cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How macroecology affects macroevolution: the interplay between extinction intensity and trait-dependent extinction in brachiopods

Selection is the force behind differences in fitness, with extinction being the most extreme example of selection. Modern experiments and observations have shown that average fitness and selection strength can vary over time and space. This begs the question: as average fitness increases, does selection strength increase or decrease? The fossil record illustrates how extinction rates have varied through time, with periods of both rapid and slow species turnover. Using Paleozoic brachiopods as a study system, I developed a model to understand how the average taxon duration (i.e. fitness) varies over time, to estimate trait-based differences in taxon durations (i.e. selection), and to measure the amount of correlation between taxon fitness and selection. I find evidence for when extinction intensity increases, selection strength on geographic range also increases. I also find strong evidence for a non-linear relationship between environmental preference for epicontinental versus open-ocean environments and expected taxon duration, where taxa with intermediate preferences are expected to have greater durations than environmental specialists. Finally, I find that taxa which appear more frequently in epicontinental environments will have a greater expected duration than those taxa which prefer open-ocean environments. My analysis supports the conclusions that as extinction intensity increases and average fitness decreases, as happens during a mass extinction, the trait-associated differences in fitness would increase. In contrast, during periods of low extinction intensity when fitness is greater than average, my model predicts that selection associated with geographic range and environmental preference would decrease and be less than average.
Social determinants to lifetime methamphetamine use among a national sample of adults

ABSTRACTThe study purpose was to examine social determinants associated with lifetime methamphetamine use among a national sample of adults. A secondary analysis of the 2012 National Survey on Drug...
Deriving Spectro-temporal Properties of Hearing from Speech Data

Human hearing and human speech are intrinsically tied together, as the properties of speech almost certainly developed in order to be heard by human ears. As a result of this connection, it has been shown that certain properties of human hearing are mimicked within data-driven systems that are trained to understand human speech. In this paper, we further explore this phenomenon by measuring the spectro-temporal responses of data-derived filters in a front-end convolutional layer of a deep network trained to classify the phonemes of clean speech. The analyses show that the filters do indeed exhibit spectro-temporal responses similar to those measured in mammals, and also that the filters exhibit an additional level of frequency selectivity, similar to the processing pipeline assumed within the Articulation Index.
A Study on Peripheral Grain Structure Evolution of an AA7050 Aluminum Alloy with a Laboratory-Scale Extrusion Setup

A laboratory-scale hot extrusion setup was designed to investigate recrystallization and grain growth behavior of an AA7050 alloy during extrusion and subsequent heat treatments. Compared with industrial extrusion, the laboratory-scale process enabled rapid water quenching of extrudate with less delay so that the dynamic grain structure development was captured. After extrusion, static microstructure evolution in the extrudates was studied using salt bath annealing for 5 and 15 s at 490 °C and solutionization treatment for 1 h at 490 °C. The salt bath annealing was a simulation of the delay of press quenching in typical industrial extrusion practices. In the as-quenched extrudates, the peripheral region mainly exhibited continuous dynamic recrystallization and geometric dynamic recrystallization, whereas in the core region discontinuous dynamic recrystallization dominated. A and double fiber texture was identified in extrudates, and recrystallization behavior was found to be orientation dependent. The oriented grains contained more sub-grain boundaries and better-defined sub-grains and had a higher tendency to fragment via continuous recrystallization, while the oriented grains produced less sub-grain boundaries and did not recrystallize. Subsequent heat treatments resulted in static recrystallization and abnormal growth of the continuously recrystallized grains. Additionally, the effects of extrusion temperature (440, 480 and 520 °C) and punch speed (0.7, 1.4 and 2.1 mm/s) on grain structure were discussed. A revised grain structure evolution mechanism based on the observation of 7050 extrusion was proposed.
What Is Computing

Seventy-five years ago answering this question was easy. A Hungarian mathematician named John von Neumann laid it out in a short report in the mid-1940s that said essentially a computer had three parts: input, which is data and instructions collected and sent to a processor, second, that part of the machine that did something with the input, such as adding or subtracting numbers, and third, output, the act of pushing the results to a printer, punch cards or later onto magnetic tape and even later to magnetic storage. His ideas became known as the Von Neumann Architecture and a half century later, it was still essentially the big picture description of a computer: three parts, which could consist of a bunch of specialized machines, such as one to punch holes into stiff cards, the computer itself (processor, later server), and all manner of output devices, connected together with electrical wires and cables, and all managed by software much like traffic signals or police directing the flow of vehicles through a community.
The reward positivity: Comparing visual and auditory feedback

Abstract Past work has demonstrated that the reward positivity (RewP) indexes a feedback-monitoring system sensitive to positive outcomes. Research on the RewP has frequently used simple guessing tasks. In the doors task, participants receive either feedback denoting monetary gain or loss on each trial after choosing one of two doors to “open.” Typically, these tasks present visual stimuli on a computer monitor. The current study developed and validated a version of the doors task utilizing auditory stimuli to indicate gains and losses. Thirty-eight young adults completed both a standard visual doors task and a novel auditory doors task. Results indicated that the audio RewP was more positive and peaked earlier than the visual RewP. Additionally, the audio RewP both moderately correlated with and demonstrated similar internal consistency as the visual RewP. These results suggest that the auditory doors task elicits the same feedback-monitoring processes as the visual doors task.
Impact of Intraoperative Fluid Management on Electrolyte and Acid-Base Variables During Posterior Spinal Fusion in Adolescents.

Introduction Various isotonic fluids may be used to maintain intravascular homeostasis during major surgical procedures. Variations in the electrolyte and buffer concentrations between these solutions may result in differential changes in electrolyte and acid-base status during fluid resuscitation. This study evaluates these changes during posterior spinal fusion in adolescents. Methods Patients were randomized to receive lactated Ringers (LR), normal saline (NS) or Normosol-R® (NR) during posterior spinal fusion (N=19, 20, and 20, respectively). The specific fluid was used for maintenance fluids as well as fluid replacement of deficits, third space losses, and blood loss. Results Patients who received NS had a greater base deficit (NS: -2.0 ± 2.2 vs NR -0.6 ± 1.8, p=0.031 or LR: -0.2 ± 1.7, p=0.007) and were more likely to have a ≥2 point change in the base deficit (60% with NS compared to 30% with NR and 47% with LR). Patients receiving NS also had a lower pH (NS: 7.37 ± 0.03 vs NR: 7.39 ± 0.04, p=0.013) and a greater change in pH (NS: -0.03 ± 0.04 vs NR: 0.01 ± 0.06). Conclusion The use of NS for intraoperative resuscitation during posterior spinal fusion in adolescents resulted in a greater base deficit and a lower pH than the use of LR or NR. Although these changes had limited clinical significance in our patient population, future studies are indicated to further investigate the potential clinical impact of these changes.
Selection Mechanisms and Their Consequences: Understanding and Addressing Selection Bias

Epidemiologic research is rarely based on a random sample of a well-defined target population. We used causal directed acyclic graphs to demonstrate the types of bias that can result when selection into that sample is associated with the exposure or outcome of interest, or with both. These selection mechanisms can affect both the internal and external validity of a study. We reviewed approaches to selection mechanisms that affect valid causal inference. We noted that selection bias can refer to a number of issues with different consequences. We identified strategies for addressing selection bias when designing studies, collecting data, conducting analyses, and assessing possible bias in those analyses. Understanding the way in which a study sample relates to the target population is critical for avoiding and addressing bias. Communication about selection bias is aided by the use of causal graphs.
Beyond Expert Opinion: A Comparison of Antibiotic Regimens for Infectious Urinary Tract Pathology in Pregnancy

Objective Outside pregnancy, nitrofurantoin, ciprofloxacin and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (SMZ-TMP) are first-line therapy (FLT) for lower urinary tract infections (LUTIs). Optimal antibiotics for LUTI have been extrapolated based on expert opinion. Progression to pyelonephritis and adverse obstetric outcomes were compared between women who received FLT and those given alternative antibiotics. Methods This study includes a retrospective cohort of women with LUTI, including asymptomatic bacteriuria and acute cystitis at single health care system from July 2013 to May 2019. Women receiving FLT, defined as nitrofurantoin or SMZ-TMP, were compared with those receiving nonfirst-line therapy (nFLT). Primary outcome was progression to pyelonephritis. Secondary outcomes included pyelonephritis-related anemia, sepsis, length of stay, preterm birth (PTB), and low birth weight (LBW). Logistic regression was used to calculate odds of outcomes. Results Of 476 women, 336 (70.6%) received FLT and 140 (29.4%) received nFLT. Women receiving FLT were more likely having BMI ≥ 40 (p = 0.04). Progression to pyelonephritis did not differ (5.8 vs. 8.2%; p = 0.44), nor did other pyelonephritis-related outcomes. After controlling for confounders, no difference in odds of progression to pyelonephritis was seen (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42, 2.49). FLT was not associated with PTB or LBW (aOR 0.60, 95% CI 0.29, 1.26) after controlling for confounders. Conclusion Receipt of antibiotics other than nitrofurantoin or SMZ-TMP for LUTI in pregnancy was not associated with increased risk of progression to pyelonephritis, PTB, or LBW.
Data-Driven Insights on the Knowledge Gaps of Conceptual Cost Estimation Modeling

AbstractAlthough data modeling methods for conceptual cost estimation are proven to be effective in academia, they are not adopted by construction practitioners as expected. To understand this fact...
Assuring Essential Medical Supplies During a Pandemic: Using Federal Law to Measure Need, Stimulate Production, and Coordinate Distribution

It was known before the emergence of COVID-19 that a pandemic would produce harmful shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and other essential resources. Training exercises had exposed depleted stockpiles, fragile global supply chains, and confusion about the basic responsibilities of key government agencies. These findings did not lead to corrective action, and when the shortfalls hit in spring 2020, the Trump administration failed to implement a coherent strategy in response. The result has been chaotic and inefficient, with continuing competition for scarce supplies among states, health systems, and smaller entities like nursing homes, prisons, and schools. The Biden administration has not only committed to mounting a successful vaccination campaign, but also to ensuring an adequate supply of essential medical supplies and pharmaceuticals to protect health care workers and enable schools and other venues to reopen safely. Incoming officials have suggested that they will rely on the Defense Production Act (DPA), federal purchasing power, and financial support for innovation to stimulate production, strengthen supply chains, coordinate expertise, and resolve market failures. This is a welcome sign. There is plenty of low-hanging fruit to pick, but systemic challenges cannot be resolved quickly. This Chapter recommends the use of federal legal authority to (1) make large purchase commitments to domestic producers; (2) require ongoing reporting of key PPE and other supply inventory as a condition of CMS reimbursement; and (3) restate the mission of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) to serve as both a reservoir of essential supplies for the nation and a coordinating center for tracking inventory in the public and private sectors. We also recommend an independent commission to investigate how to improve domestic production and emergency distribution of PPE, medicines and other essential medical products. This paper was prepared as part of the COVID-19 Policy Playbook: Legal Recommendations for a Safer, More Equitable Future, a comprehensive report published by Public Health Law Watch in partnership with the de Beaumont Foundation and the American Public Health Association.
Large lakes in climate models: A Great Lakes case study on the usability of CMIP5

Abstract Large lakes have an impact on regional weather. In addition, they can be both sensitive to and influence regional climate changes. In the climate models that are used to investigate future climate changes, lakes are greatly simplified and sometimes absent. At the regional scale, this can have strong implications for the quality of the model information about the future. Through our work with climate information users in the Laurentian Great Lakes region, we have found that basic credibility of the information requires the underlying climate models simulate lake-atmosphere-land interactions. We are not aware of efforts within the scientific community to make known how individual large lakes are represented in models and how those representations translate to the quality of the data for particular regions. We share our framework for identifying how the Laurentian Great Lakes are represented in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) version 5 climate models. We found that most CMIP5 models do not simulate the Great Lakes in a way that captures their impact on the regional climate, which is a credibility issue for their projections. We provide a perspective on the usability of CMIP5 for practitioners in the Great Lakes region and offer recommendations for alternative options.
Live and Learn: Using the Fair Housing Act to Advance Educational Opportunity for Parenting Students

Approximately one-quarter of undergraduate students are parents. Most collegiate programs, however, are not prepared to meet the unique needs of student-parents. Many post-secondary institutions with residential campuses have policies that explicitly or implicitly exclude student-parents from living in university-provided housing. When housing for student-parents is provided, there are often insufficient units to serve all student families. Although university-provided housing is often expensive, it may be less expensive than off-campus alternatives, especially in destination cities. Additionally, universities often tout the benefits university-provided housing offers students.
Colonial Chaos in the Southern Red Sea: A History of Violence from 1830 to the Twentieth Century

Today, the countries bordering the Red Sea are riven with instability. Why are the region's contemporary problems so persistent and interlinked? Through the stories of three compelling characters, Colonial Chaos sheds light on the unfurling of anarchy and violence during the colonial era. A noble Somali sultan, a cunning Yemeni militia leader, and a Machiavellian French merchant ran amok in the southern Red Sea in the nineteenth and twentieth century. In response to colonial hostility and gunboat diplomacy, they attacked shipwrecks, launched piratical attacks, and traded arms, slaves, and drugs. Their actions contributed to the transformation of the region's international relations, redrew the political map, upended its diplomatic culture, and remodelled its traditions of maritime law, sowing the seeds of future unrest. Colonisation created chaos in the southern Red Sea. Colonial Chaos offers an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the relationship between the region's colonial past and its contemporary instability.
Seeking Safety While Giving Birth During the Pandemic

As COVID-19 spread throughout the United States in early 2020, many pregnant people sought alternatives to delivering in a hospital. Whether due to fear of COVID-19 exposure in health care settings or out of a desire to avoid restrictive hospital policies regarding support people and newborn separation, people who had not previously considered home birth were newly drawn to midwifery care and others who had considered a midwife-attended birth redoubled their efforts to find an available provider. But many pregnant people who sought midwifery care during the pandemic discovered they lacked access to non-hospital-based alternatives, as the supply of local midwives could not meet demand or legal restrictions meant there simply were no midwives in the area. This Article examines the turn to community birth during the COVID-19 pandemic and argues that various legal and regulatory restrictions on midwifery practice unfairly interfere with access to this important, health-promoting model of care, especially for people of color, who disproportionately bear the burden of poor maternal health outcomes and hospitalization or death from COVID-19. In particular, this Article examines how lack of licensure for direct-entry midwives in some jurisdictions, along with non-evidence-based restrictions on scope of practice for all types of midwives and burdensome regulatory hurdles to establishing freestanding birth centers, impedes the growth of midwifery as a profession and limits access to community birth. This Article concludes with several recommendations that draw on the experiences of pregnant people during the pandemic to advance a pro-midwifery reform agenda that will tackle inequities in access to community birth and improve maternity care for all.
Why the Evolutionary Argument Is Not Really an Evolutionary Argument After All

The evolutionary argument is one of the most well-known empirical arguments against epiphenomenalism. In its most persuasive form, it aims to show that because of evolutionary considerations, the smooth correlations between painful qualia and noxious stimuli would be highly unexpected if epiphenomenalism were true, but just what we would expect if an alternative mind–body theory were. Thus, the presence of these correlations is strong evidence against epiphenomenalism. After formulating a canonical version of the argument, I demonstrate that the evolutionary evidence adduced as part of it is superfluous, and could easily be jettisoned without damaging whatever force the argument has. I then proceed to show an even stronger result — that the evolutionary evidence is actually nothing more than a distraction from the elements of the argument that actually give it its dialectical strength.
Constraints for Axial Strains in Frames

In the stiffness method of analysis, as applied to plane and space frames, axial strains in members may be systematically omitted using constraint conditions that prohibit length changes. With these conditions it is possible to solve for some of the unknown joint translations in terms of others. The number of dependent joint translations is equal to the rank of the coefficient matrix for the constraint equations. When these equations are combined with joint equilibrium equations, the number of the latter is reduced by eliminating the dependent joint translations and retaining the independent joint translations and rotations. A further reduction in the number of equilibrium equations is also accomplished by eliminating the joint rotations and keeping only the remaining joint translations as unknowns in the solution. The procedure developed pertains to both two- and three- dimensional frames and is suitable for automation on a digital computer.
Forensic Social Work: Current and Emerging Developments

Social work assessment and treatment with crime victims, juvenile offenders, and convicted felons have been viewed by some as the weakest link of social work practice, but by others as an area of boundless possibility as the field of criminal justice expands into new directions, many of them compatible with the values of social work. Accordingly, this chapter provides an overview of forensic social work, which refers to policies, practices, legal issues and remedies, and social work roles with juvenile and adult offenders, as well as victims of crimes. There has been a growing concern in recent years regarding the increasing number of offenders and victims in urgent need of mental health treatment and social services, some of whom are at high risk of future violence if they do not receive the evidence-based interventions they urgently need. In the past two decades, professional social workers have made significant progress in advocating for and obtaining critically needed social services for juvenile offenders, adult offenders, and victims of violent crimes and in placing students in the correctional field. Our vision for the future is that all vulnerable and at-risk clients will have the opportunity to be helped by especially trained forensic social work advocates, clinicians, and policy-makers. Our expectation is that the profession of social work will provide critically needed leadership in the correctional field and to reconnect and reclaim, as a profession, with the critically important domains of juvenile and criminal justice. Keywords: forensic social work; criminal justice; juvenile justice; victims; offenders
Thermal Predictions using Integral Energy Model

A one-dimensional integral energy model (mixed-layer model) is used to simulate the seasonal temperature cycle of three, morphometrically different, temperate lakes. In the model, turbulent kinetic energy supplied by wind shear is used to entrain denser water into the upper mixed layer by working against gravity. The model is calibrated with data from one lake for 1 yr and verified against data from two other lakes and also against data from other years. Predictions of the onset of stratification, surface and hypolimnetic temperatures, mixed layer depths, and periods of turnover are all in agreement with data.
Capturing Return Comovement Using Partial Factors

Over the past half century, the explanatory power of any factor models has dropped by more than 50%. Under a conventional asset pricing framework, more than 80% of individual stocks' return variations are now considered as firm specific. In order to explain more return variations, we explore a middle ground between common risk factors and idiosyncratic risks as an alternative to the traditional factor model. Specifically, we introduce partial factors as a third category of factors that only affect certain groups of stocks. To demonstrate the existence of such factors and in order to be parsimonious, we present a simple iterative procedure both to extract partial factors from individual stock returns and to group stocks simultaneously. In contrast to a decreasing trend in the explanatory power of common factors, we show that partial factors not only are pervasive within their groups but also have played an increasing role in accounting for comovement among individual stocks over time. For example, a multifactor model with two common factors and two partial factors are able to provide an additional 10% explanatory power over popular factor models. Partial factors are also useful in explaining variations in government bond returns and characteristics sorted portfolio returns.
Evaluation of machine learning algorithms for prediction of regions of high Reynolds averaged Navier Stokes uncertainty

Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes (RANS) models are widely used in industry to predict fluid flows, despite their acknowledged deficiencies. Not only do RANS models often produce inaccurate flow predictions, but there are very limited diagnostics available to assess RANS accuracy for a given flow configuration. If experimental or higher fidelity simulation results are not available for RANS validation, there is no reliable method to evaluate RANS accuracy. This paper explores the potential of utilizing machine learning algorithms to identify regions of high RANS uncertainty. Three different machine learning algorithms were evaluated: support vector machines, Adaboost decision trees, and random forests. The algorithms were trained on a database of canonical flow configurations for which validated direct numerical simulation or large eddy simulation results were available, and were used to classify RANS results on a point-by-point basis as having either high or low uncertainty, based on the breakdown of specific RANS modeling assumptions. Classifiers were developed for three different basic RANS eddy viscosity model assumptions: the isotropy of the eddy viscosity, the linearity of the Boussinesq hypothesis, and the non-negativity of the eddy viscosity. It is shown that these classifiers are able to generalize to flows substantially different from those on which they were trained. Feature selection techniques, model evaluation, and extrapolation detection are discussed in the context of turbulence modeling applications.
Spontaneous aortic lesions in rabbits

Summary A survey of the aortas of 1089 apparently healthy untreated rabbits of different breeds was carried out. Significant differences in the incidence of spontaneous lesions were found among breeds ranging from 46 % in the Flemish Giants to 13 % in the Dutch. Some significant differences were observed in rabbits of the same breed but obtained from different sources, suggesting intrabreed strain differences. Geographic and dietary factors appear to be of lesser importance than familial factors in explaining these breed differences. The survey emphasizes the need for greater consideration of these medial lesions in experiments using drugs, atherogenic diets, etc., to produce arterial alterations in the rabbit.
Predicative functionals and an interpretation of ⌢ID<ω

Abstract In 1958 Godel published his Dialectica interpretation, which reduces classical arithmetic to a quantifier-free theory T axiomatizing the primitive recursive functionals of finite type. Here we extend Godel's T to theories Pn of “predicative” functionals, which are defined using Martin-Lof's universes of transfinite types. We then extend Godel's interpretation to the theories of arithmetic inductive definitions ⌢ID n , so that each ⌢ID n is interpreted in the corresponding Pn. Since the strengths of the theories ⌢ID n are cofinal in the ordinal Γ0, as a corollary this analysis provides an ordinal-free characterization of the
Receptors induce chemotaxis by releasing the βγ subunit of Gi, not by activating Gq or Gs

Many chemoattractants cause chemotaxis of leukocytes by stimulating a structurally distinct class of G protein-coupled receptors. To identify receptor functions required for chemotaxis, we studied chemotaxis in HEK293 cells transfected with receptors for nonchemokine ligands or for interleukin 8 (IL-8), a classical chemokine. In gradients of the appropriate agonist, three nonchemokine Gi-coupled receptors (the D2 dopamine receptor and opioid μ and δ receptors) mediated chemotaxis; the β2-adrenoreceptor and the M3-muscarinic receptor, which couple respectively to Gs and Gq, did not mediate chemotaxis. A mutation deleting 31 C-terminal amino acids from the IL-8 receptor type B quantitatively impaired chemotaxis and agonist-induced receptor internalization, but not inhibition of adenylyl cyclase or stimulation of mitogen-activated protein kinase. To probe the possible relation between receptor internalization and chemotaxis, we used two agonists of the μ-opioid receptor. Morphine and etorphine elicited quantitatively similar chemotaxis, but only etorphine induced receptor internalization. Overexpression of two βγ sequestering proteins (βARK-ct and αt) prevented IL-8 receptor type B-mediated chemotaxis but did not affect inhibition of adenylyl cyclase by IL-8. We conclude that: (i) Nonchemokine Gi-coupled receptors can mediate chemotaxis. (ii) Gi activation is necessary but probably not sufficient for chemotaxis. (iii) Chemotaxis does not require receptor internalization. (iv) Chemotaxis requires the release of free βγ subunits.
Finite sample tail behaviour of hodges-lehmann type estimators

The tail behavior of Hodges-Lehmann type location estimators is studied with respect to a tail performance measure. The result obtained here generalizes and complements the corresponding work on R-estimators of JurecKova (1981a). The connection between the tail behavior and the breakdown point discovered in He, Jureckova Koenker and Portnoy (1990) for regression and monotone location estimators is extended to Hodges-Lehmann type location estimators, confirming the important role of the tail behavior as a measure of robustness of estimators.
The effects of magnesium on nucleoside phosphatase activity in frog skin.

Histochemical tests, employing the Wachstein-Meisel medium, indicate that nucleoside triphosphatase activity is found predominantly in two areas of the frog skin epidermis: (1) in mitochondria, where activity is enhanced by dinitrophenol, Mg2+ dependent, but inhibited by fixation; and (2) apparently associated with cell membranes of the middle and outer portions of the epidermis, where activity is inhibited by Mg2+, unaffected by dinitrophenol, and only slightly reduced by fixation. Spectrophotometric analysis shows that Mg2+ in the medium does not increase spontaneous hydrolysis of ATP, thus obviating the possible explanation that changes in substrate concentrations in the medium lead to alterations in the "staining" distributions. It is postulated that perhaps the two enzymes differ in their requirements for substrate—one requiring the polyphosphate to be in complexed form with Mg2+, the other uncomplexed. Concentrations of Mg2+ required to inhibit cell membrane nucleoside triphosphatase activity also inhibit the electrical potential difference and short-circuit current of the frog skin. Although these observations might be taken as presumptive evidence of the cell membrane enzyme as a component of the ion pump system, because of certain dissimilarities with respect to the biochemists' "transport ATPase" and for other reasons discussed in the paper, any definite conclusions in this regard are premature.
The medium is the message: Comparing paper-based and web-based course evaluation modalities

Abstract An increasing number of universities have moved student evaluation of faculty and courses out of the classroom, where it had resided for many years, and onto the web. The increased efficiency of the web-based administrative modality of these instruments seems self-apparent. However, whether the measures obtained using the new modality are the same as the old modality is unclear. This paper compares the results of questionnaires administered on the web with those collected from the same students while they were in class. Data from 181 course offerings over seven terms at one university were utilized. Significantly lower evaluation scores for both the instructor and the course are produced when a web-based modality is used. In general, these results did not vary for courses at different levels of matriculation or at different levels of student participation. However, the magnitude of modality differences varied between highly rated and poorly rated courses. Implications for faculty evaluation are offered.
Reproductive and marital experience of parents of children with Down's syndrome (mongolism).

An epidemiologic study of the parents and siblings of 216 children with Down's syndrome and of 216 control children matched on the basis of maternal age at the time of the child's birth demonstrated no differences in the frequencies of abortions, stillbirths, or congenital abnormalities, nor did the siblings of the children with Down's syndrome have a higher frequency of deaths from acquired causes than did the siblings of the controls. Mothers in the two groups were similar in fertility and there were no differences in their menstrual histories. A significantly higher frequency of multiple marriages prior to the birth of the index child was observed in the mothers of the affected children. Some possible interpretations of these observations are discussed.
Ensemble training to improve recognition using 2D ear

The ear has gained popularity as a biometric feature due to the robustness of the shape over time and across emotional expression. Popular methods of ear biometrics analyze the ear as a whole, leaving these methods vulnerable to error due to occlusion. Many researchers explore ear recognition using an ensemble, but none present a method for designing the individual parts that comprise the ensemble. In this work, we introduce a method of modifying the ensemble shapes to improve performance. We determine how different properties of an ensemble training system can affect overall performance. We show that ensembles built from small parts will outperform ensembles built with larger parts, and that incorporating a large number of parts improves the performance of the ensemble.
Doxazosin in patients with hypertension.

The antihypertensive effects and steady-state pharmacokinetics of doxazosin, as well as the bioequivalence of four dosage forms, were studied in 25 hypertensive patients.
Noble gas space exposure ages of individual interplanetary dust particles

The He, Ne, and Ar compositions of 32 individual interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) were measured using low-blank laser probe gas extraction. These measurements reveal definitive evidence of space exposure. The Ne and Ar isotopic compositions in the IDPs are primarily a mixture between solar wind (SW) and an isotopically heavier component dubbed fractionated solar (FS), which could be implantation-fractionated solar wind or a distinct component of the solar corpuscular radiation previously identified as solar energetic particles (SEP). Space exposure ages based on the Ar content of individual IDPs are estimated for a subset of the grains that appear to have escaped significant volatile losses during atmosphere entry. Although model-dependent, most of the particles in this subset have ages that are roughly consistent with origin in the asteroid belt. A short (<1000 years) space exposure age is inferred for one particle, which is suggestive of cometary origin. Among the subset of grains that show some evidence for relatively high atmospheric entry heating, two possess elevated 21Ne/22Ne ratios generated by extended exposure to solar and galactic cosmic rays. The inferred cosmic ray exposure ages of these particles exceeds 107 years, which tends to rule out origin in the asteroid belt. A favorable possibility is that these 21Ne-rich IDPs previously resided on a relatively stable regolith of an Edgeworth-Kuiper belt or Oort cloud body and were introduced into the inner solar system by cometary activity. These results demonstrate the utility of noble gas measurements in constraining models for the origins of interplanetary dust particles.
Religious Giving and the Boundedness of Rationality

We develop a model of religious giving that is based on ideas from recent studies of bounded rationality and related concepts, heuristics, religious identification, and theological―interpersonal interactions. In general, we predict that the positive association between religious service attendance, importance of reli- gion, or beliefs about the bible and religious giving is conditioned by the strictness of the group. We also propose that there is less variability in giving in strict faith traditions. Estimating models of giving using five national data sets, we find support for the hypothesis concerning variability, but less support for the notion that the proposed associations are conditioned by strictness. The conditional effects are restricted to a data set specifically designed to examine religious giving. Moreover, the hypothesis concerning conditional effects of attendance by strictness may be most valid when measured in specific denominations.
Energy and terrain aware connectivity restoration in disjoint Mobile Sensor Networks

In Mobile Sensor Networks (MSNs), connectivity of the sensor nodes with the sink node can be disrupted due to failure of some nodes which may result network partitioning. To address this problem, mobility of the nodes has been exploited in the previous works so that an autonomous recovery can be achieved. All of these works have assumed reachability of the nodes to the selected destinations via a direct path movement. However, in real-world applications, such assumption makes the schemes impractical in case of encountering obstacles or intolerable terrains based on the kinematics of the mobile nodes. Besides, even if direct path movement is successful, optimal energy efficiency cannot be attained by neglecting the elevation or friction of the terrain when determining the movement path of the nodes. Thus, in the recovery efforts, terrain type, elevation as well as the obstacles should be taken into account in order to guarantee the connectivity restoration while minimizing the recovery cost in terms of energy. In this paper, we re-design an existing connectivity restoration approach in disjoint MSNs to fit these requirements and evaluate the performance issues when realistic terrains are assumed. Rather than following a direct path, movement trajectory is determined based on a path planning algorithm which considers the risk and elevation of terrain sections to be visited while avoiding obstacles and highly elevated terrain sections. Experiments have revealed that the direct path movement fails for many topologies while the proposed approach guarantees a solution. Besides, the proposed approach significantly outperforms direct path movement without obstacles in terms of total energy consumption.
An experimental study on size effects on flow stress and formability of aluminm and brass for microforming

Abstract In order to understand the characteristics of micro metal forming, tensile and bending tests were conducted on both aluminum 1100 O-temper and brass 26000(1/2) hard (H02) to investigate the influence of size effects on flow stress and formability. In this study, it has been observed that the yield strength and tensile strength decrease as T / D (thickness/average grain diameter) ratio decreases until T / D approaches one. However, as the average grain diameter is greater than thickness ( T / D T / D ratio decreases from the results of bending test. In addition, the stretchability (formability) decreases with decrease of T / D ratio on both aluminum 1100 O-temper and Brass 26000(1/2) hard (H02). According to the research results of this study, formability and flow stress of micro forming can be expressed as functions of T / D ratio.
Impact of beam energy and field margin on penumbra at lung tumor-lung parenchyma interfaces

Abstract Purpose: To determine the characteristics of the penumbra in the region of the lung tumor-lung parenchyma interfaces for various radiation beam energies and various field margins. Methods and Materials: A phantom simulating the thoracic cavity with a tumor arising within the lung parenchyma was irradiated with opposed 6-, 10-, and 18-MV photon beams. Beam profiles were obtained at the tumor’s surface and midplane using radiographic film. The field edge varied from 0.0 to 3.5 cm from the gross tumor volume. The effective penumbra (distance from 80 to 20% dose) and beam fringe (distance from 90 to 50% dose) were measured. Clinically acceptable beam profiles were defined as those in which no point of the planning target volume (gross tumor volume plus a 1-cm margin) received less than 95% of the central tumor dose. Results: Mean effective penumbra and beam fringe were found to differ in a statistically significant manner with respect to energy, but not with distance from field edge to gross tumor volume. With the field edge ≤1.5 cm from the gross tumor volume, no energy provided an acceptable dose distribution, as defined above. With the field edge 2 cm from the gross tumor volume, 6 and 10 MV provided acceptable dose distributions, but 18 MV did not. With the field edge ≥2.5 cm from the gross tumor volume, all energies provided acceptable dose distributions. Conclusion: For irradiation of lung carcinomas in which the planning target volume includes a margin of normal lung tissue, 6- and 10-MV opposed beams yield a superior dose distribution with respect to penumbra at the tumor’s surface and midplane, with the field edge placed 2 cm from the gross tumor volume. To achieve an equivalent distribution with 18-MV photons, a distance of 2.5 cm from field edge to the gross tumor volume is necessary, leading to an increase in normal lung tissue irradiated.
Cortical power spectrum analysis of hypnotic pain control in surgery.

Cortical power spectrum (CPS) of brain potentials was recorded from the scalp between prefrontal and parietal regions in both right hemisphere (RH) and left hemisphere (LH). A pattern of laterality shift in CPS occurred at different stages during an extensive oral surgery, performed under hypnosis, in a young female patient. Video and audio recordings as well as psychophysiological recordings were obtained through the following 6 stages: Baseline, Hypnosis, Surgery (1 hr, no cortical recording), Immediate Postsurgery Procedure, Hypnotic Re-experience, Hypnotic Rest, and Posthypnotic Baseline. Indications of anxiety and pain scores were reported in writing by the patient through verbal command by the hypnotist. In each stage, 10 min of CPS (10 spectrum/ stage, 8 epochs/spectrum, 6 seconds/epoch) were analyzed by a PDP-11 computer.The results of CPS analysis demonstrated significant large total power reduction at different stages. There was significant correlation between both hemispheres at baseline, but d...
The Political Is Personal: Measurement and Application of Nation-Level Indicators of Gender Equity in Psychological Research

Consistent with the dictum, "the personal is political," feminist scholars have maintained that gender equity in security, access to education, economic opportunity, and property ownership are central to women's well-being. Empirical research evaluating this thesis can include nation-level indicators of gender equity, such as the United Nation Development Program's Gender Empowerment Measure. Yet, despite the growing popularity of such measures, there has been little discussion of the adequate measurement of gender equity or the appropriate application of such tools in theory-grounded empirical research within psychology. Moreover, the bulk of psychological research that has integrated such indicators has not employed a feminist or emancipatory framework. The authors summarize and evaluate nation-level gender equity indicators in order to familiarize researchers with the available tools, and the authors review the limited psychological literature that has used these indicators. The authors also discuss how psychological research can better use gender equity indicators in empirical models to examine political processes linked to women's well-being. Language: en
Psychosocial Issues in Patients With Congestive Heart Failure

Psychosocial issues are important variables that need to be addressed in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Unfortunately, these issues are often overlooked. Depression and lack of social support have been shown to have a negative impact on patients with CHF. Patients with CHF who are depressed or who lack social support have been shown to have increased morbidity and hospital readmission rates, to be less adherent to their medical regimen, and to have an overall increase in cost of care. The variables are often interrelated, as high levels of social support may lessen the impact of depression on mortality. In addition, certain biologic factors may influence the impact of psychosocial factors in patients with CHF. This review addresses the effects of depression, treatment adherence, and social support in patients with CHF and suggests interventions targeted to these problems. Health care professionals must assess these issues in all patients with CHF, address their specific needs, and intervene appropriately when warranted.
Plasma thyroid hormones, thyroid stimulating hormone, and insulin during acute hypometabolic states in man ☆

Abstract Acute behavioral rest states in man are associated with marked hormonal and metabolic changes. In order to complete a hormonal profile of these states and to identify possible metabolic regulators, we measured thyroid hormones (T3 and T4), thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), and insulin during the stylized mental practice of “transcendental meditation” (TM) and during ordinary unstylized eyes closed rest. Except for TSH, which declined acutely, hormone levels were normal and stable throughout the experiment. The stability of T3 and T4, and insulin make it unlikely that these hormones regulate the acute metabolic changes associated with these behavioral states. Decreased TSH, along with stable thyroid hormone levels, may suggest change of the set point for feedback control of TSH secretion during TM and is consistent with primarily neural modulation of TSH secretion by this behavior.
The stapes of Lambdopsalis bulla (Multituberculata) and transformational analyses on some stapedial features in Mammaliaformes

ABSTRACT The stapes of the Paleocene multituberculate Lambdopsalis bulla, recovered from a unique intra-vestibuli circumstance, is small and columelliform. It has a slim shaft, a slit-like stapedial foramen, a distinct head, and a well-developed, nearly circular footplate. With new evidence of the stapes from Lambdopsalis bulla and those reported recently from Sinoconodon, Haldanodon, and Pachygenelus, stapedial characters are analyzed in a selected group consisting of Placentalia, Marsu-pialia, Monotremata, Multituberculata, Morganucodontidae, Sinoconodon, Haldanodon, and the tritheledontid Pachygenelus. Stapedial characters discussed include relative size of the stapes, shape of the stapes, development of stapedial footplate, shape of the stapedial footplate, the stapedial foramen, position of the stapedial artery, and orientation of the stapes. Conclusions are: 1) the relative size of the stapes does not differentiate multituberculates from morganucodontids; 2) stapes are divided into three basic types...
Automatic radio station detection by clustering power spectrum components

This paper describes three algorithms for automatic radio station detection based on the shape of power spectrum. The objective is to find the number of active stations and for each of them to estimate the bandwidth and carrier frequency. All three algorithms are grouping spectrum components into clusters that are assumed to correspond to active radio stations. The first algorithm finds local centers of mass and puts cluster boundaries in the middle between the neighboring centers of mass. The second algorithm determines the noise level and defines a threshold based on the level. Clusters are found based on the spectrum above the threshold. The third algorithm uses adaptive multiple thresholds for separating spectrum components in height and distance. Clustering is done at different height levels. The performances of algorithms are compared it the case of two active stations whose carrier frequencies and relative powers are arbitrarily chosen.