cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Literacy instruction for young children with severe speech and physical impairments: A systematic review

ABSTRACTChildren with severe speech and physical impairment who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) present unique challenges in literacy development. Traditional reading instruction has not met these students’ needs. Occupational therapy and speech therapy provide supports to mediate limitations to literacy instruction. A systematic review of 286 articles identified six reporting improvement in emergent literacy and child participation. These articles are synthesized here, offering instructional strategies including modeling AAC use, adapting materials, subvocal rehearsal of words/phonemes, contextual learning, and differentiated instruction. Recommendations for future research include quality outcome measures, dosing clarification, and participation in motivating social interactions during literacy activities.
Decoding of finger trajectory from ECoG using deep learning.

Objective Conventional decoding pipeline for brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) consists of chained different stages of feature extraction, time-frequency analysis and statistical learning models. Each of these stages uses a different algorithm trained in a sequential manner, which makes it difficult to make the whole system adaptive. The goal was to create an adaptive online system with a single objective function and a single learning algorithm so that the whole system can be trained in parallel to increase the decoding performance. Here, we used deep neural networks consisting of convolutional neural networks (CNN) and a special kind of recurrent neural network (RNN) called long short term memory (LSTM) to address these needs. Approach We used electrocorticography (ECoG) data collected by Kubanek et al. The task consisted of individual finger flexions upon a visual cue. Our model combined a hierarchical feature extractor CNN and a RNN that was able to process sequential data and recognize temporal dynamics in the neural data. CNN was used as the feature extractor and LSTM was used as the regression algorithm to capture the temporal dynamics of the signal. Main results We predicted the finger trajectory using ECoG signals and compared results for the least angle regression (LARS), CNN-LSTM, random forest, LSTM model (LSTM_HC, for using hard-coded features) and a decoding pipeline consisting of band-pass filtering, energy extraction, feature selection and linear regression. The results showed that the deep learning models performed better than the commonly used linear model. The deep learning models not only gave smoother and more realistic trajectories but also learned the transition between movement and rest state. Significance This study demonstrated a decoding network for BMI that involved a convolutional and recurrent neural network model. It integrated the feature extraction pipeline into the convolution and pooling layer and used LSTM layer to capture the state transitions. The discussed network eliminated the need to separately train the model at each step in the decoding pipeline. The whole system can be jointly optimized using stochastic gradient descent and is capable of online learning.
Dioxygen and Metabolism; Dangerous Liaisons in Cardiac Function and Disease.

The heart must consume a significant amount of energy to sustain its contractile activity. Although the fuel demands are huge, the stock remains very low. Thus, in order to supply its daily needs, the heart must have amazing adaptive abilities, which are dependent on dioxygen availability. However, in myriad cardiovascular diseases, “fuel” depletion and hypoxia are common features, leading cardiomyocytes to favor low-dioxygen-consuming glycolysis rather than oxidation of fatty acids. This metabolic switch makes it challenging to distinguish causes from consequences in cardiac pathologies. Finally, despite the progress achieved in the past few decades, medical treatments have not improved substantially, either. In such a situation, it seems clear that much remains to be learned about cardiac diseases. Therefore, in this review, we will discuss how reconciling dioxygen availability and cardiac metabolic adaptations may contribute to develop full and innovative strategies from bench to bedside.
Sugar intake by type (added vs. naturally occurring) and physical form (liquid vs. solid) and its varying association with children's body weight, NHANES 2009–2014

Background Sugars and their primary dietary sources (milk, fruits, sweetened foods and beverages) are associated, in different ways, with a range of health outcomes, including obesity. The contribution made to total sugar intake and how the different types and forms of sugar associate with body weight is unclear. Objective To describe sugar consumption and examine its association with weight status among U.S. children by sugar type [added {AS} vs. naturally occurring {NOS}] and form (solid vs. liquid). Design Cross-sectional dietary data (2 24-h recalls) from children 2-19 years in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009-2014 (n = 8136) were used to estimate the amount of each type and form of sugar by age and weight status. Linear regression models tested trends and the multivariate adjusted association between the different sugars and weight status. Results Mean total sugar, AS, and NOS was 118.1 g [25.3% total energy {TE}], 71.5 g (14.8% TE), 46.7 g (10.5% TE), respectively. AS in sugar-sweetened (non-dairy) beverages and NOS in juices contributed 6.9% and 2.4% of TE, respectively. Only %TE from AS (controlled for potential demographic, lifestyle confounders) was associated with change in body mass index z-score (BMIz) [AS in beverages: BMIz β + 0.01 {95% CI: 0.002, 0.03}; AS in foods: BMIz β - 0.03 {95% CI: -0.04, -0.02}]. Conclusion Dietary sugars, most of which are AS, are a major contributor of calories in the diets of U.S. children. Only AS in non-dairy sources were associated with weight although the direction differed by the form consumed. AS in beverages were associated positively and those in foods were associated inversely with children's weight status.
Does Violent Secessionism Work

Recent research suggests that the strategic use of violence may increase a group’s chance of gaining independence. We investigate this topic using comprehensive data on all secessionist movements b...
Improving Sentence Completion in Dialogues with Multi-Modal Features

With the aim of investigating how humans understand each other through language and gestures, this paper focuses on how people understand incomplete sentences. We trained a system based on interrupted but resumed sentences, in order to find plausible completions for incomplete sentences. Our promising results are based on multi-modal features.
Systematics and Biology of Encarsia

The genus Encarsia includes 343 described species and numerous undescribed species. Immatures are parasitoids of various whiteflies, armored scales, aphids, Lepidoptera or even the opposite sex of the same species. Several species are known to attack Bemisia, but so far, none have proved effective in the control of the pest species in this genus. The taxonomy and classification of Encarsia species is undergoing rapid changes using both morphological and molecular techniques. Wolbachia and newly discovered bacteria are associated with sex ratio distortion in species of Encarsia. Whiteflies appear to be the basal host associated with members of this genus, with only a few species potentially host specific for Bemisia whiteflies.
Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage in the Elderly Population (S10.006)

Objective: To characterize spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in the very elderly and evaluate how risk factors for in-hospital mortality vary by age group. Background: ICH disproportionately affects the geriatric population. Clinical trials for ICH exclude patients older than 80, limiting our knowledge of the natural history of this condition. Design/Methods: This is a cross sectional study using administrative claims data from hospitals in California between 2005–2011. ICD-9-CM codes were used to (1) identify patients admitted with ICH, (2) ascertain relevant comorbidities, and (3) ascertain in-hospital death. We stratified ICH cases according to age ( Results: 61,190 ICH cases were admitted during the study period. Of these, 17,471 (29%) were ≥80 years old. In-hospital mortality was 27% overall, 31% for those aged ≥80 and 25% for those Conclusions: In California from 2005–2011, the elderly (≥80) comprised 29% of admissions for ICH. Mortality was higher in this age group. Determinants of in-hospital death vary by age group. Further studies are needed to better characterize ICH in the elderly and understand their response to potential therapeutic interventions. Study Supported by: Dr. Falcone is supported by the Neurocritical Care Society Research Fellowship and is a Yale Pepper Scholar with support from the Yale Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center (P30AG021342). Disclosure: Dr. Beekman has nothing to disclose. Dr. Chu has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sommaruga has nothing to disclose. Dr. King has nothing to disclose. Dr. Kamel has nothing to disclose. Dr. Matouk has nothing to disclose. Dr. Hwang has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sheth has nothing to disclose. Dr Falcone has nothing to disclose.
An experimental study on the thermal characteristics of NS-DBD plasma actuation and application for aircraft icing mitigation

A comprehensive study was performed to explore the thermal characteristics of NS-DBD plasma actuation over an airfoil/wing surface and evaluate the anti-/de-icing performance of NS-DBD plasma actuators for aircraft in-flight icing mitigation. While the fundamentals of thermal energy generation and heat transfer in NS-DBD plasma actuation over the airfoil/wing model were described in great details, a series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of different environmental parameters on the heating efficiency of NS-DBD plasma actuators over the airfoil/wing surface. With the temporally-synchronized-and-spatially-resolved high-speed visualization & infrared (IR) imaging system, not only the transient thermal characteristics of NS-DBD plasma actuation over the airfoil/wing surface were revealed, but also the anti-icing performances of the NS-DBD plasma actuators were evaluated under different icing conditions, i.e., rime, mixed, and glaze. The impacts of incoming airflow velocity, air temperature, and angle of attack (AOA) of the airfoil/wing model on the thermal characteristics of NS-DBD plasma actuation over the airfoil/wing surface were systematically investigated based on the measurement results. It was found that the thermal characteristics of NS-DBD plasma actuation over the airfoil/wing surface are closely coupled with the boundary layer airflow and the unsteady heat transfer process over the airfoil/wing model exposed in the frozen-cold airflows. The anti-icing performances of the NS-DBD plasma actuators under the different icing conditions were found to be varying significantly due to the variations of surface heating efficiency of the NS-DBD plasma actuators. The anti-/de-icing performance of the NS-DBD plasma actuators was found to be improved dramatically by increasing the operating frequency of the plasma actuators. The findings derived from the present study are very helpful to explore/optimize design paradigms for the development of novel plasma-based anti-/de-icing strategies tailored specifically for aircraft inflight icing mitigation to ensure safer and more efficient aircraft operation in atmospheric icing conditions.
Improved Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Performance With CODE ACES 2: A Resuscitation Quality Bundle

Background Over 6000 children have an in‐hospital cardiac arrest in the United States annually. Most will not survive to discharge, with significant variability in survival across hospitals suggest...
Endometrial Cancer: An Overview of Pathophysiology, Management, and Care.

ABSTRACT Objective To provide an overview of the etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship concerns surrounding endometrial cancer. Data Sources A review of articles dated 2006–2018 from PubMed and NCCN guidelines. Conclusion Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy. Staging and treatment are primarily surgical, with adjuvant radiation and chemotherapy administered as indicated by grade and stage. Implications for Nursing Practice Cancer prevention, response to treatment, and quality of life can be affected by lifestyle factors, including nutrition, exercise, and tobacco use. Nurses in diverse roles and practice settings can educate patients about lifestyle choices that can affect individuals across the cancer trajectory.
Metabolism of Avian Embryos: Comparative Ontogeny

The ontogeny of O2 consumption of avian embryos differs with size and condition at hatching. Altricial species do not exhibit the plateau phase observed in precocial species. Large precocial species exhibit a more pronounced decline in metabolic rate during the latter phase of the incubation period then do small precocial species. It is suggested that these differences may be due to differences in the pattern of growth. In spite of these differences, the rate of O2 consumption immediately prior to pipping is roughly proportional to the 3/4 power of fresh egg mass.
The Engaged University, Community Development, and Public Scholarship

America’s universities are facing unprecedented scrutinyand criticism. As pressure for institutional change has mounted,universities have taken steps to more effectively respond to theneeds of their stakeholders. All of these activities are part of abroad movement to develop new and productive connectionsbetween the university and its publics. In this article, we drawon the interactional approach to community to give directionand purpose to the engagement agenda. We also develop amodel of engagement and describe how it is related to the practiceof community development. We conclude by suggestinghow a new conception of scholarship—one that links academicexcellence with civic participation—can facilitate communitydevelopment.
Use of molecular HIV surveillance data and predictive modeling to prioritize persons for transmission-reduction interventions.

BACKGROUND To develop a predictive model to prioritize persons with a transmissible HIV viral load for transmission-reduction interventions. METHODS New York City (NYC) HIV molecular surveillance data from 2010 to 2013 were used to build a model to predict the probability that the partial pol gene of the virus of a person with a transmissible HIV viral load (>1500 copies/ml) would be genetically similar to that of a person with a new HIV infection (diagnosis at stage 0 or 1 according to the revised Centers for Disease Control and Prevention classification system). Data from 2013 to 2016 were then used to validate the model and compare it with five other selection strategies that can be used to prioritize persons for transmission-reduction interventions. RESULTS A total of 10 609 persons living with HIV (PLWH) were included in the development dataset, and 8257 were included in the validation dataset. Among the six selection strategies, the predictive model had the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) [0.86, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.84--0.88], followed by the 'Young MSM' (0.79, 95% CI 0.77--0.82), 'MSM with high viral loads' (0.74, 95% CI 0.72--0.76), 'Random sample of MSM' (0.73, 95% CI 0.71--0.76), 'Persons with high viral loads' (0.56, 95% CI 0.54--0.59), and 'Random sample' (0.50, 95% CI 0.48--0.53) strategies. CONCLUSIONS Jurisdictions should consider applying predictive modeling to prioritize persons with a transmissible viral load for transmission-reduction interventions and to evaluate its feasibility and effectiveness.
Determinants of 30-day Morbidity in Adult Cranioplasty: An ACS-NSQIP Analysis of 697 Cases.

Cranioplasty is performed to restore the function and anatomy of the skull. Many techniques are used, including replacement of the bone flap and reconstruction with autologous or synthetic materials. This study describes the complication profile of adult cranioplasty using a prospective national sample and identifies risk factors for 30-day morbidity. Methods The American College of Surgeon's National Surgery Quality Improvement Project database for 2015-2016 was utilized. Cases were identified by current procedural terminology code, size, and type (autologous/alloplastic). χ2, Fisher exact, and ANOVA tests compared demographic differences. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to identify risk factors for 30-day morbidity and mortality. Results Six hundred ninety-seven cranioplasty cases were identified. Two cases used 2 types of cranioplasties and were counted in both groups. Five hundred forty-three cranioplasties were alloplastic, 57 were autologous, and 99 were classified as "Other." Age, race, diabetes, ventilator dependency, congestive heart failure, hypertension, wound infection, sepsis, and bleeding disorders were identified on univariate analysis to increase complication risk. Multivariate analysis identified age of the patient, systemic sepsis, and bleeding disorders as significant risk factors for complications. There was no difference in complications between cranioplasty types. Overall and medical complications were greater in cranioplasties >5 cm (P < 0.001). Conclusions Cranioplasty is a morbid procedure, with a complication rate of 27.4% and a mortality rate of 3.0% in this national sample. Factors such as age, sepsis, bleeding disorders, and size increase risk. Identification and modification of risk factors may guide operative timing and influence informed consent.
Rhabdomyolysis as a Presentation of 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease

An emerging viral infection is a global public health challenge The development of modern, fast, and extensive transportation makes the outbreak hard to contain Everyone is at risk, and the outbreak can rapidly turn into a pandemic crisis, like what we are currently facing for the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Prompt diagnosis of the case is required to improve patients' prognosis and control of the outbreak The common manifestations of COVID-19 include fever, cough, dyspnea, and malaise However, patients may present with atypical symptoms that pose a diagnostic challenge We report the first case of an elderly male who presented with rhabdomyolysis and later was diagnosed with COVID-19 Clinicians should be aware that rhabdomyolysis can be an initial presentation of COVID-19 or can occur at any time during the disease course Patients with rhabdomyolysis should receive aggressive fluid administration to prevent acute kidney injury (AKI) However, COVID-19 patients are at risk of worsening oxygenation and acute hypoxemic respiratory failure from fluid overload Therefore, cautious fluid administration is needed in COVID-19 patients with rhabdomyolysis
Demand-Driven PDES: Exploiting Locality in Simulation Models

Traditional parallel discrete event simulation (PDES) systems treat each simulation thread in the same manner, regardless of whether a thread has events to process in its input queue or not. At the same time, many real-life simulation models exhibit significant execution locality, where only part of the model (and thus a subset of threads) are actively sending or receiving messages in a given time period. These inactive threads still continuously check their queues and participate in simulation-wide time synchronization mechanisms, such as computing Global Virtual Time (GVT). This wastes resources, ties up CPU cores with threads that offer no contribution to event processing and limits the performance and scalability of the simulation. In this paper, we propose a new paradigm for managing PDES threads that we call Demand-Driven PDES (DD-PDES). The key idea behind DD-PDES is to identify threads that have no events to process and de-schedule them from the CPU until they receive a message requiring event processing. Furthermore, these inactive threads are also excluded from participation in the GVT computation, accelerating that process as a result. DD-PDES ensures that the CPU cycles are mostly spent on actual event processing, resulting in performance improvements. This architecture allows for significant over-subscription of threads by exceeding the number of available hardware thread contexts on the chip. We demonstrate that on a Knights Landing processor, DD-PDES significantly outperforms the traditional simulation equipped with the best currently proposed GVT algorithms.
Tree canopy and snow depth relationships at fine scales with terrestrial laser scanning

Abstract. Understanding the impact of tree structure on snow depth and extent is important in order to make predictions of snow amounts and how changes in forest cover may affect future water resources. In this work, we investigate snow depth under tree canopies and in open areas to quantify the role of tree structure in controlling snow depth, as well as the controls from wind and topography. We use fine-scale terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data collected across Grand Mesa, Colorado, USA (winter 2016–2017), to measure the snow depth and extract horizontal and vertical tree descriptors (metrics) at six sites. We utilize these descriptors along with topographical metrics in multiple linear and decision tree regressions to investigate snow depth variations under the canopy and in open areas. Canopy, topography, and snow interaction results indicate that vegetation structural metrics (specifically foliage height diversity; FHD) along with local-scale processes like wind and topography are highly influential in snow depth variation. Our study specifies that windward slopes show greater impact on snow accumulation than vegetation metrics. In addition, the results indicate that FHD can explain up to 27 % of sub-canopy snow depth variation at sites where the effect of topography and wind is negligible. Solar radiation and elevation are the dominant controls on snow depth in open areas. Fine-scale analysis from TLS provides information on local-scale controls and provides an opportunity to be readily coupled with lidar or photogrammetry from uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) as well as airborne and spaceborne platforms to investigate larger-scale controls on snow depth.
A multiplex CRISPR interference tool for virulence gene interrogation in Legionella pneumophila

Catalytically inactive dCas9 imposes transcriptional gene repression by sterically precluding RNA polymerase activity at a given gene to which it was directed by CRISPR (cr)RNAs. This gene silencing technology, known as CRISPR interference (CRISPRi), has been employed in various bacterial species to interrogate genes, mostly individually or in pairs. Here, we developed a multiplex CRISPRi platform in the pathogen Legionella pneumophila capable of silencing up to ten genes simultaneously. Constraints on precursor-crRNA expression were overcome by combining a strong promoter with a boxA element upstream of a CRISPR array. Using crRNAs directed against virulence protein-encoding genes, we demonstrated that CRISPRi is fully functional not only during growth in axenic media, but also during macrophage infection, and that gene depletion by CRISPRi recapitulated the growth defect of deletion strains. By altering the position of crRNA-encoding spacers within the CRISPR array, our platform achieved the gradual depletion of targets that was mirrored by the severity in phenotypes. Multiplex CRISPRi thus holds great promise for probing large sets of genes in bulk in order to decipher virulence strategies of L. pneumophila and other bacterial pathogens. Ellis et al. present a multiplex CRISPR interference tool for Legionella pneumophila, the intracellular pathogen responsible for Legionnaires’ disease. This valuable new tool enables precise interrogation of multiple virulence genes simultaneously during host infection.
A Meta-analytic Review of the Relationship Between Posttraumatic Growth, Anxiety, and Depression

The present meta-analysis consolidated research examining how posttraumatic growth relates to global anxiety and depression. Articles were identified by searching PTSDpubs, PsycINFO, PubMed, and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses databases, as well as searching the reference sections of relevant review articles. Meta-analytic review of 129 included studies indicated that neither overall posttraumatic growth nor its subcomponents were meaningfully associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety when the literature was considered in aggregate, as effect sizes for these relationships were generally weak ( ≤|.10|) and/or bordered on zero. The moderator analysis indicated significant heterogeneity in effects. The pattern of results indicated that depression was more strongly associated with less posttraumatic growth in samples with cancer compared to samples without cancer, while certain facets of posttraumatic growth were related to greater anxiety in non-cancer samples, though the effect sizes for these relationships remained small. The present findings support the perspective that outcomes representing positive functioning are separable and not dependent on the absence of mental illness. Future research should identify moderators of the relationships between posttraumatic growth and symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Evolution of a Deep Fluid in a Surficial Environment Using Stable Carbon and Sulfur Isotopes: Case of the Transitional Zone of the Edwards Aquifer in South Central Texas

The Edwards Aquifer in south central Texas (USA) features a distinct fault line defining the freshwater and saline water zones. We aim to elucidate the evolutionary behavior of carbon and sulfur emanating from deep environments and flowing in surficial environment so as to better understand the cycling of these metals in water environments. To characterize the evolution of carbon and sulfur species in surficial environment as the fluid emanates from a deep saline aquifer, we monitored the chemical and isotopic (δ13CDIC and δ34SSO4) parameters over a 700-m stretch on a stream-pond system situated on the saline-freshwater line of the Edwards Aquifer’s artesian zone. A three-tier evolution process associated with the interaction of a deep saline fluid with a fresh-ponded water was observed, namely: A deep fluid control zone characterized by decreasing pH values and relatively high total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations along the stream path; a mixing zone of the deep fluid and fresh-ponded water where the TDS concentrations showed a sharp decline and a continual decrease in pH values; and a fresh-ponded water-controlled zone with a stable pH value and low TDS concentrations. The decreasing pH values were a result of CO2 outgassing due to the relatively high CO2 partial pressures (10–2.53 atm) relative to atmospheric (10–3.50 atm) in the aqueous system, and the high TDS concentrations were attributed to the deep saline fluid emanating at the well-head. The enrichment in the δ13CDIC and δ34SSO4 for the initial stream path reflects the kinetic isotopic fractionations associated with CO2 outgassing and with the microbial conversion. The zonation of the evolutionary process indicates that (i) solutes play a critical role in the evolution of carbon and sulfur in surficial environment, (ii) kinetic and chemical fractionation are the dominant processes controlling carbon evolution, and (iii) microbial metabolism primarily controls sulfate fractionation and evolution through the conversion of sulfate to thiosulfate.
Lacking Advanced Degrees are Not a Barrier to Entry into Academic Surgery Leadership.

Abstract Background Undergraduate and graduate medical education offerings continue to create opportunities for medical students to pursue MD+ degree education. These educational endeavors provide formal education in fields related to surgery, which gives trainees and surgeons diverse perspectives on surgical care. This study sought to assess current prevalence of additional advanced degrees among leaders in academic surgery to assess the relationship between dual degree attainment and holding various leadership positions within surgical departments. Methods The Association for Program Directors in Surgery database was used to identify academic surgical programs, which comprised our study population. Each department of surgery website in the APDS database was interrogated for departmental leaders and their reported academic degrees. Results : Among 3223 identified surgeon leaders, 14.6% (470/3223) were found to possess MD+ degrees. Most common degrees possessed included MBA, MPH, and PhD. In comparing different types of surgeon leaders such as chairs, program directors, and division chiefs, no group was found to have a significantly higher prevalence of MD+ degrees than others. Conclusion Prevalence of MD+ degrees among current academic surgery leaders is low, and the lack of an advanced degree should not be considered a barrier to entry into leadership positions. We hypothesize that these findings are likely to evolve as larger proportions of trainees obtain MD+ degrees during medical school and academic development time throughout residency.
Current Developing Trend of Sales Tax on E-Business

This article explores the development of sales tax on e-business. It points out that the problem was rooted in the fact that the seller is required to collect and remit the tax to the buyer's state government. If the seller and the buyer do not reside in the same state, the buyer's state government has no jurisdiction over the seller, unless there is a â€œphysical presenceâ€ of the seller in the buyer's state. A state government can require an out-of-state seller to collect sales tax from the in-state buyer only when there is â€œphysical presence.â€ However, what constitutes â€œphysical presenceâ€ can become very controversial and complex. This article discusses many court cases. As Internet commerce was incorporated into the business operations, a great many transactions were executed online. The concept of â€œphysical presenceâ€ became even more complex, as websites and digitized products became more commonplace. A new concept of â€œeconomic nexusâ€ has evolved under many state statutes. Now an out-of-state seller may be required to collect sales tax from an in-state buyer, regardless of â€œphysical presence.â€ In 2013 the United States Senate enacted the â€œMarketplace Fairness Act of 2013.â€ This embraced the concept of â€œeconomic nexus.â€ This legislation could potentially end or at least greatly simplify all controversies in e-business taxation. This paper further notes that the concept of â€œeconomic nexusâ€ may be extended to the arena of state income tax.
Between War & Peace: Considering the Statecraft of Cyberspace

This chapter considers how cyber-enabled diplomacy may be undertaken by the United States. While much discussion over the past decade has been dedicated to the topic of cyber warfare, less has attention has been directed at the use of cyber instruments (IT, social media, the blogosphere, etc.) in diplomatic engagement. Considered and critiqued here is the international cyber strategy enunciated by the Obama Administration in May 2011, regarding cyber issues and how that strategy factors into U.S. diplomatic initiatives. Covered are the: (a) emergence of cyberspace as venue for diplomacy; (b) framing of the strategy; (c) coverage of major incidents for consideration; and (d) prescriptive elements for policy development under the heading of cyber statecraft.
The impact of maternal obesity during pregnancy on offspring immunity

In the United States, approximately 64% of women of childbearing age are either overweight or obese. Maternal obesity during pregnancy is associated with a greater risk for adverse maternal-fetal outcomes. Adverse health outcomes for the offspring can persist into adulthood, increasing the incidence of several chronic conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and asthma. Since these diseases have a significant inflammatory component, these observations are indicative of perturbation of the normal development and maturation of the immune system of the offspring in utero. This hypothesis is strongly supported by data from several rodent studies. Although the mechanisms of these perturbations are not fully understood, it is thought that increased placental inflammation due to obesity may directly affect neonatal development through alterations in nutrient transport. In this review we examine the impact of maternal obesity on the neonatal immune system, and potential mechanisms for the changes observed.
Chapter 18 Recursive and on-line graph coloring

Publisher Summary This chapter explores the results of recursive and on-line coloring of graphs. The first interesting results are about highly recursive graphs. In highly recursive graphs, every vertex has only finite neighbors that can be effectively calculated. The problem of covering an ordered set by chains or antichains is closely related to graph coloring. However, local information is not as vital. Although there is no general theorem, results about on-line coloring can be routinely converted to results about recursive coloring of recursive (but not highly recursive) graphs and vice versa via diagonal arguments. However, the study of on-line algorithms seems to be broader. There are many questions and results about on-line coloring that do not arise naturally from the study of recursive coloring. The chapter discusses a surprising application of an on-line coloring algorithm for the design of a polynomial time approximation algorithm for an NP-complete storage problem and reviews notation and terminology.
Electromagnetic field computations on massively parallel computers

A general overview is given of the use of massively parallel computers in the determination of electromagnetic fields. The emphasis is on parallel machines with a single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) architecture. Various measures of program performance are critically discussed as is the issue of scalability of the computations. An analysis of the parallelism inherent in the method of moments (MoM), the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method, and the finite element method (FEM) is presented. Since communication is an important component in a parallel algorithm, the interconnection network between processors becomes an essential consideration in program analysis. Most of the discussion centers around two-dimensional meshes and hypercubes, complemented by a brief overview of embedding theory, which allows other networks to be emulated. These theoretical concepts are illustrated on a specific example involving the modeling, by the FDTD method, of the scattering of a plane wave off a dielectric sphere. Calculations were performed on the MasPar MP-1 family of SIMD computers. Specific models used contain between 1024 and 8192 processors arranged in a two-dimensional mesh with nearest and next-nearest neighbor connections between PEs. Code development, starting from a sequential program, is discussed, as are the details of the data mapping. Timing results are presented for a range of problem sizes and show considerable speed-up compared to sequential programming. These results are compared and contrasted with those obtained by other authors.
DNA-binding proteins of Xenopus laevis: synthesis during oogenesis-ovulation and early embryogenesis.

DNA-binding proteins of Xenopus laevis synthesized during two periods of early development (oogenesis-ovulation and early embryogenesis) were co-chromatographed on DNA-cellulose. Proteins with an affinity for DNA were analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Most of the proteins eluted from DNA-cellulose with 0.6 M NaCl had mol. wts less than 40 000; some of these proteins were synthesized to a greater extent by developing embryos than by oocytes. A DNA-binding protein or group of proteins with a mol. wt of approx. 70 000 was synthesized during oogenesis-ovulation but not during embryogenesis. Differential labeling of developing embryos with [3H]tryptophan and [14C]lysine indicated that some of the low mol. wt DNA-binding proteins are histones. Some of these proteins also incorporated monosodium [32P]phosphate. A greater fraction of the proteins synthesized by oocytes and developing embryos were bound to DNA-histone-cellulose than to DNA-cellulose. A group of low mol. wt proteins made during oogenesis-ovulation were bound more to DNA-histone-cellulose than were proteins with similar mol. wts made by developing embryos.
Observations of a seasonal cycle in NOx emissions from fires in African woody savannas

[1] Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from wildfires account for ~15% of the global total, inducing large fluctuations in the chemical production and loss rates of O3 and CH4 and thereby affecting Earth's radiative balance. NOx emissions from fires depend on fuel nitrogen (N) content, the relative contributions of flaming and smoldering combustion, and total biomass burned. Current understanding of the variability in these factors across biomes is limited by sparse observations. Here we use satellite-based measurements to study emission coefficients (ECs), a value proportional to NOx emitted per unit of biomass burned, from fires in African savannas. We show that ECs for NOx exhibit a pronounced seasonal cycle in woody savannas, with early-season ECs 20–40% above and late-season ECs 30–40% below the mean, while no cycle exists in nonwoody savannas. We discuss several possible mechanisms of the observed cycle including seasonal differences in fuel N content and modified combustion efficiency.
Faculty-Study Groups Support School Improvement Efforts

This article focuses on effective professional interactions of teachers and administrators as faculty-study groups in school improvement practices and educational reform to improve instruction and learning. The emphasis on practical approach promises to create conditions for continuous systemic change and academic improvement. The author incorporated current knowledge of effective practices and innovative strategies into the faculty-study groups to improve teaching, learning, collaboration, and meet high academic standards. In faculty-study groups, research-based best practices for teaching excellence and learning, in addition to continuous focus on effective collaborative group efforts on “data use” in the decision making process for school improvement are shared among members and colleagues. Working together allows faculty-study groups to examine formative and summative students’ data reports and to determine priority agenda goals. Coming together as a focused study group, faculty members collaboratively identify students that are at risk of meeting standards on state assessment tests. The study groups seek ways to implement appropriate intervention strategies or accommodations in their plan to meet the individual needs of students. Not only these, faculty-study groups are able to prepare, revise and/or establish new goals for the school improvement plan and develop an implementation and evaluation rubric for the plan. Moreover, the groups assist the school improvement leadership team to promote school improvement practices throughout the school. Creating a culture of accountability, showcasing success stories, providing a monthly update to the School Improvement Leadership Team (SILT), and evaluating the faculty improvement plan on the goals set forth, is another role performed by the faculty-study group. This article offers several views on how the responsibilities of faculty-study groups are identified and implemented in two middle school environments in a large school district on the east coast of the United States of America. A survey distributed to thirty-two participating members of each group provides insight on how the study groups feel about their role in school improvement. The expected outcomes of the faculty-study group are to improve the skills and practices of all faculty members, continuous participation in professional development efforts, and show how study groups can make a positive impact on school improvement and student achievement.
α-tocopherol and selenium facilitate recovery from lipopolysaccharide-induced sickness in aged mice

The elderly suffer a decline in immune function that increases their vulnerability to infections. Because antioxidants improve some age-related deficits in immune and cognitive function, our goal was to determine whether dietary alpha-tocopherol (alpha-T) and selenium inhibit LPS-induced sickness behavior in aged mice. Male BALB/c mice were fed modified AIN93-M diets that were low, adequate, or high in both alpha-T (10, 75, or 500 mg/kg) and selenium (0.05, 0.15, or 2 mg/kg) from 18 to 21 mo of age. Sickness was quantified by measuring time in social exploration of a novel juvenile conspecific. The lipopolysaccharide treatment reduced social exploration by 74% at 2 h, regardless of diet. By 4 h, aged mice fed the low diet were 88% less social, whereas mice fed the adequate and high diets displayed only approximately 40% reductions due to LPS treatment. Mice fed the low diet had greater LPS-induced weight loss than mice fed the high diet. Plasma alpha-T concentration and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) activity increased with each increment in alpha-T and selenium 24 h post-LPS treatment. Brain alpha-T concentration and GPX activity were lower in mice fed the low diet than in those fed the adequate or high diet. Regardless of diet, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1beta, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha mRNA levels were elevated by LPS approximately 3-fold in cortex, cerebellum, striatum, and hippocampus. Thus, antioxidants inhibit sickness behavior independently of IL-6, IL-1beta, and TNFalpha mRNA levels 2 h post-LPS in the brain regions analyzed. Taken together, these findings suggest that adequate intake of dietary alpha-T and selenium may help promote recovery from gram-negative bacterial infection in the aged.
β-Lactamase Recovery from E. coli Cell Lysate via Two-Phase Electrophoresis

β-Lactamase was recovered from Escherichia coli cell lysate by a novel cell debris removal method using two-phase electrophoresis. The cells were harvested by centrifugation after fermentation, resuspended in a low ionic strength electrophoresis buffer, lysed, and combined with a poly(ethylene glycol)/dextran aqueous two-phase system in the same buffer. The cell lysate was subjected to a 40 V/cm electric field oriented perpendicular to the phase interface for 90 min. Experiments were conducted both with and without a nucleic acid precipitation step using poly(ethylene imine) (PEI). For PEI-treated lysate at pH 5, the positively charged β-lactamase was directed to the upper phase, while negatively charged contaminants (including cell debris, nucleic acid/PEI precipitates, and negatively charged proteins) were directed to the lower phase with the applied field. β-Lactamase yield in the upper phase was 81%, while cell debris and nucleic acids partitioned almost exclusively to the lower phase. For untreated lysate, β-lactamase did not move in the electric field due to strong interaction with nucleic acids in solution.
The permeability of hydrophobic membranes to 22Na salts and 14CO2 in low dielectric media.

The one-way fluxes of 14CO2 and a series of 22Na (Cl, Br, HCO3, ClO4, I) salts across n-hexadecane-impregnated solid-support liquid membranes have been measured in water and low dielectric media (50–90 vol% dioxane/water). One-way fluxes for 14CO2 (J14CO2) were 0.84 and 1.03 × 10 −9 mol cm−2 s−1 in 75% dioxane (aq.) and water, respectively, across both impregnated cellulose and teflon membranes. 22Na fluxes across impregnated cellulose membranes in 75% dioxane (aq.) ranged from 1.8 to 11.4×10−10 mol cm−2 s−1 and had the order NaCl < NaBr < NaHCO3 < NaClO4 < NaI . 22 Na fluxes across impregnated teflon membranes were slightly smaller, 1.5–7.1 × 10 −10 mol cm −2 s−1, but had the same order for the anions tested. No measurable 22Na fluxes were observed in aqueous media. For NaI and NaClO4 there was a 3–6-fold enhancement of fluxes in 90% dioxane (aq.) compared to 75% dioxane (aq.). The corresponding enhancement for fluxes of NaHCO3, NaBr and NaCl was 1.5-fold. The results are discussed in terms of ion-paired salt transport in low dielectric media.
Kinetic Investigation of the Living Cationic Polymerization of Isobutylene Using a t-Bu-m-DCC/TiCl4/2,4-DMP Initiating System

A kinetic and mechanistic study of the living cationic polymerization of isobutylene was conducted using 5-tert-butyl-1,3-bis(2-chloro-2-propyl)benzene (t-Bu-m-DCC)/TiCl4 initiating system with 2,4...
Educational Stratification and the Life Course

L'article rend compte des besoins de s'orienter vers de nouvelles definitions en sciences de l'education et en sociologie. Devant l'evolution et la diversification des cursus scolaires, l'A. souligne l'obsolescence des modeles traditionnels sociologiques des notions de stratification, capital humain et inegalite des chances. La plus grande accessibilite a l'enseignement superieur influe sur le marche du travail ainsi que sur les trajectoires des carrieres professionnelles, ce qui complexifie la vision sociale des jeunes adultes dans la societe americaine contemporaine
A multiple‐perspective approach to policy analysis and its application to college entrance policy in the People's Republic of China

Abstract This paper inquires into China's college entrance policy by employing different frameworks for policy analysis, i.e. rational, organizational process, political, symbolic and normative perspectives. The analyses focus on the following questions: How should we interpret the pendulum pattern of the development of China's college entrance policy? What are the purposes reflected in moderates’ and radicals’ college entrance policies? How do they justify and implement their policies? Whose interests are served? What are the normative values embedded in their policies? This paper develops a deep and highly textured picture of China's college entrance policy. Advantages of a multiple‐perspective approach and some crucial issues of China's college entrance policy are discussed.
Brain Matters: A Journey with Neuroscience and Religious Education.

It is amazing how many prophetic conversations begin over a meal. Spring of 1991 I was leaving Nazarene Theological Seminary (NTS) to begin my doctoral studies. A member of my Sunday School class i...