cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Learning by Applying: The Case of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award

This paper examines whether organizations improve their quality performance after applying for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA). Using longitudinal data on organizations’ actual scores on MBNQA applications between 1990 and 2006, we examine whether quality performance improved after organizations’ initial application, the relationship between organizations’ initial quality performance and subsequent improvement, and whether quality improvement differed based on applicants’ industry sector. We examine these questions using the Heckman two-stage econometric modeling strategy. Building upon the organizational learning and absorptive capacity literatures, we find that organizations improve their quality performance after their first MBNQA application, initial quality performance displays an inverted U-shaped relationship with quality improvement such that organizations with low (but not the lowest) quality scores on their initial MBNQA application saw the largest subsequent quality gains, and organizations in the manufacturing sector experienced larger quality gains than organizations in other sectors. Analyses at the subcategory level reveal a pattern of findings that further corroborates our theory. We describe the implications of these findings with regard to operations management theory, managerial practice, and public policy.
Methods for Suppression of the H2O Signal in Proton FT/NMR Spectroscopy

Fourier transform NMR in dilute aqueous solutions is essential for the analysis of the solution structure and dynamics of biological molecules (e.g., proteins, carbohydrates, phospholipids, RNA, DNA), drugs, and a wide variety of polar molecules (Wuthrich, 1976; Wuthrich,1986; Campbell-Burke and Shulman, 1987; Brindle and Campbell, 1987; Shulman et al., 1979; Radda and Seeley, 1979; Kuchel et al., 1984; Rabenstein, 1984; Scott and Baxter, 1981; Roberts and Jandetzky, 1981). Although much can be learned about the nonexchangeable protons from FT/NMR conducted in D2O solution, exchangeable protons (e.g., base-pair protons in RNA and DNA) can obviously be observed only in H2O. Even in D2O, the residual HDO signal can be large enough to obscure signals at or near the HDO peak.
Abstract TMP111: Physical Activity among Stroke Patients in the Discharge Educational Strategies for Reduction of Vascular Events (DESERVE) Study

Introduction: Previous research has emphasized the importance of physical activity in preventing secondary stroke. However, approaches to improving physical activity after stroke have been suboptim...
Resilient Thinking: An Important Tool to Contribute to Sustainable Development

This article presents a review of the most relevant literature on resilience, from a practical point of view, and proposes a synthesis to provide a fresh perspective on the concept. The objective is to position the concept of resilience and its practices, or “resilience thinking,” as a multidisciplinary undertaking that can give rise to transversal initiatives to seek stability in people’s well-being and to provide a continuous life quality. Resilience has the ability, then, to generate debate and analysis on various, often archetypal, issues forcing policy makers, analysts, and professionals, in general, to look at the consequences of actions from a systemic perspective. From this point of view, resilience necessarily addresses aspects of sustainability and sustainable development that can contribute in our path to a stable world. Questions will be addressed such as: What is the relationship between resilience and sustainable development? And, how do we look at resilience from an urban perspective? Notwithstanding that, perhaps, the answer lies solely in the fact that humanity looks to the future and wants and must preserve much of what it now values for the future generations. It wants sustainability, and resilience is one way to achieve it.
Introduction: The 2018–2019 Term at the Supreme Court

Each year, the Supreme Court of the United States announces new rulings with deep consequences for our lives. This second volume in Palgrave’s SCOTUS series describes, explains, and contextualizes the major cases of the US Supreme Court for the term ending in 2019. This chapter summarizes the major decisions of the 11 core cases covered in this book, which focused on four constitutional questions: defendants’ rights, fair elections, separation of powers, and the establishment of religion.
Utilization of Lignin-Derived Small Molecules: Epoxy Polymers from Lignin Oxidation Products

Much effort has been invested in developing methods for producing small molecules from lignin as a way to source feedstock chemicals from renewable sources. Significant progress is being made, and ...
Behavior Support Coaching for a Paraprofessional Working With First-Grade Students Exhibiting Disruptive Behavior Problems in an Urban High-Poverty Elementary School:

Despite receiving little to no training in behavior management, paraprofessionals often support young students with or at risk of disruptive behavior disorders in elementary schools. The Behavior S...
Detecting loss-of-coolant accidents without accident-specific data

Abstract This paper develops an automated fault detection tool to detect very small LOCAs in pressurized water reactors that would be difficult for operators to detect manually. One of the primary challenges with previous automated fault detection methods, which are data-driven, is that they require data from LOCAs; however, it may be difficult to capture real operational data from LOCA scenarios. This work uses a physics-inspired approach that equates the physical effects of a LOCA to changes in known variables. This approach enables the detection of very small LOCAs using data-driven approaches that use nominal operating data without the need for LOCA data. The approach combines data-driven modeling with control-theoretic estimation techniques to detect LOCAs and estimate their magnitudes in real-time. First, simulated process data for a variety of nominal operating conditions is collected using a generic pressurized water reactor simulator. Then, that data is used to train an artificial neural network regression model that captures the nonlinear plant dynamics. Finally, the regression model is used in a particle filter to detect the onset and estimate the magnitude of the leak. These methods are successfully verified using LOCA simulations that would be hard to manually distinguish from normal operating transients.
Abstract B01: Genome-scale shRNA screen provides insight into the role of CUL3 in adaptive mechanisms of resistance to mutant BRAF inhibition

MAPK inhibition with targeted BRAF inhibitors has revolutionized the treatment of BRAF-mutant melanoma. However, in most cases, the effects of mutant BRAF inhibition are transient, owing to the acquisition of drug resistance. To resolve mechanisms that drive resistance to mutant BRAF inhibition, we performed a genome-scale shRNA screen capable of revealing genes whose loss of function confers resistance to vemurafenib (VEM). We validated ten of our top candidates with independent lentiviral shRNA constructs. We found that knockdown of NF1 and CUL3 confers resistance to VEM. This result is consistent with previous genome-scale loss-of-function screens that have also identified NF1 and CUL3 as drivers of resistance to mutant BRAF inhibition. NF1 encodes a protein that hydrolyzes Ras-GTP. Not surprisingly, it has been shown that loss of NF1 results in increased Ras-GTP levels that lead to reactivation of MAPK in the presence of VEM. However, little is known about the mechanistic changes that underlie CUL3-mediated resistance. Here, we show that unlike the classical reactivation of MAPK that is seen with the loss of NF1, loss of CUL3 results in increased signaling through a Rac1-dependent focal-adhesion-like process that is accompanied by sustained MAPK activity in the presence of VEM. Furthermore, we show that this mechanism of resistance can be abrogated by inhibiting the Src kinase family, a nine-member protein family that critically mediates integrin signaling. In relation to other known drivers of resistance to mutant BRAF inhibition, loss of NF1 reactivates MAPK in a manner much like RAS mutations or BRAF alterations/amplification. By contrast, loss of CUL3 leads to resistance reminiscent of a reversible therapy-resistant state that lacks the key genomic alterations in MAPK signaling proteins. Citation Format: Marion Vanneste, Eliot Zhu, Charlotte Feddersen, Afshin Varzavand, Tyler Foley, Lei Zhao, Rob Piper, Christopher Stipp, Adam Dupuy, Michael Henry. Genome-scale shRNA screen provides insight into the role of CUL3 in adaptive mechanisms of resistance to mutant BRAF inhibition [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Melanoma: From Biology to Target; 2019 Jan 15-18; Houston, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(19 Suppl):Abstract nr B01.
Effect of non-uniform cyst distribution in lymphangioleiomyomatosis on pulmonary function: a cross-sectional study.

Cysts in LAM patients tend to be more concentrated in the middle half of the lungs. FEV1 but not DLCO is influenced by cyst distribution.https://bit.ly/3p8z9CF
Qualified Immunity for Police Officers Must Be Eliminated

The qualified immunity privilege serves as a cloak of protection reminiscent of Jim Crow laws and as a vestige of racism that perpetuates unequal treatment before the law. How do we rectify the problem? The qualified immunity privilege is both bad law and bad public policy, and it must be eliminated.
ELECTRICAL TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS FOR ARCTIC TANKERS

Propulsion plants for arctic tankers must have characteristics not normally required for other large ships. These special requirements make electric transmission systems particularly attractive. The paper examines four candidate electric transmission systems for this application. The performance of two of these, the ac variable-frequency system and the ac--rectified--dc system, are reported in detail, and the analog computer program used to simulate the operation of the ac--rectified--dc system is described.
Healthcare personalism: a prolegomenon

Healthcare personalism is an approach to providing quality healthcare that focuses on personhood with respect to each member of the healthcare team and not to anyone team member, whether patient or healthcare provider. To that end, the philosophy of personalism provides a conceptual framework for developing a dynamic notion of healthcare. Specifically, the person is uniquely original, relationally intersubjective, and communicatively solidaritous. Moreover, healthcare personalism is non-foundational in the sense that no one approach to providing healthcare suffices for the clinical encounter. Rather, the encounter must be open to a range of possibilities for providing healthcare. In contrast to evidence-based medicine, healthcare personalism does not hold to single foundation, i.e. evidence, for practicing healthcare. Evidence is important but not foundational. And, in contrast to patient-entered medicine, it does not privy the patient to the personhood of other healthcare team members. The personhood of everyone involved in healthcare is required for meeting the goal of quality healthcare—the relief of human suffering.
From Detection to Surveillance: U.S. Lie Detection Regimes from the Cold War to the War on Terror

When the polygraph was developed in the early twentieth century, its creators promised a reliable security technology that would furnish mutual trust between individuals, in corporations, and between government and citizens. The history of the use of the lie detector, however, shows that it was not a reliable technology and often exacerbated distrust and conflicts due to the confrontational methodology and the unsubstantiated assumptions governing its use. This history shows that security concerns—namely, the need to uphold a posture of deterrence—and bureaucratic prerogatives of the Central Intelligence Agency made the polygraph nevertheless useful. However, a regime of security did not lead to conditions of trust. This insight is crucial for an understanding of early twenty-first truth technologies based on surveillance that appears less intrusive than lie detection via the polygraph. Security technologies such as brain scanning or biometrics rely on similarly flawed assumptions about human physiology and the possibility of its representation through technology as well as ideological assumptions about the proper social relationships between individuals and between government and citizens, none of which tend to favor mutual trust.
Functional polymers, 11†. Synthesis and polymerization of 2-(2-hydroxy-5-vinylphenyl)-2 H-benzotriazole‡

2-(2-Hydroxy-5-vinylphenyl)-2H-benzotriazole (9) was prepared by a seven step synthesis in about a 25% overall yield starting from o-nitroaniline. Diazotization in aqueous HCl gave a diazonium salt which was coupled with p-ethylphenol to an azo-dye which was reduced with zinc powder in sodium hydroxide solution to 2-(2-hydroxy-5-ethylphenyl)-2H-benzotriazole (4). This compound was acetylated and then brominated with N-bromosuccinimide to 2-[2-acetoxy-5-(1-bromoethyl)phenyl]-2H-benzotriazole (6) which was dehydrobrominated with triethylamine in acetonitrile or tributylamine in dimethylacetamide to the vinyl compound which was hydrolyzed to 9. This monomer was readily homopolymerized and copolymerized with styrene and methyl methacrylate using 2,2′-azobis(2-methylpropionitrile) as initiator.
Bird Metabolism During Flight: Evaluation of a Theory

1. Pennycuick9s (1969) theory for the energetic requirements of avian flight predicts the metabolic rates of budgerigars and laughing gulls flying level at intermediate speeds in a wind tunnel with an accuracy of 10% or better. However, its predictions appear to be low for most birds with masses less than 0·1 kg and high for most birds with masses greater than 0·5 kg. 2. Four modifications are made to Pennycuick9s theory: (1) a different computation of induced power; (2) a different estimate of equivalent flat plate area that includes Reynolds number effects, and is based on additional measurements; (3) a different estimate of profile power that includes Reynolds number effects; and (4) the addition of power terms for respiration and circulation. These modifications improve the agreement between the theoretical predictions and existing measurements for flying birds and bats. 3. The metabolic rates of birds and bats in level flight at various speeds can be estimated by the modified theory if body mass alone is measured. Improved estimates can be made if wing span is measured as well. In the latter case the theory predicts measured values with a mean absolute error of 8·3%. 4. The results of the modified theory are presented by approximate equations that can be solved quickly for metabolic rate and flight speed with a slide rule.
Cervix removal at the time of hysterectomy: factors affecting patients’ choice and effect on subsequent sexual function

Abstract Objectives To identify factors that influence the decision-making process on the type of hysterectomy (total or supracervical) and the impact of surgery of subsequent sexual function. Study design A cross-sectional survey was undertaken on 212 women who underwent total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) or laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy (LSH) for benign conditions at the Division of Minimally Invasive Gynecology at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA, USA. We analyzed the factors that patients considered in their decision-making process, their sexual function after surgery and their satisfaction with the surgery overall. Demographic and perioperative outcomes were also collected. Results A total of 115 women answered the survey, for a response rate of 54.24%. The patients who underwent LSH ( n =54) and TLH ( n =61) were overall similar in terms of baseline factors and perioperative outcomes. Patients reported that the physician was the main source of information regarding decision to remove or retain the cervix (79.13%). The physicians' recommendation was viewed as very or extremely important (83.68%) to the decision-making process, followed by concerns regarding their future sex life (51.09%). Almost half of the women reported that hysterectomy had no impact on sexual function. No statistically significant differences were seen between groups regarding satisfaction with sexual function ( p =.822), impact on sexual function ( p =.753) or recommendation of this surgery to other women ( p =.505). Conclusion Concerns about sexual health were important to women when considering the type of hysterectomy to undergo. Cervix removal or retention at the time of hysterectomy did not impact women's sexual function after mean follow-up of 15.2 months.
Infrared spectra and structures of cyclopentadienyl-carbon monoxide compounds of V, Mn, Fe, Co, Mo, and W

Abstract The infrared absorption spectra in the CO stretching region of mono- and binuclear transition metal cyclopentadienyl-carbon monoxide compounds are presented. The structures of the molecules are discussed and it is shown that the spectra may be interpreted by consideration of the local symmetry of the carbon monoxide groups only. For the binuclear molybdenum and tungsten compounds the spectra are best explained by puckered five- and six-membered cyclic carbon monoxide systems, respectively. For the iron compound a single bridging carbon monoxide group is postulated. The compounds studied are C5H5V(CO)4, C5H5Mn(CO)3, C5H5Co(CO)2, C5H5Mo(CO)5MoC5H5, C5H5W(CO)6WC5H5, and (C5H5Fe)2(CO)4.
Quantitative comparison of 99mTc-iron hydroxide aggregates and 133Xe pulmonary perfusion, and importance of sensitivity-corrected gamma-camera data

Unilateral and four-quadrant regional pulmonary perfusion fractions were quantitatively compared for 99mTc-iron hydroxide aggregates and superior-vena-cavally administered 133Xe in 23 patients with chronic obstructive lung disease and a “coin” lesion, using a gamma camera/PDP-8/1 system. 99mTc and 133Xe perfusion fractions were equivalent (±0.03), with correlation coefficient ≥0·9. Unilateral 99mTc perfusion fractions, measured only with the camera operated in divided mode, were insignificantly different from computer-processed 133Xe fractions. Correction of camera data for non-uniform sensitivity response was not necessary for determination of unilateral or four-quadrant perfusion fractions, but may be important in determining absolute 133Xe clearance half-times. Simple static 99mTc-iron hydroxide aggregates imaging was as accurate as dynamic 133Xe studies for routine clinical estimation of unilateral or four-quadrant pulmonary perfusion.
Association Between Large Aortic Arch Atheromas and High-Intensity Transient Signals in Elderly Stroke Patients

Background and Purpose—Aortic arch atheromas (AAs) have been shown to be a risk factor for ischemic stroke (IS) in the elderly because of their potential for cerebral embolization. However, the association between AAs and the presence of cerebral microemboli has not been clearly established. The aim of this study was to determine whether large AAs are associated with an increased frequency of high-intensity transient signals (HITS) in elderly patients with IS. Methods—We performed bitemporal simultaneous HITS monitoring of both middle cerebral arteries in 62 consecutive elderly patients with acute IS (mean age 72.5±8.8 years, 65% men). In 16 patients, one or both temporal windows were inadequate; therefore, the analysis of HITS was performed in the remaining 46 patients. All patients underwent omniplane transesophageal echocardiography (TEE), and they had no significant extracranial or intracranial artery disease and no cardiac prosthetic valves. Large AA was defined as ≥4 mm in thickness. Complex AA was ...
An analysis of the implications of the IASC comparability project for IAS adopters in the US

Abstract A group of foreign issuers adopted IAS for reporting in the US capital market at about the time that the IASC Comparability Project commenced. This study examines the IAS-US GAAP adjustments for net income and equity reported in their SEC Form 20-F reconciliations with special emphasis on the degree of flexibility of the related IAS. We then consider the reporting implications of these IAS-US GAAP differences before and after the IASC Comparability Project. The results indicate that the adjustments are associated with flexibility in IAS and that the Project reduced the amount of flexibility in IAS provisions. This should prove of interest to standard setters at this time when a set of international accounting standards is being considered for global acceptability. © City University of Hong Kong.
Not enough money or not enough time to satisfy the Thrifty Food Plan? A cost difference approach for estimating a money–time threshold

Abstract Food production at home requires money and time. Food assistance programs focus exclusively on the money cost, while ignoring the time cost. This one-dimensional focus could undermine the effectiveness of food assistance programs. In the spirit of Vickery (1977) , this paper uses a cost difference approach to develop a money–time threshold, and several related metrics, to determine whether money or time is the most limiting resource in reaching the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP) target. In our empirical analysis we find that when time is ignored, single headed households spend on average 35% more than required to meet the TFP target. However, when time is included, these households spend on average 40% less than required to meet the TFP target. In addition, we find that when time is ignored, 62% of single headed households on average spend enough money to reach the TFP target, but when time is included, only 13% of single headed households spend enough on average to reach the TFP target. Our empirical results suggest that time is more constraining than money in reaching the TFP target. These results imply that metrics solely focusing on money could severely underestimate the gap between actual expenditures and those required to reach the TFP target.
Gonadotropin and prostaglandins binding sites in rough endoplasmic reticulum and golgi fractions of bovine corpora lutea

Abstract Highly purified rough endoplasmic reticulum and three subfractions of golgi were prepared from 105,000 g pellet of the homogenate by centrifugation in floatation and sedimentation discontinuous sucrose gradients. Highly purified plasma membranes were also prepared from 9,000 g pellet of the same homogenates for assessment under the same experimental conditions. Although 5′-nucleotidase, a marker for plasma membranes, was markedly enriched in plasma membranes, very little or none of this enzyme activity was found in other fractions. Very little or no NADH cytochrome c reductase activity, a marker for rough endoplasmic reticulum, was found in fractions other than rough endoplasmic reticulum. Galactosyl transferase, a marker for golgi, was found and enriched in all the fractions; however, enrichment in golgi fractions was higher than in other fractions. Very little or no lysosomal marker activity, i.e., acid phosphatase, was found in rough endoplasmic reticulum or golgi fractions as compared to lysosomes. These marker enzyme data suggested that rough endoplasmic reticulum and golgi fractions were relatively pure with little or no cross contamination with other organelles. The [ 125 I]human choriogonadotropin ([ 125 I]hCG), [ 3 H]prostaglandin (PG)E 1 , and [ 3 H]PGF 2a specifically bound to rough endoplasmic reticulum and golgi fractions in addition to plasma membranes. The enrichments of binding in the former two fractions, in some cases, were as high as plasma membranes itself. The specific binding of some of the ligands was found to be partially latent in rough endoplasmic reticulum and golgi fractions but not in plasma membranes. Marker enzyme data, ratio between bindings and marker enzyme activities (an index of organelle contamination), and partial latency of binding suggest that rough endoplasmic reticulum and golgi fractions intrinsically contain gonadotropin and PGs binding sites.
Effect of Glutathione Depletion on Leydig Cell Steroidogenesis in Young and Old Brown Norway Rats

Changes in the oxidant/antioxidant environment of aging Leydig cells have been shown to be correlated with the reduced ability of these cells to produce testosterone. With this in mind, we hypothesized that the experimental depletion of glutathione (GSH), an abundant Leydig cell intracellular antioxidant, might result in reduced testosterone production. Incubation of Leydig cells isolated from the testes of adult Brown Norway rats with buthionine sulfoximine (BSO) reduced GSH content by more than 70% and testosterone production by about 40%. The antioxidants vitamin E, N-tert-butyl-alpha-phenylnitrone and Trolox countered BSO's effect on steroidogenesis but not on GSH depletion. Together, BSO and glutathione ethyl ester maintained intracellular GSH and also testosterone production, whereas 1,2-dithiole-3-thione, which increases intracellular GSH, increased testosterone production. In vivo studies also were conducted. Young (4 month old) and old (24 month old) rats were injected with BSO twice a day for 7 d, after which Leydig cells were isolated and analyzed in vitro. BSO treatment reduced Leydig cell GSH content by 70% and the ability of the Leydig cells to produce testosterone by more than 50%. As with aging, decreases were seen in LH-stimulated cAMP production, steroidogenic acute regulatory protein, cholesterol side-chain cleavage, 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, and 17alpha-hydroxylase/17,20-lyase. The results of these studies, taken together, are consistent with the hypothesis that alteration in the oxidant/antioxidant environment may play a significant, causative role in the age-related reduced ability of Leydig cells to produce testosterone.
A comparison between two measures of convergence in recursive-window based spectrum estimation

It is shown that approximations of the infinite impulse response (IIR) of a single-pole filter by a rectangular finite impulse response (FIR) through either the effective window length approach or the least squares inverse filtering approach yield the same results. Both the least squares inverse filter method and the effective window length can be used as measures of convergence in recursive-window based spectrum estimators. An algebraic proof is given to show that both measures take the same value for the commonly used single-pole exponential window. >
Accelerated extension of Tibet linked to the northward underthrusting of Indian crust

The Tibetan Plateau is extending. Numerical simulations suggest that regional-scale extension is caused by gravitational collapse of the plateau, whereas rapid extension in the south is caused by underthrusting of the Indian slab.
The Chlamydial Pneumonias

Chlamydia affects all age groups and is ubiquitous in distribution. In the 1930s the life cycle of Chlamydia psittaci, then known as Bedsonia, was first characterized. Psittacosis has long been recognized as a disease of psittacine birds, and for this reason psittacosis is occasionally termed ornithosis. Psittacosis has been recognized as a distinct clinical entity for decades and the increase of psittacosis has increased steadily since the 1970s. Infant neonatal pneumonia caused by Chlamydia trachomatis was reported and described in the late 1970s. Infant chlamydia pneumonia is not uncommonly seen in the hospital setting, but must certainly be more common and largely unrecognized in the ambulatory setting. In 1983, a distinct Chlamydia species was isolated from a patient with an acute respiratory illness. This isolate, which was unrelated to C. trachomatis or C. psittaci, was initially called TWAR agent since the first isolate was from Taiwan, hence the TW, and the isolate was associated with an acute respiratory illness, hence the AR.
MEAN LIFE OF THE POSITIVE MUON

Positive pions were stopped in a water Cherenkov counter and the time distribution of the positrons from ..pi../sup +/..--> mu../sup +/..-->..e/sup +/ was measured. The ..mu../sup +/ mean life obtained, 2.196 95 +- 0.000 06 ..mu..s, is slightly less than previous results.
Noninvasive cardiac material mechanics: application to left ventricular function in quadriplegia.

Left ventricular function was studied in six quadriplegic subjects by M-mode echocardiography with respect to cardiac material mechanics. Myocardial wall deformation and ventricular viscoelastic compliance were studied during systole and diastole. The left ventricle was assumed to be a sphere and to keep this shape over the cardiac cycle. The viscoelastic properties were determined with respect to the mid-wall. The haemodynamic results indicated that the ejection fraction of quadriplegics was significantly greater than in normals but that their cardiac output was significantly lower. The ratio of viscous compliance coefficient to elastic compliance coefficient was called the system time constant. The myocardial material results indicated that the inequality diastolic time constant ≤ systolic time constant was satisfied in the six quadriplegics. The ratio of end-systolic to end-diastolic wall area was significantly greater in quadriplegics than in normals. These results were consistent with the left ventricle of quadriplegics being deconditioned so that the ventricular wall is more compliant during systole and myocardial wall deformation is greater.
Microtubules: A Brief Historical Perspective

Microtubules are cylindrical organelles of varying length, an overall diameter of 25 nm, and a central hollow core of approximately 5 nm thick. They constitute one of three major structural components of the cytoskeleton and are found in almost all eukaryotic cells, where they perform a variety of essential functions, including chromosome movement, vesicular traffic, beating of cilia and flagella, and maintenance of cell form and morphogenesis. Although microtubules were discovered by transmission electron microscopy in the late 1950s, biophysical evidence for their dynamic structure and function in mitosis was obtained almost a decade earlier through polarizing microscopy. Research on the morphology and molecular structure of microtubules spans 3 decades and is now entering an exciting new "biophysical" era, as described in this issue.
Strategic firm commitments and rewards for customer relationship management in online retailing

Abstract Academic studies offer a generally positive portrait of the effect of customer relationship management (CRM) on firm performance, but practitioners question its value. The authors argue that a firm's strategic commitments may be an overlooked organizational factor that influences the rewards for a firm's investments in CRM. Using the context of online retailing, the authors consider the effects of two key strategic commitments of online retailers on the performance effect of CRM: their bricks-and-mortar experience and their online entry timing. They test the proposed model with a multimethod approach that uses manager ratings of firm CRM and strategic commitments and third-party customers' ratings of satisfaction from 106 online retailers. The findings indicate that firms with moderate bricks-and-mortar experience are better able to leverage CRM for superior customer satisfaction outcomes than firms with either low or high bricks-and-mortar experience. Likewise, firms with moderate online experie...
Efficient PVT independent abstraction of large IP blocks for hierarchical power analysis

We introduce a generalized, efficient, and accurate power abstraction model and generation techniques for complex IP blocks. This is based on the contributor based power modeling concept, which exploits the nature of power consuming components in a design being inherently separable. The generated power abstraction is Process, Voltage and Temperature (PVT) independent, thus enabling very efficient hierarchical power analysis. Our approach constitutes the industry's first design methodology to automatically generate PVT independent contributor based abstracts. We also describe extensions to the power contributor concept to model dynamic power. Extensive analysis and results on real industry designs to study the accuracy impacts of abstraction as a function of design types and sizes are presented. We also present model to hardware correlation experiments demonstrating the application of this abstraction based methodology on the IBM Power7+ server microprocessor chip.
Makeover television, governmentality and the good citizen

In June 2006, ABC TV encouraged families to ‘get healthy’ in conjunction with its new reality series, Shaq's Big Challenge. Each week, NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal worked with a ‘dream team’ of nu...
Does Public Transit Counteract the Segregation of Carless Households? Measuring Spatial Patterns of Accessibility

Although local transit agencies struggle to keep pace with low-density urban development, most people who depend on transit continue to live in concentrated clusters at the core of metropolitan regions, becoming more distant to the variety of places they need to access. Standard transit performance measures fail to help local transportation agencies adapt their services to changes in demographics and urban form. Geographic information systems (GIS) provide a method for measuring transit service at the neighborhood scale while accounting for land-use changes. The first aim was development of a GIS-based accessibility indicator that is straightforward to calculate, easy to interpret, and flexible enough to use for employment and nonwork travel alike. The second objective was to introduce recent advances in spatial statistics to transportation planners to help them quantitatively assess changes in accessibility patterns over time. A case study is examined of accessibility to supermarkets in Syracuse, New Yor...
The Minimization of Indigenous Numbers and the Fragmentation of Civil Society in the 2010 Census in Ecuador

This article takes a historical approach to understand how ethnicity and race have been measured in the 2010 census in Ecuador. The history of census taking in Ecuador reveals a strategy of social control through the minimization of indigenous numbers. This strategy does not only originate in the state, but also within the indigenous group that has not revealed itself for a number of reasons such as well-founded suspicion, discrimination, and its associated effects of identity hiding or shedding. In addition, international organizations and the Ecuadorian state have favored the visibility of other minority groups to further lessen the importance of indigenous claims in a context in which the indigenous movement has been the main organized constituency resisting the government's development policies. The article also shows a shift around the year 2000 from Latin American understandings of difference to lighter neoliberal concepts of race, some of them of North American influence.
Sometimes the naked taste of potato reminds me of being poor

"I want to paint men and women with that something of the eternal which the halo used to symbolize and which we seek to convey by the actual radiance and vibration of our coloring," wrote Vincent van Gogh in one of his celebrated letters. Hundreds of these were written mostly to his brother Theo, an art dealer in Paris who provided him with financial and emotional support throughout his brief but brilliant career. The letters lay out the artist's philosophy of life and reveal ample literary inclinations as well as spiritual depth. "Saying a thing well is as interesting and as difficult as painting it," he wrote.
On the Measurement of Differences Between the Gravitationally Induced Electric Fields Near Various Metals

An experiment reported by Witteborn and Pallesen to search for compositional dependence of the gravitationally induced electric field near metals is criticized. It is argued that the null result of their experiment is expected and therefore cannot be interpreted as indicating compositional independence. The experiment does not test therefore the theory proposed by Dessler, Michel, Rorschach, and Trammell, under which a compositional dependence may be expected.
More or Better Student Teaching

Abstract Drawing from data on over 1000 prospective teachers in a large urban district including pre and post-student teaching survey data, this study investigates whether lengthening student teaching improves teachers’ perceptions of instructional preparedness, efficacy, and career plans. The findings suggest that the duration of student teaching has little effect on teacher outcomes; however, the quality of student teaching has significant and positive effects. Moreover, the magnitude of the effects of student teaching quality are greater when student teaching is shorter and in schools with more historically underserved racial groups. The authors discuss policy implications and directions for further research.
Partisanship and Support for Propositions on the Ballot: A State‐Level Longitudinal Study

Objective. Previous studies suggest that there is reason to believe that changes in the partisan composition of a state's electorate will be associated with changes in the level of support for certain types of propositions on the ballot. Scholars, however, differ over the reasons for this relationship. Some have suggested the importance of party differences over substantive issues. Others have indicated the importance of differences among partisans in their willingness to defer to legislative judgments or recommendations. Still others have pointed to the importance of partisan cue taking; for example, that Republicans are more likely to vote for propositions put on the ballot by Republican legislatures and Democrats are likely to oppose such measures. We test these rival hypotheses. Methods. Using multivariate analysis and time series techniques, we examine voting patterns on 361 propositions submitted to voters in Arizona from 1912 to 1996. Results. We find that increases in the Republican vote were significantly linked to increase in support for measures submitted by state legislatures, particularly legislatures controlled by Republicans. Conclusions. The findings give some support to deference theory and to the notion that a subtle process of partisan cue taking may be involved in proposition voting.
Measurements of second-order nonlinear optical coefficients from the spectral brightness of parametric fluorescence

We report a new technique for determining second-order nonlinear optical coefficients that uses the spectral brightness of spontaneous parametric fluorescence. Measurements with this technique on two separate AgGaS2 crystals yielded values of 22.9 and 24.3 pm/V for |d36|, and measurements on a KTP crystal yielded 4.1 pm/V for |d24|. The uncertainty of the determined values is approximately ±10%.
Consultations. Frontal bone defect with frontal sinus mucopyocele

For this patient's treatment, all three consultants advise against the Lynch-type frontoethmoidectomy procedure, with or without mucoperiosteal flap reconstruction of the nasofrontal duct. Treatment plan: Culture and sensitivity of pus; 2-3 weeks of intravenous antibiotics followed by osteoplastic flap fat obliteration of frontal sinus; delayed defect repair with methyl methacrylate (Montgomery). Trephination followed by treatment with local and systemic antibiotics (Donald); removal of infected bone and soft tissue (sinus collapse) and delayed defect repair in 6-12 months (Donald, Calcaterra) with metylmethacrylate (Donald) or in situ cured silicone elastomer (Calcaterra).
Critical remarks on “Critical Remarks on Some Public-Key Cryptosystems” by T. Herlestam

Tore Herlestam, in his note "Critical Remarks on Some Public-Key Cryptosystems", [5] suggests a method for attacking the RSA public-key cryptosystem. In this note we show that Herlestam's proposed attack is highly impractical, and that his analysis is erroneous. The RSA cryptosystem [1] encodes a message M using the key (e,n) via the equation: (1) C =E ~ ( M ) M e (modn) . Here the original message M and the ciphertext C are considered as integers in the range 0 to n 1. The integer n is the product of two large prime numbers p and q. The integer e is relatively prime to ( p 1 ) ( q 1 ) . To decrypt a received ciphertext C the recipient computes (2) M Dd,(M) C d (modn) where d is chosen to satisfy the equation de --1 ( m o d l c m ( p l , q 1 ) ) . The attack proposed by Herlestam runs as follows: Let P(x) be a polynomial in x such that (3) P ( x ) = x Q ( x ) .
Marine resource conservation and prospects for environmental sustainability in Anuta, Solomon Islands

It has been argued that atolls have abundant, varied and dependable marine resources and that atoll-dwellers' exploitation of marine fauna has remained essentially constant since prehistoric times. According to that line of argument, modern technology, in and of itself, has had little effect on the relationship between human populations and the natural environment. A countervailing view contends that the market economy and reliance upon money have disrupted egalitarian socioeconomic systems and threatened the long-standing ecological balance. Here I consider questions of environmental sustainability and economic viability on Anuta, a Polynesian outlier in Solomon Islands. Anuta, a volcanic island, has more abundant terrestrial resources than do atolls, and all indications are that it has been a hierarchically-organized chiefdom for well over a dozen generations. Nonetheless, it is a small, seemingly vulnerable community. In reality, productivity of land and sea have remained stable at least since the 1970s, in part because of conscious, purposeful decisions intended to preserve the island's natural resources. Thus, Anutans can be described as conservationists in the technical sense used by some authors. Yet on Anuta, as elsewhere, a combination of population growth and market exchange has begun to place a strain on the environment and raises questions for their system's long-term viability.
Media Literacy and Information Literacy: A Need for Collaboration and Communication

Both media literacy and information literacy struggle for legitimacy in school curricula, and seek to be recognized as relevant to student learning initiatives. While each has a distinct historical context, a dedicated group of followers, and base of research and intervention, neither has alone achieved the scale needed to make systemic change in public education in the United States. The author proposes recognition of the strengths of each, a combined effort of supporters, and a dedication to the new approaches and initiatives working to make changes in education that could have a lasting effect on the ways students use, learn, and understand media in their educational and personal lives.
The mechanism of electrically stimulated adenosine release varies by brain region

Adenosine plays an important role in neuromodulation and neuroprotection. Recent identification of transient changes in adenosine concentration suggests adenosine may have a rapid modulatory role; however, the extent of these changes throughout the brain is not well understood. In this report, transient changes in adenosine evoked by one second, 60 Hz electrical stimulation trains were compared in the caudate–putamen, nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, and cortex. The concentration of evoked adenosine varies between brain regions, but there is less variation in the duration of signaling. The highest concentration of adenosine was evoked in the dorsal caudate–putamen (0.34 ± 0.08 μM), while the lowest concentration was in the secondary motor cortex (0.06 ± 0.02 μM). In all brain regions, adenosine release was activity-dependent. In the nucleus accumbens, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex, this release was partly due to extracellular ATP breakdown. However, in the caudate–putamen, release was not due to ATP metabolism but was ionotropic glutamate receptor-dependent. The results demonstrate that transient, activity-dependent adenosine can be evoked in many brain regions but that the mechanism of formation and release varies by region.
Application and evaluation of an engineering data model

In a companion paper, we introduced an information model called EDM, for representing design and engineering information. EDM defines a small set of structures capable of depicting a wide range of semantics necessary for engineering design. These structures allow the definition of specific product models that are equivalent to database schemas, a fully instantiated structure is equivalent to an engineering or CAD database. EDM was developed in response to several criteria, among them the need to support changing technologies and evaluations and the need to support integrity checking. In this paper, EDM is applied to a small but complex example, a wall in building construction. Geometric, acoustic, and thermal properties are developed for the wall, defined in EDM structures. The example is then considered in terms of the evaluation criteria.
Measuring cost: The forgotten component of expectancy-value theory

Abstract Although the Expectancy-Value Model offers one of the most influential models for understanding motivation, one component of this model, cost, has been largely ignored in empirical research. Fortunately, recent research is emerging on cost, but no clear consensus has emerged for operationalizing and measuring it. To address this shortcoming, we outline a comprehensive scale development process that builds and extends on prior work. We conducted a literature review of theory and existing measurement, a qualitative study with students, a content alignment with experts, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, and a correlational study. In the literature and across our studies, we found that cost was salient to students, separate from expectancy and value components, contained multiple dimensions, and related to student outcomes. This work led to proposing a new, 19 item cost scale with four dimensions: task effort cost, outside effort cost, loss of valued alternatives cost, and emotional cost. In addition, to extend existing cost measures, careful attention was taken to operationalize the cost dimensions such that the scale could be easily used with a wide variety of students in various contexts. Directions for future research and the implications for the study of motivation are discussed.
Analysis of Blockage Effects in a Center‐Fed Reflectarray

Three quick methods that account for the blockage effects in a center-fed reflectarray antenna design are presented. The first method simply adds the radiation pattern of the reflectarray on the passive feed horn antenna. For the second approach, the blockage is incorporated more accurately by introducing shadows on the reflectarray surface according to the location of the obstacles. The third approach places a physical metal sheet at the blocking obstacle on the main reflectarray surface. The radiation pattern of the complete antenna structure is also calculated using a full-wave solver that also serves as a reference for accuracy comparison. To further validate the results, prototype reflectarray antennas based on two types of radiation elements are fabricated and the measured patterns are compared with predictions. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 55:1921–1926, 2013