cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SPRING-DASHPOT MODELS FOR THE DYNAMICS OF A RADIALLY ROTATING BEAM WITH IMPACT

In a previous study, experimental results for the dynamics of a radially rotating beam with impact were found to be in excellent agreement with simulation results using the momentum balance method (for impact modeling). In this paper spring-dashpot models for impact modeling are compared to experiment for a radially rotating flexible beam. Excellent agreement is found between the simulation results using spring-dashpot models and the experiments. A sensitivity study is employed to investigate the issue of accurately determining the model parameters. The impact of a flexible radially rotating beam against a rigid impact surface is considered (see Figure 1). In an earlier study [l] experimental results were compared with simulation results obtained by using the momentum balance (coefficient of restitution) model for impact. Although that model is not intended for application to systems with flexible members, good agreement was found between the experiments and the simulation. Sensitivity studies were employed to show that the model is applicable over a fairly wide range of parameter values. Thus, the momentum balance method has been demonstrated to be capable of accurately predicting the dynamics of systems which consist of both rigid and elastic links undergoing impact. A second competing method for impact modeling, which is applicable to flexible systems, is the spring-dashpot model. In this paper the validity and utility of spring-dashpot models are investigated for the dynamics of a radially rotating beam with impact. A brief literature review on the spring-dashpot models for impact will now be given. Some of the energy losses during impact are associated with relative indentation and the damping mechanisms involved during this contact period. The first attempt to incorporate a theory of local indentations is an elastostatic one given by Hertz [2]. The deformation is assumed to be restricted to the vicinity of the contact area and to be given by static theory. Elastic wave motion in the impacting bodies is neglected, and the total mass of each of the bodies is assumed to be moving at any instant with the velocity of its center of mass. The impact, therefore, can be visualized as the collision of two rigid bodies restricted to move in the direction of impact with spring buffers; all deformations occur in the springs, the inertias of which are neglected [3]. The assumption that deformation is quasi-static can only be justified if the duration of impact is long enough to permit the stress waves to tranverse the length of the structure many times [4]. This criterion (Love’s criterion) does not apply in cases where an object impacts with another very large object, in which case no reflected wave returns to the point of impact [3]. Hunter [3] suggested as an alternative that the behavior of a large structure can be approximated by a dashpot in parallel with the spring to account for the energy radiated through the half-space by wave motion. If the time constant of the spring-dashpot system is short compared with
Medical Child Abuse

A few years ago this chapter might have begun with an account of the Baron von Munchausen. It might have chronicled the life of an elderly German soldier turned raconteur, who lived from 1720 to 1797, who loved to frequent the salons of Europe and entertain people with his stories, and who was made famous by one of his countrymen (Meadow & Lennert, 1984). We would explain how Rudolph Raspe wrote a book of tall tales, children’s stories in the same vein as Paul Bunyan that he attributed to the Baron (Raspe, 1944). This account would precede a description of Meadow’s original paper “Munchausen syndrome by proxy: The hinterland of child abuse” (Meadow, 1977). It would seek to establish that the central feature of this form of child abuse was the falsehoods told by parents who tricked physicians into giving unnecessary medical care.
The Graphing Calculator as an Aid to Teaching Algebra.

Graphing calculators have been used in the mathematics classroom for speed, to leap hurdles, to make connections among representations, and to permit realism through the use of authentic data. In this study, a graphing calculator tutorial provided on the Casio FX1.0 and FX2.0 PLUS models was found to serve a fifth purpose, improving manipulative skills. Specifically, after using the tutorial, students in a beginning college algebra course scored significantly higher on a test on solving linear equations. Results concerning a change in attitudes were tentative, although they suggest that the tutorial also may contribute to improved attitudes.
Cross-modal semantic priming: A time-course analysis using event-related brain potentials

Abstract In two experiments, the time-course of behavioural and electrophysiological measures of semantic priming were examined between the visual and auditory modalities. In Experiment 1, auditory targets (words and pseudowords) were paired with visual prime words that onset either simultaneously with the target (0 msec stimulus onset asynchrony, SOA) or at one of two delays (200 and 800 msec SOA). Subjects made speeded lexical decisions to the auditory targets. Large priming effects were found across the three SOAs for reaction time and the N400 effect (the difference between related and unrelated target words). In Experiment 2, auditory primes were paired with visual targets. Here significant behavioural priming was found across the SOAs (larger for 0 and 800 msec), but the N400 effect was significant only for the 200 and 800 msec conditions. It is suggested that the data are most consistent with an a modal semantic system that is tapped by separate modality specific encoding processes.
The Beacon Supergroup

The geologists who accompanied Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton to Antarctica were amazed when they entered the mountains of southern Victoria Land and discovered the ice-free valleys such as Wright Valley in Fig. 10.1 (Sections 1.4, 2.3, and 3.1). The modern traveler entering the ice-free valleys by helicopter from McMurdo is similarly affected because the wide U-shaped valleys present a familiar view of sandy plains dotted with lakes and ponds filled with liquid water and of meltwater streams that flow from alpine glaciers descending from the high mountain ranges that frame these valleys.
Rapid advances in commercial optoelectronic components and modules for DWDM systems

The rapid deployment in the past five years of wide-bandwidth DWDM systems has been largely enabled by the concurrent development of a wide variety of both active and passive optical components that can be manufactured in volume. The present status of these commercial components and related modules will be reviewed. Emphasis will be placed on devices key to systems being deployed in 2000, as well as devices that will enable new near-term systems. Devices for transmission, amplification, WDM/control, and switching will be described in the context of migration from 10 to 40 Gb/s and the increase in channel count from 32 to more than 80.
Preventing unofficial information propagation

Digital copies are susceptible to theft and vulnerable to leakage, copying, or manipulation. When someone (or some group), who has stolen, leaked, copied, or manipulated digital documents propagates the documents over the Internet and/or distributes those through physical distribution channels many challenges arise which document holders must overcome in order to mitigate the impact to their privacy or business. This paper focuses on the propagation problem of digital credentials, which may contain sensitive information about a credential holder. Existing work such as access control policies and the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) assumes that qualified or certified credential viewers are honest and reliable. The proposed approach in this paper uses short-lived credentials based on reverse forward secure signatures to remove this assumption and mitigate the damage caused by a dishonest or honest but compromised viewer.
Evaluation of Just-In-Time alternatives in the electric wire-harness industry

This paper investigates some of the theoretical and practical issues for the introduction of Just-in-Time (JIT) techniques into an automotive wire-harness assembly line. Some of the issues explored include the number of production kanbans and the unit load size to be used for every air of subassemblyassembly stations in a production line. An associated probability of stockout for different combinations is also determined. Simulation is used to validate the results obtained through an analytical method and to compare two commonly used strategies: the 'on-line' strategy which uses the subassembly operations adjacent to the assembly stations and the 'off-line' strategy which has the subassembly operation at some distance from the assembly line. Four performance criteria are used to evaluate the strategies: throughput, work-inprocess inventory, lead time, and subassembly equipment utilization.
Ethical considerations for biobanking: should individual research results be shared with relatives?

The case against returning IRRs to donors While many accept the first conclusion, far fewer accept the second. Indeed, if anything, the trend has been explicitly to reject it. Increasingly, bioethical opinion and inter national policies are “converging towards an ethical duty to return individual genetic research results to subjects, provided there is proof of validity, significance and benefit” [3]. Citing a wide variety of ethical principles, this emerging consensus holds that there are at least some, if not many, situations in which it would be unethical not to disclose certain research findings. This claim has some intuitive appeal. Careful scrutiny, however, also reveals many weaknesses. Consider first, a ‘negative’ duty to return IRRs – that is, a duty to refrain from worsening the situation of others. Researchers have duties, for example, not to harm others and not to interfere with their ability to live according to their own values and preferences. However, such duties are fundamentally inapplicable in this context. While it may not make people better off, a policy of not returning IRRs can never, itself, make donors worse off. A donor’s prior health status, genetic profile and knowledge are left entirely unchanged – and, hence, neither improved nor worsened – by such a policy. Consider then, a second kind of moral obligation – a ‘positive’ duty – to return IRRs. Such duties require actively contributing to certain outcomes for others, such as by assisting or The issue of returning individual research results (IRRs) is important and contentious. Indeed, Science magazine calls this, “...the most pressing issue in genetics today” [1]. At stake are several significant concerns, including public trust in, and support for, biomedical research, the wise use of limited research resources and the ethical obligations of the research community. These concerns become even more complex and challenging with genetic biobank research. In this context, researchers must decide not only whether and how to share IRRs with donors, but also their relatives. After all, many genetic conditions have medical or personal significance for family members, and many ethical arguments for returning IRRs to donors might seem to extend to relatives as well [2]. This editorial briefly defends two important conclusions about these issues:
Case 1: failure to thrive, microcephaly, and intracranial calcifications in a 6-week-old girl.

1. Rajkumar L. Agarwal, MD 2. Stacey Mills, MD 3. Lalitha Sivaswamy, MD 1. Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Children's Hospital of Michigan, Detroit, MI. A 6-week-old girl is admitted to the hospital for evaluation of failure to thrive. She is the first of twins, born at term to a primigravida mother. Pregnancy and delivery were uneventful. She weighed 2,490 g (less than the fifth percentile) at birth with a head circumference of 30 cm (less than the third percentile). On day 4 after birth, she developed episodes of choking and arching of her back associated with feeding. Different infant formula preparations were tried without any benefit. The parents are first cousins of Lebanese origin. Family history is noncontributory except for recurrent hand blisters in the father that erupt with cold weather. On examination, her vital signs are unremarkable. She weighs 2,780 g (less than the second percentile), her length is 49.5 cm (less than the second percentile), and head circumference measures 33 cm (less than the third percentile). No facial dysmorphism is seen. Neurologic examination reveals poor head control, appendicular hypertonia, and brisk deep tendon reflexes. Palmar and plantar grasps are present. The Moro reflex is symmetric. Funduscopic examination findings are normal. Cardiac auscultation reveals normal heart sounds without a murmur. The abdomen is soft and without hepatosplenomegaly. Laboratory examination reveals a normal complete blood cell count and transaminase levels. Computed tomography (CT) of the head reveals calcifications in the basal ganglia and in the deep white matter of the brain …
Formal algorithms for continuous-time non-linear filtering and smoothing†

Kalman's formal limiting procedure is applied to some recent results in sequential discrete-time non-linear filtering and smoothing to obtain the corresponding estimation algorithms for continuous-time non-linear dynamic systems. The resulting filtering algorithm is found to agree with the well-known Detchmendy-Sridhar filter which was obtained via another method. The present smoothing algorithm is a new result. It is argued that the combined filter-smoothing results here lead to an estimation algorithm which is second order in both system dynamics and measurement function non-linearity.
Inhibition of Transforming Growth Factor-β/Smad Signaling Improves Regeneration of Small-for-Size Rat Liver Grafts

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a potent inhibitor of cell proliferation. This study investigated whether overexpression of Smad7, which blocks TGF-beta-induced activation of Smad2/3, could prevent the suppression of regeneration of small-for-size liver grafts. Rats were intravenously given adenoviruses (2 x 10(10) pfu/rat) carrying the LacZ gene or the Smad7 gene (Ad-Smad7) 3 days prior to liver harvesting. Half-size livers were implanted into recipients of the same weight or twice the donor weight, and this resulted in half-size or quarter-size liver grafts. Cell proliferation, detected by 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation, increased to 23% in half-size grafts at 38 hours after implantation but was only 4% in quarter-size grafts. Graft weight did not increase after 38 hours in full-size and quarter-size grafts but increased 28% in half-size grafts. Ad-Smad7 restored BrdU labeling to 32%, and the graft weight increased to 43% in quarter-size grafts. Serum total bilirubin increased approximately 30-fold after the implantation of quarter-size grafts. Ad-Smad7 blunted hyperbilirubinemia by 80%. The basal hepatic TGF-beta(1) level was 7 ng/g of liver wet weight, and this increased to 30 ng/g at 1.5 hours after the transplantation of full-size grafts but decreased rapidly afterwards. After the transplantation of quarter-size grafts, however, TGF-beta(1) progressively increased to 159 ng/g in 38 hours. Nuclear phosphorylated Smad2/3 was barely detectable, and p21Cip1 expression was negligible in full-size grafts but increased markedly in quarter-size grafts. Ad-Smad7 blocked Smad2/3 activation and expression of p21Cip1. Together, these data show that TGF-beta is responsible, at least in part, for the defective liver regeneration in small-for-size grafts by activating the Smad signaling pathway.
Glass transition and structural properties of glycidyloxypropyl-heptaphenyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-epoxy nanocomposites

We have used molecular simulations to study the properties of nanocomposites formed by the chemical incorporation of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) particles in the cross-linked epoxy network. The particular POSS molecule chosen—glycidyloxypropyl-heptaphenyl POSS—can form only one bond with the cross-linker and thus was present as a dangling unit in the network. Four epoxy-POSS nanocomposites containing different fractions (up to 30 mass/%) of POSS particles were studied in this work. Well-relaxed atomistic model structures of the nanocomposites were created and then molecular dynamics simulations were used to characterize the density, glass transition temperature (Tg), and the coefficient of volume thermal expansion (CVTE) of the systems. In addition to the effect of nanoparticle loading, the effect of nanoparticle chemistry on the nanocomposite properties was also characterized by comparing these results with our previous results (Lin and Khare, Macromolecules 42:4319–4327, 2009) on neat cross-linked epoxy and a nanocomposite containing a POSS nanoparticle that formed eight bonds with the cross-linked network. Our results showed that incorporation of these monofunctional POSS particles into cross-linked epoxy does not cause a measurable change in its density, glass transition temperature, or the CVTE. Furthermore, simulation results were used to characterize the aggregation of POSS particles in the system. The nanofiller particles in systems containing 11, 20, and 30 mass/% POSS were found to form small clusters. The cluster-size distribution of nanoparticles was also characterized for these systems.
Inferences based on nondiagnostic information

Abstract Nondiagnostic samples of evidence were presented sequentially in an inference task. These were samples which logically should not have influenced inference responses, e.g., by Bayes theorem. Experiment I, however, demonstrated that three different types of nondiagnostic samples (neutral, irrelevant, and null) consistently resulted in less extreme inference judgments. Experiment II indicated that the size of this “nondiagnostic effect” depended on serial location and was less with aggregate than sequential samples. Moreover, the effect was shown not to be a response artifact due to a central regression tendency. Several theoretical accounts were considered, such as representativeness and expectancy. But, the most plausible was that inference judgments are based on an averaging combination rule. Finally, some practical implications of this nondiagnosticity finding were discussed.
Global Health after Pentecost: Toward Theological Reflection as a Religious Health Asset

This article examines the recent turn on the part of global health leaders to Christian communities as allies in the response to the HIV pandemic. A cursory survey of this turn highlights how global health leaders have used the language of religious health assets to revalue the activities of faith-based organizations, including Christian churches. In this way, religious health assets—tangible and intangible—become valuable if they can be rendered intelligible and appreciated using the existing lexicon and logic of global health. As a result, the primary activity of religious entities in partnerships with global health institutions is limited to conforming their practices to the best practices of HIV programs. But a closer examination of this revaluation reveals how it obscures a distinctive dimension of Christian participation, namely, critical theological reflection.The current turn to religion as a global health ally presents an opportunity to re-imagine the spaces in which complex social phenomena are described, interpreted, and responded to. Christians live into the role of co-participants in these spaces when they seek to develop a greater competence for engaging the complex arena of global health policy and programming. This competence emerges from demonstrating understanding of the empirical context in which global health is carried out as well as showing in an imaginative and compelling manner how the theological resources from their own tradition illumine the patterns and processes of human suffering.
Recognizing the message and the messenger: biomimetic spectral analysis for robust speech and speaker recognition

Humans are quite adept at communicating in presence of noise. However most speech processing systems, like automatic speech and speaker recognition systems, suffer from a significant drop in performance when speech signals are corrupted with unseen background distortions. The proposed work explores the use of a biologically-motivated multi-resolution spectral analysis for speech representation. This approach focuses on the information-rich spectral attributes of speech and presents an intricate yet computationally-efficient analysis of the speech signal by careful choice of model parameters. Further, the approach takes advantage of an information-theoretic analysis of the message and speaker dominant regions in the speech signal, and defines feature representations to address two diverse tasks such as speech and speaker recognition. The proposed analysis surpasses the standard Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC), and its enhanced variants (via mean subtraction, variance normalization and time sequence filtering) and yields significant improvements over a state-of-the-art noise robust feature scheme, on both speech and speaker recognition tasks.
Cancer and the Immune System: Basic Concepts and Targets for Intervention

A number of consensuses regarding cancer immunology have recently emerged from both preclinical immunotherapy models and analysis of cancer patients. First and foremost, the natural state of endogenous tumor reactive T cells is characterized by general hyporesponsiveness or anergy. This is likely due to a number of mechanisms that tumors use to induce tolerance as they develop. While many of the newer generation vaccines can effectively transfer antigen to and activate dendritic cells, T-cell tolerance remains a major barrier that is difficult to overcome by vaccination alone. Preclinical models demonstrate that for poorly immunogenic tumors, once tolerance has been established, therapeutic vaccines alone are ineffective at curing animals with a significant established tumor burden. However, combination strategies of vaccination together with inhibitors of immunologic checkpoints and agonists for co-stimulatory pathways are proving capable of overcoming tolerance and generating significant anti-tumor responses even in cases of established metastatic cancer.
The Historical Trajectory of Civil Rights Enforcement in Health Care

��� Since the late 1960s, federal civil rights enforcement initiatives in health have been half-hearted and ineffective. The historical failure of the federal government to address the possible role of racial discrimination has taken place despite considerable evidence that, for a number of services, racial and ethnic minorities continue to receive inferior treatment to that accorded to whites. In many cases, these treatment differences remain even after controlling for socioeconomic and insurance statuses, and standard covariates such as patient age, health status, and gender. 1 Health care consumed 15.3 percent of GDP in 2003. Public funds
Placement of Subclavian Central Venous Catheter

Central venous pressure monitoring. Placement of Swan-Ganz catheter. Delivery of central venous nutrition or medications. Hemodialysis. Emergency access when other routes fail.
Novel in vitro assay for the detection of pharmacologic inducers of fetal hemoglobin

Current techniques for identifying fetal hemoglobin (HbF) inducers are complex and time consuming. We developed a rapid and efficient method for detecting HbF inducers. Our system uses a recombinant DNA construct in which the coding sequences of 2 different luciferase reporter genes, firefly and renilla, are substituted for those of human γ and β globin genes, respectively. The activity of these genes can be distinguished by a simple, highly sensitive enzymatic assay in cell lysates. GM979 cells stably transfected with the construct are cultured in the presence of compounds, and their effects are determined by measuring the changes in activity of the 2 luciferase genes. Specific γ globin gene inducers are recognized by their ability to increase γ-firefly luciferase (γF) gene activity significantly more than β-renilla luciferase (βR) gene activity, identified by an increased ratio of γ-firefly luciferase activity over total luciferase activity. These results suggest that the use of the 2 luciferase reporter genes provides a simple, highly sensitive, and reproducible system for the detection of compounds that increase γ-globin gene expression. It can therefore be used for the screening of chemical agents that may have γ-globin gene inducibility.
National, Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute support of cardiac arrhythmia research.

This contribution responds to the recent HeartRhythm article “State of the Journal 2016” describing changes in the number of new National Institutes of Health (NIH) arrhythmia research awards. We provide a wider historic view of NIH-supported cardiac arrhythmia research from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Cardiac arrhythmia applications and awards were identified in the NIH electronic Research Administration database by searching project text and the NIH-designated Program Classification Code, found at the top of each NIH summary statement and used to identify specific research areas. Award information was retrieved from the public NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORTER), which utilizes the electronic Research Administration database. Chen reported that the number of new R01 applications reviewed by the Electrical Signaling, Ion Transport, and Arrhythmias (ESTA) study section and later funded fell from a high of 34 in 2007 to 10 in 2014. He concluded that the decline in ESTA grant awards signaled reduced arrhythmia research funding likely to negatively impact basic science progress in this important public health area. We found that in fiscal year (FY) 2015, ~70% of the supported arrhythmia research did not involve human subjects and that only ~20% of the NIH competing cardiac arrhythmia applications were reviewed in ESTA, while 450 different basic science and clinical research study sections and special emphasis panels reviewed the remaining applications. Our data indicate that NHLBI is the primary steward of NIH cardiac arrhythmia research. NHLBI oversaw ~94% of all FY2015 arrhythmia research applications. Thus, this report focuses on NHLBI-supported arrhythmia research grants rather than those reviewed in ESTA.
Employee Turnover in International Brand Hotels in Russia: A Comparison of Nationals and Foreign Nationals

ABSTRACTThis empirical study tests the relations between employee turnover and the organizational dimensions of service climate, comparing nationals and foreign nationals in the international brand Russian hotel industry. This study extends the geographic scope of employee turnover to the undertested Russian context. Responses were analyzed using a partial least squares model. Results show that nationals’ and foreign nationals’ responses to model variables diverge. Job insecurity directly affects the turnover intentions of Russian nationals, while its effect for foreign nationals was indirect through organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Compounded indirect effects of turnover antecedents and service climate dimensions are also examined and discussed.
Backward Masked Snakes and Guns Modulate Spatial Attention

Fearful faces are important social cues that alert others of potential threat. Even backward masked fearful faces facilitate spatial attention. However, visual stimuli other than fearful faces can ...
Pseudorabies virus in tissue culture: differentiation of two distinct strains of virus by cytopathogenic pattern induced.

SummaryDuring the course of adaptation of the egg-adapted pseudo-rabies virus to tissue culture of monkey kidney cells, 2 types of cytopathogenic variations were encountered which appeared to be induced by 2 different strains of virus. One strain produced rounding degeneration, and the other cytolytic giant cell formation. Descriptions are given of the growth curve, plaque type in tissue culture, and infectivity for rats of these 2 strains.
Tissue weights of the rat. I. Normal values determined by dissection and chemical methods.

SummaryA combined dissection and chemical approach to the problem of determining tissue weights has been described. It allows the exact determination of total muscle mass and supportive tissue weight in a fraction of the time required by the complete dissection approach. It also provides estimates of the total marrow weight and the fresh weight of the connective tissue, which are difficult to obtain in any other manner.
Mechanical failure after locking plate fixation of unstable intertrochanteric femur fractures.

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was analyze modes of mechanical failure in a consecutive cohort of patients and establish possible risk factors.DesignThis was a retrospective cohort study.SettingThe study was conducted at an academic level-1 trauma center.PatientsTwenty-nine patients (mean age 56 ye
In Vitro Rearing of the Northern Fowl Mite (Acari: Macronyssidae)

An in vitro feeding apparatus and rearing procedure was developed for the northern fowl mite, Ornithonyssus sylviarum (Canestrini and Fanzago). The heated feeding unit consists of a substrate impregnated with chicken blood, a heat barrier which confined the mites to the feeding substrate, and a paper ring which allowed mite movement away from the blood. It was possible to rear O. sylviarum from egg to egg-laying adults using this apparatus and procedure.
Germanium Quantum-Well Photonic Devices on Silicon

We discuss the recent observation of quantum-confined Stark effect electroabsorption in germanium quantum wells grown on silicon substrates, and the implications for high-performance optical modulators and integrated optoelectronics on silicon chips.
Binary particle swarm optimization based on quantum coding for distribution network reconfiguration

This paper introduces the mathematical model of distribution network reconfiguration,binary particle swarm optimization algorithm and the basic theory of quantum coding,studies distribution network reconfiguration by quantum particle swarm optimization algorithm,adopts quantum coding in discrete particle swarm optimization algorithm,represents the state of discrete particle by the property of quantum dot,updates particle state on the basis of binary particle swarm speed and reconfigure distribution network by switch.The property of quantum dot is able to present rich information and guarantee the diversity of particle and global search.The two examples,given in the paper,show that this method meets the requirements of actual operation.
Quit while you're ahead: Preschoolers' persistence and willingness to accept challenges are affected by social comparison.

Many beliefs about oneself are constructed through experience, but the kinds of evidence that inform these beliefs in early childhood are not well understood. One source of information that affects adults and older children’s appraisals of themselves is social comparison. We found that even preschoolers (mean=57 months) spontaneously use social comparisons to guide their behavior. In Experiment 1, children who saw they out-performed peers on a task subsequently persisted less than children in other conditions. Children who saw evidence suggesting they performed either better or worse than peers on the task were more likely to choose an easy (versus difficult) novel task relative to those who saw neutral or no evidence. In Experiment 2 children who saw peers perform better were inclined to persist more than children in other conditions. This suggests preschoolers use social comparison to draw inferences about themselves without explicit cues, and this affects their motivation.
Building a laparoscopic surgical skills training laboratory: resources and support.

BACKGROUND Technical skills have historically been developed and assessed in the operating room. Multiple pressures including resident work hour limitations, increasing costs of operating room time, and patient safety concerns have led to an increased interest in conducting these activities in a safe, reproducible environment. To address some of these issues, many residency programs have developed laparoscopic surgical skills training laboratories. We sought to determine the current status of laparoscopic skills laboratories across residency programs. METHODS In December 2004, surveys were mailed to all 251 United States general surgery residency program directors. This brief 2-page survey consists of 9 questions regarding laparoscopic skills training laboratories. RESULTS Of the 251 mailed surveys, 111 completed surveys were returned (44%). Of the respondents, 81 have laparoscopic skills training laboratories in place (80%). Skills laboratories that used a defined curriculum, and general surgery programs that shared their laboratories with other training programs were determined to have significantly more resources. A wide variety of funding sources have been used to develop and support these skills laboratories. CONCLUSIONS Significant variability in training practices and equipment currently used exists between laboratories. A more efficient, standardized approach to skills training across residency programs is a desirable goal for the immediate future.
Clinical issues in the pharmacotherapy of African-Americans

African-Americans have poorer outcomes than Caucasians in general health and mental health systems possibly due to lesser access to services, particularly pharmacotherapy in mental health systems. A review of the literature revealed that African-Americans are more likely to be overdiagnosed as having a psychotic illness. Consequently, antipsychotic medication may be overprescribed. Poorer patient compliance, delays in seeking treatment, higher prescribed dosages, and more PRN use of medication by providers add to racial differences in treatment outcome. African-Americans also are reported to be at a greater risk than Caucasians for medication side effects and adverse consequences. These problems may be exacerbated by ethnic differences in pharmacokinetics. Newer pharmacological agents may be more helpful for minorities because they are better tolerated, produce fewer side effects, and have better efficacy. However, African-Americans still are underrepresented in clinical trials and have limited access to these agents. Race and ethnicity need to be considered in maximizing pharmacotherapy and to better understand treatment outcome.
Do diploid fibroblasts in culture age

Publisher Summary In the intact organism, fibroblasts may be called upon to participate in wound healing and connective tissue restructuring. Fibroblasts are connective tissue parenchymal cells, which retain the capacity to divide when the need to do so arises. Although they subserve a repair function, they cannot be considered stem cells in the sense that basal epithelial cells or bone marrow cells are stem cells, because stem cells are programmed to divide on a more or less regular basis. When a fibroblast participates in wound healing and becomes part of a scar, it may be stimulated to divide, to undergo maturation or differentiation, and eventually to withdraw from the cell cycle. Fibroblasts that participate in wound healing acquire characteristics that clearly distinguish them from fibroblasts of normal tissues. Among the changes that occur are an increase in the number and diameter of intracellular fibrillar elements and change from a nucleus with a smooth membrane to one that has multiple indentations or deep folds.
Geomechanical response of overburden caused by CO2 injection into a depleted oil reservoir

This study investigates the hydro-mechanical aspects of carbon dioxide (CO2) injection into a depleted oil reservoir through the use of coupled multiphase fluid flow and geomechanical modeling. Both single-phase and multiphase fluid flow analyses coupled with geomechanics were carried out at the West Pearl Queen depleted oil reservoir site, and modeling results were compared with available measured data. The site geology and the material properties determined on the basis of available geophysical data were used in the analyses. Modeling results from the coupled multiphase fluid flow and geomechanical analyses show that computed fluid pressures match well with available measured data. The hydro-mechanical properties of the reservoir have a significant influence on computed fluid pressures and surface deformations. Hence, an accurate geologic characterization of the sequestration site and determination of engineering properties are important issues for the reliability of model predictions. The computed fluid pressure response is also significantly influenced by the relative permeability curves used in multiphase fluid flow models. While the multiphase fluid flow models provide more accurate fluid pressure response, single-phase fluid flow models can be used to obtain approximate solutions. The ground surface deformations obtained from single-phase fluid flow models coupled with geomechanics are slightly lower than those predicted by multiphase fluid flow models coupled with geomechanics. However, the advantage of a single-phase model is the simplicity. Limited field monitoring of subsurface fluid pressure and ground surface deformations during fluid injection can be used in calibrating coupled fluid flow and geomechanical models. The calibrated models can be used for investigating the performance of large-scale CO2 storage in depleted oil reservoirs.
Renewable versus nonrenewable resources: an analysis of volatility in futures prices

This study outlines a new approach for differentiating commodity futures based on their exhaustibility. Various aspects of volatility in the futures prices of renewable resources (palm oil, coffee, soya beans, rice, wheat and corn) and nonrenewable resources (zinc, aluminium, natural gas, gold, crude oil and copper) are studied, exploring whether volatility is greater in the former than in the latter. We use a generalised autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity (GARCH) model to test our main hypothesis that the volatility in futures prices for renewable resources has recently been equal to or greater than the volatility in futures prices for nonrenewable resources. Our key findings suggest that futures prices for some renewable resources have greater variance than those for benchmark crude oil in a simulated GARCH series. We extend our analysis using a nonlinear vector smooth transition autoregressive (VSTAR) model to test for the existence of a shifting-mean tendency in the commodity series that we researched. We show that transition from a stable to a volatile regime is more abrupt for renewable resources.
Atomic-scale observation of structural and electronic orders in the layered compound α-RuCl 3

A pseudospin-1/2 Mott phase on a honeycomb lattice is proposed to host the celebrated two-dimensional Kitaev model which has an elusive quantum spin liquid ground state, and fascinating physics relevant to the development of future templates towards topological quantum bits. Here we report a comprehensive, atomically resolved real-space study by scanning transmission electron and scanning tunnelling microscopies on a novel layered material displaying Kitaev physics, α-RuCl3. Our local crystallography analysis reveals considerable variations in the geometry of the ligand sublattice in thin films of α-RuCl3 that opens a way to realization of a spatially inhomogeneous magnetic ground state at the nanometre length scale. Using scanning tunnelling techniques, we observe the electronic energy gap of ≈0.25 eV and intra-unit cell symmetry breaking of charge distribution in individual α-RuCl3 surface layer. The corresponding charge-ordered pattern has a fine structure associated with two different types of charge disproportionation at Cl-terminated surface. The two-dimensional Kitaev model is a quantum spin liquid state that theory predicts should appear in some materials with a honeycomb lattice. Here, the authors use atom-resolution scanning transmission electron and scanning tunnelling microscopies to characterize one such candidate material, α-RuCl3.
Cross-Cultural Selling: Examining the Importance of Cultural Intelligence in Sales Education:

Cross-cultural selling has become an important factor in sales education. In the current competitive business graduate market, students who enter the workforce in frontline customer service positio...
Proteomic analysis of germinal vesicles in the domestic cat model reveals candidate nuclear proteins involved in oocyte competence acquisition

Study question Do nuclear proteins in the germinal vesicle (GV) contribute to oocyte competence acquisition during folliculogenesis? Summary answer Proteomic analysis of GVs identified candidate proteins for oocyte competence acquisition, including a key RNA processing protein-heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A2/B1 (hnRNPA2B1). What is known already The domestic cat GV, which is physiologically similar to the human GV, gains the intrinsic ability to resume meiosis and support early embryo development during the pre-antral-to-antral follicle transition. However, little is known about nuclear proteins that contribute to this developmental process. Study design size, duration GVs were enriched from pre-antral (incompetent) and antral (competent) follicles from 802 cat ovaries. Protein lysates were subjected to quantitative proteomic analysis to identify differentially expressed proteins in GVs from the two follicular categories. Participants/materials, setting, methods Two biological replicates (from independent pools of ovaries) of pre-antral versus antral samples were labeled by tandem mass tags and then assessed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Proteomic data were analyzed according to gene ontology and a protein-protein interaction network. Immunofluorescent staining and protein inhibition assays were used for validation. Main results and the role of chance A total of 174 nuclear proteins was identified, with 54 being up-regulated and 22 down-regulated (≥1.5-fold) after antrum formation. Functional protein analysis through gene ontology over-representation tests revealed that changes in molecular network within the GVs during this transitional phase were related to chromatin reorganization, gene transcription, and maternal RNA processing and storage. Protein inhibition assays verified that hnRNPA2B1, a key nuclear protein identified, was required for oocyte meiotic maturation and subsequent blastocyst formation. Large scale data Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD007211. Limitations reasons for caution Proteins identified by proteomic comparison may (i) be involved in processes other than competence acquisition during the pre-antral-to-antral transition or (ii) be co-expressed in other macrostructures besides the GV. Expressional and functional validations should be performed for candidate proteins before downstream application. Wider implications of the findings Collective results generated a blueprint to better understand the molecular mechanisms involved in GV competence acquisition and identified potential nuclear competence markers for human fertility preservation. Study funding and competing interest(s) Funded by the National Center for Research Resources (R01 RR026064), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and currently by the Office of Research Infrastructure Programs/Office of the Director (R01 OD010948). The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Tolerance Limits and Bounds for Proportions Based on Data Subject to Measurement Error

Methods are presented for computing confidence bounds for the proportion of product in conformance with a given specification limit when the observed data are subject to measurement error. The related problem of determining tolerance limits for the true..
Direct Estimation of Hidden Earnings: Evidence From Administrative Data

We estimate hidden earnings by matching car registries to employers’ records of paid earnings for a panel of individuals and households in Moscow. The identification strategy is based on the idea that reported earnings may be falsified, but car registries are accurate. Hidden earnings comprise over 75 percent of actual earnings of the large majority of car owners, at least twice as high as estimated in previous studies using less direct methods. There is also a lot of heterogeneity across employers. Foreign-owned firms, large firms and state-owned firms in capital-intensive industries report earnings more transparently than do small firms and firms in labor-intensive industries, where actual earnings may be more than five times higher than reported earnings. Differentials of similar magnitude are found in public services, especially among educators. Our findings shed new light on the perceived links between firm ownership, size and productivity in countries with large hidden economies.
Commercial Airline Pilots’ Attitudinal Data on Controlled Rest in Position: A Qualitative Inquiry

The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudinal data of commercial pilots on the possible implementation of controlled rest in position (CRIP). Prior research indicated that pilot napping could be beneficial to reduce fatigue. While CRIP has been implemented by some international regulatory agencies, it remains prohibited in the United States. Through a qualitative methodology and a phenomenological approach, 30 commercial pilots from the United States presented their thoughts on an open-ended research instrument as to the possible advantages, disadvantages, and implementation aspects of CRIP. The findings indicated that 70% of participants were in favor of CRIP implementation. However, participants expressed concerns over ensuring that proper CRIP policies and procedures were implemented to ensure safety was not compromised.
“It’s Going to Take a While for This Country to Get Used to Us”: School and Vocational Interactional Histories in the Context of Immigration Policies

This chapter describes Ana, whose reluctance to engage in school-related literacy events during her early years of high school changed at the turning point of her story—her meeting Ms. Torres, a bilingual and biliterate Mexican-origin Latina student-teacher in Ana’s 12th-grade humanities class. Ms. Torres’ inspiration led to consistent investment in school-based literacy events in Ana’s last year of high school, followed by further use and development of literacy expertise through vocational practices that drew upon varied multimodal and bilingual/biliterate resources. Her vocational ambitions, however, were overshadowed by legal restrictions due to immigration policies. An overview of Ana’s language and literacy experiences during this study is provided, followed by LIHA analyses of literacy events demonstrating these trends before and after her turning point.
The interaction of N,N-dimethyl aniline with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-1,4-benzoquinone (DDQ) – an experimental and DFT study

Abstract The interaction of DDQ with N,N-dimethyl aniline (DMA) was investigated by performing DFT calculations and UV spectral measurements. The calculations show that an electron transfer is possible from DMA to DDQ, since the ionization energy of DMA is lower than electron affinity of DDQ. The HOMO orbital of the DDQ-DMA complex comprises both molecules indicative of a charge transfer complex. The solution of the mixture of two compounds in acetonitrile show absorption bands at 590, 549, 455 and 346 nm corresponding to the calculated absorption frequencies of [DDQ]2- , [DDQH]- , [DDQ].- and DDQH2 , respectively.
Aggregation, Clickbait and Their Effect on Perceptions of Journalistic Credibility and Quality

ABSTRACTMany journalists and industry observers lament that aggregating news underneath sensational headlines will erode credibility and turn off readers. While some scholarly work has studied jour...