cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Compost Effects on Soil Chemical Properties and Field Nursery Production

Abstract Field production of ornamental shrubs results in significant topsoil removal and degradation of soil chemical properties. We amended field soils with compost to evaluate effects on soil chemical properties and shrub biomass production. We applied either duck manure-sawdust (DM), potato cull-sawdust-dairy manure (PC) or paper mill sludge-bark (PMB) composts to a silt loam soil as a) incorporated 2.5 cm (1 in) of compost tilled into the top 15 cm (6 in) of soil or b) incorporated + mulched 2.5 cm (1 in) tilled into soil + 2.5 cm (1 in) applied over the soil surface. We grew Spirea japonicum ‘Gumball’, Juniper chinensis ‘Pfitzeriana’ and Berberis thunbergia ‘Atropurpurea’ seedlings and measured total and plant available nutrients and shrub biomass production and nutrient contents over two growing seasons. Total soil C was 15–21% higher in all mulched treatments compared to incorporated-only and no-amendment control treatments. Total soil N, P and Cu, available P, S, Ca, Mg, K, pH and EC increased wi...
Neuropsychological Evaluation of Subcortical Dementia

Dementia is a condition that often afflicts the elderly, and the assessment of dementing disorders has become the pursuit of many neuropsychologists. The differential diagnosis of dementias of different etiologies through neuropsychological assessment has become a particularly fertile area of research and clinical activity. The term subcortical dementia has become increasingly popular as a descriptor of neurobehavioral decline secondary to neuropathological or neurophysiological changes in subcortical brain structures. However, the concept of subcortical dementia has been controversial and has undergone considerable revision and expansion over the past two decades.
Why do We Donate to Political Campaigns? A Study on Political Trust and Social Networks

Does political trust increase the likelihood of political donations in a social network? This paper assesses this question by using two large-n studies (the General Social Survey and National Election Study) to assess the power of political trust in predicting how likely people are to donate to campaigns. The analysis is taken from studies ranging from elections held in 1983 to 2004. The paper finds that although political trust is not a strong predictor of the incidence of campaign donations, that discussion about politics in amongst friends, relatives, and co-workers does indeed encourage campaign donations. This work contributes to the literature on campaign finance by suggesting that the role and dynamics of social networks can possibly affect if and how much people donate to campaigns. Overall, we conclude that while trust does not tell us much, discussion in peer groups can predict political donations.
Simulation for Real-Time Control: Advantages, Potential Pitfalls, Opportunities

Real-time scheduling and control has always been a desirable goal in manufacturing. With more Computer Integrated Manufacturing Systems evolving, new opportunities exist to pursue this problem. This paper discusses the potential application of discrete event computer simulation as a real-time decision-making tool to aid system control, based on experience attempting application and discussion with industrial experts in the area.
Memory and Computation Efficient PCA via Very Sparse Random Projections

Algorithms that can efficiently recover principal components in very high-dimensional, streaming, and/or distributed data settings have become an important topic in the literature. In this paper, we propose an approach to principal component estimation that utilizes projections onto very sparse random vectors with Bernoulli-generated nonzero entries. Indeed, our approach is simultaneously efficient in memory/storage space, efficient in computation, and produces accurate PC estimates, while also allowing for rigorous theoretical performance analysis. Moreover, one can tune the sparsity of the random vectors deliberately to achieve a desired point on the tradeoffs between memory, computation, and accuracy. We rigorously characterize these tradeoffs and provide statistical performance guarantees. In addition to these very sparse random vectors, our analysis also applies to more general random projections. We present experimental results demonstrating that this approach allows for simultaneously achieving a substantial reduction of the computational complexity and memory/storage space, with little loss in accuracy, particularly for very high-dimensional data.
Editorial for the Special Issue on 3D Printed Microfluidic Devices.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing has revolutionized the microfabrication prototyping workflow over the past few years. [...]
Clonal Composition and Single-Cell Characterization of T-Cell Infiltrates in Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy

Purpose T-cells are implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV), yet their clonal composition and function are incompletely defined. We examined the T-cell receptor β (TCRβ) repertoire from explanted grafts with CAV and characterized their phenotype at the single-cell level. Methods TCRβ repertoire analysis was carried out in 4 cardiac explants with CAV by next generation sequencing using DNA extracted from 1) coronary artery (CA), 2) endomyocardium (endo) 3) peripheral blood and 4) cardiac biopsies from the same patients. Blood and intragraft T cells were also phenotyped at the single cell level using a strategy combining index sorting, 13-colour flow cytometry and single-cell RT/PCR for key cytokines, transcription markers and TCRβ chain sequencing. Unique TCRβ chain gene rearrangements were used to link single-cell and TCR repertoires. Results Overlap between intragraft and blood T cell repertoires was observed in all 4 cases with most high frequency rearrangements present in both compartments (Fig. 1a). The clonality index was higher in the blood compared to the graft. In contrast, there was minimal overlap in the B cell repertoire from the same samples (example in 1b). Strikingly, in each case, a common high frequency TCRβ in the blood was also amongst the top rearrangements in the CA, endo, and a previous biopsy (Quilty lesion or cellular rejection) obtained 2 to 6 years earlier (1c). Using their unique TCRβ sequence as a link to the single-cell phenotype data, we identified these clones as CD8+CD45RA+Tbet+ T-cells evocative of effector memory RA T cells (Temra). Conclusion Our studies demonstrated considerable overlap between the graft and blood TCR repertoire in CAV suggestive of a bystander T cell response in situ. However, these findings do not rule out the existence of individual clones being expanded in the graft. Moreover, the Temra phenotype of persistent high frequency clones offers a first indication of the type of T cells infiltrating cardiac allografts.
PSEUDOMONOTONICITY AND RELATED PROPERTIES IN EUCLIDEAN JORDAN ALGEBRAS

In this paper, we extend the concept of pseudomonotonicity from Rn to the setting of Euclidean Jordan algebras. We study interconnections between pseudomonotonicity, monotonicity, and the Z-property. Motivated by their results, in this paper, we extend the concept of pseudomono- tonicity from R n to the setting of Euclidean Jordan algebras. Specifically, we give a characterization of pseudomonotonicity for a linear transformation and a matrix- induced transformation defined on a Euclidean Jordan algebra. We show that pseu- domonotonicity and monotonicity coincide under the condition of the Z-property. Moreover, we present the invariance of pseudomonotonicity under the algebra and cone automorphisms and describe interconnections between pseudomonotonicity of a linear transformation and its principal subtransformations. We note that symmetric cones (see Section 2 for definition) are, in general, nonpolyhedral. Therefore, these generalizations presented in this paper are not routine generalizations.
Development and implementation of evidence-based laboratory safety management tools for a public health laboratory

We developed an evidence-based continuous quality improvement (CQI) cycle for laboratory safety as a method of utilizing survey data to improve safety in a public health laboratory setting. • Expert Opinion: The CQI cycle begins with the solicitation of laboratory staff input via an annual survey addressing potential chemical, physical and radiological hazards associated with multiple laboratory activities. The survey collects frequency, severity and exposure data related to these activities in the context of the most pathogenic organisms handled at least weekly. • Gap Analysis: Step 2 of the CQI cycle used survey data to identify areas needing improvement. Typically, the traditional two-dimensional risk assessment matrix is used to prioritize mitigations. However, we added an additional dimension - frequency of exposure - to create three-dimensional risk maps to better inform and communicate risk priorities. • Mitigation Measures: Step 3 of the CQI cycle was to use these results to develop mitigations. This included evaluating the identified risks to determine what risk control measures (elimination, substitution, engineering, administrative or PPE) were needed. In the 2016 iteration of the CQI cycle described here, all mitigations were based on administrative controls. • Evaluation and Feedback: The last step of the CQI cycle was to evaluate the inferred effects of interventions through subsequent surveys, allowing for qualitative assessment of intervention effectiveness while simultaneously restarting the cycle by identifying new hazards. Here we describe the tools used to drive this CQI cycle, including the survey tool, risk analysis method, design of interventions and inference of mitigation effectiveness.
Extreme Nonlinear Optics with Dielectric Metasurfaces

We use dielectric metasurfaces made from direct bandgap semiconductors to generate high-harmonics and nonlinear mixing simultaneously, without the need of phase matching. Inclusion of broken-symmetry designs and quantum heterostructures can lead to even higher efficiencies.
Rituximab-based maintenance therapy in Waldenström macroglobulinemia: A case control study.

7559Background: Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare indolent lymphoma commonly treated with rituximab (R)-based therapy. The use of rituximab maintenance (mR) in WM is controversial. We pr...
Continuation treatment of panic disorder with high-potency benzodiazepines

High-potency benzodiazepines such as clonazepam and alprazolam are effective and safe in the short-term treatment of panic disorder, but less is known about their effectiveness and safety over the long term. Further understanding of these issues is important since panic disorder is usually chronic and may call for long-term treatment. Available naturalistic data suggest that tolerance to the antipanic or antiphobic effects of clonazepam and alprazolam does not occur in panic disorder/agoraphobia; doses also tend to decrease over time. Withdrawal symptoms occur after short-term treatment with alprazolam, but less is known about clonazepam in this respect. Other issues discussed include management of withdrawal, clinical use of benzodiazepines, importance of comorbidity, and the use of benzodiazepines in association with behavior therapy.
Trade-Offs in Using Mobile Tools to Promote Scientific Action with Socioscientific Issues

In this study, we build on an emerging trend in socioscientific issues (SSI) education to support action through the use of personally relevant digital tools. We investigate the design of curriculum that integrates SSIs with the design and programming of mobile apps using a design-based research methodology. Through the series of design iterations, we highlight important tradeoffs in design choices that can potentially impact the depth of students’ learning of SSIs and how students take action. These considerations include the sequencing of programming versus SSI instruction, enabling or restricting student choice of SSI topics, mandating collaboration on app development, and emphases on packaged computational components versus computational concepts. We conclude with several design suggestions to maximize efforts to promote scientific action through app construction and SSI education.
Exploiting Sound Masking for Audio Privacy in Smartphones

Privacy leakage via malware's unauthorized audio recording has become an emerging threat to mobile users. To counter this threat, we propose SafeChat which prevents unauthorized recording without requiring new audio privacy settings in operating systems. SafeChat utilizes sound masking to differentiate audio information between authorized and unauthorized recording apps. Specifically, SafeChat enables authorized recording apps to recover more private/secret information than the unauthorized apps even though both of them record identical audio signals from the same microphone. We have implemented SafeChat as an Android chat app. Our experiments on several commodity phones have shown that SafeChat can make an up-to-26dB difference in signal strength between authorized and unauthorized recording apps. This difference reduces the accuracy of state-of-the-art speech recognition engines, like Google Speech API, to less than 0.1% in understanding the unauthorized recording while comprehending the authorized recording with high accuracy. Moreover, none of the 317 testing participants we recruited online could comprehend the masked speech. Our usability study shows that only 35% of the participants were aware of this threat of privacy leakage and 60% of them wanted to use SafeChat to protect their private/secret information from unauthorized recording.
Computational guided dosimetry for the safe and effective treatment of locally advanced VX2 carcinoma with interstitial photodynamic therapy (Conference Presentation)

Background and Objectives: The focus of this study was to demonstrate the application of our finite element method (FEM) to guide light dosimetry for I-PDT of locally advanced VX2 carcinoma. Methods: VX2 carcinoma was surgically implanted in either the sternomastoid muscle of the neck (n = 6) or the biceps femoris of the thigh (n = 8) of New Zealand White rabbits. Periodic computerized tomography scans were used to assess tumor growth. Once the VX2 tumors reached a volume of approximately 3-15 cm^3, our image-based FEM was used to develop individualized treatment plans for I-PDT to deliver our recently suggested threshold intratumoral light irradiance and fluence (1). I-PDT was performed with 630-nm light that was administered 24 hours after injection of 5 mg/kg porfimer sodium. In several of the VX2 tumors, multiple sessions of consecutive light illumination were required to deliver the threshold light irradiance and the FEM was adjusted to simulate these treatments. Light dosimetry measurements were taken during treatment to monitor the intratumoral irradiance and fluence. Results: Six rabbits had no tumor recurrence within 6-12 weeks post I-PDT. Eight rabbits experienced local control, but were euthanized before the end of the study period due to either metastasis or infection. Tumor metastasis was often observed prior to treatment. Normal tissue damage was observed and managed in some rabbits. There were no treatment related deaths. Conclusions: Our results suggest that our FEM-based treatment planning can be applied in the safe and effective delivery of I-PDT to locally advanced cancers. This work is currently being translated into a clinical study. References 1.Shafirstein G, Bellnier DA, Oakley E, Hamilton S, Habitzruther M, Tworek L, Hutson A, Spernyak JA, Sexton S, Curtin L, Turowski SG, Arshad H, Henderson B. Irradiance controls photodynamic efficacy and tissue heating in experimental tumours: implication for interstitial PDT of locally advanced cancer. Br J Cancer. 2018;119(10):1191-9. Acknowledgements: Supported in part by NCI/NIH R01 CA193610 to GS. We thank Diane Filippini and Raymond Wasielewski for their assistance in obtaining the CT scans and Dr. Craig Hendler MD for conducting diagnosis of the CT scans. We thank the staff of Laboratory Animal Shared Resource at Roswell Park. We thank Concordia Laboratories Inc. for providing the Photofrin® at no cost.
Tandem Desalination/Salination Strategies Enabling the Use of Redox Couples for Efficient and Sustainable Electrochemical Desalination.

As access to fresh water becomes an increasingly serious global issue, developing desalination methods that can reduce not only the cost but also the carbon footprint of desalination has become of ...
Antibiotics bug the immune response

Changes in the gut microbiome caused by antibiotics can impair immune responses to influenza vaccination.
Do Predictor Exams Really Predict Readiness for Professional Nursing Practice

Abstract Background The use of written or computer-based examinations to assess readiness to for entry into professional nursing practice assumes a relationship between cognitive assessment and clinical nursing judgment, but there is no evidence to support this. Methods This quantitative, correlational study used historical data from a school of nursing database to conduct a retrospective analysis to examine the relationships between NCLEX-RN® predictor exams, clinical reasoning, clinical nursing judgment, and simulation performance at the end of a baccalaureate nursing program. Results The results did not show a positive relationship between critical thinking and clinical reasoning, clinical nursing judgment or simulation performance. Conclusions Consistent with other studies, the lack of a relationship demonstrates that readiness to take and pass the NCLEX-RN® is not adequate for evaluation of readiness for entry into professional nursing practice.
Investigational study of the clinical characteristics of confirmed COVID-19 cases

Background: The COVID-19 is an emerging infectious disease that impacted HealthCare System worldwide and patients undergoing elective surgical procedures is associated with a high mortality rate an...
The neural basis of temperature-driven host seeking in the human threadworm Strongyloides stercoralis

Abstract Soil-transmitted parasitic nematodes infect approximately one billion people and are a major cause of morbidity worldwide1–8. The infective larvae (iL3s) of these parasites actively search for hosts in a poorly understood, sensory-driven process that requires thermal cues9,10. Here, we describe the neural basis of temperature-driven host seeking in parasitic nematodes using the human threadworm Strongyloides stercoralis. We show that S. stercoralis thermosensation is mediated by the AFD neurons, a thermosensory neuron class that is conserved between parasitic and free-living nematodes11. We demonstrate that S. stercoralis AFD displays parasite-specific adaptations that enable both nonlinear and linear encoding of temperatures up to human body temperature. Furthermore, we describe a novel thermosensory behavior in which S. stercoralis iL3s generate spontaneous reversals of temperature preference at below-body temperatures. Finally, we identify three thermoreceptors selectively expressed in S. stercoralis AFD that display parasite-specific sensitivities to human body temperatures and likely enable temperature-driven host seeking by iL3s. Our results are the first direct evidence that the sensory neurons of soil-transmitted parasitic nematodes exhibit parasite-specific neural adaptations and sensory coding strategies that allow them to target human hosts, a finding with important implications for efforts to develop new therapeutic strategies for nematode control.
Old Is (Not) Gold: Midazolam Monotherapy versus Midazolam Plus Fentanyl for Sedation during Cardiac Catheterization.

Objective. We aimed to study the differences in perception of pain during cardiac catheterization with midazolam monotherapy compared to the current standard of midazolam plus fentanyl. Background. Procedural sedation is important to ensure comfort and safety in patients undergoing left heart catheterization. Despite the widespread use of midazolam and fentanyl for procedural sedation, the effectiveness of this dual agent approach to sedation has never been studied in comparison to midazolam monotherapy. Methods. A total of 129 patients undergoing sedation for outpatient elective cardiac catheterization were randomly assigned to either midazolam monotherapy (n = 69) or combination of midazolam and fentanyl (n = 60). The primary outcome was assessment of pain perception prior to discharge by patient completion of a pain questionnaire. Participants were asked if they experienced any pain during their procedure (yes/no) and, if yes, asked to rate their overall pain level using a 10-point Likert scale that ranged from 1 (minimal pain) to 10 (worst pain imaginable). Results. Most patients (n = 94, 73%) reported no pain during their procedure. Patients sedated with midazolam monotherapy reported similar average pain scores compared to patients sedated with the combination of midazolam and fentanyl (1.1 vs. 1.1, ). Conclusions. Among patients undergoing elective cardiac catheterization, no significant differences in pain scores were noted between sedation with midazolam alone compared to midazolam and fentanyl. Due to fentanyl’s unfavorable interaction with P2Y12 agents, increased costs, and addiction potential, it is imperative that cardiologists revisit the role of effective procedural sedation with a single agent and avoid the use of fentanyl.
Structured random receptive fields enable informative sensory encodings

The brain must represent the outside world in a way that enables an animal to survive and thrive. In early sensory systems, populations of neurons have a variety of receptive fields that are structured to detect features in input statistics. Alongside this structure, experimental recordings consistently show that these receptive fields also have a great deal of unexplained variability, which has often been ignored in classical models of sensory neurons. In this work, we model neuronal receptive fields as random samples from probability distributions in two sensory modalities, using data from insect mechanosensors and from neurons of mammalian primary visual cortex (V1). In particular, we build generative receptive field models where our random distributions are Gaussian processes with covariance functions that match the second-order statistics of experimental receptive data. We show theoretical results that these random feature neurons effectively perform randomized wavelet transform on the inputs in the temporal domain for mechanosensory neurons and spatial domain for V1 neurons. Such a transformation removes irrelevant components in the inputs, such as high-frequency noise, and boosts the signal. We demonstrate that these random feature neurons produce better learning from fewer training samples and with smaller networks in a variety of artificial tasks. The random feature model of receptive fields provides a unifying, mathematically tractable framework to understand sensory encodings across both spatial and temporal domains.
Radiologic Evaluation of the Acute Abdomen in AIDS

Many patients with AIDS develop abdominal symptoms, usually related to opportunistic infections or neoplasms. Approximately 4.2% of these patients will require abdominal surgery, often in an emergency setting (Bouillot et al. 1995; LaRaja et al. 1989; Nugent and O’Connell 1986). Radiologic evaluation of AIDS patients with acute abdominal complaints is essential for two main reasons. First, AIDS patients are usually immunosuppressed and thus the classic physical signs and symptoms of peritonitis and sepsis are often absent (Scott-Conner and Fabrega 1996). For instance, many AIDS patients with acute intra-abdominal pathology will have a normal or low white blood cell count, often without a “left shift” (Binderow and Shared 1991; Bizer et al. 1995; Whitney et al. 1992). Since the physical examination in these patients is often not reliable, radiologic imaging plays a crucial role in the diagnosis of acute abdominal conditions in AIDS patients who present with vague and nonspecific symptoms.
A 2or3-Approximation of the Matroid Matching Problem

The computational complexity of the matroid matching problem, which generalizes the matching problem in general graphs and the matroid intersection problem, remains unresolved. Under the general assumption it can be shown to be exponential complexity. In this paper an approximation algorithm is given which achieves at least 2/3 of the optima under the same assumption. The theorems behind analysis of the algorithm also shed some light on the structure of matroid matching.
Co-worker Mistreatment in a Singaporean Chinese Firm: The Roles of Third Party Embeddedness and Network Closure

This study integrates research on social networks and interpersonal counterproductive behaviours to examine the role of third party relationships in predicting an individual's susceptibility to co-worker mistreatment, and in moderating the relationship between co-worker mistreatment and job performance. Third party embeddedness and network closure are examined in the formal workflow network and the informal liking network. Results obtained from employees in a family-owned Chinese business in Singapore indicate that an individual is more likely to be mistreated by a co-worker when both parties are strongly embedded in mutual third party relationships in the workflow network, and that the individual is less likely to be mistreated when both parties are strongly embedded in the liking network. At the individual network level, network closure (i.e., the extent to which an individual's contacts are themselves connected to one another) in the workflow network increases the likelihood that a co-worker will mistreat the individual, but closure in the liking network weakens the negative relationship between mistreatment and performance. The findings offer a network-based perspective to understanding interpersonal mistreatment and counterproductive work behaviours, particularly in the context of Confucian Asian firms, and provide practical implications for organizations and individuals to reduce counterproductive behaviours at work. 摘要 本研究整合社会网络和人际反生产行为的研究，探讨第三方关系在预测个人被同事虐待的程度中的作用，也探讨第三方关系对于同事虐待和工作业绩之间关系的调节作用。研究探讨了正式的工作流程网络和非正式的喜欢网络中的第三方嵌入性和网络闭合。针对新加坡的一家华人家族企业的员工的研究显示，当双方强烈地嵌入到工作流程网络中的第三方相互关系中时，个人更可能被同事虐待；当双方强烈地嵌入在喜欢网络中时，个人更不可能被同事虐待。在个人网络的层次上，工作流程网络中的网络闭合（即，个人的交往对象之间相互联结的程度）增加个人被同事虐待的可能性，但喜欢网络中的闭合减弱虐待与工作业绩之间的关系。这些研究发现提供了一个基于网络的视角，来理解人际虐待和反生产工作行为、特别是在儒家文化的亚洲公司的情境下的人际虐待和反生产工作行为，同时也对组织和个人减少工作中的反生产行为具有实践意义。
Professions, Sociology of

This article is reproduced from the previous edition, volume 18, pp. 12166–12169, © 2001, Elsevier Ltd.
Application of Magnetically Insulated Transmission Lines for high current. High voltage electron beam accelerators

Self Magnetically Insulated Transmission Lines (MITL) adders have been used successfully in a number of Sandia accelerators such as HELIA,1 HERMES III,2 and SABRE.3 Most recently we used a MITL adder in the RADLAC/SMILE electron beam accelerator to produce high quality, small radius (r b < 2 cm), 11 to 15 MeV, 50 to 100-kA beams with a small transverse velocity v⊥/c = β ⊥ ≤ 0.14 In RADLAC/SMILE, a coaxial MITL passed through the eight, 2 MV vacuum envelopes. The MITL summed the voltages of all eight feeds to a single foilless diode. The experimental results are in good agreement with code simulations. Our success with the MITL technology led us to investigate the application to higher energy accelerator designs. We have a conceptual design for a cavity-fed MITL that sums the voltages from 100 identical, inductively-isolated cavities.5 Each cavity is a toroidal structure that is driven simultaneously by four 8-ohm pulse-forming lines, providing a 1-MV voltage pulse to each of the 100 cavities. The point design accelerator is 100 MV, 500 kA, with a 30–50-ns FWHM output pulse.
Optimization of nonlinear time-varying systems

The goal of the paper is to develop a straightforward constrained optimization concept to solve nonlinear control problems for time-varying continuous-time systems. To find the closed-loop solution of the constrained optimization problem, the Hamilton-Jacobi theory is used, and an innovative conceptual framework is researched applying a nonquadratic performance functional to synthesize the bounded control laws. Nonquadratic return functions are used to solve the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman partial differential equation. The method developed is demonstrated through illustrative examples.
Complex Task Allocation For Multiple Robots

Recent research trends and technology developments are bringing us closer to the realization of autonomous multirobot systems performing increasingly complex missions. However, existing multirobot task allocation mechanisms treat tasks as simple, indivisible entities and ignore any inherent structure and semantics that such complex tasks might have. These properties can be exploited to produce more efficient team plans by giving individual robots the ability to come up with new ways to perform a task, or by allowing multiple robots to cooperate by sharing the subcomponents of a task, or both. In this paper, we introduce the complex task allocation problem and describe a distributed solution for efficiently allocating a set of complex tasks to a robot team. The advantages of explicitly modeling complex tasks during the allocation process is demonstrated by a comparison of our approach with existing task allocation algorithms in an area reconnaissance scenario. An implementation on a team of outdoor robots further validates our approach.
The civic Leadership Institute: A Service-Learning Program for Academically Gifted Youth

The need for quality service-learning programs has increased according to greater interest in service-learning and civic engagement for academically gifted students. The Civic Leadership Institute (CLI), a 3-week residential program for gifted adolescents, is a service-learning program created to help academically talented students explore complex social issues that are faced by communities and society today. Class activities are comprised of rigorous academic coursework, community volunteer service, meetings with top community leaders, seminars on specific topics of interest, and rich residential and recreational experiences. This study examined how students perceive and evaluate their service-learning experiences with the CLI program using surveys from program evaluations and narrative comments from 230 gifted high school students who participated in CLI at two different sites in its first 2 years. Overall, the students indicated positive perceptions of the CLI program and were satisfied with its compon...
Reconstruction of missing sections of radiation patterns using compressive sensing

Far field radiation pattern measurement is a key factor in performing antenna characterization. In some cases, the complete radiation pattern is not available. We present a study of the reconstruction of a missing section of antenna patterns. The proposed method uses a compressive sensing algorithm to reconstruct the missing data. The algorithm is based on a sparsity domain of the radiation patterns, in this case the discrete Fourier transform. The analysis is demonstrated by evaluating the proposed algorithm using three different radiation patterns obtained from ⋋/2, 3⋋/2, and 5⋋/2 length dipole antennas. Results show that the compressive sensing algorithm can reconstruct a missing section up to 45% of the total number of samples.
Electron beam irradiations of polypropylene syringe barrels and the resulting physical and chemical property changes

Abstract Mechanical, thermal, chemical decomposition and electron spin resonance (ESR) methods were used to study electron beam irradiated polypropylene syringe barrels that were irradiated to a total fractionated dose of 0, 20, 40, 60, and 80 kGy (in steps of 20 kGy). Dose mapping was conducted to determine dose to and through the syringe barrel. Analysis of these data indicated that degradation of the polypropylene syringes increased with an increase in electron beam irradiation.
The complex lightcurve of 1992 NA

Amor asteroid 1992 NA was monitored during three nights at a large phase angle of -65 deg. The lightcurves obtained did not reveal a repeatable curve with two maxima and two minima. However, some features suggested a periodicity with three maxima and three minima. A satisfactory composite lightcurve of this form was obtained by means of an 'eyeball' fit and by Fourier analysis. Individual and composite lightcurves are presented. The observed colors are consistent with the C class.
Sites at which neuropeptide Y modulates parasympathetic control of heart rate in guinea pigs and rats.

Abstract Immunohistological evidence indicates that neuropeptide Y (NPY) is present in the cardiac innervation of numerous species. The present experiments determined if NPY influences in vivo parasympathetic control of heart rate in guinea pigs and rats by either pre- or postganglionic mechanisms or by an interaction at muscarinic receptors at the sino-atrial node. Urethane-anesthetized animals were prepared with arterial and venous catheters, and ECG leads. The cervical vagi were sectioned and propranolol was administered to minimize reflex changes in heart rate. Methacholine injection, carbachol injection, or electrical stimulation of the peripheral end of the vagus nerve was performed to activate the neuroeffector site, intracardiac ganglion cells, or preganglionic neurons, respectively. All three trials were performed before, during, and after NPY infusion. No differences in methacholine- or carbachol-induced bradycardia were observed between control and NPY groups in either species. NPY infusion inhibited vagal-mediated bradycardia in guinea pigs and in rats. However, NPY inhibited vagal-mediated bradycardia at a lower dose in guinea pigs (1 μg/kg/min) than in rats (4 μg/kg/min). These data indicate that NPY modulates cardiac vagal preganglionic, but not postganglionic nerve function or neuroeffector sites at the sino-atrial node, in guinea pigs and rats. Furthermore, due to the different effective dosages, NPY may play a greater modulatory role in guinea pigs than in rats.
Victorian Portraits: Re-Tailoring Identities

Nothing in a portrait is a matter of indifference. Gesture, grimace, clothing, decor even – all must combine to realize a character. —Charles Baudelaire, “The Salon of 1859” … his Body and the Clot...
Long-term outlook in quadriplegic patients with initial ventilator dependency

Traumatic spinal cord injuries frequently result in respiratory insufficiency. With intensive medical support, many of these patients live productive lives in spite of severe neurologic deficit. A ten-year review of ventilator-dependent quadriplegic patients at Craig Rehabilitation Hospital was undertaken to determine the number of patients who could be weaned from mechanical ventilation and their long-term survival rate. Ventilator dependency is defined as requiring continuous mechanical ventilatory support for 30 or more days. Of the 134 patients that were included in the study, 76 were weaned during initial hospitalization. Factors which adversely affected ability to wean include: 1) high level of neurologic injury, 2) age greater than 50 years, and 3) other associated injuries. Of the ventilator-dependent patients surveyed after leaving the hospital, survival rate at one year was 90 percent (37 of 41), 56 percent (14 of 25), at three years and 33 percent (7 of 21) at five years. We conclude that vigorous medical support and maximal efforts to wean these patients from mechanical ventilation should be undertaken to: 1) minimize the financial and emotional burden of long term institutional care, 2) reduce ventilator dependency, and 3) improve overall quality of life.
Time-of-flight mass spectrometric technique for measuring dissociative life-times of metastable molecular ions—CO2+

Abstract A new method employing a variable length, time-of-flight mass spectrometer has been developed to measure dissociative life-times of quasi-stable doubly charged molecular ions. The method was used to measure the dissociative life-time of CO 2+ produced by electron impact at 150 eV and X-ray absorption in gaseous CO at 1.5 keV. The electron impact results indicate a mean half-life in the range of 9 μs with a 30% infinite life-time component (τ > 10 −4 s) to 16 μs with no infinite life-time contribution, in agreement with the results of Newton and Sciamanna. The life-time of CO 2+ produced predominantly by Auger transitions which fill inner shell vacancies resulting from X-ray absorption was found to be infinite. An attempt has been made to relate these observations to electronic states of CO 2+ calculated by the semi-empirical method of Hurley.
Ovarian steroid synthesis and the hormonal control of the elasmobranch reproductive tract

The reproductive biology of the chondricthyan fishes is remarkably sophisticated. Using both oviparous and viviparous reproductive modes, the group has generally adapted the style of bringing forth relatively few young at one time, each representing the investment of a great deal of maternal energy. The oviparous species foreshadow the situation common in oviparous reptiles and universal in birds. On the other hand, viviparous species range from simple internal incubators, in which large yolked eggs are retained, to other species in which the complexity of placentation and yolk reduction approach the eutherian condition. Further, in certain viviparous elasmobranchs the phenomenon of histotrophic nutrition attains an importance and complexity not seen in any other vertebrate group including mammals. Internal fertilization and amniote patterns of reproductive tract development also operate in virtually all elasmobranchs. The summary of work presented here suggests that these female reproductive styles are associated with a reproductive endocrinology which is the archetype for amniote vertebrates.
Coral reef bleaching: ecological perspectives

Coral reef bleaching, the whitening of diverse invertebrate taxa, results from the loss of symbiotic zooxanthellae and/or a reduction in photosynthetic pigment concentrations in zooxanthellae residing within the gastrodermal tissues of host animals. Of particular concern are the consequences of bleaching of large numbers of reef-building scleractinian corals and hydrocorals. Published records of coral reef bleaching events from 1870 to the present suggest that the frequency (60 major events from 1979 to 1990), scale (co-occurrence in many coral reef regions and often over the bathymetric depth range of corals) and severity (>95% mortality in some areas) of recent bleaching disturbances are unprecedented in the scientific literature. The causes of small scale, isolated bleaching events can often be explained by particular stressors (e.g., temperature, salinity, light, sedimentation, aerial exposure and pollutants), but attempts to explain large scale bleaching events in terms of possible global change (e.g., greenhouse warming, increased UV radiation flux, deteriorating ecosystem health, or some combination of the above) have not been convincing. Attempts to relate the severity and extent of large scale coral reef bleaching events to particular causes have been hampered by a lack of (a) standardized methods to assess bleaching and (b) continuous, long-term data bases of environmental conditions over the periods of interest. An effort must be made to understand the impact of bleaching on the remainder of the reef community and the long-term effects on competition, predation, symbioses, bioerosion and substrate condition, all factors that can influence coral recruitment and reef recovery. If projected rates of sea warming are realized by mid to late AD 2000, i.e. a 2°C increase in high latitude coral seas, the upper thermal tolerance limits of many reef-building corals could be exceeded. Present evidence suggests that many corals would be unable to adapt physiologically or genetically to such marked and rapid temperature increases.
Considerations in a dual boot strategy: a paper and technical presentation for the ACM SIGUCCS 2008 fall conference

This paper discusses considerations that should be made when planning a MacOS X 10.5 and Windows Dual-Boot deployment strategy for large labs of Apple Macintosh computers. Examples of the decisions made by Stanford University's Student Computing Department are included.
Changing Contexts and Expertise in Teaching: First-Year Teacher after Seven Years.

Abstract Using data from a longitudinal case study, the author explores how, following a change in teaching positions, Kerrie, an experienced, expert teacher in her former position, grappled with a set of three problems. Her efforts to resolve these problems are considered in relationship to recent research on expertise in teaching, particularly the work of Bereiter and Scardamalia that suggests expertise is an outcome of progressive problem solving. The resulting story illustrates how, even for an experienced teacher, the development of teaching expertise is remarkably uneven, and a product of a complex interaction of person and place.
Similarity of sli-1, a Regulator of Vulval Development in C. elegans, to the Mammalian Proto-Oncogene c-cbl

Vulval induction during Caenorhabditis elegans development is mediated by LET-23, a homolog of the mammalian epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase. The sli-1 gene is a negative regulator of LET-23 and is shown here to encode a protein similar to c-Cbl, a mammalian proto-oncoprotein. SLI-1 and c-Cbl share approximately 55 percent amino acid identity over a stretch of 390 residues, which includes a C3HC4 zinc-binding motif known as the RING finger, and multiple consensus binding sites for Src homology 3 (SH3) domains. SLI-1 and c-Cbl may define a new class of proteins that modify receptor tyrosine kinase-mediated signal transduction.
IV. Description of a new implement called a cultivator

(1802). IV. Description of a new implement called a cultivator. The Philosophical Magazine: Vol. 13, No. 49, pp. 20-22.
Cost/quality tradeoffs for control procedures in information systems

Abstract An analytical framework is presented to study the cost/benefit tradeoffs of alternative internal control scenarios designed to ensure quality of outputs from information systems. A mathematical model is used to evaluate the impact that various alternatives have on system performance and cost. The model can be used to compare the benefits gained from enhanced processing with those arising from more effective internal control procedures. Model variables under the control of system designers include placement and effectiveness of internal control procedures, cost and quality of processing activities, both manual and computerized, and cost and quality of correction procedures. The model incorporates a penalty cost incurred by failure to detect and correct errors. The analytical process is illustrated through application to a specific information system.
A technique for transferring a patient's smile line to a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) image

Fixed implant-supported prosthodontic treatment for patients requiring a gingival prosthesis often demands that bone and implant levels be apical to the patient's maximum smile line. This is to avoid the display of the prosthesis-tissue junction (the junction between the gingival prosthesis and natural soft tissues) and prevent esthetic failures. Recording a patient's lip position during maximum smile is invaluable for the treatment planning process. This article presents a simple technique for clinically recording and transferring the patient's maximum smile line to cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images for analysis. The technique can help clinicians accurately determine the need for and amount of bone reduction required with respect to the maximum smile line and place implants in optimal positions.
Machine vision seedling measurement using multiple cameras

Tomato seedling images were acquired in a two-camera image acquisition system for the seedling quality inspection. It uses two back-lit light sources, orthogonally mounted, to create seedling silhouettes for the top view and the side view image acquisitions. The images were acquired with either only back illumination or both back and side illuminations. Two adaptive thresholding techniques were selected and evaluated for segmentation accuracy. Both methods, one is based on histogram analysis and the second technique is based on the analysis of intensity and gray level gradient of local pixels, had similar performance for given lighting conditions. It is found, however, that the lighting strategy affected the image formation process. In addition, it affected the accuracy of segmentation process which separates seedling from its background.
Phenytoin normalizes exaggerated fear behavior in p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA)-treated rats

Abstract Temporal lobe epilepsy may be associated with emotional difficulties such as depression and anxiety. Because the amygdala is involved in both epilepsy and emotion, common neural mechanisms in this temporal lobe structure may underlie the emotional disturbances observed in people with epilepsy. The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, or 5-HT) is implicated in many psychopathologies, and 5-HT also modulates amygdala excitability. Therefore, the present study uses the fear-potentiated startle (FPS) paradigm to investigate the effect of neuronal excitability on fear behavior in rats treated with p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) to chronically inhibit 5-HT synthesis. PCPA treatment selectively enhanced FPS in individually housed rats. The exaggerated FPS response was reduced to control level by the anticonvulsant phenytoin at 10 mg/kg, and phenytoin at 30 mg/kg further decreased FPS behavior. These data suggest that a subseizure state of neuronal excitability mediated by low 5-HT in brain fear circuits may be associated with pathological fear behavior.
Nondictatorially independent pairs

Suppose that social welfare function f satisfies the Pareto condition and has complete and transitive values. On a domain satisfying the free quadruple property, if the outcome set X has m<∞ outcomes, then the set of pairs of distinct alternatives on which f satisfies both independence and nondictatorship contains at most the fraction 2/m of all pairs. On a domain satisfying the free six-tuple property, if X is a subset of Euclidean space then the set of pairs on which f satisfies both independence and nondictatorship has Lebesgue measure zero.
Ontology and Ethics in Sartre's Being and Nothingness: On the Conditions of the Possibility of Bad Faith

Analyse des conditions de possibilite et des structures ontologiques de la mauvaise foi definie par Sartre dans «L'Etre et le neant» comme une attitude de fuite face a la liberte et la responsabilite. Mesurant l'impossibilite meme du projet ontologique de la mauvaise foi qui consiste a se mentir soi-meme, l'A. etudie les nature des distorsions dans la mauvaise foi et la nature autodestructrice de la conscience dans l'ethique sartrienne («Cahiers pour une morale»)
Bifid epiglottis with cricopharyngeal dysfunction: A case report

Abstract Bifid epiglottis is a rare congenital malformation, which is most often associated with intraoral defects, polydactyly and malformations of the endocrine, genitourinary and gastrointestinal tracts. There have been several proposed mechanisms for the developmental mutation leading to bifid epiglottis, however, the exact cause remains unknown. We report here a case of a child who was found to have bifid epiglottis along with several other symptoms and anatomical malformations.