cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ENERGY BALANCE AND OVULATION : SMALL CAGES VERSUS NATURAL HABITATS

In the laboratory, ovulation is suppressed when a mammal is in negative energy balance whether that state is caused by inadequate food intake, excessive locomotor activity or heavy thermoregulatory costs. In this paper, knowledge generated in the laboratory about the link between ovulation and energy balance is examined in relation to the kinds of energetic challenges mammals actually face in natural habitats. When viewed in that context, several conclusions can be drawn. First, females ovulate whenever extant energetic conditions permit unless the process is blocked by non-metabolic stress, social cues or a predictive seasonal cue such as photoperiod. In the latter case, most mammals show at least a seasonal tendency in their reproduction and the majority do not use a predictive cue; they reproduce opportunistically in relation to seasonal variation in the energetic characteristics of their environment. Second, the widely held assumption that a female’s fat reserves must exceed a critical level in order that she may ovulate finds no support in the literature dealing with natural populations. Third, the surprisingly rapid responsiveness of the gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) pulse generator to energetic manipulation probably reflects the study of animals that are in a pure survival mode. Fourth, the complexity of the energetic challenges mammals face in the wild suggests that there are probably multiple metabolic and neural pathways coupling ovulation to energy balance and that these pathways are probably characterized by considerable overlap and redundancy. Thus, fifth, to develop a more realistic overview of these pathways there is a need for experimental designs that present mammals with the kinds of complex challenges they actually face in the wild habitats in which they evolved.
Dividend yields and stock returns in Hong Kong

Purpose – The positive relationship between dividend yield and risk-adjusted return, which is called the dividend yield effect, is well documented in the US market. Yet, the drivers of the yield effect are unclear. Some argue this evidence is consistent with the prediction that the investor-level tax burden is capitalized in stock prices, also known as the tax capitalization hypothesis. Still others contend that nontax omitted factors drive the yield effect. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate by exploring if the yield effect occurs in Hong Kong market where no taxes exist on either dividend income or capital gain. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use two main approaches to detect the dividend yield effect. The first approach groups stocks into portfolios based on dividend yields and tests for the presence of a yield effect at the portfolio level. The second approach employs the Fama-MacBeth methodology at the firm level and tests if a yield effect is existent after controlli...
Culture and social obligation: When "shoulds" are perceived as "wants."

Abstract This study explored motivational differences in the perception of social obligations by respondents from individualist versus collectivist cultures. Participants were 120 undergraduate students (60 Latinos and 60 Anglos) who completed a lengthy questionnaire assessing the extent to which they felt obligated to help and wanted to help across a variety of social situations. Although individuals from the two cultures reported a strong sense of obligation with regard to close friends and family members, Latinos expressed a greater desire (i.e., greater perceived “want”) to engage in these “should” behaviors. Furthermore, compared to Anglos, Latinos felt a stronger sense of both shoulds and wants in their motivations to help more distant family and friends. The two groups did not differ in their motivations to help distant acquaintances and strangers. Although wants were associated with life satisfaction for both groups, shoulds were positively associated with life satisfaction for Latinos but not Anglos. Overall, compared to the Anglo students, Latino students perceived helping others as both more obligatory and more personally desirable, suggesting a more congruent view of personal autonomy and societal control in collectivist cultures than in individualist cultures.
Benefits of preserving stationary and time-varying formant structure in alternative representations of speech: Implications for cochlear implants

Cochlear implants have improved speech recognition for deaf individuals, but further modifications are required before performance will match that of normal-hearing listeners. In this study, the hypotheses were tested that (1) implant processing would benefit from efforts to preserve the structure of the low-frequency formants and (2) time-varying aspects of that structure would be especially beneficial. Using noise-vocoded and sine-wave stimuli with normal-hearing listeners, two experiments examined placing boundaries between static spectral channels to optimize representation of the first two formants and preserving time-varying formant structure. Another hypothesis tested in this study was that children might benefit more than adults from strategies that preserve formant structure, especially time-varying structure. Sixty listeners provided data to each experiment: 20 adults and 20 children at each of 5 and 7 years old. Materials were consonant-vowel-consonant words, four-word syntactically correct, meaningless sentences, and five-word syntactically correct, meaningful sentences. Results showed that listeners of all ages benefited from having channel boundaries placed to optimize information about the first two formants, and benefited even more from having time-varying structure. Children showed greater gains than adults only for time-varying formant structure. Results suggest that efforts would be well spent trying to design processing strategies that preserve formant structure.
Propagation in a weakly anisotropic waveguide

In this communication we have considered propagation in a weakly anisotropic dielectric waveguide. It is shown that for a positive anisotropy the fractional power carried by the guide core increases over the isotropic case and that the anisotropy has an increasing effect as cutoff is approached. For negative anisotropy the effect is reversed. The increase in the fractional power varies linearly with the value of anisotropy with slope increasing as cutoff is approached. The degeneracy between the HEλn+1,m and EHn+1,m modes present in the isotropic weakly guiding approximation is broken, and it is physically significant to distinguish between EH and HE modes. The anisotropy in retinal receptors (considered as dielectric waveguides) increases the stability of modal power with variation of the wavelength, although the effect is too small to explain the observation.
JC virus small T antigen binds phosphatase PP2A and Rb family proteins and is required for efficient viral DNA replication activity.

Background The human polyomavirus, JC virus (JCV) produces five tumor proteins encoded by transcripts alternatively spliced from one precursor messenger RNA. Significant attention has been given to replication and transforming activities of JCV's large tumor antigen (TAg) and three T′ proteins, but little is known about small tumor antigen (tAg) functions. Amino-terminal sequences of tAg overlap with those of the other tumor proteins, but the carboxy half of tAg is unique. These latter sequences are the least conserved among the early coding regions of primate polyomaviruses. Methodology and Findings We investigated the ability of wild type and mutant forms of JCV tAg to interact with cellular proteins involved in regulating cell proliferation and survival. The JCV P99A tAg is mutated at a conserved proline, which in the SV40 tAg is required for efficient interaction with protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), and the C157A mutant tAg is altered at one of two newly recognized LxCxE motifs. Relative to wild type and C157A tAgs, P99A tAg interacts inefficiently with PP2A in vivo. Unlike SV40 tAg, JCV tAg binds to the Rb family of tumor suppressor proteins. Viral DNAs expressing mutant t proteins replicated less efficiently than did the intact JCV genome. A JCV construct incapable of expressing tAg was replication-incompetent, a defect not complemented in trans using a tAg-expressing vector. Conclusions JCV tAg possesses unique properties among the polyomavirus small t proteins. It contributes significantly to viral DNA replication in vivo; a tAg null mutant failed to display detectable DNA replication activity, and a tAg substitution mutant, reduced in PP2A binding, was replication-defective. Our observation that JCV tAg binds Rb proteins, indicates all five JCV tumor proteins have the potential to influence cell cycle progression in infected and transformed cells. It remains unclear how these proteins coordinate their unique and overlapping functions.
Adapting REST To REAST, Building Smarter Interactions for Personal Web Tasking

REpresentational State Transfer (REST) today represents and transfers the data-states of distrib-uted resources. Through hypermedia-based inter-actions among these representations and transfers, the web's original goal of information retrieval is accomplished. However, despite of the fact that the web today has evolved beyond information retrieval into task executions, the original web interaction model built for information browsing has not been enhanced accordingly. This paper proposes a hypermedia-based RESTful model for task expression, delegation and execution through the representations and transfers of action-states of distributed resources, termed as REpresentational Action State Transfer (REAST). The con-tributions of this paper are (1) a representation of hypermedia-based task expressions that enables the building of user-controlled interactive apps, (2) a technique for Resource Oriented Web Auto-mation (ROWA) using a dedicated media type designed for machine processing as well as ma-chine-initiated and machine-executed task expressions within the RESTful HATEOAS constraints, (3) REST-based Resource Oriented Intelligent Agents (ROIA) to act on users' behalf across the web without domain-specificity, and (4) an in-teroperability model for tasks execution involving diversified resources types (e.g., enterprise re-sources and internet of things) working seamlessly together within the RESTful architecture.
Use of secondary chemical equilibria in liquid chromatography to determine dissociation constants of leukotriene B4 and prostaglandin B2

The secondary chemical equilibrium of a monoprotic acid in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) is controlled both by the pH of aqueous component and the ratio of organic solvent to water in the mobile phase. The pH dependence of capacity factors of a monoprotonic acid follows the titration curve of the acid. The midpoint of the sigmoidal curve corresponds to the pKa value of the acid. Therefore, the pKa of the acid can be determined by RP-HPLC. Capacity factors of prostaglandin B2 and leukotriene B4 were measured at several mobile phase pH values, and acetonitrile mobile phase compositions. pKa values determined at various ratios of acetonitrile to water were plotted against percent acetonitrile. The straight line that resulted was extrapolated to 100% aqueous solution. The thermodynamic pKa values of prostaglandin B2 and leukotriene B4 were determined to be 5.07 and 5.17, respectively.
Methylation of lead(II) and methyllead(IV) compounds in water by a trans-dimethylcobalt(III) complex

Abstract A factorial experiment determined separate and combined effects of [(CH3)2Co(N4)]ClO4·H2O (I) (a methylcobalamin model and carbanion donor), CH3I (a carbocation donor) and MnO2 (an oxidizing agent) on the methylation of Pb2+ in aqueous systems. (CH3)4Pb occurred only in the presence of (I). Methylation of (CH3)2Pb2+ and (CH3)3Pb+ by (I) under similar conditions, produced high yields of (CH3)4Pb. Deuterium labelled (I) demonstrated the mechanism of CH3− transfer to both methyllead(IV) electrophiles.
ME-10TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT INFILTRATING MYELOID DERIVED SUPPRESSOR CELLS INHIBIT ANTI-TUMOR T CELL RESPONSES

MDSCs represent a population of immature myeloid cells at various stages of differentiation that inhibit anti-tumor T cell-mediated responses. We demonstrate the accumulation of MDSCs in GL26 induced glioma and B16 melanoma bearing mice. Absolute numbers of Ly-6G+ (Gr-1high) MDSCs showed a 200 fold increase within the tumor microenvironment (TME) 28 days post-tumor implantation. The numbers of Ly-6C+ (Gr-1low) MDSCs also showed a similar trend within the TME. While this massive influx of MDSCs was noted within intracranial tumors, MDSC levels did not increase in the dLNs, spleen or bone marrow (BM) of intracranial tumor bearing mice. MDSCs numbers were significantly elevated in the blood of GL26 intracranial tumor bearing mice at 28 days. Mice bearing B16 tumors in the flank showed a ∼5 fold increased influx of Ly-6G+ MDSCs while the Ly6C+ MDSCs increased marginally by 1.1 fold within the tumor mass. Levels of circulating MDSCs also increased by ∼10 fold, while the levels of splenic MDSCs did not change. While both Ly-6G+ and Ly6C+ MDSCs isolated from the brain TME of GL26 intracranial tumor bearing mice inhibited antigen-specific T cell proliferation, Ly6C+ MDSC were found to be more efficient. Ly6G+ or Ly6C+ MDSCs from the bone marrow of intracranial tumor bearing mice failed to suppress antigen-specific T cell proliferation. Splenic and bone marrow MDSCs from naive mice also did not inhibit antigen-specific T cell proliferation suggesting that TME derived factors may activate MDSCs to exert their immune-suppressive properties. Microarray analysis of glioma cell lines showed elevated levels of CXCL1 mRNA and splenic MDSCs from GL26 tumor mice showed upregulation of the CXCR2 mRNA. Preliminary experiments indicate that CXCR2 signaling mediates MDSC chemotaxis. Overall, our data suggests that strategies that inhibit MDSC recruitment to the TME and/or block their activity could enhance the T cell mediated tumor clearance.
The Inventory of Negative Thoughts in Response to Pain: Factor structure and psychometric properties in a college sample

The psychometric properties of the Inventory of Negative Thoughts in Response to Pain (INTRP) were investigated in a sample of undergraduate students. Factor analysis identified three factors: negative self-statement, negative social cognition, and self-blame. Reliabilities of the factor scales were high. No significant gender differences were obtained on the factor scales. Correlations between the factor scales and the nine subscales of the Symptom Checklist 90R were positive and significant, except one. The results support the factor structure and reliability of the INTRP in a sample of college students.
4-Proline and 4-hydroxyproline analogs of arginine vasopressin: Role of the proline substitution in the two β-turns of vasopressin

[4-L-Proline]arginine vasopressin, [4-D-proline]arginine vasopressin, [4-hydroxyproline]arginine vasopressin and [4-proline, 7-hydroxyproline] arginine vasopressin were synthesized and found to have antidiuretic activities of 91±4, 1.7±0.2, 1.0±0.1 and 4.4±1.0 units/mg, respectively. None of these analogs exhibited a significant level of rat pressor activity. The observed activities of these and other analogs with substitutions at position 4 and/or 7 are discussed on the basis of hypotheses and data bearing on the solution conformation of vasopressins.
A kinetic study of the low temperature decomposition of mechanically alloyed W–Ni–Fe noncrystalline materials

Abstract A three-stage crystallization process takes place in W–Ni–Fe noncrystalline alloys fabricated by mechanical alloying (MA). Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and isothermal transformation studies were employed to investigate the lowest-temperature decomposition reaction. Results show that this reaction can be described by a first order JMAK (Johnson–Mehl–Avrami–Kolmogorov) equation. As a consequence, the activation energies of the decomposition determined by isothermal transformation studies and DSC (using the Kissinger method) are approximately the same. The activation energy increases with the W content in the glassy phase preceding the transformation.
DoE nixes neutron source; Leaves other cuts to Congress

The Department of Energy sent a $17.8 billion budget request to Congress for Fiscal Year 1996, terminating the Advanced Neutron Source (ANS) project. The budget failed to spell out where other promised cuts would come from. Current year funding is $17.5 billion. DoE requested $2.8 billion for fundamental science research, which is an increase of 3.8% or $102.4 million. This account includes a $100 million or a 10% increase in DoE basic research facilities funding. This new start called the Scientific Facilities Initiative would increase user-facility operations about 30%.
Pituitary dwarfism: diagnosis and treatment.

Twenty-six cases of pituitary infantilism followed past the age of puberty were analyzed with regard to etiology, sex incidence, time of onset of growth retardation, and frequency of impairment of target-gland function, in an attempt to ascertain whether the diagnosis of pituitaiy insufficiency could have been established before the time of expected sexual maturation. Seven patients had neoplasms in the region of the sella turcica, whereas 19 had idiopathic pituitary insufficiency. There were 5 females and 2 males among the subjects with tumors, but only 1 female among the 19 patients with idiopathic hypopituitarism. The time at which growth retardation became manifest varied but tended to be after the age of 3, and showed itself earlier in the idiopathic cases than in the tumor cases. Studies of target-gland function indicated, apart from growth hormone and gonadotropin deficiency, impairment of thyroid and/or adrenocortical activity in 75 per cent of the cases as judged by serum cholesterol and protein-...
Regional anaesthesia with sedation protocol to safely debride sacral pressure ulcers

A treatment challenge for patients with sacral pressure ulcers is balancing the need for adequate surgical debridement with appropriate anaesthesia management. We are functioning under the hypothesis that regional anaesthesia has advantages over general anaesthesia. We describe our regional anaesthesia protocol for perioperative and postoperative management.
Corneal latency and transmission of herpes simplex virus-1

The transmission of herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 by corneal transplantation has rarely been reported. It is believed that these cases have resulted either from reactivated virus traveling from the trigeminal ganglion to the cornea or from latent HSV-1 in the donor cornea itself. Studies of long-term viral presence in corneal tissue have sought to determine whether there is evidence of true non-neuronal latency, although there are problems in its definition. Recent studies provide new insights into neuronal latency, while similar HSV-1 gene regulation in the cornea may implicate corneal latency in pathophysiology and as a potential risk for transplant recipients. This issue has led to concerns over eye banking, which currently screens for other infectious agents but not HSV-1. Here we review the literature regarding corneal latency and the transmission of HSV-1.
Pasch’s Postulate and Plane Separation Postulate

Neither the Plane-Separation Postulate (PSP) nor Pasch’s Postulate (PASCH) have been formally introduced into our theory. Neither can be a theorem for Σ at this time. Which one shall we take as a new axiom? It turns out not to make any difference! We shall first show that PASCH implies PSP. The proof is quite long and may even be omitted without loss of continuity because we shall actually take PSP as our third axiom. Then PASCH later turns up as a theorem.
A new characterization for multivariate Gaussian reciprocal processes

Established a new necessary and sufficient condition for a multivariate Gaussian random process to be reciprocal. This result is then used to prove that the state vector of a two-point boundary value system is reciprocal. The authors do not impose any nonsingularity conditions on the covariance function of the state vector. >
Automated analysis of multiple-pulse particle image velocimetry data

An application of multiple-pulse particle image velocimetry to the study of particle motion in a two-phase flow through a cylindrical tube bank is described. An algorithm is developed that automatically analyzes the digital, multiply exposed pictures of this flow and determines the particle trajectories, using a linear particle image tracking method. From these trajectories particle velocities as well as points of impact and angles of incidence and rebound for particles that collide with the cylinder surfaces are determined. This algorithm is sufficiently rapid that data can be collected and analyzed contemporaneously.
Linear Analysis of the Central Pattern Generation Mechanism

A new model is presented for the central pattern generation mechanism based on the integrate-and-fire (IF) model and the neuronal synaptic transfer function. Unlike the existing models which either use complex nonlinear equations or totally ignore the spike (action potential) generation mechanism of a real neuron, the new model presents a more realistic form of the CPG and its neuronal interactions. The most important feature of this model is that it converts the CPG to a linear network for further analysis despite the fact that the IF model is a nonlinear system. This particularly allows us to use well-known feedback theories to obtain the condition and frequency of oscillation in the burst activity of a CPG.
The Ethics of Sweatshops and the Limits of Choice

This article examines the “Choice Argument” for sweatshops, i.e., the claim that it is morally wrong or impermissible for third parties to interfere with the choice of sweatshop workers to work in sweatshops. The Choice Argument seeks, in other words, to shift the burden of proof onto those who wish to regulate sweatshop labor. It does so by forcing critics of sweatshops to specify the conditions under which it is morally permissible to interfere with sweatshop workers’ choice. My aim in this article is to meet that burden. Unlike other critics of sweatshop labor, however, my argument does not proceed from contested economic or moral assumptions. To the contrary, my strategy will be to demonstrate that even if we grant the truth of the economic and moral assumptions made by defenders of the Choice Argument, it nevertheless does not follow that it is morally wrong to interfere with the choice of sweatshop workers to work in sweatshops. The Choice Argument thus fails on its own terms.
Analysis of uncertain structural systems using interval analysis

The imprecision or uncertainty present in many engineering analysis/design problems can be modeled using probabilistic, fuzzy, or interval methods. This work considers the modeling of uncertain structural systems using interval analysis. By representing each uncertain input parameter as an interval number, a static structural analysis problem can be expressed in the form of a system of linear interval equations. In addition to the direct and Gaussian elimination-based solution approaches, a combinatorial approach (based on an exhaustive combination of the extreme values of the interval numbers) and an inequality-hased method are presented for finding the solution of interval equations. The range or interval of the solution vector (response parameters) is found to increase with increasing size of the problem in all of the methods. An interval-truncation approach is proposed to limit the growth of intervals of response parameters so that realistic and accurate solutions can be obtained in the presence of large amounts of uncertainty. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the computational aspects of the methods and also to indicate the importance of the truncation approach in practical problems. The utility of interval methods in predicting the extreme values of the response parameters of structures is discussed.
Professional flossing as a diagnostic method for gingivitis in the primary dentition

The aim of this study was to evaluate flossing as a diagnostic method for interproximal gingival bleeding in children. For this crossover study, 23 pre-schoolchildren presenting neither restorations nor approximal carious cavities and with at least 15% of gingival bleeding sites were selected. Examinations were performed at three different moments (3-4 days interval). Examinations comprised repeated measurements of two gingival indices with a 10-minute interval in the following sequences: the Ainamo & Bay Gingival Bleeding Index (GBI) followed by the Carter & Barnes flossing index (CBI); CBI followed by GBI; and GBI followed by GBI. Data analysis was performed only for the interproximal sites, considering the GBI as the gold-standard. Agreement between indices, sensitivity (SE), specificity (SP), positive (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) were estimated. Percentage agreements in sequences GBI-CBI, CBI-GBI and GBI-GBI were 70.3%, 76.4% and 84.5%, respectively. Validation of flossing in the first sequence (GBI-CBI) resulted in values of 0.61 (95%CI 0.53 - 0.68), 0.72 (95%CI 0.69 - 0.76), 0.33 (95%CI 0.28 - 0.39) and 0.89 (95%CI 0.86 - 0.92) respectively for SE, SP, PPV and NPV. It can be concluded that professional flossing is a useful tool in the diagnosis of interproximal gingival inflammatory status in children, especially in conditions of gingival health.
HPLC ANALYSIS OF AMIFOSTINE

A simple, rapid HPLC method was developed for the routine analysis of amifostine during formulation development. Chromatography was performed on a μBondapak C-18 column using a mobile phase of 5 mM heptanesulphonic acid and 5% acetonitrile in 0.1 M chloroacetic acid (pH 3.0) at a flow rate of 1.2 mL min−1 using electrochemical detection (Hg/Au electrode). Retention times for amifostine and WR-149846, the internal standard, were 4.1 and 5.8 min, respectively. The limit of detection was 0.5 μg mL−1 amifostine. Intra- and interday precision coefficients of variation were 1.2–4.9% and 2.3–4.9%, respectively. A maximum variation in the values of slopes of several standard curves was 3.9%. The analysis time for each sample was less than 6 min. As the number of samples required for analysis during the formulation development process is high, this method should significantly reduce the total analysis time.
Racial differences in aldosterone excretion: a longitudinal study in children.

Aldosterone production, estimated from urinary excretion of aldosterone and the plasma aldosterone level, was found in a previous cross-sectional study to be lower in black children than white children. The present study examined aldosterone excretion longitudinally to determine whether the aldosterone excretion rate changed with time and if the racial difference in aldosterone excretion persisted. Urine samples were collected every 6 months for up to 5.5 yr in 351 white and 170 black children for measurements of aldosterone, sodium (Na+), and potassium (K+) excretion. Results were expressed per mumol urinary creatinine. Mean values for excretion rates for the total longitudinal period were determined. Na+ excretion was not significantly different in the two groups, whereas K+ excretion was 18% lower in blacks than whites (P = 0.0001). Body weight and urinary Na+ and K+ excretion were significantly related to aldosterone excretion. After adjusting for these variables, the aldosterone excretion rate was 35...
Generating aspect graphs for curved objects

The authors present an algorithm for computing the aspect graph of a curved object. The approach used to partition the viewpoint space is to compute boundary viewpoints from the shape descriptions of an object in a CAD database. These computations are formulated from the understanding of visual events and the locations of corresponding viewpoints. Also presented is a study of new visual events for piecewise smooth objects. >
Microbes and microbial toxins: paradigms for microbial-mucosal interactions. VII. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli: physiological alterations from an extracellular position

Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is primarily associated with infantile diarrhea in developing countries. This intriguing pathogen exerts numerous physiological effects on its host target tissue, the intestinal epithelium, all from an extracellular location. Expression of a type III secretory apparatus allows this organism to transfer bacterial effector molecules directly into host cells. As a result of EPEC attachment to and/or translocation of proteins into intestinal epithelial cells, many signaling cascades are activated. Ultimately, host functions are perturbed, including alteration of ion transport, disruption of the tight junction barrier, and activation of the inflammatory response.
Observed Interaction between Pacific Sea Ice and the Western Pacific Pattern on Intraseasonal Time Scales

The relationship between North Pacific sea ice and the Western Pacific (WP) pattern is examined using wintertime observational data between 1978 and 2008. Weekly averaged data are chosen to capture the characteristically short time scale of the WP. A clear relationship is found between the WP and sea ice concentrations in the Bering Sea, where the positive polarity of the WP is accompanied by increasing sea ice concentrations and the negative WP by decreasing sea ice concentrations. Sea ice concentrations in the Sea of Okhotsk, however, are shown to be largely insensitive to the strength of the WP. Feedback of Bering Sea sea ice concentrations onto the WP is tested by fitting weekly averaged observations to a vector autoregressive (VAR) model. Results from the VAR model indicate that feedback of Bering Sea sea ice onto the WP plays a significant role in the dynamics of the WP and that this feedback is positive; that is, WP-induced changes in Bering Sea sea ice concentrations help sustain existing WP conditions, thereby lengthening the time scale of variability of the WP.
The Development and Testing of the FLES Program Evaluation Inventory

If evaluation takes place at all in a school district today, it tends to center on student and teacher performance.2 Also, not all school districts are able financially to employ a FLES or foreign language coordinator who is both trained and has the time to develop a program evaluation instrument. Therefore, the need exists to develop an instrument that could adequately document, describe, and rate FLES programs across the country. A standardized format would assist in reporting, analyzing, and comparing conditions that exist nationally, and over a period of years correlational data could be collected that would explore issues such as teacher preparation in relationship to perceived effectiveness of the program. The
Robotic-assisted laparoscopy applied to reconstructive surgeries in children.

The automation of surgery is becoming a reality with the ‘‘master-slave systems’’ introduced into urology. The first robot in clinical practice, AESOP, promised the advantages of precise control of visualization, and with the current da Vinci surgical system, the advantages of delicate manipulation for reconstructive surgery have been realized [2]. Some authors have argued that the term ‘‘robot’’ is not accurate for this system due to the lack of automation, and they have preferred ‘‘computerassisted surgery’’ [3]. Robotic or computer-assisted devices applied to laparoscopy have overcome many impediments in the development of laparoscopic techniques and decreased the learning curve, particularly for pediatric reconstructive surgeries [9, 10]. Three-dimensional visualization with tremor-filtered instruments, movement scaling and articulating instruments with six degrees of freedom, are now available to surgeons who could not practically move through the conventional laparoscopic learning curve. This technology provides an opportunity to apply new techniques to practice and for the experienced laparoscopic surgeon to improve their capacity [11]. The major applicability of the da Vinci system has been to ureteropelvic junction (UPJ) obstruction, although there are many other applications, including ureteral reimplantation, nephrectomy, both total and partial, for example [9, 10]. This system can be used in more difficult reconstructive surgeries, such as appendicovesicostomy and bladder augmentation in the pediatric population. Application of these new technologies has evolved and are now achieving nearly identical results as in open procedures and using suture as small as used in open surgeries, 6-0 or 7-0. The computer-assisted system has also evolved, and smaller instruments are available with no significant reduction in efficiency. Working instruments are available in both 8 and 5 mm sizes. A 5 mm endoscope is available but is monocular and cannot provide the 3D image of the larger endoscope. This is noticeable in the performance of delicate suturing tasks. Another modification is that of a fourth arm for computer-assisted grasping and retraction. This article reviews described techniques in pediatric patients.
Getting to grips with ammonium

A fluorescent sensor that can monitor levels of extracellular ammonium has been made by using a fused green fluorescent protein to detect conformational changes in ammonium transport proteins.
College deviance and the effects on NFL amateur draft selection: Analyzing the Personal Conduct Policy

Over the past several decades, National Football League (NFL) executives have tried to devise ways to deter off-field misconduct of its players. Since the year 2000, the NFL instituted a Personal Conduct Policy governing the actions of players already in the league. The policy was further modified in April 2007 by Commissioner Roger Goodell. The question the present research asks is what is the relationship between an amateur player's misconduct in his final year of college and his overall pick in the NFL Draft. By extension, the present research looks to see if this relationship changes with the modification of the Personal Conduct Policy. Examining the NFL Draft from 1999 through 2013, the present research finds that misconduct decreased a player's draft position meaning his draft position improved. However, the modification of the Personal Conduct Policy leads to an insignificant result suggesting that team executives are beginning to examining an amateur player's misconduct more closely with the new policy.
Lessons for Strengthening Microfinance Institutions through Financial Crises, Fluctuations in Food and Fuel Prices, and Other Major Risks

Many, although not all, of the problems observed in microfinance sectors recently were triggered by the latest financial crisis and fluctuations in both food and fuel prices. At the same time, many problems began before the most recent financial crisis, or were intensified by other elements, including saturated microfinance markets, deficient credit policies and governance structures, and negative policy interventions. This report, Lessons for Microfinance Institutions from Financial Crises, Fluctuations in Food and Fuel Prices, and Other Major Risks, aims to identify and share lessons for strengthening microfinance institutions (MFIs) to weather the challenges of future financial crises, fluctuations in food and fuel prices, and other major risks.
Modelling student acquisition of problem-solving skills

This paper describes the design of a system that simulates a human student learning to prove theorems in logic by interacting with a curriculum designed to teach those skills. The paper argues that sequences in this curriculum use instructional strategies, and that the student recognizes these strategies in driving the learning process.
Image-based quantification of fiber alignment within electrospun tissue engineering scaffolds is related to mechanical anisotropy.

It is well documented that electrospun tissue engineering scaffolds can be fabricated with variable degrees of fiber alignment to produce scaffolds with anisotropic mechanical properties. Several attempts have been made to quantify the degree of fiber alignment within an electrospun scaffold using image-based methods. However, these methods are limited by the inability to produce a quantitative measure of alignment that can be used to make comparisons across publications. Therefore, we have developed a new approach to quantifying the alignment present within a scaffold from scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images. The alignment is determined by using the Sobel approximation of the image gradient to determine the distribution of gradient angles with an image. This data was fit to a Von Mises distribution to find the dispersion parameter κ, which was used as a quantitative measure of fiber alignment. We fabricated four groups of electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) + Gelatin scaffolds with alignments ranging from κ = 1.9 (aligned) to κ = 0.25 (random) and tested our alignment quantification method on these scaffolds. It was found that our alignment quantification method could distinguish between scaffolds of different alignments more accurately than two other published methods. Additionally, the alignment parameter κ was found to be a good predictor the mechanical anisotropy of our electrospun scaffolds. The ability to quantify fiber alignment within and make direct comparisons of scaffold fiber alignment across publications can reduce ambiguity between published results where cells are cultured on "highly aligned" fibrous scaffolds. This could have important implications for characterizing mechanics and cellular behavior on aligned tissue engineering scaffolds. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 1680-1686, 2016.
An Automated and Rapid Method for Quantitation of Hemoglobin S

automate the dithionite tube test for the detection of hemoglobin S (Hb S). Accurate quantitative measurement of Hb S was possible because the amount of Hb S was directly proportional to the absorbance value obtained by spectrophotometry. By measuring blood samples of known Hb S content (in %), a standard curve (Hb S % vs. absorbance) was established. Using this curve, 105 blood specimens consisting of hemoglobin patterns AA, AC, AS and SS were measured quantitatively for their Hb S content. Results were as follows: Hb AA and AC specimens had values below 5%; Hb AS specimens had values between 15% and 45%; all Hb SS specimens had values close to those obtained by densitometry. The method described provides a rapid determination of Hb S content in a blood sample. This method may prove useful in mass screening and in clinical situations that require urgent knowledge of Hb S concentration.
Sobre la guerra y sobre el amor: apuntes de lectura en torno a Una mujer no hace un verano (1995) de Guillermo Niño de Guzmán

El presente articulo trata sobre Una mujer no hace un verano (1995), el segundo libro de cuentos del escritor peruano Guillermo Nino de Guzman. Los comentarios sobre su obra se han centrado sobre todo en torno a su primer libro, Caballos de medianoche (1984), y con frecuencia como parte de una nueva generacion de autores que publican sus primeros cuentos durante los anos 80, decada en la que irrumpe la violencia politica en el pais. Sin abandonar una mirada intimista y desencantada, Nino de Guzman se adentra en nuevos territorios, al mismo tiempo que solidifica un mundo mas personal (una poetica) y perfecciona una serie de procedimientos narrativos asociados tanto con una tradicion clasica como con el posmodernismo.
Chirp Rates of Harmonics Driven by Few-Cycle Laser Pulses

Via numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation, we show that the adiabatic prediction for the frequency chirp rates of cutoff harmonics is very accurate even for driving pulses as short as three optical cycles.
A Developmental Analysis of the " Psychological " Subject and Predicate of the Sentence

The purpose of this investigation was to study the early development of the distinction between the "psychological" subject and predicate and to determine its relationship to the grammatical subjec...
Dietitians as behavior--change agents.

The traditional relationship between the client and the dietitian or nutritionist has been that of student and teacher. In the past, a patient has received excellent dietary counseling and advice from the dietitian, but has often ignored what he or she has taught. Until recently, the referring physician could only blame the patient, the dietitian, or both for this failure. Dietitians needed some new tools. The behavioral sciences have taken a new look at the problems of obesity, including a new assumption, viz.at some time, the obese have learned to eat in a way that results in excess caloric intake. Treatment now includes not only nutritional and caloric instruction, but also an attempt to change eating habits and behaviors. With these new tools, the dietitian-teacher becomes a dietitian-behavior-change agent; in addition to food content, the context of food becomes important in dietary counseling. Although dietitians are not usually trained in behavioral counseling, the weight loss in groups led by dietitans, after only minimal instruction, is comparable to that reported for groups led by psychiatry residents.
Sensory modalities and receptive fields in the abdominal nervous system of the hermit crab, Pagurus granosimanus (Stimpson).

1. The morphology and histology of the abdominal nervous system is briefly described. There are three ganglionic roots, as in the crayfish; the first innervates the pleopods and the ventral lateral area of the segment, the second innervates the sclerite of the next posterior segment, and a region posterior and dorsal to it. The third roots are exclusively motor as in the crayfish and have two branches, one of which runs to the superficial ventral muscles and the other to the central flexors. 2. Phasic fast-adapting mechano-receptors similar to those seen in annelids, with overlapping fields extending over much of the segment, have replaced the sensory hair population of the homologous roots in the crayfish. 3. The units on the left side of the animal are more sensitive to mechanical stimuli than those on the right side; this is due to the fact that the right side lies next to the whorl of the shell while the left side faces away from it. 4. Joint receptors are described, but no muscle receptor organs similar to those found in other decapods were observed.
Nitric Oxide Releasing Nanoparticle Synthesis and Characterization

While the potential applications of nitric oxide for both understanding human physiology and treating disease are far reaching, the development of a reliable, cost-effective, and practical sustained delivery system for nitric oxide has yet to emerge. Using a sol-gel/glass hybrid system, we have demonstrated controlled, sustained release of nitric oxide from a stable, dry powder. Upon exposure to an aqueous environment, the material begins releasing therapeutic levels of nitric oxide over several hours to days, making it an ideal material for evaluation of nitric oxide efficacy for both clinical and research applications.
The Saints Who Walk: Walking, Piety and Technologies of Circulation in Modern South Asia

Sevea explores discourses and practices of walking and spirituality that emerged in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century South Asia. Despite the expansion of modern forms of circulation—ranging from trains to steamships to printing presses—the body came to be the site of social, political and moral experimentation. Sevea shows how a new concern with walking, and its relationship to the senses, self-control and spirituality, emerged in this context of change. Walking, he argues, became a way of attaining ‘happiness, purity and wisdom’ that drew upon discourses emanating from both India and the West.
How to Give a Great “Chalk Talk”

Learners are most likely to retain knowledge acquired through active engagement with the teacher and the content. “Chalk talks” incorporate principles of active learning and are inherently engaging for learners. In this instructional method, the teacher highlights key content by writing and illustrating on a chalkboard, whiteboard, or other large surface throughout the presentation. This technique incorporates learner contributions, thereby promoting a shared ownership of the content and learning environment. This format also encourages peer-to-peer instruction and group learning, as opposed to the traditional “teacher-to-student” model. The sections below prepare clinical teachers to give effective chalk talks.
Tumor localization using automated palpation with Gaussian Process Adaptive Sampling

In surgical tumor removal, inaccurate localization can lead to removal of excessive healthy tissue and failure to completely remove cancerous tissue. Automated palpation with a tactile sensor has the potential to precisely estimate the geometry of embedded tumors during robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RMIS). We formulate tumor boundary localization as a Bayesian optimization model along implicit curves over estimated tissue stiffness. We propose a Gaussian Process Adaptive Sampling algorithm called Implicit Level Set Upper Confidence Bound (ILS-UCB), that prioritizes sampling near a level set of the estimate. We compare the ILS-UCB algorithm to two alternative palpation algorithms: (1) Expected Variance Reduction (EVR), which emphasizes exploration by minimizing variance, and (2) Upper Confidence Bound (UCB), which balances exploration with exploitation using only the estimated mean. We compare these algorithms in simulated experiments varying the levels of measurement noise and bias. We find that ILS-UCB significantly outperforms the other two algorithms as measured by the symmetric difference between tumor boundary estimate and ground truth, reducing error by up to 10×. Physical experiments on a dVRK show that our approach can localize the tumor boundary with approximately the same accuracy as a dense raster scan while requiring at least 10× fewer measurements.
Investigation of Silica-Supported Vanadium Oxide Catalysts by High-Field 51V Magic-Angle Spinning NMR

Supported V2O5/SiO2 catalysts were studied using solid-state 51V magic-angle spinning NMR at a sample spinning rate of 36 kHz and at a magnetic field of 19.975 T to provide a better understanding of the coordination of the vanadium oxide as a function of environmental conditions. Structural transformations of the supported vanadium oxide species between the catalyst in the dehydrated state and hydrated state under an ambient environment were revisited to examine the degree of oligomerization and the effect of water. The experimental results indicate the existence of a single dehydrated surface vanadium oxide species that resonates at −675 ppm and two vanadium oxide species under ambient conditions that resonate at −566 and −610 ppm. No detectable structural difference was found as a function of vanadium oxide loading on SiO2 (3% V2O5/SiO2 and 8% V2O5/SiO2). Quantum chemistry simulations of the 51V NMR chemical shifts on predicted surface structures were used as an aid in understanding potential surface va...
A highly versatile fluorenone-based macrocycle for the sensitive detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and fluoride anions

Reported herein is the high yielding synthesis of a new fluorenone-based triazolophane and its sensing capabilities for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and fluoride anions. Fluorescence, UV/Vis and 1H NMR spectroscopy results showed the triazolophane has a high sensitivity for selected PAHs and binds the fluoride anion in a 2 : 1 stoichiometry via C–H hydrogen bonding with the triazole and fluorenone protons.