cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Maternal Work Early in the Lives of Children and Its Distal Associations with Achievement and Behavior Problems: A Meta-Analysis.

This meta-analysis of 69 studies (1,483 effect sizes) used random effects models to examine maternal employment during infancy/early childhood in relation to 2 major domains of child functioning: achievement and behavior problems. Analyses of studies that spanned 5 decades indicated that, with a few exceptions, early employment was not significantly associated with later achievement or internalizing/externalizing behaviors. The exceptions were for teacher ratings of achievement and internalizing behaviors: Employment was associated with higher achievement and fewer internalizing behaviors. Substantial heterogeneity among the effect sizes prompted examination of moderators. Sample-level moderator analyses pointed to the importance of socioeconomic and contextual variables, with early employment most beneficial when families were challenged by single parenthood or welfare status. Maternal employment during Years 2 and 3 was associated with higher achievement. Some moderator analyses indicated negative effects of employment for middle-class and 2-parent families and for very early employment (child's first year). Associations also differed depending on whether effect sizes were adjusted for contextual variables. Only 1 study-level moderator (sex of first author) was significant after adjusting for other moderators. The small effect size and primarily nonsignificant results for main effects of early maternal employment should allay concerns about mothers working when children are young. However, negative findings associated with employment during the child's first year are compatible with calls for more generous maternal leave policies. Results highlight the importance of social context for identifying under which conditions and for which subgroups early maternal employment is associated with positive or negative child outcomes.
The Notion of “Best Predictors”: An Application to Tornado Prediction

Abstract It is argued that the strength of a predictor is an ill-defined concept. At best, it is contingent on many assumptions, and, at worst, it is an ambiguous quantity. It is shown that many of the contingencies are met (or avoided) only in a bivariate sense, that is, one independent variable (and one dependent variable) at a time. Several such methods are offered after which data produced by the National Severe Storms Laboratory’s Tornado Detection Algorithm are analyzed for the purpose of addressing the question of which storm-scale vortex attributes based on Doppler radar constitute the “best predictors” of tornadoes.
The Millimeter and Submillimeter Rotational Spectrum of the KS Radical (X2Πi)

The pure rotational spectrum of the KS radical (X 2 Pi) has been recorded using millimeter/submillimeter direct absorption techniques in the range 248‐409 GHz. This work is the first laboratory detection of KS by any method. The species was created by the reaction of potassium vapor and CS under DC discharge conditions. Twenty2 three rotational transitions were measured in both spin-orbit components, and ; lambda-doubling Q 5 1/2 Q 5 3/2 splittings were resolved in each substate. These data were analyzed with a case (a) Hamiltonian, and the 2 P rotational, spin-orbit, and lambda-doubling parameters have been determined. The lambda-doubling p-constant was found to be anomalously large, indicating the presence of a state that is close by. The detection of KCl 2 S in the circumstellar shell of IRC 110216 indicates that potassium is present in the gas phase and may be in the form of other species such as KS. Subject headings: ISM: molecules — line: identification — molecular data
An LC‐ESI‐MS method for the quantitative analysis of bile acids composition in fecal materials

In this work, a liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) method was developed and validated for quantification of bile acids in fecal materials. Co-eluting matrix impurities in fecal materials have been shown to greatly suppress the ionization of analytes in mass spectrometry, which is known as the matrix effect. To correct large quantitative errors caused by the matrix effect, we developed a scheme that combined the standard addition method with internal standard (SA-IS). The fecal sample pretreatment involved a single step of extraction with ethanol. Bile acids were separated using a Luna C(18) column (150 mm, 2 mm i.d., 5 µm) with gradient elution. The deprotonated analytes were detected in selective ion monitoring mode. Our results showed that, by using this method, the accuracy of quantification was significantly improved in comparison to the conventional internal standard method. The linearity, sensitivity, accuracy and precision of the method were within the range of 0.05-5 µmol/L. This SA-IS method was successfully applied to the analysis of bile acids in the samples collected from patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease.
Mutations in LRRK2 potentiate age-related impairment of autophagic flux

Autophagy is thought to play a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease, but little is known about how genes linked to PD affect autophagy in the context of aging. We generated lines of C. elegans expressing reporters for the autophagosome and lysosome expressed only in dopaminergic neurons, and examined autophagy throughout the lifespan in nematode lines expressing LRRK2 and α-synuclein. Dopamine neurons exhibit a progressive loss of autophagic function with aging. G2019S LRRK2 inhibited autophagy and accelerated the age-related loss of autophagic function, while WT LRRK2 improved autophagy throughout the life-span. Expressing α-synuclein with G2019S or WT LRRK2 caused age-related synergistic inhibition of autophagy and increase in degeneration of dopaminergic neurons. The presence of α-synuclein particularly accentuated age-related inhibition of autophagy by G2019S LRRK2. This work indicates that LRRK2 exhibits a selective, age-linked deleterious interaction with α-synuclein that promotes neurodegeneration.
Non-linear Bundle Adjustment for Electron Tomography

High quality tomographic reconstruction from electron microscope images requires precise alignment of the images. This cannot be accomplished by simple 2D image transformations because the electron trajectories through the object are curvilinear. Accordingly, the alignment process requires an inferred object position and, in addition, nonlinear projection maps for each image. This may be accomplished by means of a generalized bundle adjustment when a consistent set of point-like objects is visible in each EM image. Alternatively, alignment may be accomplished by an extension of the method of occluded contours when a consistent set of linear features, such as projected outlines of surfaces can be identified. In the first case, we report on new results derived from multiple tilt series data, and in the second we report on high quality alignment and reconstruction when the number of point features is insufficient for proper alignment.
Galactokinase: Technique for polacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing†

A new technique is presented for the detection of human galactokinase from crude hemolysate by the method of polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing. The method utilizes low sample volume and can be completed within 5 h. One gel can be used to screen 15 samples, making the procedure ideal for screening erythrocyte galactokinase in newborn screening programs. This method can be ideal for many laboratories interested in screening for galactokinase variants.
Système spectrométrique interférentiel proposé pour l'Université de Wisconsin

Le dispositif propose peut comprendre un ou plusieurs reseaux et un ou plusieurs Fabry-Perot. L'exploration du spectre est obtenue par variation de pression. Un synchronisme rigoureux entre les explorations pour les differents elements (reseaux ou Fabry-Perot) est assure simplement en les enfermant dans la meme enceinte ou l'on effectue la variation de pression.
Cognitive Problem Solving and Aggressive Behavior Among Children

The author reviewed recent research on the way aggressive children think about social opportunities and solve social problems. On the basis of this literature, the author distills implications for refining family preservation services with antisocial, aggressive children and their families. Special emphasis is focused on the role that cognitive problem solving plays in the social development of delinquent youth.
Next generation sequencing in cancer research and clinical application

The wide application of next-generation sequencing (NGS), mainly through whole genome, exome and transcriptome sequencing, provides a high-resolution and global view of the cancer genome. Coupled with powerful bioinformatics tools, NGS promises to revolutionize cancer research, diagnosis and therapy. In this paper, we review the recent advances in NGS-based cancer genomic research as well as clinical application, summarize the current integrative oncogenomic projects, resources and computational algorithms, and discuss the challenge and future directions in the research and clinical application of cancer genomic sequencing.
Disulfide-Mediated Oligomer Formation in Borrelia burgdorferi Outer Surface Protein C, a Critical Virulence Factor and Potential Lyme Disease Vaccine Candidate

Borrelia burgdorferi OspC is an outer membrane lipoprotein required for the establishment of infection in mammals. Due to its universal distribution among B. burgdorferi sensu lato strains and high antigenicity, it is being explored for the development of a next-generation Lyme disease vaccine. An understanding of the surface presentation of OspC will facilitate efforts to maximize its potential as a vaccine candidate. OspC forms homodimers at the cell surface, and it has been hypothesized that it may also form oligomeric arrays. Here, we employ site-directed mutagenesis to test the hypothesis that interdimeric disulfide bonds at cysteine 130 (C130) mediate oligomerization. B. burgdorferi B31 ospC was replaced with a C130A substitution mutant to yield strain B31::ospC(C130A). Recombinant protein was also generated. Disulfide-bond-dependent oligomer formation was demonstrated and determined to be dependent on C130. Oligomerization was not required for in vivo function, as B31::ospC(C130A) retained infectivity and disseminated normally. The total IgG response and the induced isotype pattern were similar between mice infected with untransformed B31 and those infected with the B31::ospC(C130A) strain. These data indicate that the immune response to OspC is not significantly altered by formation of OspC oligomers, a finding that has significant implications in Lyme disease vaccine design.
New Concepts in the Pathophysiology of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Ulcerative colitis and Crohn disease share certain similarities but are clearly distinct diseases. Recent research challenges our conception of the pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease and...
A critical review of the research literature on Six Sigma, Lean and StuderGroup's Hardwiring Excellence in the United States: the need to demonstrate and communicate the effectiveness of transformation strategies in healthcare.

U.S. healthcare organizations are confronted with numerous and varied transformational strategies promising improvements along all dimensions of quality and performance. This article examines the peer-reviewed literature from the U.S. for evidence of effectiveness among three current popular transformational strategies: Six Sigma, Lean/Toyota Production System, and Studer's Hardwiring Excellence. The English language health, healthcare management, and organizational science literature (up to December 2007) indexed in Medline, Web of Science, ABI/Inform, Cochrane Library, CINAHL, and ERIC was reviewed for studies on the aforementioned transformation strategies in healthcare settings. Articles were included if they: appeared in a peer-reviewed journal; described a specific intervention; were not classified as a pilot study; provided quantitative data; and were not review articles. Nine references on Six Sigma, nine on Lean/Toyota Production System, and one on StuderGroup meet the study's eligibility criteria. The reviewed studies universally concluded the implementations of these transformation strategies were successful in improving a variety of healthcare related processes and outcomes. Additionally, the existing literature reflects a wide application of these transformation strategies in terms of both settings and problems. However, despite these positive features, the vast majority had methodological limitations that might undermine the validity of the results. Common features included: weak study designs, inappropriate analyses, and failures to rule out alternative hypotheses. Furthermore, frequently absent was any attention to changes in organizational culture or substantial evidence of lasting effects from these efforts. Despite the current popularity of these strategies, few studies meet the inclusion criteria for this review. Furthermore, each could have been improved substantially in order to ensure the validity of the conclusions, demonstrate sustainability, investigate changes in organizational culture, or even how one strategy interfaced with other concurrent and subsequent transformation efforts. While informative results can be gleaned from less rigorous studies, improved design and analysis can more effectively guide healthcare leaders who are motivated to transform their organizations and convince others of the need to employ such strategies. Demanding more exacting evaluation of projects consultants, or partnerships with health management researchers in academic settings, can support such efforts.
The Pied Piper: A Handbook

Reviewed Medium: book Authors: Wolfgang Mieder Year: 2007 Pages: 208 Publisher: Greenwood Publishing Group ISBN: 978-0-313-33464-1 (hard cover). Prices: $55.00 USD(hard cover).
Invariant natural killer T cells regulate anti-tumor immunity by controlling the population of dendritic cells in tumor and draining lymph nodes

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells are CD1d-restricted T cells, which respond rapidly to antigen recognition and promote development of anti-tumor immunity in many tumor models. Surprisingly, we previously found that mice deficient in iNKT cells developed spontaneous CD8+ T cells responses partially effective at inhibiting metastases in mice bearing the 4T1 mammary carcinoma, and showed a markedly improved response to treatment with local radiotherapy and anti-CTLA-4 antibody compared to wild type (WT) mice. To understand the mechanisms of the immunosuppressive function of iNKT cells, dendritic cells (DCs) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry in WT and iNKT-deficient (iNKT−/−) mice. The effects of antibody-mediated blockade of CD1d on DC number and phenotype, priming of anti-tumor T cells, and tumor response to treatment with local radiotherapy and anti-CTLA-4 antibody were evaluated. To determine if the improved response to treatment in the absence of iNKT cells was independent from the immunotherapy employed, 4T1-tumor bearing WT and iNKT−/− mice were treated with local radiotherapy in combination with antibody-mediated CD137 co-stimulation. DCs in 4T1 tumors and tumor-draining lymph nodes but not distant lymph nodes were significantly reduced in WT mice compared to iNKT−/− mice (p < 0.05), suggesting the selective elimination of DCs cross-presenting tumor-associated antigens by iNKT cells. Consistently, priming of T cells to a tumor-specific CD8 T cell epitope in mice treated with radiotherapy and anti-CTLA-4 or anti-CD137 was markedly enhanced in iNKT−/− compared to WT mice. CD1d blockade restored the number of DC in WT mice, improved T cell priming in draining lymph nodes and significantly enhanced response to treatment. Here we describe a novel mechanism of tumor immune escape mediated by iNKT cells that limit priming of anti-tumor T cells by controlling DC in tumors and draining lymph nodes. These results have important implications for the design of immunotherapies targeting iNKT cells.
Why the Plain View Doctrine Should Not Apply to Digital Evidence

This paper argues that the plain view doctrine, an exception to the Fourth Amendment, should not apply to digital evidence. Searches pursuant to warrants for digital property are easily transformed into general searches of a suspect's digital property because police, by necessity, must perform a comprehensive search of a suspect's digital property in order to properly execute a digital property warrant. Courts have already begun to apply the plain view doctrine in a manner that allows police to use anything found during a search of digital property (e.g., computers) as evidence of crimes beyond the scope of the warrant. General searches are proscribed by the Fourth Amendment. Therefore, courts should stop applying the plain view doctrine to digital evidence.
Down in the groove of Italian music

In the opinion of many Italians, music belongs to what is called ‘second education.’ Italians learn the basics in the few hours of musical education in elementary and high school. Yet, if they want to practice music – without becoming a conservatorio student at an early age – they must look for opportunities outside formal education, take lessons or attend evening classes in private or city schools, join a brass band or a choral confraternita, buy an instrument and learn by themselves, or watch their friends play and steal a few chops. Music has always had a paradoxical role in Italian society. Though highly prized as entertainment, intellectuals with a literary education have disregarded it for centuries as nothing more than manual practice, and we cannot say that their attitude has drastically changed in recent times. Around 1820, Stendhal observed that Italians flocked to the opera as a way to avoid conversation. The same might have been said about Germany, where the musical evenings of the bourgeoisie were often a sophisticated way to kill off any controversial topic that might arise. Yet music education in Germany has always been held in high esteem, while the Italian literary intelligentsia, especially after the Renaissance, has looked at music as an amusing accessory, ultimately too ‘popular’ to be taken seriously. If you are conversant with music, good for you. If you are not, and even if you admit your complete ignorance of it, no one will think that your education is less complete. As a result, public authorities are highly dismissive of music and are content with funding (badly) a few renowned theatres. Musicologists and music historians, on their part, are often snobbish and conservative. Luckily, someConservatori di musica are now opening up to the changes in the landscape of music and the related job market. There are some promising signs, yet for the time being ‘the most musical people in the world,’ as the stereotype goes, have very few internationally recognized orchestras and no composer that has taken up themantle of the great generation that came to the forefront in the 1950s. For lack of anything better, and just to keep the stereotype alive, the musical reputation of Italy abroad hangs largely on the latest
Multiple mutations in the human immunodeficiency virus protease gene are responsible for decreased susceptibility to protease inhibitors

The protease (PR) of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is essential for replication of the virus, and accordingly has become an attractive target for the development of an antiretroviral drug. We have previously reported that passage of HIV-1 in the presence of increasing concentrations of the C-2 symmetrical, linear diol P9941 resulted in the isolation of virus with a valine-to-alanine change at position 82 (V82A) of the PR, and reduced sensitivity to certain PR inhibitors. In this study, we passaged four different variants of HIV-1 in increasing concentrations of XM323, and isolated variants with reduced sensitivity to inhibitors of PR. Twenty-three passages of HIV-1 (RF) in the presence of XM323 and that contained V82F and 184V changes. When two other viruses, HIV-1 (RF41D2) and HIV-1(RF41E4), previously derived from HIV-1 (RF) by passage in the presence of P9941, were passaged in the presence of XM323, variants with V82A/L97V and M46L/V82A/L97V changes, respectively, were obtained. The M46L/V82A/L97V variant showed a 6-fold reduction in sensitivity to XM323, whereas the susceptibility of the V82A/L97V mutant remained unchanged. Seventeen passages of a clinical isolate of HIV-1, HIV-1 (Pat.E), in the presence of XM323 produced a V82A/L97V mutant with an approximately 9-fold reduction in sensitivity to XM323
Abstract 355: Dyslipidemia, Obesity, Insulin Resistance and Atherosclerosis in LDL-Receptor Deficient Rats

The LDL-receptor (LDLR) plays a major role in removing circulating LDL. Deletion of the receptor in mice results in profound dyslipidemia and atherosclerotic lesion formation. We established a new LDLR deficient (KO) rat model of atherosclerosis. When maintained on normal chow (NC), the KO rats displayed a 2.5-fold increase in plasma total cholesterol and 1.5 to 2.0- fold increase in triglycerides levels than corresponding WT rats. Lipidomics analysis of the plasma showed that deficiency of LDLR significantly (P<0.05) affected the abundance of 65 lipids. On normal chow, KO rats gained more weight and were more glucose intolerant than WT rats. Plasma leptin levels were higher and adiponectin levels were lower in KO than WT rats. Untargeted metabolomics analysis of polar extracts of plasma revealed that deficiency of LDLR differentially regulated the abundance of 20 metabolites (P<0.05). Measurement of circulating micro RNAs showed differential regulation of 35 micro RNAs, several of which are associated wi...
Academic Writing Development at the University Level: Phrasal and Clausal Complexity Across Level of Study, Discipline, and Genre

Using the British Academic Written English corpus, this study focuses on the use of grammatical complexity features in university level texts written by first language (L1) English writers to demon...
The Impact of Flexitime on Employee Attitudes

This investigation of flexitime did not support the traditional flexitime consequences for work satisfaction or leisure satisfaction. However, employees working under a flexitime schedule reported ...
IC Substrate Package Yield Prediction Model and Layer Level Risk Assessment by Design Analysis

We present a method for quantifying a risk for killer defects at layer level and estimating yield for substrate packages using information from design files. To calculate risk ranks and predicted yield, we define a risk distance that is a key parameter extracted from designs using image processing techniques. In order to validate our model, we analyze two different designs, each having multiple layers, and compare with data from baseline lots. It is shown that there is an inverse correlation between risk layer ranks and yield. Estimated yield based on our model is compared with baseline yield for four layers of the second design. The model-to-baseline yield difference is less than 1% for three layers we tested.
Medieval Russia, 980–1584: The era of Vladimir I

In the year 980, an obscure prince landed on the northern shores of a land that became known as Rusˈ and, later, Russia. Almost a decade earlier his father, the ruler of this land, had placed him in charge of the area surrounding one of its towns, the recently founded Novgorod. But after his father died (972) and one of his elder brothers killed the other (977), this prince, Vladimir (Volodimer) Sviatoslavich, fled abroad. After several years of exile he now led a band of Varangians (Norsemen) across the Baltic from Scandinavia. His intention was to depose his half-brother Iaropolk and assume the throne of Kiev. VLADIMIR'S SEIZURE OF THE KIEVAN THRONE Upon landing in Rusˈ, Prince Vladimir immediately sought allies to join him against Iaropolk. He turned to the prince of Polotsk (Polatsk), Rogvolod, a fellow Varangian but unrelated to Vladimir and his family, and requested the hand of his daughter Rogneda in marriage. But she haughtily refused him, calling him the “son of a slave” and indicating a preference for Iaropolk. Vladimir responded by leading his Varangian force, along with Slovenes, Chudˈ, and Krivichi from his former domain of Novgorod, against Polotsk. He defeated and killed Rogvolod and his sons, captured Rogneda, and forced her to become his bride. Polotsk was attached to the realm of Vladimir's family, the Riurikid dynasty.
Results of Drinking Water Quality Monitoring in Huishan District of Wuxi City during 2009-2010

[Objective]To understand the status of drinking water quality in Huishan district of Wuxi city,ensure the drinking water safety,and provide the basis for decision-making. [Methods]The water quality monitoring was conducted in 4 monitoring sites of centralized water supply and 2 monitoring sites of secondary water supply in Huishan district.The analysis and evaluation was performed according to the Standards for drinking water quality(GB 5749-2006). [Results]The qualified rate of drinking water in Huishan district in 2009 and 2010 was 97.9%(188/192) and 92.0%(127/138) respectively,which was satisfactory.In 2009,the qualified rate of centralized water supply and secondary water supply was 96.9%(124/128) and 100%(64/64) respectively,and all of the unqualified items were total bacteria counts.In 2010,the qualified rate of centralized water supply and secondary water supply was 88.0%(81/92) and 100%(46/46) respectively,and the unqualified items were residual chlorine concentration and total bacteria counts. [Conclusion]The sanitary condition of drinking water in Huishan district was good,but there were still unqualified items in summer and autumn.It is necessary to strengthen the water quality monitoring in summer and autumn,and notify the information to water supply departments rapidly,so as to ensure drinking water safety.
Method for Determination of Acetone in Residential Area Atmosphere Solvent Desorption-Capillary Column Gas Chromatography

ObjectiveTo establish a method of capillary column-gas chromatography for determination of acetone in residential area atmosphere.Methods After silica gel tube sampling and ethanol desorption,the samples were determined by FFAP capillary column-gas chromatography in the best instrument conditions.Results There was a good linear relationship for acetone between 0 μg/ml to 50.00 μg/ml and the correlation coefficient was 0.9997.The detection limit and lower limit’s measurement were 0.073 and 0.27 μg/ml.The determined range of the method was from 0.22 to 5.56 mg/m3 when sample(9 L) was collected by using the silica gel tube and absorbed with ethanol(1 ml).Three samples with high,medium and low concentration were determined for six times respectively,the relative standard deviation of precision were 1.0%-4.8%,and the recovery of each sample were 98.78%,95.01% and 95.97%.When the sampling concentration was 0.39 and 1.61mg/m3,the sampling efficiency were 97.10% and 97.76%.The materials coexisted with acetone in residential area atmosphere had no interference on the determination,such as benzene,toluene,xylene,ethyl acetate,trichlorethylene,tetrachloroethylene,ethanol,styrene and cyclohexanone.Conclusion The indicators of this method have reached the requirements of "Specification for poisonous substances testing in residential area atmosphere" developed by the Institute of Environment and Health Related Product Safety,Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.It is quick and accurate and with low detection limit,which is suitable for the determination of acetone in residential area atmosphere.
Comprehensive UAV agricultural remote-sensing research at Texas A M University

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have advantages over manned vehicles for agricultural remote sensing. Flying UAVs is less expensive, is more flexible in scheduling, enables lower altitudes, uses lower speeds, and provides better spatial resolution for imaging. The main disadvantage is that, at lower altitudes and speeds, only small areas can be imaged. However, on large farms with contiguous fields, high-quality images can be collected regularly by using UAVs with appropriate sensing technologies that enable high-quality image mosaics to be created with sufficient metadata and ground-control points. In the United States, rules governing the use of aircraft are promulgated and enforced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and rules governing UAVs are currently in flux. Operators must apply for appropriate permissions to fly UAVs. In the summer of 2015 Texas A&M University's agricultural research agency, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, embarked on a comprehensive program of remote sensing with UAVs at its 568-ha Brazos Bottom Research Farm. This farm is made up of numerous fields where various crops are grown in plots or complete fields. The crops include cotton, corn, sorghum, and wheat. After gaining FAA permission to fly at the farm, the research team used multiple fixed-wing and rotary-wing UAVs along with various sensors to collect images over all parts of the farm at least once per week. This article reports on details of flight operations and sensing and analysis protocols, and it includes some lessons learned in the process of developing a UAV remote-sensing effort of this sort.
From Theory to Action: Exploring the Institutional Conditions for Student Retention

Though access to higher education in the United States has increased over the past several decades, similar increases in college completion have not followed suit. Despite years of effort, we have, in large measure, been unable to translate the promise increased access affords to students, in particular those of low-income and underserved backgrounds, into the reality of college completion especially as measured by 4-year degrees. That this is the case is reflective in part of our inability to translate what we have learned from research on student retention into a reasonable set of guidelines for the types of actions and policies institution must put into place to increase rates of college completion.
Cardiac Assist Devices, Total Artificial Heart and Unconventional Dialysis

It was 1957 when one of the authors (W.J.K.) began research on total mechanical artificial heart implantation. From that time on it was difficult, until only very recently, to keep an experimental animal alive with an artificial heart for longer than two or three days. However, in 1971 the longstanding question of whether the artificial heart could sustain the animal’s entire circulation beyond the time of recovery from surgery and maintain the animal in a reasonable physiological state with a mechanical pump was answered. To date at least three groups in the country have been able to sustain a calf with an implanted mechanical heart for over three days. These long-term survivors with total mechanical hearts have brought forth a few unanswered questions.
COMPUTER ATTITUDE OF PROSPECTIVE TEACHERS IN RELATION TO SELF-EFFICACY

The study was intended to predict Computer Attitude of prospective teachers of government aided and private college on the basis of their Self-Efficacy. The sample consisted of total 200 students; 100 students being selected randomly from each government aided and private college of Ludhiana city. Computer Attitude Scale (CAS) by Khatoon and Sharma (2011) and Self-Efficacy Scale (SES) by Mathur and Bhatnagar (2012) were used to collect the data. The results of the study showed significant positive relationship between Computer Attitude and Self-efficacy of prospective teachers, also between Computer Attitude and Self-efficacy of prospective teachers studying in government aided college and private college.
A decadal-scale nutrient loading study in a coastal wetland: Impacts on soil microbial processes

Abstract Fertilizer use in agricultural lands and treated wastewater disposal have increased bioavailable nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loading to wetlands and aquatic systems with potential implications for nutrient cycling and soil microbial processes. Recently, conflicting results of N loading impacts on microbial-mediated organic matter decomposition in coastal wetland soils have been reported. However, to date, the majority of studies have investigated short-term nutrient loading effects while few have reported long-term integrated impacts. Here, we present results from an 11-year soil nutrient loading study in an oligohaline coastal wetland treated with 0, 50, 200, or 1200 kg N ha−1 yr−1 in combination with 0 or 131 kg P ha−1 yr−1. We measured soil (0–10 cm) physiochemical characteristics, soil microbial biomass N, and measures of biogeochemical cycling of N, including potentially mineralizable nitrogen and denitrification rates. Our results show that soil total P increased with P additions, but no significant differences in measures of soil microbial biomass or activity occurred with N, P, or N × P loading. We conclude that long-term N loading at rates equivalent to Mississippi River diversions had no persistent lasting effects on total N or examined soil microbial measures.
Ecological rescue of host-microbial systems under environmental change

Beneficial mutations can promote persistence via evolutionary rescue in species experiencing environmental change. However, in long-lived organisms, the pace of evolution is often too slow relative to that of environmental change for evolutionary rescue to occur. Using a spatially implicit metacommunity model, we demonstrate how interactions between slow-growing hosts and their fast-growing microbiomes can promote persistence under rapid environmental change. We show that microbial mutualists can rescue their hosts by allowing them to persist under deteriorating environmental conditions. This form of mutualist-mediated ecological rescue can be jeopardized by competitively dominant microbial cheaters, which can destabilize host population dynamics and promote the risk of stochastic extinction. However, when microbial diversity is high, (meta)community-level interactions among multiple microbial species can buffer the disruptive effect of cheaters and give rise to a more potent form of ecological rescue mediated by the entire microbiome that promotes the abundance, stability, and persistence of the host in the face of environmental change. Our results address two critical problems associated with the viability of rescue in macroorganisms: the temporal mismatch between rapid environmental change and slow organismal response and the potential disruption of rescue by microbial cheaters.
The effects of group size and task complexity on deadline reactivity

Abstract In contemporary organizations, people are often required to work and learn under increasing time pressures as organizations set deadlines in order to respond to stiffer competition. Human behavioral patterns in the presence of deadlines have been studied quantitatively to show that relatively little time is devoted to tasks early on and that most work is performed in close time proximity to a deadline. This phenomenon, called deadline rush, can be explained by a hyperbolic behavioral model. By employing a decision-making task based on an Anti-Air Warfare Coordinator (AAWC) simulator, the experiment had two group size levels (individuals and teams) and two task complexity levels (low and high). The experimental results showed that deadline reactivity is greater for individuals than teams on low-complexity tasks and task complexity is negatively related to deadline reactivity. The results of this study suggest that different group sizes and task types have a significant impact on production performance and that the setting of deadlines, to the degree possible, may be a relevant means towards managing or improving system performance.
Overactive Bladder: Non-neurogenic

Overactive bladder (OAB) is a clinical diagnosis defined by the International Continence Society as the presence of urinary urgency, usually accompanied by frequency and nocturia, with or without urgency urinary incontinence, in the absence of a urinary tract infection (UTI) or other obvious pathology. Urodynamic studies (UDS) are not required for patients with straightforward OAB; however, they can be useful in patients with refractory OAB symptoms, symptoms suggestive of outlet obstruction or voiding dysfunction, elevated post-void residual, and history of previous continence surgery, as well as in patients who have difficulty describing the type of incontinence they have. The objective of this chapter is to provide an overview of overactive bladder and discuss the UDS findings in patients with OAB symptoms.
Data Challenges in Estimating the Capacity Value of Solar Photovoltaics

We examine the robustness of solar capacity-value estimates to three important data issues. The first is the sensitivity to using hourly averaged as opposed to subhourly solar-insolation data. The second is the sensitivity to errors in recording and interpreting load data. The third is the sensitivity to using modeled as opposed to measured solar-insolation data. We demonstrate that capacity-value estimates of solar are sensitive to all three of these factors, with potentially large errors in the capacity-value estimate in a particular year. If multiple years of data are available, the biases introduced by using hourly averaged solar-insolation can be smoothed out. Multiple years of data will not necessarily address the other data-related issues that we examine. Our analysis calls into question the accuracy of a number of solar capacity-value estimates relying exclusively on modeled solar-insolation data that are reported in the literature (including our own previous works). Our analysis also suggests that multiple years’ historical data should be used for remunerating solar generators for their capacity value in organized wholesale electricity markets.
Chapter 7 – Learning environments: coaching ongoing activities

Publisher Summary This chapter presents two important contributions of artificial intelligence to the effectiveness of learning environments. It presents some ways in which AI concepts can influence the design of such environments and also discusses the construction of automated coaches that provide unobtrusive assistance while the student is involved in independent learning. The chapter focuses on WEST and WUSOR, two early projects concerned with the design of coaching systems. In both WEST and WUSOR, the ongoing activity is a game. However, game environments are chosen merely for their conceptual simplicity and intrinsic motivational value. The chapter discusses principles that are applicable to any independent learning activity. The subject of computer-based learning environments is vast. It includes pedagogical issues such as the trade-off between self-pacing and efficiency, epistemological issues such as the choice of presentation artifacts for domain knowledge, and implementational issues such as the design of graphic displays.
Self-Care Practices and the Professional Self

Consistently and actively engaging in self-care has been shown to improve the performance of mental health practitioners by reducing burnout, vicarious trauma, compassion fatigue, and other stress-related psychological problems. Not only is this important to the individual practitioner's well-being, but ethical standards also mandate the recognition and remediation of any physical, mental, or emotional self-impairment to maintain high standards of care for clients. Professionals in small communities, like the Deaf community, however, confront unique challenges in attending to their self-care. This article investigates these challenges-as well as the rewards-experienced by Deaf and hearing counselors working in mental health care with deaf clients.
Selfish Learning: Leveraging the Greed in Social Learning

We introduce a sequential Bayesian binary hypothesis testing problem under social learning, termed selfish learning, where agents work to maximize their individual rewards. In particular, each agent receives a private signal and is aware of decisions made by earlier-acting agents. Beside inferring the underlying hypothesis, agents also decide whether to stop and declare, or pass the inference to the next agent. The employer rewards only correct responses and the reward per worker decreases with the number of employees used for decision making. We characterize decision regions of agents in the infinite and finite horizon. In particular, we show that the decision boundaries in the infinite horizon are the solutions to a Markov Decision Process with discounted costs, and can be solved using value iteration. In the finite horizon, we show that team performance is enhanced upon appropriate incen-tivization when compared to sequential social learning.
Manifold compositions, music visualization, and scientific sonification in an immersive virtual-reality environment.

An interdisciplinary project encompassing sound synthesis, music composition, sonification, and visualization of music is facilitated by the high-performance computing capabilities and the virtual-reality environments available at Argonne National Laboratory. The paper describes the main features of the project's centerpiece, DIASS (Digital Instrument for Additive Sound Synthesis); ''A.N.L.-folds'', an equivalence class of compositions produced with DIASS; and application of DIASS in two experiments in the sonification of complex scientific data. Some of the larger issues connected with this project, such as the changing ways in which both scientists and composers perform their tasks, are briefly discussed.
SOLVING EQUATIONS EXACTLY ON ILLIAC IV

The exact solution of the system Ax = b, where A is an integral matrix and b an integral vector, may be found by solving the congruences Ax ≡ b mod p for sufficiently many distinct primes p and then combining the results by the Chinese remainder theorem. The author has written numerous programs of this nature for a number of serial machines. In the last year, the author has also prepared such programs for the ILLIAC IV which take full advantage of the parallel processing features of the machine. For example, the exact solution (together with the determinant) of any system of equations of this type in 40 unknowns or less may be determined in less than 10 seconds. In preparation are programs to determine a basis for the null space of an integral matrix, the rational canonical form of an integral matrix, etc. The general idea is to find applications of modular arithmetic to parallel processing.
Eighth Colorado Mathematical Olympiad: April 26, 1991

The eighth Olympiad attracted the largest number of contestants in the history of the event: 987. As in the previous year, a much greater number of junior high school students participated this time. A good number of junior high school students won awards, especially from the classes of two wonderful teachers: John Putnam and my former student Lossie Ortiz.
Towards a Universally Editable Portable Document Format

PDF is the established format for the exchange of final-form print-oriented documents on the Web, and for a good reason: it is the only format that guarantees the preservation of layout across different platforms, systems and viewing devices. Its main disadvantage, however, is that a document, once converted to PDF, is very difficult to edit. As of today (2018), there is still no universal format for the exchange of editable formatted text documents on the Web; users can only exchange the application's source files, which do not benefit from the robustness and portability of PDF. This position paper describes how we can engineer such an editable format based on some of the principles of PDF. We begin by analysing the current status quo, and provide a summary of current approaches for editing existing PDFs, other relevant document formats, and ways to embed the document's structure into the PDF itself. We then ask ourselves what it really means for a formatted document to be editable, and discuss the related problem of enabling WYSIWYG direct manipulation even in cases where layout is usually computed or optimized using offline or batch methods (as is common with long-form documents). After defining our goals, we propose a framework for creating such editable portable documents and present a prototype tool that demonstrates our initial steps and serves as a proof of concept. We conclude by providing a roadmap for future work.
Relativistic Effects Can Be Used to Achieve a Universal Square-Root (Or Even Faster) Computation Speedup

In this paper, we show that special relativity phenomenon can be used to reduce computation time of any algorithm from T to \(\sqrt{T}\). For this purpose, we keep computers where they are, but the whole civilization starts moving around the computers – at an increasing speed, reaching speeds close to the speed of light. A similar square-root speedup can be achieved if we place ourselves near a growing black hole. Combining the two schemes can lead to an even faster speedup: from time T to the 4-th order root \(\root 4 \of {T}\).
Clinical study on amplitude integrated electroencephalogram in cerebral injury caused by severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia

Background This study was designed in order to assess the validity of the use of amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram (aEEG) in cerebral injury caused by severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia. Methods A total of 56 full-term neonates diagnosed with severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia and admitted to the NICU of our hospital from July 2013 to December 2014 were continuously selected for the study. The total serum bilirubin (TSB) was higher than 342 μmol/L and was dominated by a higher amount of unconjugated bilirubin. Each patient underwent aEEG monitoring upon admission. And according to the results of the test, they were assigned into an aEEG normal group (N.=38) or an aEEG abnormal group (N.=18). Dynamic monitoring of bilirubin and blood biochemistry was also conducted for all the children after admission. Patients were treated with blue light, anti-infection agents, acidosis correction measures, transfusion exchanges, intravenous drips of albumin or globulin and other specific treatments as needed in each particular case. Brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP), MRI examination and a behavioral neurological assessment (NBNA) with 20-item examinations were provided within 4-17 days after admission. Follow-up observations were conducted on growth level (physical development and Gesell scores) at 3, 6, 12 and 18 months. Results The results of all the diagnostic tests performed in the patients of both groups all yielded a significantly higher abnormality rate in the aEEG abnormal group compared to the results in the aEEG normal group. Furthermore, the results of follow-up tests showing growth and child development also showed higher abnormality rates in the aEEG abnormal group than in the aEEG normal group. Conclusions Since the results of our aEEG monitoring were consistent with the findings of other diagnostic tests, we proved the convenience and effectivity of aEEG for guiding the treatment and prognosis of severe hyperbilirubinemia in neonates.