cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification of differences in gender for adolescents in crisis residence

Background: This study explored the nature of client gender relative to counseling adolescents in acute care psychiatric programs.Aims: A goal attainment model, emphasizing problem identification and commitment to follow-up, was utilized to predict client stabilization for adolescents based on clients' gender.Method: Data were collected from adolescent clients admitted to psychiatric acute care programs. Licensed master's level clinicians completed the Clinician Problem Scale Revised and Goal Attainment Scale of Stabilization on their adolescent clients. Multiple regression analysis was used to address whether or not differences in gender affected the extent to which goal attainment accounted for scores on the Clinician Problem Scale Revised.Results: The consideration of gender in the goal attainment model was statistically significant in predicting client stabilization.Conclusion: Male adolescents appeared to benefit from emphasis placed on the identification of the problem, whereas female adolescents be...
Improved sample preparation and rapid UHPLC analysis of SO2 binding carbonyls in wine by derivatisation to 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine.

Abstract Sulphur dioxide (SO2) is essential for the preservation of wines. The presence of SO2 binding compounds in musts and wines may limit sulphite efficacy leading to higher total SO2 additions, which may exceed SO2 limits permitted by law and pose health risks for sensitive individuals. An improved method for the quantification of significant wine SO2 binding compounds is presented that applies a novel sample treatment approach and rapid UHPLC separation. Glucose, galacturonic acid, alpha-ketoglutarate, pyruvate, acetoin and acetaldehyde were derivatised with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine and separated using a solid core C18 phase by ultra high performance liquid chromatography. Addition of EDTA to samples prevented de novo acetaldehyde formation from ethanol oxidation. Optimised derivatisation duration enhanced reproducibility and allowed for glucose and galacturonic acid quantification. High glucose residues were found to interfere with the recovery of other SO2 binders, but practical SO2 concentrations and red wine pigments did not affect derivatisation efficiency. The calibration range, method accuracy, precision and limits of detection were found to be satisfactory for routine analysis of SO2 binders in wines. The current method represents a significant improvement in the comprehensive analysis of SO2 binding wine carbonyls. It allows for the quantification of major SO2 binders at practical analyte concentrations, and uses a simple sample treatment method that prevents treatment artifacts. Equipment utilisation could be reduced by rapid LC separation while maintaining analytical performance parameters. The improved method will be a valuable addition for the analysis of total SO2 binder pools in oenological samples.
The use of penile tumescence measures with incarcerated rapists: further validity issues.

The use of penile tumescence to categorize and assess the treatment of sex offenders has gained increasing popularity. Recent publications have expanded the use of tumescence measures for the classification of rapists. The majority of studies in the past using mainly subjects seeking treatment or admitting to difficulties in controlling rape urges have shown the technology to be a valuable asset in classification. The present investigation, however, points out the limitations of using this technology in certain populations. The responses of incarcerated rapists and incarcerated nonrape offenders were compared. Analysis of the data indicated that there were no significant differences between the responses of rapists and nonrapists and that the rape index proposed by Abel et al.(1978) did not reliably classify incarcerated rapists. This paper points out the limitations of penile tumescence assessment with certain populations and discusses possible reasons for the failure to discriminate in this investigation.
A model of the near magnetosphere with a dawn-dusk asymmetry 2. Parameterization and fitting to observations

[1] First results are presented of an empirical modeling of the Earth's inner and near magnetosphere (X ≥ −15 RE), using a new set of data and new methods, described in a companion paper. The modeling database included 5-min average B field data, taken in a wide range of altitudes and latitudes by the International Solar Terrestrial Physics spacecraft Polar (1996–1999) and Geotail (1994–1999), as well as by earlier missions, ISEE 2 (1984–1987), Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers (AMPTE)/CCE (1984–1988), AMPTE/Ion Release Module (1984–1986), CRRES (1990–1991), and DE 1 (1984–1990). To take into account the delayed response of the magnetosphere to the solar wind and interplanetary magnetic field (IMF), each data record in the data set was tagged by a “trail” of 5-min averages of the IMF, solar wind, and Dst field data, covering the preceding 2-hour interval. The axisymmetric ring current (SRC) and the partial one (PRC), both parameterized by the corrected Dst* index and the solar wind pressure Pd, were found to vary in strikingly different ways. While under quiet conditions the PRC is much weaker than the SRC, it dramatically grows in magnitude and rotates to the dusk sector with rising |Dst*| and Pd, significantly exceeding the SRC even during moderate storms, in excellent agreement with recent particle simulations. The innermost part of the cross-tail current is quite sensitive to the southward IMF and yields ∼90% of the tail's contribution to the Dst index, in contrast with the more distant tail current, which responds mainly to the solar wind pressure and provides no appreciable contribution to Dst. In response to southward IMF conditions, Region 1 and 2 Birkeland currents rapidly grow in magnitude and expand to lower latitudes, while their peaks shift slightly in local time toward noon. The coefficient of the IMF penetration inside the magnetosphere was found to dramatically increase with growing IMF clock angle: while quite small (∼0.1) for northward IMF, it rises to ∼0.6 as the IMF turns southward. Priorities and challenges for future data-based modeling studies are discussed.
Investment fact and fancy in Yugoslavia

This paper examines the roles of capacity and finance in Yugoslav investment. Gross investment in producer durables is treated individually for industry, other nonagriculture, social agriculture, and private agriculture along stock-adjustment or, alternatively, flow-adjustment lines. Inventory investment reflects sales and hoarding considerations. Each specification includes two types of finance; namely, intended credit and, consonant with the firm's soft budget contraint, unintended credit. Tested on newly complied data, the functions indicate by statistical significance that capacity and finance matter in industry and other while capacity, not finance, matters in agriculture and inventory. Implications for development policy conclude the discussion. Alice did not like shaiking hands with either of them first, for fear of hurting the other one's feelings; so, as the best way out of the difficulty, she took hold of both hands at once: the next moment they were dancing round in a ring. Lewis Carroll Throug...
Providing an endoscopy report to patients after a procedure: a low-cost intervention with high returns.

Background Providing a procedure report to patients after endoscopy is inconsistently practiced by clinicians. Objective To evaluate the effect of providing a procedure report to patients after an outpatient endoscopy. Outcome Measurements Demographic data, including age, sex, race, and endoscopic procedures. Assessments one week after the procedure included anxiety, satisfaction, recall of endoscopic findings and recommendations, and compliance. Design A prospective, randomized, single-center, investigator-blinded study. Anxiety was measured by using the Beck Anxiety Inventory; satisfaction was measured with a modified American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy survey, which was validated as part of this study, and recall and compliance was measured by a patient interview, during which responses were compared with the original endoscopy report. Setting and Patients Single university outpatient endoscopy laboratory. Between June and September 2005, 115 patients were randomized, and 83 completed this protocol. Results The two groups were equally matched, except the intervention group (received report) was older (54.4 vs 50.7 years; P = .037). Receipt of an endoscopy report reduced postprocedure anxiety ( P = .001) and improved recall of findings and recommendations ( P = .001 for both). Satisfaction was very high for all patients and was unaffected by receipt of a report. Patients older than 60 years had significantly lower satisfaction scores by approximately 6 points ( P = .004). Some subcategories of compliance were significantly better in the intervention group, but there was no effect on the number of patients who complied with all recommendations. Limitation Small number of patients. Conclusions The receipt of an endoscopy report at discharge reduces postprocedure anxiety, improves recall of findings and recommendations, and may increase compliance. This inexpensive and safe practice should be routinely adopted.
Inflammation in chronic kidney disease: Role in the progression of renal and cardiovascular disease

Inflammation is the response of the vasculature or tissues to various stimuli. An acute and chronic pro-inflammatory state exists in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), contributing substantially to morbidity and mortality. There are many mediators of inflammation in adults with CKD and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), including hypoalbuminemia/malnutrition, atherosclerosis, advanced oxidation protein products, the peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor, leptin, the thiobarbituric acid reactive system, asymmetric dimethyl arginine, iron, fetuin-A, and cytokines. Inflammation contributes to the progression of CKD by inducing the release of cytokines and the increased production and activity of adhesion molecules, which together contribute to T cell adhesion and migration into the interstitium, subsequently attracting pro-fibrotic factors. Inflammation in CKD also causes mortality from cardiovascular disease by contributing to the development of vascular calcifications and endothelial dysfunction. Similar to the situation in adults, cardiovascular disease in pediatric CKD is linked to inflammation: abnormal left ventricular wall geometry is positively associated with markers of inflammation. This review focuses on traditional and novel mediators of inflammation in CKD and ESKD, and the deleterious effect inflammation has on the progression of renal and cardiovascular disease.
Male salamanders remember individuals based on chemical or visual cues

Summary The use of multiple cues can enhance the detection, recognition, discrimination, and mem-orability of individuals by receivers. We conducted two experiments, using only males, totest whether territorial red-backed salamanders, Plethodon cinereus , could use only chemi-cal or only visual cues to remember familiar conspeciﬁcs. In both experiments, focal malesspent signiﬁcantly more time threatening unfamiliar than familiar male intruders. They alsochemoinvestigated the ﬁlter paper containing chemical cues of unfamiliar intruders more of-ten than that of familiar intruders. These results suggest that red-backed salamanders can useboth chemical and visual cues to recognize familiar individuals, allowing them to distinguishbetween less threatening neighbours and more threatening intruders in the heterogeneous for-est ﬂoor habitat, where visual cues alone would not always be available. Keywords : memory of individuals, multimodal signals, Plethodon cinereus , red-backed sala-manders.
Automatic Shape Control of Triangular B-Splines of Arbitrary Topology

Triangular B-splines are powerful and flexible in modeling a broader class of geometric objects defined over arbitrary, non-rectangular domains. Despite their great potential and advantages in theory, practical techniques and computational tools with triangular B-splines are less-developed. This is mainly because users have to handle a large number of irregularly distributed control points over arbitrary triangulation. In this paper, an automatic and efficient method is proposed to generate visually pleasing, high-quality triangular B-splines of arbitrary topology. The experimental results on several real datasets show that triangular B-splines are powerful and effective in both theory and practice.
Influences of culture on man's diet.

(1962). Influences of Culture on Man’s Diet. Archives of Environmental Health: An International Journal: Vol. 5, No. 2, pp. 144-152.
Voice disorders in teachers and the general population: effects on work performance, attendance, and future career choices.

To examine the frequency and adverse effects of voice disorders on job performance and attendance in teachers and the general population, 2,401 participants from Iowa and Utah (n1=1,243 teachers an...
Methods for fitting the Poisson-lognormal distribution to microbial testing data

The Poisson distribution can be used to describe the number of microorganisms in a serving of food, but in most food-safety applications, the variability of the Poisson distribution is insufficient to describe the heterogeneity in microbial contamination across the population of all servings. To model how contamination varies across the population of all possible servings, the lognormal distribution can be paired with the Poisson distribution to create an over-dispersed distribution, which is referred to as the Poisson-lognormal distribution. An advantage of this distribution is that random draws from the distribution are integer-valued. This is beneficial for some food-safety risk assessments because a modeled serving is either contaminated or not. This distribution is also appropriate when the results of a laboratory test are integer-valued, such as when direct plating is used to enumerate samples. While some surveys perform only absence/presence screenings tests, surveys that are more thorough can pair a screening test with enumeration of screen-test positive samples via direct plating. For this application, statistical methods that accommodate censored data are required to fit the data to a Poisson-lognormal distribution. This study compares a Bayesian hierarchical model to a maximum likelihood estimation approach for fitting data to the Poisson-lognormal distribution. Across a range of datasets, the Bayesian method demonstrates superior performance. OpenBUGS and R code are provided to implement both methods.
Measurement of the effective mean free paths of primary electrons in a multidipole device

The effective mean free path of the primary ionizing electrons in a multidipole device is measured by simply inserting a negatively biased electrode into the plasma.
Distinctive Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor/Extracellular Regulated Kinase-Independent and -Dependent Signaling Pathways in the Induction of Airway Mucin 5B and Mucin 5AC Expression by Phorbol 12-Myristate 13-Acetate

Elevated expression of gel-forming mucin (MUC) genes MUC5AC and MUC5B is a major pathological feature in various airway diseases. In this study, we show that phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) is a potent stimulator for MUC5B gene expression under air-liquid interface conditions in three airway epithelial cell systems: primary cultures of normal human bronchial epithelial cells, the immortalized normal bronchial epithelial cell line HBE1, and the human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549. Stimulation was time- and dose-dependent, could be demonstrated by promoter-reporter gene transfection, and was sensitive to mithramycin A, suggesting the involvement of a specificity protein 1-based transcriptional mechanism in the stimulation. PMA-induced MUC5B message and promoter-reporter gene activity were specifically sensitive to inhibition of protein kinase C δ, which was further confirmed by the forced expression of dominant-negative mutant of protein kinase C δ. Regarding downstream transduction, PMA-induced MUC5B expression was sensitive to inhibitors and dominant-negative expression of signaling molecules involved in Ras/mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase kinase1-mediated c-Jun N-terminal kinase and p38 pathways. This contrasted with the inhibition of PMA-induced MUC5AC expression by inhibitors of the Ras/epidermal growth factor receptor/extracellular regulated kinase signaling pathway. These results demonstrate for the first time that PMA-stimulated MUC5AC and MUC5B expressions are regulated through distinctive epidermal growth factor receptor/extracellular regulated kinase-dependent and -independent signaling pathways.
Calibration of tightly cross-linked gel filtration media for determination of the size of low molecular weight, non-interacting solutes

Abstract A method for calibration of tightly cross-linked gel filtration chromatography media based on the elution characteristics of a series of selected sugars and alcohols is described. The elution position of all molecules is determined by the column effluent refractive index change and is correlated with both the molecular weight and the unhydrated radius estimated from molecular models.
Collaborative Conferencing: AWHONN and ACOG Joint Venture to Improve Patient Safety

Professional Issues Poster Presentation Purpose for the Program The purpose of this poster is to describe how to implement a collaborative conference to enhance patient safety. Recently, a number of publications have touted the benefits of team training to improve obstetric outcomes during emergent situations. However, very little has been published regarding multidisciplinary education and improved patient safety in other venues. In 2010, the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses’ Ohio Section and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ (ACOG) Ohio district planned a joint venture conference to be held in August 2011 with a focus on collaborative education to promote patient safety.
Smcy transgene does not rescue spermatogenesis in sex-reversed mice.

In mouse, the Sxrb deletion interval (delta Sxrb) maps to the small short arm of the Y chromosome and is known to contain gene(s) required for normal spermatogenesis; in particular, Spy, which is essential for the postnatal mitotic proliferation of spermatogonia. This deletion interval is approximately 1–2 Mb and contains eight known genes. In this paper we report the construction of YAC transgenic mice containing different regions of the delta Sxrb interval including Zfy1, Ube1y, Smcy, and Eif2s3. Two male and one female founder mice, transgenic for all four genes, were sterile. However, a fertile transgenic, carrying a full-length copy of the Smcy gene integrated into central Chr 12, was identified. Smcy is a highly conserved Y chromosome-located gene, encoding peptides corresponding to epitopes of the male-specific antigen, H-Y. The Smcy transgene was ubiquitously expressed in all organs and tissues tested in male and female carriers. Introduction of the transgene into an X Sxrb/O genetic background did not rescue the early arrest of spermatogenesis characteristic of these males. These data indicate that the presence of Smcy is not sufficient to restore spermatogenesis, making it a highly unlikely candidate for Spy.
2009 Special Issue: A new learning paradigm: Learning using privileged information

In the Afterword to the second edition of the book ''Estimation of Dependences Based on Empirical Data'' by V. Vapnik, an advanced learning paradigm called Learning Using Hidden Information (LUHI) was introduced. This Afterword also suggested an extension of the SVM method (the so called SVM"@c+ method) to implement algorithms which address the LUHI paradigm (Vapnik, 1982-2006, Sections 2.4.2 and 2.5.3 of the Afterword). See also (Vapnik, Vashist, & Pavlovitch, 2008, 2009) for further development of the algorithms. In contrast to the existing machine learning paradigm where a teacher does not play an important role, the advanced learning paradigm considers some elements of human teaching. In the new paradigm along with examples, a teacher can provide students with hidden information that exists in explanations, comments, comparisons, and so on. This paper discusses details of the new paradigm and corresponding algorithms, introduces some new algorithms, considers several specific forms of privileged information, demonstrates superiority of the new learning paradigm over the classical learning paradigm when solving practical problems, and discusses general questions related to the new ideas.
Global, Local, or Glocal: Investigating CSR Strategies of Best Corporate Citizens in India

This study examined the corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies of 38 multinational corporations with operations in India. Seventy-six global and Indian corporate websites were cross-examined to determine the prominence and extent of CSR reporting as well as the dimensions most salient in the CSR content to determine whether these corporations follow a global, local, or glocal CSR strategy. The findings revealed that most of the companies follow a global approach to CSR management and communication in India. This context-specific examination of CSR strategies expands the knowledge of global CSR practices. Also, it exemplifies how cultural, political, and economic environments can inform strategic communication's understanding of transnational CSR programs, and contribute to theory building in an emerging area of glocalization in a transnational context.
Meaning and Measurement of Transportation Costs

There is a divergence between costing methodology and spending behaviour in transportation. This article identifies differences between economic and accounting cost concepts, and differences between the conceptual interpretations of cost estimates based on those concepts. In particular, the cost‐volume‐profit (breakeven) model is re‐examined in terms of its experimental and ex post estimates, and the reliability of those estimates, to describe and to guide managerial behaviour. Some criticism of statistical costing is warranted by the inherent difficulty of modelling human behaviour patterns. Likewise, enlightened interpretation of statistical cost estimates allows management to enhance the planning and control processes for which the figures were prepared.
Reduction of rigidity in human activated natural killer cells by thioglycollate treatment

Abstract Successful delivery of effector cells to tumor vasculature and the expression of cellular activities, such as extravasation and tumor infiltration are important aspects of the immune intervention of neoplastic disease. The structural rigidity of the effector cell, an indication of its cytoskeletal characteristics, plays an important role in influencing cellular functions and hemodynamic behavior as well as systemic distribution. The present study was designed to identify an agent which can modify the viscoelastic properties of human natural killer cells. A reducing compound, thioglycollate (TGA), was found to be an effective agent. Changes in cellular rigidity with respect to dose and duration of treatment with TGA were quantified. Micropipet aspiration was used to measure the resistance of NK cells to an imposed external deformation. Cultures of adherent human NK cells were expanded in interleukin 2 (IL-2) for 14 days, removed from culture and resuspended in medium with IL-2 and selected concentrations of TGA ranging from 0.032 mb/ml to 0.250 mg/ml. At 24 h intervals, the cell samples were removed and tested for their viscoelastic properties. Following 24 h of incubation, only TGA at 0.032 mg/ml produced a significant increase in cellular deformability. At 48 h of incubation, NK cell deformability was twice that obtained at 24 h. Higher concentrations of TGA also produced increased deformability after 48 h of incubation. Following 72 h of incubation, all concentrations of TGA tested produced increased deformability; however, the 0.032 mg/ml concentration produced the highest level of deformability combined with high viability ( > 95%) as well as activated cell morphology. This treatment did not significantly alter the cytotoxic activity of these cells against a sensitive tumor target cell. These findings indicate that short term culture with TGA may be used to significantly reduce NK cell rigidity without decreasing cell viability or function. Thus, TGA may be a useful compound for altering the rheological properties of activated lymphocytes prior to adoptive transfer.
The determination of fission time scales from excitation function data

Abstract Fission excitation functions for 16 O+ 141 Pr, 165 Ho, 175 Lu and 197 Au, for 12 C+ 169 Tm and for 22 Ne+ 22 Ne+ 159 Tb have been analyzed to determine the excitation energy dependence of the fission probability. As excitation energy increases, this probability reaches a maximum and then decreases monotonically. The results provide new and detailed information on the time distribution of the fission probability and confirm that the bulk of the pre-scission emission occurs prior to the saddle point.
Malleable applications for scalable high performance computing

Iterative applications are known to run as slow as their slowest computational component. This paper introduces malleability, a new dynamic reconfiguration strategy to overcome this limitation. Malleability is the ability to dynamically change the data size and number of computational entities in an application. Malleability can be used by middleware to autonomously reconfigure an application in response to dynamic changes in resource availability in an architecture-aware manner, allowing applications to optimize the use of multiple processors and diverse memory hierarchies in heterogeneous environments. The modular Internet Operating System (IOS) was extended to reconfigure applications autonomously using malleability. Two different iterative applications were made malleable. The first is used in astronomical modeling, and representative of maximum-likelihood applications was made malleable in the SALSA programming language. The second models the diffusion of heat over a two dimensional object, and is representative of applications such as partial differential equations and some types of distributed simulations. Versions of the heat application were made malleable both in SALSA and MPI. Algorithms for concurrent data redistribution are given for each type of application. Results show that using malleability for reconfiguration is 10 to 100 times faster on the tested environments. The algorithms are also shown to be highly scalable with respect to the quantity of data involved. While previous work has shown the utility of dynamically reconfigurable applications using only computational component migration, malleability is shown to provide up to a 15% speedup over component migration alone on a dynamic cluster environment. This work is part of an ongoing research effort to enable applications to be highly reconfigurable and autonomously modifiable by middleware in order to efficiently utilize distributed environments. Grid computing environments are becoming increasingly heterogeneous and dynamic, placing new demands on applications' adaptive behavior. This work shows that malleability is a key aspect in enabling effective dynamic reconfiguration of iterative applications in these environments.
Research on Characteristics of Partial Discharge in Typical Defects of High-Voltage XLPE Cable

Six models of typical insulation defects are designed and lab-simulated system used for partial discharge (PD) detection of cables and accessories has been constructed to study PD characteristics of internal insulation defects in 110 kV XLPE cable system. By employing CPDM, a kind of on-line PD detector, test data of various models including related PD diagrams are obtained for our research. Based on these characteristic parameters, discharge characteristic analyses of a single PD pulse are presented and statistical operators can be obtained by numerical calculation. The experimental results show that CPDM on-line detecting method is effective for detecting PD signals from internal defects of cable accessories. In addition, there are significant differences in the some statistical parameters (e.g. discharge phase, discharge repetition rate, etc) and characteristic parameters of time-domain PD waveform which can be used as reference points for PD patterns identification in future research.
Inventory Decision under Demand Uncertainty: A Contingent Claims Approach

This study uses the discrete-time option pricing model for the evaluation of the firm's inventory decision under demand uncertainty. The paper establishes the following optimal inventory decision implications: the optimal order quantity is positively related to the product selling price, product salvage value, interest rate, and the size of the outstanding orders; and negatively related to the product cost. The effect of demand uncertainty on the optimal order quantity is shown to be ambiguous. This study also shows that the maximum present value of profit from the contingent claims approach can be substantially different from that of the modified standard newsboy problem.
Partially Pooled Covariance Matrix Estimation in Discriminant Analysis

The Linear Discriminant Rule (LD) is theoretically justified for use in classification when the population within-groups covariance matrices are equal, something rarely known in practice. As an alternative, the Quadratic Discriminant Rule (QD) avoids assuming equal covariance matrices, but requires the estimation of a large number of parameters. Hence, the performance of QD may be poor if the training set sizes are small or moderate. In fact, simulation studies have shown that in the two-groups case LD often outperforms QD for small training sets even when the within -groups covariance matrices differ substantially. The present article shows this to be true when there are more than two groups, as well. Thus, it would seem reasonable and useful to develop a data-based method of classification that, in effect, represents a compromise between QD and LD. In this article we develop such a method based on an empirical Bayes formulation in which the within-groups covariance matrices are assumed to be outcomes of...
Work and Income Sharing in a Rural Economy: Effect on Economic Growth and Welfare

An endogenous growth model is developed to explore the effect of work and income sharing (WIS) on economic growth and welfare in a developing rural economy. The practice of WIS is a mechanism which converts incremental diversity of risk into volatility reduction and overall welfare gain. However, the effect on economic growth is sector specific. WIS in the intermediate goods sector has a pro-growth effect through higher investment returns while in the agricultural sector it has an anti-growth effect through lower precautionary savings. WIS also decreases the level of regional government subsidies needed to achieve the optimal growth rate.
Workshop - The Signals and Systems Concept Inventory

The signals and systems concept inventory (SSCI) is a 25 question multiple choice exam designed to assess studentspsila conceptual understanding in signals and systems (S&S), a common core course in electrical and computer engineering curricula. The SSCI provides both formative assessment to instructors looking to improve studentspsila conceptual understanding in their courses, and summative assessment which can be used as part of the accreditation process. The SSCI is a mature instrument in its seventh year of development, given to over 1800 students by more than 30 instructors. This workshop will employ the active and collaborative learning techniques we advocate for improving studentspsila conceptual understanding. The workshop will describe the concepts assessed by the SSCI and the design of the SSCI questions. We will review the extensive pre-test/post-test data collected with the SSCI, including student gain data, the impact of instructional format on conceptual understanding, and the relative difficulty the SSCI questions. Wepsilall also discuss which misconceptions the SSCI finds to be most resistant to instruction. The workshop will provide examples of how other instructors have incorporated the SSCI into their research on S&S pedagogy.
Electrochemical Deposition of Hydrosulfide and Ethanethiolate Adlayers on Silver(111). Voltammetric Measurement of Structural Phase Transitions During Adlayer Formation

Reversible, oxidative adsorption of hydrosulfide (HS−) and ethanethiolate (CH3CH2S−) on highly-ordered, Ag(111) electrodes in aqueous 0.5 M NaOH solutions is reported. Oxidation of HS− and CH3CH2S− results in adlayer formation, as determined by voltammetry, coulometry, and in-situ electrochemical quartz-crystal measurements. The voltammetric response of Ag(111) in HS− solutions displays three characteristic waves. Two waves correspond to the reversible 1-e− oxidative adsorption of HS”, resulting in the formation of a Ag-SH adlayer. The third wave corresponds to the kinetically-slow 1-e− oxidation of the Ag-SH adlayer, yielding an underpotential deposited monolayer of Ag2S. The voltammetric response observed in CH3CH2S− solutions is qualitatively similar to that of HS−, displaying two well-resolved waves corresponding to oxidative adsorption. The observation of two voltammetric waves is suggestive of a mechanism of CH3CH2S− adlayer formation involving at least two distinct structural phases. However, unlike the situation for HS”, the resulting Ag-SCH2CH3 adlayer is unable to undergo a second oxidative transition. The free energies of adsorption of HS” and CH3CH2S− on Ag(111) are measured to be ca. −23 kcal/mol.
Unprecedented vibration damping with high values of loss modulus and loss tangent, exhibited by cement–matrix graphite network composite

Abstract This paper reports a material with unprecedented vibration damping ability, as shown by high values of both the loss tangent (vibration amplitude decay rate) and the loss modulus (energy dissipation ability, equal to the product of the storage modulus and the loss tangent) under flexure at 0.2 Hz at room temperature. The loss modulus (7.5 GPa) exceeds that of any previously reported material, including the best metal-based material, which suffers from a low loss tangent. The loss tangent (0.81) is comparable to or exceeds that of any previously reported material, including rubber, which suffers from a low loss modulus. This material is a cement–matrix graphite network composite containing 8 vol.% graphite and made by compressing a mixture of cement particles and exfoliated graphite, which binds by mechanical interlocking, followed by curing in water. The graphite network structure is supported by microscopy and the low electrical resistivity of the composite (0.04 Ω cm perpendicular to the compression direction and 0.5 Ω cm in the compression direction). The composite is much more conductive than the most conductive cement–matrix composite containing a conductive admixture. The high loss tangent is attributed to the graphite network, while the high storage modulus is attributed to the cement matrix.
Optimizing an International Network of Partially Owned Plants Under Conditions of Trade Liberalization

For the last four decades the preferred economic philosophy in much of Latin America was that of import-substituting industrialization. As a result multinational corporations MNCs approached different countries with the expectation that each plant would primarily serve its domestic market. Each of these plants was partially owned by the MNC. Beginning in the late 1980s, Latin America countries began decreasing barriers to cross-border trade. This made competition between the units belonging to a common network possible for the first time. Operations which had subsisted side by side in spite of differences in costs and quality of output, and which were under the control of different owners now found themselves in competition with one another and having to rationalize their efforts. In this paper we analyze the problem of operating a network of plants under conditions of free trade and exchange rate fluctuations, when the firms that compose it are partially-owned subsidiaries of an MNC. A model of three subsidiaries and four countries is developed for one industry, based on actual corporate and economic data. We study the problem of coordinating the activities of the subsidiaries and allocating the gains arising from coordination.
Item Difficulty in the Evaluation of Computer-Based Instruction: An Example from Neuroanatomy

This article reports large item effects in a study of computer-based learning of neuroanatomy. Outcome measures of the efficiency of learning, transfer of learning, and generalization of knowledge diverged by a wide margin across test items, with certain sets of items emerging as particularly difficult to master. In addition, the outcomes of comparisons between instructional methods changed with the difficulty of the items to be learned. More challenging items better differentiated between instructional methods. This set of results is important for two reasons. First, it suggests that instruction may be more efficient if sets of consistently difficult items are the targets of instructional methods particularly suited to them. Second, there is wide variation in the published literature regarding the outcomes of empirical evaluations of computer-based instruction. As a consequence, many questions arise as to the factors that may affect such evaluations. The present article demonstrates that the level of challenge in the material that is presented to learners is an important factor to consider in the evaluation of a computer-based instructional system. Anat Sci Educ. © 2011 American Association of Anatomists.
Conditioning-specific reflex modification of the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) nictitating membrane response is sensitive to context.

Conditioning-specific reflex modification occurs when an unconditioned response is modified in theabsence of the conditioned stimulus as a result of pairings of the conditioned stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus. In two experiments, we assessed conditioning-specific reflex modification in either a novel context (Experiment 1) or a context different from, but equally familiar in relation to, the training context (Experiment 2). Conditioning-specific reflex modification did not demonstrate sensitivity to a novel context but did demonstrate sensitivity to a change in familiar context. The data cannot be explained by unconditioned stimulus preexposure, overtraining, or context insensitivity. The results suggest that conditioning-specific reflex modification models normal stress and may be used to evaluate theories of and treatments for posttraumatic stress disorder.
Using the Logic Model to Plan Extension and Outreach Program Development and Scholarship.

In searching for a process to help program teams of campus-based faculty and field-based educators develop five-year and annual statewide program plans, cooperative extension administrators and specialists in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences discovered that the use of the logic model process can influence the successful design of specific programs as well as outreach scholarship. The team and logic model processes that were employed have helped educators identify goals, articulate measurable impacts, and evaluate their programs, resulting in both incremental and substantial organizational change. This article illustrates how the logic model process is an organizational and leadership tool. The authors share their perspectives on the logic model process, implementation strategies, and the benefits of developing a community of learners to enhance outreach.
The Boss: Conspicuous Invisibility in Ho Chi Minh City

This article introduces the figure of the Vietnamese boss, (ong chủ), in this case, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of a Ho Chi Minh City securities trading company. The boss's body techniques, lifestyle choices, and movement through different spaces in the city offer a view into the “everyday presentation of wealth” among business leaders who drive much of the economic transformation in contemporary Vietnam. In order to illuminate how the figure speaks to a particular moment in Vietnam's great urban transformation, the essay describes practices of “conspicuous invisibility” through which the boss manages what can and cannot be seen about his wealth. As a figure, the boss stands out against the background of economic privatization, the emergence of a stock market, rapid urbanization, and the changing moral valuation of those who accumulate wealth. The article also suggests that conspicuous invisibility both produces and is produced by new kinds of urban spaces. [Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon, New Urban Zones, elites].
High spectral purity oscillator at 40 GHz: Design using air-dielectric cavity

We describe the design of a low-phase modulated (PM) noise 40 GHz oscillator that uses a conventional air-dielectric cavity resonator as a frequency discriminator to clean up the PM noise of a commercial 10 GHz dielectric resonator oscillator (DRO) multiplied by four. The main features of this design incorporate (1) unloaded cavity quality factor (Q) of 30,000, (2) high coupling coefficient, (3) large carrier suppression by use of interferometric signal processing, (4) large operating signal power of approximately 1 Watt (W), and (5) relatively small size.
Effects of fiber cracking on elastoplastic-damage behavior of fiber-reinforced metal matrix composites:

A micromechanical multi-level elastoplastic evolutionary damage framework is proposed to predict the overall transverse mechanical behavior and damage evolutions of cylindrical fiber-reinforced ductile composites. Progressively cracked fibers are modeled using the double-inclusion theory. The effective elastic moduli of three-phase composites, consisting of a matrix, randomly located yet monotonically aligned cylindrical uncracked fibers and cracked fibers, are derived by using a micromechanical formulation. In order to characterize the homogenized elastoplastic behavior, a micromechanical effective yield criterion is derived based on the ensemble-area averaging process and the first-order effects of eigenstrains. The resulting effective yield criterion, together with the overall associative plastic flow rule and the hardening law, constitutes the analytical framework for the estimation of effective transverse elastoplastic-damage responses of ductile composites containing both uncracked and cracked fiber...
Insecticides reduce survival and the expression of traits associated with carnivory of carnivorous plants

While agrochemical pollution is thought to be an important conservation threat to carnivorous plants, the effects of insecticides on these taxa have not been quantified previously. Using a combination of lab- and field-based experiments, we tested the effects of commercial and technical grades of three widely used insecticides (carbaryl, lambda-cyhalothrin, and malathion) on survival and the expression of traits associated with carnivory of pink sundews (Drosera capillaris) and Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula). Commercial grades were generally more harmful than technical grades under lab and field conditions, but all three insecticides were capable of reducing both survival and the expression of traits associated with carnivory within recommended application rates. However, pink sundews appeared to be more susceptible to insecticides than Venus flytraps, perhaps because of larger numbers of digestive glands on the leaf surfaces. We make several recommendations for future research directions, such as examining the long-term effects of insecticides on carnivorous plant populations, for example in terms of growth rates and fitness. Additionally, future research should include representative species from a wider-range of carnivorous plant growth forms, and explore the mechanism by which insecticides are harming the plants. Given the effects we observed in the present study, we suggest that the use of insecticides should be carefully managed in areas containing vulnerable carnivorous plant species.
That was a great catch

I t’s almost the end of your shift, and you've had the typical high-volume, high-acuity kind of day we have all experienced. Your patient needs a medication, so off you go to the medication room to prepare it. When the drawer to the automated dispensing cabinet opens, you notice that a medication has been placed in the wrong pocket. You quickly return the medication to the correct pocket, grab what you came for, close the drawer, and head back to your patient. A few days later you hear that a patient in your department received an incorrect medication and required hospitalization as a result of the error. The medication the patient received was the one you found in the wrong pocket only days before. We choose not to report near misses for many reasons. Although most of us understand that the purpose of reporting near misses is to identify improvement opportunities in the system, we often do not report them. Aston and Young found that the top 2 reasons near misses were underreported in their emergency department were that the reporting processes were too lengthy and a fear of punitive action as a result of reporting the event. I am confident these 2 reasons could be echoed in emergency departments across the United States and around the world. All of you are leaders. Whether your title at work is “staff nurse” or “ED director,” you are a leader. It takes all of us,
Pilgrimage, Place, and People: A History of the Locations of Mennonite World Conference Assemblies, 1925–2003

In June 1924, Christian Neff, president of the Conference of South German Mennonites, sent an invitation to “all of the major Mennonite bodies around the world,” to participate in a world conference that would commemorate the 400th anniversary of the first Anabaptist rebaptisms. The meeting was to be held in Basel and Zurich, Switzerland. Whether or not the one hundred or so attendees at the June 1925 conference thought of themselves as pilgrims, the combination of the date and the locations defined this gathering in a way that at least subconsciously reflected the idea of pilgrimage. As both early and contemporary Christians have been fascinated with and have desired to visit places associated with biblical characters, and especially with Jesus, descendants of the sixteenth-century Anabaptists who planned the 1925 gathering were clearly reflecting on the importance of place to their faith. If they had not, they could have held the meeting solely in Basel, which met their need for a centrally located and easily accessible city to European Mennonites. Instead, they added Zurich, the place of the first Anabaptist rebaptisms in January 1525 and one of the earliest sites of Anabaptist martyrdom, to their meeting schedule.