cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The breakdown of quantum mechanics in the presence of time machinest

General Relativity allows for the existence of closed timelike curves. Various attempts have been made to exploit this possibility and build a “time machine,” that is a spacetime that has closed timelike lines inside some compact domain. We examine a simple model of a time machine, and construct the quantum-mechanical propagator for free particles in the vicinity of the causality violating domain. We discover that it is impossible for such propagators to be consistent with the law of conservation of probability. We speculate on the possible deeper consequences of our calculations.
Predicting county‐level cancer incidence rates and counts in the USA

Many countries, including the USA, publish predicted numbers of cancer incidence and death in current and future years for the whole country. These predictions provide important information on the cancer burden for cancer control planners, policymakers and the general public. Based on evidence from several empirical studies, the joinpoint (segmented-line linear regression) model (JPM) has been adopted by the American Cancer Society to estimate the number of new cancer cases in the USA and in individual states since 2007. Recently, cancer incidence in smaller geographic regions such as counties, and local policy makers are increasingly interested with Federal Information Processing Standard code regions. The natural extension is to directly apply the JPM to county-level cancer incidence data. The direct application has several drawbacks and its performance has not been evaluated. To address the concerns, we developed a spatial random-effects JPM for county-level cancer incidence data. The proposed model was used to predict both cancer incidence rates and counts at the county level. The standard JPM and the proposed method were compared through a validation study. The proposed method outperformed the standard JPM for almost all cancer sites, especially for moderate or rare cancer sites and for counties with small population sizes. As an application, we predicted county-level prostate cancer incidence rates and counts for the year 2011 in Connecticut.
Brain transfer ribonucleic acid methyltransferases in young adult and old mice.

Abstract Enzymes which methylate transfer RNAs are known to be controlled by hormones and small molecule inhibitors. We examined the ability of such enzymes prepared from different brain regions to methylate a fixed small quantity of tRNA. We also compared methylation by enzymes from different post-pubertal ages of C57BL/6J male mice (12, 18 and 30 months of age). Different brain regions exhibited different levels of tRNA methyltransferase activity, cerebellum being more active than brain stem, which was in turn more active than cortex or hypothalamus. No age-related changes in activity were found in activity from whole brain or cortex.
Police responsiveness to service-related requests

Policing research has generally focused on easily measured outcome factors such as response time, force usage, and arrest. Empirical studies examining outcomes important to public legitimacy, such ...
White Consumer Response to Asian Models in Advertising

Discusses consumer response to the use of Asian models to reach the Asian‐American market through mass media advertising. Reports on the results of an empirical study to discover white consumer reactions to Asians in advertising. Summarizes that Asian models achieved a more favourable response advertising products associated with Asian manufacture, a less favourable response with status products, while there is no difference in response for convenience products.
Default options, incentives and food choices: evidence from elementary-school children.

OBJECTIVE To examine whether requiring children to place fruits and vegetables on their lunch trays increases consumption of these items. DESIGN Observational study that exploited naturally occurring variation between two school districts and a pre–post observational study at schools that changed their lunch policy mid-year. SETTING Fifteen elementary schools from two school districts, one requiring students to place a fruit or vegetable on their tray and one that does not. In addition, three schools that implemented a default option part way through the school year. SUBJECTS Students at eighteen elementary schools (41 374 child-day observations) across the two experiments. RESULTS Requiring that fruits and vegetables be placed on each child's tray increased the fraction of children who ate a serving of fruits or vegetables by 8 percentage points (P < 0·01) but led to an extra 0·7 servings being thrown away per lunch served (P < 0·01). The default option approach cost $US 1·72 to get one additional child to eat one serving of fruits and vegetables for 1 d. However, when default options were combined with a small rewards programme the efficacy of both interventions increased. CONCLUSIONS A default option, as a stand-alone programme, had only a limited impact on fruit and vegetable consumption but was much less cost-effective than other approaches. Schools requiring children to take fruits and vegetables with their lunch might consider adopting additional interventions to ensure that the additional items served do not end up being thrown away.
Genome Sequence of “Candidatus Nitrosoarchaeum limnia” BG20, a Low-Salinity Ammonia-Oxidizing Archaeon from the San Francisco Bay Estuary

Here, we present the draft genome sequence of "Candidatus Nitrosoarchaeum limnia" BG20, an ammonia-oxidizing archaeon enriched in culture from low-salinity sediments of the San Francisco Bay estuary. The genome sequence revealed many similarities to the previously sequenced genome of "Ca. Nitrosoarchaeum limnia" SFB1 (enriched from a nearby site in San Francisco Bay) and is representative of a clade of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) found in low-salinity habitats worldwide.
Experiences as an Embedded Librarian in Online Courses

Embedded librarianship gives librarians a prime opportunity to have a direct, positive impact in a clinical setting, classroom setting, or within a working group by providing integrated services that cater to the group's needs. Extending embedded librarian services beyond the various physical settings and into online classrooms is an exceptional way for librarians to engage online learners. This group of students is growing rapidly in numbers and could benefit greatly from having library services and resources incorporated into their classes. The author's services as an embedded librarian in fully online courses at a medium-sized university will be discussed, as will strategies, lessons learned, and opportunities for engaging in this realm. To develop a foundation of knowledge on embedded librarianship, an overview of this topic is provided.
Folds and Folding

The geometry and the internal features of folds reflect the mechanisms that produce folds. The close relation between mechanism and resultant structure permits fold characteristics to be used in determining the mechanisms; in turn, the mechanisms can be used to infer general environmental conditions under which deformation has occurred. The relative ductilities and the nature of inherent anisotropy (primarily layering and inter-layer cohesion) in the involved rocks determine which mechanism of folding will operate. Flexural mechanisms are dependent on the presence of mechanical anisotropy; passive mechanisms operate when anisotropy is absent or ineffective. As the ductilities of the involved rocks increase, the effect of layering in the folding process decreases. Flexural folding represents a true bending of layers and can be produced by slip between layers, flexural slip, or by flow within layers, flexural flow. Passive folding reflects relative displacements of layer boundaries by flow or slip across the boundaries; the layering does not control the configuration of the deformed mass—it merely reflects the deformation. Passive mechanisms are designated passive flow and passive slip. Where irregular flow-occurs within and across layers, certain layers are flexed in response to passive behavior in the associated rocks. This gradational mechanism is called quasi-flexural folding; the geometry and more obvious features of the fold are flexural in general aspect, but the overall behavior is predominantly passive. Individual fold mechanisms are not mutually exclusive but may operate singly or in combination to produce folds.
A mitochondrial-like aconitase in the bacterium Bacteroides fragilis: Implications for the evolution of the mitochondrial Krebs cycle

Aconitase and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) enzyme activities were detected in anaerobically prepared cell extracts of the obligate anaerobe Bacteroides fragilis. The aconitase gene was located upstream of the genes encoding the other two components of the oxidative branch of the Krebs cycle, IDH and citrate synthase. Mutational analysis indicates that these genes are cotranscribed. A nonpolar in-frame deletion of the acnA gene that encodes the aconitase prevented growth in glucose minimal medium unless heme or succinate was added to the medium. These results imply that B. fragilis has two pathways for α-ketoglutarate biosynthesis—one from isocitrate and the other from succinate. Homology searches indicated that the B. fragilis aconitase is most closely related to aconitases of two other Cytophaga–Flavobacterium–Bacteroides (CFB) group bacteria, Cytophaga hutchinsonii and Fibrobacter succinogenes. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the CFB group aconitases are most closely related to mitochondrial aconitases. In addition, the IDH of C. hutchinsonii was found to be most closely related to the mitochondrial/cytosolic IDH-2 group of eukaryotic organisms. These data suggest a common origin for these Krebs cycle enzymes in mitochondria and CFB group bacteria.
A level set approach for dilute non-collisional fluid-particle flows

Gas-particle and other dispersed-phase flows can be described by a kinetic equation containing terms for spatial transport, acceleration, and particle processes (such as evaporation or collisions). However, computing the dispersed velocity is a challenging task due to the large number of independent variables. A level set approach for computing dilute non-collisional fluid-particle flows is presented. We will consider the sprays governed by the Williams kinetic equation subject to initial distributions away from equilibrium of the form ? i = 1 N ? i ( x ) ? ( ? - u i ( x ) ) . The dispersed velocity is described as the zero level set of a smooth function, which satisfies a transport equation. This together with the density weight recovers the particle distribution at any time. Moments of any desired order can be evaluated by a quadrature formula involving the level set function and the density weight. It is shown that the method can successfully handle highly non-equilibrium flows (e.g. impinging particle jets, jet crossing, particle rebound off walls, finite Stokes number flows).
Long Non-Coding RNA Regulation of Reproduction and Development

Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have long been known to play vital roles in eukaryotic gene regulation. Studies conducted over a decade ago revealed that maturation of spliced, polyadenylated coding mRNA occurs by reactions involving small nuclear RNAs and small nucleolar RNAs; mRNA translation depends on activities mediated by transfer RNAs and ribosomal RNAs, subject to negative regulation by micro RNAs; transcriptional competence of sex chromosomes and some imprinted genes is regulated in cis by ncRNAs that vary by species; and both small-interfering RNAs and piwi-interacting RNAs bound to Argonaute-family proteins regulate post-translational modifications on chromatin and local gene expression states. More recently, gene-regulating noncoding RNAs have been identified, such as long intergenic and long noncoding RNAs (collectively referred to as lncRNAs)--a class totaling more than 100,000 transcripts in humans, which include some of the previously mentioned RNAs that regulate dosage compensation and imprinted gene expression. Here, we provide an overview of lncRNA activities, and then review the role of lncRNAs in processes vital to reproduction, such as germ cell specification, sex determination and gonadogenesis, sex hormone responses, meiosis, gametogenesis, placentation, non-genetic inheritance, and pathologies affecting reproductive tissues. Results from many species are presented to illustrate the evolutionarily conserved processes lncRNAs are involved in.
Multiagent modeling and simulation in human-robot mission operations work system design

This paper describes a collaborative multiagent modeling and simulation approach for designing work systems. The Brahms environment is used to model mission operations for a semi-autonomous robot mission to the Moon at the work practice level. It shows the impact of human-decision making on the activities and energy consumption of a robot. A collaborative work systems design methodology is described that allows informal models, created with users and stakeholders, to be used as input to the development of formal computational models.
Product Line Design and Scheduling at Intel

We develop a holistic and coherent model for the product line design and scheduling problem. Our model incorporates market requirements and financials, design-engineering capabilities, manufacturing costs, and multiple-time dynamics. The solution integrates techniques and concepts from optimal set-covering, resource-constrained job scheduling, dynamic programming, and portfolio optimization to maximize overall profit. The key concept is the decomposition of the problem into two layers. The outer genetic algorithm layer handles resource constraints, scheduling, and financial optimization. The inner mathematical programming layer optimizes product composition as classical set covering. The resulting algorithm efficiently solves problems of larger size and higher complexity than previously possible. Over 250 personnel representing most major Intel groups and many distinct job functions are using the decision support suite (DSS) surrounding the algorithm 21 months after its initial deployment. This DSS serves to integrate a set of previously separate noncommunicating business processes.
Identification of ovarian cancer driver genes by using module network integration of multi-omics data

The increasing availability of multi-omics cancer datasets has created a new opportunity for data integration that promises a more comprehensive understanding of cancer. The challenge is to develop mathematical methods that allow the integration and extraction of knowledge from large datasets such as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). This has led to the development of a variety of omics profiles that are highly correlated with each other; however, it remains unknown which profile is the most meaningful and how to efficiently integrate different omics profiles. We developed AMARETTO, an algorithm to identify cancer drivers by integrating a variety of omics data from cancer and normal tissue. AMARETTO first models the effects of genomic/epigenomic data on disease-specific gene expression. AMARETTO's second step involves constructing a module network to connect the cancer drivers with their downstream targets. We observed that more gene expression variation can be explained when using disease-specific gene expression data. We applied AMARETTO to the ovarian cancer TCGA data and identified several cancer driver genes of interest, including novel genes in addition to known drivers of cancer. Finally, we showed that certain modules are predictive of good versus poor outcome, and the associated drivers were related to DNA repair pathways.
Gene maps, brain scans, and psychiatric nosology.

Neuroethics to date has tended to focus on social and ethical implications of developments in brain science, especially in functional neuroimaging. Within clinical neuroethics , the emphasis has been on ethical issues in clinical neuroscience practice, including informed consent to neuroimaging; the development of ethical research protocols for functional magnetic resonance imaging especially, and especially in children; and the ethical clinical management of incidental findings. Within normative neuroethics , we have witnessed the more philosophical and/or social scientific study of the meanings of developments in neuroscience, including concerns about the impact of neuroimaging on privacy, freedom of thought, moral culpability, and sense of self. In this piece, I argue for an expansion of neuroethical attention to the interface of neuroscience and psychiatry, where brain science meets the clinical sciences of the mind. My particular focus is the development of psychiatric classification systems. I am grateful to Jenny Brian, Carl Craver, Thane Plantikow, Claire Pouncey, and Ken Schaffner for discussion of many of the themes presented here. Early research on which portions of this article are based was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research in the form of an operating grant and salary award. My current research is supported by the Institute for Humanities Research, the Center for Biology and Society, and the School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University.
Bilateral Lymphosarcoma of the Nictitating Membrane in a Quarter Horse

SUMMARY A 21-year-old Quarter Horse mare presented for a mass of the right nictitating membrane. The entire right nictitating membrane was surgically removed and diagnosed as a mixed cell lymphosarcoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The horse had no systemic signs of lymphosarcoma. Approximately 1.5 years later, the horse presented with a similar mass in the left nictitating membrane. The entire left nictitating membrane was surgically removed and diagnosed as a mixed cell lymphosarcoma. In this case, complete surgical removal of the masses resulted in a cure. The horse has remained free of systemic lymphosarcoma for over 3 years. CASE REPORT A 21-year-old gray Quarter Horse mare was presented to the Kansas State University Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital for evaluation of a mass involving the right nictitating membrane. The mass was first noticed 5 weeks before presentation and had been treated by the referring veterinarian with a topical steroid solution twice daily. Administration of the topical steroid caused some decrease in the swelling, but it quickly returned once medication was discontinued. The horse had no other medical complaints and appeared to be otherwise healthy. On ocular examination, chemosis of the third eyelid and conjunctiva of the right eye was evident. Direct and indirect pupillary light reflexes, Schirmer tear test, and intraocular pressures were normal in both eyes. Fluorescein stain uptake was negative in both corneas. Cranial nerve and vision examinations did not reveal any
Fast beamforming with circular receiving arrays

The Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) can be applied to circular arrays receiving wideband sonar radiation. As with conventional beamforming, the FFT serves in the first stage to divide the spectrum into narrow frequency bands. Then the array element responses of each band are analyzed in a second stage of FFTs for the Fourier components (modes) of the array excitation function for the respective band. Application of weights of the mode responses, to simulate the radiation efficiency of the modes for any given element radiation pattern and to control the array pattern, yields the Fourier components of the beam pattern. To integrate these Fourier components, inverse FFTs follow which yield as many beam pattern samples as there are array elements.
Abundance, distribution, and feeding patterns of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in the Juan de Fuca Eddy

The Juan de Fuca Eddy is a seasonal, counter-clockwise gyre off the mouth of the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Washington, USA and British Columbia, Canada that may provide favorable feeding habitat for juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) during their early marine existence. In late September 2002, physical and biological sampling was conducted along two transects of the eddy region. Surface rope trawling was conducted to capture juvenile salmon and other nekton, along with bongo and neuston net tows to examine potential mesozooplanktonic salmon prey. Presence of the Juan de Fuca Eddy was confirmed with vertical water profiles. In addition, nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations collected from 3-m depth were within the range observed in previous studies within the eddy region. In the mesozooplankton community, euphausiids, chaetognaths, and decapod megalopae were common. In the diet of juvenile coho salmon, euphausiids and decapod megalopae were dominant by percent number, and larval and juvenile fish were dominant by percent weight. Feeding intensity (percent body weight) based on stomach contents was variable, but not significantly different among stations. To compare the Juan de Fuca Eddy region with an upwelling area, we sampled along a transect off La Push (LP), Washington, USA which is south of the eddy. The eddy region was found to be less productive than the LP transect. Nutrients were lower, chlorophyll a concentrations were higher, and zooplankton abundance was generally higher along the LP transect than in the eddy region. In addition, more juvenile coho salmon were captured from the LP transect than the eddy region. Prey items in stomachs of salmon from the LP transect were heterogeneous compared to those from the eddy region. Feeding intensity along the LP transect was slightly lower and more variable than in the eddy region, and differences in feeding intensity among LP stations were significant. In addition, feeding intensities among stations nested within regions were significantly different.
Development of a School Building Model for Educating Students with Handicaps and At-Risk Students in General Education Classrooms

This study, conducted in the context of a 4-year project to redesign special and remedial services in an elementary school, examined the effects of cooperative learning, cross-age tutoring, and in-class services for students with handicaps and remedial students. All students (524) in Grades 1 through 6 in two medium-sized elementary schools took part in the study. All three treatments were introduced into one of the schools, with the second school serving as a control. The cooperative learning treatment was delivered to all sixth-grade students, cross-age tutoring to special and remedial students in Grades 1 through 3, and the in-class services to all grade levels. Results indicated that, although the character of the instructional services changed markedly, none of the three treatments had much impact on achievement. Reasons for the findings are explored.
A Prospective Evaluation of Lung Volume Reduction Surgery in 200 Consecutive Patients

Objectives: Though numerous studies have demonstrated the short-term efficacy of lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) in select patients with emphysema, the longer-term follow-up studies are just being reported. The primary objectives of this study were to assess long-term health-related quality of life, satisfaction, physiologic status, and survival of patients following LVRS. Design: We used a prospective cohort study design to assess the first 200 patients undergoing bilateral LVRS (from 1993 to 1998), with follow-up through the year 2000. Each patient served as his own control, initially receiving optimal medical management including exercise rehabilitation before undergoing surgery. Preoperative postrehabilitation data were used as the baseline for comparisons with postoperative data. The primary end points were the effects of LVRS on dyspnea (modified Medical Research Council dyspnea sale), general health-related quality of life (Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey [SF-36]), patient satisfaction, and survival. The secondary end points were the effects of LVRS on pulmonary function, exercise capacity, and supplemental oxygen requirements. Setting: A tertiary care urban university-based referral center. Patients: Eligibility requirements for LVRS included disabling dyspnea due to marked airflow obstruction, thoracic hyperinflation, and heterogeneously distributed emphysema that provided target areas for resection. Patients were assessed at 6 months, 3 years, and 5 years after surgery. Interventions: Preoperative pulmonary rehabilitation and bilateral stapling LVRS. Measurements and results: The 200 patients accrued 735 person-years (mean ± SD, 3.7 ± 1.6 years; median, 4.0 years) of follow-up. Over the three follow-up periods, an average of > 90% of evaluable patients completed testing. Six months, 3 years, and 5 years after surgery, dyspnea scores were improved in 81%, 52%, and 40% of patients, respectively. Dyspnea scores were the same or improved in 96% (6 months), 82% (3 years), and 74% (5 years) of patients. Improvements in SF-36 physical functioning were demonstrated in 93% (6 months), 78% (3 years), and 69% (5 years) of patients. Good-to-excellent satisfaction with the outcomes was reported by 96% (6 months), 89% (3 years), and 77% (5 years) of patients. The FEV 1 was improved in 92% (6 months), 72% (3 years), and 58% (5 years) of patients. Changes in dyspnea and general health-related quality-of-life scores, and patient satisfaction scores were all significantly correlated with changes in FEV 1 . Following surgery, the median length of hospital stay in survivors was 9 days. The 90-day postoperative mortality was 4.5%. Annual Kaplan-Meier survival through 5 years after surgery was 93%, 88%, 83%, 74%, and 63%, respectively. During follow-up, 15 patients underwent subsequent lung transplantation. Conclusions: In stringently selected patients, LVRS resulted in substantial beneficial effects over and above those achieved with optimized medical therapy. The duration of improvement was at least 5 years in the majority of survivors.
Hydrological responses to defoliation and drought of an upland oak/pine forest

Hydrologic variability during 2005-2011 was observed and analyzed at an upland oak/pine forest in the New Jersey Pinelands. The forest experienced defoliation by Gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) in 2007, drought conditions in 2006 and a more severe drought in 2010. By using sap flux and eddy covariance measurements, stream discharge data from USGS, soil water changes, precipitation (P) and precipitation throughfall, a local water balance was derived.
Anisotropy in plastic deformation of extruded magnesium alloy sheet during tensile straining at high temperature

Experimental measurements are used to characterize the anisotropy of flow stress in extruded magnesium alloy AZ31 sheet during uniaxial tension tests at temperatures between 350°C and 450°C, and strain rates ranging from 10-5 to 10-2 s-1. The sheet exhibits lower flow stress and higher tensile ductility when loaded with the tensile axis perpendicular to the extrusion direction compared to when it is loaded parallel to the extrusion direction. This anisotropy is found to be grain size, strain rate, and temperature dependent, but is only weakly dependent on texture. A microstructure based model (D. E. Cipoletti, A. F. Bower, P. E. Krajewski, Scr. Mater., 64 (2011) 931–934) is used to explain the origin of the anisotropic behavior. In contrast to room temperature behavior, where anisotropy is principally a consequence of the low resistance to slip on the basal slip system, elevated temperature anisotropy is found to be caused by the grain structure of extruded sheet. The grains are elongated parallel to the extrusion direction, leading to a lower effective grain size perpendicular to the extrusion direction. As a result, grain boundary sliding occurs more readily if the material is loaded perpendicular to the extrusion direction.
Reliability of student evaluations of voice therapy implications for theory and training.

Summary This study examines reliability and the focus of attention of evaluations of voice therapy sessions. Therapy sessions were provided by 8 clinician-client pairs. For each pair, two 20-minute therapy sessions were evaluated by 50 undergraduate student raters and by 3 experienced clinicians. The goal of all therapy sessions was the modification of the frequency and type of voice onset. Raters evaluated each session using 12 behavioral and interpersonal criteria. Results indicated that (1) interrater reliability coefficients for each of the 12 criteria were moderately high to high, (2) the highest coefficients were found for ratings of the client, and (3) ratings of the client were found to be the most consistent across 2 sessions. Intrarater reliability was highest in ratings of quality, use of counseling, clarity and use of feedback, and amount of explanation by the clinician.
Large, stratified, and mechanically functional human cartilage grown in vitro by mesenchymal condensation

The ability to regenerate functional cartilage from adult human mesenchymal stem cells would have tremendous clinical impact. Despite significant efforts, mechanically functional human cartilage has not been grown in vitro. We report engineering of functional human cartilage from mesenchymal stem cells, by mimicking the physiologic developmental process of mesenchymal cell condensation. Condensed mesenchymal bodies were induced to fuse and form mechanically functional cartilaginous tissue interfacing with bone, without using a scaffolding material. We demonstrate that this simple “biomimetic” approach can be used to generate centimeter-sized, anatomically shaped pieces of human cartilage with physiologic stratification and mechanical properties. Functional human cartilage grown from a patient’s own cells using this method could greatly accelerate the development of new therapeutic modalities for cartilage repair.
Home visits after hospitalization: Enhancing baccalaurate nursing students' gerontologic clinical experience***

Abstract This article describes posthospitalization visits by 83 nursing students to 57 older patients and their caregivers discharged from two large academic medical centers and one community hospital. Patient and caregiver interviews in the home focused on the areas of geriatric assessments of cognitive and functional status, patient and caregiver satisfaction with recent hospitalization, ongoing health management, patient teaching, and discharge planning. (Geriatr Nurs 2001;22:248-52)
The Effects Of Retail Competition On The Personal Selling Effort Of New Car Salespeople

This study presents an empirical investigation of the personal sales effort at the retail level. Automobile dealerships were selected based on the emphasis they place on personal selling as an important component for sales. However, little actual personal selling effort was observed as a result of inter-brand competition between dealerships, as well as, intra-brand competition among dealerships. The effects of retail competition on the personal selling effort are discussed.
Multi-Criteria Decision Support

There have been a variety of decision support systems, with definitional differences across disciplines and countries. These include a system focus, a model focus, an application focus, and decision aids (the latter a European term). Each of these views is described with examples. The focus of the paper is on model-focused decision support systems using multicriteria models, and decision aids, of which differences between multiattribute utility theory, analytic hierarchy process, French and Belgian outranking methods, and other approaches are discussed. The underlying preference function assumptions of each approach are compared. The many very rich applications throughout the world are reviewed.
The design and performance of a prototype water Cherenkov optical time-projection chamber

Abstract A first experimental test of tracking relativistic charged particles by ‘drifting’ Cherenkov photons in a water-based optical time-projection chamber (OTPC) has been performed at the Fermilab Test Beam Facility. The prototype OTPC detector consists of a 77 cm long, 28 cm diameter, 40 kg cylindrical water mass instrumented with a combination of commercial 5.1 × 5.1 cm 2 micro-channel plate photo-multipliers (MCP-PMT) and 6.7 × 6.7 cm 2 mirrors. Five MCP-PMTs are installed in two columns along the OTPC cylinder in a small-angle stereo configuration. A mirror is mounted opposite each MCP-PMT on the inner surface of the detector cylinder, effectively increasing the photo-detection efficiency and providing a time-resolved image of the Cherenkov light on the opposing wall. Each MCP-PMT is coupled to an anode readout consisting of thirty 50 Ω microstrips. A 180-channel data acquisition system digitizes the MCP-PMT signals on one end of the microstrips using the PSEC4 waveform sampling-and-digitizing chip operating at a sampling rate of 10.24 Gigasamples-per-second. The single-ended microstrip readout determines the time and position of a photon arrival at the face of the MCP-PMT by recording both the direct signal and the pulse reflected from the unterminated far end of the strip. The detector was installed on the Fermilab MCenter secondary beam-line behind a steel absorber where the primary flux is multi-GeV muons. Approximately 80 Cherenkov photons are detected for a through-going muon track in a total event duration of ~2 ns. By measuring the time-of-arrival and the position of individual photons at the surface of the detector to ≤ 100 ps and a few mm, respectively, we have measured a spatial resolution of ~15 mm for each MCP-PMT track segment, and, from linear fits over the entire track length of ~40 cm, an angular resolution on the track direction of ~60 mrad.
Librarians in the Midst: Improving Student Research Through Collaborative Instruction

ABSTRACTWe test whether and how well the presence of an embedded librarian improves the quality of student research. Students in introductory-level courses tend to have very low levels of research skills and experience. Though faculty are frustrated by this lack of skills, both students and faculty tend to have only a peripheral knowledge of the role librarians can play in helping develop their research skills. Studies suggest that embedding librarians into course instruction is the preferred method for improving students’ research skills, yet the political science teaching and learning literature rarely addresses this issue or focuses on single-class experiences, measuring change in student knowledge and skills from the beginning to the end of a semester. We compare two International Politics courses taught in consecutive fall semesters with different levels of librarian involvement in the class. We assess the changes in quality and the use of information sources in the final research papers, both from a...
The Effect of Buffered Glycerol Saline and Formalized Buffered Glycerol Saline on the Viability of Enteric Bacteria and Enteric Phage

of the specimens. The author noted that it was more difficult to isolate the dysentery bacilli after the acute stages of the disease had passed. Carter (2), from specimens that contained blood and mucus, reported SO* /^ positive isolations only, while Topley and Wilson (3) obtained 60.2*^. Several investigators?Teague and Clurman (4); Wu and Sia (5); Holmes (6)?have attempted to develop a preservative for fecal specimens which cannot be plated immediately. Most of these preservatives contained glycerine. Sachs (7) pointed out that the acidity of the glycerated solutions is incompatible with the survival of shigella organisms. He suggested titrating these solutions to pH 8.0 with a saturated aqueous solution of phenol sulphonphthalein in 5^o sodium phosphate. Such a solution was evaluated by Hirschberg (8) who found it to be of value in preserving shigella and salmonella organisms. Friedmann (9) suggested that the presence of shigella bacteriophage in stools of dysenteric patients is the cause of poor isolation of shigella organisms. Feemster (10) recommended the isolation of these viruses as a diagnostic criterion for the presence of dysentery
Optical Properties of Silicon and Germanium Nanowire Fabric

The optical properties of free-standing nonwoven silicon (Si) and germanium (Ge) nanowire fabrics, including diffuse and specular reflectance, diffuse and direct transmittance, and absorptance spectra, were measured using an integrating sphere to account fully for all incident photons. Very thin, 50 μm thick, sheets with ∼90% void volume have extremely high optical densities. They are optically opaque across nearly all wavelengths from ultraviolet to near-infrared, and only minimal light penetrates when photon energies are below the band gap. The high optical density arises from a combination of scattering and absorption due to their high aspect ratio and narrow diameter as well as surface effects due to their very high surface area to volume ratio.
REASSESSMENT OF THE SEXUAL IMCOMPATIBILITY SYSTEM AND CULTURAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BJERKANDERA FUMOSA

The sexual incompatibility system of Bjerkandera fumosa was determined to be unifactorial and not bifactorial as previously reported. Mon-mon and di-mon confrontations among and between North American and European isolates proved to be compatible. A revised cultural description of B. fumosa is provided. Bjerkandera fumosa (Pers.: Fr.) Karst. (Polyporaceae) is a well-known and easily recognized wood-rotting fungus that is widely distributed throughout temperate forested regions of the world. Although normally associated with a distinct white rot of dead or dying angiospermous substrates, B. fumosa occasionally occurs on gymnospermous wood (Overholts, 1953; Gilbertson and Ryvarden, 1986). The cultural characteristics of B. fumosa have been documented by Nobles (1948, 1965) and Stalpers (1978). The incompatibility system was reported to be bifactorial by Mounce (1935), Nobles et al. (1957), Nobles (1965), and Stalpers (1978). Some inconsistencies exist between our data on B. fumosa and those in the literature; therefore, we initiated a study to reexamine the incompatibility system of B. fumosa, to examine the compatibility between North American and European populations, and to reassess the cultural characteristics of the species.
Abstract PR-01: Properties of adenomas in subjects treated with difluoromethylornithine and sulindac for reduction of colorectal adenomas

Difluoromethyl ornithine (DFMO), an ornithine decarboxylase inhibitor, and sulindac reduced the occurrence of colorectal adenomas by 70% in a phase III randomized placebo controlled clinical trial. The goal of the current study was to compare adenoma location in the colorectum and biomarker expression by immunohistochemistry of formalin fixed paraffin embedded adenomas from treatment and placebo groups in the trial. To take into account the relationship between the locations in the colorectum of multiple adenoma that were removed from individual subjects, the generalized estimation equation (GEE) method was applied for all analyses. The decrease in the reappearance of metachronous adenomas was similar throughout the colorectum in subjects treated with DFMO and sulindac (P = 0.44). For TP53, Ki67, and c-MYC there were no significant differences in the estimated mean percent of cells staining positive between treated and untreated subjects (P>0.5 for all). For BCL-2, LC3B, CEA, sialy1-Tn, cleaved caspase 3 and apoptosis, the proportion of adenoma with expression levels 1+ to 3+ did not differ between subjects treated with DFMO plus sulindac versus those treated with double placebos. For hMSH2, hMSH6, hMLH1 and hPMS2, there was a loss of staining of a greater number of cells on average in adenomas from the control group compared to adenomas from the subjects treated with DFMO and sulindac. For hMSH2, this difference was statistically significant (P = 0.0004). This finding raises the possibility that DFMO and sulindac protect adenomas from loss of DNA mismatch repair protein expression and provides a rationale for further study of the possible role of DFMO and sulindac on DNA mismatch repair protein regulation and chemoprevention in patients at risk for colorectal carcinoma. In conclusion, DFMO decreases the occurrences of adenomas throughout the colorectum, including the right colon, and may have an effect on DNA mismatch repair enzyme expression. These findings provide further rationale for the use of DFMO as a chemopreventative agent for colorectal carcinoma. Citation Information: Cancer Prev Res 2011;4(10 Suppl):PR-01.
Managing with Exotics—A Game of Chance

Abstract Lakes are like islands—isolated, small, and relatively young. These similarities suggest that the theory developed for species dynamics on islands by MacArthur and Wilson (1963) may be relevant to lakes. If so, the expectations are that the number of species in a lake is the result of an equilibrium between rates of immigration of new species and extinction of existing species. The number of species would be lower in small, isolated lakes with simple habitat than in large or complex lakes or those exposed to a source of new species. Instability in species structure would be higher in lakes with a continuous source of new species or “exotics.” The influence of immigrations on species structure would be greater in smaller or more simple habitats than in larger or more complex habitats. Man's activities increase both immigration and extinction rates and induce even greater instability to species structure and thus add greater uncertainty or “chance” into the results of fish management plans. Attempt...
Identifying and ranking implicit leadership strategies to promote evidence-based practice implementation in addiction health services

Despite a solid research base supporting evidence-based practices (EBPs) for addiction treatment such as contingency management and medication-assisted treatment, these services are rarely implemented and delivered in community-based addiction treatment programs in the USA. As a result, many clients do not benefit from the most current and efficacious treatments, resulting in reduced quality of care and compromised treatment outcomes. Previous research indicates that addiction program leaders play a key role in supporting EBP adoption and use. The present study expanded on this previous work to identify strategies that addiction treatment program leaders report using to implement new practices. We relied on a staged and iterative mixed-methods approach to achieve the following four goals: (a) collect data using focus groups and semistructured interviews and conduct analyses to identify implicit managerial strategies for implementation, (b) use surveys to quantitatively rank strategy effectiveness, (c) determine how strategies fit with existing theories of organizational management and change, and (d) use a consensus group to corroborate and expand on the results of the previous three stages. Each goal corresponded to a methodological phase, which included data collection and analytic approaches to identify and evaluate leadership interventions that facilitate EBP implementation in community-based addiction treatment programs. Findings show that the top-ranked strategies involved the recruitment and selection of staff members receptive to change, offering support and requesting feedback during the implementation process, and offering in vivo and hands-on training. Most strategies corresponded to emergent implementation leadership approaches that also utilize principles of transformational and transactional leadership styles. Leadership behaviors represented orientations such as being proactive to respond to implementation needs, supportive to assist staff members during the uptake of new practices, knowledgeable to properly guide the implementation process, and perseverant to address ongoing barriers that are likely to stall implementation efforts. These findings emphasize how leadership approaches are leveraged to facilitate the implementation and delivery of EBPs in publicly funded addiction treatment programs. Findings have implications for the content and structure of leadership interventions needed in community-based addiction treatment programs and the development of leadership interventions in these and other service settings.
Study on optimization of power plant running parameters based on data mining

Due to power plant data's polytrophic,dynamic and relevance properties,it is difficult to artificially analyze and process such data.This article proposes a method based on data mining algorithm to determine the optimal values of power plant operating parameters,and apply to actual running of power station.
Rheumatic fever in the eighties.

The current status of rheumatic fever is reviewed and the reasons for its decline in the United States are explored. Continuation of primary prevention efforts is recommended or there could be a resurgence of this disease. The need for further research continues because rheumatic fever is still a major health problem for much of the world’s population.
Septation of the univentricular heart with left anterior subaortic outlet chamber

Surgical repair by ventricular septation was accomplished in 16 patients with univentricular heart of the left ventricular type, two atrioventricular (AV) valves, and a left anterior subaortic outlet chamber. There were seven hospital deaths (44%; CL 29% to 60%), six from low cardiac output, including each of five patients with outlet foramen obstruction (100%; CL 68% to 100%). In the subset of 11 patients with unobstructed outlet foramen, there were only two deaths (18%; CL 6% to 38%), both in patients with small ventricular size. Multivariate analysis in the group of 16 patients indicates that small ventricular size and again the presence of outlet foramen obstruction are incremental risk factors for hospital death. No late deaths occurred among nine survivors followed between 2 months and 4 years (median = 1.5 years). Only one patient was taking cardiac medication and each was in New York Heart Association Functional Class I. Late postoperative exercise testing in seven showed good exercise tolerance, although values were below normal for children of similar age. Planned initial palliation, appropriate timing of repair, appropriate patient selection, and improving surgical methods should reduce hospital mortality further. The late functional results are encouraging and support continuation of this surgical procedure in patients with suitable anatomy.
Quantification of tissue eosinophils and lymphocytes in histologic sections

During a study of eosinophil-predominant gallbladder disease, an image analysis (IA) technique was developed for quantification of eosinophils and lymphocytes in routine formalin-fixed tissue sections. Alternating sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for eosinophils and with monoclonal CD45 antibody visualized with diaminobenzidine by an avidin-biotin procedure for lymphocytes. A protocol was then developed using a commercially available image analyzer and two well-defined macro routines. The system was validated with cell block sections prepared from peripheral blood samples with known eosinophil and lymphocyte counts. The eosinophil counts obtained by this IA technique showed excellent correlation with the absolute counts from a peripheral blood analyzer (r2 = 0.987). The lymphocyte counts obtained by IA showed good correlation with the absolute counts (r2 = 0.820). This IA-based technique provides a sensitive, reproducible, and substantiated means of quantifying inflammatory cells in tissue sections. This rapid and easily learned technique adds quantification as a complementary dimension to the subjective assessment of tissue morphology.
Auto reliability project

Reliability is defined as the probability that an item (system, subsystem, or component) performs according to specifications. When test data are sparse (such as with a new concept design), expert judgment can be used to estimate reliability. Using expert judgment information in conjunction with data and historical information brings into focus ways of handling various kinds of uncertainties. In this chapter, we examine the use of a traditional probabilistic approach, and also the use of fuzzy membership functions for reliability estimation under uncertainty.