cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of Seriousness of Charge and Punishment Severity on the Judgments of Simulated Jurors

Studies of the effects of decision alternatives on the verdict returned by simulated juries have confounded the seriousness of the criminal charge with the severity of punishment associated with the charge. The present experiment crossed charge (first degree murder, second degree murder, and manslaughter) with punishment severity in a 3 × 3 factorial design. From a description of an attempted robbery and consequent killing of a store proprietor, Ss rated the guilt of the defendant. Only seriousness of charge had a significant effect on guilt ratings (the lower the charge, the greater the guilt), suggesting that this factor rather than severity of associated punishment accounts for results in previous studies.
A widespread visually-sensitive functional network relates to symptoms in essential tremor

Essential tremor is a neurological syndrome of heterogeneous pathology and aetiology that is characterized by tremor primarily in the upper extremities. This tremor is commonly hypothesized to be driven by a single or multiple neural oscillator(s) within the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway. Several studies have found an association of blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway with essential tremor, but there is behavioural evidence that also points to the possibility that the severity of tremor could be influenced by visual feedback. Here, we directly manipulated visual feedback during a functional MRI grip force task in patients with essential tremor and control participants, and hypothesized that an increase in visual feedback would exacerbate tremor in the 4-12 Hz range in essential tremor patients. Further, we hypothesized that this exacerbation of tremor would be associated with dysfunctional changes in BOLD signal and entropy within, and beyond, the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway. We found that increases in visual feedback increased tremor in the 4-12 Hz range in essential tremor patients, and this increase in tremor was associated with abnormal changes in BOLD amplitude and entropy in regions within the cerebello-thalamo-motor cortical pathway, and extended to visual and parietal areas. To determine if the tremor severity was associated with single or multiple brain region(s), we conducted a birectional stepwise multiple regression analysis, and found that a widespread functional network extending beyond the cerebello-thalamo-motor cortical pathway was associated with changes in tremor severity measured during the imaging protocol. Further, this same network was associated with clinical tremor severity measured with the Fahn, Tolosa, Marin Tremor Rating Scale, suggesting this network is clinically relevant. Since increased visual feedback also reduced force error, this network was evaluated in relation to force error but the model was not significant, indicating it is associated with force tremor but not force error. This study therefore provides new evidence that a widespread functional network is associated with the severity of tremor in patients with essential tremor measured simultaneously at the hand during functional imaging, and is also associated with the clinical severity of tremor. These findings support the idea that the severity of tremor is exacerbated by increased visual feedback, suggesting that designers of new computing technologies should consider using lower visual feedback levels to reduce tremor in essential tremor.
Virtual hybrid human body model for PTW safety assessment

Road traffic accidents cause one of the highest numbers of severe injuries. The numbers of deaths and seriously injured citizens prove that traffic accidents and their consequences are still a serious problem to be solved. Virtual human body models play an important role to assess injuries during impact loading especially for scenarios, where complex dynamical loading is taken into account. The most suffering group is so called vulnerable road users (VRU) like powered two-wheelers (PTW) riders. The presented work contributes to increasing safety of PTW riders by implementing virtual human body model for injury risk analysis. The scalable hybrid virtual human body model Virthuman, which was formerly developed, validated and demonstrated in impact scenarios, is improved by updated neck and shoulder models in order to describe the realistic kinematics during complex long duration impact loading and presented in the oblique impact scenario compared to the THUMS results.
Associations between maternal cytokine levels during gestation and measures of child cognitive abilities and executive functioning

Abstract Preclinical studies demonstrate that environmentally-induced alterations in inflammatory cytokines generated by the maternal and fetal immune system can significantly impact fetal brain development. Yet, the relationship between maternal cytokines during gestation and later cognitive ability and executive function remains understudied. Children (n = 246) were born of mothers enrolled in the Newborn Epigenetic Study – a prospective pre-birth cohort in the Southeastern US. We characterized seven cytokines [ IL - 1 β , IL - 4 , IL - 6 , IL - 12 p 70 , IL - 17 A , tumor necrosis factor-α ( TNF α ) , and interferon-γ ( IFN γ ) ] and one chemokine ( IL - 8 ) from maternal plasma collected during pregnancy. We assessed children’s cognitive abilities and executive functioning at a mean age of 4.5 (SD = 1.1) years. Children’s DAS-II and NIH toolbox scores were regressed on cytokines and the chemokine, controlling for maternal age, race, education, body mass index, IQ, parity, smoking status, delivery type, gestational weeks, and child birth weight and sex. Higher IL-12p70 ( β IL - 12 p 70 = 4.26, p = 0.023) and IL-17A ( β IL - 17 A = 3.70, p = 0.042) levels were related to higher DAS-II GCA score, whereas higher IL-1 β ( β IL - 1 B = −6.07, p = 0.003) was related to lower GCA score. Higher IL-12p70 was related to higher performance on NIH toolbox measures of executive functions related to inhibitory control and attention ( β IL - 12 p 70 = 5.20, p = 0.046) and cognitive flexibility ( β IL - 12 p 70 = 5.10, p = 0.047). Results suggest that dysregulation in gestational immune activity are associated with child cognitive ability and executive functioning.
Leg Lift Strength: A Comparison of Measurement Methods

(1953). Leg Lift Strength: A Comparison of Measurement Methods. Research Quarterly. American Association for Health, Physical Education and Recreation: Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 33-43.
Multi-Strategy Information Extraction for Question Answering.

This paper presents a flexible approach using a utilitybased planner to choose between different extraction methods in a question-answering (QA) system, enabling multiple run-time strategies. We model the QA process as a set of probabilistic actions, and use the planner to select an action sequence maximizing the expected value of information. The planner exploits redundancy and diversity by dynamically selecting among three statistical and pattern-based answer extractor actions in an end-to-end QA system. The expected value of information produced by each extractor is modeled as a function of the current question context. Experiments demonstrate that a planningbased approach can outperform a fixed strategy using the single-best extractor.
Strange New Music: The Monetary Composition Made by the Enlightenment Quartet

Across Europe and the Americas, the Enlightenment brought intellectual and institutional tumult over that most basic attribute of the political economy – its medium. By the time the age was over, money operated according to a new design. It enabled a set of financial practices that were unprecedented: modern money worked synergistically with circulating public debt, capital markets, and commercial banking. Together, that quartet of innovations transformed the political economies of the West. The essay considers the themes of that change, including the depth of conceptual innovation on money and finance, the range of institutional experimentation, and the contentious nature of the debate. The essay takes a short tour of the Enlightenment quartet to suggest how interdependent was (and is) the development of those institutions.
A longitudinal study on morphogenetic diversity of pathogenic Rhizoctonia solani from sugar beet and dry beans of western Nebraska

Abstract Root and stem rot caused by Rhizoctonia solani is a serious fungal disease of sugar beet and dry bean production in Nebraska. Objective was to characterize morpho-genetic diversity of 38 Rhizoctonia solani isolated from sugar beet and dry beans fields in western Nebraska over 10 years. Classical morphological features and ISSR marker was used to study the morphogenetic diversity. Fungal colonies were morphologically diverse in shapes, aerial hyphae formation and colony, sclerotia color. Marker analysis using nineteen polymorphic ISSR marker showed polymorphic bands ranged from 15 - 28 with molecular weight 100bp to 3kb. Polymorphic loci ranged from 43.26 – 92.88%. Nei genetic distance within the population was ranged 0.03 –0.09 and Shannon diversity index varied from 0.24 – 0.28. AMOVA analysis based on ΦPT values showed 87% variation within and 13% among the population with statistical significance. Majority of the isolates from sugar beet showed nearby association within the population. There was significant number of cross crop clustering suggesting their broad pathogenicity. Isolates were grouped into three different clusters in UPGMA based cluster analysis using marker information. Interestingly, there was no specific geographical correlation between the isolates. PCA analysis showed randomized distribution among isolates from same geographical origin. Morphological characteristics showed crop-specific two distinct groups of isolates with few exceptions. While, genetic diversity showed two distinct group of isolates, one crop specific and one with wide pathogenicity. This information may help in molecular pathotyping of the pathogen for better disease management.
Cyclic Test of Concrete Bridge Column Utilizing Ultra-High Performance Concrete Shell:

Ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) is a durable material that can be used in constructing new and unique structural elements. This research utilizes UHPC to construct prefabricated shells that ...
Thermoregulatory costs in molting Antarctic Weddell seals: impacts of physiological and environmental conditions

For polar marine mammals, the energetic cost of thermoregulation depends on ambient conditions in the highly variable surrounding environment. Heat conservation strategies used by pinnipeds to reduce total heat loss include small surface area to volume ratios, the ability to limit perfusion and thick subcutaneous blubber layers. There are limits to how cool the skin surface may remain without compromising function, especially during the annual pelage molt, when hair and skin are replaced. To determine if actively molting seals incur higher thermoregulatory costs, surface temperature (ST) and heat flux (HF) were measured in 93 adult female Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) both prior to and during the active molting period using direct sensors and infrared imaging. Linear mixed-effect models revealed that ST increased significantly with increased ambient temperature and decreased wind speed (contributing 44.6 and 41.7% of the attributed variance, respectively). Seal STs were not impacted by molt status, but were maintained at 11.2 ± 0.3°C warmer than the ambient temperature. Infrared imaging results averaged 15.1 ± 1.4°C warmer than direct ST measurements. In contrast, HF was significantly higher in seals in early molting stages compared to the pre-molt season ( P < 0.001) and molt status accounted for 66.5% of the variance in HF. Thermoregulatory costs calculated from estimated basal metabolic rate and measured HF were more than double for molting seals as compared to those in pre-molt. This suggests that perfusion is increased during molt to support follicle development, despite the increased energetic costs associated with higher HF rates. Because ST, HF and thermoregulatory costs are strongly influenced by ambient conditions, molt timing is likely under selective pressure to occur during the warmest period of the year. Shifts in environmental conditions that delay molt phenology or increase HF rates could negatively impact seal populations by further increasing thermoregulatory costs.
España y Estados Unidos: Las publicidades y la desnudez en la televisión

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the use of the female body in the advertising of the U.S. and Spain. To understand the difference between the two countries, I have decided to take a step back in history and look at historical moments that have possibly influenced the way advertisers use a naked woman's body: the dictatorship of Francisco Franco in Spain and the colonialism of the Puritans in the U.S. Next, I examine the representation of the female body and ways in which this has developed through the years in advertising, starting from the 1920s until the present. After analyzing my findings, I draw my conclusions determining that Spain makes more use of the female body in their advertising, whether on television or in printed media, with the intention of selling products, while the United States censures such images, prioritizing prudishness. This article is in Spanish.
Atomic-scale analyses of Nb3Sn on Nb prepared by vapor diffusion for superconducting radiofrequency cavity applications: a correlative study

We report on atomic-scale analyses of the microstructure of an Nb3Sn coating on Nb, prepared by a vapor diffusion process for superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavity applications using transmission electron microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction and first-principles calculations. Epitaxial growth of Nb3Sn on a Nb substrate is found and four types of orientation relationships (ORs) at the Nb3Sn/Nb interface are identified by electron diffraction or high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (HR-STEM) analyses. Thin Nb3Sn grains are observed in regions with a low Sn flux and they have a specific OR: Nb3Sn //Nb and Nb3Sn //Nb The Nb3Sn/Nb interface of thin grains has a large lattice mismatch, 12.3%, between Nb and Nb3Sn (002) and a high density of misfit dislocations as observed by HR-STEM. Based on our microstructural analyses of the thin grains, we conclude that the thin regions are probably a result of a slow interfacial migration with this particular OR. The Sn-deficient regions are seen to form initially at the Nb3Sn/Nb interface and remain in the grains due to the slow diffusion of Sn in bulk Nb3Sn. The formation of Sn-deficient regions and the effects of interfacial energies on the formation of Sn-deficient regions at different interfaces are estimated by first-principles calculations. The finding of ORs at the Nb3Sn/Nb interface provides important information about the formation of imperfections in Nb3Sn coatings, such as large thin-regions and Sn-deficient regions, which are critical to the performance of Nb3Sn SRF cavities for accelerators.
Catalytic Decomposition of Nitrous Oxide for Use in Hybrid Rocket Motors

In recent years, there has been significantly increased interest in using nitrous oxide as an oxidizer in hybrid rocket motor systems. The attraction of nitrous oxide is its low relative toxicity a...
Navigating My Way as a First-Generation Student

Summary Underrepresented minorities in academia face many challenges: economic and social burden, exclusion, discrimination, and lack of access to information and mentoring. Here, Xiangkun Elvis Cao, a PhD candidate at Cornell University, shares his experience of successfully navigating his way through hardship from rural China as a first-generation college student to landing on Forbes 30 Under 30 for North America. He discusses the shared barriers for underrepresented groups and offers his insights for flourishing as a minority.
Clinics at Wisconsin: Comprehensive, In-Depth Pedagogy and Bottom-Up Innovation

The University of Wisconsin (UW) Law School has been a pioneer in clinical education. Experiential education, involving actual legal advocacy and practice, started at Wisconsin in the 1970s before many U.S. law schools had even thought about what came to be called law school “clinics." These initial efforts developed out of the Law School’s commitment to innovations in criminal justice and its support of public interest law and administrative advocacy.
Visual Exploration and Debugging of Machine Learning Classification over Social Media Data

Humanitarian and geopolitical crises (such as COVID-19) are frequently extra-national in scope. Technology, including applications of natural language processing and machine learning, can play a vital role in mitigating this burden, especially with availability and real-time analyses of social media. One such application is situation labeling, intuitively defined as the semi-automatic assignment of one or more actionable labels (such as food, medicine or water) from a controlled vocabulary to tweets or documents that become available in the aftermath of a crisis, such as an earthquake. Despite multiple advances, users of current situation labeling systems are often unwilling to trust these (and other machine learning) outputs without some provenance and visualization of results. This article describes an interactive visualization approach called SAVIZ that allows non-technical users to intuitively and interactively explore outputs of situation labeling systems. We illustrate the potential of SAVIZ with two real-world crisis datasets from Twitter. Our platform is completely built using open-source tools, can be rendered on a web browser and is backward-compatible with several pre-existing crisis intelligence platforms.
Concolic Execution of NMap Scripts for Honeyfarm Generation

Attackers rely upon a vast array of tools for automating attacksagainst vulnerable servers and services. It is often the case thatwhen vulnerabilities are disclosed, scripts for detecting and exploit-ing them in tools such asNmapandMetasploitare released soonafter, leading to the immediate identification and compromise ofvulnerable systems. Honeypots, honeynets, tarpits, and other decep-tive techniques can be used to slow attackers down, however, such approaches have difficulty keeping up with the sheer number of vulnerabilities being discovered and attacking scripts that are being released. To address this issue, this paper describes an approach for applying concolic execution on attacking scripts in Nmap in order to automatically generate lightweight fake versions of the vulnerable services that can fool the scripts. By doing so in an automated and scalable manner, the approach can enable rapid deployment of custom honeyfarms that leverage the results of concolic execution to trick an attacker's script into returning a result chosen by the honeyfarm, making the script unreliable for the use by the attacker.
Prenatal diagnosis of significant congenital heart disease and elective termination of pregnancy in Nevada.

We investigated the relationship between prenatal detection of significant congenital heart disease and elective termination of pregnancy over time in Nevada.We identified those prenatally or post-...
Cell adhesion pathways in mouse retinoblastoma

B66 It is well established that the initiating genetic lesion for retinoblastoma is inactivation of the RB1 gene presumably in proliferating retinal progenitor cells in utero. Recent studies have indicated that the second genetic lesion is suppression of the p53 pathway by MDMX amplification. We have generated a mouse model of retinoblastoma from Rb+/-;p107-/-;p53-/- retinal progenitor cells. Clonal lines were derived from this tumor that was of 2 distinct morphologies - one that grew as aggregates in suspension and the other that grew attatched to the substrate. To further characterize changes in the retinoblastoma cells, microarray analysis of each of the clones and primary tumors were performed. Some of the genes that showed 2-fold changes were Alpha-Catenin, Cdh11, Egf, Egfr, Itga4, Itgav, Itgb6, MMP9, PDGFD, RhoB, Stat5a and Stat5b and we are in the process of confirming these expression levels by Real-Time PCR. Immunostaining and western blotting also show differences in levels and localization of some of these genes among the adherent and non-adherent clones. We predict that these differences could be associated with differences in morphologies and adhesiveness among the adherent and non-adherent clones.
Single tracking location acoustic radiation force impulse viscoelasticity estimation (STL-VE): A method for measuring tissue viscoelastic parameters

Single tracking location (STL) shear wave elasticity imaging (SWEI) is a method for detecting elastic differences between tissues. It has the advantage of intrinsic speckle bias suppression compared with multiple tracking location variants of SWEI. However, the assumption of a linear model leads to an overestimation of the shear modulus in viscoelastic media. A new reconstruction technique denoted single tracking location viscosity estimation (STL-VE) is introduced to correct for this overestimation. This technique utilizes the same raw data generated in STL-SWEI imaging. Here, the STL-VE technique is developed by way of a maximum likelihood estimation for general viscoelastic materials. The method is then implemented for the particular case of the Kelvin–Voigt Model. Using simulation data, the STL-VE technique is demonstrated and the performance of the estimator is characterized. Finally, the STL-VE method is used to estimate the viscoelastic parameters of ex vivo bovine liver. We find good agreement between the STL-VE results and the simulation parameters as well as between the liver shear wave data and the modeled data fit.
Exploring Alternative Models of Complex Patient Management with Artificial Neural Networks.

This study applied an unsupervised neural network modeling process to test data of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) Computer-based Clinical Scenarios (CCS) to identify new performance categories and validate this process as a scoring technique. The classifications resulting from this neural network modeling were consistent with the NBME model in that highly rated NMBE performances (ratings of 7 or 8)were clustered together on the neural network output grid. Very low performance ratings appeared to share few common features and were accordingly classified at isolated nodes. This clustering was reproducible across three separately trained networks with greater than 80% agreement in two of the three network strained. However, the neural network also contained performance clusters where disparate NBME-based ratings ranged from 1 (worst) to 8 (best). Here,agreement between networks was less than 60%. Through visualization of the search strategies (search path mapping), this neural network clustering was found to be sensitive to quantitative and qualitative test selections such as excessive usage of irrelevant tests reflecting broader behavioral classification in some instances. A disparity between NBME ratings and an independent human rating system was detected by the neural network model since disagreement among raters was also reflected by a lack of neural network performance clustering. Agreement between rating systems, however, was correlated with neural network clustering for 92% of the highly rated performances.
Interest in Information Technology Careers: Testing a Model

This study explores the impacts of computer self-efficacy, computer use, and group orientation on college students’ attitudes towards and decisions to pursue information technology careers. Empirical studies have yet to address this specific topic. The study uses a survey method to gather information from a group of randomly selected undergraduate business college students. Confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis suggest computer use and computer self-efficacy are highly correlated to whether or not a student is interested in pursuing a career in information technology. Gender played a role, as males registered higher levels of computer self-efficacy and use than females. Although the study specifically involves college students, the applicability likely reaches to other levels of schooling and the populace in general.
A noise model for InSAR time series

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) time series methods estimate the spatiotemporal evolution of surface deformation by incorporating information from multiple SAR interferograms. While various models have been developed to describe the interferometric phase and correlation statistics in individual interferograms, efforts to model the generalized covariance matrix that is directly applicable to joint analysis of networks of interferograms have been limited in scope. In this work, we build on existing decorrelation and atmospheric phase screen models and develop a covariance model for interferometric phase noise over space and time. We present arguments to show that the exploitation of the full 3-D covariance structure within conventional time series inversion techniques is computationally challenging. However, the presented covariance model can aid in designing new inversion techniques that can at least mitigate the impact of spatial correlated nature of InSAR observations.
Sinners on Trial: Jews and Sacrilege after the Reformation

In post-Reformation Poland--the largest state in Europe and home to the largest Jewish population in the world--the Catholic Church suffered profound anxiety about its power after the Protestant threat. Magda Teter reveals how criminal law became a key tool in the manipulation of the meaning of the sacred and in the effort to legitimize Church authority. The mishandling of sacred symbols was transformed from a sin that could be absolved into a crime that resulted in harsh sentences of mutilation, hanging, decapitation, and, principally, burning at the stake. Teter casts new light on the most infamous type of sacrilege, the accusation against Jews for desecrating the eucharistic wafer. These sacrilege trials were part of a broader struggle over the meaning of the sacred and of sacred space at a time of religious and political uncertainty, with the eucharist at its center. But host desecration--defined in the law as sacrilege--went beyond anti-Jewish hatred to reflect Catholic-Protestant conflict, changing conditions of ecclesiastic authority and jurisdiction, and competition in the economic marketplace. Recounting dramatic stories of torture, trial, and punishment, this is the first book to consider the sacrilege accusations of the early modern period within the broader context of politics and common crime. Teter draws on previously unexamined trial records to bring out the real-life relationships among Catholics, Jews, and Protestants and challenges the commonly held view that following the Reformation, Poland was a "state without stakes"--uniquely a country without religious persecution.
Who are political users of the Internet?: an empirical study of the democratic divide

This paper, analyzing the Pew Internet & American Life Project's 2008 postelection survey, examines whether the demographic pattern of a digital divide differentiates significantly between general users and political users of the Internet. Internet users in this study includes six types: general Internet users, daily users, users for light political purposes, users for campaign engagement, general users of social networking sites, and social networking sites users for political connection. Testing the cross-group difference, the study found out that age, education and income make a demographic divide in general Internet usages. The divide pattern for light political activities is different from that for more politically engaged, concerned activities. Reflecting the Internet is not yet a predominant medium for politics, the probability of Internet use for campaign engagement and of social networking sites use for political purposes is not high. The digital divide in political usages of the Internet (the democratic divide) resembles the pattern in general usages.
Adsorption and reaction of CO and CO2 on oxidized and reduced SrTiO3(100) surfaces

The adsorption and reaction of CO and CO(2) on oxidized and reduced SrTiO(3)(100) surfaces have been studied with temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). XPS results indicate that the oxidized SrTiO(3)(100) surfaces are nearly defect-free with predominantly Ti(4+) ions whereas the sputter-reduced surfaces contain substantial amounts of defects. Both CO and CO(2) are found to adsorb weakly on the oxidized SrTiO(3)(100) surfaces. On sputter-reduced surfaces, enhanced reactivity of CO and CO(2) is observed due to the presence of oxygen vacancy sites, which are responsible for dissociative adsorption of these molecules. Our studies indicate that the CO and CO(2) molecules exhibit relatively weaker interactions with SrTiO(3)(100) compared to those with TiO(2)(110) and TiO(2)(100) surfaces. This is most likely an influence of the Sr cations on the electronic structure of the Ti cations in the mixed oxide of SrTiO(3).
Relevance of High Temperature Oxidative Stability Testing to Long Term Polymer Durability

In polymer degradation and durability studies, as well as predicting shelf-life for medical devices, one is confronted with the need for accurate prediction and difficulties of long term real-time evaluation. Various ways to accelerate the degradation process have met with mixed success. However, recently, in our own studies, a ‘master curve’ like behavior was found to be valid for polypropylene samples studied. Evidently, for samples obeying the master curve, very few data points at high temperatures can be scaled to obtain reasonably accurate estimates on long term durability.
Medical Dramas and Viewer Perception of Health: Testing Cultivation Effects

By using a national representative sample (N = 11,555), the current study tested cultivation theory and aimed at understanding the relationship between medical drama watching and viewer perception and beliefs related to health. Findings suggest that heavy viewers of medical dramas tend to underestimate the gravity of chronic illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular disease and undermine the importance of tackling these issues. Heavier viewers of medical dramas, compared to lighter viewers, also tend to take a more fatalistic perspective about cancer. Theoretical implications for cultivation theory and practical implications for health policy makers and drama producers are discussed.
N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide is associated with sudden cardiac death risk: the Cardiovascular Health Study

Background Sudden cardiac death (SCD), the cause of 250,000–450,000 deaths per year, is a major public health problem. The majority of those affected do not have a prior cardiovascular diagnosis. Elevated B-type natriuretic peptide levels have been associated with the risk of heart failure and mortality as well as with sudden death in women. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and SCD in the Cardiovascular Health Study population. Methods The risk of SCD associated with baseline NT-proBNP was examined in 5,447 participants. Covariate-adjusted Cox model regressions were used to estimate the hazard ratios of developing SCD as a function of baseline NT-proBNP. Results Over a median follow-up of 12.5 years (maximum 16), there were 289 cases of SCD. Higher NT-proBNP levels were strongly associated with SCD, with an unadjusted hazard ratio of 4.2 (95% confidence interval [2.9, 6.1]; P P Conclusion NT-proBNP provides information regarding the risk of SCD in a community-based population of older adults, beyond other traditional risk factors. This biomarker may ultimately prove useful in targeting the population at risk with aggressive medical management of comorbid conditions.
The modeling issues inherent in testing and evaluating knowledge-based systems

Abstract Computer science has always been concerned with the problem of organizing and representing knowledge to make it effectively computable. Expert systems or knowledge-based systems (KBSs)1 are not dramatic departures from other computer programs. Rather, they bring together and extend a number of the innovations and concerns that characterize modern computer science. However, like the classes of special-application programs before them or like programs written in new languages, they avoid some of the errors with which we are familiar and create new ones that we need to discover. Part of our ability to specify and test such programs adequately depends upon our ability to discover as quickly as possible (a) the kinds of errors and problems that their new constructs, goals, and processing qualities introduce and (b) the methods, analyses, and tests that will allow one to identify these errors and to fix them.
Comparative metabolism of two carbanilate herbicides (EP-475 and phenmedipham) in rats

Abstract The metabolic fate of EP-475 or ethyl m-hydroxycarbanilate carbanilate and phenmedipham or methyl m-hydroxycarbanilate m-methylcarbanilate, two relatively new postemergence herbicides for control of weed pests of sugar beets, was studied in vivo in white rats and in vitro by rat hepatic subcellular fractions and plasma from various organisms. Both EP-475 and phenmedipham were rapidly metabolized and eliminated when administered orally to whete rats. The recovery of the administered dose in the urine and feces by 72-hr posttreatment was 95.4% for EP-475 and 99.1% for phenmedipham. Hydrolysis and conjugation were the most important reactions for the herbicides and their metabolites in vivo. EP-475 and phenmedipham were hydrolyzed to ethyl-N-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-carbamate (EHPC) and methyl-N-(3-hydroxyphenyl)-carbamate (MHPC), respectively. Both hydroxyphenylcarbamates were subsequently cleaved to m-aminophenol. The m-aminophenol was then N-acetylated forming 3′-hydroxyacetanilide. EHPC, MHPC, m-aminophenol, and 3′-hydroxyacetanilide underwent the glucuronide and ethereal sulfate synthetic reactions. All of these compounds were tentatively identified from rat urine. Other unidentified radioactive materials were also present; however, they were all more polar than the parent compounds. Microsomal and soluble fractions prepared from rat liver homogenates contained enzymes that catalyzed the degradation of EP-475 and phenmedipham. Human, chicken, cow, and rat blood plasma also catalyzed the degradation of both herbicides. The major in vitro metabolites were the hydroxyphenylcarbamates (EHPC, MHPC), and their formation by liver fractions and blood plasma was inhibited by diisopropyl phosphorofluoridate (DFP) and 1-naphthyl methylcarbamate (carbaryl).
Results of a randomized trial of HERMES-assisted versus non-HERMES-assisted laparoscopic antireflux surgery.

Speech recognition technology is a recent development in minimally invasive surgery. This study was designed to assess the impact of HERMES on operating room efficiency and user satisfaction. Patients undergoing laparoscopic antireflux operations by surgeons experienced in minimally invasive surgery were randomized to HERMES-assisted or standard laparoscopic operations. The variables of interest were circulating nurse’s time spent adjusting devices that are voice-controlled by HERMES, number of adjustments to devices requested, and surgeon and nurse satisfaction measured on a scale from 1 (dissatisfied) to 10 (satisfied). A total of 30 cases were studied. In the non-HERMES cases, nurses were interrupted to make device adjustments an average of 15.3 times per case versus 0.33 times per case in the with-HERMES cases (p<0.01). The interruptions during the non-HERMES cases averaged 4.35 min per case versus 0.16 min per case in the with-HERMES cases (p=0.03). Average satisfaction scores for HERMES operations as opposed to non-HERMES operations were 9.2 versus 5.3 for nurses (p<0.01) and 9.0 versus 5.1 for surgeons (p<0.01). Physician and nurse acceptance of HERMES was very high because of the smoother interruption-free environment.
Pairing in multiparticle amplitudes: Inclusive distributions☆

Abstract A model for multi-pion production in the central region in high-energy collisions is studied which describes factorizable emission of pion pairs. A mathematical identification between the exclusive cross section for pion emission in our model (with all interference terms) and the configurational probability distribution function for a classical system of interacting molecules in equilibrium is exploited to obtain an expansion for the asymptotic single-particle inclusive distribution, the two-particle inclusive correlation function, and the exponent of s in the total cross section by means of cluster diagrams. An integral equation is exhibited for summing the terms corresponding to the cluster diagrams. A specific model is then considered, which we call “ s -channel pole dominance”. In this model the amplitude is assumed to be large only when the subenergies of pairs of pions are near the mass of a low-lying two-pion resonance, and the transverse momentum of each resonance is small. The dependence of the amplitude on other variables is ignored, so that we effectively have independent emission of two-pion resonances with non-zero width. It is seen that an I = 0 or I = 1 resonance results in a positive two-particle inclusive I = 2 correlation function at small rapidity separations, as s → ∞, and that the correlation function can have an exponential “tail” in rapidity of qualitatively longer range than the resonance. A crude numerical simulation of a broad I = 0 spinless resonance is discussed, and the resulting I = 2 inclusive correlation function is seen to be quite large at small rapidity separations, and to have the same exponential “tail” as the I = 0 correlation function.
Teaching Creative Thinking Skills A Longitudinal Study

With an increasing degree of complexity in the retail business, future business success for retail professionals will likely require creative problem-solving abilities. Therefore, there is a need f...
Revision of MIL-HDBK-217, Reliability Prediction of Electronic Equipment

This paper will discuss current efforts in the revision of MIL-HDBK-217, Military Handbook, Reliability Prediction of Electronic Equipment. It has been over a decade since this reliability prediction handbook was last updated, yet it remains the most widely used reliability prediction method for electronic equipment. In February 2008, the Defense Standardization Program Office (DSPO) tasked the Crane Division, Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC Crane), as the Preparing Activity, to revise MIL-HDBK-217. A plan has been created to refresh the handbook and to look at adding a new approach to better reflect reliability of electronic equipment. A working group of individuals representing Department of Defense (DoD) and industry has been established to conduct this revision. Development and implementation of solutions that reflect industry best practices and DoD needs is critical for success. Results of this task are planned to be new revisions of MIL-HDBK-217. These revisions will provide an updated reliability prediction tool that will assist reliability engineers in performing their work.
Office of Research on Women's Health: National Institutes of Health and the Women's Health Agenda

The historical precedent underway in women's health research in the 1990s provides the basis for more equitable health promotion and disease prevention and treatment of women in the second millennium. The success of this enterprise rests on the collaboration and cooperation of all concerned--the scientific community, health care providers, and the women themselves. The goal is improved health and prevented disease for all women. Thucydides avowed that "history is philosophy learned from examples." We can do no less.
Viral protein in early stages of clover yellow mosaic virus infection of Vicia faba

Abstract Clover yellow mosaic virus-infected Vicia faba leaf cells contain structures filled with amorphous material in both the cytoplasm and the vacuole. Electron micro-scope immunoradioautography of such leaf tissue treated with virus-specific 125 I-labeled antibodies showed that these structures contained substantial amounts of virus protein. The structures first appeared about 4–5 days after inoculation of leaves two nodes below those sampled, and were not found in noninoculated tissue. The appearance of such structures coincided with the first recovery of infectivity from these leaves. The leaves sampled were approximately 1 cm long at the time the plant was inoculated. No virus particles could be distinguished in the amorphous material.
Size-dependent predation on the salt-marsh snail Cerithidea californica Haldeman

Abstract Predation by crabs and shorebirds on the salt-marsli snail Cerithidea californica Haldeman was investigated with laboratory feeding experiments, a field mark-recapture study, and by examining shorehird regurgitation pellets. In Bolinas Lagoon, the field site of the study, the primary predators of Cerithidea are the grapsid crab Pachygrapsus crassipes Rathbun and the willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus Gmelin. In the laboratory, male Pachygrapsus of three different size classes were offered snails of six different shell lengths. The average and maximum sizes of consumed snails increased and the proportion of snails in the smallest size class that were eaten declined, with increasing crab size. In a separate comparison of male and female crabs, males ate larger snails on average than did females of equal size. Shell sculpture in the form of variccs appeared to reduce the rate of successful attack by crabs, but crabs circumvented this defense in several ways. Rates of predation by a natural population of Pachygrapsus on marked and released Cerithidea were measured over a 10-wk period in summer. The local crab population consumed marked snails of a wide range of sizes. Larger snails suffered lower rates of predation, however, there was no evidence of an absolutely invulnerable snail size. There was no difference in the rates of predation on snails that were parasitized by larval trematodes and those that were uninfected. Rates of predation on marked snails varied widely, and in a density-independent manner, among the 10 snail subpopulalions into which they had been released. The density of crabs living in the immediate vicinity of a snail subpopulation was the best predictor of local variation in predation rates. The sizes of Cerithidea preyed upon by willets were determined by measuring shells in willet regurgitation pellets. This shorebird consumes much smaller snails on average than does the local crab population. Considering the broad diet of willels and experimental results of others, it appears that predation by shorebirds can sometimes depress the density of small Cerithidea , but its impact is highly variable in space and lime and apparently density-independent. Living snails were found in several willel regurgitation pellets, suggesting that transport in the crop/gizzard of a bird is a potential mechanism of Cerithidea dispersal within and among coastal lagoons.
A Cascade of Care for Diabetes in the United States: Visualizing the Gaps

The “cascade-of-care” concept documents how patients move from diagnosis to treatment and follow-up care. This model has been helpful in identifying gaps in HIV care that result in patients not rec...
Chromate in Conversion Coatings: A XANES Study of Its Concentration and Mobility

Samples of pure aluminum were prepared with four different areas on one surface: etched aluminum, etched aluminum exposed to various electrolytes, Alodine treated aluminum, and Alodine treated aluminum exposed to electrolyte. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) was used to measure both the distribution of chromium and the proportion of hexavalent chromium. The spatial distribution of the chromium species was mapped following exposure to a range of electrolytes: Samples were exposed for 499 and 835 h to 18 M{Omega} deionized water, 0.5 M NaCl, 0.5 M Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4}, and 0.5 M Na{sub 2}SO{sub 3}. Immersion in water and sulfate had a minimal effect on the ionic state and location of chromium species. Immersion in chloride induced crevice corrosion attack, as indicated by a reduction in the Cr content at the interface between the exposed and protected Alodine treated areas. Small losses in Cr attributable to the loss of Cr(VI) were also found on the exposed Alodine treated areas. Exposure to sulfite caused the most dramatic changes. The total chromium content of the exposed Alodine decreased by 13%, and the amount of Cr(VI) decreased by 69% of its original value. There was a marked deposition of chromium as Cr(III) on themore » etched exposed aluminum close to the Alodine interface.« less
Cystathionine Protects against Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-induced Lipid Accumulation, Tissue Injury, and Apoptotic Cell Death

Cystathionine (R-S-(2-amino-2-carboxyethyl)-l-homocysteine) is a non-proteinogenic thioether containing amino acid. In mammals, cystathionine is formed as an intermediate of the transsulfuration pathway by the condensation of serine and homocysteine (Hcy) in a reaction catalyzed by cystathionine β-synthase (CBS). Cystathionine is subsequently converted to cysteine plus ammonia and α-ketobutyrate by the action of cystathionine γ-lyase (CGL). Pathogenic mutations in CBS result in CBS-deficient homocystinuria (HCU) which, if untreated, results in mental retardation, thromboembolic complications and connective tissue disorders. Currently there is no known function for cystathionine other than serving as an intermediate in transsulfuration and to date, the possible contribution of the abolition of cystathionine synthesis to pathogenesis in HCU has not been investigated. Using both mouse and cell-culture models, we have found that cystathionine is capable of blocking the induction of hepatic steatosis and kidney injury, acute tubular necrosis, and apoptotic cell death by the endoplasmic reticulum stress inducing agent tunicamycin. Northern and Western blotting analysis indicate that the protective effects of cystathionine occur without any obvious alteration of the induction of the unfolded protein response. Our data constitute the first experimental evidence that the abolition of cystathionine synthesis may contribute to the pathology of HCU and that this compound has therapeutic potential for disease states where ER stress is implicated as a primary initiating pathogenic factor.
Depression and Percent Body Fat in American Women, Ages 39–49

I investigated the association between depression and percent body fat, two major global problems. Participants are 1,704 American women, ages 39–49, who responded to a detailed self-administered mailed questionnaire. My results showed a positive correlation; the adjusted OR = 1.70, 95% CI (1.20, 2.39), p = .002. Percent body fat was estimated from age, height, and weight, a cost-free method that may be useful in areas in which dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, or other procedures are too costly or unavailable. My findings may aid health and mental health care providers in the management and treatment of patients seen in settings with limited resources.