cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of sometribove administration on LH concentration in dairy cattle

Abstract Sixteen lactating, normally cycling Holstein cows were used to study 1) the effects of sometribove (recombinant methionyl bST) administration on basal LH concentrations and 2) the pituitary response to a GnRH challenge during the breeding period. The cows received a 3-injection regimen of PGF2a for estrus synchronization between 40 and 50 d post partum, and were assigned to a control group or to sometribove treatment (25 mg/d), which began 54 to 59 d post partum. Duration of the bST treatment was 24 d. On Day 10 of the estrous cycle following the third PGF2a injection, blood samples were collected to determine basal concentrations of LH. Immediately following this collection period, a GnRH challenge (100 μg) was used to measure the responsiveness of the pituitary based on the subsequent LH peak. Milk production of sometribove-treated cows increased 7% (2.1 kg/d) above that of the controls. Sometribove did not affect basal or GnRH-induced LH concentrations. Plasma progesterone concentrations during the luteal phase were similar between treatments. Sometribove increased milk yield with no apparent effects on basal or GnRH-induced LH concentrations during the breeding period.
Experimental Observation of the Thomas Peak in High-Velocity Electron Capture by Protons from He

Experimental angular distributions are reported for electron capture by protons of 2.82, 5.42, and 7.40 MeV from He. A clear peak in $\frac{d\ensuremath{\sigma}}{d\ensuremath{\theta}}$ appears near the Thomas angle of 0.47 mrad for the higher two bombarding energies, supporting the widely held belief that the double-scattering mechanism plays an important role for high-velocity electron capture.
Multiple valve surgery with beating heart technique.

Background Multiple valve sugery was performed utilizing beating heart technique through simultaneous antegrade/retrograde perfusion with blood. We herein report our experience with this technique in patients with multiple valve disease processes. Methods Of 520 consecutive patients operated upon utilizing this method between 2000 and 2007, 59 patients underwent multiple valve surgery. Mean age was 54.2 ± 13.8 years (range, 21 to 83) with 41 males (69.5%) and 18 females (30.5%). Double-valve and triple-valve operations were performed in 54 and 5 patients, respectively. Results Of 32 mitral valve replacements, there were 30 biological (93.8%) and 2 mechanical (6.2%) mitral valves. Aortic valve replacement was performed in 25 patients: 22 (88%) with biological and 3 (12%) with mechanical prostheses. Two patients had mitral and tricuspid valve repair. The most common procedure was mitral valve replacement plus tricuspid valve repair (16 patients; 27.1%), mitral valve replacement plus aortic replacement (14 patients; 23.7%), and mitral valve repair plus tricuspid repair (13 patients; 22%). Concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting was performed in 7 (11.8%) of 59 patients. Mean hospital stay was 25.6 ± 29.6 days (range, 3 to 195; median, 17). Early mortality (less than 30 days) occurred in 5 patients (8.4%), and late mortality (more than 30 days) occurred in 2 patients (3.4%). Reoperation for bleeding was needed in 5 patients (8.4%). Intra-aortic balloon pump was required preoperatively and postoperatively in 4 and 1 patients, respectively. Clinical and echocardiographic follow-up in 33 patients at 11.8 ± 16.4 months (range, 1 to 80) showed preserved postoperative left ventricular ejection fraction. Three patients had perivalvular leaks on follow-up but required no surgery. Nineteen patients were lost to follow-up. Conclusions This study demonstrates the feasibility and safety of beating heart techniques in multiple valve operations. Further studies are needed to fully evaluate the potential benefits of this method of myocardial perfusion as a means to eliminate ischemia-reperfusion injury, and to preserve ventricular function in multiple valvular surgery.
Tobacco smoking increases square-wave jerks during pursuit eye movements

Smooth-pursuit eye-movement (SPEM) abnormalities have been consistently observed in schizophrenia. The SPEM changes in schizophrenia are not thought to be an artifact of voluntary attention or medication, although a number of nondisease factors are known to affect SPEM. However, cigarette smoking has recently been reported to deteriorate SPEM in both smokers and nonsmokers. This finding is particularly relevant to schizophrenia, because schizophrenic patients smoke cigarettes considerably more than do normals, and none of the previous studies in this patient group have controlled for smoking. The current study was initiated to examine the effects of smoking on a number of oculomotor measures, including SPEM in smoker and nonsmoker normal volunteers. The results of this study suggest that cigarette smoking induces or significantly increases square-wave jerks, especially during smooth pursuit in normals. However, the effect is small and the global qualitative SPEM score is not affected. Other eye movements such as latencies for reflex and volitional saccades and saccadic distractibility are also unaffected by smoking. No differences were apparent between chronic smokers and nonsmokers under nonsmoking conditions in any of the eye-movement measures.
Analytical derivation and behavioral interpretation of a model combining trip generation and distribution

Abstract The disjointedness of the planning sequence of trip generation and trip distribution is the main subject of this paper. We approach this disjointedness problem by analyzing the central properties of the independently discovered balancing methods of trip-distribution models in relation to two critical issues. First, in the current planning sequence, it is usual to start by forecasting how many trips will begin (production) and end (attraction) in each zone. This forecasting is done by estimating the production of trips independently from the attraction of trips and vice versa, and then forcing some mechanical balance of total trips being generated in the urban system. Second, in the same planning sequence, the output of this trip-generation process is the input to the next one (trip-distribution process): forecasting the matrix that describes the number of trips between each pair of zones. This forecasting is done in general by updating an equivalent obsolete matrix that was obtained from an origin-and-destination survey. The updating is generally accomplished by adjusting the outdated matrix with the so-called balancing factors. It is the purpose of this paper to support the balancing-factors approach in forecasting trip-distribution matrices with a methodological interpretation and to explain behaviorally the balancing factors; and in the process, to show the spatial interaction between trip production and attraction and the emerging need for simultaneous specification and estimation of the whole trip-generation process.
Sex Differences and the Impact of Chronic Stress and Recovery on Instrumental Learning

We have previously shown that 21-day chronic restraint stress impacts instrumental learning, but overall few studies have examined sex differences on the impact of stress on learning. We further examined sex differences in response to extended 42-day chronic stress on instrumental learning, as well as recovery from chronic stress. Rats were tested in aversive training tasks with or without prior appetitive experience, and daily body weight data was collected as an index of stress. Relative to control animals, reduced body weight was maintained from day 22 through day 42 across the stress period for males, but not for females. Stressed males had increased response speed and lower learning efficiency during appetitive acquisition and aversive learning. Males overall showed slower escape shaping times and more shock exposure. In contrast, stressed females showed slower appetitive response speeds and higher appetitive and aversive efficiency but overall reduced avoidance rates during acquisition and maintenance for transfer animals and during maintenance for aversive-only animals. These tasks reveal important nuances on the effect of stress on goal-directed behavior and further highlight sexually divergent effects on appetitive versus aversive motivation. Furthermore, these data underscore that systems are temporally impacted by chronic stress in a sexually divergent pattern.
Parametric ergodicity to measure roughness from a single sample

Abstract We introduce a concrete random model system to study the concept of parametric ergodicity. It consists of a continuum mechanical cavity with an embedded random mass distribution, constrained by a parametrized boundary condition. The interest is twofold. On one hand, there is the practical interest of obtaining ensemble averages of physical quantities from a small number of experimentally available samples, in many cases only one. This is typically the case in studies on conductance fluctuations through disorder mesosocopic systems. On the other hand we want to develop more insight into the meaning of parametric ergodicity. For this, we focus on the statistical distribution of resonant frequency generated by the ensemble of random samples, and how to produce the same distribution from a single sample subject to changing a boundary condition — the external parameter. The paper shows how the changing of the boundary condition is equivalent to scanning the ensemble of equivalent samples.
Effect of Stoichiometry on the Thermal Expansion of TaCx

The X-ray thermal expansion of TaCx was measured over the composition range from TaC0.789 to TaC0.997 at temperatures to 1000°C. The average thermal expansion coefficient, α, increased with increasing formula weight; α from 25° to 1000°C is 6.04, 6.37, and 6.96 × 10−6/°C for TaC0.789, TaC0.912, and TaC0.997, respectively.
Looking Twice Means Seeing More: Developing Pedagogical Knowledge Through Case Analysis.

Is there value in having students analyze a dilemma-based case more than once, for example, both before and after a unit of instruction? Or, if students will only analyze a case once, when should that analysis occur—as a performance measure following instruction or before a unit of instruction to provide a narrative anchor for understanding? To address these questions, sixty-seven undergraduate preservice teachers during two separate investigations worked in pairs to analyze a case before and after units of instruction in an undergraduate Educational Psychology class. In students' pre and post written analysis of the case they used the same situational context (case) to embed different theoretical concepts, and identified more concepts and analyzed the case in more depth in their second analyses. Furthermore, using a case as an anchor for understanding in the beginning of a unit produced more learning than using a case as a performance measure at the end of a unit. Students' reflections on changes in their analyses showed that case analysis affected knowledge: Repeated discussion of complex cases containing classroom dilemmas enabled preservice teachers to find new problems, rethink ideas, consider others' viewpoints and embed theoretical concepts from the perspective of the most recently completed area of study. As a result of this study, we argue that repeated analysis of a case is a viable pedagogical approach and that cases can serve as an “anchor” for subsequent instruction.
A base pair between tRNA and 23S rRNA in the peptidyl transferase centre of the ribosome.

Interaction of the conserved CCA terminus of tRNA with rRNA in the peptidyl transferase P site has been studied by in vitro genetics. A Watson–Crick G–C pair between G2252 in a conserved hairpin loop of 23S rRNA and C74 at the acceptor end of tRNA is required for proper functional interaction of the CCA end of tRNA with the ribosomal P site. These findings establish a direct role for 23S rRNA in protein synthesis.
Systolic Blood Pressure, Heart Rate and Treadmill Work at Anginal Threshold

Systolic blood pressure, heart rate, rate-pressure product and treadmill work time at the last moment of exercise in 189 graded exercise tests were examined for relationships with age and the pressure or absence of angina pectoris. Exercise heart rate and treadmill work time were equally related to diagnosis (r 2 =.33) and in normal patients both declined with age. Exercise systolic blood pressure increased with age and was not related to diagnosis. Rate-pressure product was unrelated to age of subject but was weakly related to diagnosis. No critical level of rate-pressure product was found, which would be exceeded by nearly all normal subjects and by few if any angina pectoris subjects. Thus it is suggested that, while rate-pressure product at anginal threshold has been found to be relatively constant in a given individual, its range of variation is too wide to advocate its use as a primary stress test end point.
Evaluating agricultural management practices to improve the environmental footprint of corn-derived ethanol

Abstract This study examines three agriculture management practices with the aim of improving the environmental performance of corn-derived products such as bioethanol. Corn production is energy intensive and contributes to water quality degradation and global warming, thus affecting the environmental impact of corn-derived ethanol. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to quantify and compare the environmental impacts of three management strategies: tillage, fertilizer choices and the use of buffer strips to sequester nutrients. Detailed energy, carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus inventories are compiled to represent corn production scenarios within the US Corn Belt. The LCA was developed using GREET 1.8 (Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation) and emission factors with statistical analyses to estimate energy consumption, associated air emissions, and aqueous nutrient runoff potentials. Results show that using manure fertilizers as opposed to synthetic fertilizers requires less energy, however the use of manure generates more CH 4 , N 2 O, CO 2 and results in more variable concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus leaching from farmlands. No tillage emits less greenhouse gas emissions, sequesters more soil organic carbon and slightly reduces nutrient runoff compared with conventional tillage practices. Building buffer strips of certain widths is an efficient way to reduce N and P discharge to surrounding waters with minimal effect on the energy or global warming profile. Based on the results of the LCA studies, replacing conventional tillage with no till, and installing buffer strips can improve environmental performances of corn derived ethanol.
Another look at the BER performance of FFH/BFSK with product combining over partial-band jammed Rayleigh-fading channels

Product combining (PC) is a well-known diversity technique that effectively combat the effect of partial-band jamming (PBJ) affecting fast-frequency hopping/frequency-shift-keying (FFH/FSK) systems. We present two approaches for the average bit error rate (BER) evaluation of FFH/FSK systems with PC over Rayleigh channels subject to PBJ. We first rely on the fact that the decision statistic at the output of PC receivers can be viewed as a product of F-variates to obtain the average BER in the form of a rapidly converging infinite series, which can be readily evaluated numerically for cases of practical interest. We then rely on the theory of H function random variables to present a second approach for the average BER evaluation of PC over partial-band jammed Rayleigh-fading channels. The final closed-form formula is expressed in terms of the Meijer's G function, which can be easily evaluated using common mathematical software for small values of the diversity order. Based on this result, we also develop another infinite series representation for the average BER. Numerical experiments show that the latter series representation offers a speed-up factor in evaluating the average BER for high values of the diversity order. The mathematical formalism is illustrated by numerical examples showing the effect of various parameters on the performance of the system.
A Simple Device for Monitoring Flow Rates in Thermosyphon Solar Water Heaters

Direct measurements of fluid flow rates in thermosyphon solar water heaters in the field are difficult. This paper reports on an activity to develop, calibrate, and evaluate a simple device for such measurements. A suitable device should have the following general characteristics: low pressure drop, rugged, inexpensive, simple, nondistruptive, low power requirements, and reasonably accurate. Moderate success has been achieved in satisfying all of these requirements with a hydrogen bubble generator (utilizing the electrolysis of water) in a clear plexiglass tube mounted in a vertical section of the flow line in which the flow is upward. THe rate at which the hydrogen bubbles are swept along with the water can be used (when calibrated) to indicate the flow rate.
Does Long-Term Treatment of Schizophrenia With Antipsychotic Medications Facilitate Recovery?

Antipsychotic medications are viewed as cornerstones for both the short-term and long-term treatment of schizophrenia. However, evidence on long-term (10 or more years) efficacy of antipsychotics is mixed. Double-blind discontinuation studies indicate significantly more relapses in unmedicated schizophrenia patients in the first 6-10 months, but also present some potentially paradoxical features. These issues are discussed.
When a placebo is not a placebo: the value of effect size measures in assessing the validity of deception used in the balanced placebo design.

Summary Although the use of the balanced placebo design has been invaluable in untangling alcohol's pharmacological and expectancy effects, only recently has the validity of the design been evaluated. The critical importance of checking the effectiveness of the expectancy manipulation has been singled out as a key methodological issue in assessing the validity of the balanced placebo design. It has been suggested by other researchers that a variety of credibility checks be used for this purpose. In this article it is recommended that a measure of effect size, such as omega squared, be utilized for each of the credibility checks as a measure of the strength of the experimental manipulation. The value of this information is illustrated by presentation of the data from a study utilizing the balanced placebo design.
Lessons learned from the gene therapy trial for ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency

It has been 9 years since Mr. Jesse Gelsinger died from complications of vector administration in a liver gene therapy trial of research subjects with a deficiency of ornithine transcarbamylase (OTCD). This study was performed at the Institute for Human Gene Therapy of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) which I directed. His tragic death provoked a series of events that had implications beyond those directly involved in the clinical trial. The events surrounding the death of this research subject have been the topic of much coverage and commentary in the popular press. The goal of this article is to share with you my reflections on the OTCD gene therapy trial and lessons that I have learned which may be of value to others engaged in various aspects of translational medicine.
The role of molecular genetics in sculpting the future of integrative biogeography

We review the expanding role of molecular genetics in the emergence of a vibrant and vital integrative biogeography. The enormous growth over the past several decades in the number and variety of molecular-based phylogenetic and population genetics studies has become the core information used by biogeographers to reconstruct the causal connections between historical evolutionary and ecological attributes of taxa and biotas, and the landscapes and seascapes that contain them. A proliferation of different approaches, sequences, and genomes have provided for the integration of a 'biogeography of the Late Neogene' with other Earth and biological sciences under the rubrics of phylogeography, landscape genetics, and phylochronology. Approaches designed explicitly to take advantage of unique properties of molecular genetic information have led to the re-emergence of dispersal as an analytically tractable process that historical biogeographers can now use, along with vicariance, to reconstruct the geographical context of diversifi cation. Concomitant with the expanding amount of information available, molecular data sets often provide for estimates of lineage divergence dates, and analytical tools for doing so continue to improve. The comparability of molecular-based estimates of phylogenetic and population genetic histories across non-related
Delirious mania: clinical features and treatment response.

Abstract Objective : To examine clinical characteristics and treatment responses of patients presenting with delirium and mania to a psychiatric inpatient unit. Method : Chart review of 16 cases admitted to McLean Hospital with delirium and mania was conducted. We examined the demographics, psychiatric symptoms, clinical course, and response to treatment with medications and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Results : Patients with delirium and mania had negative medical and neurological work-ups and were more likely to be younger, female and with a prior diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Sudden onset of symptoms, incontinence/inappropriate toiletting, and denudativeness are distinctive features of the syndrome. Consistent and significant benefit was seen with ECT. In many cases, high dose benzodiazepines were helpful. In a small number of cases, clozapine was also beneficial but this effect took an average of four weeks to be seen, while atypical antipsychotics, lithium and valproate produced variable results and took an average of three and a half weeks to work, if at all. Typical antipsychotics and anticholinergic drugs led to clinical worsening. Limitations : Most patients were on more than one medication and hence treatment responses cannot be definitively ascribed to a specific intervention. Studies of larger groups of such patients in different clinical settings need to be done to confirm our observations. Conclusions : Delirious mania is a severe psychiatric syndrome which can be accurately recognized and effectively treated. The definitive treatment for this condition is ECT. In cases where ECT is not available, high dose benzodiazepines should be used. Clozapine, quetiapine, lithium and valproate cannot be considered first-line treatments and these medications take an unacceptably long time to work even when helpful; typical antipsychotics and anticholinergic drugs should be avoided.
Slow Tourism at the Caribbean's Geographical Margins

Abstract The Caribbean tourism industry owes much of its success to beneficial geographical site and situation factors. Yet these geographical advantages have also contributed to the mass tourism-related pressures of economic dependency, social division and environmental degradation. We argue geographically marginal locales in the Caribbean have the potential to develop alternative tourism models that ameliorate these negative repercussions. With its conceptual roots originating from the slow food movement and theoretically rooted in Herman Daly's ‘soft growth’ development, we propose slow tourism as a viable soft growth model that is a more culturally sensitive and sustainable genre of alternative tourism. This new model and its locational appropriateness appears eminently suitable since it diversifies and revitalizes mature tourism offerings, redirects tourism away from ‘hard growth’ maxims, and thereby contributes to more sustainable tourism ensembles. In a maturing industry that requires innovation, r...
Verbal Fluency and Early Memory Decline: Results from the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer's Prevention.

This study examined the relationship between phonemic and semantic (category) verbal fluency and cognitive status in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention (WRAP), a longitudinal cohort enriched for family history of Alzheimer’s disease. Participants were 283 WRAP subjects (age 53.1[6.5] years at baseline); who had completed three waves of assessment, over ∼6 years and met psychometric criteria either for “cognitively healthy” (CH) or for psychometric amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) using an approach that did not consider fluency scores. CH and aMCI groups differed significantly on phonemic total scores, category total scores, phonemic switching, and category mean cluster size. These results suggest that measures of both phonemic and semantic fluency yield lower scores in persons with evidence of psychometric aMCI compared with those who are CH. Differences have not previously been reported in a group this young, and provide evidence for the importance of including multiple verbal fluency tests targeting preclinical Alzheimer’s disease.
To Make a Revolutionary Cuisine: Gender and Politics in French Kitchens, 1789–1815

This essay investigates the political significance of gender in French kitchens and cuisine during the French Revolution. Integrating a wide range of published and archival sources, it highlights the brief moment when women's work as cooks symbolised republican virtues, before examining the forces that ultimately retrieved male cooks’ reputations from association with their aristocratic employers to be considered artisans emblematic of a new nation that integrated the past glories and the present ideals of France.
THE PENETRATION OF BASIC DYE INTO NITELLA AND VALONIA IN THE PRESENCE OF CERTAIN ACIDS, BUFFER MIXTURES, AND SALTS

When living cells of Nitella are exposed to an acetate buffer solution until the pH value of the sap is decreased and subsequently placed in a solution of brilliant cresyl blue, the rate of penetration of dye into the vacuole is found to decrease in the majority of cases, and increase in other cases, as compared with the control cells which are transferred to the dye solution directly from tap water. This decrease in the rate is not due to the lowering of the pH value of the solution just outside the cell wall, as a result of diffusion of acetic acid from the cell when cells are removed from the buffer solution and placed in the dye solution, because the relative amount of decrease (as compared with the control) is the same whether the external solution is stirred or not. Such a decrease in the rate may be brought about without a change in the pH value of the sap if the cells are placed in the dye solution after exposure to a phosphate buffer solution in which the pH value of the sap remains normal. The rate of penetration of dye is then found to decrease. The extent of this decrease is the greater the lower the pH value of the solution. It is found that hydrochloric acid and boric acid have no effect while phosphoric acid has an inhibiting effect at pH 4.8 on stirring. Experiments with neutral salt solutions indicate that a direct effect on the cell (decreasing penetration) is due to monovalent base cations, while there is no such effect directly on the dye. It is assumed that the effect of the phosphate and acetate buffer solutions on the cell, decreasing the rate of penetration, is due (1) to the penetration of these acids into the protoplasm as undissociated molecules, which dissociate upon entrance and lower the pH value of the protoplasm or to their action on the surface of the protoplasm, (2) to the effect of base cations on the protoplasm (either at the surface or in the interior), and (3) possibly to the effect of certain anions. In this case the action of the buffer solution is not due to its hydrogen ions. In the case of living cells of Valonia under the same experimental conditions as Nitella it is found that the rate of penetration of dye decreases when the pH value of the sap increases in presence of NH(3), and also when the pH value of the sap is decreased in the presence of acetic acid. Such a decrease may be brought about even when the cells are previously exposed to sea water containing HCl, in which the pH value of the sap remains normal.
CEO Pay and Corporate Governance in the U.S.: Perceptions, Facts, and Challenges

This article brings a broad range of statistical studies and evidence to bear on three common perceptions about the CEO compensation and governance of U.S. public companies: (1) CEOs are overpaid and their pay keeps increasing; (2) CEOs are not paid for their performance; and (3) boards do not penalize CEOs for poor performance. While average CEO pay increased substantially during the 1990s, it has declined since then— by more than 30%—from peak levels that were reached around 2000. Moreover, when viewed relative to corporate net income or profits, CEO pay levels at S&P 500 companies are the lowest they've been in the last 20 years. And the ratio of large-company CEO pay to firm market value is roughly similar to its level in the late 1970s, and lower than the levels that prevailed before the 1960s. What's more, in studies that begin with the late '70s, private company executives have seen their pay increase by at least as much as public companies. And when set against the compensation of other highly paid groups, today's levels of CEO pay, although somewhat above their long-term historical average, are about the same as their average levels in the early 1990s. At the same time, the pay of U.S. CEOs appears to be reasonably highly correlated with corporate performance. As evidence, the author cites a 2010 study reporting that, over the period 1992 to 2005, companies with CEOs in the top quintile (top 20%) of realized pay in any given year had generated stock returns that were 60% higher than the average companies in their industries over the previous three years. Conversely, companies with CEOs in the bottom quintile of realized pay underperformed their industries by almost 20% in the previous three years. And along with lower pay, the CEOs of poorly performing companies in the 2000s faced a significant increase in the likelihood of dismissal by their own boards. When viewed together, these findings suggest that corporate boards have done a reasonably good job of overseeing CEO pay, and that factors such as technological advances and increased scale have played meaningful roles in driving the pay of both CEOs and others with top incomes—people who are assumed to have comparable skills, experience, and opportunities. If one wants to use increases in CEO pay as evidence of managerial power or “board capture,” one also has to explain why the other professional groups have experienced similar, or even higher, growth in pay. A more straightforward interpretation of the evidence reviewed in this article is that the market for talent has driven a meaningful portion of the increase in pay at the top. Consistent with this conclusion, top executive pay policies at roughly 97% of S&P 500 and Russell 3000 companies received majority shareholder support in the Dodd-Frank mandated “Say-on-Pay” votes in 2011 and 2012, the first two years the measure was in force.
The Promise of Public Law 94–142 Issues in the Diagnostic Process

The overview presented in this paper blends personal experiences of the past, supported by a review of professional publications, with a direction for the future. It is heartfelt. A plea is put forward for a coordinated interdisciplinary approach to the diagnosis, treatment, education, remediation, and support of the learning disabled child. A model training program called “The Learning Lab” is offered for consideration and further exploration.
A new zero-optimization scheme for noise-coupled ΔΣ ADCs

This paper presents a new zero-optimization scheme for noise-coupled ΔΣ analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). The proposed technique enhances the signal-to-quantization-noise-ratio (SQNR) by optimizing noise-transfer-function (NTF) zero locations to get maximum in-band noise shaping. The amount of SQNR improvement using the new scheme depends on the order of the modulator. Therefore, zero optimization will be used in a first-order and a second-order modified noise-coupled ΔΣ ADCs. The proposed technique enhances the SQNR of the first-order and second-order noise-coupled ΔΣ modulators by 4.5dB and 8.5 dB, respectively.
IMPROVING DNA SEQUENCING ACCURACY AND THROUGHPUT

LLNL is beginning to explore statistical approaches to the problem of determining the DNA sequence underlying data obtained from fluorescence-based gel electrophoresis. Among the features of this problem that make it interesting to statisticians include: • the underlying mechanics of electrophoresis is quite complex and still not completely understood; • the yield of fragments of any given size can be quite small and variable; • the mobility of fragments of a given size can depend on the terminating base; • the data consists of samples from one or more continuous, non-stationary signals; • boundaries between segments generated by distinct elements of the underlying sequence are ill-defined or nonexistent in the signal; and • the sampling rate of the signal greatly exceeds the rate of evolution of the underlying discrete sequence.
Retrograde amnesia in patients with rupture and surgical repair of anterior communicating artery aneurysms.

The retrograde amnesia of patients with memory loss related to rupture and surgical repair of anterior communicating artery (ACoA) aneurysms is compared with the retrograde amnesia of temporal amnesic patients and nonamnesic control participants. Two tests which focus on popular culture but which differ according to extent of news exposure and the cognitive processes necessary for task performance were used to measure retrograde memory. ACoA patients demonstrated more significant retrograde memory problems than did nonamnesic controls; however, the severity and pattern of their memory loss was less severe than that seen in association with temporal amnesia. Different factors influenced the remote memory loss of respective groups: ACoA patients' problems were related to impaired lexical retrieval whereas temporal amnesic patients had problems secondary to both retrieval and storage deficits. (JINS, 2004, 10, 221–229.)
Gender and Legislative Preferences: Evidence from the Argentine Provinces

Women are underrepresented in most of the world's legislatures. While the scarcity of female representation is problematic for multiple reasons, one of the central concerns of advocates and scholars rests on the assumption that women have different legislative preferences than their male counterparts. If this is the case, then it implies that where women do not occupy an equitable proportion of the legislature, their interests are not well represented.
Psychological services for returning veterans and their families: evolving conceptualizations of the sequelae of war‐zone experiences

The provision of effective and timely behavioral health care for veterans returning from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan has become the focus of national attention. In this special issue, attempts to provide psychological care for service members and their families are examined in light of three key constructs. First, it is contended that at no other time in history has more attention been paid to the psychological consequences of engaging in combat. Second, for the first time in recorded warfare, psychological morbidity is likely to far outstrip physical injury associated with combat. Finally, although posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury are serious concerns, most service members return without significant physical or psychological injury and will be able to return to functioning without notable problems. Accurate diagnosis, a focus on resilience, and the expectation of readjustment are essential precepts that should guide clinical efforts and resource allocation.
Cancer-associated Isocitrate Dehydrogenase Mutations Inactivate NADPH-dependent Reductive Carboxylation

Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) is a reversible enzyme that catalyzes the NADP+-dependent oxidative decarboxylation of isocitrate (ICT) to α-ketoglutarate (αKG) and the NADPH/CO2-dependent reductive carboxylation of αKG to ICT. Reductive carboxylation by IDH1 was potently inhibited by NADP+ and, to a lesser extent, by ICT. IDH1 and IDH2 with cancer-associated mutations at the active site arginines were unable to carry out the reductive carboxylation of αKG. These mutants were also defective in ICT decarboxylation and converted αKG to 2-hydroxyglutarate using NADPH. These mutant proteins were thus defective in both of the normal reactions of IDH. Biochemical analysis of heterodimers between wild-type and mutant IDH1 subunits showed that the mutant subunit did not inactivate reductive carboxylation by the wild-type subunit. Cells expressing the mutant IDH are thus deficient in their capacity for reductive carboxylation and may be compromised in their ability to produce acetyl-CoA under hypoxia or when mitochondrial function is otherwise impaired.
A Batch Fabricated Elastomeric Actuator with Large out of Plane Displacement

Batch compatible laser micromachining of an elastomeric cantilever actuator composed of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) bilayer (active/inactive) and soft-lithographically patterned conductive carbon grease electrodes is presented in this paper. Low actuation voltage and large out-of-plane displacement are unique characteristics of this new cantilever structure. An actuator which is 4mm long, 1mm wide, and 80μm thick can produce up to 1.2mm out of plane displacement and generate maximum force of 25µN when actuated by 450V.
The Nonequilibrium Character of the Aerosol Charge Distributions Produced by Neutralizes

The mechanisms that control the polar ion concentrations downstream of an ionized region are examined and it is shown that the ratio of positive to negative ion concentrations is not constant. The imbalance in the ionic concentrations caused by unequal diffusion of ions to the walls and to aerosol particles is magnified in the ion ratio as ionic recombination rapidly depletes ions of both polarities equally. Consequently, the aerosol charge distribution is not in equilibrium but is evolving in response to the changing ion environment. The conclusions drawn are supported by numerical modeling and by measurements of ionic concentrations and ratios of negatively to positively charged particles downstream of the ionized region. Several existing neutralizers are evaluated and a prototype ionizer which produces an aerosol with a nearly symmetric equilibrium charge distribution is discussed.
The Precarious Prokaryotic Chromosome

Evolutionary selection for optimal genome preservation, replication, and expression should yield similar chromosome organizations in any type of cells. And yet, the chromosome organization is surprisingly different between eukaryotes and prokaryotes. The nuclear versus cytoplasmic accommodation of genetic material accounts for the distinct eukaryotic and prokaryotic modes of genome evolution, but it falls short of explaining the differences in the chromosome organization. I propose that the two distinct ways to organize chromosomes are driven by the differences between the global-consecutive chromosome cycle of eukaryotes and the local-concurrent chromosome cycle of prokaryotes. Specifically, progressive chromosome segregation in prokaryotes demands a single duplicon per chromosome, while other "precarious" features of the prokaryotic chromosomes can be viewed as compensations for this severe restriction.
Africare and Africa: Intersections of Developmentalism, Pan-Africanism, and Identity Politics

While most African American organizations that have been active in Africa have devoted their attention to mainly political and social issues, and therefore Pan-African sentiments and identity politics are clearly pronounced in their activities, Africare is unique in its emphasis on the environment, development and health issues. This might be a product of the influence of the Sahelian drought of the 1970s on its formation. Africares emphasis on developmentalism is perhaps responsible for its relatively impressive attraction of patronage from various Western organizations. This paper states that while Africares emphasis on developmentalism and its apparent non-political, social and cultural activism, as well as its conception of development from the conventional Western modernist perspective has enabled it to attract much patronage from Western, mainly American donors, the activities of the organization go beyond developmentalism. It is argued that although not explicitly stated, Pan-African sentiments and identity politics have been integral to the activities of Africare right from its inception. Based on elaborate empirical analyses of primary and secondary sources, the paper illustrates how developmentalism intersects with Pan-African sentiments and identity politics with regard to Africares activities in Africa. Nevertehless, Africare needs to conceive development from a more African-centered and indigenous perspective.
Countering Neoliberalism and Aligning Solidarities: Rethinking Domestic Violence Advocacy

This article seeks to situate domestic violence in a larger analytical frame of the political economic, to extend institutional responsibility for violence beyond the criminal justice system, and to form common bonds with other social justice initiatives. It argues that improved remedies for domestic violence victims lie within the reform of the political economy. It examines the efficacy of integrating anti-domestic violence initiatives into realms of work and labor and issues pertaining to the financialization of everyday life, as a way to engage larger questions bearing on economic justice and structural social change. The relationship between domestic violence and political economy is under-theorized and constrained by prevailing neoliberal paradigms. Moreover, deepening wealth inequality in capitalist societies has produced new forms of suffering within families, which underscores the need for diverse constituencies to act in concert and in common political cause. Shifting domestic violence strategies so that they operate within the frame of the political economy may generate greater opportunities for coalition building for and with domestic violence advocates.The relevance of economic security has loomed large in domestic violence advocacy, to be sure. It has been properly identified as a critical factor that determines whether a victim can escape domestic violence. However, advocacy in this area has been often circumscribed by a narrow focus on individual circumstances, reliance on a residualist welfare state that perceives dependency on public assistance as moral deficiency. Too often economic justice initiatives designed to mitigate domestic violence have been fitted neatly within neoliberal economics that fail to provide meaningful social change. These responses have failed to challenge such policies while discounting the full impact of the neoliberal model on one’s ability to escape domestic violence.This article relies on the scholarship that considers the impact of neoliberalism on law and social justice claims to provide a contextual examination of the ways in which the constraints of neoliberalism hinder efforts to address laws gender-based violence. It describes and then critiques current economic-related strategies offered by the state and the market designed to improve outcomes for victims of domestic violence and questions the “sources of submission” by domestic violence advocates to a neoliberal pragmatic. It offers proposals to advance economic security in ways that join domestic violence advocacy with other forms of socio-economic advocacy that provide additional progressive promise, but does so cautiously as “[n]eoliberalism is everywhere and nowhere; its custodians are largely invisible.” It suggests that transforming the ways in which attention is paid to economic concerns provides a complementary if not alternative way of understanding and addressing the phenomenon of domestic violence through the broad perspective of socio-economic justice.
Bootstrap statistics for empirical games

Researchers often use normal-form games to model multi-agent interactions. When a game model is based on observational or simulated data about agent payoffs, we call it an empirical game. The payoff matrix of an empirical game can be analyzed like any normal-form game, for example, by identifying Nash equilibria or instances of other solution concepts. Given the game model's basis in sampled data, however, empirical game analysis must also consider sampling error and distributional properties of candidate solutions. Toward this end, we introduce bootstrap techniques that support statistical reasoning as part of the empirical game-theoretic analysis process. First, we show how the bootstrap can be applied to compute confidence bounds on the regret of reported approximate equilibria. Second, we experimentally demonstrate that applying bootstrapped regret confidence intervals can improve sampling decisions in simulation-based game modeling.
Improvement of Segmental Lordosis in Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion: A Comparison of Two Techniques.

Study Design Retrospective review. Objective The purpose of this study was to determine the radiographic impact of a transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) versus a cantilever TLIF technique on segmental lordosis, segmental coronal alignment, and disk height. Methods A retrospective review was done of all patients undergoing TLIF procedures from 2006 to 2011 by three spine surgeons. Traditional TLIF versus cantilever TLIF results were compared, and radiographic outcomes were assessed. Results One hundred one patients were included in the study. Patients undergoing the cantilever TLIF procedure had a significantly greater change in segmental lordosis and disk height compared with those who underwent the traditional procedure ( p > 0.0001). Conclusions The cantilever TLIF technique can lead to greater change in segmental lordosis based upon radiographic outcomes.
AN EVOLUTIONARY SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH TO STUDYING THE EFFECTS OF OSTRACISM

Ostracism—being excluded and ignored—is a pervasive phenomenon that occurs in a variety of contexts and cultures throughout the world. Diary studies indicate it occurs on a daily basis. Ostracism is painful and distressing psychologically to the person experiencing it, even when it is innocuous and brief. Researchers argue humans evolved detection systems so that individuals can accurately detect and avoid ostracism. Several forms of evidence needed to support a psychological adaptation, such as cross-cultural, hunter-gather, medical, phylogenetic, and physiological evidence, support this adaptation argument. However, direct experimental evidence that appropriate detecting (and responding to) ostracism promotes nature’s criteria (i.e., solves fitness-relevant problems focused on survival and reproduction) would help bolster the case for an adaptation. We review the extant literature through the framework of nature’s criteria, and then propose that direct experimental tests of ostracism detection using research methods from evolutionary psychology and animal models will both add further support to an adaptation argument, and offer fruitful ways of approaching unanswered questions in this research area.