterolemia, and new-onset diabetes, with half of these cases manifesting as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). We present a case of a middle-aged man who developed diabetes mellitus (DM) manifesting as hyperglycemic crisis and severe reversible hyperlipidemia. Literature on antipsychotic-associated metabolic adverse effects and clinical recommendations is presented.
Agglomeration and Phase Transition of a Nanophase Iron Oxide Catalyst

Abstract The agglomeration and phase transition behavior of a nanophase iron oxyhydroxide catalyst with a mean particle diameter of ∼30 A was examined using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Unlike other FeOOH phases, which decompose to Fe2O3 at T 100 A). Both the relative fraction and average particle size of the α-Fe2O3 phase increase with annealing temperature. The phase transition rate is dependent on the moisture content of the catalyst surface. After identical annealing at 250°C for 24 h in air, the as-received sample consists of 65% 30-A phase and 34% α-Fe2O3 phase, whereas the sample exposed to air for 5 days before annealing consists of 26% 30-A phase and 73% α-Fe2O3 phase. The results indicate that due to moist-air exposure, the catalyst particles become linked by water molecules adsorbed at the surface coordination unsaturated (CUS) sites. At elevated temperatures, these water molecules are evolved from the particle linkages, facilitating both agglomeration of the 30-A particles and the phase transition to α-Fe3O3.
Succession planning for the 21st century: How well are we grooming our future business leaders?

pe lence for heir top I n 1986, when offered the chance to be~es s a y t h e y come vice president rna t iona l o×of human resources of AMDEC's European sector, Gil Parkinson was elated. Three years later, his tr]tr iumphant return to ' the home office that he envisioned during his stay in Brussels lay shattered on his desk. As he stared past the letter that informed him there was no position for someone with his qualifications at the home office, he wondered what he would do, where would he wind up. It would be a strange feeling to walk away from his 12 years with AMDEC, and he wondered if his promotion to Brussels had been a brightly packaged time bomb. Gil Parkinson's di lemma reflects the plight of a significant number of executives today. A rational model of human resource management would assume that firms are hoarding their personnel with international experience and grooming them for upper management positions where the most important strategic decisions are made. After all, executives who have been exposed to overseas operations in different cultural environments are more able to make decisions that consider the important differences in political, culrural, and economic systems of an MNC's geographically separate operations. Indeed, there is a growing minority of CEOs who are beginning to push the importance of international experience. "If you go back 20 years, you could be pretty insular and still survive. Today, that's not possible," says Duane R. Kullberg, head of Arthur Andersen & Company. "Intensifying international competit ion will make the home-grown chief executive obsolete," says the Wall Street Journal in an article on the chief executive officer of the future (Bennet 1989). "Travel overseas" says Mr. Danforth, former chairman of Westinghouse, in giving advice to future CEOs. Despite such testimonials, some simple facts and tenacious stereotypes reveal a persistent truth: These are voices in the wilderness. Consider, for example, the following facts: • One in five expatriates leaves the firm upon reent ry--most ly because there is no relevant position open upon return. That's a fairly extraordinary 20 percent turnover of a valuable, limited resource (Adler 1981). • MBAs from seven of the world's most internationally oriented and prestigious programs perceive expatriation as a potentially risky career move. They fear the "out-of-sight, out-of-mind" phenomenon most of all (Adler 1987). • A recent Korn/Ferry survey (1986) found that a striking 0.4 percent of the executives polled said that expatriation was part of the fastest route to the top---down from 2 percent in 1977. Few studies have at tempted to really understand how an overseas assignment affects the careers of expatriates after they return home. To
Fabrication and optimization of su-8 microring resonators

In the present work an optimization study on the performances of polymeric ring resonator is reported. An embedded structure, characterized by the presence of an under and upper layer of Su-8 2002, is chosen in order to improve the optical performances, in terms of quality factor and extinction ratio. Specific combinations of Su-8 2002 diluted in cyclopentanone are tested as under-layer in single mode ring resonators. Morphological analysis indicated that the employment of Su-8 with 3% solid content increases the quality factor of about 20% respect to the standard structure. Moreover, the employment of a spin-coated Su-8 upper-layer increases the optical performances of about 50% due to a reduction of the surface roughness, intrinsic of photolithographic process.
Sequential Indeterminacy in Production Economies

Abstract A sequential regularity concept is proposed for intertemporal general equilibrium models: in addition to the intertemporal economy, the economies that endogenously arise through time should also be regular. With linear activities, however, there are open sets of economies that are sequentially indeterminate: economies with a continuum of equilibria appear. Endowments in a measure-zero set are necessary for indeterminacy, but the passage of time allows these endowments to arise robustly. The indeterminacy is related to the degeneracy in mathematical programming that occurs when there are more binding constraints than activities in use. An analogous degeneracy condition generically characterizes sequential indeterminacy. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: D50, C61.
Input-Guarantee Versus Performance- Guarantee Approaches to School Accountability: Cross-State Comparisons of Policies, Resources, and Outcomes

States' policy approaches to accountability tend to divide between a primary emphasis on input guarantees and a primary emphasis on performance guarantees. In the midst of keen controversies about the impact of high-stakes testing under the No Child Left Behind Act, this article examines separate and joint effects of input-guarantee versus performance-guarantee policies on reading and math achievement. Combining data from state policy surveys, the School District Finance Survey (F-33), and the Schools and Staffing Survey, the study examines 50 states' activism in test-driven external accountability policies and their support for key school resources (per-pupil spending, class size, in-field teaching). The school resources factor is not correlated with the accountability policy factor at the state level, implying that high-stakes testing pressure was not balanced with school support. Further, hierarchical linear growth models were used to examine interstate variations in the trends of National Assessment o...
Geodynamics of continental plate collision during late tertiary foreland basin evolution in the Timor Sea: constraints from foreland sequences, elastic flexure and normal faulting

Abstract Tectonic subsidence of the Australian lithosphere during the Late Tertiary propagates from the southwest to the northeast in the Timor Sea, as a consequence of the oblique collision between the Eurasian and Australian plates. We reconstruct the asynchronous nature of deflection of the Australian plate created during the plate convergence by best-matching the geometry of de-compacted foreland strata against the predictions of simple bending elastic beam models. We infer a maximum subsidence of 3500 m and a maximum width for the basin of ∼470 km. The effective elastic thickness of the Australian lithosphere (∼80 to 100 km) does not change significantly during basin evolution. The low curvature imposed on the plate (∼5.1×10 −8 m −1 ) during bending is too small to weaken the plate. Yet, abundant but small-slip, normal faulting related to bending implies some degree of inelastic yielding. The polarity of fault propagation supports the oblique nature of the collision. Flexural models indicate that at least 570 km of Australian plate (mostly areas of stretched continental crust) was flexed, primarily by the tectonic loading of the Timor Island and that the total amount of subducted plate was at least 100 km during basin evolution.
Antidepressant and circadian phase-shifting effects of light

Bright light can suppress nighttime melatonin production in humans, but ordinary indoor light does not have this effect. This finding suggested that bright light may have other chronobiologic effects in humans as well. Eight patients who regularly became depressed in the winter (as day length shortens) significantly improved after 1 week of exposure to bright light in the morning (but not after 1 week of bright light in the evening). The antidepressant response to morning light was accompanied by an advance (shift to an earlier time) in the onset of nighttime melatonin production. These results suggest that timing may be critical for the antidepressant effects of bright light.
Acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase from pig kidney. Purification and properties.

Comparatively large amounts of an acyl-CoA dehydrogenase have been obtained from pig kidney by a procedure which does not involve prior isolation of mito- chondria. The pattern of substrate specificity and the extent of substrate-induced bleaching of the flavin chromophore, using butyryl-, octanoyl-, and palmitoyl-CoA, suggest that the enzyme be classified as a general acyl-CoA dehydrogenase. The purified flavoprotein exhibits absorbance ratios at 272, 373, and 446 nm of 5.7:0.65:1.0, respectively, with an ex- tinction coefficient for bound flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) of 15.4 mM-' cm-' at 446 nm. Gel filtration, NaDodSO, gel electrophoresis, and amino acid analysis in- dicate that the enzyme is a tetramer, comprised of subunits of about 42 000 molecular weight, containing 3-4 molecules Mammalian fatty acyl-CoA dehydrogenases are flavo- proteins participating in the first dehydrogenation step of fatty acid @-oxidation which leads to the formation of a,@-unsat- urated acyl-CoA derivatives (Beinert, 1963). The reducing equivalents are then passed to a second component, electron transfer flavoprotein (ETF;' Crane et al., 1956), which in- teracts with the respiratory chain, possibly at the level of a
On the efficient generation of discrete event sample paths under different system parameter values

Abstract The techniques of perturbation analysis (PA) are generalized from the viewpoint of efficiently generating sample paths of discrete event dynamic systems (DEDS) operating under different parameter values. The central idea, denoted as ‘cut-and-paste’, is simply to utilize one segment of a sample path generated under one parameter as legitimate sample paths of as many different parameter values of the DEDS as possible. Viewed in this light, many new ways to perform discrete event simulation for parametric study appear possible. Both analytical and experimental results are offered to substantiate our case.
The Survival of Fin-Clipped and Latex-Injected Redear Sunfish

Abstract Redear sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) were marked by latex injection and by fin-clipping in Wyland Lake, Indiana, to determine immediate and delayed effects of these techniques on survival. A variety of fin-clips were used and latex was injected subdermally with a hypodermic syringe in the occiput region and posterior dorsal region. From recaptures made during the year of marking and in the next year the following conclusions were drawn. (1) Survival of fin-clipped fish below and above 123 millimeters fork length was similar two weeks following marking and proportionate recaptures from these two size groups were also made a year subsequent to marking for fish carrying either a single fin-clip or a double fin-clip. (2) There was no immediate mortality from subdermal injection of latex; and survival of fish of different sizes was the same with no difference noted between the two sites of injection. (3) Survival of fish marked with posterior-dorsal latex injections was similar to that of fin-clipped ...
Are incentives against economic justice

Abstract We consider the problem of fairly allocating a social endowment of indivisible goods and money when the domain of admissible preferences contains, but is not restricted to, quasi-linear preferences. We analyze the manipulability of the Generalized Money Rawlsian Fair (GMRF) solutions. (i) We show that the Nash and strong Nash equilibrium correspondences of the “preference revelation game form” associated with each GMRF solution coincide with the no-envy solution (in equilibrium, efficiency is preserved according to agents' true preferences). (ii) A corollary is that the GMRF solutions “naturally implement” the no-envy solution in Nash and strong Nash equilibria.
Threat to sexual freedom: Moralistic intolerance instills a spiral of silence

Moralistic intolerance threatens sexual freedom. Sex‐negative ideologies, characterized as Normative and Jehovanist, regard sexuality as dirty—producing moral corruption and creating social disorder. The New Right silences its critics by calling them “permissive” or “secular humanists.” Although they flout the rule of reason, unjust sexual laws remain as a heritage of antisexual ideologies. Most Americans favor tolerance of sexual variations and lifestyles. Yet they remain confused about their moral grounds, cowed into a spiral of silence. Sexual freedom is justified by the universal ethical principle of concern and respect for persons. Rawls’ theory of justice provides an ethical framework for justifying equal liberty and equal justice for sexual minorities. Responsible sexual choices are grounded by reasoning from universal ethical principles about self, partner, and society.
Pulmonary embolism in the elderly

The elderly are at increased risk for pulmonary embolism because of both the conditions common to this age group, and the immobility that often accompanies them. Whether aging alone represents a hypercoagulable state is unclear. The incidence of pulmonary embolism rises with age, however, as does pulmonary embolism mortality. The diagnosis of pulmonary embolism is difficult and frequently missed because elderly patients and their physicians may attribute nonspecific symptoms to underlying cardiopulmonary disease or to age itself. Routine laboratory examinations are also nonspecific. Lower extremity studies to diagnose DVT should always be pursued because a positive study results in identical treatment, without the need for further testing. D-dimer concentrations are useful when low, but are commonly elevated in the elderly because of other comorbid conditions. Lung scanning remains the most common initial study to diagnose pulmonary embolism, although spiral CT is as sensitive and specific. Pulmonary angiography should always be considered when the initial studies are nondiagnostic and clinical suspicion is high, and this test is well tolerated in the elderly. The role of newer diagnostic techniques, such as MR imaging, cannot be determined until well-designed outcomes trials are completed. Prophylaxis with appropriate pharmacologic agents or mechanical measures should be administered not only to patients undergoing hip or knee reconstruction surgery, but to all bed-ridden elderly medical and general surgery patients. Treatment for pulmonary embolism with anticoagulation reduces the mortality rate and should be administered in all elderly patients without contraindications. In addition, thrombolysis should be considered for all hemodynamically unstable patients with pulmonary embolism, regardless of age. Vena caval filters are warranted when anticoagulation is contraindicated, although evidence of the long-term benefit of these devices is lacking. At present, pulmonary embolism is underdiagnosed and undertreated in the elderly. By heightening awareness of this diagnosis and its appropriate management in this age group, considerable morbidity and mortality may be avoided.
Polytopes, permutation shapes and bin packing

We define a partition of the unit hypercube into polytopes. These polytopes correspond to arrangements of a sequence of objects into bins in the NEXT FIT solution to the one-dimensional bin packing problem. The probability that an arrangement appears is given by the volume of the corresponding polytope in the partition. We show that this volume can be calculated as the solution to a problem of permutation enumeration and apply this technique to analyze the behavior of the NEXT FIT algorithm.
A comparison of stability and accuracy of some numerical models of two‐dimensional circulation

The purpose of the paper is two-fold: Firstly, we develop stream function--vorticity and primitive variable finite element models of two-dimensional barotropic equations that satisfy the conservation of mean vorticity, mean squared vorticity (or enstrophy) and mean kinetic energy, and scondly, we present a comparative study of a number of numerical schemes for their accuracy in phase speed as well as in amplitude calculations for a two-dimensional, time-dependent, stream function--vorticity equation for periodic fluid motion in a channel. A circular vortex is placed in a uniform channel flow of a constant velocity (U) as an initial condition. An analytic solution exists for the problem such that the vortex moves with a constant speed U conserving the shape of the vortex: where U, ψ0a are constants. This example makes it easier to identify the cause of phase speed error, either due to linear or non-linear processes, and furthermore, to find a satisfactory scheme for time integration. The numerical schemes compared include: Arakawa Jacobian,1 Arakawa–Matsuno scheme, Galerkin finite element, Lax–Wendroff, leap-frog, and Crank–Nicholson. The effect of a variational adjustment (see Sasaki16) is also studied. Computational time, RMS errors in stream function and vorticity, and the conservation of the mean kinetic energy and enstrophy are compared at the end of 120 (one period) and 240 (two periods) time steps. The study indicates that the numerical scheme that employs finite elements in space (same as Arakawa Jacobian) and Crank–Nicholson in time is the most accurate among the schemes studied.
A granular cell at the acinar-intercalated duct junction of the rat submandibular gland

A granular cell was present at the acinar-intercalated duct junction in submandibular gland of adult rats of several different strains. It occurred more frequently in females thanin males. It was a small pyramidalshaped cell, usually forming the most proximal part of the intralobular duct system. The cell contained a relatively large, basally located nucleus. Numerous heterogeneous granules, usually exhibiting both electron-dense and electron-lucent regions, were present in the apical cytoplasm. Exocytosis of the granules at the apical cell surface was occasionally seen. Dilated cisternae of endoplasmic reticulum were frequently observed between the apical granules and in the basal and lateral cytoplasm. The function of the granular cell is unknown. Their structure and location suggest that they may (1) constitute a mature secretory cell population, or (2) represent progenitor cells for acinar and/or intercalated duct cells.
Religion, Clinical Misconceptions, and Access to Contraception

In their article “Therapeutic Prophylactic Untoward and Contraceptive Effects of Combined Oral Contraceptives. Catholic Teaching Natural Law and the Principle of Double Effect When Deciding to Prescribe and Use” Casey and Salzmann (2014) offer a thoughtful argument as to how the principle of double effect might permit the prescription and use of combined oral contraceptives (COC) such as “the pill” consistent with Catholic Church teaching. But according to the author of this bioethics article the authors also note that in order to utilize their argument the party who would otherwise object to COC would need to understand (or at least be aware of) the noncontraceptive uses of such medicines. Viewed in this light the article is emblematic of a troubling reality: Those who express moral or religious objections to the prescription and/or use of hormonal contraception often do so based on an incorrect or incomplete clinical understanding of the medications in question. [excerpt]