cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Producing bowtie limited diffraction beams with synthetic array experiment

Limited diffraction beams have a large depth of field and could have applications in medical ultrasound and other wave related areas such as electromagnetics and optics. However, these beams have higher sidelobes than conventional focused beams at their focuses. Recently, a new type of beam, called bowtie limited diffraction beams, was developed. These beams can achieve both low sidelobes and a large depth of field in medical imaging. In this paper, the production of bowtie beams in water with a synthetic array experiment is reported. A broad-band PZT ceramic/polymer composite transducer of about 1 mm diameter and 2.5 MHz central frequency was scanned in a raster format and placed at the centers of elements of an equivalent two-dimensional array of 50 mm diameter aperture. A polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) needle hydrophone of 0.5 mm diameter was used to receive the waves produced by the transducer. Proper weighting functions were applied to the received signals to produce various beams. Results show that the bowtie beams produced with the synthetic array experiment are in good agreement with those derived from theory and obtained by computer simulations. The depth of field of these beams is about 216 mm and sidelobes of a tenth derivative bowtie X wave in pulse-echo imaging are about 30 dB lower than those of rotary symmetric limited diffraction beams such as the zeroth-order X wave discovered previously.
Teaching Practice Strategies in the Music Studio: A Survey of Applied Music Teachers

Practice is of interest to music teachers and students since it is an essential aspect of motor skill acquisition and performance. The Music Practice In- struction Inventory (MPII) was designed to ascertain the extent to which studio music teachers teach certain practice strategies. The MPII consists of two sections. The first section requests information about the age level of students and. the type of studio setting. The second section contains 26 statements about teaching students to practice, each with a response scale ranging from 5 (Always) to 1 (Never). The MPII was administered to 94 members of the MTNA (Music Teachers National Association) in the USA. Frequencies were tabulated for all data, and means and standard deviations were calculated for responses to the 26 statements. Differences between college teachers' and pre-college teachers' responses were compared via Pearson Chi Square. Most teachers reported that they always or almost always discuss the importance of practice and specific practic...
Spot counting on fluorescence in situ hybridization in suspension images using Gaussian mixture model

Cytogenetic abnormalities are important diagnostic and prognostic criteria for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). A flow cytometry-based imaging approach for FISH in suspension (FISH-IS) was established that enables the automated analysis of several log-magnitude higher number of cells compared to the microscopy-based approaches. The rotational positioning can occur leading to discordance between spot count. As a solution of counting error from overlapping spots, in this study, a Gaussian Mixture Model based classification method is proposed. The Akaike information criterion (AIC) and Bayesian information criterion (BIC) of GMM are used as global image features of this classification method. Via Random Forest classifier, the result shows that the proposed method is able to detect closely overlapping spots which cannot be separated by existing image segmentation based spot detection methods. The experiment results show that by the proposed method we can obtain a significant improvement in spot counting accuracy.
Relation of Radiometric Age of Granitic Rocks near Calais, Maine, to the Time of Acadian Orogeny

Mineral and whole-rock ages by both K-Ar and Rb-Sr methods confirm an age of about 400 m.y. for the Red Beach and associated granites near Calais, Maine. Initial Sr 87 /Sr 86 is 0.712. Field relations in the area show that the Red Beach is post-early Lower Devonian and pre-Upper Devonian. Paleontologic-radiometric correlations elsewhere in the northern region suggest a period of intrusive activity in early-middle Lower Devonian. Evidence is accumulating that this igneous episode is fairly widespread in the northern Appalachians and is identifiable well beyond experimental error from the later and more pervasive episode at 360 m.y. associated with the main phase of Acadian orogeny.
Direct extraction of InGaP/GaAs HBT large signal model

A direct extraction method for a compact InGaP/GaAs HBT CAD large signal model including self-heating effects is presented. The current source model including self-heating effect parameters is directly extracted from measured I-V data using a simple procedure. The distributed base resistance and distributed base-collector capacitance are directly extracted from measured S-parameters using a new technique. The extraction procedure for the model is simple, fast, accurate and inherently minimizes the average squared-error between measured and model data thereby requiring no further optimization after extraction.
Single-shot, three-dimensional 'non-echo' localization method for in vivo NMR spectroscopy

Metabolite signals with short T1 or T2 are difficult to localize with full sensitivity. This limitation was overcome with the development and implementation of a single-shot, complete three-dimensional 'non-echo' localization method with reduced sensitivity to spatial B1 variation, which is suitable for measuring signals with very short T1 or T2, e.g., the 13C NMR signals of glycogen. The proposed method is based on a T1-optimized outer volume suppression scheme using pulses of the hyperbolic secant type applied at different power levels, which is robust over a fivefold range of T1. Strong lipid, muscle glycogen, and glucose signals originating outside the rat brain were suppressed. Signals of glycogen, aspartate, glutathione, GABA C4, N-acetyl aspartate as well as the C3 and C4 signals of glutamate and glutamine with resolved homonuclear 13C-13C coupling were fully resolved in vivo at 9.4 Tesla using higher-order shimming. The method can be extended to other nuclei and to localized MRS of humans. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Incorporating state estimation into model predictive control and its application to network traffic control

Model predictive control (MPC) is of interest because it is one of the few control design methods which preserves standard design variables and yet handles constraints. MPC is normally posed as a full-state feedback control and is implemented in a certainty-equivalence fashion with best estimates of the states being used in place of the exact state. This paper focuses on exploring the inclusion of state estimates and their interaction with constraints. It does this by applying constrained MPC to a system with stochastic disturbances. The stochastic nature of the problem requires re-posing the constraints in a probabilistic form. Using a gaussian assumption, the original problem is approximated by a standard deterministically-constrained MPC problem for the conditional mean process of the state. The state estimates' conditional covariances appear in tightening the constraints. 'Closed-loop covariance' is introduced to reduce the infeasibility and the conservativeness caused by using long-horizon, open-loop prediction covariances. The resulting control law is applied to a telecommunications network traffic control problem as an example.
Use of multiple perspectives and decision modeling for PV technology assessment

Renewable energy generation technologies are complex systems that have wide-ranging implications in their production and deployment. Using multiple perspectives such as social, technological, economic, environmental, and political (STEEP) and their decomposition into multiple criteria or indicators provide a broader yet explicit assessment of the technology under consideration. An effective method of determining the relative importance of a criterion with respect to others is by hierarchical decision modeling and expert judgment quantification instruments. These combined approaches can improve decision making for technology assessment and selection. This paper describes the approach and presents an example for photovoltaic solar technologies.
The YEATS domain of Taf14 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae has a negative impact on cell growth

The role of a highly conserved YEATS protein motif is explored in the context of the Taf14 protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In S. cerevisiae, Taf14 is a protein physically associated with many critical multisubunit complexes including the general transcription factors TFIID and TFIIF, the chromatin remodeling complexes SWI/SNF, Ino80 and RSC, Mediator and the histone modification enzyme NuA3. Taf14 is a member of the YEATS superfamily, conserved from bacteria to eukaryotes and thought to have a transcription stimulatory activity. However, besides its ubiquitous presence and its links with transcription, little is known about Taf14’s role in the nucleus. We use structure–function and mutational analysis to study the function of Taf14 and its well conserved N-terminal YEATS domain. We show here that the YEATS domain is not necessary for Taf14’s association with these transcription and chromatin remodeling complexes, and that its presence in these complexes is dependent only on its C-terminal domain. Our results also indicate that Taf14’s YEATS domain is not necessary for complementing the synthetic lethality between TAF14 and the general transcription factor TFIIS (encoded by DST1). Furthermore, we present evidence that the YEATS domain of Taf14 has a negative impact on cell growth: its absence enables cells to grow better than wild-type cells under stress conditions, like the microtubule destabilizing drug benomyl. Moreover, cells expressing solely the YEATS domain grow worser than cells expressing any other Taf14 construct tested, including the deletion mutant. Thus, this highly conserved domain should be considered part of a negative regulatory loop in cell growth.
An Open Research Facility for Vision-Based Navigation Onboard the International Space Station

This paper describes the VERTIGO Goggles, a hardware upgrade to the SPHERES satellites that enables vision-based navigation research in the 6 degree-of-freedom, microgravity environment of the International Space Station ISS. The Goggles include stereo cameras, an embedded x86 computer, a high-speed wireless communications system, and the associated electromechanical and software systems. The Goggles were designed to be a modular, expandable, and upgradable "open research test bed" that have been used for a variety of other experiments by external researchers. In February 2013, the Goggles successfully completed a hardware checkout on the ISS and was used for initial vision-based navigation research. This checkout included a successful camera calibration by an astronaut onboard the ISS. This paper describes the requirements, design, and operation of this test bed as well as the experimental results of its first checkout operations.
Differences in the role of black race and stroke risk factors for first vs recurrent stroke

Objectives: To assess whether black race and other cerebrovascular risk factors have a differential effect on first vs recurrent stroke events. Methods: Estimate the differences in the magnitude of the association of demographic (age, back race, sex) or stroke risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, cigarette smoking, atrial fibrillation, left ventricular hypertrophy, or heart disease) for first vs recurrent stroke from a longitudinal cohort study of 29,682 black or white participants aged 45 years and older. Results: Over an average 6.8 years follow-up, 301 of 2,993 participants with a previous stroke at baseline had a recurrent stroke, while 818 of 26,689 participants who were stroke-free at baseline had a first stroke. Among those stroke-free at baseline, there was an age-by-race interaction ( p = 0.0002), with a first stroke risk 2.70 (95% confidence interval: 1.86–3.91) times greater for black than white participants at age 45, but no racial disparity at age 85 (hazard ratio = 0.91; 95% confidence interval: 0.70–1.18). In contrast, there was no evidence of a higher risk of recurrent stroke at any age for black participants ( p > 0.05). The association of traditional stroke risk factors was generally similar for first and recurrent stroke. Conclusion: The association of age and black race differs substantially on first vs recurrent stroke risk, with risk factors playing a similar role.
Synthesis: Deriving a Core Set of Recommendations to Optimize Diabetes Care on a Global Scale.

Abstract Background Diabetes afflicts 382 million people worldwide, with increasing prevalence rates and adverse effects on health, well-being, and society in general. There are many drivers for the complex presentation of diabetes, including environmental and genetic/epigenetic factors. Objective The aim was to synthesize a core set of recommendations from information from 14 countries that can be used to optimize diabetes care on a global scale. Methods Information from 14 papers in this special issue of Annals of Global Health was reviewed, analyzed, and sorted to synthesize recommendations. PubMed was searched for relevant studies on diabetes and global health. Findings Key findings are as follows: (1) Population-based transitions distinguish region-specific diabetes care; (2) biological drivers for diabetes differ among various populations and need to be clarified scientifically; (3) principal resource availability determines quality-of-care metrics; and (4) governmental involvement, independent of economic barriers, improves the contextualization of diabetes care. Core recommendations are as follows: (1) Each nation should assess region-specific epidemiology, the scientific evidence base, and population-based transitions to establish risk-stratified guidelines for diagnosis and therapeutic interventions; (2) each nation should establish a public health imperative to provide tools and funding to successfully implement these guidelines; and (3) each nation should commit to education and research to optimize recommendations for a durable effect. Conclusions Systematic acquisition of information about diabetes care can be analyzed, extrapolated, and then used to provide a core set of actionable recommendations that may be further studied and implemented to improve diabetes care on a global scale.
LiNbO3 thin film ACP phase modulator for hybridly integrated ACP-OPLL

The first LiNbO3 thin film attenuated counter propagation (ACP) phase modulator is presented. The modulator demonstrates a Vπ of 2.5 V and a record 3 dB ACP modulator bandwidth of ∼1.8 GHz. It also demonstrated a lumped element response that is free of propagation delay. This device should be able to be integrated with external photodetectors to form a wideband ACP-optical phase lock loop.
SEXUAL SELECTION IN NOTHOBRANCHIUS GUENTHERI (PISCES: CYPRINODONTIDAE).

A number of genera of South American and East African cyprinodontid fishes are restricted to shallow, seasonally ephemeral habitats and for this reason are termed "annual fishes" (Myers, 1952). Survival of these fishes obtains through substrate deposited eggs which enter into developmental diapauses of variable duration and which hatch only after rainwater refills the temporary pond (Peters, 1963; Wourms, 1964, 1972a, 1972b). The larvae are immediately free swimming and grow to sexual maturity extremely rapidly (Haas, 1976). Annual fishes are typically strikingly dimorphic (Peters, 1966; Weitzman and Wourms, 1967; Thomerson, 1974) and dichromatic, color differences between the sexes being especially pronounced in African species of the genus Nothobranchius (Jackson, 1961; Turner, 1964; Jubb, 1965). The males of Nothobranchius guentheri, an annual species from Zanzibar, Tanzania and Kenya (Jubb, 1969), reach a length of about 50 mm and possess blue scales edged in red on their flanks, yellow head and abdomen and a bright carmine peduncle and caudal fin, the latter with a prominent black posterior border. The 45 mm long females are uniformly brown with clear fins. Behavior resembles that of other, nonannual, substrate spawning cyprinodontid fishes (e.g., Mertz and Barlow, 1966; Echelle, 1973) but differs in that courtship is virtually absent (Haas, 1976). Reproduction occurs daily throughout life, promiscuous pairings lasting only long enough to lay the egg. Males are ready to spawn at any time and ripe females will make the
Basic quality and professional skills of clinical pharmacists for the establishment of clinical pharmacist system

Objective To improve the basic quality and professional skills for the establishment of clinical pharmacist system.Methods Clinical pharmacists are health professionals who need fixed operating mode and assessment program.We realized what qualified clinical pharmacists should equip through pilot training base and pilot working system.Results Clinical pharmacists should be proactive,innovative and professional in evidence-based medicine,pharmacoeconomics and other subjects.Conclusion Establishment of system is the most critical step for clinical pharmacists.The basic quality of pharmacists is the foundation for the implementation of clinical pharmacist system.Professional skills and clinical research capacity of pharmacists provide chances for the self-improvement of pharmacists.
Present Situation and Existing Risk Factors of the Hypertensive Patients in Rural Areas of Huairou District of Beijing City

[Objective]To understand the present situation and existing risk factors of hypertensive patients in rural areas of Huairou District of Beijing City,and provide evidence for implementation of intervention and reducing the incidence of chronic complications induced by hypertension.[Methods]Cluster random sampling method was adopted to select hypertensive patients from 5 villages of 4 counties in Huirou District during May-October 2008.Inquiring survey,measurements of height,weight,blood pressure were conducted on them as well as blood biochemical tests.The results were analyzed statistically.[Results]Of 466 selected hypertensive patients,79.8% were overweight or obesity,51.1% had dyslipidemia;18.5% had complications of Heart,brain,blood vessels and kidney;26.0% had regular exercise;51.3% used to high-salt diet;52.4% had regular drug taking;17.8% controlled hypertension well.[Conclusion]The existing main risk factors of hypertensive patients in rural areas of Huairou District were overweight,obesity,dyslipidemia,high-salt diet,lack of exercise,and poor awareness of self-management.Therefore it is necessary to strengthenhealth management,to control or delay the occurrence of complications.
Correlation between dengue fever epidemic and climate factors in Guangd ong Province

AIM:To explore the correlation between deng ue fever and the changes of aedes population dynamics, and between dengue fever an d climate factors so as to provide scientific evidence for preventing and monito ring dengue fever. METHODS: Data of dengue fever case we re collected in Guangdong province from 1990 to 2001. Data of aedes vector's sur veillance and climate in the corresponding period were collected in Chaozhou cit y from 1995 to 2001, climate data including average air temperature, lowest air temperature, highest air temperature, sunlight, rainfall and relative humidity T he data were analyzed by methods of correlation analysis, stepwise regression an d logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Meteorological parameters correlating with vector aedes density were rainfall, sunlight, averag e air temperature, lowest average air temperature and relative humidity. Stepwis e regression analysis got the regression equation: viz.:Y BI =24 800+0 826x 1+0 020x 2-0 418x 3(x 1 represents lowe st average air temperature, x 2 rainfall and x 3 relative humidity). The logistic regression equation of dengue fever episode was P(I)=1/e -(-7 850+0 391BI ]. . CONCLUSION : The influence of climate on aedes density is complicated, but the pri mary factors are lowest average air temperature, rainfall and relative humidity and the aedes density is the primary factor for dengue incidence.
Effect of epinephrine on renal potassium excretion in the isolated perfused rat kidney

The effects of beta-agonists (epinephrine, isoproterenol, and ITP) and beta-antagonists (propranolol, metoprolol, and butoxamine) on renal potassium excretion were examined using the isolated perfused rat kidney preparation. Following 30 min of control perfusion, one of the above beta-adrenergic agonists or antagonists was added to the perfusion medium. Following epinephrine, a combined beta 1- and beta 2-agonist, urinary potassium excretion (UKV; 0.55 +/- 0.55 vs. 0.36 +/- 0.04 mueq/min, P less than 0.001) and fractional excretion of potassium (FEK; 24.6 +/- 2.4 vs. 18.2 +/- 2.0%, P less than 0.001) both decreased. When isoproterenol, a nonspecific beta-agonist, was added to the perfusate, UKV (0.49 +/- 0.10 vs. 0.27 +/- 0.04 mueq/min, P less than 0.02) and FEK (29.0 +/- 5.2 vs. 16.3 +/- 2.9%, P less than 0.01) again decreased. ITP, a specific beta 1-agonist also caused a decrease in UKV (0.60 +/- 0.13 vs. 0.39 +/- 0.04 mueq/min, P less than 0.02) and FEK (30.2 +/- 5.1 vs. 17.8 +/- 2.8%, P less than 0.02). In contrast, when propranolol, a nonspecific beta-antagonist, was added to the perfusate, the opposite effects on renal potassium handling were observed. UKV (0.45 +/- 0.05 vs. 0.70 +/- 0.07 mueq/min, P less than 0.001) and FEK (23.0 +/- 2.1 vs. 42.5 +/- 3.1%, P less than 0.001) both increased. Metoprolol (50 ng/ml), a specific beta 1-antagonist, increased UKV (0.56 +/- 0.10 vs. 0.68 +/- 0.15 mueq/min, P less than 0.02) and FEK (31.0 +/- 3.8 vs. 48.0 +/- 7.1%, P less than 0.02). A similar effect was observed when a higher dose of metoprolol (200 ng/ml) was employed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Exotic Counter-Explanations

In Chapter 7 and Chapter 8, we saw that in Bayesian arguments for survival, the posterior probability of the survival hypothesis, Pr(S | E & K), depends on the prior probability of the survival hypothesis, Pr(S | K), and the explanatory power of the survival hypothesis, Pr(E | S & K)/Pr(E | K).1 Since the explanatory power of any hypothesis h is formally expressed as the fraction of h’s likelihood over the prior probability of the evidence e, the explanatory power of h will be very great to the extent that h’s likelihood is high and e’s prior probability is low. In other words, the explanatory power of a hypothesis will be very great to the extent that the hypothesis leads us to expect the evidence and the evidence is otherwise improbable. And the evidence will be otherwise improbable just if there is no rival hypothesis with significant prior probability that leads us to expect the evidence at least as well as does the survival hypothesis.
Hispanics in the United States: Citizenship, the Latino Electorate, and Voter Participation

Between 1980 and 2005 the absolute number of citizens of Latino origin in the United States nearly tripled from about 11 million to nearly 30 million. About 81% of this increase was because of births in the United States, and 19% was because of naturalization among the foreign-born. Yet, despite this increase in the actual number of citizens, the surge in migration to the United States from Latin America and the Caribbean after 1980 resulted in a declining percentage of all Latinos who were citizens from 80% in 1980 to 71% in 2005. This immigration resulted in a more than fourfold increase in the absolute number of Latinos who were not citizens of the United States from nearly 3 million in 1980 to over 12 million in 2005. If we consider the total citizen population of the United States, in 1980, about 5% were Latinos; by 2005 this percentage had increased to 11%. The anti-immigrant sentiment, which has swept through the United States from the mid-1990s, exemplified by the passing of Proposition 187 in California in November 1994, led to a fairly significant increase in the yearly rate of naturalization among Latinos during the 1990s. There were over 1.2 million foreign-born naturalized Latino citizens in 1980 and over 4.7 million in 2005. Latino foreign-born residents who achieved citizenship through naturalization increased at about 5% annually during the 1980s, and this rate surged to 7% yearly between 1990 and 2000. However, between 2000 and 2005 the annual rate of naturalization increase among foreign-born Latinos fell to about 4% each year.
Molecular Basis of the Extracellular Ligands Mediated Signaling by the Calcium Sensing Receptor.

Ca2+-sensing receptors (CaSRs) play a central role in regulating extracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]o) homeostasis and many (patho)physiological processes in multiple organs. This regulation is orchestrated by a cooperative response to extracellular stimuli such as small changes in Ca2+, Mg2+, amino acids and other ligands. In addition, CaSR is a pleiotropic receptor regulating several intracellular signaling pathways, including calcium mobilization and intracellular calcium oscillation. Nearly 200 mutations and polymorphisms have been found in CaSR in relation to a variety of human disorders associated with abnormal Ca2+ homeostasis. In this review, we summarize efforts directed at identifying binding sites for calcium and amino acids. Both homotropic cooperativity among multiple calcium binding sites and heterotropic cooperativity between calcium and amino acid were revealed using computational modeling, predictions, and site-directed mutagenesis coupled with functional assays. The hinge region of the bilobed Venus flytrap (VFT) domain of CaSR plays a pivotal role in coordinating multiple extracellular stimuli, leading to cooperative responses from the receptor. We further highlight the extensive number of disease-associated mutations that have also been shown to affect CaSR’s cooperative action via several types of mechanisms. These results provide insights into the molecular bases of the structure and functional cooperativity of this receptor and other members of family C of the G protein-coupled receptors (cGPCRs) in health and disease states, and may assist in the prospective development of novel receptor-based therapeutics.
Respiratory Complications in Trauma Patients: A Multidisciplinary Approach to Prevention.

As many as half of all trauma admissions in the United States admitted to an ICU require mechanical ventilation, and >80% of trauma patients who suffer an in-hospital complication will end up in respiratory failure on the ventilator.[1][1] Fully 2.5% of all trauma patients admitted to the ICU in
Low-Speed Compressible Viscous Flows

In this chapter, low-speed compressible viscous flows are of interest. This subject has been neglected in finite element simulations, but has been intensively studied using finite difference and finite volume methods.
The People: The #Selfie’s Urform

The chapter considers the ways in which the selfie is connected, in its quotidianness, to private life. In its daily co-articulation and its challenge to objects invested with power, it upends contemporary notions of the state, of government, of capital, of art and urban design, of copyright and of privacy. As such, the selfie aligns with the quotidian body of the collective, indeed, ‘the people’ comprised of both flesh and data – an amorphous sensing body, articulated with and networked to others across national boundaries at a distance away.
Pooling in tandem queueing networks with non-collaborative servers

This paper considers pooling several adjacent stations in a tandem network of single-server stations with finite buffers. When stations are pooled, we assume that the tasks at those stations are pooled but the servers are not. More specifically, each server at the pooled station picks a job from the incoming buffer of the pooled station and conducts all tasks required for that job at the pooled station before that job is placed in the outgoing buffer. For such a system, we provide sufficient conditions on the buffer capacities and service times under which pooling increases the system throughput by means of sample-path comparisons. Our numerical results suggest that pooling in a tandem line generally improves the system throughput—substantially in many cases. Finally, our analytical and numerical results suggest that pooling servers in addition to tasks results in even larger throughput when service rates are additive and the two systems have the same total number of storage spaces.
The Need for “Linearity” of Deductive Logic: An Examination of Expert and Novice Proving Processes

Mathematicians have long claimed that the proving process cannot be considered a “linear” process and that undergraduates may view the proving process to be necessarily “linear”. However, there is little empirical research that supports this familiar claim. Using grounded theory methods, expert and novice provers of mathematics were examined in the process of proving novel mathematical statements. Expert provers of mathematics were willing to knowingly and temporarily interrupt the deductive logic of their proving process in order to make progress towards constructing an eventually complete deductive argument. On the other hand, novice provers seemed less inclined to behave in a similar manner. They seemed to rigidly require the deductive logic of the proving process to remain intact. In light of these findings, implications for mathematics curricula writers and mathematics instructors are discussed.
Literacy Practices, Linguistic Anthropology and Social Inequality

This paper discusses my own long-term research efforts to understand the interaction of schooled literacy, language diversity, and social inequality. It draws on semiotic and Marxian traditions to investigate language diversity and social inequality in contemporary European and North American settings. Focusing especially on racialization practices and class dynamics, the arguments uses early studies of minority language and schooling in order to frame a recent study of federal education policy and migrant experiences of schooling and language hierarchy. The study draws from a year of sociolinguistic and ethnographic research among multilingual Oaxacan migrant families and communities in upstate New York, with particular focus on their children’s experience with multilingual repertoires and monolingual language polices in schooling. (Author 2012) Drawing on data from classroom lessons, district curriculum decisions, and state and federal education policies, I analyze a set of ‘state effects’ (Trouillot 2001) as they operate across different institutional sites, arguing that such effects are ways the neoliberal states attempt to regulate globalized class and racial dynamics, by shaping educational subjects who are stripped of linguistic diversity, ethnic solidarity, and class awareness. This neoliberal project, which directly contributes to the reproduction of social inequality (Menken 2008), is opposed by a variety of domestic-familial linguistic practices as well as by political movements that challenge monolingual education policy.
Examination of Csr regulatory circuitry using epistasis analysis with RNA-seq (Epi-seq) confirms that CsrD affects gene expression via CsrA, CsrB and CsrC

The Csr global regulatory system coordinates gene expression in response to metabolic status. This system utilizes the RNA binding protein CsrA to regulate gene expression by binding to transcripts of structural and regulatory genes, thus affecting their structure, stability, translation, and/or transcription elongation. CsrA activity is controlled by sRNAs, CsrB and CsrC, which sequester CsrA away from other transcripts. CsrB/C levels are partly determined by their rates of turnover, which requires CsrD to render them susceptible to RNase E cleavage. Previous epistasis analysis suggested that CsrD affects gene expression through the other Csr components, CsrB/C and CsrA. However, those conclusions were based on a limited analysis of reporters. Here, we reassessed the global behavior of the Csr circuitry using epistasis analysis with RNA seq (Epi-seq). Because CsrD effects on mRNA levels were entirely lost in the csrA mutant and largely eliminated in a csrB/C mutant under our experimental conditions, while the majority of CsrA effects persisted in the absence of csrD, the original model accounts for the global behavior of the Csr system. Our present results also reflect a more nuanced role of CsrA as terminal regulator of the Csr system than has been recognized.
Progress toward a Glucose Sensor for the Artificial Pancreas

The artificial pancreas, actually an artificial beta cell, is a completely implantable device about the size of a cardiac pacemaker that will deliver insulin to the circulatory system, as needed, in response to increases in the glucose level of the blood or other body fluid. The device will contain a glucose sensor, a computer-amplifier system, an insulin pump, a power supply, and an insulin reservoir refillable from the outside by injection at intervals of 3 months or more. The power supply could consist of a nickel-cadmium battery and a recharging circuit activated by electromagnetic induction through the skin. When perfected, the artificial beta cell may prevent the physical deterioration of the diabetic from the stress associated with the imbalance between his actual insulin requirement at any given time and the amount of insulin in usable form in his body at that time. Much of the technology for the artificial pancreas is already available except for a reliable glucose sensor.
Mechanisms of Secrecy

The conflict between transparency and secrecy is a particularly stark instantiation of the principal-agent problem in public law. It is the province of institutional design to come up with effective means to ensure that government actors act in accordance with voters' desires. Much of the time, elections and other disciplining mechanisms (such as impeachment for judges and indirect political control for unelected members of the executive branch) deter official behavior that diverges too widely from voters' interests, at least over the long term. However, because these traditional incentive-alignment methods require political involvement by the public, they cannot prevent self-interested behavior by political actors if the voters have no way of learning about the malfeasance. Transparency seems essential from this perspective, since it allows voters to monitor the actions of their agents. Transparency and accountability are seen as inherently linked, and secrecy is considered by many to produce large agency costs. The main point of disagreement is where to determine the point at which government operations go from being "open" to being "closed" in order to strike a "balance" between secrecy and accountability.This Note explores alternatives to this dichotomous conception of secrecy and accountability. It considers the problem of secrecy and transparency from the perspective of the principal-agent relationship and advocates creative approaches that focus on reducing the total agency costs in the relationship between voters and their representatives. Toward that end, this Note explores three mechanisms that could, if used appropriately, minimize agency costs while still allowing the government the freedom to make important decisions or conduct sensitive operations in secret. This Note's goal is not to critique existing secrecy law systematically, nor to propose a feasible replacement system. Rather, it aims to explore new ways to think about the secrecy/transparency dilemma and to suggest that it is worth investigating mechanisms (including, but not limited to, the three suggested here) that capture as many of the benefits of secrecy as possible while minimizing agency costs.Part I evaluates secrecy and transparency in terms of the potential agency costs that each creates. Parts II, III, and IV each explore a different, potentially agency cost-minimizing mechanism of secrecy. Each Part describes the mechanism and its ideal implementation. Each Part also investigates two examples of the strategy in American law: one that is well designed in light of the preceding discussion of optimal implementation, and one that is more poorly designed. Part II explores proxy monitoring, in which one governmental actor (or other third party) polices another governmental actor's use of secrecy. Part III examines bottom-line disclosure, in which the public is allowed to monitor the performance of the government, but only along a specified "bottom line" metric. Part IV discusses delayed disclosure, in which the government is required to reveal its decisions or actions after a specified period of time.
Teachers, Attributions, and Students’ Mathematical Work

This chapter reports on a design experiment within a professional development context purposefully planned to teach teachers about students’ mathematical thinking and learning through studying a mathematics learning trajectory. Through an examination of teachers’ discourse in 60 h of school-based professional development, we identify eight attributions that participating elementary teachers use to discuss students’ mathematical successes or failures when engaging with the project’s professional learning tasks. Our findings suggest that teachers used a variety of attributions to explain students’ mathematics and incorporated their knowledge of the learning trajectory into their repertoire of attributions.
Role of Engineering Plants for Abiotic Stresses

Systematic efforts to develop crop plants with tolerance to abiotic stresses were first sparked by the Green Revolution in the 1960s. With the emerging threat of climatic vulnerabilities, plant breeders are called to identify and deploy new genes and physiological mechanisms that contribute to climate resilient crops. Recent advancements in plant breeding and biotechnology are making substantial contributions to engineering plants with tolerance to abiotic stresses; however, future plant breeding efforts must focus on integrating multiple climate adaptation traits in new cultivars to provide tolerance to a broad spectrum of adverse conditions.
Marx and history

History could not have chosen a better representative to depict mankind’s intractable drive for totality than Karl Marx. He returned the favor by paying homage to history as no other human being before or after him has done. Marx saw in history the future totalization of mankind where totality literally became a human possibility. Here was social immortality at last for the species- being. This was the moment mankind was looking for to break the barrier of limitations which surrounded particular finite beings, which impeded the search for totality and fulfillment through otherness. Totality was now within sight, if not within the reach of the human race if it chose the path of collective praxis and stayed on the dialectical path of history. The end was far but totality was within sight but as yet beyond the grasp and control of species-being.
Reaction Kinetics on Fractal and Euclidean Structures with Energetic Disorder: Random Walk Simulations

A Monte Carlo approach is used to treat diffusion-limited reaction kinetics in microscopically heterogeneous media with energetic disorder. Simulations performed on the Cyber 205 supercomputer for the elementary reaction A + A → A show that the rate law is well described in terms of the microscopic exploration space of a single random walker, that is, by the number of distinct sites visited, S. This provides a scaling approach for moving from single walker simulations to reacting random walker simu­lations over a broad range of times and reduced temperatures. In the asymptotic limit of long times, single walker simulations for exponential, Gaussian and uniform distributions of energetic disorder on the Sierpinski gasket appear to follow a simple power law, S(t) ∝ tf. Simulations of re­acting random walkers show that the density, ρ, is fairly well described by the relation: p−1 ∝S(t) as t → ∞.
The Culture of Eragrostis Tef in vitro

A tissue culture system was used to determine the nutritional and hormonal requirements for the culture of Eragrostis tef in vitro since conventional methods of breeding gave little or no results. Calli were initiated from the nodal stem segments on Heller’s medium supplemented with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (10 mg/1). The calli thus formed at the nodes were isolated and subcultured at 4-to 6-week intervals on either the initiating medium or on a medium containing an additional amino acid complex. Single roots, multiple roots, and plantlets were thus induced from the second and third subculture calli on Heller’s medium without growth substances. Another significant finding was that shoots with roots, shoots with inflorescence only, and shoots with callus can be initiated directly from the nodal stem segment by the manipulation of the components of the media. Plants that developed directly from the nodal stem segments in vitro were isolated and grown in a greenhouse environment. A multiple-stemmed plant was formed that produced viable seeds. This technology could set E. tef breeders free from the historical constraints of working with normal sexual cycles, maturation, and growth characteristics.
Genetics of alcohol use disorder: a review.

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) represents a significant and ongoing public health concern with 12-month prevalence estimates of ∼5.6%. Quantitative genetic studies suggest a heritability of approximately 50% for AUD, and as a result, significant efforts have been made to identify specific variation within the genome related to the etiology of AUD. Given the limited number of replicable findings that have emerged from genome-wide linkage and candidate gene association studies, more recent efforts have focused on the use of genome-wide association studies (GWAS). These studies have suggested that hundreds of variants across the genome, most of small effect (R2
No free rides: management of toxicities of novel immunotherapies in ALL, including financial

Therapeutic options for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, especially in the relapsed/refractory setting, have expanded significantly in recent times. However, this comes at the cost of toxicities: medical as well as financial. We highlight some of the unique toxicities associated with the novel agents to apprise our readers about what to expect, how to recognize them, and how to manage these toxicities. One of the toxicities seen with inotuzumab, a CD22 antibody drug conjugate, is sinusoidal obstruction syndrome, which can be fatal in >80% of patients if associated with multiorgan failure. Blinatumomab, a monoclonal antibody targeting CD19, is associated with cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurotoxicity, both of which require prompt recognition and management primarily with corticosteroids. CRS and neurotoxicity are more common and more severe with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy (CAR-T). The fact that CAR-T cannot be discontinued on demand adds a layer of complexity to the management of related toxicities of this therapy. Tocilizumab, an interleukin-6 receptor blocker, is used to treat severe CRS from CAR-T, whereas corticosteroids remain the mainstay for neurotoxicity management. Although effective, these drugs carry a high price tag, and we review the available data on cost-effectiveness of these agents, keeping in mind that median follow-up on most of these studies is limited and that long-term data on durability of response remain to be seen.
Freedom From Opioids After Total Knee Arthroplasty.

Abstract Background In the United States, opioids are commonly prescribed to treat knee pain after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). While surgery leads to decreased pain in most patients, a sizable minority continue to experience severe pain and consume opioids chronically after TKA. We sought to determine the population-level effect of TKA on opioid consumption by detailing the pattern of opioid prescriptions before and after surgery. Methods We retrospectively identified US Veterans Health Administration TKA patients from 2010 to 2015. Outpatient opioid prescriptions were identified from 18 months before to 18 months after surgery, and mean daily opioid doses were calculated. Our primary end point was the achievement of opioid-freedom, defined as a period of at least 6 months without opioids. We compared the percentage of patients who were opioid-free preoperatively to the percentage who were opioid-free 18 months after surgery (no prescriptions after postoperative month 12). We identified factors associated with opioid-freedom. Results In a cohort of 33,927 patients, 41% were opioid-free in the month before surgery compared to 54% 18 months after surgery (P Conclusion TKA was associated with an increase in postoperative freedom from opioids. Low preoperative dose of opioids was more strongly associated with postoperative opioid-freedom than patient characteristics, suggesting that opioid prescription patterns are a chief driver of opioid use after surgery. Level of Evidence III Retrospective cohort study.
How Caenorhabditis elegans Senses Mechanical Stress, Temperature, and Other Physical Stimuli

Caenorhabditis elegans lives in a complex habitat in which they routinely experience large fluctuations in temperature, and encounter physical obstacles that vary in size and composition. Their habitat is shared by other nematodes, by beneficial and harmful bacteria, and nematode-trapping fungi. Not surprisingly, these nematodes can detect and discriminate among diverse environmental cues, and exhibit sensory-evoked behaviors that are readily quantifiable in the laboratory at high resolution. Their ability to perform these behaviors depends on <100 sensory neurons, and this compact sensory nervous system together with powerful molecular genetic tools has allowed individual neuron types to be linked to specific sensory responses. Here, we describe the sensory neurons and molecules that enable C. elegans to sense and respond to physical stimuli. We focus primarily on the pathways that allow sensation of mechanical and thermal stimuli, and briefly consider this animal's ability to sense magnetic and electrical fields, light, and relative humidity. As the study of sensory transduction is critically dependent upon the techniques for stimulus delivery, we also include a section on appropriate laboratory methods for such studies. This chapter summarizes current knowledge about the sensitivity and response dynamics of individual classes of C. elegans mechano- and thermosensory neurons from in vivo calcium imaging and whole-cell patch-clamp electrophysiology studies. We also describe the roles of conserved molecules and signaling pathways in mediating the remarkably sensitive responses of these nematodes to mechanical and thermal cues. These studies have shown that the protein partners that form mechanotransduction channels are drawn from multiple superfamilies of ion channel proteins, and that signal transduction pathways responsible for temperature sensing in C. elegans share many features with those responsible for phototransduction in vertebrates.