cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inter-organizational trust and the dynamics of distrust

Early research on inter-organizational trust drew on theories about social ties among individuals, for example, duration of ties and amount of interaction, yet these proved inadequate to explain the diverse arrangements arising in international business. Dyer and Chu's award-winning JIBS paper demonstrated that trust was best predicted by organizational processes that developed positive expectations of predictability, reliability, and competence, not only within national boundaries but also in cross-national relationships. This review of recent trust research building on Dyer and Chu draws attention to six themes: (1) new conceptualizations that explore identity, roles, and rules as foundations of presumptive trust at the organizational level; (2) dynamics of trust and distrust over time, how violations of trust are interpreted, and what affects ease of repair; (3) pendulum swings in inter-organizational relationships, arising from plural governance and alternation between modes, but also resulting in the continuous coexistence of positive and negative states; (4) the impact of intra-organizational conflict and inter-organizational coalitions on the establishment and maintenance of trust; (5) the relative impact of nation-level vs organization-level differences in culture as influences on trust; and (6) whether intermediate modes of exchange in between transactional and relational modes are unstable, transitional hybrids or embody complementarities that yield both value and stability.
THE GENERALIZABILITY OF STUDENT RATINGS OF COURSES: ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

The reliability and validity of course evaluation questionnaires have been extensively examined using classical measurement theory (for a review, see Doyle, 1975). Recently, generalizability theory (Cronbach, Gleser, Nanda, & Rajaratnam, 1972) has been applied to student course/instructor ratings (Kane, Gillmore, & Crooks, 1976; Kane & Brennen, 1977; Gillmore, Kane, & Naccarato, 1978). These applications of generalizability theory are important both for their demonstration of the theory as a useful analytical technique and for their contribution to the analysis of student course/instructor rating data. The purposes of the present study were (1) to provide additional information regarding sources of error in student course/instructor ratings using generalizability theory; and (2) to stress the importance of giving adequate attention to the specification of the universe of admissible observations when generalizability theory is used. With respect to this latter point, the paper examines more closely the results of a previous study (Gillmore et al., 1978) which suggests that judgments about instructors can be made much more dependably than judgments about courses based on student ratings. For assessing the dependability of student ratings using generalizability theory, Kane et al. (1976) outline a procedure that employs a split-plot analysis of variance (ANOVA) design. In this two-facet design n, students are nested within nc classes which are crossed with ni items used in the rating form. Five variance components are estimable from this design: a(c), 2(s:c), a2(i), 2(ci), and a2(e) (see Kane et al., 1976, Table 1). Given the component estimates, the estimated generalizability coefficient is given by
Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia associated with essential mixed cryoglobulinemia

Bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) is an uncommon and underrecognized pathologic finding observed in a variety of syndromes including connective tissue diseases. Although lung involvement in essential mixed cryoglobulinemia (EMC) has been reported, there are no previous reports of BOOP in EMC. We report herein a case of longstanding EMC associated with interstitial and cavitary lung disease histologically consistent with BOOP. A theory of a possible etiologic basis for the development of BOOP in patients with connective tissue diseases is discussed.
Phenotypic Analysis of Pneumococcal Polysaccharide-Specific B Cells

The phenotype of B cells responsible for the production of anti-pneumococcal polysaccharide Ab has been unclear. Although individuals that respond poorly to the 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide (PPS) vaccine, Pneumovax, such as children <2 y, the asplenic, and a subset of common variable immunodeficiency patients, are profoundly deficient or lack IgM memory cells (CD27(+)IgM(+)), they are also deficient in the switched memory (CD27(+)IgM(-)) compartment. Direct characterization of PPS-specific B cells has not been performed. In this study, we labeled PPS14 and PPS23F with fluorescent markers. Fluorescently labeled PPS were used in FACSAria flow cytometry to characterize the phenotype of PPS-specific B cells obtained from 18 young adults pre- and postimmunization with Pneumovax. The labeled PPS were capable of inhibiting binding of Ab to the native PPS. Similarly, the native PPS were able to inhibit binding of PPS-specific B cells in a flow cytometric assay demonstrating specificity and functionality. Phenotypic analysis of unselected B cells, pre- and postimmunization, demonstrated a predominance of naive CD27(-)IgM(+) cells accounting for 61.5% of B cells. Likewise, the PPS-specific B cells obtained preimmunization consisted primarily of naive, CD27(-) B cells, 55.4-63.8%. In contrast, the PPS-specific B cells obtained postimmunization were predominantly IgM memory cells displaying the CD27(+)IgM(+), 54.2% for PPS14 and 66% for PPS23F, significantly higher than both unselected B cells and PPS-specific B cells. There was no significant difference in switched memory B cell populations (CD27(+)IgM(-)) between groups. These results suggest a dominant role of IgM memory cells in the immune response to pneumococcal polysaccharides.
Measurement of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes in serum, plasma, and rumen fluid from sheep☆

Studies involving the consumption, metabolism, and elimination of terpenes by small ruminants consuming terpene-laden shrubs as well as those exploring the potential for natural products as rumen modifiers could benefit from a procedure that measures terpenes in both blood and rumen fluid and that is suitable for either serum or plasma. The objective of this study was to modify an existing procedure for plasma utilizing solid phase extraction/gas chromatography, and extend its use for measurement of structurally diverse mono- and sesquiterpenes in three fluids (serum, plasma, and rumen fluid) from sheep. Generally, terpene recovery was lower from rumen fluid than from serum or plasma, although the extent and direction of differences varied among chemicals. Fourteen terpenes (camphene,-pinene,-terpinene, p-cymene, cis--ocimene, 1,8-cineole,-terpinene, terpinolene, linalool, camphor, longifolene, -caryophyllene, -humulene, and caryophyllene oxide) were recovered from serum at near unity. Recovery from rumen fluid was lower than that for serum or plasma for most terpenes, but eight (p-cymene, 1,8-cineole, cissabinene hydrate, terpinolene, borneol, terpin-4-ol, -terpineol, and caryophyllene oxide) were recovered at near unity. Yet, 15 terpene recoveries were below 0.75 ng/ng (tricyclene, -pinene, camphene, sabinene, -pinene, myrcene, 2-carene, 3-carene, -terpinene, cis--ocimene, limonene, -terpinene, longifolene, -caryophyllene, and -humulene). Oxygenated monoterpenes were typically recovered in greater quantities and hydrocarbon monoterpenes were least effectively recovered with this method. This procedure allows for simultaneous measurement and recovery adjustment of a number of terpenes from serum, plasma, and rumen fluid of sheep. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Regulation of Bcl-2 family proteins, neurotrophic factors, and APP processing in the neurorescue activity of propargylamine

SPECIFIC AIMSThe present study describes new aspects of the prosurvival effects of the propargyl moiety of rasagiline, propargylamine, in a long-term serum deprivation/neurorescue model using human...
A child's power in game-play

This paper is the first of its series that studies the power children have in game-play and examines its implications for teaching and learning. As a start, the paper describes a framework of power based on a synthesis of various types of power underlined in literature. The paper then looks into the power issue through observation and interviews of one twelve-year-old boy's game-play. Several initial findings are delineated. Connections are made between the framework of power and different kinds of power that the twelve-year-old negotiates in playing games. The study sets a foundation for further research in the power issue in education.
Herpes Simplex Virus Hepatitis: Case Report and Review

Hepatitis is an unusual manifestation of herpesvirus infection. Herpes simplex virus hepatitis is a difficult diagnosis to establish, and the infection is often fatal. We report one case of herpes simplex virus hepatitis and review 51 cases in the literature. Impaired immunity resulting from pregnancy, malignancy, immunosuppression, or inhalational anesthetics may be predisposing factors. Fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, coagulopathy, and a marked rise in serum transaminase levels are invariably present. Liver biopsy is the procedure of choice for diagnosis. The liver appears mottled and has a minimal inflammatory response. Mortality rates associated with herpes simplex virus hepatitis are high, and early diagnosis and treatment with acyclovir or vidarabine may produce a favorable outcome.
On the imaging of fractal surfaces

An analysis is presented of the imaging of surfaces modeled by fractal Brownian elevation functions of the sort used in computer graphics. It is shown that, if Lambertian reflectance modest surface slopes and the absence of occlusions and self shadowing are assumed, a fractal surface with Fourier power spectrum proportional to f/sup beta / produces an image with power spectrum proportional to f/sup 2- beta /; here, f is the spatial frequency and beta is related to the fractional dimension value. This allows one to use the spectral falloff of the images to predict the fractal dimension of the surface. >
Homogeneity of Two Straight Lines: Equivalence Approach Using Fitted Regressions

The paper examines the homogeneity of a pair of straight lines, regarded as the expected values of two different linear regressions, from an equivalence point of view. This seems more appropriate than the usual testing of the null hypothesis of homogeneity when the aim is to establish that the lines are close to homogeneous. Upper confidence bounds on the maximum difference between the lines are based on the usual least squares regression estimators, assuming normal distributions. These bounds are constructed for fixed points, or over a fixed interval, and it is concluded that the lines are 1-homogeneous if the bounds are not greater than 1: Also, intervals are constructed over which the lines are concluded to be 1-homogeneous.
Quality of service profiling

Many computations exhibit a trade off between execution time and quality of service. A video encoder, for example, can often encode frames more quickly if it is given the freedom to produce slightly lower quality video. A developer attempting to optimize such computations must navigate a complex trade-off space to find optimizations that appropriately balance quality of service and performance. We present a new quality of service profiler that is designed to help developers identify promising optimization opportunities in such computations. In contrast to standard profilers, which simply identify time-consuming parts of the computation, a quality of service profiler is designed to identify subcomputations that can be replaced with new (and potentially less accurate) subcomputations that deliver significantly increased performance in return for acceptably small quality of service losses. Our quality of service profiler uses loop perforation (which transforms loops to perform fewer iterations than the original loop) to obtain implementations that occupy different points in the performance/quality of service trade-off space. The rationale is that optimizable computations often contain loops that perform extra iterations, and that removing iterations, then observing the resulting effect on the quality of service, is an effective way to identify such optimizable subcomputations. Our experimental results from applying our implemented quality of service profiler to a challenging set of benchmark applications show that it can enable developers to identify promising optimization opportunities and deliver successful optimizations that substantially increase the performance with only small quality of service losses.
Eikonal version of the Feynman diagram approach to acousto-optics. I. Cylindrical sound-wave fronts

By application of eikonal methods to Feynman diagrams the existence of local independent interaction points is rigorously proved, and closed-form expressions are derived for scattering into any order. The results are in good agreement with numerical simulations.
PNSOFT: a menu-driven software package for Petri-net modeling and analysis

A discussion is presented of PNSOFT, a user-friendly, menu-driven software package for Petri-net modeling and analysis of real-time systems. It aids in the design, management and analysis of Petri-net models. PNSOFT runs in an automated programming environment that provides both a graphical and a matrix interface for the creation and modification of Petri-net models in different environments. The proposed software package is written in the C programming language and is efficient with respect to both time and space. It can easily be upgraded to perform a variety of other functions. The data structures created by PNSOFT's editing facilities can be used by other application programs. Various functions and programs used for analytical operations can be directly accessed by the user, using a menu-driven interface, at different levels. >
The Foster Care System Looking Forward: The Growing Fiscal and Policy Rationale for Elimination of the 'AFDC Look-Back'

In 1996, when Congress repealed the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, it failed to amend the federal foster care program (Title IV-E) to remove the existing link between the AFDC income eligibility provision and federal reimbursements to states for foster care and other child welfare expenditures. Congress’s failure to adjust this standard to account for inflation has caused the number of families eligible for federal foster care funds to decline precipitously over time. As a result, fewer children and their families have access to much needed preventative services as states, seeking to balance their budgets, divert funding from these services to pay for increasing out-of-home placement costs. Furthermore, cumbersome income eligibility assessments required under Title IV-E are administratively costly, directing still more funds away from needy families. Despite extensive lobbying and the promulgation of numerous proposals to remove the problematic link, Congress has failed to act. This note argues that the federal government should share in the cost of maintaining all foster children, not only those labeled “poor enough” by an archaic and irrelevant standard.
Environmentally Aggravated Fatigue Cracking of Zircaloy-2

The fatigue crack propagation behavior of Zircaloy-2 subjected to various environmental conditions was examined within the framework of linear elastic fracture mechanics. It was found that the fati...
Facile Designing of Poly(vinyl alcohol-g-acrylonitrile)-Supported Flexible Graphene Films

Graphene has attracted considerable interest over recent years due to its good electrical and mechanical properties. In the present study, a safe and facile method has been adopted for the preparation of reduced graphene oxide solution and its subsequent homogeneous dispersion into the poly(vinyl alcohol-g-acrylonitrile) film prepared by in situ free radical polymerization method. The prepared polymer-supported graphene films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy techniques.
625 Predictors of admission in patients presenting to the emergency department with urinary tract infection

Purpose Previous studies examining the management of urinary tract infections (UTI) showed marked variability in the economical burden of care, with a tenfold increase in costs when patients require admission to the hospital. We sought to examine the patient and emergency department (ED) characteristics associated with hospitalization in patients presenting to the ED with UTI.
POSSIM: Parameterizing Complete Second-Order Polarizable Force Field for Proteins.

Previously, we reported development of a fast polarizable force field and software named POSSIM (POlarizable Simulations with Second order Interaction Model). The second-order approximation permits the speed up of the polarizable component of the calculations by ca. an order of magnitude. We have now expanded the POSSIM framework to include a complete polarizable force field for proteins. Most of the parameter fitting was done to high-level quantum mechanical data. Conformational geometries and energies for dipeptides have been reproduced within average errors of ca. 0.5 kcal/mol for energies of the conformers (for the electrostatically neutral residues) and 9.7° for key dihedral angles. We have also validated this force field by running Monte Carlo simulations of collagen-like proteins in water. The resulting geometries were within 0.94 A root-mean-square deviation (RMSD) from the experimental data. We have performed additional validation by studying conformational properties of three oligopeptides relevant in the context of N-glycoprotein secondary structure. These systems have been previously studied with combined experimental and computational methods, and both POSSIM and benchmark OPLS-AA simulations that we carried out produced geometries within ca. 0.9 A RMSD of the literature structures. Thus, the performance of POSSIM in reproducing the structures is comparable with that of the widely used OPLS-AA force field. Furthermore, our fitting of the force field parameters for peptides and proteins has been streamlined compared with the previous generation of the complete polarizable force field and relied more on transferability of parameters for nonbonded interactions (including the electrostatic component). The resulting deviations from the quantum mechanical data are similar to those achieved with the previous generation; thus, the technique is robust, and the parameters are transferable. At the same time, the number of parameters used in this work was noticeably smaller than that of the previous generation of our complete polarizable force field for proteins; thus, the transferability of this set can be expected to be greater, and the danger of force field fitting artifacts is lower. Therefore, we believe that this force field can be successfully applied in a wide variety of applications to proteins and protein-ligand complexes.
Research for therapy of simple intestinal obstruction by combining traditional medicine with modern medicine

[Objective] To reduce the operation rate of the patients who suffered from the intestinal obstruction. [Methods] It has been analysed that the 48 patients suffering from the simple intesinal obstruction who were treated with the modern and the traditional medicine. [Result] In treated group, percent 83.3 of the cases have gotten the intesinal unobstruction, but in the Contrasting group, only percent 55. [Conclusions] It can efficiently reduce the operation rate of the patients with the intestinal obstruction to apply the way of combining the traditional medicine with the modern treating the intestinal obstruction on the basis of observing the intestinal infarction.
Opinion dynamics in multi-agent systems with binary decision exchanges

Opinion dynamics in social networks has been widely studied in recent years, mostly by considering exchanges of opinions among neighboring agents. This paper addresses a scenario where the agents make decisions repeatedly on two hypotheses and where agents only exchange decisions. Motivated by the Bayesian models in the literature of human cognition, we model this learning procedure by the Bayes' rule. The social belief of each agent is defined to be the posterior of one of the hypotheses conditioned on the information it obtained from the society. We show that under certain conditions, once the social belief evolves to some region, the agent will refuse to change its belief. We demonstrate the asymptotical properties of the proposed model by computer simulations.
Transitive and periphrastic sentences affect memory for simple causal scenes

Can linguistic structures influence how people perceive and remember causal events? Using a change-detection method, we presented participants with direct causal scenes paired with either transitive (He stretched the toy) or periphrastic sentences (He made the toy stretch.) Participants then viewed movies with changes to the manner of action (stretching the toy with palms up vs. down), the result (stretching it a shorter vs. longer distance), or no change. Participants judged whether the two movies were identical. Reading periphrastic sentences made people more likely to notice a change in manner than a change in result. Reading transitive sentences had the reverse effect – participants were more likely to notice changes in result. This work provides an important advance in our understanding of how rich conceptual representations map into the grammatical structures of language. We discuss how this novel method can provide insight into the nonlinguistic representations recruited by particular sentence structures.
Syncope: initial evaluation and prognosis.

Although syncope often is benign, it may have a serious underlying cause. An important question for primary care or emergency department physicians is whether the patient can be evaluated safely in the outpatient setting.
An incremental fitness function for partitioning parallel tasks

We describe a novel GA approach to partition programs to be executed on a parallel system. Two unique features distinguish this GA from traditional GA programs. First, this GA uses a dynamically incremental fitness function which starts out rewarding for simpler goals, gradually increasing the difficulty of the desired fitness values or goals until a full solution is found. Second, this GA uses a flexible representation style which allows the GA itself more control over both the structure and the value of the evolved solutions.
Work-Up of Abdominal Pain in the Gastric Bypass and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Patient

Acute abdomen is the primary complaint of morbidly obese patients who visit the emergency room or require readmission following gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy. Physician who deals with this specific situation should develop basic anatomic, clinical, and surgical understanding of these common bariatric operations. Most of intra-abdominal complications after bariatric surgery differ from standard descriptions in the non-obese patient. Furthermore, after primary care and resuscitation, a consultation with a bariatric surgeon should be obtained early during the course of the evaluation. An understanding of each bariatric procedure and its potential complications is essential to reveal the corrected diagnosis with achieve management.
Informative ISSR Markers Help Identify Genetically Distinct Accessions of Oryza rufipogon in Yield Improvement

Abstract Inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) polymorphism was used to determine genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships in 90 genotypes of wild and cultivated species of Oryza from different geographical regions of the world. In all the 17 primers used in ISSR-PCR, a total of 11 464 bands were amplified at 253 band positions/loci. The primer UBC-809 amplified the maximum bands (1 059) at 21 band positions. UBC-810 and UBC-835 amplified the minimum of 391 bands each at 7 and 14 band positions, respectively. The mean polymorphism information content ranged from 0.44 to 0.84 and resolving power ranged from 8.69 to 23.53. Un-weighted pair group method with arithmetic mean dendrogram and population structure based on the 17 primers separated all genotypes into 4 major clusters with a genetic similarity of 53%–100%. The first two clusters consisted of 30 O. rufipogon accessions each. In the third cluster, O. nivara and O. longistaminata grouped as one sub-cluster and all other O. nivara accessions and cultivars grouped as another sub-cluster. The fourth cluster had only five O. rufipogon accessions which can be a source of new genes. Four sub-populations were identified within O. rufipogon and two sub-populations within O. nivara at K = 7. A subset of six primers with high resolving power values were the most informative and grouped all genotypes almost similarly as the 17 primers did. Use of these six highly informative primers in ISSR-PCR is a cost effective and robust method for assessing genetic diversity in large germplasm collections of wild rice species.
Integrated platform for motor stator sound power determination

This paper presents a unique approach for integrating the electromagnetic forces of a motor with the sound pressure level radiated from its stator frame. In addition, the effects of the inverter's pulse-width modulation (PWM) carrier frequency on the level of radiated noise are analysed. Four ANSYS modules, namely, Simplorer, Maxwell, Mechanical, and Acoustics, are used to develop the control circuit, to calculate the electromagnetic forces of the motor, to simulate the mechanical structure of the stator frame, and, finally, to predict the radiated noise. A Prius 2004 internal permanent magnet motor was selected for the study due to the availability of this motor's design details. An optimum PWM frequency was identified and a trap filter was designed for the noise reduction. A simple experiment setup was built to validate the correlation of the PWM switching frequency with the motor's radiated noise.
Comparative Perspectives: An Overview of Seven Educational Contexts

The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the book and its intended purposes. We first describe the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP), its underlying theoretical framework, the research methodologies employed, the project’s limitations, and how analyses of the project’s data and findings evolved from the first phase of the study to its current focus. Next we describe briefly the educational contexts of the seven nations from which the cases for this book were drawn—Australia , Cyprus , Denmark , England , Norway , Sweden, and the United States, focusing specifically on key economic, social, and cultural factors, such as demographic diversity, that distinguish one setting from another. Finally, we explain why leadership for organizational learning and capacity building , instructional leadership, and culturally responsive leadership practices were selected for analysis in this book. We conclude by discussing the implications of these three issues for improving the preparation of future school leaders.
Laparoscopic Exploration for Pediatric Chronic Abdominal Pain

Chronic abdominal pain typically refers to abdominal pain with no obvious, organic cause with a duration of greater than 2 weeks. Laparoscopic surgery may be indicated in the evaluation of chronic abdominal pain when other causes have been ruled out.
Do Financial Analysts Generate Value-Relevant Interpretive Information from 10-K Filings?

Many papers in the academic and practitioner literature question the value-relevance of sell-side analysts’ interpretation of information in 10-K filings. This paper examines the information content of analysts’ forecast revisions that straddle 10-K filing dates, as compared to the information content of revisions straddling earnings announcement dates. Our evidence suggests that annual earnings forecast accuracy improves more and price discovery takes longer in relation to forecast revisions straddling 10-K filing dates. Our evidence also suggests that analysts underreact to information in 10-K filings to a greater extent than their underreaction to the information released around the time of earnings announcements. These results are consistent with the inference that increased uncertainty created by greater complexity, opacity, and volume of information in 10-K filings causes analysts to react with more restraint than the restraint associated with their reaction to information released around the time of earnings announcements. More generally, our results are consistent with the inference that analysts play an important interpretive role with respect to information in firms’ 10-K filings.
Blunt-body paradox and transient growth on a hypersonic spherical forebody

The laminar-turbulent transition in hypersonic flow on a blunt hemisphere is studied with Navier-Stokes and parabolized stability equations. Maximum transient kinetic energy growth is found close to the sonic point, which could explain the transition observed in wind tunnel and flight experiments.
Impact of Physical Activities on Frailty in Community-Dwelling Older Women.

ABSTRACTAims: The aim of the study was to determine whether increased physical activities (PA) affect frailty for old women, 75 years and older (OO), compared to 60–74 years old (YO). Methods: This cross-sectional study measured 19 frailty indicators (muscle strength and endurance, balance, gait characteristics, and function), using 46 community-dwelling women. PA were divided into three levels by caloric expenditure per week ( 4,000 kcal/week). Results: As PA level increased, a gap (=difference) between OO and YO narrowed for step length and function, but for quadriceps strength and endurance, a gap widened. Conclusions: Frailty progresses with aging but older women who engage in a high level of physical activity (>4,000 kcal/week) can increase mobility and functional capacity, but not for muscle strength and endurance. Starting regular resistance training activities early in the aging process is critical to improve or maintain muscle quality to offset age-related...
Dynamics of Hodgkin Huxley Neuron across chips implemented on a reconfigurable platform

The spiking dynamics from a Hodgkin Huxley neuron, implemented on a reconfigurable and programmable platform is presented here. The similarity between biology and silicon has been exploited to model the ion channels in the neuron, and their voltages and time constants on hardware. We demonstrate the reproducibility of the results by replicating the dynamics across different chips along with a discussion on the methodology of tuning to reproduce similar responses. The reconfigurability enables one to make use of a single primary design to obtain a variety of results. The measurements are taken from the system compiled on a Field Programmable Analog Array (FPAA) fabricated on a 350nm process.
Assessment of Bowel End Perfusion After Mesenteric Division: Eye Versus SPY.

Abstract Background Anastomotic complications related to tissue ischemia cause morbidity in gastrointestinal (GI) surgery. Surgeons' standard practice to predict bowel perfusion is inspection of mesenteric perfusion before anastomosing bowel ends. Augmenting this assessment with fluorescent imaging is under study. A standardized system to evaluate this imaging has not yet been developed. This study compared the surgeon's intraoperative assessment to a novel GI-specific imaging analysis method. Materials and methods Forty-nine consecutive patients undergoing open or laparoscopic-assisted bowel resections were enrolled. After mesenteric division, the surgeon marked the site for bowel transection. Near-infrared fluorescence imaging was performed on the marked bowel ends. Imaging analysis identified theoretical transection sites based on the quantification of arterial and microvascular inflow (Perfusion) and venous outflow (Timing). The primary outcome was the measured disparity between the site marked by the surgeon using current standard of care parameters and the imaging-determined site. No clinical outcomes were assessed. Results Seventy-two bowel end segments from 46 patients were analyzed. Disparity was found in 11 of 72 (15%) bowel end segments. In five (7%), the disparity was due to either Perfusion or Timing (single), and in six (8%), due to both Perfusion and Timing (combined). In the single disparity group, the median disparity distance was 2.0 cm by Perfusion and 4.0 cm by Timing, and in the combined group, 3.8 cm by Perfusion and 3.5 cm by Timing. Disparity (either single or combined) was in 25% of colon and 11.5% of small bowel (P = NS). Combined and single disparity had equivalent lengths of disparity distance (P = NS). Conclusions Imaging coupled with this GI-specific analysis provides objective, real-time, and interpretable data of intramural blood supply. A 15% disparity rate from current clinical practice was observed.
Health literate organizations: Are clinical trial sites equipped to recruit minority and limited health literacy patients?

Racial/ethnic minority patients are less likely than non-Latino white patients to participate in cancer clinical trials. A key barrier to participation is limited health literacy which is more common among minorities. At the organizational level, it is important that clinical trials sites become better equipped to recruit minority patients by expanding their organizational health literacy including language competency and outreach efforts. We explored the characteristics of clinical trial sites that are associated with these health literate behaviors.We identified 353 breast clinical trials recruiting participants in 2006 from four states (California, Florida, Illinois, and New York) through the National Cancer Institute Physician Data Query system. From October 2008 to November 2009, we contacted one research team member (RTM) from each site for a telephone survey to assess the site's health literate characteristics.Of 233 RTMs who responded, 93% were female and 89% were US-born. Overall, 48% of sites offered supplementary trial information, 80% offered materials to assist with patient navigation and 45% reported outreach efforts. Lower percentages offered information in other languages while 65% offered professional interpretation services. Sites with >10% limited English proficiency (LEP) patients were more likely than their counterparts to offer consent forms (OR=3.13, 1.36-7.19) and supplementary information about trials in other languages (OR=2.52, 1.15-5.52). Sites with diverse patient populations (>10% Latino) were also more likely than less diverse sites to engage in outreach (OR=1.97, 1.07-3.60), to offer consent forms (OR=2.72, 1.38-5.36), supplementary information about trials (OR=2.58, 1.24-5.36), and materials to improve patient navigation (OR=2.50, 1.22-5.13) in other languages.Efforts to recruit diverse participants were limited. Practice type and diversity of patient population were associated with sites' efforts to accommodate these characteristics, suggesting that sites were responsive to the needs of their patients when diversity was prevalent.
Climate Change and Interactions With Multiple Stressors in Rivers

Abstract Climate change is impacting river networks, many of which are also impacted by current stressors or have been subjected to a legacy of stressors. The most common projections of climate change impacts on rivers involve changes in timing and magnitude of discharge, and increases in extreme events of both peak flows and low flows and in stream temperature. However, model scenarios of the timing, magnitude, and duration of projected changes in precipitation and runoff are highly variable. There is generally a strong agreement that stream temperatures will increase with climate change, but the magnitude of change has a high uncertainty because of the interactions of the drivers of temperature with multiple other factors, including discharge, source of streamflow, and status of riparian vegetation. Direct observations of climate impacts on rivers are challenging to disentangle from the concurrent changes due to multiple factors that affect runoff and water temperature as well. Due to the number of rivers that have changes in land use and riparian vegetation cover, modifications to channel morphology, and increased water extraction and damming, the clear identification of changes to discharge and water temperature that can be attributed only to climate change is limited. The potential outcome of combined stressors might be to amplify or lessen the effects of each separate stressor. Predicting whether interactions among climate change and other stressors will be linear, additive, synergistic, or some other combination remains difficult. Ultimately, the conservation of river ecosystems depends on how well these issues are understood and addressed, as well as on solutions that allow them to coexist with multiple stressors.
Subsoil potassium in central Iowa soils: status and future challenges.

A reevaluation of plant-available K within central Iowa soils is needed, especially if crop residues are harvested for animal feed or cellulosic feedstock. This study evaluated plant-available K concentrations to depths of 120 cm (n = 2433) within soil profiles at 10 experimental sites. Data from 0- to 5-, 5- to 15-, 0- to 15-, 15- to 30-, 30- to 60-, 60- to 90-, and 90- to 120-cm depths were compiled and evaluated. Based on over 400 samples collected from each depth increment below 15 cm, a reference value of 100 mg kg–¹ appears common for central Iowa subsoils. Sixty-four percent of all samples had soil-test K levels below the 120 mg kg–¹ threshold for very low nutrient status for crop production in Iowa. Only 28% of surface soil samples (<15-cm depth) were considered to have at least optimum nutrient status with concentrations greater than 160 mg kg–¹. As K is not an environmentally sensitive nutrient, its management in central Iowa soils has generally been neglected in recent years, particularly when compared with N and P management initiatives. Building awareness of soil K profile concentrations, rather than focusing only on surface concentrations, will be necessary to meet nutrient requirements for 21st century agricultural production.
An alternative derivation of Harville's restricted log likelihood function for variance component estimation

Estimation of variance components in linear mixed models is important in clinical trial and longitudinal data analysis. It is also important in animal and plant breeding for accurately partitioning total phenotypic variance into genetic and environmental variances. Restricted maximum likelihood (REML) method is often preferred over the maximum likelihood (ML) method for variance component estimation because REML takes into account the lost degree of freedom resulting from estimating the fixed effects. The original restricted likelihood function involves a linear transformation of the original response variable (a collection of error contrasts). Harville's final form of the restricted likelihood function does not involve the transformation and thus is much easier to manipulate than the original restricted likelihood function. There are several different ways to show that the two forms of the restricted likelihood are equivalent. In this study, I present a much simpler way to derive Harville's restricted likelihood function. I first treat the fixed effects as random effects and call such a mixed model a pseudo random model (PDRM). I then construct a likelihood function for the PDRM. Finally, I let the variance of the pseudo random effects be infinity and show that the limit of the likelihood function of the PDRM is the restricted likelihood function.
Far-Infrared Emission from an Electrically-Injected Semiconductor Device

We demonstrate an electrically-injected device that emits in the Reststrahlen band of GaAs. The device comprises a superlattice designed to generate longitudinal optical (LO) phonons and a grating with a mode at the energy of the phonons. Emission, peaking at the LO phonon, is observed.
Advanced Digital Tools for Updating Overcrowded Rail Stations: Using Eye Tracking, Virtual Reality, and Crowd Simulation to Support Design Decision-making

This paper describes an innovative integration of eye tracking (ET) with virtual reality (VR) and details the application of these combined technologies for the adaptive reuse redesign of the Wudaokou rail station in Beijing. The objective of the research is to develop a hybrid approach, combining ET and VR technologies, as part of an experimental study of how to improve wayfinding and pedestrian movement in crowded environments such as those found in urban subway stations during peak hours. Using ET analysis, design features such as edges, and color contrast are used to evaluate several proposed rail station redesigns. Through VR and screen-based ET, visual attention and related spatial responses are tracked and analyzed for the selected redesign elements. This paper assesses the potential benefits of using ET and VR to assist identification of station design elements that will improve wayfinding and pedestrian movement, and describes how the combination of VR and ET can influence the design process. The research concludes that the combination of VR and ET offers unique advantages for modeling how the design of rail transit hub interiors can influence the visual attention and movement behavior of those using the redesigned station. This is especially true for crowded conditions in complex interior spaces. The use of integrated ET and VR technology is shown to inform innovative design approaches for facilitating improved wayfinding and pedestrian movement within redesigned rail stations.
Collection-Based Education by Distance and Face to Face: Learning Outcomes and Academic Dishonesty

Assembling and curating specimen collections is a valuable educational exercise that integrates subject-specific skills such as field collection, curation, identification, organization, and interpretation of relationships. Collection projects have been used primarily in face-to-face classes, but they can be readily adapted for distance education. The primary challenges to using collection projects in distance education center on two concerns: (1) whether distance students learn as much as their face-to-face peers and (2) whether academic dishonesty occurs more often in distance education than face to face. This study addressed both concerns by assessing learning outcomes in two entomology courses with both face-to-face and distance sections and evaluating the frequency of specimen-based plagiarism (submitting specimens collected by someone else). An ungraded survey testing students’ insect identification knowledge found equivalent learning outcomes in face-to-face and distance classes. Insect collections were monitored for plagiarized (resubmitted or purchased) specimens in a 5-year “mark-release-recapture” investigation. Academic dishonesty was detected in fewer than 2% of collections; cheating was more than 12 times more likely in distance than in face-to-face classes. This study’s findings raise the possibility that distance learning assessments can be artificially inflated by cheating, suggesting that evaluations of distance learning should be considered in light of academic dishonesty. These results highlight the benefits and challenges of collections as teaching tools in distance education and underscore the need for instructors to be vigilant about academic integrity.
Fatty acid composition of mesenteric, cardiac, abdominal, intermuscular, and subcutaneous adipose tissues from horses of three body condition scores

Abstract Body condition score estimates overall adiposity in horses but not fatty acid (FA) composition of fat depots, which is associated with many biological functions and important for horse health. The objectives of the current study were to determine the FA composition of mesenteric (MS), cardiac (CD), abdominal (AB), intermuscular (IM), and subcutaneous (SC) adipose tissues in stock-type horses and identify their relationships with BCS. Twenty-one stock-type horses (BCS 4, n = 7, 468 ± 13 kg; BCS 5, n = 10, 455 ± 11 kg; BCS 6, n = 4,493 ± 12 kg) were humanely euthanized based on 3 primary criteria: geriatric, crippled, and/or unsafe. Fat tissues including MS around the small intestines, CD at the pericardium, AB from abdominal fat located inside the left flank, IM underneath the latissimus dorsi muscle in the thoracic region, and SC on the surface of semitendinosus muscle were collected within 30 min post-mortem, trimmed of connective tissues and muscles, frozen in liquid nitrogen, pulverized into fine powder, and stored at –80 °C. Fatty acids were determined by gas chromatography and expressed in percentage of total FA concentration. Influences of BCS (P 〈 0.05) and fat depot (P 0.05), were found for most FA, indicating that most FA were independently influenced by BCS and anatomical locations. However, some FA, such as 16:1n7, were influenced by BCS differently in various fat depots (PBCS×fat depot = 0.043). The major FA were palmitic (24.85%), stearic (5.54%), oleic (27.34%), linoleic (11.20%), and linolenic (17.95%) acids. Degree of saturation was not affected by BCS (P = 0.212). Most saturated depots were AB and CD (P ≤ 0.049). In MS, IM, and SC, PUFA percentage was smallest (P
Is That an Employee Benefit Plan or a Tax Shelter

As part of the fight against abusive tax shelters, Treasury and IRS have identified several categories of “listed transaction” that are subject to enhanced reporting and penalty provisions. The article notes that several of these listed transactions can apply to employee benefit plans. In addition, stringent new regulations governing practice before the IRS (the Circular 230 rules) also affect pension practitioners. The article concludes by recommending that benefits practitioners pay close attention to developments in this area, to protect their clients and themselves.
Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC)

The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) (Kaufman & Kaufman, 1983a) has been the subject of scores of research investigations (at least several hundred). A book published in 1987 by Kamphaus and Reynolds containing a rich collection of research indicates that the pace ofK-ABC research shows no sign of slowing.
European Fashion: The Creation of a Global Industry

The importance of the network in the fashion industry and the burgeoning field of Fashion Studies is foregrounded in a new volume edited by Regina Lee Blaszcyk and Veronique Pouillard on the busine...
Plasma-Enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition of HfO 2 on Monolayer, Bilayer, and Trilayer MoS 2 for theIntegration of High‑κ Dielectrics in Two-DimensionalDevices

As two-dimensional (2D) electronic devices continue to advance, the need for integrating high-quality, high-κ nanoscale dielectrics becomes more essential. Plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (...