cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Active learning for postsecondary educators: A study of two learning designs

Research and theory related to experiential learning hold important implications for designers and teachers in postsecondary educational organizations. Three current approaches to the investigation of active learning are discussed. A research study of two designs of a field-based graduate course is reported. Participants in both versions of the course responded to two questionnaires measuring their perceptions of their learning experiences. Twenty-three participants (55%) from the earlier version and twenty (95%) from the redesigned course responded. The findings, while not always consistent with conceptual expectations, revealed provocative relationships between theories of active learning. Effort to apply concepts of experiential learning to course design resulted in measurable differences in perceived quality of learning. Key questions for further investigation are highlighted.
WS11‐02Collaborative management of three‐dimensional ultrasound between medical centers, physicians and patients

To purpose of this project was to evaluate the feasibility of performing off-line sonographic examinations over the internet using 3DUS data. To accomplish this we performed complete OB, pelvic, cardiac and abdominal studies following AIUM guidelines in 100 patients with 2DUS/3DUS methods including multiple volumes. Physicians performed a ‘virtual re-scan’ of the patient using 3DUS data that was compared retrospectively to the 2DUS diagnosis. Our overall results showed that both abnormal and normal findings were identified for both 2DUS and 3DUS studies. Outcome depended on sonographer training, image quality and patient motion. There were few false negative/positive results with either 2DUS or 3DUS studies. Proper training was essential to acquire sufficient volumes for a complete study and for complete patient evaluation. In conclusion, off-line virtual evaluation of patients is feasible using 3DUS data but has different technical requirements for acquisition and review than 2DUS studies. Proper training of sonographers, well defined scanning protocols and acquisition of sufficient volume data are essential to obtain diagnostic studies.
High angle-of-attack aerodynamics of a strake-canard-wing V/STOL fighter configuration

High angle-of-attack aerodynamic data are analyzed for a strake-canard-wing V/STOL fighter configuration. The configuration represents a twin-engine supersonic V/STOL fighter aircraft which uses four longitudinal thrust-augmenting ejectors to provide vertical lift. The data were obtained in tests of a 9.39 percent scale model of the configuration in the NASA Ames 12-Foot Pressure Wind Tunnel, at a Mach number of 0.2. Trimmed aerodynamic characteristics, longitudinal control power, longitudinal and lateral/directional stability, and effects of alternate strake and canard configurations are analyzed. The configuration could not be trimmed (power-off) above 12 deg angle of attack because of the limited pitch control power and the high degree of longitudinal instability (28 percent) at this Mach number. Aerodynamic center location was found to be controllable by varying strake size and canard location without significantly affecting lift and drag. These configuration variations had relatively little effect on the lateral/directional stability up to 10 deg angle of attack.
Abstract 2021: Characterization of myeloma tumors from a multi-ethnic cohort using cytogenetics and genomic analysis.

The plasma cell malignancy Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a rare but deadly form of cancer with 5 year survival rates of ∼30%. Epidemiological studies have suggested that MM exacts an especially heavy burden on African American (AA) patients. We examined a multi-ethnic cohort of MM tumors to assess potential differences in the frequency of molecular events in tumors derived from either African American (AA) or European American (EA) patients. The frequency of 14q32 translocation breakpoints at the IgH locus was compared among a series of data from 115 AA MM patients from three studies and EA MM from the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG). In addition, we analyzed matching genome-wide copy number and transcriptional data among 45 AA MM tumors and 196 EA MM tumors to determine differences in the frequency of molecular events in tumors from these populations. No differences were found for specific translocation subtypes; however, we detected a statistically significant difference in the overall frequency of IgH translocations between the two groups, which occurred more frequently in EA patients (52% vs. 40%; p = 0.032). When assessing genomic copy number events previously shown to be associated with poor outcome in MM, frequencies of alterations were not significant after correcting for multiple testing. Furthermore, there was not a significant difference in the association of high-risk disease using expression profiling. Our study represents the first comprehensive assessment of the frequency and distribution of molecular alterations in MM tumors from both AA and EA patients and could help shed light on possible biological features associated with population differences in incidence and outcome in MM. Citation Format: Angela S. Baker, Esteban Braggio, Susana Jacobus, Sungwon Jung, Dirk Larson, Terry Therneau, Angela Dispenzieri, Scott A. Van Wier, Gregory Ahmann, Joan Levy, Louise Perkins, Seungchan Kim, Kim Henderson, David Vesole, S. Vincent Rajkumar, Dianne F. Jelinek, John Carpten, Rafael Fonseca. Characterization of myeloma tumors from a multi-ethnic cohort using cytogenetics and genomic analysis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2021. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2021
C(KVV) Auger line shape of chemisorbed CO

Using x‐ray excitation, the C(KVV) Auger spectrum for CO chemisorbed on Ni(100) has been measured and deconvoluted to provide the undistored line shape. This line shape is compared with spectra for gas phase CO and Fe(CO)5(g). The magnitude of Ueff, a final state interaction term, is shown to be near zero for chemisorbed CO, indicating that significantly different relaxation/screening processes occur in this case as compared to gas phase CO and metal carbonyls. Charge–transfer screening of the core hole in the Auger initial state is proposed to account for the small value of Ueff.
You Can Find Anything Online: Biocommunicability of Cyber-Health Information and its Impact on How the NET Generation Accesses Health Care

With millions of people accessing health information online, there is mounting concern that unreliable information is pushing patient demand for unnecessary diagnostic testing or inappropriate treatment. To explore the role of the Internet in emergent healthseeking models, we turn to the NET Generation. University students (age 18-25) are engaged in a life transition, formulating life patterns which include making health care decisions. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, this article offers a preliminary understanding of the extent to which online health information is penetrating illness conceptions and health-seeking behaviors of male and female students. It also suggests the potential need for intervention to reduce burdens on our health care system.
Characteristics of multiwire proportional counters with delay line readout for minimum ionizing particles

Abstract We have investigated the effect of gas mixture and chamber thickness on the gain and pulse shape of a multi-wire proportional counter with delay-line readout. We were primarily concerned with optimizing the position accuracy for high-energy particle physics applications. Our best results, both from the point of view of chamber gain and the risetime and uniformity of the delay-line pulses were obtained with a 4 mm gap chamber run on a mixture of 30.2% carbon dioxide, 69.2% argon and 0.6% freon. When using gas mixtures with no electronegative components, we found it necessary to bias the outer grids negative with respect to ground to prevent electrons in the drift regions from migrating into the multiplication region and spoiling the delay-line pulse shape.
The partition function and Hecke operators

Abstract The theory of congruences for the partition function p ( n ) depends heavily on the properties of half-integral weight Hecke operators. The subject has been complicated by the absence of closed formulas for the Hecke images P ( z ) | T ( l 2 ) , where P ( z ) is the relevant modular generating function. We obtain such formulas using Eulerʼs Pentagonal Number Theorem and the denominator formula for the Monster Lie algebra. As a corollary, we obtain congruences for certain powers of Ramanujanʼs Delta-function.
Hardware acceleration for similarity measurement in natural language processing

The continuation of Moore's law scaling, but in the absence of Dennard scaling, motivates an emphasis on energy-efficient accelerator-based designs for future applications. In natural language processing, the conventional approach to automatically analyze vast text collections---using scale-out processing---incurs high energy and hardware costs since the central compute-intensive step of similarity measurement often entails pair-wise, all-to-all comparisons. We propose a custom hardware accelerator for similarity measures that leverages data streaming, memory latency hiding, and parallel computation across variable-length threads. We evaluate our design through a combination of architectural simulation and RTL synthesis. When executing the dominant kernel in a semantic indexing application for documents, we demonstrate throughput gains of up to 42x and 58x lower energy per similarity-computation compared to an optimized software implementation, while requiring less than 1.3% of the area of a conventional core.
The Electroreduction of Carbon Dioxide and Formic Acid on Tin and Indium Electrodes

Etudes a l'aide de mesures d'impedance et de photoemission des processus du titre en solution aqueuse
Actin and associated proteins in gastric epithelial cells

A quantitative assessment of the distribution and state of microfilament-related proteins in the heterocellular fundic gastric epithelium was carried out. Actin content, as determined by the DNAase inhibition assay, ranged from 29 to 42 micrograms/mg of tissue protein, depending upon the tissue source. About 60% of the total actin existed in fresh tissue in the polymeric form (F-actin). The distribution of fluorescent-labelled phallicidin demonstrated that F-actin was concentrated predominantly in the acid-secreting oxyntic cells. The patterns of distribution corresponded to the location of the numerous elongated apical surface microvilli seen within oxyntic cell canaliculi. In the isolated apical membrane, actin represented about 10% of the total protein and was present entirely as F-actin. After mild treatment of membranes with Triton X-100, filaments could be readily visualized by negative staining. More extensive Triton X-100 extraction solubilized intrinsic membrane protein and yielded an insoluble residue highly enriched in actin and containing several additional polypeptides. Homogenization and fractionation of the gastric epithelium in low ionic strength media led to the depolymerization of a significant proportion of the tissue actin which was recovered in the homogenate supernatant. When purified by DNAase affinity chromatography, this gastric actin displayed structural and functional properties similar to muscle actin. Incubation of the homogenate supernatant in KCl-Mg2+ induced the formation of actin-rich gels. The gels contained myosin as well as several other peptides that may be actin-binding proteins.
Gene therapy using retroviral vectors

Gene therapy is a novel approach for treating various congenital and acquired genetic disorders, including cancer, heart disease, and acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Amongst possible gene delivery systems, retroviral vector mediated gene transfer has been the most extensively studied and has been approved for use in over 40 current Phase I/II clinical trials for the treatment of various disorders, primarily cancers. Recent technological improvements include the optimization of vector production by concentration and lyophilization, resulting in high titers of vectors, as well as the large-scale production of vector-produced cells for the treatment of brain cancer. Present clinical protocols require specialized care centers with expertise in molecular biology and cell transplantation. Considerable effort is under way to develop retroviral vectors that can be both injected directly into the body and targeted to specific cell types within the body. Such vectors could be administered to patients by physicians in their offices. Successful development of this new technology would greatly expand the clinical potential of gene therapy.
Neuron activity in rat hippocampus and motor cortex during discrimination reversal.

Abstract DISTERHOFT, J. F. AND M. SEGAL. Neuron activity in rat hippocampus and motor cortex during discrimination reversal . BRAIN RES. BULL. 3 (6) 583–588, 1978.—Chronic unit activity and gross movement were recorded from rats during two discrimination reversals in a classical appetitive conditioning situation. The anticipatory movement decreased in response to the former CS + tone and increased to the previous CS − tone after each reversal. Hippocampus and motor cortex were differently related to these two kinds of behavioral change. Response rates of hippocampal neurons were more closely related to the increased movement response to the former CS − which now signaled food. Motor cortex neuron responses were more closely correlated with the decrease in movement responses to the former CS + which became neutral after the reversal. It appeared that hippocampal neurons could have been involved in one cognitive aspect of the situation, motor cortex neurons in another. The data were related to current functional concepts of these brain regions.
The derivation of water volume reflectances from airborne MSS data using in situ water volume reflectances, and a combined optimization technique and radiative transfer model

Abstract Water volume reflectance images of three water cooling reservoirs were derived from airborne Daedalus DS-1260 multispectral scanner (MSS) data using a radiative transfer model to eliminate atmospheric effects and to derive downwell-ing irradiances. Sixty in situ water volume reflectances and the associated sensor and sun geometries were input into the radiative transfer model. Using the radiative transfer model to generate water volume reflectance values at each field site, an optimization procedure minimized the difference between modelled and in situ water volume reflectances resulting in optimized sensor brightness value to radiance conversion gain and bias factors, and optimized surface visual range and mean terrain background reflectance. Subsequently water volume reflectance images were derived at six wavelengths encompassing the blue to near-infrared using the optimized atmospheric parameters and conversion factors as inputs into the radiative transfer model. Modelled reflectance images we...
NMR detection of pH-dependent histidine-water proton exchange reveals the conduction mechanism of a transmembrane proton channel.

The acid-activated proton channel formed by the influenza M2 protein is important for the life cycle of the virus. A single histidine, His37, in the M2 transmembrane domain (M2TM) is responsible for pH activation and proton selectivity of the channel. Recent studies suggested three models for how His37 mediates proton transport: a shuttle mechanism involving His37 protonation and deprotonation, a H-bonded imidazole-imidazolium dimer model, and a transporter model involving large protein conformational changes in synchrony with proton conduction. Using magic-angle-spinning (MAS) solid-state NMR spectroscopy, we examined the proton exchange and backbone conformational dynamics of M2TM in a virus-envelope-mimetic membrane. At physiological temperature and pH, (15)N NMR spectra show fast exchange of the imidazole (15)N between protonated and unprotonated states. To quantify the proton exchange rates, we measured the (15)N T(2) relaxation times and simulated them for chemical-shift exchange and fluctuating N-H dipolar fields under (1)H decoupling and MAS. The exchange rate is 4.5 × 10(5) s(-1) for Nδ1 and 1.0 × 10(5) s(-1) for Ne2, which are approximately synchronized with the recently reported imidazole reorientation. Binding of the antiviral drug amantadine suppressed both proton exchange and ring motion, thus interfering with the proton transfer mechanism. By measuring the relative concentrations of neutral and cationic His as a function of pH, we determined the four pK(a) values of the His37 tetrad in the viral membrane. Fitting the proton current curve using the charge-state populations from these pK(a)'s, we obtained the relative conductance of the five charge states, which showed that the +3 channel has the highest time-averaged unitary conductance. At physiologically relevant pH, 2D correlation spectra indicated that the neutral and cationic histidines do not have close contacts, ruling out the H-bonded dimer model. Moreover, a narrowly distributed nonideal helical structure coexists with a broadly distributed ideal helical conformation without interchange on the sub-10 ms time scale, thus excluding the transporter model in the viral membrane. These data support the shuttle mechanism of proton conduction, whose essential steps involve His-water proton exchange facilitated by imidazole ring reorientations.
Phosphorylation of Actin-binding Protein 280 by Growth Factors Is Mediated by p90 Ribosomal Protein S6 Kinase

Although Ras-related small GTPases are believed to control cell proliferation and motility through activation of protein kinase cascades, little is known about the intracellular protein targets of activated kinases. Here we show that the p90 ribosomal S6 kinase 2 (RSK2) phosphorylates actin-binding protein (ABP-280) in intact rat 3Y1 fibroblasts. Growth factors such as fetal calf serum, epidermal growth factor, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, and lysophosphatidic acid stimulate the phosphorylation of serine residues in ABP-280 in quiescent 3Y1 cells. Extracts from 3Y1 cells prepared after stimulation by lysophosphatidic acid, fetal calf serum, and epidermal growth factor retain activated protein kinase activity(s) toward ABP-280 in vitro. ABP kinase activities in lysates from lysophosphatidic acid-stimulated 3Y1 cells can be fractionated by MonoQ anion exchange column chromatography into three peaks having ABP kinase activities. One (ABP kinase peak 1) coelutes with the peak of RSK2 as judged by immunoblotting and S6 peptide kinase assays. Two-dimensional phosphopeptide maps show RSK2 phosphorylated ABP-280 to be phosphorylated at the same site(s) as those stimulated by growth factors in vivo. Incubation of ABP kinase peak 1 fractionated from unstimulated cells with activated ERK2 activates latent ABP kinase activity. These results show RSK2 to phosphorylate ABP-280 in vivo.
Environmentally benign nanomixing by sonication in high-pressure carbon dioxide

Due to the increased use of nanocomposites, mixing at nanoscale has become important. Current mixing techniques can be classified into: (a) dry mixing (mechanical mixing), (b) wet mixing, and (c) simultaneous production of mixed nanoparticles (when possible). Dry mixing is in general not effective in achieving desired mixing at nanoscale, whereas wet mixing suffers from different disadvantages like nanomaterial of interest should be insoluble, has to wet the liquid, and involves additional steps of filtration and drying. This paper examines the use of pressurized carbon dioxide having high density and low viscosity to replace the liquids (e.g., n-hexane, toluene). Ultrasound is applied to the suspension of nanopowders in gaseous and supercritical carbon dioxide where high impact collisions during sonication help mixing and the final mixture is obtained by simple depressurization. The method is tested for binary mixture of alumina/silica, silica/titania, MWNT (multiwalled carbon nanotubes)/silica, and MWNT/titania. The effects of sonication intensity and pressure on the degree of mixing are studied. Comparative study is also done with liquid n-hexane as a mixing media. Quantitative characterization (e.g., mean composition standard deviation, intensity of segregation) of mixing of alumina/silica and silica/titania is done with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and that of MWNT/silica and MWNT/titania is done using field-emission scanning electron microscopy and day-light illumination spectrophotometry. Results show that mixing in carbon dioxide at higher ultrasound amplitudes is as good as in liquid n-hexane, and the final mixed product does not contain any residual media as in the case of liquid n-hexane.
Oxidation of pyrite in coal to magnetite

Abstract When bituminous coal is heated in an inert atmosphere (He) containing small amounts of oxygen at 393–455 °C, pyrite (FeS2) in coal is partially converted to magnetite (Fe304). The maximum amount of Fe304 formed during the time of heating corresponds to 5–20% of the total pyrite present, depending on the coal sample. The magnetite forms as an outer crust on the pyrite grains. The fact that the magnetic properties of the pyrite grains are substantially increased by the magnetite crust suggests that pyrite can be separated from coal by use of a low magnetic field. In a laboratory test, 75% removal is obtained by means of a 500 Oe magnet on three samples, and 60% on a fourth sample.
DPC4, A Candidate Tumor Suppressor Gene at Human Chromosome 18q21.1

About 90 percent of human pancreatic carcinomas show allelic loss at chromosome 18q. To identify candidate tumor suppressor genes on 18q, a panel of pancreatic carcinomas were analyzed for convergent sites of homozygous deletion. Twenty-five of 84 tumors had homozygous deletions at 18q21.1, a site that excludes DCC (a candidate suppressor gene for colorectal cancer) and includes DPC4, a gene similar in sequence to a Drosophila melanogaster gene (Mad) implicated in a transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-like signaling pathway. Potentially inactivating mutations in DPC4 were identified in six of 27 pancreatic carcinomas that did not have homozygous deletions at 18q21.1. These results identify DPC4 as a candidate tumor suppressor gene whose inactivation may play a role in pancreatic and possibly other human cancers.
Use of Dedicated Broadband Sensing Receiver in Cognitive Radio

This paper proposes an architecture for a dedicated receiver that addresses real time and broadband operation challenges of broadband sensing receivers in cognitive radios. Fast response and accurate sensing is aided by the combination of power sensing at RF, baseband and in the digital domain. The proposed architecture provides the ability to perform adaptive coarse and fine sensing at different points in the receive chain. The impact of the proposed scheme is demonstrated using a realistic simulation set up.
A note on the nature of the distant geomagnetic tail magnetopause and boundary layer

In the present comparison of recent plasma and magnetic field measurements of the distant geomagnetic tail magnetopause and boundary layer with numerical simulation results for an 'open' boundary, most aspects revealed are consistent with simulation results for conditions in which the normal magnetic field component at the magnetopause is generally small. On the basis of these results, the simulations of Swift and Lee (1982, 1983) are judged to be able to furnish a theoretical basis for understanding many aspects of the distant geomagnetic tail magnetopause and mantle boundary layer.
A systematic review of teamwork in the intensive care unit: What do we know about teamwork, team tasks, and improvement strategies?

Abstract Purpose Teamwork is essential for ensuring the quality and safety of health care delivery in the intensive care unit (ICU). This article addresses what we know about teamwork, team tasks, and team improvement strategies in the ICU to identify the strengths and limitations of the existing knowledge base to guide future research. Methods A keyword search of the PubMed database was conducted in February 2013. Keyword combinations focused on 3 areas: (1) teamwork, (2) the ICU, and (3) training/quality improvement interventions. All studies that investigated teamwork, team tasks, or team interventions within the ICU (ie, intradepartment) were selected for inclusion. Results Teamwork has been investigated across an array of research contexts and task types. The terminology used to describe team factors varied considerably across studies. The most common team tasks involved strategy and goal formulation. Team training and structured protocols were the most widely implemented quality improvement strategies. Conclusions Team research is burgeoning in the ICU, yet low-hanging fruit remains that can further advance the science of teams in the ICU if addressed. Constructs must be defined, and theoretical frameworks should be referenced. The functional characteristics of tasks should also be reported to help determine the extent to which study results might generalize to other contexts of work.
Identifying mechanistic similarities in drug responses

Motivation: In early drug development, it would be beneficial to be able to identify those dynamic patterns of gene response that indicate that drugs targeting a particular gene will be likely or not to elicit the desired response. One approach would be to quantitate the degree of similarity between the responses that cells show when exposed to drugs, so that consistencies in the regulation of cellular response processes that produce success or failure can be more readily identified. Results: We track drug response using fluorescent proteins as transcription activity reporters. Our basic assumption is that drugs inducing very similar alteration in transcriptional regulation will produce similar temporal trajectories on many of the reporter proteins and hence be identified as having similarities in their mechanisms of action (MOA). The main body of this work is devoted to characterizing similarity in temporal trajectories/signals. To do so, we must first identify the key points that determine mechanistic similarity between two drug responses. Directly comparing points on the two signals is unrealistic, as it cannot handle delays and speed variations on the time axis. Hence, to capture the similarities between reporter responses, we develop an alignment algorithm that is robust to noise, time delays and is able to find all the contiguous parts of signals centered about a core alignment (reflecting a core mechanism in drug response). Applying the proposed algorithm to a range of real drug experiments shows that the result agrees well with the prior drug MOA knowledge. Availability: The R code for the RLCSS algorithm is available at http://gsp.tamu.edu/Publications/supplementary/zhao12a. Contact: edward@ece.tamu.edu
Agreement on Reporting of Physical, Psychological, and Sexual Violence Among White, Black, and Hispanic Couples in the United States

This article examines agreement on reports of male-to-female and female-to-male psychological, physical, and sexual violence among White, Black, and Hispanic couples in the United States. Using a probability sample, separate face-to-face interviews were conducted in respondents' homes with both members of 1,025 intact couples living in the 48 contiguous states. The overall survey response rate was 72%. Results indicate that agreement on each of the three types of violence is low, independent of perpetrator's gender and ethnicity. Kappa coefficients of agreement range from .07 to .48. Higher agreement is obtained for psychological violence, followed by physical and sexual violence. Depending on the type of violence, between 30% (psychological aggression) and 90% (sexual coercion) of events would not have been identified if identification required agreement between partners. Logistic analysis shows that the severity of violence is the only variable that increases the likelihood of agreement across the three types of violence.
Vidyut: exploiting power line infrastructure for enterprise wireless networks

Global synchronization across time and frequency domains significantly benefits wireless communications. Multi-Cell (Network) MIMO, interference alignment solutions, opportunistic routing techniques in ad-hoc networks, OFDMA etc. all necessitate synchronization in either time or frequency domain or both. This paper presents sysname, a system that exploits the easily accessible and ubiquitous power line infrastructure to achieve synchronization in time and frequency domains across nodes distributed beyond a single-collision domain. sysname uses the power lines to transmit a reference frequency tone to which each node locks its frequency. sysname exploits the steady periodicity of delivered power signal itself to synchronize distributed nodes in time. We validate the extent of sysname's synchronization and evaluate its effectiveness. We verify sysname's suitability for wireless applications such as OFDMA and multi-cell MIMO by validating the benefits of global synchronization in an enterprise wireless network. Our experiments show a throughput gain of 8.2x over MegaMIMO, 7x over NemoX and 2.5x over OFDMA systems. Enterprise wireless networks are supported by an Ethernet backbone. Researchers have been exploring techniques over the backbone to enable and assist in improving the performance of the wireless networks. Recent work also showed the benefit of sharing information in the air between the nodes to enable higher performance of the network. Even sharing information as little as synchronization information has been demonstrated to open new avenues (such as MU-MIMO, Physical Network Coding, Opportunistic routing, etc.) for the wireless networks to enhance its performance. However, another medium shared by majority of the nodes in the enterprise network - the power line infrastructure - has been largely left untapped to assist the wireless network. While the power lines are noisy and have a frequency selective transmission characteristic, its uniqueness is that its range can extend beyond that over air while it is unburdened by switching and other responsibilities of the Ethernet backbone. This paper poses the following question: How best to exploit the opportunity presented by the power lines to further enhance enterprise wireless networks? The key contributions of this paper are the following: Identify and demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing power lines as a medium to achieve synchronization (in time and frequency domains) between nodes in the network; Demonstrate the scalability of this technique by achieving synchronization between nodes beyond the transmission range of any of the individual nodes. The paper presents empirical results pertaining to the accuracy of synchronization and the benefit of the proposed synchronization method to existing distributed wireless techniques by virtue of extension across multiple collision domains.
Prepubertal and pubertal changes in the hamster ovary

The ovary of the newborn hamster is characterized by numerous oogonia which are undergoing mitotic divisions. By day 8, the germ cells have developed into oocytes (dictyate stage). The oocytes and granulosa cells are surrounded by an undeveloped network of fibrous stromal cells until day 14. Between days 14 and 21, the stroma is transformed by hypertrophy and hyperplasia into a primary interstitium consisting of large epithelial cells. The critical period of follicular development is from days 21 to 28, with antral follicles first appearing on day 26. The earliest spontaneous ovulations occur on day 29. This differs from the temporal relationship in the rat and mouse in which antral follicles not only develop several weeks before puberty but can also be induced to ovulate prematurely with exogenous gonadotropins. In contrast, in the hamster the maximal ovulatory response to pregnant mare's serum (PMS) develops rapidly between days 27 to 30. Over this period, induced ovulations increase from an average of 10.5 ova to 55 eggs. The altered responsiveness to PMS does not correlate with any change in the diameter of follicles or number of secondary or tertiary follicles. It is therefore concluded that progressively smaller follicles become competent to respond to exogenous gonadotropin between days 27 and 30.
Comparison of the Validity of Direct Pediatric Developmental Evaluation Versus Developmental Screening by Parent Report

To compare the validity of direct pediatric developmental evaluation with developmental screening by parent report, parents completed a developmental screen (the Child Development Review), a pediatrician performed a direct developmental evaluation (Capute Scales), and a psychologist administered the Bayley Scales of Infant Development to a group of 30-month-old children. The agreement between these instruments was tested. All developmental quotient scores derived from the Capute Scales were more highly correlated with concurrent Bayley Mental Development Index scores than developmental quotient scores derived from the Child Development Review. Differences between developmental quotient scores derived from the Capute Scales and corresponding Bayley Mental Development Index scores were significantly smaller than those derived from the Child Development Review. Thus, direct pediatric developmental evaluation more reliably predicted concurrent Mental Development Index scores at 30 months of age than developmental screening by parent report. Increased emphasis on training of pediatric health care providers in direct developmental evaluation should be considered.
Introduction to Logic

This book is a gentle but rigorous introduction to formal logic. It is intended primarily for use at the college level. However, it can also be used for advanced secondary school students, and it can be used at the start of graduate school for those who have not yet seen the material. The approach to teaching logic used here emerged from more than 20 years of teaching logic to students at Stanford University and from teaching logic to tens of thousands of others via online courses on the World Wide Web. The approach differs from that taken by other books in logic in two essential ways, one having to do with content, the other with form. Like many other books on logic, this one covers logical syntax and semantics and proof theory plus induction. However, unlike other books, this book begins with Herbrand semantics rather than the more traditional Tarskian semantics. This approach makes the material considerably easier for students to understand and leaves them with a deeper understanding of what logic is all about. The primary content difference concerns the semantics of the logic that is taught. In addition to this text, there are online exercises (with automated grading), online logic tools and applications, online videos of lectures, and an online forum for discussion. They are available at http://logic.stanford.edu/intrologic/. Table of Contents: Introduction / Propositional Logic / Propositional Proofs / Propositional Resolution / Satisfiability / Herbrand Logic / Herbrand Logic Proofs / Resolution / Induction / First Order Logic / Summary of Fitch Rules
Cholesterol as a risk factor for early atherosclerosis: the Bogalusa Heart Study

Abstract Evidence that atherosclerosis and its major sequela, coronary artery disease, begin in childhood is firmly based on the findings from studies in the areas of epidemiology, pathology, clinical pediatrics and genetics. These studies confirm that atherosclerosis is a life-long process that starts very early in life. Serum cholesterol and its distribution in lipoprotein fractions are important risk variables that need to be evaluated in childhood and these are strongly associated with initial stages of atherosclerotic disease. Since childhood cardiovascular risk factors persist or track into adulthood, the life-long burden of a dyslipidemic trait and concomitant conditions, such as obesity and high blood pressure, has a major impact on the silent phase of subclinical disease that progresses on to clinical events in adulthood. Consumption of a high-energy, saturated fat diet in combination with a sedentary life-style and tobacco use are the principle modifiable contributors to atherosclerosis. These interact with the intrinsic genetic make-up to begin the life-long burden of cardiovascular risk. For these reasons, heart disease needs to be addressed at the pediatric age. A public health strategy of health education of children provides an important basis for prevention.
The role of the bone marrow examination in the diagnosis of immune thrombocytopenic purpura: case series and literature review.

The need for a bone marrow examination was assessed in patients with clinical and laboratory features consistent with ITP; the literature was reviewed. The records of all patients undergoing a bone marrow examination between January 1988 to January 1998 were retrospectively reviewed to determine which were motivated by the suspicion of ITP. Data were collected from hospital and outpatient medical and pathology records. Eighty-six patients with isolated thrombocytopenia (i.e., normal white blood cell count, hemoglobin, peripheral smear and clotting studies) were studied. The bone marrow was consistent with ITP in 82 patients, (i.e., normal or increased megakaryocytes and other hemopoietic lineages normal.) Four patients had decreased megakaryocytes, but all patients responded to corticosteroids. All 86 patients were followed up for a median of 22 months after bone marrow aspiration (range, 2-76 months.) During that time, none of the patients developed features to suggest an alternative diagnosis to ITP. The initial clinical and laboratory findings of 99 patients with acute leukemia were also reviewed; all had features atypical of ITP. These data suggest that routine performance of a bone marrow examination for the diagnosis of ITP is not necessary, provided that a thorough history and physical examination are performed and that the complete blood cell count, peripheral blood smear, and routine clotting studies show no abnormalities apart from thrombocytopenia. The findings of seven prior retrospective studies, two in adults and five in children are consistent with the previous findings. However, the value of marrow investigation in ITP remains unresolved and data from a large prospective study would be helpful.
Space-time block-coded OFDM systems with RF beamformers for high-speed indoor wireless communications

A beamforming network is considered for a space-time block-coded orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing system in a high-speed indoor wireless network. We find that choosing the most powerful beams for transmission provide the best performance in the absence of interference. In the presence of interference, an iterative two-metric beam-selection method is proposed.
An Attraction Toward Engineering Careers: The Story of a Brooklyn Outreach Program for K\uFFFD12 Students

This article narrates the development, organization, and execution of a robotics-based outreach program designed to ignite K-12 students' interests in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and attract them toward engineering careers.
Assessing methylphenidate preference in ADHD patients using a choice procedure.

Methylphenidate (MPH) is widely used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and is associated with positive clinical effects across a wide range of domains. Despite the clinical effectiveness of MPH, concern has arisen with respect to its abuse potential. To assess MPH preference in adults diagnosed with ADHD using a choice procedure and to evaluate the relationship among drug preference, therapeutic efficacy, and abuse potential in a clinical sample. Participants were ten volunteers (ages 18–22 years) with ADHD who were receiving MPH treatment. Preference was assessed using a double-blind choice procedure with four sampling sessions wherein subjects received either placebo or MPH and eight choice sessions when they chose either capsule or no capsules. Overall, MPH was chosen significantly more often than placebo (χ 2=52.5; P<0.001) and participants were equally separated into groups of those who chose MPH reliably (MPH choosers) and those who did not (MPH non-choosers). MPH decreased ADHD symptoms and resulted in lower ratings of stimulant effects among MPH choosers. MPH choosers also reported higher levels of baseline ADHD symptoms. Despite higher preference of MPH than placebo in this clinical sample, other measures of abuse potential were not elevated, and MPH choosers were more symptomatic than non-choosers. As such, MPH preference in ADHD populations likely reflects therapeutic efficacy rather than abuse potential. Future work should examine MPH choice in diagnosed and non-diagnosed populations to further explore the role of clinical efficacy in the preference of this stimulant drug.
Susceptibility of Mice (Mus musculus) to Repeated Infestation with Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) Ticks

Laboratory mice, Mus musculus (L.), BALB/c strain, were assessed for their ability to develop resistance to repeated infestation by Amblyomma americanum (L.) ticks. Mice were infested five consecutive times with A. americanum nymphs. No decrease in tick viability was seen after five infestations, suggesting that BALB/c mice do not develop immune-mediated resistance to A. americanum. In contrast, tick viability was significantly reduced in the second infestation of a New Zealand White rabbit, a laboratory animal known to develop resistance to A. americanum.
Characterization of clear cell renal cell carcinoma by gene expression profiling.

Abstract Objectives Use global gene expression to characterize differences between high-grade and low-grade clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) compared with normal and benign renal tissue. Methods Tissue samples were collected from patients undergoing surgical resection for ccRCC. Affymetrix gene expression arrays were used to examine global gene expression patterns in high- ( n = 16) and low-grade ccRCC ( n = 13) as well as in samples from normal kidney ( n =14) and benign kidney disease ( n = 6). Differential gene expression was determined by analysis of variance with a false discovery rate of 1% and a 2-fold cutoff. Results Comparing high-grade ccRCC with each of normal and benign kidney resulted in 1,833 and 2,208 differentially expressed genes, respectively. Of these, 930 were differentially expressed in both comparisons. In order to identify genes most related to progression of ccRCC, these differentially expressed genes were filtered to identify genes that showed a pattern of expression with a magnitude of change greater in high-grade ccRCC in the comparison to low-grade ccRCC. This resulted in the identification of genes such as TMEM45A, ceruloplasmin, and E-cadherin that were involved in cell processes of cell differentiation and response to hypoxia. Additionally changes in HIF1α and TNF signaling are highly represented by changes between high- and low-grade ccRCC. Conclusions Gene expression differences between high-grade and low-grade ccRCC may prove to be valuable biomarkers for advanced ccRCC. In addition, altered signaling between grades of ccRCC may provide important insight into the biology driving the progression of ccRCC and potential targets for therapy.
Use of Balanced Scorecard Methodology for Performance Measurement of the Health Extension Program in Ethiopia

In 2004, Ethiopia introduced a community-based Health Extension Program to deliver basic and essential health services. We developed a comprehensive performance scoring methodology to assess the performance of the program. A balanced scorecard with six domains and 32 indicators was developed. Data collected from 1,014 service providers, 433 health facilities, and 10,068 community members sampled from 298 villages were used to generate weighted national, regional, and agroecological zone scores for each indicator. The national median indicator scores ranged from 37% to 98% with poor performance in commodity availability, workforce motivation, referral linkage, infection prevention, and quality of care. Indicator scores showed significant difference by region (P < 0.001). Regional performance varied across indicators suggesting that each region had specific areas of strength and deficiency, with Tigray and the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region being the best performers while the mainly pastoral regions of Gambela, Afar, and Benishangul-Gumuz were the worst. The findings of this study suggest the need for strategies aimed at improving specific elements of the program and its performance in specific regions to achieve quality and equitable health services.
A Carrier Lifetime Model for the Optical Degradation of Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells

The light-induced performance degradation of amorphous silicon solar cells is described well by a model in which the carrier lifetimes are determined by the dangling bond density. The kinetics of the defect generation follow the model in which band-to-band recombination provides the energy for the creation of dangling bonds, which in turn introduce gap states that reduce carrier lifetime. Degradation will be slower in solar cells operating at lower excess carrier concentrations. This is documented with a comparison of degradation data for cells of different i -layer thickness, cells operating at open circuit vs. load, and for single vs. cascade cells. The model also correctly predicts the relation between short circuit current and fill factor degradation. At sufficiently long times, the efficiency will decrease at approximately the same rate for all cell structures and dimensions, with an offset in time between different device types which can be calculated.
Aerodynamic performance of airfoils with tangential synthetic jet actuators close to the trailing edge

Aerodynamic properties of an airfoil can be modified by trapping concentrations of vorticity close to the trailing edge. Experimental work has shown that synthetic jet actuators can be used to manipulate and control this trapped vorticity. A time-resolved detailed model is used to simulate the action of tangential-blowing synthetic jet actuators mounted near the trailing edge of the airfoil at low angle of attack. This detailed model resolves the temporal and spatial scales involved in the synthetic jet dynamics. The detailed synthetic jet model along with the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) computations in which they are embedded are validated against wind tunnel data acquired by Dr Ari Glezer’s group at Georgia Tech. Numerical results show the effects of the actuators on the vortical structure of the flow, as well as on the aerodynamic properties. The main effect of the actuation on the time averaged vorticity field is a bending of the separation shear layer from the actuator toward the airfoil surface, resulting in changes in the aerodynamic properties. Similar to the experimental observations, full actuation of the suction side actuator reduces the pitching moment and increases the lift force, while the pressure side actuator increases the pitching moment and reduces the lift force. The effectiveness of the actuator is measured by the change in the aerodynamic properties of the airfoil in particular the lift (�Cl) and moment (�Cm) coefficients. Computational results for the actuator effectiveness show very good agreement with the experimental values over the range of 2 ◦ to 10 ◦ . While the actuation modifies the global pressure distribution, the most pronounced effects are near the trailing edge in which a spike in the pressure coefficient ( Cp), consistent with experimental results, is observed.
Cutting-edge practice model: experience in a Veterans Affairs hospital.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is transitioning to a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) health care model. The PCMH is a patient-driven, team-based approach that delivers efficient, comprehensive, and continuous care through active communication and coordination of resources. This is a