cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exploring a Conceptual Model-Based Approach to Teaching Situated Word Problems

The authors explored the effects of teaching conceptual model-based problem-solving instruction on students' ability to solve problems in various situations. Participants were 3 4th- and 5th-grade students with or at risk for mathematics disabilities. The authors used an adapted multiple-probe across-participants design to assess the functional relation between the intervention and the students' problem-solving performance. The results indicate that the intervention improved students' performance on researcher-designed criterion tests and a norm-referenced standardized test (i.e., the problem-solving subtest of the KeyMath Revised Normative Update; A. J. Connolly, 1998). The authors discuss the results in the context of providing students with appropriate educational opportunities, including carefully designed instruction.
Microvascular display of xanthine oxidase and NADPH oxidase in the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

Objective: Oxygen free radical production in hypertension may be associated with elevated arteriolar tone and organ injury. Previous results suggest an enhanced level of oxygen free radical formation in microvascular endothelium and in circulating neutrophils associated with xanthine oxidase activity in the spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) compared with their normotensive controls, the Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY). The aim of this study was to gain more detailed understanding of where oxidative enzymes are located in the microcirculation.Methods: An approach was developed to delineate the cellular distribution of two selected oxidative enzymes, xanthine oxidase and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) dependent oxidase (protein 67-kDa fraction). Immunolabeling with peroxidase substrate was utilized, which permits full delineation of the primary antibody in all microvascular structures of the mesentery.Results: Xanthine oxidase is present in the endothelium of all segments of the microcircul...
Uncertainty Analysis of the Single-Vector Force Balance Calibration System

This paper presents an uncertainty analysis of the Single-Vector Force Balance Calibration System (SVS). This study is focused on the uncertainty involved in setting the independent variables during the calibration experiment. By knowing the uncertainty in the calibration system, the fundamental limits of the calibration accuracy of a particular balance can be determined. A brief description of the SVS mechanical system is provided. A mathematical model is developed to describe the mechanical system elements. A sensitivity analysis of these parameters is carried out through numerical simulations to assess the sensitivity of the total uncertainty to the elemental error sources. These sensitivity coefficients provide valuable information regarding the relative significance of the elemental sources of error. An example calculation of the total uncertainty for a specific balance is provided. Results from this uncertainty analysis are specific to the Single-Vector System, but the approach is broad in nature and therefore applicable to other measurement and calibration systems.
Under the veil of ignorance: the approval of the results of the Uruguay Round of GATT in the Brazilian Parliament

O artigo analisa o processo de aprovacao, pelo Congresso Nacional do Brasil, dos resultados da Rodada Uruguai do Acordo Geral sobre Tarifas Aduaneiras e Comercio (GATT) em 1994. The article analyzes the process of approving by the Brazilian Parliament of the results of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994.
Overcoming roadblocks in widespread use of hardware description languages for RF/analog design

RF/analog system design often requires many more constructs than are present in Verilog and VHDL-AMS language extensions. These additional constructs are vendor specific and thus constrain the design database to a specific vendor. This paper describes the design of an LNA as part of software radio architecture to highlight some of the issues in using an HDL approach for system design
A high-current, high-voltage power supply with special output current waveform for APS injector synchrotron dipole magnets

The authors describe a high-voltage, high-current power supply for the injector synchrotron dipole magnets at APS (Advanced Photon Source). In order to reset the dipole magnets in each cycle, two different current waveforms are suggested. The first current waveform consists of three sections: DC-reset, linear ramp, and recovery sections where injection is done on the fly. The second current waveform consists of six different sections: DC-reset, transition to injection level, injection flat level, parabolic, linear ramp, and recovery sections. The effect of such waveforms on the beam is discussed, and the power supply limitations to follow such waveforms are given. The power supply limitations are due to the power components and control loops. The reference for the current loop is generated by a digital-to-analog converter. The injection on the fly method using a linear ramp that starts from an adjustable reset level and ramps to the evacuation level was selected. >
Polarization signaling in swordtails alters female mate preference

Polarization of light, and visual sensitivity to it, is pervasive across aquatic and terrestrial environments. Documentation of invertebrate use of polarized light is widespread from navigation and foraging to species recognition. However, studies demonstrating that polarization body patterning serves as a communication signal (e.g., with evidence of changes in receiver behavior) are rare among invertebrate taxa and conspicuously absent among vertebrates. Here, we investigate polarization-mediated communication by northern swordtails, Xiphophorus nigrensis, using a custom-built videopolarimeter to measure polarization signals and an experimental paradigm that manipulates polarization signals without modifying their brightness or color. We conducted mate choice trials in an experimental tank that illuminates a pair of males with light passed through a polarization filter and a diffusion filter. By alternating the order of these filters between males, we presented females with live males that differed in polarization reflectance by >200% but with intensity and color differences below detection thresholds (∼5%). Combining videopolarimetry and polarization-manipulated mate choice trials, we found sexually dimorphic polarized reflectance and polarization-dependent female mate choice behavior with no polarization-dependent courtship behavior by males. Male swordtails exhibit greater within-body and body-to-background polarization contrast than females, and females preferentially associate with high-polarization–reflecting males. We also found limited support that males increase polarization contrast in social conditions over asocial conditions. Polarization cues in mate choice contexts may provide aquatic vertebrates with enhanced detection of specific display features (e.g., movements, angular information), as well as a signaling mechanism that may enhance detection by intended viewers while minimizing detection by others.
TM scattering by a general sheet impedance discontinuity

An integral equation and spectral-domain method of moments (MM) solution to the two-dimensional problem of transverse magnetic (TM) scattering by a general sheet impedance discontinuity in a plane multilayered medium is presented. The MM solution uses a combination of pulse and traveling-wave physical basis functions to efficiently analyze discontinuities that extend to infinity. Numerical results that illustrate the use and accuracy of the method are presented. >
The accumulation of the light-harvesting 2 complex during remodeling of the Rhodobacter sphaeroides intracytoplasmic membrane results in a slowing of the electron transfer turnover rate of photochemical reaction centers.

A functional proteomic analysis of the intracytoplasmic membrane (ICM) development process was performed in Rhodobacter sphaeroides during adaptation from high-intensity illumination to indirect diffuse light. This initiated an accelerated synthesis of the peripheral light-harvesting 2 (LH2) complex relative to that of LH1−reaction center (RC) core particles. After 11 days, ICM vesicles (chromatophores) and membrane invagination sites were isolated by rate-zone sedimentation and subjected to clear native gel electrophoresis. Proteomic analysis of gel bands containing the RC−LH1 and −LH2 complexes from digitonin-solubilized chromatophores revealed high levels of comigrating electron transfer enzymes, transport proteins, and membrane assembly factors relative to their equivalent gel bands from cells undergoing adaptation to direct low-level illumination. The GroEL chaperonin accounted for >65% of the spectral counts in the RC−LH1 band from membrane invagination sites, which together with the appearance of a...
Two-Step Functionalization of Oligosaccharides Using Glycosyl Iodide and Trimethylene Oxide and Its Applications to Multivalent Glycoconjugates

Oligosaccharide conjugates, such as glycoproteins and glycolipids, are potential chemotherapeutics and also serve as useful tools for understanding the biological roles of carbohydrates. With many modern isolation and synthetic technologies providing access to a wide variety of free sugars, there is increasing need for general methodologies for carbohydrate functionalization. Herein, we report a two-step methodology for the conjugation of per-O-acetylated oligosaccharides to functionalized linkers that can be used for various displays. Oligosaccharides obtained from both synthetic and commercial sources were converted to glycosyl iodides and activated with I2 to form reactive donors that were subsequently trapped with trimethylene oxide to form iodopropyl conjugates in a single step. The terminal iodide served as a chemical handle for further modification. Conversion into the corresponding azide followed by copper-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition afforded multivalent glycoconjugates of Gb3 for further investigation as anti-cancer therapeutics.
Existence of Thermodynamics for Real Matter with Coulomb Forces

It is shown that a system made up of nuclei and electrons, the constituents of ordinary matter, has a well-defined statistical-mechanically computed free energy per unit volume in the thermodynamic (bulk) limit. This proves that statistical mechanics, as developed by Gibbs, really leads to a proper thermodynamics for macroscopic systems.
Performance Analysis of Homing Pigeon based Delay Tolerant Networks

This paper presents and analyzes a new type of delay tolerant network where each node owns a dedicated messenger (called a pigeon). The only form of inter-node communication is for a pigeon to periodically carry a batch of messages originated at the home node, deliver them to the corresponding destination nodes and return home. Clearly, given message expiration times, some messages may not reach their destinations by the deadline. Through theoretical analysis and simulations, we study the relationship between the arrival rate (at the home node), batch size, expiration time and delivery ratio (the percentage of messages reaching destinations before they expire) of messages. The simplistic assumptions we make render the problem tractable, and help us gather experience in this topic.
Soft tissue injections in the athlete.

Background:Injections into or adjacent to soft tissue structures, including muscle, tendon, bursa, and fascia, for pain relief and an earlier return to play have become common in the field of sports medicine.Study Design:Clinical review.Results:Corticosteroids, local anesthetics, and ketorolac tromethamine (Toradol) are the most commonly used injectable agents in athletes. The use of these injectable agents have proven efficacy in some disorders, whereas the clinical benefit for others remain questionable. All soft tissue injections performed for pain control and/or an anti-inflammatory effect have potentially serious side effects, which must be considered, especially in the pregame setting.Conclusions:The primary concern regarding corticosteroid and local anesthetic injections is an increased risk of tendon rupture associated with the direct injection into the tendon. Intramuscular Toradol injections provide significant analgesia, as well as an anti-inflammatory effect via its inhibitory effect on the cy...
Keeping the Dream of Rigorous Hypothesis Testing Alive

This article reviews recent work on hypothesis testing in the American Journal of AGricultural Economics and its predecessor journal, the Journal of Farm Economics
Addition of a Block Copolymer to Polymer Blends Produced by Cryogenic Mechanical Alloying

Cryogenic mechanical alloying is used to incorporate a poly(methyl methacrylate-b-isoprene) (MI) diblock copolymer into blends of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polyisoprene (PI). Mechanical milling of the copolymer promotes a reduction in the molar mass of the M block, as discerned from glass transition temperature measurements performed by thermal calorimetry, and induces chemical cross- linking of the I block, as determined from sol-gel analysis. These effects become more pronounced with increasing milling time. Morphological characterization of PMMA-rich PI/MI/PMMA blends by X-ray and electron microscopies reveals that the characteristic size scale of the minority phase decreases with increasing MI content, as well as milling time. The nanostructural features observed in such blends are retained at relatively high MI concentrations during subsequent melt-pressing. Impact testing demon- strates that the blends become tougher upon addition of the MI copolymer, even at relatively low copolymer concentrations. Blend toughness likewise increases with increasing milling time up to a point, beyond which phase inversion occurs within the ternary blends (the PI becomes continuous) and impact strength sharply decreases.
Model for describing plasmon-enhanced lasers that combines rate equations with finite-difference time-domain

We report a theoretical study of lasing when plasmonic metallic structures are embedded in a gain medium. The model used is a dynamic semi-quantum approach that accounts for stimulated and spontaneous emission wherein molecules constituting the laser dye are described using a four-level rate equation model, which is coupled to an electrodynamics description of the entire system including metal particles. Based on 3D simulations in which electromagnetic fields for both the pump and emitted photons are accurately determined for an array of elliptical gold nanorods, we numerically demonstrate lasing action above an intensity threshold for a narrow range of wavelengths close to the plasmon maximum. We also show numerically that this lasing action clamps the population inversion above threshold. The dye molecule photophysics near the nanoparticle was also studied, and it is demonstrated that stimulated emission dominates over spontaneous emission above threshold, with most of the stimulated emission being associated with the near-field region near the metal nanorods. The effect of the Purcell factor on the lasing action is also studied. This theoretical work provides the basic framework for investigation and optimization of light emission arising from the coupling of gain media and plasmonic nanostructures.
Daily exercise-induced cardioprotection is associated with changes in calcium regulatory proteins in hypertensive rats.

Epidemiological data document that regular exercise protects against the morbidity and mortality associated with ischemic heart disease. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that daily exercise (DE)...
Activation of Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase by Stretch-Induced Injury in Astrocytes Involves Extracellular ATP and P2 Purinergic Receptors

Gliosis is characterized by hypertrophic and hyperplastic responses of astrocytes to brain injury. To determine whether injury of astrocytes produced by an in vitro model of brain trauma activates extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), a key regulator of cellular proliferation and differentiation, astrocytes cultured on deformable SILASTIC membranes were subjected to rapid, reversible strain (stretch)-induced injury. Activation of ERK was observed 1 min after injury, was maximal from 10 to 30 min, and remained elevated for 3 hr. Activation of ERK was dependent on the rate and magnitude of injury; maximum ERK activation was observed after a 20-60 msec, 7.5 mm membrane displacement. ERK activation was blocked by inhibiting MEK, the upstream activator of ERK. Activation of ERK was reduced when calcium influx was diminished. When extracellular ATP was hydrolyzed by apyrase or ATP/P2 receptors were blocked, injury-induced ERK activation was significantly reduced. P2 receptor antagonist studies indicated a role for P2X2 and P2Y1, but not P2X1, P2X3, or P2X7, receptors in injury-induced ERK activation. These findings demonstrate for the first time that ATP released by mechanical injury is one of the signals that triggers ERK activation and suggest a role for extracellular ATP, P2 purinergic receptors, and calcium-dependent ERK signaling in the astrocytic response to brain trauma.
The Expanding Center: Creating an Online Presence for the UMBC Writing Center

In September of 2006, the director of the Writing Center at UMBC (University of Maryland–Baltimore County), Mary Hickernell, asked me to research the practice of online peer tutoring. Specifically, Professor Hickernell wanted to know how other schools were approaching the idea of online tutoring in writing and what would be involved in the incorporation of such a program at UMBC. My initial research focused on the “spaces” involved in online tutoring—chat rooms, message boards, emails, and other such environments—as well as the types of methods and tutor training necessary to begin an online tutoring program. Based on my initial research, it became clear to me that developing and implementing an online tutoring program was not something one could jump into headfirst, particularly with the few affordances and great number of limitations faced by UMBC’sWriting Center. Specifically, there would be very little, if any, funding available for such a program, so any efforts toward making online tutoring available to students would have to make use of resources already available to us. To that end, I developed an online environment using Blackboard, and I prepared materials and plans to aid in the training of tutors in online tutoring. Our initial efforts in online tutoring were to serve as an exploratory pilot; we wanted to see what could work for us, what wouldn’t, and, overall, whether offering online tutoring services would be both feasible for the center and beneficial to the UMBC community. Through the pilot program, offered only to a limited number of classes in multiple disciplines, the importance of two realities became very clear: the perspectives of professors whose students would use online tutoring services would be integral to how online services should be offered, and any online tutoring efforts should be considered a counterpart to, as opposed to a replacement or substitution for, our traditional f2f tutoring practices. My personal experience with one student in particular, whom I will call Lana, serves to illustrate many of the conclusions I came to about how online tutoring differs from f2f practice, highlighting the affordances and limitations of each, as well as how the two approaches can be used together in order to enhance the tutoring services we offer to students.
Children's perception of temporally distorted sentential approximations of varying length.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the abilities of second-grade and fourth-grade children to auditorially process three orders of three- and five-word sentential approximations, which had normal interstimulus intervals (ISI) and ISIs of 200 and 400 ms. Results showed that percent correct scores decreased as a function of increasing sentence length and ISI, and decreasing order of sentential approximation and grade level. The results are discussed relative to theoretical notions of short-term memory and auditory perceptual processing as well as potential clinical applications
A Multiple Species Fishery Model: An Input-Output Approach

One indirect consequence of the 35 year absence of conflict among the world’s developed nations has been the transformation of the world’s fish resources from a renewable resource like land and forecasts to near non-renewable ones, such as the metallic and non-metallic, fuel and non-fuel minerals. This process can be directly attributed to the unparalled and unprecedented rise in the standard of living in these countries which has resulted in part from various world-wide institutional agreements on trade and commerce, along with the increased level of the world’s population, and from the introduction of modern technology to exploit these major fisheries. If fish could vote they undoubtedly would favour war among the developed nations.
Concepts and Paradigms in Speech Coding

Speech coding is the process of digital representation of spoken language in a compact and efficient manner that allows the regeneration of a useful reproduction of the original speech. In spite of several decades of ongoing research in speech coding, the field is now even more active than ever. There are several fundamental concepts that underly all speech coding methods and that continue to provide the basis for new coding methods. This chapter reviews these basic concepts and combinations of elementary building blocks that form key paradigms found in coding algorithms today.
Predicting DNA mutations during cancer evolution

Bio-systems are inherently complex information processing systems. Their physiological complexities limit the formulation and testing of a hypothesis for their behaviour. Our goal here was to test a computational framework utilising published data from a longitudinal study of patients with acute myeloid leukaemia AML, whose DNA from both normal and malignant tissues were subjected to NGS analysis at various points in time. By processing the sequencing data before relapse time, we tested our framework by predicting the regions of the genome to be mutated at relapse time and, later, by comparing our results with the actual regions that showed mutations discovered by genome sequencing at relapse time. After a detailed statistical analysis, the resulting correlation coefficient degree of matching of proposed framework with real data is 0.9816 ± 0.009 at 95% confidence interval. This high performance from our proposed framework opens new research opportunities for bioinformatics researchers and clinical doctors.
Constructing New Orleans, Constructing Race: A Population History of New Orleans

How do we understand the racial and ethnic recomposition of New Orleans's diminished population in the year following Hurricane Katrina? Optimists viewing the influx of La tino migrants see in it a revival of the multicultural past of New Orleans, while skeptics suspect that delays in government assistance for residents to return to the city are an at tempt to keep out low-income blacks and make the city whiter and wealthier. The shifts in the population of New Orleans are familiar to sociologists and economists who study labor-market demand for low-skill, inexpensive, and flexible workers. The low-prestige jobs they do are reserved for those at the bottom of the social hierarchy, most often im migrants or members of stigmatized minorities.1 The sociodemographic characteristics of workers building and rebuilding the city shift only when social and market forces combine to make one group less expensive and more flexible than the other. I use this sociological insight to analyze New Orleans's population history and the way race has been socially constructed and reconstructed there. The population history of New Orleans falls into three distinct periods. In the first, from the city's founding until the end of the nineteenth century (1718-1899), migra tion-driven population growth provided the city with the labor of African slaves, their descendants, and the Irish and Italian migrants who replaced them. The second period (1900?2005) was characterized by slower growth, driven by births and longer life expec tancy rather than net in-migration, and the consolidation of a biracial society. The last period (200 5-present) began after New Orleans's population vacated the city in the wake of Katrina, pre-Katrina residents selectively returned to the city, and an influx of largely undocumented Latino migrant workers arrived. The incorporation ofthat last group into New Orleans's society will depend on the continued demand for low-wage construction and service workers, the degree to which the federal and state governments facilitate the return of the pre-Katrina population that made up the previously majority-black labor force, and the enforcement of anti-immigrant policies such as employer sanctions and deportations of undocumented workers?all factors that affect the construction of a low wage, low-skill, and disposable labor force. (See figure 1.)
Solutions of an Equation in Abelian Groups

(1979). Solutions of an Equation in Abelian Groups. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 86, No. 8, pp. 690-690.
An assessment of the use of the Kozeny-Carman relationship to estimate permeability in anisotropic materials from NMR data

Summary Calculating permeability from NMR data has been accomplished through the use of empirical relationships based on the Kozeny-Carman (K-C) relationship. The parameters in the K-C relationship are surface area to volume ratio (S/V), porosity and tortuosity. Due to the link between NMR measured parameters and S/V, there is potential for using NMR data to obtain estimates of permeability, where the NMR parameter T2ML replaces S/V. To examine the validity of the K-C relationship in an anisotropic media, two systems were examined, 1) anisotropic grain packs and 2) layered sand/clay systems. In the anisotropic grain pack, permeability was calculated numerically in the vertical (kv) and horizontal (kh) directions using lattice-Boltzmann and compared with K-C derived permeability (kK-C). Results show that K-C was a good predictor of both kv and kh. In the sand/clay layered system, values of permeability and porosity were assigned to the sand and clay, and the volume fraction of clay was increased from 0 to 1.0. The kv and kh were calculated analytically. Predicted permeability values were calculated with the K-C relationship using an average S/V, an amplitude-weighted average S/V, and an amplitude weighted mean log S/V (which corresponds to T2ML). Results show strong directional dependence in the agreement between the K-C-predicted permeability and true permeability. When S/V is calculated in a way so that it corresponds to T2ML, K-C is a good predictor of kh up to a critical volume fraction clay content; beyond this, K-C underestimates kh. When S/V is calculated in a way so that it corresponds to the average T2, the K-C relationship was a good predictor of kv only after a critical volume fraction clay content. Further research is needed to quantify the errors associated with the permeability predicted from NMR data using the K-C relationship when averaging over an anisotropic material occurs.
Cytochrome c interaction with membranes. I. Use of a fluorescent chromophore in the study of cytochrome c interaction with artificial and mitochondrial membranes.

Quenching of 12-(9-anthroyl) stearic acid (AS) fluorescence by cytochrome c occurs through an energy-transfer mechanism and can be used to measure the binding of the cytochrome to artificial and mitochondrial membranes. The quenching of AS3 fluorescence is biphasic (t12 below 25 msec and above 500 msec) and its extent diminishes at high salt concentration or at high pH and increases in the presence of negatively charged lipids. Addition of cytochrome c to cytochrome c-depleted mitochondria results in binding of the cytochrome to the membrane and quenching of AS fluorescence. The affinity of oxidized cytochrome c for cytochrome c-depleted mitochondria is 1.8 × 106 m, while the affinity constant for reduced cytochrome c is 0.5 × 106 m. The lower affinity of the reduced cytochrome c for mitochondrial membranes is in accordance with midpoint potential differences between the bound and free forms.
Hematological changes in laying hens receiving Sterculia foetida oil supplements.

Abstract Single Comb White Leghorn laying hens were fed Sterculia foetida oil (S.F.O.) at levels of 0.1, and 0.3 and 1.0% of the diet to study the fatty acid distribution of blood plasma and its effects on the hematology of the chicken. Hens fed dietary S.F.O. had higher concentrations of 16:0 and 18:0 and lower concentrations of 16:1 and 18:1 in the fatty acids of their blood plasma. In studies of the association of the change in fatty acid distribution, it was found that the continuous ingestion of S.F.O. by the laying hen significantly (P
Summarization of Theory and Application of Running Reliability of Bulk Power Grid

Running of power grid is up against increasing risk, analysis of power grid running reliability is a key task to the safety of power grid. The paper emphasizes particularly on the 2 points of power grid: large and running reliability, summarizes the reliability theory and application, and puts forward some improving methods about arithmetic of reliability such as: to increase the speed of fault modes searching, to count the stability of power system, to use complex networks to improve control ability, to consider the hidden failure, to use data from Wide Area Measurement System, to cooperate with the FACTS devices etc
Lipid biomarker stratigraphic records through the Late Devonian Frasnian/Famennian boundary: Comparison of high- and low-latitude epicontinental marine settings

Abstract The pervasiveness of black shale preservation in association with Late Devonian biological crises suggests marine anoxia played a major role in driving ecological perturbations. However, Devonian black shale deposition is still mechanistically poorly understood. We have compiled detailed biomarker lipid chemostratigraphic records for 83 different rock samples using molecular constituents of bitumens of Upper Kellwasser equivalent black shales from two foreland basins: from the low paleolatitude Appalachian Basin (New York State) and from the high paleolatitude Madre de Dios Basin (Bolivia), in order to better understand local environmental conditions and organic source inputs during this depositional event. Despite strong indications from stable nitrogen isotopic signatures for fixed nitrogen nutrient limitation, the biomarker assemblages with consistently low-moderate hopane/sterane ratios ( 28 /C 29 sterane ratios at higher paleolatitude in the more nutrient-replete Madre de Dios Basin suggest prasinophyte microalgae flourished in this setting in accordance with palynological evidence for high contributions of Tasmanites cysts in these strata. All samples contain only very low absolute amounts of aryl isoprenoids (with 2,3,6-trimethyl substitution) and other aromatic carotenoids, up to several orders of magnitude lower than concentrations reported from other Phanerozoic euxinic basins. These data are consistent with local marine paleo-redox models for both basins lacking a persistently shallow sulfidic aquatic zone and demonstrate that temporally persistent or spatially pervasive photic zone euxinia is not necessarily associated with all black shale sequences in the Late Devonian.
An Empirical Investigation of Bilateral Investments and Opportunism in Buyer-Supplier Relationships

Collaboration between buyers and their suppliers often requires both parties to dedicate specialized investments to the relationship. These bilateral idiosyncratic investments serve as mutual hostages and signal commitment to the relationship, yet they are susceptible to expropriation. Drawing on research in social psychology and transaction cost economics, we argue that the nature of the bilateral idiosyncratic investments influences perceptions of a supplier's opportunism that in turn influences retailer opportunism and relationship outcomes. Data collected from 120 Norwegian managers of consumer electronics retail stores provide an assessment of the proposed model. The results indicate that the total and asymmetrical nature of the bilateral idiosyncratic investments influence perceptions of supplier opportunism and these perceptions, in turn, influence the retailer's opportunism and commitment to the relationship. Implications of these findings and future research are discussed.
A Mathematical Version of Garrison's Model

We develop a simple mathematical version of Garrison’s model. The purpose to develop a mathematical framework is to (1) show how such representation can be used and (2) layout a path for future work that requires a more flexible version of Garrison’s treatment than the graphical exposition. While the graphical model is limited to three dimensions, a mathematical version can include more variables of interest. First, we develop the mathematical framework of Garrison’s treatment. Then we apply it to the cases of increase in savings, secular growth, and the Austrian business cycle theory.
Supporting police community support officers to become effective school link officers: key stakeholder perceptions of a pilot professional development programme

This article presents the findings of a pilot professional development programme designed to support police community support officers (PCSOs) to become effective school link officers (SLOs) within urban secondary schools in the English West Midlands. Findings are presented via perceptions of key stakeholders: SLOs themselves; school-based mentors supporting the work of SLOs; and the West Midlands Police officer coordinating aspects of the project. The agreed professional development model comprised a two-day induction programme; school-based mentoring and coaching; and SLOs’ reflections via a small-scale action research project. Findings reveal the complexities of community policing in contemporary urban secondary school contexts and the challenges of enhancing the professional status of the SLO. Although PCSOs have been working as SLOs for several years, preparation for this role has been inadequate and the issue has generally been overlooked in the literature. The pivotal role of effective school-based...
Suitability of cover crop monocultures for late-season forage in South Dakota

Hansen, M. J., Owens, V. N., Beck, D. and Sexton, P. 2013. Suitability of cover crop monocultures for late-season forage in South Dakota. Can. J. Plant Sci. 93: 589–597. Cover crops provide many agronomic benefits and can produce large amounts of forage that is suitable for grazing. The objectives of this study were to determine (1) suitable cover crop forages based on yield and nutrient values; and (2) changes in feed value and yield of these crops through the late fall. Five cover crop monocultures consisting of lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.), foxtail millet (Setaria italica L.), oats (Avena sativa L.), forage radish (Raphanus sativus L.), and a mixture of these crops were planted after winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) harvest in 2010 and 2011 in central and southeastern South Dakota. Forage data were collected on approximately Oct. 01, Nov. 01, and Dec. 01 each year. Yields increased after the first harvest date at both sites, both years. Oats, radish, and the cover c...
Treatment with erythropoiesis stimulating agents in patients with chronic kidney disease complicated by cancer

Anemia, commonly seen in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), is due to a relatively reduced production of erythropoietin by renal interstitial fibroblasts. The development of cancer in pati...
Dynamic relationship between infantile hepatitis syndrome and cytomegalovirus infection

We investigated the correlation between cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection and infantile hepatitis syndrome and the correlation between blood ammonia levels in children with CMV-induced hepatitis syndrome and liver function indicators. To analyze the relationship between the positive-negative attributes of CMV infection and the recurrence rate of infantile hepatitis syndrome, a total of 86 cases of children with hepatitis syndrome admitted to Xuzhou Children's Hospital from January 2014 to March 2015 were selected for the study group. Furthermore, 86 cases of healthy children who visited our hospital for a physical examination during the same period were selected as the control group. From the two groups, serum CMV-immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels were determined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and urinary CMV-deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was ascertained by fluorescent ratio polymerase chain reaction. These levels were then compared between the two groups and analyzed. A fully automatic biochemical analyzer was utilized to evaluate the blood ammonia and liver function indicators of the children with infantile hepatitis syndrome induced by CMV infection and to analyze the correlation of these factors. A mean follow-up of 12 months after the children's discharge was adopted to observe the relationship between the negative-positive attributes of CMV infection and the recurrence rate in the children upon cure. The positive detection rate for the serum CMV-IgM was 24.4%, and that for the urinary CMV-DNA was 34.9%; both values were significantly higher than that for the control group (P 0.05), but they were negatively correlated with blood albumin (ALB) (P<0.05). The recurrence rate of hepatitis syndrome among the children with negative CMV infection was 3.8%, which was significantly lower than that among the children with positive CMV infection (62.5%, P<0.05). A significant correlation was found between CMV infection and infantile hepatitis syndrome, with the former being a risk factor for the latter. Changes in the conditions of infantile hepatitis syndrome may be reflected by blood ammonia and ALB indicators. Through improved monitoring, these indicators facilitate the early diagnosis and treatment of children with hepatitis syndrome induced by CMV infection. Sufficient attention should be paid to preventive measures to reduce the incidence rate of infantile hepatitis syndrome.
Mitochondrial dysfunction and damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) in chronic inflammatory diseases

Inflammation represents a comprehensive host response to external stimuli for the purpose of eliminating the offending agent, minimizing injury to host tissues and fostering repair of damaged tissues back to homeostatic levels. In normal physiologic context, inflammatory response culminates with the resolution of infection and tissue damage response. However, in a pathologic context, persistent or inappropriately regulated inflammation occurs that can lead to chronic inflammatory diseases. Recent scientific advances have integrated the role of innate immune response to be an important arm of the inflammatory process. Accordingly, the dysregulation of innate immunity has been increasingly recognized as a driving force of chronic inflammatory diseases. Mitochondria have recently emerged as organelles which govern fundamental cellular functions including cell proliferation or differentiation, cell death, metabolism and cellular signaling that are important in innate immunity and inflammation-mediated diseases. As a natural consequence, mitochondrial dysfunction has been highlighted in a myriad of chronic inflammatory diseases. Moreover, the similarities between mitochondrial and bacterial constituents highlight the intrinsic links in the innate immune mechanisms that control chronic inflammation in diseases where mitochondrial damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) have been involved. Here in this review, the role of mitochondria in innate immune responses is discussed and how it pertains to the mitochondrial dysfunction or DAMPs seen in chronic inflammatory diseases is reviewed.
CD4:CD8 ratio and CD8+ cell count for prognosticating mortality in HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy

In people living with HIV (PLWH), immune compromise is largely due to a decrease in CD4 + T-lymphocyte (CD4) cells, resulting in increased rates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated morbidity and mortality as CD4 + cell count declines. Previously, it was common to defer initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in asymptomatic PLWH until their CD4 + cell count declined below a certain threshold, which has changed throughout the years based on updated guidelines, increasing access to ART, and lower drug prices.
The Impact of Public Expenditure and International Trade on Agricultural Productivity in China

The “industry nurturing agriculture” reforms and World Trade Organization accession led to dramatic growth in public expenditure and international trade in China’s agricultural sector. This article...
Introduction: Why Frame the Performing Arts as High-Impact Practice?

The performing arts are frequently unacknowledged for their delivery of the “high-impact practices” (HIPs), as identified by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U). Using the well-known map of the HIPs for illustrating the centrality of performing arts practices in higher education, we call for increased participation by performing arts programs in general education, and campus and community initiatives, with specific case studies as a guide. This is the first book to explicitly link the performing arts to HIPs, and will result in the implementation of best practices to meet the transformative educational goals of students and ready them for the creative careers of the future. At stake is the viability of performing arts programs to continue to serve students in their pursuit of a liberal arts education.
Acute myocardial infarction in young women: current perspectives

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the leading cause of death in women worldwide. Every year, in the USA alone, more than 30,000 young women <55 years of age are hospitalized with AMI. In recent decades, the incidence of AMI is increasing in younger women in the context of increasing metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, and non-traditional risk factors such as stress, anxiety, and depression. Although women are classically considered to present with atypical chest pain, several observational data confirm that men and women experience similar rates of chest pain, with some differences in intensity, duration, radiation, and the choice of descriptors. Women also experience more number of symptoms and more prodromal symptoms compared with men. Suboptimal awareness, sociocultural and financial reasons result in pre-hospital delays in women and lower rates of access to care with resulting undertreatment with guideline-directed therapies. Causes of AMI in young women include plaque-related MI, microvascular dysfunction or vasospasm, and spontaneous coronary artery dissection. Compared with men, women have greater in-hospital, early and late mortality, as a result of baseline comorbidities. Post-AMI women have lower referral to cardiac rehabilitation with more dropouts, lower levels of physical activity, and poorer improvements in health status compared with men, with higher inflammatory levels at 1-year from index presentation. Future strategies should focus on primary and secondary prevention, adherence, and post-AMI health-related quality of life. This review discusses the current evidence in the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of AMI in young women.
Advancing Tarsoconjunctival Flaps from the Same Lid

Eyelid reconstruction requires separate reconstruction of the anterior and posterior lamella. Posterior lamella may be reconstructed with a number of techniques. Advancement of a tarsoconjunctival flap from the same eyelid is an option in posterior lamellar reconstruction and has the advantage of the avoidance of a donor site and not closing the eyelids postoperatively. This technique can be used for reconstruction of up to 60% defects. Reconstruction of the anterior lamella can then be performed with either local flaps or free grafts, as the flap provides a vascularized bed.
Cross-Talk between Wnt and Hh Signaling Pathways in the Pathology of Basal Cell Carcinoma.

Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most frequently occurring form of all cancers. The cost of care for BCC is one of the highest for all cancers in the Medicare population in the United States. Activation of Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway appears to be a key driver of BCC development. Studies involving mouse models have provided evidence that activation of the glioma-associated oncogene (GLI) family of transcription factors is a key step in the initiation of the tumorigenic program leading to BCC. Activation of the Wnt pathway is also observed in BCCs. In addition, the Wnt signaling pathway has been shown to be required in Hh pathway-driven development of BCC in a mouse model. Cross-talks between Wnt and Hh pathways have been observed at different levels, yet the mechanisms of these cross-talks are not fully understood. In this review, we examine the mechanism of cross-talk between Wnt and Hh signaling in BCC development and its potential relevance for treatment. Recent studies have identified insulin-like growth factor 2 mRNA-binding protein 1 (IGF2BP1), a direct target of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling, as the factor that binds to GLI1 mRNA and upregulates its levels and activities. This mode of regulation of GLI1 appears important in BCC tumorigenesis and could be explored in the treatment of BCCs.
Gut Microbial Diversity, Inflammation and Oxidative Stress is Associated with Tacrolimus Dosing Requirements Early after Heart Transplant

Purpose Effective tacrolimus (TAC) dosing is hampered by complex pharmacokinetics and significant intra- and interpatient variability. One prior report suggests that TAC dosing is influenced by gut microbiota, while the effects of systemic inflammation and oxidative stress are unknown. We evaluated these relationships in adult heart transplant (HT) pts. Methods We prospectively enrolled 24 HT pts (age=56±2 years, 88% male, 25% AA). Stool samples were analyzed using 16S rRNA sequencing. Alpha diversity metrics (number and evenness of bacterial taxa within samples) were estimated using Shannon index. TAC dose and serum trough level were measured at the time of gut and blood analysis. TAC doses were reported in mg/kg/day and as level-to-dose (L/D) ratio; pts were categorized as above vs. below the median. Biomarkers of inflammation (tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)) and oxidative stress (Isoprostane) were measured in blood. Gut diversity and blood biomarkers were compared by TAC dose using ANOVA. DESeq regression analyses explored differences in individual taxa by weight-based TAC dose - false discovery rate (FDR) adjusted for multiple comparisons. Results The average time from HT to sample collection was 63±6 days. The median TAC dose was 0.1 mg/kg/day, while the median L/D ratio was 1.15. Above the median daily weight-based TAC dose was associated with higher Shannon index (p=0.03), lower TNF-α (p=0.05) and lower isoprostane levels (p=0.02) (Figure). These findings were similar when analyzed using the L/D ratio. We observed n=38 taxa to be significantly enriched among pts with >median TAC dose (all FDR Conclusion Our pilot study observed gut microbial diversity to be increased while inflammation and oxidative stress were reduced among pts requiring higher TAC dosing.