cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Likelihood versus timing of speculative attacks: A case study of Mexico

Abstract This paper estimates a survival model to identify the role of macroeconomic fundamentals on the likelihood and the timing of a currency crisis for Mexico during 1982–1994. Foreign reserve losses, expansionary output, expansionary monetary and fiscal policies, an increase in inflation differentials, and an appreciation of the real exchange rate appear to have contributed to the speculative pressures. On the other hand, the decline in foreign reserves and the increase in the share of short-term foreign currency-indexed debt seem to be the main factors which determined the timing of speculative attacks.
Growth, Development, and Yield of Soybean Lines Developed for Forage

Recently, soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] cultivars have been developed specifically for use as a forage crop. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of maturity group on and compare the agronomic performance of forage and grain soybean cultivars in Iowa. In 1994, 13 forage- and five grain-type cultivars were studied. In 1995, one additional forage cultivar and grain cultivar were each evaluated. Node number, plant height, lodging, and dry matter accumulation were measured biweekly during the growing season. By 135 days after planting (DAP), forage cultivars yielded 5 to 19% more dry matter than Sherman', which had the greatest yield among grain cultivars. Forage cultivars were 37 to 69% taller than 'Biloxi', the tallest grain cultivar, which may partially explain the greater lodging of the forage cultivars compared with the grain cultivars. Forage cultivars initiated reproductive growth 60 to 88 DAP, whereas the locally adapted Sherman cultivar initiated reproductive growth 55 DAP. Forage cultivars produced more dry matter than grain cultivars, but had a lower leaf/stem ratio and leaf + pod/stem ratio in August and September, respectively, which may reduce forage quality. Forage cultivars developed in Pennsylvania generally accumulated more dry matter than forage cultivars developed in Virginia by late August, but initiated reproductive growth sooner and produced less dry matter by late September. The significant productivity differences observed between forage and grain cultivars suggest the potential of breeding to improve the forage potential of soybean.
Does Information About Personality Scales Affect Responses and Attitudes? 1

This study investigated the effects of giving subjects additional information about personality tests. One group received only standard instructions; a second group also had an opportunity to examine typical items; a third had, in addition, an oral exposition of one variable—either the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale or the Similes Preference Inventory. Additional information was associated with slightly more positive attitudes but did not increase response homogeneity or the uniformity of subjects' perceptions of the variable being measured. It was concluded that, when a subject is given the task of describing himself, his responses are determined primarily by his interaction with each item, rather than by general attitudes elicited by the instructions.
The Effects of Water Saturation on Dynamic Mechanical Properties in Red and Buff Sandstones Having Different Porosities Studied with Split Hopkinson Pressure Bar (SHPB)

Dynamic mechanical behavior of geomaterials has been widely observed in tunneling, oil and gas extraction, and blasting in civil and mining applications. It is important to understand how much energy is necessary to break or fail geomaterials to optimize the design of blasting patterns, oil and gas extractions, demolition, military defense, etc. However, there is little understanding for quantifying the required energy to break geomaterials under dynamic loading. More importantly, as typical geomaterials tend to hydrate, it is necessary to understand how much energy will be needed to break the structures under water saturation. Thus, in this study, we analyzed the consumed energy used to deform geomaterials using a split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB), enabling to measure stress and strain responses of geomaterials under dynamic loading condition of high strain rate (102–104/sec). Two different saturation levels (dry vs. fully saturation) in two sandstone samples having different pore sizes were tested under dynamic loading conditions. Our results demonstrate that dynamic mechanical strength (maximum stress) is greater in the dry geomaterials when compared with the saturated samples, and Young’s modulus (or maximum strain) can be a useful parameter to examine porosity effects between dry and saturated geomaterials on dynamic mechanical properties.
Chromosome-Wide Gene Silencing Initiates Y Degeneration in Drosophila

Y degeneration is characterized by pseudogenization of its gene content, an accumulation of repetitive DNA and transcriptional inactivation associated with changes in chromatin structure. The sequence of events leading to genetically inert Y chromosomes, however, is unknown. Does the accumulation of nonsense and missense mutations at protein-coding Y genes trigger their transcriptional downregulation, or does transcriptional silencing of genes precede and expedite the decay of Y-linked genes at the amino acid level? Here, we study patterns of gene expression of the recently formed neo-Y chromosome of Drosophila albomicans, which displays few signs of degeneration of protein-coding genes. We show that chromosome-wide downregulation initiates the processes of Y evolution. This implies that the massive degeneration of protein-coding genes observed at many evolving Y-chromosomes may have limited deleterious effects, and instead, decay of regulatory functions is the initial trigger reducing fitness of the Y.
Liquid Propane + Water Phase Equilibria at Hydrate Conditions

An analysis of the results of measurement of phase transitions in the system propane + water in the region of hydrate formation is presented. A number of special kinetic features of the system are revealed. The equilibrium conditions of dissociation of liquid propane hydrate at pressures up to 35 MPa have been determined.
The effect of disorder on the chemical reactivity of an organic solid, tetraglycine methyl ester: change of the reaction mechanism.

Abstract Many drugs undergo chemical changes in the solid state, and understanding chemical reactivity of organic crystals is a critical factor in the drug development process. In this report, the impact of milling on the thermal chemical reactivity of an organic solid, tetraglycine methyl ester, was studied using DSC, isothermal calorimetry, chemical analysis (HPLC and insoluble residue determination), and powder X‐ray diffraction. Significant changes in both X‐ray diffraction patterns and DSC curves were detected after very brief milling (5 s). The changes were interpreted as the formation of a disordered phase. The disordered phase was tentatively identified as a crystal mesophase that combines properties of both crystalline (i.e., long‐range order) and amorphous (i.e., glass transition) states. In the disordered material, the reaction mechanism changed from the methyl transfer reaction, which was observed in the intact crystal, to a polycondensation reaction when the reaction was performed at 165°C. Such changes in the reaction mechanism occurred in materials milled for > 30 s.
Low-Temperature Synthesis of TiC, Mo2C, and W2C from Modulated Elemental Reactants

The evolution of modulated elemental reactants containing alternating layers of carbon and Ti, W, or Mo was studied using differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. TiC crystallized a...
Hydrodynamic friction and the capacitance of arbitrarily shaped objects.

The translational friction coefficient and the capacitance of a variety of objects are calculated with a probabilistic method involving hitting the ``probed'' objects with random walks launched from an enclosing spherical surface. This method is applied to exactly solvable examples to test the program accuracy and to physically important and analytically intractable examples (cube, chain of spheres at the vertices of self-avoiding and random walks, etc.). Large fluctuations in the friction of polymer chains with a random coil structure are found to give large deviations from the mean-field Kirkwood-Riseman theory and ``hydrodynamic fluctuation'' effects are found to diminish with the chain swelling accompanying excluded volume interaction. Capacity applications are reviewed and our probabilistic estimates of polymer friction are compared with previous calculations using alternative methods. Transients to the capacity and related properties are expressed in terms of fluctuations in the ``Wiener sausage'' volume (volume swept out by a Brownian particle where a repeated visit to a spatial region does not contribute to the volume increase in time).
The forces exerted by waves on objects

A theory is developed and experimental verification is presented for the force exerted by surface waves on a submerged spherical object. The object was small compared to the wave length, and its position was near the bottom. The components of force consist of form drag and inertia forces.
Suppression of steroidogenesis and activator protein-1 transcription factor activity in rat adrenals by vitamin E deficiency–induced chronic oxidative stress

Abstract Excessive oxidative stress and associated macromolecular damage are considered to be key features of aging, and appear to contribute to the age-related decline in steroid hormone production in adrenal and testicular Leydig cells. The current studies were initiated to examine the potential mechanism by which excessive oxidative stress during aging attenuates the functional expression of the oxidant-responsive transcription factor Activator protein-1. Chronic oxidative stress was induced in vivo by maintaining groups of rats on a diet deficient in vitamin E for 6 months. Plasma, liver, and adrenal tissues from vitamin E–deficient animals had negligible levels of this vitamin and showed high susceptibility to in vitro lipid peroxidation. Synthesis and secretion of corticosterone in response to corticotropin (ACTH), dibutyryl-cAMP, or 20α-hydroxycholesterol in vitro was significantly reduced in adrenocortical cells prepared cells from rats deficient in vitamin E. AP-1 DNA-binding activity was diminished ∼55 % in adrenal extracts from vitamin E–deficient rats with no corresponding change in the binding activity of SP-1. The vitamin E deficiency–mediated loss of AP-1 activity was not due to an alteration in the dimeric composition of constituent proteins, but rather to a general down-regulation of steady-state levels of members of the Fos and Jun families of proteins. Interestingly, vitamin E deficiency also reduced the expression of the redox-regulated Ref-1 protein. Collectively these data demonstrate that chronic oxidative stress specifically down-regulates essential components of the AP-1 transcription factor complex, and suggest that aberrancies in AP-1 expression may adversely affect processes crucial for intracellular cholesterol transport and steroid hormone production.
Systems analysis of renal response to increasing levels of acute forced hyperventilation in dogs.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine the relative contribution of arterial pCO 2 , arterial pH, urine pCO 2 , or urine pH on renal bicarbonate excretion(Ė HCO 3 ) in acute, prolonged, respiratory alkalosis. Two series of experiments were performed on nembutalized female dogs. In the first series, 2 h transient changes in arterial and urine pCO 2 and pH and Ė HCO 3 were measured in response to a single step forced hyperventilation. In the second series, steady-state changes in the same variables were measured in response to successive levels of step hyperventilation forcings. Analysis of transient data showed that (a) arterial pCO 2 and pH reached steady-state 1 h following step hyperventilation, whereas urine pCO 2 and pH required 2 h to attain steady-state; (b) blood and urine [Hu+] reached steady-state faster than blood and urine pCO 2 and (c) Ė HCO 3 reached steady-state an average of 14 min after urinary [H+] and about 7.5 min after urinary pCO 2 . Analysis of steady-state data showed that Ė HCO 3 increased progressively with increasing levels of hyperventilation, which reached a‘threshold' then declined as hyperventilation forcing exceeded twice the control level. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that renal compensation for acute, prolonged respiratory alkalosis is mediated via cellular-controlled mechanisms in which intracellular potassium concentration may play an important role in modulating the renal response.
Optical Control of Coherent Lattice Motions Probed by Femtosecond Electron Diffraction

We report the study of laser-induced coherent lattice motions using femtosecond electron diffraction. The oscillations of Bragg peak positions associated with a damped lattice vibration along the surface normal were directly observed in real time and with sub-milli-angstrom spatial resolution. In addition, by using a pair of optical excitation pulses and varying their time delay and relative pulse intensities, we demonstrated the successful control of coherent lattice motions.
High-Dose Chemotherapy with Autologous Stem Cell Rescue for Breast Cancer: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Metastatic breast cancer remains incurable by conventional means and is the second leading cause of all cancer deaths in women in the United States. Laboratory and clinical studies have shown chemotherapy dose intensity may be important in breast cancer therapy, and therefore clinical trials have been investigating high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) with autologous stem cell rescue (ASCR) for the past decade. Initial Phase I trials in heavily pretreated patients demonstrated good response rates but short survival times. The next generation of trials used HDC as initial treatment for metastatic breast cancer and showed improved results. Most recently, patients receive HDC after “induction” chemotherapy to minimize tumor burden prior to HDC. Results from these most recent trials are encouraging, with complete remissions (CR) achievable in at least half of patients and long-term survivors noted. An ongoing randomized trial of HDC versus conventional chemotherapy should answer whether HDC is superior to conventional chemotherapy for metastatic breast cancer. Based on encouraging data from a preliminary trial, two ongoing randomized trials are comparing HDC versus conventional chemotherapy in high-risk primary breast cancer. Technological improvements, better supportive care and experience have all contributed to decrease the morbidity and mortality of this procedure. Additionally, hospitalizations have become shorter and costs may be decreasing. This review will discuss the issues pertinent to this modality in the past and present, including chemotherapy regimens, stem cell technology and related issues, outcomes, ongoing trials and future directions for consideration.
Fish communities along environmental gradients in a system of tropical streams

Fish community structure was examined in 9 forested streams (1–6 m wide) in central Panama during dry seasons over a 3 year period. Study regions varied in annual rainfall, degree of canopy shading, and topographical relief. Benthic invertebrates were more abundant in riffles than in pools and more abundant in early (January) than late (March) dry season. In addition, benthos abundances were negatively correlated with canopy shading among study regions. Terrestrial invertebrate abundances were greater in January than March and were correlated with stream width. Fishes were assigned to 7 feeding guilds (algivores, aquatic insectivores, general insectivores, piscivores, scale-eaters, terrestrial herbivores, omnivores) on the basis of similarity of gut contents. Four species exhibited marked dietary shifts with increasing size. Distributions of feeding guilds (biomass) among habitats and streams were not generally correlated with availabilities of their major food resources. All feeding guilds except aquatic insectivores were most concentrated (biomass per area) into deep pools. Densities of algivores and terrestrial herbivores increased with stream size, but the density of aquatic insectivores declined. Species richness of feeding guilds increased with stream size and canopy openness. The proportion of fish biomass supported by algae and terrestrial plant material increased with stream size, while that supported by aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates declined. Small fishes (< 40 mm TL) were most abundant in pools of small streams. Terrestrial predators appeared to be more important than food availability in determining distributions of fish among habitats. However, trophic diversity of fish communities may be related to the reliability of available food resources.
Inductively coupled microfluidic pressure meter for in vivo monitoring of cerebrospinal fluid shunt function.

A microfluidic pressure sensor with inductively coupled, wireless readout capability has been developed for integration into cerebrospinal fluid shunt valve implants. The sensor consists of a deformable PDMS film that is bonded over a microfluidic reservoir, forming a fluidic capacitor. Deflection of the capacitor membrane is detected remotely through a shift in the resonance frequency of a micro-fabricated LC circuit. Sensors were fabricated by a combination of conventional MEMS technologies and rapid soft lithography. A direct pattern transfer technique was used to pattern the deformable PDMS film with a metal coating for the capacitive readout. The mechanical response of the fluidic capacitor was characterized by measuring the deflection of the PDMS film using an extrinsic Fabry-Perot interferometer (EFPI), and wireless sensing was demonstrated by the shift in resonance frequency of the sensor via an inductively coupled antenna. The sensor transduces pressure into a change in resonant frequency with se...
Bioactivation and Cell Targeting of Semiconductor CdSe/ZnS Nanocrystals with Phytochelatin-Related Peptides

Synthetic phytochelatin-related peptides are used as an organic coat on the surface of colloidal CdSe/ZnS semiconductor nanocrystals synthesized from hydrophobic coordinating trioctyl phosphine oxide (TOPO) solvents. The peptides are designed to bind to the nanocrystals via a C-terminal adhesive domain. This adhesive domain, composed of multiple repeats of cysteines pairs flanked by hydrophobic 3-cyclohexylalanines, is followed by a flexible hydrophilic linker domain to which various bio-affinity tags can be attached. This surface coating chemistry results in small, buffer soluble, monodisperse peptide-coated nanoparticles with high colloidal stability and ensemble photophysical properties similar to those of TOPO-coated nanocrystals. Various peptide coatings are used to modulate the nanocrystal surface properties and to bioactivate the nanoparticles. CdSe/ZnS nanocrystals coated with biotinylated peptides efficiently bind to streptavidin and are specifically targeted to GPI-anchored avidin-CD14 chimeric proteins expressed on the membranes of live HeLa cells. This peptide coating surface chemistry provides a novel approach for the production of biocompatible photoluminescent nanocrystal probes.
The Many Faces of Logistic Regression

Abstract Logistic regression has found wide acceptance as a model for the dependence of a binary response variable on a vector of explanatory variables. It can also be used, however, as a maximization algorithm for fitting a variety of other parametric models. The easy availability of logistic regression in standard packages is a major advantage; further, the regression diagnostics routinely supplied are frequently useful, even though the model being fitted is not logistic. In some cases the objective function maximized is a likelihood, but the method seems to arise especially often in the maximization of a so-called pseudolikeli-hood. Applications include models from choice theory, spatial modeling, random graph theory, and educational testing.
p53 activation comes to the rescue in CLL

Comment on Secchiero et al, page [4122][1] In this issue, Secchiero and colleagues show that most CLL B cells are sensitive to the orally bioavailable drug nutlin-3, with synergy for killing leukemic B cells when combined with traditional chemotherapeutic agents. p53 plays a protective role in
Squamous islands in Barrett's esophagus: What lies underneath?

Objective Squamous islands are frequently visualized at the time of upper endoscopy in patients with Barrett's esophagus, especially those on proton pump inhibitor therapy (PPI). The significance of these islands is not clearly understood. The aim of this study was to systematically biopsy macroscopic squamous islands and to examine their histologic characteristics. Methods Patients with Barrett's esophagus undergoing surveillance had squamous islands documented and biopsied at the time of endoscopy. Barrett's esophagus was defined as the presence of a columnar lined esophagus on endoscopy with intestinal metaplasia on biopsy. All biopsies were obtained by a single senior endoscopist and were stained with alcian blue at pH 2.5. Biopsy samples with inadequate tissue quantity were not included in the study. Results A total of 39 biopsies were obtained from 22 patients. Twenty of the 22 patients were male, with a mean age of 65.4 yr (range 47–80 yr). The mean length of Barrett's mucosa was 5.6 cm (range 1–11 cm). Eleven of 22 patients were on omeprazole (mean dose 29.1 mg/ day), whereas seven patients were on lansoprazole (60 mg/day). The mean duration of PPI therapy was 2.3 yr (range 9–71 months) at the time of biopsy of the squamous islands. Three patients were on H2-blocker therapy whereas the remaining patient had not been started on acid suppression therapy. On histology, 24 biopsy specimens (61.5%) revealed only squamous epithelium, whereas 15 (38.5%) showed the presence of intestinal metaplasia underlying the squamous epithelium. There was no significant difference between the patients with and without underlying intestinal metaplasia in regard to age, Barrett's length, dose, and duration of PPI therapy. Conclusion In more than one-third of biopsies of macroscopic squamous islands within Barrett's esophagus, microscopic intestinal metaplasia is detected. The presence of squamous islands should not be equated with regression of Barrett's esophagus or with decreased cancer risk.
Central polydactyly of the foot: surgical management with plantar and dorsal advancement flaps.

BACKGROUND Central polydactyly is the least common form of foot polydactyly, and the intercalary location of the duplicated ray makes the surgical exposure, excision, and closure more complex. For these reasons there is little consensus concerning the optimal technique for surgical management. METHODS A retrospective case series of 22 patients with 27 feet with central polydactyly, treated surgically by the dorsal and plantar advancement flap technique, was performed. Change in width of the forefoot was measured from radiographs by the metatarsal gap ratio. Functional outcomes were assessed by the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure. RESULTS Signficant narrowing of the forefoot, as measured radiographically by the metatarsal gap ratio, was achieved after surgery (P<0.0001). This radiographic narrowing was maintained with growth after a mean follow-up of 8 years (P=0.0001). In 7 of the unilateral cases, the mean forefoot radiographic width of the affected side, after surgical resection and reconstruction of the central polydactyly, was 2% greater than the contralateral, uninvolved side. Persistent clinical widening of the forefoot after surgery was reported in the majority (82%) of cases. The Foot and Ankle Ability Measure results showed near-normal functional outcomes in itemized activities of daily living, itemized sports, and overall function categories. The few reports of less than normal foot function were related to shoe wear issues and incisional scarring that was painful or cosmetically unappealing. CONCLUSIONS The radiographic and functional outcomes after surgical management of central polydactyly with the dorsal and plantar advancement flap technique are excellent. The technique successfully narrows the forefoot on radiographs, and this narrowing is maintained with growth over time. However, families should be advised that persistent perceived widening of the forefoot relative to normal is common, despite successful radiographic narrowing after surgery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV.
Analysis of void closure in open-die forging

Abstract Void closure studies have been conducted numerically and experimentally for open-die forging processes. The plane-strain FEM analysis was compared with bite forging experiments in order to determine how well the plane-strain approximation predicted the material flow in open-die forging. In addition physical modeling with plasticine was used to compare the measured and calculated deformation of the internal defect. The FEM analysis was in good agreement with the experimental results. Correlations for the computed effective strain and hydrostatic stress to the void closure were then calculated. Simulations of a solid cylinder side pressed with flat dies, V-shaped dies, and FML dies were done to determine the effectiveness of these dies at consolidating internal porosity based on the calculated strain and hydrostatic stress at the center of the billet. The V-shaped dies were found to be the most effective among those investigated. However, the press load for the V-shaped dies was also the highest.
An Inverse Relation Between the Expression of Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha (TNF‐α) and TNF‐α Receptor in Human Endometrium

Chegini N, Dou Q, Williams RS. An inverse relationship between the expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and TNF-α receptor in human endometrium. AJRI 1999; 42:297–302 © Munksgaard, Copenhagen PROBLEM: To determine whether the expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) correlates with TNF-α receptor expression in human endometrium. METHOD OF STUDY: A multiprimer synthetic cDNA standard template containing complimentary sequences for several cytokines including TNF-α and TNF-α receptor type 2 was constructed and used in quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (Q-RT-PCR). RESULTS: Endometrium from proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle expresses higher levels of TNF-α mRNA (2.35 ± 0.2 × 105 copies/μg of total cellular RNA) than secretory phase ([1.3 ± 0.08 × 105 copies] P < 0.05), with a significant reduction during menses (1.2 ± 0.1 × 104 copies) and postmenopausal period (8.1 ± 1.6 × 104 copies [P < 0.05]). In contrast, TNF-α type 1 receptor mRNA expression was higher in endometrium from the secretory phase (6.6 ± 0.6 × 107 copies) compared to the menses (5.1 ± 0.5 × 106 copies), proliferative phase (1.9 ± 0.1 × 106 copies) and postmenopausal period (5.8 ± 0.7 × 104 copies [P < 0.05]). Comparatively, TNF-α receptor type 2 is expressed 10 to 100 fold higher in the endometrium than TNF-α (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The data confirm that human endometrium expresses TNF-α; and provide the first evidence that TNF-α expression is inversely related to TNF-α type 1 receptor expression during the menstrual cycle. Such an inverse relation between TNF-α and TNF-α receptor expression may provide a regulatory mechanism necessary to overcome the detrimental effect of high levels of TNF-α on various endometrial cell types.
ITK: enabling reproducible research and open science

Reproducibility verification is essential to the practice of the scientific method. Researchers report their findings, which are strengthened as other independent groups in the scientific community share similar outcomes. In the many scientific fields where software has become a fundamental tool for capturing and analyzing data, this requirement of reproducibility implies that reliable and comprehensive software platforms and tools should be made available to the scientific community. The tools will empower them and the public to verify, through practice, the reproducibility of observations that are reported in the scientific literature.Medical image analysis is one of the fields in which the use of computational resources, both software and hardware, are an essential platform for performing experimental work. In this arena, the introduction of the Insight Toolkit (ITK) in 1999 has transformed the field and facilitates its progress by accelerating the rate at which algorithmic implementations are developed, tested, disseminated and improved. By building on the efficiency and quality of open source methodologies, ITK has provided the medical image community with an effective platform on which to build a daily workflow that incorporates the true scientific practices of reproducibility verification.This article describes the multiple tools, methodologies, and practices that the ITK community has adopted, refined, and followed during the past decade, in order to become one of the research communities with the most modern reproducibility verification infrastructure. For example, 207 contributors have created over 2400 unit tests that provide over 84% code line test coverage. The Insight Journal, an open publication journal associated with the toolkit, has seen over 360,000 publication downloads. The median normalized closeness centrality, a measure of knowledge flow, resulting from the distributed peer code review system was high, 0.46.
Challenges with the introduction of radio-frequency identification systems into a manufacturer's supply chain-a pilot study

As radio-frequency identification (RFID) implementation becomes more widespread it is important for managers to consider if this technology is right for their businesses. This study examines challenges of RFID implementation along with a cost-benefit analysis of a pharmaceuticals manufacturer's supply chain. Research was gathered from a variety of sources on the topic of RFID to provide an in-depth analysis of challenges and benefits found with RFID systems. Furthermore, the study reviews the real case applications of the RFID technology in healthcare and customer services. Many of the challenges with RFID stem from improper planning of the synchronisation of the supply chain and the integration of RFID technology into facilities and software systems. Customer privacy, excess information and obsolete technology are also of concern to companies considering RFID. Benefits such as increased information sharing, product visibility and real-time information help to offset these challenges. In addition, pharmaceuticals manufacturer real case application showed cost savings from reducing labour and decreased opportunities for lost product counteract the expense to implement an RFID system. This study will be of value to managers who are attempting to implement RFID technology in their companies. It is intended that readers, both academics and practitioners, will be able to identify possible challenges and mitigate them as the RFID technology is put into practice.
The differential leukocyte count in the assessment and outcome of early-onset neonatal group B streptococcal disease

The usefulness of the differential white blood cell count in distinguishing early-onset group B streptococcal disease from other causes of neonatal respiratory distress was studied in 45 infants with culture-proved infection. The initial diagnosis was hyaline membrane disease in 19 infants, wet lung syndrome 13, and other causes of respiratory distress in 13. Thirty-nine (87%) had abnormal absolute neutrophil counts, 25 with neutropenia and 14 with neutrophilia. The absolute immature neutrophil count was elevated in 19 infants (42%). Forty-one infants (91%) had an abnormal immature neutrophil to total neutrophil ratio. All infected infants were identified when both the absolute total neutrophil count and ratio were used. The differential white cell count appears to be a useful tool for screening infants presenting with respiratory distress in the first 48 hours of life and for separating early-onset group B streptococcal disease from other causes of neonatal respiratory distress.
Adaptation to day length and yield stability of families from 4x×2x crosses in potato

The objectives of this research were to evaluate the response to day length and the yield stability of environments of 4x families from 4x×2x crosses in potato. Twenty families from crosses between 4x female parents with different genetic backgrounds and 2x parents, which formed 2n pollen by first division restitution and were selected under short days, were evaluated in four locations in Peru (short days) and during two years at Rhinelander, USA (long days). Results from the USA indicate that the 4x progeny from 4x×2x crosses were very late maturing and poor yielding.
Sixth International Conference on Grey Literature (GL6)

Purpose – To report on the Sixth International Conference on Grey Literature held in New York, December 2004.Design/methodology/approach – The report is prepared by a library professional who adds her own impartial comments.Findings – This conference suggests the changing priorities in grey literature and how much more mainstream it has become with alternative publishing products and a wider awareness of scholarly communication principles and issues.Originality/value – This is a useful summary of a conference of interest to library and information management professionals.
Utility analysis for clinical decision-making in small treatment settings.

Data-driven clinical decision-making can be difficult in settings that service relatively few patients because of the small samples available, the patients' potential dissimilarity from participants in published research, and highly limited resources. This study was designed to demonstrate how utility analyses might assist clinical decision-making in small treatment settings and provide data for promoting programmatic improvements. Data came from a study to identify rural juvenile delinquents suspected to not benefit from residential behavioral treatment. A prospective correlational design was used with data from a mid western juvenile criminal justice residential unit in which about 30 males were treated annually. Outcomes included treatment performance measures and number of delinquent offenses during the year after treatment. Utility analyses suggested that delinquents who were less likely to benefit from residential treatment could be identified a priori using a modified Psychopathy Checklist, Revised...
Fiber sensing with photorefractive fiber

Optical fibers have been widely used for transmitting temporal signal. However, the transmission of spatial signal has not been fully exploited. Although multimode fiber has a large space-bandwidth product, transmitting spatial signals by using a fiber is rather difficult. When a laser beam is lached into a multimode fiber, the exit light field produces a complicated speckle pattern caused by the modal phasing of the fiber. It is difficult to recover the transmitted informati from the speckle field. However, the fiber speckle field can be used to fiber sensing with a hologrpahic method. In other words, if a hologram is made with the speckle fiber field, the information of the fiber status can be recovered. Thus by reading the hologram by the same speckle field, the reference beam can be reconstructed, which represents the detection of the speckle field. In other words, instead of exploiting the temporal content, the spatial content from a multimode fiber can be exploited for sensing. Our analyses and experimentations have shown that the fiber specklegram sensor (FSS) is highly senstiive to perturbation, and it is less vulnerable to the environment factors. Applications of the FSS to temperature, transversal displacement, and dynamic sensing are also included.
Hormonal probes of central serotonergic activity: do they really exist?

The response of a hormone allegedly under 5-hydroxytryptaminergic (5-HT-ergic) control to a compound stimulating or inhibiting serotonergic activity has been used as a measure of the functional state of central serotonergic systems. The relevant literature is reviewed, and based on that, it is concluded that, as yet, no reliable hormonal 5-HT probe exists. The main problems are nonselectivity of the challengers and noncomparability of individual studies because of variations in dose and route of administration. An acceptable hormonal 5-HT probe should at least have passed the following three tests. 1. (1) The influence of the challenger on catecholaminergic (CA) systems must be rendered unlikely in humans to avoid the pitfalls of, say, the 5-HT precursors whose CA-ergic influences have been overlooked. 2. (2) Dose-response relationships must be established to avoid the confusion caused by different investigators using the challenger in different doses. 3. (3) It must be demonstrated that the effect of the challenger is counteracted by its functional opponent.
Improving Biologic Drugs via Total Chemical Synthesis

Most biologic therapeutics are large, complex molecules or heterogeneous mixtures of molecules that are manufactured in a living system (e.g., microorganism, plant cell, or animal cell) through recombinant DNA technology. Biologics are now being used to treat a wide range of diseases, including cancer, autoimmune disorders, and diabetes. It is estimated that half of the top 100 best-selling medications will soon be biologics, with Roche's anticancer biologic Avastin and AbbVie's anti-inflammatory antibody Humira rivaling the success of Pfizer's small-molecule drug Lipitor (1). Biologics differ fundamentally from small-molecule drugs in terms of purity, composition, and production. Small-molecule drugs typically have homogeneous, well-defined structures that have been finely tuned with atomic-level precision via chemical synthesis. On page 1357 of this issue, Wang et al. (2) bridge the gap between biologics and small-molecule drugs by accomplishing the total chemical synthesis of the biologic erythropoietin (EPO) in a single, pure form.
Mechanistic Model-Based Method for Bio-Inspired Design and Education

Biologically-inspired design is challenging because it requires creative transfer across biological and engineering disciplines. The biologically-inspired design process could therefore be improved with new tools, methods, and pedagogy that enables a smooth transition from a biological example or concept to a conceptual engineering design based on existing engineering components and practices. Two important problems can arise immediately when an engineer or student attempts bioinspired design: I. The practitioner or student of biological inspiration or biomimicry may not understand what the biological mechanism is that underlies a particular function of interest, and may begin engineering conceptual design with a misunderstanding of the essential mechanism required. II. Even when the correct biological mechanism is identified and a conceptual biological model is developed prior to engineering design, it may remain difficult to transition from a biological conceptual model of mechanism to an engineering conceptual design because the way these systems are composed and manufactured can be entirely different. For these reasons a formal process is developed here that links biological science with engineering design: where a biological mechanism of interest is first abstracted to a mechanistic conceptual model that focuses on the scope of the function of interest and removes other levels of biological detail. This results in a physiologically-independent conceptual model that links biological and engineering concepts. Then, subsequently, this inter-disciplinary conceptual model is re-embodied as an engineering design concept utilizing the current state of engineering art, available engineering components, and best practices. An example is presented of an existing class of biologically-inspired legged robots and their relationship to an abstract mathematical model of whole-body animal locomotion. Also, a teaching method is proposed for model-based biologically-inspired engineering design.© 2011 ASME
CT dimensioning for transmission line protections—an investigation into increasing saturation tolerance for protection functions†

This paper discusses quantitative methods for the CT knee point voltage determination. The methods proposed cover the basic issue of how much saturation in CT can be tolerated without putting the system at risk and how to increase the saturation tolerance. Higher degree of CT saturation can be tolerated by making some modifications in the existing protection philosophy. The concepts and modifications proposed are demonstrated by examples and simulations considering the real system parameters. The CT dimensioning is covered for all important functions like the distance protection function, line differential protection function, fault locator function, and the breaker failure function. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Direct posterior-posterior triangulation of the knee joint

To perform surgery in the inaccessible area of the posterior compartment of the knee joint with the conventional anterior-posterior triangulation technique, we have used a direct posteromedial-posterolateral triangulation technique. This technique has been easy and safe in performing arthroscopic surgery in the posterior compartment, including synovectomy of 350 knees and removal of loose bodies in 12 knees. Using this method in addition to conventional anterior-posterior triangulation, the whole area of the posterior compartment could be covered for performing arthroscopic surgery.
Comb-like ionomers from sustainable resources: Copolymers of itaconic anhydride-co-stearyl methacrylate

Abstract Comb-like random copolymers of itaconic anhydride (ITA) and stearyl methacrylate (SM) copolymers were synthesized by free-radical polymerization. Both monomers are derived from natural and renewable resources. Ionomers (Na, Ca or Zn carboxylates) were prepared by partial neutralization of the copolymers. The incorporation of the ionic groups decreased the melting point, which was lower than the glass transition temperature ( T g ) and crystallinity of the SM side-chains and increased the T g of the backbone by 20–25 °C. Above T g , the parent copolymer was a viscoelastic liquid, but the introduction of the ionic groups changed the properties to that of an elastic solid due to the physical crosslinks formed by intermolecular interactions of the ionic dipoles.
THE ORIGINS OF PATTERNED NERVOUS DISCHARGE

The output of single neurons and of groups of neurons is normally probably always patterned, i.e., temporally and spatially distributed in a meaningful, non-random way. One way of stating the function of the nervous system, or of any significant part if it, is that it formulates appropriately patterned messages in code. The question how this formulation takes place is surely one of the core questions of general neurology. Curiously, it has received little direct attention although a great body of related information is known.
Immunodominance in the TCR repertoire of αTCR peptide-specific CD4+ Treg population that controls experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Immunodominance in self-Ag-reactive pathogenic CD4 + T cells has been well established in several experimental models. Although it is clear that regulatory lymphocytes (Treg) play a crucial role in the control of autoreactive cells, it is still not clear whether immunodominant CD4 + Treg clones are also involved in control of autoreactivity. We have shown that TCR-peptide-reactive CD4 + and CD8 + Treg play an important role in the spontaneous recovery and resistance from reinduction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis in B10.PL mice. We report, by sequencing of the TCR α- and β-chain associated with CD4 + Treg, that the TCR repertoire is limited and the majority of CD4 + Treg use the TCR Vβ14 and Vα4 gene segments. Interestingly, sequencing and spectratyping data of cloned and polyclonal Treg populations revealed that a dominant public CD4 + Treg clonotype expressing Vβ14-Jβ1.2 with a CDR3 length of 7 aa exists in the naive peripheral repertoire and is expanded during the course of recovery from experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Furthermore, a higher frequency of CD4 + Treg clones in the naive repertoire correlates with less severity and more rapid spontaneous recovery from disease in parental B10.PL or PL/J and (B10.PL × PL/J)F 1 mice. These findings suggest that unlike the Ag-nonspecific, diverse TCR repertoire among the CD25 + CD4 + Treg population, TCR-peptide-reactive CD4 + Treg involved in negative feedback regulation of autoimmunity use a highly limited TCR V-gene repertoire. Thus, a selective set of immunodominant Treg as well as pathogenic T cell clones can be targeted for potential intervention in autoimmune disease conditions.
A Molecular Approach to Breast Imaging

Molecular imaging is a multimodality discipline for noninvasively visualizing biologic processes at the subcellular level. Clinical applications of radionuclide-based molecular imaging for breast cancer continue to evolve. Whole-body imaging, with scintimammography and PET, and newer dedicated breast imaging systems are reviewed. The potential clinical indications and the challenges of implementing these emerging technologies are presented.
Bioefficacy of Couroupita guianensis (Aubl) against Helicoverpa armigera (Hub.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae

With a view to develop an ecofriendly botanical pesticide, we evaluated the bioefficacy of crude extracts of Couroupita guianensis against third instar larvae of Helicoverpa armigera. Maximum feeding deterrency (81.67%) and least LC50 (2.72%) for larval mortality were seen in hexane extract. Hexane extract was subjected to column chromatography using different ratio of hexane-ethyl acetate solvent system. Totally eight fractions were collected. The fractions were screened at 125, 250, 500 and 1,000 mg/kg concentrations against H. armigera using no-choice leaf disc method. Fraction eight showed maximum antifeedant (86.24%) and larvicidal (80.88%) activities at 1,000 mg/kg concentration. C. guianensis could be utilized in pest control programme.
Phase II Trial of Bevacizumab in Persistent or Recurrent Epithelial Ovarian Cancer or Primary Peritoneal Cancer: A Gynecologic Oncology Group Study

Purpose Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) seems to be a promoter of tumor progression for epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) and primary peritoneal cancer (PPC). We conducted a phase II trial to assess the efficacy and tolerability of single-agent bevacizumab, an anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody. Patients and Methods Eligible patients had persistent or recurrent EOC/PPC after one to two prior cytotoxic regimens, measurable disease, and Gynecologic Oncology Group performance status of at least 2. Treatment consisted of bevacizumab 15 mg/kg intravenously every 21 days until disease progression or prohibitive toxicity. Primary end points were progression-free survival (PFS) at 6 months and clinical response. Results The study consisted of 62 eligible and assessable patients, median age 57 years, 41 (66.1%) having received two prior regimens and 36 (58.1%) considered platinum resistant. Grade 3 adverse events at least possibly related to bevacizumab were hematologic (1), GI (3), hypertension (6), thromboemb...
Semiparametric analysis of discrete response: Asymptotic properties of the maximum score estimator

Abstract This paper is concerned with the estimation of the model MED(y|x) = xβ from a random sample of observations on (sgn y, x). Manski (1975) introduced the maximum score estimator of the normalized parameter vector β ∗ = β/∦β∦ . In the present paper, strong consistency is proved. It is also proved that the maximum score estimate lies outside any fixed neighborhood of β∗ with probability that goes to zero at exponential rate.