cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tasks: language support for event-driven programming

The event-driven programming style is pervasive as an efficient method for interacting with the environment. Unfortunately, the event-driven style severely complicates program maintenance and understanding, as it requires each logical flow of control to be fragmented across multiple independent callbacks.We propose tasks as a new programming model for organizing event-driven programs. Tasks are a variant of cooperative multi-threading and allow each logical control flow to be modularized in the traditional manner, including usage of standard control mechanisms like procedures and exceptions. At the same time, by using method annotations, task-based programs can be automatically and modularly translated into efficient event-based code, using a form of continuation passing style (CPS) translation. A linkable scheduler architecture permits tasks to be used in many different contexts.We have instantiated our model as a backward-compatible extension to Java, called TaskJava. We illustrate the benefits of our language through a formalization in an extension to Featherweight Java, and through a case study based on an open-source web server.
Vibration of Truncated Conical Cylinders of Crystal Class 6/mmm

A nine-node Lagrangian finite element is formulated in an axisymmetric conical coordinate sys tem and used to study the vibration of truncated hollow cones. The governing elasticity equations (stra...
Electoral breakthroughs in Croatia and Serbia: Women's organizing and international assistance

Abstract This article investigates the role of women's organizations and activists in the electoral breakthroughs in Serbia and Croatia in 2000. When, how, and to what effect, it asks, did women organize during transformational moments to promote their goals of political liberalization and gender equality? I argue that political opportunities—shaped by the domestic constellation of forces and international assistance programs—are essential to explaining political success. I identify what I call the insider/inclusionary strategy that characterizes women's organizing in Croatia and the outsider/oppositional strategy that characterizes women's organizing in Serbia. These strategies resulted in different immediate outcomes for women's political equality in the electoral breakthroughs in Croatia and Serbia.
Nonparametric Ranked-set Sampling Confidence Intervals for Quantiles of a Finite Population

Ranked-set sampling from a finite population is considered in this paper. Three sampling protocols are described, and procedures for constructing nonparametric confidence intervals for a population quantile are developed. Algorithms for computing coverage probabilities for these confidence intervals are presented, and the use of interpolated confidence intervals is recommended as a means to approximately achieve coverage probabilities that cannot be achieved exactly. A simulation study based on finite populations of sizes 20, 30, 40, and 50 shows that the three sampling protocols follow a strict ordering in terms of the average lengths of the confidence intervals they produce. This study also shows that all three ranked-set sampling protocols tend to produce confidence intervals shorter than those produced by simple random sampling, with the difference being substantial for two of the protocols. The interpolated confidence intervals are shown to achieve coverage probabilities quite close to their nominal levels. Rankings done according to a highly correlated concomitant variable are shown to reduce the level of the confidence intervals only minimally. An example to illustrate the construction of confidence intervals according to this methodology is provided.
Nonvolatile optically-erased colloidal memristors

A nonconjugated methacrylate terpolymer containing carbazole moieties (electron donors), 1,3,4-oxadiazole moieties (electron acceptors), and Coumarin-6 in the pendant groups was synthesized via free radical copolymerization of methacrylate monomers containing the respective functional groups. The terpolymer was formed into 57 nm particles through a mini-emulsion route. For a thin 100 nm film of the fused particles sandwiched between an indium-tin oxide (ITO) electrode and an Al electrode, the structure behaved as a nonvolatile flash (rewritable) memory with accessible electronic states that could be written, read, and optically erased. The device exhibited a turn-on voltage of ca. −4.5 VDC and a 106 current ratio. A device in the ON high conductance state could be reverted to the OFF state with a short exposure to a 360 nm light source. The development of semiconducting colloidal inks that can be converted into electroactive devices through a continuous processing method is a critical step in the widespread adoption of these 2D manufacturing technologies for printed electronics.
Raman scattering from condensed argon

Two-phonon Raman spectra have been measured for solid-argon samples at two densities at low temperature. These results are compared with published calculations based on a point-dipole model, and some shortcomings of this model are indicated. The development of the Raman spectra with increasing temperature in the solid at constant density has been studied, and the results discussed in the context of this model. Finally, spectra were measured for solid and fluid argon at a number of points along the melting curve at pressures up to 4 kbar, in order to explore the changes which occur upon melting. These results are compared with previously published data for fluid argon at other temperatures and pressures. Some comparisons with molecular-dynamics calculations are also made.
Density and temperature of fermions from quantum fluctuations

Abstract A method to determine the density and temperature of a system is proposed based on quantum fluctuations typical of bosons in the limit where the temperature T is close to the critical temperature T c for a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) at a given density ρ. Quadrupole and particle multiplicity fluctuations using Landauʼs theory of fluctuations near the critical point are derived. As an example, we apply our approach to heavy ion collisions using the Constrained Molecular Dynamics model (CoMD) which includes the Fermi statistics. The model shows some clusterization into deuteron (d) and alpha (α) clusters but it is not enough to reproduce available experimental data. We propose a modification of the collision term in the approach to include the possibility of α–α collisions. The relevant Bose–Einstein factor in the collision term is properly taken into account. This approach increases the yields of bosons relative to fermions closer to data. Boson fluctuations become larger than 1 as expected. If they are confirmed a new field of research could open up for a mixture of strongly interacting fermions and bosons which requires novel techniques both theoretically and experimentally.
Linear scale semantic mining algorithms in microsoft SQL server's semantic platform

This paper describes three linear scale, incremental, and fully automatic semantic mining algorithms that are at the foundation of the new Semantic Platform being released in the next version of SQL Server. The target workload is large (10 -- 100 million) Enterprise document corpuses. At these scales, anything short of linear scale and incremental is costly to deploy. These three algorithms give rise to three weighted physical indexes: Tag Index (top keywords in each document); Document Similarity Index (top closely related documents given any document); and Semantic Phrase Similarity Index (top semantically related phrases, given any phrase), which are then query-able through the SQL interface. The need for specifically creating these three indexes was motivated by observing typical stages of document research, and gap analysis, given current tools and technology at the Enterprise. We describe the mining algorithms and architecture, and also outline some compelling user experiences that are enabled by the indexes.
Paramagnetic relaxation initiated by flux jumping

Abstract Controlled flux jumping of type-II superconductors has been used to produce non-equilibrium spin distributions 3n Ce 3+ 1 at. %:CaF 2 . The subsequent return to thermal equilibrium was examined by monitoring the magnetic-optical Faraday effect of the cerium ions.
Construction and optimization of complex surface‐reaction mechanisms

A multistep methodology for the quantitative determination of rate constants of a detailed surface-reaction mechanism is proposed. As a starting point, thermodynamically consistent, coverage-dependent activation energies and heats of reactions were derived from the application of the unity bond index-quadratic exponential potential formulation, and initial estimates of the preexpontentials were obtained from transition-state theory or available experiments. Important feature identification analysis was performed to determine key kinetic parameters for various experiments. Model responses were parameterized in terms of these important parameters by polynomials and factorial design techniques, and these parameterized responses were subsequently used in simultaneous optimization through simulated annealing against different sets of experimental data to obtain a quantitative reaction mechanism that is valid over a wide range of operating conditions. The technique was successfully applied to the development of a comprehensive reaction mechanism for H 2 /air mixtures on polycrystalline Pt.
A thermo-mechanically coupled theory for large deformations of amorphous polymers. Part II: Applications

In this Part I, of a two-part paper, we present a detailed continuum-mechanical development of a thermo-mechanically coupled elasto-viscoplasticity theory to model the strain rate and temperature dependent large-deformation response of amorphous polymeric materials. Such a theory, when further specialized (Part II) should be useful for modeling and simulation of the thermo-mechanical response of components and structures made from such materials, as well as for modeling a variety of polymer processing operations.
Kinematics and muscle activity of individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury during treadmill stepping with and without manual assistance

Treadmill training with bodyweight support and manual assistance improves walking ability of patients with neurological injury. The purpose of this study was to determine how manual assistance changes muscle activation and kinematic patterns during treadmill training in individuals with incomplete spinal cord injury. We tested six volunteers with incomplete spinal cord injury and six volunteers with intact nervous systems. Subjects with spinal cord injury walked on a treadmill at six speeds (0.18–1.07 m/s) with body weight support with and without manual assistance. Healthy subjects walked at the same speeds only with body weight support. We measured electromyographic (EMG) and kinematics in the lower extremities and calculated EMG root mean square (RMS) amplitudes and joint excursions. We performed cross-correlation analyses to compare EMG and kinematic profiles. Normalized muscle activation amplitudes and profiles in subjects with spinal cord injury were similar for stepping with and without manual assistance (ANOVA, p > 0.05). Muscle activation amplitudes increased with increasing speed (ANOVA, p < 0.05). When comparing spinal cord injury subject EMG data to control subject EMG data, neither the condition with manual assistance nor the condition without manual assistance showed a greater similarity to the control subject data, except for vastus lateralis. The shape and timing of EMG patterns in subjects with spinal cord injury became less similar to controls at faster speeds, especially when walking without manual assistance (ANOVA, p < 0.05). There were no consistent changes in kinematic profiles across spinal cord injury subjects when they were given manual assistance. Knee joint excursion was ~5 degrees greater with manual assistance during swing (ANOVA, p < 0.05). Hip and ankle joint excursions were both ~3 degrees lower with manual assistance during stance (ANOVA, p < 0.05). Providing manual assistance does not lower EMG amplitudes or alter muscle activation profiles in relatively higher functioning spinal cord injury subjects. One advantage of manual assistance is that it allows spinal cord injury subjects to walk at faster speeds than they could without assistance. Concerns that manual assistance will promote passivity in subjects are unsupported by our findings.
Investigating the Bactericidal Mechanism of Three Novel Histone-Derived Antimicrobial Peptides

Many antimicrobial peptides elicit bacterial death via cell membrane lysis. However, buforin II (BF2), a 21-amino acid peptide derived from histone H2A, is unique due to its hypothesized ability to translocate across cell membranes and interact with bacterial nucleic acids to cause cell death. Since cell-entry peptides, such as BF2, often are effective at lower concentrations than peptides that target membranes, increasing their potential as therapeutics in vivo. To this end, we developed three novel histone-derived antimicrobial peptides based on fragments of histones H2A (Des1), H3 (Des2) and H4 (Des3). These histones were previously found to exhibit translocation behavior. The designed peptides' antimicrobial properties were verified using a radial diffusion assay. In this assay, BF2 exhibited the greatest antimicrobial activity, followed by Des1, Des3 and Des2, respectively. We also measured the absorbance of bacterial cells incubated with these peptides. Based on the similarity between the absorbance versus time trend for the designed peptides with other DNA-binding antimicrobial peptides, such as BF2 and indolicidin, molecular dynamics simulations were used to model the peptides' interactions with nucleic acids. MM-GBSA analyses of the simulations were used to calculate DNA binding energies of individual peptide residues. We used these analyses to create mutant versions of the designed peptides that were predicted to have altered DNA binding. Experimental measurements of the DNA binding and antimicrobial properties of these variants will help us determine whether nucleic acid interactions are important in the bactericidal mechanism of the designed peptides. Ongoing work on the designed peptides is aimed at investigating their translocation behavior in vitro with lipid vesicles and in vivo with bacterial cells using confocal microscopy and fluorescently tagged peptides.
Parallel processing of run-length-encoded Boolean imagery: RLE transformation, arithmetic, and global-reduce operations

The processing of Boolean imagery compressed by runlength encoding (RLE) frequently exhibits greater computational efficiency than the processing of uncompressed imagery, due to the data reduction inherent in RLE. In a previous publication, we outlined general methods for developing operators that compute over RLE Boolean imagery. In this paper, we present sequential and parallel algorithms for a variety of operations over RLE imagery, including the customary arithmetic and logical Hadamard operations, as well as the global reduce functions of image sum and maximum. RLE neighborhood-based operations, as well as the more advanced RLE operations of linear transforms, connected component labelling, and pattern recognition are presented in the companion paper.
High sensitivity long-period grating-based temperature monitoring using a wide wavelength range to 2.2 μm

Abstract Temperature effects on the various cladding modes of a long-period grating (LPG) fabricated in B-Ge co-doped fibre have been investigated to create a high sensitivity measurement device. The temperature sensitivities of the attenuation bands of the LPG over the wavelength region 1.2–2.2 μm, for a grating with a 330 μm period, were obtained by monitoring the wavelength shift of each attenuation band, with a temperature increment of 20 °C, over the range from 23 °C to 140 °C. The attenuation band appearing over the 1.8–2.0 μm wavelength range has shown a nearly five times higher temperature sensitivity than that of lower order modes, and thus it shows significant promise for fibre optic temperature sensor applications.
An experimental study of methane synthesis by concentration forcing

Abstract The production of methane from CO and H 2 over an NiAl 2 O 3 catalyst was studied in a gradientless reactor under steady-state and pure component cycling conditions, at pressure of 1 atm and a temperature of 513 K. It was observed that the time-averaged production rate of methane increased as the cycle period decreased. The highest rates were obtained for a cycle period of 12 s, the lowest investigated, and at a cycle split of 0.4 which coincides with the composition of the optimum steady-state feed mixture. Time-averaged rates up to 7% higher than the experimentally determined optimum steady-state rate on a mole basis were obtained. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on concentration forcing of the methanation reaction to appear in the open literature, and the results are encouraging.
Procolipase gene expression in the rat brain: Source of endogenous enterostatin production in the brain

Enterostatin is a pentapeptide released from its precursor protein procolipase, which is synthesized in the exocrine pancreas and gastric mucosa. As central injection of enterostatin has potent effects on feeding, we hypothesized that the procolipase may also be expressed in the brain. We confirmed the presence of preprocolipase gene expression in amygdala by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and Northern blot analysis and of protein expression by Western blots. Immunohistochemical analysis using antibodies for procolipase and enterostatin identified their immunoreactivity (IR) in rat brain. Procolipase IR was present in the cytoplasm of paraventricular, amygdala, and the dorsal thalamus nucleus. Enterostatin IR was evident in the fibers of the dorsal thalamus and arcuate nucleus. In vivo injection of enterostatin antibody into rat amygdala increased food intake. These data suggest that procolipase and enterostatin are synthesized within specific regions of the brain that function in the regulation of food intake centrally.
RAD51 Is Required for Propagation of the Germinal Nucleus in Tetrahymena thermophila

RAD51, the eukaryote homolog of the Escherichia coli recA recombinase, participates in homologous recombination during mitosis, meiosis, and in the repair of double-stranded DNA breaks. The Tetrahymena thermophila RAD51 gene was recently cloned, and the in vitro activities and induction of Rad51p following DNA damage were shown to be similar to that of RAD51 from other species. This study describes the pattern of Tetrahymena RAD51 expression during both the cell cycle and conjugation. Tetrahymena RAD51 mRNA abundance is elevated during macronuclear S phase during vegetative cell growth and with both meiotic prophase and new macronuclear development during conjugation. Gene disruption of the macronuclear RAD51 locus leads to severe abnormalities during both vegetative growth and conjugation. rad51 nulls divide slowly and incur rapid deterioration of their micronuclear chromosomes. Conjugation of two rad51 nulls leads to an arrest early during prezygotic development (meiosis I). We discuss the potential usefulness of the ciliates' characteristic nuclear duality for further analyses of the potentially unique roles of Tetrahymena RAD51.
Gerardo Segarelli as the anti-francis: Mendicant rivalry and heresy in medieval Italy, 1260–1300

Scholars generally associate the Order of Apostles, founded around 1260 by Gerardo Segarelli in Parma, Italy, with medieval heresies. This article analyses the leading source for the first three decades of the Apostles, the chronicle of the Franciscan Salimbene de Adam of Parma, and casts Segarelli and the Apostle friars instead as thirteenth-century mendicants who rivalled the Franciscans in the Emilia, the Romagna and the March of Ancona. Salimbene's depiction of Gerardo Segarelli focuses on the chronicler's desire to recreate his rival as an inversion of Francis of Assisi and Franciscan ideals. Gerardo Segarelli emerges in the account as an anti-Francis. Yet only after 1274, when the Second Council of Lyons ordered a general suppression of all religious movements founded after Fourth Lateran in 1215, did the situation change slowly for Segarelli's followers as opponents began to question their obedience to papal authority. Gerardo Segarelli and the Apostle friars ultimately faced condemnation as heretics, but not before the 1290s. Salimbene's chronicle, written in the 1280s, should not be taken as a source for a ‘Segarellian heresy’ launched by a ‘heresiarch’ in the Joachite year 1260, but as a source for mendicant rivalry in the thirteenth century that was deeply passionate in its rhetoric and invective.
Unusual Product Ratios Resulting from the Gamma-Irradiation of Cholesterol in Liposomes

Cholesterol in aqueous suspensions of multilamellar vesicles (MLV) was exposed to gamma-irradiation (0.5-10 kGy) at 0-4 degrees C. Cholesterol oxidation products resulting from the irradiation were isolated by dry column extraction followed by preparative thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and were quantitated by on-column gas chromatography (GC). The ratio of 7-ketocholesterol/cholesterol 5,6-epoxides generated by irradiation was less than one, much lower than the ratio of ten commonly produced by autoxidation. Irradiation also produced relatively higher amounts of 7-hydroxycholesterol than did autoxidation. These unique product ratios may be suitable indicators of past exposure to irradiation.
Cigarette Smoking and Measures of Impulsivity in a College Sample

ABSTRACT. Background: An association between impulsivity and smoking has been consistently reported in the literature, but few studies have examined how distinct dimensions of impulsivity may relate differentially to smoking initiation versus persistent smoking. The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between self-report and behavioral measures of impulsivity and smoking status in college students. Methods: Participants (N = 243) completed a self-report history of tobacco use, 2 self-report measures of impulsivity (the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale and Zuckerman Sensation-Seeking Scale), and 2 behavioral measures (the Delay Discounting Task and Iowa Gambling Task). All participants were classified as never-smokers, triers, or smokers based on their smoking history, and between-group differences on the 4 measures were examined. Results: On the self-report measures, all 3 groups differed on sensation seeking, with the never-smokers reporting the lowest levels and the smokers reporting the...
How Habitat Features Shape Ground Squirrel (Urocitellus beldingi) Navigation

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether Belding’s ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi) from areas rich in beacons perform differently in a task of spatial memory compared with squirrels from beacon-thin areas. To assess the role of environmental experience in spatial memory, wild-born squirrels with several days of experience in the field were compared with squirrels born in a lab and with no experience in their original habitat. Over two summers, squirrels captured from beacon-dense and beacon-thin areas were tested in a radial maze interspersed with beacons, using number of trials to criterion as a measure of spatial memory. To evaluate the effect of landmark navigation, in year 2 juveniles were prevented from seeing outside the maze area. In both years squirrels from beacon-dense populations reached criterion faster than squirrels from beacon-thin populations, and a weak rearing effect was present in 1 year. Despite sex differences in adult spatial skills, no differences were found between males and females in the maze. This demonstrates variation in the navigation strategies of young U. beldingi, and highlights the need to evaluate spatial preferences as a function of population or ecology in addition to species and sex.
Furosemide Reduces the Incidence of Pulmonary Hypertension Syndrome (Ascites) in Broilers Exposed to Cool Environmental Temperatures

The incidence of pulmonary hypertension syndrome (PHS; ascites) was evaluated in two experiments using broiler breeder male by-product chicks exposed after 3 wk of age to cool environmental temperatures (10 to 15 C). In Experiment 1, 3- to 6-wk-old birds were fed a grower diet to which 0 (Control), .001, .005, .010, or .015% furosemide had been added. All groups in Experiment 1 were fed a finisher ration containing no furosemide during Weeks 7 to 8. In Experiment 2, the Control group received no furosemide, a second group received .015% furosemide during the grower phase only (Weeks 3 to 6), and the third group received .015% furosemide during the grower and finisher phases (Weeks 3 to 8). Cumulative PHS mortality was significantly reduced by furosemide in both experiments. Compared with Controls, birds fed .015% furosemide did not have lower (P = .077) final body weights in Experiment 1 but did have significantly lower final body weights in Experiment 2. Lower levels of furosemide significantly reduced PHS mortality without reducing body weights. Furosemide did not improve feed conversion in either experiment. Neither body weight on Day 1 or 21 nor net Day 1 to 21 weight gain were predictive of susceptibility to PHS during the subsequent grower and finisher intervals in either experiment. On Day 55 of Experiment 2, large healthy birds fed .015% furosemide had significantly lower right:total ventricular weight ratios than control birds, indicating that furosemide reduced right ventricular hypertrophy, presumably by reducing pulmonary arterial pressure.
Gabapentin for the Treatment of Cancer-Related Pain Syndromes

Objectives: Gabapentin was initially developed as an antiepileptic drug but was later discovered to be an effective treatment of neuropathic pain. Gabapentin has been successfully used for the treatment of multiple neuropathic pain syndromes such as diabetic neuropathy and postherpetic neuralgia. However, limited data exist about its efficacy for other pain syndromes. The objective of the current review is to describe, from the literature, the role of gabapentin for the treatment of cancer-related pain syndromes. Methods: Studies were identified by searching the PubMed electronic databases. Additional review articles and article reference lists were used to identify other studies. Results: Recent studies showed effectiveness of gabapentin in improving the pain control in patients with neuropathic cancer pain, already treated with opiates. Moreover, gabapentin appeared promising in reducing the need for high total doses of opioids and avoiding unplanned treatment interruptions for patients with head and neck malignancies treated with radiotherapy or concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Furthermore, the combination of gabapentin and morphine has been shown to effect better pain relief at lower doses of each drug when compared with gabapentin or morphine alone in patients with painful diabetic neuropathy or postherpetic neuralgia. The combination of both drugs was associated with a beneficial effect on pain-related interference with daily activity, mood, sleep and quality of life. Conclusions: Given the significant benefits of gabapentin and the combination of gabapentin with opioids for the treatment of neuropathic pain, randomized clinical trials are needed to establish the role of these analgesic regimens for the treatment of neuropathic cancer pain.
Impaired lower limb muscle synergies post-stroke

Given the impaired motor output of the lower limb post-stroke, we argue that cortical damage alters the modular control structure underlying muscle activation patterns during both static and dynamic tasks. Muscle synergies were extracted from EMG collected during isometric hip torque production performed by chronic stroke and control subjects. The stroke group presented a reduction in muscle synergies, consistently displaying only two of the four characteristic synergies identified in the control group. These findings do not support a generalized co-contraction of muscles underlying motor impairments. Our data also indicated that the activation coefficients of the muscle synergies retained by the stroke group were altered. Finally, muscle synergies extracted from the isometric torque production tasks were able to account for a large portion of the variance in the gait EMG at similar limb postures in both subject groups. We therefore propose that muscle activation patterns during the swing phase of gait are constrained by the set of muscle synergies identified under the isometric conditions.
The Place of Values in Psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy is a value-laden process because the very notions of therapeutic', ‘cure’, and ‘health’ involve patients and therapists in making value choices. Two hierarchies of health values as they apply to therapy are reviewed. The first guides the therapist in setting limits on pathological behavior and constitutes the so-called 6 D's of pathology: destructiveness, dysphoria, disorganization, deviancy, dependency, and disillusionment. The second illuminates the therapist's role-modeling or ideal-setting function and takes the form of a developmental sequence of positive health values, as derived from Kohlberg's work on moral judgment. These health values, from the lowest to the highest forms, are fit-survival, pleasure-seeking, social-belonging, structural duty, adaptive flexibility, and universal commitment. this hierarchy has important implications for understanding the nature of therapeutic changeand the appropriate matching of therapist and patients
Surface motion of a semi-elliptical alluvial valley for incident plane SH waves

By using the exact analytical solution for the two-dimensional SH-wave propagation in and around an elastic inclusion whose cross section corresponds to one half of an ellipse, we have examined those aspects of the resulting ground motion that are of special interest for earthquake engineering and strong-motion seismology. Computed amplitudes and phases of periodic ground motion display complicated wave-interference phenomena that lead to nearly-standing wave patterns, abrupt changes in the amplification of incident motions along the free surface of the alluvial valley and strong dependence of the overall motions on the incidence angle of SH waves. By comparing the amplification patterns derived from the exact model with the amplifications computed on the basis of an equivalent single-layer model excited by the vertically incident shear waves, we have demonstrated that this approximate representation may lead to meaningful results only if the wavelength of incident waves is longer than the characteristic dimension of the alluvial valley. Although simple, we expect that the model presented in this paper might explain qualitatively the vibrations of some alluvial valleys excited by SH components of strong ground motion.
Patient‐Centered Care of the Pregnant Patient with Diabetes Who Uses an Insulin Pump during Labor and Delivery

Poster Presentation Purpose for the Program Continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) pump therapy is associated with better quality of life and in some studies better glucose control than standard multidose insulin injections. A person with diabetes who uses an insulin pump for blood glucose management considers the insulin pump as a lifeline. Disconnecting from the insulin pump raises concern and triggers unnecessary anxiety. Most of our patients were told to discontinue their pumps on admission to the labor and delivery unit. Sometimes a physician would write an order to allow a patient to continue using the pump, which was problematic because no supervision of insulin delivery or assessment of the patient's ability to manage the pump was taking place by nursing staff or physicians. The obstetricians were not familiar with the intricacies of dose adjustments and the need for quick, abrupt changes in dosage during the postpartum period. Proposed Change To partner with the director of our Diabetes and Obesity Institute and initiate a pump pilot program with tools and guidelines unique to the obstetric setting. The most important component of this patient‐centric journey was use of an insulin pump agreement. Because these patients make daily insulin dose adjustments independently, it was critical to empower both the pump‐using patient and nurse to form a partnership concerning insulin dosage during hospitalization. The agreement addressed the following key points: • Showing the nurse bolus doses, basal rates, and changes. • Frequency of infusion set and infusion site changes. • Reporting symptoms of hypoglycemia and pump problems. • Situations when the pump may need to be discontinued. Implementation, Outcomes, and Evaluation Standardized orders for insulin pump therapy management in the intrapartum and immediate postpartum periods were developed, along with a medication administration record that allowed for documentation of basal rates and boluses. All pump patients have an endocrine consult to assess ability to manage self‐care and determine postpartum dosage changes. Mandatory education sessions for all nurses, midlevel healthcare providers, and physician staff were provided by our diabetes nurse clinicians. The sessions addressed technical aspects of CSII pump therapy and the patient's emotional connection to the pump. The nurse clinicians were notified when a patient using an insulin pump was admitted and assisted nurses and healthcare providers with any process issues. Data collection and outcomes evaluation are ongoing with changes being made as relevant. Implications for Nursing Practice Nursing has been essential in the formation of a multidisciplinary team that partnered with other disciplines to provide safe, effective, and patient‐centered care.
Trust Violation in Electronic Commerce: Customer Concerns and Reactions

The positive relationship between trust and purchase-related variables (such as willingness to buy) has been widely reported in literature. By implication, it is sometimes suggested that violation of trust will lead to negative consequences. However, there is a dearth of empirical support for the consequences of trust violation. In the current study, we examine a research model that proposes that the three characteristics of a trust violation (magnitude of negative outcome, causal attribution to seller, and perceived fairness of seller response) will influence psychological contract violation (PCV), which will affect customer trust (both affect-based and cognition-based trust) and which, in turn, will influence customer repurchase intentions with the offending seller, customer intentions to engage in negative word of mouth communication, and, customer intention to continue purchases on the Internet. The results indicate significant support for the research model. The theoretical and practical implications...
Physical Inactivity of Black Adolescent Girls: Is It All About Attitude?

Physical activity is an essential component for a healthy life and has implications for the prevention of chronic diseases and obesity. Physical inactivity is an independent risk factor for many chronic diseases and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Attitudes of Black adolescent girls toward physical activity were identified as an important predictor for engaging in physical activity among Black adolescent girls. Understanding and addressing attitudes of Black adolescent toward physical activity could help increase physical activity levels of Black adolescent girls. Physical activity programs that are enjoyable and culturally relevant are discussed as effective strategies that can increase physical activity levels of this target group, that is, Black adolescent girls. To reverse this growing trend of physical inactivity noted in Black adolescent girls, more intervention programs directed at Black adolescent girls are needed.
A prototype distributed adaptive learning system

The authors report on a distributed adaptive learning system (DALS) project at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. This project grew out of work reported previously by the first author (2001), in which he described a generic DALS based on his KAL model of human learning comprised of three interacting components, a knowledge space, a collection of intelligent agents called an agency and a learner space. The DALS view of a learner is an electronic file called the learner filter. What DALS presents to the learner is called a knowledge view. The DALS agency manages the interface between knowledge views and learner filters. The current project implements a basic prototype DALS as a proof of concept of the earlier work. The DALS prototype was developed by a graduate student, Sachin Sood, under the supervision of the first author. The third author, Bhavesh Advani, also a graduate student, is designing and integrating a multiple intelligence module into the prototype to provide an innovative new presentation mode. The goal of this project is to create a very broad foundation within which to assemble the many ideas and techniques for adaptive interaction available or being developed in both the academic and commercial venues. An underlying premise is that adaptive interaction strategies are propelling us toward practical theories for knowledge organization and user profiling, where users may be individuals, teams or large organizations, with objectives to learn, sell, persuade or govern, to mention a few possible goals. In our project the paradigm is an individual learner; but the model applies in other contexts as well.
B cell superantigens: potential modifiers of the normal human B cell repertoire.

Staphylococcal protein A (SPA), HIV gp120, and staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE) are B cell superantigens that induce VH specific B cell responses. In addition, the red blood cell antigens, i/I, have some features of a B cell superantigen. Binding of SPA, SE and HIV gp120 are VH family specific, whereas binding of i/I is VH gene specific. SPA and HIV gp120 function by stimulating VH3-expressing B cells, whereas SE appear to function by enhancing survival of the appropiate VH-expressing B cells. Moreover, HIV gp120 has been shown to delete VH3-expressing B cells. In this review, we describe evidence that shows how these superantigens may play a role in shaping the normal B cell repertoire.
Crystal structure of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron TetX2: A tetracycline degrading monooxygenase at 2.8 Å resolution

We have determined the structure of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron TetX2 at 2.8 A resolution, and shown that it is a class A flavin dependent oxidoreductase. TetX2 has broad activity against a range of tetracyclines including one of the most recent tetracyclines, tigecycline (Tygacil ® ). Comparison of TetX2 with that of the weakly homologous Pseudomonas fluorescens parahydroxybenzoate hydroxylase (PHBH) (21% identity) shows substantial differences among residues at the substrate binding site although FAD is positioned in a similar conformation between the two enzymes and is poised to carry out catalysis.
Preliminary Development of a Nearly-Instantaneous Three- Dimensional Imaging Technique for High-Speed Flow Fields

Recent advances in high-repetition rate laser and camera technology present a new opportunity to develop three-dimensional diagnostics for high-speed flows. The design of a three-dimensional imaging system based on a pulse burst laser, a high-speed laser scanner and a high speed camera is described here. The pulse burst laser system is the 5 th of its kind in the world and can produce high energy pulses at up to 10 MHz repetition rates. A highspeed optical deflector, such as a rotating mirror or acousto-optic deflector, can be used to rapidly deflect a laser sheet through the flow field. A high-speed camera can then be used to collect images at different planes in the flow field, from which a three-dimensional image can be reconstructed. The state-of-the-art of these technologies are described. The high-speed characteristics of an acousto-optic deflector were tested using an Nd:YAG laser where it was found that a full sweep through at least 32 resolvable spots could be completed in 10 μsec. Future work will include testing of a galvanometric scanning mirror and assembly of a complete system.
Patterns of Health Care Usage in the Year Before Suicide: A Population-Based Case-Control Study

Abstract Objective To compare the type and frequency of health care visits in the year before suicide between decedents and controls. Patients and Methods Cases (n=86) were Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents whose death certificates listed "suicide" as the cause of death from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2009. Each case had 3 age- and sex-matched controls (n=258). Demographic, diagnostic, and health care usage data were abstracted from medical records. Conditional logistic regression was used to analyze differences in the likelihood of having had psychiatric and nonpsychiatric visits in the year before death, as well as in visit types and frequencies 12 months, 6 months, and 4 weeks before death. Results Cases and controls did not significantly differ in having had any health care exposure ( P =.18). Suicide decedents, however, had a significantly higher number of total visits in the 12 months, 6 months, and 4 weeks before death (all P P P =.01 and OR 6.76; 95% CI, 1.39-32.96; P =.02, respectively). Only cases had had emergency department mental health visits; no control did. Conclusion Given that suicide decedents did not differ from controls in having had any health care exposure in the year before death, the fact alone that decedents saw a doctor provides no useful information about risk. Compared with controls, however, decedents had more visits of all types including psychiatric ones. Higher frequencies of health care contacts were associated with elevated suicide risk.
Identification and Characterization of Human Fructose or Glucose Taste Variants with Hypogeusia for One Monosaccharide but Not for the Othera

Human psychophysical functions for sweetness are similar for sucrose and fructose, but different for glucose, and suggest different mechanisms for fructose and glucose. Drosophila behavioral and electrophysiological data are similar to the human data and indicate separate receptor cell mechanisms for the monosaccharides. Moreover, fructose 'nontasters' (NTs) and glucose NTs have been identified in two Drosophila species. Identification of human NTs would confirm separate mechanisms and could lead to identification of proteins in human sweet taste by molecular genetic techniques. To identify human NTs, we first obtained responses for sucrose, fructose and glucose from 20 subjects. They tasted seven concentrations of each sugar (2-128 mM), paired with water, and indicated the sweeter of each pair. Functions for recognition indices (RIs) (proportion of subjects recognizing the sugar as sweeter) were similar for sucrose and fructose and different for glucose; this result agrees with the previous studies and supports different mechanisms for the monosaccharides. At 128 mM, RIs for all three sugars were 1.0; this result is consistent with the monogeusia reported by Breslin et al. for concentrations higher than those tested here. Eleven rising-phase concentrations (10-35 mM fructose, 10-90 mM glucose) then were tested on 32 subjects. A statistically significant interaction indicated different regression slopes and supported different monosaccharide mechanisms. From these data, positive identification values (PIDs) (lowest concentration at which the sugar always was judged sweeter than the water) were determined for each subject. The fructose log(PID) and glucose log(PID) data were not well correlated; thus separate mechanisms were supported further. Next, NT traits were defined by log(PID)s > or = 2 SD above the mean for one sugar, while the PID for the other remained within 1 SD of the population mean log(PID). Ninety-two subjects were screened to identify 12 glucose NTs and four fructose NTs. Two glucose NTs and three average subjects were tested in six additional sessions. The NTs showed an experience-induced change: there was a statistically significant reduction of glucose PIDs, but not of fructose PIDs. No change occurred in PIDs of the average subjects for either sugar.
Collaborative information environments to support knowledge construction by communities

Computer-based design environments for skilled domain workers have recently graduated from research prototypes to commercial products, supporting the learning of individual designers. Such systems do not, however, adequately support the collaborative nature of work or the evolution of knowledge within communities of practice. If innovation is to be supported within collaborative efforts, thesedomain-oriented design environments (DODEs) must be extended to becomecollaborative information environments (CIEs), capable of providing effective community memories for managing information and learning within constantly evolving collaborative contexts. In particular, CIEs must provide functionality that facilitates the construction of new knowledge and the shared understanding necessary to use this knowledge effectively within communities of practice. This paper reviews three stages of work on artificial (computer-based and Web-based) systems that augment the intelligence of people and organisations. NetSuite illustrates the DODE approach to supporting the work of individual designers with learning-on-demand. WebNet extends this model to CIEs that support collaborative learning by groups of designers. Finally, WebGuide shows how a computational perspectives mechanism for CIEs can support the construction of knowledge and of shared understanding within groups. According to recent theories of cognition, human intelligence is the product of tool use and of social mediations as well as of biological development; CIEs are designed to enhance this intelligence by providing computationally powerful tools that are supportive of social relations.
Activation of placental insulin and mTOR signaling in a mouse model of maternal obesity associated with fetal overgrowth

Fetal overgrowth is common in obese women and is associated with perinatal complications and increased risk for the child to develop metabolic syndrome later in life. Placental nutrient transport c...
Assessing Writing in Elementary Schools: Moving Away from a Focus on Mechanics.

ABSTRACTMany students struggle with writing; however, curriculum-based measures (CBM) of writing often use assessment criteria that focus primarily on mechanics. When academic development is assessed in this way, more complex aspects of a student’s writing, such as the expression and development of ideas, may be neglected. The current study was a preliminary analysis of viability of the words per thought unit (T-unit) as an alternative to traditional approaches to writing assessment. Participants included 167 children enrolled in the fourth and fifth grade, ages 9–11, in a rural southeastern U.S. school district. Writing samples were collected in three probes across the school year (fall, winter, and spring) and analyzed by using a variety of measures. Words per T-unit were positively linearly correlated with other measures of literary proficiency. A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) assessed growth in writing across time and grade. Results indicated a statistically significant time effect wi...
Modern Constitutionalism and Weimar Liberalism

In this article I discuss the possibility that the uncritical use of modern constitutionalism in legal cultures that are not accommodating to the underlying philosophical foundations of that concept could lead to situations of intra and international violence. In this view, modern constitutionalism is not a universal good that can be transported to any cultural situation.
Glacial-biology in Himalayan Glaciers

本総説では,今までに明らかになったヒマラヤの氷河に生息する雪氷生物の生態を紹介し,微生物による雪氷面アルベド低下効果と,微生物を使ったアイスコア分析について解説する.雪氷生物とは,氷河や雪渓などの雪氷圏に生息する低温環境に適応した特殊な生物のことをいう.ヒマラヤ氷河には,雪氷藻類と呼ばれる植物が繁殖し,その生産に支えられた動物やバクテリアが生息しており,これらの生物で構成される単純で閉鎖的な生態系が存在している.雪氷生物は,氷河の環境に適応した特有のバイオマスや群集構造の分布,また行動や生活史をもっている.ヒマラヤに多く分布する岩屑に表面を覆われたデブリカバー氷河では,氷河上湖や氷体内水系を生息場所とした生物群集が存在する.雪氷生物は,地球物理学にも重要な面があることが明らかになってきた.雪氷生物の繁殖は氷河表面のアルベド(日射光の反射率)を低下させて融解を加速し氷河変動にも影響を及ぼすこと,アイスコアに含まれる雪氷微生物の分析が新たな過去環境の指標になる可能性があることがわかってきた.