cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Letter knowledge in parent–child conversations: differences between families differing in socio-economic status

When formal literacy instruction begins, around the age of 5 or 6, children from families low in socioeconomic status (SES) tend to be less prepared than children from families of higher SES. The goal of our study is to explore one route through which SES may influence children’s early literacy skills: informal conversations about letters. The study builds on previous studies (Robins, Treiman, & Rosales, 2014; Robins, Treiman, Rosales, & Otake, 2012; Robins & Treiman, 2009) that show how U. S. parents and their young children talk about writing and provides preliminary evidence about similarities and differences in parent–child conversations as a function of SES. Focusing on parents and children aged three to five, we conducted five separate analyses of these conversations, asking whether and how family SES influences the previously established patterns. Although we found talk about letters in both upper and lower SES families, there were differences in the nature of these conversations. The proportion of letter talk utterances that were questions was lower in lower SES families and, of all the letter names that lower SES families talked about, more of them were uttered in isolation rather than in sequences. Lower SES families were especially likely to associate letters with the child’s name, and they placed more emphasis on sequences in alphabetic order. We found no SES differences in the factors that influenced use of particular letter names (monograms), but there were SES differences in two-letter sequences (digrams). Focusing on the alphabet and on associations between the child’s name and the letters within it may help to interest the child in literacy activities, but they many not be very informative about the relationship between letters and words in general. Understanding the patterns in parent–child conversations about letters is an important first step for exploring their contribution to children’s early literacy skills and school readiness.
Function and Connectivity in Human Primary Auditory Cortex: A Combined fMRI and DTI Study at 3 Tesla

Human primary auditory cortex (PAC) is functionally organized in a tonotopic manner. Past studies have used neuroimaging to characterize tonotopic organization in PAC and found similar organization as that described in mammals. In contrast to what is known about PAC in primates and nonprimates, in humans, the structural connectivity within PAC has not been defined. In this study, stroboscopic event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was utilized to reveal mirror symmetric tonotopic organization consisting of a high-low-high frequency gradient in PAC. Furthermore, diffusion tensor tractography and probabilistic mapping was used to study projection patterns within tonotopic areas. Based on earlier physiological and histological work in nonhuman PAC, we hypothesized the existence of cross-field isofrequency (homotopic) and within-field non-isofrequency (heterotopic)-specific axonal projections in human PAC. The presence of both projections types was found in all subjects. Specifically, the number of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) reconstructed fibers projecting between high- and low-frequency regions was greater than those fibers projecting between 2 high-frequency areas, the latter of which are located in distinct auditory fields. The fMRI and DTI results indicate that functional and structural properties within early stages of the auditory processing stream are preserved across multiple mammalian species at distinct evolutionary levels.
Body Composition Changes during Lactation Are Highly Variable among Women

Changes in body weight and composition in response to the metabolic load imposed by lactation are highly variable among and within diverse populations. In most reports, rates of weight loss did not differ between lactating and nonlactating women. Despite differences in the hormonal milieu between lactating and nonlactating women, only subtle short-term differences were observed in postpartum changes in body composition. Regional patterns of fat deposition and mobilization did not differ between lactating and nonlactating women in most studies. Changes in body composition during lactation are responses to a sequence of complex neuroendocrine and biochemical stimuli that may be significantly modified by environmental factors. Gestational weight gain was the strongest determinant of postpartum weight and fat mass change, which supports the premise that biological mechanisms are aimed at restoring prepregnancy body weight and composition.
Localization of forebrain neurons which project directly to the medulla and spinal cord of the rat by retrograde tracing with wheat germ agglutinin

Wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) in a slow-release polyacrylamide gel pellet was implanted in the medulla or spinal cord of the rat. Large numbers of retrogradely labeled cells were visualized by immunocytochemical procedures in specific nuclei of the forebrain mainly ipsilateral to the implant site following implants as far caudal as the sacral segments of the spinal cord. Total average number of labeled forebrain cells (three brains per category; 100 micron per 150 micron of brain tissue were examined microscopically): medulla, 2,115; cervical, 1,878; lumbar, 1,017; sacral, 385. After WGA-gel implants in the medulla or cervical cord the majority of retrogradely labeled neurons were seen in the lateral hypothalamic area, the zona incerta, and in subdivisions of the paraventricular nucleus. A continuum of labeled cells extended from the caudal part of the paraventricular nucleus into the posterior hypothalamus and into the central gray of the midbrain. Labeled cells were also seen in the medial basal hypothalamus and the rostral part of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. A few labeled cells were observed in the medial and lateral preoptic areas, the rostral part of the paraventricular nucleus, and in the arcuate nucleus. Following WGA-gel implants in the lumbar or sacral cord many retrogradely labeled cells were observed mainly in the paraventricular nucleus, the lateral hypothalamus, zona incerta, medial basal hypothalamus, and posterior hypothalamic area. The continuum of labeled cells described above was also seen following these implants. Our data indicate that the lateral hypothalamus and zona incerta, as well as specific parts of the paraventricular nucleus, are major loci of neurons which project directly to the medulla and spinal cord of the rat. The consistency with which labeled cells were localized across all brains examined within categories of implant sites and the large numbers of labeled cells counted within these areas appeared to verify the sensitivity of our retrograde tracing method. Therefore, we interpret the paucity or absence of labeled cells in particular brain regions to indicate that cells of these regions do not project to the medulla or spinal cord.
Nicotine dependence as a moderator of a quitline-based message framing intervention.

Abstract High nicotine dependence is a reliable predictor of difficulty quitting smoking and remaining smoke-free. Evidence also suggests that the effectiveness of various smoking cessation treatments may vary by nicotine dependence level. Nicotine dependence, as assessed by Heaviness of Smoking Index baseline total scores, was evaluated as a potential moderator of a message-framing intervention provided through the New York State Smokers’ Quitline (free telephone based service). Smokers were exposed to either gain-framed ( n = 810) or standard-care ( n = 1222) counseling and printed materials. Those smoking 10 or more cigarettes per day and medically eligible were also offered a free 2-week supply of nicotine patches, gum, or lozenge. Smokers were contacted for follow-up interviews at 3 months by an independent survey group. There was no interaction of nicotine dependence scores and message condition on the likelihood of achieving 7-day point prevalence smoking abstinence at the 3-month follow-up contact. Among continuing smokers at the 3-month follow-up, smokers who reported higher nicotine dependence scores were more likely to report smoking more cigarettes per day and this effect was greater in response to standard-care messages than gain-framed messages. Smokers with higher dependence scores who received standard-care messages also were less likely to report use of nicotine medications compared with less dependent smokers, while there was no difference in those who received gain-framed messages. These findings lend support to prior research demonstrating nicotine dependence heterogeneity in response to message framing interventions and suggest that gain-framed messages may result in less variable smoking outcomes than standard-care messages.
An upper bound for the block coding error exponent with delayed feedback

The issue of whether feedback can significantly increase reliability in the fixed-length channel code setting is further investigated. This paper considers the problem of error exponents for block codes with noiseless, delayed feedback used over discrete memoryless channels (DMCs) - including asymmetric channels with and without zeros in their transition matrix. We show that when output feedback is given to the encoder with a delay of T symbols, the error exponent is upper bounded by E sp (R-O((log T)/T ))+O((log T)/T ), where E sp denotes the sphere-packing exponent.
Image Analysis of HER2 Immunohistochemical Staining Reproducibility and Concordance With Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization of a Laboratory-Validated Scoring Technique

Image analysis of the HER2 immunohistochemical (IHC) stain can help determine which breast cancer patients may benefit from HER2-targeted therapy. We studied the concordance of HER2 IHC and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) as well as reproducibility of surgical pathologist (SP) and cytotechnologist (CT) interpretations using manual and image analysis methodologies on 154 IHC cases. Concordances with FISH were good for IHC negative (0, 1+) cases (range, 97%-100%) and positive (3+) cases (range, 87%-100%). Image analysis had fewer equivocal (2+) results (10.4%) than CT (14.9%) and SP (16.2%) manual methods, with higher concordances to FISH (31%, 26%, and 20% for image analysis, CT manual, and SP manual, respectively). CT manual (κ = 0.747) and image analysis (κ = 0.779) methods had better interobserver reproducibility than SP manual (κ = 0.697). CT image analysis had better intraobserver reproducibility (κ = 0.882) than CT (κ = 0.828) and SP (κ = 0.766) manual methods. HER2 IHC analysis performed by image analysis can produce accurate results with improved reproducibility.
A historical review of the studies of Neotropical tiger beetles (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae) with special reference to their use in biodiversity and conservation

This review presents a detailed account and synthesis of studies of the family of tiger beetles (Cicindelidae) from the Neotropical region and their usefulness as a surrogate taxon. Information is included on their taxonomy, phylogeny, physiology, ecology, behavior and conservation. Using a model of historical development, this information is put into a context of what has been studied and what studies are most needed in the future to better understand, conserve and manage biodiversity in the Neotropics.
Microarray enriched gene rank

We develop a new concept that reflects how genes are connected based on microarray data using the coefficient of determination (the squared Pearson correlation coefficient). Our gene rank combines a priori knowledge about gene connectivity, say, from the Gene Ontology (GO) database, and the microarray expression data at hand, called the microarray enriched gene rank, or simply gene rank (GR). GR, similarly to Google PageRank, is defined in a recursive fashion and is computed as the left maximum eigenvector of a stochastic matrix derived from microarray expression data. An efficient algorithm is devised that allows computation of GR for 50 thousand genes with 500 samples within minutes on a personal computer using the public domain statistical package R. Computation of GR is illustrated with several microarray data sets. In particular, we apply GR (1) to answer whether bad genes are more connected than good genes in relation with cancer patient survival, (2) to associate gene connectivity with cluster/subtypes in ovarian cancer tumors, and to determine whether gene connectivity changes (3) from organ to organ within the same organism and (4) between organisms. We have shown by examples that findings based on GR confirm biological expectations. GR may be used for hypothesis generation on gene pathways. It may be used for a homogeneous sample or for comparison of gene connectivity among cases and controls, or in longitudinal setting.
THE DEVIL AND THE SKIRT

Similarities in certain paintings and sculptures created by pre-Conquest and early Colonial Aztec artists strongly suggest that the original identities and nature of the tzitzimime changed over the decades following the Spanish conquest. These images support textual evidence that Spanish authors, typically mendicants and clergymen, quickly conflated the tzitzimime with the Devil and his servants, in the process demonizing and ultimately masculinizing them as well. Whereas the most important tzitzimime were apparently female in pre-Hispanic times, Colonial authors writing after the mid-sixteenth century described them as exclusively or predominantly male. The potential for the tzitzimime terrorizing people during periods of crisis, when the sun's continued passage through the firmament was perceived as doubtful, became the sole focus of late-Colonial descriptions of the role and attributes of the tzitzimime. In pre-Hispanic times, in contrast, the most important tzitzimime were ambivalent creator deities whose generative powers rendered them capable of preventing and curing illness as well as causing harm. In the beginning, the tzitzimime apparently were female, the principal tzitzimitl, Citlalinicue, having passed on her powers to her daughters and granddaughters. These descendants included the goddess Cihuacoatl who, like the goddess Citlalinicue, was the patroness of parturient Aztec women and midwives and closely associated with the souls of women who had died in childbirth. Itzpapalotl is another example, to which we can add Tlaltecuhtli, Coatlicue, and Coatlicue's four self-sacrificing sisters. It was probably not until the Aztec government was in a position to rework official history that the national male deity Huitzilopochtli was inserted into Aztec stories of the creation in his manifestation as Omitecuhtli, “Bone Lord.” Like other tzitzimime, however, Omitecuhtli was petitioned to heal the sick, especially children, and was subsequently called upon to bestow his generative powers on newly elected government officials. These magical powers were embedded in the tzitzimime's garments. Their capes and skirts were decorated with skulls and crossbones that were often combined with symbols of stars and, occasionally, stone knives. This explains why petitions for a tzitzimitl's assistance were apparently made at a stone platform bearing these same designs. The platforms represented the sacred capes and skirts that, legend suggests, were the essence of the gods. Midwives and curers of both sexes probably made special use of these platforms, which provided them direct access to the tzitzimime. Materializing the sacred garments that embodied the generative essence of the tzitzimime provided the Aztec with a means of petitioning their assistance in averting illness and cosmic destruction.
The effect of recombinant human osteogenic protein-1 on allograft incorporation

We used a canine intercalary bone defect model to determine the effects of recombinant human osteogenic protein 1 (rhOP-1) on allograft incorporation. The allograft was treated with an implant made up of rhOP-1 and type I collagen or with type I collagen alone.Radiographic analysis showed an increased volume of periosteal callus in both test groups compared with the control group at weeks 4, 6, 8 and 10. Mechanical testing after 12 weeks revealed increased maximal torque and stiffness in the rhOP-1 treated groups compared with the control group.These results indicate a benefit from the use of an rhOP-1 implant in the healing of bone allografts. The effect was independent of the position of the implant. There may be a beneficial clinical application for this treatment.
Arboviral Infection in Two Species of Wild Jays (Aves: Corvidae): Evidence for Population Impacts

We examined the prevalence of antibodies to three mosquito-borne arboviruses in blue jays, Cyanocitta cristata, and Florida scrub-jays, Aphelocoma coerulescens, to identify the effects on host survival, the influence of sex and age on infection, and the temporal patterns of antibody prevalence. Blood samples from 306 blue jays and 219 Florida scrub-jays were collected at Archbold Biological Station (Lake Placid, FL) from April 1994 through December 1995. Sera were analyzed for hemagglutination-inhibition antibody to eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) and St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) viruses, and neutralizing antibodies to EEE, Highlands J (HJ), and SLE viruses. Overall, 31.4% of blue jay samples and 22.1% of scrub-jay samples had antibodies to EEE. Antibodies to HJ were detected in slightly >15% of samples in each jay species, and SLE was detected in <3% of the samples in each jay species. A single EEE virus isolation was made from the blood of an 11-d-old scrub-jay nestling. Survival of adult blue jays seropositive to EEE was significantly lower than that of seronegative birds based on resight rates, but infection did not seem to affect survival of adult or juvenile Florida scrub-jays.
A new method for limit point determination in composite materials containing defects using image correlation

Abstract A new method is proposed to determine the onset of material failure in composite materials containing defects tested in tension. The new method is proposed since the load versus axial deformation plot from a tension test cannot be always used to identify the onset of material failure in a composite materials containing defects. Digital image correlation (DIC) methods can provide very accurate d4eformation and strain measurements. In this paper, a new DIC based method is proposed that can identify the onset of damage and thus the limit point in composite materials containing defects. In this method (1) surface topography is extracted from the three dimensional DIC data using two cameras; (2) the changes in the surface are monitored during the tension tests; (3) The onset of interlaminar damage is identified by comparing the surface height difference in the test specimen at different time steps; (4) the first derivative of the surface height difference is used to determine the onset of internal instabilities in the material and are correlated to interlaminar damage. Compared to existing standard methods that rely on the load-deformation response to determine the onset of damage, the proposed procedure more accurately defines the onset of interlaminar damage and thus the definition of the boundary of safe operation of the composite material system prior to damage onset.
U.S. Fiscal Policy in an Era of Federal Budget Surpluses

Gokhale examines how the US budgetary surpluses can best be managed in view of the long-term expenditure pressures that the Social Security and Medicare programmes will exert on the US federal government budget. He notes that the worsening of the American fiscal outlook in 2002 postpones but does not entirely eliminate the need to think about how to deal with a potential cash accumulation with the federal government. If the surpluses turn out to be so large that debt is eliminated and a sizeable cash reserve accumulates with the government, the funds will have to be invested in private assets. Gokhale considers four policy options, in which the assets are respectively managed by the Federal Reserve, the US Treasury, the Social Security Trust Fund (SSTF) and by private individuals via an individual Social Security account system. The last solution implies that the surpluses of the SSTF are invested in marketable debt which is attributed to individual Social Security accounts. Individuals can then trade the public bonds for private stocks and bonds. The alternative solutions are evaluated on the basis of four objectives: preserving a liquid public debt market, minimising deadweight losses from inefficient resource allocation by the government, allowing diversification of pension portfolios and improving intergenerational risk sharing. According to Gokhale, the use of surpluses to start an individual Social Security account system is the best solution.
Lieber, Slavery, and the Problem of Free Thought in Antebellum South Carolina

In this article, Professor Finkelman discusses the career of Francis Lieber, a German-born immigrant and intellectual during the antebellum period. Lieber was a conservative who was within the social circle of many of the leading intellectuals and politicians of his day. His career as a professor moved him from the North to Columbia, South Carolina for twenty-one years. During his time in South Carolina, Lieber was made uncomfortable by his adopted home’s avid support of slavery, his beliefs that the South lacked the intellectual atmosphere of the North and that the culture was run by religious zealots. Due to his discomfort, Lieber spent much of his time in South Carolina seeking a position back North, and was successful shortly before war broke out. During the war, Lieber became an important aid to President Lincoln; Professor Finkelman argues that if South Carolina had been more accepting of Lieber and his beliefs that Lieber would have remained in the South throughout the war.
William S. Heckscher, Rembrandt's Anatomy of Dr. Tulp; An Iconological Study

(1960). William S. Heckscher, Rembrandt's Anatomy of Dr. Tulp; An Iconological Study. The Art Bulletin: Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 305-310.
Fibronectin mediates attachment of Staphylococcus aureus to human neutrophils

Plasma fibronectin binds to gelatin and is thought to mediate the removal of blood-borne particles by the reticuloendothelial system. This removal has primarily been studied using gelatin-coated colloidal particles. Fibronectin also binds to gram-positive bacteria. We tested the possibility that fibronectin might act as an opsonin for phagocytosis of bacteria by neutrophils. When fibronectin in physiologic concentrations was present in reaction mixtures containing Staphylococcus aureus and human neutrophils, staphylococci adhered to. but were not ingested by, neutrophils. Chemiluminescence of . mixtures of neutrophils
Intentional human burial: Middle Paleolithic (last glaciation) beginnings

This paper analyzes intentional burial as a historical phenomenon. Mortuary practices are viewed as a particular sphere of human activity, involving the transfer of the physical remains from one natural environment to another. The general and specific laws governing mortuary treatment and its development are discussed, and the earliest known deliberate burials—those of the Middle Paleolithic—are examined against this theoretical background. Middle Paleolithic groups invented almost all the basic ways of treating a corpse before burial and almost all the ways of burial itself. They seem to have developed a “cult of the dead,” based upon dualities such as concealment vs exposure of the body, burial of the body intact vs disarticulated, burial of the whole body vs parts of it only, and so on. It is shown that, in the Middle Paleolithic, there were centers of taphological activity, that inhumation was selectively practiced on only a small minority of the population, that men were buried much more often than women, and that the patterns of burial seem to have been independent of identifiable factors such as human physical type or level of technology.
Multiplexed Recording of Multiple Events

Some general considerations of a magnetic tape based data acquisition system are summarized, together with a description of a representative ten-event assembly. Both hardware and software are noted. Suggested computer routines are outlined.
Long-Term Anti-Corrosion Performance of a Conducting Polymer-Based Coating System for Steels

The long-term durability of a two-layer coating system was evaluated by two accelerated corrosion tests, i.e., the ASTM B117 Salt spray test and the ASTM D5894 Cyclic salt fog/UV exposure test, and a series of surface analyses. The coating system was developed for protecting structural steels from corrosion, including a functional primer made of intrinsically conducting polymer (ICP) and a protective topcoat. The standard pull-off test per ASTM D4541 was employed for characterizing the adhesion of the coating systems to substrate, aided by visual examination of the surface deterioration of the samples. The ICP-based systems demonstrated superior long-term anti-corrosion capacity when a polyurethane topcoat is used. The ICP-based primer made of a waterborne epoxy gave poorer anti-corrosion performance than the ICP-based primer made of regular non-waterborne epoxy, which can be attributed to the lower adhesion the waterborne epoxy demonstrated to the substrate surface. The zinc-rich control systems showed good anti-corrosion durability; however, they may produce excessive oxidative products of zinc to cause coating delamination. Based on the test results, the two-layer coating system consisting of an ICP-based primer and a polyurethane topcoat outperforms the conventional zinc-rich coating systems for corrosion protection of steels.
Flow Field Development Process of Solid Propellant for Laser Ablative Propulsion

The analysis of field development process is important for laser ablative propulsion mechanism.The flow field development process of different solid propellants for laser ablative propulsion was investigated.The results show that besides the flow of decomposition product,there still exists a high speed guide shock wave,and within 105~109W/cm2 laser power,the speed does not change much as the propellant ingredient changes.
Familiar and Foreign: Identity in Iranian Film and Literature

Familiar and Foreign: An Introduction * Manijeh Mannani and Veronica Thompson 3 1 The Development of the Artistic Female Self in the Poetry of Forugh Farrokhzad * Safaneh Mohaghegh Neyshabouri 17 2 Overcoming Gender: The Impact of the Persian Language on Iranian Women's Confessional Literature * Farideh Dayanim Goldin 31 3 Autobiomythography and Self-Aggrandizement in Iranian Diasporic Life-Writing: Fatemeh Keshavarz and Azar Nafisi * Manijeh Mannani 61 4 Graphic Memories: Dialogues with Self and Other in Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis and Persepolis 2 * Mostafa Abedinifard 83 5 Mr. and Mrs. F and the Woman: Personal Identities in Zoya Pirzad's Like All the Afternoons * Madeleine Voegeli 111 6 Anxious Men: Sexuality and Systems of Disavowal in Contemporary Iranian Literature * Blake Atwood 129 7 Reading the Exile's Body: Deafness and Diaspora in Kader Abdolah's My Father's Notebook * Babak Elahi 149 8 Persian Literature of Exile in France: Goli Taraqqi's Short Stories * Laetitia Nanquette 173 9 Farang Represented: The Construction of Self-Space in Goli Taraqqi's Fiction * Goulia Ghardashkhani 189 10 Film as Alternative History: The Aesthetics of Bahram Beizai * Khatereh Sheibani 211 11 Technologies of Memory, Identity, and Oblivion in Persepolis (2007) and Waltz with Bashir (2008) * William Anselmi and Sheena Wilson 233 Contributors 261
Trigger Warnings: A Gun to the Head of Academia

In May 2014, the New York Times called attention to a new arrival on the college campus: trigger warnings.1 Seemingly overnight, colleges and universities across America had begun fielding student demands that their professors issue content warnings before covering any material that might evoke a negative emotional response. By way of illustration, the Times article (titled ‘Warning: The Literary Canon Could Make Students Squirm’) pointed to a Rutgers student’s op-ed requesting trigger warnings for The Great Gatsby, which apparently ‘possesses a variety of scenes that reference gory, abusive and misogynistic violence’, and Mrs Dalloway, which the student called ‘a disturbing narrative’ that discusses ‘suicidal inclinations’ and ‘post-traumatic experiences’.2 The article generated significant discussion, with readers questioning why college students would need trigger warnings — which are generally billed as a way to help those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a serious mental-health condition — before reading the type of material that any college student should expect to encounter on any college campus.
Evaluation of the Binding of Polyhedral Borane Compounds to Intracellular Protein Moieties and Monomeric Amino Acids

The successful treatment of cancer by boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) requires the selective concentration, and retention, of boron-containing compounds within malignant tumors. Previous research has demonstrated the effectiveness of unil-amellar liposomes to deliver a wide variety of boron-containing compounds selectively to the tumor mass in small animal experiments.1, 2, 3 Many water-soluble polyhedral boranes, such as Na2[B20H18]1 and Na4[B20H17SH],4 have exhibited prolonged tumor retention, after liposomal delivery, in mice bearing EMT6 mammary adenocarcinoma. The retention exhibited by these compounds, however, is not common to all molecules in the polyhedral borane family and unreactive species, such as Na3[B20H19] and Na4[B20H17OH], are rapidly cleared from all tissues.1 Although Hawthorne and coworkers have proposed that the difference in the tumor retention exhibited by this class of compounds is due to potential interactions with intracellular protein moieties (Figure l),1 the localization of the boron-containing compounds, as well as the potential protein interactions, on the subcellular level has not been determined.
Development and initial validation of the Literature Epistemic Cognition Scale (LECS)

Abstract Learning and problem solving in the natural sciences and history is affected by epistemic cognition. Likewise, it has recently been proposed that the same is true for interpreting literature, although there is little empirical research on how individual differences in epistemic cognition for literary reading impact literary interpretation (Lee, Goldman, Levine, & Magliano, 2016). The development of a valid and reliable assessment of epistemic cognition for literature is an important step in examining this question. The present study takes a first study toward such a scale in that it reports the development of a scale that for assessing adolescents' epistemic cognitions for literary reading, the Literature Epistemic Cognition Scale (LECS). Results address the content validity, factorial validity, criterion validity, and reliability of the three constructs assessed on the LECS: relevance of literature to understand people and the human experience; openness of literary works to multiple meanings and interpretations; functionality of multiple readings of literary works for interpretation. The study involved a large sample of middle school students in the U.S. Confirmatory factor analysis validated the three-factor structure of the LECS. Criterion validity was established via correlational analyses between the subscale of the LECS and measures of the speed of acquiring knowledge, liking of reading, and frequency of reading as assessed through additional surveys. The implications of the results and directions for potential future research are discussed.
Exploring the Effects of Professional Education on Salespeople: The Case of Autonomous Agents

This study explored the effects of professional training on the moral development and performance of salespeople. A sample of real estate sales agents and brokers from three states was used. Surveys were distributed at regional and local sales meetings. Results indicate that professional education impacts both cognitive moral development and industry-specific moral reasoning. Moreover, professional education also impacts performance measures such as income and professional tenure. One conclusion is that professional training, in addition to enhancing the likely success of real estate practitioners, can also enhance their moral reasoning skills.
Depth and Shape estimation from focus in scanning electron microscope for micromanipulation

Inter-object depth estimation is always a major concern for micromanipulation using scanning electron microscope (SEM). So far, various methods have been proposed for estimating this depth based on stereoscopic imaging. Most of them require external hardware unit or manual interaction during the process. In this paper, using the image focus information, different methods are presented for estimating the inter-object depth for micromanipulation and the local pixel point depth for 3D shape reconstruction. In both cases, the normalized variance has been used as the sharpness criteria. For inter-object depth estimation, a visual servoing-based autofocusing method has been used to maximize the sharpness in object region windows. For Shape reconstruction, a stack of images are acquired by varying the working distance. These images are processed to find the maximum sharpness of each pixel and consequently reconstructing the surface. Developments are validated in a robotic handling scenario where the scene contains a microgripper and silicon microstructures.
Patent foramen ovale repair at the time of double lung transplantation: Necessary or not?

Introduction Patient foramen ovale (PFO) is a common and often incidental intraoperative finding during lung transplantation (LTx). We sought to characterize the potential outcomes related to the decision making of whether the PFO was repaired or left unrepaired. Methods We retrospectively evaluated bilateral LTx recipients between 2005 and 2015 from our prospective database. Incidence of postoperative stoke, 90-day mortality, and overall survival was compared between the PFO-positive and PFO-negative groups, and secondly compared between repaired PFO (rPFO) and non-repaired PFO (nrPFO) groups. Results A total of 831 LTx recipients were analyzed: 185 PFO-positive (140 nrPFO, 45 rPFO) and 646 PFO-negative. Study groups were similar with regard to age and comorbidity. The presence of PFO was not associated with a difference in postoperative stroke (P = .89) or 90-day mortality (P = .64). In patients with PFO, intraoperative repair resulted in a lower, but non-significant rate of stroke (0% vs 5%; P = .20) and no difference in mortality (P = .26). As expected, PFO and PFO repair were both associated with a higher incidence of cardiopulmonary bypass utilization, but no difference in pump-related complications. Conclusions The protective effect of PFO repair remains unclear. However, it is not associated with an increased incidence of stroke or postoperative mortality following LTx.
A Balancing Algorithm for Mortar Methods

The balancing methods are hybrid nonoverlapping Schwarz domain decomposition methods from the Neumann-Neumann family. They are efficient and easy to implement. We present a new balancing algorithm for mortar finite element methods. We prove a condition number estimate which depends polylogarithmically on the number of nodes on each subregion edge and does not depend on the number of subregions of the partition of the computational domain, just as in the conforming finite element case.
Money and Job Worries as a Function of Emerging Adulthood Markers: An Analysis of College-Aged and Adult Populations Using Correlational and Longitudinal Designs

Three studies were conducted to test the general question: Does the successful transition through emerging adulthood exacerbate or inhibit the worry that emerging adults may be feeling regarding money and/or unemployment? Studies 1 (N = 88, average age = 19.06 years) and 2 (N = 146, average age = 19.21 years) sampled emerging adults from a small liberal arts college and asked them to complete questionnaires to assess facets of emerging adulthood (identity exploration, experimentation, negativity, self-focused, other-focused, and feeling in-between), worry, and demographics. Study 1 was correlational and showed that negativity was positively correlated with worry about money and job status. Study 2 used a four-wave longitudinal design and found that early negativity was related to later worry. Finally, Study 3 (N = 181, average age = 22.85) used a correlational design to test the relationships between the emerging adulthood facets and worry with a more heterogeneous emerging adult population (sampled using Mechanical Turk). In all three studies, results consistently found a positive relationship between negativity and worry about unemployment and money. This suggests that as emerging adults struggle with negativity (e.g., instability in their lives) as they transition through emerging adulthood, there is more worry regarding job status and finances.
What are General Equilibrium Theories

A little philosophy of science can be a troubling thing. Simplified treatments of philosophy of science maintain that scientists formulate generalizations or theories, derive implications from them, and retain these generalizations or theories (albeit with some caution) as long as they pass the experimental tests. This story is heavily oversimplified, and its general inadequacies are familiar and shall not be repeated here. But this story is both well-known and a simplification of a truth, not mere error.
Dollarization and Seignorage: How Much is at Stake?

When a government decides to dollarize its economy, that is, to replace the domestic currency with the U.S. dollar, it automatically ceases to collect the stream of seignorage revenue, which is instead redirected toward the U.S. government. A central issue in the debate about dollarization is the distribution of seignorage between U.S. and the economies that are considering the adoption of the dollar as the sole legal tender. A pre-requisite for designing meaningful seignorage sharing rules is to asses the amount of resources that are at stake. A common misconception is that the amount of seignorage income involved is simply equal to the interest income on the amount of foreign reserves required to exchange the entire domestic money supply for dollars. This way of measuring the loss of seignorage income is in general biased for it implicitly assumes no growth in monetary assets. In this note we show that this bias can lead to enormous underestimations of the amount of seignorage revenue lost by governments of countries that dollarize.
Increase Productivity in Circuit Board Manufacturing Through Support Vectors

This paper investigates the possibility of using support vector machines (SVM) to increase productivity in manufacturing printed circuit boards. The current method of setting up a machine to place solder pastes on circuit boards is a very sophisticated and time consuming process, requiring many trial and error steps. SVMs are used to predict the outcome of a new production run based on support vectors extracted from machine setup parameters used in previous production runs. By incorporating a SVM machine in the production line, the amount of solder to be placed on a circuit board can be effectively monitored and adjusted at the early stage of the production line, resulting in much higher productivity of a SMT-based production line.
Comparison of Driver Brake Reaction Times to Multimodal Rear-end Collision Warnings

This study examined the effectiveness of rear-end collision warnings presented in different sensory modalities as a function of warning timing in a driving simulator. Drivers experienced four warning conditions: no warning, visual, auditory, and tactile. The warnings activated when the time-to-collision (TTC) reached a critical value of 3.0 or 5.0 s TTC. Driver reaction time (RT) was captured from the time the driver crossed the warning activation threshold to brake initiation. Mean driver RT data showed that the tactile warning significantly outperformed the visual warning, providing support for tactile displays as effective rear-end collision warnings.
Response of Arizona cypress (Hesperocyparis arizonica) to the Horseshoe Two Megafire in a south-eastern Arizona Sky Island mountain range

We examined the response of Arizona cypress (Hesperocyparis arizonica) to the 2011 Horseshoe Two Megafire in the Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona, USA. We documented cover type, fire severity, cypress mortality and seedling establishment in 60 plots. In plots subject to severe fire, most mature cypresses were killed, the canopy opened and seedlings established abundantly. These results were consistent across three canyons differing in topography and vegetation. Successful regeneration of Arizona cypress contrasts with low seedling establishment for pines in the same area after the Horseshoe Two Fire, a difference possibly explained by abundant serotinous seed production in cypress or its preference for riparian sites protected from extreme fire. Our results firmly establish Arizona cypress as a fire-sensitive but fire-embracing species that depends on stand-replacing fire for regeneration. Given the fire sensitivity of Arizona cypress, however, recent increases in the frequency of high-severity fires in the south-west USA could pose a threat to the long-term viability of this species by preventing individuals from reaching sexual maturity during fire intervals. This scenario, termed the ‘interval squeeze’, has been documented in tecate cypress (H. forbesii) in California. A drier future with more frequent wildfires could pose serious threats to all New World cypresses.
Atomic-Scale Fluidic Diodes Based on Triangular Nanopores in Bilayer Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Nanofluidic diodes based on nanochannels have been studied theoretically and experimentally for applications such as biosensors and logic gates. However, when analyzing attoliter-scale samples or enabling high-density integration of lab-on-a-chip devices, it is beneficial to miniaturize the size of a nanofluidic channel. Using molecular dynamics simulations, we investigate conductance of nanopores in bilayer hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN). Remarkably, we found that triangular nanopores possess excellent rectifications of ionic currents while hexagonal ones do not. It is worth highlighting that the pore length is only about 0.7 nm, which is about the atomic limit for a bipolar diode. We determined scaling relations between ionic currents I and pore sizes L for small nanopores, that are I ∼ L1 in a forward biasing voltage and I ∼ L2 in a reverse biasing voltage. Simulation results qualitatively agree with analytical ones derived from the one-dimensional Poisson–Nerst–Planck equations.
IMPACT OF CHRONIC THROMBOCYTOPENIA ON CLINICAL OUTCOMES AFTER TRANSCATHETER VALVULAR INTERVENTIONS AND CARDIAC DEVICES IMPLANTATIONS (PROPENSITY MATCHED ANALYSIS OF THE NATIONAL INPATIENT SAMPLE)

The impact of chronic thrombocytopenia (cTCP), defined as platelets count of < 150,000 cells/ml, on clinical outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), MitraClip, permenant pacemaker(PPM), implantable-cardioverter defibrillator(ICD), cardiac resynchronization therapy(CRT), left
Motile microelectronics with wireless power

A tetherless microelectronic system can be controlled by wireless power to direct locomotion and perform grasp and release tasks.
Application of quality nursing service in neonatal intensive care units

Objective To explore the effect of quality nursing service implemented in the neonatal intensive care units (NICU).Methods According to the characteristics of NICU,we implemented the quality nursing service by means of perfecting rules,regulations and work process,strengthening the nurses' training,changing the way of scheduling nurses' roster and refining the basic nursing care,etc.Then the satisfaction of patients with nursing job,the improvement of nursing quality and the number of nursing malpractices was recorded before (n =1 578) and after (n =1 507) quality nursing service implementation.Results Basic nursing passing rate was 96.7％,writing passing rate was 98.0％ after quality nursing service implementation,and those before implementation were 91.1％ and 91.0％,respectively,and the differences between the two groups was significant (x2 =6.827,11.368;P ＜0.01).Other measurements index of nursing after and before quality nursing service implementation were also different (P ＜0.05).Score of environmental device was (4.71 ±0.31 ),the score of humanistic care was (4.56 ± 0.34),were higher than those before quality nursing implementation,( 3.72 ±0.69) and (3.95 ± 0.46),respectively,and the difference was significant (t =51.01,41.74; P ＜ 0.01 ).Other satisfactory scores were also different between the two group ( P ＜ 0.01 ).Number of nursing malpractices after implementation was less than that before high quality nursing implementation ( x2 =7.007,8.993,6.563 ; P ＜0.05).Conclusions The implementation of quality nursing service in NICU can improve the quality of nursing,raise the relative's satisfaction with nursing job and reduce the number of nursing malpractices.Therefore,It's feasible to implement quality nursing service in NICU. Key words: Nursing management research; Quality nursing service; NICU
Impact of resection margin on outcomes in high-grade soft tissue sarcomas of the extremity-A USSC analysis.

BACKGROUND The optimal margin of resection for high-grade extremity sarcomas and its impact on survival has long been questioned in the setting of adjuvant radiotherapy. The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of resection status on recurrence and survival. METHODS All patients with primary, nonmetastatic, high-grade extremity sarcomas that underwent surgical resection from January 2000 to April 2016 in the U.S. Sarcoma Collaborative (USSC) were retrospectively reviewed. Recurrence patterns, recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS) were examined in multivariate analyses (MVA). RESULTS A cohort of 959 patients was identified with a median follow-up of 34.7 months from diagnosis. R0 resection was achieved in 86.7% (831) while R1 resection in 13.3% (128). Locoregional recurrence for R0 and R1 groups occurred in 9.1% (76) versus 14.8% (19; p = .05) while distant recurrence occurred in 24.7% (205) versus 26.6% (34; p = .65), respectively. Median RFS was 171.2 versus 48.5 (p = .01) while median OS was 149.8 versus 71.5 months (p = .02) for the R0 versus R1 group, respectively. On MVA, female gender (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.69, p = .007) and adjuvant radiotherapy (0.7, p = .04) were associated with improved OS, whereas older age (HR = 1.03, p < .001) and tumor size (HR = 1.01, p < .001) were associated with worse OS. R0 resection status was associated with improved locoregional RFS (HR = 0.56, p = .03) but not with distant RFS (HR = 0.84, p = .4) or OS (HR = 0.7, p = .052). CONCLUSIONS In high-grade extremity sarcomas, tumor size and gender are predictive of OS while R0 resection status is associated with improved locoregional recurrence rate without a significant impact on distant RFS or OS.