cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A service execution mechanism for a distributed environment

A service execution mechanism is designed to provide users transparent access to computational services in a distributed environment. The central idea in this approach is that computations available to the user in a distributed system should be treated as services, where a service is a user-level computation that is offered by one or more machines. The identification of a service is separate from its execution for all computations available to the user. This abstraction allows the details of performing a service to be hidden from the user, and allows the user to specify what services he/she would like to use and not be concerned with where or how the services are invoked. The author's experience with a prototype implementation is reviewed. It is concluded that the service mechanism is a small cost in the total time to execute a simple local service, and an insignificant cost for more computation-intensive services. For services that are invoked remotely, additional costs may be incurred for probing during selection, but these costs are negligible in comparison to the costs of invocation. >
Data Quality from Crowdsourcing: A Study of Annotation Selection Criteria

Annotation acquisition is an essential step in training supervised classifiers. However, manual annotation is often time-consuming and expensive. The possibility of recruiting annotators through Internet services (e.g., Amazon Mechanic Turk) is an appealing option that allows multiple labeling tasks to be outsourced in bulk, typically with low overall costs and fast completion rates. In this paper, we consider the difficult problem of classifying sentiment in political blog snippets. Annotation data from both expert annotators in a research lab and non-expert annotators recruited from the Internet are examined. Three selection criteria are identified to select high-quality annotations: noise level, sentiment ambiguity, and lexical uncertainty. Analysis confirm the utility of these criteria on improving data quality. We conduct an empirical study to examine the effect of noisy annotations on the performance of sentiment classification models, and evaluate the utility of annotation selection on classification accuracy and efficiency.
Heat Shock Protein HSP101 Binds to the Fed-1 Internal Light Regulatory Element and Mediates Its High Translational Activity

The internal light-regulatory element (iLRE) of ferredoxin ( Fed-1 ) mRNA, comprising the 5 9 leader and at least the first 13 codons of the open reading frame, controls transcript abundance after illumination of the plant in a translationdependent manner. We have characterized the RNA binding activities associated with the Fed-1 iLRE and have identified one activity as the heat shock protein HSP101, a protein shown to bind the 5 9 leader of tobacco mosaic virus. HSP101 was sufficient and necessary to mediate a high level of translational activity from a Fed-1 iLRE‐containing mRNA in yeast. Moreover, the Fed-1 iLRE substantially enhanced translation of reporter mRNAs in plant protoplasts expressing HSP101. Expression of HSP101 was subject to developmental regulation in leaves in that expression was highest in young leaves. These data suggest that Fed-1 mRNA may use the HSP101 regulatory mechanism as a means of ensuring a high level of translation required for the light-mediated regulation of Fed-1 mRNA stability.
Associations of adult height and its components with mortality: a report from cohort studies of 135 000 Chinese women and men

Background Although several studies have evaluated the relationship between adult height and mortality, their results have not been entirely consistent. Little is known about components of adult height in relation to mortality, particularly in developing countries. Methods We examined the association of adult height and its components (leg and trunk length) with mortality using data from 74 869 Chinese women and 61 333 men in the Shanghai Women's (1996–2008) and Men's (2002–2008) Health Studies. Anthropometric measurements, including standing and sitting height and weight, were taken at baseline by trained interviewers according to a standard protocol. Deaths were ascertained by biennial home visits and linkage with the vital statistics registry. Cox regression models were used to evaluate the associations. Results Neither height nor its components were associated with all-cause mortality. Height and, less consistently, its components were positively associated with cancer mortality, but inversely associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Hazard ratios (HRs) [95% confidence intervals (CIs)] for cancer mortality per 1-SD increment in height, trunk and leg length were 1.06 (1.01–1.12), 1.07 (1.01–1.12) and 1.03 (0.98–1.08), respectively, in women, and 1.13 (1.05–1.22), 1.09 (1.00–1.19) and 1.10 (1.03–1.16), respectively, in men. The corresponding HRs for CVD mortality were 0.89 (0.84–0.95), 0.93 (0.87–0.99) and 0.91 (0.86–0.98) in women, and 0.93 (0.86–1.02), 0.89 (0.81–0.98) and 0.99 (0.92–1.06) in men. Conclusions Our results suggest that different mechanisms may be involved in linking height and its components with cancer and CVD mortality.
A Programmable Window Comparator for Analog Online Testing

This paper discusses the challenge of designing window comparators for analog online testing applications. A programmable window comparator with adaptive error threshold is presented. Experimental results demonstrate that improved fault detection capability is achieved by using the proposed design. Measurement results of the fabricated comparator circuit are also presented.
Development of an agent-based model for regional market penetration projections of electric vehicles in the United States

One of the most promising strategies recommended for increasing energy security and for mitigating transportation sector emissions is to support alternative fuel technologies, including electric vehicles. However, there is a considerable amount of uncertainty regarding the market penetration of electric vehicles that must be accounted for in order to achieve the current market share goals. This paper aims to address these inherent uncertainties and to identify the possible market share of electric vehicles in the United States for the year 2030, using the developed Electric Vehicle Regional Market Penetration tool. First, considering their respective inherent uncertainties, the vehicle attributes are evaluated for different vehicle types, including internal combustion engine, gasoline hybrid, and three different electric vehicle types. In addition, an agent-based model is developed to identify the market shares of each of the studied vehicles. Finally, market share uncertainties are modeled using the Exploratory Modeling and Analysis approach. The government subsidies play a vital role in the market adoption of electric vehicle and, when combined with the word-of-mouth effect, may achieve electric vehicle market share of up to 30% of new sales in 2030 on average, with all-electric vehicles having the highest market share among the electric vehicle options.
Improving the Ginkgo CO2 barometer: Implications for the early Cenozoic atmosphere

Abstract Stomatal properties of fossil Ginkgo have been used widely to infer the atmospheric concentration of CO2 in the geological past (paleo-pCO2). Many of these estimates of paleo-pCO2 have relied on the inverse correlation between pCO2 and stomatal index (SI – the proportion of epidermal cells that are stomata) observed in recent Ginkgo biloba, and therefore depend on the accuracy of this relationship. The SI - p CO2 relationship in G. biloba has not been well documented, however. Here we present new measurements of SI for leaves of G. biloba that grew under pCO2 from 290 to 430 ppm. We prepared and imaged all specimens using a consistent procedure and photo-documented each count. As in prior studies, we found a significant inverse relationship between SI and pCO2, however, the relationship is more linear, has a shallower slope, and a lower correlation coefficient than previously reported. We examined leaves of G. biloba grown under pCO2 of 1500 ppm, but found they had highly variable SI and a large proportion of malformed stomata. We also measured stomatal dimensions, stomatal density, and the carbon isotope composition of G. biloba leaves in order to test a mechanistic model for inferring pCO2. This model overestimated observed pCO2, performing less well than the SI method between 290 and 430 ppm. We used our revised SI-pCO2 response curve, and new observations of selected fossils, to estimate late Cretaceous and Cenozoic pCO2 from fossil Ginkgo adiantoides. All but one of the new estimates is below 800 ppm, and together they show little long-term change in pCO2 or relation to global temperature. The low Paleogene pCO2 levels indicated by the Ginkgo SI proxy are not consistent with the high pCO2 inferred by some climate and carbon cycle models. We cannot currently resolve the discrepancy, but greater agreement between proxy data and models may come from a better understanding of the stomatal response of G. biloba to elevated pCO2, better counts and measurements of fossil Ginkgo, or models that can simulate greenhouse climates at lower pCO2.
Incentive mechanisms to enable fair renewable energy trade in smart grids

In this paper, we build up a renewable/green energy trading market for users in smart grids. Recently, more and more residential homes are equipped with solar panels to generate and consume renewable green solar energy. Unfortunately, there usually exists a mismatch between the supply and the demand of renewable energy for individual users. Thus, a market in which users can trade surplus green energy in order to serve their future demands is highly desired. In building up such a market, we need to guarantee fairness among non-cooperative users and provide an efficient incentive mechanism based on up-to-date battery and grid technologies. In this work, we propose a market model for trading green energy, design provable efficient incentive algorithms, and conduct experiments on real traces under various performance measures. We conclude that our scheme outperforms existing approaches in terms of fairness while it maintains the best-achievable green energy resource usage.
Shortfall minimization and the Naive (1/N) portfolio: an out-of-sample comparison

ABSTRACTNaive portfolio selection, wherein an investor allocates an equal portion of their wealth to the field of candidate assets, is a simple ad-hoc way to create a portfolio. Naive portfolio selection contrasts to the many sophisticated portfolio selection rules that are optimal with respect to a specific portfolio allocation objective and which often perform well in sample. However, some recent research finds that many of these ‘optimal’ portfolio allocation mechanisms perform no better than naive diversification in out-of-sample data. This paper extends this line of inquiry by comparing the out-of-sample performance of naive portfolio selection to several recently developed shortfall-minimizing portfolio selection methods. The results corroborate the prior findings that optimal portfolio methods struggle to beat the naive portfolio in out-of-sample environments.
CHAOBORUS PREDATION AND LIFE-HISTORY EVOLUTION IN DAPHNIA PULEX: TEMPORAL PATTERN OF POPULATION DIVERSITY, FITNESS, AND MEAN LIFE HISTORY.

The effect of predation by the aquatic dipteran larva Chaoborus americanus on genetic diversity and life-history evolution in the cladoceran Daphnia pulex was investigated in large replicate laboratory populations. Instantaneous daily loss rates of clonal diversity and genetic variance for fitness indicate that 93-99% of initial genetic diversity can be removed from popu- lations during the 8-12 generations of clonal reproduction that occur each year in natural popu- lations. In the absence of predation, the principal evolved changes in mean population life history were smaller immature body size and increased and earlier fecundity. In the presence of size-selective Chaoborus predation, populations evolved toward larger body size and increased and earlier re- production. The difference between these two trajectories is an estimate of the direct additive effect of Chaoborus predation. This effect was manifested as evolution toward larger body size with a trend toward earlier and increased reproduction.
EVALUATION OF SYSTEMIC INSECTICIDES FOR THE CONTROL OF COLORADO POTATO BEETLE, POTATO LEAFHOPPER, AND APHIDS IN POTATO, 2010

The objective of this experiment was to assess the efficacy of at-plant systemic insecticides to control insect pests in potato. This experiment was conducted at Hancock Agricultural Experiment Station located 1.1 mile (1.8 km) southwest of Hancock, WI, on a loamy sand soil in 2014. Potato, Solanum tuberosum cv. “Russet Burbank,” seed pieces were treated on 28 April and planted on 2 May. Seed pieces were spaced 12 inches apart within rows, and rows were spaced 3 ft apart. Four-row plots were 12 ft in width by 20 ft in length, for a total of 0.006 acres. Two untreated guard rows separated plots. Plots were arranged …
Narrowband High Temperature Sensor Based on Type II Laser Cavity Made with Ultrafast Radiation

Laser cavities built in heavily doped Er-Yb fiber with type II Bragg gratings, made with femtosecond IR radiation and the phase mask method, were tested up to 850 °C.
Effect of surfactants on liquid loading in vertical wells

Abstract Most gas wells produce some amount of liquid. The liquid is either condensate or water. At high rates, the gas is able to entrain liquid to the surface; however, as gas well depletes, the liquid drops back in a gas well (called liquid loading) creating a back pressure on the reservoir formation. Addition of surfactants to the well to remove liquid is one of the common methods used in gas wells. Liquid loading in vertical gas wells with and without surfactant application was investigated in this study. Anionic, two types of amphoteric (amphoteric I and amphoteric II), sulphonate and cationic surfactants were tested in 2-inch and 4-inch 40-feet vertical pipes. Pressure gradient and liquid holdup are measured. Visual observation with a high speed camera was used to gain insight into the direction of foam flow in intermittent flow and foam film flow under annular flow conditions. Liquid loading is initiated when the liquid film attached to the wall in annular flow starts flowing downwards. Introduction of foam causes the gas velocity at which film reversal occurs to decrease; this shift increases with increasing surfactant concentration and it is more pronounced in 2-inch pipe than in 4-inch pipe. That is, the benefit of surfactants is much more pronounced in 2-inch pipe than in 4-inch pipe. The reason for postponement of liquid loading is reduction in the liquid holdup at low gas velocities which reduces the liquid holdup in foam flow compared to air-water flow. However, at higher gas velocities, the pressure drop in 2-inch compared to 4-inch pipe increases rapidly as the surfactant concentration increases. The selection of optimum concentration of the surfactant is a balance between the reductions in the gas velocity at which liquid loading occurs compared to increase in the frictional loss as the concentration increases. We provide guidelines about the selection of the surfactant concentration. Visual observations using high speed camera show differences in the behavior under foam flow conditions. Unlike air-water flow, the liquid film attached to the wall is replaced by thick foam capturing the gas bubbles. The type of roll waves which carry the liquid in 2-inch pipe is different than what was observed in 4-inch pipe. Compared to 4-inch pipe, the roll waves in 2-inch pipe are much thicker. This partly explains the differences in 2-inch versus 4-inch pipe behavior.
Health education in the work of prevention and control of AIDS

The global prevention and treatment of AIDS achieved the remarkable progress, but the spread trend of AIDS epidemic has not been reversed. Health education has become the important measure for prevention of AIDS in every country. A variety of health education models in prevention of AIDS are promoted and used and the special health education activities to the every kind of AIDS high-risk groups have made certain results. At the same time, phenomenon of separation between knowledge and action has appeared in the process of health education and the health education materials can not meet the needs of the target population requirement. Solution of these problems has become the key of prevention and treatment of AIDS for the next step.
Transformation of coordinated control system for 600 MW imported subcritical once-through units

According to the problems exited in the coordinated control system,the transformation solution was proposed for a 600 MW imported subcritical once-trough unit. The transformation effect and evaluation were analysized by the test of the control system. It was proved by experiments that the successful transformation of the coordinated control system laid a solid foundation for its safe and stable online generation,which can provide the reference for other similar units.
High-performance liquid chromatography determination in foods of saccharin sodium,benzoic acid,sorbic acid,dimethyl fumarate and dehydrogenation sodium acetate at same time

Objective:A fast,accurate,simple and high-performance liquid chromatography was studied to the simultaneous determination of saccharin sodium,benzoic acid,sorbic acid,dimethyl fumarate and dehydrogenation sodium acetate solution baked foods.Methods:Samples with methanol dissolved,the ultrasonic extraction,for pH value of about 6,were separated on Eclipse XDB-C18 column,and eluted with a mixed of 28+72(V/V) methanol and ammonium acetate-anhydrous sodium-trifluoroacetic acid mixture as mobile phase.To retain the qualitative of time,peak area or quantitative.Results:It could be better to complete the five components of the separation in 11 minutes.The recovery is 91.3%～105.3%,the detection limit were 0.28,0.32,0.33,0.43,0.25(mg/L).Conclusion:This method is fast,simple,accurate and can be used to determine saccharin sodium,benzoic acid,sorbic acid,dimethyl fumarate and dehydrogenation sodium acetate solution in baked foods at the same time.
Cleaning Production Popularized in Yellow Rice Wine Enterprises

Cleaning production referred to the assumption of precautions in each procedure in the whole life cycle of the products and the organic integration of production techniques,production process and management etc.,which could realize optimized enterprise operation and achieve the minimal resource consumption,the best management and the optimal economic growth.The popularization of cleaning production in yellow rice wine enterprises could realize both-win of environmental benefits and economic benefits.(Tran.by YUE Yang)
Safe Randomized Load-Balanced Switching by Diffusing Extra Loads

Load-balanced switch architectures are known to be scalable in both size and speed, which is of interest due to the continued exponential growth in Internet traffic. However, the main drawback of load-balanced switches is that packets can depart out of order from the switch. Randomized load-balancing of application flows by means of hashing on the packet header is a well-known simple solution to this packet reordering problem in which all packets belonging to the same application flow are routed through the same intermediate port and hence the same path through the switch. Unfortunately, this method of load-balancing can lead to instability, depending on the mix of flow sizes and durations in the group of flows that gets randomly assigned to route through the same intermediate port. In this paper, we show that the randomized load-balancing of application flows can be enhanced to provably guarantee both stability and packet ordering by extending the approach with safety mechanisms that can uniformly diffuse packets across the switch whenever there is a build-up of packets waiting to route through some intermediate port. Although simple and intuitive, our experimental results show that our extended randomized load-balancing approach outperforms existing load-balanced switch architectures.
Analysis of Mutations that Influence Pre-mRNA Splicing

A rapidly increasing number of human diseases are now recognized as being caused by the selection of wrong splice sites. In most cases, these changes in alternative splice site selection are due to single nucleotide exchanges in splicing regulatory elements. This chapter describes the use of bioinformatics tools to predict the influence of a mutation on alternative pre-mRNA splicing and the experimental testing of these predictions. The bioinformatic analysis determines the influence of a mutation on splicing enhancers and silencers, splice sites and RNA secondary structures. This approach generates hypotheses that are tested using splicing reporter constructs, which are then analyzed in transfection assays. We describe a recombination-based system that allows for the generation of splicing reporter constructs in the first week and their subsequent analysis in the second week.
An immediate endothelial cell signaling response to lung ischemia.

Abrupt cessation of lung perfusion induces a rapid endothelial response that is not associated with anoxia but reflects loss of normal shear stress. This response includes membrane depolarization, H(2)O(2) generation, and increased intracellular Ca(2+). We evaluated these parameters immediately upon nonhypoxic ischemia using fluorescence videomicroscopy to image in situ endothelial cells in isolated, ventilated rat lungs. Lungs labeled with 4-(2-[6-(dioctylamino)-2-naphthalenyl]ethenyl)1-(3-sulfopropyl)-pyridinium (di-8-ANEPPS; a membrane potential probe), Amplex Red (an extracellular H(2)O(2) probe), or fluo 3-AM (a Ca(2+) indicator) were subjected to control perfusion followed by global ischemia. Endothelial di-8-ANEPPS fluorescence increased significantly within the first second of ischemia and stabilized at 15 s, indicating membrane depolarization by approximately 17 mV; depolarization was blocked by preperfusion with the K(+) channel agonist lemakalim. Increased H(2)O(2), inhibitable by catalase, was detected in the vascular space at 1-2 s after the onset of ischemia. Increased intracellular Ca(2+) was detected 10-15 s after the onset of ischemia; the initial increase was inhibited by preperfusion with thapsigargin. Thus the temporal sequence of the initial response of endothelial cells in situ to loss of shear stress (i.e., ischemia) is as follows: membrane depolarization, H(2)O(2) release, and increased intracellular Ca(2+).
Chapter 37 – Ice-Margin Fluctuations at the End of the Wisconsin Episode, Michigan, USA

During retreat of the last ice sheet from Michigan four major readvances occurred with each terminating at a position short of the previous readvance. Radiocarbon dates indicate they culminated at ~15.0, ~13.0, ~11.7 and ~10.0 14C ka BP. Only the third and forth readvances are constrained by 14C age dates from in situ organic material.
Measurement Tools and Test Structures

This section provides a brief summary of the instruments, data acquisition processes, and test vehicles now used for studying dielectric breakdown. The range of instruments includes both bench-top and large throughput systems. Bench-top systems are conventionally used to gather information about fundamental material and device properties, while large throughput systems provide significant advantages for gathering statistically meaningful data on device properties and performance and on production capabilities. Test structures described in this section include simple planar capacitors, comb–comb, comb–serpentine, and new p-cap devices. The inherent design of each test structure will be shown to be appropriate for understanding certain fundamental aspects of dielectric failure.
Sokal and Hasford Scores Are Able To Predict Cytogenetic Response and Survival in CML Patients Who Failed Prior Therapy and Are Receiving Salvage Therapy with Imatinib or Other Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors.

Abstract Sokal and Hasford scores have been used to estimate the survival of CML patients following alkylator-based or interferon-based therapy, and may also predict the outcome of patients receiving first-line imatinib. These scores were designed for patient characteristics at the time of diagnosis and they have been assumed to have no clinical value at other times during the course of the disease (eg. second-line or subsequent therapy). We seek to determine the applicability of the Sokal and Hasford scores in predicting outcomes in patients receiving second or subsequent-line therapy with imatinib and other novel tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). This analysis is based on 379 CML patients in chronic phase (90%) or accelerated phase as defined by cytogenetic clonal evolution (10%), who were enrolled on clinical trials of imatinib following interferon failure (n=294), or nilotinib or dasatinib following imatinib failure (n=85). Significance of relationship between Sokal and Hasford risk categories and response were tested using the Chi-Square test, and differences in survival assessed using the log-rank method. P-values are summarised below: Imatinib following Interferon Failure Nilotinib/Dasatinib Following Imatinib Failure Sokal Hasford Sokal Hasford Low Risk 219 (74%) 176 (60%) 39 (46%) 45 (53%) Intermediate Risk 65 (22%) 111 (38%) 34 (40%) 38 (45%) High Risk 10 (3%) 6 (2%) 12 (14%) 2 (2%) Any Cytogenetic Response p p p=0.01 p=NS Major Cytogenetic Response p p p=0.002 p=0.04* Complete Cytogenetic Response p p p=0.005 p=0.07* Survival p p Insuff Events Insuff Events *comparison between low and intermediate risk groups only Among patients receiving imatinib following failure of interferon therapy, both Sokal and Hasford scores were highly predictive of cytogenetic response and overall survival. Due to the low number of deaths (n=5) on the nilotinib and dasatinib trials, the effect of Sokal and Hasford scores on predicting survival could not be assessed but they remain predictive of cytogenetic response. We conclude that the Sokal and Hasford scores calculated at the time of therapy failure are useful predictors of subsequent response to salvage therapy with imatinib and other TKIs.
WNK Kinase Signaling in Ion Homeostasis and Human Disease

WNK kinases, along with their upstream regulators (CUL3/KLHL3) and downstream targets (the SPAK/OSR1 kinases and the cation-Cl − cotransporters [CCCs]), comprise a signaling cascade essential for ion homeostasis in the kidney and nervous system. Recent work has furthered our understanding of the WNKs in epithelial transport, cell volume homeostasis, and GABA signaling, and uncovered novel roles for this pathway in immune cell function and cell proliferation.
A Framework for Unpublishing Decisions

This article explores the conflict between traditional ethical news values and unpublishing requests, which have arisen as a result of the availability of digital news archives. In so doing, this article provides a framework for how news organizations can make unpublishing decisions by weighing the sensitivity of the information published against its news value.
Designing community of practice systems: a value sensitive approach

This paper presents a process for designing an online Community of Practice (CoP) system for nurses. First, we used Value Sensitive Design by identifying the four features: benefits, harms, future trend, and pervasiveness of the CoP system to stakeholders. Next, we created two personas that represent direct stakeholders. We then incorporated the four features and personas into value scenarios. Based on the needs and barriers of potential users described in the scenarios, we created a paper prototype and evaluated its usability using three approaches: heuristic evaluation (HE), Wizard-of-Oz, and surveys. Our findings from the HE and Wizard-of-Oz methods demonstrated design flaws, as well as users’ needs and barriers in interacting with the prototype. To sum up, this paper demonstrates a design process using personas and Value Sensitive Design. We also show an evaluation process using multiple usability testing methods that could be potentially used in the early stage of development.
Superior Long-Term Synaptic Memory Induced by Combining Dual Pharmacological Activation of PKA and ERK with an Enhanced Training Protocol.

Developing treatment strategies to enhance memory is an important goal of neuroscience research. Activation of multiple biochemical signaling cascades, such as the protein kinase A (PKA) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) pathways, is necessary to induce long-term synaptic facilitation (LTF), a correlate of long-term memory (LTM). Previously, a computational model was developed which correctly predicted a novel enhanced training protocol that augmented LTF by searching for the protocol with maximal overlap of PKA and ERK activation. The present study focused on pharmacological approaches to enhance LTF. Combining an ERK activator, NSC, and a PKA activator, rolipram, enhanced LTF to a greater extent than did either drug alone. An even greater increase in LTF occurred when rolipram and NSC were combined with the Enhanced protocol. These results indicate superior memory can be achieved by enhanced protocols that take advantage of the structure and dynamics of the biochemical cascades underlying memory formation, used in conjunction with combinatorial pharmacology.
Cognitive dissonance or counterconditioning?—A reappraisal of certain behavioral “paradoxes”

In order to survive and grow, Stimulus-Response Psychology found it necessary, during the 1930’s and ‘40’s, to depart from its original, radical objectivity and incorporate certain assumptions concerning the affects. Today it is apparent that, as a next step, this type of psychological theory is also going to have to recognize and in some way assimilate the phenomenon of cognition. However, this should not be done hastily or without full logical justification and necessity. The present paper is a defense of existing theory against charges of inadequacy which appear to be premature and ill-founded. Here it is argued that the series of experimental findings which Lawrence and Festinger have recently interpreted as constituting “an impasse for learning theory” are, in reality, fully congruent with such theory and do not require that we have recourse, as these writers propose, to the concept of “cognitive dissonance.”
Ritual Burdens: Culturally Defined Stressors and Developmental Progressions

The ethnographic film Ritual Burdens follows Ni Ketut Kasih, a Balinese woman whose ceremonial obligations trigger episodes of behavioral disorder and emotional disturbance for which she has been hospitalized over 35 times. Ketut’s case exemplifies a personal schema of stress wherein cultural obligations, traumatic historical events, biography, and neurobiology overlap to trigger cyclical episodes of mental illness. At the same time, Ketut’s story exemplifies the benefits of family support, impersonal attribution, and non-stigmatizing labeling when living with a chronic, disruptive, and emotionally dysregulated condition. The chapter discusses Ketut’s shifting attitudes toward the filmmaking process, from enthusiasm to the pain of watching herself age, struggle with illness episodes, and exhibit the side effects of her tardive dyskinesia on-screen.
Echoic flow for target following and approach

Flow fields naturally measure the time to contact (TTC) between two objects and are symbolized by the parameter "tau". Hence, the term echoic flow represents the use of flow fields in active sensing systems like, radar and sonar. In this paper, we examine the use of the time derivate of the echoic flow parameter "tau dot" in cognitive radar for target following and approach control applications. After a brief introduction of the echoic flow concept and its derivative, three target movement scenarios—stationary target, target moving slower than radar platform and target moving faster than radar platform—are analyzed using both simulations and experiments. The effect of range and range rate measurement accuracy on echoic flow is discussed and methods to achieve suitable levels of accuracy presented.
A Theoretical Investigation of Postmodern Approaches Used in Medical Settings: Solution-Focused Brief Therapy

This study attempts to investigate the use of one of the postmodern family therapy theories, solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT) in the medical setting. Although SFBT is being widely used in medi...
Spirituality and Culture: Implications for Mental Health Service Delivery to Diverse Populations

Spirituality and culture are both recognized as important elements for providing culturally competent mental health services to ethnically and religiously diverse populations. They rarely, however, are considered together within a common conceptual framework. In this chapter, relationships between religiousness, spirituality, acculturation, and theological understandings of inculturation (e.g., how religious/spiritual beliefs and practices cannot be understood apart from their cultural context) are explored. Empirical evidence regarding the influence of religion and spirituality on mental health, as well as the effectiveness of spiritually and culturally accommodative approaches to treatment is also examined. Finally, the impact of spirituality and culture on mental health interventions is considered within two different paradigms: (a) how psychotherapy may be adapted to be more culturally sensitive to diverse populations, and (b) how indigenous notions of well-being, illness, and healing may help mental health providers broaden their notions of interventions.
Effect of buspirone on prolactin and growth hormone secretion in laboratory rodents and man

Preclinical studies have shown buspirone to have some characteristics of both a dopamine (DA) agonist and antagonist. Neuroendocrine and neurochemical studies were conducted to determine which actions occur in rats and man. Buspirone produced a dose-dependent increase in rat plasma prolactin (PRL) levels and enhanced the increase in plasma PRL levels produced by alpha-methyl-p-tyrosine and gamma-butyrolactone. Buspirone also blocked the inhibitory effect of dopamine on PRL secretion in vitro, which is consistent with the action of a DA antagonist. In a double-blind placebo-controlled study using eight normal male volunteers, buspirone (30, 60, and 90 mg) produced a dose-related increase in PRL levels 60-180 minutes later, and a significant increase in growth hormone in six of the eight volunteers, which could be evidence for a DA agonist effect in the human hypothalamus. The anxiolytic effects of buspirone could be due to either DA agonist or antagonist effects.
Structural Geometry of the Superior Zone, Midcontinent Rift System

The 1.1 Ga Middle Proterozoic Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) is a major intracontinental, thermo-tectonic structure that is traced by gravity and magnetic data, subsurface drilling, and outcrop control over a length of 2,000 km within the central United States (Van Schmus and Hinze 1985; Cannon et al. 1989) (Fig. I). Outcrop, known only in the Lake Superior region, in conjunction with geopotential data, defines a polyphase tectonic basin filled principally by plateau lava and sedimentary rock comprising the Keweenawan Supergroup. Basalt, and associated plutonic rocks, underlain by thin quartz sandstone and interbedded with thin, clastic sedimentary units of local extent, was extruded during an early extension phase of rift development, occurring approximately 1108–1094 Ma (Paces and Davis 1988). As igneous activity waned, a suite of upward maturing clastic strata was deposited. Finally, the tectonic focus changed from extension to compression, and a final phase of clastic sedimentation occurred.
Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua L.)

Liquidambar styraciflua L. (sweetgum) belongs to the family Hamamelidaceae. There are three additional species of Liquidambar. L. Formosa Hance is native to Taiwan, L. monticola Rehd. and Mills, is native to China, and L. orientalis Mill, is from Turkey (McCarter and Hughes 1984).
Intravenous Thrombolysis for Stroke in Patients Receiving Oral Factor Xa Inhibitors

: We present 3 patients who were taking oral direct factor Xa inhibitors (ODFXIs) within 24 hours prior to receiving intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (IV rtPA) for acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Two patients were on Rivaroxaban (20 mg once daily) and one on Apixaban (2.5 mg twice daily). All 3 received IV rtPA within 3 hours of symptom onset. Their aPPT, PT and INR levels were within normal ranges. They all received the last dose of the ODFXI within the last 24 hours prior to IV rtPA administration. One patient underwent mechanical thrombectomy of a large vessel clot after IV rtPA. None had intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) on 24 hour head CT post IV rtPA. They all had acute infarcts on their brain MRI, diffusion weighted image. Although we had a very low number of patients in our case series, our findings suggest that neither IV rtPA nor the combination of IV rtPA and intra-arterial thrombolysis increases the risk of ICH in AIS patients who are taking ODFXIs and their coagulation parameters are within normal range.
Neural Named Entity Recognition from Subword Units

Named entity recognition (NER) is a vital task in spoken language understanding, which aims to identify mentions of named entities in text e.g., from transcribed speech. Existing neural models for NER rely mostly on dedicated word-level representations, which suffer from two main shortcomings. First, the vocabulary size is large, yielding large memory requirements and training time. Second, these models are not able to learn morphological or phonological representations. To remedy the above shortcomings, we adopt a neural solution based on bidirectional LSTMs and conditional random fields, where we rely on subword units, namely characters, phonemes, and bytes. For each word in an utterance, our model learns a representation from each of the subword units. We conducted experiments in a real-world large-scale setting for the use case of a voice-controlled device covering four languages with up to 5.5M utterances per language. Our experiments show that (1) with increasing training data, performance of models trained solely on subword units becomes closer to that of models with dedicated word-level embeddings (91.35 vs 93.92 F1 for English), while using a much smaller vocabulary size (332 vs 74K), (2) subword units enhance models with dedicated word-level embeddings, and (3) combining different subword units improves performance.
Abl signaling shapes the intrinsic fluctuations of actin to direct growth of a pioneer axon in Drosophila

Abstract The fundamental problem in axon growth and guidance is to understand how cytoplasmic signaling modulates the cytoskeleton to produce directed growth cone motility. We show here that the TSM1 pioneer axon of Drosophila extends by using Abl tyrosine kinase to shape the intrinsic fluctuations of a mass of accumulated actin in the distal axon. The actin mass fluctuates stochastically in length, but with a small, forward bias that drives the axon along its trajectory by promoting emergence of protrusions in leading intervals where actin accumulates, and collapse of protrusions in lagging intervals that actin has vacated. The actin mass is sculpted by Abl signaling, which probabilistically modulates its key parameters - its width and internal disorder - to drive its advance, while maintaining internal coherence. Comparison of TSM1 to other systems suggests that the mechanism we demonstrate here is apt to be common among pioneer axons in many organisms.
Renal response to volume expansion in atrial-appendectomized dogs

The purpose of this study was to determine whether chronic removal of the atrial appendages alters the renal response to volume expansion (VE) in anesthetized dogs. Chronic bilateral atrial appendectomy (ATX) was performed in 10 animals. Six animals served as sham-operated controls (S). The animals were studied 10-14 days after chronic surgery. The protocol consisted of a 20-min control period followed by isochemic VE (20%) and 120 min of post-VE measurements. The dogs were studied a second time, 2 wk later, after acute bilateral cervical vagotomy. Results from the vagi-intact study showed that VE caused a diuresis, natriuresis, and increase in fractional sodium excretion in ATX that did not differ from the response observed in S. VE also caused equivalent increases in central venous and mean arterial pressures in S and ATX. Atrial appendectomy, however, failed to significantly attenuate the increase in atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) after VE. Plasma ANF increased from 27.2 +/- 4.8 to 47.0 +/- 7.3 pg/ml in ATX and from 27.2 +/- 7.8 to 59.0 +/- 17.9 pg/ml in S. After vagotomy, VE caused transient increases in urine flow and sodium excretion. The changes in central venous and mean arterial pressures were not different from the vagi-intact study and vagotomy did not affect the increase in ANF after VE. Circulating ANF levels increased from 26.4 +/- 5.5 to 75.0 +/- 14.0 pg/ml in ATX and from 28.1 +/- 5.7 to 73.0 +/- 22.6 pg/ml in S. These results demonstrate that, in the dog, bilateral ATX does not alter the renal response to volume expansion or attenuate the increase in ANF. In addition, these results show that vagal pathways are not required for the release of ANF and that vagotomy fails to uncover any effect of atrial appendectomy on renal function.
Predicting Speech Recognition Using the Speech Intelligibility Index and Other Variables for Cochlear Implant Users.

Purpose Although the speech intelligibility index (SII) has been widely applied in the field of audiology and other related areas, application of this metric to cochlear implants (CIs) has yet to be investigated. In this study, SIIs for CI users were calculated to investigate whether the SII could be an effective tool for predicting speech perception performance in a population with CI. Method Fifteen pre- and postlingually deafened adults with CI participated. Speech recognition scores were measured using the AzBio sentence lists. CI users also completed questionnaires and performed psychoacoustic (spectral and temporal resolution) and cognitive function (digit span) tests. Obtained SIIs were compared with predicted SIIs using a transfer function curve. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted on perceptual and demographic predictor variables to investigate the association between these factors and speech perception performance. Result Because of the considerably poor hearing and large individu...
Weird Wonders of the Larynx

As with any profession or specialty, tedium and monotony can threaten as experience is gained and expertise achieved. Pediatric voice and swallow disorders are all too often cast as a set of problems that will resolve once puberty and maturation occur. I believe this is far from the truth, although I also believe we must first do no harm and therefore think before we incur risk by altering structures that may otherwise resolve without undue or prolonged sequelae. If every dysphonic child had the resources to receive an assessment and treatment, the world would be a better place with less discrimination and a higher quality of life. In this profession, however, not all children will present with vocal nodules that need some voice therapy to change their maladaptive behaviors and set them toward a path of euphonia. The following are a few case experiences of weird, wonderful, and unexpected things that stimulated, challenged, and required creative troubleshooting. They are presented here as a potpourri to energize the clinician and affirm the great variety of problems we may face in the field of pediatric voice and swallowing.
Atomic Layer Deposition of Al2O3 Using Trimethylaluminum and H2O: The Kinetics of the H2O Half-Cycle

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al2O3 using trimethylaluminum and H2O is known to proceed through sequential surface reactions that leave the surface alternately terminated with AlCH3 and OH groups. Using in situ reflection–absorption infrared spectroscopy in a flow reactor, we monitor the consumption of AlCH3 groups by brief pulses of H2O at temperatures between 105 and 300 °C. At low temperatures, the surface reactions occur by what appears to be two stages that can be fit to a biexponential decay. Rate laws based on species of AlCH3 groups that also predict a biexponential decay are found to depend on unrealistic activation energies for their constituent reactions when applied to the data. However, a model in which the effective activation energy changes linearly with AlCH3 coverage does adequately fit the data. This model produces the apparent biexponential decay at low temperatures, and it confirms prior suggestions of a coverage dependence in the rate constant. The decrease in the effective activat...
Carbon Emission Trading Systems (ETS), Industry Business Dynamics, and the Aviation System: a survey on economic modeling and ETS implementation impacts assessment techniques

In the 21st century reality, environmentally sustainable development is the unique choice able to ensure the continuing habitability of the planet, therefore environment protection initiatives shall be strongly supported. Emission Trading Systems (ETS) are amongst the available economic mechanisms targeting industry greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions reduction and its consequential sustainability. Considering such scenario, the present study analyzes the literature tackling ETS implementation economic modeling and the assessment of its impacts on some of the industry business dynamics, with considerations regarding the Aviation domain. A research gap was identified when referring to studies holistically assessing the ETS implementation impacts on multi-chained domains as aviation, where emissions abatement policies, procedures and technologies may be uncoordinated applied throughout different interdependent segments.
For want of a nail? Proxies for analysing POW and guard access to supplies at a Confederate prison camp

Camp Lawton is a Confederate camp for Union PoWs in Georgia, USA. Built in 1864, inhabited for six weeks, and abandoned in advance of Sherman’s march to the sea, it is the focus of an ongoing resea...
Mental Mathematics beyond the Middle School: Why? What? How?

How would your students handle these items? How would their strategies compare with yours? Would their facility with these items make other mathematics easier for them? How can we help students do these and similar items fluently? The first three items above are what might be called “number sense” in upper-elementary or middle school programs. (See Reys et al. [1991] for more activities at the middle school level.) Items 4–6 involve more advanced topics but, like the comparable arithmetic items, should be doable by students mentally, easily, and quickly. In my experience teaching middle school, high school, community college, and teacher-education courses, I have found that students’ facility with these items is not universal. Yet for students for whom such work is easy, other mathematics is more accessible. As a result, I have been trying to develop strategies for integrating brief, frequent mental-math instruction and assessment into all my courses. In this article, I share my reasons for thinking that mental math is important beyond the middle school, sample objectives for different courses or strands, and teaching ideas to make mental math an important, ongoing goal in secondary mathematics instruction and beyond.
Acute heart failure

Acute heart failure is always an indication for referral to an intensive care unit. In the widest sense, the term acute heart failure includes the manifestation forms of pulmonary edema, cardiogenic shock or rapid-onset decompensated cardiac insufficiency unaccompanied by shock or pulmonary edema (low-output syndrome). Acute heart failure may occur in the absence of previously known heart disease. Existing prior specific diseases that may end in acute cardiac insufficiency include acute myocardial infarction, decompensated cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, cardiac tamponade, endocarditis or arrhythmogenic heart failure.