cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract 4269: Human monoclonal anti-angiopoietin-2 antibody, MEDI3617, inhibits angiogenesis in preclinical studies

Angiogenesis is two-step process that is critical in tumor angiogenesis. First, endothleial-endothelial and endothelial-smooth muscle cell interactions must be broken. Then, endothelial cells must be activated to proliferate, migrate, and form tubes. Presence of Angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) leads to vessel destabilization while pro-angiogenic factors like Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) are key growth factors that activate new vessel formation. Both are upregulated in the tumor microenvironment. To date most anti-angiogenic therapies have focused on inhibiting the second step in angiogenesis, or activation of the endothelium, and anti-VEGF therapies have shown some success especially in combination with conventional cancer therapies. However, resistance to such therapies has emerged due to upregulation of other pro-angiogenic factors in the absence of VEGF. The present studies examine the impact of MEDI3617, a monoclonal antibody targeting Ang-2, on tumor cell induced angiogenesis by inhibiting the first step, or endothelial-endothelial and endothelial-smooth muscle cell interactions, in angiogenesis. An intradermal assay was used to evaluate the growth of vessels induced by the tumor. Nude mice injected intradermally with colorectal cancer cells, HT29, were treated with a range of MEDI3617 doses (2, 10, 20 mg/kg) and the effect on the number of vessel formation was determined. The results showed that at 2 mg/kg dose of MEDI3617 led to a 42% reduction in the number of vessels induced and 10 and 20 mg/kg induced even greater reduction in the number of vessels (48 and 61% respectively). Current studies are evaluating the mechanistic interaction of endothelial- endothelial cell and endothelial smooth-muscle cell interactions using a co-culture spheroid model. A core of smooth muscle cells are surrounded by a layer of endothelial cells mimicking the interaction of these cells in the vasculature. The effect of Ang-2 on destabilizing this co-culture spheroid and the ability of MEDI3671 on inhibiting this destabilization are being evaluated. Preliminary studies indicate the ability of MEDI3617 to inhibit sphere destabilization in the presence of Ang-2. Human monoclonal anti-Ang-2 antibody, MEDI3617, was both developed and this study supported by MedImmune, LLC. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4269. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-4269
Misoriented grain boundaries vicinal to the twin in Nickel part II: thermodynamics of hydrogen segregation

Grain boundary engineered materials are of immense interest for their resistance to hydrogen embrittlement. This work builds on the work undertaken in Part I on the thermodynamic stability and structure of misoriented grain boundaries vicinal to the (coherent-twin) boundary to examine hydrogen segregation to those boundaries. The segregation of hydrogen reflects the asymmetry of the boundary structure with the sense of rotation of the grains about the coherent-twin boundary, and the temperature-dependent structural transition present in one sense of misorientation. This work also finds that the presence of hydrogen affects a change in structure of the boundaries with increasing concentration. The structural change effects only one sense of misorientation and results in the reduction in length of the emitted stacking faults. Moreover, the structural change results in the generation of occupied sites populated by more strongly bound hydrogen. The improved understanding of misoriented twin grain boundary str...
Cystic temporofacial rhabdomyosarcoma with subarachnoid communication.

The authors present an unusual case of cystic temporofacial rhabdomyosarcoma with subarachnoid communication in a 10-year-old boy, and discuss the differential diagnosis, possible etiology, and other types of rhabdomyosarcoma
Reliability design on movment accuracy of planar connecting rod mechanism with arbitrary distributed parameters

The reliability designing problems of movement accuracy of planar connecting rod mechanism were discussed when its stochastic parameters were submitted to arbitrary distribution.Under the condition of known first four ordered matrixes of the basic stochastic parameters and by the application of perturbation method and Edgeworth series method the reliability analysis was carried out on the movement accuracy of planar connecting rod mechanism.The reliability design on movement accuracy of planar connecting rod mechanism with its stochastic parameters submitted to arbitrary distribution can be achieved with the aid of computer program,and the reliability of movement accuracy of planar connecting rod mechanism was obtained rapidly and accurately.The calculation indicated that the proposed method was practical and effective.
Human History, Insects Effect on

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses how human interaction with insects has had a profound or noteworthy effect on the course of important events over the past few thousand years. The activities of insects, primarily by transmitting disease to troops in battle, can have profound effects on warfare between humans. In many military campaigns, the number of casualties attributed to insects has exceeded that caused by actual fighting. This is even true in recent conflicts, such as the American–Vietnam War. In cases where such losses of men and resources are one-sided, the actions of insects have determined the outcome of entire wars and thus have altered the course of history. Perhaps the greatest and most lasting effect of insects on the course of history was the result of sweeping economic, religious, and social reform because of the deadly bubonic plague of Medieval Europe that was spread by fleas. This disease, particularly the huge epidemic known as the Black Death (1346–1353) that ravaged Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, and northern Africa, resulted in drastic and significant changes in the social and economics tructure in Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries, changes that infl uence the nature of human society to this day.
Advertising Practices of Industrial Manufacturers

Advertising plays an important role in the promotional mix of industrial firms. It is important that industrial firms reach their target markets efficiently and effectively because of increased competition in both existing and new industries (Blasko and Patti 1984). However, manufacturer’s or wholesaler’s advertising has been characterized as "haphazard" (Kotier 1984, p 589).
Hierarchical Architecture for Integration of Rooftop PV in Smart Distribution Systems

This paper presents a novel hierarchical multilevel decentralized optimal power flow (OPF) for power loss minimization in three-phase unbalanced large-scale distribution systems via optimal reactive power scheduling of rooftop photovoltaics generators. The system is decomposed into three levels corresponding to: 1) the primary; 2) the lateral; and 3) the secondary feeder subnetworks of distribution systems. A distributed sequential coordination scheme based on analytical target cascading method is developed to minimize power losses while considering the operational constraints. Results based on the proposed method are compared with centralized OPF for validation. Control based on the proposed method is compared with no reactive power control and local reactive power control to identify its effectiveness. Further, a virtual feeder is introduced to separate the coupled subnetworks into decomposed layers, which enables parallel processing of the optimization problems to reduce computational complexity and provide faster solution. A 559-node large-scale distribution network built based on the IEEE 37 node test system is used to demonstrate performance of the proposed algorithm.
Student Experiences With a Newly Developed Concept-Based Curriculum

Abstract Background Curriculum change is a constant in nursing education. Little is known about the impact of curricular change on nursing students. Method To determine the overall impact of the change to the concept-based curriculum on the students, we conducted a survey and focus groups. Results The students were satisfied with the new curriculum but identified barriers to their learning. Conclusion Faculty implementing a curriculum revision should consider the impact of the changes on the students.
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia/Lymphoma: Diagnosis and Minimal Residual Disease Detection by Flow Cytometric Immunophenotyping

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and lymphoblastic lymphoma are malignant neoplasms of progenitor cells committed to B-lineage or T-lineage lymphopoiesis, termed lymphoblasts (1). Distinction between lymphoblastic leukemia (predominantly bone marrow with or without peripheral blood involvement) and lymphoblastic lymphoma (predominantly mass-forming nodal and/or extranodal disease) is largely clinical; however, the presence of greater than 25% bone marrow blasts generally prompts the designation of “leukemia” in most protocols, regardless of the presence of a mass lesion (2, 3). In the most recent World Health Organization (WHO) classification (2–4), B lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma is further subclassified on the basis of recurrent genetic abnormalities, while T lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma, despite the existence of recurrent genetic abnormalities, is not further subclassified (Table 1).
Structural Analysis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Homologues of the Eukaryotic Proteasome Assembly Chaperone 2 (PAC2).

A previous bioinformatics analysis identified the Mycobacterium tuberculosis proteins Rv2125 and Rv2714 as orthologs of the eukaryotic proteasome assembly chaperone 2 (PAC2). We set out to investigate whether Rv2125 or Rv2714 can function in proteasome assembly. We solved the crystal structure of Rv2125 at a resolution of 3.0 A, which showed an overall fold similar to that of the PAC2 family proteins that include the archaeal PbaB and the yeast Pba1. However, Rv2125 and Rv2714 formed trimers, whereas PbaB forms tetramers and Pba1 dimerizes with Pba2. We also found that purified Rv2125 and Rv2714 could not bind to M. tuberculosis 20S core particles. Finally, proteomic analysis showed that the levels of known proteasome components and substrate proteins were not affected by disruption of Rv2125 in M. tuberculosis Our work suggests that Rv2125 does not participate in bacterial proteasome assembly or function.IMPORTANCE Although many bacteria do not encode proteasomes, M. tuberculosis not only uses proteasomes but also has evolved a posttranslational modification system called pupylation to deliver proteins to the proteasome. Proteasomes are essential for M. tuberculosis to cause lethal infections in animals; thus, determining how proteasomes are assembled may help identify new ways to combat tuberculosis. We solved the structure of a predicted proteasome assembly factor, Rv2125, and isolated a genetic Rv2125 mutant of M. tuberculosis Our structural, biochemical, and genetic studies indicate that Rv2125 and Rv2714 do not function as proteasome assembly chaperones and are unlikely to have roles in proteasome biology in mycobacteria.
Deuterium NMR Studies of Dynamics in Solids

Deuterium NMR has been used extensively to study the rates and mechanisms of dynamic processes in solids. Quadrupole echo lineshapes provide a convenient method to study processes with correlation times T C ~ 10-3 - 10-8 sec, while the anisotropy of 2H spin lattice relaxation can provide information on dynamic processes in the range 10 -7 - 10-10 sec. Experimental methods for obtaining the spectra are reviewed, and the utility of the technique is illustrated with examples of systems executing two- and threefold hops in solids.
Presumptuous Official Comments and Their Place in Article 9

The Official Comments that accompany Article 9 and other UCC Articles are of different sorts and have different roles. This Note identifies a distinctive sort of Comment: a “presumptuous Comment.” Presumptuous Comments neither gloss the language of their accompanying provisions nor illustrates their application or recommend a change in non-UCC law. Instead, reflecting the preferences of the Comments’ drafters, the Comment dictates a result that goes beyond the terms of its accompanying provision. Accepting the general acceptability of treating UCC Comments effectively as legal authority, this Note argues that the current practice of treating presumptuous Comments as authoritative is and ought to be questionable. This Note describes the features of a Comment “presumptuous,” identifies salient examples of presumptuous Comments in Article 9’s Official Comments, and argues against their inclusion in Official Comments.
Impact of Nutrient Enrichment on Water Uses

Nutrients do not, in themselves, influence man’s use of estuaries. It is the secondary effect of the nutrients in stimulating the growth of aquatic plants, primarily the unicellular algae or phytoplankton, that make enrichment important to man. Such algal growth is usually thought of in quantitative terms: moderate amounts are good for most uses, since algae are the base of the food chains that nourish most forms of estuarine life, while too much enrichment and plant growth result in the familiar esthetic and ecological problems that are associated with the term “eutrophication.” But, more and more, we have begun to view the effects of enrichment in qualitative terms, because we now recognize that, in fact, it is not the quantity but the kinds of algae that are good or bad for man’s purposes.
Virulence of Four Fungal Pathogens to Coptotermes formosartus (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Four species and 10 isolates of entomogenous fungi were tested for virulence against the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki. Five isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin and three of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin were virulent to C. formosanus. The isolates of these two fungal species were chosen because they originated from different phylogenetic groups of host insects. The B. bassiana isolates originated from hosts in the Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, Homoptera, Dermaptera, and Isoptera; the M. anisopliae isolates came from hosts in the Coleoptera, Isoptera, and Homoptera. The B. bassiana isolate from an isopteran was most virulent to C. formosanus, when LD50 and mean time until death were both considered. There was no other pattern in virulence of isolates relative to the phylogeny of their original insect hosts. All five B. bassiana isolates and one of the three M. anisopliae isolates produced full growth of external mycelium and conidia on the dead ter...
Time course for bone formation with long-term external mechanical loading

Increased mechanical loading of bone with the rat tibia four-point bending device stimulates bone formation on periosteal and endocortical surfaces. With long-term loading cell activity diminishes, and it has been reported that early gains in bone size may reverse. This study examined the time course for bone cellular and structural response after 6, 12, and 18 wk of loading at 1,200-1, 700 microstrain (muepsilon). Bone formation rates, measured by histomorphometry, were compared within groups, between loaded and contralateral nonloaded tibiae, and between weeks. Formation surface, mineral apposition rate, and bone formation rate on periosteal and endocortical surfaces were elevated after 6 wk of loading. By 12 wk of loading, periosteal and endocortical formation surface and endocortical mineral apposition rates were elevated. By 18 wk of loading, periosteal adaptation appeared complete, whereas endocortical mineral apposition rate remained elevated. No periosteal resorption was observed. Average thickness of new bone formed, from baseline to collection, was greater in loaded than nonloaded tibiae by week 6 and was maintained through week 18. Early increases in bone formation result in periosteal apposition of new bone that persists after formation ceases.
Disaggregating gang activity: an exploratory study of the socio-demographic context of gang activity

This paper examines the social ecology of gang activity in Fort Worth, Texas, a community with decades-long and recent growth in Latino immigrant populations. Focusing on the contextual correlates of police-defined gang incidents, the paper explores the relationship between traditional social ecological measures of concentrated disadvantage, residential stability, Latino immigration and racial composition and police-defined gang crime activity in Fort Worth communities. To better understand the social ecological dynamics that correlate with gang activity, the analysis uniquely disaggregates gang activity using 1) the police department’s gang-related classification system and, 2) four categories of gang crime behaviors within police classifications. Overall, the findings reveal that traditional social ecological indicators are significantly related to gang activity; however, the relationship collapses with disaggregation by gang-involved and gang-related crime behaviors and the four disaggregated crime classifications. Implications for research, theory, and policy are discussed.
The interactive web – 3D printing resources for medical academic libraries

This column marks a slight editorial shift in the framing of the Interactive Web column. This and future columns will typically still include discussions of web resources for use in medical library...
How to prescribe loop diuretics in oedema

### What you need to know Loop diuretics are commonly prescribed to manage oedema symptoms such as swollen legs or breathlessness and to relieve fluid overload. They are widely recommended by guidelines and organisations such as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in the UK. The loop diuretics available in the UK are furosemide, bumetanide, and torasemide. But which option is best? The pharmacokinetics of loop diuretics are well characterised. Studies and trials on humans and animals describe pharmacodynamic differences between loop diuretics. However, there is limited evidence directly comparing them. In particular, there is little and low quality information comparing the clinical outcomes of furosemide with the less commonly chosen alternatives torsemide and bumetanide. This article (box 1) outlines some pharmacokinetic differences between available loop diuretics that may influence loop selection in practice and advises how to dose them effectively. Box 1 ### How this article was created We initially wrote this article in response to questions primary care clinicians frequently posed when seeking assistance in managing oedema in patients with heart failure. Evidence was gathered over a 15 year period in response to patient and physician queries regarding the management of oedema and the use of loop diuretics. We …
Targeting HER2 in Lung Cancer

Human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) amplification and mutations are oncogenic drivers in 2–5% of lung adenocarcinomas. HER2 exon 20 in-frame mutations may be phenotypically related to the non-smoking Asian female population and mutually exclusive of other known lung mutations and HER2 amplification. Although HER2 amplification may be an important mechanism for acquired resistance to epidermal growth factor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), the prognostic and predictive significance of the amplification event appears to be different in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared to breast and gastric cancer. Single-agent HER2-targeted antibodies and dimerization inhibitor responses have been limited, however encouraging responses have been seen with TKIs targeting Pan-HER agents and antibody drug conjugates. Based on a small trial, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommends HER2 exon 20 insertion mutants who have progressed on chemotherapy be considered for ado-trastuzumab emtansine. Further studies are needed in this population of patients. The type of HER2 alterations (mutation/amplification) needs to be precisely defined, and the most compelling data for targeted approaches currently exists in select HER2 mutation positive patients. Advances and approvals for next generation sequencing (NGS) technology have the potential to facilitate the identification of patients who may derive benefit for treatment options.
Supersonic turbulent boundary layer drag control using spanwise wall oscillation

Spanwise wall oscillation has been extensively studied to explore possible drag control methods, mechanisms and efficacy – particularly for incompressible flows. We performed direct numerical simulation for fully developed turbulent channel flow to establish how effective spanwise wall oscillation is when the flow is compressible and also to document its drag reduction (.
Ongoing Appropriation: Invisible Seattle and Red May

During the last few days of April, 2017, I began to see announcements online and around Seattle about a festival called Red May. With speakers drawn from both academia and the arts, the events promised to bring diverse radical thinkers—including Kathi Weeks, Michael Hardt, Jason Read, China Mieville, Geoff Mann, and Nisi Shawl—into conversation in various venues around the city: cafes, art galleries, Town Hall, the Grand Illusion Cinema. As I attended events and met the organizers, I discovered that these events were a mature and explicitly anti-capitalist development of a project from the early 1980s called Invisible Seattle, which drew heavily on Surrealism and Situationism. The playfulness of Invisible Seattle lives on in Red May as a roving festival of ideas and imagination which seeks to make the month “the public home for Left reflection absent since the Occupy Movement was evicted from the heart of America’s cities” (Wohlstetter, 2017). This chapter serves as both a history of the movement between the two groups and their work, as well as an application of, and a theoretical contribution to, the concept of “transindividuality” (Read, 2016). The central argument is that although urbanists and activists often focus on the spatial dimensions of occupation, the temporal dimension is perhaps even more crucial for the constitution of collective subjectivity.
Eosinophilic colitis in cancer patients.

e16500Background: Eosinophilic colitis (EoC) is a rare form of eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease characterized by diffuse eosinophilic infiltration in the deep lamina propria and extensive cryp...
Erratum: ``Chemical vapor infiltration of SiC with microwave heating'' [J. Mater. Res. 8, 1057 (1993)]

After this article appeared in the May issue of Journal of Materials Research, the authors noticed that Fig. 6 was incorrect. The correct figure is shown below.
Design–Build Project Administration Practices for the Water Industry

AbstractWater utilities are often required to continue building and improving their water infrastructure assets to meet increasing demands. Innovative project delivery methods, such as design–build...
Peer Pressure in Reporting Discretion: Evidence From Bank Holding Company Subsidiaries

Subsidiaries of a firm can use their reporting discretion for several goals, such as reporting earnings comparable to other subsidiaries or reporting earnings that are smooth over time. Prior theoretical work on reporting discretion recognizes the tension among these goals (Holmstrom, 1982; Demski and Sappington, 1974), but empirical work has not sufficiently examined it. This study exploits the bank holding company setting to investigate how subsidiaries use reporting discretion to navigate these competing objectives. I find that while subsidiaries use reporting discretion to smooth their own earnings, they also use reporting discretion to herd around the earnings of internal peers. Through a number of cross-sectional analyses, I find that this herding behavior appears consistent with relative performance evaluation motivations. These results provide new insight into prior mixed findings on the reporting choices of bank holding companies.
A method for estimating the time of initiating correct categorization in mouse-tracking

Mouse-tracking facilitates exploration of the mental processes underlying decision-making. As the cognitive system works to settle on a decision, response competition manifests in the motor movements of the hand, bringing the mouse relatively closer to one alternative versus the other. Many metrics provide insight into decision-making processes by indexing the shape or complexity of the mouse trajectory. Lacking, however, is a metric that estimates the point in time when a participant begins to correctly categorize a stimulus. We rectify this absence by introducing a metric we refer to as time of initiating correct categorization (TICC), which is the point in time when people began moving relatively closer to the selected target relative to the distractor. We briefly review existing approaches to measuring time in mouse-tracking before describing the TICC and demonstrating its utility in three data sets.
Continuous Perioperative use of Aspirin as Single Therapy during Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy

Introduction: The rates of heart disease and nephrolithiasis continue to increase in the United States, and aspirin is increasingly prescribed for varying indications. Current recommendations in the urologic literature are to stop aspirin before percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL); however, this is based on expert opinion. This study aims to determine the safety of PCNL performed on patients who took aspirin in theperioperative period. Methods: This study was a retrospective review of 27 consecutive PCNLs for patients who took aspirin in the perioperative period (January 2013-September 2016). Pre- and postoperative hemoglobin was recorded, as were age, sex, BMI, operative duration, skin-to-stone distance, stone size, aspirin dose, aspirin indication, number of blood transfusions, and Clavien-Dindo complication classification. Correlations between hemoglobin and explanatory variables were then explored with linear regression and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Results: Of the 199 PCNLs performed, 27 procedures on 23 patients were conducted without discontinuing aspirin perioperatively. Coronary artery disease was the most common indication for aspirin use (81%). Patients experienced a median hemoglobin decline of 1.4 g/dl perioperatively. No significant associations were found between hemoglobin decline and age, sex, BMI, operative duration, skin-to-stone distance, or stone size. There were no Clavien-Dindo grade III or higher complications, and no patients required a blood transfusion or angio-embolization. There were no thrombo-embolic or cardiac events in our series. Conclusions: In our single-center experience, PCNLs performed on patients taking aspirin perioperatively were not associated with the need for blood transfusion nor the occurrence of high-grade complications.
Lung Cancer in Women.

Abstract Background Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death for women in the United States. Clinical characteristics, histology, epidemiology, and treatment responses are unique for women with lung cancer. Methods Literature search of MEDLINE publications from 1989 to 2021 was conducted for lung cancer in women. Subsequent narrative review focused on identified differences in risk factors, diagnosis, and treatment of importance to the surgical care of these patients. Results Studies investigating lung cancer, in which sex-differences are explored, demonstrated differences in risk factors, histology, and treatment response among women, with a significant post-surgical survival advantage over men (41.8 months vs 26.8 months, p=0.007) and greater clinical benefit from anti-PD1 combined with chemotherapy (HR=0.44, 95% CI: 0.25-0.76) compared with men (HR=0.76, 95% CI: 0.64-0.91). Smoking remains a dominant risk factor and multiple clinical trials suggest lung cancer screening provides greater benefit for women. However, young non-smoking patients with lung cancer are 2-fold more likely to be female, advocating for broader sex-based screening criteria. Potential roles of genetic mutations, estrogen signaling, and infectious elements in sex-based differences in presentation, histology, prognosis and treatment response are explored. Conclusions Overall, much remains unknown regarding how sex influences lung cancer risk, treatment decisions and outcomes. However, evidence of specific differences in presentation, environmental risk, molecular drivers, and mutational burden support the need to better leverage these sex-associated differences to further improve detection, diagnosis, surgical outcomes and systemic regimens in order to advance the overall care strategy for women with lung cancer.
Introduction: The Behaviorisms

Publisher Summary This chapter introduces behaviorisms. It is an interesting fact that behaviorism is usually referred to in the singular. Behaviorism can be a single, unified conception. The chapter shows that there are many varieties of behaviorism and this chapter refers to these accounts as behaviorisms rather than behaviorism. There are several interesting approaches that involve finding a property or properties all of these share and then finding a property or properties that distinguish behaviorism from all the other paradigms. The chapter states that behaviorism is associated with the learning research that attempts to relate environmental events to responses. The adaptation of the organism to its environment is often a central concern of behaviorists. Thus, evolutionary theory is used to address long-term “ultimate” questions, whereas learning research is used to address more proximate questions. The interrelationships of evolution and learning are thus an important issue.
Rare Variants Analysis in Unrelated Individuals

Although the genome-wide association studies, which are based on common disease-common variants (CDCV) hypothesis, have great success in dissecting the genetic architecture of human diseases, their limitation of explaining the missing heritability motivated researchers to test the hypothesis that rare variants contribute to the variation of common diseases, that is, common disease/rare variants (CDRV) hypothesis. The fast developed high-throughput next generation of sequencing technologies has made the studies of rare variants practicable. Statistical approaches to test associations between a phenotype and rare variants are rapidly developing. Overall, the key idea of these methods is to test a set of rare variants in a defined region or regions by collapsing or aggregating rare variants. To improve the statistical power, several weighting strategies to the rare variants and/or adding the informative covariates in the model have been published. In this chapter, some of these methods which can use unrelated individuals and family members are introduced.
Effects of Seed and Farm Characteristics on Cottonseed Choice: A Choice-Based Conjoint Experiment in the Mississippi Delta

Producers' preferences for cottonseed with respect to price, seed type, yield, and fiber quality are examined by a willingness-to-pay approach via mail surveys. Results indicate a positive willingness to pay (WTP) for technology relative to conventional cottonseed, and WTP increases with the level of technology. Yield and quality also show a positive WTP. Larger farms have a higher WTP for technology, and farms with more farm labor have a lower WTP for technology. These results suggest economies of size in technology adoption (biotechnology is not size-neutral) and that labor and biotechnology are direct substitutes.
The Quiet Run of 2011: Money Market Funds and the European Debt Crisis

We show that money market funds transmitted distress across rms during the European sovereign debt crisis. Using a novel data set of US money market fund holdings, we show that funds with large exposures to Eurozone banks suered signicant
Approximate Solution Sampling (and Counting) on AND/OR Spaces

In this paper, we describe a new algorithm for sampling solutions from a uniform distribution over the solutions of a constraint network. Our new algorithm improves upon the Sampling/Importance Resampling (SIR) component of our previous scheme of SampleSearch-SIR by taking advantage of the decomposition implied by the network's AND/OR search space. We also describe how our new scheme can approximately count and lower bound the number of solutions of a constraint network. We demonstrate both theoretically and empirically that our new algorithm yields far better performance than competing approaches.
Voluntary Segregation: Gender and Race as Legitimate Grounds for Differential Treatment and Freedom of Association

INTRODUCTION Virtually all Americans agree that public education is in trouble. Virtually no one agrees what the problem is or just how to solve it. One particularly contentious issue centers around race. More than forty years after Brown v. Board of Education, America’s schools remain segregated and inequitable. But reformers respond to this problem with very different solutions. In Hartford, Connecticut plaintiffs in a state suit are petitioning for a desegregation plan based upon socio-economic disparities that would reach to the suburbs. In the Midwest, Milwaukee and Detroit are debating the merits and legality of group separation through African American immersion schools or all-Black boys’ academies. While some educators remain committed to Brown’s objective of integration, others view separation as the only means toward substantive racial equality. How can we make sense of these seemingly contradictory options?
Risk of Stroke and Death in Atrial Fibrillation by Type of Anticoagulation: A Propensity-Matched Analysis

Background We examined the effect of novel oral anticoagulants (NOACs) compared to warfarin on the risk of death or stroke in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients in every day clinical practice. Methods We examined a cohort of 2,836 AF patients, of whom 2,253 were prescribed warfarin and 583 were prescribed an NOAC. Patients with glomerular filtration rate < 30 mg/mL or history of significant valvular heart disease were excluded. Patients were followed to primary end points of death or stroke. Propensity matching was used to adjust for differences in baseline characteristics between the groups. Results Compared to patients in the NOAC group, patients on warfarin had more comorbidities and higher CHADS2 and CHA2DS2-VASc scores (1.7 vs 1.3 for CHADS2, 2.8 vs 2.2 for CHA2DS2-VASc, P < 0.0001 for both). After adjusting for differences in baseline characteristics, NOAC use was associated with significant reduction in all-cause mortality compared to warfarin (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.47, 95% confidence interval [CI; 0.3–0.8], P = 0.006) but not stroke, over a median follow-up of 42.5 months. The difference in mortality persisted after propensity score matching (HR = 0.51, 95% CI [0.28–0.93], P = 0.03). Conclusions Compared to warfarin, NOAC use is associated with decreased all-cause mortality but not stroke risk. These data from real-life clinical practice add to existing evidence for decreased mortality among patients prescribed NOACs compared to warfarin.
Hyperglycemia and antipsychotic medications

Type 2 diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance are associated with antipsychotic treatment. Risk factors for type 2 diabetes and impaired glucose tolerance include abdominal adiposity, age, ethnic status, and certain neuropsychiatric conditions. While impaired glucose metabolism was first described in psychotic patients prior to the introduction of antipsychotic medications, treatment with antipsychotic medications is associated with impaired glucose metabolism, exacerbation of existing type 1 and 2 diabetes, new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus, and diabetic ketoacidosis, a severe and potentially fatal metabolic complication. The strength of the association between antipsychotics and diabetes varies across individual medications, with the largest number of reports for chlorpromazine, clozapine, and olanzapine. Recent controlled studies suggest that antipsychotics can impair glucose regulation by decreasing insulin action, although effects on insulin secretion are not ruled out. Antipsychotic medications induce weight gain, and the potential for weight gain varies across individual agents with larger effects observed again for agents like chlorpromazine, clozapine, and olanzapine. Increased abdominal adiposity may explain some treatment-related changes in glucose metabolism. However, case reports and recent controlled studies suggest that clozapine and olanzapine treatment may also be associated with adverse effects on glucose metabolism independent of adiposity. Dyslipidemia is a feature of type 2 diabetes, and antipsychotics such as clozapine and olanzapine have also been associated with hypertriglyceridemia, with agents such as haloperidol, risperidone, and ziprasidone associated with reductions in plasma triglycerides. Diabetes mellitus is associated with increased morbidity and mortality due to both acute (e.g., diabetic ketoacidosis) and long-term (e.g., cardiovascular disease) complications. A progressive relationship between plasma glucose levels and cardiovascular risk (e.g., myocardial infarction, stroke) begins at glucose levels that are well below diabetic or "impaired" thresholds. Increased adiposity and dyslipidemia are additional, independent risk factors for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Patients with schizophrenia suffer increased mortality due to cardiovascular disease, with presumed contributions from a number of modifiable risk factors (e.g., smoking, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, obesity, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia). Patients taking antipsychotic medications should undergo regular monitoring of weight and plasma glucose and lipid levels, so that clinicians can individualize treatment decisions and reduce iatrogenic contributions to morbidity and mortality.
Fiber-optic interferometric sensors for measurements of pressure fluctuations: Experimental evaluation

This paper addresses an anechoic chamber evaluation of a fiber-optic interferometric sensor (fiber-optic microphone), which is being developed at NASA Ames Research Center for measurements of pressure fluctuations in wind tunnels.
Film Selection in a Cinematherapy Intervention With Preadolescents Experiencing Parental Divorce

Film selection and children's reactions to films are discussed in this article based on a qualitative multiple-case study with three preadolescent-aged children experiencing parental divorce. Six films were selected based on recommended films in cinematherapy. Although many films have been recommended for cinematherapy, multiple participants' reactions to specific recommended films have not been explored frequently in the literature. Research is needed to document participants' reactions and responses to the many films that have been recommended for cinematherapy in the previous literature to determine the benefits, drawbacks, and efficacy of specific films for specific issues and populations. Findings include the importance of appropriate developmental level, closeness of issue match, preference for more recent releases, and good timing in the therapy process.
Life in a police state: A black South African woman speaks out

Abstract Jean Pease, a black school teacher and anti-apartheid activist, was one of sixty women I interviewed in 1987 for a study of the contribution of women to the South African liberation movement. Although she was engaged in political work that was both nonviolent and legal, she was one of the thousands of activists who was detained during the 1985 state of emergency. Her story, the focus of this article, provides a vivid picture of one woman's experience of eight weeks detention in a South African prison. She also describes how she became politicized, her experience of teaching in the racist educational system at a time of great student activism and turmoil, the difficulties of being a politically active mother, and her ideas about the significance of sexism in contemporary South Africa.
Nearest-neighbor classification with categorical variables

Abstract A technique is presented for adopting nearest-neighbor classification to the case of categorical variables. The set of categories is mapped onto the real line in such a way as to maximize the ratio of total sum of squares to within-class sum of squares, aggregated over classes. The resulting real values then replace the categories, and nearest-neighbor classification proceeds with the Euclidean metric on these new values. Continuous variables can be included in this scheme with little added efort. This approach has been implemented in a computer program and tried on a number of data sets, with encouraging results. Nearest-neighbor classification is a well-known and efective classification technique. With this scheme, an unknown item's distances to all known items are measured, and the unknown class is estimated by the class of the nearest neighbor or by the class most often represented among a set of nearest neighbors. This has proven effective in many examples, but an appropriate distance normalization is required when variables are scaled differently. For categorical variables “distance” is not even defined. In this paper categorical data values are replaced by real numbers in an optimal way: then those real numbers are used in nearest-neighbor classification.
Constancy of spectral quality across large fields from Clinac‐4 and Clinac‐6 accelerators

Spectral quality at different locations across a 40 x 40 cm/sup 2/ field and on the central-axis for different field sizes from Clinac-4 and Clinac-6 accelerators has been measured using the photoactivation ratio method. This method is based on a measurement of the ratio of photoactivation rates induced by /sup 115/In(..gamma..,..gamma..') and D(..gamma..,n) x /sup 115/In(n,..gamma..). Despite the high sensitivity of this technique, no significant variation of spectral quality across the irradiation field in air and for different field sizes on the central-axis is observed.
A general approach to formulating the frequency equation for a beam carrying miscellaneous attachments

Beams carrying various lumped attachments have been studied extensively over the years. In this paper, a simple approach is proposed that can be used to readily determine the eigenvalues of an arbitrarily supported single-span or multi-span beam carrying any combination of lumped mass, rotary inertia, grounded translational or torsional spring, grounded translational or torsional viscous damper, an undamped or damped oscillator with or without a rigid body degree of freedom. Rather than solving a generalized eigenvalue problem to obtain the eigenvalues of the system, a frequency equation is formulated instead whose solution can be easily solved either numerically or graphically. The proposed scheme is easy to code, and can be easily modified to accommodate beams with arbitrary supports and carrying any number of miscellaneous lumped attachments.
Rational synthesis of heterostructured nanoparticles with morphology control.

Rational synthesis of Pt−Aun nanoparticles (NPs) has been achieved by overgrowing Au on Pt with n, the number of Pt−Au heterojunctions in each particle, controlled from 1 to 4, and the corresponding NPs in pear-, peanut-, or clover-like morphology. Monte Carlo simulation reveals that the morphology control can be correlated to a thermodynamic equilibrium of the Au coherence energy, the overall particle surface energy, and the heterogeneous Pt−Au interfacial energy in the composite system, which is manipulated by the seeding particle size and solvent polarity. The developed synthetic strategy together with the provided fundamental understanding of heterogeneous nucleation and heterostructure growth could have great potential toward the rational synthesis of composite nanomaterials with morphology control for advanced catalytic and other functional applications.
Creating a healthy work environment for nursing practice and education: Leadership impact on nursing and healthcare work environment

Leadership and management of ethical dilemmas set the overall tone of the organisation where nurses and healthcare members work. Numerous reports cite the nursing profession is facing leadership and management crisis related to healthy work environment. In this paper, we will examine the impact of ethical leadership on work environment. Problematic leadership behaviours are analysed in relation to the health of the individuals and the workplaces. Different leadership styles are reviewed in relation to the outcomes of healthy and productive workplaces. Practical suggestions will be made, connecting learning environment for the next generations of nurses and healthcare members.
Computer-aided detection of masses in mammography using a Laguerre-Gauss channelized hotelling observer

We propose to investigate the use of a Laguerre-Gauss Channelized Hotelling Observer (LG-CHO) for the basis of a computer aided detection scheme for masses in mammography. A database of 1320 regions of interest was selected from the DDSM database collected by the University of South Florida. The breakdown of the cases was: 656 normals, 307 benigns, and 357 cancers. For the detection task, cancer and benign cases were considered positive and normal was considered negative. A 25 channel LG-CHO was designed to best classify regions as containing a mass or not. Application of this LG-CHO to the database gave a ROC area under the curve of 0.936 and a partial area of 0.648. Additionally, at 98% sensitivity the classifier had a specificity of 44.8% and a positive predictive value of 64.2%. Preliminary results suggest that using a LG-CHO can provide a strong backbone for a CAD scheme to help radiologists with detection. These initial results should be able to be incorporated into a larger CAD system for higher performance either as a false positive reduction scheme or as an initial filter used for mass detection.
Using process groups to implement failure detection in asynchronous environments

Agreement on the membership of a group of processes in a distributed system is a basic problem that arises in a wide range of applications. Such groups occur when a set of processes cooperate to perform some task, share memory, monitor one another, subdivide a computation, and so forth. The group membership problems is discussed as it relates to failure detection in asynchronous, distributed systems. A rigorous, formal specification for group membership is presented under this interpretation. A solution is then presented for this problem.
Compact LP bases for a class of IP problems

A variety of IP problems in location, logical design, and project selection contain collections of constraints of the form $$x_{ij} \leqslant y_i ,j \in J_i ,i \in I$$ or more generally $$x_{ij} \leqslant y_i ,j \in J_i ,i \in I$$ where all coefficients are nonnegative, and the setsS j ,j∈J i , are pairwise disjoint. We show how to solve the associated LP problem for these and other related structures (simultaneously including upper bound restrictions) while keeping the tableau the same size as if such constraints were absent. Our procedure not only reduces the effective size of such problems, but bypasses many of the calculations ordinarily required by the simplex method.