cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of oxytocin on empathy, introspective accuracy, and social symptoms in schizophrenia: A 12-week twice-daily randomized controlled trial.

The effects of intranasal oxytocin, a neuropeptide involved in prosocial behavior and modulation of neural networks underlying social cognition and emotion regulation, have been studied in schizophrenia. We tested the hypothesis that twice-daily intranasal oxytocin administered for 12-weeks would improve tertiary and exploratory outcomes of self-reported social symptoms, empathy and introspective accuracy from the Jarskog et al. (2017) randomized controlled trial. Sixty-eight stable outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were randomized to receive oxytocin (24 IU twice daily) or placebo. Introspective accuracy was assessed with the Specific Level of Functioning Scale and the Interpersonal Perception Task. Empathy was assessed with the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), and social symptoms were assessed with the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale and the Green et al. Paranoid Thoughts Scales. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, six, and twelve weeks. Results demonstrated limited effect of oxytocin with some improvement on the IRI Perspective-Taking Subscale. No additional between-group differences emerged on self-reported symptoms, empathy, or introspective accuracy.
Correlates of physical activity among children with visual impairments.

Abstract Background Children with visual impairments (VI) often reveal higher levels of sedentary time and lower levels of fundamental motor skills (FMS), health-related fitness (HRF) and physical activity (PA) than peers without visual impairments. Extrapolating correlates of HRF and PA are important to develop targeted intervention strategies aimed at improving health- and movement-based outcomes. Objective The purpose of this study was to examine associations among FMS (divided into locomotor and object control skills), HRF, and home- and sport-camp based PA measures in children with VI. Methods Children with VI (N = 66; 9–18 years) completed PA, HRF (including cardio-respiratory fitness, muscular strength and endurance), and FMS measures during a seven-day period. Partial and zero-order correlations, which included controlling for age, degree of VI, and BMI z-score were performed. Results When controlling for vision, age, and BMI z-score, home-based self-report PA moderately correlated with camp-based accelerometer data (p Conclusions Future intervention strategies that target increasing PA and HRF levels for children with VI should consider focusing upon both object control and locomotor skill development.
Theoretical Grounding of Bureaucratic Ethics

The size and scope of the US government has expanded significantly since the founding of the nation. This chapter presents various explanations for this growth that include factors such as urbanization, economic crisis, war, clientele pressure, and budget maximization. Concurrent with government growth is the need for bureaucracies to produce efficiency, economy, neutrality, and rationality. The general ethos of these organizations is described as well as the potential threat this ethos poses to constitutional government. In theory, bureaucracies act with neutrality, responding to the will of elected leaders and the desires of the people. An alternative model is presented where constituents defer to the expertise of careerists in organizations. In this model subjectivity and discretion are celebrated. The writings of classical bureaucratic theorist such as Woodrow Wilson, Max Weber, Frederick Winslow Taylor, Henri Fayol, and Luther Gulick buttress the case for expertise and discretion to play major roles in public policy. Finally, the chapter introduces the concept of bureaucratic resistance to electoral authority. Resistance can take various forms. However, each form of resistance represents a threat to democratic accountability. Bureaucratic autonomy, even if it leads to efficiency, is viewed as a potential menace to the values of responsiveness and government by consent of the governed.
(193) Comparison of Y-Balance Test Scores in Young Adults with and without Chronic Low Back Pain

Low back pain (LBP) can cause balance disturbances, and individuals with LBP have demonstrated poorer balance than those without it. Previous literature has reported that diminished balance is associated with increased injury risk, therefore contributing to an individual's increased re-injury risk and chronicity. The Y-Balance Test (YBT) is a functional and inexpensive tool for measuring dynamic balance and has been used with diverse populations to predict risk for injury. However, there is contradicting evidence about the ability of the YBT to detect dynamic balance deficits in LBP populations, primarily due to heterogeneity of the participants in previous studies. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare dynamic balance between young adults with chronic LBP (CLBP) and a healthy group using the YBT. Fifteen individuals with CLBP (≥ 12 weeks) and 15 gender- and age-matched young, healthy adults completed the study. Each group consisted of 6 males and 9 females who were 21 - 38 years of age (27.46 ± 4.9 years). The YBT was used to measure each participant's dynamic balance in three different reach directions, anterior (ANT), posteromedial (PM) and posterolateral (PL). Both the YBT reach distances and composite scores (CS) collected from the dominant leg of healthy individuals and the involved side of participants with CLBP were used for statistical analysis. The results showed that the reach distances of the CLBP group were significantly shorter than those of the healthy group in the ANT (p = .023), PM (p
Neural Synchronization in Parkinson’s Disease on Different Time Scales

Parkinson’s disease is marked by an elevated neural synchrony in the cortico-basal ganglia circuits in the beta frequency band. This elevated synchrony has been associated with Parkinsonian hypokinetic symptoms. The application of recently developed synchronization analysis techniques allows us to investigate the temporal dynamics of synchrony on different time scales. The results of this analysis are summarized here, revealing highly variable dynamics of synchronized neural activity on multiple time scales and its association with disease.
Village Health Workers: Considering Their Potential Role in the Current Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Outbreak

An overview of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the current outbreak was discussed. The void created by the loss of health care workers and the increased need for village health workers (VHWs) was highlighted. The clinical manifestations of EVD in past and current outbreaks were also examined. The implementation of VHWs in various countries before the 1978 Declaration of Alma, Ata was reviewed. Village health workers are also called community health workers (CHW). They are called by different names around the world and they have different levels of training. Some are trained in only one area like the traditional birth attendants. The village health care worker was identified as part of Primary Health Care and their roles in different countries were explored. The positive impact in the health status of the communities after the introduction of VHW was also highlighted. In this present outbreak, there has been antagonism towards health care workers which has sometimes ended fatally. As part of community participation, VHWs are selected by the community they serve and this would reduce the antagonism sometimes directed at health care workers that are not from the community. The potential role of VHW as contact tracers, counselors, health educators, temperature monitors and first contact with the health system in the control of EVD was also highlighted. The governments of the three most affected countries should collaborate with countries that have employed the use of VHWs in EVD outbreaks.
Pricing in commercial dental insurance and provider markets.

Objective To examine the impact of commercial dental insurer and provider concentration on dentist reimbursement. Data sources We utilized provider data from the American Dental Association, reimbursement data from IBM Watson MarketScan® Commercial Research Databases, submitted billed charges from FAIR Health® , dental insurance market concentration data from FAIR Health® , and county-level demographic and economic data from the Area Health Resources File and the Council for Community and Economic Research. Study design We used the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index to separately measure commercial dental insurance concentration and dentist concentration. We studied the effect of provider and insurance concentration on dentist reimbursement. Using two-stage least squares, we accounted for potential endogeneity in dental insurer and provider concentration. Principal findings Across the dental procedures we examined, a 10 percent increase in dental insurance concentration is associated with a 1.95 percent (P-value = .033) reduction in gross payments to dentists. Conversely, a 10 percent increase in dentist concentration is associated with a more modest 0.71 percent (P-value = .024) increase in gross payments. A 10 percent increase in dental insurance concentration is associated with a 1.16 percentage point (P-value = .016) decline in the allowed-to-list price ratio, while a 10 percent increase in dentist concentration is associated with a 0.56 percentage point (P-value = .001) increase in the allowed-to-list price ratio. Similar patterns were found across dental procedure subcategories. Conclusions Dental provider markets are substantially less concentrated than insurance markets, which may limit the ability of dentists to garner higher reimbursement.
COVID-19 Fake News and Attitudes toward Asian Americans

This study examined the relationship between an inability to identify COVID-19 fake news, right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), sociodemographic factors (i.e., race, biological sex), and the level of xenophobia along with anti-Asian American sentiment. Participants included 100 male and female college students. Participants answered questions about their social media usage and were asked to identify social media news posts as either false or accurate. Participants also completed a series of measures regarding their attitudes toward Asian Americans and xenophobia. Sociodemographic variables of race and sex were examined as well as participants levels of RWA. Participants were frequent social media users, with many having multiple social media accounts. Almost twenty-one percent of participants were unable to identify COVID-19 fake news. Higher rates of xenophobia were found among White participants. Male, compared to female, participants were more likely to report experiencing kinship with Asian Americans. Both RWA and an inability to identify COVID-19 fake news was associated with increased prejudicial attitudes. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Touch-Point Detection Using Thermal Video With Applications to Prevent Indirect Virus Spread

Viral and bacterial pathogens can be transmitted through direct contact with contaminated surfaces. Efficient decontamination of contaminated surfaces could lead to decreased disease transmission, if optimized methods for detecting contaminated surfaces can be developed. Here we describe such a method whereby thermal tracking technology is utilized to detect thermal signatures incurred by surfaces through direct contact. This is applicable in public places to assist with targeted sanitation and cleaning efforts to potentially reduce chance of disease transmission. In this study, we refer to the touched region of the surface as a “touch-point” and examine how the touch-point regions can be automatically localized with a computer vision pipeline of a thermal image sequence. The pipeline mainly comprises two components: a single-frame and a multi-frame analysis. The single-frame analysis consists of a Background subtraction method for image pre-processing and a U-net deep learning model for segmenting the touch-point regions. The multi-frame analysis performs a summation of the outputs from the single-frame analysis and creates a cumulative map of touch-points. Results show that the touch-point detection pipeline can achieve 75.0% precision and 81.5% F1-score for the testing experiments of predicting the touch-point regions. This preliminary study shows potential applications of preventing indirect pathogen spread in public spaces and improving the efficiency of cleaning sanitation.
Kateri, Noelle. (2018). The Migrant Passage: Clandestine Journeys from Central America . Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Paperback: $24.95.

Noelle Kateri Brigden’s The Migrant Passage offers a masterful interweaving of rich ethnographic story-telling and theory-building. The book is the result of more than two years of field work in El Salvador and Mexico, along key routes for border crossers. Brigden draws on an anthropological orientation to theorize crossing itself, focusing on how migrants’ journeys are characterized by improvisations, and how these improvisations shift and alter the political and material landscapes of Mexico.
The influence of summary modality on metacomprehension accuracy

Metacomprehension refers to the ability to monitor and control reading comprehension. It is important for individuals to be accurate in their judgments of comprehension, as this can affect academic performance. One type of accuracy, relative accuracy, tends to be low, meaning individuals cannot adequately differentiate well-known from less well-known information. Fortunately, past research has shown that relative accuracy increases with delayed summarization. The literature has only assessed written summaries as an intervention, but oral summaries tend to be faster and easier and therefore may be a better study tool. Individuals use cues to make judgments, which may differ between modalities. This study investigated whether modality impacts relative accuracy and if differences in cue use might explain these effects. We found that written summaries benefitted relative accuracy compared to a control group, with relative accuracy greater than chance. In contrast, oral summarizers only marginally differed from chance accuracy and did not differ from the control group. An analysis of summary characteristics suggests that participants use multiple cues in order to make judgments. We conclude that spoken summaries are likely better than not summarizing at all, but the written modality is the better summary technique to increase relative accuracy. By increasing relative accuracy, delayed written summaries may increase effectiveness of studying, thereby maximizing a student’s academic potential.
An Examination of the Effect of IT Investments on Firm Value: The Case of Y2K-Compliance Costs

Usng the recent Y2K-compliance expenditures as an example, we examine whether disclosures relating to investments in information technology (IT) were relevant to investors in assessing the market value of equity. We use a sample of 190 firms that disclosed estimates of total Y2K-compliance costs in their 1997 annual reports to examine the association between Y2K-compliance costs and share prices. We test the joint hypothesis that Y2K-compliance costs were relevant to equity valuation of firms that chose to become Y2K-compliant and that these costs were sufficiently reliable to be reflected in share prices. We find that estimates of Y2K-compliance costs were positively and significantly related to share prices after controlling for earnings, book value of equity, and other factors. We find that the stock market is not shortsighted, and considered investments in Y2K-remediation efforts a significant and value-increasing activity for the average firm.
Acquisition of iron by Trichodesmium and associated bacteria in culture

Trichodesmium colonies contain an abundant microbial consortium that is likely to play a role in nutrient cycling within the colony. This study used laboratory cultures of Trichodesmium and two genomeâsequenced strains of bacteria typical of Trichodesmiumâassociated microbes to develop an understanding of the cycling of iron, a potentially limiting micronutrient, within Trichodesmium colonies. We found that the ferric siderophores desferrioxamine B and aerobactin were not readily bioavailable to Trichodesmium, relative to ferric chloride or citrateâassociated iron. In contrast, the representative bacterial strains we studied were able to acquire iron from all of the iron sources, implying that naturally occurring Trichodesmiumâassociated bacteria may be capable of utilizing a more diverse array of iron sources than Trichodesmium. From the organismâspecific uptake data collected in this study, a theoretical Trichodesmium colony was designed to model whole colony iron uptake. The bacteria accounted for most (>â70%) of the iron acquired by the colony, highlighting the importance of determining organismâspecific uptake in a complex environment. Our findings suggest that, although they may share the same microâenvironment, Trichodesmium and its colonyâassociated microbial cohort may differ substantially in terms of iron acquisition strategy.
Perception of motion smear in normal observers and in persons with congenital nystagmus.

Purpose Despite incessant motion of the retinal image, persons with congenital nystagmus (CN) usually do not report that targets are smeared. The authors investigated whether the brief stationary glimpses of a target that occur during foveation periods in the CN waveform contribute to the alleviation of perceived smear. Methods Retinal image motion simulating that in jerk nystagmus was produced in normal observers (N = 10) who monocularly viewed either a 5-minute or a 1 degree luminous disk reflected from a horizontally oscillating mirror. Contrast sensitivities to detect each target and to perceive the presence of motion smear were determined for two simulated CN waveforms; observers also estimated the length and brightness of perceived smear for several suprathreshold target luminances. One waveform was a 7 degrees, 4-Hz ramp that included 120 msec zero-velocity intervals, simulating the foveation periods in the CN waveform. The second waveform lacked the zero-velocity simulated foveation periods. For comparison, estimates of perceived smear for physically stationary targets were obtained from three observers with CN. Results Normal observers' contrast sensitivities for perceiving smear were nearly identical for the simulated CN waveforms with and without a 120-msec foveation period. Estimated length and brightness of perceived smear for suprathreshold targets increased similarly with luminance for both waveforms. Observers with CN reported substantially less smear than did normal observers. Conclusions Glimpses of a stationary retinal image during simulated foveation periods do not attenuate the perception of motion-induced smear in normal observers. In persons with CN, the perception of smear may be reduced by the extraretinal signals that accompany their eye movements.
Low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) greater than 100 mg/dL as a quality indicator: locating risk in person, place and time

Rationale, aims and objectives Achieving control over elevated lipid parameters, particularly low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, is an acknowledged quality indicator in primary care. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s model for investigation of outbreaks (person–place–time) can be applied to the analysis of quality indicators. Methods A sample of 322 family medicine patients for whom lipid levels were ordered was extracted. LDL > 100 mg/dL was cross-tabulated by personal characteristics [age group, gender, body mass index (BMI), diagnoses], month (time) and ordering department (place). Results Age (except one age category), gender, time and location were not related to LDL > 100 mg/dL after adjustment for covariates. All levels of BMI above normal elevated the risk of LDL > 100 mg/dL [BMI 25–29.9: odds ratio (OR) = 3.41, confidence interval (CI) = 1.61–7.23, P = 0.0014; BMI 30–34.9: OR = 2.93, CI = 1.28–6.70, P = 0.0109; BMI ≥ 35: OR = 2.75, CI = 1.19–6.37, P = 0.0181]. Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) were at reduced risk for LDL > 100 mg/dL (CAD: OR = 0.47, CI = 0.24–0.91, P = 0.0254; DM: OR = 0.28, CI = 0.14–0.55, P = 0.0002). Conclusion An outbreak investigation model is useful for analysing variations in this quality indicator. Patients with higher BMI and those not diagnosed with CAD or DM type I/II may be considered for intensified lipid lowering using quality improvement efforts. These might include counselling for lifestyle changes or medication therapy depending upon their calculated cardiac risk.
Phycoerythrin Signatures In The Littoral Zone

Abstract : Phycoerythrin (PE) refers to a family of highly fluorescent photosynthetic pigments found in some marine phytoplankton. In subtropical and temperate waters, PE-producing organisms are common enough that a spectral signature for PE can be obtained from bulk seawater, regardless of the concentration or type of other colored materials in the water. This project had two goals: to determine if the PE spectral signature of a water mass carries oceanographically useful information and to determine the biological mechanism by which the PE spectral signature changes in a water mass. The project showed that the nutrient status and color of oceanic waters can be inferred from PE spectral signature and that there is a distinctive PE spectral signature associated with turbid coastal water. We discovered several new types of PE-containing marine picocyanobacteria, described a totally new biochemical mechanism by which PE-containing phytoplankton can adapt to changes in the spectral quality of available light, and showed that lateral gene transfer is a key mechanism of evolution for PE and other genes in picocyanobacteria.
Multilinear Harmonic Analysis

Multivariable calculus provides a robust approach into the study of functions of several variables that goes beyond the narrow perspective of studying a single variable by freezing the other ones. Analogously, multilinear analysis focuses on the study of operators that depend linearly on several functions by treating all inputs as variables and not just some as parameters. This study is based on multiple simultaneous decompositions and is naturally more complicated than its linear counterpart, but is also more far-reaching and yields more flexible results.
Tailoring of quantum dot infrared photodetector performance with AlAs/GaAs superlattice barriers

In this paper, we present a QDIP heterostructure, comprised of InAs QDs embedded in a periodic AlAs/GaAs superlattice (SL) barrier. This SL barrier allows us to control the performance of QDIPs, culminating in state-of-the-art responsivity and conversion efficiency for a QDIP with a total SL period of 15 nm.
ON PURELY REAL SURFACES IN KAEHLER SURFACES AND LORENZ SURFACES IN LORENZIAN KAEHLER SURFACES

An immersion : M ! ˜ M of a manifold M into an indefinite Kaehler manifold ˜ M is called purely real if the almost complex structure J on ˜ M carries the tangent bundle of M into a transversal bundle. In this article we survey some recent results on purely real surfaces in Kaehler surfaces as well as on Lorentz surfaces in Lorentzian Kaehler surfaces.
Tris­[2‐(benzoyl­amino)­ethyl]­amine

Tris­[2-(benzoyl­amino)­ethyl]­amine [alternatively, N,N′,N′′-(nitrilo­tri­ethyl)­tri­benz­amide], C27H30N4O3, adopts a folded structure, forming a symmetrical cavity with an average depth of 7.3 A and width ranging from 4.1–4.4 A. The folded structure is a result of one intramolecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bond. A linear chain motif along the c axis best describes the extended intermolecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonding.
Lateral Stress Measurements in Direct Simple Shear Device

Monitoring lateral stresses in a soil specimen during monotonic or cyclic shear tests significantly increases the amount of information obtained from these tests. A technique is described for interpreting lateral stress data during consolidation (the initial phase of either type of shear test) and determining the lateral stress level at the start of the shear test. In addition, the coefficient of lateral earth pressure at rest (K 0 ) is determined. The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) Direct Simple Shear Device was used in this study. Lateral stress measurements were made with calibrated wire-reinforced membranes (acting as strain gages). Two undisturbed samples of soft marine clay were investigated: a Gulf of Mexico and a Gulf of Alaska sample. The samples were obtained from a depth of about one metre below the sea floor. Large vertical specimen strains were encountered even though the applied consolidation stresses were small (a maximum vertical stress of 0.518 kg/cm 2 ). The technique described includes methods for eliminating possible sources of substantial error at these low stress levels. The values of K 0 as determined from the lateral stress measurements agree well with values determined indirectly.
A microcontroller based portable EMG monitor with data storage on memory-cards

A portable monitor was built to record and store electromyographic signals (EMG). The monitor is based on a MC68332 32-bit microcontroller and stores four channels of EMG on a memory-card. The data can afterwards easily be transferred to a host system for further analysis. The device was built to monitor involuntary muscle spasms in spinal cord injury patients but is also used for EMG recording in gait studies.
Ethical issues in biomedical research: perceptions and practices of postdoctoral research fellows responding to a survey.

We surveyed 1005 postdoctoral fellows by questionnaire about ethical matters related to biomedical research and publishing; 33% responded. About 18% of respondents said they had taken a course in research ethics, and about 31% said they had had a course that devoted some time to research ethics. A substantial majority stated willingness to grant other investigators, except competitors, access to their data before publication and to share research materials. Respondents’ opinions about contributions justifying authorship of research papers were mainly consistent but at variance with those of many biomedical journal editors. More than half said they had observed what they considered unethical research practices. To increase the chances of getting a grant funded, 27% said they were willing to select or omit data to improve their results; to make publication of their work more likely or to benefit their career, 15% would select or omit data and 32% would list an undeserving author. Of respondents who thought they had been unfairly denied authorship on a paper, or been listed with or asked to list an undeserving author, 75% said they would be willing to list an undeserving author (P<0.001). Having taken a course dealing with research ethics had no effect on stated willingness to select or omit data or to fabricate data in the future, but was positively associated with willingness to grant undeserved authorship (P<0.04). Although these results do not controvert research demonstrating the effectiveness of ethics courses during professional education, they indicate that the research environment is a powerful component of a trainee’s experience and ethical development.
A miniature fast fission counter

Abstract A small, 1 4 inch diameter by 1 2 inch in length, fast neutron fission counter probe employing highly depleted uranium as the fission material has been developed. The isotopic analysis of the uranium, obtained by the 3-stage mass spectrometer at this Laboratory, is as follows: U238 (essentially 100%), U236 (0.03 ± 0.02 ppm), U235 (0.90 ± 0.20 ppm), and U234 (0.04±0.02 ppm). The uranium was plated out of solution to a yield of approximately 1.72 mg/cm2. Detailed measurements of the fast neutron flux in the Flexible Plastic Reactor (105–106 ncm−2 at KAPL, obtained with the U238 fission counter, have shown it to be insensitive to both thermal neutrons and high energy (>5.3 MeV) gamma rays. The photofission of the U3O8 was checked in the critical assembly by making a fast neutron scan with red phosphorus ( 1 2″ × 1 10″ ) pellets). Since the (n,p) threshold reaction in phosphorus (≈ 1 MeV) is approximately the same as the (n,f) reaction in U238, the two scans should yield, as is found to be the case, identical results provided there is no appreciable influence of photofission in the U3O8.
Wildlife Legislation before and after the Endangered Species Act of 1973

To some persons, private gardens, public parks, and farms appear to offer a safe way to preserve all of the plants and animals the environment needs. To people who ignore the need for conservation, the idea of paving and pruning and artificially laying out our land from coast to coast seems welcome. Wiser persons perceive that the destruction so imposed on nature would ultimately endanger our existence. The wilderness, with its wealth of animals and plants, holds a treasure from which we already extract the chemicals and genes we need for agricultural breeding, for industrial products, and for healing drugs. What to the layman may look like a disorderly swamp, or a dark forest, or an uninteresting prairie, actually encompasses complicated communities of vegetation and animals of all classes, communities that are held together in a stable balance by their interdependent components. Ecologists are identifying the key principles at work in these ecosystems of wetlands and drylands, forests and prairies. In their search for understanding of how life on our planet functions, they have called attention to the overriding need to preserve and protect the biological diversity that characterizes ecosystems. They have found instances in which short‐sighted human tampering has played havoc with subtle ecological balances. Too frequently entire species have vanished under man's onslaught. Sometimes such a disappearance is an indication that an entire ecosystem is out of balance.
Infant Massage: A Strategy to Promote Self-Efficacy in Parents of Blind Infants.

For successful communication to exist between a caregiver and infant, the caregiver must feel confident about her/his ability to parent and also have specific and accurate knowledge about the behaviours required for optimal care-giving; lack of this knowledge may lead to feelings of uncertainty and less than optimal communication. Studies indicate that the highest levels of caregiver distress were experienced by caregivers who had low feelings of self-efficacy and infants with functional limitations. Many caregivers of blind infants have high levels of distress and low selfefficacy due to lack of information, resources, and support. Research indicates that a majority of care givers of atypically developing infants are able to ‘bring the best’ to their infants when appropriately supported by a professional or intervention. Infant massage is an inexpensive and easily utilized intervention which may help increase caregiver self-efficacy and promote sensitive communication in dyads where the infant is blind.
Near-Infrared Ultrawide Bandwidth LEDs Using InAs Quantum Dots of Equally Tuned Heights

Ultrawide bandwidth light-emitting diodes (LEDs) using eight layers of InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) of equally tuned heights are reported. Tilted and tapered waveguides of various dimensions are tested under continuous-wave operation conditions. An emission spectrum with 3-dB bandwidth up to 173 nm at a peak wavelength of 1064.5 nm is achieved. The measured emission spectra of the QDs-LEDs as a function of the injection current indicated that the obtained large bandwidth is related to the contribution of the excited states (p, d) from the ensemble of the dots to the recombination mechanism. Continuous-wave output power of 0.6 mW is measured in the corresponding device that is made of a 1-mm-long waveguide and with tilted and tapered angles of 6° and 2°, respectively.
Sufficient conditions for unimodality of the positive binomial likelihood function

Abstract The likelihood function for the positive binomial with unknown parameters, N and p , is not in general unimodal. However, it is unimodal in a large class of cases (for example, when the mean of the observations is an integer). This paper develops sufficient conditions for unimodality and presents a counter-example to unimodality when these conditions do not hold. This example is given in the form of a set of observations for which the likelihood function has two critical points: a local maximum and a saddle point.
Excited-State Raman Spectroscopy of Inorganic Compounds

— Raman spectra of inorganic complexes in excited electronic states are discussed. A brief overview of the field of transient Raman spectroscopy and experimental considerations are presented. Two examples from the author's laboratory are used to illustrate the type of information that can be obtained. The first example, an excited-state Raman spectroscopic study of K3[Mn(CN)5NO], is chosen because it illustrates the connections between excited-state molecular structure and vibrational properties. The pump pulse causes a change from a linear sp-hybridized NO containing a triple bond to a bent sp2-hybridized NO containing a double bond. Both the NO stretch and normal modes involving other ligands are measured and interpreted. The second example is chosen to illustrate the vibrational consequences of photoinduced electron transfer. The Raman spectra of W(CO)4(diimine) complexes (diimine = 2,2'-bipyridine, 4,4'-dimethyl-2,2'-bipyridine, and isopropyl-pyridine-2-carbaldehyde imine) in the lowest tungsten to diimine charge transfer excited state are discussed. The excited-state peaks are assigned to ligand ring deformation modes and to carbonyl stretching modes. The totally symmetric cis-carbonyl stretching mode in the charge transfer excited state is about 50 cm' higher in energy than that of the molecule in the ground electronic state. The increase is interpreted in terms of loss of metal-car-bonyl back-bonding in the charge transfer excited state. Finally, a summary of the field's strengths and difficulties and a brief discussion of the future perspectives are presented.
1996 French Historical Studies Conference

The spirit of Versailles rather than of the Bourse du Travail animated the Forty-Second Annual Meeting of the Society for French Historical Studies, held at Boston University, March 21-23,1996. Labor history as many of us first knew it?as an examination of workers' organizations or class struggle?barely appeared on this year's program. Instead, panels investi gated the many aspects of the reign of Louis XIV, whose restoration as a subject of historical inquiry was marked by the fleur de lis imprinted on each page of the program. When in attendance, working men and women appeared most often outside of work: in their negotiations with the state, family members, religious institutions, police brigades, or neighborhood associations. The conference thus offered a glimpse of the remapping of French labor history. The most innovative scholarship drew inspiration from the combined disciplines of labor and women's history. Lisa DiCaprio (Rutgers) and Janine Lanza (Cornell) offered original explanations of how independent and indigent working women negotiated the economic upheaval accom panying the transition from the Old Regime to the revolutionary economy. Lanza's paper on widows of master guild artisans argued against recent scholarship's claims that the Old Regime offered women more economic freedom and social maneuverability than did the post-revolutionary peri od. Her research documents that masters' widows' claims to status within
Software-defined GPS receiver on USRP-platform

A non-real-time GPS software-defined radio was designed, built, and tested using the Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP) platform. A hardware front-end to receive the GPS signal and downconvert it to an intermediate frequency was also implemented. Subsequently, the system was used to acquire and process real GPS data to demonstrate the capability of the design.
The Drug Effectiveness Review Project: An Important Step Forward

ABSTRACT: Peter Neumann's paper on the Drug Effectiveness Review Project (DERP) is a constructive if incomplete point of departure for discussing the work done by the project and the use of that wo...
Communication and Education About Asthma in Rural and Urban Schools

Objective To assess the quality of communication and education about asthma in Pennsylvania public schools. Methods Survey of a stratified random sample of school nurses in rural and urban Pennsylvania public schools (n = 996) concerning communication with school nurses about asthma by physicians and parents, nurses' perceived obstacles to asthma management at school, and utilization of and need for education about asthma. Results A total of 757 surveys were received (response rate 76%). Thirty-nine percent of school nurses rated their communication with physicians about asthma as either poor or very poor. Urban nurses were significantly more likely to report poor/very poor physician communication ( P = .09). Fifty-two percent of the nurses overall (43% rural, 56% urban) also cited lack of communication with parents as an important obstacle to asthma management. Forty-nine percent of school nurses (43% rural, 52% urban) reported attending an asthma education program during the previous year, and 75% (83% rural, 71% urban) expressed interest in additional education. Education about asthma was provided for classroom teachers in 54% of schools (56% rural, 54% urban) and provided for students in 58% of schools (54% rural, 60% urban). Conclusions These findings document need for improvement in communication about children's asthma between school nurses and physicians. Although communication appears better in rural relative to urban schools, it is a salient issue in both settings. Study findings also indicate the need for expanded professional education opportunities for school nurses and improved access to appropriate curricular materials for school staff, parents, and students.
Crack tip singular fields in ductile crystals with taylor power-law hardening. I: Anti-plane shear

Abstract A symptotic singular solutions of the HRR type are presented for anti-plane shear cracks in ductile crystals. These are assumed to undergo Taylor hardening with a power-law relation between stress and strain at sufficiently large strain. Results are given for several crack orientations in fcc and bcc crystals. The neartip region divides into angular sectors which are the maps of successive flat segments and vertices on the yield locus. Analysis is simplified by use of new general integrals of crack tip singular fields of the HRR type. It is conjectured that the single crystal HRR fields are dominant only over part of the plastic region immediately adjacent to the crack tip, even at small scale yielding, and that their domain of validity vanishes as the perfectly plastic limit is approached. This follows from the fact that while in the perfectly plastic limit the HRR stress states approach the correct discontinuous distributions of the complete elasticideally plastic solutions for crystals (R ice and N ikolic , J. Mech. Phys. Solids 33 , 595 (1985)), the HRR displacement fields in that limit remain continuous. Instead, the complete elastic-ideally plastic solutions have discontinuous displacements along planar plastic regions emanating from the tip in otherwise elastically stressed material. The approach of the HRR stress fields to their discontinuous limiting distributions is illustrated in graphical plots of results. A case examined here of a fcc crystal with a crack along a slip plane is shown to lead to a discontinuous near-tip stress state even in the hardening regime. Through another limiting process, the asymptotic solution for the near-tip field for an isotropic material is also derived from the present single crystal framework.
Endothelial expression of human cytochrome P450 epoxygenases lowers blood pressure and attenuates hypertension-induced renal injury in mice

Renal cytochrome P450 (CYP)-derived epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) regulate sodium transport and blood pressure. Although endothelial CYP-derived EETs are potent vasodilators, their contribution to the regulation of blood pressure remains unclear. Consequently, we developed transgenic mice with endothelial expression of the human CYP2J2 and CYP2C8 epoxygenases to increase endothelial EET biosynthesis. Compared to wild-type littermate controls, an attenuated afferent arteriole constrictor response to endothelin-1 and enhanced dilator response to acetylcholine was observed in CYP2J2 and CYP2C8 transgenic mice. CYP2J2 and CYP2C8 transgenic mice demonstrated modestly, but not significantly, lower mean arterial pressure under basal conditions compared to wild-type controls. However, mean arterial pressure was significantly lower in both CYP2J2 and CYP2C8 transgenic mice during coadministration of N-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester and indomethacin. In a separate experiment, a high-salt diet and subcutaneous angiotensin II was administered over 4 wk. The angiotensin/high-salt-induced increase in systolic blood pressure, proteinuria, and glomerular injury was significantly attenuated in CYP2J2 and CYP2C8 transgenic mice compared to wild-type controls. Collectively, these data demonstrate that increased endothelial CYP epoxygenase expression attenuates afferent arteriolar constrictor reactivity and hypertension-induced increases in blood pressure and renal injury in mice. We conclude that endothelial CYP epoxygenase function contributes to the regulation of blood pressure.—Lee, C. R., Imig, J. D., Edin, M. E., Foley, J., DeGraff, L. M., Bradbury, J. A., Graves, J. P., Lih, F. B., Clark, J., Myers, P., Perrow, A. L., Lepp, A. N., Kannon, M. A., Ronnekleiv, O. K., Alkayed, N. J., Falck, J. R., Tomer, K. B., Zeldin, D. C. Endothelial expression of human cytochrome P450 epoxygenases lowers blood pressure and attenuates hypertension-induced renal injury in mice.
A Note on the Occurrence of Psora icterica in Eastern North America

Abstract. The eastern North American occurrence of Psora icterica (Mont.) Mull. Arg., is confirmed.
A systematic nomenclature for carbohydrate fragmentations in FAB-MS/MS spectra of glycoconjugates

A summary of the ion types observed in the Fast Atom Bombardment Mass Spectrometry (FAB-MS) and collision induced decomposition (CID) MS/MS spectra of glycoconjugates (glycosphingolipids, glycopeptides, glycosides and carbohydrates) is presented. The variety of product ion types that arise by cleavages within the carbohydrate moieties has prompted us to introduce a systematic nomenclature to designate these ions. The proposed nomenclature has been developed primarily for FAB-MS, but can be used as well for other ionization techniques [field desorption (FD), direct chemical ionization (DCI), laser desorption/Fourier transform (LD/FT), etc.], and is applicable to spectra recorded in either the positive or negative ion mode during both MS and MS/MS experiments. Ai, Bi and Ci labels are used to designate fragments containing a terminal (nonreducing end) sugar unit, whereas Xj, Yj and Zj represent ions still containing the aglycone (or the reducing sugar unit). Subscripts indicate the position relative to the termini analogous to the system used in peptides, and superscripts indicate cleavages within carbohydrate rings. FAB-MS/MS spectra of a native glycosphingolipid and glycopeptide, and a permethylated ganglioside are shown as illustrations.
Disruption of FR-40 by 5-HT agonists. II. Effects of chronic phenelzine or isocarboxazid.

Abstract Effects of chronic treatment with the monoamine oxidase inhibitors phenelzine and isocarboxazid on disruption of FR-40 operant responses by 5-HT agonists have been studied. Three groups of rats that were trained in the FR-40 operant schedule showed marked disruption by 0.1 mg/kg IP lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 2 mg/kg IP quipazine (Q), 0.05 mg/kg SC 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OHDPAT), and 1 mg/kg SC (m-trifluoromethyl-phenyl)piperazine (TFMPP), administered twice weekly in random order. Subsequently, one group received daily IP injection of phenelzine (5 and 10 mg/kg), the second group received 5 mg/kg IP of isocarboxazid, and the third group received vehicle (0.5% methyl cellulose) for 24 days (Period 1 and Period 2). For these periods and 12 days after discontinuing the MAOI treatments (Washout Period), test doses of 5-HT agonists were evaluated for their effects to decrease reinforcements (R) and increase pauses (P). No change in sensitivity to the LSD, Q and TFMPP effects on FR-40 behavior was observed in the vehicle-treated group. However, an attenuated effect of 8-OHDPAT was found in this group. In phenelzine- and isocarboxazid-treated rats the disruption of FR-40 responses by LSD and 8-OHDPAT were significantly reduced during Period 1, Period 2 and Washout Period. A significantly less effect on disruption in FR-40 responses by quipazine and TFMPP during Period 2 and the Washout Period was also seen. Since MAO inhibitors appear to down-regulate both 5-HT1 and 5-HT2 binding sites in brain, the attenuated effects of the 5-HT agonists were anticipated. However, the effects observed during Washout Period presumably reflect subsensitivity of brain 5-HT receptors that persists after discontinuing treatment with the MAO inhibitors.
Networking for the environment

The responses to the survey are more diverse than the authors anticipated. ECEE seems to attract people from many disciplines, specializations, and backgrounds. They read a great variety of journals and belong to many different organizations. The number of people with a strong interest in environmental education during the early childhood years seems to be growing. Individuals interested in becoming more involved in environmental education at the early childhood level may wish to contact the ECEE networking center at Bowling Green State University for further information. Individuals with ideas for the future direction of the network are also encouraged to contact the center. Interest has been expressed in establishing a World Wide Web page for the network. Look for this as a possible next step. For further information or suggestions relating to the network, contact Dr. Ruth Wilson, Department of Special Education, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH 43403. Contact can also be made by phone (419/372-7278), fax (419/372-8265), or e-mail (rwilso2@bgnet.bgsu.edu).
Shunted hydrocephalus: Normal upright icp by csf gravity-flow control: A clinical study in young adults

Abstract Hydrocephalic patients with years of ventricle shunts may be disabled by shunt overdrainage. Gravity-induced upright CSF shunt flow produces this overdrainage with abnormally low, upright ICP. Consequently, the concept of a normal level of zero ICP, which ventricle shunts must mimic, was developed. For 4.5 years, this concept has been applied in hydrocephalus patients by using a Siphon Control Device as a Zero Pressure Device in ventricle shunts. The results in 56 patients, including 42 overdrainage problems, were assessed by clinical grading, ICP record analyses, and computed tomographic (CT) ventricle size comparisons. All patients ultimately achieved satisfactory clinical results. This occurred in 80% of the patients on the first insertion. Adjustment of the vertical level of the Zero Pressure Device was necessary in 20%. The optimum clinical result correlated with an upright ICP of −66 mm of H 2 O. This postoperative ICP correlated within 4 mm of the Zero Pressure Device placement below vertex. Ventricle size correlated poorly with clinical grade and normal ICP. Only 73% of slit ventricles enlarged by 16.5 months. The need to mimic normal upright ICP by maintaining a normal level of zero upright ICP in shunted patients is supported by these results.