cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Applications of AI and Projections of AI Impact

There are innumerable uses and applications of AI which are increasing almost on a daily basis. Among the major applications are those in health care where AI can detect malformations including cancer in cells that the most trained radiologist is not able to find; robots and robotics which pose great advantages by working 24/7 and never tiring but also pose a decided threat to job seekers who are not only being replaced but of late are being trained for new skills by robots which replaced them; autonomous vehicles which in time will not require human direction including trucks which will cause major displacements of truck drivers; worker safety whereby AI will increase employer capability of ensuring a safer work environment; voice and image recognition which is already extensively used to assure safety both in the workplace and in other environments; and many other uses.
DISE-PAP: A Method for Troubleshooting Residual AHI Elevation Despite Positive Pressure Therapy

Despite excellent positive airway pressure (PAP) adherence, a subset of patients with obstructive sleep apnea experience residual elevation of the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI). Drug-induced sleep end...
Ressenya a Laura Marqués Pascual & Antonio Cortijo Ocaña (eds.) Second and Third Language Acquisition in Catalan-Speaking Regions, Newark, Delaware, Juan de la Cuesta Hispanic Monographs, 2019,

Ressenya a Laura Marques Pascual & Antonio Cortijo Ocana (eds.) Second and Third Language Acquisition in Catalan-Speaking Regions, Newark, Delaware, Juan de la Cuesta Hispanic Monographs. 2019, 220 pp., ISBN: 978-1-58871-338-4 Review to Laura Marques Pascual & Antonio Cortijo Ocana (eds.) Second and Third Language Acquisition in Catalan-Speaking Regions, Newark, Delaware, Juan de la Cuesta Hispanic Monographs, 2019, 220 pp., ISBN: 978-1-58871-338-4
Pharmacological Therapy: An Introduction

G. B. E. Jemec et al. (eds.), Non-Surgical Treatment of Keratinocyte Skin Cancer, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-540-79341-0_8, © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2010 The medical options for treating non-melanoma skin cancer are quite limited due to the absorption and penetration of topical therapies. Accounting for one third of newly diagnosed cancers, skin cancer is the most common malignancy found in humans [1] . Of the broad categories of skin cancer, non-melanoma skin cancer far surpasses melanoma in frequency. Indeed non-melanoma skin cancer is more common than all other cancers combined. The incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer was estimated at 1.3 million in the USA in 2000 [2] . There is no estimate of the evolving malignant cutaneous neoplasm known as the actinic keratosis or more advanced lesion in the form of squamous cell carcinoma in situ. It is, however, the author’s experience that for every nonmelanoma skin cancer removed in clinic, at least 15–20 actinic keratoses are treated. Incidence will obviously vary with skin type and geographic locale. Actinic keratoses were described fi rst by Dubreuilh [3] in 1898 at the Third International Congress of Dermatology. Actinic keratoses appear as macules or slightly elevated papules in a vast array of colors from fl esh-colored to red to pigmented. They range in size from a single millimeter to several centimeters. They are noted for occurring on skin exposed to solar radiation. The repetitive cycles of DNA damage resulting from chronic sun exposure can eventually result in a signifi cant unrecoverable error. The DNA lesion most likely responsible for these neoplasms is the p53 mutation [4] , although ras proto-oncogene too may play a signifi cant role. The p53 mutation is present in 53% of acitinic keratoses and 69–90% of squamous cell carcinomas [5] . The number of actinic keratoses on a person will often refl ect a balance between the development of new lesions and spontaneous resolution of existing ones. An Australian study shows an incidence rate as high as 48%, but spontaneous resolution is 26% [6] . The literature indicates that 60–99% of all squamous cell carcinomas arise from actinic keratoses, with an overall incidence of an actinic keratosis transforming into squamous cell carcinoma as 0.075–0.096%. With this data, the 10-year incidence rate for developing squamous cell carcinoma in a patient with an average actinic keratosis burden is 10.2% [7, 8] . Probably, the most commonly employed treatment for these irregular, scaly, and sometimes hyperkeratotic macules is liquid nitrogen applied to the lesions. However, some patients have so many lesions that the application of liquid nitrogen becomes diffi cult if not impossible. Furthermore, liquid nitrogen therapy as well as electrodesiccation of the skin almost always result in hypopigmentation of the treatment site, which might be cosmetically unacceptable to the patient. Pharmacological therapy may be one practical alternative to cryotherapy. Pharmacological Therapy: An Introduction
Fundamentals of Energy Science

This chapter reviews keywords, concepts, and calculations used in the energy sciences. The first entry point into conversations in the energy sector is an understanding of the underlying physics, chemistry, and other key concepts, definition, principles, and metrics used in energy science. The chapter reviews how energy flows from the sun through nature and time, emphasizing how energy is transferred through Earth’s climate, ecosystems, and what geologist Eduard Suess called the anthrosphere—the areas of the Earth transformed by humans (Ellis 2008). Key ideas covered in this chapter include energy types and sources, energy conversions and transformations, laws of thermodynamics, and other key scientific principles and descriptions of infrastructure needed to understand energy systems.
The Value Relevance of Accounting Information during a Financial Crisis: Thailand and the 1997 Decline in the Value of the Baht

This study addresses whether the financial turmoil surrounding the devaluation of the baht affected the value relevance of Thai accounting information. Our results suggest a decline in the value relevance of Thai book values and earnings following the devaluation. Prior to mid 1997 the Bank of Thailand pegged the value of the baht to a basket of currencies of which 80 percent was weighted to the US dollar. In response to pressure by currency speculators the bank abandoned its peg on July 2 1997 in favor of a managed float. The devaluation was followed by volatile exchange rates. The change in value relevance of accounting information after the devaluation may be attributable to the initial recognition of foreign exchange losses and the subsequent recognition of foreign exchange gains as exchange rates fell and then recovered.
Intrinsic signal optoretinography of rod photoreceptor dysfunction due to retinal degeneration

Early detection of photoreceptor dysfunction is essential for preventing vision loss due to retinal degenerative diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and inherited retinal degenerations (IRDs). Functional intrinsic optical signal (IOS) imaging promises a high-resolution method for objective optoretinography (ORG). Stimulus-evoked photoreceptor-IOS has been recently demonstrated in healthy animal and human retinas. The fast photoreceptor-IOS response was found to occur at the photoreceptor outer segment (OS) right after the onset of retinal stimulation. However, in vivo IOS response of photoreceptor dysfunctions is not yet validated, which is essential to measure the clinical usability of ORG measurement. In this study, we report in vivo IOS imaging of rod photoreceptor dysfunction in retinal degeneration 10 (rd10) mice. A custom-designed optical coherence tomography (OCT) was used for photoreceptor-IOS imaging. A significant attenuation of the photoreceptor-IOS was found in rd10 mice due to disorganized ultrastructure of the photoreceptor OSs, which appeared ahead of progressive rod cell death. Our experiments demonstrate that fast photoreceptor-IOS is highly sensitive to ultrastructural integrity of the photoreceptor OSs. We anticipate that quantitative imaging of fast photoreceptor-IOS will provide objective ORG measurement to advance the study and diagnosis of AMD, IRDs, and other retinal diseases that can cause photoreceptor dysfunctions.
Combined Effects of Experimentally Elevated CORT and Predation Threat on Exploratory and Foraging Behavior of Desmognathus ochrophaeus

Amphibian responses to stress are generally mediated through glucocorticoids produced by the hypothalamic–pituitary–interrenal axis. Chronic elevation of glucocorticoids can result in delayed wound healing and growth, but less is known about its influence on behavioral responses to predators. We examined the effect of acute and chronic CORT elevation on exploratory and foraging behaviors of Allegheny Mountain Dusky Salamanders (Desmognathus ochrophaeus) exposed to kairomones from a predatory snake. We established ‘No CORT,' ‘Acute CORT,' and ‘Chronic CORT’ conditions during an 18-d preparation phase by varying salamander exposure to an exogenous source of CORT (0.51 mg/mL) delivered via cutaneous patch. During the trial phase, we conducted assays to evaluate exploratory and foraging behavior of salamanders from the different CORT groups when exposed to snake kairomones or control. Exploratory behavior was examined within a circular arena with a series of surmountable concentric barriers, and foraging behavior was observed within Petri dishes containing Drosophila prey. Salamanders experiencing both Chronic CORT and snake kairomones exhibited the least exploratory behavior, escaped the array with the lowest frequency, climbed the fewest barriers, and delayed their movement. However, foraging behavior (latency to strike at prey, number of strikes, number of prey captured) was not affected by exposure to CORT or snake kairomone. Our findings suggest that artificially elevated CORT can modify some behavioral responses to predator kairomones, but only when individuals experience multiple CORT applications in the period preceding the trials.
mtDNA replication in dysfunctional mitochondria promotes deleterious heteroplasmy via the UPRmt

The accumulation of deleterious mitochondrial genomes (ΔmtDNAs) underlies inherited mitochondrial diseases and contributes to the aging-associated decline in mitochondrial function. In heteroplasmic cells, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) function declines as the population of ΔmtDNAs increase relative to wildtype mtDNAs. In response to mitochondrial perturbations, the bZIP protein ATFS-1 induces a transcription program to promote the recovery of mitochondrial function. Paradoxically, ATFS-1 is also required to maintain ΔmtDNAs in heteroplasmic worms. However, the mechanism(s) by which ATFS-1 promotes ΔmtDNA accumulation relative to wildtype mtDNAs is unclear. Here, we show that mitochondrial-localized ATFS-1 binds almost exclusively to ΔmtDNAs in heteroplasmic worms. Moreover, we demonstrate that mitochondrial ATFS-1 promotes the preferential binding of the mtDNA replicative polymerase (POLG) to ΔmtDNAs. Interestingly, inhibition of the mtDNA-bound protease LONP-1 increased ATFS-1 and POLG binding to wildtype mtDNAs. Furthermore, LONP-1 inhibition in C. elegans and human cybrid cells improved the heteroplasmy ratio and restored OXPHOS function. Our findings suggest that ATFS-1 promotes mtDNA replication by recruiting POLG to mtDNA in a manner that is antagonized by LONP-1. We speculate that this mechanism promotes the repair and expansion of the mitochondrial network by synchronizing mtDNA replication with UPRmt activation driven by nuclear ATFS-1 activity. However, this repair mechanism cannot resolve OXPHOS defects in mitochondria harboring ΔmtDNAs, resulting in an accumulation of ATFS-1 in dysfunctional mitochondria and constitutive replication of ΔmtDNAs.
Graph Theoretical Analysis of Brain Network Characteristics in Brain Tumor Patients: A Systematic Review

Graph theory is a branch of mathematics that allows for the characterization of complex networks, and has rapidly grown in popularity in network neuroscience in recent years. Researchers have begun to use graph theory to describe the brain networks of individuals with brain tumors to shed light on disrupted networks. This systematic review summarizes the current literature on graph theoretical analysis of magnetic resonance imaging data in the brain tumor population with particular attention paid to treatment effects and other clinical factors. Included papers were published through June 24th, 2020. Searches were conducted on Pubmed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science using the search terms (graph theory OR graph analysis) AND (brain tumor OR brain tumour OR brain neoplasm) AND (MRI OR EEG OR MEG). Studies were eligible for inclusion if they: evaluated participants with a primary brain tumor, used graph theoretical analyses on structural or functional MRI data, MEG, or EEG, were in English, and were an empirical research study. Seventeen papers met criteria for inclusion. Results suggest alterations in network properties are often found in people with brain tumors, although the directions of differences are inconsistent and few studies reported effect sizes. The most consistent finding suggests increased network segregation. Changes are most prominent with more intense treatment, in hub regions, and with factors such as faster tumor growth. The use of graph theory to study brain tumor patients is in its infancy, though some conclusions can be drawn. Future studies should focus on treatment factors, changes over time, and correlations with functional outcomes to better identify those in need of early intervention.
Abstract 16796: β2-Adrenergic Receptor Expression on Hematopoietic Cells is Critical for Survival Following Myocardial Infarction

β-adrenergic receptors (βAR) are critical regulators of cardiac function normally and during (HF). The importance of βAR on cardiomyocyte contractility and survival is well defined however, following myocardial infarction (MI), inflammatory responses occur, which are critical for healing and scar formation. Catecholamines acting through βAR, particularly the β2AR subtype, are known to modulate immune responses, however, the influence of β2AR in regulating the inflammatory response following MI is unknown. To investigate the contribution of β2AR on immune cells following myocardial infarction (MI), wild-type (WT) mice were irradiated and then received β2ARKO or WT control BM transplants to create immune cell specific knockout (KO) animals. Following bone marrow reconstitution, mice were subjected to MI and cardiac function and survival were monitored. Cardiac function, as assessed by echocardiography, did not differ between WT and β2ARKO chimeric mice. However, mice lacking β2ARKO in their BM resulted in 100% mortality from cardiac rupture within two weeks of receiving MI in contrast to their WT counterparts that had ~20% death. Masson trichrome staining demonstrated infarct expansion in β2ARKO chimeric mice occurred more rapidly than their WT counterparts. Flow cytometric analysis showed decreased mobilization of granulocytes from bone marrow in β2ARKO mice. Additionally, β2ARKO chimeric mice reductions in infiltrating monocyte/macrophage, neutrophil and mast cell populations in the heart with no change in total cell infiltration suggesting a disruption in the ratio of infiltrating immune cells. Alterations in chemokine receptor levels, particularly CCR2, on BM resulted in decreased cellular migration. These results demonstrate the critical role of β2AR in mounting an immune response and promoting healing following MI.
Dynamic Response of Beams Traversed by Two-Axle Loads

Analysis is based on assumption that dynamic deflection is proportional to static deflection due to weights of beam and loads; numerical results show quasi resonance effects due to successive applications of loads and to wavy beam surfaces.
Abstract 1258: The unfolded protein response may contribute to racial disparity in endocrine responsiveness in breast cancer

Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA About 70% of all breast cancers are estrogen receptor alpha positive (ER+) and depend on estrogen to grow and proliferate. Anti-hormone therapy such as antiestrogens (e.g., Tamoxifen; TAM) are often used to treat ER+ breast tumors but the cancer cells can develop resistance to these drugs (endocrine resistance). Unfortunately, ∼50% percent of all antiestrogen treated tumors eventually develop endocrine resistance, and therefore, there is an urgent need to find ways to treat this incurable disease. Nonetheless, little is known about the causes of endocrine resistance, and even less is known about the racial disparities that exist for antiestrogen responsiveness among ER+ breast cancer cases. Clinical investigations into ER+ breast cancer cases with similarly treated tumors showed that progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in African-American (AA) women were worse than in European-American (EA) women. The underlying causes of these racial differences within ER+ breast cancers is unknown. One cellular adaptive mechanism that allow endocrine resistant cells to survive antiestrogen treatment is a called the unfolded protein response (UPR) that is initiated within the endoplasmic reticulum caused by a stress stimulus. Cellular stress induced by antiestrogens can trigger the UPR leading to induce a pro-survival response by inhibiting cell death (by apoptosis) and promoting cell survival (by autophagy). Gene expression analysis for ER+ tumors of AA patients show up-regulation of UPR genes such as glucose-regulated protein 78, GRP78 (also known as HSP5A or BiP), activation transcription factor-6 (ATF6) and spliced X-box-protein-1 (XBP1s). Moreover, ER+ breast cancer cell lines derived from tumors of AA patients show increased levels of GRP78, ATF6 and XBP1 compared with cells derived from EA patients. The ER+ breast cancer cell lines derived from tumors of AA patients also show reduced sensitivity to Tamoxifen compared with cells derived from EA patients. Through our study, we will determine how up-regulation of the UPR contribute to the differences noted in anti-hormone therapy in treatment of ER+ breast cancer in AA versus EA women. Therefore, targeting critical pro-survival signaling molecules of the UPR can inhibit endocrine resistance and reduce growth of ER+ breast cancer cells more efficiently and avoid unsuccessful treatment in AA breast cancer patients. Citation Format: Ahreej E. Eltayeb, Diane M. Demas, Robert Clarke, Ayesha N. Shajahan-Haq. The unfolded protein response may contribute to racial disparity in endocrine responsiveness in breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1258. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1258
Regulated Enzymes of Aromatic Amino Acid Synthesis: Control, Isozymic Nature, and Aggregation in Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis

Several regulated enzymes involved in aromatic amino acid synthesis were studied in Bacillus subtilis and B. licheniformis with reference to organization and control mechanisms. B. subtilis has been previously shown (23) to have a single 3-deoxy-d-arabinoheptulosonate 7-phosphate (DAHP) synthetase but to have two isozymic forms of both chorismate mutase and shikimate kinase. Extracts of B. licheniformis chromatographed on diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) cellulose indicated a single DAHP synthetase and two isozymic forms of chorismate mutase, but only a single shikimate kinase activity. The evidence for isozymes has been supported by the inability to find strains mutant in these activities, although strains mutant for the other activities were readily obtained. DAHP synthetase, one of the isozymes of chorismate mutase, and one of the isozymes of shikimate kinase were found in a single complex in B. subtilis. No such complex could be detected in B. licheniformis. DAHP synthetase and shikimate kinase from B. subtilis were feedback-inhibited by chorismate and prephenate. DAHP synthetase from B. licheniformis was also feedback-inhibited by these two intermediates, but shikimate kinase was inhibited only by chorismate. When the cells were grown in limiting tyrosine, the DAHP synthetase, chorismate mutase, and shikimate kinase activities of B. subtilis were derepressed in parallel, but only DAHP synthetase and chorismate mutase were derepressible in B. licheniformis. Implications of the differences as well as the similarities between the control and the pattern of enzyme aggregation in the two related species of bacilli were discussed.
Hyperconjugation not steric repulsion leads to the staggered structure of ethane

Many molecules can rotate internally around one or more of their bonds so that during a full 360° rotation, they will change between unstable and relatively stable conformations. Ethane is the textbook example of a molecule exhibiting such behaviour: as one of its two methyl (CH3) groups rotates once around the central carbon–carbon bond, the molecule will alternate three times between an unstable eclipsed conformation and the preferred staggered conformation. This structural preference is usually attributed to steric effects1,2,3,4,5,6,7; that is, while ethane rotates towards an eclipsed structure, the electrons in C–H bonds on the different C atoms are drawing closer to each other and therefore experience increased repulsion, introducing a rotation barrier that destabilizes the eclipsed structure8,9. Stabilization of the staggered structure through rotation-induced weakening of the central C–C bond10 and hyperconjugation11,12 has been considered to be involved, but evaluation of the contributions of these effects to ethane's internal rotation barrier and conformational preference remains difficult13,14. Here we report a series of ethane structure optimizations, where successive removal of different interactions indicates that ethane's staggered conformation is the result of preferential stabilization through hyperconjugation. Removal of hyperconjugation interactions yields the eclipsed structure as the preferred conformation, whereas repulsive forces, either present or absent, have no influence on the preference for a staggered conformation.
Deep-UV LEDs using polarization-induced doping: Electroluminescence at cryogenic temperatures

Traditional impurity doping schemes are difficult for extreme-gap semiconductors, such as high Al content AlGaN alloys due to the large activation energies for donors and acceptors. Polarization-induced (or Pi-) doping, since its first demonstration [1], is being gradually implemented as an attractive alternative for effective p-type doping in large-bandgap nitride semiconductors both for power electronics, and for deep-UV photonics. Because mobile carriers are field-ionized instead of thermal ionization, they do not freeze out even at cryogenic temperatures. In this work we demonstrate polarization-induced doping deep-UV LEDs emitting in the 235–260 nm (5.25 to 4.75 eV) spectral range at both room temperature and at cryogenic temperatures. The effectiveness of polarization-induced doping is highlighted by a ∼300% increase in the deep-UV EL intensity at 4K compared to the value at 300K.
Automatic symbolic traffic scene analysis using belief networks

Automatic symbolic traffic scene analysis is essential to many areas of IVHS (Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems). Traffic scene information can be used to optimize traffic flow during busy periods, identify stalled vehicles and accidents, and aid the decision-making of an autonomous vehicle controller. Improvements in technologies for machine vision-based surveillance and high-level symbolic reasoning have enabled us to develop a system for detailed, reliable traffic scene analysis. The machine vision component of our system employs a contour tracker and an affine motion model based on Kalman filters to extract vehicle trajectories over a sequence of traffic scene images. The symbolic reasoning component uses a dynamic belief network to make inferences about traffic events such as vehicle lane changes and stalls. In this paper, we discuss the key tasks of the vision and reasoning components as well as their integration into a working prototype.
Boosting distinct random sampling for basic counting on the union of distributed streams

We revisit the classic basic counting problem in the distributed streaming model. In the solution for maintaining an ( ? , ? ) -estimate, we make the following new contributions: (1) For a bit stream of size n, where each bit has a probability at least γ to be 1, we exponentially reduced the average total processing time from the best prior work's ? ( n log ? ( 1 / ? ) ) to O ( ( 1 / ( γ ? 2 ) ) ( log 2 ? n ) log ? ( 1 / ? ) ) , thus providing the first sublinear-time streaming algorithm for this problem. (2) In addition to an overall much faster processing speed, our method provides a new tradeoff that a lower accuracy demand (a larger value for ?) promises a faster processing speed, whereas the best prior work's processing speed is ? ( n log ? ( 1 / ? ) ) in any case and for any ?. (3) The worst-case total time cost of our method matches the best prior work's ? ( n log ? ( 1 / ? ) ) , which is necessary but rarely occurs in our method. (4) The space usage overhead in our method is a lower order term compared with the best prior work's space usage and occurs only O ( log ? n ) times during the stream processing and is too negligible to be detected by the OS in practice. We further validate these theoretical results with experiments on both real-world and synthetic data, showing that our method is faster than the best prior work by a factor of several to several hundreds depending on the stream size and accuracy demands, without any detectable space usage overhead. Our method is based on a faster sampling technique that we design for boosting the sampling procedure in the best prior work and we believe this technique can be of other independent interest.
Structure Formation of Galaxy Clusters and Beyond

I will discuss in this review the cosmic gravitational clustering on scales equal to and larger than galaxy clusters. These structures are crucial to understand the cosmic structure formation in the pre-virialized phase, or quasilinear regime. The emphasis is on the dynamical scaling of the multiresolution coarse-grained mass fields, which are traced by the multiscale identified clusters.
Effect of Chlortetracycline on Nutrient Utilization by Dairy Calves

Summary Sixteen male dairy calves were used to study the effect of chlortetracycline, fed at a level of 80mg. per calf daily, on growth and nutrient utilization. The average weight gain during the 16-wk. experiment was 164lb. for the antibiotic-fed calves and 145lb. for the controls. Conventional digestion trials conducted during the fifth, eighth, and 11th weeks of the experiment gave little evidence that chlortetracycline has any effect on ash or nitrogen retention or upon the apparent digestibility of cellulose, protein, or dry matter. Neither observations on the disposition of orally administered Ca 45 nor data from a concurrent total calcium balance study conducted during the 12th wk. gave any substantial evidence that chlortetracycline has any effect on calcium utilization. Measurement of bone growth, by use of radioautographs, from the time of Ca 45 administration to sacrifice of the animals demonstrated that the greater weight gains of the antibiotic-fed calves were paralleled by greater skeletal development. The increased growth of the calves receiving the antibiotic was associated with increased feed consumption.
Online Survey Data Quality and Its Implication for Willingness‐to‐Pay: A Cross‐Country Comparison

Using online surveys to elicit consumer preference is gaining popularity because of several advantages offered by this method. Past research mainly focuses on the comparison between online surveys and other survey modes. Few have explored methods of using online survey tools to improve data quality for consumer willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimates. This article determines the impact of using a validation question (VQ) approach that asked survey respondents to select a particular answer on improving online survey data quality across six countries. Results show that survey data quality is a common problem in online surveys across countries and the severity of this problem differs significantly. Using VQs might detect the respondents who are less careful in answering survey questions, thus providing less reliable answers. The econometric models for respondents who correctly answer VQs (pass VQs) perform significantly better than the models for respondents who incorrectly answer VQs (fail VQs). The WTP estimates for respondents who pass and fail VQs differ significantly; and in general the WTP estimates for respondents passing VQs have smaller variances than those for all respondents and for respondents failing VQs. Le recours aux enquetes en ligne pour caracteriser les preferences des consommateurs gagne en popularite en raison de ses nombreux avantages. Les recherches anterieures se sont principalement limitees a comparer les enquetes en ligne et les autres types d'enquetes. Peu se sont penchees sur l'utilisation d'outils susceptibles d'ameliorer la qualite des donnees recueillies lors d'enquetes en ligne destinees a evaluer le consentement a payer des consommateurs. Dans le present article, nous analysons l'impact lie a l'utilisation d'une methode comprenant une question de validation dans laquelle on demandait aux repondants de choisir une reponse en particulier pour ameliorer la qualite des donnees d'enquete en ligne dans six pays. Les resultats de notre etude montrent que la qualite des donnees d'enquete est un probleme courant dans les pays a l'etude et que la gravite du probleme varie considerablement d'un pays a l'autre. Le fait d'inclure des questions de validation permettrait de deceler les repondants qui sont moins consciencieux lorsqu'ils repondent a des questions d'enquete et qui, par consequent, fournissent des reponses plus ou moins fiables. Selon notre etude, les modeles econometriques qui utilisent les donnees de repondants qui ont repondu correctement aux questions de validation donnent de meilleurs resultats que les modeles qui utilisent les donnees de repondants qui n'y ont pas repondu correctement; l'ecart entre les estimations du consentement a payer des deux groupes de repondants varie considerablement. En regle generale, les estimations du consentement a payer des repondants qui ont repondu correctement aux questions de validation presentent de plus faibles variances que celles pour l'ensemble des repondants et pour ceux qui n'ont pas repondu correctement aux questions de validation.
International Marketing (14th edition), by Philip R. Cateora, Mary C. Gilly, and John I. Graham

Whether we like it or not, it is common knowledge that change is inevitable in all parts of the world. For international marketers, change offers both opportunities and challenges. Because change a...
Use of glycosylated hemoglobin increases diabetes screening for at-risk adolescents in primary care settings.

(>15 yr), those seen during P2, and those with BMI ≥ 30 kg/m 2 were more likely to be screened. Record review confirmed equal rates of type 2 diabetes in the two periods: 8 incident (0.7%) cases in P1 and 13 (0.7%) in P2. Conclusions: The use of HbA1c, a non-fasting and logistically simpler test, was associated with increased diabetes screening in primary care. The percentage of screened patients with confirmed type 2 diabetes remained unchanged. Thus, despite potential pitfalls, the use of HbA1c for screening appears to be as successful as previous approaches in identifying adolescents with diabetes.
Meta-analysis of Acustimulation Effects on Nausea and Vomiting in Pregnant Women

Results: Before the treatment, 100% of the women (13 trials, n 1615 women) were nauseated, but and 96.6% (1599/1655) reported vomiting. After the treatment, compared with the controls, AS (all modalities combined) reduced the proportion of nausea (RR 0.47, 95% CI: 0.35-0.62, P .0001) and vomiting (RR 0.59, 95% CI: 0.51-0.68, P .0001). Acupressure methods applied by finger pressure or wristband reduced NVP. The ETS method was also effective in reducing NVP. However, the acupuncture method did not show effects on reducing NVP. There was a placebo effect when compared with controls in reducing nausea (three trials, RR 0.63, 95% CI: 0.39-1.02, P .0479) and vomiting (five trials, RR 0.67, 95% CI: 0.50-0.91, P .0084). Conclusions: This meta-analysis demonstrates that acupressure and ETS had greater impact than the acupuncture methods in the treatment of NVP. However, the number of acupuncture trials was limited for pregnant women, perhaps because it is impossible to self-administer the acupuncture and thus inconvenient for women experiencing NVP as chronic symptoms.
Of Mutual Interest

In which the author of the report to the BBC reflects on the issues raised by contributors to this colloquy.
Artificially engineered superlattices of pnictide superconductors

Significant progress has been achieved in fabricating high-quality bulk and thin-film iron-based superconductors. In particular, artificial layered pnictide superlattices offer the possibility of tailoring the superconducting properties and understanding the mechanism of the superconductivity itself. For high-field applications, large critical current densities (J(c)) and irreversibility fields (H(irr)) are indispensable along all crystal directions. On the other hand, the development of superconducting devices such as tunnel junctions requires multilayered heterostructures. Here we show that artificially engineered undoped Ba-122/Co-doped Ba-122 compositionally modulated superlattices produce ab-aligned nanoparticle arrays. These layer and self-assemble along c-axis-aligned defects, and combine to produce very large J(c) and H(irr) enhancements over a wide angular range. We also demonstrate a structurally modulated SrTiO3(STO)/Co-doped Ba-122 superlattice with sharp interfaces. Success in superlattice fabrication involving pnictides will aid the progress of heterostructured systems exhibiting new interfacial phenomena and device applications.
Fluoxetine treatment ameliorates depression induced by perinatal arsenic exposure via a neurogenic mechanism

Several epidemiological studies have reported an association between arsenic exposure and increased rates of psychiatric disorders, including depression, in exposed populations. We have previously demonstrated that developmental exposure to low amounts of arsenic induces depression in adulthood along with several morphological and molecular aberrations, particularly associated with the hippocampus and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. The extent and potential reversibility of this toxin-induced damage has not been characterized to date. In this study, we assessed the effects of fluoxetine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant, on adult animals exposed to arsenic during development. Perinatal arsenic exposure (PAE) induced depressive-like symptoms in a mild learned helplessness task and in the forced swim task after acute exposure to a predator odor (2,4,5-trimethylthiazoline, TMT). Chronic fluoxetine treatment prevented these behaviors in both tasks in arsenic-exposed animals and ameliorated arsenic-induced blunted stress responses, as measured by corticosterone (CORT) levels before and after TMT exposure. Morphologically, chronic fluoxetine treatment reversed deficits in adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) after PAE, specifically differentiation and survival of neural progenitor cells. Protein expression of BDNF, CREB, the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), and HDAC2 was significantly increased in the dentate gyrus of arsenic animals after fluoxetine treatment. This study demonstrates that damage induced by perinatal arsenic exposure is reversible with chronic fluoxetine treatment resulting in restored resiliency to depression via a neurogenic mechanism.
Forecasting tanker freight rate using neural networks

Improvement in forecasting accuracy is a difficult task but critical for business success. This paper investigates the potential of neural networks for short- to long-term prediction of monthly tanker freight rates. Procedures are outlined for the development of the neural networks. The problem of under-training and over-training is addressed by controlling the number of iterations during the training process of neural networks. A comparative study of predictive performance between neural networks and ARMA time series models is conducted. Our evience shows that neural networks can significantly outperform time series models, especially for longer-term forecasting.
Measuring Humor Ability: Revision and Construct Validation of the Humor Perceptiveness Test:

The revision of Feingold's Humor Perceptiveness Test and its construct validation are reported. The revision quantifies two components of humor comprehension, memory for jokes and humor-reasoning ability. The test items are in the form of joke completions (e.g., “Take my wife——–!”). Reliability coefficients (split-half, Kuder-Richardson, alternate form) of the test were .84 to .93. The Humor Perceptiveness Test-Revised was related to humor appreciation (interest in comedy movies) and to scores on a short form WAIS, the correlates varying as a function of intelligence. Scores on the humor measure correlated only with intelligence for a subsample of dull subjects but with both intelligence and humor appreciation for brighter examinees. The revised Humor Perceptiveness Test may be of use to researchers.
Clinical Commentary in Response to: Comparison of Two Carpometacarpal Stabilizing Splints for Individuals with Thumb Osteoarthritis

Carpometacarpal thumb osteoarthritis (CMC OA) is a commonly seen diagnosis in the hand therapy clinic. This condition can cause pain and limit ones participation in all realms of daily life. The authors are commended for conducting a prospective, randomized clinical trial to add to evidence-based practice (EBP) in hand therapy literature. Clinicians doing clinical research have been called upon by the research mentors of our profession for many years. 1e3 The evidence for our interventions is necessary for the health of our profession. (Note to the reader: the words ‘‘splint(s)’’ are changed to ‘‘orthotic(s)’’ to stay current with professional literature.)
Simple-closed-curve sculptures of knots and links

We present a method for creating simple closed curves that divide the plane into two regions that, when coloured differently from one another, resemble knots and links. By cutting along these curves with a laser or water jet cutter, we obtain two-piece sculptures ideal for illustrating the Jordan curve theorem.
Why the stress trajectories in the Dean–Hutchinson plastic sector of the growing mode III crack are an unfocused fan

Abstract The plastic zone of the growing mode III crack in an elastic perfectly plastic solid consists of two sectors in contact with each other. The sector closer to the crack plane, first studied analytically by Chitaley and McClintock (CM), consists of a fan of straight maximum shear stress trajectories that are focused on the crack tip. The other sector, first analyzed numerically by Dean and Hutchinson (DH), is a ‘radial’ fan of straight lines that are not focused at the crack tip or at another common point. In this paper it is shown with use of the dislocation density field that the need that the stress magnitude in the plastic wake be below the yield stress requires the existence of an unfocused fan in the DH sector. It appears unlikely that this result can be obtained without explicit use of dislocations.
Monte carlo evaluation of several sequential optimization techniques when the response is time to an event

Clinical trials are frequently concerned with the comparison of an experimental treatment and a control. In this paper, we are concerned with the use of a clinical trial for estimating the optimum combination of a group of drugs, especially in connection with the combination chemotherapy of cancer. Three methods designed for this situation are compared by a Monte Carlo study. Two methods are variations of the method of steepest ascent while another is a modification of a simplex search procedure. It was found that an adaptive modification of the method of steepest ascent was most efficient.
Factors predictive of poor behavioral compliance during inhaled induction in children.

Background Preoperative identification of children at risk of emotional distress and poor behavioral compliance during inhaled induction of anesthesia allows targeted interventions to reduce distress, thereby enhancing the quality of the anesthetic experience. We sought to identify patient, procedural, and health care system factors predictive of poor behavioral compliance during induction. Methods We studied 861 developmentally appropriate children ages 1-13 yr, The American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I to III, presenting for inhaled induction of anesthesia. All inductions were performed in an induction room with parent(s) present. Behavioral compliance was assessed using the Induction Compliance Checklist (ICC), an observational scale consisting of 10 behaviors scored as the number of behaviors observed during induction; ICC > or =4 was considered poor behavioral compliance. A multivariable ordinal logistic regression model for behavioral compliance was generated and the performance of the multivariable model was evaluated by the c statistic. Results Twenty-one percent of children exhibited poor behavioral compliance on induction. Factors increasing the odds of poor behavioral compliance were younger age ( 40; P = 0.016). Previous anesthesia experience increased the odds in school-age children (P = 0.046); this effect was ameliorated in children attending the preoperative tour (P = 0.018). The model using these factors demonstrated moderate discrimination between children with poor compliance and those with perfect compliance (ICC = 0) (c statistic = 0.75). Conclusions Factors predictive of poor behavioral compliance were age, previous anesthesia, preoperative tour attendance, preoperative preparation time and anxiety levels in the preoperative clinic. These factors, bundled into a predictive algorithm, may help identify children who could benefit from behavioral or pharmacological interventions and avoid use of interventions to those at low risk.
Limitations of computed tomography in the preoperative staging of upper tract urothelial carcinoma.

Abstract Objectives. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen and pelvis has been used for staging of upper tract urothelial carcinoma. This study was initiated to evaluate the utility of this modality in guiding the management of patients with upper tract urothelial malignancies. Methods. We performed a retrospective chart review of 37 consecutive patients with urothelial carcinoma of the upper urinary tract (21 renal pelvic, 16 ureteral) who underwent preoperative CT staging of the abdomen and pelvis before open surgical management. Results. CT was not required to establish the diagnosis in any of the patients, but in 16.2% helped to confirm the diagnosis when the disease was suspected based on other studies. CT accurately provided evidence of metastatic disease in only 3% of the patients. CT was accurate in predicting pathologic TNM stage in 59.5% of patients. The study understaged or did not detect in 16.2% and 24.3%, respectively. Most importantly, CT did not alter the management of any patient. Conclusions. CT was rarely helpful in establishing the diagnosis of the upper tract urothelial carcinoma and did not influence the management of any patient. We conclude that preoperative CT scan in those patients who are to undergo open surgical management of confirmed urothelial malignancies of the upper urinary tract without suspicion of advanced disease will rarely influence the management of the disease and its use should be selective and not routine.
New developments in radiochromic film dosimetry.

NIST has been a pioneer in the use of radiochromic film for medical dosimetry applications. Beginning in 1988 with experiments with 90 Sr/Y ophthalmic applicators, this work has continued into the present. A review of the latest applications is presented, which include high activity low-energy photon source dosimetry and ultra-high resolution film densitometry for dose enhancement near stents and microbeam radiation therapy dosimetry. An exciting recent development is the availability of a new radiochromic emulsion which has been developed for IMRT dosimetry. This emulsion is an order of magnitude more sensitive than was previously available. Measurements of the sensitivity and uniformity of samples of this new film are reported, using a spectrophotometer and two scanning laser densitometers. A unique feature of the new emulsion is that the peak of the absorbance spectrum falls at the wavelength of the HeNe lasers used in the densitometer, maximising sensitivity. When read at a wavelength of 633 nm, sensitivities on the order of 900 mAU Gy -1 were determined for this new film type, compared with about 40 mAU Gy -1 for type HS film, 20 mAU Gy -1 for type MD-55-2 film, and 3 mAU Gy -1 for type HD-810. Film uniformities were found to be good, on the order of 6% peak to peak. However, there is a strong polarisation effect in the samples examined, requiring care in film orientation during readout.
Cultivation of mammalian cells in heat-sealable pouches that are permeable to carbon dioxide

Petri plates, 96-well plates, and other unsealed culture vessels are the chief cause of air-borne contamination of cell cultures. In this study, heat-sealable plastic pouches that are permeable to CO2 and other gases are used as a means to avoid contamination. Several applications of heat-sealable pouches are described. First, petri plates can simply be sealed in a wide variety of plastic films that are permeable to CO2. Second, a few CO2-permeable plastic films can be used directly as substrata for mammalian cell growth and can also be cut with a simple hole punch for the isolation of clones. Third, one can grow cells in chemically sterilized carbonic acid solutions and thereby avoid the use of a CO2 incubator entirely.
Analysis of the tet gene of plasmid pCIS7 isolated from Bacillus subtilis.

Abstract We have previously shown that plasmid pCIS7, which contains 11.5 kb of Bacillus subtilis DNA isolated from a tetracycline-sensitive (Tc S ) strain, confers Tc resistance when integrated and amplified in the chromosome of Tc S B. subtilis 168 trp C2 [Ives and Bott, J. Bacteriol. 171 (1989) 1801–1810]. Here, we report that the number of integrated plasmid sequences required to confer Tc resistance is greater than the 20 copies seen with increasing chloramphenicol selection and, by dot-blot analysis, exceeds 100 copies per cell. The amplification is accompanied by a corresponding increase in mRNA encoding the tet gene. The tet gene sequence of pCIS7 has been compared to B. subtilis tet GSY908 [Sakaguchi et al., Biochim. Biophys. Acta. 94 (1988) 49–57] and other Gram-positive tet genes. The tet gene of pCIS7 is a member of the class L Tc R determinants, and probably confers Tc resistance by increasing the efflux of Tc from the bacterial cell.
The Influence of Ti-6AI-4V Chromic Acid Anodization Conditions Upon Anodic Oxide Thickness and Topography

Abstract Chromic acid (CA) anodization of Ti-6A1-4V (6% Al, 4% V by weight) produced an anodic oxide on the alloy surface. The influence of specific CA anodization conditions upon anodic oxide thickness was determined. Each CA anodization condition tested was defined by setting five variables: (1) solution composition; (2) anodization time; (3) solution temperature; (4) initial current density; and, (5) anodization potential. The results confirmed observations by previous workers about oxide thickness and structure. Data indicated an inverse relationship between film thickness and temperature, and that film growth rate decreases with time.