cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Unraveling the Complexities: An Investigation of the Factors That Induce Load in Chemistry Students Constructing Lewis Structures

Mastering the ability to construct and manipulate Lewis structures is an important first step along the journey to reaching representational competence. Lewis structures serve as a convenient organizational scheme that can help students to scaffold their chemical knowledge and help them to apply it to predict a variety of physical and chemical properties. Our previous research documented the many problems that students encountered in developing these skills and suggested that cognitive load may play an important role in the successful construction of Lewis structures. This study sought to better understand the structural characteristics and complexities that contributed significantly to the cognitive load of chemistry students drawing Lewis structures and to determine how those load-inducing characteristics changed as students gained additional chemical expertise. The results of the inquiry show that the inclusion of nearly any structural characteristic induced a significant increase in cognitive load for...
Understanding Parental Engagement in Early Learning Opportunities for Families in Rural Communities

Understanding the contexts in which young children develop is essential for promoting positive outcomes. In this study, the researchers used focus groups to investigate the perspectives of 14 paren...
Factors Influencing Water System Functionality in Nigeria and Tanzania: A Regression and Bayesian Network Analysis

Sufficient, safe, and continuously available water services are important for human development and health yet many water systems in low- and middle-income countries are nonfunctional. Monitoring data were analyzed using regression and Bayesian networks (BNs) to explore factors influencing the functionality of 82 503 water systems in Nigeria and Tanzania. Functionality varied by system type. In Tanzania, Nira handpumps were more functional than Afridev and India Mark II handpumps. Higher functionality was associated with fee collection in Nigeria. In Tanzania, functionality was higher if fees were collected monthly rather than in response to system breakdown. Systems in Nigeria were more likely to be functional if they were used for both human and livestock consumption. In Tanzania, systems managed by private operators were more functional than community-managed systems. The BNs found strong dependencies between functionality and system type and administrative unit (e.g., district). The BNs predicted func...
Imaging changes over 18 months following stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastases: both late radiation necrosis and tumor progression can occur.

Following stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases, the median time range to develop adverse radiation effect (ARE) or radiation necrosis is 7–11 months. Similarly, the risk of local tumor recurrence following SRS is 18 months after SRS) tumor recurrence and late ARE, which have not previously been well described. An IRB-approved, retrospective review identified patients treated with SRS who developed new MRI contrast enhancement > 18 months following SRS. ARE was defined as stabilization/shrinkage of the lesion over time or pathologic confirmation of necrosis, without tumor. Local failure (LF) was defined as continued enlargement of the lesion over time or pathologic confirmation of tumor. We identified 16 patients, with a median follow-up of 48.2 months and median overall survival of 73.0 months, who had 19 metastases with late imaging changes occurring a median of 32.9 months (range 18.5–63.2 months) after SRS. Following SRS, 12 lesions had late ARE at a median of 33.2 months and 7 lesions had late LF occurring a median of 23.6 months. As patients with cancer live longer and as SRS is increasingly utilized for treatment of brain metastases, the incidence of these previously rare imaging changes is likely to increase. Clinicians should be aware of these late events, with ARE occurring up to 5.3 years and local failure up to 3.8 years following SRS in our cohort.
No Caption Needed: Iconic Photographs, Public Culture, and Liberal Democracy: Robert Hariman and John Louis Lucaites

(2008). No Caption Needed: Iconic Photographs, Public Culture, and Liberal Democracy: Robert Hariman and John Louis Lucaites. Photography and Culture: Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 129-131.
Experiences with skin and soft tissue infections among people who inject drugs in Philadelphia: A qualitative study

Abstract Objectives To understand how people who inject drugs (PWID) experience skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) and make decisions to seek or delay medical treatment. Methods We conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews in 2015 with 19 PWID at a syringe exchange program in Philadelphia. We analyzed the data using standard qualitative techniques. Results PWID described adequate knowledge about SSTI, although they could not always implement knowledge about SSTI prevention due to environmental constraints. Participants reported different experiences with incident SSTI. Some sought immediate medical care at initial presentation. Most, however, waited to seek care. Previous positive and negative healthcare experiences, both in general -including stigma and withdrawal- and specific to SSTI, influenced this decision. Among those who delayed medical care, some reported self-treatment, including increased drug use for pain control, and lancing and draining their own wounds. Conclusion Reducing the incidence of SSTI and promoting earlier treatment are important public health priorities. Both require ongoing attention and improvements to the environments in which PWID inject and receive care.
Extraanatomic Bypass of a Complex Adult Coarctation

Complex adult coarctations associated with arch hypoplasia and aneurysms require a range of surgical approaches depending upon anatomy. Extraanatomic bypass is an important strategy that enables the surgeon to avoid the risks of extensive dissection/mobilization. Extraanatomic bypass can be accomplished from the ascending to lower descending thoracic aorta via an intrapericardial route lateral to the right atrium and posterior to the inferior vena cava; however, this approach incompletely addresses post-stenotic aneurysmal disease. In the case of complex coarctation with aneurysm, we prefer an alternate approach to exclude the aneurysm, routing the bypass graft anterior to the phrenic nerve to the upper descending thoracic aorta.
Integrating Health and Mental Health Services: A Past and Future History.

The authors trace the modern history, current landscape, and future prospects for integration between mental health and general medical care in the United States. Research and new treatment models ...
Electronic Charting During Simulation: A Descriptive Study

Informatics is a core competency for nursing students recognized by several national organizations in healthcare and nursing education. Nurses must be able to use information and technology to communicate and manage knowledge in support of clinical decisions. Many hospitals either limit or deny nursing students' access to the electronic health record during traditional clinical learning. Simulation-based learning experiences are an alternative to traditional clinical experiences. What remains unclear is how nursing programs are incorporating electronic health record platforms within simulation. This study used a descriptive design to survey nursing programs exploring electronic health record use within simulation-based learning experiences in the classroom, skills laboratory, or simulation laboratory settings. Findings of the survey show that 56.2% of participants used an electronic health record in the classroom, skills laboratory, or simulation laboratory for simulation. Electronic health record use is gaining momentum via simulation-based learning experiences and students are not only documenting but also gathering data and appraising patient data for meaningful use to inform patient care decisions and promote clinical readiness.
Using brochures to educate the public about the early detection of prostate and colorectal cancer.

PURPOSE To describe the development and the evaluation of two brochures intended to educate the public about prostate and colorectal cancer screening. DATA SOURCES Clinical experience and published books, articles, and brochures. DATA SYNTHESIS Personnel at the Cancer Screening Center of the Deaconess Health System in St. Louis, MO, developed two brochures intended to educate the public about prostate cancer and colorectal cancer screening. These brochures focus on early detection (based on American Cancer Society guidelines), signs and symptoms, and risk factors related to prostate and colorectal cancer. CONCLUSIONS These brochures can be used effectively to educate a large number of people about prostate and colorectal cancer. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSES: Oncology nurses may find these brochures to be an effective adjunct to existing resources used to educate the public about early detection of prostate and colorectal cancer.
Mechanical Homeostasis of Cardiovascular Tissue

There is ample evidence in the literature that the cardiovascular (CV) system is in a state of mechanical homeostasis; i. e., the variation of stresses and strains in the CV is thought to be relatively small. Several hypotheses regarding the homeostatic state of stresses and strains have been proposed for the CV system such as: 1) uniform wall shear stress; 2) uniform mean circumferential stress and strain; 3) uniform transmural stress and strain hypothesis; and 4) biaxial (circumferential and axial) stress and strain hypothesis. The objective of this review is to critically evaluate the various hypotheses in lieu of experimental data and analytical models. We shall outline the mechanical stimuli that are most closely regulated in the CV system. In the process, we will consider the evidence for these hypotheses in the normal CV system, in flow-overload, pressure-overload, during development and in atherogenesis. The implications of these hypotheses on mechano-transduction and on vascular growth and remodeling will be highlighted.
Glutathione depletion or radiation treatment alters respiration and induces apoptosis in R3230Ac mammary carcinoma.

Glutathione depletion by L-buthionine sulfoximine inhibits the growth of Ehrlich mouse mammary carcinoma, R3230Ac rat mammary carcinoma and the PC3 human prostrate carcinoma cells, in vitro Inhibition of growth occurs within the first 24 hours after exposure to the drug. The cell density does not increase over the initial cell density over 7 days. A549 human lung carcinoma and the DU145 human prostrate carcinoma cells show no inhibition of growth under the same treatment conditions. A comparative study of the R3230Ac and A549 cells demonstrated a marked increase in apoptosis following L-BSO treatment in R3230Ac, which was dependent on L-BSO concentration and incubation time. L-BSO did not induce apoptosis in A549 cells at any of the concentrations tested. The incidence of apoptosis for R3230Ac cells following exposure to 0.1 mM L-BSO was similar to the incidence of radiation-induced apoptosis observed after exposure to 10 Gy. Treatment with L-BSO or radiation alone inhibited O2 utilization in of R3230ac, while no effect on O2 utilization was observed in A549 cells. LBSO altered the bioreductive capacity of both the R3230Ac and A549 cells. These results suggest that the ability of L-BSO to block mitochondrial O2 utilization may be involved in the apoptotic response in R3230Ac cells.
Construction of the Hermitian Symmetric Spaces

In this chapter we start with an irreducible oiLa of non-compact type, g = t + p, and assume only that t is not semisimple. We shall prove that there exists a unique corresponding Riemannian symmetric space, that it is actually Hermitian symmetric, and it can be realized as a bounded domain. Along the way we are also going to do quite a lot more. We shall give a description of the compact Hermitian symmetric space corresponding to the dual oiLa gu = t + ip (which is also unique, although there may be more than one Riemannian symmetric space corresponding to gu; an example being ℂP 1, the complex projective line, and P 2, the real projective plane). We shall also get a full generalization of the situation in one complex dimension where the complex plane ℂ is imbedded into the Riemann sphere ℂP 1, and the unit disc U into the lower hemisphere, by stereographic projection. This example, where the initial G is SU(1, 1) (or its quotient modulo {±I}), the group of fractional linear transformations of U, should be constantly borne in mind during the following discussion.
ROLE OF STATE AND WELFARE STATE: FROM COMMONS, KEYNES TO ESPING-ANDERSEN

The welfare state system is a popular economic system nowadays. At least more than fifteen countries have the characteristics of a welfare state economic system with their respective character and features. Esping-Andersen divided the welfare system classification into three major groups, namely the conservative welfare state, socio-democratic welfare state, and liberal welfare state. This article at­tempts to link the idea and foundation of a welfare state system is two utmost significant economists, John Maynard Keynes and John Roger Commons. Based on history of eco­nomic thought, Keynes's thought about the system of welfare states can be seen and traced in the liberal welfare state system on Esping-Andersen classification. On the other hand, traces of Com­mons' thought can be seen in the so­cio-democratic state welfare system. Therefore, both Keynes and Commons can be categorized as the founding fathers of the welfare state system. Since their thought about the role of the state is the foun­dation of welfare state system, long before the United Kingdom began implementing the modern wel­fare state system in the 1980s. In addition, this study also attempts to undertake comparative analysis of economic systems and present the em­pirical data on the performance of welfare countries based Esping-Andersen classification in three categories: economic performance, quality & health perfor­mance, and level of accumulation of human resources. It is hoped that with the facts presented here there will be further discussion re­garding the welfare state system.
Replication Timing Becomes Intertwined with 3D Genome Organization.

Through dissecting the link between spatial genome organization and DNA replication timing, Sima et al. (2018) discover early replicating control elements (ERCEs), a new type of cis-acting elements that regulate replication timing, transcription, and multiple layers of three-dimensional features of genome organization. The study has important implications for unraveling control elements of high-order genome structure and function.
How social systems persist: learning to build a social network in an uncertain world

Social organization is characterized by its stability. Researchers consistently observe distinct social relationships (e.g. mated pairs, friendships and rivalries) and higher-order social network structures (e.g. subgroups, transitivity and dominance hierarchies) across time and space. Nevertheless, group change is also ubiquitous, and the social composition of groups fluctuates over time and across generations. Despite this, little is known about the processes underlying the stability of social organization, especially across generations. This paper proposes that understanding the development of social relationships, or socialization, provides key insights into the stability and flexibility of group social organization. I propose that stable patterns of social organization can be conceptualized as a feedback system, where the social organization of groups renews itself by guiding the socialization of resilient species-normative relationships in juveniles. I outline a general framework of socialization that includes exploring, pruning and consolidating early social connections to form stable relationships. During this socialization process, outside influences from the group guide how juveniles explore their social environment, which social connections are reinforced and which behavioural skills are used to consolidate connections. When the social relationships that define the group's organization directly or indirectly guide the socialization of juveniles to recreate those relationships, the result is stable patterns of social organization. This developmental perspective provides mechanistic insights into how social organization persists in an uncertain world and highlights how developmental processes may be a crucial, and overlooked, factor in shaping the stability and flexibility of social organization.
Enumeration of Words that Contain the Pattern $$\varvec{123}$$ 123 Exactly Once

Enumeration problems related to words avoiding patterns as well as permutations that contain the pattern 123 exactly once have been studied in great detail. However, the problem of enumerating words that contain the pattern 123 exactly once is new and will be the focus of this paper. Previously, Zeilberger provided a shortened version of Burstein’s combinatorial proof of Noonan’s theorem which states that the number of permutations with exactly one 321 pattern is equal to $$\frac{3}{n} \left( {\begin{array}{c}2n\\ n+3\end{array}}\right) $$ . Surprisingly, a similar method can be directly adapted to words. We are able to use this method to find a formula enumerating the words with exactly one 123 pattern. Further inspired by Shar and Zeilberger’s work on generating functions enumerating 123-avoiding words with r occurrences of each letter, we examine the algebraic equations for generating functions for words with r occurrences of each letter and with exactly one 123 pattern.
Mathematical approaches to defining the semitone in antiquity

Connections between mathematics and music have been recognized since the days of Ancient Greece. The Pythagoreans' association of musical intervals with integer ratios is so well known that it occl...
SECTION 4-3 – pUC

Publisher Summary The pUC series of plasmids contain many features of M13 and pBR plasmids that are convenient for molecular biologists. These small plasmids have the pBR322 ampicillin resistance gene, the pBR322 origin of replication, and a portion of the lac Z gene of E. coli. Within the lac region is a polylinker sequence of unique RE recognition sites identical to those in the multiple cloning sites of M13. The pUC plasmids grow to a high copy number and are amplified with chloramphenicol. When DNA fragments are cloned into this region of pUC, the lac gene is inactivated. This chapter focuses on the noninsert-containing pUC, which is transformed into the same cells that yield blue colonies. As with the M13 series, pUC vectors are available in pairs with a reversed order of the RE sites in the cloning region relative to the lac Z promoter. pUC 8 and 9 and pUC 18 and 19 are two such pairs.
Surgical management of pediatric hepatocellular carcinoma: An analysis of the National Cancer Database

Abstract Purpose This study evaluates overall survival (OS) between liver transplantation (LT) and liver resection (LR), while assessing the effect of margin status, in children with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods The National Cancer Database was queried (2004–2015) for children ( Results One hundred six children with HCC treated surgically (LT 34, LR 72) were identified. For T1 stage, no difference in OS was observed for LT vs. margin-negative liver resection [LR(−)] (log-rank, p = 0.47). For T2/T3/T4 stage, no difference in OS was observed for LT vs. LR(−) (log-rank, p = 0.08); both subgroups exhibited superior OS vs. margin-positive liver resection [LR(+)] (log-rank, LT vs. LR(+): p = 0.001 and LR(−) vs. LR(+): p = 0.04). On multivariable Cox regression: (i) histology (fibrolamellar vs. not) and T stage (T1 vs. T2/T3/T4) were not associated with OS (both p = 0.06), (ii) chemotherapy and size > 5 cm were not associated with OS (both p ≥ 0.42), (iii) when compared to LT, both LR(−) (p = 0.03) and LR(+) (p = 0.001) were associated with increased likelihood of mortality. Conclusion Although margin-negative resection may be obtained with LT or LR, early LT consultation is warranted for children at high risk of LR(+) regardless of Milan criteria due to the negative impact of LR(+) on OS. Type of study Retrospective cohort study. Level of evidence III
More than a Wall: The Rise and Fall of US Asylum and Refugee Policy:

This article uses a multidisciplinary approach — analyzing historical sources, refugee and asylum admissions data, legislative provisions, and public opinion data — to track the rise and fall of th...
Automated feeding systems for shrimp: Effects of feeding schedules and passive feedback feeding systems

Abstract Shrimp aquaculture has been on a growing trend for the past four decades and its continued success will rely on efficient feeding protocols and reductions in labor cost. Various studies have demonstrated better growth and feed conversion for shrimp fed numerous meals in opposition to the traditional 1 to 4 meals offered during the day. With the adoption of automatic feeding systems by the shrimp industry not only can more feedings be delivered but also the time of day when feed is delivered is less problematic. This opens the door to looking at various feed management strategies. The goal of this work was to continue the development of a standard feeding protocol for timer feeders (SPTF) to maximize growth rates and production efficiency in semi-intensive pond production of shrimp through manipulation of feeding schedules. For this work, a 13-week pond production trial was performed in 16, 0.1 ha outdoors ponds, stocked at 35 shrimp/m2. Four treatments including: three fixed feeding treatments based on SPTF Day, SPTF Night and SPTF 115% 24 h were offered using automatic timer-feeders, and a fourth on demand treatment utilized AQ1 acoustic feeding system. To further evaluate different combinations of number of meals, feed quantities and time of feeding, a 11-week growth trial was conducted in 32, 800 L circular tanks in a recirculating green-water system. Results for the pond trial further confirm higher yields with AQ1 acoustic feeding system and showed no statistical differences among timer feeder treatments. Results in the tank trial indicated a relationship between growth response to increasing feed inputs and number of meals rather than feeding schedule alone. We also observed in the same trial a positive response on growth to more meals for identical feeding rates. Results confirm that increasing the number of feeding allows increased feed inputs and thus increased growth. The on demand feeding protocol using passive acoustics, resulted in the best performance of the shrimp.
Three-dimensional particle size, shape, and internal porosity characterization: Application to five similar titanium alloy (Ti–6Al–4V) powders and comparison to two-dimensional measurements

Abstract Two-dimensional (2D) dynamic image analysis (DIA) is often used to measure particle size and shape distributions of metal powders in terms of various size and shape parameters. In this present work, five titanium alloy (Ti–6Al–4V or Ti64) powders that were previously characterized with DIA are now characterized in three dimensions (3D) using a combination of X-ray computed tomography (XCT) and mathematical analysis, with various size and shape parameters, including porosity, measured and calculated for each particle. Measured 3D XCT-measured parameters are compared to 2D DIA-measured parameters. The 3D characterization was also used to mathematically generate 2D projection data, with particle orientation averaged over many directions, so that comparisons could be directly made to the previous DIA measurements. The 3D characterization is used to clearly see differences between the powders, including internal porosity and the percentage of single near-spherical particles (SnS) and non-spherical (NS) particles (mostly multi-particles) in each powder. In addition, the 3D data was used to generate 2D projections that were oriented along different directions, which was employed to show that the DIA instrument generated particle projections that were partially oriented along different dimensions of the particles. This partial orientation was apparent in the 2D particle shape data, not the particle size data. All these results show that current powder standards, which all five powders met, are inadequate to completely characterize powder size and shape parameters that could be important in a metal additive manufacturing process.
Reconciling Allegedly Alternative Mediation Models by Using DIY Models

Relying on psychological theory and research about how mediators think, this article discusses how mediators can design optimal mediation models for their individual practices to help them answer the question, “What do I do now?” The article notes that mediators’ mental models are largely unconscious and consist of mixtures of formal models and personal “mini-theories” of conflict and the role of mediators. Adapting Daniel Kahneman’s framework in his book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, James Wall and Kenneth Kressel argue that mediators’ thinking moves simultaneously along two parallel planes: an intuitive system 1 and a deliberative system 2. System 1 produces “rules of thumb” that mediators can use without much thought. In system 2, mediators consciously identify outcome goals and then engage in “mental mapping” of potential interventions to achieve the goals. Mediators’ success partially depends on whether there is a good “fit” between the parties’ and mediators’ interests and needs from the mediation process. The article lists numerous goals that parties sometimes have in mediation, and suggests that by helping parties identify their goals and priorities, mediators can better choose appropriate interventions. When mediators are more self-conscious about their goals and potential interventions, they can develop better unconscious routines that they consciously adapt in actual cases. This is the essence of reflective practice. The article includes links to practical resources for mediators.
The Trouble with Keynesian Stimulus Spending

For more than 70 years, a strand of Keynesian thought has maintained that the cure for economic depressions is merely a matter of simple arithmetic. According to these Keynesians, the government need only increase spending by an amount equal to the ratio of the output gap to the fiscal multiplier. Moreover, these Keynesians assert that even wasteful government spending can be desirable because any spending is better than nothing. This simple Keynesian approach fails to account, however, for several significant sources of cost. In addition to the cost of waste inherent in government spending, financing that spending requires taxation, which entails an excess burden. Furthermore, the employment of even previously idle resources involves opportunity costs. In this paper, we subject Keynesian stimulus spending to a benefit-cost test that accounts for waste, labor disutility, capital consumption, and the excess burden of taxation. We calibrate our model by surveying the published estimates of key parameters, including the Keynesian fiscal multiplier. Our results indicate that stimulus spending can successfully generate net wealth, but generally only if the burden of waste is limited to no more than 20 to 30 percent of the overall size of the spending package.
D2U: Data Driven User Emulation for the Enhancement of Cyber Testing, Training, and Data Set Generation

Whether testing intrusion detection systems, conducting training exercises, or creating data sets to be used by the broader cybersecurity community, realistic user behavior is a critical component of a cyber range. Existing methods either rely on network level data or replay recorded user actions to approximate real users in a network. Our work produces generative models trained on actual user data (sequences of application usage) collected from endpoints. Once trained to the user’s behavioral data, these models can generate novel sequences of actions from the same distribution as the training data. These sequences of actions are then fed to our custom software via configuration files, which replicate those behaviors on end devices. Notably, our models are platform agnostic and could generate behavior data for any emulation software package. In this paper we present our model generation process, software architecture, and an investigation of the fidelity of our models. Specifically, we consider two different representations of the behavioral sequences, on which three standard generative models for sequential data—Markov Chain, Hidden Markov Model, and Random Surfer—are employed. Additionally, we examine adding a latent variable to faithfully capture time-of-day trends. Best results are observed when sampling a unique next behavior (regardless of the specific sequential model used) and the duration to take the behavior, paired with the temporal latent variable. Our software is currently deployed in a cyber range to help evaluate the efficacy of defensive cyber technologies, and we suggest additional ways that the cyber community as a whole can benefit from more realistic user behavior emulation.
Kinome Screen Reveals SGK1 as a Therapeutic Target for NF2: Inhibition of mTORC1/2 is More Effective than Rapamycin

Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) is characterized by vestibular schwannomas and meningiomas (MN) due to bi-allelic NF2 inactivation with loss of NF2 tumor suppressor protein. Besides NF2-associated MNs, ~60% of sporadic MNs show loss of NF2, and these tumors are non-responsive to chemotherapeutic intervention. We previously showed activation of mammalian/mechanistic target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) signaling upon NF2 loss, leading to clinical trials with rapalogs. Here we carried out a high throughput kinome screen to identify kinases responsible for mTORC1 activation in NF2-null MN cells. Among the top candidates were the mTORC2-specific target serum/glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 (SGK1) and p21-activated kinase 1 (PAK1). In NF2-null MNs, SGK1 inhibition rescues mTORC1 activation, and SGK1 activation is sensitive to dual mTORC1/2 inhibitor AZD2014, but not to rapamycin. PAK1 inhibition also rescues mTORC1 activation, but in a manner independent of mTORC2/SGK1 signaling. Using clustered regularly i...
High levels of fish oil enhance neutrophil development and activation and influence colon mucus barrier function in a genetically susceptible mouse model

Dietary fatty acids influence immunologic homeostasis, but their effect on initiation of colitis, an immune-mediated disease, is not well established. Previously, our laboratory demonstrated that high doses of dietary fish oil (FO) increased colon inflammation and dysplasia in a model of infection-induced colitis. In the current study, we assessed the effects of high-dose dietary FO, 6% by weight, on colon inflammation, neutrophil recruitment and function, and mucus layer integrity in a genetically susceptible, colitis-prone mouse model in the absence of infection. FO-fed SMAD3(-/-) mice had increased colon inflammation evidenced by increased numbers of systemic and local neutrophils and increased neutrophil chemoattractant and inflammatory cytokine gene expression in the colon. Mucus layer thickness in the cecum and goblet cell numbers in the cecum and colon in FO-fed mice were reduced compared to control. FO consumption affected colitis in male and female mice differently. Compared to female control mice, neutrophils from FO-fed female mice had reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) upon ex vivo stimulation with phorbol myristate acetate while FO-fed male mice produced increased ROS compared to control-fed male mice. In summary, dietary FO impaired mucus layer integrity and was associated with colon inflammation characterized by increased neutrophil numbers and altered neutrophil function. High-dose FO may have detrimental effects in populations genetically susceptible for inflammatory bowel disease and these effects may differ between males and females.
Response of wetland herbaceous communities to gradients of light and substrate following disturbance by thermal pollution

The influence of thermal disturbance and site characteristics on distribution of herbs was studied in portions of a 3020 ha wetland in the southeastern USA. Presence-absence of 52 species in 130 0.25 m2 plots was determined from four sites with different disturbance histories and from an undisturbed site. Data from the four disturbed sites were ordinated by detrended correspondence analysis. Differences in species composition among sites (coarse scale) were associated with water depth, light, and substrate type. Within a site (at a fine scale), correlation of environmental variables with ordination scores at a chronically disturbed site was weakly correlated with light (r=0.50). At two sites with episodic disturbance, species composition correlated significantly and positively with substrate and water depth. At a recovering site, vegetation patterns were moderately correlated with water depth (r=−0.52). Species richness was correlated with substrate type along the disturbance gradient. Our results are consistent the intermediate disturbance hypothesis and the subsidy-stress gradient concept.
A community experiment with fully open and published peer review.

We are pleased to announce a new open access journal, Biology Direct, which will be published online by BioMed Central. Biology Direct is launching with publications in the fields of Systems Biology, Computational Biology, and Evolutionary Biology, with an Immunology section to follow soon. Eventually, the journal will expand to cover other areas of biology. Launching a new research journal in biology in the year 2006 takes a lot of hubris...and/or a clearly defined goal. The crucial open access niche has been taken by the highly successful and still proliferating BMC and PLoS journals, so a new journal hardly would stand a chance and be worth the efforts of the editors and the publisher unless it defines itself in a fundamentally new way. Thus, our goals with this new journal, Biology Direct, are unapologetically ambitious: to establish a new, perhaps, better system of peer review and, in the process, bolster productive scientific debate, and provide scientists with useful guides to the literature.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Episcopal Bench, and the Passage of the 1911 Parliament Act

The passage of the 1911 Parliament Bill ended the power of the British house of lords to veto any legislation passed by the house of commons. Henceforth, it could only delay the passage of a measure. The bill was carried by a mere 17 votes and friction between Unionists who took up die-hard opposition, advised abstention, or actively sought to aid passage was bitter. The role which the archbishop of Canterbury played in canvassing the episcopal bench and helping to ensure final passage of the bill has not attracted much attention. Prior to the debate, the archbishop advised abstention but did not dissuade others from encouraging bishops to support the bill to help ensure passage. Before the vote, therefore, �die-hards� opposing any concession to the government, �hedgers� advising Unionist abstention in the vote, and �rats�, Unionists willing to vote for the bill to ensure passage despite personal reservations, attempted to sound out and pressure the bishops in their direction. At the debate, the archbishop changed his mind and decided he must support the bill in order to avoid a greater crisis, and 12 other bishops joined him in the government lobby, helping to create the final majority of 17 by which the measure passed. Consideration of the role of the bishops adds to the understanding of the mechanics by which the bill passed, amidst considerable intrigue, pressure and acrimony, as well as further illuminating the extent and intensity of the divisions within the Unionist party at this critical moment.
Improving speech recognition performance via phone-dependent VQ codebooks and adaptive language models in SPHINX-II

This paper presents improvements in acoustic and language modeling for automatic speech recognition. Specifically, semi-continuous HMMs (SCHMMs) with phone-dependent VQ codebooks are presented and incorporated into the SPHINX-II speech recognition system. The phone-dependent VQ codebooks relax the density-tying constraint in SCHMMs in order to obtain more detailed models. A 6% error rate reduction was achieved on the speaker-independent 20000-word Wall Street Journal (WSJ) task. Dynamic adaptation of the language model in the context of long documents is also explored. A maximum entropy framework is used to exploit long distance trigrams and trigger effects. A 10%-15% word error rate reduction is reported on the same WSJ task using the adaptive language modeling technique. >
Abnormal X : autosome ratio, but normal X chromosome inactivation in human triploid cultures

Background X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is that aspect of mammalian dosage compensation that brings about equivalence of X-linked gene expression between females and males by inactivating one of the two X chromosomes (Xi) in normal female cells, leaving them with a single active X (Xa) as in male cells. In cells with more than two X's, but a diploid autosomal complement, all X's but one, Xa, are inactivated. This phenomenon is commonly thought to suggest 1) that normal development requires a ratio of one Xa per diploid autosomal set, and 2) that an early event in XCI is the marking of one X to be active, with remaining X's becoming inactivated by default.
The Global Quest to Build World‐Class Universities: Toward a Social Justice Agenda

This chapter provides a critical perspective on the global quest to build world-class universities (WCUs), including global “ranking mania,” excessive emphasis on university branding, and the attending threats to the traditional public good mission of the university. Alternatively, we offer suggestions on how rankings may be used to advance a social justice vision of WCUs.
Urinary excretion of catecholamines by full-term and premature infants.

As part of a study of the role of catecholamines during the newborn9s adaptation to extra-uterine life, the excretion of dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine in the urine of nine full-term and 11 premature infants was determined on the first and fifteenth day after birth. The following observations were made. On the first day the excretion of dopamine by the premature infants was questionably less than that by full-term infants. On the fifteenth day, excretion by the premature infants had more than tripled in amount, whereas that by the full-term infants had increased only by about 50%. On the first day, the norepinephrine excreted by premature infants was about one third of the amount excreted by full-term infants. On the fifteenth day, although the amount excreted had increased, it remained lower than the amount excreted on the first day by the full-term infants. On the first day, the amount of epinephrine excretion by premature and full-term infants differed very slightly. On the fifteenth day, excretion by both groups had increased so that the amounts were about equal. The difference noted between premature and full-term infants in this study and the high amount of VMA excreted by premature infants on the fifteenth day measured in a previous study, permit the supposition of a defect in catecholamine biosynthesis—a defect due to an insufficiency of the enzymatic system of dopamine-oxidase and of catechol-O-methyl-transferase.
Supporting Programming Assignments with Activity Streams: An Empirical Study

Social learning theory emphasizes the importance of providing learners with opportunities to observe their peers, and to participate actively in a community. Unfortunately, early computing courses tend to emphasize individual programming assignments, which discourage learners from observing and working with their peers. In order to explore the possibility that increased opportunities for social awareness and interaction while working on programming assignments might influence learning outcomes in early computing courses, we are studying the design and use of social networking-style activity streams in such courses. In an empirical study of the use of two types of activity streams in a CS 2 course - one that was part of a learning management system, and one integrated directly into students' programming environment - we found that students who used the integrated stream were twice as socially active; however, social participation in both environments was positively correlated with students' grades. Our results suggest that the use of activity streams as an adjunct to individual programming assignments can positively influence learning; computing instructors would do well to find ways to get their students to participate actively in activity streams during the programming process.
Anomalous fluctuations in tracer concentration in stratified media with random velocity fields

We find a quantitative law that describes the nature of the anomalous fluctuations in tracer concentration when diffusion occurs in a stratified medium, with drift velocities which are constant in the x direction, but vary randomly from layer to layer in the y direction. We find that the fluctuations of the tracer concentration P=P(x,t) are described by an extremely broad histogram of the form n(${\mathrm{log}}_{10}$P)\ensuremath{\sim}A/(${\mathrm{log}}_{10}$P${)}^{3}$exp[-B/(${\mathrm{log}}_{10}$P${)}^{2}$]. Moreover, the relative fluctuations \ensuremath{\delta}P increase exponentially with x. Our results are supported by numerical calculations based on the method of exact enumeration.
The Development of Mental Health Consultation to a Foster Care Placement Agency

This paper describes the demographic data of latency-aged foster children and the reasons for their placement away from birth parents. It also discusses the particular behavior and psychiatric problems that might precipitate referral to a mental health clinic. It then details a program developed to assess and treat those children having minimal involvement of foster or birth parents in their therapy. A consultation/collaboration model theorized by Caplan is applied to the program that developed. A case example is given and the roles of caseworker and mental health clinician are examined.
Differences in the lactic dehydrogenases of primate brains.

IN mammals, lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) has five molecular forms which show species and tissue specific patterns by starch-gel electrophoresis1. These molecular forms appear to be tetramers of two different polypeptide sub-units in their five possible combinations2,3. The two types of sub-units have been termed ‘A’ and ‘B’ (ref. 2), or ‘M’ and ‘H’ referring to their predominance in skeletal muscle and heart respectively3. The M(uscle) type of lactic dehydrogenase is best suited for anaerobic metabolism and the H(eart) type is best suited for oxidative metabolism3,4. Since glycolysis or anaerobic metabolism is phylogenetically more ancient that aerobic metabolism5, a shift in certain tissues from M LDH to H LDH would be expected during the phylogenetic development of higher animals. From a comparative study of lactic dehydrogenases in a small series of vertebrate brains, Bonavita and Guarneri6 provided evidence that this trend occurred during the emergence of warm-blooded vertebrates. The present communication provides evidence that such a shift was still occurring during the evolution of the order Primates.
Acetycholine receptor production and incorporation into membranes of developing muscle fibers

Abstract Using electrophysiological and quantitative autoradiographic techniques, we studied the kinetics of acetylcholine (ACh) receptor production and incorporation into membranes of muscle fibers developing in culture. These studies were performed by utilizing 125 I-labeled α-Bungarotoxin (α-BGT) which binds irreversibly to ACh receptors. α-BGT binding to ACh-sensitive muscle cells in culture correlates well with the level of ACh sensitivity. α-BGT binds to myotubes with two different apparent rates. The slow component of binding is due to the incorporation of new receptors into the membrane at a rate of 90 receptors/μm 2 per hour. However, the ACh receptor density increases at a rate of only 35 receptors/μm 2 per hour as the result of a concurrent increase in cell surface area. The α-BGT-receptor complexes turn over slowly and the rate of receptor incorporation is not affected by the presence of α-BGT. Inhibition of protein synthesis with cycloheximide depresses receptor incorporation, the percent inhibition increasing with time in cycloheximide. Overnight treatment in actinomycin D has no effect, but inhibition of ATP synthesis with dinitrophenol and iodoacetate or incubation in the cold inhibits the appearance of new ACh receptors.
My friends are here!: why talk to "strangers"?

Many online communities face the challenge of incorporating a stable influx of newcomers into the community. Research on socialization in offline organizations suggest that newcomers who join an organization with a cohort of other newcomers are more likely to succeed in the organization. We have studied the effect of socializing a cohort of newcomers who share common offline identity into an online community. Our results suggest that cohort support can improve newcomers' performance but it might hinder communication with existing members of the community.
Integration of geochemical mass balance with sediment transport to calculate rates of soil chemical weathering and transport on hillslopes

[1] We developed a process-oriented hillslope soil mass balance model that integrates chemical and physical processes within hillslope soils. The model explicitly factors that soil chemical weathering at any hillslope position is related to the flux of soil eroded from upslope as well as soil production from underlying bedrock. The model was merged with measurements of soil elemental chemistry and cosmogenic radionuclide-based saprolite-to-soil conversion rates along a 50 m transect of a semiarid granodiorite hillslope in the southeastern Australian highlands. Inverse modeling results in the simultaneous quantification of the rates of soil chemical weathering and soil transport as a function of hillslope position. Soil chemical weathering rates per land surface area systematically varied along the transect from losses of 0.035 kg m−2 yr−1 on the ridge to gains of 0.035 kg m−2 yr−1 at the lowest slope position. The mass loss via soil chemical weathering would have been overestimated by 40% if the impact of soil transport on soil chemistry was ignored. The chemical mobility of elements, combined with biological nutrient demand, controlled the spatial redistribution of individual elements: P and Ca were preferentially retained relative to Si, Al, and Fe within the hillslope base. The calculated soil transport rate is linearly related to the product of soil thickness and slope gradient, instead of slope alone. Soil residence time was determined by calculating the time length for a 3 dimensional box (volume = 1 m2 surface area × soil thickness) to be entirely removed by mass flux of soil transport: 4 ka on the ridge to 0.9 ka at the hillslope base. These soil residence times, combined with soil chemical weathering rates, indicate that a 1 m2 area of soil loses ∼1,800 kg via chemical weathering while passing through the upslope portion of the hillslope, but that it regains ∼90 kg, probably via clay precipitation and biological retention of cations, during its passage through the lower segments of the transect. This study provides a previously unrecognized linkage between physical soil transport and soil chemical weathering that have implications for hillslope evolution as well as biogeochemistry.