cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Automated detection of pulmonary nodules in CT: false positive reduction by combining multiple classifiers

The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of various classifier combination methods for improving the performance of a CAD system for pulmonary nodule detection in CT. We employed CT cases in the publicly available lung image database consortium (LIDC) dataset, which included 85 CT cases with 110 nodules. We first used six individual classifiers for nodule detection in CT, including linear discriminant analysis (LDA), quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA), artificial neural network (ANN), and three types of support vector machines (SVM). Five informationfusion methods were then employed to combine the classifiers' outputs for improving detection performance. The five combination methods included two supervised (likelihood ratio method and neural network) and three unsupervised ones (the mean, the product, and the majority-vote of the output scores from the six individual classifiers). Leave-one-caseout was employed to train and test individual classifiers and supervised combination methods. At a sensitivity of 80 %, the numbers of false positives per case for the six individual classifiers were 6.1 for LDA, 19.9 for QDA, 8.6 for ANN, 23.7 for SVM-dot, 17.0 for SVM-poly, and 23.35 for SVM-ANOVA; the numbers of false positives per case for the five combination methods were 3.4 for the majority-vote rule, 6.2 for the mean, 5.7 for the product, 9.7 for the neural network, and 28.1 for the likelihood ratio method. The majority-vote rule achieved higher performance levels than other combination methods. It also achieved higher performance than the best individual classifier, which is not the case for other combination methods.
Endoscopic options for early stage esophageal cancer

Surgery has traditionally been the preferred treatment for early stage esophageal cancer. Recent advances in endoscopic treatments have been shown to be effective and safe. Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) allow endoscopists to remove small, superficial lesions, providing tumor specimen that can be examined for accurate pathologic tumor staging and assessment of adequacy of resection. Endoscopic ablation procedures, including photodynamic therapy (PDT) and radio frequency ablation (RFA), have also been shown to safely and effectively treat esophageal dysplasia and early stage neoplasia, with excellent long-term disease control. Both approaches are becoming more widely available around the world, and provide an alternative, safe, low risk strategy for treating early stage disease, making combined endoscopic therapy the recommended treatment of choice for early stage esophageal cancers.
A Light Weight Method for Maintaining Clock Synchronization for Networked Systems

Maintaining synchronization of clocks between wireless systems is a well known problem of which significant research has been performed. This has lead to a variety of methods introduced to maintain clock synchronization. Typically, works are heavy weight in that they require constant communication between systems in order to maintain clock synchronization on the order of microseconds. Unfortunately, for many applications the cost of constant communication to ensure clock synchronization is neither desirable nor acceptable. Additionally, for applications such as link state routing, delay measurements and quality of service measurements, clock synchronization on the order of microseconds is not necessary, and synchronization on the order of milliseconds is sufficient. Thus, in this work we present a light weight technique for correcting for clock drift between systems that will allow for millisecond accuracy during long periods of time while requiring no special hardware nor constant communication between systems. Experimental studies of the measured delay between two systems are performed, showing that with a training period, clocks can remained synchronized within a few milliseconds over long periods of time.
Robust nonlinear adaptive flight control for consistent handling qualities

A flight control design is presented that combines model inversion control with an online adaptive neural network (NN). The NN cancels the error due to approximate inversion. Both linear and nonlinear NNs are described. Lyapunov stability analysis leads to the online NN update laws that guarantee boundedness. The controller takes advantage of any available knowledge for system inversion, and compensates for the effects of the remaining approximations. The result is a consistency in response which is particularly relevant in human operation of some unconventional modern aircraft. A tiltrotor aircraft is capable of converting from stable and responsive fixed wing flight to sluggish and unstable hover in helicopter configuration. The control design is demonstrated to provide a tilt-rotor pilot with consistent handling qualities during conversion from fixed wing flight to hover.
The Inheritance of Resistance to Cecal Coccidiosis in the Domestic Fowl

Abstract DURING the past two decades investigational work in the various fields of animal husbandry has greatly stimulated interest in the possibility of breeding animals resistant to various infectious diseases. Heritable differences in resistance and susceptibility to pathogenic organisms in animals have been shown to exist, and various investigators have succeeded in establishing genetically resistant and susceptible lines of animals. A comprehensive review of the literature on this subject was presented by Gowen (1948). In the domestic fowl genetic differences in resistance to various pathological conditions are generally accepted. Evidence of genetic resistance and susceptibility to specific diseases (avian diptheria—Frateur, 1924; S. pullorum—Roberts and Card, 1935 and DeVolt et al., 1941; S. gallinarum—Lambert, 1932, and Lambert and Knox, 1932; lymphomatosis—Asmundson and Biely, 1932, Jeffrey et al., 1942, Taylor et al., 1942, Hutt and Cole, 1947, Hutt and Cole, 1948 and others) may be found in the literature. Published experimental work …
Predator-prey interactions between omnivorous diaptomid copepods and rotifers: The role of prey morphology and behavior1

Suspension-feeding diaptomid copepods feed selectively on several rotifer species. Predator-prey interactions between Diaptomus pallidus and seven species of rotifers were quantified and behavioral probabilities computed. Prey size was a good predictor of the probability of Diaptomus avoiding a prey following an encounter but had little or no predictive value in subsequent levels of interaction (capture, ingestion). Three of the rotifers exhibited escape responses which were specifically based on rheotaxis, suggesting they may have evolved primarily in response to selection pressures exerted by suspension-feeding zooplankton. Other prey defense mechanisms included a tough integument and long spines- defense mechanisms often used by crustacean prey in response to large predatory calanoids.
Is this the least squares estimate

It is shown that the sum of squares can have several local minima with a positive probability for any intrinsically nonlinear regression with infinite tails. Therefore, the availability of global criteria is crucial. The concept of the local convexity level for the sum of squares in nonlinear regression models is introduced. A general formula for this local convexity level is derived and it is shown that the local convexity level is equal to the minimum of the squared radius of the full curvature of the expectation surface of the nonlinear regression. Two general global criteria are formulated. The ideas are illustrated by four types of nonlinear model, namely polylinear, power, linear M-regression and exponential regression models. The suggested global criteria are shown to work well for real-life data.
Epistemology, Opportunities, and Entrepreneurship: Comments on Venkataraman et al. (2012) and Shane (2012)

The article comments on the articles, "Reflections on the 2010 AMR Decade Award: Whither the promise? Moving forward with entrepreneurship as a science of the artificial" by S. Venkataraman, S. D. Sarasvarthy, N. Dew, and W. R. Forster and "Reflections on the 2010 AMR Decade Award: Delivering on the promise of entrepreneurship as a field of research" by S. Shane, which are in the 2012, volume 37 issue of the "Academy of Management Review (AMR)."
Digital Microscopes: Enhancing Collaboration and Engagement in Science Classrooms with Information Technologies

This article describes the implementation of laptop computers and digital, USBbased microscopes (Proscopes®) in science classes. This technology integration project took place in a rural school district in North Carolina. This school is in a low socio-economic area, with an approximately 60/40 ratio of Caucasian to nonCaucasian students. Additionally, this school has had a comparably low level of access to technology for students and teachers. Traditional science tools (light microscopes) were replaced with four sets of a laptops with ProScopes as technology-enhanced collaborative work areas. With minimal formal technical training, students adapted and used these technologies to examine and explore content in cellular biology and to create electronic lab reports using digital images and motion videos captured during activities. The infusion of technologies in this instructional environment transformed the learning experiences through the powerful combination of science and technology, resulting in enhanced student processes and products.
Reducing power by optimizing the necessary precision/range of floating-point arithmetic

Low-power systems often find the power cost of floating-point (FP) hardware prohibitively expensive. This paper explores ways of reducing FP power consumption by minimizing the bitwidth representation of FP data. Analysis of several FP programs that manipulate low-resolution human sensory data shows that these programs suffer no loss of accuracy even with a significant reduction in bitwidth. Most FP programs in our benchmark suite maintain the same output even when the mantissa bitwidth is reduced by half. This FP bitwidth reduction can deliver a significant power saving through the use of a variable bitwidth FP unit. Our results show that up to 66% reduction in multiplier energy/operation can be achieved in the FP unit by this bitwidth reduction technique without sacrificing any program accuracy.
Design techniques for sensor appliances: foundations and light compass case study

We propose the first systematic, sensor-centric approach for quantitative design of sensor network appliances. We demonstrate its use by designing light appliance devices and the associated middleware. We have developed five models which are required to make this problem tractable and to undertake the challenging task of designing light sensor appliances: (i) physical world, (ii) light sensor, (iii) physical phenomenon, (iv) appliance design, and (v) computational model. With these models in place, we present the new design methodology that consists of two mains steps: (1) a procedure for placement of individual sensors of the appliance, and (2) error minimization-based sensor data interpretation middleware. We have developed new optimization techniques for both tasks. A portable light sensor system was designed using the optimization intensive procedure, and its effectiveness demonstrated.
Dystonia: A case report and review

Dystonia is a movement disorder characterized by increased muscular tone for which surgical treatment has met with less than ideal results. Surgical treatment in patients with dystonia is often avoided due to the relative success of medical therapy. However, if expectations stay realistic and if the patient with dystonia is continuously evaluated, appropriate surgical measures may be taken when necessary to optimize patient satisfaction. The authors present a case of successful surgical treatment in a patient with a relatively static but crippling lower extremity deformity. A review of dystonia is included with successful surgical treatment of this compound neurologic disease causing lower extremity deformity in a young female. Diagnosis and treatment options including surgical planning and principles in the dystonic patient are highlighted.
Expansion Cohorts in First-in-Human Solid Tumor Oncology Trials

In 1962, the passage of the Kefauver-Harris Amendment to the 1938 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act required that sponsors seeking approval of new drugs demonstrate the drug's efficacy, in addition to its safety, through a formal process that includes "adequate and well-controlled" clinical trials as the basis to support claims of effectiveness. As a result of this amendment, FDA formalized in regulation the definitions of various phases of clinical investigations (i.e., phase I, phase II, and phase III). The clinical drug development paradigm for anticancer drugs intended to support marketing approval has historically followed this "phased" approach with sequential, stand-alone trials, with an increasing number of patients exposed to an investigational drug with each trial in order to fulfill the objectives of that particular stage in development. Increasingly, it is the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products' experience that commercial sponsors of solid tumor oncology drug development programs are amending ongoing phase I trials to add expansion cohorts designed to evaluate study objectives typical of later-phase trials. For investigational anticancer drugs that demonstrate preliminary clinical evidence of substantial antitumor activity early in clinical testing, use of expansion cohorts as a component of the solid tumor oncology drug development pathway, with appropriate measures to mitigate the risks of this approach, may fit in well with the goals and concepts described by FDA's expedited programs for serious conditions.
Circulatory responses to voluntary and electrically induced muscle contractions in humans.

Background and Purpose. Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) increases regional blood flow when applied at intensities sufficient to cause skeletal muscle contraction. It is not known whether increases in blood flow elicited by TENS differ from those caused by voluntary muscle contraction. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to compare the hemodynamic effects of these 2 types of muscle contraction. Subjects and Methods. Fourteen people with no known pathology, aged 18 to 49 years (X=28, SD=8), served as subjects. Calf blood flow (venous occlusion plethysmography), heart rate (electrocardiogram), blood pressure (automated sphygmomanometry), and force (footplate transducer) were measured during electrically induced and voluntary contractions. Results. Both modes of exercise caused rapid, but short-lived vasodilation (calf vascular resistance [X±SEM]: −53%±3% for voluntary contractions versus −57%±4% for electrically induced contractions). The vasodilation caused by electrically induced contractions persisted for at least 15 seconds in the postexercise period, whereas the vasodilation elicited by voluntary contractions had resolved by this time point. Conclusion and Discussion. The hemodynamic changes elicited by voluntary and electrically induced muscle contractions are similar in magnitude but different in duration.
Localization and Photodynamic Efficacy of Two Cationic Porphyrins Varying in Charge Distribution

Two meso-tetraphenylporphyrin derivatives bearing adjacent: 5,10-di[4-(N-trimethylaminophenyl)-15,20-diphenylporphyrin (DADP-a) or opposite: 5,15-di[4-(N-trimethylaminophenyl)-10,20-diphenylporphyrin (DADP-o) cationic-N-(CH3)3+ groups on two of the para-phenyl positions were examined with regard to photodynamic properties as a function of charge distribution. The two adjacent positive charges in the DADP-a structure result in a molecular distortion (asymmetry), likely from electrostatic repulsion. This could be responsible for the unusual interaction of this compound with some solvents and detergent micelles. In contrast, DADP-o is a much more symmetric molecule. In a cellular environment, fluorescence spectra of the two agents were essentially identical. Subcellular localization played a major role in photodynamic efficacy. DADP-a localized in mitochondria, and irradiation of photosensitized cells (640-650 nm) resulted in a rapid loss of the mitochondrial membrane potential (delta(psi)m), usually a prelude to apoptotic cell death. In contrast, DADP-o localized in lysosomes, and extensive lysosomal photodamage was observed after irradiation. Both steady-state accumulation levels and absorbance spectra favored DADP-o, but the light dose required for a 90% cell kill was two-fold greater for DADP-o than for DADP-a, at a constant extracellular sensitizer concentration. These data indicate that, on a photons/cell basis, DADP-a was five-fold more efficacious. Fluorescence emission spectra in different solvents and detergents demonstrated a tendency for DADP-a association. We interpret these results to indicate partition of both drugs to membrane loci, with mitochondriabeing the more lethal site for photodamage.
Hermeneutics and genocide: giving voice to the unspoken

The discipline of philosophical hermeneutics, which has played a crucial role in the discipline of New Testament studies, is haunted by the Holocaust. While there has been a great deal of Heidegger scholarship on the interface of Heidegger’s Nazi engagement and his thought, such scholarly focus has been lacking in the larger field of hermeneutics. Current hermeneutical theorists have not explored the various ways that hermeneutical theorists may be responding to the Holocaust. This paper seeks to rectify this scholarly lacuna by drawing attention to what is largely unspoken in hermeneutical theory. My argument examines one particularly important strain of hermeneutical thinking should be seen as a response to fascism and genocide: the critique of instrumental rationality. I look at three seminal sets of scholars: Heidegger, Gadamer and the Frankfurt School. The three sets of thinkers share remarkably similar views about the ills of modernity and a remarkably similar philosophical narrative on how these ills came about. In this grand narrative, current political or social problems are surface symptoms of a deeper spiritual crisis produced by the Enlightenment. The bulk of the paper consists of a reading of central elements of the thought of Heidegger, Gadamer and the Frankfurt School. This reading demonstrates that, for each, the critique of instrumental rationality represents their fundamental approach to confronting fascism and genocide. In the course of the analysis, I identify the limitations of this approach as both a ground for an ontological approach to interpretation and a theoretical response to the problems of fascism and genocide. If hermeneutics wishes to confront the Holocaust, then it needs to allow the Holocaust to become the explicit rather than implicit horizon and, thereby, to allow the emergence of a new set of questions that will produce a new turn in the hermeneutical dialogue. This paper is published as part of a thematic collection dedicated to radical theologies.
ASGE guidelines result in cost-saving in the management of choledocholithiasis.

Background The goal of this study was to determine whether utilization of the ASGE guidelines for the evaluation of bile duct stones (BDS) would result in fewer imaging studies and in turn lead to a lower healthcare expenditure. Methods This was a retrospective study set in an urban Teaching Hospital. Patients undergoing evaluation for BDS and who had their gallbladders in situ were included in the study. Data with regard to age, sex, clinical history, pain level, vital signs and laboratory studies as well as diagnostic tests performed were extracted from the hospital’s electronic medical record. The ASGE guidelines were applied retrospectively to each patient in the study group and the group was divided into two cohorts: one that followed the ASGE guidelines and one which did not. Patients in the two cohorts were further stratified into high-, intermediate-, and low-risk categories. Results Thirty-eight patients met the criteria and were included in the study. Of the 38 patients, 22 were managed as per the ASGE guidelines and 16 were not. Twenty-seven patients were categorized as high-risk (14 following the correct algorithm, 13 not) and 11 as intermediate-risk (8 following, 3 not). There were no low-risk patients. Twelve of the 27 patients in the high-risk group had stones (56%) while 6 of 11 (55%) had stones in the intermediate-risk group. Fourteen computed tomography scans and 12 magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatographies were deemed inappropriate resulting in unnecessary increased expenditure of $ 22,236. Conclusion The application of ASGE guidelines can minimize redundant investigations and effect cost saving but need to be refined to produce a better yield. Keywords ASGE guidelines, choledocholithiasis, ERCP Ann Gastroenterol 2016; 29 (1): 85-90
The battle of the sexes (210.3)

Although genetic sex is determined at fertilization, the decision to differentiate as a male or female occurs within the bipotential gonad during fetal life. Somatic progenitor cells in XX and XY mouse gonads are “primed” to differentiate along either the male or female pathway. At the bipotential stage, both XX and XY cells express very similar levels of genes associated with both ovary and testis development. The expression of the Y-linked male sex-determining gene (Sry) in XY gonads leads to both activation of male pathway genes, and repression of female pathway genes. Work using mutant and transgenic mice suggests that failure to suppress the female pathway is critical to establish male (testis) development. Bifurcation of organ fate begins between E11.0-E12.0 in mice and involves a dynamic transcription network that is poorly understood. We profiled the XX and XY gonad transcriptomes at fine granularity during this period and conducted a DNase Hypersensitivity study to define promoters and enhancers....
Influence of Overconfidence, Risk Aversion, Creative Thinking and Critical Thinking on Students’ Academic Achievement – A Conceptual Paper

There is still lack of understanding or research on how the combined presence of overconfidence, risk aversion, critical and creative thinking skills had influenced students’ academic achievement. Hence, a research model is developed based on constructs mentioned above and underpinned on “input-process-output” approach of General Systems Theory (Bertalanffy, 1968; McGrath, 1984). This conceptual model is meant for further empirical research. The outcome of this research can further provide evidence on how overconfidence, risk aversion, creative and critical thinking skills can influence academic achievement among undergraduate/postgraduate students. Moreover, this research might enable education institutions to provide guidance how to manage these constructs accordingly to improve the student’s academic achievement.
MAGNESIUM STUDIES IN RELATION TO VITAMIN D-RESISTANT RICKETS

Magnesium metabolism was found to be unaltered in a 4-year-old boy with untreated vitamin D-resistant rickets who manifested abnormalities of calcium and phosphorous metabolism commonly found in this disease. This is at variance with the previously reported finding of altered magnesium metabolism in a patient with resistant rickets acquired at adolescence. The possibility that this difference may reflect either a variation in the underlying disease process in the two age groups or a difference in the severity of the disease process is discussed. It is of significance that the gastrointestinal absorption of calcium was decreased while that of magnesium was normal in our untreated patient. This suggests that the mechanisms involved in intestinal transport of these two minerals are not identical. Treatment with 200,000 to 300,000 I.U. of vitamin D per day resulted in a decrease in the serum magnesium levels with no consistent changes in the urinary excretion, intestinal absorption, or retention of magnesium; during this time, however, the intestinal absorption, urinary excretion, and retention of calcium were all increased. The administration of 350,000 I.U. of vitamin D per day was associated with an increase in both the urinary excretion and intestinal absorption of magnesium. At this dose the retention of magnesium initially increased and subsequently decreased as the increase in urinary magnesium offset the increased intestinal absorption of this mineral. It is not known if the effects of vitamin D on the intestinal absorption and urinary excretion of magnesium represent primary actions of this vitamin on the kidney and gastrointestinal tract or whether they are secondary to changes in calcium and phosphorous metabolism. The fact that vitamin D administration resulted in a lowering of the serum magnesium level before there were any consistent alterations in fecal and urinary magnesium is in keeping with previously reported animal studies which indicate that vitamin D acts to cause a redistribution of magnesium in the body.
Use of Fat Body and Midgut Lipids by Diapausing Larvae of the Southwestern Corn Borer, Diatraea grandiosella

Larval diapause was associated with the preferential accumulation of oleate and low retention of linoleate in the neutral lipids of the fat body. The lowest rate of monounsaturated fatty acid synthesis was found in nondiapausing larvae and the rate increased in the following order: JH-induced diapausing larvae, normal laboratoryreared diapausing larvae (meridic diet, 23°C 12L: 12D), and field-collected diapausing larvae (corn plant, natural conditions). The neutral and phospholipids of both the fat body and midgut decreased quantitatively during 150 days of diapause. Among fat body neutral lipids of early diapausing larvae ca. 6% were sterols, 2% free fatty acids and over 90% were triglycerides. Corresponding values after 150 days of diapause were ca. 15% sterols, 5% free fatty acids, and ca. 80% triglycerides. Fatty acid analyses showed a significant decrease in the oleate content of fat body neutral lipids during diapause. Midgut phospholipids of early diapausing larvae consisted of 21% lysophosphatidyl choline, 5% sphingomyelin, 39% phosphatidyl choline, 29% phosphatidyl ethanolamine, and 6% cardiolipin. After 150 days in diapause the relative concentration of lysophosphatidyl choline had decreased to 3%.
Effect of diurnal air temperature cycles on growth and food conversion in pigs

In trials with 64 pigs growing from 37 to 60 kg or from 65 to 88 kg growth rate and food conversion were not affected by either a 10°C or a 20°C range in diurnal air temperature cycle compared with a constant temperature equal to the mean of the cycle when the mean temperatures were optimal. However, with a constant temperature and cycle mean at 6°C above optimum, performance declined with a 20°C range cycle.
Effects of Valley Incision on the Subsurface State of Stress—Theory and Application to the Rio Grande Valley Near Albuquerque, New Mexico

Basin-fill aquifer systems of the Cenozoic Santa Fe Group along the Rio Grande valley, including the Albuquerque Basin, appear to be over-consolidated partly as a consequence of Pleistocene down-cutting by the Rio Grande, which carved a valley about 150 m deep within the broader Rio Grande rift, and partly as a consequence of tectonic exhumation. A first-order analytical solution for displacements and stresses in a compressible elastic half space bounded by periodic topography is used to illustrate the effects of topography on the subsurface state of stress under conditions of active (extensional), neutral, and passive (contractional) regional stress states. The model takes the regional state of stress into account by using a coefficient of lateral earth pressure, and a coefficient of k = 1/3 was used to simulate the state of stress in a rift basin. The solutions are then used to estimate the magnitude of overconsolidation due to Pleistocene incision of the Rio Grande valley in the Albuquerque area. Young9s modulus for the sediments was inferred from sonic logs and published elastic specific storage estimates. Preliminary calculations based on this simple model suggest that the Santa Fe Group aquifer system beneath Albuquerque should be overconsolidated by about 1 to 1.5 MPa directly beneath the river, suggesting that irrecoverable virgin compaction should not begin until water level drawdowns exceed 100 to 150 m. The predicted degree of overconsolidation decreases with depth and laterally with distance from the valley center. In reality, the flanks of the basin are probably overconsolidated by tectonic uplift and subsequent erosion of an unknown thickness of sediment, which is not incorporated into the model, so the 1 MPa estimate is likely to be conservative.
Introduction: Anselm Strauss's Grounded Theory and the Study of Work

Anselm Strauss was interested in the sociology of work in every sense and used his grounded theory method to observe and analyze everything he encountered, including his own " medical work." Drawing on the reflections of his students, this introduction briefly examines Strauss's everyday work mode using grounded theory . The eight articles in this special issue honor Strauss by using his theories and methods for studying varieties of work in very different settings. The final article in this collection provides selected statements from graduates who had the opportunity to study with Strauss. Their voices reveal how Anselm Strauss influenced their lives and work and speak for the many sociologists he trained. It is fitting that the project the contributions to this special issue represent began on a hill in San Francisco at the 1998 Pacific Sociological Association (PSA) meetings. For those of us who were associated with Anselm Strauss as students and colleagues, the image of Anselm Strauss is irrevocably linked to two hills in San Francisco. The first is windy Parnassus Avenue, the hill to which the distinctly urban campus of the University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) clings. Strauss arrived there in 1960, having taught at Indiana University and the University of Chicago, where he had earlier received his doctorate. In Chicago, he had directed research at the Institute for Psychosomatic and Psychiatric Research and Training at Michael Reese Hospital before he was recruited by the University of California to begin a research program in the School of Nursing. A few years later he founded the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the Doctoral Program in Sociology. He remained at UCSF until his death in 1996. The other significant San Francisco hill is Russian Hill. It occupies a sunlit position in the heart of the city, and in the hearts of many who associate it with their sociological awakening. It was there in a townhouse on Moore Place that Anselm and Fran Strauss made their home, and to which they welcomed scores of students, colleagues, and visitors from around the world. * Direct all correspondence to: Roberta Lessor, Chapman University, Department of Sociology, Orange, CA 92866; e-mail: lessor@chapman.edu. Sociological Perspectives, Volume 43, Number 4, pages S1-S5. Copyright © 2000 by Pacific Sociological Association. All rights reserved. Send requests for permission to reprint to: Rights and Permissions, University of California Press, Journals Division, 2000 Center St., Ste. 303, Berkeley, CA 94704-1223.
The perceptions of african-american students: Recruitment, retention, and motivation

This study sought to understand the perceptions of African-American students toward them-selves, their educational preparation, and other perceptions pertaining to the hospitality industry. It is noted that more students looked for positions in the lodging industry than in the food and beverage industry. The results of this study seem to indicate that African-American students have a positive perception toward their educational preparation and their future in the hospitality industry. However, the reality is the industry still faces the challenge of developing minority managers for the industry.
Project Management: Basics

There are many tools available to aid in creating, organizing, and analyzing quality improvement projects. This section demonstrates the value of several fundamental tools and incorporates the running model of the lemonade stand to aid in visualization.
Explaining Leader Effects

The cumulative evidence presented in the previous chapter demonstrated that British general elections have not presidentialized in the sense of the Conservative and Labour party leaders coming to enjoy a stronger electoral impact with each passing election. Rather, leader effects inched upwards in fits and starts between 1964 and 1983, jumped sharply in 1987 — the first election in which both major parties fully embraced leader-centred campaigning strategies — fell back, although not to the 1983 level, in 1992 and then moved a little upwards again in 1997. The absence of a secular trend notwithstanding, election contests were concluded to have presidentialized in the more limited sense of having become more leader-centred after 1983 in terms of both presentation and impact than their post-war predecessors. Presidential change there has been, then, and the logical next question is: how do we account for the actual pattern of leader effects that has transpired? The problem with a question of this type, of course, is that it is difficult to provide a simple answer to it since complex change is, by its nature, unlikely to be susceptible to univariate explanation.
Adaptive Logistic Regression Modeling of Multivariate Dichotomous and Polytomous Outcomes in SAS

This chapter formulates and demonstrates adaptive fractional polynomial modeling of means and dispersions for repeatedly measured dichotomous and polytomous outcomes with two or more values. Marginal modeling extends from the multivariate normal outcome context to the multivariate dichotomous and polytomous outcome context. However, due to the complexity in general of computing likelihoods and quasi-likelihoods (as needed to account for non-unit dispersions) for general multivariate marginal modeling, generalized estimating equations (GEE) techniques are often used instead, thereby avoiding computation of likelihoods and quasi-likelihoods. This complicates the extension of adaptive modeling to the GEE context since it is based on cross-validation (CV) scores computed from likelihoods or likelihood-like functions, but a readily computed extended likelihood is formulated for use in adaptive GEE-based modeling of multivariate dichotomous and polytomous outcomes. Conditional modeling also extends to the multivariate dichotomous and polytomous outcome context, both transition modeling and general conditional modeling. In contrast to marginal GEE-based modeling, conditional modeling of means for multivariate dichotomous and polytomous outcomes with unit dispersions is based on pseudolikelihoods that can be used to compute pseudolikelihood CV (PLCV) scores on which to base adaptive transition and general conditional modeling of multivariate dichotomous and polytomous outcomes. These marginal and conditional models can be extended to model dispersions as well as means. Example analyses of these kinds are presented of post-baseline respiratory status over time for patients with respiratory disorder in terms of the baseline respiratory status, time, and being on an active as opposed to a placebo treatment.
Extreme Wild Card Poker

SummaryRankings of hands in traditional five-card poker are based on the relative frequency of each type of hand occurring. When wild cards are added to the standard deck, these rankings can go awry quite quickly. In this paper, wild card poker is taken to the extreme. We find the minimum number of wild cards needed to ensure five-of-a-kind is the most common hand.
Pathogenic Fungi Isolated from Desiccated Mushrooms, Seaweed, Anchovies and Rice Sticks Imported from the Orient 1.

Desiccated mushrooms, seaweed, rice sticks and anchovies imported from the Orient were obtained from commercial sources or from products detained by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and examined for pathogenic fungi. The etiological agents isolated were mycelial and yeast fungi known to produce deep sporotrichosis, phaeohyphomycosis, mycetoma, chromoblastomycosis, candidosis and cryptococcosis. Other fungi isolated were opportunistic fungi and/or producers of mycotoxins. Total mold counts in the foods examined varied from 2 × 102 to 5 × 106. The predominant pathogens in the mushrooms were Sporothrix schenckii and Wangiella dermatitidis , and counts in the mushrooms imported from Thailand and Taiwan were as high as 1 × 106; however, these pathogens were not isolated from rice sticks, seaweed or anchovies. All presumed pathogenic strains were pathogenic for mice by intraperitoneal injection of 1 × 106 to 107 conidia in saline suspension. It was concluded that food can harbor "virulent" fungal pathogens and potentially opportunistic invaders as well as potentially toxigenic fungi.
Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157 Shedding in Preweaned Calves on Colorado Dairies

ABSTRACT To gain insight into a potential age-related predisposition for Escherichia coli pathogen shedding on dairies, this pilot study measured the prevalence of E. coli O157 (ECO157) in the feces of preweaned dairy calves. An aim of this study was to link these outcomes with the concurrent environmental presence of ECO157 and dam ECO157 shedding elucidated in a parallel study. Recto-anal mucosal swabs and a subset of fecal grab samples were collected from calves (2 to 8 weeks of age; n = 399) monthly between December 2013 and June 2014 on three dairies in northern Colorado. A subset of calf dams (n = 111) were also sampled via fecal grab. Concurrently, environmental samples were collected from locations within the vicinity of the calves: farm tractor tires, steering wheels, hutches, buckets, and gloves from the research technicians and the employees involved in calf rearing. The presence of ECO157 and virulence genes was measured in the samples and confirmed via PCR. Of the calves, only 1 (0.25%) of 39...
Experience in the Shriners Burn Institute in Boston

The results of supplementary parenteral nutrition in twelve children between the ages of two to fourteen years with severe thermal injuries are reviewed. Ten of these patients suffered third degree burns involving 50 to 90% of the total body surface. One of the children with a 30% burn had delayed healing due to severe malnutrition prior to his transfer to this hospital, i.e., loss of 507% of body weight. Another, four year old patient with 307% burns suffered anoxic brain damage and was unconscious for a period of six weeks.
Critical Evaluation of Data on Atomic Energy Levels, Wavelengths, and Transition Probabilities

Current methods of critical evaluation of wavelengths, energy levels, and transition probabilities for atoms and atomic ions at the National Institute of Standards and Technology are summarized.
Entrainment of Arteriole Vasomotor Fluctuations by Neural Activity Is a Basis of Blood-Oxygenation-Level-Dependent “Resting-State” Connectivity

Summary Resting-state signals in blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) imaging are used to parcellate brain regions and define "functional connections" between regions. Yet a physiological link between fluctuations in blood oxygenation with those in neuronal signaling pathways is missing. We present evidence from studies on mouse cortex that modulation of vasomotion, i.e., intrinsic ultra-slow (0.1 Hz) fluctuations in arteriole diameter, provides this link. First, ultra-slow fluctuations in neuronal signaling, which occur as an envelope over γ-band activity, entrains vasomotion. Second, optogenetic manipulations confirm that entrainment is unidirectional. Third, co-fluctuations in the diameter of pairs of arterioles within the same hemisphere diminish to chance for separations >1.4 mm. Yet the diameters of arterioles in distant (>5 mm), mirrored transhemispheric sites strongly co-fluctuate; these correlations are diminished in acallosal mice. Fourth, fluctuations in arteriole diameter coherently drive fluctuations in blood oxygenation. Thus, entrainment of vasomotion links neuronal pathways to functional connections.
IDE Plugins for Detecting Input-Validation Vulnerabilities

Many vulnerabilities in products and systems could be avoided if better secure coding practices were in place. There exist a number of Integrated Development Environment (IDE) plugins which help developers check for security flaws while they code. In this work, we present a review of these plugins. We specifically focus on the plugins that detect input-validation-related vulnerabilities. We list salient features such as their supported IDEs, applicable languages and specific types of vulnerability checks. We believe this work synthesizes information useful for future research on IDE plugins for detecting input-validation-related vulnerabilities.
Heterozygous genotype at codon 129 correlates with prolonged disease course in Heidenhain variant sporadic CJD: case report

Sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD) is a rapid and fatal neurodegenerative disease defined by misfolded prion proteins accumulating in the brain. A minority of cases initially present with po...
Estimated cost to a restaurant of a foodborne illness outbreak.

Objectives:Although outbreaks of restaurant-associated foodborne illness occur periodically and make the news, a restaurant may not be aware of the cost of an outbreak. We estimated this cost under varying circumstances.Methods:We developed a computational simulation model; scenarios varied outbreak size (5 to 250 people affected), pathogen (n = 15), type of dining establishment (fast food, fast casual, casual dining, and fine dining), lost revenue (ie, meals lost per illness), cost of lawsuits and legal fees, fines, and insurance premium increases.Results:We estimated that the cost of a single foodborne illness outbreak ranged from $3968 to $1.9 million for a fast-food restaurant, $6330 to $2.1 million for a fast-casual restaurant, $8030 to $2.2 million for a casual-dining restaurant, and $8273 to $2.6 million for a fine-dining restaurant, varying from a 5-person outbreak, with no lost revenue, lawsuits, legal fees, or fines, to a 250-person outbreak, with high lost revenue (100 meals lost per illness), ...
Why Bigger Is Not Always Better, Further Thoughts on Complex, Messy Systems

This chapter discusses another feature of complex, messy systems that confounds them even further. They are plagued through and through by fundamental paradoxes that makes coping with them extremely difficult. Unless one is aware of such paradoxes, one has no hope of handling them whatsoever. The management of complex, messy systems—and thus crises—is inextricably tied to the management of paradox.
Functionally graded lattice structure topology optimization for the design of additive manufactured components with stress constraints

Abstract Advances in additive manufacturing (AM) have drawn considerable interest due to its ability to produce geometrically complex structure, such as lattice materials. In this work, a novel methodology is proposed to design graded lattice structure through topology optimization under stress constraint, in order to generate lightweight lattice structure design with predictable yield performance. Instead of using the power law of material interpolation in the SIMP method, asymptotic homogenization method is employed to compute the effective elastic properties of lattice material in terms of design variable, i.e. relative density. For yield strength, a multiscale failure model is proposed to capture yield strength of microstructure with macroscopic stress. At macroscale, a modified Hill’s yield criterion is employed to describe anisotropic yield strength of lattice material. The material constants in Hill’s model are assumed to be a function of relative density, and thus a model is built up to formulate yield strength of lattice structure with macroscopic stress. The experimental verification on the printed samples demonstrates that both the homogenized elastic model and yield model can accurately describe the elasticity and plasticity of the lattice structure. Based on the proposed material interpolation for lattice structure, a lattice structure topology optimization framework is proposed for minimizing total weight of the structure under stress constraint. The sensitivity analysis is performed for the implementation of the optimization algorithm. Two three-dimensionally numerical examples are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed optimization method, as well as accuracy of the proposed homogenization technique for graded lattice structure design. Experiment is conducted to systematically examine yielding of the optimally graded lattice structure design and compare its performance with a uniform structure. It is found that the proposed optimization framework is valid for the design examples examined and can significantly enhance mechanical performance of the structure (i.e. yield loading, stiffness, energy absorption, etc.)
Structural basis for activation of fluorogenic dyes by an RNA aptamer lacking a G-quadruplex motif.

The DIR2s RNA aptamer, a second-generation, in-vitro selected binder to dimethylindole red (DIR), activates the fluorescence of cyanine dyes, DIR and oxazole thiazole blue (OTB), allowing detection of two well-resolved emission colors. Using Fab BL3-6 and its cognate hairpin as a crystallization module, we solved the crystal structures of both the apo and OTB-SO3 bound forms of DIR2s at 2.0 A and 1.8 A resolution, respectively. DIR2s adopts a compact, tuning fork-like architecture comprised of a helix and two short stem-loops oriented in parallel to create the ligand binding site through tertiary interactions. The OTB-SO3 fluorophore binds in a planar conformation to a claw-like structure formed by a purine base-triple, which provides a stacking platform for OTB-SO3, and an unpaired nucleotide, which partially caps the binding site from the top. The absence of a G-quartet or base tetrad makes the DIR2s aptamer unique among fluorogenic RNAs with known 3D structure.
The enhancement of the photoacoustic generation efficiency based on fiber optic ultrasound phased array

Abstract This paper presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a new fiber optic ultrasound phased array generator. This novel ultrasound phased array generator is based on photoacoustic (PA) and phased array principle for biomedical ultrasound imaging applications. The gold nanocomposite, which was used as a photoacoustic material to generate the ultrasound signal, was coated on the tip of optical fibers. Four fiber optic ultrasound generation elements with different fiber lengths (1, 5, 9, 13 m or 1, 5, 5, 1 m) were used to build the ultrasound phased array generator. The time delay of the acoustic signal between each generation element was introduced due to the difference in optical fiber length. A hydrophone was used as the acoustic signal receiver for this ultrasound phased array generator. In this paper, two tests conducted and their results were reported. The first test was the steering angle test, and the second was the focus test. In the steering angle test, the steering angle was 9.5°, which matched with the theoretical result when the time delay between each optical fiber was 0.02 µs. Moreover, in the focus test, it has been demonstrated that the reported ultrasound phased array generator was capable of focusing the ultrasound with the focal length of 1.2 mm. Due to the focusing, the efficiency of the PA generation was 6.5 times higher than the single fiber structure. This fiber optic ultrasound phased array generator is the first step of a continuous study which will result in a novel fiber optic ultrasound probe for ultrasonic imaging applications.