cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Parents With Advanced Cancer: Worries About Their Children’s Unspoken Concerns:

Background:Parents with advanced cancer struggle initiating conversations with their children about the cancer. When parents do not have the tools to talk with their children, they silently watch t...
The Behavioral Intervention with Technology for E-Weight Loss Study (BITES): Incorporating Energy Balance Models and the Bite Counter into an Online Behavioral Weight Loss Program

This study evaluated feasibility and acceptability of adding energy balance modeling displayed on weight graphs combined with a wrist-worn bite counting sensor against a traditional online behavioral weight loss program. Adults with a BMI of 27–45 kg/m2 (83.3% women) were randomized to receive a 12-week online behavioral weight loss program with 12 weeks of continued contact (n = 9; base program), the base program plus a graph of their actual and predicted weight change based on individualized physiological parameters (n = 7), or the base program, graph, and a Bite Counter device for monitoring and limiting eating (n = 8). Participants attended weekly clinic weigh-ins plus baseline, midway (12 weeks), and study culmination (24 weeks) assessments of feasibility, acceptability, weight, and behavioral outcomes. In terms of feasibility, participants completed online lessons (M = 7.04 of 12 possible lessons, SD = 4.02) and attended weigh-ins (M = 16.81 visits, SD = 7.24). Six-month retention appears highest among nomogram participants, and weigh-in attendance and lesson completion appear highest in Bite Counter participants. Acceptability was sufficient across groups. Bite Counter use (days with ≥ 2 eating episodes) was moderate (47.8%) and comparable to other studies. Participants lost 4.6% ± 4.5 of their initial body weight at 12 weeks and 4.5% ± 5.8 at 24 weeks. All conditions increased their total physical activity minutes and use of weight control strategies (behavioral outcomes). Although all groups lost weight and the study procedures were feasible, acceptability can be improved with advances in the technology. Participants were satisfied with the online program and nomograms, and future research on engagement, adherence, and integration with other owned devices is needed. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02857595
Impact Damage Prediction for Wave Energy Converters

Marine and hydrokinetic energy is of growing interest across the globe because it has the potential to provide a large source of renewable energy from the world’s oceans and rivers. These marine and hydrokinetic devices, such as wave energy converters, must operate remotely in all weather conditions, including severe storms. Thus, these devices can suffer from structural damage affecting their performance and lifespan. Therefore, there is interest in developing structural health monitoring systems that can identify new damage, estimate its severity, and then make a decision to provide crews with a maintenance or control recommendation. In this study, we investigate using the electromechanical impedance response of piezoelectric transducers to actively monitor the structural health of composite materials similar to those used in several marine and hydrokinetic devices. Recurring impact damage experiments were completed on five plates using a test drop stand, consisting of five consecutive impacts at the same location for each plate. Classification and regression methods were evaluated in an attempt to predict impact damage on a new plate. Machine learning algorithms were used on data collected over a frequency range of 10 kHz to 100 kHz for two types of piezoelectric transducers.
Reconsidering the Minimum Voting Age in the United States

Several U.S. states have proposed bills to lower the minimum local and national voting age to 16 years. Legislators and the public often reference political philosophy, attitudes about the capabilities of teenagers, or past precedent as evidence to support or oppose changing the voting age. Dissenters to changing the voting age are primarily concerned with whether 16- and 17-year-olds have sufficient political maturity to vote, including adequate political knowledge, cognitive capacity, independence, interest, and life experience. We review past research that suggests 16- and 17-year-olds possess the political maturity to vote. Concerns about youths' ability to vote are generally not supported by developmental science, suggesting that negative stereotypes about teenagers may be a large barrier to changing the voting age.
When Must One Permit Scandals to Arise? A Comparison of Two Traditions:

The essay argues that were a bishop to consult the treatment of scandal in the manuals of moral theology of the last several centuries, he could easily find rational justification for an ecclesial ...
A Taxonomy and Survey on Experimentation Scenarios for Aerial Advanced Wireless Testbed Platforms

There are various works in the recent literature on fundamental research and experimentation on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) communications. On the other hand, to our best knowledge, there is no taxonomy and survey on experimentation possibilities with a software-defined aerial wireless platform. The goal of this paper is first to have a brief overview of large-scale advanced wireless experimentation platforms broadly available to the wireless research community, including also the Aerial Experimentation and Research Platform for Advanced Wireless (AERPAW). We then provide a detailed taxonomy and a comprehensive survey of experimentation possibilities that can be carried out in a platform such as AERPAW. In particular, we conceptualize and present eleven different classes of advanced and aerial wireless experiments, provide several example experiments for each class, and discuss some of the existing related works in the literature. The paper will help to develop a better understanding of the equipment and software resources that can be available for experimentation in mid-scale wireless platforms, as well as the capabilities and limitations of such platforms.
Rigor and Respect: Recruitment Strategies for Engaging Vulnerable Populations in Research.

Engaging vulnerable populations in research is a critical focus for researchers seeking to find ways to improve safety and well-being for broader populations. Vulnerabilities often co-occur, meanin...
Quantum Rounding

We introduce new rounding methods to improve the accuracy of finite precision quantum arithmetic. These quantum rounding methods are applicable when multiple samples are being taken from a quantum program. We show how to use multiple samples to stochastically suppress arithmetic error from rounding. We benchmark these methods on the multiplication of fixed-point numbers stored in quantum registers. We show that the gate counts and depths for multiplying to a target accuracy can be reduced by approximately 2-3X over state of the art methods while using roughly the same number of qubits.
The levels of soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) in saliva are influenced by acute stress.

Abstract Although elevations in systemic suPAR levels have been associated with inflammatory conditions and with exposure to life stress and adversity, it is not yet clear whether acute psychological stress influences suPAR levels, either systemically and/or in saliva. The aim of this study was to investigate whether salivary suPAR levels are increased following exposure to acute psychological stress. Healthy subjects, aged 18–40 years, completed a laboratory psychological stressor and provided saliva samples before and after the stress test (60 min apart). Levels of suPAR as well as those of cytokines increased in the post-stress samples (all ps
Effect of 2-Propanol Treatment on Carbon Tetrachloride Metabolism and Toxicity

The potentiation of carbon tetrachloride (CC14) hepatotoxicity by acute alcohol administration is well known (Cornish and Adefuin, 1967; Strubelt, 1980) although the mechanism of this potentiation is unclear. Carbon tetrachloride must undergo metabolism in order to produce tissue damage (Recknagel and Glende, 1973). Several authors have suggested that increased bioactivation is involved in the alcohol potentiation of CC14 hepatotoxicity (Cote et al., 1974; Maling et al., 1975; Sipes et al., 1973; Strubelt et al., 1978; Traiger and Plaa, 1973) but the evidence on this point is largely indirect.
A day in the life of a statistical knowledge for teaching course

Summary The article illustrates how statistical content and pedagogical reasoning were taught in tandem in an undergraduate course. A typical day in the course is described. It is also suggested that practising teachers can benefit from strategies used in the course.
Chemical and Physical Characterization

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Electron Beam Techniques Ion Beam Techniques X-Ray and Gamma-Ray Techniques Strengths and Weaknesses Appendix 11.1 Selected Features of Some Analytical Techniques References Problems Review Questions
Reliability assessment of access point of advanced metering infrastructure based on Bellcore standards (Telecordia)

Since Access Point (AP) is a vital part of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) for communication and data collection from smart meters, its reliability issue has become one of the prominent issues in the context of the Smart Grid. AP is responsible for collecting data from humongous meters. Any defect in or malfunctioning of the device can result in humungous loss of data, consequently foundering the revenue. In this paper, we assess the reliability of the AP based on the Bellcore standards. Calculating the failure rate is facilitated by applying this reliabilitydriven method for the AP. The reliability prediction for electronic products has been used to speculate the probable reliability level, according to the selection in the design process, such as circuit structure, components, and reliability structural model as well as working environment, work stress and accumulated statistical data.
Neurobehavioral and pregnancy effects of prenatal zidovudine exposure in Sprague-Dawley rats: preliminary findings.

Abstract APPLEWHITE-BLACK, L. E., D. L. DOW-EDWARDS AND H. L. MINKOFF. Neurobehavioral and pregnancy effects of prenatal zidovudine exposure in Sprague–Dawley rats: Preliminary findings. NEUROTOXICOL TERATOL 20 (3) 251–258, 1998.—In 1994, the Public Health Service made prenatal zidovudine (ZDV, AZT) the standard of care to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The current study was undertaken to determine if prenatal exposure to ZDV has an impact on pregnancy outcomes, birth anomalies, or offspring behavior in an animal model using Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats. Thirty-one virgin female SD rats were mated and randomly assigned to receive either ZDV at 150 mg/kg/day or vehicle via gastric intubation for 22 days starting on gestation day (G) 1. On G 22, teratologic examination of 12 litters showed no gross structural malformations. There were no significant differences between the groups for maternal food and water consumption or maternal weight gain across pregnancy. However, ZDV treatment significantly reduced litter size and increased birth weights for both male and female pups. One developmental milestone, pinna detachment, occurred significantly earlier in the ZDV-exposed male pups compared to the vehicle-intubated male controls. On day 21–22 of life, pups in each litter were injected with one of four doses of amphetamine and were observed for behavioral activity in a photobeam-based activity monitor for 1 h. Overall amphetamine increased activity and decreased thigmotaxis or wall-hugging behavior. ZDV treatment increased the locomotor response to amphetamine in females only and dampened the action of amphetamine to decrease thigmotaxis in both genders. Further studies are warranted to determine the threshold dose at which these changes occur, the duration of the effects, as well as the neurochemical system(s) responsible for the altered amphetamine responses.
Materials compatibility considerations for a fusion-fission hybrid reactor design

The Tandem Mirror Hybrid Reactor is a fusion reactor concept that incorporates a fission-suppressed breeding blanket for the production of /sup 233/U to be used in conventional fission power reactors. The present paper reports on compatibility considerations related to the blanket design. These considerations include solid-solid interactions and liquid metal corrosion. Potential problems are discussed relative to the reference blanket operating temperature (490/sup 0/C) and the recycling time of breeding materials (<1 year).
Psychrophiles and Psychrotrophs

Psychrophiles are extremophilic bacteria or archaea which are cold-loving having an optimal temperature for growth at about 15°C or lower, a maximal temperature for growth at about 20°C and a minimal temperature for growth at 0°C or lower. Psychrotrophs are cold-tolerant bacteria or archaea that have the ability to grow at low temperatures but have optimal and maximal growth temperatures above 15 and 20°C, respectively. The Earth has extensive cold ecosystems that do not reach temperatures greater than 5°C (e.g., polar surface and ice-cap regions, permafrost and worldwide deep oceans). Psychrophiles and psychrotrophs are cold-loving extremophiles adroitly adapted to these environmental conditions, and are often capable of enduring extended periods of cryobiosis.
Immunological studies of aging. Normal B-cell repertoire in aged mice: studies at a clonal level.

Abstract As previously reported, old mice produce lower avidity plaque-forming cells (PFC) after immunization with 2, 4, 6-trinitrophenyl-Ficoll (TNP-F) than do young mice. However, if spleen cells from TNP-F-immunized old mice are incubated with hapten to elute auto-anti-idiotype antibody then high avidity PFC, comparable to those in young mice, are detected. To further evaluate the effect of age on the B-cell repertoire anti-2, 4, 6-trinitrophenyl-bovine gamma globulin (TNP-BGG) hybridomas were prepared from young (6 to 8 weeks old) and old (18 to 24 months old) mice which had been primed and boosted with TNP-BGG. The monoclonal antibodies (MoAb's) were TNP-specific. Spleens from old and young mice were comparable with respect to the incidence of immunoglobulin-secreting hybridomas obtained, the incidence of TNP-BGG-specific hybridomas obtained, and the isotype distribution of the anti-TNP-BGG hybridomas. The avidities for TNP-BGG of the IgG1 anti-TNP-BGG MoAb's obtained from old and young donors were also comparable. The overall results thus suggest that old and young mice have similar B-cell repertoires and that differences in the antibodies produced are due to regulatory influences.
Fate of GAP-43 in ascending spinal axons of DRG neurons after peripheral nerve injury: delayed accumulation and correlation with regenerative potential

Proteins characteristic of growing axons often fail to be induced or transported along axons that have been interrupted far from their cell bodies in the adult mammalian CNS. Here, we inquire whether long axons in the mammalian CNS can support efficient axonal transport and deposition of one such protein, GAP-43, when the protein is induced in neuron cell bodies. We have used immunocytochemistry to follow the fate of GAP-43 in dorsal column axons ascending the rat spinal cord from dorsal column axons ascending the rat spinal cord from dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, after synthesis of the protein is induced in these cells by peripheral nerve injury. Sciatic nerve lesions do lead to an accumulation of GAP-43 in dorsal column axons derived from the lumbar DRG. However, in distal segments of these CNS axons, accumulation of GAP-43 is apparent only after a delay of 1-2 weeks, in contrast to its rapid accumulation in axon segments within the PNS environment, suggesting that deposition and stabilization of GAP-43 can be limited by local, posttranslational regulation. GAP-43 immunoreactivity subsides to control levels within 8 weeks after crush lesions that permit peripheral axon regeneration, but remains robust 8 weeks after resection lesions that prevent peripheral regeneration. Accumulation of GAP-43 in cervical dorsal column axons after peripheral nerve injury is closely correlated with the ability of these axons to respond to local cues capable of eliciting axon growth (Richardson and Verge, 1986).
Digital Filter Architecture

This chapter contains sections titled: Filter Architecture Direct I and II Architectures Direct I and II MATLAB IIR Support Matlab Direct I and II Structures Cascade Architecture First-And Second-Order Subfilters Matlab First-And Second-Order Sections Parallel Architecture Cascade/Parallel MATLAB Support Ladder/Lattice IIRS ]]>
Some Implications of the Distribution of Interstellar Molecules

It is suggested that molecular observations of interstellar clouds can be used to determine the stage of cloud evolution. However, before observational data can reliably be used to investigate the evolutionary path leading from a tenuous cloud of gas and interstellar dust to a star cluster, mechanisms of molecular formation, excitation, and destruction must be taken into account. The evidence is growing that interstellar dust grains have an important role in molecular formation and destruction.
OPTICAL AND THERMAL PERFORMANCES OF A HALF-CIRCULAR, CYLINDRICAL CONCENTRATOR

ABSTRACT This paper deals with the investigation of the optical and thermal performances of a non-tracking, half-circular cylindrical solar concentrator. To date, the study of the optical and thermal properties has resulted in the selection of a class of receivers for the non-tracking mode in which the concentrator can be used. The receiver is designed to have placement and size to take into account the changing orientation of the incident solar radiation as the declination changes throughout the year. The design consideration of various types of receivers is under study, the chief among which are: (a) circular and (b) triangular. Our study focuses primarily on: (a) the geometrical consideration of the concentrator and the receiver for the optimum absorption of sunlight, (b) the study of the optical parameters such as the concentration ratio and the average number of reflections as well as the case of multiple reflections and (c) the analysis of the collctor in terms of heat transfer coefficent, heat loss coefficient, useful energy gain and the efficiency of the collector. The results suggest that the concentrator performs satisfactorily even under non-tracking mode when compared with a flat-plate collector. The cost effectiveness of the use of such a concentrator favors comparably, if used for space heating and cooling.
A 10-Watt cw photodissociation laser with iodo-perfluoro-tert-butane

The operation of a 10-W cw iodine laser system with the iodide t-C4F9I was achieved. The laser system was driven by a 40-kW solar simulating irradiance from a long argon arc that was previously operated with the common iodide n-C3F7I.1
Geometric quantization of particles in quark model

A glance at a table of particle masses shows that the proton and neutron masses are amazingly close in value. They are in fact two manifestations of one and the same particle called the "nucleon," in very much the same way as the two states of an electron with spin up and down are thought of as one, not two, particles. The mathematical structure used to discuss the similarity of neutron and the proton is almost a carbon copy of spin, and is called "isospin". Isospin arises because the nucleon may be viewed as having an internal degree of freedom with two allowed states, the proton and the neutron, which the nuclear interaction does not distinguish. We therefore have an SU(2) symmetry in which they form the fundamental representation. Classical dynamics of particles with internal degrees of freedom is described in terms of a principal SU(2) bundle over the cotangent bundle of the space-time manifold. Geometric Quantization of particles with isotopic spin was exhib i ted . [2] One c a n c a r r y t h r o u g h the s a m e ca l cu l a t i on for t h e q u a r k model . [1] Namely , we c o n s i d e r h a d r o n s a re m a d e up of a smal l va r i e t y of m o r e bas i c en t i t i es , ca l led quarks , b o u n d t o g e t h e r in d i f f e ren t ways. The f u n d a m e n t a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of SU(3), t he mul t i p l e t f rom which all o t h e r mu l t i p l e t s c a n be buil t , is a t r ip le t . In o t h e r words , i t is d e s c r i b e d in t e r m s of a p r inc ipa l SU(3) b u n d l e over the c o t a n g e n t b u n d l e of t he s p a c e t i m e manifold . Let Z be t he p r inc ipa l SU(3) bund le over the s p a c e t i m e man i fold Y. We i n t r o d u c e a SU(3)invar iant m e t r i c K on Z which gives r ise to a m e t r i c N on Y. The c o n n e c t i o n fo rm on Z is def ined by
Soil conservation and water quality improvement: What farmers think

DEBATE continues in the American agricultural community over policy for achieving soil conservation and the reduction of nonpoint-source pollution. This debate is sharpened by the goals to reduce nonpoint-source pollution expressed in such legislation as Section 208 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, the Clean Water Act of 1977, the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977, and the Rural Clean Water Program outlined in the Agricultural Appropriations Act of 1980. “Best management practice” is a term commonly used to identify a practice or system of practices for controlling agricultural nonpoint-source pollution. Technical information on such practices attests to their effectiveness for improving water quality. But adoption of best management practices by farmers has been hampered by differences in perceptions between public officials and farmers as to what factors influence decisions. Most economic modeling studies of soil conservation and water quality issues use linear programming. Such studies assume that a farmer's primary motivation is profmaximization. But, there may be other factors involved in a farmer's adoption of best management practices. Personal valuse and beliefs, neighborhood and social pressures, and traditions may have as much or more …
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ON THE SYMBIOTIC STAR AG DRACONIS

AG Draconis contains a relatively early cool component. Quoted spectral types range from dG7 (Wilson 1943) to K3III (Boyarchuck 1969). Most recently Smith and Bopp (1981) adopt G7IIIe. The optical spectrum shows in emission the permitted lines of hydrogen and helium, both neutral and singly ionized. At various times the spectrum of the late type component has been heavily veiled by a blue continuum and numerous lines of various stages of ionization of iron have been seen, including the 6830 A feature which Allen (1980) attributes to Fe VI. On the other hand, on a KPNO echelle spectrum taken by one of the current authors (CMA) in 1977 August, the late giant spectrum was very sharp and no iron or forbidden lines were present. The lack of the forbidden lines identifies AG Dra as a high density case and thus it conforms to the spectral type-density correlation found by Allen (1980).
Head-to-head polymers. XXXVI: Synthesis and polymerization of 2,3-di[ 1(or 2)-naphthyl]butadiene-1,3

2,3-Di(1-naphthyl)butadicne-1,3 and 2,3-di(2-naphthyl)butadiene-1,3 were synthesized by dehydrobromination of 2,3-di(1-naphthyl)1,4-dibromobutane and 2,3-di(2-naphthyl)1,4-dibromobutane, respectively, using sodium ethoxide in dimethyl sulfoxide as the dehydrobrominating agent. The 2,3-disubstituted dienes-1,3 were obtained in yields of 70 to 80% and were characterized. Polymerization of either of the two dienes with azobisisobutyronitrile gave poly[2,3-di(1(or 2)-naphthyl)butadiene-1,3]. The polymers were characterized. 2,3-Di(1-naphthyl)butadien-1,3 und 2,3-Di(2-naphthyl)butadiene-1,3 wurden durch Dehydrobromierung von 2,3-Di(1-naphthyl)1,4-dibrombutan bzw. 2,3-Di(2-naphthyl)1,4-dibrombutan unter Verwendung von Natriumethoxid in Dimethylsulfoxid als Dehydrobromierungsmittel synthetisiert. Die 2,3-disubstituierten 1,3-Diene wurden mit Ausbeuten von 70 bis 80% erhalten und charakterisiert. Die Polymerisation der beiden Diene mit Azobisisobutyronitril ergab Poly[2,3-di(1(bzw. 2)-naphthyl)butadien-1,3]. Die Polymere wurden charaktersiert.
The effect of a tall tower on flow and dispersion through a model urban neighborhood

Wind tunnel experiments were performed to examine the effect of a tall tower on the flow around an otherwise uniform array of buildings. Additionally, preliminary CFD simulations were run to visualize the flow with more resolution. The model used in both the wind tunnel and CFD studies was designed to simulate an area of Brooklyn, NY, USA, where blocks of residential row houses form a neighborhood bordering a major urban highway. This area was the site of a field study that, along with the work reported here, had the goal of improving the understanding of airflow and dispersion patterns within urban microenvironments. Results reveal that a tall tower has a dramatic effect on the flow in the street canyons in the neighboring blocks, enhancing the exchange between the street canyon flow and the freestream flow aloft. In particular, vertical motion down the windward side and up the leeward side of the tower resulted in strong flows in the lateral street canyons and increased winds in the street canyons in the immediate vicinity of the tower. These phenomena were visible in both the wind tunnel and CFD results, although some minor differences in the flow fields were noted.
Mathematical and Computational Methods for Studying Energy Transduction in Protein Motors

Protein motors play a central role in many cellular functions. Due to the small size of these molecular motors, their motion is dominated by high viscous friction and large thermal fluctuations. There are many levels of modeling molecular motors: from simple chemical kinetic models with a small number of discrete states to all atom molecular dynamics simulations. Here we describe a mathematical framework for an intermediate level of description. In this approach the major conformational changes of the motor protein are treated as continuous motions and changes in the chemical state of the motor are modeled as discrete Markov transitions. We discuss a numerical method for solving the Fokker-Planck equations that result from this mathematical framework and describe its extension to solving motor-cargo systems. We show that when the potential is discontinuous, detailed balance is a necessary condition for numerical convergence. We study the behavior of a motor-cargo system where the motor is driven by a tilted periodic potential. In particular, we derive a formula for the effective diffusion coefficient in the weak spring limit and analytically show that if the ratio of the motor size to that of the cargo is sufficiently large, then the velocity does not obtain its maximum value in the weak spring limit.
Lack of in vivo DNA binding of mercaptobenzothiazole to selected tissues of the rat

In this study, the in vivo binding of 14C-labelled 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT) to DNA was investigated. Male and female Fischer 344 rats were gavaged with 375 mg MBT/kg body weight and killed 8 hours later. DNA was extracted from the liver, adrenal glands, pituitary gland, pancreas, and bone marrow and the amount of radioactivity associated with the DNA was determined. Results from this study indicate that MBT does not significantly bind to DNA from any of the tissues examined. CBI values for liver for the 3 methods of purification were -1-3 which are on the low end of the covalent binding index. The CBI values for the other tissues were always less than 1. Other chemicals with similar CBI values include estrone and diethylstilbesterol. Strong hepatocarcinogens such as dimethylnitrosamine and aflatoxin have CBI values ranging from 6000 to greater than 20000.
Critical plasmons of a quasiperiodic semiconductor superlattice.

We study the plasma excitations of an array of two-dimensional electron-gas layers arranged in a Fibonacci sequence. The plasmon spectrum is analyzed by a transfer-matrix method. It is shown that the spectrum is always "critical," i.e., it corresponds to neither extended nor localized plasmon states. This property is reflected in the calculated Raman intensities.
Characterization of embedded RF elements on a 3D integrated circuit

A single turn inductor is fabricated on Tier 2 of a three dimensional IC and is de-embedded and characterized up to 5 GHz. A three step de-embedding technique [1] is employed and proved inadequate to characterize a 3DIC passive structure. On-chip standards are fabricated on the same tier to assist shifting the calibration plane inside the stated IC and measure the DUT. Characterizing the device to its true specifications is important because in cases where accuracy is critical, for example oscillators, where parasitic elements might hamper the sustenance of oscillation which proves hazardous for the design success. The goal behind the experiment is to validate the de-embedded inductor in a 3DIC by comparing the results to simulated and measured values and predict the error in advance with the help of a simulated fixture to design reliable RF circuits on a 3DIC.
A pilot study to measure upper extremity H-reflexes following neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy after stroke.

Upper extremity (UE) hemiparesis persists after stroke, limiting hand function. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is an effective intervention to improve UE recovery, although the underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. Our objective was to establish a reliable protocol to measure UE agonist–antagonist forearm monosynaptic reflexes in a pilot study to determine if NMES improves wrist function after stroke. We established the between-day reliability of the H-reflex in the extensor carpi radialis longus (ECRL) and flexor carpi radialis (FCR) musculature for individuals with prior stroke (n = 18). The same-day generation of ECRL/FCR H-reflex recruitment curves was well tolerated, regardless of age or UE spasticity. The between-day reliability of the ECRL H-reflex was enhanced above FCR, similar to healthy subjects [20], with the Hmax the most reliable parameter quantified in both muscles. H-reflex and functional measures following NMES show the potential for NMES-induced increases in ECRL Hmax, but confirmation requires a larger clinical study. Our initial results support the safe, easy, and efficacious use of in-home NMES, and establish a potential method to measure UE monosynaptic reflexes after stroke.
Oil, Coalitions, and Regime Durability: the Origins and Persistence of Popular Rentierism in Kuwait

While the canonical literature on oil wealth suggests that hydrocarbon windfalls encourage repressive despotism, Kuwait provides a case of an oil-rich autocracy governing instead through popular rentierism—that is, through a broad coalition of social forces, one that furnishes enduring loyalty from below while constraining abuses of state power from above. This paper provides a theoretically guided explanation for this exceptional outcome. I argue that the Kuwaiti regime’s coalitional bargains originated in the pre-oil era, when domestic opposition and geopolitical constrictions compelled it to forge new social alliances at the dawn of modern statehood. This inclusionary strategy mediated the subsequent effect of oil rents, which the regime used to institutionalize its mass base with costly material and symbolic side payments. Such popular incorporation bound large constituent classes to the regime’s survival, precluding the need for widespread repression. After 50 years, these coalitional bargains have also proven remarkably resilient, as social actors have continued to endorse the autocratic leadership despite economic crisis and wartime defeat.
Photoperiod and tutor access affect the process of vocal learning.

Abstract Song learning in white-crowned sparrows, Zonotrichia leucophrys , involves three steps: memorization of external models, song practice and selection of a song from the practiced repertoire for crystallization. These three events occur in a sequential and predictable order during the first year of life in captive sparrows. To study the external regulation of these events, we raised nestling sparrows under conditions in which photoperiod and tutor exposure were manipulated. We measured plasma testosterone concentration twice a month to study its role in the mediation of vocal learning. We conclude that the timing of song memorization is relatively impervious to photoperiodic manipulation. Song practice and crystallization, however, were readily influenced by both photoperiod and tutor exposure. We suggest that low testosterone concentrations permit acquisition at an older age than would normally occur, and confirm that testosterone propels the transition to production of crystallized song, but is not required for the onset of song practice.
Rodlet cells in the posterior intestine of embryos and neonates of two poeciliid species

Rodlet cells occurred in the posterior intestine of embryos and neonates of the swordtail Xiphophorus nigrensis, its hybrids with Xiphophorus pygmaeus and in the platyfish Xiphophorus maculatus. This is the first observation of these enigmatic cells in a viviparous teleost prior to birth. This finding lends support to the endogenous tenet regarding the origin of this cell.
Contextual Influences on the Career Development of Low-Income African American Youth Considering an Ecological Approach

There is a growing disconnect between the dominant view of the United States as a country of prosperous, middle-class citizens and the more difficult reality for African American youth from low-income backgrounds, who often see few options for attaining their share of prosperity. This article examines the potential of using an ecological model, phenomenological variant of ecological systems theory (PVEST), to identify the strengths and skills of low-income African American youth that will help them engage with career development activity. PVEST has been used to elaborate the impact of contextual influences on education and decision making of African American youth. The authors conclude that using an assets-based ecological model to explicate the career development process could be helpful in understanding the challenges and the potential positive and strengthening effects that contextual factors provide for low-income African American youth.
Multidisciplinary Management of Recurrent Chordomas

The management of recurrent chordomas are clinically challenging because of its relentless nature. Local therapy, whether surgery or radiation, are important considerations since local progression of disease results in significant morbidity and locally aggressive treatment is often required. Stereotactic radiosurgery, shown to be very effective for radioresistant histologies, may be an important radiotherapeutic approach for recurrent tumors. Ultimately, the treatment of recurrent chordoma is palliative in intent, thus, enthusiasm for improving local control must be tempered against the possible impact of treatment on quality of life. Judicious use of radiotherapy and surgery can often provide meaningful palliation and local control of recurrences. Systemic treatment options, particularly with targeted molecules have great potential for chordomas in the recurrent setting, as the risk of disseminated disease is higher. The development of tools to help assess potential targets for drug therapy will be crucial. The incorporation of locally aggressive therapy and effective systemic therapy will be critical for the successful management of recurrent chordomas. At present, there is a paucity of published data regarding salvage therapy. Nonetheless, advances in surgical, medical, and radiation oncology are providing new avenues of research and potentially may have significant impact upon successful salvage treatment.
Calculating immobile gas saturations

We present a simple, fast, analytical expression which can be used to estimate the reservoir pressure as a function of gas saturation, for gas saturations between zero and the critical gas saturation. Use of the relation also makes it extremely easy to assess the local recovery factor as a function of pressure from the bubble point down to the pressure at which the critical gas saturation is reached.
Cognitive Attributions and Emotional Expectancies Predict Emotions in Mother-Adolescent Interactions:

The purpose of this study was to examine adolescent’s hostile attributions of mother’s intent and emotional self-expectancies as contributors to expression of emotion between mothers and adolescents. Data were collected from 268 10- to 12-year-olds (133 girls, 135 boys) and their mothers. Each dyad was observed in a conversational activity that was coded for both partners’ expressions of four discrete emotions: happiness, anger, sadness, and fear. Adolescents responded to hypothetical stories to assess their emotional expectancies and attributions. Regression analysis revealed that adolescents’ hostile attributions and emotional expectancies made independent contributions to the expression of happiness and anger with their mother. Adolescents who interpreted their mother’s hypothetical behavior as hostile, and who expected to feel less happiness and more anger in response to their mother’s hypothetical behavior, expressed less happiness and more anger with their mother. The findings support the conceptual...
DOES NATION BUILDING SPUR ECONOMIC GROWTH

Nation building, the allocation of economic aid conditional on military assistance in conflict and post-conflict environments, has cost the world trillions of dollars over the last half century. Yet few attempts have been made to quantify the potential economic growth effects for the recipient country from the provision of this aid. Using a 45-year panel dataset, we construct a measure of nation building using a three-way interaction term between military assistance, economic aid, and conflict regime. Considering that slow growing and problem-prone countries may be less likely to receive aid, we instrument for economic aid by estimating donor-to-donee aid flows in a first-stage procedure. Using this approach, we find that spending on nation building has positive growth effects during conflict periods, but that these effects disappear after conflict. (JEL F3, F4, O5)
School-age and adolescent children's perceptions of family functioning in neglectful and non-neglectful families

OBJECTIVE: Examined the question, do neglected children's perceptions of their own family's functioning acknowledge the differences that exist between neglectful and non-neglectful families? METHOD: An inter-rater consistency design was used; child and caseworker reports of family functioning in neglectful (n = 33) and non-neglectful families (n = 34) were compared. RESULTS: After establishing significant differences between the socioemotional and physical environment provided by neglectful and non-neglectful families, the results indicated that children from neglectful families perceived a higher level of quality in family functioning that was not reported by caseworkers or supported by other measures. CONCLUSIONS: Implications for designing effective interventions for school-age and adolescent children from neglectful families are discussed. Language: en
Evolutionary biology: males from Mars.

In an ant species — or is it two species? — females are produced only by females and males only by males. Explanations of this revelation have to invoke some decidedly offbeat patterns of natural selection. An extreme case of sexual conflict has been unearthed in the little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata. Queens produce sterile workers by sexual reproduction, but all new queens are produced clonally. This potentially reduces male reproductive success to zero but in an apparent response, males thwart queens by eliminating the female genome during brood development. Sons therefore have nuclear genomes identical to those of their father: they too are clonally produced. This remarkable reproductive system effectively results in a complete separation of the male and female gene pools.
Applying a traumatic stress approach to understanding PCS following pediatric mild TBI

Pediatric traumatic brain injury is a significant public health concern affecting hundreds of thousands of children each year. The majority of children who sustain traumatic brain injuries are classified as having a mild traumatic brain injury, and a subset of these children go on to experience persistent physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms. These symptoms, known as postconcussive symptoms, can endure for months and even years after injury. The outcomes of mild traumatic brain injury are variable and not well understood for a small percentage of children who experience persistent symptoms. The current article explores the potential influence of children's posttraumatic stress symptoms on persistent postconcussive symptoms. Despite the high incidence of posttraumatic stress symptoms after pediatric accidental injury, they have not yet been identified as an important factor for consideration in the understanding of pediatric postconcussive outcomes. The article will review the literature on posttraumatic stress and postconcussive symptoms after pediatric injury and consider neurobiological and cognitive factors to propose a model explaining a pathway through which posttraumatic stress reactions may serve as the mechanism for the expression and maintenance of postconcussive symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury. The clinical implications for the proposed relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms and postconcussive symptoms are considered prior to the conclusion of the article, which acknowledges limitations in the current literature and provides suggestions for future research.
Entangled-photons Raman spectroscopy

It is well known that Raman spectroscopy suers from low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In this paper we oer a general framework based on quantum illumination that describes Rayleigh and Raman spectroscopy using an arbitrarily large number of entangled and non-entangled photons. Our objective is to analyze Rayleigh and Raman spectroscopy as a quantum information channel and study its asymptotic limits. In particular, if we consider quantum entanglement as an information resource, then the use of entangled photons oers an exponentially large improvement on the SNR of the Raman spectrometer. That is, the correlations embedded in quantum entanglement can be exploited to enhance the Raman signature of tested samples.
Ara-C treatment leads to differentiation and reverses the transformed phenotype in a human rhabdomyosarcoma cell line

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is an embryonal tumor of childhood that arises from primitive skeletal muscle-forming cells (rhabdomyoblasts) probably arrested and transformed along the normal myogenic pathway to maturation. Since Ara-C is an antitumor agent known to induce differentiation in human acute myelogenous leukemia, also presumably a disorder of cellular maturation, we treated RD, a human embryonal RMS cell line, with Ara-C and evaluated its effect on growth and differentiation. Ara-C treatment of RD cells in vitro caused a dose-dependent growth inhibition in the absence of cytotoxicity. Interestingly, RD cells treated with 5 x 10(-7) M Ara-C for 4 days were able to recover logarithmic growth after the removal of the drug from the media. A reexposure of these cells to Ara-C led to morphological and biochemical changes related to differentiation, including the appearance of an increased number of multinucleated cells that expressed muscle-specific actin and skeletal muscle myosin heavy chain (MHC) (fast). In vivo studies demonstrated that RD cells pretreated with 5 x 10(-7) M Ara-C lost their ability to form tumors in nude mice. We conclude that treatment of this human embryonal RMS cell line with Ara-C results in marked growth inhibition in vitro, loss of tumorigenicity in vivo, and the expression of biochemical markers present in a more differentiated phenotype. These data suggest a potential role for differentiation therapy as a therapeutic approach in RMS.
A test of the clarity interpretation of the repetition effect

Abstract Performance improves with repeated observations of a tachistoscopically presented visual form. Explanations of this “repetition effect” have been proposed in terms of increasing phenomenal clarity by Haber and his colleagues, and in terms of a model assuming perceptual independence by the present authors. A consequence of the clarity hypothesis is that Ss who are instructed to draw what they see, an operation intended to attenuate the stimulus error, should improve their reproductions over repetitions. Three long-term Ss made drawings of Landolt rings, and then other Ss made decisions based upon their drawings. The clarity hypothesis predicts that decisions based on drawings later in a sequence of repetitions should be more accurate than those based on drawings earlier in the sequence. The assumption of perceptual independence predicts that, to the extent the stimulus error is attenuated, there should be no such increase in accuracy. Results are interpreted primarily as contravening the clarity hypothesis.
Toxicity of Various Selenium Derivatives to Chick Embryos

Abstract Several selenium derivatives were injected into 4-day old chick embryos and their LD 50 values were calculated. A recently identified excretory product from rats was shown to be low in toxicity to chick embryos. The most toxic compound in the series studied was methylseleninic acid. Embryonic monstrosities were produced in this study especially by the injection of sodium selenite or selenomethionine. The data are discussed with respect to how they agree with the pathway of selenium reduction proposed for molds.
A Dog Model Using an implanted System for Protracted Hepatic Arterial Chemotherapy

A model for hepatic arterial chemotherapy studies using large dogs and an implantable infusion pump has been developed. Using this technique near complete perfusion (>90%) of the liver can be achieved in vivo as determined by hepatic arterial perfusion scintigraphy with technitium 99m macroaggregated albumin. The system is reliable and has been in use for a total of 1353 days (mean of 104 days, range 52-239) in 13 dogs. Pump implantation causes no apparent acute liver damage based on pre- and postoperative alkaline phosphatase and serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase determinations and does not affect the general mobility or behavior of the animals. Careful placement of the catheter and attention to the physicochemical properties of the solutions loaded are factors contributing to the success of the model. The model permits comprehensive preclinical pharmacokinetic and toxicologic studies of new or preexistent chemotherapeutic agents in the same device that will be used for later administration in human subjects. By providing the means to examine and develop new treatment modalities, it enables the design of even more potent cytotoxic therapy directed into the tumor vascular bed.