cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The glass is not half empty: optimism, pessimism, and health among older adults.

Objectives:Optimism and pessimism are distinct constructs that have demonstrated independent relationships with aspects of health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether optimism or pessimism is more closely linked with physical and mental health among older adults.Design:Cross-sectional survey.Participants:Community-dwelling older adults (N = 272) ages 59–95 in the southern United States.Measurements:The Life Orientation Test—Revised and the Short Form 8.Results:At the bivariate level, optimism was associated with higher physical health and mental health, while pessimism was associated with lower physical health and mental health. Multiple-regression analyses as well as comparison of correlation coefficients found that pessimism was more closely associated with physical health and mental health than optimism.Conclusions:These results add to the literature suggesting that, in terms of older adults’ health and well-being, avoiding pessimism may be more important than being optimistic.
Learning from Data-Rich Problems: A Case Study on Genetic Variant Calling.

Next Generation Sequencing can sample the whole genome (WGS) or the 1-2% of the genome that codes for proteins called the whole exome (WES). Machine learning approaches to variant calling achieve high accuracy in WGS data, but the reduced number of training examples causes training with WES data alone to achieve lower accuracy. We propose and compare three different data augmentation strategies for improving performance on WES data: 1) joint training with WES and WGS data, 2) warmstarting the WES model from a WGS model, and 3) joint training with the sequencing type specified. All three approaches show improved accuracy over a model trained using just WES data, suggesting the ability of models to generalize insights from the greater WGS data while retaining performance on the specialized WES problem. These data augmentation approaches may apply to other problem areas in genomics, where several specialized models would each see only a subset of the genome.
The Digital Parisian Stage Project

In the early nineteenth century Paris hosted a wide variety of theaters, even after Napoleon reduced their number in 1807. Charles Beaumont Wicks’s exhaustive catalog of plays that premiered in Paris in the nineteenth century is an ideal sampling frame for a new corpus. The Digital Parisian Stage corpus is based on a random 1% sample of the plays listed in Wicks Volume 1 (1950), covering the years 1800–1815. Of those 31 plays, 24 were obtained from Google Books, Gallica and other sources. These works have been converted to full text, cleaned and formatted. They are currently available for free download and collaboration on GitHub.
Second Opinion: Supporting Last-Mile Person Identification with Crowdsourcing and Face Recognition

As AI-based face recognition technologies are increasingly adopted for high-stakes applications like locating suspected criminals, public concerns about the accuracy of these technologies have grown as well. These technologies often present a human expert with a shortlist of high-confidence candidate faces from which the expert must select correct match(es) while avoiding false positives, which we term the “last-mile problem.” We propose Second Opinion, a web-based software tool that employs a novel crowdsourcing workflow inspired by cognitive psychology, seed-gather-analyze, to assist experts in solving the last-mile problem. We evaluated Second Opinion with a mixed-methods lab study involving 10 experts and 300 crowd workers who collaborate to identify people in historical photos. We found that crowds can eliminate 75% of false positives from the highest-confidence candidates suggested by face recognition, and that experts were enthusiastic about using Second Opinion in their work. We also discuss broader implications for crowd–AI interaction and crowdsourced person identification.
An investigation of speaker height and Weight Discriminations by means of paired comparison judgments

Abstract The purpose of this investigation was to determine if listeners were capable of making accurate comparative judgments of speakers’ heights and weights when presented with pairs of recorded speech samples. A standard prose passage was recorded by 18 speakers, nine females and nine males. Two master tapes were constructed, one for each speaker sex. A paired comparison procedure was employed in the preparation of the tapes, so that each tape contained a total of 36 pairs of readings [n(n-1)/2]. The readings in each pair consisted of the third sentence from the speakers’ recordings of the standard prose passage. The master tapes were played to a group of 40 judges, 20 females and 20 males, for height and weight discrimination judgments. All listeners participated in two sessions, one for height and one for weight judgments. They were asked to judge which member of each pair was heavier or taller as well as the confidence of each decision on a seven-point confidence rating scale. Results of their judgments indicate that listeners are capable of making accurate discriminations of speakers’ heights and weights at better than chance-guessing levels. Moreover, the sex of the speaker and listener did not significantly affect height and weight judgments. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Optimal Energy Storage-Grid Coordination for Hospitals: Prototype Development

In this paper, we develop a controller prototype of a hospital's microgrid energy management system, which integrates distributed energy resources to increase resilience and sustainability. We define the resilience objective as restoration of power within a few minutes of the outage and continued power supply to the critical loads for power outages that last 48 hours or more. We define the sustainability goal as a reduction of the yearly operating hours of distributed generation. The proposed controller prototype allows for the optimal economical operation of the energy resources at the hospital while attempting to achieve the resilience and reliability goals. We use a Raspberry Pi Model 3B+ to form and solve the optimization problem and implement the resulting controller decisions. An Arduino device collects data in real-time for energy metering. We built a prototype where the controller is interfaced with three low-voltage DC buses, with loads attached to them, to demonstrate the adequacy of our proposed controller.
OUTCOMES OF CORE DECOMPRESSION WITH INJECTION OF BONE MARROW ASPIRATE FOR PEDIATRIC FEMORAL HEAD OSTEONECROSIS

Background:Pediatric patients with femoral head osteonecrosis (FHON) often suffer from significant pain with decreased mobility. Once femoral head collapse occurs, few options are available short o...
Rapid Pasteurization of Apple Juice Using a New Ultrasonic Reactor

A new ultrasonic reactor was used to rapidly inactivate Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus in apple juice. It was found that high pulp content made ultrasound less lethal to S. aureus, while it had no significant effect on E. coli. When the pulp free apple juice was ultrasonically processed, the 5-log reduction time was 35 s for E. coli at 60 °C and 30 s for S. aureus at 62 °C. Ultrasound treatment had no significant effect on antioxidant activity determined by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity, but it significantly increased the total phenolic content. The treatment also resulted in more stable juice with higher uniformity. During 28 d of storage at 4 °C, the total plate count in apple juice ultrasonically treated at 60 °C for 35 s remained around 1.00 log CFU/mL, whereas it was nearly zero for a stronger ultrasound treatment at 62 °C for 30 s. These values were much lower than those in the untreated one, which increased from 3.65 log CFU/mL to 8.36 log CFU/mL during the storage. At the end of the storage, the control and thermally treated apple juice lost almost 70% of antioxidant activity, whereas the ultrasonically treated juice only lost 20–40%.
Coups and the consolidation mirage: lessons for stability in new democracies

Many recent treatments of democratic consolidation in both the academic and policy realms rely on minimalist understandings of consolidation. Repeated elections are expected to provide sufficient s...
The ambivalent role of the institution in the history of child and adolescent psychiatry: a case study of the Hawthorn Centre in Michigan, USA:

Historians have examined the role of psychiatric institutions in the USA and addressed whether this form of care helped or harmed patients (depending on the perspective of the time period, historical actors, and historians). But the story for children's mental institutions was different. At the time when adult institutions were in decline, children's mental hospitals were expanding. Parents and advocates clamoured for more beds and more services. The decrease in facilities for children was more due to economic factors than ideological opposition. This paper explores a case study of a hospital in Michigan as a window into the different characteristics of the discussion of psychiatric care for children.
Peer selection as a mechanism for preventing adolescent substance use: Current approaches and future directions

Abstract Background Despite previous research highlighting the importance of peer selection and socialization as distinct processes contributing to adolescent substance use, prior research indicates that universal school-based substance use prevention programs focus more heavily on socialization when compared to selection. Methods This content analysis examining the peer selection processes targeted by prevention programs is guided by the following research questions: (1) To what extent do current evidence-based programs target peer selection? (2) When peer selection is targeted, what underlying mechanisms are the focus? (3) What level of depth is reached when peer selection is targeted by prevention programs? Using the Blueprints for Healthy Youth Development database, two programs meeting our inclusion criteria were included in this study. Results Thirty-three percent of program lessons included a focus on the peer selection process. Behavioral similarity was targeted more frequently than selection based on popularity. When peer selection was targeted, reflection was often encouraged. Conclusions Peer selection is a promising mechanism for the development of future prevention programs. Future intervention research that helps to test the malleability of peer selection processes would help to better understand how to best incorporate peer selection processes into prevention program content.
Should History Lock in Lock-In?

The corporation does not allow owners, at least by default, to cash out their interests. This feature of “capital lock-in” facilitates durable and centralized management of corporate assets. It has been argued that capital lock-in is what has made the corporation the dominant business form and has enabled the modern firm. This argument for the historical significance of capital lock-in is intended to provide a rationale for rejecting reforms that would compromise lock-in. However, lock-in has costs, including inhibiting effective monitoring of managers. Moreover, the historical argument is inaccurate, since lock-in has always been available in the partnership form. Lock-in should be viewed as just one of many features of firms that evolve to meet business needs, not frozen in place by a dubious account of the past. SHOULD HISTORY LOCK IN LOCK-IN?
Understanding the Role of Race and Procedural Justice on the Support for Police Body-Worn Cameras and Reporting Crime:

Body-worn cameras (BWCs) among police officers have garnered mixed support among community members. On the one hand, proponents of BWCs contend that there are benefits of BWCs such as reduction of ...
Demonstration of Exceptional Points of Degeneracy in Gyrator-Based Circuit for High-Sensitivity Applications

We present a scheme for high-sensitive sensors based on an exceptional point of degeneracy (EPD) in a circuit made of two LC resonators coupled by a gyrator. We study two cases with series and parallel LC circuits. We obtain conditions that lead to an EPD when one of the two resonators is composed of an inductor and a capacitor with negative values. We explain the extreme sensitivity to perturbations of such a circuit operating at an EPD and its possible use for sensor applications. The EPD occurrence and sensitivity are demonstrated by showing that the eigenfrequency bifurcation around the EPD is described by the relevant Puiseux (fractional power) series expansion. We also investigate the effect of small losses in the system and show that they can lead to instability. The proposed scheme can pave the way for a new generation of high-sensitive sensors to measure small variations of physical or chemical quantities.
Fracture and fatigue of thin crystalline SrTiO3 membranes

The increasing availability of a variety of two-dimensional materials has generated enormous growth in the field of nanoengineering and nanomechanics. Recent developments in thin film synthesis have enabled the fabrication of freestanding functional oxide membranes that can be readily incorporated in nanomechanical devices. While many oxides are extremely brittle in bulk, recent studies have shown that, in thin membrane form, they can be much more robust to fracture as compared to their bulk counterparts. Here, we investigate the ultimate tensile strength of SrTiO3 membranes by probing freestanding SrTiO3 drumheads using an atomic force microscope. We demonstrate that SrTiO3 membranes can withstand an elastic deformation with an average strain of ∼6% in the sub-20 nm thickness regime, which is more than an order of magnitude beyond the bulk limit. We also show that these membranes are highly resilient upon a high cycle fatigue test, surviving up to a billion cycles of force modulation at 85% of their fracture strain, demonstrating their high potential for use in nanomechanical applications.
Phase Stability and Microstructural Evolution in Neutron-irradiated Ferritic-martensitic Steel HT9

Abstract Ferritic Martensitic (F/M) steel HT9 specimens were irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor up to 4.16 dpa in three temperature ranges (roughly from 300 to 600 °C). The post-irradiation microstructure, including dislocation structure, precipitation and radiation-induced segregation (RIS) was characterized using analytical scanning / transmission electron microscopy (S/TEM), and atom probe tomography (APT). Irradiation hardening was measured using nanoindentation. The results reveal a distinctive pattern of dislocation and precipitate evolution at high temperature, around 600 °C, where various defects and precipitates formed in the low dose regime followed by a recovering process with increasing dose. Dislocation loops formed in all temperature ranges, and the growth of dislocation loops is unconstrained above certain critical temperature, contributing to the increasing dislocation density even prior to doses of 0.5 dpa at 600 °C. Ni/Mn/Si clusters were identified in all temperature ranges and the compositions of these clusters converged to G phase stoichiometrically. Significant coarsening of G phase particles was observed at 600 °C, accompanied by the formation of G phase on grain boundaries. α’ precipitates were only found in the medium and low temperature ranges (below 500 °C). The number density and volume fraction were higher in the low temperature specimens, while larger particles were observed in the medium temperature range. RIS of Cr, Ni, Mn, Si, P was identified at dislocation lines, grain boundaries and phase boundaries, and the temperature dependence is consistent with previous studies. The RIS of Cr to the existing VN particles was confirmed by APT and may accelerate the transition of VN to Cr-rich nitrides. The irradiation hardening contribution from dislocation loops, dislocation lines, G phase and α’ phase was parsed based on a linear dispersed barrier hardening model. The results suggest that most irradiation hardening at high temperature is due to increasing dislocation density with dose.
Hiring CS Graduates: What We Learned from Employers

Computer science (CS) majors are in high demand and account for a large part of national computer and information technology job market applicants. Employment in this sector is projected to grow 12...
Class Size Matters: Impact of Class Size on Differentiating Instruction In High School Physical Education

Physical education has evolved from playing recreational games to an environment focused on learning through movement. In 2005 the State of California adopted California Physical Education Content Standards, creating a rigorous academic experience, including physical, cognitive, and psychological standards. Class size has an effect on differentiating instruction to meet the needs of all students. The purpose of the study is to examine the effects of class size on differentiating instruction and reaching all students. The literature reveals although small class size is recommended, it is not a reality in physical education. The study is qualitative in design involving a purposive sample of physical education teachers employed in a local suburban high school in Northern California’s San Francisco Bay Area. Their teaching experience spans from two to over twenty years. Findings show common themes of challenges physical education teachers face impacting the quality of instruction, preventing differentiated opportunities for diverse student population. Common themes include issues around teacher ability to deliver quality instruction, student engagement, providing timely, positive feedback to students, large class behavior management, assessment, and providing a variety of teaching styles.
Silicification and biosilicification. Part 1. Formation of silica structures utilizing a cationically charged synthetic polymer at neutral pH and under ambient conditions

The formation of uniquely synthesized well-structured nanometer and micrometer sized silica spheres utilizing a cationically charged synthetic polymer at neutral pH and under ambient conditions is reported. The products were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier Transform Infra Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). Evidence was found that the final silica structures incorporated the polyallylamine hydrochloride (PAH), the cationically charged synthetic polymer used here. It is proposed that PAH facilitates the formation of silica structures by a similar mechanism to that described previously in the literature for the formation of silica by the silicatein proteins.
Choice and the initial delay to a reinforcer

Pigeons were trained in two experiments that used the concurrent-chains proce-dure. These experiments sought to identify the variables controlling the prefer-ence of pigeons for a constant duration over a variable duration of exposure to an aperiodic, time-based, terminal-link schedule. The results indicated that two variables correlated with the constant-duration terminal link combined to con-trol preference: (a) a shorter initial delay to a rein forcer; and (b) the probabilistic occurrence of multiple rein forcers.
Serum interleukin-3 levels following autologous or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation: effects of T-cell depletion, blood stem cell infusion, and hematopoietic growth factor treatment.

Engraftment of marrow following autologous or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) may be influenced by quantity and function of stem cells. T lymphocytes, supporting microenvironmental cells, and hematopoietic growth factors (HGF). To elucidate the physiologic role of interleukin-3 (IL-3) in the engraftment process, serum IL-3 levels were measured in over 400 samples from 77 transplant recipients before and for up to 3 weeks following transplantation using a novel enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) with a sensitivity of > or = 78 pg/mL. Thirty-seven patients received two to three log T-cell-depleted allografts. In the remaining 40 patients (18 autologous marrow, 12 allogeneic marrow, and 10 autologous peripheral blood [PB] stem cell), T cells were not depleted (non-TCD) from the grafts. A burst of IL-3 (peak levels, 1,500 to 6,000 pg/mL) was detected in the immediate posttransplant period between day 0 and day 14 in all non-TCD recipients and in 21 of 37 (57%) of TCD recipients. A strong inverse relationship between IL-3 levels and absolute neutrophil count (ANC) was observed in both non-TCD recipients (r = -.796) and in TCD recipients (r = -.897). However, both peak IL-3 levels and mean IL-3 levels from day 0 through 14 were significantly lower in TCD recipients compared with either autologous or unmodified allogeneic marrow recipients (P < .01). The lowest peak or mean day 0 through 14 IL-3 levels were observed in matched related recipients undergoing the most aggressive (2.5 to 3.0 log) T-cell-depleted BMT. Autografted patients receiving blood stem cell transplants alone or posttransplant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) or granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) also had significantly lower peak IL-3 levels (P < .01). In patients receiving TCD grafts, administration of antithymocyte globulin (ATG) posttransplant significantly increased peak IL-3 levels compared with patients not treated with ATG (P < .04). This study shows that endogenous release of IL-3 is strongly associated with myeloid engraftment and inversely related to ANC. Removal of T lymphocytes from donor marrow or acceleration of engraftment by use of stem cells or growth factors appears to blunt the endogenous release of IL-3 whereas use of ATG posttransplant increases IL-3 release.
Internal Effects of Stakeholder Management Devices

Stakeholder management devices (SMDs) are the mechanisms through which organizations respond to stakeholder concerns. Given that SMDs serve as organizational control systems for employees and managers, this research investigates the internal rather than the external effects of a firm's SMDs. Unlike most previous research, I examined the effects of these formal structures, processes, and procedures in the aggregate, rather than focusing attention on a single type of device. The study investigates the effects of a firm's stakeholder management devices, in the aggregate, on three factors that influence individual behavior in organizations: expectations, attitudes, and perceived organizational climates. Respondents were managers in 112 for-profit businesses located throughout the United States. Results suggest that a firm's stakeholder management devices affect the perceived moral climates in the firm, and affect managers' expectations about the consequences of good corporate social performance, but do not affect organization members' attitudes about corporate social responsibility.
Down's syndrome, complete atrioventricular canal, and pulmonary vascular obstructive disease.

We reviewed our experience over a 10-year period to determine whether children with Down’s syndrome and complete atrioventricular canal develop pulmonary vascular obstructive disease earlier than children with normal chromosomes and this defect. Comparisons were made between Down’s syndrome and normal chromosome children regarding (1) pulmonary blood flow and pulmonary vascular resistance at initial catheterization, (2) operability as related to elevation in pulmonary vascular resistance, and (3) age at diagnosis of fixed pulmonary vascular obstructive disease. The 45 patients with Down’s syndrome catheterized under 1 year of age had a lower mean pulmonary blood flow (3.2 versus 5.7; p = 0.0001) and higher mean pulmonary vascular resistance (8.3 versus 4.6 Wood units · m2; p = 0.0003) than their 34 normal chromosome counterparts. When all ages were included, 38 of 81 (47 %) of the children with Down’s syndrome and 32 of 40 (80 %) of the normal children were considered operable. Non-Down’s syndrome patients who had operations had a higher pulmonary blood flow (5.8 versus 3.3; p = 0.004) and lower pulmonary vascular resistance (3.6 versus 6.0 Wood units · m2; p = 0.005) than Down’s syndrome patients. Of the 34 patients who did not have operations because of pulmonary vascular obstructive disease, 31 had Down’s syndrome. In 10 of 81 children with Down’s syndrome, fixed pulmonary vascular obstructive disease was diagnosed before the age of 1 year, while this was found in none of 40 normal children. Our data demonstrate that Down’s syndrome patients with complete atrioventricular canal have a greater degree of elevation of pulmonary vascular resistance in the first year of life and more rapid progression to fixed pulmonary vascular obstructive disease than children with normal chromosomes.
Dwarf Galaxies, Voids, and the Topology of the Universe

Are we having a “biased” view of the universe because we have not surveyed the sky to a faint enough surface brightness level? Are the voids seen in the bright galaxy distribution filled with dwarf galaxies? In order to provide an answer to these questions, I have undertaken, in collaboration with S. E. Schneider, a 21-cm redshift survey of all galaxies classified by Nilson (1973) in the Uppsala General Catalog (UGC) as dwarf, magellanic irregular, or irregular galaxies, 1849 galaxies out of a total of ∼13000 galaxies of all morphological types in the UGC. The redshift survey thus defined avoids the selection effect against dwarf galaxies present in previous redshift surveys: the UGC is a diameter-limited catalog (it lists all galaxies with a blue diameter larger than 1 arc-minute visible on the Palomar Sky Survey Prints and north of δ = −2°30′) and thus does not discriminate against faint, low surface brightness dwarf galaxies, as is the case for magnitude-limited redshift surveys, such as the Center for Astrophysics (CfA) survey (de Lapparent et al. 1986).
X-ray Microbeam Investigation of Deformation Microstructure in Microindented Cu

The deformation microstructure under spherical microindents in single crystal Cu has been investigated with submicron spatial resolution using x-ray structural microscopy. A polychromatic, submicron diameter (∼ 0.5 μm) microbeam was used in combination with micronresolution depth profiling to make direct, nondestructive measurements of plastic deformation induced lattice rotations under an indent made with a 69 μm radius spherical indenter and 200 mN maximum load. Lattice orientations relative to the undeformed crystal were determined as a function of position under the indent using differential-aperture x-ray structural microscopy (DAXM). Rotation-axes and misorientation-angles were determined for micron steps along selected microbeam penetration directions.
Implementation of Competitive Food and Beverage Standards in a Sample of Massachusetts Schools: The NOURISH Study (Nutrition Opportunities to Understand Reforms Involving Student Health).

Abstract Background During 2012, Massachusetts adopted comprehensive school competitive food and beverage standards that closely align with Institute of Medicine recommendations and Smart Snacks in School national standards. Objective We examined the extent to which a sample of Massachusetts middle schools and high schools sold foods and beverages that were compliant with the state competitive food and beverage standards after the first year of implementation, and complied with four additional aspects of the regulations. Design Observational cohort study with data collected before implementation (Spring 2012) and 1 year after implementation (Spring 2013). Participants/setting School districts (N=37) with at least one middle school and one high school participated. Main outcome measures Percent of competitive foods and beverages that were compliant with Massachusetts standards and compliance with four additional aspects of the regulations. Data were collected via school site visits and a foodservice director questionnaire. Statistical analyses performed Multilevel models were used to examine change in food and beverage compliance over time. Results More products were available in high schools than middle schools at both time points. The number of competitive beverages and several categories of competitive food products sold in the sample of Massachusetts schools decreased following the implementation of the standards. Multilevel models demonstrated a 47-percentage-point increase in food and 46-percentage-point increase in beverage compliance in Massachusetts schools from 2012 to 2013. Overall, total compliance was higher for beverages than foods. Conclusions This study of a group of Massachusetts schools demonstrated the feasibility of schools making substantial changes in response to requirements for healthier competitive foods, even in the first year of implementation.
Lutherans in Public—Four Lively Options

: The basic question regarding faith and the public square is not whether religion should become public. Rather, we should ask: how ought religion to become public? This article reviews four models: (1) the ethics of character, according to which ethically formed individuals exert indirect and unintentional influence on the public square; (2) the ethics of conscience with its indirect and intentional influence: (3) the church as social conscience with direct and intentional influence; and (4) the church with power exerting direct and intentional action. Generally, it is best for Lutherans to let direct action be carried on by the laity according to the first two models; yet, when rare yet extraordinary circumstances call for it, the church as an institution may resort to models three and four and take direct action.
Virtual machine migration over optical circuit switching network in a converged inter/intra data center architecture

We present a novel converged inter/intra data center architecture using optical-circuit-switching over metro-scale distances. A Software Defined Network (SDN) control-plane provides connectivity between the application and data-plane layers. Virtual-machine migration over 50km is experimentally demonstrated.
An I-V measurement method and its application for characterizing ferroelectric PZT thin films

Abstract A static I-V measurement method for ferroelectric thin films is developed to distinguish the leakage current from the switching current. The initial polarization state and the exponential decay behavior of the switching current are considered in this method. The feasibility of this I-V measurement method is investigated by examining fatigue effects on sol-gel derived PZT thin films. Changes in polarization due to fatigue are correlated with the changes in the switching current and the leakage current.
Adjunctive Therapies in the Treatment of Acute Coronary Syndromes

Survival after myocardial infarction has been improving steadily in recent decades, in part because of more effective adjunctive medical therapies. However, the issue of underutilization of effective medical therapies remains. Adjunctive therapy for acute myocardial infarction should include aspirin, β-adrenergic blocking agents, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and lipid-lowering agents, all of which improve survival in the treatment and secondary prevention of myocardial infarction. This review presents the current knowledge supporting the use of specific adjunctive pharmacologic agents and also discusses the current status of other agents that are emerging or controversial.
Instructional Leadership at the Crossroads: Unintended Outcomes of Current Reading Policies.

Today's instructional leaders face disparate accountabilities. On the one hand, they are accountable for use of research on literacy education that has evolved to be understood as holistic literacy instruction based on an integrated use of semantic, syntactic, and phonemic strategies. On the other hand, leaders must meet requirements of current reading policies that appear to support more traditional ideology, such as direct systematic phonics instruction. This article draws on empirical research findings from a qualitative study of U.S. instructional leaders that examines the impact of current reading policies on instructional leaders’ beliefs and practices of effective literacy instruction. Findings from the study reveal several unintended outcomes of current reading policies, including diminished services for low-achieving students.
Implementation analysis: The case of accident compensation in New Zealand

Selected issues in the first implementation cycle of the New Zealand Accident Compensation program were studied according to the Sabotier and Mazmanian conceptual framework for analyzing the implementation of public policy. The application revealed both strengths and limitations in the framework's explanatory scope. It is argued that its limitations stemmed from the omission of the conceptual variables needed to analyze the organizational dynamics involved in the administration of a composite social program. The need for the inclusion of such variables is justified on the grounds that most public programs are composite and so their implementation is greatly influenced by the relative administrative emphasis on each activity. Variables that could be added to the framework to increase the scope of its explanatory power are suggested.
Antifungal drugs: predicting clinical efficacy with pharmacodynamics

Invasive fungal infections are on the rise, particularly in hospitalized patients and immunocompromised hosts. In recent years, several new antifungals have become available at a rapid pace. Data on pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics of the newer/older antifungal drugs are accumulating. As with bacterial infections and antibacterial drugs, predicting the clinical efficacy of antifungal drugs based on pharmacodynamic parameters is becoming feasible. For the echinocandin class, a ratio of 10 or more for peak concentration/minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) predicts efficacy against most Candida organisms. Increasing the currently used doses does not appear to improve efficacy. For the triazole class, a ratio of 25 or more for the pharmacodynamic parameter, AUC/MIC, predicts efficacy of the antifungal drugs against invasive Candida infections. More data are needed for invasive mold infections. The polyene class of drugs exhibit concentration-dependent activity; doses higher than those used conventionally ...
An explicit formulation approach for the analysis of calcium binding to EF-hand proteins using isothermal titration calorimetry.

We present an improved and extended version of a recently proposed mathematical approach for modeling isotherms of ligand-to-macromolecule binding from isothermal titration calorimetry. Our approach uses ordinary differential equations, solved implicitly and numerically as initial value problems, to provide a quantitative description of the fraction bound of each competing member of a complex mixture of macromolecules from the basis of general binding polynomials. This approach greatly simplifies the formulation of complex binding models. In addition to our generalized, model-free approach, we have introduced a mathematical treatment for the case where ligand is present before the onset of the titration, essential for data analysis when complete removal of the binding partner may disrupt the structural and functional characteristics of the macromolecule. Demonstration programs playable on a freely available software platform are provided. Our method is experimentally validated with classic calcium (Ca2+) ion-selective potentiometry and isotherms of Ca2+ binding to a mixture of chelators with and without residual ligand present in the reaction vessel. Finally, we simulate and compare experimental data fits for the binding isotherms of Ca2+ binding to its canonical binding site (EF-hand domain) of polycystin 2, a Ca2+-dependent channel with relevance to polycystic kidney disease.
Infusing social media with humanity: Corporate character, public engagement, and relational outcomes

Abstract This study links the factors central to social media communications, including perceived corporate character, parasocial interaction, and community identification, to public engagement and organization–public relationships. Based on American users’ engagement behaviors on corporate Facebook pages, the study underscores the effectiveness of a personification approach in social media communication to construct an agreeable corporate character for enhancing public engagement and inducing intimate, interpersonal interactions and community identification, which in turn improves organization–public relationships.
Physiological responding during self generated imagery of contextually complete stimuli.

This study analyzes autonomic responding during imagination of preselected stimulus material, and evaluates the relative importance of stimulus activity and valence on the resultant cardiac response. Thirty-two undergraduate female subjects were presented four stimulus sentences chosen to reflect extremes of the Semantic Differential Activity and Evaluation factors. Subjects were instructed to memorize and subsequently generate an image to these stimuli in a time-locked methodology. Phasic cardiac responding occurred during imagery, and the magnitude of the cardiac acceleration was most clearly dependent on the rated activity of the image stimulus. The valence of the stimulus (pleasant-unpleasant) appears important primarily in conjunction with low activity imagery stimuli. The results are also discussed in relation to the possible role of somatic mediation in imagery.
UNITED STATES UPPER STAGES FOR THE NEXT DECADE

Abstract United States (U.S.) upper stage development is approaching another crossroads. In the 1970 s the decision was made to fly all future payloads on the space shuttle. Work on high performance shuttle upper stages was halted after the Challenger accident, because of heightened safety concerns about liquid stages in the payload bay. The centaur G′ was ultimately developed as the centaur upper stage for use with the Titan IV launch system. In the last two decades upper stage development decisions and requirements were driven by increased payload performance demands. As we look forward to the next decade it is apparent that the situation has changed. Significant effort is underway to downsize payloads. The best mission model projections indicate that the payload performance demands have reached a maximum with current or near-term missions, and that maximum weight requirements will generally decrease in the near future. Thus the current fleet of launch systems and upper stages are expected to be able to meet all projected performance requirements through the next one to two decades. The impetus for development of a new upper stage will have to come from somewhere other than increased performance requirements. A driving need for a new upper stage is emerging from the concept and technology development work currently underway in the U.S. on the evolved expendable vehicle (EELV) and reusable launch vehicles (RLVs). The key EELV upper stage requirements are cost, operability and reliability. Clearly the EELV presents a performance challenge for a single upper stage to operate with a booster family over the complete mission model payload weight and destination range. The design requirements and trade-off considerations are quite different for a stage to operate with an RLV. In this case, manned safety and payload bay packaging become significant additional considerations which must be addressed, and reusability, with or without space basing, is an option. This paper covers the need and prospects of U.S. upper stages for the next decade by tracing the history of development and planned improvements, and identifying new requirements and challenges expected to be imposed by emerging EELV and RLV requirements. Trade-off factors, design considerations and sensitivities, as well as cost and reliability benchmarks, are highlighted through the use of representative design solutions.
Chemical Ablation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Chemical ablation with absolute ethanol is the most established technique of imaging-guided regional therapy for small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), with long-term survival rates that rival those of surgical resection. In this article, the authors review patient selection criteria, techniques (including the one-shot approach of ethanol ablation for HCCs larger than 3 cm), complications, follow-up, and outcomes. The use of agents other than ethanol and the combination of chemical ablation with chemoembolization is also discussed.
Developments in ghrelin biology and potential clinical relevance

The spiropiperidine, MK0677, has been exploited to characterize and expression clone the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHS-R). Cloning of this receptor led to identification of its natural ligands, ghrelin and adenosine. Targeted disruption of the Ghsr gene demonstrated unambiguously that the GH-releasing and orexigenic properties of ghrelin are dependent on Ghsr expression and that the orexigenic signal is mediated through neuropeptide Y and agouti-related peptide neurons. This review summarizes new developments in our understanding of the physiological roles of ghrelin and its receptor (GHS-R). Recent discoveries of the effects of ghrelin on the thymus and proinflammatory and chemotactic cytokine pathways stimulate renewed interest in potential clinical applications, which include age-associated disorders, such as metabolic disease, sarcopenia, congestive heart failure, atherosclerosis and anorexia.
The life cycle stages of Eimeria bovis affected by the immune reaction in calves.

Summary Three experiments were conducted to determine whether schizonts of E. bovis are appreciably influenced by the immune reaction in calves. Each experiment involved two groups each of four to six calves. Each calf in one group was given an immunizing inoculation of 60,000 to 100,000 oocysts, and after 30 to 35 days each calf in both groups was given a challenging inoculation of 800,000 to 5 million oocysts. One calf in each group was killed on successive days beginning 15 to 17 days after the second inoculation. Numbers of schizonts in the small intestine were estimated by examination with a dissecting microscope and frequency of sexual stages in the cecum and colon was observed in sections. No consistent difference was found in concentration, estimated total number, or size of schizonts in the two groups, although non-immunized calves had a much higher frequency of sexual stages. The results indicate that the schizonts and preceding stages are not appreciably influenced by the immune reaction, so that immunity must chiefly affect the merozoites or sexual stages.
Aerothermodynamic measurement and prediction for a modified orbiter at Mach 6 and 10 in air

Detailed heat-transfer rate distributions measured laterally over the windward surface of an orbiter-like configuration using thin-film resistance heat-transfer gauges and globally using the newly developed relative intensity, two-color thermographic phosphor technique are presented for Mach 6 and 10 in air. The angle of attack was varied from 0 to 40 deg, and the freestream Reynolds number based on the model length was varied from 4 x 10(exp 5) to 6 x 10(exp 6) at Mach 6, corresponding to laminar, transitional, and turbulent boundary layers; the Reynolds number at Mach 10 was 4 x 10(exp 5), corresponding to laminar flow. The primary objective of the present study was to provide detailed benchmark heat-transfer data for the calibration of computational fluid-dynamics codes. Predictions from a Navier-Stokes solver referred to as the Langley aerothermodynamic upwind relaxation algorithm and an approximate boundary-layer solving method known as the axisymmetric analog three-dimensional boundary layer code are compared with measurement. In general, predicted laminar heat-transfer rates are in good agreement with measurements.
An investigation of a personal norm of condom-use responsibility among African American crack cocaine smokers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the unique contribution of a personal norm of condom-use responsibility to the formation of intentions to use male condoms during vaginal sex. Data were collected from 402 male and 157 female heterosexual African American crack cocaine smokers in Houston, Texas, US. Two structural equation models of the intention to use a condom with the last sex partner were estimated. One model included measures of condom-use attitudes, subjective norms and condom-use self-efficacy. A second model included these three measures and a fourth measure of a personal norm of condom-use responsibility. Separate models were estimated for men and women. The addition of a personal norm of condom-use responsibility provided a significantly better fit to the data than did models including only outcome expectations, subjective norms and self-efficacy. Results also showed distinctly different underlying cognitive structures of condom-use intention for men and women. A personal norm of condom-use responsibility had a strong direct effect on men's intentions to use condoms with the last sex partner. Other variables appeared to have no direct effect on men's intentions. Women's intentions were strongly influenced by a personal norm and social subjective norms. Situational self-efficacy and outcome expectations had weaker, yet significant, effects on women's intentions. Given the strong effect of personal norms on men's intentions to use condoms, further research should be undertaken.
Molecular and epidemiologic predictors of Staphylococcus aureus colonization site in a population with limited nosocomial exposure.

Background The anterior naris has been considered the most consistent location of asymptomatic Staphylococcus aureus colonization. However, recent studies have shown that a substantial number of individuals, ranging from 7% to 32% of colonized individuals, are exclusive throat carriers. Most of these studies have been carried out in a health care setting, limiting their generalizability to nonhospitalized populations. Methods To evaluate anatomic carriage sites of S aureus in individuals outside of a health care setting, we combined the results of 2 cross-sectional studies conducted in Iowa. Results S aureus was carried by 103 of 340 individuals (30.3%), including 31 (30.1%) exclusive throat carriers, 44 (42.7%) exclusive nose carriers, and 28 (27.2%) colonized in both sites. Nonwhite race (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 4.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.26-18.3) and younger age (≥30 years: OR, 0.23; 95% CI, 0.10-0.54) were associated with increased odds of exclusive throat carriage, whereas nonwhite race (OR, 5.14; 95% CI, 1.62-16.3) and spring or summer sampling season (OR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.32-5.18) were associated with increased odds of exclusive nasal carriage. Conclusions These findings suggest that including a throat swab in addition to a nasal swab could play an important role in the success of surveillance programs, particularly among younger adults.
The microstructure of extruded ingots of Ni3Al containing boron

Abstract An investigation of the microstructure of extruded ingots of Ni3Al containing boron (0.05, 0.09, 0.19, 0.37, 0.75, and 1.12 at.%) has been performed. The material had a nonuniform grain size and was heavily flawed (cracks, porosity). Porosity is attributed to localized melting as observed from the presence of a nodular structure within pores, while cracks are most likely due to the lack of plastic flow during the extrusion. In some alloys, after the second extrusion, a bimodal grain size was observed, which was probably caused by differing amounts of plastic strain during the extrusion.