cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Manipulation of slag separation properties from pig iron nuggets with flux additions to dried greenball mixture

ABSTRACTPig iron nugget process is one of the direct smelting processes developed as an alternative to the traditional blast furnace process. Throughout the process, slag-free pig iron nuggets, which have similar properties to the blast furnace pig iron and white cast iron, are produced by single-stage heat treatment of dried greenballs. During the process, slag separation from the metallized areas can be enhanced by adjustment of the slag’s chemical and physical properties. The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of flux addition rates (basic to acid ratio) to the dried greenball mixture on pig iron nugget production and slag separation. Thus, this study involved the heat treatment of six different greenball mixtures, which contained various amounts of limestone addition (basic to acid ratios, 0, 0.63, 1.02, 1.42, 1.85, and 2.29) utilizing a laboratory-scale resistance box furnace or simultaneous differential scanning calorimetry and thermalgravimetric analyzer. The samples produced...
Effect of Idealized Influence and Inspirational Motivation of the CEO on Performance in the Private Sector in Kenya

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of idealized influence and inspirational motivation of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on the performance of senior managers in the private sector in Kenya. Methodology: The study adopted the positivism research philosophy and descriptive correlational research design. The target population consisted of 984 senior managers reporting to the CEOs of 183 private sector companies under the umbrella of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA). A sample size of 284 was drawn using stratified random sampling, and data was collected using structured questionnaires. A response rate of 92% was realized. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics namely frequencies, means, and standard deviation. Inferential statistics were also used in the analysis which included Pearson’s correlation, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and multiple linear regression. Results : Results of the multiple linear regression showed that the CEO’s idealized influence significantly predicted performance of senior managers R 2 = .505, F (1, 260) = 264.042, p < .05; β = .711, t (260) = 16.249, p <.05. Further, multiple linear regression results indicated that inspirational motivation of the CEO significantly predicted the performance of senior managers, R 2 = .564, F (1, 260) = 335.141, p < .05, β = .751, t (260) = 18.307, p< .05. Testing the influence of goal orientation as a moderating variable showed that goal orientation significantly predicted the relationship between idealized influence and inspirational motivation of the CEO and performance of senior managers R 2 = .839, F (2, 5) = 265.099, p < .05, β = .111, t = 3.900, p< .05. Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study provides a unique contribution to the theory and practice of transformational leadership in a new context in terms how trаnsformаtionаl leadership behavior associated with the dimensions of idealized influence and inspirational motivation, affect performance of senior managers in private sector organizations. The findings are useful for private sector organizations and policy makers in explaining effective leadership behaviors that can be applied by the CEO for improving performance of senior managers. These will be useful in enhancing performance improvement strategies. Researchers and academicians will also find the study useful in defining new research dimensions by using the research results to expand related arguments in future.
Default Mode Connectivity in Major Depressive Disorder Measured Up to 10 Days After Ketamine Administration.

Abstract Background The symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) are rapidly alleviated by administration of a single dose of the glutamatergic modulator ketamine. However, few studies have investigated the potential sustained neural effects of this agent beyond immediate infusion. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine the effect of a single ketamine infusion on the resting state default mode network (DMN) at 2 and 10 days after a single ketamine infusion in unmedicated subjects with MDD as well as healthy control subjects (HCs). Methods Data were drawn from a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of 58 participants (33 with MDD and 25 HCs) who received an intravenous infusion of either ketamine hydrochloride (0.5 mg/kg) or placebo on 2 separate test days spaced 2 weeks apart. Eight minutes of functional magnetic resonance imaging resting state data was acquired at baseline and at about 2 and 10 days after both infusions. The DMN was defined using seed-based correlation and was compared across groups and scans. Results In subjects with MDD, connectivity between the insula and the DMN was normalized compared with HCs 2 days postketamine infusion. This change was reversed after 10 days and did not appear in either of the placebo scans. Group-specific connectivity differences in drug response were observed, most notably in the insula in subjects with MDD and in the thalamus in HCs. Conclusions Connectivity changes in the insula in subjects with MDD suggest that ketamine may normalize the interaction between the DMN and salience networks, supporting the triple network dysfunction model of MDD.
Assessing a Library’s Support for Overlooked Components of a University’s Learning Culture

The three-year inquiry focuses on assessing the size of a university library’s support for engaged-learning courses and for student populations. In doing this, it models an effective way to obtain data from campus information systems. The inquiry’s research questions are, how can libraries identify courses where the library supports engaged-learning courses, and how can libraries target their efforts for maximum impact on student learning in overlooked components of the campus’ learning culture. Focused questions serving as data-gathering goals to answer the research questions are, how many students enrolled in these courses, and how many students in each class year passed a course each semester with a library assignment. Analysis of data collected can result in additional studies providing comprehensive assessments of the library’s effect on student-learning outcomes. Among other things, the inquiry found 22% of students enrolled during the study took part in engaged learning involving a library assignment.
Representation of Native Americans in US science and engineering faculty

Impending global crises and US demographic changes require the United States to develop its intellectual capital fully, especially in science and engineering, in order to maintain its global leadership and economic strength. As US population demographic changes continue and make their way through our educational system, they will directly affect thinking and practices regarding science and engineering education in the United States, the future of science and engineering professions, and the need for diversity in the science and engineering workforce. It is essential to measure and understand the demographics of science and engineering students who will be available to the workforce in the near future, and their same-gender and same-race role models and mentors.
Symmetry Groups of Differential Equations

The symmetry group of a system of differential equations is the largest local group of transformations acting on the independent and dependent variables of the system with the property that it transform solutions of the system to other solutions. The main goal of this chapter is to determine a useful, systematic, computational method that will explicitly determine the symmetry group of any given system of differential equations. We restrict our attention to connected local Lie groups of symmetries, leaving aside problems involving discrete symmetries such as reflections, in order to take full advantage of the infinitesimal techniques developed in the preceding chapter. Before pressing on to the case of differential equations, it is vital that we deal adequately with the simpler situation presented by symmetry groups of systems of algebraic equations, and this is done in the first section. Section 2.2 investigates the precise definition of a symmetry group of a system of differential equations, which requires knowledge of how the group elements actually transform the solutions. The corresponding infinitesimal method rests on the important concept of “prolonging” a group action to the spaces of derivatives of the dependent variables represented in the system. The key “prolongation formula” for an infinitesimal generator of a group of transformations, given in Theorem 2736, then provides the basis for the systematic determination of symmetry groups of differential equations.
The New Federal Corporation Law

Could a preemptive federal incorporation law today assume the enabling character of traditional state corporation law, instead of the mandatory flavor typical of much federal securities regulation? Does global competition mean that the US should both preempt state corporation law and adopt a flexible, principles-oriented approach to business regulation? This essay, commenting on Robert Ahdieh’s Trapped in a Metaphor: The Limited Implications of Federalism for Corporate Governance, shows how this surprising approach is plausible and may be desirable but also that it is not politically likely in the current environment. The intellectual basis for a preemptive, enabling, and flexible federal corporation law appears in the Treasury Department’s March 2008 blueprint for financial regulation reform. The blueprint would consolidate regulatory power in Washington over securities, futures, banking and insurance, then delegate that power to self-regulatory organizations. The logic extends readily to traditional corporation law. That means federal preemption plus delegation to stock exchanges, who take over the role that US law traditionally gives to states. US stock exchanges then compete with stock exchanges elsewhere, wielding a broad range of tools, including jurisdiction to resolve disputes, usually handled by states. The result would promote US competiveness in global capital markets. Intellectually, the domestic corporate law competition debate gets replayed as an international securities law debate which, of course, already is underway, highlighted by issuer choice proposals. Market forces dominate the form and content of resulting corporate law and governance. Political realities likely put these developments out into the future however. Instead, there is a good chance that federal preemption of state corporation law may soon come, covering corporations of systemic significance and imposing on them strict, mandatory corporation law rules, ranging from board composition, executive compensation, shareholder voting procedures, and interests of other constituencies.
Can Computationally Predicted Internal Loads Be Used to Assess Sitting Discomfort? Preliminary Results

Whether internal body loads such as muscle forces and joint forces could be used as objective factors to assess sitting discomfort remains an open research question. The present study investigated the potential relationship between computationally predicted internal loads and subjective discomfort ratings. Volunteers were recruited to provide discomfort ratings on a wide range of sitting configurations resulted in by altering the seat pan angle and the backrest angle of a multi-adjustable experimental seat. Moreover, two preferred seat pan angles were selected by the participants, starting from two different initial seat pan angles, allowing the classification of the trials to preferred and not preferred. Kinematic, force and pressure data served as inputs on a musculoskeletal model that enabled the computation of internal loads. Significant positive correlations were found between the subjective ratings and muscle force, compressive force between L4–L5 and seat pan shear force. Significant reduction in the seat pan shear force was found for the preferred compared to the not preferred trials, but no significant differences were found for the muscle and joint forces. Our results suggest that the seat pan shear force and potentially computationally predicted internal loads could be used to assess sitting discomfort. However, the outcome should be interpreted with caution due to limited number of observations.
A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of the Integration of Robotic Spine Technology in Spine Surgery

Objective We investigate the cost-effectiveness of adding robotic technology in spine surgery to an active neurosurgical practice. Methods The time of operative procedures, infection rates, revision rates, length of stay, and possible conversion of open to minimally invasive spine surgery (MIS) secondary to robotic image guidance technology were calculated using a combination of institution-specific and national data points. This cost matrix was subsequently applied to 1 year of elective clinical case volume at an academic practice with regard to payor mix, procedural mix, and procedural revenue. Results A total of 1,985 elective cases were analyzed over a 1-year period; of these, 557 thoracolumbar cases (28%) were analyzed. Fifty-eight (10.4%) were MIS fusions. Independent review determined an additional ~10% cases (50) to be candidates for MIS fusion. Furthermore, 41.4% patients had governmental insurance, while 58.6% had commercial insurance. The weighted average diagnosis-related group reimbursement for thoracolumbar procedures for the hospital system was calculated to be $25,057 for Medicare and $42,096 for commercial insurance. Time savings averaged 3.4 minutes per 1-level MIS procedure with robotic technology, resulting in annual savings of $5,713. Improved pedicle screw accuracy secondary to robotic technology would have resulted in 9.47 revisions being avoided, with cost savings of $314,661. Under appropriate payor mix components, robotic technology would have converted 31 Medicare and 18 commercial patients from open to MIS. This would have resulted in 140 fewer total hospital admission days ($251,860) and avoided 2.3 infections ($36,312). Robotic surgery resulted in immediate conservative savings estimate of $608,546 during a 1-year period at an academic center performing 557 elective thoracolumbar instrumentation cases. Conclusion Application of robotic spine surgery is cost-effective, resulting in lesser revision surgery, lower infection rates, reduced length of stay, and shorter operative time. Further research is warranted, evaluating the financial impact of robotic spine surgery.
Reachability Analysis for One Dimensional Linear Parabolic Equations.

Abstract Partial differential equations (PDEs) mathematically describe a wide range of phenomena such as fluid dynamics, or quantum mechanics. Although great achievements have been accomplished in the field of numerical methods for solving PDEs, from a safety verification (or falsification) perspective, methods are still needed to verify (or falsify) a system whose dynamics is specified as a PDE that may depend not only on space, but also on time. As many cyber-physical systems (CPS) involve sensing and control of physical phenomena modeled as PDEs, reachability analysis of PDEs provides novel methods for safety verification and falsification. As a first step to address this challenging problem, we propose a reachability analysis approach leveraging the well-known Galerkin Finite Element Method (FEM) for a class of one-dimensional linear parabolic PDEs with fixed but uncertain inputs and initial conditions, which is a subclass of PDEs that is useful for modeling, for instance, heat flows. In particular, a continuous approximate reachable set of the parabolic PDE is computed using linear interpolation. Since a complete conservativeness is hardly achieved by using the approximate reachable set, to enhance the conservativeness, we investigate the error bound between the numerical solution and the exact analytically unsolvable solution to bloat the continuous approximate reachable set. This bloated reachable set is then used for safety verification and falsification. In the case that the safety specification is violated, our approach produces a numerical trace to prove that there exists an initial condition and input that lead the system to an unsafe state.
Towards Reform of the Laws on Rape and Related Sexual Offenses in Kenya

Kenyan rape laws are based on the English colonial rules which provided harsh punishment for rape in order to ensure the prevalence of English morality. However, the laws were not equally enforced. Instead, the punishment in Kenya for raping a white woman was death, while the rape of an African woman was punishable by three years of imprisonment. While the law was amended in 1959, there have been shortcomings in the legal system which have system which has led to failures in convicting rapists.This chapter presents the argument to reform Kenyan rape laws. The chapter provides an explanation for why protecting woman for gender-based sexual violence must be criminalized based on ethical considerations, medical evidence and the law. It further provides the legal history of rape as an offense in Kenya and takes the reader through the problematic nature of rape claims in Kenya from the pre-trial stage through sentencing. Finally, it provides reform proposals to remedy the shortcomings.
How to Design an Online Digital Marketing Course that Helps Improve Student Participation

Business schools that have been slow to embrace digital education have limited resources for instructors who want to experiment with online teaching. This paper follows the process in which a marketing instructor turns to former students to assist with the challenges of online content delivery inside of a business school that has not yet created any infrastructure to support the effort. It provides an overview of the course, online course implementation details, overall insights and finding, and steps for other instructors to follow in developing and delivering high-quality online education. While this instructor was primarily focused with online content delivery, he unexpectedly discovers that online education offers increased participation in a digital medium that today’s students feel more comfortable with than the confines of a traditional classroom setting.
Long-term effect of crude oil and dispersant on denitrification and organic matter mineralization in a salt marsh sediment

Abstract The 2010 BP oil spill has an unprecedented impact on coastal wetland ecosystem along the northern Gulf of Mexico. A two-dimensional analysis (dispersant concentration and duration of exposure) was conducted by pre-incubation of a salt marsh sediment under an open or closed condition. Denitrification activity was characterized by N2O production using an acetylene (C2H2) blockage technique, and organic matter (OM) mineralization by CO2 production. The results show that even trace amount of the dispersant could significantly inhibit the denitrification activity by 20% (p
Micro-and nanotopography sensitive bacterial attachment mechanisms: A review

Bacterial attachment to material surfaces can lead to the development of biofilms that cause severe economic and health problems. The outcome of bacterial attachment is determined by a combination of bacterial sensing of material surfaces by the cell and the physicochemical factors in the near-surface environment. This paper offers a systematic review of the effects of surface topography on a range of antifouling mechanisms, with a focus on how topographical scale, from micro- to nanoscale, may influence bacterial sensing of and attachment to material surfaces. A good understanding of these mechanisms can facilitate the development of antifouling surfaces based on surface topography, with applications in various sectors of human life and activity including healthcare, food, and water treatment.
Evaluative Outcomes of Connecticut’s Batterer Intervention for High Risk Offenders

ABSTRACTEvaluations of male batterer interventions (e.g., BIPs) have produced mixed results with many finding little or no positive effects and/or suffering from methodological shortcomings. This s...
Origin of the persistence of soft modes in metallic ferroelectrics

Metallicity and ferroelectriclike polar distortion are mutually noncompatible, and their coexistence in the same system is an intriguing subject of fundamental interest in the field of structure phase transition. However, it is unclear what mechanism may extend the limit of metallicity that allows polar distortion. We investigate the polar instability and soft modes in electron-doped ${\mathrm{PbTiO}}_{3}$ using linear-response density functional calculations. We find that ferroelectric instability can remarkably sustain up to an electron concentration of ${n}_{e}=0.7$ per unit cell, which is beyond the limit that causes the polar catastrophe in ${\mathrm{LaAlO}}_{3}/{\mathrm{SrTiO}}_{3}$. Our study further reveals two discoveries: (i) electron doping can turn nonsoft mode into soft mode, which leads to different microscopic mechanism for ferroelectricity when the system is strongly metallic; (ii) the frequency change $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}\ensuremath{\omega}/\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}{n}_{e}$ is surprisingly flat at large ${n}_{e}$, which is pivotal for the persistence of soft mode and polar distortion at high metallicity. We also provide an interesting physical origin---which is caused by the strong mode-mode interaction---to explain these phenomena, and the finding of this origin may further extend the limit where metallicity and polar distortion coexist.
Co‐Occurrence of Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms and Frailty among Community‐Dwelling Older Men

Background/objectives To estimate associations between lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and phenotypic frailty in older men. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Community-dwelling men recruited from 2000 to 2002 from six U.S. academic centers for the Osteoporotic Fractures in Men Study. Participants A total of 5,979 men aged 65 and older. Measurements The independent variable was LUTS severity (none/mild, moderate, or severe) assessed with the American Urologic Association Symptom Index. Participants were categorized as frail, intermediate stage, or robust using an adapted Cardiovascular Health Study index (components: low lean mass, weakness, exhaustion, slowness, and low physical activity). Associations were estimated with odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from multivariable multinomial logistic regression models adjusted for potential confounders of age, other demographics, health-related behaviors, and comorbidities. Results The prevalence of frailty was 7%, 11%, and 18% among men with none/mild, moderate, and severe LUTS, respectively. Moderate and severe LUTS, overall and by storage and voiding subscores, were associated with higher odds of both intermediate stage and frailty in all models. After adjustment for confounders, the odds of frailty was 1.41 times higher among men with moderate LUTS (95% CI = 1.14-1.74) and 2.51 times higher among men with severe LUTS (95% CI = 1.76-3.55), compared with none/mild LUTS. Severe LUTS was associated with a greater odds of individual frailty components exhaustion and low physical activity. Conclusion The prevalence of phenotypic frailty is higher among older community-dwelling men with moderate or severe LUTS compared with those with mild or no LUTS. The positive association between LUTS severity and frailty among older men appears independent of age and known frailty risk factors. Although the temporal direction of this association and the utility of LUTS or frailty interventions in this population remain unclear, the high co-occurrence of these conditions could lead to earlier identification of frailty when clinically appropriate.
Afghanistan: a history from 1260 to the present: by Jonathan L. Lee, London, Reaktion Books, 2018, 784 pp., $50.00, ISBN: 978-1-78914-010-1.

Jonathan Lee is an old hand in Afghanistan studies, first visiting the country in 1971. Aside from his unpublished religious studies dissertation (University of Leeds, UK, 1998) on Nowruz, he has p...
Survival of lung cancer patients dependent on the loh status for dmp1, arf, and p53

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the world, and accounts for more solid tumor deaths than any other carcinomas. The prognostic values of DMP1, ARF, and p53-loss are unknown in lung cancer. We have conducted survival analyses of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients from the University of Minnesota VA hospital and those from the Wake Forest University Hospital. Loss of Heterozygosity (LOH) for hDMP1 was found in 26 of 70 cases (37.1%), that of the ARF/INK4a locus was found in 33 of 70 (47.1%), and that of the p53 locus in 43 cases (61.4%) in the University of Minnesota samples. LOH for hDMP1 was associated with favorable prognosis while that of p53 predicted worse prognosis. The survival was much shorter for ARF-loss than INK4a-loss, emphasizing the importance of ARF in human NSCLC. The adverse effect of p53 LOH on NSCLC patients' survival was neutralized by simultaneous loss of the hDMP1 locus in NSCLC and breast cancer, suggesting the possible therapy of epithelial cancers with metastatic ability.
Ponderomotive convection in water induced by a CW laser

An optically induced convection during IR laser interaction with water or any absorbing liquid is described theoretically. The numerical simulations performed using the developed model show that the optical pressure and ponderomotive forces produce water flow in the direction of the laser beam propagation. In the later stage of interaction, when the water temperature rises, the Archimedes force becomes comparable and, ultimately, dominant, producing convection directed against the vector of gravitational acceleration (upward). The theoretical estimates and numerical simulations predict fluid dynamics similar to what is observed in previous experiments.
Moral concerns are differentially observable in language

Abstract Language is a psychologically rich medium for human expression and communication. While language usage has been shown to be a window into various aspects of people's social worlds, including their personality traits and everyday environment, its correspondence to people's moral concerns has yet to be considered. Here, we examine the relationship between language usage and the moral concerns of Care, Fairness, Loyalty, Authority, and Purity as conceptualized by Moral Foundations Theory. We collected Facebook status updates (N = 107,798) from English-speaking participants (n = 2691) along with their responses on the Moral Foundations Questionnaire. Overall, results suggested that self-reported moral concerns may be traced in language usage, though the magnitude of this effect varied considerably among moral concerns. Across a diverse selection of Natural Language Processing methods, Fairness concerns were consistently least correlated with language usage whereas Purity concerns were found to be the most traceable. In exploratory follow-up analyses, each moral concern was found to be differentially related to distinct patterns of relational, emotional, and social language. Our results are the first to relate individual differences in moral concerns to language usage, and to uncover the signatures of moral concerns in language.
Hyper-acceleration of Algebra I: Diminishing Opportunities to Learn in Secondary Mathematics

An increasing number of students are hyper-accelerating their study of formal Algebra I to Grade 7 or earlier to maintain a competitive edge in the race to calculus. However, there is alack of evidence that these students construct the conceptual foundations necessary for persistence in advanced mathematics. This paper maps the drive toward hyper-acceleration to the historical underpinnings of acceleration of Algebra I to Grade 8. We illuminate how acceleration can detract from opportunities for middle school students to engage in algebraic reasoning in preparation for advanced mathematics. We further describe how this pathway exacerbates persistent inequities in secondary mathematics education. Our synthesis of the literature on Algebra I acceleration, readiness for STEM undergraduate study, and equitable access is the basis for our argument for more research on hyper-acceleration
Outcome Measures in Cancer Rehabilitation: Pain, Function, and Symptom Assessment

Assessing cancer rehabilitation outcome measures is integral for patient assessment, symptom screening and advancing scientific research. In the broad field of cancer rehabilitation, outcome measures can be cross cutting across many different branches of oncologic care. They can include clinician-reported, patient-reported, and objective measures. Specific outcome measures that apply to cancer rehabilitation can include those pertinent to pain, function, quality of life, fatigue, cognition, and many more. When used in cancer rehabilitation these outcome measures can be utilized to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention and to triage to the appropriate supportive care service. This review article will summarize some of the commonly used outcome measures that can be used in the setting of cancer rehabilitation to support scholarly work and patient care.
Island Futures: Caribbean Survival in the Anthropocene

Mimi Sheller’s Island Futures is a unique text. On one level, it offers an innovative approach to conceptualizing and studying development and disaster politics through a productive engagement betw...
Toward Real-Time Pose Estimation of the Mitral Valve Robot Under C-Arm X-Ray Fluoroscopy

Mitral regurgitation (MR) is a condition caused by a deformity in the mitral valve leading to the backflow of blood into the left atrium. MR can be treated through a minimally invasive procedure and our lab is currently developing a robot that could potentially be used to treat MR. The robot would carry a clip that latches onto the valve’s leaflets and closes them to minimize leakage. The robot’s accurate localization is needed to navigate the clip to the leaflets successfully. This paper discusses algorithms used to track the clip’s position and orientation under real-time using C-arm fluoroscopy. The positions are found through a deep learning semantic segmentation framework and the pose is found by calculating its bending and rotational angles. The robot’s bending angle and the clip’s rotational angle is found through an equivalent ellipse algorithm and an SVM classifier, respectively, and were validated by comparing orientations obtained from an electromagnetic tracker. The bending angle calculation has an average error of 7.7° and the rotational angle calculation is 76% for classifying them into five classes. Execution times are within 100ms and hence this could be a promising approach in real-time pose estimation.
Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals: An Introduction

Immanuel Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals of 1785 is one of the most profound and important works in the history of practical philosophy. In this introduction to the Groundwork, Sally Sedgwick provides a guide to Kant's text that follows the course of his discussion virtually paragraph by paragraph. Her aim is to convey Kant's ideas and arguments as clearly and simply as possible, without getting lost in scholarly controversies. Her introductory chapter offers a useful overview of Kant's general approach to practical philosophy, and she also explores and clarifies some of the main assumptions which Kant relies on in his Groundwork but defends in his Critique of Pure Reason. The book will be a valuable guide for all who are interested in Kant's practical philosophy.
The Use of Euclidean Distance in 64-space and Behavioral Correlates to Optimize Filters for Gamma AM Pattern Classification

Experiments with untrained animals showed that bulbar responses to novel odorants that were presented in sessions without reinforcement failed to develop novel AM patterns. These stimuli initially elicited an orienting response in company with replacement of gamma bursts by broad spectrum fluctuation resembling background activity. This suppression of bursts disappeared after 3 or 4 trials. If the novel odorant was followed by reinforcement, burst suppression gave way to renewed formation of gamma bursts also within 3 or 4 trials. My search for eventrelated content in bulbar gamma activity was guided by two hypotheses. First, when unconditioned stimuli were paired with one of two discriminative conditioned stimuli (the CS+) but not the other (CS-), resulting in a conditioned response (CR) to the CS+, and not to the CS-, randomly alternated in the same training session, odorant-related content must exist in the form of a pattern of neural activity in the olfactory bulb between the arrival of a CS at the nose and the performance of a correct CR. Second, this pattern elaborated by synaptic currents of the granule cells would be detected in field potentials in the bulbar AM patterns of gamma activity.
Forces, moment and wave pattern for surface combatant in regular head wavesPart II. Measurement results and discussions

Unsteady resistance, heave force, pitch moment and free-surface elevations for DTMB 5512 at steady forward speed and in regular head waves are investigated with different measurement systems for a fairly wide range of test conditions in the IIHR towing tank. Test data are procured for validation of Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes computational fluid dynamics codes and for understanding the physics of unsteady ship hydrodynamics. The second part of the paper presents the measurement results and discussions.
Adding the dimension of color to computer-generated displays

A low-cost system that permits existing computer-generated displays on a black and white CRT display to be reproduced in one of several colors on a color TV receiver is described. A black and white TV camera monitors the computer display, and the camera RF signal is sent to the color TV receiver, which has its three color guns under computer control through an interface unit described herein. In a simple on or off arrangement using three computer output relays, seven distinct and readily identifiable colors are available. With the use of D/A converters, the interface unit is voltage controlled, permitting both faster control and many more hues to be obtained.
Enforcing Scarcity: Oil, Violence, and the Making of the Market

Oil has always been at the center of discussions of resource scarcity. Over the last decade of volatile and often rising oil prices, a vast “peak oil” literature has emerged citing the geological f...
Heterogeneous capital, economic growth, and economic development

Abstract This paper asks how much does physical capital contribute to economic growth. It postulates that capital is heterogeneous because of embodied progress, and it structures the inquiry to account for differences in economic development. Embedded in data that cover 120 nations over 41 years are 35 derived capital stock series, whose characteristics include average ages stratified by development state. Growth accountancy proceeds by regression analysis cast in a production function context and repeated for each capital type. Those results help to establish the growth contributions of labor quantity and quality and capital quantity and quality. They also bear on neoclassical convergence.
Cell-Surface Expression of Neuron-Glial Antigen 2 (NG2) and Melanoma Cell Adhesion Molecule (CD146) in Heterogeneous Cultures of Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Cellular heterogeneity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) impedes their use in regenerative medicine. The objective of this research is to identify potential biomarkers for the enrichment of progenitors from heterogeneous MSC cultures. To this end, the present study examines variation in expression of neuron-glial antigen 2 (NG2) and melanoma cell adhesion molecule (CD146) on the surface of MSCs derived from human bone marrow in response to culture conditions and among cell populations. Multipotent cells isolated from heterogeneous MSC cultures exhibit a greater than three-fold increase in surface expression for NG2 and greater than two-fold increase for CD146 as compared with parental and lineage-committed MSCs. For both antigens, surface expression is downregulated by greater than or equal to six-fold when MSCs become confluent. During serial passage, maximum surface expression of NG2 and CD146 is associated with minimum doubling time. Upregulation of NG2 and CD146 during loss of adipogenic potential at early passage suggests some limits to their utility as potency markers. A potential relationship between proliferation and antigen expression was explored by sorting heterogeneous MSCs into rapidly and slowly dividing groups. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting revealed that rapidly dividing MSCs display lower scatter and 50% higher NG2 surface expression than slowly dividing cells, but CD146 expression is comparable in both groups. Heterogeneous MSCs were sorted based on scatter properties and surface expression of NG2 and CD146 into high (HI) and low (LO) groups. Sc(LO)NG2(HI) and Sc(LO)NG2(HI)CD146(HI) MSCs have the highest proliferative potential of the sorted groups, with colony-forming efficiencies that are 1.5-2.2 times the value for the parental controls. The Sc(LO) gate enriches for rapidly dividing cells. Addition of the NG2(HI) gate increases cell survival to 1.5 times the parental control. Further addition of the CD146(HI) gate does not significantly improve cell division or survival. The combination of low scatter and high NG2 surface expression is a promising selection criterion to enrich a proliferative phenotype from heterogeneous MSCs during ex vivo expansion, with potentially numerous applications.
Folk Remedies and Child Abuse: A Review with Emphasis on Caida de Mollera and Its Relationship to Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Abstract Objective: There were two objectives: first, to make the reader familiar with folk remedies that might be confused with child abuse; second, to challenge the idea existing in the literature that treatment for the Hispanic folk illness caida de mollera can cause the injuries seen in the shaken baby syndrome. Method: Literature review and analysis with case application were used. Results: A wide variety of folk remedies with potential for confusion with child abuse were found to exist, and were described. Treatment for caida de mollera was found to consist of a number of gentle, nonviolent maneuvers quite different from the violent shaking believed to cause shaken baby syndrome. Conclusions: Familiarity with folk remedies will help differentiate them from child abuse. The child protection community would benefit from realizing that treatment for caida de mollera is an improbable cause of shaken baby syndrome injuries.
Reactively sputtered niobium nitride thin films for Josephson integrated circuit application

The properties of sputter-deposited NbN thin films were studied under changes in various deposition conditions including nitrogen flow, substrate heating, the addition of carbon impurities, and the use of an Nb underlayer. Without the underlayer, a semiconductorlike resistive behavior above the superconducting transition temperature and a wide superconducting transition were observed in the niobium nitride films, including those with transition temperatures above 15 K. With the underlayer, metallic behavior and a sharp superconducting transition temperature depended strongly on nitrogen flow and substrate heating but weakly on carbon impurities. The authors present details on the preparation and analysis of niobium nitride thin films with and without a niobium underlayer as well as the measured film characteristics. >
Host selection by Homalodisca vitripennis : the interplay between feeding, egg maturation, egg load, and oviposition

For some phytophagous insects, egg maturation may be dependent on adult feeding. Accordingly, rates of egg maturation may be dependent on the quality and quantity of available food sources. In turn, oviposition behavior could be affected by diet quality via changes in egg load (number of mature eggs carried by a female). Experiments were conducted to determine whether adult feeding may affect oviposition behavior of the glassy-winged sharpshooter, Homalodisca vitripennis. No-choice tests demonstrated that eggs accumulated in glassy-winged sharpshooter abdomens as time since last oviposition increased largely as a function of feeding plant species. In choice tests, glassy-winged sharpshooter females were observed most frequently on the plant species that imparted the greatest egg maturation rate in no-choice tests. Direct tests of the effects of egg load on glassy-winged sharpshooter oviposition behavior found that females were more likely to deposit eggs as egg load increased. Similarly, acceptance of a low-ranked oviposition plant species by female glassy-winged sharpshooters increased with egg load and time since last oviposition. The results indicate that adult feeding affected glassy-winged sharpshooter egg maturation, plant species varied in quality for providing nutrients for egg maturation, and egg load affected oviposition behavior. Thus, the quantity and quality of available feeding plant species may affect glassy-winged sharpshooter egg maturation rates, which in turn may affect the plant species female glassy-winged sharpshooters select for oviposition.
The Owl, the Nightingale and the Apes

La tradition litteraire du singe lettre, originaire des arts plastiques, dans le poeme moyen-anglais The Owl and the Nightingale| la metaphore du singe et les rapports du langage et de la pensee.
A simple method for noninvasive estimation of pulmonary vascular resistance

Abstract Objectives We sought to test whether the ratio of peak tricuspid regurgitant velocity (TRV, ms) to the right ventricular outflow tract time-velocity integral (TVIRVOT, cm) obtained by Doppler echocardiography (TRV/TVIRVOT) provides a clinically reliable method to determine pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR). Background Pulmonary vascular resistance is an important hemodynamic variable used in the management of patients with cardiovascular and pulmonary disease. Right-heart catheterization, with its associated disadvantages, is required to determine PVR. However, a reliable noninvasive method is unavailable. Methods Simultaneous Doppler echocardiographic examination and right-heart catheterization were performed in 44 patients. The ratio of TRV/TVIRVOTwas then correlated with invasive PVR measurements using regression analysis. An equation was modeled to calculate PVR in Wood units (WU) using echocardiography, and the results were compared with invasive PVR measurements using the Bland-Altman analysis. Using receiver-operating characteristics curve analysis, a cutoff value for the Doppler equation was generated to determine PVR >2WU. Results As calculated by Doppler echocardiography, TRV/TVIRVOTcorrelated well (r = 0.929, 95% confidence interval 0.87 to 0.96) with invasive PVR measurements. The Bland-Altman analysis between PVR obtained invasively and that by echocardiography, using the equation: PVR= TRV/TVIRVOT× 10 + 0.16 , showed satisfactory limits of agreement (mean 0 ± 0.41). A TRV/TVIRVOTcutoff value of 0.175 had a sensitivity of 77% and a specificity of 81% to determine PVR >2WU. Conclusions Doppler echocardiography may provide a reliable, noninvasive method to determine PVR.
The effect of chronic psychological stress on corticosterone, plasma metabolites, and immune responsiveness in European starlings

Although increases in glucocorticoid concentrations during acute stress are believed to help animals survive stressful events, chronic changes in glucocorticoid concentrations can alter metabolism and lead to disease. We studied the effect of chronic psychological stress on corticosterone (CORT), corticosterone binding globulin (CBG), glucose, and triglyceride concentrations as well as immune responsiveness to a T-cell mitogen challenge in European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris. To induce chronic stress we used a chronic stress protocol consisting of five stressors (loud radio, cage tapping, cage rolling, human voice, and bag restraint) administered in random order for 30 min for 4 times/day over 18 days. Total CORT decreased throughout the chronic stress period, which parallels a previous study with starlings. CBG capacity did not significantly change with chronic stress, thus free CORT followed the same pattern of attenuation as total CORT during chronic stress. Despite the change in regulation of CORT release, daytime glucose and triglyceride concentrations did not change with chronic stress. In addition, immune responsiveness in chronically stressed and unstressed birds was similar. Our results, together with a previous study using a similar CSP in European starlings, suggest that starlings physiologically dampen the HPA axis during chronic psychological stress to avoid pathology associated with chronically augmented CORT concentrations such as hyperglycemia and impaired immune function.
176 CYTOCHALASIN PREVENTS SPERM HEAD INCORPORATION INTO FERTILIZED PIG OOCYTES

At fertilization, an acrosome-reacted sperm fuses to the plasma membrane of the oocyte. It is then internalized into the ooplasm and its head forms the male pronucleus that moves toward the female pronucleus. Experiments using cytochalasin, an inhibitor of actin polymerization, suggest that filamentous actin is necessary for spermatozoa incorporation deep into the oocyte cytoplasm. However, the exact role of actin in the process is not entirely clear and the consequences of inhibiting actin polymerization on embryo development are not known. In the present study, we investigated the effect of cytochalasin B on fertilization and subsequent embryo development in the porcine model. In vitro-matured oocytes were rinsed in fertilization medium, a modified Tris-buffered medium supplemented with 0.1% BSA and 1 mM caffeine. Groups of 30 oocytes were placed into 50-μL droplets of the medium covered with mineral oil. Fresh semen was collected from both a wild-type boar and a transgenic boar heterozygous for the green fluorescent protein (GFP), washed 3 times in Dulbecco's PBS and added at a final concentration of 5 × 105 cells mL–1 to each droplet containing the oocytes. The gametes were co-incubated for 5 h at 39°C under 5% CO2 in air. In the treatment group, 10 μg mL–1 of cytochalasin B was supplemented into the fertilization droplets; control groups received an equivalent amount of dimethyl sulfoxide, the solvent used to dissolve the inhibitor. After gamete co-incubation, potential zygotes were transferred to PZM-3 medium for culture. In experiment 1, mature oocytes were fertilized with the wild-type boar sperm. Embryos at the 6- or 8-cell stage were then collected, the blastomeres were separated and DNA from each blastomere was isolated for PCR analysis to monitor the presence of the male-specific SRY gene. In experiment 2, the GFP transgenic sperm was used for fertilization. Fertilized oocytes were cultured for 7 days and the resultant embryos were examined for GFP expression using an epifluorescence microscope. The developmental stages of the embryos were also determined by staining their nuclei with Hoechst 33342. We found that after cytochalasin B treatment, only 19.1% (21/110) of the blastomeres were positive for the SRY gene, whereas in the control group, SRY was detected in 54.5% (61/112) of the cases. In addition, in the cytochalasin B-treated group, 1.9% (7/376) of the embryos expressed GFP, as indicated by green fluorescence; this percentage was 35.4% (146/412) in the control embryos. The frequency of 2-cell and blastocyst-stage embryos was similar between the control and cytochalasin B-treated groups (84.1 vs 81.0%; and 11.6 vs 12.5%, respectively). The results indicate that the presence of cytochalasin B during fertilization effectively blocks the incorporation of the male nucleus into the newly formed zygote without affecting the developmental potential of the pre-implantation embryo.