cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A phase I and pharmacokinetic study of sunitinib administered daily for 2 weeks, followed by a 1-week off period.

Sunitinib, an oral multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor that inhibits VEGFR, PDGFR, FLT3, KIT, and RET, is currently approved for the treatment of imatinib-refractory GIST and advanced renal cell carcinoma at a dose of 50 mg daily for 4 weeks followed by a 2-week off period (4/2 schedule). This trial was performed to investigate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of sunitinib 50 mg daily for 2 weeks followed by a 1-week off period (2/1 schedule). Twelve patients with advanced refractory malignancies were treated with sunitinib on the 2/1 schedule. Intensive safety monitoring included serial measurements of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Extensive pharmacokinetic sampling was performed on days 1 and 14 of course 1, and on day 14 of courses 2 and 3 to evaluate sunitinib and the SU12662 metabolite. Twelve patients received a total of 50 courses with an average (±SD) off-drug period of 11.5 ± 5.7 days. Two patients experienced DLT: one patient had asymptomatic grade 4 elevations in lipase and amylase, and another patient had an asymptomatic grade 2 decline in LVEF in course 1. In total, five patients demonstrated asymptomatic grade 2 declines in LVEF. Other principal effects were similar to previous experience with sunitinib, including fatigue, myelosuppression, skin discoloration, and gastrointestinal effects. Pharmacokinetic studies revealed no significant accumulation of sunitinib or SU12662. One patient with papillary thyroid cancer developed a partial response, and was on study for 16 courses, followed by an additional 18 courses on a continuation protocol. The 2/1 schedule of sunitinib 50 mg was tolerable, and no significant drug accumulation was demonstrated. The safety profile on this schedule was consistent with the safety profile of sunitinib when administered on a 4-week on, 2-week off schedule.
Ebola Virus Glycoproteins Induce Global Surface Protein Down-Modulation and Loss of Cell Adherence

The Ebola virus envelope glycoprotein (GP) derived from the pathogenic Zaire subtype mediates cell rounding and detachment from the extracellular matrix in 293T cells. In this study we provide evidence that GPs from the other pathogenic subtypes, Sudan and Cote d'Ivoire, as well as from Reston, a strain thought to be nonpathogenic in humans, also induced cell rounding, albeit at lower levels than Zaire GP. Sequential removal of regions of potential O-linked glycosylation at the C terminus of GP1 led to a step-wise reduction in cell detachment without obviously affecting GP function, suggesting that such modifications are involved in inducing the detachment phenotype. While causing cell rounding and detachment in 293T cells, Ebola virus GP did not cause an increase in cell death. Indeed, following transient expression of GP, cells were able to readhere and continue to divide. Also, the rounding effect was not limited to 293T cells. Replication-deficient adenovirus vectors expressing Ebola virus GP induced the loss of cell adhesion in a range of cell lines and primary cell types, including those with proposed relevance to Ebola virus infection in vivo, such as endothelial cells and macrophages. In both transfected 293T and adenovirus-infected Vero cells, a reduction in cell surface expression of adhesion molecules such as integrin β1 concurrent with the loss of cell adhesion was observed. A number of other cell surface molecules, however, including major histocompatibility complex class I and the epidermal growth factor receptor, were also down-modulated, suggesting a global mechanism for surface molecule down-regulation.
Role of enhanced Na+ entry in the control of Na,K-ATPase gene expression by serum

The role of enhanced Na+ entry in the induction of Na,K-ATPase subunit mRNAs by serum was investigated in a “nontransformed” rat liver cell line, Clone 9. Exposure of cells to 10% calf serum resulted in a 1.5-fold increase in the rate of Na+ entry associated with a transient rise in cell Na+ content (twofold at 15 min) and a sustained 1.15-fold rise in cell K+ content. After 6 hr of exposure to serum mRNAα1 and mRNAβ1 content increased by 1.8 and 2.6-fold, respectively. In nuclear run-on assays, serum stimulated the transcription of the α1 gene ∼ 1.9-fold while the transcription rate of the β1 gene remained unchanged. In cells incubated in Na+-free medium where NaCl was replaced by choline chloride, the induction of mRNAα1 by serum was fully preserved, whereas the increase in mRNAβ1 was prevented. An unexpected finding was that incubation of cells in Na+-free medium alone for 6 hr increased mRNAα1 but not mRNAβ1 content. These results indicate that Na,K-ATPase subunit mRNAs are differentially induced by serum, and that the induction of mRNAα1, in contrast to that of mRNAβ1, is transcriptionally mediated and does not require the presence of Na+ in the extracellular medium.
Cultural studies and/in new worlds 1

This paper considers the impact on cultural studies of its increasing internationalization. It argues for a conception of cultural studies which will enable it to escape from the consequences of its links with “modern” forms of power. It proposes a spatial and machinic model of power and attempts to rethink the meaning and place of identity within the contemporary politics of culture.
Design of optimal probing signals for vector parameter estimation

In the design of optimal estimators it is common to consider some function of the error covariance matrix, usually the trace, as a criterion of optimality. In the design of optimal inputs, or probing signals, for parameter estimation it is more natural to consider functions of the Fisher information matrix instead. The input which maximizes the Fisher information measure for efficient estimation of a scalar parameter also provides the minimum error variance. The information is thus a logical choice for the optimality criterion in scalar problems. No such obvious choice is apparent for vector parameter estimation, however. In this paper we examine and compare a number of performance measures and select a useful criterion. The design of an optimal probing signal using this criterion is shown to be equivalent to an optimal control problem in which certain equality constraints must be satisfied. This problem may be solved by conventional techniques of deterministic or stochastic optimal control.
The impact of supraphysiologic serum estradiol levels on peri-implantation embryo development and early pregnancy outcome following in vitro fertilization cycles.

To determine the impact of elevated serum estradiol levels (EE2-defined as levels > 90th percentile) on the day of hCG administration during IVF on oocyte fertilization, embryo development, implantation, clinical pregnancy and miscarriage rates. A total of 2,995 consecutive IVF cycles in 1,889 patients with non-donor oocyte retrieval resulting in fresh embryo transfer between 1/1/2005 and 12/31/2011 were analyzed. Cycles were stratified by serum E2 level on the day of hCG administration into those with levels >90th percentile and ≤ 90th percentile. Rates of normal fertilization, embryo development, positive pregnancy test, implantation, clinical pregnancy and spontaneous miscarriage were compared. Serum estradiol above the 90th percentile on the day of hCG administration was associated with a significantly lower rate of normal fertilization (68.6 ± 20 vs. 71.6 ± 21, p = 0.02) when compared with patients with a lower serum estradiol threshold. The proportion of embryos that progressed from 2PN to 6–8 cell on day 3 was not different between the two groups. Although rates of positive pregnancy test (55.2 % vs. 57 %), implantation (26.4 % vs. 28.5 %) and clinical pregnancy (45.5 % vs. 49.4 %) were lower in patients with a higher estradiol threshold, these differences were not statistically significant. Similarly, there was no difference in the spontaneous miscarriage rates between the two groups (8.4 % vs. 7.1 %). Serum estradiol levels above the 90th percentile on the day of hCG administration is associated with lower oocyte fertilization rate; however, such levels do not impact embryo development, implantation, clinical pregnancy or spontaneous miscarriage rates.
Subspace in Linear Algebra: Investigating Students' Concept Images and Interactions with the Formal Definition.

This paper reports on a study investigating students’ ways of conceptualizing key ideas in linear algebra, with the particular results presented here focusing on student interactions with the notion of subspace. In interviews conducted with eight undergraduates, we found students’ initial descriptions of subspace often varied substantially from the language of the concept’s formal definition, which is very algebraic in nature. This is consistent with literature in other mathematical content domains that indicates that a learner’s primary understanding of a concept is not necessarily informed by that concept’s formal definition. We used the analytical tools of concept image and concept definition of Tall and Vinner (Educational Studies in Mathematics, 12(2):151–169, 1981) in order to highlight this distinction in student responses. Through grounded analysis, we identified recurring concept imagery that students provided for subspace, namely, geometric object, part of whole, and algebraic object. We also present results regarding the coordination between students’ concept image and how they interpret the formal definition, situations in which students recognized a need for the formal definition, and qualities of subspace that students noted were consequences of the formal definition. Furthermore, we found that all students interviewed expressed, to some extent, the technically inaccurate “nested subspace” conception that Rk is a subspace of Rn for k < n. We conclude with a discussion of this and how it may be leveraged to inform teaching in a productive, student-centered manner.
Alteration of ganglioside composition by stable transfection with antisense vectors against GD3-synthase gene expression

Gangliosides are ubiquitous components of mammalian cells. Their expression is frequently altered in many tumor types. We previously showed that alteration of the ganglioside composition often resulted in changes in cellular morphology and differentiation of cultured cells. In this study, we targeted sialyltransferase gene expression by the antisense knockdown experiment, and the results showed that inhibition of the expression of gangliosides GD3 and O-acetylated GD3 (OAc-GD3) in the neuroblastoma F-11 cells greatly reduced the tumor growth in nude mice. The sense and antisense vectors containing either a 5‘ end fragment or the entire sequence of the cDNA coding for GD3-synthase were prepared and used in separate experiments to transfect the F-11 cells which express high levels of gangliosides GD3 and OAc-GD3. Single clones were isolated and expanded. Both the activity of the GD3-synthase and the concentrations of GD3 and OAc-GD3 in the antisense-transfected cells were dramatically decreased as a result ...
Endoscopic correction of primary vesicoureteric reflux by subureteric Teflon injection (STING): follow-up study in 123 patients

During a 4-year period 123 children (191 ureters) with primary vesicoureteric reflux (VUR) were treated endoscopically by subureteric Teflon injection (STING). They have now been followed up for periods ranging from 2 to 6 years. Sixty per cent of the ureters had grade III VUR and 36% had either grade IV or grade V. Reflux was corrected in 149 (78%) ureters after a single injection of polytef paste; 11 (6%) ureters showed improvement to grade I or II reflux after one injection and no further treatment was given; 24 (12%) ureters required two injections and 7 (4%) needed three to four subureteric injections for the correction of VUR. Of the 123 patients, 116 were discharged from the hospital on the day of the procedure. Of the 149 ureters corrected with one subureteric injection, 83% required less than 0.3 ml paste per ureter to stop reflux. At follow-up micturating cystography 91% of the ureters continue to show absence of reflux 2 to 6 years after endoscopic correction; 9% had recurrence of reflux, but more than one-half of the recurrences were only of grade I or grade II severity and required no further treatment. Seven ureters had recurrent grade III or IV reflux and were reinjected without any difficulty. There was no evidence of delayed appearance of vesicoureteric obstruction. Treatment of primary VUR by endoscopic subureteric injection of polytef paste was found simple, safe, and effective in correcting all grades of VUR.
Combining Targeted Agents: Blocking the Epidermal Growth Factor and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Pathways

Bevacizumab is a recombinant, humanized monoclonal antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor. Erlotinib HCl is a reversible, highly selective epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Additionally, both agents have shown benefit in patients with previously treated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Preclinical data in xenograft models produced greater growth inhibition with the combination than with either agent alone. A phase I/II study in two centers examined combined erlotinib and bevacizumab treatment in patients with nonsquamous stage IIIB/IV NSCLC with one or more prior chemotherapy. In phase I, 150 mg/d erlotinib orally plus 15 mg/kg bevacizumab i.v. every 21 days was established as the phase II dose. A total of 40 patients were enrolled and treated in this study (34 patients at phase II dose): 21 were female, 30 had adenocarcinoma histology, 9 were never smokers, and 22 had two or more prior regimens. The most common adverse events were mild to moderate rash, diarrhea, and proteinuria. Preliminary data showed no pharmacokinetic interaction between erlotinib and bevacizumab. Eight patients (20.0%) had partial responses and 26 (65.0%) had stable disease as their best response. The median overall survival for the 34 patients treated at the phase II dose was 12.6 months, with progression-free survival of 6.2 months. Encouraging antitumor activity and safety of erlotinib plus bevacizumab support further development of this combination for patients with advanced NSCLC. A randomized phase II trial has been completed, and a phase III trial is ongoing.
Neonatal sciatic palsy after umbilical vessel injection

Summary A case of neontal sciatic palsy in association with signs of impairment of the circulation to the skin and subcutaneous tissue of the affected limb is reported. These findings can be explained by thrombosis of the superior or inferior gluteal artery as a result of injection of hypertonic glucose solution into the umbilical artery shortly after birth, similar to the cases first described by Mills in 1949. Previously reported cases are reviewed and the pathogenesis of the lesion is discussed.
The Rho-linked Mental Retardation Protein OPHN1 Controls Synaptic Vesicle Endocytosis Via Endophilin A1

Neurons transmit information at chemical synapses by releasing neurotransmitters that are stored in synaptic vesicles (SVs) at the presynaptic site. After release, these vesicles need to be efficiently retrieved in order to maintain synaptic transmission. In concurrence, malfunctions in SV recycling have been associated with cognitive disorders. Oligophrenin-1 (OPHN1) encodes a Rho-GTPase-activating protein (Rho-GAP) whose loss of function causes X-linked mental retardation. OPHN1 is highly expressed in the brain and present both pre- and postsynaptically in neurons. Previous studies report that postsynaptic OPHN1 is important for dendritic spine morphogenesis, but its function at the presynaptic site remains largely unexplored. Here, we present evidence that reduced or defective OPHN1 signaling impairs SV cycling at hippocampal synapses. In particular, we show that OPHN1 knockdown affects the kinetic efficiency of endocytosis. We further demonstrate that OPHN1 forms a complex with endophilin A1, a protein implicated in membrane curvature generation during SV endocytosis and, importantly, that OPHN1's interaction with endophilin A1 and its Rho-GAP activity are important for its function in SV endocytosis. Our findings suggest that defects in efficient SV retrieval may contribute to the pathogenesis of OPHN1-linked cognitive impairment.
The synthesis of benzo[c]cinnoline 5,6‐dioxides and related compounds

The preparation of a variety of benzo[c]cinnolines as well as benzo[c]cinnoline monoxides and dioxides by reduction of the corresponding 2,2-dinitrobiphenyls with hydrogen and Raney nickel of low activity is described. The detailed procedures developed produce superior yields of benzo[c]cinnoline monoxides and dioxides. The structure of some intensely-colored red-violet amino, alkylamino, and hydroxybenzo[c]cinnoline monoxides and dioxides is discussed and these are compared with the essentially colorless alkoxyl and acetylamino derivatives. The long wave length band in the U. V. spectrum of the colored compounds is compared.
Isolation and manipulation of living adherent cells by micromolded magnetic rafts

A new strategy for magnetically manipulating and isolating adherent cells with extremely high post-collection purity and viability is reported. Micromolded magnetic elements (termed microrafts) were fabricated in an array format and used as culture surfaces and carriers for living, adherent cells. A poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) polymer containing well dispersed magnetic nanoparticles was developed for creating the microstructures by molding. Nanoparticles of γFe2O3 at concentrations up to 1% wt./wt. could be used to fabricate microrafts that were optically transparent, highly magnetic, biocompatible, and minimally fluorescent. To prevent cellular uptake of nanoparticles from the magnetic polymer, a poly(styrene-co-acrylic acid) layer lacking γFe2O3 nanoparticles was placed over the initial magnetic microraft layer to prevent cellular uptake of the γFe2O3 during culture. The microraft surface geometry and physical properties were altered by varying the polymer concentration or layering different polymers ...
Microcontact and Macrocontact Angles and the Drop Stability on a Bare Surface

The microscopic approach of ref 1 regarding the shape and stability of a liquid drop on a bare solid surface is extended to include the structuring of the liquid near the solid surface. It is supposed that the liquid molecules near the solid form a monolayer, which is characterized by a surface number density and short- and long-range interactions with the solid. The rest of the drop is considered as a continuous medium with only long-range interactions with the solid. Two kinds of droplets, cylindrical (two-dimensional) and axisymmetrical (three-dimensional), were examined for two types of interaction potentials similar to the London-van der Waals and the Lennard-Jones ones. The microcontact angle, θ 0 , that the drop profile makes with the solid surface is dependent on the microscopic parameters of the model (strength of intermolecular interactions, densities of liquid and solid phases, hard core radius, etc.), whereas in the previous continuum picture of ref 1, it was constant and equal to 180°. All drop characteristics, such as stability, shape, and macroscopic contact angle, become functions of θ 0 and a certain parameter a dependent on the model interaction parameters. There are two domains in the plane θ 0 -a for the drop stability, separated by a critical curve. In the first domain, the drop can have any height, h m , at its apex and is always stable. In the second domain, h m is limited by a critical value, he, which depends on a and θ 0 , and drops with h m > he cannot exist. The drop shape depends on whether the point (θ 0 , a) on the θ 0 -a plane is far from the critical curve or near it. In the first case, the drop profile has a large circular part, while in the second case, the shape is almost planar. By extrapolating for sufficiently large drops the spherical part to the solid surface, one can obtain the macroscopic (apparent) contact angle, which is accessible experimentally. In the region near the solid surface, the tangent to the profile makes with the solid surface an angle that varies rapidly between the microcontact angle, θ 0 , and the macroscopic contact angle,θ m .
Unequivocal syntheses of 6-methyl-and 6-phenylisoxanthopterin

Although 6-methyl- (1) and 6-phenylisoxanthopterin (2) have previously been synthesized, the requirement of high purity necessary for immunological testing has necessitated our development of the first reported synthesis of these compounds by unequivocal methods. In the process of so doing four new pyrazines, ethyl 3-amino-5-chloro-6-methyl-2-pyrazinecarboxylate (11), N,N-dimethyl-N'-(6-chloro-3-cyano-5-phenylpyrazin-2-yl)methanimidamide (16), 2-amino-3-ethoxycarbonyl-5-phenylpyrazine 1-oxide (19), and ethyl 3-amino-5-chloro-6-phenyl-2-pyrazinecarboxylate (20) were synthesized. Four new pteridines, 7-methoxy-6-methyl-2,4-pteridinediamine (7), 7-methoxy-6-phenyl-2,4-pteridinediamine (17), 2-amino-7-ethoxy-6-methyl-4(3H)-pteridinone (12), and 2-amino-7-ethoxy-6-phenyl-4(3H)-pteridinone (21) have also been synthesized enroute to these isoxanthopterins.
Long-Range Spin-Spin Coupling in Bicyclo[3.1.0]hexane Systems

The NMR parameters of 3-bromo-bicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-4-one-1-carboxylic acid ethylene ketal and ethyl bicyclo[3.1.0]hex-2-ene-4-one-1-carboxylate have been recorded and the chemical shifts of all protons assigned. Both of these compounds show interesting cases of long-range spin-spin coupling.
Within-Person Analysis of Information Seeking: The Effects of Perceived Costs and Benefits

This study focused on how perceived costs and benefits affect information seeking across multiple types and sources of information. This focus required a within-person approach to data collection and analysis. Respondents were 282 early-career engineers. The results demonstrate that individuals selectively seek different types of information, and utilize different sources, based on assessments of corresponding costs and benefits. Results provide insight into individuals’ decisions about what information to seek and from whom, and highlight the value of studying within-person patterns of information seeking.
Group theory for the Jahn-Teller effect

Abstract After a review of Jahn's early work leading up to the statement of the Jahn-Teller effect, a survey is made of later developments, particularly the use of orthogonal Lie groups for octahedral systems.
Lipid participation in intracellular freezing avoidance mechanisms of lettuce seed.

Abstract Freeze-fracture electron microscopy was used to study water content related freezing resistance in Grand Rapids lettuce seeds. Consistent and recognizable conformational changes occurred in lipid-water phases of lettuce seeds at different moisture contents. In air-dry lettuce seed cotyledons, the lipids lying in spherical lipid bodies near the cell wall appeared amorphous, while the structure was crystalline above 20% water content. The lipid bodies interassociated into membrane bilayers in seeds containing 20 to 25% water. Such lyotropic phase transitions in membrane lipids during lettuce seed hydration are believed to contribute to the biphasic freezing behavior observed in lettuce seeds at different moisture contents and to provide a natural freezing tolerance mechanism for highly desiccated plant tissues such as seeds.
Monotonicity properties of comparative determiners

L'A. presente une generalisation de la notion standard de monotonicite a gauche (sur l'argument nominal d'un determinant) et de monotonicite a droite (sur l'argument verbal du determinant). Il examine ensuite les facteurs qui reduisent le potentiel inferentiel des determinants. Il analyse pour cela le comportement de differents types de determinants comparatifs
Genetic Epistemology and Piaget's Philosophy of Science: Piaget vs. Kuhn on Scientific Progress

This paper concerns Jean Piaget's (1896–1980) philosophy of science and, in particular, the picture of scientific development suggested by his theory of genetic epistemology. The aims of the paper are threefold: (1) to examine genetic epistemology as a theory concerning the growth of knowledge both in the individual and in science; (2) to explicate Piaget's view of ‘scientific progress’, which is grounded in his theory of equilibration; and (3) to juxtapose Piaget's notion of progress with Thomas Kuhn's (1922–1996). Issues of scientific continuity, scientific realism and scientific rationality are discussed. It is argued that Piaget's view highlights weaknesses in Kuhn's ‘discontinuous’ picture of scientific change.
Correlation between plasma osteopontin levels and aortic valve calcification: potential insights into the pathogenesis of aortic valve calcification and stenosis.

Objective The inflammatory process of aortic stenosis involves the differentiation of aortic valve myofibroblasts into osteoblasts. Osteopontin, a proinflammatory glycoprotein, both stimulates differentiation of myofibroblasts and regulates the deposition of calcium by osteoblasts. Osteopontin levels are increased in patients with such conditions as end-stage renal disease, ectopic calcification, and autoimmune disease. We hypothesized that increased plasma osteopontin levels might be associated with the presence of aortic valve calcification and stenosis. Methods Venous blood from volunteers older than 65 years undergoing routine echocardiographic analysis or aortic valve surgery for aortic stenosis was collected. Plasma osteopontin levels were measured by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The presence of aortic stenosis was defined as an aortic valve area of less than 2.0 cm 2 . Aortic valve calcification was assessed by using a validated echocardiographic grading system (1, none; 2, mild; 3, moderate; 4, severe). Comparisons were performed with nonpaired t tests. Results Aortic stenosis was present in 23 patients (mean age, 78 years) and was absent in 7 patients (mean age, 72 years). Aortic valve calcification scores were 3.5 ± 0.6 and 1.3 ± 0.5 in patients with and without aortic stenosis, respectively ( P P = .01). Similarly, patients with aortic stenosis had higher osteopontin levels compared with patients without aortic stenosis (652.2 ± 218.7 vs 379.7 ± 159.9 ng/mL, P Conclusion Increased levels of plasma osteopontin are associated with the presence of aortic valve calcification and stenosis. These findings suggest that osteopontin might play a functional role in the pathogenesis of calcific aortic stenosis.
Article reviewed: Sleep apnea and daytime sleepiness and fatigue: related to visceral obesity, insulin resistance, and hypercytokinemia.

After one screening night polysomnogram (PSG) all participants had a PSG for 4 consecutive nights (®rst night for adaptation). Air ow was measured using thermocouples at the nose and mouth. Blood samples to measure TNFa, IL-6, and leptin were obtained from all subjects for 3 consecutive days at 06:00±07:00 after the PSG and again at 19:00±20:00. Blood samples were also obtained in the same mornings for fasting glucose and insulin for both obese groups only. Computed tomographic (CT) scanning using axial 8-mm slices through mid-vertebral bodies (L1±L5) plus a 5th scan atop the femoral heads was used to measure total, s.c. and visceral fat. Sleep Medicine 1 (2000) 249±250
Using the Hospital Nutrition Environment Scan to Evaluate Health Initiative in Hospital Cafeterias

Abstract Background Health-promoting environments advance health and prevent chronic disease. Hospitals have been charged to promote health and wellness to patients, communities, and 5.3 million adults employed in United States health care environments. Methods In this cross-sectional observational study, the Hospital Nutrition Environment Scan (HNES) was used to measure the nutrition environment of hospital cafeterias and evaluate the influence of the LiVe Well Plate health initiative. Twenty-one hospitals in the Intermountain West region were surveyed between October 2013 and May 2014. Six hospitals participated in the LiVe Well Plate health initiative and were compared with 15 hospitals not participating. The LiVe Well Plate health initiative identified and promoted a healthy meal defined as Results Overall, hospitals scored 35.3±13.7 (range=7 to 63) points of 86 total possible points. Cafeterias in health initiative hospitals had significantly higher mean nutrition composite scores compared with non–health initiative hospitals (49.2 vs 29.7; P Conclusions Promoting healthy entrees with nutrition information and branding has a positive influence on the nutrition environment of hospital cafeterias. Additional research is needed to quantify and strategize ways to improve nutrition environments within hospital cafeterias and assess the influence on healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Answering visual questions with conversational crowd assistants

Blind people face a range of accessibility challenges in their everyday lives, from reading the text on a package of food to traveling independently in a new place. Answering general questions about one's visual surroundings remains well beyond the capabilities of fully automated systems, but recent systems are showing the potential of engaging on-demand human workers (the crowd) to answer visual questions. The input to such systems has generally been a single image, which can limit the interaction with a worker to one question; or video streams where systems have paired the end user with a single worker, limiting the benefits of the crowd. In this paper, we introduce Chorus:View, a system that assists users over the course of longer interactions by engaging workers in a continuous conversation with the user about a video stream from the user's mobile device. We demonstrate the benefit of using multiple crowd workers instead of just one in terms of both latency and accuracy, then conduct a study with 10 blind users that shows Chorus:View answers common visual questions more quickly and accurately than existing approaches. We conclude with a discussion of users' feedback and potential future work on interactive crowd support of blind users.
Madonna Swan: A Lakota Woman's Story

In Madonna Swan: A Lakota Woman's Story, Mark St. Pierre skillfully weaves together his interviews with Madonna Swan-Abdulla to capture the indomitable spirit of a Lakota woman as she celebrates the joys and endures the sufferings of her remarkable life on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.Born in 1928, Madonna Swan was winona - the first-born daughter-of Lucy High Pine and James Swan. She held a special place in an extended family of grandparents, parents, and ten brothers and sisters. For the Swans, as for other Lakota Sioux, life on the reservation in the first half of the twentieth century was appallingly difficult. In her narrative, Madonna details her life-her earliest childhood memories, the Lakota traditions taught by her grandparents, the daily struggle against poverty and prejudice, and her education at Stephan Mission, South Dakota. Stricken with dreaded tuberculosis at age sixteen, she survived nearly seven years in Sioux Sanitorium, a place where most other Sioux victims of TB quickly expired. Madonna's strength of spirit and determination to live carried her through the chanhu sica bad lungs-and into a new life, free of disease. She survived to marry, have a family, go to college, and teach in the reservation's Head Start program. A symbol of courage for all women, Indian and non-Indian alike, Madonna Swan-Abdulla was named North American Indian Woman of the Year in 1983. She still lives on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation, where her Lakota people honor her as matriarch.
An operational research programme for monitoring and evaluation

5.1. As indicated above, UNICEF in Sudan at present is really left with no option but to develop their own monitoring programmes to realistically assess the rewards, and possible problems of child survival strategies. Yet, as stated before, monitoring is the only manner in which the field efficiency and effectiveness of programmes can be assessed. Simple demographic surveys are one of the principal information sources on health statistics in developing countries. These surveys are conveniently organised to collect information on special groups at greatest health risks, such as mothers and children, and to gather valuable explanatory data on the economic and social factors affecting the health of the household members. Household surveys have an important role to play in monitoring and evaluating primary health care, since they sample directly the intended beneficiaries and thus can be used to judge the extent to which programmes are meeting their expected goals. Reporting forms currently in use in PHCP programmes need drastic simplification and revision to make them more relevant to policy and programme priorities. Attempts might also be made at micro-level participatory planning and monitoring with the participation of additional technical personnel. By closely monitoring the progress of projects and their effect on the situation of children and women in the project areas, it is hoped that the most effective and efficient models for integration of interventions for child survival and development will be developed. This paper has drawn attention to some future directions in making the best use of household surveys and health care utilization that can be collected through these surveys to periodically monitor programme implementation with the specific purpose of reducing costs, improving efficiency and accelerating implementation. Simultaneously with the surveys, there is a great need to develop comprehensive case studies to determine whether the programmes are achieving what they claim. Past experience has to be studied very carefully and thoroughly at all stages of the programming process to avoid duplication of activities and wrong decisions. One last comment: it is necessary to give more attention to observational feedback based on the situation of the areas and not to get too scientific. Sporadic trends and changes happening in the right direction are the first signs of behavioral changes, and these need to be vigorously pushed, promoted and disseminated. Otherwise there is no room for social marketing and scaling up.
QoS aware job scheduling in a cluster-based Web server for multimedia applications

We propose a cluster-based Web server where a few computing nodes are separately reserved for high-performance computing applications, such as multimedia, SSL, and CGI. As an example application, we consider a multimedia server that dynamically generates video units to satisfy the bit rate and bandwidth requirements of a variety of clients. To perform QoS aware scheduling of multiple multimedia jobs on the computing servers, a two-step algorithm is proposed. The first step is to fairly schedule multimedia streams to satisfy each stream's QoS requirement; and the second step is to balance the workload among heterogeneous computing nodes in the cluster. We propose a new quota-based adaptive coscheduling (QACS) algorithm that greatly reduces delay jitter by eliminating the out-of-order departure for outgoing streams, as well as achieves high throughput in a heterogeneous cluster. Experimental results show that the proposed scheduling technique gives adequate QoS guarantees to multiple streams.
Electrostatic fringe-field actuation for liquid-metal droplets

The paper reports an actuation mechanism for large displacement of liquid-metal (LM) droplets in air. The droplets are sandwiched between two substrates and are actuated by a fringe field based capacitive drive. In order to initiate motion, the driving force must overcome a critical force due to stiction. Electrowetting experiments showed significant variation from theory due to dielectric charging. A design modification to bias the LM droplet positively reduces charging effects and gives results in good agreement with theory. We demonstrated devices with actuation voltages of 80 V and actuation speed of more than 3.3 cm/s.
Development of Calibration Testing Protocol for Permanent Deformation Model of Asphalt Concrete

Recent permanent deformation modeling research at North Carolina State University has resulted in the shift model, which is capable of expressing the permanent strain growth of asphalt concrete as a function of deviatoric stress, load time, and temperature on the basis of the time-temperature superposition and time-stress superposition principles. This paper presents an efficient calibration test protocol for the shift model as well as verification of the model. The proposed test protocol is comprised of triaxial stress sweep (TSS) tests and a reference test. The TSS test is suggested to reduce the number of tests required by applying three deviatoric stresses within one test. Each TSS test was performed at three temperatures: high (TH), intermediate (TI), and low (TL). The reference test was a triaxial repeated load permanent deformation test conducted at TH only. The shift model was calibrated for the polymer-modified dense-graded NY9.5B mix, and the calibrated model was applied successfully to predict ...
Mystery Bug Theater

Introductory Computer Science students often encounter programming bugs. Our previous work gathers and classifies data for 450 programming bugs brought to our tutor lab over a one year period. We use the data to identify the most common bugs as the basis for activities that improve our curriculum. This paper discusses several activities that rely on this data: (1) the “Mystery Bug Theater” website contains games and movies about common bugs, (2) professors quickly respond to the common bugs in lectures, and (3) class exercises use buggy code from the repository. Future work will distribute software testing material across the curriculum to help students with the most common bugs in specific courses and will analyze whether bug patterns change based on curriculum changes.
The effect of prior experience on a prey’s current perceived risk

The prior experience of prey may influence how they assess the level of predation risk associated with an information source. Here, I present the results from a set of experiments that demonstrate how the prior experience of green frog (Rana clamitans) tadpoles can influence their risk assessment during exposure to the chemical cue of predatory larval dragonflies (Anax spp.) consuming conspecific tadpoles. At the short-term scale, green frog tadpoles perceived a higher level of risk when consecutive cue exposures overlapped, but only when the total chemical cue concentration was weak. Weaker chemical cue concentrations may be less reliable than stronger cue concentrations, and overlapping cue exposures may increase the degree of certainty that tadpoles have in their perceived risk. When consecutive cue exposures did not overlap, tadpoles assessed the risk associated with each cue exposure independently. Predator-conditioned tadpoles responded longer during exposure to the Anax chemical cue than nonconditioned tadpoles, which suggests that a tadpole’s long-term experience eventually does influence its risk assessment. In general, the results suggest that a prey’s prior experience may influence its current perceived risk by influencing either the degree of certainty in or the level of its perceived risk. Understanding how the prior experience of prey influences their current risk assessment requires that the rate of decay of the value of prior experience should be identified at two timescales as an indicator of the current level of predation risk.
Clinical potential of respirable antisense oligonucleotides (RASONs) in asthma.

The human genome project, as well as advances in our understanding of asthma susceptibility, are yielding novel candidate targets for disease intervention. The normalization of up-regulated gene expression may treat or improve the disease outcome. However, only some of these gene product targets may be ‘tractable’, i.e. amenable to blockade by small, orally active, organic molecules. The remainder have been termed ‘non-tractable’.
Managing Crisis Cities: The New Black Leadership and the Politics of Resource Allocation

During the past two decades, one of the most significant political and social changes has been the transfer of urban political leadership from aging ethnic-dominated political machines to coalitions led by blacks in cities such as Detroit, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Newark, and New Orleans. Bette Woody's analysis of modern urban government examines the political transformation of the 1970s and 1980s in the context of the failures of machine politics, traditional reforms, and racial policies of the prior two decades. Also discussed is the rise of neighborhood-based political coalitions to support black candidates, business elite support that these new leaders acquired, and the aggressive reform platforms they developed. In analyzing possibilities and strategies for current reform Woody focuses on five black mayors of big cities. A detailed case study of the success and failure of reform during Kenneth Gibson's administration in Newark reveals the importance of reorganizing city agencies and tax and budget structures in successful innovation.
CRITIQUE - OF “SOIL AND OTHER SOURCES OF NITROUS OXIDE”

ABSTRACT The following topics are discussed: sources of atmospheric N 2 0 (soils, oceans, combustion, lightning, etc.); sinks of atmospheric N 2 O (photolysis in the stratosphere, oceans, soils); estimates of sources and sinks of atmospheric N 2 O; factors affecting release of N 2 O from soils through denitrification of nitrate; production of N 2 O during nitrification in soils; factors affecting reduction of N 2 O to N 2 by soil microorganisms and the ability of soils to act as a sink for N 2 O; methods for N 2 O analysis of air and assessment of the flux of N 2 O between soils and the atmosphere; research needed for assessment of the relative importance of various sources and sinks of N 2 O and the effects of soil processes on the atmospheric concentration of this gas.
The near vacuum hohlraum campaign at the NIF: A new approach

The near vacuum campaign on the National Ignition Facility has concentrated its efforts over the last year on finding the optimum target geometry to drive a symmetric implosion at high convergence ratio (30×). As the hohlraum walls are not tamped with gas, the hohlraum is filling with gold plasma and the challenge resides in depositing enough energy in the hohlraum before it fills up. Hohlraum filling is believed to cause symmetry swings late in the pulse that are detrimental to the symmetry of the hot spot at high convergence. This paper describes a series of experiments carried out to examine the effect of increasing the distance between the hohlraum wall and the capsule (case to capsule ratio) on the symmetry of the hot spot. These experiments have shown that smaller Case to Capsule Ratio (CCR of 2.87 and 3.1) resulted in oblate implosions that could not be tuned round. Larger CCR (3.4) led to a prolate implosion at convergence 30× implying that inner beam propagation at large CCR is not impeded by the expanding hohlraum plasma. A Case to Capsule ratio of 3.4 is a promising geometry to design a round implosion but in a smaller hohlraum where the hohlraum losses are lower, enabling a wider cone fraction range to adjust symmetry.
Life History and Phenology of an Endophagous Stem-Mining Herbivore (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Hadroplontus litura) of a Clonal Weed

Herbivorous insects can be an important part of weed management, but it is necessary to understand the life history of the organisms involved and how they interact. This is especially pertinent when dealing with endophagous insects with restricted mobility. Hadroplontus litura F. is a stem-mining weevil that is considered a biological control agent of Canada thistle ( Cirsium arvense L.), a perennial weed that forms clonal networks. We investigated the biology of H. litura and its association with Canada thistle at six field sites along a latitudinal gradient over 2 yrs, including documenting immature phenology and feeding damage, quantifying immature life stages, and exploring relationships between weevils and shoot size as well as weevil density and feeding damage. Eggs were present until the beginning of June and third-instar larvae began to exit shoots in mid-June, although some were present in July. It appeared that adult females laid more eggs on larger shoots, and preferred shoots not previously used for oviposition. The head capsule size of third instars was not correlated with shoot size, but it was positively related to larval density. Overall, infested shoots had an average of four weevil immatures, although densities ranged up to 21. Larval density was positively associated with stem damage, and both parameters appeared to be more intense at our sites than previous reports. Understanding how the intensity of larval damage impacts Canada thistle plants over time is critical to understanding the relevance of these insects for weed biocontrol.
Efficient Classification of Binary Data Stream with Concept Drifting Using Conjunction Rule Based Boolean Classifier

We propose a conjunction rule based classification technique that has good classification performance, is simple, automatically identifies important attributes, and is extremely fast. Due to these properties the classifier is most suitable for "big"/streaming data. Empirical study, using multiple datasets, shows that time complexity, compared with other classifiers, is faster by several factors, especially for large number of attributes without sacrificing performance.
Subempleo y desempleo, un lugar para el trabajo de las mujeres

Las experiencias laborales de las mujeres y los hombres se fundamentan, en mucho, sobre disposiciones de genero. Dentro del mercado laboral -°©‐‑por medio de los salarios, los puestos, los ascensos y los oficios se actuan las ideas que tenemos de como son las mujeres y de como son los hombres. De esta forma, las mujeres entran al mercado laboral desde un lugar de modestas, sin ambiciones, altruistas y con la maternidad como centro de su vida, por lo que el hecho de que se les pague menores salarios, se les exija mas, se les ascienda menos y se las excluya de los puestos de mayor poder, pasa a ser un detalle natural. Este trabajo habla de eso y de como, en un contexto de “flexibilizacion” laboral, las mujeres son mas apetecidas por un mercado que cada vez quiere mas a cambio de menos.
Evaluation of the Drag Reduction Potential and Static Stability Changes of C-130 Aft Body Strakes

For the past several years, Lockheed Martin and the United States Air Force Academy have been investigating the drag reduction potential for different variants of the C-130. This investigation was the fourth and final phase of the effort to maximize the drag reduction potential through aft body modifications to the C-130. This phase focused on two objectives involving a beavertail strake modification on the aft body: investigate the drag reduction potential through a representative range of C-130 deck angles, and analyze and define the longitudinal, lateral, and directional static stability implications of the beavertail strake modification. A significant drag reduction potential of 12 drag counts was found for a deck angle of 1.5 degrees which correlated well with results from previous phases. An increase in drag was found at deck angles greater than 4 degrees, but this should not be a concern since a typical C-130 mission spends very little time at these deck angles. The static stability evaluation showed that the addition of beavertail strakes generally increases both longitudinal and directional stability while lateral stability is relatively unchanged. Trim angle changes were identified which will require additional trailing edge up elevator deflection. The addition of C-130 aft body strakes was expected to increase mission radius by up to 18 NM, or loiter time by up to 6 minutes, or result in an overall fuel savings of up to 506 pounds per 6 hour mission. This was projected to an overall fuel savings of approximately 35.5 million pounds per year for the C-130 fleet. It is recommended that the flow characteristics that effect directional stability at a deck angle of 3.7 degrees be investigated since a decrease in directional stability was found at this one condition. This effort was funded by Lockheed Martin Corporation (Marietta).