cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Underlying principles of visual shape selectivity in posterior inferotemporal cortex

Object perception depends on shape processing in the ventral visual pathway, which in monkeys culminates in inferotemporal cortex (IT). Here we provide a description of fundamental quantitative principles governing neural selectivity for complex shape in IT. By measuring responses to large, parametric sets of two-dimensional (2D) silhouette shapes, we found that neurons in posterior IT (Brodmann's areas TEO and posterior TE) integrate information about multiple contour elements (straight and curved edge fragments of the type represented in lower-level areas) using both linear and nonlinear mechanisms. This results in complex, distributed response patterns that cannot be characterized solely in terms of example stimuli. We explained these response patterns with tuning functions in multidimensional shape space and accurately predicted neural responses to the widely varying shapes in our stimulus set. Integration of contour element information in earlier stages of IT represents an important step in the transformation from low-level shape signals to complex object representation.
Russia at the Polls Potemkin Democracy

The December 2003 Duma elections have cleared the way for a second Putin term. Nearly all the political forces that challenged him have been defeated and their candidates have withdrawn from the presidential race.
Environmentally Benign CO2-Based Copolymers: Degradable Polycarbonates Derived from Dihydroxybutyric Acid and Their Platinum–Polymer Conjugates

(S)-3,4-Dihydroxybutyric acid ((S)-3,4-DHBA), an endogenous straight chain fatty acid, is a normal human urinary metabolite and can be obtained as a valuable chiral biomass for synthesizing statin-class drugs. Hence, its epoxide derivatives should serve as promising monomers for producing biocompatible polymers via alternating copolymerization with carbon dioxide. In this report, we demonstrate the production of poly(tert-butyl 3,4-dihydroxybutanoate carbonate) from racemic-tert-butyl 3,4-epoxybutanoate (rac-tBu 3,4-EB) and CO2 using bifunctional cobalt(III) salen catalysts. The copolymer exhibited greater than 99% carbonate linkages, 100% head-to-tail regioselectivity, and a glass-transition temperature (Tg) of 37 °C. By way of comparison, the similarly derived polycarbonate from the sterically less congested monomer, methyl 3,4-epoxybutanoate, displayed 91.8% head-to-tail content and a lower Tg of 18 °C. The tert-butyl protecting group of the pendant carboxylate group was removed using trifluoroacetic a...
Religion under the State Constitutions, 1776–1800

Attempts to find the historical meaning of the First Amend ment's religion clauses have often focused on the writings of leading framers such as Thomas Jefferson or James Madison, the debates in the First Congress, the actions in leading states on religion, or the specific government practices of the time re lated to religion, especially in Congress. Surprisingly, little at tention has been paid to the state constitutions of the period, despite the fact that they provide a resource which is more spe cific, reliable, and relevant to the Bill of Rights than debates or other historical records. Historians who look at aid to religion contemporary to the First Amendment have a difficult time in showing that the Bill of Rights, which was meant to cover only Congress, could not have been intended to oppose these actions in the states; in fact, many state interactions with religion were considered so unac ceptable that they were ended in the period from 1776 to 1800, or early in the nineteenth century, so the idea that a newly formed (and deeply mistrusted) national government might be allowed such power was ludicrous. The use of actions of the First Congress (such as hiring a minister to lead them in prayer) to give meaning to the First Amendment also indicates a lack of perspective, since it defines higher Constitutional law by mere statutory law rather than by objective principle, and gives an air of infallibility to the framers which they themselves did not accept. These state constitutions (and more importantly, how they evolved over this short period of time) are the most appropriate analogue to the Bill of Rights because they served the same pur pose: to establish limits to the power of government in a written declaration of fundamental liberties. In addition, state constitu tions were usually written by state legislatures (in 1780, Massa chusetts was the first to hold a separate convention for this purpose), and often by nearly the same state legislatures which
A self-sensing magnetorheological elastomer-based adaptive bridge bearing with a wireless data monitoring system

This study presents an adaptive bridge bearing that can sense structural loads and tune its properties to mitigate structural vibrations. The bearing utilizes magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) layers which allow for an increased stiffness induced with a magnetic field. The system also features a MRE-based sensing system for sensing the structural wind and traffic load. The sensing system is capable of transmitting data wirelessly to a central logging computer for monitoring bridge performance and sending alerts in the case of a major event. The capability of the MRE-based sensing system for sensing structural loads and wireless transmission of data were investigated. The adaptive bridge bearing incorporates a closed-loop magnetic circuit that results in an enhanced magnetic field in the MRE layers. Results show the sensitivity of the MRE-based sensors and the performance of the wireless system, as well as the design and analysis of the tunable bridge bearing.
Feature Detectors and Speech Perception: A Critical Evaluation

The nature of human language and the processes involved in its production and comprehension have long been a concern to a variety of disciplines, including linguistics, psychology, and speech science. One reason surely is the fascination with language itself, a remarkable accomplishment that is at the same time universally shared by all human cultures and restricted to the human species.2 Another reason for this great concern is the widely held belief that understanding the way in which language is processed will yield insights into the basic characteristics of human perception, cognition, and complex sequences of action.
Analysis and surveillance of influenza in Zibo, 2009-2013

Objective To understand the epidemic trend of influenza in Zibo, so as to provide scientific information for early warning of influenza activity and the control and prevention of influenza. Methods We collected the data of epidemiological etiological surveillance, analyzed the changes of the proportion of influenza-like illness(ILI) cases and variation of influenza virus. Results We reported 23 220 ILI cases in total between 2009 and 2013; the proportion of ILI cases was 2.12%. The annual proportion of ILI cases was 3.14%, 1.50%, 2.45% and 1.74%, respectively. Totally 2 564 samples from ILI cases were detected, of which 542 were positive,and the positive rate was 21.14%. The annual positive rate was 47.38%, 9.82%, 14.62% and 10.74%, respectively. Spearman correlation analysis indicated that the proportion of ILI cases and the positive rate of influenza virus were positive correlated(r=0.568, P0.001). Conclusion The influenza activity appears more active in winter and spring. A great number of ILI cases are children aged 0-4. Influenza virus is more active in 2009-2010, and is stable and less active in other years. The predominant strains change regularly. The characteristics of ILI incidence are similar to the activity of influenza virus.
Epidemiological characteristics of mumps in Wuhan City(2005-2011)

Objective To understand the epidemiological characteristics of mumps in Wuhan city during 2005-2011,and provide evidence for developing prevention and control strategies.Methods Descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted according to the reported data of mumps in Wuhan city during 2005-2011.Results A total of 17 035 mumps cases were reported in Wuhan city during 2005-2011,the average annual incidence was 29.84/lakh,and the seven-year annual incidence was of significant difference(χ2=5 900.8,P0.01).The major peak occurred during April-July,accounted for 53.88% of the total cases,while the second peak occurred during October-January,accounted for 19.30%.The number of the cumulative cases was higher in Hongshan district(2 229 cases),Jiangan district(2 129 cases) and Wuchang district(1 977 cases),and the average annual incidence was higher in Dongxihu district(52.35/lakh),Jiangxia distrit(43.62/lakh) and Jiangan district(41.46/lakh).Most cases were distributed in children and adolescents aged 4~14 years(73.91%).The male to female ratio of the cases was 1.76∶1,the average annual incidence was 36.96/lakh and 22.27/lakh respectively(χ2=1 030.13,P0.01);Most cases were students,scattered living children,and children in child-care settings,accounted for 89.15%.Conclusion It is necessary to strengthen mumps surveillance,carry out health education,improve mumps immunization,implement infectious source management and specification disposal of aggregation epidemic for the focus groups at the onset of the peak season.All these measures are to prevent mumps outbreak and reduce health hazards.
Improving Load Signal and Fatigue Life Estimation for Helicopter Components Using Computational Intelligence Techniques

The accurate estimation of helicopter component loads is an important factor in life cycle management and life extension efforts. This chapter explores continued efforts to utilize a number of computational intelligence algorithms, statistical and machine learning techniques, such as artificial neural networks, evolutionary algorithms, fuzzy sets, residual variance analysis, and others, to estimate some of these helicopter dynamic loads. For load prediction using indirect computational methods to be practical and accepted, demonstrating slight over-prediction of these loads is preferable to ensure that the impact of the actual load cycles is captured by the prediction and to incorporate a factor of safety. Subsequent calculation of the component’s fatigue life can verify the slight over-prediction of the load signal. This chapter examines a number of techniques for encouraging slight over-prediction and favoring a conservative estimate for these loads. Estimates for the main rotor normal bending on the Australian S-70-A-9 Black Hawk helicopter during a left rolling pullout at 1.5 g manoeuvre were generated from an input set consisting of thirty standard flight state and control system parameters. The results of this work show that when using a combination of these techniques, a reduction in under-prediction and increase in over-prediction can be achieved. In addition to load signal estimation, the component’s fatigue life and load exceedances can be estimated from the predicted load signal. In helicopter life cycle management, these metrics are more useful performance measures (as opposed to mean squared error or correlation of the load signal), therefore this chapter describes the process followed to calculate these measures from the load signal using Rainflow counting, material specific fatigue data (S-N curves), and damage theory. An evaluation of the proposed techniques based on the fatigue life estimates and/or load exceedances is also made.
Neutral Models of Genetic Drift and Mutation

Random genetic drift describes the stochastic fluctuations of allele frequencies due to random sampling in finite populations. Over time, genetic drift can lead to fixation or loss of genetic variants, thereby systematically eliminating diversity from a population. This trend is counterbalanced by mutations that continuously produce new variants. A number of powerful frameworks, such as coalescence theory, have been developed to study how these processes interact in shaping patterns of genetic diversity in populations. Random genetic drift and mutation also lie at the foundation of Kimura's neutral theory of evolution, which constitutes the standard null model of molecular population genetics.
Social Zooarchaeology: Domestication as a human–animal relationship

Just as humans have a history of their relations with animals, so also animals have a history of their relations with humans. Only humans, however, construct narratives of this history. Such narratives range from what we might regard as myths of totemic origin to supposedly “scientific” accounts of the origins of domestication. And however we might choose to distinguish between myth and science, they have in common that they tell us as much about how the narrators view their own humanity as they do about their attitudes and relations to non-human animals. (Ingold 1994:1) Domestication is another topic that has received extensive attention in zooarchaeology. Much of this work has centered on techniques to recognize domestic animals and discussions of when and where the first such animals are found. However, there has also been considerable discussion of how and why domestication came about and of its significance for humans and animals. In this chapter I focus on the latter issues: on domestication as a human–animal relationship. Domestication is surely the most important transformation in human-animal relations, with far-reaching consequences for both partners. For reference, I provide in Table 6.1 my interpretation of the current best guesses for when and where the main domestic animals were domesticated. There are better data for some animals than others, and many dates will likely be pushed back (or occasionally moved forward) in the future. In cases where there is clear evidence for independent domestication in more than one region, I give the earlier date. As will be clear from the following discussion, there can be disagreement and uncertainty about what counts as “domesticated”; this is particularly problematic for cats, which have a long history of at least occasional commensal and perhaps pet relationships with humans, but are only morphologically domesticated rather late.
Fast Unit-Modulus Least Squares With Applications in Beamforming

Unit-modulus least squares (ULS) problems arise in many applications, including phase-only beamforming, sensor network localization, synchronization, phase retrieval, and radar code design. ULS formulations can always be recast as unit-modulus quadratic programs, to which semidefinite relaxation (SDR) can be applied, and is often the state-of-the-art approach. However, SDR lifts the problem dimension (i.e., the number of variables) from $N$ to $N^2$ , which drastically increases the memory burden and computational cost when the problem size is already large—e.g., when designing phase-only beamformer weights for massive multiple-input-multiple-output systems. This paper focuses on scalable first-order algorithms for the ULS problem and some of its variants. It advocates using simple gradient projection (GP) as a starting point for solving the ULS problem, establishes global convergence of GP to a Karush–Kuhn–Tucker point for this NP-hard problem, and bounds its iteration complexity. Then it proposes ULS extensions tailored to reflect practical beamformer design objectives, bringing in and exploiting new degrees of freedom to improve the beampattern designs. Simple variants of GP are proposed to deal with these extended ULS problems. Simulations are used to showcase the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms in both the plain ULS problem and in the context of phase-only beamforming.
Technology Spillover and Corporate Disclosure Transparency

In recent decades, the United States has become predominantly a knowledge-based economy, where investments in research and development intensify competition among firms in the knowledge space as well as in the product market space. While the implications of product market competition on corporate policies have been widely studied in the literature, we focus on the under-explored implications of technological competition on corporate disclosure policies. We find that firms facing more intense technological competition are more likely to redact material information from their 10-K filings. In addition, their annual reports are less readable, have a more negative tone, and contain more uncertain words. Our results suggest that firms provide less transparent disclosures when they face greater technological competition, presumably due to greater proprietary cost concerns. We also show that the corporate information environment is worse as evidenced by larger absolute analyst forecast errors, higher analyst forecast dispersion, greater stock illiquidity, greater stock turnover, and greater bid-ask spread when firms face more intensive technological competition. These results are more pronounced for more profitable firms where proprietary costs of disclosure are likely higher. We obtain all the results after controlling for a variety of product market competition measures, suggesting that the implications of technological competition on corporate disclosures and information environment are distinct from and incremental to those of product market competition. Our results are robust to using two natural experiments and using an instrumental variable approach to address the endogeneity concern of technological competition.
Study of the Evolution of Distortion During the Powder Bed Fusion Build Process Using a Combined Experimental and Modeling Approach

Experimental measurements are a critical component of model development, as they are needed to validate the accuracy of the model predictions. Currently, there is a deficiency in the availability of experimental data for laser powder bed fusion made parts. Here, two experimental builds of cylindrical geometry, one using a rotating scan pattern and the other using a constant scan pattern, are designed to provide post build distortion measurements. Measurements are made using a coordinate-measuring machine providing distortion profiles along the height of the part at 4 separate locations. Measurements show that for these cylindrical thin wall builds, there is no discernable effect on distortion from using differing scan patterns. Netfabb Simulation finite element modeling software is used to model each of the experimental builds. The simulation results show good agreement with experimental measurements of post build deformation, with an averaged percent error of 12%. The simulated results are used to study stress and distortion evolution during the build process. Internal stresses calculated by the model throughout the part are used in explaining the final part distortion. The combination of experimental and simulation results from this study show that the distortion of the top layer is relatively small (less than 30%) throughout the duration of the build process compared to the peak distortion, which occurs several layers below the most recently deposited layer. For these geometries once the part reaches a sufficient height, the peak distortion value does not change.
The Site of the Bite: Addressing Knowledge Gaps in Vector Transmission of Diseases

Abstract Every year, more than one billion people are infected by vector-borne diseases. Despite impressive progress made to eliminate these diseases, sustained success depends on continued investment in control strategies and a strong surveillance system. Gains against vector-borne diseases are difficult to sustain due to the sheer number of pathogens and their vectors and the transient efficacy of the control measures when resistant vectors or pathogens emerge. Durable solutions whose efficacy persists beyond a short window of time, like vaccines, rather than drugs are the need of the hour. This chapter showcases the research portfolio of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the field of vector-borne diseases and the current research that is underway to eliminate these diseases.
V3 loop of HIV gp120 protein: Molecular modeling of 3D structures interacting with cell proteins

The hypervariable V3 loop of gp120 is one of the principal components of interaction between gp120 and the target cell proteins, CD4 and HIV co-receptors. V3 loops of different HIV strains are 30-40-membered peptides cyclized by the disulfide bridge connecting the ends. The data on the binding of gp120 with mutations in the V3 loop to various cell proteins can be used to determine the possible "interacting" conformations of the V3 loop, which presumably should be common for all mutants displaying high levels of binding to target proteins.
In Vivo Imaging of the Retina, Choroid, and Optic Nerve Head in Guinea Pigs.

ABSTRACTPurpose: Guinea pigs are increasingly being used as a model of myopia, and may also represent a novel model of glaucoma. Here, optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging was performed in guinea pigs. In vivo measurements of retinal, choroidal, and optic nerve head parameters were compared with histology, and repeatability and interocular variations were assessed.Methods: OCT imaging and histology were performed on adult guinea pigs (n = 9). Using a custom program in MATLAB, total retina, ganglion cell/nerve fiber layer (GC/NFL), outer retina, and choroid thicknesses were determined. Additionally, Bruch’s membrane opening (BMO) area and diameter, and minimum rim width were calculated. Intraobserver, interocular, and intersession coefficients of variation (CV) and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were assessed.Results: Retina, GC/NFL, outer retina and choroid thicknesses from in vivo OCT imaging were 147.7 ± 5.8 μm, 59.2 ± 4.5 μm, 72.4 ± 2.4 μm, and 64.8 ± 11.6 μm, respectively. Interocular...
Is achieving the american heart association's life simple 7 goals sufficient to reduce the burden of atrial fibrillation? No simple answers

A decade has passed since the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute convened a panel to provide recommendations for the prevention of atrial fibrillation (AF).[1][1] In this landmark report, the panel listed investigating the role that engaging in healthy behaviors could have on AF prevention as
Cis- and Trans-Acting Expression Quantitative Trait Loci Differentially Regulate Gamma-Globin Gene Expression

Genetic association studies have detected two trans-acting quantitative trait loci (QTL) on chromosomes 2, 6 and one cis-acting QTL on chromosome 11 that were associated with fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels. In these studies, HbF was expressed as a percentage of total hemoglobin or the number of erythrocytes that contain HbF (F-cells). As the -globin chains of HbF are encoded by two non-allelic genes (HBG2, HBG1) that are expressed at different levels we used normalized gene expression and genotype data from The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx)-project to study the effects of cis- and trans-acting HbF expression or eQTL. This allowed us to examine mRNA expression of HBG2 and HBG1individually. In addition to studying eQTL for globin genes we examined genes co-expressed with HBG1, studied upstream regulators of HBG1 co-expressed genes and performed a correlation analysis between HBG2 and HBG1 and known HbF regulators. Our results suggest differential effect of cis and trans-acting QTL on HBG and HBG1 expression. Trans-acting eQTLs have the same magnitude of effect on the expression of both HBG2 and HBG1 while the sole cis-acting eQTL affected only HBG2. Furthermore, the analysis of upstream regulators and the correlation analysis suggested that BCL2L1 might be a new potential trans-acting HbF activator. HbF is the major modulator of the phenotype of sickle cell anemia and β thalassemia. Depending on the effect size, modification of trans-acting elements might have a greater impact on HbF levels than cis-acting elements alone.
Modeling Learner Heterogeneity: A Mixture Learning Model With Responses and Response Times

The increased popularity of computer-based testing has enabled researchers to collect various types of process data, including test takers' reaction time to assessment items, also known as response times. In recent studies, the relationship between speed and accuracy in a learning setting was explored to understand students' fluency changes over time in applying the mastered skills in addition to skill mastery. This can be achieved by modeling the changes in response accuracy and response times throughout the learning process. We propose a mixture learning model that utilizes the response times and response accuracy. Such a model accounts for the heterogeneities in learning styles among learners and may provide instructors with valuable information, which can be used to design individualized instructions. A Bayesian modeling framework is developed for parameter estimation and the proposed model is evaluated through a simulation study and is fitted to a real data set collected from a computer-based learning system for spatial rotation skills.
Highly efficient p-type doping of GaN under nitrogen-rich and low-temperature conditions by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy

Highly efficient and reproducible p-type doping of GaN under nitrogen-rich and low-growth-temperature conditions was demonstrated with the plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy technique. The low-temperature range is approximately below 650 °C and refers to growth temperatures at which the thermal desorption of any excess Ga is negligibly slow. The Mg and hole concentrations obtained with the N-rich condition were more than one order of magnitude higher than those obtained with the Ga-rich condition while keeping all other conditions identical. The Mg doping under such N-rich conditions was also found to show Mg-mediated suppression of background impurities, good epitaxy quality on GaN templates, and relatively low surface roughness. Over the investigated growth temperature range from 580 °C to 650 °C, the Mg incorporation efficiency under the N-rich condition was found to be close to unity (70%-80%) and independent of the growth temperature. High hole concentrations of up to 2×1019 cm-3 and activation efficiencies of up to 16.6% were obtained. The result rules out the Mg surface sticking probability as the limiting mechanism for Mg incorporation in this temperature range, as it would be temperature dependent. Instead, the Mg incorporation rate was more likely governed by the availability of substitutional sites for Mg on the surface, which should be abundant under the N-rich growth conditions. Excellent diode characteristics and electroluminescence results were observed when this p-type doping method was employed in the growth of full device structures.
Mechanochromic composite elastomers for additive manufacturing and low strain mechanophore activation

Herein, we report a strategy for additive manufacturing of a mechanochemically active silicone ink primarily composed of PDMS microbeads. Extruded, stable structures of cured microbeads were held together with a “bridging material” comprising uncured PDMS and spiropyran in a water medium. The mechanochromic silicone ink was a shear-thinning gel that exhibited a yield stress, and thus, was suitable for direct-write 3D printing. The spiropyran was stable to mild conditions of the printing process, and after a thermal curing step, the printed silicone displayed reversible mechanochromic activity. The extruded composite displays chromophore activation at lower mechanical strains under uniaxial tension (60–70%) than in a film without the microbeads (130–140%). Multi-layered 3D printed constructs were fabricated and displayed mechanochromic activity in tension and compression. These experiments demonstrate the versatility of these silicone inks to produce 3D printed functional elastomers with mechanochemical activity.
Phenotypic diversity in an emerging mycoplasmal disease.

Abstract The avian pathogen Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is a known pathogen of poultry, and newly emerged pathogen of house finches wherein it is associated with lethal conjunctivitis. Factors present in MG that are known to mediate virulence include cytadherence, sialidase activity, peroxide production, and biofilm formation. We have quantitatively assessed these factors for MG isolates from house finches from a temporal and geographic distribution across the continental United States that show differing capacity for virulence in vivo. Statistically significant (P
Exploring DNA interpretation software using the PROVEDIt dataset

Abstract This work studies the effect of variability in the overall DNA typing process on the likelihood ratio (LR) generated from probabilistic genotyping (PG) systems. The data used in this study was obtained from the PROVEDIt set which is a comprehensive database openly available at lftdi.com [1]. The selected samples were composed of single-source and complex mixtures amplified with GlobalFiler kit (29 cycles) at different DNA template amounts and separated on 3500 Genetic Analyzer at different injection times. Mixtures were generated from different genotype combinations and contained varying contributor numbers and contributor ratios. Using fully continuous PG systems, we explore the effects of input DNA quantity, number of contributors, and mixture proportion, on the behaviour of the calculated LRs.
Principles of Financing the Medical Home for Children

A well-implemented and adequately funded medical home not only is the best approach to optimize the health of the individual patient but also can function as an effective instrument for improving population health. Key financing elements to providing quality, effective, comprehensive care in the pediatric medical home include the following: (1) first dollar coverage without deductibles, copays, or other cost-sharing for necessary preventive care services as recommended by Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents; (2) adoption of a uniform definition of medical necessity across payers that embraces services that promote optimal growth and development and prevent, diagnose, and treat the full range of pediatric physical, mental, behavioral, and developmental conditions, in accord with evidence-based science or evidence-informed expert opinion; (3) payment models that promote appropriate use of pediatric primary care and pediatric specialty services and discourage inappropriate, inefficient, or excessive use of medical services; and (4) payment models that strengthen the patient- and family-physician relationship and do not impose additional administrative burdens that will only erode the effectiveness of the medical home. These goals can be met by designing payment models that provide adequate funding of the cost of medical encounters, care coordination, population health services, and quality improvement activities; provide incentives for quality and effectiveness of care; and ease administrative burdens.
Coordinative Entities: Forms of Organizing in Data Intensive Science

Scientific collaboration is a long-standing subject of CSCW scholarship that typically focuses on the development and use of computing systems to facilitate research. The research presented in this article investigates the sociality of science by identifying and describing particular, common forms of organizing that researchers in four different scientific realms employ to conduct work in both local contexts and as part of distributed, global projects. This paper introduces five prototypical forms of organizing we categorize as coordinative entities: the Principal Group, Intermittent Exchange, Sustained Aggregation, Federation, and Facility Organization. Coordinative entities as a categorization help specify, articulate, compare, and trace overlapping and evolving arrangements scientists use to facilitate data intensive research. We use this typology to unpack complexities of data intensive scientific collaboration in four cases, showing how scientists invoke different coordinative entities across three types of research activities: data collection, processing, and analysis. Our contribution scrutinizes the sociality of scientific work to illustrate how these actors engage in relational work within and among diverse, dispersed forms of organizing across project, funding, and disciplinary boundaries.
A Modified Alcohol SBI for Use among Older Adults Living with HIV

Older adults living with HIV may have health conditions that amplify the potentially negative health effects of alcohol use. We adapted the Comorbidity Alcohol Risk Evaluation Tool (CARET) screening tool for at-risk drinking to reflect HIV/AIDS and related conditions, medications, and behaviors. The adapted CARET-HIV along with a brief intervention was administered to 27 older men living with HIV. The CARET-HIV identified the same number of at-risk drinkers as the original CARET (n = 24) but identified more risk domains. Most participants welcomed receiving information about risks associated with their drinking, but some felt "embarrassed" or "guilty" discussing their drinking. This is particularly salient within the context of HIV discourse, which has historically assigned blame of HIV infection on personal choices. The SBI was generally acceptable to participants. The modified CARET can help providers integrate discussion of alcohol use into the context of HIV care for personalized feedback.
Vertebral Artery Sacrifice versus Skeletonization in the Setting of Cervical Spine Tumor Resection: Case Series.

Objective Tumors of the cervical spine often encase 1 or both vertebral arteries (VA), presenting the treating surgeon with the dilemma of whether to sacrifice or skeletonize the artery. We propose an algorithm for VA management in surgeries for cervical neoplasms Methods A retrospective review was carried out of 67 patients undergoing resection of cervical spine tumors with VA involvement. Patients were categorized by tumor origin (primary vs. metastatic) and degree of circumferential VA involvement: 1) abutment only; 2) 180° circumferential involvement without complete encasement; or 4) complete encasement. Results Twelve patients (18%) underwent VA sacrifice, whereas 55 (82%) underwent VA skeletonization. Compared with 11/30 patients with primary tumors (37%), only 1/37 patients (3%) with metastatic disease underwent VA sacrifice (P Conclusions Primary tumor disease and >180° of circumferential VA involvement should be considered as indications for intraoperative sacrifice of the VA pending preoperative angiographic evaluation for contraindications.
Dysphagia in spinocerebellar ataxias type 1, 2, 3 and 6.

Abstract Background Dysphagia is a common symptom and may be a cause of death in patients with spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs). However, little is known about at which disease stage dysphagia becomes clinically relevant. Therefore, our study aims to investigate the prevalence of dysphagia in different disease stages of SCA 1, 2, 3 and 6. Methods We studied 237 genetically confirmed patients with SCA 1, 2, 3, 6 from the Clinical Research Consortium for SCAs and investigated the prevalence of self-reported dysphagia and the association between dysphagia and other clinical characteristics. We further stratified ataxia severity and studied the prevalence of dysphagia at each disease stage. Results Dysphagia was present in 59.9% of SCA patients. Patients with dysphagia had a longer disease duration and more severe ataxia than patients without dysphagia (patients with dysphagia vs. without dysphagia, disease duration (years): 14.51 ± 8.91 vs. 11.22 ± 7.82, p = .001, scale for the assessment and rating of ataxia [SARA]: 17.90 ± 7.74 vs. 13.04 ± 7.51, p = .000). Dysphagia was most common in SCA1, followed by SCA3, SCA 6, and SCA 2. Dysphagia in SCA1 and 3 was associated robustly with ataxia severity, whereas this association was less obvious in SCA2 and 6, demonstrating genotype-specific clinical variation. Conclusion Dysphagia is a common clinical symptom in SCAs, especially in the severe disease stage. Understanding dysphagia in SCA patients can improve the care of these patients and advance knowledge on the roles of the cerebellum and brainstem control in swallowing.
Patient Satisfaction with Residential Adjustment to Blindness Training

Patients who had received adjustment to blindness training at a VA residential center were questioned as to the program's effectiveness after they had returned to their community for a period of si...
Tough and tunable scaffold-hydrogel composite biomaterial for soft-to-hard musculoskeletal tissue interfaces

Tendon inserts into bone via a fibrocartilaginous interface (enthesis) that reduces mechanical strain and tissue failure. Despite this toughening mechanism, tears occur because of acute (overload) or degradative (aging) processes. Surgically fixating torn tendon into bone results in the formation of a scar tissue interface with inferior biomechanical properties. Progress toward enthesis regeneration requires biomaterial approaches to protect cells from high levels of interfacial strain. We report an innovative tissue reinforcement strategy: a stratified scaffold containing osseous and tendinous tissue compartments attached through a continuous polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel interface. Tuning the gelation kinetics of the hydrogel modulates integration with the flanking compartments and yields biomechanical performance advantages. Notably, the hydrogel interface reduces formation of strain concentrations between tissue compartments in conventional stratified biomaterials that can have deleterious biological effects. This design of mechanically robust stratified composite biomaterials may be appropriate for a broad range of tendon and ligament-to-bone insertions.
Automated Design of Realistic Contingencies for Big Data Generation

The letter proposes an algorithm for big data generation based on realistic selection of a set of contingencies for power systems described by undirected graphs. Every contingency is created by eliminating a certain number of elements in the system represented by graph edges. The number of elements as well as the distance between elements of the contingency is randomly selected according to a geometric probability distributions based on historical data. The duration of a fault that starts the contingency as well as the time intervals between elements of the contingency are chosen by sampling from a gamma distribution. In addition, the absence of islands in the system is assessed by analyzing the connectedness of the graph with deleted edges, which is quantified by computing the number of zero eigenvalues of the Laplacian matrix of the resulting graphs. The algorithm is validated on the Nordic 44-bus power system.
Tenderness and Color Stability of Beef Longissimus Thoracis and Semimembranosus Steaks From Carcasses With Varying Hot Carcass Weights

Our objectives were to determine how beef hot carcass weights relate to temperature and pH decline, Warner-Bratzler shear force, and objective color of steaks from the longissimus thoracis and semimembranosus. Beef carcasses (N = 59) were selected at a commercial plant based on hot carcass weight and separated into either light- ( 408 kg) groups. Temperature and pH in the longissimus thoracis and semi-membranosus muscle were measured for 24 h. After carcasses were chilled for approximately 24 h, ribeye area, 12th rib backfat, kidney, pelvic, and heart fat percentage, marbling score, and USDA final yield grade were collected. Ribeye rolls (Institutional Meat Purchase Specification 112a) and inside rounds (Institutional Meat Purchase Specification 160a) were collected at the plant and transported to the North Dakota State University Meat Laboratory. Data were analyzed using the mixed procedure of SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) with carcass weight class as the fixed effect and day of collection as random. Longissimus thoracis muscle temperature of light-weight carcasses was lower at 4 h compared with heavy-weight carcasses (P = 0.02). Semimembranosus muscle temperature of light- and medium-weight carcasses was lower at 24 h compared with heavy-weight carcasses (P < 0.0001). There were no differences in pH decline (P ≥ 0.16) among carcass weight groups. There were no differences in fat thickness; kidney, pelvic, and heart fat percentage; or marbling score (P ≥ 0.12) among carcass groups. There were no differences in drip loss, cook loss, or Warner-Bratzler shear force in either longissimus thoracis or semimembranosus muscles (P ≥ 0.10) among carcass groups. Objective color measurements found that steaks from heavy-weight carcasses were redder than steaks from light-weight carcasses (P ≤ 0.02). Hot carcass weight group did not influence most meat quality attributes of steaks with the possible exception of color.
Self-Efficacy, Locus of Control and Engagement as Determinants of Grades in a Principles of Marketing Class

Students’ academic performance is usually evaluated by the final grade in a course. There have been limited studies evaluating psychological student traits directly related to academic performance....
The Effects of Expectation Disconfirmations on Customer Outcomes in E-Markets: Impact of National Culture

Prior research has shown that after receiving online services of varying quality, customer expectations are either positively disconfirmed (i.e., services exceed customer expectations) or negatively disconfirmed (i.e., services fall short of customer expectations). The present research examines expectation disconfirmation across national cultures and its subsequent impacts on e-word-of-mouth, e-satisfaction, and e-loyalty. The results show that Chinese customers are more tolerant of e-services that result in negative disconfirmations, although online shoppers from the United States are more likely to be loyal or generate positive e-word-of-mouth when experiencing positive disconfirmations. Suggestions for adjusting multinational e-tailers’ strategies to better serve customers across national cultures are discussed.
Supporting Autonomy in an Exam-Based Context: Results from a Hong Kong-U.S. Telecollaboration

This study contributes to the growing body of research on telecollaboration in Asia-Pacific contexts. Grounded in experiential learning, the goal of this Hong Kong – U.S. project is to promote autonomy in undergraduate education in the Hong Kong context. Participants include 55 undergraduate English majors at a public research university in Hong Kong who engage via social media with 19 undergraduate professional writing students at a private research institution in the U.S. The author explores Hong Kong learners’ autonomy as reflected in their prior experiences and expectations, task engagement in online interactions, and their reflections on motivation regarding team collaboration and satisfaction with final project outcomes. Data triangulation entails a pre-questionnaire, Facebook posts, task reflections, and a post-questionnaire. Findings indicate that most students had prior experience with Facebook which resulted in positive feedback; yet, some students also saw the technical limitations when communicating within a larger group. Moreover, experience regarding teamwork was mixed – as were results from the Hong Kong and Hong Kong-U.S. collaborations. The author discusses motivational reasons and if and how the telecollaboration aided Hong Kong learners’ ability to reflect and structure their own learning in light of curricular assignment and assessment requirements.
Mapping an Eighteenth-Century Wichita Village Site

AbstractOriginally located in a Cross Timbers/short grass prairie ecotone on the Brazos River in central Texas, the Stone site (41ML38), the archaeological site of the late eighteenth-century Wichita (Tawakoni) village of Quiscat’s band, was investigated by Baylor University between 1999 and 2002. A 10 hectare geophysical survey (EM31 ground conductivity meter using a 1m grid interval) produced a village plan showing 75 circular anomalies (10-15 m in diameter), corresponding to the locations of round, grass-thatched lodges, arranged in three concentric ring clusters with outlying parallel rows. Archaeological excavation of one anomaly recovered post-molds arranged in a pattern that corresponded exactly in format (with three concentric rings: fireplace, 12 support posts, and outer walls) and size (9 m diameter) to the pattern derived from analysis of early twentiethcentury ethnographic photographs from Anadarko. The Wichita house served as a model for the layout of the village, and the pattern of house con...
Human Immunodeficiency Viruses: Propagation, Quantification, and Storage

Described in this unit are basic protocols frequently used in the research of human immunodeficiency viruses (HIVs). Provided are methods for propagating and quantifying HIV, as well as recommendations for long-term storage. Background information about these methods is also provided and includes their advantages, disadvantages, and troubleshooting.
Sex-Related Differences in Response to Global Ischemic Insult and Treatment

There are obvious anatomical, physical, and genetic differences between men and women that have always been a central focus of human life. Such differences have become the target of humor, politics, and legal issues and many other aspects of the human experience. At the same time, though receiving less notoriety, there are also striking sex-related differences in the presentation, outcomes, and responses to many disease processes and therapies.
Scheduling many-body short range MD simulations on a cluster of workstations and custom VLSI hardware

Molecular dynamics is a powerful technique used toobtain static or dynamic properties of liquids and solids The sheercomputational intensity of many of these simulations demands more computational power than what any uniprocessor system can provide Fortunately, these simulations can be parallelized, allowing faster execution times on a cluster of workstations Of late, custom VLSI chips have been designed to provide an alternative to parallel techniques The MD-GRAPE 2 is one such solution, offering a peak performance of 64 Gflops We evaluate the performance and cost-effectiveness of various methods used in sequential and parallel molecular dynamics and the MD-GRAPE 2 We then illustrate how MD simulations involving more complex potential functions can be scheduled on parallel machines and the MD-GRAPE 2 simultaneously.
Innate Immunity to Parasitic Infections

The highly divergent lifestyles and patterns of adaptive immune responses associated with control of helminth and protozoan parasites are reflected in the distinct innate responses they trigger and in their consequences for the pathogen. In the case of protozoa, innate immunity has an important role in limiting early parasite replication until cognitive T- and B-lymphocyte responses can dominate. Alternatively, the innate recognition of helminths may function to limit the number of invading larvae and perhaps slow their development prior to the onset of adaptive immunity. Consequently, in order to be successful, parasites have to survive the innate response and this hard-wired system provides a powerful selective pressure on host and microorganism. This is evident from the numerous strategies employed by protozoa and helminths to evade these antimicrobial mechanisms and underscores the importance of studying innate immunity in order to understand the host/parasite adaptation. Perhaps the simplest forms of innate immunity are represented by the presence of preexisting, soluble factors that can recognize and destroy invading parasites. In addition to complement, there are other soluble factors that mediate innate immunity to parasitic infections. Natural killer (NK) cells can produce IL-5, this may represent a mechanism whereby NK cells can influence the development of effector mechanisms required for resistance to worms. Although innate immunity has an important role in resistance to acute infections, it is the adaptive response, characterized by the selective expansion of T and B cells, that is required to provide long-term immunological control of many chronic parasitic infections.