cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Urbanization in Baden, Germany: Focus on the Jews, 1825-1925

During the last half of the nineteenth century major population shifts occurred throughout Western Europe reflecting heavy international migration as well as internal movement from rural to urban places. The latter process in particular has been an integral part of the modernization process and was a response both to rural population pressures and to expanding opportunities in the cities. Yet the pace of urbanization was by no means uniform for different countries in different regions of the same country or among various subgroups within a single region or province. As a result analyses using large geographic units or aggregated statistics may mask variations in the underlying dynamics of internal migration. A focus on a particular subgroup can therefore provide valuable insights into the factors involved. One such group which was in the forefront of movement toward the cities in many areas of Western Europe was the Jewish population. This article focuses on the distribution of Jews in the state of Baden in southwestern Germany over a period of 100 years using published census figures for 1825 1875 1900 and 1925. (excerpt)
A meta-analysis of experimental studies on the effects of disability on human resource judgments

Abstract More and more attention has been given to workplace discrimination against people with disabilities, and many researchers have conducted research on this topic. However, the existing results from these studies are ambiguous and mixed. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to examine and elucidate the pattern underlying this ambiguity. Twenty three published articles and eight unpublished theses and dissertations were included in this meta-analysis. We assessed the main effects of disability on human resource (HR) judgments (i.e., hiring decision, performance expectation, and performance evaluation). The moderating effects of types of disability, sex of the target, and study settings were also examined. Results demonstrated that these characteristics did produce moderating effects for HR judgments. Future research and implications are discussed.
Novel Roles of the Picornaviral 3D Polymerase in Viral Pathogenesis

The RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase, 3D(pol), is an essential component in the picornavirus genome for the replication of single stranded RNA. However, transgenic expression of 3D(pol) in mice has antiviral effects. Here we discuss the structure and function of 3D(pol) during picornavirus replication, we review the evidence and consequence of a host immune response to epitopes in 3D(pol) after picornavirus infection, highlight data showing the antiviral effects of transgenic 3D(pol) from Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV), and discuss potential mechanisms by which 3D(pol) is causing this antiviral effect in mice.
Substitution and expansion effects in production theory: The case of joint production

Abstract This paper is concerned with a systematic examination of what happens when a firm that has been in equilibrium at certain prices of inputs and prices of outputs experiences a change in these prices. The mutual effects between inputs and between outputs and the cross effects between inputs and outputs are explored by means of various kinds of decomposition equations in production theory. A definition of the “normal” technology is given to show that inputs are not gross substitutes, nor are outputs, and that the input-output relations are not regressive.
Knock-in Mutation Reveals an Essential Role for Focal Adhesion Kinase Activity in Blood Vessel Morphogenesis and Cell Motility-Polarity but Not Cell Proliferation *

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) associates with both integrins and growth factor receptors in the control of cell motility and survival. Loss of FAK during mouse development results in lethality at embryonic day 8.5 (E8.5) and a block in cell proliferation. Because FAK serves as both a scaffold and signaling protein, gene knock-outs do not provide mechanistic insights in distinguishing between these modes of FAK function. To determine the role of FAK activity during development, a knock-in point mutation (lysine 454 to arginine (R454)) within the catalytic domain was introduced by homologous recombination. Homozygous FAK(R454/R454) mutation was lethal at E9.5 with defects in blood vessel formation as determined by lack of yolk sac primary capillary plexus formation and disorganized endothelial cell patterning in FAK(R454/R454) embryos. In contrast to the inability of embryonic FAK(-/-) cells to proliferate ex vivo, primary FAK(R454/R454) mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) were established from E8.5 embryos. R454 MEFs exhibited no difference in cell growth compared with normal MEFs, and R454 FAK localized to focal adhesions but was not phosphorylated at Tyr-397. In E8.5 embryos and primary MEFs, FAK R454 mutation resulted in decreased c-Src Tyr-416 phosphorylation. R454 MEFs exhibited enhanced focal adhesion formation, decreased migration, and defects in cell polarity. Within immortalized MEFs, FAK activity was required for fibronectin-stimulated FAK-p190RhoGAP association and p190RhoGAP tyrosine phosphorylation linked to decreased RhoA GTPase activity, focal adhesion turnover, and directional motility. Our results establish that intrinsic FAK activity is essential for developmental processes controlling blood vessel formation and cell motility-polarity but not cell proliferation. This work supports the use of FAK inhibitors to disrupt neovascularization.
Large-Format HgCdTe Dual-Band Long-Wavelength Infrared Focal-Plane Arrays

Raytheon Vision Systems (RVS) continues to further its capability to deliver state-of-the-art high-performance, large-format, HgCdTe focal-plane arrays (FPAs) for dual-band long-wavelength infrared (L/LWIR) detection. Specific improvements have recently been implemented at RVS in molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) growth and wafer fabrication and are reported in this paper. The aim of the improvements is to establish producible processes for 512 × 512 30-μm-unit-cell L/LWIR FPAs, which has resulted in: the growth of triple-layer heterojunction (TLHJ) HgCdTe back-to-back photodiode detector designs on 6 cm × 6 cm CdZnTe substrates with 300-K Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) cutoff wavelength uniformity of ±0.1 μm across the entire wafer; demonstration of detector dark-current performance for the longer-wavelength detector band approaching that of single-color liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE) LWIR detectors; and uniform, high-operability, 512 × 512 30-μm-unit-cell FPA performance in both LWIR bands.
The dose response effect of long-acting nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents in children

Cumulative dose-response curves were constructed for pancuronium, metocurine, d-tubocurarine and gallamine in 56 children anaesthetized with thiopentone, N2O/O2 and narcotic. The dose response curves of the four relaxants did not deviate significantly from parallelism. The effective dose causing 95 per cent depression of the twitch at 0.1 Hz was: pancuronium 0.08 mg·-kg!, metocurine 0.34 mg·kg-1, d-tubocurarine 0.6 mg·kg-1, and gallamine 3.4 mg·kg-1. Thus, pancuronium is 40 times more potent than gallamine, while metocurine and d-tubocurarine are seven and four times more potent than gallamine. The recovery of twitch height from 5-25 per cent of control for pancuronium (15.6 ± 1.7 min) was significantly faster (p < 0.01) than metocurine (27.3 ± 1.9 min), d-tubocurarine (32.2 ± 4.8 min), or gallamine (30 ± 3.3 min). Compared to studies in adults, the present data indicate that children have a tendency (statistically not significant) to require more relaxant and recover more quickly than adults.
Simulation of groundwater flow and mass transport under uncertainty

Abstract An analytical tool which facilitates the analysis of stochastic groundwater problems without resorting to Monte Carlo analysis can be developed using an approach analogous to that used in the field of applied mathematics to investigate the propagation of waves in random media. The fundamental assumption of this approach is that the random part of the porous medium property is small compared to the non-random part. This assumption allows us to treat the problem of solving a partial differential equation with stochastic coefficients using perturbation theory.
Separation and concentration of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) antigens.

Abstract Respiratory syncytial virus has been concentrated by precipitation with polyethlene glycol-6000 and partially separated from cellular debris by sucrose-gradient centrifugation. Treatment of the concentrated virus with 0.5% sodium deoxycholate results in a resolution of this material into two fractions with different (1.27 and 1.19 g/cm 3 ) densities and distinct antigenic properties. The materials separated are of sufficient antigenic purity for use as reagents in radioimmunoassay procedures.
The accessory middle cerebral artery: anatomic report.

Objective An accessory middle cerebral artery (MCA) usually originates between the A1 and proximal A2 segment of the anterior cerebral artery, reaches the sylvian fissure, and supplies the territory of the MCA. This anomaly has been associated with cerebral aneurysms and Moyamoya disease. We report an accessory MCA arising from the A2 segment. Methods A cadaveric head, fixed in formalin solution and injected with red and blue silicone on its vascular tree to trace intracranial and extracranial vessels, was dissected. Results An accessory MCA was found arising from the A2 segment of the anterior cerebral artery and feeding the basal and inferior surface of the inferior frontal gyrus. In our specimen, the vessel was associated with intracranial aneurysms at other locations. Conclusion Although anomalies of the MCA are rare, neurosurgeons must be familiar with such anatomic variations. An accessory MCA can be associated with Moyamoya disease and aneurysms at its junction with the anterior cerebral artery. Patients with this anomaly may, therefore, have an increased risk for developing aneurysms and other neurovascular complications. By obstructing the surgical view, an accessory MCA may increase the difficulty of exposing lesions in the vicinity of the optic chiasm.
Quality Improvement in Hospitals: Identifying and Understanding Behaviors

Improving operational performance in hospitals is complicated, particularly if process improvement requires complex behavioral changes. Using single-loop and double-loop learning theory as a foundation, the purpose of this research is to empirically uncover key improvement behaviors and the factors that may be associated with such behaviors in hospitals. A two-phased approach was taken to collect data regarding improvement behaviors and associated factors, and data analysis was conducted using methods proposed by grounded theorists. The contributions of this research are twofold. First, five key behaviors related to process improvement are identified, namely Quick Fixing, Initiating, Conforming, Expediting, and Enhancing. Second, based on these observed behaviors, a set of force field diagrams is developed to structure and organize possible factors that are important to consider when attempting to change improvement behaviors. This begins to fill the gap in the knowledge about what factors drive effective improvement efforts in hospital settings.
Temperature Dependence of the Excited-State Intramolecular Proton Transfer Reaction in Hypericin and Hypocrellin A

The excited-state intramolecular proton-transfer reactions of hypericin and hypocrellin A are measured as a function of temperature in an ethanol/methanol mixture. The data yield activation energie...
Preparation and Characterization of Cd.95Mn.05Se Single Crystals.

Abstract Homogeneous crystals of Cd.95Mn.05Se of high optical quality have been grown by a modified Bridgman method. Magnetic susceptibility measurements verify the uniform distribution of Mn(II) obtained after annealing at 600°C. Crystals grown in the presence of 5 atomic percent excess selenium showed high resistivity; the addition of 1 mg iodine to a 10 g charge resulted in n-type conductivity and a room-temperature carrier concentration of 2.9 × 1016 cm−3. The Hall mobility of these crystals was approximately 290 cm2 V−1 sec−1.
Transposing F to C♯: expressivity of parametric polymorphism in an object‐oriented language

SUMMARY We present a type-preserving translation of System F (the polymorphic lambda calculus) into a forthcoming revision of the C ] programming language supporting parameterized classes and polymorphic methods. The forthcoming revision of Java in JDK 1.5 also makes a suitable target. We formalize the translation using a subset of C ] similar to Featherweight Java. We prove that the translation is fully type-preserving and that it preserves behaviour via the novel use of an environment-style semantics for System F. We observe that whilst parameterized classes alone are sucient to encode the parameterized datatypes and let-polymorphism of languages such as ML and Haskell, it is the presence of dynamic dispatch for polymorphic methods that supports the encoding of the “first-class polymorphism” found in System F and recent extensions to ML and Haskell.
Geochemical Evidence for an Eolian Sand Dam across the North and South Platte Rivers in Nebraska

Geochemical and geomorphic data from dune fields in southwestern Nebraska provide new evidence that the Nebraska Sand Hills once migrated across the North and South Platte rivers and dammed the largest tributary system to the Missouri River. The Lincoln County and Imperial dune fields, which lie downwind of the South Platte River, have compositions intermediate between the Nebraska Sand Hills (quartz-rich) and northeastern Colorado dunes (K-feldspar-rich). The most likely explanation for the intermediate composition is that the Lincoln County and Imperial dunes are derived in part from the Nebraska Sand Hills and in part from the South Platte River. The only mechanism by which the Nebraska Sand Hills could have migrated this far south is by complete infilling of what were probably perennially dry North Platte and South Platte river valleys. Such a series of events would have required an extended drought, both for activation of eolian sand and decreased discharges in the Platte River system. A nearby major tributary of the North Platte River is postulated to have been blocked by eolian sand about 12,000 14C yr B.P. We propose that an eolian sand dam across the Plattes was constructed at about this same time.
Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein-1 (LMP-1) and lytic LMP-1 localization in plasma membrane-derived extracellular vesicles and intracellular virions.

Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a human herpesvirus associated with a number of malignancies. EBV establishes a latent infection in human B cells in vitro, and infected lymphoblastoid cells proliferate indefinitely as a result of virus activation of cellular signalling pathways. Latently infected cells express a viral oncoprotein called the latent membrane protein-1 (LMP-1). LMP-1 signals both proliferative and survival signals to the infected B cell. The switch from latency to lytic replication is associated with upregulation of an N-terminally truncated LMP-1, called lytic LMP-1 (lyLMP-1). To understand better the relationship between LMP-1 protein function and the virus life cycle, LMP-1 and lyLMP-1 were precisely localized in infected B cells. Immunoelectron microscopy of latently infected cells revealed LMP-1 localized in discrete patches in the plasma membrane. Unexpectedly, immunogold-labelled LMP-1 was found in vesicles budding from the plasma membrane into the extracellular space and in small membrane vesicles accumulating in conditioned medium from infected cells. LyLMP-1 immunolabelling was observed only in B95-8 cells harbouring detectable intracellular virus particles and was abundant in the nuclear membrane early, and in the plasma membrane late, following lytic cycle induction. LyLMP-1 immunoreactivity was also observed at sites of virus budding and associated with intracellular virions, suggesting that lyLMP-1 might be incorporated into cytoplasmic virions when budding through the nuclear membrane.
Lentiviral vectors encoding human MUC1-specific, MHC-unrestricted single-chain TCR and a fusion suicide gene: potential for universal and safe cancer immunotherapy.

MUC1 tumor antigen is a target for immunotherapy of most human adenocarcinomas and some hematological malignancies. Expression of a MUC1-specific, MHC-unrestricted single-chain T cell receptor (scTCR) on cells of both innate and adaptive immune system through reconstitution of lethally irradiated mice by retroviral vector-transduced bone marrow cells, had been shown to effectively control the growth of MUC1+ tumors independent of their MHC type, suggesting that this receptor is a good candidate for broadly applicable gene therapy/immunotherapy. However, the translational application of this immuno-gene therapy modality was discouraged by the progressive transgene silencing in reconstituted T and B cells, as well as the potential of tumorogenesis intrinsic to oncoretroviral vectors. To overcome these problems and facilitate the future clinical use of this receptor, we have constructed a panel of novel self-inactivating lentiviral vectors (LVs) which harbor two independent internal promoters, one driving expression of the scTCR gene and the other of a fusion suicide gene, the HSV-TK–EGFP fusion gene, allowing the transduced cells to be destroyable by the pro-drug ganciclovir. Despite the large size of insert, these vectors were efficiently packaged into high titer virus that transferred the expression of transgene in both T cell lines and primary T cells. Sustained expression was maintained in a T cell line for over 4 months in vitro, suggesting its efficient resistance to transgene silencing. Both scTCR and HSV-TK–EGFP genes were functional in the transduced cells, as evidenced by their specific recognition of MUC1+ tumors and efficient eradication by ganciclovir.
Transparent, lightweight application execution replay on commodity multiprocessor operating systems

We present Scribe, the first system to provide transparent, low-overhead application record-replay and the ability to go live from replayed execution. Scribe introduces new lightweight operating system mechanisms, rendezvous and sync points, to efficiently record nondeterministic interactions such as related system calls, signals, and shared memory accesses. Rendezvous points make a partial ordering of execution based on system call dependencies sufficient for replay, avoiding the recording overhead of maintaining an exact execution ordering. Sync points convert asynchronous interactions that can occur at arbitrary times into synchronous events that are much easier to record and replay.We have implemented Scribe without changing, relinking, or recompiling applications, libraries, or operating system kernels, and without any specialized hardware support such as hardware performance counters. It works on commodity Linux operating systems, and commodity multi-core and multiprocessor hardware. Our results show for the first time that an operating system mechanism can correctly and transparently record and replay multi-process and multi-threaded applications on commodity multiprocessors. Scribe recording overhead is less than 2.5% for server applications including Apache and MySQL, and less than 15% for desktop applications including Firefox, Acrobat, OpenOffice, parallel kernel compilation, and movie playback.
Development and Application of a Novel Microfabricated Device for the In Situ Tensile Testing of 1-D Nanomaterials

We report on the development and application of a silicon microdevice for the in situ quantitative mechanical characterization of single 1-D nanomaterials within a scanning electron microscope equipped with a quantitative nanoindenter. The design makes it possible to convert a compressive nanoindentation force applied to a shuttle to uniaxial tension on a specimen attached to a sample stage. Finite-element analysis and experimental calibration have been employed to extract the specimen stress versus strain curve from the indentation load versus displacement curve. The stress versus strain curves for three 200-300-nm-diameter Ni nanowire specimens are presented and analyzed.
Dynamical states of low temperature cirrus

Low ice crystal concentration and sustained in- cloud supersaturation, commonly found in cloud observa- tions at low temperature, challenge our understanding of cir- rus formation. Heterogeneous freezing from effloresced am- monium sulfate, glassy aerosol, dust and black carbon are proposed to cause these phenomena; this requires low up- drafts for cirrus characteristics to agree with observations and is at odds with the gravity wave spectrum in the upper troposphere. Background temperature fluctuations however can establish a "dynamical equilibrium" between ice produc- tion and sedimentation loss (as opposed to ice crystal forma- tion during the first stages of cloud evolution and subsequent slow cloud decay) that explains low temperature cirrus prop- erties. This newly-discovered state is favored at low tempera- tures and does not require heterogeneous nucleation to occur (the presence of ice nuclei can however facilitate its onset). Our understanding of cirrus clouds and their role in anthro- pogenic climate change is reshaped, as the type of dynamical forcing will set these clouds in one of two "preferred" micro- physical regimes with very different susceptibility to aerosol.
Innovative introduction to surgery in the preclinical years.

Abstract Background Lack of exposure to surgery in the preclinical years of medical school contributes to students’ negative opinions of the field and to low application rates to categorical surgical programs. Methods Forty preclinical medical students attended a series of 16 seminars and practice sessions covering the gamut of surgical specialties and basic technical skills. Students were given a Likert format survey before and after taking the course. Results Students gave high ratings to course content (4.26/5) and lecturers (4.54/5). Students’ confidence in their surgical skills doubled (1.45/5 to 3/5, P P = .007). Conclusions The preclinical years offer a promising venue for improving medical student interest and performance in surgery.
Comparison of Pilot and Automation Generated Conflict Resolutions

This study compares and contrasts conflict resolutions as performed by pilots with and without a resolution decision support tool, and a fully automated conflict resolution tool that generates optimal (smallest path deviation) resolutions. The conflict geometries investigated were all factorial combinations of three levels of intruder aircraft speed, three levels of initial Ownship distance to minimum separation, and nine conflict angles. The resolution decision support tools included dynamic conflict alerting, which indicated whether a proposed path was conflict free, and a dynamic predictor system that showed a fast time depiction of the proposed resolution trajectories. The automation-generated resolutions, computed using a geometric optimization algorithm, served as a benchmark against which the pilot-generated resolutions were compared. Without decision support tools the pilot-generated resolutions were often ineffective, particularly at lower conflict angles. The resolutions tended to be effective when the decision support tools were used. Resolution cost, as measured by added path length, was greater for pilot-generated resolutions (averaging 2.7 nm) compared to the automation-generated resolutions (averaging 1.2 nm). When pilots had the decision support tools, their strategies, as indexed by whether they turned toward or away from the Intruder, tended to be the same as that of the automated system.
A Comparison of On-Campus and Distance Teacher Education Programs in Severe Disabilities

Distance teacher education programs employing videoconferencing technology and other online teaching tools are increasingly being used to prepare teachers of students with disabilities in rural and remote communities. This evaluation study compared the effectiveness of a distance and an on-campus teacher education program for teachers of students with severe disabilities. Teacher candidates in the distance cohort received the same program of study as candidates in the on-campus program except that the coursework was delivered through videoconferencing technology instead of traditional, face-to-face instruction. Instructional activities for candidates in both cohorts were supported through online instructional tools (i.e., Web CT) and on-site field supervision from university clinical faculty members and cooperating professionals from the local school districts. A variety of measures were used to assess candidates’ acquisition of content and their ability to apply the knowledge and skills acquired through ...
Patient Safety and Clinical Effectiveness as Imperatives for Achieving Harmonization inside and outside the Clinical Laboratory

For clinical laboratorians, the case for standardization and harmonization has been evident for more than 4 decades, since Radin first proposed using traceable reference standards for calibration as a means to harmonize laboratory results produced with different in vitro diagnostic methods (1). Over the intervening period, the subject has been reviewed (2) and debated extensively—both inside and outside the laboratory community—yet a striking majority of our physician and surgeon colleagues still fail to grasp or understand the limitations of current laboratory measurements, the lack of interchangeability of results obtained by different analytical methods, and the resulting effects on interpretation, clinical decision-making, and patient management. Some incremental progress has been made in addressing these issues through professional organizations, multidisciplinary practice guidelines developed by national and international committees, peer-review publications, and the global in vitro diagnostic manufacturing industry. Notable successes include the National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program (including the recommendations of the Diabetes Control and Complications Trial), the National Cholesterol Education Program, and the National Kidney Disease Education Program, which have helped drive improvements in laboratory methods for hemoglobin A1c, total cholesterol, and creatinine, respectively, and helped establish clinical practice guidelines based on laboratory measurements that meet defined performance criteria. As recently as October 2010, the AACC hosted an international conference for a diverse group of stakeholders to improve harmonization of laboratory results and to make recommendations for the future. Regrettably, personnel in the clinical laboratory must continue to cope on a day-to-day basis with the blissful ignorance or blatant denial of these multifactorial methodologic differences by many practicing clinicians and, sadly, a few fellow laboratory colleagues. Harmonization of results remains the “holy grail.” How often have we been asked, “Isn't one test result the same as another from a different laboratory?” Even after careful explanation and intensive efforts to educate, …
Methotrexate Transport and Resistance

Methotrexate (MTX), the antifolate drug widely used as both an anticancer chemotherapeutic drug and as an immunosuppressive agent, mimics natural folates to inhibit critical cellular biosynthetic pathways. One of the most important determinants of cellular sensitivity to MTX is the degree to which this drug is internalized by cancer cells, and one of the major pathways of folate uptake results from the activity of the reduced folate carrier (RFC). Decreased RFC activity has been associated with several models of transport-mediated MTX resistance. Recently, the rodent and human genes which encode this protein have been isolated (RFC1), and defects in the expression of RFC1 genes have been identified in transport-deficient, MTX-resistant cell lines. Therefore, these studies have demonstrated the importance of RFC1 expression in transport-mediated antifolate drug resistance. In addition, however, studies of both MTX uptake in cancer cells and of folate transport in physiologic systems indicate that there are other proteins with uptake characteristics similar to RFC, and which maybe encoded by genes other than RFC1.
A RecB-Like Helicase in Helicobacter pylori Is Important for DNA Repair and Host Colonization

The human gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori encounters frequent oxidative and acid stress in its specific niche, and this causes bacterial DNA damage. H. pylori exhibits a very high degree of DNA recombination, which is required for repairing both DNA double-stranded (ds) breaks and blocked replication forks. Nevertheless, few genes encoding components of DNA recombinational repair processes have been identified in H. pylori. An H. pylori mutant defective in a putative helicase gene (HP1553) was constructed and characterized herein. The HP1553 mutant strain was much more sensitive to mitomycin C than the WT strain, indicating that HP1553 is required for repair of DNA ds breaks. Disruption of HP1553 resulted in a significant decrease in the DNA recombination frequency, suggesting that HP1553 is involved in DNA recombination processes, probably functioning as a RecB-like helicase. HP1553 was shown to be important for H. pylori protection against oxidative stress-induced DNA damage, as the exposure of the HP1553 mutant cells to air for 6 h caused significant fragmentation of genomic DNA and led to cell death. In a mouse infection model, the HP1553 mutant strain displayed a greatly reduced ability to colonize the host stomachs, indicating that HP1553 plays a significant role in H. pylori survival/colonization in the host.
Analysis of studies of the effects of computer-assisted instruction on the mathematics performance of students with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to conduct a meta-study of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) studies in mathematics for students with learning disabilities (LD) focusing on examining the effects of CAI on the mathematics performance of students with LD. This study examined a total of 11 mathematics CAI studies, which met the study selection criterion, for students with LD at the elementary and secondary levels and analyzed them in terms of their comparability and effect sizes. Overall, this study found that those CAI studies did not show conclusive effectiveness with relatively large effect sizes. The methodological problems in the CAI studies limit an accurate validation of the CAI's effectiveness. Implications for future mathematics CAI studies were discussed.
FPGA power reduction using configurable dual-Vdd

Power optimization is of growing importance for FPGAs in nanometer technologies. Considering dual-Vdd technique, we show that configurable power supply is required to obtain a satisfactory performance and power tradeoff. We design FPGA circuits and logic fabrics using configurable dual-Vdd and develop the corresponding CAD flow to leverage such circuits and logic fabrics. We then carry out a highly quantitative study using area, delay and power models obtained from detailed circuit design and SPICE simulation in 100nm technology. Compared to single-Vdd FPGAs with optimized Vdd level for the same target clock frequency, configurable dual-Vdd FPGAs with full and partial supply programmability for logic blocks reduce logic power by 35.46% and 28.62% respectively and reduce total FPGA power by 14.29% and 9.04% respectively. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first in-depth study on FPGAs with configurable dual-Vdd for power reduction.
Gene Transfer to Carotid Sinus In Vivo: A Novel Approach to Investigation of Baroreceptors

Baroreceptor nerve endings are located in the adventitia of the carotid sinuses and aortic arch. The goal of the present study was to develop a method for gene transfer to the carotid sinus adventitia. Replication-deficient adenovirus containing the gene for Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal) was applied topically to the carotid sinuses of anesthetized rabbits. Transgene expression was localized by histochemical staining and quantified by chemiluminescence assay (Galacto-Light). Possible effects of adenovirus on baroreceptor sensitivity were investigated by recording baroreceptor activity from the vascularly isolated carotid sinus over a pressure range of 0 to 160 mm Hg. Beta-Gal expression in carotid sinus was evident 1 day after virus application, was dose dependent, and was markedly enhanced after 4 days. Expression was restricted to the adventitia of the vessel wall and was not present in vehicle-treated carotid sinuses. Baroreceptor sensitivity measured from carotid sinuses exposed to adenovirus 4 to 5 days beforehand was not altered compared with that measured from control carotid sinuses. In summary, topical application of adenoviral vectors to the carotid sinus provides transgene expression restricted to the region of baroreceptor innervation. The technique provides a novel approach to delineate mechanisms involved in baroreceptor activation and to deliver neuroactive gene products to the baroreceptors.
Insecticidal Activity of Photoactive Dyes to American and Migratory Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Many photoactive dyes are relatively nontoxic to vertebrates despite their insecticidal properties. Several photoactive dyes known to be toxic to some groups of insects were evaluated at various concentrations for toxicity to American and migratory grasshoppers in laboratory and field studies. Rose bengal and phloxine B were effective at inducing mortality of grasshoppers when applied at 2 and 5% to bran bait, though erythrosin B and uranine were ineffective. Partial replacement of phloxine with uranine in dye mixtures resulted in no significant loss of efficacy. Some indication of feeding inhibition was observed at high dye concentrations, so minimum effective dosages, probably 2%, are optimal. Phloxine B and rose bengal appeared to be stable upon exposure to sunlight, and able to withstand at least 24 h of sunlight without significant degradation. Dyes such as phloxine B could be a viable grasshopper control agent for small or medium-sized grasshopper species because mortality can be induced by consumption of a single flake dusted with 5% dye, and yet pose little hazard to vertebrates. Large species such as American grasshopper must consume several flakes before mortality is induced.
The Prospects for Electric and Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Second-Stage Results of a Two-Stage Delphi Study

This study was conducted to collect information for a technical and economic assessment of electric (EV) and hybrid (HEV) vehicles. The first-stage worldwide survey was completed in fall 1994, while the second-stage was completed by summer 1995. The paper reports results from the second round of the survey and major differences between the two rounds. This second-stage international survey obtained information from 93 expert respondents from the automotive technology field. Key results: EVs will penetrate the market first, followed by internal combustion engine HEVs, while gas turbine and fuel cell HEVs will come after 2020. By 2020, EVs and internal combustion engine HEVs will have a 15% share of the new vehicle market; they will also cost 18-50% more and will be slightly inferior to 1993 gasoline cars. AC induction motor is projected to be superior to DC and DC brushless motors by 2020, although the DC motor will be less expensive in 2000. DC brushless motors are projected to be the most expensive. Though generally declining, battery costs will remain high. EVs are believed to be effective in reducing urban emissions; however, their costs must be reduced drastically. Petroleum is expected to be the predominant fuel for hybrid vehicles through 2020. Mean energy equivalent fuel economy of electric drivetrain vehicles is projected to be 20-40% greater than for conventional vehicles in 2000, and to rise a few percents during the projection period. Respondents anticipate only a 16% increase in conventional vehicle fuel economy from 2000 to 2020.
Copeland Corporation: Manufacturing in China

Describes the start-up of a new manufacturing facility in China, to serve the China market, previously served by a field sales-force and imported products. Plant, which incorporates state-of-art manufacturing technology, attains world-class status in manufacturing shortly after start up, but increased competition and sales stagnation in China market offer new challenges. The vice president of Asian Operations desires to use the new manufacturing facility as a competitive weapon and must integrate more closely with Sales and Marketing. The case is designed for a course in Operations Stategy or International Business; can be used to illustrate issues associated with plant startups in China, and issues related to Marketing and Manufacturing interaction.
Development of CNS-type Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor in Metastatic Testicular Mixed Germ Cell Tumor

A 29-year-old man presenting with a retroperitoneal mass was found to have a testis lesion consistent with mixed germ cell tumor and the RPLND specimen showed teratoma with an area of central nervous system-type primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) not present in the testis. Whether such primitive tumor components represent a de novo tumor component or represent progression from existing neuroepithelial teratomatous elements is unclear. Given the high likelihood of residual tumor and possibility of malignant transformation, post-chemotherapy RPLND remains vital in treating patients with testis cancer. PNET is chemo-resistant and lesions should be resected, without clear evidence for adjuvant chemotherapy.
Use of feed technology to improve the nutritional value of feed ingredients

Two experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that reduced particle size of corn will improve the caloric utilisation of corn fed to weanling pigs and to determine effects of pelleting, extrusion and extrusion and pelleting on energy and nutrient digestibility in diets containing low, medium or high levels of fibre. In Experiment 1, 128 pigs were used (initial bodyweight (BW) of 9.41 ± 1.54 kg). Pigs were randomly allotted to four diets in a randomised complete block design. There were four pigs per pen and eight replicate pens per treatment. The corn used was ground to different particle sizes (i.e. 865, 677, 485 or 339 µm). In Experiment 2, three diets were formulated, including a low-fibre diet, a medium-fibre diet-, and a high-fibre diet. Each diet was divided into four batches after mixing and either fed in a meal form without further processing or pelleted, extruded, or extruded and pelleted. In total, 24 growing pigs (initial BW: 26.5 ± 1.5 kg) with a T-cannula installed in the distal ileum were allotted to the diets in a split-plot design, with eight pigs allotted to each level of fibre. Ileal digesta and faecal samples were collected and the apparent ileal digestibility of energy, crude protein and dry matter were calculated as was the metabolisable energy in each diet. Results of Experiment 1 indicated that final BW and average daily gain were not affected by corn particle size. However, average daily feed intake decreased (linear, P < 0.05) as mean particle size decreased from 865 to 677, 485 and 339 µm. Likewise, gain to feed ratio increased (linear, P < 0.05) from 0.65 to 0.66, 0.70 and 0.69 for pigs fed diets containing corn ground to a mean particle size of 865, 677, 485 and 339 µm, respectively. In Experiment 2, results indicated that pelleting, extrusion, or pelleting and extrusion improved (P < 0.05) the apparent ileal digestibility of energy and dry matter, but in most cases, there were no differences among the pelleted, the extruded, and the extruded and pelleted diets. Medium- and high-fibre diets that were extruded had greater metabolisable energy (P < 0.05) than the meal diets. In conclusion, results indicated that gain to feed of pigs fed diets containing corn with the smaller particle size was increased compared with diets containing corn with a greater particle size. In addition, energy utilisation may be improved by pelleting or extrusion or by a combination of the two technologies, but the response seems to be greater for extrusion in diets that are relatively high in fibre.
E-Cigarette Design Preference and Smoking Cessation: A U.S. Population Study.

Introduction Electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) designs may be described as "closed" or "open." Closed systems are disposable or reloadable with prefilled cartridges (cigalikes). Open systems feature a prominent chamber (tank), refillable with e-liquid. This study examined user design preference and its association with smoking cessation. Methods A probability sample of current e-cigarette users ( n =923) among adult ever smokers ( n =6,560) in the U.S. was surveyed online between February 28 and March 31, 2014, and analyzed in September 2014. Photos of e-cigarette devices were presented alongside survey questions to facilitate respondents' understanding of the questions. Results Most e-cigarette users were exclusive users of one design: 51.4% used only closed systems and 41.1% used only open systems, with 7.4% using both. Former smokers were more likely to use open systems than current smokers (53.8% vs 35.2%, p =0.002). Current smokers who attempted to quit in the last 12 months were more likely to use open systems than those who did not (41.4% vs 27.7%, p =0.029). Open system users were more likely than closed system users to use e-cigarettes daily (50.2% vs 22.9%, p p p p =0.001). Conclusions Preference of e-cigarette design is associated with smoking cessation. A device's ability to deliver more nicotine and its flexibility in use might contribute to users' success in quitting smoking.
A laser extensometer for measuring strain at incandescent temperatures

A laser-extensometer system has been developed and installed in an electron-beam tensile vacuum furnace to measure the strain of tensile-test specimens at incandescent temperatures.
Elements of Analytical Measurement in Brewing

A successful analytical method must measure an analyte of interest in a suitable matrix with adequate sensitivity, accuracy, and precision. This requires an appropriate combination of detector specificity and component resolution. Highly specific detectors require little or no separation of the analyte from other constituents. Specificity can often be achieved using a chemical reaction. Detectors with low specificity need a high degree of separation of components before they can be applied. Minimal separation into two fractions can be achieved with distillation, filtration, sedimentation, or extraction. Multivariate analysis applied to multiple measurements (e.g., NIR spectra) can achieve mathematical rather than physical separation. The degrees of specificity and separation in brewing analytical methods are discussed.
3D Seismic Attributes Analysis to Outline Channel Facies And Reveal Heterogeneous Reservoir Stratigraphy: Weirman Field, Ness County, Kansas, USA

In this paper, we present a workflow integrating several post-stack seismic attributes to assist in understanding development history of our study area. We also aim to shape future drilling plans by outlining a channel fill zone of better reservoir quality, and to highlight reservoir boundaries of compartmentalization. Extracting and analyzing acoustic impedance and amplitude attenuation, guided by a time window focused on the bottom of the Mississippian formation, resulted in an understanding of the key seismic channel-facies framework and helped to explain some of the disappointing drilling results at Weirman Field. This study recommends integrating the revealed compartmentalization boundary and the seismic channel-facies framework in future drilling plans of Weirman Field.
Active learning enabled activity recognition

Activity recognition in smart environment has been investigated rigorously in recent years. Researchers are enhancing the underlying activity discovery and recognition process by adding various dimensions and functionalities. But one significant barrier still persists which is collecting the ground truth information. Ground truth is very important to initialize a supervised learning of activities. Due to a large variety in number of Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), acknowledging them in a supervised way is a non-trivial research problem. Most of the previous researches have referenced a subset of ADLs and to initialize their model, they acquire a vast amount of informative labeled training data. On the other hand to collect ground truth and differentiate ADLs, human intervention is indispensable. As a result it takes an immense effort and raises privacy concerns to collect a reasonable amount of labeled data. In this paper, we propose to use active learning to alleviate the labeling effort and ground truth data collection in activity recognition pipeline. We investigate and analyze different active learning strategies to scale activity recognition and propose a dynamic k-means clustering based active learning approach. Experimental results on real data traces from a retirement community-(IRB #HP-00064387) help validate the early promise of our approach.
Surveillance and epidemic pattern analysis of Influenza in ShiJiaZhuang during 2009 to 2010

Objective:To understand the regular epidemic pattern of influenza in Shijiazhuang from 2009 to 2010,so as to provide Scientific basis for preventing influenza.Methods:The throat swab of outpatient visits for influenza-like illness(ILI) in the surveillance hospital were collected and detected By real-time quantitative RT-PCR.Simultaneously the epidemiology of influenza were analyzed.Results:In 2009 to 2010,1490 throat swab were detected during the epidemic season.313(21.0%) were influenza A(H1N1)2009,72(4.83%) were influenza A(H3N2),28(1.88%) were influenza B virus.The proportion of visiting for ILI was in line with the viral detection rate and the peak in November. Conclusion:The peak of epidemic of influenza virus in Shijiazhuang was in November.Influenza A(H1N1) 2009 virus was the predominant strain.
Spatial Autocorrelation of Epidemic Cerebrospinal Meningitis in Anhui Province

Objective To explore the spatial distribution of epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis( ECM) in Anhui province using geographic information systems( GIS). Methods Epidemiological data of ECM were collected from 2004 to 2013,and relevant GIS databases were established. Geo Da software was used to describe the spatial autocorrelation. Results Global spatial autocorrelation analysis showed that ECM cases were aggregated in Anhui province from 2005 to 2010. A total of 54 regions of high-high aggregation by local spatial association analysis were explored in Anhui province from 2004 to 2010; most cases occurred in Hefei city. No high-high aggregation regions existed during 2011-2013. Conclusions We used spatial autocorrelation to explore spatial distribution of ECM and develop a theoretical basis for identifying additional prevention and control strategies.
The Design of Super Large-scale Smart Meter Automatic Verification

According to the requirement of constructing super large-scale smart meter automatic verification system by which 8,000,000 smart meters will be verified yearly in Jiangsu province,the construction,software and key design of a smart meter automatic verification system is introduced in this paper.This system is mainly composed of automatic warehouse,AGV,robot,verifying attachment,suitable for constructing super large-scale system.The design of verification task scheduler process is discussed in this paper,including the requirement of the design,two verification task scheduler methods meeting the requirement and a simple scene comparison suitable for the two methods.This paper tries to find a new way of smart meter automatic verification.