cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Substrate influences human epidermal melanocyte attachment and spreading in vitro.

Previous culture systems for melanocytes have employed serum-supplemented medium and uncoated plastic dishes, prohibiting examination of possible substrate influences on cellular morphology and function. We now report, using a sensitive serum-free system and a quantitative procedure for evaluating cellular morphology, that modification of the plating surface affects human epidermal melanocyte attachment rate and subsequent morphology in vitro. Melanocytes attach and spread more rapidly on surfaces coated with fibronectin or Type I/III collagen or on surfaces previously conditioned by human keratinocytes, dermal fibroblasts, melanocytes, or melanoma cells than do melanocytes on untreated control surfaces. Type IV collagen and laminin, although minimally beneficial for cell attachment, do support a characteristics melanocyte morphology that differs from that seen either on the other coated surfaces or on uncoated plastic controls. Addition of fetal bovine serum at the time of inoculation has no appreciable effect on attachment but markedly improves cell spreading on untreated surfaces, while addition of nerve growth factor with or without serum to this system fails to affect cell attachment or spreading. Our data establish that human epidermal melanocytes are indeed capable of responding morphologically to substrate signals. The ability of several biochemically unrelated surfaces to enhance melanocyte attachment rate and spreading suggests that melanocytes have surface receptors with a variety of specificities. This work is relevant to the development of improved culture systems for melanocytes in vitro and to understanding melanocyte behavior in vivo.
Feature learning using Generalized Extreme Value distribution based K-means clustering

Recent studies have shown that K-means, with larger K, can effectively learn local image patch features; accompanied with appropriate pooling strategies, it performs very well in many visual object recognition tasks. An improved K-means cluster algorithm, GEV-Kmeans, based on the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution, is proposed in this paper. Our key observation is that the squared distance of a point to its closest center adheres to the Generalized Extreme Value (GEV) distribution when the number of clusters is large. Differing from the K-means algorithm, we minimize the reconstruction errors by ignoring those points with lower GEV probabilities (i.e. rare events), and focus on others points which might be more critical in characterizing the underlying data distribution. Consequently, our algorithm can handle outliers very well. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm.
Polycarbodiimides and their derivatives

Several polycarbodiimides were prepared by the solution condensation of aromatic and aliphatic diisocyanates in the presence of 1-phenyl-3-methyl-3-phospholene-1-oxide. In general, the polymers had high melting temperatures and were insoluble in all solvents examined. Water, hydrogen sulfide, alcohols, or primary amines, were reacted with the polycarbodiimide prepared from methylene bis(4-phenyl isocyanate) to give polyureas, polythioureas, poly-O-alkylpseudoures, and polyguanidines respectively. Einige Polycarbodiimide wurden durch Polykondensation von aromatischen und aliphatischen Diisocyanaten in Gegenwart von 1-Phenyl-3-methyl-3-phospholin-1-oxyd in Losung dargestellt. Die erhaltenen Polymeren hatten im allgemeinen hohe Schmelzpunkte und waren unloslich in allen untersuchten Losungsmitteln. Das Polycarbodiimid aus Methylen-bis-(4-phenylisocyanat) wurde mit Wasser, Schwefelwasserstoff, Alkoholen oder primaren Aminen umgesetzt. Dabei wurden Polyharnstoffe, Polythioharnstoffe, Polyalkoxypseudoharnstoffe bzw. Polyguanidine erhalten.
Vibrotactile thresholds measured at the finger

Absolute vibrotactile thresholds were determined over the distal pad of the middle finger and thenar eminence of the right hands of five Ss. Measurements were made using eight frequencies between 25 and 700 Hz and seven contactor sizes between .0008 and 1.3 cm2. When plotted as a function of frequency, the threshold curve measured at the fingerpad with a .005-cm2 contactor is U shaped, with a maximum sensitivity in the region of 250 Hz. When plotted as a function of contactor size, the threshold decreases at a rate of 3 dB per doubling of the area.
Application of current-fed quasi-Z-Source Inverter for traction drive of hybrid electric vehicles

This paper presents a novel current-fed quasi-Z-Source Inverter (qZSI) used to replace the two stages of bidirectional DC-DC converter and conventional pulsewidth modulation inverter to control the power to the motor, and the state of charge (SOC) of the battery in hybrid vehicles. Besides the advantages inheriting from the ZSIs, the qZSIs also have their own merits. This paper presents a comprehensive study on the new features of the current-fed qZSI, including the advantageous buck-boost function, improved reliability, reduced passive component ratings, and unique regeneration capability. The current-fed qZSI are bidirectional with an additional diode, unlike the voltage-fed Z-source inverter than a switch to achieve bidirectional power flow. A reverse blocking IGBT (RB-IGBT) based current-fed qZSI prototype is developed in laboratory. Both simulation and experimental results are shown to verify the theoretical analysis.
Shifting the Burden

‘Species egalitarianism is the view that all living things have equal moral standing’ (Schmidtz, 2011). David Schmidtz claims that the species egalitarian who would affirm this statement has the in...
Forgiveness, Feeling Connected to Others, and Well-Being: Two Longitudinal Studies

In two studies, the authors investigated the associations between interpersonal forgiveness and psychological well-being. Cross-sectional and prospective multilevel analyses demonstrated that increases in forgiveness (measured as fluctuations in individuals' avoidance, revenge, and benevolence motivations toward their transgressors) were related to within-persons increases in psychological well-being (measured as more satisfaction with life, more positive mood, less negative mood, and fewer physical symptoms). Moreover, forgiveness was more strongly linked to well-being for people who reported being closer and more committed to their partners before the transgression and for people who reported that their partners apologized and made amends for the transgression. Evidence for the reverse causal model, that increases in well-being were related to increases in forgiveness, was also found. However, changes in feelings of closeness toward the partner appeared to account for the associations of forgiveness wit...
Recent and Projected Increases in Atmospheric CO2 Concentration Can Enhance Gene Flow between Wild and Genetically Altered Rice (Oryza sativa)

Although recent and projected increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide can alter plant phenological development, these changes have not been quantified in terms of floral outcrossing rates or gene transfer. Could differential phenological development in response to rising CO2 between genetically modified crops and wild, weedy relatives increase the spread of novel genes, potentially altering evolutionary fitness? Here we show that increasing CO2 from an early 20th century concentration (300 µmol mol−1) to current (400 µmol mol−1) and projected, mid-21st century (600 µmol mol−1) values, enhanced the flow of genes from wild, weedy rice to the genetically altered, herbicide resistant, cultivated population, with outcrossing increasing from 0.22% to 0.71% from 300 to 600 µmol mol−1. The increase in outcrossing and gene transfer was associated with differential increases in plant height, as well as greater tiller and panicle production in the wild, relative to the cultivated population. In addition, increasing CO2 also resulted in a greater synchronicity in flowering times between the two populations. The observed changes reported here resulted in a subsequent increase in rice dedomestication and a greater number of weedy, herbicide-resistant hybrid progeny. Overall, these data suggest that differential phenological responses to rising atmospheric CO2 could result in enhanced flow of novel genes and greater success of feral plant species in agroecosystems.
Efficient Principled Learning of Thin Junction Trees

We present the first truly polynomial algorithm for PAC-learning the structure of bounded-treewidth junction trees - an attractive subclass of probabilistic graphical models that permits both the compact representation of probability distributions and efficient exact inference. For a constant treewidth, our algorithm has polynomial time and sample complexity. If a junction tree with sufficiently strong intra-clique dependencies exists, we provide strong theoretical guarantees in terms of KL divergence of the result from the true distribution. We also present a lazy extension of our approach that leads to very significant speed ups in practice, and demonstrate the viability of our method empirically, on several real world datasets. One of our key new theoretical insights is a method for bounding the conditional mutual information of arbitrarily large sets of variables with only polynomially many mutual information computations on fixed-size subsets of variables, if the underlying distribution can be approximated by a bounded-treewidth junction tree.
A class of non-polarizable symplectic manifolds

A class of compact 4-dimensional symplectic manifolds which admit no polarizations whatsoever is presented. These spaces also provide examples of nonparallelizable manifolds which are symplectic but have no complex, and hence no Kahler, structures.
Characterization of Oligosaccharide Chains on Mouse Mammary Tumor Virus Envelope Proteins and the Implications for the Mechanism of Their Glucocorticoid Regulated Processing

Glucocorticoid hormone is required for complete posttranslational processing of the glycosylated mouse mammary tumor virus envelope precursor, Pr74env in the murine T-lymphosarcoma cell line, W7MG1. Metabolic labeling studies with [35S]methionine, [3H]galactose, and [3H]mannose, combined with enzymatic digestion analyses with a variety of endoglycosidases, demonstrated that both proteolytic processing and N-linked oligosaccharide maturation depended, either directly or indirectly, on glucocorticoid action. Pr74 is found in both control and hormone-treated cells. In both cases Pr74 molecules carry high mannose and/or hybrid, but not complex, oligosaccharide chains with very little or no sialic acid. When cells are grown with glucocorticoid, Pr74 is converted to gp52 and gp33 with greatly increased efficiency, and these mature glycoproteins carry complex oligosaccharides containing sialic acid. No O-linked carbohydrate was detected on any of these species. According to this evidence, the glucocorticoid-regulated step in this pathway must occur at or before the final mannose trimming step in the Golgi that is required for formation of complex carbohydrate chains.
Popular Power and the Portuguese Far Left

The Portuguese revolution of 1974–75 produced a great outpouring of mass political activity, centred on three sites: industrial workplaces, urban neighbourhoods, and southern latifundios. In each, workers or residents organized to meet immediate needs (most often, employment security and housing), but in the favourable political conjuncture they moved beyond immediate grievances to demand far-reaching social and political changes. Small political parties of the far left attempted to interpret these demands and become their political vehicle; they failed, but achieved a surprising electoral success with the 1976 presidential campaign of Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho. Analysing the vote for him, I argue that it is best understood not (as some interpreters claim) as populist or representing Portuguese traditions of Sebastianism and the ‘saviour army’, but as a working-class-based expression of the demand for popular power.
What Pivot? International Relations Scholarship and the Study of East Asia

Scholars of international relations (IR) simultaneously believe that their work is policy-relevant and that a gap exists between the academic and policy worlds of IR. Using data from the 2011 Teaching, Research, and International Policy (TRIP) survey and the TRIP journal article database, we explore this disjuncture in one specific area, research on East Asia. If US scholars' work addresses policy-relevant issues, as they believe, we would expect academic work to provide insights on a region that US policy makers have long thought to be growing in strategic importance. We find that academics recognize the strategic significance of East Asia, but comparatively few scholars teach about or do research on the region. Compared with the IR discipline more broadly, published research on East Asia is more paradigmatic, qualitative, and oriented toward the study of international political economy. The neglect of East Asia and the systematic differences in the way it is studied have potentially important consequences for the study and practice of IR.
Pulmonary Homograft Implantation for Ventricular Outflow Tract Reconstruction: Early Phase Results

Abstract The pulmonary valve homograft (PH) has been reported to have potential advantages over the aortic valve homograft, including a larger diameter, a thinner wall, and decreased intrinsic calcification. From January 16, 1986, to July 14, 1987, eight consecutive patients underwent repair of congenital cardiac anomalies using a cryo-preserved PH. Patients ranged in age from 18 months to 32 years. Diagnoses included tetralogy of Fallot with pulmonary atresia (3 patients); tetralogy with absent pulmonary valve (1 patient); corrected transposition with pulmonic stenosis (1 patient); transposition of the great arteries, ventricular septal defect, and pulmonic stenosis (2 patients); and double-outlet right ventricle with pulmonic stenosis (1 patient). The PH was implanted orthotopically in the patient with absent pulmonary valve, and in the other 7 it was placed as a valved extracardiac conduit. Two of the tetralogy patients with severe bifurcational pulmonary stenosis and another with nonconfluent pulmonary arteries and origin of the left pulmonary artery from a patent ductus arteriosus had their repairs facilitated using the branching pulmonary arterial portion of the PH. There were no hospital or posthospital deaths. Postrepair right ventricular to left ventricular systolic pressure ratios were a mean of 0.35 at 18 hours postoperatively (range, 0.21–0.61). All patients were studied with Doppler and echocardiography after repair. The mean gradient across the PH was 9 mm Hg (range, 2–27 mm Hg), and no pulmonary valve incompetence was present. One patient (12.5%) required reoperation seven months after repair for conduit revision due to compression by the sternum and is now well. We conclude that the PH is a good conduit for ventricular outflow tract reconstruction, and the short-term results are satisfactory. The bifurcational portion of the donor pulmonary arteries has proved to be useful in the repair of associated pulmonary arterial anomalies. Because of its ready availability when procured in conjunction with the aortic homograft valve, and because of increased demand on our tissue bank for the use of aortic homograft valves, we have adopted the PH as our valve of choice for ventricular outflow tract reconstructive procedures.
Predictions of annual earnings using quarterly earnings, annual earnings and dividend payout ratios

This study empirically examines two issues related to forecasting annual accounting earnings. The first issue studied is the improvement in forecasts of annual earnings that can be obtained by including information about dividend payout along with the past earnings series in forecasting models. The second issue deals with the comparative ability of quarterly earnings time series models and annual earnings time series models to predict annual earnings. The results of this study indicate that considerable improvement in predictive ability can be obtained by expanding the information set to include the dividend payout ratio series. The empirical analysis also indicates that time series models developed using annual earnings generate more accurate predictions of annual earnings than do models developed using quarterly earnings.
Diurnal Changes in Lake Systems

Environmental conditions may change markedly within aquatic ecosystems during a 24-h period. Solar radiation varies from high intensity at midday to darkness. Surface temperatures and concentrations of dissolved gases also may fluctuate between extremes of day and night, especially in shallow, littoral areas. Organisms within the lake may move vertically or otherwise relocate themselves in response to these environmental changes. For example, various species of Zooplankton undergo marked vertical migrations during a 24-h cycle [cf., Hutchinson (1967) and Wetzel (1983, 1999)]. These movements are keyed to light, food availability, and predation pressures. In this exercise, we shall examine some of the relationships between these factors and the vertical movements of Zooplankton in a lake.
Coma and confusional states : Emergency diagnosis and management

This article discusses a general approach to diagnosis and initial emergency stabilization, and therapy of patients presenting with alterations in their global mental state, that is, either in the level of consciousness, coma in the broad sense, or in the ability to maintain a coherent and sustained stream of consciousness while awake, confusional states with or without agitation. Coma and confusion are two overlapping manifestations of failure of certain global, or state-dependent, brain functions (i.e., the systems for the maintenance of arousal and global attention) 46 with many possible underlying causes. Because many of these causes present an immediate threat of death or severe disability, it is important for the physician to take an organized approach to the rapid assessment, stabilization, and treatment of such patients.
Nonobvious correlation properties of quadrature GMSK, a modulation technique adopted worldwide

GMSK is the world's most widely used modulation technique for mobile digital telephony and digital wireless applications. We describe two GMSK modulator structures, the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) and the quadrature modulator structure. The tremendous advantages of the quadrature modulator structure for practical GMSK modulator implementations are emphasized. We present the results of computer simulations and hardware experimental measurements performed on GSM-standardized IC chips which are used by several million subscribers in order to illustrate the operation of a GMSK modulator. Since quadrature modulator structures are used in nearly all practical GMSK chipsets, the properties of this structure are of wide interest. In this paper we highlight the crosscorrelation properties of the GMSK in-phase and quadrature-phase baseband signals, which are part of the quadrature modulator structure. While uncorrelated in-phase and quadrature-phase baseband signals are used in traditional QPSK and OQPSK modulated systems, we demonstrate that there is strong crosscorrelation between the in-phase and quadrature-phase baseband signals. The crosscorrelation is stronger if the observation interval is shorter. Nonobvious quadrature modulator/radio crosscorrelation advantages were patented by Kato/Feher (1986). Design with crosscorrelated quadrature transmitter is "contrary to the wisdom of classical linear communications theory". Crosscorrelated quadrature modulated systems include FQPSK-KF and GMSK. >
Human Action Recognition in Videos Using Kinematic Features and Multiple Instance Learning

We propose a set of kinematic features that are derived from the optical flow for human action recognition in videos. The set of kinematic features includes divergence, vorticity, symmetric and antisymmetric flow fields, second and third principal invariants of flow gradient and rate of strain tensor, and third principal invariant of rate of rotation tensor. Each kinematic feature, when computed from the optical flow of a sequence of images, gives rise to a spatiotemporal pattern. It is then assumed that the representative dynamics of the optical flow are captured by these spatiotemporal patterns in the form of dominant kinematic trends or kinematic modes. These kinematic modes are computed by performing principal component analysis (PCA) on the spatiotemporal volumes of the kinematic features. For classification, we propose the use of multiple instance learning (MIL) in which each action video is represented by a bag of kinematic modes. Each video is then embedded into a kinematic-mode-based feature space and the coordinates of the video in that space are used for classification using the nearest neighbor algorithm. The qualitative and quantitative results are reported on the benchmark data sets.
Reading for the Spirit of the Text: nomina sacra and πνεῦμα Language in P46*

This study examines every reference to πνeῦμα in NT Papyrus 46 (P. Chester Beatty ii / P. Mich. Inv. 6238) and whether or not it is contracted as a nomen sacrum. Against expectations, the scribe does not always use nomina sacra to designate the divine Spirit, nor are other kinds of spirits always written out in full. This discovery destabilises the assumption that we can access the scribe's understanding of πνeῦμα simply by identifying where nomina sacra do and do not occur. At the same time, such scribal irregularity itself may illustrate wider theological ambiguities among some early Christian communities concerning the status and role of the Holy Spirit.
Facilitated carbon dioxide reduction using a Zn(II) complex.

Two new Zn(II) complexes have been prepared and evaluated for their capacity to activate and reduce CO2. The electrochemical properties of dichloro[phenyldi(2-pyridyl)phosphine-κ2-N,N′]zinc(II) 1 and dichloro[diphenyl-(2-pyridyl)phosphine-κ1-N]zinc(II) 2 are compared using cyclic voltammetry. Electrochemical results indicate that 2 leads to a facilitated CO2 reduction to evolve CO at a glassy carbon electrode.
Design and Analysis of a Novel ${\cal L}_1$ Adaptive Control Architecture With Guaranteed Transient Performance

This paper presents a novel adaptive control architecture that adapts fast and ensures uniformly bounded transient response for system's both signals, input and output, simultaneously. This new architecture has a low-pass filter in the feedback loop and relies on the small-gain theorem for the proof of asymptotic stability. The tools from this paper can be used to develop a theoretically justified verification and validation framework for adaptive systems. Simulations illustrate the theoretical findings.
Concurrent curing kinetics of an anhydride-cured epoxy resin and polydicyclopentadiene

Abstract The development of interpenetrating polymer networks provides a route to create tough materials that maintain high strength and stiffness, suitable for meeting the demands of an off-shore wind turbine environment. This work has focused on a system composed of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA)-based epoxy resin, contributing high tensile strength and modulus, and polydicyclopentadiene (polyDCPD), which has a higher toughness and impact strength as compared to other thermoset polymers. In situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to explore the reaction kinetics in neat, diluted and sequentially cured mixtures of epoxy resin and polyDCPD. There were significant differences in the rate of network formation in the two neat systems, as the rate of anhydride curing of the epoxy was extremely slow at the temperatures required for reasonably measurable dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) ring-opening metathesis polymerization. The dissimilar kinetics of these two systems were leveraged in the design of a sequential curing protocol in which the DCPD was first cured in the presence of the epoxy resin components, followed by curing of the epoxy resin at an elevated temperature. The curing kinetics of the macroscopically phase separated domains of the epoxy resin components in the presence of the polyDCPD network behaved as expected for a diluted epoxy resin. These results provide the kinetic basis for future studies to prepare interpenetrating polymer networks which employ thermodynamic control of phase separation such as through the addition of compatibilizing molecules.
A Fine-Grained CUDA Implementation of the Multi-objective Evolutionary Approach NSGA-II: Potential Impact for Computational and Systems Biology Applications

Many computational and systems biology challenges, in particular those related to big data analysis, can be formulated as optimization problems and therefore can be addressed using heuristics. Beside the typical optimization problems, formulated with respect to a single target, the possibility of optimizing multiple objectives (MO) is rapidly becoming more appealing. In this context, MO Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs) are one of the most widely used classes of methods to solve MO optimization problems. However, these methods can be particularly demanding from the computational point of view and, therefore, effective parallel implementations are needed. This fact, together with the wide diffusion of powerful and low-cost general-purpose Graphics Processing Units, promoted the development of software tools that focus on the parallelization of one or more computational phases among the steps characterizing MOEAs. In this paper we present a fine-grained parallelization of the Fast Non-dominating Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) for the CUDA architecture. In particular, we will discuss how this solution can be exploited to solve multi-objective optimization task in the field of computational and systems biology.
ACTIVE DISPERSAL AND PASSIVE TRANSPORT IN DROSOPHILA.

There has lately been enhanced interest in the role of vagility of organisms as one of the factors that influence the genetic population structure and evolutionary potentialities of biological species. Carson (1971) argues that new species arise from single, or from small groups of founders introduced, presumably by passive transport, in a new territory. The introduction is followed by a restructuring of the ancestral genotype by natural selection (Carson, 1971; see also Mayr, 1963; Dobzhansky, 1972). Partisans of the curiously misnamed "non-Darwinian" evolution theory invoke migration for a different purpose-spreading of supposedly adaptively neutral genetic changes by random genetic drift. Having been preoccupied with migration as an evolutionary factor for more than 30 years, I wish to record in the present article certain new observations, and partly to revise the inferences drawn from older experiments in the light of new findings.
Low-power approximate convolution computing unit with domain-wall motion based "spin-memristor" for image processing applications

Convolution serves as the basic computational primitive for various associative computing tasks ranging from edge detection to image matching. CMOS implementation of such computations entails significant bottlenecks in area and energy consumption due to the large number of multiplication and addition operations involved. In this paper, we propose an ultra-low power and compact hybrid spintronic-CMOS design for the convolution computing unit. Low-voltage operation of domain-wall motion based magneto-metallic "Spin-Memristor"s interfaced with CMOS circuits is able to perform the convolution operation with reasonable accuracy. Simulation results of Gabor filtering for edge detection reveal ~ 2.5× lower energy consumption compared to a baseline 45nm-CMOS implementation.
Weird and wonderful water.

When it comes to water and its unique properties, Bruce Gibb explains that although there is undoubtedly some mystery, there is certainly no magic.
Localizing Human Rights Education Through Technology

From the civil rights movement to #BlackLivesMatter California has been a geographic space of activism and struggle for social justice. These movements make visible how human rights activism is always local and global. Issues such as police brutality, worker’s rights, and immigration impact students’ lives and as such human rights education is fundamental to any education that seeks to develop a democratic citizenry.
Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Biochemical Applications

Fluorescence spectroscopy and fluorescence detection are major tools in the investigation of biomolecular systems, both in terms of their structure and function. The fluorescence may be elicited from fluorophores intrinsic to the system, or introduced through fluorescent probes which interact with specific components. In either case, minute quantities or changes can be determined, even approaching the single-molecule level.
Decline of the Land Snail Anguispira alternata (Pulmonata: Discidae) in Pennsylvania, U.S.A

Population declines of species can be a concern, but before taking action, we need to verify whether apparent declines are real. Land snails are one of the most threatened groups of animals in the world, and anecdotes suggest that the abundance of the land snail Anguispira alternata has declined in Pennsylvania, U.S.A., over the past few decades. Might the apparent decline represent inadequate sampling by recent surveyors or could it represent a real decline? Past search effort is rarely documented, hindering direct comparisons of search effort. We used 547 museum records of A. alternata collected primarily from 1890 to 1960 and 2000 to 2015. Following two lines of reasoning, we conclude that the abundance of A. alternata has actually declined. (1) The smaller proportion of collecting events that found A. alternata after year 2000 suggests an actual decline of A. alternata in modern decades, regardless of the total number of collecting events. (2) The accumulation curve of new county records for all land snail species showed similar slopes in both past and modern decades, indicating comparable search effort in both time periods. The apparent decline of A. alternata was not explained by differential effort with respect to snail size or geographical area searched. The decline appears to have begun about 1960, although relatively little collecting effort from 1960 to 2000 decreases confidence in our ability to infer timing of abundance change in those decades. We speculate about three hypotheses regarding the decline (acid precipitation, climate warming, human mediated disturbance) and conclude that the historical increase in acid precipitation best matches the timing of the snail's decline. Population trends of other snail species and trends of A. alternata in other geographical areas should be studied to further explore these and other hypotheses. Our study highlights the importance of museum collections in understanding the current biodiversity crisis.
On the propagation limits and speeds of premixed cool flames at elevated pressures

Abstract The flame speeds and propagation limits of premixed cool flames at elevated pressures are numerically modeled using dimethyl ether mixtures. The primary focus is paid on the effects of pressure, mixture dilution, computation domain, and heat loss on cool flame propagation. The results showed that cool flames exist on both fuel lean and fuel rich sides and dramatically extend the lean and rich flammability limits of conventional hot flames. There exist three different flame regimes: the hot flames, lean and rich cool flames, and double flames. A new flame flammability diagram including both cool flames and hot flames at elevated pressures is obtained. The results show that pressure significantly changes cool flame propagation and burning limits. It is found that the increase of pressure affects the propagation speeds of lean and rich cool flames differently due to the negative temperature coefficient effect. On the lean side, the increase of pressure accelerates the cool flame chemistry and shifts the transition limit of cool flame to hot flame to a lower equivalence ratio. At lower pressure, there is an extinction transition from hot flame to cool flame. However, above a critical pressure, the hot flame directly transfers to a cool flame without hot flame extinction. Moreover, increases in dilution reduce the heat release of the hot flame and promote cool flame formation. Furthermore, the results show that a smaller downstream computation domain and higher heat loss also extend the cool flame transition limit and promote cool flame formation.
Statistical Application and Cost Saving in a Dental Survey.

Objective To effectively achieve a robust survey response rate in a timely manner, an alternative approach to survey distribution, informed by statistical modeling, was applied to efficiently and cost-effectively achieve the targeted rate of return. Design A prospective environmental scan surveying adoption of health information technology utilization within their practices was undertaken in a national pool of dental professionals (N=8000) using an alternative method of sampling. The piloted approach to rate of cohort sampling targeted a response rate of 400 completed surveys from among randomly targeted eligible providers who were contacted using replicated subsampling leveraging mailed surveys. Methods Two replicated subsample mailings (n=1000 surveys/mailings) were undertaken to project the true response rate and estimate the total number of surveys required to achieve the final target. Cost effectiveness and non-response bias analyses were performed. Results The final mailing required approximately 24% fewer mailings compared to targeting of the entire cohort, with a final survey capture exceeding the expected target. An estimated $5000 in cost savings was projected by applying the alternative approach. Non-response analyses found no evidence of bias relative to demographics, practice demographics, or topically-related survey questions. Conclusion The outcome of this pilot study suggests that this approach to survey studies will accomplish targeted enrollment in a cost effective manner. Future studies are needed to validate this approach in the context of other survey studies.
Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in polymer electrolyte research

Abstract: The versatility and power of NMR spectroscopy to probe matter at the atomic level and the possibility of achieving detailed knowledge and understanding about the dynamic processes governing ionic and segmental motion within polymer electrolyte materials will be described. Many examples of results reported from different scientific groups active in the field of polymer electrolyte research will be presented.
POISONED DEVELOPMENT: ASSESSING CHILDHOOD LEAD EXPOSURE AS A CAUSE OF CRIME IN A BIRTH COHORT FOLLOWED THROUGH ADOLESCENCE

The consequences of lead exposure for later crime are theoretically compelling, but direct evidence from representative, longitudinal samples is sparse. By capitalizing on an original follow-up of more than 200 infants from the birth cohort of the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods matched to their blood lead levels from around age 3 years, we provide several tests. Through the use of four waves of longitudinal data that include measures of individual development, family background, and structural inequalities in how lead becomes embodied, we assess the hypothesized link between early childhood lead poisoning and both parent-reported delinquent behavior and official arrest in late adolescence. We also test for mediating developmental processes of impulsivity and anxiety or depression. The results from multiple analytic strategies that make different assumptions reveal a plausibly causal effect of childhood lead exposure on adolescent delinquent behavior but no direct link to arrests. The results underscore lead exposure as a trigger for poisoned development in the early life course and call for greater integration of the environment into theories of individual differences in criminal behavior.
Quantitative sensory testing is feasible and is well-tolerated in patients with sickle cell disease following a vaso-occlusive episode.

Introduction Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited blood disorder characterized by abnormally shaped sickle cells. The hallmark of this disease is intermittent, painful vaso-occlusive episodes (VOE), but a subset of individuals with SCD experience chronic pain. The mechanism of transition to chronic pain is not well understood in SCD, but there is evidence of altered pain processing in individuals with SCD. The impact of VOE on pain sensitivity is not established. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility and tolerability of quantitative sensory testing (QST) in SCD following a VOE to better understand the contribution of VOE to the development of chronic pain. Methods As part of a larger pain sensitivity study, pediatric patients with SCD were offered QST following a VOE-related Emergency Room visit or inpatient hospitalization. The feasibility of recruitment and completion of QST was measured, and tolerability of QST was determined using post-QST assessments of pain, and compared with measurements at steady state. Results Ten participants completed QST following a VOE. The median age was 16.5, and 60% were female. Overall, 10 of 16 (62.5%) patients approached for QST following VOE completed QST. This included 8 of 12 patients who had previously completed QST at steady state. There were no statistically significant differences in pain intensity and Gracely Box scores after QST following a VOE, when compared to steady-state QST. Conclusion QST is feasible and is well-tolerated following a VOE in patients with SCD. Large prospective studies are needed to determine the impact of VOE on experimental pain sensitivity and must take into account all factors contributing to pain sensitivity.
The New National School Library Standards: Implications for Information Literacy Instruction in Higher Education

Abstract This paper explores the new American Association of School Libraries (AASL) National School Library Standards relative to the information literacy pipeline as K-12 students reach university-level learning environments. Shifts in the standards, and therefore eventual shifts in this pipeline, are examined. The new school library standards integrate standards for learners, school libraries, and school librarians. This paper will focus exclusively on the standards for learners, as this is where the primary crossover between high schools and academic libraries takes place. Potential implications and future directions for academic librarianship, especially relative to information literacy instruction, are discussed.
A mathematical description for gabaergic modulation of sequence disambiguation in hippocampal region CA3

Changes in GABAB modulation may underlie experimentally observed changes in the strength of synaptic transmission at different phases of the theta rhythm. Analysis demonstrates that these changes improve sequence disambiguation by a model of CA3, and that changes in the level of GABAergic modulation correspond to changes in the temperature of an analog network. These results suggest that GABAB modulation in CA3 may produce dynamics which resemble annealing. These dynamics may underlie a role for the theta cycle in improving sequence retrieval for spatial navigation.
Geographic Interaction in the City Planning Context: Beyond the Multimedia Prototype

At MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning, research is underway to improve the communication of planning-related geographic information through the implementation of a Collaborative Planning System (CPS). The CPS allows participants in a city planning meeting to benefit from, and add to, a geographically-oriented multimedia information base. The information base is projected on the wall of a meeting room. Participants interact with the system using cordless pointing devices to elicit information about selected geographic areas through a direct manipulation interface. Using a geographic metaphor, the CPS links descriptive images, such as digital video and sound, to information that would be otherwise represented statically. This paper traces the development of multimedia tools that are designed to support city planning. Such tools contain interactive elements that are designed to smooth discourse between a group and a geographically-oriented information base. The intent of this paper is to explore how GIS might be augmented with multimedia to support a greater measure of human-computer interaction.
Generating explanations of device behavior using compositional modeling and causal ordering

Generating explanations of device behavior is a long-standmg goal of AI research in reasoning about physical systems. Much of the relevant work has concentrated on new methods for modeling and simulation, such as qualitative physics, or on sophisticated natural language generation, in which the device models are specially crafted for explanatory purposes. We show how two techniques from the modeling research--compositional modeling and causal ordering-- can be effectively combined to generate natural language explanations of device behavior from engineering models. The explanations offer three advances over the data displays produced by conventional simulation software: (1) causal interpretations of the data, (2) summaries at appropriate levels of abstraction (physical mechanisms and component operating modes), and (3) query-driven, natural language summaries. Furthermore, combining the compositional modeling and causal ordering techniques allows models that are more scalable and less brittle than models designed solely for explanation. However, these techniques produce models with detail that can be distracting in explanations and would be removed in hand-crafted models (e.g., intermediate variables). We present domain-independent filtering and aggregation techniques that overcome these problems.
The effects of category and physical features on stereotyping and evaluation

Abstract Stereotyping and prejudice researchers have provided numerous demonstrations that the greater a target's prototypicality, the more similar attitudes and inferences will be to the attitudes and stereotypes perceivers have about the group. However, research to date has yet to also test for a possible quadratic association relating target prototypicality to judgment. The current research offers an extension of existing research by testing for both linear and quadratic relationships between target prototypicality and stereotyping using an implicit measure of stereotyping. In Study 1, we tested for linear and quadratic associations between racial prototypicality and stereotyping of Black and White males, while also manipulating the valence of the stereotypes. Study 2 offered a conceptual replication of Study 1 and tested for linear and quadratic associations between gender prototypicality and stereotyping of White males and White females, while again manipulating the valence of these gender stereotypes. Across both studies we replicated previous research showing a positive, linear effect of prototypicality on stereotyping, such that targets greater in prototypicality elicited greater stereotyping. We also found evidence of a quadratic effect of prototypicality, such that average prototypic targets elicited the most stereotyping. Finally, we observed that negative, rather than positive, stereotypes drove both the linear and quadratic effects we report.
Antiretroviral concentrations and surrogate measures of efficacy in the brain tissue and CSF of preclinical species.

1. Antiretroviral concentrations in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are used as surrogate for brain tissue, although sparse data support this. We quantified antiretrovirals in brain tissue across preclin...
Wow! This Takes Tremendous Organizing: Developing and Teaching a Distance Education Course

In this session we share what it is like to be an online teaching novice developing a primarily asynchronous DE course that met face-to-face the first and last week of classes. In particular, we will share our experience re-designing a traditional class for online delivery using Blackboard and issues related to: 1) developing online components, such as, course/module objectives aligned with learning activities and learning assessments, interactivity, community of learning, and course design best practices, 2) harnessing the expertise of DoITA¢â¬â¢s instructional design support, and 3) the results of several comparative evaluations two of us performed. The course was built on current knowledge of adult learning, i.e., LEARN model, Learn, Enact, Assess, Reflect, Network. The course content was developmental pathways, birth through adolescence in which we examined human development of diverse learners including those from different language, cultural and economic backgrounds, and those with disabilities. The course was taught and evaluated with three different unique populations: undergraduate students, mastersA¢â¬â¢ students, and Teach for America mastersA¢â¬â¢ students. Evaluation focused on studentsA¢â¬â¢ motivation for taking the course, course expectations, mid course and end of course surveys on effectiveness of course components, and end of course revised expectations of distance education courses.
Love is in the menu: Leveraging healthy restaurant brands with handwritten typeface

Abstract Recently, the restaurant industry has witnessed an unprecedented rise of healthy restaurant brands. However, the existing literature offers little guidance on how to effectively leverage such brands in the marketplace. To address this gap, the current research examines a novel marketing strategy (i.e., using handwritten typeface on menus) that enhances consumer responses to healthy restaurant brands. The results show that handwritten typeface creates a competitive advantage by conveying a sense of human touch, which subsequently induces the perception that love is symbolically imbued in the restaurant's offerings. The belief that “menu contains love” leads to a wide range of favorable consumer responses including positive attitudes toward the menu, enhanced perceived healthiness of the brand, and higher social media engagement. The results show that these positive effects occur only when the restaurant brand is health-focused. Moreover, the handwritten typeface effect with healthy restaurants is observed in both social and solo dining contexts. Implications for branding, visual design, and menu psychology are discussed.
Lenalidome in combination with rituximab for relapsed or refractory mantel cell lymphoma: Updated analysis of a phase 2 trial.

8542 Background: We previously reported favorable safety and efficacy of lenalidomide plus rituximab in relapsed or refractory (R/R) mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) in a phase 1/2 trial (Wang et al, Lan...
Improving Children’s Vegetable Taste Preferences: The Impact of a School-based taste Testing Pilot Program for Elementary School Students

Background: Despite the high nutritional content of vegetables, children do not eat them at optimal levels. Research has recommended that interventions aimed at increasing vegetable preferences among children be developed and evaluated. Purpose: This study describes an evidence- and theory-informed school-based vegetable taste testing pilot program for fourth and fifth grade students and reports evaluative findings. Methods: Pre and post structured interviews with N=36 students were conducted at a public school in southern Indiana in 2013-2014. Paired samples t-tests were performed for most outcome analyses. Process evaluation was conducted using multiple methods including feedback from school personnel, observation, and student taste testing tracking. Results: The program improved children’s familiarity with, perceptions of, and peer norms for most vegetables. It also improved children’s taste preference for one of the four vegetables. The program was feasible to implement with high levels of student participation. Conclusion: Results justify further research on taste testing programs as a promising intervention to improve children’s vegetable taste preferences and other determinants of vegetable consumption. Recommendations are provided to improve the utility of these programs.