cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Specifying Route Behaviors of Self-Driving Vehicles in ROS Using Lua Scripting Language with Web Interface

Implementing software for a large-scale robotics research platform such as an autonomous vehicle requires a system that can quickly adapt to new environments, behaviors, capability requirements, and physical hardware. To solve this problem, the proposed system abstracts sets of low level control into “behaviors” defined using Lua scripts. Behaviors, made of single function definitions or complete modules, may arbitrarily read from the platform's input state and alter the platform's output state during runtime. Complexity is removed from the system by encapsulating lower level behaviors into simple function calls or variable state changes that higher level behaviors use to control the system. An additional benefit of the system is that the behaviors are made available through a web-based user interface which, if the platform supports it, may be accessed remotely and modified while the system is executing. The core system, implemented in ROS, is completely generic and can run on arbitrary platforms by implementing only a few standard interfaces. The design also prioritizes modularity so that hardware can be added or removed from the system quickly; it does not depend on any specific sensor hardware to run. The system was used by Lawrence Technological University's autonomous vehicle team to win the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition for three consecutive years. It has also been used on smaller robotics platforms for research projects and teaching.
Muslim Young Adult Mental Health and the 2016 US Presidential Election

This cohort study examined the association of Muslim identity and religiosity with mental health issues before and after the 2016 election.
Recruiting Diverse Learners to High School Computer Science

This presentation highlights strategies for improving recruitment and engagement of under-represented students into high school (HS) computer science (CS) classes. Operating within the collaborative structure of a researcher-practitioner partnership (RPP), the CS diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategies were conceived by members of the Rutgers Computer Science Teaching & Learning Collaboratory (CS-TLC), an NSF-funded RPP specifically established to build the capacity of schools to provide rigorous, inclusive CS education (CSE). Through an audit and reflection on current practice coupled with a synthesis of major findings from the education literature, CS-TLC formulated a three-pronged strategy to address equitable student recruitment - (i) tailoring communication and outreach activities, (ii) revisiting and updating relevant institutional practices or policies that directly or indirectly impact recruitment and engagement, and (iii) enhancing existing instructional practices. The presentation will preview each of these approaches, share preliminary qualitative evidence regarding their efficacy, and highlight the benefits of working within an RPP to conduct such work.
Functional significance of 8-isoprostanes in sinonasal disease and asthma.

Abstract Background The purpose of this study was to investigate how 8-isoprostanes, used as a marker of airway oxidative stress, were related to sinus disease and asthma. Methods We analyzed samples and data from two separate studies, one investigating sinonasal disease in asthma, the other investigating the effect of BMI on airway disease. We measured airway (nasal lavage) 8-isoprostanes and investigated the relationship with measures of sinus and asthma symptoms, asthma control and lung function. Results The study of people with sinonasal disease and poorly controlled asthma included 48 obese, 31 overweight and 23 lean participants. In multivariate analysis, nasal lavage 8-isoprostane levels increased with increasing BMI (p Interpretation: 8-isoprostanes in nasal lavage are increased in obesity, and increased in Caucasians compared with African Americans. However, levels are higher in obese controls than obese people with asthma, and appear inversely related to symptoms of airway disease. Clinical implication Airway 8-isoprostanes likely reflect complex oxidative signaling pathways, which are altered in obesity and those of different race, rather than being a simple marker of airway oxidative injury. Capsule summary Increased airway oxidative signaling (8-isoprostanes), may reflect normal physiology in the setting of obesity, as decreased levels are associated with disease activity in people with chronic sinonasal disease and asthma.
Decentralized Bayesian Learning in Dynamic Games: A Framework to Study Informational Cascades

We study the problem of Bayesian learning in a dynamical system involving strategic agents with asymmetric information. In a series of seminal papers in the literature, this problem has been investigated under a simplifying model where myopically selfish players appear sequentially and act once in the game, based on private noisy observations of the system state and public observation of past players’ actions. It has been shown that there exist information cascades where users discard their private information and mimic the action of their predecessor. In this paper, we provide a framework for studying Bayesian learning dynamics in a more general setting than the one described above. In particular, our model incorporates cases where players are non-myopic and strategically participate for the whole duration of the game, and cases where an endogenous process selects which subset of players will act at each time instance. The proposed framework hinges on a sequential decomposition methodology for finding structured perfect Bayesian equilibria (PBE) of a general class of dynamic games with asymmetric information, where user-specific states evolve as conditionally independent Markov processes and users make independent noisy observations of their states. Using this methodology, we study a specific dynamic learning model where players make decisions about public investment based on their estimates of everyone’s types. We characterize a set of informational cascades for this problem where learning stops for the team as a whole. We show that in such cascades, all players’ estimates of other players’ types freeze even though each individual player asymptotically learns its own true type.
Mechanical properties of meteoritic Fe–Ni alloys for in-situ extraterrestrial structures

Abstract A critical requirement for outposts and settlements on the Moon and Mars is the use of in-situ resources to create pressurized, human-rated habitats with low mass (i.e., high tensile strength), high reliability (i.e., high toughness) and easy processability. This study assesses the capability of binary Fe–Ni alloys - with Ni content of 5–11 wt%, typical of M-type asteroids and iron meteorites - to meet these requirements. We measure the hardness and tensile properties of these Fe–Ni alloys at 21 °C in the as-cast state (representative of melted and cast meteorite material), with grain sizes of ∼90 μm. As the Ni concentration increases from 5 to 11 wt%, strength increases near linearly: from 260 to 440 MPa for the yield stress, and from 340 to 560 MPa for the ultimate tensile strength. Ductility however decreases, also near-linearly, from 20 to 3%. The yield stress of Fe-(5,7,9)Ni alloys, measured between −89 and 21 °C (relevant to the Moon and Mars), increases steeply with decreasing temperature. The temperature-dependence of the yield stress for these alloys - as well as pure Fe, Fe-1.4Ni and Fe-2.9 Ni alloys from literature - is fitted to an Arrhenius-like model, allowing to extrapolate yield stress values of Fe–Ni alloys for the full range of Lunar and Martian temperatures. A pressurized habitat consisting of flat plates of Fe–Ni alloy welded into a half cylinder (Quonset hut, with 5 m radius and 10 m length) is modeled via finite element analysis to determine the plate thickness (and thus alloy mass). For the above ∼400 m3 habitat with a 1 bar atm on the Moon or Mars, the thickness of the Fe–7Ni plates can be as low as 10 mm to prevent plastic deformation of the alloy. This plate thickness corresponds to 20–30 iron-nickel meteorites with ∼½ ton mass, as observed to exist on Mars by NASA rovers. This confirms the feasibility of using Fe–Ni meteorites - after in-situ collection, melting and casting – to create metallic sheets which can be welded into pressurized structures, at low energy and infrastructure costs.
Abstract 16775: Body Mass Index Predicts Exercise Capacity in Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Introduction: Impaired peak VO2 and obesity are known predictors of morbidity and mortality in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). The purpose of this study is to determine the degree of exercise impairment due to excess weight in patients with HCM. Methods: Adult HCM patients who underwent cardiopulmonary treadmill testing at our tertiary referral center from 2006 - 2012 and had consented to research participation were identified retrospectively. Percent predicted peak VO2 was calculated by the Astrand formula for men and the Jones formula for women which adjust for age and gender. Baseline echocardiographic features obtained within 1 week of exercise testing and % predicted peak VO2 were compared among four groups of patients stratified by body mass index (BMI). Results: 510 patients were identified, with a mean age at diagnosis of 44.3 ± 16.1 years, 186 (36.5%) female. Mean BMI at the time of cardiopulmonary exercise testing was 29.7 ± 5.3 and 227 (44.6%) patients had a BMI ≥ 30. Overweight and obese patients were older and were more likely to be male than their normal weight peers. However, there was no significant difference in ejection fraction (EF), resting left ventricular outflow tract gradient, right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP), or septal thickness among the groups. HCM patients show impaired peak VO2 across all BMI groups. While peak VO2 increased progressively across BMI groups consistent with greater O2 demand generated by higher body weight, the adjusted peak VO2 in mL/kg/min fell progressively, indicating progressively greater performance impairment with increasing BMI despite similar degrees of cardiac impairment (p Conclusion: Increased BMI is associated with reduced exercise performance in a graded manner in HCM patients independent of cardiac impairment identified on echocardiography.
Is mere true belief knowledge

Crispin Sartwell ingeniously defends the provocative thesis that mere true belief suffices for knowledge. In doing so, he challenges one of the most deeply entrenched epistemological tenets, namely that knowledge must be more than mere true belief. Particularly interesting is the way he defends his thesis by appealing to considerations adduced by such prominent epistemologists as William Alston, Laurence BonJour, Alvin Goldman and Paul Moser, each of whom denies that knowledge is merely true belief. In this paper, I argue that the case Sartwell presents for his thesis fails. However, by examining why it fails, we may derive at least four important epistemological lessons: (1) being justified does not entail being able to give a justification; (2) we should distinguish between epistemic justification conceived of as intrinsically conducive to truth and conceived of as extrinsically conducive to truth; (3) we should distinguish between epistemic justification conceived of as an essential criterion of knowledge and conceived of as an accidental criterion of knowledge; and (4) epistemologists need to specify how the telos of inquiry involves more than the acquisition of (merely) true beliefs.
Prospects for CFD on Petaflops Systems

With teraflops-scale computational modeling expected to be routine by 2003--04, under the terms of the Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative (ASCI) of the U.S. Department of Energy, and with teraflops-capable platforms already available to a small group of users, attention naturally focuses on the next symbolically important milestone, computing at rates of 1.0e+15 floating point operations per second, or ``petaflop/s''''. For architectural designs that are in any sense extrapolations of today''s, petaflops-scale computing will require approximately one-million-fold instruction-level concurrency. Given that cost-effective one-thousand-fold concurrency is challenging in practical computational fluid dynamics simulations today, algorithms are among the many possible bottlenecks to CFD on petaflops systems. After a general outline of the problems and prospects of petaflops computing, we examine the issue of algorithms for PDE computations in particular. A back-of-the-envelope parallel complexity analysis focuses on the latency of global synchronization steps in the implicit algorithm. We argue that the latency of synchronization steps is a fundamental, but addressable, challenge for PDE computations with static data structures, which are primarily determined by grids. We provide recent results with encouraging scalability for parallel implicit Euler simulations using the Newton-Krylov-Schwarz solver in the PETSc software library. The prospects for PDE simulations with dynamically evolving data structures are far less clear.
Leaving Work, Leaving Home: Job Loss and Socio-Geographic Mobility in Canada

Le recent ralentissement economique a amplifie un phenomene deja courant sur le marche du travail canadien, c’est-a-dire les pertes d’emplois qui resultent de la reduction des effectifs, du demenagement ou de la fermeture d’entreprises. Cependant, meme en periode de croissance economique, on observe des pertes d’emplois de ce type dans de nombreux groupes demographiques et secteurs du marche du travail. Quand cela se produit, des travailleurs peuvent choisir de demenager pour habiter soit dans un endroit qui leur permettra de reduire leurs depenses de logement soit dans un endroit ou ils chercheront du travail. Dans cet article, a l’aide de donnees tirees de l’Enquete sur la dynamique du travail et du revenu couvrant la periode 1996-2010, l’auteure examine le lien entre les pertes d’emploi et la mobilite geographique au Canada, et decrit dans quels types de quartiers ou de zones les travailleurs ayant perdu leur emploi demenagent. Ces resultats montrent que la perte d’un emploi est une etape importante dans le parcours de vie qui entraine de la mobilite residentielle et des migrations sur de longues distances au Canada, et egalement un evenement declencheur qui amene des individus a vivre des lors dans des zones tres defavorisees. Abstract: The recent economic downturn magnified a routine occurrence in the Canadian labour market: job loss resulting from an employer downsizing, moving, or going out of business. Nevertheless, even in times of economic expansion, rates of involuntary job loss persist across a wide range of demographic and labour market groups. Moving is one way individuals may respond to job loss, relocating either to cheaper housing or in search of work. Drawing on data from the 1996–2010 Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics, this article examines the relationship between job loss and geographic mobility in Canada and provides evidence on the types of neighbourhoods to which individuals move. The findings establish job loss both as a key life course transition motivating residential mobility and long-distance migration in Canada and as a trigger event that initiates entry into high-deprivation areas.
Continuous chemoradiation following complete response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy provides improved outcomes in muscle invasive urothelial carcinoma

Purpose: To evaluate the outcomes of patients with localized muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) treated with neo-adjuvant chemotherapy followed by continuous chemo-radiation (cCRT). To evaluate the prognostic significance of clinical complete response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy in the setting of bladder preservation. Materials/Methods: From 2002 to 2012, twenty-two patients with cT2-4 N0-2 M0 MIBC were treated using cCRT for bladder preservation. All patients were felt to be medically inoperable and/or refused cystectomy. They were treated with maximal transurethral tumor resection (TURBT) and multiple cycles of platinum-doublet-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy, followed by definitive cCRT. Tumor response was evaluated with an abdomino-pelvic CT scan and cystoscopy 4 weeks after neoadjuvant chemotherapy and 3 months after completion of all therapy. Radiation therapy was delivered using 3DCRT or IMRT to a median dose of 45 Gy to the pelvis and 63 Gy to the bladder (range 41.4 Gy to 71.4 Gy). Three-year local control (LC) and disease-free survival (DFS) estimates were determined by the Kaplan-Meier method and log rank analysis. Results: The median age was 67.5 years. Median follow-up was 24 months (range 6 to 86). Clinical stage was T2 in 12 patients, T3 in 8, and T4 in 2. Fourteen patients were node-negative while 8 were node-positive. Actuarial 3-year OS, DFS, LC for the entire cohort were 62.2%, 62% and 78.3%, respectively. Furthermore, the 3-year OS and DFS for patients achieving a CR on cystoscopy following neo-adjuvant chemotherapy was 64.6% vs . 57.1% without CR ( p =.046), and 64.3% vs . 57.1% without CR ( p =.03). The 3-year LC was 90.9% in patients showing complete response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy. When stratified by T stage, 3-year LC was 90.9% for T2, 87.5% for T3 and 0% for T4 ( p =.007). Local failure was associated with distant metastases in 4 out of 5 patients. Two patients had non-invasive local recurrences and both were successfully treated with intra-vesical BCG. Conclusions: Maximal TURBT followed by neo-adjuvant platinum based chemotherapy and definitive cCRT offers good rates of OS, DFS and LC in MIBC at three-years of follow-up. Complete response to neo-adjuvant chemotherapy is a favorable prognostic factor, achieving LC rates >90% at 3 years.
A model independent technique to determine relative proton strengths of isobaric analog states

Abstract The proton ( p ) decay of the isobaric analog state (IAS) of 208 Pb has been observed in coincidence with the IAS neutron from the (p, n) reaction of 208 Pb. Such a technique allows an accurate model-independent determination of the relative widths of the p decay to the first three states of 207 Pb, and, in principle, a much more accurate determination of the relative widths than either resonance or non-coincidence p -measurements.
Hepatic artery infusion as treatment of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer.

There are data to suggest that infusional chemotherapy is more effective than systemic chemotherapy for liver-only metastases. The definitive trial is now in progress. There are also data to suggest that hepatic artery infusion after liver resection decreases the incidence of recurrent or additional liver metastases. Again, a national trial is in progress that should provide definitive answers.
Differentiation as a Determinant of the Reaction of Rat Embryos to X-Irradiation.∗:

SummaryX-irradiation of rat embryos on the 8th day of gestation had a more limited effect on subsequent development than did similar treatment on the 9th and 10th days. The only residual effect after doses of 121/2 to 100r on the 8th day was retardation of growth. Exposure to comparable doses on the 9th and 10th days has been shown previously to result in the development of malformations and in an increase in mortality, as well as in retardation of growth. This difference in reactivity appears to be dependent upon whether cellular differentiation within the embryos has begun at the time of irradiation.
Quality of Care Assessment in Long-Term Care Facilities

Quality of care assessment is in a rather rudimentary state of development in most long-term health care settings. Some of the mandates and initiatives in this area of evaluation are described and discussed. A few caveats are presented and suggestions made as to appropriate approaches to quality assessment in chronic carefacilities, which are different in many respects from the more traditional approaches used in acute care hospitals. Of particular importance, and at the same time of greatest difficulty, is the assessment of quality of life in institutions where many patients spend the remainder of their lives.
Mechanical, Microstructural and Tribological Properties of Low-Surface Energy DLC Coatings

This presentation discusses a study of low surface energy (LSE) diamondlike carbon (DLC) films. Plasma immersion ion deposition (PIID) technique was used to prepare various DLC films on silicon and 316 stainless steel (SS) substrates. To study the film properties and search for optimal coatings with lower surface energy, low friction and high wear resistance, various precursors were used to prepare the DLC film. The coating microstructures were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM); the mechanical properties were characterized using nano-indentation; the tribological properties were studied using a pin-on-disc tribometer; and the surface energy (contact angle) was measured.© 2006 ASME
Preparing for Faculty Roles in Discovery, Learning, and Engagement

As universities and colleges have changed, so has the role of faculty. Greater accountability is expected for faculty time and effort. This paper considers faculty roles by the institution preparing new faculty, the institution hiring new faculty, and the new faculty member themselves. All institutions are seeking faculty who are triple threats: integrate discovery, learning, and engagement; increase and maintain knowledge and technology; and involve students in their professional lives. Institutions preparing new faculty must develop models that stress not only quality research, but address the balance of faculty roles. Hiring institutions must select new faculty so that interest and balance match institutional goals. New faculty must understand what they want from academic life and seek appropriate institutions.
Digital adaptive controllers using second order models with transport lag

Design of a discrete optimal regulator requires the a priori knowledge of a mathematical model for the system of interest. Because a second-order model with transport lag is very amenable to control computations and because this type of model has been used previously to represent certain high order single input-single output processes, an adaptive controller was designed based upon adjustment of controls computed for such a model. An extended Kalman filter was utilized for tracking the model parameters which were subsequently used to update a set of optimal control gains. Favorable results were obtained in applying this procedure to the control of several examples including a ninth order nonlinear process.
The gender debate: science promises an honest investigation of the world

Plenty of reaction to the Commentary from transgendered scientist Ben A. Barres in Nature of 13 July. He debunked the claim that differences in innate aptitude, rather than discrimination, were behind the failure of many women to advance in scientific careers. There's more reaction in Correspondence this week. Add your views to the news blog on http://tinyurl.com/kacrg .
Structural characterization of manganese(II)-nucleotide complexes bound to yeast 3-phosphoglycerate kinase: 13C relaxation measurements using [U-13C]ATP and [U-13C]ADP.

A complete characterization of the conformations of Mn·ADP and Mn·ATP bound to the active site of yeast 3-P-glycerate kinase is presented. These conformations have been deduced on the basis of para...
Measures of individual uncertainty for ecological models: Variance and entropy

Organisms on the move face uncertainty regarding the state of their environments, and characterizing the magnitude of this uncertainty is important because of its influence on organismal decision making. Two common measures of the uncertainty inherent in a distribution of possible outcomes are variance and entropy, yet there is currently no standard for when one measure should be used over the other. This paper explores this question using two models of resource uncertainty. For small numbers of discrete possible outcomes, variance is the better measure because it captures the spread between outcomes as well as their differential possibilities. However, variance can categorically fail as a measure of uncertainty when distributions are multimodal or discontinuous, in which case entropy should be used to characterize uncertainty.
Raising rivals' costs: The entry of an upstream monopolist into downstream markets

Abstract A regulated upstream monopolist provides an input to firms in a downstream market. If the monopolist enters the downstream market, a natural concern is that it will act so as to raise its downstream rivals' costs. An offsetting incentive is that a higher downstream price will reduce demand for the input, which reduces the monopolist's profit. Conditions under which one incentive dominates the other are derived. The monopolist may desire to lower its downstream rivals' costs rather than raise them. These findings suggest that regulatory policy towards such downstream entry should not focus exclusively on the ability to discriminate.
Delayed interval delivery in twins: Assessing for improved survivability of the second twin

CONCLUSION: 1) There is a relative increase in the number of obese women delivering in our region during the study period, 2) Teens were more likely than non-teens to be underweight, 3) The incidence of AWDs in Northeastern New York is lower than in previously published reports (1/2000), 4) Underweight mothers are over three times more likely to have a baby with an AWD. This is the first report of an association between low maternal BMI and AWDs.
WINDFALL REVENUES: NEW EXPERIENCES FOR CUT-BACK MANAGERS

Windfall revenues, generally unexpected and unplanned incomes, are becoming a more frequent occurrence in state and local governments. After two decades of cutback management and doing more-with-less, state and local government administrators find themselves unprepared for the current fiscal environment of unexpected and unplanned surplus revenues. Thus, little current literature dealing with windfall revenue management, beyond descriptive case studies, is available to administrators and policy makers as they grapple with decisions on how to expend these revenues. This paper summarizes the available literature on windfall revenue management and forwards recommendations for the management of windfall income.
An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to quantitate the elastin crosslink desmosine in tissue and urine samples.

Abstract An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method has been developed for the determination of desmosine. The method is based on an inhibition immunoassay (under nonequilibrium conditions) and uses rabbit antisera directed against a desmosine-bovine serum albumin conjugate and microtiter plates coated with desmosine-gelatin conjugate. The assay quantitates desmosine in the range 2.5–50 pmol in tissue and urine samples. Important applications of this rapid and sensitive assay are in studying elastin metabolism and in screening for monoclonal antibodies against desmosine. Methods are described for obtaining a constant level of substitution of desmosine per molecule of bovine serum albumin and for preparing a desmosine-gelatin coating antigen. Five different antibody preparations directed against desmosine exhibit 15–20% cross-reactivity toward pyridinoline (3-hydroxypyridinium), a nonreducible collagen crosslinking compound also present in urine and many tissue samples.
Atmospheric ozone as a climate gas

Observations during the past few decades indicate that the distribution of atmospheric ozone has been changing, notably decreases in the lower stratosphere around the globe and increases in the upper troposphere in the mid-to-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. These changes can perturb the radiative forcing of the Earth-atmosphere climate system and thus raise the issue of atmospheric ozone as a climate gas. Here, we demonstrate the importance of ozone to climate by comparing general circulation model (GCM) simulated present climates between two atmospheric ozone climatologies: a version currently used in the NCAR GCM's (CCM1 and GENESIS) and an updated version. The new ozone climatology includes two improvements: the use of recent years' measurements from satellite (TOMS and SAGE) and ground-based ozonesondes and the consideration of longitudinal variations. Although the effect on the simulated global, annual mean surface air temperature is calculated to be small, the regional influences are quite substantial, especially at the middle and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere during winter. This suggests that atmospheric ozone is important in simulating the regional climate and observed ozone changes in the last few decades may have played an important role in affecting the climate. Note that to assess the climatic effect of ozone changes requires the GCM's to include interactive radiation-chemistry-dynamics interaction so that the ozone distribution can be consistently calculated.
A comparison of cardiovascular and autonomic adjustments to three types of cold stimulation tasks.

Abstract Two types of ‘cold pressor’ tasks are used frequently in research settings: immersing the hand or foot in ice water, and applying an icebag to the forehead. Both tasks have commonly been selected as ‘α-adrenergic’ tasks due to expected increases in blood pressure and peripheral resistance. However, the forehead cooling task has been used by others to produce increased vagal tone due to the elicitation of the ‘diving reflex’ and subsequent bradycardia. This differs from the prototypical increase in heart rate during hand immersion. The present study directly compared the cardiovascular adjustments of hand immersion and forehead stimulation. As stimulation of the trigeminal nerve is thought to increase vagal activity during forehead cooling, a third condition in which most of the face was covered with an icebag was included to ostensibly stimulate more of the trigeminal. 18 males had counterbalanced exposures to hand immersion, forehead cooling, and facial cooling for 90 s each. Cardiovascular variables derived from impedance cardiography and the ECG were measured. Respiration was paced at 14 breaths/min to facilitate comparisons of respiratory sinus arrhythmia across conditions. No differences among baseline or tasks were found for respiratory rate or cardiac output. The pattern of results for hand immersion was that of increased heart rate with moderate blood pressure increases. In contrast, the forehead and facial cooling tasks elicited small heart rate decreases with little change in blood pressure. Facial cooling elicited significantly more vagal activation than hand cooling as indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia. The patterns of response for facial and forehead cooling were almost identical. Probable reasons for the lack of significant blood pressure responses during the facial and forehead cooling are discussed.
Information Structure: Afterword

This is the afterword to the 2012 republication of "Information structure in discourse: Towards an integrated formal theory of pragmatics". See also the annotated bibliography on related topics at http://www.ling.ohio-state.edu/~croberts/QUDbib/ . http://dx.doi.org/10.3765/sp.5.7 BibTeX info
Inhibition of ethacrynic acid induced increase in renal blood flow by indomethacin.

Abstract Administration of ethacrynic acid induces, after a delay of 2–3 minutes, an increase in renal blood flow. The delay in onset is also present after renal arterial administration. In order to test the possibility that ethacrynic acid might be releasing vasodilating prostaglandins, indomethacin an inhibitor of prostaglandin synthesis was employed. In six dogs the administration of ethacrynic acid, 0.2 mg/kg, via a renal artery increased renal blood flow by 66 ± 22 ml/min. A second dose administered after indomethacin increased renal blood flow only 8 ± 6 ml/min, a decrease of 58 ml/min. In a second series where indomethacin was not administered, the first dose of ethacrynic acid increased renal blood flow by 65 ± 11 ml/min and 43 ± 8 ml/min after a second administration. Thus while some tachyphylaxis occurs after a second administration, the much greater decrease seen after indomethacin implicates prostaglandins in mediating the renal vasodilation produced by ethacrynic acid.
Pattern of sympathetic discharges and their relation to baroreceptor and respiratory activities.

Abstract (1) The patterns of sympathetic background discharges and sympathetic reflex responses were recorded and compared in pre- and postganglionic fibers in the white rami at T 1−2 , T 10−11 , L 1−2 , cervical sympathetic nerve, splanchnic, cardiac and renal nerves in chloralose-urethane anesthetized cats. (2) Background discharges recorded from white rami at various levels of sympathetic outflow were similar. Background discharges recorded from postganglionic fibers appeared to be much different from those of the white rami. In the postganglionic fibers there was clear arterial-pulse synchronous activity. After severance of all baroreceptor afferents, rhythmic activity was still present but it was not pulse synchronous. (3) Sympathetic reflexes evoked by stimulation of the sciatic nerve showed spinal (early) and supraspinal (late) reflex responses in white rami of T 10–11 and L 1–2 , but at the T 1–2 level and in cardiac and cervical sympathetic nerves these two reflexes could not be separated because of the small difference in their latencies. Recordings from postganglionic fibers of renal nerves generally showed supraspinal reflexes only; the spinal reflexes were small or could not be distinguished from background discharges except in a few instances. (4) Background discharges as well as the sympathetic reflexes recorded from pre- and postganglionic sympathetic fibers were strongly altered by respiratory neuron activity. They were augmented during the phases of the respiratory cycle when phrenic discharges were occuring and they were depressed during absence of phrenic discharges. (5) Activation of carotid sinus baroreceptors by distention completely inhibited both background and supraspinal reflex responses recorded from pre- and postganglionic fibers, but the spinal reflex was not affected. The degree of inhibitory effect was found to be the same in all recordings, i.e. , from the white rami of various cord levels as well as in postganglionic renal and cardiac nerves. (6) The decrease in systemic blood pressure caused by repetitive stimulation of somatic myelinated fibers at low frequency (2–5/sec) was further augmented by baroreceptor activation. The two effects summated. The pressor effects and the increased sympathetic activity evoked by high frequency stimulation of myelinated (A-) fibers, or excitation of both A- and C-fibers together, were counteracted by baroreceptor activation; augmented sympathetic discharges were completely abolished for a few seconds and a decrease in blood pressure occurred. (7) It was concluded that the modulation of sympathetic activities produced by baroreceptor afferents, by the respiratory center activity and by somatic nerve excitation through supraspinal centers are similar in all sympathetic efferents.
Wetting behavior of coal in the presence of some nonionic surfactants

Abstract The wetting behavior of coal has been determined in the presence of nonyl and octyl series of nonionic surfactants containing polyethoxy groups of different sizes. The wetting behavior was determined by a modified Walker technique and contact angle measurements. The results show that the wetting rate of coal varies with coal rank, structure of the hydrocarbon chain and number of ethoxy groups in the hydrophilic group of the surfactant. A close relationship has been observed between the wetting rates and the short-time advancing contact angles.
Infrared remote sensing of Mars and the Mars astrobiology exploration strategy

The Mars exploration strategy calls first for the detection from orbit of minerals indicative of environments conducive to the support of life or the preservation of biomarkers. That information would then be used for astrobiology landing site selection. The near-term search will be conducted by the 1996 Global Surveyor Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) and the 2001 Mars Odyssey 9-band radiometer Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS). This places the productivity of TES and THEMIS in the critical path of the Mars astrobiology strategy. Most predictions of mineral detection limits for TES and THEMIS are based on laboratory spectra of fresh mineral surfaces. However, standard laboratory measurements of fresh mineral surfaces generally do not reproduce all the spectral effects of weathering and surface roughness that are very apparent in field spectra, and these differences can critically affect interpretations of TES and THEMIS data. Here we examine causes of variations in spectral contrast, and differences in spectral signatures recorded in the field and in typical laboratory measurements, and show what the results indicate for the search for minerals and landing sites using TES and THEMIS. We conclude that for TES and THEMIS to attain their predicted mineral detection limits, minerals must be present under specific conditions: well-crystalline, smooth-surfaced at several scales, and low atmospheric downwelling radiance contribution. As a result, TES and THEMIS should not necessarily be used to exclude landing sites that are of interest for other reasons (e.g. geomorphology), but that exhibit no clear detections of minerals of interest to astrobiologists.
Research Competencies in the Dietetics Curricula

Abstract Investment in dietetics research has the potential to improve general health; increase work performance and learning capacity; extend disease-free life; reduce birth defects, infections, and chronic diseases; and decrease health care costs. Opportunities exist for research in the areas of solid waste management, global environment, health care reform, and foodservice systems management. Research efforts can focus on cost-effectiveness and medical efficacy of dietary services to improve third-party reimbursement. Educators have a stake in creating the future by conducting research, teaching research to dietetic students, and investigating the effectiveness of education. J Am Diet Assoc. 1997;97(suppl 2):S102–S106.
Consumption of salmon by Alaskan brown bears: a trade-off between nutritional requirements and the risk of infanticide?

The risk of infanticide may alter foraging decisions made by females, which otherwise would have been based on nutritional requirements and forage quality and availability. In systems where meat resources are spatially aggregated in late summer and fall, female brown bears ( Ursus arctos) would be faced with a trade-off situation. The need of reproductive females to accumulate adequate fat stores would likely result in a decision to frequent salmon streams and consume the protein- and lipid-rich spawning salmon. In contrast, aggregations of bears along salmon streams would create conditions of high risk of infanticide. We investigated consumption of salmon by brown bears on Admiralty and Chichagof Islands in Southeast Alaska from 1982 to 2000 using stable isotope analysis and radiotelemetry. While nearly all males (22 of 23) consumed relatively large amounts of salmon (i.e., >10% relative contribution to seasonal diet), not all females ( n =56) did so. Five of 26 females for which we had reproductive data, occupied home ranges that had no access to salmon and thus did not consume salmon when they were mated or accompanied by young. Of females that had access to salmon streams ( n =21), all mated individuals ( n =16) had δ15N values indicative of salmon consumption. In contrast, 4 out of 16 females with cubs avoided consuming salmon altogether, and of the other 12, 3 consumed less salmon than they did when they were mated. For 11 of 21 females with access to salmon streams we had data encompassing both reproductive states. Five of those altered foraging strategies and exhibited significantly lower values of δ15N when accompanied by young than when mated, while 6 did not. Radiotelemetry data indicated that females with spring cubs were found, on average, further away from streams during the spawning season compared with females with no young, but both did not differ from males and females with yearlings and 2-year-olds. Females with young that avoided salmon streams were significantly lighter indicating that female choice to avoid consumption of salmon carries a cost that may translate to lower female or cub survivorship. The role of the social hierarchy of males and females, mating history, and paternity in affecting the risk of infanticide and foraging decisions of female brown bears merit further investigation.
The Status and Perceptions of University Outcomes Assessment in Economics.

This study reviews the status of student outcomes assessment in departments of economics at colleges and universities across the country.
Population health concerns during the United States' Great Recession.

Background Associations between economic conditions and health are usually derived from cost-intensive surveys that are intermittently collected with nonspecific measures (i.e., self-rated health). Purpose This study identified how precise health concerns changed during the U.S. Great Recession analyzing Google search queries to identify the concern by the query content and their prevalence by the query volume. Methods Excess health concerns were estimated during the Great Recession (December 2008 through 2011) by comparing the cumulative difference between observed and expected (based on linear projections from pre-existing trends) query volume for hundreds of individual terms. As performed in 2013, the 100 queries with the greatest excess were ranked and then clustered into themes based on query content. Results The specific queries with the greatest relative excess were stomach ulcer symptoms and headache symptoms , respectively, 228% (95% CI=35, 363) and 193% (95% CI=60, 275) greater than expected. Queries typically involved symptomology (i.e., gas symptoms ) and diagnostics (i.e., heart monitor ) naturally coalescing into themes. Among top themes, headache queries were 41% (95% CI=3, 148); hernia 37% (95% CI=16, 142); chest pain 35% (95% CI=6, 313); and arrhythmia 32% (95% CI=3, 149) greater than expected. Pain was common with back, gastric, joint, and tooth foci, with the latter 19% (95% CI=4, 46) higher. Among just the top 100, there were roughly 205 million excess health concern queries during the Great Recession. Conclusions Google queries indicate that the Great Recession coincided with substantial increases in health concerns, hinting at how population health specifically changed during that time.
Receptor utilization by reovirus type 3: distinct binding sites on thymoma and fibroblast cell lines result in differential compartmentalization of virions

Reovirus type 3/D infects cells following binding to specific cell-surface receptors. The characteristics of these receptors may play an important role in determining post-binding events critical to the viral life cycle. Some cell lines, i.e. L-cells, appear to bind reovirus type 3/D utilizing sialylated proteins as specific receptors for viral adsorption. Such binding results in productive infection. Other cell lines, i.e. R1.1 thymoma cells, bind reovirus type 3/D in a sialic acid independent manner which does not result in productive infection. Yet, a peptide analogue of the viral binding site is capable of inhibiting binding of reovirus type 3 to both cell types, suggesting the same viral epitope interacts with both cellular receptors. When binding of reovirus is studied by electron microscopy, the virus particles enter the L cells via coated pits, and are later seen in large accumulations in endocytic vesicles near the transGolgi network. In contrast, R1.1 cells appear to divert the reovirus particles to a cell membrane elaboration, with reovirus remaining bound to the cell membrane. At later time points with R1.1 cells, there are no apparent intracellular accumulations. These studies demonstrate that viruses can attach to different cells utilizing distinct receptors, and this may play a role in the ability of the virions to productively infect the cells. The capacity of virus to be adsorbed to cellular receptors which do not lead to internalization may be an important mechanism for the sequestration and clearance of virus. These observations have implications for the tissue tropism demonstrated by reovirus type 3/D and other viruses.
Race, slavery, and Islamic law in the early modern Atlantic: Ahmad Baba al-Tinbukti's treatise on enslavement

This paper examines one of the earliest intellectual works to directly address the intersecting issues of race and slavery that emerged with the rise of the plantation system that took root in the early modern Atlantic. I examine the works of a Muslim scholar, Ahmad Baba al-Tinbukti, who himself was enslaved, and I examine his use of scholarly traditions and innovative thoughts on the origins of race by Muslim scholars such as Ibn Khaldoun to author a resounding critique of not just race-based slavery, but the entire practice of enslavement as he experienced it in the realms of the Moroccan caliphate of Ahmad al-Mansur. The latter's Caliphal aspirations were aimed at rivalling the Ottoman Empire, whose westward expansion had recently been curtailed. Within this context, Ahmad Baba's rulings served as a critique of the Sa`dis claim to just rule as a Muslim dynasty. This paper aims to bring discussions of race and slavery in the Muslim world into larger discussions about the emergence of slave-based agricul...
Immune-inflammatory Dysregulation Modulates the Incidence of Progressive Fibrosis and Diastolic Stiffness in the Aging Heart

Diastolic dysfunction in the aging heart is a grave condition that challenges the life and lifestyle of a growing segment of our population. This report seeks to examine the role and interrelationship of inflammatory dysregulation in interstitial myocardial fibrosis and progressive diastolic dysfunction in aging mice. We studied a population of C57BL/6 mice that developed progressive diastolic dysfunction over 30 months of life. This progressive dysfunction was associated with increasing infiltration of CD45(+) fibroblasts of myeloid origin. In addition, increased rates of collagen expression as measured by cellular procollagen were apparent in the heart as a function of age. These cellular and functional changes were associated with progressive increases in mRNA for MCP-1 and IL-13, which correlated both temporally and quantitatively with changes in fibrosis and cellular procollagen levels. MCP-1 protein was also increased and found to be primarily in the venular endothelium. Protein assays also demonstrated elevation of IL-4 and IL-13 suggesting a shift to a Th2 phenotype in the aging heart. In vitro studies demonstrated that IL-13 markedly enhanced monocyte-fibroblast transformation. Our results indicate that immunoinflammatory dysregulation in the aging heart induces progressive MCP-1 production and an increased shift to a Th2 phenotype paralleled by an associated increase in myocardial interstitial fibrosis, cellular collagen synthesis, and increased numbers of CD45(+) myeloid-derived fibroblasts that contain procollagen. The temporal association and functional correlations suggest a causative relationship between age-dependent immunoinflammatory dysfunction, fibrosis and diastolic dysfunction.