cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of a Medical Student-Led Curriculum on Teen Health Knowledge and Intentions: An Evaluation of the MiHealth Pilot Program.

Introduction Adolescents are often thought of as a healthy population, however, they routinely engage in high-risk behaviors that can lead to health problems. Medical students designed MiHealth, a program in which medical students teach health lessons in the high school classroom to help address these behaviors. Methods A series of six lessons were created and implemented in the classroom for this pilot study focused on sexual health, intimate partner violence, mental health, smoking and marijuana, nutrition, and physical fitness. High school students in grades nine through twelve at a public high school in southeast Michigan receiving the MiHealth curriculum (N=52) or the standard health education curriculum (N=61) were surveyed on health knowledge, attitudes, and intentions before and after the program. Results Six weeks after program completion, high school students who received the MiHealth curriculum scored significantly higher on health knowledge ( P=0.007), and expressed significantly healthier attitudes and intentions toward risk behavior compared to controls (P=0.025). Among individual themes, MiHealth resulted in significant knowledge gains in sexual health ( P=0.001) and mental health (P<0.025), and significantly healthier attitudes regarding sexual health (P=0.047), nutrition (P=0.040), and smoking and marijuana (P=0.012). Conclusions MiHealth demonstrated promising improvements in health knowledge retention and attitude changes in adolescents 6 weeks after program completion. An interactive curriculum targeting key adolescent health topics given by near-peer medical student educators may provide benefits beyond traditional high school health curricula.
Tobacco use: Exploring the beliefs of street food vendors in Delhi, India

Background: Tobacco-use shows a clear and continual increase with decreasing wealth quintiles. Street vendors are an integral part of the Indian economy, offering potpourri of readily available, inexpensive goods or services in public spaces since time immemorial. Aim: The current study explores tobacco-related knowledge, attitude, and behavior among street food vendors in New Delhi. Materials and Methods: An interview-based questionnaire survey was conducted among food vendors, using prevalidated tool. Apart from demography, 15-item assessed knowledge, attitude, and awareness on tobacco use and control for 2 months. Tobacco usage history was assessed on a 9-item checklist for the users. A total of 147 vendors around a tertiary care public hospital in Central Delhi, who agreed to participate in the study constituted the study sample. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. Gender differences for the same were ranked and tested for a significant difference using the Mann–Whitney test. P < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: The majority of the subset of this sample (n = 127) were found to be tobacco users in either forms (smoke, smokeless, or both). Eighty-seven (68.5%) of the vendors reported the initiation of tobacco use between 18–25 years and 61 (48.03%) participants admitted the morning smoke/dip as most difficult to give up. All of them were aware about the harmful systemic effects of tobacco. Around 66% of the study participants were aware of the existing tobacco legislations in relation to minors and public places. Conclusions: In the current study, most of the food vendors, although aware, were found to be tobacco users. This group constitutes as important socially relevant spot that need rigorous monitoring. Further studies need to collect nationwide data and take effective steps in defining these sites as tobacco-free.
Plasma Fibroblast Growth Factor 21 Is Associated With Severity of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in Patients With Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes

CONTEXT The relationship between plasma fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), insulin resistance, and steatohepatitis has not been systematically assessed. OBJECTIVE To determine if higher plasma FGF21 is associated with worse steatohepatitis on liver biopsy in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). DESIGN AND SETTING Cross-sectional study in a university hospital. PATIENTS INTERVENTIONS AND MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Patients with a body mass index >25 (n = 187) underwent: (i) euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp to assess tissue-specific insulin resistance (IR); (ii) liver magnetic resonance spectroscopy for intrahepatic triglyceride quantification, (iii) liver biopsy (if NAFLD present; n = 146); and (iv) fasting plasma FGF21 levels. METHODS AND RESULTS Patients were divided into three groups: (i) No NAFLD (n = 41); (ii) No nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) (patients with isolated steatosis or borderline NASH; n = 52); and (iii) NASH (patients with definite NASH; n = 94). Groups were well-matched for age/sex, prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hemoglobin A1c. During euglycemic hyperinsulinemic insulin clamp, insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue worsened from No NAFLD to NASH (both P < 0.001). Plasma FGF21 levels correlated inversely with insulin sensitivity in adipose tissue (r = -0.17, P = 0.006) and skeletal muscle (r = -0.23, P = 0.007), but not with liver insulin sensitivity. Plasma FGF21 was higher in patients with NASH (453 ± 262 pg/mL) when compared with the No NASH (341 ± 198 pg/mL, P = 0.03) or No NAFLD (325 ± 289 pg/mL, P = 0.02) groups. Plasma FGF21 increased with the severity of necroinflammation (P = 0.02), and most significantly with worse fibrosis (P < 0.001), but not with worsening steatosis (P = 0.60). CONCLUSIONS Plasma FGF21 correlates with severity of steatohepatitis, in particular of fibrosis, in patients with NASH. Measurement of FGF21 may help identify patients at the highest risk of disease progression.
A determination of atmospheric helium, neon, argon, krypton, and xenon solubility concentrations in water and seawater

Abstract We have determined the concentrations of atmospheric helium, neon, argon, krypton , and xenon in distilled water and seawater equilibrated with moist marine air at one atmosphere over a temperature range from near freezing point to approximately 35 °C and a salinity range of zero to roughly 39.5 PSS78. In all, we made 74 sets of noble gas measurements at 34 distinct temperature and salinity combinations. The experiments included 35 replicate pairs of samples drawn from 35 separate equilibrations, which in turn had three pairs of repeat equilibrations run at close to identical temperatures. We fit the results to an eight-parameter function similar to one commonly used to compute solubility equilibrium concentrations of these gases for environmental waters. Based on an estimate of analytical accuracy, reproducibility of the comparison with secondary atmospheric standards, replicate sample reproducibility, and reproducibility of the repeat equilibrations, we estimate this function to predict equilibrium concentrations at a particular temperature and salinity within this range to overall precisions 0.10% or better. This includes the regression statistics associated with interpolation and analytical errors for fitting the 8-parameter smoothing function. There is an overall systematic uncertainty of 0.15% for all gases, based on our confidence in and experience with the integrity and cross-calibration of our air standards over recent years. Because our methods are calibrated using assumed and explicit atmospheric abundances of these noble gases, any subsequent uncertainties in atmospheric abundances cancel out in the determination, particularly when the oceanographic measurements utilize marine air as a primary standard. Furthermore, measurement at ambient atmospheric abundances avoids any potential co-solvency induced biases introduced by using ~1 atm pure noble gases, as has been done in most previous studies. We compare these determinations to those made by others in the past and find modest but significant systematic differences with those results.
From the Mouths of Children: Widening the Scope and Shifting the Focus of Understanding the Relationships Between American Jews and Israel

Scholars have spent considerable effort to uncover and explain the unique ways that contemporary American Jews think and feel about Israel, yet the voices of American Jewish children have been conspicuously absent from most research. American Jewish children—like the adults in their lives—have beliefs, opinions, and thoughts about Israel and its role in American Jewish life. This article makes two distinct yet interrelated arguments about the role of children in research on contemporary American Jews. The first is that children ought to be included in research about American Judaism. Second, the inclusion of children in research both widens the scope and shifts the focus of understanding American Jewish relationships to Israel. Children’s participation in research demonstrates how American Jews develop relationships with Israel over the course of a lifetime. In addition, the methodological approaches that allow for the inclusion of children in research shift the focus of understanding away from a “deficit model” that measures participants’ knowledge and connection against an existing ledger, and towards an “inventory model” that takes stock of participants’ cognitive and emotional warehouses. This shift is essential for understanding what Israel means in the lives of American Jews of all ages.
Assessing ecological risks from atmospheric deposition of nitrogen and sulfur to US forests using epiphytic macrolichens

Critical loads of atmospheric deposition help decision-makers identify levels of air pollution harmful to ecosystem components. But when critical loads are exceeded, how can the accompanying ecological risk be quantified? We use a 90% quantile regression to model relationships between nitrogen and sulfur deposition and epiphytic macrolichens, focusing on responses of concern to managers of US forests: Species richness and abundance and diversity of functional groups with integral ecological roles. Analyses utilized national-scale lichen survey data, sensitivity ratings, and modeled deposition and climate data. We propose 20, 50, and 80% declines in these responses as cut-offs for low, moderate, and high ecological risk from deposition. Critical loads (low risk cut-off) for total species richness, sensitive species richness, forage lichen abundance and cyanolichen abundance, respectively, were 3.5, 3.1, 1.9, and 1.3 kg N and 6.0, 2.5, 2.6, and 2.3 kg S ha−1 yr−1. High environmental risk (80% decline), excluding total species richness, occurred at 14.8, 10.4, and 6.6 kg N and 14.1, 13, and 11 kg S ha−1 yr−1. These risks were further characterized in relation to geography, species of conservation concern, number of species affected, recovery timeframes, climate, and effects on interdependent biota, nutrient cycling, and ecosystem services.
The Vocational Development and Success of Visually Impaired Adolescents

Through an extensive review of the literature, it was found that visually impaired adolescents are not as vocationally immature as has often been suggested. Cultural patterns of exclusion from cert...
Cooking Up Heritage: Culinary Adventures of Peru’s Past

This article examines one recent example of nation-making around food to investigate the ways in which eating and heritage are connected to national imaginaries of fusion and mestizaje in Peru. In ...
Prenatal Treatment of Congenital Cytomegalovirus with Valganciclovir: a Case Report.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common congenital infection and infectious cause of fetal anomaly and neurologic injury. However, treatment strategies for congenital CMV (cCMV) infection during pregnancy remain elusive. We report a case of hydrops fetalis secondary to cCMV infection with minimal sequelae after maternal and subsequent neonatal treatment with valganciclovir.
A Comparison of Argument Quality and Students' Conceptions of Data and Evidence for Undergraduates Experiencing Two Types of Laboratory Instruction.

This study focuses on how the quality of students’ arguments and their conceptions of data and evidence change as a result of experiencing two types of laboratory courses, one employing a scripted inquiry approach and the other employing argument-driven inquiry. The analysis explores the connections between students’ conceptions of data and evidence and how the development of those conceptions may be influenced by the nature of the instruction they received, and further explores the connections between students’ conceptions of data and evidence and how those ideas manifest in the changes in students’ arguments related to socioscientific issues (SSI). Results indicate that students experiencing argument-driven inquiry generated higher quality SSI arguments postintervention when compared to the scripted inquiry group. Additionally, the students’ conceptions of data shifted toward more empirical and scientific notions of data being generated through systemic investigation. Students’ conceptions of evidence were influenced by the instruction they received, with students in the argument-driven inquiry group developing more nuanced descriptions of evidence as being integral to supporting claims and arguments. Implications related to laboratory instruction and supporting students’ development of science literacy are discussed.
Change in Strategies to Enhance Student Engagement during the Spring 2020 COVID-19 Shutdown in a Nonmajor Chemistry Class

A case study of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact in a nonmajor chemistry class is presented. The prepandemic student engagement strategy focused on student identity within the microcommunity of the f...
Improved biomedical word embeddings in the transformer era.

Abstract Background: Recent natural language processing (NLP) research is dominated by neural network methods that employ word embeddings as basic building blocks. Pre-training with neural methods that capture local and global distributional properties (e.g., skip-gram, GLoVE) using free text corpora is often used to embed both words and concepts. Pre-trained embeddings are typically leveraged in downstream tasks using various neural architectures that are designed to optimize task-specific objectives that might further tune such embeddings. Objective: Despite advances in contextualized language model based embeddings, static word embeddings still form an essential starting point in BioNLP research and applications. They are useful in low resource settings and in lexical semantics studies. Our main goal is to build improved biomedical word embeddings and make them publicly available for downstream applications. Methods: We jointly learn word and concept embeddings by first using the skip-gram method and further fine-tuning them with correlational information manifesting in co-occurring Medical Subject Heading (MeSH) concepts in biomedical citations. This fine-tuning is accomplished with the transformer-based BERT architecture in the two-sentence input mode with a classification objective that captures MeSH pair co-occurrence. We conduct evaluations of these tuned static embeddings using multiple datasets for word relatedness developed by previous efforts. Results: Both in qualitative and quantitative evaluations we demonstrate that our methods produce improved biomedical embeddings in comparison with other static embedding efforts. Without selectively culling concepts and terms (as was pursued by previous efforts), we believe we offer the most exhaustive evaluation of biomedical embeddings to date with clear performance improvements across the board. Conclusion: We repurposed a transformer architecture (typically used to generate dynamic embeddings) to improve static biomedical word embeddings using concept correlations. We provide our code and embeddings for public use for downstream applications and research endeavors: https://github.com/bionlproc/BERT-CRel-Embeddings .
OG-RADL: overall performance-based resource-aware dynamic load-balancer for deadline constrained Cloud tasks

Cloud computing is a scalable computing paradigm that provides computing services to users over the Internet. To achieve high user satisfaction and improve the performance of the Cloud, a balanced distribution of users tasks plays a vital role. In the literature, a number of task scheduling and load-balancing schemes have been proposed. However, the majority of these scheduling heuristics focus on a single evaluation parameter (i.e., makespan or resource utilization, etc.) as a scheduling objective. Improving one parameter may not guarantee an increase in the overall performance of the Cloud. There is a need to have such algorithms that focus on improving the overall performance of the Cloud by taking into account multiple evaluation parameters. In this paper, an Overall Performance-based Resource-aware Dynamic Load-balancer (OG-RADL) for deadline constrained Cloud tasks is proposed. OG-RADL has the ability to distribute the workload of independent and compute-intensive tasks according to the resource computation capability at run time. Moreover, a novel normalization technique is proposed that overcome the limitations of existing normalization techniques. The OG-RADL enhance load balancing, support deadline constrained tasks, and improve the overall performance gain of the Cloud. The experimental result shows that the proposed approach OG-RADL outperforms as compared to existing task scheduling algorithms named DLBA, DC-DLBA, Dy-MaxMin, RALBA, PSSELB, and MODE in terms of the overall performance of the Cloud.
Practising Powerful Geographical Knowledge to Understand Interdependence

This chapter focuses on the question of how undergraduate geography students in American universities can better acquire disciplinary knowledge in geography. There is a need not only to guide students with specific teaching strategies to acquire disciplinary knowledge, but also provide them the necessary tools to recontextualise knowledge and develop powerful knowledge. This study is on the instructional discourse in relation to pedagogic practices. The instructional discourse related to pedagogic practices requires conformation when the center of knowledge is the study of the world. Given the nature of lower-division courses in geography, such as World Geography, we can expect increasing variation of the instructional discourse. A practical experience was designed to measure the level of assimilation of the subject knowledge once the students completed a World Geography course. The experience was conducted by selecting geographical problems that required analysis with meta-concepts and other associated concepts. The study was projected to verify if the students would be able to think beyond the limit of their former experience obtained during the development of the course. Eventually, it was an observation about the exercise of powerful geography knowledge and their ability to see interdependence.
Active Multi-View Object Recognition and Change Detection

In many systems, especially in robotic systems, active reasoning and decision making is essential for a successful deployment. The goal of active reasoning is to choose subsequent actions with the highest utility to maximally increase the reward gained by executing the new actions. As a result, this can improve system performance drastically while at the same time decreasing computation time. In general, every multi-action system can benefit this way, but the benefits become more apparent when the system has minimal computational power and only a limited amount of operation time available. This is typically the case for resource-constrained mobile robots such as quadcopters. With regard to single-view object recognition methods, many have been developed over the years, but despite steady improvements, no perfect system has yet been found. Many of the developed systems have complex and computationally expensive feature representations, making them difficult to use on a robotic system with limited computational power. Feature representation is in particular hard, because we need suitable features that generalize well across different object categories but remain expressive enough for accurate object classification. Moreover, especially single-view object recognition is affected by object ambiguity, i.e., two objects which look very similar are hard to tell apart. To overcome those difficulties, we propose a multi-view Bayesian framework that performs active view planning [1] and online feature selection [2]. Furthermore, we show how this multi-view recognition system can be used for object change detection. Given a prior map of the environment, the task is to determine whether objects in the environment have changed. This can either mean that the object has changed completely (i.e., it belongs to a different object class), or the object has changed its orientation only (i.e., it belongs to the same class but its rotation differs in yaw). We extensively evaluate our active reasoning system for the two perception tasks of object recognition and object change detection on a large RGB-D dataset [3] and show first preliminary results from deploying the system on a quadcopter robot.
Modern prejudice: Subtle, but unconscious? The role of Bias Awareness in Whites' perceptions of personal and others' biases

Abstract Three studies introduced the construct of bias awareness and examined its effect on Whites' responses to evidence of personal and others' racial biases. Contemporary theories of prejudice suggest that awareness of personal bias is a critical step in reducing one's prejudice and discrimination. When bias is a cloaked in a way that people do not recognize, they are likely to continue to perpetuate their biased behaviors and unlikely to reduce their negative attitudes. However, when people become aware of their biases, they often adjust their attitudes and behavior to be more egalitarian. The present research investigated (a) individual differences in Whites' awareness of their propensity to express subtly biased behavior against Blacks in interracial contexts (Study 1), (b) the convergent and discriminant validity of a new individual difference measure of bias awareness (Studies 1, 2, and 3), (c) whether this measure uniquely predicts Whites' responses to a difficult race-related context—receiving feedback that they are high in implicit bias from an Implicit Association Test (R-IAT; Study 2), and (d) whether this measure uniquely predicts Whites' perceptions of others' racial bias, particularly subtle expressions (Study 3). Results revealed that the Bias Awareness Scale measures a distinct construct that uniquely predicts Whites' emotional and behavioral responses to information about their own bias, and their ability to detect bias in others.
Specificity of Synaptic Growth in Brain: Remodeling Induced by Kainic Acid Lesions

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the basic changes that take place in the hippocampus following select lesions and examines some of the basic mechanisms. It presents a data discussion to illustrate that highly selective synaptic growth can occur in the adult brain. Kainic acid has been used to trigger synaptic growth. Kainic acid kills certain neurons in the hippocampus when injected at low concentrations into the lateral ventricle. The CA3 subfield is most sensitive to the cytotoxic action followed by CA4, CA1, and subiculum. The CA2 field and dentate gyrus are particularly resistant to kainic acid. The lesions produced by kainic acid in rats resemble, in many respects, the types of lesions produced in man because of epilepsy, senile dementia, and stroke. In man, the Somner sector and the end folium are particularly vulnerable to cell loss. The circuits that recover after intrinsic hippocampal cell loss depend not only on the cell group lost but also on the extent of their loss. Particular fibers grow only in particular areas. In the commissural-associational zone of the dentate gyrus, fibers react sequentially as a function of the extent of denervation. Growth is always selective and hierarchical.
Robust Control with an H 2 Performance Objective

This paper considers the problem of designing robust controllers with an H 2 performance objective. A modified version of ?-synthesis is proposed and compared with two alternative schemes.
Architecture of Warp

The Warp project is a study in high-performance, programmable systolic architectures. Although the feasibility of the concept of systolic computing has long been established, the results have mainly been theoretical in nature, and many lower-level architectural and implementation issues have not been studied and addressed. We believed that these practical issues would not even be exposed, let alone resolved, without implementation and experimentation. We did not just set out to implement a systolic array to perform a specific function, we extended the concept of systolic processing by implementing each processing unit as a programmable, high-performance processor. The tenet of the project is that the theories and results in systolic computing research are applicable also to arrays of processors that are programmable and powerful.
Transducer characterization for Vibrothermography

Vibrothermography, also known as Sonic IR and Thermosonics, is an NDE technique for finding cracks and flaws based on vibration-induced frictional rubbing of unbonded surfaces. The vibration is usually generated by a piezoelectric stack transducer which transduces electrical energy into large amplitude mechanical vibrations. The purpose of this study is to develop an understanding of the excitation process for vibrothermography so that optimal parameters and transducers for the testing can be selected. The amplitude and impedance transfer characteristics of the transducer system control the vibration of the sample. Within a linear contact (no tip chatter) model, the interaction between the transducer system and the specimen can be characterized using the theory of linear time-invariant (LTI) systems and electro-mechanical Norton equivalence. This work presents quantitative measurements of the performance of piezoelectric stack transducers in a vibrothermography excitation system and the effect of transducer performance and specimen characteristics on the induced vibration in the specimen. We show that with compliant coupling, the specimen vibration is directly proportional to the transducer open circuit velocity and that the system resonances generated because of metal-metal contact of specimen and transducer are disconnected by adding a couplant between specimen and transducer. We then give suggestions for transducer and couplant selection for vibrothermography and suggest methods to flatten the velocity spectrum of the transducer. We extend our analysis to high amplitude transducer behavior and elaborate on the effect of power amplifier saturation on the transducer behavior. The saturation effect negates the effect of adding an external inductance to flatten the transducer velocity spectrum. Finally, preliminary results are reported on the effect of transducer degradation phenomenon.
The Investment Returns of Nonprofit Organizations, Part II

Nonprofit charities and foundations hold endowments and many other kinds of investments. How do these investments perform? Some high-profile nonprofit endowments, including those of colleges and universities, have been studied previously. This study is the first, to our knowledge, that looks at a large number of the diverse types of nonprofits. We investigate the determinants of investment performance using a large panel data set culled from the 990 forms that nonprofits must file annually with the IRS. In this first part of our article, we discuss our approach and the challenges of using these data to infer investment returns. The IRS data, though less than perfect, yield valuable measures of the investment returns of nonprofits. They reveal that some charities consistently do better in their investment returns than do others.
Value in microsurgery of the ultrapulse carbon dioxide laser for rapid skin deepithelialization.

Although laser technology continues to evolve, its role in microsurgery is limited to minor adjunctive applications including skin deepithelialization. In the past, continuous-wave carbon dioxide (CO(2)) lasers were the best for performing skin deepithelialization. The newer ultrapulse CO(2) lasers also show promise in this regard. They have become readily available and are very popular for aesthetic skin resurfacing. Their use for skin deepithelialization is an essential part of microsurgical procedures for free flap contouring, flap onlay at the recipient site, and revision of skin grafted free flap donor sites. Complications are essentially nonexistent and competency in using this modality is straightforward for any microsurgeon.
Mapping the Domains of the Interaction of the Vitamin D Receptor and Steroid Receptor Coactivator-1

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) binds to the vitamin D response element (VDRE) and mediates the effects of the biologically active form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3[ 1,25-(OH)2D3], on gene expression. The VDR binds to the VDRE as a heterodimeric complex with retinoid X receptor. In the present study, we have used a yeast two-hybrid system to clone complementary DNA that codes for VDR-interacting protein(s). We found that the human steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1) interacts with the VDR in a ligand-dependent manner, as demonstrated by β-galactosidase production. The interaction of the VDR and the SRC-1 takes place at physiological concentrations of 1,25(OH)2D3. A 48.2-fold stimulation of β-galactosidase activity was observed in the presence of 10−10 m 1,25-(OH)2D3. In addition, a direct interaction between the ligand-activated glutathione-S-transferase-VDR and 35S-labeled SRC-1 was observed in vitro. Deletion-mutation analysis of the VDR established that the ligand-dependent activation domain ...
INQUIRING INTO MY SCIENCE TEACHING THROUGH ACTION RESEARCH: A CASE STUDY ON ONE PRE-SERVICE TEACHER’S INQUIRY-BASED SCIENCE TEACHING AND SELF-EFFICACY

This case study reports the effects of a cooperative learning field experience on a pre-service teacher’s views of inquiry-based science and her science teaching self-efficacy. Framed by an action research model, this study examined (a) the pre-service teacher’s developing understanding of inquiry-based science teaching and learning throughout the planning and implementation phases of the field experience and (b) the pre-service teacher’s inquiry-based science teaching self-efficacy beliefs prior to and after the field experience. The pre-service teacher’s self-reflections before and after the field experience, video reflections, and results from the Personal Science Teaching Efficacy, a subscale on the Science Teaching Expectancy Belief Instrument-form B, were analyzed in this study. The findings revealed that (a) the pre-service teacher’s understanding of inquiry-based science teaching and learning was developed and enhanced through the planning and teaching phases of the field experience and (b) the pre-service teacher’s science teaching self-efficacy beliefs were improved as a result of a stronger appreciation and understanding of inquiry-based science teaching and learning. Further, the significance of this study suggests the use of cooperative inquiry-based field experiences and pre-service teacher action research by teacher education programs as means to deepening understanding of inquiry-based science instruction and increasing self-efficacy for such teaching.
Municipal institutional strengthening and donor coordination: The case of Ecuador

This article analyses the circumstances surrounding municipal institutional reforms in Ecuador which were set in motion through, on the one hand, a link established by external contributors between the financing of infrastructure projects at the local level, and institutional reforms on the other. Credit was only provided to municipalities on the understanding that attempts were made by them to improve their capacity to provide urban services. This approach has enjoyed considerable success to date.
Reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes with nutrition and physical activity - efficacy and implementation of lifestyle interventions in Finland

Background The prevalence of type 2 diabetes has been increasing in Finland, in parallel with a gradual increase in overweight and obesity during the past decades. The expanding prevalence of type 2 diabetes brings along complications, most importantly CVD. Therefore, it is extremely important to implement activities to prevent type 2 diabetes. Objective In the present paper, the clinical evidence for the prevention of type 2 diabetes is presented with the Finnish diabetes prevention study. In addition, the paper discusses the practical implementation of prevention of type 2 diabetes using three different types of prevention programmes as examples: FIN-D2D, including risk-screening and repeated consultation in primary health-care; FINNAIR, a workplace-targeted intervention project involving airline employees; and the good ageing in Lahti region (GOAL) programme, a community-based prevention programme. Conclusions FIN-D2D, the FINNAIR project and the GOAL programme have shown that screening for type 2 diabetes risk and implementing large-scale lifestyle intervention in primary health-care are feasible. However, the crucial questions still are whether it is possible to replicate the results concerning effectiveness of lifestyle intervention in primary and occupational health-care systems. Furthermore, it remains to be shown whether it is possible to achieve the same results in different health-care settings, cultures, regions and age groups, especially in adolescents and young adults among whom the increase in the incidence has been the highest. In addition, the importance of co-operation among all sections of society, citizens' awareness of healthy lifestyles and the social inequalities in health must be emphasised because the diabetes epidemic cannot be solved only by concentrating on preventive actions carried out by health-care systems.
Three transmission-line transformers for phase retrieval from scalar reflection coefficients

In this paper, a new approach to obtain the phase angle of an unknown complex load using scalar reflection coefficients is presented. This approach is based on measuring the scalar reflection coefficient using three different transmission-line transformers. The relation between the two scalar reflection coefficients is presented as a nonlinear equation of the unknown phase angle. The value of the unknown phase angle represents a common root of these nonlinear phase equations. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 40: 231–235, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.11338
Near-real-time video systems for rangeland assessment.

Abstract This paper reviews the current capability of video imagery for rangeland management assessment. Three video systems are described and evaluated: 1) a black-and-white four-band system with visible/near-infrared (0.4-1.1 μm) sensitivity, 2) a selectable three-band color system, and 3) a black-and-white monoband system with midinfrared (1.45-2.0 μm) sensitivity. These systems have provided near-real-time imagery that could be useful to detect differences among many variables such as plant species, phytomass levels, fertilized and drought-stressed grass, heavy grazing, and burned areas. The computer compatibility of video imagery also has been demonstrated. Finally, results have shown that video systems may have considerable application to integrate the above-listed variables for rangeland resource management assessment.
Physical Environmental Factors Contributing to Recurring Hypoxia in the New York Bight

Abstract Dissolved oxygen data obtained for the nearshore areas of the New York Bight during 1974–1983 were analyzed statistically for relationships between physical environmental factors and bottom dissolved oxygen concentrations ([DO]). A multiple linear regression expression was developed as an estimator for bottom [DO] both as a function of the depth of the pycnocline and as an index of wind energy and its persistence, This latter index is called the quiescence–constancy (QC) index. The estimator for [DO] explained 86% of the variability over the decade of analysis. The utility of the estimator was examined in the context of several years not included in the analysis. In general, we found that deep pycnoclines and strong persistent southerly to southwesterly winds were closely correlated with low bottom [DO] averaged over the region. Shallow pycnoclines and strong but variable winds were associated with higher values of regionally averaged bottom [DO].
Noncontact optoacoustic monitoring of flame temperature profiles

The first known totally noncontact optoacoustic measurement in a flame, using a pulsed laser to excite an acoustic pulse and observing the transient deflections of cw probe beams to detect the acoustic propagation, is described. All laser beams are coplanar, parallel, suitably displaced, and focused inside the flame. Such laser-based ultrasonic measurements provide a new way to map out temperature and flow profiles in flames or other hostile environments.
Bracing for another decade of deception: the promise of Secondary Brooks Parsimony Analysis

Brooks Parsimony Analysis (BPA) and secondary Brooks Parsimony Analysis (SBPA) are found to be lacking an optimality criterion and, more generally, to be lacking the coherence of a research program. Published descriptions of the methodology are self-contradictory regarding whether they can be used on a priori specified host trees and whether they can be used in host–parasite cospeciation at all. The application of missing data introduces unacknowledged additional problems. Rules for the a posteriori duplication of entities in secondary BPA and the concatenation of associate codes never are specified. Duplication and concatenation are found to be applied both capriciously and unparsimoniously. Claims that SBPA removes inclusive or-ing from the method are found to be false. The simplest application of the method is found to be superficially unanalytical; others introduce temporal difficulties or defy logical interpretation altogether. © The Willi Hennig Society 2005.
Human carcinoma-associated precursor antigens of the NM blood group system.

Blood group NM specificities occur in healthy, benign and carcinomatous breast glands and those of the gastrointestinal (G.I.) tract, but the precursors in their biosynthesis, T (Thomsen-Friedenreich) and Tn, are found in adenocarcinomata and not in benign or healthy tissues. T- and Tn-antigenic specificities are thus human carcinoma-associated. All humans possess anti-T and anti-Tn antibodies. Patients with breast or G.I. tract carcinoma show statistically significant alteration of anti-T titer levels when compared to patients with benign disease and to healthy controls. Breast carcinoma patients but not healthy people showed cellular immunity to T antigen in vitro and in vivo. Most striking was the delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction, which was positive in over 90% of ductal breast carcinoma patients tested and negative in all presumably healthy individuals. T antigen is readily prepared from healthy human red blood cells in uncontaminated form, and free of HL-A and Au antigens. T antigen and anti-T antibodies may be useful in combating some human adenocarcinomata.
Rotationally Enhanced Exchange of Zeeman Order via Two-Dimensional Switched-Speed Spinning NMR

Abstract A novel two-dimensional magic-angle-spinning NMR experiment for monitoring exchange of Zeeman order between homonuclear dipolar-coupled spins at rotational resonance is described. It is demonstrated that Fourier analysis of the magnetization-transfer trajectories leads to characteric powder lineshapes from which information on the dipolar-coupling and chemical-shielding tensors can be extracted. Under certain circumstances the dipolar interaction (and thereby the internuclear distance) can be estimated directly by visual inspection of the powder patterns. Extension of the mixing sequence to include rapid switching of the spinning speed to an off-rotational resonance condition permits detection of high-resolution signals during the sampling period. Various aspects of the experiment are described theoretically and demonstrated experimentally with spectra of 13 C- 13 C spin pairs in zinc acetate and glycine.
Breaking ties: The significance of choice in symmetrical moral dilemmas

In symmetrical moral dilemmas, the agent faces a choice between two incompatible actions, which are equally justified on the basis of the same value. These cases are generally discounted as spurious or irrelevant on the assumption that, when there is no failure of commensurability, choice between symmetrical requirements is indifferent and can be determined by randomization. Alternatively, this article argues that the appeal to randomization allows the agent to overcome a deliberative impasse, but it does not really resolve the moral dilemma. This is because randomization fails to provide the agent with a genuine reason for action. The argument is based on an account of arbitrariness as a threat to the agent’s authorship on action. By focusing on lack of authorship, rather than on failure of commensurability, we gain the adequate perspective to assess the philosophical significance of moral dilemmas, their impact on the agential integrity, and their consequences for ethical theory.
The formation of carbon monoxide during peroxidation of microsomal lipids.

Abstract The evolution of carbon monoxide during lipid peroxidation has been demonstrated in microsomal membranes. The formation of carbon monoxide was dependent on the peroxidation process, but independent of the initiators (NADPH-ADP·Fe +3 or Ascorbate·Fe +3 ) used. Contrary to published results, the carbon monoxide does not result from heme catabolism. Carbon monoxide was generated during the peroxidation of isolated phospholipids, indicating that carbon monoxide may form directly during the peroxidative degradation of unsaturated fatty acids.
Sequence of a Leishmania major gene encoding an ubiquitin fusion protein

Abstract A gene encoding an ubiquitin-tail protein fusion was isolated from the parasitic protozoan, Leishmania major, and sequenced. The L. major tail protein shares 97, 96, 67, 62, 62 and 61% sequence identity with the tail proteins of Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi, yeast, Dictyostelium discoideum, human, and Arabidopsis thaliana, respectively. The putative ‘zinc finger’ nucleic acid-binding domain found in all ubiquitin ‘tail’ or ‘extension’ proteins described is also conserved in the L. major sequence. The upstream sequence indicated that this gene is not located at the end of a polyubiquitin sequence.
Lack of stimulation of phasic LH release by catechol estrogens in the rat

Abstract The 2-hydroxylated metabolites of estrone (E1) and estradiol (E2) were tested for their ability to induce an increase in the concentration of LH in the serum of the prepuberal male or female rat. Neither catechol estrogen was capable of inducing increases in the concentration of LH in the serum of rats of either sex, but E1 and E2 induced a surge in serum LH in the prepuberal female rats. It appears that, despite previous claims, the role that catechol estrogens might play in the control of phasic LH release is negligible.
Household location in a linear multi-center metropolitan area

Abstract The application of monocentric models of residential location to the analysis of metropolitan areas with more than one center of economic activity, produces a distorted view of the spatial distribution of urban variables such as land values, housing prices, etc. This distortion results from the fact that monocentric models tend to underestimate the values of these variables in areas lying between the centers, and yield wider residential areas toward the outskirts of the city. In this paper, a model of household location is developed, which attempts to correct this distortion by simultaneously considering the urban centers during the residential location process.
Anti-MIF activity of serum from a rabbit immunized with human B-lymphoid cell line migration inhibitory factor☆

Abstract Antiserum with reactivity for human B-lymphoid cell line MIF has been developed after multiple injections of a rabbit with material obtained from large quantities of supernatant from the long-term cultured human lymphoid cell line PGLC-33H. The migration inhibitory factor (MIF) for immunization was initially separated by Sephadex G-75 gel filtration and the active fraction between molecular weight markers of 25,700 and 14,300 was further purified by preparative polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The antiserum has no direct cytotoxicity for MIF target cells and will not directly block the effects of active MIF on these cells. Reactivity for MIF was detected by the capacity of immunoglobulins to alter the elution profile of MIF on Sephadex G-75 and to remove MIF activity when active supernatants were exposed to immunoabsorbents prepared with antisera. This reactivity resided in the 50% (NH4)2SO4 precipitates and DEAE-separated IgG fractions of the antiserum but not in the DEAE-separated IgM fraction. Immunoelectrophoresis of the partially purified MIF with diffusion against the antiserum resulted in a unique precipitin arc in the β2 region of the gel. The β2 precipitin showed no cross-reactivity to human transferrin, hemopexin, C ′3 C ′3 c , κ light chain, λ light chain, μ heavy chain, β2-glycoprotein II, β2-glycoprotein II, β2-glycoprotein III, and β2-microglobulin.
Tunable waveguides via photo-oxidation of plasma-polymerized organosilicon films.

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of dimethylsilane and hexamethyldisilane produced thin films with a refractive index of 1.56 ± 0.01 at 633 nm. A decrease in the refractive index of approximately 3% was observed after irradiation with UV light from an ArF laser operating at 193 nm. Lower-intensity UV light from a Hg arc lamp induced a slower and controllable decrease in the refractive index. Top-side prism coupling showed the as-deposited organosilicon films to be multimode at 633 nm and single mode at 1550 nm. A model predicted that 30 s of UV irradiation with the Hg arc lamp would decrease the refractive index of the light-guiding film by approximately 0.01, converting the waveguide into single-mode operation across the spectrum of essential wavelengths for microphotonics. Irradiation followed by further coupling experiments confirmed this tunability. Trimming the refractive index of patternable organosilicon polymeric films presents a method of optimizing the coupling performance of PECVD microphotonic interconnect layers postdeposition.