cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Visual Venture: investigations with images and videos for middle school education

A software tool, which allows a middle school student to take measurements on images and videos, is presented. Using this software, students became scientists as they measure, collect and analyze data from a wide range of imagery. We demonstrate several novel techniques in image/video processing which enable students to take sophisticated measurements on a wide range of imagery. Routines which perform intelligent color segmentation and create visualizations of motion information are integrated into the software.
Effect of Glucagon on Cyclic 3',5'-AMP, Phosphorylase Activity and Contractility of Heart Muscle of the Rat

The purpose of this investigation was to contrast the effect of glucagon and that of epinephrine on the concentration of cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP), the activity of phosphorylase a and the contractile amplitude of isolated perfused rat hearts. The two drugs were about equally effective except that the maximal augmentation of contractility by epinephrine (5 x 10-9 moles) was twice that produced by an equivalent dose of glucagon with a fourfold greater increase in cyclic AMP concentration. Combination of large doses of the two drugs caused increases in the cyclic nucleotide considerably greater than those required for maximal phosphorylase activation or associated with a maximal inotropic response. The effects of glucagon also developed more slowly than those of epinephrine. An increase in cyclic AMP was not detectable until after phosphorylase a and contractile amplitude had increased. The beta-receptor-blocking agents dichloroisoproterenol and pronethalol did not block the biochemical responses to glucagon in doses which abolished the epinephrine-induced increases in cyclic AMP and phosphorylase a . These results, along with those obtained by other investigators, indicate that glucagon can elicit the same biochemical responses in intact heart as have been obtained with epinephrine, but by action at a different receptor site.
The serotonin 2C receptor potently modulates the head-twitch response in mice induced by a phenethylamine hallucinogen

Hallucinogenic serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptor partial agonists, such as (±)-1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane hydrochloride (DOI), induce a frontal cortex-dependent head-twitch response (HTR) in rodents, a behavioral proxy of a hallucinogenic response that is blocked by 5-HT2A receptor antagonists. In addition to 5-HT2A receptors, DOI and most other serotonin-like hallucinogens have high affinity and potency as partial agonists at 5-HT2C receptors. We tested for involvement of 5-HT2C receptors in the HTR induced by DOI. Comparison of 5-HT2C receptor knockout and wild-type littermates revealed an approximately 50% reduction in DOI-induced HTR in knockout mice. Also, pretreatment with either the 5-HT2C receptor antagonist SB206553 or SB242084 eradicated a twofold difference in DOI-induced HTR between the standard inbred mouse strains C57BL/6J and DBA/2J, and decreased the DOI-induced HTR by at least 50% in both strains. None of several measures of 5-HT2A receptors in frontal cortex explained the strain difference, including 5-HT2A receptor density, Gαq or Gαi/o protein levels, phospholipase C activity, or DOI-induced expression of Egr1 and Egr2. 5-HT2C receptor density in the brains of C57BL/6J and DBA/2J was also equivalent, suggesting that 5-HT2C receptor-mediated intracellular signaling or other physiological modulators of the HTR may explain the strain difference in response to DOI. We conclude that the HTR to DOI in mice is strongly modulated by 5-HT2C receptor activity. This novel finding invites reassessment of hallucinogenic mechanisms involving 5-HT2 receptors.
Superordinate identity and intergroup roommate friendship development

A common ingroup identity promotes positive attitudes and behavior toward members of outgroups, but the durability of these effects and generalizability to relationships outside of the laboratory have been questioned. The present research examined how initial perceptions of common ingroup identity among randomly assigned college roommates provide a foundation for the development of intergroup friendships. For roommate dyads involving students who differed in race or ethnicity, respondents who were low on perceived intergroup commonality showed a significant decline in friendship over-time, whereas those high on perceived commonality showed consistently high levels of friendship. Similarly, participants in these dyads demonstrated a significant decline in feelings of friendship when their roommate was low in perceived commonality but not when their roommate was high in perceived commonality. These effects were partially mediated by anxiety experienced in interactions over-time. The implications of a common identity for intergroup relationship development are discussed.
Longitudinal changes in Scores on the Autism Diagnostic Interview—Revised (ADI-R) in pre-school children with autism: Implications for diagnostic classification and symptom stability

We prospectively examined mean changes in Autism Diagnostic Interview—Revised (ADI-R) Total and Domains scores and stability of the ADI-R diagnostic classification in 28 children with autism initially assessed at age 2—4 years and reassessed 2 years later. Mean Total, Social Interaction, and Communication scores decreased significantly from Time 1 to Time 2 Restricted/repetitive Domain mean scores did not change over time. The ADI-R diagnostic classification was stable in 67% of children using the current published criteria. The stability increased to 78% when a modified criterion was used in the Restricted/repetitive Domain and to 88% when the broader ASD criteria were used. Among pre-schoolers with autism, parent-reported symptoms decreased significantly at two-year follow-up in Social and Communication Domains but not in the Restricted/repetitive Domain. However, ADI-R diagnostic classification remained relatively stable over time. Revising ADI-R diagnostic criteria in the Restricted/repetitive Domain ...
The Antidepressant Sertraline Provides a Promising Therapeutic Option for Neurotropic Cryptococcal Infections

Therapeutic treatment for systemic mycoses is severely hampered by the extremely limited number of antifungals. The difficulty of treatment of fungal infections in the central nervous system is further compounded by the poor central nervous system (CNS) penetration of most antifungals due to the blood-brain barrier. Only a few fungistatic azole drugs, such as fluconazole, show reasonable CNS penetration. Here we demonstrate that sertraline (Zoloft), the most frequently prescribed antidepressant, displays potent antifungal activity against Cryptococcus neoformans, the major causative agent of fungal meningitis. In in vitro assays, this neurotropic drug is fungicidal to all natural Cryptococcus isolates tested at clinically relevant concentrations. Furthermore, sertraline interacts synergistically or additively with fluconazole against Cryptococcus. Importantly, consistent with our in vitro observations, sertraline used alone reduces the brain fungal burden at an efficacy comparable to that of fluconazole in a murine model of systemic cryptococcosis. It works synergistically with fluconazole in reducing the fungal burden in brain, kidney, and spleen. In contrast to its potency against Cryptococcus, sertraline is less effective against strains of Candida species and its interactions with fluconazole against Candida strains are often antagonistic. Therefore, our data suggest the unique application of sertraline against cryptococcosis. To understand the antifungal mechanisms of sertraline, we screened a whole-genome deletion collection of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for altered sertraline susceptibility. Gene ontology analyses of selected mutations suggest that sertraline perturbs translation. In vitro translation assays using fungal cell extracts show that sertraline inhibits protein synthesis. Taken together, our findings indicate the potential of adopting this antidepressant in treating cryptococcal meningitis.
Inspired CO2 and O2 in sleeping infants rebreathing from bedding: relevance for sudden infant death syndrome

Some infants sleep facedown for long periods with no ill effects, whereas others become hypoxemic. Rebreathing of expired air has been determined by CO2 measurement; however, O2 levels under such c...
Measuring Pragmatic Knowledge: Issues of Construct Underrepresentation or Labeling?

It is especially difficult for me to write a review of a book devoted to the assessment of pragmatic knowledge. As it is my particular area of interest, I find myself both the champion and the inte...
Survival Analysis: A New Approach to Analyzing Sales Force Retention

This paper examines the problems associated with traditional methodologies used to study turnover. Existing empirical research findings rely on “cross sectional window designs”. This paper describes design flaws in the traditional approaches and demonstrates how the flaws may have affected the validity of previous studies.Survival analysis is introduced and discussed as a valuable tool for sales force turnover research. Survival analysis traces the survival function of new hires over time. This study presents data from a large national insurance firm to introduce the methodology of survival analysis, and traces the retention of insurance sales agents over a two year period. The effect of independent variables on rentention using survival analysis is shown by examining effect of sales productivity on retention rates.
Structure and Function of Joints

This chapter covers many aspects of joint ­anatomy, histology, and cell biology. First, joint types and movements allowed are covered, followed by a brief review of joint embryology. Next, a review of joint anatomy and histology is given covering innervations, synovial membrane histology, as well as synoviocytes and synovial fluid characteristics. Various aspects of articular cartilage histology and cell biology are discussed in this chapter as well as aspects adaptive remodeling of cartilage after joint loading. A discussion of joint pathology completes the chapter.
Why Do We Need the Theory of Authoritarian Social Policy in Comparative Research

I claim in this paper that scholars cannot fully answer the question of whether and how the political regime matters for the development of social policy unless the theoretical tools of comparative research are adjusted. The welfare state theory apparatus used in comparative research is democratically oriented. The assumption researchers make is that the development of social policy is the result of the political action of organized social interests. This orientation is problematic since vast empirical evidence suggests that social policy can develop in a number of other ways. The democratic lens of the welfare state theory developed partially as a result of the lack of comparative research between the capitalist West and the communist East during the Cold War and the influence of modernization paradigm afterwards. I pull together the existing research that uses the non‐democratic understanding of social policy and distinguish three themes in this research agenda: (1) the policy formation process with proactive elites and alternative feedback mechanisms; (2) the state as an institutional environment; and (3) the meanings of social policy unrelated to civil rights. I suggest that the theory of authoritarian social policy should be introduced into comparative research to balance the existing democratic orientation and that countries with hybrid regimes are the best sites to marry the democratic theory of social policy with the authoritarian one.
Essay - Redeeming the Geography of Hope

Some years ago, the eminent historian and novelist of the American West, Wallace Stegner, described his beloved region as a geography of hope. Stegner was no romantic about the West; he understood the forces of change. And he knew better than most the destruction that change brought in his lifetime. Still, so long as there were choices to be made about the future of the West - and there are - there is always hope. To be a Westerner, Stegner believed, was not simply a matter of living on prairies or in mountain passes. It was, and is, to make a civilization that is true to the nature of the place. In this process, he said, there are the movers-on and the stickers, the exploiters and the preservers, the boomers for profit and those who would create the good place based on the inherent values of the region. What is this place, anyway, one might ask; and what are the values that distinguish it from other places?
Mechanical Properties Assessment of Concrete Containing Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement Using the Superpave Indirect Tensile Strength Test

Concrete mixes containing reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) were evaluated by the Superpave Indirect Tensile (IDT) strength test. The IDT strength and elastic modulus from Superpave IDT strength test correlated well with the splitting tensile strength and elastic modulus from the conventional concrete tests. Toughness determined by the area under the stress-strain plot up to the maximum stress was found to be capable of differentiating concretes containing different percentage of RAP. The IDT strengths of concrete were seen to decrease as the percentage of RAP and temperature increased. The addition of RAP in concrete noticeably reduced the elastic modulus but increased the toughness.
A web-based graphical set theory proof assistance system

Learning set theory proofs is an important but frustrating task for students. This is partially due to the (traditional) way of writing proofs as English sentences mixed with mathematical notations. The structure of logical reasoning which constitutes the essence of a proof is buried in such writings and may not become explicitly clear to the student. As a result, unnecessary comprehension barriers may be created. Towards resolving this issue, in this paper, we present a web-based graphical set theory proof assistance software system. We first identify the problems that a traditional writing of proofs may cause, and then propose the proof assistance system by describing its specification and implementation. Next, we give an example to show how the system works, and finally, we conclude this paper with some remarks.
Thinking of the University-college two Class Teaching Management System

This article elaborate the understanding of the university-college two class teaching management system,discuss the necessity of the two class teaching management system and put forward some constructive opinion.
Detection and analysis of human adenovirus among outpatients with acute upper respiratory tract infections in a hospital in Shenzhen in 2011-2013

Objective To investigate the situation and epidemiological characteristics of human adenovirus( HAd V) infection among outpatients with acute upper respiratory tract infections in a hospital in Shenzhen. Methods Real- time fluorescent quantitative PCR was used to detect nucleic acid of HAd V in 990 clinical swabs collected from outpatients with acute upper respiratory tract infections in the People's Hospital of Baodan District,Shenzhen City,and the epidemiological characteristics of HAd V were analyzed. Results During the period of 2011- 2013,the positive rate of HAd V in the outpatients with acute upper respiratory tract infections was 6. 33%( 63 /990). Most of the outpatients were children aged 5 years,accounting for 58. 73%( 37 /63). The detection rate of HAd V of preschoolers was the highest,followed by infants and school- age children. The temperatures of outpatients with HAd V infection were all higher than 38℃. The co- infection rate of HAd V and other respiratory tract viruses was 23. 81%. Conclusions HAd V is one of the most important pathogens of acute upper respiratory tract infections in this hospital,showing certain epidemic rules in different age groups and different seasons.
Adhesion-dependent control of matrix metalloproteinase-2 activation in human capillary endothelial cells

The growth and regression of capillary blood vessels during angiogenesis is greatly influenced by changes in the activity of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which selectively degrade extracellular matrix (ECM) and thereby modulate capillary endothelial cell shape, growth and viability. However, changes in cell-ECM binding and cell spreading have also been reported to alter MMP secretion and activation. Studies were carried out to determine whether changes in integrin binding or cell shape feed back to alter MMP-2 processing in human capillary endothelial (HCE) cells. Catalytic processing of proMMP-2 to active MMP-2 progressively decreased when HCE cells were cultured on dishes coated with increasing densities of fibronectin (FN), which promote both integrin binding and cell spreading. Conversely, the highest levels of active MMP-2 were detected in round cells cultured on low FN. When measured 24 hours after plating, this increase in active MMP-2 was accompanied by a concomitant rise in mRNA and protein levels for the membrane-type 1 MMP (MT1-MMP), which catalyzes the cleavage of proMMP-2. To determine whether proMMP-2 processing was controlled directly by integrin binding or indirectly by associated changes in cell shape, round cells on low FN were allowed to bind to microbeads (4.5 microm diameter) coated with a synthetic RGD peptide or FN; these induce local integrin receptor clustering without altering cell shape. ProMMP-2 activation was significantly decreased within minutes after bead binding in these round cells, prior to any detectable changes in expression of MT1-MMP, whereas binding of beads coated with control ligands for other transmembrane receptors had no effect. This inhibitory effect was mimicked by microbeads coated with activating antibodies against alphaVbeta3 and beta1 integrins, suggesting a direct role for these cell-surface ECM receptors in modulating proMMP-2 activation. Similar inhibition of proMMP-2 processing by integrin binding, independent of cell spreading, was demonstrated in cells that were cultured on small, microfabricated adhesive islands that prevented cell spreading while presenting a high FN density directly beneath the cell. Interestingly, when spread cells were induced to round up from within by disrupting their actin cytoskeleton using cytochalasin D, proMMP-2 processing did not change at early times; however, increases in MT1-MMP mRNA levels and MMP-2 activation could be detected by 18 hours. Taken together, these results suggest the existence of two phases of MMP-2 regulation in HCE cells when they adhere to ECM: (1) a quick response, in which integrin clustering alone is sufficient to rapidly inhibit processing of proMMP-2 and (2) a slower response, in which subsequent cell spreading and changes in the actin cytoskeleton feed back to decrease expression of MT1-MMP mRNA and, thereby, further suppress cellular proteolytic activity.
Marketing Capability And Performance Of Dairy Cooperatives In India

AbstractThe dairy development program Operation Flood was instituted over three decades ago in India to set up non-profit cooperatives with the purpose of marketing rurally available milk in urban areas. The effectiveness of these cooperatives with respect to compliance with their mandate and marketing is relevant in light of the environmental and societal changes that have taken place in India over the past decade. In this paper, marketing performance of the cooperatives is examined using Data Envelopment Analysis.
Special features of the lens relative to the environment

The lenses of certain shallow-swimming marine vertebrates contain near-UV absorbing pigments. These pigments minimize chromatic aberration and maximize contrast sensitivity. Such pigments are chemically similar to those found in diurnal terrestrial vertebrate (ie: gray squirrel) lenses. Deep-swimming marine vertebrate lenses generally lack these pigments, so they must utilize all light available for vision. Two near-UV absorbing pigments were observed in the lenses of assorted teleosts and elasmobranchs: pigment I absorbs maximally at 320, while pigment II does so at 360 nm. They are both dialyzable, water extractable compounds; and I is more polar than II. Studies of the properties of extracted and purified teleost lens pigment using absorption spectroscopy, HPLC, TLC, and mass spectrometry suggest that these pigments are kynurenines with differing side groups. The absorption spectrum of I resembles N-formyl kynurenine, while that of II resembles L-kynurenine. Preliminary assays of tryptophan pyrrolase (TP) in teleost lenses showed a much greater enzyme activity in shallow-swimmer's lenses. Light in the environment may stimulate lens pigment production. The use of short wavelength light cutoff filters may be useful in improving vision by minimizing light-scattering and fluorescence.
A review of Music of Morocco: recorded by Paul Bowles, 1959

Dust-to-Digital, released 1 April 2016 with an introduction by Lee Ranaldo and liner notes by Philip D. Schuyler. $60.00.Paul Bowles is likely best known for his novel The Sheltering Sky (1949), ma...
Marijuana users do not have increased healthcare utilization: A National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) study.

• There is paucity of data on healthcare utilization due to marijuana use on a national scale.
The application of pulse IV function in nano-prober system

A Nano-Prober System, combining scanning electron microscope (SEM), prober system, and measurement instrument is widely used in failure analysis field for soft localization. Most applications of the nano-prober system utilizes Direct Current (DC) electrical test to measure device characteristics. However, some failure mechanisms can hardly be diagnosed by applying traditional DC measurement. In this paper, Alternating Current (AC) pulse IV functional measurement was applied in soft failure study. A case screened out from speed test is adopted in this study. After non-abnormal is diagnosed via DC measurement, pulse IV measurement is used to conduct further measurement. While using pulse IV measurement method, the rising time of defective die is significantly longer than normal die, which is a convincing evidence that die failure is strongly related timing issue. Further Physical Failure Analysis (PFA) demonstrates that the poor connection between Poly and Contact layer is the major cause of the failure. The result of this paper indicates the effectiveness of pulse IV measurement in failure analysis.
Aroma Characterization of Petit Manseng Wines Using Sensory Consensus Training, SPME GC-MS, and Electronic Nose Analysis

The aromas of four Virginia Petit Manseng wines were evaluated using sensory consensus training methods, and results were compared to those of solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and conducting polymer electronic nose (ENose) analysis of volatile compounds. Five sensory training sessions were conducted to enhance aroma identification, evaluate aroma intensity, and teach evaluation techniques to a panel of 13 individuals. Ten aroma descriptors were determined to describe the commercial wines: pear, peachy, floral, melon, exotic fruits, estery, vanilla, citrus, and honey. The four wines differed significantly (p
What stool testing is appropriate when diarrhea develops in a hospitalized patient

Most cases are not due to infection, but Clostridium difficile is the most common infectious cause.
Scheduling deferrable appliances and energy resources of a smart home applying multi-time scale stochastic model predictive control

Abstract In this paper, the problem of scheduling deferrable appliances and energy resources of a smart home (SH) is studied. The SH has a variety of sources that include photovoltaic (PV) panels, diesel generator (DG), and plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) as an energy storage, and also it can transact power with the local distribution company (DISCO). Herein, the appliances of the SH are categorized into non-deferrable and deferrable appliances, and also the deferrable appliances are divided into two groups with hour-scale and day-scale deferrable features. The challenges of the problem include modeling the economic and technical constraints of sources and appliances and addressing the variability and uncertainties concerned with the power of PV panels that make the problem a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP), time-varying (dynamic), and stochastic optimization problem. In this study, a multi-time scale stochastic model predictive control (MPC) and a combination of genetic algorithm (GA) and linear programming (GA-LP) are applied to address the above mentioned issues and solve the problem. The numerical study demonstrates the competence of multi-time scale approach in the stochastic MPC, and also the proficiency of proposed approach for hour-scale and day-scale deferrable appliances scheduling.
Stability of the Small-Scale Interconnected DC Grids via Output-Feedback Control

A decentralized nonlinear model and controller is proposed to stabilize the interconnected small-scale islanded dc grids in the presence of renewable energy sources with proven stability in this paper. The dc interconnected network comprises dc sources along with resistive and constant-power loads (CPLs). Though the dc sources are photovoltaic (PV) in this paper, the proposed controller can be applied to other types of low-inertia intermittent sources as well. All sources and/or CPL loads are connected to the grid through simple dc–dc converters (DDCs) to avoid power electronic complexities. The negative-resistance CPLs can destabilize the grid in the presence of the DDC dynamical components. The decentralized nonlinear output-feedback controller mitigates rapid voltage and power oscillations caused by the disturbances and measurement noises, and stabilizes the grid. Since the proposed output-feedback controller needs only partial knowledge of the local converter states, the number of measure points reduces leading to a simple implementation. Simulation results on a small-scale dc grid are provided to show the performance of the proposed controller.
SkyNet: Memristor-based 3D IC for artificial neural networks

Hardware implementations of artificial neural networks (ANNs) have become feasible due to the advent of persistent 2-terminal devices such as memristor, phase change memory, MTJs, etc. Hybrid memristor crossbar/CMOS systems have been studied extensively and demonstrated experimentally. In these circuits, memristors located at each cross point in a crossbar are, however, stacked on top of CMOS circuits using back end of line processing (BOEL), limiting scaling. Each neuron's functionality is spread across layers of CMOS and memristor crossbar and thus cannot support the required connectivity to implement large-scale multi-layered ANNs. This paper introduces a new fine-grained 3D integrated circuit technology for ANNs that is one of the first IC technologies for this purpose. Synaptic weights implemented with devices are incorporated in a uniform vertical nanowire template co-locating the memory and computation requirements of ANNs within each neuron. Novel 3D routing features are used for interconnections in all three dimensions between the devices enabling high connectivity without the need for special pins or metal vias. To demonstrate the proof of concept of this fabric, classification of binary images using a perceptron-based feed forward neural network is shown. Bottom-up evaluations for the proposed fabric considering 3D implementation of fabric components reveal up to 21x density, 1.8x power benefits and a 2.6x improvement in delay when compared to 16nm hybrid memristor/CMOS technology.
Understanding the Role of Money and Money Contracts in a Market Economy

To deal with the uncertain future, all market transactions are organized using money denominated contracts. By entering into spot money contracts to buy and sell things immediately and forward money contracts to buy and sell things at future dates, decision makers know they can control with a legal certainty their net cash inflows and outflows. The Keynes theory insists that the sanctity of the money contract is the essence of the capitalist economy . Then the need for liquidity to meet any current or future contractual obligations affects people’s actions in the marketplace. The classical theory has no role for money contracts or liquidity.
Analyzing Behavior of the Influentials Across Social Media

The popularity of social media as an information source, in the recent years has spawned several interesting applications, and consequently challenges to using it effectively. Identifying and targeting influential individuals on sites is a crucial way to maximize the returns of advertising and marketing efforts. Recently, this problem has been well studied in the context of blogs, microblogs, and other forms of social media sites. Understanding how these users behave on a social media site and even across social media sites will lead to more effective strategies. In this book chapter, we present existing techniques to identify influential individuals in a social media site. We present a user identification strategy, which can help us to identify influential individuals across sites. Using a combination of these approaches we present a study of the characteristics and behavior of influential individuals across sites. We evaluate our approaches on several of the popular social media sites. Among other interesting findings, we discover that influential individuals on one site are more likely to be influential on other sites as well. We also find that influential users are more likely to connect to other influential individuals.
Conclusion and Open Problems

Wireless video has been a challenging area with considerable research efforts. However, the problem of video communications over emerging CR networks has not been well studied, since the mainstream CR research has been focused on spectrum sensing and access.
The Role Of Allergy In Meniere’s Disease

There is considerable clinical and immunologic evidence for a probable role of allergy in the production of the symptoms of Meniere's disease. The endolymphatic sac is the seat of immune reactivity in the inner ear. Inhalant and food allergies have been linked with symptoms of Meniere's disease, and many of the clinical characteristics of Meniere's disease suggest an underlying autoimmune etiology. A significant percentage of patients with Meniere's disease and allergy show improvement in their symptoms of tinnitus and vertigo when receiving specific allergy therapy.
Ethics of a Sustainable World Population in 100 Years

The world is projected to run out of oil and natural gas in 30–40 years. Oil and natural gas power food production in the United States and much of the world. Even with a present population of 6.8 billion people, in 2000, 60% were malnourished in some essential nutrient according to the World Health Organization. If we cannot provide a healthy diet for all people at present, how can we feed the human population projected in 30–40 years when there is no oil or natural gas to power food production? Can an unrestricted freedom to reproduce – the absence of a national population policy – such as the situation found in the United States and Haiti be sustained in the face of the previous two points? Should countries emulate the population policy of China or some other more restrictive policy?
The Behavioral Implications of Aggregation and Delay on Budget Approval Decisions

An experiment with three treatments is used to evaluate the social efficiency of budgeting protocols induced by other-regarding preferences. In disaggregated superiors receive three individual proposals in iterated fashion, and must decide whether to accept each project without knowledge of the forthcoming proposals by the subordinate. In aggregated three projects are bundled together, and subordinates submit an aggregate proposal that is intended to cover the cost of all the projects combined. Superiors can accept all of the projects to which the proposal pertains, or none of them. In delayed subordinates submit individual proposals as in disaggregated, but superiors delay making a decision on any of them until they receive all three proposals. The results indicate that superiors are slightly more demanding in aggregated than in the other two treatments, and subordinates submit lower proposals for high-cost projects. However, superiors are not so demanding that the social benefit of aggregation is completely undone: the likelihood of project acceptance under aggregated is significantly greater than under disaggregated and delayed, especially for the highest cost projects. It therefore appears that the aggregation of budget requests into a single proposal to cover all costs is somewhat efficacious in increasing project acceptance. Interestingly, only when the superior is forced to consider an aggregated budget is social welfare improved. In this sense, aggregation may be thought of as a substitute for a commitment to view only the total budget proposed, and not its components. More generally our results provide a rationale for restricting the level of information in the evaluation of subordinates when superiors cannot commit to how they will use the information.
Nuclear Factor-κB and Glucocorticoid Receptors

Nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) is a ubiquitously expressed transcription factor that regulates the expression of genes involved in stress and inflammatory responses. NF-κB is activated by a number of proteins that transduce endogenous signals as well as by a wide range of exogenous stimuli. The glucocorticoid receptor is a ligand-gated transcription factor with pleiotropic effects, one of which is to block the activity of NF-κB and suppress inflammation.
How Accurate are Recalls of Self-Weighing Frequency? Data from a 24-Month Randomized Trial.

INTRODUCTION Self-weighing is an important component of self-monitoring during weight loss. However, methods of measuring self-weighing frequency need to be validated. This analysis compared self-reported and objective weighing frequency. METHODS Data came from a 24-month randomized controlled trial. Participants received 12 months of a behavioral weight-loss program and were randomly assigned to (1) daily self-weighing, (2) weekly weighing, or (3) no weighing (excluded from analysis). Objective weighing frequency was measured by Wi-Fi enabled scales, and self-reported weighing frequency was assessed every 6 months by questionnaire. Objective weights were categorized to match the scale of the self-report measure. RESULTS At 12 months, there was 80.8% agreement between self-reported and objective weighing frequency (weighted kappa = 0.67; P < 0.001). At 24 months, agreement decreased to 48.5% (kappa = 0.27; P < 0.001). At both time points in which disagreements occurred, self-reported frequencies were generally greater than objectively assessed weighing. Both self-reported and objectively assessed weighing frequency was associated with weight loss at 12 and 24 months (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Self-reported weighing frequency is modestly correlated with objective weighing frequency; however, both are associated with weight change over time. Objective assessment of weighing frequency should be used to avoid overestimating actual frequency.
Reduction of Salmonella and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli on alfalfa seeds and sprouts using an ozone generating system.

Abstract Several outbreaks of illness have been associated with consumption of alfalfa sprouts contaminated with Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and Salmonella. The ozone application was investigated as an intervention. Alfalfa seeds were inoculated with cocktails of 3 Salmonella strains, including serotypes Typhimurium, Agona and Saintpaul, and 3 strains of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) including serotypes O104:H4, O157:H7 and O121:H19 with a final load of 7.0 log CFU/ml. Then, the inoculated seeds, and the sprouts obtained from these seeds were separately subjected to aqueous ozone treatment containing (5 mg/L) ozone for varied times of exposure. The mean log reductions for Salmonella achieved on seeds after 10, 15, and 20 min of ozone exposure were 1.6 ± 0.5, 1.7 ± 0.3, 2.1 ± 0.5, respectively and 1.5 ± 0.4, 1.6 ± 0.4, 2.1 ± 0.5 for STEC, respectively. For sprouts obtained from the inoculated seed, the mean log reductions for Salmonella after 10, 15, and 20 min exposure times were 0.7 ± 0.2, 1.1 ± 0.4, 3.6 ± 0.2, respectively, whereas the mean log reductions for STEC were 0.7 ± 0.1, 1.2 ± 0.3 and 1.8 ± 0.2, respectively. At each contact time, there were no differences in log reductions between pathogens on seeds (P > 0.05), whereas on sprouts, the reductions obtained at 20 min were significantly greater (P
Parental drinking as context for parental socialization of adolescent alcohol use

Abstract Introduction While alcohol-specific parenting practices have demonstrated unique effects on adolescent substance use, their efficacy in the context of parental drinking levels has not been studied. This study assessed the influence of three alcohol-specific parenting practices (rules, punishment, communication) on adolescent alcohol use, and the degree to which those associations varied by parents’ own drinking. Methods We conducted logistic regression analyses among US adolescents (N = 1023; 52% female; 12% Hispanic; 76% Caucasian, 5% Black, 8% mixed race, 11% other race/ethnicity; mean age at enrollment = 12.2 years) to examine the relationship between alcohol-specific parenting practices and the odds of ever having experienced two drinking milestones, having a full drink of alcohol and a heavy drinking episode, and whether parental drinking levels moderated those associations. Results Strict rules for drinking, higher levels of cautionary communication messages, and punishment for drinking were associated with lower odds of alcohol use. Witnessing parent drinking increased the risk for both alcohol outcomes. Furthermore, parental drinking modified the influence of parental cautionary messages on alcohol use such that the effect was particularly salient for those youth who witnessed and whose parents reported higher levels of alcohol use. Conclusions Family-based preventive interventions should include skills training in alcohol-specific parenting practices with emphasis on reducing parental alcohol use particularly when children are present.
Triangle Counting and Truss Decomposition using FPGA

Triangle counting and truss decomposition are two essential procedures in graph analysis. As the scale of graphs grows larger, designing highly efficient graph analysis systems with less power demand becomes more and more urgent. In this paper, we present triangle counting and truss decomposition using a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). We leverage the flexibility of FPGAs and achieve low-latency high-efficiency implementations. Evaluation on SNAP dataset shows that our triangle counting and truss decomposition implementations achieve 43.5× on average (up to 757.7×) and 6.4× on average (up to 68.0×) higher performance per Watt respectively over GPU solutions.
Study of the cyanoacrylate fuming mechanism by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry

Despite cyanoacrylate fuming being widely used in the forensic science field, its mechanism is not well understood. In this study, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectrometry is used to study latent fingerprints that have been cyanoacrylate fumed in an attempt to gain insight into the fuming mechanism. In the negative mode mass spectrometry data, four compounds related to the polymerization of cyanoacrylate are identified and their structures are determined from accurate mass and MS/MS. A mechanism is proposed for the formation of these compounds that are regarded as intermediates in the polymerization reaction. In addition, based on the fuming of standard endogenous compounds, we suggest that fatty acids and amino acids are the major catalytic nucleophiles that initiate the polymerization reactions.
Understanding “PAUL’S CASE”: Dickinson and Cather in Conversation

Reading Emily Dickinson’s “I would not paint— a picture—” alongside Willa Cather’s “Paul’s Case” is a useful way into Paul’s otherwise puzzling character. The poem begins, “I would not paint—a pict...
In sito Ion Beam Analysis of Radiation Damage Kinetics in MgTiO3 Single Crystals at 170-470 K

Radiation damage kinetics in synthetic MgTiO3 (geikielite) single crystals have been studied using thein situ ion beam facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The geikielite samples were irradiated at temperatures of 170, 300, and 470 K with 400 keV xenon ions and the radiation damage was sequentially measured with Rutherford backscattering using a 2 MeV He ion beam along a channeling direction. Threshold doses of 1 and 5×1015 Xe/cm2 were determined for the crystalline-to-amorphous transformation induced by Xe ion irradiation at 170 and 300 K, respectively. However, geikielite retained its crystallinity up to a dose of 2.5x1016 Xe/cm2 at the irradiation temperature of 470 K. This study has shown that MgTiO3, which has a corundum derivative structure, is another radiation resistant material that has the potential for use in radiation environments.
NONINVASIVE PRESSURE-VOLUME LOOP ANALYSIS DEMONSTRATES CHANGES IN VENTRICULAR CONTRACTILITY, EFFICIENCY AND POWER IN TETRALOGY OF FALLOT AFTER PULMONARY VALVE REPLACEMENT

Patients with tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) may undergo pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) after initial full repair. We investigated indices of biventricular function, work and efficiency of TOF patients’ using noninvasive pressure-volume (PV) loop analysis on cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR)
Chapter 34 – p53 Autoantibodies

The p53 molecule is a tumor suppressor that prevents the outgrowth of aberrant cells by inducing cell cycle arrest, DNA repair, or programmed cell death. On healthy cells, p53 is barely detectable. In contrast, most tumor cells manifest an accumulation of p53 protein. Tumor-associated p53 accumulation may activate p53 autoimmunity; thus, autoantibodies to p53 can serve as markers for established or even incipient tumors. However, p53 accumulation may also occur in nontumor cells under various forms of stress; thus it has become clear that the occurrence of p53 antibodies is not restricted to cancer but can also happen in a variety of autoimmune diseases. Moreover, the p53 antibodies found in autoimmune disease appear to be associated with autoantibodies to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). The pathogenic relevance of p53 autoantibodies is currently unclear.
New families of stable simplicial filtration functors

Abstract When quantifying the topological properties of a metric dataset using persistent homology, the first step is to produce a simplicial filtration on the data. The Cech and Vietoris-Rips filtrations are two of the workhorses of persistent homology, but over time, various other filtrations which capture different properties of data or have different computational burdens have been introduced. Towards a program of characterizing all the possible simplicial filtrations on a metric dataset, we introduce and develop the framework of valuation-induced stable filtration functors. This framework is based on the concept of curvature sets due to Gromov, and encapsulates the Vietoris-Rips and various other filtrations while simultaneously providing a model for generating families of novel filtration functors that capture diverse features present in datasets. We further extend this foundation by incorporating the notion of basepoint-dependent filtration functors and proving the associated functoriality and stability properties. This rich theoretical framework provides a unifying language for various extant simplicial filtrations, and is also a mechanism for generating arbitrarily large families of novel filtration functors with control over basepoint dependence/independence as well as the locality of the filtration. We exemplify our constructions on both toy datasets and on 3D shapes from a publicly available shape database. Our paper is accompanied by a Matlab software package incorporating an interactive platform for visualizing and testing new filtrations on datasets.
Effect of exogenous plant growth regulators on in vitro seed growth, embryo development, and haploid production in a cross between H. vulgare (L.) and H. bulbosum (L.)

Exogenous plant growth regulators are known to increase the efficiency of interspecific and intergeneric crosses. In vitro floret culture provides a defined system for assessing the importance of various plant growth regulators on the determinants of haploid production efficiency (seed set, embryos per seeds, and plants per embryos) in Hordeum vulgare × Hordeum bulbosum crosses. The individual and combined effects of three plant growth regulators (2,4-D, GA3 and kinetin) on in vitro seed growth, embryo development and haploid production efficiency were tested in floret culture of the cross H. vulgare, cultivar ‘Klages’ × H. bulbosum. All treatments, except kinetin alone, produced larger seeds and more embryos/100 seeds than the control (no plant growth regulator). 2,4-D alone was superior to GA3 alone in haploid production efficiency (70.6 vs. 51.5) as measured by the number of plants regenerated/100 florets pollinated. Although kinetin +2,4-D+GA3 produced the largest seeds and embryos, no advantage over 2,4-D alone was observed in haploid production efficiency. 2,4-D alone or kinetin +2,4-D are recommended for the purpose of barley haploid production in floret culture using the bulbosum method.
Fair Approaches for Taxing Previously Untaxed Foreign Income

In connection with any transition to a new international tax system, we need an approach that effectively deals with the trillions of dollars of previously untaxed foreign income held by CFCs. There is logic and fairness in applying a rate on those earnings that is less than the 35 percent home country rate because the rules of the game are being changed significantly.Many U.S. multinationals have had legitimate commercial reasons for retaining their earnings overseas. For these, I can happily accept whatever rate Congress chooses, whether it is at the lower 3.5 percent level of TRA 2014, the 14 percent level in the Administration's Green Book, or the 20 percent level in the Baucus discussion draft.However, for those U.S. multinationals that have aggressively pushed the envelope to maximize their stateless income over the past decade and longer through convoluted tax structuring, we as a country cannot be rewarding such behavior with favorable lower-than-35 percent rates.In this article, I suggests two approaches to identifying CFC earnings that should be subject to the full 35 percent corporate tax rate when transitioning to a new tax system, with the remainder subject to whatever favorable transition rate Congress might choose.
An Apparatus for Exposing Estuarine Aquatic Organisms to Toxicants in Constant and Fluctuating Salinity Regimes

A programmable control system for salinity has been developed and coupled with a flow-through toxicant exposure system. The resulting apparatus allows study of influences of constant and fluctuating salinity regimes on responses of estuarine organisms exposed to selected pollutants. Constant and fluctuating salinity profiles available through use of the system (a) may be selected to range from fresh water to full-strength ambient seawater values; (b) are automatically repeatable, allowing long-term study; (c) are reproducible, thus permitting replication of treatment combinations over time and sequential testing of several species at a common salinity regime; and (d) can be quickly and easily modified or substituted for by another profile.