cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Colony productivity and foundress behaviour of a native wasp versus an invasive social wasp

. 1. Colony productivity, prey utilisation, and foundress behaviour of a North American native wasp (Polistes fuscatus) versus an European invasive wasp (Polistes dominulus) were investigated in a controlled field experiment with optimal versus natural foraging conditions. Colonies with the optimal prey foraging conditions were provided with prey ad libitum within an enclosed area. The other colonies foraged in the adjacent field–woodland but had the same nest conditions as the other treatment. 2. When given prey ad libitum, both wasp species captured similar amounts of prey and the conversion to total offspring biomass was similar. But P. dominulus colonies produced 2.5 times the number of workers as P. fuscatus colonies, reflecting the smaller size of P. dominulus wasps. 3. Foundresses of P. dominulus were observed more often building or repairing the nest, thereby contributing to the production of colonies with twice as many cells as colonies of P. fuscatus. Foundresses of P. dominulus showed more acts of aggression toward workers than did P. fuscatus foundresses, which was not a function of adult density on the nest. 4. At the end of the experiment, P. dominulus colonies with optimal prey foraging conditions still had a high level of egg-laying and peaked in the number of pupae then, whereas egg-laying and the number of pupae per colony of the other treatments began to decline 2–3 weeks earlier. These results indicate that P. dominulus is more opportunistic than P. fuscatus, which may account in part for P. dominulus's success as an introduced species in North America.
Characterization of MOS Devices Fabricated on Carbon Implanted Silicon Substrates

In this study, we present characterization of Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) capacitors fabricated on carbon (C14) implanted silicon substrates. Carbon was implanted at an energy of 50 keV with doses ranging from 1 × 1012 cm−2 to 4.1×1015 cm−2. Metal-Oxide-Silicon (MOS) capacitors were fabricated and used to determine the MOS capacitance-voltage (C-V) and capacitance-time (C-t) behavior. These measurements revealed a strong correlation between carrier lifetime and the carbon dose. Degradation in lifetime was observed for carbon dose levels as low as 4 × l012 cm−2. At carbon doses equal to and above 6.4 × l013 cm−2, extremely low generation lifetimes were obtained (∼ 10−7 sec). On the other hand, degradation in C-V characteristics was observed only for carbon doses above 2.7 × l014 cm−2. Below this dose, both flatband voltage and interface trap density of the carbon implanted samples were comparable to those of the monitors. Analysis of the samples by cross sectional transmission electron microscopy revealed the absence of extended defects even in samples with high carbon dose levels.
Evaluation of alternative evolutionary programming techniques for optimization of an automotive alternator

One of the primary design requirements of automotive generation systems is maximizing power density subject to the constraint of minimizing the overall system cost. However, with the progress made in the reduction of automotive drive train noise, the torque ripple of the generator has been found to be a dominant noise source under idle conditions at high electrical loads. Thus, an added design constraint is the minimization of the torque ripple produced by the machine. In order to evaluate alternative machine designs (and select an optimal), numerical tools are typically applied. In this research, a focus is placed on the creation of numerical tools that can be used to effectively search for an optimal design. A primary tool is an evolutionary algorithm (EA) that has been integrated within a customized magnetic equivalent circuit (MEC) model of the machine. The selection of an EA that is most likely to converge to an optimal solution in the least amount of time is described along with its use in selecting an optimal rotor-pole geometry
Intersection of fungal fitness and virulence in Cryptococcus neoformans

The use of insertional mutagenesis to discover genes that impact laccase activity has resulted in the identification of multiple cellular processes that affect the fitness of Cryptococcus neoformans. Fitness has been defined as the ability of an organism to propagate and evolve within a given environment. Because the human host is an evolutionary dead-end for an opportunistic pathogen, we have defined pathogenic fitness here as the capability to successfully propagate within the stressful environment of the host, causing disease by expression of virulence traits that damage the host. In this review, laccase-deficient insertional mutants will be highlighted in terms of the basic biological processes in which they are involved. The impact of laccase-associated cellular functions on fitness and virulence will be discussed, as will the mutants' potential as therapeutic targets. Vacuolar function, copper homeostasis, mitochondrial function and carbon repression are covered.
Human Factors Design Considerations of Alarm Clocks

Advances in technology have allowed computers and peripherals to become more affordable and useable. Technology is also trickling down and being integrated into other consumer products such as those found in the home, such as alarm clocks. Two studies examined the desirability of various features that have or could be incorporated into alarm clocks. In Study 1, 378 people evaluated the importance of various features that have or could be incorporated into alarm clocks. They were also asked to report other features not listed. Study 2 was similar except a larger list of potential features was included. Both studies indicated that there are several features considered more important (e.g., digital face, independent buttons to set hours and minutes, low price) than others (e.g., traditional analog clock face, cassette player). Also, feature importance differed depending on gender and undergraduatelnon-student groups. Factor analyses revealed that ergonomic aspects were being considered with respect to feature desirability. Implications for human factors/ergonomics issues are discussed including specific suggestions for alarm clock designs and other electronic consumer products.
Competency-Based Education: Changing the Traditional College Degree Power, Policy, and Practice

Higher education is going through a time of change. The United States federal government and its Department of Education are calling for reform as student debt has increased and the cost of college tuition has risen steadily to unattainable levels. In the next decade, the number of jobs requiring a college degree will increase to 70% of all new jobs. Competency-based education is currently being explored as an alternative to a traditional college degree. Under this umbrella, students will be assessed on what they know rather than how much time they will spend seated in a classroom. Competency, rather than credit, is now being given serious consideration by federal and state agencies. This literature review examines the research and provides an overview of competency-based education. New and existing programs demonstrate a variety of formats and approaches to competency-based education. The literature also addresses various types direct assessments including prior learning assessments, formative and summative assessments. It is increasingly evident that there is a need for an alternative to the traditional, expensive college degree.
Decreased working memory and processing speed mediate cognitive impairment in geriatric depression.

Background. While neuropsychological dysfunction is common in geriatric depression, not all aspects of cognition are equally affected. It has been suggested that depressed patients are impaired only in tasks that make heavy demands on processing resources and that a resource decrement therefore underlies the neuropsychological decrements seen in geriatric depression. The present study examined whether processing resources in the form of working memory and information processing speed are decreased in depression and whether a decrease in these resources actually mediates neuropsychological impairment.Methods. Measures of processing resources were administered to elderly depressed patients prior to treatment and to age-matched controls. Patients whose depression remitted were retested as were the controls. Subjects also received neuropsychological tests of episodic memory and visuospatial performance.Results. Depressed patients performed significantly worse on measures of both processing speed and working memory. While performance on these measures improved in patients whose depression remitted, the amount of improvement was no greater than that seen in the controls with repeat testing. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that depression explained a significant amount of variance on the neuropsychological tasks. However, if the variance associated with processing resources was removed first, depression no longer accounted for a significant amount of neuropsychological variance.Conclusions. Processing resources are decreased in elderly depressed patients and this decrease in resources appears to mediate impairments in several areas of neuropsychological functioning including episodic memory and visuospatial performance. The resource decrement persists after remission of the depression and thus may be a trait marker of geriatric depression.
Molecular Genetics of Allergic Diseases

Allergic diseases affect approximately one third of the general population. This class of disease, characterized by elevated serum IgE levels and hypersensitivity to normally innocuous antigen, can manifest in practically any mucosal tissue or as a systemic response. A few examples of serious allergic diseases include asthma, dermatitis, bee sting allergy, food allergy, conjunctivitis, and severe systemic anaphylaxis. Taken together, allergic diseases constitute one of the major problems of modern day medicine. A considerable portion of the healthcare budget is expended in the treatment of allergic disease, and morbidity rates of inner city asthmatics are rising steadily. Due to the enormity of the problem, there has been a worldwide effort to identify factors that contribute to the etiology of allergic diseases. Epidemiologic studies of multigeneration families and large numbers of twins clearly indicate a strong genetic component to atopic diseases. At least two independently segregating diseasesusceptibility genes are thought to come together with environmental factors to result in allergic inflammation in a particular tissue. On the basis of the strong genetic studies, multiple groups have attempted to identify disease-susceptibility genes via either a candidate gene approach or by genome-wide scans. Both of these approaches have implicated multiple regions in the human and mouse genomes, which are currently being evaluated as harboring putative atopy genes.
Association of 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D Levels With Physical Performance and Thigh Muscle Cross-sectional Area in Chronic Kidney Disease Stage 3 and 4

Background Declines in 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH) 2 D) levels and physical functioning follow the course of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Although the molecular actions of vitamin D in skeletal muscle are well known, and muscle weakness and atrophy are observed in vitamin D–deficient states, there is little information regarding vitamin D and muscle function and size in CKD. Objective To examine associations of vitamin D with physical performance (PF) and muscle size. Design Cross-sectional. Setting CKD clinic. Subjects Twenty-six patients (61 ± 13 years, 92% men) with CKD stage 3 or 4. Main Outcome Measures Gait speed, 6-minute walk, sit-to-stand time, 1-legged balance, and thigh muscle cross-sectional area (MCSA), measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Results Overall, 73% were 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) deficient (n = 10) or insufficient (n = 9) (Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative guidelines). 25(OH)D level was associated with normal gait speed only ( r = 0.41, P = .04). Normal and fast gait speed, the distance walked in 6 minutes, and sit-to-stand time were best explained by 1,25(OH) 2 D and body mass index ( P 2 D ( r = 0.40, P r = 0.54, P 2 D, plasma Ca 2+ , and daily physical activity (by accelerometry) ( P Conclusion These results suggest that 1,25(OH) 2 D is a determinant of PF and muscle size in patients with stage 3 and 4 CKD.
Structural basis for recognition of intron branchpoint RNA by yeast Msl5 and selective effects of interfacial mutations on splicing of yeast pre-mRNAs.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae Msl5 orchestrates spliceosome assembly by binding the intron branchpoint sequence 5′-UACUAAC and, with its heterodimer partner protein Mud2, establishing cross intron-bridging interactions with the U1 snRNP at the 5′ splice site. Here we define the central Msl5 KH-QUA2 domain as sufficient for branchpoint RNA recognition. The 1.8 A crystal structure of Msl5-(KH-QUA2) bound to the branchpoint highlights an extensive network of direct and water-mediated protein–RNA and intra-RNA atomic contacts at the interface that illuminate how Msl5 recognizes each nucleobase of the UACUAAC element. The Msl5 structure rationalizes a large body of mutational data and inspires new functional studies herein, which reveal how perturbations of the Msl5·RNA interface impede the splicing of specific yeast pre-mRNAs. We also identify interfacial mutations in Msl5 that bypass the essentiality of Sub2, a DExD-box ATPase implicated in displacing Msl5 from the branchpoint in exchange for the U2 snRNP. These studies establish an atomic resolution framework for understanding splice site selection and early spliceosome dynamics.
The General Queue G / G /1 and Approximations

The use of Markov models in queueing theory is very common because they are appropriate for basic systems and lend themselves for easy applications. But often the real-world systems are so complex and so general that simple Markov and renewal process models do not represent them well. The presentation of matrix-analytic models of Chapter 8 is an introductory attempt to go beyond the basic models discussed earlier. The computer and communication systems which have had a major role in advancing technology in the past three decades require queueing models that go well beyond those we have seen so far in the last eight chapters. Their full discussion is beyond the scope of this text. Here we provide an introduction to the analysis of the waiting time process in the general queue and a few approximation techniques that have proved useful in handling emerging complex applications.
Topic Identification and Discovery on Text and Speech

We compare the multinomial i-vector framework from the speech community with LDA, SAGE, and LSA as feature learners for topic ID on multinomial speech and text data. We also compare the learned representations in their ability to discover topics, quantified by distributional similarity to gold-standard topics and by human interpretability. We find that topic ID and topic discovery are competing objectives. We argue that LSA and i-vectors should be more widely considered by the text processing community as pre-processing steps for downstream tasks, and also speculate about speech processing tasks that could benefit from more interpretable representations like SAGE.
The Bar Examination and Admission to the Bar: An Annotated Bibliography of Articles, 1998-2007

This bibliography is meant to be a resource for academics, bar examiners, students, and others who are interested in finding leading articles written about the bar examination and/or admission to the bar. It is an update of three period-specific bibliographies printed in the The Bar Examiner. The current bibliography includes applicable articles published in U.S. law reviews and The Bar Examiner between 1998 and 2007.
Tax Effect of Tax Return Preparer Fraud on the Assessment Limitation Period

A very confident, unanimous Tax Court decided, in Allen v. Commissioner, 128 T.C. 4 (Mar. 7, 2007), that the fraud of a tax return preparer keeps the assessment limitation period open against the taxpayer, regardless of the taxpayer's knowledge or intent. The Tax Court opinion, however, skips over the intricate and interesting statutory history of the fraud exception to the assessment limitation period. Read properly, the general limitation period imposed on assessments in section 6501(a) represents a strong public policy choice in favor of closure. The section 6501(c) exception to it for fraudulent returns has a different origin and meaning, although now codified in the same section. It links instead to the origin and meaning of the fraud penalty for understatements, now codified in section 6663. My thesis is that the section 6501(a) assessment limitation period is far stronger than a typical statute of limitation. Accordingly, I believe the fraud exception in section 6501(c) should be limited to the taxpayer's fraud and not the fraud of a third party such as a return preparer. I save for another day a complete review of the Allen opinion, including the very interesting policy issues it raises. Here I focus on why the assessment limitation period is best interpreted as a statute of repose and what that might mean for interpretive issues such as the one presented by Allen. Part I reviews the statutory language and current judicial interpretation of section 6501(a) to show how it operates as a statute of repose. Part II reviews its legislative history back to 1866. Part III then reviews the history of the fraud penalties to show how and when the section 6501(c) exception to the normal three-year limitation period for fraudulent returns first arose in 1918. Putting those parts together shows, I think, how the fraud exception historically has referred to fraud committed by the taxpayer liable for the tax.
Abstract 4433: DW-MR imaging as a predictive biomarker of radiosensitization of GBM through targeted inhibition of checkpoint kinases.

Purpose: The inherent treatment resistance of glioblastoma (GBM) can involve multiple mechanisms including checkpoint kinase (Chk1/2) mediated increased DNA repair capability which can attenuate the effects of genotoxic chemotherapies and radiation. The goal of this study was to evaluate DW-MRI as a biomarker for Chk1/2 inhibitors in combination with radiation for enhancement of treatment efficacy in GBM. Experimental Design: We evaluated a specific small molecule inhibitor of Chk1/2, AZD7762, in combination with radiation using in vitro human cell lines and in vivo using a genetically engineered GBM mouse model. Diffusion-weighted and T1-contrast MRI were used to follow treatment effects on intracranial tumor cellularity and growth rates, respectively. Results: AZD7762 inhibited clonal proliferation in a panel of GBM cell lines and increased radiosensitivity in p53-mutated GBM cell lines to a greater extent compared to p53-wild type cells. In vivo efficacy of AZD7762 demonstrated a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on GBM tumor growth rate and a reduction in tumor cellularity based on DW-MRI scans along with enhancement of radiation efficacy. Conclusion: DW-MRI was found to be a useful imaging biomarker for the detection of radiosensitization through inhibition of checkpoint kinases. Chk1/2 inhibition resulted in antiproliferative activity, prevention of DNA-damage induced repair, and radiosensitization in preclinical GBM tumor models, both in vitro and in vivo. The effects were found to be maximal in p53-mutated GBM cells. These results provide the rationale for integration of DW-MRI in clinical translation of Chk1/2 inhibition with radiation for the treatment of GBM. Citation Format: Terence Williams, Stefanie Galban, Fei Li, Kevin Heist, Craig Galban, Theodore S. Lawrence, Eric C. Holland, Tami Thomae, Thomas Chenevert, Alnawaz Rehemtulla, Brian D. Ross. DW-MR imaging as a predictive biomarker of radiosensitization of GBM through targeted inhibition of checkpoint kinases. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4433. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-4433
The organ specific action of thyroxin in visual pigment differentiation.

In the course of his studies on the phylogenetic distribution of the retinal photopigments, Wald (1942, 1946, 1947) observed that the visual pigment of larvae of Rana catesbeiana changed from porphyropsin to rhodopsin during metamorphosis. The essential difference between the two visual pigments, which are conjugated proteins, is in the chromophore group, vitamin A aldehyde (or retinene). Vitamin A-2 aldehyde is the chromophore of porphyropsin; vitamin A-l aldehyde, which has one less double bond in its beta ionone ring, is the chromophore of rhodopsin (reviewed by Dartnall, 1958). The phenomenon of visual pigment conversion during metamorphosis has recently been examined in detail by Wilt (1959). His findings confirmed Wald9s earlier report fully; furthermore, it was demonstrated that administration of thyroxin to premetamorphic animals stimulated photopigment conversion. Other evidence was presented supporting the hypothesis that thyroxin, or its physiologically active derivative, effects a change in vitamin A metabolism which results in a change in the type of chromophore on the visual protein.
Why Turing’s Thesis Is Not a Thesis

In 1936 Alan Turing showed that any effectively calculable function is computable by a Turing machine. Scholars at the time, such as Kurt Godel and Alonzo Church, regarded this as a convincing demonstration of this claim, not as a mere hypothesis in need of continual reexamination and justification. In 1988 Robin Gandy said that Turing’s analysis “proves a theorem.” However, Stephen C. Kleene introduced the term “thesis” in 1943 and in his book in 1952. Since then it has been known as “Turing’s Thesis.” Here we discuss whether it is a thesis, a definition, or a theorem. This is important to determine what Turing actually accomplished.
Immersive Experiences in an ESE Secondary Setting: Lessons from the Classroom

ABSTRACTThis qualitative study explored the experiences of general education secondary preservice teachers while immersed in self-contained special education classrooms. While secondary education teachers have expertise in content areas, little is known about their understanding of students with disabilities and their knowledge of specific strategies for maximizing student learning. The participants in this study identified attributes of effective management strategies, reported a deeper understanding of the needs of students with exceptionalities, and reflected on their sense of efficacy about teaching students with exceptionalities. Over half of the participants reported feeling more confident following this experience, and 19% indicated a desire to become advocates for students with exceptionalities.
Does "fighting spirit" improve medical outcomes of cancer patients?

One hundred and twenty-five years of the dialogue between psychology and physiology reveal a vibrant discussion about the mind-body effect--the ability of waking consciousness to influence its own normally unconscious physiology through conscious intention, and conversely, the reciprocal effect of physiology on consciousness. In the early phase, the data remained largely anecdotal. Scientific study of the emotions then opened the door to dynamic theories of the subconscious. Such formulations, however, were repeatedly overshadowed by concurrent advances in brain neurophysiology, which rejected not only any exploration of the unconscious that relied on the method of symbolism, but also the reality of the unconscious itself. Nevertheless, scientific advances at the interface between psychology and physiology persisted. Since the 1950s, however, there has been an explosion of new work in the neurosciences at the interface between molecular genetics, endocrinology, neurology, immunology, and psychiatry. This has fueled both new research and renewed discussion about the mind-body effect, a dialogue that is now, in part, also a response to a counter-culture revolution occurring at the interface between the delivery of clinical services throughout the healthcare professions and an increasingly sophisticated consumer demand for alternative and complementary therapies.
Squamous Carcinoma of the Esophagus/Gastric Cardia

Tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption are known to cause squamous carcinoma of the esophagus, and both may interact with genetic factors to further enhance the risk. Lower consumption of fruits and vegetables may also increase risk. In some populations, the combined effect of these exposures fails to explain the difference in risk between men and women, suggesting that other causes may be important. Esophageal cancer is substantially more common in Los Angeles and San Francisco than in other regions, especially Utah, and is much more common among men, African-Americans, and persons of lower social class. A large aggregate of high risk census tracts, including several showing excess risk among both men and women, appears in the predominately African-American region of South-Central Los Angeles. Adjustment for social class only partly reduces the size of this aggregate. The pattern of occurrence generally is consistent with that expectation, as is the geographical distribution.
Gastrointestinal Ecology of Salmonella Enteritidis in Laying Hens and Intervention by Prebiotic and Nondigestible Carbohydrate Dietary Supplementation

Salmonella Enteritidis has been associated with a number of egg outbreaks of salmonellosis in the human population. Part of the issue with the prevalence of S. Enteritidis has been certain management practices that led to S. Enteritidis more easily colonizing the mature laying hen's gastrointestinal tract (GIT). A better understanding of the avian GIT microbiome has helped to understand the ecology and interaction of the bird's GIT microbiota with pathogens such as S. Enteritidis. An important element of limiting establishment of S. Enteritidis in the adult bird is to retain a fully active fermentative GIT microbiota. Although several interventions have been developed for preharvest control of S. Enteritidis in layer hens, prebiotics offer promise to support members of the GIT microbial community that would be protective of the host. A few prebiotic candidates have been examined in layer hens and appear to limit S. Enteritidis colonization and retain egg production performance. Administration of prebiotics to younger aged layer chicks over longer periods of time needs to be explored as well.
Hydrogen plasma-enhanced crystallization of amorphous silicon for low-temperature polycrystalline silicon TFT's

It has recently been discovered that a room temperature hydrogen plasma could reduce the crystallization time at 600/spl deg/C of hydrogenated amorphous silicon films by a factor of five to a reasonable four hours. Further, the process can be spatially controlled by masking with a patterned oxide. In this abstract, we report for the first time the successful application of this method to an all low-temperature (/spl les/600/spl deg/C) TFT fabrication process. Good performance with mobility of 40-35 cm/sup 2//Vs and an ON/OFF ratio of 4/spl times/10/sup 5/ has been achieved with a crystallization time of only four hours.
Mechanistic understanding of non-spherical bacterial attachment and deposition on plant surface structures

Abstract Bacterial attachment to the surface and passive internalization to fresh produce is the first step in contamination of food. Understanding the mechanism of attachment and internalization could lead to the prevention of future outbreaks on fresh fruits and vegetables. The goal of this model was to validate and use a Lagrangian particle tracking simulation of a spherocylinder shaped bacteria, Escherichia coli , to determine the effect plant surface structures have on attachment. Rotation of the cells was validated versus theoretical and experimental data. Also, simulation results of attachment were validated versus experimentally measured cells to microfabricated plant structures: stomata, trichomes and grooves. The simulation results showed how trichomes decreased attachment by lowering shear stress within the microarray while stomata and grooves enhanced attachment by creating small regions of increased shear stress triggering shear enhanced adhesion. Microstructures affecting the local fluid shear stress, and not residence time, increased attachment.
Review and Analysis of Publication Trends over Three Decades in Three High Impact Medicine Journals.

Context Over the past three decades, industry sponsored research expanded in the United States. Financial incentives can lead to potential conflicts of interest (COI) resulting in underreporting of negative study results. Objective We hypothesized that over the three decades, there would be an increase in: a) reporting of conflict of interest and source of funding; b) percentage of randomized control trials c) number of patients per study and d) industry funding. Data sources and Study Selection Original articles published in three calendar years (1988, 1998, and 2008) in The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine and Journal of American Medical Association were collected. Data Extraction Studies were reviewed and investigational design categorized as prospective and retrospective clinical trials. Prospective trials were categorized into randomized or non-randomized and single-center or multi-center trials. Retrospective trials were categorized as registries, meta-analyses and other studies, mostly comprising of case reports or series. Study outcomes were categorized as positive or negative depending on whether the pre-specified hypothesis was met. Financial disclosures were researched for financial relationships and profit status, and accordingly categorized as government, non-profit or industry sponsored. Studies were assessed for reporting COI. Results 1,671 original articles were included in this analysis. Total number of published studies decreased by 17% from 1988 to 2008. Over 20 year period, the proportion of prospective randomized trials increased from 22 to 46% (p < 0.0001); whereas the proportion of prospective non-randomized trials decreased from 59% to 27% (p < 0.001). There was an increase in the percentage of prospective randomized multi-center trials from 11% to 41% (p < 0.001). Conversely, there was a reduction in non-randomized single-center trials from 47% to 10% (p < 0.001). Proportion of government funded studies remained constant, whereas industry funded studies more than doubled (17% to 40%; p < 0.0001). The number of studies with negative results more than doubled (10% to 22%; p<0.0001). While lack of funding disclosure decreased from 35% to 7%, COI reporting increased from 2% to 84% (p < 0.0001). Conclusion Improved reporting of COI, clarity in financial sponsorship, increased publication of negative results in the setting of larger and better designed clinical trials represents a positive step forward in the scientific publications, despite the higher percentage of industry funded studies.
Feedback from in-class worksheets and discussion improves performance on the statics concept inventory

The Statics Concept Inventory (SCI) is used to evaluate students’ conceptual understanding in introductory mechanics courses.Previous studies have shown that although performance on the SCI improves at the end of a course, performance is often stillunsatisfactory with scores well below 100%. In this study, we sought to determine if providing feedback on conceptual topicsthrough in-class worksheets and discussion would improve students’ performance on the SCI. To test this hypothesis, we designedeight multiple-choice worksheets, each inspired by a different topic on the SCI, for use during an introductory mechanics course. Inorder to evaluate the impact of the worksheets on SCI performance, we divided the eight worksheets into two groups and eachgroup of worksheets was deployed in a different offering of the course. Each worksheet was completed at the end of a class periodand, at the beginning of the next class period, the instructor led a discussion of the results and common misconceptions on eachworksheet. Students took the SCI at the beginning and end of the course and the change in SCI scores for topics with and withoutworksheets were compared. Results from both course offerings indicated that the in-class worksheets were effective at improvingperformance on the SCI, as SCI scores improved significantly more for topics that had worksheets than the topics that did nothave worksheets. Furthermore, overall SCI performance at the end of each course was greater than in previous courses. Theseresults suggest that a quick and easy-to-implement addition to the curriculum using in-class worksheets and next-class discussionwere effective at providing feedback on conceptual topics, exposing misconceptions, and improving performance on the SCI. Theworksheets developed as part of this study are available on-line for other instructors to use (http://del.stanford.edu). The SCI isalso free to use and can be found at cihub.org.
Cognitive Bias Modification

Over 30 years of research suggests that individuals with emotional disorders display information-processing biases in favor of disorder-related stimuli when compared to neutral stimuli. Researchers have attempted to experimentally modify these biases via a class of interventions referred to as cognitive bias modification (CBM). In this chapter, we discuss two major classes of CBM: attention bias modification (ABM) and interpretation bias modification (IBM). We reflect on overall findings regarding the ability of these interventions to modify both proposed mechanisms as well as symptoms while highlighting issues and controversies in the field for future research. Our review suggests that CBM may offer promise as a clinical intervention tool; however, an increased focus on questions about the nature of cognitive biases, their relationship to symptoms, their psychometric properties, and the robustness of our experimental manipulations is needed. Finally, we consider the nascent field of ABM in relation to the larger body of intervention research.
Digital Media and Socio-Political Change in the Arab Region

This chapter highlights the Internet history in the Arab region in relation to its social and political transformations. It outlines how the Internet came to be adopted in similar and different manners across the countries of the Arab region. The first users of Internet cafes talked about culture, music, and dating in chats or bulletin forums; they were impressed how they could talk to other users in different countries, and chatted about a variety of topics. Bloggers used the format to explore a variety of issues, but political blogging has played a central role in Arab political identity construction. Blogging has proved to be an effective channel for speaking out about local concerns and practicing citizens’ rights. Digital communication has played an important role in changing the political landscape. The digital social networks based on the Internet and on wireless platforms are decisive tools for mobilizing, for organizing, for deliberating, for coordinating, and for deciding.
Abstract 1118: Synthetic lethality of CDK12 inhibition in tumors with EWS/FLI rearrangements

THZ1 is a potent, covalent inhibitor of the transcriptional CDKs, CDK7/12/13. Chemical genomic profiling of THZ1 across >1,000 diverse cancer cell lines revealed that EWS/FLI- rearranged Ewing sarcoma cells were remarkably sensitive to this molecule. We demonstrated that THZ1 inhibits the phosphorylation of the C-terminal domain of RNA Polymerase II, decreased colony formation capacity, and induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner in Ewing sarcoma cell lines. Using selective CDK7 and CDK12/13 inhibitors, we revealed that the primary target of THZ1 in Ewing sarcoma is CDK12/13. Genetic suppression of CDK12, but not CDK13, induced strong anti-viability effects, confirming CDK12 as the primary target. Treatment of Ewing sarcoma cell lines with THZ531, a novel CDK12/13 selective inhibitor, preferentially repressed genes involved in DNA damage repair. Additionally, suppression of EWS/FLI rendered Ewing sarcoma cells resistant to THZ531 and partially rescued the anti-viability effects of CDK12 knockdown. These results suggest that EWS/FLI imparts vulnerability to DNA damage repair inhibition and implicate a synthetic lethal relationship between the tumor-specific expression of EWS/FLI and CDK12 inhibition. Furthermore, we demonstrated that CDK12 and PARP inhibitors are highly synergistic in vitro, inducing widespread yH2AX foci formation. Interestingly, THZ531 impairs the ability of the PARP inhibitor, olaparib, to induce RAD51 foci formation, suggesting that THZ531 specifically causes a defect in homologous recombination repair. Moreover, we observed striking synergy of THZ1 and olaparib in two mouse models of Ewing sarcoma with limited toxicity observed. These findings have important translational significance as clinical trials with PARP inhibitors as single agents in Ewing sarcoma failed to demonstrate efficacy, highlighting the need to identify combination therapies that will enhance the activity of PARP inhibition. We anticipate that CDK12 and PARP inhibitor combinations will be of therapeutic interest in other ETS-rearranged tumors, as well as tumors with defects in DNA repair. Citation Format: Amanda L. Balboni, Bjorn Stolte, Amy Saur Conway, Gabriela Alexe, Emily Jue Wang, Nicholas Kwiatkowski, Tinghu Zhang, Brian J. Abraham, Peter Kalev, Dipanjan Chowdhury, Cyril H. Benes, Richard A. Young, Nathanael S. Gray, Kimberly Stegmaier. Synthetic lethality of CDK12 inhibition in tumors with EWS/FLI rearrangements [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1118. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1118
The Varieties of Place-Based Education

Traditionally, the focus of theories and practices of place-based education (PBE) has been the natural environment. This chapter discusses urban and digital environments as incubators of PBE goals. The interpretive framework is based on the lifeworld, personalistic attitude, noesis, and noema concepts from Edmund Husserl’s Ideas I and II. Urban and virtual places are both built, and this affects the learner’s interactivity and engagement. The chapter uses Husserl’s insights to analyze how different field sites affect the curriculum. It looks at the interplay between the learner and natural environments, urban built places, virtual places, and the “space” of an online forum, which Husserl sees as expressions of both noesis and noema. There is commonality in these places in which learners understand and solve problems.
Individual consumption and systemic societal transformation: Introduction to the special issue

(2010). Individual consumption and systemic societal transformation: introduction to the special issue. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy: Vol. 6, No. 2, pp. 6-12.
The utility of neuropsychological consultation in identifying medical inpatients with suspected cognitive impairment at risk for greater hospital utilization.

Objective: This was a retrospective study designed to examine the relationship between inpatient neuropsychological status and future utilization costs. Methods: We completed a retrospective chart ...
Taste quality and neural coding: implications from psychophysics and neurophysiology.

Abstract Historically, taste research has often been guided by the concept that there are only four (or possibly five) basic taste qualities (sweet, sour, salty, and bitter, and possibly “umami”). All other tastes have been presumed to be combinations of these basic tastes. This psychophysical concept has been extended to electrophysiological data. That is, the neural code for each basic taste is hypothesized to be coded by a dedicated channel of neurons (the “Labeled-Line” theory); i.e., one group of neurons signals “salty” and another separate group signals “sweet.” Numerous psychophysical and electrophysiological findings, however, cannot be accomodated by this quadripartite theory, which limits taste to four basic qualities and four basic neuron types. Rather, the data described in this article suggest that the range of taste is more extensive than four or five basic tastes, and that this breadth of taste quality results initially from the activation of a broad array of ion channels, receptors, and second messengers associated with taste cell membranes. These findings have implications for neural organization and provide support for the “Across-Fiber Pattern” theory in which the neural code for taste is represented by the pattern of activity across all of the neurons, i.e., neurons are not exclusively labeled for a particular sensation but cooperate with the others in the ensemble to encode taste quality.
Radiosynthesis, ex Vivo Biodistribution, and in Vivo Positron Emission Tomography Imaging Evaluations of [11 C]2-Pyridinealdoxime Methiodide ([11 C]2-PAM): A First-In-Class Antidote Tracer for Organophosphate Intoxication

2-Pyridinealdoxime methiodide (2-PAM) is a widely used antidote for the treatment of organophosphorus (OP) exposure that reactivates the target protein acetylcholinesterase. Carbon-11 2-PAM was prepared to more fully understand the in vivo mode of action, distribution, and dynamic qualities of this important countermeasure. Alkylation of 2-pyridinealdoxime with [11C]CH3I provided the first-in-class [11C]2-PAM tracer in 3.5% decay corrected radiochemical yield from [11C]CH3I, >99% radiochemical purity, and 4831 Ci/mmol molar activity. [11C]2-PAM tracer distribution was evaluated by ex vivo biodistribution and in vivo dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in naive (OP exposure deficient) rats. Tracer alone and tracer coinjected with a body mass-scaled human therapeutic dose of 30 mg/kg nonradioactive 2-PAM demonstrated statistically similar tissue and blood distribution profiles with the greatest uptake in kidney and significantly lower levels in liver, heart, and lung with lesser amounts in blood and brain. The imaging and biodistribution data show that radioactivity uptake in brain and peripheral organs is rapid and characterized by differential tissue radioactivity washout profiles. Analysis of arterial blood samples taken 5 min after injection showed ∼82% parent [11C]2-PAM tracer. The imaging and biodistribution data are now established, enabling future comparisons to outcomes acquired in OP intoxicated rodent models.
Choose your own intervention: Using choice to enhance the effectiveness of a utility-value intervention.

Utility-value interventions, in which students are asked to make connections between course material and their lives, are useful for improving students' academic outcomes in science courses. These interventions are thought to be successful in part because the intervention activities afford students autonomy while they complete them, but no research has explored directly whether interventions that include more support for autonomy are more effective. In this study, the degree of choice incorporated in a utility-value intervention was systematically varied in order to test this possibility. We assigned college biology students (n = 406) to a high-choice utility-value intervention condition (choose between two formats- essay or letter- for each of 3 writing assignments), one of two low-choice intervention conditions (complete either an essay and then a letter, or vice versa, and choose a format for the third assignment), or a control condition (summarize course material 3 times). Students in the high-choice condition reported significantly higher perceived utility value and interest for biology course content compared to students in the low-choice conditions. There were also significant, but small, indirect effects of choice on students' final course grades and enrollment in the next course in the biology sequence via perceived utility value and interest. Results suggest that social-psychological interventions which include more choice are likely to be more effective than those which include less choice.
The contradictions of mediation: intermediaries and the financialization of urban production

This paper uses a case study of an Indian real estate investment fund to understand the financialization of urban production. It argues that chains of intermediaries transform fixed, illiquid parce...
A Laser-forwarded Coherent 10Gb/s BPSK Transceiver using Monolithic Microring Resonators in 45nm SOI CMOS

This paper demonstrates the first fully integrated coherent binary-phase-shift-keying (BPSK) link using microring resonat(MRR) with forwarded laser LO signal. It is enabled by integration of silicon-photonic blocks like optical DAC based modulator, 3-dB coupler, and MRR-based balanced photodetector (PD) in a monolithic zero-change 45nm SOI CMOS. The link operates at 10 Gb/s with transmitter driver consuming 40fJ/bit and receiver with OMA sensitivity of 15.1dBm consuming 450fJ/bit. The laser-forwarded BPSK link improves the laser power budget by $\sim 6$ dB compared to direct detection NRZ link with same components.
Experimental investigation of the wear mechanisms of thin PDA/PTFE coatings

Abstract The wear mechanisms of thin polydopamine (PDA)/polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) coatings on stainless steel substrates were studied. Scratch, durability, and wear progression tests were performed on samples with three PTFE topcoat thicknesses. It was found that the wear process involved plastic deformation, plowing, adhesive spalling, large-area delamination, and abrasive wear. Thicker PTFE coatings had a lower initial coefficient of friction but a higher initial wear rate, which was attributed to the larger amount of loosely connected PTFE nanoparticles. The thickest coating had a slightly longer wear life due to the delayed delamination from the PDA layer.
Development of a Low-Cost System for Laparoscopic Skills Training

Author(s): Lin, Jui-Te | Advisor(s): Morimoto, Tania | Abstract: Technological advancements in video equipment and biocompatible materials has enabled improvements in complex surgery through small incisions. The mastery of these laparoscopic surgical techniques is now a requirement for surgeons, however, the necessary skills are not intuitive and require hundreds of practice hours. The current state of surgical education includes animate models, inanimate physical models, and computer-based simulations, the latter of which are limited by cost, accessibility, and a lack of engagement. We propose a novel low-cost training interface that mimics the laparoscopic surgical environment using customized instruments whose movement and control are used as inputs for video games. The system is significantly less expensive than commercial systems and allows users freedom to select and play any game, enabling a take-home system with potential for higher levels of engagement, as well as familiarity and expertise with ambidextrous laparoscopic hand motion. A preliminary study compared performance on FLS (Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery) testing before and after training. For a precision cutting task, groups that trained on a standard simulator or on the new system with either a non-inverted or inverted hand-instrument mapping, showed statistically significant improvements, warranting further investigation of training with this new system.