cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Asymmetric Propeller Revisited

In [l] Martin Gardner proved an asymmetric propeller theorem that was originally proposed by Leon Bankoff. He showed that by connecting one vertex from each of three congruent equilateral triangles inscribed in a circle to the center of the circle, one can form a fourth equilateral triangle. This fourth triangle is formed by connecting the remaining vertices with segments as seen in Figure 1. Then the midpoints of these segments are connected to form a triangle. This works regardless of the arrangement of the original triangles. We confirmed Gardner's findings and proceeded to consider his final question: when working with squares, does the same phenomenon occur? We show that the answer is no. Here we give counterex? amples. Using Geometer's Sketchpad, we attempted to show that the propeller theorem also worked for squares and possibly other polygons. In [1, Fig. 6] a midpoint of a side of each of three squares occurred at the vertices of an equilateral triangle. We had the squares meet at a single point by shrinking the equilateral triangle to a point. If the conjecture is false for this case, then it will not hold true if the point is expanded to a triangle. By experimenting with Geometer's Sketchpad we found that even when using squares inscribed in a circle the propeller theorem was not true, see Figure 2. The triangle shown in this figure was not equilateral nor did its angles remain constant when the squares were moved.
The Detection of Emotion in Vocal Qualities

ABSTRACT Previous studies of the vocal expression of emotion can be considered in two categories: (1) subjective reaction studies that deal with the ability of human judges to recognise accurately emotion from vocal qualities and (2) objective voice measurement studies that seek to establish the acoustic properties of vocal reflections of emotion. There have been a number of studies of the first kind, but very few of the second. The subjective reaction studies are faced with the problem of holding speech content constant to ensure that the accuracy in judgments is due to vocal reflections of emotion, and many techniques have been devised to do this. Both kinds of studies are plagued with the problem of obtaining replicated samples of speech with natural rather than portrayed emotion, and the even bigger problem of establishing presence of an emotion and the necessity of the particular label given to it. Preliminary results are given of some studies designed to compare the level of accuracy of identification of more natural emotion with the accuracy found in earlier studies using portrayed emotion. Projected studies are discussed which use speech synthesis methods to test precisely hypotheses concerning the emotional meaning of various acoustic dimensions of vocal para-language.
Rapid speaker adaptation using regression-tree based spectral peak alignment.

In this paper, regression-tree based spectral peak alignment is proposed for rapid speaker adaptation using the linearization of VTLN. Two different regression classes are investigated: phonetic classes (using combined knowledge and data-driven techniques) and mixture classes. Compared to MLLR and VTLN, improved performance can be obtained for both supervised and unsupervised adaptations on both medium vocabulary and connected digits recognition tasks. To further improve the performance, MLLR was integrated into this regression-tree based peak alignment. Experimental results show that the performance improvements can be achieved even with limited adaptation data.
Exercise bouts at three different intensities fail to potentiate concentric power

Postactivation potentiation (PAP) has been hypothesized previously to occur during voluntary, concentric actions. We tested the hypothesis that one of at least three different intensities of conditioning exercises would evoke potentiation of power during the concentric, bench press throw (BPT). Twelve men (age = 22.9 ± 2.7 years, bench press 1 repetition maximum (1RM) = 1.20 ± 0.12 kg·kg(-1) body weight) completed five isotonic conditioning presses at ~55, 70, and 86% 1RM, in counterbalanced order, and on separate days. Average and peak power of the BPT using a load of 55% 1RM along with surface electromyography (EMG) of the triceps brachii were collected prior to and 4-minutes following each conditioning bout. Both average and peak power and EMG values (mean ± SD), respectively, were evaluated using two-way analyses of variance with repeated measures. Significant main effect decreases (p < 0.05) in average (-18.6 ± 4.9 W) and peak power (-37.4 ± 9.9 W) occurred across the three different intensities evaluated. No main effects or interactions were observed with the EMG data. Contrary to the previously reported hypothesis, we were unable to demonstrate that conditioning exercise, with three different intensities, can evoke potentiation of power using a load equating to that which is optimum for power production.
A Start-Up’s Financing Choice, Market Capitalization, and Industrial Network: Evidence from the Biotechnology Industry

The co-existence of independent venture capital (IVC) and corporate venture capital (CVC) in the entrepreneurial finance market raises the question of whether the source of capital matters for a start-up. To address this question, I build on the resource dependence literature suggesting that start-ups and investors may face heterogeneously distributed mutual dependence in the dyadic relations, which determines the exchange of their resources and the consequent performances. Using a longitudinal dataset on the fundraising activities of 582 biotechnology start-ups, and consistent with predictions based on the resource dependence perspective, I find that a start-up tends to increase its market capitalization when it finances from IVC; and it tends to expand its industrial network when it finances from CVC. Furthermore, this value effect from IVC financing is more salient when a start-up has strong technological capabilities; and the network effect from CVC financing is greater when a start-up purses uncertain technology.
Building interventions when distress is under debate: a case study from Appalachia:

Scholarship on idioms of distress has emphasized cross-cultural variation, but devoted less attention to intra-cultural variation-specifically, how the legitimacy of distress may vary according to the context in which it is expressed, social position, and interaction with medical categories of distress. This variation can pose challenges for interventionists seeking to establish culturally acceptable ways of identifying distress and creating relevant resources for recovery. We describe efforts over three years (2014-2016) to identify and adapt a culturally appropriate evidence-based intervention for depressed rural Appalachian women. Though the prevalence of depression among rural women is high, limited services and social barriers restrict treatment access. Formative research revealed varied understandings of distress. Depression was (a) medicalized as a treatable condition, (b) stigmatized as mental illness, (c) accepted as a non-pathological reaction to regional poverty and gendered caregiving responsibilities, (d) rejected as a worthy justification for seeking individual care, and (e) less represented in comparison to other competing forms of distress (i.e., multiple morbidities, family members' distress). In a small pilot trial, we applied an implementation science perspective to identify and implement appropriate evidence-based programming for the context. We outline how we reached Appalachian women despite these diverse understandings of depression and established a flexible medicalization of depression that enabled us to legitimize care-seeking, work with varied rural healthcare professionals, and engender culturally relevant support. Our adaptation and implementation of the concept of "mental health recovery" enabled the development of programming that furthered non-pathological communicative distress while resisting the normalization that silences women in the context of deep health disparities.
Rationalizing predictably irrational choices: the social capital synthesis

This paper presents a synthesis of the main characteristics of neoclassical, behavioral, and socioeconomic models. The main characteristics of this synthesis is that it includes social capital-produced relational goods whose value and meaning depend on their connections to people. We contrast relational goods with commodities. Then, we examine whether the synthesis can resolve some of the sometimes conflicting explanations and predictions of economic exchange models. Finally, we apply the synthesis to rural development and find it provides useful explanations and recommendations.
Topic choice contributes to the lower rate of NIH awards to African-American/black scientists

Despite efforts to promote diversity in the biomedical workforce, there remains a lower rate of funding of National Institutes of Health R01 applications submitted by African-American/black (AA/B) scientists relative to white scientists. To identify underlying causes of this funding gap, we analyzed six stages of the application process from 2011 to 2015 and found that disparate outcomes arise at three of the six: decision to discuss, impact score assignment, and a previously unstudied stage, topic choice. Notably, AA/B applicants tend to propose research on topics with lower award rates. These topics include research at the community and population level, as opposed to more fundamental and mechanistic investigations; the latter tend to have higher award rates. Topic choice alone accounts for over 20% of the funding gap after controlling for multiple variables, including the applicant’s prior achievements. Our findings can be used to inform interventions designed to close the funding gap.
Microvessel occlusions alter amyloid-beta plaque morphology in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease:

Vascular dysfunction is correlated to the incidence and severity of Alzheimer's disease. In a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (APP/PS1) using in vivo, time-lapse, multiphoton microscopy, we found that occlusions of the microvasculature alter amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques. We used several models of vascular injury that varied in severity. Femtosecond laser-induced occlusions in single capillaries generated a transient increase in small, cell-sized, Aβ deposits visualized with methoxy-X04, a label of fibrillar Aβ. After occlusions of penetrating arterioles, some plaques changed morphology, while others disappeared, and some new plaques appeared within a week after the lesion. Antibody labeling of Aβ revealed a transient increase in non-fibrillar Aβ one day after the occlusion that coincided with the disappearance of methoxy-X04-labeled plaques. Four days after the lesion, anti-Aβ labeling decreased and only remained in patches unlabeled by methoxy-X04 near microglia. Histology in two additional models, sparse embolic occlusions from intracarotid injections of beads and infarction from photothrombosis, demonstrated increased labeling intensity in plaques after injury. These results suggest that microvascular lesions can alter the deposition and clearance of Aβ and confirm that Aβ plaques are dynamic structures, complicating the interpretation of plaque burden as a marker of Alzheimer's disease progression.
The association between midlife lipid levels and late-life brain amyloid deposition.

Abstract Elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and total cholesterol in midlife and decline in total cholesterol from mid- to late-life are associated with incident dementia. Whether brain amyloid deposition mediates this relationship is unclear. We explored the association between midlife blood lipid levels and mid- to late-life change in lipid levels with brain amyloid deposition assessed using florbetapir PET scans in a biracial sample of 325 nondemented participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities—PET Amyloid Imaging study. Midlife total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides were not significantly associated with late-life amyloid burden after adjusting for covariates. Associations between changes in lipids and late-life amyloid deposition were similarly null. Lipids may contribute to dementia risk through alternate mechanisms.
Interventions as experiments: Connecting the dots in forecasting and overcoming pandemics, global warming, corruption, civil rights violations, misogyny, income inequality, and guns

This essay applies the "ultimate broadening of the concept of marketing" for designing and implementing interventions in public laws and policy, national and local regulations, and everyday lives of individuals. The ultimate broadening of the concept of marketing: Marketing is any activity, message, emotion, or behavior by someone, firm, organization, government, community, or brand executed consciously or nonconsciously that may stimulate an observable or non-observable activity, emotion, attitude, belief, or thought by someone else, group, organization, firm or community. The broadening definition applies to the current interventions by national and state/provincial governments as well as healthcare facilities, medical science facilities, firms, and individuals to mitigate and eliminate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Framing interventions as experiments is helpful in improving the quality of their designs, implementing them successfully, and validly interpreting their effectiveness. In January and February 2020, a few nations were exemplars for accurately forecasting the coming disaster of COVID-19 as a cause of illness and death and in designing/implementing effective mitigating strategies: Denmark, Finland, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Norway, and Vietnam. While the COVID-19 prevention intervention tests now being run for several promising vaccines are true experiments, the researchers analyzing the data from these interventions may need prompting to examine the efficacy of each vaccine tested by modeling demographic subgroups for the members in the treatment and placebo groups in the randomized control trials.
Nothing More than Feelings? How Emotions Affect Attitude Change during the 2016 General Election Debates

We examine the role that emotion plays in understanding people’s reactions to the presidential candidates during two of the three general election debates between Republican Donald Trump and Democr...
Use of Weighted Performance Goals in Prospective Single-Arm Clinical Studies Designed to Assess the Safety and Effectiveness of Medical Devices

In addition to extensive preclinical testing, commercialization of medical devices in the United States under some circumstances may be supported with clinical data derived from single arm studies ...
Telemedicine Proof of Concept and Cost Savings During Underway Naval Operations.

Objectives: With military service members stationed around the world aboard ships and remote fixed facilities, subspecialty care frequently occurs outside of the TRICARE network, the health care program of the United States Department of Defense Military Health System, including foreign hospitals. Furthermore, usage aboard U.S. Navy ships has been limited in scope. This has direct costs associated with the medical care rendered and indirect costs such as difficulty navigating medical systems, access to records, and appropriate follow-up. Telemedicine has expanded access to otolaryngologic care where coverage has been deficient, with overall costs that are not well defined. This study aims to demonstrate the ability of consult management aboard a deployed U.S. Navy ship and to determine the direct costs associated with the use of an HIPAA-compliant, store-and-forward telemedicine system available to overseas medical providers to obtain specialty consultation at a tertiary care military treatment facility. Study Design: Retrospective case series. Methods: We reviewed consults submitted through the system from February 2018 to May 2018. Consult management was performed remotely by a deployed otolaryngologist in various locations underway and in port in the Pacific Rim. The direct cost associated with each consult was compared with the cost had the patient been treated in the host nation. Results: During the deployment, there were eight consults submitted and directed to a neurotologist/skull base surgeon for an opinion. The estimated cost for treating these patients overseas was $124,037, while the estimated cost of retaining the patients in the Military Health System was $27,330. Extrapolated to a 12-month period, the cost savings of this program could be over $400,000. Conclusions: Telemedicine consultation has the ability to be initiated and managed remotely-expanding access to subspecialty physicians by service members stationed around the world. Furthermore, it has the potential for substantial cost savings within the military health care system along with intangible benefits that sustain the military health care system downstream.
Correction: Association Between Usage of an App to Redeem Prescribed Food Benefits and Redemption Behaviors Among the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children Participants: Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is one of the most important food assistance programs in the United States, serving 6.4 million low-income, eligible women, infants, and children under 5 years of age in 2019. In the program, participants are prescribed a list of food benefits, which can be redeemed in WIC-authorized stores. However, there are multiple behavioral barriers in the program and the stores that prevent participants from redeeming the benefits fully. Objective: This study aims to examine the relationship between the use of a widely used mobile phone app, WICShopper, and the redemption of the prescribed food packages. Methods: WIC administrative data were obtained from West Virginia for the period January 2019 to January 2020 and included 30,440 WIC households that had received food benefits in that period. The redemption rates of 18 WIC food benefits were compared between app users and nonapp users, that is, those who never used the app in the study period. The use behaviors were defined for the app users, including the number of active use benefit cycles, active benefit cycle rates, number of active use days in the cycle, and proportion rates of daytime use. Panel linear regressions were applied to examine how the redemption rates were related to these behaviors over time. Results: App users consistently had higher average redemption rates than nonapp users; the difference ranged from 3.6% (4.8% relative) for infant formula to 14.3% (40.7% relative) for fish. After controlling for sociodemographics, the coefficients of app use were significantly positive for all benefit categories except for WIC-eligible nutritionals. More active cycles and active days in the cycle were significantly related to redemption rates for all categories, except for frozen juice (coefficient=−0.002, P=.09). Daytime app access was positively associated with redemption rates for most food benefits except only a few, such as infant formula (coefficient=−0.03, P<.001). Conclusions: Use of the WIC app was significantly related to higher redemption rates across food benefits, although the association varied across benefit categories. More active days were positively related to benefit redemptions across food categories, and the app’s daytime use was positively associated with the redemption of most benefit categories. These findings suggest that the WIC app can be an important tool for the promotion of benefit redemption among WIC participants.
Economic Inequality Shapes the Relationship Between Globalization and Prejudice

As globalization increases worldwide, it redefines our conceptions of other cultures, the media we consume, and our day-to-day interactions. Despite this increased interconnectivity, we lack a fund...
Distal Access Catheters for Coaxial Radial Access for Posterior Circulation Interventions.

Background The neurointerventional field is moving towards transradial access (TRA). Among the favorable indications for TRA is for posterior circulation/vertebrobasilar interventions. For some neurointerventions, a triaxial system (guide catheter, distal access catheter [DAC], and microcatheter) is typically used for optimal support. We describe application of a new technique in which we forgo use of the guide catheter, using the DAC only for coaxial access via the radial approach and its potential advantages. Methods A retrospective review was performed of our institutional database for cases using our coaxial distal access catheter technique for posterior circulation interventions. Patient characteristics and radiographic and clinical information were reviewed. All reviews were approved by institutional review board and ethics committee, and all patient identifiers were removed. Results A total of 12 patients were found that met our criteria. Successful access and procedural completion was achieved in 11 of 12 (92%). Mechanical thrombectomy accounted for 7 cases; 2 of these patients were also stented via the same approach/technique. Other cases included 2 successful aneurysm treatments (1 flow diverter, 1 coil embolization), a balloon test occlusion for a cervical chordoma, and an arteriovenous malformation embolization. Conclusions TRA with a distal access catheter provides support equivalent to a triaxial system with a coaxial construct in the posterior circulation. This has the advantage of using a smaller system in the radial and vertebrobasilar artery without losing stability. This technique can be used effectively and safely for a variety of posterior circulation neuroendovascular interventions.
Survey of bathyal incirrate octopods in the western North Atlantic

Cephalopods are important members of deep-sea communities. However, the preference of many incirrate octopods for rocky substrate makes them largely unavailable with traditional sampling methods such as trawls. Therefore, much remains to be discovered about their diversity. This study focuses on the diversity and distribution of bathyal incirrate species in the western North Atlantic. We used observations from remotely operated vehicle (ROVs) videos, augmented by museum specimens and records from the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), to compile a summary of the diversity of bathyal incirrates in the study area and their general distribution. In 22,861 approximately 5-min ROV video clips, we counted 2017 unique incirrate octopod individuals representing at least seven different species. Across observation types, the most common species we recorded were Bathypolypus bairdii Verrill, 1873, Graneledone verrucosa Verrill 1881, Muusoctopus spp., Scaeurgus unicirrhus Delle Chiaje in Ferussac & Orbigny, 1841, Pteroctopus tetracirrhus Delle Chiaje, 1830, and Tetracheledone spinicirrus Voss, 1955.
TFH Cells Induced by Vaccination and Following SIV Challenge Support Env-Specific Humoral Immunity in the Rectal-Genital Tract and Circulation of Female Rhesus Macaques.

T follicular helper (TFH) cells are pivotal in lymph node (LN) germinal center (GC) B cell affinity maturation. Circulating CXCR5+ CD4+ T (cTFH) cells have supported memory B cell activation and broadly neutralizing antibodies in HIV controllers. We investigated the contribution of LN SIV-specific TFH and cTFH cells to Env-specific humoral immunity in female rhesus macaques following a mucosal Ad5hr-SIV recombinant priming and SIV gp120 intramuscular boosting vaccine regimen and following SIV vaginal challenge. TFH and B cells were characterized by flow cytometry. B cell help was evaluated in TFH-B cell co-cultures and by real-time PCR. Vaccination induced Env-specific TFH and Env-specific memory (ESM) B cells in LNs. LN Env-specific TFH cells post-priming and GC ESM B cells post-boosting correlated with rectal Env-specific IgA titers, and GC B cells at the same timepoints correlated with vaginal Env-specific IgG titers. Vaccination expanded cTFH cell responses, including CD25+ Env-specific cTFH cells that correlated negatively with vaginal Env-specific IgG titers but positively with rectal Env-specific IgA titers. Although cTFH cells post-2nd boost positively correlated with viral-loads following SIV challenge, cTFH cells of SIV-infected and protected macaques supported maturation of circulating B cells into plasma cells and IgA release in co-culture. Additionally, cTFH cells of naive macaques promoted upregulation of genes associated with B cell proliferation, BCR engagement, plasma cell maturation, and antibody production, highlighting the role of cTFH cells in blood B cell maturation. Vaccine-induced LN TFH and GC B cells supported anti-viral mucosal immunity while cTFH cells provided B cell help in the periphery during immunization and after SIV challenge. Induction of TFH responses in blood and secondary lymphoid organs is likely desirable for protective efficacy of HIV vaccines.
A forecast of using fast radio burst observations to constrain holographic dark energy

Recently, about five hundred fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected by CHIME/FRB Project have been reported. The vast amounts of data would make FRBs a promising low-redshift cosmological probe in the forthcoming years, and thus the issue of how many FRBs are needed for precise cosmological parameter estimation in different dark energy models should be detailedly investigated. Different from the usually considered $w(z)$-parameterized models in the literature, in this work we investigate the holographic dark energy (HDE) model and the Ricci dark energy (RDE) model, which originate from the holographic principle of quantum gravity, using the simulated localized FRB data as a cosmological probe for the first time. We show that the Hubble constant $H_0$ can be constrained to about 2% precision in the HDE model with the Macquart relation of FRB by using 10000 accurately-localized FRBs combined with the current CMB data, which is similar to the precision of the SH0ES value. Using 10000 localized FRBs combined with the CMB data can achieve about 6% constraint on the dark-energy parameter $c$ in the HDE model, which is tighter than the current BAO data combined with CMB. We also study the combination of the FRB data and another low-redshift cosmological probe, i.e. gravitational wave (GW) standard siren data, with the purpose of measuring cosmological parameters independent of CMB. Although the parameter degeneracies inherent in FRB and in GW are rather different, we find that more than 10000 FRBs are demanded to effectively improve the constraints in the holographic dark energy models.
The Bell inequality is satisfied by cross-correlations of raw laboratory data sets as well as their quantum mechanically computed averages

The Bell inequality derivation lies at the foundation of the Bell theorem. However, the original notation is problematic for experimental implementation. Outcomes at unlimited numbers of settings on either side of a Bell experiment are defined although only one measurement per side may be preformed. Only two measurements can be carried out on a pair of photons produced by a down converter since observations destroy the photons. An alternate derivation of the inequality for finite laboratory data shows it is identically satisfied by any three data sets independently of the way they were obtained or whether they are random. The results of two experiments may be combined to yield three data sets corresponding to the three variables used to derive the inequality. Cross correlations of three Bell variables are then quantum mechanically computable and have functional forms that satisfy the inequality. The Bell cosine correlation is shown to be computable from two independent random variables and two independent random processes having different characteristics. This indicates that the Bell correlation is not a unique result of entanglement.
Remark on Shult's Graph Extension Theorem

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses Shult's graph extension theorem. Shult's graph extension theorem fits naturally in to the context of regular 2-graphs introduced by G. Higman and studied extensively by D. Taylor. 2-graphs correspond to certain 2-dimensional cocycles, and Shult's theorem has an extension to cocycles of arbitrary dimension ≥ 2.
From incoherent to coherent X-rays with ICS sources

We present the design and performance parameters for a compact x-ray light source (CXLS), which is presently under construction, based on inverse Compton scattering (ICS) of a high brightness electron bunch on a picosecond laser pulse. The flux and brilliance of this source are orders of magnitude beyond existing laboratory scale sources. The accelerator operates at a repetition rate of 1 kHz with 100 bunches of 100 pC charge, each separated by 5 ns, in each shot. The entire CXLS is a few meters in length and produces hard x-rays tunable over a wide range of photon energies. The scattering laser is a Yb:YAG solid-state amplifier producing 100 mJ pulses at 1030 nm. The laser pulse is frequency-doubled and coupled into a ringdown cavity to match the linac pulse structure. At a photon energy of 12.4 keV, the predicted x-ray flux is 5×1011 photons/second in a 5% bandwidth and the brilliance is 2×1012 photons/(secmm2mrad20.1%) with a RMS pulse length of 490 fs. Novel concepts for improving the performance of the CXLS with the generation of relativistic electron beams having current modulation at nanometer scale and below are also discussed. This tunable longitudinal modulation enables the production of coherent hard x-rays with ICS.
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Application to Analyze Transportation Effects on Mineral Activities in a Developing Country

Many aspects of transportation analysis for mineral development are amenable to Geographical Information Systems-based processing and the range of potential applications is enormous. However, GIS is used relatively infrequently in the transport management in developing countries, especially where mineral exploitation is concerned. In mineral-resource management, planners need to know the condition and type, as well as the availability, of any road/rail network in the area where the deposit is found. The main objectives of transport analysis in this paper is to ensure, among other things, that the products from the mine and the supplies to the mine are delivered uninterrupted. Also needed is knowledge on whether the existing road/rail network will last for the life of the proposed mine, or whether a new road or rail link needs to be constructed. If the latter is necessary, site characterization data will be needed to estimate the effects of the construction on the environment and culture. Easy labor mobility between the mine and the other parts of the country also has to be studied. In this paper, a case study involving GIS analysis of the transportation network on the decision to exploit an iron-ore deposit in Ghana is presented.
Interhemispheric interaction and egocentrism: The role of handedness in social comparative judgement

Previous research has shown that people are egocentrically biased when making judgements that require a self-to-peer comparison – leading to above-/below-average effects and comparative optimism/pessimism. Two experiments examined whether interhemispheric brain connectivity (assessed via strength of handedness) is associated with egocentrism in the comparative judgement process. In Experiment 1, strong handers (SH) and mixed handers (MH) made percentile rank judgements about their abilities in easy and hard domains. In Experiment 2, SH and MH judged their likelihoods of outperforming a co-participant in easy and hard tasks. Both experiments showed that SH were more egocentric than MH and thus showed (a) more above- and below-average effects when estimating their abilities (Experiment 1) and (b) generally larger optimism biases when predicting performances in a competition (Experiment 2). Taken together, these experiments provide evidence that underlying interhemispheric connectivity shapes egocentrism in comparative judgement.
Space Debris Risk

Space debris has been defined as manmade objects or parts thereof in space that do not serve any useful purpose. There is now a very substantial amount of such ‘space junk’ circling the earth and posing a risk to active and inactive satellites, space stations and spacecraft. This debris presents a problem, with substantial environmental and legal implications. It is yet another pollution problem. This debris has resulted from the more than 3000 space flights that have taken place since 1957. The general concern is risk assessment, that is: estimating the probability of some future event of adverse consequence. In the present circumstance space debris risk assessment might be defined as: The estimation of the probability that certain performance variates of a space object of interest exceed relevant critical levels, within a specified time period, as a result of collisions with space debris.
A Fatal Flaw: The Ninth Circuit Further Restricts Liability in 10b-5 Private Security Fraud Cases in Reese v. BP

On June 28, 2011, in Reese v. BP Explorations (Alaska) Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that plaintiffs could not bring certain securities fraud claims relating to a burst in an Alaskan oil pipeline, because the plaintiffs failed to show that the defendant had the “ultimate authority” for the allegedly fraudulent SEC filings. In so doing, the court continued a recent trend in securities fraud cases of making it more difficult for plaintiffs to bring claims. This Comment argues that although the Ninth Circuit’s ruling was consistent with Supreme Court precedent, it may allow otherwise liable parties to escape liability, and the decision expands the growing trend of reducing the scope of private actions under SEC Rule 10b-5.
Natural Language Understanding

Artificial intelligence (AI) covers a vast variety of subfields, each of which has become or is becoming a quasi-independent field of study and research: pattern recognition, expert systems, knowledge representation and engineering, robotics, natural language processing and understanding, automated reasoning, speech perception, problem solving and proof systems. From a more global perspective, however, AI is a discipline that identifies the common components and problems, interrelationship, and interdependence of these subfields. An analogy can be drawn with psychology and its many subdisciplines: developmental, cognitive, educational, clinical, and so forth.
Monetary Policy as a Process of Search

Monetary policymakers are uncertain about the state of the economy and learn from the economy's reaction to policy. Private agents, however, anticipate any systematic attempt to incorporate this information into future policy. The authors analyze this feedback in the context of a monetary authority's attempt to stimulate an economy in recession. They show that modest stimuli may prove ineffectual. If small reductions in interest rates are unlikely to promote a response, then they may be followed by further cuts. A vicious circle develops in which the expectation that the policy could fail leads investors to delay investment, thereby promoting failure. Copyright 1996 by American Economic Association.
Correlation Bounds for Poly-size \mbox{\rm AC}^0 Circuits with n1 − o(1) Symmetric Gates

Average-case circuit lower bounds are one of the hardest problems tackled by computational complexity, and are essentially only known for bounded-depth circits with AND,OR,NOT gates (i.e. \(\mbox{\rm AC}^0\)). Faced with this adversity, one line of research has been to gradually augment \(\mbox{\rm AC}^0\) circuits with a small number of more general gates. Most results to date give lower bounds for quasi-polynomial size \(\mbox{\rm AC}^0\) circuits augmented by a poly-logarithmic number of gates, and the correlation bounds obtained are inverse quasi-polynomial.
The antioxidant effects of thymoquinone in lipopolysaccharide-activated BV2 murine microglia cells (89.5)

Activation of microglia, resident immune cells in the central nervous system (CNS), is implicated in the pathogenesis and progression of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. They may cause a vicious self-perpetuating neuronal degeneration cycle via excessive release of superoxide radicals in the system. We explored the effects of thymoquinone (TQ), the main active constituent of Nigella sativa seed oil, as an antioxidant agent in microglial activation. We hypothesized that the antioxidant properties of TQ are mediated in part by reducing proteins involved in oxidative stress induced by microglia activation. In this study, BV2 cells were stimulated with LPS in the presence or absence of TQ. To profile the effect of TQ on global protein expression of BV2 microglial cells, two-dimensional (2D)-gel electrophoresis with MALDI-TOF/TOF (matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization - time of flight) analysis was employed. Additionally, the effect of TQ on microglia activation wa...
The education Pacific Islands children deserve: The Learn and Play Project in the Solomon Islands

The Learn and Play Project was initiated by Solomon Islands Football Federation and aimed at educating and providing football skills training for primary school dropouts. The aim of this paper is to report the implementation of the programme in a case study school. Because the project is still being implemented, this paper is not intended to provide a rigorous evaluation of the project’s activities. Rather, this case study research investigates the students’ perception of the project. The key findings of the study include improvements in students’ confidence, self-esteem and academic performance. The project also has motivated the students to face the future with hope and determination and they have set future plans which are aligned to the vision of the project. The article concludes with a discussion of implications for policy, practice and further research.
Optimal Placement of Phasor Measurement Units via Convex Relaxation

Instrumenting power networks with phasor measurement units (PMUs) facilitates several tasks including optimum power flow, system control, contingency analysis, visualization, and integration of renewable resources, thus enabling situational awareness-one of the key steps toward realizing the smart grid vision. The installation cost of PMUs currently prohibits their deployment on every bus, which in turn motivates their strategic placement across the power grid. As state estimation is at the core of grid monitoring, PMU deployment is optimized here based on estimation-theoretic criteria. Considering both voltage and incident current readings per PMU-instrumented bus and incorporating conventionally derived state estimates under the Bayesian framework, PMU placement is formulated as an optimal experimental design task. To bypass the combinatorial search involved, a convex relaxation is developed to obtain solutions with numerical optimality guarantees. In the tests performed on standard IEEE 14-, 30-, and 118-bus benchmarks, the proposed relaxation approaches and oftentimes attains the optimum PMU placement.
Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest: Safety and Efficacy in the Operative Treatment of Descending and Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Background The safety and efficacy of hypothermic circulatory arrest in the operative treatment of descending thoracic aortic aneurysms and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms are not clearly established. We evaluated our experience with repair of descending thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms using hypothermic circulatory arrest. Methods In all, 111 patients with descending thoracic aortic aneurysms (83) or thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms (28) underwent graft replacement of the involved aortic segments using hypothermic circulatory arrest. The technique was used when the location, extent, and severity of disease precluded placement of a proximal aortic clamp. Mean patient age was 61.4 ± 13.1 years and 81 (73%) were male. Nine patients (8%) presented with acute dissection; 74 (67%) had chronic dissection; 56 patients (51%) required emergency operations, including 16 (14%) with ruptured aneurysms. Mean circulatory arrest time was 39.7 ± 16.2 minutes. Results There were no intraoperative deaths. There were 31 operative deaths (28%), including 23 patients (21%) who died within 30 days. Operative mortality was 29% (30 of 102) for patients undergoing emergent or urgent operations and 1% (1 of 9) for all elective cases ( p = 0.4). Postoperative paraplegia developed in 1 patient (1%) and 17 patients (15%) had postoperative renal failure. Cardiac complications occurred in 26 patients (23%), reoperation for bleeding in 6 (5%), tracheostomy was required in 24 (22%), and 10 (9%) sustained postoperative stroke. Conclusions When cross clamping the aorta is not feasible, hypothermic circulatory arrest can be performed but with an increased morbidity and mortality rate.
Quantum private data sampling

We present a novel quantum communication protocol for "Private Data Sampling", where a player (Bob) obtains a random sample of limited size of a classical database, while the database owner (Alice) remains oblivious as to which bits were accessed. The protocol is efficient in the sense that the communication complexity per query scales at most linearly with the size of the database. It does not violate Lo's "no-go" theorem for one-sided twoparty secure computation, since a given joint input by Alice and Bob can result in randomly different protocol outcomes. After outlining the main security features of the protocol, we present our first experimental results.
Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Gadolinium‐DTPA Perfusion Imaging of Asymptomatic MRI White Matter Lesions

In the elderly, asymptomatic white matter hyperintensities are common on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In symptomatic patients, such MRI appearances correlate with varied postmortem findings including demyelination or stroke. What structural correlates underlie the T2 hyperintensities in patients whose lesions are asymptomatic is controversial. Therefore, in order to investigate the underlying metabolism and perfusion in white matter lesions (exhibiting T2 hyperintensity), 13 patients underwent proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy and dynamic gadolinium-DTPA perfusion-weighted MR imaging. N-acetyl aspartate (NA) levels were reduced in the lesions compared with age-matched controls (P = 0.031), implying neuronal/axonal loss. Creatine levels were also reduced (P = 0.001). Choline levels were unchanged in the lesions. Lactate was identified in the lesions of 5 of the 13 patients. Although not statistically significant, perfusion studies exhibited a trend toward lower cerebral blood volumes in patients with high grade extracranial carotid stenosis and lactate-containing lesions. These findings suggest that neuronal/axonal loss underlies the majority of T2-weighted asymptomatic lesions in the older population, and in many cases these changes may be due to chronic ischemia.
A Cluster Analysis of School Social Work Practice Tasks, Perceived Effectiveness and Request for Mental Health Services

School social workers face requests for a myriad of mental health services. Because practice tasks are usually completed according to the services requested, different types of request may affect school social workers' perceived competency in completing mental health tasks. The objective of this study is to classify practice tasks in terms of request for services and perceived effectiveness in task completion. The study further examines how these groupings of service requests, as well as years practiced in a service area, influence groupings of perception of practice task effectiveness. Using data from a sample of Midwestern school social workers, a hierarchical cluster analysis was used in requests and perceived task effectiveness classifications. Three regression models, one for each perceived effectiveness cluster, were conducted using the request for services and years practiced clusters. The findings indicate that request types had a varying effect on the perceived efficacy of different tasks. Discus...
Positive behavioral contrast, autoshaping, and omission responding in the goldfish (Carassius auratus)

Two experiments with goldfish were performed to investigate the role of stimulus-reinforcer vs. response-reinforcer relationships in omission training and the role of stimulus localizability in a positive behavioral contrast paradigm. The directed behavior of fish, like that of pigeons and rats in other studies, was greatly influenced by positive stimulus-reinforcer correlations, as evidenced by maintained contacts of a signal for food, even though such responses terminated the signal and cancelled reinforcement delivery. Goldfish exhibited positive behavioral contrast when the signals for reinforcement and nonreinforcement were displayed directly on the response key, but no contrast was observed when variations in a diffuse houselight stimulus were used as signals for reinforcement or nonreinforcement. Analysis of sequential-trial data yielded effects analogous to Pavlovian positive and negative induction. Theoretical and methodological problems were briefly considered.
Information architecuture as reflected in classrooms

Information architecture (IA) has been a hot topic in recent years. However, what constitutes IA is still being debated. While this study seeks to explore IA curricula and the perspective of educators, it does not attempt to define IA. Research undertaken for this paper centered on the examination of IA courses offered in North American universities. An analysis of 40 IA course descriptions available on the Web revealed that courses go by many different names. IA content/course coverage can be categorized into four types: IA elements, design, implementation technologies, and digital media design. Academic disciplines relating to IA education include library and information science, information technology, business administration, literature, arts, and design as well as continuing education programs. Issues revealed by the collected data are discussed.
Evidence for aerobic insufficiency in women with systemic Lupus erythematosus.

Objective To determine if fatigue is associated with diminished aerobic capacity in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Eighteen women (age 35 ± 9 years) with mild SLE (Systemic Lupus Activity Measure = 3.1 ± 2.1) and 16 healthy but sedentary controls (age 38 ± 8 years) completed peak treadmill exercise tests to determine aerobic capacity and Fatigue Severity Scales to quantify the severity of fatigue. Measures of oxygen consumption (VO2) were recorded during the treadmill tests. Results Peak VO2 was lower in patients with SLE (19.2 ± 4.4 ml/kg/minute) as compared with controls (27.4 ± 4.7 ml/kg/minute) and expected values (30.7 ± 3.1 ml/kg/minute; P < 0.0006 versus controls and P < 0.0001 versus expected). Functional aerobic impairment was observed in 14 of the 18 patients with SLE. In patients with SLE, ventilatory threshold, a marker for the onset of lactic acidemia, was observed at the lowest energy requirement for instrumental activities of daily living. Peak VO2 in the patients with SLE was similar to the highest energy requirements for instrumental activities of daily living, leaving little or no reserve for more intense occupational and recreational activities. Peak VO2 was significantly higher (P < 0.0001) than the activity of daily living requirements in controls, providing a substantial energy reserve. Fatigue severity score (FSS) was 5.0 ± 1.4 in patients with SLE, with 14 of the 18 patients having scores above 4.0, a score indicating that fatigue severity limited physical activity. Of the 14, 12 had functional aerobic impairment. An FSS of greater than 4.0 was not observed in controls (mean = 2.5 ± 0.7). Conclusion In women with SLE, aerobic capacity was diminished to levels that were insufficient for engaging in activities of daily living and below those expected to result from physiologic deconditioning. This functional aerobic impairment was strongly correlated with the perception of severe, activity-limiting fatigue.