cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rapid and Facile Formation of P3HT Organogels via Spin Coating: Tuning Functional Properties of Organic Electronic Thin Films

Poly(3-hexyl thiophene) (P3HT) is widely regarded as the benchmark polymer when studying the physics of conjugated polymers used in organic electronic devices. P3HT can self-assemble via π–π stacking of its backbone, leading to an assembly and growth of P3HT fibrils into 3D percolating organogels. These structures are capable of bridging the electrodes, providing multiple pathways for charge transport throughout the active layer. Here, a novel set of conditions is identified and discussed for P3HT organogel network formation via spin coating by monitoring the spin-coating process from various solvents. The development of organogel formation is detected by in situ static light scattering, which measures both the thinning rate by reflectance and structural development in the film via off-specular scattering during film formation. Optical microscopy and thermal annealing experiments provide ex situ confirmation of organogel fabrication. The role of solution characteristics, including solvent boiling point, P3HT solubility, and initial P3HT solution concentration on organogel formation, is examined to correlate these parameters to the rate of film formation, organogel-onset concentration, and overall network size. The correlation of film properties to the fabrication parameters is also analyzed within the context of the hole mobility and density-of-states measured by impedance spectroscopy.
The expression of dominant-negative subunits selectively suppresses neuronal AMPA and kainate receptors

Abstract Glutamate-gated ion channels are widely expressed in neurons where they serve a host of cellular functions. An appealing, but yet unexplored, way to delineate the functions of particular glutamate receptor subtypes is to direct the expression of dominant-negative and gain-of-function mutant subunits. We tested the ability of two dominant-negative subunits, an α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazolproprionic acid receptor subunit and a kainate receptor subunit, to silence recombinant and neuronal glutamate receptors. Co-expression studies in non-neuronal cells indicated that the inclusion of a single mutant subunit was sufficient to silence the receptor. When expressed in cerebellar granule cells, the dominant-negative subunits silenced native channels in a subtype-specific fashion. Immunocytochemical staining of control and transfected neurons, as well as studies with a gain-of-function glutamate receptor-1 mutant, indicated that the mutant subunits were expressed at levels roughly equal to the total abundance of related native subunits, and both dominant-negatives suppressed native channel expression 60–65% when tested 24 h post-transfection. If co-assembly of the mutant subunits with related native subunits is combinatorial, this level of suppression gives receptor half-lives of approximately 20 h.
Multicomponent Aerosol Crystallization

Abstract Thermodynamic analysis has shown that particles dried from multicomponent aqueous aerosols do not have a homogeneous chemical morphology except at the eutonic point. The particles are composed of a pure salt core surrounded by a mixed salt coating, where the core composition is solely determined by the original aerosol composition but the coating is identical in chemical composition to the eutonic point and is independent of the original component mole fractions. Rapid Single-particle Mass Spectrometry (RSMS) has been used to probe the chemical composition of particles dried from KCl/NaCl, KCl/KI, and (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 /NH 4 NO 3 mixed solutions at different mole ratios. By measuring the peak area ratios corresponding to the intensity of certain ions in the spectrum, the chemical composition of the surface layer can be inferred. The results suggest that the surface layer is enriched with the minor component and are consistent with our thermodynamic predictions. The significance of the dried particle morphology to its mass transport characteristics is discussed.
Medco Energi Internasional

In late 2004, Hilmi Panigoro, CEO of the publicly traded Indonesian oil company Medco Energi Internasional, is striving to regain majority control of the company his brother Arifin founded in 1980. The Asian financial crisis of 1999 led to a major restructuring that left the Panigoros with a 34.1% equity stake in Medco. Two other large shareholders are now looking to sell their combined stake of 50.9%, and have selected Temasek, the Singapore government's investment arm, as their preferred bidder. The Panigoros have a right of first refusal, but only a four-month window to raise the capital needed to head off Temasek's bid. Hilmi and Arifin Panigoro are considering a two-stage plan: a Leveraged Buy-Out (LBO) to be followed by a secondary equity offering at a share price high enough to enable them to repay the loan and retain majority control of their company. As attractive as the plan seems, they worry about the high cost of the loan and the risk that the offering might fail. In January 2005, with no time left to consider alternative financing plans, the Panigoro brothers have to decide whether to go ahead with the plan or lose control of Medco to Temasek. Students are required to evaluate the benefits and risks of the proposed financing plan from the perspective of both the controlling family and minority shareholders.
Age-related forgetting in locomotor adaptation.

The healthy aging process affects the ability to learn and remember new facts and tasks. Prior work has shown that motor learning can be adversely affected by non-motor deficits, such as time. Here we investigated how age, and a dual task influence the learning and forgetting of a new walking pattern. We studied healthy younger ( 50 yo) as they alternated between 5-min bouts of split-belt treadmill walking and resting. Older subjects learned a new walking pattern at the same rate as younger subjects, but forgot some of the new pattern during the rest breaks. We tested if forgetting was due to reliance on a cognitive strategy that was not fully engaged after rest breaks. When older subjects performed a dual cognitive task to reduce strategic control of split-belt walking, their adaptation rate slowed, but they still forgot much of the new pattern during the rest breaks. Our results demonstrate that the healthy aging process is one component that weakens motor memories during rest breaks and that this phenomenon cannot be explained solely by reliance on a conscious strategy in older adults.
Vibrational Spectra of Solids

The Bravais space cell is used by molecular spectroscopists to obtain the irreducible representation for the lattice vibrations. The crystallographic unit cell may be identical with the Bravais cell or it may be larger by a multiple of two, three or four. This information can be obtained from the capital letter in the x-ray symbol which is used to designate the crystal symmetry. For all crystal structures designated by a symbol P (primitive), the crystallographic unit cell and the Bravais unit cell are identical. Crystal structures designated with capital letters A, B, C, or I are doubly primitive and thus the crystallographic unit cells contain two Bravais cells. Crystal structures designated with capital letters R or F are triply and quadrupoly primitive, respectively, and the crystallographic unit cells contain three and four Bravais cells, respectively. Thus, to obtain the desired Bravais space cell from the crystallographic unit cell, one simply divides the number of molecules in the crystallographic unit cell by the number of lattice points. In summary, the number of molecules in the Bravais space cell ZB is the number of molecules in the crystallographic unit cell (Z) divided by the number of lattice points (LP): ZB = Z/LP and this reduction is summarized.
Non-union of fractures in children who have osteogenesis imperfecta

Although a fracture rarely fails to unite in a healthy child, non-union is not a rare occurrence in a child who has osteogenesis imperfecta. We identified twelve non-unions in ten patients from a population of fifty-two patients who had osteogenesis imperfecta. The average age of these patients when the diagnosis of non-union was made nine years, and the average age at the time of treatment was 12.5 years. All of the patients had had a decrease in functional ability as a result of the non-union. There were five femoral, four humeral, one radial, one ulnar, and one pubic non-union. Five of the non-unions were hypertrophic, and seven were atrophic. Eight of the nine ununited fractures that were operated on healed after excision of the non-union, intramedullary nailing, and bone-grafting. Three of the non-unions (in two patients) were not operated on, and the one patient in whom surgery failed had an amputation. Non-union was frequently associated with repeated fractures at a progressively deforming site.
Efficacy of water-dispersible formulations of biological control strains of Aspergillus flavus for aflatoxin management in corn

Field experiments were conducted in 2011 and 2012 to evaluate the efficacy of water-dispersible granule (WDG) formulations of biocontrol strains of Aspergillus flavus in controlling aflatoxin contamination of corn. In 2011, when aflatoxin was present at very high levels, there was no WDG treatment that could provide significant protection against aflatoxin contamination. The following year a new WDG formulation was tested that resulted in 100% reduction in aflatoxin in one field experiment and ≥ 49% reduction in all five WDG treatments with biocontrol strain 21882. Large sampling error, however, limited the resolution of various treatment effects. Corn samples were also subjected to microbial analysis to understand better the mechanisms of successful biocontrol. In the samples examined here, the size of the A. flavus population on the grain was associated with the amount of aflatoxin, but the toxigenic status of that population was a poor predictor of aflatoxin concentration.
The relative stigmatization of eating disorders and obesity in males and females.

Abstract Objective Anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN), binge-eating disorder (BED), and obesity are stigmatized conditions known to affect both men and women. However, little research has examined differences in stigmatization of individuals with these diagnoses or the impact of gender on stigmatization. Such perceptions may play an important role in understanding and reducing the stigma associated with weight and dysfunctional eating behaviors. This study investigated stigmatizing attitudes toward eating disorders and obesity in men and women. Method Participants were university undergraduates (N = 318; 73.6% female; mean age = 21.58 years, SD = 3.97) who were randomly assigned to read one vignette describing a male or female target diagnosed with AN, BN, BED, or obesity. Participants then completed measures of stigma and perceived psychopathology. Measures were analyzed using a 4 (target diagnosis) x 2 (target gender) MANOVA and subsequent ANOVAs. Results Measures of stigma and perceived psychopathology revealed significant main effects for diagnosis ( p Conclusion Although individuals with eating disorders and obesity both face stigmatizing attitudes, bias against individuals with AN, BN, and BED may exceed stigma toward obesity in the absence of binge eating. Future research is necessary to address stigmatizing beliefs to reduce and prevent discrimination against both men and women with eating disorders and obesity.
Disulfiram neuropathy: two case reports.

Background Neuropathy is a rare adverse side effect of disulfiram therapy and is under-recognized. There have been few case reports documenting this side effect.
Skills and Knowledge Needed to Serve as Mobile Technology Consultants for Information Organizations

Libraries often lack the in-house information technology (IT) expertise required to (1) implement mobile applications and related technologies (MAT); (2) attain maximum return on investment including patron satisfaction for using MAT; and (3) reduce reliance on expensive IT consultants. Based on secondary analysis of the experiences and advice offered by librarians and IT professionals engaged in implementing MAT in libraries, we identify four core and six supplementary competencies needed to help libraries better serve their patrons using MAT. LIS graduate programs could equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to build 10 competencies so that they could serve as mobile technology consultants (MTCs) for libraries. Core competencies are mobile application development, human-computer interaction, computer networking, and planning and management of mobile technologies; and the supplementary competencies are: project management, change management, negotiation, data management, policy management, and grant writing.
Studies of the Genus Empoasca Part II. Nine New Species of Ernpoasca

As field studies continue many new species of this genus are found. The nine species described in this paper were all taken while making hibernation studies of the leafhoppers during the past season. All belong to the Subgenus Empoasca.
End-Group Distributions of Multiple Generations of Spin-Labeled PAMAM Dendrimers

Dendrimers are attractive templates to display functional molecular components. Since the behavior of dendrimer systems can depend greatly on the accessibility of these molecular components to the external environment, and on the spatial arrangement of functional groups attached to the dendrimer terminal branches (end-groups), techniques to determine the locations of end-groups are highly desirable. In this report, we describe a method to analyze the EPR spectra of multiple generations of poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers which have spin-labels attached to end-groups in variable percentages of the total number of available sites. The spectra are treated as a convolution of a narrow spin-label spectrum and a variable line broadening function. Trends in the parameters that describe the best-fit line broadening function with spin-label loading reveal the spatial arrangements and homogeneity of spin environments of the labels. We observe a shift in the end-group distribution from generation 3 (G(3)) to G(4) dendrimers that indicates a change in morphology from an open, extended structure to a more dense, compact arrangement.
Prognostic Classification Factors Associated With Development of Multiple Autoantibodies, Dysglycemia, and Type 1 Diabetes—A Recursive Partitioning Analysis

OBJECTIVE To define prognostic classification factors associated with the progression from single to multiple autoantibodies, multiple autoantibodies to dysglycemia, and dysglycemia to type 1 diabetes onset in relatives of individuals with type 1 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Three distinct cohorts of subjects from the Type 1 Diabetes TrialNet Pathway to Prevention Study were investigated separately. A recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) was used to determine the risk classes. Clinical characteristics, including genotype, antibody titers, and metabolic markers were analyzed. RESULTS Age and GAD65 autoantibody (GAD65Ab) titers defined three risk classes for progression from single to multiple autoantibodies. The 5-year risk was 11% for those subjects >16 years of age with low GAD65Ab titers, 29% for those ≤16 years of age with low GAD65Ab titers, and 45% for those subjects with high GAD65Ab titers regardless of age. Progression to dysglycemia was associated with islet antigen 2 Ab titers, and 2-h glucose and fasting C-peptide levels. The 5-year risk is 28%, 39%, and 51% for respective risk classes defined by the three predictors. Progression to type 1 diabetes was associated with the number of positive autoantibodies, peak C-peptide level, HbA 1c level, and age. Four risk classes defined by RPA had a 5-year risks of 9%, 33%, 62%, and 80%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS The use of RPA offered a new classification approach that could predict the timing of transitions from one preclinical stage to the next in the development of type 1 diabetes. Using these RPA classes, new prevention techniques can be tailored based on the individual prognostic risk characteristics at different preclinical stages.
Mindful makers: Question prompts to help guide young peoples' critical technical practices in maker spaces in libraries, museums, and community-based youth organizations

This study examines question prompts as a means to scaffold reflection and reflexivity in the design, development, and use of technological artifacts in maker spaces for youth at public libraries, museums, and community-based organizations. Qualitative analysis is applied to data gathered in four focus groups with teens, three semi-structured interviews with adults who facilitate maker spaces, and six observation sessions. Outcomes include a rich description of critical thinking in the context of technology practice, and secondly, a set of eight activation questions that serve as a tool kit to encourage reflection and scaffold mindful and critical practices in community-based maker spaces for youth. Results from this study support the development of nstruments and practices to support mindful making and critical technical practice in maker spaces for youth.
The mentoring experiences and career satisfaction of dental hygiene program directors.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between career satisfaction and length of the mentoring experiences of dental hygiene directors. Methods Directors were asked a series of questions (74 items) that described their career satisfaction and mentoring experiences during three stages of their lives professional student, faculty member, and director. The extent of career satisfaction was measured on a five point Likert-type scale. The target population consisted of a convenience sample of 235 directors with an active Internet mail address (n = 142). An Internet mail questionnaire was sent to these directors. The data sample consisted of 72 usable responses (51%). The field test was conducted to test for both content and face validity. Cronbach's Alpha was used as a measure of internal consistency and an acceptable alpha was determined to be 0.60. Data were downloaded from the WEB and manually entered into SPSS 9. Results Results indicated that career satisfaction was positively associated with length of the mentor relationship. The relationship between the total length of mentoring received as a student, faculty member, and director and the perceived level of career satisfaction had a moderate positive association (r = 0.459). The grand means for career satisfaction and length of mentoring in years, were 3.78 (sd = 0.5615, n = 47) and 20.46 (sd = 21.48, n = 45), respectively. Conclusion As the length of the mentor experience increased, so did the level of career satisfaction, albeit a moderate increase. To enhance career satisfaction, mentoring should be initiated in dental hygiene graduate programs, particularly for students who aspire to become directors.
Matrix Quantization of Homomorphically Processed Images

This paper discusses the design of a tree-search matrix quantizer to be used to encode homomorphically processed images. An image obtained by optical means is modeled as a product of the illumtination and reflectance components. The illumination part is lowpass and the reflectance part which reveals the edge and texture details, is highpass. The homomorphic system as applied to image processing consists of a logarithmic point transformation followed by linear filtering. Homomorphic processing achieves a simultaneous dynamic range reduction and contrast enhancenment. A matrix quantizer operating on such processed images is shown to achieve bit rates as low as 0.16 bpp with acceptable quality.
Bone marrow stromal cell therapy for ischemic stroke: A meta-analysis of randomized control animal trials.

BackgroundResults of animal studies assessing efficacy of bone marrow stromal cell therapy for ischemic stroke remain inconsistent.AimsThe aims are to assess efficacy of bone marrow stromal cell th...
Analysis and synthesis of cascaded metasurfaces using wave matrices

Wave matrices are an altenative network representation to conventional ABCD matrices for the analysis of cascaded electromagnetic structures. In this work, a review of these matrices and their relation to the other network representations is presented. Wave matrices are found for different interfaces and used to analyze and synthesize metasurfaces consisting of cascaded electric sheets.
Mechanisms of Stroke Recovery

Stroke marks the beginning of a cascade of molecular and cellular processes that allow for neural repair and recovery. Stroke induces changes in the excitability of neuronal circuits in peri-infarct cortex that underlie the process of remapping motor and sensory function. Axonal sprouting occurs in tissue adjacent to the stroke and its connected areas. Stroke cues support the association of angiogenic vessels with the migration of newborn neurons into the peri-infarct area in a neurovascular unit. Neurogenesis, angiogenesis, and axonal sprouting support neurologic recovery after stroke. This chapter focuses on the fundamental mechanisms and timing of stroke recovery.
Anisotropy, tension-compression asymmetry and texture evolution of a rare-earth-containing magnesium alloy sheet, ZEK100, at different strain rates and temperatures: Experiments and modeling

Abstract The mechanical response and texture evolution of rare-earth-containing magnesium alloy sheet, ZEK100, are measured under uniaxial (tension and compression) loading along the rolling direction (RD), 45° to rolling direction (DD), transverse direction (TD) and normal direction (ND), at the strain rate of 10 −4 to 3 × 10 3 s −1 , and temperatures of 22 °C & 150 °C. Texture evolution is measured at strain increments between 2 and 10% in compression and tension at both 10 −4 and 3 × 10 3 s −1 , and at 22 °C and 150 °C. Measured pole figures reveal relatively weak basal pole intensity with a spread of basal poles from ND toward TD. Consequently, the yield stress in both tension and compression is the largest in RD and decreases with change in orientation from RD to TD. The material exhibits positive strain rate sensitivity as well as tension-compression asymmetry and anisotropy that are a function of temperature and strain rate. Strain hardening behavior in both tension and compression represents the characteristics of twinning dominated deformation even at elevated temperatures. Crystal reorientation due to extension twinning was observed both in compression along all directions, and in tension along the TD. While the flow stress in compression increases with the increase of strain rate from 10 −4 to 3 × 10 3 s −1 , differences in measured textures between the two strain rates are negligible. A reduced-order crystal plasticity model that defines extension twinning, basal slip, and non-basal slip as the deformation mechanisms, is used to model the experimental results and to give an insight in the active deformation mechanism. The model captures the work hardening, anisotropy and tension-compression asymmetry behavior of the material at different strain rates and temperatures.
Probabilistic analysis of hybrid energy systems using synthetic renewable and load data

This paper focuses on probabilistic analysis of hybrid energy systems (HES), which integrate multiple energy inputs and multiple energy outputs for effective management of variability in renewable energy and grid demand. To characterize the volatility, a statistical model combining Fourier series and autoregressive moving average (ARMA) is used to generate synthetic weather condition (e.g., wind speed) and grid demand data. Specifically, Fourier series is used to model the seasonal trends in historical data, while ARMA is applied to characterize the autocorrelation in residue time series (e.g., measurements with seasonal trends subtracted). The synthetic data is shown to have same statistic characteristics with historical measurements, but possesses different temporal profile. The probabilistic analysis of a particular HES configuration is then performed, which consists of nuclear power plant, wind farm, battery storage, and desalination plant. Requirements on component ramping rate, and the effects of deploying different sizes of batteries in smoothing renewable variability, are all investigated.
Racah operator equivalents in spin-lattice relaxation and electrostatic coupling calculations

Abstract Buckmaster has introduced new operator equivalents which correspond directly to the tensor operators defined by Racah, and therefore retain the transformation properties of tensor operators. In this paper we show how the formalism and calculations involved in both spin-lattice relaxation theory using the phenomenological Orbach, Scott and Jeffries approach and the theory of electric multipole interactions are considerably simplified by the use of these Racah operator equivalents instead of the more usual angular momentum operators. In addition, we have calculated all of the matrix elements of the Racah operator equivalents for even l up to l = 6 within a manifold of constant J up to J = 8.
A truncated temporal styloid process from the Jordanian Ottoman Period: Developmental variant or fracture?

Abstract Styloid process (SP) development and its role in an individual’s lived experience plays a negligible role in paleopathological research, although a handful of possible Eagle’s syndrome cases have been reported. Here, the development of the stylohyoid chain and the medical research of SP variants are reviewed to inform the differential diagnosis of a probable SP fracture in a young adult male associated with the Ottoman Period (13–19th C) in Jordan. The fracture surface of the right SP is smooth rather than irregular, the coloration is uniform with the surrounding cortical bone staining, and no new bone formation is visible. All features are consistent with a perimortem injury. An unossified stylohyal is a differential diagnosis, while the left elongated SP suggests a predisposition to intrinsic injury. The implications of SP fractures are considered.
Individualized Progress Measures Are More Acceptable to Clinicians Than Standardized Measures: Results of a National Survey

Despite research supporting measurement-based care grounded in standardized progress measures, such measures are underutilized by clinicians. Individualized measures of client-specific targets present an alternative, but little is known about their acceptability or use. We compared attitudes toward and use of standardized and individualized progress measures in a national sample of 504 clinicians. Clinicians reported neutral to positive attitudes toward both types of measures, but strongly preferred and were more likely to use individualized measures. Clinician attitudes, theoretical orientation, and work setting predicted assessment preferences and practices. Implications for dissemination and implementation of measurement-based care are discussed.
Examination of Utricular Response Using oVEMP and Unilateral Centrifugation Rotation Testing.

Objectives Significant advancements have been made toward the clinical assessment of utricular function through ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMP) and unilateral centrifugation (UCF) testing. To date, no study has examined intrasubject relationships between these measures. The study hypothesis was that intrasubject responses from oVEMP and UCF testing would be correlated inasmuch as both tests have been reported to assess utricular function. Design UCF rotations and oVEMP testing were performed on healthy volunteers, aged 18 to 62 years. A within-subject study design compared and correlated UCF outcome measures of ocular counterroll, subjective visual vertical, and ocular counterroll-gravitational inertial acceleration slope against peak to peak oVEMP N1-P1 amplitude. Results Correlational analyses failed to reveal any significant relationships between oVEMP amplitude and UCF responses suggesting that these tests may be inciting different response properties within the utricular system. Conclusions Various anatomical and physiological differences within the utricle, in addition to the fundamental differences in stimulus properties between the oVEMP and UCF tests, could explain the lack of significant correlations between these measures and suggest that oVEMP and UCF testing may be complimentary in their evaluation of the utricular system. These data reinforce the complexities of the utricular system and provide further insight into the difficulties encountered in its clinical assessment.
Omega-Stat: An Environment for Implementing Intelligent Modeling Strategies

Omega-Stat, a new data analysis and modeling paradigm, is built on Lisp-Stat—an object-oriented statistical programming environment. It contains extensible, reusable-component libraries for performing data management, multivariate analyses, modeling, and dynamic graphics. A point-and-click user interface allows instant access to all objects, including analysis and graphics objects. Modeling is done by adding new model objects, i.e., extended datasets, to a tree structure originally containing prototypes for linear, generalized linear, and nonlinear models. Knowledge, and methods for accessing this knowledge, are embedded within model objects and edge objects linking these models. This representation allows the modeling process to be studied by following the analysis trails of expert analysts. The objective is to provide an expert consultant that is accessible as part of man/machine interaction. Modeling strategies can then be built into Omega-Stat, by using prior knowledge and data-analytic heuristics, to guide the process of constructing the model tree and the iterative search for an “optimal” model.
Space-Efficient Estimation of Robust Statistics and Distribution Testing

The generic problem of estimation and inference given a sequence of i.i.d. samples has been extensively studied in the statistics, property testing, and learning communities. A natural quantity of interest is the sample complexity of the particular learning or estimation problem being considered. While sample complexity is an important component of the computational efficiency of the task, it is also natural to consider the space complexity: do we need to store all the samples as they are drawn, or is it sufficient to use memory that is significantly sublinear in the sample complexity? Surprisingly, this aspect of the complexity of estimation has received significantly less attention in all but a few specific cases. While space-bounded, sequential computation is the purview of the field of data-stream computation, almost all of the literature on the algorithmic theory of data-streams considers only "empirical problems", where the goal is to compute a function of the data present in the stream rather than to infer something about the source of the stream. Our contributions are two-fold. First, we provide results connecting space efficiency to the estimation of robust statistics from a sequence of i.i.d. samples. Robust statistics are a particularly interesting class of statistics in our setting because, by definition, they are resilient to noise or errors in the sampled data. We show that this property is enough to ensure that very space-efficient stream algorithms exist for their estimation. In contrast, the numerical value of a "non-robust" statistic can change dramatically with additional samples, and this limits the utility of any finite length sequence of samples. Second, we present a general result that captures a trade-off between sample and space complexity in the context of distributional property testing.
Policy and Power: How the President Uses Governing Tools to Pursue Short- and Long-Term Goals

When negotiating with congress to produce public policy, presidents can use governing tools to pursue policy objectives by either attempting to influence individual policies, or by attempting to consolidate power in the executive branch and thus altering the terms on which future negotiations between the two branches will take place. I develop a cost-benefit model that explains when and how presidents use governing tools to achieve these two goals. Analyzing data from 1981-2007, and consonant with my theory, I report two main findings. First, presidents are more likely to use governing tools with the short-term goal of influencing individual policies when faced with stronger opposition from congress than they are when faced with a deferential congress. However, the partisan composition of congress does not influence the president's interest in the long-term goal of aggrandizing presidential power. Second, when congress has more clearly overstepped the bounds of its constitutionally granted authority, presidents are more likely to use governing tools to pursue the long-term goal of consolidating executive branch power. Knowing that congress has infringed on executive branch power, though, does not affect the president's interest in short-term policy gains on individual issues.
Concentrations of selected trace elements in fish tissue and streambed sediment in the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille and Spokane River basins, Washington, Idaho, and Montana, 1998

Fish tissue and bed sediment samples were collected from 16 stream sites in the Northern Rockies Intermontane Basins study area in 1998 as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National WaterQuality Assessment Program. Bed sediment samples were analyzed for 45 trace elements, and fish livers and sportfish fillets were analyzed for 22 elements to characterize the occurrence and distribution of these elements in relation to stream characteristics and land use activities. Nine trace elements of environmental concern—arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, and zinc—were detected in bed sediment, but not all of these elements were detected in fish tissue. Trace-element concentrations were highest in bed sediment samples collected at sites downstream from significant natural mineral deposits and (or) mining activities. Arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, and zinc in bed sediment at some sites were elevated relative to national median concentrations, and some concentrations were at levels that can adversely affect aquatic biota. Although trace-element concentrations in bed sediment exceeded various guidelines, no concentrations in sportfish fillets exceeded U.S. Environmental Protection Agency screening values for the protection of human health. Correlations between most trace-element concentrations in bed sediment and fish tissue (liver and fillet) were not significant (r 0.05). Concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, selenium, and zinc in bed sediment were significantly correlated (r=0.53 to 0.88, p<0.05) with natural mineral deposits and mining activities, but concentrations in fish tissue generally were not correlated with these measures. Regression analysis between mine density and the sum of trace-element concentrations in bed sediment identified two statistically significant relations (r2=0.95 and 0.99, p<0.001) that corresponded to trace-element enrichment categories. These strong relations warrant further study using mine density as an explanatory variable to predict trace-element concentrations in bed sediment.
On the Effect of Chemical Composition on the Desorption of Superabsorbent Hydrogels in Contact with a Porous Cementitious Material

The behavior of poly(sodium acrylate-co-acrylamide) copolymer hydrogels with varied chemical compositions in artificial pore solutions with three different pH values is examined. The absorption, chemical characteristics, mechanical stiffness, and desorption of the hydrogels in contact with a porous cementitious material were investigated. It was observed that the surface characteristics of the hydrogels play an important role in the desorption of hydrogels due to the capillary forces. It was shown that in the hydrogel systems studied here, the bonding between the hydrogels and the porous cementitious material is improved with an increase in the content of acrylamide in the hydrogels, and this results in an increased desorption rate of the hydrogels.
Exceptional Sensitizer Dye Loading via a New Porous Titanium–Niobium Metal Oxide with Tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II) in the Structure

Exceptionally high loadings of tris(2,2′-bipyridyl)ruthenium(II), abreviated as Ru(bpy)32+, were successfully incorporated into a titanium niobium mixed oxide framework. Ru(bpy)32+ loadings of 295.6 mg/g were achieved, equivalent to 518.9 μmol/g. Through an aqueous-phase mixing process, a solution of Ru(bpy)32+ was used to aggregate colloids of unilamellar anionic nanosheets, derived from the exfoliation of the layered semiconductor KTiNbO5. The aggregates formed were porous metal oxide composite materials with Ru(bpy)32+ electrostatically bound within the structure of the pore walls. The new solids were highly orange-colored due to the high internal content of Ru(bpy)32+. X-ray diffraction and chemical and theoretical analyses indicate that the ruthenium dye is incorporated as a single layer between the metal oxide sheets and that the dye loading is maximized. In well-rinsed samples, the Ru(bpy)32+ remained in the solid with only trace amounts of leaching even after 3 months in water at room temperature....
Angiotensin II inhibits P-glycoprotein in intestinal epithelial cells.

AIM P-glycoprotein (Pgp/MDR1) plays a major role in intestinal homeostasis. Decrease in Pgp function and expression has been implicated in the pathogenesis of IBD. However, inhibitory mechanisms involved in the decrease of Pgp in inflammation are not fully understood. Angiotensin II (Ang II), a peptide hormone predominantly expressed in the epithelial cells of the crypt-villus junction of the intestine, has been shown to exert pro-inflammatory effects in the gut. It is increased in IBD patients and animals with experimental colitis. Whether Ang II directly influences Pgp is not known. METHODS Pgp activity was measured as verapamil-sensitive 3 H-digoxin flux. Pgp surface expression and exocytosis were measured by cell surface biotinylation studies. Signalling pathways were elucidated by Western blot analysis and pharmacological approaches. RESULTS Ang II (10 nM) significantly inhibited Pgp activity at 60 minutes. Ang II-mediated effects on Pgp function were receptor-mediated as the Ang II receptor 1 (ATR1) antagonist, losartan, blocked Pgp inhibition. Ang II effects on Pgp activity appeared to be mediated via PI3 kinase, p38 MAPK and Akt signalling. Ang II-mediated inhibition of Pgp activity was associated with a decrease in the surface membrane expression of Pgp protein via decreased exocytosis and was found to be dependent on the Akt pathway. Short-term treatment of Ang II (2 mg/kg b.wt., 2 hours) to mice also decreased the membrane expression of Pgp protein levels in ileum and colon. CONCLUSION Our findings provide novel insights into the role of Ang II and ATR1 in decreasing Pgp expression in intestinal inflammation.
Narrative Portfolios as Culturally Responsive Resistance to Neoliberal Early Childhood Teacher Education: A Case Study

ABSTRACTThis article examines an early childhood preservice teacher narrative portfolio project created by teacher educators working in a public university in the United States. We explore preservi...
Compromising Flight Paths of Autopiloted Drones

While more and more consumer drones are abused in recent attacks, there is still very little systematical research on countering malicious consumer drones. In this paper, we focus on this issue and develop effective attacks to common autopilot control algorithms to compromise the flight paths of autopiloted drones, e.g., leading them away from its preset paths. We consider attacking an autopiloted drone in three phases: attacking its onboard sensors, attacking its state estimation, and attacking its autopilot algorithms. Several first-phase attacks have been developed (e.g., [1]–[4]); second-phase attacks (including our previous work [5], [6]) have also been investigated. In this paper, we focus on the third-phase attacks. We examine three common autopilot algorithms, and design several attacks by exploiting their weaknesses to mislead a drone from its preset path to a manipulated path. We present the formal analysis of the scope of such manipulated paths. We further discuss how to apply the proposed attacks to disrupt preset drone missions, such as missing a target in searching an area or misleading a drone to intercept another drone, etc. Many potential attacks can be built on top of the proposed attacks. We are currently investigating different models to apply such attacks on common drone missions and also building prototype systems on ArduPilot for real world tests. We will further investigate countermeasures to address the potential damages.
Painful angiomyxoid tumor in a failed renal allograft presenting as post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder

Introduction: There exist few reports of de novo tumors involving an allograft kidney, and to the best of our knowledge there are only two previous reports of angiomyxoma Case Presentation: A 53-year-old Caucasian male with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on hemodialysis (HD) secondary to malakoplakia with three failed prior renal transplants presented for repeat transplant evaluation. Imaging demonstrated a mass of the transplanted kidney suggestive of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLPD). A biopsy was obtained revealing a predominance of myxoid material. The patient became increasingly symptomatic from the mass and underwent a palliative right transplant nephrectomy. Final pathology revealed angiomyxoid tumor. Conclusions: Angiomyxomas are asymptomatic, appear as PTLD on imaging and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of masses occurring in renal transplant allografts.
Partial Discharge Detection Strategies under Fast Rise Time Voltages Generated by Wide-bandgap Semiconductor Devices

Wide-bandgap (WBG) semiconductor device is one of the leading contenders for the next generation semiconductor device. Its advantages include but not limited to: higher voltage rating, switching speed and frequency. However, when electrical applications are driven by WBG devices, the voltage stress is inevitably changed. To be more precise, the voltage stress is more likely to be enhanced based on the premature failures observed for various applications driven by WBG devices. As has been well accepted, partial discharge (PD) is considered as the main cause for insulation failure in high frequency equipment. Thus, it is necessary to study PD behaviors under the new stress introduced by WBG device. However, the issue is inherently challenging due to the nature of the equipment under test and the extremely high dv/dt (fast rise time) square-wave voltage introduced. Huge charging/discharging current would be seen at the rising/falling edges of the square-wave pulse train. The magnitude of the charging/discharging current can be hundreds of or even thousands of times larger than that of PD pulse current. In some cases, even in frequency domain, the PD pulse current would be masked by the charging/discharging current. In this paper, a summary is made on past research related to PD detection strategies under fast rise time square-wave voltage or impulse voltage. Their advantages and disadvantages would be introduced to provide a full picture about this issue for future researchers when the need of PD detection under fast rise time excitations arises.
Tobacco cessation in low- to middle-income countries: A scoping review of randomized controlled trials.

Abstract Objective The growing prevalence of tobacco use in low “to middle” income countries (LMICs) and the hurdles of conducting tobacco cessation in that context necessitates a focus on the scope of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in LMICs to guide tobacco cessation in this environment. We conducted a scoping review to identify LMIC tobacco cessation RCTs. Methods Consistent with PRISMA-ScR guidelines and without language restrictions, we systematically searched peer-reviewed databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, articles published since inception, latest searches in March 2020) and gray literature (clinical trials registries, searches between September and December 2019). We searched for data on RCT type, outcome significance and intervention description. Inclusion: research conducted in LMICs; tobacco cessation; RCT. Exclusion: research conducted in high income countries; non-RCT; studies involving only those aged 18. Data was extracted from published reports. We generated narrative summaries of each LMIC’s tobacco cessation RCT research environment. Results Of 8404 articles screened, we identified 92 studies. Tobacco cessation RCTs were recorded in 16 of 138 countries/territories in LMICs. Evidence was weak in quality and severely limited. Most RCTs were psychosocial, with limited behavioral and pharmacological variants. Conclusions Tobacco control within LMICs is essential to reduce the tobacco mortality burden. Researchers should be cognizant that tobacco cessation in LMICs is still not an environment where best practice has been established. We suggest that developing solutions specific for LMICs is key to effective tobacco control in LMICs.
Evaluation of the World Bank's contribution to Chinese enterprise reform

In the 1980s at least, the World Bank had a significant, if not a large, role. Moreover, its research projects on enterprise reform in the 1980s and early 1990s played an important role in helping the outside world to understand better the nature of the Chinese enterprise reform process. Today, its interaction with the process of Chinese enterprise reform is greatly reduced. Arguably its main influence comes through its support for the Centre for Economic Research at Beijing University, and ideas that the Centre feeds into national policy discussion. Apart from this, the impact on policy is confined mainly to a useful contribution (fully acknowledged on the Chinese side), in certain specific areas, such as participation in the debate about reform of the bankruptcy law. The question that will be addressed in the remainder of this report is: Why has the World Bank's impact upon Chinese enterprise reform become so weak? The report identifies possible answers such as the growth of Chinese institutional capacity, the increased role of the investment banks, and the lack of connection with the key issues facing Chinese policymakers and leaders of large enterprises.