cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Alaska Resource Management The Relationship between the Government and Alaskan Natives

I looked at relationships between Alaskan Natives and members of Fish and Game and the Forest Service in the context of resource management in Southeast Alaska. It is known that these relationships are often problematic, however most studies give only anecdotal speculations of why or focus on one stakeholder’s perspective. I took a grounded theory approach and spent three months in four different Alaskan communities over the summer of 2013. I gathered 20 interviews, observed two Fish and Game subsistence permit distributions, a Forest Service consultation, and did participant observation counting salmon as a contracted government worker through a Tribal entity for the Forest Service. My goal was to identify underlying patterns, problems and solutions. I identified three categories of conflict: limits and access to resources, bureaucratic problems, and personal relationship problems. I found that these conflicts are driven by access to scientific and bureaucratic information, general communication, and historical tension. All stakeholders wish to establish better relationships, address historical tension, and strengthen communication about bureaucratic and scientific topics. Streamlining science and bureaucratic information and making it more available through effective communication would help address the perpetuation of a collective memory and set the grounds for better co-management and building better relationships.
Understanding Barriers to Participation in Cost-Share Programs For Pollinator Conservation by Wisconsin (USA) Cranberry Growers

The expansion of modern agriculture has led to the loss and fragmentation of natural habitat, resulting in a global decline in biodiversity, including bees. In many countries, farmers can participate in cost-share programs to create natural habitat on their farms for the conservation of beneficial insects, such as bees. Despite their dependence on bee pollinators and the demonstrated commitment to environmental stewardship, participation in such programs by Wisconsin cranberry growers has been low. The objective of this study was to understand the barriers that prevent participation by Wisconsin cranberry growers in cost-share programs for on-farm conservation of native bees. We conducted a survey of cranberry growers (n = 250) regarding farming practices, pollinators, and conservation. Although only 10% of growers were aware of federal pollinator cost-share programs, one third of them were managing habitat for pollinators without federal aid. Once informed of the programs, 50% of growers expressed interest in participating. Fifty-seven percent of growers manage habitat for other wildlife, although none receive cost-share funding to do so. Participation in cost-share programs could benefit from outreach activities that promote the programs, a reduction of bureaucratic hurdles to participate, and technical support for growers on how to manage habitat for wild bees.
Performance of a multi leaf collimator system for MR-guided radiation therapy.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate and characterize the performance of a Multi Leaf Collimator (MLC) designed for Cobalt-60 based MR-guided radiation therapy system in a 0.35 T magnetic field. Methods The MLC design and unique assembly features in the ViewRay MRIdian system were first reviewed. The RF cage shielding of MLC motor and cables were evaluated using ACR phantoms with real-time imaging and quantified by signal-to-noise ratio. The dosimetric characterizations, including the leaf transmission, leaf penumbra, tongue-and-groove effect, were investigated using radiosensitive films. The output factor of MLC-defined fields was measured with ionization chambers for both symmetric fields from 2.1 × 2.1 cm2 to 27.3 × 27.3 cm2 and asymmetric fields from 10.5 × 10.5 cm2 to 10.5 × 2.0 cm2. Multi leaf collimator (MLC) positional accuracy was assessed by delivering either a picket fence (PF) style pattern on radiochromic films with wire-jig phantom or double and triple-rectangular patterns on ArcCheck-MR (Sun Nuclear, Melbourne, FL, USA) with gamma analysis as the pass/fail indicator. Leaf speed tests were performed to assess the capability of full range leaf travel within manufacture's specifications. Multi leaf collimator plan delivery reproducibility was tested by repeatedly delivering both open fields and fields with irregular shaped segments over 1-month period. Results Comparable SNRs within 4% were observed for MLC moving and stationary plans on vendor-reconstructed images, and the direct k-space reconstructed images showed that the three SNRs are within 1%. The maximum leaf transmission for all three MLCs was less than 0.35% and the average leakage was 0.153 ± 0.006%, 0.151 ± 0.008%, and 0.159 ± 0.015% for head 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Both the leaf edge and leaf end penumbra showed comparable values within 0.05 cm, and the measured values are within 0.1 cm with TPS values. The leaf edge TG effect indicated 10% underdose and the leaf end TG showed a shifted dose distribution with 0.3 cm offset. The leaf positioning test showed a 0.2 cm accuracy in the PF style test, and a gamma passing rate above 96% was observed with a 3%/2 mm criteria when comparing the measured double/triple-rectangular pattern fluence with TPS calculated fluence. The average leaf speed when executing the test plan fell in a range from 1.86 to 1.95 cm/s. The measured and TPS calculated output factors were within 2% for squared fields and within 3% for rectangular fields. The reproducibility test showed the deviation of output factors were well within 2% for square fields and the gamma passing rate within 1.5% for fields with irregular segments. The Monte Carlo predicted output factors were within 2% compared to TPS values. 15 out of the 16 IMRT plans have gamma passing rate more than 98% compared to the TPS fluence with an average passing rate of 99.1 ± 0.6%. Conclusion The MRIdian MLC has a good RF noise shielding design, low radiation leakage, good positioning accuracy, comparable TG effect, and can be modeled by an independent Monte Carlo calculation platform.
Geographic Variation in Cardiac Rehabilitation Participation in Medicare and Veterans Affairs Populations: Opportunity for Improvement

Background:Cardiac rehabilitation is strongly recommended after myocardial infarction, percutaneous coronary intervention, or coronary artery bypass surgery, but it is historically underused. We so...
Phase field study of surface-induced melting and solidification from a nanovoid: Effect of dimensionless width of void surface and void size

The size effect and the effects of a finite-width surface on barrierless transformations between the solid (S), surface melt (SM), and melt (M) from a spherical nanovoid are studied using a phase field approach. Melting (SM → M and S → M) from the nanovoid occurs at temperatures which are significantly greater than the solid-melt equilibrium temperature θe but well below the critical temperature for solid instability. The relationships between the SM and M temperatures and the ratio of the void surface width and width of the solid-melt interface, Δ¯, are found for the nanovoids of different sizes. Below a critical ratio Δ¯*, the melting occurs via SM and the melting temperature slightly reduces with an increase in Δ¯. Both S → SM and SM → M transformations have a jump-like character (excluding the case with the sharp void surface), causing small temperature hysteresis. However, the solid melts without SM for Δ¯>Δ¯*, and the melting temperature significantly increases with increasing Δ¯. The results for a nanovoid are compared with the melting/solidification of a nanoparticle, for which the melting temperatures, in contrast, are much lower than θe. A linear dependency of the melting temperatures with the inverse of the void radius is shown. The present study shows an unexplored way to control the melting from nanovoids by controlling the void size and the width and energy of the surface.
Climate Change and Adaptation of Wheat Producing Nations: Selected Case Studies from Canada and Australia

The production of grain is common to many developed countries. This industry therefore provides numerous opportunities to compare the responses of developed countries, in adapting to the impacts of climate change. This chapter focuses on Canada and Australia. These countries are representative of developed countries because of their geographical locations, and wheat is a major industry in each. This chapter identifies (1) research efforts in each country that are focused on developing new adaptive technologies, strategies, and plans; and (2) current practices that encourage the implementation of adaptive strategies. This chapter compares the adaptation research and policy approaches taken by Canada and Australia, and identifies strengths, weaknesses, and best practices that can be shared among developed countries.
Brain Death in Children The Loma Linda Experience

The brain-dead child is past cure, hope, and help. Discontinuing respiratory support for this child is simply an affirmation that death has already occurred. Maintenance of life-support systems after unequivocal documentation of brain death is futile and inhuman. Life-support systems cease to be life sustaining after brain death. After documenting brain death, the extraordinary action is not terminating, but continuing, life-support systems. Obviously, an error in this decision-making process is fatal and intolerable. The diagnosis of brain death in children has evolved independently in many centers without universal agreement as to criteria. Discussion is limited to our present-day neurologic management of suspected brain death in children at Loma Linda University School of Medicine.
Sulfur Deficiency in Northeast Iowa Alfalfa Production

Historically, sulfur (S) deficiency has not been an issue for crop production in Iowa. Previous research reported sufficient plant available S for crop production on most soil associations. Recent studies across Iowa in corn and soybean production were consistent with results of previous research. The exception was a longstanding suggestion to apply S as commercial fertilizer or livestock manure for alfalfa production on sandy soils. However, over the past decade, alfalfa grown on some silt loam and loam soils in northeast Iowa has exhibited a slowly worsening problem with areas in fields of stunted growth and poor coloration. Recent investigations determined the growth problems were largely due to S deficiency.
DNA and RNA Synthesis of Circulating Atypical Lymphocytes in Infectious Mononucleosis

tween the abnormal cells and normal lymphocytes. One approach to an understanding of such differences has been the study of nucleic acid synthesis. Using radioautographic technics, Gavosto et al.3’4 found that a higher than normal proportion of leukocytes synthesized DNA in the peripheral blood of patients with infectious mononucleosis. The present study was undertaken to evaluate this observation further and to determine the relationship of RNA and DNA synthesis to the peripheral white blood cell count and the proportion of atypical lymphocytes during the course of the disease.
Species Richness And Abundance Of Bivalvia And Gastropoda (Molluscs) In Mangrove Forest Of Dumai City, Riau Province

The mangrove forest of Dumai city house many mollusc species within its narrow habitat. This study focused on the bivalves and Gastropods (molluscs) inhabit the mangrove forest along the coastline. Fourteen species of molluscs were recorded in this survey, eleven of which were gastropoda and three species were bivalves. Species richness and abundance were surveyed at three sites and each site was sampled at ten spots made of 30 spots along the coast. Althogh low in number, Polymesoda expansa and Pharella acutidens were widely distributed across the surveyed sites, while Isognomon ephippium was rare. It was evident from this survey that conservation measures, such as collection quotas need to be established to protect the stocks of those, especially the edible molluscs species in this area. The study also identified two gastropods, Thais lacera and Telescopium telescopium that is known useful pollution bioindicators.
A clinical comparison of two strategies for minimal invasive treatment of secondary common bile duct stone

Objective To compare the clinical efficiency of two strategy in the treatment of secondary common bile duct stones: iaparoscopie cholecystectomy with transcytic common bile duct exploration ( LC + LTCBDE) ,or laparoscopic cholecystectomy after endoscopic sphincterotomy ( EST + LC). Methods According to the screening standard, 88 patients with secondary bile duct stones (43 cases in LC + LTCBDE group,45 cases in EST + LC group) who were treated from June 2005 to November 2007 were analyzed retrospectively. The achievement ratio, complications, average hospital stay and cost between two groups were compared. And all patients were followed up. Results There were no significant differences on achievement ratio and complications between two groups ( P > 0. 05 ) . The LC + LTCBDE group has significantly shorter hospital stay and lower cost( P < 0. 05 ). There were no recurrence in 1 year. Conclusions LTCBDE is a promising strategy which has more advantages in the minimal invasive treatment of secondary common bile duct stones. Key words: Choledocholithiasis; Laparoscopy; Therapy
Transistor Laser-Integrated Photonics for Optical Logic: Unlocking Unique Electro-Optical Integration Potential to Open Up New Possibilities for Logic Processors

The transistor laser benefits from a fast electron-hole recombination lifetime in the base due to its heterojunction bipolar transistor (HB T)-like operation and can be modulated using the base current or the collector voltage through intracavity photon-assisted tunneling (ICPAT). Both modulation processes are inherently high speed and put the transistor laser at a direct advantage over the diode laser as an optical transmitter. However, the true potential of the technology is the natural coexistence of transistor and laser on the same epitaxial structure, enabling monolithic integration of electrical and optical functions on the same wafer without the need for hybrid methods, such as wafer bonding and regrowth. As such, the transistor laser device structure is the ideal platform for integrated photonics. A transistor laser circuit combined with an optical receiver can process signals without the need for discrete electronic processing and electro-optical conversion components. This unique trait opens the possibility for a transistor laser-based all-optical logic processor, as demonstrated using a transistor laser all-optical NOR gate.
Synthesis and Characterization of 1,2,3,4-Cyclobutanetetranitramine Derivatives

A series of new nitramines have been synthesized. All of the new compounds possess four nitramine moieties arranged about a cyclobutane ring in a 1α,2α,3β,4β (cis,trans,cis) configuration. One of the new materials, 1, is unusually thermally and hydrolytically stable but sensitive to impact. 1,2,3,4-Cyclobutanetetranitramine (3) is reported for the first time.
Risk of Collision and Detachment in Vehicle Platooning: Time-Delay–Induced Limitations and Tradeoffs

We quantify the value-at-risk of intervehicle collision and detachment for a class of platoons, in presence of communication time-delay and stochastic noise. Closed-form expressions for the risk measures are obtained as functions of Laplacian eigen-spectrum as well as their explicit approximations. We quantify several hard limits and fundamental tradeoffs among the risk measures, network connectivity, communication time-delay, and statistics of exogenous stochastic noise. Simultaneous presence of noise and time-delay in a platoon reveals an idiosyncratic behavior risk of collision and detachment, for instance, weakening (improving) network connectivity may result in lower (higher) levels of risk. We support our theoretical findings via multiple simulations.
Performance Evaluation of Transfer Learning for Pornographic Detection

The rapid growth of the Internet and online social network activities makes possible to fast share a huge volume of various digital multimedia contents such as images and videos. However, the easy accessibility of pornographic contents by general users, particularly teenagers, is problematic as well as the rare availability of the legitimate benchmark datasets for the pornographic image detection makes the research rather challenging. In this paper, we present a transfer learning approach, for which the existing general deep learning network is adopted for pornographic image detection problem. We consider five well-known deep learning models, which include VGG16, MobilNet, InceptionV3, Xception, and ResNet50, and each general deep learning network architecture is fine-turned to detect pornographic images. The experimental result with NPDI pornographic database demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed transfer learning approach with promising detection accuracy.
Endovascular Treatment of Hepatic Venous Outflow Obstruction after Liver Transplant

Liver transplantation provides definitive treatment to address acute or chronic end-stage liver disease and its complications. Hepatic venous outflow obstruction is an infrequent complication of liver transplantation that affects graft survival by compromising outflow via transplant hepatic veins or inferior vena cava. It can occur in the early postoperative phase or in a delayed manner, resulting in venous congestion, graft dysfunction, graft failure, and death. This article addresses the pathophysiology of venous outflow obstruction as it relates to different surgical techniques and patient populations, the noninvasive tools for diagnosis, and the endovascular options for treatment along with their safety, efficacy, and durability.
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Time

Sam Baron and Kristie Miller’s An Introduction to the Philosophy of Time provides an overview of several key areas of philosophical research on time. The book begins with a brief introduction, summ...
Investigation of health of 2560 female workers in a electronic enterprise

Objective To investigate the occupational health situation of female workers in the electronic enterprise. Methods A cluster sampling method was used to investigate the occupational health situation of 2560 female workers who were working in the workshops by questionnaire. The major occupational hazardous factors in the workplaces were monitored, and the health examination was conducted in 2560 female workers exposed to the occupational hazardous factors. Results The average age of 2560 female workers was (19.4±2.9) years, the average working days a month was (26.2±3.1) days, he average working time a day was (9.6±1.4) hours with work overtime at times. All hazard factors in the workplace are controlled within safe standard except for tin oxide concentration of air and noise level in workshop, 18.1％ of female workers exposed to the low concentration of benzene suffered from the decreased number of leukocytes. The heavy workload (such as, working overtime and moving heavy objects) and irrational ergonomic design induced obviously the muscular-skeletal system symptoms, such as backache, neurological symptoms, occupational stress, visual fatigue and accident injury as well. However, the enough interval rest could reduce significantly the occurrence of above symptoms (P＜0.05). Conclusion For the labor-intensive electronic enterprises, the occupational hazard prevention and control measures should be strengthened. The labor load regulation and rational ergonomic design can reduce the effects of the occupational hazard on the health of workers. Key words: Women's health service; Occupational health
Charcot Midfoot Reconstruction: Does Subtalar Arthrodesis or Medial Column Fixation Improve Outcomes?

Abstract Charcot neuroarthropathy is a complication of neuropathy often secondary to diabetes mellitus and most commonly affects the midfoot. In these patients, reconstruction of the foot may be required for limb salvage. A superconstruct technique has previously been described using intramedullary beaming fixation of the midfoot and hindfoot to span the zone of injury. Inclusion of the subtalar joint in the arthrodesis construct is not consistently performed among different surgeons. The aim of this study was to describe midfoot beaming constructs and postoperative complications after midfoot reconstruction with and without subtalar arthrodesis. We reviewed medical records of patients who underwent midfoot Charcot reconstruction with an intramedullary beaming superconstruct. Patients included in the study had at least 3 months of follow-up and had Sanders-Frykberg II/III classification of Charcot neuroarthropathy. Postoperative radiographs were evaluated for evidence of hardware failure at the latest follow-up evaluation. The main variables of interest were: hardware failure or nonunion requiring revision operation, deep infection, and unplanned reoperation. Thirty patients who underwent midfoot reconstruction were included. The mean follow-up was 67.4 ± 25.9 weeks. Twenty-two (73.3%) patients had concomitant subtalar arthrodesis and midfoot beaming. Overall complications were lower in patients with subtalar arthrodesis (40.9%) than those without subtalar arthrodesis (75%) resulting in an odds ratio of 0.271 (0.042-1.338, p = .146). Furthermore, increased number of screws used in the midfoot construct was negatively correlated with complications (r = −0.44, p = .01). An intramedullary midfoot beaming superconstruct with subtalar arthrodesis has previously been proposed to provide better fixation after midfoot beaming Charcot neuroarthropathy reconstruction. Our results suggest including the subtalar joint as part of a superconstruct for the reconstruction of Sanders-Frykberg II/III Charcot results in an 80% lower complication rate than intramedullary beaming alone. We also found an increased number of screws used in the midfoot results in a lower complication rate.
MAGE: Mutual Attestation for a Group of Enclaves without Trusted Third Parties.

Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX) local and remote attestation mechanisms enable an enclave to attest its identity (i.e., the enclave measurement, which is the cryptographic hash of its initial code and data) to an enclave. To verify that the attested identity is trusted, one enclave usually includes the measurement of the enclave it trusts into its initial data in advance assuming no trusted third parties are available during runtime to provide this piece of information. However, when mutual trust between these two enclaves is required, it is infeasible to simultaneously include into their own initial data the other's measurements respectively as any change to the initial data will change their measurements, making the previously included measurements invalid. In this paper, we propose MAGE, a framework enabling a group of enclaves to mutually attest each other without trusted third parties. Particularly, we introduce a technique to instrument these enclaves so that each of them could derive the others' measurements using information solely from its own initial data. We also provide a prototype implementation based on Intel SGX SDK, to facilitate enclave developers to adopt this technique.
#DemABleach: Sources’ Roles and Functions in Health Information Seeking Behavior in a Cultural Health Practice

Taking a domestic approach to understanding a global phenomenon, I seek to illuminate how Black women communicate about, receive, and understand health information concerning a cultural health prac...
Randomized trial of weight loss on circulating ghrelin levels among breast cancer survivors

Obesity among breast cancer survivors is associated with increased risk for recurrence and mortality. The hormone ghrelin plays a role in initiating appetite and thus regulating body weight. This study aims to determine the effect of a lifestyle intervention on ghrelin levels in breast cancer survivors with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 25 kg/m2. The Lifestyle, Exercise, and Nutrition (LEAN) study was a 6-month randomized trial, examining the effectiveness of a weight loss intervention versus usual care in 151 breast cancer survivors with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Ghrelin was measured in fasting baseline and 6-month blood samples. Baseline associations between ghrelin, body composition, and blood biomarkers were examined. Six-month change in ghrelin was compared between study arms. Ghrelin measurements were available for 149 women. At baseline, ghrelin was correlated with age (r = 0.28, p < 0.001) and inversely correlated with weight (r = −0.18, p = 0.03), lean body mass (r = −0.18, p = 0.02), and leptin (r = −0.18, p = 0.03). Over 6 months, ghrelin increased by 144 pg/mL (7.2%) in the intervention and decreased by 466 pg/mL (32.5%) in the usual care (p = 0.07). Among all women, greater weight loss was associated with an increase in ghrelin (p = 0.01). These findings indicate that weight loss, achieved through a lifestyle intervention, is associated with higher ghrelin levels in breast cancer survivors which may be informative for developing sustainable weight loss programming for this population. Future research should investigate the long term impacts of lifestyle interventions on ghrelin levels in the context of weight maintenance and weight regain.
Heterogeneity and SUVmax of 18F FDG PET/CT Predicts Outcomes of Salivary Gland Carcinoma of High Risk Histology

1433 Objectives: Heterogeneity and SUVmax of 18F FDG PET/CT Predicts Outcomes of Salivary Gland Carcinoma of High Risk Histology Studies have shown that maximum standard uptake values (SUVmax) may serve as a prognostic indicator in salivary gland carcinoma (SGC). SGC patients with high-risk histology suffered from poor prognosis. We intended to find whether the texture features of pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT images can provide additional prognostic information in SGC patients with high-risk histology. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the pretreatment 18F-FDG PET/CT images of M0 high-risk histology SGC patients who had completed therapy. Fixed 40% percentage of SUVmax was used as a cutoff for tumor boundary. PET texture features were extracted using histogram analysis, normalized grey-level co-occurrence matrix, grey-level run length encoding method and grey-level size zone matrix. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to identify the optimal cutoff values for the PET parameters. Results: Eighty-six patients were enrolled. ROC curves and univariate Cox analyses revealed SUVmax, total lesion glycolysis, SUV-entropy, uniformity, entropy, run-percentage, high-intensity run emphasis and high-intensity zone emphasis were associated with overall survival (OS). Multivariate Cox analysis showed that PET parameters: SUVmax and SUV-entropy and clinical factors of performance status (PS), N2c-N3 stage were independently associated with OS, and disease-specific survival (DSS). A prognostic scoring system was derived. Patients with worse PS or N2c-N3 stage or presented with SUVmax more than 6.67 and SUV-entropy more than 2.50 experienced significantly worse OS and DSS. Conclusions: SUVmax and SUV-entropy were independent prognostic predictors in patients with high-risk histology SGC. We developed a scoring system that may serve as a risk-stratification strategy for guiding therapy.
Gestational and lactational exposure to BPA, but not BPS, negatively impacts trabecular microarchitecture and cortical geometry in adult male offspring

Abstract Bisphenol-A (BPA) and bisphenol-S (BPS) are endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) found primarily in plastics. Estrogen is a primary hormonal regulator of skeletal growth and development; however, the impact of gestational BPA or BPS exposure on skeletal health of offspring remains relatively unknown. Here, adult female mice were randomized into three treatment groups: 200 μg BPA/kg BW (BPA), 200 μg BPS/kg BW (BPS) or control (CON). Animals were then further randomized to exercising (EX) or sedentary (SED) groups. Treatment continued through mating, gestation, and lactation. One male offspring from each dam (n = 6–8/group) was assessed at 16 weeks of age to evaluate effects of EDC exposure on the adult skeleton. Cortical geometry of the mid-diaphysis and trabecular microarchitecture of the distal femur were assessed via micro-CT. Biomechanical strength and mineral apposition rate of the femoral diaphysis were assessed via three-point bending and dynamic histomorphometry, respectively. Two-factor ANOVA or ANCOVA were used to determine the effects of maternal EX and BPA or BPS on trabecular and cortical bone outcomes. Maternal EX led to a significant decrease in body fat percentage and bone stiffness, independent of EDC exposure. Offspring exposed to BPA had significantly lower trabecular bone volume, trabecular number, connectivity density, cortical thickness, and greater trabecular spacing compared to BPS or CON animals. In conclusion, gestational BPA, but not BPS, exposure negatively impacted trabecular microarchitecture and cortical geometry in adult male offspring. If these findings translate to humans, this could have significant public health impacts on expecting women or those seeking to become pregnant.
Measuring Pedagogical Content Knowledge Using Multiple Points of Data

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) is the intersection of a teacher’s knowledge of content, pedagogy, and of the context of the learning situation, including her students. Many different methods have been used by researchers to study PCK. We propose that PCK cannot be measured through one approach. Rather, it is more accurately measured by triangulating data gathered through observation of instructional events, teacher interviews, and assessments of content knowledge. This is illustrated through a case study of Maria, a paraeducator leading small group reading intervention lessons in a kindergarten classroom over a period of 10 weeks. Keywords: Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Elementary, Paraeducator, Literacy Intervention, Case Study
The composition of policy change: comparing Colorado’s 1977 and 2006 smoking bans

Understanding policy change is among the most enduring pursuits of public policy studies. Despite the wealth of policy change literature, a central challenge in the study of policy change remains measuring and assessing change. A useful starting point in measuring and assessing policy change is a thorough analysis of policy composition. The textual composition of policy change is analyzed by drawing on the Institutional Analysis and Development framework for conceptual definitions and data collection methods. Lessons from the policy implementation, design, and tools’ literatures guide comparative data analysis and evaluation. The approach is illustrated through a study of smoking ban change in Colorado, USA. The conclusion discusses the methodological contribution offered in this paper and its potential for facilitating theoretical development.
Advanced ESM AOA and location techniques

The situation is considered in which a single aircraft must obtain passive angle of arrival and emitter location using its own sensors and on-board processing equipment. The majority of ESM systems in use measure azimuth AOA by amplitude comparison of signals received from antennas with different pointing angles. The authors examine the classic error sources for these systems and the advanced error-correction techniques that reduce the measurement errors of an amplitude comparison system tenfold or more. These techniques result in precise AOA measurement accuracies comparable with those previously achieved only with interferometer-based ESM systems. An advanced passive emitter location solution for a single platform having an ESM system that measures only azimuth AOA, frequency, and signal amplitude combines the best features and strengths of three passive ranging techniques to provide an immediate range estimate and subsequent precision location for radiating emitters. >
Imitation and Play in Autism

Over the past 20 years, the developmental aspects of autism have been a central focus of research activities. This developmental lens for viewing autism focuses attention on the evolving symptoms of autism, influenced by the interplay of biology and experience. This interactive, developmental framework has several implications that strongly affect current research ideas: (1) There is some plasticity in the evolution of the symptoms, (2) individual differences in course and outcomes will be affected by an individual’s experiences as well as the individual biology of the disorder, and (3) early developmental course will have a substantially greater impact on outcomes than later events. In contrast to research in the period between 1960 and 1980 and in response to this developmental orientation, the past 20 years have seen much more emphasis on understanding autism as early in life as possible and searching for autism-specific deviations in the early developmental processes that lead to language, social, and cognitive development, both to understand the developmental processes involved in the disorder and to conceptualize treatment strategies for maximizing outcomes. Strongly influenced by Piaget’s model of cognitive development, the developmental studies of autism of the past 20 years have carefully dissected early development. In the first major papers reflecting this approach, Marian Sigman and her colleagues (Sigman & Ungerer, 1984; Ungerer & Sigman, 1981) found that of the multiple areas of sensorimotor development that Piaget delineated, children with autism showed syndrome-specific impairments in only two: imitation and play. Furthermore, Piaget (1962) suggested that symbolic play developed from imitation, particularly deferred imitation, as children developed the ability to represent mentally events they had experienced and reproduce them at a later time. This theoretical linkage between imitation and pretend play gains support from the symptom pattern seen in early autism, and this chapter focuses on research findings in these two areas. Thus, this chapter reviews what is currently known about imitative abilities and play characteristics that distinguish autism from other disorders. We also examine the nature of individual differences in play and imitation skills among children with autism. Finally, we consider the proposed mechanisms thought to underlie the autism impairments in imitation and play. For the purposes of this chapter, play is defined as play with objects, rather than social play with people.
Characteristic signatures of aerospace nickel-cadmium cells on life-cycle testing

NASA-Goddard Spaceflight Center (GSFC) is continuing its long-standing program of life-cycle tests of nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) cells from various battery cell vendors at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Crane, Indiana in order to predict on-orbit performance and develop onboard management strategies for both nominal and anomalous batteries. Testing is in progress on several packs and different sizes of the two types of Ni-Cd cells manufactured by Eagle-Picher Industries, Inc. (EPI). These two designs are the Super Ni-Cd cell and the Magnum Ni-Cd cell, the significant difference between the two types being the type of separator material. Anomalous charge voltage divergences have been observed in cells from both designs, particularly at cold temperatures and fairly low depths-of-discharge. A similar divergence has also been observed in the one on-board battery of the LEO SAMPEX (Solar Anomalous Magnetospheric Particle Explorer) spacecraft. This paper illustrates the life-cycle test voltage divergences, shows how they differ from divergences observed on previous life-cycle tests of EPI cells, and report the data from at least one attempt to manage the voltage divergence.
Self-Sabotage Among Successful Women

Despite remarkable accomplishments women who are successful in their careers often struggle with conflicts that undermine their effectiveness. This paper describes six types of self-sabotage that are common among high-achieving women. These behavioral forms of self-sabotage are viewed as an expression of conflicts related to vulnerable self-esteem and to women's sex-role socialization. The paper concludes with a discussion of therapeutic strategies for women's career-related conflicts. Insight, cognitive therapy, and validation are combined to increase therapeutic effectiveness.
Effects of vitamin B-6 deficiency and tryptophan loading on urinary excretion of tryptophan metabolites in mammals

The effect of vitamin B-6 deficiency on excretion of tryptophan metabolites was compared in rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, and humans. With adequate vitamin B-6 intake, a high percentage of the tryptophan administered was excreted as kynurenic acid and quinolinic acid in rat urine, and as acetylkynurenine and kynurenine in hamster urine. None of the tryptophan metabolites measured in normal guinea pig urine or human urine accounted for more than 1% to 2% of the tryptophan administered. During vitamin B-6 deficiency, the percentages of the tryptophan load excreted as xanthurenic acid, kynurenine, and o-hydroxykynurenine, (which precede the 3-hydroxykynureninase step in the kynurenine pathway) were increased in all four species. However, the percentages excreted as 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid and quinolinic acid, which are beyond the 3-hydroxy-kynureninase step, responded differently. The 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid percentage was not changed in rat urine, but was increased in human and guinea pig urines. The quinolinic acid percentage was decreased in rat urine, unchanged in guinea pig and hamster urine, and increased in human urine. In rats, depression of 3-hydroxykynureninase activity was apparently the major factor causing a change in the pattern. However, in hamsters, kynurenine hydroxylase and o-hydroxykynureninanse activities apparently were depressed. In humans, 3-hydroxykynureninase activity also was apparently depressed and the total amount of administered tryptophan accounted fro in the urine as metabolites of the kynurenine pathway was increased. Levels of urinary metabolites reached a maximum in guinea pigs after only 1 week of consuming the vitamin B-6 deficient diet, suggesting that the vitamin deficiency developed very rapidly in this species.
Space and wavelength dependence of speckle intensity

A unified, analysis is presented for the spatial and the spectral sensitivity of speckle (the rapid spatial variations which occur in an image when illumination of narrow spectral width is used) in a space-invariant linear system. In prior work considering speckle size, others have shown that its spatial variation is functionally dependent primarily on the autocorrelation function of the system's impulse response, but effects of varying the wavelength were largely ignored. In the present paper we treat the general problem in which a diffuse object, illuminated by a collimated, monochromatic beam, is imaged by a system whose amplitude impulse response isz(x, η), wherex and η are space and normalized (temporal) frequency coordinates, respectively. An expression is derived for the multidimensional autocorrelation functionRu(Δx,η1,η2) of the intensityu(x,η) in the image plane. Functionally, it depends upon a convolution of the system autocorrelation functionRu(Δx,η1,η2) with the characteristic function of the distribution function for heights, which is used to model the input object's surface. Examples are presented; and, it is shown that one can infer valuable information about the variation of heights for points on the surface of the input diffuse object, which are separated by much less than the classical resolution limit.
Esterase 6 of Drosophila melanogaster: Kinetics of transfer to females, decay in females and male recovery

Abstract Esterase 6 (E.C. 3.1.1.1) is an enzyme in the reproductive system of Drosophila melanogaster and is transferred from males to females at mating. This enzyme is conveyed during the first 3 min of a copulation lasting approximately 20 min and remains active in the female reproductive tract for 1–2 hr after mating. Males require 24–48 hr to recover premating levels of esterase 6 activity. These results suggest that the effect of esterase 6 on the rate of sperm loss in females, which extends to 4 days after mating, is indirect since activity in the female falls rapidly after insemination. It is suggested that esterase 6 may also be a part of a pheromone system which influences female reproductive behaviour.
Fast Separations at Elevated Temperatures on Polybutadiene-Coated Zirconia Reversed-Phase Material

This paper describes the results of thermal stability studies of polybutadiene-coated zirconia reversed phases and application to fast HPLC separations at elevated temperatures and high flow rates. The thermal stability of the material was evaluated at temperatures up to 200 °C, and the rapid analyses of polyaromatic hydrocarbons and typical reversed-phase test mixtures were carried out at 100 °C and a flow rate of 5 mL/min. We found that the material is completely stable at 200 °C for at least 1300 column volumes. Analysis time can be decreased about 18-fold at high temperatures and flow rates without any significant loss in resolution relative to that at conventional temperatures and normal flow rates. For the separation of a five-component reversed-phase test mixture, the analysis time was only 50 s.
Predicting the molecular interactions of CRIP1a-cannabinoid 1 receptor with integrated molecular modeling approaches

Cannabinoid receptors are a family of G-protein coupled receptors that are involved in a wide variety of physiological processes and diseases. One of the key regulators that are unique to cannabinoid receptors is the cannabinoid receptor interacting proteins (CRIPs). Among them CRIP1a was found to decrease the constitutive activity of the cannabinoid type-1 receptor (CB1R). The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of the interaction between CRIP1a and CB1R through using different computational techniques. The generated model demonstrated several key putative interactions between CRIP1a and CB1R, including the critical involvement of Lys130 in CRIP1a.
Association of thymidine and uridine kinase activities with changes in nucleic acid levels during peanut fruit ontogeny

Abstract Various stages of pegs, cotyledons and embryonic axes from maturing peanut fruits were examined for their ability to phosphorylate thymidine and uridine. Highest specific activities during peg elongation were found just prior to increases in endosperm nuclei and embryo cell numbers. In the developing cotyledons and axes, the net kinase activities of crude extracts reached a maximum 1–2 weeks before maximal RNA and DNA contents were attained. An exception was the apparent lack of any relationship between uridine kinase activities and RNA levels in developing embryonic axes. The present results support the observation that peanut axes are devoid of thymidine and uridine kinases during the first 24 hr of germination, as fully developed fruits had very low specific activities for both of these phosphate transferases.
Optical model-solution to the competition between a pseudogap phase and a charge-transfer-gap phase in high-temperature cuprate superconductors

We present a theoretical framework for a quantitative understanding of the full doping dependence of the optical spectra of the cuprates. In accord with experimental observations, the computed spectra show how the high-energy charge-transfer (CT) gap features persist in the overdoped regime even after the midinfrared (MIR) peak originating from the pseudogap has collapsed in a quantum critical point. In this way, we reconcile the opposing tendencies of the MIR and CT peaks to shift in opposite directions in the optical spectra with increasing doping. The competition between the pseudogap and the CT gap also results in rapid loss of spectral weight in the high energy region with doping.
The XHex homeobox gene is expressed during development of the vascular endothelium: overexpression leads to an increase in vascular endothelial cell number

The Hex/Prh homeobox gene is expressed in a subset of adult blood cell types and may play a role in the differentiation of the myeloid and B-cell lineages. In a search for homeobox genes involved in cardiovascular development, we have independently isolated a Xenopus laevis cDNA which appears to be the amphibian orthologue of Hex/Prh. Based on high sequence similarity in a number of regions, particularly the critical homeobox, we have named this gene XHex. This developmentally regulated gene is first expressed in the dorsal endomesoderm of the gastrula stage embryo. This tissue goes on to contribute to the structures of the embryonic liver and XHex continues to be expressed in the liver throughout development. From the tailbud stage, XHex is expressed in vascular endothelial cells throughout the developing vascular network. Vascular expression of XHex is transient and commences slightly after expression of the receptor tyrosine kinase gene, flk-1, which is known to be essential for vascular development. This observation raises the possibility that XHex is one of the transcription factors that responds to the VEGF/Flk-1 signal transduction pathway leading to differentiation of vascular endothelial cells. XHex is unique amongst homeobox genes in displaying expression in the endothelial layer throughout the developing vasculature. Overexpression of XHex sequences in the frog embryo causes disruption to developing vascular structures and an increase in the number of vascular endothelial cells, suggesting a possible role in regulation of cell proliferation.
Chemical synthesis of a Zwitterhormon, insulaxin, and of a relaxin-like bombyxin derivative.

The structural motif of insulin and relaxin is frequently seen in molecules of divergent functions and origins. The insect developmental factor bombyxin, the relaxin-like factor from Leydig cells, and the insulin-like factor 4 (INSL4) all are made of two disulfide-linked chains and have one disulfide bond within the A-chain. The polyclonal antibody R6, which was raised against porcine relaxin, reacts with a wide variety of naturally occurring relaxins from primates, marine and terrestrial mammals, and elasmobranchs but does not recognize insulin. The antibody binds mainly to the arginines that occur in the N, N+4 positions in the B-chains of all relaxins which also constitute the receptor-binding site. The receptor-binding haptens were incorporated by total synthesis into human despentapeptide insulin and bombyxin II, a developmental factor from the silk moth Bombyx mori. In the process the insect factor became a perfect antigen for the anti-relaxin antibody, whereas the human insulin was transformed into...
Perceived controllability and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in crime victims

This study evaluated the association between perception of controllability and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following criminal assault. Factor analysis of a perceived controllability scale revealed three factors; perceived controllability felt during the assault, expected controllability over future assaults, and perceived controllability over aversive events more generally. Only the latter factor was associated with PTSD symptom severity. The hypothesis that perceived controllability would be negatively associated with assault severity was partially supported. Further analyses showed that the association between controllability and PTSD was not mediated or moderated by assault severity measures. The role of perceived controllability in the development of PTSD is discussed.
Vascular Anomalies in Children

The process of understanding and treating children with vascular anomalies has been hampered by confusing and occasionally incorrect terminology. The most important step when evaluating a maxillofacial vascular anomaly is to determine whether it is a tumor or a malformation. In most cases, this diagnosis can be made by history and physical examination. Selective radiographic imaging is helpful in differentiating vascular malformations or the extent of bony involvement and/or destruction. Children with vascular anomalies should be managed by an interdisciplinary team of trained providers who are committed to following, treating, and studying patients with these complex problems.