cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Teaching and learning middleware: a new course

This paper addresses creating and teaching a course in middleware as part of a Computer Science Information System curriculum. Middleware is an important, relevant, and timely issue in industry; one which our students have no exposure. Faculty experience with this topic is also typically limited. This paper discusses the advantages of partnering with a middleware solution provider in preparing such a course. The course goals were student awareness of the issues and choices that drive application integration, and hands-on experience in creating working middleware solutions.
The Joytoy Company: A teaching case on the importance of effectively managing the value chain

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to increase the student's knowledge of the value chain and its importance in managing costs.Design/methodology/approach – The approach takes the form of a teaching case with practical implications, which also includes teaching notes.Findings – It is important to effectively manage a company's value chain. A clear understanding of the value chain, combined with effective management of all aspects of the value chain can often lead to a competitive advantage in today's business environment.Practical implications – A company can improve decision making with a clear understanding of the value chain.Originality/value – This case presents a practical and straightforward approach for instructors to explain the value chain concept and how important managing the value chain can be to the company's overall success.
Push and Pull Marketing Strategies

A push/pull strategy refers to the way information and products move between consumers and a manufacturer. Specifically in marketing, this strategy refers to the focus of the promotional efforts used to sell a good or service. In a push strategy, suppliers “push” their goods toward consumers, and in a pull strategy consumers “pull” information or products that are suitable for their needs. A pull strategy is defined as a promotion strategy focused on consumers rather than on members of a marketing channel in order to facilitate the flow of a good or service from a manufacturer to end-users (consumers). Conversely, a push strategy is defined as a promotion strategy focused on marketing intermediaries (wholesalers and retailers) rather than on end-users in order to facilitate the flow of a good or service from a manufacturer to consumers. Keywords: pull strategy; push strategy; sales force; trade promotions; advertising; consumer promotions
Post Surgical Spinal Evaluation

One of the most challenging areas of diagnosis is to be found in acquiring and interpreting medical images in the patient who has undergone lumbosacral surgery for spinal degenerative disease. The section illustrates the features of expected and abnormal postsurgical spinal imaging. These discussions provide the background, practical information, and graphic examples necessary to enable the medical imaging physician to better approach the clinicoradiologic evaluation of the postsurgical patient.
The case for clinical scholarship

Lines between theory and practice have been blurred considerably in law teaching already, with the spreading influence of clinical legal education around the world.2 In this article, I address the implications of this trend on legal scholarship – the aspect of legal academia where theory-practice tensions tend to be strongest. Following a brief discussion of clinical education’s still uncertain place in the legal academy, I turn to the role of legal scholarship and the potential contributions of clinical education to legal academic literature. Rejecting the strongest criticisms voiced by some clinicians to the effect that scholarship adds little or no value to the primary mission of legal education, which is the training of future lawyers, I explore the many facets of an emerging “clinical scholarship” informed by clinical practice. I also reject the notion that scholarship is less important for clinicians than for other law faculty, by making the case that clinical scholarship strengthens clinical legal education by helping advance its two main goals of improving the quality of law practice and enhancing the public role of the profession.
Tailor-Made Messages: Astronomical Information for Diverse Audiences

The SAO offers a wide range of public-relations services. For example, research results may be transmitted, via reporters, to newspapers or television stations. More direct approaches include “Observatory Nights”, special events for children, series of popular lectures, and publication of lecture series as popular books. Television, radio and film are used whenever possible to provide information about general and specific events. Standard information packages answer many of the 5000 written requests received annually. Day-to-day queries are handled (in part) by an automatic telephone answering service. At the SAO’s Whipple Observatory in Arizona (site of the MMT), visits are by guided bus tours from the foot of the mountain 18 miles (32.5 km) away. Concrete pads have been installed at the base-camp for the use of amateur astronomers — perhaps the only amateur observing site connected with a major U.S. observatory.
An algorithm for detecting groups of targets

In support of the ARPA-sponsored Critical Mobile Targets program, Lincoln Laboratory has developed a complete, end-to-end, automatic target recognition (ATR) system using very high resolution (1 ft/spl times/1 ft), fully polarimetric, Ka-band SAR data. Lincoln Laboratory has also developed ATR systems for reduced resolution (1 m/spl times/1 m) and single polarization data; performance comparisons (1 ft/spl times/1 ft versus 1 m/spl times/1 m and fully polarimetric versus single polarization) have been performed. There has been interest in the use of automatic target cueing (ATC) followed by ATR. In military operations, targets are often deployed in well-defined groups, such as tank companies. It is possible to exploit this information by developing algorithms to detect such groups of targets. Cueing algorithms identify potential target groups; then these areas can be revisited with a higher resolution sensor or these areas can be processed with more sophisticated algorithms (or both). This paper presents results from a joint ATC/ATR system that uses single polarization (HH) 1 m/spl times/1 m resolution data for both ATC and ATR; descriptions of the algorithms in the system are given and the performance is compared to the (1 ft/spl times/1 ft) very accurate resolution system run on the identical data set. The data used in this study consisted of 231 km/sup 2/ of 20 degree depression angle stripmap clutter from several areas in the northern United States; these data had varying amounts of cultural content from benign to severe.
Protection of IFE First Wall Surfaces from Impulsive Loading by Multiple Liquid Layers

A large, vertical shock tube is used to explore the breakup and mitigation effects of liquid layers expected from the hydrodynamic shock generated in an inertial fusion reaction. Single and multiple layers of water are tested at two Mach numbers, 2.12 and 3.20. X-ray radiography techniques are used to image the breakup of the water layer resulting in a quantitative measure of the mass fraction distribution of water after shock impact. The amount of breakup is increased with the addition of multiple layers and the increased breakup decreases the end wall impulse. The speed of the transmitted shock wave can be reduced by 50% and is a weak function of the number of layers. The peak pressure at the end-wall of the shock tube is significantly increased due to the high impulsive force of the single liquid layer, however this pressure is substantially reduced when multiple layers containing the same mass of water are used.
Adaptive mesh strategies for interpolated mapping procedures

Abstract This paper presents a strategy for the adaptive refinement of interpolated mapping methods that significantly increases the accuracy of system behavior determinations. The method identifies the areas of state space that experience a relatively high degree of local divergence and increases the number of cells in these areas until a predetermined distortion criterion is satisfied. This leads to a more uniform approximation to the overall dynamical flow induced by the equations of motion. An application of this technique requires that significant attention be paid to the use of efficient data structures for image storage and retrieval. The technique is applied to two previously derived types of interpolated mapping and is shown to greatly improve the overall system response approximation.
Volcanoes of the Deep Sea: giant screen film format as a catalyst to enrich informal learning at science education centers

The Stephen Low Company and Rutgers University together with NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration have collaborated to design and implement a week-long Summer Institute for formal and informal educators focused on the newly released giant screen film "Volcanoes of the Deep Sea". The Institute was designed to provide educators, including informal educators from Science Museums and Centers hosting the film, and from the NSF Centers for Oceanographic Science Education Excellence (COSEE), with an opportunity to become immersed in cutting edge deep sea research. The objective of the Institute was to provide a window into the scientific, technological and social context of deep sea hydrothermal vents research to an audience that will likely never see this environment in person. Our goal was to teach standards-based science and math concepts using themes in the film as real-world examples. Finally, the Institute was designed to instill a sense of excitement for scientific exploration and discovery in student audiences.
Generalization and discrimination of shape orientation in the pigeon.

Pigeons learned to peck a green key on which parallelogram-shapes were projected; they then received generalization tests in which the orientation of the parallelogram was varied. Nondifferential training produced very little eventual stimulus control along the orientation dimension, but when training included S- trials (absence of the parallelogram) subjects responded consistently more to certain orientations than to others. Unlike typical results for visual generalization (e.g., line-tilt), the tilt gradients obtained for this complex stimulus were bimodal, supporting predictions on the basis of human perceptual data. However, unimodal gradients could be produced by specific discrimination training along the orientation dimension. Other forms of intradimensional training also produced relatively steep gradients, often characterized by unexpected but consistent secondary peaks. An attempt to obtain inhibitory gradients (S+: green key; S-: parallelogram on a green background) resulted in virtually zero responding all along the shape-orientation dimension; therefore, specific inhibitory control could not be evaluated. All these experiments suggest that definition of this complex stimulus dimension in terms of mere "angular orientation" is inappropriate, and alternative interpretations are discussed.
R&D investment strategy for climate change

Abstract The economic costs of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations over the coming century depend critically on the development of new technologies in the energy sector. Our research and development (R&D) investment strategy is the control variable for technology availability. This paper proposes an analytic framework for determining optimal R&D investment allocation and presents some numerical results to demonstrate the implementation of the methodology. The value of technological advance in three targeted areas–fossil-based generation, renewables, and carbon capture and storage–is represented by the increase in expected welfare in the presence of an emissions policy constraint of initially uncertain stringency. R&D expenditure increases the probability of advance. Optimal investment is determined by its relationship with success probability, which is assumed to exhibit decreasing returns to scale, relative to the value of success. While the numerical results are speculative, the paper offers insights into the nature of an optimal technology strategy for addressing climate change.
Efficient synthesis of a new bifunctional Cu(I) chelator

Abstract Herein we report an efficient eight-step synthesis of N1-(3-(methylthio)propyl)-2-((3-(methylthio)propyl)thio)benzene-1,4-diamine (1) from 6-nitrobenzo[d]thiazole. Incorporation of a nitro rather than a hydroxyl functionality off the aromatic ring serves to enhance conversion during thia- and aza-conjugate additions. Ultimate reduction of the nitro substituent affords a bifunctional Cu(I) chelate in gram-scale quantities for subsequent sensing applications.
Doppler Radar Observations of Drop-Size Distributions in a Thunderstorm

Abstract Data obtained in a thunderstorm with a vertically pointing Doppler radar are analyzed to find the size distribution of raindrops at heights below the 0C level. Drop-size distributions were computed using the updraft UR deduced by Rogers' method and two other updrafts, namely, UR − 1 and UR + 1 m sec−1. It is found that the drop-size data at all the heights may be well represented by the exponential equation, N (D) = N0 exp(− ΛD), in which N (D)ΔD is the concentration of drops in the diameter range D to D + ΔD, N0 = 0.07 R0.37 [cm−4], and Λ = 38R−0.14 [cm−1], R being the rainfall rate (mm hr−1). For R ≳ 3 mm hr−1, the distribution is steeper and N0 is greater as compared to the Marshall-Palmer distribution. For radar reflectivity factors Z in the range 1–105 mm6 m−3, the relationship between the mean Doppler velocity and Z for the distribution agrees with that given by Rogers to within 1 m sec−1. The following equations have been found between the water content M, median volume diameter D0, radar ...
Clinical Significance of Mitral Regurgitation After Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background Mitral regurgitation (MR) may complicate acute myocardial infarction (MI). However, it is not known whether mild MR is an independent predictor of post-MI outcome. Methods and Results The study cohort consisted of 727 Survival and Ventricular Enlargement Study patients who underwent cardiac catheterization, including left ventriculography, up to 16 days after MI. Left ventriculograms were analyzed for diastolic and systolic volumes, global left ventricular sphericity, extent of wall motion abnormality, and endocardial curvature. The presence of MR was related to the risk of developing a cardiovascular event during 3.5 years of follow-up. MR was present in 141 patients (19.4%). Severe (3+) MR was present in only 2 patients. Patients with MR were more likely to have a persistently occluded infarct artery (MR versus no MR, 27.3% versus 15.2%; P=.001). Although the ejection fractions were similar, MR patients had larger end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes and more spherical ventricles than patie...
Long-range oxidative damage to DNA: Effects of distance and sequence

Introduction: Oxidative damage to DNA in vivo can lead to mutations and cancer. DNA damage and repair studies have not yet revealed whether permanent oxidative lesions are generated by charges migrating over long distances. Both photoexcited ^*Rh(III) and ground-state Ru(III) intercalators were previously shown to oxidize guanine bases from a remote site in oligonucleotide duplexes by DNA-mediated electron transfer. Here we examine much longer charge-transport distances and explore the sensitivity of the reaction to intervening sequences. Results: Oxidative damage was examined in a series of DNA duplexes containing a pendant intercalating photooxidant. These studies revealed a shallow dependence on distance and no dependence on the phasing orientation of the oxidant relative to the site of damage, 5′-GG-3′. The intervening DNA sequence has a significant effect on the yield of guanine oxidation, however. Oxidation through multiple 5′-TA-3′ steps is substantially diminished compared to through other base steps. We observed intraduplex guanine oxidation by tethered *Rh(III) and Ru(III) over a distance of 200 A. The distribution of oxidized guanine varied as a function of temperature between 5 and 35 °C, with an increase in the proportion of long-range damage (> 100 A) occurring at higher temperatures. Conclusions: Guanines are oxidized as a result of DNA-mediated charge transport over significant distances (e.g. 200 A). Although long-range charge transfer is dependent on distance, it appears to be modulated by intervening sequence and sequence-dependent dynamics. These discoveries hold important implications with respect to DNA damage in vivo.
Intense Spectral Light Effects on Spectral Sensitivity

The spectral sensitivity of rhesus monkeys has been accounted for as the upper envelope of three response channels, the sensitivities of two of which are determined by inhibitory interaction betwee...
Air and ground resonance of helicopters with elastically tailored composite rotor blades

The aeromechanical stability, including air resonance in hover, air resonance in forward flight, and ground resonance, of a helicopter with elastically tailored composite rotor blades is investigated. Five soft-inplane hingeless rotor configurations, featuring elastic pitch-lag, pitch-flap and extension-torsion couplings, are analyzed. Elastic couplings introduced through tailored composite blade spars can have a powerful effect on both air and ground resonance behavior. Elastic pitch-flap couplings (positive and negative) strongly affect body, rotor and dynamic inflow modes. Air resonance stability is diminished by elastic pitch-flap couplings in hover and forwrad flight. Negative pitch-lag elastic coupling has a stabilizing effect on the regressive lag mode in hover and forward flight. The negative pitch-lag coupling has a detrimental effect on ground resonance stability. Extension-torsion elastic coupling (blade pitch decreases due to tension) decreases regressive lag mode stability in both airborne and ground contact conditions. Increasing thrust levels has a beneficial influence on ground resonance stability for rotors with pitch-flap and extension-torsion coupling and is only marginally effective in improving stability of rotors with pitch-lag coupling.
The positive effects of explanation after CE in AVBL

In this study we examine the implications that corrected-errors in asynchronous video based lessons can have on learners' perception of the instruction. We find that explicit explanation following corrected-errors negates most of the negative effects towards learners' perception of the instruction.
Short-term, daily exposure to cold temperature may be an efficient way to prevent muscle atrophy and bone loss in a microgravity environment

Microgravity induces less pressure on muscle/bone, which is a major reason for muscle atrophy as well as bone loss. Currently, physical exercise is the only countermeasure used consistently in the U.S. human space program to counteract the microgravity-induced skeletal muscle atrophy and bone loss. However, the routinely almost daily time commitment is significant and represents a potential risk to the accomplishment of other mission operational tasks. Therefore, development of more efficient exercise programs (with less time) to prevent astronauts from muscle atrophy and bone loss are needed. Consider the two types of muscle contraction: exercising forces muscle contraction and prevents microgravity-induced muscle atrophy/bone loss, which is a voluntary response through the motor nervous system; and cold temperature exposure-induced muscle contraction is an involuntary response through the vegetative nervous system, we formed a new hypothesis. The main purpose of this pilot study was to test our hypothesis that exercise at 4 °C is more efficient than at room temperature to prevent microgravity-induced muscle atrophy/bone loss and, consequently reduces physical exercise time. Twenty mice were divided into two groups with or without daily short-term (10 min × 2, at 12 h interval) cold temperature (4 °C) exposure for 30 days. The whole bodyweight, muscle strength and bone density were measured after terminating the experiments. The results from the one-month pilot study support our hypothesis and suggest that it would be reasonable to use more mice, in a microgravity environment and observe for a longer period to obtain a conclusion. We believe that the results from such a study will help to develop efficient exercise, which will finally benefit astronauts' heath and NASA's missions.
Microsurgical anatomy of the central retinal artery.

OBJECTIVE: To define the microsurgical anatomy of the central retinal artery (CRA) and to provide a guide to avoiding damage to it during surgery. METHODS: The anatomic characteristics of the CRA and small arteries distributed to the optic sheath were examined in 109 orbits. The origin, course, and site of entry of the artery into the optic sheath and the distance between the orbital apex and the site of entry into the sheath were examined. RESULTS: The CRAs originated directly from the intraorbital ophthalmic artery or in a common trunk with a posterior ciliary or a muscular branch. The CRAs most commonly originated on the inferomedial side of the ophthalmic artery an average of 8.4 mm distal to the orbital end of the optic canal. They penetrated the optic sheath near the junction of the middle and anterior thirds of the length of the intraorbital optic nerve an average of 18.6 mm distal to the optic canal. More than 70% of CRAs penetrated near the midline of the lower surface of the optic sheath, 21% entered the inferomedial surface, and 7% the inferolateral or lateral surface of the optic sheath. Only one CRA gave off a branch before penetrating the nerve. CONCLUSION: The CRA is at risk of being damaged or occluded during procedures involving a large part of the orbit. Procedures directed along the lower half of the proximal two-thirds of the optic sheath have the greatest risk of interrupting the artery.
Glucocorticoids may alter antioxidant enzyme capacity in the brain: baseline studies.

Glucocorticoids (GCs), the adrenal steroids secreted during stress, have been shown to increase the vulnerability of hippocampal neurons to metabolic insults, potentially by altering the neuronal defense capacity against oxidative damage. These experiments assessed the effect of long term in vivo GC supplementation on basal activity of the antioxidant enzymes copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD), manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn SOD), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase (GSPx). Kinetic enzyme studies were done using brain tissue from the hippocampus, cortex, cerebellum, and also from liver as a peripheral control. Cu/Zn SOD activity was significantly lower in all brain regions of GC-treated rats, but higher in the liver. Mn SOD activity was unaffected by treatment. Catalase in the brain appeared largely unaffected by GC treatment, although liver catalase was significantly decreased. GSPx activity was significantly decreased by GCs at high peroxide levels in all tissues. These results indicate that the presence of GCs may lower the antioxidant capacity of tissues in a region-specific manner, and that the deficit may not appear until the tissue is challenged with supranormal levels of oxidative products (as seen with GSPx).
Residential building code compliance: Implications for evaluating the performance of utility residential new construction programs

Knowing how well builders comply with or exceed energy-related building codes is critical for completing a sound evaluation of utility-sponsored residential new construction programs and for determining the actual cost-effectiveness of these programs. Obtaining credit from utility regulators for additional energy savings from code compliance in participant houses as a result of the utility program is one of the key options available for utilities for improving the cost-effectiveness of these programs.
An amelogenin-chitosan matrix promotes assembly of an enamel-like layer with a dense interface

Biomimetic reconstruction of tooth enamel is a significant topic of study in materials science and dentistry as a novel approach to the prevention, restoration, and treatment of defective enamel. We have developed a new amelogenin-containing chitosan hydrogel for enamel reconstruction that works through amelogenin supramolecular assembly, stabilizing Ca-P clusters and guiding their arrangement into linear chains. These amelogenin Ca-P composite chains further fuse with enamel crystals and eventually evolve into enamel-like co-aligned crystals, anchored to the natural enamel substrate through a cluster growth process. A dense interface between the newly grown layer and natural enamel was formed and the enamel-like layer improved the hardness and elastic modulus compared with etched enamel. We anticipate that this chitosan hydrogel will provide effective protection against secondary caries because of its pH-responsive and antimicrobial properties. Our studies introduce an amelogenin-containing chitosan hydrogel as a promising biomaterial for enamel repair and demonstrate the potential of applying protein-directed assembly to biomimetic reconstruction of complex biomaterials.
Stock Price Dynamics and Firm Size: An Empirical investigation

We show that after controlling for the effects of bid-ask spreads and trading volume the conditional future volatility of equity returns is negatively related to the level of stock price. This "leverage effect" is stronger for small, as compared to large, firms. We also document that while the essential characteristics of the relations between stock price dynamics and firm size are stable, the strengths of the relationships appear to change over time. A NUMBER OF EMPIRICAL studies have documented that stock volatility tends to fall subsequent to an increase in stock prices and rise following a decline in stock prices, an observation commonly attributed to the "leverage effect." As explained by Black (1976), leverage can induce future stock volatility to vary inversely with the stock price: a fall in a firm's stock value relative to the market value of its debt causes a rise in its debt-equity ratio and increases its stock volatility. For example, Black (1976) and Christie (1982) use individual securities and French, Schwert, and Stambaugh (1987), Gallant, Rossi, and Tauchen (1990), Schwert (1990), and Nelson (1991) use market indices to provide evidence consistent with the leverage effect. However, these papers demonstrate a leverage effect either intertemporally or cross-sectionally for some assets. Relatively little work has examined the intertemporal behavior of individual assets by taking into account conditional heteroskedasticity and changing expected returns. In this paper we examine and characterize the cross-sectional and temporal relations between stock price dynamics and firm size. In particular, we investigate the possibility of an inverse relation between future stock volatility and stock price and whether this effect varies across time and/or across firms with different market capitalization. Our study uses the exponential GARCH (EGARCH) formulation of Nelson (1991) as a model for the timeseries behavior of individual security returns. Nonparametric methods are
Use of a bidirectional ring cavity for optical bistable devices

Two input beams at the same frequency excite the counter-propagating modes of a bidirectional ring cavity. These modes are coupled in the presence of a homogeneously broadened nonlinear medium and the optical device acts as two bistable switches whose characteristics can be mutually controlled. After a proper account of interference between the forward and backward waves, new features of optical bistability in a bidirectional ring cavity are discussed. It is found that when the intensity of one of the incident beams is held fixed in a critical range, the device switches on but never switches off as the intensity of the other beam is first increased and then decreased to zero.
DECENTRALIZED CONTROL OF LARGE-SCALE UNCERTAIN NONLINEAR SYSTEMS BY LINEAR OUTPUT FEEDBACK ∗

This paper studies the problem of global decentralized control by output feedback for large-scale uncertain systems whose subsystems are interconnected not only by their outputs but also by their unmeasurable states. We show that under a linear growth condition, there is a decentralized output feedback controller rendering the closed-loop system globally exponentially stable. This is accomplished by extending an output feedback domination design that requires only limited infor- mation about the nonlinear system. We will apply our design to lower, upper, and non-triangular nonlinear systems. The significance of our results is that we do not need to have prior information about the nonlinearities of the system. Furthermore, we need to only employ a linear observer in combination with a linear controller to stabilize the system. A time-varying output feedback con- troller is also constructed for use with large-scale systems that have unknown parameters. 1. Introduction. Decentralized control of interconnected systems has been an area of considerable research due to its obvious practical application to current prob- lems in the field of controls. Large-scale systems have very complex dynamic models due to the uncertain environment, the varying system parameters, and the intercon- nected structure of the system. Also it is inevitable that nonlinearities are prevalent throughout the dynamics of the interconnected systems. All these issues make the stabilization of such large-scale systems a difficult control problem. Though quite challenging, the research of large-scale systems are relevant to such areas as commu- nication networks, satellite constellations, and the formation control of autonomous vehicles. The research of large-scale nonlinear systems began in the late 1960's and early 1970's. One of the earliest investigations into the nonlinear issues of large-scale sys- tems centered around time-varying stabilization (2). The early research in (7) demon- strated a method of using high-gain state feedback to stabilize the nonlinearities of the large-scale systems. The research in the early 1980's focused on the use of state feedback to globally stabilize large-scale nonlinear systems. Adaptive control was ap- plied in (3) to stabilize a class of large-scale nonlinear systems with success. Output feedback had also been applied to linear large-scale system in such papers as (1), (15),
Staphylococcal enterotoxin. A development in cheddar cheese slurries.

Abstract Staphylococcus aureus growth and enterotoxin A production occured in Cheddar cheese slurries containing 45 and 60% moisture following inoculation with 10 3 to 10 5 staphylococci per gram and incubation at 32C for 24 to 48h. Process modifications to control staphylococcal growth were evaluated. Treatment of slurries with .5% hydrogen peroxide was not effective. Heating slurries at 72C for 30min eliminated staphylococci, but reinoculation with ripening organisms, was essential for proper flavor development. Sorbic acid at .2 to .3% inhibited staphylococci. Because of inhibition of micrococci and lipolytic agents, cheese flavor development was retarded, but sorbate addition was preferred over other treatments. Nonprotein nitrogen incease in cheese slurries paralleled that of sorbate-free controls.
Early childhood refractive error and parental history of myopia as predictors of myopia

Parental history of myopia has long been postulated to be an important risk factor for the development of myopia. The Orinda Longitudinal Study of Myopia (OLSM) showed an association between parental myopia and a child's refractive error and axial length before the onset of juvenile myopia.1 Studies have shown a higher proportion of myopic children among families with two myopic parents compared with one- and no-myopic-parent families.2–6 For example, Mutti et al.4 found an odds ratio (OR) of 3.31 for myopia onset given one myopic parent compared with no myopic parents and an OR of 7.29 for myopia onset given two myopic parents compared with no myopic parents. In Singaporean children, Saw et al.3 found an OR of 1.63 with either parent myopic and an OR of 1.70 with both parents myopic. Dirani et al.7 provide a review of refractive error heritability in twins, reporting studies in which the heritability was lower than 0.25 in samples including children. Because children have not reached their final refractive error, measures of heritability may be affected by misclassification, perhaps reducing the level of heritability. Other studies have found higher heritability of refractive error in adult subjects or in age-matched subjects in twin studies.8,9 Hammond et al.8 found a heritability of myopia among adult twins of 0.90. Lyhne et al.9 looked at refraction in twins 20 to 45 years of age and found a heritability between 0.89 and 0.94. These results all support some familial influence in the etiology of myopia. Earlier work on predictors from the OLSM showed that the sphere component of the cycloplegic refractive error (in negative cylinder convention) in the third grade had 86.7% sensitivity and 73.3% specificity for the prediction of myopia by the eighth grade, with a cutoff point of +0.75 D or less hyperopia in initially nonmyopic children.10 Earlier detection of the risk of onset of myopia may be desirable for a preventive intervention to be the most effective when applied over the longest time, beginning when differences between children who will become myopic and those who will not are small. Unfortunately, early detection may be difficult. Recent analyses suggest that differences between children who will become myopic and those who remain emmetropic appear only 3 to 4 years before onset.11 Recent data from Gwiazda et al. (IOVS 2007;48:ARVO E-Abstract 2382) found that parental history of myopia and the refraction of 5-year-old subjects were predictive of development of myopia—a surprising result. In the present study, data from the Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Ethnicity and Refractive Error (CLEERE) Study were used to evaluate the refractive error of children in the first grade (average age, 6 years) and parental history of myopia as predictors of the onset of myopia by the eighth grade.
Three Zones for Illite Formation during Burial Diagenesis and Metamorphism

Reinterpretation of published data for shale cuttings from the Gulf of Mexico sedimentary basin identifies three reaction zones for illite formation with increasing depth for well CWRU6. In a shallow zone (1.85 to 3 km), non-expanding illite-like layers formed primarily by the coalescence of smectite 2:1 layers around interlayer K+. In a middle zone (3 to 4 km), illite crystals neoformed from solution as coarser K-bearing phases and smectite were dissolved by organic acids. In the deepest zone (>4 km), illite recrystallized as less stable illite crystals dissolved, and more stable illite crystals grew during mineral ripening. The progressive loss of radiogenic argon in the deepest zone yielded a constant apparent age for the clays with depth, an effect previously attributed to “punctuated diagenesis.” The above hypothesis for illite formation emphasizes the need to establish the zone (i.e., the reaction mechanism) from which shales were derived before making detailed geologic interpretations based on illite mineralogy.
Emotional engagement, social interactions, and the development of an afterschool game design curriculum

This formative design study examines how a program curriculum and implementation was emergently (re)designed in dynamic relation to the expressed emotions of teachers and students. The context was a yearlong afterschool game design program for STEM learning at an urban and public all-girls middle school. Using Randall Collins’ (Interaction ritual chains, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 2004) sociology of emotions framework, our analysis of field notes and video data reveal how the original intended curriculum hindered the generation of positive emotions, mutual foci of attention, and feelings of group solidarity—factors important in the generation of successful group interactions. In response to teacher and student expressed emotions, we took these factors as a guide for redesigning the program curriculum and implementation in order to foster a more positive emotional climate and redirect students’ positive emotions toward engagement in learning goals. This study’s implications point to the possibilities for designing curricula and program implementations to engender more emotionally responsive environments for STEM learning.
Monazite controlled Sm / Nd fractionation in leucogranites: An ion microprobe study of garnet phenocrysts

Rare earth element (REE) abundances in four garnet phenocrysts from two monazite-bearing leucogranites from southern British Columbia have been measured with an ion microprobe. This study examines the effect of monazite crystallization on the LREEs by using garnet as a monitor of elemental variations in the liquid. This approach virtually eliminates uncertainties associated with source-induced LREE fractionation. The garnets examined are spessartine-rich (Alm70–75Sps18–22Pyp3–4Grs3–4) phenocrysts that show primary igneous zoning and lack monazite inclusions. Garnet rims have zoning profiles (i.e., Eu to Ce) that are depleted by factors of five to ten relative to cores. Of the three models investigated to constrain processes controlling LREE zoning in garnet— 1. (1) variations in the garnet/melt distribution coefficients, 2. (2) liquid diffusion controlled partitioning and 3. (3) crystal diffusion controlled partitioning—the latter model best explains the observed zoning. This model is consistent with experimental studies suggesting that monazite has a low solubility in granitic melts. These results suggest that Nd model ages (calculated using measured 147Sm144Nd) in leucogranites should be viewed with caution, as is demonstrated by neodymium isotopic data from southern British Columbia and the central Nepalese Himalaya.
The regulation of skin‐pattern in an amphibian, Diemyctylus

The integument of the vermilion-spotted newt contains three kinds of pigment-–yellow, red, and black. The yellow is uniform and continuous over the whole body; the red and black are discrete, and are chiefly in large spots. The pattern does not change measurably in an adult individual. Functional changes in contraction of the scattered dorsal melanophores were uncommon. The only efficient single factors found were a long subjection to low temperature (expansion) and injection of pituitrin (contraction). Removal of skin was followed by a rapid mass migration of dermal elements into the wound area. Melanophores were thus furnished to a dorsal wound, and after several months black spots formed from these. Red pigment never regenerated nor migrated into a wound. Yellow pigment was formed in situ after the wound had completely healed. Auto-, homo-, and heterotransplants lost their pigment patterns and were gradually reorganized so as to conform in gross appearance to the surrounding pattern of the individual host's skin. The transformation was never complete in eight months, but new black spots and new yellow pigment eventually formed. The behavior of melanophores during morphogenesis differed for specific areas of the integument. Their movements and aggregation were highly coordinated among themselves.
Totalitarian science and technology

In this revised edition of "Totalitarian Science and Technology", Josephson has included analysis of science and technology in such authoritarian regimes as North Korea, the People's Republic of China, and Cuba. He argues that politics plays an important role in shaping research and development in all countries, but nowhere with greater risk to citizens and the environment than in closed political systems. Students of European, Chinese, and Russian history, history of science and technology, and environmental history will find provocative and informative discussions in this book.
The use of bioconcentration factors in estimating the 2,3,7,8-TCDD content of cow's milk

Abstract Five models for estimating the 2,3,7,8-TCDD contamination of cow's milk from air are compared with field data from a known source of dioxin in Austria. Bioconcentration from soil is a very minor pathway for contamination of hay in this setting, leading to underpredictions of greater than an order of magnitude. Direct deposition of particulate produces better results, but vapor transfer of PCDD/PCDF to plants should be considered. A bioconcentration factor from dry hay to milk fat of 1.7 was observed, less than that assumed by the five models. 2,3,7,8-TCDD equivalents transferred from air to milk fat less efficiently than 2,3,7,8-TCDD. Important model parameters should be based on experiments which accurately represent the modelled situation.
Nucleotide sequence of murine PCNA: interspecies comparison of the cDNA and the 5' flanking region of the gene.

Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) RNA levels are regulated by transcription as well as changes in stability, in growing cells. We have cloned the murine PCNA cDNA and a fragment of the murine PCNA gene flanking the transcription initiation site. Comparison of the murine deduced amino acid sequence with the PCNA sequence from rat, human, Drosophila, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and higher plants, reveals extensive homology between species. The homology is likely to be related to the fundamental role of PCNA as an auxiliary protein for DNA replication. Consensus sequences for transcriptional regulatory factors identified within 520 bp 5′ of the cap site of the murine PCNA gene include: an inverted CCAAT site, an enhancer core element (EBP-1), three cAMP-response elements (CRE-BP), one AP-2 site, three Sp1 sites, and two octamer sequences. The first 20 bp of the transcriptional unit are homologous to an initiator element, which may direct transcription from RNA polymerase II in the absence of a TATAA bo...
The ability of irradiated bacteriophage T2 to initiate the synthesis of deoxycytidylate hydroxymethylase in Escherichia coli.

Studies have been performed on the ability of bacteriophage T2r+ irradiated either with ultraviolet light (UV) or with 1 Mev electrons to initiate the synthesis of deoxycytidylate hydroxymethylase in Escherichia coli. Following infection with irradiated phage, the enzyme activity appears at a decreased rate, but without any significant delay. Hydroxymethylase activity for an unirradiated control stops increasing at 15–20 minutes after infection; instead, synthesis following infection with irradiated phage appears to continue for a longer time. The enzyme-synthesizing ability sensitivities, compared to phage survival, differ markedly with UV and electrons. Nineteen and three phage-lethal hits, respectively, are required to reduce the hydroxymethylase activity to 37% that of the unirradiated control, using UV and electrons. The rate of hydroxymethylase synthesis is the same for infection with three or thirty phage particles per cell.
Modeling of Heat Transfer and Void Dynamics for the Thermoplastic Composite Tow-Placement Process

Thermoplastic composite tow-placement technology is a nonautoclave consolidation process that offers the potential to significantly reduce fabrication costs by using in situ consolidation as a meth...
Extracting the ground-state spin of a quantum dot from the conductance peaks in a parallel magnetic field at a finite temperature

We derive a closed expression for the finite-temperature conductance of a Coulomb-blockade quantum dot in the presence of an exchange interaction and a parallel magnetic field. Parallel-field dependence of Coulomb-blockade peak position has been used to determine experimentally the ground-state spin of quantum dots. We find that for a realistic value of the exchange interaction, the peak motion can be significantly affected at temperatures as low as $kT\ensuremath{\sim}0.1\ensuremath{\Delta}$, where $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ is the mean level spacing in the dot. This temperature effect can lead to misidentification of the ground-state spin when a level crossing occurs at low fields. We propose an improved method to determine unambiguously the ground-state spin. This method takes into account level crossings and temperature effects in the presence of interactions.
Positive and Negative Simultaneous and Successive Contrast Effects Following Shifts in Qualitative Reinforcement

Summary In Phase 1, three groups of rats (total N = 32) received an equal number of trials in separate black and white alleys. One group received 10 sucrose pellets per trial, a second group received 10 alfalfa pellets, and a third group received 10 sucrose pellets in one alley and 10 alfalfa in the other. Start speeds produced simultaneous positive and negative contrast effects, while goal speeds showed only negative contrast. In Phase 2, half of the animals in each of the constant reward groups were shifted to the opposite reinforcement, while the other half continued with the same reinforcement. Goal speeds revealed successive positive and negative contrast, and the start measure produced positive contrast only. The results were discussed in terms of a bidirectional view of contrast effects.
OCCURRENCE AND EVOLUTION OF COOPERATIVE BREEDING AMONG THE DIURNAL RAPTORS (ACCIPITRIDAE AND FALCONIDAE)

Abstract Cooperative breeding, in which more than two individuals live in a group and raise offspring, usually in a single nest, is found in only 3% of avian species. On the basis of a review of the literature, we found reports of groups (usually trios) at nest sites in 42 species of diurnal raptors. At least one example of cooperative breeding was found in 29% of genera and 14% of species, distributed in both Accipitridae and Falconidae. Given the difficulty of obtaining behavioral observations necessary to detect cooperative breeding in most raptor species, combined with the large number of species that have been poorly studied, cooperative breeding in diurnal raptors may be more common than our data indicate. However, when data on the sex of the extra bird(s) or relationships among group members were available, patterns were quite varied. For 7 of 13 species, groups primarily contained multiple adult males, though three of those species also had groups formed from offspring that had delayed dispersal; ...
Supermarket shoppers' pesticide concerns and willingness to purchase certified pesticide residue‐free fresh produce

Over 300 shoppers entering supermarkets completed a questionnaire about purchasing certified pesticide residue-free (CPRF) fresh produce. One-half expressed concern about pesticide use on fresh produce. Two-thirds were willing to pay 5 to 10% higher prices to obtain CPRF fresh produce, but were unwilling to accept any cosmetic defects or insect damage. For assuring no pesticide residues, shoppers preferred certification by independent testing laboratories as opposed to promises by growers that no pesticides were used in production. A target market of white, collegeeducated, middle to higher income shoppers was identified for CPRF fresh produce.
Reshaping accounting research: Living in the world in which we live

Abstract This paper is derived from my participation as a faculty guest of the University of Wollongong's Faculty of Commerce 20th Annual Doctoral Consortium. Consistent with the theme of “paradigm, paradox, and paralysis?”, I argue in this paper that accounting practice and scholarship suffer from paralysis created by the imposition of a neoclassical economic paradigm. Starting from the premise that accounting is foremost a practice, I argue that accounting cannot be limited by any one type of understanding. A human practice like accounting is simply to multi- faceted and complex to be sensibly “modeled” in any one particular way. The “flight from reality” (Shapiro, 2005), that occurred because of the empirical revolution in accounting, should be abandoned in favor of a more problem driven approach to accounting research and practice.