cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Grasping with Chopsticks: Combating Covariate Shift in Model-free Imitation Learning for Fine Manipulation

Billions of people use chopsticks, a simple yet versatile tool, for fine manipulation of everyday objects. The small, curved, and slippery tips of chopsticks pose a challenge for picking up small objects, making them a suitably complex test case. This paper leverages human demonstrations to develop an autonomous chopsticks-equipped robotic manipulator. Due to the lack of accurate models for fine manipulation, we explore model-free imitation learning, which traditionally suffers from the covariate shift phenomenon that causes poor generalization. We propose two approaches to reduce covariate shift, neither of which requires access to an interactive expert or a model, unlike previous approaches. First, we alleviate singlestep prediction errors by applying an invariant operator to increase the data support at critical steps for grasping. Second, we generate synthetic corrective labels by adding bounded noise and combining parametric and non-parametric methods to prevent error accumulation. We demonstrate our methods on a real chopstick-equipped robot that we built, and observe the agent’s success rate increase from 37.3% to 80%, which is comparable to the human expert performance of 82.6%.
SARS-CoV-2 exposure in wild white-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus ).

Widespread human SARS-CoV-2 infections combined with human-wildlife interactions create the potential for reverse zoonosis from humans to wildlife. We targeted white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) for serosurveillance based on evidence these deer have angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors with high affinity for SARS-CoV-2, are permissive to infection, exhibit sustained viral shedding, can transmit to conspecifics, exhibit social behavior, and can be abundant near urban centers. We evaluated 624 prepandemic and postpandemic serum samples from wild deer from four US states for SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Antibodies were detected in 152 samples (40%) from 2021 using a surrogate virus neutralization test. A subset of samples tested with a SARS-CoV-2 virus neutralization test showed high concordance between tests. These data suggest white-tailed deer in the populations assessed have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2.
Distinguishing viscous, ballistic, and diffusive current flows in anisotropic metals

Viscous electron hydrodynamics in high quality metals has been the subject of intense experimental activity in recent years. This has been aided by the experimental development of new imaging methods that allow for direct and noninvasive imaging of electronic flows in metals. In this work, the authors show that the diffusive, viscious, and ballistic regimes in anisotropic metals can be cleanly distinguished using a single image. They propose ABA-trilayer graphene as a natural experimental platform, where the ballistic-to-viscous crossover can be observed in near-term experiments.
Public Support for Using “Second Chance” Mechanisms to Reconsider Long-Term Prison Sentences for Drug Crimes

Using a national sample of U.S. adults (N = 371), this study experimentally examines (1) public support for the use of strategies that provide early release (i.e., “second chance” mechanisms) to individuals serving long-term prison sentences for drug crimes; and (2) how levels of support, and reasons for support, may vary depending on the type of drug-related offense. Results show moderate levels of support for using second chance mechanisms, both generally and in relation to specific strategies commonly available across jurisdictions, for a range of drug offenders. Yet participants showed significantly more support for using presumptive parole, elimination of parole revocations for technical violations, second-look sentencing, and compassionate release in the cases of those incarcerated long term for serious trafficking of marijuana, as compared to serious trafficking of serious drugs. Data also suggest that the public finds a range of factors— including the original sentence being extreme by international standards, extreme due to racially biased practices, out of step with current sentencing values/practices, too costly, and continuing to incarcerate someone unlikely to be a public safety threat—as at least moderately important to their support for the use of second chance mechanisms across drug crimes, and the importance of these factors to that support does not appear to differ significantly based on the type of drug offense. The importance of these results for policy making and utilization are discussed, as well as implications for reducing our historical reliance on drug-related incarceration.
Target-free Extrinsic Calibration of a 3D-Lidar and an IMU

This work presents a novel target-free extrinsic calibration algorithm for a 3D Lidar and an IMU pair using an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) which exploits the motion based calibration constraint for state update. The steps include, data collection by motion excitation of the Lidar Inertial Sensor suite along all degrees of freedom, determination of the inter sensor rotation by using rotational component of the aforementioned motion based calibration constraint in a least squares optimization framework, and finally, the determination of inter sensor translation using the motion based calibration constraint for state update in an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) framework. We experimentally validate our method using data collected in our lab and open-source (https://github.com/SubMishMar/imu_Lidar_calibration) our contribution for the robotics research community.
On the lower bound of the principal eigenvalue of a nonlinear operator

We prove sharp lower bound estimates for the first nonzero eigenvalue of the non-linear elliptic diffusion operator $$L_p$$ on a smooth metric measure space, without boundary or with a convex boundary and Neumann boundary condition, satisfying $$BE(\kappa ,N)$$ for $$\kappa \ne 0$$ . Our results extends the work of Koerber Valtorta (Calc Vari Partial Differ Equ. 57(2), 49 2018) for case $$\kappa =0$$ and Naber–Valtorta (Math Z 277(3–4):867–891, 2014) for the p-Laplacian.
When to Lock the Volatile Input Price? Procurement of Commodity Components Under Different Pricing Schemes

Problem definition: We study a two-stage supply chain, where the supplier procures a key component to manufacture a product and the buyer orders from the supplier to meet a price-sensitive demand. ...
Functional selectivity for social interaction perception in the human superior temporal sulcus during natural viewing.

Recognizing others' social interactions is a crucial human ability. Using simple stimuli, previous studies have shown that social interactions are selectively processed in the superior temporal sulcus (STS), but prior work with movies has suggested that social interactions are processed in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), part of the theory of mind network. It remains unknown to what extent social interaction selectivity is observed in real world stimuli when controlling for other covarying perceptual and social information, such as faces, voices, and theory of mind. The current study utilizes a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) movie paradigm and advanced machine learning methods to uncover the brain mechanisms uniquely underlying naturalistic social interaction perception. We analyzed two publicly available fMRI datasets, collected while both male and female human participants (n = 17 and 18) watched two different commercial movies in the MRI scanner. By performing voxel-wise encoding and variance partitioning analyses, we found that broad social-affective features predict neural responses in social brain regions, including the STS and mPFC. However, only the STS showed robust and unique selectivity specifically to social interactions, independent from other covarying features. This selectivity was observed across two separate fMRI datasets. These findings suggest that naturalistic social interaction perception recruits dedicated neural circuity in the STS, separate from the theory of mind network, and is a critical dimension of human social understanding.
Detecting gravitational lensing in hierarchical triples in galactic nuclei with space-borne gravitational-wave observatories

Stellar-mass binary black holes (BBHs) may merge in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole (SMBH). It is suggested that the gravitational wave (GW) emitted by a BBH has a high probability to be lensed by the SMBH if the BBH's orbit around the SMBH (i.e., the outer orbit) has a period of less than a year and is less than the duration of observation of the BBH by a space-borne GW observatory. For such a ``$\mathrm{BBH}+\mathrm{SMBH}$'' triple system, the de Sitter precession of the BBH's orbital plane is also significant. In this work, we thus study GW waveforms emitted by the BBH and then modulated by the SMBH due to effects including Doppler shift, de Sitter precession, and gravitational lensing. We show specifically that for an outer orbital period of 0.1 yr and an SMBH mass of ${10}^{7}\text{ }\text{ }{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$, there is a 3--10% chance for the standard, strong lensing signatures to be detectable by space-borne GW detectors such as LISA and/or TianGO. For more massive lenses ($\ensuremath{\gtrsim}{10}^{8}\text{ }\text{ }{M}_{\ensuremath{\bigodot}}$) and more compact outer orbits with periods $\ensuremath{\lesssim}0.1\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{yr}$, retrolensing of the SMBH (which is closely related to the glory scattering) might also have a 1%-level chance of detection. Furthermore, by combining the lensing effects and the dynamics of the outer orbit, we find that the mass of the central SMBH can be accurately determined with a fraction error of $\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$. This is much better than the case of static lensing because the degeneracy between the lens' mass and the source's angular position is lifted by the outer orbital motion. Including lensing effects also allows the de Sitter precession to be detectable at a precession period 3 times longer than the case without lensing. Finally, we demonstrate that one can check the consistency between the SMBH's mass determined from the orbital dynamics and the one inferred from gravitational lensing, which serves as a test on theories behind both phenomena. The statistical error on the deviation between two masses can be constrained to a 1% level.
Bellman-consistent Pessimism for Offline Reinforcement Learning

The use of pessimism, when reasoning about datasets lacking exhaustive exploration has recently gained prominence in offline reinforcement learning. Despite the robustness it adds to the algorithm, overly pessimistic reasoning can be equally damaging in precluding the discovery of good policies, which is an issue for the popular bonus-based pessimism. In this paper, we introduce the notion of Bellman-consistent pessimism for general function approximation: instead of calculating a point-wise lower bound for the value function, we implement pessimism at the initial state over the set of functions consistent with the Bellman equations. Our theoretical guarantees only require Bellman closedness as standard in the exploratory setting, in which case bonus-based pessimism fails to provide guarantees. Even in the special case of linear MDPs where stronger function-approximation assumptions hold, our result improves upon a recent bonus-based approach by $\mathcal{O}(d)$ in its sample complexity when the action space is finite. Remarkably, our algorithms automatically adapt to the best bias-variance tradeoff in the hindsight, whereas most prior approaches require tuning extra hyperparameters a priori.
Pauli blocking of light scattering in degenerate fermions.

Pauli blocking of spontaneous emission is responsible for the stability of atoms. Electrons cannot decay to lower-lying internal states that are already occupied. Pauli blocking also occurs when fr...
Adjusting COVID-19 Seroprevalence Survey Results to Account for Test Sensitivity and Specificity.

Population-based seroprevalence surveys can provide useful estimates of the number of individuals previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 and still susceptible as well as contribute to better estimates of the case fatality rate and other measures of COVID-19 severity. No serological test is 100% accurate, however, and the standard correction that epidemiologists use to adjust estimates relies on estimates of the test sensitivity and specificity often based on small validation studies. This paper develops a fully Bayesian approach to adjust observed prevalence estimates for sensitivity and specificity. Application to a seroprevalence survey conducted in New York State in 2020 demonstrates that this approach results in more realistic - and narrower - credible interval than the standard sensitivity analysis using confidence interval endpoints. In addition, the model permits incorporating data on the geographical distribution of reported case counts to create informative priors on the cumulative incidence to produce estimates and credible intervals for smaller geographic areas than often can be precisely estimated with seroprevalence surveys.
The kit-ligand (steel factor) and its receptor c-kit/W: pleiotropic roles in gametogenesis and melanogenesis

The c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase belongs to the PDGF/CSF-1/c-kit receptor subfamily. The kit-ligand, KL, also called steel factor, is synthesized from two alternatively spliced mRNAs as transmembrane proteins that can either be proteolytically cleaved to produce soluble forms of KL or can function as cell-associated molecules. The c-kit receptor kinase and KL are encoded at the white spotting (W) and steel (Sl) loci of the mouse, respectively. Mutations at both the W and the Sl locus cause deficiencies in gametogenesis, melanogenesis and hematopoiesis. The c-kit receptor is expressed in the cellular targets of W and Sl mutations, while KL is expressed in their microenvironment. In melanogenesis, c-kit is expressed in melanoblasts from the time they leave the neural crest and expression continues during embryonic development and in the melanocytes of postnatal animals. In gametogenesis c-kit is expressed in primordial germ cells, in spermatogonia, and in primordial and growing oocytes, implying a role at three distinct stages of gametogenesis. Many mutant alleles are known at W and Sl loci and their phenotypes vary in the degree of severity in the different cellular targets of the mutations. While many W and Sl alleles severely affect primordial germ cells (PGC), several mild Sl alleles have weak effects on PGCs and exhibit differential male or female sterility. Steel Panda (Sl(pan)) is a KL expression mutation in which KL RNA transcript levels are reduced in most tissues analyzed. In female Sl(pan)/Sl(pan) mice, ovarian follicle development is arrested at the one layered cuboidal stage as a result of reduced KL expression in follicle cells, indicating a role for c-kit in oocyte growth. Wsh is a c-kit expression mutation, which affects mast cells and melanogenesis. While the mast cell defect results from lack of c-kit expression, the pigmentation deficiency appears to stem from ectopic c-kit receptor expression in the somitic dermatome at the time of migration of melanoblasts from the neural crest to the periphery. It is proposed that the ectopic c-kit expression in Wsh mice affects early melanogenesis in a dominant fashion. The "sash" or white belt of Wsh/+ animals and some other mutant mice is explained by the varying density of melanoblasts along the body axis of wild-type embryos.
Educational Administration: School-Based Management

(1992). Educational Administration: School-Based Management. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 65, No. 5, pp. 261-263.
On Copyright and Patent Protection for Software and Databases: A Tale of Two Worlds

Several recent evolutions in intellectual property policy have occurred that have raised policy concerns for the conduct of basic scientific research. These are the (possibly) increasing commercialization of the university following Bayh-Dole, the European database directive, which increased the level of IP protection on databases considerably, and the rise in the patenting of software and business methods. This paper considers the impact of increased copyright and patent protection for software and databases (that is, for “pure” information goods) on scientific research communities. The central issue discussed is the tension between the two worlds of commercial innovation and scientific research with respect to the twin goals of appropriating and diffusing knowledge. These two worlds have developed very different incentive systems for rewarding the production of information, and problems develop when the two worlds move closer together, as they have recently in much of the world. Examples of this tension from university patenting in the United States and from increases in database protection are given. The paper argues that a useful distinction between the necessary incentives for the production of pure information goods (which require little complementary investment to make them useful) and industrial innovations (which require a great deal) might lead to a lesser need for intellectual property protection in the former case.
Victorian Philanthropy and the Rowntrees: The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust

Through an examination of the establishment and early grant-making priorities of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, this article explores the development of Quaker philanthropy in Britain in the Victorian and Edwardian periods, especially in the context of the long-standing Quaker interest in adult education. It locates Joseph Rowntree's view of philanthropy in the wider contexts of the changing patterns of Victorian and Edwardian philanthropic theory and practice, the nineteenth-century growth of Quaker social concern, and the changing perceptions of the problem of poverty during Rowntree's lifetime. It argues that the motives underlying the establishment of the Charitable Trust were predicated on an essentially Victorian conception of the role of the philanthropist, modified by Rowntree's own experience of the changes within the Society of Friends during the nineteenth century.
Scene analysis using scale invariant feature extraction and probabilistic modeling

Conventional pattern recognition systems have two components: feature analysis and pattern classification. For any object in an image, features could be considered as the major characteristic of the object either for object recognition or object tracking purpose. Features extracted from a training image, can be used to identify the object when attempting to locate the object in a test image containing many other objects. To perform reliable scene analysis, it is important that the features extracted from the training image are detectable even under changes in image scale, noise and illumination. Scale invariant feature has wide applications such as image classification, object recognition and object tracking in the image processing area. In this thesis, color feature and SIFT (scale invariant feature transform) are considered to be scale invariant feature. The classification, recognition and tracking result were evaluated with novel evaluation criterion and compared with some existing methods. I also studied different types of scale invariant feature for the purpose of solving scene analysis problems. I propose probabilistic models as the foundation of analysis scene scenario of images. In order to differential the content of image, I develop novel algorithms for the adaptive combination for multiple features extracted from images. I demonstrate the performance of the developed algorithm on several scene analysis tasks, including object tracking, video stabilization, medical video segmentation and scene classification.
Determination of the mode I, mode II, and mixed-mode I–II delamination toughness of a graphite/polyimide composite at room and elevated temperatures:

A study is described in which the mode I, mode II, and mixed-mode delamination toughnesses of a woven fabric graphite/polyimide composite are determined at room temperature and at 300℃. It is shown...
Discrepant analysis: how can we test a test?

Nucleic acid testing has arrived in the diagnostic microbiology laboratory, and it has brought along new questions about the statistical evaluation of tests. Few microbiologists are fond of statistics, but we should pay close attention to the use of statistics in the evaluation of new tests: patient care depends on it.
Electron impact excitation cross sections for O II

Generalized oscillator strengths and integrated cross sections from threshold to 1 keV are calculated in the Born approximation for the electron impact excitation of O II.
Permissive Attitudes Toward Alcohol Abuse Among Young Military Dependents.

This paper focuses upon patterns of alcohol abuse and permissiveness among a sample of 230 high school students residing in a U. S. military community in Europe. Patterns of abuse are seen as symptomatic of the military life style and the homogeneity of the environment surrounding the respondents. Analysis of data shows limited relationships between certain personal background variables and the tendency toward permissiveness. Such variables as sex and religious affiliation were significant in predicting degree of permissiveness. On the other hand age, socioeconomic status, ethnic background and length of stay abroad failed to show any difference between the respondents. Other analysis indicates lack of knowledge concerning basic facts regarding beverage alcohol and a general rejection or ambivalent feeling toward alcohol education.
Long-term results of a phase II trial of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by esophagectomy for locally advanced esophageal neoplasm.

Background Effective systemic therapy is considered essential to improve the outcome for patients with surgically resectable locally advanced esophageal carcinoma. We report the long-term results of our phase II study of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, followed by esophagectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy for potentially resectable esophageal carcinoma. Methods Patients were staged with computed tomography scan (n = 70), endoscopic ultrasonography (n = 63), and laparoscopy with or without thoracoscopy (n = 70). The pretreatment stages were T2N0 (n = 1), T2N1 (n = 15), T3N0 (n = 13), and T3N1 (n = 41). Chemotherapy consisted of 2 or 3 cycles of cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, and paclitaxel followed by esophagectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients were monitored for recurrence and survival. Results A total of 70 patients were enrolled (66 adenocarcinoma, 4 squamous cell carcinoma; 64 men and 6 women; median age, 60 years). Esophagectomy was performed in 63 patients. Operative mortality was 0%. The median overall survival of the entire group was 27.4 months. Seventeen patients were alive at a median follow-up of 62.8 months (range, 39.1 to 142). Fourteen patients were alive without recurrence at a median follow-up of 79 months (range, 39 to 138). Nodal status was an important predictor of overall survival. Patients who were downstaged experienced a significantly improved median survival of 63.4 months versus 21.5 months and overall survival ( p = 0.005). Conclusions This prospective study for esophageal carcinoma demonstrates encouraging long-term results. In particular, downstaging of the tumor with preoperative chemotherapy is predictive of better long-term outcome. Our results support the role for perioperative chemotherapy for locally advanced resectable esophageal cancer.
Comparative kinetic studies of the copolymerization of cyclohexene oxide and propylene oxide with carbon dioxide in the presence of chromium salen derivatives. In situ FTIR measurements of copolymer vs cyclic carbonate production.

The catalysis of the reaction of carbon dioxide with epoxides (cyclohexene oxide or propylene oxide) using the (salen)Cr(III)Cl complex as catalyst, where H(2)salen = N,N'-bis(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)-1,2-cyclohexenediimine (1), to provide copolymer and cyclic carbonate has been investigated by in situ infrared spectroscopy. As previously demonstrated for the cyclohexene oxide/CO(2) reaction in the presence of complex 1, coupling of propylene oxide and carbon dioxide was found to occur by way of a pathway first-order in catalyst concentration. Unlike the cyclohexene oxide/carbon dioxide reaction catalyzed by complex 1, which affords completely alternating copolymer and only small quantities of trans-cyclic cyclohexyl carbonate, under similar conditions propylene oxide/carbon dioxide produces mostly cyclic propylene carbonate. Comparative kinetic measurements were performed as a function of reaction temperature to assess the activation barrier for production of cyclic carbonates and polycarbonates for the two different classes of epoxides, i.e., alicyclic (cyclohexene oxide) and aliphatic (propylene oxide). As anticipated in both instances the unimolecular pathway for cyclic carbonate formation has a larger energy of activation than the bimolecular enchainment pathway. That is, the energies of activation determined for cyclic propylene carbonate and poly(propylene carbonate) formation were 100.5 and 67.6 kJ.mol(-1), respectively, compared to the corresponding values for cyclic cyclohexyl carbonate and poly(cyclohexylene carbonate) production of 133 and 46.9 kJ.mol(-1). The small energy difference in the two concurrent reactions for the propylene oxide/CO(2) process (33 kJ.mol(-1)) accounts for the large quantity of cyclic carbonate produced at elevated temperatures in this instance.
Delayed ulnar neuropathy at the wrist following open carpal tunnel release

Open carpal tunnel release is a common and successful treatment of median neuropathy at the wrist (carpal tunnel syndrome). We report a case of delayed ulnar neuropathy at the wrist with onset 2 months after open carpal tunnel release. Clinical findings, electrophysiological studies, magnetic resonance imaging, and surgical exploration demonstrated ulnar nerve compression at Guyon's canal resulting from translocation of the carpal tunnel contents. To our knowledge, this is an unreported complication of open carpal tunnel release that merits wide appreciation.
The effect of water and guest hydrophobicity on the complexation of oligomers with solid α-cyclodextrin

α-Cyclodextrin (α-CD), a cyclic oligosaccharide, can form inclusion complexes (ICs) with polymer molecules in which α-CD molecules stack in the columnar crystal to form a molecular tube. Physical mixtures of α-CD powder and oligomeric liquids such as poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) have been shown to spontaneously form an IC, which is accompanied by a solid-state α-CD phase transformation from the cage to the columnar crystal structure. In this paper, the phase transformation is tracked with wide-angle X-ray diffraction as a function of temperature, atmospheric water vapor content and the type of guest molecule. A first-order kinetic model is used to describe the kinetics of complexation. The time required to completely complex PEG200 (200 g/mol) at low water activities is greater than 300 h, whereas only a few hours are necessary at high water activities. Solid-state complexation of α-CD with a hydrophobic guest molecule (hexatriacontane, HTC), is also reported here for the first time. Slower complexation kinetics are observed for α-CD with HTC compared to PEG600 (600 g/mol).
516 COMPARISON OF INTRAESOPHAGEAL pH MONITORING DURING SLEEP IN ASTHMATICS AND NORMAL ADULTS

Various studies have shown that from 43-67% of asthmatics with recurrent pneumonia and/or atelectasis have gastroesophageal reflux (GER) which may contribute to their symptoms through aspiration or neural reflex mechanisms. Using an intraesophageal pH monitor 4-5 cm above the lower esophageal sphincter measured by manometry we quantitatively evaluated GER by pH<4.0 during sleep when aspiration most likely can occur and when patients' activities are uniform. We compared 8 normal adult volunteers (N) with mean age of 33±10.9 years to 17 chronic asthmatics (A) age 13.6±6.8 years & off theophylline for 24 hours prior to the study. Subjects in A required daily bronchodilators and did not have recurrent pneumonias. Mean monitoring time per subject in N was 9.9±2.1 hours compared to 9.3±1.7 hours in A. We found that 50% (4 of 8) of subjects in N had no GER episodes compared to 18% (3 of 17) of subjects in A (p=.16). The rate of GER in A (n=14) was 1.03±.73 episodes hr−1 compared to .41 ±.29 in N (n=4) with p=.026. Additionally the mean duration per episode was greater in A (n=14) with 5.21±4.35 minutes episode−1 compared to 1.31±.91 in N (n=4) with p=.0076. We conclude that not only does GER occur more often in A during sleep but episodes of GER are more frequent and prolonged than found physiologically in N.
XXVI.—New and little-known false-scorpions from the pacific and elsewhere. (Arachnida-Chelonethida)

(1938). XXVI.—New and little-known false-scorpions from the pacific and elsewhere. (Arachnida-Chelonethida). Annals and Magazine of Natural History: Vol. 2, No. 9, pp. 259-285.
Integrating DSM-III-R Training Into School, Marriage and Family, and Mental Health Counselor Preparation.

The authors discuss integrating Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd edition, revised; DSM-III-R; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) training into the school, marriage and family, and mental health counseling tracks of a master's level program that was designed according to Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs standards.
Intelligence in fathers and sons: Familial resemblances and generational differences

Intelligence test scores, educational levels, and height were obtained from Danish draft board records for three groups of fathers and sons: 25 biological fathers with sons who were adopted away, 17 stepfathers with stepsons, and 29 fathers with sons in intact families. Father-son correlations for intelligence suggest a modest heritability with little familial environmental effect, although a comparison of mean levels reveals some familial environmental effect for both intelligence and educational level. However, the correlations for educational level and height are somewhat inconsistent. In combination with earlier reported data on siblings, the present results may indicate genetic dominance effects for intelligence. Normative data show that the mean intelligence test score has risen between the paternal and the filial generations, possibly as a result of raised educational levels.
On the accurate analysis of linear elastic meta-material properties for use in design optimization problems

Abstract In the field of meta-materials engineering, asymptotic homogenization has proven to be a valuable tool to estimate material properties for many different design needs. Homogenization is used in the design of an object to tie the global material properties to the local material microstructure of the meta-material. The governing equations of the theory are derived from a small-parameter expansion that assumes the scaling length of the unit cell, the smallest repeatable structure found in the material, is much smaller than the entire material length scale. However, for those design problems that do not meet this scaling requirement, the meta-material properties given by homogenization may be inaccurate, leading to error in the material design process. To demonstrate some of these limitations, the more general set of macroscopic analyses derived from the average stress and average strain theorems are applied to several designs in which the assumptions of homogenization theory are no longer valid, those chiefly being materials made of a single or a few layers of unit cells. Then, by applying both materials analyses to simple design problems, the necessity of using a meta-material design method to link global and local properties in a manner consistent with global design methods is demonstrated. In particular, the use of homogenization in designing single layer materials is shown to incur a very large error in the design process, whereas the averaging method is much more accurate.
International Harvester, the U.S. South, and the makings of international development in the early 20th century

Abstract This article draws on insights into the making of an American empire and the formative nature of the early 20th century in order to interrogate the international imaginations and national practices of International Harvester Corporation, one of the United States' largest international corporations. Based on archival research, it documents how International Harvester imagined its new international markets as the inevitable extension of their national expansion, and the transformations that their products would bring to their new consumers similar to the transformations that those products were bringing to farmers living in the United States, particularly African-Americans in the American South. In addition, this article explores how International Harvester's interventions in the American South deployed tactics of governance that contributed to what became a dominant set of practices of postwar international development, in particular, the problematizing of a space/region, and the rendering of its solution as a technical one. This case study suggests that some of the practices that characterize American international development have their roots in the early 20th century, particularly in the American South.
Methodology for Haptic Modeling of Trocar Insertion Procedure

Trocar insertion is the first step in laparoscopic surgery procedures. It is a difficult procedure to learn and practice because it is carried out almost entirely without any visual feedback of the organs underlying the tissues being punctured. A majority of injuries are attributed to excessive use of force by surgeons. So there is a need for a haptic based computer simulator to train and improve the trocar insertion skills. In this paper, a new methodology for the modeling of trocar insertion is proposed. First, trocar insertion data (force/torque, displacement, etc.) are collected from animal models. Based on this data, a material model is computed using a hyper-elastic finite element computation (FEM). Using the FEM model, tissue deformation of the abdominal wall is calculated off-line for various conditions of tissue puncture. Deformation data are used to train a neural network which is, in turn, used to compute a real time virtual trocar insertion simulation. Force feedback is also modeled based on clinical data and is integrated into the simulator. This novel method allows for precise trocar insertion simulation based on prior FEM offline computation. The proposed system was implemented in a laboratory environment.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
No Child Misunderstood: Enhancing Early Childhood Teachers’ Multicultural Responsiveness to the Social Competence of Diverse Children

As a result of rapid demographic changes in our society, more children from diverse racial/cultural backgrounds join our early childhood classrooms. The majority of early childhood teachers, on the other hand, are middle-class and of European-decent. This paper provides early childhood teachers with both theoretical and practical understandings about multicultural responsiveness, in order to understand and promote social competence of young children from diverse backgrounds. To accomplish this end, readers will be guided to consider actual classroom based examples and questions throughout the paper. First, the concept of social competence will be revisited from sociocultural perspectives. Next, we discuss advocacy for social competence of diverse children through the main themes of multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills. Finally, we recommend several strategies to support teachers’ professional growth and development for multicultural responsiveness.
Safety Effect of Continuous Shoulder Rumble Strips on Rural Interstates in Maine

In Maine, the first rumble strips were installed in 1994, and the Maine Department of Transportation and the Maine Turnpike Authority have now installed continuous shoulder rumble strips (CSRS) on the majority of the rural sections of the Interstate and turnpike system. There were approximately 620 freeway miles with CSRS at the end of 2004. The purpose of this study is to report on the effectiveness of these installations in preventing run-off-road (ROR) crashes. An evaluation of their effectiveness showed that CSRS reduced sleep-related ROR crashes by approximately 58%. A statistical analysis showed that there is 99.9% certainty that the typical reduction in sleep-related ROR crashes was at least 41%. Fatal crashes were reduced to a higher degree than other crashes. Dry road ROR crashes were reduced by about 43% making the cost-benefit ratio of installing CSRS on a typical Maine section at least 195. CSRS were less effective in eliminating crashes during inclement weather conditions. The overall effecti...
Participation and Purpose in Committee Decision Making

Participation in committee decision making is an important form of legislative behavior but one we know little about. I develop a model of committee participation and test it using data drawn from staff interviews and records of the House Committee on Education and Labor. The analysis confirms that congressmen are purposive actors, but it also shows that different interests incite participation on different issues and that motivational effects vary in predictable ways across legislative contexts. If members are purposive, however, they also face a variable set of opportunities and constraints that structure their ability to act. Members and especially leaders of the reporting subcommittee, for instance, enjoy advantages in terms of information, staff, and lines of political communication. At the same time, freshman status entails behavioral constraints despite the reputed demise of apprenticeship in legislative life. Understanding such patterns of interest and ability, I conclude, should permit us to illuminate several larger questions regarding decision making and representation in a decentralized Congress.
Neurons in the periaqueductal gray are critically involved in the neuronal network for audiogenic seizures during ethanol withdrawal.

Abstract The periaqueductal gray (PAG) is implicated in the network subserving audiogenic seizures (AGS). AGS are seen during ethanol withdrawal (ETX), and the present study examined effects of focal NMDA receptor blockade in PAG during ETX and PAG neuronal firing changes associated with ETX. Bilateral cannulae or microwire electrodes were chronically implanted into PAG. Ethanol was administered intragastrically at 8-h intervals for 4 days, resulting in AGS susceptibility during ETX. Microinjection of a competitive NMDA receptor antagonist, DL-2-amino-7-phosphonoheptanoic acid (AP7) (2 and 5 but not 1 nmol/side), into the PAG suppressed AGS, in part, reversibly. In microwire experiments spontaneous and acoustically evoked PAG neuronal responses in behaving rats were reduced significantly 1 h after initial administration of ethanol. During ETX, when the animals were susceptible to AGS, significant increases in spontaneous and acoustically evoked PAG neuronal firing occurred. PAG neurons exhibited burst firing 2–4 s prior to the tonic–clonic phase of AGS and tonic repetitive firing during this seizure phase, which ceased during post-ictal depression. Increased NMDA receptor function in PAG may be important to the aberrant PAG neuronal firing in AGS, since previous studies observed upregulation of NMDA receptors during ETX, and the present study observed that focal microinjection of a NMDA antagonist into PAG blocked AGS.
Great Leader, Dear Leader: Demystifying North Korea under the Kim Clan – Bertil Lintner

As a western journalist with twenty‐five‐year experience in Asia, the author has brought readers a new perspective on one of the few communist countries still largly closed to the outside world. He...
Mechanisms of Simple Hepatic Steatosis: Not So Simple After All

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is becoming an epidemic. Fat is typically stored in adipose tissue in the form of triglycerides (TGs). The deposition of TGs in the liver is the result of an imbalance between the amount of energy taken in and the amount used. This balance is maintained by a complex interplay between the dietary intake of nutrients, the hormonal response to the nutrients, and their effect on both the liver and adipose tissue. Disruption of this system is what leads to the development of steatosis and is the focus of this article.
Carbon 1s Photoelectron Spectroscopy of Halomethanes. Effects of Electronegativity, Hardness, Charge Distribution, and Relaxation

Carbon 1s ionization energies have been measured for 12 halomethanes. These together with earlier measurements provide 27 compounds for investigating the relationship between core-ionization energies and the electronegativity and hardness of the halogens. The ionization energies correlate nearly linearly with the sum of the electronegativities of the halogens attached to the central carbon. Both electronegativity and hardness play important roles in determining the ionization energy, and it is found that the linear relationship between ionization energy and electronegativity arises from an interplay of the electronegativity and hardness of the halogens and the length and ionicity of the carbon−halogen bond.
14-3-3γ Inhibition of MDMX-mediated p21 Turnover Independent of p53

The stability of p21, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, is highly regulated by various protein molecules through the cell cycle and in response to extracellular signals. One of the p21 regulators is MDMX, which can directly bind to p21 and mediate its proteasomal degradation in an ubiquitination-independent fashion. The fact that 14-3-3γ binds to the MDMX domain adjacent to p21 binding suggests that this 14-3-3γ may affect MDMX-mediated p21 proteasomal turnover. Indeed, we found that overexpression of 14-3-3γ increased the level of both endogenous and exogenous p21 in p53-null cells by extending its half-life, leading to p21-dependent G1 arrest. Also, 14-3-3γ excluded p21 from binding to MDMX in a dose-dependent manner as determined by co-immunroprecipitation in vitro using purified proteins and in cells. In response to DNA damage, the level of the 14-3-3γ-MDMX complex increased whereas that of the MDMX-p21 complex declined as detected by co-immunoprecipitation assays, leading to the induction of p21 in p53-null cells. Knockdown of 14-3-3γ inversely alleviated the induction of p21 levels by DNA damage. Hence, our study as presented here unravels a new role for 14-3-3γ in protecting p21 from MDMX-mediated proteasomal turnover, which may partially account for DNA damage-induced elevation of p21 levels independent of p53.
The comparative analysis of ethnoregional movements

(1979). The comparative analysis of ethnoregional movements. Ethnic and Racial Studies: Vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 260-274.
Effects of rotating backgrounds upon the perception of verticality

The effect of various types (sandpaper, spoke, spiral, and white) and speeds (0, 1/2, 3, 6, 12, and 30 rpm) of rotating disk backgrounds upon 276 Ss’ estimates of the apparent verticality of a line moved toward physical verticality in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction was investigated. The general finding was that the estimate of verticality was displaced away from pretest judgments in the direction of the disk rotation. The speed of rotation was significant with maximal vertical displacement at 6 rpm. The direction of line movement was significant with the result that maximal vertical displacement occurred when the line was moved in opposition to the direction of disk rotation. The type of disk employed made a significant difference in the estimates only when the line movement was opposite from the direction of disk rotation. Disks with inadequate stimulus contours (white) produced no significant effect. Results are discussed in terms of stimulus contour and ocular torsion.
Histochemical Analysis and Electromyographic Properties of Masticatory Muscles of the Guinea Pig Cavia Porcellus

The distribution of muscle fiber types and their electrical properties in subdivisions of the masticatory muscles in guinea pigs were individually investigated. Myosin ATPase, phosphorylase, and succinic dehydrogenase, were used to determine the types of muscle fiber. All the masticatory muscles consist of three fiber types (FOG, FG, and SO). However, the ratios of muscle fiber types in each masticatory muscle and in the subdivisions of the same muscle differ. Differences in the duration and the onset of electromyographic activity were determined for the same subdivisions of these muscles analyzed histochemically. The predominant active muscles are found always on one side during the entire cycle. It was found that in the case of the masseter the ipsilateral opening (working) muscles fire first, followed by the firing of the ipsilateral closing (balancing) muscles. In working muscle, the duration is longer and the level of electric activity is higher than in those of the balancing side. Both symmetric and asymmetric activities were found in deep masseters. The study reveals that in guinea pigs, the distribution of muscle fibers and their activity pattern vary among subdivisions of m. masseter, m. digastricus, and m. temporalis. The differences in regional muscular activity reflect differences in the fiber composition.
The dynamic evolution of the Iceland mantle plume: the lead isotope perspective

We report Pb isotope compositions of 42 Tertiary basalts from two widely separated paleo-rift zones from eastern and western Iceland spanning the age range 15.3-2.7 Ma. These samples have previously been well characterized in terms of major and trace element compositions, igneous and zeolite metamorphic petrography, KAr ages, and paleo-magnetostratigraphy. The Pb isotope temporal variation is smooth and cyclic. A maximum in radiogenic Pb is observed around 7–8 Ma, which is coincident in time with maxima in the volcanic production rates on Iceland and along the Reykjanes Ridge. In Pb isotope space the Iceland Tertiary basalts do not fit a binary mixing model between the depleted MORB source and a single radiogenic plume source, as previously suggested by LaSm and 87Sr86Sr variations. A third EM-I type component, apparently entrained by the206Pb-rich plume, is suggested. We show that the discrepancy simply reflects that the LaSm, 87Sr86Sr (and143Nd144Nd) of the two enriched plume components proposed are too similar to be resolvable in ternary mixtures containing a significant fraction of the depleted MORB mantle source (i.e. a third component). We also show that the contribution of the radiogenic Pb-rich plume component positively correlates with the lava production rate. The cyclicity in Pb isotope composition is consistent with a pulsating or blob-like plume interacting with the asthenospheric flow related to the Mid-Atlantic ridge spreading plate boundary.