cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of reduced dialysis frequency using nutritional therapy

This study was carried out in seven patients being treated by intermittent hemodialysis. Each had some residual renal function. In protocol 1, when the patients were dialyzed weekly and the dietary protein intake was 0.96 g/kg/day, the nitrogen balance corrected for changes in the urea pool was positive during the days between dialysis; the serum urea concentration (SUN) before dialysis was 109 +/- 7 mg/dl. In protocol 2, when dietary protein was reduced to 0.4 g/kg/day and supplemented with essential amino acids (10 g/day), the corrected nitrogen balance on days between weekly dialyses was positive; the SUN before dialysis was lower than it was in protocol 1 (-33 +/- 7 mg/dl, P less than 0.01). The nonurea space (body weight minus body water) increased in six of seven patients during protocol 2. Two patients were then treated with the dietary regimen of protocol 2 and dialyzed every 2 weeks. The corrected nitrogen balance on nondialysis days was positive, and there was a further increase in nonurea space. This study suggests that dialysis frequency may be reduced in some patients with residual renal function by means of nutritional therapy.
STIMULATION IN VIVO OF RENAL RNA-SYNTHESIS BY ALDOSTERONE.

SummarySpectrophotometric determination of RNA and isotopic determination of the incorporation of uridine 5′-monophosphate H3 into RNA have shown that aldosterone stimulates RNA-synthesis in vivo. This occurs during the time aldosterone exerts its antinatruretic action. Actinomycin D, an inhibitor of RNA-synthesis, blocked both of these effects. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that the antinatruretic action of aldosterone is mediated via DNA directed synthesis of messenger-RNA which in turn stimulates the synthesis of a protein involved in the transport of sodium.
Adrenergic receptors and the regulation of vascular resistance in bullfrog tadpoles (Rana catesbeiana).

Vascular adrenergic sensitivity to exogenous catecholamines was examined in tadpoles of the American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana), ranging from stage III to XIV. Central arterial blood pressure was measured in decerebrate bullfrog tadpoles to determine a reasonable initial infusion pressure. Solutions of epinephrine and phenylephrine were infused into the vasculature of pithed tadpoles, and the resulting changes in vascular resistance (Rv) were used to construct log dose-response relationships. Epinephrine infusion produced a dose-dependent increase in Rv (EC50=5.3·10-7M), which could be reversed by sodium nitroprusside (a smooth muscle relaxant) and blocked by phenoxybenzamine (an α-adrenergic antagonist). Larval Rv also increased with infusion of the α-agonist phenylephrine (EC50=7.4·108M). Infusion of 10-6M isoproterenol (a β-agonist) largely reversed the phenylephrine-induced increase in Rv. These results indicate that the capacity exists for both α-mediated vasoconstriction and β-mediated vasodilation early in bullfrog ontogeny. Neither initial Rv nor the responses to infused epinephrine or phenylephrine were significantly correlated to development over the range of larval stages used in this study.
Steps to evaluating a statewide internship program: Model, trainee, and student outcomes

Internships play a pivotal role in the future of school psychology, and internship training is influenced by disciplinary trends including (a) an increased focus on accountability and demonstrating the positive impact of trainees' practices on student outcomes and (b) growing emphasis on scientifically based and empirically based practice. These influences also include greater sophistication in decision making as well as different ways of outcome-focused decision making. System-wide approaches such as Positive Behavior Support (PBS) and response to intervention (RTI) require high training demands to develop intervention-related decision and accountability skills. Programmatically, accountability systems to meet the training needs of intervention services require scaling up. This article describes a multiyear developmental project bringing diverse universities together to institutionalize a statewide system of accountability. We share data from 3 years (N of interns = 278) and suggest recommendations for outcome-oriented evaluation for other universities, agencies, school psychological services delivery units, or states. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The effect of elevated temperature on conventional stationary phases used in SFC

The effect of elevated temperatures on conventional packed bonded-phase columns used in supercritical-fluid chromatography (SFC) has been investigated. The impact of column conditioning temperature on the capacity factor, peak width, and peak asymmetry on octadecyl and propylamino columns from five commerical suppliers is reported.
Violencia sexual y la construcción del Otro: El caso de la Madre Castillo, una mística del Nuevo Reino de Granada (1671-1742)

Sister Francisca de la Concepcion (Mother Castillo), a Neogranadine nun, articulated multiple, powerful discourses in her works Mi vida and Afectos espirituales. In what I call a "hegemonic confessional discourse," visible throughout her mystical works, the Spanish-American colonial nun affirmed the Iberian colonization and Catholic evangelization of the New Kingdom of Granada by accepting and supporting the Spanish's violent and discriminatory hegemony. I will defend the aforementioned thesis by analyzing Mi vida and Afectos espirituales, using the construction of Otherness and an explanation of various mystical processes, and by scrutinizing Mother Castillo's social, economic, political, and religious views, as well as her Catholic orthodox, white, traditional perspective.
The role of positive affect in pain and its treatment.

Objective:This narrative review summarizes and integrates the available literature on positive affect (PA) and pain to: (1) provide a brief overview of PA and summarize the key findings that have emerged in the study of PA and pain; (2) provide a theoretical foundation from which to understand how P
Comparison of Service Delivery Models Influencing Teachers' Use of Assistive Technology for Students with Severe Disabilities

Since the 70s and 80s the use of assistive technology in the classroom setting for individuals with severe disabilities has emerged. Assistive technology has provided a new set of tools which allow students to achieve a greater level of independence. Literature review has indicated the need for additional training of related service and classroom personnel in the use of this technology. Training would promote confidence levels in assistive technology application, which may result in increased daily use within the educational domains. The purpose of this research study was to investigate the perceived effectiveness of consultation versus direct service delivery models that influence special educators' and paraprofessionals' use Of assistive technology with students who have severe disabilities. Thirty special educators and sixteen paraprofessionals completed a questionnaire regarding their use of assistive technology with their students and the service delivery model they perceived to be most effective. The results indicated no significant difference between teachers' and paraprofessionals' perceived effectiveness of service delivery models. However, descriptive data did suggest that teachers were utilizing and benefiting from collaborative consultation services when training students with severe disabilities. Limitations to the study and recommendation for further research are also discussed.
Your cheatin’ heart: joint production, joint consumption and the likelihood of extramarital sex

Using data from the General Social Survey (GSS), we model the probability of engaging in Extramarital Sex (EMS) with a focus on variables that allow us to discern evidence of assortative mating. We find that couples with the same religion and both having high levels of education are less likely to engage in EMS. We also find that work status matters: those who are employed are more likely to cheat if their spouses are not working.
A Word Identification Strategy for Adolescents with Learning Disabilities

Students with learning disabilities frequently experience difficulty on reading tasks. This difficulty is heightened for adolescents with learning disabilities who are responsible for reading and understanding materials written at several grade levels above their reading ability. Word identification becomes an increasingly important skill for these students, especially when confronted with unfamiliar, polysyllabic words. The present study investigated the effects of training 12 adolescents with learning disabilities in a word identification strategy, DISSECT. The results indicated that the strategy was effective in reducing reading errors for all subjects. However, it was found that increases in word identification differentially affected reading comprehension and indicate the need for separate and/or simultaneous attention to comprehension processes.
[Comment on “Anonymous reviews: Self‐serving, counterproductive, and unacceptable”] from D. J. Wesolowski: Preserving anonymity in the review process

To those scientists who haven't served as editors or associate editors of scientific journals, I can assure you that it's already too hard to find enough qualified reviewers willing to do the job without threatening them with exposure as well! So, if you want your papers to be published within a reasonable timeframe, you'll pretty much have to put up with anonymous reviews. I've been an associate editor of Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta for 11 years and an Editorial Board member of Chemical Geology for 4. I think anonymous reviews are perfectly acceptable, but that the editor evaluating the reviews should always be identified, both to the authors and in the published manuscript. Reviewers should be permitted to request anonymity, but authors should always be instructed to specifically acknowledge in their manuscripts the contributions of those reviewers who do not request anonymity. This, in fact, might encourage more reviewers to identify themselves. I don't know about you, but it tickles me pink when I see my name in print!
Quantum Molecular Dynamics Simulations Regarding the Dechlorination of Trichloro Ethene in the Interlayer Space of the 2:1 Clay Mineral Nontronite

Quantum mechanical geometry optimizations and molecular dynamics simulations were performed of trichloroethene (TCE) adsorbed on the mineral surfaces in the interlayer space of an idealized nontronite, a 2:1 clay mineral containing structural Fe2+. Density functional procedures were used as implemented in the ab initio program CASTEP, in fully periodic calculations. Geometry optimization included the atomic positions of the mineral and the adsorbates within the unit cell, in addition to unit cell lengths and angles, achieving full optimization of the entire crystal system. In the absence of water, TCE molecules reside flat on the mineral basal planes and the molecular structure is not significantly different from that of the isolated system. In the presence of water, geometry optimization leads to a nonplanar structure, with the cis-Cl−CC−Cl torsion at 52.5° and a C···Cl distance of ∼3 A. The molecular dynamics simulations show that the elongated C···Cl distance has lost the oscillatory properties of a tr...
Nuclear Hartree-Fock calculations with a simple reaction matrix

Abstract Self-consistent field (Hartree-Fock) calculations on several finite nuclei are presented. A non-local (momentum dependent) interaction is used. This interaction has some of the important structure of a reaction-matrix derived from realistic nucleon forces. It is adjusted to reproduce mass-formula parameters of Myers and Swiatecki. Good agreement with experimental binding energies and radii is obtained except for nuclei with A ≦ 16. Of considerable interest is the agreement with radii because the density of nuclear matter deduced by Myers and Swiatecki is 0.1365 fm−3 and this is considerably less than 0.17 or 0.19 fm−3 which have been the accepted values in most previous works. The binding energies of e.g. the Ca isotopes is considerably improved by adding a spin-orbit potential to the states of the least bound nucleons in the j = l + 1 2 shells.
Frequency, predictors, and outcomes of drug-eluting stent utilization in patients with high-risk non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes.

Despite the established benefit of drug-eluting stents (DESs) in improving clinical and angiographic outcomes in pivotal, randomized trials, relatively little is known regarding the frequency and patterns of DES use in clinical practice. To characterize DES use in a broad, unselected high-risk non–ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome population, we evaluated the frequency, patterns, and predictors of DES use among patients in the Can Rapid risk stratification of Unstable angina patients Suppress ADverse outcomes with Early implementation of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Guidelines (CRUSADE) Quality Improvement Initiative who were selected to undergo percutaneous coronary intervention. Of 8,852 patients with high-risk non–ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes who underwent percutaneous revascularization at 262 hospitals between October 2003 and June 2004, 5,858 (66.2%) were treated with DESs and 2,994 (33.8%) were not. During a 9-month period, DES use increased considerably from 52.6% of cases in October 2003 to 78.5% in June 2004. Compared with the bare metal stent cohort, patients receiving DESs were more likely to be women and to have private insurance, but were less likely to present with positive cardiac markers or ST-segment depression. In adjusted analysis, death and recurrent infarction were significantly lower among the patients with a DES, yet early revascularization and treatment with guideline-recommended therapies were less frequent. In a multivariate model, significant (p
Intraspecific variation in germination response to ammonium nitrate of Powell amaranth (Amaranthus powellii) seeds originating from organic vs. conventional vegetable farms

Abstract The primary objectives of this research were (1) to characterize intraspecific variation in Powell amaranth seed germination and emergence response to nitrogen fertilization, and (2) to evaluate whether germination and emergence characteristics varied between seeds from populations originating on organic vs. conventional vegetable farms. We hypothesized that nonherbicide–based weed management and use of slower-releasing forms of N on organic farms may have selected for seeds with lower dormancy and lower germination sensitivity to N fertilization than seeds from conventional farms. Seeds were collected from five conventional and five organic vegetable farms in central New York State. A second generation of seeds, produced under common greenhouse conditions and stored for at least 3 mo at 5 C was tested for both germination in petri dishes and emergence in the field under multiple rates of ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3). Both seed germination and emergence were greater for seeds originating from organi...
Sugar Cane Refining And Processing Company: A Comprehensive Case In Capital Budgeting

The Sugar Cane Refining and Processing Company is a comprehensive case covering a firm’s investment decision in fixed assets or capital budgeting. Most senior level undergraduate and graduate corporate financial management courses cover advanced topics in capital budgeting, including measuring complex cash flows, biasness in the capital budgeting process, agency issues, managerial options and risk adjusting techniques. To cover these relevant topics in a single case, the invented or “armchair” approach is used. This case is completely contrived but is very educationally effective.
Stent-Assisted Coil Embolization of a Wide-Neck Aneurysm at the Vertebral Artery Terminus Using a Contralateral Approach: A Technical Report.

Aneurysms of the vertebrobasilar junction (VBJ) are especially uncommon but carry a significant risk of hemorrhage and have been historically difficult to treat. In recent years, however, advancements in stent-assisted embolization have allowed better access and stabilization of complicated posterior circulation aneurysms. Here we present a novel approach in the treatment of a wide-neck aneurysm at the terminus of the left vertebral artery via a contralateral approach in a patient with ipsilateral subclavian artery occlusion.
The ‘national’ in international and transnational science

This essay analyses discussions of national versus international or transnational science, with an emphasis on the journal Osiris from 1986 to 2009, including the concepts of national science, national styles and characters in science, scientific internationalism, transfer of science and scientists from one nation to another, and comparison of different national examples. The author argues that perceiving science as a ‘national’ activity has not only been persistent, it is also perhaps inevitable. This special issue on transnational histories of science raises the question of what is gained and lost by such an approach. First of all, what is the distinction between ‘transnational’ and ‘international’? The dictionary defines the latter as something existing, occurring, or carried on between two nations, while the former extends or operates across national boundaries. Thus ‘international’ implies some sort of commerce. In contrast, transnational is a loosely defined term.
Treatment of chronic obstruction of the axillary, subclavian, and innominate veins

Of 79 patients seen at the University of Minnesota with symptomatic chronic obstruction of the axillary subclavian or innominate vein, 65 were considered surgical candidates. Etiology of the obstruction was as follows: Group A (n=45), previous subclavian effort thrombosis; Group B (n=14), stenosis caused by occupation or sport activities; and Group C (n=6), long segments (4–7.2 cm) of obstruction caused by chronic intraluminal placement of devices (catheters, pacemaker, or defibrillator leads).
Interview: A perspective on personalized medicine: Dr David Korn

David Korn speaks to Tarryn Greenberg, Managing Commissioning Editor David Korn (BA, scl, MD, cl; Harvard University, MA, USA) stepped down from his position as Harvard University's inaugural Vice-Provost for Research on June 30, 2011. He is presently Consultant in Pathology and member of the medical staff at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA and Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. Dr Korn has been a member of the editorial boards of the American Journal of Pathology, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, and Human Pathology, and for many years was an Associate Editor of the latter. He has sat on many societies, councils and boards. He has written many scientific articles, ranging from bacteriophage biochemistry and genetics to the biochemistry and molecular biology of DNA replication in human cells. During the past two decades his work, writings and lectures have focused on issues of academic values and integrity, research integrity, and health and science policy, and he is presently regarded as a national authority on matters of financial conflicts of interest in academic research.
Making an Effort to Listen: Mechanical Amplification in the Ear

The inner ear's performance is greatly enhanced by an active process defined by four features: amplification, frequency selectivity, compressive nonlinearity, and spontaneous otoacoustic emission. These characteristics emerge naturally if the mechanoelectrical transduction process operates near a dynamical instability, the Hopf bifurcation, whose mathematical properties account for specific aspects of our hearing. The active process of nonmammalian tetrapods depends upon active hair-bundle motility, which emerges from the interaction of negative hair-bundle stiffness and myosin-based adaptation motors. Taken together, these phenomena explain the four characteristics of the ear's active process. In the high-frequency region of the mammalian cochlea, the active process is dominated instead by the phenomenon of electromotility, in which the cell bodies of outer hair cells extend and contract as the protein prestin alters its membrane surface area in response to changes in membrane potential.
Scaling of nucleic acid assays on microelectrophoresis array devices: High‐dynamic range multi‐gene readout from less than ten transcripts

In this paper we describe progress in using the prodigious data-collecting ability of multilane microelectrophoresis instruments to bear on problems in scaled nucleic acid assays. We emphasize compound stacking and solid-support loading as means to concentrate < 100 pg samples for direct injection. Reaction Mapping is applied to readout quantitative polymerase chain reaction gene-expression and as a way to practically overcome difficulty in interpreting amplification curves of multiplexed quantitative polymerase chain reaction at 20―50 gene/well complexity. We demonstrate multiplexed readout of gene expression over an abundancy range of 9 Log 2 units starting with reverse-transcribed samples as small as five molecules in each sample.
Tailoring liquid/solid interfacial energy transfer: fabrication and application of multiscale metallic surfaces with engineered heat transfer and electrolysis properties via femtosecond laser surface processing techniques

Femtosecond Laser Surface Processing (FLSP) is a powerful technique for the fabrication of self-organized multiscale surface structures on metals that are critical for advanced control over energy transfer at a liquid/solid interface in applications such as electrolysis. The efficiency of the hydrogen evolution reaction on stainless steel 316 electrodes in a 1 molar potassium hydroxide solution is used to analyze the role of surface geometry to facilitate the phase conversion of the liquid to a gaseous state in the vicinity of the interface. It is found that the efficiency of the electrolysis process is directly related to the separation of micro-scale features on an electrode surface. The enhancement is attributed to the size of the valleys between microstructures controlling the contact between an evolving vapor bubble and the electrode surface. The results suggest an alternative pathway for the tailoring of interfacial energy transfer on structured surfaces separate from traditional benchmarks such as surface area and contact angle.
The Inverse Yates Algorithm

Students of experimental design are admonished to study the residuals remaining after a model has been fitted to a collection of data. They are also advised to contemplate several fitted models and not simply to accept the most obvious model for the experimental design and data in hand. One practical difficulty encountered is the labor required in computing the residuals for different alternative models. Fortunately, for the case of the 2k and 2*kfactorial designs, this computation may be quickly accomplished using the Inverse Yates Algorithm. The purpose of the standard Yates algorithm (1) is to estimate the "effects" of the k factors upon a response y or, equivalently, to estimate the coefficients in the factorial model:
Hearing can be Lost During Healing

Therapeutic regimens often impose adverse effects that have to be weighed against the expected benefits. Ototoxicity, drug-induced damage to the inner ear, can be transitory or permanent. The most widely used ototoxic drugs in pediatrics are aminoglycoside antibiotics. They are mainly used to treat gram-negative bacterial sepsis and carry the risk of causing permanent hearing loss. Brainstem response audiometry, a new method of testing hearing, reveals potentially significant subclinical changes in hearing of neonates due to amino-glycoside therapy. Recent investigation of these and other ototoxic drugs is shedding new light on therapy management. Nurses need to be aware of this research in order to minimize the risk of permanent hearing loss.
Relative Wages, Rationality, and Involuntary Unemployment in Keynes's Labor Market

Keynes was a lucid and resourceful master of English prose, as were Smith, Bentham, Malthus, the two Mills, Marshall and Veblen. Ricardo possibly excepted, no one of great importance in the history of Englishspeaking economic thought was otherwise. The General Theory of Employment Interest and Money, however, is a complex, ill-organized and sometimes obscure work, as Keynes himself recognized. -John Kenneth Galbraith, Economics in Perspective: A Critical History
Nonenveloped capsid: mechanisms of viral entry

ABSTRACT Viruses are a diverse class of nanoparticles. However, they have evolved a few common mechanisms that enable successful infection of their host cells. The first stage of this process involves entry into the cell. For enveloped viruses this process has been well characterized. For nonenveloped viruses, the focus of this review, the entry mechanisms are less well understood. For these viruses, a typical pathway involves receptor attachment followed by internalization into cellular vesicles and subsequent viral escape to the cytosol and transport to the site of genome replication. Significantly, these viruses have evolved numerous mechanisms to fulfill this seemingly simple infection scheme. We focus on the latest observations for several families of nonenveloped viruses and highlight specific members for eukaryotic families: Adenoviridae, Papillomaviridae, Parvoviridae, Picornaviridae, Polyomaviridae and Reoviridae; and prokaryotic families: Microviridae, Myoviridae, Podoviridae and Siphoviridae.
Students’ Perspective into the Apathy and Social Disconnectedness They Feel in Undergraduate Business Classrooms

Apathy and social disconnectedness among undergraduate business students remain poorly understood and under-researched—despite evidence that they produce an adverse impact on learning-related outcomes. Qualitative research was initially conducted among a sample of undergraduate business students to identify the antecedents and learning-related consequences of apathy and social disconnectedness, develop grounded definitions, hypotheses, and scales. This was followed by a survey that aimed to test a conceptual model that emerged from qualitative data. The study finds evidence to suggest that high levels of anxiety among students antecedes social disconnectedness and powerlessness, which trigger apathy or the lack of caring about being a student or attending college. These psychosocial problems are severe enough, the study finds, to adversely impact the quality of students’ learning experiences. Implications for new thinking and research are discussed, and implications for improving instruction are derived from the findings.
Simvastatin–Fluconazole Causing Rhabdomyolysis

OBJECTIVE:To report a case of rhabdomyolysis after concomitant use of simvastatin, a commonly used hydroxymethylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor, and fluconazole, an azole antifungal agent.CASE SUMMARY:An 83-year-old white man with a history of congestive heart failure and hyperlipidemia presented to the hospital 1 week following the addition of fluconazole to a medication regimen that included simvastatin 40 mg once daily. The patient had severe muscle weakness and a markedly elevated serum creatine kinase activity, which resolved following discontinuation of simvastatin and fluconazole.DISCUSSION:Rhabdomyolysis is a recognized adverse effect of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (statins), commonly caused by their interaction with other drugs, such as azole antifungals, that inhibit the cytochrome P450 isoenzyme family. An objective causality assessment revealed that the adverse drug event was probable. Although drug interactions have been described for combinations of other HMG-CoA reductase...
THE CAPM vs. THE FAMA AND FRENCH THREE-FACTOR PRICING MODEL: A COMPARISON USING VALUE LINE INVESTMENT SURVEY

The CAPM and Fama and French (FF) three-factor pricing model are subjected to a series of tests using out of sample data, free from many of the biases present in typical testing. Data is collected from the Value Line Investment Survey allowing for survivorship and look-ahead biases to be eliminated. Further, it is argued that simple portfolio selection rules and the use of data from a source commonly consulted by investors minimizes data snooping concerns. Stronger support is found for the CAPM than that reported by FF (1992, 1996). Size and book-to-market equity (B/M) are insignificant in cross-sectional regressions, and Gibbons, Ross, and Shanken (1989) F-tests cannot reject the appropriateness of the CAPM when stocks are sorted into size and B/M portfolios. Beta, on the other hand, emerges as a powerful anomaly. Neither the CAPM nor the FF model can explain the high (low) returns on low (high) beta portfolios.
SIMULATION OF DEFECT ASSISTED TUNNELING AND ITS EFFECT ON I‐V CHARACTERISTICS IN RESONANT TUNNELING DIODES

This paper presents a self‐consistent I‐V simulation technique for an RTD with defect wells placed inside the barriers. The motivation of this paper was to model the excess valley current by a defect‐assisted tunneling mechanism. We have calculated the transmission coefficients and I‐V characteristics self consistently with Poisson's equation coupled to quantum mechanical tunneling through the barrier. The shape of transmission coefficient was broadened and greatly enhanced in the off‐resonance region when the defect well was introduced in the barriers. Our results gave a good qualitative estimation of the valley current and the peak to valley current ratio (PVCR).
Role of mental abilities and mental tests in explaining high-school grades.

Abstract It is well-known that some students earn higher grades than others; however, published research on the mental abilities that are correlated with high school grades is sparse. Two studies examined the relationship between different mental abilities and high school grades. Study 1 showed that the personality trait conscientiousness predicted high school grades (r = .32) almost as well as g (r = .37 to .40). In Study 2, the relationship between general mental ability (g) and high school grades was linear and fairness analyses indicated slight overprediction for Hispanics and Blacks and underprediction for females. Validity was lowered slightly by group preferences. With the exception of mathematical knowledge, the correlation between mental abilities and high school grades in both studies was largely attributable to g rather than specific abilities (s) measured by each test. Additional analyses showed that grade point averages are reliable and conscientiousness and g do not interact when predicting high school grades.
STRIDE for Structural Identification Using Expectation Maximization: Iterative Output-Only Method for Modal Identification

AbstractThis paper introduces structural identification using expectation maximization (STRIDE), a novel application of the expectation maximization (EM) algorithm and approach for output-only modal identification. The EM algorithm can be used to estimate the maximum likelihood parameters of a state-space model. In this context, the state-space model represents the equation of motion for a linear dynamic system. STRIDE is an iterative procedure that uses Kalman filtering and Rauch-Tung-Striebel (RTS) smoothing equations to produce estimates of the unobserved states; these calculations are based on the observed data and prior estimates of the state-space parameters. With this information, the conditional likelihood of the model is maximized and the state-space parameters are updated at each iteration. Once an iteration meets user-prescribed convergence criterion, the algorithm ends—yielding maximum likelihood estimates (MLE) for the state-space model parameters. The modal properties of the structure are th...
A framework for the natural-language-perception-based creative control of unmanned ground vehicles

Mobile robots must often operate in an unstructured environment cluttered with obstacles and with many possible action paths. That is why mobile robotics problems are complex with many unanswered questions. To reach a high degree of autonomous operation, a new level of learning is required. On the one hand, promising learning theories such as the adaptive critic and creative control have been proposed, while on other hand the human brain’s processing ability has amazed and inspired researchers in the area of Unmanned Ground Vehicles but has been difficult to emulate in practice. A new direction in the fuzzy theory tries to develop a theory to deal with the perceptions conveyed by the natural language. This paper tries to combine these two fields and present a framework for autonomous robot navigation. The proposed creative controller like the adaptive critic controller has information stored in a dynamic database (DB), plus a dynamic task control center (TCC) that functions as a command center to decompose tasks into sub-tasks with different dynamic models and multi-criteria functions. The TCC module utilizes computational theory of perceptions to deal with the high levels of task planning. The authors are currently trying to implement the model on a real mobile robot and the preliminary results have been described in this paper.
Trading Stories: Middle-Class White Women Teachers and the Creation of Collective Narratives About Students and Families in a Diverse Elementary School

Background/ContextCollaboration is increasingly part of teachers’ professional learning and continuous improvement of teaching practice. However, there is little exploration of how teachers’ racial...
Rethinking police training policies: Large class sizes increase risk of police sexual misconduct

BACKGROUND: The limited research on police sexual misconduct (PSM), a common form of police misconduct, suggests that no evidence-based strategies for prevention are available for use by police departments. To identify new avenues for prevention, we critically evaluated 'front-end' police recruiting, screening, hiring and training procedures. METHODS: Internal Affairs records were linked with administrative reports and police academy graduation data for officers accused of sexual assault or misconduct between 1994 and 2014. Logistic and proportional hazards regression methods were used to identify predictors of discharge for sustained allegations of PSM and time to discharge, respectively. RESULTS: Officer's graduating class size was positively associated with odds of discharge for PSM. For every one-officer increase in class size, the rate of discharge for PSM increased by 9% [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.09, P 35 graduates), discharge rates were at least four times greater than smaller classes (HR = 4.43, P CONCLUSIONS: Large class sizes and more annual graduates increase rates of PSM. Officer recruitment strategies or training quality may be compromised during periods of intensive hiring. Trainee to instructor ratios or maximum class sizes may be instituted by academies to ensure that all police trainees receive the required supervision, one-on-one training, feedback and attention necessary to maximize public safety. Language: en
Microscale characterization of the viscoelastic properties of hydrogel biomaterials using dual-mode ultrasound elastography

Characterization of the microscale mechanical properties of biomaterials is a key challenge in the field of mechanobiology. Dual-mode ultrasound elastography (DUE) uses high frequency focused ultrasound to induce compression in a sample, combined with interleaved ultrasound imaging to measure the resulting deformation. This technique can be used to non-invasively perform creep testing on hydrogel biomaterials to characterize their viscoelastic properties. DUE was applied to a range of hydrogel constructs consisting of either hydroxyapatite (HA)-doped agarose, HA-collagen, HA-fibrin, or preosteoblast-seeded collagen constructs. DUE provided spatial and temporal mapping of local and bulk displacements and strains at high resolution. Hydrogel materials exhibited characteristic creep behavior, and the maximum strain and residual strain were both material- and concentration-dependent. Burger's viscoelastic model was used to extract characteristic parameters describing material behavior. Increased protein concentration resulted in greater stiffness and viscosity, but did not affect the viscoelastic time constant of acellular constructs. Collagen constructs exhibited significantly higher modulus and viscosity than fibrin constructs. Cell-seeded collagen constructs became stiffer with altered mechanical behavior as they developed over time. Importantly, DUE also provides insight into the spatial variation of viscoelastic properties at sub-millimeter resolution, allowing interrogation of the interior of constructs. DUE presents a novel technique for non-invasively characterizing hydrogel materials at the microscale, and therefore may have unique utility in the study of mechanobiology and the characterization of hydrogel biomaterials.
Striking a Balance: Making National Economic Policy

The language of economic policy is as familiar as the daily newspaper tax cuts, the prime rate, monetarism, deregulation, the balance of payments but how well do we understand it? Too often, the reasoning and the difficult choices that lead to economic policies are hidden from nonexperts in a fog of statistics and jargon. "Striking a Balance" sets forth in clear, nontechnical language the principal goals of national economic policy, the instruments used to achieve these goals, and the political and economic problems arising from conflicting goals and the choice of inappropriate instruments. It is written not for economics studentsbut for the general public and for students in the related fields of public policy, journalism, and law. Unlike economics textbooks, it is not organized according to theoretical categories such as supply and demand, but around issues such as full employment and inflation. It has no ideological axe to grind and tries to present different views of controversial issues fairly. "Striking a Balance" benefits from the wisdom and experience of a mature economist. Albert Rees achieves the rare feat of explicating complex issues without oversimplification or trivialization."
Is the cellular response to cigarette smoke predictive of the phenotypic variation of COPD

the adverse health consequences of cigarette smoking are not limited to the lung but also include effects on multiple other organ systems that are exposed directly or indirectly to the hazardous ga...
Computer-Aided Design of a Mechanism for the Continuous, Automated Assembly of Two Parts at High Speed: A Case Study

Various computer-aided design tools were used to develop alternate designs for mechanisms to assemble two subassemblies of a consumer product on a fully-automated, continuous motion, high speed assembly line. The product geometry required a snap fit and the assembly motion had to be such as to avoid product damage. Four different mechanisms out of a larger number of concepts were developed in some detail and the most promising of those designed for production. All designs involved some combination of linkages and/or cams. This paper describes their design and the use of various CAD/CAE tools in the process.© 2002 ASME
The Germination of Zygospores of Mucor Hiemalis

Zygospores of Mucor hiemalis were germinated and the products of such germinations analyzed for mating type reaction. All of the products of a single germination gave rise to colonies which were of...
Is Blood Thicker than Water Politically? Latin American Nikkeijin in Japan 1990–2008

There are several well-known cases of ethnic return migration around the world (Tsuda, 2009) including Aussiedler in Germany, Romanian Hungarians in Hungary, Jewish as well as Italian diasporic returnees respectively in Israel and Italy, and Chinese Koreans in South Korea, each with varying degrees of political incorporation in their host countries. From these experiences, it seems blood and water are not necessarily mutually exclusive but dependent upon context and situation.
Structure learning constrained by node-specific degree distribution

We consider the problem of learning the structure of a Markov Random Field (MRF) when a node-specific degree distribution is provided. The problem setting is inspired by protein contact map (i.e., graph) prediction in which the contact number (i.e., degree) of an individual residue (i.e., node) can be predicted without knowing the contact graph. We formulate this problem using maximum pseudo-likelihood plus a node-specific l1 regularization derived from the predicted degree distribution. Intuitively, when a node have k predicted edges, we dynamically reduce the regularization coefficients of the k most possible edges to promote their occurrence. We then optimize the objective function using ADMM and an Iterative Maximum Cost Bipartite Matching algorithm. Our experimental results show that using degree distribution as a constraint may lead to significant performance gain when the predicted degree has good accuracy.
Controversial topics in kernicterus.

The physiology of the blood-brain barrier and its disruption by a variety of pathophysiologic processes in the development of experimental and clinical kernic- terus are reviewed. The use of currently available methods for measuring free and bound bilirubin in developing strategies for the prevention of kernicterus and more subtle sequelae of hyperbilirubinemia also are presented.
Pathogenesis of Cholesteatoma

Aural cholesteatomas consist of accumulations of desquamating keratinized epithelium within the middle ear or other pneumatized portion of the temporal bone. Cholesteatomas may be classified according to presumed etiology as congenital or acquired. The theoretical mechanisms of the pathogenesis of the two types are discussed.
Cyclin D1 overexpression is more prevalent in non-Caucasian breast cancer.

African-American women with breast cancer consistently show a shortened survival when compared with Caucasians with breast cancer, however it is not clear whether this is due to socioeconomic factors or to racial differences in tumor biology. Cyclin D1 overexpression has been demonstrated in 60-80% of female breast cancers, however these studies have not included race or ethnicity data. We examined the level of cyclin D1 protein expression in 139 cases of female breast cancer obtained from different ethnic populations. Using an immuno-peroxidase-based technique and a polyclonal anti-cyclin Dl antibody, the rate of overexpression was 68%. Cyclin Dl overexpression tended to be more frequent in cases from non-Caucasian patients when compared with those from Caucasian patients (77% vs. 59%, p=0.051). Our findings suggest that non-Caucasian ethnicity may be important in predicting cyclin Dl overexpression. Cyclin Dl could therefore serve as a possible target in managing breast cancer in the African-American population.
Factional Politics and its Financial Implications

How do relatively low inflation in the form of inflationary cycles and chronic inefficiency in capital allocation, two phenomena that suggest different policy making processes, coexist in the same financial system? While manageable inflation rates and the absence of hyperinflation suggest technocratic control over financial policies, chronic inefficiency in the form of high nonperforming loan ratios indicates political intervention in the banking sector. In brief, the answer provided in this chapter – and in the entire work – is that top leaders' desire for power and the uncertain political environment in which they operate compel them to pursue factional politics, which creates the political environment for inflationary cycles and the dearth of significant financial market reform. This chapter builds on institutional features described in Chapter 3 and on China's elite political dynamics to derive a factional model to explain inflationary cycles and inefficiency in the Chinese financial system. The two types of factions – one endowed with broad membership across the party apparatus and the provinces and the other endowed with technocrats in the central government – compete with one another over the degree of monetary centralization, which induces inflationary cycles. Although the competitions between the generalist and technocratic factions are not zero-sum contests for ultimate control of the party, they have clearly divergent preferences over monetary policies, which compel them to mobilize political resources at their disposal to gain the upper hand. This tense interaction manages to constrain inflation in China.
A tutorial on the use of control methods in ice-sheet modeling

Control methods are recommended as an efficient means to estimate undetermined physical parameters and boundary conditions and, in so doing, to improve the fidelity of a given ice-sheet flow model to specific ice-sheet velocity observations. To accomplish this task, the underlying dynamics of the model are inverted. This permits model-tuning adjustments to be represented explicitly in terms of model/observation misfit. Advantages of the control method over trial-and-error techniques in common use are: (1) it is readily automated with little additional programming effort, (2) the tuning parameters and boundary conditions it achieves are assured to give the best possible fit between model and observation, and (3) it quantifies the uncertainty of tuning parameters and boundary conditions in situations where they are not uniquely determined.
Fluorine-18-Labeled Antagonist for PET Imaging of Kappa Opioid Receptors

Kappa opioid receptor (KOR) antagonists are potential drug candidates for diseases such as treatment-refractory depression, anxiety, and addictive disorders. PET imaging radiotracers for KOR can be used in occupancy study to facilitate drug development, and to investigate the roles of KOR in health and diseases. We have previously developed two 11C-labeled antagonist radiotracers with high affinity and selectivity toward KOR. What is limiting their wide applications is the short half-life of 11C. Herein, we report the synthesis of a first 18F-labeled KOR antagonist radiotracer and the initial PET imaging study in a nonhuman primate.
Enhancing Learning Experience Using Ultrasound Simulation in Undergraduate Medical Education: Student Perception

Advances in programmable ultrasound training models may enhance the education of medical students through simulation of a variety of clinical presentations and pathologies. The purpose of the current study was to assess medical student perception of the impact of incorporating ultrasound training models in a required, second-year clinical ultrasound course. Students completed seven ultrasound assignments, demonstrating competency using eight pathology-simulating ultrasound training models. A 5-item survey was administered at the end of second year and included 4 items specific for each model and 1 item that was not model specific. The majority of students agreed or strongly agreed training models were easy to scan and learn, correlated well with what they learned, and aided clinical decision-making skills. Most students agreed or strongly agreed that they felt capable of performing ultrasound skills in a clinical setting under supervision, and almost all agreed or strongly agreed they were prepared to use ultrasound in a clinical setting. Student perception depended on training model (all P < .001). Differences were found between models for the easy to scan and learn item (all P < .02) and the capable of performing in a clinical setting under supervision item (all P < .02). Results suggested students felt prepared to use ultrasonography in a clinical setting after using ultrasound training models. Inclusion of medical ultrasound simulation in the medical school curriculum should be considered to provide students with realistic training before actual patient care.