cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanism of Gene Regulation by a Staphylococcus aureus Toxin

ABSTRACT The virulence of many bacterial pathogens, including the important human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus, depends on the secretion of frequently large amounts of toxins. Toxin production involves the need for the bacteria to make physiological adjustments for energy conservation. While toxins are primarily targets of gene regulation, such changes may be accomplished by regulatory functions of the toxins themselves. However, mechanisms by which toxins regulate gene expression have remained poorly understood. We show here that the staphylococcal phenol-soluble modulin (PSM) toxins have gene regulatory functions that, in particular, include inducing expression of their own transport system by direct interference with a GntR-type repressor protein. This capacity was most pronounced in PSMs with low cytolytic capacity, demonstrating functional specification among closely related members of that toxin family during evolution. Our study presents a molecular mechanism of gene regulation by a bacterial toxin that adapts bacterial physiology to enhanced toxin production. IMPORTANCE Toxins play a major role in many bacterial diseases. When toxins are produced during infection, the bacteria need to balance this energy-consuming task with other physiological processes. However, it has remained poorly understood how toxins can impact gene expression to trigger such adaptations. We found that specific members of a toxin family in the major human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus have evolved for gene regulatory purposes. These specific toxins interact with a DNA-binding regulator protein to enable production of the toxin export machinery and ascertain that the machinery is not expressed when toxins are not made and it is not needed. Our study gives mechanistic insight into how toxins may directly adjust bacterial physiology to times of toxin production during infection.
Germanium Telluride reconfigurable antennas

This paper discusses the viability of using Germanium Telluride (GeTe) thin films as reconfigurable antennas. The reconfiguration technique is based on altering the phase of GeTe from a conductive crystalline state to a highly resistive amorphous state or vice versa. Using a laser to alter the phase, any antenna geometry can be drawn into a GeTe thin film or an existing antenna can be reconfigured into any other desired geometry. Photographs of a reconfigured GeTe antenna fabricated at the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) are shown and simulation results comparing a GeTe antenna to conventional antenna materials are presented.
Tin sulfide (SnS) semiconductor photo-absorber thin films for solar cells by vapor phase sulfurization of Sn metallic layers using organic sulfur source

Abstract Tin sulfide (SnS) semiconductor thin films were deposited by organic chemical vapor sulfurization of metallic tin layers for application as photo-absorber in solar cells. Metallic 100–200 nm Sn thin films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering were sulfurized in di- tert -butyl-disulfide (TBDS) vapor stream with 100 sccm N 2 flow under atmospheric pressure at temperatures 300, 350 and 400 °C for 90 min. X-ray diffraction study shows polycrystalline single phase SnS film formation in orthorhombic crystal structure with dominant (111) orientation at 300 °C and improved crystallinity with minor SnS 2 and Sn 2 S 3 phase inclusion at 350 °C. Raman spectral analysis shows dominant 92 cm −1 and 222 cm −1 A g and B 1u as well as lesser intensity 141 and 164 cm −1 B 2u and B 3g vibration modes belonging to SnS. Sulfurization at 350 °C led to additional Raman peaks 147.6, and 176.7 cm −1 assigned to B 2u , and B 1u modes of SnS phase consistent with the diffraction study. Emergence of Raman peaks at 152 and 308 cm −1 indicate SnS 2 and Sn 2 S 3 phase growth alongside SnS in films sulfurized at 400 °C. The 350 °C sulfurized SnS film show indirect and direct band gaps of 1.1 and 1.56 eV, respectively and corresponding higher values of 1.42 and 2.07 eV for 400 °C sulfurized SnS films. Based on the microstructure, diffraction and Raman scattering results as well as optical transmission studies at lower sulfurization times, essential mechanism of SnS film formation and that of the inclusion of secondary phases is proposed.
Do community factors matter? An analysis of the achievement gap between indigenous and non-indigenous children in Peru

Abstract In both the developed and developing world, the racial and ethnic test score gap is a vexing and persistent social problem. While the literature has focused on achievement gaps' underlying family and children determinants, in this article, we demonstrate how to expand the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition to include community sorting effects and heterogeneity in community impact effects, factors that have not been considered before in achievement gap research. Using the 2001 cohort of the Young Lives Longitudinal Survey for Peru, our results show that at over the first four years of school, however, indigenous children lose substantial ground relative to non-indigenous children, increasing the average gap to 0.49 standard deviations (of the distribution of test scores) in math and 0.66 in vocabulary. Our findings suggest that parental education and child's health are important determinants of the gap for math and vocabulary; but also that the vocabulary gap is due in part to community effects. The pathways considered yield valuable information for policy makers who are interested in targeting policies to improve student learning among indigenous groups. These pathways are important for human capital formation and could potentially have longlasting impacts on educational attainment and poverty in Peru.
Scaffoldless tissue-engineered nerve conduit promotes peripheral nerve regeneration and functional recovery after tibial nerve injury in rats

Damage to peripheral nerve tissue may cause loss of function in both the nerve and the targeted muscles it innervates. This study compared the repair capability of engineered nerve conduit (ENC), engineered fibroblast conduit (EFC), and autograft in a 10-mm tibial nerve gap. ENCs were fabricated utilizing primary fibroblasts and the nerve cells of rats on embryonic day 15 (E15). EFCs were fabricated utilizing primary fibroblasts only. Following a 12-week recovery, nerve repair was assessed by measuring contractile properties in the medial gastrocnemius muscle, distal motor nerve conduction velocity in the lateral gastrocnemius, and histology of muscle and nerve. The autografts, ENCs and EFCs reestablished 96%, 87% and 84% of native distal motor nerve conduction velocity in the lateral gastrocnemius, 100%, 44% and 44% of native specific force of medical gastrocnemius, and 63%, 61% and 67% of native medial gastrocnemius mass, respectively. Histology of the repaired nerve revealed large axons in the autograft, larger but fewer axons in the ENC repair, and many smaller axons in the EFC repair. Muscle histology revealed similar muscle fiber cross-sectional areas among autograft, ENC and EFC repairs. In conclusion, both ENCs and EFCs promoted nerve regeneration in a 10-mm tibial nerve gap repair, suggesting that the E15 rat nerve cells may not be necessary for nerve regeneration, and EFC alone can suffice for peripheral nerve injury repair.
Post-Adoption Attitudes To Advertising On The Internet

ABSTRACT In the last few years, the use and relative effectiveness of internet advertising has been the focus of research attention in the advertising and marketing literatures. However, few studies to date have examined these issues from the practitioners9 viewpoint. This study reports the results of an online survey of top executives in advertising, marketing, new media, and public relations agencies concerning the issue of internet advertising. Contrary to past studies, which have examined whether agencies have adopted the internet, the focus here is on the ‘post-adoption attitudes’ of agency executives after the adoption process has taken place. The primary purpose of this study is to present and test two factors - relative advantage and complexity - that we believe are useful for predicting and, by extension, helping to explain why post-adoption attitudes toward the internet are generally low, particularly for executives of traditional advertising agencies. Our findings shed light on this issue by demonstrating that traditional advertising agencies lag behind other agency types when it comes to internet advertising expertise, profitability, staffing, ability to attract interactive clients, and overall understanding of the internet9s value. The findings presented here should be considered preliminary until a larger, more representative sample can be surveyed.
Combination Lu-177 BB2r antagonist/chemotherapy control of prostate cancer: A preclinical evaluation

1194 Objectives The objective of this pilot study is to directly compare the ability of 177Lu-BB2r agonist verses 177Lu-BB2r antagonist targeted radiotherapy in controlling the growth of androgen independent prostate cancer using a preclinical mouse model. Methods The BB2r agonist (DOTA-8-AOC-Gln-Trp-Ala-Val-Gly-His-Leu-Met-NH2) and antagonist (DOTA-4-Amino-Carboxymethyl-Piperidine-DPhe-Gln-Trp-Ala-Val-Gly-His-Sta-Leu-NH2) were commercially synthesized and labeled with 177Lu. Bilateral flank inoculation of male SCID mice with 1X106 PC-3 cells resulted in generating BB2r positive human prostate tumor xenografts. 177Lu-BB2r antagonist retention in xenografted tumors was assessed out to 14 days post administration following a single injection of tracer. A pilot survival study comparing the 177Lu-BB2r agonist/docetaxel arm with the 177Lu-BB2r antagonist /docetaxel arm was performed with 177Lu-BB2r peptide therapy (37MBq/25g; administered weekly) combined with docetaxel (8mg/kg; administered weekly) delivered for six consecutive weeks. Results 177Lu-BB2r antagonist Micro-SPECT imaging demonstrated selective and unique tumor associated sequestration of radiolabel from 1-14 days p.i.. Therapy data analysis at Day 150 demonstrates survival of 50% of mice in the multi-modal BB2r antagonist therapy arm (chemo + targeted 177Lu radiation therapy). Mean survival of the combination BB2r agonist/chemotherapy arm and tumor bearing control arm was 72±20d and 50±12d respectively. In mice responding to 177Lu antagonist therapy, 100% exhibited tumor regression with 50% exhibiting sustained control of tumor growth over the 150d period. Conclusions Micro-SPECT imaging of 177Lu-BB2r antagonist retention in PC-3 tumor tissue confirms long term residualization of radiolabel in BB2r positive tumor tissue. The preclinical therapy results demonstrate the superiority of 177Lu-BB2r antagonist to 177Lu-BB2r agonist when used concurrently with docetaxel to control AIPC xenografts. Research Support U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Merit Review Award & VA Career Scientist Award (TJH
The Primitives of Coalitional Exchange

The second part of this book is devoted to the development of a two-stage model of Edgeworthian barter processes in an economy with nonsovereign agents. Nonsovereignty implies that agents perceive barriers to trade, which they try to overcome by joining neighboring agents. Hence, the social structure generated by these joining similar agents acts as a bridge to trade between dissimilar agents. Nonsovereignty therefore refers to the dependency of economic agents on each other to access gains from trade. With the development and implementation of these social structures, agents learn to act from wthin these social structures in their pursuit of the realization of gains from trade through commodity exchange. Hence, the formed social structures put certain institutional constraints on that exchange of commodities. As already discussed in Chapter 2, in our static framework the stage of coalition formation, i.e., the design and implementation of these trade infrastructural institutions, is simply modelled by a collection of potential primitive coalitions Γ. In the trading stage certain of these primitive coalitions will merge into trade coalitions. This chapter explicitly adresses the description and development of the two stage model of commodity exchange under the hypothesis of agent nonsovereignty.
The Role of Serotonin (5-HT) in Feeding Responses to Amino Acids

A model of rapid onset anorexia has emerged from nutritional, biochemical and neurophysiological studies over the past 30 years, in which rats are fed diets containing imbalanced proportions of amino acids (Harper et al., 1970; Rogers and Leung, 1977; Gietzen et al., 1986a). The neurochemical changes engendered by ingestion of these diets are now beginning to be elucidated. In this model, the limiting amino acid is decreased in several brain areas, and both the noradrenergic and serotonergic systems appear to be activated as the animals begin to decrease their intake of the imbalanced diet. The studies presented here suggest a role for serotonin (5-HT), via a specific receptor subtype, the 5-HT3 receptor, in the initial anorectic response of rats to imbalanced amino acid diets.
An experimental analysis of hydrogen enrichment on combustion characteristics of a gasoline Wankel engine at full load and lean burn regime

Abstract In this paper, a gasoline Wankel engine was modified and equipped with self-developed hybrid electronic control unit to experimentally investigate the effect of hydrogen-enrichment level on combustion characteristics of a gasoline Wankel engine at wild open throttle position and lean burn regime. Testing were carried out under constant engine speed of 3000 rpm and the lean operating limit of the original gasoline engine. The spark timing was set at 15 °BTDC. The hydrogen energy fraction in the intake was gradually increased from 0% to 10%. The results showed that hydrogen enrichment was effective on improving the combustion process through the shortened of the flame development and the flame propagation periods, advancing the central heat release, increasing the HRRmax and reducing the cyclic variation proportionally to the amount of hydrogen added to the air fuel mixture. Furthermore, increasing hydrogen fraction in the intake improves the engine economy by reducing the cooling loss.
Effect of cement type on the clinical performance and complications of zirconia and lithium disilicate tooth-supported crowns: A systematic review. Report of the Committee on Research in Fixed Prosthodontics of the American Academy of Fixed Prosthodontics.

Abstract Statement of problem Zirconia and lithium disilicate have been commonly used as materials for tooth-supported complete-coverage restorations. Adhesive and conventional cements have been suggested for cementation of these restorations. However, evidence on the effect of cement type on the clinical outcomes of teeth restored with zirconia or lithium disilicate restorations is unclear. Purpose The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of teeth restored with zirconia or lithium disilicate restorations when adhesive or conventional cements are used. Material and methods This systematic review adopted the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement and was registered at the international prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) (CRD42018096493). An electronic search was performed in 2 databases (MEDLINE-PubMed and Cochrane Central), and a manual search, from January 2008 through January 2018. The primary clinical question was framed according to the Problem/Patient/Population, Intervention/Indicator, Comparison, Outcome (PICO) approach. The following question was the primary clinical question: “For patients requiring a single tooth-supported complete-coverage ceramic restoration, does adhesive cementation, as compared with conventional cementation, improve the clinical performance and limit the complications of this restoration?” The search included articles published in peer-reviewed journals in English and was limited to randomized clinical trials and prospective and retrospective clinical studies. Results Seventeen clinical studies met the eligibility criteria and were included for qualitative analysis. Included studies had 1280 participants who received 2436 zirconia and lithium disilicate crowns. The survival rates for adhesively cemented zirconia crowns ranged from 83.3% to 100%, whereas those reported for conventionally cemented zirconia crowns ranged from 82.0% to 100%. Survival rates for adhesively cemented lithium disilicate crowns ranged from 83.5% to 100%, whereas the survival rate reported for conventionally cemented lithium disilicate crowns was 98.5%. Commonly reported clinical complications included fracture of the veneering ceramic, crown fracture, and loss of crown retention. The mean follow-up time ranged from 25.5 months to 121.2 months. The studies that were assessed for risk of bias showed poor quality of evidence. Conclusions Based on the available evidence and within the limitations of this systematic review, zirconia and lithium disilicate tooth-supported crowns exhibited comparable survival rates and complication patterns after adhesive or conventional cementation.
Building Gui database applications with JavaBeans and JDBC: tutorial presentation

Applied database management systems (DBMS) courses that require relational database projects can present formidable challenges to both students and instructors. Students assume the twin responsibilities of (1) learning major theoretical concepts (the relational model, data modeling, database design, and standard structured query language (SQL) while (2) mastering the syntax and semantics of a specific complex technology (e.g. MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server). Dealing with the project problem domain also adds to demands on student time and understanding. Consequently, instructors are increasingly challenged to organize course content, technology instruction, and project resources so that students can complete non-trivial course projects in a reasonable time frame.This tutorial will introduce a jump-start strategy used both for instruction and to guide student project development in three applied computer information systems courses. Students enrolled in an introductory DBMS course complete individual GUI client/server projects. Database skills and understanding developed in this course are then applied to more substantive 2- and 3-tier individual projects in an advanced DBMS course and team projects in an introductory software engineering course. The tutorial will focus on examples from the introductory DBMS course.
Integrating complex systems science into road safety research and practice, Part 2: applying systems tools to the problem of increasing pedestrian death rates

Objectives To provide a specific example of how systems dynamics tools can increase understanding of stakeholder ‘mental models’ and generate robust systems-based hypotheses about the escalating problem of rising pedestrian death rates in the USA. Methods We designed and facilitated two group model building (GMB) workshops. Participants generated causal loop diagrams (CLDs) individually and in small groups to explore hypotheses concerning time–dynamic interacting factors underlying the increasing rates of pedestrian deaths. Using a grounded theory approach, research team members synthesised the structures and hypotheses into a single CLD. Results CLDs from the 41 participants indicated four core factors hypothesised to have a direct impact on pedestrian fatalities: pedestrian–vehicle crashes, vehicle speed at the time of the crash, vehicle size/dimensions and emergency response time. Participants diagrammed how actions and reactions impacted these proximal factors over time and led to ripple effects throughout a larger system to generate an increase in pedestrian deaths. Hypothesised contributing mechanisms fell within the following broad categories: community responses; research, policy and industry influence; potential unintended consequences of responses to pedestrian deaths; and the role of sprawl. Conclusions This application of systems science tools suggested several strategies for advancing injury prevention research and practice. The project generated robust hypotheses and advanced stakeholder communication and depth of understanding and engagement in this key issue. The CLD and GMB process detailed in this study provides a concrete example of how systems tools can be adopted and applied to a transportation safety topic.
2 – Facility Characterization

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the importance of facility characterization in designing physical protection systems (PPS). Before any decisions can be about the required level of protection, an understanding of what is being protected and the surrounding environment is essential. It is suggested that when characterizing a facility, information about as many different aspects of the facility as possible must be obtained and reviewed. Major areas of investigation for facility characterization include physical conditions, facility operations, facility policies and procedures, regulatory requirements, and legal issues. The easiest area to characterize physical conditions include the site boundary, the number and locations of buildings in the complex, room locations within buildings, access points, existing physical protection features, and all infrastructure details. Operational review of the facility should also include an evaluation of the supporting functions available at the site. This includes procurement procedures, computing resources and distribution, maintenance activities, asset tracking, operational involvement, and location of senior executives. One of the most critical areas for study at a facility includes an understanding of the written and unwritten policies and procedures used at a site.
Teachers’ and Administrators’ Perceptions of Police-to-Student Encounters: The Impact of Student Race, Police Legitimacy, and Legal Authoritarianism:

The present study reflects an exploration of student race and attitudes toward the legal system as predictors of teachers’ and administrators’ support for police-to-student physical intervention. W...
Impact of self-measured blood pressure monitoring on hypertension management.

BACKGROUND An estimated 31% of adults in the USA have hypertension. The American Heart Association's Check. Change. CONTROL (CCC) program is an ongoing evidence-based hypertension management program that encourages participants to use remote blood pressure (BP) monitoring to take control of their cardiovascular health. The purpose of this study was to identify the effectiveness of self-measured blood pressure (SMBP) monitoring and tracking on high BP control among participants of the CCC program. METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort study among hypertensive men (n = 912) and women (n = 2021) using the 2016-2017 CCC national data. Demographics were examined among participants who checked their BP readings frequently, with a minimum of eight BP readings over four months, versus those who did not check their BP as often. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated the association of SMBP monitoring and BP reduction. RESULTS A greater proportion of participants who frequently checked their BP readings had BP reduction (17.7%), compared to participants who did not check their BP readings frequently (3.9%, P < 0.001). Men were 40% less likely to have BP reduction compared to women (P = 0.02); African Americans and Hispanic Americans were 63% (P < 0.0001) and 37% (P = 0.07) less likely to have BP reduction as compared to Caucasian Americans, respectively. After adjusting for sex and race/ethnicity, the odds of BP reduction was 4.88 times (95% confidence interval, 2.66-8.95) higher for participants who checked their BP readings frequently, compared to those who did not frequently check their BP readings. CONCLUSION Hypertensive participants who monitor their BP readings frequently using a self-management program have better BP control.
Using computable knowledge mined from the literature to elucidate confounders for EHR-based pharmacovigilance

ABSTRACT Introduction Confounding bias threatens the reliability of observational studies and poses a significant scientific challenge. This paper introduces a framework for identifying confounding factors by exploiting literature-derived computable knowledge. In previous work, we have shown that semantic constraint search over computable knowledge extracted from the literature can be useful for reducing confounding bias in statistical models of EHR-derived observational clinical data. We hypothesize that adjustment sets of literature-derived confounders could also improve causal inference. Methods We introduce two methods (semantic vectors and string-based confounder search) that query the literature for potential confounders and use this information to build models from EHR-derived data to more accurately estimate causal effects. These methods search SemMedDB for indications TREATED BY the drug that is also known to CAUSE the adverse event. For evaluation, we attempt to rediscover associations in a publicly available reference dataset containing expected pairwise relationships between drugs and adverse events from empirical data derived from a corpus of 2.2M EHR-derived clinical notes. For our knowledge-base, we use SemMedDB, a database of computable knowledge mined from the biomedical literature. Using standard adjustment and causal inference procedures on dichotomous drug exposures, confounders, and adverse event outcomes, varying numbers of literature-derived confounders are combined with EHR data to predict and estimate causal effects in light of the literature-derived confounders. We then compare the performance of the new methods with naive (χ2, reporting odds ratio) measures of association. Results and Conclusions Logistic regression with ten vector space-derived confounders achieved the most improvement with AUROC of 0.628 (95% CI: [0.556,0.720]), compared with baseline χ20.507 (95% CI: [0.431,0.583]). Bias reduction was improved more often in modeling methods using more rather than less information, and using semantic vector rather than string-based search. We found computable knowledge useful for improving automated causal inference, and identified opportunities for further improvement, including a role for adjudicating literature-derived confounders by subject matter experts. Graphical Abstract Highlights Access to causal background knowledge is required for causal learning to scale to large datasets. We introduce a framework for identifying confounders to enhance causal inference from EHR. We search computable knowledge for indications TREATED BY the drug that CAUSE the outcome. Literature-derived confounders reduce confounding bias in EHR data. Structured knowledge helps interpret and explain data captured in clinical narratives.
Understanding and supporting Chinese middle Schoolers’ monitoring accuracy in mathematics

While many studies of monitoring accuracy have been conducted with college students, less is known about middle school students’ monitoring accuracy, especially in Asian countries. Prior research also found discrepancies in students’ monitoring accuracy between Western and Asian cultures. To understand and support Chinese middle school students’ monitoring accuracy in mathematics, we implemented a three-week long monitoring intervention with 7th grade students in Southwestern China. Students were divided into three conditions: a control condition, a confidence rating condition (CR), and a confidence rating combined with monitoring instructions condition (CR + MI). Findings indicated that Chinese middle school students were slightly underconfident, yet quite accurate when monitoring during task completion in mathematics. Specifically, although students in the CR and CR + MI conditions did not show significant increases in mathematics performance, students in the control condition significantly decreased their performance overtime. In terms of monitoring, students’ confidence bias increased overtime in the CR + MI and control conditions while students in the CR condition did not show significant change. Students also demonstrated increased self-reported metacognitive awareness across the three conditions. We also asked students to provide justifications for their confidence judgments. Findings indicated that students tended to consider a single factor when judging their performance during a mathematics task. Regression models of students’ justifications indicated potential suggestions for future interventions. Implications and future directions are discussed.
Video SemNet: Memory-Augmented Video Semantic Network.

Stories are a very compelling medium to convey ideas, experiences, social and cultural values. Narrative is a specific manifestation of the story that turns it into knowledge for the audience. In this paper, we propose a machine learning approach to capture the narrative elements in movies by bridging the gap between the low-level data representations and semantic aspects of the visual medium. We present a Memory-Augmented Video Semantic Network, called Video SemNet, to encode the semantic descriptors and learn an embedding for the video. The model employs two main components: (i) a neural semantic learner that learns latent embeddings of semantic descriptors and (ii) a memory module that retains and memorizes specific semantic patterns from the video. We evaluate the video representations obtained from variants of our model on two tasks: (a) genre prediction and (b) IMDB Rating prediction. We demonstrate that our model is able to predict genres and IMDB ratings with a weighted F-1 score of 0.72 and 0.63 respectively. The results are indicative of the representational power of our model and the ability of such representations to measure audience engagement.
Galileo’s Father: Method and Argument in Musicology, Physics, and Astronomy

This is a critical analysis of the relationship between Galileo’s Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems, Ptolemaic and Copernican (1632) and his father Vincenzo’s Dialogue on Ancient and Modern Music (1581). The analysis is carried out with the awareness that Vincenzo practiced systematically the experimental method in the science of music, and thus influenced Galileo, who applied it in the physics of falling bodies. Moreover, there are some conspicuous similarities between the two books, e.g. their titles and their nuanced critique of authority. However, there is no comparison between Galileo’s and Vincenzo’s books with regard to dramatic power, unified coherence, critical reasoning, and methodological self-reflection. Furthermore, whereas the son favors the moderns, the father favors the ancients; and whereas the son advocates an anti-clerical position, the father advocates a pro-clerical position. It follows that, unlike the case of experimentation, the son in writing his Dialogue did not learn, and could not have learned, much from his father’s Dialogue.
Isotonic and isokinetic training effect on vertical jump performance

i i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i l i TABLE OF CONTENTS iv LIST OF TABLES vi Chapter I . INTRODUCTION 1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 3 DEFINITION OF TERMS 3 THE HYPOTHESIS 5 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY 5 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 6 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY 6 I I . REVIEW OF LITERATURE 8 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ISOTONIC AND ISOKINETIC CONTRACTIONS 8 EFFECTS OF RESISTIVE LOADS OF ISOTONIC AND ISOKINETIC TRAINING ON STRENGTH GAINS 10 VERTICAL JUMP TEST AS A MEASURE OF POWER 15 EFFECTS OF ISOTONIC AND ISOKINETIC TRAINING ON VERTICAL JUMP PERFORMANCE 19 SUMMARY 23 I I I . RESEARCH PROCEDURES 24 SELECTION OF THE SUBJECTS 24 SELECTION OF THE EQUIPMENT 25 TESTING PROCEDURES 26 TREATMENT OF THE DATA 30 IV. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 32 ANALYSIS OF RESULTS 32 INTERPRETATION 37 SUMMARY OF RESULTS 39 V. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS 40 SUMMARY 40 CONCLUSIONS 43 RECOMMENDATIONS 44 BIBLIOGRAPHY 45
Student Epistemological Beliefs and Conceptual Change Activities: How Do Pair Members Affect Each Other?

This study examined the relationships in achievement between members of dyads who were paired according to epistemological maturity and engaged in a photosynthesis simulation exercise. This study also examined the relationship between individual students' epistemological maturity and their conceptual understanding of photosynthetic processes. The findings indicated that individuals' conceptual understanding posttest scores could be predicted, in part, by their partners' posttest scores. This relationship between posttest scores was negative. Observations of selected dyads revealed that the epistemologically mature pair members consistently articulated to their partners the relationships they perceived in the simulation environment and verbally hypothesized to their partners more often than the less epistemologically mature members. The less epistemologically mature members of the observed pairs were relatively passive recipients of their more verbal partners' reasonings. They did not appear less methodical, in fact, they tended to focus on the step-wise completion of tasks in the simulation's written guide albeit with few expressions about why or how phenomena took place. Concerning the second research question, posttest scores of individuals could be predicted by the epistemological maturity of the individual. This positive relationship would account for the higher performance on posttest scores by the more epistemologically sophisticated subjects, and, if the epistemologically mature members did play a more active intellectual role in the dyad relationships, it would explain the negatively associated posttest scores of paired subjects.
Digital Phase Modulation and Demodulation

Digital phase modulation is a class of power- and bandwidth-efficient modulations widely used in telecommunications. In this article, the reader will first be introduced to the general concept of digital phase modulation, and the notions of bandwidth and power efficiency. The commonly used class of digital phase modulation schemes, that is, M-ary phase shift keying (MPSK), are described in detail. Their signal waveform expressions, signal constellations, and power spectral densities (PSDs) are presented. The block diagrams of the modulator and the optimal coherent demodulator are presented and explained. The symbol and bit error rate (BER) of the demodulator is derived and symbol error probability graphs are given. Widely used binary PSK (BPSK) and quaternary PSK (QPSK) are treated as special cases of MPSK. Next, differential PSK schemes are introduced, which are particularly useful in wireless fading channels. Their symbol error probability expressions and graphs are presented. At the end, two important phase modulation variations, namely, offset QPSK (OQPSK) and π/4-DQPSK, and the advanced continuous-phase modulation (CPM), including multi-h CPM, are briefly introduced. Keywords: digital phase modulation and demodulation; phase shift keying; PSK modulation and demodulation
Use of the reynolds flux concept for analysing one-dimensional two-phase flow: Part I. derivation and verification of basic analytical techniques

Abstract This series of two papers has the following objective: (l) To draw attention to the usefulness of the Reynolds flux concept in engineering analysis, to compare the various theories of previous workers, and to present some novel developments. (2) To show how the concept can be applied to predict pressure gradients in forced convection boiling, flashing and condensation. This analysis is also related to the mechanisms of entropy production in two-phase flow.
Characterization of a Newly Identified Mycoplasma (Mycoplasma orale Type 3) from the Human Oropharynx

Abstract Six mycoplasma strains, isolated under anaerobic conditions from the human oropharynx, were studied by biologic and serologic means. The strains produced nippled colonies with weak hemolytic activity for guinea pig erythrocytes on agar medium. In addition, the strains metabolized arginine with a concomitant alkaline shift in the pH of the medium but did not produce a pH shift when grown in the presence of glucose or urea. The strains failed to reduce 2–3–5 triphenyl tetrazolium and were inhibited by 0.001% methylene blue. In addition, they required fresh yeast extract for growth. When compared by several serologic methods, the strains were found to be related to each other but distinct from 23 serotypes of human, animal, and avian origin. However, one-way serologic relationships between one of the new strains and Mycoplasma orale type 1 and M. salivarium were observed when they were tested by complement fixation. Furthermore, partial relationship of one of the new strains to all of the arginine-utilizing mycoplasma species of human origin was demonstrated with the agar gel diffusion technique. Thus, the new strains appear to constitute a new mycoplasma species, for which the name M. orale type 3 is tentatively proposed. M. orale type 3 accounted for 1.4% of 437 mycoplasma isolates from the oropharynx of adults. The new species probably is a rare member of the normal mycoplasmal flora of man.
On the spectrum of unitary finite-Euclidean graphs

We consider unitary graphs attached to Z_d^n using an analogue of the Euclidean distance. These graphs are shown to be integral when n is odd or the dimension d is even.
A step towards determining transient response of chiral materials: Kramers–Kronig relations for chiral parameters

The Kramers-Kronig relations for the chirality admittance of isotropic reciprocal chiral materials are given using the techniques applied for linear, spatially local and causal operators. The results provide a physical insight into the analysis of electromagnetic pulse propagation in chiral materials. Such analysis will find potential applications in the design of broadband chiral materials in pulsed radar environments and the wideband control and management of radar cross-section of chiral coated targets.
Energy efficient caching for phase-change memory

Phase-Change Memory (PCM) has the potential to replace DRAM as the primary memory technology due to its non-volatility, scalability, and high energy efficiency. However, the adoption of PCM will require technological solutions to surmount some deficiencies of PCM, such as writes requiring significantly more energy and time than reads. One way to limit the number of writes is by adopting a last-level cache replacement policy that is aware of the asymmetric nature of PCM read/write costs. We first develop a cache replacement algorithm, Asymmetric Landlord (AL), and show that it is theoretically optimal in that it gives the best possible guarantee on relative error. We also propose an algorithm Variable Aging (VA), which is a variation of AL. We have carried out a simulation analysis comparing the algorithms LRU, N-Chance, AL, and VA. For benchmarks that are a mixture of reads and writes, VA is comparable or better than N-Chance, even for the best choice of N, and uses at least 11% less energy than LRU. For read dominated benchmarks, we find that AL and VA are comparable to LRU, while N-Chance (using the N that was best for benchmarks that were a mixture of reads and writes) uses at least 20% more energy.
Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors of the head and neck: Demographics, clinicopathologic features, management, and treatment outcomes.

Summary Objectives To determine the epidemiology and prognostic indicators in patients with malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNST) of the head and neck. Materials and methods The surveillance, epidemiology, and end results registry was reviewed for patients with head and neck MPNST from 1973 to 2011. Study variables included age, sex, race, tumor size, stage at presentation, and treatment modality. Results There were 374 cases of head and neck MPNST identified. Mean age at diagnosis was 50.7 years; 60.2% of patients were male and 82.6% were white. After diagnosis, 38.8% of patients underwent surgery and radiation therapy and 48.1% underwent surgery alone. Kaplan–Meier analysis demonstrated overall (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) of 51% and 67% at 5 years. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age ( p = 0.030), stage ( p = 0.002), surgery ( p = 0.037), and size ( p p p p = 0.011) and size ( p = 0.010) were predictors of OS, and size ( p = 0.001) predicted DSS. For stage III/IV cancers, both radiotherapy ( p = 0.024, p = 0.009) and size ( p = 0.001, p = 0.001) predicted OS and DSS. For tumors ⩽5 cm, stage ( p = 0.031) predicted DSS. For tumors >5 cm, male gender ( p = 0.005), stage ( p = 0.001), surgery ( p = 0.003), and radiotherapy ( p = 0.050) were determinants of OS, and male gender ( p = 0.022), stage ( p p = 0.002) were determinants of DSS. Conclusion Surgical resection confers survival benefit in patients with early stage MPNST, while radiotherapy improves survival in cases with metastatic disease. Surgery and radiotherapy are prognostically important in patients with tumors >5 cm.
A unipolar corona discharge microfabricated ionizer structure for gases at atmospheric pressure and composition

To miniaturize airborne participates sizing and counting apparatus for ubiquitous deployment in air quality monitoring and epidemiological studies, we developed a unipolar corona discharge microfabricated ionizer structure for gases at atmospheric pressure and composition. It consumes relatively low power at 150 mW or less, and operates with either single or multiple discharge electrodes. Potential difference of several kilovolts is maintained between the discharge electrodes within a chip size of less than 1 cm/sup 2/ without substrate breakdown or undesired sparkover. Mechanical oscillation of discharge electrode due to electrohydrodynamic effects is minimized. Corona charging currents of more than 40 /spl mu/A was achieved before streamers breakdown. Laplacian field simulation for both single and dual cathode design was performed using ANSYS/spl trade/.
On finding the number of clusters

Abstract We present a novel approach to finding the number of clusters in data based on the minimization of a regularized cost function. Minimization of the proposed cost function results in the minimization of the sum-of-squared distances of the data points from the respective nearest cluster center as well as the sum-of-squared distances of the individual cluster centers from neighborhood cluster centers. Smaller values of the neighborhood encourage the formation of more distinct cluster centers, while larger values of the neighborhood encourage the formation of fewer distinct cluster centers. We identify the neighborhood as a scale parameter and obtain the number of cluster centers at varying values of the scale parameter. The number of cluster centers in the data is then obtained based on persistence over the largest range of the scale parameter. Four simulations are presented to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed algorithm.
frizzled and frizzled 2 Play a Partially Redundant Role in Wingless Signaling and Have Similar Requirements to Wingless in Neurogenesis

The Drosophila Frizzled (Fz) and Frizzled2 (DFz2) proteins function as receptors for Wingless (Wg) in tissue culture cells. While previous results indicate that loss of function for fz has tissue polarity defects, loss-of-function effects of Dfz2 are not known. Here, we have examined the requirements of fz and Dfz2 during neurogenesis. Our results indicate that both Fz and DFz2 function in Wg signaling, and loss of either of the two affects the same subset of neuroblasts as those affected by loss of wg. While these defects are partially penetrant in embryos lacking either fz or Dfz2, the penetrance is significantly enhanced in embryos lacking both. Since the penetrance of the CNS phenotypes is not complete in double mutants, additional components that allow some degree of Wg signaling must exist in vivo.
Adaptive evolution in urban ecosystems

Urban ecologists have demonstrated that cities are functioning ecosystems. It follows then that species living in these contexts should participate in and experience the same suite of biological processes, including evolution, that have occupied scientists for centuries in more “natural” contexts. In fact, urban ecosystems with myriad novel contexts, pressures, and species rosters provide unprecedentedly potent evolutionary stimuli. Here, we present the case for studying adaptive evolution in urban settings. We then review and synthesize techniques into a coherent approach for studying adaptive evolution in urban settings that combines observations of phenotypic divergence, measurements of fitness benefits of novel genetically based phenotypes, and experimental manipulations of potential drivers of adaptation. We believe that studying evolution in urban contexts can provide insights into fundamental evolutionary biology questions on rate, direction, and repeatability of evolution, and may inform species and ecosystem service conservation efforts.
‘Meaning is Use’ in the Tractatus

Frege ridiculed the formalist conception of mathematics by saying that the formalists confused the unimportant thing, the sign, with the important, the meaning. Surely, one wishes to say, mathematics does not treat of dashes on a bit of paper. Frege’s idea could be expressed thus: the propositions of mathematics, if they were just complexes of dashes, would be dead and utterly uninteresting, whereas they obviously have a kind of life. And the same, of course, could be said of any proposition: Without a sense, or without the thought, a proposition would be an utterly dead and trivial thing. And further it seems clear that no adding of inorganic signs can make the proposition live. And the conclusion which one draws from this is that what must be added to the dead signs in order to make a live proposition is something immaterial, with properties different from all mere signs. But if we had to name anything which is the life of the sign, we should have to say that it was its use. (Blue Book, p. 4)
Magnetic and thermoelectric properties of layered LixNayCoO2

Abstract The magnetic, thermoelectric, and structural properties of Li x Na y CoO 2 , prepared by intercalation and deintercalation chemistry from the thermodynamically stable phase Li 0.41 Na 0.31 CoO 2 , which has an alternating Li/Na sequence along the c -axis, are reported. For the high Li-Na content phases Li 0.41 Na 0.31 CoO 2 and Li 0.40 Na 0.43 CoO 2 , a sudden increase in susceptibility is seen below 50 K, whereas for Li 0.21 Na 0.14 CoO 2 an antiferromagnetic-like transition is seen at 10 K, in spite of a change from dominantly antiferromagnetic to dominantly ferromagnetic interactions with decreasing alkali content. The Curie constant decreases linearly with decreasing alkali content, at the same time the temperature-independent contribution to the susceptibility increases, indicating that as the Co becomes more oxidized the electronic states become more delocalized. Consistent with this observation, the low alkali containing phases have metallic-like resistivities. The 300 K thermopowers fall between 30 μV/K ( x + y =0.31) and 150 μV/K ( x + y =0.83).
Theoretical and empirical issues in benefit identification, measurement and valuation related to parasitic disease control in poor countries

Considerable resources have been allocated over the years to parasitic disease eradication or control, e.g. malaria and schistosomiasis. Decision-makers in recent years have increasingly appealed to economists seeking an economic justification in order to continue or renew support for such programmatic efforts. Often economists when facing such an analytical task have employed benefit-cost or cost-effectiveness analytical techniques. This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical rationale employed in the conduct of such studies, focusing particularly on the benefits or impact indicators used. The review identifies many problems encountered in identifying benefits, and then measuring and valuing them.