cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characterization of crystalline filtrate tetanus toxin.

Filtrate tetanus toxin has been crystallized in the form of a thin platelet. The crystallized material is very similar to the uncrystallized, purified toxin preparations with respect to amino acid composition, immunological properties, and toxicity. An electron microscopic examination of the thin crystals reveals that the crystals are mostly stacked together in random orientations to form Moire-type patterns. Optical diffraction analysis of these electron micrographs indicates that the crystals have a hexagonal symmetry with a two-dimensional reciprocal lattice constant of 1/150 A −1 . Computer processing of electron micrographs of stacked crystals allows the separation of Moire-type images and the reconstruction of the projected density of a unit cell in a single crystalline lattice. Refinement of the phases of the reflections in a single reciprocal lattice indicates that the crystals belong to the two-dimensional plane group p6, suggesting that each unit cell is composed of 6, or a multiple of 6, toxin molecules.
Exhaled NO among inner-city children in New York City.

Background. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) has been proposed as a biomarker of airway inflammation for cohort studies of asthma. Objectives. To assess the association between FeNO and asthma symptoms among 7-year-old children living in an inner-city community. To test the association between environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure (previous and current) and FeNO among these children. Methods. As part of a longitudinal study of asthma, children recruited in Head Start centers at age 4 had offline FeNO and lung function testing at age 7. Children with allergen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) (≥0.35 IU/mL) at age 7 were considered seroatopic. ETS exposure at ages 4 and 7 was assessed by questionnaire. Results. Of 144 participating children, 89 had complete questionnaire data and achieved valid FeNO and lung function tests. Children with reported wheeze in the previous 12 months (n = 19) had higher FeNO than those without wheeze (n = 70) (geometric means 17.0 vs. 11.0 ppb, p = .005). FeNO remained ...
Green issues: Dimensions of environmental concern

Abstract Current concern for the environment is readily observed in consumer polls and lifestyles, in political campaigns, in the media, and in product offerings and marketing strategies. The academic literature, however, has not yet reflected this popular movement. Our study identifies green issues—those dimensions of environmental concern currently viewed as important by consumers. We then discuss relationships between consumers' perceptions of green issues and marketing strategies. Results of this research are of interest to consumer behavior and marketing researchers, marketing managers, and public policy-makers at a time when consumers are increasingly aware of environmental problems.
Working memory performance and neural activity in prefrontal cortex of peripubertal monkeys.

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex matures late into adolescence or early adulthood. This pattern of maturation mirrors working memory abilities, which continue to improve into adulthood. However, ...
A COMPARISON OF BENDING STRENGTH BETWEEN ADHESIVE AND STEEL REINFORCED CONCRETE WITH STEEL ONLY REINFORCED CONCRETE

Abstract Cracking of brittle cementitious composites subjected to excessive loading causes a potential reduction in material performance. Steel bars or metal fibers typically act as tensile reinforcing in concrete composites to increase the material's structural capacity in bending and to delay or prevent matrix cracking. The goal of this research is to determine whether the performance in bending strength and material integrity of a typically reinforced cementitious composite may be improved through the release of “healing” chemicals, such as adhesives, from hollow fibers into cracks induced by loading in addition to the metal reinforcing. Adhesive-filled repair fibers are intended to break immediately upon cracking in the concrete thereby activating the healing process with the release of a sealing or adhering substance. This self-repair occurs whenever and wherever cracks are generated.
Genetic assessment of straying rates of wild and hatchery reared lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in Lake Superior tributaries

ABSTRACT Natal philopatry in lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) has been hypothesized to be an important factor that has lead to genetically distinct Great Lakes populations. Due to declining abundance, population extirpation, and restricted distribution, hatchery supplementation is being used to augment natural recruitment and to reestablish populations. If hatchery-reared lake sturgeon are more likely to stray than naturally produced individuals, as documented in other well-studied species, outbreeding could potentially jeopardize beneficial site-specific phenotypic and genotypic adaptations. From 1983 to 1994, lake sturgeon propagated using eggs taken from Lake Winnebago adults (Lake Michigan basin) were released in the St. Louis River estuary in western Lake Superior. Our objective was to determine whether these introduced individuals have strayed into annual spawning runs in the Sturgeon River, Michigan. Additionally, we estimated a natural migration rate between the Sturgeon River and Bad River, W...
Ultrahigh field magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy

1. IntroductionIn our laboratory, the effort to pursue high magneticﬁelds has been intricately tied to our interest in developingmethods for the acquisition of physiological and biochem-ical information noninvasively using the nuclear spins of thewater molecules and metabolites in the human body. In thiseffort, a relatively recent and unique accomplishment hasbeen the introduction of the ability to map human brainfunction noninvasively. The concurrent and independentwork performed at the University of Minnesota, Center forMagnetic Resonance Research [1] and at MGH [2], was, inour case, conducted at 4 Tesla. It was one of the ﬁrstexperiments performed at 4 Tesla in our laboratory. Today,functional images with subcentimeter resolution of the en-tire human brain can be generated in single subjects and indata acquisition times of several minutes using 1.5 TeslaMRI scanners that are often employed in hospitals for clin-ical diagnosis. However, there have been advantages inusing signiﬁcantly higher magnetic ﬁelds such as 4 Tesla,and recently 7 Tesla in humans, and 9.4 Tesla in animalmodels. Similarly, over the last two-and-a-half decades,spectroscopy studies in intact cells have proven to be rich inbiochemical information. However, the most useful of thesestudies were performed in isolated cells or perfused tissues.Only recently, they were extended to small animal modelsusing high magnetic ﬁelds. In human applications, spectros-copy efforts pursued at the commonly available magneticﬁeld of 1.5 Tesla were in general unable to produce datacomparable in information to the high ﬁeld perfusedorgan or animal model data. This has changed with theavailability of ultrahigh magnetic ﬁelds for human appli-cations. While the use of very high magnetic ﬁelds suchas 7 Tesla in human studies is still in its infancy, the datagathered to date suggest that there are signiﬁcant gainsfor spectroscopy studies in general and some of theseaccomplishments relevant to high magnetic ﬁelds arereviewed in article.2. Imaging using the hydrogen nucleus2.1. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)In all NMR experiments, especially in in vivo applica-tions, gains in SNR are the key to extending the applicationsof this phenomenon to new frontiers in research. SNR gainscan be achieved in going to higher ﬁelds. SNR, however,becomes rather complex when high magnetic ﬁelds (hencehigh frequencies) are considered with lossy biologic sam-ples such as the human body and the human head. Therelationship between SNR and resonance frequency, ,orequivalently ﬁeld strength has been examined for biologicsamples in numerous studies [3–9], predicting increaseswith ﬁeld strength. At high frequencies such as 170 MHz(
Reducing Yield Variation in Peach Orchards by Geographic Scattering

Assuming a declining correlation in yields as distance between pairs of orchards increases, yield variability in peach production may be reduced by increasing distances among orchards. As a measure of yield variability that avoids possible bias resulting from orchard-specific effects, a stochastic production function is estimated. Results support the assumption that a declining correlation between yields exists as distance increases. For every mile further apart, the correlation in yield declines 2.28%.
Load-Balancing Query Hotspots for Next-Generation Sensornet

The expected architecture of next-generation sensornets raises the need for load-balanced point-to-point routing protocols to cope with different sources of traffic skewness. Query hotspots are one of these skewness sources that highly impact the sensornet performance. In this paper, we present a set of content-based load-balancing primitives to be used on top of any point- to-point routing protocol in order to detect and decompose query hotspots. Our schemes are based on local hotspot detection by the sensors targeted by queries. Hotspots are then decomposed by avoiding duplication when forwarding results to the query issuers. Our simulation results show the high benefit, in terms of network lifetime and throughput, of using our schemes to load-balance query hotspots of different sizes.
Investigation of Recycled Concrete Made with Limestone Aggregate for a Base Course in Flexible Pavement

The research objectives were to investigate the feasibility of using recycled concrete aggregate (RCA) as a base course material in asphalt pavement, to evaluate the physical properties of RCA, and to develop practical and reliable guidelines and specifications. The tasks included literature review, sample collection, laboratory testing, accelerated performance testing and pavement distresses monitoring, falling weight deflectometer (FWD) test, theoretical analysis of pavement, and development of guidelines and specifications for the use of Florida RCA. Three test sections of asphalt pavement were constructed at the University of Central Florida's circular accelerated test track. Two sections of different thicknesses were constructed with RCA base and one section with limerock (LR) base. A total of 362,198 load repetitions were applied to the test sections. This is equal to 811,324 repetitions of the 18-kip (80-kN) equivalent single-axle load. The pavement distresses of rutting, cracking, and settlement were monitored during the course of the performance testing. The FWD test was performed on the pavement test sections to backcalculate the in situ resilient moduli of RCA and LR for theoretical analysis of life expectancy. The findings support the hypothesis that RCA can be used effectively as a base course when appropriate quality control techniques are used. On the basis of the information obtained, a set of specifications for the use of RCA as a base course in flexible pavements was developed.
Liposomal siRNA nanocarriers for cancer therapy

Small interfering RNAs (siRNA) have recently emerged as a new class of therapeutics with a great potential to revolutionize the treatment of cancer and other diseases. A specifically designed siRNA binds and induces post-transcriptional silencing of target genes (mRNA). Clinical applications of siRNA-based therapeutics have been limited by their rapid degradation, poor cellular uptake, and rapid renal clearance following systemic administration. A variety of synthetic and natural nanoparticles composed of lipids, polymers, and metals have been developed for siRNA delivery, with different efficacy and safety profiles. Liposomal nanoparticles have proven effective in delivering siRNA into tumor tissues by improving stability and bioavailability. While providing high transfection efficiency and a capacity to form complexes with negatively charged siRNA, cationic lipids/liposomes are highly toxic. Negatively charged liposomes, on the other hand, are rapidly cleared from circulation. To overcome these problems we developed highly safe and effective neutral lipid-based nanoliposomes that provide robust gene silencing in tumors following systemic (intravenous) administration. This delivery system demonstrated remarkable antitumor efficacy in various orthotopic human cancer models in animals. Here, we briefly overview this and other lipid-based approaches with preclinical applications in different tumor models for cancer therapy and potential applications as siRNA-nanotherapeutics in human cancers.
Evaluating the Work of Internal Audit: A Comparison of Standards and Empirical Evidence

Abstract Numerous changes have recently been proposed or made to audit standards providing guidance for external auditors' evaluations of internal audit work. This paper reports the results of a study to compare the UK's Accounting Practices Board Statement of Auditing Standard 500, first, with similar standards promulgated by international, Canadian and US societies, and second, with audit quality factors derived from practising internal auditors. The data for the latter comparison was obtained from a two-phase study that first generated a set of potential quality factors through intensive structured interviews with audit groups from six different and diverse organisations, and then obtained evaluations of these factors from a large sample of internal auditors worldwide. Results first indicate that there are strong similarities between the guidance provided by SAS 500 and that proposed or promulgated by the UK, international, Canadian and US audit groups. Furthermore, the guidance provided by these SASs ...
Modeling mitochondrial ROS: a great balancing act.

‘‘So be surewhen you step, Step with care and great tact. And remember that life’s A Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft, and never mix up your right foot with your left.’’ —Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go! Random House, 1990. The benefits and risks of a cell’s use of O2 can be a tricky balance. Consumption of O2 by mitochondria greatly enhances the efficiency of aerobic metabolism, allowing generation of 15-fold more ATP than is possible by anaerobic glycolysis alone. Most O2 consumption occurs in the electron transport chain. Under normal conditions, the electron transport chain takes high-energy electrons from NADH or FADH2 to generate a proton concentration gradient and membrane potential gradient between the inner mitochondrial space and the mitochondrial matrix. O2 plays a key role by capturing four low energy electrons coming out of the electron transport chain, forming H2O in the process. The proton gradient is used to power ATP synthase, which harnesses the energy from protons flowing back into the mitochondrial matrix to phosphorylate ADP, yielding ATP. Yet if a highenergy electron leaks from the electron transport chain too early, it may be captured by O2 to form the reactive oxygen species (ROS) known as superoxide (O2� ). Superoxide can be quite damaging because it has an extremely high affinity for electrons, ripping them away from nearby proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids via oxidation. Indeed, ROS species play a key role in a wide range of pathologies suchasatherosclerosis(1),Alzheimer’s disease (2), and cancer (3). Therefore the cell needs to balance the benefits of an efficient aerobic metabolism with the risks of generating toxic ROS. Although the interplay between ATP synthesis and ROS generation has been studied intensively, there have emerged apparent inconsistencies between explanations of the conditions and mechanisms responsible for mitochondrial ROS production from isolated mitochondria and intact cells. As an attempt to resolve these discrepancies, Aon et al. (4) showed that ROS overflow is minimal at intermediate redox states, increasing in either highly reduced/high mitochondrial membrane
Development of torsade de pointes caused by exacerbation of QT prolongation during clipping of cerebral artery aneurysm in a patient with subarachnoid haemorrhage

We report the case of a 79-yr-old woman with subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) in whom torsade de pointes (TdP) caused by worsening the QT prolongation occurred during clipping of cerebral artery aneurysm. This patient shows a potential risk of occurrence of life-threatening tachyarrhythmia, TdP by prolonging the QT interval during surgery in patients with SAH even with no additional factors that predispose to TdP. Therefore, a proper monitoring of the QT interval is necessary as a predictor of TdP. When ventricular tachyarrhythmia occurs, recognition of TdP is important because antiarrhythmic drug therapy for TdP is different from that for ventricular tachyarrhythmias that is not TdP.
Heterophile antibody blocking agent to confirm false positive serum human chorionic gonadotropin assay.

Abstract background Persistently false positive human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) test results in the absence of an intrauterine pregnancy may lead to a diagnosis of ectopic pregnancy or gestational trophoblastic neoplasia and unnecessary testing and therapy. Cases A 38-year-old woman on oral contraceptives and a 53-year-old perimenopausal woman presented with persistently elevated serum β-hCG levels from 30 to 225 mIU/mL. Both women had a history of working with mice. Urine hCG testing was negative. Serum β-hCG levels for both patients were negative after pretreatment of their serum with a heterophile antibody blocking agent. Conclusion These cases illustrate that serum heterophile antibodies can interfere with the hCG enzyme immunoassay and result in false positive values. The addition of heterophile blocking agent to the serum can exclude false positives, thereby preventing unnecessary evaluation and treatment.
Software adaptation in quality sensitive applications to deal with hardware variability

In this work, we propose a method to reduce the impact of process variations by adapting the application's algorithm at the software layer. We introduce the concept of hardware signatures as the measured post manufacturing hardware characteristics that can be used to drive software adaptation across different die. Using H.264 encoding as an example, we demonstrate significant yield improvements (as much as 40% points at 0% over-design), a reduction in over-design (by as much as 10% points at 80% yield) as well as application quality improvements (about 2.6dB increase in average PSNR at 80% yield). Further, we investigate implications of limited information exchange (i.e. signature measurement granularity) on yield and quality. We show that our proposed technique for determining optimal signature measurement points results in an improvement in PSNR of about 1.3dB over naive sampling for the H.264 encoder. We conclude that hardware-signature based application adaptation is an easy and inexpensive (to implement), better informed (by actual application requirements) and e ffective way to manage yield-cost-quality tradeoffs in application-implementation design flows.
The Effect of Hydrogenation on the Electrical Properties of Crystalline Silicon

Hydrogen ties Si dangling bonds at defects as well as near impurities. Defect passivation leads to dramatically lower surface recombination and increased minority carrier lifetime. Dopant neutralization increases the resistivity of the crystal and the mobility of carriers. The neutralization of donors and acceptors is optimum at different temperatures. Deep levels can also be neutralized.
Maximal assortative matching for complex network graphs

We define the problem of maximal assortativity matching (MAM) for a complex network graph as the problem of maximizing the similarity of the end vertices (with respect to some measure of node weight) constituting the matching. In this pursuit, we introduce a metric called the assortativity weight of an edge, defined as the product of the number of uncovered adjacent edges and the absolute value of the difference in the weights of the end vertices. The MAM algorithm prefers to include edges that have the smallest assortativity weight in each iteration (one edge per iteration) until all edges are covered. The MAM algorithm can also be adapted to determine a maximal dissortative matching (MDM) to maximize the dissimilarity between the end vertices that are part of a matching as well as to determine a maximal node matching (MNM) that simply maximizes the number of vertices that are part of the matching. We run the MAM, MNM and MDM algorithms on real-world network graphs as well as on the theoretical model-based random network graphs and scale-free network graphs and analyze the tradeoffs between the % of node matches and assortativity index (targeted optimal values: 1 for MAM and -1 for MDM).
An Assessment of a Real-Time Analysis and Its Impact on Dispersion Modeling

The height of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) is an important quantity for certain applications such as dispersion modeling. A dedicated two-dimensional PBL height analysis has been developed as an additional component of NCEP’s Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis. As for other meteorological analysis applications, the quality of the output is dependent on the quality of the input, including the observation. Here we assess the quality and potential for use in the PBL height analysis of a series of candidate observations, including Radiosonde Observations (RAOBS), Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), Cooperative Agency Profilers (CAP), COSMIC satellite Radio Occultation and NWS Next-Rad radar reflectivities. The quality is assessed both by physical plausibility of the measurements and by comparison of the observations and the resulting analysis with independent observations not used in the analysis.
Abstract 158: Ultrasound-Induced Inhibition and Modulation of Neonatal Ventricular Cardiomyocyte Depolarization

Background: Ultrasound can interact with tissue through either thermal or non-thermal physical mechanisms. Radiation force has been shown to stimulate cardiac and neural tissue in vivo. Ultrasound might hold clinical potential as a noninvasive therapeutic tool via specific bioeffects on cardiomyocytes. This study aims to assess the effect of ultrasound on cardiomyocyte depolarization in a tissue culture model. Methods: Cardiomyocytes were isolated from neonatal rat ventricular tissue and plated directly on microelectrode arrays to record depolarization patterns. A custom 2.5 MHz unfocused ultrasound transducer was directed at the cardiomyocytes in a tissue culture model. A function generator, with an amplified signal +50 dB, delivered acoustic energy at variable settings of 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 and 1.0 Vpp, pulse durations of 2, 5 and 10 ms, and burst periods of 100, 250 and 300 ms. Five trials were conducted at each setting (36 total trials) with 30s of continuous ultrasound exposure followed by an off interval...
FUNCTIONALIZATION OF USED TIRE RUBBER BY HYDROSILYLATION

Abstract A new method for the surface modification of used tire rubber (UTR) is being developed. The method involves hydrosilylation of ground UTR particles with trichlorosilane (TCS) under various reaction conditions. The reaction has been carried out with and without solvents and catalysts (Karsted's/Pt catalyst). TCS treated UTR particles are then hydrolyzed to obtain silanol functionalized hydrosilylated rubber powder. Attenuated total reflection–Fourier transform infrared, solid-state 13C NMR spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis are provided as evidence of hydrosilylation onto rubber particles.
Laboratories of Democracy? People of Mexican Origin and State Level Fair Employment Practices Legislation and Policy: 1945-1966

During the Second World War, President Franklin Roosevelt established the first national anti-discrimination agency, the President’s Committee on Fair Employment Practices (FEPC). Obstructionist tactics by Southerners in the United States Congress prevented national legislation from being passed until the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Between 1945 and 1966, 29 states passed fair employment legislation and Texas continued the activities of the Texas Good Neighbor Commission. This article explores the politics of fair employment practices legislation in the three states with the largest communities of Mexican origin: Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Those attempting to pass fair employment and other civil rights legislation in each state fought individual uncoordinated battles subject to veto points in terms of passage of legislation, policy implementation and appropriations. Within the contexts of those confines, each state had a vastly different context in terms of the motives of their elected officials, the strength of Mexican American civil rights leaders and the possibilities of legislative action. However, the futility of solving a national problem on a state-by-state basis with veto points throughout the process resulted in all three states lacking a successfully implemented fair employment law prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 despite varying results in each particular state.
The Family and Partisan Socialization in Red and Blue America

How do competing social influences shape individual partisanship over the course of the life cycle? People enter and exit a host of environments over the course of the lifespan, and these environments provide social pressures that can conflict or reinforce early socialized attitudes. Socialization could be an agent for either opinion change or opinion stability. Using the Youth-Parent Socialization Study and constructing partisan environmental measures at the county level, I explore this question. The findings demonstrate that environments exert significant socializing influence over the lifespan, moderating the persistence of early forces. This helps us understand when early socialized pressures persist and when they do not. When environments throughout life provide reinforcing social pressures, parental influence endures over time. However, when early socialized influence is challenged over time by the political environment that citizens reside in, the influence of early parental socialization is offset and nullified.
Droga do Raciborza: grabież bibliotek i archiwów Europy przez Sztab Operacyjny Rosenberga (Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg). Część II (przeł. Tomasz Olszewski)

Scholarship has not adequately studied the history of Nazi cultural plunder during the Second World War, or the further international displacement and restitution efforts thereafter. The present study discusses one of the primary agencies of plunder, the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR). It focuses on the plunder of libraries and archives, tracing their migration, revealing new sources, and identifying collections that did not return home after the war. Emphasis falls on materials that ended the war in the little-known ERR research and library center in Ratibor (now Polish Raciborz), to which the Germans transported more than two million books. Sixty years after the end of the war we are still finding cultural treasures the Nazis plundered, many of which were displaced or plundered a second time at the end of the war. Displaced treasures continue to surface in countries from Finland to Argentina to Japan. Scholars have spoken of “Art as Politics”, the “Rape of Europa”, or the “Grand Pillage”. The “spoils of war” seized by the victorious Soviets on the Eastern Front included cultural property previously looted by the Nazis. Today we know more about the “Beautiful Loot” that ended up in the Soviet Union as “hidden treasures”.
The Monday effect in the EUR/USD currency pair: Periods of EUR strength and weakness

Abstract This paper examines the EUR/USD currency pair over six different periods to determine the existence of the Monday effect. It is the authors’ contention that the existence of the Monday effect in the EUR/USD currency pair has been impacted by the directional movement of the currency pair and thus varies in periods of EUR strength versus periods of EUR weakness. The results provide evidence that in the January 1999 through May 2000 and in the December 2004 to November 2005 time periods, the currency pair exhibited a statistically significant Monday effect. This Monday effect was not evident in any of the other time periods studied which leads the authors’ to postulate that the existence of the Monday effect is influenced by the relative strength or weakness of the EUR.
Falloposcopy: A microendoscopic technique for visual exploration of the human fallopian tube from the uterotubal ostium to the fimbria using a transvaginal approach

A transvaginal microendoscopic technique has been developed for safely exploring the human fallopian tube from the utero tubal ostium to the fimbria and adjacent peritoneal cavity. Falloposcopy was performed without complication or evidence of endotubal damage in 44 women, 38 of whom also underwent a concurrent laparoscopy. Eight women with normal tubes served as controls and 36 women with tubal damage underwent falloposcopy in an attempt to document endotubal defects. Previous salpingectomy in 13 women and ostial obstruction in 4 cases left 71 tubes available for falloposcopy. Technical failures, defined as an inability to negotiate the tubal lumen in the absence of obstructive disease occurred in 8 of 71 (11%) procedures. In 63 successful procedures, the tubal lumen was considered to be falloposcopically normal in 28 cases (44%) and contained defects ranging from partial to total obstruction secondary to intraluminal fibrosis within the intramural, isthmic, and ampullary segments in the remaining 35 tubes (56%). Falloposcopy provides a nonincisional modality for defining the normal and abnormal surface anatomy of the tubal epithelium.
How can we better manage difficult patient encounters

These communication strategies--including 2 mnemonics and an at-a-glance guide--can help you help patients with unexplained complaints.
On token physicalism and anomalous monism

The theory of token physicalism may be stated thus: for any given occasion on which you or I are actually in mental state M (say, in a state of pain), being in that particular mental state is identical to being in brain (or CNS) state S. There is quite a large philosophical literature dealing with this claim;1 I refer to it here as a ‘theory’ in recognition of its research-guiding function in some recent neuroscientific work. For example, in his paper ‘From Neuron to Behavior and Mentation’, Mario Bunge asserts that ‘thinking is identical with (reducible to without remainder) the activities (functions) of certain neural systems.’2 Bunge clearly had in mind here something like the case in which one may engage in ‘silent soliloquy’ or ‘interior monologue’. (We shall return to discuss interior monologue in detail in a later section of the present work dealing with ‘thinking’.)
Cleaning Financial Data Using SSA and MSSA

We introduce a powerful method for cleaning time series - Multi-Channel Singular Spectrum Analysis (MSSA). “Cleaning” means filling data gaps and removing unphysical spikes, which are chronic problems. MSSA utilizes all available information in “time” and “space” with autocorrelations, correlations, and lagged correlations. MSSA performs demonstrably better than other methods. Here we present tests using MSSA to fill data gaps, with positive results. Spike removal is in a separate paper.
Drift paths of ions composing multiple‐nose spectral structures near the inner edge of the plasma sheet

We present a case study of the H+, He+, and O+ multiple-nose structures observed by the HOPE instrument onboard Van Allen Probe A over one complete orbit on 28 September 2013. Nose structures are observed near the inner edge of the plasma sheet and constitute the signatures of ion drift in the highly dynamic environment of the inner magnetosphere. We find that the multiple noses are intrinsically associated with variations in the solar wind. Backward ion drift path tracings show new details of the drift trajectories of these ions, i.e., multiple noses are formed by ions with a short drift time from the assumed source location to the inner region and whose trajectories: 1) encircle the Earth different number of times, or 2) encircle the Earth equal number of times but with different drift time, before reaching the observation site.
Dynamical phenomena at the inner edge of the Keeler gap

Abstract We analyze several thousand Cassini ISS images in order to study the inner edge of the Keeler gap in Saturn's outer A ring. We find strong evidence for an m = 32 perturbation with a mean amplitude of radial variation of 4.5 km. Phase analysis yields a pattern speed consistent with the mean motion of Prometheus, indicating that this pattern is generated by the 32:31 Inner Lindblad resonance with Prometheus. In addition, we find evidence of 18-lobed and 20-lobed patterns with amplitudes of ∼1.5 km. These patterns, whose rotation rates correspond to resonance locations ∼4 km interior to the gap edge, are believed to be normal modes. The former is probably related to the nearby 18:17 ( m = 18) resonance with Pandora. In addition to these resonant and normal mode patterns, we also observe multiple localized features that appear to move at the local keplerian rate and that persist for only a few months. One hypothesis is that different groups of ring particles at the inner edge of the gap may be reacting differently to the resonance with Prometheus, with local variations in the forced eccentricity and/or pericenter; an alternative hypothesis is the existence of several unseen objects embedded at or near the inner edge of the Keeler gap, similar to those suspected to exist at the outer edges of the A and B rings. In either case, observations of the ring edge at opposite ansae demonstrate that the localized features must be on eccentric orbits.
Contraceptive method and self-reported HIV status among women in Malawi.

Abstract Objectives We aimed to describe contraceptive methods used by women in Malawi and determine whether contraceptive use differed by self-reported HIV status. Effective contraception is a primary method of preventing mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Study design Analysis is based on 12,658 nonpregnant, sexually debuted women ages 15–49 years in the 2010 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey. Analysis was restricted to respondents with contraceptive need (i.e., fecund and did not want a child in the next 12 months) who reported their last HIV test result. We accounted for the two-stage cluster sampling design by applying cluster, stratum and sample weights. We assessed differences in contraceptive method use by HIV status with χ 2 tests and multivariable logistic regression. Results A total of 893 (7.0%) of respondents reported being HIV positive. Use of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) was low and did not differ between HIV-positive (1.4%) and HIV-negative (1.9%) women [adjusted odds ratio (aOR)=0.7, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.4–1.4]. HIV-positive women (15.6%) were less likely than HIV-negative women (30.4%) to use progestin-only injectable contraception (aOR, 0.7; 95% CI, 0.5–0.8). Prevalence of female sterilization was higher among HIV-positive women (17.9%) compared to HIV-negative women (9.2%; aOR=1.7; 95% CI, 1.2–2.3). Conclusions LARC use was low among adult women with contraceptive need in Malawi. HIV-positive women were less likely to report progestin-only injectable use but more likely to report having undergone female sterilization compared to their HIV-negative counterparts. Noncoercive interventions that provide highly effective methods of contraception to HIV-positive women with contraceptive need are valuable methods of vertical transmission prevention in Malawi. Implications Contraceptive use differed by self-reported HIV status among adult women with contraceptive need in Malawi. Female sterilization was significantly higher, and use of progestin-only injectables was significantly lower, among HIV-positive women compared to their HIV-negative counterparts. Use of long-acting reversible contraception was low among both HIV-positive and HIV-negative women.
Responding to the Challenges of Engineering Practice

The paper consider the following problems: (1)The heritage of great engineers; (2)profession and politicians; (3)duty to dissent; (4)birth of atomic energy; (5)water resources planning as a tool of the new despotism; (6)engineers must tell what they know; (7)problems of communicating the dissenting voice; (8)new warnings to America and to civil engineers; (9)dangers of a new holocaust; (10)challenges confronting civil engineering education; (11)ethics, the law beyond the law; and (12)slow death of a free profession.
Pinging the brain to reveal hidden memories.

Keeping a picture in mind requires many brain cells to actively communicate ... or does it? There might be more to working memory than neuronal chatter, and silent processes could be hiding right beneath the surface.
A hybrid machine learning model to predict and visualize nitrate concentration throughout the Central Valley aquifer, California, USA

Intense demand for water in the Central Valley of California and related increases in groundwater nitrate concentration threaten the sustainability of the groundwater resource. To assess contamination risk in the region, we developed a hybrid, non-linear, machine learning model within a statistical learning framework to predict nitrate contamination of groundwater to depths of approximately 500m below ground surface. A database of 145 predictor variables representing well characteristics, historical and current field and landscape-scale nitrogen mass balances, historical and current land use, oxidation/reduction conditions, groundwater flow, climate, soil characteristics, depth to groundwater, and groundwater age were assigned to over 6000 private supply and public supply wells measured previously for nitrate and located throughout the study area. The boosted regression tree (BRT) method was used to screen and rank variables to predict nitrate concentration at the depths of domestic and public well supplies. The novel approach included as predictor variables outputs from existing physically based models of the Central Valley. The top five most important predictor variables included two oxidation/reduction variables (probability of manganese concentration to exceed 50ppb and probability of dissolved oxygen concentration to be below 0.5ppm), field-scale adjusted unsaturated zone nitrogen input for the 1975 time period, average difference between precipitation and evapotranspiration during the years 1971-2000, and 1992 total landscape nitrogen input. Twenty-five variables were selected for the final model for log-transformed nitrate. In general, increasing probability of anoxic conditions and increasing precipitation relative to potential evapotranspiration had a corresponding decrease in nitrate concentration predictions. Conversely, increasing 1975 unsaturated zone nitrogen leaching flux and 1992 total landscape nitrogen input had an increasing relative impact on nitrate predictions. Three-dimensional visualization indicates that nitrate predictions depend on the probability of anoxic conditions and other factors, and that nitrate predictions generally decreased with increasing groundwater age.
Midline Subfrontal Approaches: The Transbasal Approach and Extended Modifications to Access the Clivus

Abstract Midline subfrontal approaches to the anterior skull base and paranasal sinuses remain an important option in the surgical treatment of clivus chordomas and chondrosarcomas. The bifrontal transbasal approach remains the workhorse to access the cribriform plate and paranasal sinuses that create an operative corridor to the midline clivus and craniovertebral junction. Extended modifications of the transbasal approach involve varying degrees of removal of the orbitonasal bone complex. These extended transbasal modifications have allowed for increased posterior and inferior surgical view toward the clivus with less frontal lobe retraction. In this chapter, we review the standard transbasal approach and extended modifications that are used to access clivus chordomas and chondrosarcomas. The variations of osteotomies and also strategies for skull base reconstruction are also discussed.
Construction and retrieval of evaluative judgments: The attitude strength moderation model

Abstract Disagreement exists as to the psychological processes underlying reports of evaluative judgments, with some theorists suggesting that attitudes can be retrieved and used to guide evaluative judgments, and others suggesting that such judgments are the result of construction, wherein evaluative judgments are constructed on the spot, and as needed. We propose the attitude strength moderation model, which predicts that evaluative judgments of an object associated with strong attitudes are often the result of retrieval processes, whereas the evaluative judgments associated with weak attitudes are often the result of construction processes. We examine these hypotheses in three experiments. The first and second experiments compare response latencies to sequential evaluative and attribute judgments. The third experiment uses eye-tracking. All three experiments provide support for the attitude strength moderation model.
Spatial-temporal variations of dissolved organic nitrogen molecular composition in agricultural runoff water.

Abstract Leaching of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) has been reported as a pathway of N loss from agriculture, but the molecular composition of DON in agricultural water is poorly understood. Runoff water samples were collected from citrus grove furrows (CGF), ditches (CGD) and pasture ditches (PD) in four seasons. Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS) was used to investigate molecular composition of DON. Chemodiversity index of DON had spatiotemporal variations, while the molecular composition of total DON showed minimal variations, except for PD in November. Lignin derivatives constituted 61% of the total DON compounds. Relative abundance of aliphatic compounds, char and condensed aromatics of unique DON compounds varied spatiotemporally and had a significant correlation with DON concentration. Aromaticity index decreased from CGF to connected CGD, implying that photodegradation is possibly the dominant process that alters molecular composition of aquatic DON during the transport. Significant differences in unique DON composition between CGD and PD indicates that fertilization and land use affect DON composition. The information on molecular characterization of DON should be useful for tracking DON source and developing technologies to remove DON in the agricultural runoff water.
Stability of Fibrinogen Concentrate in Human Blood Samples: An In Vitro Study.

Objectives This study was designed to assess the stability and functional activity of fibrinogen concentrates subjected to the changes in temperature and duration observed in field conditions. Methods Fibrinogen concentrate was stored at -20°C (12 vials), 22°C (12 vials), and 50°C with 80% humidity (12 vials), for up to 6 mo. At each temperature, three vials of fibrinogen concentrate were taken out at 0, 1, 3, and 6 mo and reconstituted. On analysis days, blood samples were taken from a single healthy donor to collect plasma samples. The donor plasma was mixed with commercial fibrinogen-deficient plasma to make fibrinogen-adjusted plasma (FAP). An aliquot of the reconstituted fibrinogen concentrate was used for quantification of stored fibrinogen content (using STA-R) and function (Rotem - Fibtem) in FAP. Results At 22°C for 0, 1, 3, and 6 mo, there were no significant changes observed in fibrinogen content (1,223 ± 42 mg/vial, 1,286 ± 86 mg/vial, 1,234 ± 76 mg/vial, and 1,178 ± 64 mg/vial), prothrombin time (13.5 ± 0.1 s, 13.7 ± 0.6 s, 13.3 ± 0.4 s, and 13.7 ± 0.2 s), or activated partial thromboplastin time (31.1 ± 0.2 s, 32.0 ± 0.2 s, 31.5 ± 0.2 s, and 32.0 ± 0.8 s), respectively. There were also no significant changes observed in any of the Fibtem measurements. Similarly, no differences were observed in these variables over time at -20°C and 50°C with 80% humidity. Conclusions Fibrinogen concentrate maintained its content and function when stored at -20°C to 50°C with up to 80% humidity for 6 mo.
Teachers’ Uses of a Learning Trajectory as a Tool for Mathematics Lesson Planning

In this chapter, I examine the utility of a mathematics learning trajectory (LT) as a tool to support teachers’ attention to students’ mathematical thinking. I present findings from five second-grade teachers’ use of a LT as they planned a sequence of three mathematics lessons. Findings suggest LTs support teachers in choosing appropriate tasks and learning goals, and in anticipating students’ likely approaches and difficulties. In particular, the LT was used to attend to both short- and long-term learning goals, provided information about specific student strategies and misconceptions, and supported the teachers in considering levels of sophistication among their students’ mathematical conceptions. LTs, as representations of student thinking, provide teachers with a means of evaluating evidence of student learning of intended goals, and afford them with a range of instructional moves based on their students’ current conceptions.
The 'watch-and-wait' approach for rectal cancer: are outcomes improved with more limited T stage and routine use of MRI for staging?

We also propose that limiting the watch-and-wait strategy to patients with T1/T2N0 rectal cancer and using adequate T staging with MRI will result in improvements in local control and patient outcomes.
Ceruminous Neoplasms of the Ear

Ceruminous glands are modified apocrine glands located in the external auditory canal (EAC). Neoplastic lesions arising from these glands are rare in humans and constitute a major differential diagnosis for glandular neoplasms of the EAC. Due to anatomic restrictions, benign and malignant neoplasms present with similar symptoms and to some extent even comparable radiologic features, particularly when the tumors are localized. Biopsies are frequently limited by small size, fragmentation and improper anatomic and architectural orientation, thereby hampering our ability to appreciate the relationship of peripheral edges of the tumor to the surrounding tissue. Benign and malignant tumors may also have overlapping histomorphologic features, which further magnifies the challenges in accurate diagnosis and management strategies. This article summarizes the salient clinical, radiologic and histologic features of common ceruminous gland tumors, in addition to discussing features that can aid in differentiating ceruminous tumors from other EAC tumors and to distinguish benign from malignant entities.