cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fostering student engagement in online discussion through social learning analytics

Abstract This paper reports on the initial stage of a design-based research program that aims to devise student-facing social learning analytics in a postsecondary setting. In order to foster student discussion in online classes, we devised an analytics toolkit that turns discussion forum data into information for students to reflect upon. The first pilot study conducted in an online course showed both early promises and challenges with this effort. In particular, students reported usefulness of the toolkit for monitoring posting behaviors and setting participation goals. Content analysis of post content linked tool usage with students' increased attempts to solicit peer responses to their posts and increased reflection on individual participation. However, the tool was not found useful or easy to use by some students, and it did not show benefits in other aspects of online discussion, such as crafting stronger argumentation or reflecting on group processes. These findings highlight the need of social learning analytics to strive for tool simplicity, scaffold students' development in data literacy, and bring analytics and pedagogical designs into close coordination.
Pavlovian theory of dreaming.

Pavlovian theory provides a conceptual scheme for the examination of recent empirical data on dreaming. Consistencies are examined between these data and Pavlovian theory of the general properties of the nervous system. An equation is made between Pavlov’s excitation-inhibition continuum, the REM-NREM cycle, and the basic rest-activity cycle. Speculations, based on this equation, are made about the inter-relation between waking and sleeping behaviors. Testable hypotheses are suggested throughout the paper.
School Counselors’ Perceived Stress, Burnout, and Job Satisfaction:

We examined the relationship between perceived stress, burnout, and job satisfaction among school counselors. Results indicated that school counselors’ perceived stress and burnout were negatively ...
A Minimal Turing Test

Abstract We introduce the Minimal Turing Test, an experimental paradigm for studying perceptions and meta-perceptions of different social groups or kinds of agents, in which participants must use a single word to convince a judge of their identity. We illustrate the paradigm by having participants act as contestants or judges in a Minimal Turing Test in which contestants must convince a judge they are a human, rather than an artificial intelligence. We embed the production data from such a large-scale Minimal Turing Test in a semantic vector space, and construct an ordering over pairwise evaluations from judges. This allows us to identify the semantic structure in the words that people give, and to obtain quantitative measures of the importance that people place on different attributes. Ratings from independent coders of the production data provide additional evidence for the agency and experience dimensions discovered in previous work on mind perception. We use the theory of Rational Speech Acts as a framework for interpreting the behavior of contestants and judges in the Minimal Turing Test.
Educating Students with Cognitive Disabilities

This article discusses ways that teachers can best educate children with cognitive disabilities. First, a cognitive disability is defined. Next, characteristics of students with cognitive disabilities are highlighted. Subsequently, characteristics of effective interventions (i.e., least prompts, time delay, and identifying reinforcers) are discussed along with specific curriculum and teaching strategies (i.e., systematic instruction, integrated settings, and assistive technology). Finally, educational outcomes (i.e., quality of life and personal outcomes) are addressed.
The Global Heroin and Cocaine Trade

The end of the Cold War has brought greater freedom of movement opportunities for people and goods in many countries, particularly those of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. At the same time, the economic success of capitalism and its accompanying system of materialism has led to the so-called dollarisation of the globe, whereby to possess money is now also to possess power, success and influence. These effects of liberalisation and financial imperative have led to a huge increase in legitimate transnational commercial enterprises. However, they have also helped to fuel a parallel underground international drug economy whose annual profits are now believed to be in the area of between US$200 billion and US$400 billion.
Response to Disclosure as an Indicator of Competence to Stand Trial.

Ethics guidelines recommend that forensic mental health professionals begin in-person assessments by explaining the nature and purpose of the examination. To learn whether evaluees have understood and can give consent, forensic practitioners may ask evaluees to paraphrase the explanation. This article explores how a forensic evaluee9s disclosure response (DR) reveals substantive information relevant to the purposes of a forensic examination. We examined archival data from 255 reports on competence to stand trial (CST) that a Midwest public sector hospital had previously submitted to courts. We classified each evaluee9s DR at one of three levels: DR = yes (accurate paraphrasing), DR = no (inability to paraphrase or provide a relevant response), or DR = other (an intermediate level implying a less-than-accurate response). None of the 28 DR = no evaluees was CST, and only 7 (17%) of the 48 DR = other evaluees were CST. Thus, a CST evaluee who cannot paraphrase an examiner9s explanation is likely to be incompetent to stand trial, and an examiner would need to adduce a strong argument to support any opinion to the contrary.
The Transition: Part 2

Transitioning out of your training program is a complicated and lengthy procedure. In reality it starts with your graduation from medical school. This chapter should be read and digested by not only the resident or fellow who is finishing his training but also those just beginning their training, as the preparation for this transition really began when you decided to become a doctor. This is, or will be, the culmination of everything that you have worked so hard for, and your every action should be directed to that day when you will assume the responsibility for making the medical decisions, for where you and your family will live, and precisely how you will want to practice your new skills. Many of the aspects in this decision-making process will evolve quite naturally and automatically as time goes on. Your goals may go through several changes as your ability and mind develops, and your needs change. This is a very healthy process. However, you must start preparing and positioning yourself very early on for the numerous life-changing events that are in store for you.
Analyzing Beauty by Building Custom Profiles Using Machine Learning

Instead of tackling what is universal beauty, we propose to attempt to create profiles based on training data for individual understanding of beauty, while maintaining efficiency. This paper describes a fully functional software system called TBeauty that creates an individual machine-learning algorithm based off a profile to allow users to get an accurate assessment of what they would classify and score beauty. The system would take data and use facial landmarks in order to assess this. The system can be changed to allow automatic search of new images to proactively select the ones that have high scores for any individual user. The project uses an existing 68-point landmark detection algorithm proposed by Rainer Lienhart to identify the facial landmark points (a so-called facial mask) from images that will be fed into various machine-learning algorithms. The software is available on GitHub.
Phase Diagram of 360° Domain Walls in Magnetic Rings

One method to increase bit density in magnetic memory devices is to use multi-state structures, such as a ferromagnetic nanoring with multiple domain walls (DWs), to encode information. However, there is a competition between decreasing the ring size in order to more densely pack bits and increasing it to make multiple DWs stable. This paper examines the effects of ring geometry, specifically inner and outer diameters (ODs), on the formation of 360° DWs. By sequentially increasing the strength of an applied circular magnetic field, we examine how DWs form under the applied field and whether they remain when the field is returned to zero. We examine the relationships between field strength, number of walls initially formed, and the stability of these walls at zero field for different ring geometries. We demonstrate that there is a lower limit of 200 nm to the ring diameter for the formation of any 360° DWs under an applied field, and that a high number of 360° DWs are stable at remanence only for narrow rings with large ODs.
Root cause analysis of epidural spinal cord stimulator implant infections with resolution after implementation of an improved protocol for surgical placement.

Background:Placing a spinal stimulator for the purpose of restoring paralysed function is a novel procedure; however, paralysis predisposes people to infection. Preventing surgical site infections ...
Effects of a Double Major on Post-Baccalaureate Outcomes

We use data from the Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study and propensity score weighting methods to estimate the effect of a double major on bachelor's degree recipients’ earnings within fou...
Mechanisms by which early-life experiences promote enduring stress resilience or vulnerability

Abstract Early-life experience can modulate risk versus resilience to emotional and cognitive disorders in adulthood. This suggests that there is a particularly sensitive period early in life, during which beneficial or adverse events can cause a later propensity toward stress resilience or vulnerability, respectively. Most early-life experiences are generated from signals received from the primary caregiver, and perturbations in these signals can program stress-related behaviors throughout life. These maternal signals cause lasting changes in brain circuitry and function, including networks associated with learning and memory, and with emotional and stress responses. Underlying these changes in brain circuits are transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms. These molecular changes are instigated by early-life experiences and set in motion a signaling cascade that can determine resilience or vulnerabilities in adulthood.
Private engagement in refugee education and the promise of digital humanitarianism

This paper examines the prevalence of technological interventions in education in emergencies through a case study of private participation in Syrian refugee education in Jordan, Lebanon, and Turke...
Autophagy in peripheral blood mononuclear cells is associated with body fat percentage.

Numerous chronic conditions including obesity exhibit autophagic dysfunction. Association of immune cell autophagic marker regulation by body fat percentage (%BF) is unknown.Investigate autophagy a...
Physical Activity Is Associated With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Significant Fibrosis Measured by FibroScan.

Background and Aims Studies evaluating the association of 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PA Guidelines) with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and significant fibrosis or cirrhosis are needed. We evaluated the association of meeting PA Guidelines with NAFLD and significant fibrosis or cirrhosis by transient elastography in the United States. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was performed using the 2017–2018 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. NAFLD and significant fibrosis or cirrhosis were defined by transient elastography in the absence of other causes of chronic liver disease. The detailed PA questionnaire assessed the leisure-time, occupation-related, and transportation-related PA. PA was categorized based on the PA Guidelines. Results Of the 4304 subjects, leisure-time PA, which met the PA Guidelines (≥150 min/wk), was associated with 44% lower risk of NAFLD (odds ratio [OR]: 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.46–0.67). Subjects who reported 1–2 times (150–299 min/wk) or over 2 times (≥300 min/wk) the recommended amount of PA Guidelines had 40% (OR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.41–0.90) and 49% (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.40–0.65) lower odds of NAFLD, respectively. Over 8 hours of sitting time had a 44% higher risk of NAFLD (OR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.01–2.05) when we considered leisure-time PA and sitting time simultaneously. Over 2 times (≥300 min/wk) the recommended amount of PA Guidelines for leisure-time PA had 59% (OR, 0.41; 95% CI, 0.22–0.74) lower risk for significant fibrosis and 63% (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.21–0.64) lower odds of cirrhosis. Conclusions Meeting PA Guidelines for leisure-time PA has beneficial effects on NAFLD, and over 2 times the recommended amount of PA Guidelines had lower risk for significant fibrosis or cirrhosis.
A Compensating Control for Systems with Intermittent Actuator Faults

The problem of intermittent and random actuator faults is important in many applications, especially in wireless systems where interruptions in communication between the plant, the actuators, and the sensors are not uncommon. Much of the work in this topic focuses on fault-tolerant control when the statistics of the faults are known a priori. In this work, the case where the statistics of the actuator faults are unknown is addressed. A modified Kalman filter is used to identify the unknown fault statistics, and this information is used in a technique that can compensate for the intermittent actuator faults. In addition to the theoretical analysis, several simulations involving a DC motor that experiences intermittent actuator faults are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed compensation method.
Gaussian discrepancy: a probabilistic relaxation of vector balancing.

We introduce a novel relaxation of combinatorial discrepancy called Gaussian discrepancy, whereby binary signings are replaced with correlated standard Gaussian random variables. This relaxation effectively reformulates an optimization problem over the Boolean hypercube into one over the space of correlation matrices. We show that Gaussian discrepancy is a tighter relaxation than the previously studied vector and spherical discrepancy problems, and we construct a fast online algorithm that achieves a version of the Banaszczyk bound for Gaussian discrepancy. This work also raises new questions such as the Komlos conjecture for Gaussian discrepancy, which may shed light on classical discrepancy problems.
Patient Resources in a Cancer Center

Despite the emergence of more effective targeted therapies, cancer treatment remains a complex process requiring a holistic patient-centered approach, beyond the direct medical care offered by the treating hematologist/oncologist. This entails empowering patients with knowledge about prescribed regimens and their risks and side effects, within a multifaceted treatment team involving hematologists/oncologists, advanced practice providers, nurses, nutritionists, and pharmacists, among others. Additionally, a multitude of resources are generally available including financial, religious, and spiritual support to help patients in the treatment journey. This chapter describes resources generally available to cancer patients, as well as an array of supporting services in a cancer center to address the patient needs.
Motion Sickness Elicited by Passive Rotation in Squirrel Monkeys

Current theory and recent evidence suggest that motion sickness occurs under conditions of sensory input in which the normal motor programs for producing eye, head, and body movements are not functionally effective, i.e. under conditions in which there are difficulties in maintaining posture and controlling eye movements. Conditions involving conflicting or inconsistent visual-vestibular (VV) stimulation should thus result in greater sickness rates since the existing motor programs do not produce effective control of eye-head-body movements under such conditions. It is felt that the relationship of postural control to motion sickness is an important one and one often overlooked. The results are reported which showed that when postural requirements were minimized by fully restraining squirrel monkeys during hypogravity parabolic flight, no animals became motion sick, but over 80 percent of the same 11 animals became sick if they were unrestrained and maintained control of their posture.
Prioritizing collision avoidance and vehicle stabilization for autonomous vehicles

One approach to autonomous vehicle control is to generate and then track a desired trajectory without explicit consideration of vehicle stability. Stabilization is then entrusted to the vehicle's built-in production systems, such as electronic stability control, which constantly augment driving inputs to ensure stability. Other approaches explicitly consider stabilization criteria and implement permanently active constraints on the vehicle's actions. Situations exist, however, where enforcing stability constraints could lead to an otherwise avoidable collision. This paper presents an alternative paradigm for autonomous vehicle control that explicitly considers vehicle stability and environmental boundaries as it attempts to track a trajectory; such a mediator can choose to violate short term stability constraints in order to avoid a collision. Model predictive control provides an implementation framework, and an autonomous vehicle demonstrates the viability of the controller as it performs aggressive maneuvers. Driving around a turn at the vehicle's limits exhibits the importance of vehicle stability for autonomous vehicle control. Performing an emergency double lane change, however, highlights a situation where stability criteria must be temporarily violated to avoid a collision.
Interactions between segmental homologs and between isoneuronal branches guide the formation of sensory terminal fields

Process outgrowth and peripheral field innervation by an identified mechanosensory neuron were examined in the intact embryonic leech. The dorsal pressure-sensitive (PD) neurons of the leech CNS are found as bilateral pairs in every segmental ganglion, and are amenable to study at early ages in intact embryos. Each PD has one major axonal projection that putatively pioneers the nerve to the dorsal body wall and branches extensively in its own segment, and two minor projections that innervate, via neighboring ganglia, smaller areas in adjacent segments. We found that adjacent embryonic PD cells form overlapping terminal fields in the body wall, but that the extent of overlap was governed by inhibitory interactions among these fields. When one PD neuron was ablated, the adjacent PD cell changed its peripheral arborization by (1) its major axon producing more filopodia and extending longer side branches toward the ablated cell and (2) its minor axon producing a large arbor in the operated segment. Interestingly, although growth was biased toward the side of the ablated neuron, reduced outgrowth of the PD cell was found on the side away from the ablation, while the total extent of arborization of the PD cell kept relatively constant. Further, we found that axotomy of the major PD projection resulted in extensive outgrowth of its minor projections. These results suggest that a single PD neuron has a limited capacity for growth, each of its branches growing at the expense of the others, and that inhibitory interactions between neighboring PD neurons influence the extent and direction of that growth.
31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies of substrate and product binding to fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase.

The enzymatic hydrolysis of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate (Fru-1,6-P2) to fructose 6-phosphate (Fru-6-P) and inorganic phosphate (Pi), which is catalyzed by fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, has been studied by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). At pH 7.5 and 15 degrees C, the equilibrium constant for the central complex K'eq = [E.Fru-6-P.Pi]/[E.Fru-1,6-P2.H2O] is about 2. This observation is in harmony with results obtained with a number of Bi Bi enzyme systems for the determination of K'eq in which a variety of experimental techniques were used (Knowles, J.R. (1980) Annu. Rev. Biochem. 49, 877-919). Significant changes in 31P NMR chemical shifts were observed for both the substrate, Fru-1,6-P2, and the product, Fru-6-P, when bound to the enzyme relative to ligand free in solution. The chemical shifts of the substrate and product were altered further in the presence of Mg2+, the catalytic divalent metal ion. The chemical shifts caused by the addition of metal ion can be reversed in the presence of trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane- N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (CDTA) or AMP. In the presence of the metal ion chelator or the nucleotide, the substrate had a chemical shift that was about the same as that observed in the absence of metal ion. On the basis of these observations we suggest that AMP and CDTA exhibit similar effects, i.e. they both remove the catalytic metal ion from the enzyme. This finding is supportive of the suggestion (Scheffler, J. E., and Fromm, H.J. (1986) Biochemistry 25, 6659-6665; Liu, F., and Fromm, H.J. (1990) J. Biol. Chem. 265, 7401-7406) that the role of AMP in the regulation of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase is to prevent binding of the divalent metal activator to the enzyme.
Upsurge and Speed-Rise Charts Due to Pump Shutdown

Radial (centrifugal) pumps can limit and reduce the reverse flow as the pump speeds up in reverse after power shutdown. This may cause head rises at the pump and along the discharge line. Usually the amplitude of these upsurges with either an increase in 2ρ\N, or with an increase in K(2L/a) for a constant 2ρ\N, in which 2ρ\N = the pipeline characteristic parameter; 2L/a = the round trip wave travel time; and K is a pump constant. This paper presents results of an analytical study that show that both the maximum reverse speed rise and the maximum head rise at the pump increase with an increase in K(2L/a) up to some value of K(2L/a) for each 2ρ\N. However, as K(2L/a) increases beyond this value both the maximum head rise and speed rise decrease. In addition, the effect of friction on head changes in the line is presented. The results are presented in the form of charts that can be used to assist in the design of pump discharge systems.
HARDI Denoising: Variational Regularization of the Spherical Apparent Diffusion Coefficient sADC

We denoise HARDI (High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging) data arising in medical imaging. Diffusion imaging is a relatively new and powerful method to measure the 3D profile of water diffusion at each point. This can be used to reconstruct fiber directions and pathways in the living brain, providing detailed maps of fiber integrity and connectivity. HARDI is a powerful new extension of diffusion imaging, which goes beyond the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) model: mathematically, intensity data is given at every voxel and at any direction on the sphere. However, HARDI data is usually highly contaminated with noise, depending on the b -value which is a tuning parameter pre-selected to collect the data. Larger b -values help to collect more accurate information in terms of measuring diffusivity, but more noise is generated by many factors as well. So large b -values are preferred, if we can satisfactorily reduce the noise without losing the data structure. We propose a variational method to denoise HARDI data by denoising the spherical Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (sADC), a field of radial functions derived from the data. We use vectorial total variation regularization, an L 1 data fidelity term and the logarithmic barrier function in the minimization. We present experiments of denoising synthetic and real HARDI data.
Knowledge trading: computational support for individual and collaborative sense-making activities

This dissertation explores the potential for computational systems to analyze and support individual and collaborative human sense-making activities. In this context human sense-making refers to the act of mentally and physically relating pieces of information so as to develop an understanding of a particular situation. Human sense-making activities such as brainstorming, decision-making, and problem solving sessions often produce a lot of data such as notes, sketches, and documents. The participants of sense-making activities usually develop a good understanding of the relations among these individual data items. These relations define the context. Because the relations remain within the minds of the participants they are neither accessible to outsiders and computational systems nor can they be recorded or backed up. This dissertation outlines a first set of computational mechanisms that construct relations from the spatial arrangement, use, and storage of data items. A second set of computational mechanisms takes advantage of these relations by helping users to keep track of, search for, exchange, arrange, and visualize data items. The computational mechanisms are both adaptive and evocative, meaning that the computational mechanisms dynamically adapt to users and changing circumstances while also trying to influence the human sense-making process. Contributions. (1) Demonstration that computer systems can discover probable relations among data items from their spatial arrangement and use by users. This work identifies and analyzes various human mental processes involved in the determination of possible relations among data items such as documents on a work desk or files in a computer system. A computational equivalent is proposed for every mental process outlined. (2) Demonstration that computer systems can use the discovered relations among data items to help users search for relevant information, prioritize the data exchange between collaborating users, and visualize data in various ways. This investigation looks at how a human's increasing knowledge about a problem space is influential in the subsequent accumulation of new data. The findings are converted into computational equivalents that can support individual and collaborative sense-making processes. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Persistent racial and ethnic disparities in up-to-date colorectal cancer testing in medicare enrollees.

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether greater colonoscopy use among white as compared with nonwhite Medicare enrollees since Medicare established coverage for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening has been associated with a widening in white versus nonwhite disparities in up-to-date CRC testing status. DESIGN: Serial cross-sectional analysis of Medicare claims. SETTING: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) regions in nine states, representing 14% of the U.S. population. PARTICIPANTS: A 5% random sample of fee-for-service Medicare enrollees aged 70 to 79 within each 6-month period from mid-1995 through 2003. MEASUREMENTS: Trends in up-to-date status (having a fecal occult blood test (FOBT) claim in the prior year or a sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy claim in the prior 5 years) according to race or ethnicity, estimated using repeated-measures logistic regression adjusting for age, sex, rural versus urban residence, income, comorbidity, and SEER region. RESULTS: From mid-1995 through 2003, the adjusted percentage of enrollees that were up-to-date increased by a similar magnitude in whites (from 39.4% to 47.3%), blacks (from 29.0% to 38.1%), Asians and Pacific Islanders (from 33.1% to 41.8%), and Hispanics (from 23.7% to 33.2%). Although white versus nonwhite disparities in up-to-date status via colonoscopy widened, this was counterbalanced by narrowing white versus nonwhite disparities in up-to-date status via FOBT and sigmoidoscopy. CONCLUSION: White versus nonwhite disparities in up-to-date CRC testing status in Medicare enrollees largely persisted through 2003.
Archives of Connection: “Whole Network” Analysis and Social History

AbstractSocial network analysis is a burgeoning field of sociology, but it has only recently been adopted by social historians. This article provides an overview of the promise of social network analysis for social history, as well as a critical discussion of what the method does and does not provide. It focuses especially on the problem of “whole network” analysis and sketches questions that social network analysis can help answer in the past. The author then offers a reflection on his own experience using the method and shows what it provided in the study of a French-Indian community in the colonial Mississippi Valley.
Corona processing of insulating oil

It is well known that sustained corona discharge in insulating oil lowers its dielectric strength and simultaneously reduces its corona resistance. Therefore, for operating stresses in the corona regime, activity typically increases with time and, if allowed to continue, eventually leads to breakdown of the oil and failure of the component or system. It is, therefore, common practice to periodically replace oil in devices such as large power transformers and switchgear before breakdown occurs. Sealed components such as capacitors are typically replaced. Experiments have demonstrated that the dielectric properties of corona weakened oil can not only be restored, but actually improved by a simple regeneration process. These experiments were carried out on high voltage pulse transformer windings which were operated at high repetition rates until partial discharges formed. Reprocessing the oil after each operating cycle resulted in successively longer operational periods before partial discharges appeared. In a separate experiment, a process was developed to precondition transformer oil to raise its corona inception voltage before using it to insulate a high voltage component, thus giving it a longer initial service life for a given operating stress or permitting higher stress operation for limited operating times.
Speed sensorless hybrid vector controlled induction motor drive

The paper describes a speed and flux sensorless vector-controlled induction motor drive primarily aimed for electric vehicle type applications. The stator flux oriented drive starts at zero speed in indirect vector control mode, transitions to direct vector control mode as the speed develops, and then transitions back to indirect vector control at zero speed. The vector control uses stator flux orientation in both indirect and direct vector control modes with the stator resistance variation compensated by measurement of stator temperature. The problem of integration at low stator frequency is solved by cascaded low pass filters with programmable time constants. The control strategy of the four-quadrant drive has been analyzed, validated by simulation study, and finally evaluated by experimental study on a laboratory 5 HP drive system.
Berkeley’s Theory of Mind: Some New Models1

Berkeley didn’t write very much about his ‘philosophy of mind’ and what he did write is rather perplexing and perhaps inconsistent. The most basic problem is that it just isn’t clear what a mind (or, more accurately, a spirit) is for Berkeley. Unsurprisingly, many interpretations tend to understand Berkeleian spirit in models provided by other philosophers – interpretations in which Berkeleian spirit turns out to be a close cousin of the Cartesian ego, Lockean spiritual substratum, Lockean self, and Humean bundle of perceptions. Stephen H. Daniel and I have each offered different interpretations of Berkeley that refuse to reduce Berkeley’s account of spirit to that of other canonical thinkers and, indeed, which place Berkeleian spirit in some tension with the Aristotelian-Cartesian-Lockean traditions. In this paper, I argue that Daniel’s account is too extreme in that it implausibly removes Berkeley from this tradition altogether. I show how my account avoids that extreme and I defend it against some objections.
An approach to intelligent distributed control for autonomous underwater vehicles

The application of a local operating network protocol called LONTalk to a distributed control system for the Ocean Voyager II AUV is presented. A detailed description is given of the OVII's distributed sensing and control architecture in addition to the salient features of LONTalk and its associated hardware. The Ocean Voyager II is one of a new generation of small long-range inexpensive AUVs for oceanographic data collection. The goal behind developing a distributed control system was to simplify construction of the vehicle while increasing reliability and reconfigurability. Adoption of a standard distributed control communications protocol allows interoperability between subsystems developed by different groups. The advantages and disadvantages of using the distributed control and the LONWorks protocol are discussed. With specific examples from the OVII development. A comparison between SAIL and LONWorks is also made. The potential for cost-effective interoperability of sensor, actuator, and computation systems in AUVs using LONWorks is explored. The experience gained in developing the OVII is described along with lessons learned and recommendations for more expansive use in the AUV community.
MECHANISM OF ACTION OF NOTEXIN AND NOTECHIS 11‐5 ON SYNAPTOSOMES

The neurochemical activity of notexin and notechis II-5 was investigated using a synaptosomal preparation of rat cerebral cortices. In preparations preincubated with [3H]choline in order to label acetylcholine, the toxins caused a rapid release of the transmitter which was calcium-dependent. The toxins were also potent inhibitors of high affinity choline uptake. Both agents produced a marked depolarization of the synaptosomal preparation as measured by a fluorescent dye and at high concentrations lysed the preparation. At a concentration of 0.1 μM, notexin and notechis II-5 caused a 50% increase in the efflux of lactate dehydrogenase activity. These results, together with electron microscopic observations, indicated that the toxins disrupt the synaptosomal membranes presumably by their inherent phospholipase activity. The release of acetylcholine and inhibition of choline uptake, together with the depolarization of synaptosomal membranes noted in this study, could explain the observed electrophysiological effects of these toxins.
2-alkyl-4-ethyl-5-[6-methyl-6-(2H-tetrazol-5-yl)heptyloxy]phenol leukotriene B4 receptor antagonists

A series of 2-n-alkyl-4-ethyl-5-[6-methyl-6-(2H-tetrazol-5-yl)heptyloxy]phenols were prepared and shown to be potent leukotriene B4 (LTB4) receptor antagonists. They bound to the human neutrophil and guinea pig lung LTB4 receptors with high affinity. Each compound was also shown to be effective at antagonizing the effects of LTB4-induced integrin up-regulation on human neutrophils and on LTB4-mediated contraction of guinea pig lung parenchyma.
Spherical asymmetry in thermospheric magnetic storms

It is suggested that spherical asymmetries in heat-input distribution during magnetic storms could be important in moving the center of thermospheric circulation toward the equator. Circumstantial evidence from neutral-composition data obtained by two satellites during a series of strong geomagnetic substorms is shown to suggest a pronounced hemispherical asymmetry in magnetic-storm-related energy deposition and to support the circulation concept. Ground-based observations of the F2 peak density in both hemispheres are used to complement the composition data and to confirm the concept of hemispherical asymmetry. The composition data are analyzed quantitatively on the basis of a linear circulation model for the cases of a zero heat source in the Northern Hemisphere, factor-of-two differences between the heat sources in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, and identical heat sources in both hemispheres. The results are found to be in qualitative agreement with the suggestion of pronounced asymmetry in thermospheric circulation.
Spectroscopy and photochemistry of sodium chromate ester cluster ions.

In the present study, we investigate the spectroscopy and photochemical behavior of chromate ester cluster ions in vacuo in the visible and near-UV. Chromate ester cluster ions Nan[CrO3(OCH3)]n+1– (n = 1, 2) are generated by electrospray ionization of sodium dichromate in water and methanol. Upon irradiation with photon energies between 2 and 5.6 eV, dissociation occurs. The photodissociation spectra of these ions are very similar to the UV/vis absorption spectra of the sample solution with solvatochromic shifts less than 0.1 eV. The electronic excitations in this photon energy range are assigned to ligand-to-metal charge transfer from the oxygen ligands to the chromium within the chromate ester. Fragment channels corresponding to intracluster reactions involving reduction of the metal centers as well as evaporative processes leading to the loss of a neutral Na[CrO3(OCH3)] salt unit are observed. The results are discussed in the framework of organometallic redox mechanisms and density functional theory.
Extraordinary diversity among members of the large gene family, 185/333, from the purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus.

Background: Recent analysis of immune-related genes within the sea urchin genome revealed a number of large gene families with vertebrate homologues, such as the Toll-like and NOD/NALPlike receptor families and C-type lectins in addition to a rudimentary complement system. Therefore, the immune response of the purple sea urchin appears to be more complex than previously believed. Another component of the sea urchin immune response is an unusual family of mRNAs, known as 185/333, which is strongly upregulated in response to pathogen challenge. The work presented here indicates that this family of transcripts is derived from an unexpectedly diverse gene family. Results: The 185/333 genes are small (< 2 kb) with only two exons. Their extraordinary diversity was exemplified by 121 unique sequences identified from 171 cloned genes. Sequences from the second exons were aligned optimally by introducing large gaps, which defined blocks of sequence known as elements. Genes were defined by the presence or absence of elements. Phylogenetic analysis defined five intron types which, when combined with the exon element patterns resulted in 31 gene patterns, 14 of which were not described previously. Sequence diversity was present in all elements, and was higher in the intron than the exons. Repeats within the sequence facilitated multiple alignments, of which two were analyzed in detail. Although the two alignments differed in length, number of elements, and number of patterns, both were about equally accurate at describing the 185/333 sequences. The genes were closely linked and flanked by short repeats. The repeats within and between the genes may promote their diversification through gene conversion, recombination, and meiotic mispairing. Conclusion: The diversity of the 185/333 gene family represents an intriguing addition to what is known about the S. purpuratus immune response, and provides further evidence that invertebrate immune systems are neither simple nor static.
Evidence and argument in policymaking: development of workplace smoking legislation

We sought to identify factors that affect the passage of public health legislation by examining the use of arguments, particularly arguments presenting research evidence, in legislative debates regarding workplace smoking restrictions. We conducted a case-study based content analysis of legislative materials used in the development of six state workplace smoking laws, including written and spoken testimony and the text of proposed and passed bills and amendments. We coded testimony given before legislators for arguments used, and identified the institutional affiliations of presenters and their position on the legislation. We compared patterns in the arguments made in testimony to the relative strength of each state's final legislation. Greater discussion of scientific evidence within testimony given was associated with the passage of workplace smoking legislation that provided greater protection for public health, regardless of whether supporters outnumbered opponents or vice versa. Our findings suggest that an emphasis on scientific discourse, relative to other arguments made in legislative testimony, might help produce political outcomes that favor public health.
Parents' reliance on the Web to find information about children and families: Socio-economic differences in use, skills and satisfaction

This research examines socio-economic status (SES) differences in parents' Web use, skills, and satisfaction. A total of 120 parents were interviewed about their use of the Web to find child and family information, and they provided feedback as they searched for information online. Findings indicate that the higher the SES level (a) the greater the use of the Web; (b) the more sophisticated the search skills (e.g., selecting one's own search engine rather than relying on a default; changing keywords); and (c) the greater the skills in evaluation (e.g., emphasizing the credibility of the sponsoring organization). In contrast to the digital divide in Web use and skills, there was no evidence of greater satisfaction among higher SES parents. These findings have implications for programs to assure that all parents have access to relevant and trustworthy online information pertaining to their children.
Effects of Production Feedback and Standards on Worker Satisfaction and Job Attitudes in a Repetitive Production Task

Abstract The combination of quantity and quality feedback in the presence of an assigned hard-task production standard was found to have a highly significant positive effect on worker satisfaction and job attitudes and to produce maximum improvement. The interaction between production feedback and standard was found to be highly significant in terms of worker job attitudes, but such interaction could not be established conclusively for worker satisfaction. A favorable effect was noted when the operators were provided with quantity and quality feedback and a normal production standard. The incorporation of an assigned hard-task production standard had no adverse effect on worker satisfaction and job attitudes. Monetary incentive had a negative impact.
Conditions Affecting Inhibition of Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle by Fluoroacetate in Rat Liver Mitochondrial.

SummaryIn presence of fumarate, rat liver mitochondria responds with citrate accumulation to fluoroacetate poisoning. This response is not sex-dependent. There is a time lag to the inhibitory effect of fluorocompounds on respiration. Ratios of respiration of fluoroacetate and control system of starved and fed animals were in close agreement. Testosterone did not abolish the effect of fluoroacetate on citrate accumulation. whereas progesterone significantly reversed it only on liver mitochondria of male rats. Progesterone, like DNP, when in combination with fluoroacetate, inhibited respiration. In normal nutritional states irradiation does not significantly increase citrate accumulation in the liver mitochondria of male rats.
Dynamics of hydrogen bonding and energy transfer in matrix-assisted laser desorption

Abstract A molecular dynamics simulation of matrix-assisted laser desorption is presented for host and guest particles with internal structure. The laser-induced phase transition is modeled in a hemispherical volume of pyridine-3-carboxylic acid matrix seeded with a leucine enkephalin guest molecule. Following an instantaneous temperature jump to 1500 K, representing the laser excitation, the network of hydrogen bonds is disrupted in approximately 3 ps. After a 0.7 ps segregation period, the guest molecule is entrained by the evaporating matrix molecules. The guest lift-off velocity is estimated at ≈ 156 m/s, a value about a factor of two lower than measured for neutral matrix molecules in similar systems.
Polyglutamine Domain Proteins with Expanded Repeats Bind Neurofilament, Altering the Neurofilament Network

Proteins with expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) repeats cause eight inherited neurodegenerative diseases. Nuclear and cytoplasmic polyQ protein is a common feature of these diseases, but its role in cell death remains debatable. Since the neuronal intermediate filament network is composed of neurofilament (NF) and NF abnormalities occur in neurodegenerative diseases, we examined whether pathologic-length polyQ domain proteins interact with NF. We expressed polyQ-green fluorescent fusion proteins (GFP) in a neuroblast cell line, TR1. Pathologic-length polyQ-GFP fusion proteins form large cytoplasmic aggregates surrounded by neurofilament. Immunoisolation of pathologic-length polyQ proteins co-isolated 68 kD NF protein demonstrating molecular interaction. These observations suggest that polyQ interaction with NF is important in the pathogenesis of the polyglutamine repeat diseases.
Stage IV ovarian carcinoma following ovulation induction: a report of three cases

Recent attention, in both the medical and lay communities, has been focused on a possible causal relationship between ovulation induction and ovarian carcinoma. The three cases reported here display marked heterogeneity in their risk factor profiles for ovarian cancer, illustrating several of the inconsistencies that have hampered epidemiological studies examining the proposed mutagenic effect of fertility drugs on ovarian epithelium. Three cases of stage IV invasive ovarian carcinoma, developing in infertility patients following from one to seven cycles of ovulation induction, are presented. The biological plausibility of a causal effect of fertility drugs on ovarian carcinogenesis has not been corroborated by consistent dose-dependent or lag-time effects. Fertility drug use may be an incidental finding associated with the known ovarian cancer risk factor of infertility. Nevertheless, until the precise effects of fertility drugs on ovarian epithelium are elucidated, a high index of suspicion for malignant ovarian neoplasms in women using these medications is indicated.
A Capacitive Microcantilever: Modelling, Validation, and Estimation Using Current Measurements

We present a mathematical model for the dynamics of an electrostatically actuated microcantilever For the common case of cantilevers excited by a periodic voltage, we show that the underlying linearized dynamics are those of a periodic system described by a Mathieu equation. We present experimental results that confirm the validity of the model, and in particular, illustrate that parametric resonance phenomena occur in capacitively actuated micro-cantilevers. We propose a system where the current measured is used as the sensing signal of the cantilever state and position through a dynamical observer. By investigating how the best achievable performance of an optimal observer depends on the excitation frequency, we show that the best such frequency is not necessarily the resonant frequency of the cantilever.