cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Population Growth, Economic Growth and the Environment in the United States

The most recent spate of intellectual and scholarly interest in the resource and environmental consequences of population and economic growth arises from two main sources. The first has to do with predictions of growing scarcity of natural resources and environmental carrying capacity. The most extreme version is to be found in the doomsday literature of the last two or three years which in one way or another argues that population and economic growth are pressing against the finite limits of the earth and soon must stop if catastrophe in the form of dramatically increased death-rates throughout the world is to be avoided. In less extreme form this theme can be found in worries over the increasing dependence of major consumers of natural resources on foreign sources of supply and over the growing economic costs of correcting local environmental problems. The second source of recent interest is with the effects, particularly the economic and social effects, of the declining rates of growth of population currently being experienced in most developed countries, a concern that is characterised by the question ‘will ZPG lead to ZEG’, that is, ‘will zero population growth eventually result in a stagnant economy and society?’
Identifying Hispanic mothers' salient beliefs about human papillomavirus vaccine initiation in their adolescent daughters.

Guided by the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction, we identify mothers’ salient beliefs regarding their daughters’ initiation of the human papillomavirus vaccine series. In all, 34 Hispanic ...
Implications of a Self-Regulation Model of Therapy for Treatment of Addictive Behaviors

Social systems have developed out of the need for the regulation of individual behaviors in order to facilitate communal living. A major goal of the control developed by social systems is the subordination of individual needs to the larger goals of the survival of the group. What is beneficial for an individual is often a satisfaction attained at the expense of pain or harm to others or to oneself at a future time. It is for such reasons that a Skinnerian analysis has viewed society as a giant mechanism for the enforcement of self-regulation. Social and cultural evolution has developed elaborate agencies of religion, education, government, family, and law. But they leave many loopholes in the control of individuals.
Discovering and Utilizing Structure Sensitivity: From Chemical Catalysis in the Gas Phase to Electrocatalysis in the Liquid Phase

Abstract Search for catalysts with high activity, high selectivity, high durability, and low cost for important chemical reactions remains a grand challenge. On the one hand, knowledge of catalytic property dependence on catalyst material structures needs to be expanded to guide rational design of better catalysts. On the other hand, material synthesis also needs to be advanced to produce designed or new catalyst materials and structures for assessment. This chapter provides an updated review on newly developed catalyst materials and structure-function relation studies for both chemical catalysis in the gas phase and electrocatalysis in the liquid phase. The content begins with a description of surface science research developing across the pressure and material gaps. Investigation of single crystals in ultrahigh vacuum has brought crucial understanding of surface chemistry and catalysis. Yet, nanoparticle catalysts working under ambient or high pressure are more relevant to the real reaction conditions and have been receiving more and more research attention. It is then followed by a discussion of chemical catalysis influenced by size, shape, and composition of metal nanoparticles. Moving from gas-phase to liquid-phase reactions, research on comparing catalysis at solid/liquid versus solid/gas interface is reviewed. Our topic further extends to the regime of electrocatalysis. Taking oxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution reactions as examples, design principles for high-performance electrocatalyst material structures are introduced. Perspectives on further advancing fundamental knowledge and improving catalysis of challenging chemical reactions will be given, with emphases on rational structure design, controlled material synthesis, and characterizations under reaction conditions.
ENVIRONMENTAL ETHICS AMONG HIGHER SECONDARY STUDENTS

The human beings of the rapid changing world need to develop a sense of ethics to conserve the environment as the world suffers from serious environmental threats. A study was conducted on 300 higher secondary students to find their environmental ethics. The result of the study revealed the average level of environmental ethics among the higher secondary students. Further, significant difference was found among them with regard to Subject of Study, Management of School, and Type of Family, but no significant difference was found with respect to Gender. The study suggest for initiation of curricular and co-curricular activities at the school level to create environmental awareness and environmental sensitivity among students for sustainable life in future.
31 – Stressed-Out Insects: Hormonal Actions and Behavioral Modifications

From an anthropocentric viewpoint, it may seem incredible, but insects, like every other organism on this planet, are subject to stress. Specific knowledge of how insects cope with stress has practical applications for human health and agriculture, and may provide insight into the evolution of stress responses. In this chapter, we review the current body of knowledge of the biological responses to a variety of stressors in a diversity of insects, although we primarily focus on model insects with well-developed genetic, molecular, physiological, and behavioral tools. We first discuss the behavioral and physiological changes that accompany ecologically relevant stresses followed by a discussion of hormones that coordinate these changes. We then discuss the range of basic molecular mechanisms underlying hormonal modulation of behavior and attempt to place these events into the greater context of adaptive significance.
The vibration analysis for transformer winding based on multi-field coupling

Mathematical models for DC bias vibration analysis of the transformer winding are developed. The model is combined into multi-physical field coupling modeling for vibration analysis of the transformer. By applying the primary voltage as excitation and under different DC bias, vibration of the transformer winding is simulated and analyzed. The simulation results verify the method which is proposed transformer magnetic vibration field coupling analysis with dc bias is effective.
‘Fancy Calculating Machine’: Computers and planning in independent India

In the middle of the twentieth century, statistician P. C. Mahalanobis strove to haul India into the computer age. Convinced that these machines were integral to the future of economic planning in India, he and the Indian Statistical Institute mounted a campaign to bring India its first computers. In the years following independence, Mahalanobis and the Indian Statistical Institute acquired significant influence in the Indian planning process—culminating in them effectively authoring India's Second Five-Year Plan (1956–61). The tale of the computer's journey to India demonstrates that the decision to centrally plan independent India's economy, and the resultant explosion of official statistics, provided the justification for the pursuit of computers. They potentially solved what was considered centralized planning's greatest puzzle: big data. Mahalanobis persuaded the Indian government of the need to import computers for the purposes of development, and then negotiated the import of these exorbitantly expensive machines during visits to Europe, the United States of America and the Soviet Union. Needless to say, the question of which country would provide India its first computers would ruffle Cold War feathers. This article brings together and identifies a link between the research activities of the Indian Statistical Institute, its deepening association with economic planning and the installation of India's earliest computers.
A 25-year retrospective analysis of the American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status classification: did we “up-code” young obese patients when obesity was not yet considered a disease?

The influence of obesity on anesthetic risk remains controversial, and obesity has only recently been specifically identified as a criterion by which a patient can be given a higher American Society of Anesthesiologists-physical status (ASA-PS) score. Nevertheless, we hypothesized that clinicians had assigned obese patients a greater ASA-PS score before obesity became an “official” criterion in 2015. Basic demographic and physical details were collected on patients receiving anesthetics in the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System between 1986 and 2010. The risk ratio (RR) of “up-coding” ASA-PS classification assignments was calculated for patients of varying body mass index (BMI). We specifically focused on the subset of patients aged 20-29 yr in whom the medical sequelae of obesity would not yet likely be manifest. Among a total of 194,698 patients, the percentage who were obese increased from 20% to 39% between 1986 and 2010. Obese patients of all ages were more likely than non-obese patients to be classified as ASA-PS II-IV rather than ASA-PS I. The RR and ratio of RR analyses indicated a consistent pattern of up-coding patients with greater BMI (contingency table Chi-square: P < 0.001). Most notably, relative to patients with a normal BMI, young obese patients aged 20-29 yr had an increased likelihood of up-coding in ASA-PS compared with obese patients in the older cohorts. These findings suggest a consistent and temporally stable practice of up-coding obese patients despite this lack of explicit guidance. The ASA House of Delegates’ recent decision to specifically mention obesity reinforces long-existing practices regarding ASA-PS coding and will likely not degrade the validity of data sets collected before the change.
Scene Size Limits for Bistatic Polar Format Algorithm

In this paper, the distortion and defocus effects due to residual phase errors that are inherent in bistatic polar format algorithm are analyzed using time-domain Taylor series decomposition. A two-dimensional interpolation-based distortion correction method is developed, and accurate scene sizes limits are derived to mitigate the effects of defocus. The phase analysis is conducted with respect to arbitrary geometries, and examples are demonstrated for ideal linear and circular flight trajectories using a point target simulation.
Female-male differences in alcohol dependence levels: Evidence on newly incident adolescent and young-adult drinkers in the United States, 2002-2014.

OBJECTIVE In this study of newly incident drinkers (NIDs), we (a) investigate and calibrate measurement equivalence of 7 clinical features of an alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) across sex and age-of-onset subgroups and (b) estimate female-male differences in ADS levels soon after taking the first full drink, with focus on those with first full drink before the 24th birthday. METHODS The study population is 12- to 23-year-old NIDs living in the United States (n = 33,561). Calibrated for measurement equivalence, male-female differences in levels of newly incident ADS are estimated for 6 age-of-onset subgroups. RESULTS Measurement equivalence is achieved by dropping the "difficulty cutting down" item. Then, among early-adolescent-onset NID, females have higher ADS levels (for 12- to 13-year-old NID: β = .25; 95% CI [0.05, 0.45]). In contrast, when drinking onset is delayed to adulthood, males have higher ADS levels (e.g., for 18- to 19-year-old NID: β = -.27; 95% CI [-0.52, -0.02]; for 20- to 21-year-old NID: β = -.38; 95% CI [-0.65, -0.12]). CONCLUSIONS In the United States, there is female excess in ADS levels measured soon after drinking onset in early adolescence. The traditional male excess is seen when drinking onset occurs after mid-adolescence. Evidence from other countries will be useful.
Surface Roughness and Ultrasonic Materials Characterization

Ultrasonic materials characterization relies primarily on measurements of three quantities: (1) backscattered power from the microstructure, (2) frequency-dependent attenuation of the transmitted coherent wave, and (3) shifts in the sound velocity. Surface roughness tends to randomize the phase of the reflected and transmitted waves, which can significantly distort the ultrasonic measurements. For example, uncorrected surface roughness effects can cause substantial underestimation of the porosity in cast aluminum samples.1 There are three basic effects of surface roughness which should be accounted for in evaluating the data measured by an unfocused transducer. First of all, the coherent reflection and transmission through the interface are attenuated by scattering at the rough surface. Second, the incoherent background scattering from inherent material inhomogeneities in the sample is relatively weakly affected by surface roughness. It does not decrease in proportion to the coherent signals and sometimes even increases slightly. Third, incoherent backscattering at the rough interface produces a slowly decaying tail in the reflection from the front surface, which adds to the incoherent background scattering, especially at small depths below the surface. It has been shown that, for the purposes of NDE, all three effects can be accurately described by the so-called phase-modulation technique. In this simple approximation, explicit analytical results can be derived for (i) the surface roughness induced attenuation of the coherent signals, (ii) the incoherent material noise, and (iii) the level of the additional incoherent surface noise. In this paper, we shall review the above mentioned three main effects of random surface roughness on ultrasonic materials characterization and present simple theoretical predictions and experimental data in order to quantify the resulting changes in the measured parameters.
Role of Epigenetics in Age-Related Long-Term Memory Loss

The epigenetic mechanisms of DNA methylation and histone modifications have been shown to play a vital role in long-term memory formation by regulating the expression of genes involved in memory processes. In fear conditioned mice, CpG islands in the promoter regions of the memory-linked genes, reelin and Protein Phosphatase 1 (PP1), undergo either hypomethylation (reelin) or hypermethylation (PP1). By altering the expression of these genes, epigenetic mechanisms can affect the ability to form long-term memories. The pivotal role of histone modifications in long-term potentiation is made evident by such genetic disorders as Rubenstein-Taybi syndrome (RTS), a disease characterized in part by cognitive dysfunction. The histone acetyl transferase domain of CREB-binding protein is catalytically inert in RTS patients and is believed to be the cause of a limited ability for memory formation. The role of epigenetics in age-related memory loss is best seen by studying the classic age-related disease, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which is characterized by severe memory loss. Biological aging correlates with a loss of expression and activity of certain epigenetic modulating enzymes, such as DNA methyltransferase1. The loss of maintenance of the epigenome is believed to be key to understanding the role of epigenetics in age-related cognitive diseases, such as AD.
Emotional Labor Training Typology for Basic Peace Officer Training Curricula

Emotional and physical wellness are affected when individuals serve in public sector work that requires emotional labor. The costs of engaging in emotional labor contribute to a variety of negative...
A Low-Intensity, Hybrid Design between a "Traditional" and a "Course-Based" Research Experience Yields Positive Outcomes for Science Undergraduate Freshmen and Shows Potential for Large-Scale Application.

This study reports the design, implementation, and evaluation of a novel, effective, and efficient research experience for a large cohort of predominantly biology and chemistry freshmen. Institutio...
Environmental exposures during pregnancy: Mechanistic effects on immunity

In human studies, it is well established that exposures during embryonic and fetal development periods can influence immune health. Coupled with genetic predisposition, these exposures can alter lifetime chronic and infectious disease trajectory, and, ultimately, life expectancy. Fortunately, as research advances, mechanisms governing long-term effects of prenatal exposures are coming to light and providing the opportunity for intervention and risk reduction. For instance, human association studies have provided a foundation for the association of prenatal exposure to particulate matter with early immunosuppression and later allergic disease in the offspring. Only recently, the mechanisms mediating this response have been revealed and there is much we have yet to discover. Although cellular immune response is understood for many exposure scenarios, molecular pathways are still unidentified. This review will provide commentary and synthesis of the current literature regarding environmental exposures during pregnancy and mechanisms determining immune outcomes. Shared mechanistic features and current gaps in the state of the science are identified and discussed. To such purpose, we address exposures by their immune effect type: immunosuppression, autoimmunity, inflammation and tissue damage, hypersensitivity, and general immunomodulation.
Bandwidth-Need Driven Energy Efficiency Improvement of MPTCP Users in Wireless Networks

Multipath TCP (MPTCP) enables mobile devices to aggregate bandwidth from multiple wireless connections and own better mobility resilience but incurs additional energy consumption. Such a fact drives the research to find the energy-efficient access manner under MPTCP-based multipath access in wireless networks. However, existing work largely focuses on energy efficiency only and is agnostic to the bandwidth need of mobile devices. Therefore, in this paper, we propose to handle this gap by integrating the improvement of energy efficiency into the process of satisfying the bandwidth need. First, our approach keeps using a single connection if the bandwidth need is satisfied. A novel method is proposed based on TCP throughput modeling for monitoring bandwidth shortage when the client uses only a single connection. Second, when more bandwidth is needed, our approach does not turn to multipath access blindly but chooses the additional connection that has a potential in improving both energy efficiency and throughput. Third, when multipath is used, our approach keeps evaluating the necessity of switching back to using a single path based on the bandwidth need and energy efficiency. The three steps form a loop to continually assist mobile devices to balance bandwidth need and energy efficiency. Intensive experiments show that compared with using MPTCP on mobile devices directly, this method greatly improves energy efficiency while keeping bandwidth needs satisfied.
Testing Novel Pyrimidinyl Rexinoids: A New Paradigm for Evaluating Rexinoids for Cancer Prevention

Rexinoids, selective ligands for retinoid X receptors (RXR), have shown promise in preventing many types of cancer. However, the limited efficacy and undesirable lipidemic side-effects of the only clinically approved rexinoid, bexarotene, drive the search for new and better rexinoids. Here we report the evaluation of novel pyrimidinyl (Py) analogues of two known chemopreventive rexinoids, bexarotene (Bex) and LG100268 (LG268) in a new paradigm. We show that these novel derivatives were more effective agents than bexarotene for preventing lung carcinogenesis induced by a carcinogen. In addition, these new analogues have an improved safety profile. PyBex caused less elevation of plasma triglyceride levels than bexarotene, while PyLG268 reduced plasma cholesterol levels and hepatomegaly compared with LG100268. Notably, this new paradigm mechanistically emphasizes the immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities of rexinoids. We reveal new immunomodulatory actions of the above rexinoids, especially their ability to diminish the percentage of macrophages and myeloid-derived suppressor cells in the lung and to redirect activation of M2 macrophages. The rexinoids also potently inhibit critical inflammatory mediators including IL6, IL1β, CCL9, and nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) induced by lipopolysaccharide. Moreover, in vitro iNOS and SREBP (sterol regulatory element-binding protein) induction assays correlate with in vivo efficacy and toxicity, respectively. Our results not only report novel pyrimidine derivatives of existing rexinoids, but also describe a series of biological screening assays that will guide the synthesis of additional rexinoids. Further progress in rexinoid synthesis, potency, and safety should eventually lead to a clinically acceptable and useful new drug for patients with cancer.
Interpreting titanite U–Pb dates and Zr thermobarometry in high-grade rocks: empirical constraints on elemental diffusivities of Pb, Al, Fe, Zr, Nb, and Ce

Length scales of compositional heterogeneity in titanite from 750 to 1000 °C metamorphic rocks from southern Madagascar were measured to provide empirical constraints on elemental diffusivities. The calculated Pb diffusivity is comparable to experimental estimates of Sr diffusivity; because of this, U–Pb dates from rocks that reached peak temperatures 900 °C; thus, Zr-in-titanite thermobarometry should not be reset by diffusion in all but the smallest grains in the hottest rocks. Al and Nb diffuse at similar rates to Zr. Ce and Fe diffuse slower than Pb, but faster than Zr. Differences in empirical and experimental estimates of elemental diffusivities might be related to the complexity of most natural titanite solid solutions compared to the near-end-member titanite used in experiments.
Positive youth development as a protective factor for adolescents at risk for depression and alcohol use

Female adolescents are at greater risk for depression than males, and highschool students in upper grades use alcohol at higher rates than students in lower grades. We hypothesized that attributes ...
APOL1 Nephropathy Risk Variant Associations with Diseases beyond the Kidney: APOL1 and Sepsis

The past decade has seen major developments in our understanding of ancestry-specific rates of CKD and outcomes after kidney donation and transplantation. Genetic association between the G1 and G2 nephropathy risk variants in the apo L1 gene ( APOL1 ) and CKD is recognized as among the strongest in
Romantic Love: Mechanism for Feminist Empowerment or Orientalist Legacy?

In this article, I analyze the romantic desire of non-Korean â€“ particularly Western â€“ women for the fictional Korean male characters depicted in transnationally popular Korean television dramas. This article is divided into two sections: first, it examines the transnational popularity of the South Korean television drama series, My Love from Another Star, and its depiction of a particular type of romantic Korean masculinity called kkonminam (flower boy) masculinity. Here, I argue that these fictional stories problematize hypersexual masculinity through their representations of romantic masculinity. The second section of the article extends the analysis by deploying ethnographic interviews and participant-observations of Western fans of Korean television dramas who, believing that the kkonminam depicted in the dramas are true reflections of Korean men, travel to Korea to form romantic relations with Korean men in real life. Using feminist theories of love, such as those propounded by bell hooks and Lauren Berlant, and the theory of the erotic by Audre Lorde, I argue that these fans, while romantically desiring Korean kkonminam, also co-opt the discourse of romantic love and Korean romantic masculinity to articulate and essentialize cultural differences between the East and West.
GBT440 Increases Hematocrit and Improves Biventricular Function in Berkeley Sickle Cell Disease Mice.

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a hereditary blood disorder affecting millions of people in which red blood cells become sickled and lyse easily driven by polymerization of hemoglobin. Chronically, SCD causes anemia and biventricular dysfunction. GBT440 is an experimental treatment for SCD that prevents hemoglobin polymerization. We hypothesized that 17-month-old Berkeley SCD mice treated with GBT440 would have increased hematocrit (Hct) and better biventricular function compared to vehicle treated SCD mice. Our results demonstrate that 3 weeks of GBT440 treatment eliminated chronic anemia, increased left ventricular ejection fraction (LV EF) and stroke volume index (SVI), and improved right ventricular function. Overall, our findings support a therapeutic effect of GBT440 in vivo in a small animal model of SCD. Next steps in translating this experimental treatment to clinical trials are warranted.
What's left of Unocal?

The upsurge of hostile takeovers in corporate America in the 1980s brought about a rise in shareholder challenges to the defensive measures adopted by their board of directors. The Delaware Supreme Court responded to these challenges in Unocal Corp. v. Mesa Petroleum Co., announcing that directors when adopting defensive measures were to satisfy a two-part test of reasonableness that would be known later as "enhanced scrutiny." Several months after Unocal was decided, the court went further in Moran v. Household International Inc, upholding the board's use of the poison pill, but imposing two important limitations to the power. The court emphasized that shareholders must retain the ability to remove their board through the proxy machinery, and secondly, that the board was subject to Unocal review in their use of the pill in the face of an actual tender offer. Over the years the balance of the director-shareholder power established in these cases has been altered dramatically by the Delaware Supreme Court. Cases such as Paramount Communications, Inc. v. Time Inc. and Unitrin, Inc. v. American General Corp., have introduced the concept of "substantive coercion" as a threat that justifies a powerful defensive response under the "enhanced scrutiny" test in Unocal. The author argues that by endorsing this concept, the court has essentially reduced Unocal review to ensuring the shareholders retain power to remove the board in a proxy contest at the next election. This article discusses the Unocal decision and how it has developed in the case law through the years. The article goes on to discuss how these later decisions have virtually eliminated the added fiduciary protections Unocal and Moran once promised. The article concludes with some proposals on how the Delaware Supreme Court can reinvigorate Unocal's promise of meaningful fiduciary accountability for board adopted defensive measures.
Incorporating negative and positive word of mouth (WOM) in compartment-based epidemiology models in a not-for-profit marketing context

The simultaneous occurrence of negative and positive word of mouth is often likely in a marketing context. Measuring the influence of these conflicting social pressures is not straightforward in current diffusion models. Adaptations from compartment models of epidemiology can provide methods for estimating both positive and negative word of mouth. This study examines the impact of positive and negative word of mouth on donating behavior using data from over 89,000 households that made a gift to a non-profit. The 10-year longitudinal dataset creates the opportunity to calculate negative and positive word of mouth on donating behavior.
Holmium Laser Enucleation of Prostate: What is the True Rate of Postoperative Opioid Use?

Abstract Objectives To determine if patients were obtaining opioids after HoLEP from other sources – despite our opioid-free postoperative pathway – we utilized a national prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) to review all patients who underwent HoLEP at our institution. Methods We performed a retrospective review of all HoLEPs completed by two fellowship-trained surgeons. We utilized a national PDMP to determine the true rate of postoperative opioid use. The primary outcome was filling of an opioid prescription within 31 postoperative days. Student t-tests and chi-square tests were used to compare continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Results From July 2018-July 2020, 284 men underwent HoLEP. Despite our opioid-free pathway, 35 men (12.4%) received postoperative opioids. Unfortunately, 41.2% of opioids were prescribed by our inpatient physician assistant on his own accord. To prevent confounding, these patients were excluded from primary analyses. Thus, only 7.4% of patients received postoperative opioids. On univariate analysis, surgeon experience, chronic opioid use, any opioid exposure, benzodiazepine use, and chronic pain were associated with postoperative opioid use. On multivariate analysis, only preoperative opioid exposure (OR 41.9, P = 0.0383) was identified as a significant variable. Conclusion 92.6% of patients did not obtain postoperative opioids on our opioid-free post-HoLEP pathway, but 7.4% of patients did obtain opioids from outside sources. Proper education of the surgical team is key to prevent inappropriate opioid prescribing. On multivariate analysis, we identified that any preoperative opioid exposure was associated with an increased risk of obtaining postoperative opioids.
Spurious jumps in wavelength tracking of fiber-optic Fabry–Perot interferometric sensors

Wavelength tracking is a commonly used method for demodulating fiber-optic Fabry–Perot interferometric sensors due to its high resolution and straightforward implementation. We report the observation of random spurious jumps in a commonly used wavelength-tracking method based on curve fitting. These jumps were unrelated to the phase ambiguity of the spectral fringes and led to measurement errors. We analyzed the origin of the spurious jumps through Monte Carlo simulations where the fringe valley positions were obtained using polynomial curve fittings. The simulation results show that the spurious jumps arose mainly from the systematic errors of the curve-fitting function for modeling the sensor spectrum and manifested themselves by the changes in the pixel set for curve fitting. The centroid method also suffered from the spurious jumps. We proposed a modified correlation demodulation method free of the spurious jumps. In this method, the information of the measurand was obtained through the correlation between the measured sensor spectral frames and a sufficiently large number of calibrated frames of the sensor over the measurement range. The simulation and experimental results show that the modified correlation method was free of the spurious jumps encountered in the regular wavelength tracking. The resolution of the method was also studied and compared with the curve-fitting method.
The impact of changes in kindergarten entrance age policies on children's academic achievement and the child care needs of families

A one-year delay in kindergarten entrance has a positive and significant effect on children’s test scores. The initial entrance-age effect is smaller among poor and disabled children, but delaying entrance has a sizable effect on their test score gains over time. Higher childcare prices and maternal wages lower the age at which parents desire to send their child to kindergarten.
Rounding Lasserre SDPs using column selection and spectrum-based approximation schemes for graph partitioning and Quadratic IPs

We present an approximation scheme for minimizing certain Quadratic Integer Programming problems with positive semidefinite objective functions and global linear constraints. This framework includes well known graph problems such as Minimum graph bisection, Edge expansion, Sparsest Cut, and Small Set expansion, as well asthe Unique Games problem. These problems are notorious for the existence of huge gaps between the known algorithmic results and NP-hardness results. Our algorithm is based on rounding semidefinite programs from the Lasserre hierarchy, and the analysis uses bounds for low-rank approximations of a matrix in Frobenius norm using columns of the matrix. For all the above graph problems, we give an algorithm running in time n O(r/" 2 ) with approximation ratio 1+" min{1,�r} , where λr is the r’th smallest eigenvalue of the normalized graph Laplacian L. In the case of graph bisection and small set expansion, the number of vertices in the cut is within lower-order terms of the stipulated bound. Our results imply (1 + O(e)) factor approximation in time n O(r � /" 2
Differential coding with a modified feedback loop

We address the problem of data compression and transmission applied to images. The noisy channel requires the use of a compression scheme with low sensitivity to bit errors. We present a DPCM scheme with a modified feedback loop containing a nonlinear filter in addition to the familiar linear predictor. This greatly improves the channel response of DPCM, without significantly degrading its compression performance.
Enhancing State-Space Tree Diagrams for Collaborative Problem Solving

State-space search methods in problem solving have often been illustrated using tree diagrams. We explore a set of issues related to coordination in collaborative problem solving and design, and we present a variety of interactive features for state-space search trees intended to facilitate such activity. Issues include how to show provenance of decisions, how to combine work and views produced separately, and how to represent work performed by computer agents. Some of the features have been implemented in a kit "TStar" and a design tool "PRIME Designer."
Learner-centered methodology for designing and developing multimedia simulation for biology education

Biology students need exposure to modern research techniques relatively early in their educational careers. Computer multimedia simulation tools have been developed to address the challenge of providing all students with hands-on laboratory research experience. This paper presents a learner-centered approach to the design and development of a multimedia simulation for biology education. We present our methodology and a multimedia simulation tool designed and developed using the methodology. Out tool has been widely adopted by biological science educators for teaching molecular biology subjects in a wide range of undergraduate biology courses. We believe that our methodology can be adopted or adapted by learner communities in other disciplines.
Remote Computer Fingerprinting for Cyber Crime Investigations

This paper describes a novel tool forremotely “fingerprinting” computers used in criminal activity. The tool employs network scanning and machine identification techniques to acquire a fingerprint of a computer over the Internet. The fingerprint includes identifying information about the operating system, banners, enumerations and services. Once the computer is seized, it is connected to a closed network and scanned again to produce a second fingerprint to check against the original. Two scenarios - one related to investigating pedophiles and the other involving an illegal website - are examined. Legal issues pertaining to the use of computer fingerprinting in criminal investigations are also discussed.
The Spot Observations Technique in Time Allocation Research (Continued)

Allocation Research (Continued) By Michael Baksh (UC-Los Angeles) In previous installments I reviewed the advantages and disadvantages of the spot observations technique in time allocation research (Volume 1, Issue 2), and described problems that arise when doing spot observations in the field (Volume 2, Issue 2). Here I focus on the issue of sample size. How many individual observations are needed to gain representative information on how people spend their time? How many visits should be made to study households? Questions as these are important not only for reasons of representativeness, but also for directing the amount of ficldwork that should be devoted to collecting data. Because the spot observations technique is highly efficient for collecting data, field workers occupied with other research priori ties can still produce good estimates of a population's time use with minimal effort. In my research I collected 4,182 observations of the Machiguenga (41 households) and our Kenya research team collected 82,050 of the Embu (169 households). I am fairly comfortable with each sample although, for reasons described below, little would be lost for many research purposes if these samples were considerably smaller. The most critical factor to consider when designing the sample size of a spot observations project is the smallest unit of analysis for which the time allocation data will be used. Will the time allocation data be analyzed at the community level, or will data be requi red to address hypotheses at the household or even individual level? Clearly, a larger total number of observations is required if a researcher plans to describe how each woman in a community spends her time, rather than how the "average" woman in the community spends her time. A second factor, also related to research needs, is the level of detail for which information on time use is required. If a research objective is to study total interhousehold "work" time, fewer observations need be made than in a project concerned with capturing the time that different households devote to very specific or unusual work activities such as planting specific types of crops or taking cattle to a cattle dip. A third factor that should be considered is the level of sociocultural complexity. Peasant societies, for example, are more complex than family-level horticultural societies, as reflected by levels of social and political organization, types of economic exchange, and other sociocultural variables. As such, peasant societies engage in more "unique" kinds of activities than family-level societies, and their interhousehold variations in time use arc likely to be greater due to (if nothing else), greater economic specialization.
Distinct Functional Roles of Cytoplasmic Dynein Defined by the Intermediate Chain Isoforms

The motor protein, cytoplasmic dynein is responsible for the movement of a variety of cargoes toward microtubule minus ends in cells. Little is understood about how dynein is regulated to specifically transport its various cargoes. In vertebrates, the dynein motor domain (DYNC1H) is encoded by a single gene; while there are two genes for the five smaller subunits that comprise the cargo binding domain of the dynein complex. The isoforms of the intermediate chain (DYNC1I) provide a good model system with which to study the roles the different isoforms of the cargo domain subunits have in designating specific dynein functions. The intermediate chains (DYNC1I) play a key scaffold role in the dynein complex. In neurons, dynein complexes with different intermediate chain isoforms have distinct roles, including cargo binding and transport. Some of the phospho-isoforms of the intermediate chain also specify binding to specific cargo. These data support the model that cytoplasmic dynein can be specifically regulated through the different isoforms of the subunits.
Visceral leishmaniasis in the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome: Report of two cases

Core biopsies of the bone marrow are indispensable in the evaluation of fever of unknown etiology in human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients. We report two patients in whom visceral leishmaniasis was diagnosed based on the typical morphology, staining characteristics, and ultrastructure of the organisms.
Connections between Gamma-Ray Bursts, QSOs and active galaxies

Abstract I have shown that there is a close connection between active galaxies which are powerful sources of non-thermal optical radiation, radio flux and X-rays, quasi-stellar objects (QSOs), and gamma-ray burst sources (GRB) (Burbidge 2003, Ap.J. , 585 , 112-120). Extensive observational evidence is converging to show that the ultimate sources are active spiral galaxies which eject QSOs and GRB sources. Studies of the associations between bright QSOs and active spirals, using both radio and X-ray samples provide overwhelming evidence that all types of QSOs are ejected from these active galaxies. From this evidence it is clear that the bulk of the redshifts of the QSOs are of non-cosmological origin, and these intrinsic redshifts show remarkable peaks and periodicity. Recently it has been found that a number of the GRB sources lie very close to known QSOs, and it appears that they also are ejected from active galaxies. Evidence on 12 new GRB for which data were not available for analysis earlier is reviewed here.
Compiler course vs. translators course

To teach translators by means of an elementary compiler design course and portions of several other courses does not serve students as well as a course on all translators, which can be followed by a more specialized course on compiler design. The reasons are reviewed and a flexible course on translators is described. The benefits of the resulting arrangement are set rortn.
Risk of injury to adjacent organs with lower-pole fluoroscopically guided percutaneous nephrostomy: evaluation with prone, supine, and multiplanar reformatted CT.

PURPOSE To assess the risk of injury to organs near the kidney during lower-pole fluoroscopically guided percutaneous nephrostomy by evaluation of prone, supine, and multiplanar reformatted computed tomography (CT). MATERIALS AND METHODS Eighty-three patients who underwent prone and supine CT examinations were identified retrospectively. The expected path of nephrostomy tube placement to the lower-pole calyx was simulated on prone and supine axial images and multiplanar CT reformations. Intervening organs along this path were considered at risk for injury and were recorded for each kidney ( N = 166). RESULTS The risk of organ injury as determined on multiplanar reformatted prone images ( n = 5) and supine images ( n = 0) was significantly less ( P n = 25) or supine images ( n = 10). The colon was the only organ identified to be at risk for injury during the simulated lower-pole percutaneous nephrostomy placement; spleen and liver were not seen along the nephrostomy path on axial or multiplanar reformatted images. CONCLUSION Lower-pole fluoroscopically guided percutaneous nephrostomy carries a low risk of visceral injury, and the risk of injury is overestimated by evaluation of axial CT images alone compared with oblique parasagittal reformations.
Thermodynamic magnetization discontinuity between the A and B phases of superfluid 3 he

We present data for the magnitude of the thermodynamic magnetization discontinuity at the equilibrium A-B transition in superfluid3He, ΔMAB, over its entire pressure-temperature-magnetic field phase diagram. The data was taken by measuring flux changes in a SQUID pick-up coil, which was calibrated by a novel first-principles technique. We compare our results with those of NMR experiments, and find that the two types of measurements yield different values, and this discrepancy is not the result of thermometry or field errors.
Purification of herpesvirus saimiri and properties of the viral DNA.

Conditions for growth, concentration, and purification of Herpesvirus saimiri were determined. Optimal yields of infectious Herpesvirus saimiri (HVS) were obtained from infected owl monkey kidney (OMK) cells grown at 32.5° C in medium containing 10 per cent fetal calf serum. Forty-five percent of the initial infectious HVS was recovered after an 18-fold concentration using 8 per cent polyethylene glycol 6000 in the presence of 0.5M NaCl. Polyethylene glycol concentrated HVS was purified in an isopycnic-linear Renografin gradient (1.0–1.3 g/cm3). Ninety-six percent of the infectivity was recovered in a single 1.16 g/cm3 density region. DNA extracted from purified HVS was resolved into two distinct density classes by CsCl equilibrium centrifugation (1.727 and 1.709 g/cm3). DNase treated HVS virions yield four DNA species with densities of 1.727, 1.718, 1.712, and 1.706 g/cm3 in CsCl centrifugation.
Secondary Fire Induced by Mine Methane Explosions

The mechanism of fire induced by methane explosions was studied to know about the great danger of induced fire. Firstly, from the point of heat ignition to study it, then the especial heat environment after explosions was studied. Lastly, from the point of characteristics of gas separated from fuel to judge whether fire to be induced. The part of heat ignition was based on conservation of energy. And the special heat environment was studied by using CFD software Fluent to do some numerical simulation. As to gas separated from fuel, mainly from three aspects to discuss it: yields of gas and relating conversion, diffusion velocity, minimum combustion supporting oxygen concentration. And the research shows that, if the gas separated out from fuel could diffuse to satisfy the minimum combustion limit before the temperature of environment reduce to its fire induced temperature, and there is enough oxygen, sub-fire could be induced. This research could provide some technique support to prevent and cure such kind of accident, and has great significance.
Periampullary and Duodenal Neoplasms in Neurofibromatosis Type 1: Two Cases and an Updated 20-Year Review of the Literature Yielding 76 Cases

Patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) are at increased risk to develop tumors throughout the gastrointestinal tract, including neuromas, gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), and periampullary somatostatin-rich carcinoids. Here, we briefly describe two male patients with NF1 and review the recent literature on this topic. Databases for PubMed and MEDLINE were searched for English-language articles since 1989 using a list of keywords, as well as references from review articles. The results generated by the search yielded 50 articles and 74 cases. Patients most commonly presented with jaundice, weight loss, GI bleeding, or anemia. The mean age at presentation was 47.9 years, with 59% of patients being female. Mean tumor size was 3.8 cm (range 0.9–27 cm). Tumor location was the duodenum (60%), ampulla (31%), pancreas (5%), or bile duct/gallbladder (4%). Tumor type was reported as somatostatinoma (40%), GIST (34%), adenocarcinoma (8%), carcinoid (6%), neurofibroma (5%), schwannoma (4%), or gangliocytic paraganglioma (3%). Treatment included classic Whipple procedure (42%), local excision (25%), pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy (17%), and other resection (6%). Mean follow-up was 31 months postresection (range 0–99 months): 75% of patients were alive with no evidence of disease. These results underscore the importance of a thorough evaluation for tumors in NF1 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms, as well as subsequent surgical management when findings suggest a tumor in the periampullary region, as resection remains the mainstay of treatment.