cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Human activity classification based on micro-Doppler signatures using an artificial neural network

An ANN has been proposed to classify human activities from their micro-Doppler signatures. Data were collected using a Doppler radar for 12 human subjects performing seven activities to construct the training data set. Six features from Doppler signatures were captured in the spectrogram. Validation tests based on the features resulted in an 82.7% and 87.8% classification accuracy for two different validation scenarios. This result shows that it is quite feasible to recognize the different human activities using micro-Doppler information. Several issues still need to be further addressed. In this study, we used measurement data for the training process. The features can be affected by the characteristics of the particular radar used, such as I-Q imbalance, polarization and Rx-Tx locations. Therefore, the trained ANN could lead to high error when it is used to classify data measured from another sensor. Our study is only applicable when the human approaches the radar head-on. Data from other aspects should be included in the testing. Also, we used a 3-second time-window for the features extraction. If the human activity changes during the window duration, classification error may increase. A method to extract features within a shorter time duration needs further research.
Towards connectionist rule-based systems

A connectionist architecture, called RUBICON, for implementing rule-based systems, is described. RUBICON uses both distributed and local representations. Input and output are fully distributed, allowing the use of microfeatures for robust interfacing to the external world. All input units, however, are local. The local internal representation results in straightforward network definition for a set of rules, and it should also facilitate adaptation. There are a number of features that distinguish RUBICON from previous connectionist attempts at developing rule-based systems. These include: an arbitrary number of antecedent and consequent expressions in any rule, the addition and deletion of working memory elements, chained inferencing, and the handling of negated expressions in antecedent and consequent clauses. A toy expert system for film identification is used as an illustration. >
UMLpac: An Approach for Integrating Security into UML Class Design

One of the biggest goals in software engineering is to create secure software. This process must begin in the design phase of the software development life cycle. While the Unified Modeling Language (UML) exists to aid engineers in designing software systems, it lacks features to integrate security aspects into that design. This paper presents an extension of UML, UMLpac, which bridges the gap between software class design and the security techniques required for that design. Security packages accomplish this goal by keeping a level of abstraction between the system class diagram and its security features. This design technique preserves the original system diagram, while maintaining in depth security features for all aspects of the system
Personal Political Salience as a Self-Schema: Consequences for Political Information Processing

Personal political salience (PPS), or the propensity to attach personal meaning to social and historical events, is an individual difference variable that is related to civic participation and participation in political activism. PPS is conceptualized as a self-schema and hypothesized to be related to efficient processing of political data. In two samples, PPS was positively related to number of political interest descriptors endorsed, unrelated to number of personality descriptors endorsed, and positively related to quick processing of information about political positions, party identification, and political ideology. Conceptualizing PPS as a self-schema is useful because it provides a cognitive mechanism whereby people connect personal experiences to their wider social, historical, and political contexts.
An assessment of the level of moral development of American and Canadian pharmacy students

Context — Moral reasoning assessment is an assessment of conceptual adequacy of moral thinking. It attempts to tap the basic conceptual frameworks that individuals use to analyse social-moral problems and to judge the proper course of action. It is a significant construct because of its pragmatic and positive relationship to clinical performance in health professionals. Thus, pharmacy students at higher levels of moral reasoning can be expected to perform at higher levels on clinical performance measurements. Objective — To examine the moral reasoning of pharmacy students at schools of pharmacy in the United States and Canada. Method — Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT) was used as a surrogate measure of pharmacy students' moral reasoning and was completed by all first-year pharmacy students at one school of pharmacy in the US and one in Canada. Results — The results indicated that significant differences existed between the Canadian and American pharmacy students. The Canadian students scored significantly higher than their American counterparts. The mean moral reasoning score of both classes was lower than previous empirical research results from other first-year health professional students. The results are discussed along with potential educational interventions and suggestions for selecting pharmacy students to schools of pharmacy. Conclusion — This is the first study to have assessed moral reasoning in pharmacy students. The reasons for differences between US and Canadian students are unknown. The lower scores of pharmacy students compared with other student health professionals indicate that further research is needed.
Discrete wavelet analysis of power system transients

Wavelet analysis is a new method for studying power system transients. Through wavelet analysis, transients are decomposed into a series of wavelet components, each of which is a time-domain signal that covers a specific octave frequency band. This paper presents the basic ideas of discrete wavelet analysis. A variety of actual and simulated transient signals are then analyzed using the discrete wavelet transform that help demonstrate the power of wavelet analysis.
A Comment on the SEC Shareholder Access Proposal

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently proposed a set of amendments to its proxy rules intended to provide shareholders of public corporations with a limited ability to nominate candidates for a corporation's board of directors and to have their nominee placed on the corporation's own proxy statement and card. This essay reviews the principal features of the proposal and identifies several issues remaining for resolution. The essay concludes that the SEC likely has authority to adopt the proposal, but argues that the costs the rule will impose on corporations outweigh any likely benefits from greater shareholder democracy.
Parental Influences, Career Decision-Making Attributions, and Self-Efficacy Differences for Men and Women?

This study investigated the relations of maternal and paternal attachment, parenting styles, and career locus of control to college students’ career decision self-efficacy and explored whether thes...
Detection of anomalies on satellite channels using signal processing and neural network

Intentional and nonintentional interference causes performance degradation to satellite communication links. The authors examine the detection and identification of interference through the use of digital signal processing and the neural network. They determine the sensitivity of the communication waveform to the anomalies, develop a simulation to evaluate the detection and identification performance of the digital signal processing, and develop a neural network to automate the detection process. The authors describe the simulation model, present the results of the sensitivity analysis, and present the detection performance of the digital processing and neural network. Results indicate that the averaged periodogram is capable of identifying tone jammers and adjacent channel interference (ACI) that degrade the bit error rate (BER) performance; and although the detection performance of the neural network developed is promising, it is not at a stage to detect interference with high accuracy. >
Cullin 4B Is Recruited to Tristetraprolin-Containing Messenger Ribonucleoproteins and Regulates TNF-α mRNA Polysome Loading

TNF-α is a central mediator of inflammation and critical for host response to infection and injury. TNF-α biosynthesis is controlled by transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms allowing for rapid, transient production. Tristetraprolin (TTP) is an AU-rich element binding protein that regulates the stability of the TNF-α mRNA. Using a screen to identify TTP-interacting proteins, we identified Cullin 4B (Cul4B), a scaffolding component of the Cullin ring finger ligase family of ubiquitin E3 ligases. Short hairpin RNA knockdown of Cul4B results in a significant reduction in TNF-α protein and mRNA in LPS-stimulated mouse macrophage RAW264.7 cells as well as a reduction in TTP protein. TNF-α message t 1/2 was reduced from 69 to 33 min in LPS-stimulated cells. TNF-3′ untranslated region luciferase assays utilizing wild-type and mutant TTP-AA (S52A, S178A) indicate that TTP function is enhanced in Cul4B short hairpin RNA cells. Importantly, the fold induction of TNF-α mRNA polysome loading in response to LPS stimulation is reduced by Cul4B knockdown. Cul4B is present on the polysomes and colocalizes with TTP to exosomes and processing bodies, which are sites of mRNA decay. We conclude that Cul4B licenses the TTP-containing TNF-α messenger ribonucleoprotein for loading onto polysomes, and reduction of Cul4B expression shunts the messenger ribonucleoproteins into the degradative pathway.
Foetal cardiac intervention: an ethical perspective

Although recent advances have helped identify cases where foetal cardiac surgery might reverse the development of certain lesions, the indications and measurement of success in these procedures have yet to be established. Thus, both patients and physicians have a "burden of knowledge", whereby a diagnosis is made without a clear course of action. The profound issues raised by foetal intervention, specifically the question of how concepts such as "patient" and "success" can be used, complicate this burden further and test the limits of language and logic. Similar issues raised in postmodern philosophy are discussed and can be incorporated into foetal cardiac surgery dialogues to produce a multi-disciplinary approach that will elucidate, not obfuscate, these issues in the future.
Optimal location area design to minimize registration signaling traffic in wireless systems

A new scheme is developed for optimal location area design in wireless systems. New algorithms based on intercell traffic prediction and traffic-based cell grouping are used to select the optimal set of cells for location areas (LAs). The expected intercell movement patterns of mobiles are determined by using the new intercell traffic prediction algorithm. Further, the cells are partitioned into LAs by applying the new traffic-based cell grouping algorithm where the cell pairs with higher intercell mobile traffic are grouped into the same LA. Hence, the inter-LA mobile traffic is decreased by increasing the intra-LA mobile traffic. Experimental results show that this cell grouping algorithm reduces the number of location updates by 27 percent to 36 percent on average compared to proximity-based cell grouping schemes.
High-level expression of the endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase F2 gene in E.coli: one step purification to homogeneity

The Endo F2gene was overexpressed in E.coli as a fusion protein joined to the maltose-binding protein. MBP-Endo F2was found in a highly enriched state as insoluble, inactive inclusion bodies. Extraction of the inclusion bodies with 20% acetic acid followed by exhaustive dialysis rendered the fusion protein active and soluble. MBP-Endo F2was digested with Factor Xaand purified on Q-Sepharose. The enzyme was homogeneous by SDS-PAGE, and appeared as a single symmetrical peak on HPLC. Analysis of the amino-terminus demonstrated conclusively that recombinant Endo F2was homogeneous and identical to the native enzyme.
Towards a flexible business process modeling and simulation environment

Business process is crucial to the success of any business. Business process modeling enables a common understanding and analysis of a business process, and simulation is an effective way to diagnose and evaluate complex business processes. There are lots of software tools in market for business process modeling and simulation, however, a common issue for these tools is the conflict between usability and flexibility. The improvement of usability often means the reduction of flexibility. This paper introduces an IBM asset named supply chain process modeler (SCPM), which aims at providing a tailored business process modeling and simulation environment for business users. SCPM tries to achieve a better trade-off between usability and flexibility with two major efforts, a process repository for process modeling, and a flexible environment for process simulation. A case study from real consulting practice is also included to illustrate how SCPM works for business process simulation.
Changing perspectives on biodiversity conservation: from species protec- tion to regional sustainability

Biodiversity is the basis for ecosystem goods and services that provide for human survival and prosperity. With a rapidly increasing human population and its demands for natural resources, landscapes are being fragmented, habitats are being destroyed, and biodiversity is declining. How can biodiversity be effec- tively conserved in the face of increasing human pressures? In this paper, I review changing perspectives on biodiversity conservation, and discuss their relevance to the practice of biodiversity conservation. The major points include: The notion of balance of nature is a myth rather than a scientific concept; the theory of island biogeography is useful heuristically but flawed practically; the SLOSS debate is intriguing in theory but ir- relevant in reality; the concept of minimum viable population and population viability analysis are useful, but technically inefficient and conceptually inadequate; metapopulation theory is mathematically elegant but ecologically oversimplistic; and integrative perspectives and approaches for biodiversity conservation are needed that incorporate insights from landscape ecology and sustainability science. I further discuss some key principles for regional conservation planning, and argue that the long-term success of biodiversity conservation in any region will ultimately depend on the economic and social sustainability of that region. Both research and practice in biodiversity conservation, therefore, need to adopt a broader perspective of sustainability.
A Walk in the Woods: Investigating Ethical Design, Ubiquitous Computing and Social Media

Abstract This paper will examine what has been learned through three years of research by an interdisciplinary university laboratory investigating ethical design and media. The University of New Mexico’s Social Media Workgroup (SMW) is an environment in which faculty, undergraduate and graduate students, and outside experts work in interdisciplinary collaborative teams to design and develop a wide variety of media tools, assets and events including the large-scale projection work Particle Falls visualizing real-time air quality in San Jose, California, and a permanent public work at the University of Utah, E-Oculus.
Plugging Back Into The Matrix The Intertextual Flow of Corporate Media Commodities

This article argues that The Matrix franchise provided global Hollywood with a model for channeling revenue and fans through different multimedia revenue streams via linked commodity narratives. Building on previous theoretical concepts of the expansion of corporate media texts, the article discusses The Matrix as “commodified intertextual flow” where various consumable forms were marketed as narratively necessary purchases for Matrix fans. Ultimately, The Matrix as a narratively integrated brand expanded the marketing strategies for commodity-oriented media texts and undermined the original film's critique of consumer culture. The integration of DVD technologies, release strategies, and ancillary licensing constructed a narrative necessity and “community” of fans who may have felt compelled to buy into the complete multicommodity narrative.
Grief and foster parents: How do foster parents feel when a foster child leaves their home?

Foster parents support the child welfare system by looking after children who need to be cared for away from home. They serve as surrogate or substitute parents until the child is reunited with his or her birth parents or an alternate permanent home is found. The experience of foster parents when a child they have cared for leaves their home is rarely recognised or discussed. This study seeks to learn more about the feelings that foster parents experience in such situations. Evaluation instruments include a quantitative scale and an open-ended question. Results from both these analyses suggest that foster parents do experience significant grief upon the loss of their children, and that this emotion takes several forms and affects the recruitment and retention of carers.
The spectral tuning in the short wavelength-sensitive type 2 pigments.

Abstract Using site-directed mutagenesis and multiple regression analysis, we have studied the molecular genetics and evolution of short wavelength-sensitive (SWS2) pigments in vertebrates. These analyses suggest that the SWS2 pigment in the vertebrate ancestor had the wavelength of maximum absorption (λ max ) of ∼440 nm and that various λ max 's of the contemporary SWS2 pigments in vertebrates are caused mainly by additive effects of amino acid replacements at ten sites.
Constrained optimization and control of nonlinear systems: new results in optimal control

The main goal of this paper is to outline and present a straightforward constrained optimization framework as well as to develop a feasible analytical method to enable the designer to solve optimization problems for nonlinear time-varying systems with state and control bounds. To establish these results, we present a new design methodology which leads to innovative developments. For control problems of a general nature, the most efficient methodologies of attack, yet devised, are the Hamilton-Jacobi theory, maximum principle and Lyapunov's concept. This paper elaborates a general procedure to solve the constrained optimization problem using the dynamic programming method. Instead of encountering difficulties via the calculus of variations or Pontryagin's maximum principle, we develop a feasible and computationally efficient optimization algorithm. This involves the application of a new nonquadratic functional as well as modified mappings of control and state bounds. A particular class of nonquadratic, sufficiently smooth and real-valued positive-definite performance integrands is selected. The functional depends on the state and control variables and associated bounds. These constraints limit a set of solutions as well as a class of control structures from which an optimal algorithm can be found. The nonquadratic, continuously differentiable return functions are used. Our approach simplifies optimization issues and allows one to solve the bounded control problem for high-order dynamical systems. The approach is presented through illustrations. Analytical and numerical results are given.
Intelligent Tutoring System Authoring Tools for Non-Programmers

An intelligent tutoring system (ITS) is a software application that tries to replicate the performance of a human tutor by supporting the theory of “learning by doing” and providing customized instruction to a student while performing a task within a problem domain such as mathematics, medical diagnosis, or even game play. ITSs have been shown to improve the performance of a student in wide range of domains. Despite their benefits, ITSs have not seen widespread use due to the complexity involved in their development. Developing an ITS from scratch requires expertise in several fields including computer science, cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence. In order to decrease the skill threshold required to build ITSs, several authoring tools have been developed. In this thesis, I document several contributions to the field of intelligent tutoring in the form of extensions to an existing ITS authoring tool, research studies on authoring tool paradigms and the design of authoring tools for non-programmers in two complex domains – natural language processing and 3D game environments. The Extensible Problem Specific Tutor (xPST) is an authoring tool that helps rapidly develop model-tracing like tutors on existing interfaces such as webpages. xPST‟s language was made more expressive with the introduction of new checktypes required for answer checking in problems belonging to domains such as geometry and statistics. A web-based authoring (WAT) tool was developed for the purpose of tutor management and deployment and to promote non-programmer authoring of ITSs. The WAT was used in a comparison study between two authoring tool paradigms – GUI based and text based, in two different problem domains – statistics and geometry.
Association of Carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Emissions and Smoking with Lung Cancer Mortality Rates on a Global Scale

The objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between lung cancer mortality rates, carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emissions, and smoking on a global scale, as well as for different socioeconomic country groups. The estimated lung cancer deaths per 100,000 people (ED100000) and age standardized lung cancer death rate per 100,000 people (ASDR100000) in 2004 were regressed on PAH emissions in benzo[a]pyrene equivalence (BaPeq), smoking prevalence, cigarette price, gross domestic product per capita, percentage of people with diabetes, and average body mass index using simple and multiple linear regression for 136 countries. Using stepwise multiple linear regression, a statistically significant positive linear relationship was found between loge(ED100000) and loge(BaPeq) emissions for high (p-value <0.01) and for the combination of upper-middle and high (p-value <0.05) socioeconomic country groups. A similar relationship was found between loge(ASDR100000) and loge(BaPeq) emissions for the combination of upper-middle and high (p-value <0.01) socioeconomic country groups. Conversely, for loge(ED100000) and loge(ASDR100000), smoking prevalence was the only significant independent variable in the low socioeconomic country group (p-value <0.001). These results suggest that reducing BaPeq emissions in the U.S., Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Brazil, South Africa, Poland, Mexico, and Malaysia could reduce ED100000, while reducing smoking prevalence in Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Nepal, Mongolia, Cambodia, and Bangladesh could significantly reduce the ED100000 and ASDR100000.
Childhood Immunization, Mortality and Human Capital Accumulation: Micro-Evidence from India

In the mid-1980s, the Indian government embarked on one of the largest childhood immunization programs-called \Universal Immunization Program" (UIP)-in order to reduce the high mortality and morbidity among children. I examine the eect of this immunization program on child mortality and educational attainment by exploiting district-by-cohort variation in exposure to the program. Results indicate that exposure to the program reduced infant mortality by 0.4 percentage points and underve child mortality by 0.5 percentage points. These eects on mortality are sizable{they account for approximately one-fth
Evolution, ecology and the engineered organism: lessons for synthetic biology

As the scope and complexity of synthetic biology grows, an understanding of evolution and ecology will be critical to its success.
Nanocomposite solar cells based on conjugated polymer/ PbSe quantum dot

We report a novel type of nanocomposite of conjugated polymer (regio-regular polythiophene) with infrared-sensitive, PbSe quantum dots (QD), which have size-tunable lowest-energy absorption bands between 0.3 and 1 eV. Thin film devices show very good diode characteristics and sizable photovoltaic response with an open circuit voltage, Voc , of ~ 0.3-0.4 V and short circuit current density, J sc , of ~ 0.2mA/cm 2 , which is significantly higher than recently reported in PbS QD-based devices. This is the evidence of a quite efficient photoinduced charge transfer between the polymer and QD, with infrared sensitivity. Photocurrent under reverse bias is significantly enhanced to J ph ~ 1 mA/cm 2 indicating that the polythiophene/PbSe QD system can be used as effective infrared photodetectors. Detailed spectroscopic studies of photoresponse over a wide spectral range are presented. Quenching of photoluminescence by PbSe QDs has also been studied to gain more understanding of energy and charge transfer in this system.
Changing Cholesterol Levels and Coronary Heart Disease Risk

A report by Colantonio and colleagues1 in this issue of Circulation describes the relations between serum lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides levels and coronary heart disease (CHD) incidence. Their analyses draw on the experience of 3 American population samples of adults with 8.9 years of follow-up. The first study group is the Reasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS; National Institutes of Health observational cohort, baseline 2003–2007); the second investigation is the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC; National Heart, Lung, and Blood observational cohort, baseline 1987–1989); and the third study group is Kaiser Permanente Southern California–insured patients (KPSC; individuals from a specific geographic region, baseline 2003–2007). The authors conclude that the relation between atherosclerotic lipid levels and first CHD events (definite myocardial infarction, probable myocardial infarction, or coronary death) has diminished when the baseline periods 1988 to 1997 and 2005 to 2014 are compared. They also conclude that statin use is largely responsible for a diminution in the risk gradient between lipoprotein cholesterols, especially LDL-C and non–high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and CHD events. Article see p 256 The article touches directly and indirectly on several points related to CHD risk. First, what are the trends for atherogenic lipids in American adults, especially total cholesterol and LDL-C, across the past few decades? Second, treatment of US adults with lipid-lowering medications has increased greatly over the 2 intervals that are compared; do those differences affect the ability to predict risk of CHD events? Third, what trends have been observed for CHD risk factors other than atherogenic lipids, and could those factors have affected the observed changes in CHD risk? Fourth, how should we interpret changes in the risk gradient between atherogenic lipids and CHD events? Fifth, are the trends in the United States for risk factors and CHD events occurring in …
Andesipolis, a puzzling new genus of cyclostome Braconidae (Hymenoptera) from the Chilean Andes, with descriptions of three new species

A new genus of braconid wasp, Andesipolis Whitfield & Choi, n. g., is described from the Andean region of Chile. It clearly belongs to the cyclostome lineage of Braconidae but otherwise is difficult to assign definitively to tribe or subfamily, as it has some morphological features typical of Rhysipolini, others typical of Rhyssalini, and a few unique features. Three species, A. whartoni n. sp., A. masoni, n. sp. and A. framea n. sp. are described to represent the range of morphological variation encompassed by the new generic concept; other species are known to exist in collections but await a full-scale revision of this locally abundant genus.
Nitrite Reductase Activity in Engineered Azurin Variants

Nitrite reductase (NiR) activity was examined in a series of dicopper P.a. azurin variants in which a surface binding copper site was added through site-directed mutagenesis. Four variants were synthesized with copper binding motifs inspired by the catalytic type 2 copper binding sites found in the native noncoupled dinuclear copper enzymes nitrite reductase and peptidylglycine α-hydroxylating monooxygenase. The four azurin variants, denoted Az-NiR, Az-NiR3His, Az-PHM, and Az-PHM3His, maintained the azurin electron transfer copper center, with the second designed copper site located over 13 A away and consisting of mutations Asn10His,Gln14Asp,Asn16His-azurin, Asn10His,Gln14His,Asn16His-azurin, Gln8Met,Gln14His,Asn16His-azurin, and Gln8His,Gln14His,Asn16His-azurin, respectively. UV–visible absorption spectroscopy, EPR spectroscopy, and electrochemistry of the sites demonstrate copper binding as well as interaction with small exogenous ligands. The nitrite reduction activity of the variants was determined, ...
Pressure ulcers among the elderly.

PRESSURE ulcers are a serious and all too common complication of immobility among the elderly. The prevalence of pressure ulcers is 3 to 11 percent in acute care hospitals and nursing homes.1 2 3 One study has suggested that the incidence over a three-week period among bedridden and chairbound patients is 7.7 percent.1 As many as 50 percent of patients with pressure ulcers are over the age of 70.4 Among geriatric patients and nursing home residents, pressure ulcers are associated with a fourfold increase in the risk of death.5 6 7 The in-hospital mortality rate among patients with pressure ulcers is between 23 and . . .
Consumers’ Comparative Evaluative Judgment of Athlete Endorsers

The purpose of this study was to examine consumers’ comparative judgment of athlete endorsers in back-toback advertisement settings. Drawing on the inclusion/exclusion model (Schwarz & Bless, 2007), the authors argue that (a) a recently observed athlete endorser impacts consumer judgment of subsequently presented endorsers, and (b) the valence of the impact depends on brand category membership of the consecutively presented endorsers. A 2 (representative endorser activation: present vs. absent) × 2 (brand category membership: membership vs. nonmembership) between-subjects design was administered across three experiments. Results demonstrated that the presence of a representative endorser increased a subsequently presented endorser’s perceived expertise when that subsequent endorser represented the same brand category. Results also demonstrated that the presence of a representative endorser decreased a subsequently presented endorser’s perceived expertise when that subsequent endorser did not represent the...
Cultivation of Creation Innovation and Enterprise Talents Based on Professional Superiority

Universities undertake the important task of cultivating advanced talents for country.Based on professional superiority,petroleum colleges cultivate talents by the means of establishing practice base in field site,retaining part-time teachers to give lectures,graduation project topic of students coming from scientific research topic of teachers and encouraging students taking part in scientific and technological activities,etc.
Can Social Media be a Space for Democratic Inclusivity

This think piece invites readers to imagine what it might be like to seek a technological solution regarding the problems inherent within participatory democracy. The piece suggests that such a process must begin by first identifying the constraints to participation that are structured into society in relation to privilege, and then imagining how social media could be designed to play a role in addressing these constraints in order to work toward a more equitable and participatory future.
Transforming growth factor-α

signal sequence is somehow related with inflammation or tissue damage [3]. Last but not least, transit in the classical pathway might be detrimental to the biological function of these proteins. Studies on IgM secretion indicate that proteins with exposed SH groups are unable to leave the ER [19]: as many proteins of the new class have free thiols, transit in the oxidizing milieu of the ER might result in either retention and degradation, or in a different folding, possibly causing inactivation of the protein.
Development of Antioxidant and Xenobiotic Metabolizing Enzyme Systems

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the pattern of differentiation for antioxidant enzyme pathways as well as bioactivation detoxification enzyme systems during pre- and postnatal lung development. During both the pre- and postnatal period of lung development, there are rapid rates of cellular differentiation, cell division, and alveolarization occurring, making the early postnatal lung uniquely susceptible to injury by environmental oxidant and toxic air pollutants. The enzyme systems responsible for protection from oxidant injury and toxicant-induced injury differentiate during the perinatal period, with the majority of differentiation activity occurring for an extended period of time after birth. Each of these enzyme systems is expressed in a different pattern during pre- and postnatal lung development. Antioxidants and antioxidant enzymes protect the lung from oxidant pollutants such as ozone and nitrogen dioxide. Xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes act on compounds to make them more water-soluble and increase their rate of elimination. In general, the pulmonary antioxidant enzyme system develops during the last 10–15% of gestation in humans as well as in laboratory animals such as rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, and lambs. CYP monooxygenases are expressed later during lung development, suggesting a role in protecting the lung from exogenous, rather than endogenous, compounds.
Enkephalin levels in mouse brain: diurnal variation, post-mortem degradation, and effect of cycloheximide

Enkephalin was first isolated as a mixture of the two pentapeptides methionine enkephalin (met-enkephalin) and leucine enkephalin (leu-enkephalin) by its ability to inhibit electrically induced contractions of the guinea pig ileum (Hughes, 1975; Hughes et al., 1976) and to compete with [3H] opiate binding to rat brain membranes (Terenius and Wahlstrom, 1974; Pasternak et al., 1975; Simantov and Snyder, 1976a). Although these assays have been useful in elucidating several properties of opioid peptides such as their regional (Hughes, 1975; Pasternak et al., 1975) and subcellular distributions (Simantov and Snyder, 1976b), their lack of specificity makes it very difficult to distinguish the various opioid peptides from each other. Specific radioimmunoassays (RIA) for met and leu-enkephalin (Simantov et al., 1977; Yang et al., 1977) not only distinguish met and leu-enkephalin but also discriminate between enkephalin and the larger endorphin fragments of β-lipotropin (β-LPH). In this way enkephalin RIAs can detect changes in enkephalin levels which result from specific enkephalinergic metabolic processes in the brain.
Assessment of Protein and Energy Nutritional Status

Screening and assessment of nutritional status is of paramount importance for the management of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), especially individuals undergoing maintenance dialysis. The complex nature of CKD and its associated adverse consequences lead to a unique constellation of nutritional and metabolic abnormalities that adversely affect the body’s protein and energy status. These abnormalities can be defined as protein-energy wasting (PEW), i.e. a state of decreased body stores of protein and energy fuels. There are several clinical, nutritional, and biochemical parameters that are associated with and frequently indicative of PEW in individuals with CKD. Among the biochemical indices, serum albumin or serum transthyretin (prealbumin) provide the best diagnostic and prognostic information. However, both are influenced by multiple conditions inherent to kidney disease. When combined with low visceral protein concentrations, low relative body weight, reduced total body fat or muscle mass or progressive weight loss are diagnostic of PEW. Several composite indices such as subjective global assessment can also be incorporated in screening for or diagnosing PEW. Protein intake can be estimated from the urea nitrogen appearance or, for dialysis patients, the protein equivalent of total nitrogen appearance (PNA or PCR). Measurement of dietary energy intake along with estimates of daily energy expenditure should also be incorporated in the assessment of nutritional status in kidney disease patients. For research purposes, nitrogen balance studies or metabolic assessment by stable isotopes can provide invaluable physiological information complementing routine nutritional assessment tools. Similarly, a number of more sophisticated tools such as dual energy X-ray absorptiometry or magnetic resonance imaging can provide more precise information on body composition and are primarily used for research purposes. Incorporation of clinical information with practical methods of nutritional assessment is the core of appropriate screening for and assessment of PEW in the clinical setting. More sophisticated methods should be added to these only for research purposes.
Leveraging role play to explore software and game development process

Role play has a long history as a tool for learning. It is often used to simulate practices in the world in an environment where consequences can be mitigated. Despite its effective use by the armed forces, emergency responders, negotiators, and political campaign managers, role play is a tool seldom used in STEM classrooms. In this paper, we will describe the incorporation of certain aspects of role play in a game development processes course. This course, similar to courses in software engineering, focuses students on the entire product life cycle and engages them to complete a project from start to finish during the term. We used role play techniques to engage the students more fully in the processes of development by creating a scenario in which the students have suddenly become the owners of an independent game studio. During the semester, we engaged them as the owners on issues of business and legal concerns along with the typical production and process concerns of making their product. We had them face issues of missed deadlines and products that were not ready for production. We have informal evaluation in terms of feedback from end of the semester debriefs and classroom observations. We are using that for further refinements in the next course cycle.
Strong Diagnostic Questioning Effects on Deception Detection Accuracy With U.S. Customs Agents

Recent communication research shows several paths to improving accuracy in deception detection. According to truth-default theory, one promising approach is diagnostic questioning. A sample of elite U.S. Customs agents participated in a deception detection task. Agents viewed senders who were interrogated with one of three different sets of questions that differed in diagnostic utility. The different questioning sets produced a 36-point swing in accuracy from 42% to 78% accuracy. These findings demonstrate that how someone is questioned can make a substantial difference in deception detection accuracy and that improved accuracy is possible with diagnostic questioning.
Noninvasive positive pressure ventilation in the immediate post–bariatric surgery care of patients with obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review

Abstract Background Obstructive sleep apnea is common in morbidly obese patients, and noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NIPPV) is the standard treatment. Postoperatively, NIPPV is highly effective in preventing hypoxia and apneic episodes; however, the concern of gastric distention leading to increased risk of an anastomotic dehiscence limits universal acceptance. Objective To perform a systematic review of the literature to determine if the use of NIPPV during immediate post–bariatric surgery care is safe. Methods Between January 1, 2000 and January 1, 2015 a comprehensive literature search for English-language articles was performed. Search terms were related to NIPPV use and bariatric surgery. Three reviewers independently reviewed the full-text version of the articles for relevance. Due to lack of randomized controlled trials and common incidence of zero for leak rate, a meta-analysis was not conducted. Results A total of 824 studies were identified for screening using our search criteria, and 811 were rejected based on exclusion criteria. Thirteen studies with 5465 patients were identified for abstract review. All articles were either favorable or equivocal on the use of NIPPV in this patient population. Comparative studies did not identify an increased rate of anastomotic dehiscence in the patients who did receive NIPPV. The use of NIPPV was associated with a decreased risk of respiratory complications but not of reintubation or unplanned intensive care unit admission. Conclusion This systematic review of the available literature does not provide evidence of a signal that there is an increased anastomotic dehiscence risk when NIPPV is administered during immediate post–bariatric surgery care.
No Way as Way: Towards a Poetics of Martial Arts Cinema

This essay explores the history and evolution of academic film studies, focusing in particular on the development of an admirably interdisciplinary branch of inquiry dedicated to exploring martial arts cinema. Beginning with the clash between the auteur theory and the development of a psycholinguistic model of film theory upon film studies’ academic entrenchment and political engagement in the 1960s and 1970s, this essay continues past the Historical Turn in the 1970s and 1980s into the Post-Theory era in the 1990s and beyond, by which time studies of martial arts cinema, thanks in large part to the ‘cultural studies intervention’, began to attract scholars from various academic disciplines, most notably cultural studies. At once diagnostic and prescriptive, this essay seeks to historically contextualize the different modes of thinking that have informed past engagements with the cinema in general while also offering a polemical metacriticism of exemplars in an effort to highlight deficiencies in the current interpretive orthodoxy informing contemporary engagements with martial arts cinema in particular. This essay endeavors to find a way to allow the larger enterprise of ‘Martial Arts Studies’ to compliment, rather than colonize and cannibalize, the study of martial arts cinema, and this polemic offers as a model for scholars both in and out of film studies a ‘poetics of martial arts cinema’ committed to dialectical, ‘alterdisciplinary’ scholarship.
Accuracy of Self Disclosed Cybersecurity Risks of Large U.S. Banks

Publicly traded corporations are required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to selfdisclose information security risks. However, because of several undefined factors, the risk information may not accurately reflect the threats within the Internet domain. Investors are then left ill-informed regarding this substantial risk to corporate value. This project quantifies the disparity between reported information security risks and information security threats.
"Tweet"-Format Writing Is an Effective Tool for Medical Student Reflection.

Objective Reflective writing during medical education allows for professional growth through retrospective analysis of experiential knowledge. However, these writing assignments can pose a challenge to millennial medical students who are more likely to assimilate knowledge through the use of innovative technology and who prefer their data in a concise format. Here, we present a novel, tweet-style reflective writing assignment to better engage the unique skill set of today’s medical students. We analyzed the written content partway through the year to determine whether or not the format retains the impact of longer, more structured reflective writing assignments. Design Surgical clerkship students were required to reflect on 3 distinct experiences through a 140-character written reflection, or tweet. Students were able to submit these assignments at any point during their rotation through a platform available on their smartphone or computer. There were no specifications with regard to content. These reflections were analyzed using modified grounded theory methods. Each tweet was analyzed by 2 individuals to ensure intercoder reliability. Codes were created a priori with respect to positive and negative domains, and type of experience. Stetting Department of Surgery, Warren Alpert School of Medicine, Brown University, Third Year Medical Student Surgical Clerkship. Participants Third year medical students at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine, Brown University. Fifty-six medical students were included in this study. Results During the first 4 blocks of the 2016-2017 academic year, 56 students rotated through the third year surgical clerkship. One hundred and sixty-eight tweets were collected and coded. Sixty-nine tweets (42%) had a positive valence. Students reflected on the following experiences: patient interaction (54%), surgical education (34%), physician/resident interaction (27%), and career decisions (11%). Overall, 87 (52%) tweets were reflective. Many tweets included emotional reactions to specific experiences. Conclusions Using tweet-style reflective writing, students identified and reacted to multiple salient experiences from their surgical clerkship. They reflected on both positive and negative emotions, mostly related to personal interactions with patients, but also associated with their education, their team, and their future career. Based on early analysis of the data, we believe that short format writing can be an effective format for reflection.
Mounting, Lapping and Polishing Large Sizes and Quantities of Metallographic Specimens

Since the year 1900, metallography has been practiced at the Materials and Processes Laboratory of the General Electric Company in Schenectady, New York. In the beginning, most samples were small, were cut to size with a hacksaw, filed, sanded on abrasive paper and then polished using various materials on a variety of cloths. Although, through the years, methods, materials and equipment gradually improved, there were limitations, particularly in the mounting of large size specimens, the heat and pressure to be used, and the ability to impregnate porous samples.
Surgical treatment of unicompartmental degenerative arthritis of the knee.

SUMMARY The number of patients with unicompartmental osteoarthritis is increasing with the average age of our population. Good surgical techniques are available to improve pain and increase motion in the knee with degenerative disease. It is important to make early accurate diagnoses in arthritic patients so that the least surgically ablative procedure can be performed that will maximally benefit each patient. Total knee replacement is an extremely effective operation for relieving pain, but its major drawback is the large amount of bone stock that must be sacrificed during the procedure. Unicondylar knee replacement has proven itself to be an excellent alternative to total knee replacement in more limited arthritic disease. High tibial osteotomy still plays a major role as treatment for unicompartmental arthritis in younger and more active patients. McKeever interpositional hemiarthroplasty is an alternative in young patients when osteotomy is contraindicated. Arthroscopy is playing an increasing role in both diagnosis and treatment of unicompartmental osteoarthritis. The decision to perform unicompartmental arthroplasty, osteotomy, or total knee replacement is made on an individual basis. The extent of cartilage degeneration in the knee as well as the age, weight, and activity demands of the patient help to guide that decision.