cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Internet financial reporting: the effects of hyperlinks and irrelevant information on investor judgments

The flexibility provided by hyperlinks may have detrimental cognitive effects on investors, including cognitive overload. Users must perform multiple tasks simultaneously when browsing with hyperlinks, including navigating through the system, reading, understanding, and analyzing the information, and recalling information previously viewed. Simultaneous performance of these tasks places a high cognitive load on the information system user. This study investigates the effects of presentation format and the type of information on nonprofessional investors' judgments. Specifically, I examine whether viewing a company's web-based financial disclosures with hyperlinks (as compared to paper-based disclosures) causes an increase in cognitive load, resulting in nonprofessional investors' acquiring less information, making less accurate decisions, and taking more time making decisions. Additionally, I examine whether investors viewing relevant and irrelevant information cues with hyperlinks are more likely to exhibit a dilution effect, such that the irrelevant information dilutes the impact of the relevant information. Results of this study have implications for financial disclosure regulation and information system design. There are currently limited regulations as to the content of corporate websites and as to auditors' responsibilities to review web disclosures. Evidence from this study indicates that presentation format and type of Internet disclosures affect investor judgments and suggests that regulations may be needed for the Internet reporting environment.
Admission diagnoses among patients with heart failure: Variation by ACO performance on a measure of risk-standardized acute admission rates.

Background A key quality metric for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) is the rate of hospitalization among patients with heart failure (HF). Among this patient population, non–HF-related hospitalizations account for a substantial proportion of admissions. Understanding the types of admissions and the distribution of admission types across ACOs of varying performance may provide important insights for lowering admission rates. Methods We examined admission diagnoses among 220 Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs in 2013. ACOs were stratified into quartiles by their performance on a measure of unplanned risk-standardized acute admission rates (RSAARs) among patients with HF. Using a previously validated algorithm, we categorized admissions by principal discharge diagnosis into: HF, cardiovascular/non-HF, and noncardiovascular. We compared the mean admission rates by admission type as well as the proportion of admission types across RSAAR quartiles (Q1-Q4). Results Among 220 ACOs caring for 227,356 patients with HF, the median (IQR) RSAARs per 100 person-years ranged from 64.5 (61.7-67.7) in Q1 (best performers) to 94.0 (90.1-99.9) in Q4 (worst performers). The mean admission rates by admission types for ACOs in Q1 compared with Q4 were as follows: HF admissions: 9.8 (2.2) vs 14.6 (2.8) per 100 person years (P Conclusions Although ACOs with the best performance on a measure of all-cause admission rates among people with HF tended to have fewer admissions for HF, cardiovascular/non-HF, and noncardiovascular conditions compared with ACOs with the worst performance (highest admission rates), the largest difference in admission rates were for noncardiovascular admission types. Across all ACOs, two-thirds of admissions of patients with HF were for noncardiovascular causes. These findings suggest that comprehensive approaches are needed to reduce the diverse admission types for which HF patients are at risk.
Digital Hemodynamics in the Normotensive and Hypertensive States II. Venomotor Tone

By use of the technic of rheoplethysmography, it has been demonstrated that the small veins and venules participate in the over-all increase in peripheral resistance in hypertension. An arbitrary grading of the degree of venomotor tone in hypertension has been established.
Extended Antibiotic Prophylaxis May Be Linked to Lower Peri-prosthetic Joint Infection Rates in High-Risk Patients: An Evidence-Based Review

In 2018, Inabathula et al. published the results of a historical control study examining 90-day peri-prosthetic joint infection (PJI) rates at a single center before and after the institution of an...
Stanley Cavell: What Becomes of People on Film?

Stanley Cavell’s “ontology of film” is his way of expressing that in our experience of movies, we are both aware that we are perceiving nothing but flickering light on a screen yet also respond intellectually and emotionally as if we are experiencing real people, although in a world in which we cannot intervene. In his discussions of “comedies of remarriage” and “the melodrama of the unknown woman,” he argues that these movies are about what it is to grow into adult human beings who are free to love and who can accept the risks of loving another free human being.
NeuroEVs: Characterizing Extracellular Vesicles Generated in the Neural Domain

Intercellular communication has recently been shown to occur via transfer of cargo loaded within extracellular vesicles (EVs). Present within all biofluids of the body, EVs can contain various signaling factors, including coding and noncoding RNAs (e.g., mRNA, miRNA, lncRNA, snRNA, tRNA, yRNA), DNA, proteins, and enzymes. Multiple types of cells appear to be capable of releasing EVs, including cancer, stem, epithelial, immune, glial, and neuronal cells. However, the functional impact of these circulating signals among neural networks within the brain has been difficult to establish given the complexity of cellular populations involved in release and uptake, as well as inherent limitations of examining a biofluid. In this brief commentary, we provide an analysis of the conceptual and technical considerations that limit our current understanding of signaling mediated by circulating EVs relative to their impact on neural function.
Modeling social coding dynamics with sampled historical data

Abstract The aim of our research is to forecast the propagation of information related to cybersecurity threats and software vulnerabilities on social coding platforms such as GitHub. Users on social coding platforms exhibit repetitive behavior patterns that can be leveraged to predict trends in network evolution. These patterns exhibit greater consistency within a single community of users; hence global data distributions can be more accurately modeled by composing community data distributions. A wise sampling approach based on the identification of similarities between the historical and predicted patterns in social behavior can be used to augment the performance of other approaches in order to create an at scale simulation. This article compares two different strategies for predicting network evolution with sampled historical data on GitHub. We demonstrate that our community-based model outperforms the global one at predicting population, user, and content activity, along with network topology over three different datasets.
Instructional practices for scaffolding emergent bilinguals’ comprehension of informational science texts

In the telling case presented here, the instructional practices an exemplary teacher used to scaffold fourth-grade emergent bilinguals’ comprehension of a challenging informational science text are...
Atomic-level study of twin–twin interactions in hexagonal metals

Twin–twin interactions (TTIs) take place when multiple twinning modes and/or twin variants are activated and interact with each other. Twin–twin junctions (TTJs) form and affect subsequent twinning/detwinning and dislocation slip, which is particularly important in determining mechanical behavior of hexagonal metals because twinning is one major deformation mode. Atomic-level study, including crystallographic analysis, transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, can provide insights into understanding the process of TTIs and structural characters associated with TTJs. Crystallographic analysis enables the classification of TTIs and the prediction of possible interfaces of twin–twin boundaries (TTBs), characters of boundary dislocations, and possible reactions of twinning dislocations and lattice dislocations at TTBs. MD simulations can explore the process of TTIs, microstructures of TTJs, atomic structures of TTBs, and stress fields associated with TTJs. The predictions based on crystallographic analysis and the findings from MD can be partially verified by TEM. More importantly, these results provide explanation for microstructural characters of TTJs and guidance for further TEM characterizations.
A Concise Total Synthesis of (+)‐Waihoensene Guided by Quaternary Center Analysis

The four contiguous all-carbon quaternary centers of waihoensene, coupled with the absence of any traditional reactive functional groups other than a single alkene, render it a particularly challenging synthetic target among angular triquinane natural products. Here, we show that its polycyclic frame can be assembled concisely by using a strategically chosen quaternary center to guide the formation of the other three through judiciously selected C-C bond formation reactions. Those events, which included a unique Conia-ene cyclization and a challenging Pauson-Khand reaction, afforded a 17-step synthesis of the molecule in enantioenriched form.
Pua ka wiliwili, nanahu ka manō: Understanding Sharks in Hawaiian Culture

Kanaka Maoli (Indigenous Hawaiians) are blessed with a written literature that documents observations and relationships with their environment in the form of chants, stories, and genealogies passed down orally for centuries. These literatures connect them to their ancestral knowledge and highlight species, places, and processes of importance. Such sayings as Pua ka wiliwili, nanahu ka manō (When the wiliwili blossoms, sharks bite), from the Kumulipo (a Kanaka Maoli creation story), are examples of the place of nature, humans, and a specifijic creature—here the shark, or manō—in ecological phenology. This article focuses on manō because of the importance of manō in Hawaiian culture and the availability of historical references, in contrast to the relatively little available scientifijic knowledge. Manō are understood through Hawaiian Indigenous science in their roles as ‘aumakua (guardians) and as unique individuals. By using manō as a lens through which to recognize the uniqueness of the Hawaiian worldview, the author highlights the classifijication system developed and applies this framework in analyzing management scenarios. She argues that using Hawaiian Indigenous science can help adapt new ways to classify our environmental interactions and relationships that will bring us closer to our living relatives. Management decisions regarding culturally important species need not be based solely on the most current Western scientifijic data but can utilize the much longer data set of knowledge stored in Kanaka Maoli oral literature.
The Achumera: Gender, Status, and the San Pedro Cactus in Moche Ceramic Motifs and Iconography

The Moche of north coastal Peru existed from approximately 200–900 as a series of culturally affiliated but politically divided areas. Their art is often quite naturalistic, representing a wide number of subjects. It does not, however, have a great deal of imagery relating directly to entheogenic plants. While there are definitely classes of artistic expression that refer to the experience of trance and spiritual transformation that is often the result of entheogen use explicit representation of entheogenic plants is rare. One type of representation that does seem to depict an entheogen is that of figures, called achumeras, depicted in ceramic vessels holding pieces of Echinopsis pachanoi, the San Pedro cactus. These women appear to occupy a space in society that considers them of medium status and of minimal gender, allowing these figures to comment not only on entheogen use among the Moche, but the complex role of gender and status in when and how the entheogen was used, how the plant itself was represented, and the representation of useful plants (as food and as spiritual catalyst) in Moche art.
What Dictates Rashba Splitting in 2D van der Waals Heterobilayers.

Rashba spin-orbit coupling enables electric control of spin states, promising enormous advances from conventional charge-based computing. Until now, a general scheme or a descriptor to find an optimal system with isolated spin states with large tunable splitting is still lacking. Here, based on first-principles calculations, we explore the microscopic physicochemical mechanism responsible for the Rashba effect in 2D van der Waals heterobilayers. We find that the difference in the Born effective charge of atoms at the interface can be used as a single-layer descriptor to predict heteropairs with large Rashba splitting, thus reducing the scaling factor in materials search. Moreover, we discover that for most 2D materials, the routinely used Rashba parameter αR is not a good gauge of the effect's strength. From our general scheme, MoTe2|Tl2O and MoTe2|PtS2, with spin splitting above 120 meV, Rashba energy ER = 94 meV, and wavenumber difference 2k0 = 0.36 A-1 ("effective" αR > 1 eVA), emerge as the best candidates for spin transistors at room temperature.
Stars, Rainbows, and Michael Myers: The Carnivalesque Intersection of Play and Horror in Kindergarteners’ (Trade)marking and (Copy)writing

BackgroundResearch on children's play asserts that children's identities are performed and (re)formed in peer groups where they try out identities and make sense of their social worlds. Yet there a...
The association of malnutrition and sarcopenia with geriatric assessment impairment and outcomes in patients with bladder cancer undergoing cystectomy.

423Background: Malnutrition and sarcopenia are linked to decreased functional status in older adults with malignancy, but their effect on geriatric assessment (GA) impairment in patients with bladd...
State-Level HCC Incidence and Association With Obesity and Physical Activity in the United States

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains a leading cause of cancer-related mortality, with a disproportionate impact on racial/ethnic minority groups. However, state-level variation in racial/ethnic disparities and temporal trends of HCC incidence remain unknown. Therefore, we aimed to characterize (1) state-level racial/ethnic disparity in HCC incidence, (2) state-level temporal changes in HCC incidence, and (3) the ecological correlation between HCC incidence and obesity/physical activity levels in the USA. APPROACH AND RESULTS Trends in HCC incidence between 2001 and 2017 were calculated using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Program of Cancer Registries and the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results, and annual percent change in rates were calculated. State-level percent of obesity and level of physical activity were obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the correlation among obesity, physical activity, and state-specific average annual percent change was tested by Pearson correlation coefficient. There were striking state-level racial/ethnic disparities in HCC incidence; incidence rate ratios ranged between 6.3 and 0.9 in Blacks, 6.1 and 1.7 in Asians/Pacific Islanders, 3.8 and 0.9 in Hispanics, and 6.0 and 0.9 in American Indians/Alaska Natives (compared with Whites as reference). Despite overall decreasing HCC incidence rates after 2015, HCC incidence continued increasing in 26 states over recent years. HCC incidence trends had a moderate correlation with state-level obesity (r = 0.45, P < 0.001) and a moderate inverse correlation with state-level physical activity (r = -0.40, P = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS There is wide state-level variation in racial/ethnic disparity of HCC incidence. There are also disparate incidence trends across states, with HCC incidence continuing to increase in over half of the states. Regional obesity and lack of physical activity have moderate correlations with HCC incidence trends, suggesting that interventions targeting these factors may help curb rising HCC incidence.
An Empirical Analysis of Factors Influencing Households’ Demand for Omega-3 Enriched Eggs in the United States

A Tobit model is estimated using the 2016 Nielsen Homescan Panel data on household purchases to analyze the impact of socioeconomic variables on the demand for omega-3 eggs in the United States. Own price, price of conventional eggs, household income, and a set of household demographic characteristics emerge as statistically significant determinants of the quantity purchased of omega-3 eggs. The demand for omega-3 eggs is found to be elastic, conventional eggs are substitutes for omega-3 eggs, and omega-3 eggs are a normal good and a necessity.
Arab Women's Literary Inscriptions

On feminist consciousness and themes within the writings of Arab and North African women authors from the 1940s to the present.
Bandwidth sensitive routing in DiffServ networks with heterogeneous bandwidth requirements

This paper studies the problem of finding optimal routes for premium class traffic in the DiffServ network such that (1) loop-freedom is guaranteed in the entire network under hop-by-hop routing assumption; and (2) the maximum relative congestion among all links is minimized. This problem is called the extended optimal premium routing (eOPR) problem, which is proven to be NP-hard. We use the integer programming method to mathematically formulate the eOPR problem and find the optimal solutions for small scale networks. we also study heuristic algorithms in order to handle large scale networks. Simulation results are compared to handle large scale networks. Simulation results are compared with the optimal solutions obtained by solving the integer programming models. The results show that the bandwidth-inversion shortest path (BSP) algorithm can be a good candidate to route premium traffic in DiffServ networks.
Pseudo cross-link of human hemoglobin with mono-(3,5-dibromosalicyl)fumarate.

Abstract The reaction of human oxyhemoglobin with mono(3,5-dibromosalicyl)fumarate, produces a derivative specifically acylated at the two lysines beta 82, which can be purified with a 70% yield. The oxygen affinity of this derivative at 37 degrees C at pH 7.4, 0.1 M Cl- is of 12 mm Hg, and is not affected by organic phosphate. In the presence of 5% CO2, the oxygen affinity decreases to 25 mm Hg. In all cases the cooperativity is lowered, with a value of n in the Hill plots near 2. Sedimentation velocity measurements indicate that, contrary to normal hemoglobin, this derivative fails to dissociate into dimers upon exposure to pH 5.5. The stability of the tetrameric structure is probably due to a modification of the beta-beta interface, resulting from electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions introduced in the beta cleft by the fumaryl residues. These new interactions are probably the origin of a new reverse Bohr effect group at alkaline pH. Consistent with the stabilization of the tetrameric structure, the half-time of retention of this compound in the rat is increased 4-fold with respect to that of normal hemoglobin. These characteristics cast a favorable light on the usage of this compound as an oxygen carrier in transfusional and perfusional fluids.
Prototype reagents for an automated serum inducible nitric oxide synthase assay

DLD-1-5B2 cells can provide a stable source of human iNOS. NO production is proportional to mass of iNOS produced up to 18 hours in confluent, induced cells. Nominal values of iNOS detected by immunoassay were based upon calibration with commercial murine iNOS standards. Additional work is required to optimize the prototype for clinical use. Purification, characterization, and analytical mass assignment of iNOS from DLD-1-5B2 cells are in progress to provide mass standardization for the iNOS immunoassay.
Hippocampal place cells: stereotypy and plasticity

Hippocampal complex spike cells were recorded during exploration for water delivered to cups located in various regions of an elevated platform. Place fields were recorded with a video monitoring system that recorded movements as the animal explored each of the 5 cup locations where water was delivered on the platform. Plasticity of place cell firing as a function of selective water delivery to specific cup locations on the platform was also examined. Several characteristics of place cell firing were studied that indicated a high degree of control by factors such as relative direction of movement and trajectory through the field. Time-shift analyses indicated cell firing was most representative of the place field at the time of spike occurrence. It was demonstrated that place fields possess borders in which firing was increased or decreased upon entering or leaving a particular region of the platform. The most important finding from this investigation was the pronounced degree of plasticity exhibited by place cells. Selective delivery of water to a single location on the platform was sufficient in most of the cases tested to shift the location of the field to the location where water was available. These findings suggest hippocampal place cell firing, although highly influenced by spatial and directional features of the environment, can readily change under conditions in which significant stimuli are added or removed from those locations.
Humanoid Cover-Seeking and Obstacle-Avoidance Functions

The importance of the infantry soldier to combat is self-evident. Thus, despite vast technological advances in military equipment and weapons systems, it still remains the sole responsibility of the infantryman to make the final assault and conquest of the enemy by occupying his home terrain.
Fast parallel implementation of DFT using configurable devices

In this paper we propose a fast parallel implementation of Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) using FPGAs. Our design is based on the Arithmetic Fourier Transform (AFT) using zero-order interpolation. For a given problem of size N, AFT requires only O(N2) additions and O(N) real multiplications with constant factors. Our design employes 2p + 1 PEs (1 ≤ p ≤ N), O(N) memory and fixed 1/O with the host. It is scalable over p (1 ≤ p ≤ N) and can solve larger problems with the same hardware by increasing the memory. All the PEs have fixed architecture. Our implementation is faster than most standard DSP designs for FFT. It also outperforms other FPGA-based implementations for FFT, in terms of speed and adaptability to larger problems.
Momentum-Impulse Model of Fine Sand Clogging Depth in Gravel Streambeds for Turbulent Open-Channel Flow

AbstractA momentum-impulse model that accounts for the critical impulse of a particle bridge that is balanced with a fluid pulse resulting from turbulent pumping is presented and applied for predicting the clogging depth of fine sand in gravel streambeds overlain by turbulent open-channel flow. The model was tested against the literature-derived database of clogging depth with conditions defined by hydraulic flume experiments characterized by fine sand infiltrating into gravel substrates, with hydraulically-rough open-channel flow ranging from subcritical to critical conditions. Results show the efficacy of the momentum-impulse model and support the hypothesis that particle bridging and intragravel flow due to fluid pumping control the clogging depth. Model results show improvement over previous empirical modeling of the clogging depth phenomena due to the reduction of unknown parameters from four coefficients to one coefficient and an increase in model predictability as quantified using k-fold validation...
Store-Operated Calcium Channels

Store-operated calcium channels (SOCs) are a major pathway for calcium signaling in virtually all metozoan cells and serve a wide variety of functions ranging from gene expression, motility, and se...
IκBε Is a Key Regulator of B Cell Expansion by Providing Negative Feedback on cRel and RelA in a Stimulus-Specific Manner

The transcription factor NF-κB is a regulator of inflammatory and adaptive immune responses, yet only IκBα was shown to limit NF-κB activation and inflammatory responses. We investigated another negative feedback regulator, IκBe, in the regulation of B cell proliferation and survival. Loss of IκBe resulted in increased B cell proliferation and survival in response to both antigenic and innate stimulation. NF-κB activity was elevated during late-phase activation, but the dimer composition was stimulus specific. In response to IgM, cRel dimers were elevated in IκBe-deficient cells, yet in response to LPS, RelA dimers also were elevated. The corresponding dimer-specific sequences were found in the promoters of hyperactivated genes. Using a mathematical model of the NF-κB–signaling system in B cells, we demonstrated that kinetic considerations of IκB kinase–signaling input and IκBe’s interactions with RelA- and cRel-specific dimers could account for this stimulus specificity. cRel is known to be the key regulator of B cell expansion. We found that the RelA-specific phenotype in LPS-stimulated cells was physiologically relevant: unbiased transcriptome profiling revealed that the inflammatory cytokine IL-6 was hyperactivated in IκBe−/− B cells. When IL-6R was blocked, LPS-responsive IκBe−/− B cell proliferation was reduced to near wild-type levels. Our results provide novel evidence for a critical role for immune-response functions of IκBe in B cells; it regulates proliferative capacity via at least two mechanisms involving cRel- and RelA-containing NF-κB dimers. This study illustrates the importance of kinetic considerations in understanding the functional specificity of negative-feedback regulators.
Combining Moral and Material Incentives in Cuba

Since their revolution of 1959, Cubans have used two types of incentives to attain their stated goals of developing the economy, meeting basic needs of the population, and overcoming the alienation or dehumanization of modern capitalism. Moral incentives have been defined as motivation to work voluntarily for the (global or local) community, with no personal gain except the satisfaction of working collectively for the good of all. Material incentives imply a tangible, concrete reward in exchange for work performed, and are presumed to be the basis of capitalist market relations. The experimental mini-brigades, contingents, and modes of distribution show how the two incentives work in practice in Cuba. Although many past debates have dichotomized the two types of incentives, this paper concludes that while Cuba’ s public pronouncements have at times emphasized moral incentives for ideological reasons, the real practice has been a combination of the two, because through the system of distribution of scarce durable goods, participants’ co-workers or peers are more likely to vote for material rewards to those workers who have demonstrated “morally motivated” volunteer efforts over time.
Conformational analysis of 1-kestose by molecular mechanics and by n.m.r. spectroscopy.

Abstract Models of the trisaccharide, 1-kestose [β- d -fructofuranosyl-(2→1)-β- d -fructofuranosyl-(2↔1)-α- d -glucopyranoside], were analyzed with the molecular mechanics computer program MM2(87) to ascertain their inter-ring torsion angles, primary alcohol side-group orientations, and ring puckering. The most striking result was that the modeling predicted and n.m.r. spectroscopy corroborated that the central fructofuranose ring takes a different form from that previously observed in the crystal. No other studies of fructofuranoses have observed that crystallographic form, thus suggesting that the 18 hydrogen bonds created upon crystallization of 1-kestose support the ring deformation. Because this trisaccharide is too complex for a complete study of conformation space, only structures having inter-ring conformations that were at energetic valleys in previous studies of the constituent disaccharides were analyzed. The model of 1-kestose with lowest energy had inter-ring torsion angles that did not correspond to the global minima of the model disaccharides, although they were generally close to the linkage conformation observed in the crystal structure, differing by an average of 19°.
A Selective Inhibitor of Human C-reactive Protein Translation Is Efficacious In Vitro and in C-reactive Protein Transgenic Mice and Humans

Observational studies of patients with established rheumatoid arthritis (RA) document a positive correlation between C-reactive protein (CRP) blood concentration and worsening of RA symptoms, but whether this association is causal or not is not known. Using CRP transgenic mice (CRPTg) with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA; a rodent model of RA), we explored causality by testing if CRP lowering via treatment with antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) targeting human CRP mRNA was efficacious and of clinical benefit. We found that in CRPtg with established CIA, ASO-mediated lowering of blood human CRP levels improved the clinical signs of arthritis. In addition, in healthy human volunteers the ASO was well tolerated and efficacious i.e., treatment achieved significant CRP lowering. ASOs targeting CRP should provide a specific and effective way to lower human CRP levels, which might be an effective therapy in patients with established RA.
Pattern and process: evidence for the evolution of photosynthetic traits in natural populations

The patterns of interspecific variation identified by comparative studies provide valuable hypotheses about the role of physiological traits in evolutionary adaptation. This review covers tests of these hypotheses for photosynthetic traits that have used a microevolutionary perspective to characterize physiological variation among and within populations. Studies of physiological differentiation among populations show that evolutionary divergence in photosynthetic traits is common within species, and has a pattern that supports many adaptive hypotheses. These among-population studies imply that selection has influenced photosynthetic traits in some way, but they are not designed to identify the traits targeted by selection or the environmental agents that cause selection. Analyses of genetic and phenotypic variation within populations address these questions. Studies that have quantified genetic variation within populations show that levels of heritable variation can be adequate for evolutionary change in photosynthetic traits. Other studies have measured phenotypic selection for these traits by analyzing how the variation within populations is correlated with fitness. This work has shown that selection for photosynthetic traits may often operate indirectly via correlations with other traits, and emphasizes the importance of viewing the phenotype as an integrated function of growth, morphology, life-history and physiology. We also outline some methodological problems that may be encountered for ecophysiological traits by these types of studies, provide some potential solutions, and discuss future directions for the field of plant evolutionary ecophysiology.
Persistent osteopenia in ballet dancers with amenorrhea and delayed menarche despite hormone therapy: a longitudinal study.

Abstract Objective To investigate the role of estrogen deprivation and replacement in amenorrheic and nonamenorrheic dancers on hormone therapy and calcium. Design Clinical, placebo-controlled, randomized trial study. Setting Healthy volunteers in an academic research environment. Patient(s) Fifty-five dancers (mean age: 22.0 ± 4.6, age at menarche: 14.7 ± 2.3 years), including 24 amenorrheics. Intervention(s) Amenorrheics were randomized in a controlled trial to receive placebo or Premarin, 0.625 mg for 25 days monthly, with Provera, 10 mg, for 10 of these 25 days (hormone therapy) for 2 years. These women were compared to normally menstruating controls. The study participants also received 1250 mg of calcium per day. Main outcome measure(s) Bone mineral density (BMD) measured at the foot, wrist, and lumbar spine. Result(s) Our overall results showed no difference in BMD between the treated or placebo groups, indicating that hormone therapy did not change or normalize BMD when compared to normals. Five patients (all on placebo) who resumed menses during the study showed an increase in BMD without normalization. Conclusion(s) These findings suggest that mechanisms other than hypoestrogenism may be involved with the osteopenia associated with exercise-induced amenorrhea.
Help! I've Lost My Research Agenda: Issues Facing Early Childhood Teacher Educators.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore how non‐teaching demands are affecting the teaching/research/service dynamic in the tenure process of early childhood teacher educators. Fifty‐seven NAECTE members responded to a 24‐item survey exploring issues and current initiatives that support or impede scholarship. Findings revealed that early childhood teacher educators often bear a disproportionate departmental or institutional burden for program development, accountability, and administrative “survival needs.” As a result, personal writing, research, and other scholarly endeavors necessary and expected in the rank/tenure process can be compromised. While scholarship is valued as important and necessary, participants reported significant challenges and impediments to their engagement in the process. Study participants also reported creative and resourceful means of seeking or taking advantage of existing strategies to meliorate their contextual challenges.
Vaccine development strategies for improving immunization: the role of modern immunology

An ideal vaccine has certain biological and physical characteristics. Technological advances have provided new strategies that may help the design of such a vaccine.
Spatially growing disturbances in a high velocity ratio two-stream, coplanar jet

The influence of cold and heated secondary flow on the instability of a two-stream, coplanar jet having a 0.7 Mach number heated primary jet for a nominal fan to primary velocity ratio of 0.68 was investigated by means of inviscid linearized stability theory. The instability properties of spatially growing axisymmetric and first order azimuthal disturbances were studied. The instability characteristics of the two-stream jet with a velocity ratio of 0.68 are very different from those of a single stream jet, and a two-stream, coplanar jet having a 0.9 Mach number heated primary jet and a cold secondary jet for a fan to primary velocity ratio of 0.30. For X/D = 1 and in comparison to the case where the velocity ratio was 0.3, the presence of the fan stream with a velocity ratio of 0.68 enhanced the instability of the jet and increased the unstable frequency range. However, the axisymmetric mode (m = 0) and the first order azimuthal mode (m = 1) have similar spatial growth rates where the velocity ratio is 0.68 while for a velocity ratio of 0.3 the growth rate of the first order azimuthal mode (m = 1) is greater. Comparing the cold and hot secondary flow results showed that for a velocity ratio of 0.68 the growth rate is greater for cold.
Stratospheric dust and its relationship to the meteoric influx

A review of measurements sensitive to dust in the stratosphere is presented with special emphasis on the data obtained during the last 10 years. The measurements made by indirect techniques such as light scattering tend to show more stratospheric dust than the measurements obtained by direct sampling techniques, although this interpretation is somewhat complicated by the injection of dust from the Bali eruption in 1963. The discrepancy is interpreted as indicating that the stratospheric dust smaller than a few microns diameter is volital. Recent direct experimental evidence of the author supports this conclusion. The size distribution of stratospheric dust is presented as a composite of the results of several observers. A natural break in the distribution at a size of about 5μ diameter is interpreted as indicating that the smaller dust is terrestrial in origin, while the larger dust is meteoric in origin. Other evidence is presented to support this conclusion. A comparison with particle flux measurements at 100 km and higher indicates that the meteoric component of the stratospheric dust is ablation products rather than single particles that have survived entry into the atmosphere. It is also argued that the small particles accounting for the high flux as measured by rocket and satellite microphone techniques are not present in the stratosphere.
Re-designing scanning to reduce learning demands: The performance of typically developing 2-year-olds

Children with severe motor impairments who cannot use direct selection are typically introduced to scanning as a means of accessing assistive technology. Unfortunately, it is difficult for young children to learn to scan because the design of current scanning techniques does not always make explicit the offer of items from the selection array; furthermore, it does not provide explicit feedback after activation of the switch to select the target item. In the current study, scanning was redesigned to reduce learning demands by making both the offer of items and the feedback upon selection more explicit through the use of animation realized through HTML and speech output with appropriate intonation. Twenty typically developing 2-year-olds without disabilities were randomly assigned to use either traditional scanning or enhanced scanning to select target items from an array of three items. The 2-year-olds did not learn to use traditional scanning across three sessions. Their performance in Session 3 did not d...
Pressure-volume-temperature properties of amorphous polymers: empirical and theoretical predictions

Equation of state data on several amorphous polymers, viz., polystyrene, poly(methyl methacrylate) and poly(vinyl chloride) are considered from two points of view. First in terms of the empiricalTait equation applied to the liquid as well as the glassy state with a single disposable and temperature dependent parameter. These results supersede and extend an earlier analysis. Good agreement between independent investigators is obtained for polystyrene. Secondly, the hole theory ofSimha- Somcynsky is applied to the liquid state of these polymers. The isobar at atmospheric pressure and the compressibility factorpV/T up to pressures of about 2 kbar are analyzed in detail and the numerical values of the characteristic volume (V*), temperature (T*), and pressure (p*) parameters are established. The evaluation of the theoretical expressions requires the numerical solution of a transcendental equation for the hole fraction as a function of the reduced volume and temperature, which arises from the extremum condition on the partition function. At atmospheric pressure, this computation is avoided and the evaluation facilitated by means of a simple and accurate interpolation formula for the theoretical volume-temperature relation. In this manner,V* andT* are readily obtained. A series of theoretical reduced isochores are presented in graphical form, which encompass a change in density of 15% and a temperature range of at least 200 degrees. A single pressure datum then provides an estimate ofp* and thus of the complete equation of state. Finally we note that the reducedTait parameterB, as computed from the theory, exhibits the exponential variation with temperature, observed experimentally.
Genetic activity spectra of some antischistosomal compounds, with particular emphasis on thioxanthenones and benzothiopyranoindazoles.

In this review we note that hycanthone (Etrenol) is mutagenic for bacteriophage, bacteria, yeast, Neurospora, Drosophila, and for mammalian tissue culture cells, and we point out other genetic activities of this thioxanthenone and of related compounds. One alarming genetic activity is the ability of hycanthone to cause transformation of tissue culture cells in vitro in a test designed to detect carcinogens, results that parallel the direct demonstration of carcinogenic activity of hycanthone in the mouse in vivo. These and other results are compatible with the somatic mutation theory of cancer induction. Factors likely to affect the quantitative genetic activity of hycanthone and its congeners are summarized. Attempts are made to weave the more critical experimental evidence into a molecular model that accounts for the genetic activities of this series of compounds. We conclude that hycanthone is a directly acting mutagen that Intercalates into DNA and preferentially alkylotes deoxyguanosine residues via ...
Cross-protection between distantly related spotted fever group rickettsiae

Two excellent C3H/HeN mouse models of spotted fever rickettsioses caused by the distantly related organisms, Rickettsia conorii and Rickettsia australis, were utilized to evaluate the possibility of the stimulation of broad cross-protective immunity. Sublethal infection stimulated complete immunity, that is absence of disease, after challenge with a dose of the heterologous Rickettsia that uniformly killed naive mice. In contrast, heterologous immune sera did not protect mice against a lethal dose (two LD50) of rickettsiae in the mouse toxicity neutralization assay, the standard method for evaluation of rickettsial vaccine potency. These observations suggest that development of a broadly protective vaccine against spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsiae is feasible, and the results indicate that mouse toxicity neutralization is an inappropriate method for evaluation of candidate vaccines.
Feasibility of Continuous Reactive Distillation with Azeotropic Mixtures

By using phase and reaction equilibrium information, the feasibility criteria for single-feed and double-feed reactive distillation systems are derived: When the products are a stable node and an unstable node and a part of the reaction equilibrium curve lies in the same distillation region as the products, both reactive rectifying and reactive stripping sections can feasibly produce pure products in a single-feed column. If one of the products is a saddle and no azeotrope exists between the products, a single-feed column is still feasible, but only with large reaction equilibrium constants. If a saddle product forms a minimum-boiling azeotrope with another product, an entrainer is needed to break this azeotrope in a double-feed column. If both reaction products are saddles, the same double-feed column configuration with an entrainer can produce pure products.
DISSECT: An experiment in infusing computational thinking in K-12 science curricula

This paper summarizes the design and preliminary outcomes from the deployment of the DISSECT (Discovering SciencE through Computational Thinking) project. The project has two primary objectives. On one hand, it aims to revitalize the teaching of traditional K-12 science concepts through the introduction of tools and concepts drawn from the field of computing, enabling the use of interactive and constructive methods to exemplify and explore scientific materials. On the other hand, the project explores how the teaching of sciences could become a vehicle to engage students in the learning of computational thinking, stimulating their interest towards this discipline and providing them with a baseline preparation to facilitate access and success in more formal computer science courses.
Coparenting and nonresident fathers’ involvement with young children after a nonmarital birth

We use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to investigate the association between coparenting quality and nonresident fathers’ involvement with children over the first five years after a nonmarital birth. We find that about one year after a nonmarital birth, 48% of fathers are living away from their child, rising to 56% and then to 63% at three and five years, respectively. Using structural equation models to estimate cross-lagged effects, we find that positive coparenting is a strong predictor of nonresident fathers’ future involvement, whereas fathers’ involvement is only a weak (but significant) predictor of future coparenting quality. The positive effect of coparenting quality on fathers’ involvement is robust across several techniques designed to address unobserved heterogeneity and across different strategies for handling missing data. We conclude that parents’ ability to work together in rearing their common child across households helps keep nonresident fathers connected to their children and that programs aimed at improving parents’ ability to communicate may have benefits for children irrespective of whether the parents’ romantic relationship remains intact.
Prescribed clinician-fit versus as-worn coupler gain in a group of elderly hearing-aid wearers.

This study reports the prescribed, clinician-fit, coupler gain and the user-adjusted, as-worn coupler gain measured in 55 adults ranging in age from 60 to 83 years (M = 72.2 years). All participants were fit with linear, output-limiting compression, Class D circuits in full-concha, in-the-ear (ITE) shells. The NAL-R prescription rationale was used to generate target real-ear insertion gain (REIG) and coupler gain values. The clinician-fit gain was measured when the hearing aid was dispensed initially and was found to be a close match to the prescribed coupler gain. Both clinician-fit and as-worn gain were measured subsequently at approximately 2 weeks, 1 month, 6 months, and 1 year after the initial fitting. As-worn gain was measured as soon as the participant returned to the clinic for one of the follow-up visits by simply removing the hearing aids and placing them in the test chamber without any adjustments in volume control. At each follow-up session, the clinician then inspected the hearing aids, evaluated the instruments electroacoustically, readjusted the volume control to the setting used to match the prescribed gain in the initial fit, and measured the clinician-fit coupler gain once again. Results revealed that, despite the capability of the hearing aid to achieve coupler gain that is a close match to the prescribed gain, these users consistently selected as-worn gain that was generally 6-9 dB below that prescribed by the NAL-R formula. Of this 6-9 dB disparity, however, as much as 3-6 dB could be due to binaural summation effects not taken into consideration in the NAL-R prescriptive formula. In addition, 5.4% of the time, the hearing aids were found to be in less than ideal operating condition when removed for the as-worn gain measurements (e.g., weak or dead battery, cerumen occluding the sound bore, telecoil switch in the incorrect position).