cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Defensive Burying of a, Classically Conditioned Stimulus

Two experiments involving defensive burying of a classically conditioned stimulus are reported. The results of the first experiment clearly demonstrate that a previously neutral stimulus (light) that had been paired with electric shock was defensively buried. In the second experiment rats that were allowed to avoid the electric shock, and exposed to unavoidable shock presentations, respectively, subsequently buried the neutral stimulus.
On differences and deficits: A critique of the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of the word gap:

The word gap, or the language gap, can be traced back to Hart and Risley’s 1995 seminal work on language practices in high- and low-income families, and it is one of the most widely cited explanati...
Survival following upfront cytoreductive nephrectomy versus targeted therapy for metastatic renal cell carcinoma.

672Background: The optimal sequence of cytoreductive nephrectomy (CN) and targeted therapy (TT) for patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) remains to be established. Herein, we compar...
Mythmaking: How Introductory Psychology Texts Present B. F. Skinner's Analysis of Cognition

Fifteen introductory psychology textbooks are examined to determine the accuracy and completeness of their treatment of B. F. Skinner’s approach to human activities commonly referred to as cognitive processes. Six of the textbooks ignore Skinner’s contribution to the study of cognitive variables altogether, four deny that Skinner had anything to say about such processes and five textbooks acknowledge elements of Skinner’s viewpoint, though the acknowledgments are incomplete and suffer from inaccuracies. Discussion encourages textbook writers and publishers to present a more accurate and complete picture of the discipline of psychology for the introductory student. His work spawned a division of the APA (Division 25, Experimental Analysis of Behavior); an independent professional organization (the Association for Behavior Analysis) with more than 2,200 members; two private foundations dedicated to the advancement of behavioral psychology; and a host of journals—at least 23 by one count … Among the personal accolades bestowed … that reflect the impact of his work are 30-odd honorary degrees from colleges and universities around the world, consistent ranking by psychologists as among the most important thinkers in both contemporary psychology and in the history of psychology. (Lattal, 1992, p. 1269)
Colorectal Neurovasculature and Anal Sphincter

The varied blood supply of the colon and rectum has been described. It may be stated that the efficiency of any surgeon's hand is primarily dependent on the knowledge that guides it. Significant anatomic facts are described herein. An important blood supply to the terminal ileum comes from the generally unknown ileal artery, which, when absent, creates a critical, poorly vascularized area and thus an inappropriate area for an anastomosis. This right colic artery may be absent in 2 per cent. It may arise in common with the middle colic trunk (52 per cent). The middle colic artery is absent in 3 per cent. It occurs as a separate branch in 44 per cent and may be derived from celiac artery rarely. The inferior mesenteric artery divides into the left colic, which ascends to the splenic flexure, and a descending branch that continues downward as the superior rectal artery. The left colic artery may not reach the splenic flexure. The marginal artery may be interrupted or weakly represented at the splenic flexure. Therefore, one should perform a ligation of the left colic vessel before its bifurcation if the splenic flexure is to be preserved. The superior rectal artery is the main blood supply of the rectum. Its branching on the rectum is varied, but it has a rich anastomosis with the other rectal arteries, namely, the middle rectal and inferior rectal arteries. Sudeck's point is not critical. The middle rectal artery varies in number and origin and is not essential provided the inferior rectal artery is intact. The anatomy of the anal canal is described. The rectum is for a short distance surrounded by the anal canal with the external sphincter. The internal sphincter is the end of circular muscle of the rectum. The external sphincter can be thought of as one continuous muscle divided by longitudinal bands into three main parts: subcutaneous, superficial, and deep. Below the pectinate line in the anal canal, the nerve supply, lymphatic drainage, blood supply, and epithelium are different from that in the rectum.
Surgical myectomy versus alcohol septal ablation for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: A propensity score–matched cohort

Abstract Objectives In patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, obstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract can be relieved by surgical septal myectomy or alcohol septal ablation, but uncertainty remains regarding long-term results and comparative effectiveness of alcohol septal ablation. This study aims to compare short- and long-term outcomes of the 2 procedures. Methods Between December 1998 and September 2016, 2407 patients underwent septal myectomy and 211 patients underwent alcohol septal ablation at our institution. After 2:1 propensity score matching, the study cohort included 334 patients who underwent myectomy and 167 patients who underwent alcohol septal ablation. Results Median (interquartile range) ages of patients in the myectomy and alcohol septal ablation groups were 65 (58-71) years and 64 (56-73) years ( P = .9), respectively. After intervention, median resting left ventricular outflow tract gradient at predischarge transthoracic echocardiography was 0 (0-10) mm Hg in the myectomy group (n = 288) and 21 (10-60) mm Hg in the alcohol septal ablation group (n = 63) ( P P = .1). Survival of patients undergoing septal myectomy was better than that of an age-, sex-, and race-matched US population (82% vs 75% at 12 years, P = .01). Reintervention for left ventricular outflow tract obstruction was more likely to occur in patients who received alcohol septal ablation (hazard ratio, 33.3; 95% confidence interval, 4.4-250.6; P Conclusions There were no differences in survival of patients undergoing myectomy or alcohol septal ablation, but freedom from reintervention and early and late reduction of left ventricular outflow tract gradient are superior in patients undergoing septal myectomy.
High-Performance Indirect-Drive Cryogenic Implosions at High Adiabat on the National Ignition Facility

To reach the pressures and densities required for ignition, it may be necessary to develop an approach to design that makes it easier for simulations to guide experiments. Here, we report on a new short-pulse inertial confinement fusion platform that is specifically designed to be more predictable. The platform has demonstrated 99%+0.5% laser coupling into the hohlraum, high implosion velocity (411 km/s), high hotspot pressure (220+60 Gbar), and high cold fuel areal density compression ratio (>400), while maintaining controlled implosion symmetry, providing a promising new physics platform to study ignition physics.
Age and Growth of a Native, Lightly Exploited Population of Coregonus clupeaformis (Lake Whitefish) in a Small Natural Lake in Maine

We assessed annual growth of Coregonus clupeaformis (Lake Whitefish) from a natural, lightly exploited population in a small lake in northern Maine using observed and back-calculated length-at-age data. We sampled Lake Whitefish from Clear Lake, ME, with gill nets and extracted otoliths from 57 fish. We incorporated age-at-length data into a von Bertalanffy growth function, which we employed to model growth trajectories from individual fish. We used these estimates to evaluate length-at-age variability within this population. Ages for Lake Whitefish varied from 8 y to 30 y. Among all fish, we characterized incremental growth by an average-growth coefficient of K = 0.156 and an estimated L∞ of 484 mm. The oldest individuals demonstrated the slowest incremental growth (K = 0.106) when compared to younger cohorts (K = 0.218). We observed an inverse relationship between L∞ and K and the estimated age-at-capture (R2 = 0.178 and 0.723, respectively), which suggests relatively slow growth and a smaller maximum size for the longest living members of the population. Our estimated parameters serve as a reference to inform management of populations of Lake Whitefish.
Unit Quaternion-Based Parameterization for Point Features in Visual Navigation

In this paper, we propose to use unit quaternions to represent point features in visual navigation. Contrary to the Cartesian 3D representation, the unit quaternion can well represent features at both large and small distances from the camera without suffering from convergence problems. Contrary to inverse-depth, homogeneous points, or anchored homogeneous points, the unit quaternion has error state of minimum dimension of three. In contrast to prior representations, the proposed method does not need to approximate an initial infinite depth uncertainty. In fact, the unit-quaternion error covariance can be initialized from the initial feature observations without prior information, and the initial error-states are not only bounded, but the bound is identical for all scene geometries. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time bearing-only recursive estimation (in covariance form) of point features has been possible without using measurements to initialize error covariance. The proposed unit quaternion-based representation is validated on numerical examples.
Development of highly inhomogeneous temperature profile within electrically heated alkali silicate glasses

According to Joule’s well-known first law, application of electric field across a homogeneous solid should produce heat uniformly in proportion to the square of electrical current. Here we report strong departure from this expectation for common, homogeneous ionic solids such as alkali silicate glasses when subjected even to moderate fields (~100 V/cm). Unlike electronically conducting metals and semiconductors, with time the heating of ionically conducting glass becomes extremely inhomogeneous with the formation of a nanoscale alkali-depletion region, such that the glass melts near the anode, even evaporates, while remaining solid elsewhere. In situ infrared imaging shows and finite element analysis confirms localized temperatures more than thousand degrees above the remaining sample depending on whether the field is DC or AC. These observations unravel the origin of recently discovered electric field induced softening of glass. The observed highly inhomogeneous temperature profile point to the challenges for the application of Joule’s law to the electrical performance of glassy thin films, nanoscale devices, and similarly-scaled phenomena.
Balancing multiple objectives in conformation sampling to control decoy diversity in template-free protein structure prediction

Computational approaches for the determination of biologically-active/native three-dimensional structures of proteins with novel sequences have to handle several challenges. The (conformation) space of possible three-dimensional spatial arrangements of the chain of amino acids that constitute a protein molecule is vast and high-dimensional. Exploration of the conformation spaces is performed in a sampling-based manner and is biased by the internal energy that sums atomic interactions. Even state-of-the-art energy functions that quantify such interactions are inherently inaccurate and associate with protein conformation spaces overly rugged energy surfaces riddled with artifact local minima. The response to these challenges in template-free protein structure prediction is to generate large numbers of low-energy conformations (also referred to as decoys) as a way of increasing the likelihood of having a diverse decoy dataset that covers a sufficient number of local minima possibly housing near-native conformations. In this paper we pursue a complementary approach and propose to directly control the diversity of generated decoys. Inspired by hard optimization problems in high-dimensional and non-linear variable spaces, we propose that conformation sampling for decoy generation is more naturally framed as a multi-objective optimization problem. We demonstrate that mechanisms inherent to evolutionary search techniques facilitate such framing and allow balancing multiple objectives in protein conformation sampling. We showcase here an operationalization of this idea via a novel evolutionary algorithm that has high exploration capability and is also able to access lower-energy regions of the energy landscape of a given protein with similar or better proximity to the known native structure than several state-of-the-art decoy generation algorithms. The presented results constitute a promising research direction in improving decoy generation for template-free protein structure prediction with regards to balancing of multiple conflicting objectives under an optimization framework. Future work will consider additional optimization objectives and variants of improvement and selection operators to apportion a fixed computational budget. Of particular interest are directions of research that attenuate dependence on protein energy models.
Nutritional Quality of Undergraduate Student Meals in an All-You-Care-to-Eat Campus Dining Facility (P04-156-19)

To assess the overall nutritional quality of meals chosen by undergraduate students during weekday lunches at campus all-you-care-to-eat dining halls. A previously validated exit survey was used to collect self-reported data from undergraduate students on foods and beverages they consumed during a single visit to two all-you-care-to-eat dining halls on the George Mason University Fairfax campus, during 4 weeks. (n = 468) Nutritional quality of each meal was evaluated on a 7-point rubric, according to the ‘Wellness Meal’ standards from the Partnership for a Healthier America: ≤700 kilocalories, ≤10% calories from saturated fat, ≤800 mg sodium, ≥2 ounces whole grains, ≥1 cup lowfat dairy, ≥ 1.75 cups fruits and vegetables, and ≥ 2 ounces lean protein. Of the maximum score of 7 on the meal nutritional quality rubric, 4 participants earned the highest score of 5, whereas 43, 150, 132, 88, and 51 participants had scores of 4, 3, 2, 1, and 0, respectively. The most commonly attained rubric standard was saturated fat, where 60% of participants consumed ≤ 10% calories from saturated fat and average consumption was 9.1% (± 5.4%) of calories. The least achieved rubric category was lowfat dairy, where only 2% of students consumed 1 cup equivalent, followed by only 9% of participants having consumed the 2 ounce equivalent of whole grains. Approximately one-third of students met calorie, lean protein, sodium, and fruit/vegetable standards. Despite a wide variety of food options in the campus all-you-care-to-eat dining halls during the lunch hours, most undergraduate students consumed meals of subpar nutritional quality, with the vast majority meeting fewer than half the categories on the meal nutritional quality rubric. All-you-care-to-eat university dining halls may be a prime location for nutrition education and interventions. This research was funded by the George Mason University Provost's Multidisciplinary Research Award.
Effective Practices for Online Teaching

Have you been asked to teach online and don't know how to get started? Have you delivered your course online to mixed reviews? Have you been teaching online for years? As more and more courses are begin offered online in an effort to deliver a quality education to a larger, more diverse group of students, one things is clear -- many of the pedagogical practices that we have come to rely on in our on ground courses do not translate to an online course. How do the on best practices in online education adapt to CS? This BOF will provide a platform for discussion of what it means to teach an instructor-led, asynchronous online course in CS. We will discuss methodologies used by online faculty that were particularly successful in helping students learn. Topics may include designing courses for distance learning, using media and technology tools effectively, engaging the online learner, building community among students, motivating student persistence and success, and/or building an online presence.
Topology optimization with discrete geometric components made of composite materials

Abstract We present a novel topology optimization (TO) method for the design of structures composed of bars that are made of an orthotropic, fiber-reinforced material. The designs generated under this framework tailor the layout of the fiber-reinforced bars to maximize the stiffness of the structure for a fixed amount of material. The proposed method extends the geometry projection method to represent the design via cylindrical bars that may be reinforced with continuous fibers and perform the analysis using a fixed finite element mesh. The interpolation of the material properties at the junction of multiple bars ensures that, out of the materials of the intersecting bars, the optimizer chooses the single best material. Numerical examples for the stiffness-based design of 2- and 3-dimensional frame structures are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method.
Deconstructing the “First Moment of Truth”: Understanding Unplanned Consideration and Purchase Conversion Using In-Store Video Tracking

Retailers and manufacturers are keenly interested in understanding unplanned consideration and purchase conversion, but data that capture in-store product consideration have been unavailable in the past. In the current research, the authors use in-store video tracking to collect a novel data set that records shopping behavior at the point of purchase, including product consideration. In conjunction with an entrance survey of purchase intentions, they conduct several descriptive analyses that focus on the incidence, category propensity, behavioral characteristics, and outcome of unplanned consideration. The results reveal several new empirical insights. First, the authors find significant category-level complementarities between planned items and unplanned considerations, which they capture using a latent category map. Second, planned consideration and unplanned consideration differ in key behavioral characteristics (e.g., likelihood of purchase, time of occurrence, number of product touches). Third, great...
Screw dislocations around voids of any shape: A generalized numerical approach

Abstract Analytical solutions for dislocations around multiple interacting free surfaces are strictly case-specific (they depend on the exact dislocation location and number and geometry of voids/free surface). This is because they rely on the precise placement of image (fictitious) dislocations, and thus can end up being very complicated in their formulation. The current article presents a general numerical scheme based on the collocation point method. The proposed method is capable of generating solutions for dislocations around multiple interacting free surfaces of any shapes or geometries. The paper also furnishes verification of the developed methodology and new results.
Long Term Olfactory Outcomes Following Frontal Sinus Surgery in Chronic Rhinosinusitis.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS No studies have evaluated the impact of the types of frontal sinus surgery (FSS) on objective olfaction scores. This study evaluated olfactory function and quality of life (QOL) in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) patients before and after total ethmoidectomy with frontal sinusotomy (FS). STUDY DESIGN Prospective cohort study. METHODS A prospective study of adult CRS patients undergoing FSS (Draf 2 or Draf 3 procedures) was conducted at a tertiary care center. Primary outcomes included brief smell identification test (BSIT) and sinonasal outcome test-22 (SNOT-22), which were assessed during preoperative evaluation, 6 to 9 weeks postoperatively, and 12 to 24 weeks postoperatively. Normosmia was defined as BSIT ≥9. Statistical significance was determined using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test with α = .05. RESULTS Thirty-eight patients followed up 12 to 24 weeks after FSS. The differences between baseline and long-term outcomes for BSIT (6.11 vs. 8.24, P = .00034) and SNOT-22 (55.49 vs. 24.32, P < .00001) scores were found to be statistically significant. Although both subgroups had clinically significant olfactory improvements, only the Draf 2 cohort experienced a statistically significant improvement in olfaction at long-term follow-up. There was no statistically significant change in data from 6 to 9 weeks to 12 to 24 weeks postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS Patients undergoing total ethmoidectomy with FS demonstrated statistically significant increases in olfaction and QOL at long-term postoperative follow-up. This study demonstrated that FS does not negatively impact the olfactory improvement seen in sinus surgery. The lack of statistically significant changes in these olfactory metrics from short to long-term follow-up suggests that there is no additional negative effect of FSS in the long term. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3 Laryngoscope, 131:2173-2178, 2021.
Abstract LB222: Performance of polygenic risk scores for GI cancer prediction in an academic biobank

Background: Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified hundreds of common, low risk genetic variants significantly associated with a number of gastrointestinal cancers, but the predictive ability of individual variants or a polygenic risk score (PRS) derived from multiple variants is still unclear especially among minorities. Specific Aims: To evaluate the discriminatory ability of PRS models to differentiate cancer cases vs. controls in patients of European (EUR) and African (AFR) ancestry in an academic biobank. Methods: We identified 445 cases of esophageal, colon, and pancreatic cancers and 12,565 cancer-free controls. Genome-wide significant variants were selected for each of the cancers, and Plink 1.9 was used to generate a PRS, an effect size weighted sum of specific cancer associated alleles for each population. To determine the discriminatory ability of PRS, we performed multivariate logistic regressions in R controlling for age, sex, and the first 10 principal components. Results: There were 285 cases of colon (48.4% AFR), 63 cases of esophageal (34.9% AFR), and 97 cases of pancreatic cancer (51.5% AFR) vs. 12,565 controls (48.5% AFR). Among the EUR individuals, the PRScolon was significantly associated with colon cancer [OR 1.25 (1.06-4.48, p=0.007)] (Table 1). The discriminatory ability of the model comprised of age, gender and principal components was 0.680-0.732 in the respective cancer cancers and the AUC minimally increased to 0.688-0.747 after inclusion of the PRS in the model. Among AFR individuals, the discriminatory ability was overall higher in the full model (AUC 0.755-0.812) but PRS increased the AUC less in AFR vs. EUR. Conclusion: Colon, esophageal, and pancreatic cancer PRS models have a moderate discriminatory ability to identify cases. However, the individual contribution of PRS to the model was small. Further studies are needed to determine additional genetic predictors of cancer risk and how best to incorporate PRS into gastrointestinal cancer risk prediction models. Citation Format: Louise Wang, Heena Desai, Anh Le, Ryan Hausler, Shefali Verma, Anurag Verma, Renae Judy, Abigail Doucette, Peter Gabriel, Scott Damrauer, Marylyn Ritchie, Daniel Rader, Rachel Kember, Kara Maxwell. Performance of polygenic risk scores for GI cancer prediction in an academic biobank [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr LB222.
Electron transport of perovskite oxide BaSnO3 on (110) DyScO3 substrate with channel-recess for ferroelectric field effect transistors

We report an electron transport study of an La-doped perovskite oxide BaSnO3 thin film grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (110) DyScO3 as a function of electron concentration, by etching the film step-by-step with nanometer precision. Inductively coupled plasma-reactive ion etching with BCl3/Ar plasma is used for etching depth control. The local doping and electron density are experimentally determined after each etching step. The results show that the electron mobility is dominated by threading dislocations if the electron concentration is below 7.8 × 1019 cm−3, while ionized impurities and phonon scattering become more dominant at electron concentrations greater than 1.2 × 1020 cm−3. The charging state of thread dislocations is estimated to be 6.2. Furthermore, using the etch process to control the electron concentration and channel thickness, a gate-recessed ferroelectric field effect transistor is fabricated with 10 nm HfO2 as a gate dielectric. The device exhibits a saturation current of 29.9 mA/mm with a current on/off ratio of Ion/Ioff = 8.3 × 108 and a ferroelectric polarization charge density of 1.9 × 1013 cm−2. Under the forward gate bias sweep, the device operates in the enhancement mode with a threshold voltage of 3 V. Under the reverse gate sweeping bias, the device operates in the depletion mode with a threshold voltage of –1.5 V.
Bank Concentration and Local Labor Markets

I use a quasi-experimental design supplied by bank anti-trust policy to inspect how bank concentration impacts local labor market outcomes. The regulator applies a cutoff rule when dealing with bank mergers such that markets directly below this regulatory cutoff see an increase in bank concentration, while ones directly above this cutoff do not. Markets that are just below the cutoff see an increase in their deposit-HHI as well as a decrease in their small business lending. A rise in county-level deposit-HHI of 142 points leads to a rise in the county's unemployment rate of 0.284 percentage points, a decline in employment of 0.5 percent, and a decline in average wages of 1 percent. The decline in employment is concentrated in tradable and bank dependent industries, suggesting that the employment effect is due to lower small business lending by banks. These employment effects are also concentrated in black neighborhoods, which also see a larger small business lending and entrepreneurship declines relative to other areas in the markets that receive the positive concentration shock. This paper is the first to show that local labor market conditions respond to changes in local bank concentration, and also that lower small business lending and entrepreneurship in black areas lead to disproportionately larger negative employment effects for these areas.
Critical considerations when assessing hydrocarbon plays using Rock-Eval pyrolysis and organic petrology data: Data quality revisited

Abstract The dramatic increase in exploration for unconventional hydrocarbon resources has inherently fuelled the need for new source-rock geochemical data. The need for new data comes along with an increasing number of new users, many of whom do not possess the background to interpret accurately and evaluate the quality of data sets generated by different geochemical screening techniques (e.g., Rock-Eval pyrolysis, vitrinite reflectance). Here, datasets from Rock-Eval pyrolysis, vitrinite reflectance, and LECO TOC analyses are scrutinized and compared to show how failing to recognize good vs. bad datasets can dramatically change interpretations during prospect or play appraisals. Detector saturation, contamination of the sample with drilling fluid, and suppression of both Tmax and vitrinite reflectance, are examples of complications that could compromise the validity of the results and the play or prospect reviews derived from them. In addition, misconceptions such as: “LECO TOC is better than Rock-Eval 6 TOC”, expressed by many users, are a consequence of the lack of understanding of how different screening techniques and instrumentation work. A solid understanding of these pitfalls and limitations can provide inexperienced geoscientists and engineers with the required support to improve risk maps for hydrocarbon-charge analysis and source-rock evaluations, when using classic guidelines for interpreting results.
Trauma Imaging in Global Health Radiology

The worldwide incidence of morbidity and mortality related to trauma is increasing as low-income countries continue to undergo economic development and urbanization. It is important to understand the socioeconomic and the demographic data as related to trauma in the developing world, including traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, abdominal injury, and extremity injury. An understanding of trauma in the developing world, and the challenges that exist for both the prevention and the treatment of traumatic injuries, may inform future plans for the implementation of medical imaging and organized trauma responders, thereby minimizing the impact of post-traumatic morbidity and mortality in low-income countries.
Moving boundary electrophoresis behavior and acid isomerization of human mercaptalbumin.

The behavior of bovine plasma albumin in moving boundary electrophoresis has been studied in great detail, especially by Aoki and Foster (l-6) and by Cann (7-10). In general terms, it has been found that this protein yields a single moving boundary at pH values above the isoelectric point (approximately pH 4.5) but two, and in some cases three, boundaries between pH 3.5 and 4.5. These results have been interpreted by Aoki and Foster (l-6) in terms of a cooperative alteration in the protein conformation, which takes place near pH 4. Some independent evidence for this “isomerization” has been obtained from solubility studies (11) and, more recently, from studies of optical rotation and rotatory dispersion (12, 13). It has also been suggested that the well known anomaly in the acid titration curve of this protein can be explained, in the main, as due to this phenomenon (6). At the time of initiation of the experiments reported here, no evidence existed for the isomerization of plasma albumins of any species other than bovine. It was shown earlier by Tanford, Swanson, and Shore (14) that the titration curves of human and bovine alhumins are essentially identical. This would imply that if indeed the titration anomaly in bovine plasma albumin is due to the isomerization reaction, the same reaction must take place in the human protein. However, Jirgensons (15) suggested that this may not be the case. We considered it of some importance, therefore, to examine the electrophoretic behavior of the human protein. Furthermore, since the plasma albumins are patently heterogeneous, in that some of the molecules contain free sulfhydryl groups and others do not, we were led to utilize the mercaptalbumin fraction of the protein by the thought that it might be more homogeneous. In the interim since this program was initiated, ample evidence has appeared that human albumin exhibits much the same type of isomerization behavior as bovine (12, 16-19). However, we know of no published electrophoretic studies that demonstrate the isomerization equilibrium in human mercaptalbumin nor, in fact, in the mercaptalbumin fraction of any albumin. A more important reason for presenting these results at this time is
A Tale of Two Countries: Comparing the Law of Inheritance in Two Seemingly Opposite Systems

Although at first glance French and U.S. inheritance laws appear to be diametrically opposed, this paper provides a deeper analysis. In doing so, it explains that nuances within both systems have made the laws more similar than they initially appear. U.S. inheritance laws, explicitly characterized by freedom of testation, include numerous substantive limits on how a testator may dispose of her property at death. Courts often use doctrines such as mental capacity, undue influence, and fraud to void wills that do not provide for the decedent’s children. Also, because over one half of all Americans die intestate, or without a will, children are provided for in this way as well. French inheritance laws, which on their face appear to require everyone to leave at least half of their property to their children, similarly allow for significant deviation from this rule. Some techniques, such as life insurance, tontines, and usufruct interests have been around for a while. Since 2006, however, the law has given French parents even greater ability to control the distribution of their estates. This paper examines French and U.S. inheritance law, with an eye towards these initial differences, and deeper similarities. I am surprised that ancient and modern jurists have not attributed to [the law of descent] a greater influence on human affairs. It is true that these laws belong to civil affairs; but they ought nevertheless to be placed at the head of all political institutions; for, whilst political laws are only the symbol of a nation’s condition, they exercise an incredible influence upon its social state. They have, moreover, a sure and uniform manner of operating upon society, affecting, as it were, generations yet unborn. —Alexis de Tocqueville Democracy in America (1835)
Viewer Discussion is Advised. Video Clubs Focus Teacher Discussion on Student Learning

Video is being used widely in professional development. Yet, little is known about how to design video-based learning environments that are productive for teacher learning. One promising model is a video club (Sherin, 2000). Video clubs bring teachers together to view and analyze video segments from one another’s classrooms. The idea is that by watching and discussing video segments focused on student thinking, teachers will learn practices for identifying and analyzing noteworthy student thinking during instruction and can use what they learn to inform their instructional decisions. This paper addresses issues to consider when setting up a video club for teacher education, such as defining goals for using video, establishing norms for viewing and discussing one another’s teaching, selecting clips for analysis, and facilitating teacher discussions. Si consiglia la discussione tra osservatori. Nei Video Club gli insegnanti mettono a fuoco le modalita con cui gli studenti apprendono. Il video e stato ampiamente utilizzato per la formazione professionale. Tuttavia poche sono le conoscenze relative alla progettazione di ambienti di apprendimento basati su video che siano efficaci per la formazione degli insegnanti. Un modello promettente e il “video club” (Sherin, 2000). Video club uniscono insegnanti che guardano ed analizzano insieme segmenti video delle proprie rispettive classi. L'idea e che gli insegnanti, guardando e discutendo segmenti video centrati sul pensiero degli alunni, imparino ad adottare durante l’insegnamento pratiche d'identificazione e analisi di pensieri degli alunni degni di nota e possano poi utilizzare cio che hanno imparato nelle decisioni didattiche. Questo articolo affronta le questioni da considerare quando si configura un video club per la formazione degli insegnanti, come ad esempio la definizione di obiettivi per l'utilizzo dei video, le norme per la visione e discussione dei rispettivi video, la selezione delle clip per l'analisi, l’agevolazione della discussione tra insegnanti.
A Model and Algorithm for Analysis of Discrete Event Systems with Structural Changes

The paper developes the Combined Simulation and Perturbation Analysis (CSPA) algorithm. CSPA integrates perturbation analysis (PA) techniques and simulation to generate performance information about a new system (the perturbed system) usig information about a preceding system (the nominal system). This will aid system designers in analyzing and comparing the performance of systems which may differ structurally parametrically, or both. The discrete event system (DES) model (based on the GSMP model) and the framework for comparing different discrete event systems are presented. The CSPA algorithm which leverages system similarities when simulating new systems is discussed and its correctness is proven. The CSPA algorithm's contribution will be discussed, including an example with results.
A Variational Approach for the Segmentation of the Left Ventricle in Cardiac Image Analysis

In this paper we propose a level set method to segment MR cardiac images. Our approach is based on a coupled propagation of two cardiac contours and integrates visual information with anatomical constraints. The visual information is expressed through a gradient vector flow-based boundary component and a region term that aims at best separating the cardiac contours/regions according to their global intensity properties. In order to deal with misleading visual support, an anatomical constraint is considered that couples the propagation of the cardiac contours according to their relative distance. The resulting motion equations are implemented using a level set approach and a fast and stable numerical approximation scheme, the Additive Operator Splitting. Encouraging experimental results are provided using real data.
A Look at Returning Teachers

Research shows that one-quarter to one-third of teachers who leave the profession return, the majority after only a short absence. Though returning teachers can constitute a substantial share of newly hired teachers in schools each year, little is known about them, the factors associated with their decisions to return, or the schools to which they return. In this study, I use a 20-year longitudinal dataset to examine the characteristics of returning teachers as well as the personal, school, and district factors associated with their return both to the profession and to particular schools. In addition, I consider the extent to which returning teachers contribute to the systematic sorting of teachers across schools. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the loss of teachers to attrition from the profession is more likely to be permanent for smaller schools and districts outside of urban and suburban areas. In addition, both personal and job-related factors impact whether and where former teachers return, albeit differently by gender. Interestingly, personal and pecuniary factors in teaching appear to play a greater role than non-pecuniary factors on male leavers’ decisions regarding whether and where to return, whereas personal, pecuniary, and non-pecuniary factors all influence female leavers’ decisions. Finally, the study demonstrates that returning teachers on average reenter schools that are very similar in terms of student and teacher characteristics to those that they left.
Geography, Identity And Florida’s Specialty License Plates

The United States is a country with a deeply-engrained love affair with the automobile (Jakle and Sculle 2008). Owning an automobile is not only a status symbol, but it is also a mark of individuality. An automobile can come to reflect one‟s identity, painting images such as economic status, social and environmental awareness, rebelliousness, and even national identity (Gilroy 2001, Edensor 2004). However, automobiles are not static, identical expressions of identity as automobiles not only come in different shapes, colors and sizes, but one model of automobile may differ dramatically from one year to the next. Furthermore, owners often individualize their automobiles by adding factory options such as sunroofs, fog lights, tinted windows, spoilers and vinyl graphics.
Cardiac beta-adrenoceptor-effector coupling in portal vein-stenosed rats

Cardiac beta-adrenergic signal transduction was examined in chronic portal vein-stenosed rats. Basal tension and maximum rate of tension development were significantly depressed in left ventricular papillary muscles (0.21 +/- 0.03 N/cm2 and 8.2 +/- 1.7 N.s-1.cm-2, respectively) compared with sham-operated controls (0.51 +/- 0.05 N/cm2 and 19.9 +/- 4.4 N.s-1.cm-2, respectively). The positive inotropic response to isoproterenol was also attenuated. Adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate formation was decreased significantly when GTP (-41.9%), isoproterenol with GTP (-45.3%), or guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (-52.4%) was used to stimulate adenylyl cyclase, but not when Mn2+ or forskolin was used. Beta-Adrenoceptor density (sham operated 24.6 +/- 2.0 fmol/mg; portal vein stenosed 26.4 +/- 2.1 fmol/mg) and the apparent dissociation constant (sham operated 0.26 +/- 0.04 nM; portal vein stenosed 0.29 +/- 0.04 nM) were unaffected. Portal venous hypertension did not alter beta-adrenergic receptor affinity for isoproterenol. However, it was necessary for isoproterenol to occupy three times the number of receptors in papillary muscles from stenosed animals to produce an equal increase in force generation. These data suggest that although portal vein stenosis does not alter cardiac beta-adrenoceptor density or affinity for ligands, transduction of the signal between the receptor and adenylyl cyclase is adversely influenced and may be responsible for the diminished responsiveness of beta-adrenoceptors in the myocardium.
Absorbed Fractions for α-Particles in Tissues of Trabecular Bone: Considerations of Marrow Cellularity Within the ICRP Reference Male

UNLABELLED Alpha-particles are of current interest in radionuclide therapy due to their short range and high rates of energy transfer to target tissues. Published values of alpha-particle absorbed fraction phi in the skeletal tissues, as needed for patient-specific dosimetry under the MIRD schema, do not generally account for its variation with particle energy or skeletal site. Furthermore, variations in alpha-particle absorbed fraction with marrow cellularity have yet to be fully considered. METHODS In this study, a 3-dimensional (3D) chord-based radiation transport model (or 3D-CBIST) is presented, which combines (a) chord-based techniques for tracking alpha-particles across bone trabeculae, endosteum, and marrow cavities and (b) a spatial model of the marrow tissues that explicitly considers the presence of marrow adipocytes. Chord-length distributions are taken from a 44-y male subject (ICRP [International Commission on Radiological Protection] Reference Male) and are identical to those used currently for clinical dose estimates for beta-particle emitters. RESULTS Values of phi(active marrow<--active marrow) given by the 3D-CBIST model are shown to be considerably lower than phi = 1.0 assumed under the ICRP Publication 30 and 2003 Eckerman bone models. For example, values of absorbed fraction for the self-dose to active bone marrow in the ribs, cervical vertebra, and parietal bone are 0.81, 0.80, and 0.55 for 6-MeV alpha-particles and are 0.74, 0.72, and 0.43 for 9-MeV alpha-particles, where each is evaluated at ICRP reference cellularities in the 3D-CBIST model (72%, 72%, and 42%, respectively, at age 25 y). CONCLUSION Improvements in patient-specific dosimetry of skeletal tissues require explicit consideration of not only changes in target mass with variable patient marrow cellularity (i.e., active marrow) but also corresponding changes in values of the absorbed fraction. The data given in this study provide a more-firm basis for application of the MIRD schema to patient-specific dosimetry for newly developing therapies using alpha-particle emitters.
A proposed flexible elliptical ring monopole antenna for DSC and UWB with notch suppression for 5.8GHz applications

Until recently, the UWB antenna has been used in many applications within different areas such in medical applications, multimedia connectivity, and personal communications, to mention a few, due to the design simplicity, low power, and high data rate transmission. The monopole antenna is a good candidate to be used in such applications due to the compact size, simplicity of fabrication, and cost effectiveness. Furthermore, the wearable devices technology requires a small size, high efficiency, and low profile antennas. An elliptical ring monopole antenna of 46 mm major axis and 23 mm minor axis printed on a Kapton substrate with a length of 66 mm, width of 36 mm, and a thickness of 50.8-µm is a good candidate to operate for the DSC (1.61 – 2) GHz and UWB (3.1 – 10.6) GHz bands. Two square slots of 2mm × 2mm have been removed from the two edge of the ground plane to enhance the impedance matching over the frequency range of (8–11) GHz. This antenna is fed by a tapered coplanar waved guide (CPW) transmission line of 12.8 mm length with a gap of 0.4mm to provide an enhanced impedance matching of 50 ohm over the aforementioned bands(H. Khaleel, H. Al-Rizzo, D. Rucker, S. Mohan, Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, IEEE, vol.11, no., pp.564–567, 2012). In addition, a modified rectangular slot line has been inserted to the monopole antenna to provide a notch at the frequency of 5.8 GHz to reject the signal comes from WLAN applications which operating at the given frequency. This slot line is able to be adjusted to any specified frequency that would be rejected. These types of antennas are very useful these days for the application that required a rejection of the unwanted frequencies especially for UWB applications. The antenna has been simulated using the High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) ver. 15 and fabricated using an Inkjet printer. A parametric study has been carried out to obtain the final antenna dimensions which are mentioned on the attached figure. The simulated and practical S-Parameters are in a good agreement and shown in the figure below. The antenna has a good gain and radiation characteristic over the specified bandwidths. The proposed antenna is a good candidate for the applications required antennas operates on a DSC and UWB bands with a tunable band rejection.
Body-Weight Self-schema: Determinant of Mood and Behavior in Women With an Eating Disorder1

The schema approach to self-concept was used to investigate the association between body-weight self-conception and self-esteem, negative affect states, and disordered eating behavior in women with anorexia nervosa (n = 26) or bulimia nervosa (n = 53) using experience sampling methodology. We predicted that self-esteem would be lower and unpleasant affect and disordered eating behaviors would be higher when the body-weight self-schema was activated in working memory compared to when non–weight-related self-schemas were activated. Participants recorded the currently activated self-schema, self-esteem, affect, and behavior in response to an alarm-watch signal 5 times daily for 5 days. Activation of the body-weight self-schema was associated with lower self-esteem and higher negative affect, but not higher levels of disordered eating behavior. Low selfesteem and negative affect, however, were associated with disordered eating behavior. Findings have important implications for treatment of eating disorders.
Catheter ablation: Comparison of SAR patterns from radiofrequency and microwave catheters

Over the last 20 years in attempts to treat high risk cardiovascular patients without subjecting them to major surgical intervention, a range of nonsurgical cathe­ter techniques have been explored. The idea was to incorporate into a catheter the ability to ablate (destroy by heating) diseased cardiac tissue without the need for surgical intervention. A number of catheter ablation techniques have been studied, but presently only radiofrequency ablation (RF) is in wide clinical use. However, due to the nature of the RF lesions (small discrete lesions concentrated near the tip of the RF catheter) the procedure has been limited to bypass tract ablations. Unfortunately the most common and life threatening arrhythmia, ventricu­lar tachyarrhythmia, requires a far larger lesiort size than RF ablation, and for that matter any presently available ablation technique, can produce.