cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Computer-Mediated Support System for Project-Based Learning.

Project-based learning places demands on learners and instructors that challenge the traditional practices and support structures of schools. Learning from doing complex, challenging, and authentic projects requires resourcefulness and planning by the student, new forms of knowledge representation in school, expanded mechanisms for collaboration and communication, and support for reflection and authentic assessment. This article describes a computer-mediated learning-support system designed as a suite of integrated, internet-based client-server tools to provide (a) intelligent support both for the processes of doing a project and for learning from doing a project, and (b) a shared dynamic knowledge base for working and learning in a community supporting project-based education. The article describes the architecture of the system, its current state of development, and findings from an initial deployment. This articulation of the system components and findings can benefit several groups. It can help (a) educators envisioning the role of technology in augmenting authentic forms of learning, (b) developers of other support systems as they compare features and implications, and (c) researchers as they frame questions about human-computer interactions in learning systems.
Transformations between visual and kinesthetic coordinate systems in reaches to remembered object locations and orientations

The abilities of human subjects to perform reach and grasp movements to remembered locations/ orientations of a cylindrical object were studied under four conditions: (1) visual presentation of the object — reach with vision allowed; (2) visual presentation — reach while blindfolded; (3) kinesthetic presentation of the object-reach while blindfolded and (4) kinesthetic presentation-reach with vision. The results showed that subjects were very accurate in locating the object in the purely kinesthetic condition and that directional errors were low in all four conditions; but, predictable errors in reach distance occurred in conditions 1,2, and 4. The pattern of these distance errors was similar to that identified in previous research using a pointing task to a small target (i.e., overshoots of close targets, undershoots of far targets). The observation that the pattern of distance errors in condition 4 was similar to that of conditions 1 and 2 suggests that subjects transform kinesthetically defined hand locations into a visual coordinate system when vision is available during upper limb motion to a remembered kinesthetic target. The differences in orientation of the upper limb between target and reach positions in condition 3 were similar in magnitude to the errors associated with kinesthetic perceptions of arm and hand orientations in three-dimensional space reported in previous studies. However, fingertip location was specified with greater accuracy than the orientation of upper limb segments. This was apparently accomplished by compensation of variations in shoulder (arm) angles with oppositely directed variations in elbow joint angles. Subjects were also able to transform visually perceived object orientation into an appropriate hand orientation for grasp, as indicated by the relation between hand roll angle and object orientation (elevation angle). The implications of these results for control of upper limb motion to external targets are discussed.
Relationship between chronic toxicity and bioaccumulation of copper, cadmium and zinc as affected by water hardness and humic acid

Abstract Using daphnids, we have evaluated the effects of water hardness and humic acid (HA) on the chronic toxicity and bioaccumulation of Cu, Cd and Zn. Although changes in water hardness and HA concentration changed bioaccumulation or chronic toxicity, or both, of each of the three metals, there was no consistent relationship between changes in toxicity and changes in bioaccumulation. Only for Cu in hard water was there a positive correlation between toxicity and bioaccumulation. The uptake of 65Zn by molted exoskeletons suggests that changes in water chemistry do indeed modify the bioavailability of metals as would be expected. That is, an increase in the concentration of Ca2+ or Mg2+ or the increased chelation of metals by HA should decrease bioavailability. The complex storage, transformation and excretion processes in multicellular animals, however, result in there being a poor correlation among bioavailability, bioaccumulation and toxicity.
$K^+$ Nucleon Central Interaction in a Quark Potential Model

The ${K}^{+}$-N interaction is calculated with a quark potential model using the resonating-group method (RGM). For the central interaction, 2\ensuremath{\Elzxh}\ensuremath{\omega} mixed-symmetry harmonic-oscillator components of the nucleon wave function and 2\ensuremath{\Elzxh}\ensuremath{\omega} components of the kaon wave function are included in the calculation of the RGM kernels. These components make a significant contribution to the interaction kernels. The total isospin I=0 S-wave phase shifts are in good agreement with the experimentally determined phase shifts. The I=1 interaction does not exhibit enough repulsion.
Early Diagenetic Changes in Fresh-Water Clay Deposits: ABSTRACT

Cored borings of Recent fresh-water swamp deposits that accumulated in the Atchafalaya River basin, Louisiana, revealed the existence of numerous early diagenetic changes in clay deposits and the formation of various types of syngenetic and epigenetic inclusions. The deposits, approximately 100 feet thick, range in age from contemporary to slightly greater than 10,000 years and were deposited in four major environments of deposition: poorly drained (stagnant) swamp, well-drained swamp, lacustrine, and lacustrine delta fill. Many of these environmentally controlled facies are repeated several times in a single vertical sequence and offer the unusual possibility of studying diagenetic changes at different stages of development within a particular environment. The most commo diagenetic change is the replacement of plant rootlets and other organic fragments by pyrite and calcium carbonate. Pyrite replacement is most common in the poorly drained swamp sediments, whereas carbonate replacement occurs most commonly in the well-drained swamp deposits. These changes took place rapidly, probably within a few years after deposition. Both pyrite and calcium carbonate tend first to be formed in the open spaces within the organic fragments, second to invade the pore spaces, and last to replace most of the original organic material. Vivianite (Fe3P2O8 · 8H2O) forms fairly rapidly and also replaces organic material. Nodules are abundant throughout the section, but are more common in lacustrine sediments. The size of the nodules differs, generally being smaller in the younger units, and increases in size in the older units. The shape changes, ranging from round, flattened, lenticular masses (lacustrine) to round and irregular-shaped End_Page 458------------------------------ masses (swamp). Although hardness tends to increase with increasing burial depth and age, some nodules in relatively young deposits are very hard. Preliminary chemical analyses and X-ray diffraction studies indicate that they are composed of various carbonates, mainly calcium, manganese, magnesium, calcium-magnesium, and iron. Iron carbonates are abundant and appear to be more common in the older deposits. The change in proportion of the various carbonates presently is being investigated but this change must be abrupt. Other inclusions, such as iron oxides, iron hydroxides, etc., also are abundant. End_of_Article - Last_Page 459------------
The nature and detection of mycoplasmal immunogens

Mycoplasmal infections are important causes of disease in cattle, swine, sheep, goats and poultry. Vaccination has been shown experimentally to induce protection against challenge with several mycoplasmas, and vaccines have been used to control naturally occurring mycoplasmal disease in swine, sheep, goats and poultry. Immune responses to mycoplasmal immunogens have been determined using ELISA and immunoblotting as well as other serologic techniques. However, the importance of specific immunogens as virulence factors or putative protective immunogens has generally not been determined. Investigations are underway to determine the pathogenic mechanisms and identify important virulence factors involved in mycoplasmal disease. Examples are discussed of investigations with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae from our own laboratory. We have utilized ATP luminometry in attempts to develop better methods for quantitation of growth of M. hypopneumoniae and competitive ELISA as a potential method for in vitro quantitation of specific important immunogens.
Single-incision laparoscopic liver resection.

Background Laparoscopic liver surgery has become a safe and effective approach to the surgical management of liver disease. Recently developed, single-port-access surgery is of growing interest in an attempt to minimize abdominal wall trauma. Various abdominal procedures have already been performed via single-port access, but to date, single-port-access surgery has never been reported for liver resection.
A FIELD‐TESTING SYSTEM FOR EXPERIMENTAL BRIDGE EVALUATION

The design of a data acquisition/instrumentation system for bridge testing purposes has been described. The system was assembled from off-the-shelf electronic items and is capable of measuring both strain and deflection. Parameters in the measurement instructions including voltage range, delay time, integration time, and scanning interval must be properly specified to reduce noise in the measurements and avoid the loss of data. The system layout can serve as a blueprint for agencies interested in adopting load testing as part of the bridge evaluation process.
Who Wants to Censor Pornography and Hate Speech

Attitudes about censorship have been studied across a diverse range of disciplines, including mass communication, political science, social psychology, education, and library science. Despite varied origins, this research has two things in common: (a) seeking to understand how and where the public draws lines in limiting free expression, and (b) a normative desire to be able to predict and modify such opinions when needed. To influence public attitudes about hate speech and pornography (in either direction), one must understand the characteristics of people who do and do not wish to censor such expression. This article examines the relationship of attitudes about pornography and hate speech to a variety of demographic, psychological, and sociopolitical variables (including age, gender, education, political affiliation, religiosity, media use, need for cognition, authoritarianism, neuroticism, openness, extroversion, and commitment to democratic principles). The similarities and differences of the relation...
Optimization of purge air-to-fuel ratio profiles for enhanced Lean NOx Trap control

Lean NOx Traps (LNT), as a critical aftertreatment device for lean burn engines, require active control to manage its storage and purge cycles. In this paper, optimal air-to-fuel ratio profiles are pursued in LNT operation cycles with focus on the purge phase in which the stored NOx is neutralized by a rich air-to-fuel ratio mixture. It is shown that allowing the AFR to vary during the purge phase can provide a substantial leverage in improving LNT performance, in comparison to the fixed AFR purge strategy. Our findings also demonstrate a fundamental trade-off between the NOx and HC emissions and the fuel consumption with different purge AFR profiles.
A novel tunable broadband power amplifier module operating from 0.8 GHz to 2.0 GHz

In this paper, an InGaP/GaAs HBT broadband power amplifier with a novel tunable output matching circuit is first proposed and implemented. The 3-stage broadband power amplifier is realized by using the compensating matching technique and optimizing the distribution of power gain among stages. The output matching circuit is implemented with parallel L/spl I.bar/C tank circuits using PIN diodes to control the inductor value. This broadband amplifier module offers the advantage of fewer components, less power insertion loss, small size and high linearity. The broadband power amplifier module demonstrates 28 dB power gain, 30 dBm output power and higher than 30% power added efficiency (PAE) at frequencies covering dual bands from 0.85 GHz to 0.95 GHz and from 1.71 GHz to 1.95 GHz, which can be used in the GSM, DCS, PCS and CDMA systems.
Follow-up of Patients with Resected Thoracic Malignancies

The authors have systematically performed a literature search using 8 databases identifying established guidelines for follow-up after resected thoracic malignancies. Seven different societies' (found to have published recommendations for non-small cell lung cancer, esophageal cancer, thymoma, or mesothelioma) guidelines are reviewed in this article. High-quality evidence leading to consistent, strong recommendations among societies has not been found. With the subsequent advancements in surgical treatment and other curative modalities, the ability to detect and intervene with curative therapy at earlier stages of disease in a growing portion of the current patient population will benefit from higher-quality evidence.
Sequence Analysis of the Cloned glossy8 Gene of Maize Suggests That It May Code for a [beta]-Ketoacyl Reductase Required for the Biosynthesis of Cuticular Waxes

The gl8 locus of maize (Zea mays L.) was previously defined by a mutation that reduces the amount and alters the composition of seedling cuticular waxes. Sixty independently derived gl8 mutant alleles were isolated from stocks that carried the Mutator transposon system. A DNA fragment that contains a Mu8 transposon and that co-segregates with one of these alleles, gl8-Mu3142, was identified and cloned. DNA flanking the Mu8 transposon was shown via allelic cross-referencing experiments to represent the gl8 locus. The gl8 probe revealed a 1.4-kb transcript present in wild-type seedling leaves and, in lesser amounts, in other organs and at other developmental stages. The amino acid sequence deduced from an apparently full-length gl8 cDNA exhibits highly significant sequence similarity to a group of enzymes from plants, eubacteria, and mammals that catalyzes the reduction of ketones. This finding suggests that the GL8 protein probably functions as a reductase during fatty acid elongation in the cuticular wax biosynthetic pathway.
Traumatic Pelvic Injury Outcome Prediction by Extracting Features from Relevant Medical Records and X-Ray Images

Traumatic pelvic injuries are complex and difficult to treat, due to the high risk of complications. Prompt and accurate medical treatment is therefore vital. Computer-aided decision-making systems can assist physicians in this task, but none of those proposed so far incorporate features extracted from medical images. The study in this paper uses demographic information, standard medical measurements, and features extracted from X-ray images to predict a patient's length of stay in ICU via rules extracted from decision trees generated by the CART algorithm. The X-ray features are extracted by using a spline/ASM segmentation technique to detect structure position, then calculating measures of displacement. The results are promising and compare well with SVM and C4.5 algorithms, indicating that the rules represent true data patterns. Significantly, an X-ray feature is selected as highly important to injury severity, indicating that medical image features are important in providing accurate recommendations and predictions.
Annual Report on Health Care for Children and Youth in the United States: Trends in Racial/Ethnic, Income, and Insurance Disparities Over Time, 2002–2009

Abstract Objective To examine trends in children's health access, utilization, and expenditures over time (2002–2009) by race/ethnicity, income, and insurance status/expected payer. Methods Data include a nationally representative random sample of children in the United States in 2002–2009 from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) and a nationwide sample of pediatric hospitalizations in 2005 and 2009 from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). Results The percentage of children with private insurance coverage declined from 65.3% in 2002 to 60.6% in 2009. At the same time, the percentage of publicly insured children increased from 27.0% in 2002 to 33.1% in 2009. Fewer children reported being uninsured in 2009 (6.3%) compared to 2002 (7.7%). The most significant progress was for Hispanic children, for whom the percentage of uninsured dropped from 15.0% in 2002 to 10.3% in 2009. The uninsured were consistently the least likely to have access to a usual source of care, and this disparity remained unchanged in 2009. Non-Hispanic whites were most likely to report a usual source of care in both 2002 and 2009. The percentage of children with a doctor visit improved for whites and Hispanics (2009 vs 2002). In contrast, black children saw no improvement during this time period. Between 2002 and 2009, children's average total health care expenditures increased from $1294 to $1914. Average total expenditures nearly doubled between 2002 and 2009 for white children with private health insurance. Among infants, hospitalizations for pneumonia decreased in absolute number (41,000 to 34,000) and as a share of discharges (0.8% to 0.7%). Fluid and electrolyte disorders also decreased over time. Influenza appeared only in 2009 in the list of top 15 diagnoses with 11,000 hospitalization cases. For children aged 1 to 17, asthma hospitalization increased in absolute number (from 119,000 to 134,000) and share of discharges (6.6% to 7.6%). Skin infections appeared in the top 15 categories in 2009, with 57,000 cases (3.3% of total). Conclusions Despite significant improvement in insurance coverage, disparities by race/ethnicity and income persist in access to and use of care. Hispanic children experienced progress in a number of measures, while black children did not. Because racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities are often reported as single cross-sectional studies, our approach is innovative and improves on prior studies by examining population trends during the time period 2002–2009. Our study sheds light on children's disparities during the most recent economic crisis.
A Component-Based Framework for Generalized Face Alignment

This paper presents a component-based deformable model for generalized face alignment, in which a novel bistage statistical model is proposed to account for both local and global shape characteristics. Instead of using statistical analysis on the entire shape, we build separate Gaussian models for shape components to preserve more detailed local shape deformations. In each model of components, a Markov network is integrated to provide simple geometry constraints for our search strategy. In order to make a better description of the nonlinear interrelationships over shape components, the Gaussian process latent variable model is adopted to obtain enough control of shape variations. In addition, we adopt an illumination-robust feature to lead the local fitting of every shape point when light conditions change dramatically. To further boost the accuracy and efficiency of our component-based algorithm, an efficient subwindow search technique is adopted to detect components and to provide better initializations for shape components. Based on this approach, our system can generate accurate shape alignment results not only for images with exaggerated expressions and slight shading variation but also for images with occlusion and heavy shadows, which are rarely reported in previous work.
The Organization of Serfdom in Eastern Europe: A Comment

Some years ago, in the pages of this JOURNAL, I suggested that East European labor services might be explained by the willingness of the lords to sacrifice some current revenue in order to strengthen their social position and thereby increase their riskdiscounted future income.' In his recent article on Eastern European serfdom, Robert Millward grants that the hypothesis cannot be ruled out; but he claims that it is unnecessary, since "the organization of serfdom can be explained by more straightforward economic interests of the noble class."2 Millward argues that the interaction of landowning lords and landless but free peasants would lead to a system of peasant family farms, held for fixed rents determined inter alia by interpeasant competition for land. With serfdom, peasant immobility precludes such competition; the information as to the land's potential output conveyed by those rent bids is therefore also lost. Even if we assume that peasant subsistence needs are known, and that peasant labor-time and effort cannot be intensified, "in order to acquire knowledge of production possibilities the lord or his stewards would have to monitor production on the peasant holdings."3 Rather than incur the cost of supervising rent-paying peasants as they produce the entire output, however, the lord will find it advantageous to let the peasants produce their subsistence on their own land and their own time, without supervision, and correspondingly monitor only the production that will accrue to him. Enserfment is thus accompanied by a shift from rents to demesne farming with labor services. This bare summary does not do justice to the scope of Millward's article, which also examines the direct hiring of free peasants, the land transfers and productivity changes associated with the rise of the demesne, the adjustment of land/labor ratios through land sales in the context of labor immobility, and the possible connection between enserfment and the rise of the grain export market; nor does it do justice to the fine scholarship with which he brings evidence to bear on the many implications of his model. Some of these points will be returned to below. For the moment, however, the above summary serves to focus attention on the central point at issue: namely, whether labor services can be taken to have minimized supervision costs in the context of servile agriculture. In the absence of other considerations, Millward and I agree, fixed rents have the overpowering advantage of a zero marginal tax rate on peasant effort, so that the labor input need not be supervised.4 Our disagreement turns on the validity of the claim that
Steatorrhea: A common manifestation in patients with HIV/AIDS

Abstract Multiple infectious causes of diarrhea are known in patients with HIV/AIDS. Maldigestion and malabsorption have been reported in patients with HIV/AIDS and may be independent of infectious etiologies. Among ambulatory patients with HIV/AIDS, we examined the prevalence of fat malabsorption (steatorrhea). Sixty-one patients with unexplained diarrhea (defined as > 2 stools/d) and/or weight loss despite adequate caloric intake (and without clinical evidence of chronic pancreatitis) were evaluated in our outpatient Gastroenterology-Nutrition Clinic between March 1, 1993, and July 1994. Patients were instructed by a dietitian to follow a ≥100 g/d fat diet for 24 h before submitting a stool sample for qualitative (or quantitative) fecal fat determination. Forty-five patients, 32 with ongoing diarrhea and 13 without diarrhea, submitted stool samples. Twenty-two of 45 patients (49%) had qualitative or quantitative steatorrhea, 16 32 with diarrhea (50%) and 6 13 patients without diarrhea (46%). Thirty of 32 patients with diarrhea had had extensive microbiologic and/or endoscopic evaluations. Only 9 patients had a detectable intestinal pathogen, 5 patients had cytomegalovirus (4 treated), 4 patients had cryptosporidia (3 treated), and 1 patient had microsporidia. Steatorrhea, as determined by abnormal qualitative fecal fat, is detectable in nearly 50% of patients with HIV/AIDS. Fat malabsorption appears to be a primary defect in these patients independent of detectable pathogens. Assessment of fat malabsorption should be considered in patients with unexplained weight loss or diarrhea before extensive evaluation for opportunistic infections.
Developmental patterns of protein expression in photoreceptors implicate distinct environmental versus cell-intrinsic mechanisms.

The present study has examined the spatial and temporal expression patterns of various proteins associated with the structure and function of mature photoreceptor outer segments in the developing ferret's retina using immunocytochemistry and RT-PCR. One set of proteins, including rod opsin, arrestin, and recoverin, was detected progressively in photoreceptors as they became postmitotic, being expressed well before the differentiation of outer segments. A second set of proteins, including β- and γ-transducin, cGMP-phosphodiesterase, phosducin, rhodopsin kinase, rod cGMP-gated cation channel protein, and peripherin, displayed a contrasting temporal onset and pattern of spatial emergence. These latter proteins first became detectable either shortly before or coincident with outer segment formation, and were expressed simultaneously in both older and younger photoreceptor cells. A third set, the short wavelength-sensitive (SWS) and medium wavelength-sensitive (MWS) cone opsin proteins, was the last to be detected, but materialized in a spatio-temporal pattern reminiscent of the neurogenetic gradient of the cones. These different spatial and temporal patterns indicate that cellular maturation must play a primary role in regulating the onset of expression of some of these proteins, while extrinsic signals must act to coordinate the expression of other proteins across photoreceptors of different ages.
Late Miocene onset of the Amazon River and the Amazon deep-sea fan: Evidence from the Foz do Amazonas Basin: COMMENT

[Figueiredo et al. (2009)][1] analyzed sediments from two cores taken northeast of the mouth of the Amazon River and concluded that the Amazon River formed through a three-stage sequence beginning at 11.8–11.3 Ma. This hypothesis conflicts, in part or wholly, with virtually every other recent
Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck – Why Some Thrive Despite Them All

by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen, Harper Business (2011), 320 pp., $19.79, ISBN: 978-0062120991. Financial quants and management consultants exist in parallel universes, seemingly without regard...
Knowledge management in multinational firms

Abstract Multinationals by their very nature are network firms. They are therefore able to leverage their networks to effectively manage dispersed knowledge assets. They do this by tapping into a number of local clusters to assimilate and integrate knowledge. However, knowledge traffic is almost always two-way, so that clusters have much to gain from both intentional and unintentional knowledge outflows from MNEs. Thus, MNEs can serve as conduits between clusters, so that their network knowledge contributes to the health of all the clusters in which it operates.
Interactive visualization of Java programs

The design and implementation of a novel visual interactive execution environment for Java is described. This system displays both the run-time object structure as well as the internal details of object and method activations. The representation of the execution state is based upon a novel yet simple representation technique which clarifies the important fact that objects are environments. All major Java features, including inheritance, inner classes, static methods, exceptions, etc., are supported. The GUI components built from Java's Swing or AWT libraries can be visualized in juxtaposition with the underlying execution state. We also include a reverse-execution mechanism that allows a user to rollback to previous states of an execution. A notable characteristic of the visualization system is that it employs the existing Java virtual machine; no new Java interpreter is needed. A novel preprocessor (source-to-source transformation) is employed in conjunction with a run-time mediator written in Java, which carries out the visualization. A prototype of these ideas was completed to validate the entire approach.
Multi-story power delivery for supply noise reduction and low voltage operation

This paper presents a multi-story power delivery scheme which shows significant reduction of supply noise and power consumption compared to conventional power delivery scheme. To maximize the effectiveness of the proposed scheme, a digital voltage regulator is designed to balance the current dissipation of circuits in different voltage domains. Data transfer circuits based on capacitive coupling are developed for efficient inter-story data communication. Simulation results show 66% and 67% reduction of IR noise and Ldi/dt noise, respectively, while the total power consumption was reduced by 5% compared to a conventional power delivery scheme.
Ontogenetic Differences in Dietary Fat Influence Microbiota Assembly in the Zebrafish Gut

ABSTRACT Gut microbiota influence the development and physiology of their animal hosts, and these effects are determined in part by the composition of these microbial communities. Gut microbiota composition can be affected by introduction of microbes from the environment, changes in the gut habitat during development, and acute dietary alterations. However, little is known about the relationship between gut and environmental microbiotas or about how host development and dietary differences during development impact the assembly of gut microbiota. We sought to explore these relationships using zebrafish, an ideal model because they are constantly immersed in a defined environment and can be fed the same diet for their entire lives. We conducted a cross-sectional study in zebrafish raised on a high-fat, control, or low-fat diet and used bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequencing to survey microbial communities in the gut and external environment at different developmental ages. Gut and environmental microbiota compositions rapidly diverged following the initiation of feeding and became increasingly different as zebrafish grew under conditions of a constant diet. Different dietary fat levels were associated with distinct gut microbiota compositions at different ages. In addition to alterations in individual bacterial taxa, we identified putative assemblages of bacterial lineages that covaried in abundance as a function of age, diet, and location. These results reveal dynamic relationships between dietary fat levels and the microbial communities residing in the intestine and the surrounding environment during ontogenesis. IMPORTANCE The ability of gut microbiota to influence host health is determined in part by their composition. However, little is known about the relationship between gut and environmental microbiotas or about how ontogenetic differences in dietary fat impact gut microbiota composition. We addressed these gaps in knowledge using zebrafish, an ideal model organism because their environment can be thoroughly sampled and they can be fed the same diet for their entire lives. We found that microbial communities in the gut changed as zebrafish aged under conditions of a constant diet and became increasingly different from microbial communities in their surrounding environment. Further, we observed that the amount of fat in the diet had distinct age-specific effects on gut community assembly. These results reveal the complex relationships between microbial communities residing in the intestine and those in the surrounding environment and show that these relationships are shaped by dietary fat throughout the life of animal hosts.
When Crises Collide: How Intimate Partner Violence and Poverty Intersect to Shape Women’s Mental Health and Coping?

Until recently, the connection between intimate partner violence (IPV) and persistent poverty had been largely ignored. Recent research indicates, however, that the two phenomena cooccur at high rates; produce parallel effects; and, in each other's presence, constrain coping options. Therefore, both external situational, and internal psychological difficulties are missed when women contending with both poverty and IPV are viewed through the lens of just one or just the other. This article describes mental health consequences for women who contend with both partner violence and poverty. It proposes that the stress, powerlessness, and social isolation at the heart of both phenomena combine to produce posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and other emotional difficulties. The article also introduces the term ''survival-focused coping'' to describe women's methods of coping with IPV in the context of poverty and highlights the role that domestic violence advocates, mental health providers, and researchers can play in addressing these tightly intertwined phenomena.
Development, Modernization and Comparative Parochialism: A Review Article

Alex Inkeles and David H. Smith, Becoming Modern: Individual Change in Six Developing Countries. London: Heinemann, 1974, 436 pp. S. N. Eisenstadt and Yael Azmon, eds., Socialism and Tradition. Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey: Humanities Press, 1975, 262 pp. Szymon Chodak, Societal Development: Five Approaches with Conclusions from Comparative Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press, 1973, 357 pp. Ivar Oxaal, Tony Barnett, and David Booth, eds., Beyond the Sociology of Development: Economy and Society in Latin America and Africa. London and Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1975, 295 pp.
Influence of fitness and gender on blood pressure responses during active or passive stress

We examined hemodynamic and autonomic components of blood pressure responses during active and passive stressor tasks in a sample of young, normotensive men and women who were physically active but differed on fitness (i.e., [V below dot]O2peak). During the hand cold pressor, increases in systolic blood pressure were inversely related to fitness among women but not men. Regardless of gender, fitter participants had a greater increase in cardiac pace during mental arithmetic, coherent with a decreased cardiac-vagal component of heart rate variability, and a greater compensatory reduction in stroke volume. Fitness was otherwise unrelated to changes in cardiac output and vascular resistance during the stressor tasks. Our findings suggest that cardiorespiratory fitness augments the cardiac-vagal withdrawal that is characteristic of mental arithmetic. The blunted systolic blood pressure response to the hand cold pressor among fitter women suggests that cardiorespiratory fitness should be considered as a covariate in studies that examine the hand cold pressor as a predictor of future hypertension among women.
A New Species of Caecincola (Trematoda: Cryptogonimidae) from Spotted Bass (Micropterus punctulatus) in the Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas, U.S.A

Caecincola autumnae n. sp. is described from the pyloric ceca of spotted bass (Micropterus punctulatus) collected from Big Sandy Creek in the Big Sandy Creek Unit of the Big Thicket National Preserve, Polk County, Texas, U.S.A. It can be distinguished from all other species of Caecincola by the presence of an ovary with 4 lobes and a narrowly obpanduriform to narrowly obpyriform body.
Early discharge after coronary artery bypass graft surgery: are patients really going home earlier?

Abstract Objective: This study was undertaken to determine whether early discharge after coronary artery bypass grafting allows patients to return home earlier or merely increases the use of outpatient nursing and inpatient rehabilitation services. Methods: Patterns of discharge were analyzed in 407 patients undergoing bypass grafting in 1990, when there were no early extubations or fast track protocols, and compared with 379 patients in 1998, when these protocols were used. Results: Patients in 1998 had a higher prevalence of class IV angina (35.3% vs 22.8%; P =.006), urgent/emergency surgery (58.3% vs 44.9%; P =.015), and lower ejection fractions (48.9% ± 16.4% vs 52.9% ± 13.5%; P =.0002). Despite these increased risk factors, 1998 patients spent less time receiving ventilatory support (10.2 ± 9.2 vs 26.7 ± 15.7 hours; P P P P P Conclusions: Early extubation and fast track protocols have resulted in earlier discharge from acute care facilities. However, the anticipated earlier return to home has been offset by the increased use of outpatient nursing services, discharges to extended care facilities, and hospital readmissions. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2001;121:943-50)
Effects of Interleukin-1α and Cyclosporin A in vivo and in vitro on Bone and Lymphoid Tissues in Mice

ABsTRAcr The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of interleukin-la (IL-la) infusion and the ability of cyclosporin A (CYA) to alter IL-la-induced effects on bone in vivo and in vitro and lymphoid organs in vivo. Mice were administered IL-la (2,4, or 6 days), CYA (6 days), or IL- la and CYA (6 days). Hypercalcemia was induced in mice treated with ILla compared to controls and CYA treated mice, and decreased urinary calcium excretion was present in ILla and CYA groups. Osteoclastic bone resorption was increased with a resultant loss of total bone area and bone formation (as measured by mineral apposition rate) was decreased in mice infused with IL-la. Although CYA-treatment increased bone formation as compared to ILlatreatment; CYA in combination with IL-la did not alter the reduction in mineral apposition rate caused by IL-la. IL-la also stimulated bone resorption in vitro which was significantly inhibited by cyclosporin A. IL1 a-induced splenic granulopoiesis, peripheral blood neutrophilia, thymic atrophy, and lymphoid hyperplasia in lymph nodes. CYA-treatment resulted histologically in a severe depletion of lymphocytes in the thymus, a moderate depletion of lymphocytes in lymph nodes but no difference in the histology of the spleen compared to controls. In summary, interIeukin-la was effective in stimulating hypercalcemia and bone resorption both in vivo and in vitro but cyclosporin A was effective in inhibiting ILIa-mediated-bone resorption only in vitro. IGla also had marked effects on spleen, thymus, and circulating blood cells; however, most parameters were not affected by the concurrent administration of cyclosporin A.
Antiapoptotic Effect of Serum and Glucocorticoid-Inducible Protein Kinase Is Mediated by Novel Mechanism Activating IκB Kinase

Serum and glucocorticoid inducible protein kinase (SGK) plays a crucial role in promoting cell survival, but the mechanisms for this response are not clear. We show that SGK is involved in the regulation of apoptosis in breast cancer cells by modulating the transcriptional activity of nuclear transcription factor kappaB (NF-kappaB). High levels of SGK expression were observed in human breast cancer samples. When SGK was reduced the apoptotic rate increased, and increased SGK activity prevents serum withdrawal-induced apoptosis. SGK-induced cell survival was abolished by a dominant-negative form of IkappaB kinase beta (IKKbeta, K44A) or a null mutation of IKKbeta in mouse embryonic fibroblast cells indicating involvement of the NF-kappaB pathway. Serum-induced SGK or increased expression of SGK activated NF-kappaB transcriptional activity, whereas small interference RNA to SGK blocked NF-kappaB activity. Coexpression of SGK and IKKbeta significantly increased the activation of NF-kappaB (versus expression of IKKbeta alone). Expression of dominant-negative IKKbeta K44A, IkappaBalpha AA, and kinase-dead SGK (127KM) blocked the ability of SGK to stimulate NF-kappaB activity, suggesting that IKKbeta is a target of SGK. We also show that SGK enhances the ability of IKKbeta to phosphorylate endogenous IkappaBalpha in cells or recombinant glutathione S-transferase-IkappaBalpha in vitro and increases IkappaBalpha degradation; SGK physically associates with and activates IKKbeta in MDA231 cells via phosphorylation of Ser(181) in IKKbeta. Taken together, we conclude that SGK acts as an oncogene in breast cancer cells through activation of the IKK-NF-kappaB pathway, thereby preventing apoptosis. Blocking SGK expression/activity represents a potential therapeutic approach for breast cancer treatment.
SMURFLite: combining simplified Markov random fields with simulated evolution improves remote homology detection for beta-structural proteins into the twilight zone

Motivation: One of the most successful methods to date for recognizing protein sequences that are evolutionarily related has been profile hidden Markov models (HMMs). However, these models do not capture pairwise statistical preferences of residues that are hydrogen bonded in beta sheets. These dependencies have been partially captured in the HMM setting by simulated evolution in the training phase and can be fully captured by Markov random fields (MRFs). However, the MRFs can be computationally prohibitive when beta strands are interleaved in complex topologies. We introduce SMURFLite, a method that combines both simplified MRFs and simulated evolution to substantially improve remote homology detection for beta structures. Unlike previous MRF-based methods, SMURFLite is computationally feasible on any beta-structural motif. Results: We test SMURFLite on all propeller and barrel folds in the mainly-beta class of the SCOP hierarchy in stringent cross-validation experiments. We show a mean 26% (median 16%) improvement in area under curve (AUC) for beta-structural motif recognition as compared with HMMER (a well-known HMM method) and a mean 33% (median 19%) improvement as compared with RAPTOR (a well-known threading method) and even a mean 18% (median 10%) improvement in AUC over HHPred (a profile–profile HMM method), despite HHpred's use of extensive additional training data. We demonstrate SMURFLite's ability to scale to whole genomes by running a SMURFLite library of 207 beta-structural SCOP superfamilies against the entire genome of Thermotoga maritima, and make over a 100 new fold predictions. Availability and implementaion: A webserver that runs SMURFLite is available at: http://smurf.cs.tufts.edu/smurflite/ Contact: ude.stfut@newoc.eronel; ude.tim@bab
Impaired vasoreactivity despite an increase in plasma nitrite in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Abstract Objective: This investigation was designed to determine whether differences in vasoreactivity occur in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) as compared with patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) or individuals (controls) without known vascular disease. Methods: Brachial artery vasoreactivity was assessed in a blinded fashion, after endothelium-dependent (ED) and endothelium-independent (EI) flow-mediated vasodilation, in age-matched, male patients with AAAs (n = 11) or PAOD (n = 9) or in controls (n = 10). There were no significant differences in prestudy systolic or diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, or antilipidemic medications among the groups studied. Exclusion criteria included diabetes and tobacco use within 3 months. Quantitative ultrasound scan measurements of brachial artery diameters were performed at rest and after either forearm ischemia (ED) or administration of 0.4 mg sublingual nitroglycerin (EI). Plasma nitric oxide (NO X = NO 2 + NO 3 ) was measured with the Saville assay. Asymmetric dimethylarginine, an endogenous inhibitor of NO X synthase, was measured with liquid chromatography. Results: Initial brachial artery diameters were not significantly different among the groups studied (4.85 ± 0.18 mm for AAA group, 4.82 ± 0.17 mm for PAOD group, 4.68 ± 0.20 mm for controls). ED and EI vasodilation was significantly less ( P =.02 and.03, respectively) in the AAA group (−1.71 ± 1.52 and 8.33 ± 1.13, respectively) when compared with the controls (2.96 ± 1.04 and 13.88 ± 2.16, respectively). However, plasma NO X was significantly increased ( P =.01) in the AAA group (7.86 ± 0.85 μmol/L) as compared with both controls (5.13 ± 0.63 μmol/L) and PAOD (4.85 ± 0.46 μmol/L). Asymmetric dimethylarginine levels were decreased in the AAA group (0.34 ± 0.05 μmol/L) as compared with the PAOD group (0.46 ± 0.09 μmol/L). No correlation existed between aneurysm size and ED or EI vasodilation or plasma NO X . Conclusion: This study is the first to document a divergence between ED and EI vasoreactivity and systemic NO metabolites in patients with AAAs. It is speculated that a dysfunctional vessel wall response, rather than a lack of NO, may be important in the pathogenesis of AAAs. (J Vasc Surg 2002;35:363-7.)
A decision theoretic approach to a distribution–free compound classification problem

A compound decision problem with component decision problem being the classification of a random sample as having come from one of the finite number of univariate populations is investigated. The Bayesian approach is discussed. A distribution–free decision rule is presented which has asymptotic risk equal to zero. The asymptotic efficiencies of these rules are discussed. The results of a compter simulation are presented which compares the Bayes rule to the distribution–free rule under the assumption of normality. It is found that the distribution–free rule can be recommended in situations where certain key lo cation parameters are not known precisely and/or when certain distributional assumptions are not satisfied.
From the Ground Up: Starting a Theological Library from Scratch

There is no “How To” manual for starting an academic library. This essay is one experience in the effort to take a room of books and make the journey to an accredited resource center for a theological graduate school. The collaborative expertise of colleagues, the wisdom and direction garnered from professional meetings, and the wary wiles of technological information resources serves to chronicle this rocky and rewarding road to accomplishment
CONTROLLER DESIGN FOR ACTIVE CLOSED-LOOP CONTROL OF CAVITY FLOWS

In this paper we discuss feedback controller design issues for active control of shallow cavity flows. Linear controllers, such as H ∞ , PID, and Smith predictor based controllers are designed and tested experimentally. The ineffectiveness of using fixed linear models in the design of linear controllers for the cavity flows is demonstrated via experimental results. In order to better address this problem, we are in the process of developing a nonlinear model of the cavity flow dynamics using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD). We briefly discuss control issues related to the class of feedback systems involving this type of nonlinear plants.