cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Investigation of How a Physics Professional Development Course Influenced the Teaching Practices of Five Elementary School Teachers

This paper reports the results of an investigation of how a professional development content course based on the Physics and Everyday Thinking (PET) curriculum affected the teaching practices of five case study elementary school teachers. The findings of this study highlight different ways that teachers use what they learn in content courses to teach science to elementary children. While some teachers transferred pedagogical practices along with the content, others transformed the content to be useful in already existing pedagogical frameworks, and still others show little or no evidence of transfer. The range of transfer is explained by considering how each teacher interacted with the learning context (the PET curriculum) and their initial ideas about teaching science.
Clinical influences on bone cement monomer release.

Monomer losses for two self-curing acrylic cements were similar via laboratory serial weighing experiments. Both the P/L ratio and mixing duration substantially influenced subsequent monomer losses, but ambient temperature variation during mixing had little effect. Greater losses were encountered during the mixing and setting intervals than during the molding interval. Patient potential exposure to monomer occurs during the molding and setting intervals; therefore, handling procedures reducing losses in these intervals are important to the surgeon. The least monomer loss during both molding and setting occurred at the manufacturers' recommended P/L ratio, which strongly indicated the need to mix all contents supplied. Mixing loss increased with amount of spatulation. However, once the mass was well mixed (about 300 steady spatulations), no further decreases in the molding and setting interval losses were promoted by overmixing. Because of the lower monomer loss rate during the molding interval, postponed cement insertion may not be warranted in light of losing mechanical locking efficiency. The actual ramifications of a threefold reduction in potential patient exposure (3.5 down to 1.2 wt % of total monomer) via modified handling techniques have not yet been clinically evaluated.
Enhancing compressive strength of unidirectional polymeric composites using nanoclay

Abstract Morphology of nanoclay dispersed in resin and suspended in acetone was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). SEM and TEM images show intercalation of resin in the gallery spaces of nanoclay and regions of exfoliated clay with random orientation. A vacuum assisted wet lay-up (VAWL) process was used for the inclusion of nanoclay in conventional fiber reinforced composites. The VAWL specimen displayed improvement in off-axis compressive strength for nanoclay enhanced fiber composites. Addition of nanoclay produced a substantial increase in longitudinal compressive strengths (extracted from off-axis tests) of glass fiber reinforced composites. An elastic–plastic model was used to predict the compressive strength of fiber reinforced composites based on the matrix properties. The model predictions matched well with the experimental results.
Integrated chemical/biochemical sample collection, pre-concentration, and analysis on a digital microfluidic lab-on-a-chip platform

An ideal on-site chemical/biochemical analysis system must be inexpensive, sensitive, fully automated and integrated, reliable, and compatible with a broad range of samples. The advent of digital microfluidic lab-on-a-chip (LoC) technology offers such a detection system due to the advantages in portability, reduction of the volumes of the sample and reagents, faster analysis times, increased automation, low power consumption, compatibility with mass manufacturing, and high throughput. We describe progress towards integrating sample collection onto a digital microfluidic LoC that is a component of a cascade impactor device. The sample collection is performed by impacting airborne particles directly onto the surface of the chip. After the collection phase, the surface of the chip is washed with a micro-droplet of solvent. The droplet will be digitally directed across the impaction surface, dissolving sample constituents. Because of the very small droplet volume used for extraction of the sample from a wide colection area, the resulting solution is realatively concentrated and the analytes can be detected after a very short sampling time (1 min) due to such pre-concentration. After the washing phase, the droplet is mixed with specific reagents that produce colored reaction products. The concentration of the analyte is quantitatively determined by measuring absorption at target wavelengths using a simple light emitting diode and photodiode setup. Specific applications include automatic measurements of major inorganic ions in aerosols, such as sulfate, nitrate and ammonium, with a time resolution of 1 min and a detection limit of 30 nm/m3. We have already demonstrated the detection and quantification of nitroaromatic explosives without integrating the sample collection. Other applications being developed include airborne bioagent detection.
Control of Hierarchical Order in Crystalline Composites of Diblock Copolymers and a Molecular Chromophore

Addition of 2-chloro-4-nitroaniline (CNA) to diblock copolymers of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and polystyrene (PS), poly(ethylethylene) (PEE), or poly(ethylenepropylene) (PEP) results in selective partitioning of CNA into the polar PEO domains. Calorimetry, infrared spectrosocpy, density measurements, and wide-angle X-ray diffraction support the formation of a crystalline molecular complex, comprising two ethylene oxide repeat units per one CNA. The structure of the complex is the same for PEO homopolymer and PEO-based diblocks. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction from uniaxially aligned samples of the PEO:CNA suggests a triclinic unit cell for the complex with a = 9.08 A, b = 10.48 A, c = 7.01 A; and α = 90.98°, β = 88.38°, and γ = 116.72°. The data are consistent with a structural model in which the PEO chains adopt a nominally all-trans zigzag configuration, the chains organized as (100) layers separated by layers of one-dimensional stacks of CNA molecules. Polarized infrared measurements indicate that the mo...
Global primary production from terrestrial vegetation: Estimates integrating satellite remote sensing and computer simulation technology

Abstract Net primary production (NPP) of terrestrial vegetation is probably the most fundamental measure of global habitability. Previous attempts to estimate NPP of large areas have developed correlations with one of three basic variables; actual evapotranspiration (AET), leaf area index (LAI), or absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR). This paper presents ideas that integrate these three variables into a new formula for estimating NPP of large areas. The three key variables needed, LAI, intercepted shortwave radiation (Q int ), and surface temperature (T grow ) are all measurable by current satellites. Consequently, a first dynamic estimate of global terrestrial NPP may now be possible integrating satellite measurements with simple ecosystem models of carbon conversion efficiency.
Abstract 4665: Sensitization of head and neck cancer cells toward cisplatin by inhibition of autophagy

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL Cisplatin is a commonly used chemotherapeutics but its efficacy is limited by the resistance presented by some tumor cells. Autophagy is a form of cell death by self-digesting organelles. The present study was undertaken to examine whether cisplatin can induce autophagy and whether autophagy modulates the efficacy of cisplatin against head and neck squamous cancer cells (HNSCC). In responses to increasing doses of cisplatin, there was a steady increase in autophagy, as indicated by LC3 punctate staining, in a cisplatin resistant UMSCC-15S cell line, whereas induction of autophagy was rapidly peaked at low doses of cisplatin in the UMSCC-10B cell line which was more sensitive toward cisplatin. Further studies found that there were increased autophagic fluxes at basal level in the cisplatin sensitive UMSCC-10B cells when compared to cisplatin resistant UMSCC-15S cells. Inhibition of autophagy by chloroquine significantly reduced colony formation of both cell lines, and sensitized UMSCC-15S cells toward cisplatin treatment. Our studies suggest that autophagy responses can be modulated to augment the efficacy of cisplatin against HNSCCs. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4665. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4665
A reply to Lingard

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to provide a critical reply to Robert Lingard's close reading of a previously published paper of the present author's, “Meaning, truth, and information.”Design/methodology/approach – The approach adopted in this paper is an examination of Lingard's argument and counter‐points, employing (primarily) logical and rhetorical analysis of his claims.Findings – While some of Lingard's criticisms are legitimate and must be admitted, many have to be subjected to rebuttal on the basis of misreading, logical error, and discursive misapprehension of points made in the original article.Originality/value – Since the present paper is a reply to another author's work, originality is constrained by the arguments and claims made by that author. That said, additional analysis is added to the matters of meaning, truth, and information in an effort to clarify and expand upon the essence of the original article.
Comment on “Solving the 'Marketing Mix' Problem using Geometric Programming”

Comment on “Solving the 'Marketing Mix' Problem using Geometric Programming” Management Sci., Vol. 21, No. 2, October 1974, pp. 160--171..
Evidence for multiple leukotriene D4 receptors in smooth muscle

Abstract Using pure leukotriene D 4 (LTD 4 ) as the agonist, we determined the dissociation constants, K B and pA 2 values, for the selective leukotriene antagonist FPL 55712 on guinea pig ileum, trachea, and parenchyma. Responses of the 3 tissues to LTD 4 were competitively antagonized by FPL 55712. K B and pA 2 values were similar for trachea and parenchyma. However, these values differed from those obtained in ileum. We propose the existence of multiple LTD 4 receptors, with those in lung differing from LTD 4 receptors in ileum.
Photophysical and photosensitizing properties of benzoporphyrin derivative monoacid ring A (BPD-MA)

The photophysical properties of benzoporphyrin derivative monoacid ring A (BPD-MA), a second-generation photosensitizer currently in phase II clinical trials, were investigated in homogeneous solution. Absorption, fluorescence, triplet-state, singlet oxygen (O2 (1 delta g)) sensitization studies and photobleaching experiments are reported. The ground state of this chlorin-type molecule shows a strong absorbance in the red (lambda approximately 688 nm, epsilon approximately 33,000 M-1 cm-1 in organic solvents). For the singlet excited state the following data were determined in methanol: energy level, Es = 42.1 kcal mol-1, lifetime, tau f = 5.2 ns and fluorescence quantum yield, phi f = 0.05 in air-saturated solution. The triplet state of BPD-MA has a lifetime, tau T > or = 25 microseconds, an energy level, ET = 26.9 kcal mol-1 and the molar absorption coefficient is epsilon T = 26,650 M-1 cm-1 at 720 nm. A dramatic effect of oxygen on the fluorescence (phi f) and intersystem crossing (phi T) quantum yields has been observed. The BPD-MA presents rather high triplet (phi T = 0.68 under N2-saturated conditions) and singlet oxygen (phi delta = 0.78) quantum yields. On the other hand, the presence of oxygen does not significantly modify the photobleaching of this photostable compound, the photodegradation quantum yield (phi Pb) of which was found to be on the order of 5 x 10(-5) in organic solvents.
Resinous plants as an economic alternative to bioenergy plantations

Abstract The resin-producing xerophytic species Grindelia camporum is an economical alternative for bioenergy plantations in arid lands. A hypothetical bioenergy farm consists of the land and agricultural facilities needed to grow, harvest and transport 272, 100 Mg of biomass to the central processing plant, where the plant material is extracted and the bagasse is converted into electricity. A farm of this type could produce plant extractives that are equivalent to crude oil, with a net positive energy balance. Economic analyses of a series of scenarios based on a plantation of this size indicate that bioenergy production in arid lands must be integrated with the generation of higher-priced chemical commodities, such as naval stores rosin.
Anatomical co-registration using spatio-temporal features of a non-contact near-infrared optical scanner

Non-contact based near-infrared (NIR) optical imaging devices are developed for non-invasive imaging of deep tissues in various clinical applications. Most of these devices focus on obtaining the spatial information for anatomical co-registration of blood vessels as in sub-surface vein localization applications. In the current study, the anatomical co-registration of blood vessels based on spatio-temporal features was performed using NIR optical imaging without the use of external contrast agents. A 710 nm LED source and a compact CCD camera system were employed during simple cuff (0 to 60 mmHg) experiment in order to acquire the dynamic NIR data from the dorsum of a hand. The spatio-temporal features of dynamic NIR data were extracted from the cuff experimental study to localize vessel according to blood dynamics. The blood vessels shape is currently reconstructed from the dynamic data based on spatio-temporal features. Demonstrating the spatio-temporal feature of blood dynamic imaging using a portable non-contact NIR imaging device without external contrast agents is significant for applications such as peripheral vascular diseases.
Real‐Time Flood Management Model for Highland Lake System

A real‐time flood management (forecasting) model is developed for flood operation of the Lower Colorado River‐Highland Lake System in Texas. This model combines techniques for one‐dimensional unsteady flow routing, rainfall‐runoff modeling, graphical display capability, and interactive software capability. Unsteady flow routing is performed using the United States National Weather Service DWOPER model. The model allows for specification of alternative future precipitation and river‐level scenarios and operational controls in addition to real‐time river levels, reservoir levels, and rainfall.
Development and validation of Extract the Base: An English Derivational Morphology Test for third through fifth grade monolingual students and Spanish-speaking English language learners:

This study describes the development and validation of the Extract the Base test (ETB), which assesses derivational morphological awareness. Scores on this test were validated for 580 monolingual s...
Iron requirement in the bactericidal mechanism of streptonigrin

Mutants of Escherichia coli K-12 that are unable to make use of the enterochelin transport system were used to confirm that streptonigrin requires iron for its bactericidal action. Correlation of viability studies and /sup 55/Fe/sup 3 +/ uptake experiments showed that killing by streptonigrin increased with an increase in /sup 55/Fe/sup 3 +/ uptake by the cells. Fetreptonigrin did not kill iron-starved mutants that were unable to import iron. The level of iron uptake by these mutants was manipulated by agents such as the enterochelin biosynthetic precursors 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2 x 10(-5) M) and shikimic acid (2 x 10(-4) M), citrate (10(-2) M), which promotes iron uptake by an independent pathway, and the chelating agents desferrioxamine (2 x 10(-4) M) and orthophenanthroline (10(-4) M). Addition of the precursors shikimate and dihydroxybenzoate to strain AB2847 (aroB) and dihydroxybenzoate to strain AN193 (entA), allowing these strains to make enterochelin, resulted in an increase in Fe/sup 3 +/ uptake and a corresponding sharp increase in killing by streptonigrin. Addition of enterochelin itself (10(-6) M) caused an even more pronounced effect. Studies on the effect of citrate in strain AN102 (fep) showed that this mutant was not killed by streptonigrin (4 x 10(-5) M),more » even in the presence of citrate; however, overnight growth in citrate induced Fe/sup 3 +/ uptake by means of the ferric citrate transport system and resulted in killing by streptonigrin. These studies showed a clear correlation between the change in levels of intracellular iron and the bactericidal effectiveness of streptonigrin.« less
Photofragment Translational Spectroscopy of ICl at 304 nm

I*( 2 P1/2) + Cl( 2 P3/2) and I*( 2 P1/2) + Cl*( 2 P1/2), respectively. The quantum yield of I*( 2 P1/2) is determined to be 0.30, indicating that the formation of ground state iodine is clearly the favored dissociation channel at 304 nm. The observed anisotropy in the angular distribution of dissociation products ( ‚) indicates that the I* + Cl and I* + Cl* channels are formed predominantly from the parallel transition (‚ ) 1.7 for both channels) while the I + Cl and I + Cl* products are formed mainly from perpendicular transitions (‚ )- 0.5). The decrease in the anisotropy parameter of the I formation channels from their limiting value of -1 is attributed to the presence of more than one path for the formation of I + Cl/Cl* photoproducts with opposite polarization for their absorbing transitions. The possible excited state dynamics, which give the observed results, are discussed in terms of the previously proposed energy correlation diagram for ICl.
Historical records as a source of information for childhood socioeconomic status: results from a pilot study of decedents.

Purpose The validity of parental occupation recalled by adult children is not established, yet it is commonly used to measure childhood socioeconomic status (SES). We investigated the feasibility of using data from historical records to validate recalled parental SES. Methods Data from death certificates and applications for Social Security numbers (parents' names, date and place of birth) were used to locate birth certificates and 1930 census records of 416 decedents in Forsyth County, NC, to verify parental occupation and childhood residence. Results Birth certificates and/or census records were located for 85% of decedents. Of 257 for whom both records were searched, both were found for 60%, only a census record for 10%, and only a birth certificate for 24%. Among those with father's occupation recorded on both records ( n = 138), occupational category matched on 89% of records (kappa = 0.86). Place of residence/birth, which can be linked with census-based county socioeconomic indicators, was also highly concordant across records. Conclusions These results demonstrate that birth and census records can be located for most decedents and that the childhood SES data contained therein is highly concordant. Thus they are an alternative to recalled childhood SES and a source of validation data in life course studies.
Distinguishability in impedance imaging

Impedance imaging systems apply currents to the surface of a body, measure the induced voltages on the surface, and from this information reconstruct an approximation to the electrical conductivity in the interior. A detailed discussion of several ways to measure the ability of such a system to distinguish between two different conductivity distributions is given. The subtle differences between these related measures are discussed, and examples are provided to show that these different measures can give rise to different answers to various practical questions about system design. >
A computer program for summarizing scatter plots with robust ellipses

This paper describes a program for summarizing scatter plots with robust ellipses. The program is written in BASIC and is designed for interactive use on a microcomputer graphics terminal to enable quick redesigns of the graph.
Atrial Tachyarrhythmias among Patients on Continuous Flow LVAD Support: Incidence, Prevalance and Clinical Outcomes

Introduction: Atrial tachyarrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation (AF) and atrial flutter (AFL), are common among patients on LVAD support. However, the incidence, prevalence and influence on clinical outcomes remains poorly characterized. Objective/Hypothesis: To define the clinical characteristics and compare outcomes among patients with and without atrial tachyarrhythmias on continuous flow LVAD support. AF/AFL patients are hypothesized to demonstrate worse outcomes. Methods: Multi-variable analysis of Cleveland Clinic registry of Heart Mate II (HMII) LVAD recipients between 2007 and August 2012 including atrial arrhythmia data pre and post LVAD, survival outcomes and stroke/TIA events. Results: Among 252 pts (Age 54.4 6 13.8, 79% male), the AF prevalence is 140/252 (56%), and AFL prevalence 33/252 (13%) pts. New AF during LVAD support occurred in 42/154 (27%) pts and new AFL in 17/237 (7%) pts. In comparing patients with AF/AFL (n5149/252, 59%) to those without AF/AFL (n5103/252, 41%), the TIA/stroke event rates were similar (AF/AFL n515/149, 10% vs. none n517/103, 17%; p50.10) with fewer warfarin ineligible pts in AF/AFL group (AF/AFL n511/149, 7% vs. none 12/103, 12%; p50.05) and similar target INRs above the nominal 1.7-2.2 range (Above-nominal INR: AF/AFL 45/138, 35% vs. none 30/81, 33%, p50.8). Survival outcomes over median 305 days follow-up (25th/75th quartiles 108 days, 661 days) were similar between the groups (KM curve figure 1, log-rank p50.9). Conclusion: Atrial tachyarrhythmias in the form of AF and AFL are common among patients on LVAD support, but do not appear to influence overall survival and yield similar stroke/TIA event rates.
Drug screening in “normal” controls

Recreational drug intoxication or recent use can have profound effects on many dependent measures in biological psychiatry. Despite this, toxicological screening for drugs of abuse in control comparison groups is frequently not done. In 1993, 70 studies published in the American Journal of Psychiatry included nonpsychiatric-disordered comparison groups, but only one study indicated that urine or blood toxicological analyses were done on the control subjects (Lucey et al 1993). Most commonly, investigators rely on the verbal reports of control subjects regarding illicit drug use. Reliance on self-reports might result in appreciable contamination of the control group with individuals who are using illicit drugs at the time of testing. Over a 2 year period, we examined the incidence of positive drug screens among control subjects who twice denied drug use, as well as the characteristics of those subjects who tested positive.
Perinatal Outcome with Sonographically Thin Placentas

In order to determine the incidence and significance of sonographically thin placentas, we reviewed the computerized records of 18,937 viable, singleton pregnancies. Of these, 0.6% had thin placentas diagnosed by ultrasound examination with a mean thickness of 16 ± 4 mm in the second and 20 ± 3 mm in the third trimester. At the time of the first ultrasound diagnosis of a thin placenta, 22.2% had polyhydramnios, and 1.8% had oligohydramnios. When the thin placenta cohort without polyhydramnios was compared to controls, there was a significantly increased incidence of perinatal mortality, odds ratio = 2.9, 95% confidence limits (CL) = 1.2 to 7.3; neonatal intensive care unit admissions, odds ratio = 2.2, CL = 1.3 to 3.7; and birth weight below the 10th percentile, odds ratio = 2.8, CL = 1.7 to 4.7. The finding of a thin placenta by ultrasound should alert the clinician to the possibility of compromised perinatal outcome.
Reliability of outcome measures in individuals with Parkinson's Disease

The purpose of this study was to conduct a preliminary evaluation of the test-retest reliability of timed functional tests, the Physical Performance Test, and the Physical Activity Rating scale in ...
Phase signature-based image authentication watermark robust to compression and coding

We present the further development of a watermarking technique that embeds an authentication signal in an image. In this paper, we concentrate on the JPEG 2000 image format. The detection/extraction of this signal can then be used to decide whether the image has gone through any intentional malicious tampering. Therefore, the watermark needs to be fragile to such tampering attacks. On the other hand, we need to make sure that the authentication is robust to change resulting from the watermarking process itself, or from necessary changes such as image compression. We address the robustness against watermarking process issue in two ways. First, we decompose the image into phase and magnitude values. A signature is then generated from the phase values. In particular, binary phase-only filters and their variants will are utilized for this. This signature is subsequently hidden into the magnitude part by a bit-plane embedding technique. The disjoint operations of signature generation and signature embedding minimize the embedding artifacts of the authentication signal. Secondly, we use wavelet decomposition, whereby, the signature can be generated from one subband, and then it can be embedded in other subband(s), or the same subband.© (2004) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Facial Recognition From Volume-Rendered Magnetic Resonance Imaging Data

Three-dimensional (3-D) reconstructions of computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) brain imaging studies are a routine component of both clinical practice and clinical and translational research. A side effect of such reconstructions is the creation of a potentially recognizable face. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule requires that individually identifiable health information may not be used for research unless identifiers that may be associated with the health information including ldquoFull face photographic images and other comparable imagesrdquo are removed (de-identification). Thus, a key question is: Are reconstructed facial images comparable to full-face photographs for the purpose of identification? To address this question, MR images were selected from existing research repositories and subjects were asked to pair an MR reconstruction with one of 40 photographs. The chance probability that an observer could match a photograph with its 3-D MR image was 1 in 40 (0.025), and we considered 4 successes out of 40 (4/40, 0.1) to indicate that a subject could identify persons' faces from their 3-D MR images. Forty percent of the subjects were able to successfully match photographs with MR images with success rates higher than the null hypothesis success rate. The Blyth-Still-Casella 95% confidence interval for the 40% success rate was 29%-52%, and the 40% success rate was significantly higher (P< 0.001) than our null hypothesis success rate of 1 in 10 (0.10).
Hydroxyaspartic acid from alfalfa and clover roots

Abstract Hydroxyaspartic acid has been identified in extracts of the free amino acids from field grown alfalfa and clover root tissue. It was identified by chromatography and co-chromatography on ion exchange columns and the amount of ammonia liberated on periodate oxidation. It occurs in these legume root tissues in amounts ranging from 0·6–2 μmoles/g of dry root tissue. This is much higher than the concentration of some of the more common amino acids.
Determinants Of Economic Growth: Evidence From American Countries

This paper explores determinants of economic growth using variables from traditional Solow model and recent empirical studies. The study covers data on American countries during the period 1995-2006. The estimates show that per capita, GDP growth is positively related to capital expenditure, primary completion rate and trade openness and the relationship is statistically significant. Furthermore, population growth rate and investment in research and development have positive impacts on economic growth, yet the effects are not significant.
Surface Roughness Evolution in Amorphous Tantalum Oxide Films Deposited by Pulsed Reactive Sputtering

The growth front roughness of Ta2O5 amorphous films grown by pulsed plasma d.c. reactive sputtering has been investigated using atomic force microscopy. Film deposition during reactive sputter deposition is explained based on dynamic scaling hypothesis in which both time and space scaling are considered simultaneously. The interface width w increases as a power law with deposition time t, w ∼ tβ, with β = 0.45 ± 0.03. The lateral correlation length ξ grows as ξ ∼ t1/z, with 1/z = 0.61 ± 0.07. The roughness exponent extracted from the slope of height-height correlation analysis is α = 0.79 ± 0.04. The results are similar to that obtained by sputtering of elemental materials, and do not fit to any of the presently known growth models. Monte Carlo simulations were carried out based on a recently developed re-emission model, where incident flux distribution, shadowing, sticking coefficient, and surface diffusion mechanisms were accounted for in the deposition process. An important finding is that sticking coefficient must be less than unity to obtain the observed β value (∼0.45).
Enhanced slow-light effect by combining broadband SBS system and off-resonance FBG

We present a technique for improving the pulse-delay performance of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) based slow-light system by combining it with a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) under distortion and system resource constraints.
Oxidative Stress in Human Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms A Potential Mediator of Aneurysmal Remodeling

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is an inflammatory disorder characterized by localized connective tissue degradation and smooth muscle cell (SMC) apoptosis, leading to aortic dilatation and rupture. Reactive oxygen species are abundantly produced during inflammatory processes and can stimulate connective tissue–degrading proteases and apoptosis of SMCs. We hypothesized that reactive oxygen species are locally increased in AAA and lead to enhanced oxidative stress. In aortas from patients undergoing surgical repair, superoxide levels (measured by lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence) were 2.5-fold higher in the AAA segments compared with the adjacent nonaneurysmal aortic (NA) segments (6638±2164 versus 2675±1027 relative light units for 5 minutes per millimeter squared, respectively; n=7). Formation of thiobarbituric acid–reactive substances and conjugated dienes, 2 indices of lipid peroxidation, were increased 3-fold in AAA compared with NA segments. Immunostaining for nitrotyrosine was significantly greater in AAA tissue. Dihydroethidium staining indicated that increased superoxide in AAA segments was localized to infiltrating inflammatory cells and to SMCs. Expression of the NADPH oxidase subunits p47phox and p22phox and NAD(P)H oxidase activity were increased in AAA segments compared with NA segments. Thus, oxidative stress is markedly increased in AAA, in part through the activation of NAD(P)H oxidase, and may contribute to the disease pathogenesis.
A lattice framework for reusing top-k query results

In this paper, we address the issue of reusing the top-k query results for information retrieval applications. A query comprises of a number of search terms in which multiple queries use the same search terms. The re-occurring search terms and associated results are indexed and easily accessible for retrieval. The individual results of the search terms are merged during the query processing stage and return the best combined results. Hence, the queries are observed as independent events but should be viewed in tandem. We present a lattice framework that groups frequently requested search terms and corresponding results in a cache. The stored results provide a reduction in database accesses while minimally affecting the performance. We compare the aggregate ranking (from the actual rankings) to the lattice-based aggregate ranking (using at least one stored result). We perform an empirical study of our proposed framework in which we analyze its benefits and drawbacks to the conventional method.
CAPTURES OF THE TOME'S SWORD-NOSED BAT, Lonchorhina aurita (CHIROPTERA, PHYLLOSTOMIDAE), FROM OMETEPE ISLAND, NICARAGUA, AND RANGE IMPLICATIONS FOR THIS SPECIES

Lonchorhina aurita (Tome's sword-nosed bat) is a locally rare/restricted bat species distributed from the northerly ranges of Veracruz, Mexico to the South American countries of Brazil and Peru. Prior to our study on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua, this species was documented from a single individual from 1 location in Nicaragua (Matiguas, Matagalpa). During 2010-2013, a total of 9 L. aurita were captured in tropical interior forests and agricultural forests with dense upper and midstory vegetation. L. aurita were captured from several locations on Ometepe Island and included reproductive adults and juveniles. Our data suggest that a persistent L. aurita population is established on Ometepe Island.
Wang Guowei's Application of Kant

Wang Guowei (1887-1927) was a late Qing scholar who assumed a pioneer role in introducing Western philosophy and is regarded as the founder of Chinese ideas about philosophical and literary-aesthetic modernity. His introduction and interpretation not only has been inspiring later scholars to be interested in European philosophy but also being a “showcase” of the “localness” of a cultural interpretation. This paper focuses on Kant’s influence on Wang Guowei, especially Wang’s use of Kant’s epistemological, ethical and aesthetic theories to reconstruct the important Chinese philosophical conceptions, such as, xing 性, li 理, ming 命, ya 雅 and what he called as Confucius’ meiyuzhuyi 美育主義(aesthetic educational-ism) and aims to achieve a better grasp of the continuity and revolution that accompany the emergence of Chinese modernity as well as a better understanding of comparative culture (philosophy) in its “primitive” phase.
Transfer printing: An approach for massively parallel assembly of microscale devices

Transfer printing is a new technique that enables the massively parallel assembly of high performance semiconductor devices onto virtually any substrate material, including glass, plastics, metals or other semiconductors. This semiconductor transfer printing technology relies on the use of an elastomeric molded stamp to selectively pick-up devices from a source wafer and then prints the devices onto the target substrate. The key enabling technique is the ability to tune the adhesion between the elastomeric stamp and the semiconductor devices. The transfer process is massively parallel as the stamps are designed to transfer thousands of discrete devices in a single pick-up and print operation. Studies of the process yield indicate that print yields in excess of 99.9% can be achieved. In addition, experiments show that the chips can be printed with placement accuracy better than +/- 5 mum.
Realist Constructivism: The limits of realism

What limits are placed on realist theory by the logic of the social that inheres in classical realism's basic assumptions about international politics? When combined with the relationship between realism and reflexivity discussed in Chapter 6, this logic constrains realism from confidently predicting outcomes. This proposition may at first seem absurd, given the claims of several strands of contemporary realism specifically to be scientifically predictive. But the core argument in this chapter is that these strands not only fail to fulfill claims of some contemporary realist theorists to be both predictive and prescriptive, but that too much focus on being predictive, on being scientific, also undermines the core insight of classical realism. This core insight, as phrased by Hans Morgenthau, is that we must see the world as it is, rather than as we want it to be. “Political realism believes that politics, like society in general, is governed by objective laws.” This observation seems, at first glance, to support an argument that realism is about scientific prediction. But embedded in this core insight is the claim that the realist world, the world as it is, is not that neatly predictable. “The first lesson the student of international politics must learn and never forget is that the complexities of international affairs make simple solutions and trustworthy prophesies impossible. Here the scholar and the charlatan part company.
Adjudicating hydrosocial territory in New Mexico

ABSTRACTThe US state of New Mexico shifted its management and legal treatment of water in the 20th century to a private property access right, weakening communal notions of water. This article explains how New Mexico has redefined and territorialized water rights as private property through the adjudication process and administrative governance rules. State adjudication of water rights disrupts horizontal social relations. The process also results in territorialization – not of fluid water per se – but of water users themselves. As water users have adjusted to this rescaling of governance, the state has found new ways to govern users vertically through water-crisis measures.
A rule-based expert system for chemical prioritization using effects-based chemical categories.

A rule-based expert system (ES) was developed to predict chemical binding to the estrogen receptor (ER) patterned on the research approaches championed by Gilman Veith to whom this article and journal issue are dedicated. The ERES was built to be mechanistically transparent and meet the needs of a specific application, i.e. predict for all chemicals within two well-defined inventories (industrial chemicals used as pesticide inerts and antimicrobial pesticides). These chemicals all lack structural features associated with high affinity binders and thus any binding should be low affinity. Similar to the high-quality fathead minnow database upon which Veith QSARs were built, the ERES was derived from what has been termed gold standard data, systematically collected in assays optimized to detect even low affinity binding and maximizing confidence in the negatives determinations. The resultant logic-based decision tree ERES, determined to be a robust model, contains seven major nodes with multiple effects-base...
Population Genetics of Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) Based on Mitochondrial 16S and 12S Genes

Blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, is the principal vector of Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner in the eastern half of the United States. Populations exhibit extreme variation in morphology, host usage, development time, and behavior. We examined sequence variation in the 16S and 12S mitochondrial ribosomal DNA genes to determine genetic relationships among I. scapularis collections from throughout its range. Single strand conformation polymorphism analysis of 300 bp of the 16S molecule was used to identify different haplotypes and estimate their relative frequencies among 198 ticks. Eleven different haplotypes were detected. Haplotype diversity was least in northeastern collections and greatest in the southeast. The 11 haplotypes were sequenced in 24 specimens. In total, 462 bp in the 16S gene and 420 bp in the 12S gene were sequenced to reveal 66 informative sites. Phylogenetic analysis, using I. ricinus L. and I. pacificus Cooley & Kohls as outgroups, revealed 2 clades within I. scapularis. One clade was limited to the South and the other was distributed throughout the range of I. scapularis. Specimens from the Southern United States were basal in the broadly distributed clade. Random amplified polymorphic DNA by polymerase chain reaction patterns examined between members of the 2 clades provided no evidence for reproductive isolation. These patterns suggest that I. scapularis arose in the South but that a large geographic split gave rise to 2 distinct lineages. These lineages now interbreed and are partially sympatric.
Understanding of Basic Concepts of Arithmetic: A Comparative Study

(1966). Understanding of Basic Concepts of Arithmetic: A Comparative Study. The Journal of Educational Research: Vol. 60, No. 3, pp. 107-120.
The Early Embryological Development of Phormia Regina: Diptera (Calliphoridae)

The study of dipterous embryology dates back to Kolliker (1843)when he made the first observations on Diptera which had any bearing on embryology. Kolliker no doubt saw the blastoderm on the surface of the egg. Weismann's outstanding work on the development of the fly in the egg appeared in 1863–64. It was Kowalevsky who revolutionized research in insect embryology in 1871, first using the methods of microscopic anatomy and so initiating the period of modern research in the field. He studied the development of a large number of insects and discovered their germinal layers. The most extensive of all work on dipterous embryology is that of Graber (1879, 1888, 1889, 1890) in which he covers nearly the whole ground of the muscid embryological development, beginning with cleavage and concluding with a description of the nervous system and formation of the imaginal discs. Graber made comparisons of the embryology of various insects and studied especially Lucilia caesar L. and Calliphora vomitoria . Gambrell (1933)lists Diptera which have been studied embryo-logically up to 1932.
CT and MR findings in a patient with alien hand sign.

Alien hand sign is characterized by the presence of involuntary but seemingly purposeful, unilateral hand movements. It is believed to be caused by lesions in the supplementary motor area of the contralateral medial frontal lobe cortex. We present a patient with alien hand sign in whom results of CT and MR imaging of the brain showed infarction in the medial frontal lobes and corpus callosum
The revision of axis V in DSM-III-R: should symptoms have been included?

The authors studied the relationship of psychological symptoms to clinicians’ ratings on DSM-IIl ‘s axis V. A total of 355 patients received multiaxial assessments and were reinterviewed under blind conditions with the Psychiatric Epidemiology Research Interview, which contains scales to measure aspects of social and occupational functioning and various symptom dimensions. The majority of symptom scales were correlated significantly with axis V ratings. Axis I diagnosis explained 19.0% of the variance in axis V; demographics, 6.5%; and symptoms, 7%. Symptoms had a larger effect, in terms of explained variance, than adaptive functioning variables and tended to detract from the latter’s significance. These results have implications for axis V in DSM-III-R and for planning DSM-IV. (Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:825-829) There have been no studies, however, to assess the potential impact of this change on the multiaxial system. In a previous study (14), we found that several aspects of occupational and social functioning determined clinicians’ ratings on axis V, independently of axis I diagnosis and demographic variables. Thus, in keeping with the intent of multiaxial diagnosis (15), axis V ratings provided information about patients that was distinct from standarddiagnosticcategoriesand added, therefore,toa more comprehensive clinical description of patients with mental disorders (16). In this study,we investigatethe relationship of symptoms to axis V ratings, independent of diagnostic status, and the effect of including symptom ratingson thesocialand occupationalvariablesthatwe have shown to be significantly relatedto axis V. Our study sheds lighton the likelyconsequences of the revision of axis V in DSM-III-R.
Detection of Vibrio Cholerae in Turtles by Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction,Colloidal Gold Immunochromatographic Assay and Conventional Bacterial Culture

Objective To optimize the detection procedure of Vibrio Cholerae(v.cholerae) and increase its detection rate in turtles.Methods The v.cholerae in turtles was detected by real time polymerase chain reaction(real time PCR),conventional bacterial culture and colloidal gold immunochromatographic assay,and the ctx gene of the virus was detected by real time PCR.Results Real time PCR revealed that among 185 turtle samples,28 ones were positive with v.cholerae nucleic acid,with a positive rate of 15.14%(28/185),and six samples were positive with ctx gene,with a positive rate of 21.43%(6/28).Two strains of v.cholerae were isolated by conventional bacterial culture,Vibrio cholerae O139,and Vibrio cholerae O1 serotype Ogawa.Neither the pure cultures nor the original samples of both stains were positive with ctx gene.No v.cholerae was detected by colloidal gold immunochromatographic assay.Conclusions For V.cholerae detection in seafood samples,real time PCR can be first used for screen.Then conventional bacterial culture can be applied to isolate the strains in positive samples.In this way,the detection efficiency and detection rate can be improved.Meantime,the positive samples can be subjected to ctx gene detection.If it is positive as well,prevention and control measures should be taken to prevent cholera outbreaks.
The study on expression and activity of New Delhi metal-β-lactamase-1

On the basis of the recombinant plasmid constructed by our laboratory,a three factors(including culture temperature,inducing time and concentration of IPTG)orthogonal experiment was established to study the optimal expression conditions of recombinant protein.The fusion protein was purified using the amylase column and cleaved by Factor Xa.The protein was identified by MALDI-TOF-MS.The MICs of recombinant strain TB1(pMAL-p2X::NDM-1)resistant to imipenem was determined by serial 2-fold dilution method.The enzymatic activity and inhibition of EDTA were performed using imipenem as substrate.The result is that the optimal temperature,inducing time and concentration of IPTG of the fusion expression were 37℃,8h and 0.3mmol/L,respectively.The fusion protein accounted for 39.2% of the total bacteria protein.MALDI-TOFMS showed that the molecular weight of the fusion protein and protein cleaved by Factor Xa were 71 200.811 and 21 053.324,respectively.The MIC of imipenem for Tb1(pMAL-p2X::NDM-1)was 0.064g/L.The Kmvalues of the fusion protein for the imipenem was 69.347μmol/L.EDTA with a value of 25μmol/L displayed an inhibitory effect on the fusion protein enzymatic activityin vitro.We studied the optimal expression conditions and the enzymatic activity of NDM-1 which provided the foundation for further study on the development of inhibitors to NDM-1.
Pure-tone Audiometry Results of Workers Exposed to Noise in Changshu City in First Half of 2009

[Objective]To perform pure-tone audiometry on workers with noise exposure,to protect their health.[Methods]Pure tone audiometry was based on GB/T16403-1996" Acoustic pure-tone audiometry method of air conduction and bone conduction hearing threshold of basic audiometry".[Results]Of 855 workers with noise exposure,604 suffered from high-frequency loss,76 suffered from language frequency loss.[Conclusion]The ratio of hearing disorders of workers with noise exposure is higher than that of workers without noise exposure.With the increase in length of exposure,the proportion of the high-frequency loss and language frequency loss increases annually and gradually,as well as the degree of injury.
Size does matter but is there an obesity paradox in TAVR

Patients with low body mass index (<20 kg/m(2) ) undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement have higher short- and long-term mortality Low BMI is an important tool to consider in patient screening and prognostication Prospective study is needed to accurately assess the effects of BMI in TAVR patients, to prove or refute the obesity paradox.
Action Explorations as Reflective Practice

Reflective pedagogical practice to me means that one learns about and from what one does as one does it. Applied theatre takes this process into the collective realm, allows for people to deal with interpersonal interactions that might deal with many issues, ranging from spiritual to philosophical to political. Within this broad effort there are many sub-types.