cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tabu Search Background

The abundance of difficult optimization problems encountered in practical settings such as telecommunications, logistics, financial planning, transportation, and production has motivated the development of powerful optimization techniques. These techniques are usually the result of adapting ideas from a variety of research areas. The hope is to develop procedures that are efficient and are able to handle the complexity of today’s optimization problems. The ideas that motivate the particular structure of each methodology sometimes come from unexpected connections.
Disciplinary Literacy: Virginia School-Based Speech-Language Pathologists’ Knowledge and Confidence:

The purpose of this survey was to examine Speech-Language Pathologists’ (SLPs) confidence in their ability to support student outcomes by addressing language-literacy needs, to align therapy to edu...
Making Home More Affordable: Community Land Trusts Adopting Cooperative Ownership Models to Expand Affordable Housing

ABSTRACTMany question conventional homeownership, particularly for low-income households. Shared equity models offer an alternative, including community land trusts (CLTs) and limited equity cooperatives (LECs); yet, they too have limitations. CLTs offer ongoing support, but require bankable households. LECs can provide autonomy and security, but often require organizational reinforcement to succeed. This article explores an adaptation of these models. It examines the organizational characteristics of five CLTs partnered with LECs. The study considers CLT motivations for pursuing LECs and appraises the characteristics of CLT-managed coops. The discussion highlights an emergent practice and speaks to the organizational adaptability of shared equity models.
The techies vs. the non-techies: today's two cultures

During the postwar heyday of physics, C.P. Snow, wrote a short article entitled "The Two Cultures" (1954). There he pointed out the growing division between the 'science culture" and the "non-science (literary) culture." He observed that scientists basically had no understanding of - - nay, even any concern for -- literary culture, and vice versa. He pointed out the profound loss to society that was resulting from this dichotomy. Namely, creativity often arises in the interchange of ideas. Sadly, the two cultures were so polarized, even then, that Snow felt that little real dialogue took place between members of the two cultures.
Glucose transporters in central nervous system glucose homeostasis.

The brain is considered to be a glucose-obligatory organ, that is neuronal and glial cells from the central nervous system (CNS) are dependent on glucose as a sole energy source1. The ability of various anatomical areas of the brain to utilize glucose has been shown to have a major impact on the control of certain physiological and behavioral functions of the brain. This has resulted in an increased desire to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the transport, metabolism, and sensitivity to the glucose in the brain. Recent identification and characterization of a facilitative glucose transporter family have set a pace for research involving glucose uptake systems present in the brain cells.
Paguettes & bastries: Novice French learners show shifts in native phoneme boundaries

A cohort of five beginning learners of French (L1 English) completed perception and production tasks in French and English on a weekly basis for four to six weeks. All participants were enrolled in a French language immersion program in Paris, France for the duration of the study. As controls, we also tested nine native English speakers who were not learning an L2. Participants regularly completed two perception studies over the six week period: phoneme discrimination and semantic priming, both in English. We find that over the testing period, French and English phoneme perception appeared to be tightly linked to L1 behavior. But, in the 3-5 week L2 exposure range, participants learning French begin to show evidence of category confusion for VOT in English (their L1) due to their L2 exposure to French. These early cross-language effects corroborate recent findings of phonetic shift in speech production of VOT, but demonstrate that the shift may also occur in perception. This suggests that second language exposure may have an effect on first language perception earlier than was previously thought.
The Critique of Relativism in the Prolegomena to the Logical Investigations

Husserl presents his first thoroughgoing critique of relativism in of the Prolegomena to the Logical Investigations. This critique takes place within the broader context of the central argument of the Prolegomena, the refutation of psychologism. One line of argumentation within this refutation is: relativism is incoherent and self-refuting, psychologism is a form of relativism, therefore … In accordance with its function within this main argument, the critique addresses first and foremost relativism in the form of psychologism, i.e., the form in which what is relativized is the validity of the fundamental principles of logic; and that to which this is relativized is the psychological constitution of a given species. Yet while this particular form of relativism is the primary target of the critique, relativism in a more general form falls within its range, as Husserl himself remarks upon several occasions.
Prediction Of Blood Alcohol Concentration In Humans: Comments And Criticisms

In calculating blood alcohol concentration for both experimental and nomographic applications, use of the Widmark equation is typical. This equation deals with the relationships among ingested alcohol, body weight, and blood alcohol concentration. There are a number of problems associated with the equation, most of which arise as a consequence of the fact that the formula largely ignores the absorptive part of the alcohol curve. The focus of the current paper, then, was to survey these problem areas and to evaluate their impact on the use of the equation in the two aforementioned applications.
A Novel In-Plane Passive Micromixer Using Coanda Effect

In this paper, an innovative in-plane passive micromixer using the “Coanda effect” has been designed, simulated, fabricated and successfully characterized. Simulation and experimental results of the developed novel micromixer have shown excellent mixing performances over a wide range of flow rate from 1 µl/min to 100 µl/min. The micromixer realized in this work has achieved even better mixing performance at a higher flow rate of 100 µl/min. Due to a simple in-plane structure of the novel micromixer, the mixer can be easily fabricated and integrated with total microfluidic systems.
Evaluating gentrification’s relation to neighborhood and city health

Gentrification has been argued to contribute to urban inequalities, including those of health disparities. Extant research has yet to conduct a systematic study of gentrification’s relation with neighborhood health outcomes nationally. This gap is addressed in the current study through the utilization of census-tract data from the Center for Disease Control’s 500 Cities project, the 2000 Census and the 2010–2014 American Community Survey to examine how gentrification relates to local self-rated physical health in select cities across the United States. We examine gentrification’s association with neighborhood rates of poor self-rated physical health. We contextualize this relationship by evaluating gentrification’s relation with city-level self-rated health inequalities. We find gentrification was significantly and positively related with self-rated physical neighborhood health outcomes. However, the presence and magnitude of gentrification within a city was not associated with health outcomes for cities overall. Based on these findings, we argue that gentrification’s health benefits for cities are limited at best, though gentrification does not appear to be associated with deepening city-level health inequalities, either.
Pocket similarity identifies selective estrogen receptor modulators as microtubule modulators at the taxane site.

Taxanes are a family of natural products with a broad spectrum of anticancer activity. This activity is mediated by interaction with the taxane site of beta-tubulin, leading to microtubule stabilization and cell death. Although widely used in the treatment of breast cancer and other malignancies, existing taxane-based therapies including paclitaxel and the second-generation docetaxel are currently limited by severe adverse effects and dose-limiting toxicity. To discover taxane site modulators, we employ a computational binding site similarity screen of > 14,000 drug-like pockets from PDB, revealing an unexpected similarity between the estrogen receptor and the beta-tubulin taxane binding pocket. Evaluation of nine selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) via cellular and biochemical assays confirms taxane site interaction, microtubule stabilization, and cell proliferation inhibition. Our study demonstrates that SERMs can modulate microtubule assembly and raises the possibility of an estrogen receptor-independent mechanism for inhibiting cell proliferation. Taxanes are natural products which bind beta-tubulin, stabilize microtubules and have a broad spectrum of anticancer activity. Here authors employ a computational binding site similarity screen and cell-based assays to reveal a SERM cross-reactivity between the estrogen receptor and the beta-tubulin taxane binding pocket.
Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation is an Effective Bridge to Left Ventricular Assist Device Implantation

Purpose Previous studies have demonstrated poor survival for patients supported by extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) as a bridge to left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. We hypothesize that ECMO can be used as an effective strategy for bridge to LVAD. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all patients implanted with a HeartMate 3 (HM3) at our institution from September 2017 through September 2018. Patients preoperatively supported by ECMO were identified and patient characteristics, intraoperative data and postoperative outcomes were recorded. A sub-group analysis was performed comparing outcomes for patients implanted via a complete sternal-sparing (CSS) approach versus full sternotomy (FS). Results A total of 16 (25%) patients were supported by ECMO preoperatively. Nine (56%) patients also required an intra-aortic balloon pump or Impella for additional support (Table). CSS was utilized in 9 (56%) patients and FS in 7 (44%). Median intensive care unit length of stay was 6 days [IQR, 4-18.5] with median total hospital length of stay of 20.5 days [13-37.5]. Survival to discharge was achieved in 81% of patients with 63% of the patients being discharged to home. The subgroup analysis showed a trend in improved outcomes for the CSS compared to FS cohort, including less postoperative chest tube drainage (1095.5 [878.5-1850] vs 2295 [1470-2800], p = 0.037) and less time on mechanical ventilation support (26 [13-134] vs 96 [49-456] hours, p = 0.039). There was no difference in intensive care unit length of stay, hospital length of stay or overall mortality between cohorts. Conclusion ECMO is a viable and effective strategy to stabilize critically ill patients as a bridge to long term mechanical support. The less invasive CSS approach demonstrates a trend towards favorable perioperative outcomes compared to traditional FS and warrants further study.
Hydrolysis and degradation of dazomet with pyrite: Implications for persistence in produced waters in the Marcellus Shale

Abstract Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling in the Marcellus Shale present a novel use of chemical additives at unprecedented volumes. Reuse of produced water has become a popular option in Pennsylvania, complicating our understanding of the fate of chemical additives due to the variability of produced water chemistry. This study investigates the effect of pH, temperature, ionic strength and the presence of pyrite on the kinetics of degradation of dazomet, a commonly-used biocide, under a range of conditions expected during hydraulic fracturing. The results show that the degradation rate of dazomet is highly dependent on many of the variables tested. The hydrolysis is base-catalyzed over the pH range of interest which results in half-lives decreasing from 8.5 h to 3.4 h as the pH is increased from 4.1 to 8.2. Dissolved FeII ions catalyze dazomet degradation kinetics with solutions of 0.8 mM FeII causing degradation rates to increase by 190% over iron-free water. Increasing temperatures from 34 °C to 57 °C quadrupled hydrolysis rates (estimated activation energy of 60 kJ/mol). Reaction with oxygen-exposed pyrite surface led to accelerated degradation of dazomet, but unoxidized pyrite had no effect on the degradation rate of dazomet. The key hydrolysis products of dazomet degradation are formaldehyde and methyl isothiocyanate which are shown to be significantly more toxic than the parent compound. The study points to the need to assess the specific environmental conditions and any toxic by-products in conducting risk assessments for geological applications.
A 100-120GHz 20Gbps Bits-to-RF 16QAM Transmitter Using 1-bit Digital-to-Analog Interface

This paper presents a 100–120GHz direct modulation wireless transmitter (TX) that takes raw data bits as the input and generates 16QAM constellation by combining two QPSK constellations with an amplitude ratio of 2. It delivers 3dBm maximum CW output power. Wireless test at 20-cm TX-RX distance measures 20Gbps data rate with an EVM of -15.8dB, corresponding to a BER of 10-3. The TX completely avoids the need for high-speed high-linearity DACs, thereby significantly reducing implementation cost and improving efficiency.
Absolute Protein Binding Free Energy Simulations for Ligands with Multiple Poses, a Thermodynamic Path That Avoids Exhaustive Enumeration of the Poses

We propose a free energy calculation method for receptor-ligand binding, which have multiple binding poses that avoids exhaustive enumeration of the poses. For systems with multiple binding poses, the standard procedure is to enumerate orientations of the binding poses, restrain the ligand to each orientation, and then, calculate the binding free energies for each binding pose. In this study, we modify a part of the thermodynamic cycle in order to sample a broader conformational space of the ligand in the binding site. This modification leads to more accurate free energy calculation without performing separate free energy simulations for each binding pose. We applied our modification to simple model host-guest systems as a test, which have only two binding poses, by using a single decoupling method (SDM) in implicit solvent. The results showed that the binding free energies obtained from our method without knowing the two binding poses were in good agreement with the benchmark results obtained by explicit enumeration of the binding poses. Our method is applicable to other alchemical binding free energy calculation methods such as the double decoupling method (DDM) in explicit solvent. We performed a calculation for a protein-ligand system with explicit solvent using our modified thermodynamic path. The results of the free energy simulation along our modified path were in good agreement with the results of conventional DDM, which requires a separate binding free energy calculation for each of the binding poses of the example of phenol binding to T4 lysozyme in explicit solvent. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Chief Nursing Officers' Perspectives on Hospital-Based Building or Remodeling Projects.

OBJECTIVEThis descriptive survey explores the experiences of chief nursing officers (CNOs) who have participated in hospital-based building or remodeling projects.BACKGROUNDAs a pivotal member of the leadership team for facility projects, CNOs are often charged with contributing to decisions regardi
CHAPTER 14 – The Challenge

Publisher Summary Much of the world's energy supply is still based on fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are limited and the supply is fast running out. The future of the energy supply must be based on sources other than fossil fuels—coal, oil, and gas—or even nuclear fission of uranium. After an initial growth, the world will level off its energy utilization. From a state of steady expansion, energy utilization can turn to a steady climax. The advantages under those conditions can be with those who can do the most with the least, who can do best with what they have. As fossil fuels run out, those countries and regions that have developed the best technology for utilizing the constant flow of “income” energy can have the advantage. This chapter discusses the challenge that consists in developing the sufficient technology to extract energy from nature without ecological dangers, such as air, water, thermal, or radioactive pollution.
Team Sports and Sexual Violence: Examining Perpetration by and Victimization of Adolescent Males and Females

The authors examined whether team athletic involvement is related to sexual violence victimization and perpetration among male and female high school students. A secondary data analysis was conducted with Minnesota Student Survey data gathered from 122,501 Minnesota eighth-grade, ninth-grade, and 11th grade students. Multivariable logistic regression indicates that sport-involved youth are more likely to be involved in sexual violence than peers not involved in sports. For example, highly sport-involved males are significantly more likely to coerce a partner into sex (odds ratio [OR] = 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.01, 1.67]) and be coerced (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = [1.02, 1.38]) than nonsport peers. The results suggest high school sport programs could be an important site to implement comprehensive sexual violence prevention programs targeted at individual actions as well as harmful cultural norms and systematic inequities.
Helmholtz spacing of thin rectangular magnetic field coils

In this Note, we discuss the Helmholtz spacing for a pair of thin rectangular coils of arbitrary aspect ratio and consider how best to use such coils to compensate for Earth's magnetic field along the coils' Cartesian symmetry axes. Such coils are frequently used in conjunction with charged-particle beam machines. The Helmholtz spacing varies non-monotonically between that for square coils and that for four optimally spaced infinite wires. We consider other coil spacings that extend the length over which the field varies by less than some tolerance along the Cartesian symmetry axes. The calculations also provide a convenient means to evaluate when the length of the coils is sufficiently long to be considered infinite at the center point within a fixed tolerance.
The Contribution of Frequency Discrimination Ability to Auditory Temporal Patterning Tests in Children

Purpose The Pitch Patterns Test (PPT) and the Duration Patterns Test (DPT) are clinical auditory processing tests that evaluate temporal patterning skills based on pitch (PPT) or duration (DPT) aspects of sound. Although temporal patterning tests are categorized under the temporal processing domain, successful performance on the PPT also relies on accurate pitch discrimination. However, the relationship between pitch discrimination ability and temporal patterning skills has not been thoroughly evaluated. This study examined the contribution of pitch discrimination ability to performance on temporal patterning in children through the use of a pitch discrimination task and the PPT. The DPT was also given as a control measure to assess temporal patterning with no pitch component. Method Thirty-two typically developing elementary school-age children (6;11-11;3 [years;months]) with normal hearing were given a series of three counterbalanced tasks: an adaptive psychophysical pitch discrimination task (difference limen for frequency [DLF]), the PPT, and the DPT. Results Correlational analysis revealed moderate correlations between DLF and PPT scores. After accounting for age, results of a linear regression analysis suggested that pitch discrimination accounts for a significant amount of variance in performance on the PPT. No significant correlation was found between DLF and DPT scores, supporting the hypothesis that the pitch task had no significant temporal patterning component contributing to the overall score. Discussion These findings indicate that pitch discrimination contributes significantly to performance on the PPT, but not the DPT, in a typically developing pediatric population. This is an important clinical consideration in both assessment and utilization of targeted therapy techniques for different clinical populations.
The evolving role of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Ibrutinib, the first in class of the oral covalent Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors, has profoundly changed the treatment landscape of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The phase III RESON...
β3-Adrenoreceptors as ROS Balancer in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

In the last decades, the therapeutic potential of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has acquired a primary role in the management of a broad spectrum of diseases including cancer, hematologic conditions, immune system dysregulations, and inborn errors of metabolism. The different types of HSCT, autologous and allogeneic, include risks of severe complications including acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) complications, hepatic veno-occlusive disease, lung injury, and infections. Despite being a dangerous procedure, it improved patient survival. Hence, its use was extended to treat autoimmune diseases, metabolic disorders, malignant infantile disorders, and hereditary skeletal dysplasia. HSCT is performed to restore or treat various congenital conditions in which immunologic functions are compromised, for instance, by chemo- and radiotherapy, and involves the administration of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in patients with depleted or dysfunctional bone marrow (BM). Since HSCs biology is tightly regulated by oxidative stress (OS), the control of reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels is important to maintain their self-renewal capacity. In quiescent HSCs, low ROS levels are essential for stemness maintenance; however, physiological ROS levels promote HSC proliferation and differentiation. High ROS levels are mainly involved in short-term repopulation, whereas low ROS levels are associated with long-term repopulating ability. In this review, we aim summarize the current state of knowledge about the role of β3-adrenoreceptors (β3-ARs) in regulating HSCs redox homeostasis. β3-ARs play a major role in regulating stromal cell differentiation, and the antagonist SR59230A promotes differentiation of different progenitor cells in hematopoietic tumors, suggesting that β3-ARs agonism and antagonism could be exploited for clinical benefit.
Determinants of Frozen Fish Consumption by Households in Delta State, Nigeria

The research explored factors affecting the consumption of frozen fish in Delta State Nigeria. One hundred and 20 participants from 12 communities were randomly chosen. In order to obtain information from the respondents, a questionnaire was used. The findings indicate that 57.5% of those surveyed were females with mean of 43years old. Around 64.2% of the respondents were married and 81.7% of them were educated. The average household size was around 5 people; 92.5% were Christian and they had a mean income of N72,499.5. The mean consumption expenditure of frozen fish was N11,899.95. The average frozen fish intake per capita was 10.38 kg /year. Beef is the principal substitute of frozen fish. Owing to health reasons, most preferred consumption of frozen fish. Religion did not impede consumption of frozen. Majority of the respondents preferred to consume frozen fish in smoked form. The result revealed that age, educational status, household size, income level, frozen fish prices and frozen fish substitute prices influence the consumption of frozen fish.. It is recommended price of frozen fish should be controlled to encourage its consumption considering the nutritional benefits. DOR: 20.1001.1.22517588.2021.11.1.4.6
Accurately computing the electronic properties of a quantum ring.

A promising approach to study condensed-matter systems is to simulate them on an engineered quantum platform1–4. However, the accuracy needed to outperform classical methods has not been achieved so far. Here, using 18 superconducting qubits, we provide an experimental blueprint for an accurate condensed-matter simulator and demonstrate how to investigate fundamental electronic properties. We benchmark the underlying method by reconstructing the single-particle band structure of a one-dimensional wire. We demonstrate nearly complete mitigation of decoherence and readout errors, and measure the energy eigenvalues of this wire with an error of approximately 0.01 rad, whereas typical energy scales are of the order of 1 rad. Insight into the fidelity of this algorithm is gained by highlighting the robust properties of a Fourier transform, including the ability to resolve eigenenergies with a statistical uncertainty of 10−4 rad. We also synthesize magnetic flux and disordered local potentials, which are two key tenets of a condensed-matter system. When sweeping the magnetic flux we observe avoided level crossings in the spectrum, providing a detailed fingerprint of the spatial distribution of local disorder. By combining these methods we reconstruct electronic properties of the eigenstates, observing persistent currents and a strong suppression of conductance with added disorder. Our work describes an accurate method for quantum simulation5,6 and paves the way to study new quantum materials with superconducting qubits. As a blueprint for high-precision quantum simulation, an 18-qubit algorithm that consists of more than 1,400 two-qubit gates is demonstrated, and reconstructs the energy eigenvalues of the simulated one-dimensional wire to a precision of 1 per cent.
The relational regulation of within-person variation in personality expression.

There is renewed interest in how people express different levels of personality across situations or times (within-person variation). However, within-person studies typically do not focus on the specific relationship partners that are linked to the expression of personality. To remedy this, we applied relational regulation theory (RRT) to the study of within-person variation. RRT states that specific relationship partners are important social contexts for understanding within-person variation and describes how people regulate their affect, action and thought through interacting with or thinking about specific partners. In three studies of students (Ns = 136, 349, 110), participants rated their levels of six- or five-factor personality dimensions when with or thinking about different relationship partners. Personality expression was strongly consistent across partners. Yet, in each study, there were also strong effects whereby more extraversion, agreeableness and openness were expressed when with some partners but not others. In each study, when a recipient saw a relationship as supportive, the recipient expressed more extraversion, agreeableness, and openness. Effects for emotionality and conscientiousness were less consistent. Theoretical implications for RRT and within-person variation in personality were discussed.
Collaborative Adaptive Rangeland Management, Multipaddock Rotational Grazing, and the Story of the Regrazed Grass Plant

Abstract Frequent, severe defoliation reduces grass production and can alter plant species composition in grasslands. Multipaddock rotational grazing has been proposed as a grazing strategy that may reduce the frequency and intensity of defoliation on palatable grass plants without altering stocking rates. Previous studies evaluated this hypothesis using small, homogeneous paddocks and nonadaptive rotation schedules and found small and inconsistent differences between continuous and rotational grazing systems. Using a stakeholder-driven collaborative adaptive management (CAM) framework, we conducted the first ranch-scale experimental investigation into tiller defoliation patterns in the context of adaptive multipaddock rotational grazing. We monitored tiller defoliation frequency and intensity in 10 paired 130-ha pastures assigned to either a collaborative adaptive multipaddock rotational grazing treatment (CARM, one livestock herd) or a season-long continuous grazing treatment (traditional rangeland management [TRM]; 10 separate herds) in shortgrass steppe. Consistent with previous studies, we observed that frequencies of grazing and regrazing on a palatable, cool-season grass (western wheatgrass, Pascopyrum smithii) were much more sensitive to stocking rate than grazing system. Under moderate stocking rates used in both CARM and TRM treatments, roughly two-thirds of western wheatgrass tillers remained ungrazed annually, regardless of grazing system. Thus, season-long rest is present in season-long continuous and rotational grazing systems. Frequencies of tiller regrazing were low (5−15%) and similar between CARM and TRM treatments. Although defoliation patterns were similar between treatments at the whole-ranch scale, CARM enhanced spatial and temporal heterogeneity in defoliation frequencies among individual pastures. Pastures grazed earlier in the season or for longer experienced more defoliation. Managers implementing adaptive, multipaddock rotational grazing could use this heightened and predictable variability to strategically manage impacts of grazing on western wheatgrass at the individual pasture scale. The CAM model enabled our team to identify and directly address key stakeholder hypotheses and resulted in coproduction of management-relevant research.
Multi-Year Statistics of Total Cloud Amounts from the Nimbus-7, ISCCP and COADS Data Sets

A primary aim of this work is to establish how compatible are the satellite cloudiness estimates made by the Nimbus-7 Cloud Team (Nimbus-7) and the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) with a surface-derived summary Because there is no reason to believe that the absolute magnitude of cloud fraction estimated by Nimbus-7 and ISCCP and the surface observers should be identical, emphasis should be given to the evaluation of statistics, which are relatively insensitive to specific mean values. Since only six years of Nimbus-7 and five years of ISCCP data are available, these statistics will concentrate on intra-annual variations from regional annual means.
Assessing Mathematics Self-Efficacy: How Many Categories Do We Really Need?.

The present study tested whether a reduced number of categories is optimal for assessing mathematics self-efficacy among middle school students using a 6-point Likert-type format or a 0- to 100-point format. Two independent samples of middle school adolescents (N = 1,913) were administered a 24-item Middle School Mathematics Self-Efficacy Scale using either a 101-point or a 6-point response scale format. The findings suggest that the two different response scale formats were optimally represented by a 4-point scale and supported when samples were pooled. Results provide tentative evidence that middle school students make use of only 4 scale points and that the items on this scale are best matched with adolescents with average to below-average mathematics self-efficacy. Implications for the measurement of self-efficacy and related motivation constructs are discussed, and replications with a 4-point scale using category descriptors for each scale point are needed.
Immunochemical studies of the a allotypes of rabbit heavy chain variable regions--I. Comparisons of a3 allotypic determinants on normal IgG and IgG of limited heterogeneity by radioimmunoassays with purified labeled anti-allotype antibodies.

Abstract Radioimmunoassays using purified and labeled anti-a3 antibodies were developed and used to study a3 allotypic determinants on normal IgGs and anti-polysaccharide antibodies of restricted heterogeneity. Our results provide additional evidence for differences in fine specificity of al anti-a3 and a2 anti-a3. Insights into the causes and nature of allotypic heterogeneity have come from the recognition that some a3 allotypic determinants on normal IgGs and restricted IgGs may bind anti-a3 antibodies with different average association constants. A purified fraction of a2 anti-a3 which cross-reacts with a1 IgG was found advantageous for assaying an a3 IgG of restricted heterogeneity. The use of this fraction (a2 anti-a3 CRI) for assays of peptides derived from the a3 heavy chain is described in a subsequent paper.
Framework for Authentication and Access Control of Client-Server Group Communication Systems

Researchers have made much progress in designing secure and scalable protocols to provide specific security services, such as data secrecy, data integrity, entity authentication and access control, to multicast and group applications. However, less emphasis has been put on how to integrate security protocols with modern, highly efficient group communication systems and what issues arise in such secure group communication systems. In this paper, we present a flexible and modular architecture for integrating many different authentication and access control policies and protocols with an existing group communication system, while allowing applications to provide their own protocols and control the policies. This architecture maintains, as much as possible, the scalability and performance characteristics of the unsecure system. We discuss some of the challenges when designing such a framework and show its implementation in the Spread wide-area group communication toolkit.
Neoglycoproteins: the preparation and application of synthetic glycoproteins.

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of neoglycoproteins. A neoglycoprotein is defined as a glycoprotein produced chemically, in vitro , by the covalent attachment of monosaccharides or oligosaccharides to proteins that may or may not already contain naturally occurring, covalently bound carbohydrate. Excluded from this category are glycoproteins whose carbohydrate moieties are extended, in vitro , by glycosyltransferases, or altered by enzymes or other reagents. The applications of neoglycoproteins for investigating the contribution of carbohydrate to the functions mediated by glycoproteins are only now beginning to be explored. The ways in which neoglycoproteins have been used to study lectins and carbohydrate-specific antibodies could be extended to the study of other carbohydrate-binding proteins such as glycosyltransferases. Neoglycoproteins may also serve as soluble inhibitors of processes that are apparently glycoconjugate-mediated such as cell-cell adhesion. Still another possible approach to investigate the role of carbohydrate in the behavior of cells would be to attach new sugars to the cell surface by using the methods developed to prepare neoglycoproteins. The chapter describes the preparation of neoglycoproteins and desired characteristics of modification reactions. It discusses the properties of neoglycoproteins and elaborates the applications of neoglycoproteins and modification reactions.
Longitudinal studies of fetal growth with the use of dynamic image ultrasonography

To characterize the growth of individual fetuses, serial measurements of the crown-rump length (CRL), biparietal diameter (BPD), head circumference (HC), and abdominal circumference (AC) were made at specified intervals of 2 to 3 weeks (between 6 to 8 weeks [conceptual age] and delivery) in 20 normal fetuses with known dates of conception. Values for the HC-AC ratio and the estimated fetal weight were also obtained from these data. Measurements of CRL were similar to those reported previously, except in those cases in which the follicular phase was prolonged or the fetal growth potential was reduced. Mathematical modeling demonstrated that the linear-cubic model was optimal for the BPD and HC growth curves, the linear model for the AC, and the linear-quadratic model for fetal weight. The HC-AC ratio could not be modeled adequately because of significant individual variability. Optimal models for average longitudinal growth curves were determined for the BPD, HC, AC, and fetal weight from individual growth curves. These average longitudinal curves were similar in shape, mean values, and variability to those obtained in previous cross-sectional studies. Statistical analysis indicated that the coefficients of the average longitudinal curves are not likely to change by more than 5% to 15% if the size of the sample is increased very significantly. These results indicate that the average longitudinal growth curves are good estimators of the true population growth curves.
Possible Precursors of Ball Lightning – Observation of Closed Loops in High-Voltage Discharges

Several hundred photographs of ultrahigh voltage discharges have been obtained that show closed current loops. These closed current loops may be precursors of ball lightning. One feature of these d...
Transdisciplinary Project Management Through Process Modeling

Project management plays an important role in large-scale multidisciplinary software development. Yet, without a solid process project management is simply a means of tracking down software development activities - it by itself cannot exert much impact to the software quality and productivity. It is through a process centered software development environment that project management can be used effectively. This paper describes such an environment where project management and process modeling are integrated into a cohesive entity in which software engineering activities can be studied in a multidisciplinary setting, manipulated and monitored in terms of the established processes.
The Stabilization of Irreversibly Deformed Keratin Fibers : Part I: Mechanism of Recovery

The mechanism of recovery of keratin fibers from deformation in aqueous solutions was investigated. Above a transition temperature of ~70°C the deformation of the fibers became at least partially irreversible and the reversibility of the α-β-transformation was completely destroyed. Various levels of an irreversible disorientation of the native structure could also be obtained by holding the fibers in the extended state above the transition temperature for various lengths of time. The level of disorientation obtained under these conditions is reflected in the stress level reached during stress relaxation. Upon release of the fibers, instantaneous recovery occurred which was proportional to the stress just prior to release. The total recovery can be kept at this level if an SH-blocking reagent is added prior to the release of the fibers, indicating that the second, slower phase of recovery is controlled by an SH-catalyzed disulfide interchange mechanism. A similar behavior could be observed for highly reduced fibers, in which case the formation of stable thioether linkages during setting presumably prevents the second phase of recovery. The removal of disulfide bonds from contraction-opposing positions is the rate-determining factor of the second phase of recovery
Give Us our Skeletons

Give Us our Skeletons. film by Paul-Anders Simma. First Run/Icarus Films, New York. VHS format. In color with some historical black and white footage; English subtitles; running time 50 minutes.1999.
The deterministic description of the coherent structure of free shear layers

The large coherent structures observed in turbulent mixing layers are tentatively identified with the unsteady flow which is generated in two dimensions by the same initial and boundary conditions. This flow is briefly described and means of calculating it are reviewed. Typical results of such calculations are illustrated. For large Reynolds numbers and the outer folds of the interfacial spirals, a boundary-layer-like treatment allows the calculation of the evolution of the diffusive attributes of the flow in terms of the rate of stretching of the material interface. This important quantity has been calculated as a Lagrangian function of time and initial location for a roll-up and pairing and for a moderate Reynolds number. It is suggested that interfacial stretching does not depend strongly on Reynolds number. The use of this convenient approach is illustrated in a simple example of a diffusion-limited reaction.
Building capacity for cognitive behavioral therapy delivery for depression in disaster-impacted contexts

Numerous challenges exist in implementing evidence-based practices, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, in resource poor, ethnic minority, and/or disaster-affected communities with disparities in mental health. Community-academic participatory partnerships are a promising approach to addressing disparities by implementing community-appropriate, evidence-based depression care. A community-academic collaborative was formed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to expand resources for effective depression care, including cognitive behavioral therapy. In this article, we: 1) describe our model of building capacity to deliver cognitive behavioral therapy for depression in post-disaster community-based settings; 2) discuss the impact of this training program on therapist reported practice; and 3) share lessons learned regarding disseminating and sustaining evidence-based interventions in the context of a disaster impacted community. Using a mixed methods approach, we found that this model was feasible, acceptable, and disseminated knowledge about cognitive behavioral therapy in community settings. Over the course of two years, community providers demonstrated the feasibility of implementing evidence-based practice and potential for local community leadership. The lessons learned from this model of implementation may help address barriers to disseminating evidence-based interventions in other low-resource, disaster-impacted community settings.
A Systematic X-Ray Search for Clusters of Galaxies behind the Milky Way*

We report on the design and status of the Clusters in the Zone of Avoidance (CIZA) project, the first systematic X-ray search for clusters of galaxies behind the Milky Way. We demonstrate that an X-ray survey can find galaxy clusters at low Galactic latitude where optical searches are inefficient because of massive obscuration and extinction problems. We discuss the rationale for such a survey in the context of large-scale structure studies and describe in detail the combined X-ray/optical/NIR approach used by CIZA to identify clusters of galaxies at |b| < 20?, a region of the sky that has traditionally been excluded from earlier cluster catalogs. So far, CIZA has identified and spectroscopically confirmed 137 galaxy clusters in what used to be the zone of avoidance; additional clusters have been confirmed in imaging observations and await spectroscopic observation. We present a catalog of the 73 X-ray-brightest CIZA clusters, 53 (73%) of which are new discoveries. This sample is statistically complete out to at least z ~ 0.075 (cz ~ 22,500 km s-1). We reassess local large-scale structure in the Great Attractor (GA) region in light of this first X-ray-selected cluster sample at low Galactic latitude. Our survey discovered CIZA J1324.7-5736, a luminous cluster at l = 3074, b = 50, cz = 5700 km s-1, and possibly as massive as A3627, but ruled out a hypothesized X-ray-luminous cluster around the radio galaxy PKS 1343-601. We argue that this region of the GA may be best described as a wall-like, triangular structure with CIZA J1324.7-5736, A3627, and the Centaurus Cluster (A3526) at its vertices. Our survey also discovered what could be a supercluster in the same region but at cz ~ 15,000 km s-1, i.e., behind the GA. We speculate that the latter system may be partly responsible for the large-scale flow observed in this direction out to about that distance.
Statin Use and Brain Hemorrhage: Real Risk or Unfounded Fear?

The relationship between statin use and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has not been definitively established. Studies show both benefit and detriment. Statins may decrease the level of platelet aggregation and thrombogenesis and thus worsen an ICH, but they also modulate the immune system, inhibit the inflammatory process, and improve cerebral blood flow, promoting neuroprotection and tissue recovery. Despite physiological and clinical evidence on both sides of the argument, the idea that statins should be avoided whenever brain hemorrhage is involved has permeated stroke practice. Indeed, early and more recent epidemiological studies have shown a convincing inverse association between low levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and the risk of hemorrhagic stroke. 1 Whether this association can be applied to patients treated with statins is less clear. Is the fear of statin use for ICH justified? What is the basis on which clinicians have come to avoid statins for their hemorrhage risk, and how should this information guide our practice in light of newer evidence? Part of the confusion arises from a lack of clarity of the association between statin use and hemorrhage under different ICH etiologies. The pathophysiology may be quite different if the brain hemorrhage occurs in the setting of ischemic stroke vs after thrombolytic therapy, in hypertensive ICH, or in other conditions such as amyloid angiopathy. In the last decade, 2 large randomized trials suggested an association between treatment with statins and increased risk of ICH in the setting of acute ischemic stroke. The 2004 Heart Protection Study, 2 a large multicenter, randomized trial of simvastatin 40 mg vs placebo for patients with dyslipidemia and cerebrovascular disease, coronary disease, some other occlusive coronary disease, diabetes mellitus, or treated hypertension showed a nonsignificant increase in the rate of hemorrhagic stroke (1.3% of patients who received 40 mg of simvastatin vs 0.7% of patients who received placebo) in the treatment arm of patients who had a prior cerebrovascular event. The 2008 Stroke Prevention by Aggressive Reduction in Cholesterol Levels trial 3 showed that hemorrhagic stroke was more frequent among those treated with atorvastatin calcium (unadjusted hazard ratio, 1.68 [95% CI, 1.09-2.69]) than among those who received placebo, although hemorrhagic stroke as an entry level event, male sex, and advanced age at baseline accounted for 86% of the increased risk of hemorrhage. Two additional clinical studies 4,5 have shown no evidence of increased
The balance of global angular momentum in a long‐term atmospheric data set

The balance of global atmospheric angular momentum is examined in a long time series of “reanalysis” data generated at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). A systematic negative bias of about −10 Hadleys (1018 kg m2 s−2) is obtained in the total torque in all seasons. The sum of the frictional (TF) and mountain (TM) torques contributes about half of this negative bias in the northern summer and autumn. The torque due to the parameterized gravity wave drag, TG, contributes the other half of the negative bias in summer but contributes the whole of it in winter. In the annual mean the projected angular momentum imbalance due to TG exceeds that due to TM + TF. Consistent with the budget analysis of the assimilated data, losses of angular momentum are also found in an extensive set of medium-range forecasts made with the NCEP reanalysis model. The average rates of loss of relative angular momentum in these forecasts, −7 Hadleys in January and −6 in July, are comparable to the bias of the total torque in the angular momentum budget. Further investigations are suggested to determine the model error, especially that associated with the parameterized gravity wave drag, related to the budget imbalance found in this study.