cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Toward a Model of Transnational Advocacy Networks as Multistakeholder Global Governance: Conclusions and Future Research

This chapter closes the book with a discussion of what we have learned about multistakeholder participation in global governance for the information society broadly, and for the Internet in particular. It discusses the critical role of Transnational Advocacy Networks (TANs) as a model for multistakeholder partnerships, and what they mean for power dynamics in conference diplomacy. We argue that the IGF represents a new form of international institution, and is the foundation for an emergent global governance mechanism. The chapter explores the factors that enabled some transnational networks to persist and thrive, while others failed, and sees linkages with epistemic communities and the use of information and communication technologies as critical to network effectiveness. We conclude the chapter by making specific recommendations for civil society and the United Nations to harness the potential of TANs as a model for multistakeholder global governance, especially through the use of what we call “Policy Collaboratories,” and lay out an agenda for future research.
Probation Officers’ Perceptions of Supervising Probationers with Mental Illness in Rural and Urban Settings

As part of a larger study of probation workload and workforce challenges in one southeastern state, this study reports the results from a statewide survey of probation officers’ experiences supervising probationers with mental illness. A total of 615 officers responded to closed- and open-ended questions about the challenges and barriers to supervising offenders with mental illness, and the responses of officers from rural versus urban settings were compared. Officers reported that probationers with mental illness are difficult to supervise and supervision challenges are exacerbated by a scarcity of mental health and substance abuse treatment resources, limited social support, and a lack of employment opportunities for this population of probationers. Officers report unique and similar challenges across rural and urban settings. This study contributes to our understanding of the challenges of supervising probationers with mental illness and informs practice, policy and research at the interface of the criminal justice and mental health systems.
CHAPTER 82 – A Toxicological Assessment of Sulfur as a Pesticide*

This chapter outlines usage, environmental fate, and effects of sulfur. Elemental sulfur is the most heavily used crop protection chemical; it is generally applied to crops as a dust to combat fungal disease, at rates of approximately 10 to 30 lbs. The range of fungal diseases controlled by sulfur includes brown rot, scab, mildew, powdery mildew, and rusts. It is also used, to a lesser extent, for the control of mites and insects, which may be secondary to fungal damage of the plant. The main crops on which sulfur is used in California are grapes (71%), tomatoes (12%), and sugar beet (8%). As a natural substance, environmental fate requirements for sulfur have been waived. In a variety of literature reports, sulfur has been shown to be oxidized in the presence of water and soil to the sulfite and then the sulfate. The supplementation of fertilizers with sulfur has been used intentionally to acidify soils, which are too alkaline for a particular crop. Sulfur is a potent skin irritant in humans. Isolated cases have also been reported in applicators and field workers in Washington State. However, standard skin irritation tests in laboratory animals for most agricultural formulations have not shown irritation.
LIDAR for Scribbler 2

This paper describes a project to enhance a commonly used educational robot, the Parallax Scribbler 2 (S2), by adding more sensor capabilities and making it truly autonomous. The S2 is a popular platform in high school and college robotics courses yet it lacks significant capacity that is compensated by often pairing it with Fluke 2, an interface/controller card developed by a third party group. However, while improving the robot's capability the Fluke card provides limited support for truly autonomous navigation, mainly due to the simplicity of some of the sensors as well as the technology used. In this project, the Fluke is replaced by a LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) sensor with communication supported by a IOIO-OTG (pronounced “yo-yo-O-T-G”) developer board and an inexpensive Android device. The resulting platform will allow for more reliable mapping capabilities as well as open the door for S2 based autonomous navigation to be studied and developed as part of robotics education.
Effects of Inelastic Neutron Scattering in Magnetic Confinement Fusion Devices

Components, surrounding the core of a magnetic confinement based fusion reactor, will be exposed to significant particle and heat fluxes that will cause severe (in many cases irreversible) damage of the components. In the D-T fusion reaction 80% of the energy is carried away by the 14 MeV neutrons and the rest by the emitted alpha particles. Motion of neutrons is not restricted by the present magnetic field, which is why the damage they cause by interacting with surrounding materials is to a large extent inevitable. The greater the neutron flux to the material the larger the damage, and shorter the lifespan of the reactor component taking the flux. In order to make fusion economically viable it is important to increase the lifespan of the components since they are costly to produce, replace and dispose of. It is the premise of this work that neutron inelastic scattering plays an important role in neutron transport in MCF systems. This reaction mechanism has been overlooked in neutron transport calculations. Planned work entails modeling of inelastic scattering using reaction codes and results compared with experiment where possible. Data obtained will be further used in neutron transport calculations and in damage analysis of various materials in order to establish how significant inelastic scattering is for the viability of fusion energy production.
Submarine Landslide Generated Waves Modeled Using Depth-Integrated Equations

A mathematical model is derived to describe the generation, and propagation of water waves by a submarine landslide. The model consists of a depth-integrated continuity equation, and a momentum equation, in which the ground movement is a forcing function. These equations include full nonlinear, but weakly dispersive effects. The model is also capable of describing wave propagation from relatively deep water to shallow water. A numerical algorithm is developed for the general fully nonlinear model. As a case study, tsunamis generated by a prehistoric massive submarine slump off the northern coast of Puerto Rico are modeled. The evolution of the created waves, and the large runup due to them is discussed.
Multicultural Health, 2nd ed., by Lois A. Ritter and Donald H. Graham

Multicultural Health is a good book for all health care professionals and public health workers who work in a diverse society and a diverse set of cultures. This book discusses in detail the contex...
ATR Vowel Harmony: new patterns and diagnostics

This paper presents a large-scale typological study of over 500 Nilo-Saharan and Niger-Congo vowel inventories, both with and without ATR harmony. The survey reveals: i) ATR contrasts in high vowels correlate with a strong likelihood of ATR harmony; ii) the vowel system /i e ɛ a ɔ o u/ (termed 1IU in Casali 2008) does not correlate well with ATR harmony. In Nilo-Saharan, such systems do not show ATR harmony, and in Niger-Congo, the majority of such systems also do not have harmony. The survey results are interpreted in terms of perceptual distance, driven by inventory contrast. High vowel ATR contrasts are perceptually more difficult than mid contrasts and activate harmony. In languages that lack mid vowel contrasts, [+ATR] harmony derives allophonic [e o] from /ɛ ɔ/. In languages that lack high vowel contrasts, mid vowel contrasts do not present enough of a perceptual difficulty to reliably activate harmony. If harmony is present, it tends to operate only between mid vowels and does not generate allophonic high vowels.
Vulnerability of the Largest Normalized Residual Statistical Test to Leverage Points

The largest normalized residual statistical test (LNRT) is claimed to have the ability to detect noncritical single or multiple interacting but nonconforming bad data. However, we show in this letter that this claim does not always hold true for bad leverage points. Specifically, we prove that while a single noncritical and nonleverage measurement that is corrupted by a sufficiently large gross error is likely to be detected, the same measurement in a position of leverage and corrupted by the same gross error is unlikely to be detected. Furthermore, we show that multiple noncritical bad leverage points that are topologically adjacent to each other naturally form one or several groups of interacting bad data, which may cause the LNRT to fail. Since leverage points are common in actual power systems, the LNRT is doomed to frequently fail to detect bad data. Simulation results carried out on IEEE 30-bus system validate our theoretical results.
International Astronomical Search Collaboration

The International Astronomical Search Collaboration was founded in October 2006 at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, TX. This is an online educational outreach program, in which high school and college students make original discoveries of Solar System objects; such objects include near-Earth objects, Main Belt asteroids, Trojan asteroids, Centaurs, trans-Neptunian objects, and comets.Images from professional observatories are provided online to the participating schools. Students download these and use the software Astrometrica to search for, discover, and measure these objects. The student observations and astrometric measurements are validated, then submitted to the Minor Planet Center at Harvard University. To date, there have been 1311 submissions of new objects not yet confirmed with subsequent observations, and 50 that are confirmed as new objects, numbered and named by their student discoverers.
Surgical and Nonsurgical Treatment of Penetrating Spinal Cord Injury: Analysis of Long-term Neurological and Functional Outcomes

Objective: To describe long-term neurological and functional outcomes for patients with penetrating spinal cord injury (PSCI) following surgical (SX) and nonsurgical (NSX) treatment. Methods: We identified all patients with PSCI in the Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems database from 1994-2015. Patients with PSCI were divided into surgical (SX) and nonsurgical (NSX) groups. Outcomes were measured using the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) motor scores. Outcomes were then analyzed separately for patients with complete and incomplete PSCI during acute hospitalization, SCI rehabilitation, and 1-year follow-up. Results: For patients with complete PSCI, acute hospital length of stay (LOS) was increased in the SX group (19 days vs 14 days; p < .0001) while median FIM motor scores were similar at 1-year follow-up (74 vs 75; p = .4). The percentage of patients with complete PSCI remained similar between groups at discharge from SCI rehabilitation (88% vs 88%; p = 0.5). For patients with incomplete PSCIs, acute hospital LOS was similar between groups (13 vs 11; p = .3) and no difference was observed in ASIA Impairment Scale improvement at discharge from rehabilitation (38% vs 37%; p = .9) or in FIM scores at 1 year (84 vs 85; p = .6). Conclusion: Surgery for patients with complete PSCI is associated with increased acute hospital LOS for complete PSCI and is not associated with improvement in neurological or functional outcomes in patients with either complete or incomplete PSCI.
In Vitro Leakage Testing of Tissue Containment Bags When Subjected to Power Morcellation Forces.

ABSTRACT Study Objective To determine the ability of tissue containment systems to prevent leakage of cancer cell surrogates when subjected to forces encountered during power morcellation procedures. Design In vitro study. Setting Medical device research laboratory. Interventions Samples from 7 different legally marketed tissue containment bags (1 of which is indicated for power morcellation) were subjected to dye and bacteriophage penetration tests at pressures ranging from 0.5 to 50 times the insufflation pressure. The minimum pressure required to cause bag leakage was measured. Subsequently, the morcellation leakage safety factor for each bag was determined as the ratio of the minimum leakage pressure of the bag to the total pressure contributed from insufflation pressure and mechanical forces acting during the power morcellation procedure. Measurement and Main Results The leakage performance of the bags varied markedly from brand to brand. No correlation was found between leakage pressure and the bag material or the total bag thickness. The leakage pressures ranged from 26 mmHg to >1293 mmHg for the 7 bags, and safety factors ranged from 1 to 50 when only the insufflation pressure was considered. However, if the morcellation forces were included in the calculation, the safety factor dropped by 6-fold for all brands and dropped below 1, indicating likelihood of leakage, for 2 of the 7 brands. Conclusion This study provides a mechanism for more realistically simulating the conditions experienced by containment bags during morcellation and quantifying the level of safety provided by the bags.
Effect of preoperative gabapentin and acetaminophen on opioid consumption in video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery: a retrospective study.

Background Patients undergoing video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) are particularly vulnerable to opioid-induced sedation and hypoventilation. Accordingly, reducing opioid consumption in these patients is a primary goal of multimodal analgesic regimens. Although administration of preoperative gabapentin and acetaminophen has been shown to decrease postoperative opioid consumption in other surgeries, this approach has not been studied in VATS lobectomy. Our objective was to examine the impact of the addition of preoperative gabapentin and acetaminophen to a VATS lobectomy multimodal analgesic plan on postoperative opioid consumption, nausea/vomiting, and sedation. Methods With IRB approval, we performed a retrospective chart review of patients who underwent VATS lobectomy at a single center between 2015 and 2016 to identify those that received preoperative gabapentin and acetaminophen and those that received neither. Opioid consumption in the first 24 hours postoperatively was converted to oral morphine equivalents (OMEQs). Postoperative sedation was evaluated using Aldrete scores and the percentage of patients requiring antiemetics in the first 24 hours was also examined. Results There were 133 patients who were opioid naive: 31 received preoperative gabapentin and acetaminophen and 102 received neither. Median 24 hour postoperative opioid consumption was lower but not statistically significant in the gabapentin and acetaminophen group vs. neither (36 mg vs. 45 mg, p = 0.08). Notably, there was a change in the distribution of opioid consumption, with no patients in the gabapentin and acetaminophen group requiring more than 200 mg OMEQ in the first 24 hours postoperatively. No significant difference in postoperative nausea/vomiting or sedation was observed. Conclusions The addition of preoperative gabapentin and acetaminophen to a VATS lobectomy multimodal analgesic regimen reduces the incidence of high dose postoperative opioid consumption without observed negative side effects.
Rare-Earth Supported Nickel Catalysts for Alkyne Semihydrogenation: Chemo- And Regioselectivity Impacted by the Lewis Acidity and Size of the Support

Bimetallic catalysts of nickel(0) with a trivalent rare-earth ion or Ga(III), NiML3 (where L is [iPr2PCH2NPh]−, and M is Sc, Y, La, Lu, or Ga), were investigated for the selective hydrogenation of ...
Disaggregating “China, Inc.”: The Hierarchical Politics of WTO Entry:

How does state structure affect responses to globalization? This article examines why some parts of the Chinese state enacted more liberalizing policies than others in response to World Trade Organ...
Measuring complacency in humans interacting with autonomous agents in a multi-agent system

With advances in machine learning, autonomous agents are increasingly able to navigate uncertain operational environments, as is the case within the multi-domain operations (MDO) paradigm. When teaming with humans, autonomous agents may flexibly switch between passive bystander and active executor depending on the task requirements and the actions being taken by partners (whether human or agent). In many tasks, it is possible that a well-trained agent's performance will exceed that of a human, in part because the agent's performance is less likely to degrade over time (e.g., due to fatigue). This potential difference in performance might lead to complacency, which is a state defined by over-trust in automated systems. This paper investigates the effects of complacency in human-agent teams, where agents and humans have the same capabilities in a simulated version of the predator-prey pursuit task. We compare subjective measures of the human's predisposition to complacency and trust using various scales, and we validate their beliefs by quantifying complacency through various metrics associated with the actions taken during the task with trained agents of varying reliability levels. By evaluating the effect of complacency on performance, we can attribute a degree of variation in human performance in this task to complacency. We can then account for an individual human's complacency measure to customize their agent teammates and human-in-the-loop requirements (either to minimize or compensate for the human's complacency) to optimize team performance.
Coping with Patients’ Death and Dying

Death is a topic that is often uncomfortable to discuss with patients and families in practice. Even in graduate and clinical training, the concept of loss can evoke a range of feelings that questions individuals’ comfort level talking about mortality. When this issue arises in clinical practice, beginning therapists can feel stuck on how to effectively process this concept in both one’s personal life and with patients. This chapter introduces how working with chronic and terminal illness will often test one’s perspectives on the meaning of living and dying. Topics will familiarize readers with how they can better understand and ready themselves for working in this delicate area. The authors will provide suggestions regarding the navigation of difficult topics around death and dying.
The psychosocial effects of Native American mascots: a comprehensive review of empirical research findings

Approximately 2,000 teams in the U.S. utilize Native American mascots, the majority of which are associated with schools. Across the nation there continue to be many intense conflicts over these ma...
Analysis of textbook outcomes among patients undergoing resection of retroperitoneal sarcoma: A multi-institutional analysis of the US Sarcoma Collaborative.

BACKGROUND The novel composite metric textbook outcome (TO) has increasingly been used as a quality indicator but has not been reported among patients undergoing surgical resection for retroperitoneal sarcoma (RPS) using multi-institutional collaborative data. METHODS All patients who underwent resection for RPS between 2000 to 2016 from eight academic institutions were included. TO was defined as a patient with R0/R1 resection that discharged to home and was without transfusion, reoperation, grade ≥2 complications, hospital-stay >50th percentile, or 90-day readmission or mortality. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed. RESULTS Among 627 patients, 56.1% were female and the median age was 59 years. A minority of patients achieved a TO (34.9%). Factors associated with achieving a TO were tumor size <20 cm and low tumor grade, while ASA class ≥3, history of a prior cardiac event, resection of left colon/rectum, distal pancreatic resection, major venous resection and drain placement were associated with not achieving a TO (all P < .05). Achievement of a TO was associated with improved survival (median:12.7 vs 5.9 years, P < .01). CONCLUSIONS Among patients undergoing resection for RPS, failure to achieve TO is common and associated with significantly worse survival. The use of TO may inform patient expectations and serve as a measure for patient-level hospital performance.
Media and the Development of Gender Role Stereotypes

This review summarizes recent findings (2000–2020) concerning media's contributions to the development of gender stereotypes in children and adolescents. Content analyses document that there contin...
Assessment of Postoperative Pain and Opioid Consumption Following Laryngeal Surgery: A Pilot Study.

Summary The epidemic of opioid use in the United States has been declared a national public health crisis due to the rapid increase in drug overdose mortality. Physician overprescribing has been identified as one of many contributing factors, with most patients receiving excess opioid pain medication. Furthermore, there is a significant correlation between prescribed opioid dosage and mortality. Postoperative pain is a well-recognized clinical problem, but little has been done to advance or standardize pain management protocols. The purpose of this study was to determine the expected postoperative pain severity and quantity of opioid analgesic required for adequate pain management after laryngeal surgery. Methods Adult voice center patients who had recently undergone laryngeal surgery were included in this retrospective review. Tylenol #3 had been prescribed for all patients for pain management and they had been instructed to take additional over-the-counter acetaminophen as needed. In the senior author's (RTS) practice, patients are asked routinely to report pain severity and analgesic use during postoperative visits. All patients who had this information available were included in the cohort. Opioid medication consumed, over-the-counter medication consumed, and pain level (scale of 0-10 with 10 being most severe) were analyzed over the first week postoperatively. Results There were 43 patients (19 male, 24 female) included in the retrospective cohort (average age = 46.8 ± 18.6, range = 18-82). Procedures performed included vocal fold mass excision (48.8%), type I thyroplasty (27.9%), laser vaporization of vascular lesions (11.6%), laser stenosis resection (9.3%), and VF medialization injection with abdominal fat harvest (7.0%). Overall, voice surgery patients reported mild to moderate pain (2.1-4.7 out of 10). An average of 13.2 ± 2.8 T3 tablets were prescribed for pain management (range = 10-20), and no patient required more T3 tablets than the number provided. Sixteen patients (37.2%) supplemented or substituted their T3 medication for it with OTC acetaminophen. No patients used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for supplemental pain management. Consumption of both T3 pain medication (r = 0.444) and OTC acetaminophen (r = 0.274) was correlated significantly with postoperative pain severity (P 0.05). There were no significant differences between type of procedure performed for number of T3 tablets prescribed, number of T3 tablets taken, or number of OTC tablets taken (P > 0.05). Younger age was correlated significantly with a higher number of OTC tablets consumed (r = -0.316, P = 0.039). Women consumed more OTC pain medications than men. Conclusions Most patients in this study reported mild to moderate postoperative pain. Adequate pain management was achieved using less pain medication tablets than the number prescribed. Type I thyroplasty was associated with more severe pain than other surgeries. Women used more OTC pain medications than men with no significant difference in reported pain level.
Civic Ideology, Organization, and Law in the Rule Scrolls

Using insights from modern sociology, this book argues that the organization, law, and literature of the Dead Sea Scrolls sect expressed an "alternative civic ideology" by which members claimed citizenship in a superior commonwealth that would soon replace the existing Judean state.
SU-E-T-473: Improvements of GPU Based Calculations Over CPU Based Calculations and the Effects of Variable Computer Hardware

Purpose: To compare the calculation times in Raystation treatment planning system (TPS) for different graphical processor units (GPU). Also, to determine the amount of time saved by using a GPU based calculation. Methods: Four different hardware configurations were utilized. (DC1) – Intel Xeon E5-2650 dual CPU with 64 GB RAM and nVidia Quadro K4000 GPU. (DC1 Titan Black) – Same configuration as (DC1) but with nVidia Titan Black GPU. (RVW1) – Intel Xeon E5-2650 CPU with 32 GB RAM and nVidia Quadro K4000 GPU. (RVW2) – Intel Xeon E5-2650 CPU with 16 GB of RAM and Quadro K2000 GPU. Dose calculation was also performed without the GPU on DC1 and RVW2. Seven clinically delivered treatment plans were elected. The plans were picked with varying IMRT complexities. Each plan was calculated consecutively eleven times, and each plan had a uniform dose grid voxel size of 2 mm3. Results: When compared to non-GPU calculation, the average time on DC1 with GPU improved by 21.8% (range: 9.4%–38.9%). Similarly, the average time on RVW2 with GPU improved by 42.3% (range: 35.3%–50.5%). Also, the DC1 Titan Black average calculation time was 48.6% faster (range: 13.1%–73.4%) than the nVidia Quadro GPU models. Overall, the DC1 Titan Black calculation times outperformed DC1 non-GPU by an average of 58.3% (range: 32.9%–77.5%) For the prostate and nodes study, the DC1 Titan Black reduced times from 724±2.5 seconds 205±1.0 seconds. Conclusion: Dose calculation time is reduced with the addition of a GPU. Also, the nVidia Titan Black GPU provided better time savings than the nVidia Quadro GPU models. Available RAM also plays a role in calculation time due to system lag when the memory reaches capacity. The clinical user must determine the best hardware specifications for his or her institution based on speed but also on monetary cost.
Abstract 4041: Involvement of Notch1 signaling pathway in medulloblastoma metastasis

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Medulloblastoma (MB) is a malignant brain tumor that originates in the cerebellum in children and spreads via the cerebrospinal fluid to the leptomeningeal spaces of the brain and of the spinal cord. MB is stratified into four distinct groups, according to genetic and clinical features, and patients from group 3 (also known as c-Myc-amplified group) have the highest risk of developing metastatic disease and, consequently, a poor prognosis. Treatment protocols involve surgery, craniospinal radiation, and high-dose chemotherapy, which frequently cause disabling neurotoxic effects in long-term survivors. We used MB cell lines and primary cells isolated from patients from the c-Myc-amplified group to develop a spontaneous spinal metastasis orthotopic xenograft model as a tool to understand the cellular determinants of leptomeningeal and spinal dissemination. Human cells isolated from the primary site tumors expressed 10 fold higher NICD1 (Notch1 Intracellular Domain), the active form of Notch1, than cells isolated from spinal metastatic sites (as quantified by western blot and imunohistochemistry), suggesting the downregulation of canonical Notch1 signaling pathway in MB metastasis. Moreover, flow cytometry analyses revealed that a higher percentage of cells isolated from metastatic sites expressed full-length surface Notch1 as compared to the primary site tumor. These differences cannot be explained by enrichment in the stem cell population at primary tumor sites, as we observed that MB cells isolated from primary tumors and metastatic sites exhibit equivalent self-renewal potential and express equivalent levels of CD133 and CD15. Our goal is to understand the role of notch in regulating medulloblastoma metastasis. Citation Format: Suzana A. Kahn, Sharareh Gholamin, Michael Zhang, Ryan Nitta, Irving Weissman, Siddhartha Mitra, Samuel Cheshier. Involvement of Notch1 signaling pathway in medulloblastoma metastasis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4041. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4041
Accessing Web Based Multimedia Contents for the Visually Challenged: Combined Tree Structure and XML Metadata

We present an Integrated Multimedia Interface for the VIsually Challenged (IMIVIC), a multimedia data visualization technique for a web browser that combines a tree structure and XML metadata. We discuss two different approaches to provide an efficient multimedia interface for the blind people, which turned out to be important in the construction of IMIVIC. The first approach is the implementation of web contents with a tree structure, which integrates many different web pages into a single page. The second approach is the creation of external metadata to describe dynamically changing multimedia contents. We demonstrate our approach in an on-line training website and show how this combined approach helps visually challenged users access multimedia data on the web, with appropriate test.
MORAL REGULATION IN A POSTCOLONIAL NATION-STATE

This paper looks at two instances of ‘moral panic’ in the recent history of Pakistan. As women are the repositories of national culture, their moral and sexual regulation is arguably coextensive with state formation. However, in countries like Pakistan, this process cannot be understood as based on some pre-given ‘Muslimness’; rather, Islamization itself is contested terrain and not the only source of meaning, with local tribal traditions and complex class alignments equally at play. This is demonstrated in the first case that I discuss: General Zia ul-Haq's military regime's enactment of a series of laws in the1980s – the Zina Ordinance and the Laws of Evidence – aimed at controlling women's sexual, social and political status. A direct consequence of these policies and their implementation was the launch of a counter-attack against the regime by urban middle-class women who formed an umbrella organization of feminist groups and individuals, deploying innovative forms of cultural protest in a situation w...
Relation of the tocopherol forms to incident Alzheimer disease and to cognitive change.

Background High intake of vitamin E from food (tocopherol), but not from supplements (which usually contain alpha-tocopherol), is inversely associated with Alzheimer disease. Objective We examined whether food intakes of vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol equivalents (a measure of the relative biologic activity of tocopherols and tocotrienols), or individual tocopherols would protect against incident Alzheimer disease and cognitive decline over 6 y in participants of the Chicago Health and Aging Project. Design The 1993-2002 study of community residents aged >or=65 y included the administration of 4 cognitive tests and clinical evaluations for Alzheimer disease. Dietary assessment was by food-frequency questionnaire. Results Tocopherol intake from food was related to the 4-y incidence of Alzheimer disease determined by logistic regression in 1041 participants who were clinically evaluated (n=162 incident cases) and to change in a global cognitive score determined by mixed models in 3718 participants. Higher intakes of vitamin E (relative risk: 0.74 per 5 mg/d increase; 95% CI: 0.62, 0.88) and alpha-tocopherol equivalents (relative risk: 0.56 per 5 mg/d increase; 95% CI: 0.32, 0.98) were associated with a reduced incidence of Alzheimer disease in separate multiple-adjusted models that included intakes of saturated and trans fats and docosahexaenoic acid. alpha- and gamma-Tocopherol had independent associations. In separate mixed models, a slower rate of cognitive decline was associated with intakes of vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol equivalents, and alpha- and gamma-tocopherols. Conclusion The results suggest that various tocopherol forms rather than alpha- tocopherol alone may be important in the vitamin E protective association with Alzheimer disease.
An industrial perspective of software architecture

The software architecture of a system describes how it is decomposed into components, how these components are interconnected, and how they communicate and interact with each other and with the environment. Software architecture represents critical, system-wide design decisions which affect quality, reconfigurability and reuse, and the cost for development and maintenance. In order to understand architecture as it is practised in the real world, we conducted a survey of a variety of industrial software systems. Our survey revealed the need for rigorous descriptions, systematic techniques, and well-defined processes to make architecture-level software development an engineering practice rather than an art. >
Critical elements of a school report to parents on body mass index

School-based body mass index (BMI) screening and reporting could have a positive impact on student health, but best practices for writing a report are unknown. Building on previous qualitative work, 8 focus groups were conducted with a diverse group of California parents (n = 79) to elicit feedback on report content and design. Results indicate that parents want a visually appealing, picture-heavy report that clearly defines BMI, avoids stigmatizing language, and includes recommendations for appropriate actions whole families can take. Next steps involve using the final report in a statewide, randomized trial to determine the effectiveness of school-based BMI screening and reporting in reducing childhood obesity.
A BIST approach for counterfeit circuit detection based on NBTI degradation

This paper presents a simple BIST enhancement to detect counterfeit circuits which experience aging delays. The approach is based on the NBTI aging factor. HSPICE simulations on 45nm and 65nm technologies using a predictive NBTI degradation model are presented. The results indicate that counterfeit circuits undergone minimal stress are detected consistently in the presence of process variations.
Inconsistent values for iron content complicate recommending clams as an iron source.

Abstract In the United States, food tables for iron sources often list clams among the top food sources for this nutrient. Canned and pouched processed clam products (chopped, minced, and whole form) were collected from five major supermarkets in Honolulu, Hawaii. Iron content was analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-emission spectroscopy (ICP-ES). Analyzed iron content ranged from 0.86 to 59.46 mg/100 g of drained product, or 4 to 180% Daily Value (% DV). Product nutrition facts panels (labels) of these analyzed products displayed iron content ranging from 2 to 100% DV. The mean iron content of products labeled as chopped or minced (n = 10) was 1.4 mg/100 g of drained product (0.86–2.4 mg/100 g), whereas products labeled as whole baby or baby (n = 16) averaged 30.5 mg/100 g (12.2–59.5 mg/100 g). Knowledge of product brand, country of origin, or label % DV were not reliable indicators of product iron content. Overall, chopped and minced canned clam products were too low in iron to be considered a good iron source; however, baby clam products were very high in iron. These inconsistent values for clam iron content should be taken into account when recommending clam products as a dietary source of iron.
Effect of aluminium solids and chlorine on cold water pitting of copper

Both aluminium solids and chlorine are often present in potable water systems, but their effect on copper corrosion and pitting is not well understood. Circumstantial evidence from one system with copper pitting problems suggested that high chlorine residuals and aluminium solids might be contributing factors. To test this hypothesis, a series of experiments were conducted to examine their effect on copper corrosion under stagnant and flow conditions. Although chlorine alone impacted copper corrosion, a synergistic reaction was discovered between chlorine and aluminium solids when exposed to copper. Evidence for this effect was seen in increased chlorine decay rates, increased non-uniform copper corrosion, and rising corrosion potentials during exposure. It is likely this reaction is involved in copper pit initiation.
Generation of Multiple Bioactive Macrolides by Hybrid Modular Polyketide Synthases in Streptomyces venezuelae

The plasmid-based replacement of the multifunctional protein subunits of the pikromycin PKS in S. venezuelae by the corresponding subunits from heterologous modular PKSs resulted in recombinant strains that produce both 12- and 14-membered ring macrolactones with predicted structural alterations. In all cases, novel macrolactones were produced and further modified by the DesVII glycosyltransferase and PikC hydroxylase, leading to biologically active macrolide structures. These results demonstrate that hybrid PKSs in S. venezuelae can produce a multiplicity of new macrolactones that are modified further by the highly flexible DesVII glycosyltransferase and PikC hydroxylase tailoring enzymes. This work demonstrates the unique capacity of the S. venezuelae pikromycin pathway to expand the toolbox of combinatorial biosynthesis and to accelerate the creation of novel biologically active natural products.
A meta-model for formulating knowledge-based models of software development

Abstract In this paper, we introduce a knowledge-based meta-model which serves as a unified resource model for integrating characteristics of major types of objects appearing in software development models (SDMs). The URM consists of resource classes and a web of relations that link different types of resources found in different kinds of models of software development. The URM includes specialized models for software models for software systems, documents, agents, tools, and development processes. The URM has served as the basis for integrating and interoperating a number of process-centered CASE environments. The major benefit of the URM is twofold: First, it forms a higher level of abstraction supporting SDM formulation that subsumes many typical models of software development objects. Hence, it enables a higher level of reusability for existing support mechanisms of these models. Second, it provides a basis to support complex reasoning mechanisms that address issues across different types of software objects. To explore these features, we describe the URM both formally and with a detailed example, followed by a characterization of the process of SDM composition, and then by a characterization of the life cycle of activities involved in an overall model formulation process.
Influence of the C-Terminal Residues on Oligomerization of αA-Crystallin†

Earlier studies have shown that the chaperone activity of alpha-crystallin is significantly affected in diabetic rat and human lenses. Subsequently, mass spectrometric analysis showed diabetic lenses having high levels of the alphaA-crystallins in which different numbers of C-terminal residues were deleted. The present study was aimed to show whether cleavage of these residues influences protein structure, oligomerization, and chaperone function. For generation of various mutants, a stop codon was introduced at the positions of interest, proteins were expressed in BL21(DE3)pLys S E. coli, and the truncated alphaA-crystallins were purified by size-exclusion chromatography. The molecular masses, as determined by molecular sieve HPLC, of mutants with deletions of 1, 5, and 10 C-terminal residues (group-1) were 519-602 kDa, and those of mutants with deletions of 11, 16, and 22 C-terminal residues (group-2) were 148-152 kDa, as compared to 607 kDa for alphaA-wild type. On the basis of circular dichroism measurements, the alpha helix content was 2-fold higher and the tertiary structure was significantly altered in the group-2 mutants. Chaperoning abilities, as determined by the ADH assay and the betaL-crystallin heat denaturation assay, of the group-1 mutants, with the exception of alphaA(1-163), were slightly improved or unchanged, that of alphaA(1-163) was moderately affected, and those of the group-2 mutants were severely affected. Most strikingly, cleavage of 11 C-terminal residues including Arg-163 showed a substantial decrease in oligomeric size and chaperone function and significant changes in protein structure whereas cleavage of 10 residues had either a small effect or no effect at all. This points to an important role for the C-terminal extension, Arg-163 in particular, and no significant role for the C-terminal flexible tail in the oligomer assembly of alphaA-crystallin.
Molecular mechanisms of acrolein-mediated myelin destruction in CNS trauma and disease

Myelin is a critical component of the nervous system facilitating efficient propagation of electrical signals and thus communication between the central and peripheral nervous systems and the organ systems that they innervate throughout the body. In instances of neurotrauma and neurodegenerative disease, injury to myelin is a prominent pathological feature responsible for conduction deficits, and leaves axons vulnerable to damage from noxious compounds. Although the pathological mechanisms underlying myelin loss have yet to be fully characterized, oxidative stress (OS) appears to play a prominent role. Specifically, acrolein, a neurotoxic aldehyde that is both a product and an instigator of OS, has been observed in studies to elicit demyelination through calcium-independent and -dependent mechanisms and also by affecting glutamate uptake and promoting excitotoxicity. Furthermore, pharmacological scavenging of acrolein has demonstrated a neuroprotective effect in animal disease models, by conserving myelin's structural integrity and alleviating functional deficits. This evidence indicates that acrolein may be a key culprit of myelin damage while acrolein scavenging could potentially be a promising therapeutic approach for patients suffering from nervous system trauma and disease.
Closed-form analysis of dual-diversity equal-gain combining over Rayleigh fading channels

Starting with a new expression for the probability density function of the signal-to-noise ratio at the output of dual-diversity equal-gain combining (EGC) over Rayleigh channels, we provide closed-form expressions for the average bit and symbol error rate of M-ary phase-shift keying signals. Numerical examples indicate that EGC maintains a good diversity gain as long as the degree of unbalance is not very low but suffers a sharp and significant degradation when the degree of unbalance approaches zero.
View from the bridge: Reflections of a recovering staff model HMO psychiatrist

The phenomenon of managed care is misperceived by its critics as a movement. Atheoretical in nature, and driven by spiralling health care costs, it represents the introduction of an executive function into the free-for-all (a supremely ironic term) of American medicine. Part one of this article traces the origin and development of the mental health carve-out, relating it to its antecedents, and describing its 3 overlapping phases: utilization review, discounted fees, and network development and management. Part two describes the key concept of the continuum of care and the role of the case manager in monitoring a care episode. The article concludes by anticipating seven future trends and calling for mental health leadership to recognize and ally with the need to manage resources in a more rational and efficient manner.
Mechanism of left ventricular outflow obstruction in patients with obstructive asymmetric septal hypertrophy (Idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis)

Left ventricular outflow obstruction in patients with idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis or obstructive asymmetric septal hypertrophy is due to abnormal forward motion during systole of the anterior mitral leaflet. To determine why some patients with this disease hav left ventricular outflow obstruction whereas others do not, we studied a large number of patiens with assymetric septal hypertrophy using both one- and two-dimensional echocardiography. In 100 patients with asymmetric septal hypertrophy and 22 normal subjects, mitral valve position at the onset of systole was quantitated by measuring the distance from the ventricular septum to the mitral valve and the distance from the mitral valve to the posterior left ventricular wall. None of the normal subjects and only 3 (6 percent) of 51 patients with nonobstructive asymmetric septal hypertrophy had a septal-mitral valve distance of less than 20 mm compared with 23 (66 percent) of 35 patients with obstructive asymmetric septal hypertrophy. Moreover, the mitral valve at the onset of systole was actually positioned forward in the left ventricular activity. Two-dimensional studies in 11 patients with obstructive asymmetric septal hypertrophy revealed that contraction of the malaligned papillary muscles did not cause the abnormal forward mitral valve motion. We propose that the left ventricular outflow obstruction in patients with obstructive asymmetric septal hypertrophy occurs as a result of two factors: (1) narrowing of the left ventricular outflow tract at the onset of systole, and (2) hydrodynamic forces generated by contraction on the left ventricle.
Assessing the Fractionated Spacecraft Concept

This paper assesses the concept of fractionated spacecraft. Spacecraft fractionation transforms the traditional monolithic spacecraft into a set of free-flying modules, where infrastructure modules provide a payload module with power, communications, etc. Once launched, the supporting modules could be reused for other missions, and if standardized, they could form a whole on-orbit infrastructure that could support different payloads. First, models were developed to assess different fractionated architectures and compare them with traditional ones in terms of cost and value derived by potential customers using multi-attribute analysis. This evaluation is done in terms of traditional attributes such as mass and cost, but also in terms of non-traditional attributes such as maintainability, flexibility, scalability, and responsiveness. This architectural analysis demonstrates that if these non-traditional attributes are valued enough, customers would choose fractionated spacecraft over traditional ones. Second, this paper examines a new industrial paradigm that may be created by fractionation, its impact on the aerospace industry, and the major barriers that prevent its implementation. It makes policy recommendations to enable the shift from todays paradigm to the fractionated spacecraft paradigm.